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At least 613 records · Page 34

Analysis of space network loading

The NASA Space Network (SN) consists of several geosynchronous communications satellites, in addition to ground support facilities. Space Network management must predict years in advance what network resources are necessary to adequately satisfy all SN users. Similarly, users of the Space Network must know throughout all stages of mission planning and operations to what extent their communication support requirements can be met. NASA, at the Goddard Space Flight Center, performs Space Network and Mission Modeling using The Network Planning and Analysis System (NPAS), to determine the answers to these questions.

Simons, Mark↗

Initial Integration of a Conflict Probabilities Service for Upper Class E Traffic Management

This paper outlines the development and integration of a conflict probability calculation-based service designed for Upper Class E Airspace operations. A key aspect of this effort is the integration of the conflict probability calculation algorithm into a simulated situational awareness client application. This application serves as a tool for flight operators to submit operations for Upper Class E Airspace within a simulated environment. The focus is on validating the effectiveness of the service through simulated intentional conflicting scenarios. The paper delves into the practicalities of integrating the conflict probability service into the user interface of the simulated situational awareness client application. This integration aims to enhance the decision-making capabilities of ETM operators within the simulated environment. The experiments and observations conducted in this simulated facility provide insights into the operational effectiveness of the proposed approach. In conclusion, this paper emphasizes the development, integration, and simulation-based validation of a conflict probability calculation service for Upper Class E Airspace. The findings underscore the potential impact of our approach on decision-making within a simulated setting, contributing to the understanding of its practical applications in operational scenarios.

Upper Class E Traffic Management↗

International Standards Development and Its Role in Transitioning D and D Technologies to Deployment - 18315

As the need to perform deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) of the most challenging nuclear facilities worldwide is growing, facilitating the integration of state-of-the-art, cutting edge technologies will be critically important to safely, effectively, and efficiently complete this mission. However, end users in the field face significant obstacles to integrating new technologies into cleanup initiatives. By leveraging the development of international standards and testing protocols, the risks associated with implementing new technologies can be mitigated and further support the need to update existing directives and guidance handbooks to account for the tremendous recent advancements in technology development. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International's E10.03 Subcommittee on Radiological Protection for D and D of Nuclear Facilities and Components has begun the development of standard specifications and uniform testing protocols designed to support the nuclear industry's testing and evaluation requirements for D and D technologies. The vision of the E10.03 Subcommittee is to promulgate operationally relevant, uniform testing protocols that can be leveraged by the various technology innovation and development programs across the nuclear environmental management community, and support decision makers and end users with common references in the selection and employment of those standards and associated technologies. These standards could also serve as the basis for updating existing directives and guidance documents such as the various DOE handbooks to better account for the role of cutting edge technology, and facilitate / expedite lab to market efforts that result in improved returns on investment (ROIs) for technology development programs. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

SGSLR Testing Facility at GGAO

This document describes the SGSLR Test Facility at Goddards Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory (NASA Goddard area 200) and its features are described at a high level for users. This is the facility that the Contractor will be required to use for the Testing and Verification of all SGSLR systems.

SGP Network↗

Testing Job Submission to FermiGrid via Dask on the Fermilab Elastic Analysis Facility

Over the course of a summer internship, Jobsub Lite task submission and Dask operations were tested in development and production EAF at Fermilab, first via terminal and subsequently via Jupyter notebook cell. Testing allowed for development of a script available to EAF users that expands and makes easier access to parallel computing resources at Fermilab and associated sites.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Aqueous-Phase Acetic Acid Ketonization over Monoclinic Zirconia

