Microgrid Analysis Tools Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jimenez, Antonio; Haase, Scott G; Mathur, Shivani

2018-03-05

The over-arching goal of the Alaska Microgrid Partnership is to reduce the use of total imported fuel into communities to secure all energy services by at least 50% in Alaska's remote microgrids without increasing system life cycle costs while also improving overall system reliability, security, and resilience. One goal of the Alaska Microgrid Partnership is to investigate whether a combination of energy efficiency and high-contribution (from renewable energy) power systems can reduce total imported energy usage by 50% while reducing life cycle costs and improving reliability and resiliency. This presentation provides an overview of the following four renewable energy optimizationmore » tools. Information is from respective tool websites, tool developers, and author experience. Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT) Renewable Energy Optimization (REopt) Tool Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER).« less

Energy evaluation of protection effectiveness of anti-vibration gloves.

PubMed

Hermann, Tomasz; Dobry, Marian Witalis

2017-09-01

This article describes an energy method of assessing protection effectiveness of anti-vibration gloves on the human dynamic structure. The study uses dynamic models of the human and the glove specified in Standard No. ISO 10068:2012. The physical models of human-tool systems were developed by combining human physical models with a power tool model. The combined human-tool models were then transformed into mathematical models from which energy models were finally derived. Comparative energy analysis was conducted in the domain of rms powers. The energy models of the human-tool systems were solved using numerical simulation implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The simulation procedure demonstrated the effectiveness of the anti-vibration glove as a method of protecting human operators of hand-held power tools against vibration. The desirable effect is achieved by lowering the flow of energy in the human-tool system when the anti-vibration glove is employed.

Work with Us | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

, and local levels; and industry use NREL analysis, data, models, and tools to make critical energy and academia make us well-positioned to help solve the most important energy challenges: Yours

Improving Building Energy Simulation Programs Through Diagnostic Testing (Fact Sheet)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2012-02-01

New test procedure evaluates quality and accuracy of energy analysis tools for the residential building retrofit market. Reducing the energy use of existing homes in the United States offers significant energy-saving opportunities, which can be identified through building simulation software tools that calculate optimal packages of efficiency measures. To improve the accuracy of energy analysis for residential buildings, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Buildings Research team developed the Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes (BESTEST-EX), a method for diagnosing and correcting errors in building energy audit software and calibration procedures. BESTEST-EX consists of building physics and utility billmore » calibration test cases, which software developers can use to compare their tools simulation findings to reference results generated with state-of-the-art simulation tools. Overall, the BESTEST-EX methodology: (1) Tests software predictions of retrofit energy savings in existing homes; (2) Ensures building physics calculations and utility bill calibration procedures perform to a minimum standard; and (3) Quantifies impacts of uncertainties in input audit data and occupant behavior. BESTEST-EX is helping software developers identify and correct bugs in their software, as well as develop and test utility bill calibration procedures.« less

Renewable Energy Data Explorer User Guide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cox, Sarah L; Grue, Nicholas W; Tran, July

This publication provides a user guide for the Renewable Energy Data Explorer and technical potential tool within the Explorer. The Renewable Energy Data Explorer is a dynamic, web-based geospatial analysis tool that facilitates renewable energy decision-making, investment, and deployment. It brings together renewable energy resource data and other modeled or measured geographic information system (GIS) layers, including land use, weather, environmental, population density, administrative, and grid data.

Amy Rose | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Rose is a member of the Markets & Policy Analysis Group in the Strategic Energy Analysis Center integration of renewable energy Research Interests Energy policy and regulation Decision support tools to inform power sector policy and regulatory decisions Energy and development International energy policy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deshmukh, Ranjit; Wu, Grace

The MapRE (Multi-criteria Analysis for Planning Renewable Energy) GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Tools are a set of ArcGIS tools to a) conduct site suitability analysis for wind and solar resources using inclusion and exclusion criteria, and create resource maps, b) create project opportunity areas and compute various attributes such as cost, distances to existing and planned infrastructure. and environmental impact factors; and c) calculate and update various attributes for already processed renewable energy zones. In addition, MapRE data sets are geospatial data of renewable energy project opportunity areas and zones with pre-calculated attributes for several countries. These tools and datamore » are available at mapre.lbl.gov.« less

Commercial Building Energy Asset Score

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

This software (Asset Scoring Tool) is designed to help building owners and managers to gain insight into the as-built efficiency of their buildings. It is a web tool where users can enter their building information and obtain an asset score report. The asset score report consists of modeled building energy use (by end use and by fuel type), building systems (envelope, lighting, heating, cooling, service hot water) evaluations, and recommended energy efficiency measures. The intended users are building owners and operators who have limited knowledge of building energy efficiency. The scoring tool collects minimum building data (~20 data entries) frommore » users and build a full-scale energy model using the inference functionalities from Facility Energy Decision System (FEDS). The scoring tool runs real-time building energy simulation using EnergyPlus and performs life-cycle cost analysis using FEDS. An API is also under development to allow the third-party applications to exchange data with the web service of the scoring tool.« less

Overview of the Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST); NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Melaina, Marc; Bush, Brian; Penev, Michael

This presentation provides an introduction to the Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST) and includes an overview of each of the three versions of H2FAST: the Web tool, the Excel spreadsheet version, and the beta version of the H2FAST Business Case Scenario tool.

Offshore wind farm layout optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elkinton, Christopher Neil

Offshore wind energy technology is maturing in Europe and is poised to make a significant contribution to the U.S. energy production portfolio. Building on the knowledge the wind industry has gained to date, this dissertation investigates the influences of different site conditions on offshore wind farm micrositing---the layout of individual turbines within the boundaries of a wind farm. For offshore wind farms, these conditions include, among others, the wind and wave climates, water depths, and soil conditions at the site. An analysis tool has been developed that is capable of estimating the cost of energy (COE) from offshore wind farms. For this analysis, the COE has been divided into several modeled components: major costs (e.g. turbines, electrical interconnection, maintenance, etc.), energy production, and energy losses. By treating these component models as functions of site-dependent parameters, the analysis tool can investigate the influence of these parameters on the COE. Some parameters result in simultaneous increases of both energy and cost. In these cases, the analysis tool was used to determine the value of the parameter that yielded the lowest COE and, thus, the best balance of cost and energy. The models have been validated and generally compare favorably with existing offshore wind farm data. The analysis technique was then paired with optimization algorithms to form a tool with which to design offshore wind farm layouts for which the COE was minimized. Greedy heuristic and genetic optimization algorithms have been tuned and implemented. The use of these two algorithms in series has been shown to produce the best, most consistent solutions. The influences of site conditions on the COE have been studied further by applying the analysis and optimization tools to the initial design of a small offshore wind farm near the town of Hull, Massachusetts. The results of an initial full-site analysis and optimization were used to constrain the boundaries of the farm. A more thorough optimization highlighted the features of the area that would result in a minimized COE. The results showed reasonable layout designs and COE estimates that are consistent with existing offshore wind farms.

Using Coupled Energy, Airflow and IAQ Software (TRNSYS/CONTAM) to Evaluate Building Ventilation Strategies.

PubMed

Dols, W Stuart; Emmerich, Steven J; Polidoro, Brian J

2016-03-01

Building energy analysis tools are available in many forms that provide the ability to address a broad spectrum of energy-related issues in various combinations. Often these tools operate in isolation from one another, making it difficult to evaluate the interactions between related phenomena and interacting systems, forcing oversimplified assumptions to be made about various phenomena that could otherwise be addressed directly with another tool. One example of such interdependence is the interaction between heat transfer, inter-zone airflow and indoor contaminant transport. In order to better address these interdependencies, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an updated version of the multi-zone airflow and contaminant transport modelling tool, CONTAM, along with a set of utilities to enable coupling of the full CONTAM model with the TRNSYS simulation tool in a more seamless manner and with additional capabilities that were previously not available. This paper provides an overview of these new capabilities and applies them to simulating a medium-size office building. These simulations address the interaction between whole-building energy, airflow and contaminant transport in evaluating various ventilation strategies including natural and demand-controlled ventilation. CONTAM has been in practical use for many years allowing building designers, as well as IAQ and ventilation system analysts, to simulate the complex interactions between building physical layout and HVAC system configuration in determining building airflow and contaminant transport. It has been widely used to design and analyse smoke management systems and evaluate building performance in response to chemical, biological and radiological events. While CONTAM has been used to address design and performance of buildings implementing energy conserving ventilation systems, e.g., natural and hybrid, this new coupled simulation capability will enable users to apply the tool to couple CONTAM with existing energy analysis software to address the interaction between indoor air quality considerations and energy conservation measures in building design and analysis. This paper presents two practical case studies using the coupled modelling tool to evaluate IAQ performance of a CO 2 -based demand-controlled ventilation system under different levels of building envelope airtightness and the design and analysis of a natural ventilation system.

Using Coupled Energy, Airflow and IAQ Software (TRNSYS/CONTAM) to Evaluate Building Ventilation Strategies

PubMed Central

Dols, W. Stuart.; Emmerich, Steven J.; Polidoro, Brian J.

2016-01-01

Building energy analysis tools are available in many forms that provide the ability to address a broad spectrum of energy-related issues in various combinations. Often these tools operate in isolation from one another, making it difficult to evaluate the interactions between related phenomena and interacting systems, forcing oversimplified assumptions to be made about various phenomena that could otherwise be addressed directly with another tool. One example of such interdependence is the interaction between heat transfer, inter-zone airflow and indoor contaminant transport. In order to better address these interdependencies, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an updated version of the multi-zone airflow and contaminant transport modelling tool, CONTAM, along with a set of utilities to enable coupling of the full CONTAM model with the TRNSYS simulation tool in a more seamless manner and with additional capabilities that were previously not available. This paper provides an overview of these new capabilities and applies them to simulating a medium-size office building. These simulations address the interaction between whole-building energy, airflow and contaminant transport in evaluating various ventilation strategies including natural and demand-controlled ventilation. Practical Application CONTAM has been in practical use for many years allowing building designers, as well as IAQ and ventilation system analysts, to simulate the complex interactions between building physical layout and HVAC system configuration in determining building airflow and contaminant transport. It has been widely used to design and analyse smoke management systems and evaluate building performance in response to chemical, biological and radiological events. While CONTAM has been used to address design and performance of buildings implementing energy conserving ventilation systems, e.g., natural and hybrid, this new coupled simulation capability will enable users to apply the tool to couple CONTAM with existing energy analysis software to address the interaction between indoor air quality considerations and energy conservation measures in building design and analysis. This paper presents two practical case studies using the coupled modelling tool to evaluate IAQ performance of a CO2-based demand-controlled ventilation system under different levels of building envelope airtightness and the design and analysis of a natural ventilation system. PMID:27099405

RE Data Explorer: Informing Variable Renewable Energy Grid Integration for Low Emission Development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cox, Sarah L

The RE Data Explorer, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is an innovative web-based analysis tool that utilizes geospatial and spatiotemporal renewable energy data to visualize, execute, and support analysis of renewable energy potential under various user-defined scenarios. This analysis can inform high-level prospecting, integrated planning, and policy making to enable low emission development.

A Framework for Daylighting Optimization in Whole Buildings with OpenStudio

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2016-08-12

We present a toolkit and workflow for leveraging the OpenStudio (Guglielmetti et al. 2010) platform to perform daylighting analysis and optimization in a whole building energy modeling (BEM) context. We have re-implemented OpenStudio's integrated Radiance and EnergyPlus functionality as an OpenStudio Measure. The OpenStudio Radiance Measure works within the OpenStudio Application and Parametric Analysis Tool, as well as the OpenStudio Server large scale analysis framework, allowing a rigorous daylighting simulation to be performed on a single building model or potentially an entire population of programmatically generated models. The Radiance simulation results can automatically inform the broader building energy model, andmore » provide dynamic daylight metrics as a basis for decision. Through introduction and example, this paper illustrates the utility of the OpenStudio building energy modeling platform to leverage existing simulation tools for integrated building energy performance simulation, daylighting analysis, and reportage.« less

Understanding Building Infrastructure and Building Operation through DOE Asset Score Model: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Na; Goel, Supriya; Gorrissen, Willy J.

2013-06-24

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing a national voluntary energy asset score system to help building owners to evaluate the as-built physical characteristics (including building envelope, the mechanical and electrical systems) and overall building energy efficiency, independent of occupancy and operational choices. The energy asset score breaks down building energy use information by simulating building performance under typical operating and occupancy conditions for a given use type. A web-based modeling tool, the energy asset score tool facilitates the implementation of the asset score system. The tool consists of a simplified user interface built on a centralized simulation enginemore » (EnergyPlus). It is intended to reduce both the implementation cost for the users and increase modeling standardization compared with an approach that requires users to build their own energy models. A pilot project with forty-two buildings (consisting mostly offices and schools) was conducted in 2012. This paper reports the findings. Participants were asked to collect a minimum set of building data and enter it into the asset score tool. Participants also provided their utility bills, existing ENERGY STAR scores, and previous energy audit/modeling results if available. The results from the asset score tool were compared with the building energy use data provided by the pilot participants. Three comparisons were performed. First, the actual building energy use, either from the utility bills or via ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, was compared with the modeled energy use. It was intended to examine how well the energy asset score represents a building’s system efficiencies, and how well it is correlated to a building’s actual energy consumption. Second, calibrated building energy models (where they exist) were used to examine any discrepancies between the asset score model and the pilot participant buildings’ [known] energy use pattern. This comparison examined the end use breakdowns and more detailed time series data. Third, ASHRAE 90.1 prototype buildings were also used as an industry standard modeling approach to test the accuracy level of the asset score tool. Our analysis showed that the asset score tool, which uses simplified building simulation, could provide results comparable to a more detailed energy model. The buildings’ as-built efficiency can be reflected in the energy asset score. An analysis between the modeled energy use through the asset score tool and the actual energy use from the utility bills can further inform building owners about the effectiveness of their building’s operation and maintenance.« less

A methodology and decision support tool for informing state-level bioenergy policymaking: New Jersey biofuels as a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brennan-Tonetta, Margaret

This dissertation seeks to provide key information and a decision support tool that states can use to support long-term goals of fossil fuel displacement and greenhouse gas reductions. The research yields three outcomes: (1) A methodology that allows for a comprehensive and consistent inventory and assessment of bioenergy feedstocks in terms of type, quantity, and energy potential. Development of a standardized methodology for consistent inventorying of biomass resources fosters research and business development of promising technologies that are compatible with the state's biomass resource base. (2) A unique interactive decision support tool that allows for systematic bioenergy analysis and evaluation of policy alternatives through the generation of biomass inventory and energy potential data for a wide variety of feedstocks and applicable technologies, using New Jersey as a case study. Development of a database that can assess the major components of a bioenergy system in one tool allows for easy evaluation of technology, feedstock and policy options. The methodology and decision support tool is applicable to other states and regions (with location specific modifications), thus contributing to the achievement of state and federal goals of renewable energy utilization. (3) Development of policy recommendations based on the results of the decision support tool that will help to guide New Jersey into a sustainable renewable energy future. The database developed in this research represents the first ever assessment of bioenergy potential for New Jersey. It can serve as a foundation for future research and modifications that could increase its power as a more robust policy analysis tool. As such, the current database is not able to perform analysis of tradeoffs across broad policy objectives such as economic development vs. CO2 emissions, or energy independence vs. source reduction of solid waste. Instead, it operates one level below that with comparisons of kWh or GGE generated by different feedstock/technology combinations at the state and county level. Modification of the model to incorporate factors that will enable the analysis of broader energy policy issues as those mentioned above, are recommended for future research efforts.

"Type Ia Supernovae: Tools for Studying Dark Energy" Final Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Woosley, Stan; Kasen, Dan

2017-05-10

Final technical report for project "Type Ia Supernovae: Tools for the Study of Dark Energy" awarded jointly to scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Berkeley, for computer modeling, theory and data analysis relevant to the use of Type Ia supernovae as standard candles for cosmology.

Multi-Metric Sustainability Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cowlin, Shannon; Heimiller, Donna; Macknick, Jordan

2014-12-01

A readily accessible framework that allows for evaluating impacts and comparing tradeoffs among factors in energy policy, expansion planning, and investment decision making is lacking. Recognizing this, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) funded an exploration of multi-metric sustainability analysis (MMSA) to provide energy decision makers with a means to make more comprehensive comparisons of energy technologies. The resulting MMSA tool lets decision makers simultaneously compare technologies and potential deployment locations.

Dynamic Analyses of Result Quality in Energy-Aware Approximate Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

RIngenburg, Michael F.

Energy efficiency is a key concern in the design of modern computer systems. One promising approach to energy-efficient computation, approximate computing, trades off output precision for energy efficiency. However, this tradeoff can have unexpected effects on computation quality. This thesis presents dynamic analysis tools to study, debug, and monitor the quality and energy efficiency of approximate computations. We propose three styles of tools: prototyping tools that allow developers to experiment with approximation in their applications, online tools that instrument code to determine the key sources of error, and online tools that monitor the quality of deployed applications in real time. Our prototyping tool is based on an extension to the functional language OCaml. We add approximation constructs to the language, an approximation simulator to the runtime, and profiling and auto-tuning tools for studying and experimenting with energy-quality tradeoffs. We also present two online debugging tools and three online monitoring tools. The first online tool identifies correlations between output quality and the total number of executions of, and errors in, individual approximate operations. The second tracks the number of approximate operations that flow into a particular value. Our online tools comprise three low-cost approaches to dynamic quality monitoring. They are designed to monitor quality in deployed applications without spending more energy than is saved by approximation. Online monitors can be used to perform real time adjustments to energy usage in order to meet specific quality goals. We present prototype implementations of all of these tools and describe their usage with several applications. Our prototyping, profiling, and autotuning tools allow us to experiment with approximation strategies and identify new strategies, our online tools succeed in providing new insights into the effects of approximation on output quality, and our monitors succeed in controlling output quality while still maintaining significant energy efficiency gains.

Fatal hand tool injuries in construction.

PubMed

Trent, R B; Wyant, W D

1990-08-01

Past research on occupational hand tool injuries has generally focused on nonfatal injuries. Most such injuries occur at the point where energy is transferred to the material being worked, eg, at the edge of a saw blade or the point of a drill. Assuming that hand tool injuries that are fatal will differ from nonfatal injuries, 62 Occupation Safety and Health Administration reports were analyzed. Four patterns emerged when the type of contact with energy was used to classify incidents. Fatal injuries occurred when (1) contact was made with energy that supplies power to the hand tool, (2) energy normally transferred to the material being worked is transferred to the worker, (3) workers or materials fall, and (4) potential energy is encountered in the work environment. Analysis showed that almost all such injuries could be prevented by application of existing safe work practices.

Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST); NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Melaina, Marc

This presentation describes the Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool, H2FAST, and provides an overview of each of the three H2FAST formats: the H2FAST web tool, the H2FAST Excel spreadsheet, and the H2FAST Business Case Scenario (BCS) tool. Examples are presented to illustrate the types of questions that H2FAST can help answer.

NWTC Helps Guide U.S. Offshore R&D; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2015-07-01

The National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is helping guide our nation's research-and-development effort in offshore renewable energy, which includes: Design, modeling, and analysis tools; Device and component testing; Resource characterization; Economic modeling and analysis; Grid integration.

Optimizing Energy Consumption in Building Designs Using Building Information Model (BIM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egwunatum, Samuel; Joseph-Akwara, Esther; Akaigwe, Richard

2016-09-01

Given the ability of a Building Information Model (BIM) to serve as a multi-disciplinary data repository, this paper seeks to explore and exploit the sustainability value of Building Information Modelling/models in delivering buildings that require less energy for their operation, emit less CO2 and at the same time provide a comfortable living environment for their occupants. This objective was achieved by a critical and extensive review of the literature covering: (1) building energy consumption, (2) building energy performance and analysis, and (3) building information modeling and energy assessment. The literature cited in this paper showed that linking an energy analysis tool with a BIM model helped project design teams to predict and create optimized energy consumption. To validate this finding, an in-depth analysis was carried out on a completed BIM integrated construction project using the Arboleda Project in the Dominican Republic. The findings showed that the BIM-based energy analysis helped the design team achieve the world's first 103% positive energy building. From the research findings, the paper concludes that linking an energy analysis tool with a BIM model helps to expedite the energy analysis process, provide more detailed and accurate results as well as deliver energy-efficient buildings. The study further recommends that the adoption of a level 2 BIM and the integration of BIM in energy optimization analyse should be made compulsory for all projects irrespective of the method of procurement (government-funded or otherwise) or its size.

Data and Tools | Hydrogen and Fuel Cells | NREL

Science.gov Websites

researchers, developers, investors, and others interested in the viability, analysis, and development of , energy use, and emissions. Alternative Fuels Data Center Tools Collection of tools-calculators -makers reduce petroleum use. FASTSim: Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator Simulation tool that

Energy-Systems Economic Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doane, J.; Slonski, M. L.; Borden, C. S.

1982-01-01

Energy Systems Economic Analysis (ESEA) program is flexible analytical tool for rank ordering of alternative energy systems. Basic ESEA approach derives an estimate of those costs incurred as result of purchasing, installing and operating an energy system. These costs, suitably aggregated into yearly costs over lifetime of system, are divided by expected yearly energy output to determine busbar energy costs. ESEA, developed in 1979, is written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution.

Community Solar Scenario Tool | Integrated Energy Solutions | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Community Solar Scenario Tool Community Solar Scenario Tool The Community Solar Scenario Tool (CSST ) provides a "first cut" analysis of different community or shared solar program options. NREL sponsoring utility. Community Solar Scenario Tool -Beta Version Available as a Microsoft Excel file, which

The use of analytical surface tools in the fundamental study of wear. [atomic nature of wear

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, D. H.

1977-01-01

Various techniques and surface tools available for the study of the atomic nature of the wear of materials are reviewed These include chemical etching, x-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, Auger emission spectroscopy analysis, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, field ion microscopy, and the atom probe. Properties of the surface and wear surface regions which affect wear, such as surface energy, crystal structure, crystallographic orientation, mode of dislocation behavior, and cohesive binding, are discussed. A number of mechanisms involved in the generation of wear particles are identified with the aid of the aforementioned tools.

Simplified tools for evaluating domestic ventilation systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maansson, L.G.; Orme, M.

1999-07-01

Within an International Energy Agency (IEA) project, Annex 27, experts from 8 countries (Canada, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, UK and USA) have developed simplified tools for evaluating domestic ventilation systems during the heating season. Tools for building and user aspects, thermal comfort, noise, energy, life cycle cost, reliability and indoor air quality (IAQ) have been devised. The results can be used both for dwellings at the design stage and after construction. The tools lead to immediate answers and indications about the consequences of different choices that may arise during discussion with clients. This paper presents an introduction tomore » these tools. Examples applications of the indoor air quality and energy simplified tools are also provided. The IAQ tool accounts for constant emission sources, CO{sub 2}, cooking products, tobacco smoke, condensation risks, humidity levels (i.e., for judging the risk for mould and house dust mites), and pressure difference (for identifying the risk for radon or land fill spillage entering the dwelling or problems with indoor combustion appliances). An elaborated set of design parameters were worked out that resulted in about 17,000 combinations. By using multi-variate analysis it was possible to reduce this to 174 combinations for IAQ. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was made using 990 combinations. The results from all the runs were used to develop a simplified tool, as well as quantifying equations relying on the design parameters. A computerized energy tool has also been developed within this project, which takes into account air tightness, climate, window airing pattern, outdoor air flow rate and heat exchange efficiency.« less

Towards an integration of affiliated companies energy audit process system at P.T Astra International

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telaga, Abdi Suryadinata; Hartanto, Indra Dwi; Audina, Debby Rizky; Prabowo, Fransiscus Dimas

2017-06-01

Environmental awareness, stringent regulation and soaring energy costs, together make energy efficiency as an important pillar for every company. Particularly, in 2020, the ministry of energy and mineral resources of Indonesia has set a target to reduce carbon emission by 26%. For that reason, companies in Indonesia have to comply with the emission target. However, there is trade-off between company's productivity and carbon emission. Therefore, the companies' productivity must be weighed against the environmental effect such as carbon emission. Nowadays, distinguish excessive energy in a company is still challenging. The company rarely has skilled person that capable to audit energy consumed in the company. Auditing energy consumption in a company is a lengthy and time consuming process. As PT Astra International (AI) have 220 affiliated companies (AFFCOs). Occasionally, direct visit to audit energy consumption in AFFCOs is inevitable. However, capability to conduct on-site energy audit was limited by the availability of PT AI energy auditors. For that reason, PT AI has developed a set of audit energy tools or Astra green energy (AGEn) tools to aid the AFFCOs auditor to be able to audit energy in their own company. Fishbone chart was developed as an analysis tool to gather root cause of audit energy problem. Following the analysis results, PT AI made an improvement by developing an AGEn web-based system. The system has capability to help AFFCOs to conduct energy audit on-site. The system was developed using prototyping methodology, object-oriented system analysis and design (OOSAD), and three-tier architecture. The implementation of system used ASP.NET, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 database, and web server IIS 8.

ResStock Analysis Tool | Buildings | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Energy and Cost Savings for U.S. Homes Contact Eric Wilson to learn how ResStock can benefit your approach to large-scale residential energy analysis by combining: Large public and private data sources uncovered $49 billion in potential annual utility bill savings through cost-effective energy efficiency

Michael Lawson | NREL

Science.gov Websites

NREL's Ocean Energy team, Dr. Michael Lawson focuses on the areas of wave and water current energy goal of developing an open source design and analysis tool for wave energy conversion (WEC) devices

Building Efficiency Evaluation and Uncertainty Analysis with DOE's Asset Score Preview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2016-08-12

Building Energy Asset Score Tool, developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is a program to encourage energy efficiency improvement by helping building owners and managers assess a building's energy-related systems independent of operations and maintenance. Asset Score Tool uses a simplified EnergyPlus model to provide an assessment of building systems, through minimum user inputs of basic building characteristics. Asset Score Preview is a newly developed option that allows users to assess their building's systems and the potential value of a more in-depth analysis via an even more simplified approach. This methodology provides a preliminary approach to estimating amore » building's energy efficiency and potential for improvement. This paper provides an overview of the methodology used for the development of Asset Score Preview and the scoring methodology.« less

[Progress in the application of laser ablation ICP-MS to surface microanalysis in material science].

PubMed

Zhang, Yong; Jia, Yun-hai; Chen, Ji-wen; Shen, Xue-jing; Liu, Ying; Zhao, Leiz; Li, Dong-ling; Hang, Peng-cheng; Zhao, Zhen; Fan, Wan-lun; Wang, Hai-zhou

2014-08-01

In the present paper, apparatus and theory of surface analysis is introduced, and the progress in the application of laser ablation ICP-MS to microanalysis in ferrous, nonferrous and semiconductor field is reviewed in detail. Compared with traditional surface analytical tools, such as SEM/EDS (scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrum), EPMA (electron probe microanalysis analysis), AES (auger energy spectrum), etc. the advantage is little or no sample preparation, adjustable spatial resolution according to analytical demand, multi-element analysis and high sensitivity. It is now a powerful complementary method to traditional surface analytical tool. With the development of LA-ICP-MS technology maturing, more and more analytical workers will use this powerful tool in the future, and LA-ICP-MS will be a super star in elemental analysis field just like LIBS (Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy).

Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST). Web Tool User's Manual

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bush, B.; Penev, M.; Melaina, M.

The Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST) provides a quick and convenient indepth financial analysis for hydrogen fueling stations. This manual describes how to use the H2FAST web tool, which is one of three H2FAST formats developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Although all of the formats are based on the same financial computations and conform to generally accepted accounting principles (FASAB 2014, Investopedia 2014), each format provides a different level of complexity and user interactivity.

Commercial Building Energy Saver, API

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hong, Tianzhen; Piette, Mary; Lee, Sang Hoon

2015-08-27

The CBES API provides Application Programming Interface to a suite of functions to improve energy efficiency of buildings, including building energy benchmarking, preliminary retrofit analysis using a pre-simulation database DEEP, and detailed retrofit analysis using energy modeling with the EnergyPlus simulation engine. The CBES API is used to power the LBNL CBES Web App. It can be adopted by third party developers and vendors into their software tools and platforms.

Rural Energy Options Analysis Training Development and Implementation at NREL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gilman, P.

2005-01-01

NREL has developed a rural energy options analysis training program for rural energy decision makers that provides knowledge, skills and tools for the evaluation of technologies, including renewables, for rural energy applications. Through the Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP), NREL has refined materials for the program and developed a module that offers hands-on training in the preparation of data for options analysis using HOMER, NREL's micropower optimization model. NREL has used the materials for training in Brazil, the Maldives, Mexico, and Sri Lanka.

Development of a Suite of Analytical Tools for Energy and Water Infrastructure Knowledge Discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morton, A.; Piburn, J.; Stewart, R.; Chandola, V.

2017-12-01

Energy and water generation and delivery systems are inherently interconnected. With demand for energy growing, the energy sector is experiencing increasing competition for water. With increasing population and changing environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic scenarios, new technology and investment decisions must be made for optimized and sustainable energy-water resource management. This also requires novel scientific insights into the complex interdependencies of energy-water infrastructures across multiple space and time scales. To address this need, we've developed a suite of analytical tools to support an integrated data driven modeling, analysis, and visualization capability for understanding, designing, and developing efficient local and regional practices related to the energy-water nexus. This work reviews the analytical capabilities available along with a series of case studies designed to demonstrate the potential of these tools for illuminating energy-water nexus solutions and supporting strategic (federal) policy decisions.

Development of a site analysis tool for distributed wind projects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shaw, Shawn

The Cadmus Group, Inc., in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Encraft, was awarded a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a site analysis tool for distributed wind technologies. As the principal investigator for this project, Mr. Shawn Shaw was responsible for overall project management, direction, and technical approach. The product resulting from this project is the Distributed Wind Site Analysis Tool (DSAT), a software tool for analyzing proposed sites for distributed wind technology (DWT) systems. This user-friendly tool supports the long-term growth and stability of the DWT market by providing reliable, realistic estimatesmore » of site and system energy output and feasibility. DSAT-which is accessible online and requires no purchase or download of software-is available in two account types; Standard: This free account allows the user to analyze a limited number of sites and to produce a system performance report for each; and Professional: For a small annual fee users can analyze an unlimited number of sites, produce system performance reports, and generate other customizable reports containing key information such as visual influence and wind resources. The tool’s interactive maps allow users to create site models that incorporate the obstructions and terrain types present. Users can generate site reports immediately after entering the requisite site information. Ideally, this tool also educates users regarding good site selection and effective evaluation practices.« less

SEADS 3.0 Sectoral Energy/Employment Analysis and Data System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roop, Joseph M.; Anderson, David A.; Schultz, Robert W.

2007-12-17

SEADS 3.0, the Sectoral Energy/Employment Analysis and Data System, is a revision and upgrading of SEADS--PC, a software package designed for the analysis of policy that could be described by modifying final demands of consumer, businesses, or governments (Roop, et al., 1995). If a question can be formulated so that implications can be translated into changes in final demands for goods and services, then SEADS 3.0 provides a quick and easy tool to assess preliminary impacts. And SEADS 3.0 should be considered just that: a quick and easy way to get preliminary results. Often a thorough answer, even to suchmore » a simple question as, “What would be the effect on U. S. energy use and employment if the Federal Government doubled R&D expenditures?” requires a more sophisticated analytical framework than the input-output structure embedded in SEADS 3.0. This tool uses a static, input-output model to assess the impacts of changes in final demands on first industry output, then employment and energy use. The employment and energy impacts are derived by multiplying the industry outputs (derived from the changed final demands) by industry-specific energy and employment coefficients. The tool also allows for the specification of regional or state employment impacts, though this option is not available for energy impacts.« less

Technical Highlight: NREL Improves Building Energy Simulation Programs Through Diagnostic Testing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Polly, B.

2012-01-09

This technical highlight describes NREL research to develop Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes (BESTEST-EX) to increase the quality and accuracy of energy analysis tools for the building retrofit market.

Lakeside: Merging Urban Design with Scientific Analysis

ScienceCinema

Guzowski, Leah; Catlett, Charlie; Woodbury, Ed

2018-01-16

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago are developing tools that merge urban design with scientific analysis to improve the decision-making process associated with large-scale urban developments. One such tool, called LakeSim, has been prototyped with an initial focus on consumer-driven energy and transportation demand, through a partnership with the Chicago-based architectural and engineering design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Clean Energy Trust and developer McCaffery Interests. LakeSim began with the need to answer practical questions about urban design and planning, requiring a better understanding about the long-term impact of design decisions on energy and transportation demand for a 600-acre development project on Chicago's South Side - the Chicago Lakeside Development project.

Monitoring Building Energy Systems at NASA Centers Using NASA Earth Science data, CMIP5 climate data products and RETScreen Expert Clean Energy Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stackhouse, P. W., Jr.; Ganoe, R. E.; Westberg, D. J.; Leng, G. J.; Teets, E.; Hughes, J. M.; De Young, R.; Carroll, M.; Liou, L. C.; Iraci, L. T.; Podolske, J. R.; Stefanov, W. L.; Chandler, W.

2016-12-01

The NASA Climate Adaptation Science Investigator team is devoted to building linkages between NASA Earth Science and those within NASA responsible for infrastructure assessment, upgrades and planning. One of the focus areas is assessing NASA center infrastructure for energy efficiency, planning to meet new energy portfolio standards, and assessing future energy needs. These topics intersect at the provision of current and predicted future weather and climate data. This presentation provides an overview of the multi-center effort to access current building energy usage using Earth science observations, including those from in situ measurements, satellite measurement analysis, and global model data products as inputs to the RETScreen Expert, a clean energy decision support tool. RETScreen® Expert, sponsored by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), is a tool dedicated to developing and providing clean energy project analysis software for the feasibility design and assessment of a wide range of building projects that incorporate renewable energy technologies. RETScreen Expert requires daily average meteorological and solar parameters that are available within less than a month of real-time. A special temporal collection of meteorological parameters was compiled from near-by surface in situ measurements. These together with NASA data from the NASA CERES (Clouds and Earth's Radiance Energy System)/FLASHFlux (Fast Longwave and SHortwave radiative Fluxes) provides solar fluxes and the NASA GMAO (Global Modeling and Assimilation Office) GEOS (Goddard Earth Observing System) operational meteorological analysis are directly used for meteorological input parameters. Examples of energy analysis for a few select buildings at various NASA centers are presented in terms of the energy usage relationship that these buildings have with changes in their meteorological environment. The energy requirements of potential future climates are then surveyed for a range of changes using the most recent CMIP5 global climate model data output.

Research of Extension of the Life Cycle of Helicopter Rotor Blade in Hungary

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-02-01

Radiography (DXR), and (iii) Vibration Diagnostics (VD) with Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) were semi- simultaneously applied [1]. The used three...2.2. Vibration Diagnostics (VD)) Parallel to the NDT measurements the Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) as a vibration diagnostical tool were...noises were analysed with a dual-channel real time frequency analyser (BK2035). In addition to the Statistical Energy Analysis measurement a small

Integrated national energy planning and management: methodology and application to Sri Lanka. World Bank technical paper

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Munasinghe, M.; Meier, P.

1988-01-01

Given the importance of energy in modern economies, the first part of the volume is devoted to examining some of the key conceptual and analytical tools available for energy-policy analysis and planning. Policy tools and institutional frameworks that will facilitate better energy management are also discussed. Energy-policy analysis is explained, while effective energy management techniques are discussed to achieve desirable national objectives, using a selected set of policies and policy instruments. In the second part of the volume, the actual application of the principles set out earlier is explained through a case study of Sri Lanka. The monograph integrates themore » many aspects of the short-term programs already begun with the options for the medium to long term, and ends with the outline of a long-term strategy for Sri Lanka.« less

Modeling energy/economy interactions for conservation and renewable energy-policy analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groncki, P. J.

Energy policy and the implications for policy analysis and the methodological tools are discussed. The evolution of one methodological approach and the combined modeling system of the component models, their evolution in response to changing analytic needs, and the development of the integrated framework are reported. The analyses performed over the past several years are summarized. The current philosophy behind energy policy is discussed and compared to recent history. Implications for current policy analysis and methodological approaches are drawn.

Investigation of energy management strategies for photovoltaic systems - An analysis technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cull, R. C.; Eltimsahy, A. H.

1982-01-01

Progress is reported in formulating energy management strategies for stand-alone PV systems, developing an analytical tool that can be used to investigate these strategies, applying this tool to determine the proper control algorithms and control variables (controller inputs and outputs) for a range of applications, and quantifying the relative performance and economics when compared to systems that do not apply energy management. The analysis technique developed may be broadly applied to a variety of systems to determine the most appropriate energy management strategies, control variables and algorithms. The only inputs required are statistical distributions for stochastic energy inputs and outputs of the system and the system's device characteristics (efficiency and ratings). Although the formulation was originally driven by stand-alone PV system needs, the techniques are also applicable to hybrid and grid connected systems.

Investigation of energy management strategies for photovoltaic systems - An analysis technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cull, R. C.; Eltimsahy, A. H.

Progress is reported in formulating energy management strategies for stand-alone PV systems, developing an analytical tool that can be used to investigate these strategies, applying this tool to determine the proper control algorithms and control variables (controller inputs and outputs) for a range of applications, and quantifying the relative performance and economics when compared to systems that do not apply energy management. The analysis technique developed may be broadly applied to a variety of systems to determine the most appropriate energy management strategies, control variables and algorithms. The only inputs required are statistical distributions for stochastic energy inputs and outputs of the system and the system's device characteristics (efficiency and ratings). Although the formulation was originally driven by stand-alone PV system needs, the techniques are also applicable to hybrid and grid connected systems.

Strategic Planning and Energy Options Analysis for the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williamson, Jim S; Greenwood Village, CO 80112

2007-03-31

Strategic Planning and Energy Options Analysis provides the Fort Peck Tribes with a tool to build analytical capabilities and local capacity to extract the natural and energy resource potential for the benefit of the tribal community. Each resource is identified irrespective of the development potential and is viewed as an absolute resulting in a comprehensive resource assessment for Tribal energy planning

Geospatial Data Science Research | Geospatial Data Science | NREL

Science.gov Websites

, maps, and tools that determine which energy technologies are viable solutions across the globe ) to manipulate, manage, and analyze multidisciplinary geographic and energy data. The GIS includes of applications and visualizations. Analysis Renewable Energy Technical Potential Renewable Energy

Technology Prioritization: Transforming the U.S. Building Stock to Embrace Energy Efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdelaziz, Omar; Farese, Philip; Abramson, Alexis

2013-01-01

The U.S. Buildings sector is responsible for about 40% of the national energy expenditures. This is due in part to wasteful use of resources and limited considerations made for energy efficiency during the design and retrofit phases. Recent studies have indicated the potential for up to 30-50% energy savings in the U.S. buildings sector using currently available technologies. This paper discusses efforts to accelerate the transformation in the U.S. building energy efficiency sector using a new technology prioritization framework. The underlying analysis examines building energy use micro segments using the Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook and other publically availablemore » information. The tool includes a stock-and-flow model to track stock vintage and efficiency levels with time. The tool can be used to investigate energy efficiency measures under a variety of scenarios and has a built-in energy accounting framework to prevent double counting of energy savings within any given portfolio. This tool is developed to inform decision making and estimate long term potential energy savings for different market adoption scenarios.« less

What Happens When You Push the Button? Analyzing the Functional Dynamics of Concept Development in Computer Supported Science Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnseth, Hans Christian; Krange, Ingeborg

2016-01-01

In this article we analyze how the joint cognitive system of teacher and student actions mediated by cultural tools develops sense making of science concepts, and the use of concepts as tools for explaining phenomena and processes related to energy and energy transformation. We take a sociocultural approach to the analysis of how material and…

Energy geotechnics: Advances in subsurface energy recovery, storage, exchange, and waste management

DOE PAGES

McCartney, John S.; Sanchez, Marcelo; Tomac, Ingrid

2016-02-17

Energy geotechnics involves the use of geotechnical principles to understand and engineer the coupled thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical processes encountered in collecting, exchanging, storing, and protecting energy resources in the subsurface. In addition to research on these fundamental coupled processes and characterization of relevant material properties, applied research is being performed to develop analytical tools for the design and analysis of different geo-energy applications. In conclusion, the aims of this paper are to discuss the fundamental physics and constitutive models that are common to these different applications, and to summarize recent advances in the development of relevant analytical tools.

Energy geotechnics: Advances in subsurface energy recovery, storage, exchange, and waste management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCartney, John S.; Sanchez, Marcelo; Tomac, Ingrid

Energy geotechnics involves the use of geotechnical principles to understand and engineer the coupled thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical processes encountered in collecting, exchanging, storing, and protecting energy resources in the subsurface. In addition to research on these fundamental coupled processes and characterization of relevant material properties, applied research is being performed to develop analytical tools for the design and analysis of different geo-energy applications. In conclusion, the aims of this paper are to discuss the fundamental physics and constitutive models that are common to these different applications, and to summarize recent advances in the development of relevant analytical tools.

Building Energy Monitoring and Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hong, Tianzhen; Feng, Wei; Lu, Alison

This project aimed to develop a standard methodology for building energy data definition, collection, presentation, and analysis; apply the developed methods to a standardized energy monitoring platform, including hardware and software, to collect and analyze building energy use data; and compile offline statistical data and online real-time data in both countries for fully understanding the current status of building energy use. This helps decode the driving forces behind the discrepancy of building energy use between the two countries; identify gaps and deficiencies of current building energy monitoring, data collection, and analysis; and create knowledge and tools to collect and analyzemore » good building energy data to provide valuable and actionable information for key stakeholders.« less

Evaluating Opportunities to Improve Material and Energy Impacts in Commodity Supply Chains.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanes, Rebecca J.; Carpenter, Alberta

When evaluated at the process level, next-generation technologies may be more energy and emissions intensive than current technology. However, many advanced technologies have the potential to reduce material and energy consumption in upstream or downstream processing stages. In order to fully understand the benefits and consequences of technology deployment, next-generation technologies should be evaluated in context, as part of a supply chain. This work presents the Material Flows through Industry (MFI) scenario modeling tool. The MFI tool is a cradle-to-gate linear network model of the U.S. industrial sector that can model a wide range of manufacturing scenarios, including changes inmore » production technology, increases in industrial energy efficiency, and substitution between functionally equivalent materials. The MFI tool was developed to perform supply chain scale analyses in order to quantify the impacts and benefits of next-generation technologies and materials at that scale. For the analysis presented in this paper, the MFI tool is utilized to explore a case study comparing a steel supply chain to the supply chains of several functionally equivalent materials. Several of the alternatives to the baseline steel supply chain include next-generation production technologies and materials. Results of the case study show that aluminum production scenarios can out-perform the steel supply chain by using either an advanced smelting technology or an increased aluminum recycling rate. The next-generation material supply chains do not perform as well as either aluminum or steel, but may offer additional use phase reductions in energy and emissions that are outside the scope of the MFI tool. Future work will combine results from the MFI tool with a use phase analysis.« less

Recov'Heat: An estimation tool of urban waste heat recovery potential in sustainable cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goumba, Alain; Chiche, Samuel; Guo, Xiaofeng; Colombert, Morgane; Bonneau, Patricia

2017-02-01

Waste heat recovery is considered as an efficient way to increase carbon-free green energy utilization and to reduce greenhouse gas emission. Especially in urban area, several sources such as sewage water, industrial process, waste incinerator plants, etc., are still rarely explored. Their integration into a district heating system providing heating and/or domestic hot water could be beneficial for both energy companies and local governments. EFFICACITY, a French research institute focused on urban energy transition, has developed an estimation tool for different waste heat sources potentially explored in a sustainable city. This article presents the development method of such a decision making tool which, by giving both energetic and economic analysis, helps local communities and energy service companies to make preliminary studies in heat recovery projects.

Design and development of Building energy simulation Software for prefabricated cabin type of industrial building (PCES)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jun; Li, Ri Yi

2018-06-01

Building energy simulation is an important supporting tool for green building design and building energy consumption assessment, At present, Building energy simulation software can't meet the needs of energy consumption analysis and cabinet level micro environment control design of prefabricated building. thermal physical model of prefabricated building is proposed in this paper, based on the physical model, the energy consumption calculation software of prefabricated cabin building(PCES) is developed. we can achieve building parameter setting, energy consumption simulation and building thermal process and energy consumption analysis by PCES.

Expanded Capabilities for the Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bush, Brian; Melaina, Marc; Penev, Michael

This presentation describes how NREL expanded the capabilities for the Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool (H2FAST) in FY16. It was presented at the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program 2016 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting on June 8, 2016, in Washington, D.C.

Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Composite Energy-Absorbing Keel Beams for General Aviation Type Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellas, Sotiris; Knight, Norman F., Jr.

2002-01-01

A lightweight energy-absorbing keel-beam concept was developed and retrofitted in a general aviation type aircraft to improve crashworthiness performance. The energy-absorbing beam consisted of a foam-filled cellular structure with glass fiber and hybrid glass/kevlar cell walls. Design, analysis, fabrication and testing of the keel beams prior to installation and subsequent full-scale crash testing of the aircraft are described. Factors such as material and fabrication constraints, damage tolerance, crush stress/strain response, seat-rail loading, and post crush integrity, which influenced the course of the design process are also presented. A theory similar to the one often used for ductile metal box structures was employed with appropriate modifications to estimate the sustained crush loads for the beams. This, analytical tool, coupled with dynamic finite element simulation using MSC.Dytran were the prime design and analysis tools. The validity of the theory as a reliable design tool was examined against test data from static crush tests of beam sections while the overall performance of the energy-absorbing subfloor was assessed through dynamic testing of 24 in long subfloor assemblies.

EEG analysis using wavelet-based information tools.

PubMed

Rosso, O A; Martin, M T; Figliola, A; Keller, K; Plastino, A

2006-06-15

Wavelet-based informational tools for quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) record analysis are reviewed. Relative wavelet energies, wavelet entropies and wavelet statistical complexities are used in the characterization of scalp EEG records corresponding to secondary generalized tonic-clonic epileptic seizures. In particular, we show that the epileptic recruitment rhythm observed during seizure development is well described in terms of the relative wavelet energies. In addition, during the concomitant time-period the entropy diminishes while complexity grows. This is construed as evidence supporting the conjecture that an epileptic focus, for this kind of seizures, triggers a self-organized brain state characterized by both order and maximal complexity.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, Eric J

The ResStock analysis tool is helping states, municipalities, utilities, and manufacturers identify which home upgrades save the most energy and money. Across the country there's a vast diversity in the age, size, construction practices, installed equipment, appliances, and resident behavior of the housing stock, not to mention the range of climates. These variations have hindered the accuracy of predicting savings for existing homes. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed ResStock. It's a versatile tool that takes a new approach to large-scale residential energy analysis by combining: large public and private data sources, statistical sampling, detailed subhourly buildingmore » simulations, high-performance computing. This combination achieves unprecedented granularity and most importantly - accuracy - in modeling the diversity of the single-family housing stock.« less

Application priority of GSHP systems in the climate conditions of the United States

DOE PAGES

Cho, Soolyeon; Ray, Saurabh; Im, Piljae; ...

2017-05-15

Building energy-performance simulation programs are powerful tools for many aspects of feasibility studies regarding ground source heat pump (GSHP). However, the understanding of the limitations of the energy modelling programs, their capability of predicting energy performance early in the design process, and the complicated functionality of these programs makes the software programs harder to use and less practical. The interactive tool developed in this study seeks to provide analysis information in a straightforward manner that is inexpensive, convenient, and sophisticated. This tool uses an inclusive approach to assess the feasibility of GSHPs by prescreening critical factors such as climate conditions,more » ground temperatures, energy use, and cost savings. It is interactive and enables the user to do a feasibility analysis with a weighting factor for each feasibility criterion based on the user’s preference and interests. The application of the tool explains feasibility scores of 15 representative cities in various climatic conditions across the US. Results for commercial buildings show that the GSHP systems are more feasible in cold and dry, cool and humid, and very cold areas than warm and dry, very hot and humid, and mixed marine areas, and that most feasibility levels are located on good and moderate.« less

Cross-platform validation and analysis environment for particle physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chekanov, S. V.; Pogrebnyak, I.; Wilbern, D.

2017-11-01

A multi-platform validation and analysis framework for public Monte Carlo simulation for high-energy particle collisions is discussed. The front-end of this framework uses the Python programming language, while the back-end is written in Java, which provides a multi-platform environment that can be run from a web browser and can easily be deployed at the grid sites. The analysis package includes all major software tools used in high-energy physics, such as Lorentz vectors, jet algorithms, histogram packages, graphic canvases, and tools for providing data access. This multi-platform software suite, designed to minimize OS-specific maintenance and deployment time, is used for online validation of Monte Carlo event samples through a web interface.

An Introduction to Solar Decision-Making Tools

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mow, Benjamin

2017-09-12

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) offers a variety of models and analysis tools to help decision makers evaluate and make informed decisions about solar projects, policies, and programs. This fact sheet aims to help decision makers determine which NREL tool to use for a given solar project or policy question, depending on its scope.

Center for the Built Environment: Setpoint Energy Savings Calculator

Science.gov Websites

. Arens, and H. Zhang, 2014. Extending air temperature setpoints: Simulated energy savings and design Near-ZNE Buildings Setpoint Energy Savings Calculator UFAD Case Studies UFAD Cooling Design Tool UFAD Cost Analysis UFAD Design Guide UFAD East End UFAD Energy Modeling UFAD Plenum Performance UFAD

Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional grain crop production: accounting for nutrient inflows

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agriculture is a large source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with large energy requirements. Previous research has shown that organic farming and conservation tillage practices can reduce environmental impacts from agriculture. We used the Farm Energy Analysis Tool (FEAT) to quantify the energy u...

Energy and Economics. [Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walstad, William; Gleason, Joyce

This unit is designed to provide high school students with an introduction to topics of energy and economics. A basic premise of the unit is that energy issues and economics are interrelated. It is believed that the application of basic economic concepts to energy issues can provide students with the tools to improve their analysis of problems and…

Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis of Bioproducts from a Modular Advanced Biomass Pyrolysis System

Treesearch

Richard Bergman; Hongmei Gu

2014-01-01

Expanding bioenergy production has the potential to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve energy security. Science-based assessments of new bioenergy technologies are essential tools for policy makers dealing with expanding renewable energy production. Using life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis, this study evaluated a 200-kWe...

Development of an Empirical Model for Optimization of Machining Parameters to Minimize Power Consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kant Garg, Girish; Garg, Suman; Sangwan, K. S.

2018-04-01

The manufacturing sector consumes huge energy demand and the machine tools used in this sector have very less energy efficiency. Selection of the optimum machining parameters for machine tools is significant for energy saving and for reduction of environmental emission. In this work an empirical model is developed to minimize the power consumption using response surface methodology. The experiments are performed on a lathe machine tool during the turning of AISI 6061 Aluminum with coated tungsten inserts. The relationship between the power consumption and machining parameters is adequately modeled. This model is used for formulation of minimum power consumption criterion as a function of optimal machining parameters using desirability function approach. The influence of machining parameters on the energy consumption has been found using the analysis of variance. The validation of the developed empirical model is proved using the confirmation experiments. The results indicate that the developed model is effective and has potential to be adopted by the industry for minimum power consumption of machine tools.

Models for residential-and commercial-sector energy conservation analysis: Applications, limitations, and future potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, H. E.; Fuller, R. E.

1980-09-01

Four of the major models used by DOE for energy conservation analyses in the residential and commercial building sectors are reviewed and critically analyzed to determine how these models can serve as tools for DOE and its Conservation Policy Office in evaluating and quantifying their policy and program requirements. The most effective role for each model in addressing future issues of buildings energy conservation policy and analysis is assessed. The four models covered are: Oak Ridge Residential Energy Model; Micro Analysis of Transfers to Households/Comprehensive Human Resources Data System (MATH/CHRDS) Model; Oak Ridge Commercial Energy Model; and Brookhaven Buildings Energy Conservation Optimization Model (BECOM).

HYPATIA--An Online Tool for ATLAS Event Visualization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kourkoumelis, C.; Vourakis, S.

2014-01-01

This paper describes an interactive tool for analysis of data from the ATLAS experiment taking place at the world's highest energy particle collider at CERN. The tool, called HYPATIA/applet, enables students of various levels to become acquainted with particle physics and look for discoveries in a similar way to that of real research.

Data Visualization and Geospatial Tools | Geospatial Data Science | NREL

Science.gov Websites

renewable resources are available in a specific areas. General Analysis Renewable Energy Atlas View the geographic distribution of wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass resources in the United States . Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) Model Access international renewable energy resource

Using EMIS to Identify Top Opportunities for Commercial Building Efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Guanjing; Singla, Rupam; Granderson, Jessica

Energy Management and Information Systems (EMIS) comprise a broad family of tools and services to manage commercial building energy use. These technologies offer a mix of capabilities to store, display, and analyze energy use and system data, and in some cases, provide control. EMIS technologies enable 10–20 percent site energy savings in best practice implementations. Energy Information System (EIS) and Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) systems are two key technologies in the EMIS family. Energy Information Systems are broadly defined as the web-based software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems used to analyze and display building energy performance. At amore » minimum, an EIS provides daily, hourly or sub-hourly interval meter data at the whole-building level, with graphical and analytical capability. Fault Detection and Diagnosis systems automatically identify heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system or equipment-level performances issues, and in some cases are able to isolate the root causes of the problem. They use computer algorithms to continuously analyze system-level operational data to detect faults and diagnose their causes. Many FDD tools integrate the trend log data from a Building Automation System (BAS) but otherwise are stand-alone software packages; other types of FDD tools are implemented as “on-board” equipment-embedded diagnostics. (This document focuses on the former.) Analysis approaches adopted in FDD technologies span a variety of techniques from rule-based methods to process history-based approaches. FDD tools automate investigations that can be conducted via manual data inspection by someone with expert knowledge, thereby expanding accessibility and breath of analysis opportunity, and also reducing complexity.« less

The EPSA Project Finance Mapping Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hadley, Stanton W.; Chinthavali, Supriya

The Energy Policy and Systems Analysis Office of DOE has requested a tool to compare the impact of various Federal policies on the financial viability of generation resources across the country. Policy options could include production tax credits, investment tax credits, solar renewable energy credits, tax abatement, accelerated depreciation, tax-free loans, and others. The tool would model the finances of projects in all fifty states, and possibly other geographic units like utility service territories and RTO/ISO territories. The tool would consider the facility s cost, financing, production, and revenues under different capital and market structures to determine things like levelizedmore » cost of energy, return on equity, and cost impacts on others (e.g., load-serving entities, society.) The tool would compare the cost and value of the facility to the local regional alternatives to determine how and where policy levers may provide sufficient incremental value to motivate investment. The results will be displayed through a purpose-built visualization that maps geographic variations and shows associated figures and tables.« less

Cross-platform validation and analysis environment for particle physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chekanov, S. V.; Pogrebnyak, I.; Wilbern, D.

A multi-platform validation and analysis framework for public Monte Carlo simulation for high-energy particle collisions is discussed. The front-end of this framework uses the Python programming language, while the back-end is written in Java, which provides a multi-platform environment that can be run from a web browser and can easily be deployed at the grid sites. The analysis package includes all major software tools used in high-energy physics, such as Lorentz vectors, jet algorithms, histogram packages, graphic canvases, and tools for providing data access. This multi-platform software suite, designed to minimize OS-specific maintenance and deployment time, is used for onlinemore » validation of Monte Carlo event samples through a web interface.« less

Thermal energy and economic analysis of a PCM-enhanced household envelope considering different climate zones in Morocco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kharbouch, Yassine; Mimet, Abdelaziz; El Ganaoui, Mohammed; Ouhsaine, Lahoucine

2018-07-01

This study investigates the thermal energy potentials and economic feasibility of an air-conditioned family household-integrated phase change material (PCM) considering different climate zones in Morocco. A simulation-based optimisation was carried out in order to define the optimal design of a PCM-enhanced household envelope for thermal energy effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of predefined candidate solutions. The optimisation methodology is based on coupling Energyplus® as a dynamic simulation tool and GenOpt® as an optimisation tool. Considering the obtained optimum design strategies, a thermal energy and economic analysis are carried out to investigate PCMs' integration feasibility in the Moroccan constructions. The results show that the PCM-integrated household envelope allows minimising the cooling/heating thermal energy demand vs. a reference household without PCM. While for the cost-effectiveness optimisation, it has been deduced that the economic feasibility is stilling insufficient under the actual PCM market conditions. The optimal design parameters results are also analysed.

Energy Monitoring and Targeting as diagnosis; Applying work analysis to adapt a statistical change detection strategy using representation aiding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilliard, Antony

Energy Monitoring and Targeting is a well-established business process that develops information about utility energy consumption in a business or institution. While M&T has persisted as a worthwhile energy conservation support activity, it has not been widely adopted. This dissertation explains M&T challenges in terms of diagnosing and controlling energy consumption, informed by a naturalistic field study of M&T work. A Cognitive Work Analysis of M&T identifies structures that diagnosis can search, information flows un-supported in canonical support tools, and opportunities to extend the most popular tool for MM&T: Cumulative Sum of Residuals (CUSUM) charts. A design application outlines how CUSUM charts were augmented with a more contemporary statistical change detection strategy, Recursive Parameter Estimates, modified to better suit the M&T task using Representation Aiding principles. The design was experimentally evaluated in a controlled M&T synthetic task, and was shown to significantly improve diagnosis performance.

Carbon footprint analysis as a tool for energy and environmental management in small and medium-sized enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giama, E.; Papadopoulos, A. M.

2018-01-01

The reduction of carbon emissions has become a top priority in the decision-making process for governments and companies, the strict European legislation framework being a major driving force behind this effort. On the other hand, many companies face difficulties in estimating their footprint and in linking the results derived from environmental evaluation processes with an integrated energy management strategy, which will eventually lead to energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions. The paper highlights the need of companies to establish integrated environmental management practices, with tools such as carbon footprint analysis to monitor the energy performance of production processes. Concepts and methods are analysed, and selected indicators are presented by means of benchmarking, monitoring and reporting the results in order to be used effectively from the companies. The study is based on data from more than 90 Greek small and medium enterprises, followed by a comprehensive discussion of cost-effective and realistic energy-saving measures.

How a future energy world could look?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ewert, M.

