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DOE OSTI2025

NFPA Distributed Energy Resources Safety Training (DERST) For Emergency Responders

The National Fire Protection Association, with support from the Department of Energy, executed a multi-year initiative to develop, enhance, and disseminate Distributed Energy Resources Safety Training (DERST) tools for U.S. emergency responders. As Distributed Energy Resources (DER)—such as solar photovoltaics, battery energy storage systems (ESS), electric vehicles (EVs), and associated infrastructure—become increasingly prevalent, the NFPA identified a critical need for up-to-date standardized, accessible, and effective safety training tailored for the fire service and related public safety professionals. The project delivered a comprehensive suite of educational resources to improve responders’ abilities to safely manage DER-related incidents. This included: • Revised Modular Training Courses: Updated classroom-based DER safety courses, now modular and accessible nationwide through fire academies and the North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD) network. • Live Burn Testing & Research: A full-scale controlled burn of a DER-equipped residential structure provided real-world data and insights, forming the basis for updated best practices. • A Gamified Simulation Tool – Firefighters Incident Response Simulation Tool (FIRST): A first-of-its-kind, multiplayer, scenario-based simulation using the Unreal Engine 5.0 to train responders in a realistic virtual, multi-DER incident environment. • Field Familiarization Software Tools & Prop Guide: Digital DER field familiarization evolutions software guide and a prop development manual to support field-based DER training exercises, enhancing responders' hands-on familiarity with DER infrastructure and collaboration on virtual incident responses. • National Dissemination Strategy: Strategic partnerships with NAFTD, Vector Solutions, and others enabled wide-scale distribution, with over 5,000 departments accessing resources and 1,100+ departments adopting the simulator in the first seven months. Also provided a web portal for easy access to all training and simulation programs developed under this grant for the U.S. responder community. Key findings from the project—particularly from the burn test—led to paradigm shifts in fire response tactics. For example, traditional approaches to garage fires may be hazardous if DERs are present, due to explosive off gassing and thermal runaway risks. The new training emphasizes scene assessment, stand-off approaches, thermal imaging verification, and careful post-incident cooling of DER components to prevent reignition. This initiative has had a significant national impact, raising awareness, enhancing preparedness, and supporting safer DER incident response practices. Significant engagement from the media, public safety organizations, and PBS coverage has further amplified the reach and adoption of NFPA’s DER safety training, tools, and simulations.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Computationally Efficient Algorithm for Computing Convex Hull Prices

Electricity markets worldwide allow participants to bid non-convex production offers. While non-convex offers can more accurately reflect a resource's capabilities, they create challenges for market clearing processes. For example, system operators may execute side payments when a participant’s cost is not covered through energy sale settlements from locational marginal pricing schemes, or when a participant incurs lost opportunity costs to follow the dispatch signal. Convex hull pricing minimizes these and other types of side payments while providing uniform (i.e., locationally and temporally consistent) prices. However, computing convex hull prices involves solving either a large-scale linear program - which in turn requires explicit descriptions of market participants’ convex hulls -or the Lagrangian dual of the corresponding non-convex scheduling problem. Here, we propose a computationally feasible and industrially scalable Benders decomposition approach to computing convex hull prices at least an order of magnitude faster than the current state-of-the-art while leveraging recent advances in convex hull formulations for thermal generating units.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Electroanalytical Sensors for Liquid Fueled Fluoride Molten Salt Reactor

ThorCon is developing a thermal thorium / uranium molten salt fueled reactor that uses a fuel salt consisting of NaF - BeF 2 - ThF 4 - UF 4 - UF 3 , which uses 19.75% enriched uranium. It is not a breeder reactor but requires regular additions of fissile material. On-site fuel processing is limited to adding make-up fuel, and adding beryllium to maintain redox balance in the fuel salt. The fluoride salt is an excellent flux that will strip the protective oxygen away from all metal surfaces it contacts. In order to protect the metal surfaces in the primary loop, no free fluorine is allowed. Maintaining a ratio of UF 4 to UF 3 provides a chemical buffer that can absorb any free fluorine released during the fission process before it can harm the structure. Periodic additions of metallic beryllium to the fuel salt will react with UF 4 to form BeF 2 and UF 3 , which will maintain the desired UF 4 /UF 3 ratio. A means to measure the UF 4 /UF 3 ratio is important to maintain the fuel salt in a non-corrosive state and could also provide additional insight into the corrosion behavior and chemical constitution of the system. A promising measurement technique is based on electrochemistry.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

