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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2025

E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility Inadvertent Human Intruder Limits and Doses in Support of the PA2022

This report documents the inadvertent human intruder (IHI) analysis for the E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility (ELLWF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), near Aiken, South Carolina. This analysis supports the revised ELLWF Performance Assessment (PA), complying with the Department of Energy standard for operation of low-level waste disposal facilities (USDOE, 2017). The ELLWF is an operating waste disposal facility and is scheduled to continue accepting waste to 2065. One task of the revised PA is to establish waste inventory limits for the various disposal units at ELLWF. This is done by modeling future contaminant release and transport through applicable pathways to human receptors, comparing predicted doses per disposed curie with applicable performance measures, to obtain inventory limits which will assure that doses to receptors do not exceed performance measures. This report documents results of modeling future doses to one class of receptor, the inadvertent human intruder. It is assumed that after site closure, public knowledge of the site is lost, and IHIs will engage in activities on the ELLWF that will disrupt the closure cap, causing dose to the IHI. Following USDOE (2017), six different stylized exposure scenarios are considered, simulating activities by an IHI which could result in a radiological dose. The six scenarios are: • Acute – Basement Construction: IHI constructs a basement and encounters waste during excavation which is inadvertently mixed with clean soil and diluted. • Acute – Well Drilling: IHI drills a water well through waste and is exposed to drill cuttings mixed with clean soil that are brought to the surface. • Acute – Discovery: IHI begins constructing a basement but stops when encountering the riprap in the final closure cap and is exposed to photon radiation from unexcavated material residing in the undisturbed waste zone. • Chronic – Agriculture: Resident IHI is exposed to waste that was excavated for basement construction and mixed with native soil in the intruder’s vegetable garden. • Chronic – Post-Drilling: Resident IHI is exposed to waste from drill cuttings mixed with native soil and scattered in the garden area. • Chronic – Residential: Resident IHI is exposed to external radiation while in home located above waste with shielding provided by the concrete basement floor and any soil or engineered material remaining between the basement and waste. Dose calculations are performed using the SRNL Dose Toolkit (Aleman, 2023), following the approach of Smith et al (2019). Calculations are performed separately for 27 of the 33 disposal units (DUs) at ELLWF and are radionuclide specific. The results of the IHI analysis include: • Dose Factors: mrem per disposed curie (acute) and mrem/yr per disposed curie (chronic) for each parent radionuclide, for each DU. • Inventory Limits: in curies, for each parent radionuclide, for each DU. • Estimated Dose to IHI: mrem (acute) and mrem/yr (chronic), for each DU, given its projected closure inventory without inventory biases applied. Most DU-specific IHI inventory limits are in the range of 10 3 to 10 7 curies per nuclide. The lowest inventory limits are associated with gamma-emitters such as Sn-126, Ra-226, Th-232, and Cm-248. Radionuclides with short half-lives such as Pu-241, and nuclides which are pure beta emitters or which decay by electron capture, such as Ni-59 and Ni-63, have the highest limits. For the 27 evaluated DUs, predicted IHI doses are shown in Table ES-1. The maximum acute dose is 1.18 mrem, at ST23, much less than the DOE performance measure of 500 mrem (USDOE, 2017). The highest chronic dose is 37.2 mrem/yr at ST02, below the DOE performance measure of 100 mrem/yr. Also shown are estimated inventory sums of fractions (SOFs) at closure in 2065, for groundwater (GW) and IHI pathways. For each DU, the inventory is constrained by the GW pathway. For most DUs, the IHI SOFs are approximately 1000 times lower than the GW SOF values, and the IHI pathway does not drive risk for any disposal unit.

