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At least 199 records · Page 11

Irradiation Testing Plan for Long Term Accident Tolerant Fuels

Many potential Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) technologies with the potential for making substantive improvements to the performance of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) in accident scenarios will require development and qualification timelines longer than 4 years. These technologies are named “Long Term” ATF. The attached report summarizes the irradiation testing capabilities available for use in the development and qualification of these technologies and presents a nominal test sequence.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) Test Plan: TiltConeBeamCombo

The Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) is a general software tool intended to be used primarily in the analysis of radiographic data for density. An analysis is set up in the BIE by representing the problem as a collection of modules called glyphs. All glyphs to be used in creating the forward model of the experiment will be tested separately for a range of inputs. The testing of the adjoint code is performed in a separate document.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) Test Plan: TiltConeBeamComboDMLinear

The Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) is a general software tool intended to be used primarily in the analysis of radiographic data for density. An analysis is set up in the BIE by representing the problem as a collection of modules called glyphs. All glyphs to be used in creating the forward model of the experiment will be tested separately for a range of inputs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) Test Plan: TiltConeBeamComboDMGeometric

The Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) is a general software tool intended to be used primarily in the analysis of radiographic data for density. An analysis is set up in the BIE by representing the problem as a collection of modules called glyphs. All glyphs to be used in creating the forward model of the experiment will be tested separately for a range of inputs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) Test Plan: TiltConeBeamFVT

The Bayes Inference Engine (BIE) is a general software tool intended to be used primarily in the analysis of radiographic data for density. An analysis is set up in the BIE by representing the problem as a collection of modules called glyphs. All glyphs to be used in creating the forward model of the experiment will be tested separately for a range of inputs. The testing of the adjoint code is performed in a separate document.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Application of earth resources technology satellite data to urban and regional planning: Test site, County of Los Angeles

The author has identified the following significant results. The County of Los Angeles photointerpreted ERTS film products to define problems of interest, coordinated ground truth over the complex test site including interfaces with secondary users as well as participated in on-line analyses of the GE multispectral information extraction systems. Interactive machine analyses were carried out, developing techniques and procedures as well as evaluating the outputs for community and regional planning. Extensive aircraft underflight coverage was provided that was valuable both in inputs preparation and outputs evaluation of the machine-aided analyses. One of the nonstandard ERTS images led to the discovery of a major new fault lineament on the northern slope of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Raje, S.↗

Advanced turboprop testbed systems study. Volume 1: Testbed program objectives and priorities, drive system and aircraft design studies, evaluation and recommendations and wind tunnel test plans

The establishment of propfan technology readiness was determined and candidate drive systems for propfan application were identified. Candidate testbed aircraft were investigated for testbed aircraft suitability and four aircraft selected as possible propfan testbed vehicles. An evaluation of the four candidates was performed and the Boeing KC-135A and the Gulfstream American Gulfstream II recommended as the most suitable aircraft for test application. Conceptual designs of the two recommended aircraft were performed and cost and schedule data for the entire testbed program were generated. The program total cost was estimated and a wind tunnel program cost and schedule is generated in support of the testbed program.

Bradley, E. S.↗

Orbit attitude processor. STS-1 bench program verification test plan

A plan for the static verification of the STS-1 ATT PROC ORBIT software requirements is presented. The orbit version of the SAPIENS bench program is used to generate the verification data. A brief discussion of the simulation software and flight software modules is presented along with a description of the test cases.

Mcclain, C. R.↗

Thermal test plan for large variable conductance heat pipe

The procedure to be followed in determining the thermal performance of a variable conductance heat pipe is documented. The nominal one-inch-diameter aluminum pipe is of a cold reservoir type whose overall length is nine feet. It has a capacity of 2 to 4 kW's equivalent to 8 to 16 kW-ft and an overall temperature control range of 50 to 95 F. Initial tests will be conducted with the pipe charged with ammonia to determine its capacity limits. Following introduction of the noncondensible gas (nitrogen), the variable conductance features of the pipe will be used.

