Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Systems Engineering and Program Integration”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Photovoltaic at Hollywood and Desert Breeze Recreational Centers

In accordance with the goals of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for promoting solar energy as clean, carbon-free and cost-effective, the County believed that a recreational center was an ideal place to promote solar energy technologies to the public. This project included the construction of solar electricity generation facilities (40kW) at two Clark County facility sites, Desert Breeze Recreational Center and Hollywood Recreational Center, with educational kiosks and Green Boxes for classroom instruction. The major objectives and goals of this Solar Project include demonstration of state of the art technologies for the generation of electricity from solar technology and the creation of an informative and educational tool in regards to the benefits and process of generating alternative energy. Clark County partnered with Anne Johnson (design architect/consultant), Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI), Desert Research Institute (DRI), and Morse Electric. The latest photovoltaic technologies were used in the project to help create the greatest expected energy savings for60443 each recreational center. This coupled with the data created from the monitoring system will help Clark County and NREL further understand the real time outputs from the system. The educational portion created with AEI and DRI incorporates material for all ages with a focus on K - 12. The AEI component is an animated story telling the fundamentals of how sunlight is turned into electricity and DRI‘s creation of Solar Green Boxes brings environmental education into the classroom. In addition to the educational component for the public, the energy that is created through the photovoltaic system also translates into saved money and health benefits for the general public. This project has helped Clark County to further add to its own energy reduction goals created by the energy management agenda (Resolution to Encourage Sustainability) and the County’s Eco-initiative. Each site has installed photovoltaic panels on the existing roof structures that exhibit suitable solar exposure. The generation systems utilize solar energy creating electricity used for the facility’s lighting system and other electrical requirements. Unused electricity is sent to the electric utility grid, often at peak demand times. Educational signage, kiosks and information have been included to inform and expand the public’s understanding of solar energy technology. The Solar Green Boxes were created for further hands on classroom education of solar power. In addition, data is sent by a Long Term PV performance monitoring system, complete with data transmission to NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), located in Golden, CO. This system correlates local solar irradiance and weather with power production. The expected outcomes of this Solar Project are as follows: (1) Successful photovoltaic electricity generation technologies to capture solar energy in a useful form of electrical energy. (2) Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation resulting from reduced energy demand from traditional electricity sources such as fossil fuel fired and nuclear power plants. (3) Advance the research and development of solar electricity generation. (4) The education of the general public in regards to the benefits of environmentally friendly electricity generation and Clark County’s efforts to encourage sustainable living practices. (5) To provide momentum for the nexus for future solar generation facilities in Clark County facilities and buildings and further the County’s energy reduction goals. (6) To ultimately contribute to the reduction of dependence on foreign oil and other unsustainable sources of energy. This Solar Project addresses several objectives and goals of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technology Program. The project improves the integration and performance of solar electricity directly through implementation of cutting edge technology. The project further addresses this goal by laying important ground work and infrastructure for integration into the utility grid in future related projects. There will also be added security, reliability, and diversity to the energy system by providing and using reliable, secure, distributed electricity in Clark County facilities as well as sending such electricity back into the utility electric grid. A final major objective met by the Solar Project will be the displacement of energy derived by fossil fuels with clean renewable energy created by photovoltaic panels.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

2020 Vision for Tank Waste Cleanup (One System Integration) - 12506

The mission of the Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (ORP) is to safely retrieve and treat the 56 million gallons of Hanford's tank waste and close the Tank Farms to protect the Columbia River. The millions of gallons of waste are a by-product of decades of plutonium production. After irradiated fuel rods were taken from the nuclear reactors to the processing facilities at Hanford they were exposed to a series of chemicals designed to dissolve away the rod, which enabled workers to retrieve the plutonium. Once those chemicals were exposed to the fuel rods they became radioactive and extremely hot. They also couldn't be used in this process more than once. Because the chemicals are caustic and extremely hazardous to humans and the environment, underground storage tanks were built to hold these chemicals until a more permanent solution could be found. The Cleanup of Hanford's 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in 177 large underground tanks represents the Department's largest and most complex environmental remediation project. Sixty percent by volume of the nation's high-level radioactive waste is stored in the underground tanks grouped into 18 'tank farms' on Hanford's central plateau. Hanford's mission to safely remove, treat and dispose of this waste includes the construction of a first-of-its-kind Waste Treatment Plant (WTP), ongoing retrieval of waste from single-shell tanks, and building or upgrading the waste feed delivery infrastructure that will deliver the waste to and support operations of the WTP beginning in 2019. Our discussion of the 2020 Vision for Hanford tank waste cleanup will address the significant progress made to date and ongoing activities to manage the operations of the tank farms and WTP as a single system capable of retrieving, delivering, treating and disposing Hanford's tank waste. The initiation of hot operations and subsequent full operations of the WTP are not only dependent upon the successful design and construction of the WTP, but also on appropriately preparing the tank farms and waste feed delivery infrastructure to reliably and consistently deliver waste feed to the WTP for many decades. The key components of the 2020 vision are: all WTP facilities are commissioned, turned-over and operational, achieving the earliest possible hot operations of completed WTP facilities, and supplying low-activity waste (LAW) feed directly to the LAW Facility using in-tank/near tank supplemental treatment technologies. A One System Integrated Project Team (IPT) was recently formed to focus on developing and executing the programs that will be critical to successful waste feed delivery and WTP startup. The team is comprised of members from Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI), Washington River Protection Solutions LLC (WRPS), and DOE-ORP and DOE-WTP. The IPT will combine WTP and WRPS capabilities in a mission-focused model that is clearly defined, empowered and cost efficient. The genesis for this new team and much of the 2020 vision is based on the work of an earlier team that was tasked with identifying the optimum approach to startup, commissioning, and turnover of WTP facilities for operations. This team worked backwards from 2020 - a date when the project will be completed and steady-state operations will be underway - and identified success criteria to achieving safe and efficient operations of the WTP. The team was not constrained by any existing contract work scope, labor, or funding parameters. Several essential strategies were identified to effectively realize the one-system model of integrated feed stream delivery, WTP operations, and product delivery, and to accomplish the team's vision of hot operations beginning in 2016: - Use a phased startup and turnover approach that will allow WTP facilities to be transitioned to an operational state on as short a timeline as credible. - Align Tank Farm (TF) and WTP objectives such that feed can be supplied to the WTP when it is required for hot operations. - Ensure immobilized waste and waste recycle streams can be received by the TF when required to support 2016 production of immobilized low-activity waste (ILAW). - Ensure the required baseline and additional funding is provided beginning in fiscal year 2011. - Modify TF and WTP contracts to adequately address this vision. The 2020 Vision provides a summary of strategies and key actions that optimize the approach to startup, commissioning, and turnover of WTP facilities. This vision focuses on the legally enforceable requirement to achieve the Consent Decree milestones of starting radioactive operations in 2019, and achieving initial WTP operations in 2022. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Conceptual Design of the Reactor Cavity Cooling System for the Horizontal Compact High Temperature Gas Reactor (HC-HTGR)

