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Technology Transfer Opportunities – Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

UFTO

PROPRIETARY

Final Report

Technology Transfer Opportunities in the National Laboratories

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

Idaho Falls, ID

October 1995

Prepared for:

Utility Federal Technology Opportunities (UFTO)

By:

Edward Beardsworth

Consultant

 

This report is part of a series examining technology opportunities at National Laboratories of possible interest to electric utilities

 

Contents:
1. Summary
1 INEL Overview & Organization
3. INEL Technologies & Programs
17. INEL Contacts

Summary

This report details findings about technology and technology transfer opportunities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) that might be of strategic interest to electric utilities. It is based on a visit to INEL in August 1995, as part of the UFTO multiclient project.

Background

Noting the tremendous scope of research underway in the research facilities of the U.S. government, and a very strong impetus on the government’s part to foster commercial partnering with industry and applications of the technology it has developed, the UFTO program has been established as a multi-client study of the opportunities thus afforded electric utilities.

INEL Overview

INEL began as the National Reactor Testing Station in 1949, to provide an isolated location where various kinds of nuclear reactors and support facilities could be built and tested. By the early 50’s, they could build a reactor and have it operating in 1 – 2 years. A total of 52 reactors have been built, 3 of which are still in operation. It was renamed as a national laboratory in 1974, to reflect its expanding application of applied science and engineering to non nuclear research. The corporate culture emphasizes practical applied engineering approached with a strong “can-do” attitude.

INEL occupies nearly 900 sq. miles of eastern Idaho. The INEL Research Center is close to downtown Idaho Falls, and the main “Site” some 47 miles to the west. Total staffing is 7,500 people, nearly 3000 of which have engineering or science degrees. INEL has evolved into a multi-purpose laboratory, and no longer is focused exclusively on reactors, spent fuel and waste processing, though these continue to major driving forces.

Until October 1994, INEL was managed under parallel contracts with Westinghouse, EG&G and Babcock & Wilcox. When the contracts came up for renewal, INEL was part of the growing trend to put these contracts out for bid (most notably Sandia, which went from 25 years under AT&T to Martin Marietta the previous year).

Lockheed assembled a team called LITCO (Lockheed Idaho Technology Co.) that included Lockheed, Duke Engineering & Services, Rust International, Parsons Environmental Services, Thermo Electron Corp., Babcock and Wilcox, and Coleman Energy and Environmental Services, each bringing specialized experience to the table. Their winning proposal offered a dramatic shift from the traditional cost+fee structure to an incentive fee based on performance measures. One of these measures creates the strongest financial incentive yet seen in a federal lab for the commercialization and spin-off of technology. A lot of money is at stake — Lockheed will have a profit or loss depending on how well they perform.

In January of 1995, Lockheed’s merger with Martin Marietta created Lockheed Martin, putting the management of Oak Ridge, Sandia, and INEL all in one firm. LITCo became Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies (LMIT — which they do not want pronounced “limit” — I suggested “ell-mitt”).

In mid July, Lockheed Marietta announced the formation of a new “Energy and Environment Sector”, bringing into one group all of its DOE lab and facility management activities. This move is expected to have the three labs working much more closely together.

Technology Transfer at INEL

INEL/LMIT is pioneering some dramatically more aggressive approaches to technology transfer. Thermo Technology Ventures (TTV) is a new independent corporation, formed as part of the Lockheed proposal, by LMIT and Thermo Electron Corp, which is well known for its success in spinning off technology startup companies. (See October 9th issue of Forbes for story on Thermo Electron.)

TTV has two distinct roles: one is as a subcontractor to LMIT to do market assessments, entrepreneurial training, and initial business plans. In their second role, they will invest their own money, licensing INEL technologies, obtaining rights, and causing startups and ventures to happen. In a new twist, DOE has an opportunity for an equity interest in TTV. Also, LMIT can take an equity stake in a spinoff, along with license fees or royalties, some of which go to individual inventors.

Perhaps even more dramatic, INEL now has the Technology Exploitation Pilot Project (TEPP), designed to speed the flow of technology into the marketplace. Lockheed Martin was granted flexibility to operate beyond the constraints of current DOE policy and will seek flexibility to operate beyond the constraints of Federal policy and statutes to address contractor requirements for such things as speed, independence and continuity in partnering with American industry. INEL is the onle DOE laboratory implementing TEPP.

INEL Organization

LMIT/INEL’s organizational units include Environmental Operations, Nuclear Operations, Site Services, Business Administration, Human Resources, the President’s Office, and the Applied Engineering Development Laboratory. AEDL, the main focus of this report, has approximately 1400 people most of whom report administratively to the “Chief Engineer”, and are matrixed into “directorates”:

Systems Engineering Alternative Energy & Natural Resource Products

System Analysis & Simulation Products Research Products

End-Use Energy Efficiency Products Sensor Products

Environmental & Life Sciences Products Data Access Products

Advanced Nuclear Energy Products

AEDL also has a chief engineer and a chief scientist. Note the heavy use of the term “Products”. There is a strong emphasis at INEL on knowing who the “customer” is and defining the “product”.

• Alternative Energy & Natural Resource Products
Shirley Sandoz, Director, 208-526-4589

This group’s mission is to initiate and execute product programs in energy generation and distribution and natural resource management. It encompasses many of the items discussed in this report, and covers Sustainable Resources, Renewable Energy, Advanced Fossil Fuel, Power Systems, Agriculture and Food Products, and Mining and Mineral Products.
• Technology Transfer Office
This expanded group is headed by soon-to-be-announced vice president who comes from GM, and has three subunits: Technology Administration (TTV, patents, market research, technology evaluation, etc.); Partnerships (client development, licensing, CRADA negotiations, etc.); and the ORTA ( outreach). Contact: Steven Borror, Account Executive, 208-526-3883


INEL Technologies & Programs

Covered in this report:

Page

• Power System Engineering — Reliable Power Systems, Optical PT 4
• Intelligent Distribution Management System 5
• Advanced Fossil Fuel Products 6
• Industrial Biotechnology 7
• Environmental Assessment Technologies 8

Environmental Remediation

Characterization: Vegetation Mapping (GIS), Assessment Guide

• End-Use Energy Efficiency Products 9

Demand Control Ventilation System — “smart” ventilation

Software Tools for Flywheel Design

• Energy and Resource Recovery 9

Fluidized Bed User Test Facility

Re use of radioactive scrap metal

Supercritical Water Oxidation

CerMet filter catalytic destruction of NOx
• Risk Analysis and Management 10
• Human Factors 11
• Visualization 11
• Systems Engineering 12
• Applied Mechanics: Seismic and Structural Analysis Technology 13
• Materials/NDE 14
• Sensors 15
• Systems Dynamic Modeling 16

General Telephone # is (208) 526-0111

• Power System Engineering
Todd Renak, 208-526-8706

Develop, plan, design, test, etc. of electric power systems and associated control and data acquisition systems, supporting the INEL’s own power needs and those of military installations, together with work for DOE, NRC and private utilities.

Operation of the INEL’s power T&D system involves preventive and predictive maintenance, troubleshooting and repair, and design and implementation of major upgrades.

Reliable Power & Alternate Energy Systems Principally for DOD installations, provide technical support for safety and reliability of critical power supply systems, often in extreme remote locations. Design and specify UPS, control systems, integrated/renewable systems. One-of-a-kind engineering analysis and design. Most notable- for the USAF Space Command’s 50 early warning radar stations, which are responsible for first alert and can’t tolerate even the shortest outage, INEL does infrastructure planning and reliability assessments. Designed standby power system at Cape Canaveral. Did turn-key wind farm upgrade for Ascension Island. Gary Seifert, 208-526-9522

Optical PT — High Voltage meter is past proof of concept, and patent application is being prepared, so details are not available just yet. Works by measuring the electric field. Laser light passes through a length of optical fiber located adjacent to the conductor. The sensor package can be quite distant from the associated electronics, connected only by fiber optic cable. The basic idea is well known, but they’ve overcome major practical obstacles by finding a way to cancel out errors. They are also working on a DC version for use in electric vehicles. Contact Todd Renak, 208-526-8706, or Tom Sauerbrun, 208-526-8151.

