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

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of uncertainty in antineutrino spectra normalization calculations for advanced nuclear reactor monitoring

Antineutrino detection systems have been envisioned as an important aspect of safeguarding the next generation of nuclear reactors, especially considering designs utilizing exotic fuel cycles. Deployment of antineutrino detection systems for safeguarding applications is hindered by the uncertainties associated with the calculations required for antineutrino spectra measurements and predictions. The focus of this work is to assess the impact of system components on antineutrino spectra normalization uncertainties and their significance in reactor power monitoring sensitivity. The dominant limitation in antineutrino detection calculations is typically the uncertainty associated with a cosmogenic background. This limitation becomes more pronounced when signals are weak, although the issue is mitigated in larger reactors due to their stronger source strength. Additionally, antineutrino emission uncertainties vary with the isotopic composition of the reactor fuel. Unconventional fuel cycles, featuring less common fissioning isotopes, such as Pu-240, introduce larger antineutrino yield uncertainties. The findings from this study suggest that future research on safeguard-targeted antineutrino detection should prioritize background mitigation, particularly when background simulation is necessary. Advanced nuclear reactor designs have a major influence on background understanding and successful system implementation.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2023

TRANSPORTATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR USED FUEL AND ADVANCED NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

This study focuses on requirements and challenges pertaining to advanced transportable nuclear energy systems, which are currently in development and feature varying degrees of mobility. These reactors mostly use high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel, and only limited refueling is required during their lifecycles. Due to the smaller source terms, higher burnup fuel, and potentially higher thermal efficiency involved, the waste inventory will be less than that generated by conventional light-water reactors. However, the relevant regulatory requirements must be met when transporting HALEU fuel (whether fresh or used) inside the reactor vessel—mainly the fuel material transportation, siting, and physical protection requirements outlined in US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations 10 CFR 71 and 73. Spent nuclear fuel (SNF), as well as irradiated fuel (used during any interval of reactor operation), contains highly radioactive materials that generate heat and necessitate special precautions during transportation. This study addresses the challenges that this incurs, and outlines potential solutions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

An Evaluation and Qualification of U.S.-Based Research Reactors for Irradiation Capabilities Supporting Advanced Nuclear Systems

Irradiation experiments are a prerequisite for evaluating nuclear reactor system designs, analyzing the performance of these systems, and obtaining licenses. Likewise, irradiation facilities are necessary for producing the radioisotopes used in industrial and medical applications. Recent developments in modeling and simulation capabilities and advancements in computational resources have further enabled the design of irradiation experiments for evaluating radiation-induced phenomena and determining nuclear fuel, material, and system design and safety criteria pertaining to both normal and accident scenarios. These computational tools and models require comprehensive experimental datasets acquired under prototypic radiation conditions—for exploring material and system performance under the uniquely harsh environments found in nuclear reactors—to enable verification and validation for qualification and licensing purposes. However, qualification of irradiation experimental facilities, primarily research and test reactors (RTRs), necessitates that their performance be evaluated based on the irradiation environment (e.g. flux, power, testing capabilities) using an appropriate scoring matrix. Although many university campus RTRs are available for research and development (R&D) activities and initiatives, this study focuses on evaluating and qualifying the irradiation facilities (mostly RTRs) within the United States that are suitable for advanced nuclear fuel, material, and system irradiation experiments aimed at establishing operational-performance limits and informing component and fuel designs so as to improve operational efficiencies and mitigate proliferation vulnerabilities, as well as for radioisotope production aimed at multipurpose applications. As a result, the findings of the present study support the acceleration of nuclear fuel and material qualifications, thus hastening new and advanced nuclear energy system demonstrations and radioisotope production efforts by using extended R&D.

irradiation experiment↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cost and Performance Requirements for Flexible Advanced Nuclear Plants in Future U.S. Power Markets

Advanced reactor developers are at various stages of commercializing new products and must design for future market environments that will exist when their plants are available. It is therefore critical to have a clear understanding about what plants will need to cost to be attractive investments, and what performance characteristics will create the most value for plant owners. This study is among the first to model the substantial contribution that flexible advanced reactors can make towards reliable, responsive, affordable, and clean future energy systems by supplying clean dispatchable generating capacity. Advanced reactor technologies could make a major contribution to lowering the overall system cost while reducing emissions and improving the performance of future energy systems. Depending on specific market conditions, it may also be beneficial to co-locate thermal energy storage systems (ESS).

