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DOE OSTI2023

Overview on Shielding Analyses for the VENUS Instrument at SNS

VENUS, a world‐class versatile neutron imaging instrument, is under construction and is expected to be completed and ready to start commissioning in 2023. The range of cold to epithermal neutrons at SNS will give users of VENUS access to novel imaging methods, as well as to significantly improved existing methods. The instrument is being built on beam line 10 at Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) First Target Station (FTS) facing a decoupled poisoned hydrogen moderator. Instrument design, which includes optics, Front-End components and instrument enclosure components and shape started over 10 years ago and during this time had significant changes. All changes were supported by neutronics analyses to provide adequate shielding for both Front-End and instrument enclosure.Final optics design will provide the field of view (FOV) at the detector position (where the image is formed) to be as high as 0.20 by 0.20 m. Both the beam, which contains a large fraction of high-energy neutrons, and the desire for a large footprint on the detector are challenges for shielding design and budget, because the driving cost for the instrument is the beam line and enclosure shielding. For cost reason VENUS baseline design is optimized with respect to both the instrument cave footprint and its wall thickness, and Front-End shielding is tailored along the beam. Analyses are performed with the Monte Carlo particle transport code MCNPX version 2.7.0 to make choices on materials, thicknesses and configurations of the shielding. Numerous calculations are performed to meet space and coast constrain and to satisfy instrument physics needs and to comply with radiation protection requirements.

Gallmeier, Franz X.↗

DOE OSTI2015

Scoping Study Investigating PWR Instrumentation during a Severe Accident Scenario

The accidents at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) and Fukushima Daiichi Units 1, 2, and 3 nuclear power plants demonstrate the critical importance of accurate, relevant, and timely information on the status of reactor systems during a severe accident. These events also highlight the critical importance of understanding and focusing on the key elements of system status information in an environment where operators may be overwhelmed with superfluous and sometimes conflicting data. While progress in these areas has been made since TMI-2, the events at Fukushima suggests that there may still be a potential need to ensure that critical plant information is available to plant operators. Recognizing the significant technical and economic challenges associated with plant modifications, it is important to focus on instrumentation that can address these information critical needs. As part of a program initiated by the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), a scoping effort was initiated to assess critical information needs identified for severe accident management and mitigation in commercial Light Water Reactors (LWRs), to quantify the environment instruments monitoring this data would have to survive, and to identify gaps where predicted environments exceed instrumentation qualification envelop (QE) limits. Results from the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) scoping evaluations are documented in this report. The PWR evaluations were limited in this scoping evaluation to quantifying the environmental conditions for an unmitigated Short-Term Station BlackOut (STSBO) sequence in one unit at the Surry nuclear power station. Results were obtained using the MELCOR models developed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-sponsored State of the Art Consequence Assessment (SOARCA) program project. Results from this scoping evaluation indicate that some instrumentation identified to provide critical information would be exposed to conditions that significantly exceeded QE limits for extended time periods for the low frequency STSBO sequence evaluated in this study. It is recognized that the core damage frequency (CDF) of the sequence evaluated in this scoping effort would be considerably lower if evaluations considered new FLEX equipment being installed by industry. Nevertheless, because of uncertainties in instrumentation response when exposed to conditions beyond QE limits and alternate challenges associated with different sequences that may impact sensor performance, it is recommended that additional evaluations of instrumentation performance be completed to provide confidence that operators have access to accurate, relevant, and timely information on the status of reactor systems for a broad range of challenges associated with risk important severe accident sequences.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Direct Reading Particle Counters: Calibration Verification and Multiple Instrument Agreement via Bump Testing

We examined the calibration records of two direct reading instruments designated as condensation particle counters in order to determine the number of times they were found to be out of tolerance at annual manufacturer's recalibration. For both instruments were found to be out of tolerance more times than within tolerance. And, it was concluded that annual calibration alone was insufficient to provide operational confidence in an instrument's response. Thus, a method based on subsequent agreement with data gathered from a newly calibrated instrument was developed to confirm operational readiness between annual calibrations, hereafter referred to as bump testing. The method consists of measuring source particles produced by a gas grille spark igniter in a gallon-size jar. Sampling from this chamber with a newly calibrated instrument to determine the calibrated response over the particle concentration range of interest serves as a reference. Agreement between this reference response and subsequent responses at later dates implies that the instrument is performing as it was at the time of calibration. Side-by-side sampling allows the level of agreement between two or more instruments to be determined. This is useful when simultaneously collected data are compared for differences, i.e., background with process aerosol concentrations. A reference set of data was obtained using the spark igniter. The generation system was found to be reproducible and suitable to form the basis of calibration verification. Finally, the bump test is simple enough to be performed periodically throughout the calibration year or prior to field monitoring.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2015

