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DOE OSTI2017

Advances in Cross-Cutting Ideas for Computational Climate Science

This report presents results from the DOE-sponsored workshop titled, ``Advancing X-Cutting Ideas for Computational Climate Science Workshop,'' known as AXICCS, held on September 12--13, 2016 in Rockville, MD. The workshop brought together experts in climate science, computational climate science, computer science, and mathematics to discuss interesting but unsolved science questions regarding climate modeling and simulation, promoted collaboration among the diverse scientists in attendance, and brainstormed about possible tools and capabilities that could be developed to help address them. Emerged from discussions at the workshop were several research opportunities that the group felt could advance climate science significantly. These include (1) process-resolving models to provide insight into important processes and features of interest and inform the development of advanced physical parameterizations, (2) a community effort to develop and provide integrated model credibility, (3) including, organizing, and managing increasingly connected model components that increase model fidelity yet complexity, and (4) treating Earth system models as one interconnected organism without numerical or data based boundaries that limit interactions. The group also identified several cross-cutting advances in mathematics, computer science, and computational science that would be needed to enable one or more of these big ideas. It is critical to address the need for organized, verified, and optimized software, which enables the models to grow and continue to provide solutions in which the community can have confidence. Effectively utilizing the newest computer hardware enables simulation efficiency and the ability to handle output from increasingly complex and detailed models. This will be accomplished through hierarchical multiscale algorithms in tandem with new strategies for data handling, analysis, and storage. These big ideas and cross-cutting technologies for enabling breakthrough climate simulation advancements also need the "glue" of outreach and learning across the scientific domains to be successful. The workshop identified several strategies to allow productive, continuous engagement across those who have a broad knowledge of the various angles of the problem. Specific ideas to foster education and tools to make material progress were discussed. Examples include follow-on cross-cutting meetings that enable unstructured discussions of the types this workshop fostered. A concerted effort to recruit undergraduate and graduate students from all relevant domains and provide them experience, training, and networking across their immediate expertise is needed. This will broaden and expand their exposure to the future needs and solutions, and provide a pipeline of scientists with a diversity of knowledge and know-how. Providing real-world experience with subject matter experts from multiple angles may also motivate the students to attack these problems and even come up with the missing solutions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Advances in Cross-Cutting Ideas for Computational Climate Science

This report presents results from the DOE-sponsored workshop titled, Advancing X-Cutting Ideas for Computational Climate Science Workshop,'' known as AXICCS, held on September 12--13, 2016 in Rockville, MD. The workshop brought together experts in climate science, computational climate science, computer science, and mathematics to discuss interesting but unsolved science questions regarding climate modeling and simulation, promoted collaboration among the diverse scientists in attendance, and brainstormed about possible tools and capabilities that could be developed to help address them. Emerged from discussions at the workshop were several research opportunities that the group felt could advance climate science significantly. These include (1) process-resolving models to provide insight into important processes and features of interest and inform the development of advanced physical parameterizations, (2) a community effort to develop and provide integrated model credibility, (3) including, organizing, and managing increasingly connected model components that increase model fidelity yet complexity, and (4) treating Earth system models as one interconnected organism without numerical or data based boundaries that limit interactions. The group also identified several cross-cutting advances in mathematics, computer science, and computational science that would be needed to enable one or more of these big ideas. It is critical to address the need for organized, verified, and optimized software, which enables the models to grow and continue to provide solutions in which the community can have confidence. Effectively utilizing the newest computer hardware enables simulation efficiency and the ability to handle output from increasingly complex and detailed models. This will be accomplished through hierarchical multiscale algorithms in tandem with new strategies for data handling, analysis, and storage. These big ideas and cross-cutting technologies for enabling breakthrough climate simulation advancements also need the "glue" of outreach and learning across the scientific domains to be successful. The workshop identified several strategies to allow productive, continuous engagement across those who have a broad knowledge of the various angles of the problem. Specific ideas to foster education and tools to make material progress were discussed. Examples include follow-on cross-cutting meetings that enable unstructured discussions of the types this workshop fostered. A concerted effort to recruit undergraduate and graduate students from all relevant domains and provide them experience, training, and networking across their immediate expertise is needed. This will broaden and expand their exposure to the future needs and solutions, and provide a pipeline of scientists with a diversity of knowledge and know-how. Providing real-world experience with subject matter experts from multiple angles may also motivate the students to attack these problems and even come up with the missing solutions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2010

