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DOE OSTI2020

The Corrective Maintenance Paradigm Shift at Hanford's Tank Farms - 20077

Hanford's Tank Farms facilities have been used to safely store waste for over 70 years, with the first single-shell tanks being constructed in 1943. Tank Farm facilities consist of 149 single-shell tanks, 28 double-shell tanks, an evaporator facility, and wastewater treatment facilities. Tank Farm facilities are aging, with a tremendous corrective maintenance burden on the Tank Farm contractor. The mission of Tank Farm facilities is soon changing from waste storage to waste staging for the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). WTP operations will demand a significant increase in Tank Farm facility operations, in which corrective maintenance outage windows will shrink drastically. This realization has forced the Tank Farm contractor to consider a paradigm shift in Tank Farm facilities Maintenance planning, and the use of reliability Engineering tools. The Tank Farm Production Operations Engineering Cognizant System Engineering (CSE) organization has led the way in motivating this paradigm shift. This shift has been realized through the use of: 1) technical exchange with other Department of Energy (DOE) contractors to develop improvements in the CSE program, 2) a shift from the use of lagging to leading system health indicators, and 3) a Plant Health Committee to unite Engineering, Operations, and Maintenance personnel toward a productive maintenance strategy. The CSE organization has held several technical exchanges with other DOE contractors to discuss CSE concepts, and how to better maintain aging infrastructure. The technical exchange with other contractors has greatly reduced the time required to make improvements in the Tank Farm CSE program. Other DOE contractors have already faced issues surrounding aging infrastructure, and have vast experience in improving the reliability and usable life of structures and components in nuclear facilities. The past CSE program used lagging health indicators to determine the health of systems. The key lagging indicator used to determine system health was availability, which is the percentage of time that a facility was ready for operation compared to the time the facility was demanded for operation. Availability was a good indicator of health in the waste storage mission of Tank Farms, where safe storage was the most important function of the facility, and where maintenance outage windows were typically long-duration. In current and future operations, outage windows are reducing, resulting in the need for much more reliable systems. Systems that have had high availability may suddenly become inoperable due to a failed component or sub-system. In several instances, the use of availability as an indicator of system health failed to predict system/equipment failure before its occurrence. In discussions with other DOE contractors, a set of reliability tools, including leading indicators of health, has been implemented in the CSE program. This primarily involves the use of failure modes and effects analysis and the study of equipment failure to develop system monitoring plans that focus on trending data to detect oncoming equipment failure ahead of time. In addition, the use of a Plant Health Committee has added significantly to the paradigm shift from a corrective maintenance philosophy to the use of predictive and preventive maintenance. The Plant Health Committee is a chartered team consisting of Engineering, Operations, and Maintenance personnel. CSEs use this forum to present the results of their performance monitoring, including the presentation of health via leading health indicators. The most positive aspect of this committee is the communication that it creates within these critical organizations. The Operations and Maintenance organization benefit from focusing maintenance on the reliability-centered focus provided by Engineering. Engineering benefits from the operational experience of the Operations organization and from the failure data that can be provided by Maintenance personnel. The continued use of the Plant Health Committee is expected to further decrease maintenance outage times, in better support of oncoming 24/7 operations. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2024

Monitoring of Photovoltaic (PV) Performance and Degradation: Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (IRES) - PV Monitoring Task

