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At least 271 records · Page 15

Advanced Modeling and Simulation to Characterize Advanced Boiling Water Reactor Source Terms to Support a Regulatory Approval Pathway for Right-Sized Emergency Planning Zone. Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (A-BWR) Project Phase 2

The United States Department of Energy (US DOE) is currently supporting the development of various small modular reactor (SMR), microreactor and advanced reactor designs. These reactors have improved safety features as compared to conventional Large Light Water Reactors (LLWRs), which include features that improve potential reduction of radiological source terms in the event of design and beyond-design basis accidents. Specifically, some reactors feature a relatively smaller containment volume with respect to the available surface area for fission product deposition; these include Integrated Pressurized Water Reactors (iPWRs), such as the NuScale SMR and SMR-type Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) such as General Electric-Hitachi’s BWRX-300 design.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Particulate from Lignite Coal Combustion and Impact on Carbon Capture Aerosol Emissions

Conference presentation for 47th International Technical Conference on Clean Energy (Clearwater Clean Energy Conference), Clearwater, Florida, July 23–27, 2023. While aerosol formation is recognized as a leading cause of amine losses and degradation from postcombustion CO 2 capture systems, the factors that can lead to aerosol formation vary widely depending on fuel type, plant configuration, and operating conditions. All of these factors require measurement to fully characterize potential sources of aerosol-based amine losses and should be considered prior to implementing full-scale amine-based CO 2 capture.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Transverse Kinematic Imbalance in MicroBooNE's New nue CC0pi Measurements

Neutrino-nucleus cross section measurements require accurate modelling of neutrino interactions. Neutrino beams are not monoenergetic, and the energy of each interaction must instead be modelled using nuclear interaction assumptions. This introduces significant systematic uncertainty into cross section measurements. Effects such as Fermi motion, nuclear correlations, and final-state interactions (FSI) smear the underlying quasi-elastic scattering signal, making it difficult to disentangle genuine quasi-elastic kinematics from nuclear effects across the full range of interaction channels (QE, MEC, RES, DIS) probed in these measurements. Transverse Kinematic Imbalance (TKI) variables, such as $\delta p_T$ and $\delta \alpha_T$, probe this same phase space by exploiting the fact that the incoming neutrino has zero transverse momentum ($\vec{p}_T^{\,\nu} = 0$). Any measured transverse imbalance in the final state therefore arises from nuclear effects rather than from uncertainty in the incident neutrino energy, allowing cross section measurements to select a phase space that is rich in quasi-elastic-like events with minimal contamination from FSI and other nuclear effects, independent of energy reconstruction. Recent unfolded MicroBooNE cross section measurements of electron-neutrino charged-current interactions with zero pions and at least one proton ($\nu_e$ CC0$\pi$, 1eNp0$\pi$) show that several leading nuclear interaction generators (including GENIE variants, NuWro, GiBUU, and NEUT) reproduce the differential cross section in electron energy reasonably well, but consistently struggle to describe the differential cross section in the cosine of the leading proton's angle, yielding lower $p$-values across all seven generators tested. This tension points to a more fundamental, kinematics-driven disagreement between data and generators that is not visible in energy-only cross section observables. This is precisely the regime TKI variables are designed to probe. Following previous TKI cross section measurements with muon-neutrino data in MicroBooNE, this poster presents the case for extending the TKI framework to electron-neutrino cross section measurements as a next step to isolate and characterize the source of the observed generator tension in proton kinematics.

Burridge, Jessica [U. Manchester (main)] (ORCID:00↗

RockFlow: Fast Generation of Synthetic Source Rock Images Using Generative Flow Models

