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- Conventional Hydro
Surface-Reconditioning Additives Based on Solid Inorganic Nanoparticles for Environment-Friendly Industrial Lubricating Compositions
Lead Companies
Washington State University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Pavlo Rudenko
Our research is aimed at the application of lamellar ceramic solid nanoparticles as surface reconditioning additives to industrial lubricating oils to achieve self-repair and improve lubricity. According to a NERC, lubrication failures are among the top causes of outages and deratings of hydroelectric turbines. This problem represents a tremendous opportunity to improve the reliability and availability of hydroelectric turbines by improving their lubricating technologies. The majority of the environmental toxicity of these lubricating compositions is from the additives, where few alternative options are being explored. Today, the ability to formulate lubricating compositions that are safe for the environment greatly depends on additives. There has been a steadily growing interest toward solid, inorganic nanopowders of natural minerals such as Magnesium Hydro-Silicates(MHS) as antiwear and friction modifying additives in lubricating oils. Such powders can reduce wear and promote the formation of thick (up to 30 microns) tribofilms on the rubbing surfaces with great lubricating properties. Self-regulating mechanism of a film formation, and the ability to compensate for wear, allows for the self-repair effect to be achieved. This research is directed at expanding our understanding of the industrial applications for this technology and not only improve current lubricating compositions, but also note additional effects: such as superlubricity and reconditioning worn surfaces. We evaluated the influence of temperature, pressure, and concentration on friction properties. The optimal concentration of nanoparticles was obtained for steel-on-steel friction pairs. Our additives can be applied toward regular and preventative maintenance in the power generating industries as well as emergency surface treatment after lubrication failure has occured to compensate for wear.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
complete
Completion Date
2013
- Marine Energy
Technical Assessment for Co-locating Offshore Aquaculture with Wave Energy Resources: Framework and Use Cases Development
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Lysel Garavelli
- Mikaela Freeman
This project consisted of two main research activities: a preliminary assessment of energy use in existing offshore aquaculture operations, and a spatial analysis to identify regions where environmental and socio-economic factors may support the powering of offshore aquaculture using marine renewable energy (MRE), specifically wave energy.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Environmental Impact
Status
complete
Completion Date
2021
- Marine Energy
Technical Feasibility and Environmental Effects of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Andrea Copping
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Environmental Impact
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Test Facility for Hydropower and Pumped Storage Technologies
Lead Companies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Mirko Musa (musam@ornl.gov)
Hydropower and pumped-storage growth in the United States is contingent on validation of the safety, environmental acceptability, reliability, and performance of innovative technology that can deploy with significantly reduced costs relative to existing technology. A network of one or more federally supported hydropower test facilities offering technology testing and validation capabilities may be one way to achieve such validation. This project will characterize the requirements for these testing capabilities; catalog the availability of these capabilities within existing test facilities and federal water infrastructures; and summarize findings in the form of a Hydropower Test Facility Scoping Study Report. Beyond hydraulic and related (sediment, biological, safety, and instrumentation and controls) testing, the full spectrum of hydropower and PSH technology testing needs may also include the means to test the major mechanical, electrical, civil/structural sub-systems of hydropower technology. Overall, widespread use of a federally-supported test facility will further WPTO’s goals of commercialization of new technologies and deployment by hydropower owners and operators.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro, Pumped Storage
Research Category
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Testing Plan for Environmentally Acceptable Hydro Plant Oils
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- 03/103
The objective of this document was to produce a set of standardized tests (i.e., a test plan) for CEATI members to use for the evaluation of potential candidates to replace incumbent oils with environmentally acceptable (EA) oils suitable for use in various applications within power plants.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2020
- Pumped Storage
The Economic Feasibility of Pumped Storage Hydropower
Lead Companies
Washington State University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Lisa Dilley
There is little general modeling research available for evaluating new PSH proposed for development from an economic point of view. This modeling framework enables the analyst to evaluate hypothetical pumped-storage within the generation fleet that it would be built in with limited data requirements on the front end. Using shortest paths optimization and a k-shortest paths technique, a simulation model is developed that demonstrates the potential effects of storage on a thermal generation system. It is shown that these simulation results reproduce analytical economic efficiency conditions, which gives specific insight to the sensitivity of PSH to design choices and wind statistics. It is shown that system marginal cost and total cost can be reduced through operations policies. These results also inform the need for additional data and detailed modeling in the feasibility stages of design
