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DOE OSTI2016

Preliminary Cyber-Informed Dynamic Branch Conditions for Analysis with the Dynamic Simplified Cyber MELCOR Model

Instrumentation and control of nuclear power is transforming from analog to modern digital assets. These control systems perform key safety and security functions. This transformation is occurring in new plant designs as well as in the existing fleet of plants as the operation of those plants is extended to 60 years. This transformation introduces new and unknown exploits involving both digital asset induced safety issues and security exploits. Traditional the open literature of nuclear power risk assessment tools and cyber security assessment methods have not been modified or developed to address the unique nature of cyber failure modes and of cyber security threats. Starting in 2015, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) embarked on a two year dynamic cyber-risk informed project to facilitate the analysis of unique cyber failure modes and the time sequencing of cyber faults, both malicious and non-malicious, and impose those cyber exploits and cyber faults onto a nuclear power plant accident sequence simulator code to assess how cyber exploits and cyber faults could interact with a plant's digital instrumentation and control (DI and C) system in the absence of digital controls. This will be achieved by coupling SNL's existing dynamic scheduler code (ADAPT), nuclear accident simulator code (MELCOR), and cyber Emulytics code (SCEPTRE) to demonstrate real-time simulation of cyber exploits and their impact on automatic DI and C responses. Studying such potential time-sequenced cyber-attacks and their risks (i.e., the associated impact and the associated degree of difficulty to achieve the attack vector) as they pertain to accident management will provide a risk informed basis for developing effective cyber security controls for nuclear power. This paper will discuss the rationale behind the proposed generic cyber exploits for an abstracted Pressurized Water Reactor that has adopted a unified DI and C System. Other papers related to this project submitted to this conference discuss: - The MELCOR model for this abstracted reactor, called the Dynamic Simplified Cyber (DSC) model, - Modifications to ADAPT to: Extend the framework for multiple simulators, Incorporation of importance measures into dynamic event tree analysis, Sort and reduce the dynamic event tree based upon inputs to or outputs from the tree, and - A feasibility study for using density based clustering methods with dynamic time wrapping to cluster and prune dynamic event trees. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Developing a Human Factors Engineering Program Plan and End State Vision to Support Full Nuclear Power Plant Modernization

The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, which is sponsored by the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE), conducts research and development (R&D) to establish the technical bases to sustain U.S. nuclear assets. One area in the LWRS program is the Plant Modernization pathway, which includes human factors R&D, human factors engineering (HFE), and ergonomics. LWRS program researchers in this pathway conduct targeted R&D to address aging and reliability concerns with the legacy instrumentation and control (I&C) and related information systems in commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). One key aspect of this pathway is to develop a strategy for full nuclear plant modernization, which previous LWRS plant modernization milestone reports have begun to describe. To further support this comprehensive plan and vision for full plant modernization, additional details need to be further developed. In particular, a core aspect of a strategy for full nuclear plant modernization is an HFE program plan and an end state vision for plant modernization that is well-integrated with both 1) a technically defensible approach to migrating the existing, mostly analog I&C infrastructure to a digital I&C infrastructure, and 2) a valid business case methodology to cost-justify the modernization activity. Thus, the purpose of this LWRS R&D activity and milestone report is threefold. First, the report provides guidance for operating commercial NPPs to support their development and evaluation of an HFE program management plan (HFE PMP) and an end state vision for plant modernization. The report presents best practices and lessons learned related to HFE PMPs based on MCR modifications in which analog systems were replaced by digital I&C systems. Second, the report summarizes the rationale for full digital I&C integration, highlights a number of factors that are critical to consider, and describes how HFE should merge with full digital I&C integration. Finally, the report summarizes and integrates the economic factors that must be considered to cost-justify HFE involvement in plant modernization.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

NASA NTRS2021

Considerations for the Extension of Gas Path Analysis to Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Systems

Aircraft operators rely on gas path analysis techniques for monitoring the performance and health of their gas turbine engine assets. This is accomplished by analyzing discernable shifts in measurement parameters acquired from the engine. This paper reviews the founding mathematical principles of gas path analysis, including conventional approaches applied for estimating engine performance deterioration. Considerations for extending the application of gas path analysis techniques to Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) systems is also discussed, and simulated results from their application to an EAP concept comprised of turbomachinery and electrical system hardware is provided. Results are provided comparing the parameter estimation accuracy offered by taking a whole-system approach towards the problem setup versus that offered by analyzing each subsystem individually. For the latter, the importance of having accurate direct or inferred measurements of external mechanical torque loads placed upon turbomachinery shafts is emphasized.

