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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Aerodynamic Drag Reduction Technologies Testing of Heavy-Duty Vocational Vehicles and a Dry Van Trailer

This study focused on two accepted methods for quantifying the benefit of aerodynamic improvement technologies on vocational vehicles: the coastdown technique, and on-road constant speed fuel economy measurements. Both techniques have their advantages. Coastdown tests are conducted over a wide range in speed and allow the rolling resistance and aerodynamic components of road load force to be separated. This in turn allows for the change in road load and fuel economy to be estimated at any speed, as well as over transient cycles. The on-road fuel economy measurements only supply one lumped result, applicable at the specific test speed, but are a direct measurement of fuel usage and are therefore used in this study as a check on the observed coastdown results. Resulting coefficients were then used to populate a vehicle model and simulate expected annual fuel savings over real-world vocational drive cycles.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2013

A Micro-Grid Simulator Tool (SGridSim) using Effective Node-to-Node Complex Impedance (EN2NCI) Models

This paper presents a micro-grid simulator tool useful for implementing and testing multi-agent controllers (SGridSim). As a common engineering practice it is important to have a tool that simplifies the modeling of the salient features of a desired system. In electric micro-grids, these salient features are the voltage and power distributions within the micro-grid. Current simplified electric power grid simulator tools such as PowerWorld, PowerSim, Gridlab, etc, model only the power distribution features of a desired micro-grid. Other power grid simulators such as Simulink, Modelica, etc, use detailed modeling to accommodate the voltage distribution features. This paper presents a SGridSim micro-grid simulator tool that simplifies the modeling of both the voltage and power distribution features in a desired micro-grid. The SGridSim tool accomplishes this simplified modeling by using Effective Node-to-Node Complex Impedance (EN2NCI) models of components that typically make-up a micro-grid. The term EN2NCI models means that the impedance based components of a micro-grid are modeled as single impedances tied between their respective voltage nodes on the micro-grid. Hence the benefit of the presented SGridSim tool are 1) simulation of a micro-grid is performed strictly in the complex-domain; 2) faster simulation of a micro-grid by avoiding the simulation of detailed transients. An example micro-grid model was built using the SGridSim tool and tested to simulate both the voltage and power distribution features with a total absolute relative error of less than 6%.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

VERAOneway Coupling for Transients

The VERAOneWay (VOW) package provides one-way coupling between two Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) codes: the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) and BISON. This package was initially designed and tested on multicycle pressurized water reactor (PWR) problems. Recent work has improved VOW and extended its capability to other problems. VOW was enhanced to simulate fuel performance for reactor transients. Additional fuel types and geometries were added to cover boiling water reactor (BWR) fuels. The BISON version and templates were updated to the most recent version and best practices. The code was refactored to make it easier to add features and to extend VOW to other codes.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Assessment of Controlling Processes for Field-Scale Uranium Reactive Transport under Highly Transient Flow Conditions

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive model-based analysis of a uranium tracer test conducted at the U.S Department of Energy Hanford 300 Area (300A) IFRC site. A three-dimensional multi-component reactive transport model was employed to assess the key factors and processes that control the field-scale uranium reactive transport. Taking into consideration of relevant physical and chemical processes, the selected conceptual/numerical model replicates the spatial and temporal variations of the observed U(VI) concentrations reasonably well in spite of the highly complex field conditions. A sensitivity analysis was performed to interrogate the relative importance of various processes and factors for reactive transport of U(VI) at the field-scale. The results indicate that multi-rate U(VI) sorption/desorption, U(VI) surface complexation reactions, and initial U(VI) concentrations were the most important processes and factors controlling U(VI) migration. On the other hand, cation exchange reactions, the choice of the surface complexation model, and dual-domain mass transfer processes, which were previously identified to be important in laboratory experiments, played less important roles under the field-scale experimental condition at the 300A site. However, the model simulations also revealed that the groundwater chemistry was relatively stable during the uranium tracer experiment and therefore presumably not dynamic enough to appropriately assess the effects of ion exchange reaction and the choice of surface complexation models on U(VI) sorption and desorption. Furthermore, it also showed that the field experimental duration (16 days) was not sufficiently long to precisely assess the role of a majority of the sorption sites that were accessed by slow kinetic processes within the dual domain model. The sensitivity analysis revealed the crucial role of the intraborehole flow that occurred within the long-screened monitoring wells and thus significantly affected both field-scale measurements and simulated U(VI) concentrations as a combined effect of aquifer heterogeneity and highly dynamic flow conditions. Overall, this study, which provides one of the few detailed and highly data-constrained uranium transport simulations, highlights the difference in controlling processes between laboratory and field scale that prevent a simple direct upscaling of laboratory-scale models.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Transient Stability Preventive Control via Tuning the Parameters of Virtual Synchronous Generators

