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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 721 records · Page 40
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Experimental Verification of ABS Concrete Design Methodology Applied to the Design of the First Commercial Scale Floating Offshore Wind Turbine in the United States

The abundance of consistent high strength winds off the world’s coastlines and the close proximity to dense population centers has led to development of innovative marine structures to support wind turbines to capture this energy resource. Off the US coast, 60% of the offshore wind lies in deep water (greater than 60m) where the development of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT) hull technology will likely be required in lieu of fixed bottom technology such as jacket structures. The United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the offshore wind community commonly refer to 60m as the transition point between fixed bottom structures and floating structures due to economic reasons. Floating wind turbines deployed in the harsh offshore marine environment require the use of materials that are cost-effective, corrosion resistant, require little maintenance and are highly durable. This has led the University of Maine to develop a concrete hull technology called VolturnUS for full-scale 6MW FOWTs. In this work, experimental testing was conducted to verify the performance of the concrete under operational, serviceability, and extreme loading conditions as required by the American Bureau of Shipping Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Turbines. Here, the testing included structural testing sub-components of the hull and served as experimental verification of American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) concrete design methodology which is currently approved and being used to design the first commercial scale FOWTs in the United States. Two 6MW wind turbines supported on VolturnUS concrete hulls will be used for the New England Aqua Ventus I project. The project is planned to be deployed and connected to the grid by 2019 in the Northeast U.S. and is funded by the US Department of Energy.

Concretes↗
DOE OSTI2011

A wireless sensor tag platform for container security and integrity

Cargo containers onboard ships are widely used in the global supply chain. The need for container security is evidenced by the Container Security Initiative launched by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). One method of monitoring cargo containers is using low power wireless sensor tags. The wireless sensor tags are used to set up a network that is comprised of tags internal to the container and a central device. The sensor network reports alarms and other anomalies to a central device, which then relays the message to an outside network upon arrival at the destination port. This allows the port authorities to have knowledge of potential security or integrity issues before physically examining the container. Challenges of using wireless sensor tag networks for container security include battery life, size, environmental conditions, information security, and cost among others. PNNL developed an active wireless sensor tag platform capable of reporting data wirelessly to a central node as well as logging data to nonvolatile memory. The tags, operate at 2.4 GHz over an IEEE 802.15.4 protocol, and were designed to be distributed throughout the inside of a shipping container in the upper support frame. The tags are mounted in a housing that allows for simple and efficient installation or removal prior to, during, or after shipment. The distributed tags monitor the entire container volume. The sensor tag platform utilizes low power electronics and provides an extensible sensor interface for incorporating a wide range of sensors including chemical, biological, and environmental sensors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Status of the Dark Energy Survey Camera (DECam) project

The Dark Energy Survey Collaboration has completed construction of the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), a 3 square degree, 570 Megapixel CCD camera which will be mounted on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at CTIO. DECam will be used to perform the 5000 sq. deg. Dark Energy Survey with 30% of the telescope time over a 5 year period. During the remainder of the time, and after the survey, DECam will be available as a community instrument. All components of DECam have been shipped to Chile and post-shipping checkout finished in Jan. 2012. Installation is in progress. A summary of lessons learned and an update of the performance of DECam and the status of the DECam installation and commissioning will be presented.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Metagenomic analysis reveals global-scale patterns of ocean nutrient limitation

Genomes reveal nutrient stress patterns Within the surface ocean, nitrogen, iron, and phosphorous can all be limiting nutrients for phytoplankton depending on location. Ustick et al. used the prevalence of Prochlorococcus genes involved in nutrient acquisition to develop maps of inferred nutrient stress across the global ocean (see the Perspective by Coleman). They found broad patterns of limitation consistent with an Earth system model and nutrient addition experiments. Leveraging metagenomic data in this manner is an appealing approach that will help to expand our understanding of the biogeochemistry in the vast open ocean. Science , this issue p. 287 ; see also p. 239

