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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Report describes development of solar-heating system for single-family residence at site in Pennsylvania. 143 page document, containing detailed drawings, performance specifications, cost tradeoff studies, and other material, can assist those planning similar systems in areas of similar climate.
The presence of an anomalous cold area, the Pennsylvania Barrens, which consistently displays temperatures 10-15 C below those of a nearby college weather station on clear, dry, windless nights, was studied by means of IR images from the NASA Heat Capacity Mapping Mission satellite. The Barrens are surrounded by wooded ridges, which have a high thermal inertia, and it is concluded that the movement of cold air from high regions to lower valleys contributes significantly to the thermal differences between sites.
Significant developments in the fruit industry in Pennsylvania are reported to provide basic information as a guide in the production and marketing of apples, pears, cherries, peaches, grapes, plums, prunes and nectarines. Tables show the number of growers, trees and acres by kind of fruit as well as the age of the trees, the number of barrels produced, and production by county and region.
Some of the principal climatic features of Pennsylvania are described and a number of climatological summaries are presented for stations in various geographic regions of that state.
Data collected on November 2, 1982 by the Landsat 4 Thematic Mapper (TM) over 72 forested sites in the Ridge and Valley province in Pennsylvania were compared with corresponding botanical and site variable field data. The analysis revealed that both the TM and the botanical data sets can be divided into four groups based on lithology and aspect. Lithology, which is clearly the dominant controlling factor in both sets of data, determines elevation and slope. The aspect (essentially north- and south-facing slope) determines the intensity of solar illumination which affects both the moisture available to the vegetation and the intensity of reflected radiance. Each of the four lithologic/aspect units support unique forest associations, clearly separable both on the basis of ground-based 1/10-acre forest association surveys and on the basis of their TM spectral signatures.
We describe four student-designed experiments by the Pennsylvania State University, which are planned for a GAS canister. The four experiments will measure: the effects of radiation on semiconductors; orbital debris impacts; the Space Shuttle's magnetic field; and the photoelectric yield of several different materials. These experiments are the result of the efforts of more than one hundred students.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pennsylvania had 8,239,858 people in its working population (15 to 64 years of age) in 2019. The graphs below show solar photovoltaic (PV), land-based wind, battery energy storage (BES), and energy efficiency job estimates in 2020, 2025, and 2030. These job estimates do not represent net job creation. Rather, they represent the size of the workforce required to achieve projected national deployment levels of each technology for 2025 and 2030 if the state captures the same proportion of jobs in the sector as it did in 2020.
The first “Changing Microbiomes” conference was successfully held at the Pennsylvania State University from May 31st – June 3rd, 2022. The overall goal of the symposium was to provide space for researchers to connect, exchange knowledge, and partner to advance our understanding of the mechanisms and applications of ecological and evolutionary changes in microbiomes across systems. The symposium spanned terrestrial and aquatic contexts and host-associated and free-living microbial communities. As such, the symposium will enable cross-disciplinary knowledge and idea exchange to promote future interdisciplinary collaborations. In addition, the program allowed formal and informal interactions between and among students, postdocs, PIs, and industry scientists.
There are unique challenges and opportunities at the nexus of agriculture and energy. This presentation will feature a social science overview of agrivoltaics, which is the practice of combining solar energy and agricultural production on the same land. Centering on recent research and commercial insights, this presentation will discuss the implications of lessons learned in the Northeast and highlight key considerations for future agrivoltaic R&D in Pennsylvania.
Dataset for this database page represents data from technical report "Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of Appalachian Basin Core from the Jones and Laughlin #1 Well, Beaver County PA " Sharma, M; Paronish, T.; Mitchell, N.; Crandall, D.; Neubaum, J. Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of Appalachian Basin Core from the Jones and Laughlin #1 Well, Beaver County PA; DOE.NETL-2023.3889; NETL Technical Report Series; U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory: Morgantown, WV, 2023; p 37.
