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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 OSTI2020

Determining Outgassing of Foam Packaging Material

When transporting highly radioactive material, it is vital to provide a successful delivery. Without proper containment, radioactive materials can become exposed to the surrounding environment and pose a serious threat. To ensure a safe transition of radioactive material, packaging components must be able to withstand high levels of heat during the event of a fire while maintaining the integrity of the structure to safety contain the radioactive material. Various types of polyurethane and silicone have been selected to observe at high temperatures to analyze outgassing characteristics of the materials.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2011

RECLAMATION OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL PACKAGING COMPONENTS

Radioactive material packages are withdrawn from use for various reasons; loss of mission, decertification, damage, replacement, etc. While the packages themselves may be decertified, various components may still be able to perform to their required standards and find useful service. The Packaging Technology and Pressurized Systems group of the Savannah River National Laboratory has been reducing the cost of producing new Type B Packagings by reclaiming, refurbishing, and returning to service the containment vessels from older decertified packagings. The program and its benefits are presented.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effect of Varying Filler Concentration on Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Embedded Chitosan Films as Potential Food Packaging Material

Prevailing scenario of non-biodegradable food packaging materials worldwide was the motivation for this research. More than half of the packaging materials used today are non-biodegradable and lack one or the other feature that keeps it from being an ideal food packaging material. Based on the current need of food grade packaging materials, the present study illustrates the amelioration of the properties of biodegradable chitosan films with the incorporation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in varying concentration. The ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONPs) used as fillers in the chitosan films were synthesized by supersaturation method. They were characterized using UV–visible spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The particles were observed to be around 100–200 nm in size. The chitosan films with varying concentration of ZnONPs were synthesized and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and FE-SEM. The films were studied for their thermal stability, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and mechanical properties. The thermal stability, as determined by Thermo Gravimetric Analysis and Differential Scanning Calorimetry increased slightly with increasing percentage of embedded ZnONPs while a substantial decrease in WVTR was observed. Mechanical properties also showed improvements with 77% increment in tensile modulus and 67% increment in tensile strength. The antimicrobial activity of the films was also studied on gram positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and gram negative bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) by serial dilution method. A twofold and 1.5-fold increment in the antimicrobial activity was observed for B. subtilis and E. coli, respectively, with increased ZnONPs concentration in the films from 0(w/w) to 2%(w/w). Films thus prepared can prove to be of immense potential in the near future for antimicrobial food packaging applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Viscoelastic Material Characterization and Modeling of Photovoltaic Module Packaging Materials for Direct Finite-Element Method Input

Numerical tools, such as the finite-element method, are increasingly used to design and evaluate the photovoltaic (PV) modules, providing for the reduction of development time and improved performance and reliability. However, high-fidelity material models are necessary to accurately model the complex structural behavior of the involved packaging materials. A common simplification used in recent years is to model the polymer materials (i.e., encapsulant and backsheet) as linear elastic, which will lead to inaccurate results. Therefore, in this work, we present a thorough characterization of the time- and temperature-dependent mechanical response of predominant PV module encapsulant and backsheet materials. Based on this material characterization, we developed and experimentally validated generalized Maxwell models to describe each material's viscoelastic response. In addition, we included measurements of the coefficient of thermal expansion and presented all material models in such a fashion for direct input into commercial finite-element method modeling software.