Advanced Instrumentation for Ultrafast Science at the LCLS

This grant supported a Single Investigator and Small Group Research (SISGR) application to enable multi-user research in Ultrafast Science using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s first hard x-ray free electron laser (FEL) which lased for the first time at 1.5 Å on April 20, 2009. The goal of our proposal was to enable a New Era of Science by requesting funds to purchase and build Advanced Instrumentation for Ultrafast Science (AIUS), to utilize the intense, short x-ray pulses produced by the LCLS. The proposed instrumentation will allow peer review selected users to probe the ultrasmall and capture the ultrafast. These tools will expand on the investment already made in the construction of the light source and its instrumentation in both the LCLS and LUSI projects. The AIUS will provide researchers in the AMO, Chemical, Biological and Condensed Matter communities with greater flexibility in defining their scientific agenda at the LCLS. The proposed instrumentation will complement and significantly augment the present AMO instrument (funded through the LCLS project) through detectors and capabilities not included in the initial suite of instrumentation at the facility. We have built all of the instrumentations and they have been utilized by scientists. Please see report attached.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Solar Radiometer Instrumentation Evaluation: Cooperative Research and Development (Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-16-00619)

The purpose and intent of this agreement is to evaluate newly manufactured thermopile pyranometers and spectroradiometers. The purpose also extends to provide a framework for Participant to conduct research to improve and develop new radiometric devices and application in the future. The overall objective is to provide more accurate, site-specific, long-term, continuous measurements of the solar resources needed by industry to increase the deployment and improve the operations of photovoltaic and concentrating solar power plants. This CRADA addresses the needs for proven solar irradiance measurement to validate resource assessment models and generate high quality data used for site selection, energy system design, deployment, maintenance, and operation. This work will be conducted at NREL and Participant facilities. This project will place instrumentation at the NREL Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) in cooperation with EKO Instruments, USA. Participant instruments will be deployed for the purpose of evaluation under controlled conditions. The scope of the project will be a 3 years-long segmented comparison of the instruments vs. other NREL baseline instruments with a well-characterized history. These evaluations will include planned improvements to instruments as well as extensions of future instrument applications. The final evaluation will be a written report similar to the work done by Wilcox and Myers (see http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/44627.pdf).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of Nuclear Sensors and Instrumentation Maturity in Advanced Nuclear Reactors

In the last decade, 97% of the worldwide commercial nuclear reactors connected to the grid were Light Water Reactors (LWRs). LWRs are expected to stay the dominant type of nuclear reactors for the next few decades. Reliable and redundant safety systems are required in nuclear reactors to ensure safe operation and shutdown in abnormal conditions. These safety systems are actuated by the signals obtained from several sensors and instrumentation in and out of the reactor core. Research and Development (R&D) in advanced sensors and instrumentation has gained extra attention, particularly following the accident at the Three Mile Island Unit-2 (TMI-2). In LWRs, these sensors and instrumentation have shown a high level of maturity with long operating experience. Ensuring the compatibility of these sensors and instrumentation with advanced nuclear reactors (Generation IV) is necessary, particularly with the expected expansion of the nuclear industry in the next few decades. Nuclear Sensor and instrumentation technologies used in the current generation of LWRs were investigated. The compatibility of these technologies with advanced reactors was assessed by comparing the advanced reactors' environments with those of the currently operating reactors. In addition to that, the needed R&D for such technologies was highlighted. In comparison with the LWRs environment, it was shown that advanced reactor environments are expected to experience elevated temperatures, a fast neutron spectrum, and a harsh corrosion environment. It was demonstrated that R&D is required mainly for fixed in-core nuclear sensors and instrumentation, while it is not a priority for ex-core nuclear sensors and instrumentation.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Nuclear Science User Facilities: Instrument Scientist Program

The traditional single institution User Facility model prevalent in the DOE complex funds Instrument Scientists (IS) full-time to collaborate with and guide users, disseminate results through publication, build a broad and competent user base, continuously improve instrumentation, enhance data collection methods, and improve data analysis methods. This model focuses the Instrument Scientist on ensuring that visiting researchers obtain the best and most comprehensive data. Instrument Scientists are also expected to establish personal research programs based on the use of the instrument(s) under their charge, which allows for further advances in instrumentation and science. This model ensures that the User Facility offers unique, world-leading instruments and data analysis to the user community, creates high demand among top researchers for the use of these capabilities, and as a result, positively impacts science and technology in the United States.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Instrumentation for the study of low emittance tuning and beam dynamics at CESR

