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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Contingency Contractor Optimization Phase 3 Sustainment Platform Requirements - Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool - Prototype

Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) is in Phase 3 Sustainment of development of a prototype tool, currently referred to as the Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool - Prototype (CCOTP), under the direction of OSD Program Support. CCOT-P is intended to help provide senior Department of Defense (DoD) leaders with comprehensive insight into the global availability, readiness and capabilities of the Total Force Mix. The CCOT-P will allow senior decision makers to quickly and accurately assess the impacts, risks and mitigating strategies for proposed changes to force/capabilities assignments, apportionments and allocations options, focusing specifically on contingency contractor planning. During Phase 2 of the program, conducted during fiscal year 2012, Sandia developed an electronic storyboard prototype of the Contingency Contractor Optimization Tool that can be used for communication with senior decision makers and other Operational Contract Support (OCS) stakeholders. Phase 3 used feedback from demonstrations of the electronic storyboard prototype to develop an engineering prototype for planners to evaluate. Sandia worked with the DoD and Joint Chiefs of Staff strategic planning community to get feedback and input to ensure that the engineering prototype was developed to closely align with future planning needs. The intended deployment environment was also a key consideration as this prototype was developed. Initial release of the engineering prototype was done on servers at Sandia in the middle of Phase 3. In 2013, the tool was installed on a production pilot server managed by the OUSD(AT&L) eBusiness Center. The purpose of this document is to specify the CCOT-P engineering prototype platform requirements as of May 2016. Sandia developed the CCOT-P engineering prototype using common technologies to minimize the likelihood of deployment issues. CCOT-P engineering prototype was architected and designed to be as independent as possible of the major deployment components such as the server hardware, the server operating system, the database, and the web server. This document describes the platform requirements, the architecture, and the implementation details of the CCOT-P engineering prototype.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Los Alamos National Laboratory Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program: FY25 Annual Progress Report

Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) helps Los Alamos National Laboratory solve national security challenges through excellence in mission-focused science, technology, and engineering (ST&E). The Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratory and Site-Directed Research and Development programs are among the most impactful sources of research and development for our Nation. The heart of the LDRD program is high-risk, high-reward research that creates innovative technical solutions for some of the Nation’s most difficult challenges. The LDRD programs follow strategic guidance derived from the missions of the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the Laboratory.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2023

International Benchmarking: A Global Perspective of Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing

Workplace drug and alcohol testing has been widely implemented in diverse industries and is designed to detect the use of and deter the influence of legal and illegal substances that would impair the ability to perform work that has significant security and safety implications. Across the globe, patterns of drug and alcohol use and abuse and the regulations controlling drug and alcohol use vary by location (e.g., regions, countries, etc.). The prevalence of workplace drug and alcohol testing and protection of individuals’ rights in the workplace similarly tend to exhibit contextual differences. With the advancements in drug-testing technologies and the recent issuance of guidance for additional testing matrices (e.g., oral fluid, hair, etc.) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, gaining a global perspective on the current state of drug and alcohol testing practices and regulations is important for leveraging such advancements to improve the effectiveness of drug and alcohol testing. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) tasked the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) fitness for duty (FFD) team to conduct a benchmarking analysis of international drug and alcohol testing regulations and programs to identify similarities and differences in workplace testing programs and the basis for any differences. The benchmarking study focuses on a policy analysis and benchmarking metrics comparison among different countries and regions. The policy analysis includes the following three types of relevant international and national policies relevant to drug and alcohol testing in the nuclear industry: 1. National drug and alcohol policy 2. Workplace drug and alcohol testing 3. FFD regulations for Nuclear Power Plants The international drug and alcohol benchmarking metrics focusses on the use of blood, breath, urine, hair, and oral fluid in testing; drug and drug metabolite cutoff values; point-of-collection testing devices; roadside testing methodologies; innovations in drug testing; and the extent of availability of such data. Gaining an understanding of workplace drug and alcohol testing in other countries as well as information about new testing methods, matrices, tools, and technologies that other countries have adopted provides NRC with international comparative information regarding the technical basis for such programs and methods as it relates to the protection of worker and public health and safety.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2018

Updated Draft ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Case for Use of Alloy 617 for Construction of Nuclear Components for Section III Division 5

