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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

RAVEN Theory Manual

RAVEN is a software framework able to perform parametric and stochastic analysis based on the response of complex system codes. The initial development was aimed at providing dynamic risk analysis capabilities to the thermohydraulic code RELAP-7, currently under development at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Although the initial goal has been fully accomplished, RAVEN is now a multi-purpose stochastic and uncertainty quantification platform, capable of communicating with any system code. In fact, the provided Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allow RAVEN to interact with any code as long as all the parameters that need to be perturbed are accessible by input files or via python interfaces. RAVEN is capable of investigating system response and explore input space using various sampling schemes such as Monte Carlo, grid, or Latin hypercube. However, RAVEN strength lies in its system feature discovery capabilities such as: constructing limit surfaces, separating regions of the input space leading to system failure, and using dynamic supervised learning techniques. The development of RAVEN started in 2012 when, within the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program, the need to provide a modern risk evaluation framework arose. RAVEN’s principal assignment is to provide the necessary software and algorithms in order to employ the concepts developed by the Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) program. RISMC is one of the pathways defined within the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program. In the RISMC approach, the goal is not just to identify the frequency of an event potentially leading to a system failure, but the proximity (or lack thereof) to key safety-related events. Hence, the approach is interested in identifying and increasing the safety margins related to those events. A safety margin is a numerical value quantifying the probability that a safety metric (e.g. peak pressure in a pipe) is exceeded under certain conditions. Most of the capabilities, implemented having RELAP-7 as a principal focus, are easily deployable to other system codes. For this reason, several side activates have been employed (e.g. RELAP5-3D, any MOOSE-based App, etc.) or are currently ongoing for coupling RAVEN with several different software. The aim of this document is to provide a set of commented examples that can help the user to become familiar with the RAVEN code usage.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

RAVEN User Manual

RAVEN is a generic software framework to perform parametric and probabilistic analysis based on the response of complex system codes. The initial development was aimed to provide dynamic risk analysis capabilities to the Thermo-Hydraulic code RELAP-7, currently under development at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Although the initial goal has been fully accomplished, RAVEN is now a multi-purpose probabilistic and uncertainty quantification platform, capable to agnostically communicate with any system code. This agnosticism includes providing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These APIs are used to allow RAVEN to interact with any code as long as all the parameters that need to be perturbed are accessible by inputs files or via python interfaces. RAVEN is capable of investigating the system response, and investigating the input space using Monte Carlo, Grid, or Latin Hyper Cube sampling schemes, but its strength is focused to- ward system feature discovery, such as limit surfaces, separating regions of the input space leading to system failure, using dynamic supervised learning techniques. The development of RAVEN has started in 2012, when, within the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program, the need to provide a modern risk evaluation framework became stronger. RAVEN principal assignment is to provide the necessary software and algorithms in order to employ the concept developed by the Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) program. RISMC is one of the pathways defined within the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program. In the RISMC approach, the goal is not just the individuation of the frequency of an event potentially leading to a system failure, but the closeness (or not) to key safety-related events. Hence, the approach is interested in identifying and increasing the safety margins related to those events. A safety margin is a numerical value quantifying the probability that a safety metric (e.g. for an important process such as peak pressure in a pipe) is exceeded under certain conditions. The initial development of RAVEN has been focused on providing dynamic risk assessment capability to RELAP-7, currently under development at the INL and, likely, future replacement of the RELAP5-3D code. Most the capabilities that have been implemented having RELAP-7 as principal focus are easily deployable for other system codes. For this reason, several side activates are currently ongoing for coupling RAVEN with soft- ware such as RELAP5-3D, etc. The aim of this document is the explanation of the input requirements, focalizing on the input structure.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Energy I-Corps Annual Report 2025

Energy I-Corps is an initiative of the Department of Energy's Office of Technology Commercialization. The focus of this 2-month program is to train National Laboratory researchers in evaluating industry needs and potential market applications for their DOE technologies. This year's annual report details the accomplishments, activities, and finances of Energy I-Corps' 2025 fiscal year programming.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2012

