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At least 343 records · Page 19

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2007

Analysis of the Effects of Sea Disposal on a One-Ton Container

Excess and obsolete stocks of chemical warfare material (CWM) were sea disposed by the United States between 1919 and 1970. One-ton containers were used for bulk storage of CWM and were the largest containers sea disposed. Disposal depths ranged from 300 to 17,000 feet. Based on a Type D container assembly drawing, three independent analyses (one corrosion and two structural) were performed on the containers to address the corrosion resistance from prolonged exposure to sea water and the structural response during the descent. Corrosion predictions were made using information about corrosion rates and the disposal environment. The structural analyses employed two different finite element codes and were used to predict the buckling and material response of the container during sea disposal. The results of these investigations are summarized below. Detailed reports on each study are contained in the appendices.

Jackson, Wde C.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Mobile/Modular BSL-4 Containment Facilities Integrated into a Curation Receiving Laboratory for Restricted Earth Return Missions

NASA robotic sample return missions designated Category V Restricted Earth Return by the NASA Planetary Protection (PP) Office require sample containment and biohazard testing upon return to Earth. Since the 1960s, sample containment from an unknown extraterrestrial biohazard have been related to the highest containment standards and protocols known to modern science. Today, this is Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 containment. In the U.S., the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories publication authored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health houses the primary recommendations, standards, and design requirements for all BSL labs. Past mission concept studies for constructing a NASA Curation Receiving Laboratory with an integrated BSL-4 quarantine and biohazard testing facility have been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars (USD). As an alternative option, we have conducted a trade study for constructing a mobile and/or modular sample containment laboratory that would meet all BSL-4 and planetary protection standards and protocols at a fraction of the cost. Mobile and modular BSL-2 and 3 facilities have been successfully constructed and deployed world-wide for government testing of pathogens and pharmaceutical production. Our study showed that a modular BSL-4 construction could result in ~ 90% cost reduction when compared to traditional BSL-4 construction methods without compromising the preservation of the samples or Earth. For the design/construction requirements of a mobile/modular BSL-4 containment, we used the established HHS document standards and protocols for manipulation of agents in Class III Biosafety Cabinets (BSC; i.e., negative pressure gloveboxes) that are currently followed in operational BSL-4 facilities in the U.S.

Calaway, Michael J.↗

DOE OSTI2014

Development of a Whole Container Seal

This paper outlines a technique for utilizing electrically conductive textiles as a whole container seal. This method has the potential to provide more robustness for ensuring that the container has not been breached versus conventional sealing methods that only provide tamper indication at the area used for normal access. The conductive textile is used as a distributed sensor for detecting and localizing container tamper or breach. For sealing purposes, the conductive fabric represents a bounded, near-infinite grid of resistors. The well-known infinite resistance grid problem was used to model and confirm the expected accuracy and validity of this approach. An experimental setup was built that uses a multiplexed Wheatstone bridge measurement to determine the resistances of a coarse electrode grid across the conductive fabric. Non-uniform resistance values of the grid infer the presence of damage or tears in the fabric. Results suggest accuracy proportional to the electrode spacing in determining the presence and location of disturbances in conductive fabric samples. Current work is focused on constructing experimental prototypes for field and environmental testing to gauge the performance of these whole container seals in real world conditions. We are also developing software and hardware to interface with the whole container seals. The latest prototypes are expected to provide more accuracy in detecting and localizing events, although detection of a penetration should be adequate for most sealing applications. We are also developing smart sensing nodes that integrate digital hardware and additional sensors (e.g., motion, humidity) into the electrode nodes within the whole container seal.

Kuhn, Michael J↗

DOE OSTI2018

Advancing the Authenticatable Container Tracking System (ACTS)