The Integrated Renewable Energy System (IRES) testbed demonstration at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Sequim campus includes development of a suite of capabilities for tracking the performance of photovoltaic (PV) renewable energy components located on a floating platform (floating PV) and on a shoreline building rooftop. The marine environment represents potentially harsh and corrosive conditions for PV modules. Compared to terrestrial PV, potential concerns for offshore PV arising from high humidity and occasional contact with saltwater, marine wildlife, and aquaculture. These environmental factors can reduce electricity generation efficiency and increase the risk of electrical faults, polymer insulation or jacketing degradation and hydrolysis of the PV cell encapsulant materials. Offshore PV modules may also be exposed to lower temperatures and buoyant and vibrating motions with a floating platform. It is not clear how the long-term performance of floating PV will be affected by these factors. To understand expected energy generation through solar cells on a floating platform, monitoring of the performance of PV modules in the marine environment is needed. This report outlines a plan for long-term testing of IRES PV components utilizing resources of the PNNL Material Aging and Detection (MAaD) Science team and the Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory (MCRL). Equipment applicable for onsite testing and real-time monitoring of the PV performance associated with environmental conditions including temperature, solar irradiance, shading and soiling is included. In case of performance loss, equipment for fault detection, failure analysis, material testing, and further troubleshooting are also available. Through establishment of this capabilities, the enabling IRES project sets the stage for future research to advance off-shore and near-shore energy options for businesses and communities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Toward Drilling the Perfect Geothermal Well: An International Research Coordination Network for Geothermal Drilling Optimization Supported by Deep Machine Learning and Cloud Based Data Aggregation

The EDGE project, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office under award DE-EE0008793, established a data-driven framework for improving the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and reliability of geothermal well drilling. The project focused on developing scalable data infrastructure, advanced machine learning and probabilistic models, and integrated analytics tools to support continuous drilling optimization. A central objective was to reduce geothermal drilling costs by up to seventy percent while minimizing the risk of well failure through predictive diagnostics and adaptive planning. Over the project period, a comprehensive data repository was designed and deployed, incorporating records from over one hundred geothermal wells across varied geological settings. This repository supported both structured and unstructured data and adhered to FAIR data principles, enabling provenance tracking, quality control, and standardized metadata. The project introduced automated ingestion pipelines and a cloud-hosted platform that facilitated access to raw, processed, and derived datasets. This infrastructure served as the foundation for model development and analysis. Machine learning workflows were developed to predict key drilling metrics including rate of penetration, non-productive time, and total drilling costs. Self-organizing maps and dimensionality reduction methods were used to uncover operational patterns and outliers, while supervised learning algorithms such as random forests and deep neural networks were applied to forecast performance outcomes. The models were validated on heterogeneous datasets from both U.S. and Icelandic fields, demonstrating variable but significant predictive accuracy. The results indicated that finer temporal resolution, inclusion of lithological data, and consistency in operational annotations could substantially improve model performance. The project also implemented process mining techniques to reconstruct state-transition models from drilling event logs. These models enabled the identification of deviations from optimal workflows and provided insights into recurring failure modes. Analysis of non-productive time highlighted the impact of equipment failures, geological challenges, and human factors, offering opportunities for targeted mitigation strategies. The EDGE Dashboard was developed as a web-based expert system integrating data visualization, model outputs, and user-driven queries. It provided an accessible interface for operators to explore historical data, evaluate predicted outcomes, and compare drilling scenarios. Initial feedback from project partners suggested that the dashboard could serve as a foundation for more advanced advisory and optimization tools. Overall, the EDGE project demonstrated the feasibility and value of applying modern data science techniques to geothermal drilling. It delivered a set of interoperable tools and models that can support more efficient, lower-risk well development. The findings point toward a viable path for transitioning from advisory analytics to semi-autonomous drilling systems, contingent on continued collaboration, expanded datasets, and field validation. The project results have immediate relevance for drilling operations, data management practices, and future geothermal R&D efforts aimed at achieving reliable, cost-competitive geothermal energy at scale.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Cybersecurity Considerations for Hydrogen Infrastructure in Airport Environments

