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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Nuclear Weapons Data Strategy

This document describes the data strategy for the Nuclear Weapons Program Management Unit (NW PMU), with emphasis on functions related to the product realization lifecycle. It describes a vision to more effectively value and utilize data as an asset: data often is our product, and when it isn't, our products are made possible only through the data produced and consumed throughout each product's lifecycle. True confidence in the nuclear deterrent requires a clear understanding of how our products perform against requirements; both in the near term as well as over long periods of time. Data is the foundation for this understanding, and as such is a key enabler of the success of the NW mission. This document defines principles that enable a "culture of care" around NW data and drive the specific approaches to create a data-centric environment that is sustainable, agile, and responsive to the needs of the NW mission. The strategy outlined within this document must guide the definition of a high-level roadmap to achieve this vision, which in turn will be supported by separate detailed implementation plans.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2018

Summary of LANL FY18 Technical Interface Coordination with SHINE

In FY18, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) provided technical support for SHINE emergent needs and technical interface coordination including coordination of SHINE CFD/Thermal Hydraulics/transient analysis conference calls, Mo-99 meetings and reviews, national laboratory conference calls, and program management activities such as reporting and tracking requirements for cur rent FY18 activities. LANLhas also provided general technology consultation support for emerging issues.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
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↗
DOE OSTI2019

Solar Bankability Data to Advance Transactions and Access (SB-DATA) Final Technical Report

The DOE project “Solar Bankability Data to Advance Transactions and Access”, known in the solar industry and referred to in this report as “Orange Button”, had project objectives of convening key stakeholder participants in the solar project lifecycle to develop a data taxonomy that meets to the solar industry’s needs for standardized data types for use in solar projects. Additional Orange Button deliverables included the development of an online data exchange to act as a clearinghouse of data that conformed to the data standard and additional solar industry data, and a Solar Data Translation Platform that could transform legacy solar project data to conform to the Orange Button data standard. All of these objectives were achieved. The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) provided program management, industry participant recruiting and convening, worked with the solar industry to define the scope of the Orange Button data taxonomy, and documented and delivered the taxonomy data requirements to funded project partners to develop both the taxonomy and the data conversion tools. Further efforts included performing extensive industry outreach and awareness to encourage adoption of the Orange Button taxonomy by the solar industry by enumerating the cost saving benefits of using the taxonomy and the public benefit of the increased use of solar energy due to increased bankability and viability of solar development projects. Solar PV panel and component prices have fallen in the last decade, while soft costs have remained stubbornly high and can account for as much as 64% of the total cost of a new solar system. Part of the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, Orange Button enabled the creation and adoption of industry-led open data standards for rapid and seamless information exchange across the solar value chain, from origination to decommissioning. Standardizing data will reduce soft costs by making it easier to share solar data and speeding up processes. The taxonomy is a product of solar industry participants convening to identify the pain points caused by incompatible data, and to agree on and standardize data types to be used by the actors in the solar project lifecycle. This report focuses on the SEPA led first phase of Orange Button project that included industry outreach and recruiting participants for five industry working groups, widespread industry outreach to increase awareness and encourage eventual adoption of the taxonomy, and the definition of the scope, use cases, and supporting data types of the Orange Button taxonomy. The solar industry has been receptive of the completed Orange Button taxonomy. In SEPA’s work, 401 solar industry participants facilitated by SEPA defined the scope, use cases, and requirements for the taxonomy leading to over 150 taxonomy early adopters incorporating the taxonomy into their software products serving the solar industry, and several large investors and banks have started projects to enable them to utilize the taxonomy to gain back-office efficiencies. Moving forward, as the solar industry more widely embraces the Orange Button taxonomy and begins realizing the tangible benefits of adoption at scale, we expect further pressure on solar soft costs and increases in the bankability of solar projects.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Expanded Materials Degradation Analysis (EMDA) Volume 3: Aging of Reactor Pressure Vessels

