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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Nevada National Security Site Demonstration Reactor Siting and Capabilities Study

The NNSS Demonstration Reactor Siting and Capabilities study identifies siting opportunities supporting the demonstration of advanced and emerging reactor designs and operations in a manner that optimizes these activities within the NNSS physical, operational, and regulatory footprint considering relevant evaluation factors to ensure the designated site locations provide the necessary defense-in-depth for safe and secure sustained operations.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nevada National Security Site Demonstration Reactor Siting and Capability Study

The study’s purpose is to identify suitable testbeds within the NNSS for the demonstration of advanced and emerging reactor technologies. These testbeds are envisioned to be existing structures, facilities, or sites that may be suitable for advanced reactor demonstrations, advanced reactor fuel fabrication, or other experimental support for advanced reactor demonstrations. This study examines siting alternatives at NNSS with the objective of identifying locations for near term ARD projects. Included in the outcomes is an evaluation of the quantitative and qualitative factors that must be addressed for each site if selected to host an ARD sponsored demonstration.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

2016 Inspection and Annual Site Status Report for the Site A/Plot M, Illinois, Decommissioned Reactor Site July 2016

The Site A/Plot M, Illinois, Decommissioned Reactor Site was inspected on May 17, 2016. The site, located within Cook County forest preserve that is open to the public, was found to be in good condition with one exception. Erosion on top of the grass-covered mound at Plot M continues to be a concern as presented in previous inspections. Ruts form in the soil on top of Plot M as a result of bike traffic using the open field as a pass thru between established bike trails within the forest preserve. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) who is contracted directly from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has filled in the ruts with top soil and reseeding remains an ongoing process. Reseeded areas from 2015 are progressing nicely. No cause for a follow-up inspection was identified. In 2015, ANL plugged and abandoned 8 of 25 monitoring wells (BH41, BH51, BH52, BH54, DH9, DH10, DH13, and DH17). The 17 groundwater monitoring wells remaining at the site were inspected to confirm that they were locked and in good condition. Preliminary environmental monitoring results for 2015 are provided in a draft report titled Surveillance of Site A and Plot M, Report for 2015, prepared by ANL. The report also contains results of an independent analysis conducted by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency on some of the samples collected by ANL in 2015. The draft report states that the results of the surveillance program continue to indicate that the impact of radioactivity at Site A/Plot M is very low and does not endanger the health of those living in the area or visiting the site. The ANL monitoring report will be made available to the public on the DOE Office of Legacy Management public website when it is issued as final. A new county forest preserve campsite opened in 2015 at Bull Frog Lake, which is east of Plot M. Hiking trails connect Bull Frog Lake with Site A/Plot M. The site might receive more traffic from forest preserve visitors now that this new campsite is opened.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Advanced Reactor Siting Policy Considerations

This report describes considerations for and challenges to revising the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) guidance regarding population for siting an advanced reactor. Current regulations in 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 100, Reactor Site Criteria, and guidance support in Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.7, Revision 3, General Site Suitability Criteria for Nuclear Power Stations, are focused on large light water reactors (LWRs), addressing the distance that a nuclear reactor should be sited from a densely populated center. This report analyzes the alternatives to using a formula distance as the primary figure of merit for siting small modular reactors (SMRs) or non-light water reactors (non-LWRs). Some reactor vendors use a business plan that sites reactors close to an industrial partner to supply heat or to back-fit a reactor at a fossil plant site to take advantage of existing infrastructure. Factors such as smaller source terms (fission product release to the environment), passive safety systems, advances in barrier technology, advances in simulation and modeling, and improved understanding of societal risk may allow for siting these types of reactors closer to densely populated centers than has historically been accepted for large LWRs.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Classification of Commercial Nuclear Reactor Sites and the Subsequent Impacts on Preparing Spent Nuclear Fuel for Shipment - 17355

The US Department of Energy is conducting analyses to inform future decisions regarding an integrated waste management system for the acceptance of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from commercial nuclear reactor sites. The ability to prepare SNF for shipment from reactor sites is likely to be restricted by ongoing operations at those sites. This report examines the extent to which those operations will restrict the reactor sites' availability to prepare SNF for shipment. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the impact and frequency of refueling operations within the commercial reactor sites in the US. In this report, a characterization of reactor sites into families is described. This characterization is based on the number of operating reactors on site, the length of refueling cycles for those reactors, and the configuration of spent fuel pools on site. Each reactor family is analyzed to estimate the amount of time for which each reactor site in the family would be available to prepare SNF shipments. This analysis is a work in progress, and the results are used to inform the development of new models of an integrated waste management system for commercial SNF. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Optimization Scheme for Establishing Queues for Shipment of UNF from Shutdown Reactor Sites - 17554

Approximately 14, 815 used nuclear fuel assemblies (5,800 MTHM) are stored in 486 dry storage cask systems located at 12 independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) located at shutdown reactor sites located across the U.S. that have no access to spent fuel pools. A preliminary evaluation was performed by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) in collaboration with AREVA to establish optimization schemes for establishing queues for the removal of this used/spent nuclear fuel (hence forth identified as UNF) and Greater than Class C low level wastes (GTCC) found at these shutdown reactor sites. These queues assumed the major portion of the shipment of the UNF and GTCC would be by rail, with heavy haul truck or barge potentially utilized to move the UNF from the site to rail for sites not served directly by rail. The destination for these rail shipments were a hypothetical consolidated interim storage facility (CSF) located in West Texas. The queues were developed based on the total costs and time to finish all shipments needed to remove all the UNF from these shutdown sites. Results are presented for optimization schemes based on a continuous flow of shipments using 1, 2, and 3 crews dedicated to individual ISFSIs and discrete shipments using 2 crews capable of performing operations at multiple ISFSIs. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

