Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “efficiency table”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Maximum credibly yield for deuteriuim-filled double shell imaging targets meeting requirements for yield bin Category A

We are anticipating our first NIF double shell shot using an aluminum ablator and a glass inner shell filled with deuterium shown in figure 1. The expected yield is between a few 10 10 to a few 10 11 dd neutrons. The maximum credible yield is 5e+13. This memo describes why, and what would be expected with variations on the target. This memo evaluates the maximum credible yield for deuterium filled double shell capsule targets with an aluminum ablator shell and a glass inner shell in yield Category A (< 10 14 neutrons). It also pertains to fills of gas diluted with hydrogen, helium ( 3 He or 4 He), or any other fuel except tritium. This memo does not apply to lower z ablator dopants, such as beryllium, as this would increase the ablation efficiency. This evaluation is for 5.75 scale hohlraum targets of either gold or uranium with helium gas fills with density between 0 and 1.6 mg/cc. It could be extended to other hohlraum sizes and shapes with slight modifications. At present only laser pulse energies up to 1.5 MJ were considered with a single step laser pulse of arbitrary shape. Since yield decreases with laser energy for this target, the memo could be extended to higher laser energies if desired. These maximum laser parameters of pulses addressed here are near the edge of NIF’s capability, and constitute the operating envelope for experiments covered by this memo. We have not considered multiple step pulses, would probably create no advantages in performance, and are not planned for double shell capsules. The main target variables are summarized in Table 1 and explained in detail in the memo. Predicted neutron yields are based on 1D and 2D clean simulations.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nuclear Criticality Experiments Research Center Futures: A Report of a Workshop held September 6-9, 2022, Los Alamos, NM, November, 2022

Experiments and training with critical assemblies and fissionable material (at or near the critical state) that explore reactivity phenomena are central to a number of national security challenges. From fission energy to nuclear weapons to a broad suite of scientific challenges, it is clear that additional capacity and capability are needed. The National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) marked 10 years of operations in 2021. This anniversary was an opportune time to celebrate our successes and progress, and to evaluate the remaining and emergent challenges. Against this backdrop, a workshop of approximately 140 national and international leaders in nuclear research was convened in Los Alamos, New Mexico to explore “NCERC Futures.” Therefore, the present workshop focused specifically on needed capabilities and tools to meet the research challenges in eight topical mission areas served by NCERC. As each Topical Group summarized their discussions in the out brief, it was recognized that key challenges could be met through enabling infrastructure investments and new critical assemblies. Enabling infrastructure includes staffing, additional space/buildings, developing an agile bounding safety basis, the ability to keep pace with technological advances in detectors and data acquisition systems (allowing use of those with Bluetooth™ and similar technologies), an expanded set of materials options (especially plutonium), a “Plug and Play” design and implementation mindset, and a facility that enabled free-field measurements. The new critical assemblies that were identified as having the most impact were a bare plutonium (Pu) Critical Assembly, a Horizontal Split Table (HST), a Super Comet, and a Uranium Solution Burst Assembly. NECRC is a unique, one-of-a-kind facility in the United States. If all the improvements were to be made, NCERC would enable the United States and its partners to address many important research questions related to criticality. These include but are not limited to: (1) Covering the entire neutron energy spectrum for both highly enriched uranium (HEU) and Pu in configurations for virtually all conceivable applications; (2) Performing multi-physics solution experiments and irradiations with a Uranium Solution Burst Assembly, which more closely resembles actual criticality accidents; (3) Conducting free-field experiments to make basic fission physics measurements and much cleaner benchmarks with various experimental observables; and (4) Providing more training classes and more experiments annually at greater cost efficiency enabled by additional buildings and machines and an agile, bounding, risk-balanced Safety Basis. In the end, workshop attendees enthusiastically concluded that NCERC Futures are bright and the workshop helped to identify a roadmap of capability gaps that need to be addressed. This report documents the results of those efforts.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Long-Term Evaluation of Remedial Technology Performance in the Laboratory: Multi-year Experimental Test Plan

