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Collins, John

Publications and source records attributed to Collins, John.

13 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Electrolytically Assisted Surface Decontamination (EASD{sup TM}) for POCO Operations - 20282

NNL in collaboration with C-Tech Innovation Ltd and Sellafield Ltd has been exploring innovative technologies to enable a significant reduction of radiological hazards within facilities during the Post Operational Clean Out (POCO) phase of a nuclear plant's life cycle. Reducing the hazard by effectively decontaminating plants in-situ during POCO delivers huge cost reductions for future decommissioning operations. These cost reduction benefits are realized by reducing the number and complexity of remote operations as well as lowering the long-term waste disposal costs. Whilst chemical decontamination can achieve the desired level of decontamination, applying aggressive chemical reagents is hazardous, potentially difficult to control and requires there to be complimentary effluent treatment and waste routes. This work has aimed to develop flexible and controllable decontamination processes which could be operated without the additional complexity and issues associated with chemical decontamination. The processes needed to be relatively fast and effective to minimize the time operators would spend in an active area. In addition, there was a driver to produce decontamination methodologies which generated a secondary waste compatible with current routes and which takes advantage of current waste capacity. The strategy therefore was to come up with a solution that works with, rather than against, the science and engineering behind process plants at Sellafield. Electrolytically Assisted Surface Decontamination (EASD{sup TM}) is an innovative electrochemical decontamination process (developed by NNL and C-Tech Innovation Ltd) that can remove activity from contaminated metal in very short time periods. Application of the patented electric waveform to the surface when treating contaminated metal with nitric acid has been shown to significantly enhance the decontamination performance. When compared to proposed baseline washout procedures at Sellafield, the only change to the process is the applied electrical waveform which is temporary and controllable. The current causes dissolution of the metal surface being decontaminated which leads to activity transferring from the plant item into the nitric acid effluent stream. This innovation has the potential to transform the POCO process and allow a nitric acid based washout approach to deliver POCO quickly and cost effectively within the existing infrastructure. Several devices have now been designed that incorporate this EASD{sup TM} technology and enable the decontamination process to be applied to a range items commonly identified as being contaminated during nuclear decommissioning programmes such as pipework, tanks and hotspots of walls/floors. Inactive and active laboratory-scale testing has been completed using both simulated and 'real-life' contaminated (low level waste) metallic items retrieved from different nuclear sites. Active trials demonstrated that contaminated items could be treated to free release levels within minutes. Engineering scale tests are currently being performed, with guidance from Sellafield's system engineers and plant managers, to provide the necessary re-assurance the designed devices could be successfully deployed in an on-plant scenario. The final stage of this development work is to carry out an active demonstration of the decontamination technology on Thorp at Sellafield. This paper aims to highlight progress made to date with the EASD{sup TM} technology and, more specifically, the development of an in-situ decontamination device for deployment within radioactive pipework. (authors)

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

Connecting different TMD factorization formalisms in QCD

In the original Collins-Soper-Sterman (CSS) presentation of the results of transverse-momentum-dependent (TMD) factorization for the Drell-Yan process, results for perturbative coefficients can be obtained from calculations for collinear factorization. Here we show how to use these results, plus known results for the quark form factor, to obtain coefficients for TMD factorization in more recent formulations, e.g., that due to Collins, and apply them to known results at order $\alpha_s^2$ and $\alpha_s^3$. We also show that the ``non-perturbative'' functions as obtained from fits to data are equal in the two schemes. We compile the higher-order perturbative inputs needed for the updated CSS scheme by appealing to results obtained in a variety of different formalisms. In addition, we derive the connection between both versions of the CSS formalism and several formalisms based in soft-collinear effective theory (SCET). As a result, our work uses some important new results for factorization for the quark form factor, which we derive.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Summit on Improving the Economics of America's Nuclear Power Plants

The Summit on Improving the Economics of America’s Nuclear Power Plants was convened May 19, 2016, by Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and co-sponsored by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo to stress the importance of existing nuclear reactors in meeting our nation’s energy goals. The summit was also designed to identify and discuss policy options that can be pursued at federal and state levels to address economic challenges, as well as technical options that utilities can use to improve the economic competitiveness of operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) and avoid early plant retirements that are driven by temporary market conditions. The owners of NPPs face difficult economic decisions and are working to improve the performance of existing NPPs. However, it soon became clear that some of the actions taken by states and regional markets have had an impact on the economic viability of existing power plants, including carbon free NPPs. Summit speakers identified concepts and actions that could be taken at state and federal levels to improve the economics of the existing fleet within these regulated and restructured electricity markets. This report summarizes the speeches, concepts, and actions taken.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2015

