Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Interns”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 919 records · Page 51

The 23rd International Colloquium on Magnetic Films and Surfaces (ICMFS2018)

The 23rd International Colloquium on Magnetic Films and Surfaces (ICMFS-2018) was held from July 22-27, 2018 on the campus of UC Santa Cruz CA as a satellite conference to the 21st International Conference on Magnetism held from July 15-20 2018 in San Francisco CA, USA. 153 participants (16% female) from 23 countries participated in this single session colloquium, which has not been to the USA since 1985. About 1/3 of the participants were students and 16 students were selected by a review panel as finalists for the Best Student Presentation award at the ICMFS2018. The DOE support was used to cover the registration fee for 12.5 of the 16 student finalists ($400 each). The program consisted of 2 invited talks, 48 contributed talks and 7 poster presentations. The International Advisory Committee for the ICMFS met during this meeting and decided that the next ICMFS2021 to be held in Japan.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Report of the International Committee for Future Accelerators

The International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) has been in existence for well over four decades. Its mission is to facilitate international collaboration in the construction and use of accelerators for high energy physics. This report presents, after a brief introduction, some recent activities of ICFA and its panels. The International Linear Collider (ILC) and its current status are briefly discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

MULTI-MODAL CHALLENGES IN THE INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT OF NUCLEAR AND RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS (THE ONLY INTERESTING PARTS OF A SYSTEM ARE THE INTERFACES.)

Transportation of nuclear and radioactive material exposes these materials to the most risk for malicious acts. Unlike physical facilities, securing radioactive and nuclear materials during transport requires that many different organizations including operators, regulatory agencies, and security agencies work together to ensure the security of the cargo. A major security challenge for international movement of nuclear and radioactive material is the need to use multiple transport modes. Ensuring security of these cargos as they move through intermodal facilities, some of which may take multiple hours, or days, depending on operational constraints at the yards, ports, or other facilities, is a major operational and regulatory challenge. Especially in the international context, ensuring the security of material in transport through in-transit countries and coordinating transport activities across jurisdictions can lead to challenges as to whose security plan controls, whose transport regulations are to be followed, and how might plans need to be adjusted to adapt to in-transit conditions and ultimately how to ensure cargo security. This paper introduces and highlights selected challenges in the multi-modal movement of nuclear and radioactive material in transport. While the paper will address selected challenges in coordination of stakeholders and resources, activities at intermodal facilities, and other selected issues, this does not address all the challenges, rather it brings issues forward and suggests solutions and strategies for enhancing the security of nuclear and radioactive material transported internationally.

Singley, Paul↗

National and International Assistance in the Technical Assessment of Nuclear and other Radiological Materials out of Regulatory Control

Considerable resources are dedicated worldwide to detect illicit materials of all types amid the concern of their potential use in criminal acts or acts of terrorism. Of particular concern are illicit nuclear and radiological materials as they have potential to cause serious harm to the general public if not maintained under regulatory control. As such, the international community has developed recommendations and guidance for States and their Competent Authorities to establish, implement, maintain, and strengthen their nuclear security regimes. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provides recommendations for the security of nuclear and other radioactive material out of regulatory control through the publication Nuclear Security Recommendations on Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material out of Regulatory Control, Nuclear Security Series No.15. Based on this guidance and national/international practical experience and best practices, the international community has made considerable advances in the detection, interdiction, and adjudication of nuclear and other radiological materials out of regulatory control. The United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), Office of Nuclear Incident Policy and Cooperation has national/international experience to share on providing emergency responders and front line officers assistance in the technical assessment of interdicted nuclear and other radioactive Materials Out of Regulatory Control (MORC).