This report explores key cybersecurity concerns and best practices within environments that serve as reference points for the development of hydrogen fueling infrastructure for aviation. This cybersecurity analysis leverages prior NREL studies: 1) hydrogen fueling station component validation to identify vulnerabilities and failure events documented in physical equipment, and 2) electric aircraft charging infrastructure analysis to explore primary cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It reviews the criticality of digitized technologies in sustaining hydrogen fuel production, storage, and fueling systems, noting cybersecurity concerns that are universal to power systems and industrial control systems in general. In considering cybersecurity vulnerabilities within a future landscape of hydrogen energy for aviation applications, a reference architecture was intended to reveal the points of connection between assets and the potential sensors that are vulnerable to manipulation in the event of compromised access or communication within a SCADA system. A generalized reference architecture can help stakeholders, engineers, or strategists understand connections, criticalities, and standard practices when it comes to designing and planning for new systems. There are several gaps to account for in assessing the future of hydrogen production, storage, and fueling for aviation. Engaging stakeholders, including aircraft manufacturers, electric utilities, site property owners, and local communities, will inform decision-making around site structure, operations, and resources for future hydrogen fueling infrastructure to understand operational needs and cybersecurity awareness. Cybersecurity mitigation strategy must consider physical attack vectors that emerge with the integration of hydrogen systems into existing airport security requirements. The cybersecurity risk assessment contained in this report is an entry point into potential future granular-level analyses to be conducted as part of hazard and risk assessments for safe aviation hydrogen infrastructure, determining how the scale of hydrogen fuel infrastructure for aviation impacts the volume of cyber attack vectors, and what, if any, are the vulnerabilities associated with different types of on-board hydrogen systems. In this nascent development phase, assessing how best to integrate cybersecurity practices into an evolving U.S. aviation landscape provides critical insights into building increased awareness and stakeholder engagement to support a cyber-resilient infrastructure.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2023

Modeling the U.S. Western Electric Interconnection to Understand the Consequences of Hydrometeorological Extremes and Options for Risk Mitigation

Electricity grid operators around the world face a dual challenge; withstanding increasingly severe weather and the longer term impacts of climate change, while simultaneously decarbonizing. Extreme weather events such as heat waves and droughts are rising in both severity and frequency, which is threatening the reliability of electricity grids through increased demand, generation capacity losses, and equipment failures. Consequently, incorporating hydrometeorological stressors into computational power systems analysis is becoming an even more critical tool in long term planning and short term operations. However, there is a general lack of open-source customizable grid simulation software capable of exhaustively stress testing the grid under hydrometeorological uncertainty, and/or examining potential risk mitigation pathways. A related, persistent challenge for power system modelers is striking an appropriate balance between model fidelity (e.g. spatial scale and time resolution) and computational tractability (wall clock run-time). In this study, we are proposing a solution to this problem with open-source software that allows users to seamlessly customize the scale and track the accuracy of grid operations models. Our approach allows users to search over numerous model parameters (network topology, mathematical formulation, economic hurdle rates, and transmission line scaling) to identify model instantiations that accommodate experimental design. Further, we use this approach to demonstrate the importance of including extreme weather events in model validation and model selection. Focusing on the occurrence of heatwaves and droughts in the U.S. Western Interconnection, we examine role of extreme events in balancing tradeoffs between model fidelity and run-time at the model design stage.

Economics↗

DOE OSTI2020

Reliability-Informed Life-Cycle Warranty Cost Analysis: A Case Study on a Transmission in Agricultural Equipment

In agricultural and industrial equipment, both new and remanufactured systems are often available for warranty coverage. In such cases, it may be challenging for equipment manufacturers to properly trade-off between the system reliability and the cost associated with a replacement option (e.g., replace with a new or remanufactured system). To address this problem, we present a reliability-informed life-cycle warranty cost (LCWC) analysis framework that enables equipment manufacturers to evaluate different warranty policies. These warranty policies differ in whether a new or remanufactured system is used for replacement in the case of product failure. The novelty of this LCWC analysis framework lies in its ability to incorporate real-world field reliability data into warranty policy assessment using probabilistic warranty cost models that consider multiple life cycles. First, the reliability functions for the new and remanufactured systems are built as the time-to-failure distributions that provide the best-fit to the field reliability data. Then, these reliability functions and their corresponding warranty policies are used to build the LCWC models according to the specific warranty terms. Finally, Monte Carlo simulation is used to propagate the time-to-failure uncertainty of each system, modeled by its reliability function, through each LCWC model to produce a probability distribution of the LCWC. The effectiveness of the proposed reliability-informed LCWC analysis framework is demonstrated with a real-world case study on a transmission used in some agricultural equipment.