Horizontal Compact High Temperature Gas Reactor (HC-HTGR) is being designed by a multi-disciplinary team of nuclear, mechanical, and structural engineers under the support of a DOE-NE Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program’s Advanced Reactor Concepts-20 (ARC-20) award. The objective of this ARC-20 project is to deliver a conceptual design for the proposed HC-HTGR in 3 years and support its commercialization as a safe, low-cost HTGR. Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) is responsible for the design and analysis of the reactor cavity cooling system (RCCS) as a safety system for passive decay heat removal of the reactor concept. This report documents the design study to derive a conceptual design study of the RCCS for the HC-HTGR. It includes the identification of the functions and requirements of the HC-HTGR RCCS, design analyses including high-level design consideration and the calculations for optimizing design space of the system with supporting component-level analysis to inform the material selection and performance of the water panel, the description of the conceptual design of the HC-HTGR RCCS derived based on the analyses results, and performance evaluation of the conceptual RCCS for the HC-HTGR. A detailed concept of the RCCS has been identified and high-level system requirements has been developed for the HC-HTGR. Design space focusing on the natural circulation loop portion of the RCCS has been investigated to optimize the system performance. The initial baseline dimensions were firstly derived based on the scoping calculations. A component level design analysis was conducted for the water panel to inform the material selection and to assess its conduction performance. A preliminary system-level performance analysis was performed for the 1/8th of the compartment of the initial baseline design of the RCCS using RELAP5-3D. To improve the system thermal performance, the RCCS design has been updated by exploring various design options by design parametric analyses. Based on the results, the conceptual design of the RCCS for the HC-HTGR has been derived, which satisfies the target performance of ~1 MWt at the elevated vessel wall temperature conditions. Transient simulations were conducted for the conceptual RCCS design for the HC-HTGR under various operation modes and heat load conditions using RELAP5-3D. The system dynamics in different operating states was investigated and the system performance under transients of interest was evaluated. The results demonstrated the overall system feasibility that the RCCS design maintains structures temperatures lower than maximum allowable temperature with sufficient system inventory without any active heat removal in the design process with certain transients addressed. The HC-HTGR RCCS will have additional design updates of subsystems or optimization of the system components during the preliminary and final design phases. Since the entire plant has not been integrated yet, this delivered conceptual design is subject to changes for integration, that require additional conceptual design activities and Quality and Assurance implementation (Q&A). The performance assessment of the RCCS for the HC-HTGR will be then revisited and optimized to finalize the system design, and the RCCS integrated primary system analysis will be utilized to simulate selective accident scenarios of interest where efforts are currently undergoing in the project.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Methodology Development for Cybersecurity Robustness and Vulnerability Assessment of University Research Reactors

In 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) formed a working group in collaboration with the Test, Research and Training Reactors (TRTR) group to review cyber security programs at US nuclear nonpower reactor (NPR) facilities. Following their review of cyber security at four different university NPR (i.e. university research reactor (URR)) facilities, the NRC staff made recommendations for improvements at URR including 1) augmenting the URR licensees’ understanding of the protective features provided with their physical security systems, 2) educating URR facility staff on cyber security issues, and 3) developing guidance to help the URR facilities maintain adequate cyber security going forward. This three-year project to develop and implement a cyber-security risk assessment methodology and defense-in-depth mitigation strategy for application at URR facilities provides solutions effectively addressing each of the recommendations given in the NRC review referenced above. In support of this project, cyber security documentation and guidance from the NRC, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), were reviewed. Most of this documentation did not take the unique resources, configuration, and infrastructure associated with URR facilities into account. The NRC-TRTR effective practices document provides useful guidance for implementing cyber security protections at URR, but lacks a structured framework for systematically auditing facility digital control assets (DCA) and evaluating associated cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and risk. The outcomes from this project, therefore, seek to build on the general resources above by providing a straightforward DCA auditing and risk assessment methodology, as well as mitigation strategies, that may be implemented to address the risk of cyber-attack at URR facilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Bridging the gap: adapting advanced display technologies for use in hybrid control rooms