International Review of Frameworks for Impact Evaluation of Appliance Standards, Labeling, and Incentives

In recent years, the number of energy efficiency policies implemented has grown very rapidly as energy security and climate change have become top policy issues for many governments around the world. Within the sphere of energy efficiency policy, governments (federal and local), electric utilities, and other types of businesses and institutions are implementing a wide variety of programs to spread energy efficiency practices in industry, buildings, transport, and electricity. As programs proliferate, there is an administrative and business imperative to evaluate the savings and processes of these programs to ensure that program funds spent are indeed leading to a more energy-efficient economy.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Long-Term Management of Mercury at the Savannah River Site Liquid Waste System - 17364

Mercury in the Savannah River Site Liquid Waste System (LWS) originated from decades of canyon processing where it was used as a catalyst for dissolving the aluminum cladding of reactor fuel. Approximately 60 metric tons of mercury (Hg) is currently present throughout the LWS. Mercury has long been a consideration in the LWS, from both hazard and processing perspectives. In February 2015, a Mercury Program Team (MPT) was established at the request of the Department of Energy to 'take an integrated, system-wide approach to evaluating the movement, monitoring, and collection of mercury through the entire Liquid Waste System/Facilities.... The key objective of the Mercury Program Team was to evaluate mercury in the LWS and develop a comprehensive action plan for long term management and removal of mercury. After completion of Phase I and II, a comprehensive action plan for long-term management and removal of mercury was developed and recommendations for actions are categorized under three broad categories - Plant Operations, Technology Development, and Sampling and Monitoring. The resolution of these Action Items will provide long term management and removal of mercury through the LWS. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

A high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of bearing cage

The high-precision ball bearing is fundamental to the performance of complex mechanical systems. As the speed increases, the cage behavior becomes a key factor in influencing the bearing performance, especially life and reliability. This paper develops a high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of the bearing cage. The trajectory of the rotational center and non-repetitive run-out (NRRO) of the cage are used to evaluate the instability of cage motion. This instrument applied an aerostatic spindle to support and spin test the bearing to decrease the influence of system error. Then, a high-speed camera is used to capture images when the bearing works at high speeds. A 3D trajectory tracking software TEMA Motion is used to track the spot which marked the cage surface. Finally, by developing the MATLAB program, a Lissajous’ figure was used to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the cage with different speeds. The trajectory of rotational center and NRRO of the cage with various speeds are analyzed. The results can be used to predict the initial failure and optimize cage structural parameters. In addition, the repeatability precision of instrument is also validated. In the future, the motorized spindle will be applied to increase testing speed and image processing algorithms will be developed to analyze the trajectory of the cage.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2010

Max-Plus Stochastic Control and Risk-Sensitivity

In the Maslov idempotent probability calculus, expectations of random variables are defined so as to be linear with respect to max-plus addition and scalar multiplication. This paper considers control problems in which the objective is to minimize the max-plus expectation of some max-plus additive running cost. Such problems arise naturally as limits of some types of risk sensitive stochastic control problems. The value function is a viscosity solution to a quasivariational inequality (QVI) of dynamic programming. Equivalence of this QVI to a nonlinear parabolic PDE with discontinuous Hamiltonian is used to prove a comparison theorem for viscosity sub- and super-solutions. An example from mathematical finance is given, and an application in nonlinear H-infinity control is sketched.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Combined TREAT-LOC and SATS LOCA Experiment Plan: Integral LOCA Experiments on High-Burnup Fuels

The Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) loss-of-coolant (LOC) and high-burnup (HBu) experiment series, along with the Severe Accident Test Station (SATS) HBu experiment series, are integral LOC accident (LOCA) experiments planned under the DOE AFC program, which aim to support burnup extension needs by addressing identified R&D priorities in order to achieve an improved understanding of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) of HBu fuel during LOCA events. The data produced under this plan will be used to further validate and confirm existing models and inform future R&D and model development. The experimental program has been specifically designed to address knowledge gaps and opportunities identified through a detailed review of existing public knowledge on LOCA FFRD. The test program employs a unique combination of in- and out-of-pile experimental approaches and state-of-the-art facilities to provide a clear connection to the existing integral and semi-integral LOCA experiment database. The primary goal of the program is to investigate the impact of prototypic HBu fuel/cladding thermomechanical behaviors under postulated LWR LOCA conditions that have not yet been fully studied. These conditions correspond with prototypic decay-energy heatup (DEH) and stored-energy heatup (SEH) conditions. Importantly, TREAT’s unique capability will enable the first evaluation of the impact of SEH conditions on HBu fuels. The test program will emphasize the development of an improved mechanistic understanding of key experimental phenomena through independent experimental systems, development of a database to support fuel performance modeling tools and employing world-leading advanced materials characterization and in-situ diagnostics to evaluate FFRD. The results of the program will provide novel data to support modeling development and validation and will represent a significant advancement in evaluating prototypic conditions, as well as to inform the technical basis for LOCA-induced FFRD.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

An introduction to neuromorphic computing and its potential impact for unattended ground sensors

Neuromorphic computers are hardware systems that mimic the brain’s computational process phenomenology. This is in contrast to neural network accelerators, such as the Google TPU or the Intel Neural Compute Stick, which seek to accelerate the fundamental computation and data flows of neural network models used in the field of machine learning. Neuromorphic computers emulate the integrate and fire neuron dynamics of the brain to achieve a spiking communication architecture for computation. While neural networks are brain-inspired, they drastically oversimplify the brain’s computation model. Neuromorphic architectures are closer to the true computation model of the brain (albeit, still simplified). Neuromorphic computing models herald a 1000x power improvement over conventional CPU architectures. Sandia National Labs is a major contributor to the research community on neuromorphic systems by performing design analysis, evaluation, and algorithm development for neuromorphic computers. Space-based remote sensing development has been a focused target of funding for exploratory research into neuromorphic systems for their potential advantage in that program area; SNL has led some of these efforts. Recently, neuromorphic application evaluation has reached the NA-22 program area. This same exploratory research and algorithm development should penetrate the unattended ground sensor space for SNL’s mission partners and program areas. Neuromorphic computing paradigms offer a distinct advantage for the SWaP-constrained embedded systems of our diverse sponsor-driven program areas.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Evaluation of Early Performance Results for Massachusetts Homes in the National Grid Pilot Deep Energy Retrofit Program

In 2009, National Grid started a DER pilot program that offered technical support and financial incentives to qualified Massachusetts homeowners who planned and successfully completed a retrofit that incorporated the performance requirements and goals of the National Grid DER measures package. This DER measures package, developed through collaboration with Building Science Corporation (BSC), includes specific thermal and airtightness goals for the enclosure components as well as health, safety, durability, and indoor air quality requirements. By providing measures that can be included with common renovation activities such as roof replacement, window replacement, re-siding, basement remediation, and remodeling, this DER measures package is expected to have widespread application for existing homes in the New England area. The post-retrofit performance and cost ranges provided by this research project can provide concrete input for homeowners who are considering a DER. Field test data available for air tightness measured using blower door test. House 1 - Address Belchertown, MA 01007, Notes: Energy Savings: 75%, Company: Clark House 2-1 and 2 - Address (1) Brownsberger, MA 02478 and (2) Belmont, MA 02478, Notes Energy Savings: 73%, Company: Brownsberger House 3 - Address Millbury, MA 01527, Notes Energy Savings: 31%, Company: Tweedly House 4 - Address Milton, MA 02186 Notes Energy Savings: 42%, Company: Koh House 5 - Address Quincy, MA 02169, Notes Energy Savings: 57%, Company: Hall House 6-1 and 2 - Address Arlington, MA 02476, Notes Energy Savings: 55%, Company: Venable-Hwang House 7 - Address Newton, MA 02459, Notes Energy Savings: 42%, Company: Lavine House 8-1, 2, and 3 - Address Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, Notes Energy Savings: 43%, Company: Buhs House 9 - Address Northampton, MA 01060, Notes Energy Savings: 49%, Company: Wick House 10 - Address Lancaster, MA 01523, Notes Energy Savings: 40%, Company: Habitat for Humanity of North Central Massachusetts House 11 - Address Brookline, MA 02445, Notes Energy Savings: 27%, Company: Aquiline House 12 - Address Westford, MA 01886, Notes Energy Savings: 30%, Company: Atkins House 13 - Address Gloucester, MA 01930, Notes Energy Savings: 35%, Company: Cunningham

