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Electricity Generation Cost Simulation Model (GenSim)

Drennen, Thomas E.

The Electricity Generation Cost Simulation Model (GenSim) is a user-friendly, high-level dynamic simulation model that calculates electricity production costs for variety of electricity generation technologies, including: pulverized coal, gas combustion turbine, gas combined cycle, nuclear, solar (PV and thermal), and wind. The model allows the user to quickly conduct sensitivity analysis on key variables, including: capital, O&M, and fuel costs; interest rates; construction time; heat rates; and capacity factors. The model also includes consideration of a wide range of externality costs and pollution control options for carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and mercury. Two different data sets are included in the model; one from the US. Department of Energy (DOE) and the other from Platt's Research Group. Likely users of this model include executives and staff in the Congress, the Administration and private industry (power plant builders, industrial electricity users and electric utilities). The model seeks to improve understanding of the economic viability of various generating technologies and their emissions trade-offs. The base case results, using the DOE data, indicate that in the absence of externality costs, or renewable tax credits, pulverized coal and gas combined cycle plants are the least cost alternatives at 3.7 and 3.5 cents/kwhr, respectively. A complete sensitivity analysis on fuel, capital, and construction time shows that these results coal and gas are much more sensitive to assumption about fuel prices than they are to capital costs or construction times. The results also show that making nuclear competitive with coal or gas requires significant reductions in capital costs, to the $1000/kW level, if no other changes are made. For renewables, the results indicate that wind is now competitive with the nuclear option and is only competitive with coal and gas for grid connected applications if one includes the federal production tax credit of 1.8cents/kwhr.

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Sandia Extended Network: Overview of the Design Process

Gomez, Michael D.

This report describes the process that will be used to develop and submit for approval designs for the Sandia Extended Network (SXN). The process follows the steps in the Change Management Process used in the Telecommunication Operations Department's quality management system. Those steps are planning, requirements review, detailed design analysis, implementation, verification, and validation. Two companion reports complete a description of the designs to date: ''Sandia Extended Network: Design Requirements and Sandia Extended Network: Conceptual Design Definition.''

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Sandia Extended Network: Design Requirements

Gomez, Michael D.; Gossage, Steven A.

This report contains the design requirements for creating a limited-access Sandia Extended Network (SXN), which would be used to collaborate with Nuclear Weapons Complex Labs personnel, university collaborators, industry, and others who may not be allowed accounts on the Sandia Restricted Network (SRN). This document contains the design requirements for creating a limited-access Sandia Extended Network (SXN), which would be used by non-Sandians to collaborate with NWC Labs personnel and others who are not allowed accounts on the Sandia Restricted Network (SRN). Its main purpose is to articulate the requirements upon which the design options and hardware costs for the Sandia eXtended Network (SXN) can be based and in turn presented to 8900 and 9300 Management. The requirements are further addressed in reports outlining its security architecture and in the five-volume set of network architecture reports: An Architecture for the Sandia Extended Network: Overview; Detailed Description of the Architecture, Design of the Model, and Balanced Protections; Background of the Architecture and its Relevance to Sandia; Terminology and Concepts Relevant to Networks; and Policy-Based Networks and Information Management.

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Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers

Smith, Arlee V.; Fischer, Arthur J.

The goal of this project was to increase the power of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers and to convert their wavelength into the blue/ultraviolet and the infrared for sensing applications. We have increased the power to the multi-watt level and have generated several milliwatts of blue light using optical pumping. Electrical pump has been less successful, but we have identified the problems and begun work to overcome them using a bottom emitting design.

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Evaluation of Islanding Detection Methods for Utility-Interactive Inverters in Photovoltaic Systems

Bower, Ward

This report describes the various methods and circuits that have been developed to detect an islanding condition for photovoltaic applications and presents three methods that have been developed to test those methods and circuits. Passive methods for detecting an islanding condition basically monitor parameters such as voltage and frequency and/or their characteristics and cause the inverter to cease converting power when there is sufficient transition from normal specified conditions. Active methods for detecting the island introduce deliberate changes or disturbances to the connected circuit and then monitor the response to determine if the utility grid with its stable frequency, voltage and impedance is still connected. If the small perturbation is able to affect the parameters of the load connection within prescribed requirements, the active circuit causes the inverter to cease power conversion and delivery of power to the loads. The methods not resident in the inverter are generally controlled by the utility or have communications between the inverter and the utility to affect an inverter shut down when necessary. This report also describes several test methods that may be used for determining whether the anti-islanding method is effective. The test circuits and methodologies used in the U.S. have been chosen to limit the number of tests by measuring the reaction of a single or small number of inverters under a set of consensus-based worst-case conditions.

