Award Data

Electricity generation from solar installations continues to grow at a furious rate, with a large share of new solar capacity being installed on residential and commercial buildings. This rise in solar capacity on the distribution grid is beginning to create real challenges for grid planners and operators. Increasing solar generation at the distribution edge can affect power quality and reliabilit ...

We propose a novel high efficiency (≈40%) generator system capable of providing 1 kWe along with hot water on-demand. The integration of two novel concepts: 1) an internal combustion engine (ICE) operating on Spark-Assisted Compression Ignition (SACI) combustion of natural gas (NG), and 2) a bottoming Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) with waste energy recovery (WER) from ICE exhaust enables the overa ...

Statement of the Problem or Situation that is being addressed Lithium-ion batteries are considered candidates for large-scale energy storage mainly because of their high energy density and flexibility. However, current lithium-ion battery technology does not meet the critical requirements in terms of safety, ultra-long cycle life and shelf life, low cost, and improved energy density. Element Sulfu ...

Statement of the Problem: The 2013 report from the International Panel on Climate Change states that the spatial extent of Arctic sea ice has decreased in every season, and in every successive decade since 1979. Arctic summer sea ice retreat is unprecedented (9.4 to 13.6% per decade). Numerical simulations predict a nearly ice-free summertime Arctic after the middle of the 21st century. It is ...

Statement of the Problem Isotopologues are a critical tool in monitoring plant hydrobiogeochemical and microbial systems and processes. The most abundant elements utilized and exchanged by plants, microbes and ecosystems are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N), all of which have naturally occurring stable isotope forms that can be used as natural tracers for understanding and int ...

There is an increasing need to understand the impacts particles emitted by both natural and human activities have on cloud properties, precipitation and climate. DOE has identified a need to improve the measurement capability of observational platforms, particularly in the Arctic region. One barrier to progress in understanding the interactions of particles and clouds and the importance of cloud c ...

There is a present and growing emphasis on reducing or maintaining the wateruse footprint in the energy sector. One of the requirements for effectively managing water is monitoring through reliable, realtime, measurementbased data of water quality/composition within treatment systems and bodies of water associated with power generation facilities. Many existing water quality sensor technologies ar ...

Advancements in sensors and instrumentation are needed to enhance economic competitiveness and improve/optimize the performance of existing and future nuclear power plants and nuclear power systems. A commonly noted sensor need for nuclear power systems is flow sensing in the various heat transfer mediums and to monitor/measure medium velocities and characterize mixing/cooling. The ability to depl ...

Nuclear plant operators are required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC) to perform cybersecurity assessment on their internal networks, control systems and critical data assets on a regular basis to ensure regulatory compliance and safety, security and emergency preparedness of the nations most critical infrastructures. However, the current assessment processes are conducted manually. The ...

Compact high-gradient acceleration of ultra-short electron beams is a key element of the strategic plan for the DOE Office of High Energy Physics. High wakefield transformer ratios are essential for efficient beam- driven acceleration of such electron beams in plasma and dielectric structures, and this requires careful shaping of the drive beam current profile. The use of conventional magnetic opt ...