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2018

American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research

Although much work has linked the human microbiome to specific phenotypes and lifestyle variables, data from different projects have been challenging to integrate and the extent of microbial and molecular diversity in human stool remains unknown. Using standardized protocols from the Earth Microbiome Project and sample contributions from over 10,000 citizen-scientists, together with an open research network, we compare human microbiome specimens primarily from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia to one another and to environmental samples. Our results show an unexpected range of beta-diversity in human stool microbiomes compared to environmental samples; demonstrate the utility of procedures for removing the effects of overgrowth during room-temperature shipping for revealing phenotype correlations; uncover new molecules and kinds of molecular communities in the human stool metabolome; and examine emergent associations among the microbiome, metabolome, and the diversity of plants that are consumed (rather than relying on reductive categorical variables such as veganism, which have little or no explanatory power). We also demonstrate the utility of the living data resource and cross-cohort comparison to confirm existing associations between the microbiome and psychiatric illness and to reveal the extent of microbiome change within one individual during surgery, providing a paradigm for open microbiome research and education. We show that a citizen science, self-selected cohort shipping samples through the mail at room temperature recaptures many known microbiome results from clinically collected cohorts and reveals new ones. Of particular interest is integrating n = 1 study data with the population data, showing that the extent of microbiome change after events such as surgery can exceed differences between distinct environmental biomes, and the effect of diverse plants in the diet, which we confirm with untargeted metabolomics on hundreds of samples.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Review of even element super-heavy nuclei and search for element 120

The reaction 54Cr$ + $248Cm was investigated at the velocity filter SHIP at GSI, Darmstadt, with the intention to study production and decay properties of isotopes of element 120. Three correlated signals were measured, which occurred within a period of 279ms. The heights of the signals correspond with the expectations for a decay sequence starting with an isotope of element 120. However, a complete decay chain cannot be established, since a signal from the implantation of the evaporation residue cannot be identified unambiguously. Measured properties of the event chain are discussed in detail. The result is compared with theoretical predictions. Previously measured decay properties of even element super-heavy nuclei were compiled in order to find arguments for an assignment from the systematics of experimental data. In the course of this review, a few tentatively assigned data could be corrected. New interpretations are given for results which could not be assigned definitely in previous studies. The discussion revealed that the cross-section for production of element 120 could be high enough so that a successful experiment seems possible with presently available techniques. However, a continuation of the experiment at SHIP for a necessary confirmation of the results obtained in a relatively short irradiation of five weeks is not possible at GSI presently. Furthermore, we decided to publish the results of the measurement and of the review as they exist now. In the summary and outlook section we also present concepts for the continuation of research in the field of super-heavy nuclei.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Datum: A Scientific Metadata Catalog

The data catalog market is currently flooded with a myriad of different products, but none serve the scientific community well. There are cloud-native tools like Databricks, Snowflake,to on-premise solutions like Collibra and Datahub. The common failing of all these tools however, is their inability to serve the scientific data community directly. Most catalogs are targeted towards financial, health, or user data - not sensor or scientific domain data. They also prioritize integrations that often don’t exist or are just starting to be used in the scientific realm - all while ignoring common scientific tools and file types. Datum is a catalog which targets the scientific data directly, including the tools and networks in which those tools are used. We work with the producers and consumers of the data where they are, targeting cloud and on-premise with a focus on classified networks. Datum is an Erlang/Elixir application. Technical Features Note: The features listed below are still under development and may change, slightly, upon final delivery of the product. File Formats - Datum has the ability to read additional metadata and provides processing pipelines for the following file formats: Plain Text, PDF, LaTeX, HTML, Open Document Format (.odt), XML, CSV/TSV (and other standard delimiters), OpenDocument Database and Spreadsheets, Geo-Referenced TIFF, Common Data Format, HDF/HDF5, LabView TDMS, Excel, DeltaTables, Parquet, Apache Iceberg, Apache Hudi and many others. Metadata Collection - Scanners for the local and networked file systems and cloud storage providers. Network integration with common databases such as MSSQL and MySQL. User Plugin System - Users are able to provide either file processing, metadata extraction, or sampling plugins in the programming language of their choice. Authentication/Authorization -: OIDC integration, SCIM provisioning and EntraID integration out of the box. Full user and group management system with a “least privilege” operating mode. Governance - Customizable data governance platform; dictate and enforce required metadata, enforce data embargos, and enforce user agreements and NDAs before data access. Ability to create health checks on data, rejecting abandoned or poorly curated data and automatically removing it from the search index. Ability for users to submit corrections. Search - Semantic search is a first class citizen. No licenses to expensive, external software required. Integrated use of vectors and vector-based search allows for AI agent integration at all levels of operation. Metadata Model - Display and control data’s lineage and connections to other data and data directories. Data is modeled after a filesystem - an organization instantly recognizable and navigable by most any user. CLI and SDK - Ships with a Command Line Interface (CLI) tool and with a fully-featured Python SDK. This allows for rapid and programmatic use of Datum by every level of user. Minimal Infrastructure - Datum ships as a single executable file and can be run on any operating system and most CPU architectures. Datum has no reliance on external databases, search indexing tools, or other outside services - and it runs equally well on edge computing devices, cloud services, or in a clustered HPC environment.

