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At least 379 records · Page 21

Community-Based Transactive Coordination Mechanism for Enabling Grid Edge Systems

The changing landscape of the electricity industry, characterized by a surge in distributed energy resources (DERs) and proactive customers, necessitates practical solutions for coordinated operations especially at the distribution-level. This paper introduces a community-based transactive coordination mechanism designed to incentivize customers for providing localized and system-level services reflected through real-time prices. The work presents a bidding approach for communities with DERs, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS), to formulate their price-responsiveness for retail energy coordination, emphasizing a community-centric model. By sending bidding curves to a third-party, the mechanism enables customers with DER assets to actively participate in localized coordination with the load serving entity (LSE), thereby supplementing each other’s and even the utilities needs through a shared energy economy. The proposed transactive mechanism is implemented leveraging a co-simulation framework that integrates a distribution grid simulator and Python-based agents for performance evaluation. Collaboration with a local utility to access real distribution feeder models and consumption profiles yields simulation results demonstrating the potential to reduce costs by 12\% for communities with DERs like PV and BESS.

Community-based coordination, grid-edge systems, R↗

Optimization Plugin Library

The Optimization Plugin library ("op") is a lightweight general optimization solver interface. The primary purpose of op is to simplify the process of integrating different optimization solvers (serial or parallel) with scalable parallel physics engines. By design it has several features that help make this a reality. The core abstraction interface was developed to encompass a large class of optimization problems in an optimizer-agnostic way. This enables us to describe the optimization problem once and then use a variety of supported "op" optimizers with ideally no code-changes. The abstraction interface is made up of lightweight wrappers that make it easy to integrate with existing simulation codes. This makes integration less intrusive and should minimize changes to existing physics codes. The "op" interface includes an assortment of utility methods that help specify parallel communication patterns as well as methods to convert from optimization-specific interfaces to the more general "op" interface. Lastly a dynamic library linking interface is provided to allow for use of proprietary optimization engines without explicit reference in the source code, along with standard shared library interfaces for opensource engines.

Jekel, CharlesF↗

Model data for infrastructure-aware simulation of compound flooding at Alligator Bayou Watershed, southeast Texas

This dataset supports infrastructure-aware hydrologic modeling and flood scenario analysis for the Alligator Bayou Watershed, a highly managed urban watershed in Southeast Texas. It includes Jupyter notebooks for figure reproduction, model configuration files, simulation outputs, and derived products used to quantify the influence of engineered stormwater infrastructure on flood behavior across multiple spatial scales. The dataset was generated using the Watershed Workflow Python package and the Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS), enabling integrated surface–subsurface hydrologic simulations on a channel-aligned mesh with explicit representations of pump stations, gate structures, detention basins, and impervious surfaces. Outputs include time series of gate and pump flows, stage observations, and water balance components, as well as spatially explicit fields of peak ponded depth and flood duration across multiple infrastructure scenarios spanning a single-location detention basin expansion, distributed drainage limitations, and compound coastal flooding. These data facilitate full reproducibility of the manuscript figures and support further research on urban flood dynamics and the role of stormwater infrastructure in shaping watershed-scale flood response.

EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > COASTAL PROCESSES↗

Gas Stopper Developments for Improved Purity and Intensity of Low-Energy, Rare Isotope Ion Beams (Final Technical Report)