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NASA NTRS1991

Indigenous lunar construction materials

The utilization of local resources for the construction and operation of a lunar base can significantly reduce the cost of transporting materials and supplies from Earth. The feasibility of processing lunar regolith to form construction materials and structural components is investigated. A preliminary review of potential processing methods such as sintering, hot-pressing, liquification, and cast basalt techniques, was completed. The processing method proposed is a variation on the cast basalt technique. It involves liquification of the regolith at 1200-1300 C, casting the liquid into a form, and controlled cooling. While the process temperature is higher than that for sintering or hot-pressing (1000-1100 C), this method is expected to yield a true engineering material with low variability in properties, high strength, and the potential to form large structural components. A scenario for this processing method was integrated with a design for a representative lunar base structure and potential construction techniques. The lunar shelter design is for a modular, segmented, pressurized, hemispherical dome which could serve as habitation and laboratory space. Based on this design, estimates of requirements for power, processing equipment, and construction equipment were made. This proposed combination of material processing method, structural design, and support requirements will help to establish the feasibility of lunar base construction using indigenous materials. Future work will refine the steps of the processing method. Specific areas where more information is needed are: furnace characteristics in vacuum; heat transfer during liquification; viscosity, pouring and forming behavior of molten regolith; design of high temperature forms; heat transfer during cooling; recrystallization of basalt; and refinement of estimates of elastic moduli, compressive and tensile strength, thermal expansion coefficient, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity. The preliminary design of the lunar shelter showed us that joining is a critical technology needed for building a structure from large segments. The problem of joining is important to the design of any structure that is not completely prefabricated. It is especially important when the structure is subjected to tensile loading by an internal pressure. For a lunar shelter constructed from large segments the joints between these large segments must be strong, and they must permit automated construction. With a cast basalt building material which is brittle, there is the additional problem of connecting the joint with the material and avoiding stress concentration that would cause failure. Thus, a well-defined project which we intend to pursue during this coming year is the design of joints for cast basalt structural elements.

Rogers, Wayne P.↗

DOE OSTI2016

Progress in developing laser based post irradiation examination infrastructure

To be able to understand the performance of reactor fuels and materials, irradiated materials must be characterized effectively and efficiently in high rad environments. This characterization work is performed remotely and in environments generally hostile to instrumentation. Laser based characterization techniques provide the ability to operate remotely and robustly in a hot-cell environment. Laser based instrumentation also can provide high spatial resolution suitable for scanning and imaging large areas. The INL is currently developing three laser based Post Irradiation Examination (PIE) stations for the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) at the INL. These laser based systems will characterize irradiated materials and fuels. The characterization systems are the following: -) laser shock, -) laser based ultrasonic C-scan system and -) gas assay, sample and recharge system (GASR, up-grade to an existing system). The laser shock technique will characterize material properties and failure loads/mechanisms in various materials such as Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel, plate fuel, and next generation fuel forms in high radiation areas. The laser shock-technique induces large amplitude shock waves to mechanically characterize interfaces such as the fuel-clad bond. As part of the laser shock system, a laser-based ultrasonic C-scan system will be used to detect and characterize de bonding caused by the application of the laser shock as well as performing classical non-destructive evaluation testing and imaging functions such as microstructure characterization, flaw detection and dimensional metrology. A spectroscopy capability can be added later as the salient components to perform Light Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy will be in place. Additional fiber ports in the feed-through will also enable future spectroscopic techniques to be efficiently installed and operated. The purpose of the GASR is to measure the pressure/volume of the plenum of an irradiated fuel element/capsule and obtain fission gas samples for analysis. The study of pressure and volume in the plenum of an irradiated fuel element/capsule and the analysis of fission gases released is important to understanding the performance of reactor fuels and materials. The main function of the laser in this application is to puncture the fuel rod or plate to allow the fission gas to escape and if necessary to weld the hole close. This system may also be used to measure the pressure/volume of other components (such as control blades) and obtain gas samples from these components for analysis. The GASR upgrade will match the functionality of the current system and provide these important functions on fuels made from current and future engineered materials. The GASR station will also have the inherent capability to perform cutting welding and joining functions within a hot-cell. The extra fiber ports built into the hot cell feed-through will also enable the efficient installation of future laser processing work benches. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2022

