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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 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Predicting Large‐Scale Systematic Missing Pipe Attributes in Water Distribution Networks

Water distribution network (WDN) models are an essential tool used by water utilities for hydraulic analysis. Unfortunately, missing data and insufficient resources often make creating and maintaining these models unfeasible. Existing methods to address missing pipe properties, like sequential imputation for missing values and reconstruction using graph metrics, are designed to accommodate random patterns of missing information and require a significant percentage of the system's attributes to be known. However, these data completeness assumptions do not always align with real‐world scenarios where large sections of the WDN model have missing data. To address this challenge, this study proposes a data‐driven approach for estimating pipe diameter when considering different spatial patterns and degrees of data completeness (i.e., 0%–90%). Using data from 16 WDNs in Kentucky, this study compares the use of machine learning (ML) using topological and geospatial features against an existing deterministic approach. Results demonstrate that WDN models with pipe diameters predicted by the proposed ML method had comparable hydraulic performance to the ground truth models. Moreover, results showed that ML method performance varies between WDNs of differing topological classification. Insights from this study help advance the ability to leverage partial data to create and maintain WDN models amid uncertainty and inadequate resources.

Poff, Jason W. [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Chemical characterization of microplastic particles formed in airborne waste discharged from sewer pipe repairs

Microplastic particles are of increasing environmental concern due to the widespread uncontrolled degradation of various commercial products made of plastic and their associated waste disposal. Recently, common technology used to repair sewer pipes was reported as one of the emission sources of airborne microplastics in urban areas. This research presents results of the multi-modal comprehensive chemical characterization of the microplastic particles related to waste discharged in the pipe repair process and compares particle composition with the components of uncured resin and cured plastic composite used in the process. Analysis of these materials employs complementary use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission X-ray spectro-microscopy, single particle mass spectrometry, and direct analysis in real-time high-resolution mass spectrometry. Further, it is shown that the composition of the relatively large (100 μm) microplastic particles resembles components of plastic material used in the process. In contrast, the composition of the smaller (micrometer and sub-micrometer) particles is significantly different, suggesting their formation from unintended polymerization of water-soluble components occurring in drying droplets of the air-discharged waste. In addition, resin material type influences the composition of released microplastic particles. Results are further discussed to guide the detection and advanced characterization of airborne microplastics in future field and laboratory studies pertaining to sewer pipe repair technology.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coupled Multiphysics Simulations of Heat Pipe Microreactors Using DireWolf

DireWolf is a multiphysics software driver application designed to simulate heat pipe–cooled nuclear microreactors. Developed under the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program, the DireWolf software application’s objective is to provide the nuclear community with a design and safety analysis simulation capability. Based upon the NEAMS program Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) computational framework, DireWolf tightly couples nuclear microreactor physics, reactor physics, radiation transport, nuclear fuel performance, heat pipe thermal hydraulics, power generation, and structural mechanics to resolve the interdependent nonlinearities. DireWolf is capable of simulating both steady and transient normal reactor operation and several postulated failure scenarios. We will present the fundamental physics of heat pipe–cooled nuclear microreactors and the MOOSE-based software employed in DireWolf. Both steady and transient results for coupled reactor physics, radiation transport, and nuclear fuel performance are demonstrated.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A Hydrogen Ignition Mechanism for Explosions in Nuclear Facility Piping Systems

Hydrogen explosions may occur simultaneously with water hammer accidents in nuclear facilities, and a theoretical mechanism to relate water hammer to hydrogen deflagrations and explosions is presented herein. Hydrogen and oxygen generation due to the radiolysis of water is a recognized hazard in pipe systems used in the nuclear industry, where the accumulation of hydrogen and oxygen at high points in the pipe system is expected, and explosive conditions may occur. Pipe ruptures in nuclear reactor cooling systems were attributed to hydrogen explosions inside pipelines, i.e., Hamaoka, Nuclear Power Station in Japan, and Brunsbuettel in Germany. Prior to these accidents, an ignition source for hydrogen was not clearly demonstrated, but these accidents demonstrated that a mechanism was, in fact, available to initiate combustion and explosion. A new theory to identify an ignition source and explosion cause is presented here, and further research is recommended to fully understand this explosion mechanism.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

PIPES (Pipeline for Integrated Projects in Energy Systems) [SWR-24-89]

The Pipeline for Integrated Projects in Energy Systems (PIPES) is a comprehensive project, data, and workflow management tool designed for integrated modeling teams. PIPES facilitates the management of data requirements, tasks, and progress tracking, serving as a higher-level integration layer that works across various data and modeling software. This tool integrates models, data, and tools to perform large-scale, integrated analysis work at scale. PIPES is designed to streamline integrated modeling projects, enhance collaboration, and ensure the quality and efficiency of data management and workflow processes. https://github.com/nrel-pipes/pipes-api https://github.com/nrel-pipes/pipes-web https://github.com/nrel-pipes/nrel-pipes