This final technical report summarizes the work of the Michigan State University (MSU) team supported by grant # DE-SC0021423 awarded by the Office of Nuclear Physics, Department of Energy. Objectives: The successful fulfillment of the FRIB science mission hinges on ensuring the availability of fast, stopped, and reaccelerated beams consisting of rare isotopes. This project's research and development focus was dedicated to supporting the advancement and creation of a cutting-edge linear gas stopper. The primary aim is to efficiently convert the high-intensity fast beams of rare isotopes provided by FRIB into high-quality, low-energy beams. These beams are essential for conducting stopped beam experiments or for subsequent reacceleration. The overarching goal is to advance technology, aiming to increase the beam rate capability of the linear gas stopper for medium-to-heavy-mass rare isotopes by more than tenfold compared to the currently most effective gas stopper in operation, and to improve the purity of the delivered beams. Project Description: The existing technology employed in gas stopping devices designed for low-energy, rare-isotope beams presents limitations in both the purity of extracted beams and the intensities of injected beams. These limitations are incompatible with the requirements of the recently commissioned rare isotope beam facility, FRIB. Our research and development efforts, aligned with the previously outlined objectives, focused on addressing the most critical aspects for enhancing beam-rate capability and purity. Specifically, advanced particle-in-cell simulations were developed and integrated into a simulation pipeline to explore the efficacy of multi-layer RF carpets on increasing ion transport efficiency with high incoming beam rates that generate space charge fields which can limit it. We also explored the possibility of using a collision-induced-dissociation (CID) gas cell to break up molecular contaminant ions that are generated during the stopping process. A prototype CID gas cell was constructed and tested with beams from an offline ion source, validating the concept with the successful demonstration of breaking of molecular ions. The outcome of this research enabled the formulation a conceptual design for a next-generation linear gas stopping device specifically tailored for FRIB. This device is envisioned to deliver rare-isotope-ion beams at a rate of 10 8 particles per second or higher, accompanied by advancements in purity. Methods employed: This project leverages advancements in technologies initially designed for the Advanced Cryogenic Gas Stopper (ACGS), the current state-of-the-art linear gas stopper, through the use of new simulations and beam purification via collision-induced-dissociation. The methods include: 1. Development of a prototype low-energy, low-pressure CID gas stopper. This prototype features a thin, approximately 20 nm, Si 3 N 4 entrance window designed for dissociating stable and rare-isotope molecular ions. The goal is to enhance beam purification and overall efficiency. 2. Creation of Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to assess the advantages of multi-layer RF carpets and multi-point extraction for ion transport efficiency. These simulations rely on the 3DCylPIC package, specifically designed for studying devices of this nature. The goal is to quantify and mitigate ion transport losses due to space charge generated in the stopping process of large numbers of ions. 3. Perform ion transport simulations across an RF carpet using an 8-phase travelling wave and evaluate its performance. Compared to the 4-phase RF carpets used in ACGS, the 8-phase carpets will double the wavelength of the generated traveling wave allowing for larger maximum RF amplitudes that could result in improved ion transport efficiency for high-intensity incoming beams when large space charge fields are present. Impact: Tackling the primary challenges associated with transforming high-energy projectile fragment beams into low-energy beams—specifically, addressing efficiency and purity—holds significant promise for advancing FRIB science. This advancement will particularly impact precision mass measurements, laser spectroscopy of short-lived nuclei, and studies in astrophysics and nuclear reactions using reaccelerated beams. These domains play a crucial role in addressing key questions outlined in the 2023 NSAC long-range plan, spanning nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics, and fundamental symmetries. Additionally, they contribute to addressing 10 out of the 17 benchmarks identified by the NRC RISAC. The development of a next-generation gas stopping device capable of delivering low-energy, rare-isotope beams at a rate of 10 8 particles per second, or more, with high purity holds the potential to unlock experiments that would otherwise be unfeasible. Furthermore, it is expected to reduce the time required for experiments at FRIB, thereby maximizing scientific output. The research and development activities performed as part of this project bolstered essential competencies at FRIB in beam physics and ion source technologies, provided valuable training opportunities for junior scientists.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Integrating PCTRAN with AI-Driven Host-Intrusion Detection and Secured Container Systems for Advanced Malware Analysis (Summer Internship Report)

This study presents a solution for enhancing the security of the Personal Computer Transient Analyzer (PCTRAN) PC-based Nuclear Power Plant Simulator by integrating the software with an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven host-intrusion detection system (HIDS), in addition to a secured container system, for malware analysis. PCTRAN is a Windows XP-based software package that has the ability to simulate a variety of accident and transient conditions for nuclear power plants (NPPs). It offers a high-resolution replica of the Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) and displays the status of important parameters allowing for operator interaction. By including AI-driven HIDS for the NSSS, the framework can identify security threats in real-time, ensuring the integrity of the nuclear simulation environment. Additionally, the secured container system offers the ability to isolate and analyze malware, preventing potential threats from affecting core systems. The integration process involves extensive testing and validation in order to ensure accuracy, reliability, and compliance with security policies. This framework sets a new precedent for secure simulation and training in NPP operations, and offers insight for future advancements in cybersecurity.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Updated status of the ART neutronic fast reactor tools integration to the NEAMS Workbench