This paper presents an optimal preventive control (OPC) method to improve the power system transient stability via tuning the transient parameter of virtual synchronous generators. The novelty of this work is that we formulate the preventive control as an optimization problem so that inverter parameters can be adjusted at the pre-contingency stage. A reinforcement learning (RL)-driven method is proposed to solve the OPC problem with the fault energy-based reward function. An ANDES-based RL environment is also developed. Versatile functions included in the proposed environment have been presented in this paper. The proposed OPC formulation, the RLdriven method, and the fault energy-based reward function are verified on several standard test systems.

Inverter-based resources, virtual synchronous gene↗
DOE OSTI2018

Compact Heat Exchanger Design and Testing for Advanced Reactors and Advanced Power Cycles

The goal of the proposed research is to demonstrate the thermal hydraulic performance of innovative surface geometries in compact heat exchangers used as intermediate heat exchangers (IHXs) and recuperators for the supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO 2 ) Brayton cycle. Printed-circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) are the primary compact heat exchangers of interest. The overall objectives are: To develop optimized PCHE designs for different working fluid combinations including helium to s-CO 2 , liquid salt to s-CO 2 , sodium to s-CO 2 , and liquid salt to helium; To experimentally and numerically investigate thermal performance, thermal stress and failure mechanism of PCHEs under various transients; and To study diffusion bonding techniques for elevated-temperature alloys and examine post-test material integrity of the PCHEs. The project objectives were accomplished by defining and executing five different tasks corresponding to these specific objectives. The first task involved a thorough literature review and a selection of IHX candidates with different surface geometries as well as a summary of prototypic operational conditions. The second task involved optimization of PCHE design with numerical analyses of thermal-hydraulic performances and mechanical integrity. The subsequent task dealt with the development of testing facilities and engineering design of PCHE to be tested in s-CO 2 fluid conditions. The next task involved experimental investigation and validation of the thermal-hydraulic performances and thermal stress distribution of prototype PCHEs manufactured with particular surface geometries. The last task involved an investigation of diffusion bonding process and posttest destructive testing to validate mechanical design methods adopted in the design process. The experimental work utilized the two test facilities at The Ohio State University (OSU) including one existing High-Temperature Helium Test Facility (HTHF) and the newly developed s-CO 2 test loop (STL) facility and s-CO 2 test facility at University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW).

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal-Hydraulics Modeling and Simulations of Hot Pool Using the SAS-CFD Coupled Code

The main goal of this activity is to test the dynamic coupling of the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 (SAS) and CFD models, using a recently patched version of the SAS code intended to address an undocumented limitation that hindered the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) simulation efforts in FY21. As described in previous VTR calculation reports, the undocumented limitation in SAS v5.4 does not allow the user to activate the CFD coupling option during restart calculations. Since the analysts were unaware of this limitation, prior SAS-CFD simulation results for the protected station blackout (PSBO) transient were erroneous. Root-cause analysis was performed to determine the cause of this undocumented limitation in SAS v5.4, the SAS software was updated in a new patch, and the SAS-CFD simulations were repeated with this patched software. The results of the SAS-CFD simulations documented in this report show that the software patch does address the cited issue, and that the patched software indeed supports the activation of the CFD coupling model in restart calculations. The SAS development team will determine the schedule for implementing the patch in an official software release. This report documents updated SAS-CFD simulations of the PSBO transient response in the VTR. The hot pool is modeled with the CFD code STAR-CCM+, which is coupled at the flow boundaries to the SAS model of the primary heat transport system. SAS computes the mass flow rate and temperature at each core subassembly outlet, the thermal insulation cavity bypass, and the IHX inlet windows. CFD in turn computes the absolute pressure and temperature at each of these boundaries. The SAS code will ignore the temperature data at flow boundaries where flow is directed into the hot pool, i.e., at the core subassembly outlets unless flow reversal occurs. Similarly, CFD will ignore temperature data at boundaries where the flow is directed out of the hot pool, i.e., at the IHX inlets except under flow reversal. The focus of this work is to ensure that the SAS software patch addresses the undocumented limitation described in prior VTR calculation reports, rather than the accurate assessment of thermal stratification in the VTR during protected transients. This motivates the development of a new, simplified CFD model with a coarser mesh to accelerate the testing process. The updated model, and simplifying assumptions, are documented in this report. In future work, the thermal stratification assessment should be performed in more detail. The simplified CFD model can be improved by performing grid convergence studies sensitivity studies of turbulence parameters (e.g., Prandtl number, turbulence production and dissipation parameters) on temperature distributions and thermal stratification.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Simulations of the High Temperature Test Facility using SAM

