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DOE OSTI2018

Scaling Studies for Advanced High Temperature Reactor Concepts, Final Technical Report: October 2014—December 2017

Computer simulations of nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulic phenomena are often used in the design and licensing of nuclear reactor systems. In order to assess the accuracy of these computer simulations, computer codes and methods are often validated against experimental data. This experimental data must be of sufficiently high quality in order to conduct a robust validation exercise. In addition, this experimental data is generally collected at experimental facilities that are of a smaller scale than the reactor systems that are being simulated due to cost considerations. Therefore, smaller scale test facilities must be designed and constructed in such a fashion to ensure that the prototypical behavior of a particular nuclear reactor system is preserved. The work completed through this project has resulted in scaling analyses and conceptual design development for a test facility capable of collecting code validation data for the following high temperature gas reactor systems and events— 1. Passive natural circulation core cooling system, 2. pebble bed gas reactor concept, 3. General Atomics Energy Multiplier Module reactor, and 4. prismatic block design steam-water ingress event. In the event that code validation data for these systems or events is needed in the future, significant progress in the design of an appropriate integral-type test facility has already been completed as a result of this project. Where applicable, the next step would be to begin the detailed design development and material procurement. As part of this project applicable scaling analyses were completed and test facility design requirements developed. Conceptual designs were developed for the implementation of these design requirements at the Oregon State University (OSU) High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF). The original HTTF is based on a ¼-scale model of a high temperature gas reactor concept with the capability for both forced and natural circulation flow through a prismatic core with an electrical heat source. The peak core region temperature capability is 1400°C. As part of this project, an inventory of test facilities that could be used for these experimental programs was completed. Several of these facilities showed some promise, however, upon further investigation it became clear that only the OSU HTTF had the power and/or peak temperature limits that would allow for the experimental programs envisioned herein. Thus the conceptual design and feasibility study development focused on examining the feasibility of configuring the current HTTF to collect validation data for these experimental programs. In addition to the scaling analyses and conceptual design development, a test plan was developed for the envisioned modified test facility. This test plan included a discussion on an appropriate shakedown test program as well as the specific matrix tests. Finally, a feasibility study was completed to determine the cost and schedule considerations that would be important to any test program developed to investigate these designs and events.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Domain Specific Language Support for Exascale Application Development

The University of Oregon has produced a Fortran parser based on an SDF (Syntax Definition Formalism) grammar. Primary partners in this effort were Rice University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The developed Fortran parser incorporates the full Fortran 2008 standard with extensions from the more recent document, TS 29113, “Further Interoperability of Fortran with C,” (to be included in the Fortran 2018 standard). In the final year of the project, the Fortran parser was updated to comply with the complete 2018 standard, as specified in the ISO/IEC document, JTC 1/SC 22/WG 5/N2146. The research explored in this project provided the expression of the Fortran grammar in SDF form for integration with the Rosebud DSL framework developed by Rice University. The Rosebud framework is a cohesive interface allowing modular DSL plugins to be developed independently and then distributed and combined in HPC applications. These plugins implement a form of generalized DSL which includes both concrete languages used to write application source code and abstract languages used within the compilation process. ROSE’s predefined DSL Building Blocks (for example the Fortran base language) are represented as abstract language plugins and DSL developers can use Rosebud to construct additional building blocks in the same way.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

XPRESS: eXascale PRogramming Environment and System Software, Final Report

The University of Oregon (UO) was a partner in the XPRESS project together with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Indiana University (IU), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL), Louisiana State University (LSU), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), University of Houston (UH), and University of North Carolina (RENCI). UO's objective in the project was to develop "APEX (Asynchronous Performance Environment for eXascale)": performance measurement, analysis, feedback and control infrastructure to asynchronous tasking runtimes, specifically HPX (LSU) and HPX-5 (IU). During the project period, our efforts focused on the need to measure complex tasking models where the traditional instrumentation methods would not work due to an absent/meaningless call-path context and runtime control of task pre-emption and resumption, usually on a different operating system thread. In addition to the challenges of performance measurement, we developed a framework to provide information from all levels of the stack (hardware, operating system, runtime, application) to a feedback & control mechanism for controlling concurrency, task granularity, networking parameters, and other aspects of execution in order to improve execution performance, throughput and/or efficiency. UO demonstrated these developments on leading edge HPC machines at large scale, including a 2017 Gordon Bell submission in which APEX was used to optimize key bottlenecks in an astrophysics application. The following final report summarizes our accomplishments during the XPRESS project.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Creep Analysis of Poly(ester urethane) Copolymer by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA): Melt Determination

