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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Status of the Top Plate and Anticryostat for High Field Cable Test Facility at Fermilab

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are building a new High Field Vertical Magnet Test Facility (HFVMTF) for testing superconducting cables in high magnetic field. This facility will be located at Fermilab and will have a capability similar to EDIPO at PSI and FRESCA2 at CERN. The background magnetic field of 15T in HFVMTF will be produced by a magnet pro-vided by LBNL. The HFVMTF is jointly funded by the US DOE Offices of Science, High Energy Physics, and Fusion Energy Sciences. As a primary use it will be superconducting cable test facility, in high magnetic fields and wide range of temperatures. Complementary, this facility will be used to test high-field super-conducting magnet models and demonstrators, including hybrid magnets, produced by the US Magnet Development Program (MDP). The paper describes the status of Top Plates Assembly and Sample Insert Anticryostat, which will be a main interface component between cable test mode and magnet test mode at this facility.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Impedance Based Fixture Neutralization (FINE) Method to Replicate Field Environments in Laboratory Settings

Test article vibration test responses will vary from one test laboratory to another due to differences in shaker and fixture dynamic characteristics. This is also seen between the field and laboratory due to the differing dynamic characteristics between field assembly loading and boundary conditions compared to the laboratory configuration. This work introduces a technique called Impedance Fixture Neutralization which customizes input forces to cause consistent responses for the Device Under Test across different vibration testing conditions. The customized force neutralizes the dynamic variations between configurations for the Device Under Test. The device responses can be replicated in several situations: when using a different fixture with the same attachment points, when the test article mounting location on the fixture changes, when the force location changes, or any combination of these situations. Impedance Fixture Neutralization uses the uncoupled dynamic characteristics of the test article and excitation fixtures to customize the input thereby causing the same test article responses between two mounting configurations (either field to laboratory or two different laboratory configurations). The application of the technique is shown using an analytical model of a two-beam system and analytically using experimental FRFs from plate and frame component hardware characterization tests. In both cases a device under test is attached to two test fixtures wherein the dynamic differences in the configurations are neutralized.

Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2025

PDV Methods and Analysis for Surveillance of Explosive Components

The Weapons Evaluation Test Laboratory (WETL) at Sandia is collaborating with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to enhance explosive surveillance testing by integrating Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) data. This project has streamlined the testing environment, reducing hardware costs and training needs while improving data collection efficiency and usability for lab technicians.

Kress, Matthew Kip [Sandia National Laboratories (↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimal Frequency-domain Analysis for Spacecraft Time Series: Introducing the Missing-data Multitaper Power Spectrum Estimator

While the Lomb–Scargle periodogram is foundational to astronomy, it has a significant shortcoming: the variance in the estimated power spectrum does not decrease as more data are acquired. Statisticians have a 60 yr history of developing variance-suppressing power spectrum estimators, but most are not used in astronomy because they are formulated for time series with uniform observing cadence and without seasonal or daily gaps. Here we demonstrate how to apply the missing-data multitaper power spectrum estimator to spacecraft data with uniform time intervals between observations but missing data during thruster fires or momentum dumps. The F-test for harmonic components may be applied to multitaper power spectrum estimates to identify statistically significant oscillations that would not rise above a white noise–based false alarm probability. Multitapering improves the dynamic range of the power spectrum estimate and suppresses spectral window artifacts. We show that the multitaper–F-test combination applied to Kepler observations of KIC 6102338 detects differential rotation without requiring iterative sinusoid fitting and subtraction. Significant signals reside at harmonics of both fundamental rotation frequencies and suggest an antisolar rotation profile. Next we use the missing-data multitaper power spectrum estimator to identify the oscillation modes responsible for the complex "scallop-shell" shape of the K2 light curve of EPIC 203354381. We argue that multitaper power spectrum estimators should be used for all time series with regular observing cadence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Building a Simplistic Automatic Extruder: Instrument Development Opportunities for the Laboratory

This work presents an automatic extruder as a research experience for undergraduate students. The system offers a user-friendly approach to preparing vesicles, such as liposomes or polymersomes, with a defined size and polydispersity properties crucial for research in biology and macromolecules. It comprises two syringe pumps connected by a membrane filter. The setup is controlled by software. Compared to manual extrusion, this automated system provides advantages, such as precisely controlled variables. The project describes a tool to enhance undergraduate learning in science and engineering laboratories. Building an automatic extruder serves as a simplified model of a complex industrial process. It offers a clear advantage: automating a well-understood manual extrusion process. To make this project accessible, it is broken down into three manageable tasks: software development, hardware assembly, and testing procedures. This breakdown describes the software created, the hardware components used, and the testing procedures conducted for this project. All project data, including software code, testing data, and procedures, are freely available online. This allows undergraduate students to not only begin their own projects but also contribute to this educational instrument’s ongoing development.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Impact of lead on an axisymmetric, single bead blown powder DED overhung geometry