The effect of aqueous phase on the acetic acid ketonization over monoclinic zirconia has been investigated using first-principles based density functional theory (DFT) calculations. To capture the aqueous phase chemistry over the solid zirconia catalyst surface, the aqueous phase is represented by 111 explicit water molecules with a liquid water density of 0.93 g/cm3 and the monoclinic zirconia is modeled by the most stable surface structure . The dynamic nature of aqueous phase/ interface was studied using ab initio molecular dynamics simulation, indicating that nearly half of the surface Zr sites are occupied by either adsorbed water molecules or hydroxyl groups at 550 K. DFT calculations show that the adsorption process of acetic acid from the liquid water phase to the surface is nearly thermodynamically neutral with a Gibbs free energy of -2.3 kJ/mol although the adsorption strength of acetic acid on the surface in aqueous phase is much stronger than in vapor phase. Therefore it is expected that the adsorption of acetic acid will dramatically affects aqueous phase ketonization reactivity over the monoclinic zirconia catalyst. Using the same ketonization mechanism via the β-keto acid intermediate, we have compared acetic acid ketonization to acetone in both vapor and aqueous phases. Our DFT calculation results show although the rate-determining step of the β-keto acid formation via the C-C coupling is not pronouncedly affected, the presence of liquid water molecules will dramatically affect dehydrogenation and hydrogenation steps via proton transfer mechanism. This work was financially supported by the United States Department of Energy (DOE)’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and performed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is a multi-program national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle Memorial Institute. Computing time and advanced catalyst characterization use was granted by a user proposal at the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). EMSL is a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at PNNL.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Asymmetric Rowland circle geometries for spherically bent crystal analyzers in laboratory and synchrotron applications

Spherically bent crystal analyzers (SBCAs) are the dominant high-resolution hard X-ray optic in the ongoing rebirth of laboratory-based X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) as well as in synchrotron methods such as high energy resolution fluorescence detection (HERFD) and non-resonant X-ray Raman scattering (XRS). In the overwhelming majority of cases, SBCAs are implemented in a ‘symmetric’ configuration on the Rowland circle, wherein the diffracting crystal plane is nominally coincident with the analyzer surface. We report here comprehensive investigations of ‘asymmetric’ operation of SBCA on the Rowland circle, wherein the diffracting crystal plane is not coincident with the optical surface of the analyzer. First, we have developed a laboratory spectrometer for XAFS and XES that is specialized for asymmetric SBCA operation. Here we find several benefits, including the capacity to use a single SBCA over a very wide energy range via ‘hkl hopping’ and the frequent ability to eliminate Johann error, the most prevalent energy-broadening mechanism when using SBCA symmetrically on the Rowland circle. Second, we expand these ideas to synchrotron facilities with a demonstration study of HERFD and XRS where asymmetric operation also provided advantage. Our results suggest that large-array systems for HERFD augmented with an additional mechanical degree of freedom could streamline user operation and also indicate benefits to XRS in the asymmetric configuration, where larger solid angle, larger sample-to-detector distance, and decreased Johann error can be achieved simultaneously.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Advanced Test Reactor Core Modeling Update Project Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2012

Legacy computational reactor physics software tools and protocols currently used for support of Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) core fuel management and safety assurance, and to some extent, experiment management, are inconsistent with the state of modern nuclear engineering practice, and are difficult, if not impossible, to properly verify and validate (V&V) according to modern standards. Furthermore, the legacy staff knowledge required for application of these tools and protocols from the 1960s and 1970s is rapidly being lost due to staff turnover and retirements. In late 2009, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) initiated a focused effort, the ATR Core Modeling Update Project, to address this situation through the introduction of modern high-fidelity computational software and protocols. This aggressive computational and experimental campaign will have a broad strategic impact on the operation of the ATR, both in terms of improved computational efficiency and accuracy for support of ongoing DOE programs as well as in terms of national and international recognition of the ATR National Scientific User Facility (NSUF).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Advanced Test Reactor Core Modeling Update Project Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2013

Legacy computational reactor physics software tools and protocols currently used for support of Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) core fuel management and safety assurance, and to some extent, experiment management, are inconsistent with the state of modern nuclear engineering practice, and are difficult, if not impossible, to verify and validate (V&V) according to modern standards. Furthermore, the legacy staff knowledge required for effective application of these tools and protocols from the 1960s and 1970s is rapidly being lost due to staff turnover and retirements. In late 2009, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) initiated a focused effort, the ATR Core Modeling Update Project, to address this situation through the introduction of modern high-fidelity computational software and protocols. This aggressive computational and experimental campaign will have a broad strategic impact on the operation of the ATR, both in terms of improved computational efficiency and accuracy for support of ongoing DOE programs as well as in terms of national and international recognition of the ATR National Scientific User Facility (NSUF).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

The automated multi-stage substructuring system for NASTRAN

The substructuring capability developed for eventual installation in Level 16 is now operational in a test version of NASTRAN. Its features are summarized. These include the user-oriented, Case Control type control language, the automated multi-stage matrix processing, the independent direct access data storage facilities, and the static and normal modes solution capabilities. A complete problem analysis sequence is presented with card-by-card description of the user input.