An understanding of the long-term effectiveness of remediation technologies is central to sustainable environmental cleanup. Long-term experiments are valuable for reducing uncertainty and predicting remediation outcomes at scales required for regulatory compliance. However, these types of tests can be costly and challenging to interpret. Therefore, contaminated sites often rely on short-term laboratory experiments that may not account for the potentially significant effects of gradual, time- dependent processes governing contaminant retention, release, and species transformation. For example, short-term lab experiments (from months to a year) conducted with sediments from the unsaturated and saturated zones at the Hanford Site play an important role in initial evaluations of remediation technologies but cannot capture the full extent of time-dependent reactions, leaving uncertainties in field-scale deployment. Here, long-term testing will be conducted on select technologies based on their performance in short-term testing. The overall objective is to directly address the challenges described above by generating and analyzing data on long-term (2–10 years) efficacy of selected remediation technologies, integrating this understanding into models, and providing critical input for remediation planning, monitoring, and 5-year review cycles for field-implemented remedies. Specific objectives include: 1. Evaluating long-term efficiency of promising remedies under site-specific conditions. 2. Generating robust parameters for modeling, reducing uncertainty in predictive simulations. 3. Advancing integrated monitoring by combining geochemical and geophysical observations. 4. Informing field-scale implementation by incrementally advancing technologies, identifying failure mechanisms early, and prioritizing robust, cost-effective remedies. Through systematic evaluation of technologies in laboratory-scale column experiments, integrated monitoring, and modeling support, this project is designed to bolster confidence in the long-term robustness of selected technologies. The ultimate outcome is the identification and deployment of more reliable, cost-effective remedies that safeguard human health and the environment while reducing the uncertainties that have historically hindered cleanup progress at Hanford Site. An experimental approach was developed and initiated for long-term testing potentially up to 10 years. The table below summarizes the experimental approach developed for testing select technologies and presented in this multi-year experimental test plan.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficient Four-Component Dirac–Coulomb–Gaunt Hartree–Fock in the Pauli Spinor Representation

Four-component Dirac Hartree--Fock is an accurate mean-field method for treating molecular systems where relativistic effects are important. However, the computational cost and complexity of the two-electron interaction makes this method less common, even though we can consider the Dirac Hartree--Fock Hamiltonian the ``ground truth" of electronic structure, barring explicit quantum-electrodynamical effects. Being able to calculate these effects is then vital to the design of lower scaling methods for accurate predictions in computational spectroscopy and properties of heavy element complexes that must include relativistic effects for even qualitative accuracy. In this work, we present a Pauli quaternion formalism of maximal component- and spin-separation for computing the Dirac-Coulomb-Gaunt Hartree-Fock ground state, with a minimal floating-point-operation count algorithm. Furthermore, this approach also allows one to explicitly separate different spin physics from the two-body interactions, such as spin-free, spin-orbit, and the spin-spin contributions. Additionally, we use this formalism to examine relativistic trends in the periodic table, and analyze the basis set dependence of atomic gold and gold dimer systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental Characterization of Photoemission from Plasmonic Nanogroove Arrays

Metal photocathodes are an important source of high-brightness electron beams, ubiquitous in the operation of both large-scale accelerators and table-top microscopes. When the surface of a metal is nanoengineered with patterns on the order of the optical wavelength, it can lead to the excitation and confinement of surface-plasmon-polariton waves that drive nonlinear photoemission. In this work, we aim to evaluate gold plasmonic nanogrooves as a concept for producing bright electron beams for accelerators via nonlinear photoemission. Here, we do this by first comparing their optical properties to numerical calculations from first principles to confirm our ability to fabricate these nanoscale structures. Their nonlinear photoemission yield is found by measuring emitted photocurrent as the intensity of their driving laser is varied. Finally, the mean transverse energy of this electron source is found using the solenoid-scan technique. Our data demonstrate the ability of these cathodes to provide a tenfold enhancement in the efficiency of photoemission over flat metals driven with a linear process. We find that these cathodes are robust and capable of reaching sustained average currents over 100 nA at optical intensities larger than 2 GW cm –2 with no degradation of performance. The emittance of the generated beam is found to be highly asymmetric, a fact we can explain with calculations involving the also asymmetric roughness of the patterned surface. These results demonstrate the use of nanoengineered surfaces as enhanced photocathodes, providing a robust air-stable source of high-average-current electron beams hopefully with great potential for industrial and scientific applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1982