agricultural equipment↗

DOE OSTI2021

Analysis of Loss-of-Offsite-Power Events: Update

Loss-of-offsite power (LOOP) can have a negative impact on a nuclear power plant’s ability to achieve and maintain safe shutdown conditions. LOOP event frequencies and times required for subsequent restoration of offsite power are important inputs to plant probabilistic risk assessments. This report presents a statistical and engineering analysis of LOOP frequencies and durations at U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The data used in this study were based on the operating experience during calendar years 1987–2020, while the most recent 15-year data (i.e., from 2006–2020) were used for most analyses in this report. LOOP events during critical operation that did not result in a reactor trip are not included. Frequencies and durations were determined for four LOOP event categories: plant-centered, switchyard-centered, grid-related, and weather related. Highly significant decreasing trends in the LOOP occurrence rates were identified for All-LOOPs during critical operation (p-value = 0.001) and switchyard-centered LOOPs during critical operation (p-value = 0.002) for the most recent 10-year period (2011–2020). Adverse trends in LOOP durations continue for switchyard-centered LOOPs (p-value = 0.005), All-LOOPs (p-value = 0.019), as well as All-LOOPs during shutdown operation (p-value = 0.003). Statistical tests show the LOOP counts are not uniformly distributed across the 12 months, and variation among the months exists for plant-centered LOOPs (p-value = 0.028), grid-related LOOPs (p-value = 0.021), All-LOOPs (p-value = 0.003), and All-LOOPs during critical operation (p-value = 0.008). The engineering analysis of LOOP data showed for the period of 2006–2020, the equipment failure events were dominated by failures of circuits and relay; human errors have been less frequent and occurred primarily in maintenance; and weather events were dominated by tornadoes and lightning.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Analysis of Loss-of-Offsite-Power Events: 2021 Update

Loss-of-offsite power (LOOP) can have a negative impact on a nuclear power plant’s ability to achieve and maintain safe shutdown conditions. LOOP event frequencies and times required for subsequent restoration of offsite power are important inputs to plant probabilistic risk assessments. This report presents a statistical and engineering analysis of LOOP frequencies and durations at U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The data used in this study were based on the operating experience during calendar years 1987–2021, while the most recent 15-year data (i.e., from 2007–2021) were used for most analyses in this report. LOOP events during critical operation that did not result in a reactor trip are not included. Frequencies and durations were determined for four LOOP event categories: plant-centered, switchyard-centered, grid-related, and weather-related. These categories (and the All-LOOPs group which contains all LOOPs without regarding of the four categories) could be further grouped by whether a LOOP event occurred during critical operation, during shutdown operation, or during all operations. The following decreasing trends in the LOOP occurrence rates were identified for the most recent 10-year period (2012–2021): All-LOOPs during critical operation, switchyard-centered LOOPs during critical operation, and grid-related LOOPs during critical operation. Adverse trends in LOOP durations continue for switchyard-centered LOOPs during all operations, All-LOOPs during all operations, and All-LOOPs during shutdown operation for the 1997–2021 period. Statistical tests show the LOOP counts for the period of 2007–2021 are not uniformly distributed across the 12 months, and variation among the months exists for grid-related LOOPs during all operations, All-LOOPs during all operations, and All-LOOPs during critical operation. The engineering analysis of LOOP data showed for the period of 2007–2021, the equipment failure events were dominated by failures of relay and other; human errors have been less frequent and occurred primarily in maintenance and switching; and weather were dominated by tornadoes then by lightning and hurricane. Weather was the cause for 45% of LOOPs for the last fifteen years (2007– 2021) but only for 20% of LOOPs for the previous 20 years (1987–2006) .

