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At least 847 records · Page 47

An Assessment of Fission Product Scrubbing in Sodium Pools Following a Core Damage Event in a Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has stated that mechanistic source term (MST) calculations are expected to be required as part of the advanced reactor licensing process. A recent study by Argonne National Laboratory has concluded that fission product scrubbing in sodium pools is an important aspect of an MST calculation for a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). To model the phenomena associated with sodium pool scrubbing, a computational tool, developed as part of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) program, was utilized in an MST trial calculation. This tool was developed by applying classical theories of aerosol scrubbing to the decontamination of gases produced as a result of postulated fuel pin failures during an SFR accident scenario. The model currently considers aerosol capture by Brownian diffusion, inertial deposition, and gravitational sedimentation. The effects of sodium vapour condensation on aerosol scrubbing are also treated. This paper provides details of the individual scrubbing mechanisms utilized in the IFR code as well as results from a trial mechanistic source term assessment led by Argonne National Laboratory in 2016.

Fission Product Scrubbing↗

Environmental creep-fatigue and weld creep cracking: a summary of design and fitness-for-service practices

This report surveys current creep-fatigue design and fitness-for-service assessment procedures, with a particular focus on environmental effects and creep-fatigue cracking near weldments. Included in this assessment are the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section III, Division 5, the British R5 standard, the French RCC-MRx design code, the ITER Structural Design Criteria, and the API-579/ASME FFS-1 fitness-for-service rules for petrochemical components. The focus of this review is to identify gaps in the available methods that could prevent regulators from evaluating future high temperature reactor designs. The report makes recommendations, where appropriate, on actions that could be taken to fill these gaps by either providing adequate assessment procedures for creep-fatigue damage in harsh environments or by evaluating strategies vendors could use to mitigate regulatory concerns with creep-fatigue damage in high temperature reactor components.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Enhance BISON Metal Fuel Transient Models and Enable Assessment Based on Out-of-Pile Transient Experiments

In this report, the activities and achievements made by Argonne National Laboratory for the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) BISON code metallic fuel validation and verification (V&V) project in FY2023, with a focus on the capability development and assessment case development for the out-of-pile transient experiments, are summarized. The liquid cladding penetration model was improved based on a comprehensive set of fuel behavior test apparatus (FBTA) test results. The new model was implemented into BISON along with a simple model to account for fuel melting effects. The metallic fuel meshing capability was also upgraded to allow local refinement using unstructured triangular mesh. Based on the previous success in developing the BISON-FIPD integration powered BISON assessment case, this database enabled BISON evaluation and V&V capability was expanded to the out-of-pile transient experiments by introducing BISON-OPTD integration. A series of initial out-of-pile transient assessment cases were implemented into BISON to provide powerful platforms to evaluate current BISON’s capabilities in simulating metallic fuel performance during out-of-pile transients. The established capabilities will also benefit the calibration and V&V of future advanced mechanistic models.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Assessment of Transition Modeling Capability in OVERFLOW with Emphasis on Swept-Wing Configurations

In preparation for comparisons with data obtained from the recently concluded experiments in the National Transonic Facility at the NASA Langley Research Center on the new common research model with natural laminar flow (CRM-NLF), an assessment of the current transition modeling capability in the NASA OVERFLOW 2.2o code has been carried out. A combination of the available experimental data and linear stability analysis is used to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of these models for selected swept-wing type configurations, with significant crossflow. An additional goal for this work involves providing a comparative assessment of the relevant transition models in the context of a single flow solver and identifying model limitations as well as the potential for future improvements that would help strengthen the physical basis of such transition models. Included in this investigation is an assessment of the sensitivities of the underlying transition models to grid resolution (wall-normal, as well as streamwise and spanwise) and the values of extra input parameters such as the level of surface roughness and freestream turbulence variables. The flow configurations targeted in this assessment include the NASA NLF(2)-0415 swept-wing configuration, the sickle-shaped wing introduced by the Technical University of Braunschweig, and the wing-body configuration of the CRM model from the fourth and fifth AIAA CFD Drag Prediction Workshops.

