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At least 937 records · Page 52

Development of Cross Section Library and Application Programming Interface (API)

The goal of NEAMS neutronics is to develop a high-fidelity deterministic neutron transport code termed PROTEUS for use on all reactor types of interest, but focused primarily on sodium-cooled fast reactors. While PROTEUS-SN has demonstrated good accuracy for homogeneous fast reactor problems and partially heterogeneous fast reactor problems, the simulation results were not satisfactory when applied on fully heterogeneous thermal problems like the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). This is mainly attributed to the quality of cross section data for heterogeneous geometries since the conventional cross section generation approach does not work accurately for such irregular and complex geometries. Therefore, one of the NEAMS neutronics tasks since FY12 has been the development of a procedure to generate appropriate cross sections for a heterogeneous geometry core.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Department of Energy's Biological and Environmental Research Strategic Data Roadmap for Earth System Science

Rapid advances in experimental, sensor, and computational technologies and techniques are driving exponential growth in the volume, acquisition rate, variety, and complexity of scientific data. This wealth of scientifically meaningful data has tremendous potential to lead to scientific discovery. However, to achieve scientific breakthroughs, these data must be exploitable—they must be analyzed effectively and efficiently and the results shared and communicated easily within the wider Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Climate and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) community. The explosion in data complexity and scale makes these tasks exceedingly difficult to achieve, particularly given that an increasing number of disciplines are working across techniques, integrating simulation and experimental or observational results (see Table 5 in Appendix 2). Consequently, we need new approaches to data management, analysis, and visualization that provide research teams with easy-to-use and scalable end-to-end solutions. These solutions must facilitate (and where feasible, automate and capture) every stage in the data lifecycle (shown in Figure 1), from collection to management, annotation, sharing, discovery, analysis, and visualization. In addition, the core functionalities are the same across climate science communities, but they require customization to adapt to specific needs and fit into research and analysis workflows. To this end, the mission of CESD’s Data and Informatics Program is to integrate all existing and future distributed CESD data holdings into a seamless and unified environment for the acceleration of Earth system science.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Recovery Act: An Integrated Experimental and Numerical Study: Developing a Reaction Transport Model that Couples Chemical Reactions of Mineral Dissolution/Precipitation with Spatial and Temporal Flow Variations.

A total of 12 publications and 23 abstracts were produced as a result of this study. In particular, the compilation of a thermodynamic database utilizing consistent, current thermodynamic data is a major step toward accurately modeling multi-phase fluid interactions with solids. Existing databases designed for aqueous fluids did not mesh well with existing solid phase databases. Addition of a second liquid phase (CO2) magnifies the inconsistencies between aqueous and solid thermodynamic databases. Overall, the combination of high temperature and pressure lab studies (task 1), using a purpose built apparatus, and solid characterization (task 2), using XRCT and more developed technologies, allowed observation of dissolution and precipitation processes under CO2 reservoir conditions. These observations were combined with results from PIV experiments on multi-phase fluids (task 3) in typical flow path geometries. The results of the tasks 1, 2, and 3 were compiled and integrated into numerical models utilizing Lattice-Boltzmann simulations (task 4) to realistically model the physical processes and were ultimately folded into TOUGH2 code for reservoir scale modeling (task 5). Compilation of the thermodynamic database assisted comparisons to PIV experiments (Task 3) and greatly improved Lattice Boltzmann (Task 4) and TOUGH2 simulations (Task 5). PIV (Task 3) and experimental apparatus (Task 1) have identified problem areas in TOUGHREACT code. Additional lab experiments and coding work has been integrated into an improved numerical modeling code.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Mixed-Material Scintillators (MMSS Quarterly Report FY20Q2)

