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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI1996

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 37, No. 2, April-June 1996]

Nuclear Safety is a journal that covers significant issues in the field of nuclear safety. Its primary scope is safety in the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear power reactors worldwide and the research and analysis activities that promote this goal, but it also encompasses the safety aspects of the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing and handling, and nuclear waste disposal, the handling of fissionable materials and radioisotopes, and the environmental effects of all these activities. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 97 The Nuclear Community and the Public: Cognitive and Cultural Influences on Thinking About Nuclear Risk, M. A. Meyer; 109 Twenty-Third Water Reactor Safety Information Meeting, D. A. Copinger; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 126 Analysis of a PWR LBLOCA Without SCRAM, Trevor N. Tyler, Rafael Macian-Juan and John H. Mahaffy; DESIGN FEATURES: 139 Vulnerability of Multiple-Barrier Systems, N. C. Lind; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: 149 A Study of Wet Catalytic Oxidation of Radioactive Spent Ion Exchange Resin by Hydrogen Peroxide, Xingchao Jian, Tianbao Wu, and Guichun Yun; 157 A Comparison Study and Resolution of Differences Between Emergency Response and Safety Analysis Codes Used at the Savannah River Site, A. A. Simpkins; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 164 Reactor Shutdown Experience, Compiled by J. W. Cletcher; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 167 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides, D. S. Queener; 172 Proposed Rule Changes as of Dec. 31,1995; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 178 American Nuclear Society 1997 Annual Meeting; 178 American Nuclear Society Nuclear Criticality and Safety Division Topical Meeting; 176 The Authors.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI1996

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 37, No. 1, January-March 1996]

Nuclear Safety is a journal that covers significant issues in the field of nuclear safety. Its primary scope is safety in the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear power reactors worldwide and the research and analysis activities that promote this goal, but it also encompasses the safety aspects of the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing and handling, and nuclear waste disposal, the handling of fissionable materials and radioisotopes, and the environmental effects of all these activities. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 1 A Decision Support System for Maintenance Management of a Boiling-Water Reactor Power Plant, J. H. Shen, A. Ray, and S. Levine; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 12 On Prediction of the Ignition Potential of Uranium Metal and Hydride, M. Epstein, W. Luangdilok, M. G. Plys, and H. K. Fauske; 26 An Overview of the Primary Parameters and Methods for Determining Condensation Heat Transfer to Containment Structures, J. Green and K. Almenas; DESIGN FEATURES: 49 Modem Tornado Design of Nuclear and Other Potentially Hazardous Facilities, J. D. Stevenson and Y. Zaho; U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION INFORMATION AND ANALYSES: 73 1994 Accident Sequence Precursor Program Results, R. J. Belles, J. W. Cletcher, D. A. Coplnger, B. W. Dolan, J. W. Minarick, and P. D. O'Reilly; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 93 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AlChE) Spring 1997 National Meeting; 94 European Safety and Reliability Association International Conference on Safety and Reliability ESREL ’97; 95 Criticality Safety Challenges in the Next Decade; 96 21st International Symposium on the Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management; 84 The Authors; 88 Letter to the Editor; 90 Indexes to Nuclear Safety, Volume 36.

05 NUCLEAR FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Three-chamber electrochemical reactor for selective lithium extraction from brine

Efficient lithium recovery from geothermal brines is crucial for the battery industry. Current electrochemical separation methods struggle with the simultaneous presence of Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , and Ca 2+ because these cations are similar to Li + , making it challenging to separate effectively. We address these challenges with a three-chamber reactor featuring a polymer porous solid electrolyte in the middle layer. This design improves the transference number of Li + (t Li+ ) by 2.1 times compared to the two-chamber reactor and also reduces the chlorine evolution reaction, a common side reaction in electrochemical lithium extraction, to only 6.4% in Faradaic Efficiency. Employing a lithium-ion conductive glass ceramic (LICGC) membrane, the reactor achieved high t Li+ of 97.5% in LiOH production from simulated brine, while the concentrations of Na + K + , Mg 2+ , and Ca 2+ are below the detection limit. Electrochemical experiments and surface analysis elucidated the cation transport mechanism, highlighting the impact of Na + on Li + migration at the LICGC interface.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI1996