Metal additive manufacturing can be utilized for the near net-shape manufacture of components in a layer wise technique. Traditionally, the buildup process is conducted in the direction of gravity or bottom to top in the vertical orientation; however, with the availability of commercial systems with additive heads or fixturing that can index from vertical, and the need to manufacture larger parts without modifying available systems, the limitation of manufacturing from bottom to top is removed enabling the buildup of larger components printed at an angle from vertical. The effect of gravity on the melt pool and as-deposited component quality when printing off vertical is unknown in literature, especially for axisymmetric components. This understanding is critical for the advancement of manufacturing components of increased size in 4 and 5-axis additive systems. This investigation utilizes blown powder directed energy deposition to evaluate the change in as-printed geometry when the start point is altered in relation to gravity while the part rotates to manufacture an axisymmetric component. The objectives of this work are to determine the impact of the deposition location on the geometric variability on axisymmetric components. This investigation tests the hypothesis that differences in layer height exist due to a change in catchment efficiency when the deposition location is moved to a tangent of the round geometry due to a change in the melt pool dynamics. It was found the ideal deposition location when printing at 26.6-degrees from vertical was at −90-degrees from the top center point of the component, along the tangent, where gravity was pushing the melt pool down, but the rotation of the part was pulling the deposited material towards the top center of the component. This work provides an understanding of layer height stability and catchment efficiency to guide print orientation strategy for high-aspect ratio components. It was found the −90-degree lead deposition had the best layer height stability at 0.6 % as compared to the top-center at 6.3 % and +90-degree deposition location at 9.2 % for the nominal programmed layer height. The change in layer height also effected the final diameter the greatest for the top center deposition location where the diameter diverged by 2.5 % during the overbuild condition and converged by 0.6 %. In conclusion, this finding will increase the manufacturing efficiency of axisymmetric components by increasing the passive stability of the printing process for the successful manufacture of parts without the need for perfectly calibrated manufacturing parameters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluating the Durability of Balance of Systems Components Using C-AST

The testing of branch- and cable-connectors, and fuses in C-AST is introduced. A significant effect was observed when mechanical actuation was introduced to the benchtop prototype testing. Therefore, this presentation emphasizes the mechanical test fixture, data acquisition system, failure analysis of the components used in specimen assemblies, and the validation of the results relative to field failed samples.

