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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developmental Flight Instrumentation: Review of Space Shuttle, Ares I-X, and Artemis I

Ascent vehicles in the developmental stages of the program are instrumented with Developmental Flight Instrumentation (DFI) sensors. These sensors establish a link between a vehicle and engineers on the ground to communicate conditions experienced during the ascent. These data are then compared to pre-flight predictions used in the design process. The aerodynamic, acoustic, thermal, and structural data are either telemetered to ground stations during the ascent or stored on the vehicle for post-flight recovery and archived at the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC). Following NASA's Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) launch on November 16, 2020, data from three separate programs are available at the HOSC: Space Shuttle Program (Space Transport System (STS)), Constellation Program (Ares I-X), and Artemis Program (SLS). Availability of these data presents a unique opportunity to examine DFI data from three distinct vehicles and analyze the broad impact of the DFI data on the understanding of transonic aerodynamics. Classical spectrogram and Empirical Mode Decomposition techniques were used to present data in aerodynamically analogous regions on each vehicle. On the SLS and Ares I-X, a region downstream of the Launch Abort System motors was chosen. Comparing SLS and the STS, a region downstream of booster Froward Attach Hardware was selected as analogous flow region. Some other regions of interest were also identified. Although similarities in flow features on three vehicles were identified, some challenges in the comparison were also encountered, especially due to poor temporal and spatial resolution of Shuttle measurements.

Space Shuttle↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developmental Flight Instrumentation: Review of Space Shuttle, Ares I-X, and Artemis I

Space Shuttle↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Artemis I Flight Instrumentation Data Quality Assessment and Processing

This paper is in support of the SciTech 2024 Space Launch System Aerosciences Special Sessions being organized by Brent Pomeroy and Jeremy Pinier. On November 16th, 2022, NASA launched an inaugural test flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) carrying the Orion capsule around the moon. The vehicle was instrumented with thousands of Developmental Flight Instrumentation (DFI) sensors, which monitored aerodynamic, acoustic, structural, and thermal environments. These data are used to validate experimental and numerical tools used to predict conditions the vehicle experiences during ascent. Prior to launch, a set of tests were performed to quantify the expected quality of the DFI flight data. These included testing of individual components, such as data acquisition units, at the Systems Integration Laboratory (SIL) and testing of integrated vehicle components at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This paper summarizes these tests. Some aspects of post processing of data are also discussed.

Developmental Flight Instrumentation↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Initial On-Orbit Spectral Calibration of the PACE Ocean Color Instrument

The NASA Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission Project Science Team has used Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) measurements of Fraunhofer lines in spectra of sunlight reflected by the solar diffuser and measurements of atmospheric absorption bands in cloudtop and ocean spectra to characterize the spectral calibration of OCI on orbit. Multiple lines have been analyzed for both the ultraviolet to visible (UVVIS, 340−607 nm) and visible to near-infrared (VISNIR, 597−897 nm) grating spectrographs. The spectrographs yield hyperspectral observations with 5 nm bandwidths and 0.625 nm sampling intervals. The on-orbit observations have been compared with the prelaunch spectral calibration of OCI performed by the Goddard Laser for Absolute Measurement of Radiance (GLAMR) during thermal vacuum testing to track any changes in the calibration since launch. The calibration analyzed the line positions and strengths for the Fraunhofer lines for each spectrograph by comparing the solar spectra measured by OCI with predicted solar spectra derived from the solar reference spectrum and the BRDF of the solar diffuser, convolved with the OCI relative spectral responses. The calibration also compared the line positions of the atmospheric absorption bands with the model transmissions used by the PACE Project. The line position comparisons show that the root mean square (RMS) spectral difference between the measured and predicted spectra is 0.15 nm, the average spectral shift is 0.062 nm, and the residual spectral dispersion over the wavelength range of the Fraunhofer lines is 0.17 nm. All three estimates of the spectral accuracy of OCI meet the instrument functional requirement of a spectral accuracy of 0.5 nm and are well within the 0.625 nm sampling interval of the data. The line strength comparisons between measured and predicted spectra are essentially the same. These results show that the spectral calibration of OCI on orbit has not drifted since the prelaunch calibration of OCI by GLAMR and that the on-orbit spectral calibration of OCI is stable over time. These results also provide a baseline for monitoring the future spectral performance of OCI on orbit.

