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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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At least 271 records · Page 15

Synroc Waste Treatment Facility for Fission-based Molybdenum-99 Production - 19335

ANSTO is building a nuclear waste treatment plant that represents a significant step change in the treatment of intermediate-level waste (ILW) from Molybdenum-99 nuclear medicine production. This industrial scale facility shall deploy ANSTO Synroc technologies; a wasteform tailored for immobilizing fission products, an integrated process line for converting liquid waste into free-flowing powder, automated canister filling and sealing, and a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) system designed for remote operation. The HIP represents the last processing step to consolidate the wasteform into a final durable solid compact with the required performance characteristics. This paper shall outline the various phases of development in realising the final plant design as well as timelines to progress through cold- and hot-commissioning. Further, plans for storage and final disposal of the HIPed canister product will be discussed. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

MIT Capstone Project Assignment 1 - Existing System Design

“FPU in 5”: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and upper management at Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) have informally set a long-term goal of decreasing the development cycle of new systems to five years or less. The driver is to be able to respond to emerging situations which require new capabilities more quickly. There are numerous approaches to solve the problem, and any single improvement is likely insufficient. Our capstone project focuses on modernizing the design development processes, production development processes, and communication between design agencies (DAs) and production agencies (PAs) to decrease the timeline from conceptual study to first production unit. Our project’s system problem statement (SPS) is below: TO decrease the time from conceptual study to first production unit BY centralizing design development, production development, and information exchange USING digital engineering techniques.

42 ENGINEERING↗

In-space operations for lunar and Mars space transfer vehicles

The objective of this paper is to discuss the in-space operations required to process the lunar and Mars mission vehicles envisioned for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). Recent studies, which have examined the degree to which on-orbit operations change as a function of the Earth-to-orbit (ETO) launch vehicle size, identified a common set of on-orbit vehicle processing tasks, and generated functional requirements for in-space processing nodes are summarized in this paper. Timelines for on-orbit processing of two different lunar transfer vehicles (LTV's) were developed to compare a 'current practice,' labor-intensive EVA approach to ones utilizing telerobotics and advanced automation. LTV aerobrake concepts ranging from simple deployment to considerable assembly are compared. Similar timelines for the on-orbit processing of a nuclear Mars transfer vehicle (MTV) are also presented. Aerobrakes can be processed in a timely manner and should not be ruled out for SEI missions. The 'tall pole' time interval for on-orbit vehicle initial processing is the delivery of elements to orbit, not the processing tasks.

Raper, James L., Sr.↗

Study of sampling systems for comets and Mars

Several aspects of the techniques that can be applied to acquisition and preservation of samples from Mars and a cometary nucleus were examined. Scientific approaches to sampling, grounded in proven engineering methods are the key to achieving the maximum science value from the sample return mission. If development of these approaches for collecting and preserving does not preceed mission definition, it is likely that only suboptimal techniques will be available because of the constraints of formal schedule timelines and the normal pressure to select only the most conservative and least sophisticated approaches when development has lagged the mission milestones. With a reasonable investment now, before the final mission definition, the sampling approach can become highly developed, ready for implementation, and mature enough to help set the requirements for the mission hardware and its performance.

Amundsen, R. J.↗

Pathways to Overcome Geothermal Deployment Barriers

Geothermal resources represent a vast domestic energy supply that can provide a fexible and reliable source of electricity as well as contribute to clean energy goals. In the United States, geothermal exploration and development are subject to numerous permits, authorizations, and other regulatory requirements at the federal, state, and local level. These are necessary to address potential environmental and resource impacts at geothermal project sites, but may act as barriers to geothermal deployment, slowing timelines and raising costs. The 2022 NREL report, Non-Technical Barriers to Geothermal Development in California and Nevada, presents fndings of a study on non-technical barriers that may infuence geothermal project development.

geothermal↗

Thermal Model Development for Ares I-X

Thermal analysis for the Ares I-X vehicle has involved extensive thermal model integration, since thermal models of vehicle elements came from several different NASA and industry organizations. Many valuable lessons were learned in terms of model integration and validation. Modeling practices such as submodel, analysis group and symbol naming were standardized to facilitate the later model integration. Upfront coordination of coordinate systems, timelines, units, symbols and case scenarios was very helpful in minimizing integration rework. A process for model integration was developed that included pre-integration runs and basic checks of both models, and a step-by-step process to efficiently integrate one model into another. Extensive use of model logic was used to create scenarios and timelines for avionics and air flow activation. Efficient methods of model restart between case scenarios were developed. Standardization of software version and even compiler version between organizations was found to be essential. An automated method for applying aeroheating to the full integrated vehicle model, including submodels developed by other organizations, was developed.