components↗
DOE OSTI2020

Sensitive Resources Assessment and Forest Analysis for the Proposed Versatile Test Reactor, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a leading institution in advanced materials, supercomputing, neutrons, and nuclear science. As a research laboratory managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for DOE, ORNL has national priorities in energy, security, and scientific discovery that necessitate facility improvements and expansions. DOE is also committed to environmental stewardship. The laboratory is located on the ~32,000-acre (~13,000-ha) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR), much of which is categorized as a National Environmental Research Park (NERP) and a state Wildlife Management Area. DOE works with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), US Department of Agriculture, and other agencies to serve as an effective steward of the ORR. Accordingly, project managers must conform to environmental regulations, agreements, and policies at the federal, state, and institutional levels. Per 40 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 1508.14, potential effects on research and science education also represent potential effects of federal actions on the NERP, and impacts on, e.g., deer harvest, must be considered on the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area when other aspects of the human environment are affected. The United States currently has no fast neutron testing capability to support advanced nuclear research and development. The proposed Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) will take advantage of current investments by the US government and private industry in nuclear reactors to expedite the design and construction process, using proven technology to create a world-class scientific infrastructure. The VTR will take advantage of fast neutrons provided by this proven technology, along with a capability to rapidly insert, conduct, and remove state-of-the-art experiments. An advantage of the VTR is that it can support future innovations in experimental capabilities without modifying the facility. The VTR will support progress in a variety of science and technology areas, including testing and qualification of advanced reactor fuels; testing and qualification of innovative structural materials; testing of innovative components and instruments; validation of advanced modeling and simulation tools; and versatility for future technical missions. Through proven technology, the VTR can take advantage of existing reactor designs and operating experience to reduce the risk, cost, and time for design and construction. The top available resources of DOE laboratories, industry, and universities will be used to expedite reactor design and construction toward developing the scientific infrastructure that affords a strong testing capability that can be sustained over many years. This report summarizes current knowledge of natural and cultural resources primarily within the VTR construction area. At the time of this report, the proposed VTR site design includes a construction area of ~150.4 acres (~69.9 ha), which contains an ~51.3-acre (~20.8-ha) operations area, located within forested natural areas of the ORR. The primary goal of the work presented here was to evaluate potential effects on sensitive resources that might result from development and construction activities associated with VTR. In addition to on-the-ground surveys during spring and summer 2020 by the ORNL Natural Resources Management Program and Aquatic Ecology Group staff, this report makes use of historical (pre-1995) and contemporary (1995 to present) data from additional confirmed sources (e.g., TDEC). Likewise, forest conditions were compiled from a 2011 forest inventory and supplemented with limited ground observations in 2020. The individuals who obtained and compiled the data presented here are familiar with and routinely assess sensitive resources on the ORR. Anyone who references this report must consider that the timing of surveys did not permit a complete delineation of the resources that will be affected. If the VTR project proceeds, additional surveys will be required to account for the seasonal patterns of various threatened and endangered species. Data deficiencies and potential resources that likely went undetected are indicated where possible. Accordingly, this report should facilitate more environmentally sound decisions during planning and 2 development of the VTR site, provide a foundation for further assessment of sensitive and cultural resources, and help project managers better address regulatory guidance and DOE policies on sustainable development in compliance with, for example, the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Tennessee Rare Plant Protection and Conservation Act of 1985, Tennessee Nongame and Endangered or Threatened Wildlife Species Conservation Act of 1974, several federal and state regulations regarding aquatic resource protection, and site-specific policies as outlined in various ORR management plans developed by ORNL and TWRA for DOE.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Intelligent Experiments Through Real-time AI: Fast Data Processing and Autonomous Detector Control for sPHENIX and Future EIC Detectors (Final Report)

The overall vision of this project was to integrate real-time artificial intelligence (AI) directly into the data acquisition and detector-control systems of nuclear physics experiments, including both fast online event selection and an autonomous detector-control feedback loop. The work carried out under the award focused on the fast online event-selection half of that vision: the efficient recording of low-momentum heavy-flavor (HF) hadron decays in proton-proton collisions at the sPHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)—an observable that requires fast tracking and topological trigger selection not previously demonstrated at RHIC, and that is essential for QCD studies at future facilities such as the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The autonomous detector-control (GPU-based feedback) component named in the project title remained a design concept and was not implemented under this award. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) group led the offline simulation and data processing needed to train the machine-learning (ML) models, the translation of trained models to Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) firmware using the hls4ml framework, and the physics validation of heavy-flavor reconstruction. Over the award period, the team developed and hardware-tested the principal components of an AI-based heavy-flavor trigger on simulated and recorded sPHENIX tracker data: a software Bipartite Graph Attention Network (BiGAT) trigger model reaching > 95% signal efficiency at 99% background rejection; an FPGA-native hit clusterizer matching the offline clustering; smaller networks synthesized to FPGA within the required sub-10 µs latency; and an assembled decoder–clusterizer–inference firmware chain exercised on the FELIX readout board. A complete, fully integrated hardware demonstrator was not finished within the award period. This report documents the project goals, the MIT group’s contributions, the technical accomplishments, and the outlook toward applications at the future EIC ePIC detector.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Total experimental uncertainty in hydrodynamic testing of a semisubmersible wind turbine, considering numerical propagation of systematic uncertainty

Quantifying the uncertainty in experimental results is a vital step in properly validating numerical simulation tools for designing floating wind turbines; without a good understanding of the experimental uncertainties, it is impossible to confirm if numerical simulation tools can capture the physics with acceptable accuracy. Recent validation studies suggest that the wave-induced, low-frequency surge and pitch motions of semisubmersible-type floating wind turbines are consistently underpredicted by numerical simulations, but it has not been possible to state whether or not this underprediction is within the level of experimental error. Here, previously assessed systematic uncertainty components in hydrodynamic tests of the OC5-DeepCwind semisubmersible are propagated to response metrics of interest using numerical simulation tools, and combined with the system's random uncertainty to obtain the total experimental uncertainty. The uncertainty in the low-frequency response metrics is found to be most sensitive to the system properties (e.g., mooring stiffness and center of gravity), and also the wave elevation. The results of the present study suggest that the underprediction of the low-frequency response behavior observed in previous validation studies is larger than the experimental uncertainty.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Accelerated Irradiation and Qualification of Ceramic Nuclear Fuels