2012-10-01

The future energy system will change significantly within the next years as a result of the following Mega Trends: de-carbonization, urbanization, fast technology development, individualization, glocalization (globalization and localization) and changing demographics. Increasing fluctuating renewable production will change the role of non-renewable generation. Distributed energy from renewables and micro generation will change the direction of the energy flow in the electricity grids. Production will not follow demand but demand has to follow production. This future system is enabled by the fast technical development of information and communication technologies which will be present in the entire system. In this paper the results of a comprehensive analysis with different scenarios is summarized. Tools were used like the analysis of policy trends in the European countries, modelling of the European power grid, modelling of the European power markets and the analysis of technology developments with cost reduction potentials. With these tools the interaction of the main actors in the energy markets like conventional generation and renewable generation, grid transport, electricity storage including new storage options from E-Mobility, Power to Gas, Compressed Air Energy storage and demand side management were considered. The potential application of technologies and investments in new energy technologies were analyzed within existing frameworks and markets as well as new business models in new markets with different frameworks. In the paper the over all trend of this analysis is presented by describing a potential future energy world. This world represents only one of numerous options with comparable characteristics.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shahidehpour, Mohammad

Integrating 20% or more wind energy into the system and transmitting large sums of wind energy over long distances will require a decision making capability that can handle very large scale power systems with tens of thousands of buses and lines. There is a need to explore innovative analytical and implementation solutions for continuing reliable operations with the most economical integration of additional wind energy in power systems. A number of wind integration solution paths involve the adoption of new operating policies, dynamic scheduling of wind power across interties, pooling integration services, and adopting new transmission scheduling practices. Such practicesmore » can be examined by the decision tool developed by this project. This project developed a very efficient decision tool called Wind INtegration Simulator (WINS) and applied WINS to facilitate wind energy integration studies. WINS focused on augmenting the existing power utility capabilities to support collaborative planning, analysis, and wind integration project implementations. WINS also had the capability of simulating energy storage facilities so that feasibility studies of integrated wind energy system applications can be performed for systems with high wind energy penetrations. The development of WINS represents a major expansion of a very efficient decision tool called POwer Market Simulator (POMS), which was developed by IIT and has been used extensively for power system studies for decades. Specifically, WINS provides the following superiorities; (1) An integrated framework is included in WINS for the comprehensive modeling of DC transmission configurations, including mono-pole, bi-pole, tri-pole, back-to-back, and multi-terminal connection, as well as AC/DC converter models including current source converters (CSC) and voltage source converters (VSC); (2) An existing shortcoming of traditional decision tools for wind integration is the limited availability of user interface, i.e., decision results are often text-based demonstrations. WINS includes a powerful visualization tool and user interface capability for transmission analyses, planning, and assessment, which will be of great interest to power market participants, power system planners and operators, and state and federal regulatory entities; and (3) WINS can handle extended transmission models for wind integration studies. WINS models include limitations on transmission flow as well as bus voltage for analyzing power system states. The existing decision tools often consider transmission flow constraints (dc power flow) alone which could result in the over-utilization of existing resources when analyzing wind integration. WINS can be used to assist power market participants including transmission companies, independent system operators, power system operators in vertically integrated utilities, wind energy developers, and regulatory agencies to analyze economics, security, and reliability of various options for wind integration including transmission upgrades and the planning of new transmission facilities. WINS can also be used by industry for the offline training of reliability and operation personnel when analyzing wind integration uncertainties, identifying critical spots in power system operation, analyzing power system vulnerabilities, and providing credible decisions for examining operation and planning options for wind integration. Researches in this project on wind integration included (1) Development of WINS; (2) Transmission Congestion Analysis in the Eastern Interconnection; (3) Analysis of 2030 Large-Scale Wind Energy Integration in the Eastern Interconnection; (4) Large-scale Analysis of 2018 Wind Energy Integration in the Eastern U.S. Interconnection. The research resulted in 33 papers, 9 presentations, 9 PhD degrees, 4 MS degrees, and 7 awards. The education activities in this project on wind energy included (1) Wind Energy Training Facility Development; (2) Wind Energy Course Development.« less

Diagnosing alternative conceptions of Fermi energy among undergraduate students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Sapna; Ahluwalia, Pardeep Kumar

2012-07-01

Physics education researchers have scientifically established the fact that the understanding of new concepts and interpretation of incoming information are strongly influenced by the preexisting knowledge and beliefs of students, called epistemological beliefs. This can lead to a gap between what students actually learn and what the teacher expects them to learn. In a classroom, as a teacher, it is desirable that one tries to bridge this gap at least on the key concepts of a particular field which is being taught. One such key concept which crops up in statistical physics/solid-state physics courses, and around which the behaviour of materials is described, is Fermi energy (εF). In this paper, we present the results which emerged about misconceptions on Fermi energy in the process of administering a diagnostic tool called the Statistical Physics Concept Survey developed by the authors. It deals with eight themes of basic importance in learning undergraduate solid-state physics and statistical physics. The question items of the tool were put through well-established sequential processes: definition of themes, Delphi study, interview with students, drafting questions, administration, validity and reliability of the tool. The tool was administered to a group of undergraduate students and postgraduate students, in a pre-test and post-test design. In this paper, we have taken one of the themes i.e. Fermi energy of the diagnostic tool for our analysis and discussion. Students’ responses and reasoning comments given during interview were analysed. This analysis helped us to identify prevailing misconceptions/learning gaps among students on this topic. How spreadsheets can be effectively used to remove the identified misconceptions and help appreciate the finer nuances while visualizing the behaviour of the system around Fermi energy, normally sidestepped both by the teachers and learners, is also presented in this paper.

Combining LCT tools for the optimization of an industrial process: material and energy flow analysis and best available techniques.

PubMed

Rodríguez, M T Torres; Andrade, L Cristóbal; Bugallo, P M Bello; Long, J J Casares

2011-09-15

Life cycle thinking (LCT) is one of the philosophies that has recently appeared in the context of the sustainable development. Some of the already existing tools and methods, as well as some of the recently emerged ones, which seek to understand, interpret and design the life of a product, can be included into the scope of the LCT philosophy. That is the case of the material and energy flow analysis (MEFA), a tool derived from the industrial metabolism definition. This paper proposes a methodology combining MEFA with another technique derived from sustainable development which also fits the LCT philosophy, the BAT (best available techniques) analysis. This methodology, applied to an industrial process, seeks to identify the so-called improvable flows by MEFA, so that the appropriate candidate BAT can be selected by BAT analysis. Material and energy inputs, outputs and internal flows are quantified, and sustainable solutions are provided on the basis of industrial metabolism. The methodology has been applied to an exemplary roof tile manufacture plant for validation. 14 Improvable flows have been identified and 7 candidate BAT have been proposed aiming to reduce these flows. The proposed methodology provides a way to detect improvable material or energy flows in a process and selects the most sustainable options to enhance them. Solutions are proposed for the detected improvable flows, taking into account their effectiveness on improving such flows. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

NECAP: NASA's Energy-Cost Analysis Program. Part 1: User's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henninger, R. H. (Editor)

1975-01-01

The NECAP is a sophisticated building design and energy analysis tool which has embodied within it all of the latest ASHRAE state-of-the-art techniques for performing thermal load calculation and energy usage predictions. It is a set of six individual computer programs which include: response factor program, data verification program, thermal load analysis program, variable temperature program, system and equipment simulation program, and owning and operating cost program. Each segment of NECAP is described, and instructions are set forth for preparing the required input data and for interpreting the resulting reports.

Just tooling around: Experiences with arctools

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tuttle, M.A.

1994-06-01

The three US Department of Energy (DOE) Installations on the Oak Ridge Reservation (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 and K-25) were established during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to build ``the bomb.`` In later years, the work at these facilities involved nuclear energy research, defense-related activities, and uranium enrichment, resulting in the generation of radioactive material and other toxic by-products. Work is now in progress to identify and clean up the environmental contamination from these and other wastes. Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., which manages the Oak Ridge sites as well as DOE installations at Portsmouth,more » Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky, has been charged with creating and maintaining a comprehensive environmental information system in order to comply with the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) for the Oak Ridge Reservation and the State of Tennessee Oversight Agreement between the US Department of Energy and the State of Tennessee. As a result, the Oak Ridge Environmental Information System (OREIS) was conceived and is currently being implemented. The tools chosen for the OREIS system are Oracle for the relational database, SAS for data analysis and graphical representation, and Arc/INFO and ArcView for the spatial analysis and display component. Within the broad scope of ESRI`s Arc/Info software, ArcTools was chosen as the graphic user interface for inclusion of Arc/Info into OREIS. The purpose of this paper is to examine in the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating ArcTools for the presentation of Arc/INFO in the OREIS system. The immediate and mid-term development goals of the OREIS system as they relate to ArcTools will be presented. A general discussion of our experiences with the ArcTools product is also included.« less

Determination of renewable energy yield from mixed waste material from the use of novel image analysis methods.

PubMed

Wagland, S T; Dudley, R; Naftaly, M; Longhurst, P J

2013-11-01

Two novel techniques are presented in this study which together aim to provide a system able to determine the renewable energy potential of mixed waste materials. An image analysis tool was applied to two waste samples prepared using known quantities of source-segregated recyclable materials. The technique was used to determine the composition of the wastes, where through the use of waste component properties the biogenic content of the samples was calculated. The percentage renewable energy determined by image analysis for each sample was accurate to within 5% of the actual values calculated. Microwave-based multiple-point imaging (AutoHarvest) was used to demonstrate the ability of such a technique to determine the moisture content of mixed samples. This proof-of-concept experiment was shown to produce moisture measurement accurate to within 10%. Overall, the image analysis tool was able to determine the renewable energy potential of the mixed samples, and the AutoHarvest should enable the net calorific value calculations through the provision of moisture content measurements. The proposed system is suitable for combustion facilities, and enables the operator to understand the renewable energy potential of the waste prior to combustion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1975 Automotive Characteristics Data Base

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-10-01

A study of automobile characteristics as a supportive tool for auto energy consumption, fuel economy monitoring, and fleet analysis studies is presented. This report emphasizes the utility of efficient data retrieval methods in fuel economy analysis,...

Tools and data for meeting America's conservation challenges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gergely, Kevin J.; McKerrow, Alexa

2013-01-01

The Gap Analysis Program (GAP) produces data and tools that help meet critical national challenges such as biodiversity conservation, renewable energy development, climate change adaptation, and infrastructure investment. The GAP is managed by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. GAP supports a wide range of national, State, and local agencies as well as nongovernmental organizations and businesses with scientific tools and data. GAP uses a collaborative approach to do research, analysis, and data development, resulting in a history of cooperation with more than 500 agencies and organizations nationally.

Energy and Exergy Analysis of Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Cycle—A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanabar, Bhaveshkumar Kantilal; Ramani, Bharatkumar Maganbhai

2016-07-01

In recent years, an energy crisis and the energy consumption have become global problems which restrict the sustainable growth. In these scenarios the scientific energy recovery and the utilization of various kinds of waste heat become very important. The waste heat can be utilized in many ways and one of the best practices is to use it for vapour absorption refrigeration system. To ensure efficient working of absorption cycle and utilization of optimum heat, exergy is the best tool for analysis. This paper provides the comprehensive picture of research and development of absorption refrigeration technology, practical and theoretical analysis with different arrangements of the cycle.

Open source Modeling and optimization tools for Planning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peles, S.

Open source modeling and optimization tools for planning The existing tools and software used for planning and analysis in California are either expensive, difficult to use, or not generally accessible to a large number of participants. These limitations restrict the availability of participants for larger scale energy and grid studies in the state. The proposed initiative would build upon federal and state investments in open source software, and create and improve open source tools for use in the state planning and analysis activities. Computational analysis and simulation frameworks in development at national labs and universities can be brought forward tomore » complement existing tools. An open source platform would provide a path for novel techniques and strategies to be brought into the larger community and reviewed by a broad set of stakeholders.« less

78 FR 69839 - Building Technologies Office Prioritization Tool

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-21

... innovative and cost-effective energy saving solutions: Supporting research and development of high impact... Description The tool was designed to inform programmatic decision-making and facilitate the setting of... quantitative analysis to assure only the highest impact measures are the focus of further effort. The approach...

Catching the right wave: evaluating wave energy resources and potential compatibility with existing marine and coastal uses.

PubMed

Kim, Choong-Ki; Toft, Jodie E; Papenfus, Michael; Verutes, Gregory; Guerry, Anne D; Ruckelshaus, Marry H; Arkema, Katie K; Guannel, Gregory; Wood, Spencer A; Bernhardt, Joanna R; Tallis, Heather; Plummer, Mark L; Halpern, Benjamin S; Pinsky, Malin L; Beck, Michael W; Chan, Francis; Chan, Kai M A; Levin, Phil S; Polasky, Stephen

2012-01-01

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis. The model has a flexible framework and can be easily applied to wave energy projects at local, regional, and global scales. We applied the model and compatibility analysis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to provide information for ongoing marine spatial planning, including potential wave energy projects. In particular, we conducted a spatial overlap analysis with a variety of existing uses and ecological characteristics, and a quantitative compatibility analysis with commercial fisheries data. We found that wave power and harvestable wave energy gradually increase offshore as wave conditions intensify. However, areas with high economic potential for wave energy facilities were closer to cable landing points because of the cost of bringing energy ashore and thus in nearshore areas that support a number of different human uses. We show that the maximum combined economic benefit from wave energy and other uses is likely to be realized if wave energy facilities are sited in areas that maximize wave energy NPV and minimize conflict with existing ocean uses. Our tools will help decision-makers explore alternative locations for wave energy facilities by mapping expected wave energy NPV and helping to identify sites that provide maximal returns yet avoid spatial competition with existing ocean uses.

Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses

PubMed Central

Kim, Choong-Ki; Toft, Jodie E.; Papenfus, Michael; Verutes, Gregory; Guerry, Anne D.; Ruckelshaus, Marry H.; Arkema, Katie K.; Guannel, Gregory; Wood, Spencer A.; Bernhardt, Joanna R.; Tallis, Heather; Plummer, Mark L.; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Pinsky, Malin L.; Beck, Michael W.; Chan, Francis; Chan, Kai M. A.; Levin, Phil S.; Polasky, Stephen

2012-01-01

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis. The model has a flexible framework and can be easily applied to wave energy projects at local, regional, and global scales. We applied the model and compatibility analysis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to provide information for ongoing marine spatial planning, including potential wave energy projects. In particular, we conducted a spatial overlap analysis with a variety of existing uses and ecological characteristics, and a quantitative compatibility analysis with commercial fisheries data. We found that wave power and harvestable wave energy gradually increase offshore as wave conditions intensify. However, areas with high economic potential for wave energy facilities were closer to cable landing points because of the cost of bringing energy ashore and thus in nearshore areas that support a number of different human uses. We show that the maximum combined economic benefit from wave energy and other uses is likely to be realized if wave energy facilities are sited in areas that maximize wave energy NPV and minimize conflict with existing ocean uses. Our tools will help decision-makers explore alternative locations for wave energy facilities by mapping expected wave energy NPV and helping to identify sites that provide maximal returns yet avoid spatial competition with existing ocean uses. PMID:23144824

RF transient analysis and stabilization of the phase and energy of the proposed PIP-II LINAC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edelen, J. P.; Chase, B. E.

This paper describes a recent effort to develop and benchmark a simulation tool for the analysis of RF transients and their compensation in an H- linear accelerator. Existing tools in this area either focus on electron LINACs or lack fundamental details about the LLRF system that are necessary to provide realistic performance estimates. In our paper we begin with a discussion of our computational models followed by benchmarking with existing beam-dynamics codes and measured data. We then analyze the effect of RF transients and their compensation in the PIP-II LINAC, followed by an analysis of calibration errors and how amore » Newton’s Method based feedback scheme can be used to regulate the beam energy to within the specified limits.« less

Water quality conditions and food web structure in Chequamegon Bay

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract: Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen are powerful tools for tracing human- and watershed-derived nutrients and energy in coastal ecosystems. We used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to identify externally- and internally-produced nutrients and energy suppor...

Thermal environment analysis and energy conservation research of rural residence in cold regions of China based on BIM platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, J. Y.; Cheng, W.; Ma, C. P.; Xin, L. S.; Tan, Y. T.

2017-06-01

In order to study the issue of rural residential energy consumption in cold regions of China, modeled an architecture prototype based on BIM platform according to the affecting factors of rural residential thermal environment, and imported the virtual model which contains building information into energy analysis tools and chose the appropriate building orientation. By analyzing the energy consumption of the residential buildings with different enclosure structure forms, we designed the optimal energy-saving residence form. There is a certain application value of this method for researching the energy consumption and energy-saving design for the rural residence in cold regions of China.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cox, Sadie

This fact sheet overviews the benefits of using the RE Data Explorer tool to analyze and develop renewable energy zones. Renewable energy zones are developed through a transmission planning and approval process customized for renewable energy. RE Data Explorer analysis can feed into broader stakeholder discussions and allow stakeholders to easily visualize potential zones. Stakeholders can access pertinent data to inform transmission planning and enable investment.

Data Use Disclaimer Agreement | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Energy, LLC ("ALLIANCE") for the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE"). Access to and use user is granted the right, without any fee or cost, to use, copy, modify, alter, enhance and distribute Tool. Further, the user agrees to credit DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE in any publication that results from the use

Nonlinear transient analysis via energy minimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamat, M. P.; Knight, N. F., Jr.

1978-01-01

The formulation basis for nonlinear transient analysis of finite element models of structures using energy minimization is provided. Geometric and material nonlinearities are included. The development is restricted to simple one and two dimensional finite elements which are regarded as being the basic elements for modeling full aircraft-like structures under crash conditions. The results indicate the effectiveness of the technique as a viable tool for this purpose.

Geomega: MEGAlib's Uniform Geometry and Detector Description Tool for Geant3, MGGPOD, and Geant4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoglauer, Andreas C.; Andritschke, R.; Schopper, F.; Wunderer, C. B.

2006-09-01

The Medium Energy Gamma-ray Astronomy library MEGAlib is a set of software tools for the analysis of low to medium energy gamma-ray telescopes, especially Compton telescopes. It comprises all necessary data analysis steps from simulation/measurements via event reconstruction to image reconstruction and enables detailed performance assessments. In the energy range of Compton telescopes (with energy deposits from a few keV up to hundreds of MeV), the Geant Monte-Carlo software packages (Geant3 with its MGGPOD extension as well as Geant4) are widely used. Since each tool has its unique advantages, MEGAlib contains a geometry and detector description library, called Geomega, which allows to use those tools in a uniform way. It incorporates the versatile 3D display facilities available within the ROOT libraries. The same geometry, material, trigger, and detector description can be used for all simulation tools as well as for the later event analysis in the MEGAlib framework. This is done by converting the MEGAlib geometry into the Geant3 or MGGPOD format or directly linking the Geomega library into Geant4. The geometry description can handle most (and can be extended to handle all) volumes common to Geant3, Geant4 and ROOT. In Geomega a list of features is implemented which are especially useful for optimizing detector geometries: It allows to define constants, can handle mathematical operations, enables volume scaling, checks for overlaps of detector volumes, does mass calculations, etc. Used in combination with MEGAlib, Geomega enables discretization, application of detector noise, thresholds, various trigger conditions, defective pixels, etc. The highly modular and completely object-oriented library is written in C++ and based on ROOT. It has been originally developed for the tracking Compton scattering and Pair creation telescope MEGA and has been successfully applied to a wide variety of telescopes, such as ACT, NuSTAR, or GRI.

Infrastructure Analysis Tools: A Focus on Cash Flow Analysis (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Melaina, M.; Penev, M.

2012-09-01

NREL has developed and maintains a variety of infrastructure analysis models for the U.S. Department of Energy. Business case analysis has recently been added to this tool set. This presentation focuses on cash flow analysis. Cash flows depend upon infrastructure costs, optimized spatially and temporally, and assumptions about financing and revenue. NREL has incorporated detailed metrics on financing and incentives into the models. Next steps in modeling include continuing to collect feedback on regional/local infrastructure development activities and 'roadmap' dynamics, and incorporating consumer preference assumptions on infrastructure to provide direct feedback between vehicles and station rollout.

NECAP 4.1: NASA's Energy-Cost Analysis Program input manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, R. N.

1982-01-01

The computer program NECAP (NASA's Energy Cost Analysis Program) is described. The program is a versatile building design and energy analysis tool which has embodied within it state of the art techniques for performing thermal load calculations and energy use predictions. With the program, comparisons of building designs and operational alternatives for new or existing buildings can be made. The major feature of the program is the response factor technique for calculating the heat transfer through the building surfaces which accounts for the building's mass. The program expands the response factor technique into a space response factor to account for internal building temperature swings; this is extremely important in determining true building loads and energy consumption when internal temperatures are allowed to swing.

Analytic Methods for Benchmarking Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Melaina, Marc; Saur, Genevieve; Ramsden, Todd

2015-05-28

This presentation summarizes NREL's hydrogen and fuel cell analysis work in three areas: resource potential, greenhouse gas emissions and cost of delivered energy, and influence of auxiliary revenue streams. NREL's hydrogen and fuel cell analysis projects focus on low-­carbon and economic transportation and stationary fuel cell applications. Analysis tools developed by the lab provide insight into the degree to which bridging markets can strengthen the business case for fuel cell applications.

Wind Energy Finance (WEF): An Online Calculator for Economic Analysis of Wind Projects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2004-02-01

This brochure provides an overview of Wind Energy Finance (WEF), a free online cost of energy calculator developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that provides quick, detailed economic evaluation of potential utility-scale wind energy projects. The brochure lists the features of the tool, the inputs and outputs that a user can expect, visuals of the screens and a Cash Flow Results table, and contact information.

Technical and Economic Assessment of the Implementation of Measures for Reducing Energy Losses in Distribution Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguila, Alexander; Wilson, Jorge

2017-07-01

This paper develops a methodology to assess a group of measures of electrical improvements in distribution systems, starting from the complementation of technical and economic criteria. In order to solve the problem of energy losses in distribution systems, technical and economic analysis was performed based on a mathematical model to establish a direct relationship between the energy saved by way of minimized losses and the costs of implementing the proposed measures. This paper aims at analysing the feasibility of reducing energy losses in distribution systems, by changing existing network conductors by larger crosssection conductors and distribution voltage change at higher levels. The impact of this methodology provides a highly efficient mathematical tool for analysing the feasibility of implementing improvement projects based on their costs which is a very useful tool for the distribution companies that will serve as a starting point to the analysis for this type of projects in distribution systems.

Spark and HPC for High Energy Physics Data Analyses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sehrish, Saba; Kowalkowski, Jim; Paterno, Marc

A full High Energy Physics (HEP) data analysis is divided into multiple data reduction phases. Processing within these phases is extremely time consuming, therefore intermediate results are stored in files held in mass storage systems and referenced as part of large datasets. This processing model limits what can be done with interactive data analytics. Growth in size and complexity of experimental datasets, along with emerging big data tools are beginning to cause changes to the traditional ways of doing data analyses. Use of big data tools for HEP analysis looks promising, mainly because extremely large HEP datasets can be representedmore » and held in memory across a system, and accessed interactively by encoding an analysis using highlevel programming abstractions. The mainstream tools, however, are not designed for scientific computing or for exploiting the available HPC platform features. We use an example from the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is the highest energy particle collider in the world. Our use case focuses on searching for new types of elementary particles explaining Dark Matter in the universe. We use HDF5 as our input data format, and Spark to implement the use case. We show the benefits and limitations of using Spark with HDF5 on Edison at NERSC.« less

Passive bloodstains: from an impact energy to a final dried pattern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Fiona; Brutin, David

2016-11-01

Tracking down the origin of a blood droplet present on a crime scene has become of major importance in bloodstain pattern analysis. Passive bloodstains are not yet well understood. Accordingly the purpose of this research is to provide new tools to forensic investigators in the analysis of bloodstains arising from blood droplets dripping naturally. The study aims to understand the link between the final dried pattern of a passive bloodstain and its impact energy. Currently no such tool exists, and no correlation has yet been proven. This research was therefore focusing on a new parameter, the thicker outer rim observed on the dried final pattern. To do so, we created several passive bloodstains with different impact energies. A correlation was highlighted between the inner diameter, the maximum spreading diameter, the initial diameter of a blood droplet and its impact energy. This correlation shows how the drying mechanism of a blood droplet is influenced by its impact energy as it alters the red blood cells dispersion inside the droplet. The biological deposit and the final dried pattern are subsequently modified. ANR funded project: D-Blood Project.

The Litho-Density tool calibration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ellis, D.; Flaum, C.; Marienbach, E.

1983-10-01

The Litho-Density tool (LDT) uses a gamma ray source and two NaI scintillator detectors for borehole measurement of electron density, p/SUB e/, and a quantity, P/SUB e/, which is related to the photoelectric cross section at 60 keV and therefore to the lithology of the formation. An active stabilization system controls the gains of the two detectors which permits selective gamma-ray detection. Spectral analysis is performed in the near detector (2 energy windows) and in the detector farther away from the source (3 energy windows). This paper describes the results of laboratory measurements undertaken to define the basic tool response.more » The tool is shown to provide reliable measurements of formation density and lithology under a variety of environmental conditions.« less

Data for Renewable Energy Planning, Policy, and Investment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cox, Sarah L

Reliable, robust, and validated data are critical for informed planning, policy development, and investment in the clean energy sector. The Renewable Energy (RE) Explorer was developed to support data-driven renewable energy analysis that can inform key renewable energy decisions globally. This document presents the types of geospatial and other data at the core of renewable energy analysis and decision making. Individual data sets used to inform decisions vary in relation to spatial and temporal resolution, quality, and overall usefulness. From Data to Decisions, a complementary geospatial data and analysis decision guide, provides an in-depth view of these and other considerationsmore » to enable data-driven planning, policymaking, and investment. Data support a wide variety of renewable energy analyses and decisions, including technical and economic potential assessment, renewable energy zone analysis, grid integration, risk and resiliency identification, electrification, and distributed solar photovoltaic potential. This fact sheet provides information on the types of data that are important for renewable energy decision making using the RE Data Explorer or similar types of geospatial analysis tools.« less

Energy and daylighting: A correlation between quality of light and energy consciousness

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krug, N.

1997-12-31

Energy and Daylighting, an advanced topics graduate/professional elective has been established to help the student develop a deeper understanding of Architectural Daylighting, Energy Conserving Design, and Material/Construction/Methods through direct application. After a brief survey of the principles and applications of current and developing attitudes and techniques in energy conservation and natural lighting strategies is conducted (in order to build upon previous courses), an extensive exercise follows which allows the student the opportunity for direct applications. Both computer modeling/analysis and physical modeling (light box simulation with photographic documentation) are employed to focus attention on the interrelationships between natural lighting and passivemore » energy conserving design--all within the context of establishing environmental (interior) quality and (exterior) design direction. As a result, students broaden their understanding of natural light and energy conservation as design tools; the importance of environmental responsibility, both built and natural environments; and using computer analysis as a design tool. This presentation centers around the activities and results obtained from explorations into Energy and Daylighting. Discussion will highlight the course objectives, the methodology involved in the studies, specific requirements and means of evaluation, a slide show of befores and afters (results), and a retrospective look at the course`s value, as well as future directions and implications.« less

Efficient System Design and Sustainable Finance for China's Village Electrification Program: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, S.; Yin, H.; Kline, D. M.

2006-08-01

This paper describes a joint effort of the Institute for Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IEE), and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to support China's rural electrification program. This project developed a design tool that provides guidelines both for off-grid renewable energy system designs and for cost-based tariff and finance schemes to support them. This tool was developed to capitalize on lessons learned from the Township Electrification Program that preceded the Village Electrification Program. We describe the methods used to develop the analysis, some indicative results, and the planned use of the tool in themore » Village Electrification Program.« less

NREL's System Advisor Model Simplifies Complex Energy Analysis (Fact Sheet)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2015-01-01

NREL has developed a tool -- the System Advisor Model (SAM) -- that can help decision makers analyze cost, performance, and financing of any size grid-connected solar, wind, or geothermal power project. Manufacturers, engineering and consulting firms, research and development firms, utilities, developers, venture capital firms, and international organizations use SAM for end-to-end analysis that helps determine whether and how to make investments in renewable energy projects.

Computer-aided modelling and analysis of PV systems: a comparative study.

PubMed

Koukouvaos, Charalambos; Kandris, Dionisis; Samarakou, Maria

2014-01-01

Modern scientific advances have enabled remarkable efficacy for photovoltaic systems with regard to the exploitation of solar energy, boosting them into having a rapidly growing position among the systems developed for the production of renewable energy. However, in many cases the design, analysis, and control of photovoltaic systems are tasks which are quite complex and thus difficult to be carried out. In order to cope with this kind of problems, appropriate software tools have been developed either as standalone products or parts of general purpose software platforms used to model and simulate the generation, transmission, and distribution of solar energy. The utilization of this kind of software tools may be extremely helpful to the successful performance evaluation of energy systems with maximum accuracy and minimum cost in time and effort. The work presented in this paper aims on a first level at the performance analysis of various configurations of photovoltaic systems through computer-aided modelling. On a second level, it provides a comparative evaluation of the credibility of two of the most advanced graphical programming environments, namely, Simulink and LabVIEW, with regard to their application in photovoltaic systems.

Computer-Aided Modelling and Analysis of PV Systems: A Comparative Study

PubMed Central

Koukouvaos, Charalambos

2014-01-01

Modern scientific advances have enabled remarkable efficacy for photovoltaic systems with regard to the exploitation of solar energy, boosting them into having a rapidly growing position among the systems developed for the production of renewable energy. However, in many cases the design, analysis, and control of photovoltaic systems are tasks which are quite complex and thus difficult to be carried out. In order to cope with this kind of problems, appropriate software tools have been developed either as standalone products or parts of general purpose software platforms used to model and simulate the generation, transmission, and distribution of solar energy. The utilization of this kind of software tools may be extremely helpful to the successful performance evaluation of energy systems with maximum accuracy and minimum cost in time and effort. The work presented in this paper aims on a first level at the performance analysis of various configurations of photovoltaic systems through computer-aided modelling. On a second level, it provides a comparative evaluation of the credibility of two of the most advanced graphical programming environments, namely, Simulink and LabVIEW, with regard to their application in photovoltaic systems. PMID:24772007

New tools for jet analysis in high energy collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffty, Daniel

Our understanding of the fundamental interactions of particles has come far in the last century, and is still pushing forward. As we build ever more powerful machines to probe higher and higher energies, we will need to develop new tools to not only understand the new physics objects we are trying to detect, but even to understand the environment that we are searching in. We examine methods of identifying both boosted objects and low energy jets which will be shrouded in a sea of noise from other parts of the detector. We display the power of boosted-b tagging in a simulated W search. We also examine the effect of pileup on low energy jet reconstructions. For this purpose we develop a new priority-based jet algorithm, "p-jets", to cluster the energy that belongs together, but ignore the rest.

Luigi Gentile Polese | NREL

Science.gov Websites

software development of next-generation whole-building energy modeling, analysis, and simulation tools technical positions in networking protocol specifications, call control software, and requirements

Triple Value System Dynamics Modeling to Help Stakeholders Engage with Food-Energy-Water Problems

EPA Science Inventory

Triple Value (3V) Community scoping projects and Triple Value Simulation (3VS) models help decision makers and stakeholders apply systems-analysis methodology to complex problems related to food production, water quality, and energy use. 3VS models are decision support tools that...

High Renewable Generation | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

and water use. Featured Studies Eastern Renewable Generation Integration Study Renewable Electricity Futures Study North American Renewable Integration Study Data and Tools Find out more about NREL's Grid are documented in Transparent Cost Database/Open Energy Information. Publications SunShot Vision Study

Transportation Big Data: Unbiased Analysis and Tools to Inform Sustainable Transportation Decisions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Today, transportation operation and energy systems data are generated at an unprecedented scale. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the go-to source for expertise in providing data and analysis to inform industry and government transportation decision making. The lab's teams of data experts and engineers are mining and analyzing large sets of complex data -- or 'big data' -- to develop solutions that support the research, development, and deployment of market-ready technologies that reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

ENergy and Power Evaluation Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-11-01

In the late 1970s, national and international attention began to focus on energy issues. Efforts were initiated to design and test analytical tools that could be used to assist energy planners in evaluating energy systems, particularly in developing countries. In 1984, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) commissioned Argonne National Laboratory`s Decision and Information Sciences Division (DIS) to incorporate a set of analytical tools into a personal computer-based package for distribution in developing countries. The package developed by DIS staff, the ENergy and Power Evaluation Program (ENPEP), covers the range of issues that energy planners must face: economic development,more » energy demand projections, supply-and-demand balancing, energy system expansion, and environmental impact analysis. Following the original DOE-supported development effort, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with the assistance from the US Department of State (DOS) and the US Department of Energy (DOE), provided ENPEP training, distribution, and technical support to many countries. ENPEP is now in use in over 60 countries and is an international standard for energy planning tools. More than 500 energy experts have been trained in the use of the entire ENPEP package or some of its modules during the international training courses organized by the IAEA in collaboration with Argonne`s Decision and Information Sciences (DIS) Division and the Division of Educational Programs (DEP). This report contains the ENPEP program which can be download from the internet. Described in this report is the description of ENPEP Program, news, forums, online support and contacts.« less

Analysis and control on changeable wheel tool system of hybrid grinding and polishing machine tool for blade finishing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Qiuwei; Lv, Xingming; Wang, Xin; Qu, Xingtian; Zhao, Ji

2017-01-01

Blade is the key component in the energy power equipment of turbine, aircraft engines and so on. Researches on the process and equipment for blade finishing become one of important and difficult point. To control precisely tool system of developed hybrid grinding and polishing machine tool for blade finishing, the tool system with changeable wheel for belt polishing is analyzed in this paper. Firstly, the belt length and wrap angle of each wheel in different position of tension wheel swing angle in the process of changing wheel is analyzed. The reasonable belt length is calculated by using MATLAB, and relationships between wrap angle of each wheel and cylinder expansion amount of contact wheel are obtained. Then, the control system for changeable wheel tool structure is developed. Lastly, the surface roughness of blade finishing is verified by experiments. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that reasonable belt length and wheel wrap angle can be obtained by proposed analysis method, the changeable wheel tool system can be controlled precisely, and the surface roughness of blade after grinding meets the design requirements.

Assessment of the Neutronic and Fuel Cycle Performance of the Transatomic Power Molten Salt Reactor Design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robertson, Sean; Dewan, Leslie; Massie, Mark

This report presents results from a collaboration between Transatomic Power Corporation (TAP) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide neutronic and fuel cycle analysis of the TAP core design through the Department of Energy Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) Nuclear Energy Voucher program. The TAP concept is a molten salt reactor using configurable zirconium hydride moderator rod assemblies to shift the neutron spectrum in the core from mostly epithermal at beginning of life to thermal at end of life. Additional developments in the ChemTriton modeling and simulation tool provide the critical moderator-to-fuel ratio searches and time-dependent parametersmore » necessary to simulate the continuously changing physics in this complex system. The implementation of continuous-energy Monte Carlo transport and depletion tools in ChemTriton provide for full-core three-dimensional modeling and simulation. Results from simulations with these tools show agreement with TAP-calculated performance metrics for core lifetime, discharge burnup, and salt volume fraction, verifying the viability of reducing actinide waste production with this concept. Additional analyses of mass feed rates and enrichments, isotopic removals, tritium generation, core power distribution, core vessel helium generation, moderator rod heat deposition, and reactivity coeffcients provide additional information to make informed design decisions. This work demonstrates capabilities of ORNL modeling and simulation tools for neutronic and fuel cycle analysis of molten salt reactor concepts.« less

Vortex energy landscape from real space imaging analysis of YBa2Cu3O7 with different defect structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luccas, R. F.; Granados, X.; Obradors, X.; Puig, T.

2014-10-01

A methodology based on real space vortex image analysis is presented able to estimate semi-quantitatively the relevant energy densities of an arbitrary array of vortices, map the interaction energy distributions and evaluate the pinning energy associated to particular defects. The combined study using nanostructuration tools, a vortex visualization technique and the energy method is seen as an opportunity to estimate vortex pinning potentials strengths. Particularly, spatial distributions of vortex energy densities induced by surface nanoindented scratches are evaluated and compared to those of twin boundaries. This comparative study underlines the remarkable role of surface nanoscratches in pinning vortices and its potentiality in the design of novel devices for pinning and guiding vortex motion.

Design and thermal analysis of a mold used in the injection of elastomers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fekiri, Nasser; Canto, Cécile; Madec, Yannick; Mousseau, Pierre; Plot, Christophe; Sarda, Alain

2017-10-01

In the process of injection molding of elastomers, improving the energy efficiency of the tools is a current challenge for industry in terms of energy consumption, productivity and product quality. In the rubber industry, 20% of the energy consumed by capital goods comes from heating processes; more than 50% of heat losses are linked to insufficient control and thermal insulation of Molds. The design of the tooling evolves in particular towards the reduction of the heated mass and the thermal insulation of the molds. In this paper, we present a complex tool composed, on one hand, of a multi-cavity mold designed by reducing the heated mass and equipped with independent control zones placed closest to each molding cavity and, on the other hand, of a regulated channel block (RCB) which makes it possible to limit the waste of rubber during the injection. The originality of this tool lies in thermally isolating the regulated channel block from the mold and the cavities between them in order to better control the temperature field in the material which is transformed. We present the design and the instrumentation of the experimental set-up. Experimental measurements allow us to understand the thermal of the tool and to show the thermal heterogeneities on the surface of the mold and in the various cavities. Tests of injection molding of the rubber and a thermal balance on the energy consumption of the tool are carried out.

Metadyn View: Fast web-based viewer of free energy surfaces calculated by metadynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hošek, Petr; Spiwok, Vojtěch

2016-01-01

Metadynamics is a highly successful enhanced sampling technique for simulation of molecular processes and prediction of their free energy surfaces. An in-depth analysis of data obtained by this method is as important as the simulation itself. Although there are several tools to compute free energy surfaces from metadynamics data, they usually lack user friendliness and a build-in visualization part. Here we introduce Metadyn View as a fast and user friendly viewer of bias potential/free energy surfaces calculated by metadynamics in Plumed package. It is based on modern web technologies including HTML5, JavaScript and Cascade Style Sheets (CSS). It can be used by visiting the web site and uploading a HILLS file. It calculates the bias potential/free energy surface on the client-side, so it can run online or offline without necessity to install additional web engines. Moreover, it includes tools for measurement of free energies and free energy differences and data/image export.

Design and Analysis of a Forging Die for Manufacturing of Multiple Connecting Rods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Megharaj, C. E.; Nagaraj, P. M.; Jeelan Pasha, K.

2016-09-01

This paper demonstrates to utilize the hammer capacity by modifying the die design such that forging hammer can manufacture more than one connecting rod in a given forging cycle time. To modify the die design study is carried out to understand the parameters that are required for forging die design. By considering these parameters, forging die is designed using design modelling tool solid edge. This new design now can produce two connecting rods in same capacity hammer. The new design is required to validate by verifying complete filing of metal in die cavities without any defects in it. To verify this, analysis tool DEFORM 3D is used in this project. Before start of validation process it is require to convert 3D generated models in to. STL file format to import the models into the analysis tool DEFORM 3D. After importing these designs they are analysed for material flow into the cavities and energy required to produce two connecting rods in new forging die design. It is found that the forging die design is proper without any defects and also energy graph shows that the forging energy required to produce two connecting rods is within the limit of that hammer capacity. Implementation of this project increases the production of connecting rods by 200% in less than previous cycle time.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Assistant Tool Feasibility Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flores, Melissa; Malin, Jane T.

2013-01-01

An effort to determine the feasibility of a software tool to assist in Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) has been completed. This new and unique approach to FMEA uses model based systems engineering concepts to recommend failure modes, causes, and effects to the user after they have made several selections from pick lists about a component s functions and inputs/outputs. Recommendations are made based on a library using common failure modes identified over the course of several major human spaceflight programs. However, the tool could be adapted for use in a wide range of applications from NASA to the energy industry.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Assistant Tool Feasibility Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, Melissa D.; Malin, Jane T.; Fleming, Land D.

2013-09-01

An effort to determine the feasibility of a software tool to assist in Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) has been completed. This new and unique approach to FMEA uses model based systems engineering concepts to recommend failure modes, causes, and effects to the user after they have made several selections from pick lists about a component's functions and inputs/outputs. Recommendations are made based on a library using common failure modes identified over the course of several major human spaceflight programs. However, the tool could be adapted for use in a wide range of applications from NASA to the energy industry.

OCAM - A CELSS modeling tool: Description and results. [Object-oriented Controlled Ecological Life Support System Analysis and Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drysdale, Alan; Thomas, Mark; Fresa, Mark; Wheeler, Ray

1992-01-01

Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) technology is critical to the Space Exploration Initiative. NASA's Kennedy Space Center has been performing CELSS research for several years, developing data related to CELSS design. We have developed OCAM (Object-oriented CELSS Analysis and Modeling), a CELSS modeling tool, and have used this tool to evaluate CELSS concepts, using this data. In using OCAM, a CELSS is broken down into components, and each component is modeled as a combination of containers, converters, and gates which store, process, and exchange carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen on a daily basis. Multiple crops and plant types can be simulated. Resource recovery options modeled include combustion, leaching, enzyme treatment, aerobic or anaerobic digestion, and mushroom and fish growth. Results include printouts and time-history graphs of total system mass, biomass, carbon dioxide, and oxygen quantities; energy consumption; and manpower requirements. The contributions of mass, energy, and manpower to system cost have been analyzed to compare configurations and determine appropriate research directions.

Online Analysis of Wind and Solar Part I: Ramping Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Etingov, Pavel V.; Ma, Jian; Makarov, Yuri V.

2012-01-31

To facilitate wider penetration of renewable resources without compromising system reliability concerns arising from the lack of predictability of intermittent renewable resources, a tool for use by California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power grid operators was developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in conjunction with CAISO with funding from California Energy Commission. This tool predicts and displays additional capacity and ramping requirements caused by uncertainties in forecasts of loads and renewable generation. The tool is currently operational in the CAISO operations center. This is one of two final reports on the project.

EnergyIQ

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MILLS, EVAN; MATTHE, PAUL; STOUFER, MARTIN

2016-10-06

EnergyIQ-the first "action-oriented" benchmarking tool for non-residential buildings-provides a standardized opportunity assessment based on benchmarking results. along with decision-support information to help refine action plans. EnergyIQ offers a wide array of benchmark metrics, with visuall as well as tabular display. These include energy, costs, greenhouse-gas emissions, and a large array of characteristics (e.g. building components or operational strategies). The tool supports cross-sectional benchmarking for comparing the user's building to it's peers at one point in time, as well as longitudinal benchmarking for tracking the performance of an individual building or enterprise portfolio over time. Based on user inputs, the toolmore » generates a list of opportunities and recommended actions. Users can then explore the "Decision Support" module for helpful information on how to refine action plans, create design-intent documentation, and implement improvements. This includes information on best practices, links to other energy analysis tools and more. The variety of databases are available within EnergyIQ from which users can specify peer groups for comparison. Using the tool, this data can be visually browsed and used as a backdrop against which to view a variety of energy benchmarking metrics for the user's own building. User can save their project information and return at a later date to continue their exploration. The initial database is the CA Commercial End-Use Survey (CEUS), which provides details on energy use and characteristics for about 2800 buildings (and 62 building types). CEUS is likely the most thorough survey of its kind every conducted. The tool is built as a web service. The EnergyIQ web application is written in JSP with pervasive us of JavaScript and CSS2. EnergyIQ also supports a SOAP based web service to allow the flow of queries and data to occur with non-browser implementations. Data are stored in an Oracle 10g database. References: Mills, Mathew, Brook and Piette. 2008. "Action Oriented Benchmarking: Concepts and Tools." Energy Engineering, Vol.105, No. 4, pp 21-40. LBNL-358E; Mathew, Mills, Bourassa, Brook. 2008. "Action-Oriented Benchmarking: Using the CEUS Database to Benchmark Commercial Buildings in California." Energy Engineering, Vol 105, No. 5, pp 6-18. LBNL-502E.« less

An Update on Improvements to NiCE Support for PROTEUS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, Andrew; McCaskey, Alexander J.; Billings, Jay Jay

2015-09-01

The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program has supported the development of the NEAMS Integrated Computational Environment (NiCE), a modeling and simulation workflow environment that provides services and plugins to facilitate tasks such as code execution, model input construction, visualization, and data analysis. This report details the development of workflows for the reactor core neutronics application, PROTEUS. This advanced neutronics application (primarily developed at Argonne National Laboratory) aims to improve nuclear reactor design and analysis by providing an extensible and massively parallel, finite-element solver for current and advanced reactor fuel neutronicsmore » modeling. The integration of PROTEUS-specific tools into NiCE is intended to make the advanced capabilities that PROTEUS provides more accessible to the nuclear energy research and development community. This report will detail the work done to improve existing PROTEUS workflow support in NiCE. We will demonstrate and discuss these improvements, including the development of flexible IO services, an improved interface for input generation, and the addition of advanced Fortran development tools natively in the platform.« less

Energy demand and thermal comfort of HVAC systems with thermally activated building systems as a function of user profile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pałaszyńska, Katarzyna; Bandurski, Karol; Porowski, Mieczysław

2017-11-01

Thermally Activated Building Systems (TABS) are a way to use building structure as a thermal energy storage. As a result, renewable energy sources may be used more efficiently. The paper presents numerical analysis of a HVAC system with TABS energy demand and indoor thermal comfort of a representative room in a non-residential building (governmental, commercial, educational). The purpose of analysis is to investigate the influence of a user profile on system performance. The time span of the analysis is one year - a typical meteorological year. The model was prepared using a generally accepted simulation tool - TRNSYS 17. The results help to better understand the interaction of a user profile with TABS. Therefore they are important for the development of optimal control algorithms for energy efficient buildings equipped with such systems.

High energy PIXE: A tool to characterize multi-layer thick samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subercaze, A.; Koumeir, C.; Métivier, V.; Servagent, N.; Guertin, A.; Haddad, F.

2018-02-01

High energy PIXE is a useful and non-destructive tool to characterize multi-layer thick samples such as cultural heritage objects. In a previous work, we demonstrated the possibility to perform quantitative analysis of simple multi-layer samples using high energy PIXE, without any assumption on their composition. In this work an in-depth study of the parameters involved in the method previously published is proposed. Its extension to more complex samples with a repeated layer is also presented. Experiments have been performed at the ARRONAX cyclotron using 68 MeV protons. The thicknesses and sequences of a multi-layer sample including two different layers of the same element have been determined. Performances and limits of this method are presented and discussed.

Evaluating opportunities to improve material and energy impacts in commodity supply chains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanes, Rebecca J.; Carpenter, Alberta

When evaluated at the scale of individual processes, next-generation technologies may be more energy and emissions intensive than current technology. Furthermore, many advanced technologies have the potential to reduce material and energy consumption in upstream or downstream processing stages. In order to fully understand the benefits and consequences of technology deployment, next-generation technologies should be evaluated in context, as part of a supply chain. This work presents the Materials Flow through Industry (MFI) supply chain modeling tool. The MFI tool is a cradle-to-gate linear network model of the US industrial sector that can model a wide range of manufacturing scenarios,more » including changes in production technology and increases in industrial energy efficiency. The MFI tool was developed to perform supply chain scale analyses in order to quantify the impacts and benefits of next-generation technologies and materials at that scale. For the analysis presented in this paper, the MFI tool is utilized to explore a case study comparing three lightweight vehicle supply chains to the supply chain of a conventional, standard weight vehicle. Several of the lightweight vehicle supply chains are evaluated under manufacturing scenarios that include next-generation production technologies and next-generation materials. Results indicate that producing lightweight vehicles is more energy and emission intensive than producing the non-lightweight vehicle, but the fuel saved during vehicle use offsets this increase. In this case study, greater reductions in supply chain energy and emissions were achieved through the application of the next-generation technologies than from application of energy efficiency increases.« less

Evaluating opportunities to improve material and energy impacts in commodity supply chains

DOE PAGES

Hanes, Rebecca J.; Carpenter, Alberta

2017-01-10

When evaluated at the scale of individual processes, next-generation technologies may be more energy and emissions intensive than current technology. Furthermore, many advanced technologies have the potential to reduce material and energy consumption in upstream or downstream processing stages. In order to fully understand the benefits and consequences of technology deployment, next-generation technologies should be evaluated in context, as part of a supply chain. This work presents the Materials Flow through Industry (MFI) supply chain modeling tool. The MFI tool is a cradle-to-gate linear network model of the US industrial sector that can model a wide range of manufacturing scenarios,more » including changes in production technology and increases in industrial energy efficiency. The MFI tool was developed to perform supply chain scale analyses in order to quantify the impacts and benefits of next-generation technologies and materials at that scale. For the analysis presented in this paper, the MFI tool is utilized to explore a case study comparing three lightweight vehicle supply chains to the supply chain of a conventional, standard weight vehicle. Several of the lightweight vehicle supply chains are evaluated under manufacturing scenarios that include next-generation production technologies and next-generation materials. Results indicate that producing lightweight vehicles is more energy and emission intensive than producing the non-lightweight vehicle, but the fuel saved during vehicle use offsets this increase. In this case study, greater reductions in supply chain energy and emissions were achieved through the application of the next-generation technologies than from application of energy efficiency increases.« less

Optimal Energy Measurement in Nonlinear Systems: An Application of Differential Geometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fixsen, Dale J.; Moseley, S. H.; Gerrits, T.; Lita, A.; Nam, S. W.

2014-01-01

Design of TES microcalorimeters requires a tradeoff between resolution and dynamic range. Often, experimenters will require linearity for the highest energy signals, which requires additional heat capacity be added to the detector. This results in a reduction of low energy resolution in the detector. We derive and demonstrate an algorithm that allows operation far into the nonlinear regime with little loss in spectral resolution. We use a least squares optimal filter that varies with photon energy to accommodate the nonlinearity of the detector and the non-stationarity of the noise. The fitting process we use can be seen as an application of differential geometry. This recognition provides a set of well-developed tools to extend our work to more complex situations. The proper calibration of a nonlinear microcalorimeter requires a source with densely spaced narrow lines. A pulsed laser multi-photon source is used here, and is seen to be a powerful tool for allowing us to develop practical systems with significant detector nonlinearity. The combination of our analysis techniques and the multi-photon laser source create a powerful tool for increasing the performance of future TES microcalorimeters.

A Geant4 simulation of the depth dose percentage in brain tumors treatments using protons and carbon ions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Diaz, José A. M., E-mail: joadiazme@unal.edu.co; Torres, D. A., E-mail: datorresg@unal.edu.co

2016-07-07

The deposited energy and dose distribution of beams of protons and carbon over a head are simulated using the free tool package Geant4 and the data analysis package ROOT-C++. The present work shows a methodology to understand the microscopical process occurring in a session of hadron-therapy using advance simulation tools.

Data Use Disclaimer Agreement | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

;). Access to and use of this Tool shall impose the following obligations on the user, as set forth in this Agreement. The user is granted the right, without any fee or cost, to use, copy, modify, alter, enhance and the use of this Tool. The names DOE/NREL/ALLIANCE, however, may not be used in any advertising or

Development of the Power Simulation Tool for Energy Balance Analysis of Nanosatellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Eun-Jung; Sim, Eun-Sup; Kim, Hae-Dong

2017-09-01

The energy balance in a satellite needs to be designed properly for the satellite to safely operate and carry out successive missions on an orbit. In this study, an analysis program was developed using the MATLABⓇ graphic user interface (GUI) for nanosatellites. This program was used in a simulation to confirm the generated power, consumed power, and battery power in the satellites on the orbit, and its performance was verified with applying different satellite operational modes and units. For data transmission, STKⓇ-MATLABⓇ connectivity was used to send the generated power from STKⓇ to MATLABⓇ automatically. Moreover, this program is general-purpose; therefore, it can be applied to nanosatellites that have missions or shapes that are different from those of the satellites in this study. This power simulation tool could be used not only to calculate the suitable power budget when developing the power systems, but also to analyze the remaining energy balance in the satellites.

Max Tech Efficiency Electric HPWH with low-GWP Halogenated Refrigerant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nawaz, Kashif; Shen, Bo; Elatar, Ahmed F.

A scoping-level analysis was conducted to determine the maximum performance of an electric heat pump water heater (HPWH) with low GWP refrigerants (hydroflouroolefins (HFO), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), and blends). A baseline heat pump water heater (GE GeoSpring) deploying R-134a was analyzed first using the DOE/ORNL Heat Pump Design Model (HPDM) modeling tool. The model was calibrated using experimental data to match the water temperature stratification in tank, first hour rating, energy factor and coefficient of performance. A CFD modeling tool was used to further refine the HPDM tank model. After calibration, the model was used to simulate the performance of alternativemore » refrigerants. The parametric analysis concluded that by appropriate selection of equipment size and condenser tube wrap configuration the overall performance of emerging low GWP refrigerants for HPWH application not only exceed the Energy Star Energy Factor criteria i.e. 2.20, but is also comparable to some of the most efficient products in the market.« less

Multicriteria analysis for the selection of the most appropriate energy crops: the case of Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kylili, Angeliki; Christoforou, Elias; Fokaides, Paris A.; Polycarpou, Polycarpos

2016-01-01

Energy crops are considered key actors in meeting the international and European carbon reduction targets, increasing the national energy security through renewable energy production, mitigating climate change impacts, and promoting sustainability. Multicriteria analysis is a suitable decision-making tool for the energy sector, where the final decisions have to consider for a range of aspects, and can be utilised as well for deciding on appropriate energy crops. In this paper, a popular multicriteria method, PROMETHEE, is employed for the identification of the most optimal energy crops for their exploitation in Cyprus. The criteria and the weights of each are defined, and accordingly five different scenarios are developed and examined. The obtained results indicated that the promotion of second-generation energy crops is more ideal in terms of the set objectives, as well as more sustainable than the exploitation of any first-generation energy crop.

Hilbert-Huang Transform: A Spectral Analysis Tool Applied to Sunspot Number and Total Solar Irradiance Variations, as well as Near-Surface Atmospheric Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnhart, B. L.; Eichinger, W. E.; Prueger, J. H.

2010-12-01

Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is a relatively new data analysis tool which is used to analyze nonstationary and nonlinear time series data. It consists of an algorithm, called empirical mode decomposition (EMD), which extracts the cyclic components embedded within time series data, as well as Hilbert spectral analysis (HSA) which displays the time and frequency dependent energy contributions from each component in the form of a spectrogram. The method can be considered a generalized form of Fourier analysis which can describe the intrinsic cycles of data with basis functions whose amplitudes and phases may vary with time. The HHT will be introduced and compared to current spectral analysis tools such as Fourier analysis, short-time Fourier analysis, wavelet analysis and Wigner-Ville distributions. A number of applications are also presented which demonstrate the strengths and limitations of the tool, including analyzing sunspot number variability and total solar irradiance proxies as well as global averaged temperature and carbon dioxide concentration. Also, near-surface atmospheric quantities such as temperature and wind velocity are analyzed to demonstrate the nonstationarity of the atmosphere.

Two-Dimensional Neutronic and Fuel Cycle Analysis of the Transatomic Power Molten Salt Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Betzler, Benjamin R.; Powers, Jeffrey J.; Worrall, Andrew

2017-01-15

This status report presents the results from the first phase of the collaboration between Transatomic Power Corporation (TAP) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide neutronic and fuel cycle analysis of the TAP core design through the Department of Energy Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear, Nuclear Energy Voucher program. The TAP design is a molten salt reactor using movable moderator rods to shift the neutron spectrum in the core from mostly epithermal at beginning of life to thermal at end of life. Additional developments in the ChemTriton modeling and simulation tool provide the critical moderator-to-fuel ratio searches andmore » time-dependent parameters necessary to simulate the continuously changing physics in this complex system. Results from simulations with these tools show agreement with TAP-calculated performance metrics for core lifetime, discharge burnup, and salt volume fraction, verifying the viability of reducing actinide waste production with this design. Additional analyses of time step sizes, mass feed rates and enrichments, and isotopic removals provide additional information to make informed design decisions. This work further demonstrates capabilities of ORNL modeling and simulation tools for analysis of molten salt reactor designs and strongly positions this effort for the upcoming three-dimensional core analysis.« less

Matching of renewable source of energy generation graphs and electrical load in local energy system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lezhniuk, Petro; Komar, Vyacheslav; Sobchuk, Dmytro; Kravchuk, Sergiy; Kacejko, Piotr; Zavidsky, Vladislav

2017-08-01

The paper contains the method of matching generation graph of photovoltaic electric stations and consumers. Characteristic feature of this method is the application of morphometric analysis for assessment of non-uniformity of the integrated graph of energy supply, optimal coefficients of current distribution, that enables by mean of refining the powers, transferring in accordance with the graph , to provide the decrease of electric energy losses in the grid and transport task, as the optimization tool.

Use of SCALE Continuous-Energy Monte Carlo Tools for Eigenvalue Sensitivity Coefficient Calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perfetti, Christopher M; Rearden, Bradley T

2013-01-01

The TSUNAMI code within the SCALE code system makes use of eigenvalue sensitivity coefficients for an extensive number of criticality safety applications, such as quantifying the data-induced uncertainty in the eigenvalue of critical systems, assessing the neutronic similarity between different critical systems, and guiding nuclear data adjustment studies. The need to model geometrically complex systems with improved fidelity and the desire to extend TSUNAMI analysis to advanced applications has motivated the development of a methodology for calculating sensitivity coefficients in continuous-energy (CE) Monte Carlo applications. The CLUTCH and Iterated Fission Probability (IFP) eigenvalue sensitivity methods were recently implemented in themore » CE KENO framework to generate the capability for TSUNAMI-3D to perform eigenvalue sensitivity calculations in continuous-energy applications. This work explores the improvements in accuracy that can be gained in eigenvalue and eigenvalue sensitivity calculations through the use of the SCALE CE KENO and CE TSUNAMI continuous-energy Monte Carlo tools as compared to multigroup tools. The CE KENO and CE TSUNAMI tools were used to analyze two difficult models of critical benchmarks, and produced eigenvalue and eigenvalue sensitivity coefficient results that showed a marked improvement in accuracy. The CLUTCH sensitivity method in particular excelled in terms of efficiency and computational memory requirements.« less

Renewable energy and conservation measures for non-residential buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grossman, Andrew James

The energy demand in most countries is growing at an alarming rate and identifying economically feasible building retrofit solutions to decrease the need for fossil fuels so as to mitigate their environmental and societal impacts has become imperative. Two approaches are available for identifying feasible retrofit solutions: 1) the implementation of energy conservation measures; and 2) the production of energy from renewable sources. This thesis focuses on the development of retrofit software planning tools for the implementation of solar photovoltaic systems, and lighting system retrofits for mid-Michigan institutional buildings. The solar planning tool exploits the existing blueprint of a building's rooftop, and via image processing, the layouts of the solar photovoltaic arrays are developed based on the building's geographical location and typical weather patterns. The resulting energy generation of a PV system is estimated and is utilized to determine levelized energy costs. The lighting system retrofit analysis starts by a current utilization assessment of a building to determine the amount of energy used by the lighting system. Several LED lighting options are evaluated on the basis of color correlation temperature, color rendering index, energy consumption, and financial feasibility, to determine a retrofit solution. Solar photovoltaic installations in mid-Michigan are not yet financially feasible, but with the anticipated growth and dynamic complexity of the solar photovoltaic market, this solar planning tool is able to assist building proprietors make executive decisions regarding their energy usage. Additionally, a lighting system retrofit is shown to have significant financial and health benefits.