darrington, john↗
DOE OSTI2026

Modeling and Calibration of Supplier Selection Problem in Freight Agent-Based Simulations

Freight transportation modeling often struggles with data limitations, especially in accurately representing complex supplier selection processes and their impact on network flows. This research addresses this critical gap by developing a large-scale, calibrated agent-based model for supplier selection, complemented by a probabilistic heuristic for international shipments. Our approach integrates trade relationships between industry sectors, transportation costs, and a supplier-rating model adapted from existing literature. The model’s core objective is to minimize the discrepancy between modeled and observed commodity flows while ensuring a close match to regional shipping distance distributions. Implemented and tested across four major U.S. metropolitan areas—Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Los Angeles—the model demonstrates high fidelity in replicating observed freight patterns. Key findings reveal consistent alignment with national shipping distance trends and highlight significant spatial variations in commodity trade assignments and demand across the study regions. This behaviorally informed and transport-sensitive framework is designed to approximate real-world decision making, providing a robust tool for policymakers and planners to evaluate targeted interventions, assess infrastructure investments, and enhance supply chain resilience in the face of disruptions.

Ismael, Abdelrahman (ORCID:0000000303712110)↗
DOE OSTI2021

Vibration of a cryomodule’s coupler during road transportation: Multibody analysis and experimental validation

The road transportation of critical components for cryogenic cryomodules is a challenging task. Indeed, the shipping and the handling of fundamental sub-assemblies can expose these components to harmful dynamic loads that can jeopardize their structural integrity. This article has the purpose of developing a finite element multibody model capable of assessing the acceleration on a test coupler for a cavity of the Single Spoke Resonator 1 subjected to a typical road transportation trip. A multibody model consisting of rigid bodies and finite element–imported flexible bodies has been created allowing a comparison of the simulated and experimental acceleration. Afterwards, an experimental on-road test, whose set-up is described in this article, has been carried out at Fermilab with instrumented components. Being able to effectively simulate and validate the dynamic effects on such sub-assemblies makes it possible, for the future, to simulate more complex structures subject to dynamic loadings, such as the entire cryomodules during shipping. Furthermore, the results from the simulations can be used to guide the design of new suspension systems suitable for the reduction mitigation of structural vibration during the road transportation of cryomodules.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2010

A Three-way Comparative Genomic Analysis of Mannheimia haemolytica Isolates

Mannhemia haemolytica is a Gram- negative bacterium and the principal etiological agent associated with bovine respiratory disease complex. They transform from a benign commensal to a deadly pathogen during stress such as viral infection and transportation to feedlots, and cause acute pleuropneumonia commonly known as shipping fever. The U.S beef industry alone loses more than one billion dollars annually to shipping fever and despite its enormous economic importance there are no specific and accurate genetic markers, which would aid in understanding M. haemolytica pathogenesis and epidemiology at molecular level and assist in devising an effective control strategy.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dual-Fuel Ammonia Equivalence Ratio Sweep Data

Ammonia (NH3) has garnered significant interest as an alternative fuel for meeting international emissions reduction mandates in sectors with high weight and distance requirements, such as shipping. Technical barriers and unanswered questions remain on the combustion strategies that can maximize ammonia utilization and minimize emissions. Prior research studies at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have shown strong performance with NH3 under dual-fuel mode using conventional diesel combustion (CDC) manifold air pressure settings. Diesel airflow was initially used to simplify retrofitting (no turbocharger modification), which resulted in air-fuel equivalence ratios (λ) greater than 1.5. To characterize potential improvements in dual-fuel NH3 combustion performance at richer in-cylinder conditions, a global λ sweep compared the use of early (E-pilot) and late (L-pilot) single diesel injections. The experiments were conducted at 1200 RPM and 12.8 ± 0.2 bar (75 % load), and λ was varied by decreasing the commanded air flow to the engine at greater than 90 % ammonia energy substitution level. A diesel injection timing sweep was conducted for both the injection strategies at fixed λ, and the timing with the lowest engine-out N2O emissions was identified. The results indicated an optimal balance between CO2,eq and thermal efficiency benefits both E-pilot and L-pilot injection strategy cases compared with CDC at a λ of 1.4. The indicated nitrogen-based emissions exhibited a strong correlation to the ratio of CA5–50 and ignition delay for L-pilot, but no apparent trend emerged for the E-pilot injection strategy at the tested boundary conditions. This dataset includes the raw experimental data and documentation of the experiment conditions and methods.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Neutron multiplicity ,easurements With 3 He alternative: Straw neutron detectors

