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DOE OSTI2012

Supporting U.S. Response to the Japanese Nuclear Crisis | ORAU

When an earthquake and tsunami hit off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, and triggered a nuclear crisis, the U.S. immediately offered support. Among those tapped to assist was ORAU's National Security and Emergency Management team, which provided NNSA with technical and analytical nuclear incident support. Within 48 hours of the earthquake, ORAU emergency management experts accompanied the DOE Office of Emergency Response in deploying to Japan to support the U.S. Air Force Base in Yokota and the U.S. Embassy. A separate team from ORAU supported the NNSA Nuclear Incident Team, which served as the point of coordination for all support activities both in Japan and in the U.S.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2019

Collaborative Management for Complex Closure Teams - 19246

The closure documentation for government waste management sites requires a multidisciplinary approach to achieve success. This approach is necessary and similar to approaches utilized across remediation projects in the private and public sectors [1]. Closure documentation for government projects can range from tens of pages to upwards of thousands of pages. They normally take more than six months to put together - although, in many cases, it takes years - with multiple revisions. These documents, while all unique, share common themes with regards to communication and conflict with the other waste management projects. This paper explores the challenges in management and leadership approaches for generating technical documents, such as those found in the closure missions at government hazardous waste management sites. These matrixed teams are composed of many different members with varying expertise and experience, each with different stakeholder backgrounds. These teams experience challenges not only from using a matrixed approach - where the majority of the members are only partially engaged in the project - but also from integrating each of their respective stakeholder group's cultural individualities [2]. The Project Leads, who head up these highly matrixed projects, operate in environments comprised of virtual project teams- or more specifically in this context, intensive virtual project teams. Most of the participants are within the same city, but all of the document project teams operate with some level of organizational dispersion. Moreover, the larger a project becomes the more dispersed the team becomes. The frequent addition of sub-contracting resources by Project Leads further disperses the group and dilutes communication. The difficulties in communication derive from complications in the goal setting stages of a project and can manifest across the project team in the form of motivational issues, disengagement, quality expectations, and a loss of understanding. This puts a considerable amount of importance on a Project Lead to establish goals through the appropriate tools and methodology. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2023

Not just for programmers: How GitHub can accelerate collaborative and reproducible research in ecology and evolution

Abstract Researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology are increasingly dependent on computational code to conduct research. Hence, the use of efficient methods to share, reproduce, and collaborate on code as well as document research is fundamental. GitHub is an online, cloud‐based service that can help researchers track, organize, discuss, share, and collaborate on software and other materials related to research production, including data, code for analyses, and protocols. Despite these benefits, the use of GitHub in ecology and evolution is not widespread. To help researchers in ecology and evolution adopt useful features from GitHub to improve their research workflows, we review 12 practical ways to use the platform. We outline features ranging from low to high technical difficulty, including storing code, managing projects, coding collaboratively, conducting peer review, writing a manuscript, and using automated and continuous integration to streamline analyses. Given that members of a research team may have different technical skills and responsibilities, we describe how the optimal use of GitHub features may vary among members of a research collaboration. As more ecologists and evolutionary biologists establish their workflows using GitHub, the field can continue to push the boundaries of collaborative, transparent, and open research.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

NASA NTRS2011

A Possible Approach for Addressing Neglected Human Factors Issues of Systems Engineering

The increasing complexity of safety-critical applications has led to the introduction of decision support tools in the transportation and process industries. Automation has also been introduced to support operator intervention in safety-critical applications. These innovations help reduce overall operator workload, and filter application data to maximize the finite cognitive and perceptual resources of system operators. However, these benefits do not come without a cost. Increased computational support for the end-users of safety-critical applications leads to increased reliance on engineers to monitor and maintain automated systems and decision support tools. This paper argues that by focussing on the end-users of complex applications, previous research has tended to neglect the demands that are being placed on systems engineers. The argument is illustrated through discussing three recent accidents. The paper concludes by presenting a possible strategy for building and using highly automated systems based on increased attention by management and regulators, improvements in competency and training for technical staff, sustained support for engineering team resource management, and the development of incident reporting systems for infrastructure failures. This paper represents preliminary work, about which we seek comments and suggestions.

