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DOE OSTI2022

TRIPOLI-4 neutronics calculations for IAEA-CRP benchmark of CEFR start-up tests using new libraries JEFF-3.3 and ENDF/B-VIII

Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFR) are one of the promising Generation IV fast reactors. The China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) is a 65 MWth pool-type SFR with a high neutron leakage core using high enriched uranium oxide fuel. The CEFR start-up tests in 2010 consist of series of neutronics experiments. Essential experimental data are available from the 2018 IAEA-CEFR-CRP benchmark document and useful for the validation of neutron transport codes and nuclear data libraries. The TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo transport code is a general-purpose neutronics code using continuous-energy nuclear data libraries. It has a rich validation database covering different computational and experimental benchmark data sets to assure the accuracy and credibility of numerical studies. Previous TRIPOLI-4 SFR core physics calculations used mainly MOX fuels. SFR control rod worth studies with TRIPOLI-4 were mainly on big-size cores. To test the modeling capability of TRIPOLI-4 on fuel loading patterns and on variable control rods positions for SFRs and to check recent nuclear data libraries, it is interesting to investigate the CEFR start-up tests in this work, including core states from subcritical to supercritical, control rods and rod group worth, point kinetics parameters, and radial foil activation measurements. TRIPOLI-4 calculation results using new data libraries JEFF-3.3, ENDF/B-VIII, and those of ENDF/B-VII.1 for different CEFR core states are reported here. By means of different options of TRIPOLI-4, control-rod SAs reactivity worth, point kinetics parameters, and radial {sup 237}Np(n,f) fission rate distribution were successfully evaluated. Both ENDF/B-VIII and JEFF-3.3 nuclear data libraries provided reliable results with a difference of 170 +/- 11 pcm in k{sub eff}.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2023

DATASET RELEASE AND QUALITY CONTROL REVIEW OF LIVERMORE NEVADA NETWORK (LNN) RECORDINGS OF A SUBSET OF NEVADA NUCLEAR SECURITY SITE NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS FROM 1979 TO 1992.

Geophysical research on historical nuclear tests is an important aspect of future monitoring capabilities in seismic research. This research is challenging due to the limited number of digital seismic recordings during the peak of nuclear testing (1945-1992). These limited records are unique and non-reproducible data with potential high research impact. Releasing available nuclear explosion seismic records to the explosion monitoring community is thus of high value and is the motivation for this dataset release. The target of this effort was on compilation and quality control of regional seismic records of nuclear explosions recorded on Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory stations ELK, KNB, LAC, and MNV, known collectively as the Livermore National Network (LNN) (Figure 1). LNN was established in the early 1960s for the primary purpose of monitoring underground nuclear testing at the former Nevada Test Site (NTS), now known as the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS) following the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT). LNN consisted initially of short-period vertical component Benioff’s recorded on film located at Mina, NV (MNV) and Kanab, Utah (KNB). LNN added two additional stations at Landers, CA (LAC) and Elko, NV (ELK) in 1967 and upgraded equipment to broadband seismometers recorded on frequency modulation (FM) tapes from 1967-1979, followed by digital recordings after 1979 (Jarpe, 1989). The digital recordings were on a variety of now obsolete media, including 9-track, Exabyte, and DAT tapes. Jarpe (1989) describes the seismic station instrumentation details over the period of deployment. LNN recorded valuable non-repeatable unique data of several hundreds of nuclear explosions at NNSS, as well as earthquakes and chemical and mining explosions (Walter, 2020). The details of these nuclear tests are provided in the Department of Energy Report NV-209 Rev 16 (DOE, 2015).

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Advancements in NEAMS Tool Capabilities for Multiphysics Simulation of Fast Reactor Core Bowing and Identification of Validation Test Data

Under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Program, an integrated multiphysics approach is being developed to model the core bowing phenomena important to liquid metal-cooled fast reactors. Core bowing is an important passive safety mechanism in liquid metal-cooled fast reactors and involves Multiphysics effects including radiation transport, fluid flow, heat transfer, and mechanical response to temperature and flux gradients. This report summarizes recent progress on developing a multiphysics, MOOSE-based workflow to predict core bowing and associated reactivity feedback. Last year, thermal fluids and mechanics were coupled on a multi-assembly benchmark problem based on ABR-1000 design. This year, the reactor physics code Griffin was assessed for readiness of core bowing calculations. Preliminary integration of Griffin’s ring-heterogeneous model with thermal fluids and thermal mechanics solvers was performed. Specifically, thermal-mechanics and reactor physics were coupled for single- and multi-assembly problems, and reactor physics and subchannel methods were coupled for a single assembly model. Finally, the workflow of all three physics was preliminarily demonstrated on a single assembly model. Caveats and future development needed have been identified. To supplement the multiphysics demonstration, verification and assessment efforts of thermos-mechanical capabilities for modeling thermo-mechanical core bowing behavior were continued by analyzing IAEA Verification Problem 5 which includes radiation swelling and creep. Additionally, a small core reactor physics benchmark defined by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) was performed to assess neutronics models for estimating reactivity feedback. Finally, Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) validation test data for core bowing phenomena has been identified and summarized, with a recommended path forward for validation once this capability is mature.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2019

