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NASA NTRS1992

Regenerative Life Support Systems Test Bed performance - Lettuce crop characterization

Two crops of lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Waldmann's Green) were grown in the Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) Test Bed at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The RLSS Test Bed is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility for the evaluation of regenerative life support systems using higher plants. The chamber encloses 10.6 m 2 of growth area under cool-white fluorescent lamps. Lettuce was double seeded in 480 pots, each containing about 250 cm 3 of calcined-clay substrate. Each pot was irrigated with half-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution at an average total applied amount of 2.5 and 1.8 liters pot -1 , respectively, over each of the two 30-day crop tests. Average environmental and cultural conditions during both tests were 23°C air temperature, 72% relative humidity, 1000 ppm carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), 16h light/8h dark photoperiod, and 356 μmol m -2 s -1 photosynthetic photon flux. After 30 days from seeding, average yield (g pot -1 ) for the first and second crop tests were 72 and 49 edible (shoot) fresh mass, 3.65 and 2.56 edible dry mass, and 0.44 and 0.45 inedible (root) dry mass, respectively. Averaging over both crop tests, the test bed met the requirements of 2.1 person-days of oxygen production, 2.4 person days of CO 2 removal and 129 person days of potential potable water production. The satisfactory growth of both crops demonstrates the potential of lettuce for air revitalization and water production in a controlled ecological life support system. Differences in crop performance resulting from engineering system effects provides evidence of the resilience of biological systems.

Life support systems↗

DOE OSTI2024

Radiological Impact of 2023 Operations at the Savannah River Site

This report presents the environmental dose assessment methods and the estimated potential doses to the public from 2023 Savannah River Site (SRS) air and liquid radioactive releases. Also documented are potential doses from special-case exposure scenarios, such as the consumption of wildlife or goat milk. Dose to the Offsite Representative Person The 2023 dose to the offsite representative person from SRS liquid releases was 0.14 mrem and from SRS air releases it was 0.016 mrem. To show compliance with the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) all pathway dose standard of 100 mrem/yr, SRS conservatively adds these two doses for a total representative person dose of 0.16 mrem which is 0.16% of the DOE standard. Sportsman Doses Onsite Hunter: SRS conducts annual hunts to control onsite deer and feral hog populations. The estimated dose from consuming harvested deer or hog meat is determined for every onsite hunter. During 2023, the maximum potential dose an onsite hunter received was 9.42 mrem, or 9.42% of DOE’s 100 mrem/yr all pathway dose standard. Creek Mouth Fisherman: SRS estimated the maximum potential dose from fish consumption at 0.17 mrem from bass collected at the mouth of Lower Three Runs. This dose is 0.17% of the DOE standard. SRS bases this hypothetical dose on the low probability scenario that, during 2023, a fisherman consumed 24 kg (53 lbs) of bass caught exclusively from the mouth of Lower Three Runs. Release of Material Containing Residual Radioactivity SRS did not release any real property (land or buildings) in 2023. SRS unconditionally released a total of 13,324 items of personal property (such as tools) from radiological areas in 2023. Most of these items did not leave the Site. However, all of these items required no additional radiological controls post-survey as they met DOE Order 458.1 release criteria. Radiation Dose to Aquatic and Terrestrial Biota SRS conducts screening evaluations of plant and animal doses for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. For 2023, all SRS aquatic system locations passed the initial (Level 1) screenings and no further assessments were required at those locations. For the land-based systems evaluation, SRS performed initial screenings using concentration data from the five onsite radiological soil sampling locations. Typically, SRS collects and analyzes only one soil sample per year from each location. For 2023, all land-based locations passed their initial (Level 1) pathway screenings.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Habitation Development Status: Current Concepts and ISRU Opportunities