airtightness↗
DOE OSTI2013

Technical Details on Beyond Design Basis Event Pilot Evaluations

The primary focus of the BDBE pilot project was the review of BDBE analysis and mitigation features at four DOE nuclear facilities representing a range of DOE sites, nuclear facility types/activities, and responsible program offices. The pilots looked at (1) how beyond design basis accidents were evaluated and documented in the facility Documented Safety Analysis, (2) potential BDBE vulnerabilities and margins to failure of facility safety features as obtained from general area and specific system walkdowns and design documents reviews, and (3) preparations made in facility and site emergency management programs to respond to severe accidents. It also evaluated whether draft BDBE guidance on safety analysis and emergency management could be used to improve the analysis of and preparations for mitigating severe and beyond design basis accidents. The details of these activities are organized in this report as described below.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Pilgrim : A thermal rate constant calculator and a chemical kinetics simulator

Pilgrim is a program written in Python and designed to use direct dynamics in the calculation of thermal rate constants of chemical reactions by the variational transition state theory (VTST), based on electronic structure calculations for the potential energy surface. Pilgrim can also simulate reaction mechanisms using kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC). For reaction processes with many elementary steps, the rate constant of each of these steps can be calculated by means of conventional transition state theory (TST) or by using VTST. In the current version, Pilgrim can evaluate thermal rates using the canonical version of reaction-path VTST, which requires the calculation of the minimum energy path (MEP) associated with each elementary step or transition structure. Multi-dimensional quantum effects can be incorporated through the small-curvature tunneling (SCT) approximation. These methodologies are available both for reactions involving a single structure of the reactants and the transition state and also for reactions involving flexible molecules with multiple conformations of the reactant and/or of the transition state. For systems with many conformers, the program can evaluate each of the elementary reaction rate constants by multipath canonical VTST or multi-structural VTST. Moreover, the reactant can be unimolecular or bimolecular. Torsional anharmonicity can be incorporated through either the MSTor or the Q2DTor programs. Dual-level calculations are also available in Pilgrim: automatic high-level single-point energies can be used to correct the energy of reactants, transition states, products, and MEP points using the interpolated single-point energies (ISPE) algorithm. When the rate constants of all the chemical processes of interest are known, by means of their calculation using Pilgrim or alternatively through analytical fits to the rate constants as functions of temperature, it is possible to simulate a multistep mechanism under specified laboratory conditions using KMC. Finally, this algorithm allows performing a kinetic simulation to monitor the evolution of each chemical species with time and obtain the product yields.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Human Reliability Program Workshop

A Human Reliability Program (HRP) is designed to protect national security as well as worker and public safety by continuously evaluating the reliability of those who have access to sensitive materials, facilities, and programs. Some elements of a site HRP include systematic (1) supervisory reviews, (2) medical and psychological assessments, (3) management evaluations, (4) personnel security reviews, and (4) training of HRP staff and critical positions. Over the years of implementing an HRP, the Department of Energy (DOE) has faced various challenges and overcome obstacles. During this 4-day activity, participants will examine programs that mitigate threats to nuclear security and the insider threat to include HRP, Nuclear Security Culture (NSC) Enhancement, and Employee Assistance Programs. The focus will be to develop an understanding of the need for a systematic HRP and to discuss challenges and best practices associated with mitigating the insider threat.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2024