Radiometric Calibration↗

NASA NTRS2024

Pre-Launch Calibration and Validation of the Airborne Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (AirHARP) Instrument

The Airborne Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (AirHARP) is a new imaging polarimeter instrument capable of sampling a single Earth target from up to 120 viewing angles, in four spectral channels, and in three linear polarization states across a 114° field of view (FOV). AirHARP is telecentric in the image space and simultaneously images three linear polarization states with no moving parts. These two aspects of the design allow for a simple and efficient quantitative calibration. Using coefficients derived at the center of the lens and the detector flatfields, we can calibrate the entire AirHARP sensor in a variety of laboratory, field, and space environments. We show that this telecentric calibration technique yields a 1σ absolute uncertainty of 0.25 % in degree of linear polarization (DOLP) in the laboratory for all channels and for pixels around the optical axis. To validate across the FOV, we compare our multi-angle reflectance and polarization data with the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) over targets sampled during the NASA Aerosol Characterization from Polarimeter and Lidar (ACEPOL) campaign. We use the error-normalized difference technique to estimate how well the instruments compare relative to their error models. We find that AirHARP and the RSP reasonably agree for reflectance and DOLP within 2 standard deviations of their mutual uncertainty at 550, 670, and 870 nm and over a limited set of ocean and desert scenes. This calibration technique makes the Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP) design attractive for new spaceborne climate missions: HARP CubeSat (2020–2022), HARP2 (2024–) on the NASA Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE), and beyond.

Airborne Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter↗

DOE OSTI2013

Experiment Automation with a Robot Arm using the Liquids Reflectometer Instrument at the Spallation Neutron Source

The Liquids Reflectometer instrument installed at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) enables observations of chemical kinetics, solid-state reactions and phase-transitions of thin film materials at both solid and liquid surfaces. Effective measurement of these behaviors requires each sample to be calibrated dynamically using the neutron beam and the data acquisition system in a feedback loop. Since the SNS is an intense neutron source, the time needed to perform the measurement can be the same as the alignment process, leading to a labor-intensive operation that is exhausting to users. An update to the instrument control system, completed in March 2013, implemented the key features of automated sample alignment and robot-driven sample management, allowing for unattended operation over extended periods, lasting as long as 20 hours. We present a case study of the effort, detailing the mechanical, electrical and software modifications that were made as well as the lessons learned during the integration, verification and testing process.

automated alignment↗

DOE OSTI2015

Methods and apparatus for cleaning objects in a chamber of an optical instrument by generating reactive ions using photon radiation

An optical instrument, including a chamber, an object exposed to an interior of the chamber, a source of low-pressure gas, the gas comprising at least one of low-pressure molecular hydrogen gas, low-pressure molecular oxygen and a low-pressure noble gas, the source of low pressure gas being fluidly coupled to the chamber, a low voltage source electrically coupled between the object and a remaining portion of the instrument that is exposed to the interior of the chamber so as to maintain the object at a low voltage relative to the remaining portion, and an EUV/VUV light source adapted to direct EUV/VUV light through the low pressure gas in the chamber onto the object. In such a system, when the EUV/VUV light source is activated ions of the low-pressure gas are formed and directed to the object. The ions may be ions of Hydrogen, Oxygen or a noble gas.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2014

Planning the Future of U.S. Particle Physics (Snowmass 2013): Chapter 8: Instrumentation Frontier

These reports present the results of the 2013 Community Summer Study of the APS Division of Particles and Fields ("Snowmass 2013") on the future program of particle physics in the U.S. Chapter 8, on the Instrumentation Frontier, discusses the instrumentation needs of future experiments in the Energy, Intensity, and Cosmic Frontiers, promising new technologies for particle physics research, and issues of gathering resources for long-term research in this area.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2014