This project aims to invent, model, and prototype mixed-material scintillator systems (MMSSs), a new class of radiation detectors that use heterogenous internal structures of different scintillating materials to detect additional properties of radiation. These internal structures can be produced using additive manufacture (3D printing) of scintillator, a currently emerging application of additive manufacture technology. MMSSs combine the low cost and complexity of conventional scintillation detectors with capabilities currently only available in more expensive and complex detectors. By identifying promising MMSS designs, this project will enable a new class of detectors to meet DNN’s mission needs for SNM detection. This quarter, we delivered one the MMSS Particle-ID Modeling report, a major deliverable of this project. This report describes our results on simulations of the particle-ID (PID) class of detectors. We found that these detectors outperform competing approaches for neutron-gamma discrimination, neutron source pointing, and neutron spectroscopy. Further highlights of the report are described below. During this quarter, We alerted HQ to a change in schedule for the remaining simulations planned for this project: we plan to put off further simulation and reporting of the position-resolving (PR) detector class until July. This change in schedule has allowed us to go into additional detail in the PID work that is both very promising and motivates our upcoming proposal. The other active task in this project is prototyping 3D-printed scintillators with the aim of realizing the designs we’ve simulated. On that front, we had three focuses: measuring the light output, increasing the size of printed parts, and combining blue and green scintillators. We succeeded in measuring the light output, showing an output of 30% of commercial standard. This result leaves room for improvement but is within striking distance of where we need to be. We were on track to demonstrate a key requirement for increasing the size of parts and also to show combined green/blue prints before the laboratory moved to a Minimum Safe (MinSafe) Operations posture as a result of local Shelter In Place orders due to Covid-19.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Pre-Commercial Scale-Up of a Gas-Fired Absorption Heat Pump

The project sought to advance the maturity of SMTI’s 80 kBTU/hr residential space and water heating GAHP from the engineering prototype stage (TRL-7) to pre-production readiness by addressing manufacturing, balance of system design and installation, cost, reliability, and field application questions. As part of this project, the project team has: (1) Matured the design package for a commercially ready product (2) Demonstrated compliance with relevant ANSI standards (3) Completed manufacturing and assembly process specifications (4) Completed total production cost estimates and capital equipment requirements (5) Initiated component and system level reliability assessments (6) Completed a small field demonstration including measured performance, installation requirements and expected costs, and customer/key stakeholder feedback. (7) Completed a Techno-economic analysis for representative applications and climate zones, including justification for utility incentive programs. (8) Completed a market intelligence report. Scope of Work: A multi-faceted project was completed that included: (a) design for manufacturing tasks for both the sealed system and balance of system, (b) development and trial of key manufacturing processes and techniques, (c) evaluation of component and system level reliability, (d) exploration of make/buy decisions including impact on cost and required capital. Additionally, (e) installation and monitoring of a small number of field test units was completed to demonstrate energy savings and collect customer/installer feedback, and (f) a focused market research task was completed to explore potential barriers and improve market introduction plans. These tasks addressed many of the remaining technical risks regarding long-term reliability, verification of manufacturing cost estimates and identification of cost concerns, identify installation and balance of system design criteria necessary to achieve energy savings and installed cost goals, and identify market barriers and strategies prior to product market introduction.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

A Path Toward Understanding the Performance Capabilities of SmartNIC Devices [Slides]

SmartNICs, accelerator devices integrated with a network, have conventionally been utilized to offload low-level networking functionality. However, newer SmartNIC variants, which incorporate a system-on-chip (SoC) with traditional designs, are challenging this precedent. Leveraging significantly augmented resources, these new devices offer increased versatility and the potential to more effectively complement a given architecture’s CPU. Naturally, there is performance overhead associated with offloading tasks from a host CPU to a SmartNIC. As SmartNICs become more versatile and are used for a wider range of computational tasks, it is critical to understand how well the SmartNICs perform those respective tasks in order to determine whether the cost of offloading is worthwhile. In this work, we lay out a path to understand the important question of when and when not to offload to SmartNIC devices by way of a series of microbenchmarks.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

