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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 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Methods for using argon-39 to age-date groundwater using ultra-low-background proportional counting

Argon-39 can be used as a tracer for age-dating glaciers, oceans, and more recently, groundwater. With a half-life of 269 years, 39Ar fills an intermediate age range gap (50-1,000 years) not currently covered by other common groundwater tracers. Therefore, adding this tracer to the data suite for groundwater studies provides an important tool for improving our understanding of groundwater systems. We present the methods employed for arriving at an age-date for a given sample of argon degassed from groundwater.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Large Eddy Simulation of Low-Reynolds-Number Turbulent Flow of Low-Prandtl-Number Fluid in a Tight Lattice Bundle for Assessment of Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Turbulence Model

The MARVEL (Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation) microreactor utilizes natural circulation as core cooling mechanism and liquid metal as a primary coolant. Moreover, the reactor core has a pitch-to-diameter ratio of 1.056, which is considered a tight lattice configuration. Numerous studies have widely reported that Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models inaccurately predict heat transfer in liquid metals and fail to capture flow pulsations that can occur within tight lattices, leading to further inaccuracies in simulation results. Therefore, evaluating the accuracy of RANS turbulence models in the thermal-hydraulic analysis of the MARVEL microreactor core is crucial for assessing reactor safety. In this study, a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of the MARVEL microreactor core subchannel was conducted and compared with a RANS simulation to evaluate the accuracies and conservatism of the RANS model. The flow pulsation in a tight lattice predicted by LES enhanced the heat transfer, whereas the RANS model underpredicted it. Consequently, the RANS model predicted the peak cladding temperature higher than the LES model, but the discrepancy between the two approaches was not significant due to the good thermal characteristics of the liquid metal. It can be concluded that the steady-state RANS model is effective for the thermal analysis of liquid-metal-cooled MARVEL microreactor core and can provide conservative predictions from a safety analysis perspective.

21 - SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLAN↗
DOE OSTI2014

Genetic Factors Affecting Susceptibility to Low Dose & Low Dose-Rate Radiation

Our laboratory has, among other things, developed and used the gamma H2AX focus assay and other chromosomal and cell killing assays to show that differences in this DNA double strand break (dsb) related response can be clearly and distinctly demonstrated for cells which are mildly hyper-radiosensitive such as those associated with A-T heterozygosity. We have found this level of mild hypersensitivity for cells from some 20 to 30 % of apparently normal individuals and from apparently normal parents of Retinoblastoma patients. We found significant differences in gene expression in somatic cells from unaffected parents of Rb patients as compared with normal controls, suggesting that these parents may harbor some as yet unidentified genetic abnormality. In other experiments we sought to determine the extent of differences in normal human cellular reaponses to radiation depending on their irradiation in 2D monolayer vs 3D organized acinar growth conditions. We exmined cell reproductive death, chromosomal aberration induction, and the levels of γ-H2AX foci in cells after single acute gamma-ray doses and immediately after 20 hours of irradiation at a dose rate of 0.0017 Gy/min. We found no significant differences in the dose-responses of these cells under the 2D or 3D growth conditions. While this does not mean such differences cannot occur in other situations, it does mean that they do not generally or necessarily occur. In another series of studies in collaboration with Dr Chuan Li, with supprt from this current grant. We reported a role for apoptotic cell death in promoting wound healing and tissue regeneration in mice. Apoptotic cells released growth signals that stimulated the proliferation of progenitor or stem cells. In yet another collaboration with Dr, B. Chen with funds from this grant, the relative radiosensitivity to cell killing as well as chromosomal instability of 13 DNA-PKcs site-directed mutant cell lines (defective at phosphorylation sites or kinase activity) were examined after exposure of synchronized G1 cells to 137Cs c rays. DNA-PKcs mutant cells defective in phosphorylation at multiple sites withinthe T2609 cluster or within the PI3K domain displayed extreme radiosensitivity. Cells defective at the S2056 cluster or T2609 single site alone were only mildly radiosensitive, but cells defective at even one site in both the S2056 and T2609 clusters were maximally radiosensitive. Thus a synergism between the capacity for phosphorylation at the S2056 and T2609 clusterswas found to be critical for induction of radiosensitivity.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2017

Development of a Low-Level 39Ar Calibration Standard – Analysis by Absolute Gas Counting Measurements Augmented with Simulation

This paper describes the generation of 39Ar, via reactor irritation of potassium carbonate, followed by quantitative analysis (length-compensated proportional counting) to yield calibration standards that are approximately 50 and 3 times atmospheric background levels. Measurements were performed in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s shallow underground counting laboratory studying the effect of gas density on beta-transport; these results are compared with simulation. The total expanded uncertainty of the specific activity for the ~50x 39Ar in P10 standard is 3.6% (k=2).

Absolute radiation measurement↗
NASA NTRS1996

Mars Pathfinder Microrover: A Small, Low-Cost, Low-Power Spacecraft

This paper provides an overview of the design of the Mars Pathfinder Microrover with an emphasis on how its integrated design enables it to perform all of the functions normally associated with entire spacecraft. The impact that mass, volume, and power constraints have had upon the design will also be discussed.

Discovery missions Pathfinder Mars Pathfinder Sojo↗