Accelerated neutron irradiation testing is an component of accelerated qualification of new nuclear fuels for light water reactor (LWRs), microreactors, and other special purpose reactors. The qualification and licensing of nuclear fuel is a lengthy process that can take 20-25 years to bring a new fuel into service. Accelerated fuel qualification combines both experimental and modeling work to expedite the total qualification time to 5-10 years timeframe. The experimental aspect of this is accelerated irradiation aims to reduce the total time needed for neutron irradiation to achieve targeted burnup, which can take years using conventional irradiation profiles. The data that results from this irradiation testing can then be entered into BISON models to develop robust and reliable performance simulations to ensure safe operation under normal and off normal conditions. This milestone focused on the fabrication of test articles for accelerated irradiation testing at the Advance Test Reactor (ATR).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantifying Growth of Three Common Bacterium on Phytic Acid: Investigating Effects of Media Composition

Microbes can produce a plethora of metabolites and enzymes that allow mobilization of various elements and nutrients in the soil, including phosphorus. Phosphorus is essential to plant growth; however, only a limited amount of it is in a bio-accessible inorganic form that can be utilized by most plants. Microbes can produce enzymes called phosphatase, which break down phytic acid (organic phosphorus) into bioavailable inorganic phosphate. My work aimed to understand how inorganic phosphate, phytic acid, and calcium in media affect the growth of Bacillus subtilis168 (B. subtilis), Escherichia coli K12 BW25113 (E. coli), Pseudomonas putida KT2440 (P. putida), and a strain of Pseudomonas putida AG5577_MS238 engineered to produce a phytase. Eight media were made to test how these components affect growth, and an additional two to understand the effects of multiple carbon sources versus one. It was observed that P. putida’s growth increased in the presence of phytic acid and was strongly driven by nitrate availability. Furthermore, it was able to initiate faster growth when multiple carbon sources were available rather than just one. E. coli’s growth seemed to be limited when inorganic phosphate was unavailable and little to no growth occurred when phytic acid, calcium, and inorganic phosphate were absent. B. subtilis was unable to substantially grow within 28 hrs in any of the mediums tested. The results of this research aid in understanding the growth responses of P. putida, E. coli, and B. subtilis on less accessible and bioavailable forms of phosphorus.

Black, Grace S.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrated friction reduction technology to improve fuel economy without sacrificing durability

This project aims to develop fuel economy technologies to minimize parasitic losses within vehicle engines and drivetrains by improving fuel economy at least 2% for 2014 legacy vehicles and 2018 vehicles without adverse impacts on engine durability. The tools used are advanced low viscosity lubricants and surface material technologies, including surface textures, and coatings. Working with industrial partners, an experimental fuel efficient low viscosity lubricant was developed, verified by ASTM fuel economy engine test for 2014 vehicle population. An ultralow viscosity lubricant was also developed for 2018 engines, demonstrated by engine chassis dynamometer tests. Surface texturing of engine components was also conducted, and in engine testing, confirmed the textured engine developed more torque and power while the textures largely stayed intact after the test.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Laboratory and Field Arrays (ALFA)/Lab Collaboration Project (LCP) for Marine Energy (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