Determination of the efficiency of a proportional counter for detecting X-rays

A parallel beam of X-rays (approximately monoenergetic) passing through a rectangular slit and scattering from two flat mirrors comprise the X-ray test. The two mirrors are arranged in a periscope geometry so that the final reflected beam is parallel to the incident beam but displaced laterally by given amount. One of the detectors used to intercept the reflected X-rays is a one dimensional gas-filled proportional counter which is sensitive to the position (in 1 dimension) at which the X-rays are incident within its detecting "window". The total length of the anode wire of the proportional counter is 120 mm and this length can be divided electronically into a maximum of 1,024 parts. Hence, the output of an experimental run would be the number of incident X-rays that registered on each of the 1,024 channels. Each channel would represent an X-ray at a different spatial location and, hence, at a different scattering angle. In order to look at a wider range of scattering angles, the detector is placed on an optical table which can be rotated.

Williams, A. C.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Photonic integration for UV to IR applications

Photonic integration opens the potential to reduce size, power, and cost of applications normally relegated to table- and rack-sized systems. Today, a wide range of precision, high-end, ultra-sensitive, communication and computation, and measurement and scientific applications, including atomic clocks, quantum communications, processing, and high resolution spectroscopy, are ready to make the leap from the lab to the chip. However, many of these applications operate at wavelengths not accessible to the silicon on insulator-based silicon photonics integration platform due to absorption, power handling, unwanted nonlinearities, and other factors. Next generation photonic integration will require ultra-wideband photonic circuit platforms that scale from the ultraviolet to the infrared and that offer a rich set of linear and nonlinear circuit functions as well as low loss and high power handling capabilities. This article provides an assessment of the field in ultra-wideband photonic waveguides to bring power efficient, ultra-high performance systems to the chip-scale and enable compact transformative precision measurement, signal processing, computation, and communication techniques.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

TU-H-CAMPUS-TeP1-03: Magnetically Focused Proton Irradiation of Small Volume Radiosurgery Targets

Purpose: To investigate the use of magnetic focusing for small volume proton radiosurgery targets using a triplet combination of quadrupole rare earth permanent magnet Halbach cylinder assemblies Methods: Fourteen quadrupole magnets consisting of 24 segments of radiation hard samarium-cobalt adhered into k=3 Halbach cylinders with various field gradients (100 to 250 T/m) were designed and manufactured. Triplet combinations of the magnets were placed on a positioning track on our Gantry 1 treatment table. Unmodulated 127 MeV proton beams with initial diameters of 3 to 20 mm were delivered to a water tank using single-stage scattering. Depth and transverse dose distributions were measured using a PTW PR60020 diode detector and EBT3 film, respectively. This data was compared with unfocused passively collimated beams. Monte Carlo simulations were also performed - both for comparison with experimental data and to further investigate the potential of triplet magnetic focusing. Results: Experimental results using 150 T/m gradient magnets and 15 to 20 mm initial diameter beams show peak to entrance dose ratios that are ∼ 43 to 48 % larger compared with spot size matched 8 mm collimated beams (ie, transverse profile full-widths at 90% maximum dose match within 0.5 mm of focused beams). In addition, the focusing beams were ∼ 3 to 4.4 times more efficient per MU in dose to target delivery. Additional results using different magnet combinations will also be presented. Conclusion: Our results suggest that triplet magnetic focusing could reduce entrance dose and beam number while delivering dose to small (∼≤ 10 mm diameter) radiosurgery targets in less time compared to unfocused beams. Immediate clinical applications include those associated with proton radiosurgery and functional radiosurgery of the brain and spine, however other treatment sites can be also envisioned. This project was sponsored with funding from the Department of Defense (DOD# W81XWH-BAA-10-1).

