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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

APPLICATION OF EYE TRACKING FOR MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION IN HUMAN FACTORS STUDIES IN CONTROL ROOM MODERNIZATION

An important element of human factors engineering (HFE) pertains to measurement and evaluation (M&E). The role of HFE-M&E should be integrated throughout the entire control room modernization (CRM) process and be used for human-system performance evaluation and diagnostic purposes with resolving potential human engineering deficiencies (HEDs) and other human machine interface (HMI) design issues. NUREG-0711 describes how HFE in CRM should employ a hierarchical set of measures, particularly during integrated system validation (ISV), including plant performance, personnel task performance, situation awareness, cognitive workload, and anthropometric/ physiological factors. Historically, subjective measures have been primarily used since they are easier to collect and do not require specialized equipment. However, there are pitfalls with relying solely on subjective measures in M&E such that negatively impact reliability, sensitivity, and objectivity. As part of comprehensively capturing a diverse set of measures that strengthen findings and inferences made of the benefits from emerging technologies like advanced displays, this paper discusses the value of using eye tracking as an objective method that can be used in M&E. A brief description of eye tracking technology and relevant eye tracking measures is provided. Additionally, technical considerations and the unique challenges with using eye tracking in full-scaled simulations are addressed. Finally, this paper shares preliminary findings regarding the use of a wearable eye tracking system in a full-scale simulator study. These findings should help guide future full-scale simulator studies using eye tracking as a methodology to evaluate human-system performance.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A NOVEL TOOL FOR IMPROVING THE DATA COLLECTION PROCESS DURING CONTROL ROOM MODERNIZATION HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERFACE TESTING AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is developing a scientific basis to extend the existing U.S. nuclear power plant (NPP) operating life beyond the current 60-year licensing period and to ensure NPP long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security. Under the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) Systems Technologies pathway, the LWRS Program conducts targeted research and development to address long-term aging and obsolescence of existing instrumentation and control technologies, as well as to implement and test new digital II&C technology that enables broad innovation and business improvement in the NPP operating model. To this end, the role of human factors engineering (HFE) is important as part of ensuring that the control room modernization (CRM) activities account for the operator’s cognitive and physiological characteristics. Part of the HFE process for CRM entails conducting tests and evaluations (T&Es) that will inform the design of new human-system interface (HSI) technologies. Qualitative data that captures operator feedback and important human-system interactions are an important part of T&E. However, the analyzing this qualitative data in order to provide actionable design recommendations can be time-consuming and error prone. This paper presents an early version of a tool that can be used to analyze this qualitative data to (1) sift through freeform text for improved design issue identification, (2) maintain consistency in theme coding conventions, and (3) readily provide actionable design guidance that can be traceable to state-of-the-art HFE guidelines such as NUREG-0700. A description of this tool is discussed next.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Development of human machine interface (HMI) for digital control rooms in nuclear power plants - 119

The analog control systems of traditional Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are being replaced by digital systems due to the fact that analog Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems are becoming obsolete and such technology is no longer supported by manufacturers. The purpose of this study is to jointly evaluate the performance of an operator with a Human Machine Interface (HMI) in a NPP digital control room ensuring the efficiency and the safety of the NPP. The validity and the accuracy of the operators' actions are the primary goals that have to be preserved through the emergence of the HMI based in digital systems. The transition from analog to digital control systems leads to a more advanced support of the NPP; Video Display Units (VDUs) are used for monitoring the state of the NPP while alarm systems help for directing attention. The operators, in order to monitor information from the different VDUs, have to switch attention between different screens (alarms systems and control systems). Therefore, a well-established HMI is a significant challenge to the overall operation of the NPP, that actually helps the operators to learn from the available information in detecting possible anomalies and making the right decisions, to ensure safety, and in parallel to diminish the human error. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Systems usability case in stepwise control room validation - 125

We present a Systems Usability Case (SUC) approach enabling a requirement-based human factors evaluation of complex technical systems. The approach is especially suitable for stepwise verification and validation (V and V) of nuclear power plant (NPP) control room (CR) systems. A SUC is based on the Safety Case approach and on the Systems Usability (SU) construct. A series of V and V test activities carried throughout the design process and constructed according to SUC enables us to monitor how evaluation evidence is aggregated over variety of V and V steps and how the design solution is maturing towards a tool of a good quality and usability. The paper demonstrates an application of the SUC approach to real data from a stepwise CR validation. The results suggest that SUC has some clear advantages. It makes it easier to conduct the V and V activities in a more systematic fashion and it makes the reasoning process more explicit and transparent. Moreover, it enables building a longitudinal view of the progress of the design process. Most importantly, constructing the SUC enables monitoring of the fulfilment of the requirements from the human factors (i.e., SU) perspective. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