Electrified Aircraft Propulsion↗

DOE OSTI2013

High-Performance Computing for Real-Time Grid Analysis and Operation

Power grids worldwide are undergoing an unprecedented transition as a result of grid evolution meeting information revolution. The grid evolution is largely driven by the desire for green energy. Emerging grid technologies such as renewable generation, smart loads, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and distributed generation provide opportunities to generate energy from green sources and to manage energy use for better system efficiency. With utility companies actively deploying these technologies, a high level of penetration of these new technologies is expected in the next 5-10 years, bringing in a level of intermittency, uncertainties, and complexity that the grid did not see nor design for. On the other hand, the information infrastructure in the power grid is being revolutionized with large-scale deployment of sensors and meters in both the transmission and distribution networks. The future grid will have two-way flows of both electrons and information. The challenge is how to take advantage of the information revolution: pull the large amount of data in, process it in real time, and put information out to manage grid evolution. Without addressing this challenge, the opportunities in grid evolution will remain unfulfilled. This transition poses grand challenges in grid modeling, simulation, and information presentation. The computational complexity of underlying power grid modeling and simulation will significantly increase in the next decade due to an increased model size and a decreased time window allowed to compute model solutions. High-performance computing is essential to enable this transition. The essential technical barrier is to vastly increase the computational speed so operation response time can be reduced from minutes to seconds and sub-seconds. The speed at which key functions such as state estimation and contingency analysis are conducted (typically every 3-5 minutes) needs to be dramatically increased so that the analysis of contingencies is both comprehensive and real time. An even bigger challenge is how to incorporate dynamic information into real-time grid operation. Today’s online grid operation is based on a static grid model and can only provide a static snapshot of current system operation status, while dynamic analysis is conducted offline because of low computational efficiency. The offline analysis uses a worst-case scenario to determine transmission limits, resulting in under-utilization of grid assets. This conservative approach does not necessarily lead to reliability. Many times, actual power grid scenarios are not studied, and they will push the grid over the edge and resulting in outages and blackouts. This chapter addresses the HPC needs in power grid analysis and operations. Example applications such as state estimation and contingency analysis are given to demonstrate the value of HPC in power grid applications. Future research directions are suggested for high performance computing applications in power grids to improve the transparency, efficiency, and reliability of power grids.

Contingency Analysis↗

DOE OSTI2025

Land-use analysis using infrastructure representations and high-resolution flood inundation mapping techniques

In the face of climate change and population growth in coastal regions, land-use analysis efforts are more challenging than ever. Land-use decision-makers in coastal communities are burdened with the difficult choices of where to place new homes versus other assets. While there has been an increased focus on hazard mitigation and disaster resilience in the field of planning, evidence points towards continued development in risk-prone areas including flood zones. Residential development within flood zones specifically continues to be a major issue. To help counter this trend, this study introduces a novel land-use analysis method, coupling topographic flood inundation mapping techniques with digital elevation model (DEM) adaptations. This Topographic Model Scenario Generation workflow can be used by planners early in the land-use decision making process and provides an alternative to high-computational hydraulic models. The analysis also includes the identification of strengths and weaknesses of topographic models' recognition of built infrastructure assets, adding to a limited body of knowledge addressing recommended uses of such models. Levees and canals prove particularly functional in this context while detention ponds less so, likely due to a lack of total water mass accountability. Lastly, we provide a functional demonstration in Southeast Texas to illustrate the workflow's ability to create multiple infrastructure scenarios and visualize their effects across different flood events.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2017

Impacts of Variable Renewable Energy on Bulk Power System Assets, Pricing, and Costs