The performance of additively manufactured Haynes 282 in supercritical CO 2

The use of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) as a working fluid is garnering interest in next generation power production systems due to the possibility of increased operational efficiencies and lower associated costs. Its implementation requires alloys with excellent high temperature strength and corrosion resistance, which makes Haynes 282® (H282) a suitable candidate. With increasing adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) in the energy industry, there is a need to investigate long-term sCO2 exposure on AM produced materials. Additively manufactured H282 (AM-H282) samples built using laser powder bed fusion in two different orientations were analyzed through imaging, gravimetric analysis, and room-temperature tensile testing before and after 1000-h exposure to CO 2 at 750 °C and 20 MPa. Performed imaging included observation of the sample surfaces and of the material bulk (cross sections) through means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. In comparison to wrought H282, it was found that the exposed material exhibited a similar Cr 2 O 3 oxide protective layer about 2 μm in thickness with additional top-surface TiO 2 oxide and carbon-rich precipitates. It was also similarly observed that internal oxidation was present but limited to a depth of 20 μm, and a 1–3 μm γ’ denuded region appeared to surround all internal and surface oxidation. Thermal aging effects were noted with the precipitation of needle-like structures in the γ/γ’ matrix and a coarsening of the γ’ precipitates from 28 nm to 73 nm. Mass measurements analyzing oxide precipitation revealed a larger increase compared to wrought, representing an approximate 20% difference. Tensile testing results showed similar behavior to wrought with a slight increase in yield strength and a large reduction in elongation in the exposed samples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

In situ high-temperature Raman spectroscopy for online EAF slag analysis

Real-time monitoring of slag chemistry is critical for optimizing Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking operations, where dynamic variations in slag composition directly influence slag foaming, refractory degradation, and thermal efficiency. Conventional techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) are commonly used to analyze slag composition, but their offline nature and equipment constraints limit their applicability for online monitoring in harsh industrial environments. To address this challenge, we present an in situ, high-temperature analytical approach that integrates Raman spectroscopy with a custom designed fiber-optic probe for real-time slag characterization at 1550 °C. The system enables non destructive spectral acquisition from molten slags, providing molecular-level insights into silicate polymerization and iron oxidation states. Eight synthetic slag samples were evaluated, and key Raman features—such as Q n silicate units and FeO₄/FeO₆ coordination environments—were identified and quantitatively correlated with slag basicity and Fe₂O₃ content. The results demonstrate agreement between Raman spectral ratios and bulk slag chemistry, validating the method’s capability to track compositional and structural changes under molten temperature. This work establishes the feasibility of deploying fiber-optic Raman probe for online EAF slag monitoring and highlights their potential to support closed-loop control strategies, thereby enhancing process stability, refractory protection, and steel quality in industrial steelmaking applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Solid-state platform for cooperative quantum dynamics driven by correlated emission

