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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Report on Progress of correlation of in-situ and ex-situ data and the use of artificial intelligence to predict defects

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) program is leveraging additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to fabricate nuclear components which will be assembled into a fully functional microreactor core. Compared with traditional manufacturing technologies, AM technologies allow (1) real-time observation of the manufacturing process at a much higher resolution using in-situ monitoring technologies to capture the sensor signatures that scientifically describe each event occurring over time and space and (2) validation of the manufacturing process quality using domain-informed data analytics techniques as a potential qualification and certification methodology for the final component. This report provides an update on the program work on in-situ and ex-situ data correlation and associated data analytics results. Examples are provided to illustrate progress with respect to laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), binder jetting, computed tomography (CT) reconstruction, and mechanical testing. Elements of the Digital Thread and data management infrastructure are discussed in the main document, and an extensive supplemental appendix is provided detailing the Digital Platform, as well as its implementation and subcomponents. In conclusion, the path forward for the next fiscal year is also discussed.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Gimballed Tracking Mount Pointing Angle Qualification

Tonopah Test Range (TTR), in support of its testing mission and modernization effort acquired a fleet of new gimballed tracking mounts (GTMs) manufactured by BAE Systems. The new GTMs can be operated remotely during flight tests and provide near real-time target tracking data. Furthermore, test vehicle Time-Space-Position-Information (TSPI) is evaluated using post-test synchronized imagery and pointing angle measurements acquired from each tracking mount. To comply with the Nuclear Enterprise Assurance Program (NEAP), all measurements devices must be certified. In keeping with the NEAP program, qualification of the new GTMs have been assessed to confirm that their pointing angle measurements produce acceptable TSPI results. This study only evaluated the four GTMs as a stand-alone solution and found that the GTMs meet their performance requirement of 0.006 degrees RMS error (or less) for post-processed pointing angles and produced TSPI solution with error volumes on the order of one meter or less. The new GTMs will be utilized in combination with existing optical tracking mounts, which will only improve the accuracy of the resulting TSPI data product. Details regarding the approach, analysis, summary results, and conclusions are presented.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of the 3430 Building Filtered Exhaust Stack Sampling Probe Location: Stack Verification Following Fan and Air Blender Additions

The velocity uniformity and flow angle results from the 3430 stack verification tests, performed in April 2023, demonstrated that the CFD model results may be used to support the qualification of the stack sampling location. The measured velocity uniformity verification test result was 2.1 %COV. This value is well within the uniformity criterion, which is that the velocity uniformity be =20 %COV. Additionally, this value is well within the criterion that the actual stack measurement must be within 5% of the surrogate stack (i.e., CFD modeled stack); in this case the CFD modeled average result of 2.85 %COV for the nominal operating range of 22,800 cfm to 62,400 cfm. Additionally, the measured average flow angle at the 3430 stack monitor location was 5.6 degrees. The result is =20 degrees, so the criterion is met.

3430 Building↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of Monitoring Techniques for Binderjet Additive Manufacturing of Silicon Carbide Structures

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) program is leveraging additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to fabricate nuclear components to be assembled into a fully functional microreactor core. Compared with traditional manufacturing technologies, AM technologies allow (1) observation of the manufacturing process at a much higher resolution in real-time using in situ monitoring technologies to capture the sensor signature that scientifically describes each event occurring over time and space and (2) validation of the manufacturing process quality using domain-informed data analytics techniques as a potential qualification and certification methodology for the final component. This report provides an update on the program work on binder jetting in situ process monitoring and associated data analytics results, as well as sample placement and tracking for the subsequent chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) process. Examples are provided to illustrate the progress. Elements of the Digital Thread and data management are discussed in the main document, and an extensive supplemental material section is provided detailing the Digital Platform, as well as its implementation and components. In conclusion the path forward for the next fiscal year is discussed.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

R&D to Ensure a Scientific Basis for Qualification Tests and Standards (Final Report: FY19-FY22)

