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At least 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Impact to Groundwater All-Pathways Dose Estimates for the Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste Disposal Facility Performance Assessment Using Updated Dose Coefficients from DOE-STD-1196-2022

The Performance Assessment (PA) for the Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste (RHLLW) Disposal Facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was completed in 2018 (DOE-ID 2018) using dose coefficients from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Standard DOE-STD-1196-2011 (DOE 2011). Internal and external dosimetry was updated in 2021 and a new technical standard was published in 2022 (DOE-STD-1196-2022) (DOE 2022). This technical memorandum provides a comparison of the ingestion dose coefficients between those published in DOE (2011) and those published in DOE (2022). The dose coefficients in DOE (2022) were then used to calculate the all-pathways dose for the groundwater pathway and the results between the doses published in the 2018 PA and those calculated using the updated dose coefficients in DOE (2022) were compared. Several other issues in the 2018 RHLLW Disposal Facility PA were also addressed.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modeling Enhancements and Demonstration of Shift Capabilities for PBRs and MSRs

This technical report documents the modeling enhancements and demonstrations with the Shift Monte Carlo (MC) code targeted at pebble-bed reactors (PBRs) and molten salt reactors (MSRs) under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program in fiscal year (FY) 2023. The work performed included several enhancements, such as improvements for multigroup cross section generation, a new eigenvalue mode considering only prompt fission neutrons, and enhancements to the Titan frontend for Shift to allow for new geometry types and tally functionality. Additionally, new PBR equilibrium core search reference calculations were generated with Shift and compared to Serpent calculations provided by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). These enhancements provide a robust foundation for applying Shift for both reference and two-step neutronics analysis for advanced reactor simulation.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Grid Connection Roadmap (Rev. 1)

In an effort to define the roadmap for establishing the necessary electrical infrastructure at the Idaho National Laboratory to fully support connection of NRIC reactors, this roadmap serves to identify the current forecasted reactors planned for installation at INL and provide a consolidated list of the identified infrastructure improvements that will be necessary to support testing of NRIC reactors. Additionally, the roadmap will leverage this information to establish an integrated timeline to support detailed planning and execution of system improvements. To drive this planning, requirements, as derived from authoritative sources, will be identified. A clear definition of impacted stakeholders will be established, as well as a list of risks that will need to be managed as the program moves forward.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

FORCE Integration with DRAFT and IDAES

Integrated energy systems (IES) combine, in mutually beneficial ways, power from variable renewable energy sources and nuclear power plants (NPP) to produce multiple commodities and improve economic viability under uncertain market conditions. Technical and economic analysis of IES requires modeling of complex processes with software models having enough fidelity to capture real-world dynamics while still being capable of running using reasonable computing resources. The open-source Framework for Optimization of Resources and Economics (FORCE) tool suite, developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), has enabled comprehensive modeling and simulation of IES. The capabilities within FORCE include grid portfolio optimization through the Holistic Energy Resource Optimization Network (HERON) and the transient process model analysis library HYBRID, among others. Recent developments for the FORCE toolset have centered on strengthening the flexibility and modularity to link with external models and other available software to enhance IES simulations. Adding versatility to the FORCE toolset improves capability resulting in better techno-economic simulation of nuclear and IES components (both in potential higher fidelity and accuracy to expected performance after deployment). It also helps leverage existing work in the IES field and improve efficiency in national code development. This report focuses on two such endeavors: integration of the Dynamic Reliability Analysis Framework Tool (DRAFT) and the Design Integration and Synthesis Platform to Advance Tightly Coupled Hybrid Energy Systems (DISPATCHES) software packages into FORCE.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Water Innovation and R&D Concept Exploration and Preliminary Assessment: Water Scoping Project Report Deliverable

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory produced a cursory review and initial framework to support the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) in considering options for program development related to water. The laboratories provided a suite of tools – rationales, evaluation criteria, and visual maps – as well as R&D concepts that could be applied at various scales over short- and long-term time horizons. The effort is, by DOE request, largely the result of the authors’ creative efforts and not intended to be a comprehensive or detailed analytical exercise. This report summarizes the work provided to WPTO and is not intended for broad distribution.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrated Risk-Informed Condition Based Maintenance Capability and Automated Platform: Technical Report 1

