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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 OSTI2015

Neutron Source Facility Training Simulator Based on EPICS

A plant operator training simulator is developed for training the plant operators as well as for design verification of plant control system (PCS) and plant protection system (PPS) for the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology Neutron Source Facility. The simulator provides the operator interface for the whole plant including the sub-critical assembly coolant loop, target coolant loop, secondary coolant loop, and other facility systems. The operator interface is implemented based on Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS), which is a comprehensive software development platform for distributed control systems. Since its development at Argonne National Laboratory, it has been widely adopted in the experimental physics community, e.g. for control of accelerator facilities. This work is the first implementation for a nuclear facility. The main parts of the operator interface are the plant control panel and plant protection panel. The development involved implementation of process variable database, sequence logic, and graphical user interface (GUI) for the PCS and PPS utilizing EPICS and related software tools, e.g. sequencer for sequence logic, and control system studio (CSS-BOY) for graphical use interface. For functional verification of the PCS and PPS, a plant model is interfaced, which is a physics-based model of the facility coolant loops implemented as a numerical computer code. The training simulator is tested and demonstrated its effectiveness in various plant operation sequences, e.g. start-up, shut-down, maintenance, and refueling. It was also tested for verification of the plant protection system under various trip conditions.

Park, Young Soo↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simulation-trained machine learning models for Lorentz transmission electron microscopy

Understanding the collective behavior of complex spin textures, such as lattices of magnetic skyrmions, is of fundamental importance for exploring and controlling the emergent ordering of these spin textures and inducing phase transitions. It is also critical to understand the skyrmion–skyrmion interactions for applications such as magnetic skyrmion-enabled reservoir or neuromorphic computing. Magnetic skyrmion lattices can be studied using in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM), but quantitative and statistically robust analysis of the skyrmion lattices from LTEM images can be difficult. In this work, we show that a convolutional neural network, trained on simulated data, can be applied to perform segmentation of spin textures and to extract quantitative data, such as spin texture size and location, from experimental LTEM images, which cannot be obtained manually. This includes quantitative information about skyrmion size, position, and shape, which can, in turn, be used to calculate skyrmion–skyrmion interactions and lattice ordering. We apply this approach to segmenting images of Néel skyrmion lattices so that we can accurately identify skyrmion size and deformation in both dense and sparse lattices. The model is trained using a large set of micromagnetic simulations as well as simulated LTEM images. This entirely open-source training pipeline can be applied to a wide variety of magnetic features and materials, enabling large-scale statistical studies of spin textures using LTEM.

McCray, Arthur R. C. (ORCID:0000000160774698)↗
DOE OSTI2017

Utilizing the SACADA system to collect simulator training data to inform human reliability analyses - 169

Lack of appropriate human performance data for the development of human reliability analysis (HRA) methods has been identified as a key issue contributing to the method-to-method variability among the HRA methods. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) worked with domain experts to develop the Scenario Authoring, Characterization, and Debriefing Application (SACADA) system to collect nuclear power plants' licensed operator simulator training and examination data to inform HRA. In the past two decades, significant improvements in understanding and modelling human performance in HRA have affected the perspectives of the types of data to be collected for HRA. A significant change is that human performance is strongly dependent on the context of the tasks to be performed. To incorporate this understanding, the SACADA data taxonomy collects the context and actual performance information of the training objective elements (TOEs) in nuclear plant operator simulator training. This provides a framework consistent with HRA to use context to estimate human error probabilities. It is recognized that measuring crew performance is equally important as improving operator training. SACADA is designed to support the nuclear trainers in capturing this important information that is used to identify training weaknesses and drive continuous improvement. This paper discusses the SACADA taxonomy, the SACADA system's functions, and the supporting software design to enable the SACADA system to be practically implemented in the nuclear power plants' operator simulator training program to collect data for tracking operator performance and HRA analysis. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

CAS Operator Training Simulator

SAND2022-1525 O The Central Alarm System (CAS) training simulator is a standalone application that will work on any Alarm Control and Display (AC&D) System. Designed to be used by an instructor in a classroom environment, this software plays back scenario alarms and videos usually exported out of Scribe3D or any software that can produce scenario-based videos. Users can select from an array of different scenarios to play. The alarms are sent to an AC&D controller and the videos are sent to a Video Management Server (VMS). Both alarms and associated videos displayed by the intended AC&D system. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Le, Tam↗
DOE OSTI2014

Establishing High-Quality Prostate Brachytherapy Using a Phantom Simulator Training Program