Chapter 7. The GIS project for the geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the Cotton Valley group and Travis Peak and Hosston formations, East Texas basin and Louisiana-Mississippi salt basins provinces.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura

2006-01-01

A geographic information system (GIS) focusing on the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group and the Lower Cretaceous Travis Peak and Hosston Formations in the northern Gulf Coast region was developed as a visual-analysis tool for the U.S. Geological Survey's 2002 assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in the East Texas Basin and Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins Provinces. The Central Energy Resources Team of the U.S. Geological Survey has also developed an Internet Map Service to deliver the GIS data to the public. This mapping tool utilizes information from a database about the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States-including physical locations of geologic and geographic data-and converts the data into visual layers. Portrayal and analysis of geologic features on an interactive map provide an excellent tool for understanding domestic oil and gas resources for strategic planning, formulating economic and energy policies, evaluating lands under the purview of the Federal Government, and developing sound environmental policies. Assessment results can be viewed and analyzed or downloaded from the internet web site, http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/ .

The USAID-NREL Partnership: Delivering Clean, Reliable, and Affordable Power in the Developing World

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watson, Andrea C; Leisch, Jennifer E

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are partnering to support clean, reliable, and affordable power in the developing world. The USAID-NREL Partnership helps countries with policy, planning, and deployment support for advanced energy technologies. Through this collaboration, USAID is accessing advanced energy expertise and analysis pioneered by the U.S. National Laboratory system. The Partnership addresses critical aspects of advanced energy systems including renewable energy deployment, grid modernization, distributed energy resources and storage, power sector resilience, and the data and analytical tools needed to support them.

Energy efficiency analysis and optimization for mobile platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metri, Grace Camille

The introduction of mobile devices changed the landscape of computing. Gradually, these devices are replacing traditional personal computer (PCs) to become the devices of choice for entertainment, connectivity, and productivity. There are currently at least 45.5 million people in the United States who own a mobile device, and that number is expected to increase to 1.5 billion by 2015. Users of mobile devices expect and mandate that their mobile devices have maximized performance while consuming minimal possible power. However, due to the battery size constraints, the amount of energy stored in these devices is limited and is only growing by 5% annually. As a result, we focused in this dissertation on energy efficiency analysis and optimization for mobile platforms. We specifically developed SoftPowerMon, a tool that can power profile Android platforms in order to expose the power consumption behavior of the CPU. We also performed an extensive set of case studies in order to determine energy inefficiencies of mobile applications. Through our case studies, we were able to propose optimization techniques in order to increase the energy efficiency of mobile devices and proposed guidelines for energy-efficient application development. In addition, we developed BatteryExtender, an adaptive user-guided tool for power management of mobile devices. The tool enables users to extend battery life on demand for a specific duration until a particular task is completed. Moreover, we examined the power consumption of System-on-Chips (SoCs) and observed the impact on the energy efficiency in the event of offloading tasks from the CPU to the specialized custom engines. Based on our case studies, we were able to demonstrate that current software-based power profiling techniques for SoCs can have an error rate close to 12%, which needs to be addressed in order to be able to optimize the energy consumption of the SoC. Finally, we summarize our contributions and outline possible direction for future research in this field.

Breaking common ground: Scalar perceptions and the effects on energy extraction in Pavillion, Wyoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watts, Kaitlyn

Conflicts over natural resources are increasing throughout the world. Researchers have taken the geographic concept of scale and applied it as a tool for analyzing environmental conflict and determining the correct jurisdictional arena for regulation. My research takes this social construction of scale and applies it to a case study of energy extraction in Pavillion, Wyoming. The case study focuses on the conflict that developed over hydraulic fracturing and water contamination at a time when the use of hydraulic fracturing increased nationwide. Through the use of personal interviews and document analysis I determine the ways that stakeholders use scale in the conflict to influence the strategies that they use to persuade policy decisions. This provides an example of how scale can be used as an effective tool of policy analysis and environmental conflict resolution

[Model-based biofuels system analysis: a review].

PubMed

Chang, Shiyan; Zhang, Xiliang; Zhao, Lili; Ou, Xunmin

2011-03-01

Model-based system analysis is an important tool for evaluating the potential and impacts of biofuels, and for drafting biofuels technology roadmaps and targets. The broad reach of the biofuels supply chain requires that biofuels system analyses span a range of disciplines, including agriculture/forestry, energy, economics, and the environment. Here we reviewed various models developed for or applied to modeling biofuels, and presented a critical analysis of Agriculture/Forestry System Models, Energy System Models, Integrated Assessment Models, Micro-level Cost, Energy and Emission Calculation Models, and Specific Macro-level Biofuel Models. We focused on the models' strengths, weaknesses, and applicability, facilitating the selection of a suitable type of model for specific issues. Such an analysis was a prerequisite for future biofuels system modeling, and represented a valuable resource for researchers and policy makers.

Utilizing Semantic Big Data for realizing a National-scale Infrastructure Vulnerability Analysis System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chinthavali, Supriya; Shankar, Mallikarjun

Critical Infrastructure systems(CIs) such as energy, water, transportation and communication are highly interconnected and mutually dependent in complex ways. Robust modeling of CIs interconnections is crucial to identify vulnerabilities in the CIs. We present here a national-scale Infrastructure Vulnerability Analysis System (IVAS) vision leveraging Se- mantic Big Data (SBD) tools, Big Data, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tools. We survey existing ap- proaches on vulnerability analysis of critical infrastructures and discuss relevant systems and tools aligned with our vi- sion. Next, we present a generic system architecture and discuss challenges including: (1) Constructing and manag- ing a CI network-of-networks graph,more » (2) Performing analytic operations at scale, and (3) Interactive visualization of ana- lytic output to generate meaningful insights. We argue that this architecture acts as a baseline to realize a national-scale network based vulnerability analysis system.« less

Analysis tools for discovering strong parity violation at hadron colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Backović, Mihailo; Ralston, John P.

2011-07-01

Several arguments suggest parity violation may be observable in high energy strong interactions. We introduce new analysis tools to describe the azimuthal dependence of multiparticle distributions, or “azimuthal flow.” Analysis uses the representations of the orthogonal group O(2) and dihedral groups DN necessary to define parity completely in two dimensions. Classification finds that collective angles used in event-by-event statistics represent inequivalent tensor observables that cannot generally be represented by a single “reaction plane.” Many new parity-violating observables exist that have never been measured, while many parity-conserving observables formerly lumped together are now distinguished. We use the concept of “event-shape sorting” to suggest separating right- and left-handed events, and we discuss the effects of transverse and longitudinal spin. The analysis tools are statistically robust, and can be applied equally to low or high multiplicity events at the Tevatron, RHIC or RHIC Spin, and the LHC.

Linking Automated Data Analysis and Visualization with Applications in Developmental Biology and High-Energy Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ruebel, Oliver

2009-11-20

Knowledge discovery from large and complex collections of today's scientific datasets is a challenging task. With the ability to measure and simulate more processes at increasingly finer spatial and temporal scales, the increasing number of data dimensions and data objects is presenting tremendous challenges for data analysis and effective data exploration methods and tools. Researchers are overwhelmed with data and standard tools are often insufficient to enable effective data analysis and knowledge discovery. The main objective of this thesis is to provide important new capabilities to accelerate scientific knowledge discovery form large, complex, and multivariate scientific data. The research coveredmore » in this thesis addresses these scientific challenges using a combination of scientific visualization, information visualization, automated data analysis, and other enabling technologies, such as efficient data management. The effectiveness of the proposed analysis methods is demonstrated via applications in two distinct scientific research fields, namely developmental biology and high-energy physics.Advances in microscopy, image analysis, and embryo registration enable for the first time measurement of gene expression at cellular resolution for entire organisms. Analysis of high-dimensional spatial gene expression datasets is a challenging task. By integrating data clustering and visualization, analysis of complex, time-varying, spatial gene expression patterns and their formation becomes possible. The analysis framework MATLAB and the visualization have been integrated, making advanced analysis tools accessible to biologist and enabling bioinformatic researchers to directly integrate their analysis with the visualization. Laser wakefield particle accelerators (LWFAs) promise to be a new compact source of high-energy particles and radiation, with wide applications ranging from medicine to physics. To gain insight into the complex physical processes of particle acceleration, physicists model LWFAs computationally. The datasets produced by LWFA simulations are (i) extremely large, (ii) of varying spatial and temporal resolution, (iii) heterogeneous, and (iv) high-dimensional, making analysis and knowledge discovery from complex LWFA simulation data a challenging task. To address these challenges this thesis describes the integration of the visualization system VisIt and the state-of-the-art index/query system FastBit, enabling interactive visual exploration of extremely large three-dimensional particle datasets. Researchers are especially interested in beams of high-energy particles formed during the course of a simulation. This thesis describes novel methods for automatic detection and analysis of particle beams enabling a more accurate and efficient data analysis process. By integrating these automated analysis methods with visualization, this research enables more accurate, efficient, and effective analysis of LWFA simulation data than previously possible.« less

Contingency Analysis Post-Processing With Advanced Computing and Visualization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Yousu; Glaesemann, Kurt; Fitzhenry, Erin

Contingency analysis is a critical function widely used in energy management systems to assess the impact of power system component failures. Its outputs are important for power system operation for improved situational awareness, power system planning studies, and power market operations. With the increased complexity of power system modeling and simulation caused by increased energy production and demand, the penetration of renewable energy and fast deployment of smart grid devices, and the trend of operating grids closer to their capacity for better efficiency, more and more contingencies must be executed and analyzed quickly in order to ensure grid reliability andmore » accuracy for the power market. Currently, many researchers have proposed different techniques to accelerate the computational speed of contingency analysis, but not much work has been published on how to post-process the large amount of contingency outputs quickly. This paper proposes a parallel post-processing function that can analyze contingency analysis outputs faster and display them in a web-based visualization tool to help power engineers improve their work efficiency by fast information digestion. Case studies using an ESCA-60 bus system and a WECC planning system are presented to demonstrate the functionality of the parallel post-processing technique and the web-based visualization tool.« less

Verification of a rapid mooring and foundation design tool

DOE PAGES

Weller, Sam D.; Hardwick, Jon; Gomez, Steven; ...

2018-02-15

Marine renewable energy devices require mooring and foundation systems that suitable in terms of device operation and are also robust and cost effective. In the initial stages of mooring and foundation development a large number of possible configuration permutations exist. Filtering of unsuitable designs is possible using information specific to the deployment site (i.e. bathymetry, environmental conditions) and device (i.e. mooring and/or foundation system role and cable connection requirements). The identification of a final solution requires detailed analysis, which includes load cases based on extreme environmental statistics following certification guidance processes. Static and/or quasi-static modelling of the mooring and/or foundationmore » system serves as an intermediate design filtering stage enabling dynamic time-domain analysis to be focused on a small number of potential configurations. Mooring and foundation design is therefore reliant on logical decision making throughout this stage-gate process. The open-source DTOcean (Optimal Design Tools for Ocean Energy Arrays) Tool includes a mooring and foundation module, which automates the configuration selection process for fixed and floating wave and tidal energy devices. As far as the authors are aware, this is one of the first tools to be developed for the purpose of identifying potential solutions during the initial stages of marine renewable energy design. While the mooring and foundation module does not replace a full design assessment, it provides in addition to suitable configuration solutions, assessments in terms of reliability, economics and environmental impact. This article provides insight into the solution identification approach used by the module and features the verification of both the mooring system calculations and the foundation design using commercial software. Several case studies are investigated: a floating wave energy converter and several anchoring systems. It is demonstrated that the mooring and foundation module is able to provide device and/or site developers with rapid mooring and foundation design solutions to appropriate design criteria.« less

Verification of a rapid mooring and foundation design tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weller, Sam D.; Hardwick, Jon; Gomez, Steven

Marine renewable energy devices require mooring and foundation systems that suitable in terms of device operation and are also robust and cost effective. In the initial stages of mooring and foundation development a large number of possible configuration permutations exist. Filtering of unsuitable designs is possible using information specific to the deployment site (i.e. bathymetry, environmental conditions) and device (i.e. mooring and/or foundation system role and cable connection requirements). The identification of a final solution requires detailed analysis, which includes load cases based on extreme environmental statistics following certification guidance processes. Static and/or quasi-static modelling of the mooring and/or foundationmore » system serves as an intermediate design filtering stage enabling dynamic time-domain analysis to be focused on a small number of potential configurations. Mooring and foundation design is therefore reliant on logical decision making throughout this stage-gate process. The open-source DTOcean (Optimal Design Tools for Ocean Energy Arrays) Tool includes a mooring and foundation module, which automates the configuration selection process for fixed and floating wave and tidal energy devices. As far as the authors are aware, this is one of the first tools to be developed for the purpose of identifying potential solutions during the initial stages of marine renewable energy design. While the mooring and foundation module does not replace a full design assessment, it provides in addition to suitable configuration solutions, assessments in terms of reliability, economics and environmental impact. This article provides insight into the solution identification approach used by the module and features the verification of both the mooring system calculations and the foundation design using commercial software. Several case studies are investigated: a floating wave energy converter and several anchoring systems. It is demonstrated that the mooring and foundation module is able to provide device and/or site developers with rapid mooring and foundation design solutions to appropriate design criteria.« less

The magnitude and effects of extreme solar particle events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiggens, Piers; Chavy-Macdonald, Marc-Andre; Santin, Giovanni; Menicucci, Alessandra; Evans, Hugh; Hilgers, Alain

2014-06-01

The solar energetic particle (SEP) radiation environment is an important consideration for spacecraft design, spacecraft mission planning and human spaceflight. Herein is presented an investigation into the likely severity of effects of a very large Solar Particle Event (SPE) on technology and humans in space. Fluences for SPEs derived using statistical models are compared to historical SPEs to verify their appropriateness for use in the analysis which follows. By combining environment tools with tools to model effects behind varying layers of spacecraft shielding it is possible to predict what impact a large SPE would be likely to have on a spacecraft in Near-Earth interplanetary space or geostationary Earth orbit. Also presented is a comparison of results generated using the traditional method of inputting the environment spectra, determined using a statistical model, into effects tools and a new method developed as part of the ESA SEPEM Project allowing for the creation of an effect time series on which statistics, previously applied to the flux data, can be run directly. The SPE environment spectra is determined and presented as energy integrated proton fluence (cm-2) as a function of particle energy (in MeV). This is input into the SHIELDOSE-2, MULASSIS, NIEL, GRAS and SEU effects tools to provide the output results. In the case of the new method for analysis, the flux time series is fed directly into the MULASSIS and GEMAT tools integrated into the SEPEM system. The output effect quantities include total ionising dose (in rads), non-ionising energy loss (MeV g-1), single event upsets (upsets/bit) and the dose in humans compared to established limits for stochastic (or cancer-causing) effects and tissue reactions (such as acute radiation sickness) in humans given in grey-equivalent and sieverts respectively.

Commercial Building Energy Asset Rating Program -- Market Research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCabe, Molly J.; Wang, Na

2012-04-19

Under contract to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, HaydenTanner, LLC conducted an in-depth analysis of the potential market value of a commercial building energy asset rating program for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The market research objectives were to: (1) Evaluate market interest and need for a program and tool to offer asset rating and rapidly identify potential energy efficiency measures for the commercial building sector. (2) Identify key input variables and asset rating outputs that would facilitate increased investment in energy efficiency. (3) Assess best practices and lessons learned from existing nationalmore » and international energy rating programs. (4) Identify core messaging to motivate owners, investors, financiers, and others in the real estate sector to adopt a voluntary asset rating program and, as a consequence, deploy high-performance strategies and technologies across new and existing buildings. (5) Identify leverage factors and incentives that facilitate increased investment in these buildings. To meet these objectives, work consisted of a review of the relevant literature, examination of existing and emergent asset and operational rating systems, interviews with industry stakeholders, and an evaluation of the value implication of an asset label on asset valuation. This report documents the analysis methodology and findings, conclusion, and recommendations. Its intent is to support and inform the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on the market need and potential value impacts of an asset labeling and diagnostic tool to encourage high-performance new buildings and building efficiency retrofit projects.« less

Assessing global resource utilization efficiency in the industrial sector.

PubMed

Rosen, Marc A

2013-09-01

Designing efficient energy systems, which also meet economic, environmental and other objectives and constraints, is a significant challenge. In a world with finite natural resources and large energy demands, it is important to understand not just actual efficiencies, but also limits to efficiency, as the latter identify margins for efficiency improvement. Energy analysis alone is inadequate, e.g., it yields energy efficiencies that do not provide limits to efficiency. To obtain meaningful and useful efficiencies for energy systems, and to clarify losses, exergy analysis is a beneficial and useful tool. Here, the global industrial sector and industries within it are assessed by using energy and exergy methods. The objective is to improve the understanding of the efficiency of global resource use in the industrial sector and, with this information, to facilitate the development, prioritization and ultimate implementation of rational improvement options. Global energy and exergy flow diagrams for the industrial sector are developed and overall efficiencies for the global industrial sector evaluated as 51% based on energy and 30% based on exergy. Consequently, exergy analysis indicates a less efficient picture of energy use in the global industrial sector than does energy analysis. A larger margin for improvement exists from an exergy perspective, compared to the overly optimistic margin indicated by energy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Air quality and future energy system planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobral Mourao, Zenaida; Konadu, Dennis; Lupton, Rick

2016-04-01

Ambient air pollution has been linked to an increasing number of premature deaths throughout the world. Projected increases in demand for food, energy resources and manufactured products will likely contribute to exacerbate air pollution with an increasing impact on human health, agricultural productivity and climate change. Current events such as tampering emissions tests by VW car manufacturers, failure to comply with EU Air Quality directives and WHO guidelines by many EU countries, the problem of smog in Chinese cities and new industrial emissions regulations represent unique challenges but also opportunities for regulators, local authorities and industry. However current models and practices of energy and resource use do not consider ambient air impacts as an integral part of the planing process. Furthermore the analysis of drivers, sources and impacts of air pollution is often fragmented, difficult to understand and lacks effective visualization tools that bring all of these components together. This work aims to develop a model that links impacts of air quality on human health and ecosystems to current and future developments in the energy system, industrial and agricultural activity and patterns of land use. The model will be added to the ForeseerTM tool, which is an integrated resource analysis platform that has been developed at the University of Cambridge initially with funding from BP and more recently through the EPSRC funded Whole Systems Energy Modeling (WholeSEM) project. The basis of the tool is a set of linked physical models for energy, water and land, including the technologies that are used to transform these resources into final services such as housing, food, transport and household goods. The new air quality model will explore different feedback effects between energy, land and atmospheric systems with the overarching goal of supporting better communication about the drivers of air quality and to incorporate concerns about air quality into energy system planning. Some example applications of this work are: (1) to discover conflicts and synergies between air quality regulations and future developments in the energy system and land use change; (2) to show the drivers of air quality in a given spatial context; (3) to explore effective ways to visualize impacts of different energy, land use and emissions control policies on air quality. An initial test case for the Bay Area in California will be presented, extending the scope of the existing California ForeseerTM tool to identify impacts of different policies within the water-energy-land nexus on local air quality.

Smart Grids and their Applicability for the Development of the Electricity Sector for Colombia in the year 2050

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viola, J.; Aceros, C.

2016-07-01

Smart Grids are a technology that can be used to implement a sustainable energy scheme of a country. Therefore, this paper proposes the development of a prospective analysis of Smart Grids as a tool to ensure energetic security in Colombia in 2050. Using LEAP software, a base scenario for Colombian energy demand has developed according to current policies, with a time horizon from 2012 to 2050. The energy analysis is based on three scenarios, taking into account the impact of cogeneration in the residential and industrial sector using renewable energy and the power quality indicators. The results show that the implementation of Smart Grids generate energy savings and increasing the coverage of the national electricity system, ensuring energetic security of the country by 2050.

Hydration property of globular proteins: An analysis of solvation free energy by energy representation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Hiroaki; Matubayasi, Nobuyuki; Nishikawa, Kiyoshi; Nagao, Hidemi

2010-09-01

Molecular dynamics simulations and solvation free energy calculations of five globular proteins (BPTI, RNase A, Lysozyme, β-lactoglobulin A, and α-chymotrypsinogen A) have been carried out to elucidate the hydration properties. Solvation free energies of the proteins with explicit solvent were estimated by energy representation (ER) method. The calculated solvation free energies were correlated with the solvent accessible surface area of hydrophilic portion, being consistent with the hydrophilic property of the proteins. These results showed that the ER method should be a powerful tool for estimating the hydration property of proteins, showing a progress of the free energy calculation with explicit solvent.

Chapter 4: The GIS Project for the Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas in the Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups, Western Gulf Province, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura

2006-01-01

A geographic information system (GIS) focusing on the Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups in the Gulf Coast region was developed as a visual-analysis tool for the U.S. Geological Survey's 2003 assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in the Western Gulf Province. The Central Energy Resources Team of the U.S. Geological Survey has also developed an Internet Map Service to deliver the GIS data to the general public. This mapping tool utilizes information from a database about the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States - including physical locations of geologic and geographic data - and converts the data into visual layers. Portrayal and analysis of geologic features on an interactive map provide an excellent tool for understanding domestic oil and gas resources for strategic planning, formulating economic and energy policies, evaluating lands under the purview of the Federal Government, and developing sound environmental policies. Assessment results can be viewed and analyzed or downloaded from the internet web site.

Analysis of energy recovery potential using innovative technologies of waste gasification.

PubMed

Lombardi, Lidia; Carnevale, Ennio; Corti, Andrea

2012-04-01

In this paper, two alternative thermo-chemical processes for waste treatment were analysed: high temperature gasification and gasification associated to plasma process. The two processes were analysed from the thermodynamic point of view, trying to reconstruct two simplified models, using appropriate simulation tools and some support data from existing/planned plants, able to predict the energy recovery performances by process application. In order to carry out a comparative analysis, the same waste stream input was considered as input to the two models and the generated results were compared. The performances were compared with those that can be obtained from conventional combustion with energy recovery process by means of steam turbine cycle. Results are reported in terms of energy recovery performance indicators as overall energy efficiency, specific energy production per unit of mass of entering waste, primary energy source savings, specific carbon dioxide production. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Femtoscopy as a tool for studying phase transition phenomena at STAR/BES energies in context of femtoscopic analysis at NICA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wielanek, D.

2017-08-01

Femtoscopy is a tool to study the space-time evolution of hot and dense matter during high energy collision by using two-particle correlations. The femtoscopic and flow measurements at RHIC and LHC energies are well reproduced by the hydrodynamics models that contains equation of state (EoS) with crossover type transition from Quark-Gluon Plasma to hadron gas phase. Similar studies where performed at AGS and SPS accelerators and was performed in Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider for exploring phase diagram of QCD matter. I present the femtoscopic observables calculated for Au-Au collisions at √sNN = 7:7 - 62:4 GeV calculated from viscous hydro + cascade model vHLLE+UrQMD with two types of EoSs - one that correspond to 1st order phase transition (PT) and second that correspond to crossover PT. I also discuss perspectives of femtoscopic measurements at NICA energy scale √sNN = 4 - 11 GeV.1

10 CFR 434.606 - Simulation tool.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Simulation tool. 434.606 Section 434.606 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY CODE FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Energy Compliance Alternative § 434.606 Simulation tool. 606.1 The criteria...

Quantifying Behavior Driven Energy Savings for Hotels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dong, Bing; Wang, Na; Hooks, Edward

2016-08-12

Hotel facilities present abundant opportunities for energy savings. In the United States, there are around 25,000 hotels that spend on an average of $2,196 on energy costs per room each year. This amounts to about 6% of the total annual hotel operating cost. However, unlike offices, there are limited studies on establishing appropriate baselines and quantifying hotel energy savings given the variety of services and amenities, unpredictable customer behaviors, and the around-the-clock operation hours. In this study, we investigate behavior driven energy savings for three medium-size (around 90,000 sf2) hotels that offer similar services in different climate zones. We firstmore » used Department of Energy Asset Scoring Tool to establish baseline models. We then conducted energy saving analysis in EnergyPlus based on a behavior model that defines the upper bound and lower bound of customer and hotel staff behavior. Lastly, we presented a probabilistic energy savings outlook for each hotel. The analysis shows behavior driven energy savings up to 25%. We believe this is the first study to incorporate behavioral factors into energy analysis for hotels. It also demonstrates a procedure to quickly create tailored baselines and identify improvement opportunities for hotels.« less

Chapter 8: Planning Tools to Simulate and Optimize Neighborhood Energy Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhivov, Alexander Michael; Case, Michael Patrick; Jank, Reinhard

This section introduces different energy modeling tools available in Europe and the USA for community energy master planning process varying from strategic Urban Energy Planning to more detailed Local Energy Planning. Two modeling tools used for Energy Master Planning of primarily residential communities, the 3D city model with CityGML, and the Net Zero Planner tool developed for the US Department of Defense installations are described in more details.

gRINN: a tool for calculation of residue interaction energies and protein energy network analysis of molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Serçinoglu, Onur; Ozbek, Pemra

2018-05-25

Atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations generate a wealth of information related to the dynamics of proteins. If properly analyzed, this information can lead to new insights regarding protein function and assist wet-lab experiments. Aiming to identify interactions between individual amino acid residues and the role played by each in the context of MD simulations, we present a stand-alone software called gRINN (get Residue Interaction eNergies and Networks). gRINN features graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and a command-line interface for generating and analyzing pairwise residue interaction energies and energy correlations from protein MD simulation trajectories. gRINN utilizes the features of NAMD or GROMACS MD simulation packages and automatizes the steps necessary to extract residue-residue interaction energies from user-supplied simulation trajectories, greatly simplifying the analysis for the end-user. A GUI, including an embedded molecular viewer, is provided for visualization of interaction energy time-series, distributions, an interaction energy matrix, interaction energy correlations and a residue correlation matrix. gRINN additionally offers construction and analysis of Protein Energy Networks, providing residue-based metrics such as degrees, betweenness-centralities, closeness centralities as well as shortest path analysis. gRINN is free and open to all users without login requirement at http://grinn.readthedocs.io.

Improving energy audit process and report outcomes through planning initiatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sprau Coulter, Tabitha L.

Energy audits and energy models are an important aspect of the retrofit design process, as they provide project teams with an opportunity to evaluate a facilities current building systems' and energy performance. The information collected during an energy audit is typically used to develop an energy model and an energy audit report that are both used to assist in making decisions about the design and implementation of energy conservation measures in a facility. The current lack of energy auditing standards results in a high degree of variability in energy audit outcomes depending on the individual performing the audit. The research presented is based on the conviction that performing an energy audit and producing a value adding energy model for retrofit buildings can benefit from a revised approach. The research was divided into four phases, with the initial three phases consisting of: 1.) process mapping activity - aimed at reducing variability in the energy auditing and energy modeling process. 2.) survey analysis -- To examine the misalignment between how industry members use the top energy modeling tools compared to their intended use as defined by software representatives. 3.) sensitivity analysis -- analysis of the affect key energy modeling inputs are having on energy modeling analysis results. The initial three phases helped define the need for an improved energy audit approach that better aligns data collection with facility owners' needs and priorities. The initial three phases also assisted in the development of a multi-criteria decision support tool that incorporates a House of Quality approach to guide a pre-audit planning activity. For the fourth and final research phase explored the impacts and evaluation methods of a pre-audit planning activity using two comparative energy audits as case studies. In each case, an energy audit professionals was asked to complete an audit using their traditional methods along with an audit which involved them first participating in a pre-audit planning activity that aligned the owner's priorities with the data collection. A comparative analysis was then used to evaluate the effects of the pre-audit planning activity in developing a more strategic method for collecting data and representing findings in an energy audit report to a facility owner. The case studies demonstrated that pre-audit planning has the potential to improve the efficiency of an energy audit process through reductions in transition time waste. The cases also demonstrated the value of audit report designs that are perceived by owners to be project specific vs. generic. The research demonstrated the ability to influence and alter an auditors' behavior through participating in a pre-audit planning activity. It also shows the potential benefits of using the House of Quality as a method of aligning data collection with owner's goals and priorities to develop reports that have increased value.

Calibration data Analysis Package (CAP): An IDL based widget application for analysis of X-ray calibration data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaishali, S.; Narendranath, S.; Sreekumar, P.

An IDL (interactive data language) based widget application developed for the calibration of C1XS (Narendranath et al., 2010) instrument on Chandrayaan-1 is modified to provide a generic package for the analysis of data from x-ray detectors. The package supports files in ascii as well as FITS format. Data can be fitted with a list of inbuilt functions to derive the spectral redistribution function (SRF). We have incorporated functions such as `HYPERMET' (Philips & Marlow 1976) including non Gaussian components in the SRF such as low energy tail, low energy shelf and escape peak. In addition users can incorporate additional models which may be required to model detector specific features. Spectral fits use a routine `mpfit' which uses Leven-Marquardt least squares fitting method. The SRF derived from this tool can be fed into an accompanying program to generate a redistribution matrix file (RMF) compatible with the X-ray spectral analysis package XSPEC. The tool provides a user friendly interface of help to beginners and also provides transparency and advanced features for experts.

A coarse-grained model for DNA origami.

PubMed

Reshetnikov, Roman V; Stolyarova, Anastasia V; Zalevsky, Arthur O; Panteleev, Dmitry Y; Pavlova, Galina V; Klinov, Dmitry V; Golovin, Andrey V; Protopopova, Anna D

2018-02-16

Modeling tools provide a valuable support for DNA origami design. However, current solutions have limited application for conformational analysis of the designs. In this work we present a tool for a thorough study of DNA origami structure and dynamics. The tool is based on a novel coarse-grained model dedicated to geometry optimization and conformational analysis of DNA origami. We explored the ability of the model to predict dynamic behavior, global shapes, and fine details of two single-layer systems designed in hexagonal and square lattices using atomic force microscopy, Förster resonance energy transfer spectroscopy, and all-atom molecular dynamic simulations for validation of the results. We also examined the performance of the model for multilayer systems by simulation of DNA origami with published cryo-electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy structures. A good agreement between the simulated and experimental data makes the model suitable for conformational analysis of DNA origami objects. The tool is available at http://vsb.fbb.msu.ru/cosm as a web-service and as a standalone version.

A coarse-grained model for DNA origami

PubMed Central

Stolyarova, Anastasia V; Zalevsky, Arthur O; Panteleev, Dmitry Y; Pavlova, Galina V; Klinov, Dmitry V; Golovin, Andrey V; Protopopova, Anna D

2018-01-01

Abstract Modeling tools provide a valuable support for DNA origami design. However, current solutions have limited application for conformational analysis of the designs. In this work we present a tool for a thorough study of DNA origami structure and dynamics. The tool is based on a novel coarse-grained model dedicated to geometry optimization and conformational analysis of DNA origami. We explored the ability of the model to predict dynamic behavior, global shapes, and fine details of two single-layer systems designed in hexagonal and square lattices using atomic force microscopy, Förster resonance energy transfer spectroscopy, and all-atom molecular dynamic simulations for validation of the results. We also examined the performance of the model for multilayer systems by simulation of DNA origami with published cryo-electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy structures. A good agreement between the simulated and experimental data makes the model suitable for conformational analysis of DNA origami objects. The tool is available at http://vsb.fbb.msu.ru/cosm as a web-service and as a standalone version. PMID:29267876

Effects of skylight parameters on daylighting energy savings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arasteh, D.; Johnson, R.; Selkowitz, S.

1985-05-01

Skylight parameters that affect lighting, cooling, heating, fan, and total energy use in office buildings are examined using the state-of-the-art building energy analysis computer code, DOE-2.1B. The lighting effects of skylight spatial distribution, skylight area, skylight visible transmission, well factor, illumination setpoint, interior partitions, ceiling height, and glazing characteristics are discussed. This study serves as the foundation for the creation of a DOE-2.1B data base and design tools for estimating daylighting energy savings from skylights. 13 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.

EERE's State & Local Energy Data Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shambarger, Erick; DeCesaro, Jennifer

2014-06-23

EERE's State and Local Energy Data (SLED) Tool provides basic energy market information that can help state and local governments plan and implement clean energy projects, including electricity generation; fuel sources and costs; applicable policies, regulations, and financial incentives; and renewable energy resource potential. Watch this video to learn more about the tool and hear testimonials from real users about the benefits of using this tool.

EERE's State & Local Energy Data Tool

ScienceCinema

Shambarger, Erick; DeCesaro, Jennifer

2018-05-30

EERE's State and Local Energy Data (SLED) Tool provides basic energy market information that can help state and local governments plan and implement clean energy projects, including electricity generation; fuel sources and costs; applicable policies, regulations, and financial incentives; and renewable energy resource potential. Watch this video to learn more about the tool and hear testimonials from real users about the benefits of using this tool.

Combining Flux Balance and Energy Balance Analysis for Large-Scale Metabolic Network: Biochemical Circuit Theory for Analysis of Large-Scale Metabolic Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beard, Daniel A.; Liang, Shou-Dan; Qian, Hong; Biegel, Bryan (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Predicting behavior of large-scale biochemical metabolic networks represents one of the greatest challenges of bioinformatics and computational biology. Approaches, such as flux balance analysis (FBA), that account for the known stoichiometry of the reaction network while avoiding implementation of detailed reaction kinetics are perhaps the most promising tools for the analysis of large complex networks. As a step towards building a complete theory of biochemical circuit analysis, we introduce energy balance analysis (EBA), which compliments the FBA approach by introducing fundamental constraints based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Fluxes obtained with EBA are thermodynamically feasible and provide valuable insight into the activation and suppression of biochemical pathways.

Metabolic network flux analysis for engineering plant systems.

PubMed

Shachar-Hill, Yair

2013-04-01

Metabolic network flux analysis (NFA) tools have proven themselves to be powerful aids to metabolic engineering of microbes by providing quantitative insights into the flows of material and energy through cellular systems. The development and application of NFA tools to plant systems has advanced in recent years and are yielding significant insights and testable predictions. Plants present substantial opportunities for the practical application of NFA but they also pose serious challenges related to the complexity of plant metabolic networks and to deficiencies in our knowledge of their structure and regulation. By considering the tools available and selected examples, this article attempts to assess where and how NFA is most likely to have a real impact on plant biotechnology. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards a generalized energy prediction model for machine tools

PubMed Central

Bhinge, Raunak; Park, Jinkyoo; Law, Kincho H.; Dornfeld, David A.; Helu, Moneer; Rachuri, Sudarsan

2017-01-01

Energy prediction of machine tools can deliver many advantages to a manufacturing enterprise, ranging from energy-efficient process planning to machine tool monitoring. Physics-based, energy prediction models have been proposed in the past to understand the energy usage pattern of a machine tool. However, uncertainties in both the machine and the operating environment make it difficult to predict the energy consumption of the target machine reliably. Taking advantage of the opportunity to collect extensive, contextual, energy-consumption data, we discuss a data-driven approach to develop an energy prediction model of a machine tool in this paper. First, we present a methodology that can efficiently and effectively collect and process data extracted from a machine tool and its sensors. We then present a data-driven model that can be used to predict the energy consumption of the machine tool for machining a generic part. Specifically, we use Gaussian Process (GP) Regression, a non-parametric machine-learning technique, to develop the prediction model. The energy prediction model is then generalized over multiple process parameters and operations. Finally, we apply this generalized model with a method to assess uncertainty intervals to predict the energy consumed to machine any part using a Mori Seiki NVD1500 machine tool. Furthermore, the same model can be used during process planning to optimize the energy-efficiency of a machining process. PMID:28652687

Towards a generalized energy prediction model for machine tools.

PubMed

Bhinge, Raunak; Park, Jinkyoo; Law, Kincho H; Dornfeld, David A; Helu, Moneer; Rachuri, Sudarsan

2017-04-01

Energy prediction of machine tools can deliver many advantages to a manufacturing enterprise, ranging from energy-efficient process planning to machine tool monitoring. Physics-based, energy prediction models have been proposed in the past to understand the energy usage pattern of a machine tool. However, uncertainties in both the machine and the operating environment make it difficult to predict the energy consumption of the target machine reliably. Taking advantage of the opportunity to collect extensive, contextual, energy-consumption data, we discuss a data-driven approach to develop an energy prediction model of a machine tool in this paper. First, we present a methodology that can efficiently and effectively collect and process data extracted from a machine tool and its sensors. We then present a data-driven model that can be used to predict the energy consumption of the machine tool for machining a generic part. Specifically, we use Gaussian Process (GP) Regression, a non-parametric machine-learning technique, to develop the prediction model. The energy prediction model is then generalized over multiple process parameters and operations. Finally, we apply this generalized model with a method to assess uncertainty intervals to predict the energy consumed to machine any part using a Mori Seiki NVD1500 machine tool. Furthermore, the same model can be used during process planning to optimize the energy-efficiency of a machining process.

Quantifying Energy and Water Savings in the U.S. Residential Sector.

PubMed

Chini, Christopher M; Schreiber, Kelsey L; Barker, Zachary A; Stillwell, Ashlynn S

2016-09-06

Stress on water and energy utilities, including natural resource depletion, infrastructure deterioration, and growing populations, threatens the ability to provide reliable and sustainable service. This study presents a demand-side management decision-making tool to evaluate energy and water efficiency opportunities at the residential level, including both direct and indirect consumption. The energy-water nexus accounts for indirect resource consumption, including water-for-energy and energy-for-water. We examine the relationship between water and energy in common household appliances and fixtures, comparing baseline appliances to ENERGY STAR or WaterSense appliances, using a cost abatement analysis for the average U.S. household, yielding a potential annual per household savings of 7600 kWh and 39 600 gallons, with most upgrades having negative abatement cost. We refine the national average cost abatement curves to understand regional relationships, specifically for the urban environments of Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Cost abatement curves display per unit cost savings related to overall direct and indirect energy and water efficiency, allowing utilities, policy makers, and homeowners to consider the relationship between energy and water when making decisions. Our research fills an important gap of the energy-water nexus in a residential unit and provides a decision making tool for policy initiatives.

Kinetic Simulation and Energetic Neutral Atom Imaging of the Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fok, Mei-Ching H.

2011-01-01

Advanced simulation tools and measurement techniques have been developed to study the dynamic magnetosphere and its response to drivers in the solar wind. The Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) is a kinetic code that solves the 3D distribution in space, energy and pitch-angle information of energetic ions and electrons. Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) imagers have been carried in past and current satellite missions. Global morphology of energetic ions were revealed by the observed ENA images. We have combined simulation and ENA analysis techniques to study the development of ring current ions during magnetic storms and substorms. We identify the timing and location of particle injection and loss. We examine the evolution of ion energy and pitch-angle distribution during different phases of a storm. In this talk we will discuss the findings from our ring current studies and how our simulation and ENA analysis tools can be applied to the upcoming TRIO-CINAMA mission.

Spatial decision support system to evaluate crop residue energy potential by anaerobic digestion.

PubMed

Escalante, Humberto; Castro, Liliana; Gauthier-Maradei, Paola; Rodríguez De La Vega, Reynel

2016-11-01

Implementing anaerobic digestion (AD) in energy production from crop residues requires development of decision tools to assess its feasibility and sustainability. A spatial decision support system (SDSS) was constructed to assist decision makers to select appropriate feedstock according to biomethanation potential, identify the most suitable location for biogas facilities, determine optimum plant capacity and supply chain, and evaluate associated risks and costs. SDSS involves a spatially explicit analysis, fuzzy multi-criteria analysis, and statistical and optimization models. The tool was validated on seven crop residues located in Santander, Colombia. For example, fique bagasse generates about 0.21millionm(3)CH4year(-1) (0.329m(3)CH4kg(-1) volatile solids) with a minimum profitable plant of about 2000tonyear(-1) and an internal rate of return of 10.5%. SDSS can be applied to evaluate other biomass resources, availability periods, and co-digestion potential. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

TEMPEST: A computer code for three-dimensional analysis of transient fluid dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fort, J.A.

TEMPEST (Transient Energy Momentum and Pressure Equations Solutions in Three dimensions) is a powerful tool for solving engineering problems in nuclear energy, waste processing, chemical processing, and environmental restoration because it analyzes and illustrates 3-D time-dependent computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer analysis. It is a family of codes with two primary versions, a N- Version (available to public) and a T-Version (not currently available to public). This handout discusses its capabilities, applications, numerical algorithms, development status, and availability and assistance.

Options to improve energy efficiency for educational building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahan, Mafruha

The cost of energy is a major factor that must be considered for educational facility budget planning purpose. The analysis of energy related issues and options can be complex and requires significant time and detailed effort. One way to facilitate the inclusion of energy option planning in facility planning efforts is to utilize a tool that allows for quick appraisal of the facility energy profile. Once such an appraisal is accomplished, it is then possible to rank energy improvement options consistently with other facility needs and requirements. After an energy efficiency option has been determined to have meaningful value in comparison with other facility planning options, it is then possible to utilize the initial appraisal as the basis for an expanded consideration of additional facility and energy use detail using the same analytic system used for the initial appraisal. This thesis has developed a methodology and an associated analytic model to assist in these tasks and thereby improve the energy efficiency of educational facilities. A detailed energy efficiency and analysis tool is described that utilizes specific university building characteristics such as size, architecture, envelop, lighting, occupancy, thermal design which allows reducing the annual energy consumption. Improving the energy efficiency of various aspects of an educational building's energy performance can be complex and can require significant time and experience to make decisions. The approach developed in this thesis initially assesses the energy design for a university building. This initial appraisal is intended to assist administrators in assessing the potential value of energy efficiency options for their particular facility. Subsequently this scoping design can then be extended as another stage of the model by local facility or planning personnel to add more details and engineering aspects to the initial screening model. This approach can assist university planning efforts to identify the most cost effective combinations of energy efficiency strategies. The model analyzes and compares the payback periods of all proposed Energy Performance Measures (EPMs) to determine which has the greatest potential value.

A Tool for Empirical Forecasting of Major Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections, and Solar Particle Events from a Proxy of Active-Region Free Magnetic Energy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barghouty, A. F.; Falconer, D. A.; Adams, J. H., Jr.

2010-01-01

This presentation describes a new forecasting tool developed for and is currently being tested by NASA s Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) at JSC, which is responsible for the monitoring and forecasting of radiation exposure levels of astronauts. The new software tool is designed for the empirical forecasting of M and X-class flares, coronal mass ejections, as well as solar energetic particle events. Its algorithm is based on an empirical relationship between the various types of events rates and a proxy of the active region s free magnetic energy, determined from a data set of approx.40,000 active-region magnetograms from approx.1,300 active regions observed by SOHO/MDI that have known histories of flare, coronal mass ejection, and solar energetic particle event production. The new tool automatically extracts each strong-field magnetic areas from an MDI full-disk magnetogram, identifies each as an NOAA active region, and measures a proxy of the active region s free magnetic energy from the extracted magnetogram. For each active region, the empirical relationship is then used to convert the free magnetic energy proxy into an expected event rate. The expected event rate in turn can be readily converted into the probability that the active region will produce such an event in a given forward time window. Descriptions of the datasets, algorithm, and software in addition to sample applications and a validation test are presented. Further development and transition of the new tool in anticipation of SDO/HMI is briefly discussed.

Graphical analysis of power systems for mobile robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raade, Justin William

The field of mobile robotics places stringent demands on the power system. Energetic autonomy, or the ability to function for a useful operation time independent of any tether, refueling, or recharging, is a driving force in a robot designed for a field application. The focus of this dissertation is the development of two graphical analysis tools, namely Ragone plots and optimal hybridization plots, for the design of human scale mobile robotic power systems. These tools contribute to the intuitive understanding of the performance of a power system and expand the toolbox of the design engineer. Ragone plots are useful for graphically comparing the merits of different power systems for a wide range of operation times. They plot the specific power versus the specific energy of a system on logarithmic scales. The driving equations in the creation of a Ragone plot are derived in terms of several important system parameters. Trends at extreme operation times (both very short and very long) are examined. Ragone plot analysis is applied to the design of several power systems for high-power human exoskeletons. Power systems examined include a monopropellant-powered free piston hydraulic pump, a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine with hydraulic actuators, and a fuel cell with electric actuators. Hybrid power systems consist of two or more distinct energy sources that are used together to meet a single load. They can often outperform non-hybrid power systems in low duty-cycle applications or those with widely varying load profiles and long operation times. Two types of energy sources are defined: engine-like and capacitive. The hybridization rules for different combinations of energy sources are derived using graphical plots of hybrid power system mass versus the primary system power. Optimal hybridization analysis is applied to several power systems for low-power human exoskeletons. Hybrid power systems examined include a fuel cell and a solar panel coupled with lithium polymer batteries. In summary, this dissertation describes the development and application of two graphical analysis tools for the intuitive design of mobile robotic power systems. Several design examples are discussed involving human exoskeleton power systems.

A mechanical energy analysis of gait initiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, C. A.; Verstraete, M. C.

1999-01-01

The analysis of gait initiation (the transient state between standing and walking) is an important diagnostic tool to study pathologic gait and to evaluate prosthetic devices. While past studies have quantified mechanical energy of the body during steady-state gait, to date no one has computed the mechanical energy of the body during gait initiation. In this study, gait initiation in seven normal male subjects was studied using a mechanical energy analysis to compute total body energy. The data showed three separate states: quiet standing, gait initiation, and steady-state gait. During gait initiation, the trends in the energy data for the individual segments were similar to those seen during steady-state gait (and in Winter DA, Quanbury AO, Reimer GD. Analysis of instantaneous energy of normal gait. J Biochem 1976;9:253-257), but diminished in amplitude. However, these amplitudes increased to those seen in steady-state during the gait initiation event (GIE), with the greatest increase occurring in the second step due to the push-off of the foundation leg. The baseline level of mechanical energy was due to the potential energy of the individual segments, while the cyclic nature of the data was indicative of the kinetic energy of the particular leg in swing phase during that step. The data presented showed differences in energy trends during gait initiation from those of steady state, thereby demonstrating the importance of this event in the study of locomotion.

Net Energetics Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Underhill, Gary K.; Carlson, Ronald A.; Clendinning, William A.

1976-01-01

Econimic analysis, next to technical analysis, has traditionally constituted the major decision-making tool of the capitalist economic system. As lon as capitalism survives, this will remain to be the case. However, during the current period of increasing scarcity and cost of energy -- a period accompanied by higher than normal inflation rates -- a proposed project may appear attractive and economic when, in fact, its demands on energy resources are extraordinarily high. Such a conclusion could well be the case when the major energy expenditure in construction or operation is directed toward a fuel, the price of which is heldmore » unusually low by legal regulation. Net energetics analysis, as applied to energy generation facilities, is a method for determining the total amount of energy, IE, required to construct, operate, and maintain the energy generation facility compared to the total energy, TE, generated (or converted) throughout the facility's lifetime. Fuel consumed by the facility as direct input to the conversion or utiliztion process is not considered a debit while energy generated is not considered a credit in the calculation of the construction, operation, and maintenance energy account, IE. Energy required to run equipment auxiliary to the conversion process is, on the other hand, considered a debit to IE. The latter considerations apply to the production, processing, and transport of fuel but not to the energy content of the fuel itself.« less

Direct glycan structure determination of intact N-linked glycopeptides by low-energy collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry and predicted spectral library searching.

PubMed

Pai, Pei-Jing; Hu, Yingwei; Lam, Henry

2016-08-31

Intact glycopeptide MS analysis to reveal site-specific protein glycosylation is an important frontier of proteomics. However, computational tools for analyzing MS/MS spectra of intact glycopeptides are still limited and not well-integrated into existing workflows. In this work, a new computational tool which combines the spectral library building/searching tool, SpectraST (Lam et al. Nat. Methods2008, 5, 873-875), and the glycopeptide fragmentation prediction tool, MassAnalyzer (Zhang et al. Anal. Chem.2010, 82, 10194-10202) for intact glycopeptide analysis has been developed. Specifically, this tool enables the determination of the glycan structure directly from low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra of intact glycopeptides. Given a list of possible glycopeptide sequences as input, a sample-specific spectral library of MassAnalyzer-predicted spectra is built using SpectraST. Glycan identification from CID spectra is achieved by spectral library searching against this library, in which both m/z and intensity information of the possible fragmentation ions are taken into consideration for improved accuracy. We validated our method using a standard glycoprotein, human transferrin, and evaluated its potential to be used in site-specific glycosylation profiling of glycoprotein datasets from LC-MS/MS. In addition, we further applied our method to reveal, for the first time, the site-specific N-glycosylation profile of recombinant human acetylcholinesterase expressed in HEK293 cells. For maximum usability, SpectraST is developed as part of the Trans-Proteomic Pipeline (TPP), a freely available and open-source software suite for MS data analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Matches, Mismatches, and Methods: Multiple-View Workflows for Energy Portfolio Analysis.

PubMed

Brehmer, Matthew; Ng, Jocelyn; Tate, Kevin; Munzner, Tamara

2016-01-01

The energy performance of large building portfolios is challenging to analyze and monitor, as current analysis tools are not scalable or they present derived and aggregated data at too coarse of a level. We conducted a visualization design study, beginning with a thorough work domain analysis and a characterization of data and task abstractions. We describe generalizable visual encoding design choices for time-oriented data framed in terms of matches and mismatches, as well as considerations for workflow design. Our designs address several research questions pertaining to scalability, view coordination, and the inappropriateness of line charts for derived and aggregated data due to a combination of data semantics and domain convention. We also present guidelines relating to familiarity and trust, as well as methodological considerations for visualization design studies. Our designs were adopted by our collaborators and incorporated into the design of an energy analysis software application that will be deployed to tens of thousands of energy workers in their client base.

2015 Cost of Wind Energy Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mone, Christopher; Hand, Maureen; Bolinger, Mark

This report uses representative commercial projects to estimate the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for both land-based and offshore wind plants in the United States for 2015. Scheduled to be published on an annual basis, the analysis relies on both market and modeled data to maintain an up-to-date understanding of wind generation cost trends and drivers. It is intended to provide insight into current component-level costs and a basis for understanding variability in the LCOE across the industry. Data and tools developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are used in this analysis to inform wind technology cost projections,more » goals, and improvement opportunities.« less

2014 Cost of Wind Energy Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mone, Christopher; Stehly, Tyler; Maples, Ben

2015-10-01

This report uses representative commercial projects to estimate the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for both land-based and offshore wind plants in the United States for 2014. Scheduled to be published on an annual basis, the analysis relies on both market and modeled data to maintain an up-to-date understanding of wind generation cost trends and drivers. It is intended to provide insight into current component-level costs and a basis for understanding variability in the LCOE across the industry. Data and tools developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are used in this analysis to inform wind technology cost projections,more » goals, and improvement opportunities.« less

Helping Students Manage Their Energy: Taking Their Pulse with the Energy Audit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spreitzer, Gretchen M.; Grant, Traci

2012-01-01

This article introduces a tool to help students learn to better manage their energy. The tool asks students to assess their energy levels for each waking hour over at least 2 days in order to identify patterns of activities associated with high energy and with depleted energy. The article describes how to use the tool in the classroom by…

Integrated modeling approach for optimal management of water, energy and food security nexus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaodong; Vesselinov, Velimir V.

2017-03-01

Water, energy and food (WEF) are inextricably interrelated. Effective planning and management of limited WEF resources to meet current and future socioeconomic demands for sustainable development is challenging. WEF production/delivery may also produce environmental impacts; as a result, green-house-gas emission control will impact WEF nexus management as well. Nexus management for WEF security necessitates integrated tools for predictive analysis that are capable of identifying the tradeoffs among various sectors, generating cost-effective planning and management strategies and policies. To address these needs, we have developed an integrated model analysis framework and tool called WEFO. WEFO provides a multi-period socioeconomic model for predicting how to satisfy WEF demands based on model inputs representing productions costs, socioeconomic demands, and environmental controls. WEFO is applied to quantitatively analyze the interrelationships and trade-offs among system components including energy supply, electricity generation, water supply-demand, food production as well as mitigation of environmental impacts. WEFO is demonstrated to solve a hypothetical nexus management problem consistent with real-world management scenarios. Model parameters are analyzed using global sensitivity analysis and their effects on total system cost are quantified. The obtained results demonstrate how these types of analyses can be helpful for decision-makers and stakeholders to make cost-effective decisions for optimal WEF management.

Application of the Statistical ICA Technique in the DANCE Data Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baramsai, Bayarbadrakh; Jandel, M.; Bredeweg, T. A.; Rusev, G.; Walker, C. L.; Couture, A.; Mosby, S.; Ullmann, J. L.; Dance Collaboration

2015-10-01

The Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiments (DANCE) at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center is used to improve our understanding of the neutron capture reaction. DANCE is a highly efficient 4 π γ-ray detector array consisting of 160 BaF2 crystals which make it an ideal tool for neutron capture experiments. The (n, γ) reaction Q-value equals to the sum energy of all γ-rays emitted in the de-excitation cascades from the excited capture state to the ground state. The total γ-ray energy is used to identify reactions on different isotopes as well as the background. However, it's challenging to identify contribution in the Esum spectra from different isotopes with the similar Q-values. Recently we have tested the applicability of modern statistical methods such as Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to identify and separate different (n, γ) reaction yields on different isotopes that are present in the target material. ICA is a recently developed computational tool for separating multidimensional data into statistically independent additive subcomponents. In this conference talk, we present some results of the application of ICA algorithms and its modification for the DANCE experimental data analysis. This research is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Nuclear Physics under the Early Career Award No. LANL20135009.

Effects of tools inserted through snake-like surgical manipulators.

PubMed

Murphy, Ryan J; Otake, Yoshito; Wolfe, Kevin C; Taylor, Russell H; Armand, Mehran

2014-01-01

Snake-like manipulators with a large, open lumen can offer improved treatment alternatives for minimally-and less-invasive surgeries. In these procedures, surgeons use the manipulator to introduce and control flexible tools in the surgical environment. This paper describes a predictive algorithm for estimating manipulator configuration given tip position for nonconstant curvature, cable-driven manipulators using energy minimization. During experimental bending of the manipulator with and without a tool inserted in its lumen, images were recorded from an overhead camera in conjunction with actuation cable tension and length. To investigate the accuracy, the estimated manipulator configuration from the model and the ground-truth configuration measured from the image were compared. Additional analysis focused on the response differences for the manipulator with and without a tool inserted through the lumen. Results indicate that the energy minimization model predicts manipulator configuration with an error of 0.24 ± 0.22mm without tools in the lumen and 0.24 ± 0.19mm with tools in the lumen (no significant difference, p = 0.81). Moreover, tools did not introduce noticeable perturbations in the manipulator trajectory; however, there was an increase in requisite force required to reach a configuration. These results support the use of the proposed estimation method for calculating the shape of the manipulator with an tool inserted in its lumen when an accuracy range of at least 1mm is required.

Wavelet analysis can sensitively describe dynamics of ethanol evoked local field potentials of the slug (Limax marginatus) brain.

PubMed

Schütt, Atsuko; Ito, Iori; Rosso, Osvaldo A; Figliola, Alejandra

2003-10-30

Odorants evoke characteristic, but complex, local field potentials (LFPs) in the molluscan brain. Wavelet tools in combination with Fourier analysis can detect and characterize hitherto unknown discrete, slow potentials underlying the conspicuous oscillations. Ethanol was one of the odorants that we have extensively studied (J. Neurosci. Methods, 119 (2002) 89). To detect new features and to elucidate their functions, we tested the wavelet tools on the ethanol-evoked LFP responses of the slug (Limax) procerebrum. Recordings were made in vitro from the neuropile and the cell layer. The present study led to the following findings: (i) Mutual exclusion. Energy concentrated mainly in two ranges, (a) 0.1-0.4 Hz and (b) 1.56-12.5 Hz, and the sum of energy remained constant throughout experiments regardless of the condition. A redistribution of relative energy within this sum seemed to occur in the course of main, possible interactions between the two components excluding each other ('mutual exclusion'). (ii) Transient signal ordering and disordering. Ethanol stimulation alternatingly evoked periods of strongly time evolving oscillation dominated by the energy of 1.56-12.5 Hz (increase of entropy=disordered or complexly ordered state) and those of near-silence were predominated by the energy of 0.1-0.4 Hz (decrease of entropy=ordered state). (iii) About 0.1 Hz slow wave oscillation. It was robust. The dominant energy oscillation and the resulting large entropy fluctuation were negatively correlated to each other, and revealed strong frequency-tuning or synchronization at this frequency. Our findings suggest that discrete slow waves play functionally important roles in the invertebrate brain, as widely known in vertebrate EEG. Wavelet tools allow an easy interpretation of several minutes of frequency variations in a single display and give precise information on stimulus-evoked complex change of the neural system describing the new state 'more ordered' or 'non-ordered or more complexly ordered'.

Trades Between Opposition and Conjunction Class Trajectories for Early Human Missions to Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattfeld, Bryan; Stromgren, Chel; Shyface, Hilary; Komar, David R.; Cirillo, William; Goodliff, Kandyce

2014-01-01

Candidate human missions to Mars, including NASA's Design Reference Architecture 5.0, have focused on conjunction-class missions with long crewed durations and minimum energy trajectories to reduce total propellant requirements and total launch mass. However, in order to progressively reduce risk and gain experience in interplanetary mission operations, it may be desirable that initial human missions to Mars, whether to the surface or to Mars orbit, have shorter total crewed durations and minimal stay times at the destination. Opposition-class missions require larger total energy requirements relative to conjunction-class missions but offer the potential for much shorter mission durations, potentially reducing risk and overall systems performance requirements. This paper will present a detailed comparison of conjunction-class and opposition-class human missions to Mars vicinity with a focus on how such missions could be integrated into the initial phases of a Mars exploration campaign. The paper will present the results of a trade study that integrates trajectory/propellant analysis, element design, logistics and sparing analysis, and risk assessment to produce a comprehensive comparison of opposition and conjunction exploration mission constructs. Included in the trade study is an assessment of the risk to the crew and the trade offs between the mission duration and element, logistics, and spares mass. The analysis of the mission trade space was conducted using four simulation and analysis tools developed by NASA. Trajectory analyses for Mars destination missions were conducted using VISITOR (Versatile ImpulSive Interplanetary Trajectory OptimizeR), an in-house tool developed by NASA Langley Research Center. Architecture elements were evaluated using EXploration Architecture Model for IN-space and Earth-to-orbit (EXAMINE), a parametric modeling tool that generates exploration architectures through an integrated systems model. Logistics analysis was conducted using NASA's Human Exploration Logistics Model (HELM), and sparing allocation predictions were generated via the Exploration Maintainability Analysis Tool (EMAT), which is a probabilistic simulation engine that evaluates trades in spacecraft reliability and sparing requirements based on spacecraft system maintainability and reparability.

Data Mining and Machine Learning Tools for Combinatorial Material Science of All-Oxide Photovoltaic Cells.

PubMed

Yosipof, Abraham; Nahum, Oren E; Anderson, Assaf Y; Barad, Hannah-Noa; Zaban, Arie; Senderowitz, Hanoch

2015-06-01

Growth in energy demands, coupled with the need for clean energy, are likely to make solar cells an important part of future energy resources. In particular, cells entirely made of metal oxides (MOs) have the potential to provide clean and affordable energy if their power conversion efficiencies are improved. Such improvements require the development of new MOs which could benefit from combining combinatorial material sciences for producing solar cells libraries with data mining tools to direct synthesis efforts. In this work we developed a data mining workflow and applied it to the analysis of two recently reported solar cell libraries based on Titanium and Copper oxides. Our results demonstrate that QSAR models with good prediction statistics for multiple solar cells properties could be developed and that these models highlight important factors affecting these properties in accord with experimental findings. The resulting models are therefore suitable for designing better solar cells. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Heterogeneous Sensor Data Exploration and Sustainable Declarative Monitoring Architecture: Application to Smart Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Servigne, S.; Gripay, Y.; Pinarer, O.; Samuel, J.; Ozgovde, A.; Jay, J.

