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DOE OSTI2018

TAIGA Gamma Observatory: Status and Prospects

Over the past few years, the TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic ray physics and Gamma-ray Astronomy) observatory has been being deployed in the Tunka Valley, Republic of Buryatia. It is designed for studying gamma rays of energy above 30 TeV and performing searches for sources of galactic cosmic rays with energies in the vicinity of 1 PeV, which is an energy region around the classic knee in the cosmic-ray energy spectrum. The first phase of the observatory will be situated at a distance of about 50 km from Lake Baikal at the site of the Tunka-133 array. The TAIGA gamma observatory will include a network of 500 wide-angle (0.6 sr) Cherenkov detectors (TAIGA-HiSCORE array) and up to 16 atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (ACT) designed for analyzing the EAS images (imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, or IACT) and positioned within an area of 5 km{sup 2}. The observatory will also include muon detectors of total area 2000 m{sup 2} distributed over an area of 1 km{sup 2}. Within the next three years, it is planned to enhance the area of the TAIGA-HiSCORE array by a factor of four—from 0.25 km{sup 2} to 1 km{sup 2}; to supplement the existing IACT with two new ones; and to deploy new muon detectors with a total coverage of 200 m{sup 2}. The structure of the new observatory is described along with the data analysis techniques used. The most interesting physical results are presented, and the research program for the future is discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2015

IAEA Coordinated Research Project on HTGR Reactor Physics, Thermal-hydraulics and Depletion Uncertainty Analysis

The continued development of High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) requires verification of HTGR design and safety features with reliable high fidelity physics models and robust, efficient, and accurate codes. The predictive capability of coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics and depletion simulations for reactor design and safety analysis can be assessed with sensitivity analysis (SA) and uncertainty analysis (UA) methods. Uncertainty originates from errors in physical data, manufacturing uncertainties, modelling and computational algorithms. (The interested reader is referred to the large body of published SA and UA literature for a more complete overview of the various types of uncertainties, methodologies and results obtained). SA is helpful for ranking the various sources of uncertainty and error in the results of core analyses. SA and UA are required to address cost, safety, and licensing needs and should be applied to all aspects of reactor multi-physics simulation. SA and UA can guide experimental, modelling, and algorithm research and development. Current SA and UA rely either on derivative-based methods such as stochastic sampling methods or on generalized perturbation theory to obtain sensitivity coefficients. Neither approach addresses all needs. In order to benefit from recent advances in modelling and simulation and the availability of new covariance data (nuclear data uncertainties) extensive sensitivity and uncertainty studies are needed for quantification of the impact of different sources of uncertainties on the design and safety parameters of HTGRs. Only a parallel effort in advanced simulation and in nuclear data improvement will be able to provide designers with more robust and well validated calculation tools to meet design target accuracies. In February 2009, the Technical Working Group on Gas-Cooled Reactors (TWG-GCR) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommended that the proposed Coordinated Research Program (CRP) on the HTGR Uncertainty Analysis in Modelling (UAM) be implemented. This CRP is a continuation of the previous IAEA and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) international activities on Verification and Validation (V&V) of available analytical capabilities for HTGR simulation for design and safety evaluations. Within the framework of these activities different numerical and experimental benchmark problems were performed and insight was gained about specific physics phenomena and the adequacy of analysis methods.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Participation of JINR in the CDF Experiment

Participation of a Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) team in the research program at the Tevatron at Fermilab is described. In their work on the upgraded CDF Run II detector, the emphasis was placed on top quark physics. The JINR team was fully engaged in the data analysis of the CDF experiment, particularly, in measuring the top quark mass in the dilepton and lepton-jet modes, in measuring the top quark charge, and in searching for the Higgs boson. The JINR team made a decisive contribution to the operation of the scintillation counter subsystem of the CDF muon trigger, to the trigger based on the vertex silicon detector for selection of events with secondary vertices and to the preshower detector of the electromagnetic calorimeter. The team was involved in the construction, upgrading, and operation of the system of scintillation counters and developed a system for the online monitoring of their parameters to ensure their effective operation in Run II. The work of the JINR researchers was highly appreciated by the international CDF collaboration.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2018