The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), runs the OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP), featuring a state-of-the-art research simulator facility in Halden, Norway, called HAMMLAB. HAMMLAB serves two main purposes: the study of human behaviour in interaction with complex process systems; and the development, test and evaluation of prototype control centres and their individual systems. By studying operator performance in HAMMLAB and integrating the knowledge gained into new designs, the HRP contributes to improving operational safety, reliability, efficiency and productivity. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program has contracted IFE to assist DOE national laboratory staff at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in adapting HAMMLAB design concepts for the purpose of control room modernization at nuclear power plants in the U.S. In support of this effort, the DOE has built a simulator research facility at INL called the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). The HSSL is centered on control room modernization, in which industry provided plant instrumentation and controls are modified for upgrade opportunities. The HSSL houses the LWRS simulator, which is a reconfigurable full-scale and full-scope control room simulator. Consisting of 45 large touchscreens on 15 panels, the LWRS simulator is currently using this glass top technology to digitally represent and replicate the functionality of the analog I&C systems in existing control rooms. The LWRS simulator is reconfigurable in that different plant training simulator models obtained from the utilities can be run on the panels, and the panels can be physically moved and arranged to mimic the layout of those control rooms. The glass top technology and reconfigurability capabilities allow the LWRS simulator to be the research platform that is necessary to design, prototype, and validate human-system interface (HSI) technologies that can replace existing analog I&C. IFE has recently assisted INL in establishing the technical infrastructure for implementation of HSI prototypes from HAMMLAB into the HSSL to demonstrate relevant control room replacement systems in support of the LWRS program. In March, 2014, IFE delivered the first HSI prototype utilizing this infrastructure — a large screen overview display for INL's simulator. The co-operation now continues by developing Procedure Support Displays targeted for operators in hybrid control room settings. These prototypes are being validated with U.S. reactor operators in the HSSL and optimized to enhance their performance. This research serves as a crucial stepping stone toward incorporation of advanced display technologies into conventional main control rooms.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

FY 2016 Status Report: CIRFT Testing Data Analyses and Updated Curvature Measurements

This report provides a detailed description of FY15 test result corrections/analysis based on the FY16 Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT) test program methodology update used to evaluate the vibration integrity of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) under normal transportation conditions. The CIRFT consists of a U-frame testing setup and a real-time curvature measurement method. The three-component U-frame setup of the CIRFT has two rigid arms and linkages to a universal testing machine. The curvature of rod bending is obtained through a three-point deflection measurement method. Three linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) are used and clamped to the side connecting plates of the U-frame to capture the deformation of the rod. The contact-based measurement, or three-LVDT-based curvature measurement system, on SNF rods has been proven to be quite reliable in CIRFT testing. However, how the LVDT head contacts the SNF rod may have a significant effect on the curvature measurement, depending on the magnitude and direction of rod curvature. It has been demonstrated that the contact/curvature issues can be corrected by using a correction on the sensor spacing. The sensor spacing defines the separation of the three LVDT probes and is a critical quantity in calculating the rod curvature once the deflections are obtained. The sensor spacing correction can be determined by using chisel-type probes. The method has been critically examined this year and has been shown to be difficult to implement in a hot cell environment, and thus cannot be implemented effectively. A correction based on the proposed equivalent gauge-length has the required flexibility and accuracy and can be appropriately used as a correction factor. The correction method based on the equivalent gauge length has been successfully demonstrated in CIRFT data analysis for the dynamic tests conducted on Limerick (LMK) (17 tests), North Anna (NA) (6 tests), and Catawba mixed oxide (MOX) (10 tests) SNF samples. These CIRFT tests were completed in FY14 and FY15. Specifically, the data sets obtained from measurement and monitoring were processed and analyzed. The fatigue life of rods has been characterized in terms of moment, curvature, and equivalent stress and strain..

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Methods to Automate Assessing the Outage Risk and Technical Specification Compliance for Planned Work and Current Plant Conditions. Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program report

This research effort is a part of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, which is a research and development (R&D) program sponsored by the Department of Energy. The LWRS Program is performed in close collaboration with industry R&D programs that provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long term, safe, and economical operation of current nuclear power plants (NPPs). The LWRS Program serves to help the United States (U.S.) nuclear industry adopt new technologies and engineering solutions that facilitate the continued safe operation of these NPPs and the extension of their current operating licenses. The Outage Risk Management Improvement Pilot Project seeks to improve the management of nuclear power plant outages. This is done through the development of tools to assist in evaluating pending activities against requirements to detect undesired interactions. Significant efforts are expended to manage the nuclear risk of an outage. The utilities conduct pre outage risk assessments, based on a very detailed review of the outage schedule, to identify where combinations of outage work and out of service equipment would result in degraded conditions with respect to nuclear safety or regulatory compliance. Probabilistic risk assessment studies are conducted to quantify incremental core damage frequency as a result of the outage activities and system unavailability. These studies are usually presented to site and fleet management, the site plant operational review committee, and the NPP’s independent Nuclear Safety Review Board for concurrence that the outage is planned safely and that reasonable measures have been taken to reduce the added risk of conducting the outage. During the outage, the plant configuration is monitored continuously to ensure that it conforms to the approved safety plan. Deviations must be assessed and approved by management committees and, in some cases, the plant operational review committee. In virtually all outage meetings and job briefings, the current nuclear safety status of the plant is communicated, including information on the specific equipment necessary to meet the requirements of the nuclear safety plan. In addition, the operations and outage organizations implement several layers of physical and administrative barriers to prevent unintended interaction with the systems and equipment credited for nuclear safety. In spite of all these efforts, nuclear safety challenges still occur too frequently during outages. While some of these are due to failures of equipment credited for safety, the majority occur because of human error. These typically involve some form of interaction between work activities and plant configuration changes. Some of them are very subtle and are extremely challenging to detect in advance. Nevertheless, they are not acceptable and represent clear opportunities to improve nuclear safety during outages. This particular report will provide a demonstration of the capabilities in the development of a predictive software platform for improving configuration control and accessing the plant risks associated with outage work protocols and illustrate how the software assists in strategies to minimize these interactions. In addition to maintaining nuclear safety, there are numerous administrative requirements that must be complied with during an outage. This report will discuss the use of logic modelling to monitor planned work against technical specification requirements for given plant conditions and to integrate these requirements with shutdown risk models, clearance order requirements and other plant condition requirements.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Conceptual Design for a Short-Lived Low- and Intermediate-Level Waste Repository at the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Center, Baghdad, Iraq - 17189