Abstract This study demonstrated using yttrium (Y) as an indicator to estimate the total rare earth element and Y contents (REY) in coal-associated samples and to facilitate selection of samples with high REY assays in a fast and inexpensive manner. More than 10 anthracite-associated samples were collected from each of three Pennsylvanian sites (sites B, J and C) based on Thorium gamma ray logging suggesting high REY content. Several samples from each site were analyzed by ICP-MS to determine the rare earth distribution patterns and to establish the site-specific linear equations of Y and REY. The Y contents of the remaining samples were measured by a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer, and the REY values were estimated based on the site-specific linear equation developed earlier. R-squared values above 0.70 were obtained for all the estimation equations from all three sites on both a whole sample basis and an ash basis. Previously, ash content has been widely used as an indicator of high REY content. This may not be applicable for a specific site. Site B in this study is an example where ash contents could not be statistically correlated with REY, so using Y for estimation is more applicable. The demonstrated sample screening process is suitable for samples from sites that share more similar distribution patterns (either MREY or LREY or HREY) as well as for samples from sites that share multiple distribution patterns (LREY/MREY/HREY) depending on the desirable accuracy. The demonstrated process lowers the analytical cost from $70 to 80 dollars per sample to $10–15 per sample while significantly reducing the processing time and acid consumption for ICP digestion. This is particularly true when a relatively large sample size is involved, for example, 100 samples from one site analyzed by ICP-MS/OES.
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Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that poses a serious health risk as the primary cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Despite the well-known adverse association with health outcomes, current radon exposure assessments are limited to county-level or average-level estimates, which fail to capture regional variability. This study uses Machine Learning models, including Random Forest (RF) and Quantile Regression Forest (QRF), to estimate the indoor radon concentrations at the ZCTA (Zip code tabulation area)-level and characterize uncertainties in model estimates. Incorporating geological, meteorological, and building-specific data, the models aim to improve radon risk assessment by capturing mean exposure, variability, and extreme concentration levels. Processed radon test data (n = 718,111) were analyzed using average, variability, and quantile prediction methods. Models that estimate the average radon exposure at the ZCTA-level can yield promising model-fit results, but they do not capture the underlying variability of indoor radon exposure within a ZCTA. We utilize volatility analyses to identify characteristics indicative of high variability of indoor radon exposure. We also show that a QRF model can be used to estimate upper quantiles of residential radon exposure, thereby uncovering localized areas of elevated exposure that were not apparent in mean estimates. The results highlighted the need for a deep characterization of exposure risk and show that regions with moderate average exposure levels could still harbor extreme outliers with implications for evaluating health risks. Utilizing multiple radon exposure models allows for a deeper characterization of radon risk within a geographic area and can better identify high-risk areas. The results from this study provide a foundation for developing mitigation strategies and examining associations between radon exposure and health outcomes at fine scales. Future research should extend the geographic scope and incorporate additional environmental risk factors to establish a comprehensive framework for risk assessment.
This project will use bipolar membranes to produce efficient vapor-phase electrolysis cells for splitting CO 2 to CO and oxygen. CO is a valuable chemical feedstock that can be combined catalytically with hydrogen in the Fischer-Tropsch process to make liquid fuels. CO is arguably the best target for CO 2 reduction since, as a gaseous product, it is easily collected and is relatively immune to membrane crossover losses. The keys to success in this project are to design and synthesize hydrophilic, low resistance bipolar membranes and to create optimized electrode/catalyst/electrolyte architectures based on these new membranes and advanced catalysts in order to achieve high current density at low overpotentials for CO 2 conversion. High current density is key to achieving industrially relevant throughput for the process and low overpotentials maintain high overall efficiency for the process.
This report describes the methodology and results of a state cost-effectiveness analysis of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2016. Moving to the Standard 90.1-2016 edition from Standard 90.1-2013 is found to be cost-effective for the state. Annual energy cost savings, added construction costs, and life-cycle costs are all described and presented here for various building types and climate zones.
The goal of this research was to investigate the production of carbon products from methane using carbon allotrope seeds. If successful, this would have eliminated the need for a metal catalyst and separation of said catalyst from the carbon product. There was also interest in alternate energy input technologies that could drive this reaction, in particular microwave irradiation. NETL was to provide the expertise and facilities to investigate the potential of microwave irradiation to aid in the conversion process. Unfortunately, protocols put in place to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic precluded on-site research by PSU scientists and made it impossible to execute the research outlined in this CRADA.
This report describes the methodology and results of a state cost-effectiveness analysis of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019. Moving to the Standard 90.1-2019 edition from Standard 90.1-2016 is found to be cost-effective for the state. Annual energy cost savings, added construction costs, and life-cycle costs are all described and presented here for various building types and climate zones.