An experiment is presented utilizing film tension, creep test dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) to characterize the physical properties of a poly(ester urethane) block copolymer, Estane ® 5703. The polymer was pressed into a sheet from pellet form and cut into strips for analysis utilizing the TA Q800 DMA with film tension clamp. The strips were tested under five constant stress analyses from 0.125 to 0.625, at 0.125 MPa increments. Each analysis was run stepwise through a temperature gradient from 25 °C to 67 .5 °C with 2.5 °C increments, the material reached the instrument maximum displacement at different temperature steps dependent on the constant applied stress. At each of the 18 temperature steps the material was held at constant stress for 10 minutes and allowed to recover under stress-less conditions for 20 minutes. With data analysis recoverable strain data was produced and ultimately a curve of Modulus at temperature, the regression extrapolated to modulus = 0 M Pa. The extrapolated point correlated with data the weighted average melt point of the polymer measured by MDSC, within the regressive least squares fit of the measured moduli. Thereby measuring the melt temperature of a polymer by DMA. This is the third in a series of three reports 4,5 on the physical properties and degradation processes of materials used in polymer bonded explosive 9501 written for submission to the University of Oregon, Masters Industrial Internship Program.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fluid Stratification Separate Effects Analysis, Testing and Benchmarking

High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGRs) are positioned to disrupt local and global markets via their unique ability to produce carbon-free process heat, high efficiency power generation, and passively safe operational features. However, significant impediments still exist to delay deployment of this particular technology, including a lack of experimental data, verified code application, and lack of consensus with regards to severe accident progression. In particular, air ingress accidents represent a particular challenge to designers and engineers, as they represent low probability, but highly complex, accident scenarios. Including phenomena such as molecular diffusion, free convection, and complex heat and mass transfer paths, experimental and traceable data is essential to maturing the state of the industry. Therefore, this work presents an experimental investigation of the transition to natural convection in HTGR applications using the Stratified Flow Separate Effects Test Facility, housed at Oregon State University. In particular, this work will present data that challenges the assumption that molecular diffusion is a significant factor in this severe accident in the reference facility of the General Atomic 600 MW th Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR). Rather, experimentally produced data shows a statistically suggestive retardant effect of cross duct orientation, indicating that ingress mechanics may be fundamentally altered via facility geometry. Experimentally, this is achieved using a simplified cross duct that may be positioned in one of two ways so as to provide either horizontal or vertical access to the lower plenum area. Onset of natural convection (ONC) is measured using an oxygen sensor probe, immersed in the helium working fluid, so as to provide direct indication of air presence in the upper plenum. This document will present the doctoral dissertation produced by this work, along with its analysis, experimental data, observations, and conclusions, in addition to select documents that will highlight critical changes during the development process. Those documents will include the quality assurance plan, all subsequent change requests, and the engineering transfer from Harris Thermal in order to establish the most complete quality record possible.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Sun Grant/DOE Regional Feedstock Partnership: Final Technical Report

