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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Model based co-simulation platform for integrated building system control and design optimization

Both steady-state and dynamic simulations have been widely used by HVAC&R industry to support product/equipment development for decades. Steady-state simulation focuses on the system mass, energy and momentum balance of an equilibrium state. It is based on high-fidelity components models, and thus is suitable for system and component design optimization. Dynamic simulation studies the system transient response and is generally used for controls development and verification. It usually does not require rigorous component models of high accuracy because 1) the commonly used PID control is feedback control whose control performance evaluation doesn’t require high fidelity system/plant model; 2) high-fidelity dynamic model significantly increases the number of equations and variables and creates tremendous challenge for math solver. For supervisory control, transactive control or optimization of an integrated building system, the HVAC&R equipment is often one of the sub-components to be controlled. High-fidelity equipment models are required for accurately evaluating control strategies. In addition, building equipment manufacturers have developed a lot of high-fidelity steady-state equipment/component models per their expertise. Thus, a platform that can integrate OEM high-fidelity steady-state model with dynamic building simulation and/or electric power system & grid simulation to support the development and verification of supervisory control for integrated building systems is necessary. In this study, ORNL’s heat pump design tool (HPDM) is utilized to develop a co-simulation platform for supervisory control and optimization in integrated building systems. It is based on a model that integrates high-fidelity steady-state simulation equipment models with dynamic building simulation. A practical case of using the proposed co-simulation platform to develop and evaluate the supervisory control and optimization is presented and discussed.

Sun, Jian↗
DOE OSTI2026

Evaluation of AI-Enabled Digital Documented Safety Analysis: A Case Study

Safety basis documentation development and review under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) authorization have emerged as critical constraint throttling deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, with traditional processes demanding extraordinary resource investment that delays the delivery of these technologies. Traditional Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) processes rely on static documents with limited traceability [U.S. DOE]. The regulatory review and engagement processes are similarly constrained, often requiring significant effort and extensive manual verification. The scale of this challenge is exemplified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review of the NuScale application, which required over 250,000 staff hours and the evaluation of approximately two million pages of documentation [Bergman 2021]. The volume and complexity of information within nuclear licensing applications or authorization reviews demands innovative approaches to document generation and data management.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Single Grid Error Estimation for Neutron Transport Solvers

The method of nearby problems (MNP) is a solution verification technique that does not require the use of multiple spatial grids. To estimate spatial discretization error without requiring a high-fidelity spatial grid, an analytical curve fit is interpolated from the numerical solution. The residual between the curve fit solution and numerical solution is calculated and added as an additional source term to the governing equation. The nearby solution is estimated using the updated source term and boundary conditions to remain consistent with the curve fit interpolation. The nearby solution can be compared to the curve fit solution as a discretization error estimation while using a single spatial grid. Without the use of higher fidelity spatial grids, the MNP is able to approximate the spatial discretization error, a facet of solution verification. The application of the method of nearby problems is presented for one- and two-dimensional neutron transport problems for both fixed source and criticality problems on the spatial variable. The fixed source results demonstrate the effectiveness of nearby problems for spatial error identification using the discrete ordinates method. Criticality results are shown to identify area of high spatial error for the C5G7 problem as well as for the discrete ordinates solver. A novel approach of combining the capabilities of Monte Carlo with the discrete ordinates nearby problems is presented for one- and two-dimensional fixed source problems. In conclusion, the MNP demonstrates its effectiveness at identifying spatial error on a single structured grid with a wide variety of neutron transport problems.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Puck and Puck/SAW Loop Seals (Final Report)

