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153 records · Page 9

Numerical simulations of vertical growth of hydraulic fractures and brine migration in geological formations above the Marcellus shale

One of the critical environmental questions about hydraulic fracturing in shales is the potential for contamination of ground and surface water. There are two specific concerns arising from hydraulic treatments: 1) whether hydraulic fractures extend upward through overlying strata to reach overlying aquifers containing drinking water, and 2) whether injected fluids push native fluids upward into these overlying aquifers. In this work, the extent of likely fracture growth through overlying layers during hydraulic treatment of the Marcellus shale was estimated using a hydraulic fracture model. A wide range of material and fluid flow properties in a multi-layered geologic model was considered. The model was based on conditions and characteristics applicable to the Marcellus shale in that part of the Appalachian basin within southwestern Pennsylvania. Predictions of vertical termination frequencies for hydraulic fractures were used in a multi-layer model of the strata and natural fractures for studying brine migration through the natural and induced fracture network. NFFLOW, the software for explicitly modeling flow within networks of fractures, was utilized to compute transient flow rates according to the schedule of injected fluid during hydraulic fracturing. To aid our analysis, the modeled sequence of geologic strata was capped with a fictitious unfractured, but moderately-permeable layer, which serves as a monitoring zone. The analysis assumes one well lateral was placed in the middle of the Marcellus shale with hydraulic fractures penetrating layers in the model. The newly-developed geomechanical module within NFFLOW was used to represent stress-sensitivity of the fractures. This allows the opening and closing of fracture apertures with changes in fluid pressures within fracture segments. Pressure increases in the formations overlying the Tully limestone, indicating fluid flow, was observed due to the hydraulic stimulation; and the impact of these increased pressures on brine migration towards the surface was considered.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

The anatomy of the minority carrier - atomic cluster interaction in semiconductors

This project was to use light ion beam induced charge (IBIC) to detect damage cascades generated by a single heavy ion, and thereby reveal details of the shape of the cascade and the physics of recombination of carriers that interact with the cluster. Further IBIC measurements using the hardware and software of this project will improve the accuracy of theoretical models used to predict electrical degradation in devices exposed to radiation environments. In addition, future use of light ion IBIC detection of single ion-induced damage could be used to locate single ion implantation sites in quantum computing applications. This project used Sandia's Pelletron and nanoImplanter (nI) to produce heavy ion-induced collision cascades in p-n diodes, simulating cascades made by primary knock-on atoms recoiled by neutrons. Si and Li beams from the nI were used to perform highly focused scans generating IBIC signal maps where regions of lower charge collection efficiency were observed without incurring further damage. The very first use of ion channeled beams for IBIC was explored to maximize ionization, improve contrast and provide very straight line trajectories to improve lateral resolution.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A Comparison of GoldSim, RESRAD-Onsite, and NORMALYSA Modeling Tools at Radioactive Waste Sites - 19480