While traditionally regarded as an obstacle to quantum coherence, recent breakthroughs in quantum optics have shown that the dissipative interaction of a qubit with its environment can be leveraged to protect quantum states and synthesize many-body entanglement. Inspired by this progress, here we set the stage for the—as yet uncharted—exploration of analogous cooperative phenomena in hybrid solid-state platforms. We develop a comprehensive formalism for the quantum many-body dynamics of an ensemble of solid-state spin defects interacting with the magnetic field fluctuations of a common solid-state reservoir. Our framework applies to any solid-state reservoir whose fluctuating spin, pseudospin, or charge degrees of freedom generate magnetic fields. To understand whether correlations induced by dissipative processes can play a relevant role in a realistic experimental setup, we apply our model to a qubit array interacting via the spin fluctuations of a ferromagnetic bath. Our results show that the low-temperature collective relaxation rates of the qubit ensemble can display clear signatures of super- and subradiance, i.e., forms of cooperative dynamics traditionally achieved in atomic ensembles. We find that the solid-state analog of these cooperative phenomena is robust against spatial disorder in the qubit ensemble and thermal fluctuations of the magnetic reservoir, providing a route for their feasibility in near-term experiments. Finally, our work lays the foundation for a multiqubit approach to quantum sensing of solid-state systems and the direct generation of many-body entanglement in spin-defect ensembles. Furthermore, we discuss how the tunability of solid-state reservoirs opens up novel pathways for exploring cooperative phenomena in regimes beyond the reach of conventional quantum optics setups.

NV centers↗

DOE OSTI2023

Plant-specific Model and Data Analysis using Dynamic Security Modeling and Simulation

The requirements for U.S. nuclear power plants to maintain a large on-site physical security force contribute to their high operational costs. The cost of maintaining the current physical security posture is approximately 10% of the overall operation and maintenance budget for commercial nuclear power plants. The goal of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program’s physical security pathway is to develop tools, methods, and technologies and provide the technical basis for an optimized physical security posture. The conservatisms built into current security postures may be analyzed and minimized in order to reduce security costs while still ensuring adequate security and operational safety. The research performed at Idaho National Laboratory within LWRS program’s physical security pathway has successfully developed a dynamic force-on-force modeling framework using various computer simulation tools and integrating them with the dynamic assessment Event Modeling Risk Assessment using Linked Diagrams (EMRALD) tool. This document provides an update on the progress in applying a dynamic computational framework that links results from a commercially available force-on-force simulation tool, a commercially available thermal-hydraulic tool, and EMRALD to an operating commercial nuclear power plant. This report is only a summary of the progress and does not contain specific modeling results as those contain sensitive security information. This process of including plant procedures and multiple analysis results is being called Modeling and Analysis for Safety Security using Dynamic EMRALD Framework or MASS-DEF. Previous reports described how a user could integrate their plant-specific force-on-force models with the dynamic simulation tool EMRALD, model operator actions, integrate with probabilistic risk assessment tools, such as CAFTA (Computer Aided Fault Tree Analysis System) or SAPHIRE (Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations), and with thermal-hydraulic tools, such as RELAP-5. Previous reports applied various combinations of available simulations codes with EMRALD using generic plant models to demonstrate how to perform the analysis. This report documents the results of applying the dynamic computational framework to an actual nuclear facility using their security scenarios and timelines. This report does not contain any plant's sensitive information and/or Safeguards Information. The purpose of this study was to verify that results achieved using generic models are similar to actual plant results and to refine our guidance on the use of the framework. This assessment enables further analysis, such as what-if scenarios and staff-reduction evaluation, thereby optimizing physical security at plants.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

An Overview in the Development of a Multi-Sensor Data Science System for Monitoring a Solvent Extraction Process

To enhance nuclear nonproliferation stewardship, Idaho National Laboratory is building the Beartooth nuclear fuel cycle processing test bed. The Beartooth test bed will allow researchers the opportunity to study nuclear fuel processing operations including the use of centrifugal contactors in solvent extraction processes. The test bed is designed to support data collection and machine learning to monitor process operations. As part of this project, researchers will study data collected from a host of sensors that have not been typically used to monitor solvent extraction processes such as vibration, acoustic, colormetric, and thermal measurement data. The goal of this research is to employ machine learning and data analytics to study the confluence of signals collected from both traditionally and non-traditionally used sensors to provide operator process awareness and discover process anomalies. An overview of planned sensors and experiments that will focus on signal discovery will be presented.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

An Overview in the Development of a Multi-Sensor Data Science System for Monitoring a Solvent Extraction Process

