- Number 392 |
- July 8, 2013
-
New ultra-efficient HPC data center debuts
Scientists and researchers at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are constantly innovating, integrating novel technologies, and "walking the talk."
When it came time for the lab to build its own high performance computing (HPC) data center, the NREL team knew it would have to be made up of firsts: The first HPC data center dedicated solely to advancing energy systems integration, renewable energy research, and energy efficiency technologies. The first petascale HPC to use warm-water liquid cooling and reach an annualized average power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.06 or better.
To accomplish this, NREL worked closely with industry leaders to track rapid technology advances and to develop a holistic approach to data center sustainability in the lab's new Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF). -
New imaging tool directly measures liquid surfaces
Designed and fabricated at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a one-of-a-kind liquid probe continuously pumps liquid samples through a gold-coated microfluidic chamber, presenting these volatile liquids to scientific instruments for thorough analysis. The device’s extremely narrow channel provides high linear velocity at the detection window and helps overcome the liquids' tendency to vaporize. Instruments access the liquid via an open viewing port. Tests with electron microscopes and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometers prove the device can continuously present complex liquids for up to 8 hours.
"Our flow cell opens a window to observe interactions between liquid/solids and liquid surfaces, which are relevant to liquid/solid heterogeneous catalysis and energy storage techniques," said Dr. Xiao-Ying Yu at PNNL, who worked on the study. -
Exposure to air transforms gold alloys into catalytic nanostructures
Gold bars may signify great wealth, but the precious metal packs a much more practical punch when shrunk down to just billionths of a meter. Unfortunately, unlocking gold's potential often requires complex synthesis techniques that produce delicate structures with extreme sensitivity to heat.
Now, scientists at Brookhaven Lab have discovered a way to make uniquely structured gold-indium nanoparticles that combine high stability, great catalytic potential, and a simple synthesis process. The new nanostructures might enhance many commercial and industrial processes, including acting as an efficient material for catalytic converters in cars. -
Detecting homemade explosives, not toothpaste
Sandia National Laboratories researchers want airports, border checkpoints and others to detect homemade explosives made with hydrogen peroxide without nabbing people whose toothpaste happens to contain peroxide.
That’s part of the challenge faced in developing a portable sensor to detect a common homemade explosive called a FOx (fuel/oxidizer) mixture, made by mixing hydrogen peroxide with fuels, said Chris Brotherton, principal investigator for a Sandia research project on chemiresponsive sensors. The detector must be able to spot hydrogen peroxide in concentrations that don’t also raise suspicions about common peroxide-containing products.
“Hydrogen peroxide explosives are a challenge because they are dangerous, but there are so many personal hygiene products that have hydrogen peroxide in them that the false positive rate is very high,” Brotherton said. -
Wireless project can improve DOE, NNSA secure communications
While wireless technology has become commonplace for many applications, concerns about security have traditionally prevented its use for transmitting data that is not intended for public disclosure. A project at the DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), however, is combining the benefits of wireless networks with security levels suitable for even classified data.
SRNL has collaborated with the National Security Agency (NSA) on a design for classified data transmission, without the use of the traditional Type 1 encryption products. The new secure wireless network design could be used for sensors across the DOE complex, in addition to uses by other federal agencies and industrial control systems at critical manufacturing facilities across the nation.
The development has reached a major milestone with NSA’s approval of prototype hardware for use in certain classified communication operations. The approval of this prototype hardware marks the culmination of the first phase of a project that began four years ago with preliminary scoping to understand the needs and existing technologies.