Image-based evaluation methods are a valuable tool for source rock characterization. The time and resources needed to obtain images has spurred development of machine-learning generative models to create synthetic images of pore structure and rock fabric from limited image data. While generative models have shown success, existing methods for generating 3D volumes from 2D training images are restricted to binary images and grayscale volume generation requires 3D training data. Shale characterization relies on 2D imaging techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and grayscale values carry important information about porosity, kerogen content, and mineral composition of the shale. Here, we introduce RockFlow, a method based on generative flow models that creates grayscale volumes from 2D training data. We apply RockFlow to baseline binary micro-CT image volumes and compare performance to a previously proposed model. We also show the extension of our model to 2D grayscale data by generating grayscale image volumes from 2D SEM and dual modality nanoscale shale images. The results show that our method underestimates the porosity and surface area on the binary baseline datasets but is able to generate realistic grayscale image volumes for shales. With improved binary data preprocessing, we believe that our model is capable of generating synthetic porous media volumes for a very broad class of rocks from shale to carbonates to sandstone.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Searching for Active Low-mass Stars in the CMa Star-forming Region: Multi-band Photometry with T80S

An exotic environment surrounds the young stellar groups associated with the Canis Major (CMa) OB1/R1 region, which probably was formed under feedback from at least three supernova events having occurred a few million years ago. We use astrometric data from the Gaia-DR2 to confirm the membership of the stars in CMa R1, based on proper motion and parallax, which revealed 514 new members and candidates. The mean age of 5 Myr estimated from the color–magnitude diagram characterizes the sources as likely pre-main-sequence candidates. In total, a sample of 694 stars detected with the T80-South telescope was analyzed according to different color–color diagrams, which were compared with theoretical colors from evolutionary models, aiming to reveal the objects that exhibit color excess due to accretion processes. Accretion and magnetic activity were also explored on the basis of empirical flux–flux relation, such as F {sub 660} and F {sub 861} that are related to Hα and Ca ii triplet emission, respectively. A low fraction (∼3 percent) of the sample have Hα excess and other colors expected for stars exhibiting chromospheric activity. The number of Class I and Class II objects, identified by the infrared (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) colors, indicates a disk fraction of ∼6 percent, which is lower than that expected for stellar clusters with a similar age. Such a large sample of objects associated with CMa R1 without evidences of circumstellar accretion can be interpreted as a lack of disk-bearing stars, unusual for young star-forming regions. However, this may be explained as the result of supernova events.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The Apollo 16 drill core - Modal petrology and characterization of the mineral and lithic component

A string of 59 polished thin sections covering the length of the Apollo 16 deep drill core has been examined. A modal analysis, involving the optical classification of 116,000 points was made, and over 500 mineral and lithic fragments from the core were chemically analyzed using an electron microprobe. These data were used to identify and characterize the source areas of the core material and to reconstruct the accumulation history of the core.

Vaniman, D. T.↗

Volcanic eruption plumes on Io

Preliminary analyses of the eight volcanic eruption plumes detected on Io by Voyager 1 are presented. Plumes were observed on the bright and dark limbs of the satellite corresponding to half of the surface and range from 10,000 to 75 km in width and 280 to 70 km in height. Most plumes were observed to be umbrella-shaped, however one consists of a very diffuse cloud lacking columnar fountain characteristics. Plume sources are characterized by a dark central area, surrounded by a bright ring, which in turn is surrounded by a broad, diffuse region; the presence of similar markings in regions not observed at the limb indicates additional volcanic activity on Io. No changes were detected in the sizes or intensities of the eruptions over the 6.5-day viewing period, however a change in the appearance of a region near one plume suggests a short-lived eruption between observations. Seven of the eight plumes are located within 30 deg of the equator, implying that equatorial surfaces are generally younger than those in the polar regions.

Strom, R. G.↗

Ultra high resolution molecular beam cars spectroscopy with application to planetary atmospheric molecules

The measurement of high resolution pulsed and continuous wave (CW) coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) measurements in pulsed and steady state supersonic expansions were demonstrated. Pulsed molecular beam sources were characterized, and saturation of a Raman transition and, for the first time, the Raman spectrum of a complex molecular cluster were observed. The observation of CW CARS spectra in a molecular expansion and the effects of transit time broadening is described. Supersonic expansion is established as a viable technique for high resolution Raman spectroscopy of cold molecules with resolutions of 100 MH2.

