Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “facility”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Reactivation of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility Neutron Radiography Program

Reactivation of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility Neutron Radiography Program The Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility is a 19,000 MW reactor located at the Idaho National Laboratory designed to perform transient testing on nuclear fuel experiments and materials. A neutron radiography facility was installed with the first radiograph being produced in 1967 that utilized the indirect (or transfer) method of neutron radiography to examine irradiated nuclear fuels and experiment test loops. The TREAT neutron radiography facility performed approximately 5,000 radiographs by the spring of 1977. The original radiography facility was upgraded in 1974-1975 to correct previous deficiencies and to improve capabilities. In 1986, an upgraded aperture was installed to increase the resolution of images followed by a major reactor upgrade completed in 1988. Overall, the existing neutron radiography system was in good working order. Originally built in 1958, the TREAT Facility was in operation until it was placed in a shutdown status in 1994. Following the Fukishima disaster and seeing a need for enhanced accident tolerant fuels, the United Stated Department of Energy decided to restart the TREAT facility and resume transient operations. In November 2017, the TREAT reactor was successfully restarted and is currently performing operational testing in preparation for initial experiment irradiations and transient testing. This paper reports on efforts to reactivate the TREAT neutron radiography station. A few minor shielding and system improvement upgrades have been completed along with the installation of a dedicated room for computed radiography equipment. Detailed beam characterization work was not performed following the last reactor upgrade. To characterize the neutron beam, gold foil activation measurements were made to determine an average neutron flux and flux profile. Additional multi-foil activation measurements will be made to calculate the energy spectrum. An open beam image will be taken that will provide the information about variations in the beam profile. A series of system qualification shots will also take place to accurately determine the effective image quality and image acquisition parameters. Full operational status of the TREAT neutron radiography system is scheduled for late summer of 2018.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

The Industrial Experience Feedback and R and D Ensure the Longevity of French Vitrification Facilities - 15503

The French vitrification of High Level Liquid Waste (HLLW) developed since the beginning of the 1960's led to the successive completion of four industrial vitrification facilities: PIVER facility (1969), Marcoule vitrification facility (1978), and R7 (1989) and T7 (1992) vitrification facilities on La Hague site. R and D has involved containment glass formulation and characterization of glass properties, development of modular technologies specifically tailored to be operated in shielded cells, and development of the vitrification process on full scale prototype. Industrial support has then provided by the R and D team during all phases of commissioning and operation of these industrial facilities. The initial choices of industrial facility design, as well as technologies to enhance flexibility and modularity, allowed an evolution of the vitrification process over time. Maintaining the R and D capabilities on containment glass, process and technology development at full scale size is essential to anticipate treatment of the new effluent and propose innovative industrial technologies. Fueling R and D with industrial feedback ensured the longevity of industrial vitrification facilities and development capabilities for future projects. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Progress on Resuming Full Construction on the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant's High-Level Waste Facility - 16283

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) restricted certain engineering, procurement and construction work on the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant's (WTP) High-Level Waste (HLW) Facility in 2012 and early 2013 because of unresolved technical issues, and a need to align the nuclear safety basis with the design as the HLW Facility technical issues were resolved. The DOE Office of River Protection (ORP) needed a way to minimize the government's risk exposure, while continuing limited critical path construction work and resolving the technical and safety basis issues. ORP issued the Plan for Evaluation and Decision to Proceed for the High-Level Waste Facility in October 2013 to establish the process to evaluate the WTP contractor's progress on resolving the issues and to identify actions and deliverables needed to facilitate an ORP decision to resume production activities. This process provided for a phased resumption of HLW engineering, procurement and construction activities, with two decision points: Decision 1: Authorization to resume design/production engineering along with limited procurements and construction ramp-up. Decision 2: Full authorization to resume engineering, procurement and construction. In August 2014, ORP provided authorization for the WTP contractor to resume all engineering work necessary to finalize the design of the HLW Facility. The decision to proceed with production engineering in the HLW Facility was based on significant progress in resolving technical issues and improving work processes to align the HLW design and safety basis. ORP is working closely with the WTP contractor to facilitate decisions for resuming procurement of HLW Facility equipment with safety functions, and resuming full construction in the most complex process cells in the Facility. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Decommissioning, Decontamination, and Disposal of LLW-LL, and ILW-LL at a Former Rare Earths Processing Facility in Malaysia - 19087

Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. (Geosyntec) was the design-build Contractor for a project involving the remediation and disposal of low level (LLW-LL and ILW-LL) NORM and TENORM wastes at a former rare earth processing facility in Malaysia. These sites were associated with a plant that extracted rare earth elements from local tin ores. Because of the naturally occurring radioactivity contained in the raw materials, these productions resulted in by-products and residues containing LLW-LL and ILW-LL thorium hydroxide and uranium hydroxide. The total mass of uranium (∼120 tons) and thorium (∼1,200 tons) managed in a single repository required the project design incorporate requirements related to inventory, security and safeguards around nuclear precursor materials. The requirement to consider a performance over a period of more than 10,000 years led to significant challenges in design and modeling of the disposal facility as this disposal facility was purposely designed and permitted as a final disposal for the LLW-LL and ILW-LL. The first phase of the project was the decommissioning, decontamination, and demolition of the 14- acre former rare earth processing plant and excavation of contaminated soils, construction of an engineered cell at the repository for waste disposal, and transportation and disposal of the waste materials into the cell. Final status surveys were carried out to allow the site to be successfully released by the Malaysian regulatory authorities as a clean site for re-development as common industrial use. Over 11,000 loads of material, including approximately 75,000 cubic meters of excavated soils and plant debris, were transported in specially designed steel transport boxes on public roads for disposal in the engineered cell. The second phase of the project included the design and construction of a second engineered cell, enhanced with protective barrier systems and a final cover system constructed of natural materials. Ancillary facilities such as substations, offices, processing buildings, and wastewater treatment plants were constructed to support retrieval and processing of the materials from more than 87,000 individual drums using a semi-automated process. The drums, waste packages, and other materials in the storage facility were systematically extracted, sorted, inventoried, solidified using Portland cement, transported, and disposed in the cell. All temporary facilities were decontaminated, demolished, and disposed in the cell. Radiological inventory and radiation safety programs were implemented to quantify the waste activity and to control exposure to workers and the public during the project. The total mass of radioactive contaminated waste disposed in the two projects is nearly 200,000 tons. The projects were carried out under a high level of scrutiny from Malaysian and international regulatory bodies. Between 2014 and 2017, performance monitoring and modeling activities were carried out to demonstrate that the disposal facility was performing in accordance with design requirements established by regulatory agencies. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

The Development of a Small-Scale Project Model for Waste Management at the Port Hope Conversion Facility - 19126

Cameco Corporation's (Cameco) Port Hope Conversion Facility (PHCF) was previously owned by the federal Crown Corporation, Eldorado Nuclear, which held a significant inventory of legacy waste material at the time Cameco was formed in 1988. Over time, Cameco's ongoing operations contributed to an increase in the volume of low-level radioactive waste managed onsite. Since 2011, Cameco has completed annual waste management campaigns with the goal of accelerating the recycle/disposal of accumulated legacy radioactive wastes stored at its Ontario operations. With disposal options for low-level radioactively contaminated wastes in Canada limited due to cost considerations and no commercially accessible landfills licensed for radioactive material. In recent years, Cameco has started to ship marginally contaminated wastes (<500 ppm uranium) to the United States for disposal in an appropriate landfill owned by US Ecology in Idaho. Numerous successful campaigns totaling over 1,000 successful shipments, have been completed to transport drummed and/or bagged material by rail in gondola cars to the disposal facility in Idaho since 2011. All shipments have been completed in compliance with all environmental regulations, with a perfect compliance record maintained to date. To achieve this excellent compliance record, the campaigns require careful planning by both organizations, as well as deployment of personnel from the Idaho facility during the campaign for project management, characterization and/or radiation monitoring support. As the accumulated waste inventory has been reduced through these projects, the scope and duration of each campaign has also decreased. In the last few years, road transport directly to the Idaho facility has also been utilized. This option allows for the deployment of small projects that may be completed for a smaller inventory of a specific waste type and to manage newly-generated low-level radioactive wastes on an ongoing basis. These projects have ranged from a single standard van shipment to multiple trucks running continuous loops between the Ontario and Idaho or Ontario and an intermediary site and have been utilized for marginally contaminated wastes (<500 ppm uranium) as well as marginally contaminated wastes with additional hazard classification. Cameco and US Ecology personnel have collaborated to develop characterization and shipment procedures that enable these projects to be executed in full compliance with all Canadian and US regulations, without deployment of personnel from the Idaho facility, while maintaining adequate oversight by both organizations to ensure that the waste is safely and compliantly managed. These protocols have been implemented and optimized for the Port Hope Conversion Facility and will be rolled out to other Cameco facilities in Ontario through 2019. Cameco expects to utilize the small project model for the long term to ensure that eligible marginally contaminated wastes (<500 ppm uranium) are managed appropriately to ensure that once the legacy material is eliminated, it remains so. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Saltstone Facility Operating Experience with Mega-Vault Disposal Units - 19497