The role of pre-existing heterogeneities in materials under shock and spall

There has been a challenge for many decades to understand how heterogeneities influence the behavior of materials under shock loading, eventually leading to spall formation and failure. Experimental, analytical, and computational techniques have matured to the point where systematic studies of materials with complex microstructures under shock loading and the associated failure mechanisms are feasible. This is enabled by more accurate diagnostics as well as characterization methods. As interest in complex materials grows, understanding and predicting the role of heterogeneities in determining the dynamic behavior becomes crucial. Early computational studies, hydrocodes, in particular, historically preclude any irregularities in the form of defects and impurities in the material microstructure for the sake of simplification and to retain the hydrodynamic conservation equations. Contemporary computational methods, notably molecular dynamics simulations, can overcome this limitation by incorporating inhomogeneities albeit at a much lower length and time scale. This review discusses literature that has focused on investigating the role of various imperfections in the shock and spall behavior, emphasizing mainly heterogeneities such as second-phase particles, inclusions, and voids under both shock compression and release. Pre-existing defects are found in most engineering materials, ranging from thermodynamically necessary vacancies, to interstitial and dislocation, to microstructural features such as inclusions, second phase particles, voids, grain boundaries, and triple junctions. This literature review explores the interaction of these heterogeneities under shock loading during compression and release. Systematic characterization of material heterogeneities before and after shock loading, along with direct measurements of Hugoniot elastic limit and spall strength, allows for more generalized theories to be formulated. Further, continuous improvement toward time-resolved, in situ experimental data strengthens the ability to elucidate upon results gathered from simulations and analytical models, thus improving the overall ability to understand and predict how materials behave under dynamic loading.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Hyperspectral interference tomography of nacre

Significance We invented an optical technique—hyperspectral interference tomography—that rapidly and nondestructively extracts nanoscale structural information across large samples of nacre (mother-of-pearl) and other layered materials by combining multiangle and polarization-resolved hyperspectral imaging with optical-interference modeling. We investigated nacre in mollusk shells from two different species, red abalone and rainbow abalone, and discovered a previously unknown relationship between the age of the mollusk and the thickness of aragonite tablets in nacre. Hyperspectral interference tomography will have applications in climate science, since nacre tablet thickness in fossil shells is a proxy for ancient seawater temperature, and in bioinspired mechanics, because the layered structure of nacre inspires engineered materials with exceptional strength and toughness.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2020

Engineered Barrier System Research Activities at LBNL (FY2020 Progress Report)

The design of a radioactive waste repository typically involves a multi-barrier system, including the natural barrier system (NBS), i.e., the host rock and its surrounding subsurface environment, and an engineered barrier system (EBS). The EBS is to be constructed from the man-made, engineered materials placed within a repository. The repository includes the waste form, waste canisters, buffer materials, backfill, and seals. The most common buffer material for EBS is compacted bentonite, which features low permeability and high retardation of radionuclides. Extensive studies concerning the behavior of bentonite backfill in crystalline and argillite/shale geologic environments for nuclear waste disposal have been conducted by means of laboratory experiments, numerical modeling, and large-scale in situ tests in Underground Research Laboratories (URLs) in Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Japan. This report includes the results of LBNL’s research activities conducted according to the objectives and scope of the work packages “SF-20LB01030802 Engineered Barrier System R&D - LBNL” and “SF-20LB01030806 Engineered Barrier System International Collaborations - LBNL” of the Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology (SFWST) (formerly called Used Fuel Disposal) Campaign of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy. LBNL research studies included laboratory scale tests and modeling of the evolution of the EBS bentonite and associated coupled processes, and impacts of high temperature on parameters and processes relevant to the performance of crystalline and argillite repositories, including the evaluation of the technical basis for applying the maximum allowable temperature. The results of these studies are being addressing the technical elements necessary to evaluate the EBS design concepts. Emphasis is on the study of thermal, mechanical, and chemical processes that influence the performance of EBS, and the development of modeling capability for reliable assessment of these processes, and ultimately supporting the development of the GDSA model with detailed coupled THMC process models.

