Spatially resolved measurements of load current delivery on a 14 MA, 100 ns pulsed power experiment using a line-imaging velocity interferometer
Not Available
43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
Engineering topics
Jackson, John
Publications and source records attributed to Jackson, John.
Nonnuclear Experimental Capabilities to Support Design, Development, and Demonstration of Microreactors
This work provides a summary of selected experimental capabilities being developed to support nonnuclear testing and demonstration of technology in support of microreactors under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Microreactor Program. Major capabilities include the Single Primary Heat Extraction and Removal Emulator (SPHERE) and the Microreactor Agile Non-nuclear Experimental Test Bed (MAGNET). The SPHERE facility allows for controlled testing of the steady-state and transient heat rejection capabilities of a single heat pipe using electrical heaters that simulate nuclear heating. The facility is capable of monitoring axial temperature profiles along the heat pipe and surrounding test articles during startup, steady-state operation, and transients. Instrumentation includes noncontact infrared thermal imaging, surface thermocouples, spatially distributed fiber optic temperature and strain sensors, electrical power meters, and a water-cooled, gas-gap calorimeter for quantifying heat rejection from the heat pipe. The facility can be operated under both vacuum and inert-gas conditions. The MAGNET facility is a large-scale, 250-kW electrically heated microreactor test bed to enable nonnuclear experimental evaluation of a variety of microreactor concepts. It can be supplied to electrically heat a scaled section of a microreactor and further test the capabilities of heat rejection systems. The initial MAGNET experiments will support technology maturation and reduce uncertainty and risk associated with the design, operation, and deployment of monolithic heat pipe–based reactors. However, this test bed can broadly be applied to multiple microreactor concepts to evaluate a wide range of thermal-hydraulic and structural phenomena such as interface coupling with power conversion units and other collocated systems. MAGNET can evaluate integral thermomechanical effects during electrical heating of an array of heat pipes in a larger test article. Examples of initial testing will include thermal stresses in the monolith and the impact of debonding of a heat pipe from the core block and how that failure could impact surrounding heat pipes, i.e., understanding the potential for cascading failure. This work also discusses some modeling capabilities that can support experiment design, analysis, and interpretation, including the heat pipe code Sockeye and a comparison of thermal-structural simulations performed using ABAQUS and STAR-CCM+.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE Microreactor Program: Summary of Experimental Capabilities Development and Activities
This document provides a summary of the experimental capabilities and activities developed and currently performed under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Microreactor Program. These capabilities, along with other laboratory capabilities, are available to support developer and other stakeholder needs. Specific experimental capabilities described in this document include the single primary heat extraction and removal emulator (SPHERE), the microreactor agile non-nuclear experimental test bed (MAGNET), microreactor applications research validation and evaluation (MARVEL), yttrium hydride fabrication, the Hypatia critical experiment series, and a brief overview of the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC), which provides the platform to conduct experiments and training with critical assemblies and fissionable material.
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
Experimental Capabilities to Support Design, Development and Demonstration of Microreactors
This work provides a summary of selected experimental capabilities being developed to support non-nuclear demonstration of microreactors under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Microreactor Program. Major capabilities include the single primary heat extraction and removal emulator (SPHERE) and the microreactor agile non-nuclear experimental test bed (MAGNET). The SPHERE facility allows for controlled testing of the steady-state and transient heat rejection capabilities of a single heat pipe using electrical heaters that simulate nuclear heating. The facility is capable of monitoring axial temperature profiles along the heat pipe and surrounding test articles during startup, steady-state operation, and transients. Instrumentation includes non-contact infrared thermal imaging, surface thermocouples, spatially distributed fiber-optic temperature and strain sensors, electrical power meters, and a water-cooled, gas gap calorimeter for quantifying heat rejection from the heat pipe. The facility can be operated under both vacuum and inert-gas conditions.
