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Smith, T.

Publications and source records attributed to Smith, T..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

How to Safely Build 100-plus Kilograms of Weapons-Grade Plutonium

The goal of the EUCLID (Experiments Underpinned by Computational Learning for Improvements in Nuclear Data) project was to reduce compensating errors by utilizing machine learning to both help determine which reactions contain compensating errors as well as optimizing an experiment which can be used to maximally reduce these errors. Compensating errors can adversely impact the predictive power of application simulations, and therefore it’s useful to further constrain nuclear data and reduce these errors. The EUCLID project included building two configurations at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC). These two configurations had very different geometries (one was cube-like and one was slab-like). Previous works focus on selection of the target experiment(s), radiation transport capabilities developed in the project, the experiment optimization, and the performance of the experiments. This work will focus only on the safety aspects of performing this experiment, which utilized over 100 kg of weapons-grade plutonium.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Criticality Experiments to Reduce Compensating Errors in Plutonium Nuclear Data

Compensating errors between nuclear data observables in a library can adversely impact application simulations. The primary goal of the EUCLID project (Experiments Underpinned by Computational Learning for Improvements in Nuclear Data) is to reduce compensating errors in nuclear data. A new criticality experiment, described in this work, was designed with the specific target nuclear data of 239 Pu fission, inelastic scattering, elastic scattering, capture, nu-bar, and prompt fission neutron spectrum (PFNS). This work will focus on the design and execution of the EUCLID experiment, performed on the Planet vertical lift critical assembly machine at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC). The criticality experiment includes two different configurations with very different geometries: one is cube-like to minimize neutron leakage while the other is slab-like to maximize leakage. Having these two widely varying configurations allows the scattering sensitivities of 239 Pu to the neutron multiplication factor to be greatly changed while minimally impacting the other cross section sensitivities. Both configurations utilize the Pu ZPPR (Zero Power Physics Reactor) plates as fuel. The experiments were designed using a D-Optimality criteria, which is an optimization method minimizing the log-determinant of the adjusted nuclear data covariance for the target reactions. These experiments include not only inference of k eff , as done in all critical benchmark experiments, but several other responses as well, such as neutron multiplication measurements and reaction rate ratios. After analysis of the measured data is complete, adjustment of nuclear data will be performed to assess whether the new experimental data successfully reduced compensating errors.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Reactivity Coefficient Measurements to Aid in Reducing Compensating Errors in Plutonium Nuclear Data

Compensating errors between several nuclear data observables in a nuclear data library can adversely impact application simulations. The primary goal of the EUCLID project (Experiments Underpinned by Computational Learning for Improvements in Nuclear Data) is to reduce compensating errors between fast (0.1–5 MeV) 239Pu nuclear data for prompt fission neutron spectra (PFNS), average prompt fission neutron multiplicities, and neutron induced fission, capture, elastic, and inelastic cross sections. This work will focus on the design and execution of void reactivity coefficient measurements in the EUCLID experiment, performed on the Planet vertical lift critical assembly machine at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC). Two different base configurations were designed and measured, one with high neutron leakage, and one with low neutron leakage. Both were primarily made up of plutonium metal (Zero Power Physics Reactor plates) without interstitial moderators and reflected by half-inch aluminum. Design optimization showed that void reactivity coefficient measurements in three locations per configuration was most impactful to reduce nuclear data uncertainties due to the varying impacts from elastic and inelastic scattering, as well as fission and capture. The locations for measurements were chosen based on preliminary studies which balanced measurement uncertainty and measurement practicality. The measurements were also selected to have sensitivities maximally complementary to previous arrangements. Comparisons across nuclear data libraries highlight the potential impact.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Data preservation in high energy physics

Data preservation is a mandatory specification for any present and future experimental facility and it is a cost-effective way of doing fundamental research by exploiting unique data sets in the light of the continuously increasing theoretical understanding. This document summarizes the status of data preservation in high energy physics. The paradigms and the methodological advances are discussed from a perspective of more than ten years of experience with a structured effort at international level. The status and the scientific return related to the preservation of data accumulated at large collider experiments are presented, together with an account of ongoing efforts to ensure long-term analysis capabilities for ongoing and future experiments. Transverse projects aimed at generic solutions, most of which are specifically inspired by open science and FAIR principles, are presented as well. A prospective and an action plan are also indicated.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Why Lady Godiva Should be Replaced as the Default Validation Experiment for U-235 Nuclear Data