Field, E. I.↗

Video conferencing made easy

Network video conferencing is advancing rapidly throughout the nation, and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), a Department of Energy (DOE) facility, is at the forefront of the development. Engineers at INEL/EG&G designed and installed a very unique DOE videoconferencing system, offering many outstanding features, that include true multipoint conferencing, user-friendly design and operation with no full-time operators required, and the potential for cost effective expansion of the system. One area where INEL/EG&G engineers made a significant contribution to video conferencing was in the development of effective, user-friendly, end station driven scheduling software. A PC at each user site is used to schedule conferences via a windows package. This software interface provides information to the users concerning conference availability, scheduling, initiation, and termination. The menus are 'mouse' controlled. Once a conference is scheduled, a workstation at the hubs monitors the network to initiate all scheduled conferences. No active operator participation is required once a user schedules a conference through the local PC; the workstation automatically initiates and terminates the conference as scheduled. As each conference is scheduled, hard copy notification is also printed at each participating site. Video conferencing is the wave of the future. The use of these user-friendly systems will save millions in lost productivity and travel cost throughout the nation. The ease of operation and conference scheduling will play a key role on the extent industry uses this new technology. The INEL/EG&G has developed a prototype scheduling system for both commercial and federal government use.

Larsen, D. Gail↗

Recent Beam Measurements and New Instrumentation at the Advanced Light Source

The Advanced Light Source (ALS) in Berkeley was the first of the soft x-ray third generation light source ever built, and since 1993 has been in continuous and successful operation serving a large community of users in the VUV and soft x-ray community. During these years the storage ring underwent through several important upgrades that allowed maintaining the performance of this veteran facility at the forefront. The ALS beam diagnostics and instrumentation have followed a similar path of innovation and upgrade and nowadays include most of the modem and last generation devices and technologies that are commercially available and used in the recently constructed third generation light sources. In this paper we will not focus on such already widely known systems, but we will concentrate our effort in the description of some measurements techniques, instrumentation and diagnostic systems specifically developed at the ALS and used during the last few years.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Evaluating the World Infrared Standard Group Field Campaign Report

The standard to which broadband infrared irradiance radiometers (pyrgeometers) are compared is called the World Infrared Standard Group (WISG), maintained in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Radiation Center. WISG consists of four pyrgeometers that were calibrated using the absolute sky-scanning radiometer (ASR; Philipona 2001). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility has recently adopted this as its standard and all Eppley precision infrared radiometer (PIR) pyrgeometers in ARM are currently being calibrated by transfer calibrations from WISG. Subsequently, the ASR has fallen out of operation, Julian Gröbner (2012) developed the infrared integrating sphere (IRIS) radiometer, and Ibrahim Reda (2012) developed the absolute cavity pyrgeometer (ACP). The IRIS and ACP make absolute measurements of broadband downwelling infrared irradiance using different approaches. These two instruments have been compared to each other and to the WISG (Gröbner et al. 2014). The two newer instruments agreed within about 1 Wm-2 with each other, but not with the WISG, which was 2-5 Wm-2 lower depending on the column water vapor loading. Consequently, a case for changing the current WISG has been made by Gröbner and Reda, basing their suggestion on a total of nine hours of simultaneous IRIS and ACP comparison data as well as data from 177 clear-sky nights between the IRIS and WISG radiometers from October 2009 to December 2013 (Gröbner et al. 2014). These findings were later confirmed during the second International Pyrgeometer Comparison (IPgC-II) held in September/October 2015 at Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos (PMOD)/World Radiation Center (WRC), bringing the total to about 20 hours of simultaneous ACP and IRIS measurements spread across two years and five days, in the mountainous environment of Davos. For this campaign, the WISG evaluation team deployed several instruments for absolute infrared radiation measurements and pyrgeometers that have been tied to the original standard (ASR) to ARM’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) atmospheric observatory in the fall of 2017. The experiment was carried out in two phases in order to increase the probability of collecting measurements at a range of water vapor column values, to which the measurements have shown some dependence. Phase 1 of the deployment ran from October 15 to 28, and Phase 2 ran from November 26 to December 9. Four redundant IRIS and two redundant ACP made coincident measurements during this time (the ASR no longer being available for comparison). The link to the WISG was provided by two pyrgeometers calibrated relative to the WISG prior to the campaign at SGP and also measuring coincidently with the two absolute radiometers. In addition, three of the original pyrgeometers directly tied to the original ASR were deployed. (See Figure 1 for instrument setup.) The experiment took place in the fall when water vapor columns were expected to range below and above the 1-cm level that is crucial for ferreting out the water vapor dependence of these measurements that has been noted in Gröbner et al. 2014 and other measurements. An additional source of longwave radiation flux observations was provided by the atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer (AERI). The AERI measures downwelling spectral radiance from 3.3 to 19 μm with a calibration that is better than 1% of the ambient radiance (Knuteson et al. 2004), and so serves as a potential source of evaluation for the WISG. The AERI’s field of view is 2 degrees, and is directed towards zenith. Earlier ARM projects led by Tony Clough as part of the Broadband Heating Rate Profile (BBHRP) effort demonstrated how to derive longwave flux from these zenith radiance observations.

