Albany Research Center

Last updated
Albany Research Center
Albany Research Center.JPG
Established1943
Research typeFossil energy
Field of research
GIS, materials, MHD
Staff 120
Location Albany, Oregon, USA
44°37′13″N123°7′14″W / 44.62028°N 123.12056°W / 44.62028; -123.12056 Coordinates: 44°37′13″N123°7′14″W / 44.62028°N 123.12056°W / 44.62028; -123.12056
Campus 44 acres (0.18 km2)
Affiliations National Energy Technology Laboratory
Operating agency
U.S. Department of Energy
Website netl.doe.gov

The Albany Research Center, now part of National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory staffed by Federal employees and contractors located in Albany, Oregon. Founded in 1943, the laboratory initially specialized in life cycle research starting with the formulation, characterization, and/or melting of most metals, alloys, and ceramics; casting and fabrication, prototype development; and the recycle and remediation of waste streams associated with these processes. Researchers at the laboratory routinely solved industrial processing problems by investigating melting, casting, fabrication, physical and chemical analysis and wear, corrosion and performance testing of materials through the use of equipment and analytical techniques. Since joining NETL, the laboratory has switched its research focus mainly to materials and processes for fossil energy production and conversion. The facility rests on 44 acres (18 ha) and occupies 38 buildings. [1]

Contents

History

The United States Bureau of Mines selected a location in Albany to be home to the Northwest Electro-development Laboratory on March 17, 1943. [2] The grounds of the center and some buildings had been the home of Albany College (now Lewis & Clark College) from 1925 until 1937. [3] [4] The facility was planned to develop new metallurgical processes as well as study ways to use low-grade resources using the surplus of electricity in the region. [2] In 1945, the name was changed to the Albany Metallurgy Research Center. [2]

Research at the facility in the early years included studying zirconium, which led to advances in producing ductile zirconium under William J. Kroll. [2] This included work with the Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission on development of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear-powered submarine. [2] In 1955, production of zirconium at the research center stopped when it was taken over by private industry. [2] Other work at Albany included research on titanium casting, recycling metals and alloys, creating sulfurcrete, and studying metal corrosion among other areas. [2]

The center was renamed as the Albany Research Center in 1977, and in 1985 it was listed by the American Society for Metals as a historical landmark. [2] During the mid-1990s until the mid-2000s, the center worked with the Oregon Department of Transportation on preventing corrosion on bridges exposed to salt water. [5] In 1996, the United States Congress eliminated the Bureau of Mines, with the Albany facility then transferred to the U.S. Department of Energy. [2] At first it reported directly to the department's Office of Fossil Energy, but in 2005 it was realigned under the National Energy Technology Laboratory with the name changing to NETL-Albany. [2] At that time the research center had a staff of 85 people and an annual budget of $10 million. [6] Though the research center began additional upgrades in 2009 to add on two new modular office complexes to the facility and bringing to total staff up to 120 people. [7] During that same year the center received an R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine. [8]

FUSRAP cleanup

From 1945 until 1978, the Research Center was involved in working with radioactive materials, first for the Atomic Energy Commission and later for the Energy Research and Development Administration.

As part of Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) cleanup operations, a radiological survey was conducted of the site in 1985. Portions of 18 buildings and 37 exterior locations were designated as needing decontamination. The cleanup was done in two phases: Phase I from July 1987 to January 1988 and Phase II from August 1990 to April 1991. The hazardous waste material was sent to the Hanford Site for disposal. The site was certified to Department of Energy standards and guidelines for cleanup of residual radioactive contamination in 1993. [9]

Operations

In conjunction with the Office of Fossil Energy, the facility investigates many of the nation's challenges in the production and use of all types of fossil energy systems to include the need to produce new materials for the energy systems of tomorrow and to develop new methods to ameliorate the releases associated with these new systems. [10] Three directorates of NETL's Research & Innovation Center are represented at the Albany site: Geological and Environmental Systems, Materials Engineering and Manufacturing, and Energy Conversion Engineering. Specific research is conducted on geographic information systems for fossil fuels, advanced alloys and ceramics for coal and natural gas power plants, and magnetohydrodynamic generators. [10] Their facilities include a GIS visualization laboratory, fabrication plant, a melting and casting facility, and a MHD laboratory. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metallurgy</span> Field of science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metals

Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the science and the technology of metals; that is, the way in which science is applied to the production of metals, and the engineering of metal components used in products for both consumers and manufacturers. Metallurgy is distinct from the craft of metalworking. Metalworking relies on metallurgy in a similar manner to how medicine relies on medical science for technical advancement. A specialist practitioner of metallurgy is known as a metallurgist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stainless steel</span> Steel alloy resistant to corrosion

Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion results from the chromium, which forms a passive film that can protect the material and self-heal in the presence of oxygen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany, Oregon</span> City in Oregon, United States

Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, just east of Corvallis and south of Salem. It is predominantly a farming and manufacturing city that settlers founded around 1848. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Albany, Oregon was 56,472.

Refractory metals are a class of metals that are extraordinarily resistant to heat and wear. The expression is mostly used in the context of materials science, metallurgy and engineering. The definition of which elements belong to this group differs. The most common definition includes five elements: two of the fifth period and three of the sixth period. They all share some properties, including a melting point above 2000 °C and high hardness at room temperature. They are chemically inert and have a relatively high density. Their high melting points make powder metallurgy the method of choice for fabricating components from these metals. Some of their applications include tools to work metals at high temperatures, wire filaments, casting molds, and chemical reaction vessels in corrosive environments. Partly due to the high melting point, refractory metals are stable against creep deformation to very high temperatures.

Ames National Laboratory, formerly Ames Laboratory, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Ames, Iowa, and affiliated with Iowa State University. It is a top-level national laboratory for research on national security, energy, and the environment. The laboratory conducts research into areas of national concern, including the synthesis and study of new materials, energy resources, high-speed computer design, and environmental cleanup and restoration. It is located on the campus of Iowa State University.

Liquidmetal and Vitreloy are commercial names of a series of amorphous metal alloys developed by a California Institute of Technology (Caltech) research team and marketed by Liquidmetal Technologies. Liquidmetal alloys combine a number of desirable material features, including high tensile strength, excellent corrosion resistance, very high coefficient of restitution and excellent anti-wearing characteristics, while also being able to be heat-formed in processes similar to thermoplastics. Despite the name, they are not liquid at room temperature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Energy Technology Laboratory</span>

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is a U.S national laboratory under the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy. NETL focuses on applied research for the clean production and use of domestic energy resources. NETL performs research and development on the supply, efficiency, and environmental constraints of producing and using fossil energy resources, while maintaining their affordability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear fuel</span> Material used in nuclear power stations

Nuclear fuel is material used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Susana Field Laboratory</span> Industrial research and development facilities in southern California

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), formerly known as Rocketdyne, is a complex of industrial research and development facilities located on a 2,668-acre (1,080 ha) portion of Southern California in an unincorporated area of Ventura County in the Simi Hills between Simi Valley and Los Angeles. The site is located approximately 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Hollywood and approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Sage Ranch Park is adjacent on part of the northern boundary and the community of Bell Canyon is along the entire southern boundary.

Zirconium alloys are solid solutions of zirconium or other metals, a common subgroup having the trade mark Zircaloy. Zirconium has very low absorption cross-section of thermal neutrons, high hardness, ductility and corrosion resistance. One of the main uses of zirconium alloys is in nuclear technology, as cladding of fuel rods in nuclear reactors, especially water reactors. A typical composition of nuclear-grade zirconium alloys is more than 95 weight percent zirconium and less than 2% of tin, niobium, iron, chromium, nickel and other metals, which are added to improve mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zirconium hydride</span>

Zirconium hydride describes an alloy made by combining zirconium and hydrogen. Hydrogen acts as a hardening agent, preventing dislocations in the zirconium atom crystal lattice from sliding past one another. Varying the amount of hydrogen and the form of its presence in the zirconium hydride controls qualities such as the hardness, ductility, and tensile strength of the resulting zirconium hydride. Zirconium hydride with increased hydrogen content can be made harder and stronger than zirconium, but such zirconium hydride is also less ductile than zirconium.