The Saltstone Production Facility (SPF) has been treating low-level waste aqueous salt solution at the Savannah River Site (SRS) since 1990. Salt solutions are transferred from a large-volume, underground storage tank via underground waste transfer line into the SPF. The waste is received into one of two receipt tanks and then transferred to a twin-shaft mixer where dry feeds are introduced to create a fresh grout slurry. The grout exits the mixer into a hold tank, which has a residence time of approximately two minutes. The slurry is then pumped via peristaltic pump through a grout transfer line to one of several disposal units in the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF). The transfer line length varies from 0.4 km to 0.8 km depending on disposal location. With the salt disposal mission at SRS accelerating via the operation of the Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction (MCU) facility and the anticipated startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), it is important that the SPF and SDF operate with minimal outage time and maximum facility availability. To this end, the design of the newest disposal units has incorporated the benefits of commercially available cylindrical concrete tank design on a very large scale to maximize economies of scale. This new design has been placed into radioactive service and the initial operational data will be compared with previous disposal operations along with an overview of how disposal unit design has significantly evolved since the initial construction in the early 1990's. Additionally, several processing facility modifications have either been implemented or developed in recent years to improve operating reliability and ensure facility availability once the SWPF becomes the primary waste generator providing feed for the SPF. These modifications, the issues driving their development, and an assessment of their effectiveness will also be discussed. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Passive Safety Feature of KIPT Neutron Source Facility

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) of the United States and Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT) of Ukraine have cooperated on the development, design, and construction of a neutron source facility. The facility was constructed at Kharkov, Ukraine and its commissioning process is underway. The facility has an electron accelerator driven subcritical assembly. The electron beam power is 100 kW using 100 MeV electrons. Tungsten or natural uranium is the target material for generating neutrons driving the subcritical assembly. The subcritical assembly is composed of WWR-M2 Russian fuel assemblies with U-235 enrichment of 19.7 wt%, surrounded by beryllium reflector assembles and graphite blocks. The water coolant operates at room temperature during normal operation, when the facility is operating at full power using 100-KW electron beam power. The passive safety features of the facility are discussed in in this study. Monte Carlo computer code MCNPX was utilized in the analyses with ENDF/BVII.0 nuclear data libraries. Negative reactivity temperature feedback was consistently observed, which is important for the facility safety performance. Due to the design of WWR-M2 fuel assemblies, slight temperature increase and the corresponding density decrease in the water coolant would cause relatively large reactivity drop, which offset the reactivity gain by mistakenly loading an additional fuel assembly. The increase of fuel temperature also causes sufficiently large reactivity decrease. This enhances the facility safety performance because fuel temperature increase provides prompt negative reactivity feedback. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Addressing social aspects associated with wastewater treatment facilities

In wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF), technical and financial aspects have been considered a priority, while other issues, such as social aspects, have not been evaluated seriously and there is not an accepted methodology for assessing it. In this work, a methodology focused on social concerns related to WWTF is presented. The methodology proposes the use of 25 indicators as a framework for measuring social performance to evaluate the progress in moving towards sustainability. The methodology was applied to test its applicability and effectiveness in two WWTF in Mexico (urban and rural). This evaluation helped define the key elements, stakeholders and barriers in the facilities. In this context, the urban facility showed a better overall performance, a result that may be explained mainly by the better socioeconomic context of the urban municipality. Finally, the evaluation of social aspects using the semi-qualitative approach proposed in this work allows for a comparison between different facilities and for the identification of strengths and weakness, and it provides an alternative tool for achieving and improving wastewater management. - Highlights: • The methodology proposes 25 indicators as a framework for measuring social performance in wastewater treatment facilities. • The evaluation helped to define the key elements, stakeholders and barriers in the wastewater treatment facilities. • The evaluation of social aspects allows the identification of strengths and weakness for improving wastewater management. • It provides a social profile of the facility that highlights the best and worst performances.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Quantification of greenhouse gas emissions from a biological waste treatment facility