2016-09-01

Concerning energy consumption and monitoring architectures, our goal is to develop a sustainable declarative monitoring architecture for lower energy consumption taking into account the monitoring system itself. Our second is to develop theoretical and practical tools to model, explore and exploit heterogeneous data from various sources in order to understand a phenomenon like energy consumption of smart building vs inhabitants' social behaviours. We focus on a generic model for data acquisition campaigns based on the concept of generic sensor. The concept of generic sensor is centered on acquired data and on their inherent multi-dimensional structure, to support complex domain-specific or field-oriented analysis processes. We consider that a methodological breakthrough may pave the way to deep understanding of voluminous and heterogeneous scientific data sets. Our use case concerns energy efficiency of buildings to understand relationship between physical phenomena and user behaviors. The aim of this paper is to give a presentation of our methodology and results concerning architecture and user-centric tools.

Representing energy efficiency diagnosis strategies in cognitive work analysis.

PubMed

Hilliard, Antony; Jamieson, Greg A

2017-03-01

This article describes challenges encountered in applying Jens Rasmussen's Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) framework to the practice of energy efficiency Monitoring & Targeting (M&T). Eight theoretic issues encountered in the analysis are described with respect to Rasmussen's work and the modeling solutions we adopted. We grappled with how to usefully apply Work Domain Analysis (WDA) to analyze categories of domains with secondary purposes and no ideal grain of decomposition. This difficulty encouraged us to pursue Control Task (ConTA) and Strategies (StrA) analysis, which are under-explored as bases for interface design. In ConTA we found M&T was best represented by two interlinked work functions; one controlling energy, the other maintaining knowledge representations. From StrA, we identified a popular representation-dependent strategy and inferred information required to diagnose faults in system performance and knowledge representation. This article presents and discusses excerpts from our analysis, and outlines their application to diagnosis support tools. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

10 CFR 434.606 - Simulation tool.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Simulation tool. 434.606 Section 434.606 Energy DEPARTMENT... RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Energy Compliance Alternative § 434.606 Simulation tool. 606.1 The criteria established in subsection 521 for the selection of a simulation tool shall be followed when using the...

10 CFR 434.606 - Simulation tool.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Simulation tool. 434.606 Section 434.606 Energy DEPARTMENT... RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Energy Compliance Alternative § 434.606 Simulation tool. 606.1 The criteria established in subsection 521 for the selection of a simulation tool shall be followed when using the...

10 CFR 434.606 - Simulation tool.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Simulation tool. 434.606 Section 434.606 Energy DEPARTMENT... RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Energy Compliance Alternative § 434.606 Simulation tool. 606.1 The criteria established in subsection 521 for the selection of a simulation tool shall be followed when using the...

10 CFR 434.606 - Simulation tool.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Simulation tool. 434.606 Section 434.606 Energy DEPARTMENT... RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Energy Compliance Alternative § 434.606 Simulation tool. 606.1 The criteria established in subsection 521 for the selection of a simulation tool shall be followed when using the...

Energy Management Challenges and Opportunities with Increased Intermittent Renewable Generation on the California Electrical Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichman, Joshua David

Renewable resources including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectric, wave and tidal, represent an opportunity for environmentally preferred generation of electricity that also increases energy security and independence. California is very proactive in encouraging the implementation of renewable energy in part through legislation like Assembly Bill 32 and the development and execution of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS); however renewable technologies are not without challenges. All renewable resources have some resource limitations, be that from location, capacity, cost or availability. Technologies like wind and solar are intermittent in nature but represent one of the most abundant resources for generating renewable electricity. If RPS goals are to be achieved high levels of intermittent renewables must be considered. This work explores the effects of high penetration of renewables on a grid system, with respect to resource availability and identifies the key challenges from the perspective of the grid to introducing these resources. The HiGRID tool was developed for this analysis because no other tool could explore grid operation, while maintaining system reliability, with a diverse set of renewable resources and a wide array of complementary technologies including: energy efficiency, demand response, energy storage technologies and electric transportation. This tool resolves the hourly operation of conventional generation resources (nuclear, coal, geothermal, natural gas and hydro). The resulting behavior from introducing additional renewable resources and the lifetime costs for each technology is analyzed.

Allen Brain Atlas-Driven Visualizations: a web-based gene expression energy visualization tool.

PubMed

Zaldivar, Andrew; Krichmar, Jeffrey L

2014-01-01

The Allen Brain Atlas-Driven Visualizations (ABADV) is a publicly accessible web-based tool created to retrieve and visualize expression energy data from the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) across multiple genes and brain structures. Though the ABA offers their own search engine and software for researchers to view their growing collection of online public data sets, including extensive gene expression and neuroanatomical data from human and mouse brain, many of their tools limit the amount of genes and brain structures researchers can view at once. To complement their work, ABADV generates multiple pie charts, bar charts and heat maps of expression energy values for any given set of genes and brain structures. Such a suite of free and easy-to-understand visualizations allows for easy comparison of gene expression across multiple brain areas. In addition, each visualization links back to the ABA so researchers may view a summary of the experimental detail. ABADV is currently supported on modern web browsers and is compatible with expression energy data from the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas in situ hybridization data. By creating this web application, researchers can immediately obtain and survey numerous amounts of expression energy data from the ABA, which they can then use to supplement their work or perform meta-analysis. In the future, we hope to enable ABADV across multiple data resources.

Using Functional Languages and Declarative Programming to analyze ROOT data: LINQtoROOT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watts, Gordon

2015-05-01

Modern high energy physics analysis is complex. It typically requires multiple passes over different datasets, and is often held together with a series of scripts and programs. For example, one has to first reweight the jet energy spectrum in Monte Carlo to match data before plots of any other jet related variable can be made. This requires a pass over the Monte Carlo and the Data to derive the reweighting, and then another pass over the Monte Carlo to plot the variables the analyser is really interested in. With most modern ROOT based tools this requires separate analysis loops for each pass, and script files to glue to the results of the two analysis loops together. A framework has been developed that uses the functional and declarative features of the C# language and its Language Integrated Query (LINQ) extensions to declare the analysis. The framework uses language tools to convert the analysis into C++ and runs ROOT or PROOF as a backend to get the results. This gives the analyser the full power of an object-oriented programming language to put together the analysis and at the same time the speed of C++ for the analysis loop. The tool allows one to incorporate C++ algorithms written for ROOT by others. A by-product of the design is the ability to cache results between runs, dramatically reducing the cost of adding one-more-plot and also to keep a complete record associated with each plot for data preservation reasons. The code is mature enough to have been used in ATLAS analyses. The package is open source and available on the open source site CodePlex.

Origin of a maximum of the astrophysical S factor in heavy-ion fusion reactions at deep subbarrier energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagino, K.; Balantekin, A. B.; Lwin, N. W.; Thein, Ei Shwe Zin

2018-03-01

The hindrance phenomenon of heavy-ion fusion cross sections at deep subbarrier energies often accompanies a maximum of an astrophysical S factor at a threshold energy for fusion hindrance. We argue that this phenomenon can naturally be explained when the fusion excitation function is fitted with two potentials, with a larger (smaller) logarithmic slope at energies lower (higher) than the threshold energy. This analysis clearly suggests that the astrophysical S factor provides a convenient tool to analyze the deep subbarrier hindrance phenomenon, even though the S factor may have a strong energy dependence for heavy-ion systems unlike that for astrophysical reactions.

Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulation Tool (BLAST) Documentation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neubauer, J.

2014-12-01

The deployment and use of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in automotive and stationary energy storage applications must be optimized to justify their high up-front costs. Given that batteries degrade with use and storage, such optimizations must evaluate many years of operation. As the degradation mechanisms are sensitive to temperature, state-of-charge (SOC) histories, current levels, and cycle depth and frequency, it is important to model both the battery and the application to a high level of detail to ensure battery response is accurately predicted. To address these issues, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed the Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulationmore » Tool (BLAST) suite. This suite of tools pairs NREL’s high-fidelity battery degradation model with a battery electrical and thermal performance model, application-specific electrical and thermal performance models of the larger system (e.g., an electric vehicle), application-specific system use data (e.g., vehicle travel patterns and driving data), and historic climate data from cities across the United States. This provides highly realistic long-term predictions of battery response and thereby enables quantitative comparisons of varied battery use strategies.« less

An Economic Analysis of Residential Photovoltaic Systems with and without Energy Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kizito, Rodney

Residential photovoltaic (PV) systems serve as a source of electricity generation that is separate from the traditional utilities. Investor investment into residential PV systems provides several financial benefits such as federal tax credit incentives for installation, net metering credit from excess generated electricity added back to the grid, and savings in price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from the PV system generation versus the increasing conventional utility price per kWh. As much benefit as stand-alone PV systems present, the incorporation of energy storage yields even greater benefits. Energy storage (ES) is capable of storing unused PV provided energy from daytime periods of high solar supply but low consumption. This allows the investor to use the stored energy when the cost of conventional utility power is high, while also allowing for excess stored energy to be sold back to the grid. This paper aims to investigate the overall returns for investor's investing in solely PV and ES-based PV systems by using a return of investment (ROI) economic analysis. The analysis is carried out over three scenarios: (1) residence without a PV system or ES, (2) residence with just a PV system, and (3) residence with both a PV system and ES. Due to the variation in solar exposure across the regions of the United States, this paper performs an analysis for eight of the top solar market states separately, accounting for the specific solar generation capabilities of each state. A Microsoft Excel tool is provided for computation of the ROI in scenario 2 and 3. A benefit-cost ration (BCR) is used to depict the annual economic performance of the PV system (scenario 2) and PV + ES system (scenario 3). The tool allows the user to adjust the variables and parameters to satisfy the users' specific investment situation.

Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy imaging using a high-resolution linear radon transform

USGS Publications Warehouse

Luo, Y.; Xia, J.; Miller, R.D.; Xu, Y.; Liu, J.; Liu, Q.

2008-01-01

Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) analysis is an efficient tool to obtain the vertical shear-wave profile. One of the key steps in the MASW method is to generate an image of dispersive energy in the frequency-velocity domain, so dispersion curves can be determined by picking peaks of dispersion energy. In this paper, we propose to image Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy by high-resolution linear Radon transform (LRT). The shot gather is first transformed along the time direction to the frequency domain and then the Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy can be imaged by high-resolution LRT using a weighted preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm. Synthetic data with a set of linear events are presented to show the process of generating dispersive energy. Results of synthetic and real-world examples demonstrate that, compared with the slant stacking algorithm, high-resolution LRT can improve the resolution of images of dispersion energy by more than 50%. ?? Birkhaueser 2008.

Inclusion of Structural Flexibility in Design Load Analysis for Wave Energy Converters: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guo, Yi; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; van Rij, Jennifer A

2017-08-14

Hydroelastic interactions, caused by ocean wave loading on wave energy devices with deformable structures, are studied in the time domain. A midfidelity, hybrid modeling approach of rigid-body and flexible-body dynamics is developed and implemented in an open-source simulation tool for wave energy converters (WEC-Sim) to simulate the dynamic responses of wave energy converter component structural deformations under wave loading. A generalized coordinate system, including degrees of freedom associated with rigid bodies, structural modes, and constraints connecting multiple bodies, is utilized. A simplified method of calculating stress loads and sectional bending moments is implemented, with the purpose of sizing and designingmore » wave energy converters. Results calculated using the method presented are verified with those of high-fidelity fluid-structure interaction simulations, as well as low-fidelity, frequency-domain, boundary element method analysis.« less

Harnessing the power of emerging petascale platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mellor-Crummey, John

2007-07-01

As part of the US Department of Energy's Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC-2) program, science teams are tackling problems that require computational simulation and modeling at the petascale. A grand challenge for computer science is to develop software technology that makes it easier to harness the power of these systems to aid scientific discovery. As part of its activities, the SciDAC-2 Center for Scalable Application Development Software (CScADS) is building open source software tools to support efficient scientific computing on the emerging leadership-class platforms. In this paper, we describe two tools for performance analysis and tuning that are being developed as part of CScADS: a tool for analyzing scalability and performance, and a tool for optimizing loop nests for better node performance. We motivate these tools by showing how they apply to S3D, a turbulent combustion code under development at Sandia National Laboratory. For S3D, our node performance analysis tool helped uncover several performance bottlenecks. Using our loop nest optimization tool, we transformed S3D's most costly loop nest to reduce execution time by a factor of 2.94 for a processor working on a 503 domain.

Feasibility analysis of a Commercial HPWH with CO 2 Refrigerant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nawaz, Kashif; Shen, Bo; Elatar, Ahmed F.

2017-02-12

A scoping-level analysis has conducted to establish the feasibility of using CO 2 as refrigerant for a commercial heat pump water heater (HPWH) for U.S. applications. The DOE/ORNL Heat Pump Design Model (HPDM) modeling tool was used for the assessment with data from a Japanese heat pump water heater (Sanden) using CO 2 as refrigerant for calibration. A CFD modeling tool was used to further refine the HPDM tank model. After calibration, the model was used to simulate the performance of commercial HPWHs using CO 2 and R-134a (baseline). The parametric analysis concluded that compressor discharge pressure and water temperaturemore » stratification are critical parameters for the system. For comparable performance the compressor size and water-heater size can be significantly different for R-134 and CO 2 HPWHs. The proposed design deploying a gas-cooler configuration not only exceeds the Energy Star Energy Factor criteria i.e. 2.20, but is also comparable to some of the most efficient products in the market using conventional refrigerants.« less

The PC9A Filter Screening Tool

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

conjunction with an optical microscope for identification of other important debris such as glass beads. The FST has now been installed at RAAF East...conservative screening limits need to be sent for detailed laboratory analysis. Laboratory analysis has traditionally involved a manual microscopic ...Electron Microscope with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM EDS) to determine the composition and likely source. The Engine Maintenance Manual

World Energy Projection System Plus (WEPS ): Global Activity Module

EIA Publications

2016-01-01

The World Energy Projection System Plus (WEPS ) is a comprehensive, mid?term energy forecasting and policy analysis tool used by EIA. WEPS projects energy supply, demand, and prices by country or region, given assumptions about the state of various economies, international energy markets, and energy policies. The Global Activity Module (GLAM) provides projections of economic driver variables for use by the supply, demand, and conversion modules of WEPS . GLAM’s baseline economic projection contains the economic assumptions used in WEPS to help determine energy demand and supply. GLAM can also provide WEPS with alternative economic assumptions representing a range of uncertainty about economic growth. The resulting economic impacts of such assumptions are inputs to the remaining supply and demand modules of WEPS .

Cluster analysis as a tool for evaluating the exploration potential of Known Geothermal Resource Areas

DOE PAGES

Lindsey, Cary R.; Neupane, Ghanashym; Spycher, Nicolas; ...

2018-01-03

Although many Known Geothermal Resource Areas in Oregon and Idaho were identified during the 1970s and 1980s, few were subsequently developed commercially. Because of advances in power plant design and energy conversion efficiency since the 1980s, some previously identified KGRAs may now be economically viable prospects. Unfortunately, available characterization data vary widely in accuracy, precision, and granularity, making assessments problematic. In this paper, we suggest a procedure for comparing test areas against proven resources using Principal Component Analysis and cluster identification. The result is a low-cost tool for evaluating potential exploration targets using uncertain or incomplete data.

Cluster analysis as a tool for evaluating the exploration potential of Known Geothermal Resource Areas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lindsey, Cary R.; Neupane, Ghanashym; Spycher, Nicolas

Although many Known Geothermal Resource Areas in Oregon and Idaho were identified during the 1970s and 1980s, few were subsequently developed commercially. Because of advances in power plant design and energy conversion efficiency since the 1980s, some previously identified KGRAs may now be economically viable prospects. Unfortunately, available characterization data vary widely in accuracy, precision, and granularity, making assessments problematic. In this paper, we suggest a procedure for comparing test areas against proven resources using Principal Component Analysis and cluster identification. The result is a low-cost tool for evaluating potential exploration targets using uncertain or incomplete data.

Characterization of hybrid lighting systems of the Electrical Engineering Building in the Industrial University of Santander

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galvis, D.; Exposito, C.; Osma, G.; Amado, L.; Ordóñez, G.

2016-07-01

This paper presents an analysis of hybrid lighting systems of Electrical Engineering Building in the Industrial University of Santander, which is a pilot of green building for warm- tropical conditions. Analysis of lighting performance of inner spaces is based on lighting curves obtained from characterization of daylighting systems of these spaces. A computation tool was made in Excel-Visual Basic to simulate the behaviour of artificial lighting system considering artificial control system, user behaviour and solar condition. Also, this tool allows to estimate the electrical energy consumption of the lighting system for a day, a month and a year.

Electric load shape benchmarking for small- and medium-sized commercial buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luo, Xuan; Hong, Tianzhen; Chen, Yixing

Small- and medium-sized commercial buildings owners and utility managers often look for opportunities for energy cost savings through energy efficiency and energy waste minimization. However, they currently lack easy access to low-cost tools that help interpret the massive amount of data needed to improve understanding of their energy use behaviors. Benchmarking is one of the techniques used in energy audits to identify which buildings are priorities for an energy analysis. Traditional energy performance indicators, such as the energy use intensity (annual energy per unit of floor area), consider only the total annual energy consumption, lacking consideration of the fluctuation ofmore » energy use behavior over time, which reveals the time of use information and represents distinct energy use behaviors during different time spans. To fill the gap, this study developed a general statistical method using 24-hour electric load shape benchmarking to compare a building or business/tenant space against peers. Specifically, the study developed new forms of benchmarking metrics and data analysis methods to infer the energy performance of a building based on its load shape. We first performed a data experiment with collected smart meter data using over 2,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in California. We then conducted a cluster analysis of the source data, and determined and interpreted the load shape features and parameters with peer group analysis. Finally, we implemented the load shape benchmarking feature in an open-access web-based toolkit (the Commercial Building Energy Saver) to provide straightforward and practical recommendations to users. The analysis techniques were generic and flexible for future datasets of other building types and in other utility territories.« less

Electric load shape benchmarking for small- and medium-sized commercial buildings

DOE PAGES

Luo, Xuan; Hong, Tianzhen; Chen, Yixing; ...

2017-07-28

Small- and medium-sized commercial buildings owners and utility managers often look for opportunities for energy cost savings through energy efficiency and energy waste minimization. However, they currently lack easy access to low-cost tools that help interpret the massive amount of data needed to improve understanding of their energy use behaviors. Benchmarking is one of the techniques used in energy audits to identify which buildings are priorities for an energy analysis. Traditional energy performance indicators, such as the energy use intensity (annual energy per unit of floor area), consider only the total annual energy consumption, lacking consideration of the fluctuation ofmore » energy use behavior over time, which reveals the time of use information and represents distinct energy use behaviors during different time spans. To fill the gap, this study developed a general statistical method using 24-hour electric load shape benchmarking to compare a building or business/tenant space against peers. Specifically, the study developed new forms of benchmarking metrics and data analysis methods to infer the energy performance of a building based on its load shape. We first performed a data experiment with collected smart meter data using over 2,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in California. We then conducted a cluster analysis of the source data, and determined and interpreted the load shape features and parameters with peer group analysis. Finally, we implemented the load shape benchmarking feature in an open-access web-based toolkit (the Commercial Building Energy Saver) to provide straightforward and practical recommendations to users. The analysis techniques were generic and flexible for future datasets of other building types and in other utility territories.« less

Building Energy Monitoring and Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hong, Tianzhen; Feng, Wei; Lu, Alison

U.S. and China are the world’s top two economics. Together they consumed one-third of the world’s primary energy. It is an unprecedented opportunity and challenge for governments, researchers and industries in both countries to join together to address energy issues and global climate change. Such joint collaboration has huge potential in creating new jobs in energy technologies and services. Buildings in the US and China consumed about 40% and 25% of the primary energy in both countries in 2010 respectively. Worldwide, the building sector is the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas emission. Better understanding and improving the energy performancemore » of buildings is a critical step towards sustainable development and mitigation of global climate change. This project aimed to develop a standard methodology for building energy data definition, collection, presentation, and analysis; apply the developed methods to a standardized energy monitoring platform, including hardware and software, to collect and analyze building energy use data; and compile offline statistical data and online real-time data in both countries for fully understanding the current status of building energy use. This helps decode the driving forces behind the discrepancy of building energy use between the two countries; identify gaps and deficiencies of current building energy monitoring, data collection, and analysis; and create knowledge and tools to collect and analyze good building energy data to provide valuable and actionable information for key stakeholders.« less

Overview of EPA tools for supporting local-, state- and regional-level decision makers addressing energy and environmental issues: NYC MARKAL Energy Systems Model and Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool

EPA Science Inventory

A workshop will be conducted to demonstrate and focus on two decision support tools developed at EPA/ORD: 1. Community-scale MARKAL model: an energy-water technology evaluation tool and 2. Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool (MSW DST). The Workshop will be part of Southea...

The Analysis of Electrical Energy Consumption of the Impact Screwdriver During Assembly of Fixed Threaded Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grinevich, I.; Nikishin, Vl.; Mozga, N.; Laitans, M.

2017-06-01

The paper deals with the possibilities of reducing the consumption of electrical energy of the impact screwdriver during the assembly of fixed threaded joints. The recommendations related to a decrease in electrical energy consumption would allow reducing product costs but so far there have been no such recommendations from the producers of the tool as to the effective operating regimes of the impact screwdrivers in relation to electrical energy consumption and necessary tightening moment of the nut. The aim of the study is to find out the economical operating mode of the electrical impact screwdriver when assembling fixed threaded joints. By varying the set speed of the rotor head and working time of the impact mechanism, there is an opportunity to determine electrical energy consumption of the tool for the given tightening moment. The results of the experiment show that at the same tightening moment obtained the electrical energy consumption of the impact screwdriver is less at a higher starting set speed of the rotor head but shorter operating time of the impact mechanism than at a lower speed of the rotor head and longer operating time of the impact mechanism.

Water-food-energy nexus index: analysis of water-energy-food nexus of crop's production system applying the indicators approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Gafy, Inas

2017-10-01

Analysis the water-food-energy nexus is the first step to assess the decision maker in developing and evaluating national strategies that take into account the nexus. The main objective of the current research is providing a method for the decision makers to analysis the water-food-energy nexus of the crop production system at the national level and carrying out a quantitative assessment of it. Through the proposed method, indicators considering the water and energy consumption, mass productivity, and economic productivity were suggested. Based on these indicators a water-food-energy nexus index (WFENI) was performed. The study showed that the calculated WFENI of the Egyptian summer crops have scores that range from 0.21 to 0.79. Comparing to onion (the highest scoring WFENI,i.e., the best score), rice has the lowest WFENI among the summer food crops. Analysis of the water-food-energy nexus of forty-two Egyptian crops in year 2010 was caried out (energy consumed for irrigation represent 7.4% of the total energy footprint). WFENI can be applied to developed strategies for the optimal cropping pattern that minimizing the water and energy consumption and maximizing their productivity. It can be applied as a holistic tool to evaluate the progress in the water and agricultural national strategies. Moreover, WFENI could be applied yearly to evaluate the performance of the water-food-energy nexus managmant.

MEPSA: minimum energy pathway analysis for energy landscapes.

PubMed

Marcos-Alcalde, Iñigo; Setoain, Javier; Mendieta-Moreno, Jesús I; Mendieta, Jesús; Gómez-Puertas, Paulino

2015-12-01

From conformational studies to atomistic descriptions of enzymatic reactions, potential and free energy landscapes can be used to describe biomolecular systems in detail. However, extracting the relevant data of complex 3D energy surfaces can sometimes be laborious. In this article, we present MEPSA (Minimum Energy Path Surface Analysis), a cross-platform user friendly tool for the analysis of energy landscapes from a transition state theory perspective. Some of its most relevant features are: identification of all the barriers and minima of the landscape at once, description of maxima edge profiles, detection of the lowest energy path connecting two minima and generation of transition state theory diagrams along these paths. In addition to a built-in plotting system, MEPSA can save most of the generated data into easily parseable text files, allowing more versatile uses of MEPSA's output such as the generation of molecular dynamics restraints from a calculated path. MEPSA is freely available (under GPLv3 license) at: http://bioweb.cbm.uam.es/software/MEPSA/ CONTACT: pagomez@cbm.csic.es. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A Comparative Analysis of Life-Cycle Assessment Tools for ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We identified and evaluated five life-cycle assessment tools that community decision makers can use to assess the environmental and economic impacts of end-of-life (EOL) materials management options. The tools evaluated in this report are waste reduction mode (WARM), municipal solid waste-decision support tool (MSW-DST), solid waste optimization life-cycle framework (SWOLF), environmental assessment system for environmental technologies (EASETECH), and waste and resources assessment for the environment (WRATE). WARM, MSW-DST, and SWOLF were developed for US-specific materials management strategies, while WRATE and EASETECH were developed for European-specific conditions. All of the tools (with the exception of WARM) allow specification of a wide variety of parameters (e.g., materials composition and energy mix) to a varying degree, thus allowing users to model specific EOL materials management methods even outside the geographical domain they are originally intended for. The flexibility to accept user-specified input for a large number of parameters increases the level of complexity and the skill set needed for using these tools. The tools were evaluated and compared based on a series of criteria, including general tool features, the scope of the analysis (e.g., materials and processes included), and the impact categories analyzed (e.g., climate change, acidification). A series of scenarios representing materials management problems currently relevant to c

Effective Energy Simulation and Optimal Design of Side-lit Buildings with Venetian Blinds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Tian

Venetian blinds are popularly used in buildings to control the amount of incoming daylight for improving visual comfort and reducing heat gains in air-conditioning systems. Studies have shown that the proper design and operation of window systems could result in significant energy savings in both lighting and cooling. However, there is no convenient computer tool that allows effective and efficient optimization of the envelope of side-lit buildings with blinds now. Three computer tools, Adeline, DOE2 and EnergyPlus widely used for the above-mentioned purpose have been experimentally examined in this study. Results indicate that the two former tools give unacceptable accuracy due to unrealistic assumptions adopted while the last one may generate large errors in certain conditions. Moreover, current computer tools have to conduct hourly energy simulations, which are not necessary for life-cycle energy analysis and optimal design, to provide annual cooling loads. This is not computationally efficient, particularly not suitable for optimal designing a building at initial stage because the impacts of many design variations and optional features have to be evaluated. A methodology is therefore developed for efficient and effective thermal and daylighting simulations and optimal design of buildings with blinds. Based on geometric optics and radiosity method, a mathematical model is developed to reasonably simulate the daylighting behaviors of venetian blinds. Indoor illuminance at any reference point can be directly and efficiently computed. They have been validated with both experiments and simulations with Radiance. Validation results show that indoor illuminances computed by the new models agree well with the measured data, and the accuracy provided by them is equivalent to that of Radiance. The computational efficiency of the new models is much higher than that of Radiance as well as EnergyPlus. Two new methods are developed for the thermal simulation of buildings. A fast Fourier transform (FFT) method is presented to avoid the root-searching process in the inverse Laplace transform of multilayered walls. Generalized explicit FFT formulae for calculating the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) are developed for the first time. They can largely facilitate the implementation of FFT. The new method also provides a basis for generating the symbolic response factors. Validation simulations show that it can generate the response factors as accurate as the analytical solutions. The second method is for direct estimation of annual or seasonal cooling loads without the need for tedious hourly energy simulations. It is validated by hourly simulation results with DOE2. Then symbolic long-term cooling load can be created by combining the two methods with thermal network analysis. The symbolic long-term cooling load can keep the design parameters of interest as symbols, which is particularly useful for the optimal design and sensitivity analysis. The methodology is applied to an office building in Hong Kong for the optimal design of building envelope. Design variables such as window-to-wall ratio, building orientation, and glazing optical and thermal properties are included in the study. Results show that the selected design values could significantly impact the energy performance of windows, and the optimal design of side-lit buildings could greatly enhance energy savings. The application example also demonstrates that the developed methodology significantly facilitates the optimal building design and sensitivity analysis, and leads to high computational efficiency.

A tank-to-wheel analysis tool for energy and emissions studies in road vehicles.

PubMed

Silva, C M; Gonçalves, G A; Farias, T L; Mendes-Lopes, J M C

2006-08-15

Currently, oil based fuels are the primary energy source of road transport. The growing need for oil independence and CO(2) mitigation has lead to the increasing importance of alternative fuel usage. CO(2) is produced not only as the fuel is used in the vehicle (tank-to-wheel contribution), but also upstream, from the fuel extraction to the refueling station (well-to-tank contribution), and the life cycle of the fuel production (well-to-wheel contribution) must be considered in order to analyse the global impact of the fuel utilization. A road vehicle tank-to-wheel analysis tool that may be integrated with well-to-tank models was developed in the present study. The integration in a demonstration case study allowed to perform a life cycle assessment concerning the utilization of diesel and natural gas fuels in a specific network line of a bus transit company operating in the city of Porto, Portugal.

Waveform Analysis Optimization for the 45Ca Beta Decay Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitehead, Ryan; ⁴⁵Ca Collaboration

2017-09-01

The 45Ca experiment is searching for a non-zero Fierz interference term, which would imply a tensor type contribution to the low-energy weak interaction, possibly signaling Beyond-the-Standard-Model (BSM) physics. Beta spectrum measurements are being performed at LANL, using the segmented, large area, Si detectors developed for the Nab and UCNB experiments. 109 events have been recorded, with 38 of the 254 pixels instrumented, during the summers of 2016 and 2017. An important step to extracting the energy spectra is the correction of the waveform for pile-up events. A set of analysis tools has been developed to address this issue. A trapezoidal filter has been characterized and optimized for the experimental waveforms. This filter is primarily used for energy extraction, but, by adjusting certain parameters, it has been modified to identify pile-up events. The efficiency varies with the total energy of the particle and the amount deposited with each detector interaction. Preliminary results of this analysis will be presented.

Docking and free energy simulations to predict conformational domains involved in hCG-LH receptor interactions using recombinant antibodies.

PubMed

Majumdar, Ritankar; Railkar, Reema; Dighe, Rajan R

2011-11-01

Single chain fragment variables (ScFvs) have been extensively employed in studying the protein-protein interactions. ScFvs derived from phage display libraries have an additional advantage of being generated against a native antigen, circumventing loss of information on conformational epitopes. In the present study, an attempt has been made to elucidate human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor interactions by using a neutral and two inhibitory ScFvs against hCG. The objective was to dock a computationally derived model of these ScFvs onto the crystal structure of hCG and understand the differential roles of the mapped epitopes in hCG-LH receptor interactions. An anti-hCG ScFv, whose epitope was mapped previously using biochemical tools, served as the positive control for assessing the quality of docking analysis. To evaluate the role of specific side chains at the hCG-ScFv interface, binding free energy as well as residue interaction energies of complexes in solution were calculated using molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann/surface area method after performing the molecular dynamic simulations on the selected hCG-ScFv models and validated using biochemical and SPR analysis. The robustness of these calculations was demonstrated by comparing the theoretically determined binding energies with the experimentally obtained kinetic parameters for hCG-ScFv complexes. Superimposition of hCG-ScFv model onto a model of hCG complexed with the 51-266 residues of LH receptor revealed importance of the residues previously thought to be unimportant for hormone binding and response. This analysis provides an alternate tool for understanding the structure-function analysis of ligand-receptor interactions. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Application of Ultrasonic Inspection to Crimped Electrical Connections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, K. Elliott; Perey, Daniel F.; Yost, William T.

2010-01-01

The development of a new ultrasonic measurement technique to quantitatively assess wire crimp terminations is discussed. The development of a prototype instrument, based on a modified, commercially available, crimp tool, is demonstrated for applying this technique when wire crimps are installed. The crimp tool has three separate crimping locations that accommodate the three different ferrule diameters. The crimp tool in this study is capable of crimping wire diameters ranging from 12 to 26 American Wire Gauge (AWG). A transducer design is presented that allows for interrogation of each of the three crimp locations on the crimp tool without reconfiguring the device. An analysis methodology, based on transmitted ultrasonic energy and timing of the first received pulse is shown to correlate to both crimp location in the tool and the AWG of the crimp/ferrule combination. The detectability of a number of the crimp failure pathologies, such as missing strands, partially inserted wires and incomplete crimp compression, is discussed. A wave propagation model, solved by finite element analysis, describes the compressional ultrasonic wave propagation through the junction during the crimping process.

Application of high-resolution linear Radon transform for Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy imaging and mode separating

USGS Publications Warehouse

Luo, Y.; Xia, J.; Miller, R.D.; Liu, J.; Xu, Y.; Liu, Q.

2008-01-01

Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) analysis is an efficient tool to obtain the vertical shear-wave profile. One of the key steps in the MASW method is to generate an image of dispersive energy in the frequency-velocity domain, so dispersion curves can be determined by picking peaks of dispersion energy. In this paper, we image Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy and separate multimodes from a multichannel record by high-resolution linear Radon transform (LRT). We first introduce Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy imaging by high-resolution LRT. We then show the process of Rayleigh-wave mode separation. Results of synthetic and real-world examples demonstrate that (1) compared with slant stacking algorithm, high-resolution LRT can improve the resolution of images of dispersion energy by more than 50% (2) high-resolution LRT can successfully separate multimode dispersive energy of Rayleigh waves with high resolution; and (3) multimode separation and reconstruction expand frequency ranges of higher mode dispersive energy, which not only increases the investigation depth but also provides a means to accurately determine cut-off frequencies.

Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes (BESTEST-EX) (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Judkoff, R.; Neymark, J.; Polly, B.

2011-12-01

This presentation discusses the goals of NREL Analysis Accuracy R&D; BESTEST-EX goals; what BESTEST-EX is; how it works; 'Building Physics' cases; 'Building Physics' reference results; 'utility bill calibration' cases; limitations and potential future work. Goals of NREL Analysis Accuracy R&D are: (1) Provide industry with the tools and technical information needed to improve the accuracy and consistency of analysis methods; (2) Reduce the risks associated with purchasing, financing, and selling energy efficiency upgrades; and (3) Enhance software and input collection methods considering impacts on accuracy, cost, and time of energy assessments. BESTEST-EX Goals are: (1) Test software predictions of retrofitmore » energy savings in existing homes; (2) Ensure building physics calculations and utility bill calibration procedures perform up to a minimum standard; and (3) Quantify impact of uncertainties in input audit data and occupant behavior. BESTEST-EX is a repeatable procedure that tests how well audit software predictions compare to the current state of the art in building energy simulation. There is no direct truth standard. However, reference software have been subjected to validation testing, including comparisons with empirical data.« less

Integrated Modeling Approach for Optimal Management of Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Xiaodong; Vesselinov, Velimir Valentinov

We report that water, energy and food (WEF) are inextricably interrelated. Effective planning and management of limited WEF resources to meet current and future socioeconomic demands for sustainable development is challenging. WEF production/delivery may also produce environmental impacts; as a result, green-house-gas emission control will impact WEF nexus management as well. Nexus management for WEF security necessitates integrated tools for predictive analysis that are capable of identifying the tradeoffs among various sectors, generating cost-effective planning and management strategies and policies. To address these needs, we have developed an integrated model analysis framework and tool called WEFO. WEFO provides a multi-periodmore » socioeconomic model for predicting how to satisfy WEF demands based on model inputs representing productions costs, socioeconomic demands, and environmental controls. WEFO is applied to quantitatively analyze the interrelationships and trade-offs among system components including energy supply, electricity generation, water supply-demand, food production as well as mitigation of environmental impacts. WEFO is demonstrated to solve a hypothetical nexus management problem consistent with real-world management scenarios. Model parameters are analyzed using global sensitivity analysis and their effects on total system cost are quantified. Lastly, the obtained results demonstrate how these types of analyses can be helpful for decision-makers and stakeholders to make cost-effective decisions for optimal WEF management.« less

Integrated Modeling Approach for Optimal Management of Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Xiaodong; Vesselinov, Velimir Valentinov

2016-12-28

We report that water, energy and food (WEF) are inextricably interrelated. Effective planning and management of limited WEF resources to meet current and future socioeconomic demands for sustainable development is challenging. WEF production/delivery may also produce environmental impacts; as a result, green-house-gas emission control will impact WEF nexus management as well. Nexus management for WEF security necessitates integrated tools for predictive analysis that are capable of identifying the tradeoffs among various sectors, generating cost-effective planning and management strategies and policies. To address these needs, we have developed an integrated model analysis framework and tool called WEFO. WEFO provides a multi-periodmore » socioeconomic model for predicting how to satisfy WEF demands based on model inputs representing productions costs, socioeconomic demands, and environmental controls. WEFO is applied to quantitatively analyze the interrelationships and trade-offs among system components including energy supply, electricity generation, water supply-demand, food production as well as mitigation of environmental impacts. WEFO is demonstrated to solve a hypothetical nexus management problem consistent with real-world management scenarios. Model parameters are analyzed using global sensitivity analysis and their effects on total system cost are quantified. Lastly, the obtained results demonstrate how these types of analyses can be helpful for decision-makers and stakeholders to make cost-effective decisions for optimal WEF management.« less

Informing Regional Water-Energy-Food Nexus with System Analysis and Interactive Visualizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y. C. E.; Wi, S.

2016-12-01

Communicating scientific results to non-technical practitioners is challenging due to their differing interests, concerns and agendas. It is further complicated by the growing number of relevant factors that need to be considered, such as climate change and demographic dynamic. Visualization is an effective method for the scientific community to disseminate results, and it represents an opportunity for the future of water resources systems analysis (WRSA). This study demonstrates an intuitive way to communicate WRSA results to practitioners using interactive web-based visualization tools developed by the JavaScript library: Data-Driven Documents (D3) with a case study in Great Ruaha River of Tanzania. The decreasing trend of streamflow during the last decades in the region highlights the need of assessing the water usage competition between agricultural production, energy generation, and ecosystem service. Our team conduct the advance water resources systems analysis to inform policy that will affect the water-energy-food nexus. Modeling results are presented in the web-based visualization tools and allow non-technical practitioners to brush the graph directly (e. g. Figure 1). The WRSA suggests that no single measure can completely resolve the water competition. A combination of measures, each of which is acceptable from a social and economic perspective, and accepting that zero flows cannot be totally eliminated during dry years in the wetland, are likely to be the best way forward.

Power flow as a complement to statistical energy analysis and finite element analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cuschieri, J. M.

1987-01-01

Present methods of analysis of the structural response and the structure-borne transmission of vibrational energy use either finite element (FE) techniques or statistical energy analysis (SEA) methods. The FE methods are a very useful tool at low frequencies where the number of resonances involved in the analysis is rather small. On the other hand SEA methods can predict with acceptable accuracy the response and energy transmission between coupled structures at relatively high frequencies where the structural modal density is high and a statistical approach is the appropriate solution. In the mid-frequency range, a relatively large number of resonances exist which make finite element method too costly. On the other hand SEA methods can only predict an average level form. In this mid-frequency range a possible alternative is to use power flow techniques, where the input and flow of vibrational energy to excited and coupled structural components can be expressed in terms of input and transfer mobilities. This power flow technique can be extended from low to high frequencies and this can be integrated with established FE models at low frequencies and SEA models at high frequencies to form a verification of the method. This method of structural analysis using power flo and mobility methods, and its integration with SEA and FE analysis is applied to the case of two thin beams joined together at right angles.

BEST Winery Guidebook: Benchmarking and Energy and Water SavingsTool for the Wine Industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst; Radspieler, Anthony

2005-10-15

Not all industrial facilities have the staff or the opportunity to perform a detailed audit of their operations. The lack of knowledge of energy efficiency opportunities provides an important barrier to improving efficiency. Benchmarking has demonstrated to help energy users understand energy use and the potential for energy efficiency improvement, reducing the information barrier. In California, the wine making industry is not only one of the economic pillars of the economy; it is also a large energy consumer, with a considerable potential for energy-efficiency improvement. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fetzer Vineyards developed an integrated benchmarking and self-assessment tool formore » the California wine industry called ''BEST''(Benchmarking and Energy and water Savings Tool) Winery. BEST Winery enables a winery to compare its energy efficiency to a best practice winery, accounting for differences in product mix and other characteristics of the winery. The tool enables the user to evaluate the impact of implementing energy and water efficiency measures. The tool facilitates strategic planning of efficiency measures, based on the estimated impact of the measures, their costs and savings. BEST Winery is available as a software tool in an Excel environment. This report serves as background material, documenting assumptions and information on the included energy and water efficiency measures. It also serves as a user guide for the software package.« less

The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network: A Multi-Institution Program To Reduce Nitrogen Pollution

PubMed Central

Leach, Allison M.; Leary, Neil; Baron, Jill; Compton, Jana E.; Galloway, James N.; Hastings, Meredith G.; Kimiecik, Jacob; Lantz-Trissel, Jonathan; de la Reguera, Elizabeth; Ryals, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Abstract Anthropogenic sources of reactive nitrogen have local and global impacts on air and water quality and detrimental effects on human and ecosystem health. This article uses the Nitrogen Footprint Tool (NFT) to determine the amount of nitrogen (N) released as a result of institutional consumption. The sectors accounted for include food (consumption and upstream production), energy, transportation, fertilizer, research animals, and agricultural research. The NFT is then used for scenario analysis to manage and track reductions, which are driven by the consumption behaviors of both the institution itself and its constituent individuals. In this article, the first seven completed institution nitrogen footprint results are presented. The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network aims to develop footprints for many institutions to encourage widespread upper-level management strategies that will create significant reductions in reactive nitrogen released to the environment. Energy use and food purchases are the two largest sectors contributing to institution nitrogen footprints. Ongoing efforts by institutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions also help to reduce the nitrogen footprint, but the impact of food production on nitrogen pollution has not been directly addressed by the higher education sustainability community. The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network found that institutions could reduce their nitrogen footprints by optimizing food purchasing to reduce consumption of animal products and minimize food waste, as well as by reducing dependence on fossil fuels for energy. PMID:29350216

PREFACE: International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP'07)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobie, Randall; Tafirout, Reda; Thomson, Jana

2007-07-01

The 2007 International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP) was held on 2-7 September 2007 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. CHEP is a major series of international conferences for physicists and computing professionals from the High Energy and Nuclear Physics community, Computer Science and Information Technology. The CHEP conference provides an international forum to exchange information on computing experience and needs for the community, and to review recent, ongoing, and future activities. The CHEP'07 conference had close to 500 attendees with a program that included plenary sessions of invited oral presentations, a number of parallel sessions comprising oral and poster presentations, and an industrial exhibition. Conference tracks covered topics in Online Computing, Event Processing, Software Components, Tools and Databases, Software Tools and Information Systems, Computing Facilities, Production Grids and Networking, Grid Middleware and Tools, Distributed Data Analysis and Information Management and Collaborative Tools. The conference included a successful whale-watching excursion involving over 200 participants and a banquet at the Royal British Columbia Museum. The next CHEP conference will be held in Prague in March 2009. We would like thank the sponsors of the conference and the staff at the TRIUMF Laboratory and the University of Victoria who made the CHEP'07 a success. Randall Sobie and Reda Tafirout CHEP'07 Conference Chairs

Small hydropower spot prediction using SWAT and a diversion algorithm, case study: Upper Citarum Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kardhana, Hadi; Arya, Doni Khaira; Hadihardaja, Iwan K.; Widyaningtyas, Riawan, Edi; Lubis, Atika

2017-11-01

Small-Scale Hydropower (SHP) had been important electric energy power source in Indonesia. Indonesia is vast countries, consists of more than 17.000 islands. It has large fresh water resource about 3 m of rainfall and 2 m of runoff. Much of its topography is mountainous, remote but abundant with potential energy. Millions of people do not have sufficient access to electricity, some live in the remote places. Recently, SHP development was encouraged for energy supply of the places. Development of global hydrology data provides opportunity to predict distribution of hydropower potential. In this paper, we demonstrate run-of-river type SHP spot prediction tool using SWAT and a river diversion algorithm. The use of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with input of CFSR (Climate Forecast System Re-analysis) of 10 years period had been implemented to predict spatially distributed flow cumulative distribution function (CDF). A simple algorithm to maximize potential head of a location by a river diversion expressing head race and penstock had been applied. Firm flow and power of the SHP were estimated from the CDF and the algorithm. The tool applied to Upper Citarum River Basin and three out of four existing hydropower locations had been well predicted. The result implies that this tool is able to support acceleration of SHP development at earlier phase.

ERP Energy and Cognitive Activity Correlates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schillaci, Michael Jay; Vendemia, Jennifer M. C.

2014-03-01

We propose a novel analysis approach for high-density event related scalp potential (ERP) data where the integrated channel-power is used to attain an energy density functional state for channel-clusters of neurophysiological significance. The method is applied to data recorded during a two-stimulus, directed lie paradigm and shows that deceptive responses emit between 8% and 10% less power. A time course analysis of these cognitive activity measures over posterior and anterior regions of the cortex suggests that neocortical interactions, reflecting the differing workload demands during executive and semantic processes, take about 50% longer for the case of deception. These results suggest that the proposed method may provide a useful tool for the analysis of ERP correlates of high-order cognitive functioning. We also report on a possible equivalence between the energy functional distribution and near-infrared signatures that have been measured with other modalities.

Energy loss analysis of an integrated space power distribution system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kankam, M. D.; Ribeiro, P. F.

1992-01-01

The results of studies related to conceptual topologies of an integrated utility-like space power system are described. The system topologies are comparatively analyzed by considering their transmission energy losses as functions of mainly distribution voltage level and load composition. The analysis is expedited by use of a Distribution System Analysis and Simulation (DSAS) software. This recently developed computer program by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) uses improved load models to solve the power flow within the system. However, present shortcomings of the software with regard to space applications, and incompletely defined characteristics of a space power system make the results applicable to only the fundamental trends of energy losses of the topologies studied. Accountability, such as included, for the effects of the various parameters on the system performance can constitute part of a planning tool for a space power distribution system.

Scaling forecast models for wind turbulence and wind turbine power intermittency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duran Medina, Olmo; Schmitt, Francois G.; Calif, Rudy

2017-04-01

The intermittency of the wind turbine power remains an important issue for the massive development of this renewable energy. The energy peaks injected in the electric grid produce difficulties in the energy distribution management. Hence, a correct forecast of the wind power in the short and middle term is needed due to the high unpredictability of the intermittency phenomenon. We consider a statistical approach through the analysis and characterization of stochastic fluctuations. The theoretical framework is the multifractal modelisation of wind velocity fluctuations. Here, we consider three wind turbine data where two possess a direct drive technology. Those turbines are producing energy in real exploitation conditions and allow to test our forecast models of power production at a different time horizons. Two forecast models were developed based on two physical principles observed in the wind and the power time series: the scaling properties on the one hand and the intermittency in the wind power increments on the other. The first tool is related to the intermittency through a multifractal lognormal fit of the power fluctuations. The second tool is based on an analogy of the power scaling properties with a fractional brownian motion. Indeed, an inner long-term memory is found in both time series. Both models show encouraging results since a correct tendency of the signal is respected over different time scales. Those tools are first steps to a search of efficient forecasting approaches for grid adaptation facing the wind energy fluctuations.

Measurement of Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure in Wheelchair Users: Methods, Considerations and Future Directions.

PubMed

Nightingale, Tom E; Rouse, Peter C; Thompson, Dylan; Bilzon, James L J

2017-12-01

Accurately measuring physical activity and energy expenditure in persons with chronic physical disabilities who use wheelchairs is a considerable and ongoing challenge. Quantifying various free-living lifestyle behaviours in this group is at present restricted by our understanding of appropriate measurement tools and analytical techniques. This review provides a detailed evaluation of the currently available measurement tools used to predict physical activity and energy expenditure in persons who use wheelchairs. It also outlines numerous considerations specific to this population and suggests suitable future directions for the field. Of the existing three self-report methods utilised in this population, the 3-day Physical Activity Recall Assessment for People with Spinal Cord Injury (PARA-SCI) telephone interview demonstrates the best reliability and validity. However, the complexity of interview administration and potential for recall bias are notable limitations. Objective measurement tools, which overcome such considerations, have been validated using controlled laboratory protocols. These have consistently demonstrated the arm or wrist as the most suitable anatomical location to wear accelerometers. Yet, more complex data analysis methodologies may be necessary to further improve energy expenditure prediction for more intricate movements or behaviours. Multi-sensor devices that incorporate physiological signals and acceleration have recently been adapted for persons who use wheelchairs. Population specific algorithms offer considerable improvements in energy expenditure prediction accuracy. This review highlights the progress in the field and aims to encourage the wider scientific community to develop innovative solutions to accurately quantify physical activity in this population.

MANTiS: a program for the analysis of X-ray spectromicroscopy data.

PubMed

Lerotic, Mirna; Mak, Rachel; Wirick, Sue; Meirer, Florian; Jacobsen, Chris

2014-09-01

Spectromicroscopy combines spectral data with microscopy, where typical datasets consist of a stack of images taken across a range of energies over a microscopic region of the sample. Manual analysis of these complex datasets can be time-consuming, and can miss the important traits in the data. With this in mind we have developed MANTiS, an open-source tool developed in Python for spectromicroscopy data analysis. The backbone of the package involves principal component analysis and cluster analysis, classifying pixels according to spectral similarity. Our goal is to provide a data analysis tool which is comprehensive, yet intuitive and easy to use. MANTiS is designed to lead the user through the analysis using story boards that describe each step in detail so that both experienced users and beginners are able to analyze their own data independently. These capabilities are illustrated through analysis of hard X-ray imaging of iron in Roman ceramics, and soft X-ray imaging of a malaria-infected red blood cell.

GUIDELINES FOR THE APPLICATION OF SEM/EDX ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR FINE AND COARSE PM SAMPLES

EPA Science Inventory

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) is a powerful tool in the characterization and source apportionment of environmental particulate matter (PM), providing size, chemistry, and morphology of particles as small as a few tenths ...

Solar Data and Tools: Resources for Researchers, Industry, and Developers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2016-04-01

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has created a suite of analytical tools and data that can inform decisions about implementing solar and that are increasingly forming the basis of private-sector tools and services to solar consumers. The following solar energy data sets and analytical tools are available free to the public.

Comparison of Software Models for Energy Savings from Cool Roofs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

New, Joshua Ryan; Miller, William A; Huang, Yu

2014-01-01

A web-based Roof Savings Calculator (RSC) has been deployed for the United States Department of Energy as an industry-consensus tool to help building owners, manufacturers, distributors, contractors and researchers easily run complex roof and attic simulations. This tool employs modern web technologies, usability design, and national average defaults as an interface to annual simulations of hour-by-hour, whole-building performance using the world-class simulation tools DOE-2.1E and AtticSim in order to provide estimated annual energy and cost savings. In addition to cool reflective roofs, RSC simulates multiple roof and attic configurations including different roof slopes, above sheathing ventilation, radiant barriers, low-emittance roofmore » surfaces, duct location, duct leakage rates, multiple substrate types, and insulation levels. A base case and energy-efficient alternative can be compared side-by-side to estimate monthly energy. RSC was benchmarked against field data from demonstration homes in Ft. Irwin, California; while cooling savings were similar, heating penalty varied significantly across different simulation engines. RSC results reduce cool roofing cost-effectiveness thus mitigating expected economic incentives for this countermeasure to the urban heat island effect. This paper consolidates comparison of RSC s projected energy savings to other simulation engines including DOE-2.1E, AtticSim, Micropas, and EnergyPlus, and presents preliminary analyses. RSC s algorithms for capturing radiant heat transfer and duct interaction in the attic assembly are considered major contributing factors to increased cooling savings and heating penalties. Comparison to previous simulation-based studies, analysis on the force multiplier of RSC cooling savings and heating penalties, the role of radiative heat exchange in an attic assembly, and changes made for increased accuracy of the duct model are included.« less

Optimizing Biorefinery Design and Operations via Linear Programming Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Talmadge, Michael; Batan, Liaw; Lamers, Patrick

The ability to assess and optimize economics of biomass resource utilization for the production of fuels, chemicals and power is essential for the ultimate success of a bioenergy industry. The team of authors, consisting of members from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), has developed simple biorefinery linear programming (LP) models to enable the optimization of theoretical or existing biorefineries. The goal of this analysis is to demonstrate how such models can benefit the developing biorefining industry. It focuses on a theoretical multi-pathway, thermochemical biorefinery configuration and demonstrates how the biorefinery can use LPmore » models for operations planning and optimization in comparable ways to the petroleum refining industry. Using LP modeling tools developed under U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office (DOE-BETO) funded efforts, the authors investigate optimization challenges for the theoretical biorefineries such as (1) optimal feedstock slate based on available biomass and prices, (2) breakeven price analysis for available feedstocks, (3) impact analysis for changes in feedstock costs and product prices, (4) optimal biorefinery operations during unit shutdowns / turnarounds, and (5) incentives for increased processing capacity. These biorefinery examples are comparable to crude oil purchasing and operational optimization studies that petroleum refiners perform routinely using LPs and other optimization models. It is important to note that the analyses presented in this article are strictly theoretical and they are not based on current energy market prices. The pricing structure assigned for this demonstrative analysis is consistent with $4 per gallon gasoline, which clearly assumes an economic environment that would favor the construction and operation of biorefineries. The analysis approach and examples provide valuable insights into the usefulness of analysis tools for maximizing the potential benefits of biomass utilization for production of fuels, chemicals and power.« less

Development of Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerant Solutions for Commercial Refrigeration Systems using a Life Cycle Climate Performance Design Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdelaziz, Omar; Fricke, Brian A; Vineyard, Edward Allan

Commercial refrigeration systems are known to be prone to high leak rates and to consume large amounts of electricity. As such, direct emissions related to refrigerant leakage and indirect emissions resulting from primary energy consumption contribute greatly to their Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP). In this paper, an LCCP design tool is used to evaluate the performance of a typical commercial refrigeration system with alternative refrigerants and minor system modifications to provide lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerant solutions with improved LCCP compared to baseline systems. The LCCP design tool accounts for system performance, ambient temperature, and system load; systemmore » performance is evaluated using a validated vapor compression system simulation tool while ambient temperature and system load are devised from a widely used building energy modeling tool (EnergyPlus). The LCCP design tool also accounts for the change in hourly electricity emission rate to yield an accurate prediction of indirect emissions. The analysis shows that conventional commercial refrigeration system life cycle emissions are largely due to direct emissions associated with refrigerant leaks and that system efficiency plays a smaller role in the LCCP. However, as a transition occurs to low GWP refrigerants, the indirect emissions become more relevant. Low GWP refrigerants may not be suitable for drop-in replacements in conventional commercial refrigeration systems; however some mixtures may be introduced as transitional drop-in replacements. These transitional refrigerants have a significantly lower GWP than baseline refrigerants and as such, improved LCCP. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on the tradeoffs between refrigerant GWP, efficiency and capacity.« less

Fungal Genomics Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grigoriev, Igor

The JGI Fungal Genomics Program aims to scale up sequencing and analysis of fungal genomes to explore the diversity of fungi important for energy and the environment, and to promote functional studies on a system level. Combining new sequencing technologies and comparative genomics tools, JGI is now leading the world in fungal genome sequencing and analysis. Over 120 sequenced fungal genomes with analytical tools are available via MycoCosm (www.jgi.doe.gov/fungi), a web-portal for fungal biologists. Our model of interacting with user communities, unique among other sequencing centers, helps organize these communities, improves genome annotation and analysis work, and facilitates new larger-scalemore » genomic projects. This resulted in 20 high-profile papers published in 2011 alone and contributing to the Genomics Encyclopedia of Fungi, which targets fungi related to plant health (symbionts, pathogens, and biocontrol agents) and biorefinery processes (cellulose degradation, sugar fermentation, industrial hosts). Our next grand challenges include larger scale exploration of fungal diversity (1000 fungal genomes), developing molecular tools for DOE-relevant model organisms, and analysis of complex systems and metagenomes.« less

Theoretical basis, application, reliability, and sample size estimates of a Meridian Energy Analysis Device for Traditional Chinese Medicine Research.

PubMed

Tsai, Ming-Yen; Chen, Shih-Yu; Lin, Chung-Chun

2017-04-01

The Meridian Energy Analysis Device is currently a popular tool in the scientific research of meridian electrophysiology. In this field, it is generally believed that measuring the electrical conductivity of meridians provides information about the balance of bioenergy or Qi-blood in the body. PubMed database based on some original articles from 1956 to 2014 and the authoŕs clinical experience. In this short communication, we provide clinical examples of Meridian Energy Analysis Device application, especially in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, discuss the reliability of the measurements, and put the values obtained into context by considering items of considerable variability and by estimating sample size. The Meridian Energy Analysis Device is making a valuable contribution to the diagnosis of Qi-blood dysfunction. It can be assessed from short-term and long-term meridian bioenergy recordings. It is one of the few methods that allow outpatient traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis, monitoring the progress, therapeutic effect and evaluation of patient prognosis. The holistic approaches underlying the practice of traditional Chinese medicine and new trends in modern medicine toward the use of objective instruments require in-depth knowledge of the mechanisms of meridian energy, and the Meridian Energy Analysis Device can feasibly be used for understanding and interpreting traditional Chinese medicine theory, especially in view of its expansion in Western countries.

Army Energy and Water Reporting System Assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deprez, Peggy C.; Giardinelli, Michael J.; Burke, John S.

There are many areas of desired improvement for the Army Energy and Water Reporting System. The purpose of system is to serve as a data repository for collecting information from energy managers, which is then compiled into an annual energy report. This document summarizes reported shortcomings of the system and provides several alternative approaches for improving application usability and adding functionality. The U.S. Army has been using Army Energy and Water Reporting System (AEWRS) for many years to collect and compile energy data from installations for facilitating compliance with Federal and Department of Defense energy management program reporting requirements. Inmore » this analysis, staff from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that substantial opportunities exist to expand AEWRS functions to better assist the Army to effectively manage energy programs. Army leadership must decide if it wants to invest in expanding AEWRS capabilities as a web-based, enterprise-wide tool for improving the Army Energy and Water Management Program or simply maintaining a bottom-up reporting tool. This report looks at both improving system functionality from an operational perspective and increasing user-friendliness, but also as a tool for potential improvements to increase program effectiveness. The authors of this report recommend focusing on making the system easier for energy managers to input accurate data as the top priority for improving AEWRS. The next major focus of improvement would be improved reporting. The AEWRS user interface is dated and not user friendly, and a new system is recommended. While there are relatively minor improvements that could be made to the existing system to make it easier to use, significant improvements will be achieved with a user-friendly interface, new architecture, and a design that permits scalability and reliability. An expanded data set would naturally have need of additional requirements gathering and a focus on integrating with other existing data sources, thus minimizing manually entered data.« less

Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis: A powerful tool in biomedical research and diagnosis

PubMed Central

Scimeca, Manuel; Bischetti, Simone; Lamsira, Harpreet Kaur; Bonfiglio, Rita; Bonanno, Elena

2018-01-01

The Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis is a technique of elemental analysis associated to electron microscopy based on the generation of characteristic Xrays that reveals the presence of elements present in the specimens. The EDX microanalysis is used in different biomedical fields by many researchers and clinicians. Nevertheless, most of the scientific community is not fully aware of its possible applications. The spectrum of EDX microanalysis contains both semi-qualitative and semi-quantitative information. EDX technique is made useful in the study of drugs, such as in the study of drugs delivery in which the EDX is an important tool to detect nanoparticles (generally, used to improve the therapeutic performance of some chemotherapeutic agents). EDX is also used in the study of environmental pollution and in the characterization of mineral bioaccumulated in the tissues. In conclusion, the EDX can be considered as a useful tool in all works that require element determination, endogenous or exogenous, in the tissue, cell or any other sample. PMID:29569878

The choice of primary energy source including PV installation for providing electric energy to a public utility building - a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radomski, Bartosz; Ćwiek, Barbara; Mróz, Tomasz M.