In metallurgy, non-ferrous metals are metals or alloys that do not contain iron in appreciable amounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnesium alloy</span>

Magnesium alloys are mixtures of magnesium with other metals, often aluminium, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium. Magnesium alloys have a hexagonal lattice structure, which affects the fundamental properties of these alloys. Plastic deformation of the hexagonal lattice is more complicated than in cubic latticed metals like aluminium, copper and steel; therefore, magnesium alloys are typically used as cast alloys, but research of wrought alloys has been more extensive since 2003. Cast magnesium alloys are used for many components of modern automobiles and have been used in some high-performance vehicles; die-cast magnesium is also used for camera bodies and components in lenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernald Feed Materials Production Center</span> Uranium fuel factory

The Fernald Feed Materials Production Center is a Superfund site located within Crosby Township in Hamilton County, Ohio, as well as Ross Township in Butler County, Ohio. It was a uranium processing facility located near the rural town of New Baltimore, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Cincinnati, which fabricated uranium fuel cores for the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex from 1951 to 1989. During that time, the plant produced 170,000 metric tons uranium (MTU) of metal products and 35,000 MTU of intermediate compounds, such as uranium trioxide and uranium tetrafluoride.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy Technology Engineering Center</span>

The Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC), was a government-owned, contractor-operated complex of industrial facilities located within the 2,850-acre (11.5 km2) Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), Ventura County, California. The ETEC specialized in non-nuclear testing of components which were designed to transfer heat from a nuclear reactor using liquid metals instead of water or gas. The center operated from 1966 to 1998. The ETEC site has been closed and is now undergoing building removal and environmental remediation by the U.S. Department of Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomics International</span> Defunct US nuclear technology company

Atomics International was a division of the North American Aviation company which engaged principally in the early development of nuclear technology and nuclear reactors for both commercial and government applications. Atomics International was responsible for a number of accomplishments relating to nuclear energy: design, construction and operation of the first nuclear reactor in California (1952), the first nuclear reactor to produce power for a commercial power grid in the United States (1957) and the first nuclear reactor launched into outer space by the United States (1965).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology</span>

The Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology is an institute for graduate-level education and research in the field of iron and steel technology at Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea. It has nine specialized laboratories covering all sides of metallurgy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friction stir processing</span>

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a method of changing the properties of a metal through intense, localized plastic deformation. This deformation is produced by forcibly inserting a non-consumable tool into the workpiece, and revolving the tool in a stirring motion as it is pushed laterally through the workpiece. The precursor of this technique, friction stir welding, is used to join multiple pieces of metal without creating the heat affected zone typical of fusion welding.

Wah Chang Corporation was an American manufacturing company in the metal or alloy industry based in Albany, Oregon in the United States. Since 2014, it is a business unit of ATI.

Brahm Prakash, was a metallurgist known for his work with nuclear materials in India.

References

  1. "National Energy Technology Laboratory". Goldbelt Eagle. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Albany, Oregon History". About NETL. U.S. Department of Energy. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  3. Friedman, Ralph (1990). In Search of Western Oregon . Caxton Press. p.  499. ISBN   978-0-87004-332-1. albany-research-center oregon.
  4. Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 6.
  5. Paul, Alex (September 2, 2007). "Bridge work: Albany lab's research prolongs bridge life on salt-soaked coast". Albany Democrat-Herald . Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  6. Associated Press (October 3, 2005). "Department of Energy jobs to be put out for bid". The World .
  7. Lathrop, Steve (December 10, 2009). "National Energy Technology Laboratory starts facility upgrade". Albany Democrat-Herald. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  8. "Four Albany projects earn awards". Albany Democrat-Herald. August 3, 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  9. "Albany, Oregon, Site Fact Sheet" (PDF). Legacy Management. U.S. Department of Energy. 2009-05-18. Archived from the original on 5 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  10. 1 2 3 "Laboratory Profile: DOE - Albany Research Center (ARC)". Far West Bulletin. Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer. Spring 2004. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18.