Counting neutrons emitted by special nuclear material (SNM) and differentiating them from the background neutrons of various origins is the most effective passive means of detecting SNM. Unfortunately, neutron detection, counting, and partitioning in a maritime environment are complex due to the presence of high-multiplicity spallation neutrons (commonly known as “ship effect”) and to the complicated nature of the neutron scattering in that environment. In this study, a prototype neutron detector was built using 10 B as the converter in a special form factor called “straws” that would address the above problems by looking into the details of multiplicity distributions of neutrons originating from a fissioning source. This paper describes the straw neutron multiplicity counter (NMC) and assesses the performance with those of a commercially available fission meter. The prototype straw neutron detector provides a large-area, efficient, lightweight, more granular (than fission meter) neutron-responsive detection surface (to facilitate imaging) to enhance the ease of application of fission meters. Presented here are the results of preliminary investigations, modeling, and engineering considerations leading to the construction of this prototype. This design is capable of multiplicity and Feynman variance measurements. This prototype may lead to a near-term solution to the crisis that has arisen from the global scarcity of 3 He by offering a viable alternative to fission meters. This paper describes the work performed during a 2-year site-directed research and development (SDRD) project that incorporated straw detectors for neutron multiplicity counting. The NMC is a two-panel detector system. We used 10 B (in the form of enriched boron carbide: 10 B 4 C) for neutron detection instead of 3 He. In the first year, the project worked with a panel of straw neutron detectors, investigated its characteristics, and developed a data acquisition (DAQ) system to collect neutron multiplicity information from spontaneous fission sources using a single panel consisting of 60 straws equally distributed over three rows in high-density polyethylene moderator. In the following year, we developed the field-programmable gate array and associated DAQ software. Finally, this SDRD effort successfully produced a prototype NMC with ~33% detection efficiency compared to a commercial fission meter.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Aerial Captured Data and Processed Models in Beaumont-Port Arthur Region in Feb and Oct, 2023

Our Co-design team is from the University of Texas, working on a Department of Energy-funded project focused on the Beaumont-Port Arthur area. As part of this project, we will be developing climate-resilient design solutions for areas of the region. More on www.caee.utexas.edu.We used a DJI Mavic 2 Pro to capture aerial photos in Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX, in February 2023, including:I. Beaumont Soccer ClubII. Corps’ Port Arthur Resident OfficeIII. Halbouty Pump Station comprises its vicinityIV. Lamar University (Including Exxon Power Plants close to Lamar Univ.)V. MLK Boulevard for aerial images of the industry and the ship channelVI. Salt Water Barrier (include some aerial images about the Big Thicket)Aerial photos taken were through DroneDeploy autonomous flight, and models were processed through the DroneDeploy engine as well. All aerial photos are in .JPG format and contained in zipped files for each location.The processed data package including 3D models, geospatial data, mappings, point clouds, and the animation video of Halbouty Pump Station has various file types:- The Adobe Suite gives you great software to open .Tif files.- You can use LASUtility (Windows), ESRI ArcGIS Pro (Windows), or Blaze3D (Windows, Linux) to open a LAS file and view the data it contains.- Open an .OBJ file with a large number of free and commercial applications. Some examples include Microsoft 3D Builder, Apple Preview, Blender, and Autodesk.- You may use ArcGIS, Merkaartor, Blender (with the Google Earth Importer plug-in), Global Mapper, and Marble to open .KML files.- The .tfw world file is a text file used to georeference the GeoTIFF raster images, like the orthomosaic and the DSM. You need suitable software like ArcView to open a .TFW file.This dataset provides researchers with sufficient geometric data and the status quo of the land surface at the locations mentioned above. This dataset could streamline researchers' decision-making processes and enhance the design as well.In October 2023, we had our follow-up data collection, including:I. Beaumont Soccer ClubII. Shipping and Receiving Center at Lamar UniversityAfter the aerial collection, we obtained aerial photos of those two locations mentioned above, as well as processed data (such as point clouds and models).