Amundsen, Ruth M.↗

The Argonne SuperGel for CBRN Decontamination - 20160

The Argonne SuperGel was developed between 2003 and 2015 to fill a gap in our nation's capability to quickly decontaminate important structures following a radiological or nuclear release event. Specifically, the decontamination technology was developed to minimize damage to monuments, high valued structures, and critical infrastructure while reducing environmental and health impacts. An important criterion during its development, common reagents were employed that could be easily acquired in order to minimize the timeline for its deployment. Its current formulation uses off-the-shelf super-absorbing hydrogels common to the food and agricultural industry and common salts. Over the years, two formulations of the Argonne SuperGel have been developed to specifically target radioactive cesium contaminations and then, more generically, actinide and fission product contaminations. A biodegradable derivative of phosphoric acid is used in small amounts to promote the removal of insoluble actinide species. The original order of unit operations for the SuperGel technology was 1) applying the wash solution to promote mobility of the contaminants on the surface, 2) applying the hydrogel to absorb the wash solution and contaminants, and 3) removing the hydrogel for disposal. During the course of our studies, we tested a new formulation of the gel technology that eliminated the need for a separate step to apply the wash solution without a compromise in decontamination factors. Greater than 70% and >95% of Cs-137 were removed from concrete and tile coupons, respectively, after two decontaminations, with the best results using wash solutions of 1.0 M KCl and 1.0 M NH{sub 4}Cl formulations. We found no statistical difference between results at 30 deg. C and 40 deg. C or at 70% and 90% relative humidity. We tested the gel under strong UV irradiation to simulate extreme environments. While a tropical noontime UV flux did not adversely affect the gel system decontamination of Cs-137 from concrete or tile coupons, the noontime flux resulted in significant dehydration of the gel after two hours of constant exposure. The rehydration of the gel by the humid air (at 90% humidity and 40 deg. C) was slow and may not be sufficient to offset dehydration by the sun. Americium decontamination from concrete was 70% after optimizing the phosphoric acid derivative and carbonate salt concentration in the wash solution. Since its development, we have had the opportunity to test the SuperGel in the removal of legacy contaminations in hot cell facilities and former glovebox facilities at Argonne. This has provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the SuperGel on a range of contaminants outside the original specifications for its use. We will report on the origin of the gel formulation, some highlighted experimental data including independent testing by the US EPA which has never been reported, and its efficacy for removing legacy alpha contaminations and its potential use for removal of chemical and biological hazardous agents. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Using Open Standards and NASA Open Source Simulation Tools to Model Artemis Base Camp Mission Timelines

The United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that the Artemis Program will return humans to the Moon, establishing a persistent presence with the Artemis Base Camp (ABC), and extend human exploration to Mars. The NASA Exploration Systems Simulations (NExSyS) team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is using internationally developed simulation interoperability standards and NASA open source simulation tools to support Artemis concept, analysis, designs, development, training, and ultimately operations. The NExSyS team has been tasked to support early ABC architecture and mission analysis using mission time lines developed by the crew operations mission planning team. The NExSyS team is developing a distributed simulation framework with initial Artemis element implementations to model the ABC mission timelines using the international simulation interoperability standard High Level Architecture (HLA), the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization’s Space Reference Federation Object Model (SpaceFOM), the NASA open source Trick Simulation Environment, and another NASA open source interface package called TrickHLA. The ABC architecture is composed of a number of key surface elements and resources. Some examples of modeled elements (also known as entities) are landers, habitats, rovers, logistics carriers, and astronauts. Some examples of modeled transferable and consumable resources are power, water, oxygen, nitrogen, scientific samples, and food. These entities and resources are modeled in a collection of individual simulations called Federates. A coordinated collection of interoperable federates is called a Federation and when these federates are tied together in a coordinated simulation run, it is referred to as a Federation Execution. The federates communicate through HLA using data exchange formats defined by a collection of machine readable files called Federation Object Models (FOMs). These FOM files are based on extensions to the SpaceFOM. This enables the instantiation and sharing of objects and interactions between federates in the federation. These provide for entity and resource tracking, object transfer, and data collection. Federate interactions are used to trigger events and notify federates of entity or resource transfers. For the initial implementation, the constituent federates are Trick-based simulations that use TrickHLA to provide the required HLA-base interoperability. These Trick-based simulations provide the required modeling for the individual Artemis elements along with the associated element resources. These federates provide a means to explore traverses between surface elements and exploration sites as scheduled in a mission timeline and explore the affects traverse times have on the overall mission timeline. The mission time lines are modeled using a Trick input file event handling capabilities. Each timeline operation is handled as individual simulation events, and triggered based on previous event status, time of operation, and simulated task completions. In addition, the ABC Federation can be used to perform Monte Carlo analysis. The Monte Carlo tool can vary the inputs, timings, and malfunctions to show how various contingencies in the mission can affect the mission timeline.