Early in the United States’ very high temperature reactor program, several candidate nickel alloys were considered for use in construction of the intermediate heat exchanger. Based primarily on technical maturity, a downselection was made to focus on Alloy 617. After this downselection, the primary goal of the research and development program was to develop sufficient information on the high temperature properties of the material to qualify it for construction of high temperature nuclear components in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel (BPV) Code. Alloy 617 is a solid solution strengthened material with nominal Ni Cr Co Mo composition, originally developed for aerospace applications such as burner can liners for turbine engines by Huntington Alloys. (Huntington Alloys is now Special Metals Division of Precision Castparts, Inc.) The ASME BPV Code allows use of Alloy 617 for construction of non nuclear pressure vessels, and Alloy 617 is used in fossil fired power plants. Section III, Division 1, Subsection NB of the ASME BPV Code was developed for construction of nuclear components in light water reactors and allows use of ferritic materials up to 700°F and austenitic alloys up to 800°F. Subsection NH of Section III Division 1 was written to allow higher temperature construction with a primary focus on sodium cooled reactors. Recently, a new Division 5 of Section III was published specifically for high temperature reactors (regardless of the primary working fluid) and incorporates both Subsections NB and NH. There are only five alloys currently allowed for use in high temperature nuclear components: 2.25Cr 1 Mo and V modified 9Cr 1Mo steels, Types 304 and 316 stainless steels, and the high nickel austenitic Alloy 800H. This very sparse set of allowed materials is in contrast with the collection of more than 150 materials that are allowed for use in non nuclear pressure vessel construction. A draft Code Case to add Alloy 617 to the list of qualified alloys for use in high temperature nuclear design was submitted to ASME in the early 1990s, but it was withdrawn prior to formal Code action.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Blueprint for DOE Quantum Supercomputing: Ensuring U.S. Leadership in the Quantum Decade

Quantum computing stands at the threshold of a transformative decade, where the field will evolve from small-scale demonstrations toward practical scientific computing at scale. This Blueprint identifies fault-tolerant quantum computers (FTQCs) as a viable, scalable, and broadly applicable path to achieving “quantum scientific utility,” defined as solving scientifically valuable problems beyond the reach of conventional, classical computers. This capability is expected to show scientific demonstrations in the late 2020s and to mature in the early-to-mid 2030s. This Blueprint outlines a strategy to prepare the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for FTQCs and their integration into the U.S. national scientific computing infrastructure. Its purpose is to identify the steps, milestones, and research directions necessary for DOE to enable initial deployment of FTQCs in 2028 as a scientific tool for the nation and mature this capability into the 2030s. DOE has a long history of supporting quantum information science and technology, contributing significantly to research advancements, training a quantum-ready workforce, and providing access to early small-scale quantum hardware. Given recent demonstrations of logical operations on error-corrected logical qubits and the advancement of commercial hardware roadmaps, DOE should begin preparations for large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing deployment for DOE science missions. This Blueprint proposes that DOE focus on (1) deploying first-generation scientifically relevant quantum computers with at least 100 logical qubits and performing at least 10,000 to 100,000 hard logical operations in scientifically relevant calculations; (2) developing essential FTQC programming competencies, system software, and facility readiness; and (3) investing in cutting edge focused R&D that fosters breakthroughs in scientific applications, algorithms, and logical architectures needed to accelerate the advent of scientific utility. This effort will position DOE to transition to larger systems: production-scale quantum computers that comprise 1,000 to 10,000 logical qubits, perform 1 to 10 billion hard logical operations, and execute scientifically useful computations at scale. Achieving these goals will require DOE facilities to evolve with urgency to support scientific campaigns that integrate quantum and classical computing resources into efficient workflows, novel software and firmware environments for compiling and routing quantum programs on FTQC machines, and suitable infrastructure for quantum hardware. It will also require further development and optimization of scientific applications from the fields of materials science, quantum chemistry, and high-energy and nuclear physics. The Blueprint calls for transformative R&D and collective action to accelerate the advent of scientific quantum utility and bring it within reach by 2028.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of a Data Platform for High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) Thermal-Fluid Experiments