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Enabling Computation on Sensitive Data in International Safeguards with Privacy-Preserving Encryption Techniques

Privacy-preserving machine learning is a field of study that explores how to protect and preserve the privacy of sensitive data while allowing the data to be used by machine learning algorithms. This field has had substantial industry investment due to heightened concerns about privacy in the technology industry, with a focus in two broad application areas: financial services and healthcare. Numerous privacy-preserving methods have also been proposed for international safeguards, but they have been difficult to enact because the data they require is con- sidered sensitive or proprietary by the nuclear facility operator. This work examines how current privacy-preserving approaches might be used to enable the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to use that data to contribute to a safeguards conclusion about a state while giving nuclear operators confidence that their sensitive data is adequately protected. This paper begins by exploring several broad categories of privacy-preserving techniques including homomorphic encryption, secure multiparty computation, secure enclaves, and zero-knowledge proofs. Then we discuss some of the security considerations related to using these methods, potential use cases, and a conceptual system design for applying privacy-preserving methods in international safeguards.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Promoting Domestic and International Consensus - Program Area 1: Carbon Capture & Storage & Clean Energy Systems

This is the Final Report for the U.S. Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement DE-FE-0024159, Promoting Domestic and International Consensus on Fossil Energy Technologies: Carbon Capture and Storage and Clean Energy Systems carried out by the United States Energy Association. It is a compendium of each quarterly report submitted over the 7-year period of the agreement accounting for all accomplishments, including major activities, significant results, major findings or conclusions, key outcomes or other achievements. Changes in approach or aims, and reasons for those changes, are included as well as any problems or delays and actions taken and planned to resolve them. It also summarizes budget statuses and any changes in key personnel throughout the life of the agreement. Originally planned for 5 years, the agreement was extended twice through back-to-back no-cost extensions, one to enable full completion of tasks critical to the program’s success and the other due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The goals of the program were to provide increased knowledge regarding Carbon, Capture, and Storage (CCS) and Clean Energy Systems (CES) to Industry and Government decision makers, technology developers, educators, policymakers, environmental and other stakeholders, and the public by sharing research, technologies, and best practices with domestic and international partners. Increasing such knowledge was key to the other goals of the program of building of a broad consensus among domestic and international decision makers, stakeholders, and the public to take action to support and implement CCS and CES technologies and systems to ensure clean, secure, and affordable energy while enhancing environmental protection. The program accomplished these goals through a series of activities including hosting of conferences and workshops, in-person briefings, virtual webinars, reports and white papers, and keeping stakeholders informed of industry happenings through email distribution lists. It is the belief of the authors of this report, that these activities can be considered to have been successful in their goals.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

The Necessity of International Particle Physics Opportunities for American Education

This Snowmass2021 Contributed Paper addresses the role of the Particle Physics community in creating and fostering international connections in American education. It describes the pressing need to introduce students and faculty to the challenges and rewards of international collaboration, not only to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for particle physics, but to maintain and build U.S. leadership on an increasingly competitive world stage. We present and assess current efforts in education and public engagement with an eye toward identifying those activities in need of change or increased resources to improve audience reach and program efficacy. We also consider possible new activities that might improve upon or complement existing programs, with the common goal of providing all U.S. students with the opportunity to benefit from a quality international scientific experience.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

First Steps Toward a Quality of Climate Finance Scorecard (QUODA-CF): Creating a Comparative Index to Assess International Climate Finance Contributions

Are climate finance contributor countries, multilateral aid agencies and specialized funds using widely accepted best practices in foreign assistance? How is it possible to measure and compare international climate finance contributions when there are as yet no established metrics or agreed definitions of the quality of climate finance? As a subjective metric, quality can mean different things to different stakeholders, while of donor countries, recipients and institutional actors may place quality across a broad spectrum of objectives. This subjectivity makes the assessment of the quality of climate finance contributions a useful and necessary exercise, but one that has many challenges. This work seeks to enhance the development of common definitions and metrics of the quality of climate finance, to understand what we can about those areas where climate finance information is available and shine a light on the areas where there is a severe dearth of data. Allowing for comparisons of the use of best practices across funding institutions in the climate sector could begin a process of benchmarking performance, fostering learning across institutions and driving improvements when incorporated in internal evaluation protocols of those institutions. In the medium term, this kind of benchmarking and transparency could support fundraising in contributor countries and help build trust with recipient countries. As a feasibility study, this paper attempts to outline the importance of assessing international climate finance contributions while describing the difficulties in arriving at universally agreed measurements and indicators for assessment. In many cases, data are neither readily available nor complete, and there is no consensus on what should be included. A number of indicators are proposed in this study as a starting point with which to analyze voluntary contributions, but in some cases their methodologies are not complete, and further research is required for a robust measurement tool to be created.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Internal neutronics-temperature coupling in Serpent 2 - Reactivity differences resulting from choice of material property correlations