In NUREG/CR-6923 ORNL/TM-2013/532, "Expert Panel Report on Proactive Materials Degradation Assessment," referred to as the PMDA report, NRC conducted a comprehensive evaluation of potential aging-related degradation modes for core internal components, as well as primary, secondary, and some tertiary piping systems, considering operation up to 40 years. This document has been a very valuable resource, supporting NRC staff evaluations of licensees' aging management programs and allowing for prioritization of research needs.This report describes an expanded materials degradation assessment (EMDA), which significantly broadens the scope of the PMDA report. The analytical timeframe is expanded to 80 years to encompass a potential second 20-year license-renewal operating-period, beyond the initial 40-year licensing term and a first 20-year license renewal. Further, a broader range of structures, systems, and components (SSCs) was evaluated, including core internals, piping systems, the reactor pressure vessel (RPV), electrical cables, and concrete and civil structures. The EMDA uses the approach of the phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT), wherein an expert panel is convened to rank potential degradation scenarios according to their judgment of susceptibility and current state of knowledge.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

The OpenEfficiency Initiative: Piloting an open source solution to overcome market barriers to commercial energy savings

The OpenEfficiency Initiative supported the deployment of federal energy efficiency tools and data standards into energy efficiency programs operated by utilities and local governments, with the goal of reducing the cost and improving the savings performance of whole buildings programs. Over more than three years, the effort supported a range of pilots testing the integration of these tools into a range of energy efficiency program types. The effort also produced a set of open source tools that can be used to support program management.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2019

Rainwater Harvesting Potential Maps

Alternative waters are sustainable sources of water, not supplied from fresh surface water or groundwater, that offset the demand for freshwater. Alternative water can serve as a vital water supply to federal agencies in support of water resilience by providing diverse water sources. One type of alternative water, rainwater harvesting, involves capturing, diverting, and storing rainwater from rooftops for later use. Uses for rainwater include landscape irrigation, ornamental pond and fountain filling, cooling tower make-up, and toilet and urinal flushing. The Federal Energy Management Program has developed a series of alternative water source maps. The first map, developed in 2015 and updated in 2019, is a state-level rainwater harvesting regulations map that visually represents the rainwater harvesting policies across the country and provides general information on state programs, if applicable. This map allows the user to quickly discern where rainwater harvesting is supported and regulated by the state. As a complement to this first map, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) created two additional rainwater harvesting maps to help federal agencies strategically identify locations in the U.S. that are conducive to rainwater harvesting projects. The first map shows the relative potential for capturing rainwater for any use. The second map specifically identifies areas in the U.S. that have potential for supplying rainwater for irrigation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Rainwater Harvesting State Regulations and Technical Resources

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted in-depth research of state-level rainwater harvesting regulations for the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to help federal agencies strategically identify locations conducive to rainwater harvesting projects. Currently, rainwater harvesting is not regulated by the federal government; instead it is up to individual states to regulate the collection and use of rainwater. There is no centralized information about state-level regulations on rainwater harvesting maintained by a federal agency or outside organization. To fill this information gap, PNNL performed detailed internet searches for each state, which included researching regulations associated with state agencies, universities, Cooperative Extension Offices, city governments, and related organizations. The state-by-state information about rainwater harvesting regulations was compiled and assembled into an interactive map that is color coded by state regulations. The map provides a visual representation of the general types of rainwater harvesting policies across the country as well as general information about the state programs if applicable. The map allows the user to quickly discern where rainwater harvesting is supported and regulated by the state. This map was created in June 2015 and the data were updated in June 2019.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Automated Particle Classifier Q3 FY18 Quarterly Report

This is the third quarter of the third and final year of this project. Work during this quarter included completing and submitting the unsupervised statistical model paper for the American Statistical Association journal Statistical Analysis and Data Mining , (SADM), and nearly finishing the other paper on the semi-supervised statistical model. We prepared and presented a talk for NSARD 2018. Two papers were published in NIMA this quarter: the comprehensive paper on performance and statistical learning approaches, and the FPGA implementation paper. The team prepared and submitted to NA-22 a description of followon projects for FY19, in part based on discussions at NSARD with the NA-22 Program Manager.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Conduct of Training P781-1