The Cornell Electron-positron Storage Ring (CESR) has been converted from a High Energy Physics electron-positron collider to operate as a dedicated synchrotron light source for the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) and to conduct accelerator physics research as a test accelerator, capable of studying topics relevant to future damping rings, colliders and light sources. Some of the specific topics that were targeted for the initial phase of operation of the storage ring in this mode for CESR as a Test Accelerator (CesrTA) included 1) tuning techniques to produce low emittance beams, 2) the study of electron cloud development in a storage ring and 3) intra-beam scattering effects. The complete conversion of CESR to CesrTA occurred over a several year period, described elsewhere [1–3]. In addition to instrumentation for the storage ring, which was created for CesrTA, existing instrumentation was modified to facilitate the entire range of investigations to support these studies. Procedures were developed, often requiring coordinated measurements among different instruments [4]. This paper describes the instruments utilized for the study of beam dynamics during the operation of CesrTA. The treatment of these instruments will remain fairly general in this paper as it focuses on an overview of the instruments themselves. Their interaction and inter-relationships during sequences of observations is found in a companion paper describing the associated measurement techniques. Lastly, more detailed descriptions and detailed operational performance for some of the instrumentation may be found elsewhere and these will be referenced in the related sections of this paper.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Laboratory Experiments and Instrument Intercomparison Studies of Carbonaceous Aerosol Particles

Aerosols containing black carbon (and some specific types of organic particulate matter) directly absorb incoming light, heating the atmosphere. In addition, all aerosol particles backscatter solar light, leading to a net-cooling effect. Indirect effects involve hydrophilic aerosols, which serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) that affect cloud cover and cloud stability, impacting both atmospheric radiation balance and precipitation patterns. At night, all clouds produce local warming, but overall clouds exert a net-cooling effect on the Earth. The effect of aerosol radiative forcing on climate may be as large as that of the greenhouse gases, but predominantly opposite in sign and much more uncertain. The uncertainties in the representation of aerosol interactions in climate models makes it problematic to use model projections to guide energy policy. The objective of our program is to reduce the uncertainties in the aerosol radiative forcing in the two areas highlighted in the ASR Science and Program Plan. That is, (1) addressing the direct effect by correlating particle chemistry and morphology with particle optical properties (i.e. absorption, scattering, extinction), and (2) addressing the indirect effect by correlating particle hygroscopicity and CCN activity with particle size, chemistry, and morphology. In this connection we are systematically studying particle formation, oxidation, and the effects of particle coating. The work is specifically focused on carbonaceous particles where the uncertainties in the climate relevant properties are the highest. The ongoing work consists of laboratory experiments and related instrument inter-comparison studies both coordinated with field and modeling studies, with the aim of providing reliable data to represent aerosol processes in climate models. The work is performed in the aerosol laboratory at Boston College. At the center of our laboratory setup are two main sources for the production of aerosol particles: (a) two well-characterized source of soot particles and (b) a flow reactor for controlled OH and/or O3 oxidation of relevant gas phase species to produce well-characterized SOA particles. After formation, the aerosol particles are subjected to physical and chemical processes that simulate aerosol growth and aging. A suite of instruments in our laboratory is used to characterize the physical and chemical properties of aerosol particles before and after processing. The Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ToF-AMS) together with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) measures particle mass, volume, density, composition (including black carbon content), dynamic shape factor, and fractal dimension. The–ToF-AMS was developed at ARI with Boston College participation. About 120 AMS instruments are now in service (including 5 built for DOE laboratories) performing field and laboratory studies world-wide. Other major instruments include a thermal denuder, two Differential Mobility Analyzers (DMA), a Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter (CCN), a Thermal desorption Aerosol GC/MS (TAG) and the new Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SP-AMS). Optical instrumentation required for the studies have been brought to our laboratory as part of ongoing and planned collaborative projects with colleagues from DOE, NOAA and university laboratories. Optical instruments that will be utilized include a Photoacoustic Spectrometer (PAS), a Cavity Ring Down Aerosol Extinction Spectrometer (CRD-AES), a Photo Thermal Interferometer (PTI), a new 7-wavelength Aethalometer and a Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift Extinction Monitor (CAPS). These instruments are providing aerosol absorption, extinction and scattering coefficients at a range of atmospherically relevant wavelengths. During the past two years our work has continued along the lines of our original proposal. We report on 12 completed and/or continuing projects conducted during the period 08/14 to 0814/2015. These projects are described in 17 manuscripts published in refereed journals.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2017