AERI, instrument calibration, Southern Great Plain↗

The Next Generation System Analysis Model: Capabilities for Simulating a Waste Management System - 19131

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition's Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) program is applying integrated waste management system architecture analysis, system engineering, and decision analysis principles to inform potential future decisions regarding potential nuclear waste management system architectures. Architecture analyses of the IWMS are being conducted to support the future deployment of a comprehensive system for managing nuclear waste that considers all major aspects of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle (i.e., transportation, storage, and disposal). The system architecture analyses consider alternative disposition pathways for commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) being stored dry in at-reactor Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSIs) or wet in spent-fuel pools. One method for evaluating these alternatives is simulating the movement of SNF throughout the system components. Successfully simulating a system on the scale of a national waste management system requires - accurate baseline information (e.g., historic fuel discharges from reactors and dry storage loadings at reactor sites), - modeling all logistic interactions between components of the proposed system, and - tracking and reporting all relevant details regarding the simulation's execution. The Next Generation System Analysis Model (NGSAM) is an agent-based simulation software tool designed for the express purpose of modeling the IWMS. It is based on the Performance Analysis Tool, a simulation platform that has been used to model logistics for the Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Using existing, government-owned software allows NGSAM developers to modify the software at the level of source code and to develop flexible usability and modeling solutions for developing and running simulations of the IWMS. NGSAM imports data from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Unified Database (e.g., historic assembly information, thermal profiles for assembly heat, at-reactor dry storage loadings) to ensure that the simulation initializes with a realistic representation of the state of commercial SNF in the United States. NGSAM is designed with the flexibility to model and track the behavior of virtually any IWMS architecture assumptions or design considerations. For example, NGSAM can model multiple interim storage facilities or repositories or none at all. Similarly, all assumptions regarding shipment schedules, operating schedules, and reactor operation assumptions can be modeled and adjusted in NGSAM with relative ease. The development of NGSAM was targeted to waste management system analysts as the primary users. With that in mind, analysts from ORNL, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) were intimately involved in the development process. That involvement extended beyond merely defining requirements. System analysts have been involved with design decisions and software benchmarking and tests, and they have provided subject-matter expertise where necessary. The result is a high degree of interaction between professional software developers and system analysts, with a multitude of benefits to both groups. This paper explores some of the underlying methodology of the agile software development process used in the creation of NGSAM. It illustrates the capabilities of NGSAM. Some example use cases are discussed as well, with relevant results providing context for how NGSAM is used by system analysts to gain a greater understanding of alternative waste management system architectures. This is a technical paper that does not take into account the contractual limitations under the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste (Standard Contract) (10 CFR Part 961). Under the provisions of the Standard Contract, DOE does not consider spent nuclear fuel in multi-assembly canisters to be an acceptable waste form, absent a mutually agreed-to contract amendment. To the extent discussions or recommendations in this paper conflict with the provisions of the Standard Contract, the Standard Contract provisions prevail. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Insights and Observations From Operating A Laser Communication Terminal on the International Space Station (ISS)

