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DOE OSTI2018

Developing Fugitive Emissions Sensor Networks

This document summarizes research performed under the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project titled Developing Fugitive Emissions Sensor Networks: New Optimization Algorithms for Monitoring, Measurement and Verification. The purpose of this project is to develop methods and software to enhance detection programs through optimal design of the sensor network. This project includes both software development and field work. While this project is focused on methane emissions, the sensor placement optimization framework can be applied to a wide range of applications, including the placement of water quality sensors, surveillance cameras, fire and chemical detectors. This research has the potential to improve national security by improving the way sensors are deployed in the field.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2019

Safeguards by Design Challenge (Final Report- FY19)

This University Engagement project challenged engineering students at universities, without nuclear engineering degrees but with research reactors, to incorporate Safeguards by Design concepts into their Senior Capstone Design Project. This University Engagement project was part of the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Office of International Nuclear Safeguards, Next Generation Safeguards Initiative, Human Capital Development: University Engagement Program. This program exposed university students with Mechanical Engineering major and Nuclear Engineering minors to the concepts of international nuclear safeguards. FY19, three teams at the University of Rhode Island and one team at the University of Texas - Austin participated in researching, designing, building, and testing projects to support international nuclear safeguards measurements or verification. The projects involved engaging in activities at the university’s research reactors. All the projects engaged students with prototyping a design and/or tool for application at the Universities’ Research Reactor. At the end of the course, most of the students expressed the experience was a positive and they learned more about international nuclear safeguards and applying requirements than they had previously encountered.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2020

Safeguards by Design Projects (FY2020 Final Report)

This University Engagement project challenged engineering students at universities, that do not have Bachelor degrees in nuclear engineering but do have research reactors and some nuclear engineering coursework, to incorporate Safeguards by Design concepts into their Senior Capstone Design Project. This University Engagement project was part of the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Office of International Nuclear Safeguards, Next Generation Safeguards Initiative, Human Capital Development: University Engagement Program. This program exposed university students with Mechanical Engineering majors and Nuclear Engineering minors to the concepts of international nuclear safeguards. FY20, three teams at the University of Rhode Island and one team at the University of Texas - Austin participated in researching, designing, building, and testing projects to support international nuclear safeguards measurements or verification. The projects involved engaging in activities at the university’s research reactors. All the projects engaged students with prototyping a design and/or tool for application at the Universities’ reactor. At the end of the course, most of the students expressed the experience was a positive and they learned more about international nuclear safeguards and applying requirements than they had previously encountered. This school year the projects were further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both universities cancelled in class room classes, and limited direct student/professor interactions. Furthermore, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) greatly restricted travel, therefore making it impossible to visit the students at the end of the semester for the review of their design projects. The final design and review meeting for the projects happened via the internet. Additionally, while the teams planned to build prototypes this did not happen since there was a social distancing ban on students meeting in person.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Update on the use of Neutron Absorbers for Storage Applications at Y-12

The Y-12 National Security Complex has a high density enriched uranium storage system at the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (HEUMF) that has been deployed for nearly 10 years. A robust neutron absorber system is provided through the design of Rackable Can Storage Boxes (RCSBs) and their configuration into storage racks. The requirements from ANSI/ANS-8.21, Use of Fixed Neutron Absorbers in Nuclear Facilities outside Reactors, are met with the RCSB and rack system at HEUMF through various design aspects, verification criteria, functional testing, and simulation modeling. Previous publications on a neutron absorber storage system at Y-12 were present at ANS in 2001 and 2002, when the RCSBs were still in a conceptual phase. The publications focused on ongoing studies at the time of what materials worked best for storage applications and how to test those materials, as well the practical design of the unit. The RCSBs have proven to provide a safe, static, and low maintenance storage system, with some minor design issues and several opportunities for future improvement.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Safeguards by Design Projects (Final Report-FY-22)

