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At least 91 records · Page 5

Technical Evaluation of Accelerated Basin De-Inventory Material Addition to Sludge Batch 11 (Rev. 1)

The Accelerated Basin De-inventory (ABD) program involves discarding spent nuclear fuel that is currently stored in L-Basin to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) for vitrification. The first ABD discards will occur during the preparation of Sludge Batch (SB) 11. Savannah River Mission Completion has requested that the Savannah River National Laboratory assess the technical gaps related to the increased gadolinium poisoning requirement and the impacts of performing the Low Temperature Aluminum Dissolution (LTAD) process in Tank 51 with H-Canyon discards present. The following summarizes the evaluation of the impacts of increasing the quantity of gadolinium (and related topics) from what was previously evaluated in the SRNL studies of gadolinium-poisoned ABD material solubility, the overall ABD flowsheet review, and increasing the fissile mass loading in glass: 1) Based on literature surveys, there is no indication that organic interactions with gadolinium will be significant at the high pH (typically >13) conditions of the Concentration, Storage, and Transfer Facilities. Any interactions of gadolinium with organics in DWPF are not expected to adversely impact DWPF or downstream facilities. Thus, there is little-to-no residual risk from organic interactions with gadolinium [Gap closed]; 2) Adding depleted uranium to ABD material, targeting 235 U enrichment of 4.90% within each transfer window, will mitigate potential impacts from an increase in soluble 235 U enrichment during sludge washing and LTAD. The plan to take advantage of previous transfers and allow 235 U enrichment of >5% during the final transfer window carries a risk that Tank 51 supernate will have a 235 U enrichment of >5%, which should be evaluated for acceptance; 3) Increasing the gadolinium mass ratio to 3.0:1 Gd: 235 U(eq SLU ) should lead to the same or higher partitioning of gadolinium into the solid phase within the DWPF Chemical Process Cell, resulting in both liquid and solid phases with expected partitioning of Gd consistent with the prior solubility study [Gap closed for SB11]; 4) There are no expected impacts on DWPF melt temperature and melter operations due to the minimal ~0.2 weight percent (wt%) increase in Gd concentration relative to previous sludge batches [Gap closed for SB11]; 5) As observed previously, Gd is expected to enter the off-gas system via physical entrainment, but at a slightly higher concentration than what was observed for SB9 melter off-gas pluggage deposits (0.07 wt%) [Gap closed for SB11] ; 6) There are no expected impacts on DWPF recycle or the Recycle Collection Tank glycolate destruction process. [Gap closed for SB11]; 7) Gd is projected to be a trace component in the SB11 glass (<0.5 wt%) and can be ignored for process control. Trace components do not significantly impact glass durability, thus the conclusions of the previous Product Consistency Test evaluation at a fissile mass loading of 2,500 g fissile/m3 glass still applies to SB11. The ~0.1 wt% increase in Gd2O3 concentration relative to the previous study will not impact the predictability of SB11 glass with the DWPF Product Composition Control System (PCCS) models for durability or the acceptability of glass according to the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS) criterion for product consistency [Gap closed for SB11]; 8) No additional Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure testing is necessary for SB11 and the hazardous waste specification of the SB11 DWPF waste form is unchanged after the addition of the ABD stream [Gap closed for SB11]. The following summarizes the evaluation of the impacts of adding two-thirds of the ABD material to Tank 51 prior to LTAD: 1) The addition of two-thirds of the ABD increases overall aluminum mass from 1.39×10 4 kg to 1.64×10 4 kg (15.5% ABD Al). The form of the insoluble portion of the Al resulting from ABD addition should be the more readily dissolved Al(OH) 3 and amorphous forms. The portion of the ABD aluminum that is processed by LTAD is expected to be completely soluble, thus requiring that less of the boehmite in the sludge be dissolved to reach the same Al target in the SB. [Gap closed for SB11]; The expected LTAD impact on other components, as related primarily to the components in ABD, are discussed. Gd is expected to remain insoluble during LTAD and not impact the solubility of other components. [Gap closed for SB11]; The addition of two-thirds of the ABD increases overall projected SB11 uranium mass from 4,740 kg to 13,100 kg (63% ABD U) and the projected plutonium mass from 86.0 kg to 89.5 kg (3.9% ABD Pu). The addition of all of the ABD increases overall projected SB11 uranium mass from 4,740 kg to 16,100 kg (70% ABD U) and the projected plutonium mass from 86.0 kg to 90.4 kg (5.3% ABD Pu). The 235 U enrichment will be ≤5%. The fissile uranium will be adequately poisoned by Gd and the fissile Pu will be adequately poisoned by Fe from the sludge. [Gap closed for SB11]; There is a low risk that ABD addition will impact the rheology or pumpability of the slurry. There is a low but higher risk of ABD addition prior to LTAD impacting the settling rate; Based on the evaluation of adding two-thirds of the ABD material and all of the ABD material prior to the LTAD process, there is no volume or mass limit that would need to be imposed on ABD additions prior to LTAD. [Gap closed for SB11]. Revision 1 of this report addresses a variation on the ABD additions and LTAD strategy where sodium hydroxide additions for LTAD may be performed intermittently or concurrently with an ABD addition window. The proposed change does not alter the conclusions of this evaluation.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Development of Additively Manufactured Complex Tools for Autoclave Cure Composites