2D mapping↗
DOE OSTI2019

LCLS-II Cryomodules Production Experience and Lessons Learned at Fermilab

LCLS-II is a planned upgrade project for the linear co-herent light source (LCLS) at SLAC. The LCLS-II Linac will consist of thirty-five 1.3 GHz and two 3.9 GHz super-conducting RF continuous wave (CW) cryomodules that Fermilab and Jefferson Lab are currently producing in collaboration with SLAC. The LCLS-II 1.3 GHz cryomodule design is based on the European XFEL pulsed-mode cryomodule design with modifications needed for CW opera-tion. Two prototype cryomodules had been assembled and tested. After prototype cryomodule tests, both laboratories have increased their cryomodule production rate to meet the challenging LCLS-II project installation schedule requirements of approximately one cryomodule per month per laboratory. To date, Fermilab has completed the assembly and testing of eighteen 1.3GHz cryomodules. Fermilab has successfully shipped nine cryomodules to SLAC and will continue to ship approximately every two weeks. The first 3.9 GHz cryomodule assembly is scheduled to start in June 2019. Production readiness verifications are currently in process. This paper presents LCLS-II 1.3GHz cryomodule assembly and production experience, emphasizing the challenges, mitigations, and lessons learned.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Next Generation Metallic Iron Nodule Technology in Electric Arc Steelmaking - Phase II

The current trend in the steel industry is a gradual decline in conventional steelmaking from taconite pellets in blast furnaces, and an increasing number of alternative processes using metallic scrap iron, pig iron and metallized iron ore products. Currently, iron ores from Minnesota and Michigan are pelletized and shipped to the lower Great Lakes ports as blast furnace feed. The existing transportation system and infrastructure is geared to handling these bulk materials. In order to expand the opportunities for the existing iron ore mines beyond their blast furnace customer base, a new material is needed to satisfy the needs of the emerging steel industry while utilizing the existing infrastructure and materials handling. A recent commercial installation employing Kobe Steel’s ITmk3 process, was installed in Northeastern Minnesota. The basic process uses a moving hearth furnace to directly reduce iron oxides to metallic iron from a mixture of iron ore, coals and additives. The resulting products can be shipped using the existing infrastructure for use in various steelmaking processes. The technology reportedly saves energy by 30% over the current integrated steelmaking process and reduces emissions by more than 40%. A similar large-scale pilot plant campaign is also currently in progress using JFE Steel’s Hi-QIP process in Japan. The objective of this proposal is to build upon and improve the technology demonstrated by Kobe Steel and JFE, by further reducing cost, improving quality and creating added incentive for commercial development. This project expands previous research conducted at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute and that reported by Kobe and JFE Steel. Three major issues have been identified and are addressed in this project for producing high-quality nodular reduced iron (NRI) at low cost: (1) reduce the processing temperature, (2) control the furnace gas atmosphere over the NRI, and (3) effectively use sub-bituminous coal as a reductant. From over 4000 laboratory tube and box furnace tests, it was established that the correct combination of additives, fluxes, and reductant while controlling the concentration of CO and CO2 in the furnace atmosphere (a) lowers the operating temperature, (b) decreases the use of reductant coal (c) generates less micro nodules of iron, and (d) promotes desulphurization. The laboratory scale work was subsequently verified on 12.2 m (40 ft) long pilot scale furnace. High quality NRI could be produced on a routine basis using the pilot furnace facility with energy provided from oxy-gas or oxy-coal burner technologies. Specific strategies were developed to allow the use of sub-bituminous coals both as a hearth material and as part of the reaction mixture. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling was used to study the overall carbothermic reduction and smelting process. The movement of the furnace gas on a pilot hearth furnace and larger simulated furnaces and various means of controlling the gas atmosphere were evaluated. Various atmosphere control methods were identified and tested during the course of the investigation. Based on the results, the appropriate modifications to the furnace were made and tested at the pilot scale. A series of reduction and smelting tests were conducted to verify the utility of the processing conditions. During this phase, the overall energy use characteristics, raw materials, alternative fuels, and the overall economics predicted for full scale implementation were analyzed. The results indicate that it should be possible to lower reaction temperatures while simultaneously producing low sulfur, high carbon NRI if the right mix chemistry and atmosphere are employed. Recommendations for moving the technology to the next stage of commercialization are presented.

