Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Testing Procedure”

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

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

At least 865 records · Page 48
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Nuclear Power Fault Diagnostics and Preventative Maintenance Optimization

Operation and maintenance costs for nuclear power plants are very large. Reactors are starting to shut down even after their operating licenses have been extended, because they are not price competitive compared to other energy sources. The nuclear industry is witnessing early closure of nuclear power plants due to economic reasons despite excellent safety records. Therefore, it is imperative to reduce costs to prevent these early closures. This paper showcases recent research into advanced fault diagnostics techniques and preventative maintenance optimization to reduce these maintenance costs. This report focuses on the condensate and feedwater system for both pressurized and boiling water reactor systems. The computerized maintenance management system, which contains the plant’s digital record of all the corrective- and preventative-maintenance work orders, was used as a ground truth to locate potential faults and label the process data as healthy or faulty. Various feature extraction techniques were utilized to further differentiate the faults from the healthy data. Support vectors machines were used to categorize other test sets of process data as healthy or faulty through a cross validation procedure. Similar faults were not found within this system leading to preventative maintenance optimization. Unnecessary amounts of preventative maintenance lead to inflated maintenance costs. This paper summarizes the steps for preventative maintenance optimization from component health determination to recommendation for action. This optimization was completed for condensate pumps, condensate booster pumps, and the respective motors that drive them.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

PACT Module Preconditioning Protocol (V.0.1)

The purpose of this protocol is to bring metal halide perovskite (MHP) modules to a repeatable and relevant state prior to making a performance measurement. Performance measurements are made before and after a stressor has been applied to the module to quantify the degree of loss resulting from the stressor. This procedure is intended to be carried out both before and after the accelerated test.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

ORNL Package Testing Program Software Quality Assurance Plan

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Package Testing Program (PTP) uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software in performing data collection of thermal test results for package designs that contain radioactive materials. Specifically, this software is used to collect temperature data from the furnace, packages, and ambient air to prepare and execute the thermal test specified in 10 CFR 71.73, “Thermal Test.” This software quality assurance (SQA) plan sets forth the guidelines, standards, and procedures that shall be used to provide SQA for PTP software applications. This is a living document that will be maintained for the lifecycle of the PTP program. The SQA plan follows the requirements set forth in ORNL Standards Based Management System (SBMS): Information Technology; Subject Area: Software Quality Assurance. When applicable to the requirements as described in ORNL SBMS, Software Quality Assurance, the software shall be listed in the ORNL Software Registration System (SRS). Exemptions to this SBMS are COTS and firmware that are not modified; spreadsheet applications and personal productivity tools that do not have a utility or safety application, research applications, legacy software, system software, vendor-supplied software used to interface with the vendor’s services, software used within the organization to facilitate processing or management of information, and software developed for applications not specific to the US Department of Energy (DOE).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Preparation and Qualification of Preproduction SSR2 Jacketed Cavities for PIP-II

The qualification of 325 MHz Single Spoke Resonators type 2 (SSR2) jacketed cavities to meet technical requirements represents a significant milestone in the development of the SSR2 cryomodules for the PIP-II Project at Fermilab. This poster reports the procedures and lessons learned in processing and preparing these cavities for horizontal cold testing prior to integration into a cavity string assembly, with a focus on addressing the field emission issues observed during the cold testing. A comprehensive root cause analysis identified critical fabrication, processing, and handling factors impacting field emission onset. New techniques were successfully developed and implemented to achieve field emission-free SSR2 cavities, and efforts were made to correlate radiation levels measured at the test stand with expected levels in the LINAC tunnel. Additionally, the evolution of field emission through assembly steps was thoroughly investigated, leading to a reassessment of design choices and enhancing our understanding of their effects on cavity performance.