Johnson, Christopher W.↗

DOE OSTI2016

Technetium Management for Hanford Tank Waste Processing and Disposition - 16399

Technetium-99 (Tc) generated from the fission of {sup 235}U and {sup 239}Pu in high yields is one of the most difficult contaminants to be addressed at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site. Among radioactive constituents in the tank waste, Tc presents a unique challenge in that it is radio-toxic (β = 292 keV), has a long half-life (T{sub 1/2} = 2.11x10{sup 5} y), and exists predominantly in the liquid fraction of the alkaline tank waste, generally in the anionic form of pertechnetate TcO{sub 4}{sup -}, which is highly volatile at low-activity waste vitrification melter temperatures and mobile in the subsurface environment. This makes immobilization of Tc into high-durability waste forms a critical technical challenge for nuclear waste management. The complex behavior of Tc under storage, treatment, and immobilization conditions significantly affects its management options. The overall objective of the Technetium Management program is to provide the DOE Office of Environmental Management with practical solutions to Tc needs encountered in the processing of Hanford tank waste. To reduce the technical uncertainty associated with the long-term environmental impact of Tc, a systems-based approach is needed to address Tc management needs by evaluating and developing science and engineering options for treatment, immobilization, and disposition of Tc contained in Hanford tank wastes. This paper describes major elements of Technetium Management program, including: - Identifying the chemical forms of Tc in tank waste through analytical speciation of low-valent Tc(I) species in alkaline solutions. - Performing proof-of-concept demonstration for detection of low-valent Tc(I) by fluorescence spectroscopy. - Identifying alternative non-glass Tc immobilization methods. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2017

Scalable data management, analysis and visualization (SDAV) Institute. Final Scientific/Technical Report

The purpose of the SDAV institute is to provide tools and expertise in scientific data management, analysis, and visualization to DOE’s application scientists. Our goal is to actively work with application teams to assist them in achieving breakthrough science, and to provide technical solutions in the data management, analysis, and visualization regimes that are broadly used by the computational science community. Over the last 5 years members of our institute worked directly with application scientists and DOE leadership-class facilities to assist them by applying the best tools and technologies at our disposal. We also enhanced our tools based on input from scientists on their needs. Many of the applications we have been working with are based on connections with scientists established in previous years. However, we contacted additional scientists though our outreach activities, as well as engaging application teams running on leading DOE computing systems. Our approach is to employ an evolutionary development and deployment process: first considering the application of existing tools, followed by the customization necessary for each particular application, and then the deployment in real frameworks and infrastructures. The institute is organized into three areas, each with area leaders, who keep track of progress, engagement of application scientists, and results. The areas are: (1) Data Management, (2) Data Analysis, and (3) Visualization. Kitware has been involved in the Visualization area. This report covers Kitware’s contributions over the last 5 years (February 2012 – February 2017). For details on the work performed by the SDAV institute as a whole, please see the SDAV final report.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2019

Scalable Data Management, Analysis, and Visualization (SDAV) Institute

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2012

Recovery Act: High-Efficiency, Wideband Three-Phase Rectifiers and Adaptive Rectifier Management for Telecomm Central Office and Large Data Center Applications (Final Technical Report)

Lineage Power and Verizon teamed up to address a DOE funding opportunity focused on improving the power conversion chain in telecommunications facilities and data centers. The project had three significant elements: the design and development of high efficiency and high power three-phase rectifiers by Lineage Power, design and development of software to optimize overall plant energy efficiency by Lineage Power, and a field trial in active Verizon telecommunications facilities where energy consumption was measured before and after efficiency upgrades.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS2000

When Serious Project Management is a Critical Business Requirement

When serious project management is a critical business requirement, project managers need to integrate cost, schedule and technical scope of work across the project, and apply earned value management (EVM).

earned value management cost management integrated↗

DOE OSTI2013

Development of Methodologies for Technology Deployment for Advanced Outage Control Centers that Improve Outage Coordination, Problem Resolution and Outage Risk Management