We synthesize available literature, data, and analysis on the degree to which growth in variable renewable energy (VRE) has impacted to date or might in the future impact bulk power system assets, pricing, and costs. We do not analyze impacts on specific power plants, instead focusing on national and regional system-level trends. The issues addressed are highly context dependent—affected by the underlying generation mix of the system, the amount of wind and solar penetration, and the design and structure of the bulk power system in each region. Moreover, analyzing the impacts of VRE on the bulk power system is a complex area of research and there is much more to be done to increase understanding of how VRE impacts the dynamics of current and future electricity markets. While more analysis is warranted, including additional location-specific assessments, several high-level findings emerge from this synthesis: -VRE Is Already Impacting the Bulk Power Market -VRE Impacts on Average Wholesale Prices Have Been Modest -VRE Impacts on Power Plant Retirements Have So Far Been Limited -VRE Impacts on the Bulk Power Market will Grow with Penetration -The ’System Value’ of VRE will Decline with Penetration -Power System Flexibility Can Reduce the Rate of VRE Value Decline All generation types are unique in some respect—bringing benefits and challenges to the power system—and wholesale markets, industry investments, and operational procedures have evolved over time to manage the characteristics of a changing generation fleet. With increased VRE penetrations, power system planners, operators, regulators, and policymakers will continue to be challenged to develop methods to smoothly and cost-effectively manage the reliable integration of these new and growing sources of electricity supply.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2014

Security Analysis of Selected AMI Failure Scenarios Using Agent Based Game Theoretic Simulation

Information security analysis can be performed using game theory implemented in dynamic Agent Based Game Theoretic (ABGT) simulations. Such simulations can be verified with the results from game theory analysis and further used to explore larger scale, real world scenarios involving multiple attackers, defenders, and information assets. We concentrated our analysis on the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) functional domain which the National Electric Sector Cyber security Organization Resource (NESCOR) working group has currently documented 29 failure scenarios. The strategy for the game was developed by analyzing five electric sector representative failure scenarios contained in the AMI functional domain. From these five selected scenarios, we characterize them into three specific threat categories affecting confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA). The analysis using our ABGT simulation demonstrates how to model the AMI functional domain using a set of rationalized game theoretic rules decomposed from the failure scenarios in terms of how those scenarios might impact the AMI network with respect to CIA.

Agent Based↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Considerations for the Extension of Gas Path Analysis to Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Systems

Electrified Aircraft Propulsion↗

NASA NTRS2021

Considerations for the Extension of Gas Path Analysis to Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Systems

Electrified Aircraft Propulsion↗

DOE OSTI2020

Innovation in Radiological Security, Part 1 of 2 – Using a Cloud Solution to Compress the Timely Detection Model

The design and implementation of new security technologies must account for numerous and complex operational challenges. For example, traditionally isolated systems must now survive amid the proliferation of network connectivity and endure the dynamic environments created by organizations tolerating bring-your-own-device policies. When evaluating the cyber, physical, or cyber-physical security of an asset, a common practice in the security industry is to apply the Timely Detection Model (TDM)—a versatile concept that relates the security functions of detection, delay, and response to the progression of an oppositional force’s attack timeline. If implemented correctly, security enhancements can compress the TDM to offer efficiencies to the stakeholders responsible for adjudicating threat scenarios. The efficiencies gained by the response force allow for more effective protection strategies to be realized. One such enhancement, deployed within the radiological security domain—the Sentry-Remote Monitoring System (Sentry-RMS)—is a stand-alone security system that detects, assesses, and communicates priority alarms as a means of thwarting internal and external threats. The SEntry-RMS CommUnications and REsponse (Sentry-SECURE) platform—an optional feature of the Sentry-RMS—is being developed to facilitate more efficient alarm adjudication by site stakeholders and, if necessary, a faster response by law enforcement. This Cloud-hosted platform receives protected information from deployed Sentry-RMS units and relays it to stakeholders that have vested interests in maintaining an elevated level of situational awareness. Operationally, this enables real-time delivery of high-priority alarm and video imagery directly to an identified response stakeholder, such as local law enforcement or site management, via natively developed mobile applications or full platform integration. The Sentry-SECURE platform, as implemented by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Radiological Security, is an example of an innovative security technology that compresses the TDM by (1) enabling a more efficient time to target and (2) better informing a response force’s predetermined tactics, techniques, and procedures. This paper explores the platform’s operational roles, highlights its principal functions, and presents a use case that demonstrates how the platform provides enhanced situational awareness when adjudicating priority alarms.