This is the final technical report for the FY19-FY21 research program "R&D to Ensure a Scientific Basis for Qualification Tests and Standards." This research was performed because project return on investment in a photovoltaic (PV) system depends increasingly on maintaining high energy yields, and the system lifetime is a major factor in levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Thus, the rate of PV deployment and the success of these assets depends upon reliable long-term power generation. This program advances PV module reliability of commercial products through identification of reliability needs, characterization that provides scientific understanding of targeted degradation mechanisms, and translation of those data into practical and predictive test protocols and standards. This report describes program scope, results, milestones, and accomplishments over the three-year period of performance.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unpacking model inadequacy: The quantification of silver release from TRISO fuel by considering empirical and mechanistic approaches

Increasing adoption of the proposed tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel for both advanced and existing reactors makes it critical to assess and address any uncertainties and inadequacies of TRISO fission product release models. Model inadequacy stems from simplifications made to the computational model when compared to the experiments. The modeling and simulation efforts conducted using the BISON fuel performance code, along with the experimental campaigns carried out under the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program, afford a unique opportunity to conduct a rigorous modeling inadequacy assessment within the Bayesian uncertainty quantification (UQ) framework. Here, this study compares the standard Bayesian framework against the Kennedy-O'Hagan (KOH) framework, which explicitly represents modeling inadequacy, in regard to UQ for TRISO silver release models. For this purpose, both the traditional Arrhenius equation fitted to experimental data and the more advanced lower-length-scale (LLS)-informed model, which considers microstructure information, are independently considered. Applying the inverse UQ process on the AGR-2 and -3/4 datasets revealed modeling inadequacy to be the most dominant source of uncertainty. Experimental noise uncertainty is also significant; however, model parameter uncertainty can be considered negligible. Interestingly, both the Arrhenius equation and the LLS-informed model demonstrated similar levels of modeling inadequacy. For the forward predictive UQ, the KOH framework improved both the accuracy and quality of quantified uncertainties in comparison to the standard Bayesian framework. This is true for both the Arrhenius equation and the LLS-informed model. In comparing these modeling approaches, both demonstrated similar performance at the engineering scale, while the LLS-informed model expectedly outperformed the Arrhenius equation at the mesoscale. These conclusions highlight the importance of explicitly accounting for modeling inadequacy in the UQ process, and reinforce the need for continuous refinement of physics-based models in order to address the modeling inadequacy.

Advanced reactors↗
DOE OSTI2020

IHE Material and IHE Subassembly Qualification Test Description and Criteria (v. 14.7)

The purpose of the deflagration-to-detonation test is to demonstrate that an IHE material will not undergo deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) under stockpile relevant conditions of scale, confinement, and material condition. Inherent in this test design is the assumption that ignition does occur, with onset of deflagration. The test design will incorporate large margins and replicates to account for the stochastic nature of DDT events.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Progression to Compatibility Evaluations in Flowing Molten Salts