Introduction: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is embarking on a bold journey to return humankind to the Moon and onward to Mars with innovative commercial, international, and academic partnerships. Under the Artemis series of missions, NASA seeks to establish sustained human exploration of deep space through an objectives-based approach. This approach drives the identification of needed system functionality and the current and future capabilities which will eventually allow humanity to sustainably live beyond Earth. Providing evolvable and scalable habitation is a cornerstone function that calls for the collection and integration of current, developmental, and future technologies that can meet near-term exploration needs while growing into long-term sustained presence. NASA is advancing in-space habitation through its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) model while designing lunar, Mars transit, and Mars surface habitat government reference concepts for Artemis missions. These efforts have unveiled possible near-term opportunities for the in-space resource utilization community if human habitation is considered a future customer of space resources. NextSTEP Habitation Development: NASA is closely working with commercial partners under its NextSTEP Appendix A model to advance habitation systems in the arena of inflatable and composite habitation structures. Such efforts promise efficiencies in volumetric packaging and overall spacecraft mass respectively. Recent testing by commercial partners have helped to quantify possible failure mechanisms for inflatable structures while advancing their technology towards eventual flight certification. The advancement of such Class II habitation structures, in which the habitat is only fully deployed once in-space or on a planetary surface, is critical to providing increased habitable volume for long-duration missions with no additional mass penalties. The progression of such technology is infused into NASA’s government reference concepts for notional deep space habitation concepts. Current Government Reference Concepts: To best inform the formulation of future collaborative solicitations, NASA employs the practice of internally developing reference concepts for future exploration elements. These concepts aid in identifying the functions and capabilities needed to complete NASA missions as well as feasible solutions within the timeframe needed. Government reference concepts for a lunar Surface Habitat, Mars Transit Habitat, and Mars Sur-face Habitat are continuously being developed and updated to better guide the Agency’s overall exploration architecture. Lunar Surface Habitat. As NASA returns to the Moon, it is evaluating possible lunar surface habitation concepts. The Surface Habitat (SH) reference concept entails a hybrid metallic-inflatable structure capable of initially housing two crew for surface stays of up to 30 days in duration. While initial missions may span ~7 days in duration, consideration is being given to expanding SH’s capability to support a crew of four for up to 60 days over its 15-year design life. Functionally, the SH serves as a ‘hub’ for all Artemis crewed surface operations, providing internal volume for maintenance, medical, logistics, science utilization, and extravehicular activity (EVA) support in addition to core habitation functionality such as environmental control and life support (ECLS) and power generation and distribution among many others. Additionally, NASA has entered a study agreement with the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana – ASI) to investigation a possible Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH) as an additional or augmenting habit-able element for the lunar surface. Mars Transit Habitat. NASA’s current architectural concept for initial human missions to Mars entails the utilization of a transit habitat (TH) to transport a four-person crew to and from Mars orbit, departing from and returning to a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), over the course of a ~1,200-day mission. While holding a similar 15-year design lifetime, TH will also support a series of analog mission activities in NRHO to gradually test the systems and interaction with lunar surface elements, some of which may be adapted for Mars surface exploration. Holding similar functional capabilities as SH, TH is sized to support much longer durations in space and greater logistical independence. Mars Surface Habitat. NASA is still exploring the concept of operations for initial crewed missions to Mars. As such, the Mars Surface Habitat (MSH) concept is still in its infancy as options for mobile, pressurized habitation and stationary habitats are being explored. It is expected MSH will leverage heavily from the lunar SH and possible lunar pressurized rover, however the very different Martian environment will likely necessitate modifications. ISRU Opportunities: Despite the advancements under NASA’s NextSTEP habitation work and continually optimized reference concepts, NASA is facing near-term mass and power challenges that may create opportunities to the ISRU community by providing yet another possible customer for space resources. While NASA desires to use regenerative ECLS systems (ECLSS) for all habitation concepts, their operation comes with initial mass penalties and maintenance overheads when compared to simpler open-loop architectures. Because of this, NASA is currently pro-posing an open-loop, consumables-based architecture for its surface habitats to achieve initial launch and delivery lander mass targets while scarring for the in-corporation of regenerative ECLSS to meet longer mission durations and sustained presence. With such an architecture, oxygen and potable water are needed consumables, which initial ISRU systems may be able to provide in a pilot capacity. Although the TH is expecting to utilize regenerative ECLSS, advancements in lunar surface-based ISRU and possible re-supply of spacecraft in lunar or Mars orbit could significantly reduce the logistical need for ECLSS related spares on TH and possibly allow a similar open-loop and consumables-based architecture. In addition to ECLSS mass concerns, the SH is facing challenges with energy storage to support operations over periods of darkness exceeding 100 hours. Both battery and fuel cell-based power architectures are being traded, opening options for external power generation and energy storage. One possibility is ISRU-produced H2 and O2 feeding external primary fuel cell systems which could supplement habitation power generation while reducing initial mass and volume until much more powerful fission power systems might be deployed. Conclusion: Significant advancements are being made in evolvable habitation concepts that span from near-term technologies, such as inflatable structures under NextSTEP, to potentially revolutionary capabilities like the lunar surface construction as funded through the Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project. As NASA investigates both heritage capabilities and rap-idly advancing, disruptive technologies, there are likely many near-term opportunities for initial ISRU capabilities to significantly aid human habitation and increase self-sufficiency beyond Earth.