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Sun Grant Initiative initiated the Regional Feedstock Partnership (referred to as the Partnership) in 2007 primarily to address information gaps associated with the likelihood for realization of the sustainable and reliable production of a billion-tons of biomass annually to support the U.S. bioenergy industry by the year 2030. Publication of The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply (Perlack et al., 2005) in 2005, with its associated yield assumptions, led to the realization that the yield goals and assumptions utilized in that analysis required careful validation. To achieve the overall goal of validating key yield assumptions, the following objectives were developed: 1. Establishment of replicated field trials across regions to determine the impact of crop residue removal (primarily corn and small grains) on future grain yields and soil health. 2. Establishment of replicated field trials of some of the most promising dedicated energy crops (herbaceous annuals and perennials, as well as woody perennials) to demonstrate the potential performance of these feedstocks across the U.S. 3. Assessment of feedstock resources to be used to estimate a sustainable national supply potential. Teams composed of representatives from Land Grant Universities, USDA ARS, DOE National Laboratories, industry, and other federal agencies were identified and assembled to address each of these objectives. For Objective 1, members of the USDA ARS’ Resilient Economic Agricultural Practices (REAP) team combined with university personnel to leverage on-going work and established new trials to determine sustainable corn residue removal rates. In addition, universities across the continental U.S. conducted surveys of published past research to define parameters for the use of cereal grain residue (primarily wheat) as a biomass feedstock. For Objective 2, and based on input from DOE, USDA, Land Grant university scientists, and others, several herbaceous and woody energy crop species were selected for new or further evaluation across wide geographic areas as cellulosic feedstock sources. Species teams were organized to assess the yield potential of candidate herbaceous feedstocks including sorghum, energycane, Miscanthus x giganteus (hereafter referred to as miscanthus), switchgrass, and mixed perennial species (primarily grasses and some legumes) on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. Woody species will be critical components of the bioenergy sector; therefore, species teams were also organized for shrub willow and hybrid poplar (Populus spp.). Field trials of each species were utilized to determine yield potential across the U.S. For Objective 3, a GIS resource team was organized with representatives from each of the five Sun Grant regions. While some regional assessments were made, the multi-institutional team decided that the group from Oregon State University would utilize their PRISM ELM model to estimate national yield potential of the various species evaluated. The following are key outcomes and impacts • The Partnership demonstrated the production potential of diverse herbaceous and woody feedstocks across much of the U.S. for 5-7 consecutive growing seasons. Long-term studies such as this are not commonly possible due to limitations in funding cycles. • Long-term field trials were valuable in demonstrating the importance of agronomic management practices and genetic resources to yield of sorghum, switchgrass, miscanthus, energycane, CRP mixed perennial grasses, poplar, and willow. • National yield potential maps were developed for all species evaluated in the Partnership. • Sustainable corn stover removal rates were quantified for use by producers, harvesters, and commercial lignocellulosic biorefineries. • Data from the Partnership field trials not only validated initial Billion Ton estimates, but were instrumental in developing both the Billion Ton Update in 2011, and especially the 2016 Billion Ton Report. • The Partnership provided the opportunity to assemble and conserve a poplar germplasm collection that contains more than 20,000 clones for use in breeding programs. New clones resulting from crosses made using this germplasm collection have resulted in significantly improved cultivars that could be scaled up and deployed. • Further validation of improved yields of new varieties/cultivars of biomass sorghum, energycane, hybrid poplars, and shrub willows was produced by the Partnership. • The Partnership demonstrated the potential of energycane in northern parts of the southeastern U.S., particularly in relation to sugarcane varieties. • For certain feedstocks (e.g., CRP mixed grasses, switchgrass, willow, and poplar), production economics were ascertained through Partnership field trials. • Biomass samples collected as part of the Partnership are also being used to populate Idaho National Laboratory’s Bioenergy Feedstock Library. • Because of the size and scope of the Partnership, workforce development was a key component and outcome. Numerous undergraduate students (25), graduate students (15 MS and 8 PhD), and postdoctoral researchers (7) were trained by Partnership participants. This will help to prepare individuals for careers in the emerging fields of plant breeding, biomass production, feedstock supply logistics, and biomass conversion processes. • More than 130 scientific publications have been authored by Partnership team members. Numerous other presentations, outreach publications, book chapters, and websites have also been developed to further the continued development of the bioeconomy.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Baseline Radiological Conditions for the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Restart

The Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility, located on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), northwest of the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC), has been in programmatic shutdown for more than twenty-three years. Construction of TREAT by the Teller Construction Co., Portland, Oregon, was started in February, 1958, and completed in early November, 1958. The reactor first achieved criticality on February 23, 1959. Operations continued until April 28, 1994, when the reactor was shut down due to the lack of a programmatic mission. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified a need to resume transient testing of new reactor fuels. The Resumption of Transient Testing Program (RTTP) has readied the TREAT facility to resume transient testing operations. The first reactor criticality since the shut down in 1994 was achieved on November 14, 2017. This report details the radiological measurements taken in the TREAT Reactor Building and the surrounding environment prior to and just after its restart in order to characterize the radiological conditions that existed prior to and during the initial restart operations. The authors would like to acknowledge the support from RTTP Management and the TREAT Operations staff for allowing the extensive radiological surveys, as well as the health physics technicians from the INL Radiological Control organization who performed many of the measurements referenced in this report.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2018

