Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “FY22”

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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

VA EDH Data Curation Documentation (FY22-Q3, Rev.2)

The health and well-being of the Nation’s men and women who have served in uniform is the highest priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA is committed to providing timely access to high-quality, recovery-oriented, evidence-based mental health care that anticipates and responds to Veterans’ needs and supports the reintegration of returning Service members into their communities. VA is working to eliminate suicide among all Veterans by developing and implementing innovative suicide prevention approaches and resources. Health outcomes, such as suicide are typically modeled as a function of genetics and environment, where environment refers to factors beyond medical, e.g., air quality, access to transportation and food, homelessness status, etc. Mental health outcomes for each individual are considered to be associated with multiple stressors that fall under a variety of categories socioeconomic, economic, physical environment. Understanding the relationships between these stressors, covariates and health outcomes, requires curated, standardized data that can be input into the VA’s Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health - Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) or other health outcomes model. Environmental Determinants of Health (EDH) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) is clean air, stable climate, adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, safe use of chemicals, protection from radiation, healthy and safe workplaces, sound agricultural practices, health-supportive cities and built environments, and a preserved nature are all prerequisites for good health.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Salt International Collaborations (FY22 Update)

This report summarizes the international collaborations conducted by Sandia funded by the US Department of Energy Office (DOE) of Nuclear Energy Spent Fuel and Waste Science & Technology (SFWST) as part of the Sandia National Laboratories Salt R&D and Salt International work packages. This report satisfies the level-three milestone M3SF-22SN010303063. Several stand-alone sections make up this summary report, each completed by the participants. The sections discuss international collaborations on geomechanical benchmarking exercises (WEIMOS), granular salt reconsolidation (KOMPASS), engineered barriers (RANGERS), numerical model comparison (DECOVALEX) and an NEA Salt Club working group on the development of scenarios as part of the performance assessment development process. Finally, we summarize events related to the US/German Workshop on Repository Research, Design and Operations. The work summarized in this annual update has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, and little international or domestic travel has occurred. Most of the collaborations have been conducted via email or as virtual meetings, but a slow return to travel and in-person meetings has begun.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

LDRD-2021-00199 FY22 Report

Sea breezes in the southeastern United States can move inland over a large area and occur more often than previously thought. This phenomenon is sensitive to temperature differences, cloud cover, topography, and soil moisture. Sea breezes change atmospheric conditions and affect clouds, precipitation, air quality, energy production, and climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

FY22 NCSP Technical Program Review [Slides]

Document details key information about the Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) including financial data, functions and execution of the program, and accomplishments, challenges, and initiatives, as well as projected projects/accomplishments.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

LLNL FY22 Aging and Lifetimes Exit Criteria: Milestone 8119, GC#01

Polysiloxane foams utilized for stockpile applications experience changes over time induced by exposure to thermal, radiative, and mechanical stresses. The interplay of these stresses can lead to chemical and/or physical changes in the polymer, such as compression set and material degradation over time. Understanding the mechanisms of material aging and identifying material degradation prior to failure are critical in maintaining the integrity of the nuclear stockpile. Our prior work using solid-state NMR spectroscopy has shown that we can observe signatures of thermal, radiative, and mechanical aging of silicone elastomers using differences in NMR parameters such as relaxation (T1 and T2). However, most of our measurements have been on bulk samples and have only provided an average aging behavior of each sample. Here, we have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to provide relaxation-weighted images that are a metric of structural heterogeneity (crosslink density) in polymers across multiple length scales. In addition, the larger sample size that can be accommodated in animal MRI scanners has the potential to make the technique adaptable to detecting heterogeneities in whole parts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

LLNL FY22 Aging and Lifetimes Exit Criteria (Milestone 8118, GC#5)

This report introduces a novel characterization tool that can rapidly collect in-situ time-dependent oxide thickness and hydride growth data together with spatial data using while-light interferometry. White-light interferometry is a non-destructive and non-contact optical surface profiling technique for materials characterization that offers excellent lateral and vertical resolution. A depleted uranium sample was used to assess the ability of white-light interferometry to provide quantitative corrosion reaction rates at metal surfaces for by hydriding and oxidation and compare this technique to existing characterization tools for capturing early-stage hydride and oxide growth kinetics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Engineering evaluations of nuclear material storage containers against the packaging requirements at TA-55 (FY22 Rules of Use Report)