The Source Physics Experiment (SPE) Science Plan (Version 2.4c)

The Source Physics Experiment (SPE) series is a long-term NNSA research and development effort designed to improve U.S. arms control and nuclear nonproliferation verification and monitoring capabilities. The findings from the SPE will advance the United States’ nuclear explosion monitoring capabilities, particularly with respect to detection, discrimination and determination of yields associated with small nuclear explosions that can be lost amid the noisy seismo-acoustic background from other sources. The data generated from the SPE, a series of well-designed and recorded chemical explosions, will contribute to the development and validation of first-principles explosive source generated seismo-acoustic modeling codes. These codes will then facilitate the update of semi-empirical methods, currently based on historic test site data, such that key explosion observables can be reproduced, thus improving confidence in nuclear test monitoring in new areas and/or under novel emplacement conditions. The overall SPE project is comprised of both the development of the new explosion simulation codes and the chemical explosion test series. The chemical explosion test series will generate the empirical data required to both develop and validate the new simulation codes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

The Source Physics Experiment (SPE) Science Plan

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2017

IDC Re-Engineering Phase 2 System Specification Document Version 1.5

This document contains the system specifications derived to satisfy the system requirements found in the IDC System Requirements Document for the IDC Re-Engineering Phase 2 project. This System Specification Document (SSD) defines waveform data processing requirements for the International Data Centre (IDC) of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The routine processing includes characterization of events with the objective of screening out events considered to be consistent with natural phenomena or non-nuclear, man-made phenomena. This document does not address requirements concerning acquisition, processing and analysis of radionuclide data but does include requirements for the dissemination of radionuclide data and products.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2016

NDMAS implementation and data qualification for accident tolerant fuel experiments

In order to meet quality and regulatory requirements associated with the U.S. Department of Energy Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF) experiments, all data and documentation associated with ATF component fabrication, characterization, traceability, testing and post irradiation examination are being managed using the Nuclear Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS). NDMAS melds commercial off-the-shelf software to provide the full range of needed functionality. The core component of NDMAS is the SAS Enterprise Business Intelligence software, which provides data manipulation, statistical and graphical capabilities, and delivery of live content to web pages. Content delivery to both Idaho National Laboratory researchers and external users via a web interface is managed using SharePoint, which is access-controlled. Additionally, scripts, macros, and commercial wrappers may be used or written by the NDMAS team to control interfaces between SAS and the structured query language server, where much of the data reside. ATF experiment data and documentation stored in the NDMAS database may be utilized to support Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of ATF concepts for commercial Light Water Reactor demonstration. Therefore, Data Qualification Plans are being developed to screen and tag all document and data input for ATR water loop testing, Transient Reactor Testing (TREAT), and post irradiation examination. A project-wide document library has been created in the ATF NDMAS SharePoint Site for general unrestricted document and information access. Restricted libraries have also been created to allow individual customer access to restricted documents. Data from ATR water loop instrumented lead experimentation, TREAT, and post-irradiation examination will be available to program participants on the SharePoint site as they are collected. This offers a unique capability for team collaboration while these tests are being conducted. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Harnessing Uncertainty through Functional Data Analysis in Gas Breakthrough Data

Detecting subsurface explosions from radionuclide gas migration through rock fractures is an effective way to identify nuclear activity. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has developed simulation methods, based on data from the 1962 Hardhat underground nuclear test, to predict gas breakthrough times at the surface. However, these methods rely on an imperfect understanding of the relationship between rock damage and fracture permeability. Our clinic project studies methods for predicting breakthrough curves that characterize total mass produced as a function of time, as well as quantifying the uncertainty associated with these predictions. The model that is currently employed to relate damage to permeability uses an empirically motivated power-law expression, with a range of parameter values that are compatible with the experimental Hardhat data. We develop emulators, built from functional data analysis techniques and trained on simulation data, that rapidly predict the gas breakthrough curve given a damage field and given the parameter values of the power-law equation. Using Bayesian regression, we address the problem of uncertainty quantification in our emulators. Finally, in order to test the robustness of the model, we further validate it on a damage field representing different physical conditions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

AGR Program TRISO Fuel Topical Report Dialog

AGR Program Overview and Current Activities Fission Product Transport Data Short-Lived Fission Product Release Fuel Performance Margin Data Oxidation Testing Data