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2001

Portfolios in Stochastic Local Search: Efficiently Computing Most Probable Explanations in Bayesian Networks

Portfolio methods support the combination of different algorithms and heuristics, including stochastic local search (SLS) heuristics, and have been identified as a promising approach to solve computationally hard problems. While successful in experiments, theoretical foundations and analytical results for portfolio-based SLS heuristics are less developed. This article aims to improve the understanding of the role of portfolios of heuristics in SLS. We emphasize the problem of computing most probable explanations (MPEs) in Bayesian networks (BNs). Algorithmically, we discuss a portfolio-based SLS algorithm for MPE computation, Stochastic Greedy Search (SGS). SGS supports the integration of different initialization operators (or initialization heuristics) and different search operators (greedy and noisy heuristics), thereby enabling new analytical and experimental results. Analytically, we introduce a novel Markov chain model tailored to portfolio-based SLS algorithms including SGS, thereby enabling us to analytically form expected hitting time results that explain empirical run time results. For a specific BN, we show the benefit of using a homogenous initialization portfolio. To further illustrate the portfolio approach, we consider novel additive search heuristics for handling determinism in the form of zero entries in conditional probability tables in BNs. Our additive approach adds rather than multiplies probabilities when computing the utility of an explanation. We motivate the additive measure by studying the dramatic impact of zero entries in conditional probability tables on the number of zero-probability explanations, which again complicates the search process. We consider the relationship between MAXSAT and MPE, and show that additive utility (or gain) is a generalization, to the probabilistic setting, of MAXSAT utility (or gain) used in the celebrated GSAT and WalkSAT algorithms and their descendants. Utilizing our Markov chain framework, we show that expected hitting time is a rational function - i.e. a ratio of two polynomials - of the probability of applying an additive search operator. Experimentally, we report on synthetically generated BNs as well as BNs from applications, and compare SGSs performance to that of Hugin, which performs BN inference by compilation to and propagation in clique trees. On synthetic networks, SGS speeds up computation by approximately two orders of magnitude compared to Hugin. In application networks, our approach is highly competitive in Bayesian networks with a high degree of determinism. In addition to showing that stochastic local search can be competitive with clique tree clustering, our empirical results provide an improved understanding of the circumstances under which portfolio-based SLS outperforms clique tree clustering and vice versa.

Mengshoel, Ole J.↗
DOE OSTI2014

VISION Model Description and User's Guide: Model Used to Estimate the Impacts of Highway Vehicle Technologies and Fuels on Energy Use and Carbon Emissions to 2100

The VISION model has been developed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to provide estimates of the potential energy use, oil use, and carbon emission impacts to the year 2100 of advanced light- and heavy-duty highway vehicle technologies and alternative fuels. DOE supports research of advanced transportation technologies (including fuels) and is frequently asked to provide estimates of the potential impacts of successful market penetration of these technologies, sometimes on a relatively-quick turnaround basis. VISION is a spreadsheet model that was created in Microsoft Excel® that can be used to respond rapidly to quick-turnaround requests, as well as for longer-term analyses. It uses vehicle survival and age-dependent usage characteristics to project total light- and heavy-truck stock, total vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and total energy use by technology and fuel type by year, given market penetration and vehicle energy efficiency assumptions developed exogenously. Total carbon emissions for on-highway vehicles by year are also estimated because life-cycle carbon coefficients for various fuels are included in VISION. VISION is not a substitute for the transportation component of the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). NEMS incorporates a consumer choice model to project market penetration of advanced vehicles and alternative fuels. The projections are made within the context of the entire US economy. However, the NEMS model requires more time to execute and only makes projections to 2040. VISION complements NEMS with its relative ease of use and by extending the time frame of potential analysis beyond 2040. VISION has been used for a wide variety of purposes. For illustration, we have listed some of its most recent and current uses in Table 1. Figures 1 through 4 illustrate the results of some of those runs. These graphs are not actual model outputs, but they are based on model results. Aside from these, the National Petroleum Council and National Academies used VISION in their recent scenario studies. The original VISION model description and user guide were written in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Since then, the VISION model has been upgraded with new features and functions. Based on the previous two documents, this report describes the 2013 version including all of the new features that have been added since 2006. The main body of this report describes VISION’s methodology and data sources. The methodology and data sources used in the light- and heavy-vehicle portions of the model are discussed separately. Some suggestions for future improvements to the model are made.

