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At least 73 records · Page 4

Geographic Information Systems as an Opportunity for Public Engagement in Environmental Data Analysis for Nuclear Waste Management - 17505

For half a century, scientists across government agencies, industry, academia and other research organizations have been using geographic information system (GIS) tools to display data collected for a wide variety of programs. Recent technology advances have made it possible for the public to also use GIS tools to display data. Meanwhile, around the world, volunteers are increasingly participating in citizen science activities that involve collecting environmental observations and measurements. Considering themes of broad interest to which citizen science and GIS tools could be applied, integrated nuclear waste management represents a potential opportunity for public engagement in environmental data analysis. In the United States, the Department of Energy's (DOE's) goal is to develop solutions for the long-term, sustainable management of the nation's spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from commercial electricity generation, as well as national defense activities. The DOE has been exploring options for an integrated waste management system to transport, store, and dispose of SNF and HLW. To support its efforts, DOE has been exploring ways to seek broad input from the public. Literature was reviewed to assess recent advances in GIS technology and citizen science that could contribute to public engagement in waste management planning. Results identified a variety of promising tools and applications that are readily accessible online, including QGIS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Real Time Geo-spatial Data Viewer (RETIGO). For example, interested members of the public could illustrate air quality, water quality, and other environmental data in GIS plots to visually represent local conditions over time. This paper highlights potential opportunities for those interested in citizen science and GIS tools as part of exploring options for public engagement in planning for an integrated waste management system. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Proceedings of the Workshop for Applied Nuclear Data: WANDA2020

On March 3–5, 2020, in Washington, DC, the Nuclear Data Interagency Working Group (NDIAWG) supported the 3-day Workshop for Applied Nuclear Data (WANDA2020) to facilitate interagency collaboration on nuclear data for applications and to communicate mission-driven nuclear data needs. The goal was to assemble users and producers of nuclear data to provide input to identify nuclear data needs, suggest solutions to address those needs, and prioritize potential solutions. The workshop consisted of talks by agency program managers, a nuclear data pipeline panel, six topic-focused roadmapping discussion sessions and a review of NDIAWG-funded projects. More than 160 attendees represented national laboratories, universities, and headquarters, as well as international organizations and industry. The proceedings presented herein summarize the workshop’s content, highlight important outcomes, and document attendees’ recommendations.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

AGC-4 Experiment Irradiation Monitoring Data Qualification Interim Report

The Graphite Technology Development Program is running a series of six experiments to quantify the effects of irradiation on nuclear grade graphite. The fourth experiment, Advanced Graphite Creep 4 (AGC 4), began with Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) cycle 157D on May 30, 2015, and has been irradiated for two cycles. The capsule was removed from the reactor after ATR cycle 158A, which ended on January 2, 2016, due to interference with another experiment. Irradiation will resume when the interfering experiment is removed from the reactor. This report documents qualification of AGC 4 experiment irradiation monitoring data for use by the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Technology Development Office (TDO) Program for research and development activities required to design and license the first HTR nuclear plant. Qualified data meet the requirements for use as described in the experiment planning and quality assurance documents. Failed data do not meet the requirements and provide no useable information. Trend data may not meet all requirements, but still provide some useable information. Use of Trend data requires assessment of how any deficiencies affect a particular use of the data. All thermocouples (TCs) have functioned throughout the AGC-4 experiment. All temperature data are Qualified for use by the ART TDO Program. Argon, helium, and total gas flow data were within expected ranges and are Qualified for use by the ART TDO Program. Discharge gas line moisture values were consistently low during cycle 157D. At the start of cycle 158A, gas moisture briefly spiked to over 600 ppmv and then declined throughout the cycle. Moisture values are within the measurement range of the instrument and are Qualified for use by the ART TDO Program. Graphite creep specimens were subjected to one of three loads, 393, 491, or 589 lbf. For a brief period during cycle 157D between 12:19 on June 2, 2015 and 08:23 on June 11, 2015 the load cells were wired incorrectly resulting in missing stack load data. Missing stack loads were estimated from measured ram pressures using regression equations developed from the existing data from cycle 157D. Estimated stack loads during this period are considered to be an accurate representation of actual load applied to the stacks. These loads deviate slightly from the planned loads. This deviation does not prevent the data from being Qualified for use, but must be taken into account when analyzing the effect of load on creep. Stack displacement increased consistently throughout the first two cycles with total displacement ranging from 0.4 to 0.8 in. During ATR outages, a set of pneumatic rams raised the stacks of graphite creep specimens to ensure the specimens were not stuck within the test train. This stack raising was performed twice. All stacks were raised successfully each time. The load and displacement data are Qualified for use by the ART TDO Program.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NDMAS Portal Updates