For the past seven decades the Lady Godiva benchmark (HEU-MET-FAST-001) has been the primary experiment used for 235 U nuclear data validation. The papers associated with large nuclear data library releases such as ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 refer to it frequently. The reasons why HEU-MET-FAST-001 has been used as the primary validation experiment for 235 U nuclear data validation will be discussed in the following section. However, as discussed among the benchmark community, the standards associated with International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) evaluations have changed throughout time; this is subject of the OECD/NEA WPEC (Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety) Subgroup 8. HEU-MET-FAST-001 is an older benchmark (issued during the inaugural year of ICSBEP in 1996 with only minor revisions occurring since then) and (along with many of the other benchmarks from this era) does not meet the standards for a modern benchmark. This work explores why HEU-MET-FAST-001 is useful for 235 U nuclear data validation and discusses other alternative validation experiments.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Test Results of a High-Gradient 2.856-GHz Negative Harmonic Accelerating Waveguide

We report the high-gradient tests results of a novel traveling wave accelerating structure for β=0.3 based on a novel approach of operating at the first negative spatial harmonic. Accelerating gradients of 50 MV/m and peak electric fields of 160 MV/m were achieved in a single structure consisting of 15 coupled cells during tests at the advanced photon source. This work was performed by RadiaBeam, in collaboration with the Argonne National Laboratory, as a part of a Research and Development Program for the development of an ultrahigh-gradient linear accelerator, the Advanced Compact Carbon Ion Linac, for hadron therapy.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermionic microwave gun for terahertz and synchrotron light sources

Conventional thermionic microwave and radiofrequency (RF) guns can offer high average beam current, which is important for synchrotron light and terahertz (THz) radiation source facilities, as well as for industrial applications. For example, the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory is a national synchrotron radiation light source research facility that utilizes thermionic RF guns. Yet, these existing thermionic guns are bulky, difficult to handle and install, easily detuned, very sensitive to thermal expansion, and are due for a major upgrade and replacement. Here, we present the design of a new, more stable and reliable gun with optimized electromagnetic performance, improved thermal engineering and a more robust cathode mounting technique, which is a critical step to improve the performance of existing and future light sources, industrial accelerators, and electron beam-driven terahertz sources. We will also present a fabricated gun prototype and show results of high-power and beam tests.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

High voltage GaN p-n diodes formed by selective area regrowth

GaN p-n diodes were formed by selective area regrowth on freestanding GaN substrates using a dry etch, followed by post-etch surface treatment to reduce etch-induced defects, and subsequent regrowth into wells. Etched-and-regrown diodes with a 150 gm diameter achieved 840 V operation at 0.5 A/cm 2 reverse current leakage and a specific on-resistance of 1.2 mΩ•cm 2 . Etched-and-regrown diodes were compared with planar, regrown diodes without etching on the same wafer. Both types of diodes exhibited similar forward and reverse electrical characteristics, which indicate that etch-induced defectivity of the junction was sufficiently mitigated soas not to be the primary cause for leakage. An area dependence for forward and reverse leakage current density was observed, suggesting that the mesa sidewall provided a leakage path.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Demonstration of transmission high energy electron microscopy

Charged particle radiography with 800 MeV protons has been used for decades at LANL and developed around the world to study dynamic material properties. Recently, charged particle radiography has been demonstrated with the use of high-energy electrons. Because of the difference in the mass of the electron compared to the mass of the proton, the radiographic processes are substantially different and well suited to the study of fast dynamic processes in relatively thin systems. This presentation will show the layout required for such measurements, along with data collected from this recent demonstration performed with 14 GeV electrons generated at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The radiographic performance for flash measurements will be presented, along with the limitations of this measurement technique.

Merrill, F. E.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Channeling and radiation experiments at SLAC

Since 2014, a SLAC-Aarhus-Ferrara-CalPoly collaboration augmented by members of ANL and MIT has performed electron and positron channeling experiments using bent silicon crystals at the SLAC End Station A Test Beam as well as the FACET accelerator test facility. These experiments have revealed a remarkable channeling efficiency of about 24% under our conditions. Volume reflection is even more efficient with almost the whole beam taking part in the reflection process. A positron experiment demonstrated quasi-channeling oscillations for the first time at high beam energy. In our most recent experiment we measured the spectrum of gamma radiation for crystal orientations covering channeling and volume reflection. We report this series of experiments supports the development of more advanced crystalline devices capable e.g. of producing narrow-band gamma rays with electron beams or studying the interaction of the electrons with the wakefields generated in the crystal at high beam intensity.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Investigation of Application Specific k eff Sensitivities to Existing and New Subcritical and Critical Experiments