Since the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) initiated the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) in 2009, a total of 30 NEUP projects focused on High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) thermal-fluid experiments were funded up to fiscal year (FY) 2021. This represents a total DOE investment of approximately $23M over the 12-year period, covering thermal fluid phenomena important to both pebble bed and prismatic HTGR designs. The NEUP projects have produced a large amount of high-quality experimental and computational data that were published in final project reports, journal articles, dissertations, and conference proceedings, but in most cases the actual data sets and supporting information such as facility and instrumentation descriptions were not publicly disseminated to the HTGR community. To the authors’ best knowledge, a data platform that organizes and summarizes these NEUP-funded projects for HTGR research does not currently exist. To improve access to this HTGR validation data and optimize the return on the significant investment made by DOE, the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Gas-Cooled Reactor (GCR) program started a survey of completed and ongoing HTGR NEUP projects with the aim of developing a public-access data platform that can be used to retrieve computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and system code validation data and guide future NEUP investments. This paper summarizes the status of the current ART-GCR database, provides an overview of the NEUP-funded HTGR-related research projects from FY2009 to FY2021 and identify validation knowledge gaps still existing in HTGR thermal-fluid research.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

TU-AB-BRD-04: Development of Quality Management Program

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before a failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to perform failure modes and effects analysis analysis for a given process Learn what fault trees are all about Learn how to design a quality management program based upon the information obtained from process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. Dunscombe: Director, TreatSafely, LLC and Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences; Consultant to IAEA and Varian Thomadsen: President, Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences Palta: Vice President of the Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Poster - 09: A MATLAB-based Program for Automated Quality Assurance of a Prostate Brachytherapy Ultrasound System

Purpose: A robust Quality Assurance (QA) program is essential for prostate brachytherapy ultrasound systems due to the importance of imaging accuracy during treatment and planning. Task Group 128 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has recommended a set of QA tests covering grayscale visibility, depth of penetration, axial and lateral resolution, distance measurement, area measurement, volume measurement, and template/electronic grid alignment. Making manual measurements on the ultrasound system can be slow and inaccurate, so a MATLAB program was developed for automation of the described tests. Methods: Test images were acquired using a BK Medical Flex Focus 400 ultrasound scanner and 8848 transducer with the CIRS Brachytherapy QA Phantom – Model 045A. For each test, the program automatically segments the inputted image(s), makes the appropriate measurements, and indicates if the test passed or failed. The program was tested by analyzing two sets of images, where the measurements from the first set were used as baseline values. Results: The program successfully analyzed the images for each test and determined if any action limits were exceeded. All tests passed – the measurements made by the program were consistent and met the requirements outlined by Task Group 128. Conclusions: The MATLAB program we have developed can be used for automated QA of an ultrasound system for prostate brachytherapy. The GUI provides a user-friendly way to analyze images without the need for any manual measurement, potentially removing intra- and inter-user variability for more consistent results.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

OLYMPEX Counterflow Spectrometer and Impactor Field Campaign Report

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) Counterflow Spectrometer and Impactor (CSI) probe was flown on the University of North Dakota Cessna Citation research aircraft during the Olympic Mountain Experiment (OLYMPEX). The field campaign took place from November 12 through December 19, 2015, over the Olympic Mountains and coastal waters of Washington State as part of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) validation campaign. The CSI was added to the Citation instrument suite to support the NASA Aerosol-Cloud Ecosystem (ACE) satellite program and flights of the NASA Lockheed Earth Resources (ER-2) aircraft. ACE funded extra ER-2 flights to focus on clouds that are weakly precipitating, which are also of interest to the DOE Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2017

Final Report: High Energy Physics at the Energy Frontier at Louisiana Tech

The Louisiana Tech University High Energy Physics group has developed a research program aimed at experimentally testing the Standard Model of particle physics and searching for new phenomena through a focused set of analyses in collaboration with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN laboratory in Geneva. This research program includes involvement in the current operation and maintenance of the ATLAS experiment and full involvement in Phase 1 and Phase 2 upgrades in preparation for future high luminosity (HL-LHC) operation of the LHC. Our focus is solely on the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, with some related detector development and software efforts. We have established important service roles on ATLAS in five major areas: Triggers, especially jet triggers; Data Quality monitoring; grid computing; GPU applications for upgrades; and radiation testing for upgrades. Our physics research is focused on multijet measurements and top quark physics in final states containing tau leptons, which we propose to extend into related searches for new phenomena. Focusing on closely related topics in the jet and top analyses and coordinating these analyses in our group has led to high efficiency and increased visibility inside the ATLAS collaboration and beyond. Based on our work in the DØ experiment in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, Louisiana Tech has developed a reputation as one of the leading institutions pursuing jet physics studies. Currently we are applying this expertise to the ATLAS experiment, with several multijet analyses in progress.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Advanced Simulation and Computing FY18 Implementation Plan, Rev. 0