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NASA NTRS2001

Particle Engulfment and Pushing By Solidifying Interfaces

The phenomenon of interaction of particles with solid-liquid interfaces (SLI) has been studied since the mid 1960's. While the original interest stemmed from geology applications (frost heaving in soil), researchers soon realized that fundamental understanding of particles behavior at solidifying interfaces might yield practical benefits in other fields, including metallurgy. In materials engineering the main issue is the location of particles with respect to grain boundaries at the end of solidification. Considerable experimental and theoretical research was lately focused on applications to metal matrix composites produced by casting or spray forming techniques, and on inclusion management in steel. Another application of particle SLI interaction is in the growing of Y1Ba2Cu3O(7-delta) (123) superconductor crystals from an undercooled liquid. The oxide melt contains Y2Ba1Cu1O5 (211) precipitates, which act as flux pinning sites. The experimental evidence on transparent organic materials, as well as the recent in situ observations on steel demonstrates that there exist a critical velocity of the planar SLI below which particles are pushed ahead of the interface, and above which particles are engulfment. The engulfment of a SiC particle in succinonitrile is exemplified. However, in most commercial alloys dendritic interfaces must be considered. Indeed, most data available on metallic alloys are on dendritic structures. The term engulfment is used to describe incorporation of a particle by a planar or cellular interface as a result of local interface perturbation, as opposed to entrapment that implies particle incorporation at cells or dendrites boundaries. During entrapment the particles are pushed in the intercellular or interdendritic regions and then captured when local solidification occurs. The physics of these two phenomena is fundamentally different.

Stefanescu, Doru M.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Ameliorating Global Challenges: Globalization, Geopolitics, Basic & Applied Research, and Research Security

We are confronted with a myriad of global challenges, from extreme weather events, occurring at higher frequencies than at any point in history, to pollution, food insecurity, clean water shortages, and fundamentally limited natural resources and materials. The largest number of people inhabit our planet today and enjoy the highest standard of living - though not equally distributed across the world - compared to any prior moment in history. To sustain this quality of life, we are largely reliant on fossil fuel sources, which are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions by weight each day than the collective weight of all humans that inhabit the planet. Ameliorating these global challenges will require elements of solutions that include advances in basic and applied research, innovative global engineering, materials discovery, new technologies, manufacturing at scale, resilient and adaptable infrastructure, carbon-free energy sources and storage technologies, and new supply chain networks and markets. Success will require constructive collaborative efforts between researchers in countries located in every continent of this planet. For any of these goals to be realized in a timely fashion, geopolitical leaders must become better educated about this existential challenge and incentivized to act.

applied research↗

NASA NTRS1979

Composite structural materials

A multifaceted program is described in which aeronautical, mechanical, and materials engineers interact to develop composite aircraft structures. Topics covered include: (1) the design of an advanced composite elevator and a proposed spar and rib assembly; (2) optimizing fiber orientation in the vicinity of heavily loaded joints; (3) failure mechanisms and delamination; (4) the construction of an ultralight sailplane; (5) computer-aided design; finite element analysis programs, preprocessor development, and array preprocessor for SPAR; (6) advanced analysis methods for composite structures; (7) ultrasonic nondestructive testing; (8) physical properties of epoxy resins and composites; (9) fatigue in composite materials, and (10) transverse thermal expansion of carbon/epoxy composites.

