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At least 415 records · Page 23

CMR Shuffler System: Passive Mode Calibration and Certification Report

Los Alamos National Laboratory has a number of spherical confinement vessels (CVs) remaining from tests involving nuclear materials. These vessels have an inner diameter of 6 feet with 1 to 2 inch thick steel walls. The goal of the Confinement Vessel Disposition (CVD) project is to remove debris and reduce contamination inside the vessels. As debris is removed from the vessels, material will be placed in waste drums. Far-field gamma ray assay will be used to determine when a drum is nearing a 239 Pu equivalent mass of less than 200 g. The drum will then be assayed using a waste drum shuffler operated in passive mode using a neutron coincidence counting method for accountability. This report focuses on the testing and calibration of the CMR waste drum shuffler in passive mode operation. Initial testing was performed to confirm previously accepted measurement parameters. The system was then calibrated using a set of weapons grade Pu (WGPu, 239 Pu > 93%) oxide standards placed inside a 55 gallon drum. The calibration data ranges from Pu mass of 0.5 g to 188.9 g. The CMR waste drum shuffler has been tested and calibrated in passive mode in preparation for safeguards accountability measurements of waste drums containing material removed from CVs for the CVD project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Computational Science - Scientific Visualization: Closeout Certifications; CSSV Newsletter Volume I; CSSV Newsletter Volume II; CSSV Activity Journal; CSSV Final Financial Report (Final Technical Progress Report)

This Project's third year of implementation in 2007-2008, the final year, as designated by Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), in cooperation with the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) Inc., in an effort to promote research and research training programs in computational science & scientific visualization (CSSV). A major goal of the Project was to attract the energetic and productive faculty, graduate and upper division undergraduate students of diverse ethnicities to a program that investigates science and computational science issues of long-term interest to the Department of Energy (DoE) and the nation. The breadth and depth of computational science & scientific visualization and the magnitude of resources available are enormous for permitting a variety of research activities. ECSU's Computational Science-Science Visualization Center will serve as a conduit for directing users to these enormous resources.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

EPA GHG Certification of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles: Development of Road Grade Profiles Representative of US Controlled Access Highways

This report includes a detailed comparison of the TomTom national road grade database relative to a local road grade dataset generated by Southwest Research Institute and a national elevation dataset publically available from the U.S. Geological Survey. This analysis concluded that the TomTom national road grade database was a suitable source of road grade data for purposes of this study.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Powertrain Test Procedure Development for EPA GHG Certification of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles

xiii ABSTRACT The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate powertrain test procedures that can accurately simulate real-world operating conditions, and to determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of advanced medium- and heavy-duty engine and vehicle technologies. ORNL used their Vehicle System Integration Laboratory to evaluate test procedures on a stand-alone engine as well as two powertrains. Those components where subjected to various drive cycles and vehicle conditions to evaluate the validity of the results over a broad range of test conditions. Overall, more than 1000 tests were performed. The data are compiled and analyzed in this report.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Instrument Calibration and Certification Procedure

The Amptec 640SL-2 is a 4-wire Kelvin failsafe resistance meter, designed to reliably use very low-test currents for its resistance measurements. The 640SL-1 is a 2-wire version, designed to support customers using the Reynolds Industries type 311 connector. For both versions, a passive (analog) dual function DC Milliameter/Voltmeter allows the user to verify the actual 640SL output current level and the open circuit voltage on the test leads. This procedure includes tests of essential performance parameters. Any malfunction noticed during calibration, whether specifically tested for or not, shall be corrected before calibration continues or is completed.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Feedstock to Tailpipe Initiative: Kansas Biofuels Production, Testing and Certification Laboratory

The primary task of this grant was to establish an ASTM testing facility for biodiesel and ethanol and to use this facility to develop methods to predict fuel characteristics based on feedstock composition and feedstock cultivation. In addition to characterizing fuel properties, this grant allowed for the purchase and installation of a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) emissions analyzer that will provide an analysis of the emissions leaving the engine in order to meet EPA regulations. This FTIR system is combined with an Alternating Current (AC) dynamometer that allows the engine to follow Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Test Procedure (FTP) cycles. A secondary task was to investigate cultivating algae utilizing wastewater and top-down ecological control and subsequent harvesting using coagulation and dissolved air flotation. Lipid extraction utilizing environmentally-friendly and cost-effective solvents, with and without cell-disruption pretreatment was also explored. Significant work on the hydrothermal liquefaction of wastewater cultivated algae was conducted.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

The Muon Certification Procedure of the D0 Experiment in Run II

This technical memo note describes the procedures used by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron p¯p Collider to determine the identification and reconstruction efficiencies for specific muon selection criteria for both data and Monte Carlo simulation. Dedicated corrections for the muons satisfying these criteria are derived, thus certifying them to be used in physics analyses at D0. The results of the efficiencies of certified muons are presented for a sub-sample of 4.2 fb -1 collected by the D0 experiment. The experimental techniques and procedures employed here are identical to those used for the full 9.7 fb -1 dataset.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement Results from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Support Certification of a New High Purity 244 Pu Isotope Dilution Tracer

A 244 Pu material was identified that contains a minimum quantity of impurity Pu isotopes that will be suitable for low-level coupled Pu concentration and isotopic composition measurements. Measurement effort s have been initiated in several international laboratories that possess mature Pu isotopic analysis capabilities to determine the concentration of Pu in the 244 Pu material and to determine its isotopic composition with high degrees of quality. Preparation of isotope dilution mixes were prepared and distributed to LANL and other participating laboratories by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2017.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Certification and Rating of Attachments for Fenestration Technologies