Tamper-indicating devices (TIDs), also known as seals, play a crucial role in various sectors including international nuclear safeguards, arms control, domestic security, and commercial products, by ensuring that monitored or high-value items are not accessed undetected. These devices do not block access but alert to unauthorized tampering. With adversaries' capabilities evolving, there's a pressing need for seals to advance in terms of effectiveness (e.g., better tamper indication and unique identification), and new technology can improve the efficiency of installation and verification. Passive loop seals, widely used in international nuclear safeguards to ensure that continuity of knowledge is maintained on declared items, face stringent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements that surpass those met by commercial products. The metal cup seal (Figure 1, left), a staple IAEA seal, is robust but requires significant resources for post-use verification – specifically, the seal’s unique identity can only be verified at IAEA headquarters after removal from facilities. Further, the seal has been in use for decades and seal types should periodically be replaced to counter adversarial efforts for defeating seals. In 2020, the IAEA outlined about 40 requirements for a new passive loop seal, aiming for in-situ verification, minimal external tool use, unique identification (UID), and clear tamper indication. In response, research and development efforts focused on creating a new passive loop seal that meets these criteria and in 2022 the IAEA announced the completion of the Field Verifiable Passive Loop Seal (FVPS) (Figure 1, right). Concurrently to the IAEA’s efforts, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) designed, developed, and tested two seal versions – Puck and Puck/SAW, with Puck based on the IAEA’s requirements and including a novel visually-obvious tamper response, and Puck/SAW adding additional beneficial capabilities like the ability to receive a unique identifier from a standoff distance and monitoring the wire integrity. Puck/SAW was specifically designed and developed to address sealing applications in dry spent fuel storage facilities, where the number of sealed spent fuel containers results in heavy verification burden and inspector safety issues related to radiation exposure. These efforts are described in this Executive Summary.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2023

Non-Nuclear Test Facility Development to Support Verification and Validation Needs

This study focuses on developing a non-nuclear test facility to help meet the verification and validation (V&V) requirements of a water-cooled small modular reactor (SMR) system. The scaling analysis necessary for reactor system experimentation and assessment model V&V considers various reactor system accident scenarios such as main steam line break (MSLB), steam generator tube rupture (SGTR), and containment condensation and heat transfer. The goal is to identify key physics based phenomena of interest (POI), specific figures of merit (FOMs), and the state of knowledge (SOK) by employing phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) studies. Important physics phenomena such as heat transfer, fluid dynamics, structural integrity, and material selection must be addressed when scaling a thermal-hydraulics system. Alongside these considerations, modifications to the facility may be needed to align the scaled system with the available footprint (height and space) of the facility. These modifications may include infrastructure upgrades, changes to the piping layout, implementation of safety measures, and installation of new instrumentation and control systems. The test facility aims to provide a scaled-down version of prototypic facilities for comprehensive V&V activities by overcoming these challenges and making the necessary modifications. This approach minimizes scaling distortion, simulates prototypic plant conditions, and accurately models accident event progressions. Thus, the facility will be capable of adequately modeling a scaled SMR system to support the design, development and licensing needs.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

An approach for spent nuclear fuel containment integrity verification using gas tagging

Verification of containment integrity is required for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) managed by the commercial nuclear industry and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), especially after extended storage. Certain SNF storage systems, such as the DOE road-ready dry storage system, hold several packaged containments within a welded over-canister. These packaged containments are called Department of Energy Standard Canisters (DOESCs). DOESC leakage identification is challenging because their containment boundary cannot be accessed for testing and their contents (i.e., SNF and fill gas) are often similar. There are concerns that this could result in costly characterization and repackaging operations of DOE road-ready dry storage systems if compromised DOESCs are suspected. Here, to address these concerns, this paper presents an approach for applying a gas tagging process using xenon to uniquely identify compromised inaccessible containments following extended storage. The containments considered for this application are seven DOESCs, each packaged within a single over-canister. Two different SNF loading configurations from the Advanced Test Reactor and Fort Saint Vrain nuclear power plant are considered. These configurations are used to represent research reactor aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel (ASNF) and TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) SNF types. Results for this application show that for ASNF and TRISO type fuels for which the selected fuels are representative, the volume of taggant required at loading is determined primarily by the lower detection limit and leak rate of taggant from a compromised DOESC, rather than the amount of fission-generated xenon in the loaded fuel. While the application presented is suited for larger leaks, smaller leaks could be detected by modifying certain design parameters. This gas tagging approach can also be applied to other DOE containments and advanced reactor SNF storage systems.