The Workbench initiative was launched in FY-2017 within the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Integration Product Line to facilitate the transition from conventional tools to high-fidelity tools. The Workbench provides a common user interface for model creation, real-time validation, execution, output processing, and visualization for integrated codes. The integration of the Argonne Reactor Computation (ARC) suite of codes into the NEAMS Workbench was initiated in FY-2017. The ARC codes contain both legacy codes like DIF3D and REBUS-3 that were developed with over 30 years of experience, and newer NEAMS additions like MC 2 -3 and PERSENT. The ARC integration into the NEAMS Workbench interface relies on the PyARC module which handles the pre- and post-processing of the native ARC codes input, and the runtime environment. The PyARC module together with the NEAMS Workbench interface are both released under Open Source Software licenses. This report describes the ARC capabilities available with the Workbench at the end of FY-2018, and a tutorial is provided together with the automatically-generated code documentation. Integrating the ARC codes into the Workbench benefits directly the Advanced Reactor Technology (ART) Campaign by providing a set of controlled, maintained and validated scripts to generate ARC inputs, which promotes best practices, reduces the learning curve, and facilitates project collaboration. The second benefit from this project is to improve the user experience with the ARC codes: the Workbench interface provides assistance for building an input through auto-completion, real-time validation, access to templates, and visualization. Finally, the ARC integration into the NEAMS Workbench enables new modeling capabilities, those will be extremely useful for advanced reactor design and analyses. The PyARC module facilitates and automatizes complex calculations and workflows for reactor analysis enabling geometrical perturbations, cross-section update through depletion, etc. The Dakota/PyARC coupling in the Workbench was also demonstrated to enable mathematical optimization and sensitivity analysis/uncertainty quantification (SA/UQ) techniques with ARC neutronic simulations. For demonstration purposes, the ARC codes were used through the Workbench for solving the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor Uncertainty Analysis in Modelling (SFR-UAM) benchmark problems. The ARC codes are currently used at ANL through the Workbench by nuclear engineers for SFR core design analyses. Future efforts will focus on continuously adding modeling capabilities available with the ARC codes, training new users to continue building some experience, and on integrating high-fidelity codes such as PROTEUS into the Workbench.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Next-generation wargames

Over the past century, and particularly since the outset of the Cold War, wargames (interactive simulations used to evaluate aspects of tactics, operations, and strategy) have become an integral means for militaries and policy-makers to evaluate how strategic decisions are made related to nuclear weapons strategy and international security. Furthermore, these methods have also been applied beyond the military realm, to examine phenomena as varied as elections, government policy, international trade, and supply-chain mechanics. Today, a renewed focus on wargaming combined with access to sophisticated and inexpensive drag-and-drop digital game development frameworks and new cloud computing architectures have democratized the ability to enable massive multiplayer gaming experiences. With the integration of simulation tools and experimental methods from a variety of social science disciplines, a science-based experimental gaming approach has the potential to transform the insights generated from gaming by creating human-derived, large-n datasets for replicable, quantitative analysis. In the following, we outline challenges associated with contemporary simulation and wargaming tools, investigate where scholars have searched for game data, and explore the utility of new experimental gaming and data analysis methods in both policy-making and academic settings.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Integrated FHR technology development: Tritium management, materials testing, salt chemistry control, thermal hydraulics and neutronics, associated benchmarking and commercial basis