The ASC Program continues to improve its unique tools to solve stockpile problems— with a focus on sufficient resolution, dimensionality, and scientific detail—to enable Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties (QMU) and to resolve the increasingly difficult analyses needed for stockpile stewardship. The needs of the Directed Stockpile Work (DSW) and major modernization programs also drive the requirements for simulation and computational resources. These requirements include planned LEPs, stockpile support activities, and mitigation efforts against the potential for technical surprise. All of the weapons within the current stockpile are in some stage of the life extension process. The simulation and computational capabilities are crucial for successful execution of these lifetime extensions and for ensuring NNSA can certify these life-extended weapons without conducting a UGT. Specific work activities and scope contained in this Implementation Plan (IP) represent the full-year annual operating plan for FY18. The Initial IP effective October 1, 2017, should be consistent with: 1) the Department’s Base Table when operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR); and 2) the final signed appropriation or full-year CR once enacted.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Advanced Simulation and Computing FY19 Implementation Plan, Rev. 1

The capabilities that the ASC Program provides at the national laboratories play a vital role in the Nuclear Security Enterprise and are necessary for fulfilling the stockpile stewardship and life extension requirements outlined for NNSA. The Program develops modern simulation tools that provide insights into stockpile aging issues, provide the computational and simulation tools that enable designers and analysts to certify the current stockpile and life-extended nuclear weapons, and inform the decision-making process when any modifications in nuclear warheads or the associated manufacturing processes are deemed necessary. Furthermore, ASC is enhancing the predictive simulation capabilities that are essential to evaluate weapons effects, design experiments, and ensure test readiness. The ASC Program continues to improve its unique tools to solve stockpile problems— with a focus on sufficient resolution, dimensionality, and scientific detail—to enable Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties (QMU) and to resolve the increasingly difficult analyses needed for stockpile stewardship. The needs of the Directed Stockpile Work (DSW) and major modernization programs also drive the requirements for simulation and computational resources. These requirements include planned LEPs, stockpile support activities, and mitigation efforts against the potential for technical surprise. All of the weapons within the current stockpile are in some stage of the life extension process. The simulation and computational capabilities are crucial for successful execution of these lifetime extensions and for ensuring NNSA can certify these life-extended weapons without conducting a UGT. Specific work activities and scope contained in this Implementation Plan (IP) represent the full-year annual operating plan for FY19. The Initial IP, effective August 8, 2018, should be consistent with the Department’s Base Table when operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR). The final IP, effective date TBD, is consistent with the final, enacted appropriation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Advanced Simulation and Computing FY18 Implementation Plan, Rev. 1

The capabilities that the ASC Program provides at the national laboratories play a vital role in the Nuclear Security Enterprise and are necessary for fulfilling the stockpile stewardship and life extension requirements outlined for NNSA. The Program develops modern simulation tools that provide insights into stockpile aging issues, provide the computational and simulation tools that enable designers and analysts to certify the current stockpile and life-extended nuclear weapons, and inform the decision-making process when any modifications in nuclear warheads or the associated manufacturing processes are deemed necessary. Furthermore, ASC is enhancing the predictive simulation capabilities that are essential to evaluate weapons effects, design experiments, and ensure test readiness. The ASC Program continues to improve its unique tools to solve stockpile problems— with a focus on sufficient resolution, dimensionality, and scientific detail—to enable Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties (QMU) and to resolve the increasingly difficult analyses needed for stockpile stewardship. The needs of the Directed Stockpile Work (DSW) and major modernization programs also drive the requirements for simulation and computational resources. These requirements include planned LEPs, stockpile support activities, and mitigation efforts against the potential for technical surprise. All of the weapons within the current stockpile are in some stage of the life extension process. The simulation and computational capabilities are crucial for successful execution of these lifetime extensions and for ensuring NNSA can certify these life-extended weapons without conducting a UGT. Specific work activities and scope contained in this Implementation Plan (IP) represent the full-year annual operating plan for FY18. The Initial IP effective October 1, 2017, should be consistent with the Department’s Base Table when operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR). The final IP, effective March 24, 2018, is consistent with the final, enacted appropriation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Advanced Simulation and Computing FY19 Implementation Plan, Rev. 0