LIBS Measurement in Vitrification of HLW Process: Towards a Development of Online Chemical Analyses - 18290

Research programs are currently underway in the Joint CEA-AREVA Vitrification Laboratory (LCV) to develop and optimize Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for nuclear waste streams analyses. The laboratory has full scale prototypes with the advantage of working on simulated inactive solutions of fission products. LIBS is an elemental chemical analysis technology that uses a short laser pulse to create a micro-plasma on the sample surface. This analytical technique offers many advantages compared to other techniques. It includes a sample preparation-free measurement and an extremely fast measurement time, from a few seconds to a few minutes. This paper presents the LIBS technique available in the laboratory. The first LIBS analyzes results of liquid samples from the off-gas treatment unit integrated on the full scale vitrification process are also presented and discussed. These complex solutions contain suspended particles and up to 30 chemical elements. A vision of an online LIBS analysis cell is also proposed with the development and associated research steps. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2018

Optimization of LIBS Acquisition Parameters for Chemical Analysis on HLW Liquid Solution - 18291

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Medical Database Accomplishments and Lessons Learned - 2021

The Medical Database (MD) is a virtual repository consisting of two software components: the Medical Item Database (MedID) and the Evidence Library (EL). MedID consists of engineering data and associated information for specific medical resource items (e.g., pharmaceutical, medical devices, and supporting components), while the EL is a tool which provides all of the medical evidence necessary. The Medical Database will serve as the single “source of truth” for the Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces (IMPACT) tool suite for both medical evidence and medical resource engineering data. It will be used in conjunction with the IMPACT tool suite to inform research prioritizations and perform systematic trade study evaluations using probabilistic risk assessment and simulated human spaceflight missions to aid stakeholders in making informed decisions during Pre-Phase-A planning of human spaceflight missions. The IMPACT project is conducted under the Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) element of the Human Research Program (HRP), within NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. Over the past year, the MedID software has been successfully merged with the Evidence Library into one cohesive Medical Database with two independent user interface experiences for modifying either clinical evidence or resource engineering data. As MD has evolved substantially over the past year, a number of challenges have been encountered and overcome along the way. A number of ‘lessons learned’ and practical/logistical realizations have emerged which will be detailed in the forthcoming Medical Database presentation.

Exploration Medical Capability↗

NASA NTRS1981

The CELSS program - An overview of its structure and use of computer modelling

NASA has initiated a research program, CELSS, directed at the acquisition of the knowledge and technology required for the development of an autonomous, regenerative life support system. The program is structured to promote effective, cooperative research in fundamental, applied and engineering science. The initial research thrusts involve investigations into problems of food production, waste processing and system control and integration. In the area of food production both conventional, higher plant-based processes as well as chemosynthetic food production technologies are being investigated. Alternative waste processing procedures, both biological and physicochemical, are being examined. Computer based modelling as an aid to design and analysis is an integral part of the approach to system control and management. A mass balance model depicting the flow of elemental mass in a conceptualized closed, regenerative life support system is described.

Averner, M. M.↗

DOE OSTI2017

Chaotic Advection and Unsteady Flow in Groundwater Remediation - 17237

This paper reviews an ongoing research program of numerical and laboratory studies on chaotic advection applied to groundwater remediation, including numerically simulated effects of sorption and heterogeneity, and experiments aimed at demonstrating chaotic advection in refractive index matched (i.e., transparent) porous media. Additionally, this paper outlines a proposed approach to test chaotic advection at an appropriate field site. If shown to be successful in a field application, chaotic advection offers the possibility of better hydraulic control of contaminant plumes, accelerated remediation, consequent reduction in cost, and improvement in environmental health. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NASA NTRS1976

NASA Langley Research Center outreach in astronautical education

The Langley Research Center has traditionally maintained an active relationship with the academic community, especially at the graduate level, to promote the Center's research program and to make graduate education available to its staff. Two new institutes at the Center - the Joint Institute for Acoustics and Flight Sciences, and the Institute for Computer Applications - are discussed. Both provide for research activity at the Center by university faculties. The American Society of Engineering Education Summer Faculty Fellowship Program and the NASA-NRC Postdoctoral Resident Research Associateship Program are also discussed.