This University Engagement project challenged engineering students at universities, that do not have Bachelor degree programs in nuclear engineering but do have research reactors and some nuclear engineering coursework, to incorporate Safeguards by Design concepts into their Senior Capstone Design Project. This University Engagement project was part of the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Office of International Nuclear Safeguards, Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI), Human Capital Development (HCD): University Engagement Program. This program exposed university students with Mechanical Engineering majors and Nuclear Engineering minors to the concepts of international nuclear safeguards. In FY22, three teams at the University of Rhode Island and two teams at the University of Texas - Austin participated in researching, designing, building, and testing projects to support international nuclear safeguards measurements or verification. The projects involved engaging in activities at the university’s research reactors. All the projects engaged students with prototyping a design and/or tool for application at the Universities’ reactor. At the end of the course, most of the students expressed the experience was positive and they learned more about international nuclear safeguards and applying requirements than they had previously encountered. This school year the projects were further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both universities had limited in classes on campus, still relying on Zoom classes, and limited direct student/professor interactions. Furthermore, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) greatly restricted travel, therefore making it impossible to visit the students at the end of the semester for the review of their design projects. The final design and review meeting for the projects happened via meetings over the internet. Additionally, the teams did build and test some prototypes but could only do so in a limited capacity.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2023

Safeguards by Design Table Top Exercises Final Report (FY 2023)

This University Engagement project challenged engineering students at universities, that do not have bachelor’s degree programs in nuclear engineering but do have research reactors and some nuclear engineering coursework, to develop capacity in Safeguards by Design concepts through the application of Tabletop Exercises. This University Engagement project was part of the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Office of International Nuclear Safeguards, Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI), Human Capital Development (HCD): University Engagement Program. This program exposed university students with Mechanical Engineering majors and Nuclear Engineering minors to the concepts of international nuclear safeguards. In FY22, three teams at the University of Rhode Island and two teams at the University of Texas Austin participated in researching, designing, building, and testing projects to support international nuclear safeguards measurements or verification. The projects involved engaging in activities at the university’s research reactors. All the projects engaged students with prototyping a design and/or tool for application at the Universities’ reactor. However, for FY23, the direction of the HCD project had changed to implementing a Tabletop Exercise in Safeguards by Design (SBD). A Tabletop Exercise was not executed during FY23, but relationships with both Universities was maintained and how to integrate the exercise into the curriculum of both programs was determined.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Automated Data Review of Analytical Laboratory Results at Los Alamos National Laboratory - 20299

Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos, LLC (N3B) collects samples in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract (LLCC). N3B receives and reviews over 1.6 million sample data points annually in support of various ongoing environmental monitoring and remediation projects of the LLCC. N3B must demonstrate and document that reported external analytical laboratory data produced for the LLCC are of sufficient quality to fulfill their intended purpose and to support defensible decision making as described in EPA QA/G4 Guidance for the Data Quality Objectives Process 1994. In 2018, N3B assumed management of the LLCC along with the Environmental Information Management (EIM) database that contains all historical and current environmental data associated with the LLCC. The entire EIM database is shared between N3B, Triad National Security, LLC (Triad), and New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). These three parties jointly manage the database, its configuration, and changes / updates. All environmental data that are entered into EIM are updated and available, on a daily basis, in the linked public database Intellus New Mexico (Intellus). The quality and defensibility of the environmental data generated from sampling activities is a key component of an effective remediation process. Providing quality data is accomplished through a data assessment process that includes examination, verification, and validation. Examination is the assessment of completeness of the deliverables, identification of any reporting errors, and determining the usability of the data based on the laboratory's evaluation of its data as described in the case narrative received with the data. Verification consists of an evaluation of the Electronic Data Deliverables (EDD) data report to determine the extent to which the external analytical laboratories met method and contract-specific quality control and reporting requirements. Validation consists of determining the data quality and the extent to which the external analytical laboratories accurately and completely reported all sample and quality control results and satisfied all contract requirements. EIM contains an automatic Data Validation Module which performs automated data review (DVM ADR). DVM ADR is a tool to assist in the validation process. When DVM ADR is used in conjunction with manual examination of sample data packages, the combination of the two will meet and exceed the requirements of verification. N3B recognized an opportunity for process improvement, focusing on DVM ADR configuration and enhancements in EIM. Testing EIM's configuration provided proof of the DVM ADR's capabilities and flexibility to accurately perform routine data checks based on analytical methods and regulatory requirements. In addition, the DVM ADR module was improved through enhancements for all analytes, particularly upgrades for radiochemistry data. Extensive testing of the DVM ADR module occurred using EDDs from actual laboratory analyses on the EIM testing site. During this process, N3B manipulated EDD information to verify that the actual outcomes matched the expected outcomes. The results of this testing were shared with the database architects, and configuration improvements were identified to address these results. During this process, N3B identified that the radiochemical DVM ADR capabilities were underutilized, and so enhanced the DVM ADR functionality with respect to radioanalytical assessment. N3B environmental data uploads to Intellus on a daily basis from EIM, once the analytical data undergoes examination and verification. As such, it is important to have a high level of confidence in the quality and defensibility of the data. The process of manual examination, along with the DVM ADR, in conjunction with full validation of a percentage the data specified through the Data Quality Objectives greatly increases efficiency of data review and confidence level of the quality of the data, and gives the project managers, governmental offices, and the public expedited access to high-quality data. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2022