The Authenticatable Container Tracking System (ACTS) is an extensible secure container tag that can be used to optimize chain-of-custody monitoring for packaged nuclear materials as they are being stored, processed, and transported. Based on the ultra–low power TI MSP430 mixed-signal microcontroller, ACTS is an active device that uses an almost-universal core platform that can be appropriately configured with expansion modules to provide the application-specific data acquisition, data logging, container sealing, and communications functions needed for 21st century material accountancy, monitoring, and tracking applications. This core architecture enables appropriately designed modules to be easily interfaced to the basic system, providing an integration path for current and new technologies. ACTS contains a built-in set of sensors and supports an expansion bus for up to six additional communications, tracking, authentication, encryption, sealing, location, or sensing modules that may enhance the monitoring and tracking of designated containers for specific applications. To date, testing has used an IEEE 802.15.4-2011 ultra-wideband–compliant wireless transceiver module that has additional capabilities for indoor positioning and proximity location. Proximity-based location (i.e., where an ACTS tag knows where it is relative to other ACTS tags) will be explored as a continuity-of-knowledge mechanism to determine unauthorized movement of containers in storage arrays of many items. Partners for this system are Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and commercialization partner the Aquila Group.

Younkin, Jim↗

DOE OSTI2019

Method to produce water-soluble sugars from biomass using solvents containing lactones

A process to produce an aqueous solution of carbohydrates that contains C6-sugar-containing oligomers, C6 sugar monomers, C5-sugar-containing oligomers, C5 sugar monomers, or any combination thereof is presented. The process includes the steps of reacting biomass or a biomass-derived reactant with a solvent system including a lactone and water, and an acid catalyst. The reaction yields a product mixture containing water-soluble C6-sugar-containing oligomers, C6-sugar monomers, C5-sugar-containing oligomers, C5-sugar monomers, or any combination thereof.

Dumesic, James A.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Containment seal

A containment seal seals a cable or tube to an opening accessing a containment vessel. The containment seal includes a lower body that attaches over the opening into the containment vessel. The cable or tube is inserted through a hole that extends axially through an upper body of the containment seal. Compression fittings are attached to the top and bottom ends of the upper body sealing the cable inside of the upper body. The cable sealed inside of the upper body in inserted through the lower body and into the opening accessing the containment vessel and a lower portion of the upper body is seated into the opening formed in the lower body. A retaining device compresses the upper body down against the lower body forming a seal between the upper body and lower body.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Graphite-containing electrode and method related thereto

A graphite-containing electrode includes a porous body that has a plurality of first graphite-containing elements and a plurality of second graphite-containing elements intermingled with the first graphite-containing elements. The first graphite-containing elements have a first degree of graphitization and the second graphite-containing elements have a second, different degree of graphitization.

Darling, Robert Mason↗

DOE OSTI2018

Advancing the Authenticatable Container Tracking System (ACTS)

Younkin, James↗

DOE OSTI2022

3D printing of metal containing structures

In an aspect, a method for making a metal-containing material comprises steps of: forming a metal-containing hydrogel from an aqueous precursor mixture using a photopolymerization; wherein the aqueous precursor mixture comprises water, one or more aqueous photosensitive binders, and one or more aqueous metal salts; and thermally treating the metal-containing hydrogel to form the metal-containing material; wherein the metal-containing hydrogel is exposed to a thermal-treatment atmosphere during the step of thermally treating; wherein a composition of the metal-containing material is at least partially determined by a composition of the thermal-treatment atmosphere during the thermally treating step.

Yee, Daryl Wei Liang↗

DOE OSTI2016

Product Consistency Testing of Hot Isostatically Pressed Iodine-containing Waste Forms

Silver-exchanged mordenite (AgZ) is currently under evaluation for the capture of iodine from the off-gas streams that are expected to arise during the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. A final waste form for AgZ loaded with radioactive iodine has not yet been identified. The applicability of hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) to convert iodine-loaded, reduced silver-exchanged mordenite (I-Ag{sup 0}Z) into a suitable waste form is currently being evaluated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Because production of such a waste form requires little preprocessing of the I-Ag{sup 0}Z, HIPing could prove very attractive from both safety and economic perspectives. It is desirable to produce a waste form with a distinct iodine-containing mineral phase as the major constituent. Such a mineral phase is thought to increase long-term iodine retention and overall stability. Furthermore, the transformation of the material into a known iodine-containing mineral phase would limit the additional experimental testing and modeling required to determine the long-term stability of the pressed pellet, as much of that information has already been learned for several common iodine-containing minerals. For these reasons, the current work has investigated the possibility of converting I-Ag{sup 0}Z into an iodine-containing sodalite, similar to the efforts documented by Sheppard et al. in which they transformed other silver zeolite structures into sodalite through HIPing. Building on our initial work we are now producing hot isostatically pressed waste forms using mixtures of pure sodium mordenite, AgZ, and silver iodide. The composition of these samples is well known, in contrast with the previously used commercially available, binder-containing AgZ, which has a composition that is proprietary and uncharacterized. It is expected that by controlling the initial sample composition, we might be able to control the mineral phases present in the processed waste form. Transformation of the component material into a well-characterized iodine-containing mineral phase would be desirable; however, this is not an absolute requirement for success. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