Highlights: • Whole-site fugitive emissions were measured at a biowaste treatment facility. • Methane and nitrous oxide were quantified using a tracer gas dispersion technique. •The daily average whole-site methane emission was 25.6 kg CH{sub 4} h{sup −1}. • Whole-site fugitive emissions were up to eight times higher than on-site emissions. • The emissions had a significant influence on the overall environmental impact - Abstract: Whole-site emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, from a combined dry anaerobic digestion and composting facility treating biowaste, were quantified using a tracer dispersion technique that combines a controlled tracer gas release from the treatment facility with time-resolved concentration measurements downwind of the facility. Emission measurements were conducted over a period of three days, and in total, 80 plume traverses were obtained. On-site screening showed that important processes resulting in methane emissions were aerobic composting reactors, anaerobic digester reactors, composting windrows and the site’s biofilter. Average whole-site methane emissions measured during the three days were 27.5 ± 7.4, 28.5 ± 6.1 and 30.1 ± 11.4 kg CH{sub 4} h{sup −1}, respectively. Turning the windrows resulted in an increase in methane emission from about 26.3–35.9 kg CH{sub 4} h{sup −1}. Lower emissions (21.5 kg CH{sub 4} h{sup −1}) were measured after work hours ended, in comparison to emissions measured during the facility’s opening hours (30.2 kg CH{sub 4} h{sup −1}). Nitrous oxide emission was too small for a downwind quantification. Direct on-site measurements, however, suggested that the main part of the emitted nitrous oxide came from the biofilter (about 1.4 kg N{sub 2}O h{sup −1}). Whole-site emissions were compared to emissions previously measured at different point sources on-site. Whole-site fugitive emissions were three to eight times higher than the sum of emissions measured at on-site sources. The magnitude of the emissions had a significant influence on the overall environmental impact of the treatment facility, assessed by consequential life cycle assessment. Including the higher whole-site fugitive emissions led to an increase in global warming potential, from a saving of 97 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. tonne{sup −1} of treated waste (wet weight) to a loading of 71 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. tonne{sup −1}, ultimately flipping the environmental profile of the treatment facility.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Zero Liquid Discharge and Water Reuse in Recirculating Cooling Towers at Power Facilities: Review and Case Study Analysis

Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems installed at power facilities with the primary purpose of meeting water discharge regulations have the added benefit of providing high quality effluent that can be reused in the facility. This paper provides a review of water use in power sector recirculating cooling towers and a baseline assessment of on-site water reuse at natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power facilities. Two NGCC facilities with reverse-osmosis (RO) or brine-concentrator processes followed by evaporation ponds were selected as case studies; data from these facilities were used to quantify the water, energy, and cost implications of implementing conventional and emerging ZLD technologies. At one case study facility, model results show that implementation of ZLD would reduce water withdrawals by 18%, which is less than savings associated with implementation of dry cooling but comparable to current efforts to reduce water withdrawals by increasing cycles of concentration. Implementation of ZLD using high-recovery RO resulted in a doubling of the levelized cost of water (LCOW). LCOW increased more when a brine concentrator was used. For both case studies, the ZLD system using high-recovery RO required less than 0.1% of a facilitiy's annual electricity generation and the ZLD system using a brine concentrator process required less than 0.8%. Additionally, increasing the evaporation pond area to minimize required ZLD system recovery rates and reduce system electricity costs does not reduce the LCOW. Instead, the LCOW increases because less water is recovered and more water is lost to evaporation. Furthermore, if water availability decreases or water competition/cost increases, facilities may be incentivized to maximize water recovery from ZLD systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Clusters of COVID ‐19 in long‐term care hospitals and facilities in Japan from 16 January to 9 May 2020