Overview of current ART-GCR Data, including fuel fabrication, irradiation monitoring, fuel and graphite, post-irradiation examination, graphite characterization, high temperature metals mechanical tests, methods validation data (including: HTTR, NSTF, and HTTF), addition of AGR fuel data, other GCR and related data, updated high temperature metals, ongoing and upcoming work, users guide, and the link to those interested in access to NDMAS.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

NDMAS

Overview of Current ART-GCR Data: Fuel Fabrication, Irradiation Monitoring (Fuel & Graphite – near real-time for HDG-1), Post-Irradiation Examination (Fuel & Graphite), Graphite Characterization (Baseline and Irradiated), High Temperature Metals Mechanical Tests, Design, Methods, and Validation Data, Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s High Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR), Argonne National Laboratory’s Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF), Oregon State University’s High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF), Generation IV International VHTR Materials Handbook, Additional related data, and Advanced Test Reactor operations (near real-time).

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Nondestructive Assay Technical Infrastructure Program Mission and Vision

The Nondestructive Assay Program (NDAP) mission and vision is achieved by identifying and accomplishing a set of programmatic goals that correspond with eight broad technical program elements. The NDAP was created as a result of Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board Recommendation 2007-1, entitled “Safety-Related In Situ Nondestructive Assay of Radioactive Materials,” which emphasized the need to improve in situ measurements of radioactive material at US Department of Energy (DOE) defense nuclear facilities. An NDAP five-year plan will define tasks to accomplish specific goals identified in the NDAP mission and vision. This mission and vision is applicable for eight technical program elements: Hardware/Software Development, Algorithm Development and Nuclear Data, Uncertainty Quantification, Nuclear Materials, Staffing, Personnel, And Training, Data Management, Requirement and Standards, and Information Preservation and Dissemination. An additional program element is technical support, which provides daily execution management support for the NDAP, site scope, and deliverable tracking via site task managers, along with technical advisement and support from the technical support group. The NDAP mission and vision provides attributes with specific goals for each program element, and some goals benefit multiple program elements. The goals and attributes defined herein are implemented via an NDAP five-year execution plan that defines site work scope, budget, and deliverables, all of which are updated annually. The NDAP is designed to benefit nondestructive assay (NDA) needs to support DOE nuclear criticality safety programs, ensuring that NDA technology is sufficiently capable of guaranteeing the safety of those who handle, store, process, or transport fissionable materials in the complex. Especially important for the NDAP is to maximize capabilities to identify, characterize, and manage in situ fissile material deposits in process equipment to ensure nuclear criticality safety at processing facilities.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Summary Report of a Specialized Workshop on Nuclear Structure and Decay Data (NSDD) Evaluations

A three-day specialised workshop on Nuclear Structure and Decay Data Evaluations was organised and held at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, from 27 to 29 April 2015. This workshop covered a wide range of important topics and issues addressed when evaluating and maintaining the Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF). The primary aim was to improve evaluators’ abilities to identify and understand the most appropriate evaluation processes to adopt in the formulation of individual ENSDF data sets. Participants assessed and reviewed existing policies, procedures and codes, and round-table discussions included the debate and resolution of specific difficulties experienced by ENSDF evaluators (i.e., all workshop participants). The contents of this report constitute a record of this workshop, based on the presentations and subsequent discussions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Additions to the ICSBEP and IRPHEP handbooks since NCSD 2013

Innumerable experiments have been performed worldwide to support criticality safety activities. Those experiments represent significant investments in cost, expertise, and infrastructure; as such, they represent valuable assets as the basis for recording, development, and validation of methods and nuclear data vital for modern and future criticality safety needs. Preservation and evaluation of these experimental data as benchmarks serves to provide for the best interest of the nuclear criticality safety community. High-quality integral benchmark experiments have always been a priority. There is ever growing interest in developing integral benchmark data to increasingly quantify and reduce calculational uncertainties to meet the demands of future criticality safety needs supporting next generation reactors and advanced fuel cycle concepts. The importance of drawing upon existing benchmark data is becoming more apparent because of dwindling availability of critical facilities worldwide and the high cost of performing new experiments. Integral benchmark data from the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments (ICSBEP Handbook) and the International Handbook of Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments (IRPhEP Handbook) are widely utilized. Significant benchmark data have been added to those two handbooks since the last Nuclear Criticality Safety Division Topical Meeting in Wilmington, North Carolina (September-October 2013). This paper highlights those additions. The 2016 edition of the ICSBEP Handbook now includes data for 570 evaluations containing benchmark specifications for 4913 critical, subcritical, or near-critical configurations, representing contributions from over 20 countries. There are a total of seven criticality-alarm-placement/shielding evaluations containing a total of 45 benchmark configurations, and eight fundamental physics benchmark evaluations containing a total of 215 measurements relevant to criticality safety applications. The IRPhEP Handbook now includes data from 151 experimental series (representing 50 reactor facilities) and also represents contributions from over 20 countries. Of the 151 benchmarks, five are draft contributions. Both the ICSBEP and IRPhEP are collaborative efforts that involve numerous scientists, engineers, and administrative support personnel worldwide. Continued contribution to these handbooks is expected to further provide the high-quality benchmark data necessary to compliment criticality safety activities going forward. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Automatic Imagery Data Analysis for Proactive Computer-Based Workflow Management during Nuclear Power Plant Outages