Transformer Acoustic Emissions — INEL did experimental research on this for the US Naval Civilian Engineering Lab several years ago, and was able to detect acoustic emission correlated with partial discharge in a cast coil transformer. They are seeking funding internally to continue with this work.

While the original work was done on cast coil units, the sensors that were developed could be used just as well to monitor other systems. They would be cheap to make and could be made part of an integrated comprehensive substation monitoring system (i.e. IDMS).

Contact: Doug Freund, Principal Engineer 208-526-8062

• Intelligent Distribution Management System

The Intelligent Distribution Management System (IDMS) is a graphical control and management system used to automate power delivery at electrical substations, distribution equipment, and distributed generation sources from one or more centralized locations. This is a major advancement in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), offering many more capabilities and functions than existing systems. The IDMS is designed specifically to provide useful and real time information to dispatch operators, managers, billing department, and any operational support personnel who are responsible for operational improvements.

The IDMS combines essential SCADA features, new information technologies, and intelligent controls and diagnostics to provide these functions:

• Cheap reliable integrated system upgrade for substation monitoring and control, capable of unmanned remote operation, and able to use equipment currently in place,
• Supervisory control of remote distribution and generation equipment,
• Rapid detection, location, and isolation of faulted equipment without field personnel,
• Simplification and prioritization of system alarm data during upset conditions,
• Automated set point change control of protective relays and tap changer where required for diverse load and stability profiles,
• Establish distribution equipment performance signatures and anticipated failure trending,
• Schedule preventative maintenance based upon degraded performance signatures,
• Load trending and forecasting,
• Automated metering and billing,
• Transparent interfaces with existing corporate information systems,
• PC-based system suitable for long term (>10 year) manufacturer/maintenance support,
• Easy interfaces with a wide variety of equipment from different manufacturers .

 

The IDMS provides all of the functionality associated with conventional SCADA systems plus real time access to maintenance management information. The base IDMS is comprised of:
• Graphical user interface software,
• A suite of embedded control software applications,
• A suite of expert system and neural network diagnostic applications integrated to operate on PC-based operator interface stations, and with commercially available field control equipment (i.e., programmable logic controllers, remote terminal units, or imbedded controllers with attached field equipment).

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), with its own distribution system and SCADA , is very knowledgeable about power control technologies, and has developed new technology for DOE and US Air Force to overcome existing product deficiencies. Hence, the INEL developed the IDMS to replace its own aging SCADA system. The system controls and monitors the 138kV (60 MVA total, 40 MVA peak) transmission and distribution system at the INEL via seven substations, spread over 895 square miles of high desert (4900 ft) and severe and variable weather conditions.

The INEL has targeted the Intelligent Distribution Management System as a candidate for commercialization by industry. The INEL development team is also interested in forming a private spin-off company to provide computer system integration services in support of the IDMS. Discussions are under way with several major electrical equipment suppliers who are interested in this technology as a new product offering for the electrical utility industry.

Doug Freund, Principal Engineer 208-526-8062 fax 208-526-2818 FCD@inel.gov
Todd Renak, Product Manager 208-526-8706 fax 208-526-2818 TWR@inel.gov
Tom Sauerbrun, Program Manager 208-526-8151 fax 208-526-4313 TS6@inel.gov

 

• Advanced Fossil Fuel Products

Richard Rice, Manager, 208-526-1992 David Weinberg, 208-526-4274

This is a relatively new program at INEL, formed in recent years to pull together a number of related activities across the lab, with increasing connections in the oil & gas industries. Principal areas are:

Oil & Gas Exploration and Production — downhole tools, sensor and measurement systems, strategic studies and enhanced recovery — cross well seismic tomography (increasing the number of receivers to 100 from the currently typical three to five); gas-to-liquids conversion of North Slope production (to dilute heavy crude and keep the pipeline full); microbially enhanced oil recovery.

Refineries — LIFE EXTENSION and operating cost reduction, based on INEL’s long experience in doing this for their own reactors. NOTE: refineries have very similar problems and goals as power plants — extend life, improve efficiency, minimize wastes, increase reliability and reduce operating costs. Oil companies are beginning to embrace these goals more actively. See discussion below on applicability of INEL capabilities to power plants and other complex systems.

Other refinery related work deals with processing, e.g. handling heavier higher sulfur fuels, separations, improved catalysts, process modeling. Also measurements and control, e.g. measurement of feedstock chemical composition in real time (directly relevant to power plants, especially coal), leak detection, multi phase metering, and in-service inspection techniques.

Natural Gas Conversion to liquid — to make gas reserves in remote areas economically transportable. Lab results of unique thermal plasma/rapid quench process demonstrate 90% single-pass conversion of methane to acetylene (2x the next-best technology), which can then be catalytically upgraded to higher fuels. Contact: Dick Rice 208-526-1992

Upgrade Process for Heavy Oil and Residuum — uses novel submerged arc. Lab demo of cracking with H2 and CH4. CRADA with Philips. Studying energy balance and economics.

Natural Gas Vehicles — technology to accelerate deployment of NGVs. Evaluating LNG hardware reliability and utility, developing fleet performance data, identifying R&D needs. Demo fleet of converted INEL vehicles & LNG buses. Testbed for compressors and liquifiers. Starting with CNG portable fleet scale fueling system. Contact: Dick Rice 208-526-1992

Inorganic Membranes — INEL has developed a line of inorganic polymer membranes called polyphosphazenes, based on nitrogen and phosphorus rather than carbon, which have better chemical resistance and can operate at higher temperature than organic polymer membranes. These materials have a very versatile chemistry and can be customized for a wide range of applications, such as dehydrating organic liquids, recovering textile dyes from alcohol solutions, and possibly separating SO2 from N2, CO2 from methane, or H2S from methane.

Contact Mark Stone, 208-526-8664

• Industrial Biotechnology

LaMar Johnson, Manager, Biotechnologies Dept., 208-526-1157

Over 60 scientists and engineers, and extensive laboratory and engineering test facilities. Active with agriculture, chemical manufacture, energy, food processing, forest products, mineral processing, mining and transportation industries.

Bioprocessing of Coal — direct attack on the inorganic pyrite sulfur, applying a commercialized “bug” used for desulfurizing oil and coal. Italy has a pilot scale plant, but US coal companies not interested in doing test scale project. INEL has 100 lb./day test facility, but it’s difficult and expensive to do a bioreactor cheaply enough to be practical ($2-10 per ton). Utility interest might get it going again.

Solubility and Depolymerization of Coal — with biocatalysts to convert it to a more valuable fuel and feedstock. Microbial alkali-mediated solubilization would be particularly applicable to lignites. Microorganisms also can remove metal ions and make the coal more soluble in water. Depolymerization could conceivably turn coal into a feedstock for ethanol production, analogous to the bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass.

Biofiltration of NOx and SOx from combustion gases, passing vapors thru a glorified compost. Temperature is critical. Experimental benchtop stage. NOx effort already in a CRADA with a vendor and a utility. Biocube (tm) is an “R&D 100” winner, commercialized by EG&G ROTRON gas phase bioprocessor converts organic (e.g. gasoline) vapors with microbes to CO2 and H2 up to 50 m3/minute. Contact: Bill Apel, 208-526-1783

Biofuel Feedstocks — INEL is part of a 4 lab consortium with ORNL, NREL and ANL. INEL’s role emphasizes economic projections and genetic engineering of microbes, with emphasis on feedstocks for producing higher value products (i.e. not just ethanol!).

Contact: Bill Apel, 208-526-1783

• Environmental Assessment Technologies

INEL espouses a systems approach to natural resource management, and has developed a concept for partnerships with federal and state agencies to bring consistency and integration to data gathering and analysis that feed into policy development and management programs.

Environmental Remediation — The goal is to develop technology to reduce costs by resolving environmental issues, in bioremediation, biofiltration, water treatment, sensor systems and modeling. Some highlights:

Restore Soils/solids contaminated w/ organic compounds using benign solvents. Separate organics from soils, gravel, sludges. Best for heavy oils and MFG sites. Low cost, efficient, modular, on-site. Commercialization is in process for a truck mounted system.

