Results for “program design” — Page 34

DOE OSTI2025

2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study

# 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study The 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study collected household- and person-level activity and travel pattern information from residents throughout the Puget Sound Regional Council's four-county region in Washington State. It followed the [2014-2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study](https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/secure-transportation-data/tsdc-puget-sound-travel-study), starting a planned six-year data collection that includes 2019 and 2021. The multiyear program's goal is to maintain an updated source of household travel behavior data that: - Supports modeling and planning needs - Facilitates trend analysis over time - Allows for regular study design updates to integrate evolving data collection methods and emerging travel behaviors and transportation issues. ## Data Collection Agency The Puget Sound Regional Council conducted the study. ## Methodology The 2017 study featured both the design and administration of a one-day household travel diary (approximately 80% of households before data cleaning) and a seven-day smartphone global positioning system (GPS) diary (approximately 20% of households before data cleaning). It combined data collection methods, including smartphone, online, and telephone. The survey design included several stages to recruit and collect data about households, their members, and their travel behaviors during the assigned travel period. ## Survey Records Survey records include a total of 6,254 participants. ## More Information For more information, see the [survey documentation](https://www.nrel.gov/media/docs/libraries/tsdc/zip/tsdc-2017-puget-sound-travel-study-documentation.zip?sfvrsn=45991f2f_1). ## Transportation Data The data set contains a demographic and socioeconomic composition of 6,254 people from 3,285 households in the Puget Sound regional area, as well as detailed information on the travel behavior of each household for a designated 24-hour period. The survey logged over 508 thousand vehicle miles of travel by participants during 52,492 trips. Transportation data are available as zipped files. [Download Winzip](http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study

# 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study The 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study collected household- and person-level activity and travel pattern information from residents throughout the Puget Sound Regional Council's four-county region in Washington State. It followed the [2014-2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study](https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/secure-transportation-data/tsdc-puget-sound-travel-study), starting a planned six-year data collection that includes 2019 and 2021. The multiyear program's goal is to maintain an updated source of household travel behavior data that: - Supports modeling and planning needs - Facilitates trend analysis over time - Allows for regular study design updates to integrate evolving data collection methods and emerging travel behaviors and transportation issues. ## Data Collection Agency The Puget Sound Regional Council conducted the study. ## Methodology The 2017 study featured both the design and administration of a one-day household travel diary (approximately 80% of households before data cleaning) and a seven-day smartphone global positioning system (GPS) diary (approximately 20% of households before data cleaning). It combined data collection methods, including smartphone, online, and telephone. The survey design included several stages to recruit and collect data about households, their members, and their travel behaviors during the assigned travel period. ## Survey Records Survey records include a total of 6,254 participants. ## More Information For more information, see the [survey documentation](https://www.nrel.gov/media/docs/libraries/tsdc/zip/tsdc-2017-puget-sound-travel-study-documentation.zip?sfvrsn=45991f2f_1). ## Transportation Data The data set contains a demographic and socioeconomic composition of 6,254 people from 3,285 households in the Puget Sound regional area, as well as detailed information on the travel behavior of each household for a designated 24-hour period. The survey logged over 508 thousand vehicle miles of travel by participants during 52,492 trips. Transportation data are available as zipped files. [Download Winzip](http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study

# 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study The 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study collected household- and person-level activity and travel pattern information from residents throughout the Puget Sound Regional Council's four-county region in Washington State. It followed the [2014-2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study](https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/secure-transportation-data/tsdc-puget-sound-travel-study), starting a planned six-year data collection that includes 2019 and 2021. The multiyear program's goal is to maintain an updated source of household travel behavior data that: - Supports modeling and planning needs - Facilitates trend analysis over time - Allows for regular study design updates to integrate evolving data collection methods and emerging travel behaviors and transportation issues. ## Data Collection Agency The Puget Sound Regional Council conducted the study. ## Methodology The 2017 study featured both the design and administration of a one-day household travel diary (approximately 80% of households before data cleaning) and a seven-day smartphone global positioning system (GPS) diary (approximately 20% of households before data cleaning). It combined data collection methods, including smartphone, online, and telephone. The survey design included several stages to recruit and collect data about households, their members, and their travel behaviors during the assigned travel period. ## Survey Records Survey records include a total of 6,254 participants. ## More Information For more information, see the [survey documentation](https://www.nrel.gov/media/docs/libraries/tsdc/zip/tsdc-2017-puget-sound-travel-study-documentation.zip?sfvrsn=45991f2f_1). ## Transportation Data The data set contains a demographic and socioeconomic composition of 6,254 people from 3,285 households in the Puget Sound regional area, as well as detailed information on the travel behavior of each household for a designated 24-hour period. The survey logged over 508 thousand vehicle miles of travel by participants during 52,492 trips. Transportation data are available as zipped files. [Download Winzip](http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study