habitation↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Habitation Development Status: Current Concepts and ISRU Opportunities

Introduction: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is embarking on a bold journey to return humankind to the Moon and onward to Mars with innovative commercial, international, and academic partnerships [1]. Under the Artemis series of missions, NASA seeks to establish sustained human exploration of deep space through an objectives-based approach [2]. This approach drives the identification of needed system functionality and the current and future capabilities which will eventually allow humanity to sustainably live beyond Earth. Providing evolvable and scalable habitation is a cornerstone function that calls for the collection and integration of current, developmental, and future technologies that can meet near-term exploration needs while growing into long-term sustained presence. NASA is advancing in-space habitation through its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) model while designing lunar, Mars transit, and Mars surface habitat government reference concepts for Artemis missions. These efforts have unveiled possible near-term opportunities for the in-space resource utilization community if human habitation is considered a future customer of space resources. NextSTEP Habitation Development: NASA is closely working with commercial partners under its NextSTEP Appendix A model to advance habitation systems in the arena of inflatable and composite habitation structures. Such efforts promise efficiencies in volumetric packaging and overall spacecraft mass respectively. Recent testing by commercial partners have helped to quantify possible failure mechanisms for inflatable structures while advancing their technology towards eventual flight certification. The advancement of such Class II habitation structures, in which the habitat is only fully deployed once in-space or on a planetary surface [3], is critical to providing increased habitable volume for long-duration missions with no additional mass penalties. The progression of such technology is infused into NASA’s government reference concepts for notional deep space habitation concepts. Current Government Reference Concepts: To best inform the formulation of future collaborative solicitations, NASA employs the practice of internally developing reference concepts for future exploration elements. These concepts aid in identifying the functions and capabilities needed to complete NASA missions as well as feasible solutions within the timeframe needed. Government reference concepts for a lunar Surface Habitat, Mars Transit Habitat, and Mars Sur-face Habitat are continuously being developed and updated to better guide the Agency’s overall exploration architecture. Lunar Surface Habitat. As NASA returns to the Moon, it is evaluating possible lunar surface habitation concepts. The Surface Habitat (SH) reference concept entails a hybrid metallic-inflatable structure capable of initially housing two crew for surface stays of up to 30 days in duration [4]. While initial missions may span ~7 days in duration, consideration is being given to expanding SH’s capability to support a crew of four for up to 60 days over its 15-year design life [5]. Functionally, the SH serves as a ‘hub’ for all Artemis crewed surface operations, providing internal volume for maintenance, medical, logistics, science utilization, and extravehicular activity (EVA) support in addition to core habitation functionality such as environmental control and life support (ECLS) and power generation and distribution among many others. Additionally, NASA has entered a study agreement with the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana – ASI) to investigation a possible Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH) as an additional or augmenting habit-able element for the lunar surface [6]. Mars Transit Habitat. NASA’s current architectural concept for initial human missions to Mars entails the utilization of a transit habitat (TH) to transport a four-person crew to and from Mars orbit, departing from and returning to a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), over the course of a ~1,200-day mission [5]. While holding a similar 15-year design lifetime, TH will also support a series of analog mission activities in NRHO to gradually test the systems and interaction with lunar surface elements, some of which may be adapted for Mars surface exploration. Holding similar functional capabilities as SH, TH is sized to support much longer durations in space and greater logistical independence. Mars Surface Habitat. NASA is still exploring the concept of operations for initial crewed missions to Mars. As such, the Mars Surface Habitat (MSH) concept is still in its infancy as options for mobile, pressurized habitation and stationary habitats are being explored. It is expected MSH will leverage heavily from the lunar SH and possible lunar pressurized rover, however the very different Martian environment will likely necessitate modifications. ISRU Opportunities: Despite the advancements under NASA’s NextSTEP habitation work and continually optimized reference concepts, NASA is facing near-term mass and power challenges that may create opportunities to the ISRU community by providing yet another possible customer for space resources. While NASA desires to use regenerative ECLS systems (ECLSS) for all habitation concepts, their operation comes with initial mass penalties and maintenance overheads when compared to simpler open-loop architectures. Because of this, NASA is currently pro-posing an open-loop, consumables-based architecture for its surface habitats to achieve initial launch and delivery lander mass targets while scarring for the in-corporation of regenerative ECLSS to meet longer mission durations and sustained presence. With such an architecture, oxygen and potable water are needed consumables, which initial ISRU systems may be able to provide in a pilot capacity. Although the TH is expecting to utilize regenerative ECLSS, advancements in lunar surface-based ISRU and possible re-supply of spacecraft in lunar or Mars orbit could significantly reduce the logistical need for ECLSS related spares on TH and possibly allow a similar open-loop and consumables-based architecture. Table 1 Notional ECLSS consumables per mission use for SH and TH [5]. SH (28-day) Open Loop: Water (kg) 288 | Oxygen (kg) 30 TH (1110-day) Closed-Loop: Water (kg) 182 | Oxygen (kg) 123 In addition to ECLSS mass concerns, the SH is facing challenges with energy storage to support operations over periods of darkness exceeding 100 hours. Both battery and fuel cell-based power architectures are being traded, opening options for external power generation and energy storage. One possibility is ISRU-produced H2 and O2 feeding external primary fuel cell systems which could supplement habitation power generation while reducing initial mass and volume until much more powerful fission power systems might be deployed. Conclusion: Significant advancements are being made in evolvable habitation concepts that span from near-term technologies, such as inflatable structures under NextSTEP, to potentially revolutionary capabilities like the lunar surface construction as funded through the Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project [7]. As NASA investigates both heritage capabilities and rap-idly advancing, disruptive technologies, there are likely many near-term opportunities for initial ISRU capabilities to significantly aid human habitation and increase self-sufficiency beyond Earth.