Contact: Greg Bala 208-526-8178

Passive Soil Vapor Extraction uses a check valve on a well head, and makes use of changes in atmospheric pressure to speed removal. For use at a site after vacuum extraction. Cheap and easy. In one current test, 2,300 cu. ft/day of soil gas containing 300 grams/day of solvent are being vented. The full scale demonstration started in FY96. Currently looking for additional sites. Contact: Wayne Downs 208-526-0754

Phytoremediation uses plants to absorb contaminants (e.g. salts) from the soil.
Contact: Melanda Hamilton, 208-526-0948

Characterization: (Center for Integrated Environmental Technologies)
Contact Bob Breckenridge 208-526-0757

Vegetation Mapping (GIS) — includes principal component analysis of Landsat data and integration with USGS maps, with field verification to do some reclassifications. Useful for long term monitoring and assessment of habitat diversity, extent and condition, and for planning management strategies.

Site Assessment and Restoration — a practical approach has been developed to identify important environmental concerns that need to be addressed during exploration, development and restoration of a site. It also can be applied to previously developed sites, and should improve the relationship between developers and regulators. It incorporates understanding of important ecological and environmental concepts, working to maximize the ecological potential rather than attempt to restore a site that has been denuded of native ecological resources.

In one major application on Air Quality in Class 1 Wilderness Areas in the Northwest (for the “Western Energy Storage and Transmission Consortium” involving which includes several utilities), a Kepner-Tregoe decision technique was used to develop criteria and evaluate indicators to assess potential associations between utility emissions and the air quality and condition of ecological resources in Class I wilderness areas. The significance of this is that by-the-book compliance with all monitoring requirements would be both absurdly expensive and unproductive, and a more pragmatic and scientifically credible program would be far preferable for all concerned.

• End-Use Energy Efficiency Products

Demand Control Ventilation System (DCVS) — “smart” ventilation

Indoor Air Quality is a growing concern to commercial/industrial customers and building owners, and the current ASHRAE standard 62-89 is energy intensive and has high first and operational costs, as the only way currently to meet standards is with high air-change rates.

Using internal R&D funds, INEL has begun an initiative to develop systems of hardware, software, sensors and controls that would monitor actual levels of CO2, NO2, SO2, VOCs, humidity, etc., and thereby set ventilation rates to control actual air quality rather than at arbitrary high rates. Also, other specific countermeasures can be undertaken.

INEL is looking for HVAC and other industrial partners and utility collaborators, to help advance this concept as a new aspect of “smart buildings”.

Contact is: Jane Clemmensen, 208-526-2915

Software Tools for Flywheel Design — INEL is proposing to develop special application of finite element analysis and flywheel design optimization software, to reduce design and prototyping costs. INEL would license the software to flywheel developers and use it in-house, as part of a positioning strategy to become an independent test lab. Jane Clemmensen, 208-526-2915

• Energy and Resource Recovery, John Collins, Manager, 208-526-3372

Fluidized Bed User Test Facility — INEL’s process steam plant (135,000 lb/hr) is the only test facility of its size and type in the DOE system. In partnership with NREL, RW Beck and Solid Waste Integrated Systems, they’ve done test cofiring of pelletized waste paper with coal. Extensive capabilities exist to perform test burns for other alternative fuels. Private users can contract to do burn characterization and emission studies.

Re use of radioactive scrap metal — DOE has over 200,000 tons, and utilities could generate as much as 200,000 tons over the next 20 years. In 8/94, INEL formed the Northwest Consortium with PGE (Trojan) and SMUD (Rancho Seco) to reduce the cost of decommissioning. They have developed a process of melting the material, with most radiative components going into slag. The recovered metal is fabricated into low level waste containers, multi-purpose canisters and other applications where residual radioactivity is not an issue. Overall costs for disposal of irradiated metal should be dramatically lower than other disposal options. In fact, utilities could form a consortium to use INEL’s own scrap metal!

Supercritical Water Oxidation — Water at 3200 psi and 700 F is used to destroy organic materials. INEL has a benchscale unit, and several commercial companies have pilot plants. Some practical problems remain to be solved. INEL has led the DOE effort to develop this technique to treat hazardous mixed waste. With INEL’s unique off gas treatment, the processes boasts near zero discharge (“closed cycle”), and is being actively pursued for application for pulp and paper sludge, halogenated hydrocarbons, and radioactive organic resins. An international symposium sponsored by DOE/EM and organized by INEL was held in Florida in February, and proceedings are available.

CerMet filter catalytic destruction of NOx — at bench-scale research stage, in collaboration with a paper company, to remove corrosive fly ash which fouls black liquor recovery boilers. Being tested to catalytically destroy NOx and SOx generated by these boilers. The filters, made of intermetallics and ceramic oxides, will be cheap to make and have high thermal shock and oxidation resistance.
• Risk Analysis and Management

Tim Leahy, Manager, Nuclear Risk Management Technologies, 208-526-4944

Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) — INEL is internationally known and respected for its work in risk assessment, which applies equally well to non-nuclear facilities as to nuclear ones. INEL does all PRA training for the NRC and DOE. PRA involves the identification of plant vulnerabilities and potential safety enhancements, distinguishing what is important. This helps build risk-basedarguments to work with regulators to, for example, avoid a shutdown on a technicality, and to develop less costly ways to reach a given level of safety.

Reliability, Availability, Maintainability (RAM) Analysis — Reduces the time that critical systems are non-operable. INEL has a package of methods and software tools for RAM Engineering, most of which are not licensed to nuclear utilities (Yet! — ways will be found to handle the potential conflict of interest, as this work is chiefly done for the NRC.) In the meantime, there’s nothing to stop application by utilities to non-nuclear facilities.

RELAP5 is an exception, in that there is widespread use by utilities (the utility user’s group costs $5K/year) as well as by the NRC and groups around the world. Developed at INEL, it predicts thermal hydraulic behavior in power plants (transient multiphase, multi-component flow and energy transfer in complex piping and vessel systems, with additional modules for pumps, turbines, valves, etc.). It has even been used to model blood flow, and is a later version of EPRI’s RETRAN code.

Safety and Hazards Assessment — chemical, physical, machinery — identify accident sequence precursors.

Increased Capacity Factors — is the goal of several ongoing programs. INEL is collaborating with MIT in a Chemistry Consortium, doing research on increasing the time between refueling outages of nuclear plants. There is also work in reactor physics to find ways to modify surveillance intervals and technical specifications, and then to work with regulators to change regulations.

Plant Life Extension — INEL has extensive experience, especially having dealt with its own special purpose reactors. PRAISE is probabilistic fracture mechanics software. LWR aging studies. (see below)

Operator licensing exams – In the past, INEL has always done this for NRC, however the responsibility is now being turned over to licensees. INEL maintains a question bank, specific to each reactor type in the country, and could continue to support this activity directly

RELAP5 Simulator — In current training simulators, the modeling of extreme accidents is not as detailed as it might be, and can lead to unrealistic situations. INEL is forming a CRADA with a vendor to develop a simulator that would use RELAP5, with SCDAP severe accident code taking over the simulation of the plant behavior after a fuel melt. Utilities could get involves early in this program. Contact Jim Bryce, 208-526-8231.

There is a significant trend towards risk-based regulation, and towards a more collaborative and less confrontational relationship between plant operators and regulators. Licensees/ operators who understand this and learn how to make it work for them will save money. INEL is a technical advisor to the NRC, which has done two policy papers outlining this concept. Licensees have an opportunity to maximize the value of this to themselves, and to propose new maintenance plans based on their recent IPEs (individual plan examination)

• Human Factors Contact: Harold Blackman, 208-526-0245

INEL has 15 human factors professionals on staff, who do programs for the NRC, DOE, DOD, Coast Guard, NASA and increasingly for industry, especially oil & gas. The key is to define the human’s role and optimize his performance in “Human-Centered Systems Analysis.” Other tasks include design and evaluation of the human-machine interface, and the development of selection and training criteria for specific jobs. It is very much multi-disciplinary, involving psychology, industrial engineering (ergonomics), organizational development, life sciences, criminology, and nuclear and systems engineering.

Principal research topics at INEL include interface (GUI) design, human reliability/error analysis, incident investigations, and study of the effects of advanced technology on human performance.

NUCLARR (Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability), is a database for probabilistic risk assessment that includes human error probabilities as well as hardware failure data, and allows full treatment of human performance along with hardware performance in PRAs. Originally funded by the NRC, it is now owned by INEL, which maintains it on behalf of a paying user’s group of utilities and engineering firms. Contact is Wendy Reece, 208-526-9933

Also for the NRC, programs include risk impact of new technologies (e.g. are new technologies necessarily better?), modeling and evaluation of human performance in medical applications, and detailed human factors events investigations at commercial nuclear power plants.