Edelstein, F.↗

APU diaphragm testing. Test plan

Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) fuel (hydrazine) tanks have had to be removed from the Columbia Shuttle (OV-102) because they have been in service for 11 years, which is the limit of their useful life. As part of an effort to determine whether the useful life of the fuel tanks can be extended, examination of the ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) diaphragm and the metal from one of the APU tanks is required. The JSC Propulsion and Power Division has requested White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) to examine the EPR diaphragm thoroughly and the metal casing generally from one tank. The objective is to examine the EPR diaphragm for signs of degradation that may limit the life of its function in the APU propellant tank. The metal casing will also be examined for signs of surface corrosion.

Shelley, Richard↗

Application of Earth Resources Technology Satellite data to urban development and regional planning: Test site, County of Los Angeles

The author has identified the following significant results. Signigicant results have been obtained from the analyses of ERTS-1 imagery from five cycles over Test Site SR 124 by classical photointerpretation and by an interactive hybrid multispectral information extraction system (GEMS). Photointerpretation has produced over 25 overlays at 1:1,000,000 scale depicting regional relations and urban structure in terms of several hundred linear and areal features. A possible new fault lineament has been discovered on the northern slope of the Santa Monica mountains. GEMS analysis of the ERTS-1 products has provided new or improved information in the following planning data categories: urban vegetation; land cover segregation; manmade and natural impact monitoring; urban design; land suitability. ERTS-1 data analysis has allowed planners to establish trends that directly impact planning policies. For example, detectable grading and new construction sites quantitatively indicated the extent, direction, and rate of urban expansion which enable planners to forecast demand and growth patterns on a regional scale. This new source of information will not only assist current methods to be more efficient, but permits entirely new planning methodologies to be employed.

Raje, S.↗

Shaker Table Test Plan

Currently, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is stored in onsite independent spent fuel storage facilities (ISFSIs), which is a dry storage facility, at 55 nuclear power plant sites. The majority of SNF in dry storage is in welded metal canisters (2,917 canisters at the end of 2019). The canisters are loaded for storage in storage overpacks (vertical casks or horizontal storage modules) and placed on outdoor concrete pads. Because the SNF will be stored at ISFSIs for an extended period of time, there is growing concern with regards to the behavior of the SNF within these dry storage systems during earthquakes. To address these concerns, the SFWST program is considering conducting an earthquake shaker table test. The goal of this test is to determine the strains and accelerations on fuel assembly hardware and cladding during earthquakes of different magnitudes to better quantify the potential damage an earthquake could inflict on spent nuclear fuel rods. The seismic integrity of the storage system has been addressed in the past by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is not the focus of this potential test. Instead the DOE would benefit from knowing the condition of the fuel cladding from storage, transportation, to disposal so that it can ascertain repository performance for the fuel and packaging in its final state. A seismic event is part of the possible loading events that the fuel could experience in its lifetime. This report proposes several earthquake shaker table tests with different degrees of complexity. Alternative 1 was defined in the FY20 work scope. Alternatives 2 and 3 were recently developed to take advantage of the NUHOMS 32PTH dry storage canister that may be available in FY21 for this test at a minimum cost to the project. The selection of the alternative(s) will depend on the available budget and the SFWST program priorities for the near future.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Microreactor Agile Nonnuclear Experimental Testbed Test Plan

Microreactors are an attractive technology option for kick-starting nuclear innovation if they can be operated at high temperature, yielding high power conversion thermal efficiencies comparable or better than in commercial light water reactors. Microreactors are currently the smallest variation of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). SMRs are “newer generation reactors designed to generate electric power up to 300 MWe and whose components and systems can be shop-fabricated and then transported as modules to the sites for installation as demand arises.” (IAEA, 2016). Vendors are developing microreactor designs to provide an affordable, potentially mobile source of electricity - see Fig. 1 for an example of a microreactor on a semi-truck. Various microreactor designs are possible including heat pipe- and gascooled options, which are the focus of the nonnuclear testing described in this document. In heat pipe microreactors, high-temperature heat pipes using liquid sodium or potassium working fluid transport fission heat from the core to a heat removal section which in turn transfers heat to the power conversion system working fluid. In a gas-cooled design, He or other gas will flow through a solid monolith of material and transfer heat as the temperature of the gas increases through a heat exchanger to a power conversion unit. The logistics of all these processes will be examined and tested through a series of articles at the nonnuclear test bed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the Microreactor Agile Nonnuclear Experiment Testbed (MAGNET) facility. Microreactors designed to produce power of 0.1-20 MWt offer the potential for more affordable nuclear energy for a range of applications. In a heat pipe microreactor, heat pipes, fuel rods, and/or moderator are intermixed in the reactor core assembly. Heat pipes extend from the core region into the heat removal section where the power conversion unit working fluid flows through holes or channels, transferring heat from the heat pipes to the working fluid. In a gas-cooled microreactor, gas flows through the solid monolith region and up into the heat exchanger region, transferring heat to the working fluid. For initial testing, the heat removal working fluid can be a low pressure gas for testing that addresses thermal stresses. In the final application, heat addition to the power conversion working fluid typically occurs at high pressure, supporting operation of an air-Brayton, supercritical CO 2 (SCO2), or He-recuperated Brayton cycle. Various stages of the steps above will be demonstrated through the tests described in this report.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Integrated Test and Evaluation Flight Test 3 Flight Test Plan