This report summarizes the results of a 3-year Integrated Research Project (IRP) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to address major technical challenges in the development of the Fluoride-salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor (FHR). The IRP universities included the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), the University of Wisconsin (UW), and the University of New Mexico (UNM). The FHR is a new reactor concept less than 20 years old that combines (1) a clean fluoride salt coolant, (2) the graphite-matrix coated-particle fuel originally developed for High- Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors and (3) passive decay heat removal systems from sodium fast reactors. The base-line design is a pebble-bed FHR that delivers heat between 600 to 700°C with a 7 Li 2 BeF 4 (flibe) salt coolant to the power cycle or industrial users. The Executive Summary describes what was accomplished and summarizes major conclusions. The main report contains stand-alone sections in each major area of work. Highlights are summarized below. Tritium. The coolant salt produces tritium necessitating understanding and control of tritium. Experimental work included measuring hydrogen uptake on carbon, tritium uptake during irradiation of graphite in 700°C salt and the permeability of tritium through metals with and without coatings. An FHR systems model was developed to predict tritium behavior and enable design of tritium control systems. The leading candidate for tritium removal from the flibe salt is carbon bed outside the reactor core. Thermal hydraulics and Neutronics. A 10-meter high FHR integral effects test facility, using Dowtherm A®, has been built and used to simulate the integral response of a representative FHR to improve understanding of FHR thermal hydraulics and validate thermal hydraulics codes used for the FHR. Neutronic analysis included code-to-code benchmarking, multiphysics modeling, uncertainty analysis for nuclear data uncertainties and shielding analysis. Twisted-tube heat exchangers were examined that may provide significant cost reductions because of their improved heat-transfer performance with liquid salts. The impacts on safety and design caused by uncertainties in physical properties of the salt were assessed with recommendations on where added physical property measurements are needed. Work began on understanding radiative heat transfer that becomes important in salt systems at higher temperatures. Materials. Static corrosion tests were conducted on graphite and materials in 700°C salt -- both in the UW laboratory and in the MIT reactor. In addition to static corrosion testing, a circulating salt corrosion loop was built and is operating. Methods to measure salt properties including redox were developed. The presence of carbon increases corrosion. With good redox control, the evidence indicates stainless steel can be used as a material of construction. Benchmarking. An additional series of workshops where held to enable benchmarking and comparison of results between different investigators. Commercialization. The FHR delivers higher average-temperature (~650°C) heat to the power cycle or industry than other reactors. This enables power cycles with lower-cost heat storage for variable electricity to the grid while the reactor operates at base-load -- providing a major competitive advantage by maximizing revenue from electricity sales. In October, 2016, a new startup company named Kairos Power was formed, and opened its first office in Jack London Square, Oakland, California, in January 2017. Kairos Power exists largely due to the work that was accomplished by this IRP and the previous DOE-funded FHR IRP that performed research on FHR technology from 2012 to 2015. In September, 2018, as this IRP is concluding, Kairos Power was staffed at 60 full time employees, working to develop technology derived from this IRP. Many of these employees worked with the IRP before joining Kairos Power 1 (https://kairospower.com). Other students and researchers from this IRP have joined other startup companies, including the Terrapower Molten Chloride Fast Reactor and the Terrestrial Energy development efforts.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

MIRACL Co-Simulation Platform Lab assets and tools integration

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) co-simulation platform (CSP) for the Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL) project, also known as MIRACL-CSP, is a functional layer designed and developed to oversee the operational exchanges of data at the application level to and from different resources residing on the MIRACL Data Hub shared platform. MIRACL-CSP allows virtual interactions between various data hub resources during co-simulation runtime.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Full-core high-burnup BWR LOCA fuel performance analysis and FFRD susceptibility

The susceptibility of the boiling water reactor (BWR) Limerick Unit 1 to fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal during a postulated large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) was calculated using a multiphysics framework. The simulations include full-core, rod-resolved neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and fuel performance models using the VERA, TRACE, and BISON codes. This work focused on the transient BISON simulations, which include both the normal operation and LBLOCA periods in the same simulations. Cladding integrity was assessed using two correlations that are included with BISON. make page break Several new BWR-specific features were recently added to BISON. This work represents the first time these features have been included in a core-scale set of simulations. This study hence evaluates the performance of these new models for an operating reactor with realistic operating conditions. Simulation results showed that cladding integrity was maintained (i.e., no rods burst). Finally, future work to improve BWR and PWR predictions using this framework is suggested.

