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DOE OSTI2017

Personnel Qualification and Certification Program in Pressure Decay Leak Testing on the RT-100 Type (B) Cask - 17229

The requirements for qualifications and certification of leak test personnel on Type (B) shipping casks have been more clearly defined with the recent release of ANSI N14.5-2014, Leak Tests on Radioactive Packages for Shipment. The latest version creates a standardized approach for qualifying and certifying personnel to conduct pre-shipment leakage tests on Type (B) packages. The U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently updating the Regulatory Guide R.G 7.4, Leakage Tests on Packages for shipment of Radioactive Material, to endorse ANSI N14.5-2014. According to ANSI N14.5-2014, leakage testing shall be performed in accordance with written procedures by qualified and certified personnel in accordance with the requirements of ASNT SNT-TC-1A-2006, Recommended Practice for Personnel Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing. This is a significant modification to the old standard, ANSI N14.5-1997, which simply states that pressure leak testing shall be conducted by trained and certified personnel without reference to any specific certification standards or regulations. SNT-TC-1A published by the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) has several advantages to employers; namely, it allows for a Limited NDT Level II certification program. Limited certifications are especially valuable for personnel who possess limited experience and wish to become a certified Limited NDT Level II in a specific technique on a specific cask using a specific procedure and equipment. Robatel Technologies recently developed a comprehensive qualification and training program based on the recommendations of SNT-TC-1A for Exelon Corporation to certify their employees to a Limited NDT Level II in Pressure Decay Leak Testing on the RT-100 Cask. The project scope included the development of a training and qualification program (Written practice), writing a pressure decay leak test procedure, the design of a pressure decay leak test manifold, and the delivery of classroom training. The written practice outlines the requirements to ensure that personnel participating in the program have the necessary qualification, experience, and training to become certified in the leak test method. The program will give Exelon the liberty to conduct their own leak testing on the RT- 100 without the need to rely on outside resources for leak testing. When fully implemented, the program is expected to improve productivity and eliminate schedule delays, along with substantial economic benefits. Following the appropriate standards and industry best practices, the project was successfully completed and scheduled to be fully implemented by Exelon's Nuclear Stations by the end of 2016. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

DOE OSTI2014

Development of a versatile hybrid testing system for seismic experimentation

The hybrid testing method for earthquake engineering was developed to evaluate the seismic performance of civil structural systems. During hybrid testing, part of the structure, called physical substructure, is physically tested using hydraulic loading equipment while the rest of the structure, named numerical substructure, is numerically simulated with a computer model. Thus, hybrid testing allows a complex physical substructure being tested experimentally, while the relatively simple part of the structure is numerically simulated to economically obtain the full structural response. Recently, a versatile hybrid testing system was built at Western Michigan University consisting of a shake table, an actuator/reaction system, and an advanced hybrid testing controller. Such a testing system is capable of conducting various seismic experiments such as displacement-based pseudodynamic substructure testing as well as force-based real time dynamic hybrid testing. Because of its versatility and easy operation at the benchmark scale, the developed testing system is particularly suitable for the development of advanced hybrid testing techniques and, earthquake engineering education/outreach activities. The development of the testing system is described in this article focusing on the hardware and software integrations. A three story shake table hybrid test is presented as an example to demonstrate the system’s capability and feasibility.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2014

Reversal bending fatigue test system for investigating vibration integrity of spent nuclear fuel during transportation

Transportation packages for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) must meet safety requirements under normal and accident conditions as specified by federal regulations. During transportation, SNF experiences unique conditions and challenges to cladding integrity due to the vibrational and impact loading during road or rail shipment. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been developing testing capabilities that can be used to improve the understanding of the impacts on SNF integrity due to vibration loading, especially for high burn-up SNF in normal transportation operation conditions. This information can be used to meet the nuclear industry and U.S.Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs in the area of safety and security of SNF storage and transportation operations. The ORNL developed test system can perform reversal bending fatigue testing to evaluate both the static and dynamic mechanical response of SNF rods under simulated loads. The testing apparatus is also designed to meet the challenges of hot cell operation, including remote installation and detachment of the SNF test specimen, in situ test specimen deformation measurement, and implementation of a driving system suitable for use in a hot cell. The system contains a U frame set-up equipped with uniquely designed grip rigs to protect the SNF rod sample and to ensure valid test results, and uses three specially designed linear variable differential transformers to obtain the in situ curvature measurement. A variety of surrogate test rods have been used to develop and calibrate the test system as well as in performing a series of systematic cyclic fatigue tests. The surrogate rods include stainless steel (SS) cladding, SS cladding with cast epoxy and SS cladding with alumina pellet inserts simulating fuel pellets. Testing to date has shown that the interface bonding between the SS cladding and the alumina pellets has a significant impact on the bending response of the test rods as well as their fatigue strength. The failure behaviours observed from tested surrogate rods provide a fundamental understanding of the underlying failure mechanisms of the SNF surrogate rod under vibration,which has not been achieved previously. The newly developed device is scheduled to be installed in the hot cell in summer 2013 to test high burn-up SNF.