# 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study The 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study collected household- and person-level activity and travel pattern information from residents throughout the Puget Sound Regional Council's four-county region in Washington State. It followed the [2014-2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study](https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/secure-transportation-data/tsdc-puget-sound-travel-study), starting a planned six-year data collection that includes 2019 and 2021. The multiyear program's goal is to maintain an updated source of household travel behavior data that: - Supports modeling and planning needs - Facilitates trend analysis over time - Allows for regular study design updates to integrate evolving data collection methods and emerging travel behaviors and transportation issues. ## Data Collection Agency The Puget Sound Regional Council conducted the study. ## Methodology The 2017 study featured both the design and administration of a one-day household travel diary (approximately 80% of households before data cleaning) and a seven-day smartphone global positioning system (GPS) diary (approximately 20% of households before data cleaning). It combined data collection methods, including smartphone, online, and telephone. The survey design included several stages to recruit and collect data about households, their members, and their travel behaviors during the assigned travel period. ## Survey Records Survey records include a total of 6,254 participants. ## More Information For more information, see the [survey documentation](https://www.nrel.gov/media/docs/libraries/tsdc/zip/tsdc-2017-puget-sound-travel-study-documentation.zip?sfvrsn=45991f2f_1). ## Transportation Data The data set contains a demographic and socioeconomic composition of 6,254 people from 3,285 households in the Puget Sound regional area, as well as detailed information on the travel behavior of each household for a designated 24-hour period. The survey logged over 508 thousand vehicle miles of travel by participants during 52,492 trips. Transportation data are available as zipped files. [Download Winzip](http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study

# 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study The 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study collected household- and person-level activity and travel pattern information from residents throughout the Puget Sound Regional Council's four-county region in Washington State. It followed the [2014-2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study](https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/secure-transportation-data/tsdc-puget-sound-travel-study), starting a planned six-year data collection that includes 2019 and 2021. The multiyear program's goal is to maintain an updated source of household travel behavior data that: - Supports modeling and planning needs - Facilitates trend analysis over time - Allows for regular study design updates to integrate evolving data collection methods and emerging travel behaviors and transportation issues. ## Data Collection Agency The Puget Sound Regional Council conducted the study. ## Methodology The 2017 study featured both the design and administration of a one-day household travel diary (approximately 80% of households before data cleaning) and a seven-day smartphone global positioning system (GPS) diary (approximately 20% of households before data cleaning). It combined data collection methods, including smartphone, online, and telephone. The survey design included several stages to recruit and collect data about households, their members, and their travel behaviors during the assigned travel period. ## Survey Records Survey records include a total of 6,254 participants. ## More Information For more information, see the [survey documentation](https://www.nrel.gov/media/docs/libraries/tsdc/zip/tsdc-2017-puget-sound-travel-study-documentation.zip?sfvrsn=45991f2f_1). ## Transportation Data The data set contains a demographic and socioeconomic composition of 6,254 people from 3,285 households in the Puget Sound regional area, as well as detailed information on the travel behavior of each household for a designated 24-hour period. The survey logged over 508 thousand vehicle miles of travel by participants during 52,492 trips. Transportation data are available as zipped files. [Download Winzip](http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study