habitation↗

DOE OSTI2024

High‐Resolution Direct Push NMR Tools for Groundwater Investigations

Abstract A small‐diameter nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology optimized for use with direct push (DP) and cone penetrometer test (CPT) drilling has been developed. The DP NMR tool can be deployed through 2.25‐in. diameter DP and CPT drilling rods allowing high‐resolution NMR logging measurements to be acquired during retraction of drill rods. DP NMR technology runs from a person‐portable battery‐powered control unit and provides significantly higher resolution in both the spatial (vertical) dimension and in the time domain of the NMR measurement than previously available NMR technology. In this study, we summarize the development of two different DP NMR tools and demonstrate their application at different sites within the United States. We believe that this technology can provide a leap forward in adoption of NMR technology for high‐resolution hydrological and geophysical investigations in groundwater resources and environmental remediation applications.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Residential electricity conservation in response to auto-generated, multi-featured, personalized eco-feedback designed for large scale applications with utilities

While past research has shown that providing residents with feedback about their electricity usage can reduce demand and its associated environmental burdens, some questions remain regarding what makes such feedback most effective. We followed the electricity usage of 36 residents who each received 14 feedback messages over 2 months. Using approaches borrowed from Natural-Language-Processing, feedbacks were generated automatically, using 10 features in random combinations. Unlike in previous studies, each resident received varying types of messages over time. In 504 observations, the average prompted reduction in electricity usage was 11 ± 3%, compared to a control group of 89 residents who received no messages. Feedback types prompting the largest reductions were self-comparisons with one’s own earlier usage (average reduction 14%) and messages of high variety from one feedback-cycle to the next (average reduction 16%). Comparisons with neighbors did not prompt higher reductions on average. Instead, they prompted reductions only when a resident’s recent usage happened to be higher than the average usage of neighbors, and increases when the reverse was true. Finally, this behavior was exhibited by all residents and is likely explained by a norm-conforming mean reversion of residents to their neighbors’ average usage, rather than an anti-conform “boomerang” behavior previously suggested in similar contexts.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Extending the Brick schema to represent metadata of occupants