high burn up fuel↗

DOE OSTI2014

LABORATORY OPTIMIZATION TESTS OF TECHNETIUM DECONTAMINATION OF HANFORD WASTE TREATMENT PLANT LOW ACTIVITY WASTE OFF-GAS CONDENSATE SIMULANT

The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facility will generate an aqueous condensate recycle stream (LAW Off-Gas Condensate) from the off-gas system. The baseline plan for disposition of this stream is to send it to the WTP Pretreatment Facility, where it will be blended with LAW, concentrated by evaporation and recycled to the LAW vitrification facility again. Alternate disposition of this stream would eliminate recycling of problematic components, and would enable de-coupled operation of the LAW melter and the Pretreatment Facilities. Eliminating this stream from recycling within WTP would also decrease the LAW vitrification mission duration and quantity of glass waste. This LAW Off-Gas Condensate stream contains components that are volatile at melter temperatures and are problematic for the glass waste form. Because this stream recycles within WTP, these components accumulate in the Condensate stream, exacerbating their impact on the number of LAW glass containers that must be produced. Approximately 32% of the sodium in Supplemental LAW comes from glass formers used to make the extra glass to dilute the halides to acceptable concentrations in the LAW glass, and diverting the stream reduces the halides in the recycled Condensate and is a key outcome of this work. Additionally, under possible scenarios where the LAW vitrification facility commences operation prior to the WTP Pretreatment facility, identifying a disposition path becomes vitally important. This task examines the potential treatment of this stream to remove radionuclides and subsequently disposition the decontaminated stream elsewhere, such as the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF), for example. The treatment process envisioned is very similar to that used for the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) that has been operating for years at the Savannah River Site (SRS), and focuses on using mature radionuclide removal technologies that are also compatible with longterm tank storage and immobilization methods. For this new application, testing is needed to demonstrate acceptable treatment sorbents and precipitating agents and measure decontamination factors for additional radionuclides in this unique waste stream. The origin of this LAW Off-Gas Condensate stream will be the liquids from the Submerged Bed Scrubber (SBS) and the Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) from the LAW melter off-gas system. The stream is expected to be a dilute salt solution with near neutral pH, and will likely contain some insoluble solids from melter carryover. The soluble components are expected to be mostly sodium and ammonium salts of nitrate, chloride, and fluoride. This stream has not been generated yet and will not be available until the WTP begins operation, but a simulant has been produced based on models, calculations, and comparison with pilot-scale tests. One of the radionuclides that is volatile and expected to be in greatest abundance in this LAW Off-Gas Condensate stream is Technetium-99 ({sup 99}Tc). Technetium will not be removed from the aqueous waste in the Hanford WTP, and will primarily end up immobilized in the LAW glass by repeated recycle of the off-gas condensate into the LAW melter. Other radionuclides that are low but are also expected to be in measurable concentration in the LAW Off-Gas Condensate are {sup 129}I, {sup 90}Sr, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 241}Pu, and {sup 241}Am. These are present due to their partial volatility and some entrainment in the off-gas system. This report discusses results of optimized {sup 99}Tc decontamination testing of the simulant. Testing examined use of inorganic reducing agents for {sup 99}Tc. Testing focused on minimizing the quantity of sorbents/reactants added, and minimizing mixing time to reach the decontamination targets in this simulant formulation. Stannous chloride and ferrous sulfate were tested as reducing agents to determine the minimum needed to convert soluble pertechnetate to the insoluble technetium dioxide. The reducing agents were tried with and without sorbents. The sorbents, hydroxyapatite and sodium oxalate, were expected to sorb the precipitated technetium dioxide and facilitate removal. The Phase 1 tests examined a broad range of conditions and used the initial baseline simulant. The Phase 2 tests narrowed the conditions based on Phase 1 results, and used a slightly modified simulant. Test results indicate that excellent removal of {sup 99}Tc was achieved using SnCl{sub 2} as a reductant, and was effective with or without sorption onto hydroxyapatite. This reaction worked even in the presence of air (which could oxidize the stannous ion) and at room temperature. This process was very effective at neutral pH, with a Decontamination Factor (DF) >199 in one hour with only 1 g/L of SnCl{sub 2}. Prior work had shown that it was much less effective at alkaline pH. The only deleterious effect observed was that the chromium co-precipitates with the {sup 99}c during the SnCl{sub 2} reduction. This effect was anticipated, and would have to be considered when managing disposition paths of this stream. Reduction using FeSO{sub 4} was not effective at removing {sup 99}Tc, but did remove the Cr. Chromium is present due to partial volatility and entrainment in the off-gas, and is highly oxidizing, so would be expected to react with reducing agents more quickly than pertechnetate. Testing showed that sufficient reducing agent must be added to completely reduce the chromium before the technetium is reduced and removed. Other radionuclides are also present in this off-gas condensate stream. To enable sending this stream to the Hanford ETF, and thereby divert it from the recycle where it impacts the LAW glass volume, several of these also need to be removed. Samples from optimized conditions were also measured for actinide removal in order to examine the effect of the Tc-removal process on the actinides. Plutonium was also removed by the SnCl{sub 2} precipitation process. Results of this separation testing indicate that sorption/precipitation is a viable concept and has the potential to decontaminate the {sup 99}Tc from the stream, allowing it to be diverted away from WTP and thus eliminating the impact of the recycled halides and sulfate on the LAW glass volume. Based on the results, a possible treatment scenario could involve the use of a reductive precipitation agent (SnCl{sub 2}) with or without sorbent at neutral pH to remove the Tc. Although hydroxyapatite was not necessary to effect the {sup 99}Tc removal, it may be beneficial in solid-liquid separations. Other testing will examine removal of the other radionuclides. This testing was the second phase of testing, which aimed at optimizing the process by examining the minimum amount of reductant needed and the minimum reaction time. Although results indicated that SnCl{sub 2} was effective, further work on a pH-adjusted Fe(SO{sub 4}) mixture are needed. Additional tasks are needed to examine removal of the other radionuclides, solid-liquid separation technologies, slurry rheology measurements, composition variability impacts, corrosion and erosion, and slurry storage and immobilization.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2019