Due to continuing global energy market trends, driven heavily by the abundant preserves of natural gas, there is an immediate need to reduce costs associated with operation and maintenance (O&M) for the current domestic nuclear power industry and for future reactor developments. This is to ensure that nuclear power generation remains an economically competitive and viable option in the energy market. O&M costs include labor-intensive preventive maintenance (PM) programs, which involve manually-performed inspection, calibration, testing, and maintenance of plant assets at periodic frequency and time-based replacement of assets, irrespective of their condition. This has resulted in an expensive, labor-centric business model to achieve high capacity factors. Fortunately, there are technologies (advanced sensors, data analytics, and risk assessment methodologies) that can enable the transition from a labor-centric business model to a technology-centric business model. The technology-centric business model will result in a significant reduction of PM activities, laying the foundation for real-time condition assessment of plant assets, reducing overall labor and part costs. To enable this transition, PKMJ Technical Services LLC is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (operated by the Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC) and the Public Services Enterprise Group (PSEG) Nuclear, LLC in the Integrated Risk-Informed Condition-Based Maintenance Capability and Automated Platform Project. In this report, the configuration of a digital cloud platform using Microsoft Azure is discussed, data from the PSEG Salem Nuclear Generating Station Units 1 & 2 are imported into a digital cloud platform, and the data is used for an evaluation of several key areas: cost impact analysis, risk-informed model development, and preventive maintenance strategy optimization. First, the cost impact analysis reviews which plant assets are potential good candidates for condition-based monitoring. Next, INL utilized the data in their local environment to develop the risk-informed model; which provides estimates of failure rates and probability of failures of assets based upon their past performance. The developed model is performed on assets selected from the cost impact analysis. Lastly, engineers assess the preventive maintenance strategy for the selected assets at PSEG against maintenance strategies in the nuclear industry for similar assets to potentially identify acceptable justification for the extension of current maintenance frequencies.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modelling the Liquid Waste Operation at the Savannah River Site

Modeling Successes Dounreay – Site Closure Optimization and Risk Reduction Re-structuring and streamlining a complex project plan to achieve site decommissioning in reduced time and at reduced cost, through automated task prioritization. Idaho AMWTP – Multi-stream Optimization Speeding up a complex facility with many process lines, by utilizing all of the process lines more efficiently and reducing overall plant downtime, by coordinating repairs and shutdowns. AWE –Waste Repackaging and Relocation Relocating schedule for waste material from an old storage facility to a new purpose-built one, safely, and in a timely fashion that removed the need to reassure the safety of the old facility. Sellafield – Effluent, Sludge and HAW Treatment Improving a wide range of chemical engineered processes including aqueous effluent treatment, chemically-reactive sludge management and waste vitrification processing. Strategic Petroleum Reserve – Cavern Management Linking chemistry models of petroleum prediction, through engineering cavern management to financial modeling of gasoline sales to benefit US government

Jung, Andrew W.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Addendum to ICSBEP Logbooks 12r, 13r, 14r and 15r for Polyethylene and Graphite Reflected HEU Metal Critical Experiments

This report documents the experimenters’ data sheets that were recently (2023) discovered for critical experiments with highly enriched uranium metal with polyethylene and graphite reflectors. These data sheets were produced at the time of the measurements, when the dimensional inspection reports for the polyethylene and graphite were available. However, at this writing, those inspection reports are not available but may be in unmarked storage for the Y-12 National Security Complex. However, the data sheets presented herein contain sketches of the experimental configurations and other additional information that is not in the logbooks, such as dimensions and masses of the graphite measurements. This report reproduces the experimental data sheets that complement the logbooks. Some of the data on these sheets and the logbooks can be used to infer the dimensions and masses that are not documented. Some obvious mistakes in the logbook and data sheets have been corrected. In the reproduced data sheets, some of the information is not clearly visible: some information, such as average values, can be obtained from other data in the sheets or logbook. This report should be sent to the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Program at Idaho National Laboratory to complement the existing Oak Ridge Critical Facility logbooks there.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A User Guide to PARET/ANL

PARET was originally created in 1969 at what is now Idaho National Laboratory (INL), to analyze reactivity insertion events in research and test reactor cores cooled by light or heavy water, with fuel composed of either plates or pins. The use of PARET is also appropriate for fuel assemblies with curved fuel plates when their radii of curvatures are large with respect to the fuel plate thickness. The PARET/ANL version of the code has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy/NNSA since the inception of the Reactor Conversion Program. Since Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) began in 1978, PARET/ANL has been benchmarked to experimental data including SPERT testing, and used to determine the expected transient behavior of many reactors both inside and outside the Reactor Conversion Program. This document provides the pertinent information for the use of PARET/ANL Version 7.6.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Digitalization Guiding Principles and Method for Nuclear Industry Work Processes