Life Sciences Data Archives (LSDA) in the Post-Shuttle Era

Now, more than ever before, NASA is realizing the value and importance of their intellectual assets. Principles of knowledge management-the systematic use and reuse of information, experience, and expertise to achieve a specific goal-are being applied throughout the agency. LSDA is also applying these solutions, which rely on a combination of content and collaboration technologies, to enable research teams to create, capture, share, and harness knowledge to do the things they do well, even better. In the early days of spaceflight, space life sciences data were collected and stored in numerous databases, formats, media-types and geographical locations. These data were largely unknown/unavailable to the research community. The Biomedical Informatics and Health Care Systems Branch of the Space Life Sciences Directorate at JSC and the Data Archive Project at ARC, with funding from the Human Research Program through the Exploration Medical Capability Element, are fulfilling these requirements through the systematic population of the Life Sciences Data Archive. This project constitutes a formal system for the acquisition, archival and distribution of data for HRP-related experiments and investigations. The general goal of the archive is to acquire, preserve, and distribute these data and be responsive to inquiries for the science communities. Information about experiments and data, as well as non-attributable human data and data from other species' are available on our public Web site http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov. The Web site also includes a repository for biospecimens, and a utilization process. NASA has undertaken an initiative to develop a Shuttle Data Archive repository. The Shuttle program is nearing its end in 2010 and it is critical that the medical and research data related to the Shuttle program be captured, retained, and usable for research, lessons learned, and future mission planning. Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. LSDA works with the HRP community of practice to ensure that we are preserving the relevant research and data they need in the LSDA repository. An evidence-based approach to risk management is required in space life sciences. Evidence changes over time. LSDA has a pilot project with Collexis, a new type of Web-based search engine. Collexis differentiates itself from full-text search engines by making use of thesauri for information retrieval. The high-quality search is based on semantics that have been defined in a life sciences ontology. Additionally, Collexis' matching technology is unique, allowing discovery of partially matching dicuments. Users do not have to construct a complicated (Boolean) search query, but can simply enter a free text search without the risk of getting "no results". Collexis may address these issues by virtue of its retrieval and discovery capabilities across multiple repositories.

Fitts, Mary A.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Summary of Technical Peer Review on the Risk Assessment Framework proposed in Report INL/RPT-22-68656 for Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems

This report summarizes the peer review activities initiated by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) during fiscal year (FY) 2023 for the evaluation and improvement of the methodology developed under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, Risk Informed Systems Analysis (RISA) Pathway, digital instrumentation and control (DI&C) risk assessment project. In FY 2019, the RISA Pathway initiated a project to develop a risk assessment strategy for delivering a technical basis to support effective and secure DI&C technologies for digital upgrades/designs. A framework was proposed for this strategy, which aims to (1) provide a best-estimate, risk-informed capability to quantitatively and accurately estimate the risk impact of plant modernization, considering the introduction of high safety-significant safety-related (HSSSR) DI&C systems, (2) support and supplement existing risk-informed DI&C design guides by providing quantitative risk information and evidence, (3) offer a capability of design architecture evaluation of various DI&C systems, (4) assure the long-term safety and reliability of HSSSR DI&C systems, and (5) reduce uncertainty in costs and support integration of DI&C systems in the plant. The R&D efforts of this project from FY 2019 through FY 2022 were focused on methodology improvement and demonstration of the proposed framework for the risk assessment and design optimization of safety-critical DI&C systems. Collaborations with the nuclear industry have been initiated to support the reliability and risk assessment of their DI&C systems by using the proposed framework. In FY 2023, the framework has reached to a point for a technical peer review and obtain stakeholder feedback. This peer review activity includes coordination of the reviews performed by a group of industry stakeholders, documentation of the peer review suggestions, providing resolutions and responses to the peer review comments. The objective of this technical peer review is to obtain representative feedback on the proposed framework to improve the technical qualities of its methodology and readiness for deployment to the industry. Feedback may identify potential areas for improvement and further development. The Subject Matter experts were invited to review the latest project report documenting the methodology developed in the project and provide evaluations of the technical qualities of the proposed framework and relevant methods. The reviewed project report is “An Integrated Framework for Risk Assessment of High Safety-significant Safety-related Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants: Methodology and Demonstration” INL/RPT-22-68656 (short as “INL/RPT-22-68656” in this report). This peer review report documents the technical questions provided for technical peer review and introduces the technical peer reviewers from the stakeholders including nuclear utilities, regulators, and universities. Comments from technical peer reviewers and the resolutions and responses to these comments are outlined. Insights and lessons learned from the technical peer review are summarized in conclusions and future work. The primary audience of this report are DI&C designers, engineers, and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) practitioners. This includes stakeholders, such as the nuclear utilities and regulators who consider the deployment and upgrade of DI&C systems, DI&C software developers and reviewers, and cybersecurity specialists.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NASA NTRS2017

