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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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Development and demonstration of a methodology to evaluate high burnup fuel susceptibility to pulverization under a loss of coolant transient

For economic reasons, the US nuclear industry is renewing efforts to build a technical basis to extend rod average burnup limits above the current regulatory burnup limit of 62 GWd/MTU. The primary driver is to increase pressurized water reactor cycle lengths to 24 months, reducing the number of fresh fuel assemblies and core design constraints, thereby making core energy utilization more efficient. However, fuel pellet fragmentation and pulverization, termed high burnup fuel fragmentation (HBFF), has been observed in the high burnup (>90 GWd/MTU) Halden loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) integral test series. The issue gained attention when fuel fragmentation and pulverization were also observed closer to the current US regulatory limit during the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sponsored out-of-core integral test at Studsvik Nuclear in early 2011. This led to NRC concerns with potential changes to fuel and core designs relative to fuel pellet pulverization. In a letter to the NRC Commissioners, the staff specifically identified a need to “…define the boundary of safe operation for key fuel design and operating parameters,” stating that “the staff is challenged to evaluate the acceptability of future fuel design advancements and fuel utilization changes.” As such, it can be concluded that HBFF and potential dispersal into the reactor coolant system introduces additional complications in light-water reactor (LWR) fuel safety evaluations. However, it is not clear how much fuel will be susceptible to HBFF; nor has there been a methodology developed to evaluate fuel susceptibility to HBFF. To that end, this paper proposes an analysis methodology to assess fuel susceptibility to HBFF during LOCA scenarios. The work presented here uses the BISON fuel performance code to evaluate a representative pressurized water reactor fuel rod exposed to a rod average burnup of 75 GWd/MTU. Sensitivity studies investigated the impact of the peak cladding temperature, transient fission gas released, and pre-transient fission gas release on cladding ballooning and burst timing. Subsequently, a methodology to assess fuel susceptibility to HBFF will be developed based on experimental data published in the open literature. The methodology will then be demonstrated by calculating the mass of fuel susceptibility to HBFF. The BISON results conclude that increasing peak cladding temperature drastically decreased time to failure, and decreased balloon size both of which have been confirmed experimentally. Additionally, the effect of pre-transient and transient fission gas release affected cladding balloon size and burst timing. Finally, fuel susceptibility to HBFF significantly decreased as a function of peak cladding temperature.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Timescales of Quantum Equilibration, Dissipation and Fluctuation in Nuclear Collisions

Understanding the dynamics of equilibration processes in quantum systems as well as their interplay with dissipation and fluctuation is a major challenge in quantum many-body theory. The timescales of such processes are investigated in collisions of atomic nuclei using fully microscopic approaches. Findings from time-dependent Hartree-Fock and time-dependent random-phase approximation calculations are compared for 13 systems over a broad range of energies. The timescale for full mass equilibration ( ~ 2 × 10 - 20 s ) is found to be much larger than timescales for neutron-to-proton equilibration, kinetic energy, and angular momentum dissipations which are on the order of 10 - 21 s . Fluctuations of mass numbers in the fragments and correlations between their neutron and proton numbers build up within only a few 10 - 21 s . This suggests that dissipation is basically not impacted by mass equilibration, but is mostly driven by the exchange of nucleons between the fragments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Characterization of modeling and experimental data inconsistencies from burst testing for high-burnup commercial fuel rod applications

Fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal are some of the largest issues remaining in the nuclear industry before rod-average burnup can be increased beyond 62 GWd/tU. The issue is primarily related to the potential for fuel to be dispersed into the reactor primary system, which may increase public risk. One way to prevent dispersal is to avoid cladding burst. The objective of this work is to support the high burnup safety case by evaluating cladding burst under high-burnup, full-length fuel rods and to identify uncertainties that could improve model predictions. The results of this analysis will evaluate realistic, prototypic loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions; support future cladding burst test designs; and inform the development of mechanistic material models. Realistic high-burnup operating conditions were implemented in the BISON fuel performance code to simulate steady-state and LOCA transient fuel rod evolution to the point at which cladding burst occurred. Parametric studies are performed to assess code response to changes in rod internal pressures and heating rates. Results were compared with simulated LOCA experiments to identify inconsistencies between commercial fuel rod analysis and experimental validation. The representative full-length fuel rod LOCA simulation results did not agree with cladding burst tests. Cladding burst tests indicated burst occurring well below (100–150 °C) those calculated in the full-length fuel rod LOCA analysis. Further investigation indicated that the cladding burst tests do not appear to be representative for full-length fuel rods. The inconsistency investigated in this work showed that the differences between the BISON simulation and the experiment's cladding burst conditions arise from an incomplete characterization of the cladding surface temperature, detailed rodlet characterization, lack of cladding strain measurements, and uncertainty in the cladding creep and failure models.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Local measurement of bulk thermal diffusivity using photothermal radiometry