The commercial U.S. light-water reactor fleet has been operating at historical efficiency, reliability, and safety over the last decade. Nuclear power has the highest capacity factor of any other power generation technology while also serving as the largest baseload source for carbon-free energy. Despite this remarkable achievement, continued operations for many plants are threatened due to fierce electricity market competition and rising operations and maintenance costs of which continued maintenance of obsolete analog equipment is a contributor. The digital age and associated technologies are where the future lies in process control, and nuclear has yet to take full advantage of the capabilities offered therein. The Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program (LWRS) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), sponsored by the Department of Energy, has a mission to help the light-water reactor fleet manage its foundational capabilities to continue providing safe and reliable carbon-free power. LWRS helps support that mission by providing scientific, technology-based solutions for advanced concepts of operations with a more viable business model that will allow the fleet to continue to operate at peak levels through extended plant operation. The LWRS Digitalization Project at INL seeks to leverage digital technologies to synthesize and transform work processes. We provide a state-of-the-art analysis of digitalized work processes in nuclear power and investigate ways in which researchers at INL and the nuclear industry can work together to identify what data to access, how to access it, what to do with the data, and most importantly, how to use the insights for decision-making across all levels within the business. Borne from these considerations, we present four guiding principles for digitalization: develop a coherent digitalization plan, apply human factors engineering, establish data governance, and anticipate unintended consequences. Together, these principles form a method that plants can use to effectively to digitalize nuclear industry work processes. Our guiding principles are informed by multiple knowledge sources. First, we document activities from the Work Digitalization Initiative, which was conceived as a means for nuclear organizations to help define and standardize the industry’s approach to digitalizing work. Second, we detail primary research conducted with industry professionals regarding drivers and barriers to digitalization adoption. We present survey results that demonstrate what the industry hopes to get out of digitalization and the ways that INL can continue to support the industry’s digital transformation. Third, we present a digitalization use case with industry partners NextAxiom Technology and Xcel Energy. The project objective was to transform the current condition report work process from paper to digital, incorporating digitalized principles. We report the development of the application and lessons learned. The accomplishments achieved by this research and development serve to identify critical needs for plant guidance in support of digitalization implementation and contribute to the knowledge and strategies available for utilities considering or undertaking digitalization.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Concept of Operations for Microreactor Transportation

Microreactors are very small nuclear reactors with a power output of 20 MWe or less and are designed to be factory-built, modular in nature, and highly portable. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been identified as a potential location to demonstrate microreactors and two microreactor concepts currently under consideration for demonstration at the INL include a tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fueled high-temperature gas reactor and a sodium cooled reactor using a SNAP-10A style fuel pin design. The objective of this report is to identify a concept of operations (CONOPS) for shipping these microreactors.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Alternative Materials Literature Review: A Review of Alternative Materials for Xenon Capture in Comparison to AgZ-PAN

A collaborative literature review between Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Pacific National Laboratory (PNNL) was conducted to research alternative metals/materials for xenon adsorption in gaseous effluents generated from used nuclear fuel (UNF) reprocessing. The review was conducted to research sorbents that could outperform silver mordenite (AgZ) at ambient temperature. The use of silver requires complex and expensive waste disposal processes due to it being an RCRA metal, therefore alternative materials need to be researched and evaluated. The report details two different types of sorbent material: alternative zeolite materials and non-zeolite-based materials (i.e., MOFs, COFs, etc.). This report documents a brief history of the materials, what testing has been conducted on them, and what results suggest the possibility of outperforming the silver-based materials. Sorbent performance characteristics such as durability, capacity, and operating temperatures were evaluated. The simplicity of the sorbents was also evaluated, meaning how they are acquired (synthesized vs. naturally abundant). Recommendations were made for the most promising sorbents based on available research in the subject area and these recommended sorbents will be tested in the upcoming fiscal year. The recommended sorbents that are zeolite based are CHA zeolites, ZIF-69, and Na-ETS-10. The recommended sorbents that are non-zeolite based are SBMOF-1 and CC3.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Advanced Reactors Integrated Energy System: Thermal Energy Storage Island Design