BISON↗

Status of the NEAMS and ARC neutronic fast reactor tools integration to the NEAMS Workbench

The Workbench initiative was launched in FY-2017 within the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Integration Product Line to facilitate the transition from conventional tools to high-fidelity tools. The Workbench provides a common user interface for model creation, real-time validation, execution, output processing, and visualization for integrated codes. The integration of the Argonne Reactor Computation (ARC) suite of codes into the NEAMS Workbench was initiated in FY-2017. The ARC codes contain both legacy codes like DIF3D and REBUS-3 that were developed with over 30 years of experience, and newer NEAMS additions like MC2-3, PERSENT and PROTEUS. The ARC integration into the NEAMS Workbench interface relies on the PyARC module which handles the pre- and post-processing of the native ARC codes input, and the runtime environment. The PyARC module together with the NEAMS Workbench interface are both released under Open Source Software licenses. In FY-2019, the effort focused on integrating the explicit assembly management logic of REBUS, the GAMSOR code for gamma heating transport, and of the NODAL solver of PROTEUS. Additional capabilities were also integrated in response to user requests, such as the assembly power peaking calculation and a 2D result plotting capability. For verification and demonstration purposes, the ARC codes were used through the Workbench for solving the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor Uncertainty Analysis in Modelling (SFR-UAM) benchmark problems, including the newly proposed unit cells and ASTRID problem. Significant effort in FY-2019 focused on training new users from ANL, INL, NCSU, and Westinghouse. In particular, extensive training material was developed in the form of tutorials, including documentation, sample inputs, and associated presentations. The ARC codes are now actively used through the NEAMS Workbench by nuclear engineers at ANL, INL, NCSU, and Westinghouse, for LFR, MSR, micro-reactor, and SFR core design analyses. Future efforts will focus on adding new and existing modeling capabilities available with the ARC and NEAMS codes, training new users and supporting them to continue building user experience.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Integrated protonic ceramic electrochemical cell for sustainable energy economy using water-energy nexus framework

Reliance on fossil fuels will continue for the next decades even though there are global pushes away from it to mitigate the overarching climate challenge, most especially by its highest consumers and availability. While there is a hastening global shift away from fossil fuel, integrating its assets into this technology helps limit the risk and future losses of stranded assets and reduce the cost of investment in the new technologies. Moreover, the generation of electricity from intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind has witnessed a significant surge in recent years, leading to a pressing demand for practical energy storage systems. Electrical energy storage is anticipated to play a pivotal role in the future global energy system, facilitating load-leveling operations to support the greater integration of renewable and distributed generation. Reversible electrochemical cells (RECs) offer a promising option for addressing the fossil fuel assets integration and energy storage challenges through the interconversion between electrical and chemical energy and concurrent utilizing carbon emission. In their electrolysis mode, the RECs convert electricity into durable, storable, and portable valuable chemical fuels such as syngas and methane. Conversely, the produced chemical fuels can be used as reactants in the fuel cell mode to generate electricity on demand with minimal (hydrocarbons) or zero when H2 or NH3 is used emissions. However, a challenging goal for this type of technology remains to achieve optimal operation and high roundtrip efficiencies, which has hindered the deployment of previous electrochemical cells. This dissertation demonstrates how reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (RePCECs) can be integrated with fossil fuel power plants and renewable energy sources as a potential energy storage system. In this work, integrated RePCEC systems are designed and examined using computational modeling at scales to determine appropriate system configurations and operating conditions that achieve high roundtrip efficiencies. Cell level design of the PCEC is the first approach, several cells are assembled for the stack level model that is integrated into combined cycle powerplant and solar photovoltaic for the system level model. After critical literature review, this answered the operational and integration research questions proposed to address these challenges. The designed systems perform two functions, utilizing captured CO2 and storing renewable energy through co-electrolysis of steam and CO2. The co-electrolysis reaction involves endothermic water electrolysis and exothermic methanation reaction. To enhance high roundtrip efficiency, there is a need for thermal balance and management in the electrolysis mode. This involves operating the RePCEC stack under conditions that favor methane production to balance out heat needed by water electrolysis, it crucial for the RePCEC system operation. Methanation is enhanced by low temperatures. Leveraging on fabricated BCZYYb-electrolyte RePCEC, the cell model designed revealed that the optimum temperature for methane production is 450℃ at atmospheric pressure. Thus, to achieve optimum system performance, operating in the temperature range 450-525℃ is recommended at the given configuration, combining between the optimum temperature for methane production and temperature for the optimum stack roundtrip efficiency. Configuration with carbon capture system and purge stream is the optimum configuration from the seven conceptualized and evaluated. The modeling outcomes include a thermodynamic examination of integrated RePCEC systems, calibration of cell and stack level models, and steady-state simulation and integration into a 600MW combined cycle power plant retrofitted with two two-stage membrane-based carbon capture system and a wastewater treatment and recovery unit. At 100% powerplant loading, the stack and system roundtrip efficiencies are 72% and 51.37% respectively. Adding a purge stream for produced hydrogen at the system downstream improves the efficiencies to 74 and 55.48% respectively. At atmospheric pressure and 525℃, the system model suggests that a stack roundtrip of 82% is achievable, and overall system efficiency increases by reducing the energy consumption by the balance of plant components for steam generation and storage. Economic analysis of the process gives levelized cost of methane as $2.24/MMBtu lower than the conventional production route that range between $3.46/MMBtu and $9.85/MMBtu. The lifecycle analysis shows that the global warming potential for the production of methane and hydrogen from the RePCEC system is 3.83 kg CO2 eq which is lower than 9.35 kg CO2 eq emission during steam methane reforming for hydrogen production. This answered both the environmental and economic concerns in the raised research question. The proposed RePCEC configuration and analysis carried out in this dissertation to address the surge in renewable energy and challenges with PCEC technology hold significant potential in achieving large-scale energy storage while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions. These advancements, coupled with suitable governmental policies and incentive programs, have the potential to economically disrupt the natural gas industries by using RePCEC systems for methane production, thereby making them more favorable for eventual implementation and commercialization.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Prediction of tissue optical properties using the Monte Carlo modeling of photon transport in turbid media and integrating spheres