IACMI Project 4.9, Tooling for Composites with Washout Features Produced by Additive Manufacturing, assembled a team including the industry lead, Ability Composites, NREL and Colorado State University (CSU). Ability Composites had originally expressed interest in alternate methods of producing tooling for composite parts. In follow-up discussions, it became clear that one of the bigger tooling challenges revolved around small production volume composite parts that were tooled on washout material due to the complex geometry. To build an understanding of the potential, both from a technology and a cost perspective, for replacing conventional washout tooling with 3D printed thermoplastic tooling, a number of commercially available dissolvable FDM printing materials were evaluated, leading to tooling representative of commercial articles of interest to Ability Composites. Ultimately, Ability Composites was able to directly compare autoclave processed prepreg composite parts produced on conventional washout tooling to composite parts molded on 3D printed dissolvable tooling produced at CSU. Small, laboratory test specimens were developed to investigate the structural performance of the candidate materials under autoclave processing conditions, which were nominally 121 °C (250 °F) and 345 kPa (50 psi). In addition, several internal structural configurations (infills) were evaluated under autoclave conditions using model materials. The results of these tests indicated that two materials, Stratasys ST 130 and Infinite Materials Solutions Aquasys 180 (AQ 180), were the best candidates, given the specified autoclave processing conditions. ST-130 was slightly more robust than AQ-180; however, the AQ-180 was carried forward as it was dissolvable in water, not requiring the basic solution needed to dissolve ST-130. Based on the preliminary material and 3D printed structures evaluations, larger tools with a truncated square pyramid geometry were created to produce prepreg composite test articles for 3D printed dissolvable tool evaluation under standard autoclave fabrication conditions. Two tools were manufactured using ST-130 and one tool using traditional ceramic washout tooling media. The tools were evaluated for geometric fidelity and surface roughness changes before and after carbon fiber/epoxy prepreg composites were manufactured on the tooling. The autoclave processing did not impact the geometry significantly and was completed at 121 °C and 345 kPa, indicating satisfactory tool performance. The results from surface roughness testing of both the resulting composite and the associated tooling indicated that an adequate surface resulted without the need for a surface sealing step, as was required for the conventional washout tooling. Based on results of the truncated pyramid tests as a basis, ST-130, AQ-120 and AQ-180 materials were carried forward to the tool geometry of interest to Ability Composites. These hollow rectangular bent ducts, which were complex in nature and not extractable after cure, were used to understand the impacts of tool material and thickness. One ST-130 tool was produced as a partially solid part, with an enclosed 40% dense infill region to reduce weight and material use. This was the same approach evaluated in the truncated pyramid portion of the study. This tool was to be envelope vacuum bagged and directly compared to a monolithic tool of conventional washout material. The traditional monolithic ceramic tool was manufactured by Ability composites using CNC-based subtractive methods. An additional five dissolvable polymer tools, manufactured from ST-130, AQ-120, and AQ-180, using a hollow design were 3D printed and used to produce carbon fiber/epoxy composite evaluation articles. These hollow dissolvable tools were expected to be less influenced by the autoclave conditions as the wall was solid and vacuum bagging was inside and outside the tool. This alternative geometry was also evaluated as an option in techno-economic modeling. Print times were reduced from in excess of 3 days to under 30 hours, while surface quality and and tool