Wearable Biosensor Monitor to Support Autonomous Crew Health and Readiness to Perform

For future human exploration missions, NASA needs a health monitoring system composed of hardware that is compact, fully interoperable with an integrated data management system, and requires minimal consumables. Such a system will be achieved through the integration of small, easy to use biomedical sensors that will have the ability to measure, store and transmit physiological parameters during operational and ambulatory activity. Since 2012, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has been active in funding the development of wearable biomonitoring sensors. The Astroskin is the first prototype and consists of a shirt-based garment and headband with embedded sensors, and associated software and technology that measure vital signs, sleep quality and activity level of the wearer. NASA and CSA have been collaborating since 2014 to test and validate this system in a lab environment at Ames Research Center and more recently in the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) located at Johnson Spaceflight Center. Specific objectives of the HERA study were: 1) to assess the performance of the Astroskin biosensor system for long-term health monitoring (24-hours) capabilities and during exercise as a measure of crew fitness; 2) to obtain crew feedback on comfort and usability of the Astroskin system; 3) to demonstrate performance of Bluetooth communication during real-time transmission and for verification of data in this environment; and 4) to obtain baseline data for further development of algorithms and tools that facilitate decision support for diagnosing and monitoring of a sick or injured crewmember. HERA Campaign 3 included four missions (each 30-days in duration) with four crewmembers assigned to each mission. A total of 9 men and 7 women participated in the Astroskin evaluation that included continuous physiological monitoring (24-hours) on mission days MD-11, MD1 (high workload), MD15 (low workload), MD19, MD29, and MD+7. Mission days 19 and 29 also included 30 minutes of sub-maximal exercise on a cycle ergometer. Following each 24-hour monitoring session crew physiological data were downloaded to laptops and each crewmember completed a 28 question survey on their experiences with the Astroskin hardware and software. This presentation will focus on lessons learned from the HERA missions. Specifically it will address Astroskin system performance in terms of data loss and data quality (no comparison to lab standard devices), wireless communication with the onboard mobile device, crew usability and comfort, and future development of a next generation biomonitoring system.

crew fitness↗
NASA NTRS2019

Leveraging the Power of SAR Observations for Forest Monitoring Systems

Earth observations from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can provide unique information related to forest structure and condition. Despite the many advantages of SAR, particularly where clouds impede optical observations, a knowledge gap has prevented the applied remote sensing community from harnessing its full potential. Here, we discuss the results of a collaboration between SERVIR, a joint program between NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and SilvaCarbon, the United States’ contribution to the Global Forest Observation Initiative, to build global capacity in using SAR for forest monitoring and biomass estimation. This includes primarily the creation of 1) The SAR Handbook: Comprehensive Methodologies for Forest Monitoring and Biomass Estimation, 2) a series of international hands-on trainings and training materials, 3) quick-reference guides illustrating SAR concepts, and 4) animated videos explaining how SAR works. The SERVIR-Global community joined efforts to develop a hands-on guide to support decision-makers in the forestry community to leverage the power of SAR technology to better protect and manage forest resources. We worked with world-renowned SAR experts to provide targeted trainings and develop the SAR Handbook. This handbook consists of approachable theoretical background and applied content that contributes to filling the knowledge gap in the applied use of SAR technology for forestry applications. We hope that forest managers and remote sensing specialists will use these materials to benefit from currently available SAR datasets, as well as prepare for future SAR missions, such as NISAR and BIOMASS. Since its release on April 11, 2019, the SAR Handbook has been accessed more than 100,000 times in less than a month, demonstrating the remote sensing community’s urgent need and interest to learn and use SAR.

