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DOE OSTI2023

Developing a Facility NMAC Plan

The table presented below suggests the basic information that should be covered in a facility NMAC Plan for an NMAC program that is designed for nuclear security. The topics are appropriate for and should be addressed by all facilities in their NMAC Plans. They are appropriate for NMAC Plans for nuclear power plants, research reactors, fuel manufacturing facilities, facilities that produce medical isotopes, and other facilities. The difference is in the intensity with which the various measures are applied and the thoroughness of the description of the application (i.e., the program requirements). The robustness of a facility NMAC program and the content of its NMAC Plan should be graded in accordance with the type of facility and the category of its nuclear material.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2024

Workflow for Developing and Operating Subsurface Hydrogen Storage Facilities in Porous Reservoirs

Long-duration (seasonal) storage of natural gas (NG), which primarily consists of methane (CH 4 ), has been practiced for more than a hundred years at underground gas storage (UGS) facilities that use depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, saline aquifers, and salt caverns. To enable hydrogen (H 2 ) to be used as a long-duration, energy-storage medium, similar facilities are envisioned for underground H 2 storage (UHS) of either H 2 or H 2 /NG mixtures. Experience with UGS can be used to guide recommended practices for developing and operating UHS facilities in porous reservoirs. The most important factors (formation/fluid properties and engineering choices) that influence the performance of UHS reservoirs have been identified and quantified in previous studies. These factors and choices influence phenomena that determine the sweep efficiency of the stored working gas. These phenomena include viscous fingering, hysteretic capillary trapping, and gravity override of the working gas, as well as the upconing of nonproductive fluid that determine the sweep efficiency of the stored working gas. This report describes initial recommended-practices and a project-development workflow for UHS facilities that utilize porous reservoirs, based on the current state-of-knowledge about H 2 behavior in the subsurface. The workflow sequentially addresses all aspects of UHS project development, including the identification of H 2 sources and users, site ranking and down-selection, geologic and reservoir-engineering characterization, reservoir design, testing, risk management, commissioning, operations, and monitoring for a UHS facility. The goal is to enable UHS facilities to be developed in an efficient and timely manner, while carefully managing project risks. This workflow is similar to that which has been developed for UGS facilities (see Figure 1 of API, 2022), with the addition of tasks and subtasks specific to H 2 and UHS. The project-development workflow is broken down into three major stages: (1) define the H 2 use case; (2) rank, down-select, and characterize potential, candidate UHS sites; and (3) reservoir design, integrity testing, risk assessment, commissioning, operations, and monitoring for selected UHS sites. Each major stage is further broken down into tasks and subtasks, which are described at a high level. This report also provides more detailed descriptions of all tasks and subtasks that involve reservoir analysis and testing.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2025

Cyber-Physical Tabletop Exercise for Small Modular Reactor Facilities

U.S. nuclear power facilities face increasing challenges in meeting dynamic security requirements caused by evolving and expanding threats while keeping costs reasonable to make nuclear energy competitive. This evolving threat landscape includes adversaries having offensive cyber capabilities to attack information technology (IT) systems and operation technology (OT) systems. These adversaries may have the ability to attack the physical protection system (PPS) networks with potential consequential impacts that could degrade the effectiveness of the PPS. These cyber attacks may also be used to attack the safety and operational systems used to operate and ensure the safety of the reactor. Additionally, adversaries may gain access to unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that may be used to provide reconnaissance and surveillance of the facility, provide information to the adversaries, and be equipped with kinetic capabilities such as explosives or weapons that can be used to directly attack the facility. The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Safeguards and Security (ARSS) program funded Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to develop a cyber-physical tabletop exercise (TTX). This exercise was conducted on a hypothetical small modular reactor (SMR) facility, and only considered a potential adversary cyber attack on the PPS to a physical attack on the hypothetical facility to achieve a radiological release. This cyber-physical TTX is meant to provide lessons learned to integrate the cyber security system design and the physical protection system (PPS) design to decrease design, operation, and maintenance costs as well as increase effectiveness for defending against design basis threat attacks at the facility. This TTX will also provide a framework and method for SMR and microreactor vendors to conduct their own cyber-physical TTX and gain impactful insights to improving the cyber and physical protection system design for their SMR or microreactor facility design.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2026

October 2025 Semiannual Composite Salt Waste Processing Facility Decontaminated Salt Solution Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure Results