URSI ORISE Final Reflection

When I joined the US ITER project for my internship, the ITER Organization (IO) in France had started working on rebaselining – changing major aspects of the scope, schedule, and/or cost. My main task at US ITER was to interview US ITER, ORNL, ITER Organization (IO), ASDEX, WEST, and Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) staff. I reviewed with them the proposed changes in the rebaselining, listened to their concerns and comments, took notes, and asked questions. To become familiar with the IO’s proposed rebaseline, I analyzed reports, studies, presentations, and graphs. I also attended conferences and webinars, both domestic and international. I compiled all the information and contrasting opinions into one presentation to present to US ITER staff.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Best Practices for Equitable Solar Workforce Development

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) was selected to serve as a lead organization for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technology Office’s Equitable Solar Communities of Practice initiative. This project, facilitated through a partnership with ENERGYWERX, aimed to develop strategies to support the expansion of equitable benefits in solar adoption across the U.S. Specifically, the MREA was chosen to lead the solar workforce development community of practice, focusing on scaling the U.S. solar workforce, to meet growing industry demands and ensure that these opportunities are accessible and beneficial to all communities. For the purpose of this initiative, we define the solar workforce in line with the National Solar Jobs Census, which defines a solar worker as someone who spends a majority of their time on solar-related work. This also includes workers who spend a plurality of their time on solar tasks. It’s important to note that manufacturing jobs were not included in this research, as the focus is primarily on solar installation, development, and related roles. To achieve the goals of the Equitable Solar Communities of Practice initiative, the MREA leveraged existing resources and engaged a diverse core team and group of stakeholders including industry professionals, educators, policymakers, and community leaders. The MREA began with a literature review and gap analysis to identify existing best practices and gaps in the solar workforce. This was followed by a community convening to gather insights from a wide range of stakeholders. The findings informed the best practices and pathways to scale the benefits of solar workforce development, focusing on training programs, workforce services, apprenticeship, and justice, inclusion, and sustainability. This report outlines the background, methodology, findings, and conclusions drawn from the landscape and gap analysis, providing valuable insights into workforce needs and training program capacities across the U.S. The outcomes of this research are presented in this report and contain recommendations for optimizing workforce development and training funding to support the equitable growth of the solar industry, ensuring that the transition to solar energy is inclusive and beneficial for all communities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

FY25 Mid-Year Report: FABIA In-Field Laser Absorption Spectroscopy for UF6 Enrichment

From September 2024 through April 2025, the FABIA team has been working towards completing the IAEA requirements for technology transfer of the instrument. The primary tasks in place for this transfer are to complete a validation study using various enrichments of UF6, to finalize the data analysis routines in the FABIA software, and to complete FABIA electrical component compatibility. These topics are expanded in greater detail below. In addition to the tasks, the FABIA team hosted IAEA representatives to observe a live analysis demonstration of the FABIA instrument on February 3, 2025. As a result of this visit, some updates to the tasks were communicated.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Analysis of Joist Masonry Moisture Content Monitoring