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Neutron Transmission Imaging with a Portable D-T Neutron Generator

Fast-neutron transmission imaging provides complementary information to x-ray transmission imaging. While fast neutron imaging resolution is generally below x-ray imaging, 14-MeV neutrons have an advantage over portable x-ray systems. Neutrons have higher transmission through high-Z materials due to a more uniform attenuation as a function of material atomic number Z compared to X-rays, and can therefore image low-Z materials inside high-Z materials. As a result, portable neutron transmission imaging has many applications, including inspection of concrete and welds for corrosion in vehicles, bridges, and other infrastructure, measurement of material levels in containers, and inspection of suspicious packages. Fast-neutron imaging is also more practical for field use than thermal-neutron imaging due to the size and shielding requirements typical of thermal-imaging systems compared to the availability of small 14.1 MeV D-T neutron generators. However, there are limitations in portable fast-neutron imaging systems, including limited neutron output, limited light produced by neutron scintillators, and lower resolution due to neutron source spot size and 2-3 mm scintillator thickness. In addition, digital-panel dark-noise is roughly 100x higher than neutron scintillator light, and variations in noise across the panel and in time is comparable to the imaging signal. Here we discuss recent efforts in developing a portable fast-neutron radiography system, including an improved neutron scintillator, mitigation of panel noise, and new commercial portable D-T neutron generators. We also present MCNP efforts to model neutron imaging, including scintillator resolution and the effects of neutron scattering from the object and surrounding materials.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

The ICRP, MELODI, and ALLIANCE workshop on effects of ionizing radiation exposure in offspring and next generations: a summary of discussions

Task Group 121 – Effects of ionizing radiation exposure in offspring and next generations – is a task group under the Committee 1 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), approved by the Main Commission on 18th November 2021. The main goals of Task Group 121 are to (1) review and update the scientific literature of relevance to radiation-related effects in the offspring of parent(s) exposed to ionizing radiation in both human and non-human biota; (2) to assess preconceptional and intrauterine effects of radiation exposure and related morbidity and mortality; and, (3) to provide advice about the level of evidence and how to consider these preconceptional and postconceptional effects in the system of radiological protection for humans and non-human biota. The Task Group is reviewing relevant literature since Publication 90 ‘Biological effects after prenatal irradiation (embryo and fetus)’ (2003) and will include radiation-related effects on future generations in humans, animals, and plants. This review will be conducted to account for the health effects on offspring and subsequent generations in the current system of radiological protection. Radiation detriment calculation will also be reviewed. Finally, preliminary recommendations will be made to update the integration of health effects in offspring and next generations in the system of radiological protection. A Workshop, jointly organized by ICRP Task Group 121 and European Radiation Protection Research Platforms MELODI and ALLIANCE was held in Budapest, Hungary, from 31st May to 2nd June 2022. Participants discussed four important topics: (1) hereditary and epigenetic effects due to exposure of the germ cell line (preconceptional exposure), (2) effects arising from exposure of the embryo and fetus (intrauterine exposure), (3) transgenerational effects on biota, and (4) its potential impact on the system of radiological protection. Based on the discussions and presentations during the breakout sessions, newer publications, and gaps on the current scientific literature were identified. For instance, there are some ongoing systematic reviews and radiation epidemiology reviews of intrauterine effects. There are newer methods of Monte Carlo simulation for fetal dosimetry, and advances in radiation genetics, epigenetics, and radiobiology studies. While the current impact of hereditary effects on the global detriment was reported as small, the questions surrounding the effects of radiation exposure on offspring and the next generation are crucial, recurring, and with a major focus on exposed populations. Here, this article summarizes the workshop discussions, presentations, and conclusions of each topic and introduces the special issue of the International Journal of Radiation Biology resulting from the discussions of the meeting.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗

DOE OSTI2025

A Review of Variables Impacting the Indoor Inhalation Radon Equilibrium Factor (FEQ)