2017-11-01

The paper presents multicriteria decision aid analysis of the choice of PV installation providing electric energy to a public utility building. From the energy management point of view electricity obtained by solar radiation has become crucial renewable energy source. Application of PV installations may occur a profitable solution from energy, economic and ecologic point of view for both existing and newly erected buildings. Featured variants of PV installations have been assessed by multicriteria analysis based on ANP (Analytic Network Process) method. Technical, economical, energy and environmental criteria have been identified as main decision criteria. Defined set of decision criteria has an open character and can be modified in the dialog process between the decision-maker and the expert - in the present case, an expert in planning of development of energy supply systems. The proposed approach has been used to evaluate three variants of PV installation acceptable for existing educational building located in Poznań, Poland - the building of Faculty of Chemical Technology, Poznań University of Technology. Multi-criteria analysis based on ANP method and the calculation software Super Decisions has proven to be an effective tool for energy planning, leading to the indication of the recommended variant of PV installation in existing and newly erected public buildings. Achieved results show prospects and possibilities of rational renewable energy usage as complex solution to public utility buildings.

Binding Energy Calculation of Patchouli Alcohol Isomer Cyclooxygenase Complexes Suggested as COX-1/COX-2 Selective Inhibitor

PubMed Central

Mahdi, Chanif; Nurdiana, Nurdiana; Kikuchi, Takheshi; Fatchiyah, Fatchiyah

2014-01-01

To understand the structural features that dictate the selectivity of the two isoforms of the prostaglandin H2 synthase (PGHS/COX), the three-dimensional (3D) structure of COX-1/COX-2 was assessed by means of binding energy calculation of virtual molecular dynamic with using ligand alpha-Patchouli alcohol isomers. Molecular interaction studies with COX-1 and COX-2 were done using the molecular docking tools by Hex 8.0. Interactions were further visualized by using Discovery Studio Client 3.5 software tool. The binding energy of molecular interaction was calculated by AMBER12 and Virtual Molecular Dynamic 1.9.1 software. The analysis of the alpha-Patchouli alcohol isomer compounds showed that all alpha-Patchouli alcohol isomers were suggested as inhibitor of COX-1 and COX-2. Collectively, the scoring binding energy calculation (with PBSA Model Solvent) of alpha-Patchouli alcohol isomer compounds (CID442384, CID6432585, CID3080622, CID10955174, and CID56928117) was suggested as candidate for a selective COX-1 inhibitor and CID521903 as nonselective COX-1/COX-2. PMID:25484897

10 CFR 434.507 - Calculation procedure and simulation tool.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Calculation procedure and simulation tool. 434.507 Section 434.507 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY CODE FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Building Energy Cost Compliance Alternative § 434.507...

Energy performance analysis of a detached single-family house to be refurbished

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleixo, Kevin; Curado, António

2017-07-01

This study was developed with the purpose of analyzing the reinforcement of the energy performance in a detached single-family house to be refurbished, using this building as a case-study for simulation and experimental analysis. The building is located in Viana do Castelo, a city in the northwest of Portugal nearby the Atlantic Ocean. The developed study was carried out in order to characterize the thermal performance of the house, using simulation analysis in a dynamic regime. The energy consumption study was developed in permanent regime analysis, using simulation tools. At the end, the study aimed to propose and define the best retrofitting solutions, both passive and active, and to improve the energy performance of the building. The outcomes of the study provided the importance of passive retrofitting solutions on thermal comfort and energy performance. The use of a set of thermal solutions, as the insulation of the roof, walls and the windows, it is possible to achieve a global gain of 0, 63 °C and to reduce energy consumption in 61, 46 [kWh/m2.year]. The study of the building in a simplified thermal regime, according to the Portuguese energy efficiency regulation, allowed the determination of the energy efficiency class of the house and retrofitting solutions proposed. The initial energy performance class of the building is C. With the application of a passive set of solutions, it's possible to improve the energy performance to a class B. With the implementation of some active solutions, it is possible to reach an energy class A +.

Hybrid Simulator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trujillo, David J.; Sridharan, Srikesh; Weinstock, Irvin

HybSim (short for Hybrid Simulator) is a flexible, easy to use screening tool that allows the user to quanti the technical and economic benefits of installing a village hybrid generating system and simulates systems with any combination of —Diesel generator sets —Photovoltaic arrays -Wind Turbines and -Battery energy storage systems Most village systems (or small population sites such as villages, remote military bases, small communities, independent or isolated buildings or centers) depend on diesel generation systems for their source of energy. HybSim allows the user to determine other "sources" of energy that can greatly reduce the dollar to kilo-watt hourmore » ratio. Supported by the DOE, Energy Storage Program, HybSim was initially developed to help analyze the benefits of energy storage systems in Alaskan villages. Soon after its development, other sources of energy were added providing the user with a greater range of analysis opportunities and providing the village with potentially added savings. In addition to village systems, HybSim has generated interest for use from military institutions in energy provisions and USAID for international village analysis.« less

Optimization and parallelization of the thermal–hydraulic subchannel code CTF for high-fidelity multi-physics applications

DOE PAGES

Salko, Robert K.; Schmidt, Rodney C.; Avramova, Maria N.

2014-11-23

This study describes major improvements to the computational infrastructure of the CTF subchannel code so that full-core, pincell-resolved (i.e., one computational subchannel per real bundle flow channel) simulations can now be performed in much shorter run-times, either in stand-alone mode or as part of coupled-code multi-physics calculations. These improvements support the goals of the Department Of Energy Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) Energy Innovation Hub to develop high fidelity multi-physics simulation tools for nuclear energy design and analysis.

The application of simulation modeling to the cost and performance ranking of solar thermal power plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenberg, L. S.; Revere, W. R.; Selcuk, M. K.

1981-01-01

Small solar thermal power systems (up to 10 MWe in size) were tested. The solar thermal power plant ranking study was performed to aid in experiment activity and support decisions for the selection of the most appropriate technological approach. The cost and performance were determined for insolation conditions by utilizing the Solar Energy Simulation computer code (SESII). This model optimizes the size of the collector field and energy storage subsystem for given engine generator and energy transport characteristics. The development of the simulation tool, its operation, and the results achieved from the analysis are discussed.

Metrics for the National SCADA Test Bed Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Craig, Philip A.; Mortensen, J.; Dagle, Jeffery E.

2008-12-05

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (DOE-OE) National SCADA Test Bed (NSTB) Program is providing valuable inputs into the electric industry by performing topical research and development (R&D) to secure next generation and legacy control systems. In addition, the program conducts vulnerability and risk analysis, develops tools, and performs industry liaison, outreach and awareness activities. These activities will enhance the secure and reliable delivery of energy for the United States. This report will describe metrics that could be utilized to provide feedback to help enhance the effectiveness of the NSTB Program.

Vibrational energy distribution analysis (VEDA): scopes and limitations.

PubMed

Jamróz, Michał H

2013-10-01

The principle of operations of the VEDA program written by the author for Potential Energy Distribution (PED) analysis of theoretical vibrational spectra is described. Nowadays, the PED analysis is indispensible tool in serious analysis of the vibrational spectra. To perform the PED analysis it is necessary to define 3N-6 linearly independent local mode coordinates. Already for 20-atomic molecules it is a difficult task. The VEDA program reads the input data automatically from the Gaussian program output files. Then, VEDA automatically proposes an introductory set of local mode coordinates. Next, the more adequate coordinates are proposed by the program and optimized to obtain maximal elements of each column (internal coordinate) of the PED matrix (the EPM parameter). The possibility for an automatic optimization of PED contributions is a unique feature of the VEDA program absent in any other programs performing PED analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vibrational Energy Distribution Analysis (VEDA): Scopes and limitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamróz, Michał H.

2013-10-01

The principle of operations of the VEDA program written by the author for Potential Energy Distribution (PED) analysis of theoretical vibrational spectra is described. Nowadays, the PED analysis is indispensible tool in serious analysis of the vibrational spectra. To perform the PED analysis it is necessary to define 3N-6 linearly independent local mode coordinates. Already for 20-atomic molecules it is a difficult task. The VEDA program reads the input data automatically from the Gaussian program output files. Then, VEDA automatically proposes an introductory set of local mode coordinates. Next, the more adequate coordinates are proposed by the program and optimized to obtain maximal elements of each column (internal coordinate) of the PED matrix (the EPM parameter). The possibility for an automatic optimization of PED contributions is a unique feature of the VEDA program absent in any other programs performing PED analysis.

Identification of fuel cycle simulator functionalities for analysis of transition to a new fuel cycle

DOE PAGES

Brown, Nicholas R.; Carlsen, Brett W.; Dixon, Brent W.; ...

2016-06-09

Dynamic fuel cycle simulation tools are intended to model holistic transient nuclear fuel cycle scenarios. As with all simulation tools, fuel cycle simulators require verification through unit tests, benchmark cases, and integral tests. Model validation is a vital aspect as well. Although compara-tive studies have been performed, there is no comprehensive unit test and benchmark library for fuel cycle simulator tools. The objective of this paper is to identify the must test functionalities of a fuel cycle simulator tool within the context of specific problems of interest to the Fuel Cycle Options Campaign within the U.S. Department of Energy smore » Office of Nuclear Energy. The approach in this paper identifies the features needed to cover the range of promising fuel cycle options identified in the DOE-NE Fuel Cycle Evaluation and Screening (E&S) and categorizes these features to facilitate prioritization. Features were categorized as essential functions, integrating features, and exemplary capabilities. One objective of this paper is to propose a library of unit tests applicable to each of the essential functions. Another underlying motivation for this paper is to encourage an international dialog on the functionalities and standard test methods for fuel cycle simulator tools.« less

Energy analysis of cool, medium, and dark roofs on residential buildings in the U.S

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunbar, Michael A.

This study reports an energy analysis of cool, medium, and dark roofs on residential buildings in the U.S. Three analyses were undertaken in this study: energy consumption, economic analysis, and an environmental analysis. The energy consumption reports the electricity and natural gas consumption of the simulations. The economic analysis uses tools such as simple payback period (SPP) and net present value (NPV) to determine the profitability of the cool roof and the medium roof. The variable change for each simulation model was the roof color. The default color was a dark roof and the results were focused on the changes produced by the cool roof and the medium roof. The environmental analysis uses CO2 emissions to assess the environmental impact of the cool roof and the medium roof. The analysis uses the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) EnergyPlus software to produce simulations of a typical, two-story residential home in the U.S. The building details of the typical, two-story U.S. residential home and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) building code standards used are discussed in this study. This study indicates that, when material and labor costs are. assessed, the cool roof and the medium roof do not yield a SPP less than 10 years. Furthermore, the NPV results assess that neither the cool roof nor the medium roof are a profitable investment in any climate zone in the U.S. The environmental analysis demonstrates that both the cool roof and the medium roof have a positive impact in warmer climates by reducing the CO2 emissions as much as 264 kg and 129 kg, respectively.

Open Tools for Integrated Modelling to Understand SDG development - The OPTIMUS program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howells, Mark; Zepeda, Eduardo; Rogner, H. Holger; Sanchez, Marco; Roehrl, Alexander; Cicowiez, Matrin; Mentis, Dimitris; Korkevelos, Alexandros; Taliotis, Constantinos; Broad, Oliver; Alfstad, Thomas

2016-04-01

The recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - a set of 17 measurable and time-bound goals with 169 associated targets for 2030 - are highly inclusive challenges before the world community ranging from eliminating poverty to human rights, inequality, a secure world and protection of the environment. Each individual goal or target by themselves present enormous tasks, taken together they are overwhelming. There strong and weak interlinkages, hence trade-offs and complementarities among goals and targets. Some targets may affect several goals while other goals and targets may conflict or be mutually exclusive (Ref). Meeting each of these requires the judicious exploitation of resource, with energy playing an important role. Such complexity demands to be addressed in an integrated way using systems analysis tools to support informed policy formulation, planning, allocation of scarce resources, monitoring progress, effectiveness and review at different scales. There is no one size fits all methodology that conceivably could include all goal and targets simultaneously. But there are methodologies encapsulating critical subsets of the goal and targets with strong interlinkages with a 'soft' reflection on the weak interlinkages. Universal food security or sustainable energy for all inherently support goals and targets on human rights and equality but possibly at the cost of biodiversity or desertification. Integrated analysis and planning tools are not yet commonplace at national universities - or indeed in many policy making organs. What is needed is a fundamental realignment of institutions and integrations of their planning processes and decision making. We introduce a series of open source tools to support the SDG planning and implementation process. The Global User-friendly CLEW Open Source (GLUCOSE) tool optimizes resource interactions and constraints; The Global Electrification Tool kit (GETit) provides the first global spatially explicit electrification simulator; A national CLEW tool allows for the optimization of national level integrated resource use and Macro-CLEW presents the same allowing for detailed economic-biophysical interactions. Finally open Model Management Infrastructure (MoManI) is presented that allows for the rapid prototyping of new additions to, or new resource optimization tools. Collectively these tools provide insights to some fifteen of the SDGs and are made publicly available with support to governments and academic institutions.

Scientist Honored by DOE for Outstanding Research Accomplishments,

Science.gov Websites

passive design tools. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineer's mixed systems. This accomplishment gave the solar energy design community a direct, verifiable method of design manual, Passive Solar Heating Analysis, is an outgrowth of this method. Dr. Balcomb's involvement

Thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes in fractured-porous media: Benchmarks and examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolditz, O.; Shao, H.; Görke, U.; Kalbacher, T.; Bauer, S.; McDermott, C. I.; Wang, W.

2012-12-01

The book comprises an assembly of benchmarks and examples for porous media mechanics collected over the last twenty years. Analysis of thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes is essential to many applications in environmental engineering, such as geological waste deposition, geothermal energy utilisation, carbon capture and storage, water resources management, hydrology, even climate change. In order to assess the feasibility as well as the safety of geotechnical applications, process-based modelling is the only tool to put numbers, i.e. to quantify future scenarios. This charges a huge responsibility concerning the reliability of computational tools. Benchmarking is an appropriate methodology to verify the quality of modelling tools based on best practices. Moreover, benchmarking and code comparison foster community efforts. The benchmark book is part of the OpenGeoSys initiative - an open source project to share knowledge and experience in environmental analysis and scientific computation.

Quantification of the Water-Energy Nexus in Beijing City Based on Copula Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, J.; Cai, Y.

2017-12-01

Water resource and energy resource are intimately and highly interwoven, called ``water-energy nexus", which poses challenges for the sustainable management of water resource and energy resource. In this research, the Copula analysis method is first proposed to be applied in "water-energy nexus" field to clarify the internal relationship of water resource and energy resource, which is a favorable tool to explore the relevance among random variables. Beijing City, the capital of China, is chosen as a case study. The marginal distribution functions of water resource and energy resource are analyzed first. Then the Binary Copula function is employed to construct the joint distribution function of "water-energy nexus" to quantify the inherent relationship between water resource and energy resource. The results show that it is more appropriate to apply Lognormal distribution to establish the marginal distribution function of water resource. Meanwhile, Weibull distribution is more feasible to describe the marginal distribution function of energy resource. Furthermore, it is more suitable to adopt the Bivariate Normal Copula function to construct the joint distribution function of "water-energy nexus" in Beijing City. The findings can help to identify and quantify the "water-energy nexus". In addition, our findings can provide reasonable policy recommendations on the sustainable management of water resource and energy resource to promote regional coordinated development.

Sustainable Biofuel Crops Project, Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Juhn, Daniel; Grantham, Hedley

2014-05-28

Over the last six years, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed the Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Approach to help countries design and implement sustainable bioenergy policies and strategies. The BEFS Approach consists of two sets of multidisciplinary and integrated tools and guidance (the BEFS Rapid Appraisal and the BEFS Detailed Analysis) to facilitate better decision on bioenergy development which should foster both food and energy security, and contribute to agricultural and rural development. The development of the BEFS Approach was for the most part funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food andmore » Agriculture. Recognizing the need to provide support to countries that wanted an initial assessment of their sustainable bioenergy potential, and of the associated opportunities, risks and trade offs, FAO began developing the BEFS-RA (Rapid Appraisal). The BEFS RA is a spreadsheet–based assessment and analysis tool designed to outline the country's basic energy, agriculture and food security context, the natural resources potential, the bioenergy end use options, including initial financial and economic implications, and the identification of issues that might require fuller investigation with the BEFS Detailed Analysis.« less

A Survey of WEC Reliability, Survival and Design Practices

DOE PAGES

Coe, Ryan G.; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; van Rij, Jennifer

2017-12-21

A wave energy converter must be designed to survive and function efficiently, often in highly energetic ocean environments. This represents a challenging engineering problem, comprising systematic failure mode analysis, environmental characterization, modeling, experimental testing, fatigue and extreme response analysis. While, when compared with other ocean systems such as ships and offshore platforms, there is relatively little experience in wave energy converter design, a great deal of recent work has been done within these various areas. Here, this article summarizes the general stages and workflow for wave energy converter design, relying on supporting articles to provide insight. By surveying published workmore » on wave energy converter survival and design response analyses, this paper seeks to provide the reader with an understanding of the different components of this process and the range of methodologies that can be brought to bear. In this way, the reader is provided with a large set of tools to perform design response analyses on wave energy converters.« less

A Survey of WEC Reliability, Survival and Design Practices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coe, Ryan G.; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; van Rij, Jennifer

A wave energy converter must be designed to survive and function efficiently, often in highly energetic ocean environments. This represents a challenging engineering problem, comprising systematic failure mode analysis, environmental characterization, modeling, experimental testing, fatigue and extreme response analysis. While, when compared with other ocean systems such as ships and offshore platforms, there is relatively little experience in wave energy converter design, a great deal of recent work has been done within these various areas. Here, this article summarizes the general stages and workflow for wave energy converter design, relying on supporting articles to provide insight. By surveying published workmore » on wave energy converter survival and design response analyses, this paper seeks to provide the reader with an understanding of the different components of this process and the range of methodologies that can be brought to bear. In this way, the reader is provided with a large set of tools to perform design response analyses on wave energy converters.« less

Aiding Design of Wave Energy Converters via Computational Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jebeli Aqdam, Hejar; Ahmadi, Babak; Raessi, Mehdi; Tootkaboni, Mazdak

2015-11-01

With the increasing interest in renewable energy sources, wave energy converters will continue to gain attention as a viable alternative to current electricity production methods. It is therefore crucial to develop computational tools for the design and analysis of wave energy converters. A successful design requires balance between the design performance and cost. Here an analytical solution is used for the approximate analysis of interactions between a flap-type wave energy converter (WEC) and waves. The method is verified using other flow solvers and experimental test cases. Then the model is used in conjunction with a powerful heuristic optimization engine, Charged System Search (CSS) to explore the WEC design space. CSS is inspired by charged particles behavior. It searches the design space by considering candidate answers as charged particles and moving them based on the Coulomb's laws of electrostatics and Newton's laws of motion to find the global optimum. Finally the impacts of changes in different design parameters on the power takeout of the superior WEC designs are investigated. National Science Foundation, CBET-1236462.

State Clean Energy Policies Analysis (SCEPA): State Tax Incentives

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lantz, E.; Doris, E.

As a policy tool, state tax incentives can be structured to help states meet clean energy goals. Policymakers often use state tax incentives in concert with state and federal policies to support renewable energy deployment or reduce market barriers. This analysis used case studies of four states to assess the contributions of state tax incentives to the development of renewable energy markets. State tax incentives that are appropriately paired with complementary state and federal policies generally provide viable mechanisms to support renewable energy deployment. However, challenges to successful implementation of state tax incentives include serving project owners with limited statemore » tax liability, assessing appropriate incentive levels, and differentiating levels of incentives for technologies with different costs. Additionally, state tax incentives may result in moderately higher federal tax burdens. These challenges notwithstanding, state tax incentives that consider certain policy design characteristics can support renewable energy markets and state clean energy goals.The scale of their impact though is directly related to the degree to which they support the renewable energy markets for targeted sectors and technologies. This report highlights important policy design considerations for policymakers using state tax incentives to meet clean energy goals.« less

Urban Form Energy Use and Emissions in China: Preliminary Findings and Model Proof of Concept

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aden, Nathaniel; Qin, Yining; Fridley, David

Urbanization is reshaping China's economy, society, and energy system. Between 1990 and 2008 China added more than 300 million new urban residents, bringing the total urbanization rate to 46%. The ongoing population shift is spurring energy demand for new construction, as well as additional residential use with the replacement of rural biomass by urban commercial energy services. This project developed a modeling tool to quantify the full energy consequences of a particular form of urban residential development in order to identify energy- and carbon-efficient modes of neighborhood-level development and help mitigate resource and environmental implications of swelling cities. LBNL developedmore » an integrated modeling tool that combines process-based lifecycle assessment with agent-based building operational energy use, personal transport, and consumption modeling. The lifecycle assessment approach was used to quantify energy and carbon emissions embodied in building materials production, construction, maintenance, and demolition. To provide more comprehensive analysis, LBNL developed an agent-based model as described below. The model was applied to LuJing, a residential development in Jinan, Shandong Province, to provide a case study and model proof of concept. This study produced results data that are unique by virtue of their scale, scope and type. Whereas most existing literature focuses on building-, city-, or national-level analysis, this study covers multi-building neighborhood-scale development. Likewise, while most existing studies focus exclusively on building operational energy use, this study also includes embodied energy related to personal consumption and buildings. Within the boundaries of this analysis, food is the single largest category of the building energy footprint, accounting for 23% of the total. On a policy level, the LCA approach can be useful for quantifying the energy and environmental benefits of longer average building lifespans. In addition to prospective analysis for standards and certification, urban form modeling can also be useful in calculating or verifying ex post facto, bottom-up carbon emissions inventories. Emissions inventories provide a benchmark for evaluating future outcomes and scenarios as well as an empirical basis for valuing low-carbon technologies. By highlighting the embodied energy and emissions of building materials, the LCA approach can also be used to identify the most intensive aspects of industrial production and the supply chain. The agent based modeling aspect of the model can be useful for understanding how policy incentives can impact individual behavior and the aggregate effects thereof. The most useful elaboration of the urban form assessment model would be to further generalize it for comparative analysis. Scenario analysis could be used for benchmarking and identification of policy priorities. If the model is to be used for inventories, it is important to disaggregate the energy use data for more accurate emissions modeling. Depending on the policy integration of the model, it may be useful to incorporate occupancy data for per-capita results. On the question of density and efficiency, it may also be useful to integrate a more explicit spatial scaling mechanism for modeling neighborhood and city-level energy use and emissions, i.e. to account for scaling effects in public infrastructure and transportation.« less

Cumulative biological impacts framework for solar energy projects in the California Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Frank W.; Kreitler, Jason R.; Soong, Oliver; Stoms, David M.; Dashiell, Stephanie; Hannah, Lee; Wilkinson, Whitney; Dingman, John

2013-01-01

This project developed analytical approaches, tools and geospatial data to support conservation planning for renewable energy development in the California deserts. Research focused on geographical analysis to avoid, minimize and mitigate the cumulative biological effects of utility-scale solar energy development. A hierarchical logic model was created to map the compatibility of new solar energy projects with current biological conservation values. The research indicated that the extent of compatible areas is much greater than the estimated land area required to achieve 2040 greenhouse gas reduction goals. Species distribution models were produced for 65 animal and plant species that were of potential conservation significance to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan process. These models mapped historical and projected future habitat suitability using 270 meter resolution climate grids. The results were integrated into analytical frameworks to locate potential sites for offsetting project impacts and evaluating the cumulative effects of multiple solar energy projects. Examples applying these frameworks in the Western Mojave Desert ecoregion show the potential of these publicly-available tools to assist regional planning efforts. Results also highlight the necessity to explicitly consider projected land use change and climate change when prioritizing areas for conservation and mitigation offsets. Project data, software and model results are all available online.

Modeling Urban Energy Savings Scenarios Using Earth System Microclimate and Urban Morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, M. R.; Rose, A.; New, J. R.; Yuan, J.; Omitaomu, O.; Sylvester, L.; Branstetter, M. L.; Carvalhaes, T. M.; Seals, M.; Berres, A.

2017-12-01

We analyze and quantify the relationships among climatic conditions, urban morphology, population, land cover, and energy use so that these relationships can be used to inform energy-efficient urban development and planning. We integrate different approaches across three research areas: earth system modeling; impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and urban planning in order to address three major gaps in the existing capability in these areas: i) neighborhood resolution modeling and simulation of urban micrometeorological processes and their effect on and from regional climate; ii) projections for future energy use under urbanization and climate change scenarios identifying best strategies for urban morphological development and energy savings; iii) analysis and visualization tools to help planners optimally use these projections.

An Experimental Study of Cutting Performances of Worn Picks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dogruoz, Cihan; Bolukbasi, Naci; Rostami, Jamal; Acar, Cemil

2016-01-01

The best means to assess rock cuttability and efficiency of cutting process for using mechanical excavation is specific energy (SE), measured in full-scale rock cutting test. This is especially true for the application of roadheaders, often fitted with drag-type cutting tools. Radial picks or drag bits are changed during the operation as they reach a certain amount of wear and become blunt. In this study, full-scale cutting tests in different sedimentary rock types with bits having various degree of wear were used to evaluate the influence of bit wear on cutting forces and specific energy. The relationship between the amount of wear as represented by the size of the wear flats at the tip of the bit, and cutting forces as well as specific energy was examined. The influence of various rock properties such as mineral content, uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, indentation index, shore hardness, Schmidt hammer hardness, and density with required SE of cutting using different levels of tool wear was also studied. The preliminary analysis of the data shows that the mean cutting forces increase 2-3 times and SE by 4-5 times when cutting with 4 mm wear flat as compared to cutting with new or sharp wedge shape bits. The grain size distribution of the muck for cutting different rock types and different level of bit wear was analyzed and discussed. The best fit prediction models for SE based on statistical analysis of laboratory test results are introduced. The model can be used for estimating the performance of mechanical excavators using radial tools, especially roadheaders, continuous miners and longwall drum shearers.

Tool to Prioritize Energy Efficiency Investments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farese, P.; Gelman, R.; Hendron, R.

2012-08-01

To provide analytic support of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of the Building Technology Program (BTP), NREL developed a Microsoft Excel-based tool to provide an open and objective comparison of the hundreds of investment opportunities available to BTP. This tool uses established methodologies to evaluate the energy savings and cost of those savings.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peterson, John Russell

This grant funded the development and dissemination of the Photon Simulator (PhoSim) for the purpose of studying dark energy at high precision with the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) astronomical survey. The work was in collaboration with the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC). Several detailed physics improvements were made in the optics, atmosphere, and sensor, a number of validation studies were performed, and a significant number of usability features were implemented. Future work in DESC will use PhoSim as the image simulation tool for data challenges used by the analysis groups.

Systems analysis of a closed loop ECLSS using the ASPEN simulation tool. Thermodynamic efficiency analysis of ECLSS components. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterjee, Sharmista

1993-01-01

Our first goal in this project was to perform a systems analysis of a closed loop Environmental Control Life Support System (ECLSS). This pertains to the development of a model of an existing real system from which to assess the state or performance of the existing system. Systems analysis is applied to conceptual models obtained from a system design effort. For our modelling purposes we used a simulator tool called ASPEN (Advanced System for Process Engineering). Our second goal was to evaluate the thermodynamic efficiency of the different components comprising an ECLSS. Use is made of the second law of thermodynamics to determine the amount of irreversibility of energy loss of each component. This will aid design scientists in selecting the components generating the least entropy, as our penultimate goal is to keep the entropy generation of the whole system at a minimum.

Clean Energy Finance Tool

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

State and local governments interested in developing a financing program can use this Excel tool to support energy efficiency and clean energy improvements for large numbers of buildings within their jurisdiction.

GammaLib and ctools. A software framework for the analysis of astronomical gamma-ray data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knödlseder, J.; Mayer, M.; Deil, C.; Cayrou, J.-B.; Owen, E.; Kelley-Hoskins, N.; Lu, C.-C.; Buehler, R.; Forest, F.; Louge, T.; Siejkowski, H.; Kosack, K.; Gerard, L.; Schulz, A.; Martin, P.; Sanchez, D.; Ohm, S.; Hassan, T.; Brau-Nogué, S.

2016-08-01

The field of gamma-ray astronomy has seen important progress during the last decade, yet to date no common software framework has been developed for the scientific analysis of gamma-ray telescope data. We propose to fill this gap by means of the GammaLib software, a generic library that we have developed to support the analysis of gamma-ray event data. GammaLib was written in C++ and all functionality is available in Python through an extension module. Based on this framework we have developed the ctools software package, a suite of software tools that enables flexible workflows to be built for the analysis of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope event data. The ctools are inspired by science analysis software available for existing high-energy astronomy instruments, and they follow the modular ftools model developed by the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center. The ctools were written in Python and C++, and can be either used from the command line via shell scripts or directly from Python. In this paper we present the GammaLib and ctools software versions 1.0 that were released at the end of 2015. GammaLib and ctools are ready for the science analysis of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope event data, and also support the analysis of Fermi-LAT data and the exploitation of the COMPTEL legacy data archive. We propose using ctools as the science tools software for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory.

[Development and Use of Hidrosig

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupta, Vijay K.; Milne, Bruce T.

2003-01-01

The NASA portion of this joint NSF-NASA grant consists of objective 2 and a part of objective 3. A major effort was made on objective 2, and it consisted of developing a numerical GIs environment called Hidrosig. This major research tool is being developed by the University of Colorado for conducting river-network-based scaling analyses of coupled water-energy-landform-vegetation interactions including water and energy balances, and floods and droughts, at multiple space-time scales.Objective 2: To analyze the relevant remotely sensed products from satellites, radars and ground measurements to compute the transported water mass for each complete Strahler stream using an 'assimilated water balance equation' at daily and other appropriate time scales. This objective requires analysis of concurrent data sets for Precipitation (PPT), Evapotranspiration (ET) and stream flows (Q) on river networks. To solve this major problem, our decision was to develop Hidrosig, a new Open-Source GIs software. A research group in Colombia, South America, developed the first version of Hidrosig, and Ricardo Mantilla was part of this effort as an undergraduate student before joining the graduate program at the University of Colorado in 2001. Hydrosig automatically extracts river networks from large DEMs and creates a "link-based" data structure, which is required to conduct a variety of analyses under objective 2. It is programmed in Java, which is a multi-platform programming language freely distributed by SUN under a GPL license. Some existent commercial tools like Arc-Info, RiverTools and others are not suitable for our purpose for two reasons. First, the source code is not available that is needed to build on the network data structure. Second, these tools use different programming languages that are not most versatile for our purposes. For example, RiverTools uses an IDL platform that is not very efficient for organizing diverse data sets on river networks. Hidrosig establishes a clear data organization framework that allows a simultaneous analysis of spatial fields along river network structures involving Horton- Strahler framework. Software tools for network extraction from DEMs and network-based analysis of geomorphologic and topologic variables were developed during the first year and a part of second year.

Experimental verification of an energy consumption signal tool for operational decision support in an office building

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pavlak, Gregory S.; Henze, Gregor P.; Hirsch, Adam I.

This paper demonstrates an energy signal tool to assess the system-level and whole-building energy use of an office building in downtown Denver, Colorado. The energy signal tool uses a traffic light visualization to alert a building operator to energy use which is substantially different from expected. The tool selects which light to display for a given energy end-use by comparing measured energy use to expected energy use, accounting for uncertainty. A red light is only displayed when a fault is likely enough, and abnormal operation costly enough, that taking action will yield the lowest cost result. While the theoretical advancesmore » and tool development were reported previously, it has only been tested using a basic building model and has not, until now, been experimentally verified. Expected energy use for the field demonstration is provided by a compact reduced-order representation of the Alliance Center, generated from a detailed DOE-2.2 energy model. Actual building energy consumption data is taken from the summer of 2014 for the office building immediately after a significant renovation project. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a first look at the building following its major renovation compared to the design intent. The tool indicated strong under-consumption in lighting and plug loads and strong over-consumption in HVAC energy consumption, which prompted several focused actions for follow-up investigation. In addition, this paper illustrates the application of Bayesian inference to the estimation of posterior parameter probability distributions to measured data. Practical discussion of the application is provided, along with additional findings from further investigating the significant difference between expected and actual energy consumption.« less

Economic Analysis Case Studies of Battery Energy Storage with SAM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DiOrio, Nicholas; Dobos, Aron; Janzou, Steven

2015-11-01

Interest in energy storage has continued to increase as states like California have introduced mandates and subsidies to spur adoption. This energy storage includes customer sited behind-the-meter storage coupled with photovoltaics (PV). This paper presents case study results from California and Tennessee, which were performed to assess the economic benefit of customer-installed systems. Different dispatch strategies, including manual scheduling and automated peak-shaving were explored to determine ideal ways to use the storage system to increase the system value and mitigate demand charges. Incentives, complex electric tariffs, and site specific load and PV data were used to perform detailed analysis. Themore » analysis was performed using the free, publically available System Advisor Model (SAM) tool. We find that installation of photovoltaics with a lithium-ion battery system priced at $300/kWh in Los Angeles under a high demand charge utility rate structure and dispatched using perfect day-ahead forecasting yields a positive net-present value, while all other scenarios cost the customer more than the savings accrued. Different dispatch strategies, including manual scheduling and automated peak-shaving were explored to determine ideal ways to use the storage system to increase the system value and mitigate demand charges. Incentives, complex electric tariffs, and site specific load and PV data were used to perform detailed analysis. The analysis was performed using the free, publically available System Advisor Model (SAM) tool. We find that installation of photovoltaics with a lithium-ion battery system priced at $300/kWh in Los Angeles under a high demand charge utility rate structure and dispatched using perfect day-ahead forecasting yields a positive net-present value, while all other scenarios cost the customer more than the savings accrued.« less

Online Analysis of Wind and Solar Part II: Transmission Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makarov, Yuri V.; Etingov, Pavel V.; Ma, Jian

2012-01-31

To facilitate wider penetration of renewable resources without compromising system reliability concerns arising from the lack of predictability of intermittent renewable resources, a tool for use by California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power grid operators was developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in conjunction with CAISO with funding from California Energy Commission. The tool analyzes and displays the impacts of uncertainties in forecasts of loads and renewable generation on: (1) congestion, (2)voltage and transient stability margins, and (3)voltage reductions and reactive power margins. The impacts are analyzed in the base case and under user-specified contingencies.A prototype of the toolmore » has been developed and implemented in software.« less

JGI Fungal Genomics Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grigoriev, Igor V.

2011-03-14

Genomes of energy and environment fungi are in focus of the Fungal Genomic Program at the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI). Its key project, the Genomics Encyclopedia of Fungi, targets fungi related to plant health (symbionts, pathogens, and biocontrol agents) and biorefinery processes (cellulose degradation, sugar fermentation, industrial hosts), and explores fungal diversity by means of genome sequencing and analysis. Over 50 fungal genomes have been sequenced by JGI to date and released through MycoCosm (www.jgi.doe.gov/fungi), a fungal web-portal, which integrates sequence and functional data with genome analysis tools for user community. Sequence analysis supported by functionalmore » genomics leads to developing parts list for complex systems ranging from ecosystems of biofuel crops to biorefineries. Recent examples of such 'parts' suggested by comparative genomics and functional analysis in these areas are presented here« less

Improving Energy Security for Air Force Installations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schill, David

Like civilian infrastructure, Air Force installations are dependent on electrical energy for daily operations. Energy shortages translate to decreased productivity, higher costs, and increased health risks. But for the United States military, energy shortages have the potential to become national security risks. Over ninety-five percent of the electrical energy used by the Air Force is supplied by the domestic grid, which is susceptible to shortages and disruptions. Many Air Force operations require a continuous source of energy, and while the Air Force has historically established redundant supplies of electrical energy, these back-ups are designed for short-term outages and may not provide sufficient supply for a longer, sustained power outage. Furthermore, it is the goal of the Department of Defense to produce or procure 25 percent of its facility energy from renewable sources by fiscal year 2025. In a government budget environment where decision makers are required to provide more capability with less money, it is becoming increasingly important for informed decisions regarding which energy supply options bear the most benefit for an installation. The analysis begins by exploring the field of energy supply options available to an Air Force installation. The supply options are assessed according to their ability to provide continuous and reliable energy, their applicability to unique requirements of Air Force installations, and their costs. Various methods of calculating energy usage by an installation are also addressed. The next step of this research develops a methodology and tool which assesses how an installation responds to various power outage scenarios. Lastly, various energy supply options are applied to the tool, and the results are reported in terms of cost and loss of installation capability. This approach will allow installation commanders and energy managers the ability to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of various energy investment options.

A graph theory approach to identify resonant and non-resonant transmission paths in statistical modal energy distribution analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aragonès, Àngels; Maxit, Laurent; Guasch, Oriol

2015-08-01

Statistical modal energy distribution analysis (SmEdA) extends classical statistical energy analysis (SEA) to the mid frequency range by establishing power balance equations between modes in different subsystems. This circumvents the SEA requirement of modal energy equipartition and enables applying SmEdA to the cases of low modal overlap, locally excited subsystems and to deal with complex heterogeneous subsystems as well. Yet, widening the range of application of SEA is done at a price with large models because the number of modes per subsystem can become considerable when the frequency increases. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to have at one's disposal tools for a quick identification and ranking of the resonant and non-resonant paths involved in modal energy transmission between subsystems. It will be shown that previously developed graph theory algorithms for transmission path analysis (TPA) in SEA can be adapted to SmEdA and prove useful for that purpose. The case of airborne transmission between two cavities separated apart by homogeneous and ribbed plates will be first addressed to illustrate the potential of the graph approach. A more complex case representing transmission between non-contiguous cavities in a shipbuilding structure will be also presented.

Dynamic Energy Loss Characteristics in the Native Aortic Valve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwai Yap, Choon; Dasi, Laksmi P.; Yoganathan, Ajit P.

2009-11-01

Aortic Valve (AV) stenosis if untreated leads to heart failure. From a mechanics standpoint, heart failure implies failure to generate sufficient mechanical power to overcome energy losses in the circulation. Thus energy efficiency-based measures are direct measures of AV disease severity, which unfortunately is not used in current clinical measures of stenosis severity. We present an analysis of the dynamic rate of energy dissipation through the AV from direct high temporal resolution measurements of flow and pressure drop across the AV in a pulsatile left heart setup. Porcine AV was used and measurements at various conditions were acquired: varying stroke volumes; heart rates; and stenosis levels. Energy dissipation waveform has a distinctive pattern of being skewed towards late systole, attributed to the explosive growth of flow instabilities from adverse pressure gradient. Increasing heart rate and stroke volume increases energy dissipation, but does not alter the normalized shape of the dissipation temporal profile. Stenosis increases energy dissipation and also alters the normalized shape of dissipation waveform with significantly more losses during late acceleration phase. Since stenosis produces a departure from the signature dissipation waveform shape, dynamic energy dissipation analysis can be extended into a clinical tool for AV evaluation.

Development of a CSP plant energy yield calculation tool applying predictive models to analyze plant performance sensitivities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haack, Lukas; Peniche, Ricardo; Sommer, Lutz; Kather, Alfons

2017-06-01

At early project stages, the main CSP plant design parameters such as turbine capacity, solar field size, and thermal storage capacity are varied during the techno-economic optimization to determine most suitable plant configurations. In general, a typical meteorological year with at least hourly time resolution is used to analyze each plant configuration. Different software tools are available to simulate the annual energy yield. Software tools offering a thermodynamic modeling approach of the power block and the CSP thermal cycle, such as EBSILONProfessional®, allow a flexible definition of plant topologies. In EBSILON, the thermodynamic equilibrium for each time step is calculated iteratively (quasi steady state), which requires approximately 45 minutes to process one year with hourly time resolution. For better presentation of gradients, 10 min time resolution is recommended, which increases processing time by a factor of 5. Therefore, analyzing a large number of plant sensitivities, as required during the techno-economic optimization procedure, the detailed thermodynamic simulation approach becomes impracticable. Suntrace has developed an in-house CSP-Simulation tool (CSPsim), based on EBSILON and applying predictive models, to approximate the CSP plant performance for central receiver and parabolic trough technology. CSPsim significantly increases the speed of energy yield calculations by factor ≥ 35 and has automated the simulation run of all predefined design configurations in sequential order during the optimization procedure. To develop the predictive models, multiple linear regression techniques and Design of Experiment methods are applied. The annual energy yield and derived LCOE calculated by the predictive model deviates less than ±1.5 % from the thermodynamic simulation in EBSILON and effectively identifies the optimal range of main design parameters for further, more specific analysis.

LLIMAS: Revolutionizing integrating modeling and analysis at MIT Lincoln Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doyle, Keith B.; Stoeckel, Gerhard P.; Rey, Justin J.; Bury, Mark E.

2017-08-01

MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Integrated Modeling and Analysis Software (LLIMAS) enables the development of novel engineering solutions for advanced prototype systems through unique insights into engineering performance and interdisciplinary behavior to meet challenging size, weight, power, environmental, and performance requirements. LLIMAS is a multidisciplinary design optimization tool that wraps numerical optimization algorithms around an integrated framework of structural, thermal, optical, stray light, and computational fluid dynamics analysis capabilities. LLIMAS software is highly extensible and has developed organically across a variety of technologies including laser communications, directed energy, photometric detectors, chemical sensing, laser radar, and imaging systems. The custom software architecture leverages the capabilities of existing industry standard commercial software and supports the incorporation of internally developed tools. Recent advances in LLIMAS's Structural-Thermal-Optical Performance (STOP), aeromechanical, and aero-optical capabilities as applied to Lincoln prototypes are presented.

Advanced computational tools for 3-D seismic analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barhen, J.; Glover, C.W.; Protopopescu, V.A.

1996-06-01

The global objective of this effort is to develop advanced computational tools for 3-D seismic analysis, and test the products using a model dataset developed under the joint aegis of the United States` Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) and the European Association of Exploration Geophysicists (EAEG). The goal is to enhance the value to the oil industry of the SEG/EAEG modeling project, carried out with US Department of Energy (DOE) funding in FY` 93-95. The primary objective of the ORNL Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) is to spearhead the computational innovations techniques that would enable a revolutionary advancemore » in 3-D seismic analysis. The CESAR effort is carried out in collaboration with world-class domain experts from leading universities, and in close coordination with other national laboratories and oil industry partners.« less

Scout: An Impact Analysis Tool for Building Energy-Efficiency Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harris, Chioke; Langevin, Jared; Roth, Amir

Evaluating the national impacts of candidate U.S. building energy-efficiency technologies has historically been difficult for organizations with large energy efficiency portfolios. In particular, normalizing results from technology-specific impact studies is time-consuming when those studies do not use comparable assumptions about the underlying building stock. To equitably evaluate its technology research, development, and deployment portfolio, the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office has developed Scout, a software tool that quantitatively assesses the energy and CO2 impacts of building energy-efficiency measures on the national building stock. Scout efficiency measures improve upon the unit performance and/or lifetime operational costs of an equipmentmore » stock baseline that is determined from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook (AEO). Scout measures are characterized by a market entry and exit year, unit performance level, cost, and lifetime. To evaluate measures on a consistent basis, Scout uses EnergyPlus simulation on prototype building models to translate measure performance specifications to whole-building energy savings; these savings impacts are then extended to a national scale using floor area weighting factors. Scout represents evolution in the building stock over time using AEO projections for new construction, retrofit, and equipment replacements, and competes technologies within market segments under multiple adoption scenarios. Scout and its efficiency measures are open-source, as is the EnergyPlus whole building simulation framework that is used to evaluate measure performance. The program is currently under active development and will be formally released once an initial set of measures has been analyzed and reviewed.« less

Advances in the quantification of mitochondrial function in primary human immune cells through extracellular flux analysis.

PubMed

Nicholas, Dequina; Proctor, Elizabeth A; Raval, Forum M; Ip, Blanche C; Habib, Chloe; Ritou, Eleni; Grammatopoulos, Tom N; Steenkamp, Devin; Dooms, Hans; Apovian, Caroline M; Lauffenburger, Douglas A; Nikolajczyk, Barbara S

2017-01-01

Numerous studies show that mitochondrial energy generation determines the effectiveness of immune responses. Furthermore, changes in mitochondrial function may regulate lymphocyte function in inflammatory diseases like type 2 diabetes. Analysis of lymphocyte mitochondrial function has been facilitated by introduction of 96-well format extracellular flux (XF96) analyzers, but the technology remains imperfect for analysis of human lymphocytes. Limitations in XF technology include the lack of practical protocols for analysis of archived human cells, and inadequate data analysis tools that require manual quality checks. Current analysis tools for XF outcomes are also unable to automatically assess data quality and delete untenable data from the relatively high number of biological replicates needed to power complex human cell studies. The objectives of work presented herein are to test the impact of common cellular manipulations on XF outcomes, and to develop and validate a new automated tool that objectively analyzes a virtually unlimited number of samples to quantitate mitochondrial function in immune cells. We present significant improvements on previous XF analyses of primary human cells that will be absolutely essential to test the prediction that changes in immune cell mitochondrial function and fuel sources support immune dysfunction in chronic inflammatory diseases like type 2 diabetes.

Decomposition analysis of the waste generation and management in 30 European countries.

PubMed

Korica, Predrag; Cirman, Andreja; Žgajnar Gotvajn, Andreja

2016-11-01

An often suggested method for waste prevention is substitution of currently-used materials with materials which are less bulky, contain less hazardous components or are easier to recycle. For policy makers it is important to have tools available that provide information on the impact of this substitution on the changes in total amounts of waste generated and managed. The purpose of this paper is to see how much changes in the mix of 15 waste streams generated in eight economic sectors from 30 European countries have influenced the amounts of waste generated and managed in the period 2004-2012. In order to determine these impacts, two variations of the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) analysis model were developed and applied. The results show that the changes in the mix of waste streams in most cases did not have a considerable influence on the changes in the amounts of generated waste. In the analyses of waste sent for landfill, incineration without energy recovery, incineration with energy recovery and recovery other than energy recovery, the results also show that the changes in the mix of waste streams in most cases did not have the expected/desired influence on the changes in the amounts of managed waste. This paper provides an example on the possibilities of applying the LMDI analysis as a tool for quantifying the potential of effects which implemented or planned measures could have on the changes in waste management systems. © The Author(s) 2016.

A Transforming Electricity System: Understanding the Interactions Between Clean Energy Technologies, Markets, and Policies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mooney, David

The U.S. electricity system is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation. State-level renewable portfolio standards, abundant natural gas at low prices, and rapidly falling prices for wind and solar technologies are among the factors that have ushered in this transformation. With objective, rigorous, technology-neutral analysis, NREL aims to increase the understanding of energy policies, markets, resources, technologies, and infrastructure and their connections with economic, environmental, and security priorities. The results of these analyses are meant to inform R&D, policy, and investment decisions as energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies advance from concept to commercial application to market penetration. This talk will provide an overview of how NREL uses high-fidelity data, deep knowledge of energy technology cost and performance, and advanced models and tools to provide the information needed to ensure this transformation occurs economically, while maintaining system reliability. Examples will be explored and will include analysis of tax credit impacts on wind and solar deployment and power sector emissions, as well as analysis of power systems operations in the Eastern Interconnection under 30% wind and solar penetration scenarios. Invited speaker number 47185.

Quantification of indium in steel using PIXE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliver, A.; Miranda, J.; Rickards, J.; Cheang, J. C.

1989-04-01

The quantitative analysis of steel for endodontics tools was carried out using low-energy protons (≤ 700 keV). A computer program for a thick-target analysis which includes enhancement due to secondary fluorescence was used. In this experiment the L-lines of indium are enhanced due to the proximity of other elements' K-lines to the indium absorption edge. The results show that the ionization cross section expression employed to evaluate this magnitude is important.

RooStatsCms: A tool for analysis modelling, combination and statistical studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piparo, D.; Schott, G.; Quast, G.

2010-04-01

RooStatsCms is an object oriented statistical framework based on the RooFit technology. Its scope is to allow the modelling, statistical analysis and combination of multiple search channels for new phenomena in High Energy Physics. It provides a variety of methods described in literature implemented as classes, whose design is oriented to the execution of multiple CPU intensive jobs on batch systems or on the Grid.

Thermodynamic analysis of resources used in manufacturing processes.

PubMed

Gutowski, Timothy G; Branham, Matthew S; Dahmus, Jeffrey B; Jones, Alissa J; Thiriez, Alexandre

2009-03-01

In this study we use a thermodynamic framework to characterize the material and energy resources used in manufacturing processes. The analysis and data span a wide range of processes from "conventional" processes such as machining, casting, and injection molding, to the so-called "advanced machining" processes such as electrical discharge machining and abrasive waterjet machining, and to the vapor-phase processes used in semiconductor and nanomaterials fabrication. In all, 20 processes are analyzed. The results show that the intensity of materials and energy used per unit of mass of material processed (measured either as specific energy or exergy) has increased by at least 6 orders of magnitude over the past several decades. The increase of material/energy intensity use has been primarily a consequence of the introduction of new manufacturing processes, rather than changes in traditional technologies. This phenomenon has been driven by the desire for precise small-scale devices and product features and enabled by stable and declining material and energy prices over this period. We illustrate the relevance of thermodynamics (including exergy analysis) for all processes in spite of the fact that long-lasting focus in manufacturing has been on product quality--not necessarily energy/material conversion efficiency. We promote the use of thermodynamics tools for analysis of manufacturing processes within the context of rapidly increasing relevance of sustainable human enterprises. We confirm that exergy analysis can be used to identify where resources are lost in these processes, which is the first step in proposing and/or redesigning new more efficient processes.

Dynamical resource nexus assessments: from accounting to sustainability approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salmoral, Gloria; Yan, Xiaoyu

2017-04-01

Continued economic development and population growth result in increasing pressures on natural resources, from local to international levels, for meeting societal demands on water, energy and food. To date there are a few tools that link models to identify the relationships and to account for flows of water, energy and food. However, these tools in general can offer only a static view often at national level and with annual temporal resolution. Moreover, they can only account flows but cannot consider the required amounts and conditions of the natural capital that supplies and maintains these flows. With the emerging nexus thinking, our research is currently focused on promoting dynamical environmental analyses beyond the conventional silo mentalities. Our study aims to show new advancements in existing tools (e.g., dynamical life cycle assessment) and develop novel environmental indicators relevant for the resource nexus assessment. We aim to provide a step forward when sustainability conditions and resilience thresholds are aligned with flows under production (e.g., food, water and energy), process level under analysis (e.g., local production, transport, manufacturing, final consumption, reuse, disposal) and existing biophysical local conditions. This approach would help to embrace and better characterise the spatiotemporal dynamics, complexity and existing links between and within the natural and societal systems, which are crucial to evaluate and promote more environmentally sustainable economic activities.

Introduction to energy storage with market analysis and outlook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmid, Robert; Pillot, Christophe

2014-06-01

At first, the rechargeable battery market in 2012 will be described by technology - lead acid, NiCd, NiMH, lithium ion - and application - portable electronics, power tools, e-bikes, automotive, energy storage. This will be followed by details of the lithium ion battery market value chain from the raw material to the final application. The lithium ion battery market of 2012 will be analyzed and split by applications, form factors and suppliers. There is also a focus on the cathode, anode, electrolyte and separator market included. This report will also give a forecast for the main trends and the market in 2020, 2025. To conclude, a forecast for the rechargeable battery market by application for 2025 will be presented. Since energy storage plays an important role for the growing Electric Vehicle (EV) market, this EV issue is closely considered throughout this analysis.

Computer codes for checking, plotting and processing of neutron cross-section covariance data and their application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sartori, E.; Roussin, R.W.

This paper presents a brief review of computer codes concerned with checking, plotting, processing and using of covariances of neutron cross-section data. It concentrates on those available from the computer code information centers of the United States and the OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency. Emphasis will be placed also on codes using covariances for specific applications such as uncertainty analysis, data adjustment and data consistency analysis. Recent evaluations contain neutron cross section covariance information for all isotopes of major importance for technological applications of nuclear energy. It is therefore important that the available software tools needed for taking advantage of this informationmore » are widely known as hey permit the determination of better safety margins and allow the optimization of more economic, I designs of nuclear energy systems.« less

Analysis and assessment of STES technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, D. R.; Blahnik, D. E.; Huber, H. D.

1982-12-01

Technical and economic assessments completed in FY 1982 in support of the Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) segment of the Underground Energy Storage Program included: (1) a detailed economic investigation of the cost of heat storage in aquifers, (2) documentation for AQUASTOR, a computer model for analyzing aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) coupled with district heating or cooling, and (3) a technical and economic evaluation of several ice storage concepts. This paper summarizes the research efforts and main results of each of these three activities. In addition, a detailed economic investigation of the cost of chill storage in aquifers is currently in progress. The work parallels that done for ATES heat storage with technical and economic assumptions being varied in a parametric analysis of the cost of ATES delivered chill. The computer model AQUASTOR is the principal analytical tool being employed.

Accelerating the weighted histogram analysis method by direct inversion in the iterative subspace.

PubMed

Zhang, Cheng; Lai, Chun-Liang; Pettitt, B Montgomery

The weighted histogram analysis method (WHAM) for free energy calculations is a valuable tool to produce free energy differences with the minimal errors. Given multiple simulations, WHAM obtains from the distribution overlaps the optimal statistical estimator of the density of states, from which the free energy differences can be computed. The WHAM equations are often solved by an iterative procedure. In this work, we use a well-known linear algebra algorithm which allows for more rapid convergence to the solution. We find that the computational complexity of the iterative solution to WHAM and the closely-related multiple Bennett acceptance ratio (MBAR) method can be improved by using the method of direct inversion in the iterative subspace. We give examples from a lattice model, a simple liquid and an aqueous protein solution.

Assessment of Energy Storage Alternatives in the Puget Sound Energy System Volume 2: Energy Storage Evaluation Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Di; Jin, Chunlian; Balducci, Patrick J.

2013-12-01

This volume presents the battery storage evaluation tool developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which is used to evaluate benefits of battery storage for multiple grid applications, including energy arbitrage, balancing service, capacity value, distribution system equipment deferral, and outage mitigation. This tool is based on the optimal control strategies to capture multiple services from a single energy storage device. In this control strategy, at each hour, a look-ahead optimization is first formulated and solved to determine battery base operating point. The minute by minute simulation is then performed to simulate the actual battery operation. This volume provide backgroundmore » and manual for this evaluation tool.« less

Quenching chatter instability in turning process with a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gourc, E.; Seguy, S.; Michon, G.; Berlioz, A.; Mann, B. P.

2015-10-01

This paper investigates the passive control of chatter instability in turning processes using a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (NES). The workpiece is assumed to be rigid and the tool is flexible. A dynamical model including a nonlinear cutting law is presented and the stability lobes diagram is obtained. The behavior of the system with the vibro-impact NES is investigated using an asymptotic analysis. A control mechanism by successive beating is revealed, similarly to the strongly modulated response in the case of NES with cubic stiffness. It is shown that such a response regime may be beneficial for chatter mitigation. An original experimental procedure is proposed to verify the sizing of the vibro-impact NES. An experimental setup is developed with a vibro-impact NES embedded on the lathe tool and the results are analyzed and validated.

Women's Energy Tool Kit: Home Heating, Cooling and Weatherization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byalin, Joan

This book is the first in a series of Energy Tool Kits designed for women by Consumer Action Now, a non-profit organization devoted to promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy resources. Information is provided in 16 sections: introduction, home energy survey; caulking; weatherstripping (double-hung and sliding windows, and casement,…

Life‐cycle and cost of goods assessment of fed‐batch and perfusion‐based manufacturing processes for mAbs

PubMed Central

Bunnak, Phumthep; Allmendinger, Richard; Ramasamy, Sri V.; Lettieri, Paola

2016-01-01

Life‐cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental assessment tool that quantifies the environmental impact associated with a product or a process (e.g., water consumption, energy requirements, and solid waste generation). While LCA is a standard approach in many commercial industries, its application has not been exploited widely in the bioprocessing sector. To contribute toward the design of more cost‐efficient, robust and environmentally‐friendly manufacturing process for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), a framework consisting of an LCA and economic analysis combined with a sensitivity analysis of manufacturing process parameters and a production scale‐up study is presented. The efficiency of the framework is demonstrated using a comparative study of the two most commonly used upstream configurations for mAb manufacture, namely fed‐batch (FB) and perfusion‐based processes. Results obtained by the framework are presented using a range of visualization tools, and indicate that a standard perfusion process (with a pooling duration of 4 days) has similar cost of goods than a FB process but a larger environmental footprint because it consumed 35% more water, demanded 17% more energy, and emitted 17% more CO2 than the FB process. Water consumption was the most important impact category, especially when scaling‐up the processes, as energy was required to produce process water and water‐for‐injection, while CO2 was emitted from energy generation. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the perfusion process can be made more environmentally‐friendly than the FB process if the pooling duration is extended to 8 days. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1324–1335, 2016 PMID:27390260

Life-cycle and cost of goods assessment of fed-batch and perfusion-based manufacturing processes for mAbs.

PubMed

Bunnak, Phumthep; Allmendinger, Richard; Ramasamy, Sri V; Lettieri, Paola; Titchener-Hooker, Nigel J

2016-09-01

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental assessment tool that quantifies the environmental impact associated with a product or a process (e.g., water consumption, energy requirements, and solid waste generation). While LCA is a standard approach in many commercial industries, its application has not been exploited widely in the bioprocessing sector. To contribute toward the design of more cost-efficient, robust and environmentally-friendly manufacturing process for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), a framework consisting of an LCA and economic analysis combined with a sensitivity analysis of manufacturing process parameters and a production scale-up study is presented. The efficiency of the framework is demonstrated using a comparative study of the two most commonly used upstream configurations for mAb manufacture, namely fed-batch (FB) and perfusion-based processes. Results obtained by the framework are presented using a range of visualization tools, and indicate that a standard perfusion process (with a pooling duration of 4 days) has similar cost of goods than a FB process but a larger environmental footprint because it consumed 35% more water, demanded 17% more energy, and emitted 17% more CO 2 than the FB process. Water consumption was the most important impact category, especially when scaling-up the processes, as energy was required to produce process water and water-for-injection, while CO 2 was emitted from energy generation. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the perfusion process can be made more environmentally-friendly than the FB process if the pooling duration is extended to 8 days. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1324-1335, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Biotechnology Progress published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Computational Analysis of Material Flow During Friction Stir Welding of AA5059 Aluminum Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grujicic, M.; Arakere, G.; Pandurangan, B.; Ochterbeck, J. M.; Yen, C.-F.; Cheeseman, B. A.; Reynolds, A. P.; Sutton, M. A.