Demonstration of a modeling toolkit for the design of building electrical distribution systems

The deployment of building equipment (e.g., lighting, security) and miscellaneous electrical loads that fundamentally require DC power for operation is increasing. Powering these DC loads has traditionally required an AC/DC converter, but the installation of photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems that primarily produce DC power eliminates the need for AC/DC converters at each end-device. However, analyzing system energy efficiency and cost for different electrical distribution architectures can be challenging as software tools that support this are not readily available. This paper presents preliminary results from a laboratory verification of the Building Electrical Efficiency Analysis Model (BEEAM) toolkit that was developed to address this gap. Three different eight-luminaire lighting systems comprised of market-available products were designed and modeled: one that used traditional AC distribution, a second that used a hybrid AC -to- centralized DC electrical distribution architecture, and a third that used a hybrid AC -to- distributed DC architecture. Notably, AC/DC conversions are required in all three systems. BEEAM models for LED drivers as well as Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switches were created using laboratory characterization data. The lighting systems were simulated in Modelica, and the results were compared with each other and physics-based expectations. Simulation results show that PoE system energy efficiency is highly dependent on both device specification (e.g., LED driver and PoE switch efficiency) and system architecture (e.g., PoE switch loading) choices, as expected. For the products and system architectures selected for this study, the two DC systems were found to be less efficient than the AC system over the course of typical operation. In future work, simulation results will be compared with laboratory measurements to validate the usefulness of this software for design, and lighting systems with integrated PV and battery energy storage will be simulated to quantify the energy performance improvements that result from the elimination of some AC/DC converters.

Waghale, Anay S.↗

DOE OSTI2014

AMS/NRCan Joint Survey Report: Aerial Campaign

In January 2014 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Aerial Measuring System (AMS) and the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Nuclear Emergency Response project conducted a series of joint surveys at a number of locations in Nevada including the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The goal of this project was to compare the responses of the two agencies’ aerial radiation detection systems and data analysis techniques. This test included varied radioactive surface contamination levels and isotopic composition experienced at the NNSS and the differing data processing techniques utilized by the respective teams. Because both teams used the commercial aerial radiation detection systems from Radiation Solutions, Inc., the main focus of the campaign was to investigate the data acquisition techniques, data analysis, and ground-truth verification. The NRCan system consisted of four 4" × 4" × 16" NaI(Tl) scintillator crystals of which two were externally mounted in a modified commercial cargo basket certified for the Eurocopter AS350; the NNSA AMS system consisted of twelve 2" × 4" × 16" NaI(Tl) crystals in externally mounted dedicated pods. For NRCan, the joint survey provided an opportunity to characterize their system’s response to extended sources of various fission products at the NNSS. Since both systems play an important role in their respective countries’ national framework of radiological emergency response and are subject to multiple mutual cooperation agreements, it was important for each country to obtain more thorough knowledge of how they would employ these important assets and define the roles that they would each play in an actual response.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2019

Improving prediction of radioactive gas seepage for nuclear testing treaty verification

The length of time it takes for radioactive gases to seep from an underground nuclear test to the ground surface is crucial for verification of nuclear testing treaties, such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The identification of short-lived radioactive gases emanating from the ground surface at a suspected nuclear test location could provide “smoking gun” type evidence of a nuclear test. Accurate predictions of radioactive gas arrival time and detection window (duration of time gas concentration is above its detection threshold) are critical for procuring this type of evidence. LANL researchers are working toward improving such predictions in support of the Global Security mission and Information Science & Technology science pillar.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2022