Ansell, G. S.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Phase Diagrams of Electric-Fduced Aggregation in Conducting Colloids

Under the application of a sufficiently strong electric field, a suspension may undergo reversible phase transitions from a homogeneous random arrangement of particles into a variety of ordered aggregation patterns. The surprising fact about electric-field driven phase transitions is that the aggregation patterns, that are observed in very diverse systems of colloids, display a number of common structural features and modes of evolution thereby implying that a universal mechanism may exist to account for these phenomena. It is now generally believed that this mechanism emanates from the presence of the long-range anisotropic interactions between colloidal particles due to their polarization in an applied field. But, in spite of numerous applications of the electric-field-driven phenomena in biotechnology, separation, materials engineering, chemical analysis, etc. our understanding of these phenomena is far from complete. Thus, it is the purpose of the proposed research to develop a theory and then test experimentally, under normal- and low-gravity conditions, the accuracy of the theoretical predictions regarding the effect of the synergism of the interparticle electric and hydrodynamic interactions on the phase diagram of a suspension. The main results from our theoretical studies performed to-date enable one to trace how the variations of the electrical properties of the constituent materials influence the topology of the suspension phase diagram and then, by using an appropriate phase diagram, to evaluate how the electric-field-induced transformations will depend on the frequency and the strength of the applied field.

Khusid, B.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Polymers Advance Heat Management Materials for Vehicles

For 6 years prior to the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, the shuttles carried an onboard repair kit with a tool for emergency use: two tubes of NOAX, or "good goo," as some people called it. NOAX flew on all 22 flights following the Columbia accident, and was designed to repair damage that occurred on the exterior of the shuttle. Bill McMahon, a structural materials engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center says NASA needed a solution for the widest range of possible damage to the shuttle s exterior thermal protection system. "NASA looked at several options in early 2004 and decided on a sealant. Ultimately, NOAX performed the best and was selected," he says. To prove NOAX would work effectively required hundreds of samples manufactured at Marshall and Johnson, and a concerted effort from various NASA field centers. Johnson Space Center provided programmatic leadership, testing, tools, and crew training; Glenn Research Center provided materials analysis; Langley Research Center provided test support and led an effort to perform large patch repairs; Ames Research Center provided additional testing; and Marshall provided further testing and the site of NOAX manufacturing. Although the sealant never had to be used in an emergency situation, it was tested by astronauts on samples of reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) during two shuttle missions. (RCC is the thermal material on areas of the shuttle that experience the most heat, such as the nose cone and wing leading edges.) The material handled well on orbit, and tests showed the NOAX patch held up well on RCC.

Source record↗

DOE OSTI2024

Feature Based Qualification (FBQ) of Wire Arc Additively Manufactured (WAAM) 17-4PH Martensitic Stainless Steels

The Department of Defense (DOD) programs of records desire to reduce the time and cost of the development and delivery loop in metal additive manufacturing (AM), including establishing forwarded AM capabilities. The success of these efforts relies on a robust and qualified process. To achieve this, the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center Materials Engineering (GVME) needs to be able to quickly evaluate, test, and develop feedstocks, processes, and parts. This report is directed towards demonstrating the need for a framework for metal AM processes, defining and exploring geometries for metal AM process qualification, testing resultant deposition, and delivering actionable data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Advancing Development and Application of Superalloys

This JOM topic is sponsored by the High Temperature Alloys Committee of TMS and addresses advances in the development and application of superalloys. Each year, the High Temperature Alloys Committee organizes symposia at the TMS and Materials Science and Technology annual meetings. In 2020, two symposia were organized for the TMS annual meeting on February 23–27 in San Diego, CA: Materials Design Approaches & Experiences V, co-sponsored by the Integrated Computational Materials Engineering Committee and Advancing Current and State-of-the-Art Applications of Ni- and Co-base Superalloys, co-sponsored by the Corrosion and Environmental Effects Committee. Later this year, the 14th International Symposium on Superalloys will be held on September 13-17 in Seven Springs, PA. The conference, held every 4 years, convenes members of the superalloy community to discuss recent challenges and discoveries affecting future performance and use of superalloys. The TMS High Temperature Alloys Committee meets at both the TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition and the annual Materials Science and Technology conference. The meetings are open to anyone interested in high-temperature alloys. This special topic on Advancing Development and Application of Superalloys includes a range of sub-topics including mechanical performance, corrosion resistance, processing and advanced manufacturing techniques, which were submitted by research groups from industry, national laboratories and universities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