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 37, No. 1, January-March 1996]

Nuclear Safety is a journal that covers significant issues in the field of nuclear safety. Its primary scope is safety in the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear power reactors worldwide and the research and analysis activities that promote this goal, but it also encompasses the safety aspects of the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing and handling, and nuclear waste disposal, the handling of fissionable materials and radioisotopes, and the environmental effects of all these activities. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 1 A Decision Support System for Maintenance Management of a Boiling-Water Reactor Power Plant, J. H. Shen, A. Ray, and S. Levine; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 12 On Prediction of the Ignition Potential of Uranium Metal and Hydride, M. Epstein, W. Luangdilok, M. G. Plys, and H. K. Fauske; 26 An Overview of the Primary Parameters and Methods for Determining Condensation Heat Transfer to Containment Structures, J. Green and K. Almenas; DESIGN FEATURES: 49 Modem Tornado Design of Nuclear and Other Potentially Hazardous Facilities, J. D. Stevenson and Y. Zaho; U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION INFORMATION AND ANALYSES: 73 1994 Accident Sequence Precursor Program Results, R. J. Belles, J. W. Cletcher, D. A. Copinger, B. W. Dolan, J. W. Minarick, and P. D. O'Reilly; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 93 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AlChE) Spring 1997 National Meeting; 94 European Safety and Reliability Association International Conference on Safety and Reliability ESREL ’97; 95 Criticality Safety Challenges in the Next Decade; 96 21st International Symposium on the Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management; 84 The Authors; 88 Letter to the Editor; 90 Indexes to Nuclear Safety, Volume 36.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Accelerating actinium-225 purification by high-pressure ion chromatography

Actinium-225 (t1/2 = 9.92 days) is an important radioisotope for targeted alpha therapy applications. The limited supply obtained through the decay of thorium-229 has motivated accelerator-based production routes, including irradiation of thorium targets. Irradiated targets can produce useful quantities of actinium-225, but the product requires final purification from chemically similar lanthanide contaminants. This work describes an automated high-pressure ion chromatography method for this final polishing step. The method uses a reusable strong-acid cation-exchange column bearing sulfonic acid functional groups. α-Hydroxyisobutyric acid (α-HIBA), adjusted to pH 4.3 with lithium hydroxide, complexes and elutes lanthanides, a dilute hydrochloric acid matrix-exchange step removes residual α-HIBA, and concentrated hydrochloric acid then elutes retained actinium(III). The protocol purified actinium-225 to >99% radiopurity across tracer-level samples and samples containing >150 µCi (5.6 MBq) of activity. A 10 min, 0.1 M hydrochloric acid matrix exchange substantially reduced organic eluent carryover, and in-line sodium iodide detection enabled real-time monitoring of actinium and lanthanide elution. The developed method can be completed in <1 h and provides a basis for automated purification workflows for accelerator-produced actinium-225.

Gaddis, Kevin [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000183398314)↗
DOE OSTI2026

HTGR Multiphysics Application Drivers FY26 Updates

This report summarizes FY26 progress under the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program's high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) application driver work, covering a wide range of activities such as code validation and multi-physics code assessment. 1) A detailed SAM model of the High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) was developed using a unique-block grouping approach, with an extended parallel thermal network method to capture block-to-block conduction and radiation heat transfer, and applied to steady-state simulations of the HTTR 30~MW and 9~MW cases. 2) In another activity, SAM's newly implemented multi-component gas flow model was validated against the Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF) argon ingress experiment, correctly capturing the density-driven suppression and thermal recovery of natural circulation observed when argon is introduced into the air-cooled Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) loop. 3) For the OECD/NEA High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) benchmark, we co-led the international benchmark activities as well as the OECD/NEA final benchmark report to be released at the end of this year. 4) Finally, the coupled Griffin-SAM modeling capability for pebble-bed HTGRs was advanced by verifying the Griffin neutronics solution against Serpent Monte Carlo for a realistic non-uniform temperature distribution, resolving several deficiencies in the SAM-to-Griffin temperature transfer scheme, and enabling distinct fuel kernel, moderator, and coolant temperatures for cross section feedback. These new features were demonstrated in a PBR load-following transient.