Irradiation Experiments and Thermal Analysis for Reactor System Design and Analysis at INL

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the nation's lead nuclear laboratory working to enhance reactor systems' safety, security, economics, and efficiency. Research and development (R&D) programs at INL support the current fleet of nuclear reactors for safer operation and newer reactors technology design, development, demonstration, and deployment. A major focus of INL's mission is the reactor system design and analysis supported by the irradiation experiments and thermal analysis of advanced and current-generation nuclear fuels and materials. The irradiation experiments and thermal analysis provide a deeper understanding of basic radiation damage processes that can determine the basis for performance improvements and verification of modeling assumptions. These experiments and analyses include experiment management: design, fabrication, characterization, irradiation, and post-irradiation examination. This research involves thermal, neutronic, and material investigation using the INL's Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facilities. The results from these experiments and analysis are required to develop the regulatory basis for deploying new or modified fuels and materials. This seminar talk will also provide a general overview of the INL's research facilities, ongoing research programs, core capabilities, and opportunities for students and faculties.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Ambient ion focusing from a field-free region to a detector: enhanced signal for explosives and drug detection with mass spectrometry

This study demonstrates ion focusing at ambient pressure and increased ion signal by creating a voltage gradient from a field-free region to a detector, thereby improving the detection of chemicals, such as explosives and drugs. At ambient pressure, ion loss and resulting signal reduction pose challenges that limit detection sensitivity in analytical instruments. Techniques to increase sensitivity, such as atmospheric flow tube-mass spectrometry (AFT-MS), extend ion-molecule reaction times but result in significant overall ion loss due to diffusion. Ion manipulation techniques, though challenging at ambient pressure, can mitigate these losses by concentrating ions toward the detector inlet. Using SIMION, ion trajectories were modeled with a voltage gradient applied between a flow tube and a detector, revealing ion focusing at ambient pressure. Experimental verification with an atmospheric flow tube employed both mass spectrometry and Faraday plate detectors to measure ion beam profiles across varying flow rates, tube diameters, and voltage gradients. Application of a voltage gradient effectively directed ions to the axial center of the flow tube, narrowed ion beam width, and increased signal intensity by 5 to 10 times compared to conditions without a voltage gradient. This ion focusing approach shows promise for improving sensitivity in ambient-pressure instruments. This technique has the potential to enhance detection levels in security and forensic applications, with particular benefits for field-portable devices used at checkpoints to identify explosives and drugs.

ambient pressure↗

DOE OSTI2015

Current Status of Helium-3 Alternative Technologies for Nuclear Safeguards

International safeguards inspectorates (e.g., International Atomic Energy Agency {IAEA}, or Euratom) rely heavily on neutron assay techniques, and in particular, on coincidence counters for the verification of declared nuclear materials under safeguards and for monitoring purposes. While 3 He was readily available, the reliability, safety, ease of use, gamma-ray insensitivity, and high intrinsic thermal neutron detection efficiency of 3 He-based detectors obviated the need for alternative detector technologies. However, the recent decline of the 3 He gas supply has triggered international efforts to develop and field neutron detectors that make use of alternative materials. In response to this global effort, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Euratom launched a joint effort aimed at bringing together international experts, technology users and developers in the field of nuclear safeguards to discuss and evaluate the proposed 3 He alternative materials and technologies. The effort involved a series of two workshops focused on detailed overviews and viability assessments of various 3 He alternative technologies for use in nuclear safeguards applications. The key objective was to provide a platform for collaborative discussions and technical presentations organized in a compact, workshop-like format to stimulate interactions among the participants. The meetings culminated in a benchmark exercise providing a unique opportunity for the first inter-comparison of several available alternative technologies. This report provides an overview of the alternative technology efforts presented during the two workshops along with a summary of the benchmarking activities and results. The workshop recommendations and key consensus observations are discussed in the report, and used to outline a proposed path forward and future needs foreseeable in the area of 3 He-alternative technologies.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2025

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Engineering as Enablers for System Engineering in the Energy Sector