A set of obligations in the yearly storage container surveillance program, ensures that a retrospective approach is applied with loaded containers in inventory to confirm compliance with all “users” to ensure nuclear material storage container requirements are being followed. Validation that packaged containers are properly used, within a specific set of container types prescribed “bounding conditions of use,” is based on meeting requirements as identified in operating procedures associated with TA55-DOP-091, TA-55 Nuclear Material Packaging, and PA-RD-01022, Nuclear Material Packaging Requirements. The surveillance plan obligation requires the application of local area nuclear material accountability software or (LANMAS) to produce queries. The data queries are used to assess attributes of containers in storage these investigations are conducted on a bi-annual basis. This rules of use (ROU) compliance process ensures proper usage of storage containers as containment systems and therefore provides effective worker protection. It is structured as a supporting effort by implementing aspects of PA-AP-01207, Nuclear Material Container Safety Management at TA-55.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Interim Report on FY22 ORNL A709 Welding Research and Testing of Production Welds in Support of Developing ASME A709 Code Case Data Package

As part of the Alloy 709 ASME Code Case development effort under the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Program, this work covers the development of the technical basis for weld fabrication and weld qualification of Alloy 709. This report summarizes the Alloy 709 welding research conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in FY 2022. Two new production welds were fabricated on two commercial heats of Alloy 709 of different phosphorus (P) levels using Alloy 709 filler metal with P content less than 20 wppm with gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Both production welds successfully passed ASME Section IX weld qualification tests, and this concludes the Alloy 709 welding procedure development to scale up to 2-in thick plates. In FY 2022, we also demonstrated the success in welding of high P commercial Alloy 709 plates with weld wires having higher P content at 30 wppm. A test weld fabricated with the 30 wppm weld wire on the first commercial heat (140 wppm P) passed all weld qualification tests without issues. Additionally, experiment setup and testing procedure of the circular patch weldability test has been developed, for evaluating the P effect in weld wire on solidification cracking susceptibility of Alloy 709 weld, with the preliminary results summarized in this report. Research on further relaxing the P level restriction beyond 30 wppm are planned in FY 2023. The preliminary cross-weld creep tests results continue to show little or no creep strength reduction relative to the base metal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

VA EDH Data Curation Documentation FY22-Q4

The health and well-being of the Nation’s men and women who have served in uniform is the highest priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA is committed to providing timely access to high-quality, recovery-oriented, evidence-based mental health care that anticipates and responds to Veterans’ needs and supports the reintegration of returning Service members into their communities. VA is working to eliminate suicide among all Veterans by developing and implementing innovative suicide prevention approaches and resources. Health outcomes, such as suicide are typically modeled as a function of genetics and environment, where environment refers to factors beyond medical, e.g., air quality, access to transportation and food, homelessness status, etc. Mental health outcomes for each individual are considered to be associated with multiple stressors that fall under a variety of categories socioeconomic, economic, physical environment. Understanding the relationships between these stressors, covariates, and health outcomes, requires curated, standardized data that can be input into the VA’s Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health - Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) or other health outcomes model. Environmental Determinants of Health (EDH) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) is clean air, stable climate, adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, safe use of chemicals, protection from radiation, healthy and safe workplaces, sound agricultural practices, health-supportive cities and built environments, and a preserved nature are all prerequisites for good health.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