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines

The advanced power electronics and electric machines (APEEM) research group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed world-class experimental and modeling capabilities for designing and evaluating efficient and reliable power electronics and electric machines thermal management systems. They also design, fabricate and characterize advanced power electronics packaging, and are developing state-of-health monitoring techniques. These researchers deliver safe, reliable, high performing, power-dense components that allow seamless integration between renewable energy sources, electric transportation, and the grid, helping to make widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption and greenhouse gas emissions reduction more feasible. This document outlines the group's major capabilities in the areas of power electronics; module development and characterization; thermal modeling and management; thermomechanical reliability analysis of devices, modules, inverters/converters, and electric machines; physics-of-failure-based reliability analysis; and microelectronics. It also overviews the group's state-of-the-art equipment for fluid-based thermal management; thermal measurement & characterization; thermomechanical reliability analysis; micro- and power electronics measurement & characterization; and prototype fabrication, as well as the group's world-class modeling and simulation capabilities.

advanced gate drivers↗

DOE OSTI2022

Development of an MC&A toolbox for liquid-fueled molten salt reactors with online reprocessing (Final Report)

A critical barrier to the deployment of MSRs is the absence of a well-defined nuclear material control and accounting (MC&A) approach, a vital prerequisite to meet NRC licensing requirements as well as facilitating future international exports. Liquid-fueled MSR variants (especially those incorporating online refueling or reprocessing) present a unique set of challenges to traditional nuclear material control and accountancy. Unlike solid-fueled light-water reactors, traditional item-counting methods cannot be applied as an accountancy strategy. Rather, MC&A approaches to MSR variants (including both uranium and thorium fueled designs) are more analogous to bulk material handling facilities (e.g., enrichment and reprocessing); yet further complicating matters is the fact that fuel medium is also highly radioactive. Meanwhile, the space of MSRs covers a broad range of design parameters, including thermal and fast spectra designs; operation in actinide breeder or burner modes, choice of actinide fuel used (e.g., 235 U, 232 Th / 233 U, denatured 233 U, etc.), pool or loop-type configuration, and even different salt chemistry. Each of these design choices introduce significant challenges to MC&A approaches within MSR facilities. We propose to bridge this gap for liquid-fueled MSRs by developing a modular, component-based test framework for evaluating viable process monitoring and MC&A techniques specifically suited to liquid-fueled MSR system variants employing online refueling or reprocessing. This test platform will consist of a toolbox of independent process modules representing discrete physical units (such as the reactor core, off-gas processing, decay tanks, and actinide separation units), each with its own self-contained physics responsive to the input mass flow, along with appropriate measurement models that can be coupled to key flow points. These dynamic physical signatures thus afford the ability to test the viability and efficacy of potential accountancy techniques under the full range of reactor operating conditions. As process modules are connected via mass flows, the result is a reconfigurable, generic MSR mass flow model capable of serving as an MC&A test platform for a broad spectrum of possible MSR configurations. The resulting MSR MC&A toolbox will enable robust assessment of accountancy strategies for this unique facility type, including analysis of physical feedbacks arising both from depletion of the fuel over time as well as from potential off-normal events, including those introduced by equipment failures (e.g., a pump failure) as well as by malicious action (i.e., attempts to divert material). The proposed toolbox both addresses a critical needs area for the MPACT analysis toolkit while leveraging existing MPACT-sponsored tools, especially with respect to simulation of measurement and accountancy techniques for advanced fuel cycle facilities. Beyond enabling new analysis capabilities for MSR systems, the design of this toolbox will be to such to maximize compatibility with existing MPACT tools, such to enhance existing facility MC&A analysis capabilities.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Faster-than-real-time Simulation with Demonstration for Resilient DER Integration