Herndon, Kelsey E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Leveraging the Power of SAR Observations for Forest Monitoring Systems

Earth observations from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can provide unique information related to forest structure and condition. Despite the many advantages of SAR, particularly where clouds impede optical observations, a knowledge gap has prevented the applied remote sensing community from harnessing its full potential. Here, we discuss the results of a collaboration between SERVIR, a joint program between NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and SilvaCarbon, the United States' contribution to the Global Forest Observation Initiative, to build global capacity in using SAR for forest monitoring and biomass estimation. This includes primarily the creation of 1) The SAR Handbook: Comprehensive Methodologies for Forest Monitoring and Biomass Estimation, 2) a series of international hands-on trainings and training materials, 3) quick-reference guides illustrating SAR concepts, and 4) animated videos explaining how SAR works. The SERVIR-Global community joined efforts to develop a hands-on guide to support decision-makers in the forestry community to leverage the power of SAR technology to better protect and manage forest resources. We worked with world-renowned SAR experts to provide targeted trainings and develop the SAR Handbook. This handbook consists of approachable theoretical background and applied content that contributes to filling the knowledge gap in the applied use of SAR technology for forestry applications. We hope that forest managers and remote sensing specialists will use these materials to benefit from currently available SAR datasets, as well as prepare for future SAR missions, such as NISAR and BIOMASS. Since its release on April 11, 2019, the SAR Handbook has been accessed more than 100,000 times in less than a month, demonstrating the remote sensing community's urgent need and interest to learn and use SAR.

Herndon, Kelsey E.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Construction Methodology Transformation for the Benefit of Workforce Development

Construction is a key economic engine driving both national and global economies. While manual, onsite construction methods dominate the U.S. construction industry, a major shift towards offsite methods has been underway due to its efficiency, speed, and potential cost savings. The workforce necessary for offsite construction growth does not exist in its current form because of the focus on onsite methodologies and the lack of exposure to offsite building methods at all levels of a student’s learning journey. The growth of the U.S. construction industry and competitiveness in an increasingly global construction market over the coming decades can only be supported by a dramatic increase in the use of offsite methods, which requires ramping up workforce training for certain skillsets. The goal of Construction Methodology Transformation for the Benefit of Workforce Development was to understand the opportunities and barriers in both education and industry and to identify best practices for offering curriculum and training to educators, industry, and students that would support skills needed for careers in offsite construction. Our team proposed combining three offsite construction workforce development needs: content development, exposure and training, and job placement - under a single Platform model that would increase experience and career opportunities for students and help match them with potential industry members. Through our proposed solution we expected to see: developed offsite curriculum being utilized by educators and students; an increase in the identification of construction technology and offsite construction methods; an average increase in knowledge gain of at least 25% after participation in pilots; better equipped candidates who are prepared for jobs in offsite construction; and a beta workforce development platform that helps build more pathways for students looking for careers in offsite construction. The two pilots included almost 250 students and resulted in an average knowledge gain of 37 percent. Our research has identified areas of opportunity, for both education and industry to make collaborative training programs more efficient and successful. The chosen techniques for this program are extremely effective when both the school and factory have solid processes and cultures in place to accept students into training programs. This project serves as an important stepping stone to industrywide collaboration to move workforce development for offsite construction forward across the country. With continued collaboration programs like this can provide much needed early exposure and training in offsite construction and we can begin to fill important positions for the future of construction.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NASA NTRS1998