For DOE there is work in safety analysis at DOE facilities, display design and development, and human reliability analysis. For the US Coast Guard, INEL developed taxonomies and methods for event investigations, and for the Air Force, they applied verbal protocol analysis in the development of cognitive models for pilot situation awareness.

Human-computer interface design, there is experience and knowledge that can make an important difference towards optimizing performance. For example, dark lettering on a light background is far preferable to the reverse, which nevertheless is too often used. INEL provides guidance in the design of CRT displays and the design of the control room for the advanced test reactor.

• Visualization Eric Greenwade, 208-526-1276

Visual presentation of data is a tool for communication which attempts to take advantage of the very high “bandwidth” of human vision and thereby present information in a meaningful way and permit “data exploration” of large amounts of data. Visualization is thus a data reduction process in itself. INEL has developed an Integrated Visualization Environment (IVE) which allows the rapid building of visual interface applications into systems.

• Systems Engineering Finis Southworth 208-526-8150

Lockheed’s proposal to DOE to manage INEL presented two major themes: one was commercialization, and the other was systems engineering. Systems Engineering is at the heart of Lockheed Martin’s entire approach to management. It has a long history as a codified set of practices, and is common in the aerospace industry. When Lockheed took over at INEL, a Systems Engineering Directorate was set up, drawing together pockets of expertise from around INEL and bringing in some talent from Lockheed itself.

Why do it? In INEL’s own words:
1. So we never do anything without a reason (and have traceability)
2. So we do what we’re required to do, and know what’s in and out of scope (so the customer knows exactly what to expect)
3. So we do a complete system version of the job (dealing with everything that can affect the main focus)
4. So we emphasize only important factors and influences
5. So we “control” all factors which affect success or failure (control all inputs and outputs, and understand all risks to success)

 

What are the Steps?
1. Define requirements (customer needs)
2. Define Functional system
3. Synthesize/Create Approaches
4. Trade off risks and benefits of different approaches
5. Validate by measuring how well each requirement was met

As practiced by Lockheed and now by INEL, Systems Engineering would appear to be very similar to the standard sorts of project management techniques, but on closer inspection it clearly goes much further.

One major success– In 1988 the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board got the job to oversee DOE’s nuclear facilities. It’s tiger teams made visits and put together the review report “94-1 Stabilizing Nuclear Fuels.” But DOE had no way to respond to the recommendations. At that point, DOE was given the lead responsibility, and INEL was hired to do a systems engineering analysis. Their Technical Requirements Document was issued in mid 1995, and a process is now on track. This performance led to INEL being selected recently to perform a similar function following the issuance of “94-2” on Low Level Nuclear Waste.

INEL has recently been contacted by several major utilities to look into the feasibility of applying systems engineering principles instrategic planning during deregulation.

Activity Based Costing (ABC)

ABC is another basic management tool which enjoys growing popularity among many of the largest corporations. In simplest terms, it identifies core business processes, activities and tasks, and then determines their cost. It then goes on to identify the products and services provided to customers by each process, and then determines the value added content, outputs, and cost drivers for each. Importantly, it cuts across organizational boundaries. One very interesting feature is the careful distinction it provides between mandated, vs. non-mandated, and value-adding vs. non-value-adding activities. Non-mandated non-value-adding activities should be the first candidates for elimination in any cost cutting or re-engineering program.

INEL has a methodology and analysis software to support ABC, and is currently supporting several studies and has responded to requests by utilities who want to reduce non-value added costs.
• Applied Mechanics: Seismic and Structural Analysis Technology

A. G. (Jack) Ware, Principal Engineer 208-526-1267

R. L. Bratton, Staff Engineer, 208-526-1579

Staff of 25 engineers with range of expertise and experience for structural evaluation. All engineering mechanics analysis techniques, both fluid and solid. Structural and stress analyses applicable to concrete, steel, foundations, explosions, earthquake effects, bridges, buildings and components. Frequent participants in national standards committees.

Design and Analysis — capabilities for design and project management. Tools include solids modeling (state of the art finite element models, visualization, interference assessment), thermal and stress modeling (linear and nonlinear, large and small deformation, high temperature, fracture mechanics, finite element models e.g. ABAQUS).

Field portable vibration test equipment used in U.S., Germany and Taiwan. Played a key role in changing pipe damping parameters ins the ASME code, reducing the requirements for piping hardware. Array of experimental mechanics test equipment, such as shaker tables, etc.

Capabilities have been applied to blasts (e.g. armor vs. ordnance) fatigue, seismic, preservice qualification, failure analysis, NDE and other consulting activities.

NRC Fatigue Action Plan — INEL reviewed fatigue analyses of critical components in 7 nuclear power plants, applied newly developed curves accounting of environmental effects, and was able to remove conservatisms in some instances, and evaluate implications for plant life extension.

Seismic — design, analysis and test of fuel storage racks, plant walkdowns around the world, and seismic qualification. Damage assessment and prevention. Regulatory compliance.

Failure Analysis and prevention — root cause analysis for steam explosive pipe rupture, predicting bearing failure through condition monitoring, vibration failures of small pipes.

 

• Materials/Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE)

James Seydel, Manager, Materials Physics Dept., 208-526-600

NDE at INEL involves the application of a wide variety of techniques (acoustic, optical, vibration, etc.) to systems ranging from buildings to a textile fiber.

Laser Acoustic Sensors — Non-contact ultrasound and vibration sensing via laser can examine hot pipes, tanks, etc. in process. Can measure depth of molten metal pool (patented). Working with oil companies to look at corrosion and fracture phenomena; with EPRI in pipe inspection; and with the steel industry in the intelligent processing of castings, on-line inspection of slabs and coils, measuring temperature continuously in massive steel melts, and detecting slag carryover during basic oxygen furnace tapping.

Lifetime Extension — INEL has extensive experience beginning with the operation of their own reactor facilities under conditions different from design, and extending to the Advanced Test Reactor, commercial plants, and oil refineries. The approach begins with a detailed review of all components and systems, followed by a prioritization based on importance (cost of repair, impact on safety and availability, etc.). The next phase examines all that is known about these components (operating history, records, NDE, etc.) and an analysis of possible failure mechanisms. When specific data is lacking, e.g. for old materials, proxy data are sought. All degradation processes are considered (embrittlement, fatigue, corrosion, erosion, etc.), along with whatever processes were not considered in the original design.

The research approach to plant life extension involves:
– Quantify of fracture toughness as result of time-at-temperature
– Correlate changes in fracture toughness with NDE results or sample measurements
– Develop procedures for predicting end-of-life
– Establish weld repair practices for aged materials
– Develop NDE sensing techniques for use on-line (high temperature) and during scheduled maintenance to monitor aging materials, as noted earlier. They pioneered automated transducer systems in the 1970’s, and commercialized the AMDATA system with EPRI in the 80’s

INEL has long experience with Lifetime Extension Sensors development, e.g. for on-line crack propagation, fracture toughness measurement, and large components and structures

Welding Vision System — novel way to diagnose welding problems. A very short ( 10 microsec.) laser pulse swamps out the welding arc, and a synchronized video camera gets a clear view of the weld spot.

NDE — INEL reviews utilities’ Section 11 plans for the NRC, so they can’t work directly for commercial nuclear power plants, but the expertise is applicable in other areas, such as fossil power. Extensive programs are underway with the oil industry, whose refineries have many of the same issues as power plants — aging equipment and a need to reduce costs, increase reliability and safety, and extend operating life. INEL’s capability may be less well known than they should, as they tend to publish in journals not typically read in the utility industry.

• Sensors

Jack Slater, Department Manager, Optical and Plasma Physics, 208-526-7544

This group works on Optical measurement and sensing, and on plasmas for waste stream processing and corrosion/wear resistant coatings.

Optical sensing uses colormetic coatings for process control when the chemical of interest is known; spectroscopy for general chemical analysis, and interferometry for positional measurements, e.g., for stress field visualization. Optical sensors have some very desirable characteristics: they can be used in-situ and in real time; they can withstand harsh environments, and tend to be self calibrating. The overlap of INEL’s capabilities with the needs of the utility industry include: air emissions monitoring, T&D sensors (see above optical PT), incipient failure sensors, large sensor arrays, and material degradation history.