2012-09-01

Workpiece material flow and stirring/mixing during the friction stir welding (FSW) process are investigated computationally. Within the numerical model of the FSW process, the FSW tool is treated as a Lagrangian component while the workpiece material is treated as an Eulerian component. The employed coupled Eulerian/Lagrangian computational analysis of the welding process was of a two-way thermo-mechanical character (i.e., frictional-sliding/plastic-work dissipation is taken to act as a heat source in the thermal-energy balance equation) while temperature is allowed to affect mechanical aspects of the model through temperature-dependent material properties. The workpiece material (AA5059, solid-solution strengthened and strain-hardened aluminum alloy) is represented using a modified version of the classical Johnson-Cook model (within which the strain-hardening term is augmented to take into account for the effect of dynamic recrystallization) while the FSW tool material (AISI H13 tool steel) is modeled as an isotropic linear-elastic material. Within the analysis, the effects of some of the FSW key process parameters are investigated (e.g., weld pitch, tool tilt-angle, and the tool pin-size). The results pertaining to the material flow during FSW are compared with their experimental counterparts. It is found that, for the most part, experimentally observed material-flow characteristics are reproduced within the current FSW-process model.

Field Assessment of Energy Audit Tools for Retrofit Programs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edwards, J.; Bohac, D.; Nelson, C.

2013-07-01

This project focused on the use of home energy ratings as a tool to promote energy retrofits in existing homes. A home energy rating provides a quantitative appraisal of a home's asset performance, usually compared to a benchmark such as the average energy use of similar homes in the same region. Home rating systems can help motivate homeowners in several ways. Ratings can clearly communicate a home's achievable energy efficiency potential, provide a quantitative assessment of energy savings after retrofits are completed, and show homeowners how they rate compared to their neighbors, thus creating an incentive to conform to amore » social standard. An important consideration is how rating tools for the retrofit market will integrate with existing home energy service programs. For residential programs that target energy savings only, home visits should be focused on key efficiency measures for that home. In order to gain wide adoption, a rating tool must be easily integrated into the field process, demonstrate consistency and reasonable accuracy to earn the trust of home energy technicians, and have a low monetary cost and time hurdle for homeowners. Along with the Home Energy Score, this project also evaluated the energy modeling performance of SIMPLE and REM/Rate.« less

Data and Tools - Alphabetical Listing | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Climate Action Planning Tool Community Solar Scenario Tool Comparative PV Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE Design Response Toolbox WEC-Sim: Wave Energy Converter Simulator West Associates Solar Monitoring Network Design and Engineering Model

Toward Efficient Design of Reversible Logic Gates in Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata with Power Dissipation Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasamal, Trailokya Nath; Singh, Ashutosh Kumar; Ghanekar, Umesh

2018-04-01

Nanotechnologies, remarkably Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA), offer an attractive perspective for future computing technologies. In this paper, QCA is investigated as an implementation method for designing area and power efficient reversible logic gates. The proposed designs achieve superior performance by incorporating a compact 2-input XOR gate. The proposed design for Feynman, Toffoli, and Fredkin gates demonstrates 28.12, 24.4, and 7% reduction in cell count and utilizes 46, 24.4, and 7.6% less area, respectively over previous best designs. Regarding the cell count (area cover) that of the proposed Peres gate and Double Feynman gate are 44.32% (21.5%) and 12% (25%), respectively less than the most compact previous designs. Further, the delay of Fredkin and Toffoli gates is 0.75 clock cycles, which is equal to the delay of the previous best designs. While the Feynman and Double Feynman gates achieve a delay of 0.5 clock cycles, equal to the least delay previous one. Energy analysis confirms that the average energy dissipation of the developed Feynman, Toffoli, and Fredkin gates is 30.80, 18.08, and 4.3% (for 1.0 E k energy level), respectively less compared to best reported designs. This emphasizes the beneficial role of using proposed reversible gates to design complex and power efficient QCA circuits. The QCADesigner tool is used to validate the layout of the proposed designs, and the QCAPro tool is used to evaluate the energy dissipation.

Radiation shielding quality assurance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Um, Dallsun

For the radiation shielding quality assurance, the validity and reliability of the neutron transport code MCNP, which is now one of the most widely used radiation shielding analysis codes, were checked with lot of benchmark experiments. And also as a practical example, follows were performed in this thesis. One integral neutron transport experiment to measure the effect of neutron streaming in iron and void was performed with Dog-Legged Void Assembly in Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in 1991. Neutron flux was measured six different places with the methane detectors and a BF-3 detector. The main purpose of the measurements was to provide benchmark against which various neutron transport calculation tools could be compared. Those data were used in verification of Monte Carlo Neutron & Photon Transport Code, MCNP, with the modeling for that. Experimental results and calculation results were compared in both ways, as the total integrated value of neutron fluxes along neutron energy range from 10 KeV to 2 MeV and as the neutron spectrum along with neutron energy range. Both results are well matched with the statistical error +/-20%. MCNP results were also compared with those of TORT, a three dimensional discrete ordinates code which was developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. MCNP results are superior to the TORT results at all detector places except one. This means that MCNP is proved as a very powerful tool for the analysis of neutron transport through iron & air and further it could be used as a powerful tool for the radiation shielding analysis. For one application of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to neutron and gamma transport problems, uncertainties for the calculated values of critical K were evaluated as in the ANOVA on statistical data.

Center for the Built Environment: UFAD Cooling Load Design Tool

Science.gov Websites

Energy Publications Project Title: Underfloor Air Distribution (UFAD) Cooling Load Design Tool Providing . Webster, 2010. Development of a simplified cooling load design tool for underfloor air distribution Near-ZNE Buildings Setpoint Energy Savings Calculator UFAD Case Studies UFAD Cooling Design Tool UFAD

Three essays on decision-making in energy policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wendling, Zachary Ann

This dissertation examines three issues surrounding decision-making in energy policy. Over the past decade, technological advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have allowed the economical extraction of natural gas and petroleum from shale basins. Thus far, natural gas has been produced from shale at a commercial scale only in certain American States and Canadian Provinces, though potential shale plays exist elsewhere in North America and the world. Whether, how, and to what extent SGD diffuses to new shale basins and jurisdictions will depend on several questions about energy policy. The first chapter examines the potential for SGD in the European Union. Among EU institutions, the European Parliament has been the strongest proponent for regulation of SGD, preferring a balance between environmental protection and opportunities for economic development, energy security, and climate mitigation. Analysis of roll call voting on SGD in the Seventh European Parliament shows that ideological preferences are the primary explanation of voting behavior, followed by national interests in decarbonization. Prospects for further regulatory action are discussed. ? The second chapter takes a closer look at the potential of shale gas to facilitate decarbonization in the electricity sector. Proponents of SGD have claimed that high carbon fossil fuels can be immediately phased out and replaced in the short term by power plants that burn cheap, abundant natural gas, which emits half the greenhouse gasses over a well-to-wire life cycle. A value of information analysis examines the conditions under which this may be so and quantifies how valuable it would be to have perfect information about uncertain parameters in a cost function characterizing the global electricity sector. The third chapter is describes a new tool of policy analysis, the Indiana Scalable Energy-Economy Model (IN-SEEM). State and local governments have played an increasing role in energy and climate policy in the United States and abroad, yet few models can capture the policy impacts at finer geographic scales. Having such tools is essential for local stakeholders as they contemplate energy options such as SGD. This chapter explains the development, performance, and usefulness of IN-SEEM in answering policy questions.

Conservation planning for offsetting the impacts of development: a case study of biodiversity and renewable energy in the Mojave Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kreitler, Jason R.; Schloss, Carrie A.; Soong, Oliver; Lee Hannah,; Davis, Frank W.

2015-01-01

Balancing society’s competing needs of development and conservation requires careful consideration of tradeoffs. Renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation are often considered beneficial environmental goals. The direct footprint and disturbance of renewable energy, however, can displace species’ habitat and negatively impact populations and natural communities if sited without ecological consideration. Offsets have emerged as a potentially useful tool to mitigate residual impacts after trying to avoid, minimize, or restore affected sites. Yet the problem of efficiently designing a set of offset sites becomes increasingly complex where many species or many sites are involved. Spatial conservation prioritization tools are designed to handle this problem, but have seen little application to offset siting and analysis. To address this need we designed an offset siting support tool for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) of California, and present a case study of hypothetical impacts from solar development in the Western Mojave subsection. We compare two offset scenarios designed to mitigate a hypothetical 15,331 ha derived from proposed utility-scale solar energy development (USSED) projects. The first scenario prioritizes offsets based precisely on impacted features, while the second scenario offsets impacts to maximize biodiversity conservation gains in the region. The two methods only agree on 28% of their prioritized sites and differ in meeting species-specific offset goals. Differences between the two scenarios highlight the importance of clearly specifying choices and priorities for offset siting and mitigation in general. Similarly, the effects of background climate and land use change may lessen the durability or effectiveness of offsets if not considered. Our offset siting support tool was designed specifically for the DRECP area, but with minor code modification could work well in other offset analyses, and could provide continuing support for a potentially innovative mitigation solution to environmental impacts.

Conservation Planning for Offsetting the Impacts of Development: A Case Study of Biodiversity and Renewable Energy in the Mojave Desert.

PubMed

Kreitler, Jason; Schloss, Carrie A; Soong, Oliver; Hannah, Lee; Davis, Frank W

2015-01-01

Balancing society's competing needs of development and conservation requires careful consideration of tradeoffs. Renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation are often considered beneficial environmental goals. The direct footprint and disturbance of renewable energy, however, can displace species' habitat and negatively impact populations and natural communities if sited without ecological consideration. Offsets have emerged as a potentially useful tool to mitigate residual impacts after trying to avoid, minimize, or restore affected sites. Yet the problem of efficiently designing a set of offset sites becomes increasingly complex where many species or many sites are involved. Spatial conservation prioritization tools are designed to handle this problem, but have seen little application to offset siting and analysis. To address this need we designed an offset siting support tool for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) of California, and present a case study of hypothetical impacts from solar development in the Western Mojave subsection. We compare two offset scenarios designed to mitigate a hypothetical 15,331 ha derived from proposed utility-scale solar energy development (USSED) projects. The first scenario prioritizes offsets based precisely on impacted features, while the second scenario offsets impacts to maximize biodiversity conservation gains in the region. The two methods only agree on 28% of their prioritized sites and differ in meeting species-specific offset goals. Differences between the two scenarios highlight the importance of clearly specifying choices and priorities for offset siting and mitigation in general. Similarly, the effects of background climate and land use change may lessen the durability or effectiveness of offsets if not considered. Our offset siting support tool was designed specifically for the DRECP area, but with minor code modification could work well in other offset analyses, and could provide continuing support for a potentially innovative mitigation solution to environmental impacts.

Conservation Planning for Offsetting the Impacts of Development: A Case Study of Biodiversity and Renewable Energy in the Mojave Desert

PubMed Central

Kreitler, Jason; Schloss, Carrie A.; Soong, Oliver; Hannah, Lee; Davis, Frank W.

2015-01-01

Balancing society’s competing needs of development and conservation requires careful consideration of tradeoffs. Renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation are often considered beneficial environmental goals. The direct footprint and disturbance of renewable energy, however, can displace species’ habitat and negatively impact populations and natural communities if sited without ecological consideration. Offsets have emerged as a potentially useful tool to mitigate residual impacts after trying to avoid, minimize, or restore affected sites. Yet the problem of efficiently designing a set of offset sites becomes increasingly complex where many species or many sites are involved. Spatial conservation prioritization tools are designed to handle this problem, but have seen little application to offset siting and analysis. To address this need we designed an offset siting support tool for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) of California, and present a case study of hypothetical impacts from solar development in the Western Mojave subsection. We compare two offset scenarios designed to mitigate a hypothetical 15,331 ha derived from proposed utility-scale solar energy development (USSED) projects. The first scenario prioritizes offsets based precisely on impacted features, while the second scenario offsets impacts to maximize biodiversity conservation gains in the region. The two methods only agree on 28% of their prioritized sites and differ in meeting species-specific offset goals. Differences between the two scenarios highlight the importance of clearly specifying choices and priorities for offset siting and mitigation in general. Similarly, the effects of background climate and land use change may lessen the durability or effectiveness of offsets if not considered. Our offset siting support tool was designed specifically for the DRECP area, but with minor code modification could work well in other offset analyses, and could provide continuing support for a potentially innovative mitigation solution to environmental impacts. PMID:26529595

Contamination and Surface Preparation Effects on Composite Bonding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kutscha, Eileen O.; Vahey, Paul G.; Belcher, Marcus A.; VanVoast, Peter J.; Grace, William B.; Blohowiak, Kay Y.; Palmieri, Frank L.; Connell, John W.

2017-01-01

Results presented here demonstrate the effect of several prebond surface contaminants (hydrocarbon, machining fluid, latex, silicone, peel ply residue, release film) on bond quality, as measured by fracture toughness and failure modes of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy substrates bonded in secondary and co-bond configurations with paste and film adhesives. Additionally, the capability of various prebond surface property measurement tools to detect contaminants and potentially predict subsequent bond performance of three different adhesives is also shown. Surface measurement methods included water contact angle, Dyne solution wettability, optically stimulated electron emission spectroscopy, surface free energy, inverse gas chromatography, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with chemometrics analysis. Information will also be provided on the effectiveness of mechanical and energetic surface treatments to recover a bondable surface after contamination. The benefits and drawbacks of the various surface analysis tools to detect contaminants and evaluate prebond surfaces after surface treatment were assessed as well as their ability to correlate to bond performance. Surface analysis tools were also evaluated for their potential use as in-line quality control of adhesive bonding parameters in the manufacturing environment.

Master plan for REIS implementation. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knobloch, P.C.

1974-08-01

Implementation requirements of the regional energy information system (REIS) and provision of a brief cost/benefit analysis of the proposed system are discussed. Divided into four sectors (problems, requirements, the present system, and the proposed implementation of REIS), the development of a demonstration data base, its implementation and that of the regional input-output model as a tool for decision makers are subjects of the report. The accounting subsystem and energy flow network model are two main components; the need to identify specific problems, to gather information on source, energy type, location, use, time with cross classification, the structure of REIS withmore » parameter subsystem, and a description of the study area (N. E. Minnesota) are included. Five energy-producing and 76 energy-using sectors are specified, with energy classification and forms included. (GRA)« less

Reducing supply chain energy use in next-generation vehicle lightweighting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanes, Rebecca J.; Das, Sujit; Carpenter, Alberta

Vehicle lightweighting reduces the amount of fuel consumed in a vehicle's use phase, but depending on what lightweight materials replace the conventional materials, and in what amounts, the manufacturing energy may increase or decrease. For carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), a next-generation lightweighting material, the increase in vehicle manufacturing energy is greater than the fuel savings, resulting in a net increase in energy consumption over a vehicle's manufacturing and use relative to a standard non-lightweighted car. [1] This work explores ways to reduce the supply chain energy of CFRP lightweighted vehicles through alternative production technologies and energy efficiency improvements. Themore » objective is to determine if CFRP can offer energy savings comparable to or greater than aluminum, a conventional lightweighting material. Results of this analysis can be used to inform additional research and development efforts in CFRP production and future directions in lightweight vehicle production. The CFRP supply chain is modeled using the Material Flows through Industry (MFI) scenario modeling tool, which calculates 'mine to materials' energy consumption, material inventories and greenhouse gas emissions for industrial supply chains. In this analysis, the MFI tool is used to model the supply chains of two lightweighted vehicles, an aluminum intensive vehicle (AIV) and a carbon fiber intensive vehicle (CFV), under several manufacturing scenarios. Vehicle specifications are given in [1]. Scenarios investigated cover alternative carbon fiber (CF) feedstocks and energy efficiency improvements at various points in the vehicle supply chains. The alternative CF feedstocks are polyacrylonitrile, lignin and petroleum-derived mesophase pitch. Scenarios in which the energy efficiency of CF and CFRP production increases are explored using sector efficiency potential values, which quantify the reduction in energy consumption achievable when process equipment is upgraded to the most efficient available. Preliminary analyses indicate that producing CF from lignin instead of polyacrylonitrile, the most commonly used feedstock, reduces energy consumption in the CFRP supply chain by 7.5%, and that implementing energy efficient process equipment produces an additional 8% reduction. Final results will show if these potential reductions are sufficient to make the CFV energy savings comparable with AIV energy savings. [1] Das, S., Graziano, D., Upadhyayula, V. K., Masanet, E., Riddle, M., & Cresko, J. (2016). Vehicle lightweighting energy use impacts in US light-duty vehicle fleet. Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 8, 5-13.« less

Modelling and interpreting spectral energy distributions of galaxies with BEAGLE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chevallard, Jacopo; Charlot, Stéphane

2016-10-01

We present a new-generation tool to model and interpret spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies, which incorporates in a consistent way the production of radiation and its transfer through the interstellar and intergalactic media. This flexible tool, named BEAGLE (for BayEsian Analysis of GaLaxy sEds), allows one to build mock galaxy catalogues as well as to interpret any combination of photometric and spectroscopic galaxy observations in terms of physical parameters. The current version of the tool includes versatile modelling of the emission from stars and photoionized gas, attenuation by dust and accounting for different instrumental effects, such as spectroscopic flux calibration and line spread function. We show a first application of the BEAGLE tool to the interpretation of broad-band SEDs of a published sample of ˜ 10^4 galaxies at redshifts 0.1 ≲ z ≲ 8. We find that the constraints derived on photometric redshifts using this multipurpose tool are comparable to those obtained using public, dedicated photometric-redshift codes and quantify this result in a rigorous statistical way. We also show how the post-processing of BEAGLE output data with the PYTHON extension PYP-BEAGLE allows the characterization of systematic deviations between models and observations, in particular through posterior predictive checks. The modular design of the BEAGLE tool allows easy extensions to incorporate, for example, the absorption by neutral galactic and circumgalactic gas, and the emission from an active galactic nucleus, dust and shock-ionized gas. Information about public releases of the BEAGLE tool will be maintained on http://www.jacopochevallard.org/beagle.

Energy Signal Tool for Decision Support in Building Energy Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Henze, G. P.; Pavlak, G. S.; Florita, A. R.

2014-12-01

A prototype energy signal tool is demonstrated for operational whole-building and system-level energy use evaluation. The purpose of the tool is to give a summary of building energy use which allows a building operator to quickly distinguish normal and abnormal energy use. Toward that end, energy use status is displayed as a traffic light, which is a visual metaphor for energy use that is either substantially different from expected (red and yellow lights) or approximately the same as expected (green light). Which light to display for a given energy end use is determined by comparing expected to actual energy use.more » As expected, energy use is necessarily uncertain; we cannot choose the appropriate light with certainty. Instead, the energy signal tool chooses the light by minimizing the expected cost of displaying the wrong light. The expected energy use is represented by a probability distribution. Energy use is modeled by a low-order lumped parameter model. Uncertainty in energy use is quantified by a Monte Carlo exploration of the influence of model parameters on energy use. Distributions over model parameters are updated over time via Bayes' theorem. The simulation study was devised to assess whole-building energy signal accuracy in the presence of uncertainty and faults at the submetered level, which may lead to tradeoffs at the whole-building level that are not detectable without submetering.« less

Multifunctional structural lithium ion batteries for electrical energy storage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javaid, Atif; Zeshan Ali, Muhammad

2018-05-01

Multifunctional structural batteries based on carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites are fabricated that can bear mechanical loads and act as electrochemical energy storage devices simultaneously. Structural batteries, containing woven carbon fabric anode; lithium cobalt oxide/graphene nanoplatelets coated aluminum cathode; filter paper separator and cross-linked polymer electrolyte, were fabricated through resin infusion under flexible tooling (RIFT) technique. Compression tests, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and impedance spectroscopy were done on the cross-linked polymer electrolytes while cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and in-plane shear tests were conducted on the fabricated structural batteries. A range of solid polymer electrolytes with increasing concentrations of lithium perchlorate salt in crosslinked polymer epoxies were formulated. Increased concentrations of electrolyte salt in cross-linked epoxy increased the ionic conductivity, although the compressive properties were compromised. A structural battery, exhibiting simultaneously a capacity of 0.16 mAh L‑1, an energy density of 0.32 Wh L‑1 and a shear modulus of 0.75 GPa have been reported.

A SOFTWARE TOOL TO COMPARE MEASURED AND SIMULATED BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE DATA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maile, Tobias; Bazjanac, Vladimir; O'Donnell, James

2011-11-01

Building energy performance is often inadequate when compared to design goals. To link design goals to actual operation one can compare measured with simulated energy performance data. Our previously developed comparison approach is the Energy Performance Comparison Methodology (EPCM), which enables the identification of performance problems based on a comparison of measured and simulated performance data. In context of this method, we developed a software tool that provides graphing and data processing capabilities of the two performance data sets. The software tool called SEE IT (Stanford Energy Efficiency Information Tool) eliminates the need for manual generation of data plots andmore » data reformatting. SEE IT makes the generation of time series, scatter and carpet plots independent of the source of data (measured or simulated) and provides a valuable tool for comparing measurements with simulation results. SEE IT also allows assigning data points on a predefined building object hierarchy and supports different versions of simulated performance data. This paper briefly introduces the EPCM, describes the SEE IT tool and illustrates its use in the context of a building case study.« less

A comparison of renewable energy technologies using two simulation softwares: HOMER and RETScreen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramli, Mohd Sufian; Wahid, Siti Sufiah Abd; Hassan, Khairul Kamarudin

2017-08-01

This paper concerns on modelling renewable energy technologies including PV standalone system (PVSS) and wind standalone system (WSS) as well as PV-wind hybrid system (PVWHS). To evaluate the performance of all power system configurations in term of economic analysis and optimization, simulation tools called HOMER and RETScreen are used in this paper. HOMER energy modeling software is a powerful tool for designing and analyzing hybrid power systems, which contains a mix of conventional generators, wind turbines, solar photovoltaic's, hydropower, batteries, and other inputs. RETScreen uses a Microsoft Excel-based spreadsheet model that consists of a set of workbooks which calculates the annual average energy flows with adjustment factors to account for temporal effects such as solar-load coincidence. Sizes of equipments are calculated and inserted as inputs to HOMER and RETScreen. The result obtained are analyzed and discussed. The cost per kWh to generate electricity using the PVSS system to supply the average demand of 8.4 kWh/day ranges between RM 1.953/kWh to RM 3.872/kWh. It has been found that the PVSS gives the lowest cost of energy compared to the other proposed two technologies that have been simulated by using HOMER and RETScreen.

Sensitivity Analysis as a Tool to assess Energy-Water Nexus in India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priyanka, P.; Banerjee, R.

2017-12-01

Rapid urbanization, population growth and related structural changes with-in the economy of a developing country act as a stressor on energy and water demand, which forms a well-established energy-water nexus. Energy-water nexus is thoroughly studied at various spatial scales viz. city level, river basin level and national level- to guide different stakeholders for sustainable management of energy and water. However, temporal dimensions of energy-water nexus at national level have not been thoroughly investigated because of unavailability of relevant time-series data. In this study we investigated energy-water nexus at national level using environmentally-extended input-output tables for Indian economy (2004-2013) as provided by EORA database. Perturbation based sensitivity analysis is proposed to highlight the critical nodes of interactions among economic sectors which is further linked to detect the synergistic effects of energy and water consumption. Technology changes (interpreted as change in value of nodes) results in modification of interactions among economic sectors and synergy is affected through direct as well as indirect effects. Indirect effects are not easily understood through preliminary examination of data, hence sensitivity analysis within an input-output framework is important to understand the indirect effects. Furthermore, time series data helps in developing the understanding on dynamics of synergistic effects. We identified the key sectors and technology changes for Indian economy which will provide the better decision support for policy makers about sustainable use of energy-water resources in India.

Energy Tracking Software Platform

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ryan Davis; Nathan Bird; Rebecca Birx

2011-04-04

Acceleration has created an interactive energy tracking and visualization platform that supports decreasing electric, water, and gas usage. Homeowners have access to tools that allow them to gauge their use and track progress toward a smaller energy footprint. Real estate agents have access to consumption data, allowing for sharing a comparison with potential home buyers. Home builders have the opportunity to compare their neighborhood's energy efficiency with competitors. Home energy raters have a tool for gauging the progress of their clients after efficiency changes. And, social groups are able to help encourage members to reduce their energy bills and helpmore » their environment. EnergyIT.com is the business umbrella for all energy tracking solutions and is designed to provide information about our energy tracking software and promote sales. CompareAndConserve.com (Gainesville-Green.com) helps homeowners conserve energy through education and competition. ToolsForTenants.com helps renters factor energy usage into their housing decisions.« less

Component-Based Modelling for Scalable Smart City Systems Interoperability: A Case Study on Integrating Energy Demand Response Systems.

PubMed

Palomar, Esther; Chen, Xiaohong; Liu, Zhiming; Maharjan, Sabita; Bowen, Jonathan

2016-10-28

Smart city systems embrace major challenges associated with climate change, energy efficiency, mobility and future services by embedding the virtual space into a complex cyber-physical system. Those systems are constantly evolving and scaling up, involving a wide range of integration among users, devices, utilities, public services and also policies. Modelling such complex dynamic systems' architectures has always been essential for the development and application of techniques/tools to support design and deployment of integration of new components, as well as for the analysis, verification, simulation and testing to ensure trustworthiness. This article reports on the definition and implementation of a scalable component-based architecture that supports a cooperative energy demand response (DR) system coordinating energy usage between neighbouring households. The proposed architecture, called refinement of Cyber-Physical Component Systems (rCPCS), which extends the refinement calculus for component and object system (rCOS) modelling method, is implemented using Eclipse Extensible Coordination Tools (ECT), i.e., Reo coordination language. With rCPCS implementation in Reo, we specify the communication, synchronisation and co-operation amongst the heterogeneous components of the system assuring, by design scalability and the interoperability, correctness of component cooperation.

Investigation of Sustainable Energy Policy: Nairobi Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shengyuan, Y.; Habiyaremye, J. F. L.; Yingying, W.

2017-07-01

A plan for actively achieving green energy obligation is a strategic tool for policies that point forward the diminution of the fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) in conformity with the Paris environment-friendly accords (COP21) and updates of other ecosystem agreements. To achieve the concrete implementation of the sustainable energy strategy (SES) and to accomplish its objectives, an investigation is a critical factor. SES investigation has to consider both the advancement of each particular action and its wide-ranging green effect, which necessitates multiple levels of improvement. In this study, a consolidated eco strategy for evaluating, monitoring and handling the SES via investigation and execution process is established. The city of Nairobi was used as one of the geographical positions to test the effectiveness of this approach and to investigate its robust and weak points. Specifically, benefit-cost analysis, reliability, peer review and general level of participation were renowned as vital tools for attaining a functional SES investigation and for then drafting successful energy guidelines. Some suggestions were put forward to highlight the research and execution methods and to draw a road map of how SES can be strategically placed into practice.

Component-Based Modelling for Scalable Smart City Systems Interoperability: A Case Study on Integrating Energy Demand Response Systems

PubMed Central

Palomar, Esther; Chen, Xiaohong; Liu, Zhiming; Maharjan, Sabita; Bowen, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Smart city systems embrace major challenges associated with climate change, energy efficiency, mobility and future services by embedding the virtual space into a complex cyber-physical system. Those systems are constantly evolving and scaling up, involving a wide range of integration among users, devices, utilities, public services and also policies. Modelling such complex dynamic systems’ architectures has always been essential for the development and application of techniques/tools to support design and deployment of integration of new components, as well as for the analysis, verification, simulation and testing to ensure trustworthiness. This article reports on the definition and implementation of a scalable component-based architecture that supports a cooperative energy demand response (DR) system coordinating energy usage between neighbouring households. The proposed architecture, called refinement of Cyber-Physical Component Systems (rCPCS), which extends the refinement calculus for component and object system (rCOS) modelling method, is implemented using Eclipse Extensible Coordination Tools (ECT), i.e., Reo coordination language. With rCPCS implementation in Reo, we specify the communication, synchronisation and co-operation amongst the heterogeneous components of the system assuring, by design scalability and the interoperability, correctness of component cooperation. PMID:27801829

Lunar South Pole Illumination: Review, Reassessment, and Power System Implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fincannon, James

2007-01-01

This paper reviews past analyses and research related to lunar south pole illumination and presents results of independent illumination analyses using an analytical tool and a radar digital elevation model. The analysis tool enables assessment at most locations near the lunar poles for any time and any year. Average illumination fraction, energy storage duration, solar/horizon terrain elevation profiles and illumination fraction profiles are presented for various highly illuminated sites which have been identified for manned or unmanned operations. The format of the data can be used by power system designers to develop mass optimized solar and energy storage systems. Data are presented for the worse case lunar day (a critical power planning bottleneck) as well as three lunar days during lunar south pole winter. The main site under consideration by present lunar mission planners (on the Crater Shackleton rim) is shown to have, for the worse case lunar day, a 0.71 average illumination fraction and 73 to 117 hours required for energy storage (depending on power system type). Linking other sites and including towers at either site are shown to not completely eliminate the need for energy storage.

Fungal Genomics for Energy and Environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grigoriev, Igor V.

2013-03-11

Genomes of fungi relevant to energy and environment are in focus of the Fungal Genomic Program at the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI). One of its projects, the Genomics Encyclopedia of Fungi, targets fungi related to plant health (symbionts, pathogens, and biocontrol agents) and biorefinery processes (cellulose degradation, sugar fermentation, industrial hosts) by means of genome sequencing and analysis. New chapters of the Encyclopedia can be opened with user proposals to the JGI Community Sequencing Program (CSP). Another JGI project, the 1000 fungal genomes, explores fungal diversity on genome level at scale and is open for usersmore » to nominate new species for sequencing. Over 200 fungal genomes have been sequenced by JGI to date and released through MycoCosm (www.jgi.doe.gov/fungi), a fungal web-portal, which integrates sequence and functional data with genome analysis tools for user community. Sequence analysis supported by functional genomics leads to developing parts list for complex systems ranging from ecosystems of biofuel crops to biorefineries. Recent examples of such parts suggested by comparative genomics and functional analysis in these areas are presented here.« less

Genomic Encyclopedia of Fungi

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grigoriev, Igor

Genomes of fungi relevant to energy and environment are in focus of the Fungal Genomic Program at the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI). Its key project, the Genomics Encyclopedia of Fungi, targets fungi related to plant health (symbionts, pathogens, and biocontrol agents) and biorefinery processes (cellulose degradation, sugar fermentation, industrial hosts), and explores fungal diversity by means of genome sequencing and analysis. Over 150 fungal genomes have been sequenced by JGI to date and released through MycoCosm (www.jgi.doe.gov/fungi), a fungal web-portal, which integrates sequence and functional data with genome analysis tools for user community. Sequence analysis supportedmore » by functional genomics leads to developing parts list for complex systems ranging from ecosystems of biofuel crops to biorefineries. Recent examples of such parts suggested by comparative genomics and functional analysis in these areas are presented here.« less

Performance profiling for brachytherapy applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Wonqook; Cho, Kihyeon; Yeo, Insung

2018-05-01

In many physics applications, a significant amount of software (e.g. R, ROOT and Geant4) is developed on novel computing architectures, and much effort is expended to ensure the software is efficient in terms of central processing unit (CPU) time and memory usage. Profiling tools are used during the evaluation process to evaluate the efficiency; however, few such tools are able to accommodate low-energy physics regions. To address this limitation, we developed a low-energy physics profiling system in Geant4 to profile the CPU time and memory of software applications in brachytherapy applications. This paper describes and evaluates specific models that are applied to brachytherapy applications in Geant4, such as QGSP_BIC_LIV, QGSP_BIC_EMZ, and QGSP_BIC_EMY. The physics range in this tool allows it to be used to generate low energy profiles in brachytherapy applications. This was a limitation in previous studies, which caused us to develop a new profiling tool that supports profiling in the MeV range, in contrast to the TeV range that is supported by existing high-energy profiling tools. In order to easily compare the profiling results between low-energy and high-energy modes, we employed the same software architecture as that in the SimpliCarlo tool developed at the Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The results show that the newly developed profiling system for low-energy physics (less than MeV) complements the current profiling system used for high-energy physics (greater than TeV) applications.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, C.; Horowitz, S.

In subdivisions, house orientations are largely determined by street layout. The resulting house orientations affect energy consumption (annual and on-peak) for heating and cooling, depending on window area distributions and shading from neighboring houses. House orientations also affect energy production (annual and on-peak) from solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, depending on available roof surfaces. Therefore, house orientations fundamentally influence both energy consumption and production, and an appropriate street layout is a prerequisite for taking full advantage of energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities. The potential influence of street layout on solar performance is often acknowledged, but solar and energy issuesmore » must compete with many other criteria and constraints that influence subdivision street layout. When only general guidelines regarding energy are available, these factors may be ignored or have limited effect. Also, typical guidelines are often not site-specific and do not account for local parameters such as climate and the time value of energy. For energy to be given its due consideration in subdivision design, energy impacts need to be accurately quantified and displayed interactively to facilitate analysis of design alternatives. This paper describes a new computerized Subdivision Energy Analysis Tool being developed to allow users to interactively design subdivision street layouts while receiving feedback about energy impacts based on user-specified building design variants and availability of roof surfaces for photovoltaic and solar water heating systems.« less

Fragmentation of displacement cascades into subcascades: A molecular dynamics study

DOE PAGES

Antoshchenkova, E.; Luneville, L.; Simeone, D.; ...

2014-12-12

The fragmentation of displacement cascades into subcascades in copper and iron has been investigated through the molecular dynamics technique. A two-point density correlation function has been used to analyze the cascades as a function of the primary knock-on (PKA) energy. This approach is used as a tool for detecting subcascade formation. The fragmentation can already be identified at the end of the ballistic phase. Its resulting evolution in the peak damage state discriminates between unconnected and connected subcascades. The damage zone at the end of the ballistic phase is the precursor of the extended regions that contain the surviving defects.more » A fractal analysis of the cascade exhibits a dependence on both the stage of the cascade development and the PKA energy. This type of analysis enables the minimum and maximum displacement spike energies together with the subcascade formation threshold energy to be determined. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.« less

Fragmentation of displacement cascades into subcascades: A molecular dynamics study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antoshchenkova, E.; Luneville, L.; Simeone, D.

The fragmentation of displacement cascades into subcascades in copper and iron has been investigated through the molecular dynamics technique. A two-point density correlation function has been used to analyze the cascades as a function of the primary knock-on (PKA) energy. This approach is used as a tool for detecting subcascade formation. The fragmentation can already be identified at the end of the ballistic phase. Its resulting evolution in the peak damage state discriminates between unconnected and connected subcascades. The damage zone at the end of the ballistic phase is the precursor of the extended regions that contain the surviving defects.more » A fractal analysis of the cascade exhibits a dependence on both the stage of the cascade development and the PKA energy. This type of analysis enables the minimum and maximum displacement spike energies together with the subcascade formation threshold energy to be determined. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.« less

WEC Design Response Toolbox v. 1.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coe, Ryan; Michelen, Carlos; Eckert-Gallup, Aubrey

2016-03-30

The WEC Design Response Toolbox (WDRT) is a numerical toolbox for design-response analysis of wave energy converters (WECs). The WDRT was developed during a series of efforts to better understand WEC survival design. The WDRT has been designed as a tool for researchers and developers, enabling the straightforward application of statistical and engineering methods. The toolbox includes methods for short-term extreme response, environmental characterization, long-term extreme response and risk analysis, fatigue, and design wave composition.

DIY Solar Market Analysis Webinar Series: PVWatts® | State, Local, and

Science.gov Websites

, and updates the energy prediction algorithms to be in line with the actual performance of modern the latest update." In this webinar, one of the tool's developers explains how the new version of ® Wednesday, July 9, 2014 As part of a Do-It-Yourself Solar Market Analysis summer series, NREL's Solar

A graph-based computational framework for simulation and optimisation of coupled infrastructure networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jalving, Jordan; Abhyankar, Shrirang; Kim, Kibaek

Here, we present a computational framework that facilitates the construction, instantiation, and analysis of large-scale optimization and simulation applications of coupled energy networks. The framework integrates the optimization modeling package PLASMO and the simulation package DMNetwork (built around PETSc). These tools use a common graphbased abstraction that enables us to achieve compatibility between data structures and to build applications that use network models of different physical fidelity. We also describe how to embed these tools within complex computational workflows using SWIFT, which is a tool that facilitates parallel execution of multiple simulation runs and management of input and output data.more » We discuss how to use these capabilities to target coupled natural gas and electricity systems.« less

A graph-based computational framework for simulation and optimisation of coupled infrastructure networks

DOE PAGES

Jalving, Jordan; Abhyankar, Shrirang; Kim, Kibaek; ...

2017-04-24

Here, we present a computational framework that facilitates the construction, instantiation, and analysis of large-scale optimization and simulation applications of coupled energy networks. The framework integrates the optimization modeling package PLASMO and the simulation package DMNetwork (built around PETSc). These tools use a common graphbased abstraction that enables us to achieve compatibility between data structures and to build applications that use network models of different physical fidelity. We also describe how to embed these tools within complex computational workflows using SWIFT, which is a tool that facilitates parallel execution of multiple simulation runs and management of input and output data.more » We discuss how to use these capabilities to target coupled natural gas and electricity systems.« less

Application of the SCALE TSUNAMI Tools for the Validation of Criticality Safety Calculations Involving 233U

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mueller, Don; Rearden, Bradley T; Hollenbach, Daniel F

2009-02-01

The Radiochemical Development Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been storing solid materials containing 233U for decades. Preparations are under way to process these materials into a form that is inherently safe from a nuclear criticality safety perspective. This will be accomplished by down-blending the {sup 233}U materials with depleted or natural uranium. At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy, a study has been performed using the SCALE sensitivity and uncertainty analysis tools to demonstrate how these tools could be used to validate nuclear criticality safety calculations of selected process and storage configurations. ISOTEK nuclear criticality safetymore » staff provided four models that are representative of the criticality safety calculations for which validation will be needed. The SCALE TSUNAMI-1D and TSUNAMI-3D sequences were used to generate energy-dependent k{sub eff} sensitivity profiles for each nuclide and reaction present in the four safety analysis models, also referred to as the applications, and in a large set of critical experiments. The SCALE TSUNAMI-IP module was used together with the sensitivity profiles and the cross-section uncertainty data contained in the SCALE covariance data files to propagate the cross-section uncertainties ({Delta}{sigma}/{sigma}) to k{sub eff} uncertainties ({Delta}k/k) for each application model. The SCALE TSUNAMI-IP module was also used to evaluate the similarity of each of the 672 critical experiments with each application. Results of the uncertainty analysis and similarity assessment are presented in this report. A total of 142 experiments were judged to be similar to application 1, and 68 experiments were judged to be similar to application 2. None of the 672 experiments were judged to be adequately similar to applications 3 and 4. Discussion of the uncertainty analysis and similarity assessment is provided for each of the four applications. Example upper subcritical limits (USLs) were generated for application 1 based on trending of the energy of average lethargy of neutrons causing fission, trending of the TSUNAMI similarity parameters, and use of data adjustment techniques.« less

Abstract - Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Ames National Laboratory and National Energy Technology Laboratory AGMT-0609

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bryden, Mark; Tucker, David A.

The goal of this project is to develop a merged environment for simulation and analysis (MESA) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Hybrid Performance (Hyper) project laboratory. The MESA sensor lab developed as a component of this research will provide a development platform for investigating: 1) advanced control strategies, 2) testing and development of sensor hardware, 3) various modeling in-the-loop algorithms and 4) other advanced computational algorithms for improved plant performance using sensors, real-time models, and complex systems tools.

MoManI: a tool to facilitate research, analysis, and teaching of computer models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howells, Mark; Pelakauskas, Martynas; Almulla, Youssef; Tkaczyk, Alan H.; Zepeda, Eduardo

2017-04-01

Allocating limited resource efficiently is a task to which efficient planning and policy design aspires. This may be a non-trivial task. For example, the seventh sustainable development goal (SDG) of Agenda 2030 is to provide access to affordable sustainable energy to all. On the one hand, energy is required to realise almost all other SDGs. (A clinic requires electricity for fridges to store vaccines for maternal health, irrigate agriculture requires energy to pump water to crops in dry periods etc.) On the other hand, the energy system is non-trivial. It requires the mapping of resource, its conversion into useable energy and then into machines that we use to meet our needs. That requires new tools that draw from standard techniques, best-in-class models and allow the analyst to develop new models. Thus we present the Model Management Infrastructure (MoManI). MoManI is used to develop, manage, run, store input and results data for linear programming models. MoManI, is a browser-based open source interface for systems modelling. It is available to various user audiences, from policy makers and planners through to academics. For example, we implement the Open Source energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS) in MoManI. OSeMOSYS is a specialized energy model generator. A typical OSeMOSYS model would represent the current energy system of a country, region or city; in it, equations and constraints are specified; and calibrated to a base year. From that future technologies and policy options are represented. From those scenarios are designed and run. Efficient allocation of energy resource and expenditure on technology is calculated. Finally, results are visualized. At present this is done in relatively rigid interfaces or via (for some) cumbersome text files. Implementing and operating OSeMOSYS in MoManI shortens the learning curve and reduces phobia associated with the complexity of computer modelling, thereby supporting effective capacity building activities. The novel structure of MoManI allows different teams to collaborate simultaneously from around the globe. Each user can easily edit and update any part of the modelling process: from the underlying mathematical equations of OSeMOSYS through to the visualization of results. Going forward, this tools' flexible structure will make it a potential interface for a larger selection of modelling tools, thus extending its use from OSeMOSYS for energy to other systems modelling, moving beyond SDG7 to others.

Analysis of layer-by-layer thin-film oxide growth using RHEED and Atomic Force Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adler, Eli; Sullivan, M. C.; Gutierrez-Llorente, Araceli; Joress, H.; Woll, A.; Brock, J. D.

2015-03-01

Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is commonly used as an in situ analysis tool for layer-by-layer thin-film growth. Atomic force microscopy is an equally common ex situ tool for analysis of the film surface, providing visual evidence of the surface morphology. During growth, the RHEED intensity oscillates as the film surface changes in roughness. It is often assumed that the maxima of the RHEED oscillations signify a complete layer, however, the oscillations in oxide systems can be misleading. Thus, using only the RHEED maxima is insufficient. X-ray reflectivity can also be used to analyze growth, as the intensity oscillates in phase with the smoothness of the surface. Using x-ray reflectivity to determine the thin film layer deposition, we grew three films where the x-ray and RHEED oscillations were nearly exactly out of phase and halted deposition at different points in the growth. Pre-growth and post-growth AFM images emphasize the fact that the maxima in RHEED are not a justification for determining layer completion. Work conducted at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) supported by NSF Awards DMR-1332208 and DMR-0936384 and the Cornell Center for Materials Research Shared Facilities are supported through DMR-1120296.

3Drefine: an interactive web server for efficient protein structure refinement

PubMed Central

Bhattacharya, Debswapna; Nowotny, Jackson; Cao, Renzhi; Cheng, Jianlin

2016-01-01

3Drefine is an interactive web server for consistent and computationally efficient protein structure refinement with the capability to perform web-based statistical and visual analysis. The 3Drefine refinement protocol utilizes iterative optimization of hydrogen bonding network combined with atomic-level energy minimization on the optimized model using a composite physics and knowledge-based force fields for efficient protein structure refinement. The method has been extensively evaluated on blind CASP experiments as well as on large-scale and diverse benchmark datasets and exhibits consistent improvement over the initial structure in both global and local structural quality measures. The 3Drefine web server allows for convenient protein structure refinement through a text or file input submission, email notification, provided example submission and is freely available without any registration requirement. The server also provides comprehensive analysis of submissions through various energy and statistical feedback and interactive visualization of multiple refined models through the JSmol applet that is equipped with numerous protein model analysis tools. The web server has been extensively tested and used by many users. As a result, the 3Drefine web server conveniently provides a useful tool easily accessible to the community. The 3Drefine web server has been made publicly available at the URL: http://sysbio.rnet.missouri.edu/3Drefine/. PMID:27131371

A Python tool to set up relative free energy calculations in GROMACS

PubMed Central

Klimovich, Pavel V.; Mobley, David L.

2015-01-01

Free energy calculations based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have seen a tremendous growth in the last decade. However, it is still difficult and tedious to set them up in an automated manner, as the majority of the present-day MD simulation packages lack that functionality. Relative free energy calculations are a particular challenge for several reasons, including the problem of finding a common substructure and mapping the transformation to be applied. Here we present a tool, alchemical-setup.py, that automatically generates all the input files needed to perform relative solvation and binding free energy calculations with the MD package GROMACS. When combined with Lead Optimization Mapper [14], recently developed in our group, alchemical-setup.py allows fully automated setup of relative free energy calculations in GROMACS. Taking a graph of the planned calculations and a mapping, both computed by LOMAP, our tool generates the topology and coordinate files needed to perform relative free energy calculations for a given set of molecules, and provides a set of simulation input parameters. The tool was validated by performing relative hydration free energy calculations for a handful of molecules from the SAMPL4 challenge [16]. Good agreement with previously published results and the straightforward way in which free energy calculations can be conducted make alchemical-setup.py a promising tool for automated setup of relative solvation and binding free energy calculations. PMID:26487189

Evaluation and Selection of Renewable Energy Technologies for Highway Maintenance Facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrews, Taylor

The interest in renewable energy has been increasing in recent years as attempts to reduce energy costs as well the consumption of fossil fuels are becoming more common. Companies and organizations are recognizing the increasing reliance on limited fossil fuels' resources, and as competition and costs for these resources grow, alternative solutions are becoming more appealing. Many federally run buildings and associations also have the added pressure of meeting the mandates of federal energy policies that dictate specific savings or reductions. Federal highway maintenance facilities run by the Department of Transportation fall into this category. To help meet energy saving goals, an investigation into potential renewable energy technologies was completed for the Ohio Department of Transportation. This research examined several types of renewable energy technologies and the major factors that affect their performance and evaluated their potential for implementation at highway maintenance facilities. Facilities energy usage data were provided, and a facility survey and site visits were completed to enhance the evaluation of technologies and the suitability for specific projects. Findings and technology recommendations were presented in the form of selection matrices, which were designed to help make selections in future projects. The benefits of utilization of other tools such as analysis software and life cycle assessments were also highlighted. These selection tools were designed to be helpful guides when beginning the pursuit of a renewable energy technology for highway maintenance facilities, and can be applied to other similar building types and projects. This document further discusses the research strategies and findings as well as the recommendations that were made to the personnel overseeing Ohio's highway maintenance facilities.

Challenges Facing Design and Analysis Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, Norman F., Jr.; Broduer, Steve (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The design and analysis of future aerospace systems will strongly rely on advanced engineering analysis tools used in combination with risk mitigation procedures. The implications of such a trend place increased demands on these tools to assess off-nominal conditions, residual strength, damage propagation, and extreme loading conditions in order to understand and quantify these effects as they affect mission success. Advances in computer hardware such as CPU processing speed, memory, secondary storage, and visualization provide significant resources for the engineer to exploit in engineering design. The challenges facing design and analysis tools fall into three primary areas. The first area involves mechanics needs such as constitutive modeling, contact and penetration simulation, crack growth prediction, damage initiation and progression prediction, transient dynamics and deployment simulations, and solution algorithms. The second area involves computational needs such as fast, robust solvers, adaptivity for model and solution strategies, control processes for concurrent, distributed computing for uncertainty assessments, and immersive technology. Traditional finite element codes still require fast direct solvers which when coupled to current CPU power enables new insight as a result of high-fidelity modeling. The third area involves decision making by the analyst. This area involves the integration and interrogation of vast amounts of information - some global in character while local details are critical and often drive the design. The proposed presentation will describe and illustrate these areas using composite structures, energy-absorbing structures, and inflatable space structures. While certain engineering approximations within the finite element model may be adequate for global response prediction, they generally are inadequate in a design setting or when local response prediction is critical. Pitfalls to be avoided and trends for emerging analysis tools will be described.

XIMPOL: a new x-ray polarimetry observation-simulation and analysis framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omodei, Nicola; Baldini, Luca; Pesce-Rollins, Melissa; di Lalla, Niccolò

2017-08-01

We present a new simulation framework, XIMPOL, based on the python programming language and the Scipy stack, specifically developed for X-ray polarimetric applications. XIMPOL is not tied to any specific mission or instrument design and is meant to produce fast and yet realistic observation-simulations, given as basic inputs: (i) an arbitrary source model including morphological, temporal, spectral and polarimetric information, and (ii) the response functions of the detector under study, i.e., the effective area, the energy dispersion, the point-spread function and the modulation factor. The format of the response files is OGIP compliant, and the framework has the capability of producing output files that can be directly fed into the standard visualization and analysis tools used by the X-ray community, including XSPEC which make it a useful tool not only for simulating physical systems, but also to develop and test end-to-end analysis chains.

Advancing data management and analysis in different scientific disciplines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, M.; Gasthuber, M.; Giesler, A.; Hardt, M.; Meyer, J.; Prabhune, A.; Rigoll, F.; Schwarz, K.; Streit, A.

2017-10-01

Over the past several years, rapid growth of data has affected many fields of science. This has often resulted in the need for overhauling or exchanging the tools and approaches in the disciplines’ data life cycles. However, this allows the application of new data analysis methods and facilitates improved data sharing. The project Large-Scale Data Management and Analysis (LSDMA) of the German Helmholtz Association has been addressing both specific and generic requirements in its data life cycle successfully since 2012. Its data scientists work together with researchers from the fields such as climatology, energy and neuroscience to improve the community-specific data life cycles, in several cases even all stages of the data life cycle, i.e. from data acquisition to data archival. LSDMA scientists also study methods and tools that are of importance to many communities, e.g. data repositories and authentication and authorization infrastructure.

Introduction to Electrochemistry and the Use of Electrochemistry to Synthesize and Evaluate Catalysts for Water Oxidation and Reduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendel, Samuel J.; Young, Elizabeth R.

2016-01-01

Electrochemical analysis is an important skill to teach in chemistry curricula because it is a critical tool in current high-impact chemical research. Electrochemistry enables researchers to analyze a variety of systems extending from molecules to materials that encompass research themes ranging from clean energy to substrate activation in…

Orange Button Solar Data Exchange | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Orange Button Solar Data Exchange Orange Button Solar Data Exchange The new Orange Button Solar Data Exchange tool serves as an online resource for the solar industry to share, sell, or retrieve solar data and connect with colleagues. Screenshot image of Orange Button data website home page. The

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse on Film and Video

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Don; Hook, Joseph; Doescher, Russell; Wolf, Steven

2015-01-01

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse. During a gale on Nov. 7, 1940, the bridge exhibited remarkable oscillations before collapsing spectacularly (Figs. 1-5). Physicists over the years have spent a great deal of time and energy studying this event. By using open-source analysis tools and digitized footage of…

Putting tools in the toolbox: Development of a free, open-source toolbox for quantitative image analysis of porous media.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iltis, G.; Caswell, T. A.; Dill, E.; Wilkins, S.; Lee, W. K.

2014-12-01

X-ray tomographic imaging of porous media has proven to be a valuable tool for investigating and characterizing the physical structure and state of both natural and synthetic porous materials, including glass bead packs, ceramics, soil and rock. Given that most synchrotron facilities have user programs which grant academic researchers access to facilities and x-ray imaging equipment free of charge, a key limitation or hindrance for small research groups interested in conducting x-ray imaging experiments is the financial cost associated with post-experiment data analysis. While the cost of high performance computing hardware continues to decrease, expenses associated with licensing commercial software packages for quantitative image analysis continue to increase, with current prices being as high as $24,000 USD, for a single user license. As construction of the Nation's newest synchrotron accelerator nears completion, a significant effort is being made here at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), to provide an open-source, experiment-to-publication toolbox that reduces the financial and technical 'activation energy' required for performing sophisticated quantitative analysis of multidimensional porous media data sets, collected using cutting-edge x-ray imaging techniques. Implementation focuses on leveraging existing open-source projects and developing additional tools for quantitative analysis. We will present an overview of the software suite that is in development here at BNL including major design decisions, a demonstration of several test cases illustrating currently available quantitative tools for analysis and characterization of multidimensional porous media image data sets and plans for their future development.

Decision making based on data analysis and optimization algorithm applied for cogeneration systems integration into a grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asmar, Joseph Al; Lahoud, Chawki; Brouche, Marwan

2018-05-01

Cogeneration and trigeneration systems can contribute to the reduction of primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in residential and tertiary sectors, by reducing fossil fuels demand and grid losses with respect to conventional systems. The cogeneration systems are characterized by a very high energy efficiency (80 to 90%) as well as a less polluting aspect compared to the conventional energy production. The integration of these systems into the energy network must simultaneously take into account their economic and environmental challenges. In this paper, a decision-making strategy will be introduced and is divided into two parts. The first one is a strategy based on a multi-objective optimization tool with data analysis and the second part is based on an optimization algorithm. The power dispatching of the Lebanese electricity grid is then simulated and considered as a case study in order to prove the compatibility of the cogeneration power calculated by our decision-making technique. In addition, the thermal energy produced by the cogeneration systems which capacity is selected by our technique shows compatibility with the thermal demand for district heating.

An open source GIS-based tool to integrate the fragmentation mechanism in rockfall propagation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matas, Gerard; Lantada, Nieves; Gili, Josep A.; Corominas, Jordi

2015-04-01

Rockfalls are frequent instability processes in road cuts, open pit mines and quarries, steep slopes and cliffs. Even though the stability of rock slopes can be determined using analytical approaches, the assessment of large rock cliffs require simplifying assumptions due to the difficulty of working with a large amount of joints, the scattering of both the orientations and strength parameters. The attitude and persistency of joints within the rock mass define the size of kinematically unstable rock volumes. Furthermore the rock block will eventually split in several fragments during its propagation downhill due its impact with the ground surface. Knowledge of the size, energy, trajectory… of each block resulting from fragmentation is critical in determining the vulnerability of buildings and protection structures. The objective of this contribution is to present a simple and open source tool to simulate the fragmentation mechanism in rockfall propagation models and in the calculation of impact energies. This tool includes common modes of motion for falling boulders based on the previous literature. The final tool is being implemented in a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) using open source Python programming. The tool under development will be simple, modular, compatible with any GIS environment, open source, able to model rockfalls phenomena correctly. It could be used in any area susceptible to rockfalls with a previous adjustment of the parameters. After the adjustment of the model parameters to a given area, a simulation could be performed to obtain maps of kinetic energy, frequency, stopping density and passing heights. This GIS-based tool and the analysis of the fragmentation laws using data collected from recent rockfall have being developed within the RockRisk Project (2014-2016). This project is funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and entitled "Rockfalls in cliffs: risk quantification and its prevention"(BIA2013-42582-P).

FAST Modularization Framework for Wind Turbine Simulation: Full-System Linearization

DOE PAGES

Jonkman, Jason M.; Jonkman, Bonnie J.

2016-10-03

The wind engineering community relies on multiphysics engineering software to run nonlinear time-domain simulations e.g. for design-standards-based loads analysis. Although most physics involved in wind energy are nonlinear, linearization of the underlying nonlinear system equations is often advantageous to understand the system response and exploit well-established methods and tools for analyzing linear systems. Here, this paper presents the development and verification of the new linearization functionality of the open-source engineering tool FAST v8 for land-based wind turbines, as well as the concepts and mathematical background needed to understand and apply it correctly.

Refrigeration Playbook. Heat Reclaim; Optimizing Heat Rejection and Refrigeration Heat Reclaim for Supermarket Energy Conservation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reis, Chuck; Nelson, Eric; Armer, James

The purpose of this playbook and accompanying spreadsheets is to generalize the detailed CBP analysis and to put tools in the hands of experienced refrigeration designers to evaluate multiple applications of refrigeration waste heat reclaim across the United States. Supermarkets with large portfolios of similar buildings can use these tools to assess the impact of large-scale implementation of heat reclaim systems. In addition, the playbook provides best practices for implementing heat reclaim systems to achieve the best long-term performance possible. It includes guidance on operations and maintenance as well as measurement and verification.

FAST modularization framework for wind turbine simulation: full-system linearization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonkman, J. M.; Jonkman, B. J.

2016-09-01

The wind engineering community relies on multiphysics engineering software to run nonlinear time-domain simulations e.g. for design-standards-based loads analysis. Although most physics involved in wind energy are nonlinear, linearization of the underlying nonlinear system equations is often advantageous to understand the system response and exploit well- established methods and tools for analyzing linear systems. This paper presents the development and verification of the new linearization functionality of the open-source engineering tool FAST v8 for land-based wind turbines, as well as the concepts and mathematical background needed to understand and apply it correctly.

Introduction to energy storage with market analysis and outlook

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schmid, Robert; Pillot, Christophe

At first, the rechargeable battery market in 2012 will be described by technology - lead acid, NiCd, NiMH, lithium ion - and application - portable electronics, power tools, e-bikes, automotive, energy storage. This will be followed by details of the lithium ion battery market value chain from the raw material to the final application. The lithium ion battery market of 2012 will be analyzed and split by applications, form factors and suppliers. There is also a focus on the cathode, anode, electrolyte and separator market included. This report will also give a forecast for the main trends and the marketmore » in 2020, 2025. To conclude, a forecast for the rechargeable battery market by application for 2025 will be presented. Since energy storage plays an important role for the growing Electric Vehicle (EV) market, this EV issue is closely considered throughout this analysis.« less

Catchment scale water resource constraints on UK policies for low-carbon energy system transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konadu, D. D.; Fenner, R. A.

2017-12-01

Long-term low-carbon energy transition policy of the UK presents national scale propositions of different low-carbon energy system options that lead to meeting GHG emissions reduction target of 80% on 1990 levels by 2050. Whilst national-scale assessments suggests that water availability may not be a significant constrain on future thermal power generation systems in this pursuit, these analysis fail to capture the appropriate spatial scale where water resource decisions are made, i.e. at the catchment scale. Water is a local resource, which also has significant spatio-temporal regional and national variability, thus any policy-relevant water-energy nexus analysis must be reflective of these characteristics. This presents a critical challenge for policy relevant water-energy nexus analysis. This study seeks to overcome the above challenge by using a linear spatial-downscaling model to allocate nationally projected water-intensive energy system infrastructure/technologies to the catchment level, and estimating the water requirements for the deployment of these technologies. The model is applied to the UK Committee on Climate Change Carbon Budgets to 2030 as a case study. The paper concludes that whilst national-scale analyses show minimal long-term water related impacts, catchment level appraisal of water resource requirements reveal significant constraints in some locations. The approach and results presented in this study thus, highlights the importance of bringing together scientific understanding, data and analysis tools to provide better insights for water-energy nexus decisions at the appropriate spatial scale. This is particularly important for water stressed regions where the water-energy nexus must be analysed at appropriate spatial resolution to capture the full water resource impact of national energy policy.

Energy landscapes for a machine-learning prediction of patient discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Ritankar; Wales, David J.

