Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “technical Support”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,315 records · Page 73
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Coalition for Community-Supported Affordable Geothermal Energy Systems (C2SAGES)

The C2SAGES project evaluated the feasibility of a community geothermal system for the planned Windy Ridge affordable housing development in Hinesburg, Vermont. Led by GTI Energy with Vermont Gas Systems, LN Consulting, NREL, and Frontier Energy, the work assessed technical design, energy performance, costs, business models, community engagement, maintenance, workforce development, and permitting. The proposed system was designed to serve 100% of the development’s heating, cooling, and domestic hot water loads. Compared with a baseline using air-source heat pumps and natural gas water heating, the geothermal system was estimated to reduce HVAC and domestic hot water energy use by about 45% to 48%, lower operating and maintenance costs, and reduce 30-year life-cycle costs by 37% for Phase 1 and 10% for Phase 2. Technical testing and modeling indicated that the Windy Ridge site is suitable for a community-scale geothermal system. The project also developed borehole field layouts, piping concepts, pump house designs, controls, maintenance plans, and supporting engineering drawings. The business model analysis found that first cost, ownership structure, and customer affordability remain major deployment challenges. Utility-led maintenance and operation were viewed favorably, but traditional utility cost-recovery models may require subsidy or revised financing structures to be practical for affordable housing. Community engagement highlighted the need for clear public education, transparent financing, reliable long-term maintenance, trained technicians, and the potential to pair geothermal systems with weatherization. Overall, the report concludes that community geothermal is technically feasible and offers meaningful energy, emissions, and life-cycle cost benefits, but broader deployment will depend on workable financing models and workforce readiness.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Small-Scale Experiments.10-gallon drum experiment summary

A series of sub-scale (10-gallon) drum experiments were conducted to characterize the reactivity, heat generation, and gas generation of mixtures of chemicals believed to be present in the drum (68660) known to have breached in association with the radiation release event at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) on February 14, 2014, at a scale expected to be large enough to replicate the environment in that drum but small enough to be practical, safe, and cost effective. These tests were not intended to replicate all the properties of drum 68660 or the event that led to its breach, or to validate a particular hypothesis of the release event. They were intended to observe, in a controlled environment and with suitable diagnostics, the behavior of simple mixtures of chemicals in order to determine if they could support reactivity that could result in ignition or if some other ingredient or event would be necessary. There is a significant amount of uncertainty into the exact composition of the barrel; a limited sub-set of known components was identified, reviewed with Technical Assessment Team (TAT) members, and used in these tests. This set of experiments was intended to provide a framework to postulate realistic, data-supported hypotheses for processes that occur in a “68660-like” configuration, not definitively prove what actually occurred in 68660.

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

Light Water Sustainability Program: Optimizing Information Automation Using a New Method Based on System-Theoretic Process Analysis