The European Commission under their Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) has initiated a project supporting Iraq's efforts for the safe disposal of short lived low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (SL-LILW) arising from the decommissioning of Iraqi nuclear installations. The INSC project includes both the development of an initial conceptual level basic design and preliminary safety assessment (PSAR) report and the subsequent detailed engineering design and supporting intermediate safety assessment report (ISAR). The project is being executed by a Consortium led by NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbH and joined by DBE Technology GmbH of Germany; JAVYS a.s. of Slovakia and MCM Environmental Services Ltd of the United Kingdom. The current paper focuses on the development of the conceptual level basic design. In previous decades Iraq had a significant nuclear program which encompassed ten nuclear sites spread out across the country. The largest site was located at the Al-Tuwaitha site near Baghdad where 18 nuclear facilities were located. The facilities suffered significant damage from bombing and subsequent looting during the first Gulf War in 1991. Currently, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) is the radioactive waste management operator in Iraq and also the license holder for the ten Iraqi nuclear sites, all of them heavily damaged. Because of the ongoing security concerns in Iraq MoST has selected the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Center as the preferred and best suited location for development of an SL-LILW repository. As an initial step in development of the conceptual design various repository design options for the site were examined and assessed. The assessment considered similar facilities that have been implemented internationally. At the conclusion of the assessment and in conjunction with the Iraqi Beneficiaries from MoST, a near-surface vault design was selected for the facility. The design of the facility relies on experience gained from existing low-level waste repositories at Centre de l'Aube in France and the El Cabril solid radioactive waste disposal facility in Spain as well as on more recent experience gained in the design of the Bulgaria National Disposal Facility (NDF) under construction near the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant. Similar to these reference designs, the concept for the Al Tuwaitha Disposal Facility (ATDF) will rely on a series of reinforced concrete vaults into which containerised waste will be placed. Each vault will consist of two chambers designed specifically to hold the waste. Central drainage points in each waste chamber will lead to an infiltration water collection system designed to detect any failures in the waste containment. Each disposal vault will be sealed after filling by installation of a reinforced concrete closure slab. Once all of the waste has been disposed of the site will be decommissioned and a multilayer protective cover will be installed over the sealed disposal vaults. The multilayer cover will act to further isolate the waste from the environment by limiting the access of water to the waste. Due in part to the presence of shallow groundwater at the site and to avoid potential damage to the facility by flooding from the nearby Tigris River the concept for the Al Tuwaitha Disposal Facility requires construction of the disposal vaults on a raised platform several meters above ground level. Construction of this platform will be integrated into the conceptual safety design and materials will be selected which further enhance the isolation function of the disposal system by hindering or delaying the release of radionuclides to the environment. The infiltration water collection system, which will be constructed in a specifically designed accessible gallery embedded and fully integrated into the platform, will provide access to inspection points located beneath each disposal chamber. The ATDF when completed will be a further demonstration of the adaptability of the disposal vault concept for use in isolating SL-LILW from the environment. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation of Nuclear Spent Fuel Disposal in Clay-Bearing Rock - Process Model Development and Experimental Studies

The DOE R&D program under the Spent Fuel Waste Science Technology (SFWST) campaign has made key progress in modeling and experimental approaches towards the characterization of chemical and physical phenomena that could impact the long-term safety assessment of heat-generating nuclear waste disposition in deep clay/shale/argillaceous rock. International collaboration activities such as heater tests and postmortem analysis of samples recovered from these have elucidated key information regarding changes in the engineered barrier system (EBS) material exposed to years of thermal loads. Chemical and structural analyses of sampled bentonite material from such tests has as well as experiments conducted on these are key to the characterization of thermal effects affecting bentonite clay barrier performance and the extent of sacrificial zones in the EBS during the thermal period. Thermal, hydrologic, and chemical data collected from heater tests and laboratory experiments has been used in the development, validation, and calibration of THMC simulators to model near-field coupled processes. This information leads to the development of simulation approaches (e.g., continuum vs. discrete) to tackle issues related to flow and transport at various scales of the host-rock and EBS design concept. Consideration of direct disposal of large capacity dual-purpose canisters (DPCs) as part of the back-end SNF waste disposition strategy has generated interest in improving our understanding of the effects of elevated temperatures on the EBS design. This is particularly important for backfilled repository concepts where temperature plays a key role in the EBS behavior and long-term performance. This report describes multiple R&D efforts on disposal in argillaceous geologic media through development and application of coupled THMC process models, experimental studies on clay/metal/cement barrier and host-rock (argillite) material interactions, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of water transport during (swelling) clay dehydration, first-principles studies of metaschoepite (UO 2 corrosion product) stability, and advances in thermodynamic plus surface complexation database development. Drift-scale URL experiments provides key data for testing hydrological-chemical (HC) model involving strong couplings of fluid mixing and barrier material chemical interactions. The THM modeling focuses on heater test experiments in argillite rock and gas migration in bentonite as part of international collaboration activities at underground research laboratories (URLs). In addition, field testing at an URL involves in situ analysis of fault slip behavior and fault permeability. Pore-scale modeling of gas bubble migration is also being investigated within the gas migration modeling effort. Interaction experiments on bentonite samples from heater test under ambient and elevated temperatures permit the evaluation of ion exchange, phase stability, and mineral transformation changes that could impact clay swelling. Advances in the development, testing, and implementation of a spent nuclear fuel (SNF) degradation model coupled with canister corrosion focus on the effects of hydrogen gas generation and its integration with Geologic Disposal Safety Assessment (GDSA). GDSA integration activities includes evaluation of groundwater chemistries in shale formations.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