Gu, Jianli↗
DOE OSTI2021

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Simulations of Taylor Bubbles in Vertical and Inclined Pipes with Upward and Downward Liquid Flow

Summary Two-phase flow is a common occurrence in pipes of oil and gas developments. Current predictive tools are based on the mechanistic two-fluid model, which requires the use of closure relations to predict integral flow parameters such as liquid holdup (or void fraction) and pressure gradient. However, these closure relations carry the highest uncertainties in the model. In particular, significant discrepancies have been found between experimental data and closure relations for the Taylor bubble velocity in slug flow, which has been determined to strongly affect the mechanistic model predictions (Lizarraga-García 2016). In this work, we study the behavior of Taylor bubbles in vertical and inclined pipes with upward and downward flow using a validated 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach with level set method implemented in a commercial code. A total of 56 cases are simulated, covering a wide range of fluid properties, pipe diameters, and inclination angles: Eo ∈ [10, 700]; Mo ∈ [1×10–6, 5×103]; ReSL ∈ [–40, 10]; θ ∈ [5°, 90°]. For bubbles in vertical upward flows, the simulated distribution parameter, C0, is successfully compared with an existing model. However, the C0 values of downward and inclined slug flows where the bubble becomes asymmetric are shown to be significantly different from their respective vertical upward flow values, and no current model exists for the fluids simulated here. The main contributions of this work are (1) the relatively large 3D numerical database generated for this type of flow, (2) the study of the asymmetric nature of inclined and some vertical downward slug flows, and (3) the analysis of its impact on the distribution parameter, C0.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2014

UQ and V&V techniques applied to experiments and simulations of heated pipes pressurized to failure

This report demonstrates versatile and practical model validation and uncertainty quantification techniques applied to the accuracy assessment of a computational model of heated steel pipes pressurized to failure. The Real Space validation methodology segregates aleatory and epistemic uncertainties to form straightforward model validation metrics especially suited for assessing models to be used in the analysis of performance and safety margins. The methodology handles difficulties associated with representing and propagating interval and/or probabilistic uncertainties from multiple correlated and uncorrelated sources in the experiments and simulations including: material variability characterized by non-parametric random functions (discrete temperature dependent stress-strain curves); very limited (sparse) experimental data at the coupon testing level for material characterization and at the pipe-test validation level; boundary condition reconstruction uncertainties from spatially sparse sensor data; normalization of pipe experimental responses for measured input-condition differences among tests and for random and systematic uncertainties in measurement/processing/inference of experimental inputs and outputs; numerical solution uncertainty from model discretization and solver effects.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Commercialization Opportunity SFAI: An acoustic-based method for measuring composition and flow in containers, vessels, and pipes

The need to accurately discern the characteristics of materials within closed containers non-invasively is a problem that plagues many industrial sectors. In particular, characterizing multi-phase flow in pipes and other infrastructure is an ongoing challenge for many industries. Swept Frequency Acoustic Interferometry, or SFAI, and related technologies represent a portfolio that uses high-frequency sound to characterize liquids, gasses, mixtures, emulsions, and other fluids inside pipes and containers. SFAI offers the potential to measure material characteristics and two -and three -phase flows within pipes including flow rates and water- and gas-volume fractions. Such measurements can take place noninvasively both in accessible infrastructure and potentially downhole.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2019

Evaluation of Various Collimators for UF6 Gas Pipe Measurement

On-line gamma measurements of the enrichment of uranium in UF6 gas in pipes is carried out as part of international safeguards. The 186 keV line from 235 U is measured in NaI detectors. One complication in the analysis is that the 186 keV line also comes from the (time-dependent) amount of uranium-bearing material deposited on the interior walls of the pipe. This contribution has to be subtracted before the enrichment of the gas can be calculated. The relative contributions to the total 186 keV count rate from the gas and from the deposit depends on the amount of deposit, but also on the type of collimation/shielding used between the NaI detector and the gas pipe. Several different collimation/shielding designs have been simulated in order to determine which provides the best performance.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Simultaneous Real-Time Measurement of Composition, Flow, Attenuation, Density, and Pipe-Wall Thickness in Multiphase Fluids

Researchers at Los Alamos National Lab have developed an apparatus and method for making simultaneous measurements of composition, fluid flow, and sound attenuation in a multiphase fluid flowing through a pipe in real-time, using a single device. Additionally, the apparatus provides real-time pipe-wall thickness monitoring for observing pipe corrosion. The use of short-duration frequency chirp excitation enables the apparatus to provided multiple levels of information in a single measurement.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Diagnosis of Corrosion Process in Nuclear Power Plant Secondary Piping Structures