Comparative Assessment of Experimental Testing of Instrument with an Embedded Digital Device Using Model-Based and Conventional Methods

The use of digital equipment has not been widespread in U.S. nuclear facilities. A major contributing factor to this situation arises from regulatory concerns about common cause failures (CCFs) stemming from the use of identical software in redundant systems, questions as to how to quantify the reliability of software-based products, validity of tools that are used for software verification and validation (V&V), and the effectiveness of software QA procedures. Compounding the concerns are sporadic incidents of digital equipment malfunctions in nuclear power plants, including lockups resulting from software memory leaks, feedwater control malfunctions due to excessive traffic on Ethernet networks, software logic errors, and other problems leading to plant trips. Additionally, the limited amount of demonstrated research and a lack of industry consensus on quantitative software reliability methodologies has hindered the widespread adoption of digital I&C in the nuclear industry. In a recent Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) identified concerns about the impact of greater use of instrumentation and control (I&C) equipment with an embedded digital device (EDD) [1]. Specifically, the NRC staff states that increased use of such devices “may increase a facility’s vulnerability to a CCF” (i.e., common-cause failure). The prevailing NRC guidance regarding software CCF (SCCF) identifies two design attributes that are acceptable for eliminating CCF concerns: (1) diversity or (2) testability (specifically, 100% testability). Either solution can result in high costs and remaining licensing uncertainty (i.e., how much diversity is enough? how to ensure test coverage of every possible sequence of device states?). Consequently, many utilities and reactor designers have limited or avoided more extensive use of digital technology to minimize licensing, scheduling, and financial risk. Without development of cost effective qualification methods to satisfy regulatory requirements and address the potential for CCF vulnerability associated with EDDs, the nuclear power industry may not be able to realize the benefits of digital technology achieved by other industries. In order to address these challenges, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring this research to assess the prospect of CCF in digital I&C equipment. The purpose of the current research is to develop an effective approach employing science-based methods to resolve concerns about CCF vulnerability that serve to inhibit deployment of advanced instrumentation (e.g., sensors, actuators, microcontrollers) with EDDs in nuclear power applications. The research objectives address the challenge of establishing high levels of safety and reliability assurance needed for the qualification of EDDs (e.g., microprocessors, programmable logic devices) that are subject to software design faults, complex failure modes, and CCF vulnerability. Specific objectives are: (1) assess the regulatory context for treatment of CCF vulnerability a graded approach to their qualification, (3) develop and extend model-based testing methods to enable effective demonstration of whether devices are subject to CCF, which may arise from vulnerabilities introduced at any stage of the design lifecycle, (4) establish a cost-effective testing framework that incorporates automation and test scenario prioritization, and (5) demonstrate the qualification approach through selection and testing of candidate digital device(s). This report documents an assessment of the results from experimental testing of a representative instrument with an embedded digital device. The experiment serves as a proof-of-concept demonstration of a model-based testing (MBT) framework. The objective of MBT is to ensure that an EDD undergoes suitably comprehensive testing to establish that it is not subject to SCCF. The approach by which MBT accomplishes this objective is through development and application of an effective test suite that provides the appropriate coverage to detect the full range of postulated faults that may arise at the requirements, design, and code (implementation) level of the EDD software. The findings of the experiment involve the application of the MBT framework by Ohio State University (OSU) through testing of the selected demonstration instrument (i.e., the prototype smart pressure sensor developed by Virginia Commonwealth University, VCU). In addition, the experiment findings also involve application of a more conventional black-box testing approach that serves as a baseline against which the MBT methodology can be compared. The primary outcome documented in this report is the comparative analysis of the capabilities demonstrated for each method. The results of the analysis demonstrate clear benefits that arise from the MBT methodology. The comparison indicates greater effectiveness from the more comprehensive evidence available through MBT and enhanced efficiency achieved through automation within the MBT framework. The structure of the report addresses the approach and application of each test method as well as the comparative analysis of the experimental results. Chapter 2 gives a summary overview of the demonstration approach. Chapter 3 covers the baseline testing and Chapter 4 documents the model-based testing. Chapter 5 describes the findings of the comparative analysis and presents the conclusions that can be drawn about the effectiveness and efficiency of the MBT methodology.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2019