TMD factorization and evolution at large $b_T$

In using transverse-momentum-dependent (TMD) parton densities and fragmentation functions, important non-perturbative information is at large transverse position $b_T$. This concerns both the TMD functions and their evolution. Fits to high energy data tend to predict too rapid evolution when extrapolated to low energies where larger values of $b_T$ dominate. I summarize a new analysis of the issues. It results in a proposal for much weaker $b_T$ dependence at large $b_T$ for the evolution kernel, while preserving the accuracy of the existing fits. The results are particularly important for using transverse-spin-dependent functions like the Sivers function.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Understanding the large-distance behavior of transverse-momentum-dependent parton densities and the Collins-Soper evolution kernel

There is considerable controversy about the size and importance of non-perturbative contributions to the evolution of transverse momentum dependent (TMD) parton distribution functions. Standard fits to relatively high-energy Drell-Yan data give evolution that when taken to lower Q is too rapid to be consistent with recent data in semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scattering. Some authors provide very different forms for TMD evolution, even arguing that non-perturbative contributions at large transverse distance bT are not needed or are irrelevant. Here, we systematically analyze the issues, both perturbative and non-perturbative. We make a motivated proposal for the parameterization of the non-perturbative part of the TMD evolution kernel that could give consistency: with the variety of apparently conflicting data, with theoretical perturbative calculations where they are applicable, and with general theoretical non-perturbative constraints on correlation functions at large distances. We propose and use a scheme- and scale-independent function A(bT) that gives a tool to compare and diagnose different proposals for TMD evolution. We also advocate for phenomenological studies of A(bT) as a probe of TMD evolution. The results are important generally for applications of TMD factorization. In particular, they are important to making predictions for proposed polarized Drell- Yan experiments to measure the Sivers function.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Integrated Nuclear-Renewable Energy Systems: Foundational Workshop Report

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes the need to transform the energy infrastructure of the U.S. and elsewhere to systems that can drastically reduce environmental impacts in an efficient and economically viable manner while utilizing both hydrocarbon resources and clean energy generation sources. Thus, DOE is supporting research and development that could lead to more efficient utilization of clean energy generation sources, including renewable and nuclear options. A concept being advanced by the DOE Offices of Nuclear Energy (NE) and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is tighter coupling of nuclear and renewable energy sources in a manner that produces new energy currency for the combined electricity grid, industrial manufacturing, and the transportation energy sectors. This integration concept has been referred to as a “hybrid system” that is capable of providing the right type of energy, at the right time, in the right place. At the direction of DOE-NE and DOE-EERE leadership, project leads at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have identified and engaged stakeholders in discussing integrated energy systems that would optimize renewable and nuclear energy integration on a region-by-region basis. Subsequent work will entail conduct of technical, economic, environmental and socio-political evaluations of the leading integrated system options based on a set of criteria established with stakeholder input. The Foundational Workshop for Integrated Nuclear – Renewable Energy Systems was organized around the following objectives: 1. Identify and refine priority region-specific opportunities for integrated nuclear-renewable energy systems in the U.S.; 2. Select Figures of Merit (FOM) to rank and prioritize candidate systems; 3. Discuss enabling technology development needs; 4. Identify analysis requirements, capabilities and gaps to estimate FOM for integrated system options; 5. Identify experimental needs to develop and demonstrate nuclear-renewable energy systems.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

NGNP Risk Management Database: A Model for Managing Risk

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Risk Management System (RMS) is a database used to maintain the project risk register. The RMS also maps risk reduction activities to specific identified risks. Further functionality of the RMS includes mapping reactor suppliers Design Data Needs (DDNs) to risk reduction tasks and mapping Phenomena Identification Ranking Table (PIRTs) to associated risks. This document outlines the basic instructions on how to use the RMS. This document constitutes Revision 1 of the NGNP Risk Management Database: A Model for Managing Risk. It incorporates the latest enhancements to the RMS. The enhancements include six new custom views of risk data - Impact/Consequence, Tasks by Project Phase, Tasks by Status, Tasks by Project Phase/Status, Tasks by Impact/WBS, and Tasks by Phase/Impact/WBS.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2011