Corrosion inside secondary pipe structures in Nuclear Power Plants is difficult to detect without intrusion. Statistical and machine learning techniques are used to predict corrosion using pipe vibration data. 3D accelerometers were used to record pipe vibration data in three directions using six sensors. Vibration data were processed using the Hilbert-Huang Transformation, which is known for its adaptable basis function to non-linear and non-stationary signals. Hilbert-Huang Transformation using empirical mode functions generates multiple intrinsic mode functions of different amplitude and frequency levels from raw vibration data. From intrinsic mode functions features are extracted which include phase, energy, entropy, mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. Logistic regression using only phase information correctly distinguished mass additions from baseline data in roughly 83% and 85% of the cases. Phase information varied substantially among different baseline runs and within trials of the same run. Random Forest resulted in >95% testing accuracy for both mass addition and mass removal data. Support Vector Machine had ~98% testing accuracy for mass removal and ~92% testing accuracy for mass additions when using Permutation Importance feature selection. When using Principle Component Analysis with Support Vector Machine, testing accuracy was ~68% testing accuracy for mass additions and ~85% testing accuracy for mass.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Example Evaluation of a Representative Heat Pipe Test Article Design for Structural Acceptability using ASME Design Rules

This report describes a design analysis of a test article mimicking a core block of a heat-pipe mi-croreactor using the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code Section III, Division 5, Subsection HB, Subpart B rules. These rules cover the design and construction of elevated temperature nu-clear reactor structural components, like the core block of a heat-pipe microreactor emulated by the test article. The purposes of the report are to: (1) provide a step-by-step example of applying the ASME rules to a reasonable core block geometry and corresponding loading conditions, (2) to provide design feedback on the test article, and (3) to evaluate the ASME rules for use in the design of complex heat-pipe microreactor components. The test article design has a relatively short ASME design life, limited by high thermal stresses. The current ASME rules are adequate for evaluating the core block component designs, though they could be optimized to increase the design efficiency and reduce the amount of designer/analyst time required to execute the design process. The report covers both the current, 2019 edition ASME rules and modified, currently unapproved, rules designed to improve the design process for components with complex geometries and high secondary stresses, like the core block test article.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Site 200 - Building 225 Construction Project: Steel Pipe Abandonment Work Plan (October 2020)

In December 2019, a capped, 4-inch diameter pipe located inside a square concrete collar was discovered on the north side of a driveway leading into a construction project located at the northeast corner of First Street and Avenue and petroleum like odors were reported to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) staff. The pipe was also found to contain liquid, which was sampled. Analysis of the liquid showed the presence of refined petroleum hydrocarbons - primarily benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and total xylenes, and lead. Based on various historical documents and maps, the pipe is assumed to be associated with one, or more of four 25,000-gallon, single-wall, concrete-construction, underground storage tanks (USTs) installed by the U.S. Department of Navy in approximately 1943. The USTs were reported to have been closed - abandoned in place and filled with sand in 1950.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simple Heat Pipe Model

This is a simple model designed to run fast but still maintain the key physics and feedback mechanisms of a heat pipe. First, the capillary pressure is a function of the liquid working fluid volume fraction. Second, the boiling and condensation are based on the saturation temperature that is based on the heat pipe pressure. When the pressure goes up, the saturation temperature goes up and the vapor rains on the wick. When the pressure goes down, the saturation temperature goes down and the liquid in the entire wick boils. This is how the heat pipe adjusts to stay robust under different temperatures and heat fluxes.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantitative Assessment for Advanced Reactor Radioisotope Screening Utilizing a Heat Pipe Reactor Inventory

This report documents a method for the quantitative identification of radionuclides of potential interest for accident consequence analysis involving advanced nuclear reactors. Based on previous qualitative assessments of radionuclide inventories for advanced reactors coupled with the review of a radiological inventory developed for a heat pipe reactor, a 1 Ci activity airborne release was calculated for 137 radionuclides using the MACCS 4.1 code suite. Several assumptions regarding release conditions were made and discussed herein. The potential release of a heat pipe reactor inventory was also modeled following the same assumptions. Results provide an estimation of the relative EARLY and CHRONC phase dose contribution from advanced reactor radionuclides and are normalized to doses from equivalent releases of I-131 and Cs-137, respectively. Ultimately, a list of 69 radionuclides with EARLY or CHRONC dose contributions at least 1/100th that of I-131 or Cs-137, respectively – 48 of which are currently considered for LWR consequence analyses – was identified of being of potential importance for analyses involving a heat pipe reactor.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
NASA NTRS1967

Technique cuts time and cost of bending jacketed piping

Technique uses a stiff medium in the annular space between inner and outer pipes of jacketed piping in transfer lines. The process eliminates splitting and welding and makes possible the use of standard pipe-bending tools.

Gardner, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1970

Toroidal mirrors provide virtual walls for breaks in light pipes

Section of light pipe consists of separated segments having opposed toroidal mirrors that intercept meridional rays to present virtual wall in space between mirrors, thus insuring uninterrupted light transmission down the pipe. Design affords internal access to pipe section. Segments are electrically or thermally insulated from one another.

Young, N.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Pipe installation technique avoids disturbing work areas

Pipe supports for 0.305 m diameter pipes are pre-hung and an opening is cut in exterior wall of the building. Pipes are welded outside the building and then rolled through the opening into the final location. Technique affords cost and time savings.

Malysz, E. F.↗