FEM↗
DOE OSTI2011

Productivity Techniques and Quality Aspects in the Criticality Safety Evaluation of Y-12 Type-B Fissile Material Packages

The inventory of certified Type-B fissile material packages consists of ten performance-based packages for offsite transportation purposes, serving transportation programs at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The containment vessels range from 5 to 19 in. in diameter and from 17 to 58 in. in height. The drum assembly external to the containment vessel ranges from 18 to 34 in. in diameter and from 26 to 71 in. in height. The weight of the packaging (drum assembly and containment vessel) ranges from 239 to 1550 lb. The older DT-nn series of Cellotex-based packages are being phased-out and replaced by a new generation of Kaolite-based ('Y-12 patented insulation') packages capable of withstanding the dynamic crush test 10 CFR 71.73(c)(2). Three replacement packages are in various stages of development; two are in use. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) 6M specification package, which does not conform to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements for Type-B packages, is no longer authorized for service on public roads. The ES-3100 shipping package is an example of a Kaolite-based Type-B fissile material package developed as a replacement package for the DOT 6M. With expanded utility, the ES-3100 is designed and licensed for transporting highly enriched uranium and plutonium materials on public roads. The ES-3100 provides added capability for air transport of up to 7-kg quantities of uranium material. This paper presents the productivity techniques and quality aspects in the criticality safety evaluation of Y-12 packages using the ES-3100 as an example.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Technical Basis for Design Life Extension of the SAVY-4000 Series Nuclear Material Packaging System from Five Years to Fifteen Years

The DOE Manual, M441.1-1, Nuclear Material Packaging, approved March 7, 2008, provides detailed packaging requirements for protecting workers from exposure to nuclear materials stored outside of an approved engineered contamination barrier. The SAVY-4000 Series nuclear material packaging system is a DOE Manual 441.1-1 compliant storage system used at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The purpose of this report is to document the technical basis and DOE approval for the initial 5-year design life of the SAVY-4000 Series and to summarize, with supporting detailed technical reports as references, the technical basis for extending the design life from 5 years to 15 years.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Comparison of U.S. Special Permit/Exemption/Authorization Processes for Licensing Type B Radioactive Material Packages - 17513

In the United States, there are three regulators (agencies) associated with licensing Type B radioactive material packages for shipping. They are the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). Each regulator has requirements and guidance which implement United States Code of Federal Regulations 10 CFR 71 - Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material and 49 CFR 171 through 180 - Hazardous Materials Regulations. Periodically, select packages may not clearly fit within the requirements or guidance. In such cases, the planned shipper can petition the applicable agency for a special permit/exemption/authorization approving the shipment with the specified deviations from the requirements or guidance. If equivalent safety is successfully demonstrated to the applicable regulator, such authorization may be obtained. This paper compares the: 1) DOE exemption process; 2) the NRC special package authorization process; and, 3) the DOT special permit process. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

THE DESIGN OF RADIAL HONEYCOMB LATTICES FOR IMPACT ENERGY ABSORPTION IN RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS PACKAGES

In this research we present a variation on the corrugation technique of honeycomb lattices, for cylindrical honeycombs, making them much easier to design for impact energy absorption in radioactive materials packages. This variation, termed radial honeycomb lattices, eliminates the residual strain and saddle effect. The use of honeycomb lattices provides advantages over the typically used foams. While foams are effective at absorbing impact energy, they can burn, their material properties are difficult to control, they can degrade over time, and procurement of raw materials can be dependent on timing of manufacturer batch runs. While the weaknesses of foam are strengths for honeycomb lattices, lattices have a different set of problems. Typically, when cylindrical honeycomb lattices are manufactured, they are manufactured flat, wrapped around a mandrel of the desired radius, and then brazed. This approach introduces residual strains, resulting in the saddle effect, which limits both the radial thickness and cylinder length. The radial honeycomb lattice approach presented here makes the design of thicker and longer cylinder honeycombs possible. To address these issues, we propose a honeycomb lattice which changes in cross-section from the inner to the outer radius of the cylinder. This causes the lattice to automatically wrap into a cylinder as it exits the corrugating gears. The theoretically bounding case, of a square cross-section at the inner radius, transitioning through a hexagon, to a diamond cross-section at the outer radius, results in a maximum thickness of approximately 41% of the inner radius. Full mathematical derivations, implemented in computer code, allow for the design of an entire radial honeycomb lattice, including the corrugating gears. To accomplish this only the radial thickness, inner cross-section shape, cell size, and nominal gear radius need to be specified, making the design of these lattices very efficient. Radial honeycomb lattice prototypes have demonstrated that the honeycomb does indeed wrap into a cylinder as intended, without the saddle effect, and can therefore be used to create thick-walled cylinders of any length. These design improvements make cylindrical honeycomb lattices much more accessible as a design element for radioactive materials packages