Monte Carlo methods are an established technique for simulating light transport in biological tissue. Integrating spheres make experimental measurements of the reflectance and transmittance of a sample straightforward and inexpensive. This work presents an extension to existing Monte Carlo photon transport methods to simulate integrating sphere experiments. Crosstalk between spheres in dual-sphere experiments is accounted for in the method. Analytical models, previous works on Monte Carlo photon transport, and experimental measurements of a synthetic tissue phantom validate this method. We present two approaches for using this method to back-calculate the optical properties of samples. Experimental and simulation uncertainties are propagated through both methods. Both back-calculation methods find the optical properties of a sample accurately and precisely. Our model is implemented in standard Python 3 and CUDA C++ [J. Nickolls, I. Buck, M. Garland, and K. Skadron, ACM Queue 6 , 40 ( 2008 ) ] and is publicly available in Code 1.

Cook, Patrick D. (ORCID:0000000279345428)↗

Dissipative transport in superlattices within the Wigner function formalism

Here, we employ the Wigner function formalism to simulate partially coherent, dissipative electron transport in biased semiconductor superlattices. We introduce a model collision integral with terms that describe energy dissipation, momentum relaxation, and the decay of spatial coherences (localization). Based on a particle-based solution to the Wigner transport equation with the model collision integral, we simulate quantum electronic transport at 10 K in a GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice and accurately reproduce its current density vs field characteristics obtained in experiment.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

WEC-GRID

WEC-GRID is an open-source Python library crafted to simulate the integration of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) and Current Energy Converters (CECs) into renowned power grid simulators like PSS®E & PyPSA.

Barajas-Ritchie, Alexander↗

FY 2014 Status Report: of Vibration Testing of Clad Fuel (M4FT-14OR0805033)

The DOE Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) tasked Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to investigate the behavior of light-water-reactor (LWR) fuel cladding material performance related to extended storage and transportation of UNF. ORNL has been tasked to perform a systematic study on UNF integrity under simulated normal conditions of transportation (NCT) by using the recently developed hot-cell testing equipment, Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT). To support the testing on actual high-burnup UNF, fast-neutron irradiation of pre-hydrided zirconium-alloy cladding in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at elevated temperatures will be used to simulate the effects of high-burnup on fuel cladding for help in understanding the cladding materials properties relevant to extended storage and subsequent transportation. The irradiated pre-hydrided metallic materials testing will generate baseline data to benchmark hot-cell testing of the actual high-burnup UNF cladding. More importantly, the HFIR-irradiated samples will be free of alpha contamination and can be provided to researchers who do not have hot cell facilities to handle highly contaminated high-burnup UNF cladding to support their research projects for the UFDC.t