integrity were substantially improved in the transition from the partially solid tool to the hollow tooling concept. Ability Composites produced autoclave-cured prepreg ducts on each of these tools. The autoclave conditions utilized were more severe than those of the initial trials, reaching temperatures of 160 °C and a pressure of 414 kPa. Under these conditions, the partially solid 3D printed tool with skin and 40% dense infill crushed significantly; however, the thicker ST-130 hollow tool showed good promise, deforming only slightly. The thinner hollow tool walls were unsuccessful as were the other materials. Overall, the hollow tool manufacturing process saved significant amounts of time and material in manufacturing as compared to the solid ducts and produced composite surface quality improvements compared to the traditional washout tooling. The TEM was developed to allow direct comparisons between conventional washout tool manufacturing processes and those developed at CSU. It also allowed for two separate 3D printed tool geometries to be analyzed and compared. In this case, the square bent duct tool geometry was determined to be representative of common washout tools. This geometry was compared with a scaled-up version of it to assess differences in the two manufacturing processes based on tool size. The model was developed to make use of user input in the form of geometry details, process steps, manufacturing parameters, bulk material costs, capital equipment costs, and general costs to calculate overall labor, material, capital equipment, and energy costs per manufactured tool for the conventional and additive manufacturing processes for the two representative geometries. It was also able to estimate step-by-step process times for the manufacturing process and geometries. Based on significant input from Ability Composites and CSU from their knowledge gained from hands-on manufacturing of the 3D printed bent duct tool geometry, costs and process times were calculated for the two manufacturing processes. Results showed that the additive manufacturing techniques developed at CSU can substantially reduce the costs of tool manufacturing by reducing labor times and material usage. This is because additive manufacturing is a relatively hands-off process and allows for the tool design to be optimized to reduce material usage. The disadvantage, however, is that process times for additive manufacturing are significantly longer. The three-dimensional (3D) printing process is slow if tight tolerances are required, but the analysis did show that print times could be reduced with the hollow tool geometry. Also, further advances in additive manufacturing could expedite the process. Costs and process times for the tool washout process were calculated separately. They showed that costs are relatively insignificant when compared to the overall tool manufacturing processes, but with increases in tool size, costs for the conventional manufacturing approach are larger than for additive manufacturing. Again, the washout process for conventional tools is very hands-on, whereas for additively manufactured tools the print medium is dissolved in an automated detergent bath at the sacrifice of process time. The analysis showed that optimizing the additively manufactured tools may also reduce washout times. Overall, Project 4.9 demonstrated that commercially available dissolvable 3D printing materials exist that can be used to produce dissolvable tooling capable of surviving prepreg composites fabrication under autoclave conditions of 121 °C (250 °F) and 345 kPa (50 psi). An alternative hollow dissolvable tool design was developed which was structurally superior to the initial concept and was cost and time effective versus conventional washout tooling. The 3D printed sacrificial tool required no added surface sealing steps prior to composite part layup and cure, offering a significant advantage over the porous conventional washout tooling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High Temperature Additive Architectures for 65% Efficiency (Final Technical Report)