Keaton Craig Dodd↗

Evolution of Distributed Energy Resource Grid Interconnection Standards for Integrating Emerging Storage Technologies

Grid interconnection standards facilitate safe and reliable grid integration of distributed energy resources (DERs). Evolution of a standard for DERs is expected to capture and accommodate widely different characteristics of DER and minimize unique grid integration challenges. This makes development of a uniform grid interconnection standard for all types of DERs a challenging and an ever-evolving consideration. This paper presents a detailed timeline of evolution, from the early 2000s to 2018, of DER interconnection standards and the research that informed their development. This is followed by a review of the research topics being considered in the grid integration of Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) which are expected to have the most significant growth amongst all DER types. These help in highlighting the need for a new standard to accommodate the unique characteristics of ESSs, and where the existing DER interconnection standard frameworks may be leveraged.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Thiokol/Wasatch installation evaluation of the redesigned field joint protection system (concepts 1 and 3)

The procedures, performance, and results obtained from the Thiokol Corporation/Wasatch Redesigned Field Joint Protection System (FJPS) Installation Evaluation are documented. The purpose of the evaluation was to demonstrate and develop the procedures required to install two different concepts (referred to as Concepts 1 and 3) of the redesigned FJPS. The processing capability of each configuration was then evaluated and compared. The FJPS is installed on redesigned solid rocket motors (RSRM) to protect the field joints from rain intrusion and to maintain the joint temperature sensor measurement between 85 and 122 F while the boosters are on the launch pad. The FJPS is being redesigned to reduce installation timelines at KSC and to simplify or eliminate installation processing problems related to the present design of an EPDM moisture seal/extruded cork combination. Several installation techniques were evaluated, and a preferred method of application was developed for each concept. The installations were performed with the test article in the vertical (flight) position. Comparative timelines between the two concepts were also developed. An additional evaluation of the Concept 3 configuration was performed with the test article in the horizontal position, to simulate an overhead installation on a technical evaluation motor (TEM).

Cook, M.↗

The Basic Results of Alignment and Summary of Operations of the Main K-1000-60/3000 Turbine Unit with a Small Number of Bearings at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant

The results of vibration alignment and the first years of use of the prototype K-1000-60/3000-3 turbine unit of the Bushehr NPP in 2011 – 2016 are examined. As a result of conducting an extensive set of studies and actions, the claimed high-quality operating characteristics of the new design bearings that were used and the high degree of vibrational reliability of the turbine unit were confirmed, and these made it possible to ensure successful commissioning on a short timeline, despite the novelty of the design and the uniqueness of development of the majority of units, taking into account the integration of the equipment with the existing base and the condenser group. During the commissioning work, it was shown that this turbine unit is not inferior in any manner to turbine units of analogous power from other firms.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Oh, My Darling Clementine: A Detailed History and Data Repository of the Los Alamos Plutonium Fast Reactor

The Los Alamos Plutonium Fast Reactor, Clementine, provided the first fast neutron spectrum using a metallic plutonium fuel system and liquid mercury coolant. Clementine is often mentioned in the history of fast, metal-fueled, or metal-cooled designs, with little public information regarding the specifications or timeline. This paper contains a synopsis of each report regarding the development, operation, experimental results, failures, and subsequent disassembly of Clementine to explore this unique reactor within the context of modern advanced reactor development.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Small Hydropower Interconnections: State Interconnection Processes

Small hydropower projects with rated power output between 0 to 20 MW have been the predominant source of hydropower growth over the past decade in the United States (DOE 2016; Johnson et al. 2018). However, interconnection to electricity distribution and transmission grids is a persistent barrier. Interconnection of an electricity generating unit is overseen by the distribution or transmission owner, who use interconnection standards and requirements that vary by state. The differences between standards in standards may affect the final cost, timeline, and success of a small hydropower project. Small hydropower project developers across the United States have found interconnection procedures to be fraught with cost surprises and schedule overruns. System operators have struggled to understand impacts to overburdened or rapidly evolving transmission and distribution grids. The results of these shortcomings have been stranded costs and unrealized small hydropower potential. Though regulatory actions and policy recommendations at the state level have increased the situational awareness of interconnection challenges, the remote locations of small hydropower resources and the relatively small revenues associated with energy production through small hydropower facilities continue to make interconnection processes and requirements confusing and costly. Noting these challenges, the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office enlisted Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to investigate the small hydropower interconnection landscape across the United States. The second in a series, this paper investigates the interconnection process in each state in the U.S. to compare their attributes. Subsequent papers in the series will analyze these interconnection processes (“Small Hydropower Interconnections: Analysis of Interconnection Processes”) and present best practices (“Small Hydropower Interconnections: Best Practices”) that will help overcome barriers to future small hydropower development. The first paper in the series examined the state of small hydropower projects in the United States (“Small Hydropower Interconnections: Small Hydropower in the United States”) to understand the industry characteristics.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Space Construction Experiment Definition Study (SCEDS), part 2. Volume 2: Study results