This report describes the interim progress for research supporting the design and optimization of information automation systems for nuclear power plants. Much of the domestic nuclear fleet is currently focused on modernizing technologies and processes, including transitioning toward digitalization in the control room and elsewhere throughout the plant, along with a greater use of automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, and other emerging technologies. While there are significant opportunities to apply these technologies toward greater plant safety, efficiency, and overall cost-effectiveness, optimizing their design and avoiding potential safety and performance risks depends on ensuring that human-performance-related organizational and technical design issues are identified and addressed. This report describes modeling tools and techniques, based on sociotechnical system theory, to support these design goals and their application in the current research effort. The report is intended for senior nuclear energy stakeholders, including regulators, corporate management, and senior plant management. We have developed and employed a method to design an optimized information automation ecosystem (IAE) based on the systems-theoretic constructs underlying sociotechnical systems theory in general and the Systems-Theoretic Accident Modeling and Processes (STAMP) approach in particular. We argue that an IAE can be modeled as an interactive information control system whose behavior can be understood in terms of dynamic control and feedback relationships amongst the system’s technical and organizational components. Up to this point, we have employed a Causal Analysis based on STAMP (CAST) technique to examine a performance- and safety-related incident at an industry partner’s plant that involved the unintentional activation of an emergency diesel generator. This analysis provided insight into the behavior of the plant’s current information control structure within the context of a specific, significant event. Our ongoing analysis is focused on identifying near-term process improvements and longer-term design requirements for an optimized IAE system. The latter analyses will employ a second STAMP-derived technique, System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA). STPA is a useful modeling tool for generating and analyzing actual or potential information control structures. Finally, we have begun modeling plantwide organizational relationships and processes. Organizational system modeling will supplement our CAST and STPA findings and provide a basis for mapping out a plantwide information control architecture. CAST analysis findings indicate an important underlying contributor to the incident under investigation, and a significant risk to information automation system performance, was perceived schedule pressure, which exposed weaknesses in interdepartmental coordination between and within responsible plant organizations and challenged the resilience of established plant processes, until a human caused the initiating event. These findings are discussed in terms of their risk to overall system performance and their implications for information automation system resilience and brittleness. We present two preliminary information automation models. The proactive issue resolution model is a test case of an information automation concept with significant near-term potential for application and subsequent reduction in significant plant events. The IAE model is a more general representation of a broader, plantwide information automation system. From our results, we have generated a set of preliminary system-level requirements and safety constraints. These requirements will be further developed over the remainder of our project in collaboration with nuclear industry subject matter experts and specialists in the technical systems under consideration. Additionally, we will continue to pursue the system analyses initiated in the first part of our effort, with a particular emphasis on STPA as the main tool to identify weak or weakening control structures that affect the resilience of organizations and programs. Our intent is to broaden the scope of the analysis from an individual use case to a related set of use cases (e.g., maintenance tasks, compliance tasks) with similar human-system performance challenges. This will enable more generalized findings to refine the Proactive Issue Resolution and IAE models, as well as their system-level requirements and safety constraints. We will use organizational system modeling analyses to supplement STPA findings and model development. We conclude the report with a set of summary recommendations and an initial draft list of system-level requirements and safety constraints for optimized information automation systems.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2014

2014 HPC Annual Report

Our commitment is to support you through delivery of an IT environment that provides mission value by transforming the way you use, protect, and access information. We approach this through technical innovation, risk management, and relationships with our workforce, Laboratories leadership, and policy makers nationwide. This second edition of our HPC Annual Report continues our commitment to communicate the details and impact of Sandia’s large-scale computing resources that support the programs associated with our diverse mission areas. A key tenet to our approach is to work with our mission partners to understand and anticipate their requirements and formulate an investment strategy that is aligned with those Laboratories priorities. In doing this, our investments include not only expanding the resources available for scientific computing and modeling and simulation, but also acquiring large-scale systems for data analytics, cloud computing, and Emulytics. We are also investigating new computer architectures in our advanced systems test bed to guide future platform designs and prepare for changes in our code development models. Our initial investments in large-scale institutional platforms that are optimized for Informatics and Emulytics work are serving a diverse customer base. We anticipate continued growth and expansion of these resources in the coming years as the use of these analytic techniques expands across our mission space. If your program could benefit from an investment in innovative systems, please work through your Program Management Unit ’s Mission Computing Council representatives to engage our teams.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Enhancing the Useability of the IAEA's Physical Model: An Analysis of User Feedback

This study presents the results of Physical Model user interviews conducted with 12 people who have International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards experience. The goal of this report is to provide additional context for policy makers when prioritizing the needs of the IAEA regarding support for enhancements to the Physical Model. The interviews covered the general usability of the Physical Model, its effectiveness as a technical reference, and the scope and utility of the Physical Model's indicators and content. The key conclusions from these interviews are as follows: 1) The Physical Model is difficult to find and not well advertised. 2) The Physical Model can be difficult to use due to its format, which makes searching for information difficult, and lack of visual content. Therefore, the Physical Model should be supported in multiple formats (print, PDF, web) to maximize its usability for different stakeholders. 3) The scope of the Physical Model's content and indicators is likely sufficient, and translating indicators into other languages is unlikely to be worth the effort. 4) Despite its inefficiencies and other issues, the Physical Model in its current form is a vital (albeit under-utilized) resource for key stakeholders. 5) Despite its broad use case the Physical Model is not a catch-all tool and force-fitting the Physical Model into functions for which it has not been designed for would likely diminish its value. 6) It can be difficult to disentangle challenges related to the Physical Model and its usability from broader challenges at the Agency, such as general issues with communication and coordination. Based on these conclusions and considering the results of past studies on the Physical Model funded by NA-241, the analysis team developed a list of recommendations and associated actions for IAEA consideration. These recommendations are prioritized based on the assessed level of difficulty for the IAEA to implement a recommendation, emphasizing low hanging fruit then building to more ambitious changes to the Physical Model's format and content.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Prioritizing and Managing Technology Needs to Meet River Protection Project Mission Objectives - 16462

