SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “Lessons Learned”
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.
Lessons Learned in Resiliency - Strengthening International Nuclear Security Cooperation.
Abstract not provided.
Approaching the Final Frontier: Lessons Learned from the Deployment of HPE/Cray EX Spock and Crusher supercomputers
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Community Energy Planning: Best Practices and Lessons Learned in NREL's Work with Communities
The clean energy transition is accelerating due to local, state, and national actions combined with external market forces. Regardless of where goals are set and decisions are made, clean energy deployment occurs on the ground in communities. As a result, communities increasingly need technical expertise and assistance with planning for and managing the energy transition. Building on decades of work with state, local, and tribal jurisdictions, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) increasingly provides community-driven modeling, analysis, and technical assistance to enable more data-driven and equitable community energy planning. To inform and enhance NREL's capabilities in community energy planning and provide a resource for others working in this space, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) Sustainable Communities Catalyzer supported this best-practices presentation based on interviews with seasoned NREL practitioners and a literature review on equitable community energy planning. Findings include five best practices for community energy planning that NREL practitioners and others can apply to strengthen their impact: 1) do your homework in preparation for community interactions; 2) be humble, authentic, and honest in your interactions with community members; 3) respect community agency in every step of the process; 4) meet the community where they are; 5) democratize participation.
Agent-Based Modeling for the Circular Economy: Lessons Learned From Three Case Studies
The circular economy (CE) aims at decoupling human activities from resource use, creating wealth in the process. Recently, many scholars have questioned the link between increased circularity and sustainability, resulting in many methodological approaches being developed for that purpose. This presentation summarizes the insights gained from the application of agent-based modeling (ABM) to study the techno-economic and social conditions promoting circularity and sustainability of three technologies: photovoltaic (PV) modules, hard disk drives (HDDs), and wind blades. Four main categories of agents are defined in the ABM: asset owners, service providers (e.g., refurbishers), recyclers, and manufacturers. Two main CE strategies are represented: lifetime extension (through repair or reuse) and recycling. The developed models start by projecting installed capacities and end-of-life (EOL) quantities. Then the theory of planned behavior - a social psychology model explaining behavior adoption based on attitude, peer influence, and costs - is used to model the asset owners' EOL decision (i.e., landfill, recycle or extend the lifetime of the asset). Then, the quantities of assets flowing to the recycler and service provider agents and quantities of materials flowing to manufacturers are computed. Recyclers' economies of scale are dynamically modeled, and the value generated by the CE strategies for the recyclers, service providers, and manufacturers is computed within the model. When data are available, avoided greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the CE strategies adoption are calculated exogenously from the ABM simulations. Results show that with improved used PV modules warranties, the reuse CE strategy adoption increases from 1% to 23% between 2020 and 2050. Similarly, improved standards could enhance HDDs end-users trust in data-wiping - a prerequisite to reuse - leading to a 3-fold increase in the reuse rate and avoid about 5 million tons of CO2 eq by 2050. Regarding wind blades, 5-15 years lifetime extension could reduce EOL blade quantities by 13%. High costs and logistic issues prevent blades from being recycled in greater quantities. One insight from the case studies is the necessity to have mature secondary markets for reuse to be a viable option. Interestingly, PV reuse is limited by the willingness of PV owners to purchase used modules (on the demand side), while HDDs reuse is constrained by the lack of trust toward data-wiping (limiting the supply of used HDDs). The six limits of the CE concepts presented by Korhonen et al. (2018) are finally used to interpret the results. The HDD case study is an exemplary lock-in, where the first accepted practice (shredding) retains most of the market. The PV results illustrate the technical limitation to reuse, as the growing demand cannot be supplied entirely with used PV modules. The wind case study shows the relevance of clearly defining physical flows - what type of waste should wind blades be considered, how should they be transported and landfilled? - a crucial consideration that also applies to PV modules. Finally, the three case studies highlight the relevance of studying a technology's technical, economic, and market material efficiency potentials altogether and the potential benefit of coupling ABM to life cycle assessment.
