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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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At least 127 records · Page 7

2020 NEPA Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Risk Assessment

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) operating repository 654 m below the surface in a thick salt formation in southeastern New Mexico. The DOE disposes transuranic (TRU) waste produced from atomic energy defense activities at the WIPP facility. A portion of the waste shipped to the WIPP facility contains TRU radionuclides co-mingled with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which fall under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This report documents the risks of PCBs co-mingled with TRU waste (hereafter designated as PCB/TRU waste) designated for disposal at the WIPP facility. This analysis is input to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment by the DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) for the proposed increase of the WIPP facility disposal area to include additional waste panels (but not to increase the legislated WIPP volume). This analysis is not a compliance calculation to support a certification renewal nor does it support a planned change request (PCR) or planned change notice (PCN) to be submitted to the EPA.

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Incorporating biplane wing theory into a large, subsonic, all-cargo transport

If the air-cargo market increases at the pace predicted, a new conceptual aircraft will be demanded to meet the needs of the air-cargo industry. Furthermore, it has been found that not only should this aircraft be optimized to carry the intermodal containers used by the current shipping industry, but it should also be be able to operate at existing airports. The best solution to these problems is a configuration incorporating a bi-wing planform, which has resulted in significant improvements over the monoplane in lift/drag, weight reduction, and span reduction. The future of the air-cargo market, biplane theory, wind tunnel tests, and a comparison of the aerodynamic characteristics of the biplane and monoplane are discussed. The factors pertaining to a biplane cargo transport are then examined, resulting in biplane geometric parameters.

Zyskowski, Michael K.↗

Tools Lighten Designs, Maintain Structural Integrity

Collier Research Corporation of Hampton, Virginia, licensed software developed at Langley Research Center to reduce design weight through the use of composite materials. The first license of NASA-developed software, it has now been used in everything from designing next-generation cargo containers, to airframes, rocket engines, ship hulls, and train bodies. The company now has sales of the NASA-derived software topping $4 million a year and has recently received several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to apply its software to nearly all aspects of the new Orion crew capsule design.

Source record↗

Production, isolation, and shipment of clinically relevant quantities of astatine-211: A simple and efficient approach to increasing supply

The alpha emitter astatine-211 ( 211 At) is a promising candidate for cancer treatment based on Targeted Alpha (α) Therapy (TAT). A small number of facilities, distributed across the United States, are capable of accelerating α-particle beams to produce 211 At. However, challenges remain regarding strategic methods for shipping 211 At in a form adaptable to advanced radiochemistry reactions and other uses of the radioisotope. Purpose: Our method allows shipment of 211 At in various quantities in a form convenient for further radiochemistry. Procedures: For this study, a 3-octanone impregnated Amberchrom® CG300M resin bed in a column cartridge was used to separate 211 At from the bismuth matrix on site at the production accelerator (Texas A&M) in preparation for shipping. Aliquots of 6 M HNO 3 containing up to ≈2.22 GBq of 211 At from the dissolved target were successfully loaded and retained on columns. Exempt packages (<370 MBq) were shipped to a destination radiochemistry facility, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in the form of a convenient air-dried column. Type A packages have been shipped overnight to University of Alabama at Birmingham. Main findings: Air-dried column hold times of various lengths did not inhibit simple and efficient recovery of 211 At. Solution eluted from the column was sufficiently high in specific activity to successfully radiolabel a model compound, 4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)aniline (1), with 211 At. The method to prepare and ship 211 At described in this manuscript has also been used to ship larger quantities of 211 At a greater distance to University of Alabama at Birmingham. Principal conclusions: The successful proof of this method paves the way for the distribution of 211 At from Texas A&M University to research institutions and clinical oncology centers in Texas and elsewhere. Finally, use of this simple method at other facilities has the potential increase the overall availability of 211 At for preclinical and clinical studies.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

FGGE/ERBM tape specification and shipping letter description

The Nimbus-7 FGGE/ERBM tape contains 27 ERB parameters which are extracted and reformatted from the Nimbus-7 ERB-MATRIX tape. There are four types of files on a FGGE/ERBM tape: a test file; tape-header file which describes the data set characteristics and the contents of the tape; a grid-descriptor file which contains the information of the ERB scanning channel target number and their associated latitude limits and longitude intervals; and one or more data files. A single end-of-file (EOF) tape mark is written after each file, and two EOF marks are written after the last data file on the tape.