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nucleus++ : a new tool bridging AME and NUBASE for advancing nuclear data analysis

The newly developed software, Nucleus++ , is an advanced tool for displaying basic nuclear physics properties from NUBASE and integrating comprehensive mass information for each nuclide from Atomic Mass Evaluation. Additionally, it allows users to compare experimental nuclear masses with predictions from different mass models. Building on the success and learning experiences of its predecessor, Nucleus , this enhanced tool introduces improved functionality and compatibility. With its user-friendly interface, Nucleus++ was designed as a valuable tool for scholars and practitioners in the field of nuclear science. Finally, this article offers an in-depth description of Nucleus++ , highlighting its main features and anticipated impacts on nuclear science research.

AME↗
DOE OSTI2022

Advancing Nuclear Energy to Support Economy-wide Net-zero Solutions: Challenges and Opportunities

Governments and private industry around the world have established aggressive goals to achieve net-zero emissions for the power, industrial, and transportation sectors by 2050. These aggressive goals demand immediate action if we are to be successful, and they require us to think more holistically about our clean energy options. Programs within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are addressing these holistic solutions. Traditionally, electricity generation and management and meeting energy demands for industry and transportation are considered independently. As we seek to achieve net-zero, we need to reassess energy demands. When we consider overall energy use, only one-third is in the form of electricity. Additional energy demands are in the form of heat or steam for industrial processes, as well as transportation. These sectors are much harder to abate, and electrification may not be the best option. Reducing environmental emissions at an affordable cost, while maintaining grid reliability and resilience, will require us to use all of the clean energy resources that we have available. That means coordinating the use of nuclear, renewables, and fossil fuels with carbon capture to meet growing demands for electricity, industrial applications, and mobility. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) program on Integrated Energy Systems (IES) is led by researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and work is conducted in partnership with an array of other DOE laboratories, industry, and academia. The primary focus of IES research is to assess the technical and economic potential of IES to enhance the flexibility and utilization of nuclear reactors working alongside renewable generators to meet an array of energy demands—thereby maximizing the utilization of clean energy resources across all energy sectors. Various energy applications and product streams beyond electricity are being evaluated, ranging from generation of potable water to production of hydrogen, fertilizers, synthetic fuels, and chemicals. The DOE-NE program additionally partners with the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office under the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to jointly fund the development of analysis tools, technologies, and nuclear-integrated hydrogen demonstration projects. This presentation highlights the wide array of R&D being conducted across multiple DOE-funded programs to develop and deploy nuclear-based IES that will be key to achieving our net-zero goals. By working with key collaborators in the nuclear industry, analytical studies are now becoming a reality in demonstration projects. The presentation specifically focuses on motivations for the paradigm shift in how nuclear energy is deployed and used, opportunities for nuclear energy to support an array of non-electric application, integration options, computational tools and experimental systems to support evaluation and to accelerate deployment, and industry partnerships.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Graphite for Advanced Nuclear Reactors: Deployment Readiness Review

Historically, graphite has been used in numerous reactor technologies, including research/test reactors and, commercially, in advanced gas reactors. These non-metallic materials can play a key role as internal core structures, reflectors, or neutron moderators, making them important for deployment of certain advanced reactor technologies. This report explores the industry readiness for graphite material deployment, documenting Codes and Standards applicable to their design, qualification, and manufacturing. Discussions also examine the manufacturing processes, aging/degradation, inspection techniques, and disposal options. The report covers the current status, documents gaps, and proposes some conclusions about approaches to managing some of the current gaps.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Thermal Integration of Advanced Nuclear Reactors with a Reference Refinery, Methanol Synthesis, and a Wood Pulp Plant (Rev.1)