HFE in the design of the socio-technical system of the control room of a new generation reactor: issues faced during multistage validation - 126

This paper deals with the contribution of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF and E) experts to the design of the control room (CR) of a new generation reactor (NGR), our view of the multistage validation (MSV) process and the issues faced during it. Our approach to MSV was to articulate two points of view: the designers' point of view (test and explore various design options) and the regulatory authorities' point of view (validate the performance of the socio-technical system of the CR). To perform this articulation, both tests and validation shared the same method and goals. The main issues faced during this process were to (1) get a coherent and integrated version of the full-scope simulator when the design of the socio-technical system of the CR was still in progress, (2) determine when to stop MSVs, and (3) define a criterion for the sampling of operational conditions. The first issue led us to the conclusion that specific project milestones synchronising the design of every part of the CR have to be planned early in the project in order to mitigate the risk of delaying WSTs (Whole System Tests). Regarding the second issue, we advocate that no further WSTs are required when the last modifications brought to the CR design have no significant impact on crews' activities. Finally, concerning the last issue, we think that performing WSTs in all classes of situations a crew may face during operating the plant is necessary. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Study on the assessment method of human error probabilities in the digitalized main control room - 170

Recently, nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Republic of Korea have been constructed with the new type of main control room (MCR) which is called as digitalized MCR. In digitalized MCR, as digital technologies are being adopted, the environment of MCR has been considerably changed. The operators may obtain the plant data via digitalized human system interfaces (HSIs), large display panel (LDP), computerized procedure system (CPS), soft controls and other system features. Accordingly, the necessity to consider the new environment of MCR has been raised when performing human reliability analysis (HRA) methods. However, none of HRA methods consider the newly installed MCRs. The goal of this paper is to propose new frameworks to assess the human error probabilities (HEPs) in digitalized MCR. Generally, the HEPs are obtained by summing the probabilities of diagnosis errors and the probabilities of execution errors and those probabilities are modified by performance shaping factors (PSFs). In this paper, two parts are included; (1) Assessing the probabilities of diagnosis errors, and (2) Assessing the probabilities of execution errors. In this paper, the process to develop the frameworks are introduced and we expect that the HEPs affecting the features of digitalized MCR can be calculated by using the proposed frameworks. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Use of immersive 3D virtual reality environments in control room validations - 203

Advanced technologies (e.g., virtual and augmented reality) may provide new possibilities to facilitate control room (CR) design and evaluation activities. We studied how immersive 3D environments may augment and advance the evaluation of safety-critical CR systems. The 3D virtual reality (VR) CR was compared with a real-life development simulator environment where hardwired panels were substituted with Virtual panels. A multi-user functionality enables several operators to be and collaborate in the same VR CR environment at the same time. There is also a realistic representation of emergency operating procedures in the VR CR. Spatial audio communication through headsets makes the experience even more realistic. The results section of the paper address both technical and human factors issues associated with the use of immersive 3D VR environments in CR validation tests, e.g.: amount of technical resources required as compared to normal validation in a real-life simulator environment, creation of methodologically new testing opportunities and new opportunities to data registration and analysis. (authors)

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2017

NBSR reactor control room upgrade - 215

The maintenance and modernization of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) reactor, known as the NBSR, is an ongoing process to endure until the eventual decommissioning of the reactor. As part of the renovation effort, the reactor control system is to be upgraded. Following some initial outsourcing efforts, the NBSR reactor control system upgrade has been restructured to be implemented by in-house means. The beginning stage of the upgrade involved the development of a simulator environment based on a PC system and digitization of the majority of nuclear reactor monitoring data. The NBSR reactor surveillance data consists of approximately thirteen hundred input/output points, including analog/digital sensor signals, signal conditioners, and relay logic. The aim of the current phase is to implement a new reactor data acquisition and display system (RDS) and lay out the infrastructure for the upgrade of the reactor control system (RCS). Key design criteria are to implement a reliable, redundant, diverse, modular and candid system where any complex digital manipulations are taken outside of the control room. Basically, the data analytics and custom codes are separated from reactor operation control and decision making logic. Furthermore, the new RDS is designed such that it could be maintained internally by NCNR personnel. The RDS is unique in design and modularity, minimizing custom codes and testing, making it ideal for research reactors. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A novel tool for improving the data collection process during control room modernization human-system interface testing and evaluation activities - 271