With radon and its daughter products estimated as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, it is imperative to understand their relative equilibrium inside commercial, community, and residential dwellings. The radon indoor inhalation fractional equilibrium factor (F eq ) quantifies the disequilibrium between radon and its progeny in indoor air, and recent advances have shown how air exchange rates (ACH) influence F eq . These numerically derived ACH-dependent F eq values are incorporated into the U.S. EPA's Radon Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (RVISL) calculator, which assists risk assessors in evaluating radon exposure. To advance the risk assessment science of actinon (Rn-219), thoron (Rn-220), and radon (Rn-222), the impact of variables such as indoor aerosol concentration and composition, outdoor air quality, household-specific characteristics, and environmental/meteorological conditions on the F eq must be examined. The primary objective of this research is to analyze these additional variables to determine the usefulness of incorporating such adjustment factors into the RVISL calculator and to identify areas of future research. Studies regarding the influence of these parameters are presented along with recommendations regarding the adjustment of the numerically derived F eq value. For example, elevated indoor aerosol concentrations, such as those originating from outdoor PM 2.5 or cigarette smoke, increase the abundance of accumulation- mode particles indoors, which in turn raises F eq values by facilitating the attachment of radon progeny to these aerosols. Smoking increases both the bronchial dose and F eq , while regions with high smog levels demonstrate the impact of regional air quality on F eq . In contrast, air cleaning systems and purifiers have been shown to reduce the F eq , suggesting that these systems could help mitigate radon exposure. Additionally, higher F eq values are typically observed during winter when ventilation rates are lower. This paper presents adjustment factors that may be applied to the RVISL F eq , emphasizing the need for further research to refine these variables and ensure accurate risk assessments in diverse environments. Applying these adjustment factors will minimize calculator over- and underestimations, providing a more accurate representation of the real-world risk associated with radon.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

High operating temperature heat transfer fluids for solar thermal power generation. Final report

This is the final technical report for the DOE MURI project on developing high-operating temperature heat transfer fluids for solar thermal power generation. This project aimed to evaluate liquid metals as a heat-transport fluid and potential energy storage medium for concentrated solar powered (CSP) systems. The project consisted of five phases, starting with fluid selection and screen and ending with potential CSP integration. The initial fluid selection arrived at heavy liquid metals as candidate fluids such as lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) as the prime liquid-alloy candidate to be studied, given the conditions above. Fifty-seven liquid compositions were initially identified with liquidus temperatures lower than 200°C, composed of elements that provide no driving force to the reduction of Cr 2 O 3 or Al 2 O 3 passivation layers in pipe material which is required for corrosion prevention. LBE was identified as the primary candidate fluid after these compositions were compared against computational thermodynamic modeling to screen all of the selected systems that would be compatible with our design objectives. Twenty-eight of these compositions were also investigated with the rapid characterization methods; the accuracies of the liquidus temperature and the specific heats predicted by the computations were better than 3 percent and 9 percent, respectively. We conducted numerus corrosion tests of various Fe-Cr-Al based steels in LBE and its variants at temperate as high as 800°C. It was found that minor additions to the liquid did not provide sufficient corrosion protection to warrant their use in real applications. Furthermore, we investigated the detailed mechanism of corrosion between heavy liquid metal and the pipe material at these very high temperatures. A liquid metal loop was constructed to operate at these high temperatures. The loop construction and operation lead to valuable lessons learned that will be needed for industrial scale loops. Furthermore, we learned that electromagnetic pumps at these extreme temperatures will have to be reengineered and redesigned to be used for CSP applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Comparative Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery Chemistries for Cold-Climate Maritime Applications