An FEM-Based Peridynamic Model for Failure Analysis of Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Laminates

To predict the mixed damage modes of unidirectional fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates under dynamic loading, an FEM-based peridynamic model is introduced in this paper. Based on its geometric structure and material composition, a long fiber lamina is considered a transversely isotropic medium as a result of homogenization at the meso-scale. The laminated structure is modeled by stacking surface mesh layers with arbitrary fiber angles along the thickness direction. The peridynamic bonds between Gauss points connect the separated elements. These bonds are classified as inner-layer bonds and inter-layer bonds. To represent the anisotropy of a laminate, the micro-elastic modulus of the inner-layer and inter-layer bonds is calculated from the anisotropic engineering material constants separately. To capture complex failure behaviors of laminate structures, an empirical damage model is proposed for the tension/ compression breakage of peridynamic bonds. This damage model can control the in-plane and delamination failure process. Finally, benchmark tests are conducted to validate the elastic response of laminates under dynamic loading. In terms of damage analysis, the proposed model can capture the complex damage modes and resistive force of laminate structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Lattice Softening Significantly Reduces Thermal Conductivity and Leads to High Thermoelectric Efficiency

The influence of micro/nanostructure on thermal conductivity is a topic of great scientific interest, particularly to thermoelectrics. The current understanding is that structural defects decrease thermal conductivity through phonon scattering where the phonon dispersion and speed of sound are assumed to remain constant. Experimental work on a PbTe model system is presented, which show that the speed of sound linearly decreases with increased internal strain. This softening of the materials lattice completely accounts for the reduction in lattice thermal conductivity, without the introduction of additional phonon scattering mechanisms. Additionally, it is shown that a major contribution to the improvement in the thermoelectric figure of merit (zT > 2) of high-efficiency Na-doped PbTe can be attributed to lattice softening. While inhomogeneous internal strain fields are known to introduce phonon scattering centers, this study demonstrates that internal strain can modify phonon propagation speed as well. This introduces new avenues to control lattice thermal conductivity, beyond phonon scattering. In practice, many engineering materials will exhibit both softening and scattering effects, as is shown in silicon. Here, we shine new light on studies of thermal conductivity in fields of energy materials, microelectronics, and nanoscale heat transfer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

A printed, recyclable, ultra-strong, and ultra-tough graphite structural material

The high mechanical performance of common structural materials (e.g., metals, alloys, and ceramics) originates from strong primary bonds (i.e., metallic, covalent, ionic) between constituent atoms. However, the large formation energy of primary bonds requires high temperatures in order to process these materials, resulting in significant manufacturing costs and a substantial environmental footprint. In this work, we report a strategy to leverage secondary bonds (e.g., hydrogen bonds) to produce a high-performance and low-cost material that outperforms most existing structural compounds. By dispersing graphite flakes and nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) in water at room temperature to form a stable and homogeneous solution with a high solid concentration (20 wt%), we demonstrate this slurry can be scalably printed to manufacture a graphite-NFC composite that exhibits a high tensile strength (up to 1.0 GPa) and toughness (up to 30.0 MJ/m 3 ). The low density of graphite and cellulose leads to a specific strength of the composite (794 MPa/(g cm -3 )) that is significantly greater than most engineering materials (e.g., steels, aluminum, and titanium alloys). We demonstrate how hydrogen bonds between the graphite flakes and NFC play a pivotal role in the superb mechanical performance of the composite, also enabling this low-cost material to be recyclable for an environmentally sustainable solution to high performance structural materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2018