Scoping study to expedite development of a field deployable and portable instrument for UF6 enrichment assay

The primary objective of the present study is to identity the most promising, viable technologies that are likely to culminate in an expedited development of the next-generation, field-deployable instrument for providing rapid, accurate, and precise enrichment assay of uranium hexafluoride (UF6). UF6 is typically involved, and is arguably the most important uranium compound, in uranium enrichment processes. As the first line of defense against proliferation, accurate analytical techniques to determine the uranium isotopic distribution in UF6 are critical for materials verification, accounting, and safeguards at enrichment plants. As nuclear fuel cycle technology becomes more prevalent around the world, international nuclear safeguards and interest in UF6 enrichment assay has been growing. At present, laboratory-based mass spectrometry (MS), which offers the highest attainable analytical accuracy and precision, is the technique of choice for the analysis of stable and long-lived isotopes. Currently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors the production of enriched UF6 at declared facilities by collecting a small amount (between 1 to 10 g) of gaseous UF6 into a sample bottle, which is then shipped under chain of custody to a central laboratory (IAEA’s Nuclear Materials Analysis Laboratory) for high-precision isotopic assay by MS. The logistics are cumbersome and new shipping regulations are making it more difficult to transport UF6. Furthermore, the analysis is costly, and results are not available for some time after sample collection. Hence, the IAEA is challenged to develop effective safeguards approaches at enrichment plants. In-field isotopic analysis of UF6 has the potential to substantially reduce the time, logistics and expense of sample handling. However, current laboratory-based MS techniques require too much infrastructure and operator expertise for field deployment and operation. As outlined in the IAEA Department of Safeguards Long-Term R&D Plan, 2012–2023, one of the IAEA long-term R&D needs is to “develop tools and techniques to enable timely, potentially real-time, detection of HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium) production in LEU (Lowly Enriched Uranium) enrichment facilities” (Milestone 5.2). Because it is common that the next generation of analytical instruments is driven by technologies that are either currently available or just now emerging, one reasonable and practical approach to project the next generation of chemical instrumentation is to track the recent trends and to extrapolate them. This study adopted a similar approach, and an extensive literature review on existing and emerging technologies for UF6 enrichment assay was performed. The competitive advantages and current limitations of different analytical techniques for in-field UF6 enrichment assay were then compared, and the main gaps between needs and capabilities for their field use were examined. Subsequently, based on these results, technologies for the next-generation field-deployable instrument for UF6 enrichment assay were recommended. The study was organized in a way that a suite of assessment metric was first identified. Criteria used in this evaluation are presented in Section 1 of this report, and the most important ones are described briefly in the next few paragraphs. Because one driving force for in-field UF6 enrichment assay is related to the demanding transportation regulation for gaseous UF6, Section 2 contains a review of solid sorbents that convert and immobilized gaseous UF6 to a solid state, which is regarded as more transportation friendly and is less regulated. Furthermore, candidate solid sorbents, which show promise in mating with existing and emerging assay technologies, also factor into technology recommendations. Extensive literature reviews on existing and emerging technologies for UF6 enrichment assay, covering their scientific principles, instrument options, and current limitations are detailed in Sections 3 and 4, respectively. In Section 5, the technological gaps as well as start-of-the-art and commercial off-the-shelf components that can be adopted to expedite the development of a fieldable or portable UF6 enrichment-assay instrument are identified and discussed. Finally, based on the results of the review, requirements and recommendations for developing the next-generation field-deployable instrument for UF6 enrichment assay are presented in Section 6.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Response of Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation Cables Exposed to Fire Conditions.

