Online Doe Basic eLearning

Radiation Safety: Industrial Sources "Radiation Safety for Industrial Sources" is designed to give the basic facts on radiation safety to workers in general industry. It is intended for users with sealed radiation sources enclosed within industrial devices. Workers in filling operations in which fill-checkers use radiation for detection of "filled or rejected" will find this program especially useful. Topics covered include basic  more...

Continuous Commissioning - Maximizing Building Energy Efficiency and Comfort Overview Building commissioning has emerged as the preferred method of ensuring that building systems are installed and operated to provide the performance envisioned by the designer. While most commissioning processes focus on bringing building operation to the original design intent, Continuous Commissioning is different. Continuous Commissioning focuses on optimizing HVAC system operation  more...

Lab Design for Energy Savings Overview As a building type, the laboratory demands our attention; what the cathedral was to the 14th century, the train station was to the 19th century, and the office building was to the 20th century, the laboratory is to the 21st century. Unfortunately, a laboratory is also a prodigious consumer of natural resources. The challenge for architects, engineers, and other building professionals  more...

Insulation Basics Overview In today's building industry, there are several commercial type buildings that are using building techniques similar to residential construction with respect to materials and installation details for slabs, underground foundation walls, exterior above ground walls, ceilings, attics and roofs. Although the building codes for commercial construction are different than those for  more...

Basic Electrical Theory - Electricity and Magnetism Electricity and magnetism run nearly everything we plug in or turn on. Although it? s something we take for granted, it has taken hundreds of years of experimentation and research to reach the point where we flick a switch and the lights go on. Magnetism and electricity are closely related phenomena. Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter. Matter is made up of electrons, neutrons,  more...

Basic Direct Current DC Theory Direct current or DC electricity is the continuous movement of electrons from an area of negative (-) charges to an area of positive ( ) charges. A DC circuit is necessary to allow the current or stream of electrons to flow. Such a circuit consists of a source of electrical energy (such as a battery) and a conducting wire running from the positive end of the source to the negative terminal. DC  more...

Instrumentation and Control Temperature Pressure Flow Level and Position Indication Overview Instrumentation is the art of measuring the value of some plant parameters, for example, temperature, pressure, flow, or level to name a few, and supplying a signal that is proportional to the measured parameter. The output signals are standard signals and can then be processed by other equipment to provide indication, alarms or automatic control. This course covers five modules  more...

Waste Heat Reduction and Recovery Overview Thermal efficiency of process heating equipment, such as furnaces, ovens, melters, heaters, and kilns is the ratio of heat delivered to a material and heat supplied to the heating equipment. For most heating equipment, a large amount of the heat supplied is wasted in the form of exhaust or flue gases. These losses depend on various factors associated with the design and operation of  more...

Underfloor Air Distribution Recent trends in today? s office environment make it increasingly more difficult for conventional centralized HVAC systems to satisfy the environmental preferences of individual office workers using the standardized approach of providing a single uniform thermal and ventilation environment. A task/ambient conditioning system, such as an underfloor air distribution system, is defined as any space  more...

Heat Exchanger Fundamentals Overview A heat exchanger transfers heat from one fluid to another. Without heat exchangers, many of the products that we use today would not be possible. Without a radiator (which is a heat exchanger), vehicles would quickly overheat. Without an evaporator (another heat exchanger), you would not have the comfort of air conditioning in your home. Because of the importance of heat exchangers in  more...

Desiccant Dehumidification Systems for Comfort Conditioning Overview Desiccant air-conditioning systems can be used as alternatives for conventional air-conditioning equipment in any commercial or residential building. Recent breakthroughs in desiccant materials technology and the creation of new markets by Indoor Air Quality issues make desiccant-based air-conditioning equipment practical for many space-conditioning applications. In this course the  more...

Heat Transfer Fundamentals Overview Heat transfer occurs when there is a temperature difference between two bodies. There are three modes of transferring heat - conduction, convection and radiation. Heat is capable of being transferred through solids and fluids by conduction, through fluids by convection, and through empty space by radiation. The transfer of heat is an integral part of many industrial processes.  more...

Combined Heat and Power CHP Systems Guidelines Overview Energy is becoming more and more a major factor in building systems design. Engineers who strive to utilize the most current technology and efficient systems are looking at Combined Heat & Power (CHP) systems as a primary option early in the building design. CHP is an important part of America's energy future. In this course the student will learn some of the basic guidelines  more...

Valve Fundamentals Overview Valves are used to regulate the flow of fluids in piping systems. They are used to throttle flow, shut-off flow, reduce pressure, relieve pressure and prevent backflow. Valves are one of the simplest components in most piping systems, but the importance of proper valve selection cannot be overemphasized. Premature valve failure can result in loss of fluid pressure containment, which  more...

Air-Cooled Lithium Bromide Absorption for CHP Applications Overview The objective of the source document for this course was to summarize the development status of air-cooled lithium bromide water absorption chillers. The use of LiBr is possible in CHP systems but research is still in progress for commercial applications. In this course the student will learn some of the more recent design approaches of LiBr chillers. The student is expected to read  more...

Fluid Flow Fundamentals This course covers the basics of fluid flow. You will learn the difference between laminar and turbulent flow, how to calculate Reynolds Number and how to do simple piping friction loss calculations. Learn the difference between pressure head, velocity head and elevation head, which are the components that comprise the Bernoulli Equation ? the basic equation of fluid flow. Understand the  more...

Characteristics and Properties of Metals The understanding of the structure and properties of metals, stress mechanisms, failure modes and the characteristics determine their usefulness for a specific application. Often, materials are subject to variable forces (loads). The mechanical engineer calculates these forces to establish the service that can be expected and material scientists experiment to determine how materials deform  more...