The ASC Program continues to improve its unique tools to solve stockpile problems— with a focus on sufficient resolution, dimensionality, and scientific detail—to enable Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties (QMU) and to resolve the increasingly difficult analyses needed for stockpile stewardship. The needs of the Directed Stockpile Work (DSW) and major modernization programs also drive the requirements for simulation and computational resources. These requirements include planned LEPs, stockpile support activities, and mitigation efforts against the potential for technical surprise. All of the weapons within the current stockpile are in some stage of the life extension process. The simulation and computational capabilities are crucial for successful execution of these lifetime extensions and for ensuring NNSA can certify these life-extended weapons without conducting a UGT. Specific work activities and scope contained in this Implementation Plan (IP) represent the full-year annual operating plan for FY19. The Initial IP, effective August 8, 2018, should be consistent with the Department’s Base Table when operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR). The final IP, effective date TBD, is consistent with the final, enacted appropriation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Albedo-induced global warming impact of Conservation Reserve Program grasslands converted to annual and perennial bioenergy crops

Abstract Climate benefit assessments of bioenergy crops often focus on biogeochemical impacts, paying little if any attention to biogeophysical impacts. However, land conversions required for large-scale bioenergy crop production are substantial and may directly affect the climate by altering surface energy balance. In the US, such land conversions are likely to be met in part by converting Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grassland to bioenergy crops. Here, we converted three 22 year old CRP smooth brome grass fields into no-till corn, switchgrass, or restored prairie bioenergy crops. We assessed the biogeophysical climate impact of the conversions using albedo changes relative to unconverted reference CRP grassland. The corn and perennial fields had higher annual albedo than the grassland they replaced—causing cooling of the local climate. The cooling of the corn field occurred solely during the non-growing season—especially when surfaces were snow-covered, whereas the cooling of the perennial fields was more prominent during the growing season. Compared to biogeochemical impacts with fossil fuel offsets for the same land conversions over eight years, the annual albedo-induced climate benefits add ∼35% and ∼78% to the annual biogeochemical benefits provided from the switchgrass and restored prairie fields, respectively, and offset ∼3.3% of the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the corn field. We conclude that albedo-induced climate mitigation from conversion of CRP lands to perennial but not annual bioenergy crops can be substantial, and future climate impact assessments of bioenergy crops should include albedo changes in addition to GHG balances in order to better inform climate policies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Overview of the Jefferson Lab 12 GeV Experimental Program in Halls A,B, and C

The 11 GeV beam energy available in experimental Halls A, B, and C as part of the Jefferson Lab 12 GeV Upgrade, combined with the new equipment in those halls will provide a rich and diverse physics program. This program includes inclusive measurements used to constrain polarized and unpolarized quark distributions in nucleons, exclusive reactions to access nucleon and meson form factors and GPDs, semi-inclusive measurements aimed at constraining TMDs, as well as measurements from nuclei to provide further insight into the origins of Short Range Correlations and the EMC Effect. The experimental equipment was designed with the above program in mind and the three halls provide complementary capabilities. Magnetic focusing spectrometers in Hall C (the new SHMS and existing HMS) will provide precision separated and unseparated cross section measurements and ratios. The new large acceptance CLAS12 spectrometer in Hall B enables measurements over broad regions of phase space. In Hall A, the new SBS spectrometer, used in conjunction with the existing HRS or Big Bite spectrometers will provide access to very large Q2 and allow for measurements requiring both high luminosity and large acceptance. This talk will give an overview of the upcoming experimental program in Halls A,B, and C, in particular highlighting synergies between the hall programs, which will allow Jefferson Lab to maximize the science output its 12 GeV program.

Gaskell, David↗
DOE OSTI2015

A Multi-Year Plan for Enhancing Turbulence Modeling in Hydra-TH Revised and Updated Version 2.0

The purpose of this report is to document a multi-year plan for enhancing turbulence modeling in Hydra-TH for the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) program. Hydra-TH is being developed to the meet the high- fidelity, high-Reynolds number CFD based thermal hydraulic simulation needs of the program. This work is being conducted within the thermal hydraulics methods (THM) focus area. This report is an extension of THM CASL milestone L3:THM.CFD.P10.02 [33] (March, 2015) and picks up where it left off. It will also serve to meet the requirements of CASL THM level three milestone, L3:THM.CFD.P11.04, scheduled for completion September 30, 2015. The objectives of this plan will be met by: maturation of recently added turbulence models, strategic design/development of new models and systematic and rigorous testing of existing and new models and model extensions. While multi-phase turbulent flow simulations are important to the program, only single-phase modeling will be considered in this report. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is also an important modeling methodology. However, at least in the first year, the focus is on steady-state Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence modeling.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