Here, energy-related behaviors of occupants constitute a key factor influencing building performance; accordingly, the measured occupant data can support the objective assessment of the indoor environment and energy performance of buildings, which can inform building design and operational decisions. Existing data schemas focus on metadata of sensors, meters, physical equipment, and IoT devices in buildings; however, they are limited in representing the metadata of occupant data, including occupants' presence in spaces, movement between spaces, interactions with building systems or IoT devices, and preference of indoor environmental needs. To address this gap, an extension to the widely adopted metadata schema, Brick, is proposed to represent the contextual, behavioral, and demographic information of occupants. The proposed extension includes four parts: (1) a new “Occupant” class to represent occupants' demography and energy related behavioral patterns, (2) new subclasses under the Equipment class to represent envelope system and personal thermal comfort devices, (3) new subclasses under the Point class to represent occupant sensing and status, and (4) new auxiliary properties for occupant interactable equipment to represent the level of controllability for each piece of equipment by occupants. The extension is implemented in the Brick schema and has been tested using multiple occupant datasets from the ASHRAE Global Occupant Database. The extension enables Brick schema to capture diverse types of occupant sensing data and their metadata for FAIR data research and applications.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS2011

Spacecraft Conceptual Design Compared to the Apollo Lunar Lander

Future human exploration of the Moon will require an optimized spacecraft design with each sub-system achieving the required minimum capability and maintaining high reliability. The objective of this study was to trade capability with reliability and minimize mass for the lunar lander spacecraft. The NASA parametric concept for a 3-person vehicle to the lunar surface with a 30% mass margin totaled was considerably heavier than the Apollo 15 Lunar Module "as flown" mass of 16.4 metric tons. The additional mass was attributed to mission requirements and system design choices that were made to meet the realities of modern spaceflight. The parametric tool used to size the current concept, Envision, accounts for primary and secondary mass requirements. For example, adding an astronaut increases the mass requirements for suits, water, food, oxygen, as well as, the increase in volume. The environmental control sub-systems becomes heavier with the increased requirements and more structure was needed to support the additional mass. There was also an increase in propellant usage. For comparison, an "Apollo-like" vehicle was created by removing these additional requirements. Utilizing the Envision parametric mass calculation tool and a quantitative reliability estimation tool designed by Valador Inc., it was determined that with today?s current technology a Lunar Module (LM) with Apollo capability could be built with less mass and similar reliability. The reliability of this new lander was compared to Apollo Lunar Module utilizing the same methodology, adjusting for mission timeline changes as well as component differences. Interestingly, the parametric concept's overall estimated risk for loss of mission (LOM) and loss of crew (LOC) did not significantly improve when compared to Apollo.

Young, C.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Report on the Atmospheric Temperature Changes and their Drivers (ATC) Activity 2025 Spring Meeting

The Atmospheric Temperature Change and their Drivers (ATC) Activity brings together experts interested in improving understanding of atmospheric temperature variability and trends and their representation in climate data records. ATC pursues this goal by fostering intercomparisons of atmospheric temperature datasets, providing and improving uncertainty information for climate data records, comparing observations with model simulations, assessing atmospheric temperature trends and their drivers, and documenting their efforts in review papers and assessment reports. The ATC activity convened at the Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change at the University of Graz in Graz, Austria over April 23 – 25. The purpose of the meeting was to provide updates on research and datasets related to atmospheric temperature change and variability, to identify areas that need further research, and to coordinate ongoing and future collaborations. Meeting themes included theoretical and simulated controls on atmospheric temperature, the development of new and improved atmospheric temperature datasets, and analysis of atmospheric temperature variability and trends. 18 activity members attended the meeting including 12 in-person attendees and 6 remote attendees. Four new early career activity members attended with support from APARC.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1999

Engineered Solutions to Reduce Occupational Noise Exposure at the NASA Glenn Research Center: A Five-Year Progress Summary (1994-1999)