Molten salt compatibility with structural alloys has been identified as a key issue for the development of Generation 3 concentrating solar power (CSP) systems with thermal storage. To accelerate this evaluation to pumped systems, the goal of this project was to conduct thermal convection loop (TCL) experiments with a peak temperature of ≥700°C and a typical temperature gradient of ~100°C. The experiments indicated that conventional ~16wt.%Cr Ni-based alloys are compatible up to 700°C with purified (i.e. low O) or dried (low H₂O) industrial-sourced Mg-K-Na chloride salt with <10 μm/yr loss. This two-year project was conducted based on the experimental and mechanistic understanding developed more than 60 years ago at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The first TCL experiment met the <15 μm/yr corrosion metric for this project with specimens of Ni-based alloy 600 exposed at 580°-700°C for 1000 h and post-exposure room temperature tensile tests showed minimal degradation. The second TCL experiment successfully deployed an electrochemical sensor from Argonne National Laboratory and had a peak temperature of 750°C but only ran for ~110 h due to a furnace failure. Both experiments used highly purified industrial-sourced salt with an O content of ~3 μg O/g salt and a Mg addition of 0.04 wt.%. In the second year, the Chloride Collective developed a more economical drying procedure such that the O content was much higher (>20,000 μg O/g salt). A third TCL experiment was conducted with a sensor and a peak temperature of 700°C using dried salt from the same industrial source and increased NaCl content (~20 wt.%). In addition to a 0.05% Mg addition to the salt, a Mg coupon was added in the coldest part of the loop which dissolved during the experiment. Again, small mass changes were noted for specimens of alloys 600 and C276 but the values were slightly higher than those measured in purified salt with Mg. A thin non-continuous and non-adherent oxide layer was deposited on most specimens containing Mg, Si and Al but Cr depletion also was observed. Both years included facilities qualification crucible experiments and then capsule experiments to confirm a baseline isothermal reaction rate. The first year capsule experiment led to the conclusion that the two-stage ORNL purification process using NH₄Cl and CCl₄ left the salt with a high Cl potential and a Mg addition (~0.05wt.%) was needed to lower the potential. The second year capsule experiments at 600° and 700°C found little difference in depth of attack for 0-0.25%Mg additions. In general, the complex reactions where salt can be trapped in the porous surface layer of metal indicated that mass change is an unreliable metric and average depth of Cr depletion is a better metric for assessing the extent of attack. These results have created a new baseline that is contrary to the recent published literature for chloride salts where mass losses have been reported that can be extrapolated to very significant annual metal loss rates. Chloride salt corrosion can be controlled and the results also indicate that salt purification to low O levels may not be necessary. However, additional TCL experiments are needed at different times and temperatures to generate important engineering information such as temperature dependent corrosion rates and reaction rate laws for extrapolation to long-term behavior and isolate the effect of salt additives and impurities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Powder metallurgy hot isostatic pressing - workshop report

The findings of the powder metallurgy (PM) hot isostatic pressing (HIP) workshop confirmed that the accelerated adoption of this technology requires the following action items: 1. By 2035, the HIP infrastructure must be scaled to sizes larger than 4 .0 meters for manufacturing components relevant to energy and defense industries at large. 2. The community must develop cost-effective and agile standards, qualifications, and certification pathways for these HIP parts. 3. At the same time, domestic powder production should be expanded to a wide range of metallic alloys, including Cr-Mo steels, stainless steels, and titanium- and nickel-based superalloys, as well as to emerging alloy classes in the refractory space. 4. The above initiatives can be enhanced by implementing digital modeling and controls, including AI-driven simulations, in situ monitoring, and digital twins.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modeling and Simulation of Austenitic Welds and Coarse-grained Specimens: Part II

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is conducting confirmatory research for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to evaluate commercially available nondestructive examination (NDE) modeling and simulation software used in the nuclear industry. Simulation results from ultrasonic testing (UT) models can inform the design and qualification of inspection techniques and help interpret inspection results. CIVA is a modeling and simulation package developed by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). CIVA was selected for this study because it is readily available and has been used for NDE in the US commercial nuclear power industry. This report is focused on completing the efforts initiated in the previous PNNL report to evaluate UT modeling and simulation performance, reliability, and accuracy in relation to common inservice inspection (ISI) scenarios in nuclear power plants (NPP). This work will be used to provide guidance when establishing methods to perform and evaluate simulations for more standardized model implementation, simulation analysis, and interpretation of results.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multi-fidelity thermal modeling of laser powder bed additive manufacturing