Under the support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program, an effort is being pursued to support the modeling and simulation needs of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technology development. There is a particular need for advanced modeling and simulation methods and tools to predict thermal-fluid behavior in the nuclear reactor primary system during safety-related transients. This report focuses on one such activity related to HTGR: developing a model of the High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) at Oregon State University using the system-level code SAM, and using the model to understand thermal response behavior in the facility. Note this activity is coordinated with the DOE-NE’s Advanced Reactor Technology Gas-Cooled Reactor Program

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Performance of non-conventional factorization approaches for neutron kinetics

The use of factorization techniques provides a interesting option for the simulation of the time-dependent behavior of nuclear systems with a reduced computational effort. While point kinetics neglects all spatial and spectral effects, quasi-statics and multipoint kinetics allow to produce results with a higher accuracy for transients involving relevant modifications of the neutron distribution. However, in some conditions these methods can not work efficiently. In this paper, we discuss some possible alternative formulations for the factorization process for neutron kinetics, leading to mathematical models of reduced complications that can allow an accurate simulation of transients involving spatial and spectral effects. The performance of these innovative approaches are compared to standard techniques for some test cases, showing the benefits and shortcomings of the method proposed. (authors)

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2012

Validation of the integration of CFD and SAS4A/SASSYS-1: Analysis of EBR-II shutdown heat removal test 17

Recent analyses have demonstrated the need to model multidimensional phenomena, particularly thermal stratification in outlet plena, during safety analyses of loss-of-flow transients of certain liquid-metal cooled reactor designs. Therefore, Argonne's reactor systems safety code SAS4A/SASSYS-1 is being enhanced by integrating 3D computational fluid dynamics models of the plena. A validation exercise of the new tool is being performed by analyzing the protected loss-of-flow event demonstrated by the EBR-II Shutdown Heat Removal Test 17. In this analysis, the behavior of the coolant in the cold pool is modeled using the CFD code STAR-CCM+, while the remainder of the cooling system and the reactor core are modeled with SAS4A/SASSYS-1. This paper summarizes the code integration strategy and provides the predicted 3D temperature and velocity distributions inside the cold pool during SHRT-17. The results of the coupled analysis should be considered preliminary at this stage, as the exercise pointed to the need to improve the CFD model of the cold pool tank. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

RELAP5-3D Modeling of High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF)

HTTF at Oregon State University (OSU) Reference: General Atomics? modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor Helium cooled, electrically heated Prismatic graphite blocks in the core and reflectors Alumina ceramic blocks are used to simulate the core and top and bottom reflectors One-fourth scale in length and diameter Most of the coolant channels in the core are full scale Lower pressure compared to the prototype reactor Over 500 instruments Designed primarily to investigate depressurized conduction cooldown (DCC) transients

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Breakaway oxidation of ZIRLO and optimized ZIRLO cladding per 10CFR50.46c criteria

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 10CFR50.46c proposed changes to the loss of coolant accident (LOCA) criteria for LWR licensees including a new requirement to test cladding materials for breakaway oxidation. Cladding materials must be shown to resist breakaway oxidation long enough for the LOCA transient to be terminated. The onset of breakaway oxidation is characterized by a rapidly increasing rate of oxidation and the absorption of hydrogen resulting in a loss of cladding integrity. The proposed rule changes effectively require some manner of periodic and on-going testing to monitor the population of cladding for breakaway resistance. More than 200 lots of production cladding material have been tested in accordance with the draft regulatory guidelines. Testing has been conducted in a steam environment at the critical temperature for breakaway oxidation for durations that exceed the analytical endurance limit required to comply with the breakaway oxidation test criteria. The alloys that have been tested include both ZIRLO cladding and Optimized ZIRLO cladding. Breakaway oxidation testing consisted of three basic steps: preparation of test specimens, high temperature steam oxidation and post-test specimen evaluation. The results show there is a high probability that all ZIRLO and Optimized ZIRLO lots will pass production certification testing. Variations in response to breakaway oxidation testing were observed only in testing that ran well beyond the maximum LOCA duration of 2000 seconds. No indications of early breakaway oxidation were observed in the testing of production material that has been completed thus far. This provides confidence that a sampling approach to breakaway oxidation testing and monitoring remains a sound approach.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