At the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field (formerly the Lewis Research Center), experimental research in aircraft and space propulsion systems is conducted in more than 100 test cells and laboratories. These facilities are supported by a central process air system that supplies high-volume, high-pressure compressed air and vacuum at various conditions that simulate altitude flight. Nearly 100,000 square feet of metalworking and specialized fabrication shops located on-site produce prototypes, models, and test hardware in support of experimental research operations. These activities, comprising numerous individual noise sources and operational scenarios, result in a varied and complex noise exposure environment, which is the responsibility of the Glenn Research Center Noise Exposure Management Program. Hearing conservation, community noise complaint response and noise control engineering services are included under the umbrella of this Program, which encompasses the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard on occupational noise exposure, Sec. 29CFR 1910.95, as well as the more stringent NASA Health Standard on Hearing Conservation. Prior to 1994, in the absence of feasible engineering controls, strong emphasis had been placed on personal hearing protection as the primary mechanism for assuring compliance with Sec. 29CFR 1910.95 as well as NASA's more conservative policy, which prohibits unprotected exposure to noise levels above 85 dB(A). Center policy and prudent engineering practice required, however, that these efforts be extended to engineered noise controls in order to bring existing work areas into compliance with Sec. 29CFR 1910.95 and NASA's own policies and to ensure compliance for new installations. Coincident with the establishment in 1995 of a NASA wide multi-year commitment of funding for environmental abatement projects, the Noise Exposure Management Program was established, with its focus on engineering approaches to reducing occupational and community noise exposure. The organization and mission of this Program were documented shortly after its inception, and individual programmatic components have been the subject of subsequent papers. This paper summarizes the status and accomplishments of the engineering aspects of the Program from a five-year retrospective viewpoint and includes a review of retrofit noise control solution strategies, which have not been previously documented.

Cooper, Beth A.↗

DOE OSTI1991

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 32, No. 4, October-December 1991]

Nuclear Safety is a review journal that covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. Its scope includes the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, the safety aspects of the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 477 Report on the International Symposium on the Use of Probabilistic Safety Assessment for Operational Safety—PSA '91, S. Chakraborty and M. Khatib-Rahbar; 488 Good Relationships Are Pivotal in Nuclear Data Bases, A. S. Heger and B. V. Koen; 494 Technical Note: The Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel's Evaluation of the Ulysses Space Mission, J. A. Sholtis, Jr., D. A. Huff, L. B. Gray, N. P. Klug, and R. O. Winchester; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 502 The Severe Accident Analysis Program for the Savannah River Nuclear Production Reactors, M. L. Hyder; CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION: 511 A Framework for Selecting Suitable Control Technologies for Nuclear Power Plant Systems, R. A. Kisner; DESIGN FEATURES: 521 Containments for Gas-Cooled Power Reactors History and Status, P.W. Williams; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: 537 Indoor Radon: A Natural Risk, N. H. Harley and J.H. Harley; On the Importance of the Atmospheric Parameters in the Fission Products Distribution of a Severe Reactor Accident, M. C. Barla and A. R. Bayulken; Book Review: Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation BEIR V, C. R. Richmond; WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT: 555 Activities Related to Waste and Spent Fuel Management, M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 567 Effects of Component Aging on the Westhinghouse Control Rod Drive System, K. Sullivan and W. Gunther; 577 Reactor Shutdown Experience, Compiled by J. W. Cletcher, 580 Selected Safety-Related Events, Compiled by G. A. Murphy; 582 Operating U 8 Power Reactors, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver, RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 596 General Administrative Activities, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver; 610 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides, D. S. Queener; 614 Proposed Rule Changes as of June 30, 1991; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 520 Workshop on PC PRAISE: A Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics Personal Computer Code for Nuclear Power Plant Piping Reliability Assessment; 536 Fifth Workshop on Nuclear Power Plant Containment Integrity; 624 New OECD "International Information System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE)"; 625 Harvard School of Public Health Announces Short Courses; 625 Eighth Power Plant Dynamics, Control and Testing Symposium; 626 Second Training Course on Off-Site Emergency Planning and Response for Nuclear Accidents; 618 The Authors; 622 Reviewers of Nuclear Safety, Vol 32.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

NASA NTRS2007

The Use of GIS and Remotely Sensed Data in Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT): The HELIX-Atlanta Experience