RELAP5-3D Pre-test Prediction for High Temperature Test Facility Test PG-26

The RELAP5-3D computer code has been used to perform a pre-test prediction for Test PG-26 in the High Temperature Test Facility at Oregon State University. Test PG-26 will simulate a pressurized conduction cooldown transient following a trip of the primary coolant system gas circulator. The facility is initialized with a steady-state power of 700 kW and prototypic core inlet and outlet helium coolant temperatures of 259 and 687°C, respectively. Sensitivity calculations addressed the flow coastdown time, the reactor cavity cooling system flow rate and temperature, and decay power.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

University Research in Support of TREAT Modeling and Simulation, FY 2017

INL is currently evolving a modeling and simulation (M&S) capability that will enable im- proved core operation as well as design and analysis of TREAT experiments. This M&S capability primarily uses MAMMOTH, a reactor physics application being developed under the Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework. MAMMOTH allows the coupling of a number of other MOOSE-based applications. This work is being supplemented by related research projects at a number of universities. INL is funding TREAT-related research at North Carolina State University, University of New Mexico, Oregon State University, and MIT under internally funded projects within the INL/Battelle National University Consortium Program. Under the DOE Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation program (NEAMS), other research is being performed at MIT, University of Florida, and Texas A&M University. In addition, Dr. Barry Ganapol of University of Arizona was funded for summer work at the INL. This report is a compilation of conference papers that were submitted as part of this research by the NEAMS University partners and from the visiting professor.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Maintaining Continuity of Knowledge over Spent Fuel Pools- IR Imaging

This report covers the experiments performed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oregon State University at their Testing, Research, Isotope, and General Atomic (TRIGA) test reactor. These experiments fall under a larger goal to maintain Continuity of Knowledge (CoK) over a spent fuel pool in the absence of light. During FY 17, PNNL was tasked with investigating the ex-pool solutions to this investigation. Preliminary analysis done in FY 16 resulted in the identification of IR and UV cameras as a viable option. One experiment conducted that year yield results showing that a pure IR camera would not function to image thermal objects through water due to the large absorption cross section of IR light within water. This experiment lead PNNL to investigate cameras that ranged from UV to IR in the hopes that the cameras would be able to image the objects more efficiently with cameras that ranged across these spectra. This constraint lead us to being conversations with Phoenix Engineering based out of Georgia as they have cameras that sample UV-IR and Vis – IR light spectra. The two cameras identified and eventually used for this experiment were the HAWK-216 and OWL 640 cameras. The specific QE curves of these cameras can be found in subsequent sections. The results discussed in this report pertain to the images captured at the OSU TRIGA reactor under varying power levels to see what thresholds and minimum detectable thermal output could be detected by these cameras.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Policy, Permit, Perform: Using City Benchmarking Data and Building Construction Permit History to Identify Energy Performance Improvements