2016-06-01

The energy landscapes framework is applied to a configuration space generated by training the parameters of a neural network. In this study the input data consists of time series for a collection of vital signs monitored for hospital patients, and the outcomes are patient discharge or continued hospitalisation. Using machine learning as a predictive diagnostic tool to identify patterns in large quantities of electronic health record data in real time is a very attractive approach for supporting clinical decisions, which have the potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce waiting times for discharge. Here we report some preliminary analysis to show how machine learning might be applied. In particular, we visualize the fitting landscape in terms of locally optimal neural networks and the connections between them in parameter space. We anticipate that these results, and analogues of thermodynamic properties for molecular systems, may help in the future design of improved predictive tools.

Air Force Energy Plan 2010

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-24

production on Air Bases  Field the Critical Asset Prioritization Methodology ( CAPM ) tool  Manage costs  Provide energy leadership throughout the Air...residing on military installations • Field the Critical Asset Prioritization Methodology ( CAPM ) tool. This CAPM tool will allow prioritization of Air...fielding of the Critical Asset Prioritization Methodology ( CAPM ) tool and the adoption of financial standards to enable transparency across Air

Quantitative analysis of doped/undoped ZnO nanomaterials using laser assisted atom probe tomography: Influence of the analysis parameters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amirifar, Nooshin; Lardé, Rodrigue, E-mail: rodrigue.larde@univ-rouen.fr; Talbot, Etienne

2015-12-07

In the last decade, atom probe tomography has become a powerful tool to investigate semiconductor and insulator nanomaterials in microelectronics, spintronics, and optoelectronics. In this paper, we report an investigation of zinc oxide nanostructures using atom probe tomography. We observed that the chemical composition of zinc oxide is strongly dependent on the analysis parameters used for atom probe experiments. It was observed that at high laser pulse energies, the electric field at the specimen surface is strongly dependent on the crystallographic directions. This dependence leads to an inhomogeneous field evaporation of the surface atoms, resulting in unreliable measurements. We showmore » that the laser pulse energy has to be well tuned to obtain reliable quantitative chemical composition measurements of undoped and doped ZnO nanomaterials.« less

Building energy analysis of Electrical Engineering Building from DesignBuilder tool: calibration and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cárdenas, J.; Osma, G.; Caicedo, C.; Torres, A.; Sánchez, S.; Ordóñez, G.

2016-07-01

This research shows the energy analysis of the Electrical Engineering Building, located on campus of the Industrial University of Santander in Bucaramanga - Colombia. This building is a green pilot for analysing energy saving strategies such as solar pipes, green roof, daylighting, and automation, among others. Energy analysis was performed by means of DesignBuilder software from virtual model of the building. Several variables were analysed such as air temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, daylighting, and energy consumption. According to two criteria, thermal load and energy consumption, critical areas were defined. The calibration and validation process of the virtual model was done obtaining error below 5% in comparison with measured values. The simulations show that the average indoor temperature in the critical areas of the building was 27°C, whilst relative humidity reached values near to 70% per year. The most critical discomfort conditions were found in the area of the greatest concentration of people, which has an average annual temperature of 30°C. Solar pipes can increase 33% daylight levels into the areas located on the upper floors of the building. In the case of the green roofs, the simulated results show that these reduces of nearly 31% of the internal heat gains through the roof, as well as a decrease in energy consumption related to air conditioning of 5% for some areas on the fourth and fifth floor. The estimated energy consumption of the building was 69 283 kWh per year.

Respiromics - An integrative analysis linking mitochondrial bioenergetics to molecular signatures.

PubMed

Walheim, Ellen; Wiśniewski, Jacek R; Jastroch, Martin

2018-03-01

Energy metabolism is challenged upon nutrient stress, eventually leading to a variety of metabolic diseases that represent a major global health burden. Here, we combine quantitative mitochondrial respirometry (Seahorse technology) and proteomics (LC-MS/MS-based total protein approach) to understand how molecular changes translate to changes in mitochondrial energy transduction during diet-induced obesity (DIO) in the liver. The integrative analysis reveals that significantly increased palmitoyl-carnitine respiration is supported by an array of proteins enriching lipid metabolism pathways. Upstream of the respiratory chain, the increased capacity for ATP synthesis during DIO associates strongest to mitochondrial uptake of pyruvate, which is routed towards carboxylation. At the respiratory chain, robust increases of complex I are uncovered by cumulative analysis of single subunit concentrations. Specifically, nuclear-encoded accessory subunits, but not mitochondrial-encoded or core units, appear to be permissive for enhanced lipid oxidation. Our integrative analysis, that we dubbed "respiromics", represents an effective tool to link molecular changes to functional mechanisms in liver energy metabolism, and, more generally, can be applied for mitochondrial analysis in a variety of metabolic and mitochondrial disease models. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Assessing and Testing Hydrokinetic Turbine Performance and Effects on Open Channel Hydrodynamics: An Irrigation Canal Case Study.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gunawan, Budi; Neary, Vincent Sinclair; Mortensen, Josh

Hydrokinetic energy from flowing water in open channels has the potential to support local electricity needs with lower regulatory or capital investment than impounding water with more conventional means. MOU agencies involved in federal hydropower development have identified the need to better understand the opportunities for hydrokinetic (HK) energy development within existing canal systems that may already have integrated hydropower plants. This document provides an overview of the main considerations, tools, and assessment methods, for implementing field tests in an open-channel water system to characterize current energy converter (CEC) device performance and hydrodynamic effects. It describes open channel processes relevantmore » to their HK site and perform pertinent analyses to guide siting and CEC layout design, with the goal of streamlining the evaluation process and reducing the risk of interfering with existing uses of the site. This document outlines key site parameters of interest and effective tools and methods for measurement and analysis with examples drawn from the Roza Main Canal, in Yakima, WA to illustrate a site application.« less

Validation of Tendril TrueHome Using Software-to-Software Comparison

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maguire, Jeffrey B; Horowitz, Scott G; Moore, Nathan

This study performed comparative evaluation of EnergyPlus version 8.6 and Tendril TrueHome, two physics-based home energy simulation models, to identify differences in energy consumption predictions between the two programs and resolve discrepancies between them. EnergyPlus is considered a benchmark, best-in-class software tool for building energy simulation. This exercise sought to improve both software tools through additional evaluation/scrutiny.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Driscoll, Frederick; Platt, Andrew; Sirnivas, Senu

This project was performed under the Work for Others—Funds in Agreement FIA-14-1793 between Statoil and the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, manager and operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). To support the development of a 6-MW spar-mounted offshore wind turbine, Statoil funded NREL to perform tasks in the following three categories: 1. Design and analysis 2. Wake modeling 3. Concept resource assessment. This summarizes the document reports on the design and analysis work package, which built a FAST [Jonkman & Buhl, 2005] computer model of the Hywind 6-MW floating wind turbine system and uses this tool to evaluate themore » performance of a set of design load cases (DLCs). The FAST model was also used in Work Package 2: Wake Modeling.« less

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: galaxy mock catalogues for BAO

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Avila, S.; et al.

Mock catalogues are a crucial tool in the analysis of galaxy surveys data, both for the accurate computation of covariance matrices, and for the optimisation of analysis methodology and validation of data sets. In this paper, we present a set of 1800 galaxy mock catalogues designed to match the Dark Energy Survey Year-1 BAO sample (Crocce et al. 2017) in abundance, observational volume, redshift distribution and uncertainty, and redshift dependent clustering. The simulated samples were built upon HALOGEN (Avila et al. 2015) halo catalogues, based on a $2LPT$ density field with an exponential bias. For each of them, a lightconemore » is constructed by the superposition of snapshots in the redshift range $0.45« less

Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program Development of a Computer-based Benchmarking and Analytical Tool. Benchmarking and Energy & Water Savings Tool in Dairy Plants (BEST-Dairy)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Tengfang; Flapper, Joris; Ke, Jing

The overall goal of the project is to develop a computer-based benchmarking and energy and water savings tool (BEST-Dairy) for use in the California dairy industry - including four dairy processes - cheese, fluid milk, butter, and milk powder. BEST-Dairy tool developed in this project provides three options for the user to benchmark each of the dairy product included in the tool, with each option differentiated based on specific detail level of process or plant, i.e., 1) plant level; 2) process-group level, and 3) process-step level. For each detail level, the tool accounts for differences in production and other variablesmore » affecting energy use in dairy processes. The dairy products include cheese, fluid milk, butter, milk powder, etc. The BEST-Dairy tool can be applied to a wide range of dairy facilities to provide energy and water savings estimates, which are based upon the comparisons with the best available reference cases that were established through reviewing information from international and national samples. We have performed and completed alpha- and beta-testing (field testing) of the BEST-Dairy tool, through which feedback from voluntary users in the U.S. dairy industry was gathered to validate and improve the tool's functionality. BEST-Dairy v1.2 was formally published in May 2011, and has been made available for free downloads from the internet (i.e., http://best-dairy.lbl.gov). A user's manual has been developed and published as the companion documentation for use with the BEST-Dairy tool. In addition, we also carried out technology transfer activities by engaging the dairy industry in the process of tool development and testing, including field testing, technical presentations, and technical assistance throughout the project. To date, users from more than ten countries in addition to those in the U.S. have downloaded the BEST-Dairy from the LBNL website. It is expected that the use of BEST-Dairy tool will advance understanding of energy and water usage in individual dairy plants, augment benchmarking activities in the market places, and facilitate implementation of efficiency measures and strategies to save energy and water usage in the dairy industry. Industrial adoption of this emerging tool and technology in the market is expected to benefit dairy plants, which are important customers of California utilities. Further demonstration of this benchmarking tool is recommended, for facilitating its commercialization and expansion in functions of the tool. Wider use of this BEST-Dairy tool and its continuous expansion (in functionality) will help to reduce the actual consumption of energy and water in the dairy industry sector. The outcomes comply very well with the goals set by the AB 1250 for PIER program.« less

New features and improved uncertainty analysis in the NEA nuclear data sensitivity tool (NDaST)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyrda, J.; Soppera, N.; Hill, I.; Bossant, M.; Gulliford, J.

2017-09-01

Following the release and initial testing period of the NEA's Nuclear Data Sensitivity Tool [1], new features have been designed and implemented in order to expand its uncertainty analysis capabilities. The aim is to provide a free online tool for integral benchmark testing, that is both efficient and comprehensive, meeting the needs of the nuclear data and benchmark testing communities. New features include access to P1 sensitivities for neutron scattering angular distribution [2] and constrained Chi sensitivities for the prompt fission neutron energy sampling. Both of these are compatible with covariance data accessed via the JANIS nuclear data software, enabling propagation of the resultant uncertainties in keff to a large series of integral experiment benchmarks. These capabilities are available using a number of different covariance libraries e.g., ENDF/B, JEFF, JENDL and TENDL, allowing comparison of the broad range of results it is possible to obtain. The IRPhE database of reactor physics measurements is now also accessible within the tool in addition to the criticality benchmarks from ICSBEP. Other improvements include the ability to determine and visualise the energy dependence of a given calculated result in order to better identify specific regions of importance or high uncertainty contribution. Sorting and statistical analysis of the selected benchmark suite is now also provided. Examples of the plots generated by the software are included to illustrate such capabilities. Finally, a number of analytical expressions, for example Maxwellian and Watt fission spectra will be included. This will allow the analyst to determine the impact of varying such distributions within the data evaluation, either through adjustment of parameters within the expressions, or by comparison to a more general probability distribution fitted to measured data. The impact of such changes is verified through calculations which are compared to a `direct' measurement found by adjustment of the original ENDF format file.

Acoustic emission and nondestructive evaluation of biomaterials and tissues.

PubMed

Kohn, D H

1995-01-01

Acoustic emission (AE) is an acoustic wave generated by the release of energy from localized sources in a material subjected to an externally applied stimulus. This technique may be used nondestructively to analyze tissues, materials, and biomaterial/tissue interfaces. Applications of AE include use as an early warning tool for detecting tissue and material defects and incipient failure, monitoring damage progression, predicting failure, characterizing failure mechanisms, and serving as a tool to aid in understanding material properties and structure-function relations. All these applications may be performed in real time. This review discusses general principles of AE monitoring and the use of the technique in 3 areas of importance to biomedical engineering: (1) analysis of biomaterials, (2) analysis of tissues, and (3) analysis of tissue/biomaterial interfaces. Focus in these areas is on detection sensitivity, methods of signal analysis in both the time and frequency domains, the relationship between acoustic signals and microstructural phenomena, and the uses of the technique in establishing a relationship between signals and failure mechanisms.

Mobile Building Energy Audit and Modeling Tools: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-11-00441

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brackney, L.

Broadly accessible, low cost, accurate, and easy-to-use energy auditing tools remain out of reach for managers of the aging U.S. building population (over 80% of U.S. commercial buildings are more than 10 years old*). concept3D and NREL's commercial buildings group will work to translate and extend NREL's existing spreadsheet-based energy auditing tool for a browser-friendly and mobile-computing platform. NREL will also work with concept3D to further develop a prototype geometry capture and materials inference tool operable on a smart phone/pad platform. These tools will be developed to interoperate with NREL's Building Component Library and OpenStudio energy modeling platforms, and willmore » be marketed by concept3D to commercial developers, academic institutions and governmental agencies. concept3D is NREL's lead developer and subcontractor of the Building Component Library.« less

SamuROI, a Python-Based Software Tool for Visualization and Analysis of Dynamic Time Series Imaging at Multiple Spatial Scales.

PubMed

Rueckl, Martin; Lenzi, Stephen C; Moreno-Velasquez, Laura; Parthier, Daniel; Schmitz, Dietmar; Ruediger, Sten; Johenning, Friedrich W

2017-01-01

The measurement of activity in vivo and in vitro has shifted from electrical to optical methods. While the indicators for imaging activity have improved significantly over the last decade, tools for analysing optical data have not kept pace. Most available analysis tools are limited in their flexibility and applicability to datasets obtained at different spatial scales. Here, we present SamuROI (Structured analysis of multiple user-defined ROIs), an open source Python-based analysis environment for imaging data. SamuROI simplifies exploratory analysis and visualization of image series of fluorescence changes in complex structures over time and is readily applicable at different spatial scales. In this paper, we show the utility of SamuROI in Ca 2+ -imaging based applications at three spatial scales: the micro-scale (i.e., sub-cellular compartments including cell bodies, dendrites and spines); the meso-scale, (i.e., whole cell and population imaging with single-cell resolution); and the macro-scale (i.e., imaging of changes in bulk fluorescence in large brain areas, without cellular resolution). The software described here provides a graphical user interface for intuitive data exploration and region of interest (ROI) management that can be used interactively within Jupyter Notebook: a publicly available interactive Python platform that allows simple integration of our software with existing tools for automated ROI generation and post-processing, as well as custom analysis pipelines. SamuROI software, source code and installation instructions are publicly available on GitHub and documentation is available online. SamuROI reduces the energy barrier for manual exploration and semi-automated analysis of spatially complex Ca 2+ imaging datasets, particularly when these have been acquired at different spatial scales.

SamuROI, a Python-Based Software Tool for Visualization and Analysis of Dynamic Time Series Imaging at Multiple Spatial Scales

PubMed Central

Rueckl, Martin; Lenzi, Stephen C.; Moreno-Velasquez, Laura; Parthier, Daniel; Schmitz, Dietmar; Ruediger, Sten; Johenning, Friedrich W.

2017-01-01

The measurement of activity in vivo and in vitro has shifted from electrical to optical methods. While the indicators for imaging activity have improved significantly over the last decade, tools for analysing optical data have not kept pace. Most available analysis tools are limited in their flexibility and applicability to datasets obtained at different spatial scales. Here, we present SamuROI (Structured analysis of multiple user-defined ROIs), an open source Python-based analysis environment for imaging data. SamuROI simplifies exploratory analysis and visualization of image series of fluorescence changes in complex structures over time and is readily applicable at different spatial scales. In this paper, we show the utility of SamuROI in Ca2+-imaging based applications at three spatial scales: the micro-scale (i.e., sub-cellular compartments including cell bodies, dendrites and spines); the meso-scale, (i.e., whole cell and population imaging with single-cell resolution); and the macro-scale (i.e., imaging of changes in bulk fluorescence in large brain areas, without cellular resolution). The software described here provides a graphical user interface for intuitive data exploration and region of interest (ROI) management that can be used interactively within Jupyter Notebook: a publicly available interactive Python platform that allows simple integration of our software with existing tools for automated ROI generation and post-processing, as well as custom analysis pipelines. SamuROI software, source code and installation instructions are publicly available on GitHub and documentation is available online. SamuROI reduces the energy barrier for manual exploration and semi-automated analysis of spatially complex Ca2+ imaging datasets, particularly when these have been acquired at different spatial scales. PMID:28706482

National Energy Audit Tool for Multifamily Buildings Development Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Malhotra, Mini; MacDonald, Michael; Accawi, Gina K

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to reduce their energy costs by providing funds to make their homes more energy efficient. In addition, the program funds Weatherization Training and Technical Assistance (T and TA) activities to support a range of program operations. These activities include measuring and documenting performance, monitoring programs, promoting advanced techniques and collaborations to further improve program effectiveness, and training, including developing tools and information resources. The T and TA plan outlines the tasks, activities, and milestones to support the weatherization network with the program implementation ramp up efforts. Weatherizationmore » of multifamily buildings has been recognized as an effective way to ramp up weatherization efforts. To support this effort, the 2009 National Weatherization T and TA plan includes the task of expanding the functionality of the Weatherization Assistant, a DOE-sponsored family of energy audit computer programs, to perform audits for large and small multifamily buildings This report describes the planning effort for a new multifamily energy audit tool for DOE's WAP. The functionality of the Weatherization Assistant is being expanded to also perform energy audits of small multifamily and large multifamily buildings. The process covers an assessment of needs that includes input from national experts during two national Web conferences. The assessment of needs is then translated into capability and performance descriptions for the proposed new multifamily energy audit, with some description of what might or should be provided in the new tool. The assessment of needs is combined with our best judgment to lay out a strategy for development of the multifamily tool that proceeds in stages, with features of an initial tool (version 1) and a more capable version 2 handled with currently available resources. Additional development in the future is expected to be needed if more capabilities are to be added. A rough schedule for development of the version 1 tool is presented. The components and capabilities described in this plan will serve as the starting point for development of the proposed new multifamily energy audit tool for WAP.« less

Scenario and multiple criteria decision analysis for energy and environmental security of military and industrial installations.

PubMed

Karvetski, Christopher W; Lambert, James H; Linkov, Igor

2011-04-01

Military and industrial facilities need secure and reliable power generation. Grid outages can result in cascading infrastructure failures as well as security breaches and should be avoided. Adding redundancy and increasing reliability can require additional environmental, financial, logistical, and other considerations and resources. Uncertain scenarios consisting of emergent environmental conditions, regulatory changes, growth of regional energy demands, and other concerns result in further complications. Decisions on selecting energy alternatives are made on an ad hoc basis. The present work integrates scenario analysis and multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to identify combinations of impactful emergent conditions and to perform a preliminary benefits analysis of energy and environmental security investments for industrial and military installations. Application of a traditional MCDA approach would require significant stakeholder elicitations under multiple uncertain scenarios. The approach proposed in this study develops and iteratively adjusts a scoring function for investment alternatives to find the scenarios with the most significant impacts on installation security. A robust prioritization of investment alternatives can be achieved by integrating stakeholder preferences and focusing modeling and decision-analytical tools on a few key emergent conditions and scenarios. The approach is described and demonstrated for a campus of several dozen interconnected industrial buildings within a major installation. Copyright © 2010 SETAC.

Ramping and Uncertainty Prediction Tool - Analysis and Visualization of Wind Generation Impact on Electrical Grid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Etingov, Pavel; Makarov, PNNL Yuri; Subbarao, PNNL Kris

RUT software is designed for use by the Balancing Authorities to predict and display additional requirements caused by the variability and uncertainty in load and generation. The prediction is made for the next operating hours as well as for the next day. The tool predicts possible deficiencies in generation capability and ramping capability. This deficiency of balancing resources can cause serious risks to power system stability and also impact real-time market energy prices. The tool dynamically and adaptively correlates changing system conditions with the additional balancing needs triggered by the interplay between forecasted and actual load and output of variablemore » resources. The assessment is performed using a specially developed probabilistic algorithm incorporating multiple sources of uncertainty including wind, solar and load forecast errors. The tool evaluates required generation for a worst case scenario, with a user-specified confidence level.« less

Simultaneous fits in ISIS on the example of GRO J1008-57

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kühnel, Matthias; Müller, Sebastian; Kreykenbohm, Ingo; Schwarm, Fritz-Walter; Grossberger, Christoph; Dauser, Thomas; Pottschmidt, Katja; Ferrigno, Carlo; Rothschild, Richard E.; Klochkov, Dmitry; Staubert, Rüdiger; Wilms, Joern

2015-04-01

Parallel computing and steadily increasing computation speed have led to a new tool for analyzing multiple datasets and datatypes: fitting several datasets simultaneously. With this technique, physically connected parameters of individual data can be treated as a single parameter by implementing this connection into the fit directly. We discuss the terminology, implementation, and possible issues of simultaneous fits based on the X-ray data analysis tool Interactive Spectral Interpretation System (ISIS). While all data modeling tools in X-ray astronomy allow in principle fitting data from multiple data sets individually, the syntax used in these tools is not often well suited for this task. Applying simultaneous fits to the transient X-ray binary GRO J1008-57, we find that the spectral shape is only dependent on X-ray flux. We determine time independent parameters such as, e.g., the folding energy E_fold, with unprecedented precision.

Earth Observations in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Management in the Euro-Atlantic Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liberato, M. L. R.

2017-12-01

Climate change is one of the most important challenges in the 21st century and the energy sector is a major contributor to GHG emissions. Therefore greater attention has been given to the evaluation of offshore wind energy potentials along coastal areas, as it is expected offshore wind energy to be more efficient and cost-effective in the near future. Europe is developing offshore sites for over two decades and has been growing at gigawatt levels in annual capacity. Portugal is among these countries, with the development of a 25MW WindFloat Atlantic wind farm project. The international scientific community has developed robust ability on the research of the climate system components and their interactions. Climate scientists have gained expertise in the observation and analysis of the climate system as well as on the improvement of model and predictive capabilities. Developments on climate science allow advancing our understanding and prediction of the variability and change of Earth's climate on all space and time scales, while improving skilful climate assessments and tools for dealing with future challenges of a warming planet. However the availability of greater datasets amplifies the complexity on manipulation, representation and consequent analysis and interpretation of such datasets. Today the challenge is to translate scientific understanding of the climate system into climate information for society and decision makers. Here we discuss the development of an integration tool for multidisciplinary research, which allows access, management, tailored pre-processing and visualization of datasets, crucial to foster research as a service to society. One application is the assessment and monitoring of renewable energy variability, such as wind or solar energy, at several time and space scales. We demonstrate the ability of the e-science platform for planning, monitoring and management of renewable energy, particularly offshore wind energy in the Euro-Atlantic region. Further we explore the automatization of processes using different domains and datasets, which facilitate further research in evaluating and understanding renewable energy variability. AcknowledgementsThis work is supported by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal, project UID/GEO/50019/2013 - Instituto Dom Luiz.

Research in High Energy Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, Robert John; Toki, Walter; Harton, John

This report summarizes research performed within the Department of Energy Office of Science's Intensity Frontier and Cosmic Frontier High Energy Physics research subprograms during the period 2014-17. The major research thrusts in the Intensity Frontier involved two currently active neutrino experiments T2K and NOvA; participation in development for the new Short-Baseline Neutrino program at Fermilab (SBN), which will begin full operation within the next one to two years; and physics tools, analysis and detector prototyping for the future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). The major research thrusts in the Cosmic Frontier involved the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Directional Recoilmore » Identification From Tracks (DRIFT) dark matter search experiment.« less

New tactics and technologies to meet the competitive utility environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Audin, L.

A new age is dawning for lower-cost energy use and supply. The deregulation of the electric industry is creating new pricing options that will change how one evaluates cost-cutting energy alternatives. As competition begins, smart users will grasp these opportunities and press for greater innovation on the part of marketers. Energy users can best navigate these choices by: understanding the concepts inherent in deregulation (such as transmission constrains); influencing the deregulation process (which does not end when markets first open); learning to use new analytical tools (such as load profile analysis); applying new technologies (e.g., wireless automatic metering); and beingmore » as creative as possible (because marketers won`t be).« less

User's Manual for BEST-Dairy: Benchmarking and Energy/water-Saving Tool (BEST) for the Dairy Processing Industry (Version 1.2)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, T.; Ke, J.; Sathaye, J.

2011-04-20

This User's Manual summarizes the background information of the Benchmarking and Energy/water-Saving Tool (BEST) for the Dairy Processing Industry (Version 1.2, 2011), including'Read Me' portion of the tool, the sections of Introduction, and Instructions for the BEST-Dairy tool that is developed and distributed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

Advanced capabilities and applications of a sputter-RBS system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brijs, B.; Deleu, J.; Beyer, G.

1999-06-10

In previous experiments, sputter-RBS{sup 1} has proven to be an ideal tool to study the interaction of low energy ions. This contribution employs the same methodology to identify surface contamination induced during sputtering and to the determine absolute sputter yields. In the first experiment ERDA analysis was used to study the evolution of Hydrogen contamination during sputter-RBS experiments. Since the determination of Hydrogen concentration in very thin near surface layers is frequently limited by the presence of a strong surface peak of Hydrogen originating from adsorbed contamination of the residual vacuum, removal of this contamination would increase the sensitivity formore » Hydrogen detection in the near sub surface drastically. Therefore low energy (12 keV) Argon sputtering was used to remove the Hydrogen surface peak. However enhanced Hydrogen adsorption was observed related to the Ar dose. This experiment shows that severe vacuum conditions and the use of high current densities/sputter yields are a prerequisite for an efficient detection of Hydrogen in the near surface layers. In the second experiment, an attempt was made to determine the sputter yield of Cu during low energy (12 keV) Oxygen bombardment. In order to determine the accumulated dose of the low energy ion beam, a separate Faraday cup in combination with a remote controlled current have been added to the existing sputter-RBS set-up. Alternating sputtering and RBS analysis seem to be an adequate tool for the determination of the absolute sputter yield of Cu and this as well in the as under steady state conditions.« less

Multiyear Plan for Validation of EnergyPlus Multi-Zone HVAC System Modeling using ORNL's Flexible Research Platform

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Im, Piljae; Bhandari, Mahabir S.; New, Joshua Ryan

This document describes the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) multiyear experimental plan for validation and uncertainty characterization of whole-building energy simulation for a multi-zone research facility using a traditional rooftop unit (RTU) as a baseline heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The project’s overarching objective is to increase the accuracy of energy simulation tools by enabling empirical validation of key inputs and algorithms. Doing so is required to inform the design of increasingly integrated building systems and to enable accountability for performance gaps between design and operation of a building. The project will produce documented data sets that canmore » be used to validate key functionality in different energy simulation tools and to identify errors and inadequate assumptions in simulation engines so that developers can correct them. ASHRAE Standard 140, Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Programs (ASHRAE 2004), currently consists primarily of tests to compare different simulation programs with one another. This project will generate sets of measured data to enable empirical validation, incorporate these test data sets in an extended version of Standard 140, and apply these tests to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) EnergyPlus software (EnergyPlus 2016) to initiate the correction of any significant deficiencies. The fitness-for-purpose of the key algorithms in EnergyPlus will be established and demonstrated, and vendors of other simulation programs will be able to demonstrate the validity of their products. The data set will be equally applicable to validation of other simulation engines as well.« less

The Use of Gas Chromatography for Biogas Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersen, Amanda; Seeley, John; Aurandt, Jennifer

2010-04-01

Energy from natural gas accounts for 24 percent of energy consumed in the US. Natural gas is a robust form of energy which is rich in methane content and is low in impurities. This quality suggests that it is a very clean and safe gas; it can be used in providing heat, a source for cooking, and in powering vehicles. The downside is that it is a non-renewable resource. On the contrary, methane rich gas that is produced by the breakdown of organic material in an anaerobic environment, called biogas, is a renewable energy source. This research focuses on the gas analysis portion of the creation of the anaerobic digestion and verification laboratory where content and forensic analysis of biogas is performed. Gas Chromatography is implemented as the optimal analytical tool for quantifying the components of the biogas including methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and siloxanes. In addition, the problems associated with the undesirable components are discussed. Anaerobic digestion of primary sludge has consistently produced about 55 percent methane; future goals of this research include studying different substrates to increase the methane yield and decrease levels of impurities in the gas.

The Nitrogen Footprint Tool for Institutions: What it is and how it compares to the Campus Carbon Calculator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castner, E.; Leach, A. M.; Galloway, J. N.; Andrews, J.

2015-12-01

Nitrogen footprints (NF) connect entities with the reactive nitrogen (Nr; all species of nitrogen except N2) lost to the environment as a result of their activities. While necessary to life, excess Nr can be detrimental to ecosystem and human health, causing impacts such as smog, eutrophication, biodiversity loss, and climate change. The NF tool was recently developed to help institutions measure and reduce their environmental impact. This tool accounts for the NF from energy usage, food production and consumption, fertilizer usage, research animals, and agricultural activities. The tool also provides scenario analysis to help institutions reduce their NF and establish a reduction target. Currently in a testing phase, seven institutions have used the tool to calculate their NF, and six additional institutions have calculations in progress. Many institutions interested in sustainability have already calculated their carbon footprint (CF), which reports the total greenhouse gas emissions resulting from institution activities. The University of New Hampshire Sustainability Institute (UNHSI) Campus Carbon Calculator, developed in 2001, is used by thousands of institutions in the United States. While important, the CF addresses just one aspect of an institution's environmental impact: global climate change. The NF broadens this perspective by connecting to additional environmental impacts that are both global and local. The data requirements for the CF and NF have a significant overlap, especially in the energy sector. Given the similarity of data requirements and the benefits of considering the two footprints together, the two tools are in the preliminary stages of being merged. We will first provide an overview of the NF tool for institutions. We will then compare available NF and CF results from multiple institutions to assess trends and correlations and to determine the impact of different scenarios on both footprints.

Evaluation of the Predictive Index for Osteoporosis as a Clinical Tool to Identify the Risk of Osteoporosis in Korean Men by Using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data.

PubMed

Moon, Ji Hyun; Kim, Lee Oh; Kim, Hyeon Ju; Kong, Mi Hee

2016-11-01

We previously proposed the Predictive Index for Osteoporosis as a new index to identify men who require bone mineral density measurement. However, the previous study had limitations such as a single-center design and small sample size. Here, we evaluated the usefulness of the Predictive Index for Osteoporosis using the nationally representative data of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants underwent bone mineral density measurements via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and the Predictive Index for Osteoporosis and Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to obtain optimal cut-off points for the Predictive Index for Osteoporosis and Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians, and the predictability of osteoporosis for the 2 indices was compared. Both indices were useful clinical tools for identifying osteoporosis risk in Korean men. The optimal cut-off value for the Predictive Index for Osteoporosis was 1.07 (sensitivity, 67.6%; specificity, 72.7%; area under the curve, 0.743). When using a cut-off point of 0.5 for the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians, the sensitivity and specificity were 71.9% and 64.0%, respectively, and the area under the curve was 0.737. The Predictive Index for Osteoporosis was as useful as the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians as a screening index to identify candidates for dual energy X-ray absorptiometry among men aged 50-69 years.

Enabling Web-Based GIS Tools for Internet and Mobile Devices To Improve and Expand NASA Data Accessibility and Analysis Functionality for the Renewable Energy and Agricultural Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, A.; Stackhouse, P. W.; Tisdale, B.; Tisdale, M.; Chandler, W.; Hoell, J. M., Jr.; Kusterer, J.

2014-12-01

The NASA Langley Research Center Science Directorate and Atmospheric Science Data Center have initiated a pilot program to utilize Geographic Information System (GIS) tools that enable, generate and store climatological averages using spatial queries and calculations in a spatial database resulting in greater accessibility of data for government agencies, industry and private sector individuals. The major objectives of this effort include the 1) Processing and reformulation of current data to be consistent with ESRI and openGIS tools, 2) Develop functions to improve capability and analysis that produce "on-the-fly" data products, extending these past the single location to regional and global scales. 3) Update the current web sites to enable both web-based and mobile application displays for optimization on mobile platforms, 4) Interact with user communities in government and industry to test formats and usage of optimization, and 5) develop a series of metrics that allow for monitoring of progressive performance. Significant project results will include the the development of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant web services (WMS, WCS, WFS, WPS) that serve renewable energy and agricultural application products to users using GIS software and tools. Each data product and OGC service will be registered within ECHO, the Common Metadata Repository, the Geospatial Platform, and Data.gov to ensure the data are easily discoverable and provide data users with enhanced access to SSE data, parameters, services, and applications. This effort supports cross agency, cross organization, and interoperability of SSE data products and services by collaborating with DOI, NRCan, NREL, NCAR, and HOMER for requirements vetting and test bed users before making available to the wider public.

MEDISE: A macroeconomic model for energy planning in Costa Rica

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Booth, S.R.; Leiva, C.L.

This report describes the development and results of MEDISE, an econometric macroeconomic model for energy planning in Costa Rica. The model is a simultaneous system of 19 equations that was constructed using ENERPLAN, an energy planning tool developed by the United Nations for use in developing countries. The equations were estimated using regression analysis on a data time series of 1966 to 1984. ENERPLAN's model solution package was used to obtain forecasts of 19 economic variables from 1985 to 2005. the modeling effort was conducted jointly by Los Alamos Central American Energy and Resources Project (CAP) personnel and the Energymore » Sector Directorate of Costa Rica during 1986. The CAP was funded by the US Agency for International Development. 6 refs., 3 figs., 11 tabs.« less

U.S. Energy Service Company (ESCO) Industry: Recent Market Trends

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stuart, Elizabeth; Larsen, Peter H.; Carvallo, Juan Pablo

This study presents an analysis of the market size, growth projections and industry trends of the U.S. Energy Service Company (ESCO) industry, drawing on information provided by ESCO executives in late 2015. We define ESCOs as energy service companies for whom performance-based contracting is a core business offering. We identified forty-seven firms that met our definition of an ESCO.1 Forty-three of these companies responded to our requests for information, representing a 91% response rate.2 We also report 2014 ESCO industry revenues by market segment, region and business activity type, and for new versus existing customers. Finally, we report on usemore » of tax incentives and financing tools, and incorporation of non-energy benefits into performance-based project economics. We summarize key findings below.« less

Optimizing the ASC WAN: evaluating network performance tools for comparing transport protocols.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lydick, Christopher L.

2007-07-01

The Advanced Simulation & Computing Wide Area Network (ASC WAN), which is a high delay-bandwidth network connection between US Department of Energy National Laboratories, is constantly being examined and evaluated for efficiency. One of the current transport-layer protocols which is used, TCP, was developed for traffic demands which are different from that on the ASC WAN. The Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP), on the other hand, has shown characteristics which make it more appealing to networks such as these. Most important, before considering a replacement for TCP on any network, a testing tool that performs well against certain criteria needsmore » to be found. In order to try to find such a tool, two popular networking tools (Netperf v.2.4.3 & v.2.4.6 (OpenSS7 STREAMS), and Iperf v.2.0.6) were tested. These tools implement both TCP and SCTP and were evaluated using four metrics: (1) How effectively can the tool reach a throughput near the bandwidth? (2) How much of the CPU does the tool utilize during operation? (3) Is the tool freely and widely available? And, (4) Is the tool actively developed? Following the analysis of those tools, this paper goes further into explaining some recommendations and ideas for future work.« less

Green Building Tools for Tribes

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Tribal green building tools and funding information to support tribal building code adoption, healthy building, siting, energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, green building materials, recycling and adaptation and resilience.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Ucilia

This report has the following articles: (1) Deconstructing Microbes--metagenomic research on bugs in termites relies on new data analysis tools; (2) Popular Science--a nanomaterial research paper in Nano Letters drew strong interest from the scientific community; (3) Direct Approach--researchers employ an algorithm to solve an energy-reduction issue essential in describing complex physical system; and (4) SciDAC Special--A science journal features research on petascale enabling technologies.

Advances in molecular quantum chemistry contained in the Q-Chem 4 program package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Yihan; Gan, Zhengting; Epifanovsky, Evgeny; Gilbert, Andrew T. B.; Wormit, Michael; Kussmann, Joerg; Lange, Adrian W.; Behn, Andrew; Deng, Jia; Feng, Xintian; Ghosh, Debashree; Goldey, Matthew; Horn, Paul R.; Jacobson, Leif D.; Kaliman, Ilya; Khaliullin, Rustam Z.; Kuś, Tomasz; Landau, Arie; Liu, Jie; Proynov, Emil I.; Rhee, Young Min; Richard, Ryan M.; Rohrdanz, Mary A.; Steele, Ryan P.; Sundstrom, Eric J.; Woodcock, H. Lee, III; Zimmerman, Paul M.; Zuev, Dmitry; Albrecht, Ben; Alguire, Ethan; Austin, Brian; Beran, Gregory J. O.; Bernard, Yves A.; Berquist, Eric; Brandhorst, Kai; Bravaya, Ksenia B.; Brown, Shawn T.; Casanova, David; Chang, Chun-Min; Chen, Yunqing; Chien, Siu Hung; Closser, Kristina D.; Crittenden, Deborah L.; Diedenhofen, Michael; DiStasio, Robert A., Jr.; Do, Hainam; Dutoi, Anthony D.; Edgar, Richard G.; Fatehi, Shervin; Fusti-Molnar, Laszlo; Ghysels, An; Golubeva-Zadorozhnaya, Anna; Gomes, Joseph; Hanson-Heine, Magnus W. D.; Harbach, Philipp H. P.; Hauser, Andreas W.; Hohenstein, Edward G.; Holden, Zachary C.; Jagau, Thomas-C.; Ji, Hyunjun; Kaduk, Benjamin; Khistyaev, Kirill; Kim, Jaehoon; Kim, Jihan; King, Rollin A.; Klunzinger, Phil; Kosenkov, Dmytro; Kowalczyk, Tim; Krauter, Caroline M.; Lao, Ka Un; Laurent, Adèle D.; Lawler, Keith V.; Levchenko, Sergey V.; Lin, Ching Yeh; Liu, Fenglai; Livshits, Ester; Lochan, Rohini C.; Luenser, Arne; Manohar, Prashant; Manzer, Samuel F.; Mao, Shan-Ping; Mardirossian, Narbe; Marenich, Aleksandr V.; Maurer, Simon A.; Mayhall, Nicholas J.; Neuscamman, Eric; Oana, C. Melania; Olivares-Amaya, Roberto; O'Neill, Darragh P.; Parkhill, John A.; Perrine, Trilisa M.; Peverati, Roberto; Prociuk, Alexander; Rehn, Dirk R.; Rosta, Edina; Russ, Nicholas J.; Sharada, Shaama M.; Sharma, Sandeep; Small, David W.; Sodt, Alexander; Stein, Tamar; Stück, David; Su, Yu-Chuan; Thom, Alex J. W.; Tsuchimochi, Takashi; Vanovschi, Vitalii; Vogt, Leslie; Vydrov, Oleg; Wang, Tao; Watson, Mark A.; Wenzel, Jan; White, Alec; Williams, Christopher F.; Yang, Jun; Yeganeh, Sina; Yost, Shane R.; You, Zhi-Qiang; Zhang, Igor Ying; Zhang, Xing; Zhao, Yan; Brooks, Bernard R.; Chan, Garnet K. L.; Chipman, Daniel M.; Cramer, Christopher J.; Goddard, William A., III; Gordon, Mark S.; Hehre, Warren J.; Klamt, Andreas; Schaefer, Henry F., III; Schmidt, Michael W.; Sherrill, C. David; Truhlar, Donald G.; Warshel, Arieh; Xu, Xin; Aspuru-Guzik, Alán; Baer, Roi; Bell, Alexis T.; Besley, Nicholas A.; Chai, Jeng-Da; Dreuw, Andreas; Dunietz, Barry D.; Furlani, Thomas R.; Gwaltney, Steven R.; Hsu, Chao-Ping; Jung, Yousung; Kong, Jing; Lambrecht, Daniel S.; Liang, WanZhen; Ochsenfeld, Christian; Rassolov, Vitaly A.; Slipchenko, Lyudmila V.; Subotnik, Joseph E.; Van Voorhis, Troy; Herbert, John M.; Krylov, Anna I.; Gill, Peter M. W.; Head-Gordon, Martin

2015-01-01

A summary of the technical advances that are incorporated in the fourth major release of the Q-Chem quantum chemistry program is provided, covering approximately the last seven years. These include developments in density functional theory methods and algorithms, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) property evaluation, coupled cluster and perturbation theories, methods for electronically excited and open-shell species, tools for treating extended environments, algorithms for walking on potential surfaces, analysis tools, energy and electron transfer modelling, parallel computing capabilities, and graphical user interfaces. In addition, a selection of example case studies that illustrate these capabilities is given. These include extensive benchmarks of the comparative accuracy of modern density functionals for bonded and non-bonded interactions, tests of attenuated second order Møller-Plesset (MP2) methods for intermolecular interactions, a variety of parallel performance benchmarks, and tests of the accuracy of implicit solvation models. Some specific chemical examples include calculations on the strongly correlated Cr2 dimer, exploring zeolite-catalysed ethane dehydrogenation, energy decomposition analysis of a charged ter-molecular complex arising from glycerol photoionisation, and natural transition orbitals for a Frenkel exciton state in a nine-unit model of a self-assembling nanotube.

Gearbox Reliability Collaborative Phase 3 Gearbox 2 Test Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Link, H.; Keller, J.; Guo, Y.

2013-04-01

Gearboxes in wind turbines have not been achieving their expected design life even though they commonly meet or exceed the design criteria specified in current design standards. One of the basic premises of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Gearbox Reliability Collaborative (GRC) is that the low gearbox reliability results from the absence of critical elements in the design process or insufficient design tools. Key goals of the GRC are to improve design approaches and analysis tools and to recommend practices and test methods resulting in improved design standards for wind turbine gearboxes that lower the cost of energy (COE)more » through improved reliability. The GRC uses a combined gearbox testing, modeling and analysis approach, along with a database of information from gearbox failures collected from overhauls and investigation of gearbox condition monitoring techniques to improve wind turbine operations and maintenance practices. Testing of Gearbox 2 (GB2) using the two-speed turbine controller that has been used in prior testing. This test series will investigate non-torque loads, high-speed shaft misalignment, and reproduction of field conditions in the dynamometer. This test series will also include vibration testing using an eddy-current brake on the gearbox's high speed shaft.« less

Development and Demonstration of a Computational Tool for the Analysis of Particle Vitiation Effects in Hypersonic Propulsion Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, Hugh Douglas

2010-01-01

In order to improve the understanding of particle vitiation effects in hypersonic propulsion test facilities, a quasi-one dimensional numerical tool was developed to efficiently model reacting particle-gas flows over a wide range of conditions. Features of this code include gas-phase finite-rate kinetics, a global porous-particle combustion model, mass, momentum and energy interactions between phases, and subsonic and supersonic particle drag and heat transfer models. The basic capabilities of this tool were validated against available data or other validated codes. To demonstrate the capabilities of the code a series of computations were performed for a model hypersonic propulsion test facility and scramjet. Parameters studied were simulated flight Mach number, particle size, particle mass fraction and particle material.

3rd Annual Earth System Grid Federation and 3rd Annual Earth System Grid Federation and Ultrascale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools Face-to-Face Meeting Report December 2013

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, Dean N.

The climate and weather data science community gathered December 3–5, 2013, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in Livermore, California, for the third annual Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) and Ultra-scale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools (UV-CDAT) Face-to-Face (F2F) Meeting, which was hosted by the Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Infrastructure for the European Network of Earth System Modelling, and the Australian Department of Education. Both ESGF and UV-CDAT are global collaborations designed to develop a new generation of open-source software infrastructure that provides distributed access and analysis to observed andmore » simulated data from the climate and weather communities. The tools and infrastructure developed under these international multi-agency collaborations are critical to understanding extreme weather conditions and long-term climate change, while the F2F meetings help to build a stronger climate and weather data science community and stronger federated software infrastructure. The 2013 F2F meeting determined requirements for existing and impending national and international community projects; enhancements needed for data distribution, analysis, and visualization infrastructure; and standards and resources needed for better collaborations.« less

Closing the gap between socioeconomic and financial implications of residential and community level hydrogen-based energy systems: Incentives needed for a bridge to the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verduzco, Laura E.

The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier has the potential to decrease the amount of pollutants emitted to the atmosphere, significantly reduce our dependence on imported oil and resolve geopolitical issues related to energy consumption. The current status of hydrogen technology makes it prohibitive and financially risky for most investors to commit the money required for large-scale hydrogen production. Therefore, alternative strategies such as small and medium-scale hydrogen applications should be implemented during the early stages of the transition to the hydrogen economy in order to test potential markets and technology readiness. While many analysis tools have been built to estimate the requirements of the transition to a hydrogen economy, few have focused on small and medium-scale hydrogen production and none has paired financial with socioeconomic costs at the residential level. The computer-based tool (H2POWER) presented in this study calculates the capacity, cost and socioeconomic impact of the systems needed to meet the energy demands of a home or a community using home and neighborhood refueling units, which are systems that can provide electricity and heat to meet the energy demands of either (1) a home and automobile or (2) a cluster of homes and a number of automobiles. The financial costs of the production, processing and delivery sub-systems that conform the refueling units are calculated using cost data of existing technology and normalizing them to calculate capital and net present cost. The monetary value of the externalities (socioeconomic analysis) caused by each system is calculated by H2POWER through a statistical analysis of the cost associated to various externalities. Additionally, H2POWER calculates the financial impact of different penalties and incentives (such as net metering, low interest loans, fuel taxes, and emission penalties) on the cost of the system from the point of view of a developer and a homeowner. In order to assess the benefits and costs of hydrogen-based alternatives, H2POWER compares the financial and socioeconomic costs of home and neighborhood refueling units to a baseline of "conventional" sources of residential electricity, space heat, water heat, and vehicle fuel. The model can also calculate the "gap" between the financial cost of the technology and the environmental cost of the externalities that are generated using conventional energy sources. H2POWER is a flexible, user-friendly tool that allows the user to specify different production pathways, supplemental power sources (renewable and non-renewable), component characteristics, electricity mixes, and other analysis parameters in order to customize the results to specific projects. The model has also built-in default values for each of the input fields based on national averages, standard technology specifications and input from experts.

New tools for linking human and earth system models: The Toolbox for Human-Earth System Interaction & Scaling (THESIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Neill, B. C.; Kauffman, B.; Lawrence, P.

2016-12-01

Integrated analysis of questions regarding land, water, and energy resources often requires integration of models of different types. One type of integration is between human and earth system models, since both societal and physical processes influence these resources. For example, human processes such as changes in population, economic conditions, and policies govern the demand for land, water and energy, while the interactions of these resources with physical systems determine their availability and environmental consequences. We have begun to develop and use a toolkit for linking human and earth system models called the Toolbox for Human-Earth System Integration and Scaling (THESIS). THESIS consists of models and software tools to translate, scale, and synthesize information from and between human system models and earth system models (ESMs), with initial application to linking the NCAR integrated assessment model, iPETS, with the NCAR earth system model, CESM. Initial development is focused on urban areas and agriculture, sectors that are both explicitly represented in both CESM and iPETS. Tools are being made available to the community as they are completed (see https://www2.cgd.ucar.edu/sections/tss/iam/THESIS_tools). We discuss four general types of functions that THESIS tools serve (Spatial Distribution, Spatial Properties, Consistency, and Outcome Evaluation). Tools are designed to be modular and can be combined in order to carry out more complex analyses. We illustrate their application to both the exposure of population to climate extremes and to the evaluation of climate impacts on the agriculture sector. For example, projecting exposure to climate extremes involves use of THESIS tools for spatial population, spatial urban land cover, the characteristics of both, and a tool to bring urban climate information together with spatial population information. Development of THESIS tools is continuing and open to the research community.

[Life cycle assessment of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of cellulosic ethanol from corn stover].

PubMed

Tian, Wang; Liao, Cuiping; Li, Li; Zhao, Daiqing

2011-03-01

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the only standardized tool currently used to assess environmental loads of products and processes. The life cycle analysis, as a part of LCA, is a useful and powerful methodology for studying life cycle energy efficiency and life cycle GHG emission. To quantitatively explain the potential of energy saving and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of corn stover-based ethanol, we analyzed life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of corn stover-based ethanol by the method of life cycle analysis. The processes are dilute acid prehydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis. The functional unit was defined as 1 km distance driven by the vehicle. Results indicated: compared with gasoline, the corn stover-based E100 (100% ethanol) and E10 (a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline by volume) could reduce life cycle fossil energy consumption by 79.63% and 6.25% respectively, as well as GHG emissions by 53.98% and 6.69%; the fossil energy consumed by biomass stage was 68.3% of total fossil energy input, N-fertilizer and diesel were the main factors which contributed 45.78% and 33.26% to biomass stage; electricity production process contributed 42.06% to the net GHG emissions, the improvement of technology might reduce emissions markedly.

Assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy's Home Energy Scoring Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roberts, David; Merket, Noel; Polly, Ben

2012-07-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted a series of assessments of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) proposed Home Energy Scoring Tool (HEST). This report is an assessment of the 4/27/2012 release of HEST. Predictions of electric and natural gas consumption were compared with weather-normalized utility billing data for a mixture of newer and older homes located in Oregon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas.

Development of a Computer-based Benchmarking and Analytical Tool. Benchmarking and Energy & Water Savings Tool in Dairy Plants (BEST-Dairy)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Tengfang; Flapper, Joris; Ke, Jing

The overall goal of the project is to develop a computer-based benchmarking and energy and water savings tool (BEST-Dairy) for use in the California dairy industry – including four dairy processes – cheese, fluid milk, butter, and milk powder.

NREL: Renewable Resource Data Center Home Page

Science.gov Websites

energy resource data, maps, and tools. Biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind resource data for locations advantage of renewable energy technologies, but some technologies are better suited for particular areas renewable energy planning and siting. RReDC provides detailed resource information through tools, reports

Demonstration of Wavelet Techniques in the Spectral Analysis of Bypass Transition Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewalle, Jacques; Ashpis, David E.; Sohn, Ki-Hyeon

1997-01-01

A number of wavelet-based techniques for the analysis of experimental data are developed and illustrated. A multiscale analysis based on the Mexican hat wavelet is demonstrated as a tool for acquiring physical and quantitative information not obtainable by standard signal analysis methods. Experimental data for the analysis came from simultaneous hot-wire velocity traces in a bypass transition of the boundary layer on a heated flat plate. A pair of traces (two components of velocity) at one location was excerpted. A number of ensemble and conditional statistics related to dominant time scales for energy and momentum transport were calculated. The analysis revealed a lack of energy-dominant time scales inside turbulent spots but identified transport-dominant scales inside spots that account for the largest part of the Reynolds stress. Momentum transport was much more intermittent than were energetic fluctuations. This work is the first step in a continuing study of the spatial evolution of these scale-related statistics, the goal being to apply the multiscale analysis results to improve the modeling of transitional and turbulent industrial flows.

SpacePy - a Python-based library of tools for the space sciences

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morley, Steven K; Welling, Daniel T; Koller, Josef

Space science deals with the bodies within the solar system and the interplanetary medium; the primary focus is on atmospheres and above - at Earth the short timescale variation in the the geomagnetic field, the Van Allen radiation belts and the deposition of energy into the upper atmosphere are key areas of investigation. SpacePy is a package for Python, targeted at the space sciences, that aims to make basic data analysis, modeling and visualization easier. It builds on the capabilities of the well-known NumPy and MatPlotLib packages. Publication quality output direct from analyses is emphasized. The SpacePy project seeks tomore » promote accurate and open research standards by providing an open environment for code development. In the space physics community there has long been a significant reliance on proprietary languages that restrict free transfer of data and reproducibility of results. By providing a comprehensive, open-source library of widely used analysis and visualization tools in a free, modern and intuitive language, we hope that this reliance will be diminished. SpacePy includes implementations of widely used empirical models, statistical techniques used frequently in space science (e.g. superposed epoch analysis), and interfaces to advanced tools such as electron drift shell calculations for radiation belt studies. SpacePy also provides analysis and visualization tools for components of the Space Weather Modeling Framework - currently this only includes the BATS-R-US 3-D magnetohydrodynamic model and the RAM ring current model - including streamline tracing in vector fields. Further development is currently underway. External libraries, which include well-known magnetic field models, high-precision time conversions and coordinate transformations are wrapped for access from Python using SWIG and f2py. The rest of the tools have been implemented directly in Python. The provision of open-source tools to perform common tasks will provide openness in the analysis methods employed in scientific studies and will give access to advanced tools to all space scientists regardless of affiliation or circumstance.« less

Which indicators for measuring the daily physical activity? An overview on the challenges and technology limits for Telehealth applications.

PubMed

Tagliente, Irene; Solvoll, Terje; Trieste, Leopoldo; De Cecco, Carlo N; Murgia, Fabrizio; Bella, Sergio

2016-09-14

Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of preventable chronic diseases and healthcare costs in Worldwide. Different prevention activities are suggested. By monitoring daily energy expenditure (EE) could be possible make personalized diets and programming physical activity. In this, physical inactivity is one of the most important public health problems. Some studies refer the effort of the international community in promoting physical activities. Physical activity can be promoted only by increasing citizens' empowerment on taking care of their health, and it passes from the improving of individual information. Technology can offer solutions and metrics for monitoring and measuring daily activity by interacting with individuals, sharing information and feedbacks. In this study we review indicators of total energy expenditure and weaknesses of available devices in assessing these parameters. Literature review and technology testing EuNetHta core model. For the clinical aspects, it is fundamental to take into account all the factor that can influence the personal energy expenditure as: heart rate, blood pressure and thermoregulation (influenced by the body temperature). In this study we focused the attention on the importance of tools to encourage the physical activity. We made an analysis of the factor that can influence the right analysis of energy expenditure and at the same time the energy regime. A punctual monitoring of the exercise regime could be helpful in Telemedicine application as Telemonitorig. More study are needed to value the impact of physical activity tracker in Telemonitorig protocols. On the assessment of the energy expenditure, critical issues are related to the physiological data acquisition. Sensors connected with mobile devices could be important tools for disease prevention and interventions affecting health behaviors. New devices applications are potential useful for telemedicine assistance, but security of data and the related communication protocol limits should be taking into account.

The research and application of the power big data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Suxiang; Zhang, Dong; Zhang, Yaping; Cao, Jinping; Xu, Huiming

2017-01-01

Facing the increasing environment crisis, how to improve energy efficiency is the important problem. Power big data is main support tool to realize demand side management and response. With the promotion of smart power consumption, distributed clean energy and electric vehicles etc get wide application; meanwhile, the continuous development of the Internet of things technology, more applications access the endings in the grid power link, which leads to that a large number of electric terminal equipment, new energy access smart grid, and it will produce massive heterogeneous and multi-state electricity data. These data produce the power grid enterprise's precious wealth, as the power big data. How to transform it into valuable knowledge and effective operation becomes an important problem, it needs to interoperate in the smart grid. In this paper, we had researched the various applications of power big data and integrate the cloud computing and big data technology, which include electricity consumption online monitoring, the short-term power load forecasting and the analysis of the energy efficiency. Based on Hadoop, HBase and Hive etc., we realize the ETL and OLAP functions; and we also adopt the parallel computing framework to achieve the power load forecasting algorithms and propose a parallel locally weighted linear regression model; we study on energy efficiency rating model to comprehensive evaluate the level of energy consumption of electricity users, which allows users to understand their real-time energy consumption situation, adjust their electricity behavior to reduce energy consumption, it provides decision-making basis for the user. With an intelligent industrial park as example, this paper complete electricity management. Therefore, in the future, power big data will provide decision-making support tools for energy conservation and emissions reduction.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carpenter, Alberta; Mann, Margaret; Gelman, Rachel

In evaluating next-generation materials and processes, the supply chain can have a large impact on the life cycle energy impacts. The Materials Flow through Industry (MFI) tool was developed for the Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office to be able to evaluate the energy impacts of the U.S. supply chain. The tool allows users to perform process comparisons, material substitutions, and grid modifications, and to see the effects of implementing sector efficiency potentials (Masanet, et al. 2009). This paper reviews the methodology of the tool and provides results around specific scenarios.

Space station interior noise analysis program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stusnick, E.; Burn, M.

1987-01-01

Documentation is provided for a microcomputer program which was developed to evaluate the effect of the vibroacoustic environment on speech communication inside a space station. The program, entitled Space Station Interior Noise Analysis Program (SSINAP), combines a Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) prediction of sound and vibration levels within the space station with a speech intelligibility model based on the Modulation Transfer Function and the Speech Transmission Index (MTF/STI). The SEA model provides an effective analysis tool for predicting the acoustic environment based on proposed space station design. The MTF/STI model provides a method for evaluating speech communication in the relatively reverberant and potentially noisy environments that are likely to occur in space stations. The combinations of these two models provides a powerful analysis tool for optimizing the acoustic design of space stations from the point of view of speech communications. The mathematical algorithms used in SSINAP are presented to implement the SEA and MTF/STI models. An appendix provides an explanation of the operation of the program along with details of the program structure and code.

Science Initiatives of the US Virtual Astronomical Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanisch, R. J.

2012-09-01

The United States Virtual Astronomical Observatory program is the operational facility successor to the National Virtual Observatory development project. The primary goal of the US VAO is to build on the standards, protocols, and associated infrastructure developed by NVO and the International Virtual Observatory Alliance partners and to bring to fruition a suite of applications and web-based tools that greatly enhance the research productivity of professional astronomers. To this end, and guided by the advice of our Science Council (Fabbiano et al. 2011), we have focused on five science initiatives in the first two years of VAO operations: 1) scalable cross-comparisons between astronomical source catalogs, 2) dynamic spectral energy distribution construction, visualization, and model fitting, 3) integration and periodogram analysis of time series data from the Harvard Time Series Center and NASA Star and Exoplanet Database, 4) integration of VO data discovery and access tools into the IRAF data analysis environment, and 5) a web-based portal to VO data discovery, access, and display tools. We are also developing tools for data linking and semantic discovery, and have a plan for providing data mining and advanced statistical analysis resources for VAO users. Initial versions of these applications and web-based services are being released over the course of the summer and fall of 2011, with further updates and enhancements planned for throughout 2012 and beyond.

Transportation Energy Futures Series. Projected Biomass Utilization for Fuels and Power in a Mature Market

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ruth, M.; Mai, T.; Newes, E.

2013-03-01

The viability of biomass as transportation fuel depends upon the allocation of limited resources for fuel, power, and products. By focusing on mature markets, this report identifies how biomass is projected to be most economically used in the long term and the implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and petroleum use. In order to better understand competition for biomass between these markets and the potential for biofuel as a market-scale alternative to petroleum-based fuels, this report presents results of a micro-economic analysis conducted using the Biomass Allocation and Supply Equilibrium (BASE) modeling tool. The findings indicate that biofuels can outcompetemore » biopower for feedstocks in mature markets if research and development targets are met. The BASE tool was developed for this project to analyze the impact of multiple biomass demand areas on mature energy markets. The model includes domestic supply curves for lignocellulosic biomass resources, corn for ethanol and butanol production, soybeans for biodiesel, and algae for diesel. This is one of a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures (TEF) project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency project initiated to pinpoint underexplored strategies for abating GHGs and reducing petroleum dependence related to transportation.« less

Transportation Energy Futures Series: Projected Biomass Utilization for Fuels and Power in a Mature Market

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ruth, M.; Mai, T.; Newes, E.