Lee, Alvin↗
DOE OSTI2022

Variational Quantum Circuits to Prepare Low Energy Symmetry States

We explore how to build quantum circuits that compute the lowest energy state corresponding to a given Hamiltonian within a symmetry subspace by explicitly encoding it into the circuit. We create an explicit unitary and a variationally trained unitary that maps any vector output by ansatz A(α → ) from a defined subspace to a vector in the symmetry space. The parameters are trained varitionally to minimize the energy, thus keeping the output within the labelled symmetry value. The method was tested for a spin XXZ Hamiltonian using rotation and reflection symmetry and H 2 Hamiltonian within S z = 0 subspace using S 2 symmetry. We have found the variationally trained unitary gives good results with very low depth circuits and can thus be used to prepare symmetry states within near term quantum computers.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2026

Robust and High Throughput Tools for Characterization of Wet Cellulosic Biogas Feedstocks and Co-Products: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-21-21472

This project will develop standardized analytical procedures to support understanding of the chemical composition of wet manure feedstocks, and the digestate formed following anaerobic digestion of organic waste to produce renewable natural gas (RNG). The developed methods will be validated to improve component mass closure, eliminate ambiguities around key constituents, and document the precision and accuracy of the methods. Following validation of the analytical laboratory methods for characterization of wet organic waste feedstocks and digestate, NLR will use the same samples to build and validate near-infrared (NIR) models for high throughput analysis, potentially deployable at commercial facilities, enabling increased production of low carbon intensity RNG from wet organic wastes.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Decoupling thermal and irradiation effects on grain boundary segregation

Radiation-induced segregation (RIS) is most often measured by peak solute concentration at a boundary. However, this may give an incomplete picture of segregation quantity and phenomena. Radiation-induced and thermal segregation at grain boundaries was investigated in Fe-9.6 at.% Cr after 9 MeV Fe 3+ ion irradiation at 400 °C. The experimental results were compared to kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. The study revealed that Cr enrichment (peak segregation) at the grain boundaries was comparable in both the irradiated and non-irradiated conditions, although irradiation resulted in broader segregation profiles in both experiments and simulations, indicating an overall increase in grain boundary segregation due to irradiation. This broadening is attributed to back diffusion into the grain interior. While it is an established phenomenon, this study offers a quantitative evaluation using experimental data and KMC modeling. Further, these results emphasize the importance of analyzing the entire segregation profile and decoupling the thermal and irradiation contributions to solute segregation.

Grain boundary segregation↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Future Polarized Target Program at Jefferson Lab

Polarized targets have played a crucial role in Jefferson Lab's exploration of nuclear structure over the past four decades. The three original experimental halls have seen 19 separate installations of polarized solid or gas targets for use in the particle physics scattering experiments, and this trend will continue in the next decade. Five polarized target systems are in preparation for use at JLab in the coming years. Hall B will see the use of two solid polarized targets, one longitudinally polarized to the beam, the other transversely, as well as a novel 3He gas polarized target. In Hall C, new experiments will augment the tensor polarization in dynamically polarized solids. Plans are under development to bring a polarized solid target to Jefferson Lab's photon beam hall, Hall D, for the first time. To support these efforts, the JLab polarized target group is building a test laboratory to develop dynamic nuclear polarization techniques, as well as an apparatus to irradiate target material using electrons from JLab's injector test facility. In this talk, we will explore the development progress and plans for each of these efforts.