Radioactive waste disposal and associated decision making is a challenging problem around the world. A strong performance assessment model plays a crucial role in making good management and remediation decisions and in optimizing the performance of a site. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) MODARIA II Working Group 1 (WG1) is comparing the performance of various modeling platforms used at Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) and legacy waste sites to support risk-informed decision making. Neptune and Company, Inc. (Neptune) has developed probabilistic performance assessment models using the GoldSim system modeling software at a variety of radioactive waste sites. This paper presents a comparison between GoldSim and two other tools used to evaluate radiation exposure and their associated risks: the NORM And Legacy Site Assessment (NORMALYSA) tool used to assess risk at the Zapadnoe mill tailings site, and the residual radioactivity (RESRAD-Onsite) computer program used to calculate Authorized Limits at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supported development of NORMALYSA based off of Ecolego 6.0, in which the user connects several universal modules, representing various environmental transport and exposure pathways, and enters in site-specific data. Further work with NORMALYSA has continued under the MODARIA II WG 1. A radionuclide transport and dose calculation model of the Zapadnoe uranium mill tailings site at the Pridneprovsky Chemical Plant in the Ukraine has been configured by MODARIA II WG1 to test the capabilities of NORMALYSA. Under this test case, contaminant transport and effective dose calculations were performed for two exposure scenarios. The onsite worker is exposed via external ground irradiation and radon and radioactive dust inhalation. The offsite resident defines a residence established 300 years after institutional control has ended, 800 meters downstream from the site with exposure pathways including: ingestion of garden vegetables irrigated by contaminated ground water, ingestion of fish from the Konoplyanka River and agricultural activities in the contaminated garden. GoldSim modeling software is a dynamic probabilistic modeling platform that evaluates uncertainty in a robust and transparent manner. Although GoldSim provides contaminant and radionuclide transport modules to facilitate integrated modeling of radionuclide migration in the environment, these features are not embedded in an existing modeling framework, except as created by the user. Neptune developed a GoldSim model for the two exposure scenarios of the Zapadnoe test case. Neptune's Generic PA Model was used as a starting point for the Zapadnoe site. Input parameters for the GoldSim model include site-specific parameters from the MODARIA Working Group as well as parameters from the Generic PA Model and other PA models created by Neptune. For the other comparison, Version 7.0 of RESRAD-Onsite, developed by Argonne National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was used to calculate Authorized Limits for LANL. Authorized Limits are concentrations of radionuclides in soil that support the evaluation process to clear land for release under different uses. The RESRAD-Onsite computer code was used to calculate Authorized Limits because this program was specifically designed to derive radionuclide soil guidelines corresponding to a specific dose criterion. The scope of the RESRAD dose or risk evaluation is constrained to the transport and exposure pathways that have been included in the computer code. To assist in illustrating the capability of GoldSim modeling software, a GoldSim model was created to replicate the calculation of LANL's Authorized Limits for soil. The main exposure pathways in this model are inhalation of dust and gas, plant ingestion, soil ingestion, and external ground irradiation. All of the processes and outputs of RESRAD-Onsite and NORMALYSA can be created in a GoldSim model, but the value of GoldSim lies in its flexibility for application to any of a wide variety of environmental modeling problems. GoldSim allows development of site-specific inventory, transport mechanisms and risk assessment scenarios. If all potentially complete release, transport, and exposure pathways are addressed in an existing dose and risk assessment computer code, and if the code's capabilities fulfill the project modeling objectives, then expending resources to create a GoldSim model may not be necessary. Site optimization and good decision making about site management are often best when supported with the flexibility of GoldSim as a modeling tool. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Evaluation of energy savings potential of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) from variable air volume (VAV) in the U.S. climate locations

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are known for their high energy performance and thus can improve energy efficiency both in residential and commercial buildings. The energy savings potential of this system has been demonstrated in several studies by comparing the system performance with conventional HVAC systems such as rooftop variable air volume systems (RTU-VAV) and central chiller and boiler systems. This paper evaluates the performance of VRF and RTU-VAV systems in a simulation environment using widely-accepted whole building energy modeling software, EnergyPlus. A medium office prototype building model, developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is used to assess the performance of VRF and RTU-VAV systems. Each system is placed in 16 different locations, representing all U.S. climate zones, to evaluate the performance variations. Both models are compliant with the minimum energy code requirements prescribed in ASHRAE standard 90.1-2010 — energy standard for buildings except low-rise residential buildings. Finally, a comparison study between the simulation results of VRF and RTU-VAV models is made to demonstrate energy savings potential of VRF systems. The simulation results show that the VRF systems would save around 15–42% and 18–33% for HVAC site and source energy uses compared to the RTU-VAV systems. In addition, calculated results for annual HVAC cost savings point out that hot and mild climates show higher percentage cost savings for the VRF systems than cold climates mainly due to the differences in electricity and gas use for heating sources.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