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Future Grid
Status
complete
Completion Date
2015
- Conventional Hydro
The Effects of Climate Change on the Water Resources and Hydropower Production Capacity of the Upper Colorado River
Lead Companies
Colorado School of Mines
Lead Researcher (s)
- Marina Kopytkovskiy
The Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), comprised of the Colorado and Gunnison River basins, is regulated by 17 major reservoirs to provide water supply, flood control, and hydropower. It is the prime water source for much of the western United States, as well as key wildlife and fish habitat. Climate change is an issue of concern on the basin due to the sensitivity of snow accumulation processes that dominate runoff generation within the region. Climate models project an average warming of up to 4o F, coupled with a decline in precipitation falling as snow. There is no numerical consensus of the magnitude of change in precipitation, but there is general agreement that precipitation changes will be exacerbated by increased evapotranspiration rates, reducing overall runoff. This is expected to cause a decline in runoff and hydropower generation capacity. Potential impacts of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the UCRB were assessed through a comparison of simulated stream flow, temperatures, and reservoir volumes and storage levels. Future climate conditions derived from climate centers: Meteorological Research Institute (MRI-CGCM2.3.2), Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis (CGCM3.2 T47), and the Center for Climate System Research at the University of Tokyo with the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Frontier Research Center for Global Change (MIROC 3.2) under A2 and B1 emission scenarios were compared to historical conditions. From the joint venture of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and other research and university facilities, bias-corrected constructed dialogues (BCCA) daily downscaled precipitation and climate data was processed and used to drive the Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework (WARMF) hydrologic model to simulate future changes in the UCRB. WARMF performs daily simulations of snow and soil hydrology to calculate surface runoff and groundwater accretion to river segments, lakes, and reservoirs. All model scenarios project a reduction in 21st century flows, though the magnitude varies with location and elevation. Results illustrate basin-wide temperature increases at low elevations, with extreme seasonality increasing at high elevation stations in future climate. Reservoir levels in Blue Mesa declined more than 70%, but other reservoirs showed varying results dependent on location and climactic conditions. The resultant climate change scenarios will motivate adaptive watershed planning and management decisions and policies in response a changing climate and mitigate future concerns.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Forecasting
Status
complete
Completion Date
2015
- Conventional Hydro
The Impacts of Flexible Operation on Hydropower Assets: Generator
Lead Companies
EPRI
Lead Researcher (s)
- Francisco Kuljevan
With the increased penetration of variable renewable energy sources (wind and solar) in the electric grid’s energy mix, a greater need for a more flexible power system is required to maintain grid reliability. Hydropower has been shown to outpace its synchronous and inverter-base generation sources in a relative basis when providing the flexibility needed by the electric grid. Unfortunately, this flexibility comes with a potential decrease in fatigue life caused by the increased cycle activity, which was not accounted for when the assets were originally designed. With the use of electrical calculations, finite element analysis, and fatigue analysis, the study that is the subject of this report calculated the amplification damage factor caused by the flexible operation. The report focuses on two key generator components that have seen accelerated degradation caused by the change of operation patterns, from a baseload to a more flexible strategy.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Generator
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
The potential for restoring thermal refuges in rivers for cold-water salmonids
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Caroline Ubing
Human impacts to rivers have resulted in increased water temperatures that threaten cold water aquatic species such as salmonids. Higher summer water temperatures and lower winter water temperatures in rivers can lower fish viability by reducing fecundity, increasing morbidity and mortality, and reducing food sources. This can result in localized species extirpation and overall reduction in habitat basin-wide. For cold-water aquatic species recovery programs to meet their long-term goals, they must consider mitigating the impacts of warming waters with "thermal restoration" and creation of thermal refuges.Thermal refuge refers to areas within a stream corridor that buffer, lag, and cool/warm stream temperatures at biologically relevant scales and times . Thermal refuge can be expressed as biologically-available areas within a stream where cooler water temperatures exist at base flow conditions during summer and warmer water temperatures during winter. Thermal refuge restoration refers to physical and biological stream habitat restoration practices that result in creating or enhancing thermal refuges. This may be accomplished by creating and enhancing connectivity between surface and groundwater systems in the hyporheic zone (the interface between surface and groundwater along a river bed and floodplain). Re-vegetating the riparian zone to promote shading can also promote thermal restoration. This study will focus on the former mechanism as it relates to thermal refuges for salmonids including: Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and bull trout.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
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Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org