Improving Student Achievement in Math and Science

As the new millennium approaches, a long anticipated reckoning for the education system of the United States is forthcoming, Years of school reform initiatives have not yielded the anticipated results. A particularly perplexing problem involves the lack of significant improvement of student achievement in math and science. Three "Partnership" projects represent collaborative efforts between Xavier University (XU) of Louisiana, Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO), Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Stennis Space Center (SSC), to enhance student achievement in math and science. These "Partnerships" are focused on students and teachers in federally designated rural and urban empowerment zones and enterprise communities. The major goals of the "Partnerships" include: (1) The identification and dissemination of key indices of success that account for high performance in math and science; (2) The education of pre-service and in-service secondary teachers in knowledge, skills, and competencies that enhance the instruction of high school math and science; (3) The development of faculty to enhance the quality of math and science courses in institutions of higher education; and (4) The incorporation of technology-based instruction in institutions of higher education. These goals will be achieved by the accomplishment of the following objectives: (1) Delineate significant ?best practices? that are responsible for enhancing student outcomes in math and science; (2) Recruit and retain pre-service teachers with undergraduate degrees in Biology, Math, Chemistry, or Physics in a graduate program, culminating with a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction; (3) Provide faculty workshops and opportunities for travel to professional meetings for dissemination of NASA resources information; (4) Implement methodologies and assessment procedures utilizing performance-based applications of higher order thinking via the incorporation of Global Learning Observations To Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), Mission to Planet Earth and the use of Geographic Imaging Systems into the K-12th grade curriculum.

Sullivan, Nancy G.↗
DOE OSTI2026

FY25 Electric Grid Security Annual Report

Sandia’s Electric Grid Security program advances a national vision of energy dominance and accessibility, while applying our national security -emphasis on ensuring of a secure, resilient, and affordable electric system for all users. Our achievements reflect a strategic approach combining technology development; modeling, simulation, and data analytics; and partnered demonstrations and outreach to further the adoption of advanced grid and storage technologies. Our FY25 efforts leverage the strengths of our partnerships—spanning Sandia’s core science and technology competencies as well as external technology leaders—to develop the solutions today which enable the grid of tomorrow. Key accomplishments in this report that support our strategy span our technical program areas and include: • New open-source analytical tools for systems -level planning and optimization, including significant advances to the QuESt analytical environment; • Further advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhanced grid operations and planning as we rise to the challenge of new large loads; • Development of solid-state power conversion technologies and a new medium-voltage research lab; • New technologies to assess wildfire vulnerabilities and mitigate potential impacts; • Advanced applications of new cybersecurity technologies with industry partners; • Contributions to understanding the impacts of electromagnetic pulses and geomagnetic disturbances on grid components; and • Digital twin development for hybrid microgrids with multiple generators, storage, and loads. This report indicates key areas of research and engagement and summarizes the impact of Sandia’s contributions through notable accomplishments, journal publications, patents, and technical conferences and presentations. It is provided with the hope that readers discover ways we can further team to create our modern grid and apply the outcomes of our efforts. The bulk of work described herein is funded by several offices within the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), including the Office of Electricity (OE); Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER); former offices such as the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Grid Deployment Office (GDO), the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), and other key programs at USDOE. As we continue to state in these annual reports, the contributors to our successes are too numerous to name here, though our team wishes to express our deep gratitude to the numerous program and project sponsors at the US Department of Energy, who often function equally as technical collaborators; our many partners in industry, academia, utilities, and other national labs; and fellow researchers and business partners at Sandia whose leadership and creativity have enabled the accomplishments described herein.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Final DOE-ASR Report for the Project “Using LASSO to bridge the gap between model and observations and to learn about atmospheric convection”

Atmospheric convection spans a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and involves complex interactions with the surrounding dynamic and thermodynamic environment, particularly over tropical continental regions. These processes remain a major source of uncertainty in weather and climate models, including persistent biases in the diurnal cycle of convective precipitation that directly affect estimates of climate sensitivity. Addressing these challenges requires the combined use of high-resolution observations and cloud-resolving modeling frameworks. In this context, the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Large-Eddy Simulation ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) activity provides a powerful platform that pairs comprehensive observations with numerical simulations to enable process-level understanding of atmospheric convection. Within this context, this Research and Development Partnership Pilot (RDPP) project was designed to initiate and expand DOE ARM/ASR research capacity at minority-serving institutions, while advancing scientific understanding of convective processes over the Amazon rainforest. Consistent with the RDPP mission, the project emphasized partnership development, training, and workforce capacity building alongside exploratory research activities. On the scientific side, the project produced two peer-reviewed journal articles, and one manuscript currently under review (see list in section 3.1). Together, these studies combine long-term ARM observations and cloud-resolving and convection-permitting modeling to investigate the environmental controls on the shallow-to-deep convective transition during the Amazon wet season. The results demonstrate the central role of early-day moisture preconditioning and large-scale dynamical forcing in regulating isolated deep convection, provide mechanistic insight into convective evolution, and establish physically informed modeling frameworks for future sensitivity experiments. These scientific outcomes are described in sections 2.1 to 2.3 and were disseminated in 8 conference presentations (see section 3.2) and 5 invited talks (see section 3.3), reflecting broad engagement with our community. Equally important, the project achieved its RDPP capacity-building objectives (see section 2.4). A sustained research partnership was established among the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Morgan State University (MSU), and Howard University (HU), and extended to include collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The project organized multiple multi-day training events focused on ARM data, LASSO simulations, and quantitative analysis methods, directly engaging students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty across institutions. These activities broadened participation in ASR research and led to independent adoption of LASSO workflows by students beyond the immediate project team. Finally, the project successfully positioned the participating institutions to pursue future DOE research. Preliminary scientific results, coupled with strengthened partnerships and technical capacity, enabled the submission of follow-on proposals to DOE ASR funding opportunities. In this way, the project fulfilled the RDPP goal of seeding durable research capacity and laying the foundation for larger-scale, sustained engagement with DOE ARM and ASR programs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