Report on FY19 Testing in Support of Integrated EPP-SMT Design Methods Development

Experiments in support of the development of the integrated Elastic–Perfectly Plastic (EPP) analysis and Simplified Model Test (SMT) design methodology continued in FY 2019. Major progress was made in the verification of the newly developed two-bar SMT and single-bar SMT (SBSMT) methods by performing tests on Alloy 617 and SS 316H at high temperatures. Comparable results were achieved when the materials were tested under same conditions using both techniques. Because of its simple test configuration, SBSMT was the preferred testing technique used to evaluate elastic follow-up effect and generate data in support of SMT-based design curves. Evaluation of elastic follow-up was started with testing SS 316H at 815°C using SBSMT in this reporting period. As a result of this effort, the basic procedure and test protocol to provide data in support of the development of SMT-based design curves were established. This report also summarizes recent test results for the pressurization SMT using test articles with key features on Alloy 617 at intermediate strain ranges and at a low temperature of 850°C. Although more test results are needed in order to fully understand the effect of primary load on SMT creep-fatigue (CF) life, the limited test data indicate that the primary load reduced the SMT life at intermediate strain ranges and high temperatures. Recognizing the advantages of the newly developed SBSMT method, a new test geometry was designed to allow the elevation of the primary load effect on SMT CF life with the SBSMT technique. Additionally, selected tests were performed on SS 316H (heat 101076) to provide basic information about the heat of material. The tests performed included high-temperature tensile, fatigue, creep fatigue, and thermomechanical experiments. The results will be used to support the verification of the material constitutive model developed at Argonne National Laboratory.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Integrated Simulation Capabilities for Analysis of Experiments in the Versatile Test Reactor

The DOE-initiated Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) program aims to establish a domestic fast-neutron irradiation testing capability that meets a variety of domestic and international nuclear energy needs. Currently, integrated tools capable of mechanistic modeling of VTR and a test vehicle do not exist. To address this modeling and analysis deficiency, Argonne's SAS4A/SYSSYS-1 safety analysis code has been coupled with SAM (System Analysis Module) to provide a novel modeling capability that supports VTR and other fast test facilities. This report documents the design, implementation, and testing of this integrated capability. A coupling boundary has been identified at the test vehicle and primary coolant interface, where SAS4A/SASSYS-1 treats primary coolant thermal hydraulics outside the test vehicle, while SAM treats all thermal hydraulic behavior within the test vehicle, including the vehicle walls. Essential to this integrated tool is its newly developed capability to properly model the conjugate heat transfer process which ensures equality of temperatures and heat fluxes at the vehicle wall interface while ensuring energy conservation. A range of testing has been completed to support demonstration of this interface. The testing scope includes steady-state verification using a series of increasingly complex analytical solutions and transient demonstration for a range of design basis accident scenarios using prototypic VTR and test vehicle (i.e. cartridge loop) configurations. Results of this testing confirm verification of the steady-state solutions and provide reasonable and expected transient behavior. The coupling interface has been developed to be robust yet flexible. The implementation within SAS4A/SASSYS-1 supports coupling to any external software or module. The use of decomposed domains and the existing in-core thermal-hydraulic calculational framework within SAS4A/SASSYS-1 enable treatment of arbitrary test vehicle geometries with nonuniform meshing between SAS4A/SASSYS-1 and the coupled code. Modeling of multiple test locations is also supported. Furthermore, computational efficiency is enhanced by utilizing named pipes (or FIFOs), an interface for interprocess communication (IPC).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Verification Testing For Solid-Element Material Models 11-19 in DYNA3D/ParaDyn