This project aimed to develop advanced high-temperature additive components that contribute towards the DOE’s goal for advanced gas turbines that are capable of at least 65% efficiency in combined cycle application. The objective was to leverage state-of-the-art additive manufacturing to develop an innovative stage 1 turbine nozzle (S1N) that can provide cooling flow savings while maintaining the component durability expected in today’s gas turbines. The program had two phases. Phase I was a conceptual phase for novel advanced cooling designs enabled by additive manufacturing, as well as proposals for validation. Phase II included execution of the Phase I conceptual design, including manufacturing of prototype hardware and validation within an environment that is similar to engine operation. During Phase I of the program, the team devised a concept to reduce cooling air usage. The cooling air used in the side walls is filmed out along the side walls, while the cooling air used in the airfoil is eventually directed to near-wall channels and exits holes along the airfoil trailing end. During this program, the team performed additive trials to analyze the geometric limitations of additive manufacturing. This helped the team understand minimum wall thicknesses, hole sizes, and cooling channel dimensions among other limits. Phase II of this program pushed GE Vernova beyond its previous experience of designing and manufacturing an additively manufactured hot gas path component. Modern hot gas path components utilize material chemistries that are traditionally hard to weld, such as cast Renè 108, and exhibit solidification cracking when additively manufactured using Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM). Note that AM108 is a powder form of Renè 108. A S1N with advanced cooling is larger and more complex than parts previously built by additive manufacturing and required new learnings to resolve risks around solidification cracking. Finally, the team validated the design in a combustion rig that replicated operation in a gas turbine. In order to properly quantify the benefits of the new additive design, a baseline was also tested in the rig and operated under the same conditions. In addition, an uncertainty analysis was done to quantify any sources of error that could impact the results. At the end of the validation effort, it was determined that the additive nozzle exceeded the 15% reduction in cooling flow goal even with the worst-case assumptions for uncertainty.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Systems and methods for additive manufacturing magnetic solenoids

