Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Programmable”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Smart Power Supply for Battery-Powered Systems

A power supply for battery-powered systems has been designed with an embedded controller that is capable of monitoring and maintaining batteries, charging hardware, while maintaining output power. The power supply is primarily designed for rovers and other remote science and engineering vehicles, but it can be used in any battery alone, or battery and charging source applications. The supply can function autonomously, or can be connected to a host processor through a serial communications link. It can be programmed a priori or on the fly to return current and voltage readings to a host. It has two output power busses: a constant 24-V direct current nominal bus, and a programmable bus for output from approximately 24 up to approximately 50 V. The programmable bus voltage level, and its output power limit, can be changed on the fly as well. The power supply also offers options to reduce the programmable bus to 24 V when the set power limit is reached, limiting output power in the case of a system fault detected in the system. The smart power supply is based on an embedded 8051-type single-chip microcontroller. This choice was made in that a credible progression to flight (radiation hard, high reliability) can be assumed as many 8051 processors or gate arrays capable of accepting 8051-type core presently exist and will continue to do so for some time. To solve the problem of centralized control, this innovation moves an embedded microcontroller to the power supply and assigns it the task of overseeing the operation and charging of the power supply assets. This embedded processor is connected to the application central processor via a serial data link such that the central processor can request updates of various parameters within the supply, such as battery current, bus voltage, remaining power in battery estimations, etc. This supply has a direct connection to the battery bus for common (quiescent) power application. Because components from multiple vendors may have differing power needs, this supply also has a secondary power bus, which can be programmed a priori or on-the-fly to boost the primary battery voltage level from 24 to 50 V to accommodate various loads as they are brought on line. Through voltage and current monitoring, the device can also shield the charging source from overloads, keep it within safe operating modes, and can meter available power to the application and maintain safe operations.

Krasowski, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Digital Architecture for a Trace Gas Sensor Platform

A digital architecture has been implemented for a trace gas sensor platform, as a companion to standard analog control electronics, which accommodates optical absorption whose fractional absorbance equivalent would result in excess error if assumed to be linear. In cases where the absorption (1-transmission) is not equivalent to the fractional absorbance within a few percent error, it is necessary to accommodate the actual measured absorption while reporting the measured concentration of a target analyte with reasonable accuracy. This requires incorporation of programmable intelligence into the sensor platform so that flexible interpretation of the acquired data may be accomplished. Several different digital component architectures were tested and implemented. Commercial off-the-shelf digital electronics including data acquisition cards (DAQs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and microcontrollers have been used to achieve the desired outcome. The most completely integrated architecture achieved during the project used the CPLD along with a microcontroller. The CPLD provides the initial digital demodulation of the raw sensor signal, and then communicates over a parallel communications interface with a microcontroller. The microcontroller analyzes the digital signal from the CPLD, and applies a non-linear correction obtained through extensive data analysis at the various relevant EVA operating pressures. The microcontroller then presents the quantitatively accurate carbon dioxide partial pressure regardless of optical density. This technique could extend the linear dynamic range of typical absorption spectrometers, particularly those whose low end noise equivalent absorbance is below one-part-in-100,000. In the EVA application, it allows introduction of a path-length-enhancing architecture whose optical interference effects are well understood and quantified without sacrificing the dynamic range that allows quantitative detection at the higher carbon dioxide partial pressures. The digital components are compact and allow reasonably complete integration with separately developed analog control electronics without sacrificing size, mass, or power draw.

Gonzales, Paula↗
NASA NTRS2012

Flexible Architecture for FPGAs in Embedded Systems

Commonly, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) being developed in cPCI embedded systems include the bus interface in the FPGA. This complicates the development because the interface is complicated and requires a lot of development time and FPGA resources. In addition, flight qualification requires a substantial amount of time be devoted to just this interface. Another complication of putting the cPCI interface into the FPGA being developed is that configuration information loaded into the device by the cPCI microprocessor is lost when a new bit file is loaded, requiring cumbersome operations to return the system to an operational state. Finally, SRAM-based FPGAs are typically programmed via specialized cables and software, with programming files being loaded either directly into the FPGA, or into PROM devices. This can be cumbersome when doing FPGA development in an embedded environment, and does not have an easy path to flight. Currently, FPGAs used in space applications are usually programmed via multiple space-qualified PROM devices that are physically large and require extra circuitry (typically including a separate one-time programmable FPGA) to enable them to be used for this application. This technology adds a cPCI interface device with a simple, flexible, high-performance backend interface supporting multiple backend FPGAs. It includes a mechanism for programming the FPGAs directly via the microprocessor in the embedded system, eliminating specialized hardware, software, and PROM devices and their associated circuitry. It has a direct path to flight, and no extra hardware and minimal software are required to support reprogramming in flight. The device added is currently a small FPGA, but an advantage of this technology is that the design of the device does not change, regardless of the application in which it is being used. This means that it needs to be qualified for flight only once, and is suitable for one-time programmable devices or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). An application programming interface (API) further reduces the development time needed to use the interface device in a system.