BSC TO5 Task 7.2 Analysis of Joist Masonry Moisture Content Monitoring House - Lawrence, MA 01840 This work involved the field monitoring of embedded wood joist ends in a solid brick building in zone 5A that was retrofitted with interior insulation. Eleven joists throughout the building (which have a variety of orientations, exposures, and masonry wall types) were monitored for wood MCs at the embedded joist ends and for temperatures and RHs within the joist pocket. Indoor and outdoor conditions were also recorded. Results were collected for 28 months (December 2012-April 2015). One limitation was that the renovation was still ongoing; limited wintertime construction heating and no permanent occupancy were factors. Much of the building experienced cold interior temperatures (e.g., construction heating) during the winters. These were not typical interior heating set points. Because the building was essentially unoccupied, no significant interior moisture was generated. These boundary conditions are not normal service conditions. Overall, the RHs and MCs measured in joist pockets were higher than recommended for longterm durability. Many of the joist pockets had sustained conditions of 100% RH, and many wood MCs were in the 25%-35% range for extended periods. Typical guidance includes: (1) MCs lower than 20% are safe, and (2) decay fungi become active at MCs higher than 28%. ASHRAE xi 160 analysis showed that high RH levels coincided with temperatures that were high enough to support mold growth for most of the monitoring period (60%-70% of the hours) in most joists. However, no damage was seen at the joist ends when the instrumentation was installed or when a joist end sample was removed. This suggests that dense, old-growth framing might be able to survive these MCs without damage. Orientation has a significant effect on RH and MC levels: solar heating and drying kept all southfacing joist MCs well within the safe range. The east and west orientations had mixed results: some were in the safe range, but others exceeded the 20% MC level. The north side joists consistently had the highest MCs. Almost all the joists showed seasonal rises and falls; MC and RH conditions were higher during the summer and lower during the winter. This indicates the temperature gradient caused moisture to be driven inward during the summer. MC plots with driving rain showed no discernable correlations. In the parts of the building that had significant wintertime heating, many joists showed a drop in MC that coincided with the addition of heat, even after insulation and air sealing were installed. The joist ends showed a repeated pattern of MC measurements at their upper and lower ends. The lower joist end was consistently wetter than the upper joist end, which can be attributed to contact with the masonry pocket, gravity drainage of bulk water to the bottom of the pocket, greater drying at the top of the beam or deeper embedment at the bottom of the beam, and a larger air pocket at the top of the beam. The north-facing insulated and uninsulated joist ends were compared; a significant or consistent MC or RH difference was not seen between these cases. All three joist pockets essentially remained at a constant 100% RH.

Array↗

FM4NPP: A Scaling Foundation Model for Nuclear and Particle Physics

Large language models have revolutionized artificial intelligence by enabling large, generalizable models trained through self-supervision. This paradigm has inspired the development of scientific foundation models (FMs). However, applying this capability to experimental particle physics is challenging due to the sparse, spatially distributed nature of detector data, which differs dramatically from natural language. This work addresses if an FM for particle physics can scale and generalize across diverse tasks. We introduce a new dataset with more than 11 million particle collision events and a suite of downstream tasks and labeled data for evaluation. We propose a novel self-supervised training method for detector data and demonstrate its neural scalability with models that feature up to 188 million parameters. With frozen weights and task-specific adapters, this FM consistently outperforms baseline models across all downstream tasks. The performance also exhibits robust data-efficient adaptation. Further analysis reveals that the representations extracted by the FM are task-agnostic but can be specialized via a single linear mapping for different downstream tasks.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

David Blackwell’s Forty Years in the Idaho Desert, The Foundation for 21st Century Geothermal Research

Dr. David Blackwell has had a profound influence on geo-thermal exploration and R&D in Idaho. Forty years have elapsed since the first Southern Methodist University (SMU) temperature logging truck rolled onto the high desert in Southern Idaho, yet even after so much time has elapsed, most recent and ongoing geothermal R&D can trace its roots to the foundational temperature studies led by Dr. Blackwell. We believe that the best way to honor any scientist is to see their work carried forward by others. As this paper demonstrates, it has been an easy task to find a host of Idaho researchers and students eager to contribute to this tribute paper. We organize this paper by ongoing or recent projects that continue to benefit left to Idaho by Dr. David Blackwell.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Prediction Models for Dynamic Demand Response