Duberg, J. E.↗

DOE OSTI2015

Final Report (2010-2015) for the Topical Collaboration on Quantitative Jet and Electromagnetic Tomography (JET) of Extreme Phases of Matter in Heavy-ion Collisions

During the 5-year funding period (2010-2015), the JET Collaboration carried out a comprehensive research program with coordinated efforts involving all PI members and external associated members according to the plan and milestones outlined in the approved JET proposal. We identified important issues in the study of parton energy loss and made significant progress toward NLO calculations; advanced event-by-event hydrodynamic simulations of bulk matter evolution; developed Monte Carlo tools that combine different parton energy loss approaches, hydrodynamic models and parton recombination model for jet hadronization; and carried out the first comprehensive phenomenological study to extract the jet transport parameter.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Program for studying fundamental interactions at the PIK reactor facilities

A research program aimed at studying fundamental interactions by means of ultracold and polarized cold neutrons at the GEK-4-4′ channel of the PIK reactor is presented. The apparatus to be used includes a source of cold neutrons in the heavy-water reflector of the reactor, a source of ultracold neutrons based on superfluid helium and installed in a cold-neutron beam extracted from the GEK-4 channel, and a number of experimental facilities in neutron beams. An experiment devoted to searches for the neutron electric dipole moment and an experiment aimed at a measurement the neutron lifetime with the aid of a large gravitational trap are planned to be performed in a beam of ultracold neutrons. An experiment devoted to measuring neutron-decay asymmetries with the aid of a superconducting solenoid is planned in a beam of cold polarized neutrons from the GEK-4′ channel. The second ultracold-neutron source and an experiment aimed at measuring the neutron lifetime with the aid of a magnetic trap are planned in the neutron-guide system of the GEK-3 channel. In the realms of neutrino physics, an experiment intended for sterile-neutrino searches is designed. The state of affairs around the preparation of the experimental equipment for this program is discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Performance of deformed steel fibers embedded in ultra-high performance concrete subjected to various pullout rates

Fiber-matrix bond properties are typically evaluated using a single-fiber pullout test. Such tests for ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) are few in the literature and, in particular, those that focus on high pullout rates are exceedingly rare. In this research program, different types of high-strength steel fibers (twisted, straight and hooked) are embedded in two UHPC matrices with varying amounts of glass powder, which is a key ingredient of UPHC. The specimens are subjected to loading rates ranging from 0.018 mm/s (representing quasi-static loading) to 1800 mm/s (representing impact loading). Experimental results show that the pullout response of all of the fiber types exhibit progressively increasing rate sensitivity as the pullout speed increases and becomes significant during impact loading. It is most prominent in the smooth and twisted fibers and least in the hooked fibers. Additionally, scanning electron microscope studies are presented and used to explain the mechanism of rate enhancement from a microscopic perspective.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2016

Preliminary Conceptual Design Report for the FACET-II Project at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Plasma wakefield acceleration has the potential to dramatically shrink the size and cost of particle accelerators. Research at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has demonstrated that plasmas can provide 1,000 times the acceleration in a given distance compared with current technologies. Developing revolutionary and more efficient acceleration techniques that allow for an affordable high-energy collider is the focus of FACET, a National User Facility at SLAC. The existing FACET National User Facility uses part of SLAC’s two-mile-long linear accelerator to generate high-density beams of electrons and positrons. FACET-II is a new test facility to develop advanced acceleration and coherent radiation techniques with high-energy electron and positron beams. It is the only facility in the world with high energy positron beams. FACET-II provides a major upgrade over current FACET capabilities and the breadth of the potential research program makes it truly unique. It will synergistically pursue accelerator science that is vital to the future of both advanced acceleration techniques for High Energy Physics, ultra-high brightness beams for Basic Energy Science, and novel radiation sources for a wide variety of applications. The design parameters for FACET-II are set by the requirements of the plasma wakefield experimental program. To drive the plasma wakefield requires a high peak current, in excess of 10kA. To reach this peak current, the electron and positron design bunch size is 10μ by 10μ transversely with a bunch length of 10μ. This is more than 200 times better than what has been achieved at the existing FACET. The beam energy is 10 GeV, set by the Linac length available and the repetition rate is up to 30 Hz. The FACET-II project is scheduled to be constructed in three major stages. Components of the project discussed in detail include the following: electron injector, bunch compressors and linac, the positron system, the Sector 20 sailboat and W chicanes, and experimental area and infrastructure.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Fifteen years of the Protein Crystallography Station: The coming of age of macromolecular neutron crystallography