07 - ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

SAM: A Modern System Code for Advanced Non-LWR Safety Analysis

The System Analysis Module (SAM), developed at Argonne National Laboratory and by collaborators at other organizations, is for advanced non–light water reactor safety analysis. SAM aims to provide fast-running, modest-fidelity, whole-plant transient analysis capabilities that are essential for fast-turnaround design scoping and engineering analyses of advanced reactor concepts. To facilitate code development, SAM utilizes the MOOSE object-oriented application framework, its underlying finite element library, and linear and nonlinear solvers to leverage modern advanced software environments and numerical methods. SAM aims to solve tightly coupled physical phenomena, including fission reaction, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and thermal-mechanical responses in advanced reactor structures, systems, and components with high accuracy and efficiency. Finally, this paper gives an overview of the SAM code development, including goals and functional requirements, physical models, current capabilities, verification and validation, software quality assurance, and examples of simulations for advanced nuclear reactor applications.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Time-Lapse Integration at FWU: Fluids, Rock Physics, Numerical Model Integration, and Field Data Comparison

We present the current status of time-lapse seismic integration at the Farnsworth (FWU) CO2 WAG (water-alternating-gas) EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) project at Ochiltree County, northwest Texas. As a potential carbon sequestration mechanism, CO2 WAG projects will be subject to some degree of monitoring and verification, either as a regulatory requirement or to qualify for economic incentives. In order to evaluate the viability of time-lapse seismic as a monitoring method the Southwest Partnership (SWP) has conducted time-lapse seismic monitoring at FWU using the 3D Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP) method. The efficacy of seismic time-lapse depends on a number of key factors, which vary widely from one application to another. Most important among these are the thermophysical properties of the original fluid in place and the displacing fluid, followed by the petrophysical properties of the rock matrix, which together determine the effective elastic properties of the rock fluid system. We present systematic analysis of fluid thermodynamics and resulting thermophysical properties, petrophysics and rock frame elastic properties, and elastic property modeling through fluid substitution using data collected at FWU. These analyses will be framed in realistic scenarios presented by the FWU CO2 WAG development. The resulting fluid/rock physics models will be applied to output from the calibrated FWU compositional reservoir simulation model to forward model the time-lapse seismic response. Modeled results are compared with field time-lapse seismic measurements and strategies for numerical model feedback/update are discussed. While mechanical effects are neglected in the work presented here, complementary parallel studies are underway in which laboratory measurements are introduced to introduce stress dependence of matrix elastic moduli.

4D↗
DOE OSTI2025

DMTN-222: Calibration Generation, Verification, Acceptance, and Certification

This technote defines the best practices to be used for calibration generation, the verification that that calibration meets requirements, and when deciding if the calibration should be accepted for use in processing at both the summit and USDF. Other aspects of calibration product management, including the contents of the appropriate "defaults" collection, are also discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

DMTN-101: Verifying LSST Calibration Data Products

A description of plans for verifying LSST's Calibration Data Products. This document covers our approach to verification element LVV-57, addressing requirement DMS-REQ-0130.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Integrated Operations for Nuclear Business Operation Model Analysis and Industry Validation