A geospatial risk analysis graphical user interface for identifying hazardous chemical emission sources

Background: Performing back trajectory and forward trajectory using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT) is a reliable approach for assessing particle transport after release among mid-field atmospheric models. HYSPLIT has an externally facing online interface that allows non-expert users to run the model trajectories without requiring extensive training or programming. However, the existing HYSPLIT interface is limited if simulations have a large amount of meteorological data and timesteps that are not coincident. The objective of this study is to design and develop a more robust tool to rapidly evaluate hazard transport conditions and to perform risk analysis, while still maintaining an intuitive and user-friendly interface. Methods: HYSPLIT calculates forward and backward trajectories of particles based on wind speed, wind direction, and the corresponding location, timestamp, and Pasquill stability classes of the regions of the atmosphere in terms of the wind speed, the amount of solar radiation, and the fractional cloud cover. The computed particle transport trajectories, combined with the online Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) data (https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/ARL_Data_from_PROS_station_at_Hanford_site/19993964), can be used to identify and quantify the sources and affected area of the hazardous chemicals’ emission using the potential source distribution function (PSDF). PSDF is an improved statistical function based on the well-known potential source contribution function (PSCF) in establishing the air pollutant source and receptor relationship. Performing this analysis requires a range of meteorological and pollutant concentration measurements to be statistically meaningful. The existing HYSPLIT graphical user interface (GUI) does not easily permit computations of trajectories of a dataset of meteorological data in high temporal frequency. To improve the performance of HYSPLIT computations from a large dataset and enhance risk analysis of the accidental release of material at risk, a geospatial risk analysis tool (GRAT-GUI) is created to allow large data sets to be processed instantaneously and to provide ease of visualization. Results: The GRAT-GUI is a native desktop-based application and can be run in any Windows 10 system without any internet access requirements, thus providing a secure way to process large meteorological datasets even on a standalone computer. GRAT-GUI has features to import, integrate, and convert meteorological data with various formats for hazardous chemical emission source identification and risk analysis as a self-explanatory user interface. The tool is available at https://figshare.com/articles/software/GRAT/19426742.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Validation and Independent Uncertainty Analysis of the MIX-SOL-THERM-003 ICSBEP Benchmark

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) was started in 1992 by the United States Department of Energy and later in 1995 became an international project with contributions from 22 countries. The project is now organized by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). In its most recent iteration, the ICSBEP handbook contains over five thousand evaluations of critical, near-critical, and subcritical experiments conducted in facilities all around the world. These benchmarks serve as valuable information for criticality safety engineers who can use them to validate calculation techniques and establish minimum subcritical margins for operations with fissionable materials. The benchmarks in the handbook are categorized by their fissile material composition, material form (oxide, solution, or metal), and fission energy spectra. This is especially useful for those looking for benchmarks similar to a system they are working on to compare methods and identify trends. The ICSBEP Handbook Uncertainty Guide is document outlining recommended practices and methods for determining uncertainties in these benchmarks. Quantifying these uncertainties thoroughly is crucial as it allows a higher degree of confidence that data used from them is valid and relevant. The guide stresses the importance of a thorough and well documented uncertainty analysis when evaluating an experiment. All measured values of a system, whether they be dimensions or material compositions, have a certain amount of uncertainty associated with them and can be analyzed one by one to determine their effects on the system. Many evaluated benchmarks in the handbook present this in detail, however some do not, mostly earlier evaluations performed in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Recently at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division (NCSD) of LANL has been validating MCNP6.2 ® input files of criticality benchmarks for use by Whisper, a criticality safety code developed at LANL. This effort is also part of the OECD NEA Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) Subgroup 45, also known as Validation of Nuclear Data Libraries (VaNDaL). The goal of VaNDaL is to compile a set of validated simulation inputs for use in validating nuclear data and simulation codes. As part of these efforts, one of the benchmarks reviewed was the MIX SOL-THERM-003 ICSBEP benchmark. This paper provides an independent uncertainty analysis of this benchmark experiment.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Tandem Photovoltaics Core Program Final Technical Report