Energy Efficiency and Performance Evaluation of Self-Contained, Medium Temperature, Reach-In Refrigerated Display Cases

This project was part of an effort by Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) to evaluate the energy and peak demand saving potential of emerging technologies in the Chicago area. This document focuses on the assessment of energy-efficient, medium-temperature, self-contained refrigerated display cases utilizing environmentally friendly refrigerants. The results of this evaluation will be considered by CLEAResult to develop a new energy efficiency rebate measure for ComEd's incentive programs. This rebate measure will become an addition to the Technical Reference Manual (TRM). In 2016, the United Nations passed the Kigali Montreal Protocol Amendment which placed restrictions on certain types of refrigerants. In compliance with this amendment, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed a ban on the manufacture of refrigeration systems using hydrofluorocarbons including R134a starting in January 2020. Although the ban has halted manufacture, the EPA continues to allow the use of these refrigerants. Therefore, it is critical to provide incentives for replacing these refrigerants with other environmentally friendly and energy-efficient alternatives. The energy-efficient refrigerator cases evaluated here (referred to as EE Case A and B) contain environmentally-friendly refrigerants in compliance with the EPA hydrofluorocarbon ban. These consist of natural refrigerant propane (R290), and HFC drop-in hydrofluoroolefin R513a, respectively. These cases also contain other energy-efficient components including efficient lighting, more robust evaporator and condenser fans and different-sized heat exchangers. EE Case A is also built with materials that better insulate the case, which improves energy efficiency. To ascertain the energy efficiency contribution of these design components, the consumption of the evaporator and condenser fan motors, compressor, and lighting/controller were evaluated individually. The medium-temperature, self-contained reach-in refrigerated display case was selected due to its widespread use in convenience stores and small supermarkets. Self-contained refrigeration has also seen increased use in restaurants due to curbside pickup during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this study, the refrigerated display cases' performance was evaluated in a controlled environmental chamber at representative indoor dry-bulb and humidity conditions found in supermarkets within ComEd's service territory climate zone. The test method used in this project was foundationally inspired by the ANSI/ASHRAE 72-2018 method of testing. However, modifications to the ANSI/ASHRAE test methodology were implemented to better represent customer operation of the units. In addition to the indoor supermarket conditions, the cases were also evaluated at the "upper target," or environmental conditions used in ANSI/ASHRAE 72-2018. The case total power and case components were metered to obtain their daily power (kW) and energy consumption(kWh). The cases were filled with thermal filler mass to replicate thermal mass of product loading. Additionally, product simulators were used to provide product temperature information. Door actuators were mounted to each of the cases' three doors to replicate regular door openings and effects of shopper traffic.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Integrated hydropyrolysis and vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation process with Pd/Al 2 O 3 for production of advanced oxygen-containing biofuels from cellulosic wastes

This study focuses on developing advanced oxygen-containing biofuels with high furan, cyclic ketone, and ethanol content from holocellulose and cellulosic wastes. To achieve this, we employed an integrated process that combined hydropyrolysis and vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation using Pd/Al 2 O 3 as a catalyst. In the first stage, the non-catalytic hydropyrolysis of hemicellulose resulted in furfural and acetic acid fractions that were effectively converted into furans, cyclic ketones, and ethanol in the second-stage reactor over Pd/Al 2 O 3 under 0.3 MPa H 2 . We found that a hydropyrolysis temperature of 440 °C in the first stage reactor resulted in the highest yield of oxygen-containing biofuels (171.1 mg/g) with 89.2% hemicellulose conversion. However, increasing the hydrodeoxygenation temperature in the second stage reactor reduced the yield of oxygen-containing biofuels, and at 400 °C, excess deoxygenation led to hydrocarbon production. The Pd/Al 2 O 3 catalyst demonstrated high stability during the vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation of primary furfural and acetic acid intermediates, with only 2.1% coke formation after three reaction cycles. This scalable process enables the conversion of various cellulosic wastes into advanced oxygen-containing biofuels, with considerable total yields. Our findings suggest that this integrated process holds great promise for converting biomass waste into advanced oxygen-containing biofuels.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Review of metal-containing resists in electron beam lithography: perspectives for extreme ultraviolet patterning