As Smart Grids move closer to dynamic curtailment programs, Demand Response (DR) events will become necessary not only on fixed time intervals and weekdays predetermined by static policies, but also during changing decision periods and weekends to react to real-time demand signals. Unique challenges arise in this context vis-a-vis demand prediction and curtailment estimation and the transformation of such tasks into an automated, efficient dynamic demand response (D 2 R) process. While existing work has concentrated on increasing the accuracy of prediction models for DR, there is a lack of studies for prediction models for D 2 R, which we address in this paper. Our first contribution is the formal definition of D 2 R, and the description of its challenges and requirements. Our second contribution is a feasibility analysis of very-short-term prediction of electricity consumption for D 2 R over a diverse, large-scale dataset that includes both small residential customers and large buildings. Our third, and major contribution is a set of insights into the predictability of electricity consumption in the context of D 2 R. Specifically, we focus on prediction models that can operate at a very small data granularity (here 15-min intervals), for both weekdays and weekends - all conditions that characterize scenarios for D 2 R. We find that short-term time series and simple averaging models used by Independent Service Operators and utilities achieve superior prediction accuracy. We also observe that workdays are more predictable than weekends and holiday. Also, smaller customers have large variation in consumption and are less predictable than larger buildings. Key implications of our findings are that better models are required for small customers and for non-workdays, both of which are critical for D 2 R. Also, prediction models require just few days’ worth of data indicating that small amounts of historical training data can be used to make reliable predictions, simplifying the complexity of big data challenge associated with D 2 R.

Aman, Saima↗

BOTTLE 1 - Introduction and BOTTLE Overview

The Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium aims to develop robust processes to upcycle existing waste plastics and to develop new plastics that are recyclable-by-design, both in direct alignment with DOE's Strategy for Plastics Innovation. We accomplish our work in the BOTTLE Consortium through an organizational framework that includes three primary research tasks, Deconstruction, Upcycling, and Redesign, which are supported by three cross-cutting tasks, Analysis, Characterization, and Modeling, BOTTLE also has tasks focused on Industry Engagement and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This presentation will review the approach and management structure of BOTTLE, the importance of analysis-guided research, and the key metrics for carbon, economic, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions. In the FY21-FY23 period, BOTTLE has drafted and enacted a comprehensive DEI plan, assembled a world-class Technical Advisory Board (TAB) to provide constructive feedback on our performance, had our first in-person all-hands meeting in summer 2022, and on-boarded and off-boarded research activities based on active project management and analysis. From an impact perspective, BOTTLE researchers have published over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts (many in leading journals), submitted >30 patent applications, and initiated 6 funds-in industry partnerships.

BIOMASS FUELS↗

Criticality Safety Aspects of Higher Fissile Gram Equivalent at the AMWTF - 19296

Operating since 2003, the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility (AMWTF) has used high-tech characterization equipment, robotics, and automated treatment processes to accomplish its mission. The facility was designed to treat contact handled waste up to 325 Fissile Gram Equivalent (FGE). As the lower fissile mass drums and boxes were treated and shipped for disposal, other high fissile mass containers needed to be treated and shipped. The facility's mission evolved to include treating containers with up to 3,000 FGE. The nuclear criticality safety group has worked diligently with operations to increase AMWTF's fissile mass limits. As operations change across the Department of Energy facility, the nuclear criticality safety groups must work with operations to meet the mission. How Fluor Idaho LLC is accomplishing this task with respect to criticality safety is the subject of this paper. The signature piece of equipment at AMWTF is the Supercompactor, a giant hydraulic ram capable of exerting 4 million pounds of force that can reduce a 55-gal drum to a 5-inch puck. By compacting waste, the Department of Energy can put more waste into the limited storage space of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Compaction also reduces the number of trips required to transport waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. There are two box-lines with hydraulic manipulators, nondestructive assay systems for drums and boxes, along with real-time-radiography. The plant's operations are highly automated. As time passed, AMWTF was tasked to treat drums that were not treatable with current operations. Based on analysis and experience of the nuclear criticality safety personnel, we have changed the fissile limits while maintaining a critically safe environment for the facility. Credit was taken for form, geometry, and lack of moderation in the material being treated. As the need arose to process higher FGE containers, more controls were identified for the treatment process. Criticality safety evaluations were expanded to 1,000 FGE for operational flexibility. Those evaluations included the box-line, the hot maintenance cell, and conveyors. Later, criticality safety evaluations were written to allow tanks to be processed in a box-line, as well as the use of a port in the box-line. Criticality safety evaluations for the box-line, hot maintenance cell, and conveyor were expanded to 3,000 FGE. The criticality safety officer is onsite and actively involved in operations. By expanding the nuclear criticality safety operating parameters, the AMWTF will meet the 2008 Record of Decision in which the Department of Energy directed 8,700 cubic meters of waste to be treated at the facility. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Evaluation of quartz melt rate furnace with the nitric-glycolic flowsheet