FY22 Status Report on the ART-GCR CMVB and CNWG International Collaborations

This work presents the numerical model for the high temperature test reactor (HTTR) loss of forced cooling (LOFC) experiment with the INL codes Griffin, BISON, and RELAP-7, based on the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework. Promising results were obtained, with the overall behavior of the reactor successfully captured. Changes in the heat transfer coupling, as compared to the fiscal year (FY)-21 model, enabled drastic improvement of the steady-state solution, both in terms of computational time and global energy discrepancies. The former was reduced by a factor of roughly 60, whereas the latter decreased from 11% to less than 2%. Furthermore, the discrepancy in the steady-state multiplication factor was improved from +2,300 and +2,900 pcm (for the 30 and 9 MW cases) to -700 and +1,200 pcm, respectively, and now falls well within the large measurement uncertainties stemming from graphite impurities. Validation of the Monte Carlo model used to generate cross sections was also performed against available measurements. Though significant, the discrepancies remain acceptable overall in light of the large uncertainty. Numerous improvements are still needed to better compare with the experiment involving the 9 MW case and to instill greater confidence in the model’s ability to accurately predict the 30 MW behavior. Specifically, the power levels predicted by the 9 MW transient simulation following re-criticality remain low, pointing to an underestimation of the passive cooling of the core. A key aspect of future work will be to better understand the flow pattern during the LOFC event, particularly to determine if natural or forced convection is occurring inside the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). More generally, additional validation data would be immensely useful for further enhancing the numerical model and better matching the experiments. In addition, a more sophisticated thermal-hydraulics model that simulates all the channels as a single system model should be considered to take into account the rest of the primary loop. Finally, even if the results are in better agreement with the experiments, sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification will be necessary to evaluate the model uncertainty.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

BioGeoChemistry at Interfaces (LLNL SFA OBER FY22 Program Management and Performance Report)

The focus of the BioGeoChemistry at Interfaces SFA is to identify and quantify the biogeochemical processes and the underlying mechanisms that control actinide mobility in an effort to reliably predict and control the cycling and migration of actinides in the environment. The research approach includes: (1) Field Studies that capture actinide behavior on the timescale of decades (Research Thrust 1), and (2) Fundamental Laboratory Studies that isolate specific biogeochemical processes observed in the field (Research Thrust 2). These Research Thrusts are underpinned by the unique capabilities and staff expertise at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, allowing the BioGeoChemistry at Interfaces SFA to advance our understanding of actinide migration behavior in the environment, and serve as an resource for environmental radiochemistry research internationally. In the past year, our greater focus on transient redox gradients across stratified waters, sediment-water interfaces, and mineral-water interfaces extended our research beyond actinides to address processes controlling cycling of redox-sensitive metals more broadly. Nevertheless, Research Thrusts 1 and 2 are guided by the following broad central hypotheses that were developed during our last program review held at the end of FY18: Thrust 1 Hypothesis: Biogeochemical processes occurring on the timescale of years to decades lead to greater actinide recalcitrance in sediments and limits their migration in surface and groundwater. Thrust 2 Hypothesis: Long-term biogeochemical processes include mineral and surface alteration, which leads to stabilization of actinide surface associations or incorporation into mineral precipitates. Our strategic goal is to use the knowledge gained from our Science Plan to advance our understanding of the behavior of actinides and other radionuclides (e.g. Cs) and provide DOE with the scientific basis for remediation and long-term stewardship of DOE’s legacy sites. More broadly, we will enhance our understanding of transport phenomena in environmental systems sciences with a particular emphasis on environmentally relevant (long-term) timescales. While we retain our focus on actinide biogeochemistry, our increased focus on overall biogeochemical processes occurring at unique Test Bed locations associated with this SFA provides fundamental information on abiotic and biotic redox processes that control the cycling of redox sensitive metals under dynamic and transient conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