42 ENGINEERING↗
2016 Nuclear Energy Voucher Pilot Program Final Summary
In March 2016, the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative launched the NE Voucher pilot program for small businesses that develop advanced nuclear technologies. The intent of this program is to provide access to unique physical and intellectual capital that exists within the DOE National Laboratory complex for private-sector developers of innovative nuclear energy technologies. Vouchers allow recipients to have work performed on their behalf at select DOE laboratory facilities. The work is funded by DOE-NE and must be completed within approximately 12 months of the award date. Awards for the pilot had values of $50,000–300,000 each, depending on the complexity of the task requested. The program requires a 20% cost share by voucher recipients. In addition to providing the technical assistance sought by the awardees, the 2016 pilot award cycle showed that the program fosters relationships between these businesses and DOE laboratory staff, serving the GAIN mission to develop a private-public partnership framework that will enable accelerated commercialization of innovative concepts. For the inaugural voucher program, DOE-NE made a total of $2M available. In total, twenty-nine proposals were received and eight (Table 1) were chosen for award based on several criteria, including technical quality, level of innovation, commercialization potential, and relevance to the DOE-NE mission. After the review process, cooperative agreements were finalized, and work on all eight vouchers started in September 2016 and all but one were completed by the end of September, 2017. The single exception was completed in December, 2017.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Investigation of the Use of Laser Shock Peening for Enhancing Fatigue and Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of Nuclear Energy Materials
The objective of this project, which includes close collaboration with scientists from INL and ANL, is to investigate and demonstrate the use of advanced mechanical surface treatments like laser shock peening (LSP) and ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) and establish baseline parameters for enhancing the fatigue properties and SCC resistance of nuclear materials like nickel-based alloy 600 and 304 stainless steel. The research program includes the following key elements/tasks: 1) Procurement of Alloy 600 and 304 SS, heat treatment studies; 2) LSP and UNSM processing of base metal and welds/HAZ of alloys 600 and 304; (3) measurement and mapping of surface and sub-surface residual strains/stresses and microstructural changes as a function of process parameters using novel methods; (4) determination of thermal relaxation of residual stresses (macro and micro) and microstructure evolution with time at high temperatures typical of service conditions and modeling of the kinetics of relaxation; (5) evaluation of the effects of residual stress, near surface microstructure and temperature on SCC and fatigue resistance and associated microstructural mechanisms; and (6) studies of the effects of bulk and surface grain boundary engineering on improvements in the SCC resistance and associated microstructural and cracking mechanisms
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Measuring the speed of light with ultra-compact radio quasars
In this paper, based on a 2.29 GHz VLBI all-sky survey of 613 milliarcsecond ultra-compact radio sources with 0.0035< z <3.787, we describe a method of identifying the sub-sample which can serve as individual standard rulers in cosmology. If the linear size of the compact structure is assumed to depend on source luminosity and redshift as l {sub m} = l L {sup β} (1+ z ) {sup n} , only intermediate-luminosity quasars (10{sup 27} W/Hz< L < 10{sup 28} W/Hz) show negligible dependence (| n |≅ 10{sup −3}, |β|≅ 10{sup −4}), and thus represent a population of such rulers with fixed characteristic length l =11.42 pc. With a sample of 120 such sources covering the redshift range 00.46< z <2.8, we confirm the existence of dark energy in the Universe with high significance under the assumption of a flat universe, and obtain stringent constraints on both the matter density Ω {sub m} =0.323{sup +0.245}{sub −0.145} and the Hubble constant H {sub 0}=66.30{sup +7.00}{sub −8.50} km sec{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1}. Finally, with the angular diameter distances D {sub A} measured for quasars extending to high redshifts (0 z ∼ 3.), we reconstruct the D {sub A} ( z ) function using the technique of Gaussian processes. This allows us to identify the redshift corresponding to the maximum of the D {sub A} ( z ) function: 0 z {sub m} =1.7 and the corresponding angular diameter distance D {sub A} ( z {sub m} )=1719.01±43.46 Mpc. Similar reconstruction of the expansion rate function H ( z ) based on the data from cosmic chronometers and BAO gives us H ( z {sub m} )=176.77±6.11 km sec{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1}. These measurements are used to estimate the speed of light: c =3.039(±0.180)× 10{sup 5} km/s. This is the first measurement of the speed of light in a cosmological setting referring to the distant past.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Technical Note: Evaluation of a 160-mm/256-row CT scanner for whole-heart quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging
Purpose: The authors investigated the performance of a recently introduced 160-mm/256-row CT system for low dose quantitative myocardial perfusion (MP) imaging of the whole heart. This platform is equipped with a gantry capable of rotating at 280 ms per full cycle, a second generation of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR-V) to correct for image noise arising from low tube voltage potential/tube current dynamic scanning, and image reconstruction algorithms to tackle beam-hardening, cone-beam, and partial-scan effects. Methods: Phantom studies were performed to investigate the effectiveness of image noise and artifact reduction with a GE Healthcare Revolution CT system for three acquisition protocols used in quantitative CT MP imaging: 100, 120, and 140 kVp/25 mAs. The heart chambers of an anthropomorphic chest phantom were filled with iodinated contrast solution at different concentrations (contrast levels) to simulate the circulation of contrast through the heart in quantitative CT MP imaging. To evaluate beam-hardening correction, the phantom was scanned at each contrast level to measure the changes in CT number (in Hounsfield unit or HU) in the water-filled region surrounding the heart chambers with respect to baseline. To evaluate cone-beam artifact correction, differences in mean water HU between the central and peripheral slices were compared. Partial-scan artifact correction was evaluated from the fluctuation of mean water HU in successive partial scans. To evaluate image noise reduction, a small hollow