Han, D.↗

Habitable Working and Living Spaces in the Deep Space Science Vessel

The Deep Space Science Vessel (DSSV) is a conceptual design of a very large spacecraft intended as a mobile microgravity science platform. It represents an effort to conceptualize the systems and internal architectures needed to support a forty-eight-person crew for multi-year missions throughout the inner solar system and potentially beyond. The general arrangement of the DSSV is a modular spacecraft. Considering only the pressurized, habitable elements, the DSSV includes two large pressurized modules (Hab and Lab) docked together along with eight smaller node modules completing the habitable configuration. The Hab and Lab modules are docked side by side, with the longitudinal axes parallel to each other and a single docking port connecting them. A node module is docked to each dome on the Hab and Lab modules, such that the two small node modules on each end of the large Hab and Lab domes are docked both to each other and to the Hab and Lab. This creates a “racetrack” translation path on the interior. The other four node modules are docked at the center of the Hab and Lab modules, two on each side, creating another “racetrack” translation path perpendicular to the first one. The DSSV has a generally vertical orientation. Within the Hab and Lab modules the decks are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The node modules are oriented with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to those of the Hab and Lab modules, so the nodes have a horizontal internal orientation. Decks are numbered one through nine, with decks two and eight representing the “top” and “bottom” domes of the Hab and Lab modules. The Hab Module decks encompass the ship’s galley, crew quarters, waste, hygiene, portions of crew exercise, and group recreation. The Lab Module contains food production facilities, the life science lab, the ship’s infirmary, the physical science lab, and the maintenance and fabrication workshop. The Node Modules serve a number of different functions. The two Exercise Nodes are docked to deck five of both the Hab and Lab modules and contain most of the aerobic and resistive exercise devices. Also docked to deck five but on the opposite side of the Hab and Lab modules are the Observation Deck and Space Café. These two node modules provide social gathering space for small numbers of crew. The Mission Operations Node is on deck nine directly above the Galley and contains spacecraft monitoring and commanding capabilities. Docked to it is the EVA Operations Node, which contains suit maintenance and storage. (The airlock is a separate, external element docked to the EVA Operations Node.) The Subsystems Node is on deck one beneath the maintenance and fabrication workshop. Docked to it is the Stowage Node. This node does not house DSSV primary stowage, but is a staging point where stowage brought in from logistics modules can be sorted, unpacked, or repacked as needed prior to distribution to the appropriate sections of the spacecraft.

Deep Space Habitat↗

Container Evaluation: Analysis of the Swagelok Knuckle with Viewport as an Approved Hermetically Sealed Inner Container

This report outlines the results from the water ingress test, helium leak test and additional atmosphere testing for the Swagelok knuckle with viewport container further referred to as the SKV. This container is constructed from a standard union vacuum fitting, 1.33” conflat to 0.5” male VCR, a 1.33” conflat fused silica lensed viewport fitting, and a 0.5 inch VCR cap. The primary intended use of this container is to store Pu metal samples in the vault for a time interval exceeding 40 years. The samples need to be contained in an air free environment to ensure that the material does not oxidize over time. The container viewport is a critical design feature that will help the operators visually inspect and evaluate the state of the metal samples prior to opening the container. These containers are advertised as leak tight, but experimental tests were performed to test the water resistant criteria and the gas leaking criteria set forth by the TA-55 Criticality Safety Program. The results of the water ingress test show that the container is water-tight, with no signs of water penetrating the container within the required guidelines outlined in TA55-AP-522. The preliminary He leak test performed demonstrate that the conflat window port and VCR cap are able to maintain a hermetic seal. Additionally, all containers will be He leak tested independently by the manufacturer prior to shipping to LANL. A third voluntary test was added to assess the container’s ability to hold atmosphere, with successful results indicating the container is able to hold inert atmosphere to prevent lanthanum metal oxidation. It is the conclusion of the authorsthat there is enough evidence through the test conducted and outlined within this document that the proposed container meets the definition of a water-tight container, and it is able to provide a hermetic seal.

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Improved Method of Locating Defects in Wiring Insulation

An improved method of locating small breaches in insulation on electrical wires combines aspects of the prior dielectric withstand voltage (DWV) and time-domain reflectometry (TDR) methods. The method was invented to satisfy a need for reliably and quickly locating insulation defects in spacecraft, aircraft, ships, and other complex systems that contain large amounts of wiring, much of it enclosed in structures that make it difficult to inspect. In the DWV method, one applies a predetermined potential (usually 1.5 kV DC) to the wiring and notes whether the voltage causes any arcing between the wiring and ground. The DWV method does not provide an indication of the location of the defect (unless, in an exceptional case, the arc happens to be visible). In addition, if there is no electrically conductive component at ground potential within about 0.010 in. (approximately equal to 0.254 mm) of the wire at the location of an insulation defect, then the DWV method does not provide an indication of the defect. Moreover, one does not have the option to raise the potential in an effort to increase the detectability of such a defect because doing so can harm previously undamaged insulation. In the TDR method as practiced heretofore, one applies a pulse of electricity having an amplitude of less than 25 V to a wire and measures the round-trip travel time for the reflection of the pulse from a defect. The distance along the wire from the point of application of the pulse to the defect is then calculated as the product of half the round-trip travel time and the characteristic speed of a propagation of an electromagnetic signal in the wire. While the TDR method as practiced heretofore can be used to locate a short or open circuit, it does not ordinarily enable one to locate a small breach in insulation because the pulse voltage is too low to cause arcing and thus too low to induce an impedance discontinuity large enough to generate a measurable reflection. The present improved method overcomes the weaknesses of both the prior DWV and the prior TDR method.