Carbon↗
DOE OSTI2011

ARM MJO Investigation Experiment on Gan Island (AMIE-Gan) Science Plan

The overarching campaign, which includes the ARM Mobile Facility 2 (AMF2) deployment in conjunction with the Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) and the Cooperative Indian Ocean experiment on intraseasonal variability in the Year 2011 (CINDY2011) campaigns, is designed to test several current hypotheses regarding the mechanisms responsible for Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) initiation and propagation in the Indian Ocean area. The synergy between the proposed AMF2 deployment with DYNAMO/CINDY2011, and the corresponding funded experiment on Manus, combine for an overarching ARM MJO Investigation Experiment (AMIE) with two components: AMF2 on Gan Island in the Indian Ocean (AMIE-Gan), where the MJO initiates and starts its eastward propagation; and the ARM Manus site (AMIE-Manus), which is in the general area where the MJO usually starts to weaken in climate models. AMIE-Gan will provide measurements of particular interest to Atmospheric System Research (ASR) researchers relevant to improving the representation of MJO initiation in climate models. The framework of DYNAMO/CINDY2011 includes two proposed island-based sites and two ship-based locations forming a square pattern with sonde profiles and scanning precipitation and cloud radars at both island and ship sites. These data will be used to produce a Variational Analysis data set coinciding with the one produced for AMIE-Manus. The synergy between AMIE-Manus and AMIE-Gan will allow studies of the initiation, propagation, and evolution of the convective cloud population within the framework of the MJO. As with AMIE-Manus, AMIE-Gan/DYNAMO also includes a significant modeling component geared toward improving the representation of MJO initiation and propagation in climate and forecast models. This campaign involves the deployment of the second, marine-capable, AMF; all of the included measurement systems; and especially the scanning and vertically pointing radars. The campaign will include sonde launches at a rate of eight per day for the duration of the deployment. The increased sonde launches for the entire period matches that of the AMIE-Manus campaign and makes possible a far more robust Variational Analysis forcing data set product for the entire campaign, and thus better capabilities for modeling studies and synergistic research using the data from both AMIE sites.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Independent Confirmatory Survey Summary and Results for the Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant, Unit 1, Newport, Michigan (Final Report No. 2)

The Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant, Unit 1 (Fermi 1) was a fast breeder reactor design that was cooled by sodium and operated at essentially atmospheric pressure. On May 10, 1963, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) granted an operating license, DPR-9, to the Power Reactor Development Company (PRDC), a consortium specifically formed to own and operate a nuclear reactor at the Fermi 1 site. The reactor was designed for a maximum capability of 430 megawatts (MW); however, the maximum reactor power with the first core loading (Core A) was 200 MW. The primary system was filled with sodium in December 1960 and criticality was achieved in August 1963. The reactor was tested at low power during the first couple years of operation. Power ascension testing above 1 MW commenced in December 1965 immediately following the receipt of a high-power operating license. In October 1966 during power ascension, zirconium plates at the bottom of the reactor vessel became loose and blocked sodium coolant flow to some fuel subassemblies. Two subassemblies started to melt and the reactor was manually shut down. No abnormal releases to the environment occurred. Forty-two months later after the cause had been determined, cleanup completed, and the fuel replaced, Fermi 1 was restarted. However, in November 1972, PRDC made the decision to decommission Fermi 1 as the core was approaching its burn-up limit. The fuel and blanket subassemblies were shipped off-site in 1973. Following that, the secondary sodium system was drained and sent off-site. The radioactive primary sodium was stored on-site in storage tanks and 55 gallon (gal) drums until it was shipped off-site in 1984. The initial decommissioning of Fermi 1 was completed in 1975. Effective January 23, 1976, DPR-9 was transferred to the Detroit Edison Company (DTE) as a 'possession only' license (DTE 2010a). This report details the confirmatory activities performed during the second Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) site visit to Fermi 1 in November 2010. The survey was strategically planned during a Unit 2 (Fermi 2) outage to take advantage of decreased radiation levels that were observed and attributed to Fermi 2 from the operating unit during the first site visit. However, during the second visit there were elevated radiation levels observed and attributed to the partially dismantled Fermi 1 reactor vessel and a waste storage box located on the 3rd floor of the Fermi 1 Turbine Building. Confirmatory surveys (unshielded) performed directly in the line of sight of these areas were affected. The objective of the confirmatory survey was to verify that the final radiological conditions were accurately and adequately described in Final Status Survey (FSS) documentation, relative to the established release criteria. This objective was achieved by performing document reviews, as well as independent measurements and sampling. Specifically, documentation of the planning, implementation, and results of the FSS were evaluated; side-by-side FSS measurement and source comparisons were performed; site areas were evaluated relative to appropriate FSS classification; and areas were assessed for residual, undocumented contamination.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Tank 40 Final SB7b Chemical Characterization Results