# 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study The 2017 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study collected household- and person-level activity and travel pattern information from residents throughout the Puget Sound Regional Council's four-county region in Washington State. It followed the [2014-2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study](https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/secure-transportation-data/tsdc-puget-sound-travel-study), starting a planned six-year data collection that includes 2019 and 2021. The multiyear program's goal is to maintain an updated source of household travel behavior data that: - Supports modeling and planning needs - Facilitates trend analysis over time - Allows for regular study design updates to integrate evolving data collection methods and emerging travel behaviors and transportation issues. ## Data Collection Agency The Puget Sound Regional Council conducted the study. ## Methodology The 2017 study featured both the design and administration of a one-day household travel diary (approximately 80% of households before data cleaning) and a seven-day smartphone global positioning system (GPS) diary (approximately 20% of households before data cleaning). It combined data collection methods, including smartphone, online, and telephone. The survey design included several stages to recruit and collect data about households, their members, and their travel behaviors during the assigned travel period. ## Survey Records Survey records include a total of 6,254 participants. ## More Information For more information, see the [survey documentation](https://www.nrel.gov/media/docs/libraries/tsdc/zip/tsdc-2017-puget-sound-travel-study-documentation.zip?sfvrsn=45991f2f_1). ## Transportation Data The data set contains a demographic and socioeconomic composition of 6,254 people from 3,285 households in the Puget Sound regional area, as well as detailed information on the travel behavior of each household for a designated 24-hour period. The survey logged over 508 thousand vehicle miles of travel by participants during 52,492 trips. Transportation data are available as zipped files. [Download Winzip](http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

New Virtual Test Bed Capabilities: Virtual DOME Model and New Updates to Repository

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy National Reactor Innovation Center accelerates the deployment of novel reactor concepts by establishing both physical and virtual spaces for building and testing various components, systems, and complete pilot plants. The Virtual Test Bed represents the virtual arm of the National Reactor Innovation Center and is a joint effort with the DOE Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation Program. The Virtual Test Bed mission is to accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors by facilitating the adoption of cutting-edge DOE advanced modeling and simulation tools to design, evaluate, and license reactors. This is primarily achieved by storing example challenge problems in an externally available repository and by developing models to fill the M&S gaps needed for potential demonstrators. Activities conducted this fiscal year focused on developing of a Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments shield model to help accelerate the confirmatory analysis required for the reactor demonstration. This model and workflow will allow developers to leverage advanced modeling and simulation tools to ensure their reactor demonstration concept will meet dose requirements and that the surrounding shield will stay within concrete temperature limits during steady-state and transient operation conditions. An initial model has been developed to evaluate the temperature distribution in the concrete shield during steady-state operation, including neutron and gamma heating effects. Various modeling strategies have been examined to understand their applicability and limitations with different reactor designs to make the workflow as reactor-agnostic as possible and computationally effective to maximize its usability. In addition to describing the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments shield model and associated results, this report summarizes other accomplishments regarding repository maintenance and improvement and new external models hosted on the repository.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2024

The Foundational Industry Energy Dataset: Unit-level Characterization and Derived Energy Estimates for Industrial Facilities in 2017

The Foundational Industry Energy Dataset (FIED) addresses several of the areas of growing disconnect between the demands of industrial energy analysis and the state of industrial energy data by providing unit-level characterization by facility. Each facility is identified by a unique registryID, based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Facility Registry Service, and includes its coordinates and other geographic identifiers. Energy-using units are characterized by design capacity, as well as their estimated energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and physical throughput using 2017 data from the EPA's National Emissions Inventory and Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. An overview of the derivation methods is provided in a separate technical report which will be linked after publication. The Python code used to compile the dataset is available in a GitHub repository. An updated 2020 version is under development.