Transferring Photovoltaic Lessons Learned to Concentrating Solar Power
This presentations outlines the following: 1) Points worth noting in the history of the PV industry, 2) PV benefits from standardization, 3) PV sharing reliability challenges since the 1975, 4) PV projects from an independent engineering (IE) perspective, 5) Site selection (what NOT to do), 6) PV Operations & Maintenance over time, 7) Soiling research (remove the silos), 8) Noting a few relevant PV IEC standards, and 9) PVfleets data sharing.
Lessons Learned Converting A Commercial Enclosure to a Uranium Handling Glovebox
This presentation highlights the conversion of a commercial Directed Energy Deposistion machine to a radiological glovebox. An overview of some of the advanced manufacturing capabilities at INL is outlined along with some definitions and facts of additive manufacturing. The upgrades to the commercially purchased Optomec LENS MR-7 and the difficulties with qualifying it as a radiological glovebox are presented.
Energy-Economy-Environment: Lessons Learned from the Integration and Analysis of Over Half a Century of Offshore Energy Infrastructure Incident Reports
AGU Fall Meeting 2022, Chicago, IL, December 12-16, 2022
Lessons Learned in Projecting the Monitoring of Nuclear Material Production into the Field
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM EXPLORING SAFETY, SECURITY, AND SAFEGUARDS INTERFACES IN ADVANCED AND SMALL MODULAR REACTOR TECHNOLOGIES.
Abstract not provided.
Vegetation Management Lessons Learned and Helpful Tools
The InSPIRE Project is investigating questions around vegetation management and agrivoltaics at solar sites across the US. Results from research at three Enel Green Power pollinator-friendly solar sites in Minnesota have shown that the success of different pollinator-friendly seed mixes depend on the ecoregion and can vary from site to site. Results from the Enel Green Power sites also showed that weed coverage decreases dramatically by three years post seeding. The InSPIRE project has also created resources like The 5 C's of Agrivoltaics and an online agrivoltaics financial calculator to help farmers, land owners, developers, and facility operators with vegetation management at solar facilities. The PV-SMaRT calculator was created by the University of Minnesota in partnership with NREL to help with questions surrounding storm-water runoff at PV sites.
Lessons Learned from Removals of Category 1 and 2 Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Lessons Learned From the Cesium Pond Soil Shipping Campaign at Whiteshell Laboratories - 18206
Whiteshell Laboratories (WL), located in Manitoba, Canada is the first major decommissioning project of a nuclear research establishment in Canada. With the focus now active remediation to return the site to green state, the majority of legacy radioactive waste and waste generated from decommissioning and demolition of nuclear facilities must be transported off site to Chalk River Laboratories (CRL), located in Ontario, Canada. No large radioactive waste shipment campaigns have been undertaken by WL until now. A newly established Waste Management Program specifically designed to support the WL Closure Project has executed its first major shipping campaign of radioactive material, making approximately one hundred shipments and reducing WL's total volume of low-level radioactive waste to transport by seven percent. The shipped waste was approximately 1800 m{sup 3} (2600 metric tons) of known Cs-137 contaminated soil material generated from the excavation of an Experimental Cesium Pond Project designed to study the distribution of dose received by organisms living at the mud-water interface from Cs-137 contamination. This paper outlines the cost benefit analysis undertaken to determine the most cost effective method for transporting the radioactively contaminated soil to CRL, storage challenges experienced by both WL and CRL, the selection of the most appropriate waste package, training of shippers, and the continual optimization of increasing the number of generated waste packages and the number of waste packages shipped and accepted at CRL. (authors)
Crickets{sup TM} and Curies: Lessons Learned from the Steel Industry - 18221
The global nuclear power industry, and to a lesser extent, the decommissioning and demolition of old nuclear weapons plants, obviously present challenges to those in the radioactive waste management field. Some if not many of these challenges have already been dealt with, and resolved, in the steel industry, including its recycling component. This paper presents proven state-of-the-art radiation detection systems used in steel and related recycling facilities, emphasizing current, reliable and flexible technologies for characterization, volume reduction, and remote handling of recyclable solid wastes contaminated and, just as important, not contaminated, with a wide range of radioactive isotopes. It will also cover features of remotely operated waste handling equipment effective in reducing or eliminating exposure of workers engaged in decontamination and demolition work on active and/or inactive nuclear installations. The industry group identified above has a long-standing policy regarding any radioactivity in potentially recyclable as well as waste materials it receives: if it is detected, it is rejected. The US Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) put