Zhou, Yan↗
DOE OSTI2018

Development of a Virtual CFR Engine Model for Knocking Combustion Analysis

Knock is a major bottleneck to achieving higher thermal efficiency in spark ignition (SI) engines. The overall tendency to knock is highly dependent on fuel anti-knock quality as well as engine operating conditions. It is, therefore, critical to gain a better understanding of fuel-engine interactions in order to develop robust knock mitigation strategies. In the present work, a numerical model based on three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was developed to capture knock in a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. For combustion modeling, a hybrid approach incorporating the G-equation model to track turbulent flame propagation, and a homogeneous reactor multi-zone model to predict end-gas auto-ignition ahead of the flame front and post-flame oxidation in the burned zone, was employed. In addition, a hybrid methodology was implemented wherein a laminar flame speed lookup table generated a priori from a chemical kinetic mechanism could be used to provide flame speed as an input to the G-equation model, instead of using conventional empirical correlations. Multi-cycle Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations were performed for two different spark timings (STs) corresponding to non-knocking and knocking conditions, with other operating conditions kept the same as those of a standard research octane number (RON) test. Isooctane was considered as the fuel for the numerical study. Two different reduced kinetic mechanisms were employed to describe end-gas auto-ignition chemistry and to generate the flame speed lookup table. Experimental data, including intake/exhaust boundary conditions, was provided by an isooctane ST sweep study conducted in an in-house CFR engine. Moreover, cylinder wall/valve/port surface temperatures and residual gas fraction (RGF) were estimated using a well-calibrated one-dimensional (1-D) model. On the other hand, a novel methodology was also developed to analyze experimental data for the knocking case and identify the most representative cycle. For the non-knocking case, a good agreement was found between experiment and CFD simulation, with respect to cycle-averaged values of 10% burn point (CA10), 50% burn point (CA50), and peak pressure magnitude/location. The virtual CFR engine model was also demonstrated to be capable of predicting average knock characteristics for the knocking case, such as knock point, knock intensity, and energy of resonance, with good accuracy.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1999

Implementation of a Trailing-Edge Flap Analysis Model in the NASA Langley CAMRAD.MOD1/Hires Program

Continual advances in rotorcraft performance, vibration and acoustic characteristics are being sought by rotary-wing vehicle manufacturers to improve efficiency, handling qualities and community noise acceptance of their products. The rotor system aerodynamic and dynamic behavior are among the key factors which must be addressed to meet the desired goals. Rotor aerodynamicists study how airload redistribution impacts performance and noise, and seek ways to achieve better airload distribution through changes in local aerodynamic response characteristics. One method currently receiving attention is the use of trailing-edge flaps mounted on the rotor blades to provide direct control of a portion of the spanwise lift characteristics. The following work describes the incorporation of a trailing-edge flap model in the CAMRAD.Mod1/FHUS comprehensive rotorcraft analysis code. The CAM-RAD.Mod1/HIRES analysis consists of three separate executable codes. These include the comprehensive trim analysis, CAMRAD.Mod1, the Indicial Post-Processor, IPP, for high resolution airloads, and AIRFOIL, which produces the rotor airfoil tables from input airfoil section characteristics. The modifications made to these components permitting analysis of flapped rotor configurations are documented herein along with user instructions detailing the new input variables and operational notes.