Systems and methods for forming a magnetically-enabled part via additive manufacturing. The method includes depositing a layer of additive manufacturing material on a build plate, melting or sintering the layer of additive manufacturing material, depositing additional layers of additive manufacturing material on previous layers of additive manufacturing material, the additive manufacturing material of at least some of the additional layers being magnetically permeable, and melting or sintering the additional layers of additive manufacturing material such that the magnetically-enabled part has a transition region including at least some of the magnetically permeable additive manufacturing material.

Hatch, Jonathan Douglas↗

Systems and methods for additive manufacturing magnetic solenoids

Systems and methods for forming a magnetically-enabled part via additive manufacturing. The method includes depositing a layer of additive manufacturing material on a build plate, melting or sintering the layer of additive manufacturing material, depositing additional layers of additive manufacturing material on previous layers of additive manufacturing material, the additive manufacturing material of at least some of the additional layers being magnetically permeable, and melting or sintering the additional layers of additive manufacturing material such that the magnetically-enabled part has a transition region including at least some of the magnetically permeable additive manufacturing material.

Hatch, Jonathan Douglas↗

Rapid Bayesian High Entropy Alloy Designs Fabricated via Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

Purpose: This project seeks to demonstrate a new high-throughput (rapid) alloy design technique applied to creating new high entropy alloys (HEAs) for extreme environments. High entropy alloys shift the design paradigm from being focused on a single principal element (e.g. nickel-based alloys) to target alloys that include high atomic fractions (X >10%) of multiple elements. These HEA materials can exhibit sluggish diffusion and enhanced corrosion resistance, ideal for potential applications in advanced ultra supercritical (A-USC) steam cycles for power generation. Scope: The addition of multiple elements in high atomic fractions creates an enormous design space that cannot easily be investigated by traditional material design strategies such as designed of experiments (DOE). This project utilizes a Bayesian machine learning algorithm that has been modified to work with calculation of phase diagrams (CALPHAD) software. This Bayesian algorithm reduces manual inputs and increase the likelihood of achieving an optimal solution. Compositional inputs to this algorithm will be assessed using existing material property models for high temperature strength and corrosion resistance. The target for alloy performance will be a 15% (~100 ⁰C) increase in allowable service temperature beyond heat-resistant stainless steels while maintaining or improving alloy cost and corrosion resistance. Haynes 230 was selected as a baseline, which is 57 wt% Ni with 22 wt% Cr 14 wt% W, and 2 wt% Mo as solid solution strengtheners. In addition to rapid design via Bayesian machine learning, the alloys were rapidly fabricated using a multi-wire arc additive manufacturing (mWAAM) technique which allows for precise control of alloy composition and assessing of alloy design “windows” to study composition effects. Build speeds for wire-arc additive processes are among the highest for additive technologies enabling rapid and reliable sample fabrication when compared to conventional methods such as arc button melting. The mWAAM samples will be rapidly characterized via instrumented indentation for room temperature modulus and strength and for elevated temperature strength via hot hardness tests. After being screened with hardness testing, potential alloys will be further evaluated with conventional microscopy techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to assess agreement with modeling results. The most promising compositions will also be evaluated by printing full sized tensile specimens for mechanical behavior tests at elevated temperatures. Results: Bayesian machine learning of a single performance function was initially used to optimize five performance metrics: 1) single phase stability, 2) yield strength, 3) creep resistance (low diffusion coefficient), 4) freezing range (weldability), and 5) material cost. The single performance function was suboptimal as assumptions had to be made about the results while formulating the optimization. A goal-oriented Bayesian optimization strategy (Hanaoka, 2021) was implemented with CALPHAD for use with the five metrics above. This multi-objective Bayesian optimization (MOBO) enabled the design of NiCrCoFe alloys with V and W additions. A base composition of NiCoCr was selected as Ni provides a stable FCC matrix, Cr aids corrosion/oxidation resistance, and Co is a solid-solutions strengthener that also improves creep by increasing the activation energy. Fe helps reduce diffusion coefficients and cost. Finally, V and W were selected for their reasonable solubility and high atomic misfit to aid in solid solution strengthening. Cracking of the mWAAM specimens was an early issue, and the Easton solidification cracking model (Easton et al., 2014a) was selected for addition to the MOBO function. High performing alloys fabricated by mWAAM included Ni 28 Cr 25 Co 26 Fe 15 V 8 and Ni 62 Cr 18 Co 1 Fe 3 W 15 . It was observed that even after adapting the mWAAM process for W, the W did not fully dissolve. To fully evaluate the Ni 62 Cr 18 Co 1 Fe 3 W 15 composition, a cored wire (80-20 NiCr sheath/powder core) was manufactured and printed via WAAM, and HIP’ing was utilized to homogenize and densify the printed alloy. The V and W alloys produced met metrics 1 (solid solution), 4 (solidification cracking), and 5 (cost). However, an unmodeled mechanism of thermal stress cracking was identified in the WAAM produced materials, perhaps exacerbated by the lack of grain boundary strengthening elements (B, C). Conclusions & Recommendations: A high-throughput (rapid) alloy design technique was applied to designing and manufacturing new high entropy alloys (HEAs) for extreme environments utilizing MOBO and mWAAM. The developed process was rapid and effective in addressing the mechanisms included in the model. The lack of grain boundary strengthening element additions (e.g., B, C) was a simplification that likely produced thermal stress cracking that turned into a large part of the investigation. Additions on the order of 0.005 wt% B and 0.05 wt% C likely would have minimized thermal stress grain boundary cracking. Overall, the high throughput design strategy is promising for rapid design of metrics-driven alloys for advanced ultra supercritical (A-USC) steam cycles for power generation. The MOBO and mWAAM process could be commercialized to accelerate metrics-driven alloy design. In addition, the cored-wire process utilized for scale-up is a promising high-volume process for WAAM alloy development and scale-up.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Response of Stream Metabolism to Coarse Woody Debris Additions Along a Catchment Disturbance Gradient