Purpose: To design and implement a unique training program that uses a phantom-based simulator to teach the process of prostate brachytherapy (PB) quality assurance and improve the quality of education. Methods and Materials: Trainees in our simulator program were practicing radiation oncologists, radiation oncology residents, and fellows of the American Brachytherapy Society. The program emphasized 6 core areas of quality assurance: patient selection, simulation, treatment planning, implant technique, treatment evaluation, and outcome assessment. Using the Iodine 125 ({sup 125}I) preoperative treatment planning technique, trainees implanted their ultrasound phantoms with dummy seeds (ie, seeds with no activity). Pre- and postimplant dosimetric parameters were compared and correlated using regression analysis. Results: Thirty-one trainees successfully completed the simulator program during the period under study. The mean phantom prostate size, number of seeds used, and total activity were generally consistent between trainees. All trainees met the V100 >95% objective both before and after implantation. Regardless of the initial volume of the prostate phantom, trainees' ability to cover the target volume with at least 100% of the dose (V100) was not compromised (R=0.99 pre- and postimplant). However, the V150 had lower concordance (R=0.37) and may better reflect heterogeneity control of the implant process. Conclusions: Analysis of implants from this phantom-based simulator shows a high degree of consistency between trainees and uniformly high-quality implants with respect to parameters used in clinical practice. This training program provides a valuable educational opportunity that improves the quality of PB training and likely accelerates the learning curve inherent in PB. Prostate phantom implantation can be a valuable first step in the acquisition of the required skills to safely perform PB.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2025

LOTO Training Flow Simulator Design

The LOTO Training Flow Simulator Design poster discusses the intended purpose of the simulator along with the steps taken in the design process. It highlights the two main systems designed in the primary flow loop and the bubbler system, along with a brief description of the flow calculations made to ensure the functionality of the system.

42 - ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Transforming Magnetic Resonance Imaging Education through Simulation-Based Training

Clinical instructors are facing the challenge of limited clinical training sites as the opportunities to train on actual patients become less available. In addition, work regulations, productivity requirements, and patients’ awareness of trainees “practicing” on them has led to a decline in training opportunities. These factors reduced training experience into fewer direct patient encounters, and fewer opportunities to perform procedures. This study assesses the perception of students on the MRI simulation training for undergraduate medical imaging students.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effects of Field of View and Visual Complexity on Virtual Reality Training Effectiveness for a Visual Scanning Task

Virtual reality training systems are commonly used in a variety of domains, and it is important to understand how the realism of a training simulation influences training effectiveness. The paper presents a framework for evaluating the effects of virtual reality fidelity based on an analysis of a simulation’s display, interaction, and scenario components. Following this framework, we conducted a controlled experiment to test the effects of fidelity on training effectiveness for a visual scanning task. The experiment varied the levels of field of view and visual realism during a training phase and then evaluated scanning performance with the simulator’s highest level of fidelity. To assess scanning performance, we measured target detection and adherence to a prescribed strategy. The results show that both field of view and visual realism significantly affected target detection during training; higher field of view led to better performance and higher visual realism worsened performance. Additionally, the level of visual realism during training significantly affected learning of the prescribed visual scanning strategy, providing evidence that high visual realism was important for learning the technique. The results also demonstrate that task performance during training was not always a sufficient measure of mastery of an instructed technique. That is, if learning a prescribed strategy or skill is the goal of a training exercise, performance in a simulation may not be an appropriate indicator of effectiveness outside of training—evaluation in a more realistic setting may be necessary.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Development and Demonstration of a Security Core Component

In recent years, the convergence of a number of trends has resulted in Cyber Security becoming a much greater concern for electric utilities. A short list of these trends includes: · Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) have evolved from depending on proprietary hardware and operating software toward using standard off-the-shelf hardware and operating software. This has meant that these ICSs can no longer depend on “security through obscurity. · Similarly, these same systems have evolved toward using standard communications protocols, further reducing their ability to rely upon obscurity. · The rise of the Internet and the accompanying demand for more data about virtually everything has resulted in formerly isolated ICSs becoming at least partially accessible via Internet-connected networks. · “Cyber crime” has become commonplace, whether it be for industrial espionage, reconnaissance for a possible cyber attack, theft, or because some individual or group “has something to prove.” Electric utility system operators are experts at running the power grid. The reality is, especially at small and mid-sized utilities, these SCADA operators will by default be “on the front line” if and when a cyber attack occurs against their systems. These people are not computer software, networking, or cyber security experts, so they are ill-equipped to deal with a cyber security incident. Cyber Security Manager (CSM) was conceived, designed, and built so that it can be configured to know what a utility’s SCADA/EMS/DMS system looks like under normal conditions. To do this, CSM monitors log messages from any device that uses the syslog standard. It can also monitor a variety of statistics from the computers that make up the SCADA/EMS/DMS: outputs from host-based security tools, intrusion detection systems, SCADA alarms, and real-time SCADA values – even results from a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) system. When the system deviates from “normal,” CSM can alert the operator in language that they understand that an incident may be occurring, provide actionable intelligence, and informing them what actions to take. These alarms may be viewed on CSM’s built-in user interface, sent to a SCADA alarm list, or communicated via email, phone, pager, or SMS message. In recognition of the fact that “real world” training for cyber security events is impractical, CSM has a built-in Operator Training Simulator capability. This can be used stand alone to create simulated event scenarios for training purposes. It may also be used in conjunction with the recipient’s SCADA/EMS/DMS Operator Training Simulator. In addition to providing cyber security situational awareness for electric utility operators, CSM also provides tools for analysts and support personnel; in fact, the majority of user interface displays are designed for use in analyzing current and past security events. CSM keeps security-related information in long-term storage, as well as writing any decisions it makes to a (syslog) log for use forensic or other post-event analysis.