This paper describes the unique way of simultaneously solving the power and temperature distributions of a nuclear system with the Monte Carlo neutron transport code Serpent 2. The coupled solution is achieved through the implementation of an internal temperature solver and material property correlations in the code. The program structure is reviewed concerning the temperature solver and the internal correlations as well as the internal coupling between these two and the neutron transport part. To estimate the reactivity differences resulting from correlation choices a simple pin-cell case has been calculated. It is established, that some correlation choices may result in difference in reactivity of approximately 100 pcm. (authors)

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Development of a Preliminary Decommissioning Plan Following the International Structure for Decommissioning Costing (ISDC) of Nuclear Installations - 13361

The International Structure for Decommissioning Costing (ISDC) of Nuclear Installations, published by OECD/NEA, IAEA and EC is intended to provide a uniform list of cost items for decommissioning projects and provides a standard format that permits international cost estimates to be compared. Candesco and DECOM have used the ISDC format along with two costing codes, OMEGA and ISDCEX, developed from the ISDC by DECOM, in three projects: the development of a preliminary decommissioning plan for a multi-unit CANDU nuclear power station, updating the preliminary decommissioning cost estimates for a prototype CANDU nuclear power station and benchmarking the cost estimates for CANDU against the cost estimates for other reactor types. It was found that the ISDC format provides a well defined and transparent basis for decommissioning planning and cost estimating that assists in identifying gaps and weaknesses and facilitates the benchmarking against international experience. The use of the ISDC can also help build stakeholder confidence in the reliability of the plans and estimates and the adequacy of decommissioning funding. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

The IAEA international conference on fast reactors and related fuel cycles: highlights and main outcomes

The 'International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles', which is regularly held every four years, represents the main international event dealing with fast reactors technology and related fuel cycles options. Main topics of the conference were new fast reactor concepts, design and simulation capabilities, safety of fast reactors, fast reactor fuels and innovative fuel cycles, analysis of past experience, fast reactor knowledge management. Particular emphasis was put on safety aspects, considering the current need of developing and harmonizing safety standards for fast reactors at the international level, taking also into account the lessons learned from the accident occurred at the Fukushima- Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011. Main advances in the several key areas of technological development were presented through 208 oral presentations during 41 technical sessions which shows the importance taken by fast reactors in the future of nuclear energy.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Lessons learned from implementation of International Structure for Decommissioning Costing (ISDC) of Nuclear Installations - 17198

The paper presents the experience accumulated at the company DECOM in Slovakia in implementation of the 'International Structure for Decommissioning Costing (ISDC) of Nuclear Installations' in cost estimation for decommissioning projects. The ISDC was issues in 2012 by main international organisation involved in decommissioning - OECD/NEA, IAEA and European Commission. The primary purpose of the ISDC, as highlighted by the issuing organisation, is to promote the transparency and understanding of cost for decommissioning projects by presenting the cost using the standardised ISDC cost format. General experience shows that the ISDC seems to be the only cost structure which is able to present cost for any decommissioning project after converting the cost into the ISDC cost format. The company DECOM started to implement the ISDC already in 1999 by implementing the predecessor of the ISDC known as 'Yellow Book' which was issues in 1999 by the same international organisations; later by implementing the ISDC. Experience of DECOM by implementing the Yellow Book was used also in developing the ISDC. Experience of DECOM relates to the use of the ISDC as the base for cost estimation structures, developing the ISDC-based cost estimations codes and to transformation of cost for decommissioning projects for benchmarking purposes. The ISDC approach to decommissioning cost estimation for research reactors was implemented also by the IAEA; the experience accumulated at DECOM was used to a great extent. The paper presents the DECOM experience mainly in developing the ISDC-based cost estimation structures used in ISDC costing codes and in ISDC benchmarking of cost for decommissioning projects. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Description of a Dry Cask Simulator for Measuring Internal and External Thermal-Hydraulic Performance