The Protein Crystallography Station (PCS), located at the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center (LANSCE), was the first macromolecular crystallography beamline to be built at a spallation neutron source. Following testing and commissioning, the PCS user program was funded by the Biology and Environmental Research program of the Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-OBER) for 13 years (2002–2014). The PCS remained the only dedicated macromolecular neutron crystallography station in North America until the construction and commissioning of the MaNDi and IMAGINE instruments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which started in 2012. The instrument produced a number of research and technical outcomes that have contributed to the field, clearly demonstrating the power of neutron crystallography in helping scientists to understand enzyme reaction mechanisms, hydrogen bonding and visualization of H-atom positions, which are critical to nearly all chemical reactions. During this period, neutron crystallography became a technique that increasingly gained traction, and became more integrated into macromolecular crystallography through software developments led by investigators at the PCS. As a result, this review highlights the contributions of the PCS to macromolecular neutron crystallography, and gives an overview of the history of neutron crystallography and the development of macromolecular neutron crystallography from the 1960s to the 1990s and onwards through the 2000s.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2023

Exploration Medical Capability IMPACT Medical Database – Medical Item Database (MedID) Content Development Methods

The Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces (IMPACT) project encompasses a suite of computational tools that are used to inform systematic trade study evaluations and research prioritizations regarding the optimization of spaceflight medical systems, including the provision of risk assessment metrics, for a given design reference mission (DRM). The IMPACT Medical Database (IMPACT-MD) is the component that virtually houses the clinical and engineering data for medical conditions, capabilities, and resources used to support these analyses. In addition, IMPACT-MD also provides data to the associated SysML model to support the Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 requirements development needed for IMPACT. IMPACT-MD contains an internal Evidence Library (EL) sub-component that hosts the clinical evidence, treatment and outcome metric data, and incidence data for each medical condition identified for exploration-class missions. Furthermore, a separate Medical Item Database (MedID) sub-component hosts the engineering data and physical attributes (e.g., mass, volume, power, etc.) associated with each medical resource item identified to address the requisite medical conditions. The IMPACT project is conducted under the Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) element of the Human Research Program (HRP) within NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD). The reader is referred to the documents in Appendix A for a more complete overview of the IMPACT tool suite and functionality as well as further detail on any associated aspects of the project. The primary purpose of this document is to describe the methods utilized in the collection and verification of engineering data content during the project development phase for the MedID sub-component of the IMPACT-MD project. Engineering content data (both existing and new/future) will be stored in IMPACT-MD for use by the IMPACT project. This document will detail the content development and data credibility for the engineering data housed within the MedID subcomponent of IMPACT-MD, which is used to inform the IMPACT 1.0 project deliverables.

Exploration Medical Capability↗

DOE OSTI2019

Legacy Waste Removal from Standpipes and Bunkers at Whiteshell Laboratories, Canada - 19040

In 1963 Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) founded the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment (now Whiteshell Laboratories, WL) in Pinawa, Manitoba to conduct nuclear research. In 1997 AECL made a business decision to discontinue research programs and operations at WL. One of the major decommissioning tasks at WL is to remove radioactive waste from 171 in-ground standpipes and 7 Intermediate Level Waste bunkers located in the Waste Management Area (WMA). Veolia Nuclear Solutions, through its subsidiary Kurion (Canada) Inc., has been selected to design, fabricate, and commission a remote waste access and conditioning system to remediate the waste from the standpipes and ILW bunkers at WL. The agreement builds on Veolia Nuclear Solutions' successfully deploying similar technologies at other projects. This paper describes the bunkers and standpipes structures, the types of wastes stored, the potential hazards (flammable gas and pyrophoric materials), and the equipment proposed by Kurion for safely extracting, sorting, segregating and packaging this waste. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Standard measures in Analogs of Spaceflight