Maxwell, James [Thomas Jefferson National Accelera↗
DOE OSTI1975

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 16, No. 2, March-April 1975]

Nuclear Safety covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. The scope is limited to topics relevant to the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, safety considerations in regard to the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 127 Quality Assurance in the Construction of Nuclear Power Plants by Sidney A. Bernsen, 141 1974 ANS Topical Meeting on Fast Reactor Safety by M. H. Fontana; CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION: 150 GBR-4 Protection Systems: Failures and Their Consequences by Peter Burgsmüller, J. J. Dekais, Albert Krähe, Raffaello Pignatelli, and Gottfried Vieider, 162 Standby Emergency Power Systems. Part 2—The Later Plants by E. W. Hagen; PLANT SAFETY FEATURES: 180 Radiotoxic Hazard Measure for Buried Solid Radioactive Waste by J. Hamstra, 190 The Thirteenth AEC Air-Cleaning Conference by D. W. Moeller, D. W. Underhill, and M. W. First, 203 Book Review: Nuclear Criticality Safety; CONSEQUENCES OF EFFLUENT RELEASE: 204 Environmental Radiation Effects of Nuclear Facilities in New York State by M. S. Terpilak and B. L. Jorgensen, 222 Book Review: Thermal Ecology; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 223 Set-Point Drift in Nuclear Power-Plant Safety-Related Instrumentation Adapted by the Nuclear Safety Staff, 224 Diesel-Generator Operating Experience at Nuclear Power Plants, 227 Summary of Operating U. S. Power Reactors as of Jan. 1, 1975, 232 Selected Safety-Related Occurrences Reported in November and December 1974 Compiled by William R. Casto, 235 Recent Occurrences at Nuclear Reactors and Their Causes Compiled by William R. Casto; CURRENT EVENTS: 243 General Administrative Activities Compiled by Wm. B. Cottrell, 251 Action on Power-Reactor Projects Undergoing Regulatory Review or Consideration Compiled by Wm. B. Cottrell, 266 Action on Nonreactor Projects Undergoing Regulatory Review or Consideration Compiled by Wm. B Cottrell, 268 Proposed Rule Changes as of Jan. 1, 1975; MISCELLANY: 149 Course in Italy on High-Energy Radiation Dosimetry and Protection (Announcement), 250 Course at Northwestern on Safety of Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Plants (Announcement), 266 Symposium of the Combined Effects on the Environment of Radioactive, Chemical, and Thermal Releases from the Nuclear Industry (Announcement), 271 Short Course on Engineering for Extreme Winds and Tornadoes (Announcement), 272 Three 1-Week Courses at MIT on Nuclear Power-Reactor Safety (Announcement), 272 Harvard University Short Courses (Announcement).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

SILICON CARBIDE THERMOMETRY USING RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY ON IRRADIATED TRISO PARTICLES

Silicon carbide (SiC) passive thermometry has emerged as a promising post-irradiation examination (PIE) technique for estimating irradiation temperature near the end of irradiation. While dilatometry techniques have been traditionally used to analyze prismatic samples after irradiation, Raman spectroscopy has recently been shown to provide comparable results by analyzing Raman-active phonon modes. In this work, Raman spectroscopy has been applied to the SiC layer of cross-sectioned irradiation tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particles from the AGR-5/6/7 experiment to evaluate the feasibility of particle-scale passive thermometry. Two-dimensional Raman mapping was used to measure the position of the SiC longitudinal optical (LO) phonon, which was then converted to an apparent irradiation temperature using a previously established empirical correlation. Particles from AGR-5/6/7 Compacts 2-2-1 and 5-1-3 were selected as their calculated time-averaged, volume-averaged (TAVA) temperatures (828°C and 706°C, respectively) fall within the range of the sensitivity of the experimental approach. The use of SiC thermometry was anticipated to confirm or highlight potential deviations from calculated end-of-life TAVA temperature across compacts. Four particles from Compact 2-2-1 and two particles from Compact 5-1-3 were selected based on 110mAg inventory (either some measurable activity or below the minimum detection limit) which is commonly used as an indicator of in-pile temperature variation of particles within the same compact. Across every particle selected it was determined that the average LO peak position was located around 968 cm-1 to 969 cm-1. Using the previously determined empirical correlation, this corresponds to an irradiation temperature around 950°C to 966°C, which does not align with the reported TAVA temperature values. This discrepancy in apparent irradiation temperatures likely reflects a combination of uncertainties in the calculated particle temperatures and differences in irradiation history between the present specimens and those used to establish the empirical Raman calibration such as neutron flux (damage rate) and SiC microstructure (as fabricated and irradiated).