The aqueous waste from the Salt Waste Processing Facility is sampled semiannually for transfers to the Saltstone Disposal Facility. Salt solution is treated at the Saltstone Production Facility and disposed of in the Saltstone Disposal Facility. Per request of customer, X-TTR-Z-00027, Revision 0, one Saltstone Processing Facility Decontaminated Salt Solution and Z area premix material for the October 2025 semiannual Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure sample. The sample contained 60:40 (by weight) of slag and fly ash (referred to as the “Cement-Free grout sample”). Results from the technical report support Task 2: ‘Grout Leaching Analyses’ of the Task Technical Request prepared by Savannah River Mission Completion. At 51 days cured, the Saltstone sample was collected and shipped to a certified laboratory for analysis using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. The October 2025 Semiannual Cement-Free grout sample met 61 79.268.48 requirements for a non-hazardous waste form with respect to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act metals and Underlying Hazardous Constituents and met the Saltstone Production Facility Waste Acceptance Criteria that was in effect at the time of the sample collection at the Salt Waste Processing Facility.

Hsieh, Madison [Savannah River National Laboratory↗

NASA NTRS1978

DOE LeRC photovoltaic systems test facility

The facility was designed and built and is being operated as a national facility to serve the needs of the entire DOE National Photovoltaic Program. The object of the facility is to provide a place where photovoltaic systems may be assembled and electrically configured, without specific physical configuration, for operation and testing to evaluate their performance and characteristics. The facility as a breadboard system allows investigation of operational characteristics and checkout of components, subsystems and systems before they are mounted in field experiments or demonstrations. The facility as currently configured consist of 10 kW of solar arrays built from modules, two inverter test stations, a battery storage system, interface with local load and the utility grid, and instrumentation and control necessary to make a flexible operating facility. Expansion to 30 kW is planned for 1978. Test results and operating experience are summaried to show the variety of work that can be done with this facility.

Cull, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Propulsion test facilities - Capabilities and use

A review is conducted of the additional test facilities required in connection with the National Aeronautical Facilities Program and of other new propulsion test facilities. Attention is given to the National Transonic Facility, the AMES wind tunnel, the Turbine Engine Load Simulator, facilities for the conduction of compressor research, a fuels and lubricants laboratory, and test facilities in the UK, France, and Germany. It is pointed out that there is a need for government and industry to support the facility investment necessary to make progress in aerospace technology. Aspects of international cooperation are also discussed.

Kamchi, J. S.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Astronomical facilities for Spacelab

Three significant Spacelab facilities which are being developed, or planned by NASA will use the 1-2 week observational capability for attached payloads on Shuttle to carry out advanced astronomical observations in the ultraviolet visible, and infrared spectral regions during the decade of the 1980s. The three facilities are expected to evolve in capability over several Shuttle flights with a final objective of protracted observational capability from a permanent facility in space with periodic servicing and/or retrieval. The three facilities are the Office of Space Science package (OSS-3/7), the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), and the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). The scientific and technical objectives of these astronomical facilities include both their current and projected capabilities, their use of the manned Shuttle, and their eventual disposition to a long-term facility. International aspects of the missions, including General Investigator programs, are also being planned.

Reeves, E. M.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Life sciences space station planning document: A reference payload for the exobiology research facilities

The Cosmic Dust Collection and Gas Grain Simulation Facilities represent collaborative efforts between the Life Sciences and Solar System Exploration Divisions designed to strengthen a natural exobiology/Planetary Sciences connection. The Cosmic Dust Collection Facility is a Planetary Science facility, with Exobiology a primary user. Conversely, the Gas Grain Facility is an exobiology facility, with Planetary Science a primary user. Requirements for the construction and operation of the two facilities, contained herein, were developed through joint workshops between the two disciplines, as were representative experiments comprising the reference payloads. In the case of the Gas Grain Simulation Facility, the astrophysics Division is an additional potential user, having participated in the workshop to select experiments and define requirements.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1988

Lunar base launch and landing facility conceptual design, 2nd edition

This report documents the Lunar Base Launch and Landing Facility Conceptual Design study. The purpose of this study was to examine the requirements for launch and landing facilities for early lunar bases and to prepare conceptual designs for some of these facilities. The emphasis of this study is on the facilities needed from the first manned landing until permanent occupancy. Surface characteristics and flight vehicle interactions are described, and various facility operations are related. Specific recommendations for equipment, facilities, and evolutionary planning are made, and effects of different aspects of lunar development scenarios on facilities and operations are detailed. Finally, for a given scenario, a specific conceptual design is developed and presented.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1992

System overview of the NASA Dryden Integrated Test Facility

The Integrated Test Facility, built at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, provides new real-time test capabilities for emerging research aircraft. An overview of the test facility and the real-time systems developed to operate this unique facility is presented. The facility will reduce flight test risk by minimizing the difference between the flight and ground test environments. This ground test environment is provided by combining real-time flight simulation with the actual aircraft. A brief introduction to the facility is followed by a discussion of the generic capabilities of its real-time systems. The simulation system with flight hardware and the remotely augmented vehicle system is described. An overview of many hardware systems developed for the facility follows. The benefits of applying simulation to hardware-in-the-loop testing on the X-31 Flight Research Program are presented.