This technical report documents the creation and implementation of verification tests for solid-element material models 11 through 19 available in DYNA3D/ParaDyn. The verification tests covered all aspects of each material model, except for the Weibull distribution functionality in material models 15 and 19. General test cases were created to verify the elastic and plastic behavior of the material models. Other additional tests were developed to examine the intricacies of each material model. Each test involved the use a kinematic load case and specification of material parameters necessary to activate corresponding features of the material model. The load cases prescribed the full time history of the kinematic motion for the solid elements, and these loads are independent of the material model or element formulation. When possible, closed form solutions were then derived for each verification test in a continuum setting. The DYNA3D simulations for each test were carried out over a unit time interval, t ϵ [0, 1], and the as implemented DYNA3D response was compared to the closed form solutions evaluated at discrete points in time. A relative error measure was determined for each test to justify the proper implementation of the material model. The relative errors comparing the DYNA3D solution to the analytical solution were, in general, on the order of machine precision except where noted. This signifies the proper implementation of solid-element material models 11-19. In the development of these verification tests, six bugs were found and fixed in the source code. Additionally, this work generated eighteen DYNA3D input decks and answer extraction scripts in the DYNA3D/ParaDyn Software Quality Assurance test suite, which are comprised of a total of 285 solid-element tests. Testing for each material model utilizes two input decks and answer extraction scripts, where one focuses on the linear elastic response and the other examines the inelastic and remaining functionalities of the material model. In total, this work added 285 individual verification test problems in the DYNA3D/ParaDyn test suite.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2023

Rapid, Approximate Multi-Axis Vibration Testing [Thesis]

The aerospace industry uses vibration shaker tables to perform component durability testing. In these tests a component, piece of equipment, or entire system is attached to a shaker table where it is subjected to dynamic excitation. The goal is to understand how the article under test will perform in its service environment without having to run it through its entire service life via field testing. In a vibration test, an aerospace system or component is qualified if it is shown to survive a test meant to replicate its lifetime service conditions. The test is designed based on recorded field data. To develop a test, a system is taken through all of its intended environments, e.g., transportation, launch, and reentry. Acceleration data measured from these environments is then brought back to the lab and imported into a shaker table controller. The controller then drives a vibration test intended to mimic the acceleration conditions experienced by the system or specific components of the system in the field. However, it is often difficult to match the measured field response in a lab test. This is largely due to the test’s boundary conditions and excitation methods. In a lab test, a shaker table is the excitation source. The two most common shaker table types, differentiated by their number of independent degrees of freedom, are single-axis and multi-axis shaker tables. Multi-axis shakers have the ability to reproduce service environments more realistically, as real accelerations inevitably produce multiple degrees of freedom of excitation simultaneously. Figure 1 depicts a generic multi-axis testing setup on a three-axis shaker table. Often multi-axis tests use six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) shaker tables. Yet multi-axis shakers are not yet common in the aerospace industry due in part to their high cost and the difficulty for shaker controllers to handle the added complexity. Single-axis shaker tables are much more common. They are not as expensive to purchase and have a wide range of control software options.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2013

Reversible Bending Fatigue Test System for Investigating Vibration Integrity of Spent Nuclear Fuel during Transportation

Transportation packages for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) must meet safety requirements under normal and accident conditions as specified by federal regulations. During transportation, SNF experiences unique conditions and challenges to cladding integrity due to the vibrational and impact loading during road or rail shipment. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been developing testing capabilities that can be used to improve the understanding of the impacts on SNF integrity due to vibration loading, especially for high burn-up SNF in normal transportation operation conditions. This information can be used to meet the nuclear industry and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs in the area of safety and security of spent nuclear fuel storage and transport operations. The ORNL developed test system can perform reversible-bending fatigue testing to evaluate both the static and dynamic mechanical response of SNF rods under simulated loads. The testing apparatus is also designed to meet the challenges of hot-cell operation, including remote installation and detachment of the SNF test specimen, in-situ test specimen deformation measurement, and implementation of a driving system suitable for use in a hot cell. The system contains a U-frame set-up equipped with uniquely designed grip rigs, to protect SNF rod and to ensure valid test results, and use of 3 specially designed LVDTs to obtain the in-situ curvature measurement. A variety of surrogate test rods have been used to develop and calibrate the test system as well as in performing a series of systematic cyclic fatigue tests. The surrogate rods include stainless steel (SS) cladding, SS cladding with cast epoxy, and SS cladding with alumina pellets inserts simulating fuel pellets. Testing to date has shown that the interface bonding between the SS cladding and the alumina pellets has a significant impact on the bending response of the test rods as well as their fatigue strength. The failure behaviors observed from tested surrogate rods provides a fundamental understanding of the underlying failure mechanisms of the SNF surrogate rod under vibration which has not been achieved previously. The newly developed device is scheduled to be installed in the hot-cell in summer 2013 to test high burnup SNF.