This document establishes Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) training program management requirements that meet regulatory drivers and contractual requirements. The implementation of the processes defined in this document assures workers have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform their assigned duties efficiently, safely, securely, and compliantly.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

New Predictive Capabilities for Nuclear Weapons in Composite Fires

The prevalence of flammable carbon-based composite airframe materials and their use in high-temperature nuclear weapon re-entry systems requires analysts to address the abnormal thermal environment hazards associated with composite material fires. These fires tend to burn very differently than conventional fuel fires, usually burning less intensely, but much longer. This could lead to challenges in understanding margins in classic safety themes. The technical challenges in modeling the phenomena associated with these new types of fires are considerable, but new models have been developed. Their predictions have been compared with well-documented measurements of a vertical porous burner fire, known as a "wall fire" (a "wall-fire" validation simulation is reflected in the figures below). These measurements were conducted at FMGlobal, a mutual insurance company with a strong fire risk management program, as part of an ongoing collaboration between Sandia and FMGlobal. To date, the "wall-fire" scenario has been set up and initial model assessments with grid refinement studies have been conducted focusing on mesh resolutions suitable for full weapon system simulations. This work will continue with further verification and validation tasks assessing the predictions of the new model. Future work will address specific aspects of the wall models that are lacking in their predictive ability.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2019

Advancing Fusion with Machine Learning Research Needs Workshop

The pursuit of fusion energy has required extensive experimental and theoretical science activities to develop the knowledge needed that will enable design of successful fusion power plants. Even today, following decades of research in many key areas including plasma physics and material science, much remains to be learned to enable optimization of the tokamak or other paths to fusion energy. Data science methods from the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) offer opportunities for enabling or accelerating progress toward the realization of fusion energy by maximizing the amount and usefulness of information extracted from experimental and simulation output data. Jointly supported by the Department of Energy Offices of Fusion Energy Science (FES) and Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR), a workshop was organized to identify Priority Research Opportunities (PRO’s) for application of ML/AI methods to enable accelerated solution of fusion problems. The resulting “Advancing Fusion with Machine Learning Research Needs Workshop,” held in Gaithersburg, MD, April 30 – May 2, 2019, brought together ~ 60 experts in fields spanning fusion science, data science, statistical inference and mathematics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, along with DOE program managers and technical experts, to identify key PRO’s.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Report of the Workshop on Advanced Fusion with Machine Learning, April 30-May 2, 2019

The pursuit of fusion energy has led to extensive activities in both experimental and theoretical science. The central goal of all these activities has been to develop the knowledge necessary for the design of successful fusion power plants. Even today, following decades of research in many key areas including plasma physics and material science, much remains to be learned in order to achieve optimization of the tokamak or other paths to fusion energy. Data science methods from the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) offer opportunities for enabling or accelerating progress toward the realization of fusion energy by maximizing the amount and usefulness of information extracted from experimental and simulation output data. From April 30 to May 2 of 2019, a workshop on “Advancing Fusion with Machine Learning Research Needs” was held in Gaithersburg, MD, with joint support from the Fusion Energy Science (FES) and Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) Programs. The workshop brought together ~ 60 experts in fields spanning fusion science, data science, statistical inference and mathematics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, along with DOE program managers and technical experts, with the goal of identifying Priority Research Opportunities (PROs) for the application of ML/AI methods to accelerating progress on solving fusion problems. During the workshop, seven key PROs were identified. The description of each PRO includes relevant fusion problems, potentially useful ML/AI approaches, known gaps currently preventing the use of such approaches, and research guidelines to maximize the effective application of ML/AI methods to the PRO. The report containing the full description of the workshop outcomes is available at https://science.osti.gov/-/media/fes/pdf/workshopreports/FES_ASCR_Machine_Learning_Report.pdf

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of an In-Situ Method for Cable Condition Monitoring in Nuclear Power Plants (SBIR Phase IIB Final Report)