The US electric grid is facing operational, stability, and security challenges. Transmission system operators need some measure of visibility into distribution system renewable generation. Distribution system generation needs to support transmission system voltage. The grid is experiencing an expansion in measurement systems. How to take full advantage of this expansion and defend against attacks, both cyber and physical, poses additional challenges. The Faster-than-real-time Simulation with demonstration for Resilient DER Integration project set out to do the following: a. Flatten the voltage profile through the feeders and system for cost saving and voltage stabilization needs. b. Increase the amount of intermittent distributed energy resources (IDERs) that could be deployed on a utility feeder and provide 100% or more energy needed for the demands on that feeder, and c. based on an accurate model (Digital Twin) of the utilities system, be able to detect any abnormalities on the utilities distribution system. To manage the voltage and increase IDER penetration (a,b), Graph Trace Analysis is employed in a time-series, optimal power flow to coordinate the time-varying feedback control setpoints of a distribution feeder’s utility control devices. Under the coordinated control are a Load Tap Changing Transformer, a voltage regulator, and five switched capacitor banks. The feeder serves over 2000 customers, the feeder secondaries are modeled, and the feeder has 2.3 MW of PV generation, corresponding to a 17.4% penetration of PV generation. The feeder model has over 12,000 components, where every customer load bus and PV generator are modeled. The accuracy of the power flow solution is compared against historical meter voltage measurements, the improvement in conservation voltage reduction energy savings as a function of the coordinated control desired voltage profile is investigated, and the increase in PV penetration of the coordinated control over the existing control is presented. To achieve improved control performance while observing system operation constraints, bellwether Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) voltage measurements are used to adjust the desired voltage profile used by the optimal power flow analysis. To detect and alleviate or negate attacks or failures on the distribution and transmission utility grids (c) the grid needs to be resilient and self-healing. In this project software was designed to do just that. At the center of the software is an Integrated System Model (ISM) that spans from transmission to secondary distribution. The ISM is employed in real-time abnormality detection, voltage stability forecasting, and multi-mode control. Testing results are presented for: 1—attacks on utility infrastructure; 2—energy savings from optimal control; 3—distribution system control response during a low voltage transmission system event; 4—cyber-attacks on PV inverters, where physical inverters are used in hard-ware-in-the-simulation-loop studies. Contributions of this work include real-time analysis that spans from three-phase transmission through secondary distribution; an approach for detecting abnormalities that employs measurements from three independent measurement systems; and a multi-mode distribution system control that responds to cyber-attacks, physical attacks, equipment failures, and transmission system needs.

Integrated System Model, Graph Trace Analysis, Adv↗

DOE OSTI2023

Transmission and Distribution Real-Time Analysis Software for Monitoring and Control: Design and Simulation Testing

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation of Weakly Informed Priors for FLEX Data

On behalf of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has reviewed the development and use of “weakly informed prior” (WIP) probability distributions to obtain industry-wide failure probability and rate distributions for portable “FLEX” equipment, as documented in the Pressurized Water Reactor Owner’s Group (PWROG) report, FLEX Equipment Data Collection and Analysis (PWROG 18043-P) by MM Degonish. The review includes a description of the methods used by the PWROG analysts. It also includes an implementation of those methods for comparison purposes and an implementation of two constrained-noninformative (CN) distributions for further WIP comparisons. The report documents several issues that the review identified in the development of the WIP distributions. They relate to the quality and representativeness of the current portable “FLEX” component data, the choice of informed distributions for related installed components, and the lack of verification for the factors chosen to weaken the information from the installed components. Two errors occurred in the computations: the posterior distribution of the WIP was used to modify the WIP itself, resulting in a lack of independence between the WIP and the data; and an error was made in the conversion of WIP mean and variance values to beta distributions. The INL reviewers think the WIP distributions presented in the report are untenable for use in risk assessments at the present time because of these issues.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2021

INL Background, Capabilities, and Research Discussion for Potential COG Collaborations