Freestream velocity↗

Mixed Layer Sub-Mesoscale Parameterization - Part 1: Derivation and Assessment

Several studies have shown that sub-mesoscales (SM 1km horizontal scale) play an important role in mixed layer dynamics. In particular, high resolution simulations have shown that in the case of strong down-front wind, the re-stratification induced by the SM is of the same order of the de-stratification induced by small scale turbulence, as well as of that induced by the Ekman velocity. These studies have further concluded that it has become necessary to include SM in ocean global circulation models (OGCMs), especially those used in climate studies. The goal of our work is to derive and assess an analytic parameterization of the vertical tracer flux under baroclinic instabilities and wind of arbitrary directions and strength. To achieve this goal, we have divided the problem into two parts: first, in this work we derive and assess a parameterization of the SM vertical flux of an arbitrary tracer for ocean codes that resolve mesoscales, M, but not sub-mesoscales, SM. In Part 2, presented elsewhere, we have used the results of this work to derive a parameterization of SM fluxes for ocean codes that do not resolve either M or SM. To carry out the first part of our work, we solve the SM dynamic equations including the non-linear terms for which we employ a closure developed and assessed in previous work. We present a detailed analysis for down-front and up-front winds with the following results: (a) down-front wind (blowing in the direction of the surface geostrophic velocity) is the most favorable condition for generating vigorous SM eddies; the de-stratifying effect of the mean flow and re-stratifying effect of SM almost cancel each other out,

Canuto, V. M.↗

Assessment of the Analysis Capability for Core-wide PWR Pellet-Clad Interaction (PCI) Screening

The Level 1 Milestone, L1:CASL.P13.03, “Assess the analysis capability for core-wide PWR Pellet-Clad Interaction (PCI) screening and demonstrate detailed 3-D analysis on selected sub-region.”, has been completed by the Fuels, Materials and Chemistry and Physics Integration focus areas of CASL. This report illustrates the application of VERA simulation to PWR core-wide PCI screening, with emphasis on the multi-dimensional analysis capabilities of BISON fuel performance code. The VERA codes utilized in this effort are: the fuel performance code BISON and the VERA-CS sub-element, which combines the neutron transport code MPACT and the thermal-hydraulics code COBRA-TF (CTF). The target reactor for this work is Watts Bar Unit 1, Cycles 6 and 7, selected on the basis that PCI failures had occurred during power start-up in both cycles, despite the moderate power levels, which offered an interesting test of the code’s veracity and a particularly challenging condition for this Milestone’s assessment. The analysis began by performing BISON-IN-VERA, i.e. VERA-CS + BISON, quarter-core depletion calculations, from which limiting assemblies and limiting fuel rods were selected using a four-parameter selection criterion: high power, high temperature, small gap thickness and high cladding hoop stress. The cladding material being Westinghouse Zirlo, the analysis utilized a new material model developed for this cladding by CASL’s FMC team using open literature sources. The VERA-CS + BISON analysis resulted in identifying 51 limiting rods as candidates for more detailed PCI analysis using stand-alone BISON, employing local 2D and 3D geometric models. This local-effects BISON analysis provided detailed PCI failure assessment, considering the impact of power histories on the two potential sources of PCI failure: the classical SCC-PCI and the missing pellet surface geometry MPS-PCI. The 51-rod analyses of Watts Bar Unit 1 cycle 6 and 7 revealed that the classical SCC-PCI stress levels were well below the failure threshold determined in a previous CASL study, which implicated the other mode of failure, namely MPS-PCI. Considering MPS defects to be the root cause for the failure, the local-effects calculations was repeated using MPS defect sizes equal to and larger than Westinghouse quality assurance standards. Initial results of this new analysis showed a significant increase in the cladding stress, indicating that an MPS may have been present in cycle 6 and 7 for the failure to occur. In order to determine the size of MPS needed for cycle 6 and 7 rods to fail, a sensitivity study using 2-D and 3-D models was performed. The results showed cladding hoop stresses, while remaining below the failure level for an MPS of equal size to the acceptance standard, continued to increase as the size of the MPS increased. This report has demonstrated the use of BISON, in consort with VERA’s simulation methodology, for core-wide PCI failure screening capability. Utilizing this demonstration, and emulating the PCI margin analysis methodology developed in the EPRI PCI guidelines, BISON-IN-VERA simulation can be used very effectively to develop core power histories to minimize PCI failure potential.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Implementation of low-burnup swelling focused assessment case and enhancement of FIPD-BISON integration framework