The thermal performance of a commercial nuclear spent fuel dry storage cask is evaluated through detailed analytical modeling. These modeling efforts are performed by the vendor to demonstrate the performance as well as regulatory compliance and are independently verified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The majority of commercial dry storage casks in use today are aboveground. Cooling of the assemblies located inside the sealed canister is achieved by air flowing in the bottom of the cask and exiting out the top. Carefully measured data sets generated from testing of full sized casks or smaller cask analogs are widely recognized as vital for validating design and performance models. Numerous studies have been previously conducted. Recent advances in dry storage cask designs have significantly increased the maximum thermal load allowed in a cask in part by increasing the efficiency of internal conduction pathways and by increasing the internal convection through greater canister helium pressure. These vertical, canistered cask systems rely on ventilation between the canister and the overpack to convect heat away from the canister to the environment for both above and belowground configurations. While several testing programs have been previously conducted, these earlier validation attempts did not capture the effects of elevated helium pressures or accurately portray the external convection of aboveground and belowground canistered dry cask systems. Thus the enhanced performance of modern dry storage casks cannot be fully validated using previous studies. The purpose of the investigation described in this report is to produce data sets for the validation of assumptions associated with the thermal-hydraulic simulation of modern dry cask storage systems. Of particular interest are the steady-state cladding temperatures and the effect of elevated helium pressures in sealed canisters in both above and belowground designs. An existing electrically heated but otherwise prototypic BWR Incoloy-clad test assembly will be deployed inside of a representative storage basket and cylindrical pressure vessel that will represent the canister. The arrangement of a single assembly with well-controlled boundary conditions should simplify interpretation of results. Various arrangements of outer concentric ducting will be used to mimic conditions for above and belowground storage configurations of vertical, dry cask systems with canisters. Radial and axial temperature profiles will be measured for a wide range of decay power and helium cask pressures. As of this writing, the apparatus is currently under construction at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM and is expected to be operational starting in April 2016. Pre-test CFD calculations have been performed using best available information. These calculations are being used to assist in test design but will need to be validated and potentially reevaluated. The planned testing will be adjusted to reflect as-built conditions and measured system limitations. Dimensional analyses indicate that the anticipated ranges of relevant dimensionless groups (Reynolds, Modified Rayleigh, and Nusselt numbers) bracket or closely approach prototypic values for both the aboveground and belowground configurations. While designed to match prototypic values, the expected test matrix will include values that exceed currently acceptable values for decay heat, internal helium pressure, and peak cladding temperatures in order to gain more insight into the underlying behavior of the system. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗

Panel Session 36: Panel: Young Professionals in Nuclear Science and Engineering an International Perspective

This panel focuses on the young professional views from around the world on radioactive waste management. An informal panel will enable these future leaders of our industry to share ideas and experiences and develop contacts within peer groups on a genuine international level. The informal and interactive panel format will stimulate valuable discussion among the participants and the audience. The panel will be led by young professionals who will actively encourage participation from all those attending. Mentoring will be discussed. This panel aims to encourage fresh thinking and provide an opportunity for an open and frank discussion of issues. Presentations proposed include: 1 - International Youth Nuclear Congress (Alexander Borovskis, AusYGN (Australia)); 2 - AECOM Early Career Professionals Technology Exchange (Natalie Young, Washington River Protection Solutions (USA)); 3 - Young Professionals in Nuclear Science and Engineering - An International Perspective (Shona Thompson, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (Canada))

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Aerosol Measurement from Plasma Arc Torch Cuts on Various Metal for D and D Workers' Internal Dose Calculation - 20253

When dismantling a nuclear power plant, structures must be cut to reduce size. The cutting of radioactive material produces radioactive aerosols, which pose a health risk including radiation risk to site workers and the general public. However, due to a lack of research on the physical and chemical characteristics of aerosols produced in these processes, the calculation of internal dose in the event of an expected or unexpected accident is inaccurate. For the measurement of aerosols generated from cutting for internal dose calculations, we measured the number concentration distribution and nuclide distribution of aerosols from plasma arc cutting in a laboratory experimental setup, considering isokinetic sampling and automatic cutting. The results may suggest internal dose assessment without characteristics of radioactive aerosol has uncertainty and the possibility of being undervalued. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Grimsel Test Site - A Successful International Underground Research Laboratory for Many Decades - 20429