Byer, R. L.↗

Absorption features in the 5-8 micron spectra of protostars

High signal-to-noise ratio spectra in the range of 5-8 microns of four sources embedded in molecular clouds are examined using low-temperature laboratory measurements of the 5-8-micron spectra of simple molecules and their mixtures. The absorption, apparent in all four sources, is characterized by highly distinct features ranging from two relatively narrow bands at 6.0 and 6.8 microns in W33A to a broad, shallow, and partially structured feature extending from 5.2 to 7.8 microns in Mon R2-IRS2, BN, and NGC2264. The first feature (W33A) is explained by the OH bending mode in H2O and the CH deformation modes in saturated hydrocarbons; while the second feature (Mon R2-IRS2-type) is explained by the presence of a mixture of saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons possibly containing strongly electronegative groups.

Tielens, A. G. G. M.↗

A review of contamination issues associated with an orbiting Space Station external environment

Techniques for measuring, modeling, and limiting the effluent contamination of external spacecraft and instrument surfaces are reviewed, with an emphasis on their application to the Space Station. The major factors addressed by contamination studies are outlined; typical contamination sources are characterized; the critical measurement parameters are defined (molecular column density, background spectral intensity from UV to IR, particle size and velocity distribution, molecular deposition on ambient and cryogenic surfaces, molecular return flux for gaseous species, particulate deposition on surfaces, and optical-surface degradation); and measurement instrumentation is described. Contamination limits for quiescent operation periods of the Space Station are proposed, including column density 10 to the 11th/sq cm for H2O + CO2, 10 to the 13th/sq cm for O2 + N2, and 10 to the 10th/sq cm for other species; particle release no greater than 15-micron particle/orbit/0.00001 sr FOV for a 1-m telescope, and surface deposition 4 pg/sq cm sec for 298-K surfaces and 10 pg/sq cm sec for 4-K surfaces.

Smith, A. C.↗

Optical fiber characteristics and standards; Proceedings of the Meeting, Cannes, France, November 25-27, 1985

Papers are presented on outside vapor deposition, the plasma activated CVD process for large scale production of telecommunication fibers, axial lateral plasma deposition technology from plastic clad silica, coatings for optical fibers, primary coating characterization, and radiation-induced time dependent attenuation in a fiber. Topics discussed include fibers with high tensile strength, the characteristics and specifications of airborne fiber optic components, the baseband frequency response of multimode fibers, and fibers for local and broadband networks. Consideration is given to industrial measurements for single mode and multimode fibers, the characterization of source power distribution in a multimode fiber by a splice offset technique, the measurement of chromatic dispersion in a single mode optical, and the effect of temperature on the refracted near-field optical fiber profiling technique.

Bouillie, Remy↗

Uncertainty estimates in geomagnetic field modeling

This paper presents an extension of the conventional uncertainty analysis which characterizes the sources of uncertainty in the coefficients of the geomagnetic field models. The new formalism accounts for the systematic errors introduced by the omission of such sources as the presence of crustal fields, the external fields, and the field from the truncated terms. The usefulness of this formalism depends on two critical conditions. The first of these is the knowledge of the statistical properties of the fields whose parameters are not solved in the analysis, i.e., the crustal field and the external field. The second critical point in the practical use of the method is the approximation used for the weight matrix.

Langel, R. A.↗

Infrared fluorescence from PAHs in the laboratory

Several celestial objects, including UV rich regions of planetary and reflection nebulae, stars, H II regions, and extragalactic sources, are characterized by the unidentified infrared emission bands (UIR bands). A few years ago, it was proposed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon species (PAHs) are responsible for most of the UIR bands. This hypothesis is based on a spectrum analysis of the observed features. Comparisons of observed IR spectra with lab absorption spectra of PAHs support the PAH hypothesis. An example spectrum is represented, where the Orion Bar 3.3 micron spectrum is compared with the absorption frequencies of the PAHs Chrysene, Pyrene, and Coronene. The laser excited 3.3 micron emission spectrum is presented from a gas phase PAH (azulen). The infrared fluorescence theory (IRF) is briefly explained, followed by a description of the experimental apparatus, a report of the results, and discussion.