Oil Leak Detector uses an optical fiber that can be distributed over a large area or distance and detect the presence and location of an oil leak. Initiated for oil pipeline applications, it promises high sensitivity, and should be considered for use with oil-filled cable, transformers and other equipment.

Moiré Interferometry — novel technique can visualize stress field and history of a sample

Particulate Analysis — system identifies chemical composition and size of dust particles — will be demonstrated at a buried waste remediation site to provide immediate indication of the presence of heavy metals.

High Speed Gas Spectrometer — all solid state system developed for DOE’s Energy Management program for use during remediation digs, is being demoed at the Mound Site. There are no commercialization plans as yet for this all solid state portable system.

• Systems Dynamic Modeling
Michael Bray, Manager, Infrastructure Analysis Products 208-526-4714
Donald Sebo, 208-526-4467

Systems Dynamics, first popularized in the 70’s by Forrester at MIT and more recently by Peter Senge in the “Fifth Discipline”, analyzes behavior over time of a system as a whole, rather than as isolated parts.

In complex systems, obvious solutions often fail to produce intended results and may produce unintended side effects; cause and effect may not be closely related in time; the effects of feedback over time are not intuitive, and there is resistance to change often resulting from feedback loops. Policy formation requires an understanding of these dynamics–an archtypical example–building freeways to relieve traffic congestion has the opposite effect.

The system modeling process proceeds from a statement of the problem and definition of its scope, customers and stakeholders and their decision frameworks. A causal loop diagram is developed based on the system and its dynamic drivers — those influences that impact its current and future behavior.

Often, the diagram “model” is sufficient to bring important new insights and identify strategies, however it is also possible to mathematize the model and create a “simulation” to get detailed predictions and scenarios. Of course, “soft” variables can be difficult to quantify. There are a number of generic software packages that INEL uses, depending on the application.

INEL has applied these techniques to revitalization of nuclear power, spent nuclear fuel, and intermodal transportation at the Port of Lewiston, and have done simulations for INEL’s own transportation/fleet systems, waste streams, and EIS alternatives. They’ve also studied the national high level waste issue and alternate fuel vehicles.

Success depends on realizing that simulations are best used for learning rather than precise predictions; that model building is a process and not something to produce “answers”; that the users/customers must be involved in the process; and that everyone must keep biases and assumptions clearly in mind.

Applications in the Utility Industry — there are many areas that could benefits from this kind of analysis, such as customer retention, impact of regulatory changes, vehicles fleet standards, impact of new technologies (fuel cells, alternate fuels, etc.), distributed generation, and corporate re-engineering.

Interestingly, the DOE Idaho Field Office is working with DOE headquarters in an attempt to get a handle on the possible outcomes of utility industry competition and restructuring, but they’re having a hard time getting a clear picture. Different utility companies have dramatically different outlooks and plans for their own strategic directions, and industry observers likewise have widely ranging views of what is and will be happening. The results of the study will be used in part to determine what research projects will be funded by DOE in future years. This effort offers utilities a way to input their ideas about DOE research priorities!

Larry Redd, DOE Idaho Operations Field Office, 208-526-5288.

INEL Contacts (general phone # is 208-526-0111)
The primary contacts for UFTO are:
Tom Sauerbrun, Utility Program Manager,
208-526-8151, fax 208-526-4313, ts6@inel.gov

Technology Transfer:
Steven Borror, Account Executive, Technology Transfer Office
208-526-3883, fax 208-526-0953, swb@inel.gov

Information Source Contacts:
Office of Public Affairs : Greg Ossmann, 208-526-4436

This report is proprietary and confidential. It is for internal use by personnel of companies that are subscribers in the UFTO multi-client program. It is not to be otherwise copied or distributed except as authorized in writing.

Technology Transfer Opportunities – Pacific Northwest Laboratory


UFTO

PROPRIETARY

Final Report

Technology Transfer Opportunities in the National Laboratories

Pacific Northwest Laboratory

Richland, WA

August 1995

Prepared for:

Utility Federal Technology Opportunities (UFTO)

By:

Edward Beardsworth

Consultant

 

This report is part of a series examining technology opportunities at National Laboratories of possible interest to electric utilities

Contents:

1. Summary
2 PNL Organization
3. PNL Technologies & Programs
14. PNL Contacts

 

 

This report is proprietary and confidential. It is for internal use by personnel of companies that are subscribers in the UFTO multi-client program. It is not to be otherwise copied or distributed except as authorized in writing.

 

Summary

 This report details findings about technology and technology transfer opportunities at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL)that might be of strategic interest to electric utilities. It is based on a visit to PNL in March 1995, as part of the UFTO multiclient project, and on extensive contacts with PNL to track the major changes there between April and August.

Background

Noting the tremendous scope of research underway in the research facilities of the U.S. government, and a very strong impetus on the government’s part to foster commercial partnering with industry and applications of the technology it has developed, the UFTO program has been established as a multi-client study of the opportunities thus afforded electric utilities.

PNL Overview

The Richland “Tri-Cities” area is home to a number of reactor and weapons materials production facilities, the first of which was the Hanford Site, established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan project. The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is a separate multipurpose federal laboratory operated for the DOE by the Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI). Battelle, founded in the 1920’s as a not-for profit, also operates its own laboratory at its headquarters in Columbus OH. BMI took over the management of PNL as a “GOCO” (government owned contractor operated) in 1965. PNL has over 4000 people and a budget of $500 million/year, although downsizing and budget cuts are underway.

PNL’s GOCO arrangement is unique in having two kinds of contracts with DOE. One, called “1830”, is just like other DOE labs, with the usual direct funded work for DOE, work for others, CRADAs, licensing etc. The second type of contract, called “1831”, enables PNL to perform strictly commercial proprietary work for private industry, paying a use fee to DOE for the use of the facilities and overhead. 1831 programs comprise less than 10% of the total activity at PNL, and involve slightly higher rates together with the better business terms for outside clients.

Commercialization is strongly encouraged at PNL, as is multi disciplinary harvesting and reapplication of results and technology from across all areas of the lab, including “black” programs.

Several years ago, PNL made a specific long term commitment to energy, investing its own lab-directed funds (LDRD) and Battelle’s IR&D in such areas as EMF mitigation and Real Time Control of Power Systems. The primary focus has moved distinctly away from generation, and towards T&D and end-use, with continuing strong emphasis on environmental impacts and restoration and on planning and analysis.

PNL’s core competencies relevant to energy include:

Energy Systems Research: Power Systems, distributed utilities, automated diagnostics

Process Technology: Polymer coatings, reaction engineering, and process design tools

Integrated Environmental Assessment: EMF Effects, Global Modeling, Oil & Gas Cleanup.

PNL’s approach to the utility industry, which it has specifically identified as a major program direction, is to support enhanced asset utilization in the near term while preparing a leadership role in the “utility of the future”, involving real time control, distributed utility, new products, and risk/strategic environmental management.

PNL’s Commercial and Industrial efforts already have a long history with the gas industry (GRI and gas/combination utilities), working on pipelines, appliances, etc. and providing product development and commercialization support, problem solving, life/prediction/failure mode analysis, efficient repair technology, and safety and inspection technology.

PNL Organization

PNL has just completed (July 1995) a major reorganization and downsizing (with the help of McKinsey), eliminating nearly 2/3 of the upper management, and going to more of a line organization. (The “Technical Centers,” matrixed with “Business Directorates,” are no longer.) In the new order of things, “lines of business” are the major focus, drawing on personnel and capabilities across the lab, to address their particular sectors.

The technical Divisions are: Environmental and Energy Sciences, Environmental Technology, Energy, Health, National Security, and Emerging Technologies. These divisions each have a number of departments. The names of both divisions and departments are in many cases not a good indication of what goes on in them, so the best strategy for an outsider is to rely on a personal point of contact to reach the personnel and resources that are appropriate to a given topic.