The City of Portland (City) and Multnomah County 2015 Climate Action Plan targets a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions below 1990 levels by 2030. To reach this goal, the plan includes a key objective to reduce the total energy use of existing buildings by 25 percent. Buildings are responsible for one-half of carbon emissions in Portland, Oregon, U.S., and improving their performance is critical to achieving the City’s climate goals. As part of its climate action planning, the City passed an ordinance on April 22, 2015, requiring commercial buildings 20,000 ft2 and larger to benchmark and disclose annual energy performance metrics through ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® (ESPM), including greenhouse gas emissions, building energy use intensity (EUI) and ENERGY STAR scores. Twenty-five cities in the U.S. have adopted similar policies requiring energy benchmarking. These policies are generating a treasure trove of data about the drivers of building performance, but practitioners are only beginning to link benchmarking data to other datasets to produce actionable insight into improving building performance. In 2016, the City received a financial assistance award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning project (Award Number DE-0007737). Portland’s project evaluated the application of the DOE Building Energy Asset Score Tool and rating system developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to commercial buildings that report to the City. The City used building construction permit history to develop Asset Scores for a set of office buildings that reported energy performance for 2015 – the first year the City mandated energy benchmarking and reporting for commercial buildings 50,000 ft2 and larger. The primary project objective was to link energy benchmarking data and commercial building permit data to analyze commercial buildings systems that present the best, specific opportunities to improve energy performance. Integrating these datasets from two City departments, the Bureau of Development Services and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, could expand Portland’s use of analytics to inform climate policy decisions and strategic targeting of financial incentives for building owners and managers who are best positioned to improve the performance of their buildings. The project began with the commercial benchmarking data received for 340 commercial buildings that submitted calendar year 2015 energy reports. The City retained Research Into Action and Energy 350 (RIA team) to evaluate this self-reported benchmarking data. Based on a survey of 53 building managers, the RIA team found that most respondents used the City’s compliance tools, including a How-to Guide and Help Desk, and found access to utility data to be straightforward. However, almost one-third of the respondents encountered challenges when estimating the gross floor area (GFA), and some experienced confusion regarding the input of property use types and details into ESPM. Based on the RIA team’s recommendations, the City refined its How-to Guide, created online answers to frequently asked questions, and hosted office hour sessions to help building managers accurately characterize their building’s physical characteristics and operations in ESPM. Concurrently with the RIA team’s evaluation, the City worked with PNNL to estimate DOE Asset Score Preview (Preview) scores for 181 of the 340 commercial buildings that submitted ESPM reports to the City. Asset Score Tool is a web-based tool developed by PNNL for DOE to evaluate and rate the as-built energy efficiency of a building. Asset Score Tool’s full analysis capability runs a detailed energy model based on building geometry, age, envelope, lighting and mechanical systems using standard operating assumptions to give the building a score, similar to a miles per gallon rating for a car. Preview, a simplified deployment of the full Asset Score Tool, provides a preliminary score range using only seven data points, six of which are readily available in the ESPM benchmarking data. Analysis of the combined Preview scores and the operational ESPM scores identified buildings with a high potential for energy improvements through either retro-commissioning and retuning of existing operations or capital investments into building systems. The City contracted Whole Building Solutions (WBS) to mine building permit history and develop full Asset Scores for a subset of 26 office buildings that were eligible for both ENERGY STAR scores and Asset Scores. WBS researched permits and building plans to identify mechanical, lighting and envelope systems and other building characteristics necessary to complete Asset Scores. This historical data was recorded using the web-based Asset Score Tool, which evaluates the as designed energy efficiency of existing buildings. Much of this City information was available online after 2010; however, WBS had to search through microfiche files and the City’s database to obtain permit and plan history prior to 2010. Although building geometry, mechanical system type and basic envelope information was consistently identifiable, WBS found permit data gaps that prevented complete and accurate Asset Scores for most of the office buildings. If the City decides to develop Asset Scores based on building permit information in the future, WBS recommended requiring lighting plans, control diagrams and as-built drawings that reflect how the buildings are actually constructed. In addition, WBS recommended uploading plans and permits from microfiche storage into a more comprehensive, searchable database consistent with the City’s current online permit information. To identify the actual lighting types, WBS and City staff conducted site visits of all 26 office buildings. As part of managing the flow of ESPM and Asset Score data for the project, Earth Advantage, a sub-recipient of the Cities-LEAP award, created a DOE Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) (USDOE 2018) instance for the City and used Asset Score’s Application Programming Interface (API) (Asset Score 2018) capabilities to develop two new features in the SEED Platform™: (1) automated Asset Score Preview ranges calculated based on benchmarking data and the City’s estimate of number of building floors; and (2) storage of full Asset Score information. Leveraging the construction permit history and site visit information for the 26 office buildings, The Cadmus Group (Cadmus) analyzed benchmarking data and Asset Score information to identify opportunities and drivers to improve performance. Correlation and regression analysis of the combined dataset was completed to determine whether building operations or specific systems – mechanical, lighting or envelope – present the best opportunities to improve energy performance. The central outcome of this project was Cadmus’ detailed analysis of the richer dataset that was created by combining the City of Portland’s commercial building permit activity and building-specific energy performance information based on metrics from ESPM and Asset Score Tool. Some of their findings collaborate with well-known facts, such as buildings with less efficient lighting systems are good targets for efficiency improvements through lighting upgrades. This analysis also helped identify that individual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment efficiency does not necessarily correlate with building performance. However, overall HVAC system performance, as measured with the Total System Performance Ratio (TSPR) metric, is a better indicator of building performance (Goel et al. 2014). As a metric, TSPR considers whole system performance that includes equipment efficiency and system controls, such as resets for static pressure and chilled water setpoints, which can be more effective and financially feasible options for improving building performance. Given the high cost associated with envelope retrofits, opportunities to upgrade envelope insulation are likely to be limited. However, buildings with single-pane and non-thermal break windows are good candidates for window replacements, such as upgrading to double-pane windows with thermal breaks. This research project determined that developing Asset Scores based on site visits is preferable to mining City building permit data. In addition, the use of benchmarking data to develop Asset Score Preview Scores is recommended as a first step in engaging building managers to develop full Asset Scores. Asset Score Tool outputs can help building managers quickly identify opportunities for improvement and then work with the utility incentive administrator and energy service providers to develop their retrofit plan. Where full Asset Scores are available, analysis using a quadrant matrix with ENERGY STAR scores is recommended to identify buildings that present the best opportunities for operational-behavioral improvements versus ones with opportunities for upgrades to physical building systems. This workflow and the tools will help cities, utility incentive administrators, building portfolio managers and energy service providers develop energy programs and strategies for screening and analysis of buildings with the greatest energy savings potential. This report describes the project approach and research results to inform future coordination of ESPM and Asset Score data, including the use of benchmarking data to generate Preview scores. Given better awareness of energy performance, building managers can make more informed decisions to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. With cities, states and jurisdictions adopting benchmarking and auditing ordinances, there are substantial amounts of data submitted to cities that could be used to inform investments in energy efficiency.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Laboratory-Directed Research and Development 2016 Summary Annual Report

The Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) reports its status to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by March of each year. The program operates under the authority of DOE Order 413.2C, “Laboratory Directed Research and Development” (April 19, 2006), which establishes DOE’s requirements for the program while providing the laboratory director broad flexibility for program implementation. LDRD funds are obtained through a charge to all INL programs. This report includes summaries of all INL LDRD research activities supported during Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. INL is the lead laboratory for the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE). The INL mission is to discover, demonstrate, and secure innovative nuclear energy solutions, other clean energy options, and critical infrastructure with a vision to change the world’s energy future and secure our critical infrastructure. Operating since 1949, INL is the nation’s leading research, development, and demonstration center for nuclear energy, including nuclear nonproliferation and physical and cyber-based protection of energy systems and critical infrastructure, as well as integrated energy systems research, development, demonstration, and deployment. INL has been managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (a wholly owned company of Battelle) for DOE since 2005. Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, is a partnership between Battelle, BWX Technologies, Inc., AECOM, the Electric Power Research Institute, the National University Consortium (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ohio State University, North Carolina State University, University of New Mexico, and Oregon State University), and the Idaho university collaborators (i.e., University of Idaho, Idaho State University, and Boise State University). Since its creation, INL’s research and development (R&D) portfolio has broadened with targeted programs supporting national missions to advance nuclear energy, enable clean energy deployment, and secure and modernize critical infrastructure. INL’s research, development, and demonstration capabilities, its resources, and its unique geography enable integration of scientific discovery, innovation, engineering, operations, and controls into complex large-scale testbeds for discovery, innovation, and demonstration of transformational clean energy and security concepts. These attributes strengthen INL’s leadership as a demonstration laboratory. As a national resource, INL also applies its capabilities and skills to the specific needs of other federal agencies and customers through DOE’s Strategic Partnership Program.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2019

An approach for shear-stress based scour prediction

Scour beneath seafloor pipelines, cables, and other offshore infrastructure is a well-known problem. Recent interest in seafloor mounted wave energy converters brings another dynamic element into the traditional seafloor scour problem. In this paper, we consider the M3 Wave APEX device, which utilizes airflow between two flexible chambers to generate electricity from waves. In an initial at-sea deployment of a demonstration/experimental APEX in September 2014 off the coast of Oregon, scour beneath the device was observed. As sediment from the beneath the device was removed by scour, the device's pitch orientation was shifted. This change in pitch orientation caused a degradation in power performance. Characterizing the scour associated with seafloor mounted wave energy conversion devices such as the M3 device is the objective of the present work.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2019