Johnson, William R. [Savannah River National Labor↗
DOE OSTI2020

Recycling of multilayer plastic packaging materials by solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation

Many plastic packaging materials manufactured today are composites made of distinct polymer layers (i.e., multilayer films). Billions of pounds of these multilayer films are produced annually, but manufacturing inefficiencies result in large, corresponding postindustrial waste streams. Although relatively clean (as opposed to municipal wastes) and of near-constant composition, no commercially practiced technologies exist to fully deconstruct postindustrial multilayer film wastes into pure, recyclable polymers. Here, we demonstrate a unique strategy we call solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP) to deconstruct multilayer films into their constituent resins using a series of solvent washes that are guided by thermodynamic calculations of polymer solubility. We show that the STRAP process is able to separate three representative polymers (polyethylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol, and polyethylene terephthalate) from a commercially available multilayer film with nearly 100% material efficiency, affording recyclable resins that are cost-competitive with the corresponding virgin materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Micro Crystalline Bamboo Cellulose Based Seaweed Biodegradable Composite Films for Sustainable Packaging Material

This study is aimed to fabricate and characterize the seaweed- biodegradable films incorporated with varying concentrations of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) which was extracted from two bamboo sources: Schizostachyum brachycladum (BLMCC) and Gigantochloa scortechinii (BSMCC). Pure biodegradable seaweed film was directly fabricated from red seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii). In this demonstrated work, commercial MCC (CMCC), BLMCC and BSMCC were used to reinforce the pure seaweed bio-degradable film at different loading concentrations (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15%) based on the dried-weight of seaweed, for packaging applications. There was substantial improvement in the tensile strength and contact angle values while reduction in the water vapor permeability and elongation at break values with the incorporation of the CMCC, BLMCC and BSMCC into the seaweed pure film matrix, which is highly desirable for the packaging material in the current scenario. The morphology of the fabricated films confirmed that there was good dispersion of the 7% of CMCC, 5% of BLMCC and 3% of BSMCC in the pure seaweed films, which resulted in the enhanced mechanical properties. So far, this is the first report on the microcrystalline cellulose based seaweed films with excellent mechanical properties, which makes them suitable for packaging application. The demonstrated work proved that both BSMCC and BLMCC based seaweed composite films have the huge potential to be used as biodegradable packaging material for wide range of applications. Graphical Abstract: .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

APPLICATION FO FLOW FORMING FOR USE IN RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL PACKAGING DESIGNS

This paper reports on the development and testing performed to demonstrate the use of flow forming as an alternate method of manufacturing containment vessels for use in radioactive material shipping packaging designs. Additionally, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Subsection NB compliance along with the benefits compared to typical welding of containment vessels will be discussed. SRNL has completed fabrication development and the testing on flow formed containment vessels to demonstrate the use of flow forming as an alternate method of manufacturing a welded 6-inch diameter containment vessel currently used in the 9975 and 9977 radioactive material shipping packaging. Material testing and nondestructive evaluation of the flow formed parts demonstrate compliance to the minimum material requirements specified in applicable parts of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section II. Destructive burst testing shows comparable results to that of a welded design. The benefits of flow forming as compared to typical welding of containment vessels are significant: dimensional control is improved due to no weld distortion; less final machining; weld fit-up issues associated with pipes and pipe caps are eliminated; post-weld non-destructive testing (i.e., radiography and die penetrant tests) is not necessary; and less fabrication steps are required. Results presented in this paper indicate some of the benefits in adapting flow forming to design of future radioactive material shipping packages containment vessels.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Modeling and MANOVA studies on toxicity and endocrine potential of packaging materials exposed to different extraction schemes