2016 Annual Inspection and Radiological Survey Results for the Piqua, Ohio, Decommissioned Reactor Site, July 2016

This report presents the findings of the annual inspection and radiological survey of the Piqua, Ohio, Decommissioned Reactor Site (site). The decommissioned nuclear power demonstration facility was inspected and surveyed on April 15, 2016. The site, located on the east bank of the Great Miami River in Piqua, Ohio, was in fair physical condition. There is no requirement for a follow-up inspection, partly because City of Piqua (City) personnel participated in a March 2016 meeting to address reoccurring safety concerns. Radiological survey results from 104 locations revealed no removable contamination. One direct beta activity reading in a floor drain on the 56-foot level (1674 disintegrations per minute [dpm]/100 square centimeters [cm2]) exceeded the minimum detectable activity (MDA). Beta activity has been detected in the past at this floor drain. The reading was well below the action level of 5000 dpm/100 cm2.

2016 Piqua↗
DOE OSTI2017

Advanced reactor site feasibility evaluation

The report provides a description of the project, summarizes the methodology and results for each task of the project, and ends with the overall project conclusions and recommendations. In addition, the report contains a descriptive index of the technical reports generated during the course of the project.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1982

Impact of Demographic Siting Criteria and Environmental Suitability on Land Availability for Nuclear Reactor Siting

The effect of population and certain environmental characteristics on the availability of land for siting nuclear power plants was assessed. The study area, consisting of the 48 contiguous states, was divided into 5 kilometer (km) square grid cells yielding a total of 600,000 cells. Through the use of a modern geographic information system, it was possible to provide a detailed analysis of a quite large area. Numerous maps and statistical tables were produced, the detail of which were limited only by available data. Evaluation issues included population density, restricted lands, seismic hardening, site preparation, water availability, and cost factors.

Hansen, K. L.↗
DOE OSTI2021

National Demonstration Reactor Siting Study—Phase I (Revision 1)

In 2020, the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) initiated the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), with the goal of demonstrating two advanced reactor designs within the next five to seven years. When evaluating challenges in meeting this deadline, the newly established National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) determined that there was a limited number of well-characterized sites that could support this time-sensitive demonstration requirement. To close this gap, NRIC initiated a two-phase joint analytic effort including DOE, National Laboratory, and academic partners to examine demonstration reactor siting alternatives. The first phase of the study, which is documented in this report, describes the development of a methodology for site assessment and a preliminary assessment of a limited number of known siting alternatives. Revision 1 of this report includes 3 additional (13 total) siting alternatives and 2 additional (4 total) example scenarios.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Long-Term Stewardship Challenges at the Piqua, Ohio, Decommissioned Reactor Site - 19578

This paper describes the site history following the decommissioning of the Piqua, Ohio, Nuclear Power Facility to include key features of the 1968 contract and 1969 lease agreement with the City of Piqua still in effect today. Long-term stewardship challenges facing the US Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (LM) and the path to find long-term solutions that are in the best interest of all parties are described. Lastly, the applications of lessons learned to other LM legacy sites are also presented. (authors)

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

Immobilization of Organic Liquid Radioactive Waste (LWR) in a Sulfur Composite Matrix at the BN-350 Fast Neutron Reactor Site, Kazakhstan - 18031

The immobilization treatment and final disposition of all forms of organic radioactive liquids, such as pump oil, spent solvent, tri-butyl-phosphate (TBP) and scintillation fluids, remain a significant challenge for nuclear waste generators and national regulators. The majority of nuclear nations have instituted regulations that require some form of encapsulation of treated organic liquid, notwithstanding LLW organic liquids that can be safely incinerated. In most cases cement is the designated material for encapsulation; however, cement can pose certain problems with the containment of treated organic liquids. In 2013, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy - National Nuclear Security Administration through its Global Initiative for Proliferation Prevention Program (GIPP), a proven U.S. technology for the treatment of radioactive organic liquids was introduced at the BN-350 fast neutron reactor facility in Aktau, Kazakhstan. As the facility was undergoing full decommissioning, one hundred and sixty cubic meters of contaminated pump oil (including Cs-137, Sr-90 and U-235/238) contained in large above ground tanks had to be treated for final disposal. As a result of the research conducted over a two-year period, a new 2-step treatment process was invented by combining the U.S. solidification technology with a newly developed inorganic filler and molecular sulfur, referred to as radiation-resistant composite (RRC) to fully encapsulate the waste oil. The outcome of extensive test program indicates that the final form can reach up to 60 wt.% with a compressive strength of about 100 kg/cm{sup 2}. Preliminary conclusions indicate that RRC outperforms cement as an encapsulation form for final waste treatment which meets U.S. Nuclear Regulatory requirements for final disposal. This paper examines the preliminary experimental work that was conducted in Kazakhstan with the U.S. polymer technology and radioactive pump oil, and the subsequent secondary process of combining the solidified material into a homogeneous final form utilizing RRC. Topics covered in the paper include: - Kazakhstan's regulatory requirements for attaining an achievable waste form for acceptance, which led to the RRC invention; - Technical objectives for the application of polymer technology and RRC materials to radioactive liquid waste; - Polymer solidification with radioactive oil and the result; step one of the RRC process; - Description of RRC materials, their origin and chemical characteristics; - Process of combining the solidified polymer mass with RRC materials into a solid, homogeneous matrix; step two of the RRC process; - Experimental results including leaching data, waste loading estimates and heat process calculations to create the matrix; - Cost advantages of the RRC process over cementation; - Limitations of the RRC process; - Next steps to verify conformance of the RRC technology to the U.S. requirements. (authors)

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