This report is being submitted for the task “Final Report” of DOE NEUP Project 15-8121 “Automatic Imagery Data Analysis for Proactive Computer-Based Workflow Management during Nuclear Power Plant Outages.” Typical nuclear power plant (NPP) outages always involve thousands of maintenance and refueling activities and a large number of workers in limited workspaces, while having tight schedules and zero-tolerance for accidents. During an outage, thousands of workers will be working in various workspaces across the NPP. High outage costs and expensive delays (approximately 1.5 million dollars of loss per day of delay) in NPP maintenance demand tight outage schedules. In packed workspaces, an automatic system that monitors human behaviors in real-time and provides insights about current and pending schedule deviations from the plan is critical for ensuring: 1) effective collaboration among workers and worker teams from different trades; 2) less waste of time and resources due to the lack of situational awareness; and 3) proactive outage project control. The overall goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that real-time imagery-based object tracking and spatial analysis, as well as human behavior modeling of outage participants, will significantly improve the efficiency of outage control while lowering the rates of accidents and incidents. Three objectives of this project are: 1) Establish real-time object tracking and spatiotemporal analysis methods that automatically assess the productivity of field activities and detect anomalous spatiotemporal relationships among activities that cause inefficiencies and risks; 2) Establish realtime human tracking and human factor modeling methods for automatically diagnosing unexpected actions of and interactions between outage participants, those which cause inefficient collaborations between Advanced Outage Control Center (AOCC), satellite outage centers, NPP workers, and maintenance service providers; and 3) Test the proposed automated object tracking, human behavior modeling, and spatiotemporal analysis methods in outage control case studies in order to characterize the effectiveness of automated imagery-data-driven methods in proactively improving the efficiency and safety of workflows in outage coordination and risk management. Recent studies of detailed human behavior monitoring on construction sites have examined the potential of applying advanced computer vision algorithms in detecting and tracking anomalous workers (i.e., workers who do not wear hard hats or safety vests) for ensuring job site safety. Some studies of human factor studies revealed the importance of modeling detailed interactions between individuals within and across teams in better understanding the impact of human in proactive project control. Other studies in the construction domain have developed computational simulation frameworks that formalize detailed spatiotemporal interactions between tasks in order to simulate the impacts of individual tasks on the performance of workflows. While integrated analyses that combine human factor assessment, as well as image processing and simulation, are in demand for effective decision-making, limited studies have examined the potential of such integrated analyses in NPP outage control. This research project has examined an automatic outage monitoring and control system that integrates human factor analysis, computer vision techniques, and simulation methods in order to enable engineers to better understand the interactions between humans, resources, and workflows during outage processes. The project aims at providing NPP maintenance agencies insights into more efficient use of limited resources in extending the life of a nuclear plant, as well as reducing waste while ensuring sufficient generation of electricity. This study is significant for the safety of nuclear plants, sustainable electricity generation for livable communities, and cost savings for maintaining electricity infrastructures in the United States.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Nuclear Mass Visualization and Analysis at nuclearmasses.org

Nuclear masses play an important role in a wide variety of studies, motivating a tremendous surge in new precision mass measurements and global mass models. To handle this information, and to address inadequacies of existing text-based disseminations of nuclear masses, we have built a suite of codes--online at nuclearmasses.org--to manage, visualize, access, manipulate, share, compare, and analyze nuclear mass datasets. The services at this site are described, along with plans for future development.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Accelerating nuclear-integrated data center pursuits in the USA: SWOT analysis, power-thermal management strategies and demonstration plan

Here, this study explores the increasing interest in leveraging nuclear power to meet the escalating energy demands of data centers in the United States (U.S.) by focusing on key factors that contribute to accelerated deployment. The study highlights the importance of N+1/N+2 power supplies (where N is the required number of units), outlines research and innovations in nuclear-integrated data center thermal management and demonstration plan. It also provides updates about status and costing of various reactor system designs. A summarized strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis shows the potential options for grid connectivity, reactors, and site selection. Suitable site discussions consider land and water availability, grid access, and optical fiber connectivity, and the study presents graded prospects for Department of Energy (DOE) sites with a specific example. Community engagement and partnerships are emphasized, particularly the roles of local government, federal agencies, utilities, and data center industry partners, which are crucial for accelerating deployment, business outreach, and approvals. The study provides actionable insights for stakeholders to accelerate the deployment of nuclear-powered data centers.