This research effort is a part of the Light-Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, which is a research and development (R&D) program sponsored by Department of Energy (DOE) and performed in close collaboration with industry R&D programs that provides the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe, and economical operation of current nuclear power plants. The LWRS program serves to help the U.S. nuclear industry adopt new technologies and engineering solutions that facilitate the continued safe operation of the plants and extension of the current operating licenses. The long term viability of existing nuclear power plants in the U.S. will depend upon maintaining high capacity factors, avoiding nuclear safety issues and reducing operating costs. The slow progress in the construction on new nuclear power plants has placed in increased importance on maintaining the output of the current fleet of nuclear power plants. Recently expanded natural gas production has placed increased economic pressure on nuclear power plants due to lower cost competition. Until recently, power uprate projects had steadily increased the total output of the U.S. nuclear fleet. Errors made during power plant upgrade projects have now removed three nuclear power plants from the U.S. fleet and economic considerations have caused the permanent shutdown of a fourth plant. Additionally, several utilities have cancelled power uprate projects citing economic concerns. For the past several years net electrical generation from U.S. nuclear power plants has been declining. One of few remaining areas where significant improvements in plant capacity factors can be made is in minimizing the duration of refueling outages. Managing nuclear power plant outages is a complex and difficult task. Due to the large number of complex tasks and the uncertainty that accompanies them, outage durations routinely exceed the planned duration. The ability to complete an outage on or near schedule depends upon the performance of the outage management organization. During an outage, the outage control center (OCC) is the temporary command center for outage managers and provides several critical functions for the successful execution of the outage schedule. Essentially, the OCC functions to facilitate information inflow, assist outage management in processing information and to facilitate the dissemination of information to stakeholders. Currently, outage management activities primarily rely on telephone communication, face to face reports of status and periodic briefings in the OCC. Much of the information displayed in OCCs is static and out of date requiring an evaluation to determine if it is still valid. Several advanced communication and collaboration technologies have shown promise for facilitating the information flow into, across and out of the OCC. Additionally, advances in the areas of mobile worker technologies, computer based procedures and electronic work packages can be leveraged to improve the availability of real time status to outage managers.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Scalable Data Management, Analysis, and Visualization (SDAV) Institute (Final Report)

The purpose of the SDAV institute is to provide tools and expertise in scientific data management, analysis, and visualization to application scientists on leadership-class computing facilities. Our goal is to actively work with application teams to assist them in achieving breakthrough science, and to provide technical solutions in the data management, analysis, and visualization regimes that are broadly used by the computational science community. Over the last 5 years members of our institute worked directly with application scientists to assist them by applying the best tools and technologies at our disposal. We also enhanced our tools based on input from scientists on their needs. Many of the applications we have been working with are based on connections with scientists established in previous years. However, we contacted additional scientists though our outreach activities, as well as engaging application teams running on leading DOE computing systems. Our approach is to employ an evolutionary development and deployment process: first considering the application of existing tools, followed by the customization necessary for each particular application, and then the deployment in real frameworks and infrastructures. The institute is organized into three areas, each with area leaders, who keep track of progress, engagement of application scientists, and results. The areas are: (1) Data Management, (2) Data Analysis, and (3) Visualization. This report is organized along these areas. However, often there are multiple technologies from these areas that are applied to a single application need. These are described on a case-by-case basis in the appropriate sections. This final report for the SDAV Institute covers the 5-year period from February 2012 to February 2017. This report covers activities in all SDAV institutions listed next. Laboratories: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LLNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL). Universities: Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Oregon State University, Rutgers University, University of California at Davis, University of Utah. Industry: Kitware.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2019