Grassellino, L. [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2016

High Accuracy Signal Validation Framework for Sensor Calibration Assessment in NPPs

Effective and efficient health management of sensing channels and instrumentation supports reliable and accurate process monitoring capacities in any industry. Current practice in the nuclear industry relies on periodic calibration assessment and correction activities. This time based maintenance technique consists of three steps: i) removal of sensor to a test environment, ii) testing and recalibration, and iii) reinstallation of sensor into its working environment. This procedure is highly labor intensive, adds to the outage cost and timeline, and contributes to worker radiation exposure and ALARA requirements. Furthermore, the human element contributes to error factors in all stages of the procedure. The effectiveness of this calibration procedure after sensors are returned to working environmental variables also raises concerns, and the practicability of this periodic approach is uncertain for future reactor designs with longer operating cycles between refueling outages. Studies indicate that periodic calibration assessment find only 10% of sensing instrumentations with calibration issues during a single outage (18- 24 months), meaning at least 90% of sensors are undergoing unnecessary maintenance actions. This provides an opportunity to maintain the current levels of safety and functional integrity with fewer, more targeted maintenance actions and lower economic burden. Performance-based maintenance planning shows much promise over current periodic maintenance approaches. Specifically, online monitoring (OLM) utilizes the continually collected process data to non-intrusively monitor the calibration status of process instrumentation and detect the onset of de-calibration, thereby minimizing the number of recalibration procedures required. Ultimately, this can lead to termination of time based recalibration at NPPs. OLM utilizes the process measurements made for process monitoring and control to evaluate the calibration status of the sensors and instrumentation making the measurements. OLM can detect and differentiate sensor faults and process anomalies, thus providing a valuable tool to suit the industry's and regulatory body's requirements. Though supported by more than a decade of research, OLM for sensor calibration assessment is yet to be implemented in the US fleet due to regulatory requirements and constraints. As shown in Figure 1, OLM utilizes process data to train statistical models that predict normal, error-free process behavior. Measured process values are compared with error-corrected predictions to ascertain the presence of faults. The reliability of OLM is dependent on the quality of its predictions, measured in part by the uncertainty in these predictions. This research develops a framework to accurately quantify the prediction uncertainty based on Bayesian inference techniques to provide the required confidence levels for OLM systems. The expected outcomes include signal validation by high-accuracy, high-confidence uncertainty quantification for variable sensor types and operating ranges. Furthermore, the framework will facilitate fault detection capacities and so-called virtual sensors, a capability to replace faulty sensor measurements with error-corrected values when a sensor fault is detected. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Silicone Molding and Lifetime Testing of Peripheral Nerve Interfaces for Neuroprostheses

Implantable peripheral nerve cuffs have a large application in neuroprostheses as they can be used to restore sensation to those with upper limb amputations. Modern day prosthetics, while lessening the pain associated with phantom limb syndrome, have limited fine motor control and do not provide sensory feedback to patients. Sensory feedback with prosthetics requires communication between the nervous system and limbs, and is still a challenge to accomplish with amputees. Establishing this communication between the peripheral nerves in the arm and artificial limbs is vital as prosthetics research aims to provide sensory feedback to amputees. Peripheral nerve cuffs restore sensation by electrically stimulating certain parts of the nerve in order to create feeling in the hand. Cuff electrodes have an advantage over standard electrodes as they have high selective stimulation by bringing the electrical interface close to the neural tissue in order to selectively activate targeted regions of a peripheral nerve. In order to further improve the selective stimulation of these nerve cuffs, there is need for finer spatial resolution among electrodes. One method to achieve a higher spatial resolution is to increase the electrode density on the cuff itself. Microfabrication techniques can be used to achieve this higher electrode density. Using L-Edit, a layout editor, microfabricated peripheral nerve cuffs were designed with a higher electrode density than the current model. This increase in electrode density translates to an increase in spatial resolution by at least one order of magnitude. Microfabricated devices also have two separate components that are necessary to understand before implantation: lifetime of the device and assembly to prevent nerve damage. Silicone molding procedures were optimized so that devices do not damage nerves in vivo, and lifetime testing was performed on test microfabricated devices to determine their lifetime in vivo. Future work of this project would include fabricating some of the designed devices and seeing how they compare to the current cuffs in terms of their electrical performance, lifetime, shape, and mechanical properties.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

An Iterative Response-Surface-Based Approach for Chance-Constrained AC Optimal Power Flow Considering Dependent Uncertainty