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Construction and Testing of Data Acquisition Components for the Hall A Compton Polarimeter

Nuclear physics experiments require accurate knowledge of the spin polarization of the electron beam delivered to the experimental halls. Hall A is upgrading its Compton polarimeter in support of the lab's 12 GeV beam energy upgrade. This project centered around the data acquisition (DAQ) system for the scattered-photon detection component of the polarimeter. The goal was to test whether the DAQ software and hardware are capable of capturing, recording, and processing electron helicity-dependent scattering rate asymmetry data at high rates, while maintaining appropriate accuracy. We created the necessary circuits, and are able to reliably extract asymmetries of between 0.5{\%} and 11.5{\%} to 0.2{\%}. We did this in a deadtime-free regime at rates between 100 KHz and 350 KHz. We currently are unable to measure the system deadtime after it becomes manifest at about 350 KHz. These tests support the use of a scaled version of this configuration.

Hill, Joshua↗

DOE OSTI2020

Data for training and testing radiation detection algorithms in an urban environment

The detection, identification, and localization of illicit nuclear materials in urban environments is of utmost importance for national security. Most often, the process of performing these operations consists of a team of trained individuals equipped with radiation detection devices that have built-in algorithms to alert the user to the presence nuclear material and, if possible, to identify the type of nuclear material present. To encourage the development of new detection, radioisotope identification, and source localization algorithms, a dataset consisting of realistic Monte Carlo-simulated radiation detection data from a 2 in. × 4 in. × 16 in. NaI(Tl) scintillation detector moving through a simulated urban environment based on Knoxville, Tennessee, was developed and made public in the form of a Topcoder competition. The methodology used to create this dataset has been verified using experimental data collected at the Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard facility. Realistic signals from special nuclear material and industrial and medical sources are included in the data for developing and testing algorithms in a dynamic real-world background.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2024

Validating ENDF/B-VIII.1beta3 with LLNL Pulsed-Sphere Experiments and ICSBEP Benchmarks [Slides]

LPS experiments are not benchmarks but can provide valuable input. 22/1/24 LPS experiments are not benchmarks but can provide valuable input. LPS (run by Denise) help validate nuclear data up to 15 MeV. They test scattering and fission data. They have incomplete uncertainties from 2-8%. I take note when: (1) I see C/E differences above the peak and before late times => 20%. (2) Simulated results between libraries change by => 20% without a good explanation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2019

Preliminary Scaling Analysis of Reactivity Initiated Accidents

The life cycle for new fuel development requires extensive modeling and testing of the fuel concept from benchtop scale experiments to full scale assemblies in prototypical conditions. As a result, the timeline to develop new fuel types can extend up to 20 years and hinders the ability to develop a diverse assortment of fuel types. The licensing of recent reactor designs such as Westinghouse's AP-600/1000 designs utilized a scaling methodology to perform nuclear safety code validation on experimental test data from scaled down thermal hydraulic facilities. The advantage of using a scaling methodology was a significant cost decrease in the testing program because it avoided needing to build full scale prototypes and focused on improving safety code's ability to predict test data. This study investigates how to apply a scaling hierarchy for fuel performance during a Reactivity Initiated Accident that could be implemented with scaling methods such as Hierarchical Two Tiered Scaling (H2TS), Fractional Scaling Analysis (FSA), and Dynamical System Scaling (DSS) .

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Expanding Benchmarks for Nuclear Data Validation [Slides]

The presentation discusses benchmarking in comparison to experimental truth, the integral experiments that were performed, and that benchmarks are evaluated experiments. It also discusses validation testing, and that the ultimate goal of the validation end product is to improve evaluated nuclear data for applications It does state that validation highlights errors in the Nuclear Data Pipeline that affect applications, for example: Missing Cd Capture Gammas in ENDF/B-VII.1. It acknowledges that additional types of experiments are needed to test data used in applications, and that validation experiments do not have to be complicated and expensive. The presentation also discusses different types of measurements including activation foil and fission chamber measurements, reactor kinetics measurements, and subcritical measurements. The presentation concludes with an experiment summary and states that all applications need validation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Continuous-Energy Data Checks

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of all Quality Assurance tests that have to be performed on a nuclear data set to be transformed into an ACE formatted nuclear data file. The ACE file is capable of containing different types of data such as continuous energy neutron data, thermal scattering data, etc. Within this report, we will limit ourselves to continuous energy neutron data.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Nevada National Security Site Underground Radionuclide Inventory, 1951-1992: Accounting for Radionuclide Decay through September 30, 2012