Planning the Future of U.S. Particle Physics (Snowmass 2013): Chapter 8: Instrumentation Frontier

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2016

The Escaramujo Project: Instrumentation Courses During a Road Trip Across the Americas

The Escaramujo Project was a series of eight hands-on laboratory courses on High Energy Physics and Astroparticle Instrumentation, in Latinamerican Institutions. The Physicist Federico Izraelevitch traveled on a van with his wife and dogs from Chicago to Buenos Aires teaching the courses. The sessions took place at Institutions in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia at an advanced undergraduate and graduate level. During these workshops, each group built a modern cosmic ray detector based on plastic scintillator and silicon photomultipliers, designed specifically for this project. After the courses, a functional detector remained at each institution to be used by the faculty to facilitate the training of future students and to support and enable local research activities. The five-days workshops covered topics such as elementary particle and cosmic ray Physics, radiation detection and instrumentation, low-level light sensing with solid state devices, front-end analog electronics and object-oriented data analysis (C++ and ROOT). Throughout this initiative, about a hundred of talented and highly motivated young students were reached. With the detector as a common thread, they were able to understand the designing principles and the underlying Physics involved in it, build the device, start it up, characterize it, take data and analyze it, mimicking the stages of a real elementary particle Physics experiment. Besides the aims to awaken vocations in science, technology and engineering, The Escaramujo Project was an effort to strengthen the integration of Latinamerican academic institutions into the international scientific community.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2019

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

We present the status of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and its plans and opportunities for the coming decade. DESI construction and its initial five years of operations are an approved experiment of the US Department of Energy and is summarized here as context for the Astro2020 panel. Beyond 2025, DESI will require new funding to continue operations. We expect that DESI will remain one of the world's best facilities for wide-field spectroscopy throughout the decade. More about the DESI instrument and survey can be found at https://www.desi.lbl.gov.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2022

Snowmass Instrumentation Frontier IF08 Topical Group Report: Noble Element Detectors

Particle detectors making use of noble elements in gaseous, liquid, or solid phases are prevalent in neutrino and dark matter experiments and are also used to a lesser extent in collider-based particle physics experiments. These experiments take advantage of both the very large, ultra-pure target volumes achievable and the multiple observable signal pathways possible in noble-element based particle detectors. As these experiments seek to increase their sensitivity, novel and improved technologies will be needed to enhance the precision of their measurements and to broaden the reach of their physics programs. The areas of R&D in noble element instrumentation that have been identified by the HEP community in the Snowmass process are highlighted by five key messages: IF08-1) Enhance and combine existing modalities (scintillation and electron drift) to increase signal-to-noise and reconstruction fidelity; IF08-2) Develop new modalities for signal detection in noble elements, including methods based on ion drift, metastable fluids, solid-phase detectors and dissolved targets. Collaborative and blue-sky R&D should also be supported to enable advances in this area; IF08-3) Improve the understanding of detector microphysics and calibrate detector response in new signal regimes; IF08-4) Address challenges in scaling technologies, including material purification, background mitigation, large-area readout, and magnetization; and IF08-5) Train the next generation of researchers, using fast-turnaround instrumentation projects to provide the design-through-result training no longer possible in very-large-scale experiments. This topical group report identifies and documents recent developments and future needs for noble element detector technologies. In addition, we highlight the opportunity that this area of research provides for continued training of the next generation of scientists.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2015

FaNGaS: a New Instrument for Fast Neutron Gamma Spectroscopy at FRM II Research Reactor at Garching