The main topic of this research is integrated energy systems (IES) designed for pairing industrial thermal energy loads with advanced reactors (ARs). The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Crosscutting Technology Development IES program and the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) are seeking to develop, design, and construct an AR-IES demonstration platform that couples the thermal output from an AR operating at the INL/NRIC Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed in the Experimental Breeder II dome to a variable capacity load emulator (i.e., air-cooled radiator) and sensible thermal energy storage (TES) via a molten salt thermal energy transfer fluid. In the rapidly evolving landscape of energy supply and distribution, flexibility has emerged as a prized attribute, surpassing the traditional notions of stability and baseload generation capability. This shift in priorities is particularly evident in the context of nuclear power plants (NPPs), where adaptability over constant output is becoming more important. As our energy infrastructure and resources embraces the rise of distributed energy generation, the inherent variability in net demand continues to grow. Moreover, the use of nuclear energy as a source of heat for decarbonizing the industrial sector is becoming a very pressing topic. In such environment, advanced NPPs are poised to enter a more competitive energy market, delivering both, flexible electricity and heat. This shift motivates the exploration of TES systems, designed to empower NPPs with nimble responsiveness to market fluctuations, flexible heat delivery capabilities, and redefine their role in the energy field. TES systems offer the unique advantage of storing nuclear energy in its original form as heat, thereby affording unparalleled flexibility in its subsequent utilization.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Coronado Generating Station Repowering Evaluation - Siting Evaluation

The purpose of this initial siting evaluation is to consider the suitability of the Salt River Project (SRP) owned land at/near Coronado Generating Station (CGS) for a nuclear generating station (including advanced light water reactors, light water small modular reactors, and non-light-water designs1) and to assess if there are any exclusionary or avoidance factors associated with coal to nuclear repowering at CGS. This initial siting evaluation considers several characteristics (e.g., environmental conditions, seismic concerns, site footprint, water use, etc.) and highlights favorable/preferred characteristics as well as potential risks to feasibility. The results are intended to inform SRP on the strengths and weaknesses associated with the CGS site and inform the selection of candidate nuclear technologies for the CGS site that align with SRP’s mission and business objectives. This report relies on industry-recognized siting guidance, including Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI’s) Siting Guide (Reference 1) 2 and Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.7 (Reference 3), as well as nuclear domain expertise within the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN), MPR Associates, Inc. (MPR), and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Attack Surface of Wind Energy Technologies in the United States

Low cost, reliable electrical energy production from wind relies upon automation and control systems, arguably more so than traditional thermal generation. These same systems, however, can serve as the target of adversaries’ cyber-attacks. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), at the request of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), evaluated a generalized wind plant architecture to understand the classes of potential threat actors and the vectors that could enable a cyber-attack. This evaluation explores the attack surface of a representative wind plant, identifying potential methods and vectors that an adversary could leverage to conduct a cyber-attack. Included in this assessment are some recommended mitigations and approaches. Each recommendation requires a full security evaluation, cost/benefit analysis, and risk analysis by each owner and operator.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Federal Automotive Statistical Tool: Federal Vehicle Fleet Reporting Update (Combined FedFleet/FEVAR/INTERFUEL Meeting, November 2023) [Slides]

This presentation presents an overview of coming changes to how federal agencies with motor vehicles will submit required information about the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) inventory and planned deployments through the Federal Automotive Statistical Tool (FAST), as well as updates on fleet reporting in general. This presentation is intended for delivery via WebEx/GoToMeeting at the November 2023 meeting of the DOE/GSA jointly-organized combined meeting of the Federal Electric Vehicle Agency Round-table (FEVAR), FedFleet, and INTERFUEL working groups. FAST is a web-based information management tool developed and maintained by Idaho National Laboratory and funded by GSA's Office of Government-wide Policy and DOE's Federal Energy Management Program.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Federal Automotive Statistical Tool: Updates to EVSE Reporting (Federal Electric Vehicle Agency Round-table, October 2023) [Slides]

This presentation presents an overview of coming changes to how federal agencies with motor vehicles will submit required information about the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) inventory and planned deployments through the Federal Automotive Statistical Tool (FAST). This presentation is intended for delivery via WebEx/GoToMeeting at the October 2023 meeting of the DOE-organized Federal Electric Vehicle Agency Round-table (FEVAR). FAST is a web-based information management tool developed and maintained by Idaho National Laboratory and funded by GSA's Office of Government-wide Policy and DOE's Federal Energy Management Program.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Performance Benchmark of Commercial and Developmental Fission Chambers in Elevated Temperatures

This report documents the testing of two in-core fission chamber technologies for high-temperature irradiation environments. This work is in collaboration with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). The fission chamber evaluated by Idaho National Laboratory is the micro-pocket fission detector (MPFD). The fission chamber evaluated by the CEA are the 3 mm miniaturized fission chamber and the 7 mm high-temperature fission chamber. Demonstrations of the MPFD were performed at the Neutron Radiography Facility and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor. Demonstrations of the CEA fission chambers were performed at the Ohio State University Research Reactor. All demonstrations were conducted with a heated experiment rig up to 850°C.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