This report is an update of report LA-13859-MS (Bowen et al., 2001). In that original report, the underground radionuclide inventory at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) was decay corrected to September 23, 1992, the date of the last underground nuclear test at the NNSS. In this report, the inventory is updated to account for the decay of radionuclides over two additional decades (1992-2012) and revised tritium, fission product and actinide inventory figures and tables are presented. The maximum contaminant levels for radionuclides were also updated to Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) (CFR, 2013). Also, a number of minor errata found in the original publication were corrected. An inventory of radionuclides produced by 828 underground nuclear tests conducted at the NNSS by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Department of the Defense from 1951 to 1992 includes tritium, fission products, actinides, and activation products. The inventory presented in this report provides an estimate of radioactivity remaining underground at the NNSS after nuclear testing. The original test inventory is decayed to September 30, 2012, and predictions of inventory decay over the subsequent 1000 years are presented. For the purposes of summary and publication, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory authors of this report subdivided the inventory into five areas corresponding to the principal geographic test centers at the NNSS. The five areas roughly correspond to Underground Test Area “Corrective Action Units” (CAUs) for remediation of groundwater. In addition, the inventory is further subdivided for the Yucca Flat region by tests where the working point depth is more than 328 feet (100 meters) above the water table and tests that were detonated below that level. Water levels used were those from the U. S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (1997), now called the Nevada Field Office. Curie activities and atoms are reported as of September 30, 2012. This inventory is strictly a compilation of the residual radiologic inventory remaining from the underground nuclear tests conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of the Defense from 1951 to 1992 and does not include radioactivity from other types of nuclear testing (e.g., atmospheric, reactors, rocket engines). A companion classified report (Miller et al., 2002) contains test-specific data for each test performed at the NNSS. This work has been sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2018

Nuclear characterization of a general-purpose instrumentation and materials testing location in TREAT

The Transient Reactor Test facility (TREAT) was constructed in the late 1950s, provided thousands of transient irradiations before being placed in standby in 1994, and resumed operations in 2017 in order to reclaim its crucial role in nuclear-heated safety research. The latter half of TREAT’s historic operation was best known for integral-scale testing of fuel specimens under postulated reactor plant accident conditions, while TREAT’s earlier history included extensive simpler phenomena identification tests that elucidated fundamental behaviors and paved the way for these integral-scale tests. Advances in modern computational capabilities and a resurgence of interest in novel reactor technology have created an opportunity for emphasizing modernized science-based and separate effects test capabilities once again at TREAT. An innovative approach to this type of testing has been developed to leverage minor radioactivity built-in during brief TREAT irradiations in low activation hardware to facilitate handling for materials and instrumentation testing. This capability, termed the Minimal Activation Retrievable Capsule Holder (MARCH) irradiation vehicle system, will be used for inaugural fueled experiments in TREAT’s modern era as well as novel approaches to study materials undergoing neutron irradiation and instrumentation development and qualifications. This paper describes a comprehensive nuclear characterization, obtained via computational modeling, of the test position in the MARCH system. Though directly applicable to the MARCH system, the results also provide general quantification of the nuclear performance of the reactor and potential test materials, crucial for evaluating potential experiment design and response in TREAT. The neutron and photon flux environment was calculated via MCNP with ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data. Wire heating rate and DPA calculations were also performed and evaluated using historic TREAT test data. Furthermore, these calculations were performed to provide steady-state baseline reference values typical in both half- and full-slotted TREAT core configurations, enabling design scoping analysis prior to development of more specific design testing needs and transient testing experimentation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Assessing the viability of a new subsize tensile specimen geometry for evaluation of structural nuclear and additively manufactured materials

The use of subsize specimens in nuclear materials testing has been a subject of ongoing interest due to radiation safety concerns and resource conservation needs. It is also of interest in additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D-printing, as subsize specimens can more accurately represent the behavior of the small, intricate geometries often produced using AM. A novel, extremely small geometry, called the Subsize Teeny (SST) was recently developed and is of interest for implementation. Given its extraordinarily small size and the complexities associated with subsize specimen testing, adequate vetting of this geometry is necessary to ensure data quality. Here, a variety of unirradiated nuclear structural materials were tested in the SST geometry and compared against the well-established SSJ3 geometry. In addition, two case studies implementing the SST as a screening geometry for AM materials were also conducted. The question of SST viability was found to be highly nuanced and will often be dependent on the context or application in question. It was determined, however, that the SST is a largely invalid geometry for exceptionally coarse-grained materials or in cases where the physical defect volume equals or exceeds 0.1 % or where the specimen machining parameters result in significant surface alterations. On the other hand, it was determined that the SST may be employed with confidence if the test material is nearly or totally free of physical defects, isotropic, demonstrates homogeneous plastic deformation, and possesses a fine-grained, nearly or totally homogeneous microstructure with at least twelve slip systems.

Additive manufacturing↗