Here, an experimental methodology using photothermal radiometry is developed for the accurate measurement of bulk thermal diffusivity of nuclear fuels and materials irradiated to high doses. Under these conditions, nuclear fuels, such as uranium oxide, and moderator materials, such as graphite, become friable, which requires characterization techniques that can accommodate irregularly shaped fragments. Photothermal radiometry, a good candidate for this application, involves locally heating a sample by using a laser and measuring the temperature field by monitoring blackbody radiation. The interaction volume for this study, less than a millimeter, is carefully chosen to sample a statistically significant number of large-scale structural features, such as pores and gas filled bubbles, and is small enough that the sample fragments can be treated as a thermal half-space. The thermal diffusivity standards considered in this study cover a range of thermal diffusivities representative of both fresh and spent nuclear fuels. We also consider a sample having a porous microstructure representative of large-scale structures found in materials irradiated to high doses. Our measurement methodology circumvents complex thermal wave models that address optical diffraction, nonlinear transfer function associated with blackbody radiation, and finite sample size effects. Consequently, the large measurement uncertainty associated with modeling these effects can be avoided. While the emphasis here is on nuclear fuels and materials, this measurement approach is well suited to measure thermal transport in a variety of technologically important materials associated with advanced synthesis techniques. Examples range from small, exotic single crystals grown using hydrothermal growth techniques to additively manufactured components having complex geometries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1979

Research on radiation induced laser plasmas

The development of high power nuclear pumped lasers is discussed. The excitation mechanism of continuous wave (CW) HeNe nuclear pumped lasers is studied and a CO2 nuclear pumped laser is used to demonstrate the CW output in the order of watts. The assumption that high power densities are only achievable by volume fission fragment sources is used to identify laser gases which are compatible with UF6 by excited states lifetime measurements. The examination of Xe2, XeF, and KrF under nuclear irradiation to determine if they are good candidates for nuclear-pumped lasers is described.

Schneider, R. T.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fragmentation of jets containing a prompt J$/\psi$ meson in PbPb and pp collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV

Jets containing a prompt J$/\psi$ meson are studied in lead-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV, using the CMS detector at the LHC. Jets are selected to be in the transverse momentum range of 30 $\lt p_\mathrm{T} \lt$ 40 GeV. The J$/\psi$ yield in these jets is evaluated as a function of the jet fragmentation variable $z$, the ratio of the J$/\psi$$p_\mathrm{T} $ to the jet $p_\mathrm{T}$. The nuclear modification factor, $R_\mathrm{AA}$, is then derived by comparing the yield in lead-lead collisions to the corresponding expectation based on proton-proton data, at the same nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy. The suppression of the J$/\psi$ yield shows a dependence on $z$, indicating that the interaction of the J$/\psi$ with the quark-gluon plasma formed in heavy ion collisions depends on the fragmentation that gives rise to the J$/\psi$ meson.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fission-fragment excitation energy sharing beyond scission

A simplified, though realistic, model describing two receding and accelerating fission fragments, due to their mutual Coulomb repulsion, shows that fission fragments share excitation energy well after they ceased to exchange nucleons. Here, this mechanism leads to a lower total kinetic energy of the fission fragments, particularly if the pygmy resonances in the fission fragments are excited. Even though the emphasis here is on fission, similar arguments apply to fragments in heavy-ion reactions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Comparison Between Pin-by-Pin Subchannel and System Level Thermal Hydraulic Results for High Burnup Loss-of-Coolant Applications

This milestone report summarizes recent work to investigate higher fidelity modeling and simulation practices for large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) analysis in high-burnup pressurized water reactor (PWR) cores. Because of current industry interest in extending fuel cycle lengths ranging from 18 to 24-months, the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program has been investigating the susceptibility of high-burnup core designs to fuel fragmentation, release, and dispersal (FFRD) during accident conditions such as LBLOCA. This work has prioritized developing and demonstrating a methodology for calculating core-wide susceptibility to FFRD and addressing uncertainties identified in the analysis and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Research Information Letter on FFRD. Part of this investigation seeks to quantify differences between system-level thermal hydraulic behavior and higher fidelity subchannel modeling methods to identify potential safety concerns or opportunities to minimize FFRD susceptibility. To this end, the NEAMS subchannel code, CTF, is being used, along with the NRC system analysis code TRACE, for analysis of LBLOCA in a core containing high-burnup fuel. This project includes two thrusts: (1) improving on the existing TRACE model for a 4-loop PWR for LBLOCA so that the model is higher fidelity and consistent with current USNRC best practices, and (2) using CTF to perform pin-resolved modeling of the core region of the reflood phase of a LBLOCA in a high-burnup PWR.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Observation of Azimuth-Dependent Suppression of Hadron Pairs in Electron Scattering off Nuclei