INL Site ARG-US Implementation – FY22 Activities and FY23 Plans

The Packaging Certification and Life Cycle Management program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) developed a suite of monitoring systems collectively referred to here as ARG-US. ARG-US provides necessary data for nuclear facility and system operation and maintenance, and has been previously demonstrated in hot cells, radioactive material (RAM) storage areas, and RAM shipment trucks. It has also been installed directly on RAM storage and shipment containers. ARG-US offers some unique advantages over other commercially available systems by using wireless data connections, battery power supplies, and customizable monitoring methods. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been tasked with investigating applications for ARG-US at INL site facilities, which are operated by several different contractors. The initial investigation scope centered on CPP-603 Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility in relation to the upcoming Department of Energy (DOE) Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Packaging Demonstration. The investigation has been led by the Used Fuel Management Department in INL’s Nuclear Science and Technology (NS&T) directorate. This investigation is expected to recommend INL site processes or facilities in which to implement ARG-US systems. INL has engaged local site technical and oversight representatives, security, nuclear safeguards, and program management personnel to identify good candidates for ARG-US test implementations. INL has identified the following high-level goals for any INL site implementation of ARG-US: provide unique testing environments, prompt development of new monitoring methods/techniques for the ARG-US suite, and acquire useful monitoring for the user facility. As a result, INL suggests three program areas for further investigation: CPP-603 Fuel Handling Cave (FHC), legacy mixed waste storage systems at Idaho Nuclear Technology & Engineering Center (INTEC) known as the “Tank Farm,” and periodic and emergency environmental monitoring. This progress report relates activities undertaken in this investigation, describes the preliminary areas of interest for limited scope ARG-US testing or implementation, and relays expected actions for completing the task scope. This report offers an opportunity to the program sponsor, technical leads at ANL, and INL site representatives to give feedback on the initial assessment and make recommendations on the forthcoming activities.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

FY22 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report

The Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program yields foundational scientific research and development (R&D) essential to growing SRNL’s core competencies, in alignment with SRNL’s Strategic Plan to provide long-term benefits to the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and other customers and stakeholders. Five strategic goals are outlined in SRNL’s strategic plan: 1) Provide applied science and engineering for EM’s active clean-up sites and LM’s post closure management sites; 2) Provide science-based solutions for gaps identified in nonproliferation strategic vision and support the government in actives impacting national security; 3) Lead ST&E as the central technical authority for processing tritium loaded reservoirs and support production of plutonium pits; 4) Align science and energy security programs by focusing modern modeling, simulation, and data analytics tools on materials engineering and performance applications; 5) Build a workforce for the future.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

FY22 Progress Report on BISON Metallic Fuel Model Development and V&V Using EBR-II Legacy Data

In this report, the activities and achievements made by Argonne National Laboratory for the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) BISON code metallic fuel validation and verification project in FY2022 are summarized. The FIPD-BISON integration powered metallic fuel low-burnup swelling framework has been enhanced to cover both radial and axial swelling analyses. Axial-dependent as-fabricated fuel radius profiles have been used to improve the accuracy in evaluating radial swelling strain. The simulations of the IFR experiment X447, which was focused on FCCI/CCCI induced cladding degradation and failure, have been converted into a BISON metallic fuel assessment case with detailed documentation, which is also the first FIPD-BISON integration powered assessment case in BISON. A FIPD-BISON integration repository has been established to be an optional submodule of BISON to support FIPD-BISON integration powered assessment cases. Preliminary trials to simulate the in-cell out-of-pile transient experiment have been made after implementing some essential models such as cladding plasticity models and liquid phase penetration models. The initial results are promising and help identify gaps that need to be filled in FY2023 and beyond, to eventually achieve OPTD-BISON integration powered assessment cases.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Investigating Hydrogen Isotope Exchange Reactions on Lithium Aluminate Pellets in TPBAR (FY22 Report)

We developed a novel operando Raman spectroscopy method for investigation of hydrogen (H) isotope exchange reactions in the lithium aluminate (γ-LiAlO 2 ) that allows modeling of tritium behaviors in high temperature and in an irradiated environment. The lithium aluminate pellet is a main component in the Tritium-Producing Burnable Absorber Rod (TPBAR). We used deuterium ( 2 H or D) as a surrogate to simulate tritium ( 3 H or T). We used a surface analysis tools in situ/operando Raman spectroscopy to observe the transformation OH and OD compositional changes. We also used ToF-SIMS to analyze the lithium aluminate pellet control sample to build the base line for future in situ/operando analysis. To conduct operando Raman spectroscopy, we developed a custom reaction cell with a detachable micro heater using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and 3D printing techniques. Multiple versions were developed and tested. Using the new reaction cell, we demonstrated operando Raman spectroscopy of water (H 2 O) and deuterated water (D 2 O) with nitrogen (N 2 ) exposure onto the lithium aluminate (LiAlO2) pellet specimen, respectively, using a wet gas injection setup. We also successfully developed a detachable microheater that can heat up to ~250°C for ~90 mins. The Raman spectra did not show clear H 2 O and D 2 O characteristic peaks, which indicates that introducing H 2 O and D 2 O onto the surface of the pellet is challenging due to its dense structure nature. Our efforts suggest that various improvements are needed, such as increasing reaction cell operating gas pressure and thinning pellet sample thickness, to obtain meaningful measurements.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Advanced Moderator Material Handbook (FY22 Rev. 2)

