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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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Fact sheet about carbon storage monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA). Includes background on MVA, the Energy & Environmental Research Center, and Plains CO 2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership Initiative plans for MVA strategy development.
The MAPIT - Material Accountancy Performance Indicator Toolkit includes statistical tests and calculations based on open literature that calculate safeguards metrics. The tool can be used with user supplied datasets or with the several included datasets which are generated from models that are maintained at Sandia National Laboratories. The models are not included with the software. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. SAND2021-0467 O
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Since oil and gas are non-renewable resources, it is important to identify the extent to which they have been depleted. Such information will contribute to the formulation and evaluation of appropriate sustainable development policies. This paper provides an assessment of the changes in the availability of oil and gas resources in Malaysia by first compiling the physical balance sheet for the period 2000-2007, and then assessing the monetary balance sheets for the said resource by using the Net Present Value method. Our findings show serious reduction in the value of oil reserves from 2001 to 2005, due to changes in crude oil prices, and thereafter the depletion rates decreased. In the context of sustainable development planning, albeit in the weak sustainability sense, it will be important to ascertain if sufficient reinvestments of the estimated resource rents in related or alternative capitals are being attempted by Malaysia. For the study period, the cumulative resource rents were to the tune of RM61 billion. Through a depletion or resource rents policy, the estimated quantum may guide the identification of a reinvestment threshold (after considering needed capital investment for future development of the industry) in light of ensuring the future productive capacity of the economy at the time when the resource is exhausted.
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Purpose: To evaluate the residual setup error and intrafraction motion following kilovoltage cone-beam CT (CBCT) image guidance, for immobilized spine stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) patients, with positioning corrected for in all six degrees of freedom. Methods and Materials: Analysis is based on 42 consecutive patients (48 thoracic and/or lumbar metastases) treated with a total of 106 fractions and 307 image registrations. Following initial setup, a CBCT was acquired for patient alignment and a pretreatment CBCT taken to verify shifts and determine the residual setup error, followed by a midtreatment and posttreatment CBCT image. For 13 single-fraction SBRT patients, two midtreatment CBCT images were obtained. Initially, a 1.5-mm and 1 Degree-Sign tolerance was used to reposition the patient following couch shifts which was subsequently reduced to 1 mm and 1 Degree-Sign degree after the first 10 patients. Results: Small positioning errors after the initial CBCT setup were observed, with 90% occurring within 1 mm and 97% within 1 Degree-Sign . In analyzing the impact of the time interval for verification imaging (10 {+-} 3 min) and subsequent image acquisitions (17 {+-} 4 min), the residual setup error was not significantly different (p > 0.05). A significant difference (p = 0.04) in the average three-dimensional intrafraction positional deviations favoring a more strict tolerance in translation (1 mm vs. 1.5 mm) was observed. The absolute intrafraction motion averaged over all patients and all directions along x, y, and z axis ({+-} SD) were 0.7 {+-} 0.5 mm and 0.5 {+-} 0.4 mm for the 1.5 mm and 1 mm tolerance, respectively. Based on a 1-mm and 1 Degree-Sign correction threshold, the target was localized to within 1.2 mm and 0.9 Degree-Sign with 95% confidence. Conclusion: Near-rigid body immobilization, intrafraction CBCT imaging approximately every 15-20 min, and strict repositioning thresholds in six degrees of freedom yields minimal intrafraction motion allowing for safe spine SBRT delivery.
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Statistical analyses have been performed to develop bounding estimates of the expected performance of a conceptual fast-neutron multiplicity system (FNMS) for assaying plutonium. The conceptual FNMS design includes 32 cubic liquid scintillator detectors, measuring 7.62 cm per side, configured into 4 stacked rings of 8 detectors each. Expected response characteristics for the individual FNMS detectors, as well as the response characteristics of the entire FNMS, were determined using Monte Carlo simulations based on prior validation experiments. The results from these simulations were then used to estimate the Pu assay capabilities of the FNMS in terms of counting time, assay mass, and assay mass variance, using assay mass variance as a figure of merit. The analysis results are compared against a commonly used thermal-neutron coincidence counter. The advantages of using a fast-neutron counting system versus a thermal-neutron counting system are significant. Most notably, the time required to perform an assay to an equivalent assay mass variance is greatly reduced with a fast-neutron system, by more than an order of magnitude compared with that of the thermal-neutron system, due to the reduced probability of random summing with the fast system. The improved FNMS performance is especially relevant for assays involving Pu masses of 10 g or more.