Charles, Bruce↗
NASA NTRS2011

Piezoelectrically Enhanced Photocathodes

Doping of photocathodes with materials that have large piezoelectric coefficients has been proposed as an alternative means of increasing the desired photoemission of electrons. Treating cathode materials to increase emission of electrons is called "activation" in the art. It has been common practice to activate photocathodes by depositing thin layers of suitable metals (usually, cesium). Because cesium is unstable in air, fabrication of cesiated photocathodes and devices that contain them must be performed in sealed tubes under vacuum. It is difficult and costly to perform fabrication processes in enclosed, evacuated spaces. The proposed piezoelectrically enhanced photocathodes would have electron-emission properties similar to those of cesiated photocathodes but would be stable in air, and therefore could be fabricated more easily and at lower cost. Candidate photocathodes include nitrides of elements in column III of the periodic table . especially compounds of the general formula Al(x)Ga(1.x)N (where 0< or = x < or =.1). These compounds have high piezoelectric coefficients and are suitable for obtaining response to ultraviolet light. Fabrication of a photocathode according to the proposal would include inducement of strain in cathode layers during growth of the layers on a substrate. The strain would be induced by exploiting structural mismatches among the various constituent materials of the cathode. Because of the piezoelectric effect in this material, the strain would give rise to strong electric fields that, in turn, would give rise to a high concentration of charge near the surface. Examples of devices in which piezoelectrically enhanced photocathodes could be used include microchannel plates, electron- bombarded charge-coupled devices, image tubes, and night-vision goggles. Piezoelectrically enhanced photocathode materials could also be used in making highly efficient monolithic photodetectors. Highly efficient and stable piezoelectrically enhanced, ultraviolet-sensitive photocathodes and photodetectors could be fabricated by use of novel techniques for growing piezoelectrically enhanced layers, in conjunction with thinning and dopant-selective etching techniques.

Beach, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Chess-Like Game for Teaching Engineering Students to Solve Large System of Simultaneous Linear Equations

Solving large (and sparse) system of simultaneous linear equations has been (and continues to be) a major challenging problem for many real-world engineering/science applications [1-2]. For many practical/large-scale problems, the sparse, Symmetrical and Positive Definite (SPD) system of linear equations can be conveniently represented in matrix notation as [A] {x} = {b} , where the square coefficient matrix [A] and the Right-Hand-Side (RHS) vector {b} are known. The unknown solution vector {x} can be efficiently solved by the following step-by-step procedures [1-2]: Reordering phase, Matrix Factorization phase, Forward solution phase, and Backward solution phase. In this research work, a Game-Based Learning (GBL) approach has been developed to help engineering students to understand crucial details about matrix reordering and factorization phases. A "chess-like" game has been developed and can be played by either a single player, or two players. Through this "chess-like" open-ended game, the players/learners will not only understand the key concepts involved in reordering algorithms (based on existing algorithms), but also have the opportunities to "discover new algorithms" which are better than existing algorithms. Implementing the proposed "chess-like" game for matrix reordering and factorization phases can be enhanced by FLASH [3] computer environments, where computer simulation with animated human voice, sound effects, visual/graphical/colorful displays of matrix tables, score (or monetary) awards for the best game players, etc. can all be exploited. Preliminary demonstrations of the developed GBL approach can be viewed by anyone who has access to the internet web-site [4]!

Nguyen, Duc T.↗
DOE OSTI2015

USABC Development of 12 Volt Battery for Start-Stop Application: Preprint

Global automakers are accelerating the development of fuel efficient vehicles, as a part of meeting regional regulatory CO2 emissions requirements. The micro hybrid vehicles with auto start-stop functionality are considered economical solutions for the stringent European regulations. Flooded lead acid batteries were initially considered the most economical solution for idle-stop systems. However, the dynamic charge acceptance (DCA) at lower state-of-charge (SOC) was limiting the life of the batteries. While improved lead-acid batteries with AGM and VRLA features have improved battery longevity, they do not last the life of the vehicle. The United States Advanced Battery Consortium (or USABC, a consortium of GM, Ford, and Chrysler) analyzed energy storage needs for a micro hybrid automobile with start-stop capability, and with a single power source. USABC has analyzed the start-stop behaviors of many drivers and has developed the requirements for the start-stop batteries (Table 3). The testing procedures to validate the performance and longevity were standardized and published. The guideline for the cost estimates calculations have also been provided, in order to determine the value of the newly developed modules. The analysis effort resulted in a set of requirements which will help the battery manufacturers to develop a module to meet the automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) micro hybrid vehicle requirements. Battery developers were invited to submit development proposals and two proposals were selected for 50% cost share with USABC/DOE.