Energy storage, primarily in the form of electrochemical batteries, is critical for enabling integration of marine energy (e.g., power from waves and currents) with end-use applications at sea due to the periodicity of the resources and requirement of consistent, smooth power delivery. Powering high-latitude coastal or ocean-based observing systems has been identified as a high value-proposition use case, exemplifying the concept of Powering the Blue Economy. An existing power system implementation for such a platform uses solar panels coupled to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, augmented by a non-rechargeable backup bank used to power heaters in winter months. As wave energy is a potential resource for powering this and similar use cases and is strongest when solar power is most limited, it was hypothesized that integration of wave power would alleviate some of the challenges in cold climates related to energy storage. In this work, we investigate the use case scenario in simulation and perform a comparative test of commercially-available lithium-ion battery chemistry formulations to determine the most appropriate choice for the application. The experiment compared the most commonly-used lithium-based battery types (NCM, NCA, and LFP) in laboratory conditions emulating a battery enclosure thermally coupled to freezing seawater using an industrial battery performance tester in PNNL's arctic simulation lab. Battery strings were repeatedly cycled (i.e., charged, discharged, rested) and their usable capacity was measured. Both NCM and NCA strings exhibited degradation upon cycling, while the LFP string maintained stable operation through over 700 complete cycles. Though lower in baseline capacity, LFP are recommended for this and similar low-temperature applications with access to high levels of bulk charging current (e.g., from high-energy wave events) and their use may reduce the cost and complexity of battery conditioning and protection apparatus.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

DOE OSTI2024

High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Pebble-Bed Reactors Running In And Transient Modeling Capabilities Demonstration

This study presents a comprehensive benchmarking and verification effort of several thermal-hydraulic and multiphysics capabilities for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) applications. The first part of this effort focuses on the running-in verification of Griffin's multiphysics capabilities, specifically for simulating the evolution of Pebble Bed reactor cores from startup to equilibrium. In the absence of validation data, code-to-code comparisons are conducted with Kugelpy, showing good agreement for key quantities like maximum power density and fresh core k-eigenvalue predictions. However, discrepancies in equilibrium core predictions suggest potential issues with cross sections, underscoring the need for further refinement and evaluation. The HTTF system analysis code benchmark involves RELAP5-3D, SAM, and GAMMA+ to assess their predictive capabilities for HTTF behavior under both normal operation and pressurized conduction cooldown (PCC) transient conditions. While there is good agreement in predicting major parameters such as coolant temperature, solid temperature, and flow distribution, discrepancies in transient behavior highlight differences in modeling approaches, nodalizations, and heat transfer models. The HTTF lower plenum CFD benchmark employs nekRS to simulate flow mixing phenomena, successfully capturing relevant flow physics and demonstrating mesh independence in complex geometries. Preliminary results suggest a relatively uniform temperature field but significant unsteadiness in the flow, requiring time-averaging analyses. The GPBR200 system analysis code benchmark uses SAM's core channel and porous media models, incorporating an RCCS loop for decay heat removal. During steady-state and transient conditions, including protected de-pressurized and pressurized loss of forced cooling (DLOFC and PLOFC), both models show good agreement in predicting temperature profiles and key parameters. Notably, while the core channel model underpredicts convective heat transfer effects, both models maintain temperatures well below the TRISO fuel safety limit. These benchmarking efforts collectively enhance the predictive capabilities of the tools used in HTGR design and safety analysis, guiding developments to improve their accuracy and applicability.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Smart, Connected Manufactured Housing Solutions through High-Performance Design. Final CRADA report