The present report is intended to provide process flow diagrams (PFDs) and energy and mass balance data sheets for a U.S. industrial sector subset with which nuclear heat and power could be integrated—a subset that includes the oil refining, methanol and pulp and paper industries. Coupling options for integrating nuclear energy into these industries are quantitatively outlined for reference systems, and future work will extend this analysis in greater detail. Opportunities for integrating small modular nuclear reactors (SMNRs) were investigated for each of the industrial process configurations. Aspen HYSYS and Cycle-Tempo models for a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor were developed to evaluate the proposed integration. This introductory evaluation provides a general description and assessment of the operating principles, reactor coolant core outlet temperature, and reactor size to be integrated with industry. The industrial processes of oil refining and the production of methanol, pulp and paper were simulated by using Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Plus, and the PRELIM (Petroleum Refinery Life Cycle Inventory Model) tool to develop process details. Cycle-Tempo models then extend the process modeling results to obtain net energy demands (e.g., heat, steam, and electricity) when accounting for process steam and waste heat recovery. This information is intended to foster the analysis of integrating an SMNR to decarbonize industrial facilities. The SMNR would provide reliable, competitive, and sustainable clean energy while reducing carbon emissions and other environmental impacts, such as water withdrawals, consumption, and contamination. The refining industry, exhibited in Figure ES1, is a leading consumer of fossil -fuel-based heat, power, and hydrogen in the U.S. industrial sector, generating over 164 million metric tons (MMT) of CO 2 emissions in 2023. The overall mass and energy pertaining to a generalized complex refinery in the United States is reflected in Figure ES1, along with energy metrics regarding integration with a nuclear power plant (NPP). Data sheets were developed to indicate the energy requirements for the overall refinery and each refinery process. The data sheet for the overall refinery is shown in Table ES2.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Open Architecture for Cost Savings in Advanced Nuclear Reactors

Recently, nuclear power plant build projects in the West have run over budget due to high capital costs and schedule overruns. Compared to other sources of energy, nuclear power plants have higher capital costs. Reactors are often different at every site, resulting in a lack of standardization. Nuclear is expected to compete with other low carbon sources of energy which have lower capital costs making it essential for nuclear to develop ways of reducing costs. Strategies such as standardization, learning rates, modularization, and schedule reduction in advanced reactors can reduce nuclear costs by about 40%. Standardization as a way of cutting capital costs has been explored even in large nuclear power plants. Standardization of certain plant components can result in lower component and installation costs and higher learning from experience. Standardization can be achieved by adopting a criterion of key performance indicators and general design principles for a specific system or component such as the balance of plant. Modularization allows the construction of certain components of SMRs in a factory, which saves time, increases productivity, and encourages higher learning rates. Production learning decreases the time and the cost related to an activity. The potential for modularized components of advanced reactors to be manufactured in factories makes it conducive to achieving higher learning rates. Developing large-capacity nuclear programs through sequential builds cultivates a higher learning rate, which in effect may reduce schedule overruns. Open architecture has been identified as a way to drive standardization among advanced reactor designs and result in cost savings. Open architecture (OA) is defined as a design enabling a diverse supply chain by defining and publishing requirements of systems or equipment in functional and/or interface terms, utilizing technical standards in widespread use. Currently, the nuclear industry’s approach is to use closed architecture, making most designs proprietary. However, collaboration between various advanced reactor vendors and suppliers utilizing the concept of open architecture can result in modular and standardized architecture of subsystems or subcomponents of a nuclear power plant. Completely standardizing nuclear power plants may be impossible, however, certain common subsystems amongst the various reactor designs could be standardized and/or access a wider supply chain and leverage existing learning from other sectors. Open architecture will save time and allocate resources to the parts of the plants that have the most unique features. A key advantage of open architecture is its ability to improve production learning across advanced reactors (AR) types in the industry, by providing and utilizing the same kind of component. Sodium fast reactor (SFR), High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) and Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) are the advanced reactors considered for this project. This paper aims to determine the cost savings in advanced reactor programs due to open architecture learning rate. This work is an extension of work done on light water reactor small modular reactors; the cost methodology was utilized to investigate the impact of open architecture on advanced reactors with a particular focus on sodium fast reactors. The cost data on sodium fast reactors used in the model presented the most adequate information required for the analysis.