CALPHAD Uncertainty Quantification and TDBX

CALPHAD uncertainty quantification (UQ) is the foundation of materials design with quantified confidence. We report a framework and software packages to enable CALPHAD UQ assessment and calculation using commercial CALPHAD software (Thermo-Calc). This Bayesian inference framework is coupled with a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to establish uncertainty traces with a given thermodynamic database file (TDB) and corresponding experimental data points. This general framework is demonstrated with the Ni–Cr binary system. The algorithm is firstly validated on synthetic data with known ground truth. Then it is applied to real experimental data to generate posterior traces. We develop a file format named TDBX, which provides a single source of truth by combining the original TDB content and the traces for each assessed Gibbs energy parameter. CALPHAD UQ calculations are performed based on the TDBX file, from which uncertainties for phase boundaries, enthalpy curves, and solidification range are collected as examples of basic design parameters. This TDBX file with corresponding scripts are made open-source. Finally, the combination of CALPHAD UQ assessments and calculations connected by TDBX supports uncertainty-assisted modeling, enabling the integrated application of modern design with uncertainty methodologies to computational materials design.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Performance analysis of data intensive cloud systems based on data management and replication: a survey

As we delve deeper into the ‘Digital Age’, we witness an explosive growth in the volume, velocity, and variety of the data available on the Internet. For example, in 2012 about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data was created on a daily basis that originated from myriad of sources and applications including mobiledevices, sensors, individual archives, social networks, Internet of Things, enterprises, cameras, software logs, etc. Such ‘Data Explosions’ has led to one of the most challenging research issues of the current Information and Communication Technology era: how to optimally manage (e.g., store, replicated, filter, and the like) such large amount of data and identify new ways to analyze large amounts of data for unlocking information. It is clear that such large data streams cannot be managed by setting up on-premises enterprise database systems as it leads to a large up-front cost in buying and administering the hardware and software systems. Therefore, next generation data management systems must be deployed on cloud. The cloud computing paradigm provides scalable and elastic resources, such as data and services accessible over the Internet Every Cloud Service Provider must assure that data is efficiently processed and distributed in a way that does not compromise end-users’ Quality of Service (QoS) in terms of data availability, data search delay, data analysis delay, and the like. In the aforementioned perspective, data replication is used in the cloud for improving the performance (e.g., read and write delay) of applications that access data. Through replication a data intensive application or system can achieve high availability, better fault tolerance, and data recovery. In this paper, we survey data management and replication approaches (from 2007 to 2011) that are developed by both industrial and research communities. The focus of the survey is to discuss and characterize the existing approaches of data replication and management that tackle the resource usage and QoS provisioning with different levels of efficiencies. Moreover, the breakdown of both influential expressions (data replication and management) to provide different QoS attributes is deliberated. Furthermore, the performance advantages and disadvantages of data replication and management approaches in the cloud computing environments are analyzed. Open issues and future challenges related to data consistency, scalability, load balancing, processing and placement are also reported.

Malik, Saif Ur Rehman↗

Scaling Input Distributions for Probabilistic Models - 19472

It is important to address scaling issues when building models to support risk-based decisions for radioactive waste disposal sites. Currently, probabilistic risk assessment and probabilistic performance assessment models are run for multiple realizations where each realization uses one value from each input distribution over the entire modeled time. The input distributions represent the current state of knowledge in the mean of the input variable over the spatial region of interest and over the time period of the model run. This paper focuses on the time factor in input distribution scaling because it presents more serious conceptual and distributional challenges than the spatial factor. One of the challenges in temporal scaling is the effect of non-linearity on propagation of distribution uncertainty through to uncertainty in results. Radioactive waste disposal models tend to have both linear and non-linear components in their models. Dose assessment calculations are typically represented by linear models, while contaminant transport models have linear and non-linear components. In principle, temporal scaling of input parameter distributions for a linear model is straightforward, but scaling of input distributions for non-linear models is not. This paper uses examples to investigate the effects of input distribution temporal scaling on simple linear and non-linear models. Different scaling scenarios were investigated by comparing three analysis tools: analytical mathematical representations, statistical software programming, and GoldSim Monte Carlo simulation software. R statistical software is an open source statistical programming language often used for statistical analyses and graphical representation of data. GoldSim is a robust probabilistic dynamic modeling platform used in performance assessment modeling of radioactive waste sites. A simple linear model, a quadratic model and a multiplicative model were the cases explored for each of these tools. For the three analysis tools considered and with each of the scaling cases, 1,000 realizations were implemented from distributions of the random variables of interest. This is a sufficient number of realizations for simple models to capture the model space. An annual temporal resolution of a 100-year simulation period was chosen for all models and analysis tools. The effects of temporal scaling were demonstrated by investigating two different options for time scaling. Option 1 was set up so that the input distributions represented the expected value on an annual time scale, and a new value from that distribution was chosen every year (at every time step which equaled a year) for 100 years. In Option 2, the input distributions were scaled to represent the expected mean value of the input variable over the 100 years of simulation, and one value from that distribution was chosen for the entire elapsed time. Results show agreement across the three analysis tools. As expected, the linear models have identical results for the two different scaling Options, and the non-linear models diverge in the results for different time scale implementation. The implications of this work point to the need for careful consideration of input distribution temporal scaling. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Operational Energy Life Cycle Data Development for the National Institute of Standards And Technology (NIST) Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability (BIRDS) Neutral Environmental Software Tool (NEST)