Standard measures are defined as research measures (physiological, performance, or otherwise) that quantify the subject’s health and performance before, during, and after a spaceflight or a spaceflight analog mission. The Standard Measures Cross-Cutting Project (SMCCP) collects and analyzes standard measures that support assessment and quantification of health risks and efficacy of countermeasures and technologies required to prevent or mitigate adverse outcomes from exposure to the spaceflight environment. SMCCP uses the following spaceflight analogs: - Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) in Houston, TX: 4-person isolation/confinement; nominal mission duration of 45 days; run by the Human Research Program (HRP). SMCCP uses weekly questionnaires to gather data on the crewmembers’ emotional and mental state and collects blood samples biweekly to measure crewmembers’ serum cortisol levels at the start, middle, and end of the mission. - Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) Ground-Based Experimental Complex, called NEK, in Moscow, Russia: 6-person isolation/confinement; duration of 8 months; run by IBMP. Standard measures data collected during NEK are the same as for HERA above. - :envihab in Cologne, Germany: 12-person bed rest facility; closed environment; 30 to 60-day campaigns; run by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). For bedrest studies, SMCCP uses the international standard measures as documented in the International Academy of Astronautics publication titled Guidelines for Standardization of Bed Rest Studies in the Spaceflight Context (June 2014). These international standard measures evaluate potential changes in bone, muscle, cardiovascular, and visual systems, as well as changes in psychology and nutrition. The international standard measures complement those collected during studies by individual investigators and allow comparison of responses across different bed rest and countermeasures durations. In this presentation, we will review available SMCCP data collected during the recent isolation studies in HERA (C6) and NEK (SIRIUS-21), and during the SANS (SM1, SM2) bed rest studies in :envihab. These standard measures datasets are made available to concurrent investigators in the given mission or campaign via data sharing agreements and/or data sharing plans and to other investigators that have been granted retrospective access to the data (researchers with IRB approved protocols, risk custodians) to advance understanding of physiological and behavioral risks associated with these spaceflight analogs.

Standard Measures↗

NASA NTRS2004

Improving UV Resistance of High Strength Fibers Used In Large Scientific Balloons

For the last three decades, NASA has been involved in the development of giant balloons that are capable of lifting heavy payloads of equipment (such as large telescopes and scientific instruments) to the upper atmosphere. While the use of such balloons has led to scientific discoveries, the demand for competitive science payloads and observational programs continues to rise. The NASA Balloon Program Office has entered a new phase of research to develop an Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) that will lift payloads of up to 3,600 kg to altitudes of up to 40 km. The flight duration is targeted to ranges between 30 to 100 days. Attaining these target durations requires the development of a super-pressure balloon design. The use of textile structures have already been established in these missions in the form of high strength tendons essential for the super pressure pumpkin design. Unfortunately, high strength fibers lose significant strength upon exposure to Ultra Violet (UV) radiation. Such UV degradation poses a serious challenge for the development of the ULDB. To improve the mission performance of the ULDB, new methods for protecting the tendons from the environmental effects need to be developed. NASA and NC State University College of Textiles are undertaking a research program to address these issues. Four tracks have been identified to prepare finishes that are believed to enhance the resistance of high strength fibers to UV. These tracks are: (a) self-polymerizing, (b) diffusion application, (c) polymer-filled with 30-40% UV absorber, and (d) combination of dyeing plus surface application. Four high performance fibers have been selected for this research investigation. These are Vectran (trademark), Spectra (trademark), Kevlar (trademark) and, PBO (Zylon (trademark)). This work will address the current progress of evaluating the performance of the UV finishes. This will be accomplished by comparing the tensile properties (strength, breaking elongation, modulus, etc) of untreated, unexposed to UV fibers; untreated exposed to UV fibers; and treated exposed to UV fibers.

Said, M.↗