Aim To clarify the association of cluster number and size of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in long‐term care (LTC) hospitals/facilities, general medical/welfare facilities and non‐medical/welfare facilities with morbidity and mortality in 47 prefectures during 16 January to 9 May 2020 in Japan. Methods Information on COVID‐19 clusters ( n ≥2), and morbidity and mortality of COVID‐19 was collected. Results A total of 381 clusters with 3786 infected cases were collected, accounting for 23.9% of 15 852 cumulated cases on 9 May 2020. Although the cluster number (/10 7 subjects) in LTC hospitals/facilities was significantly smaller compared with those in the other two groups, the cluster size in LTC hospitals/facilities was significantly larger than that in non‐medical/welfare facilities. Cluster numbers in general medical/welfare facilities and in non‐medical/welfare facilities were significantly positively correlated with morbidity (/10 5 ), indicating relatively early identification of clusters in these facilities. Unlike in these facilities, cluster size in LTC hospitals/facilities was significantly positively correlated with morbidity, indicating that clusters in LTC hospitals/facilities were finally identified after already having grown to a large size in areas where infection was prevalent. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that both cluster number and cluster size only in LTC hospitals/facilities were independently associated with higher mortality (≥median 0.64/10 5 subjects) after adjustment. Conclusions Preventive efforts against COVID‐19 outbreaks even at the early phase of the epidemic are critically important in LTC hospitals/facilities, as both the larger number and size of clusters only in LTC hospitals/facilities were independently linked to higher mortality in prefectures in Japan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 715–719 .

Iritani, Osamu↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of Serial Testing After Exposure to COVID-19 in Early Care and Education Facilities, Illinois, March–May 2022

Objective: To understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission in early care and education (ECE) settings, we implemented a Test to Stay (TTS) strategy, which allowed children and staff who were close contacts to COVID-19 to remain in person if they agreed to test twice after exposure. We describe SARS-CoV-2 transmission, testing preferences, and the number of in-person days saved among participating ECE facilities. Methods: From March 21 through May 27, 2022, 32 ECE facilities in Illinois implemented TTS. Unvaccinated children and staff who were not up to date with COVID-19 vaccination could participate if exposed to COVID-19. Participants received 2 tests within 7 days after exposure and were given the option to test at home or at the ECE facility. Results: During the study period, 331 TTS participants were exposed to index cases (defined as people attending the ECE facility with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result during the infectious period); 14 participants tested positive, resulting in a secondary attack rate of 4.2%. No tertiary cases (defined as a person with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result within 10 days after exposure to a secondary case) occurred in the ECE facilities. Most participants (366 of 383; 95.6%) chose to test at home. Remaining in-person after an exposure to COVID-19 saved approximately 1915 in-person days among children and staff and approximately 1870 parent workdays. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates were low in ECE facilities during the study period. Serial testing after COVID-19 exposure among children and staff at ECE facilities is a valuable strategy to allow children to remain in person and parents to avoid missing workdays.

Public, Environmental & Occupational Health↗
DOE OSTI2014

Design and Integrate Improved Systems for Nuclear Facility Ventilation and Exhaust Operations

Objective: The objective of this R&D project would complete the development of three new systems and integrate them into a single experimental effort. However, each of the three systems has stand-alone applicability across the DOE complex. At US DOE nuclear facilities, indoor air is filtered and ventilated for human occupancy, and exhaust air to the outdoor environment must be regulated and monitored. At least three technical standards address these functions, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory would complete an experimental facility to answer at least three questions: (1) Can the drag coefficient of a new Los Alamos air mixer be reduced for better operation in nuclear facility exhaust stacks? (2) Is it possible to verify the accuracy of a new dilution method for HEPA filter test facilities? (3) Is there a performance-based air flow metric (volumetric flow or mass flow) for operating HEPA filters? In summary, the three new systems are: a mixer, a diluter and a performance-based metric, respectively. The results of this project would be applicable to at least four technical standards: ANSI N13.1 Sampling and Monitoring Releases of Airborne Radioactive Substances from the Stacks and Ducts of Nuclear Facilities; ASTM F1471 Standard Test Method for Air Cleaning Performance of a High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filter System, ASME N511: In-Service Testing of Nuclear Air Treatment, Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Systems, and ASME AG-1: Code On Nuclear Air And Gas Treatment. All of the three proposed new systems must be combined into a single experimental device (i.e. to develop a new function of the Los Alamos aerosol wind tunnel). Technical Approach: The Radiation Protection RP-SVS group at Los Alamos has an aerosol wind tunnel that was originally (2006) designed to evaluate small air samplers (cf. US EPA 40 CFR 53.42). In 2009, the tunnel was modified for exhaust stack verifications per the ANSI N13.1 standard. In 2010, modifications were started on the wind tunnel for testing HEPA filters (cf. ASTM F1471 and ASME N511). This project involves three systems that were developed for testing the 24*24*11 (inch) HEPA filters (i.e. the already mentioned mixer, diluter and metric). Prototypes of the mixer and the diluter have been built and individually tested on a preliminary basis. However, the third system (the HEPA metric method) has not been tested, since that requires complete operability of the aerosol wind tunnel device. (The experimental wind tunnel has test aerosol injection, control and measurement capabilities, and can be heated for temperature dependent measurements.) Benefits: US DOE facilities that use HEPA filters and/or require exhaust stacks from their nuclear facility buildings will benefit from access to the new hardware (mixer and diluter) and performance-based metric (for HEPA filter air flow).