Binkley, Robert L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Facilities for animal research in space

The animal facilities used aboard or designed for various spacecraft research missions are described. Consideration is given to the configurations used in Cosmos-1514 (1983) and Cosmos-1887 (1987) missions; the reusable Biosatellite capsule flown three times by NASA between 1966 and 1969; the NASA's Lifesat spacecraft that is being currently designed; the Animal Enclosure Module flown on Shuttle missions in 1983 and 1984; the Research Animal Holding Facility developed for Shuttle-Spacelab missions; the Rhesus Research Facility developed for a Spacelab mission; and the Japanese Animal Holding Facility for the Space Station Freedom. Special attention is given to the designs of NASA's animal facilities developed for Space Station Freedom and the details of various subsystems of these facilities. The main characteristics of the rodent and the primate habitats provided by these various facilities are discussed.

Bonting, Sjoerd L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Capabilities and constraints of NASA's ground-based reduced gravity facilities

The ground-based reduced gravity facilities of NASA have been utilized to support numerous investigations addressing various processes and phenomina in several disciplines for the past 30 years. These facilities, which include drop towers, drop tubes, aircraft, and sounding rockets are able to provide a low gravity environment (gravitational levels that range from 10(exp -2)g to 10(exp -6)g) by creating a free fall or semi-free fall condition where the force of gravity on an experiment is offset by its linear acceleration during the 'fall' (drop or parabola). The low gravity condition obtained on the ground is the same as that of an orbiting spacecraft which is in a state of perpetual free fall. The gravitational levels and associated duration times associated with the full spectrum of reduced gravity facilities including spaced-based facilities are summarized. Even though ground-based facilities offer a relatively short experiment time, this available test time has been found to be sufficient to advance the scientific understanding of many phenomena and to provide meaningful hardware tests during the flight experiment development process. Also, since experiments can be quickly repeated in these facilities, multistep phenomena that have longer characteristic times associated with them can sometimes be examined in a step-by-step process. There is a large body of literature which has reported the study results achieved through using reduced-gravity data obtained from the facilities.

Lekan, Jack↗

NASA NTRS1992

Space Station Furnace Facility Core. Requirements definition and conceptual design study. Volume 2: Technical report. Appendix 6: Technical summary reports

The Space Station Furnace Facility (SSFF) is a modular facility for materials research in the microgravity environment of the Space Station Freedom (SSF). The SSFF is designed for crystal growth and solidification research in the fields of electronic and photonic materials, metals and alloys, and glasses and ceramics and will allow for experimental determination of the role of gravitational forces in the solidification process. The facility will provide a capability for basic scientific research and will evaluate the commercial viability of low-gravity processing of selected technologically important materials. The facility is designed to support a complement of furnace modules as outlined in the Science Capabilities Requirements Document (SCRD). The SSFF is a three rack facility that provides the functions, interfaces, and equipment necessary for the processing of the furnaces and consists of two main parts: the SSFF Core Rack and the two Experiment Racks. The facility is designed to accommodate two experimenter-provided furnace modules housed within the two experiment racks, and is designed to operate these two furnace modules simultaneously. The SCRD specifies a wide range of furnace requirements and serves as the basis for the SSFF conceptual design. SSFF will support automated processing during the man-tended operations and is also designed for crew interface during the permanently manned configuration. The facility is modular in design and facilitates changes as required, so the SSFF is adept to modifications, maintenance, reconfiguration, and technology evolution.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1995

NASA Lewis Research Center's combustor test facilities and capabilities

NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) presently accommodates a total of six combustor test facilities with unique capabilities. The facilities are used to evaluate combustor and afterburner concepts for future engine applications, and also to test the survivability and performance of innovative high temperature materials, new instrumentation, and engine components in a realistic jet engine environment. The facilities provide a variety of test section interfaces and lengths to allow for flametube, sector and component testing. The facilities can accommodate a wide range of operating conditions due to differing capabilities in the following areas: inlet air pressure, temperature, and flow; fuel flow rate, pressure, and fuel storage capacity; maximum combustion zone temperature; cooling water flow rate and pressure; types of exhaust - atmospheric or altitude; air heater supply pressure; and types of air heaters - vitiated or nonvitiated. All of the facilities have provisions for standard gas (emissions) analysis, and a few of the facilities are equipped with specialized gas analysis equipment, smoke and particle size measurement devices, and a variety of laser systems. This report will present some of the unique features of each of the high temperature/high pressure combustor test facilities at NASA LeRC.