Slides discussing general INL capabilities in a variety of research areas including LWRS, Plant Modernization, Risk-Informed Systems Analysis, the INL Digital Innovation Center of Excellence DICE, integrated online dynamic plant models, online deterministic failure-mode and reliability models of plant systems, equipment and components, and plant information models.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Portable and Cost-Effective Device for Reliable Detection of Counterfeit and Non-compliant Refrigerants in Diverse Applications

Counterfeit refrigerants pose significant challenges to safety, system reliability, and operational effectiveness due to their harmful contaminants or incompatible chemical compositions. Utilizing these noncompliant products can lead to reduced efficiency, equipment failures, and expensive repairs. Additionally, heightened demand for alternative refrigerants during the industry's transition has created supply gaps, enabling counterfeit products to proliferate. Accurate detection and analysis tools are therefore essential to verify refrigerant authenticity and ensure system integrity in diverse applications. This paper presents the development of a portable device designed for reliable identification and detailed analysis of refrigerant composition. By integrating precision gas sampling, controlled pressure regulation, and automated sensor technology, the device not only detects deviations from standard refrigerant properties but also provides a comprehensive composition breakdown. Pre-calibrated sensors measure the refrigerant gas to identify specific concentrations and contaminants, with an intuitive LED-based indicator system ensuring quick interpretation of results. The user-friendly interface enables operators to select refrigerant types for targeted testing, further enhancing accuracy and usability for field technicians. Comprehensive testing was conducted on mildly flammable A2L refrigerants, showcasing the device’s robustness and adaptability in analyzing composition and detecting discrepancies. The device demonstrated consistent accuracy across a range of refrigerant samples, affirming its reliability in diverse operational environments. Its design minimizes contamination risks during sampling and provides detailed composition results within 90 seconds, ensuring efficient and precise analysis. With a projected price point under $150, the proposed solution delivers affordability alongside its lightweight portability and straightforward operation. Unlike complex and costly alternatives, such as gas chromatography systems, this device provides an accessible option for technicians, customs personnel, and industry operators in need of quick and effective refrigerant verification. Compatible with both current formulations and emerging refrigerant technologies, the device addresses critical counterfeit detection needs across a range of applications. By delivering accurate composition analysis and counterfeit identification, this innovation enhances system performance, safety, and operational reliability in crucial industries.

Cheekatamarla, Praveen [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000248827↗

DOE OSTI2021

Integrated Water-Power System Resilience Analysis in a Southeastern Idaho Irrigation District: Minidoka Case Study

This study investigates the joint water–power system resilience of an irrigation district in southeastern Idaho. Irrigation districts face difficulties in the delivery of water to farmers under drought conditions, during equipment failures, or unplanned infrastructure disruptions. The resilience of interconnected water and power systems can be better analyzed and understood through an integrated approach, using a model that connects the dependencies between the two halves of the system. Using a multi-agent system model capturing both water and power system components, as well as their linkages, we capture the interdependencies of these systems and highlight opportunities for improvement when faced with disruptions. Through simulation scenarios, we examine the system resilience using system performance, quantified as the percentage of met demand of the power and water system, when subjected to drought water year, an unforeseen water demand increase, power outage and dam failure. Scenario results indicate that the effects of low flow years are mostly felt in the power system; unexpected increases in water demand marginally impact irrigation system performance; dams and pumps present vulnerabilities of the system, causing substantial unmet demand during disruptions. Noting the interdependencies between the water–power system halves while leveraging an integrated simulation allows for an insightful analysis of the system impacts during disruptions.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Gamma Spectrometry Code Rodeo for Uranium Enrichment—FY 2022 Report