This is the final report of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project that Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS) has conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) over a seven-and-a-half year period (February 2013 through April 2020 with the awards of Phase I, Phase II and Phase IIB projects). The goal of the project was to design, develop, validate, and demonstrate a technique for in-situ testing of cable insulation polymers that will identify, locate, and provide the degree of aging for cables commonly used in nuclear power plants. During the Phase I project, AMS established that the frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) technique can successfully identify and measure cable insulation degradation that can be trended with aging. In Phase II, AMS performed extensive cable aging studies to correlate FDR measurements with other laboratory condition monitoring techniques and developed aging condition categories to quantify the severity of insulation degradation. In Phase IIB, the project expanded the research to include a wider variety of cable polymers that are used in the commercial nuclear power industry. This work also involved developing acceptance criteria to objectively assess age-related cable degradation while sharing the results of this research with industry, academia, and national laboratories to advance the state of the art in cable aging management technologies. The products developed under this research project provide the nuclear industry with an effective condition monitoring tool to support safe and long-term plant operation. Throughout the project, collaborations and support were received from a variety of industry organizations and individuals including DOE National Laboratories as well as nuclear plant utilities and several other industry experts and cable manufacturers. Contributions from these organizations included the donation of new cables, naturally aged cables, and research collaboration. The validation and commercialization of the products of this project were achieved through opportunities to test and demonstrate the technologies’ capabilities on-site at nuclear power generation and research facilities as well as in the laboratory alongside industry peers and cable testing service companies. The research resulted in a technology that can be used to identify, locate, and quantify age-related degradation in several types of cable polymers. This included developing software and hardware as well as the methodology for using the FDR technique to assess age-related degradation of installed cables. The technology developed under this project can provide nuclear plant management, engineers, and technicians with an in-situ electrical test method to determine if in-service cables need to be replaced, monitored on a periodic basis, or show no evidence of significant age-related degradation that may require action. Near the end of this Phase IIB project, the FDR product was sold to a nuclear power utility in South Korea. This sale of a dedicated aging assessment tool is the beginning of a comprehensive contract with the expectation of twelve (12) units sold to that country. Additionally, the FDR technology has been sold to several industry organizations including a nuclear research institute and the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. This technology is also being leased by other nuclear industry service companies for incorporation into aging management programs. The cable testing technology that was developed under this project was also integrated into a comprehensive cable aging assessment service that is being offered to the nuclear industry at the request of U.S. nuclear utilities and is currently part of onsite testing services provided by AMS.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

INTERFUEL: FAST -- Fueling Center and EVSE Reporting Process Changes

This presentation presents an overview of coming changes to how federal agencies with motor vehicles will submit required information about fueling centers and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) inventory through the Federal Automotive Statistical Tool (FAST). Historically, information covering these two areas has been provide during two separate data submissions, but is now being consolidated and simplified into a single submission due by December 15 of each year. The presentation provides background on the process, a re-cap of how the information is currently submitted, and describes the new approach for organizations to submit the required information. This presentation is intended for delivery via WebEx/GoToMeeting at the July 8, 2020 meeting of the DOE-sponsored INTERFUEL working group. FAST is a web-based information management tool developed by INL and funded by GSA's Office of Government-wide Policy and DOE's Federal Energy Management Program.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Laser Plasma Interaction in the MG Magnetic Field (Final Report)