Array↗

DOE OSTI2024

FENIX: Towards a Fully Integrated Multiphysics Framework for Plasma Facing Component Modeling

Computational tools have a crucial role to play in accelerating the deployment of fusion as a clean, reliable, abundant, and sustainable energy source. Multiphysics, high-fidelity simulation capabilities can help model, study, and predict intricate interactions between materials performance, plasma exposure, neutron irradiation, and engineering processes. As such, they can assist in the resolution of scientific and engineering challenges underpinning design, construction, and commission of fusion power plants. To address these needs, ongoing efforts are leveraging the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework and delivering new computational tools for the fusion community. These tools inherit crucial attributes from MOOSE. They are open-source, modular, integrated with nuclear industry-standard software quality assurance processes, and enable multiphysics, multi-fidelity, fully integrated, zero- to three-dimensional, and massively parallel simulations. After a short overview of these capabilities, we will present the development of Fusion ENergy Integrated multiphys-X (FENIX), a MOOSE-based application designed to enable plasma facing component design and performance evaluation. Throughout their lifetime, plasma facing components are exposed to extreme thermal loads, repeated thermal shocks, and irradiation by plasma ions, neutral particles, and high-energy neutrons. Consequently, designing a plasma facing component with acceptable lifetime degradation is extremely challenging. FENIX aims to model the multiphysics environment in which plasma facing components evolve to accelerate their design studies. To that end, FENIX couples existing MOOSE capabilities such as heat transfer, thermomechanics, and thermal hydraulics, with tritium transport via the MOOSE-based Tritium Migration Analysis Program, Version 8 (TMAP8), with neutronics via the MOOSE-based high-fidelity neutron-photon transport and fluid dynamics code Cardinal, and finally with Particle-in-Cell plasma simulation capabilities being developed in this project. In this study, we present the current FENIX capabilities and preliminary results of its application to model the Tritium Plasma Experiment set up at Idaho National Laboratory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

CFD Simulations of Lower Plenum Mixing

Review of model development and validation performed in the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) program for thermal mixing at the outlet of High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGRs). Understanding the mixing that occurs in the lower plenum in an HTGR is necessary to facilitate design improvements and to perform reactor safety analysis. Numerical models are one possible approach to gain a better understanding of mixing in the lower plenum. Given the complexity of the geometry and the intense mixing present, it is important to perform validation of numerical models. Three models have been developed during FY2025: a porous media with Pronghorn, a Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) with STAR-CCM+, and a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with NekRS. The reference facility is a scaled-down version of the lower plenum of the High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor - Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) demonstration reactor. Preliminary results of the porous media and the RANS shows general good agreement against experimental benchmark data. Future work will leverage high-fidelity results obtained through LES to guide model selection and improvements to the lower-fidelity models, with particular attention to the Pronghorn porous media.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Measure this, not that: Optimizing the cost and model-based information content of measurements

Model-based design of experiments (MBDoE) is a powerful framework for selecting and calibrating science-based mathematical models from data. Here, this work extends popular MBDoE workflows by proposing a convex mixed integer (non)linear programming (MINLP) to optimize the selection of measurements. The solver MindtPy is modified to support calculating the D-optimality objective and its gradient via an external package, scipy, using the grey-box module in Pyomo. The new approach is demonstrated in two case studies: estimating highly correlated kinetics from a batch reactor and estimating transport parameters in a large-scale rotary packed bed for CO 2 capture. Both case studies show how examining the Pareto optimal trade-offs between information content measured by A- and D-optimality versus measurement budget offers practical guidance for selecting measurements for scientific experiments.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2024