For the identification and quantification of actinides in radioactive packages, the non-destructive method of Prompt-Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) is applied. To investigate the inelastic (n, n 'γ) scattering, a new instrumentation was installed at the FRM II research reactor. It is designed to exploit the 10{sup 8} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} neutrons at an average neutron energy of 1.9 MeV delivered by the SR10 beam line. The outgoing prompt γ-rays are measured utilizing a 50% efficiency HPGe detector. Since the cross sections are expected to be low for such a process, two related factors had to be taken into account for the design of the instrumentation: the high beam intensity at the sample position and the high signal-to-background ratio seen by the detector. Eventual low energy neutrons due to the multiple scatterings through the beam line can be minimized using collimators in the beam tube. This has also an effect to a prior neutrons and photons background reduction of the experimental environment. A higher efficiency of the counting can be achieved by the lowering of background at the detector. In this case, a heavy shielding for both neutrons and photons, is designed around the detector while optimizing the sample-detector distance. Monte-Carlo simulation studies were conducted to effectively design the fast neutron beam collimators and the detector shield. A detailed description of the setup characterization and results from simulations and experimental measurements will be discussed through this contribution. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Software Dependability for Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants - Lessons Learnt from a DOE Sponsored Project

This paper discusses the lessons learnt from a sponsored study undertaken under the sponsorship of the Department of Energy by a team of scientists at the Ohio State University in collaboration with Technology Resources and experts around the world. This paper makes recommendations for future research and studies based on these lessons learnt. The purpose of the research was to provide a software dependability quantification framework that would allow its evaluation along the software development life cycle for safety critical instrumentation and control systems (I and C) such as those found in nuclear power plants. A typical example of safety critical system is the reactor protection system. The research funded by the Department of Energy built on preliminary research carried out for the US NRC that had focused solely on software reliability quantification. Quantification of software dependability is important for safety critical I and C because the regulatory framework in use in the United States for nuclear power plants is risk informed. Quantification of risk requires quantification of all contributors to risk and those include instrumentation and control systems. The purpose of the study was to help developers of software-based I and C with an early evaluation of the potential risk an application would represent at different stages of the software development life cycle by building gates at the end of each life cycle phase. Life cycle phases of software development comprehend phases such as requirements, design, coding and test. The gates' function would be to stop development from moving forward if the assessed dependability objective for that phase were not met. Gates thresholds were to be defined based on measurements collected during the life cycle phase under evaluation and phases that preceded it and an understanding of the mechanisms that would lead to threatening the dependability objectives. The information contained in the gates would in addition help steer the development towards areas that needed improvement. The following are four high level conclusions to our study. First the study demonstrates a lack of consensus on mechanisms that will threaten the dependability attributes. This lack of consensus should be resolved. The lack of consensus appears for all measures to the exception of reliability. Second, measures should be developed for software availability and safety. Third, for all dependability attributes (with the exception of reliability) consistency of the measurement threads should evaluated and measurement-based development gates derived. Finally our ability to perform such type of research depends in a significant manner on access to vendor and/or utility data. The licensing environment and the first-of-a-kind nature of current software-based applications for nuclear I and C make it difficult to collect the relevant data. An approach which would either increase access to data by providing 'immunity' to the vendor or utility or the development of a software-based I and C for the sole purpose of data collection for research should be investigated. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2016

Dependability Assessment of Software for Safety Instrumentation and Control Systems

In its 2013 recommendations to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control (TWG-NPPIC) identified assessment and evaluation of software dependability as a topic of interest for IAEA Member States. To implement the recommendation of the TWG-NPPIC, the IAEA Scientific Secretary for the TWG initiated a consultancy activity in 2014 to develop a technical report describing a dependability assessment framework suitable for safety instrumentation and control (I and C) systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The development of the software dependability assessment report has involved three consultancy meetings at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The conduct of these meetings allowed consultation among subject matter experts to generate consensus technical information that serves as the content of the report. The technical contributors consist of international experts from academia, industry, regulatory bodies and research organizations. In September 2014, a technical meeting was held in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, to present interim findings of the consultancy effort and to solicit input from representatives of IAEA Member States. The information and technical comments contributed during the technical meeting were addressed in subsequent development of the report. This paper gives an overview of key technical elements of the IAEA report. The IAEA report presents a framework by which a dependability assessment of safety software can be performed. The specified guiding principles provide the basis for establishing an assessment strategy and implementing the assessment process. The assessment framework provides a systematic, coherent structure within which to organize technical and process evidence to satisfy arguments in support of claims about software dependability properties. During the consultancy activity, the participating subject matter experts focused on high level principles, a structured approach, and identification of suitable methods and techniques. However, it was recognized that what remains is to concretize the framework through specific examples and usage experience. Thus, following publication of the report, it is recommended that case studies be performed to illustrate and more precisely define specific phases and elements of the assessment framework. For example, current national assessment approaches could be mapped into the assessment framework to serve as case studies and help to identify any aspects of the assessment framework that needs further definition or adjustment. Additionally, a challenge problem could be defined to engage stakeholders to apply the assessment framework with a common focus. This could help to better illustrate strategic options and approaches to the assessment phases. It also could serve to suggest other considerations and potential sources of evidence not fully covered in the report. Based on findings from case studies, challenge problems and country experience, it should be possible to develop generalized templates to support application of the assessment framework. These findings can be collected to serve as the basis for a User's Guide on dependability assessment of safety software. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2017