Over 56 million gallons of radioactive waste are stored in 177 large underground tanks at the Hanford Site, located in southeastern Washington State. This nuclear waste resulted from plutonium production for the nation's nuclear defense program. The River Protection Project (RPP) mission is to: - Safeguard and safely manage waste stored in the Hanford tanks, - Treat the waste using the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), - Ensure safe disposition of the waste to protect the Columbia River and the environment. Each aspect of the mission requires some application of technology in order to meet the mission objectives. The RPP Technology Roadmap document presents a comprehensive, integrated assessment of the technology-related advances needed to ensure successful completion of the Hanford tank waste cleanup mission. This paper describes the development of the RPP Technology Roadmap, summarizes its content, describes integration and collaboration with the Department of Energy's national laboratories to support the work identified, and defines how priorities were identified to ensure near-term RPP mission commitments can be accomplished while preserving the longer term technology development elements necessary for mission completion. The Challenge - Managing a wide variety of technology needs that involve multiple organizations, contractors, and national laboratories presents additional challenges when funding constraints are factored in. A process was needed to ensure the technology needs supporting near term mission priorities were appropriately identified, prioritized, and supported through the fiscal year planning process. Additionally, the national laboratory resources necessary to support many of the technologies require coordination to ensure the most appropriate resources are applied at the appropriate level without duplication or contradiction of effort. The Solution - The RPP Technology Roadmap was developed with the primary purposes to: - Identify technology related items needed to support or enhance the River Protection Project (RPP) mission, - Prioritize technology needs to support fiscal year planning processes, - Organize National laboratory support of the RPP mission and communicate needs to the participating contractors. The Technology Roadmap is consistent with Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford mission priorities and is also in alignment with other Hanford Site technical initiatives and policy and planning documents. The Technology Roadmap highlights the current estimated technology needs and identifies where planning shortfalls exist and where national laboratory participation is needed to support mission success. This information assists fiscal year planning and national laboratory contracting processes to ensure that technology needs are supported. In addition to supporting the RPP baseline mission, the Technology Roadmap provides a basis for strategic planning by identifying opportunities to use technology solutions to enhance mission efficiency. This waste management paper describes the innovative and collaborative processes used to develop, validate, and communicate the results so the project owners and the national laboratories can most effectively plan work scope and resources. A discussion of the following processes is included: - Technology needs and task owner identification, - Functional area grouping and area lead identification, - Needs prioritization, - High priority needs ranking (including validation), - Results compilation and planning gap identification, - Results presentation by project and functional area, - National laboratory coordination and collaboration. Application - The process used to develop the RPP technology roadmap is applicable to any site where multiple national laboratories and contractors are involved in identifying and implementing technology based solutions. This process is also applicable to the DOE HQ role to provide prioritization and coordination of the nationwide technology development activities. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