Background: Metal-containing resists entered the mainstream semiconductor industry process flow to mitigate the low absorbance of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation by thin films of organic resists that lead to poor sensitivity and their inability to handle rigors of development and etching conditions. Aim: The long and rich history of using metal-containing resists in electron beam lithography can offer interesting lessons, pointers, and insights to the relatively newcomer EUV lithography, which is slightly over a decade old. Approach: Electron beam lithography has been enjoying a considerable amount of freedom in the choice of resist materials for close to 50 years; especially the use of metal-containing resists to attain not only single digit nanometer resolution, higher sensitivity, and etch resistance but also lower line-edge roughness. Here, we make a comprehensive historical review of the progress made in the patterning of metal-containing resists in electron beam lithography and derive insights that can be potentially useful in EUV patterning. Perspectives: Small molecular weight resists are proven to be crucial for achieving higher resolution with low line-edge roughness. Simplifying process flow by reducing etch-stack-layers is conceivable with metal-containing resists, along with direct-patterning of functional materials for heterogeneous integration. Efficient contact hole patterning at tighter pitches may be incumbent on progress in positive-tone resist research.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Development of an Activation Analysis Methodology to Support the Disposal of the High Flux Isotope Reactor Original Reflector Container

The original beryllium reflector container was installed prior to the first ever High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) cycle and was removed at the end of cycle 382. The original beryllium reflector was part of every HFIR irradiation cycle from September of 1966 to October of 2000. After its service lifetime, the beryllium reflector container has been interim stored at the fuel pool storage, which is located adjacent to the reactor. Due to space limitations in the pool fuel storage, it is necessary to remove the beryllium reflector container and send it to a location that can be stored permanently. Prior to shipping the beryllium reflector container, the radiological activity must be known. The challenge in determining the overall activity as well as the isotopic inventory and volumetric material fractions lays on the fact that some of the original reflector container stainless steel quantities are not known. Therefore, a methodology to determine a conservative activation scenario was developed.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2023

Software Quality Assurance for High Performance Computing Containers

Software containers are a key channel for delivering portable and reproducible scientific software in high performance computing (HPC) environments. HPC environments are different from other types of computing environments primarily due to usage of the message passing interface (MPI) and drivers for specialized hard- ware to enable distributed computing capabilities. This distinction directly impacts how software containers are built for HPC applications and can complicate software quality assurance efforts including portability and performance. This work introduces a strategy for building containers for HPC applications that adopts layering as a mechanism for software quality assurance. The strategy is demonstrated across three different HPC systems, two of them petaflops scale with entirely different interconnect technologies and/or processor chipsets but running the same container. Performance consequences of the containerization strategy are found to be less than 5-14% while still achieving portable and reproducible containers for HPC systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2013

Development and Application of an Oversize Reusable DOT 7A Type A Overpack Container at the Y-12 National Security Complex - 13150

Waste Management personnel at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) are concluding a multi-year effort to dispose of a large backlog of low-level waste. Six containers presented a particularly difficult technical challenge in that they each contained large robust equipment (mostly salt baths) with elevated levels of highly enriched uranium (exceeding U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) fissile-excepted quantities). The equipment was larger than the standard 1.2 m x 1.2 m x 1.8 m (4 ft x 4 ft x 6 ft) DOT Specification 7A Type A box and would have been very difficult to size-reduce because of several inches of steel plate (along with insulating block and concrete) in the equipment design. A critical breakthrough for the success of the project involved procuring and developing two oversize reusable DOT Specification 7A Type A (fissile tested) containers (referred to as the CTI Model 7AF-690-SC) that could be used as overpacks for the original boxes of equipment. The 7A Type A overpack containers are approximately 3.5 m long x 2.7 m wide x 2.8 m high (11.7 ft x 8.9 ft x 9.2 ft) with a maximum gross weight of 10,660 kg (23,500 lb) and a payload capacity of 6,804 kg (15,000 lbs). The boxes were designed and fabricated using a split cavity design that allowed the gasketed and bolted closure to lie along the horizontal centerline of the box. The central closure location in this design allows for strengthening of box corners that tend to be points of weakness or failure in 49CFR173.465 drop tests. By combining the split cavity design with large diameter tubing and diagonal cross bracing, drop test requirements of 49CFR173.465(1) and (2) were met and demonstrated through finite element analysis modeling. The development and use of this new container dramatically reduced the need for down-sizing the equipment and allowed the project to meet objectives within cost and schedule targets. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2017