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) Additive manufacturing (AM) has attracted interest as an agile method of building production metal parts to reduce design-build-test cycle times for systems. However, predicting part performance is difficult due to inherent process variabilities. This makes qualification challenging. Computational process models have attempted to address some of these challenges, including mesoscale, full physics models and reduced fidelity conduction models. The goal of this work is credible multi-fidelity modeling of the LPBF process by investigating methods for estimating the error between models of two different fidelities. Two methods of error estimation are investigated, adjoint-based error estimation and Bayesian calibration. Adjoint-based error estimation is found to effectively bounding the error between the two models, but with very conservative bounds, making predictions highly uncertain. Bayesian parameter calibration applied to conduction model heat source parameters is found to effectively bound the observed error between the models for melt pool morphology quantities of interest. However, the calibrations do not effectively bound the error in heat distribution.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Performance Validation of Pulsed Thermal Imaging System for In-Service Applications

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an emerging method for cost-efficient fabrication of complex topology nuclear reactor parts from high-strength corrosion resistance alloys, such as stainless steel and Inconel. AM of metallic structures for nuclear energy applications is currently based on laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process, which has the capability of melting metallic powder and net shaping the structures with relatively high precision. Some of the challenges with using LPBF method for nuclear manufacturing include the possibility of introducing pores into metallic structures. Integrity of AM structures needs to be evaluated nondestructively because material flaws could lead to premature failures in high temperature nuclear reactor environment. Currently, there exist limited capabilities to evaluate actual AM structures non-destructively. Pulsed Thermography Imaging (PTI) provides a capability for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of subsurface defects in arbitrary size structures. The PTI method is based on recording material surface temperature transients with infrared (IR) camera following thermal pulse delivered on material surface with flash light. The PTI method has advantages for NDE of actual AM structures because the method involves one-sided non-contact measurements and fast processing of large sample areas captured in one image. Following initial qualification of an AM component for deployment in a nuclear reactor, a PTI system can also be used for in-service nondestructive evaluation (NDE) applications. In this report, we describe recent progress in enhancing PTI capabilities in detecting microscopic defects in metallic specimens. SS316 and IN718 specimens were developed with a pattern of subsurface calibrated flat bottom hole (FBH) defects with diameters from 500µm to 200µm. FBH’s were created with EDM (electron discharge machining) drill. PTI imaging data was processed Spatial Temporal Denoised Thermal Source Separation (STDTSS) unsupervised machine learning (ML) algorithm. We show that defects as small as 200µm in SS316 and IN718 can be detected with STDTSS algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, these are the smallest detected defects which are reported in literature.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

( Invited ) Ruggedness of SiC and GaN Power Transistors in Switching Based Tests

Currently, a spectrum of reliability tests are being performed by both device manufacturers and end users. Many of these qualification tests are operated within the device safe-operating-area (SOA), however, the devices often undergo dynamic events in many converter applications that can exceed the SOA boundaries. This paper presents our recent work on quantifying the out-of-SOA robustness of GaN power high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) and SiC power MOSFETs by switching based tests. The unclamped inductive switching stresses are applied to p-gate GaN HEMTs to evaluate their surge-energy and overvoltage robustness. The continuous, hard-switching, turn-off stresses are applied to SiC MOSFETs to evaluate their overvoltage switching robustness. As a result, both experiments demonstrate the robustness of SiC and GaN devices under out-of-SOA switching events, and the physics of degradation and failure are understood.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Report on technical development in ANL for innovative creep testing and measurement

This report summarizes a research effort undertaken by Argonne National Laboratory to accelerate the development of creep data package for ASME code qualification. Progress on the fabrication of a 3-sample load train and the application of a direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique to measure large creep strains are reported. Specifically: (1) The 3-sample load train, with three sets of Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDT), has been fabricated and assembled. (2) A DCPD method for creep-strain measurement up to 50% has been demonstrated. The DCPD data matches very well to LVDT results, suggesting its potential application in future creep testing. The technical developments contribute towards shortening the time needed to generate a creep data package for an ASME code case of the laser powder bed fusion 316H stainless steel, an effort under the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) program.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Testing and Qualification of Molybdenum Subcapsule Welds for MiniFuel Experiments