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Network Security Mechanisms Utilizing Dynamic Network Address Translation LDRD Project

Jung, Carrie M.; Lee, Erik; Michalski, John T.

A new protocol technology is just starting to emerge from the laboratory environment. Its stated purpose is to provide an additional means in which networks, and the services that reside on them, can be protected from adversarial compromise. This report has a two-fold objective. First is to provide the reader with an overview of this emerging Dynamic Defenses technology using Dynamic Network Address Translation (Dynat). This ''structure overview'' is concentrated in the body of the report, and describes the important attributes of the technology. The second objective is to provide a framework that can be used to help in the classification and assessment of the different types of dynamic defense technologies along with some related capabilities and limitations. This information is primarily contained in the appendices.

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All-Ceramic Thin Film Battery

Boyle, Timothy J.; Ingersoll, David; Cygan, Randall T.; Rodriguez, Mark A.; Rahimian, Kamyar R.; Voigt, James A.

We have undertaken the synthesis of a thin film ''All Ceramic Battery'' (ACB) using solution route processes. Based on the literature and experimental results, we selected SnO{sub 2}, LiCoO{sub 2}, and LiLaTiO{sub 3} (LLT) as the anode, cathode, and electrolyte, respectively. Strain induced by lattice mismatch between the cathode and bottom electrode, as estimated by computational calculations, indicate that thin film orientations for batteries when thicknesses are as low as 500 {angstrom} are strongly controlled by surface energies. Therefore, we chose platinized silicon as the basal platform based on our previous experience with this material. The anode thin films were generated by standard spin-cast methods and processing using a solution of [Sn(ONep)]{sub 8} and HOAc which was found to form Sn{sub 6}(O){sub 4}(ONep){sub 4}. Electrochemical evaluation showed that the SnO{sub 2} was converted to Sn{sup o} during the first cycle. The cathode was also prepared by spin coating using the novel [Li(ONep)]{sub 8} and Co(OAc){sub 2}. The films could be electrochemically cycled (i.e., charged/discharged), with all of the associated structural changes being observable by XRD. Computational models indicated that the LLT electrolyte would be the best available ceramic material for use as the electrolyte. The LLT was synthesized from [Li(ONep)]{sub 8}, [Ti(ONep){sub 4}]{sub 2}, and La(DIP){sub 3}(py){sub 3} with RTP processing at 900 C being necessary to form the perovskite phase. Alternatively, a novel route to thin films of the block co-polymer ORMOLYTE was developed. The integration of these components was undertaken with each part of the assembly being identifiably by XRD analysis (this will allow us to follow the progress of the charge/discharge cycles of the battery during use). SEM investigations revealed the films were continuous with minimal mixing. All initial testing of the thin-film cathode/electrolyte/anode ACB devices revealed electrical shorting. Alternative approaches for preparing non-shorted devices (e.g. inverted and side-by-side) are under study.

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SIERRA Framework Version 3: Core Services Theory and Design

Edwards, Harold C.

The SIERRA Framework core services provide essential services for managing the mesh data structure, computational fields, and physics models of an application. An application using these services will supply a set of physics models, define the computational fields that are required by those models, and define the mesh upon which its physics models operate. The SIERRA Framework then manages all of the data for a massively parallel multiphysics application.

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Sorption of Arsenic from Drinking Water to Mg(OH)2 Sorrel's Cements, and Zirconium Doped Materials

Moore, Robert C.; Zhao, Hongting; Sanchez, Charles A.; Larese, Kathleen C.; Salas, Fred; Hasan, Ahmed; Lucero, Daniel A.