Sentry-RMS, Timely Detection Model, Sentry-SECURE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Panel Session 14: US DOE WIPP - Future Plans for the Utilization of a National Asset

This panel focused on the next phase of restoring the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP: located in Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA) to full disposal operations. The US DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) is funded for two Capital Asset Projects that will facilitate the restoration of WIPP to full capability and allow for future repository space planning. The panel will include updates on the capital projects, infrastructure improvements to extend WIPP's operational life, regulatory actions in support of capital projects, and improvements in new processes to implement WAC and DSA enhancements. This panel is filled by CBFO and WIPP contractor leaders to provide the big picture leading to WIPP's future. Presentations proposed include: 1 - 2018 WIPP Year in Review (Bruce Covert, Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (USA)); 2 - TRU Waste Shipments and WIPP Operations (Mark Pearcy, Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (USA)); 3 - Projects and Activities at WIPP (Ronald Gill, US DOE (USA)); 4 - The Future of WIPP (J.R. Stroble, US DOE (USA), Todd Shrader, US DOE (USA))

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2023

Visual Brick model authoring tool for building metadata standardization

In this study, the Brick ontology is a unified semantic metadata standard for building assets and their relationships, serving as a key enabler for effective interoperability and automation of building systems and analytics. However, creating a Brick model, in other words, standard semantic metadata based on the Brick ontology for a building dataset, can be a complex task. This paper presents two case studies of the creation of Brick models for real-world residential and commercial building datasets, highlighting the challenges during the Brick model creation process. Additionally, the paper introduces VizBrick, an interactive authoring tool for creating semantic building metadata. VizBrick facilitates the creation of Brick models by providing an intuitive visual interface and interactive capabilities, such as keyword search, automatic mapping suggestions, and recommendations. The use of VizBrick is shown to significantly reduce the time and effort required during the Brick model creation process.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Mitigating Data Center Impact on Grid Stability: A Coordinated Control Strategy Using Verrus StabiliGrid Architecture

Large data centers, which now represent a significant and growing share of the total U.S. grid load, can inadvertently destabilize the electrical grid when they disconnect simultaneously during brief voltage disturbances. The July 10, 2024, Eastern Interconnection incident, in which a sub-100-millisecond transmission fault triggered the cascading loss of approximately 1,500 MW of data center load, illustrates this vulnerability. While commercial battery energy storage systems (BESS) deployed in data centers provide device-level fault ride-through per IEEE 1547, they lack coordination with facility protection logic and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), limiting their effectiveness as grid-stabilizing assets. This report presents the Verrus StabiliGrid architecture, a coordinated control framework that integrates BESS, UPS, and point-of-interconnection (POI) protection settings to enable data centers to ride through both undervoltage and overvoltage grid contingencies without disconnecting. The four-step strategy encompasses: (1) high-resolution power quality monitoring to detect the grid state during events such as undervoltage, overvoltage, underfrequency, and overfrequency; (2) POI protection settings that allow for extended ride-through and grid-connected operation during grid contingencies; (3) grid state-driven autonomous dispatch of assets to improve grid resilience by reducing power draw during undervoltage or absorbing more power during overvoltage events; and (4) coordinated post-recovery dispatch of data center assets to restore firm load to pre-contingency levels. Validated through controller-hardware-in-the-loop (C-HIL) simulations at the National Laboratory of the Rockies, results show grid import restoration to pre-fault levels within 100 milliseconds of voltage recovery. This work advances the ability of data centers to transition from passive, disturbance-sensitive loads to active participants in grid stability, a capability increasingly required by emerging NERC and ERCOT regulatory frameworks.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Autonomous In-space Construction, Maintenance, and Reconfiguration Using Programmable Meta-Material