12 V START-STOP↗
DOE OSTI2016

Predictive Engineering Tools for Injection-Molded Long-Carbon-Thermoplastic Composites: Weight and Cost Analyses

This project proposed to integrate, optimize and validate the fiber orientation and length distribution models previously developed and implemented in the Autodesk Simulation Moldflow Insight (ASMI) package for injection-molded long-carbon-fiber thermoplastic composites into a cohesive prediction capability. The current effort focused on rendering the developed models more robust and efficient for automotive industry part design to enable weight savings and cost reduction. The project goal has been achieved by optimizing the developed models, improving and integrating their implementations in ASMI, and validating them for a complex 3D LCF thermoplastic automotive part (Figure 1). Both PP and PA66 were used as resin matrices. After validating ASMI predictions for fiber orientation and fiber length for this complex part against the corresponding measured data, in collaborations with Toyota and Magna PNNL developed a method using the predictive engineering tool to assess LCF/PA66 complex part design in terms of stiffness performance. Structural three-point bending analyses of the complex part and similar parts in steel were then performed for this purpose, and the team has then demonstrated the use of stiffness-based complex part design assessment to evaluate weight savings relative to the body system target (≥ 35%) set in Table 2 of DE-FOA-0000648 (AOI #1). In addition, starting from the part-to-part analysis, the PE tools enabled an estimated weight reduction for the vehicle body system using 50 wt% LCF/PA66 parts relative to the current steel system. Also, from this analysis an estimate of the manufacturing cost including the material cost for making the equivalent part in steel has been determined and compared to the costs for making the LCF/PA66 part to determine the cost per “saved” pound.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-D-304-02: Magnetically Focused Proton Irradiation of Small Field Targets

Purpose: To investigate the use of magnetic focusing for small field proton irradiations. It is hypothesized that magnetic focusing will provide significant dose distribution benefits over standard collimated beams for fields less than 10 mm diameter. Methods: Magnets consisting of 24 segments of radiation hard samarium-cobalt adhered into hollow cylinders were designed and manufactured. Two focusing magnets were placed on a positioning track on our Gantry 1 treatment table. Proton beams with energies of 127 and 157 MeV, 15 and 30 mm modulation, and 8 mm initial diameters were delivered to a water tank using single-stage scattering. Depth dose distributions were measured using a PTW PR60020 diode detector and transverse profiles were measured with Gafchromic EBT3 film. Monte Carlo simulations were also performed - both for comparison with experimental data and to further explore the potential of magnetic focusing in silica. For example, beam spot areas (based on the 90% dose contour) were matched at Bragg depth between simulated 100 MeV collimated beams and simulated beams focused by two 400 T/m gradient magnets. Results: Preliminary experimental results show 23% higher peak to entrance dose ratios and flatter spread out Bragg peak plateaus for 8 mm focused beams compared with uncollimated beams. Monte Carlo simulations showed 21% larger peak to entrance ratios and a ∼9 fold more efficient dose to target delivery compared to spot-sized matched collimated beams. Our latest results will be presented. Conclusion: Our results suggest that rare earth focusing magnet assemblies could reduce skin dose and beam number while delivering dose to nominally spherical radiosurgery targets over a much shorter time compared to unfocused beams. Immediate clinical applications include those associated with proton radiosurgery and functional radiosurgery of the brain and spine, however expanded treatment sites can be also envisaged.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Evaluation of THOR TM Mineralized Waste Forms (Granular and Monolith) for the DOE Advanced Remediation Technologies (ART) Phase 2 Project