Strong magnetic fields change properties of plasma. Employment of the magnetic fields can improve conditions for inertial confinement fusion. Compression and heating of the magnetized plasma is a base of the MagLIF pulsed power approach to the controlled fusion. Study of expansion and heating of plasma in the external magnetic fields, development of plasma instabilities, parametric and other effects are important for basic physics and applications. The main goal of the research for the grant was experimental investigation of laser produced plasma in the well characterized and controlled MG magnetic fields. We developed a platform for investigation of high intensity laser-plasma interaction (LPI) in the MG fields using a university-scale pulsed power machine. A Zebra machine at UNR generated transverse magnetic fields of 3 MG on the surface of the rod load and longitudinal fields of 1.4 MG in the coil loads. The magnetic fields were characterized with two-color Faraday rotation diagnostics. The pulsed power machine provided almost static magnetic fields for LPI compared to the much faster laser driven magnetic fields. We found that eddy currents in the rising magnetic field generate plasma on the metal targets. Eddy currents did not impact Si and CH dielectric targets. A Leopard laser with intensity in the focus up to 10 19 W/cm 2 produced plasma in the MG magnetic fields. The modified reflected Faraday diagnostics was used to study laser driven B-field at the MTW laser at Laboratory for Laser Energetics, UR. We demonstrated a slow dependence of the magnetic field in the coil on the applied laser intensity. The magnetic field increased by a factor of 2 if laser intensity increased by a factor of 30. This scaling is important for comparison of experiments at different laser facilities. Expansion of the plasma in the 2-3 MG external B-field was studied. Laser-produced plasma in the azimuthal magnetic field took the unique form of a thin disc expanding radially with a velocity of 250 km/s and confined in the vertical direction. A HYDRA MHD program at the University of Rochester was applied for simulations of LPI in the magnetic field B >3 MG. Simulations for the plasma disc parameters and the expansion dynamics were in a good agreement with experiments. Generation of narrow dense plasma jets in the longitudinal magnetic field of 0.6-0.8 MG was studied. Narrow plasma jets reached a length of 3-4 mm with the electron plasma density of (0.2-1.2)x10 20 cm -3 . A jet tip propagated with the velocity of 160-200 km/s. MHD simulations showed a good agreement of the dynamics of the formation of plasma jets with experiments. These jets are relevant to astrophysical jets. Simulations of K-shell spectra of Si plasma was performed for LPI in the B-field. The laser prepulse generated plasma near the laser target. A PrismSPECT model with a MeV electron beam produced by the laser was used. The spectral modelling showed the increased plasma density by a factor by 2-3 in the magnetic field. This was in agreement with the observed dynamics of the plasma plume confined by the axial magnetic field. The two-plasmon decay was studied in the 2.5-3 MG transversal magnetic fields. Strong 2-3.5 nm spectral widening and a 2-4 nm shifts of “red” and “blue” 3/2ω 0 spectral components were observed. The large shift and widening exceed the expected temperature and magnetic shift. PIC simulations are performing to clarify physics of this effect. The experimental research program for the grant is completed. New plasma effects in the MG fields were studied at the university-scale pulsed power generator. Two graduate and two undergraduate UNR and UR students carried experiments at the Zebra generator, supported and developed plasma diagnostics, provided data processing, and performed MHD simulations of LPI in the strong magnetic field. Research results are published in 9 referred papers and presented in 12 conferences. Program manager: Kramer U. Akli; Collaborators: R. C. Mancini and H. Sawada, University of Nevada, Reno (UNR); R. Betti and A. V. Maximov, University of Rochester (UR).

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Proceedings of the Workshop for Applied Nuclear Data: WANDA2020

On March 3–5, 2020, in Washington, DC, the Nuclear Data Interagency Working Group (NDIAWG) supported the 3-day Workshop for Applied Nuclear Data (WANDA2020) to facilitate interagency collaboration on nuclear data for applications and to communicate mission-driven nuclear data needs. The goal was to assemble users and producers of nuclear data to provide input to identify nuclear data needs, suggest solutions to address those needs, and prioritize potential solutions. The workshop consisted of talks by agency program managers, a nuclear data pipeline panel, six topic-focused roadmapping discussion sessions and a review of NDIAWG-funded projects. More than 160 attendees represented national laboratories, universities, and headquarters, as well as international organizations and industry. The proceedings presented herein summarize the workshop’s content, highlight important outcomes, and document attendees’ recommendations.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

MMSS Indepent Review Questions and Answers

Program managers' questions and researchers' answers are provided, documenting this review. The technical aims of the project being reviewed were to establish additively manufactured (AM) scintillator metamaterial designs that can perform in nonproliferation applications, to quantify that performance using simulations, and to justify that simulated performance using prototyping.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