Advanced Nuclear Reactors↗
DOE OSTI2025

Technical and Economic Assessment and Gap Analysis of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Integration with a Reference Methanol Synthesis Plant

Efforts continue to identify the most-economic methods to decarbonize several sectors of the United States (U.S.) economy. Industrial processes such as synfuel synthesis and high value commodity chemicals rely heavily on energy-dense and easily stored and transported fossil fuels, which power and feed their operations. Steam methane reforming (SMR) is a widely used process for producing methanol. In this process, methane (CH 4 ) from natural gas (NG) reacts with steam (H 2 O) over a catalyst at high temperatures (700°1,000°C) to produce syngas, a mixture of hydrogen (H 2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO). The syngas is then converted into methanol (CH 3 OH) through a second catalytic reaction. This method is known for being an efficient and commonly employed pathway for industrial methanol production. The high-temperature heat needed for SMR, which is currently used in the natural-gas-to-methanol process, cannot be supplied by small modular nuclear reactor (SMNR) direct heating; the temperatures required for the SMR process exceed those of the main steam produced by near-market high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs). For the conventional methanol process, this leaves possible nuclear-integration opportunities that include: (1) blending nuclear hydrogen into the SMR NG fuel, or (2) assessing alternative synthesis routes leveraging nuclear capabilities and steam electrolysis outputs. In the reference methanol plant, SMR provides the methanol-synthesis reactor with H 2 and co. In Case (2), the state-of-the-art reverse water gas shift (RWGS) pathway achieves the same, sourcing carbon from an industrial CO 2 source.

08 - HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advanced nuclear reactor integration opportunities for the pulp and paper industry in the U.S. context: Technical perspectives, gap analysis, and preliminary technoeconomic assessment

Pulp and paper (P&P) manufacturing requires a large amount of low-pressure (LP) steam to digest, wash wood fibers and dry pulp into paper. Most of the LP steam is extracted from backpressure turbines that produce power from high-pressure (HP) steam. This HP steam is generated from burning wood waste material; bark is burned in hog boilers, and lignin is boiled in a black liquor recovery boiler. In a typical integrated P&P mill, 50–100% of the steam is produced from these sources, while additional steam is produced in natural gas (NG), fuel oil, or coal boilers. The other energy-intensive process in the plant is the chemical-recovery section (e.g., lime kiln), which requires high-temperature processing from NG combustion to retrieve and recirculate spent chemicals. This paper assesses the energy and heat demand and material balances of a typical generic kraft pulp mill, along with the nuclear heat, steam, and power integration opportunities to replace conventional combustion systems. The paper also addresses steam and electricity generation through a comprehensive technical and engineering gap analysis of five different nuclear-integration opportunities and their process economics, thus enabling the lignin and bark to be further processed into biobased chemicals or fuels, as well as the potential to reduce overall emissions from kraft pulping. Preliminary findings have shown that the P&P industry could achieve technological benefits by integrating their current manufacturing process with small modular nuclear reactors (SMNRs) on a national level. This research aims to set the path forward for a cleaner and more resilient P&P industry.

Advanced nuclear reactor↗
DOE OSTI2025

Supporting New Advanced Nuclear Technologies for Commercial-Maritime Applications

The ANS summary doesn't require an abstract, but I will produce one for the purpose of LRS: The large demand for maritime nuclear power underscores the need for experimental campaigns and modeling and simulation of new advanced reactors, which offer numerous advantages in terms of safety, efficiency, and compactness. INL, through the work conducted by NRIC and ABS, has addressed some of the technical, regulatory, and economic aspects of potential nuclear commercial maritime applications. However, on the technical side, there remain important physical phenomena, particularly for advanced reactors, that are not yet fully understood. Addressing these knowledge gaps requires a combination of experiments and advanced modeling and simulation techniques. INL possesses significant expertise in Multiphysics modeling and simulation. By collaborating with INL, the maritime nuclear sector can leverage this expertise to advance the development and deployment of innovative nuclear technologies.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Integrated Energy Systems: Advanced Nuclear Plants with Thermal Storage for Dynamic and Flexible Operation in Diverse Markets