The purpose of this report is to refine and analyze five work reduction opportunities first presented in INL/EXT-21-64134, Process for Significant Nuclear Work Function Innovation Based on Integrated Operations Concepts. This report seeks to further refine and analyze five work reduction opportunities first presented in the original report. Researchers selected five work reduction opportunities from the full Integrated Operations for Nuclear (ION) suite. A selected group of utilities then verified details and inputs from the original report. Categories for verification included capital cost, technology requirements, and savings. Researchers then modeled the data points and data ranges using probabilistic analysis which predicts the likelihood of positive or negative net present value. Research results show four out of the five work reduction opportunities have a greater than fifty percent chance of a positive net present value outcome when analyzed independently. When the five work reduction opportunities are grouped and analyzed together the model indicates a sixty percent chance that the outcome of all five taken together will be positive. The nuclear industry should interpret these results as encouraging. In line with the ION model, positive financial analysis supports the investment of capital dollars into existing nuclear power plants along the ION model. Implementation of the five work reduction opportunities in this report is likely to result in substantive long-term savings for the owners and operators of domestic nuclear power plants.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Empty DOESC Handling Tool Verification and Redesign

The handling tool for the Department of Energy Standard Canister (DOESC) is made of six simultaneously movable jaws to apply pressure to the inside surface of the DOESC to allow for their transport when empty (Figure 1). The verification of the handling tool requires analyzing the point of contact of the tool and the canister to see how the roundness effects the handling tool.

12 - MGMT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Requirements Description of the REBUS Software for the Versatile Test Reactor

This report presents the modeling and simulation capabilities of Argonne National Laboratory’s fuel cycle analysis code, the REactor BUrnup System (REBUS), that will be relied on for the VTR project. These capabilities will then be used to establish the set of REBUS verification tasks necessary to verify REBUS for usage on the VTR project. A similar path was followed for the DIF3D software where its’ requirements and verification tasks were established. REBUS has been maintained by Argonne since the early 1960s to support its reactor design mission. That software transitioned from the original REBUS to REBUS-2 in the mid 1970s and to REBUS-3 in the mid 1980s. Since then REBUS has gone through many revisions to the current REBUS-11. Note that this version numbering is consistent with the progression of DIF3D, the base flux solver that REBUS is built upon. The name REBUS refers to a pictorial based puzzle as the original developers were inspired by having to track thousands of unique fuel assemblies as they are inserted into the reactor, depleted, shuffled, discharged, and reprocessed.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Minimizing Fraud in the Carbon Offset Market Using Blockchain Technologies

Fraud in the Environmental Benefit Credit (EBC) markets is pervasive. To make matters worse, the cost of creating EBCs is often higher than the market price. Consequently, a method to create, validate, and verify EBCs and their relevance is needed to mitigate fraud. The EBC market has focused on geologic (fossil fuel) CO 2 sequestration projects that are often over budget and behind schedule and has failed to capture the "lowest hanging fruit" EBCs - terrestrial sequestration via the agricultural industry. This project reviews a methodology to attain possibly the least costly EBCs by tracking the reduction of inputs required to grow crops. The use of bio- stimulant products, such as humate, allows a farmer to use less nitrogen without adversely affecting crop yield. Using less nitrogen qualifies for EBCs by reducing nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate runoff from a farmer's field. A blockchain that tracks the bio-stimulant material from source to application provides a link between a tangible (bio-stimulant commodity) and the associated intangible (EBCs) assets. Covert insertion of taggants in the bio-stimulant products creates a unique barcode that allows a product to be digitally tracked from beginning to end. This process (blockchain technology) is so robust, logical, and transparent that it will enhance the value of the associated EBCs by mitigating fraud. It provides a real time method for monetizing the benefits of the material. Substantial amounts of energy are required to produce, transport, and distribute agricultural inputs including fertilizer and water. Intelligent optimization of the use of agricultural inputs can drive meaningful cost savings. Tagging and verification of product application provides a valuable understanding of the dynamics in the water/food energy nexus, a major food security and sustainability issue. As technology in agriculture evolves so to must methods to verify the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) potential of innovative solutions. The technology reviewed provides the ability to combine blockchain and taggants ("taggant blockchains") as the engine by which to (1) mitigate fraudulent carbon credits; (2) improve food chain security, and (3) monitor and manage sustainability. The verification of product quality and application is a requirement to validate benefits. Recent upgrades to humic and fulvic quality protocols known as ISO CD 19822 TC134 offers an analytical procedure. This work has been assisted by the Humic Products Trade Association and International Humic Substance Society. In addition, providing proof of application of these products and verification of the correct application of prescriptive humic and bio-stimulant products is required. Individual sources of humate have unique and verifiable characteristics. Additionally, methods for prescription of site- specific agricultural inputs in agricultural fields are available. (See US Patents 734867B2, US 90658633B2.) Finally, a method to assure application rate is required through the use of taggants. Sensors using organic solid to liquid phase change nanoparticles of various types and melting temperatures added to the naturally occurring materials provide a barcode. Over 100 types of nanoparticles exist ensuring numerous possible barcodes to reduce industry fraud. Taggant materials can be collected from soil samples of plant material to validate a blockchain of humic, fulvic and other soil amendment products. Other non-organic materials are also available as taggants; however, the organic tags are biodegradable and safe in the environment allowing for use during differing application timeliness.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