United States Nuclear Manufacturing Infrastructure Assessment

This report provides a review and assessment of the existing U.S. infrastructure capabilities to manufacture on a commercial scale, the major components and unique materials required by the various U.S. designs for advanced nuclear reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs). The approach was to compare the needs of SMRs and advanced reactors against the capability of U.S. manufacturers to ascertain gaps that could inhibit U.S. industrial support for deployment of SMRs or advanced reactors. This report focused on the reactor plant designs being developed by NuScale Power (the NuScale Power Module), TerraPower (both the Traveling Wave Reactor and the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor to a limited extent), and X-energy (the Xe-100). To gather the information, MPR visited each of these companies and selected candidate suppliers to tour their facilities and conduct in-person interviews. Information was also obtained by telephone interviews, internet research, and literature review of technical reports. The overarching conclusion from this study is that the U.S. has existing capability or can readily develop capability to support and sustain most, but not all, aspects of commercial deployment of advanced reactors and SMRs. The greatest concerns for capability gaps in the U.S. infrastructure for supply of components for SMRs and advanced reactors are associated with reactor pressure vessels, steam generators, and fuel fabrication. Foreign vendors can supply reactor pressure vessels and steam generators. Issues with fuel fabrication are associated with uranium enrichment and development of fabrication methods for the innovative fuel concepts planned for advanced reactors. The technical capabilities of U.S. manufacturers appear satisfactory with the possible exceptions noted above. However, the capacity of the existing U.S. manufacturing infrastructure may be insufficient for a high rate of construction. Manufacturers contacted as part of this study indicated a willingness to expand capacity if sufficient orders are in place. The review of U.S. infrastructure included a detailed review of capabilities in many different processes including forging, tube drawing, machining, fabrication, and testing. In addition, MPR researched the advanced manufacturing processes for additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) and powder metallurgy - hot isostatic pressing. Reactor plant designers and candidate suppliers are planning to rely on traditional processes for the initial plants. If advanced manufacturing processes are developed and accepted by the nuclear industry, these processes may be used in the future. In the immediate term, ongoing research (much of which is funded by DOE) is necessary to develop and refine advanced manufacturing methods. This report includes several recommendations for DOE that will advance deployment of SMRs and advanced reactors from a manufacturing perspective and other areas identified during the course of this project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Superior removal of As(III) and As(V) from water with Mn-doped β-FeOOH nanospindles on carbon foam

Arsenic pollution of water is one of the severest environmental challenges threatening human health. Iron-based nanomaterials have been demonstrated effective in arsenic removal. However, they generally suffer from low removal efficiency towards highly toxic As(III), loss of active sites owing to agglomeration, and poor reusability. Herein, we report a carbonized melamine foam supported Mn(IV)-doped β-FeOOH nanospindles(CF@Mn-FeOOH NSp) for tackling the technical hurdles. The designed CF@Mn-FeOOH NSp appears as a free-standing monolith through a low-cost and straightforward hydrothermal method. The atomic-scale integration of Mn(IV) into β-FeOOH enables an oxidation-adsorption bifunctionality, where Mn(IV) serves as oxidizer for As(III) and Fe(III) acts as adsorber for As(V). The maximal adsorption capacity for As(V) and As(III) can reach 152 and 107 mg g -1 , respectively. Meanwhile, As in simulated high arsenic groundwater can be decreased to below 10 μg L -1 within 24 h. By simple "filtrating-washing", 85% and 82% of its initial adsorption capacity for As(V) and As(III) can be easily recovered even after 5-cycles reuse. Kinetics and isotherm adsorption study indicate that the arsenic adsorption behavior is mainly through chemical bonding during single-layer adsorbing process. The as-prepared CF@Mn-FeOOH offers a scalable, efficient, and recyclable solution for arsenic removal in groundwater and wastewater from mines and industry.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2013

Feasibility Study of Economics and Performance of Solar PV at the Atlas Industrial Park in Duluth, Minnesota - A Study Prepared in Partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency for the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative: Siting Renewable Energy on Potentially Contaminated Land and Mine Sites

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5, in accordance with the RE-Powering America's Land initiative, selected the Atlas Industrial Park in Duluth, Minnesota, for a feasibility study of renewable energy production. The EPA provided funding to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to support a feasibility study of solar renewable energy generation at the Atlas Industrial Park. NREL provided technical assistance for this project but did not assess environmental conditions at the site beyond those related to the performance of a photovoltaic (PV) system. The purpose of this study is to assess the site for a possible PV installation and estimate the cost, performance, and site impacts of different PV configurations. In addition, the study evaluates financing options that could assist in the implementation of a PV system at the site.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Consideration of liners and covers in performance assessments