AGC-4 Experiment Irradiation Monitoring Data Qualification Final Report

The Graphite Technology Development Program ran a series of six experiments to quantify the effects of irradiation on nuclear grade graphite. This report focuses on the fourth experiment, Advanced Graphite Creep 4 (AGC 4). The Advanced Reactor Development (ARD) Technology Development Office (TDO) Program for research and development activities require documentation of qualified monitoring data to design and license the first high-temperature reactor nuclear plant. Qualified data meets the requirements for use as described in the experiment planning and quality assurance documents. Failed data do not meet the requirements and provide no useable information. Trend data may not meet all requirements but still provide some useable information. Use of Trend data requires assessment of how any deficiencies affect a particular use of the data. AGC-4 began with Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Cycle 157D on May 30, 2015. After irradiating the graphite for two cycles, the capsule was removed from the reactor after ATR Cycle 158A, which ended on January 2, 2016, due to interference with another experiment. Irradiation was resumed with Cycle 162A on October 7, 2017 after the interfering experiment was removed from the reactor. AGC-4 irradiation completed by the end of Cycle 166B on January 10, 2020. Between Cycles 162A and 166B, AGC-4 capsule was removed from the reactor core during two Powered Axial Locator Mechanism (PALM) Cycles 163A and 165A to avoid overheating. All thermocouples (TCs) have functioned throughout the AGC-4 experiment. A total of 9,256,184 out of all 11,167,213 temperature records (or 82.9%) are Qualified for use by the ARD Program and 1,911,029 missing values are Failed. Argon, helium, and total gas flow data were within expected ranges, except only eight out-of-range values occurred during outages. A total of 21,240,627 out of all 22,288,5103 gas flow rates (or 92.8%) are Qualified for use by the ARD Program and 1,644,476 are Failed records mostly due to missing values. Discharge gas line moisture values were consistently low during full ATR power, except for 162B, when moisture content was increasing to more than 200 ppmv by the end of this cycle. During outages, moisture content reached as high as 700 ppmv. 1,089,941 out of a total of 1,107,331 moisture values (or 98.4%) are within the measurement range of the instrument and are Qualified for use by the ARD Program and 17,390 missing moisture values are Failed. Graphite creep specimens were subjected to one of three loads: 393, 491, or 589 lbf. For a brief period during Cycle 157D between 12:19 on June 2, 2015, and 08:23 on June 11, 2015, the load cells were wired incorrectly, resulting in missing stack load data. Missing stack loads were estimated from measured ram pressures using regression equations developed from the existing data from Cycle 157D. Estimated stack loads during this period are considered to be an accurate representation of actual load applied to the stacks. These loads deviate slightly from the planned loads. This deviation does not prevent the data from being Qualified for use but must be taken into account when analyzing the effect of load on creep. 6,095,728 out of a total of 6,403,985 moisture values (or 95.2%) are within the measurement range of the instrument and are Qualified for use by the ARD Program and 308,257 missing load values are Failed. Stack displacement increased consistently throughout the eight cycles, with total displacement reached highest value of 2.4 in by the end of irradiation. During ATR outages, a set of pneumatic rams raised the stacks of graphite creep specimens to ensure the specimens were not stuck within the test train. This stack raising was performed seven times throughout irradiation. All stacks were raised successfully each time. 4,744,974 out of a total of 6,094,513 displacement values (or 77.9%) are within the measurement range of the instrument and are Qualified for use by the ARD Program and 1,349,539 displacement values are Failed mostly due to missing values. Analyses were conducted on correlations between TCs to look for trends and step changes that might indicate instrument degradation or failure. Correlation analysis was used to identify instances when TCs form short circuits, referred to as virtual junctions, which result in TCs reporting temperatures from some location in the capsule other than the location where they were intended to read. No evidence of virtual junctions was found. Analyses were also conducted on control charts of temperature differences of between two TCs, which are expected to behave consistently throughout the entire irradiation period. Upward or downward trend over time indicates at least one TC in the pair was drifted. Examining control charts for all 66 possible pairs out of twelve TCs installed in the AGC-4 capsules reveal no clear drift failures occurred, except unstable behavior of two TCs in Zone 3, TC-7 and TC-8, over irradiation time. In conclus

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