it this way in one of their Public Policy Statements: 'SMA members have not, and will not, accept scrap that is known to be radioactively contaminated' (emphasis included in the original) (1). This policy, adopted around the globe, obviously has major implications for decommissioning and demolition projects. To put it bluntly, if rad-contaminated metal, concrete, or other materials are sent to a facility for possible recycling, reuse or even disposal, they may well be rejected. If so, the materials will be returned to the generator--at the generator's cost-and a new solution will have to be found. This also results in additional costs for the generator. Facilities in the steel making and metal recycling industries have access to, and routinely count on, a wide range of proven detection technologies and techniques for monitoring incoming shipments and sorting the materials in them. The approaches range from using sensitive handheld instruments for pinpointing and isolating small devices such as isotope-containing gauges and radium dials all the way up to technologies effective for large volumes and weights of contaminated construction and demolition material. In this latter realm, the most suitable, robust, and field-proven system for decommissioning and demolition work is a radiation detection system fitted to a grappling and/or magnetic device, known as the Crickets{sup TM} technology, which automatically scans bulk material with no added effort or time in material handling operations. Highly versatile, a Crickets{sup TM} system can be put to work on any material-handling system, including grapples handling volumes ranging from 1 up to 18 cubic yards, while detecting radioactivity in real-time over a very wide dose range, from nSv to Sv levels. Other field-proven real-time measuring radiation detection devices can be fixed to conveyor belts with traverse speeds up 3 meters/second, also measuring in real time and over the same dose range, allowing both recyclable and waste materials with a pre-set level of radioactivity to be diverted off the belt. Finally, there are highly sensitive radiation portal installations for detecting radiation from materials being transported by vehicles, including those with roll-offs, dump trailers, and other containers, again in real-time and for the same dose ranges. For vehicles, the speed must be carefully controlled-the vehicles need to travel from 5 to 10 km/h through the scanning zone to ensure that maximum detection capability is maintained. When radiation detection systems at recycling and steel making facilities detect radioactive material in an incoming shipment, these facilities have a zero tolerance for accepting the cargo. Therefore, it is imperative that material from a demolition operation that is slated to be sent for recycling or other reuse be checked at the point of demolition at similar detection levels to avoid possible rejection later of a shipment because of its radioactivity. In addition to measuring overall radiation levels (for example, total gamma), when necessary, combinations of different radiation detection media can be used to detect the presence and intensities of specific isotopes such as U-235, Cs-137, Co-60, Am-241, etc., again in real-time and over a similar dose range. These detection technologies can be fixed or transportable. More important for the rad-waste management profession, this overall systems approach can be tailored and adapted during use on-site in any dismantling, demolition or remediation project, to allow materials to be thoroughly scanned before being released to the recycling stream for reuse, or to appropriate long-term storage and disposal facilities. Potentially recyclable materials with contamination such as steel beams and rebar will set off alarms at recycling facilities, resulting in unnecessary added expenses to the generator, primarily due to increased transportation costs, time delays and additional rad-waste handling and disposal charges. Additionally, there are situations where relatively lightly contaminated materials, once identified and appropriately characterized, can be reused in new construction applications, such as concrete from demolition being used in the base layer for roads or recycled steel used for repair or construction of bridges. In other cases, specific smaller volumes can be sent to specialized rad-waste disposal sites. These radiation detection systems can also be custom tailored to ensure proper handling and disposition of contaminated materials destined for reuse in specific applications where, for example, acceptable levels of radioactivity in NORM or TENORM can be reused or safely disposed of. (authors)
The Retrieval project Asse II - Lessons Learned in Radiological Protection - 18263