Highlights: • Simultaneous assessment of the impact of treatment conditions on packages ecotoxicity. • Checking of the impact of temperature and extracting solvents on endocrine potential of packages. • Comparison of the package lining spectra before and after extraction. • Ecotoxicity parameters as a tool in packages lining stability assessment. The stability of the linings of packaging that is in contact with the goods stored has been of major concern during decades of the development of packaging materials. In this work, an attempt was undertaken to assess the applicability of using two bioassays (Microtox® and XenoScreen YES/YAS) in estimating the stability of packaging (cans, caps, multilayer material) and the impact of their degradation on the toxicity of some simulated media. The assessment of the impact of packaging storage conditions (temperature, disinfection, preservation, extracting and washing solvents) was planned and performed with i) regression modeling of the experimental effects on the ecotoxicity readings, ii) ANOVA and MANOVA estimation of the experimental conditions as significant factors affecting the toxicity results and iii) FTIR analysis of the packages. It is shown that the effects of temperature and extraction solvents could be quantitatively assessed by the agreement between all methods applied. It can be stated that temperature and acidity as well as the alcohol content in the sensitive media have the greatest impact on the toxicity of the extract and thus on the stability of the internal lining and the extractability of xenobiotics.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

In-Silico Design of Next Generation Cellulose-Derived Packaging Materials (CRADA Final Report)

Developing sustainable solutions for single-use packaging is an important objective to combat the environmental crisis of plastics pollution. Most embodiments of cellulose-based packaging materials, including CellophaneTM, are completely biodegradable in both terrestrial and marine environments. However, petroleum-derived alternatives offer some performance advantages for metrics such as moisture barriers and mechanical properties. This project leverages molecular dynamics simulation to investigate how molecular modifications to cellulose-based polymer assemblies impact their material properties. An important performance criterion for the modified materials was to retain biodegradability; thus, modifications by naturally occurring, biodegradable additives were the focus of this study. Specifically, we developed models with xylan and lignin of varying monomeric compositions into the cellulose matrix. The mechanical properties were investigated by performing stress-strain simulations, and the water barrier and hydrophobicity were investigated by simulating the water contact angle. Our findings indicate that the incorporation of xylan into the cellulose matrix tends to increase the mechanical properties with an optimal loading of ~27 wt%. We also predict that orienting the nanoscale directionality of the xylan chains such that they are perpendicular to the cellulose fibrils will dramatically increase mechanical strength. In contrast, the incorporation of lignin tends to weaken the composite at all loadings investigated. Simulations of water contact angle predicted that coating polymers on the surface of the cellulose assembly creates a more hydrophobic surface than incorporating them throughout the matrix. Of the coatings investigated, lignin resulted in the most hydrophobic surface, followed by pectin and keratin, which both imparted modest increases in hydrophobicity. Future experimental work done by Futamura will focus on designing material prototypes to capitalize on the predictions of performance enhancement obtained from molecular modeling. While substantial progress was made by the simulations performed in this project, there still exists a vast parameter space that we were unable to investigate, including branching, functional group decoration, and degree of polymerization of polymer additives. However, the methods developed in this initial investigation will facilitate more rapid evaluation of the impact of molecular characteristics on the performance of biopolymer composite materials and thereby accelerate future materials discovery efforts in this area.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

The Model 9977 Radioactive Material Packaging Primer

The Model 9977 Packaging is a single containment drum style radioactive material (RAM) shipping container designed, tested and analyzed to meet the performance requirements of Title 10 the Code of Federal Regulations Part 71. A radioactive material shipping package, in combination with its contents, must perform three functions (please note that the performance criteria specified in the Code of Federal Regulations have alternate limits for normal operations and after accident conditions): Containment, the package must “contain” the radioactive material within it; Shielding, the packaging must limit its users and the public to radiation doses within specified limits; and Subcriticality, the package must maintain its radioactive material as subcritical