Cherchneff, Isabelle↗

Fabrication of large-area CCD detectors on high-purity, float-zone silicon

In this report on the fabrication of a 1024 x 1024 charge coupled device (CCD) imager to be used as a soft x-ray sensor onboard the Advanced X-ray Astronomical Facility (AXAF), the following conclusions were found: the dislocations that limited the performance of the high resistivity imager were characterized; the sources of stress were identified and the dislocations found were eliminated; and a charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) of 10(exp -6) and read noise as low as 1.3/e was demonstrated. This sensor must have low noise and a low CTI and must be radiation hardened to withstand any radiation damage from a space environment.

Gregory, J. A.↗

Development of airborne eddy-correlation flux measurement capabilities for reactive oxides of nitrogen

This research is aimed at producing a fundamental new research tool for characterizing the source strength of the most important compound controlling the hemispheric and global scale distribution of tropospheric ozone. Specifically, this effort seeks to demonstrate the proof-of-concept of a new general purpose laser-induced fluorescence based spectrometer for making airborne eddy-correlation flux measurements of nitric oxide (NO) and other reactive nitrogen compounds. The new all solid-state laser technology being used in this advanced sensor will produce a forerunner of the type of sensor technology that should eventually result in highly compact operational systems. The proof-of-concept sensor being developed will have over two orders-of-magnitude greater sensitivity than present-day instruments. In addition, this sensor will offer the possibility of eventual extension to airborne eddy-correlation flux measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and possibly other compounds, such as ammonia (NH3), peroxyradicals (HO2), nitrateradicals (NO3) and several iodine compounds (e.g., I and IO). Demonstration of the new sensor's ability to measure NO fluxes will occur through a series of laboratory and field tests. This proof-of-concept demonstration will show that not only can airborne fluxes of important ultra-trace compounds be made at the few parts-per-trillion level, but that the high accuracy/precision measurements currently needed for predictive models can also. These measurement capabilities will greatly enhance our current ability to quantify the fluxes of reactive nitrogen into the troposphere and significantly impact upon the accuracy of predictive capabilities to model O3's distribution within the remote troposphere. This development effort also offers a timely approach for producing the reactive nitrogen flux measurement capabilities that will be needed by future research programs such as NASA's planned 1999 Amazon Biogeochemistry and Atmospheric Chemistry Experimental portion of LBA.

Bradshaw, John↗

Characterization of Dust Properties Near Source Region During ACE-Asia: A Column Satellite-Surface Perspective

Many recent field experiments are designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern/southeastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. For example, the ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts, East Coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian aerosols is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol physical/optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical depth. At the time of the Terra/MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS and other satellite overpasses, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with satellite retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

Tsay, S. -C.↗

NASA's Far-IR/Submillimeter Roadmap Missions SAFIR and SPECS

The far-IR is rich with information about star, disk and planet formation because protostars emit predominantly in this spectral range, and the radiation can escape from the inherently dusty stellar birth sites. Spectral lines contain particularly valuable information about the cooling, collapse, and chemistry of molecular cloud cores and protostars. However, the interpretation of line intensities and profiles is model-dependent; ultimately, high angular resolution is needed to break model degeneracy and definitively characterize the source. Processes occurring on scales smaller than 10,000 AU (72 arcsec at 140 pc, where the nearest protostellar objects are found) likely affect the stellar initial mass function and determine the product of cloud collapse (Binary star or planetary system? How many planets, and what kind will they be?) The next-generation far-IR observatories SIRTF, SOFIA, and Herschel will revolutionize star formation studies and leave the community yearning for telescopes that operate in this spectral region but provide many orders of magnitude better angular resolution. NASA's space science roadmap includes the JWST-scale Single Aperture Far-IR (SAFIR) telescope and the 1 km maximum baseline far-IR interferometer, SPECS (the Submillimeter Probe of the Evolution of Cosmic Structure). I will give the scientific motivation for these missions, describe mission concepts and telescope measurement capabilities, and compare these capabilities with those of the next-generation IR telescopes and with the complementary JWST and ALMA. I will also describe the Space Infrared Interferometric Telescope (SPIRIT), a science and technology pathfinder for SPECS, which could be ready to launch in about a decade. At 100 microns, SAFIR will provide 2.5 arcsec resolution (10 times better than SIRTF), SPIRIT will provide 0.25 arcsec resolution, and SPECS will provide 10 milli-arcsec resolution, which is comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Leisawitz, David↗