In the U.S., windows still represent a significant energy savings opportunity in residential and commercial buildings, and for decades the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has funded fenestration software tools, analysis, studies, and the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). Despite significant developments in window technology and recognition of efficient products, studies conducted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) found that approximately 64% of U.S. homes currently have inefficient windows. Window attachments (interior and exterior blinds, shades, storm windows, awnings, shutters, etc.) can offer a more cost-effective option to improve the energy performance of residential and commercial windows. In previous years, the window attachment industry attempted to work with the NFRC to generate a window attachment rating program, but was unable to access funding or technical resources necessary to address window attachments, which added many levels of complexity on top of NFRC’s scope of windows and glazing. Starting in 2014, the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) funded the Window Coverings Manufacturing Association (WCMA) to develop the Attachments Energy Rating Council (AERC) along with policies and procedures to deliver an unbiased, credible, comparable, relevant, and cost-effective window attachment energy rating program for the residential and commercial sectors over a four-year period. This project was created because there were no consistent and credible performance rating mechanisms for assessing the energy performance of window attachments. Without a standardized approach, consumers found it difficult to make informed and comparative decisions about the energy performance of window attachments, and utilities faced challenges offering incentives for energy-efficient attachments. The goal of this project was two-fold: to develop procedures to rate and certify the energy performance of window attachments and to create an educational, consumer-facing Certified Products Website (CPW) to help consumers and other stakeholders make more informed window attachments purchasing decisions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Progress and Improvements on Temperature Measurements for Dynamic and Advanced Certification Materials Experiments on Z

Temperature measurements are very important in shock and ramp type dynamic materials experiments. In particular, accurate temperature measurements can provide stringent additional constraints on determining the equation of state for materials at high pressure. The key to providing these constraints is to develop diagnostic techniques that can determine the temperature with sufficient accuracy. To enable such measurements, we are working to improve our diagnostic capability with three separate techniques, each of which has specific applicability in a particular temperature range. To improve our capability at low temperatures (< 1 eV) we are working on a technique that takes advantage of the change in reflectivity of Au as the temperature is increased. This is most applicable to ramp type experiments. In the intermediate range (~1 eV < T< 5-10 eV) we are improving our optical pyrometry diagnostic by adding the capability of doing an absolute calibration as part of the diagnostic procedure for the shock or shock ramp dynamic materials experiment. This will enable more accurate temperature measurements for shock and shock ramp type experiments. For higher temperatures that occur in very high-pressure shock experiments, above 10 eV, we are developing the capability of doing x-ray Thomson scattering measurements. Such measurements will enable us to characterize strongly shocked or warm dense matter materials. Work on these diagnostic approaches is summarized in this report.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Certification and User Manual for A 5kW Heat Exchanger Test Loop at Low Temperatures and High-Pressures

Yankee Scientific has designed and built a custom heat exchanger test stand (HXTS), for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to support a program to develop advanced heat exchangers (HX) for geothermal Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plants under Subcontract Number 40000141544 with ORNL. The test stand was designed to measure the performance of laboratory scale sub-sections of these advanced heat exchangers. Provisions have been made to facilitate testing the advanced heat exchanger as a primary refrigerant vaporizer and as a recuperator and as the system condenser. The test loop was operated with a controller and was instrumented with 11 thermocouples, 5 pressure gauges, 2 pressure transducers, 2 differential pressure transducers, and 3 flow meters.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Gains from Trade versus the Cost of Transmission: The Economic Effects of Interregional Trading of Renewable Energy Certificates in the WECC. Draft

In the United States, individual states enact Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) for renewable electricity production with little coordination. Each state imposes restrictions on the amounts and locations of qualifying renewable generation. Using a co-optimization (transmission and generation) planning model, we quantify the economic benefits of allowing flexibility in the trading of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) among the U.S. states belonging to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. The flexibility was analyzed in terms of the amount and geographic eligibility of out-of-state RECs that can be used in meeting state RPSs' goals. Although more trade would be expected to have economic benefits, the magnitude of these benefits relative to the cost of additional transmission infrastructure is less certain. It is also unclear the effects of such trading on CO 2 emissions and energy prices. We find that most of the economic benefits are captured with approximately 25% of interstate exchange of RECs. Furthermore, increasing REC trading flexibility does not necessarily result in either higher transmission investment costs or a substantial impact on CO 2 emissions. Finally, increasing REC trading flexibility decreases energy prices in some states and increases them in others, while WECC-wide average energy price slightly decreases.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Overview of the U.S.-U.K. Portal Monitor for Authentication and Certification (PMAC) Project [Slides]

The PM designed and demonstrated under the PMAC project is a significant improvement from other existing PMs in terms of the joint host / inspector confidence provided and usability in a future hypothetical arms control regime. Based on these results, the PMAC system would be the best option currently available for a boundary control use case in a hypothetical arms control regime.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Digital Platform Informed Certification of Components Derived from Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

The Transformational Challenge Reactor is being designed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a reactor core using advanced manufacturing technology. This technology includes additive manufacturing combined with machine learning, materials science, and data science technologies in an effort to facilitate the expansion of additive manufacturing into advanced nuclear energy systems and other applications requiring a high level of quality assurance. The Transformational Challenge Reactor is employing additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence to deliver a new approach. Beginning in FY21, the focus of the program has shifted away from demonstrating a reactor, and instead, towards delivering on four key thrust areas: (1) artificial intelligence-informed design, (2) advanced materials, (3) integrated sensing and control, and (4) the digital platform. Of these four thrust areas, the most pertinent to this report is the digital platform. The digital platform has the potential to be a key enabler for a paradigm shift in how components, those derived from advanced manufacturing technologies, are certified for use in nuclear applications. This is achieved primarily using machine learning to discover correlations from the abundance of data produced through additive manufacturing and those physical properties critical to the performance of the component.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