The desire and ability to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is of increasing urgency. The application of unmanned aircraft to perform national security, defense, scientific, and emergency management are driving the critical need for less restrictive access by UAS to the NAS. UAS represent a new capability that will provide a variety of services in the government (public) and commercial (civil) aviation sectors. The growth of this potential industry has not yet been realized due to the lack of a common understanding of what is required to safely operate UAS in the NAS. NASA's UAS Integration into the NAS Project is conducting research in the areas of Separation Assurance/Sense and Avoid Interoperability, Human Systems Integration (HSI), and Communication to support reducing the barriers of UAS access to the NAS. This research is broken into two research themes namely, UAS Integration and Test Infrastructure. UAS Integration focuses on airspace integration procedures and performance standards to enable UAS integration in the air transportation system, covering Sense and Avoid (SAA) performance standards, command and control performance standards, and human systems integration. The focus of Test Infrastructure is to enable development and validation of airspace integration procedures and performance standards, including the integrated test and evaluation. In support of the integrated test and evaluation efforts, the Project will develop an adaptable, scalable, and schedulable relevant test environment capable of evaluating concepts and technologies for unmanned aircraft systems to safely operate in the NAS. To accomplish this task, the Project will conduct a series of Human-in-the-Loop and Flight Test activities that integrate key concepts, technologies and/or procedures in a relevant air traffic environment. Each of the integrated events will build on the technical achievements, fidelity and complexity of the previous tests and technical simulations, resulting in research findings that support the development of regulations governing the access of UAS into the NAS.

Unmanned↗

Test plan pressure fed thrust chamber technology

Aerojet is developing the technology for the design of a reliable, low cost, efficient, and lightweight LOX/RP-1 pressure fed engine. This technology program is a direct result of Aerojet's liquid rocket booster (LRB) study and previous NASA studies that identified liquid engines using high bulk density hydrocarbon fuels as very attractive for a space transportation system (STS). Previous large thrust LOX/RP-1 engine development programs were characterized by costly development problems due to combustion instability damage. The combustion stability solution was typically obtained through trial and error methods of minimizing instability damage by degrading engine performance. The approach to this program was to utilize existing and newly developed combustion analysis models and design methodology to create a thrust chamber design with features having the potential of producing reliable and efficient operation. This process resulted in an engine design with a unique high thrust-per-element OFO triplet injector utilizing a low cost modular approach. Cost efficient ablative materials are baselined for the injector face and chamber. Technology demonstration will be accomplished through a hot fire test program using appropriately sized subscale hardware. This subscale testing will provide a data base to supplement the current industry data bank and to anchor and validate the applied analysis models and design methodology. Once anchored and validated, these analysis models and design methodology can be applied with greatly increased confidence to design and characterize a large scale pressure fed LOX/RP-1 thrust chamber. The objective of this test program is to generate a data base that can be used to anchor and validate existing analysis models and design methodologies and to provide early concept demonstration of a low cost, efficient LOX/RP-1 thrust chamber. Test conditions and hardware instrumentation were defined to provide data sufficient to characterize combustion stability, performance, and thermal operation over a wide thrust chamber throttling range.