Assessment of Technical Information Needs and Considerations for Front-End Activities for Molten Salt Fuel Types

This report details an assessment of the hazards and safety impacts related to front-end operations of molten salt reactors (MSR) as well as an assessment of existing safety guidance. Publicly available information was evaluated to make recommendations to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for guidance development and information gathering needs. Five different MSR technologies were evaluated along with information from 1960’s about the Atomic Energy Commission programs for the Aircraft Reactor Experiment and Molten Salt Reactor Experiment. Primary areas of evaluation include fuel cycle facilities, transportation and at reactor fuel mixing operations up to reactor startup. In general, there was difficulty synthesizing publicly available information due to the early stage of the MSR development and proprietary information associated with the reactor technology companies analyzed. There are a few specific recommendations from this report. One overarching paradigm shift that the NRC needs to evaluate is the possibility of collocating fuel cycle facilities with operating MSRs. Although there is no specific prohibition to this in the NRC regulations, the collocation of the fuel cycle facilities with the operating MSR presents a novel approach compared to the light water reactor baseline. More guidance and research into thorium operations and regulation is needed. The hazards associated with the stability of stored fuel constituents need to be evaluated. Some reactor fuel cycles use beryllium, and its use and the associated hazards need further analysis. NRC-approved designs for transportation packages for shipping molten salt fuels and factory-built and fueled reactors are not available.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-T-596: P3DVHStats - a Novel, Automatic, Institution Customizable Program to Compute and Report DVH Quantities On Philips Pinnacle TPS

Purpose: To implement a novel, automatic, institutional customizable DVH quantities evaluation and PDF report tool on Philips Pinnacle treatment planning system (TPS) Methods: An add-on program (P3DVHStats) is developed by us to enable automatic DVH quantities evaluation (including both volume and dose based quantities, such as V98, V100, D2), and automatic PDF format report generation, for EMR convenience. The implementation is based on a combination of Philips Pinnacle scripting tool and Java language pre-installed on each Pinnacle Sun Solaris workstation. A single Pinnacle script provide user a convenient access to the program when needed. The activated script will first export DVH data for user selected ROIs from current Pinnacle plan trial; a Java program then provides a simple GUI interface, utilizes the data to compute any user requested DVH quantities, compare with preset institutional DVH planning goals; if accepted by users, the program will also generate a PDF report of the results and export it from Pinnacle to EMR import folder via FTP. Results: The program was tested thoroughly and has been released for clinical use at our institution (Pinnacle Enterprise server with both thin clients and P3PC access), for all dosimetry and physics staff, with excellent feedback. It used to take a few minutes to use MS-Excel worksheet to calculate these DVH quantities for IMRT/VMAT plans, and manually save them as PDF report; with the new program, it literally takes a few mouse clicks in less than 30 seconds to complete the same tasks. Conclusion: A Pinnacle scripting and Java language based program is successfully implemented, customized to our institutional needs. It is shown to dramatically reduce time and effort needed for DVH quantities computing and EMR reporting.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Understanding Portability of a High-Level Programming Model on Contemporary Heterogeneous Architectures

Accelerator-based heterogeneous computing is gaining momentum in the high-performance computing arena. However, the increased complexity of heterogeneous architectures demands more generic, high-level programming models. OpenACC is one such attempt to tackle this problem. Although the abstraction provided by OpenACC offers productivity, it raises questions concerning both functional and performance portability. In this article, the authors propose HeteroIR, a high-level, architecture-independent intermediate representation, to map high-level programming models, such as OpenACC, to heterogeneous architectures. They present a compiler approach that translates OpenACC programs into HeteroIR and accelerator kernels to obtain OpenACC functional portability. They then evaluate the performance portability obtained by OpenACC with their approach on 12 OpenACC programs on Nvidia CUDA, AMD GCN, and Intel Xeon Phi architectures. They study the effects of various compiler optimizations and OpenACC program settings on these architectures to provide insights into the achieved performance portability.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