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

MO-FG-209-02: Development of a Virtual Breast Phantom From a Multi-Modality Perspective

This symposium will review recent advances in the simulation methods for evaluation of novel breast imaging systems – the subject of AAPM Task Group TG234. Our focus will be on the various approaches to development and validation of software anthropomorphic phantoms and their use in the statistical assessment of novel imaging systems using such phantoms along with computational models for the x-ray image formation process. Due to the dynamic development and complex design of modern medical imaging systems, the simulation of anatomical structures, image acquisition modalities, and the image perception and analysis offers substantial benefits of reduced cost, duration, and radiation exposure, as well as the known ground-truth and wide variability in simulated anatomies. For these reasons, Virtual Clinical Trials (VCTs) have been increasingly accepted as a viable tool for preclinical assessment of x-ray and other breast imaging methods. Activities of TG234 have encompassed the optimization of protocols for simulation studies, including phantom specifications, the simulated data representation, models of the imaging process, and statistical assessment of simulated images. The symposium will discuss the state-of-the-science of VCTs for novel breast imaging systems, emphasizing recent developments and future directions. Presentations will discuss virtual phantoms for intermodality breast imaging performance comparisons, extension of the breast anatomy simulation to the cellular level, optimized integration of the simulated imaging chain, and the novel directions in the observer models design. Learning Objectives: Review novel results in developing and applying virtual phantoms for inter-modality breast imaging performance comparisons; Discuss the efforts to extend the computer simulation of breast anatomy and pathology to the cellular level; Summarize the state of the science in optimized integration of modules in the simulated imaging chain; Compare novel directions in the design of observer models for task based validation of imaging systems. PB: Research funding support from the NIH, NSF, and Komen for the Cure; NIH funded collaboration with Barco, Inc. and Hologic, Inc.; Consultant to Delaware State Univ. and NCCPM, UK. AA: Employed at Barco Healthcare.; P. Bakic, NIH: (NIGMS P20 #GM103446, NCI R01 #CA154444); M. Das, NIH Research grants.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

MO-FG-209-05: Towards a Feature-Based Anthropomorphic Model Observer

This symposium will review recent advances in the simulation methods for evaluation of novel breast imaging systems – the subject of AAPM Task Group TG234. Our focus will be on the various approaches to development and validation of software anthropomorphic phantoms and their use in the statistical assessment of novel imaging systems using such phantoms along with computational models for the x-ray image formation process. Due to the dynamic development and complex design of modern medical imaging systems, the simulation of anatomical structures, image acquisition modalities, and the image perception and analysis offers substantial benefits of reduced cost, duration, and radiation exposure, as well as the known ground-truth and wide variability in simulated anatomies. For these reasons, Virtual Clinical Trials (VCTs) have been increasingly accepted as a viable tool for preclinical assessment of x-ray and other breast imaging methods. Activities of TG234 have encompassed the optimization of protocols for simulation studies, including phantom specifications, the simulated data representation, models of the imaging process, and statistical assessment of simulated images. The symposium will discuss the state-of-the-science of VCTs for novel breast imaging systems, emphasizing recent developments and future directions. Presentations will discuss virtual phantoms for intermodality breast imaging performance comparisons, extension of the breast anatomy simulation to the cellular level, optimized integration of the simulated imaging chain, and the novel directions in the observer models design. Learning Objectives: Review novel results in developing and applying virtual phantoms for inter-modality breast imaging performance comparisons; Discuss the efforts to extend the computer simulation of breast anatomy and pathology to the cellular level; Summarize the state of the science in optimized integration of modules in the simulated imaging chain; Compare novel directions in the design of observer models for task based validation of imaging systems. PB: Research funding support from the NIH, NSF, and Komen for the Cure; NIH funded collaboration with Barco, Inc. and Hologic, Inc.; Consultant to Delaware State Univ. and NCCPM, UK. AA: Employed at Barco Healthcare.; P. Bakic, NIH: (NIGMS P20 #GM103446, NCI R01 #CA154444); M. Das, NIH Research grants.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