NEPATEC2.0: NEPA Text Corpus v2.0

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), is a major environmental law in the United States, requiring Federal agencies to consider and document potential environmental impacts before deciding on a proposed action. Modernization of NEPA and permitting processes faces significant challenges due to the lack of standardized formats and interoperable systems for organizing and sharing NEPA-related information across agencies. Much of the information gathered during NEPA reviews is written into documents such as categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements, then filed in predominately independent agency file stores that may or may not be publicly accessible. The application of metadata and data standards, such as those recommended by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to NEPA documents offers a shared vocabulary and structure for key entities like projects, processes, and documents that can streamline information exchange and enhance collaboration across systems. In this work, we publicly release NEPATEC2.0, an expanded corpus of NEPA documents with associated metadata. NEPATEC2.0 encompasses approximately 120,000 documents from 60,000 projects prepared by more than 60 different agencies. Modeled to align with CEQ metadata standards, NEPATEC2.0 promotes consistency in environmental reviews and supports the ongoing effort to modernize permitting technologies by facilitating more transparent, efficient, and data-driven decision-making. Importantly, NEPATEC2.0 demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of large language model-based prompting to extract information from NEPA documents at scale.

environmental review↗
DOE OSTI2024

Synthesis of results for Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) DECOVALEX-2023 Task E

In the 2023 phase of the international collaborative DECOVALEX modeling project, Task E focused on understanding thermal, hydrological, and mechanical (THM) processes related to predicting brine migration in the excavation damaged zone around a heated excavation in salt. Salt is attractive as a disposal medium for radioactive waste because it is self-healing and is essentially impermeable and non-porous in the far field. Investigation of the short-term, near-field behavior is important for radioactive waste disposal because this early period strongly controls the amount of inflowing brine. Brine leads to corrosion of waste forms and waste packages, and possible dissolution of radionuclides with brine transport being a potential transport vector to the accessible environment.The Task was divided into steps. Step 0 included matching unheated brine inflow data from boreholes at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and matching temperature observations during a Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) heater test. Step 1 included validation of models against a thermo-poroelastic analytical solution, and two-phase flow around an excavation. Finally, Step 2 required all the individual components covered in steps 0 and 1 to come together to match observed brine inflow behavior during the same BATS heater test.There were a range of approaches from the teams, from mechanistic to prescriptive. Given the uncertainties in the problem, some teams used one- or two-dimensional models of the processes, while other teams included more geometrical complexity in three-dimensional models. Task E was a learning experience for the teams involved, and feedback from the modeling teams has led to changes in follow-on BATS experiments at WIPP. The primary Task E lessons learned were the impact of hydrologic initialization methods (wetting up vs. drying down), the difference between confined and unconfined thermal expansion, and the large changes in permeability associated with heating and cooling.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2011