Californium-252 is an isotope commonly encapsulated as a physically small but strong spontaneous fission neutron source for applications in industry, academia, and research. Within the nuclear safeguards community, a well-characterized 252 Cf source is often used as an accessible alternative for plutonium in calibrations measurements, which require the absolute source strength. Current methods of source strength quantification can provide an accurate estimate, approximately 1% uncertainty under optimal conditions, but are typically costly and time consuming. An alternative method was developed to determine 252 Cf source strength using passive neutron correlation counting (PNCC). The PNCC method enables institutions and facilities to perform 252 Cf source calibration measurements in-house using detection systems that are common within the nuclear safeguards community. This novel method was previously successfully demonstrated using neutron multiplicity well counters. However, the previous evaluation utilized detection systems with high neutron detection efficiencies, greater than 60%. The purpose of the current study is to extend the previous evaluation and demonstrate the feasibility of the PNCC 252 Cf calibration method for suite of coincidence counters with lower neutron detection efficiencies, between 15% and 35%, which are more commonly encountered in the field, as well as to provide a step-by-step guide to using the method. The neutron source used in this evaluation was previously certified by the National Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST), which provides a reference for the accuracy of the PNCC method. In conclusion, the present source yield calculations demonstrate excellent agreement with a NIST calibration technique and achieve a standard uncertainty below the target 1%.
A generalized enthalpy based equation of state, which includes thermal electron excitations explicitly, is formulated from simple considerations. Its application to obtain Hugoniot of materials needs simultaneous evaluation of pressure-volume curve and temperature, the latter requiring solution of a differential equation. The errors involved in two recent papers [Huayun et al., J. Appl. Phys. 92, 5917 (2002); 92, 5924 (2002)], which employed this approach, are brought out and discussed. In addition to developing the correct set of equations, the present work also provides a numerical method to implement this approach. Constant pressure specific heat of ions and electrons and ionic enthalpy parameter, needed for applications, are calculated using a three component equation of state. The method is applied to porous Cu with different initial porosities. Comparison of results with experimental data shows good agreement. It is found that temperatures along the Hugoniot of porous materials are significantly modified due to electronic effects.
Quasar luminosity functions are a fundamental probe of the growth and evolution of supermassive black holes. Measuring the intrinsic luminosity function is difficult in practice, due to a multitude of observational and systematic effects. As sample sizes increase and measurement errors drop, characterizing the systematic effects is becoming more important. It is well known that the continuum emission from the accretion disk of quasars is anisotropic—in part due to its disk-like structure—but current luminosity function calculations effectively assume isotropy over the range of unobscured lines of sight. Here, we provide the first steps in characterizing the effect of random quasar orientations and simple models of anisotropy on observed luminosity functions. We find that the effect of orientation is not insignificant and exceeds other potential corrections such as those from gravitational lensing of foreground structures. We argue that current observational constraints may overestimate the intrinsic luminosity function by as much as a factor of ∼2 on the bright end. This has implications for models of quasars and their role in the universe, such as quasars' contribution to cosmological backgrounds.
The Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) and Tongass National Forest (Tongass) partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to conduct a pilot study of three greenhouse gas (GHG) inventorying tools.
INS recognized the need for an advanced NMAC course for practitioners to assist international bilateral partners and the IAEA to address growing nuclear security concerns
Each section of the Adhesive TID Process Demonstration is broken down into subparts as referenced in the outline contained in the Contents section, these are referenced as Activity Sections. The structure of the Adhesive TID Process Demonstration items is, to the best of the writer’s ability, in the order of events that the NMAC mitigating techniques are performed.
This training video provides an essential guide to understanding and utilizing Tamper Indicating Devices (TIDs), with a specific focus on a common Mylar (Adhesive) variety during the application process. TIDs are a critical part of nuclear security, used to detect unauthorized access to sensitive materials or facilities. The Mylar (adhesive) TID employes a tamper-evident film integrated into the TID that visually indicates any tampering attempts. This video will explain how an example Mylar (adhesive) TID works, demonstrate proper installation techniques, and highlight how to interpret its indicators to ensure the security of nuclear materials.
Exercise #1 is designed to provide participants with hands-on experience choosing from a variety of TIDs, and applying them to a variety of closure mechanisms, containers, and envelopes. This activity is meant to illustrate the applicability of specific TIDs to different types of closure mechanisms.
You work at a facility that stores large amounts of nuclear material in varying containerizations. Management has just approved the establishment of a tamper indicating device program in order to cut down on the effort required to conduct inventories, and to enhance overall control of nuclear materials within the site boundary. You have been assigned, along with your colleagues, to conduct an initial assessment to determine the ideal TID types to be used at your facility. You will apply TIDs to a variety of apparatuses that are representative of the closure mechanisms on different containers and entry points to rooms and vaults onsite.
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