A sample of Sludge Batch 7b (SB7b) was taken from Tank 40 in order to obtain radionuclide inventory analyses necessary for compliance with the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS). The SB7b WAPS sample was also analyzed for chemical composition including noble metals and fissile constituents, and these results are reported here. These analyses along with the WAPS radionuclide analyses will help define the composition of the sludge in Tank 40 that is currently being fed to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) as SB7b. At the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) the 3-L Tank 40 SB7b sample was transferred from the shipping container into a 4-L high density polyethylene bottle and solids were allowed to settle over the weekend. Supernate was then siphoned off and circulated through the shipping container to complete the transfer of the sample. Following thorough mixing of the 3-L sample, a 558 g sub-sample was removed. This sub-sample was then utilized for all subsequent analytical samples. Eight separate aliquots of the slurry were digested, four with HNO 3 /HCl (aqua regia) in sealed Teflon® vessels and four with NaOH/Na 2 O 2 (alkali or peroxide fusion) using Zr crucibles. Two Analytical Reference Glass - 1 (ARG-1) standards were digested along with a blank for each preparation. Each aqua regia digestion and blank was diluted to 1:100 mL with deionized water and submitted to Analytical Development (AD) for inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analysis, inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AA) for As and Se, and cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CV-AA) for Hg. Equivalent dilutions of the alkali fusion digestions and blank were submitted to AD for ICP-AES analysis. Tank 40 SB7b supernate was collected from a mixed slurry sample in the SRNL Shielded Cells and submitted to AD for ICP-AES, ion chromatography (IC), total base/free OH - /other base, total inorganic carbon/total organic carbon (TIC/TOC) analyses, and Cs-137 gamma scan. Weighted dilutions of slurry were submitted for IC, TIC/TOC, and total base/free OH - /other base analyses. Activities for U-233, U-235, and Pu-239 were determined from the ICP-MS data for the aqua regia digestions of the Tank 40 WAPS slurry using the specific activity of each isotope. The Pu-241 value was determined from a Pu-238/-241 method developed by SRNL AD and previously described. The following conclusions were drawn from the analytical results reported here: (1) The ratios of the major elements for the SB7b WAPS sample are different from those measured for the SB7a WAPS sample. There is less Al and Mn relative to Fe than the previous sludge batch. (2) The elemental composition of this sample and the analyses conducted here are reasonable and consistent with DWPF batch data measurements in light of DWPF pre-sample concentration and SRAT product heel contributions to the DWPF SRAT receipt analyses. The element ratios for Al/Fe, Ca/Fe, Mn/Fe, and U/Fe agree within 10% between this work and the DWPF Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) receipt analyses. (3) Sulfur in the SB7b WAPS sample is 82% soluble, slightly less than results reported for SB3, SB4, and SB6 samples but unlike the 50% insoluble sulfur observed in the SB5 WAPS sample. In addition, 23% of the soluble sulfur is not present as sulfate in SB7b. (4) The average activities of the fissile isotopes of interest in the SB7b WAPS sample are (in μCi/g of total dried solids): 4.22E-02 U-233, 6.12E-04 U-235, 1.08E+01 Pu-239, and 5.09E+01 Pu-241. The full radionuclide composition will be reported in a future document. (5) The fission product noble metal and Ag concentrations appear to have largely peaked in previous DWPF sludge batches, with the exception of Ru, which still shows a slight increase in SB7b.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