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is developing a scientific basis to extend the existing U.S. nuclear power plant (NPP) operating life beyond the current 60-year licensing period and to ensure NPP long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security. Under the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II and C) Systems Technologies pathway, the LWRS Program conducts targeted research and development to address long-term aging and obsolescence of existing instrumentation and control technologies, as well as to implement and test new digital II and C technology that enables broad innovation and business improvement in the NPP operating model. To this end, the role of human factors engineering (HFE) is important as part of ensuring that the control room modernization (CRM) activities account for the operator's cognitive and physiological characteristics. Part of the HFE process for CRM entails conducting tests and evaluations (T and Es) that will inform the design of new human-system interface (HSI) technologies. Qualitative data that captures operator feedback and important human-system interactions are an important part of T and E. However, the analyzing this qualitative data in order to provide actionable design recommendations can be time-consuming and error prone. This paper presents an early version of a tool, which uses a combination of natural language processing and supervised machine learning to support the analysis of qualitative data. The objectives of this tool is to improve the process of (1) sifting through freeform text for improved design issue identification, (2) maintaining consistency in theme coding conventions, and (3) readily providing actionable design guidance that can be traceable to state-of-the-art HFE guidelines such as NUREG-0700. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Application of eye tracking for measurement and evaluation in human factors studies in control room modernization - 309

An important element of human factors engineering (HFE) pertains to measurement and evaluation (M and E). The role of HFE-M and E should be integrated throughout the entire control room modernization (CRM) process and be used for human-system performance evaluation and diagnostic purposes with resolving potential human engineering deficiencies (HEDs) and other human machine interface (HMI) design issues. NUREG-0711 describes how HFE in CRM should employ a hierarchical set of measures, particularly during integrated system validation (ISV), including plant performance, personnel task performance, situation awareness, cognitive workload, and anthropometric/ physiological factors. Historically, subjective measures have been primarily used since they are easier to collect and do not require specialized equipment. However, there are pitfalls with relying solely on subjective measures in M and E such that negatively impact reliability, sensitivity, and objectivity. As part of comprehensively capturing a diverse set of measures that strengthen findings and inferences made of the benefits from emerging technologies like advanced displays, this paper discusses the value of using eye tracking as an objective method that can be used in M and E. A brief description of eye tracking technology and relevant eye tracking measures is provided. Additionally, technical considerations and the unique challenges with using eye tracking in full-scaled simulations are addressed. Finally, this paper shares preliminary findings regarding the use of a wearable eye tracking system in a full-scale simulator study. These findings should help guide future full-scale simulator studies using eye tracking as a methodology to evaluate human-system performance. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Human Factors Challenges in Modernizing Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms

Jeffrey Joe has been invited to give a presentation entitled, “Human Factors Challenges in Modernizing Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms,” at the 2024 Human Systems Symposium. Experts conducting human factors and human systems research will gather and share research at this conference. This conference is a good opportunity to develop new business for INL via research collaborations, as attendees exchange knowledge and explore the latest trends, advancements, and challenges in the field of human systems research across the DOE national laboratories.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Highly-Cyclable Room-Temperature Phosphorene Polymer Electrolyte Composites for Li Metal Batteries

Despite significant interest toward solid-state electrolytes owing to their superior safety in comparison to liquid-based electrolytes, sluggish ion diffusion and high interfacial resistance limit their application in durable and high-power density batteries. Here, a novel quasi-solid Li + ion conductive nanocomposite polymer electrolyte containing black phosphorous (BP) nanosheets is reported. The developed electrolyte is successfully cycled against Li metal (over 550 h cycling) at 1 mA cm -2 at room temperature. The cycling overpotential is dropped by 75% in comparison to BP-free polymer composite electrolyte indicating lower interfacial resistance at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the coordination number of Li + ions around (trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI - ) pairs and ethylene-oxide chains decreases at the Li metal/electrolyte interface, which facilitates the Li + transport through the polymer host. Here, density functional theory calculations confirm that the adsorption of the LiTFSI molecules at the BP surface leads to the weakening of N and Li atomic bonding and enhances the dissociation of Li + ions. This work offers a new potential mechanism to tune the bulk and interfacial ionic conductivity of solid-state electrolytes that may lead to a new generation of lithium polymer batteries with high ionic conduction kinetics and stable long-life cycling.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2021

Engineering the Interlayer Spacing by Pre-Intercalation for High Performance Supercapacitor MXene Electrodes in Room Temperature Ionic Liquid