Vawdrey, Josh [ORNL]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Additively manufactured refractory high-entropy alloys with superior radiation resistance

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) are promising candidates for next-generation nuclear and high-temperature applications. Among many approaches to manufacture RHEAs, additive manufacturing (AM) represents the most recent and advanced metal manufacturing method which allows near-net-shape manufacturing to reduce material waste and post-processing time. However, performance of AM RHEAs under complex irradiation conditions remains largely unexplored. Here, in this study, we demonstrate for the first time the response of directed energy deposition (DED) AM quaternary RHEAs (HfTaVW, CrTaVW) subjected to sequential dual-beam ion irradiation, consisting of helium pre-implantation followed by high-dose heavy ion bombardment. Compositions of DED AM RHEAs were selected using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations based on a cluster expansion (CE) Hamiltonian parameterized by density functional theory (DFT). Post-irradiation microstructural characterization revealed that the AM RHEA maintained remarkable stability, with suppressed helium bubble growth and reduced defect accumulation compared to conventional alloys. Even at high doses (∼100 dpa), the alloy exhibited no void swelling, a low density of dislocation loops, and no evidence of severe degradation. These results highlight the intrinsic ability of AM-derived microstructures and multicomponent chemistry to synergistically mitigate irradiation effects. Our findings establish AM RHEAs as a class of materials with superior resistance to radiation damage under conditions relevant to advanced fusion and fission environments and demonstrate the importance of sequential ion beam studies in evaluating their long-term performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Structure–Property Linkage in Alloys Using Graph Neural Network and Explainable Artificial Intelligence

Deep learning tools have recently shown significant potential for accelerating the prediction of microstructure–property linkage in materials. While deep neural networks like convolution neural networks (CNNs) can extract physics information from 3D microstructure images, they often require a large network architecture and substantial training time. In this research, we trained a graph neural network (GNN) using phase field generated microstructures of Ni-Al alloys to predict the evolution of mechanical properties. We found that a single GNN is capable of accurately predicting the strengthening of Ni-Al alloys with microstructures of varying sizes and dimensions, which cannot otherwise be done with a CNN. Additionally, GNN requires significantly less GPU utilization than CNN and offers more interpretable explanation of predictions using saliency analysis as features are manually defined in the graph. We also utilize explainable artificial intelligence tool Bayesian Inference to determine the coefficients in the power law equation that governs coarsening of precipitates. Overall, our work demonstrates the ability of the GNN to accurately and efficiently extract relevant information from material microstructures without having restrictions on microstructure size or dimension and offers an interpretable explanation.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multi-contrast machine learning improves schistosomiasis diagnostic performance

