Award Data

One effective way to lower the weight, thus decreasing the carbon fiber usage and lowering the cost, of a CFRP tank is to improve the mechanical properties of the CFRP composite resin matrix using nano-reinforcement. Using the resin matrix itself as a source of composite strength, along with the carbon fiber reinforcement, results in a tank that requires less carbon fiber material. This solution d ...

III-V semiconductors based solar cells display the highest sunlight conversion efficiency. Nevertheless, the material cost of current III-Vs and their fabrication process is very high which impedes their use for flat panel, large market applications. This project aims to explore, evaluate and implement defect tolerant high efficiency tandem solar cells based on more earth abundant III-V materials ...

One of the major cost elements of todays Lithium Ion Batteries and Ultracapacitors is the cost of manufacturing the electrodes. A significant reduction in cost is a major goal of the DOE Vehicle Technologies Program. Reducing the cost of these storage devices could accelerate the use of HEV, PHEV, and EV vehicles in the U.S. transportation sector. One of the major contributors to the manufacturing ...

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) have the potential for economical storage of electrical energy than other battery chemistries. They use high-cost ion exchange membranes as separators between anolyte and catholyte, which prevent broad market penetration. Proton exchange membranes (e.g., Nafion) are poorly selective, allowing undesired cross-diffusion of active species in solution electrolytes across t ...

Multiphase bubbly mixture flows in pipelines, cooling equipment, reaction towers, and in petroleum, chemical, geothermal and nuclear industries have strong influence on efficiency. The ability to predict the flow behavior accurately is essential in designing energy efficient two-phase flow processing and transporting equipment. One of the major prediction difficulties lies in the complex multiple ...

Separations chemistry is an important tool that is employed for a wide variety of applications associated with DOE missions. The ligand 4-chloro-2-[(6-chloro-7-methyl-2H-1,3-benzoxazin-3(4H)-yl)methyl]-5-methylphenol is currently employed as an additive to solvent extraction methods, which are neither rapid nor environmentally sound due to large quantities of toxic waste generated. The development ...

C++ is a key software technology for programming embedded systems and sophisticated applications, widely used for mathematical modeling codes fundamental to modern physics and engineering. Such codes are complex, often requiring high performance, and are built over long periods as scientists come and go. A significant problem that delays obtaining results for science applications is the scientist ...

Diffusion barriers used in Nb3Sn wire are currently fabricated by wrapping Ta sheet into a tube with signifigant overlap. The result of current practice is non-uniform deformation in the Ta sheet as it thins by wire drawing because of non-uniform grain size and texture. In addition, a signifigant portion of the diffusion barrier is twice as thick as need be. The overlap is wasteful for Ta and prod ...

Superconducting wire is used in electromagnets that are used in energy research particle accelerators, fusion tokomaks and in biomedical research - NMR imaging and spectroscopy. New frontiers in those areas of research require ever higher magnetic field strength, and that requires ever-more robust superconductors. Bi-2212 is the only one of the high-temperature superconductors that can be made i ...

Future large scale sciences are anticipated to use massive amount of data in their experiments. DOEs ESnet (Energy Science Network) is developing a 100 Gbps backbone based on this state-of-the-art 100 Gigabit Ethernet standard. ESnet will serve thousands of DOE and non-DOE scientists with its high bandwidth backbone, and connect several national laboratories. Current Ethernet test and debug soluti ...