This report summarizes the activities and achievements made by Argonne National Laboratory for the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) BISON code metallic fuel validation and verification (V&V) project in FY2023, with a focus on the capability development and assessment case development for steady state irradiation experiments. The X423 IFR experiment assessment case, which is focused on the evaluation of low burnup swelling behavior of both binary and ternary metallic fuel, has been developed. It covers 58 fuel pins with various fuel compositions and 158 sets of post-irradiation examination (PIE) data with burnup ranging from ~0.5 at.% to ~5.0 at.%, providing a powerful tool within BISON for the calibration, evaluation, verification and validation of both existing and future metallic fuel swelling models at low burnup. Meanwhile, the X447 IFR experiment assessment case established in FY2022 was enhanced to utilize the latest advanced features in BISON, such as automatic differentiation and Mortar contact models. With such enhancements, especially the Mortar mechanical contact model with friction, BISON is now capable of predicting axial fuel growth that is consistent with experimental measurements. Additionally, during the development, gaps and potential scopes were identified and explorative efforts were made, providing insight for future works.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Quantitative Measures for Software Independent Verification and Validation

As software is maintained or reused, it undergoes an evolution which tends to increase the overall complexity of the code. To understand the effects of this, we brought in statistics experts and leading researchers in software complexity, reliability, and their interrelationships. These experts' project has resulted in our ability to statistically correlate specific code complexity attributes, in orthogonal domains, to errors found over time in the HAL/S flight software which flies in the Space Shuttle. Although only a prototype-tools experiment, the result of this research appears to be extendable to all other NASA software, given appropriate data similar to that logged for the Shuttle onboard software. Our research has demonstrated that a more complete domain coverage can be mathematically demonstrated with the approach we have applied, thereby ensuring full insight into the cause-and-effects relationship between the complexity of a software system and the fault density of that system. By applying the operational profile we can characterize the dynamic effects of software path complexity under this same approach We now have the ability to measure specific attributes which have been statistically demonstrated to correlate to increased error probability, and to know which actions to take, for each complexity domain. Shuttle software verifiers can now monitor the changes in the software complexity, assess the added or decreased risk of software faults in modified code, and determine necessary corrections. The reports, tool documentation, user's guides, and new approach that have resulted from this research effort represent advances in the state of the art of software quality and reliability assurance. Details describing how to apply this technique to other NASA code are contained in this document.

Lee, Alice↗

3DHZETRN: Inhomogeneous Geometry Issues

Historical methods for assessing radiation exposure inside complicated geometries for space applications were limited by computational constraints and lack of knowledge associated with nuclear processes occurring over a broad range of particles and energies. Various methods were developed and utilized to simplify geometric representations and enable coupling with simplified but efficient particle transport codes. Recent transport code development efforts, leading to 3DHZETRN, now enable such approximate methods to be carefully assessed to determine if past exposure analyses and validation efforts based on those approximate methods need to be revisited. In this work, historical methods of representing inhomogeneous spacecraft geometry for radiation protection analysis are first reviewed. Two inhomogeneous geometry cases, previously studied with 3DHZETRN and Monte Carlo codes, are considered with various levels of geometric approximation. Fluence, dose, and dose equivalent values are computed in all cases and compared. It is found that although these historical geometry approximations can induce large errors in neutron fluences up to 100 MeV, errors on dose and dose equivalent are modest (<10%) for the cases studied here.

Wilson, John W.↗

Numerical investigation of mixing and heat transfer in a 7.9 m JP-8 pool fire

The response of objects engulfed in, and adjacent to, large-scale pool fires is of interest in accident and safety assessments. In this study, Fuego, a low-Mach turbulent reacting flow code was used to study conjugate heat transfer in a 7.9 m diameter JP-8 pool fire. Simulations were designed to replicate past experimental measurements (Blanchat et al., 2006) of incident heat flux to three cylindrical calorimeters in and around the pool fire. Two turbulent combustion models were compared directly - the eddy dissipation concept and a more recently developed unsteady flamelet model. First and second order spatial and temporal discretization schemes were also compared to assess the performance of low-dissipation numerical operators. Heat flux predictions to the transportation size calorimeter outside the fire were within experimental uncertainties. Inside the fire, experimental measurements were higher than predicted values and may have been a consequence of soot deposition and augmented participating media radiation from soot and fuel vapor. Simulation predictions improved in cases where turbulent kinetic energy and mixing were more resolved. This work, and others referenced herein, suggest that spatial resolution on the order of 0.5–1.0 cm may be required to fully resolve fluid instabilities, vortex production between fire plumes and crosswind, soot production, and fuel-air mixing. This presents a substantial computational challenge for safety assessments of engulfed objects in fully turbulent pool fires.