2013-03-01

The viability of biomass as transportation fuel depends upon the allocation of limited resources for fuel, power, and products. By focusing on mature markets, this report identifies how biomass is projected to be most economically used in the long term and the implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and petroleum use. In order to better understand competition for biomass between these markets and the potential for biofuel as a market-scale alternative to petroleum-based fuels, this report presents results of a micro-economic analysis conducted using the Biomass Allocation and Supply Equilibrium (BASE) modeling tool. The findings indicate that biofuels can outcompetemore » biopower for feedstocks in mature markets if research and development targets are met. The BASE tool was developed for this project to analyze the impact of multiple biomass demand areas on mature energy markets. The model includes domestic supply curves for lignocellulosic biomass resources, corn for ethanol and butanol production, soybeans for biodiesel, and algae for diesel. This is one of a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures (TEF) project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency project initiated to pinpoint underexplored strategies for abating GHGs and reducing petroleum dependence related to transportation.« less

Prediction of microcracking in composite laminates under thermomechanical loading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddocks, Jason R.; Mcmanus, Hugh L.

1995-01-01

Composite laminates used in space structures are exposed to both thermal and mechanical loads. Cracks in the matrix form, changing the laminate thermoelastic properties. An analytical methodology is developed to predict microcrack density in a general laminate exposed to an arbitrary thermomechanical load history. The analysis uses a shear lag stress solution in conjunction with an energy-based cracking criterion. Experimental investigation was used to verify the analysis. Correlation between analysis and experiment is generally excellent. The analysis does not capture machining-induced cracking, or observed delayed crack initiation in a few ply groups, but these errors do not prevent the model from being a useful preliminary design tool.

Research in Theoretical High-Energy Physics at Southern Methodist University

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olness, Fredrick; Nadolsky, Pavel

2016-08-05

The SMU Theory group has developed a strong expertise in QCD, PDFs, and incisive comparisons between collider data and theory. The group pursues realistic phenomenological calculations for high-energy processes, the highly demanded research area driven by the LHC physics. Our field has seen major discoveries in recent years from a variety of experiments, large and small, including a number recognized by Nobel Prizes. There is a wealth of novel QCD data to explore. The SMU theory group develops the most advanced and innovative tools for comprehensive analysis in applications ranging from Higgs physics and new physics searches to nuclear scattering.

Study of Kapton Degradation under Simulated Shuttle Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eck, T. G.; Hoffman, R. W.

1985-01-01

Weight loss and severe degradation of the surface of Kapton that occurs in low Earth orbit is studied. Atomic oxygen, the major ambient species at low Earth altitude and incident with approximately 5 eV energy in ram conditions, is the primary suspect, but a thorough study of oxygen-Kapton interactions has not yet been carried out. A low-energy ion source is used to simulate the shuttle low Earth orbit environment. This source, together with diagnostic tools including surface analysis and mass spectroscopic capability, is being used to carry out experiments from which quantum yields may be obtained.

The ratio method: A new tool to study one-neutron halo nuclei

DOE PAGES

Capel, Pierre; Johnson, R. C.; Nunes, F. M.

2013-10-02

Recently a new observable to study halo nuclei was introduced, based on the ratio between breakup and elastic angular cross sections. This new observable is shown by the analysis of specific reactions to be independent of the reaction mechanism and to provide nuclear-structure information of the projectile. Here we explore the details of this ratio method, including the sensitivity to binding energy and angular momentum of the projectile. We also study the reliability of the method with breakup energy. Lastly, we provide guidelines and specific examples for experimentalists who wish to apply this method.

2013 Cost of Wind Energy Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mone, C.; Smith, A.; Maples, B.

2015-02-01

This report uses representative project types to estimate the levelized cost of wind energy (LCOE) in the United States for 2013. Scheduled to be published on an annual basis, it relies on both market and modeled data to maintain a current understanding of wind generation cost trends and drivers. It is intended to provide insight into current component-level costs and a basis for understanding current component-level costs and a basis for understanding variability in the LCOE across the industry. Data and tools developed from this analysis are used to inform wind technology cost projections, goals, and improvement opportunities.

Electron energy loss spectroscopy on semiconductor heterostructures for optoelectronics and photonics applications.

PubMed

Eljarrat, A; López-Conesa, L; Estradé, S; Peiró, F

2016-05-01

In this work, we present characterization methods for the analysis of nanometer-sized devices, based on silicon and III-V nitride semiconductor materials. These methods are devised in order to take advantage of the aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscope, equipped with a monochromator. This set-up ensures the necessary high spatial and energy resolution for the characterization of the smallest structures. As with these experiments, we aim to obtain chemical and structural information, we use electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The low-loss region of EELS is exploited, which features fundamental electronic properties of semiconductor materials and facilitates a high data throughput. We show how the detailed analysis of these spectra, using theoretical models and computational tools, can enhance the analytical power of EELS. In this sense, initially, results from the model-based fit of the plasmon peak are presented. Moreover, the application of multivariate analysis algorithms to low-loss EELS is explored. Finally, some physical limitations of the technique, such as spatial delocalization, are mentioned. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2015 Royal Microscopical Society.

Geothermal Program Review XI: proceedings. Geothermal Energy - The Environmental Responsible Energy Technology for the Nineties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-10-01

These proceedings contain papers pertaining to current research and development of geothermal energy in the USA. The seven sections of the document are: Overview, The Geysers, Exploration and Reservoir Characterization, Drilling, Energy Conversion, Advanced Systems, and Potpourri. The Overview presents current DOE energy policy and industry perspectives. Reservoir studies, injection, and seismic monitoring are reported for the geysers geothermal field. Aspects of geology, geochemistry and models of geothermal exploration are described. The Drilling section contains information on lost circulation, memory logging tools, and slim-hole drilling. Topics considered in energy conversion are efforts at NREL, condensation on turbines and geothermal materials.more » Advanced Systems include hot dry rock studies and Fenton Hill flow testing. The Potpourri section concludes the proceedings with reports on low-temperature resources, market analysis, brines, waste treatment biotechnology, and Bonneville Power Administration activities. Selected papers have been indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.« less

Waste-to-energy: A review of life cycle assessment and its extension methods.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhaozhi; Tang, Yuanjun; Chi, Yong; Ni, Mingjiang; Buekens, Alfons

2018-01-01

This article proposes a comprehensive review of evaluation tools based on life cycle thinking, as applied to waste-to-energy. Habitually, life cycle assessment is adopted to assess environmental burdens associated with waste-to-energy initiatives. Based on this framework, several extension methods have been developed to focus on specific aspects: Exergetic life cycle assessment for reducing resource depletion, life cycle costing for evaluating its economic burden, and social life cycle assessment for recording its social impacts. Additionally, the environment-energy-economy model integrates both life cycle assessment and life cycle costing methods and judges simultaneously these three features for sustainable waste-to-energy conversion. Life cycle assessment is sufficiently developed on waste-to-energy with concrete data inventory and sensitivity analysis, although the data and model uncertainty are unavoidable. Compared with life cycle assessment, only a few evaluations are conducted to waste-to-energy techniques by using extension methods and its methodology and application need to be further developed. Finally, this article succinctly summarises some recommendations for further research.

Forensic tools for the diagnosis of electrocution death: Case study and literature review.

PubMed

Mondello, Cristina; Micali, Antonio; Cardia, Luigi; Argo, Antonina; Zerbo, Stefania; Spagnolo, Elvira Ventura

2018-06-01

Diagnosis of death by electrocution may be difficult when electric marking is not visible or unclear. Accordingly, the body of a man who appeared to have died from accidental electrocution was carefully forensically analysed. Macroscopic and microscopic analysis of the current mark was carried out using a variable-pressure scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray microanalyser to highlight skin metallisation, indicating the presence of iron and zinc. The histological findings of electrocution myocardial damage were supported by the results of biochemical analysis which demonstrated the creatine kinase-MB and cardiac troponin I elevation. The effects of electric current flow were also highlighted by perforations of endothelial surface of a pulmonary artery using scanning electron microscope, and all the results were analysed by the main tools suggested in the literature.

Extending Iris: The VAO SED Analysis Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurino, O.; Busko, I.; Cresitello-Dittmar, M.; D'Abrusco, R.; Doe, S.; Evans, J.; Pevunova, O.

2013-10-01

Iris is a tool developed by the Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) for building and analyzing Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs). Iris was designed to be extensible, so that new components and models can be developed by third parties and then included at runtime. Iris can be extended in different ways: new file readers allow users to integrate data in custom formats into Iris SEDs; new models can be fitted to the data, in the form of template libraries for template fitting, data tables, and arbitrary Python functions. The interoperability-centered design of Iris and the Virtual Observatory standards and protocols can enable new science functionalities involving SED data.

A Python tool to set up relative free energy calculations in GROMACS.

PubMed

Klimovich, Pavel V; Mobley, David L

2015-11-01

Free energy calculations based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have seen a tremendous growth in the last decade. However, it is still difficult and tedious to set them up in an automated manner, as the majority of the present-day MD simulation packages lack that functionality. Relative free energy calculations are a particular challenge for several reasons, including the problem of finding a common substructure and mapping the transformation to be applied. Here we present a tool, alchemical-setup.py, that automatically generates all the input files needed to perform relative solvation and binding free energy calculations with the MD package GROMACS. When combined with Lead Optimization Mapper (LOMAP; Liu et al. in J Comput Aided Mol Des 27(9):755-770, 2013), recently developed in our group, alchemical-setup.py allows fully automated setup of relative free energy calculations in GROMACS. Taking a graph of the planned calculations and a mapping, both computed by LOMAP, our tool generates the topology and coordinate files needed to perform relative free energy calculations for a given set of molecules, and provides a set of simulation input parameters. The tool was validated by performing relative hydration free energy calculations for a handful of molecules from the SAMPL4 challenge (Mobley et al. in J Comput Aided Mol Des 28(4):135-150, 2014). Good agreement with previously published results and the straightforward way in which free energy calculations can be conducted make alchemical-setup.py a promising tool for automated setup of relative solvation and binding free energy calculations.

The EU sustainable energy policy indicators framework.

PubMed

Streimikiene, Dalia; Sivickas, Gintautas

2008-11-01

The article deals with indicators framework to monitor implementation of the main EU (European Union) directives and other policy documents targeting sustainable energy development. The main EU directives which have impact on sustainable energy development are directives promoting energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources, directives implementing greenhouse gas mitigation and atmospheric pollution reduction policies and other policy documents and strategies targeting energy sector. Promotion of use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements are among priorities of EU energy policy because the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements has positive impact on energy security and climate change mitigation. The framework of indicators can be developed to establish the main targets set by EU energy and environmental policies allowing to connect indicators via chain of mutual impacts and to define policies and measures necessary to achieve established targets based on assessment of their impact on the targeted indicators representing sustainable energy development aims. The article discusses the application of indicators framework for EU sustainable energy policy analysis and presents the case study of this policy tool application for Baltic States. The article also discusses the use of biomass in Baltic States and future considerations in this field.

Coupling the Multizone Airflow and Contaminant Transport Software CONTAM with EnergyPlus Using Co-Simulation.

PubMed

Dols, W Stuart; Emmerich, Steven J; Polidoro, Brian J

2016-08-01

Building modelers need simulation tools capable of simultaneously considering building energy use, airflow and indoor air quality (IAQ) to design and evaluate the ability of buildings and their systems to meet today's demanding energy efficiency and IAQ performance requirements. CONTAM is a widely-used multizone building airflow and contaminant transport simulation tool that requires indoor temperatures as input values. EnergyPlus is a prominent whole-building energy simulation program capable of performing heat transfer calculations that require interzone and infiltration airflows as input values. On their own, each tool is limited in its ability to account for thermal processes upon which building airflow may be significantly dependent and vice versa. This paper describes the initial phase of coupling of CONTAM with EnergyPlus to capture the interdependencies between airflow and heat transfer using co-simulation that allows for sharing of data between independently executing simulation tools. The coupling is accomplished based on the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) for Co-simulation specification that provides for integration between independently developed tools. A three-zone combined heat transfer/airflow analytical BESTEST case was simulated to verify the co-simulation is functioning as expected, and an investigation of a two-zone, natural ventilation case designed to challenge the coupled thermal/airflow solution methods was performed.

Reference Model 6 (RM6): Oscillating Wave Energy Converter.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bull, Diana L; Smith, Chris; Jenne, Dale Scott

This report is an addendum to SAND2013-9040: Methodology for Design and Economic Analysis of Marine Energy Conversion (MEC) Technologies. This report describes an Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Converter reference model design in a complementary manner to Reference Models 1-4 contained in the above report. In this report, a conceptual design for an Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Converter (WEC) device appropriate for the modeled reference resource site was identified, and a detailed backward bent duct buoy (BBDB) device design was developed using a combination of numerical modeling tools and scaled physical models. Our team used the methodology in SAND2013-9040more » for the economic analysis that included costs for designing, manufacturing, deploying, and operating commercial-scale MEC arrays, up to 100 devices. The methodology was applied to identify key cost drivers and to estimate levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for this RM6 Oscillating Water Column device in dollars per kilowatt-hour ($/kWh). Although many costs were difficult to estimate at this time due to the lack of operational experience, the main contribution of this work was to disseminate a detailed set of methodologies and models that allow for an initial cost analysis of this emerging technology. This project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Wind and Water Power Technologies Program Office (WWPTO), within the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE). Sandia National Laboratories, the lead in this effort, collaborated with partners from National Laboratories, industry, and universities to design and test this reference model.« less

Technical Manual for the SAM Physical Trough Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wagner, M. J.; Gilman, P.

2011-06-01

NREL, in conjunction with Sandia National Lab and the U.S Department of Energy, developed the System Advisor Model (SAM) analysis tool for renewable energy system performance and economic analysis. This paper documents the technical background and engineering formulation for one of SAM's two parabolic trough system models in SAM. The Physical Trough model calculates performance relationships based on physical first principles where possible, allowing the modeler to predict electricity production for a wider range of component geometries than is possible in the Empirical Trough model. This document describes the major parabolic trough plant subsystems in detail including the solar field,more » power block, thermal storage, piping, auxiliary heating, and control systems. This model makes use of both existing subsystem performance modeling approaches, and new approaches developed specifically for SAM.« less

Advances in Quantum Mechanochemistry: Electronic Structure Methods and Force Analysis.

PubMed

Stauch, Tim; Dreuw, Andreas

2016-11-23

In quantum mechanochemistry, quantum chemical methods are used to describe molecules under the influence of an external force. The calculation of geometries, energies, transition states, reaction rates, and spectroscopic properties of molecules on the force-modified potential energy surfaces is the key to gain an in-depth understanding of mechanochemical processes at the molecular level. In this review, we present recent advances in the field of quantum mechanochemistry and introduce the quantum chemical methods used to calculate the properties of molecules under an external force. We place special emphasis on quantum chemical force analysis tools, which can be used to identify the mechanochemically relevant degrees of freedom in a deformed molecule, and spotlight selected applications of quantum mechanochemical methods to point out their synergistic relationship with experiments.

Improved Analysis of Earth System Models and Observations using Simple Climate Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadiga, B. T.; Urban, N. M.

2016-12-01

Earth system models (ESM) are the most comprehensive tools we have to study climate change and develop climate projections. However, the computational infrastructure required and the cost incurred in running such ESMs precludes direct use of such models in conjunction with a wide variety of tools that can further our understanding of climate. Here we are referring to tools that range from dynamical systems tools that give insight into underlying flow structure and topology to tools that come from various applied mathematical and statistical techniques and are central to quantifying stability, sensitivity, uncertainty and predictability to machine learning tools that are now being rapidly developed or improved. Our approach to facilitate the use of such models is to analyze output of ESM experiments (cf. CMIP) using a range of simpler models that consider integral balances of important quantities such as mass and/or energy in a Bayesian framework.We highlight the use of this approach in the context of the uptake of heat by the world oceans in the ongoing global warming. Indeed, since in excess of 90% of the anomalous radiative forcing due greenhouse gas emissions is sequestered in the world oceans, the nature of ocean heat uptake crucially determines the surface warming that is realized (cf. climate sensitivity). Nevertheless, ESMs themselves are never run long enough to directly assess climate sensitivity. So, we consider a range of models based on integral balances--balances that have to be realized in all first-principles based models of the climate system including the most detailed state-of-the art climate simulations. The models range from simple models of energy balance to those that consider dynamically important ocean processes such as the conveyor-belt circulation (Meridional Overturning Circulation, MOC), North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation, Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and eddy mixing. Results from Bayesian analysis of such models using both ESM experiments and actual observations are presented. One such result points to the importance of direct sequestration of heat below 700 m, a process that is not allowed for in the simple models that have been traditionally used to deduce climate sensitivity.

3Drefine: an interactive web server for efficient protein structure refinement.

PubMed

Bhattacharya, Debswapna; Nowotny, Jackson; Cao, Renzhi; Cheng, Jianlin

2016-07-08

3Drefine is an interactive web server for consistent and computationally efficient protein structure refinement with the capability to perform web-based statistical and visual analysis. The 3Drefine refinement protocol utilizes iterative optimization of hydrogen bonding network combined with atomic-level energy minimization on the optimized model using a composite physics and knowledge-based force fields for efficient protein structure refinement. The method has been extensively evaluated on blind CASP experiments as well as on large-scale and diverse benchmark datasets and exhibits consistent improvement over the initial structure in both global and local structural quality measures. The 3Drefine web server allows for convenient protein structure refinement through a text or file input submission, email notification, provided example submission and is freely available without any registration requirement. The server also provides comprehensive analysis of submissions through various energy and statistical feedback and interactive visualization of multiple refined models through the JSmol applet that is equipped with numerous protein model analysis tools. The web server has been extensively tested and used by many users. As a result, the 3Drefine web server conveniently provides a useful tool easily accessible to the community. The 3Drefine web server has been made publicly available at the URL: http://sysbio.rnet.missouri.edu/3Drefine/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Landfill Gas Energy Cost Model Version 3.0 (LFGcost-Web V3.0)

EPA Science Inventory

To help stakeholders estimate the costs of a landfill gas (LFG) energy project, in 2002, LMOP developed a cost tool (LFGcost). Since then, LMOP has routinely updated the tool to reflect changes in the LFG energy industry. Initially the model was designed for EPA to assist landfil...

Review of Tools for Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Applicable to Small- and Medium-Sized Communities

EPA Science Inventory

Considerable attention has already been given to ways of assessing and reducing transportation energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in large cities. This presentation provides a review of what tools, if any, may be used to assess and reduce transportation energy use and green...

Geothermal Economics Calculator (GEC) - additional modifications to final report as per GTP's request.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gowda, Varun; Hogue, Michael

This report will discuss the methods and the results from economic impact analysis applied to the development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), conventional hydrothermal, low temperature geothermal and coproduced fluid technologies resulting in electric power production. As part of this work, the Energy & Geoscience Institute (EGI) has developed a web-based Geothermal Economics Calculator (Geothermal Economics Calculator (GEC)) tool that is aimed at helping the industry perform geothermal systems analysis and study the associated impacts of specific geothermal investments or technological improvements on employment, energy and environment. It is well-known in the industry that geothermal power projects will generate positivemore » economic impacts for their host regions. Our aim in the assessment of these impacts includes quantification of the increase in overall economic output due to geothermal projects and of the job creation associated with this increase. Such an estimate of economic impacts of geothermal investments on employment, energy and the environment will also help us understand the contributions that the geothermal industry will have in achieving a sustainable path towards energy production.« less

Analytical electron microscopy as a powerful tool in plant cell biology: examples using electron energy loss spectroscopy and X-ray microanalysis.

PubMed

Lichtenberger, O; Neumann, D

1997-08-01

Energy filtering transmission electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and quantumchemical calculations opens new possibilities for elemental and bone analysis at the ultrastructural level. The possibilities and limitations of these methods, applied to botanical samples, are discussed and some examples are given. Ca-oxalate crystals in plant cell vacuoles show a specific C K-edge in the electron energy loss spectrum (EELS), which allows a more reliable identification than light microscopical or cytochemical methods. In some dicots crystalline inclusions can be observed in different cell compartments, which are identified as silicon dioxide or calcium silicate by the fine structure of the Si L2,3-edge. Their formation is discussed on the basis of EEL-spectra and quantumchemical calculations. Examples concerning heavy metal detoxification are given for some tolerant plants. In Minuartia Zn is bound as Zn-silicate in cell walls; Armeria accumulates Cu in leaf idioblasts by chelation with phenolic compounds and Cd is precipitated as CdS/phytochelatin-complexes in tomato.

Krakow conference on low emissions sources: Proceedings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pierce, B.L.; Butcher, T.A.

1995-12-31

The Krakow Conference on Low Emission Sources presented the information produced and analytical tools developed in the first phase of the Krakow Clean Fossil Fuels and Energy Efficiency Program. This phase included: field testing to provide quantitative data on missions and efficiencies as well as on opportunities for building energy conservation; engineering analysis to determine the costs of implementing pollution control; and incentives analysis to identify actions required to create a market for equipment, fuels, and services needed to reduce pollution. Collectively, these Proceedings contain reports that summarize the above phase one information, present the status of energy system managementmore » in Krakow, provide information on financing pollution control projects in Krakow and elsewhere, and highlight the capabilities and technologies of Polish and American companies that are working to reduce pollution from low emission sources. It is intended that the US reader will find in these Proceedings useful results and plans for control of pollution from low emission sources that are representative of heating systems in central and Eastern Europe. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.« less

Technical Note: spektr 3.0-A computational tool for x-ray spectrum modeling and analysis.

PubMed

Punnoose, J; Xu, J; Sisniega, A; Zbijewski, W; Siewerdsen, J H

2016-08-01

A computational toolkit (spektr 3.0) has been developed to calculate x-ray spectra based on the tungsten anode spectral model using interpolating cubic splines (TASMICS) algorithm, updating previous work based on the tungsten anode spectral model using interpolating polynomials (TASMIP) spectral model. The toolkit includes a matlab (The Mathworks, Natick, MA) function library and improved user interface (UI) along with an optimization algorithm to match calculated beam quality with measurements. The spektr code generates x-ray spectra (photons/mm(2)/mAs at 100 cm from the source) using TASMICS as default (with TASMIP as an option) in 1 keV energy bins over beam energies 20-150 kV, extensible to 640 kV using the TASMICS spectra. An optimization tool was implemented to compute the added filtration (Al and W) that provides a best match between calculated and measured x-ray tube output (mGy/mAs or mR/mAs) for individual x-ray tubes that may differ from that assumed in TASMICS or TASMIP and to account for factors such as anode angle. The median percent difference in photon counts for a TASMICS and TASMIP spectrum was 4.15% for tube potentials in the range 30-140 kV with the largest percentage difference arising in the low and high energy bins due to measurement errors in the empirically based TASMIP model and inaccurate polynomial fitting. The optimization tool reported a close agreement between measured and calculated spectra with a Pearson coefficient of 0.98. The computational toolkit, spektr, has been updated to version 3.0, validated against measurements and existing models, and made available as open source code. Video tutorials for the spektr function library, UI, and optimization tool are available.

Burridge-Knopoff Model as an Educational and Demonstrational Tool in Seismicity Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, M.

2007-12-01

While our effort is ongoing, the fact that predicting destructive earthquakes is not a straightforward business is hard to sell to the general public. Japan is prone to two types of destructive earthquakes; interplate events along Japan Trench and Nankai Trough, and intraplate events that often occur beneath megacities. Periodicity of interplate earthquakes is usually explained by the elastic rebound theory, but we are aware that the historical seismicity along Nankai Trough is not simply periodic. Inland intraplate events have geologically postulated recurrence intervals that are far longer than human lifetime, and we do not have ample knowledge to model their behavior that includes interaction among intraplate and interplate events. To demonstrate that accumulation and release of elastic energy is complex even in a simple system, we propose to utilize the Burridge-Knopoff (BK) model as a demonstrational tool. This original one-dimensional model is easy to construct and handle so that this is also an effective educational tool for classroom use. Our simulator is a simple realization of the original one dimensional BK, which consists of small blocks, springs and a motor. Accumulation and release of strain is visibly observable, and by guessing when the next large events occur we are able to intuitively learn that observation of strain accumulation is only one element in predicting large events. Quantitative analysis of the system is also possible by measuring the movement of blocks. While the long term average of strain energy is controlled by the loading rate, observed seismicity is neither time-predictable nor slip-predictable. Time between successive events is never a constant. Distribution of released energy obeys the power law, similar to Ishimoto- Iida and Gutenberg-Richter Law. This tool is also useful in demonstration of nonlinear behavior of complex system.

An actuarial approach to retrofit savings in buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Subbarao, Krishnappa; Etingov, Pavel V.; Reddy, T. A.

An actuarial method has been developed for determining energy savings from retrofits from energy use data for a number of buildings. This method should be contrasted with the traditional method of using pre- and post-retrofit data on the same building. This method supports the U.S. Department of Energy Building Performance Database of real building performance data and related tools that enable engineering and financial practitioners to evaluate retrofits. The actuarial approach derives, from the database, probability density functions (PDFs) for energy savings from retrofits by creating peer groups for the user’s pre post buildings. From the energy use distribution ofmore » the two groups, the savings PDF is derived. This provides the basis for engineering analysis as well as financial risk analysis leading to investment decisions. Several technical issues are addressed: The savings PDF is obtained from the pre- and post-PDF through a convolution. Smoothing using kernel density estimation is applied to make the PDF more realistic. The low data density problem can be mitigated through a neighborhood methodology. Correlations between pre and post buildings are addressed to improve the savings PDF. Sample size effects are addressed through the Kolmogorov--Smirnov tests and quantile-quantile plots.« less

Javanese House’s Roof (Joglo) with the Opening as a Cooling Energy Provider

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pranoto S, M.

2018-01-01

Natural ventilation and air movement could be considered under the heading structural controls as it does not rely on any form of energy supply or mechanical installation but due to its importance for human comfort, it deserves a separate section. Air infiltration can destroy the performance of ventilation systems. Good ventilation design combined with optimum air tightness is needed to ensure energy efficient ventilation. Ultimately, ventilation needs depend on occupancy pattern and building use. A full cost and energy analysis is therefore needed to select an optimum ventilation strategy.The contains of paper is about the element of Javanese house (the roof) as the element of natural ventilation and a cooling energy provider. In this research, The Computational Fluid Dynamics Program, is used to draw and analysis. That tool can be track the pattern and the direction of movement of air also the air velocity in the object of ventilation of the roof Javanese house based. Finally, the ventilation of the roof of this Javanese house can add the velocity of air at indoor, average 0.4 m/s and give the effect of cooling, average 0.7°C.

Positrons in surface physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugenschmidt, Christoph

2016-12-01

Within the last decade powerful methods have been developed to study surfaces using bright low-energy positron beams. These novel analysis tools exploit the unique properties of positron interaction with surfaces, which comprise the absence of exchange interaction, repulsive crystal potential and positron trapping in delocalized surface states at low energies. By applying reflection high-energy positron diffraction (RHEPD) one can benefit from the phenomenon of total reflection below a critical angle that is not present in electron surface diffraction. Therefore, RHEPD allows the determination of the atom positions of (reconstructed) surfaces with outstanding accuracy. The main advantages of positron annihilation induced Auger-electron spectroscopy (PAES) are the missing secondary electron background in the energy region of Auger-transitions and its topmost layer sensitivity for elemental analysis. In order to enable the investigation of the electron polarization at surfaces low-energy spin-polarized positrons are used to probe the outermost electrons of the surface. Furthermore, in fundamental research the preparation of well defined surfaces tailored for the production of bound leptonic systems plays an outstanding role. In this report, it is envisaged to cover both the fundamental aspects of positron surface interaction and the present status of surface studies using modern positron beam techniques.

Transforming BIM to BEM: Generation of Building Geometry for the NASA Ames Sustainability Base BIM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O'Donnell, James T.; Maile, Tobias; Rose, Cody

Typical processes of whole Building Energy simulation Model (BEM) generation are subjective, labor intensive, time intensive and error prone. Essentially, these typical processes reproduce already existing data, i.e. building models already created by the architect. Accordingly, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed a semi-automated process that enables reproducible conversions of Building Information Model (BIM) representations of building geometry into a format required by building energy modeling (BEM) tools. This is a generic process that may be applied to all building energy modeling tools but to date has only been used for EnergyPlus. This report describes and demonstrates each stage inmore » the semi-automated process for building geometry using the recently constructed NASA Ames Sustainability Base throughout. This example uses ArchiCAD (Graphisoft, 2012) as the originating CAD tool and EnergyPlus as the concluding whole building energy simulation tool. It is important to note that the process is also applicable for professionals that use other CAD tools such as Revit (“Revit Architecture,” 2012) and DProfiler (Beck Technology, 2012) and can be extended to provide geometry definitions for BEM tools other than EnergyPlus. Geometry Simplification Tool (GST) was used during the NASA Ames project and was the enabling software that facilitated semi-automated data transformations. GST has now been superseded by Space Boundary Tool (SBT-1) and will be referred to as SBT-1 throughout this report. The benefits of this semi-automated process are fourfold: 1) reduce the amount of time and cost required to develop a whole building energy simulation model, 2) enable rapid generation of design alternatives, 3) improve the accuracy of BEMs and 4) result in significantly better performing buildings with significantly lower energy consumption than those created using the traditional design process, especially if the simulation model was used as a predictive benchmark during operation. Developing BIM based criteria to support the semi-automated process should result in significant reliable improvements and time savings in the development of BEMs. In order to define successful BIMS, CAD export of IFC based BIMs for BEM must adhere to a standard Model View Definition (MVD) for simulation as provided by the concept design BIM MVD (buildingSMART, 2011). In order to ensure wide scale adoption, companies would also need to develop their own material libraries to support automated activities and undertake a pilot project to improve understanding of modeling conventions and design tool features and limitations.« less

Energy Portfolio Assessment Tool (EPAT): Sustainable Energy Planning Using the WEF Nexus Approach - Texas Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mroue, A. M.

2017-12-01

The future energy portfolio at the national and subnational levels should consider its impact on water resources and environment. Although energy resources are the main contributors to the national economic growth, these resources must not exploit other primary natural resources. A study of the connections between energy and natural systems, such as water, environment and land is required prior to proceeding to energy development. Policy makers are in need of a tool quantifying the interlinkages across energy, water and the environment, while demonstrating the consequent trade-offs across the nexus systems. The Energy Portfolio Assessment Tool (EPAT) is a tool that enables the policy maker to create different energy portfolio scenarios with various energy and electricity sources, and evaluate the scenario's sustainability environmentally and economically. The Water-Energy-Food nexus systematic approach is the foundation of the EPAT framework. The research evaluates the impact of the current and projected Texas energy portfolios on water and the environment, taking into consideration energy production, electricity generation and policy change. The three scenarios to be assessed include EIA projections for energy production, and EIA projections for electricity generation with and without the Clean Power Plan (CPP). Each scenario is accompanied by tradeoffs across water, land, emissions, energy revenue and electricity cost. The CPP succeeds in mitigating the emissions of the electricity portfolio, but leads to an increase in water consumption and land use. The cost of electricity generation is almost identical with and without environmental conservation. Revenue from energy production increased, but results are majorly influenced by commodity price. Therefore, conservation policies should move from the silo to the nexus mentality to avoid unintended consequences as improving one part of the nexus could end up worsening the other parts.

A study of Kapton degradation under simulated shuttle environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eck, T. G.; Hoffman, R. W.

1986-01-01

A system was developed which employs a source of low energy oxygen ion to simulate the shuttle low Earth orbit environment. This source, together with diagnostic tools including surface analysis ans mass spectroscopic capability, was used to measure the dependence of ion energy of the oxygen induced CO signals from pyrolytic graphite and Kapton. For graphite the CO signal was examined at energies ranging form 4.5 to 465 eV and for Kapton from 4.5 to 188 eV. While the relative quantum yields inferred from the data are reasonably precise, there are large uncertainties in the absolute yields because of the assumptions necessary to covert the measured signal strengths to quantum yields. These assumptions are discussed in detail.

Integrated solar energy system optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, S. K.

1982-11-01

The computer program SYSOPT, intended as a tool for optimizing the subsystem sizing, performance, and economics of integrated wind and solar energy systems, is presented. The modular structure of the methodology additionally allows simulations when the solar subsystems are combined with conventional technologies, e.g., a utility grid. Hourly energy/mass flow balances are computed for interconnection points, yielding optimized sizing and time-dependent operation of various subsystems. The program requires meteorological data, such as insolation, diurnal and seasonal variations, and wind speed at the hub height of a wind turbine, all of which can be taken from simulations like the TRNSYS program. Examples are provided for optimization of a solar-powered (wind turbine and parabolic trough-Rankine generator) desalinization plant, and a design analysis for a solar powered greenhouse.

Summary of: Simulating the Value of Concentrating Solar Power with Thermal Energy Storage in a Production Cost Model (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Denholm, P.; Hummon, M.

2013-02-01

Concentrating solar power (CSP) deployed with thermal energy storage (TES) provides a dispatchable source of renewable energy. The value of CSP with TES, as with other potential generation resources, needs to be established using traditional utility planning tools. Production cost models, which simulate the operation of grid, are often used to estimate the operational value of different generation mixes. CSP with TES has historically had limited analysis in commercial production simulations. This document describes the implementation of CSP with TES in a commercial production cost model. It also describes the simulation of grid operations with CSP in a test systemmore » consisting of two balancing areas located primarily in Colorado.« less

Simulating the Value of Concentrating Solar Power with Thermal Energy Storage in a Production Cost Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Denholm, P.; Hummon, M.

2012-11-01

Concentrating solar power (CSP) deployed with thermal energy storage (TES) provides a dispatchable source of renewable energy. The value of CSP with TES, as with other potential generation resources, needs to be established using traditional utility planning tools. Production cost models, which simulate the operation of grid, are often used to estimate the operational value of different generation mixes. CSP with TES has historically had limited analysis in commercial production simulations. This document describes the implementation of CSP with TES in a commercial production cost model. It also describes the simulation of grid operations with CSP in a test systemmore » consisting of two balancing areas located primarily in Colorado.« less

modPDZpep: a web resource for structure based analysis of human PDZ-mediated interaction networks.

PubMed

Sain, Neetu; Mohanty, Debasisa

2016-09-21

PDZ domains recognize short sequence stretches usually present in C-terminal of their interaction partners. Because of the involvement of PDZ domains in many important biological processes, several attempts have been made for developing bioinformatics tools for genome-wide identification of PDZ interaction networks. Currently available tools for prediction of interaction partners of PDZ domains utilize machine learning approach. Since, they have been trained using experimental substrate specificity data for specific PDZ families, their applicability is limited to PDZ families closely related to the training set. These tools also do not allow analysis of PDZ-peptide interaction interfaces. We have used a structure based approach to develop modPDZpep, a program to predict the interaction partners of human PDZ domains and analyze structural details of PDZ interaction interfaces. modPDZpep predicts interaction partners by using structural models of PDZ-peptide complexes and evaluating binding energy scores using residue based statistical pair potentials. Since, it does not require training using experimental data on peptide binding affinity, it can predict substrates for diverse PDZ families. Because of the use of simple scoring function for binding energy, it is also fast enough for genome scale structure based analysis of PDZ interaction networks. Benchmarking using artificial as well as real negative datasets indicates good predictive power with ROC-AUC values in the range of 0.7 to 0.9 for a large number of human PDZ domains. Another novel feature of modPDZpep is its ability to map novel PDZ mediated interactions in human protein-protein interaction networks, either by utilizing available experimental phage display data or by structure based predictions. In summary, we have developed modPDZpep, a web-server for structure based analysis of human PDZ domains. It is freely available at http://www.nii.ac.in/modPDZpep.html or http://202.54.226.235/modPDZpep.html . This article was reviewed by Michael Gromiha and Zoltán Gáspári.

An Integrated Tool for the Coupled Thermal and Mechanical Analysis of Pyrolyzing Heatshield Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pronchick, Stephen W.

1998-01-01

Materials that pyrolyze at elevated temperature have been commonly used as thermal protection materials in hypersonic flight, and advanced pyrolyzing materials for this purpose continue to be developed. Because of the large temperature gradients that can arise in thermal protection materials, significant thermal stresses can develop. Advanced applications of pyrolytic materials are calling for more complex heatshield configurations, making accurate thermal stress analysis more important, and more challenging. For non-pyrolyzing materials, many finite element codes are available and capable of performing coupled thermal-mechanical analyses. These codes do not, however, have a built-in capability to perform analyses that include pyrolysis effects. When a pyrolyzing material is heated, one or more components of the original virgin material pyrolyze and create a gas. This gas flows away from the pyrolysis zone to the surface, resulting in a reduction in surface heating. A porous residue, referred to as char, remains in place of the virgin material. While the processes involved can be complex, it has been found that a simple physical model in which virgin material reacts to form char and pyrolysis gas, will yield satisfactory analytical results. Specifically, the effects that must be modeled include: (1) Variation of thermal properties (density, specific heat, thermal conductivity) as the material composition changes; (2) Energy released or absorbed by the pyrolysis reactions; (3) Energy convected by the flow of pyrolysis gas from the interior to the surface; (4) The reduction in surface heating due to surface blowing; and (5) Chemical and mass diffusion effects at the surface between the pyrolysis gas and edge gas Computational tools for the one-dimensional thermal analysis these materials exist and have proven to be reliable design tools. The objective of the present work is to extend the analysis capabilities of pyrolyzing materials to axisymmetric configurations, and to couple thermal and mechanical analyses so that thermal stresses may be efficiently and accurately calculated.

Space Earthquake Perturbation Simulation (SEPS) an application based on Geant4 tools to model and simulate the interaction between the Earthquake and the particle trapped on the Van Allen belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambroglini, Filippo; Jerome Burger, William; Battiston, Roberto; Vitale, Vincenzo; Zhang, Yu

2014-05-01

During last decades, few space experiments revealed anomalous bursts of charged particles, mainly electrons with energy larger than few MeV. A possible source of these bursts are the low-frequency seismo-electromagnetic emissions, which can cause the precipitation of the electrons from the lower boundary of their inner belt. Studies of these bursts reported also a short-term pre-seismic excess. Starting from simulation tools traditionally used on high energy physics we developed a dedicated application SEPS (Space Perturbation Earthquake Simulation), based on the Geant4 tool and PLANETOCOSMICS program, able to model and simulate the electromagnetic interaction between the earthquake and the particles trapped in the inner Van Allen belt. With SEPS one can study the transport of particles trapped in the Van Allen belts through the Earth's magnetic field also taking into account possible interactions with the Earth's atmosphere. SEPS provides the possibility of: testing different models of interaction between electromagnetic waves and trapped particles, defining the mechanism of interaction as also shaping the area in which this takes place,assessing the effects of perturbations in the magnetic field on the particles path, performing back-tracking analysis and also modelling the interaction with electric fields. SEPS is in advanced development stage, so that it could be already exploited to test in details the results of correlation analysis between particle bursts and earthquakes based on NOAA and SAMPEX data. The test was performed both with a full simulation analysis, (tracing from the position of the earthquake and going to see if there were paths compatible with the burst revealed) and with a back-tracking analysis (tracing from the burst detection point and checking the compatibility with the position of associated earthquake).

Capabilities-Based Planning for Energy Security at Department of Defense Installations

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Support Services—The ability to provide assis- tance for payload and launch vehicles including safety, reception , staging, integration, movement to the...pubs/technical_reports/TR1249.html Davis, Paul K., and Paul Dreyer, RAND’s Portfolio Analysis Tool (PAT): Theory , Methods, and Reference Manual, Santa...Steven C. Bankes, and Michael Egner, Enhancing Strategic Planning with Massive Scenario Generation: Theory and Experiments, Santa Monica, Calif

Multicriteria analysis for sources of renewable energy using data from remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matejicek, L.

2015-04-01

Renewable energy sources are major components of the strategy to reduce harmful emissions and to replace depleting fossil energy resources. Data from remote sensing can provide information for multicriteria analysis for sources of renewable energy. Advanced land cover quantification makes it possible to search for suitable sites. Multicriteria analysis, together with other data, is used to determine the energy potential and socially acceptability of suggested locations. The described case study is focused on an area of surface coal mines in the northwestern region of the Czech Republic, where the impacts of surface mining and reclamation constitute a dominant force in land cover changes. High resolution satellite images represent the main input datasets for identification of suitable sites. Solar mapping, wind predictions, the location of weirs in watersheds, road maps and demographic information complement the data from remote sensing for multicriteria analysis, which is implemented in a geographic information system (GIS). The input spatial datasets for multicriteria analysis in GIS are reclassified to a common scale and processed with raster algebra tools to identify suitable sites for sources of renewable energy. The selection of suitable sites is limited by the CORINE land cover database to mining and agricultural areas. The case study is focused on long term land cover changes in the 1985-2015 period. Multicriteria analysis based on CORINE data shows moderate changes in mapping of suitable sites for utilization of selected sources of renewable energy in 1990, 2000, 2006 and 2012. The results represent map layers showing the energy potential on a scale of a few preference classes (1-7), where the first class is linked to minimum preference and the last class to maximum preference. The attached histograms show the moderate variability of preference classes due to land cover changes caused by mining activities. The results also show a slight increase in the more preferred classes for utilization of sources of renewable energy due to an increase area of reclaimed sites. Using data from remote sensing, such as the multispectral images and the CORINE land cover datasets, can reduce the financial resources currently required for finding and assessing suitable areas.

Detailed performance and environmental monitoring of aquifer heating and cooling systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acuna, José; Ahlkrona, Malva; Zandin, Hanna; Singh, Ashutosh

2016-04-01

The project intends to quantify the performance and environmental impact of large scale aquifer thermal energy storage, as well as point at recommendations for operating and estimating the environmental footprint of future systems. Field measurements, test of innovative equipment as well as advanced modelling work and analysis will be performed. The following aspects are introduced and covered in the presentation: -Thermal, chemical and microbiological influence of akvifer thermal energy storage systems: measurement and evaluation of real conditions and the influence of one system in operation. -Follow up of energy extraction from aquifer as compared to projected values, recommendations for improvements. -Evaluation of the most used thermal modeling tool for design and calculation of groundwater temperatures, calculations with MODFLOW/MT3DMS -Test and evaluation of optical fiber cables as a way to measure temperatures in aquifer thermal energy storages

Achieving Actionable Results from Available Inputs: Metamodels Take Building Energy Simulations One Step Further

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Horsey, Henry; Fleming, Katherine; Ball, Brian

Modeling commercial building energy usage can be a difficult and time-consuming task. The increasing prevalence of optimization algorithms provides one path for reducing the time and difficulty. Many use cases remain, however, where information regarding whole-building energy usage is valuable, but the time and expertise required to run and post-process a large number of building energy simulations is intractable. A relatively underutilized option to accurately estimate building energy consumption in real time is to pre-compute large datasets of potential building energy models, and use the set of results to quickly and efficiently provide highly accurate data. This process is calledmore » metamodeling. In this paper, two case studies are presented demonstrating the successful applications of metamodeling using the open-source OpenStudio Analysis Framework. The first case study involves the U.S. Department of Energy's Asset Score Tool, specifically the Preview Asset Score Tool, which is designed to give nontechnical users a near-instantaneous estimated range of expected results based on building system-level inputs. The second case study involves estimating the potential demand response capabilities of retail buildings in Colorado. The metamodel developed in this second application not only allows for estimation of a single building's expected performance, but also can be combined with public data to estimate the aggregate DR potential across various geographic (county and state) scales. In both case studies, the unique advantages of pre-computation allow building energy models to take the place of topdown actuarial evaluations. This paper ends by exploring the benefits of using metamodels and then examines the cost-effectiveness of this approach.« less

Pressure Mapping and Efficiency Analysis of an EPPLER 857 Hydrokinetic Turbine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Tristan

A conceptual energy ship is presented to provide renewable energy. The ship, driven by the wind, drags a hydrokinetic turbine through the water. The power generated is used to run electrolysis on board, taking the resultant hydrogen back to shore to be used as an energy source. The basin efficiency (Power/thrust*velocity) of the Hydrokinetic Turbine (HTK) plays a vital role in this process. In order to extract the maximum allowable power from the flow, the blades need to be optimized. The structural analysis of the blade is important, as the blade will undergo high pressure loads from the water. A procedure for analysis of a preliminary Hydrokinetic Turbine blade design is developed. The blade was designed by a non-optimized Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT) code. Six simulations were run, with varying mesh resolution, turbulence models, and flow region size. The procedure was developed that provides detailed explanation for the entire process, from geometry and mesh generation to post-processing analysis tools. The efficiency results from the simulations are used to study the mesh resolution, flow region size, and turbulence models. The results are compared to the BEMT model design targets. Static pressure maps are created that can be used for structural analysis of the blades.

Final Report: Hydrogen Production Pathways Cost Analysis (2013 – 2016)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

James, Brian David; DeSantis, Daniel Allan; Saur, Genevieve

This report summarizes work conducted under a three year Department of Energy (DOE) funded project to Strategic Analysis, Inc. (SA) to analyze multiple hydrogen (H 2) production technologies and project their corresponding levelized production cost of H 2. The analysis was conducted using the H2A Hydrogen Analysis Tool developed by the DOE and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The project was led by SA but conducted in close collaboration with the NREL and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). In-depth techno-economic analysis (TEA) of five different H 2 production methods was conducted. These TEAs developed projections for capital costs, fuel/feedstock usage, energymore » usage, indirect capital costs, land usage, labor requirements, and other parameters, for each H 2 production pathway, and use the resulting cost and system parameters as inputs into the H2A discounted cash flow model to project the production cost of H 2 ($/kgH 2). Five technologies were analyzed as part of the project and are summarized in this report: Proton Exchange Membrane technology (PEM), High temperature solid oxide electrolysis cell technology (SOEC), Dark fermentation of biomass for H 2 production, H 2 production via Monolithic Piston-Type Reactors with rapid swing reforming and regeneration reactions, and Reformer-Electrolyzer-Purifier (REP) technology developed by Fuel Cell Energy, Inc. (FCE).« less

Energy Management Control Systems: Tools for Energy Savings and Environmental Protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zsebik, Albin; Zala, Laszlo F.

2002-01-01

The change in the price of energy has encouraged the increase of energy efficiency. This report will discuss a tool to promote energy efficiency in intelligent buildings, energy management control systems (EMCS). In addition to the online control of energy production, supply, and consumption, the function of the EMCS is to support short- and long-term planning of the system operation as well as to collect, store, and regularly evaluate operation data. The strategies behind planning and implementing the EMCS as well as the manipulating the resulting data are discussed in this report.

Home Energy Scoring Tools (website) and Application Programming Interfaces, APIs (aka HEScore)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mills, Evan; Bourassa, Norm; Rainer, Leo

A web-based residential energy rating tool with APIs that runs the LBNL website: Provides customized estimates of residential energy use and energy bills based on building description information provided by the user. Energy use is estimated using engineering models developed at LBNL. Space heating and cooling use is based on the DOE-2. 1E building simulation model. Other end-users (water heating, appliances, lighting, and misc. equipment) are based on engineering models developed by LBNL.

Home Energy Scoring Tools (website) and Application Programming Interfaces, APIs (aka HEScore)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mills, Evan; Bourassa, Norm; Rainer, Leo

2016-04-22

A web-based residential energy rating tool with APIs that runs the LBNL website: Provides customized estimates of residential energy use and energy bills based on building description information provided by the user. Energy use is estimated using engineering models developed at LBNL. Space heating and cooling use is based on the DOE-2. 1E building simulation model. Other end-users (water heating, appliances, lighting, and misc. equipment) are based on engineering models developed by LBNL.

CFD Multiphysics Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perrell, Eric R.

2005-01-01

The recent bold initiatives to expand the human presence in space require innovative approaches to the design of propulsion systems whose underlying technology is not yet mature. The space propulsion community has identified a number of candidate concepts. A short list includes solar sails, high-energy-density chemical propellants, electric and electromagnetic accelerators, solar-thermal and nuclear-thermal expanders. For each of these, the underlying physics are relatively well understood. One could easily cite authoritative texts, addressing both the governing equations, and practical solution methods for, e.g. electromagnetic fields, heat transfer, radiation, thermophysics, structural dynamics, particulate kinematics, nuclear energy, power conversion, and fluid dynamics. One could also easily cite scholarly works in which complete equation sets for any one of these physical processes have been accurately solved relative to complex engineered systems. The Advanced Concepts and Analysis Office (ACAO), Space Transportation Directorate, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, has recently released the first alpha version of a set of computer utilities for performing the applicable physical analyses relative to candidate deep-space propulsion systems such as those listed above. PARSEC, Preliminary Analysis of Revolutionary in-Space Engineering Concepts, enables rapid iterative calculations using several physics tools developed in-house. A complete cycle of the entire tool set takes about twenty minutes. PARSEC is a level-zero/level-one design tool. For PARSEC s proof-of-concept, and preliminary design decision-making, assumptions that significantly simplify the governing equation sets are necessary. To proceed to level-two, one wishes to retain modeling of the underlying physics as close as practical to known applicable first principles. This report describes results of collaboration between ACAO, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), to begin building a set of level-two design tools for PARSEC. The "CFD Multiphysics Tool" will be the propulsive element of the tool set. The name acknowledges that space propulsion performance assessment is primarily a fluid mechanics problem. At the core of the CFD Multiphysics Tool is an open-source CFD code, HYP, under development at ERAU. ERAU is renowned for its undergraduate degree program in Aerospace Engineering the largest in the nation. The strength of the program is its applications-oriented curriculum, which culminates in one of three two-course Engineering Design sequences: Aerospace Propulsion, Spacecraft, or Aircraft. This same philosophy applies to the HYP Project, albeit with fluid physics modeling commensurate with graduate research. HYP s purpose, like the Multiphysics Tool s, is to enable calculations of real (three-dimensional; geometrically complex; intended for hardware development) applications of high speed and propulsive fluid flows.

An Evaluation of the Environmental Impact of Different Commercial Supermarket Refrigeration Systems Using Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beshr, Mohamed; Aute, Vikrant; Abdelaziz, Omar

Commercial refrigeration systems consumed 1.21 Quads of primary energy in 2010 and are known to be a major source for refrigerant charge leakage into the environment. Thus, it is important to study the environmental impact of commercial supermarket refrigeration systems and improve their design to minimize any adverse impacts. The system s Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) was presented as a comprehensive metric with the aim of calculating the equivalent mass of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere throughout its lifetime, from construction to operation and destruction. In this paper, an open source tool for the evaluation of the LCCPmore » of different air-conditioning and refrigeration systems is presented and used to compare the environmental impact of a typical multiplex direct expansion (DX) supermarket refrigeration systems based on three different refrigerants as follows: two hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants (R-404A, and R-407F), and a low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant (N-40). The comparison is performed in 8 US cities representing different climates. The hourly energy consumption of the refrigeration system, required for the calculation of the indirect emissions, is calculated using a widely used building energy modeling tool (EnergyPlus). A sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the impact of system charge and power plant emission factor on the LCCP results. Finally, we performed an uncertainty analysis to determine the uncertainty in total emissions for both R-404A and N-40 operated systems. We found that using low GWP refrigerants causes a considerable drop in the impact of uncertainty in the inputs related to direct emissions on the uncertainty of the total emissions of the system.« less

Towards a more holistic sustainability assessment framework for agro-bioenergy systems — A review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arodudu, Oludunsin, E-mail: Oludunsin.Arodudu@zalf.de; Potsdam University, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Golm; Helming, Katharina

The use of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a sustainability assessment tool for agro-bioenergy system usually has an industrial agriculture bias. Furthermore, LCA generally has often been criticized for being a decision maker tool which may not consider decision takers perceptions. They are lacking in spatial and temporal depth, and unable to assess sufficiently some environmental impact categories such as biodiversity, land use etc. and most economic and social impact categories, e.g. food security, water security, energy security. This study explored tools, methodologies and frameworks that can be deployed individually, as well as in combination with each other for bridgingmore » these methodological gaps in application to agro-bioenergy systems. Integrating agronomic options, e.g. alternative farm power, tillage, seed sowing options, fertilizer, pesticide, irrigation into the boundaries of LCAs for agro-bioenergy systems will not only provide an alternative agro-ecological perspective to previous LCAs, but will also lead to the derivation of indicators for assessment of some social and economic impact categories. Deploying life cycle thinking approaches such as energy return on energy invested-EROEI, human appropriation of net primary production-HANPP, net greenhouse gas or carbon balance-NCB, water footprint individually and in combination with each other will also lead to further derivation of indicators suitable for assessing relevant environmental, social and economic impact categories. Also, applying spatio-temporal simulation models has a potential for improving the spatial and temporal depths of LCA analysis.« less

Industrial energy systems and assessment opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barringer, Frank Leonard, III

Industrial energy assessments are performed primarily to increase energy system efficiency and reduce energy costs in industrial facilities. The most common energy systems are lighting, compressed air, steam, process heating, HVAC, pumping, and fan systems, and these systems are described in this document. ASME has produced energy assessment standards for four energy systems, and these systems include compressed air, steam, process heating, and pumping systems. ASHRAE has produced an energy assessment standard for HVAC systems. Software tools for energy systems were developed for the DOE, and there are software tools for almost all of the most common energy systems. The software tools are AIRMaster+ and LogTool for compressed air systems, SSAT and 3E Plus for steam systems, PHAST and 3E Plus for process heating systems, eQUEST for HVAC systems, PSAT for pumping systems, and FSAT for fan systems. The recommended assessment procedures described in this thesis are used to set up an energy assessment for an industrial facility, collect energy system data, and analyze the energy system data. The assessment recommendations (ARs) are opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption for energy systems. A set of recommended assessment procedures and recommended assessment opportunities are presented for each of the most common energy systems. There are many assessment opportunities for industrial facilities, and this thesis describes forty-three ARs for the seven different energy systems. There are seven ARs for lighting systems, ten ARs for compressed air systems, eight ARs for boiler and steam systems, four ARs for process heating systems, six ARs for HVAC systems, and four ARs for both pumping and fan systems. Based on a history of past assessments, average potential energy savings and typical implementation costs are shared in this thesis for most ARs. Implementing these ARs will increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption for energy systems in industrial facilities. This thesis does not explain all energy saving ARs that are available, but does describe the most common ARs.

Some applications of mathematics in theoretical physics - A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bora, Kalpana

2016-06-01

Mathematics is a very beautiful subject-very much an indispensible tool for Physics, more so for Theoretical Physics (by which we mean here mainly Field Theory and High Energy Physics). These branches of Physics are based on Quantum Mechanics and Special Theory of Relativity, and many mathematical concepts are used in them. In this work, we shall elucidate upon only some of them, like-differential geometry, infinite series, Mellin transforms, Fourier and integral transforms, special functions, calculus, complex algebra, topology, group theory, Riemannian geometry, functional analysis, linear algebra, operator algebra, etc. We shall also present, some physics issues, where these mathematical tools are used. It is not wrong to say that Mathematics is such a powerful tool, without which, there can not be any Physics theory!! A brief review on our research work is also presented.

Supercomputer analysis of sedimentary basins.

PubMed

Bethke, C M; Altaner, S P; Harrison, W J; Upson, C

1988-01-15

Geological processes of fluid transport and chemical reaction in sedimentary basins have formed many of the earth's energy and mineral resources. These processes can be analyzed on natural time and distance scales with the use of supercomputers. Numerical experiments are presented that give insights to the factors controlling subsurface pressures, temperatures, and reactions; the origin of ores; and the distribution and quality of hydrocarbon reservoirs. The results show that numerical analysis combined with stratigraphic, sea level, and plate tectonic histories provides a powerful tool for studying the evolution of sedimentary basins over geologic time.

The Pedometer as a Tool to Enrich Science Learning in a Public Health Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rye, James A.; Zizzi, Samuel J.; Vitullo, Elizabeth A.; Tompkins, Nancy O'hara

2005-12-01

The United States is experiencing an obesity epidemic: A science-technology-society public health issue tied to our built environment, which is characterized by heavy dependence on automobiles and reduced opportunities to walk and bicycle for transportation. This presents an informal science education opportunity within "science in personal and social perspectives'' to use pedometer technology for enhancing students' understandings about human energy balance. An exploratory study was conducted with 29 teachers to investigate how pedometers could be used for providing academic enrichment to secondary students participating in after-school Health Sciences and Technology Academy clubs. Frequency analysis revealed that the pedometer activities often investigated kilocalorie expenditure and/or incorporated hypothesis testing/experimenting. Teachers' perspectives on learning outcomes most frequently conveyed that students increased their awareness of the importance of health habits relative to kilocalorie intake and expenditure. Pedometers have considerable merit for the regular science curriculum as they allow for numerous mathematics applications and inquiry learning and target concepts such as energy and equilibrium that cut across the National Science Education Standards. Pedometers and associated resources on human energy balance are important tools that science teachers can employ in helping schools respond to the national call to prevent childhood obesity.

Two states or not two states: Single-molecule folding studies of protein L

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aviram, Haim Yuval; Pirchi, Menahem; Barak, Yoav; Riven, Inbal; Haran, Gilad

2018-03-01

Experimental tools of increasing sophistication have been employed in recent years to study protein folding and misfolding. Folding is considered a complex process, and one way to address it is by studying small proteins, which seemingly possess a simple energy landscape with essentially only two stable states, either folded or unfolded. The B1-IgG binding domain of protein L (PL) is considered a model two-state folder, based on measurements using a wide range of experimental techniques. We applied single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy in conjunction with a hidden Markov model analysis to fully characterize the energy landscape of PL and to extract the kinetic properties of individual molecules of the protein. Surprisingly, our studies revealed the existence of a third state, hidden under the two-state behavior of PL due to its small population, ˜7%. We propose that this minority intermediate involves partial unfolding of the two C-terminal β strands of PL. Our work demonstrates that single-molecule FRET spectroscopy can be a powerful tool for a comprehensive description of the folding dynamics of proteins, capable of detecting and characterizing relatively rare metastable states that are difficult to observe in ensemble studies.

Electrification pathways for Kenya-linking spatial electrification analysis and medium to long term energy planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moksnes, Nandi; Korkovelos, Alexandros; Mentis, Dimitrios; Howells, Mark

2017-09-01

In September 2015 UN announced 17 Sustainable Development goals (SDG) from which goal number 7 envisions universal access to modern energy services for all by 2030. In Kenya only about 46% of the population currently has access to electricity. This paper analyses hypothetical scenarios, and selected implications, investigating pathways that would allow the country to reach its electrification targets by 2030. Two modelling tools were used for the purposes of this study, namely OnSSET and OSeMOSYS. The tools were soft-linked in order to capture both the spatial and temporal dynamics of their nature. Two electricity demand scenarios were developed representing low and high end user consumption goals respectively. Indicatively, results show that geothermal, coal, hydro and natural gas would consist the optimal energy mix for the centralized national grid. However, in the case of the low demand scenario a high penetration of stand-alone systems is evident in the country, reaching out to approximately 47% of the electrified population. Increasing end user consumption leads to a shift in the optimal technology mix, with higher penetration of mini-grid technologies and grid extension.