On-site disposal cells are in use and being considered at several United States Department of Energy (USDOE) sites as the final disposition for large amounts of waste associated with cleanup of contaminated areas and facilities. These disposal cells are typically regulated by States and/or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in addition to having to comply with requirements in DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management due to the radioactive waste. The USDOE-Environmental Management Office of Site Restoration formed a working group to foster improved communication and sharing of information for personnel associated with these CERCLA disposal cells and work towards more consistent assumptions, as appropriate, for technical and policy considerations related to CERCLA risk assessments and DOE Order 435.1 performance assessments in support of a Record of Decision and Disposal Authorization Statement, respectively. One of the issues considered by the working group, which is addressed in this report, was how to appropriately consider the performance of covers and liners/leachate collections systems in the context of a DOE Order 435.1 performance assessment (PA). This same information may be appropriate for consideration within CERCLA risk assessments for these facilities. These OSDCs are generally developed to meet hazardous waste (HW) disposal design standards under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as well as the DOE Order 435.1 performance based standards for disposal of radioactive waste. To meet the standards for HW, the facilities typically include engineered covers and liner/leachate collection systems. Thus, when considering such facilities in the context of a DOE Order 435.1 PA, there is a need to address the evolution of performance of covers and liner/leachate collection systems in the context of meeting a performance standard considering time frames of 1,000 years for compliance and potentially thousands of years based on the wastes to test the robustness of the system. Experience has shown that there are a range of expectations and perspectives from the different regulators involved at different sites when reviewing assumptions related to cover and liner/leachate collection system performance. However for HW disposal alone under RCRA the design standards are typically considered sufficient by the regulators without a requirement to assess long-term performance thus avoiding the need to consider the details addressed in this report. This report provides suggestions for a general approach to address covers and liners/leachate collection systems in a DOE Order 435.1 PA and how to integrate assessments with defense-in-depth considerations such as design, operations, and waste acceptance criteria to address uncertainties. The emphasis is on water balances and management in such assessments. Specific information and references are provided for details needed to address the evolution of individual components of cover and liner/leachate collection systems. This information was then synthesized into suggestions for best practices for cover and liner system design and examples of approaches to address the performance of covers and liners as part of a performance assessment of the disposal system. Numerous references are provided for sources of information to help describe the basis for performance of individual components of cover and liner systems.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

Solid Rocket Propellant Fires Characterization, Final Scientific/Technical Report for 8 May 2014 through 4 October 2017

The Solid Rocket Propellant Fires Characterization Program continued the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory's (JHU/APL's) characterization of solid propellant fires under relevant accident conditions [at 1 atmosphere (atm) ambient pressure, in humid weather], with significant findings that have revolutionized the understanding of these fires and the response and behavior of plutonium dioxide (plutonia) surrogates in the fires. These findings have been disseminated in Department of Energy (DOE) internal working meetings and at technical interchange meetings (TIMs) with DOE, the Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel (INSRP), and NASA in support of the Presidential nuclear safety launch approval process for the Mars 2020 mission, as well as via several conference and journal papers.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Energy Efficiency Assessment for a Microgrid in the Community of Castañer, Puerto Rico

The Cooperativa Hidroeléctrica de la Montaña (Cooperativa) and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council office in Puerto Rico (IREC) are leading the development of a community solar photovoltaic (PV) microgrid comprised of a 225 kWDC photovoltaic system tied to a 500 kWh storage system in the Community of Castañer, in the town of Lares in Puerto Rico. This microgrid will support the electricity needs of eight essential businesses and four homes. The Cooperativa and IREC requested technical assistance to help conduct a comprehensive energy efficiency assessment for the commercial buildings to maximize the impact of the solar PV microgrid. The goal was to identify energy conservation measures that would have the highest impact in terms of reducing electricity demand in order to; reduce the size and cost of the PV microgrid; and reduce the annual operating costs for building owners.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Computational Framework for Energy Storage Participation in Transmission Planning with Electricity Market Participation

Energy storage technologies—including pumped storage hydropower (PSH), batteries, and other technologies—have been technically proven to be capable of providing transmission services by regulating power flows and providing voltage support. These technologies will potentially increase the flexibility of transmission infrastructure and may defer (or eliminate) the need for transmission upgrades or new investments. On the regulatory side, Congress and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have issued several orders over decades that have established energy storage’s (ES) eligibility as a transmission asset. The orders have required transmission planning entities to provide a level playing field where ES can participate in the transmission planning process (TPP) without undue discrimination and preference of technology. These developments pave the way for ES to participate in transmission planning as a transmission asset. On the other hand, as a flexible resource, ES can play an important role in the electricity market to enable more renewable energy integration by providing energy and grid reliability services. This could bring more revenue in return.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