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Scoping Study to Develop a Computational Fluid Dynamics Based Model to Predict Radiological Materials Packaging Temperatures within a Generic Staging Building

The objective of this work is to perform computational fluid dynamics simulations of a ventilated radiological-material-package staging building to determine the effect of including or excluding a variety of physical effects and computational methods on both the predicted package temperatures and required computational resources. The generic building contains 640 drum-packages containing heat-generating, radiological material supported on four racks that are eight levels tall. Additionally, there is a forced ventilation system, lighting, and insulated walls. Computational models were constructed that included or excluded (a) shelving, (b) effects of unsteadiness, and (c) radiation heat transfer. Simulations with each drum modeled separately were compared to simpler simulations with sets of four drums represented by an equivalent box-package. These models employed between 106 to 107 elements. Steady state simulations predicted package temperatures that were within 0.1°C of simulations that included transient effects and required only one-eighth the computational resources. Calculations that excluded shelving predicted temperatures within 0.6°C of simulations that included shelving and required one-fourth the computational resources. Excluding radiation heat transfer systematically increased temperatures by around 1.5°C but reduced computational resources by a factor of four. The box-package model reduced the computational resources by a factor of 3, but systematically predicted higher temperatures by around 1.1°C. These results will be used to develop an efficient computational fluid dynamics model to assess the ability of different staging building designs to prevent the temperature of package components from exceeding specified limits.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Rapid discrimination of plastic packaging materials using MIR spectroscopy coupled with independent components analysis (ICA)

Highlights: • An innovative technique, MIR-ICA, was applied to plastic packaging separation. • This study was carried out on PE, PP, PS, PET and PLA plastic packaging materials. • ICA was applied to discriminate plastics and 100% separation rates were obtained. • Analyses performed on two spectrometers proved the reproducibility of the method. • MIR-ICA is a simple and fast technique allowing plastic identification/classification. - Abstract: Plastic packaging wastes increased considerably in recent decades, raising a major and serious public concern on political, economical and environmental levels. Dealing with this kind of problems is generally done by landfilling and energy recovery. However, these two methods are becoming more and more expensive, hazardous to the public health and the environment. Therefore, recycling is gaining worldwide consideration as a solution to decrease the growing volume of plastic packaging wastes and simultaneously reduce the consumption of oil required to produce virgin resin. Nevertheless, a major shortage is encountered in recycling which is related to the sorting of plastic wastes. In this paper, a feasibility study was performed in order to test the potential of an innovative approach combining mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy with independent components analysis (ICA), as a simple and fast approach which could achieve high separation rates. This approach (MIR-ICA) gave 100% discrimination rates in the separation of all studied plastics: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polylactide (PLA). In addition, some more specific discriminations were obtained separating plastic materials belonging to the same polymer family e.g. high density polyethylene (HDPE) from low density polyethylene (LDPE). High discrimination rates were obtained despite the heterogeneity among samples especially differences in colors, thicknesses and surface textures. The reproducibility of the proposed approach was also tested using two spectrometers with considerable differences in their sensitivities. Discrimination rates were not affected proving that the developed approach could be extrapolated to different spectrometers. MIR combined with ICA is a promising tool for plastic waste separation that can help improve performance in this field; however further technological improvements and developments are required before it can be applied at an industrial level given that all tests presented here were performed under laboratory conditions.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Explosively Formed Helical Closure for Radioactive Material Packaging

Benefits • Allows for the creation of features in thin-walled metal parts that would otherwise be impossible or impractical to create. • Reduces margin of error during radioactive material package closure. • Increases efficiency of package closure and opening. Applications and Industries • The tooling and method could be used to create closures for any industrial application. There may be use for the geometry produced by the tooling and method that is outside of closures.

Timmons, Darren↗