Here, we present the first measurement of dihadron angular correlations in electron-nucleus scattering. The data were taken with the CLAS detector and a 5.0 GeV electron beam incident on deuterium, carbon, iron, and lead targets. Relative to deuterium, the nuclear yields of charged-pion pairs show a strong suppression for azimuthally opposite pairs, no suppression for azimuthally nearby pairs, and an enhancement of pairs with large invariant mass. These effects grow with increased nuclear size. The data are qualitatively described by the GIBUU model, which suggests that hadrons form near the nuclear surface and undergo multiple scattering in nuclei. These results show that angular correlation studies can open a new way to elucidate how hadrons form and interact inside nuclei.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

First Measurement of Λ Electroproduction off Nuclei in the Current and Target Fragmentation Regions

Here, we report results of Λ hyperon production in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering off deuterium, carbon, iron, and lead targets obtained with the CLAS detector and the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility 5.014 GeV electron beam. These results represent the first measurements of the Λ multiplicity ratio and transverse momentum broadening as a function of the energy fraction (z) in the current and target fragmentation regions. The multiplicity ratio exhibits a strong suppression at high z and an enhancement at low z. The measured transverse momentum broadening is an order of magnitude greater than that seen for light mesons. This indicates that the propagating entity interacts very strongly with the nuclear medium, which suggests that propagation of diquark configurations in the nuclear medium takes place at least part of the time, even at high z. The trends of these results are qualitatively described by the Giessen Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck transport model, particularly for the multiplicity ratios. These observations will potentially open a new era of studies of the structure of the nucleon as well as of strange baryons.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Production of η and η ′ mesons in p p and p Pb collisions

The production of η and η ′ mesons is studied in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions collected with the LHCb detector. Proton-proton collisions are studied at center-of-mass energies of 5.02 and 13 TeV and proton-lead collisions are studied at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 8.16 TeV . The studies are performed in center-of-mass (c.m.) rapidity regions 2.5 < y c . m . < 3.5 (forward rapidity) and − 4.0 < y c . m . < − 3.0 (backward rapidity) defined relative to the proton beam direction. The η and η ′ production cross sections are measured differentially as a function of transverse momentum for 1.5 < p T < 10 GeV and 3 < p T < 10 GeV , respectively. The differential cross sections are used to calculate nuclear modification factors. The nuclear modification factors for η and η ′ mesons agree at both forward and backward rapidity, showing no significant evidence of mass dependence. The differential cross sections of η mesons are also used to calculate η / π 0 cross-section ratios, which show evidence of a deviation from the world average. These studies offer new constraints on mass-dependent nuclear effects in heavy-ion collisions, as well as η and η ′ meson fragmentation. ©2024 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration 2024 CERN

Aaij, R. (ORCID:0000000305331952)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Report on branching ratios for 111 Ag

Our understanding on the distribution of fragment masses following fission, or fission yields is largely impacted by the quality of nuclear data. One of the most straightforward and reliable ways to determine the number of fissions that occurred in a chain reaction is done via detection of the characteristic γ-rays emitted during the β decay of the fission product. These γ rays are emitted in only a fraction of the decays, and this fraction (the γ-ray intensities) must be known accurately to determine the total number of fissions. Many long-lived fission products, such as 111 Ag, play an important role in science-based stockpile stewardship and nuclear forensics. The γ-ray intensities from the decay of 111 Ag are known to only 5%, leading to a 5% uncertainty in fission-chain yield. This work aims to improve the precision of these γ-ray intensities for the most intense emissions following the decay of 111 Ag, as seen in Figure 1.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Novel experimental probes of QCD in SIDIS and e + e - annihilation (Final Technical Report)

The research addressed with this award seeks to advance our understanding of the structure and dynamics underlying the properties of visible matter. In our current understanding the nucleons (protons and neutrons) are not fundamental but are comprised of quarks and gluons, which are collectively called partons. A static quark picture fails to explain the properties of the nucleons, such as their mass and intrinsic spin, which are thought to emerge dynamically from the quark-gluon interactions via the strong force. In this work, novel observables employing correlations of particles produced in the scattering of high energy electrons off protons at the CLAS12 experiment at Jefferson Lab were analyzed to probe quark-gluon interactions. The ultimate goal of this line of inquiry is to be able to describe the properties of protons and neutrons from first principles, similar to how studying the hydrogen atom has led to the formulation of the theory of Quantum Electrodynamics. Because quarks cannot be observed directly but only as part of more complex composite particles, a smaller, complimentary part of this work was the analysis of particle production in electron-positron annihilation at the Belle II experiment to understand the production of particles from initial quarks. This takes advantage of the fact that in e + e - annihilation the initial quark dynamics is known, unlike in the scattering of nucleons. Several new applications using Machine Learning algorithms for event tagging and reconstruction to support this program were developed as part of this award. In addition, we had a significant role in the development of the physics program for the future Electron-Ion Collider, which is a new collider to be build in the US within the next decade.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1993