SPASE: The Connection Among Solar and Space Physics Data Centers

The Space Physics Archive Search and Extract (SPASE) project is an international collaboration among Heliophysics (solar and space physics) groups concerned with data acquisition and archiving. Within this community there are a variety of old and new data centers, resident archives, "virtual observatories", etc. acquiring, holding, and distributing data. A researcher interested in finding data of value for his or her study faces a complex data environment. The SPASE group has simplified the search for data through the development of the SPASE Data Model as a common method to describe data sets in the various archives. The data model is an XML-based schema and is now in operational use. There are both positives and negatives to this approach. The advantage is the common metadata language enabling wide-ranging searches across the archives, but it is difficult to inspire the data holders to spend the time necessary to describe their data using the Model. Software tools have helped, but the main motivational factor is wide-ranging use of the standard by the community. The use is expanding, but there are still other groups who could benefit from adopting SPASE. The SPASE Data Model is also being expanded in the sense of providing the means for more detailed description of data sets with the aim of enabling more automated ingestion and use of the data through detailed format descriptions. We will discuss the present state of SPASE usage and how we foresee development in the future. The evolution is based on a number of lessons learned - some unique to Heliophysics, but many common to the various data disciplines.

Thieman, James R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Development of Human System Integration at NASA

Human Systems Integration seeks to design systems around the capabilities and limitations of the humans which use and interact with the system, ensuring greater efficiency of use, reduced error rates, and less rework in the design, manufacturing and operational deployment of hardware and software. One of the primary goals of HSI is to get the human factors practitioner involved early in the design process. In doing so, the aim is to reduce future budget costs and resources in redesign and training. By the preliminary design phase of a project nearly 80% of the total cost of the project is locked in. Potential design changes recommended by evaluations past this point will have little effect due to lack of funding or a huge cost in terms of resources to make changes. Three key concepts define an effective HSI program. First, systems are comprised of hardware, software, and the human, all of which operate within an environment. Too often, engineers and developers fail to consider the human capacity or requirements as part of the system. This leads to poor task allocation within the system. To promote ideal task allocation, it is critical that the human element be considered early in system development. Poor design, or designs that do not adequately consider the human component, could negatively affect physical or mental performance, as well as, social behavior. Second, successful HSI depends upon integration and collaboration of all the domains that represent acquisition efforts. Too often, these domains exist as independent disciplines due to the location of expertise within the service structure. Proper implementation of HSI through participation would help to integrate these domains and disciplines to leverage and apply their interdependencies to attain an optimal design. Via this process domain interests can be integrated to perform effective HSI through trade-offs and collaboration. This provides a common basis upon which to make knowledgeable decisions. Finally, HSI must be considered early in the requirements development phase of system design and acquisition. This will provide the best opportunity to maximize return on investment (ROI) and system performance. HSI requirements must be developed in conjunction with capability ]based requirements generation through functional. HSI requirements will drive HSI metrics and embed HSI issues within the system design. After a system is designed, implementation of HSI oversights can be very expensive. An HSI program should be included as an integral part of a total system approach to vehicle and habitat development. This would include, but not limited to, workstation design, D&C development, volumetric analysis, training, operations, and human -robotic interaction. HSI is a necessary process for Human Space Flight programs to meet the Agency Human ]System standards and thus mitigate human risks to acceptable levels. NASA has been involved in HSI planning, procedures development, process, and implementation for many years, and has been building several internal and publicly accessible products to facilitate HSI fs inclusion in the NASA Systems Engineering Lifecycle. Some of these products include: NASA STD 3001 Volumes 1 and 2, Human Integration Design Handbook, NASA HSI Implementation Plan, NASA HSI Implementation Plan Templates, NASA HSI Implementation Handbook, and a 2 ]hour short course on HSI delivered as part of the NASA Space and Life Sciences Directorate Academy. These products have been created leveraging industry best practices and lessons learned from other Federal Government agencies.

Whitmore, Mihriban↗
DOE OSTI2020

LANL's Contribution to the Design and Preparation of the ANL Bubble Experiment #2

In collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is assisting in the design and development of portions of the second ANL Bubble Experiment to be performed in late 2020 at ANL. The ANL Bubble Experiment, as called in this report, is a series of direct electron irradiations of a uranyl sulfate solution to produce radiolysis-induced gas bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen. The gas bubbles formed in the solution enhance mixing and heat transfer. The study of the dynamics, shape, and size of radiolysis-induced gas bubbles is of great importance to understand and characterize the thermal and fluid behavior of the solution, especially for the solution based, neutron-induced fission production technique for Mo-99. During the first experiment performed in 2014, ANL’s 35 MeV electron linear accelerator provided average powers of 6, 12, and 15 kW using a rastered beam to homogeneously heat the 15 x 15 x 80-cm uranyl-sulfate solution. Gas bubble size, shape, velocity, solution temperature, and hydrogen and oxygen concentrations were recorded during the irradiations. The details of the experimental setup and results for the first experiment are described in the ANL reports, Design and Construction of Experiment for Direct Electron Irradiation of a Uranyl Sulfate Solution: Bubble Formation and Thermal Hydraulics Studies and Experimental Results for Direct Electron Irradiation of a Uranyl Sulfate Solution: Bubble Formation and Thermal Hydraulics Studies. The purpose of this report is to describe the issues and lessons learned associated with the first experiment and elaborate on designs to improve and obtain more accurate experimental results for the upcoming experiment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Assessing the Success of Shipping High Burn-Up Sister Rods from ORNL to PNNL - 19456

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DoE's) Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC), in collaboration with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the commercial nuclear industry have initiated a group of projects to obtain data to support the enhancement of the technical bases for the extended storage and transportation of high-burnup (HBU) (>45 GWd/MTU) spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Under this overall effort, a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed storage cask was loaded with Thirty-Two (32) HBU SNF assemblies. The cask was modified to allow radial and axial temperature profiles to be measured using thermocouple lances inserted through the lid. Twenty-five (25) rods from similar assemblies of similar claddings, in-reactor placement, and burnup histories (herein called 'sister rods') have been shipped from the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant and are currently being nondestructively tested at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). To meet UFD's research objectives, testing on ten (10) of these rods is required to be performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Although the twenty-five rods were originally received at ORNL in the 10-160B, the PNNL facility that would need to receive the ten (10) rods did not have an active history with using the 10-160B. This paper first identifies and summarizes various criteria and evaluations used in helping to select which package will be used for the shipment of the ten (10) sister rods to PNNL (i.e., Bases on why the NACLWT was chosen). With the shipment scheduled to be complete, identified potential concerns, issues, lessons learned, and transportation summary documents were studied (post-shipment). The adequacy of the criteria and evaluations used to choose the NAC-LWT were accessed to determine their adequacy. The results show the criteria were adequate. However, it was noted that DOE Order 460.2A, DOE M 460.2-1A, and DOE G 460.2-1 have differences in the terminology and scope, resulting in clarity issues and differences in regulatory interpretation. Since one-of-a kind spent fuel shipments are uncommon, the topic will be significant interest to people who work in radioactive material packaging and transportation. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

DGaaS: GPU as a Service on Distributed Computing System

In the rapidly evolving landscape of scientific computing, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have become indispensable for their unparalleled ability to handle parallel tasks in complex calculations, simulations, and data analysis. Their utility is further magnified in machine learning and AI applications, where they significantly accelerate model training and predictive analytics. Within this context, the Triton Inference Server emerges as a pivotal open-source tool, specializing in AI inferencing and optimizing GPU utilization across various platforms and frameworks. This paper presents an in-depth study on distributed High Throughput Computing (HTC), specifically focusing on the HTCondor framework and its resource provisioning tools, GlideinWMS and HEPCloud. These systems enable large-scale scientific experiments like CMS and DUNE to efficiently access and utilize vast computational resources. The paper explores the core architectural components of GlideinWMS, including jobs, user pools, and worker nodes, and discusses their integration with GPUs and the Triton server. The primary aim of this research is to develop a solution that optimizes GPU utilization by leveraging Glideins and containers. This approach allows computational jobs, particularly those involving AI models, to use GPUs only when essential, thereby facilitating efficient sharing of limited GPU resources. To validate this architecture, the study conducted three key tests involving custom scripts, container-based servers, and Triton server deployments. However, the study faces challenges, notably in locating the Triton server and ensuring secure remote access. To address these issues, future work will focus on developing a proxy mechanism and enhancing security protocols. In conclusion, this study offers a comprehensive roadmap for effective and efficient GPU utilization in distributed High Throughput Computing. It aims to contribute significantly to the scientific community by solving pressing problems and implementing robust solutions in collaboration with the GlideinWMS and HEPCloud teams. The research sets the stage for a more efficient, scalable, and cost-effective paradigm in scientific computing.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