A modern power system is characterized by a stochastic variation of the loads and an increasing penetration of renewable energy generation, which results in large uncertainties in its states. These uncertainties bring formidable challenges to the power system planning and operation process. To address these challenges, we propose a cost-effective, iterative response-surface-based approach for the chance-constrained AC optimal power-flow problem that aims to ensure the secure operation of the power systems considering dependent uncertainties. Starting from a stochastic-sampling-based framework, we first utilize the copula theory to simulate the dependence among multivariate uncertain inputs. Then, to reduce the prohibitive computational time required in the traditional Monte-Carlo method, we propose, instead of using the original complicated power-system model, to rely on a polynomial-chaos-based response surface. This response surface allows us to efficiently evaluate the time-consuming power-system model at arbitrary distributed sampled values with a negligible computational cost. This further enables us to efficiently conduct an online stochastic testing for the system states that not only screens out the statistical active constraints, but also assists in a better design of the tightened bounds without using any Gaussian or symmetric assumption. Finally, an iterative procedure is executed to fine-tune the optimal solution that better satisfies a predefined probability. The simulations conducted in multiple test systems demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed method.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-547: Off-Isocenter Winston-Lutz Test for Stereotactic Radiosurgery/stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

Purpose: To perform a quantitative study to verify that the mechanical field center coincides with the radiation field center when both are off from the isocenter during the single-isocenter technique in linear accelerator-based SRS/SBRT procedure to treat multiple lesions. Methods: We developed an innovative method to measure this accuracy, called the off-isocenter Winston-Lutz test, and here we provide a practical clinical guideline to implement this technique. We used ImagePro V.6 to analyze images of a Winston-Lutz phantom obtained using a Varian 21EX linear accelerator with an electronic portal imaging device, set up as for single-isocenter SRS/SBRT for multiple lesions. We investigated asymmetry field centers that were 3 cm and 5 cm away from the isocenter, as well as performing the standard Winston-Lutz test. We used a special beam configuration to acquire images while avoiding collision, and we investigated both jaw and multileaf collimation. Results: For the jaw collimator setting, at 3 cm off-isocenter, the mechanical field deviated from the radiation field by about 2.5 mm; at 5 cm, the deviation was above 3 mm, up to 4.27 mm. For the multileaf collimator setting, at 3 cm off-isocenter, the deviation was below 1 mm; at 5 cm, the deviation was above 1 mm, up to 1.72 mm, which is 72% higher than the tolerance threshold. Conclusion: These results indicated that the further the asymmetry field center is from the machine isocenter, the larger the deviation of the mechanical field from the radiation field, and the distance between the center of the asymmetry field and the isocenter should not exceed 3 cm in of our clinic. We recommend that every clinic that uses linear accelerator, multileaf collimator-based SRS/SBRT perform the off-isocenter Winston-Lutz test in addition to the standard Winston-Lutz test and use their own deviation data to design the treatment plan.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Preliminary Analysis of the General Performance and Mechanical Behavior of Irradiated FeCrAl Base Alloys and Weldments

The iron-based, iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys are promising, robust materials for deployment in current and future nuclear power plants. This class of alloys demonstrates excellent performance in a range of environments and conditions, including high-temperature steam (>1000°C). Furthermore, these alloys have the potential to have prolonged survival under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions compared to the more traditional cladding materials that are either Zr-based alloys or austenitic steels. However, one of the issues associated with FeCrAl alloys is cracking during welding. The present project investigates the possibility of mitigating welding-induced cracking via alloying and precise structure control of the weldments; in the frame work of the project, several advanced alloys were developed and are being investigated prior to and after neutron irradiation to provide insight into the radiation tolerance and mechanical performance of the weldments. The present report provides preliminary results on the post-irradiation characterization and mechanical tests performed during United States Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction, and Chapter 2 describes the alloy compositions, welding procedure, specimen geometry and manufacturing parameters. Also, a brief discussion of the irradiation at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) is provided. Chapter 3 is devoted to the analysis of mechanical tests performed at the hot cell facility; tensile curves and mechanical properties are discussed in detail focusing on the irradiation temperature. Limited fractography results are also presented and analyzed. The discussion highlights the limitations of the testing within a hot cell. Chapter 4 underlines the advantages of in-situ testing and discusses the preliminary results obtained with newly developed miniature specimens. Specimens were moved to the Low Activation Materials Development and Analysis (LAMDA) laboratory and prepared for mechanical tests. Tensile tests were conducted at LAMDA using a modern digital image correlation approach allowing for strain distribution analysis. Plastic strain initiation and necking are discussed in detail; a concept of strain rate maps is also introduced and discussed. Follow-on SEM-EBSD and FIBTEM analysis is planned.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