FEED Study of CarbonCapture Inc DAC and CarbonCure Utilization Technologies Using United States Steel’s Gary Works Plant Waste Heat (Final Report)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) led this project to produce a front-end engineering design (FEED) study of an advanced Direct Air Capture and Utilization System (DACUS) system that can remove a minimum of 5,000 tonnes/yr net of carbon dioxide from air (based on cradle-to-gate LCA) and utilizing the CO 2 to produce low carbon intensity ready mix concrete. The designed system, if built, would be larger than any currently existing Direct Air Capture (DAC) collector in the U.S. Such carbon capture technologies are critical to meeting the goals of the DOE’s program to accelerate climate-critical technology. In addition to the power sector, industrial facilities for the manufacture of steel and cement/concrete are among the major sources of anthropogenic CO 2 . DAC is a promising new technology for reducing CO 2 , a potent greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere but is expensive, in part due to the energy required to adsorb and desorb captured CO 2 during cycles. By integrating CarbonCapture Inc. (CCI) DAC modules at United States Steel's Gary Works (USS) and utilizing the site's waste heat, energy, and location this project evaluates the feasibility of utilizing the captured CO 2 and the logistics of transportation. CarbonCapture Inc. has developed an innovative DAC system using novel adsorbents to cost-effectively capture CO 2 . The captured, liquified gas will be trucked to ready-mix concrete plants within the region, the closest of which is approximately 3.5 miles away, where CarbonCure will inject it into concrete during the mixing process at the facilities. The carbon dioxide reacts with concrete, mineralizing into calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), permanently locking the greenhouse gas into the matrix of the building material. This FEED study demonstrated a full CO 2 value chain for DACUS from industrial facilities. It also provided a means for Visage Energy Corp. (Visage) to assess the impact of this holistic approach on job creation, regional economic impact, and environmental justice. The project team also included Sargent & Lundy (S&L) to provide the constructability review and costing of the integration of the DAC with the steel plant. Ecotek Engineering USA, LLC designed the outside battery limit (OSBL) infrastructure to connect the DAC and the plant. Activities performed during the project included: (1) Project Management Plan; (2) Technology Maturation Plan (TMP); (3) Initial Workforce Readiness Plan; (4) Workforce Readiness Plan; (5) Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Study; (6) Project Design Basis; (7) Hazards and Operability (HAZOP) Study; (8) Constructability Review; (9) Project Cost Assessment; (10) Logistics Analysis of CO 2 Transportation to the Utilization Site; (11) Business Case Analysis; (12) Life Cycle Analysis (LCA); (13) Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Analysis; (14) Environmental Justice Analysis; and (15) Economic Revitalization and Job Creation Outcomes Analysis. This report provides a summary of the outcomes and results of the project, which was performed between Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2024.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

Radio Frequency Field Programable Gate Array Implementation of Reflectometry Cable Monitoring

PNNL has developed an innovative cable testing system that leverages the Xilinx RF System-on-Chip (RFSoC) technology to create a more flexible and capable measurement tool than traditional approaches. The architecture is designed on the ZCU111 development board and takes advantage of the high-speed digital to analog converters (DAC) and analog to digital converters (ADC) to generate and capture digitally synthesized waveforms. The platform allows engineers to easily adjust power, frequency, duration and modulation on the fly rather than being locked into fixed hardware configurations

Tedeschi, Jonathan [Pacific Northwest National Lab↗

DOE OSTI2025

An open control sequence specification to scale building demand flexibility via analytics software

For over two decades, researchers and practitioners have showcased the ability of large commercial buildings to provide grid services by shedding or shifting load. Various utility demand response (DR) and virtual power plant (VPP) programs throughout the United States are presently utilizing these demand-side resources. However, growth of these programs have been limited, in part due to the high cost necessary to integrate the DR control strategies into the building automation system (BAS). Implementing these strategies involves adjusting control sequences, necessitating dozens of hours of customized programming per building, limiting their adoption to large organizations and progressive owners. Recent efforts by researchers and industry have demonstrated the capability of energy management and information systems (EMIS), originally designed for fault detection and diagnostics, to interface with existing BAS and perform supervisory control to optimize building operations. While these approaches are quickly being adopted by industry, demand flexibility (DF) control strategies remain limited in product offerings. One of the challenges is the lack of documented best-practice DF sequences, despite the rich literature on field implementations. This paper develops a new open-specification for a zone-based temperature adjustment shed strategy for commercial building HVAC systems, describing the specification’s implementation in two EMIS tools in both experimental and field settings. Both implementations successfully reduced electric load by at least 40% on average during the called event, while maintaining temperature limits. This study’s detailed process from specification to deployment shows the potential for scalability as well as highlights challenges related to integration with heterogeneous BAS products.