From 1967 to 1978 in total 125,787 drums and packages with low- and intermediate level waste were emplaced in the Asse II mine. The disposal operation ended in 1978 due to a revision of the Atomic Energy Act. For the disposal of radioactive waste, a plan approval procedure would have been mandatory due to the Atomic Energy Act, but the mining law was the legal basis for operating the Asse II mine, further on. A concept for a closure of the mine was not existing at that time. On January 1, 2009, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz BfS) became the new license-holder and operator of the Asse II mine under the Atomic Energy Act. The Act on the Organizational Restructuring in the Field of Disposal in Germany became effective on July 30, 2016. The act provides that a federally owned company, the Bundesgesellschaft fuer Endlagerung (BGE mbH, Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal) is formed to carry out the operative tasks of searching for a High Level Waste (HLW) repository, the construction and operation of repositories (Konrad, Morsleben) and of the Asse II mine. Since April 25, 2017 BGE is in charge of the operative tasks that have so far been carried out by BfS. Up to now, the long-term safety of the Asse II mine has not been demonstrated in the case that all the waste will remain inside the mine. Further problems arise from a lack of host rock stability, the incomplete backfilling of the mining areas that have not been used for the emplacement of radioactive waste, and a continuous brine inflow into the mine of approx.12 m{sup 3} per day. For these reasons, according to chap. 57b of the Atomic Energy Act, the Asse II mine is to be closed without delay after retrieving the emplaced nuclear waste. Besides the recent organizational changes in Germany and the special problems giving rise to retrieve the waste, in this paper the operational experiences since 2009 on the way from mining law to atomic law will be described. This applies to the radiation protection regime, the release and clearance procedure, and some measures to boost efficiency. (authors)
Lessons Learned From Public Outreach: Effective Incorporation of the Stakeholder Voice - 18447
The licensing process for any facility associated with nuclear power or aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle can be expected to encounter intense stakeholder interest, and often significant challenges. Over the last decade, staff of the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA{sup R}) at Southwest Research Institute{sup R} (SwRI{sup R}) provided comprehensive support to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for public outreach efforts across a wide variety of nuclear activities. Many of these projects included public involvement and consultation activities for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), including scoping, public meetings, responding to public comments on draft documents, and holding small meetings with affected local, state, and tribal governments. In addition, we have supported NRC public outreach related to nuclear facility licensing activities (including the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain), rulemaking, and regulatory guidance development. This experience has offered us a broad view of the challenges faced by industry, regulators, and stakeholders. In the process, we have observed some best practices that lead to effective stakeholder communication. Communication about complex technical issues is challenging, particularly for societally controversial topics, such as civilian use of nuclear power and management of radioactive waste. Most commonly, we have observed a lack of mutual trust and respect among industry, regulators, and stakeholders that creates an atmosphere ripe for suspicion and misunderstanding. Stakeholders have, in public comments, criticized the lack of appropriate venues to raise concerns in which they feel they can get meaningful responses from the nuclear industry and regulators. Conversely, industry faces difficulty in reaching compromise with stakeholders, who sometimes misinterpret or misrepresent factual information. Within this contentious environment, regulators are constrained by their statutory framework, even as they are challenged to be more responsive, transparent, and fair to both stakeholders and industry. In spite of these obstacles, there are examples where feedback from stakeholders was heard and utilized. Because of successful collection of appropriate feedback, regulators became more adept at understanding the full range of perspectives from both industry and stakeholders, and subsequently did a better job at effectively incorporating feedback and communicating their decisions and findings in a clear and understandable way. Ultimately, the success of these examples was based on a measure of mutual respect, which was reached through effective communication and implementation of some best practices. These best practices include (i) outreach planning that is abundantly mindful of the various stakeholder points of view, site history, regional characteristics, and probable future and related actions, combined with advance identification of key stakeholders; (ii) development and distribution of information that facilitates public participation; and (iii) use of avenues by which stakeholders can provide meaningful and effective comments. Illustrative examples include (i) how concerns raised by stakeholders were heard by an applicant and resulted in a revised project proposal; (ii) use of a variety of interaction formats that incorporated input across a broad spectrum of stakeholders; (iii) utilizing stakeholder feedback received during scoping; and (iv) how a facility underestimated the impact of 'outsider' stakeholder voices that were in contrast to the known local community. By moving past the viewpoint that public outreach is a 'necessary evil' and engaging only to check a procedural box, each participant can benefit from mutually satisfactory and improved outcomes. (author)