In the first two quarters of FY22, data acquisition continued at ORNL and LLNL using uranium sources of known enrichments. This was an FY21 task which could not be completed in FY21 because of problems encountered with the ORNL M400 CZT in Q4 of FY21, and the subsequent repairs. The detector was received back from H3D in the first of September 2021 , and the measurements resumed . Measurements using the repaired detector were completed in Q1 of FY22. The spectra were distributed by ORNL to the analyzing labs. Analysis results were received in Q2 of FY2022. The results from the various codes were intercompared and an ANOVA analysis was performed. Random and systematic uncertainties were established for each code. The ANOVA results and discussions were included in a revised version of FY21Annual Report issued in March 2022. A paper was presented at the INMM 2022Annual Conference, with the analysis results from the various isotopic codes, and the ANOVA table with random and systematic uncertainties. The Project Work Plan (PWP) for FY22 included a task to perform field testing of the M400 CZT and the analysis codes using UF 6 cylinder measurements at the Framatome Fuel Fabrication Facility in Richland, WA. PNNL was the lead for the field testing task. PNNL drafted a Field Test Plan, and refined it based on comments received from the team. PNNL coordinated with Framatome facility, the logistics of carrying out the field testing . A collimator and shield made out of TFlex (tungsten impregnated polymer) was designed and professionally manufactured. The collimators were used in the field test measurements. The measurements at Framatome were completed on April 21, 2022. A total of 34 Type 30B cylinders were measured using three M400 detectors (PNNL, LLNL, and ORNL detectors). Measurements using M400 were taken at two locations on the side of each cylinder and from the end-on bottom location. Additionally, HPGe measurements were taken at the end-on location to establish ground truth. Cylinder wall thickness measurements were also made at all three locations. To gain a better understanding of the effect of background from surrounding cylinders, the same five cylinders measured individually in low background locations were measured again in the cylinder storage yards. Due to inclement weather, manufacturer delays, shipping delays, and equipment failure, the measurement campaign spanned twice as long compared to the original timeline. Gamma-ray spectra from M400 and HPGe detectors, along with the cylinder data and photographs were organized and shared with the collaborators for further analysis. Spectra were analyzed by the participating laboratories. FY22 PWP also consists of tasks related to plutonium source measurements, adapting the codes to analyze plutonium spectra, and inter-comparison of the results from various codes. Plutonium spectra are being acquired at LANL, ORNL, and LLNL. LANL, SNL and LLNL are in the process of modifying FRAM, GADRAS, and CZTU, respectively. The plutonium related tasks will be completed in Q2 of FY23.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2026

A Methodology to Evaluate the Grid Reliability Impact of Oscillations Induced by Large Loads

The rapid growth of hyperscale AI data centers is bringing renewed attention to the reliability risk that sustained forced oscillations pose to bulk power systems, with cyclic computational workloads emerging as a new forcing source. Unlike the broadband, stochastic disturbances from traditional industrial loads such as arc furnaces, AI training and inference facilities can inject large active power swings concentrated at specific frequencies over extended durations - characteristics that existing grid planning practices do not account for. While the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has recognized this gap and called for system-level studies of large load interconnections, no standardized methodology exists to screen, simulate, and quantify these risks at the planning stage. This report presents the Risk Assessment Tool for Large Load-induced Events (RATLLE), a Python-based, publicly available script suite developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to evaluate bulk power system reliability risks from data center-induced oscillations. RATLLE implements a three-module workflow: a screening module that identifies vulnerable interconnection locations and excitable system modes; a simulation module that models cyclic data center load behavior using a commercial positive sequence simulation platform; and an analysis module that computes risk metrics and generates interactive visualization dashboards. The risk metrics, formulated around simulation observables, map oscillation impacts to a three-stage severity scale spanning latent equipment fatigue through imminent cascading failure. The methodology is demonstrated on two Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) system models: a publicly available 240-bus reduced representation and a detailed 2031 Heavy Winter planning case. Case studies illustrate that even modest 50 MW forced oscillations at resonant frequencies can produce wide-area power swings, N-1 security constraint violations, and cascading generator trips through protection actions - outcomes that would not occur under normal operating conditions without oscillations present. The results underscore the need for standardized oscillation impact assessment in large load interconnection studies and provide a reproducible, extensible framework for utilities to adopt or customize within their existing planning workflows.

Biswas, Shuchismita↗