region adjacent to the heart chambers was filled with diluted contrast, and contrast-to-noise ratio in the region before and after noise correction with ASiR-V was compared. The quality of MP maps acquired with the CT system was also evaluated in porcine CT MP studies. Myocardial infarct was induced in a farm pig from a transient occlusion of the distal left anterior descending (LAD) artery with a catheter-based interventional procedure. MP maps were generated from the dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) heart images taken at baseline and three weeks after the ischemic insult. Results: Their results showed that the phantom and animal images acquired with the CT platform were minimally affected by image noise and artifacts. For the beam-hardening phantom study, changes in water HU in the wall surrounding the heart chambers greatly reduced from >±30 to ≤ ± 5 HU at all kVp settings except one region at 100 kVp (7 HU). For the cone-beam phantom study, differences in mean water HU from the central slice were less than 5 HU at two peripheral slices with each 4 cm away from the central slice. These findings were reproducible in the pig DCE images at two peripheral slices that were 6 cm away from the central slice. For the partial-scan phantom study, standard deviations of the mean water HU in 10 successive partial scans were less than 5 HU at the central slice. Similar observations were made in the pig DCE images at two peripheral slices with each 6 cm away from the central slice. For the image noise phantom study, CNRs in the ASiR-V images were statistically higher (p < 0.05) than the non-ASiR-V images at all kVp settings. MP maps generated from the porcine DCE images were in excellent quality, with the ischemia in the LAD territory clearly seen in the three orthogonal views. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that this CT system can provide accurate and reproducible CT numbers during cardiac gated acquisitions across a wide axial field of view. This CT number fidelity will enable this imaging tool to assess contrast enhancement, potentially providing valuable added information beyond anatomic evaluation of coronary stenoses. Furthermore, their results collectively suggested that the 100 kVp/25 mAs protocol run on this CT system provides sufficient image accuracy at a low radiation dose (<3 mSv) for whole-heart quantitative CT MP imaging.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
ATR National Scientific User Facility 2015 Annual Report
This is the 2015 Annual Report for the Nuclear Science User Facility. This report includes information on university-run research projects along with a description of the program and the capabilities offered researchers.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Nuclear Energy Innovation Workshops: Executive Summary
The nuclear energy innovation workshops were organized and conducted by INL on March 2-4, 2015 at the five NUC universities and Boise State University. The output from these workshops is summarized with particular attention to final summaries that were provided by technical leads at each of the workshops. The current revision includes 3-4 punctuation corrections and a correction of the month of release from May to June.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility: Addressing advanced nuclear materials research
The Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR NSUF), based at the Idaho National Laboratory in the United States, is supporting Department of Energy and industry research efforts to ensure the properties of materials in light water reactors are well understood. The ATR NSUF is providing this support through three main efforts: establishing unique infrastructure necessary to conduct research on highly radioactive materials, conducting research in conjunction with industry partners on life extension relevant topics, and providing training courses to encourage more U.S. researchers to understand and address LWR materials issues. In 2010 and 2011, several advanced instruments with capability focused on resolving nuclear material performance issues through analysis on the micro (10-6 m) to atomic (10-10 m) scales were installed primarily at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. These instruments included a local electrode atom probe (LEAP), a field-emission gun scanning transmission electron microscope (FEG-STEM), a focused ion beam (FIB) system, a Raman spectrometer, and an nanoindentor/atomic force microscope. Ongoing capability enhancements intended to support industry efforts include completion of two shielded, irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) test loops, the first of which will come online in early calendar year 2013, a pressurized and controlled chemistry water loop for the ATR center flux trap, and a dedicated facility intended to house post irradiation examination equipment. In addition to capability enhancements at the main site in Idaho, the ATR NSUF also welcomed two new partner facilities in 2011 and two new partner facilities in 2012; the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and associated hot cells and the University California Berkeley capabilities in irradiated materials analysis were added in 2011. In 2012, Purdue University’s Interaction of Materials with Particles and Components Testing (IMPACT) facility and the Pacific Northwest Nuclear Laboratory (PNNL) Radiochemistry Processing Laboratory (RPL) and PIE facilities were added. The ATR NSUF annually hosts a weeklong event called User’s Week in which students and faculty from universities as well as other interested parties from regulatory agencies or industry convene in Idaho Falls, Idaho to see presentations from ATR NSUF staff as well as select researchers from the materials research field. User’s week provides an overview of current materials research topics of interest and an opportunity for young researchers to understand the process of performing work through ATR NSUF. Additionally, to increase the number of researchers engaged in LWR materials issues, a series of workshops are in progress to introduce research staff to stress corrosion cracking, zirconium alloy degradation, and uranium dioxide degradation during in-reactor use.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
AMPR/SSMI data comparisons
The AMPR was flown during CAPE and STORMFEST, during which some good data were gathered. Significant instrument noise problems were encountered in both deployments which appear to be temperature related. These are being fixed before the TOGA COARE deployment. New calibration loads have also been manufactured for the TOGA COARE configuration. Eric Smith at FSU had been analyzing the AMPR data and has written a journal article to be submitted early this summer. The emphasis of his work is on the interpretation of low resolution microwave data from space, based upon what we have learned from the high-resolution AMPR signatures.
Spencer, Roy W.↗