SECARB 2020 Semi-Annual Field Review Reports - Anthropogenic Test

The Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) managed the overall Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) Phase III project and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) managed all activities associated with the Anthropogenic Test site. Advanced Resources International, Inc. (ARI) assisted EPRI with the management of site activities. EPRI and ARI followed reporting procedures that included monthly and quarterly technical progress reports, as well as periodic reporting on key field activities. Subsequent sections of this report catalog the field activities and are organized in a semi-annual chronology. The SECARB Anthropogenic Test was the largest demonstration of a fully integrated, pulverized coal-fueled carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the United States as of 2012 and supports a commercial prototype of CO 2 capture; transportation; subsurface storage; and monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA); and assessment. The demonstration-scale, post-combustion CO 2 capture facility at Alabama Power Company’s Plant Barry diverted flue gas (25MW equivalent) from its Unit #5 coal burning facility and captured the CO 2 using Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) KM-CDRTM advanced amine technology. The captured CO2 was compressed at Plant Barry and transported by pipeline to the injection location southeast of Citronelle, Alabama. The Citronelle Project’s geologic storage and MVA sites were located on the flanks of the Citronelle Dome, approximately three miles southeast of the city of Citronelle. The injection zone, the Paluxy Formation, a saline formation that occurs at approximately 9,400 feet and overlies the oil production horizon of the Citronelle oilfield, presents a favorable injection reservoir in terms of areal extent and petrophysical characteristics. The confining zone, the basal shale of the overlying Washita-Fredericksburg Formation, is persistent throughout the Citronelle area and possesses the appropriate criteria to act as an effective CO 2 seal.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2015

Compaction in optical fibres and fibre Bragg gratings under nuclear reactor high neutron and gamma fluence

In the framework of the development by CEA and SCK.CEN of a Fabry Perot Sensor (FPS) able to measure dimensional changes in Material Testing Reactor (MTR), the first goal of the SAKE 1 (Smirnof extention - Additional Key-tests on Elongation of glass fibres) irradiation was to measure the linear compaction of single mode fibres under high fast neutron fluence. Indeed, the compaction of the fibre which forms one side of the Fabry Perot cavity, may in particular cause a noticeable measurement error. An accurate quantification of this effect is then required to predict the radiation-induced drift and optimize the sensor design. To achieve this, an innovative approach was used. Approximately seventy uncoated fibre tips (length: 30 to 50 mm) have been prepared from several different fibre samples and were installed in the SCK.CEN BR2 reactor (Mol Belgium). After 22 days of irradiation a total fast (E > 1 MeV) fluence of 3 to 5x10{sup 19} n{sub fast}/cm{sup 2}, depending on the sample location, was accumulated. The temperature during irradiation was 291 deg. C, which is not far from the condition of the intended FPS use. A precise measurement of each fibre tip length was made before the irradiation and compared to the post irradiation measurement highlighting a decrease of the fibres' length corresponding to about 0.25% of linear compaction. The amplitude of the changes is independent of the capsule, which could mean that the compaction effect saturates even at the lowest considered fluence. In the prospect of performing distributed temperature measurement in MTR, several fibre Bragg gratings written using a femtosecond laser have been also irradiated. All the gratings were written in radiation hardened fibres, and underwent an additional treatment with a procedure enhancing their resistance to ionizing radiations. A special mounting made it possible to test the reflection and the transmission of the gratings on fibre samples cut down to 30 to 50 mm. The comparison of measurements made before and after the irradiation, at the same temperature, allowed us to measure the loss in reflectivity as well as the Bragg wavelength drift. The results are quite promising for some of the investigated gratings. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Acylation as a successful derivatization strategy for the analysis of pinacolyl alcohol in a glycerol-rich matrix by GC-MS: application during an OPCW Proficiency Test

A derivatization protocol based on the acylation of pinacolyl alcohol (PA), an important marker for the nerve agent soman, is presented. The procedure provides a convenient means of detecting, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), PA when present at a low concentration in a complex glycerol/alcohol-rich matrix. While there are only two reports describing the specific analysis of PA in matrices at low concentrations, the protocol described herein represents the first of its kind in the analysis of PA in a highly reactive matrix. Two alternative paths for the protocol’s execution are presented. The first involves the direct derivatization of the PA with either acetyl or benzoyl chloride; both reactions yield ester products with significantly different retention times than those of the interferences of the reactive glycerol-rich matrix and in areas of the GC-chromatogram featuring lower levels of matrix interferences. A second procedure involved an initial diethyl ether/aqueous extraction of the matrix; while the extraction was found to substantially remove many of the hydrophilic matrix components and improve the overall derivatization, it also led to some loss of PA available for the derivatization. Both protocols were applied to the successful derivatization and analysis of PA by GC-MS when present at a 5 μg.mL -1 concentration in a glycerol-rich matrix sample administered during the 48th Proficiency Test administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-I-77: Radiation Dose in Cardiac Catheterization Procedures: Impact of a Systematic Reduction in Pulsed Fluoroscopy Frame Rate