Granderson, Jessica↗

DOE OSTI2025

A product data network to enable faster, easier, and better planning of building envelopes

The building envelopes contributes significantly to the energy-efficiency of the building. Building performance simulation has made it possible to compare façade technologies regarding energy demand, daylighting, thermal and visual comfort in detail. Planners, such as architects and engineers, need experience to find product data with the right quality and level of detail, and to process the data to fit the calculation and the application. In the available time, planners can compare only a limited number of products, which means that better solutions could go unnoticed. This paper presents a new concept for making product data easily accessible for building façade planning. The concept consists of a network of databases for the efficient exchange and use of optical and calorimetric data of glazing units, shading devices, and combinations of both. The paper presents the research questions, an analysis of the current challenges, six design goals for the product data network and its implementation together with a discussion. Many product data sources can be connected to many planning software applications via the specified application programming interface. When planning software connects to the product data network, the planning of building envelopes can be much faster because planners do not need to spend so much time to search and process product data manually. The planning of building envelopes can also become much easier, especially for planners with limited experience. They do not need to understand all the details about which data fits which calculation if the software company implements this. The planning of building envelopes can become much more reliable when software companies validate their use of the product data network, because the current manual process is prone to errors. The planning of building envelopes can also improve because more products can be compared in the available time, allowing better solutions to be found.

Maurer, Christoph↗

DOE OSTI2026

A proximity-focusing RICH detector for the ePIC Experiment at the EIC

The Electron-Proton/Ion Collider Experiment (ePIC) will be a large, multi-purpose detector to be installed at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) being built at Brookhaven National Laboratory. As robust particle identification (PID) capabilities are essential for fully realizing the EIC science program, ePIC contains several PID subsystems spanning different angular ranges. PID capability in the electron-going endcap is provided by a proximity-focusing Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector (pfRICH) designed to deliver at least 3σ separation between pions and kaons for momenta up to 7 GeV/ c . It will also aid with electron-hadron discrimination at low momentum and assist in the determination of the collision time (t 0 ). This contribution will summarize the design of the pfRICH as well as ongoing fabrication and component testing efforts. geant-based performance simulations will also be discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2025

DXRD : a user-friendly suite of two- and multiple-beam dynamical X-ray diffraction programs

The DXRD program suite consisting of a series of dynamical theory programs is introduced for computing dynamical X-ray diffraction from single crystals. Its interactive graphical user interfaces (GUIs) allow general users to make complicated calculations with minimal effort. It can calculate plane-wave Darwin curves of single crystals (or multiple crystals) for both the Bragg and Laue cases, including grazing-incidence diffraction and backward diffraction (with Bragg angles approaching 90°). It is also capable of simulating rocking curves for divergent incident X-ray beams with finite bandwidths. A unique feature of DXRD is that it provides a convenient GUI-based multiple-beam diffraction program that can accurately compute arbitrary N-beam diffraction of any geometry using a universal 4N × 4N matrix method. DXRD also provides a mapping program for plotting all the multiple-beam diffraction lines (monochromator glitches) in the azimuth–energy coordinate system. All these functions make DXRD a convenient and powerful software tool for designing crystal-based synchrotron/X-ray optics (monochromators, analyzers, polarizers, phase plates etc.) and for crystal characterization, X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction teaching.

Bragg reflection↗

DOE OSTI2025

Evaluation of an Accident Tolerant Fuel Leak in the Advanced Test Reactor

Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF), which are nuclear fuel sources designed to withstand operational irregularities and incidents, have been a topic of interest in the nuclear industry for several decades. Interest in ATF technology surged following the 2011 accident at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan. At the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), one of Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) four operating nuclear reactors, the ATF program is a collaborative effort between the national laboratory and various stakeholders within the nuclear industry. This program focuses on the research and development of novel fuel compositions, cladding, and component materials with enhanced accident-resistant properties. During one of ATR’s 60-day operating cycles in 2024, the reactor experienced five unplanned shutdowns. Following the fifth shutdown, radiation monitors detected an increase in radiation levels coming from the loop piping. Subsequent water samples confirmed the cause was a leak of fission products from the ATF experiment, designated as ATF-2C. The source of the leak was identified as the instrumented section of the test train. The primary discussions in this paper are 1) the design of the ATF test train, 2) the operating parameters leading up to and following the detection of the leak, and 3) the quantification and characterization of the released fission products.

Accident Tolerant Fuels↗