PNL is strengthening its already substantial commitment (including internally funded development projects) to expanding the commercial side of the business, and seeks increased contact with private industry. The Energy Division might better be called the “Commercial and Industrial Division”. Merwin Brown, formerly of PG&E, now heads the Energy Technology Department and Line of Business, which indicates PNL’s resolve to serve the utility industry. They of course will draw on people and talents across the entire lab to meet the needs of utility clients.

PNL’s Utility Strategy

PNL and its parent, Battelle Memorial Institute, have provided significant R&D contributions to the utility industry over the past several decades. BMI is the largest contractor to GRI, and PNL alone currently serves over 30 utility clients with a range of products and services. In addition to utility support, PNL provides support to DOE’s Office of Utility Programs. PNL’s energy strategy has identified the deregulation sweeping the utility industry as a key driver for technology needs over the next several decades. In response, PNL has increased its emphasis on the needs of the utility industry. PNL’s utility industry has two primary foci:

1. Help increase asset utilization in gas and electric utilities, and

2. Provide technology leadership in distributed energy systems.

PNL’s offerings for utilities include:

• Advanced power systems, transmission and distribution technologies and services

• Operations and Maintenance technologies and services

• Technology development and competitive analysis for new energy products and services

• Environmental Management

• Organizational Effectiveness assistance

[UFTO’s contact is Carl Imhoff, who reports to Merwin Brown.]

PNL Technologies & Programs

 

Covered in this report:

Page

  • Decision Support for Plant Operation & Maintenance (DSOM) 4
  • Process Science & Engineering — Electrochemical Processes 5
  • Power Systems 6
  • Federal Emergency Management Information System (FEMIS) 8
  • Building Energy Standards Program 8
  • Sensors 9
  • Coatings and Thin Films 10
  • Planning & Analysis 11
  • Strategic Environmental Management 12
  • Environmental Technologies 12
  • Waste Fate & Transport 12
  • Fisheries and Water Resources 13
  • Operational Effectiveness 13

• Decision Support for Plant Operation & Maintenance (DSOM)
Principal Investigators: Don Jarrell 509-372-4096
Dick Meador 509-372-4098

PNL has fully developed this AI software system that provides on-line engineering expertise to assist operators and maintenance personnel. It uses a proven root-cause analysis methodology, RCM techniques, plant aging experience and advanced instrumentation technology, all in an easy to use GUI package.

The first major application, in use at two military bases for theircentral heating plants, is saving $ millions in the first year alone. (The Marine Corp had asked them to help with aging, poorly performing plants, based on PNL’s earlier work on root cause analysis for the military.)

A second application, already developed, is a Pump Motor Diagnostic Model, that provides operators (not engineers) with diagnostics that recognize stresses early, before failure. It uses fuzzy logic and neural net analysis of existing sensor data.

The capabilities appear to go well beyond anything else that is commercially offered, providing a far more sophisticated and complete solution.

A brochure on DSOM (pronounced “dee som”) is available from PNL:

  • A new service business opportunity for utilities — putting this system in at commercial and industrial central heating facilities (a typical site requires several man months to set up). It’s all ready to go.
    The capability could be applied to any process, utility or customer’s. PNL could help develop applications.
    Applicable to utility power plant operations.
    Perhaps a good place to start a T&D RCM development.

• Process Science & Engineering
Electrochemical Processes Ed Baker (Principal Investigator) 509-376-1494

Waste Acid Recovery

Based on the development of a polymer heat exchanger that can withstand 200 ˚C, this is a commercially available system that recovers process acids, and separates metals from waste streams. It is already in use in a few places, and is very broadly applicable, e.g. to galvinizers, platers, and innumerable other industrial processes. It would help keep a customer competitive, by reducing waste disposal costs.

The vendor is Viatec Recovery Systems, in Hastings MI and Richland WA. They are small, and would probably be interested in some kind of teaming to give them access to markets and capital.

Alkox

Alkane oxidation for partial conversion of methane to methanol. Catalyst is regenerated electrochemically. Could help fill in the summer slump for natural gas demand, making oxygenate for gasoline. Also use at oil wellhead, to capture flared gas. Needs $300-500K for proof of concept. (pat. pend.)

Near Critical Water Oxidation

(TEES, for thermochemical environment and energy system) converts organics to methane and CO2 with high pressure, high temperature water–both energy production and cleanup! Applicable to aqueous waste streams with organics, e.g. food processors could lower costs and even do some cogeneration. Sludges and slurries OK. There’s a small licensee in Southern California.

Supercritical CO2 cleaning —

replaces solvents (e.g. CFCs, carbon tet, trichlor, etc.) The trick is to recover energy during pressurization/depressurization. A DOE funded demo is going in at a foundry in Portland, OR, and a transportable demonstration unit for parts cleaning is on the road, traveling to trade shows. No licensee as yet.

Catalysts by design

For example, membranes reactor to generate hydrogen from methane, avoiding the need for a reformer — important implications for PEM fuel cells.

• Power Systems

Landis Kannberg, Program Manager, 509-375-3919
John DeSteese, Sr. Research Engineer, 509-375-2057
John Hauer, Sr. Program Manager, 509-375-4340

PNL has a long history in RD&D for power systems. They had an active role in power systems since the 70’s, working closely with EPRI and with BPA. Earlier work included studies like estimating the savings from improved voltage regulation, distribution system modernization, evaporative cooling of underground transmission, and future trend assessment for DOE.

More recently, they have been involved in superconductor applications, the distributed utility concept, advanced computation particularly for transmission system dynamic analysis, and a range of special studies, including one on the need for power in the former soviet union.

Superconducting Transformer Evaluation with HTSCs … takes the view that discrete devices like transformers are a better application of superconductors than transmission lines. They found that HTSC transformers would be viable even with a conventional HTSC stability design, in the 30-1000 MVA range. ABB will build one in Europe next year. A likely early justification would be for use as a transportable spare.

PNL suggests an interesting first step: start by cooling an existing conventional Cu transformer with liquid nitrogen, gaining a 2x increase in power density. The next step is to redesign.

(A preprint is available from DeSteese, titled “High Temperature Superconducting Transformer Evaluation”).

Distributed Utility (DU) … PNL was part of the group (with EPRI, NREL, and PG&E) that started an informal collaboration to study DU. PNL’s work was funded by internal “lab directed R&D” (LDRD) money. One of the staff (Kannberg) went on loan to PG&E for a time, to manage the overall effort. Their particular interest is on the effects that implementing a lot of DU resources would have on stability and performance of the transmission system.

PNL did a DU Feeder Analysis for PG&E, using a “synthetic” load data set for each feeder. Based on load duration curves for a given feeder, the estimated the amount of distribution asset deferral possible from adding DU resources to trim the peak load, until load growth becomes overwhelming. This effort included the development of a short term load forecast using load shapes and cluster analysis to generate typical customer profiles. This was used to estimate the potential for DU and DSM and the value of retail distribution wheeling.

Contact Rob Pratt, 509-375-3648
Benefit Cost Analysis of Storage is pursued “technology-blind”, i.e. without a preference for any particular means for storage. A series of studies have focused on SMES. One evaluated SMES in a number of system-specific scenarios for BPA. (J DeSteese, et.al., Applied Superconductivity, Vol 1, # 7-9, pp. 1425, 1993) Others looked at wind integration, and other utility systems. They found that some earlier analyses tended to underestimate SMES benefits because multiple benefits were not evaluated.

Real-Time Power Systems Control (RTPSC) is a big issue for the industry, especially on the question of whether utilities will be willing to share the data needed. A control based strategy will need an extensive information infrastructure, and it needs a fall-back capability, perhaps including repair SWAT teams. There must be complete buy-in to the whole idea, and the conversion may take as much as 2-3 decades.

There appear to be two competing scenarios–one holding that DU will obviate the need for more transmission capacity, and FACTs, which has its own large information needs. PNL prepared a White Paper (Version 1.0 dated March 3, 1994). It outlines a phased strategy for the development and deployment of RTPSC. (It is available from the contacts listed above. A revised version is in progress.)

Workshops held in recent years have reached a consensus on the R&D needs, which include the need for: gaining a better understanding of optimal power system operation, a new generation of on-line sensing, advanced technology, local adaptive computer control, and systems wide engineering research into new algorithms and modeling approaches.

System Monitoring and Control … While some utilities have remote system monitors, there isn’t a comprehensive means to use this data in real time for system operation and control. Everyone from expansion planners to system operators needs measurement-based information.