This report presents the results of instrumentation cable tests sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research and performed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The goal of the tests was to assess thermal and electrical response behavior under fire-exposure conditions for instrumentation cables and circuits. The test objective was to assess how severe radiant heating conditions surrounding an instrumentation cable affect current or voltage signals in an instrumentation circuit. A total of thirty-nine small-scale tests were conducted. Ten different instrumentation cables were tested, ranging from one conductor to eight-twisted pairs. Because the focus of the tests was thermoset (TS) cables, only two of the ten cables had thermoplastic (TP) insulation and jacket material and the remaining eight cables were one of three different TS insulation and jacket material. Two instrumentation cables from previous cable fire testing were included, one TS and one TP. Three test circuits were used to simulate instrumentation circuits present in nuclear power plants: a 4–20 mA current loop, a 10–50 mA current loop and a 1–5 VDC voltage loop. A regression analysis was conducted to determine key variables affecting signal leakage time.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Standard Operating Procedure for Optimal Deployment of Meteorological Instrumentation Within the Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (BMS and RMS SOP)

The objective of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) is to collect and use high-quality solar radiation data sets for research leading to the widespread adoption of solar technologies. To appropriately populate and track the diverse array of instruments at the NREL-SRRL, NREL has established a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for optimal instrument deployment within the SRRL for both the Baseline Measurement System (BMS) and the Research Measurement System (RMS). Using best practices methodologies, the NREL-SRRL maintains a varied and extensive array of solar monitoring equipment to test, evaluate, and characterize the solar sensors used by federal and international agencies as well as the solar industry to determine the solar resource. The SOP provides the industry with guidance for solar resource assessment and is used for procedures in the long-term continuous monitoring of legacy instruments alongside state-of-the-art instruments. Based on the SOP, instruments are annually evaluated for continued deployment. Instruments that do not meet the SOP criteria are decommissioned, and new instruments that meet the criteria are deployed. Streamlining and optimizing the use of this facility ensures that the lab continues to be a world-leading solar calibration and measurement facility.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Infrared Cloud Imager Instrument Intercomparison Report

The Infrared Cloud Imager Instrument Intercomparison was a guest instrument deployment by NWB Sensors to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility observatory on the Southern Great Plains (SGP) between May 18 and December 12, 2023. NWB Sensors is a company that has developed a commercially available infrared cloud imager (ICI). The ICI provides radiometrically calibrated, full-sky images of the downwelling infrared radiance in the 7.3-14 µm band. In addition, it provides cloud radiance as the residual between the observed radiance and the modeled cloud-free radiance as well as derived cloud products. The instrument is used in applications that require consistent detection of clouds across day and night. For more information, consult the instrument's webpage. The primary goal of the deployment was to validate the radiometric accuracy of the ICI. The ICI uses a proprietary calibration method to convert the raw data from its infrared camera into downwelling radiance. Unlike similar instruments, the system does not have an onboard blackbody calibration standard. Instead, NWB Sensors characterizes each ICI camera individually in an environmental chamber while looking at a blackbody standard. The resulting (proprietary) calibration is used operationally in the instrument and has been demonstrated to be stable over long periods. To validate the radiometric products from the ICI, an intercomparison between the ICI data products and those from ARM’s atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer (AERI) was made. The AERI is a best-in-class instrument for measuring downwelling infrared radiance (Gero et al. 2025). A weighted integration of the AERI’s spectral radiances across the ICI’s camera response was performed. The resulting radiance (herein called the AERI radiance) was directly compared to the zenith radiance concurrently observed by the ICI. The results of these comparisons are reported in the next section of this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Steady-State Irradiation of Characterized Instruments for Nuclear Thermal Rockets Using In-Pile Experiment Apparatus

The development of nuclear rocket technology is critical for further exploration of extra-terrestrial bodies. Nuclear rockets can provide various advantages over current chemical rockets. However, the harsh environment provides several challenges regarding instrument performance. Temperature extremes, radiation (reactor and space), and the inability to conduct traditional maintenance activities can lead to severe degradation in instrument performance. To better understand the effects of radiation on instrumentation, an irradiation campaign has been designed to test a set of instruments provided by a collaborator in the aerospace industry. Details concerning instrument performance before and after irradiation are provided to allow for an analysis of the tested instruments. Additionally, the design of the irradiation test is described in detail.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

FY20 Report for Instrumentation Development for the Transient Testing Program

This yearly report provides a summary of accomplishments carried out under funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Technology Research and Development (NTRD) program for in-pile instrumentation supporting the transient testing program in FY20. These activities were performed in support of cross-cutting transient testing experiment objective. In this year, specific instrument R&D has been a lesser priority to years past, with complementary instrumentation R&D being ramped up under the DOE Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation Program. The primary focus of the work in FY20 pertain to defining a process and system, developed over the past several years, for developing, qualifying, and deploying instrumentation in in-pile experiments. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of these outcomes and be a reference for researchers that are interested in developing in-pile instrumentation, with a particular emphasis on the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility for deployment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2019