Interplanetary meteoroid debris in LDEF metal craters

We have examined craters in Al and Au LDEF surfaces to determine the nature of meteoroid residue in the rare cases where projectile material is abundantly preserved in the crater floor. Typical craters contain only small amounts of residue and we find that less than 10 percent of the craters in Al have retained abundant residue consistent with survival of a significant fraction (greater than 20 percent) of the projectile mass. The residue-rich craters can usually be distinguished optically because their interiors are darker than ones with little or no apparent projectile debris. The character of the meteoroid debris in these craters ranges from thin glass liners, to thick vesicular glass containing unmelted mineral fragments, to debris dominated by unmelted mineral fragments. In the best cases of meteoroid survival, unmelted mineral fragments preserve both information on projectile mineralogy as well as other properties such as nuclear tracks caused by solar flare irradiation. The wide range of the observed abundance and alteration state of projectile residue is most probably due to differences in impact velocity. The crater liners are being studied to determine the composition of meteoroids reaching the Earth. The compositional types most commonly seen in the craters are: (1) chondritic (Mg, Si, S, Fe in approximately solar proportions), (2) Mg silicate. amd (3) iron sulfide. These are also the most common compositional types of extraterrestrial particle types collected in the stratosphere. The correlation between these compositions indicates that vapor fractionation was not a major process influencing residue composition in these craters. Although the biases involved with finding analyzable meteoroid debris in metal craters differ from those for extraterrestrial particles collected in and below the atmosphere, there is a common bias favoring particles with low entry velocity. For craters this is very strong and probably all of the metal craters with abundant residue were caused by asteroidal dust impacting at minimum velocities.

Brownlee, D. E.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Identifying High Burnup LOCA Test Conditions to Support LOCA Testing

Presentation summarizing work done by INL and ORNL investigating loss-of-coolant accidents involving high burnup fuel. This includes developing LOCA test conditions for TREAT and SATS experiments and highlighting potential differences between nuclear and electrical heating LOCA experiments.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Heavy ion beam physics at Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) will be the world's premier rare-isotope beam facility. Experiments with the majority (~80%) of the isotope predicted to exist will become available. The FRIB facility is based on a superconducting (SC) heavy ion linac with output energy above 200 MeV/u for any ions at beam power of 400 kW. FRIB includes a target facility for in-flight production of rare isotopes. A three-stage fragment separator will be used to prepare fast rare isotope beams with high-purity for nuclear physics experiments. The installation work of the accelerator and experimental systems is approaching completion and multi-stage beam commissioning activities started in summer 2017 with expected project completion in early 2022. In conclusion, the commencement of operation for users' experiments is planned immediately following the project completion.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

JETSCAPE framework: p+p results

The JETSCAPE framework is a modular and versatile Monte Carlo software package for the simulation of high energy nuclear collisions. In this work we present a new tune of JETSCAPE, called PP19, and validate it by comparison to jet-based measurements in p + p collisions, including inclusive single jet cross sections, jet shape observables, fragmentation functions, charged hadron cross sections, and dijet mass cross sections. These observables in p+p collisions provide the baseline for their counterparts in nuclear collisions. Quantifying the level of agreement of JETSCAPE results with p+p data is thus necessary for meaningful applications of JETSCAPE to A+A collisions. The calculations use the JETSCAPE PP19 tune, defined in this paper, based on version 1.0 of the JETSCAPE framework. For the observables discussed in this work calculations using JETSCAPE PP19 agree with data over a wide range of collision energies at a level comparable to standard Monte Carlo codes. These results demonstrate the physics capabilities of the JETSCAPE framework and provide benchmarks for JETSCAPE users.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multinucleon transfer mechanism in Gd 160 + W 186 collisions in stochastic mean-field theory

The multinucleon transfer mechanism in 160 Gd + 186 W collisions is investigated in the framework of quantal transport description, based on the stochastic mean-field (SMF) theory. The SMF theory provides a microscopic approach for nuclear dynamics beyond the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach by including mean-field fluctuations. Finally, cross sections for the primary fragment production are determined in the quantal transport description and compared with the available data.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