high burn-up spent fuel↗

DOE OSTI2019

Developing the Irradiation Plan for U-10Mo LEU Fuel Qualification for the Advanced Test Reactor

The Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3) mission is to convert, remove, and dispose of vulnerable nuclear material located at civilian sites worldwide. As part of its mission, M3’s Office of Convert works around the world to convert research reactors and isotope production facilities to non-weapon-usable nuclear material, both domestically and abroad. In support of this, the Office of Convert is working with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to develop and qualify new fuels and technologies to support conversion efforts domestically and abroad. The INL also supports the Office of Convert by working on converting the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and the Advanced Test Reactor Critical (ATRC) from using High Enriched Uranium (HEU) fuel to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel. To ensure the viability of ATR LEU fuel, the fuel system should meet a similar functional and operational envelope as the current HEU fuel. A series of irradiation tests of the U-10Mo LEU fuel system is required to support the qualification of the fuel system for use in the ATR and several other U.S. High-Performance Research Reactors (USHPRRs). These irradiation tests include: • Mini-Plate tests (MP-1, MP-2, and MP-ATR), • Full-Size Plate tests (FSP-1, and FSP-ATR), and • Element Tests (ET-1, ET-2, and ET-3). The MP tests will use multiple small-scale samples that will provide sufficient data across a wide variety of irradiation conditions to qualify the fuel. The FSP tests will use a small number of full-sized fuel plates to confirm the MP test results are representative of the prototypic plate geometry performance. The MP and FSP irradiation tests occur in ATR test locations. The ETs will use full-sized fuel elements located in ATR core driver positions to explore the full operating ranges of the ATR and other USHPRRs and to confirm that the MP and FSP test results are representative of the prototypic element geometry performance. The established testing functional and operational requirements of MP-1, MP-2, FSP-1, and ET 1 achieve the base fuel qualification needs of the USHPRRs, while the high-level purposes of MP-ATR, FSP ATR, ET 2, and ET-3 are focused on demonstrating U-10Mo fuel for ATR use.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Accelerated testing of module-level power electronics for long-term reliability

This work has applied a suite of long-term-reliability accelerated tests to a variety of module-level power electronics (MLPE) devices (such as microinverters and optimizers) from five different manufacturers. This dataset is one of the first (only the paper by Parker et al. entitled “Dominant factors affecting reliability of alternating current photovoltaic modules,” in Proc. 42nd IEEE Photovoltaic Spec. Conf., 2015, is reported for reliability testing in the literature), as well as the largest, experimental sets in public literature, both in the sample size (five manufacturers including both dc/dc and dc/ac units and 20 units for each test) and the number of experiments (six different experimental test conditions) for MLPE devices. The accelerated stress tests (thermal cycling test per IEC 61215 profile, damp heat test per IEC 61215 profile, and static temperature tests at 100 and 125 °C) were performed under powered and unpowered conditions. The first independent long-term experimental data regarding damp heat and grid transient testing, as well as the longest term (>9 month) testing of MLPE units reported in the literature for thermal cycling and high-temperature operating life, are included in these experiments. Additionally, this work is the first to show in situ power measurements, as well as periodic efficiency measurements over a series of experimental tests, demonstrating whether certain tests result in long-term degradation or immediate catastrophic failures. Lastly, the result of this testing highlights the performance of MLPE units under the application of several accelerated environmental stressors.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Fermilab's Horizontal Test Stand Upgrade Overview and Commissioning