This report documents the testing and qualification efforts for welding molybdenum components to support MiniFuel irradiation campaigns. Other details such as general weld parameters, weld joint geometries, and performance limits are also provided in this report. The American Welding Society’s specifications were used to select the nondestructive and destructive tests, which include: gross and fine leak testing, internal pressure proof testing, and creating metallographic mounts of welds. Leak testing and metallographic mounts provide qualitative information about the weld integrity, while the proof testing indicated pressure/usage limits of the molybdenum subcapsule. Based on the testing results provided in the is report, the capsule can be exposed to an internal pressure of at least 20.7 MPa (3000 psi). A sealed capsules is also capable of withstanding the 3.2 MPa (468 psi) external hydrostatic operating pressure of the High Flux Isotope Reactor.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Conceptual Fuel Element Design Candidates for Conversion of High Flux Isotope Reactor with Low-Enriched Uranium Silicide Dispersion Fuel

Engineering design studies are underway to assess the feasibility of converting the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to operate with low-enriched uranium (LEU) silicide dispersion (U3Si2-Al) fuel. These studies are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Material Management and Minimization. A systematic approach employing neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analyses have been performed with the ORNL Shift and HFIR Steady State Heat Transfer Code tools, respectively, to predict reactor performance and thermal safety margins for proposed LEU3Si2-Al fuel designs. The design process was initiated by generating an optimized design with fabrication features identified from previous studies that result in excellent performance and safety metrics. The approach continued by substituting a single fabrication feature anticipated to be difficult to manufacture with another feature expected to perform an analogous function to that of the removed feature. Four conceptual fuel element design candidates, with various fabrication features, for conversion of HFIR with 4.8 gU/cm3 LEU3Si2-Al fuel have been generated and shown to meet pre-defined performance and safety metrics. Results to date indicate that HFIR could convert with the subject fuel system and meet performance and safety requirements if, among other considerations, fabrication of the specific design features are demonstrated and qualification of the fuel is complete under HFIR-specific conditions.

Chandler, David↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrated top-down process and voxel-based microstructure modeling for Ti-6Al-4V in laser wire direct energy deposition process

Laser-wire metal additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the ideal direct energy deposition (DED) processes for creating large-scale parts with a medium level of complexity. However, the DED process involves complex thermal signatures and wide length scales making the fabrication of realistic AM components and part qualification often reliant on experimental trial-and-error optimization. While experimental measurements over the full volume of a part are valuable and necessary, measuring the entire area of a part is significantly laborious and practically infeasible, particularly for large parts in terms of cost and rapid qualification. Therefore, in this work, we developed an effective thermal and microstructure modeling framework based on the Johnson–Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) and Koistinen & Marburger (KM) models through a top-down approach that considers plate distortion-affected thermal profiles. A voxel-by-voxel simulation method is used to predict individual phase fractions of Ti-6Al-4 V. The predicted results were validated through detailed metallurgical measurements. A combined voxel-by-voxel approach with a sparse data reconstruction technique produced a near-perfect reconstruction of the original data. This approach anticipates a significant reduction in data points and computation time and resources. Lastly, we conclude with potential extensions of this work to other modeling efforts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Versatile Remediation Module Final Operational Testing Results

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) successfully demonstrated the Versatile Remediation Module (VRM), a prototype module designed and built by ORNL for performing the on-site remote repair of welded stainless-steel storage containers for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. This report describes the VRM prototype and its design features, components, qualification tests, operational procedures, and demonstration results to support continued long-term storage or off-site transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste currently stored in storage containers. A remote (i.e., 100 ft away from the simulated radiative environment) demonstration of the VRM was successfully performed on a full-scale mock-up welded stainless-steel canister. The VRM is designed with features to accommodate remediation techniques beyond those currently selected and described in this report. Therefore, many of the VRM’s features could benefit other remote nuclear or nonnuclear applications. The VRM is envisioned to serve as a development center to facilitate and enhance the further development of new remediation technologies.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