The Tandem Photovoltaics Core Program was a multi-year initiative aimed at advancing hybrid tandem solar cell technologies to enhance solar module efficiency beyond the limits of single junction devices. This project focused on the development, testing, and scaling of prototype photovoltaic devices, with the goal of achieving commercial relevance and driving industry adoption. The work was divided into three tasks: 1) Comparative Analysis of Tandem Technologies: This task focused on quantifying energy yield under real-world conditions and assessing economic viability of tandems relative to silicon-based modules. The project's modeling framework incorporated performance data, cost of materials, and manufacturing process impacts to optimize tandem designs 2) Tandem Integration and Prototyping: In this task, we developed innovative tandem designs by combining metal halide perovskite (MHP) top cells and silicon (Si) bottom cells. The project focuses on both mechanical integration and direct deposition techniques to enable compatibility with commercially relevant Si technologies, such as passivated contact or PERC cells. 3) Scale-up and Reliability: This task addressed the challenges of large-area fabrication by developing scalable deposition methods and robust interconnection schemes for tandems. The project looked at different accelerated testing such as thermal cycling, damp heat exposure, and potential induced degradation, to ensure long-term stability of devices in field conditions. Tandem solar cells can greatly increase module efficiency beyond conventional single junction (SJ) devices, which are approaching their theoretical limit. There are many ways to fabricate a tandem cell or module in terms of materials used, configuration, and terminal connection. This SETO core project focused critical factors in enabling tandems to enter the market, including hardware integration, technoeconomic analysis (TEA), and energy yield analysis. We focused on MHP/Si hybrid tandem solar cells and modules as a model system for their versatility in module design comparisons, providing valuable insights for other tandem options. While champion cells with areas <1cm2 are regularly demonstrated by groups around the world, it is significantly more challenging to translate these advances into modules, and fewer institutions and companies are working at the module level. This project addressed questions about module fabrication, testing, and reliability that are hard to answer without actually fabricating prototypes. We also performed analysis and road-mapping activities to understand the potential for a wider variety of tandems, including all-perovskite tandems fabricated in collaboration with the Perovskite PV core program. Detailed technical results from this project are described for each task in Section 7.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modernization of Technical Requirements for Licensing of Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors: Risk-Informed and Performance-Based Evaluation of Defense-in-Depth Adequacy

This document supports the work contained in Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 18-04 “Risk-Informed Performance-Based Technology Inclusive Guidance for Advanced Reactor Licensing Basis Development” Revision 0. NEI 18-04 presents a modern, technology-inclusive, risk-informed, and performance-based (TI-RIPB) process for selection of Licensing Basis Events (LBEs); safety classification of structures, systems, and components (SSCs) and associated risk-informed special treatments; and determination of defense-in-depth (DID) adequacy for non-LWRs. The NEI guidance document provides one acceptable means for addressing the aforementioned topics as part of demonstrating a specific design provides reasonable assurance of adequate radiological protection. This report provides the framework and associated methodology guidelines and discussion for establishing, then evaluating, confirming, and documenting the adequacy of defense-in-depth (DID) for advanced non-light-water reactor technologies. It was developed as part of the Licensing Modernization Project led by Southern Company and cost-shared by the United States Department of Energy and has benefited from considerable NRC formal reviews and public workshops. The methodology converts the DID philosophy into a structured process that is implementable, embraces existing United States and international definitions and philosophies of DID that set the foundation for the process. It builds on the DID framework developed in the Department of Energy Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project and earlier works on this subject. The approach to establishing DID adequacy involves the incorporation of DID attributes into the plant capabilities and programmatic elements of DID. The integrated evaluation of DID adequacy includes both quantitative elements to incorporate risk-informed and performance-based (RIPB) considerations and qualitative elements that address uncertainties and limitations in the quantitative models and supporting data. Demonstration of DID adequacy ensures that there are multiple layers of defense for risk-significant challenges to the design and that the plant capabilities and programs that support each layer are provided in a manner that minimizes dependencies among these layers. The focus of this report is assurance of DID adequacy with respect to protection of the public from radiological exposures resulting from accidental releases of radioactive material. While other hazards are not specifically addressed, this methodology is expected to be beneficial for determining DID adequacy for them as well. Risk-informed evaluation of DID considers the integrated performance of all plant SSCs and associated programs to manage daily operational activities, transients, and accidents, including the evaluation of strategies for accident prevention and mitigation. The RIPB LBE scenario methodology used in this evaluation defines the challenges to the plant safety features included in the plant design basis and beyond, and the scope of all deterministic and probabilistic safety evaluations. By examining event sequences across the whole spectrum of LBEs, a systematic assessment of DID can be accomplished.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