Conceptual Design Report for the I2 Instrumentation Experiment in ATRC

The US Department of Energy In-Pile Instrumentation (I2) program is tasked with developing advanced sensors for in-pile service as well as supporting the engineering required to implement existing nuclear sensor technologies in US high-power test reactors. The ATRC instrumentation test has been conceived to address both of these missions, specifically with respect to neutron flux measurements. Space has been allocated in the test for Self-Powered Neutron Detectors (SPNDs), fission chambers, and Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors (MPFDs). The real-time flux readings obtained from these instruments will be compared with time integrated data obtained from passive neutron dosimetry (i.e., “flux” wires). This work will be complementary to data obtained from the TREAT MIMIC-N experiment. This experiment is expected to support instrumentation efforts related to the proposed Medium-I loop and to instrumenting loop experiments conducted in the ATR center flux trap. While the MIMIC-N experiment was conducted in a dry environment, the ATRC I-19 experiment will be conducted in an aqueous environment, similar to the center flux trap loop experiments but will take place at ambient temperature and pressure, and at a much lower neutron flux. One of the challenges of the ATRC I-19 experiment will be low amplitude signals produced by the sensors in the low neutron fluxes of ATRC. However, related work conducted several years ago in ATRC was able to reliably detect signals using a similar instrument set.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Instrumentation for the In-Core Real-Time Mechanical Testing of Structural Materials (INCREASE) Project

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), the Joint Research Center (JRC), the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG), and the Research Center Rez (CVR), started a Joint Experimental Program (JEEP) project that operates within the Nuclear Energy Agency’s Framework for Irradiation Experiments (FIDES II) program in order to develop capabilities for the in-core real-time mechanical testing of structural materials. This effort will focus on designing a shared capsule capable of housing a variety of in-core mechanical testing instrumentation allowing enhanced experiments for the material science community. The outcome of the project would be high-priority, stress relaxation data for stainless-steel-based materials provided by EPRI and CEA. Stress relaxation is a major phenomenon that contributes to material degradation in nuclear reactor components. Currently, nuclear material stress relaxation is assessed both before and after irradiation, using complex and costly post-irradiation examination (PIE) activities. In-situ data would support the development of precision modeling and simulation of this degradation phenomena and would provide validation and benchmarking for existing models using the PIE data. As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Sensor and Instrumentation (ASI) program, INL has fabricated and tested out-of-core mechanical test instrumentation. This instrumentation was designed for easy adaptation to the irradiation capsule proposed under this JEEP, and can be deployed to measure real-time stress relaxation under pressurized-water reactor (PWR) conditions. This initial effort will partially serve to replace the testing capabilities lost because of shutting down the Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR). The project would provide these capabilities to the international community via a shared capsule design that is easily adaptable to additional material test reactors. The design features will incorporate expansion to PWR and non-light-water reactor (LWR) environments that will be developed in future work. The capsule and instrumentation will be demonstrated in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor (MITR) for phase I and the Petten High Flux Reactor (HFR) for phase II irradiations to deliver real-time stress relaxation data on high priority stainless steel structural materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Evolution of LIBS technology to mobile instrumentation for expediting firearm-related investigations at the laboratory and the crime scene

Gunshot residue (GSR) is one of the few forensic disciplines that lack accurate screening techniques. This study proposes using a mobile LIBS instrument to detect inorganic GSR and compares performance to a previously validated laboratory instrument. The mobile LIBS is designed with advanced configurations specifically for on-site GSR analysis, including a CMOS detector and a sampling chamber that holds up to six typical GSR collection devices with separate gas flow ports to prevent cross-contamination. A significant novelty of the portable instrument is its image magnification, which allows quick searching and visualization of GSR particle morphology. The single-particle imaging and elemental composition capability is one of a kind and offers superior confirmatory features for GSR. The mobile LIBS performance was evaluated for residues collected from the hands of shooters (100 samples) and non-shooters (200 background samples), analyzed sequentially by the mobile instrument and then the laboratory instrument. Accuracies better than 98.8% were obtained by both instruments, demonstrating their suitability for trace IGSR detection from skin specimens. Implementation of this methodology is anticipated to drastically speed up response times (i.e., from several hours per sample by standard SEM-EDS practice to a few minutes by LIBS). The screening methods can be easily incorporated into workflows to improve decision-making processes at the crime scene and laboratory settings, reduce backlogs, and improve case management.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