Systems engineering is of utmost importance for the success of high-cost, high-complexity megaprojects, which are common in the energy sector. However, the traditional document-centric systems engineering approach tends to be labor-intensive and time-consuming, which has inhibited its full adoption despite proven metrics on its return on investment. However, with the modern approach of digital engineering and technological advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the barriers to systems engineering adoption can finally be broken. This paper goes through the systems engineering V-model for lifecycle management and assesses the current state of implementation of digital engineering (especially, mod-el-based systems engineering, digital twins, and digital threads) and AI for each step. It was observed that a combination of digital engineering and AI is being used across different industries to accelerate and optimize systems engineering processes such as concept development, requirements management, architecture definition, system development, verification and validation, operations, and maintenance. Specifically in the energy sector, AI-augmented digital engineering has shown initial potential in accelerated development and deployment, performance optimization, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and configuration management. However, challenges remain in integrating DE and AI into an end-to-end system lifecycle management ecosystem safely and reliably. Addressing these challenges and continuously developing impactful tools will enable fast, efficient, and high-frequency deployment of power generation capabilities to keep up with the world’s energy demands and build energy security.

42 - ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Engineering as Enablers for Systems Engineering in the Energy Sector

42 - ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS2010

Formal Verification of Large Software Systems

We introduce a scalable proof structure to facilitate formal verification of large software systems. In our approach, we mechanically synthesize an abstract specification from the software implementation, match its static operational structure to that of the original specification, and organize the proof as the conjunction of a series of lemmas about the specification structure. By setting up a different lemma for each distinct element and proving each lemma independently, we obtain the important benefit that the proof scales easily for large systems. We present details of the approach and an illustration of its application on a challenge problem from the security domain

Yin, Xiang↗

NASA NTRS2014

Evolution of the JPSS Ground Project Calibration and Validation System

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) next-generation operational Earth observation Program that acquires and distributes global environmental data from multiple polar-orbiting satellites. The JPSS Program plays a critical role to NOAAs mission to understand and predict changes in weather, climate, oceans, coasts, and space environments, which supports the Nation’s economy and protection of lives and property. The National Aerospace and Atmospheric Administration (NASA) is acquiring and implementing the JPSS, comprised of flight and ground systems on behalf of NOAA. The JPSS satellites are planned to fly in the afternoon orbit and will provide operational continuity of satellite-based observations and products for NOAA Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. To support the JPSS Calibration and Validation (CalVal) node Government Resource for Algorithm Verification, Independent Test, and Evaluation (GRAVITE) services facilitate: Algorithm Integration and Checkout, Algorithm and Product Operational Tuning, Instrument Calibration, Product Validation, Algorithm Investigation, and Data Quality Support and Monitoring. GRAVITE is a mature, deployed system that currently supports the SNPP Mission and has been in operations since SNPP launch. This paper discusses the major re-architecture for Block 2.0 that incorporates SNPP lessons learned, architecture of the system, and demonstrates how GRAVITE has evolved as a system with increased performance. It is now a robust, stable, reliable, maintainable, scalable, and secure system that supports development, test, and production strings, replaces proprietary and custom software, uses open source software, and is compliant with NASA and NOAA standards.

Data Processing↗

NASA NTRS2016

Evolution of the JPSS Ground Project Calibration and Validation System

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) next-generation operational Earth observation Program that acquires and distributes global environmental data from multiple polar-orbiting satellites. The JPSS Program plays a critical role to NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in weather, climate, oceans, coasts, and space environments, which supports the Nation's economy and protection of lives and property. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is acquiring and implementing the JPSS, comprised of flight and ground systems, on behalf of NOAA. The JPSS satellites are planned to fly in the afternoon orbit and will provide operational continuity of satellite-based observations and products for NOAA Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. To support the JPSS Calibration and Validation (CalVal) node Government Resource for Algorithm Verification, Independent Test, and Evaluation (GRAVITE) services facilitate: Algorithm Integration and Checkout, Algorithm and Product Operational Tuning, Instrument Calibration, Product Validation, Algorithm Investigation, and Data Quality Support and Monitoring. GRAVITE is a mature, deployed system that currently supports the SNPP Mission and has been in operations since SNPP launch. This paper discusses the major re-architecture for Block 2.0 that incorporates SNPP lessons learned, architecture of the system, and demonstrates how GRAVITE has evolved as a system with increased performance. It is now a robust, stable, reliable, maintainable, scalable, and secure system that supports development, test, and production strings, replaces proprietary and custom software, uses open source software, and is compliant with NASA and NOAA standards.

Next-Generation↗