Schistosomiasis currently affects over 250 million people and remains a public health burden despite ongoing global control efforts. Conventional microscopy is a practical tool for diagnosis and screening ofSchistosoma haematobium, but identification of eggs requires a skilled microscopist. Here we present a machine learning (ML)-based strategy for automated detection ofS. haematobiumthat combines two imaging contrasts, brightfield (BF) and darkfield (DF), to improve diagnostic performance. We collected BF and DF images of urine samples, many of them containingS. haematobiumeggs, during two different field studies in Côte d’Ivoire using a mobile phone-based microscope, the SchistoScope. We then trained separate egg-detection ML models and compared the patient-level performance of BF and DF models alone to combinations of BF and DF models, using annotations from trained microscopists as the gold standard. We found that models trained on DF images, and almost all BF and DF combinations, performed significantly better than models trained on BF images only. When models were trained on images from the first field study (n = 349 patients, 748 images of each contrast), patient-level classification performance on patient images from the second study (n = 375 patients, 752 images of each contrast) met the WHO Diagnostic Target Product Profile (TPP) sensitivity and specificity for the monitoring and evaluation use case (sensitivity for all models and combinations was >75% when evaluated at a confidence score threshold that resulted in specificity >96.5%). When we used images from both field studies for the training set, performance of the models was improved. Overall, this work shows that the use of DF and BF increases the performance of ML models on images from devices with low-cost optics, while retaining the portability, power, and time-to-results of the WHO’s diagnostic TPP. DF requires no additional sample preparation and does not increase the complexity of the imaging system. It thus offers a practical means to improve performance of automated diagnostics forS. haematobiumas well as other microscopy-based diagnostics.

Infectious Diseases↗
DOE OSTI2026

Large Language Model for Validation, Optical Calibration, and Learning (VOCAL) Distributed Temperature Sensing Interface

Distributed temperature sensing (DTS) using fiber optic sensors (FOS) offers a promising method for temperature measurements in advanced reactors, such as sodium fast reactors and molten salt cooled reactors. To support the calibration and validation of DTS measurements, Argonne National Laboratory developed the Validation, Optical Calibration, and Learning (VOCAL) software package. This report describes the integration of a local large language model (LLM) with a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system into the VOCAL interface to serve as an interactive user assistant. The LLM framework enhances the VOCAL platform’s accessibility to users by explaining interface components, clarifying inputs and outputs, and answering user queries dynamically in real-time. The accuracy of the LLM assistant performance was evaluated with 20 queries regarding the interface and its parameters using experimental data from the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) facility. Results demonstrate that the LLM achieved a 95% accuracy rate, with a BERTScore of 0.8816 and SBERT value of 0.7417. Furthermore, validation of the RAG system within the LLM framework showed optimal accuracy with k-values between 1 and 2 using the k-refinement convergence test. The prompt perturbation analysis demonstrated good initial consistency for the RAG system, exhibiting the highest accuracy under punctuation variations and the greatest sensitivity under query reordering. Notably, the model’s errors were limited to data retrieval failures rather than factual hallucinations, reinforcing its baseline reliability. The integration of LLM provides a highly accurate, userfriendly enhancement to the VOCAL platform without disrupting its core computational capabilities for FOS calibration and validation.

Hong, Evan↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cold Spray Cobalt Magnetostrictive Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers for High Temperature Structure Monitoring

The Department of Energy’s Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation program seeks to develop and qualify advanced sensors for the nuclear industry. Reliable high temperature and high radiation sensors for detection and characterization of structural flaws in pipes, vessels, and structurally critical components is a weakness for both conventional light water reactors with coolant T-hot approaching 350oC, and for advanced reactors with T-hot temperatures in excess of 500 to 800oC. Magnetostrictive Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers using a cold spray cobalt coating have been proposed as a sensor design that can withstand these kinds of temperatures and radiation levels to serve as online sensors to detect flaws before cracks, pits, or erosion/corrosion flaws progress to through-wall failures. This report tests cold spray cobalt as part of a magnetostrictive EMAT for high temperature service. Cobalt is known to have strong magnetostrictive properties however the effect of cold spray application is not well studied. This program was surprised to discover that cold sprayed cobalt exhibited little or no magnetostrictive behavior until it was thermally annealed. Following annealing to 650oC however, cold spray cobalt did exhibit a magnetostrictive response. Work to date prior to this milestone report publication showed that magnetostrictive EMAT was successfully tested to 400oC with an alnico permanent magnet. The program plans to extend testing with an electromagnet to higher temperatures. This follow-on work will be reported under subsequent publications or as a revision to this report.

Glass, Samuel W.↗