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Sandia National Laboratories Facilities Management and Operations Center Design Standards Manual

At Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico (SNL/NM), the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities is guided by industry standards, a graded approach, and the systematic analysis of life cycle benefits received for costs incurred. The design of the physical plant must ensure that the facilities are "fit for use," and provide conditions that effectively, efficiently, and safely support current and future mission needs. In addition, SNL/NM applies sustainable design principles, using an integrated whole-building design approach, from site planning to facility design, construction, and operation to ensure building resource efficiency and the health and productivity of occupants. The safety and health of the workforce and the public, any possible effects on the environment, and compliance with building codes take precedence over project issues, such as performance, cost, and schedule. These design standards generally apply to all disciplines on all SNL/NM projects. Architectural and engineering design must be both functional and cost-effective. Facility design must be tailored to fit its intended function, while emphasizing low-maintenance, energy-efficient, and energy-conscious design. Design facilities that can be maintained easily, with readily accessible equipment areas, low maintenance, and quality systems. To promote an orderly and efficient appearance, architectural features of new facilities must complement and enhance the existing architecture at the site. As an Architectural and Engineering (A/E) professional, you must advise the Project Manager when this approach is prohibitively expensive. You are encouraged to use professional judgment and ingenuity to produce a coordinated interdisciplinary design that is cost-effective, easily contractible or buildable, high-performing, aesthetically pleasing, and compliant with applicable building codes. Close coordination and development of civil, landscape, structural, architectural, fire protection, mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, and security features is expected to ensure compatibility with planned functional equipment and to facilitate constructability. If portions of the design are subcontracted to specialists, delivery of the finished design documents must not be considered complete until the subcontracted portions are also submitted for review. You must, along with support consultants, perform functional analyses and programming in developing design solutions. These solutions must reflect coordination of the competing functional, budgetary, and physical requirements for the project. During design phases, meetings between you and the SNL/NM Project Team to discuss and resolve design issues are required. These meetings are a normal part of the design process. For specific design-review requirements, see the project-specific Design Criteria. In addition to the design requirements described in this manual, instructive information is provided to explain the sustainable building practice goals for design, construction, operation, and maintenance of SNL/NM facilities. Please notify SNL/NM personnel of design best practices not included in this manual, so they can be incorporated in future updates. You must convey all documents describing work to the SNL/NM Project Manager in both hard copy and in an electronic format compatible with the SNL/NM-prescribed CADD and other software packages, and in accordance with a SNL/NM approved standard format. Print all hard copy versions of submitted documents (excluding drawings and renderings) double-sided when practical.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Design Report for the ½ Scale Air-Cooled RCCS Tests in the Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF)

The Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF) is a large scale thermal hydraulics test facility that has been built at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The facility was constructed in order to carry out highly instrumented experiments that can be used to validate the performance of passive safety systems for advanced reactor designs. The facility has principally been designed for testing of Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) concepts that rely on natural convection cooling for either air or water-based systems. Standing 25-m in height, the facility is able to supply up to 220 kW at 21 kW/m 2 to accurately simulate the heat fluxes at the walls of a reactor pressure vessel. A suite of nearly 400 data acquisition channels, including a sophisticated fiber optic system for high density temperature measurements, guides test operations and provides data to support scaling analysis and modeling efforts. Measurements of system mass flow rate, air and surface temperatures, heat flux, humidity, and pressure differentials, among others; are part of this total generated data set. The following report provides an introduction to the top level-objectives of the program related to passively safe decay heat removal, a detailed description of the engineering specifications, design features, and dimensions of the test facility at Argonne. Specifications of the sensors and their placement on the test facility will be provided, along with a complete channel listing of the data acquisition system.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of an Industry Dynamometer/Spin Test Facility--Equipment Only: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-05-164

The Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE/NREL) owns and operates a megawatt-scale dynamometer used for testing wind turbine drive trains up to 1.5 megawatt (MW) in rated capacity. At this time, this unit is the only unit of its type in the United States, available for use by the American Wind Industry. Currently this dynamometer is heavily backlogged and unavailable to provide testing needed by various wind industry members. DOE/NREL is in possession of two critical pieces of equipment that may be used to develop an alternative Dynamometer facility, but does not have the funds or other resources necessary to develop such a facility. The Participant possesses complimentary facilities and infrastructure that when combined with the NREL equipment can create such a test facility. The Participant is also committed to expending funds to develop and operate such a facility to the subsequent benefit of the Wind Industry and DOE Wind Energy program. In exchange for DOE/NREL providing the critical equipment, the Participant will grant DOE/NREL a minimum of 90 days of testing time per year in the new facility while incurring no facilities fees.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Enhancing Efficiency of Safeguards at Facilities that are Shutdown or Closed-Down, including those being Decommissioned

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards involves verification activities at a wide range of facilities in a variety of operational phases (e.g., under construction, start-up, operating, shutdown, closed-down, and decommissioned). Safeguards optimization for each different facility type and operational phase is essential for the effectiveness of safeguards implementation. The IAEA’s current guidance regarding safeguards for the different facility types in the various lifecycle phases is provided in its Design Information Examination (DIE) and Verification (DIV) procedure. 1 Greater efficiency in safeguarding facilities that are shut down or closed down, including those being decommissioned, could allow the IAEA to use a greater portion of its effort to conduct other verification activities. Consequently, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of International Nuclear Safeguards sponsored this study to evaluate whether there is an opportunity to optimize safeguards approaches for facilities that are shutdown or closed-down. The purpose of this paper is to examine existing safeguards approaches for shutdown and closed-down facilities, including facilities being decommissioned, and to seek to identify whether they may be optimized.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2018

Prototype Ceramic High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter Testing and Filter Media Development for Nuclear Facility Ventilation

This report summarizes recent and past related Ceramic HEPA Filter activity for this NNSA NSR&D project and on-going plans for FY18 and FY19 work as presently planned. Prior work has evaluated concepts for a ceramic HEPA filter including ceramic support materials, filter media including electrospun filter media, and metal housing designs to accommodate the conservative temperature performance target of up to 500°C. This has been supported by modelling efforts discussed with nuclear facility system engineers and their management. The temperature and time-at-temperature are based on conservative, bounding temperatures from fire analysis presented as a draft EFCOG best practice paper for nuclear facility safety analysis. The overall goal is to improve safety of DOE nuclear facilities during fire scenarios by developing improved filtration technology including increasing performance while reducing pressure drop. Ceramic filtration technology can provide robust, passive mitigation against radiological releases. The goal of the ceramic HEPA filter is to provide a robust HEPA filter that provides increased temperature performance in an equivalent form factor (size and shape) that is similar to existing conventional HEPA filters used in facilities. Once qualified for use in facilities, the benefit of a ceramic HEPA filters could simplify and reduce safety and support system costs, as well as considerably lower life-cycle costs. Installation, monitoring, and maintenance of active fire suppression systems, as well as other related systems, are a considerable on-going cost to nuclear facilities. Reducing the level of dependence on Safety Class and Safety Significant fire alarm and fire suppression systems could allow significant cost savings. At present we are continuing research and development efforts towards the goal of a ceramic filter design, including improved ceramic filter media, that could reduce total operation cost for facilities utilizing HEPA filters.

42 ENGINEERING↗