Purpose: To evaluate whether one small systematic reduction in fluoroscopy frame rate has a significant effect on the total air kerma and/or dose area product for diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization procedures. Methods: The default fluoroscopy frame rate (FFR) was lowered from 15 to 10 fps in 5 Siemens™ Axiom Artis cardiac catheterization labs (CCL) on July 1, 2013. A total of 7212 consecutive diagnostic and interventional CCL procedures were divided into two study groups: 3602 procedures from 10/1/12 –6/30/13 with FFR of 15 fps; and 3610 procedures 7/1/13 – 3/31/14 at 10 fps. For each procedure, total air kerma (TAK), fluoroscopy skin dose (FSD), total/fluoroscopy dose area products (TAD, FAD), and total fluoroscopy time (FT) were recorded. Patient specific data collected for each procedure included: BSA, sex, height, weight, interventional versus diagnostic; and elective versus emergent. Results: For pre to post change in FFR, each categorical variable was compared using Pearson’s Chi-square test, Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. No statistically significant difference in BSA, height, weight, number of interventional versus diagnostic, elective versus emergent procedures was found between the two study groups. Decreasing the default FFR from 15 fps to 10 fps in the two study groups significantly reduced TAK from 1305 to 1061 mGy (p<0.0001), FSD from 627 to 454 mGy (p<0.0001), TAD from 8681 to 6991 uGy × m{sup 2}(p<0.0001), and FAD from 4493 to 3297 uGy × m{sup 2}(p<0.0001). No statistically significant difference in FT was noted. Clinical image quality was not analyzed, and reports of noticeable effects were minimal. From July 1, 2013 to date, the default FFR has remained 10 fps. Conclusion: Reducing the FFR from 15 to 10 fps significantly reduced total air kerma and dose area product which may decrease risk for potential radiation-induced skin injuries and improve patient outcomes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

A New Miniaturized Acoustic Transmitter for Marine Animal Tracking

Most marine renewable energy (MRE) technologies are still in their infancy. Many uncertainties remain regarding MRE systems’ impacts on the marine environment and species where they are deployed, which is one of the major hurdles for these systems to be widely adopted at a commercial scale. Currently, the primary technologies to monitor marine animals’ behavior around existing or potential MRE deployment sites are optical and acoustic imaging. However, these methods cannot identify individual animals and thus are less useful in identifying protected species and studying their behavior. Implantable acoustic transmitters with unique identification codes could serve as a complementary technology. To minimize potential bias introduced to the study results, the implanted transmitters must be sufficiently small and light to not affect the animals’ behavior while still having acceptable signal strengths and service life. Recently, we developed a new miniaturized acoustic transmitter that offers a significantly improved signal strength and service life (140 days [projected value] at a 5-s transmission interval) in a smaller and lighter package (0.45 g in the air), compared to the existing technologies. The detection range and detection efficiency of the new transmitter were tested in an actual marine environment and demonstrated a detection range of up to 330 m, a 65% improvement over the existing commercial counterparts operating at similar frequencies. Here, we report the design principles, performance, and manufacturing procedure of the transmitter. Finally, theoretical estimates of the detection range, the actual range, and detection efficiency results from the field testing are presented.

acoustic telemetry↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Novel Model of Thyristor in Reverse Recovery Process for Current Interruption Test of HVDC Circuit Breakers

The high voltage thyristor is widely used in high voltage DC (HVDC) grids due to its large current capability. Recently, the high voltage thyristor is implemented to produce a high current in the HVDC circuit breaker (CB) testing process. Unfortunately, the reverse recovery process (RRP) of a thyristor could induce significant turn-off overvoltage and power losses, jeopardizing the safety of the devices. The existing models of a thyristor cannot describe such hard-switching transient accurately. Therefore, this paper divides this process into four stages based on the physical mechanism and proposes a novel cosine exponential (CE), simulating the voltage and current of the thyristor with analytical equations, which are derived from the equivalent circuit. Moreover, the extraction procedure of the proposed model is illustrated in this paper. Finally, we develop an HVDC CB test platform to validate the proposed model. Experimental results show that the proposed CE model can accurately predict the overvoltage with a relative error of less than 8% at various current varying rates.