For this analysis, regionalized life cycle assessment (LCA) results for environmental impacts (using the Tool for Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals and Other Environmental Impacts [TRACI] 2.1) and cumulative energy demand (using the Federal Life Cycle Analysis Commons Elementary Flow List [FEDEFL] Inventory Methods v1.0.0) were evaluated for the production and utilization of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and propane as commodities within residential and commercial buildings. These results can used as a framework for future research into net zero, high-performance buildings, such as done here for the Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability (BIRDS) database by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Engineering Laboratory. The geographical results were assigned to each United States (U.S.) Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code based on the ZIP code location and corresponding Balancing Authority Area, natural gas basin, and Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs). Additionally, previously developed models were utilized to develop future life cycle profiles. Projections were based on data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook 2022 through 2050 (AEO 2022). Electricity LCA models were updated based on AEO 2022 projected annual generation mixes, while the natural gas baseline model was updated based on projected shares of natural gas types (conventional, shale, tight, and coalbed methane). Projections of crude oil production rates and export rates were applied to the petroleum baseline model in five-year increments to investigate their effects on the life cycle profile of fuel oil and propane. While only 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP-100) with climate carbon feedback (CC-FB) and Cumulative Energy Demand are shown in Section 4: Results, the complete results, including Acidification Potential, Eutrophication Potential, Freshwater Ecotoxicity Potential, GWP-100 without inclusion of CC-FB, Human Health Impacts Potentials (Cancer, Non-Cancer), Ozone Depletion Potential, Particulate Matter Formation Potential, and Photochemical Smog Formation Potential, are tabulated for each ZIP code in the Excel worksheets that accompany this analysis. For the Excel spreadsheet tools associated with this report, please go to https://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analysis/details?id=f8890fac-be55-44ac-aaa9-e2888bfabe93

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Advanced, Integrated Control for Building Operations to Achieve 40% Energy Saving

We developed and demonstrated a software based integrated advanced building control platform called Smart Energy Box (SEB), which can coordinate building subsystem controls, integrate variety of energy optimization algorithms and provide proactive and collaborative energy management and control for building operations using weather and occupancy information. The integrated control system is a low cost solution and also features: Scalable component based architecture allows to build a solution for different building control system configurations with needed components; Open Architecture with a central data repository for data exchange among runtime components; Extendible to accommodate variety of communication protocols. Optimal building control for central loads, distributed loads and onsite energy resource; uses web server as a loosely coupled way to engage both building operators and building occupants in collaboration for energy conservation. Based on the open platform of SEB, we have investigated and evaluated a variety of operation and energy saving control strategies on Carnegie Mellon University Intelligent Work place which is equipped with alternative cooling/heating/ventilation/lighting methods, including radiant mullions, radiant cooling/heating ceiling panels, cool waves, dedicated ventilation unit, motorized window and blinds, and external louvers. Based on the validation results of these control strategies, they were integrated in SEB in a collaborative and dynamic way. This advanced control system was programmed and computer tested with a model of the Intelligent Workplace's northern section (IW n ). The advanced control program was then installed in the IW n control system; the performance was measured and compared with that of the state of the art control system to verify the overall energy savings great than 40%. In addition advanced human machine interfaces (HMI's) were developed to communicate both with building occupants and the building operator. Lifecycle cost analyses of the advanced building control were performed, and a Building Control System Guide was prepared and published to inform owners, architects, and engineers dealing with new construction or renovation of buildings.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