For more than 35 years, Nagra and its partners from around the world have been conducting underground research projects at the Grimsel Test Site (GTS, www.grimsel.com) to contribute to the development and confirmation of safe geological disposal concepts and for the characterization of suitable host rock formations. Over the years, the results of this internationally recognized research program have been, and continue to be, incorporated directly into exploration programs, modelling, safety, and engineering feasibility studies on options for deep geological repositories. Each project of the GTS program involves field-testing, laboratory studies, design and modelling tasks, and integrates all scientific and technical aspects. Each project phase is planned with a duration of three to five years to facilitate practical and administrative aspects and allow flexibility for updating the overall project plans with the latest findings. Scientific and engineering interaction among the different projects is ensured via an international steering committee meeting. Hosting an IAEA level C radiation- controlled zone, which allows use of radionuclides, including actinides such as thorium, uranium, neptunium, plutonium and americium, in in-situ experiments is one of the reasons why GTS also developed as a center of excellence for work with radioactive tracers under realistic in-situ boundary conditions. Last year, a new five-year program (2019 to 2023) started which includes projects with a planning horizon of decades. The new five-year program includes a new phase of in-situ experiments using radionuclides such as migration experiments in the Colloid Formation and Migration project (CFM), the Long-Term Diffusion experiment (LTD) and the newly established C-14 and I-129 Migration in cement project (CIM). The 'High Temperature effects on Bentonite' (HotBENT) project is starting in the current phase and is studying the effects of elevated temperatures (>175 deg. C) on bentonite materials. As a generic underground research laboratory (URL) it is expected that the GTS will provide in the coming years a platform for international collaboration, knowledge development and knowledge transfer for the next generation of scientists and engineers in the area of radioactive waste disposal and geosciences. A key role regarding knowledge transfer and training is provided by the well-established Grimsel Training Center (GTC), which (beside many URL related issues) also covers many general aspects of radioactive waste management. In this paper we provide an overview of the current program at the GTS, focusing on the experiments that study the migration of radionuclides through engineered barrier materials and the geosphere. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

International organization for standardization on the topic of nuclear criticality safety (ISO TC85/SC5/WG8) - 14244

This paper is a four-year update (i.e. 2011 - 2015) about the progress and activities of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Technical Committee 85 (TC85) on Nuclear energy, Subcommittee 5 (SC5) on Nuclear fuel cycle, Working Group 8 (WG8) on Nuclear criticality safety. The update provides a brief summary of historic standards developed by ISO TC85/SC5/WG8 and descriptions about evolving standards for nuclear criticality safety. The update describes the potential value and relevance of indigenous standards and technological developments by OECD regarding nuclear criticality safety standards. Elements of the published WG8 ISO standards that have been incorporated into International Atomic Energy Agency non-consensus guides and standards are provided. A review of international participation and needed participation is also addressed along with the benefits to ISO participating member countries. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

An international perspective on nuclear criticality safety

Full text of publication follows: As one of the standing technical committees within the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) the Nuclear Science Committee overseas a programme of work aimed at delivering the following key objectives: - the advancement of scientific knowledge needed to enhance the performance and safety of current nuclear systems; - building a solid scientific and technical basis for the development of future-generation nuclear systems; - the preservation of essential knowledge in the field of nuclear science. Criticality safety is an important aspect of all three of these objectives, and the NEA Nuclear Science Working Party on Nuclear Criticality (WPNCS) coordinates many international activities under its programme of work. An overview of the WPNCS is given in the following presentation, and many of the papers presented during the ICNC 2015 technical sessions will be giving details of the outputs from the various projects and activities which make up the WPNCS programme of work. This presentation focuses on issues associated with knowledge management, particularly on how an international framework for nuclear science and criticality safety activities can provide a very effective means of transferring knowledge across technical disciplines, and between different generations of engineers and scientists. To ensure that it is the essential knowledge that is preserved and transferred, we need to understand current trends and future requirements in criticality safety. In this respect, an international framework provides both the broad scope as well as the long-term perspective needed to make an informed judgement on which information/knowledge will be of most relevance to future practitioners of criticality safety. (author)

42 ENGINEERING↗