This report focuses on HVAC, domestic hot water, and miscellaneous electric loads via voluntary opportunities that may arise from partnerships with utilities, as well as future US Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR and DOE Zero Energy Ready Manufactured Home programs. Phase I of this project has begun the technical dialogue toward developing an implementation plan among DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Clayton Manufactured Homes, and US Department of Housing and Urban Development Code manufactured housing stakeholders. These activities have focused on delivering high-performance design through integration of technology. Project tasks include the following: Identifying baseline energy analysis resources opportunities from a variety of DOE and utility stakeholders; Developing a smart home and business solution by leveraging existing utility programs working with Smart Homes Partners resources such as ACE IoT Solutions, Google Nest, and Ecobee; Developing improved smarter ventilation systems with industry ventilation partners such as the Madison Group; Developing improved building science QA/QC testing equipment with manufacturers such as The Energy Conservatory, and supporting other feasible concepts vetted under DOE’s Advanced Buildings Collaborative with Slipstream, reinventing HVAC in manufactured housing; and, Developing smart home short- and long-term viable technical solutions in coordination with Clayton Manufactured Homes in new and/or revitalized community scales for future Phase II prototype demonstrations, which may include design (and perhaps construction) of single-section homes targeting rental property developers and multi-section homes targeting low- to middle-income affordable housing community developers Given the ongoing US Department of Energy (DOE) rulemaking activities, baseline energy analysis assessments of envelope prescriptive and Uo (i.e., the overall thermal energy efficiency of the home in British thermal units per square foot of exterior heat loss/gain surfaces) measures were removed from the scope of Phase I of this project.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

Phase-Field Modeling of Damage Evolution in Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) and Environmental Barrier Coating (EBC)

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) protected by environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) present a promising materials solution for next generation gas turbines. Developments of more robust and efficient EBCs and mechanically tougher CMCs are thus of significant technological importance. Here we develop a phase-field modeling framework that incorporates the thermally grown oxide (TGO), recognized as a critical factor for degradation and failure of EBCs. We simulate crack growth in the TGO and the potential extension into the bond coat / CMC substrate. The model efficiently takes account of the large inelastic deformation induced by the severe volume expansion of TGO, thanks to our recently developed, so-called incremental realization of inelastic deformation (IRID) algorithm. A phase-field model is built for damage evolution in CMCs including crack growth and interfacial sliding. The effects of fiber layout and interfacial sliding on the macroscopic toughness of CMCs are revealed by large-scale simulations and compared to experiments.

advanced energy systems and materials↗

DOE OSTI1988

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 29, No. 3, July-September 1988]

Nuclear Safety is a review journal that covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. Its scope includes the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, the safety aspects of the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 259 Fifteenth Water Reactor Safety Information Meeting by E. G. Silver; CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION: 284 Reliability Technology to Improve and/or Maintain Emergency Diesel Generator Performance by S. Karimian and J. H. Taylor, 293 A Noise Diagnostics System for Operator Advice by G. Hessel, P. Liewers, P. Schumann, W. Schmitt, and F.-P. Weiss; PLANT SAFETY FEATURES: 307 A Passive Containment System for Advanced Light-Water Reactors by O. B. Falls, Jr., and F. W. Kleimola; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: 318 Data Base Construction for a Computerized Radiological Risk Investigation System by L. M. Hively, J. E. Nyquist, J. L. Bledsoe, and A. L. Sjoreen, 326 Erratum to "Radiation Hormesis and Nuclear Safety," Vol. 29, No. 1; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 327 Operational Safety Experience and Passive Safety Testing at the Fast Flux Text Facility by Q. L. Baird, J. L. Rathbun, D. D. Stepnewski, R. L. Stover, and A. E. Waltar, 344 Backfilling of Independent Residual Heat Removal Systems in West Germany and Switzerland by G. Eckert and Y. Salomon, 353 Reactor Shutdown Experience Compiled by J. W. Cletcher, 356 Selected Safety-Related Events Compiled by G. A. Murphy, 363 Operating U.S. Power Reactors Compiled by E. G. Silver; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 384 General Administrative Activities Compiled by E. G. Silver, 390 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides by D. S. Queener, 395 Status of Power-Reactor Projects Undergoing Licensing Review Compiled by E. G. Silver, 400 Proposed Rule Changes as of Mar. 31,1988; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 283 International ENS/ANS Conference on Thermal Reactor Safety "NUCSAFE 88", 317 Northwestern University Short Course on Radiation Safety, 407 Second International Seminar on Small- and Medium-Sized Nuclear Reactors, 407 International Workshop on New Developments in Occupational Dose Control and ALARA Implementation at Nuclear Power Plants and Similar Facilities, 408 Fourth International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-4), 404 The Authors.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