Integral subcritical and critical experiments are essential in providing validation of computational codes which improve confidence in the predicted k eff results of specific applications. This work discusses the relevance of existing integral subcritical and critical experiments to applications far reaching across the nuclear complex. These applications include Travelling Wave Reactors (TWR), Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY), and plutonium reflected by tantalum. The primary goal of this work is to improve knowledge of energy-dependent cross-section sensitivities for specific applications, identify nuclear data gaps in existing experiments, enable an optimized design of new experiments to address these gaps, and design practical new experiments that could be executed at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) that have a high-value to these applications.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Numerical study and test of the APS linac transverse deflecting cavity

The transverse deflecting cavity can be used to transform particle distributions in the 6D phase space, which makes it a promising component in phase space beam diagnostics and beam manipulations. In the Advanced Photon Source (APS) Linac, a LOLA-type traveling wave deflecting cavity was installed for the diagnostics of beam characteristics, such as the bunch length, bunch temporal profile, time-dependent energy spread and slice (time-correlated) transverse emittance. In this paper, this deflecting cavity is modeled and analyzed with the numerical method. The effects of the center cell and coupler cell dimensions on the performance of the whole structure are studied, which shows the coupler cell radius has a dominant effect over the coupler cell length and slot width on the global reflection coefficient and field flatness. Important RF parameters, such as S-11, field flatness and phase advance etc., of the LOLA-II cavity in tuning are calculated and discussed. After optimization, the field flatness of the cavity is 2.1%, the phase advance is 119.66 degrees degrees with a standard deviation smaller than 0.5 degrees and the bandwidth is 15.738 MHz when VSWR < 1.1 (i.e. the S-11, < -26 dB). Bead-pull measurements and RF conditioning have been also performed and discussed. Finally, the initial cavity commissioning with electron beam of 375 MeV is reported, and compared with simulation.

coupler↗
NASA NTRS2018

Astrobee Guest Science Interface

At the end of 2018, Astrobee will launch three free-flying robots that will navigate the entire US segment of the ISS (International Space Station) and serve as a payload facility. The mechanical and electrical interfaces are now established and several payloads are being developed. Payload Interface: Astrobee is designed to host third party guest science program payloads (GSP payloads). Some GSP payloads may be software only, such as the Zero Robotics Finals Competition, which is currently hosted on SPHERES, and which will transition to Astrobee in 2019. Several GSP payloads with custom hardware, such as the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) Project RFID reader, are already under development. These payloads will attach in the Astrobee payload bay.

Barlow, J.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Demonstration of transmission high energy electron microscopy

High energy electrons have been used to investigate an extension of transmission electron microscopy. This technique, transmission high energy electron microscopy (THEEM), provides two additional capabilities to electron microscopy. First, high energy electrons are more penetrating than low energy electrons, and thus, they are able to image through thicker samples. Second, the accelerating mode of a radio-frequency linear accelerator provides fast exposures, down to 1 ps, which are ideal for flash radiography, making THEEM well suited to study the evolution of fast material processes under dynamic conditions. Lastly, initial investigations with static objects and during material processing have been performed to investigate the capabilities of this technique.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measurement of the Vector and Tensor Asymmetries at Large Missing Momentum in Quasielastic ( e → , e ' p ) Electron Scattering from Deuterium

Here, we report the measurement of the beam-vector and tensor asymmetries A e d V and A d T in quasielastic ( e → , e ' p ) electrodisintegration of the deuteron at the MIT-Bates Linear Accelerator Center up to missing momentum of 500 MeV / c . Data were collected simultaneously over a momentum transfer range 0.1 < Q 2 < 0.5 ( GeV / c ) 2 with the Bates Large Acceptance Spectrometer Toroid using an internal deuterium gas target polarized sequentially in both vector and tensor states. The data are compared with calculations. The beam-vector asymmetry A e d V is found to be directly sensitive to the D -wave component of the deuteron and has a zero crossing at a missing momentum of about 320 MeV / c , as predicted. The tensor asymmetry A d T at large missing momentum is found to be dominated by the influence of the tensor force in the neutron-proton final-state interaction. The new data offer a strong constraint on theoretical models.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