FORCE Update 2024

The Framework for Optimization of Resources and Economics (FORCE) tool suite is the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Integrated Energy Systems (IES) Program flagship tool suite for technoeconomic IES analysis of IES. This tool suite is useful for analysis designed to evaluate and improve the technoeconomics of energy production systems, particularly for systems including nuclear technology. In this report, we document the development activity for the FORCE tool suite to extend its capabilities as performed during fiscal year 2024. In addition to reliability and accessibility, capability is one of the three standards guiding the development of the FORCE tool suite and the software codes that are its constituent parts. Extending the capabilities of the FORCE tool suite allows analysis both within the IES program as well as industry, university, and laboratory partners to perform analysis with more accuracy, insight, and impactful narrative. Four areas of capability development were the focus of activity this year: economic parameter uncertainty quantification, multiresolution analysis, components-to-optimization workflow automation, and statespace construction workflows for real-time optimal control. In economic parameter uncertainty quantification, the ability of HERON to capture risk due to scenarios (weather and energy demand uncertainty) was expanded to also include uncertainties in financial parameters such as capital cost or operation and maintenance costs. By including these sources of uncertainty, which are sometimes very large compared with scenario uncertainty, HERON is better able to capture the risk posed by investment in various IES technology. Because of this, analysts can also consider the reduction in risks that can be realized by choice of some technologies. In multiresolution analysis, development activity extended on work completed previously. In fiscal year 2023, methods for decomposing time series signals, such as demand, solar and wind availability, and price profiles, were analyzed and down-selected to those most effective at splitting signals into different resolutions. These resolutions allow considering the influence of different energy demand and supply behaviors across different time scales. For example, energy demand might be divided into seasonal, weekly, and hourly profiles. In fiscal year 2024, this preliminary work was extended and implemented within the Risk Analysis Virtual Environment (RAVEN) risk and uncertainty analysis platform, which is used throughout the FORCE framework. This development of the “multi-resolution time series analysis” (MR-TSA) module in RAVEN allows training synthetic history generators on complex time series. These synthetic history generators can then be used in HERON for generating scenarios that represent possible market and weather scenarios that can be analyzed on different time scales. We envision completing this work in the future, implementing multiresolution dispatch optimization strategies that can make the most beneficial use of these stratified time histories. In components-to-optimization workflow development, workflows for translating user inputs of components into algorithms for algebraic optimization were selected and implemented. Similar algorithms within the Holistic Energy Resource Optimization Network (HERON) were separated from the main code base of HERON and gathered with the components-to-optimization workflows in the new Dispatch Optimization Variable Engine (DOVE) software library. This modularization allows FORCE users to analyze dispatch optimization and energy system duty cycles independently of HERON, which previously was a burdensome task. Additionally, these dispatch optimization algorithms, set up in an independent library, can now be used across all software applications within FORCE, especially including the real-time optimal control software Optimization of Real-time Capacity Allocation (ORCA). Allowing FORCE software to share dispatch optimization algorithms within a single library allows for improved software maintenance and reliability. In statespace characterization workflow development, alternative workflows for optimizing dispatch with additional technical accuracy was the focus, particularly to improve the real-time optimization decision making in ORCA. Using algorithms and workflows initially developed for the Feasible Actuator Range Modifier (FARM), workflows for determining the statespace representation of IES were identified and demonstrated. The resulting dispatch optimization required a more robust optimization algorithm than that originally used in HERON (and moved to DOVE), which required adding an alternate workflow to DOVE that can more accurately match the behavior of physical systems using a partial differential equation representation. In conclusion, capability developments in the FORCE tool suite in fiscal year 2024 have improved the ability of the FORCE tool suite to perform

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optimized V1G and V2G Electric Vehicle Fleet Management and Grid Transaction at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, CA

The overall technical goal of the project was to demonstrate an all-electric bi-directional non-tactical fleet at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar that was integrated and controlled with other distributed energy resources (DERs) (i.e., PV, stationary battery, and building loads) to provide resilience to critical electric loads in the event of grid outages, to minimize charging costs, and to provide economic energy resources to electricity markets. In this project, the specific, technical objectives were: 1. Demonstrate that bi-directional electric vehicles can provide critical complementary services to fixed storage batteries in microgrid applications while performing function as non-tactical vehicles. 2. Demonstrate participation of bi-directional (V2G) and unidirectional (V1G) PEVs for demand management and minimization of charging costs. 3. Demonstrate integration of multiple DERs for grid service participation. US Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in San Diego was the site of this electric vehicle-to-microgrid-utility grid test and demonstration project. Existing microgrid assets in this study included (1) a public works building; (2) a 30-kW rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system and (3) a separate 250 kW carport PV system. In this project, six bi-directional V2G vans were located at the MCAS Miramar’s showcase building-scale microgrid to develop and test technical capabilities that V2G can provide in microgrid applications (e.g., cost reduction and resiliency). These resources provided aggregated demand management and simulated participation in current retail DR programs. The vehicles used in this demonstration were selected because they provided functionality that MCAS Miramar needed, 15 passenger transport and facilities work cargo carrying capacity, and bi-directional charging capability that the research project required. All vehicles in this study were manufactured and distributed by VIA Motors, Inc. There were six vehicles total and each was VIA’s VTRUX eREV V2G model, a modified General Motors Chevrolet 2500 2WD van. Three of the vans were configured as passenger vans and the other three were configured as cargo vans. Each van had an on-board bi-direcrtional inverter/charger, Bel Power Solutions model 350INVCHGT150-120-240-8G nominally rated at +/-15 kW. The VIA van’s charging connector follows the J1772 charging protocol. The bi-directional EVSEs demonstrated in this study were manufactured by Coritech, Inc. Each VGI-80-AC charging station enabled enhanced V2G charging capability to a Clipper Creek CS-100 charging module. The enhanced capabilities included ethernet communication following the SEP2.0 protocol with a distributed energy resource function set and an operator screen displaying real-time SOC, voltage, and current. The VGI-80-AC charging stations are classified as level 2 with a maximum current output of 80 A or effectively 19 kW. The VIA van’s onboard charger limited the charging and discharging power to 15 kW in each direction. A control computer was installed in the EWOC and connected to an existing monitor. The V2G control communication network was a completely stand-alone closed system that did not have any connection to any other networks on the base. A cybersecure remote communication connection was created with a cellular modem, firewall hardware, and a virtual private network configuration.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Automated Glovebox Work-cell Design - 18370

