Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Pronskikh, Vitaly

Publications and source records attributed to Pronskikh, Vitaly.

9 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Cultural Shifts in High Energy Physics Collaboration from the Cold War to the Present: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective

Here, this article employs empirical history and the philosophy of science to study cultural convergences and divergences in international collaborations in high energy physics. We examine two cases: (1) E-36, an experiment on small angle proton-proton scattering conducted during the Cold War at the National Accelerator Laboratory (NAL) in the USA by Soviet and US scientists and (2) an ongoing collaborative experiment, NICA, at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna), which is a project devoted to heavy-ion physics. The JINR, particularly its Laboratory of High Energy Physics (formerly the “Laboratory of High Energies”) is the main mediating actor between these two cases (i.e., E-36 and NICA), as the majority of Soviet participants in E-36 were representatives of the Institute. Using empirical data collected through archival searches, field observations conducted at JINR in 2018–2019, and in-depth interviews, we tell a story of cultural differences in high energy physics by applying the concepts of ‘trading zones’ (P. Galison) and the translation of interests in actor-networks (B. Latour, M. Callon and others). We analyze three types of cultural diversity (specialization, nationality, and generational) in light of the implications of temporal context and the dichotomy between East and West, showing the roles cultural diversity plays in scientific collaboration (which is an integral part of as well as obstacle to scientific research that can nevertheless provide learning opportunities). Our study aims to demonstrate how disunity and diversity may function in scientific research and how high energy physics collaborations can remain productive despite sometimes deep divergences, including those between East and West.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Pion-Production Target for Mu2e-II: Design and Prototype

The higher beam intensity available for Mu2e-II will require a substantially different target design. This paper discusses our recent advances in conceptual R&D for a Mu2e-II target station. The design is based on energy deposition and radiation damage simulations as well as thermal and mechanical analyses to estimate the survivability of the system. We considered rotated targets, fixed granular targets and a novel conveyor target with tungsten or carbon spherical elements that are circulated through the beam path. The motion of the spheres can be generated either mechanically or both mechanically and by a He-gas flow. The simulations identified the conveyor target as the preferred approach, and that approach has been developed into a prototype. We describe this first prototype for the Mu2e-II target and report on its mechanical tests performed at Fermilab that indicate the feasibility of the design, discuss its challenges as well as suggest directions for further improvement.

Neuffer, David↗
DOE OSTI2023

Atomistic simulations of He bubbles in Beryllium

Formation of He bubbles can have a significant effect on the microstructural evolution and properties of irradiated materials. In this report, we use atomistic simulations based on machine learning potentials to investigate the fundamental behavior of He bubbles in Be, with a specific focus on the shape, stability, and diffusivity of bubbles. Stability of He bubbles is quantified in terms of formation energies, which are determined as a function of the ratio of He/V. We find that He bubbles become unstable with respect to plastic deformation through punch-out dislocations around the bubble when the He/V ratio is larger than ~1.25, and the punch-out process induces the change of the regular bubble shape. In general, the bubble shape of He in Be is found to be ellipsoid-like. It is also found that for a fixed He/V ratio, the bubble attracts vacancies to become larger in size. If the bubble size is constant, the bubble attracts additional He atoms until the punch-out reaction occurs. The dominant diffusion mechanism of He bubbles changes from surface diffusion to volume diffusion as the temperature is increased, with a crossover occurring at about 900 K.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Ethical Aspects of Choosing a Nuclear Fuel Cycle

In this paper, we addressed the problem of choosing a nuclear fuel cycle. Ethical problems related to the choice of a nuclear fuel cycle, such as the depletion of natural uranium reserves, the accumulation of nuclear waste, and the connection with the problems of nonidentity and distributive justice are considered. Here, we examined cultural differences in attitudes toward nuclear safety and the associated ambiguities in the choice of a nuclear fuel cycle. We suggested that the reduction in consumption of natural uranium does not seem to be a feasible way of reducing nuclear waste because of the nonidentity problem.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