Energy Integration for 2050 - A Strategic Impact Model (2050 SIM), Version 2.0

The United States (U.S.) energy infrastructure is among the most reliable, accessible, and economic in the world. On the other hand, it is also excessively reliant on foreign energy sources, experiences high volatility in energy prices, does not always practice good stewardship of finite indigenous energy resources, and emits significant quantities of greenhouse gas. The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting research and development on advanced nuclear reactor concepts and technologies, including High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) technologies, directed at helping the United States meet its current and future energy challenges. This report discusses the Draft Strategic Impact Model (SIM), an initial version of which was created during the later part of FY-2010. SIM was developed to analyze and depict the benefits of various energy sources in meeting the energy demand and to provide an overall system understanding of the tradeoffs between building and using HTGRs versus other existing technologies for providing energy (heat and electricity) to various energy-use sectors in the United States. This report also provides the assumptions used in the model, the rationale for the methodology, and the references for the source documentation and source data used in developing the SIM.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2010

NGNP Engineering Status

The objectives of Phase 1 Engineering and Design scope are to: 1) complete the initial design activities for a prototype nuclear reactor and plant that is capable of co-generating electricity, hydrogen, and process heat; 2) identify technological aspects of the NGNP that need further advancement by research and development activities; and 3) provide engineering support to the early licensing process, including technical input to white papers and developing the basis for future safety analyses.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1993

Design of a lunar propellant processing facility. NASA/USRA advanced program

Mankind's exploration of space will eventually lead to the establishment of a permanent human presence on the Moon. Essential to the economic viability of such an undertaking will be prudent utilization of indigenous lunar resources. The design of a lunar propellant processing system is presented. The system elements include facilities for ore processing, ice transportation, water splitting, propellant storage, personnel and materials transportation, human habitation, power generation, and communications. The design scenario postulates that ice is present in the lunar polar regions, and that an initial lunar outpost was established. Mining, ore processing, and water transportation operations are located in the polar regions. Water processing and propellant storage facilities are positioned near the equator. A general description of design operations is outlined below. Regolith containing the ice is mined from permanently-shaded polar craters. Water is separated from the ore using a microwave processing technique, and refrozen into projectiles for launch to the equatorial site via railgun. A mass-catching device retrieves the ice. This ice is processed using fractional distillation to remove impurities, and the purified liquid water is fed to an electrolytic cell that splits the water into vaporous hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen and oxygen are condensed and stored separately in a tank farm. Electric power for all operations is supplied by SP-100 nuclear reactors. Transportation of materials and personnel is accomplished primarily using chemical rockets. Modular living habitats are used which provide flexibility for the placement and number of personnel. A communications system consisting of lunar surface terminals, a lunar relay satellite, and terrestrial surface stations provides capabilities for continuous Moon-Moon and Moon-Earth transmissions of voice, picture, and data.

Batra, Rajesh↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mission design considerations for nuclear risk mitigation

Strategies for the mitigation of the nuclear risk associated with two specific mission operations are discussed. These operations are the safe return of nuclear thermal propulsion reactors to earth orbit and the disposal of lunar/Mars spacecraft reactors.

Stancati, Mike↗
NASA NTRS1992

Engine system assessment study using Martian propellants

A top-level feasibility study was conducted that identified and characterized promising chemical propulsion system designs which use two or more of the following propellant combinations: LOX/H2, LOX/CH4, and LOX/CO. The engine systems examined emphasized the usage of common subsystem/component hardware where possible. In support of this study, numerous mission scenarios were characterized that used various combinations of Earth, lunar, and Mars propellants to establish engine system requirements to assess the promising engine system design concept examined, and to determine overall exploration leverage of such systems compared to state-of-the-art cryogenic (LOX/H2) propulsion systems. Initially in the study, critical propulsion system technologies were assessed. Candidate expander and gas generator cycle LOX/H2/CO, LOX/H2/CH4, and LOX/CO/CH4 engine system designs were parametrically evaluated. From this evaluation baseline, tripropellant Mars Transfer Vehicle (MTV) LOX cooled and bipropellant Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV) and Mars Excursion Vehicle (MEV) engine systems were identified. Representative tankage designs for a MTV were also investigated. Re-evaluation of the missions using the baseline engine design showed that in general the slightly lower performance, smaller, lower weight gas generator cycle-based engines required less overall mission Mars and in situ propellant production (ISPP) infrastructure support compared to the larger, heavier, higher performing expander cycle engine systems.

Pelaccio, Dennis↗