The Integrated Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) is the first user platform for NASA’s first laser communication relay, LCRD. ILLUMA-T is hosted on the International Space Station (ISS) as an external payload of the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) situated in slot 3. The LCRD payload is hosted on the STPSat-6 spacecraft, which orbits Earth in a geostationary orbit at position 112 W. The ILLUMA-T-to-LCRD system provides a bidirectional, space-to-ground laser communication relay link transferring data up to 1.2 Gbps utilizing two optical ground stations (OGS), OGS-1 in California and OGS-2 in Hawai’i. This paper describes lessons learned from operating the ILLUMA-T system and examines topics such as the end-to-end system availability, predictive versus actual ephemeris, acquisition adjustments, modem timing and handshaking, the terminal’s physical placement and accommodations, and experiment development, execution, and analysis. The authors of this paper operate both the LCRD and ILLUMA-T laser terminals on a daily basis including pass planning, procedure execution, acquisition analysis, and real-time terminal commanding and telemetry monitoring. LCRD is a joint project involving NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL). The ILLUMA-T payload is managed by NASA GSFC in Greenbelt, Maryland whose partners include the ISS program office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas; the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama; the Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio; and the MIT LL in Lexington, Massachusetts. ILLUMA-T is funded by the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Laser Communications↗

ERTS operations and data processing

The overall communications and data flow between the ERTS spacecraft and the ground stations and processing centers are generally described. Data from the multispectral scanner and the return beam vidicon are telemetered to a primary ground station where they are demodulated, processed, and recorded. The tapes are then transferred to the NASA Data Processing Facility (NDPF) at Goddard. Housekeeping data are relayed from the prime ground stations to the Operations Control Center at Goddard. Tracking data are processed at the ground stations, and the calculated parameters are transmitted by teletype to the orbit determination group at Goddard. The ERTS orbit has been designed so that the same swaths of the ground coverage pattern viewed during one 18-day coverage cycle are repeated by the swaths viewed on all subsequent cycles. The Operations Control Center is the focal point for all communications with the spacecraft. NDPF is a job-oriented facility which processes and stores all sensor data, and which disseminates large quantities of these data to users in the form of films, computer-compatible tapes, and data collection system data.

Gonzales, L.↗

A Review of Hydrazine Sensors: The State of the Art

Several types of sensors have been developed over the past few years that quantify the vapor concentrations of the hydrazines. These sensors are able to detect concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion (ppb) up to several parts per million (ppm). The scope of this review will be focused on those sensors that are most current in the marketplace as either leak detectors or personnel monitors. Some technical information on the theory of operations of each hydrazine detector will also be included. The review will highlight current operations that utilize hydrazine sensors including the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the United States Air Force (USAF) at Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), USAF F-16 facilities. The orientation of the review will be towards giving users usable practical information on hydrazine sensors.

Meneghelli, B. J.↗

Concept of Operations Visualization in Support of Ares I Production

Boeing was selected in 2007 to manufacture Ares I Upper Stage and Instrument Unit according to NASA's design which would require the use of the latest manufacturing and integration processes to meet NASA budget and schedule targets. Past production experience has established that the majority of the life cycle cost is established during the initial design process. Concept of Operations (CONOPs) visualizations/simulations help to reduce life cycle cost during the early design stage. Production and operation visualizations can reduce tooling, factory capacity, safety, and build process risks while spreading program support across government, academic, media and public constituencies. The NASA/Boeing production visualization (DELMIA; Digital Enterprise Lean Manufacturing Interactive Application) promotes timely, concurrent and collaborative producibility analysis (Boeing)while supporting Upper Stage Design Cycles (NASA). The DELMIA CONOPs visualization reduced overall Upper Stage production flow time at the manufacturing facility by over 100 man-days to 312.5 man-days and helped to identify technical access issues. The NASA/Boeing Interactive Concept of Operations (ICON) provides interactive access to Ares using real mission parameters, allows users to configure the mission which encourages ownership and identifies areas for improvement, allows mission operations or spacecraft detail to be added as needed, and provides an effective, low coast advocacy, outreach and education tool.

Chilton, James H.↗