As part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN), the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is leading a project in collaboration with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC) called Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX-Atlanta). HELIX-Atlanta's goal is to examine the feasibility of building an integrated electronic health and environmental data network in five counties of metropolitan Atlanta, GA. Under HELIX-Atlanta, pilot projects are being conducted to develop methods to characterize exposure; link health and environmental data; analyze the relationship between health and environmental factors; and communicate findings. There is evidence in the research literature that asthmatic persons are at increased risk of developing asthma exacerbations with exposure to environmental factors, including PM(sub 2.5). Thus, HELIX-Atlanta is focusing on methods for characterizing population exposure to PM(sub 2.5) for the Atlanta metropolitan area that could be used in ongoing surveillance. NASA/MSFC is working with CDC to combine NASA earth science satellite observations related to air quality and environmental monitoring data to model surface estimates of fine particulate matter (PM(sub 2.5)) concentrations in a Geographic Information System (GIS) that can be linked with clinic visits for asthma on the aggregated grid level as well as the individual level at the geographic locations of the patients' residences.

Al-Hamdan, Mohammad Z.↗

DOE OSTI2021

WHISPER: Wireless Home Identification and Sensing Platform for Energy Reduction

Many regions of the world benefit from heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to provide productive, comfortable, and healthy indoor environments, which are enabled by automatic building controls. Due to climate change, population growth, and industrialization, HVAC use is globally on the rise. Unfortunately, these systems often operate in a continuous fashion without regard to actual human presence, leading to unnecessary energy consumption. As a result, the heating, ventilation, and cooling of unoccupied building spaces makes a substantial contribution to the harmful environmental impacts associated with carbon-based electric power generation, which is important to remedy. For our modern electric power system, transitioning to low-carbon renewable energy is facilitated by integration with distributed energy resources. Automatic engagement between the grid and consumers will be necessary to enable a clean yet stable electric grid, when integrating these variable and uncertain renewable energy sources. We present the WHISPER (Wireless Home Identification and Sensing Platform for Energy Reduction) system to address the energy and power demand triggered by human presence in homes. The presented system includes a maintenance-free and privacy-preserving human occupancy detection system wherein a local wireless network of battery-free environmental, acoustic energy, and image sensors are deployed to monitor homes, record empirical data for a range of monitored modalities, and transmit it to a base station. Several machine learning algorithms are implemented at the base station to infer human presence based on the received data, harnessing a hierarchical sensor fusion algorithm. Results from the prototype system demonstrate an accuracy in human presence detection in excess of 95%; ongoing commercialization efforts suggest approximately 99% accuracy. Using machine learning, WHISPER enables various applications based on its binary occupancy prediction, allowing situation-specific controls targeted at both personalized smart home and electric grid modernization opportunities.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS1987

A natural-language interface to a mobile robot

The present work on robot instructability is based on an ongoing effort to apply modern manipulation technology to serve the needs of the handicapped. The Stanford/VA Robotic Aid is a mobile manipulation system that is being developed to assist severely disabled persons (quadriplegics) in performing simple activities of everyday living in a homelike, unstructured environment. It consists of two major components: a nine degree-of-freedom manipulator and a stationary control console. In the work presented here, only the motions of the Robotic Aid's omnidirectional motion base have been considered, i.e., the six degrees of freedom of the arm and gripper have been ignored. The goal has been to develop some basic software tools for commanding the robot's motions in an enclosed room containing a few objects such as tables, chairs, and rugs. In the present work, the environmental model takes the form of a two-dimensional map with objects represented by polygons. Admittedly, such a highly simplified scheme bears little resemblance to the elaborate cognitive models of reality that are used in normal human discourse. In particular, the polygonal model is given a priori and does not contain any perceptual elements: there is no polygon sensor on board the mobile robot.

Michalowski, S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Single launch lunar habitat derived from an NSTS external tank

A concept for using the spent external tank from a National Space Transportation System (NSTS) to derive a lunar habitat is described. The external tank is carried into low Earth orbit where the oxygen tank-intertank subassembly is separated from the hydrogen tank, berthed to Space Station Freedom and the subassembly outfitted as a 12-person lunar habitat using extravehicular activity (EVA) and intravehicular activity (IVA). A single launch of the NSTS orbiter can place the external tank in LEO, provide orbiter astronauts for disassembly of the external tank, and transport the required subsystem hardware for outfitting the lunar habitat. An estimate of the astronauts' EVA and IVA is provided. The liquid oxygen intertank modifications utilize existing structures and openings for man access without compromising the structural integrity of the tank. The modifications include installation of living quarters, instrumentation, and an airlock. Feasibility studies of the following additional systems include micrometeoroid and radiation protection, thermal control, environmental control and life support, and propulsion. The converted lunar habitat is designed for unmanned transport and autonomous soft landing on the lunar surface without need for site preparation. Lunar regolith is used to fill the micrometeoroid shield volume for radiation protection using a conveyer. The lunar habitat concept is considered to be feasible by the year 2000 with the concurrent development of a space transfer vehicle and a lunar lander for crew changeover and resupply.