Computational and Experimental Benchmarking for Transient Fuel Testing

In 2018 the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility was restarted. This now-operational facility brings back world-class transient fuel testing capabilities to the U.S. Among a number of parallel efforts prior to the TREAT Facility’s restart a Department of Energy (DoE) Integrated Research Project (IRP) was funded for the purpose of benchmarking the TREAT with several goals in mind: To produce a comprehensive evaluation of existing TREAT Facility neutronics data using the next generation reactor core neutronics codes in accordance with established guidelines per the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments (IRPhEP). To perform a benchmark using ready-use computational fluid dynamics tools against that of a historically collected sodium loop experiment collected in the TREAT. To design, develop and test a new experimental thermal hydraulic system of a representative TREAT Facility water flow loop. And benchmark the data collected against that produced via RELAP5-3D and TRACE. To develop a comprehensive instrumentation plan for the TREAT Facility by benchmarking performing of advanced in-pile instruments in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR) and the TREAT. The integrated team brought together collaborating members from three universities including Oregon State University (OSU), the University of Michigan (UM), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); three national laboratories, Idaho National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); and two industry partners, TerraPower (TP) and Harris Thermal Transfer Products (HTTP). A brief summary of accomplishments resulting from this IRP includes two filed patents, more than 40 conference papers, two published benchmark reports through IRPhEP, a new representative thermal hydraulic test facility alike the in-pile PWR water flow loop for TREAT and the first advanced instruments tested within the TREAT core upon its restart. The papers presented herein were developed and provide a summary of the significant technical accomplishments which align with the four project’s objectives. The collaborators has significant support from countless parties including the operational and technical staff at TREAT to ensure that their outcomes most impactfully aligned with program needs. Lastly the collaborators would like to acknowledge the fiscal support of the DoE’s Office of Nuclear Energy under work package identification number NU-15-OR-OSU- 0701-01. This report contains selected papers from the Computational and Experimental Benchmarking for Transient Fuel Testing Integrated Research Project.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2019

PRIMA-X - Performance Retargeting of Instrumentation, Measurement, and Analysis Technologies for Exascale Computing

The PRIMA-X (Performance Retargeting of Instrumentation, Measurement, and Analysis Technologies for Exascale Computing) project is the successor of the DOE PRIMA (Performance Refactoring of Instrumentation, Measurement, and Analysis Technologies for Petascale Computing) project, which addressed the challenge of creating a core measurement infrastructure that would serve as a common platform for both integrating leading parallel performance systems (notably TAU and Scalasca) and developing next-generation scalable performance tools. The PRIMA-X project shifts the focus away from refactorization of robust performance tools towards a re-targeting of the parallel performance measurement and analysis architecture for extreme scales. The massive concurrency, asynchronous execution dynamics, hardware heterogeneity, and multi-objective prerequisites (performance, power, resilience) that identify exascale systems introduce fundamental constraints on the ability to carry forward existing performance methodologies. In particular, there must be a deemphasis of per-thread observation techniques to significantly reduce the otherwise unsustainable flood of redundant performance data. Instead, it will be necessary to assimilate multi-level resource observations into macroscopic performance views, from which resilient performance metrics can be attributed to the computational features of the application. This requires a scalable framework for node-level and system-wide monitoring and runtime analyses of dynamic performance information. Also, the interest in optimizing parallelism parameters with respect to performance and energy drives the integration of tool capabilities in the exascale environment further. Initially, PRIMA-X was a collaborative project between the University of Oregon (lead institution) and the German Research School for Simulation Sciences (GRS). Because Prof. Wolf, the PI at GRS, accepted a position as full professor at Technische Universitaet Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) starting February 1st, 2015, the work of GRS was continued at TU Darmstadt. This report covers the work at TU Darmstadt after the transition. The first main accomplishment of TU Darmstadt is the development of different techniques to aggregate performance data on the level of threads. TU Darmstadt evaluated different schemes designed at GRS during the first phase of this project and integrated them into Score-P, a widely used performance measurement framework for HPC applications. The second main accomplishment is a substantial increase of Score-P’s scalability, achieved by improving its internal representation of the underlying system. Third, we extended our performance-modeling tool Extra-P to automatically create models with more than one input parameter (e.g., process count and input size), which was previously impossible. These models allow the performance behavior of an application to be extrapolated to larger machines. Specific applications of the new multi-parameter capability realized in this project include modeling the isoefficiency function of task-based applications and a novel co-design methodology. Further extensions of Extra-P comprise online modeling functionality, automatic refinement of the model search space, and segmented performance modeling. Further contributions include new locality metrics for both shared- and distributed-memory applications, a new way of measuring the impact of inter-application inference on the execution time of an application, and finally an automatic method that selects appropriate OpenMP constructs for the parallelization of sequential code and classifies the affected variables based on their sharing semantics.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Performance Understanding and Analysis for Exascale Data Management Workflows