WIPP Space Faces TRU Waste Disposal Limits; The Volume Reducing Solution - 18365

Transuranic (TRU) waste packaging for removal from a glovebox has for many years involved the use of bags as the primary containment. In many cases, many hydrogenous layers of bags, yards of tape, and multiple filters are added to the waste stream in order to get the TRU waste into the final 55 gallon drum package to be shipped and buried at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The WIPP is currently limited to a total finite disposed volume of Contact Handled (CH) and Remote Handled (RH) TRU waste. As of early 2014 over half of the allotted WIPP volume had been filled with mainly CH-TRU waste. Based on current bag operation packaging methods used, the Department of Energy's (DOE) remaining CH and RH waste will not fit in the remaining limited WIPP space. Bag operations, can be performed safely by good operators following tedious repetitive processes and many Administrative Safety Controls. Since the bag is the only confinement layer between the contamination and the operator, contamination incidents can occur. Bag-out operations require close proximity to the waste to perform the process. With some waste streams, this close to waste proximity increases operator radiation dose. Central Research Laboratories (CRL), based in Red Wing Minnesota, who for many decades has developed proven engineered material transfer solutions based around their Rapid Transfer Port (RTP) technology, has worked with DOE sites to develop a TRU Waste Management Solution. The solution is a single filtered large Polyethylene (PE) or Stainless Steel (SST) Rapid Transfer Port container in a standard Department of Transportation (DOT) 7A, Type A drum, which allows for loading of TRU waste directly from the operational glovebox without the use of bags, sleeves or tapes to provide leak tight containment. All operator interventions to connect and disconnect a drum to and from the glovebox are achieved in an upright ergonomic position by one (1) operator in less than three (3) minutes. Minimal As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) levels are achieved during connect and disconnect of the drum, due to the engineered safety controls of the RTP. The CRL RTP solution allows glovebox or re-packaged TRU waste to be safely transferred to the final 55 Gallon drum container without additional bags or tape. The high diffusion coefficient filter on the CRL RTP 55G container and elimination of added hydrogenous packaging, improves the Decay Heat Limit (DHL) per drum for most TRU waste types compared with bagged drums, and in most cases allows more TRU waste to be loaded per drum. Inorganic TRU waste materials can be packaged directly into the CRL RTP SST drum container to the maximum DHL and Fissile Gram Equivalent (FGE) allowable for a drum. This paper will show how highly efficient TRAMPAC approved TRU waste packaging of CH and RH TRU waste can be accomplished in a safer, cost effective manner without adding any additional packaging materials to the waste stream, thus increasing the chance of placing all DOE's legacy and to be generated TRU waste in the remaining WIPP space. (authors)

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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ICME for NASA Aerospace Applications: Batteries for Electric Aviation

NASA’s approach to computational materials modeling is detailed in the NASA Vision 2040 Roadmap for Multiscale Modeling and Simulation of Materials and Systems. This report is in the spirit of national initiatives such as the Material Genome Initiative (MGI), Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME), and others. We utilize a combination of fundamental modeling, computational high-throughput screening, and data science methods, e.g., machine learning, are used to find innovative solutions to NASA or national technology challenges. Applications of interest are wide ranging from advanced alloys to batteries to coatings, among others. In this talk, we present three examples for recent work related to NASA applications. First, doping advanced sulfur battery cathodes with selenium boosts electrical conductivity important for electric aircraft applications. First principles calculations will be discussed that result in compositional design maps for these materials. Second, development of icephobic coatings is important to mitigate safety hazards associated with icing for aircraft. Molecular dynamics simulations are reported for ice-surface interfaces to understand adhesion mechanisms and help screen optimal ice-phobic coatings. Third, shape memory alloys have numerous applications as actuators, superelastic materials, etc. for aerospace. We report machine learning models that predict martensitic transition temperatures across a broad swath of compositional space.

John Lawson↗