King, Charles B.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Carbon Nanotube Electrode Arrays For Enhanced Chemical and Biological Sensing

Applications of carbon nanotubes for ultra-sensitive electrical sensing of chemical and biological species have been a major focus in NASA Ames Center for Nanotechnology. Great progress has been made toward controlled growth and chemical functionalization of vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays and integration into micro-fabricated chip devices. Carbon nanotube electrode arrays devices have been used for sub-attomole detection of DNA molecules. Interdigitated carbon nanotubes arrays devices have been applied to sub ppb (part per billion) level chemical sensing for many molecules at room temperature. Stability and reliability have also been addressed in our device development. These results show order of magnitude improvement in device performance, size and power consumption as compared to micro devices, promising applications of carbon nanotube electrode arrays for clinical molecular diagnostics, personal medical testing and monitoring, and environmental monitoring.

Han, Jie↗

DOE OSTI2024

Investigation of Ammonia Carrier Materials for Next Generation Ammonia Dosing System - CRADA 334 (Abstract)

Lean-burn gasoline and diesel engines can offer substantially higher fuel efficiency, good driving performance, and reduced carbon dioxide emission compared to stoichiometric gasoline engines. Various catalyst technologies have been developed to remove the pollutants from these engines. For example, a three-way catalyst (TWC) is used to remove hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from gasoline engines during the stoichiometric conditions. During the lean-burn conditions, a TWC or a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) is used to control HC and CO emissions. NOx is removed by either lean NOx trap catalyst (LNT) that can store NOx under lean conditions and reduce NOx under rich conditions, or selective catalytic reduction catalyst (SCR) that can selectively remove NOx with a reducing agent. Among the NOx reduction catalyst technologies, SCR offers a number of advantages, including excellent NOx reduction efficiency over a wide range of temperatures and overall lower system cost. In fact, the SCR technology using ammonia (NH3) as reductant has been proven effective and used commercially for the removal of NOx emissions from stationary sources since the 1970s. Currently, SCR is being used to meet the NOx emission standards for diesel engines in Europe and North America, and also being considered for meeting the future NOx emission standards for lean-burn gasoline engines. Because of the challenges associated with storage, handling and transportation of ammonia on a vehicle, aqueous urea solution (e.g., Diesel Exhaust Fluid, AdBlue) has been developed as ammonia storage compound for mobile applications. When the aqueous urea solution is sprayed into exhaust gas stream, urea is decomposed to release ammonia, which then reduces NOx over the downstream SCR catalyst. Although aqueous urea solution technology has enabled automakers and engine manufacturers to meet the current NOx emission standards, this process of releasing ammonia requires a hot exhaust gas and sufficient mixing, creating challenges for low temperature NOx emission control and aftertreatment system packaging. For these reasons, alternative technologies have been developed as ammonia sources (e.g., solid urea, ammonium carbamate, metal ammine chloride) during the past few years. These technologies promise more convenient handling and distribution of ammonia sources, and help maximize the low-temperature performance of SCR catalysts and reduce the overall system volume and weight. However, none of these alternative technologies can be successfully implemented without the industry consensus. Therefore, the USCAR SCR work group, which is comprised of representatives from GM, Ford, and Chrysler, has decided to investigate the potential alternative ammonia carriers, define common standard vehicle interfaces, and address personal and environmental safety concerns with part suppliers and chemical companies. Under this CRADA Project, USCAR and Battelle will investigate alternative ammonia carrier materials that are currently under development. Based on the data and information derived under the CRADA project, the USCAR SCR work group plans to build the consensus and make recommendations for the industry.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

Investigation of Ammonia Carrier Materials for Next Generation Ammonia Dosing System - CRADA 334 (Abstract)

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