Cryo-assemblies with the Nb 3 Sn MQXFA low-beta quadrupoles for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) upgrade will be tested at Fermilab's magnet test facility. A total of 10 cryo-assemblies will be delivered to CERN within the US HL-LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project (AUP). The horizontal test stand at Fermilab already has been used for testing the existing LHC inner-triplet quadrupoles, but the stand and corresponding electrical and cryogenic sub-systems were not operational for more than a decade. In order to restore the test stand functions and meet the design and test requirements for the HL-LHC magnets, the existing horizontal test facility at Fermilab underwent a significant refurbishment of the cryogenic and mechanical components. Most of the upgrades were completed and verified during so called zero-magnet test by late 2020, and then final commissioning of the upgraded horizontal test stand was completed during the first cryo-assembly test in 2023. These tests verified the major cryo-mechanical installations, as well as the basic test stand operations, including controlled cooldown and operation at 1.9 K, magnet protection and process controls. Here, in this paper, overview of the Fermilab's horizontal test facility upgrade and commissioning of these upgrades are presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Fuel assembly shaker and truck test simulation

This study continues the modeling support of the SNL shaker table task from 2013 and includes analysis of the SNL 2014 truck test campaign. Detailed finite element models of the fuel assembly surrogate used by SNL during testing form the basis of the modeling effort. Additional analysis was performed to characterize and filter the accelerometer data collected during the SNL testing. The detailed fuel assembly finite element model was modified to improve the performance and accuracy of the original surrogate fuel assembly model in an attempt to achieve a closer agreement with the low strains measured during testing. The revised model was used to recalculate the shaker table load response from the 2013 test campaign. As it happened, the results remained comparable to the values calculated with the original fuel assembly model. From this it is concluded that the original model was suitable for the task and the improvements to the model were not able to bring the calculated strain values down to the extremely low level recorded during testing. The model needs more precision to calculate strains that are so close to zero. The truck test load case had an even lower magnitude than the shaker table case. Strain gage data from the test was compared directly to locations on the model. Truck test strains were lower than the shaker table case, but the model achieved a better relative agreement of 100-200 microstrains (or 0.0001-0.0002 mm/mm). The truck test data included a number of accelerometers at various locations on the truck bed, surrogate basket, and surrogate fuel assembly. This set of accelerometers allowed an evaluation of the dynamics of the conveyance system used in testing. It was discovered that the dynamic load transference through the conveyance has a strong frequency-range dependency. This suggests that different conveyance configurations could behave differently and transmit different magnitudes of loads to the fuel even when traveling down the same road at the same speed. It is recommended that the SNL conveyance system used in testing be characterized through modal analysis and frequency response analysis to provide context and assist in the interpretation of the strain data that was collected during the truck test campaign.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Performance Testing of a Moving-Bed Gasifier Using Coal, Biomass, and Waste Plastic Blends to Generate White Hydrogen

The objective of this DOE-funded project by the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI), Hamilton Maurer International (HMI) and Sotacarbo S.p.A. (Sotacarbo), is to qualify coal, biomass, and plastic waste blends based on performance testing of selected pellet recipes in a pilot-scale updraft moving-bed gasifier. The testing will provide relevant data to advance the commercial-scale design of the moving-bed gasifier to be able to successfully use these feedstocks to produce hydrogen. In particular, the effects of the waste plastics on feedstock development (i.e., blending and pelletizing) and the resulting products (i.e., syngas compositions, organic condensate production, and ash characteristics) are a focus. The gasifier is Hamilton Mauer International, Inc. (HMI)’s moving-bed gasifier, which has been proven capable of gasifying nearly all coal ranks. It has also shown the ability in prior testing work to gasify wood chips. However, mixtures of these fuels with plastic wastes have not been prepared and gasified together. The feedstocks will be prepared by California Pellet Mill (CPM) under contract to HMI. The technical tasks and current status for this two-year research project are: Feed Procurement and Preparation: Nine different feedstocks were prepared from varying compositions of PRB coal, corn stover biomass, and car fluff waste plastics. Fuel pellets were produced by California Pellet Mill and shipped to Sotacarbo’s test facility in Italy. Test Plan Development: A test plan was created to define the test runs to be performed. The test plan detailed the different tests that were run, instrumentation used, extractive samples taken, and relevant figures of merit. Gasifier Testing: Tests are currently being performed in the pilot-scale gasifier at Sotacarbo using nine different fuel feedstocks generated from varying mixtures of coal, biomass, and plastic wastes. The testing will provide information on gasification reaction efficiency/performance, yielding relevant data for models used to scale up the gasifier design. This task will also include work to reassemble the gasifier at Sotacarbo and perform a baseline 100% coal run. Data Analysis and Reporting: Review of the data, determination of figures of merit, and interpretation of the results to be reported. The results will be used to specify the range of feedstock blends that can be successfully gasified as well as quantify gasifier outputs based on specific blends. This paper will be summarize the pelletizing procedure that insures the viability of the tri-fuel pellets for the gasification runs that are being performed at Sotacarbo’s 30mm up draft moving bed gasifier. Initial gasification tests have been conducted, and all the lab scale tri-fuel pellet gasification runs will be completed by the fall of 2022. Performance data will enable modeling of a full-scale HMI industrial scale gasifier supporting both CHP and Hydrogen production.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2019