MXenes exhibit excellent capacitance at high scan rates in sulfuric acid aqueous electrolytes, but the narrow potential window of aqueous electrolytes limits the energy density. Organic electrolytes and room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) can provide higher potential windows, leading to higher energy density. The large cation size of RTIL hinders its intercalation in-between the layers of MXene limiting the specific capacitance in comparison to aqueous electrolytes. In this work, different chain lengths alkylammonium (AA) cations are intercalated into Ti 3 C 2 T x , producing variation of MXene interlayer spacings (d-spacing). AA-cation-intercalated Ti 3 C 2 T x (AA-Ti 3 C 2 ), exhibits higher specific capacitances, and cycling stabilities than pristine Ti 3 C 2 T x in 1 m 1-ethly-3-methylimidazolium bis-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)-imide (EMIMTFSI) in acetonitrile and neat EMIMTFSI RTIL electrolytes. Pre-intercalated MXene with an interlayer spacing of ≈2.2 nm, can deliver a large specific capacitance of 257 F g –1 (1428 mF cm –2 and 492 F cm –3 ) in neat EMIMTFSI electrolyte leading to high energy density. Quasi elastic neutron scattering and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are used to study the dynamics of confined RTIL in pre-intercalated MXene. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations suggest significant differences in the structures of RTIL ions and AA cations inside the Ti 3 C 2 T x interlayer, providing insights into the differences in the observed electrochemical behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Flexible Vanadium Dioxide Photodetectors for Visible to Longwave Infrared Detection at Room Temperature

Abstract Flexible optoelectronics is a rapidly growing field, with a wide range of potential applications. From wearable sensors to bendable solar cells, curved displays, and curved focal plane arrays, the possibilities are endless. The criticality of flexible photodetectors for many of these applications is acknowledged, however, devices that are demonstrated thus far are limited in their spectral range. In this study, flexible photodetectors are demonstrated using a VO x nanoparticle ink, with an extremely broad operating wavelength range of 0.4 to 20 µm. This ink is synthesized using a simple and scalable wet‐chemical process. These photodetectors operate at room temperature and exhibit minimal variance in performance even when bent at angles of up to 100 ° at a bend radius of 6.4 mm. In addition, rigorous strain testing of 100 bend and release cycles revealed a photoresponse with a standard deviation of only 0.55%. This combination of mechanical flexibility, wide spectral response, and ease of fabrication makes these devices highly desirable for a wide range of applications, including low‐cost wearable sensors and hyperspectral imaging systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Magnetotransport Anomaly in Room-Temperature Ferrimagnetic NiCo 2 O 4 Thin Films

The inverse spinel ferrimagnetic NiCo 2 O 4 presents a unique model system for studying the competing effects of crystalline fields, magnetic exchange, and various types of chemical and lattice disorder on the electronic and magnetic states. Here, magnetotransport anomalies in high–quality epitaxial NiCo 2 O 4 thin films resulting from the complex energy landscape are reported. A strong out–of–plane magnetic anisotropy, linear magnetoresistance, and robust anomalous Hall effect above 300 K are observed in 5–30 unit cell NiCo 2 O 4 films. The anomalous Hall resistance exhibits a nonmonotonic temperature dependence that peaks around room temperature, and reverses its sign at low temperature in films thinner than 20 unit cells. The scaling relation between the anomalous Hall conductivity and longitudinal conductivity reveals the intricate interplay between the spin–dependent impurity scattering, band intrinsic Berry phase effect, and electron correlation. Here, this study provides important insights into the functional design of NiCo 2 O 4 for developing spinel–based spintronic applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Room-Temperature Ferromagnetic Insulating State in Cation-Ordered Double-Perovskite Sr 2 Fe 1+ x Re 1– x O 6 Films

Ferromagnetic insulators (FMIs) are one of the most important components in developing dissipationless electronic and spintronic devices. However, FMIs are innately rare to find in nature as ferromagnetism generally accompanies metallicity. Here, novel room–temperature FMI films that are epitaxially synthesized by deliberate control of the ratio between two B–site cations in the double perovskite Sr 2 Fe 1+x Re 1–x O 6 (–0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) are reported. In contrast to the known FM metallic phase in stoichiometric Sr2FeReO6, an FMI state with a high Curie temperature ( T c ≈ 400 K) and a large saturation magnetization ( M S ≈ 1.8 µB f.u. –1 ) is found in highly cation–ordered Fe–rich phases. The stabilization of the FMI state is attributed to the formation of extra Fe 3+ –Fe 3+ and Fe 3+ –Re 6+ bonding states, which originate from the relatively excess Fe ions owing to the deficiency in Re ions. As a result, the emerging FMI state created by controlling cations in the oxide double perovskites opens the door to developing novel oxide quantum materials and spintronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