Development of an update to ISA S67.04 and RP 67.04: 'Setpoints for Nuclear Safety-Related Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Plants' - 146

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the update to International Society of Automation (ISA) Standard ISA S67.04 - 2006, 'Setpoints for Nuclear Safety-Related Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Plants', and ISA RP 67.04-2000, 'Methodologies for Determination of Setpoints for Nuclear Safety-Related Instrumentation'. Significant advances have occurred on the utility, Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) vendor, and regulatory side, related to improved techniques for analysis and monitoring. These and other changes, including those related to Technical Specifications and surveillance interval extensions, are being included in the latest update to this primary standard for setpoint control in nuclear plants in the U.S. and around the world. In 2016, the ISA S67.04 Committee agreed to proceed with a revision to this Standard and Recommended Practice, with major updates in the following areas: 1. Definitions - Updates for improved definitions based on TSTF-493, Rev 4, RIS-2006-17 and NRC updated Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.105 2. 95/95 - Updates based on improved guidance on the development of component input data and analysis techniques for 95% probability/95% confidence calculations 3. TSTF-493, RIS 2006-17 updates for Technical Specification input and to support changes 4. NRC input from updates in the Regulatory Guide 1.105 and Branch Technical Position BTP-7-12 revision process. 5. Improved guidance from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in References 7, 8 and 9. These standards are being updated with a new version anticipated to be issued as a draft in 2017 and submitted for ISA approval in 2019. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Development of functional requirements specification for digital instrumentation and control systems upgrades used at nuclear power plants (NPPs) - 396

Recent market conditions have driven the nuclear industry to become more innovative at reducing cost in order to remain competitive. Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems used by many NPPs are based on outdated 1960's and 70's technology. Many of the components used in these digital systems are no longer supported by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and are rapidly becoming obsolete. Coping with the high cost of replacing I and C equipment due to obsolescence adds to this economic challenge. While other industries have migrated from analog to modern digital I and C technology, implementation of digital I and C controls within the nuclear industry has been very slow. This is primarily due to the high capital cost related to implementation of digital I and C upgrades, which is compounded by regulatory uncertainties that present significant licensing risks. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the industry's Digital I and C Working Group are working to address many of the regulatory barriers that adversely impacts implementation of digital upgrades at NPPs. The NRC has developed an 'Integrated Action Plan to Modernize Digital Instrumentation and Controls Regulatory Infrastructure' (ML16097A182), Reference 1. Once fully implemented, this plan is expected to help reduce regulatory uncertainties that affects project cost. Excluding regulatory uncertainty, most OEM's will concur that one of the most important factors in reducing project cost is assuring that all requirements are well defined and complete prior to starting the project. A detailed and high quality Functional Requirements Specification (FRS) is critical in documenting these requirements. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Common Cause Failure Analysis for Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control Systems

This presentation is prepared for the IAEA Virtual Consultancy Meeting on Preparation of a Coordinated Research Project on Common Cause Failures in Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control Systems from February 5 ? 8, 2024. It provides an overview of the INL activities on the common cause failure analysis for instrumentation and control system in nuclear power plants.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