NASA ARC's Coded Structures Laboratory (CSL) is developing autonomous construction, maintenance, and reconfiguration technologies to meet long-duration and deep space infrastructure needs, in accordance with long-term NASA goals of "in-space reliance" and "mass-less exploration." We seek to achieve these capabilities by utilizing a "programmable meta-material" approach that integrates emerging advances in materials (mechanical meta-materials), manufacturing (cooperative mobile robotics), and autonomy (multi-agent planning algorithms). Through the ARMADAS project, we have shown assembly of high-performance engineered cellular materials using multiple cooperating mobile robotic assemblers. In this paper, we describe how such a programmable meta-material architecture may shift the paradigm of how we design, build, manufacture, and operate future space infrastructure and assets. The core of a programmable meta-material architecture consists of 3 main technology sub-areas: the structure, the assembly agents, and the assembly algorithms. We co-design these systems to ensure an adaptable system that can create and reconfigure structures from a base set of building block components. From this core technology, we can branch out and expand the capability of the system through additional secondary component types and robotic agents to perform activities such as inspections, maintenance, repair, payload installation, or perform power and communications interconnect. As these technologies mature, future designers will be able to utilize the system to rapidly integrate and operate assets in space or on planetary surfaces from a set of well-tested part library, or create their own modules to integrate into the system. A core trait to the development of this system is the automation approach. Because of the modular and functional discrete (pixel-like) nature of the structural system, a diverse set of powerful algorithms for analysis, planning, and simulation can be adapted and leveraged to optimize construction, maintenance, and dynamic reorganization (as hardware with programmable form and function). With an ability to free the design space from launch vehicle constraints and fundamentally shift how a mission is designed and conducted, we discuss the influence of a programmable meta-material architecture on mission design, build, and operations. For the "design phase", we discuss project lifecycle effects, costs, time, and performance. For the "build phase", we discuss reusability, ISRU, manufacturing, material logistics, and scalability. And for "operations", we discuss autonomy, maintenance and upgrades, reliability, and reconfiguration. Autonomy and modularity are the primary enabling traits of this system. Engineering systems that utilize a modular and reconfiguration building block approach such as digital communication and computation systems, currently lead all other areas of technology in size and complexity scalability. NASA is extending the benefits and flexibility of digital systems to hardware systems, to optimize materials lifecycle management and expand our space exploration mission capabilities.

in space assembly↗

DOE OSTI2015

Addressing an aging facility: improving reliability of the defense waste processing facility at the Savannah River Site - 15539

The High Level Waste program at the Savannah River Site significantly reduces environmental risks associated with the storage of radioactive waste from legacy efforts to separate fissionable nuclear material from irradiated targets and fuels. The Defense Waste Processing Facility treats and immobilizes High Level Waste into a durable borosilicate glass for safe, permanent storage. Construction of the facility began in 1983 and radioactive operations commenced in 1996. In an effort to support the disposition of radioactive waste and accelerate tank closure for the balance of the Savannah River Site mission, the Defense Waste Processing Facility recently underwent an extensive reliability review in 2013 to understand future needs as well as to address aging infrastructure. As a product of this review, a Performance Improvement Plan was developed to systematically address three major focus areas including, a) asset preservation, b) facility housekeeping, and 3) process improvements. Since issuance of the plan, significant progress has been made in each of these areas to improve the reliability and predictability of the Defense Waste Processing Facility. Providing consistent, constructive, and concise communications is vital in the face of a changing budgetary environment. The Savannah River Site case study provides an example of the U.S. Department of Energy - Savannah River (DOE-SR) and SRR partnering to inform stakeholders about cleanup progress at the site. DOE-SR and SRR periodically and consistently provide both annual written progress reports under the Federal Facility Agreement and quarterly written progress reports under the landfill permit to the government regulators. Through the Liquid Waste System Plans, DOE-SR and SRR constructively and concisely summarize both the significant progress made and explain how a changed budget can impact the goals moving forward. Furthermore, DOE-SR and SRR informs the community and general public about the Site's progress and future during Citizens Advisory Board meetings. In addition, through the new proposed model for complex-wide communications, stakeholders can better understand how budget constraints will affect them. The set-aside program would also encourage stakeholder participation and involvement in helping each state and site obtain extra funding through performance evaluations. Waste management organizations can benefit in a number of ways from an effective partnership approach to communicate with stakeholders about available funding. Keeping an open and honest dialogue with regulatory agencies can help preserve confidence, thus mitigating or completely avoiding costly and distracting fines and penalties. Informing the public not only promotes trust, but also spurs the public to exercise its right to demand more information and voice any concerns to elected or DOE officials. With this approach, DOE can receive better understanding and cooperation from stakeholders in a changing budgetary landscape. Furthermore, a set-aside competitive program would encourage efficiency and innovation that could lead to further cost savings for the government while providing extra funding for cleanup efforts. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2017

Two-Person Control: A Brief History and Modern Industry Practices

Physical asset protection is the principal objective of many security and safeguard measures. One well-known means of asset protection is two-person control. This paper reviews literature regarding two-person control to gain insight into its origin, first demonstrated uses, and its presence in several modern industries. This literature review of two-person control is intended to benefit people and organizations with a desire to understand its origins and how the practice has evolved over time, as well as give some insight into the flexibility of this safeguarding technique. The literature review is focused in four main sections: (1) defining two-person control, (2) early history, (3) two-person control in modern industry, and (4) a theory on how two- person control entered modern industry. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank Jarret Lafleur and Scott Paap of Sandia National Laboratories, California's Systems Analysis & Engineering organization for the opportunity to work on this project. Jarret Lafleur provided very constructive and helpful feedback through all stages of the work. Amanda Thompson of the Sandia California Technical Library maintained a great spirit and always had a quick document turnaround that very much helped out this project's completion. Additionally, yet perhaps most importantly, the author would like to thank his wife and daughter, along with the rest of his family, for continued support over the years. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

