Armed with Science | Tag Archive

Renewable Energy for Kandahar University

Filed under Energy by jtozer on February 5, 2013 at 7:09 am {no comments}

Kandahar University, located in western Kandahar City, received 36 pallets of solar panels from a private U.S. company Jan. 8, marking an important day for energy independence in the Kandahar region. The panels, worth nearly $1 million, were donated by First Solar of Arizona and will provide enough electricity to fully support the campus.

U.S. Army Civil-Military Operations Center Director Maj. Narvaez Stinson of the 450th Civil Affair Battalion (Airborne) coordinates the convoy movement while at Forward Operating Base Walton Jan. 8. Arizona based company First Solar donated more than 900 panels to the university, their second donation here since last year. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Jeff Neff)

With support from the local municipal government and the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, a total of 900 solar panels which will generate 135 kilowatts of electricity, were delivered to the university. After installation, the university will boast about 170kw with unused energy available to give back to the grid.

Chancellor Dr. Hazrat Mir Totakhil and Vice Chancellor and Lead Engineer Abdul Tawab gladly welcomed the convoy of local flatbed trucks, escorted by U.S. military personnel and the Infrastructure Team.

Infrastructure Team lead Navy Lt. Jason Gabbard and Army Civil-Military Operations Center director Maj. Narvaez Stinson, planned, coordinated and executed the overall movement from Kandahar Airfield to the university.

“Today is possible because of the tireless efforts of my predecessor, Mr. Gerry Paulus, who never wavered in his vision of energy independence for Kandahar University,” said Gabbard. “I am honored to continue his legacy.”

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The Eco-friendly Future Of U.S. Army Technologies

Filed under Energy, Videos by jtozer on January 27, 2013 at 7:35 am {no comments}

Check out the U.S. Army‘s fuel-efficient demonstrator, or FED.

The FED sports a number of fuel-saving technologies, such as low-rolling resistance tires, and optimized super turbo charged engine, lightweight aluminum armored cab, and it’s 70% more fuel efficient.

Check this out:

Video provided by the USArmy’s RDECOM YouTube channel

Now, you won’t see troops rolling all over the globe in these eco-friendly babies just yet, but it does serve as an example of the kind of technologies that are being researched and developed for the U.S. military forces.

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DOD Electric Vehicles Will Supply Power to Local Grids

Filed under Energy by jtozer on January 23, 2013 at 7:48 am {no comments}

As the military continues to move away from dependence on fossil fuels, the Defense Department plans to spend $20 million on a fleet of electric vehicles unique in their ability to export their own power and offset their cost.

Camron Gorguinpour, special assistant to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, said the department expects to lease as many as 500 electric vehicles at six different installations beginning later this year.

All will be modified versions of electric vehicles already on the market with costs ranging from $30,000 to $100,000.

“What we have identified is a path forward that will allow us to bring electric vehicles into our fleet that are less costly than conventional vehicles,” he said.

The Air Force has the lead on the project, which envisions Los Angeles Air Force Base becoming the first federal facility to replace everything from passenger sedans to shuttle buses with electric versions.

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Gas Guzzlers Disappearing From Army’s Shrinking Fleet

Filed under Energy by jtozer on December 30, 2012 at 7:15 am {no comments}

About 70 percent of fossil fuel is wasted — blown out the exhaust — in gas-guzzling vehicles. The Army is purchasing more energy-efficient vehicles.

In the past few years, the number of Army non-tactical vehicles has been declining and the number of fuel-hungry vehicles has been declining as well.

Non-tactical vehicles include cars, trucks, tractors and special-use vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances not meant for combat operations.

In 2009, the peak year, the Army had 82,860 non-tactical vehicles, according to Edward J. Moscatelli, chief, Transportation Branch, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management. His office develops the Program Objective Memorandum requirements and has oversight of all non-tactical vehicles in the Army.

Of those 82,860 vehicles, 10,941 were Army-owned, 70,348 were Government Services Administration-leased, and 1,571 were commercially leased, he said, adding that the commercially leased vehicles are ones not available from GSA and are usually cost-prohibitive for the Army to purchase.

Since that peak year, there has been a significant drop in the total number of vehicles.

While the final figures for this year are not yet in, Moscatelli projects the current total at approximately 74,000, of which 10,800 are Army-owned, 1,130 commercially leased and 63,000-GSA leased. He is closely looking at those numbers and thinks there are 5,000 more that can soon be eliminated.

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Electronics Dissolved by Drops of Liquid

Filed under STEM, Videos by jtozer on October 22, 2012 at 7:20 am {2 comments}

This DARPA video shows how a new class of electronics can safely dissolve into small amounts of liquid.

Transient electronics are electronic systems and components that use ultrathin sheets of silicon and magnesium encapsulated in silk. The thickness and crystallinity of the silk determines how long the electronics take to dissolve.

Silicon and magnesium are naturally occurring at low levels in the human body, and since the amount of material used in these devices is below physiological levels, these electronics are biocompatible and eco-friendly.

DARPA hopes this advance will lead to biodegradable medical treatments for remote patient care that does not require extraction surgery while warfighters are deployed. For more information on DARPA’s work with transient electronics, click here.

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The Inevitable Demo Of The Great Green Fleet

Filed under Earth Sciences, Energy, STEM by jtozer on July 19, 2012 at 11:28 am {no comments}

The guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) receives biofuel from the Military Sealift Command’s fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187) during a replenishment at sea (RAS). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Ryan J. Mayes/RELEASED)

In 2009, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus announced five aggressive energy goals to reduce the Department of Navy’s (DON’s) consumption of energy, decrease its reliance on foreign sources of oil, and significantly increase its use of alternative energy.

The purpose of these energy goals is to improve our combat capability and to increase our energy security by addressing a significant military vulnerability: dependence on foreign oil.

One of the five energy goals is to demonstrate and then deploy a “Great Green Fleet,” a Carrier Strike Group fueled by alternative sources of energy, including nuclear power.

The Great Green Fleet is named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet, which helped usher in America as a global power on the world stage at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Prior to deploying the Great Green Fleet in 2016, the Navy conducted a demonstration during the 2012 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world’s largest international maritime exercise.

The demonstration illustrated and evaluated the performance of “drop-in replacement” advanced biofuel blends and certain energy efficient technologies in an operational setting.

Advanced Biofuel Blends

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Planting Trees for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay

Filed under Earth Sciences, Videos by jtozer on June 6, 2012 at 7:00 am {no comments}

“Changing the environment becomes a need that all creatures should aspire to meet. The better the the planet lives, the better it is for us to flourish in it. It’s a symbiosis that we’re all a part of; improvement is transcendent.” ~ HJT

The Naval Research Laboratory‘s Environmental Branch planted 100 seedlings on the NRL Chesapeake Bay Detachment facility. These trees, planted around a storm water pond, can help to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Solar Power for Soldiers

Filed under Energy, Videos by jtozer on May 21, 2012 at 7:14 am {no comments}

The U.S. Army Reserve officially opens it’s first fully functional solar powered training facility in Illinois. The new Joliet U.S. Army Reserve training center will be home to 600 quartermaster and transportation personnel. The $36 million, 60,000 square foot complex was built as a modernization effort and as a part of the Army Green Initiative.