Turke, Andy↗
DOE OSTI2017

Procedure design of F and B operation and its impact on the risk of a nuclear power plant - 168

A feed and bleed (F and B) operation is an operator's emergency task to remove core heat from a reactor coolant system by bleeding coolant from the pressurizer, and feeding makeup water through safety injection systems under the loss of all feedwater condition. Even though the F and B operation is an important task having a significant impact on the risk of a nuclear power plant, there is a high uncertainty regarding its modeling and analysis in a PSA. This paper introduces a study on the design of an operational strategy for an F and B operation and its impact on the risk of a nuclear power plant in Korea. An intensive support analysis was conducted to understand the plant behavior and revise the success criteria for the HRA of the F and B operation. A human performance analysis on the emergency tasks was also conducted using a training simulator to generate the operator's performance time for the F and B operation. We revised the PSA model and updated the risk of the reference plant, which shows that the risk of the revised model is much higher than that of the existing model. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-D-BRF-06: A Brachytherapy Simulator with Realistic Haptic Force Feedback and Real-Time Ultrasounds Image Simulation for Training and Teaching

Purpose: Surgical procedures require dexterity, expertise and repetition to reach optimal patient outcomes. However, efficient training opportunities are usually limited. This work presents a simulator system with realistic haptic force-feedback and full, real-time ultrasounds image simulation. Methods: The simulator is composed of a custom-made Linear-DELTA force-feedback robotic platform. The needle tip is mounted on a force gauge at the end effector of the robot, which responds to needle insertion by providing reaction forces. 3D geometry of the tissue is using a tetrahedral finite element mesh (FEM) mimicking tissue properties. As the needle is inserted/retracted, tissue deformation is computed using a mass-tensor nonlinear visco-elastic FEM. The real-time deformation is fed to the L-DELTA to take into account the force imparted to the needle, providing feedback to the end-user when crossing tissue boundaries or needle bending. Real-time 2D US image is also generated synchronously showing anatomy, needle insertion and tissue deformation. The simulator is running on an Intel I7 6- core CPU at 3.26 MHz. 3D tissue rendering and ultrasound display are performed on a Windows 7 computer; the FEM computation and L-DELTA control are executed on a similar PC using the Neutrino real-time OS. Both machines communicate through an Ethernet link. Results: The system runs at 500 Hz for a 8333-tetrahedron tissue mesh and a 100-node angular spring needle model. This frame rate ensures a relatively smooth displacement of the needle when pushed or retracted (±20 N in all directions at speeds of up to 2 m/s). Unlike commercially-available haptic platforms, the oblong workspace of the L-DELTA robot complies with that required for brachytherapy needle displacements of 0.1m by 0.1m by 0.25m. Conclusion: We have demonstrated a real-life, realistic brachytherapy simulator developed for prostate implants (LDR/HDR). The platform could be adapted to other sites or training for other types of needle-based procedures.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Software Requirements for a Consequence Management Sample Data Simulator for Training and Drills

This document describes the requirements for a software tool that will enable FRMAC to simulate large sets of sample result data that is based realistically on simulated radionuclide deposition grids from NARAC. The user of this tool would be scientists involved in exercise and drill planning or part of the simulation cell of an exercise controller team. A key requirement is that this tool must be able to be run with a reasonable amount of training and job aids by any person within the Assessment, Laboratory Analysis, or Monitoring and Sampling divisions of the FRMAC to support any level of exercise from the small IPX to the national level full scale exercise. This tool should be relatively lean and stand-alone so that the user can run it in the field with limited IT resources. This document will describe the desired architecture, design characteristics, order of operations, and algorithms that can be given to a software development team to assist them in project scoping, costing, and eventually, development.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Design and implementation of HuREX analysis supporting interface - 171

Human error is recognized as one of the main causes to affect to the socio-technical system including nuclear power plant. Therefore, reducing human error through human reliability analysis (HRA) is a critical issue. Moreover, sufficient and reliable human performance data collection is a prerequisite for ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute developed the HuREX (Human Reliability data Extraction) framework to collect and analyze the responses of human operators from simulator training records of nuclear power plant. Thus, the development and computer software interfaces of the database are essential to efficiently support human reliability analysis. In this study, OPERA database was developed in accordance with the following process. First, the essential data required for the HRA analysis (e.g., plant data, procedures, system and equipment info, operating crews, results of simulator experiments, and so forth) was stored in the database. In addition, standardized procedures and related items were stored in the database to support HRA quantification. A data structure was developed to store crew responses conducted by operators to cope with an emergency situation during simulator experiments. In addition, various interfaces that escalate efficiency of the HuREX applications were developed. The HuREX analysis support interface was developed with HuREX Video Analyzer for observation of simulator collection data (e.g., audio-visual records, plant parameters, operator's action logs) and HuREX Data Analyzer for analysis of operator's conducted task. By using the OPERA database and HuREX analysis support interface developed through this research, maximizing the efficiency of human reliability analysis based on simulator training data. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