Energy supply, distribution, and demand are continuously evolving in accordance with the integration of new power generation sources. In the United States, there is a progressive shift toward incorporating fluctuating energy sources such as wind and solar into the energy mix, alongside the distributed generation. Simultaneously, we are seeing a revolution in consumer technologies such as electric vehicles, energy devices for both residential and commercial use, and industrial processes—all contributing to a fundamental change in energy consumption dynamics. These scenarios have led to huge demand for enhanced flexibility from nuclear power plants (NPPs), requiring them to operate with unprecedented adaptability. Furthermore, advanced NPPs (A-NPPs) could potentially apply to scenarios in which power generation flexibility is prioritized over its current and conventional baseload generation capacity for traditional demand patterns. The present work covers several configurations for coupling nuclear energy production with thermal energy storage (TES). Previous work evaluated systems entailing a simple nuclear-TES configuration that used steam as a heat source for the TES of three different advanced reactors (ARs), but its heat diversion ratio (HDR) for charging was limited. The present work proposes a new configuration that features full decoupling of the nuclear reactor and the power cycle, using reactor coolant (i.e., gas) as a heat source for the TES and offering a theoretically unlimited HDR. This configuration is, however, more complex, as both high- and low-temperature TES (HT-TES and LT-TES) systems are required in order to cover the extended temperature range. Although this configuration imposes certain limitations on the discharge system configuration, it also presents the opportunity to design a more efficient system. For this case in particular, a steam reheat cycle is advantageous. Conventional TES systems take advantage of nominal efficiency when discharging, whereas the reheat cycle in the fully decoupled TES system affords a significant efficiency increase over conventional cases. Material selection, component/equipment sizing, and costing analyses were performed, followed by economic dispatch and size optimization. Dynamic models were developed for the decoupled system in order to generate insights into aspects of off design operation (e.g., drops in cycle efficiency), and these models enable exploration of potential mitigation strategies for addressing such drops. The models also highlight the need to design fail-safes that ensure continuous operational stability and minimize the impact of power ramping on the reactor parameters.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Redundancy-Guided Approach for the Hazard Analysis of Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems in Advanced Nuclear Power Plants

We report digital instrumentation and control (I&C) upgrades are a vital research area for the nuclear industry. Despite their performance benefits, deployment of digital I&C in nuclear power plants (NPPs) has been limited. Digital I&C systems exhibit complex failure modes including common cause failures (CCFs), which can be difficult to identify. This paper describes the development of a redundancy-guided application of the Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis and fault tree analysis for the hazard analysis of digital I&C in advanced NPPs. The resulting Redundancy-Guided Systems-Theoretic Hazard Analysis (RESHA) is applied for the case study of a representative state-of-the-art digital reactor trip system. The analysis qualitatively and systematically identifies the most critical CCFs and other hazards of digital I&C systems. Ultimately, the RESHA can help researchers make informed decisions for how, and to what degree, defensive measures such as redundancy, diversity, and defense in depth can be used to mitigate or eliminate the potential hazards of digital I&C systems.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Meaning of Risk for Safety, Security, and Safeguards in the Design of Advanced Nuclear Reactors

What is the meaning of risk as it applies to the design of advanced reactors in the disciplines of safety, security, and safeguards? How can we find common terminology for the concept of risk and how can we find interfaces between these disciplines? These are important questions that should be explored in order that they may be applied in an integrated manner for the most effective and efficient design approaches. Eliminating or minimizing risks is a key design driver that motivates and informs the development of nuclear reactors. For safety, risk is well understood and applied in Probabilistic Risk Assessments. For security, the risk-based concepts of vulnerability assessments and vital areas are all considered in designing security systems. For safeguards, the concept of risk is not formally defined, as it relates to the design and operation of nuclear reactors. International nuclear safeguards seek to reduce the risk of proliferation in the nuclear fuel cycle and as such the concept of risk does exist. Therefore, the current understanding of the “3S’ approach, which seeks to find the interfaces and conflicts between safety, security, and safeguards requires a thorough understanding of the role that the reduction of risk plays in all three disciplines. The intersection of risk for safety and security is now being developed as there is a strong correlation between reactor design and operations and their vulnerability to sabotage. The intersection of risk for security and safeguards has to date chiefly been focused on the nuclear material control and accounting systems, which are relied on by both the operator (State) and the IAEA. This paper explores the concept of risk in each of the three disciplines, how they interact, potential conflicts and interfaces , how these might be addressed and leveraged, and a notional framework for how this could be achieved.

Kovacic, Donald N↗