PNL has developed a Portable Power System Monitoring Unit (Interactive Measurement & Analysis Workstation) which operates over a wide area network. It provides flexible trigger logic and GPS synchronized/phasor measurements, in an integrated open statistical and analytic environment. The workstation also provides dynamic analysis and design.

Visualization …. In comparing model-based vs. data based analysis, it’s been noted that the models tend to be more pessimistic about system behavior when problems occur. Operators need to be able to visualize model outputs, so they can understand, interpret and compare. PNL has applied commercially available visualization packages to represent power system simulation results. As one example, a graphics tool has been used to display output from the Extended Transient Midterm Stability package (ETMSP) from EPRI. This is seen as a first step towards a fully graphic based interface where one environment provides data entry, simulation control and analysis, using the models no longer require separate procedural steps.

Power Conversion … PNL has built and is testing a 5 kW power converter using Pulse Amplitude Synthesis Control. It promises better integration of a variety of DC generators and storage sources with diverse characteristics, making them appear as one integrated resource on the grid. (Visualize a transformer with multiple primaries and a single secondary.) The principal advantage is that the power converter is not dependent on the operation of each of the DC supplies.

They are in the process of lining up a CRADA partnership with a wind power manufacturer who only wants to license it, so other interested parties would be welcome.
• Federal Emergency Management Information System (FEMIS)
Tom Coonelly, Computer Sciences Department, 509-375-6480

FEMIS is an automated decision support system which integrates all phases of emergency management. It was developed for the U.S. Army to deal with chemical weapons, but it is a generic set of tools that can be adapted to any emergency response situation, providing planning, coordination, response, training and exercise support for emergency managers. FEMIS enables the integration and use of real-time data from outside sources (e.g. weather monitors), which can be displayed in geographical and/or tabular form. It tracks resources, task lists, and organizations; it provides event logs; it reminds the user about overdue tasks; and it reports on the status of wide variety of items. FEMIS uses commercial software in a distributed system architecture.

It is a general, “vanilla” capability to bring in information from over a large geographical area and respond to it. One important element–it can provide systematic coordination of different agencies and jurisdictions, i.e. company, local, county, state and federal.

Possibilities for utilities–a new breed of nuclear plant emergency response tools, application to transmission grid management (operations and emergency planning, e.g. storms). Discussions are underway with several potential commercializers, and a helpful overview brochure is available.

 

• Building Energy Standards Program (BESP)
Jeffery A. Johnson, Program Manager, 509-375-4459

Building Energy Codes Hotline: 1-800-270-2633 answers questions from state and local code officials, builders and others.

BESP did a survey in 1994 of utilities, to find out what strategies are currently being used to promote energy-efficient building design and construction (sponsored by the DOE Office of Codes and Standards). The complete report is available: PNL-9976, “Lessons Learned from New Construction Utility DSM Programs and Their Implications for Implementing Building Energy Codes”

The Advanced Energy Design and Operation Technologies (AEDOT) project focuses on developing advanced, computer based building-energy design tools, incorporating new energy-efficiency expertise into systems architects and engineers use to design and operate buildings. A CRADA is underway with the University of Oregon and Softdesk, Inc. to integrate energy analysis into a CAD tool. The product, “Softdesk Energy”, will be distributed to all users of AutoCAD with Softdesk–over 100,000 users. It automatically transfers building geometry data to the energy analysis software, enabling the user to obtain energy load estimates at any time, using the ASHRAE Simplified Energy Analysis Method for heating and cooling anywhere in the U.S.

Contact: Michael Brambley, AEDOT Program Manager, 509-375-6875.

 

BESP publishes a newsletter “Building Systems Update” Contact C.J. Belcher PNL, Box 999, K5-02, Richland WA 99352, FAX 509-375-3614

Also, a new brochure “Enhancing Today’s Buildings, Inventing Tomorrow’s Buildings” will appear next month giving a detailed overview of the work in codes, standards, compliance modeling, building (life-cycle!) energy analysis, metering, data-logging, retrofit analysis, building operations and maintenance assessments, etc..
• Sensors John Hartman, Leader, Electro-Optic Systems Group, 509-375-2771

There is no specifically organized function to manage sensor development at PNL. Instead, there are a large number of informally linked “islands” of expertise across the lab’s organization. John Hartman offers to help pull together the appropriate people to address any particular need or application.

It’s also important to note that sensors are only one of a long list of technical areas that comprise PNL’s “Automation and Measurement Sciences Department”, including robotics, imaging, NDE, instrumentation, and applied mechanics.

PNL views sensors in the context of the entire process and environment they operate in. Starting with a long list of basic sensing mechanisms, a cost-effective and practical device must be developed, together with the associated components to form a sensor system. The sensor system in turn must fit functionally into the larger system of which it is a part.

Thus, the development of a sensor system must draw on a wide range of talents.

Mechanisms include electrochemical, electromagnetic, chemical interaction, mechanical, optical, radiological interaction, electromechanical, and thermoelectric. Practical sensors measure the presence, amount or concentration of chemical species or radiation, mechanical strain, moisture, crack growth, acoustics, fluid flow properties, temperature, em fields, or corrosion.Implementation must take into account materials, signal characteristics, response rates, fabrication, stability, on-board signal handling, packaging, power requirements, calibration, etc. Finally, the balance of system must deal with how the sensor data is transferred and used, in terms of the process hardware, software and human interaction.

Some examples:

Fiber-optic Chemical sensors monitor ground water contamination, using emission, absorption or color-change phenomena.

Piezoelectric Chemical sensors detect small quantities of a chemical species with selective coatings.

Acoustic and Ultra acoustic sensors are applied in diverse areas such as sonar, materials inspection, and near-surface geophysical exploration. Measuring the time of flight of a sound pulse, PNL developed a system to measure the internal temperature of steel at temperatures up to 2000 ˚F. It is now is use in a steel plant’s continuous caster.

Optical sensors have applications ranging from power-beaming in space, to high speed production inspection, to remote temperature measurement.

[For further inquiry: H2 detection is very important for Hanford, and a group at PNL probably has done work in this area that might prove useful for nuclear power plants.]

• Coatings and Thin Films
John Affinito, Staff Scientist, Materials Sciences Dept. 509-375-6942

PNL has developed new processes for rapid vacuum deposition of multilayer polymer and metal films, and is pursuing applications in Li batteries, solar thermal reflector films, magnetic shielding, electrochromic films, supercapacitors, and non-linear optical devices. They achieve higher quality and production rates hundreds of times higher than other methods.

In the Polymer Multi-Layer (PML), monomer fluids are vacuum flash evaporated on the substrate. The fluid condenses as a liquid film and then is radiation cross linked to form a solid polymer film. In a second process, called Liquid Multi-Layer (LML), the liquid is directly coated onto the substrate by extrusion, rollers, spraying or other means, and then is radiation cross linked. Both of these processes are novel, fast, and compatible with simultaneous high rate in-line deposition of other layers by conventional vacuum coating processes (evaporation , sputtering, or plasma enhanced chemical vapor). Several licenses have already been granted.

The supercapacitor consists of thousands of thin alternating layers of polymer and aluminum, and can go to very high voltage. The PML/LML processes inherently eliminate pinholes and other micro defects that can have a significant effect on the properties of the film. There is a licensee — AVX in South Carolina.

The solar reflector film has higher reflectivity and is cheaper than other alternatives, using acrylic/silver/acrylic layers on a polyester substrate.

Optical coatings have been done on elements 2 meters in diameter.

Electrochromic heat mirror film can become cost effective due to the high rate of production.

Micro Heat Exchanger/Heat Pump Kevin Drost, 509-375-2017

PNL is developing a miniaturized vapor-compression cycle heat pump smaller than a dime that could be fabricated by the hundreds in thin layers on a single sheet. Such sheets could be incorporated into walls of buildings, replacing conventional HVAC.

They’ve had success with the evaporator and condenser components, attaining heat transfer rates of 100 watts/cm2. The compressor is more of a challenge. Work is proceeding on two fronts, one a chemical absorption cycle, driven by heat, and the other a miniature electromechanical pump, which is showing earlier promise. Without the compressor, the evaporator and condenser could be configured as a thermo siphon for cooling electronics.

