Sandia

Efforts part of FreedomCAR program to get lithium-ion batteries into cars

March 31, 2008 -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers in the Power Sources R&D group at Sandia National Laboratories have been driving nails into batteries, heating them to extreme temperatures, overcharging them, and putting them into some of the most adverse conditions possible to see how much abuse they can take before they blow up.

And for certain types of lithium-ion batteries the answer is a lot.

Sandia researcher Peter Roth prepares to blow up a battery to see how robust it is.: The work is part of the DOE-funded FredomCAR program. (Photo by Randy Montoya)    » read more »

Change should have little impact on nuclear weapons complex

February 27, 2008 -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —The kilogram is losing weight and many international scientists, including some at Sandia National Laboratories, agree that it’s time to redefine it.

Scientists are hoping to redefine the kilogram by basing it on standards of universal constants rather than on an artifact standard.

The International Prototype Kilogram (IPK) or “Le Grand K,” made in the 1880s, is a bar of platinum-iridium alloy kept in a vault near Paris.    » read more »

31.25 percent efficiency rate topples 1984 record

February 12, 2008 -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —On a perfect New Mexico winter day — with the sky almost 10 percent brighter than usual — Sandia National Laboratories and Stirling Energy Systems (SES) set a new solar-to-grid system conversion efficiency record by achieving a 31.25 percent net efficiency rate. The old 1984 record of 29.4 percent was toppled Jan. 31 on SES’s “Serial #3” solar dish Stirling system at Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility.    » read more »

January 28, 2008 -- LIVERMORE, CA —Jess® 7.1a3, a popular rule engine created by Sandia National Laboratories, has been licensed by Lockheed Martin Corporation to play a critical role in the Navy’s DDG 1000 destroyer ships.

According to Dr. Greg Harrison, a Lockheed systems engineer, the company chose Jess after extensive and multiple trade studies confirmed the software’s ability to interface with the information in the DDG 1000 knowledgebase. “I feel confident that we made the right choice with Jess,” says Harrison.    » read more »

November 14, 2007 -- LIVERMORE, CALIF. —In an effort to find an answer to the problem of identifying smuggled special nuclear material (SNM), researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in California say a neutron scatter camera they are developing may be able to detect radiation from much greater distances and through more shielding than current detection instruments.    » read more »

September 4, 2007 -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —The Sandia National Laboratories Pulsed Reactor (SPR) rides off into the sunset, headed toward Nevada. It leaves behind the operators who are sad to see such an important part of Sandia National Laboratories’ work and history leaving the Labs.

The Sandia Pulse Reactors provided intense neutron bursts for radiation effects testing of materials and electronics. They were used primarily for narrow pulse, high dose rate testing of electronic devices.

Sandia is a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratory.    » read more »

'Next generation' system will help ensure reliable, efficient communication to citizens in the event of hurricanes, other potentially catastrophic events

August 28, 2007 -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. and LIVERMORE, CALIF. —In partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Sandia National Laboratories is designing and deploying a pilot alert and warning system that will provide a robust, multi-faceted path to ensure effective public communications during a federal, state, or local emergency.    » read more »