NASA NTRS2007

Shuttle Entry Imaging Using Infrared Thermography

During the Columbia Accident Investigation, imaging teams supporting debris shedding analysis were hampered by poor entry image quality and the general lack of information on optical signatures associated with a nominal Shuttle entry. After the accident, recommendations were made to NASA management to develop and maintain a state-of-the-art imagery database for Shuttle engineering performance assessments and to improve entry imaging capability to support anomaly and contingency analysis during a mission. As a result, the Space Shuttle Program sponsored an observation campaign to qualitatively characterize a nominal Shuttle entry over the widest possible Mach number range. The initial objectives focused on an assessment of capability to identify/resolve debris liberated from the Shuttle during entry, characterization of potential anomalous events associated with RCS jet firings and unusual phenomenon associated with the plasma trail. The aeroheating technical community viewed the Space Shuttle Program sponsored activity as an opportunity to influence the observation objectives and incrementally demonstrate key elements of a quantitative spatially resolved temperature measurement capability over a series of flights. One long-term desire of the Shuttle engineering community is to calibrate boundary layer transition prediction methodologies that are presently part of the Shuttle damage assessment process using flight data provided by a controlled Shuttle flight experiment. Quantitative global imaging may offer a complementary method of data collection to more traditional methods such as surface thermocouples. This paper reviews the process used by the engineering community to influence data collection methods and analysis of global infrared images of the Shuttle obtained during hypersonic entry. Emphasis is placed upon airborne imaging assets sponsored by the Shuttle program during Return to Flight. Visual and IR entry imagery were obtained with available airborne imaging platforms used within DoD along with agency assets developed and optimized for use during Shuttle ascent to demonstrate capability (i.e., tracking, acquisition of multispectral data, spatial resolution) and identify system limitations (i.e., radiance modeling, saturation) using state-of-the-art imaging instrumentation and communication systems. Global infrared intensity data have been transformed to temperature by comparison to Shuttle flight thermocouple data. Reasonable agreement is found between the flight thermography images and numerical prediction. A discussion of lessons learned and potential application to a potential Shuttle boundary layer transition flight test is presented.

Horvath, Thomas↗

DOE OSTI2015

Streamlining NIF Design Engineering Processes

As a new project and facility, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) located a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), adopted a design standard that incorporated a safety criteria process that all equipment was to be designed with thorough design documentation and a level of safety evaluation that guaranteed tractability and success in the commissioning of this new asset. The documentation is in the form of a Mechanical Engineering Safety Note (MESN) or Engineering Note (EN), which is a complete stand-alone review document of each design, with backup support, detailed analysis, drawings and a full review committee signoff. The design safety review process was given conservative Factors of Safety (FS) and guidance to evaluated design adequacy, leading to robust support structures. The MESN, EN, FS and guidance requirements were primarily driven by a need for confidence in the early success of the facility and the importance of personnel safety concerns. As the NIF facility and operations have matured and design loads, usage and risks have been become well defined and empirically validated, and we now have an opportunity to streamline the design process by not requiring such strict adherence to historical practice, specifically for non-personnel safety related requirements. This streamlining helps support a congressional review that was performed on NIF to determine cost saving opportunities in all areas of operation and development. This proposed NIF design guidance design approach would save design time, schedule and material costs. The new design approach includes reductions in FS and reduction in formal documentation, and will be implemented through the release of a NIF Design Guidance Document. This document will be used actively by designers, project engineers, structural analysts, safety engineers, scientists and engineering management to prepare, evaluated and approve designs for NIF experiments. This document will also be used as a general supporting reference for all design reviews involving the active stakeholders. The active stakeholders will gain through a faster design cycle time, from requirements, to concept, to final design, using less expensive materials and fewer design iterations. The passive stakeholders will gain through lighter weight equipment, easier to acquire materials, easier to manufacture parts and shorter schedules to get equipment in the hands of the user.

42 ENGINEERING↗