The goal of the Exascale Data Management Workflows project is to create tools to support techniques for in-situ data analysis and data management. Online data management co-running with simulations accelerates the scientific processes being carried out, provides rapid and timely scientific insights, and can help avoid unnecessary and scientifically invalid simulation computations, particularly when combined with or able to utilize data from experimental instrument and/or from past simulation runs. The University of Oregon team is contributing to the performance instrumentation and analysis aspect of this project. Our focus has been on efficient performance monitoring of data management at scale. The general approach of the MONA project is depicted in Figure 1 below. The figure shows performance monitoring applied to an I/O workflow associated with a scientific simulation, with online measurements captured from this workflow informing methods for workflow reconfiguration and dynamic adjustment. The goal is to maintain suitable levels of Quality of Service for workflow execution, by understanding the under lying causes of workflow performance and behavior. One outcome is workflow performance models able to characterize realistic workflows. Another outcome is performance ’mini-apps’ implementing such workflow behavior. Out of scope for this project are advanced methods for online workflow control.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Nitrogen fertilizer affects the Populus microbiome

Plants are colonized by numerous microorganisms serving important symbiotic functions that aid in plant growth and success. Populus deltoides (Eastern Cottonwood) and Populus trichocarpa (Black Cottonwood) are potential biofuel crops that rely on microbial symbionts to complete essential tasks, such as nitrogen fixation. Often, in agricultural and biofuel production, exogenous nitrogen is added to soils, since nitrogen availability is the limiting factor for plant growth. However, these additions may alter the soil microbial communities and result in unintentional consequences if excess nitrogen escapes the setting. We sought to determine how nitrogen fertilization alters the microbial communities within the soil, roots, and leaves of two cottonwoods. We grew P. deltoides and P. trichocarpa in a greenhouse with and without added nitrogen fertilizer, in two soil types. The soils were from Oregon and West Virginia and had distinctive chemical properties and different initial soil microbial communities. We hypothesized that the abundance of diazotrophs within the soils would increase as nitrogen became limiting. Over the 2-month study, we assessed plant growth characteristics for over 160 Populus plants. We investigated the root, leaf, and soil microbiomes of selected plants using 16S rRNA gene and ITS2 PCR amplicon DNA sequencing. We then used bioinformatics tools to evaluate the composition and diversity of these microbiomes. The microbiomes differed significantly across all three experimental factors - nitrogen addition, Populus species, and soil type.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Distributed Generation Valuation and Compensation

This white paper can help guide a state as it considers issues associated with distributed generation valuation and compensation. States may address a common set of questions and issues in the valuation process, but differences in market expectations, policy priorities, and regulations result in different responses. Key issues include: Context is important. Valuations and compensation strategies will vary based on goals and objectives they are being designed to achieve. Goals and objectives should be made clear up front and will drive the perspective used in performing valuations and how outcomes are applied. Utilities and stakeholders can have different interpretations of how value elements should be calculated. In some states, the objective of standardized calculators and methods is to reduce ambiguity and inconsistencies in how valuations are performed. Certain value elements are difficult or impossible to quantify and most efforts to establish workable value of solar or value of distributed energy resource tariffs are emerging and nascent. Assessing locational and temporal value of distributed generation and applying that in compensation schemes is a new and emerging field of study, being explored by a handful of research organizations and advanced states and utilities. The most advanced states, such as California, are using demonstration projects to test valuation and compensation methodologies or are applying valuation and compensation strategies to a subset of customer projects, such as for community solar projects (e.g., Oregon and New York) before rolling out programs to the full customer base. A variety of states are moving away from full net metering, in many cases substituting avoided cost rates (sometimes with an adder) in lieu of full retail rate compensation, instead of pursuing valuation of distributed energy resource approaches. For example, in Indiana a 25% adder is applied to average wholesale electricity prices and in Mississippi a 2.5 cents/kWh adder is applied to avoided cost rates. These adders appear to have been established through policy directives rather than a comprehensive cost of service valuations.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