We evaluated the ecological effectiveness of an in-stream restoration project involving coarse woody debris (CWD) additions to streams along an upland soil and vegetation disturbance gradient at the Fort Benning Military Installation near Columbus, GA. We examined short-term (immediate effectiveness) and longer-term (sustainability) responses to CWD additions by measuring ecosystem metabolism rates in 8 streams quarterly over a 6-year period, including 3 years before (2001–2003) and 3 years after (2004–2006) CWD additions that were made to half of the streams. Ecosystem respiration (ER) rates in most CWD addition streams increased relative to control streams from spring 2004 through autumn 2005, suggesting heterotrophic bacteria were the initial responders to CWD additions. Gross primary production (GPP) rates remained low (typically < 0.3 g O 2 m -2 d -1 ) but increased in some CWD addition streams relative to control streams in spring 2004 and 2005. The magnitude of ER increases in CWD addition streams during the first two years post-addition increased with catchment disturbance intensity, indicating that more heavily disturbed streams responded most strongly to restorations—an important consideration when targeting future restoration locations. Because restorations did not address actual upland disturbance, continued high erosion rates resulted in 32–77% of the added CWD being buried by year two and a corresponding return of GPP and ER rates to pre-CWD addition levels by year three. If restoration projects do not adequately address the source of catchment disturbances, CWD additions will provide only short-term increases in streambed structure and stability, hydrodynamic complexity, and nutrient and organic matter processing and retention.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Formulation and Testing of Paraffin-Based Solid Fuels Containing Energetic Additives for Hybrid Rockets

Many approaches have been considered in an effort to improve the regression rate of solid fuels for hybrid rocket applications. One promising method is to use a fuel with a fast burning rate such as paraffin wax; however, additional performance increases to the fuel regression rate are necessary to make the fuel a viable candidate to replace current launch propulsion systems. The addition of energetic and/or nano-sized particles is one way to increase mass-burning rates of the solid fuels and increase the overall performance of the hybrid rocket motor.1,2 Several paraffin-based fuel grains with various energetic additives (e.g., lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) have been cast in an attempt to improve regression rates. There are two major advantages to introducing LiAlH4 additive into the solid fuel matrix: 1) the increased characteristic velocity, 2) decreased dependency of Isp on oxidizer-to-fuel ratio. The testing and characterization of these solid-fuel grains have shown that continued work is necessary to eliminate unburned/unreacted fuel in downstream sections of the test apparatus.3 Changes to the fuel matrix include higher melting point wax and smaller energetic additive particles. The reduction in particle size through various methods can result in more homogeneous grain structure. The higher melting point wax can serve to reduce the melt-layer thickness, allowing the LiAlH4 particles to react closer to the burning surface, thus increasing the heat feedback rate and fuel regression rate. In addition to the formulation of LiAlH4 and paraffin wax solid-fuel grains, liquid additives of triethylaluminum and diisobutylaluminum hydride will be included in this study. Another promising fuel formulation consideration is to incorporate a small percentage of RDX as an additive to paraffin. A novel casting technique will be used by dissolving RDX in a solvent to crystallize the energetic additive. After dissolving the RDX in a solvent chosen for its compatibility with both paraffin and RDX, the mixture will be combined with the melted paraffin. With the melting point of the paraffin far below the decomposition temperature of the RDX, the solvent will be boiled off, leaving the crystallized RDX embedded in the paraffin. At low percentages of RDX additive and with crystallized RDX surrounded by paraffin, the fuel grains will remain inert, maintaining a key benefit of hybrids in the safety of the solid fuel.

Larson, Daniel B.↗