High hydrogen density moderators such as metal hydrides are an important research topic within the DOE NE Microreactor Research, Development, and Deployment (RD&D) Program due to their ability to retain hydrogen to much higher temperatures than other hydrogenous media. This class of moderators, which includes yttrium dihydride (YH 2 ), thermalizes neutrons in the system such that the overall fuel mass or the required uranium enrichment in the system can be significantly reduced. Knowledge of material properties, both in the as-fabricated and irradiated state, are important to understanding moderator performance during steady-state and transient reactor operation. This document provides a detailed summary of the literature data on yttrium dihydride, thermomechanical and other property data, and a critical evaluation of that data. This handbook also provides a description of ongoing experiments to understand in-reactor performance, such as irradiations in ATR, as well as nuclear data from an integral critical experiment at NCERC. This report focuses on measured quantities but also includes some modeling results for comparison where applicable.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

FY22 Progress Report: SRNL Analysis of ICCWR LCM and WAMS Data for Corrosion and Cracking

Algorithms for machine learning and data analysis for the 3013 Surveillance Program are being developed in an ongoing collaborative effort by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the University of South Carolina (USC). To detect the presence of corrosion and cracking, data is collected from large binary files generated by a Laser Confocal Microscope (LCM) or Wide Area 3D Measurement System (WAMS). Software is being developed to use the physical attributes in the data files (e.g., height, color, and grayscale values; all as functions of a location in a plane projection) to detect the presence of surface corrosion and cracking. A user-friendly Matlab Graphical User Interface (GUI) that reads data from either LCM or WAMS files was developed to integrate input data with software developed for processing and evaluation. The GUI can selectively download binary data, interrogate data attributes, label data for training ML algorithms, flag significant features, execute Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, output parameters from trained ML algorithms, report ML model accuracy with respect to labeled data, and generate graphical representations for various analyses. Surface defects can be called out by setting user-specified thresholds, feature based analysis or machine learning algorithms. Enhancements to data labeling capability have been developed to address this essential precursor to application of ML routines. Efficient labeling is particularly important in view of the very large volume of data required to train ML algorithms.

3013 Corrosion↗
DOE OSTI2022

Light Water Reactor Sustainability: Program Materials Research Pathway (FY22 Technical Program Plan)

The Materials Research (MR) Pathway within the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is charged with performing R&D to develop the scientific basis for understanding and predicting the long-term environmental degradation behavior of materials in nuclear reactors. Furthermore, the mechanistic understanding of degradation phenomena in materials must be leveraged to develop mitigation and repair strategies and new material alternatives for existing components. This research will provide data and methods to assess the performance of systems, structures, and components essential to safe and sustained reactor operations. The R&D products developed from the LWRS program will be used by stakeholders—including utilities, industry groups, and regulators—to inform operational and regulatory requirements for materials in reactor systems, structures, and components subjected to long-term operation conditions, providing key inputs to regulators and industry. Therefore, the intent of this research is to provide options to reduce the operating costs, which may be in the form of offset maintenance costs due to better predictive models for component lifetimes, improved analyses of materials through nondestructive evaluation, reduced costs for repairs, or extended performance of plants through the selection of improved replacement materials. To provide the best options, industry experience and guidance are important because of their role in coordinated or collaborative research projects. The objectives of this report are to describe the motivation and organization of the MR Pathway within the LWRS program; provide details on the individual research tasks within the MR Pathway; describe the outcomes and deliverables of the MR Pathway, including recent technical highlights and progress; and describe the requirements for performing this critically important research.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