Conjugate heat transfer↗

R&D for Safety Codes and Standards: Hydrogen Behavior

Overall objectives of the project are: Develop a science & engineering basis for the release, ignition, and combustion behavior of hydrogen across its range of use (including high pressure and cryogenic); and, Facilitate the assessment of the safety (risk) of hydrogen systems and enable use of that information for revising regulations, codes, and standards (RCS), and permitting hydrogen fueling stations.

08 HYDROGEN↗

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation therapy safer and more efficient.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Energy and Energy Cost Savings Analysis of the 2018 IECC for Commercial Buildings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program supports the development and implementation of building energy codes and standards, which set minimum requirements for energy-efficient design and construction for new and renovated buildings, and impact energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for the life of buildings. As required by federal statute (42 USC 6833), DOE recently issued a determination that ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016 would achieve greater energy efficiency in buildings compared to the 2013 edition of the standard. In support of DOE’s determination, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted an energy savings analysis for Standard 90.1-2016 (DOE 2017). While Standard 90.1 is the national model energy standard for commercial buildings (42 USC 6833), many states have historically adopted the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for both residential and commercial buildings. This report provides an assessment as to whether new buildings constructed to the commercial energy efficiency provisions of the 2018 IECC would save energy and energy costs as compared to the 2015 IECC.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Assessment of UMUSCL Scheme for DNS of Turbulent Flows

Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) are performed using the FUN3D code ( https://fun3d.larc.nasa.gov) for three validation cases: (1) flow through a plane channel, (2) flow through a channel with a constriction, and (3) flow over a flat plate. FUN3D is a node-centered finite-volume code developed at the NASA Langley Research Center that solves the three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured computational grids. The simulations are performed employing the 2nd-order unstructured monotonic upstream scheme for conservation laws (UMUSCL). The results are compared with available experimental and numerical data. The effect of the UMUSCL reconstruction parameter (κ) is assessed, and the results indicate that κ = 0.9 yields satisfactory results in terms of accuracy and robustness compared to available data. Further analyses of the results, along with additional test cases and grids will be presented in the final manuscript.

Direct Numerical Simulation↗

The international implications of national and local coordination on building energy codes: Case studies in six cities

Building energy efficiency is an important strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally. In fact, 55 countries have included building energy efficiency in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. This research uses building energy code implementation in six cities across different continents as case studies to assess what it may take for countries to implement the ambitions of their energy efficiency goals. Specifically, we look at the cases of Bogota, Colombia; Da Nang, Vietnam; Eskisehir, Turkey; Mexico City, Mexico; Rajkot, India; and Tshwane, South Africa, all of which are “deep dive” cities under the Sustainable Energy for All's Building Efficiency Accelerator. The research focuses on understanding the baseline with existing gaps in implementation and coordination. The methodology used a combination of surveys on code status and interviews with stakeholders at the local and national level, as well as review of published documents. We looked at code development, implementation, and evaluation. The cities are all working to improve implementation, however, the challenges they currently face include gaps in resources, capacity, tools, and institutions to check for compliance. Better coordination between national and local governments could help improve implementation, but that coordination is not yet well established. For example, all six of the cities reported that there was little to no involvement of local stakeholders in development of the national code; only one city reported that it had access to national funding to support code implementation. More robust coordination could better link cities with capacity building and funding for compliance, and ensure that the code reflects local priorities. By understanding gaps in implementation, it can also help in designing more targeted interventions to scale up energy savings.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Characteristics of Vertical Ground Motions and Their Effect on the Seismic Response of Bridges in the Near-Field: A State-of-the-Art Review

Despite the evidence from past earthquakes and several numerical investigations demonstrating the detrimental impact of vertical ground motions (VGMs) on the integrity of bridge structures, incorporating their effects into seismic assessment and design procedures has traditionally been given limited consideration. Current codes utilize rather simplistic approaches to account for the concurrent effects of vertical and horizontal motions in structural performance evaluations, potentially leading to unconservative estimates of structural demands. This paper reviews the main features of VGMs and their effect on the seismic response of bridges. The methods and empirical models available to estimate vertical motions for design purposes are discussed, and research gaps and related research needs are identified. Finally, the emerging role of physics-based ground-motion simulations, as well as their limitations, in supporting future research and informing the development of simplified design procedures is examined. The main areas of interest for future research are identified in the need to carry out systematic sensitivity studies to gain insight into the main earthquake parameters that influence key VGMs features, understand the influence of soil nonlinearities on VGMs amplitude and frequency content, inform the development of empirical models that cover a range of site conditions and source-to-site distances where current models are poorly constrained, generate arrays of motions to update coherency models to properly inform the analysis of distributed infrastructure, investigate the impulsive character of VGMs, and assess the approximations made in estimating VGMs with 1D site response analyses. Furthermore, specific focus is laid on large-magnitude earthquakes in the near-field.