MPACT Verification and Validation Manual (V.4.3)

As the VERA SQA plan requires, it is the responsibility of the University of Michigan (UM) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), as co-owners of MPACT, to ensure that verification and validation activities are performed and documented in a V&V manual with supporting publications and CASL technical reports which can be provided for reference and distribution within VERA. This document provides the current revision of the MPACT verification and validation (V&V) manual and describes the current state of MPACT V&V and updates the plans for future MPACT V&V activities. The following sections provide an overview of the V&V process used in MPACT, as well as a summary of the status of each component of V&V in the code.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Vexcel Imaging's Suitability for Automatic Verification

Accurate, independently verified geospatial data is essential for automated calibration, validation, and operational decision-making. This study evaluated the positional accuracy of Vexcel Imaging™’s UltraCam® Osprey imagery (7.5 cm GSD) using globally distributed Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) as independent control. Despite manufacturer claims of 15 cm horizontal accuracy, residual errors were consistently one to two orders of magnitude larger, with no subset of imagery meeting precision thresholds. These discrepancies cannot be explained by normal photogrammetric or environmental factors and raise concerns about the reliability of the imagery for high-precision tasks. The results demonstrate that Vexcel imagery, in its current form, is unsuitable for workflows requiring rigorous spatial accuracy or automated verification. At the same time, the reproducible validation framework developed in this study establishes a scalable method for assessing commercial imagery, ensuring that future products can be independently and objectively verified before operational adoption.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Annual Summary Report for the Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste Disposal Facility—FY 2025

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requires the performance assessment (PA) (Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office [DOE-ID] 2018a), composite analysis (CA) (DOE-ID 2012), and CA addendum (DOE-ID 2018b) for the Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste (RHLLW) Disposal Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site shall be maintained to evaluate changes that could affect the performance, design, and operating basis for the facility (DOE Manual 435.1-1 Change 3, “Radioactive Waste Management Manual,” Section IV.P. [4]). The RHLLW Disposal Facility became operational in September 2018 after the completion of operational readiness activities required by DOE Order 425.1D, “Verification of Readiness to Start Up or Restart Nuclear Facilities,” and the issuance of the startup authorization by the Startup Approval Authority (Boston 2018). The first waste disposals at the RHLLW Disposal Facility began in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, no significant operational changes or other activities occurred that would cause deviation from the assumptions in the PA and CA pertaining to disposal geometry, verification of waste characteristics, tracking disposal inventories against total limits, facility closure design, or institutional controls. This FY 2025 annual summary report (ASR) documents the continued adequacy of the PA, CA, operating disposal authorization statement (ODAS) (ODAS 2018), ODAS technical-basis documents, and the radioactive waste management basis (RWMB) (INL 2024a) to meet DOE Order 435.1, “Radioactive Waste Management,” performance objectives for the RHLLW Disposal Facility. Annual review of the adequacy of the PA and CA at the RHLLW Disposal Facility ensures that conclusions of the analyses remain valid in accordance with requirements of DOE Order 435.1.

12 - MGMT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTE↗