Evaluation of Aluminum-clad Spent Nuclear Fuel during Drying and Dry Storage

The DOE SNF Working Group ASNF Subgroup and the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board have identified knowledge gaps regarding the management of aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel (ASNF).[1, 2] The objectives of this research are to observe, sample and analyze the nature of aluminum surface corrosion and corrosion layer chemistry relevant to the ASNF performance over the duration of the dry storage segment of the fuel life cycle. The primary goal is to build an understanding of ASNF behavior, from reactor service and wet storage through drying and dry storage, with parallel testing of surrogate materials. The premise is that residual water affiliated with the aluminum oxide from corrosion during reactor service and wet storage, continues to influence ASNF performance during dry storage, and that even after successful drying the surface conditions of ASNF have yet to be satisfactorily characterized. The initial scope collected and analyzed specimens from irradiated non-fuel components of aluminum-clad Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) fuel elements that are routinely removed at the end of reactor service life. Techniques have been developed for remote material sampling from ATR elements from vented dry storage at the Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility (IFSF). These techniques involve 1) nipping off a small corner of the aluminum near where the end box had been removed and 2) scraping the exterior (non-fueled) plate surface to collect an oxide sample. This second effort targets ATR elements expected to have seen the longest residence in storage, both in the CPP-603 pool (with poor water quality) and in dry storage at IFSF, within the fuel handling scheduled to consolidate ATR at IFSF and receive the remaining inventory at CPP-666. Follow on work has been proposed to nip corners and collect scrapings immediately following ATR fuel drying, before placement in dry storage. Sample analysis will use multiple techniques to understand the chemical composition and morphology of the surface oxides. A simultaneous effort is progressing to develop surrogate materials to enable rigorous controlled experiments. Consistently produced, these surrogate materials can then be used to demonstrate limitations inherent to remote sampling and to validate performance models under relevant constraints. The combined efforts will substantiate ASNF performance and fuel management decisions regarding drying and packaging over a more complete range of life cycle conditions. [1] DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel Working Group, Aluminum-Clad Spent Nuclear Fuel: Technical Considerations and Challenges for Extended (>50 Years) Dry Storage, DOE/ID RPT#: 1575, prepared by Aluminum-Clad SNF Sub Working Group, June 2017. [2] U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, Management and Disposal of U.S. Department of Energy Spent Nuclear Fuel, A Report to the United States Congress and the Secretary of Energy, December 2017, p. 143.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

NASA NTRS2010

Managing the Development of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Mission

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a NASA Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX) mission, is surveying the entire sky in four bands from 3.4 to 22 microns with a sensitivity hundreds to hundreds of thousands times better than previous all-sky surveys at these wavelengths. The single WISE instrument consists of a 40 cm three-mirror anastigmatic telescope, a two-stage solid hydrogen cryostat, a scan mirror mechanism, and reimaging optics giving 6" resolution (full-width-half-maximum). WISE was placed into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit on a Delta II 7320 launch vehicle on December 14, 2009. NASA selected WISE as a MIDEX in 2002 following a rigorous competitive selection process. To gain further confidence in WISE, NASA extended the development period one year with an option to cancel the mission if certain criteria were not met. MIDEX missions are led by the principal investigator who in this case delegated day-to-day management to the project manager. With a cost cap and relatively short development schedule, it was essential for all WISE partners to work seamlessly together. This was accomplished with an integrated management team representing all key partners and disciplines. The project was developed on budget and on schedule in spite of the need to surmount significant technical challenges. This paper describes our management approach, key challenges and critical decisions made. Results are described from a programmatic, technical and scientific point of view. Lessons learned are offered for projects of this type.

cryogenic↗

NASA NTRS2016

Purpose, Principles, and Challenges of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center

NASA formed the NASA Engineering and Safety Center in 2003 following the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. It is an Agency level, program-independent engineering resource supporting NASA's missions, programs, and projects. It functions to identify, resolve, and communicate engineering issues, risks, and, particularly, alternative technical opinions, to NASA senior management. The goal is to help ensure fully informed, risk-based programmatic and operational decision-making processes. To date, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has conducted or is actively working over 600 technical studies and projects, spread across all NASA Mission Directorates, and for various other U.S. Government and non-governmental agencies and organizations. Since inception, NESC human spaceflight related activities, in particular, have transitioned from Shuttle Return-to-Flight and completion of the International Space Station (ISS) to ISS operations and Orion Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), Space Launch System (SLS), and Commercial Crew Program (CCP) vehicle design, integration, test, and certification. This transition has changed the character of NESC studies. For these development programs, the NESC must operate in a broader, system-level design and certification context as compared to the reactive, time-critical, hardware specific nature of flight operations support.