It was discovered that MgO or Mg(OH){sub 2} when it reacts with water is a very strong sorbent for arsenic. Distribution constants, or K{sub d} values, are as high as 1 x 10{sup 6} L/mole. In this work, Mg(OH){sub 2} and other compounds have been investigated as sorbents for arsenic and other contaminants. This work has resulted in several major accomplishments including: (1) design, construction, and testing of a pressure sand filter to remove Mg(OH){sub 2} after it has sorbed arsenic from water, (2) stabilization of Mg(OH){sub 2} as a Sorrel's cement against reaction with carbonate that results in MgCO{sub 3} formation decreasing the efficiency of Mg(OH){sub 2} to sorb arsenic, and (3) the development of a new, very promising sorbent for arsenic based on zirconium. Zirconium is an environmentally benign material found in many common products such as toothpaste. It is currently used in water treatment and is very inexpensive. In this work, zirconium has been bonded to activated carbon, zeolites, sand and montmorillonite. Because of its high charge in ionic form (+6), zirconium is a strong sorbent for many anions including arsenic. In equilibrium experiments arsenic concentrations in water were reduced from 200 ppb to less than 1 ppb in less than 1 minute of contact time. Additionally, analytical methods for detecting arsenic in water have also been investigated. Various analytical techniques including HPLC, AA and ICP-MS are used for quantification of arsenic. Due to large matrix interferences HPLC and AA techniques are not very selective and are time consuming. ICP-MS is highly efficient, requires a low sample volume and has a high tolerance for interferences. All these techniques are costly and require trained staff, and with the exception of ICP-MS, these methods cannot be used at low ppb arsenic concentration without using a pre-concentration step. An alternative to these traditional techniques is to use a colorimetric method based on leucocrystal violet dye interaction with iodine. This method has been adapted in our facility for quantifying arsenic concentrations down to 14 ppb.

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Analysis of Price Equilibriums in the Aspen Economic Model under Various Purchasing Methods

Slepoy, Natasha; Pryor, Richard J.

Aspen, a powerful economic modeling tool that uses agent modeling and genetic algorithms, can accurately simulate the economy. In it, individuals are hired by firms to produce a good that households then purchase. The firms decide what price to charge for this good, and based on that price, the households determine which firm to purchase from. We will attempt to discover the Nash Equilibrium price found in this model under two different methods of determining how many orders each firm receives. To keep it simple, we will assume there are only two firms in our model, and that these firms compete for the sale of one identical good.

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High Efficiency Optical MEMS by the Integration of Photonic Lattices with Surface MEMS

Fleming, J.G.; Lin, Shawn-Yu; Mani, Seethambal; Sniegowski, Jeffry J.; Rodgers, M.S.; Dagel, Daryl

This report outlines our work on the integration of high efficiency photonic lattice structures with MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems). The simplest of these structures were based on 1-D mirror structures. These were integrated into a variety of devices, movable mirrors, switchable cavities and finally into Bragg fiber structures which enable the control of light in at least 2 dimensions. Of these devices, the most complex were the Bragg fibers. Bragg fibers consist of hollow tubes in which light is guided in a low index media (air) and confined by surrounding Bragg mirror stacks. In this work, structures with internal diameters from 5 to 30 microns have been fabricated and much larger structures should also be possible. We have demonstrated the fabrication of these structures with short wavelength band edges ranging from 400 to 1600nm. There may be potential applications for such structures in the fields of integrated optics and BioMEMS. We have also looked at the possibility of waveguiding in 3 dimensions by integrating defects into 3-dimensional photonic lattice structures. Eventually it may be possible to tune such structures by mechanically modulating the defects.

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Education and Training at SNL: Past and Present

Bomber, Thomas M.; Drewien, Celeste A.

The purpose of this review was to provide insights and information to Sandia National Laboratories' (SNL) Education Council on the state of technical education and training at SNL in order to address the concern that a change in philosophy surrounding education had occurred. To accomplish this, the status of current and past technical training and education programs were compared, and significant changes at SNL were assessed for their impact on education and training. Major changes in education and training are in the advertisement of course offerings, the course delivery methods, and the funding mechanisms for student and instructor time as well as course costs. The significant changes in SNL which influenced technical training and education are the considerable increase in mandatory or compliance training, a fundamental shift in SNL's management structure from an institutional structure to a more business-like, project-budgeted structure, and the change in SNL's mission at the end of the Cold War. These changes contributed to less time for technical training, reduction of training funds, elimination of some training, and a Service Center approach to paying for training. Most importantly, the overall combined effect has resulted in a shift from a strategic to a tactical training approach. The Corporate Training Department (CTD) has maneuvered to accommodate these changes and keep abreast of constantly changing needs.

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Results 91551–91600 of 100,993
Results 91551–91600 of 100,993
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