Asynchronous ground motion↗

Qualitative Risk Assessment of Legacy Wells within the Estimated Prairie State Generating Company Area of Review

This report details the digitization of a legacy wellbore database, including data processing assumptions, parameter estimation, and risk assessment methodology. The database, comprising 6,454 documents, was provided by ISGS. It includes valuable data from the Prairie State Generating Company (PSGC) and One Earth Energy (OEE) sites of the CarbonSAFE Phase III – Illinois Storage Corridor project. The report focuses on wells within a 15-mile radius from the Lively Grove #1 (LG#1) well at PSGC site, evaluating subsurface conditions and potential risks. A total of 4,386 wellbores within 15 miles of the LG#1 well were filtered based on depth and formation codes. LG#1 is the stratigraphic well at the PSGC site drilled in 2021. Ninety-four (94) wells penetrating the Maquoketa Shale Group (the primary confining unit) within the estimated area-of-review (AoR) for the PSGC site were evaluated using a qualitative risk assessment (QRA) methodology. The QRA developed by Arbad et al. 2022 focuses on legacy wells within the AoR and categorizes them based on well construction details. The QRA identifies wells that need immediate attention by categorizing them based on penetration depth and protection. Wells within the AoR were categorized into nine groups based on penetrations and protections. These categories range from Type 1 wells, with no documentation, to Type 9 wells, which do not penetrate the primary confining unit or storage reservoir (unit). Well accessibility within the AoR varies based on well status, including Dry & Abandoned (DA), Plugged & Abandoned (PA), Injection (INJ), Oil/Gas Producing (PROD), and Observation (Obs) wells. Accessibility levels were determined by well construction, with DA wells being the least accessible and Observation wells the most accessible, impacting gas leakage detection possibilities. Remedial action priority of wells decreases from Type 1 to Type 9 wells. Type 1 to Type 6 wells with status DA and PA require immediate attention, while Type 7 and Type 8 wells are low priority. A risk matrix used to prioritize corrective actions for legacy wells is proposed to categorize wells within an AoR based on penetrations, protections, and accessibility. The methodology involves data acquisition, well categorization into nine types, and determining CO 2 leakage pathways using well schematics and geospatial mapping. This approach is particularly useful for managing the integrity of legacy wells throughout the lifecycle of a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. A qualitative risk assessment of 94 wells within the AoR of the PSGC site identified 54 wells with high priority for corrective action due to penetration of the primary containment seal. The assessment utilizes color-coded maps to categorize well types and prioritize corrective actions, providing a comprehensive analysis. Schematics of wells penetrating the primary confining unit were drawn, and leakage pathways were identified. Details of all wells penetrating the confining zone are provided in the appendix, including information on well types, plugging, and casing status.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

An Assessment of MELCOR 2.1: Containment Thermal-Hydraulic Tests in the Heissdampfreaktor (HDR) Facility

MELCOR is being developed at Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. MELCOR is a fully integrated code (encompassing the reactor coolant system and the containment building) that models the progression of postulated accidents in light water reactor power plants. It provides a capability for independently auditing analyses submitted by reactor manufacturers and utilities. In order to assess the adequacy of containment thermal - hydraulic modeling incorporated in the MELCOR code, a key containment test facility was analyzed. This report documents MELCOR code calculations for simulating steam - water blowdown tests performed in the Heissdampfreaktor ( HDR) de-commissioned containment facility located near Frankfurt , Germany . These tests are a series of blowdown experiments in a large scaled test facility ; including some tests with the addition of hydrogen release which are intended to simulate a variety of postulated break s inside large containment buildings. The key objectives of this MELCOR assessment are to study: (1) the expansion and transport of high energy steam - water releases, (2) heat and mass transfer to structural passive heat sinks, and (3) containment gas mixing and stratification. Moreover, MELCOR results are compared to the CONTAIN code for the same tests.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