The objective of the Advanced Laboratory and Field Arrays (ALFA) project was to reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) energy by leveraging research, development, and testing capabilities at Oregon State University, University of Washington, and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. ALFA is a project within the Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC; formerly NNMREC), a multi-institution entity with a diverse funding base that focuses on research and development for marine renewables. The ALFA project aimed to accelerate the development of next-generation arrays of wave energy conversion (WEC) and tidal energy conversion (TEC) devices through a suite of field-focused R&D activities spanning a broad range of strategic opportunity areas identified in the Funding Opportunity Announcement: • Device and/or array operation and maintenance (O&M) logistics development; • High-fidelity resource characterization and/or modeling technique development and validation; • Array-specific component technology development (e.g. moorings and foundations, transmission, and other offshore grid components); • Array performance testing and evaluation; and • Novel cost-effective environmental monitoring techniques and instrumentation testing and evaluation. The objective of the Lab Collaboration Project (LCP) was to accelerate the development of next-generation marine energy conversion systems. The LCP aimed to achieve these project objectives in collaboration with the national laboratories by: • Developing concept generation and assessment tools; • Improving access to existing testing resources; • Validating collision risk models between fish and turbines; and • Advancing analysis and simulation capabilities for wave-WEC interactions and PTO analysis in nonlinear ocean waves. The ALFA portion of the project was comprised of six overarching technical tasks: • Task 1: Debris Modeling, Detection and Mitigation; • Task 2: Autonomous Monitoring & Intervention; • Task 3: Resource Characterization for Extreme Conditions; • Task 4: Robust Models for Design of Offshore Anchoring and Mooring Systems; • Task 5: Performance Enhancement for Marine Energy Converter (MEC) Arrays; and • Task 6: Evaluating Sampling Techniques for MHK Biological Monitoring. The LCP was divided into four overarching technical tasks: • Task 7: Project Management and Reporting • Task 8: Novel Design and Assessment Methodologies for Wave Energy Converter Design (Wave- SPARC) • Task 9: Testing Access for Commercial Marine Renewable Energy Technology Developers • Task 10: Quantifying Collision Risk for Fish and Turbines • Task 11: Nonlinear Ocean Waves and PTO Control Strategy Each ALFA/LCP task listed above functioned as a separate and discreet project. A final Technical Report was written for each individual task and these reports were uploaded to OSTI, after receiving DOE approval. The following document is a compilation of each of these final, approved reports arranged as individual chapters.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

The US effort towards a muon collider

A multi-TeV muon collider has the unique potential to provide both precision measurements and the highest energy reach in one machine that cannot be paralleled by any currently available technology. There has been significant physics interest on Muon Colliders recently as indicated by the number of publications, relevant workshops, Snowmass activities but also the P5 report. This study describes a possible set of R&D and deliverables of the muon collider accelerator R&D program in the U.S. We describe high-priority studies to be performed in the first phase that will address critical questions for deciding the future plan for a muon collider design. The goal of these studies is to firm up choices for the most challenging components of a muon collider design, and to propose and begin testing and prototyping of components and systems that are needed to have confidence in and inform our specification choices. Key areas wherein the US can provide critical contributions to the newly formed international muon collider collaboration will be discussed as well.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multi-physics Topology OPtimization and Additive Manufacturing for High-temperature Heat Exchangers

This research significantly advances the understanding of high-temperature heat exchanger design through an integrated approach that combines topology optimization (TO), triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures, additive manufacturing (AM) and thermohydraulic testing. Each of these components contributes uniquely to a unified, high-performance design, fabrication and testing workflow. Topology optimization serves as the foundation of the design methodology by providing a systematic way to determine the most effective material layout for separating hot and cold fluids while maximizing thermal performance. The researchers introduced a novel three-material optimization framework using two density fields to represent hot fluid, cold fluid, and solid domains. This approach enables automated discovery of optimal shapes and flow paths that cannot be intuitively designed, especially under constraints imposed by manufacturing technologies. Furthermore, constraints such as minimal wall thickness and overhang angles were embedded into the optimization process, ensuring that resulting designs are not only thermally efficient but also manufacturable using modern additive techniques. In parallel, the study delves into the use of Gyroid-based TPMS geometries for constructing the core of the heat exchanger. TPMS structures are known for their high surface area, excellent fluid mixing capabilities, and minimal pressure drop characteristics. The researchers applied a data-driven modeling framework using Heteroscedastic Sparse Gaussian Process Regression (HSGPR) combined with genetic algorithms. This allowed for the rapid evaluation and optimization of key geometric parameters such as frequency, iso-value, and phase shift. The result was a set of Gyroid structures tailored for high heat transfer and low flow resistance, demonstrating clear improvements over conventional straight-channel designs. After the designing process, additive manufacturing played a critical role by turning these highly complex, optimized geometries into physical components. Utilizing Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) with Haynes 282, the study demonstrated the feasibility of fabricating these heat exchangers at high precision. Post-processing methods, including dilation-erosion operations, were applied to ensure local features adhered to self-supporting constraints. The fabricated structures were then subjected to thermohydraulic testing under conditions representative of supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycles, validating the predicted performance and confirming the viability of the full design-to-fabrication pipeline. Finally, thermohydraulic testing across the above studies served as a crucial experimental validation of advanced heat exchanger. Under consistent high-temperature and high-pressure conditions using supercritical CO 2 , the testing demonstrated that both TO and Gyroid-based TPMS designs significantly outperformed conventional straight-channel HXs. The TO design achieved a 115% increase in UA and NTU and a 27.6% boost in gravimetric power density, while the data-driven optimized Gyroid design delivered a 166% increase in UA and NTU and improved effectiveness from 68.7% to 86.1%. These results validate the simulation models, confirm the manufacturability of complex geometries under AM constraints, and provide key insights into design-performance trade-offs, thereby advancing the development of high-efficiency, compact heat exchangers for extreme environments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Large-scale parametric modeling of spent nuclear fuel dynamics in the 30 cm package drop scenario

