A preliminary systems-engineering study of an advanced nuclear-electrolytic hydrogen-production facility

An advanced nuclear-electrolytic hydrogen-production facility concept was synthesized at a conceptual level with the objective of minimizing estimated hydrogen-production costs. The concept is a closely-integrated, fully-dedicated (only hydrogen energy is produced) system whose components and subsystems are predicted on ''1985 technology.'' The principal components are: (1) a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) operating a helium-Brayton/ammonia-Rankine binary cycle with a helium reactor-core exit temperature of 980 C, (2) acyclic d-c generators, (3) high-pressure, high-current-density electrolyzers based on solid-polymer electrolyte technology. Based on an assumed 3,000 MWt HTGR the facility is capable of producing 8.7 million std cu m/day of hydrogen at pipeline conditions, 6,900 kPa. Coproduct oxygen is also available at pipeline conditions at one-half this volume. It has further been shown that the incorporation of advanced technology provides an overall efficiency of about 43 percent, as compared with 25 percent for a contemporary nuclear-electric plant powering close-coupled contemporary industrial electrolyzers

Vehicle conversion to hybrid gasoline/alternative fuel operation

The alternative fuels considered are compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), and methanol; vehicles were required to operate in a hybrid or dual-fuel gasoline/alternative fuel mode. Economic feasibility was determined by comparing the costs of continued use of gasoline fuel with the use of alternative fuel and retrofitted equipment. Differences in the amounts of future expenditures are adjusted by means of a total life-cycle costing. All fuels studied are technically feasible to allow a retrofit conversion to hybrid gasoline/alternative fuel operation except for methanol. Conversion to LPG is not recommended for vehicles with more than 100,000 km (60,000 miles) of prior use. Methanol conversion is not recommended for vehicles with more than 50,00 km (30,000 miles)

Heat-pump-centered Integrated Community Energy Systems: systems development, Consolidated Natural Gas Service Company. Final report

The Heat-Actuated Heat Pump Centered Integrated Community Energy System (HAHP-ICES) utilizes a gas-fired, engine-driven, heat pump and commercial buildings, and offers several advantages over the more conventional equipment it is intended to supplant. The general non-site-specific application assumes a hypothetical community of one 59,000 ft/sup 2/ office building and five 24-unit, low-rise apartment buildings located in a region with a climate similar to Chicago. This community serves as a starting point - the base case - upon which various sensitivity analyses are performed and through which the performance characteristics of the HAHP are explored. The results of these analyses provided the selection criteria for the site-specific application of the HAHP-ICES concept to a real-world community. The site-specific community consists of 42 townhouses; five 120-unit, low-rise apartment buildings; five 104-unit high-rise apartment buildings; one 124,000 ft/sup 2/ office building; and a single 135,000 ft/sup 2/ retail building located in Monroeville, Pa. The base-case analyses confirmed that the HAHP-ICES has significant potentials for reducing the primary energy consumption and pollutant emissions associated with space conditioning when compared with a conventional system. Primary energy consumption was reduced by 30%, while emission reductions ranged from 39 to 77%. The results of the site-specific analysis indicate that reductions in energy consumption of between 15 and 22% are possible when a HAHP-ICES is selected as opposed to conventional HVAC equipment

The FIELDS Instrument Suite for Solar Probe Plus: Measuring the Coronal Plasma and Magnetic Field, Plasma Waves and Turbulence, and Radio Signatures of Solar Transients.

NASA's Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products

The selection, appraisal, and retention of social science data

The number of data collections produced in the social sciences prohibits the archiving of every scientific study. It is therefore necessary to make decisions regarding what can be preserved and why it should be preserved. This paper reviews the processes used by two data archives, one from the United States and one from the United Kingdom, to illustrate how data are selected for archiving, how they are appraised, and what steps are required to retain the usefulness of the data for future use. It also presents new initiatives that seek to encourage an increase in the long-term preservation of digital resources

German Medical Science ausgezeichnet

German Medical Science - das medizinische Publikationsportal von AWMF, DIMDI und ZB MED - wird am 21. Oktober 2011 von der Initiative "Deutschland - Land der Ideen" als "Ausgewählter Ort im Land der Ideen 2011" ausgezeichnet

Gram-Scale, Low Temperature, Sonochemical Synthesis of Stable Amorphous Ti–B Powders Containing Hydrogen

Gram-Scale, Low Temperature, Sonochemical Synthesis of Stable Amorphous Ti–B Powders Containing Hydroge