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of River Protection (ORP) is responsible for the retrieval, treatment, immobilization, and disposal of Hanford's tank waste. Currently there are approximately 56 million gallons of highly radioactive mixed wastes awaiting treatment. A key aspect of the River Protection Project (RPP) cleanup mission is to construct and operate the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The WTP will separate the tank waste into high-level and low-activity waste (LAW) fractions, both of which will subsequently be vitrified. The projected throughput capacity of the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility is insufficient to complete the RPP mission in the time frame required by the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, also known as the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA), i.e. December 31, 2047. Therefore, Supplemental Treatment is required both to meet the TPA treatment requirements as well as to more cost effectively complete the tank waste treatment mission. The Supplemental Treatment chosen will immobilize that portion of the retrieved LAW that is not sent to the WTP's LAW Vitrification facility into a solidified waste form. The solidified waste will then be disposed on the Hanford site in the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). In addition, the WTP LAW Vitrification facility off-gas condensate known as WTP Secondary Waste (WTP-SW) will be generated and enriched in volatile components such as Cs-137, I-129, Tc-99, Cl, F, and SO 4 that volatilize at the vitrification temperature of 1150°C in the absence of a continuous cold cap. The current waste disposal path for the WTP-SW is to recycle it to the supplemental LAW treatment to avoid a large steady state accumulation in the pretreatment-vitrification loop. Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) offers a moderate temperature (700-750°C) continuous method by which LAW and/or WTP-SW wastes can be processed irrespective of whether they contain organics, nitrates, sulfates/sulfides, chlorides, fluorides, volatile radionuclides or other aqueous components. The FBSR technology can process these wastes into a crystalline ceramic (mineral) waste form. The mineral waste form that is produced by co-processing waste with kaolin clay in an FBSR process has been shown to be as durable as LAW glass. Monolithing of the granular FBSR product, which is one of the objectives of this current study, is being investigated to prevent dispersion during transport or burial/storage but is not necessary for performance. FBSR testing of a Hanford LAW simulant and a WTP-SW simulant at the pilot scale was performed by THOR Treatment Technologies, LLC at Hazen Research Inc. in April/May 2008. The Hanford LAW simulant was the Rassat 68 tank blend and the target concentrations for the LAW was increased by a factor of 10 for Sb, As, Ag, Cd, and Tl; 100 for Ba and Re (Tc surrogate); 1,000 for I; and 254,902 for Cs based on discussions with the DOE field office and the environmental regulators and an evaluation of the Hanford Tank Waste Envelopes A, B, and C. It was determined through the evaluation of the actual tank waste metals concentrations that some metal levels were not sufficient to achieve reliable detection in the off-gas sampling. Therefore, the identified metals concentrations were increased in the Rassat simulant processed by TTT at HRI to ensure detection and enable calculation of system removal efficiencies, product retention efficiencies, and mass balance closure without regard to potential results of those determinations or impacts on product durability response such as Toxicity Characteristic Leach Procedure (TCLP). A WTP-SW simulant based on melter off-gas analyses from Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL) was also tested at HRI in the 15-inch diameter Engineering Scale Test Demonstration (ESTD) dual reformer at HRI in 2008. The target concentrations for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metals were increased by 16X for Se, 29X for Tl, 42X for Ba, 48X for Sb, by 100X for Pb and Ni, 1000X for Ag, and 1297X for Cd to ensure detection by the analytic laboratory used for the demonstration and, as with the LAW simulant, without regard to potential impacts on product durability response such as TCLP. Details of the ESTD testing that was performed in April and May of 2008 are shown in Table 1 as the Operational Summary. The first eight tests were performed on LAW using a Denitration and Mineralization Reformer (DMR) temperature of 725°C and different ratios of clay:simulant of 675 g or 640 g of OptiKast clay per liter of simulant. The last four tests were performed on WTP-SW (originally referred to as LAW-Recycle) using a DMR temperature in the range of 680°C to 700°C with a mixture of 45/55 Sagger/OptiKast clay with 307 g clay/L simulant. The coal feed rates used in the FBSR processing are also shown as noted at the bottom of Table 1. It should be noted that the carbon feed rates are averaged over those periods.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