A High-Fidelity Model of the Peach Bottom 2 Turbine-Trip Benchmark Using VERA

This work presents a high-fidelity simulation of the Peach Bottom turbine trip (PBTT) benchmark using the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA), a multiphysics reactor modeling tool developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors energy innovation hub. The PBTT benchmark, based on a 1977 transient event at the end of cycle 2 in a General Electric Type-4 boiling water reactor (BWR), is a critical test case for validating core physics models with thermal feedback during rapid reactivity events. VERA was employed to perform end-to-end, pin-resolved simulations from conditions at the beginning of cycle 1 through the turbine-trip transient, incorporating detailed neutron transport, fuel depletion, and subchannel thermal hydraulics. The simulation reproduced key benchmark observables with high accuracy: the peak power excursion occurred at 0.75 s, matching the scram time and closely aligning with the benchmark average of 0.742 s; the simulated maximum power spike was approximately 7600 MW, which is within 3% of the benchmark average of 7400 MW; and void-collapse dynamics were consistent with benchmark expectations. Reactivity predictions during cycles 1 and 2 remained within 1500 pcm and 400 pcm of criticality, respectively. These results confirm VERA’s ability to model complex coupled neutronic and thermal hydraulic behavior in a BWR turbine-trip transient, which will support its use in future studies of modeling dryout, fuel performance, and uncertainty quantification for transients of this type.

BWR↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Transient Multi-Level method for Monte Carlo reactor statics calculations

The Transient Multi-Level (TML) method is applied to a time-dependent Monte Carlo transport solver to offload some of the computational burden of the expensive Monte Carlo solve to lower-order Coarse Mesh Finite Difference (CMFD) and Exact Point Kinetics Equations (EPKE) solvers via factorization of the neutron flux at the transport and CMFD levels using the Predictor Corrector Quasi-Static Method (PCQM). The Monte Carlo transient is solved by a modified fission source iteration scheme that introduces a single transient source bank. The method is implemented in the production-level Monte Carlo code, Shift, and verified with prescribed reactivity ramps from the two-dimensional version of the C5G7-TD reactor benchmark. The results show that, as compared to other quasi-static methods, the TML reduces the stochastic noise inherent to the transient Monte Carlo solver by factors of ~2 to 6 for various norm comparisons of the reactor power amplitude. Finally, the TML additionally reduces the number of Monte Carlo evaluations needed to simulate the transient, leading to roughly an order of magnitude improvement in CPU time relative to the standard PCQM for the problems tested.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Physics-based modeling and information-theoretic sensor and settings selection for tool wear detection in precision machining

Precision machining of metals is an energy intensive process with applications and impacts across the manufacturing industry. The energy efficiency, product yield, and maintenance of the precision machine require a digital twin that can assist with prognostics and health management. In this report a physics-based model is developed and validated against face milling data, and then used for the timely and precise inference of machining faults that cannot be measured directly. Computer numerical control (CNC) measurements of power and force are used through this physics-based machining model to predict deviations of the outputs of power consumption and cutting forces during normal operation. A model-based fault detection and isolation methodology is applied to determine the optimal (traditional and available) sensor suite and the test settings (admissible input values) that improve the inference of tool wear in face milling. The optimal sensor suite and input test settings are obtained by solving a mixed integer non-linear program that optimizes information-theoretic metrics relevant to the detection and isolation of tool wear from steady-state or transient machining measurements. Dynamic time warping and k—NN classification are then used to validate the robustness of the optimal design for fault detection test design, including the optimal sensor suite.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

First Principles Modeling of RFQ Cooling System and Resonant Frequency Responses for Fermilab’s PIP-II Injector Test

In this study we develop an a priori method for simulating dynamic resonant frequency and temperature responses in a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) and its associated water-based cooling system respectively. Our model provides a computationally efficient means to evaluate the transient response of the RFQ over a large range of system parameters. The model was constructed prior to the delivery of the PIP-II Injector Test RFQ and was used to aid in the design of the water-based cooling system, data acquisition system, and resonance control system. Now that the model has been validated with experimental data, it can confidently be used to aid in the design of future RFQ resonance controllers and their associated water-based cooling systems. Finally, without any empirical fitting, it has demonstrated the ability to predict absolute temperature and frequency changes to 11% accuracy on average, and relative changes to 7% accuracy.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