Gilbert, Michael G.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Value of Information and Data Management Platform Promoting Modern Data Analysis Utilization. STTR Phase I, Final Technical Report

The immense growth in weather and river sensor data availability along with increases in computational power and algorithmic sophistication have enabled the widespread application of physical, machine learning, and artificial intelligence algorithms to river forecasting. The forecasts produced by widely varying model approaches are inherently limited in different ways, such as by the number and quality of training observations, producing biased predictions that achieve optimal skill only over specific ranges of weather and river conditions. Thus, despite the growing availability and new sources of forecasts, hydropower owners cannot fully leverage the information because they lack an effective mechanism to determine the “best” forecast for given conditions or objectives. Tools are needed to consolidate forecast information, demonstrate skill, and extract optimal forecast guidance from the range of possibilities. Such tools will increase uptake and beneficial use of the growing wealth of forecast information, and lead to improved operating decisions, optimal power generation, and enhanced system value. This research proposes to improve the value of forecasts by developing a broadly accessible verification framework and applying machine learning techniques to identify the ‘best’ forecast from an ensemble of sources given the current weather, river, and operating conditions.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

RAPID Manufacturing Institute Final Report

The Rapid Advancement of Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Manufacturing Institute, founded in 2017, is a public/private partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). RAPID promotes the development, deployment and commercialization of Process Intensification (PI) and Modular Chemical Process Intensification (MCPI) technologies, enabling U.S. manufacturing to reduce energy consumption, improve process efficiencies and lower investment and operating costs. This mission was carried out through parallel work breakdown structure elements including the establishment of committees to guide the operations and technical direction of RAPID, the establishment of management practices and institute processes, education and workforce development (EWD), and six technical focus areas for the development of technologies to advance PI and MCPI. Throughout the initial six-year cooperative agreement, RAPID worked to meet performance metrics which focused on the operation and sustainment of the institute, education and workforce development and the development of PI and MCPI for the advancement of U.S. manufacturing. All these metrics were successfully met through a total of 43 projects which leveraged $\$$70M Federal with $\$$90M cost share. As a result of these efforts, 84 private and public organizations were brought together by RAPID as members to co-invest in R&D, commercialization and deployment of innovative technologies. In the research portfolio, 82% of the 38 projects achieved > 20% energy efficiency improvement. A RAPID Test Network was developed with 51 testbed facilities to enable access to resources, facilities, tools, and expertise. Eight EWD programs were also developed with over 13,000 impressions. RAPID’s efforts to research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy high-impact PI and modular process technology solutions have enabled reduced energy use, increased sustainability, and improved profitability for U.S. manufacturing.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS1998

From Crew Communication to Coordination: A Fundamental Means to an End

This viewgraph presentation describes the purposes and contexts of communication, factors which affect the interpretation of communication, and the advantages of effective, systematic communication to and from crews. Communication accomplishes information transfer, team/task management, shared problem solving and decision making, and establishment of the interpersonal climate. These accomplishments support outcomes: Technical task performance; CRM (crew resource management); Procedures and ATC (air traffic control); and Work/team atmosphere. The presentation lists various types of management inefficiency which can result from a lack of each of the four accomplishments. Communication skills are used within the following contexts: physical; social and organizational; task and operational; and speech and linguistic. Crew communication can be evaluated through investigation (case study), research (experimentation), and training.

Kanki, Barbara G.↗

DOE OSTI2012

International Socio-Technical Challenges for Geological Disposal (InSOTEC): Project Aims and Preliminary Results - 12236

InSOTEC is a social sciences research project which aims to generate a better understanding of the complex interplay between the technical and the social in radioactive waste management and, in particular, in the design and implementation of geological disposal. It currently investigates and analyses the most striking socio-technical challenges to implementing geological disposal of radioactive waste in 14 national programs. A focus is put on situations and issues where the relationship between the technical and social components is still unstable, ambiguous and controversial, and where negotiations are taking place in terms of problem definitions and preferred solutions. Such negotiations can vary from relatively minor contestation, over mild commotion, to strong and open conflicts. Concrete examples of socio-technical challenges are: the question of siting, introducing the notion of reversibility / retrievability into the concept of geological disposal, or monitoring for confidence building. In a second stage the InSOTEC partners aim to develop a fine-grained understanding of how the technical and the social influence, shape, build upon each other in the case of radioactive waste management and the design and implementation of geological disposal. How are socio-technical combinations in this field translated and materialized into the solutions finally adopted? With what kinds of tools and instruments are they being integrated? Complementary to providing better theoretical insight into these socio-technical challenges/combinations, InSOTEC aims to provide concrete suggestions on how to address these within national and international contexts. To this end, InSOTEC will deliver insights into how mechanisms for interaction between the technical community and a broad range of socio-political actors could be developed. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