Sandia National Laboratories Program Fuels Success
Published Mar 26, 2007
How effective is wind power? A device developed by Sandia National Laboratories can measure efficiency in several ways.
Sandia explores ways to meet the need for secure energy sources
How effective is wind power? A device developed by Sandia National Laboratories can measure efficiency in several ways.
In 1949, when AT&T assumed management of Sandia National Laboratories, President Harry S. Truman told AT&T President Leroy Wilson, “You have here an opportunity to render an exceptional service in the national interest.”
Today, Lockheed Martin Corp. manages Sandia for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. And while Sandia, born out of World War II’s Manhattan Project, has adapted to the nation’s changing security requirements, its mission to provide exceptional service remains steady.
For instance, Sandia’s Energy and Infrastructures Futures Group is working to provide secure, reliable energy systems for military bases. Energy outages can affect communications, computer access, transportation – even water availability. Long-term outages can overtax backup power systems and threaten security.
Attempting to reinforce the electric grid – the system of poles, underground conduits and wires that bring electricity from the generators to the places of consumption – may not be the only answer. “Some studies suggest that this might make the grid more complex and prone to failure,” says Dave Menicucci, who heads the research team.
No matter how it’s configured, an energy system must be safe, secure, reliable, cost-effective and sustainable, Menicucci says. A possible solution is putting the energy source closer to the “load” – the places where people use the power.
Sandia is developing an energy surety model to operate with or without a traditional grid. Known as a microgrid, the system would use more small-generation units and storage near the load. It also would integrate a diversified energy mix, include secure onsite fuel storage and use sustainable technology, such as renewable energy.
Sandia, in cooperation with the U.S. Army, is now studying how the energy surety concept could be implemented on an actual military base.
Renewable energy is a key initiative in New Mexico, where wind and sunlight are readily available. But how effective is it? To find out, Sandia’s Wind Energy Technology Department developed ATLAS II (Accurate Time Linked data Acquisition System), a device that gauges the efficiency of wind turbines.
Housed within a protective aluminum box and affixed to the wind turbine, the device can measure many factors, including the inflow, the operational state and the structural response. “You configure it,” says Jose Zayas, the Wind Energy Technology Department’s manager.
From Sept. 14, 2004, until Jan. 19, 2005, Sandia, along with GE Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, monitored a GE wind turbine in Colorado. ATLAS II collected more than 17,000 data records, which were transmitted via satellite to Sandia.
The data helped determine the environment’s affect on the machine, Zayas says. “Nature is always changing. Wind changes direction and velocity. Blades that are higher up might be affected differently than blades on the bottom.”
Sandia is in the midst of experiments that will use ATLAS II to monitor three advanced blade designs on a test turbine, which Sandia operates with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research station in Bushland, Texas. The first blade has been installed and is being tested.
Story by Pam George
Photo by Brian Mccord
Current Weather Conditions In Albuquerque, NM (87102)
Light Snow, and 32 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