Peroxide Decomposer Module Catalyst Testing to Support Preparations for Increased Demand - 19052

The Hanford Site Effluent Treatment Facility's (ETF) mission is to receive, treat, and dispose of liquid effluents from on-site programs and projects. Its roles in the management and mitigation of tank waste volume is integral to the overall Hanford tank farms mission, as tank space is limited. ETF's role will become even more essential as the Direct-Feed Low Activity Waste process comes online at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). In order to accommodate the additional liquid effluent streams, the ETF will undergo a number of facility and equipment upgrades. Included in this is the reinstatement of the Peroxide Decomposer Module (PDM) into the ETF's main treatment train. The PDM is used to remove any residual hydrogen peroxide not fully consumed in the preceding ultraviolet/oxidation (UV/OX) treatment stage for organic destruction. Future waste stream estimates have been shown to contain organic content requiring excess hydrogen peroxide addition. Restoration of the PDM will ensure the ETF can accommodate the higher anticipated levels of organic content in these new influent streams. Due to low organic content levels in the current influents and some operability issues with the PDM, it has not been in operation since 1998. One aspect of the repair and upgrade of the PDM is the usability of manganese dioxide on alumina catalyst, Sud-Chemie T-2525, which was purchased in 2008 but has remained in storage since. The manufacturer of the catalyst states there is no known shelf life for the product and no current data to indicate the catalyst's performance after long-term storage. To determine the usability of the stored catalyst, a laboratory test was developed. The testing of this stored catalyst was based on testing methods and information collected from initial catalyst product testing performed in 2008. This test involved spiking the catalyst with 200 ppm hydrogen peroxide and then testing the resulting solution to determine the extent of peroxide destruction. Initial testing results of the Sud-Chemie T-2525 catalyst indicated reduced performance, so additional catalyst materials were selected for inclusion in the testing. These materials included Carulite{sup R} 200 catalyst, LayneOx{sup R}, natural manganese ore - pyrolusite (Pro-Ox{sup R}), and EnviCat{sup R} 2531 SPH 4-6. With the expansion of the test scope, fines generation testing was added to provide additional data for product selection, as excessive fines cause plugging in the PDM. The resulting test data are compared to the 2008 catalyst product testing data in order to evaluate performance of each product to determine whether the Sud-Chemie T-2525 is still viable and to determine the best candidate for its replacement. This testing provides essential information to the engineering and operations organizations managing the facility and equipment upgrades for the ETF. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2022

Surveillance Test Articles Development

Material degradation in Advance Test Reactors (ATR) is governed by irradiation, corrosion, elevated temperature exposure and cyclic mechanical creep-fatigue loads. This degradation information during reactor operation condition is limited. Hence, material damage monitoring is a key aspect of the design, analysis and licensing of ATR components. The idea is to monitor material component operation conditions of component by using a surveillance test article. This test article is fabricated with bi-metal configuration with two different thermal expansion coefficients, and design is motivated by Simplified Model Test (SMT) specimen which can capture structure-like mechanical response. Upon raising temperature of the bi-metal test article configuration, expansion mismatch results tensile load on specimen. Thus, temperature dependent passively actuated loading is achieved. The idea is to place this surveillance test article in reactor at location ‘x’ to surveil the mechanical response at critical location ‘y’. By calibrating the test article design, material degradation at critical location can be surveilled through assessing the degradation in surveillance test article. This study presents test article development with different material combinations and follow-up experimental testing work through passively loading test article with temperature history. The test article geometry and observed test results are presented in presentation slides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Implementation of a Biaxial Resonant Fatigue Test Method on a Large Wind Turbine Blade

A biaxial resonant test method was utilized to simultaneously fatigue test a wind turbine blade in the flap and edge (lead-lag) direction. Biaxial resonant blade fatigue testing is an accelerated life test method utilizing oscillating masses on the blade; each mass is independently oscillated at the respective flap and edge blade resonant frequency. The flap and edge resonant frequency were not controlled, nor were they constant for this demonstrated test method. This biaxial resonant test method presented surmountable challenges in test setup simulation, control and data processing. Biaxial resonant testing has the potential to complete test projects faster than single-axis testing. The load modulation during a biaxial resonant test may necessitate periodic load application above targets or higher applied test cycles.

17 WIND ENERGY↗