Dunn, Glenn↗

Hybrid Electric MC-12 Ground Testing Plan Chapter

In the commercial aviation world, hybrid/electric propulsion is a promising technology for fuel, emissions, and noise reduction in support of the challenging goals established by 2050 EU Flightpath/SRIA, NASA ARMD Strategic Implementation Plan, and the US Air Force ATTAM programs. Ongoing results indicate operational benefits are possible in those three technical areas. Considering military applications, hybrid/electric propulsion may yield further significant improvements by enabling new, unorthodox mission capabilities. Potential benefits are expected in the areas of vehicle signature reduction (lower noise, lower exhaust signature), usage in enhanced flight environments, minimized human-in-the-loop workload by offering a platform compatible with future goals of autonomous operations facilitation, maintenance cost reductions, and performance burst/dash energy. Additional synergies are likely when used in conjunction with energy weapons. Some potential areas of mutual interest could include, dusty operations capability, remote supply capability, extended surveillance, dispatch able power, fuel-flexible vehicles, and autonomous rescue equipment. Many of the key technologies that have been demonstrated in ground operation must now be qualified for altitude conditions. We expect to have many flight qualified powertrain systems over the next decade for military planners to choose from for new future battlefield capability. This requires new flight-weight and flight-efficient powertrain components, fault tolerant power management, and electromagnetic interference mitigation technologies. Moreover, initial studies indicate some combination of ambient and cryogenic thermal management and relatively high bus voltages when compared to state of practice will be required to achieve a net system benefit. Developing all these powertrain technologies within a realistic aircraft architectural geometry and under realistic operational conditions requires a unique electric aircraft test bed. The MC-12 surveillance aircraft is an ideal military aircraft for demonstrating some of the benefits of incorporating hybrid electric propulsion. This report details an approach for full-scale ground-based altitude testing the hybrid electric MC-12 powertrain through a full flight profile.

military electric aircraft propulsion↗

Design, Development and Testing Plan for Energy Efficiency Algorithms Related to Building-Integrated Cooling, Heating, and Power Systems

Building-integrated cooling, heating and power (CHP) systems are more efficient than conventional systems at providing local power and thermal energy, and favorable fuel prices are bound to spur their increased adoption. It is estimated that the total CHP technical potential in the commercial building sector is approximately 76 GW, but only a small fraction of it is actually deployed. Advanced control and monitoring systems that realize the full potential of these CHP systems can transform this capacity into an asset for both the owner and the grid and also accelerate the adoption of these systems in the building sector. However, to realize the full benefit of the CHP systems, we must ensure persistence of energy efficient operations. It has been demonstrated by several studies that as much as 30% of building energy use is wasted. Much of the waste results from the inability to anticipate load variations (design day vs. non-design day operations; diurnal variation of loads), identify improper operation, and efficiently operate, control and maintain building systems. Moreover, many buildings, even those with adequate control infrastructure, lack knowledgeable staff to operate and maintain energy systems. Operators of buildings with CHP systems will constantly need to make tradeoffs (economic dispatch) between onsite power generation and purchasing power, between onsite heat production from distributed generation versus heating/cooling from conventional systems, and different passive and active load management measures. Much of the inefficiency in the current building operations can be eliminated by use of automated performance monitoring (PM), real-time commissioning verification (CxV) and automated fault detection and diagnostic (AFDD) tools. Automation can help system operators make intelligent decisions. Remote and continuous monitoring of system conditions and performance will enable better management and integration of CHP with existing building systems. Continuous PM, real-time CxV and AFDD could alleviate burdens for operations staff, enhance operations and maintenance (O&M), and improve reliability of building and CHP systems. To address the O&M challenges and to provide a means to maximize the rate-of-return of building-integrated CHP systems, the Building Technologies Office (BTO) within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) initiated a project to design, develop, and field test a VOLTTRON™-based supervisory controller and associated open-source algorithms. These algorithms will ensure real-time optimal operation of a building-integrated CHP system, support electric grid reliability, and lead to achieving the goal of a clean, efficient, reliable and affordable next-generation integrated energy systems. This report lists the components for which PM, real-time CxV and AFDD algorithms will be developed, how the algorithms will be tested, and metrics that will be used to validate the algorithms and easy of deployment. Deployment of these algorithms in the field will result in savings reduction in energy consumption of between 10% and 20%.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