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was tasked to support validation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) melter offgas flammability model for the Nitric-Glycolic (NG) flowsheet. The work is supplemental to the Cold Cap Evaluation Furnace (CEF) testing conducted in 20141 and the Slurry-fed Melt Rate Furnace (SMRF) testing conducted in 20162 that supported Deliverable 4 of the DWPF & Saltstone Facility Engineering Technical Task Request (TTR).3 The Quartz Melt Rate Furnace (QMRF) was evaluated as a bench-scale scoping tool to potentially be used in lieu of or simply prior to the use of the larger-scale SMRF or CEF. The QMRF platform has been used previously to evaluate melt rate behavior and offgas compositions of DWPF glasses prepared from the Nitric-Formic (NF) flowsheet but not for the NG flowsheet and not with continuous feeding.4 The overall objective of the 2016-2017 testing was to evaluate the efficacy of the QMRF as a lab-scale platform for steady state, continuously fed melter testing with the NG flowsheet as an alternative to more expensive and complex testing with the SMRF or CEF platforms.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NNSA-IAEC Science Area V Environmental ISR: Waste Management and Subsurface Science (Final Report FY18-FY20)

In August 2017, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) launched a joint waste management program to evaluate the feasibility of siting a radioactive waste repository at intermediate depths in Israel. The bilateral collaboration involves three National Laboratories (LLNL, LANL, and Sandia), and the Nuclear Research Center, Negev, Geological Survey of Israel, and Ben Gurion University in Israel. This research is designed to assist with the evaluation of locations for an intermediate nuclear waste repository in Israel. This final report is a high-level summary of the results from the past three years by the team that worked on the WM-2: Radionuclide colloid-facilitated transport in fractured carbonate rock project for Science Area V, Environmental ISR: Subsurface Science and Waste Management. We have completed all of our tasks and met all of our milestones. MW-2 had three integrated tasks. Task 1 was laboratory experiments investigating colloid transport of radionuclides in natural fractured carbonate rocks from the Avdat formation, Israel. Task 2 was field experiments injecting radionuclide analogues pre-sorbed to clay colloids into fractured carbonate rock, and task 3 was numerical modeling of laboratory and field experimental results to assess the importance of colloids in the migration of relevant radionuclides. This task was incorporated into tasks 1 and 2. A 4 th task was initiated in FY20, to investigate the role of organics in facilitating radionuclide transport under the same conditions explored in task 1 due to the high organic content of the rocks being investigated for the immediate borehole locations. Preliminary results will be summarized here and the work will continue in FY21-23. The overall objective of this research is to evaluate the role of colloids (naturally occurring < 1 micron particles) in facilitating the transport of long-lived radionuclides from a nuclear waste repository situated in fractured carbonate rocks. Currently little data exists on radionuclide transport in carbonate rocks, but this is the main rock type available for siting a repository in Israel. Laboratory experiments were carried out in both Israel and the U.S., field experiments have taken place in Israel, and reactive transport modeling involved LLNL, LANL and Israel partner institutions. LLNL hosted a graduate student, Emily Tran, from Ben Gurion University in FY18 and FY19 and much of the work presented here was part of her PhD research.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DECOVALEX 2023 Task D -- Interim Report from SNL

The capability of a 1-D PFLOTRAN model to simulate the S1-3 bentonite saturation experiment has been demonstrated and validated against experimental data. Work remains to be done to refine 1-D PFLOTRAN simulations of the experiment S1-4 which include evaluation of parameter sensitivities on the prediction of material saturation and relative permeabilities. This and further testing of PFLOTRAN capabilities will be done as part of DECOVALEX 2023 Task D contributions by the SNL team in the coming months.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