CRADA Number NFE-19-07867 with Neptune Fluid Flow Systems (CRADA Final Report)

Neptune Fluid Flow Systems is a rising engineering firm with a technology focus in improving cryogenic sample preparation for cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) studies. To advance the R&D of its innovative cryogenic preparation method, Neptune has teamed up with the Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to achieve the following aims: (1) validate the technical feasibility of CryoSheet sample prep method, (2) design, fabricate and test the cryo-stage support, and (3) experiment and achieve success with the novel sample preparation method on different soft matters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Criticality Safety and Fuel Performance Considerations for Enrichment Above 5 Weight Percent in the Uranium Dioxide Fuel Cycle

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is preparing for anticipated licensing applications requesting fuel enrichments of UO 2 ceramic fuels enriched in excess of 5 weight percent (w/o) 235 U for commercial light-water reactors (LWRs). PNNL has been tasked with providing technical assistance to the NRC related to the review and approval of requests for enrichment increases above the current 5 w/o 235 U enrichment limit. This report will provide the agency with technical assistance to enhance the staff’s knowledge base and to identify developmental needs required to support the licensing of greater than 5 w/o UO 2 ceramic fuels. This report provides a background on increasing enrichment of UO 2 LWR fuel beyond 5 w/o 235 U. The primary concern of increasing enrichment is the impacts to criticality safety. This report will focus on criticality safety as it relates to enrichment, conversion of uranium hexafluoride to UO 2 , fuel assembly fabrication, transportation of fresh/spent fuel assemblies, reactor operations, and storage of fresh/spent fuel assemblies. The report provides a general summary of each of the steps in the UO 2 fuel cycle starting from transportation of enriched UF 6 through dry cask storage of spent fuel assemblies. This report also discusses other impacts of increased enrichment during reactor operation and the surrounding fuel cycle activities. Current needs regarding both data and analytical codes to support the increase above 5 w/o 235 U are identified and discussed.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NA-213) [Slides]

The risk of a terrorist group acquiring radioactive/nuclear materials requires NSDD's continuous efforts to build capacity of partner countries to deter, detect, and investigate acts of nuclear smuggling. Over the past 25 years, NSDD has and continues to deploy radiation detection equipment tailored to operational requirements with the goal of developing a layered, flexible, varied, and unpredictable nuclear detection architecture. An effective counter nuclear smuggling strategy considers both technical and operational challenges to develop the tools necessary to achieve the mission. LANL provides expert support to the NSDD mission to constantly improve and adapt to any future challenges.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2021

Architecture and Component Selection for the Remote Canister-Monitoring System

This report documents the selected system architecture and components surveyed for the development of a remote, canister-monitoring system (RCMS) for determining and monitoring environmental conditions within dry fuel storage canisters containing aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel (ASNF) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). These efforts are in support of the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) investigations into the technical issues associated with extended dry storage (50+ years) of ASNF. It is important to resolve questions regarding storage because the ATR is expected to continue producing approximately 100 elements of spent fuel per year for at least another twenty years. The parameters to be monitored by the RCMS include temperature, relative humidity, hydrogen gas concentration, and radiation environment (dose). Components are selected based on the expected environmental conditions within the canister and fuel storage area and the desired performance of the RCMS. Several of these components have been purchased and are currently undergoing component testing to confirm their suitability for use in delivering the RCMS. Additional components may be identified through the course of design and may be selected in the future. Furthermore, changing performance, interfacing, and compatibility requirements and the results of component testing may necessitate revisiting component selection.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Final Technical Report for GROWTH-MSI at Sonoma University

This final technical report describes the goals, activities, outcomes, and broader impacts of the GROWTH-MSI program, supported through the DOE RENEW Initiative in High Energy Physics. The program established a 1.5-year traineeship for undergraduate students from six Northern California Minority Serving Institutions, connected students with DOE laboratory research mentors, provided particle physics coursework and professional development, and advanced HEP research infrastructure at CSU Stanislaus and Sonoma State University.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