The Space Construction Experiment (SCE) was defined for integration into the Space Shuttle. This included development of flight assignment data, revision and update of preliminary mission timelines and test plans, analysis of flight safety issues, and definition of ground operations scenarios. New requirements for the flight experiment and changes for a large space antenna feed mask test article were incorporated. The program plan and cost estimates were updated. Revised SCE structural dynamics characteristics were provided for simulation and analysis of experimental tests to define and verify control limits and interactions effects between the SCE and the Orbiter digital automatic pilot.

Source record↗

Human Autonomy Teaming - m:N Operations

The principles and reasons for employing Human Autonomy Teaming is discussed. Application of these techniques to multi-vehicle control is described. In several operational environments from small drone delivery to air taxi to autonomous cargo, many companies will need technologies that will allow for the operation of an unmanned aircraft (UAS or eVTOL) by a small crew of individuals that are located in a remote network operations center. That is, Multiple operators supervising an increasing Number of vehicles (M:N). This will require a new control/supervisory paradigm where the supervisors team with automation to achieve their joint tasks; Human Autonomy Teaming (HAT). This task will follow the HAT philosophy and tenants (e.g., trust, bi-directional communication, pilot directed interfaces). It will also develop and employ specific HAT tools (e.g., playbook, working agreements, predictive timeline displays, transparent interfaces to build trust).

multi-vehicle control↗

NASA HAT Lab Activities

The principles and reasons for employing Human Autonomy Teaming is discussed. Application of these techniques to multi-vehicle control is described. In several operational environments from small drone delivery to air taxi to autonomous cargo, many companies will need technologies that will allow for the operation of an unmanned aircraft (UAS or eVTOL) by a small crew of individuals that are located in a remote network operations center. That is, Multiple operators supervising an increasing Number of vehicles (M:N). This will require a new control/supervisory paradigm where the supervisors team with automation to achieve their joint tasks; Human Autonomy Teaming (HAT). This task will follow the HAT philosophy and tenants (e.g., trust, bi-directional communication, pilot directed interfaces). It will also develop and employ specific HAT tools (e.g., playbook, working agreements, predictive timeline displays, transparent interfaces to build trust).

multi-vehicle control↗

m:N Working Group

The principles and reasons for employing Human Autonomy Teaming is discussed. Application of these techniques to multi-vehicle control is described. In several operational environments from small drone delivery to air taxi to autonomous cargo, many companies will need technologies that will allow for the operation of an unmanned aircraft (UAS or eVTOL) by a small crew of individuals that are located in a remote network operations center. That is, Multiple operators supervising an increasing Number of vehicles (M:N). This will require a new control/supervisory paradigm where the supervisors team with automation to achieve their joint tasks; Human Autonomy Teaming (HAT). This task will follow the HAT philosophy and tenants (e.g., trust, bi-directional communication, pilot directed interfaces). It will also develop and employ specific HAT tools (e.g., playbook, working agreements, predictive timeline displays, transparent interfaces to build trust). This presentation discusses the background and progress of the m:N working group.

multi-vehicle control↗

Future Operations

The principles and reasons for employing Human Autonomy Teaming is discussed. Application of these techniques to multi-vehicle control is described. In several operational environments from small drone delivery to air taxi to autonomous cargo, many companies will need technologies that will allow for the operation of an unmanned aircraft (UAS or eVTOL) by a small crew of individuals that are located in a remote network operations center. That is, Multiple operators supervising an increasing Number of vehicles (M:N). This will require a new control/supervisory paradigm where the supervisors team with automation to achieve their joint tasks; Human Autonomy Teaming (HAT). This task will follow the HAT philosophy and tenants (e.g., trust, bi-directional communication, pilot directed interfaces). It will also develop and employ specific HAT tools (e.g., playbook, working agreements, predictive timeline displays, transparent interfaces to build trust). This presentation discusses the future of GCS control stations and need for Human Systems Integration.

multi-vehicle control↗