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is the primary plutonium science and manufacturing facility in the United States supporting multiple national security programs. It is responsible for completing a high variety of small-batch manufacturing tasks requiring the handling and precision machining of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM). Given the myriad of tasks that must be completed in a limited workspace, LANL intends to utilize flexible, multi-use robotic work-cells capable of completing a variety of mission critical tasks in a single glovebox with no re-tooling needed between batch jobs. This approach would allow LANL more flexibility in its production schedule and to meet its future production and research objectives. In this paper, we present a system that integrates multiple sensors and other manufacturing peripherals into existing glovebox infrastructure. Currently, a technician can place an object in the work area where vision sensors and supervisory software identify the object and its pose and automatically determine which manufacturing task to complete. Pose uncertainty is addressed in real-time by the task planner, eliminating the need for fixtures. Grasps are validated using pressure sensors, payload sensors, and grasp quality metrics to ensure that objects are not dropped or damaged during manipulation. The robot, sensors, and peripherals are controlled using open-source software built utilizing ROS (Robot Operating System), which minimizes redevelopment and allows for re-use and extensibility. Established capabilities support vision, collision-free path planning, and more, minimizing development time. For this effort, particular attention was given to the integration of general peripheral devices (drill, chuck, etc.), which is critical to efficiently utilizing ROS in manufacturing environments. This integration is achieved with an in-development framework that allows for quick integration of peripherals, including I/O devices and motors. Contact tasks utilize the Generalized Contact Control Framework (GCCF) previously developed at UT Austin. GCCF allows application developers to easily define multiple contact control tasks for a single robot. This paper summarizes the key software components necessary to develop the multi-use work-cell including existing ROS components. UT-developed software for grasp validation, peripheral integration, and contact control is presented in more depth. Finally the glovebox system is demonstrated completing a set of tasks with no fixturing necessary. Primary tasks include surface preparation/ablation, drilling, press-fitting, and sorting, as well as supporting material transfer and inspection tasks. The glovebox work-cell reduces cost, operator dose, ergonomic issues, and time loss due to material transfer between gloveboxes that only support one task. If multiple glovebox work-cells are in use, they have the potential to eliminate bottlenecks and scale production capabilities beyond current limits. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mondo: integrating disease terminology across communities

Precision medicine aims to enhance diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis by integrating multimodal data at the point of care. However, challenges arise due to the vast number of diseases, differing methods of classification, and conflicting terminological coding systems and practices used to represent molecular definitions of disease. This lack of interoperability artificially constrains the potential for diagnosis, clinical decision support, care outcome analysis, as well as data linkage across research domains to support the development or repurposing of therapeutics. There is a clear and pressing need for a unified system for managing disease entities⁠—including identifiers, synonyms, and definitions. To address these issues, we created the Mondo disease ontology—a community-driven, open-source, unified disease classification system that harmonizes diverse terminologies into a consistent, computable framework. Mondo integrates key medical and biomedical terminologies, including Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), Orphanet, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), National Cancer Institute Thesaurus (NCIt), and more, to provide a comprehensive and accurate representation of disease concepts with fully provenanced and attributed links back to the sources. Mondo can be used as the handle for curation of gene–disease associations utilized in diagnostic applications, research applications such as computational phenotyping, and in clinical coding systems in clinical decision support by pointing the clinician to the numerous knowledge resources linked to the Mondo identifier. Mondo's community-centric approach, stewarded by the Monarch Initiative's expertise in ontologies, ensures that the ontology remains adaptable to the evolving needs of biomedical research and clinical communities, as well as the knowledge providers.

biomedical informatics↗
DOE OSTI2016

Viability Study for an Unattended UF 6 Cylinder Verification Station: Phase I Final Report

In recent years, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has pursued innovative techniques and an integrated suite of safeguards measures to address the verification challenges posed by the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Among the unattended instruments currently being explored by the IAEA is an Unattended Cylinder Verification Station (UCVS) that could provide automated, independent verification of the declared relative enrichment, 235 U mass, total uranium mass and identification for all declared UF 6 cylinders in a facility (e.g., uranium enrichment plants and fuel fabrication plants). Under the auspices of the United States and European Commission Support Programs to the IAEA, a project was undertaken to assess the technical and practical viability of the UCVS concept. The US Support Program team consisted of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, lead), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Savanah River National Laboratory (SRNL). At the core of the viability study is a long-term field trial of a prototype UCVS system at a Westinghouse fuel fabrication facility. A key outcome of the study is a quantitative performance evaluation of two nondestructive assay (NDA) methods being considered for inclusion in a UCVS: Hybrid Enrichment Verification Array (HEVA), and Passive Neutron Enrichment Meter (PNEM). This report provides context for the UCVS concept and the field trial: potential UCVS implementation concepts at an enrichment facility; an overview of UCVS prototype design; field trial objectives and activities. Field trial results and interpretation are presented, with a focus on the performance of PNEM and HEVA for the assay of over 200 “typical” Type 30B cylinders, and the viability of an “NDA Fingerprint” concept as a high-fidelity means to periodically verify that the contents of a given cylinder are consistent with previous scans. A modeling study, combined with field-measured instrument uncertainties, provides an assessment of the partial-defect sensitivity of HEVA and PNEM for both one-time assay and (repeated) NDA Fingerprint verification scenarios. The findings presented in this report represent a significant step forward in the community’s understanding of the strengths and limitations of the PNEM and HEVA NDA methods, and the viability of the UCVS concept in front-end fuel cycle facilities. This experience will inform Phase II of the UCVS viability study, should the IAEA pursue it.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