21 - SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLAN↗

BDDR, a new CEA technological and operating reactor database

The new application BDDR (Reactor database) has been developed at CEA in order to manage nuclear reactors technological and operating data. This application is a knowledge management tool which meets several internal needs: -) to facilitate scenario studies for any set of reactors, e.g. non-proliferation assessments; -) to make core physics studies easier, whatever the reactor design (PWR-Pressurized Water Reactor-, BWR-Boiling Water Reactor-, MAGNOX- Magnesium Oxide reactor-, CANDU - CANada Deuterium Uranium-, FBR - Fast Breeder Reactor -, etc.); -) to preserve the technological data of all reactors (past and present, power generating or experimental, naval propulsion,...) in a unique repository. Within the application database are enclosed location data and operating history data as well as a tree-like structure containing numerous technological data. These data address all kinds of reactors features and components. A few neutronics data are also included (neutrons fluxes). The BDDR application is based on open-source technologies and thin client/server architecture. The software architecture has been made flexible enough to allow for any change. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

eFRMAC Overview: Data Management and Enabling Technologies for Characterization of a Radiological Release A Case Study: The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Incident

The eFRMAC enterprise is a suite of technologies and software developed by the United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Emergency Response to coordinate the rapid data collection, management, and analysis required during a radiological emergency. This enables the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center assets to evaluate a radiological or nuclear incident efficiently to facilitate protective actions to protect public health and the environment. This document identifies and describes eFRMAC methods including (1) data acquisition, (2) data management, (3) data analysis, (4) product creation, (5) quality control, and (6) dissemination.

nuclear accidents, environmental assessment, envir↗

High Temperature Materials Interim Data Qualification Report FY 2011

Projects for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the VHTR. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high temperature and high fluence environments. The VHTR program has established the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to ensure that VHTR data are qualified for use, stored in a readily accessible electronic form, and analyzed to extract useful results. This document focuses on the first NDMAS objective. It describes the High Temperature Materials characterization data stream, the processing of these data within NDMAS, and reports the interim fiscal year (FY) 2011 qualification status of the data. Data qualification activities within NDMAS for specific types of data are determined by the data qualification category assigned by the data generator. The High Temperature Materials data are being collected under the Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA)-1 guidelines and will be qualified data. For NQA-1 qualified data, the qualification activities include: (1) capture testing to confirm that the data stored within NDMAS are identical to the raw data supplied, (2) accuracy testing to confirm that the data are an accurate representation of the system or object being measured, and (3) documenting that the data were collected under an NQA-1 or equivalent Quality Assurance program. Currently, data from seven test series within the High Temperature Materials data stream have been entered into the NDMAS vault, including tensile tests, creep tests, and cyclic tests. Of the 5,603,682 records currently in the vault, 4,480,444 have been capture passed, and capture testing is in process for the remaining 1,123,238.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Building Foundations for Nuclear Security Enterprise Analysis Utilizing Nuclear Weapon Data

The Nuclear Security Enterprise, managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration - a semiautonomous agency within the Department of Energy - has been associated with numerous assessments with respect to the estimating, management capabilities, and practices pertaining to nuclear weapon modernization efforts. This report identifies challenges in estimating and analyzing the Nuclear Security Enterprise through an analysis of analogous timeframe conditions utilizing two types of nuclear weapon data - (1) a measure of effort and (2) a function of time. The analysis of analogous timeframe conditions that utilizes only two types of nuclear weapon data yields four summary observations that estimators and analysts of the Nuclear Security Enterprise will find useful.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Accelerating Nuclear-Integrated Data Centers in the USA: SWOT Analysis, Power-Thermal Management Strategies, and Industrial-Scale Demonstration and Potential Deployment

Driven by the growth in digital services, cloud computing, AI, and manufacturing, data centers face rising energy demands that challenge traditional power sources and cooling efficiency. This study explores using nuclear power to meet these demands, focusing on accelerated reactor technology deployment and highlighting needs such as N+1/N+2 power supplies and integrated power-thermal management. A SWOT analysis addresses grid connectivity, reactors, and site selection, particularly DOE sites. Reactor technology demonstration and deployment could be accelerated by leveraging test facilities such as MARVEL, MAGNET, TED, FAS, DOME, LOTUS, ATR, Energy System Proving Grounds, and upcoming Energy Launch Pads, along with modeling and simulation tools such as RELAP5, MOOSE, VERA, RAVEN, and FORCE. The potential power and thermal management options, including various cooling technologies, waste-heat utilization, and an industrial-scale demonstration plan, aim to accelerate the integration of nuclear power and data centers in the USA, while emphasizing community and stakeholder engagement and synergistic efforts.

21 - SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLAN↗