Bianco, Jean↗

NASA NTRS1998

Refurbishment and Automation of Thermal Vacuum Facilities at NASA/GSFC

The thermal vacuum facilities located at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) have supported both manned and unmanned space flight since the 1960s. Of the eleven facilities, currently ten of the systems are scheduled for refurbishment or replacement as part of a five-year implementation. Expected return on investment includes the reduction in test schedules, improvements in safety of facility operations, and reduction in the personnel support required for a test. Additionally, GSFC will become a global resource renowned for expertise in thermal engineering, mechanical engineering, and for the automation of thermal vacuum facilities and tests. Automation of the thermal vacuum facilities includes the utilization of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), the use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and the development of a centralized Test Data Management System. These components allow the computer control and automation of mechanical components such as valves and pumps. The project of refurbishment and automation began in 1996 and has resulted in complete computer control of one facility (Facility 281), and the integration of electronically controlled devices and PLCs in multiple others.

Dunn, Jamie↗

NASA NTRS1999

Refurbishment and Automation of Thermal Vacuum Facilities at NASA/GSFC

Dunn, Jamie↗

NASA NTRS2001

Alleviation of Facility/Engine Interactions in an Open-Jet Scramjet Test Facility

Results of a series of shakedown tests to eliminate facility/engine interactions in an open-jet scramjet test facility are presented. The tests were conducted with the NASA DFX (Dual-Fuel eXperimental scramjet) engine in the NASA Langley Combustion Heated Scramjet Test Facility (CHSTF) in support of the Hyper-X program, The majority of the tests were conducted at a total enthalpy and pressure corresponding to Mach 5 flight at a dynamic pressure of 734 psf. The DFX is the largest engine ever tested in the CHSTF. Blockage, in terms of the projected engine area relative to the nozzle exit area, is 81% with the engine forebody leading edge aligned with the upper edge of the facility nozzle such that it ingests the nozzle boundary layer. The blockage increases to 95% with the engine forebody leading edge positioned 2 in. down in the core flow. Previous engines successfully tested in the CHSTF have had blockages of no more than 51%. Oil flow studies along with facility and engine pressure measurements were used to define flow behavior. These results guided modifications to existing aeroappliances and the design of new aeroappliances. These changes allowed fueled tests to be conducted without facility interaction effects in the data with the engine forebody leading edge positioned to ingest the facility nozzle boundary layer. Interaction effects were also reduced for tests with the engine forebody leading edge positioned 2 in. into the core flow, however some interaction effects were still evident in the engine data. A new shroud and diffuser have been designed with the goal of allowing fueled tests to be conducted with the engine forebody leading edge positioned in the core without facility interaction effects in the data. Evaluation tests of the new shroud and diffuser will be conducted once ongoing fueled engine tests have been completed.

Albertson, Cindy W.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Integration Process for Payloads in the Fluids and Combustion Facility

The Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is an ISS research facility located in the United States Laboratory (US Lab), Destiny. The FCF is a multi-discipline facility that performs microgravity research primarily in fluids physics science and combustion science. This facility remains on-orbit and provides accommodations to multi-user and Principal investigator (PI) unique hardware. The FCF is designed to accommodate 15 PI's per year. In order to allow for this number of payloads per year, the FCF has developed an end-to-end analytical and physical integration process. The process includes provision of integration tools, products and interface management throughout the life of the payload. The payload is provided with a single point of contact from the facility and works with that interface from PI selection through post flight processing. The process utilizes electronic tools for creation of interface documents/agreements, storage of payload data and rollup for facility submittals to ISS. Additionally, the process provides integration to and testing with flight-like simulators prior to payload delivery to KSC. These simulators allow the payload to test in the flight configuration and perform final facility interface and science verifications. The process also provides for support to the payload from the FCF through the Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP). Finally, the process includes support in the development of operational products and the operation of the payload on-orbit.

Free, James M.↗