Packages used to transport spent nuclear fuel (SNF) are required by the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 10 CFR 71.71 to demonstrate satisfactory performance during a drop scenario. While the CFR is meant to ensure safe package function, it does not evaluate survival of the SNF within. The U.S. Department of Energy Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology program is working on closing the knowledge gap related to the response of SNF to external mechanical loads, including the hypothetical 30 cm package drop scenario in the CFR. In support of this effort, LS-DYNA finite element simulations were developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to model generic drop scenarios at both the package and fuel assembly level. The models were validated against one-third scale package and full scale fuel assembly drop test data and were exercised to predict fuel cladding strains in a narrow range of model configurations. This work describes a large-scale parametric study conducted by PNNL using the previously developed and validated PWR finite element model, with the addition of a new generic BWR assembly model. The motivation for the parametric study was to characterize the broad range of SNF responses in the 30 cm package drop scenario. This was accomplished by varying the drop orientation, fuel assembly type (17x17 PWR and 10x10 BWR), burnup, cladding temperature, spacer grid buckling load, package mass, impact limiter stiffness, and mechanical gap conditions within the basket. A MATLAB framework was developed to automate LS-DYNA model generation and execution on PNNL institutional computing resources. In total, over 2000 simulations were performed. For each simulation, the SNF response was quantified in terms of permanent grid deformation, fuel rod contact pressure, and strains within the fuel rods, guide tubes, and water rods. The results provide valuable insight into the range of responses that could be reasonably expected from SNF in the hypothetical drop scenario, as well as the sensitivity to each input parameter. The results of this parametric study are a key component of the testing and modeling strategy the Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology program is using to close the external loads knowledge gap.

Kadooka, Kevin↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development, construction and qualification tests of the mechanical structures of the electromagnetic calorimeter of the Mu2e experiment at Fermilab

The “muon-to-electron conversion” (Mu2e) experiment at Fermilab will search for the Charged Lepton Flavour Violating neutrino-less coherent conversion of a muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. The observation of this process would be the unambiguous evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. Mu2e detectors comprise a straw-tracker, an electromagnetic calorimeter and an external veto for cosmic rays. The calorimeter provides excellent electron identification, complementary information to aid pattern recognition and track reconstruction, and a fast calorimetric online trigger. The detector has been designed as a state-of-the-art crystal calorimeter and employs 1340 pure Cesium Iodide (CsI) crystals readout by UV-extended silicon photosensors and fast front-end and digitization electronics. A design consisting of two identical annular matrices (named “disks”) positioned at the relative distance of 70 cm downstream the aluminum target along the muon beamline satisfies the Mu2e physics requirements.The hostile Mu2e operational conditions, in terms of radiation levels (total ionizing dose of 12 krad and a neutron fluence of 5x1010 n/cm2 @ 1 MeVeq (Si)/y), magnetic field intensity (1 T) and vacuum level (10$^{-4}$ Torr) have posed tight constraints on the design of the detector mechanical structures and materials choice. The support structure of the two 670 crystal matrices employs two aluminum hollow rings and parts made of open-cell vacuum-compatible carbon fiber. The photosensors and service front-end electronics for each crystal are assembled in a unique mechanical unit inserted in a machined copper holder. The 670 units are supported by a machined plate made of vacuum-compatible plastic material. The plate also integrates the cooling system made of a network of copper lines flowing a low temperature radiation-hard fluid and placed in thermal contact with the copper holders to constitute a low resistance thermal bridge. The data acquisition electronics is hosted in aluminum custom crates positioned on the external lateral surface of the two disks. The crates also integrate the electronics cooling system as lines running in parallel to the front-end system.The constraints on the calorimeter mechanical structures design, the development from the conceptual design to the specifications of all the structural components, the status of components production and the components quality assurance tests are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