This work is definitely in the “potentially revolutionary” category, though actual commercial applications are years away. Possible uses: Controlling chemical processing very precisely, which for example could make it possible to make a very high performance reformer for use with fuel cells or at the wellhead. Another application: cooling for protective clothing for use in hazardous environments.
• Planning & Analysis Ron Nesse, Sr. Program Manager, 509-376-4217

Until the most recent reorganization (7/95), the Technology Planning & Analysis Center (TPAC) was a part of Battelle matrixed to PNL, with some staff located in Richland and a group in Seattle. As of this writing, the designation TPAC is no longer operative. Many of the people have been assigned to the new Energy Division and some to the Environment Division.

The focus is management of technology, as distinct from technology itself, supporting DOD and DOE in policy, system models, technology assessment, organization design, human factors and legal and regulatory analysis. (Battelle Columbus has a separate commercial consulting practice that does “Technology Management”. Due to common interests, there’s a fair amount of informal collaboration, but no direct reporting relationship.)
Organizational Consulting for the Utility Industry

Jon Olson, Assoc. Center Manager, TPAC (Seattle), 206-528-3200

The Seattle group is focusing more on private industry than do the people in Columbus, and has specifically targeted the utility industry, manufacturing, and biotech. Noting the dramatic changes, new pressures and new business options utilities are facing, they offer services in organizational effectiveness, process redesign, implementation, and leadership training. In addition to on-site consulting and training, they offer training courses and seminars. The group also does Human Factors and Social Research Support of the Nuclear Industry — safety analyses, plant aging, and procedures design for nuclear utilities here and abroad.
Management Analysis Program (MAP) Linda Fassbender, Project Manager, 509-372-4351

MAP has been instrumental in the ongoing reorganization and strategic planning process for the Office of Energy Management in the DOE Office of Utility Technology. MAP facilitated a stakeholder meeting (4/94), provided issue background analyses, and prepared a Strategic Plan document. The Issue papers offered a succinct analysis of economic, environmental, regulatory, institutional and technological trends and issues in the energy industry for Hydrogen, Electricity, Thermal Energy, and Natural Gas. A second stakeholder meeting was planned for mid 1995, however it has been postponed pending the outcome of higher level DOE reorganization and budgetary uncertainties. DOE and PNL want a far greater participation by the utility industry in these deliberations in the future.

Facility Energy Decision Screening (FEDS) is a comprehensive approach to facility energy management developed for DOE and DOD. The software is fuel and technology independent, and optimizes life-cycle cost/savings considering all interactions, including utility rebates. Used at many sites and facilities in conjunction with the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) [see the UFTO NREL report], it has shown that modernization investments of 1-2 times annual energy costs can effectively provide lower costs and increased reliability. Training is available.

Global Change Policy Analysis Tools — for EPRI, EPA, DOE, and others. PNL is the heart of a world-wide “virtual ” center on integrated assessment of climate change issues. Perform policy analysis, technology analysis and social science research. Second generation model integrates emissions carbon cycle, climate modeling, ecosystem response, oceans, and human dimensions.

 

• Strategic Environmental Management

“Life Cycle Assessment” is the new buzzword for analysis of all aspects of a process or technology –cradle-to-grave, overall infrastructure, all the way up and down stream.. Internationally, the ISO 14000 movement (see below) is gathering momentum, and this is in much the same spirit.

DOE, DOD and EPA are sponsoring the Life Cycle Computer Aided Data Project, which includes separate groups for each of a number of various industries. The idea is to create a generic modeling system that more detailed individual process models can fit into.

Contact is Ken Humphreys, 509-372-4279

Battelle Labs (contract manager of PNL) offers consulting inStrategic Environmental Management, which helps companies get beyond the reactive mode and into a proactive “competitive-advantage-mode” on managing their environmental issues.

They and PNL have an initiative to put together the “Industrial Consortium for Environmental Standards, Science and Technology” (ICES). This is a novel approach to creating networks of already existing groups to be a part of the international ISO 14000 efforts. [If you’re familiar with ISO 9000 — the European total quality program that the US just waited to get hit by, this is the environmental analog, being vigorously pursued in 24 countrieswithout government involvement! There is an ad hoc network of US participants, and ICES is a way to get linked into it.] Contact is Gary Morgan. 509-375-2373
• Environmental Technologies Jim Hartley, 509-372-4428

PNL has an extensive program in technology for managing wastes and performing remediation, and in analytical risk-based decision support tools, such as the Remedial Action Assessment System (RAAS), Remedial Options (a database available commercially from Battelle), Multi-media Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS — prioritizes risk).

As one example, the SAFER code for site characterization was developed at PNL, and CH2M Hill uses it commercially. PNL’s tools have credibility, and DOD buy-in, for evaluating remediation alternatives. They provide support to DOE’s cleanup efforts in the form of products and services. They also do restoration and cleanup work for almost all government sites, usually partnering with vendors. Key Battelle technologies for remediation include:

Soil: Vitrification*, soil washing , bioventing, chemical stabilization, insitu corona, six phase heating**

Water: Chemical barriers, Bio barriers, Extraction/Injection network, electrochemical oxidation

*Terra-Vit is a versatile low cost waste vitrification melter can transform waste into products

**ERACE heats the soil electrically to free less volatile contaminants.

Fate & Transport Management of Electric Utility Wastes

Dhanpat Rai, PI, and Andy Felmy, Group Manager, 509-372-6296 (?)

PNL has performed many projects for EPRI for over 12 years in geohydrochemical analysis, e.g. for coal ash leachates and other utility waste streams. Their expertise includes laboratory and field studies on leaching and modeling (FASTCHEM, FOWL, CHROMAT) etc. The group has published widely — a list of publications is available.

• Fisheries and Water Resources

Marshal Richmond, Sr. Research Engineer, 509-372-6241

Duane Neitzel, Staff Scientist, Aquatic Ecology Group, 509-376-0602

Part of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Center, which encompasses Hydrologic Processes, Marine & Environmental Chemistry, Ocean Processes, and Marine Ecological Processes. Research Facilities include Aerosol Wind Tunnel, Arid Land Ecology Reserve, Geochemistry Lab, Geoscience Visualization Lab, Subsurface Environmental Research Facility, Fish Hatchery and Wet Lab, Remote Sensing, Marine Sciences Lab, Airborne Laboratory

Fisheries: Hatchery and Wet Lab provide controlled conditions, making possible precise determination of impacts on fish populations from such phenomena as O2 deprivation.

River Simulation: system of models that simulate flow hydraulics (flood wave), non uniform sediment transport, contaminant transport. Can handle branched and looped channel systems, operations of dams and reservoirs, heat transport and transfer, and river bed accumulation of sediment and contaminants. It features long term multi year simulation and system operation simulation.

Watershed Modeling: detailed integrated representation of watershed processes. Includes two layer canopy model for evapotranspiration, energy balance for snow accumulation and melt, a two-layer rooting zone model and a saturated subsurface flow model. The landscape is divided into grid cells on Digital Elevation Model data nodes, used to model absorbed radiation, precipitation, air temperature, and down-slope water movement. When linked to a regional climate model, it can generate snow pack, soil moisture and stream flow information that can be used to manage water resources.
• Operational Effectiveness

The Operational Effectiveness Department works for DOE and other governmental clients and private industry on policy and regulatory management, operational assessments and training and evaluation.

Operations Technology Group — testing support to NRC Operator Licensing, direct PNL internal operations assessment, support DOE re operations. Reactor safety evaluation, individual plant evaluations.

Safety & Health Technology Group — develop OSH policy, accident investigation, OSH compliance inspections, training, decontamination and decommissioning support

Safeguards and Security Group — Domestic and international safeguards, protection programs, information security, physical security and protective force support, multimedia training

PNL Contacts

General phone # 509-375-2121

Mailing Address:
Pacific Northwest Laboratories
Battelle Boulevard
P.O. Box 999
Richland WA 99352
The primary contacts for UFTO are:

Carl Imhoff 509-375-4328 ch_imhoff@pnl.gov

Energy Programs Manager
Merwin Brown 509-372-6323 ml_brown@pnl.gov
Director, Energy Technologies Dept.

 

Information Source Contacts
Katie Larson 509-375-3698 kj_larson@pnl.gov

Energy Division Communications
Media Relations: Jerry Holloway 509-375-2007