Greulich, Owen R.↗

Assessing the Oxygen Permeability of Candidate Asteroid Sample Containers With Optochemical Sensors

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA Johnson Space Center currently curates 500 mg (10%) of carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu regolith collected by the Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa II spacecraft and returned to Earth in 2021. In September 2023, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned at least 70 grams of regolith collected from the surface of Carbonaceous Asteroid Bennu. These new astromaterials collections are stored and handled in gloveboxes and desiccators that are continuously purged with ultrapure nitrogen in order to minimize contamination and alteration of extraterrestrial samples from terrestrial environments, e.g., reaction with terrestrial oxygen and water. Ito et al. have previously reported on the development of containers to transport samples between facilities in inert, sealed environments; Hayabusa2 samples allocated to investigators by JAXA’s Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center (ESCuC) are shipped in these Facility-to-Facility Transfer Containers (FFTCs). NASA curation has also been investigating sealed containers for storage, transportation, and allocation of Bennu and Ryugu regolith in sealed anoxic environments. In order to assess the ability of candidate sample containers to maintain nitrogen environments, we have utilized optochemical sensors to measure trace oxygen levels within sealed volumes.

C J Snead↗

FGGE/SMMR-30 tape specification and shipping letter description

The Nimbus-7 FGGE/SMMR-30 tape which contains sea ice concentration data in 30 km resolution which are extracted and reformatted from Nimbus-7 SMMR PARM-30 tapes in accordance with the FGGE level II International Exchange Format Specification is outlined. There are three types of files on a FGGE/SMMR-30 tape. The first file on the tape is a test file. The second file on the tape is a tape header file. The remaining one or more files are data files. All files are terminated with a single end of file (EOP) tape mark. The last file is terminated with two EOF tape marks. All files are made up of one or more physical records. Each physical record contains 2960 bytes. Each data file contains all available values for a 6 hour synoptic time period.

Han, D.↗

A life-saving device for ships

A life-saving device is described which can be used on either ships or airplanes. The device consists of an airtight container for passengers equipped with elements needed for survival (oxygen, food, medicines, etc.), an energy source, and a parachute. This device can be ejected from the plane or ship when an emergency arises.

Converti, P.↗

Status Report on Development of a Cask to Enable Pulsed Neutron Characterization of Irradiated Fuel

We present the design of a shielding cask that allows pulsed neutron characterization of irradiated fuel rodlets prior to their destructive examination in hot cells. The goal is to provide complementary and informative measurements that will inform subsequent hot cell PIE examinations by identifying typical and atypical regions with respect to microstructure, tomographic data, or isotope densities. Time-of-flight neutron diffraction has the potential to offer efficient, non-destructive and non-contact microstructural characterization of irradiated fuel pins with spatial resolution of 1 mm3 to 1 cm3 while for energy-resolved neutron imaging (and by extension tomography) a resolution of 100 μm was demonstrated. The potential results include crystallinity vs. amorphous volumes and microstructural information such as phase compositions and textures from the diffraction data as well as distances (e.g. pellet to cladding), cracks, and isotopic distributions of minor actinides, fission products as well as fission gas partial pressures e.g. in the plenum from energy resolved neutron imaging. The capability will identify regions of atypical behavior and provide cost effective bulk characterization of entire samples prior to destructive evaluation in hot cells. This effort is a collaboration between LANL, INL, ORNL, and UC Berkeley. A key facet of the initiative is the ability to cost effectively ship irradiated fuels from INL to the pulsed spallation neutron source at LANSCE. The irradiated fuel would be loaded in the custom designed cask (designated RaMHaM) at INL hot cells which then could be shipped in a BRR Type B shipment container between INL and LANL. No hot cell is required after the loading of the sample at INL in the pathway laid out in this report, greatly simplifying handling at LANL.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

WIPP MLU Shipment Preliminary Document

The following SNL document contains required information as part of final preparation for the LANL MLU shipping team. The documents pertain to MLU shipment activities scheduled at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in TA-5, for the week of July 20th— 24th: EILOT (Escort In Lieu Of Training) for MLU team members and crane operators and SNL-RP characterization surveys for the 11 SCA due for shipment. The EILOT document is listed first. The remaining pages are the radiation and contamination surveys completed on the 11 SCA containers that are being loaded and shipped to WIPP.

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