Legacy Waste Containers for Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste in Germany - Actual Situation and Challenges - 17070

Low and intermediate level radioactive waste has been produced in Germany for several decades. While a part of the waste had been deposited in the Morleben repository and the Asse mine which have been operated for just a limited period of time, the major amount is conditioned and packaged in temporarily stored waste containers. Those containers are designated for final disposal in the KONRAD repository being currently under construction and expected to start operation in 2022. As a consequence, an assessment of the waste container documentation and safety is strongly needed to receive an approval for the Konrad repository. This requalification is challenging because those old containers have to meet the same safety requirements as new containers. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2015

Installation and operation of GeoMelt{sup R} in container vitrification in NNL Central Lab active rig hall at Sellafield - 15328

Cleanup and subsequent immobilization of wastes on the UK's NDA estate brings major challenges. With the exception of HLW where vitrification is utilized for immobilization, cement is typically used in the management and immobilization of non-heat generating wastes. However some legacy feeds such as those containing reactive metals can be incompatible with cementation technologies, and the application of engineered cement encapsulating product to raw wastes increases wasteform volume. Cementation has also been developed to be compatible with the repository concept, which provides it with a level of protection from the environment. Potential delays in repository implementation and as yet to be determined repository waste form acceptance criteria for some wastes may require the duration of above ground storage of immobilized wastes to be extended with potential effect on the integrity of the wasteform. Vitrification is a treatment option which destroys organics and hazardous inorganics such as asbestos, reduces wasteform volume, and produces a robust leach resistant wasteform. Kurion's GeoMelt{sup R} In-container Vitrification (ICV){sup TM} is a vitrification process wherein the treatment vessel can serve as an interim-storage, transport, and final long-term storage vessel - thus negating the need to pour glass into a separate container, effectively leading to a much simpler system than traditional waste melters. The inherent volume reduction from vitrification results in a dense product with self-shielding properties, and the GeoMelt treatment process has been demonstrated to homogenize elemental metals and radionuclide contaminants of concern, eliminating hot spots and mitigating criticality concerns. All of which opens up alternatives strategies for storage and disposal. GeoMelt has been proven in the commercial and US DOE waste treatment environment with over 26,000 tonnes of hazardous waste treated to date (half of this radioactive). Kurion and the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) plan to demonstrate its application to Sellafield radioactive wastes. A small (engineering) scale demonstrator is being installed in the active rig hall at NNL's Central Laboratory at Sellafield UK with a twofold mission; 1) demonstration of the vitrification of ILW/LLW, and 2) processing of smaller volume orphan wastes that currently have no treatment path. The NNL facility will allow the handling of uranium containing materials which form a substantial component of ILW currently stored on the Sellafield site. Accurate DFs across the melter and off gas system are often difficult to obtain using inactive materials at the low concentrations present in radioactive wastes. Installation in the NNL facility will allow trace quantities of active species such as Cs-137 and Tc-99 to be processed as part of a simulant ILW stream and monitoring will allow accurate decontamination factors (DFs) to be established to support future vitrification facility design. In addition to underpinning melter operation and obtaining DFs across the system, the facility will allow the processing of radioactive waste arisings of low activity which may either be typical of larger waste volumes or may present as orphans without a disposition route. In either case the melter facility will be able to vitrify these wastes into a form that will be suitable for interim storage and disposal. Among the feeds envisaged for processing will be asbestos from power stations, contaminated soils, feeds containing uranium metals, ponds solids, sludge, and miscellaneous active laboratory wastes. The NNL Central Lab capability will be used to analyze the active product to support disposal requirements whether through letters of compliance for the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) or waste acceptance criteria for the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR). (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