Dongye, Zhonghao↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-475: An Evaluation of the Overlap Between the Acceptance Testing and Commissioning Processes for Conventional Medical Linear Accelerators

Purpose: This work’s objective is to determine the overlap of processes, in terms of sub-processes and time, between acceptance testing and commissioning of a conventional medical linear accelerator and to evaluate the time saved by consolidating the two processes. Method: A process map for acceptance testing for medical linear accelerators was created from vendor documentation (Varian and Elekta). Using AAPM TG-106 and inhouse commissioning procedures, a process map was created for commissioning of said accelerators. The time to complete each sub-process in each process map was evaluated. Redundancies in the processes were found and the time spent on each were calculated. Results: Mechanical testing significantly overlaps between the two processes - redundant work here amounts to 9.5 hours. Many beam non-scanning dosimetry tests overlap resulting in another 6 hours of overlap. Beam scanning overlaps somewhat - acceptance tests include evaluating PDDs and multiple profiles but for only one field size while commissioning beam scanning includes multiple field sizes and depths of profiles. This overlap results in another 6 hours of rework. Absolute dosimetry, field outputs, and end to end tests are not done at all in acceptance testing. Finally, all imaging tests done in acceptance are repeated in commissioning, resulting in about 8 hours of rework. The total time overlap between the two processes is about 30 hours. Conclusion: The process mapping done in this study shows that there are no tests done in acceptance testing that are not also recommended to do for commissioning. This results in about 30 hours of redundant work when preparing a conventional linear accelerator for clinical use. Considering these findings in the context of the 5000 linacs in the United states, consolidating acceptance testing and commissioning would have allowed for the treatment of an additional 25000 patients using no additional resources.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Establishing the Quality Assurance programme for the strip sensor production of the ATLAS tracker upgrade including irradiation with neutrons, photons and protons to HL-LHC fluences

The successful pre-production delivery of strip sensors for the new Inner Tracker (ITk) for the upgraded ATLAS detector at the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) at CERN was completed and based on their performance full production has commenced. The overall delivery period is anticipated to last 4 years to complete the approximately 22000 sensors required for the ITk. For Quality Assurance (QA), a number of test structures designed by the collaboration, along with a large area diode and miniature version of the main sensor, are produced in every wafer by the foundry Hamamatsu Photonics K.K (HPK). As well as Quality Control (QC) checks on every main sensor, samples of the QA pieces from each delivery batch are tested both before and after irradiation with results after exposure to neutrons, gammas or protons to fluences and doses corresponding to those anticipated after operation at the HL-LHC to roughly 1.5 times the ultimate integrated luminosity of 4000 fb -1 . In this paper the procedures are presented and the studies carried out to establish that the seven ITk QA Strip Sensor irradiation and test sites meet all the requirements to support this very extensive programme throughout the strip sensor production phase for the ITk project.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Idiomatic Correctness-Checking via Julienne in Fortran 2023

This paper presents a unified approach to unit testing and runtime assertion checking using Fortran 2023. The paper describes the support for our approach in the Julienne framework. Julienne leverages recent Fortran standards to implement object-oriented design patterns, support testing parallel programs, and implement functional programming patterns in order to craft idioms inspired by natural-language expressions. The presented idioms employ novel operators to write expressions that evaluate to a test-diagnosis object encapsulating two components: (1) the test outcome or assertion outcome and (2) an automatically generated diagnostic string. Two other novel aspects of the approach include (1) the ability to enforce assertions inside pure procedures and (2) the ability to output rich diagnostic information inside pure procedures during error termination when assertions fail. The latter capability mitigates against a reason that Fortran programmers commonly cite for not writing pure procedures: difficulty obtaining useful program output inside pure procedures when debugging code. This paper demonstrates how the adoption of the proposed idioms leads naturally to a unifying theme across two otherwise disparate technologies: unit testing and runtime assertion checking. Finally, this paper describes the usage of the Julienne testing framework for writing unit tests and assertions in the Matcha high-performance computing application and the Fiats deep learning library.

Rouson, Damian↗