Clark, Duane I.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Extraction and Separation Modeling of Orion Test Vehicles with ADAMS Simulation

The Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) project has increased efforts to demonstrate the performance of fully integrated parachute systems at both higher dynamic pressures and in the presence of wake fields using a Parachute Compartment Drop Test Vehicle (PCDTV) and a Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV), respectively. Modeling the extraction and separation events has proven challenging and an understanding of the physics is required to reduce the risk of separation malfunctions. The need for extraction and separation modeling is critical to a successful CPAS test campaign. Current PTV-alone simulations, such as Decelerator System Simulation (DSS), require accurate initial conditions (ICs) drawn from a separation model. Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems (ADAMS), a Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) tool, was employed to provide insight into the multi-body six degree of freedom (DOF) interaction between parachute test hardware and external and internal forces. Components of the model include a composite extraction parachute, primary vehicle (PTV or PCDTV), platform cradle, a release mechanism, aircraft ramp, and a programmer parachute with attach points. Independent aerodynamic forces were applied to the mated test vehicle/platform cradle and the separated test vehicle and platform cradle. The aero coefficients were determined from real time lookup tables which were functions of both angle of attack ( ) and sideslip ( ). The atmospheric properties were also determined from a real time lookup table characteristic of the Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG) atmosphere relative to the planned test month. Representative geometries were constructed in ADAMS with measured mass properties generated for each independent vehicle. Derived smart separation parameters were included in ADAMS as sensors with defined pitch and pitch rate criteria used to refine inputs to analogous avionics systems for optimal separation conditions. Key design variables were dispersed in a Monte Carlo analysis to provide the maximum expected range of the state variables at programmer deployment to be used as ICs in DSS. Extensive comparisons were made with Decelerator System Simulation Application (DSSA) to validate the mated portion of the ADAMS extraction trajectory. Results of the comparisons improved the fidelity of ADAMS with a ramp pitch profile update from DSSA. Post-test reconstructions resulted in improvements to extraction parachute drag area knock-down factors, extraction line modeling, and the inclusion of ball-to-socket attachments used as a release mechanism on the PTV. Modeling of two Extraction parachutes was based on United States Air Force (USAF) tow test data and integrated into ADAMS for nominal and Monte Carlo trajectory assessments. Video overlay of ADAMS animations and actual C-12 chase plane test videos supported analysis and observation efforts of extraction and separation events. The COTS ADAMS simulation has been integrated with NASA based simulations to provide complete end to end trajectories with a focus on the extraction, separation, and programmer deployment sequence. The flexibility of modifying ADAMS inputs has proven useful for sensitivity studies and extraction/separation modeling efforts. 1

Fraire, Usbaldo, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2013

FPGA-Based X-Ray Detection and Measurement for an X-Ray Polarimeter

This technology enables detection and measurement of x-rays in an x-ray polarimeter using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The technology was developed for the Gravitational and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS) mission. It performs precision energy and timing measurements, as well as rejection of non-x-ray events. It enables the GEMS polarimeter to detect precisely when an event has taken place so that additional measurements can be made. The technology also enables this function to be performed in an FPGA using limited resources so that mass and power can be minimized while reliability for a space application is maximized and precise real-time operation is achieved. This design requires a low-noise, charge-sensitive preamplifier; a highspeed analog to digital converter (ADC); and an x-ray detector with a cathode terminal. It functions by computing a sum of differences for time-samples whose difference exceeds a programmable threshold. A state machine advances through states as a programmable number of consecutive samples exceeds or fails to exceed this threshold. The pulse height is recorded as the accumulated sum. The track length is also measured based on the time from the start to the end of accumulation. For track lengths longer than a certain length, the algorithm estimates the barycenter of charge deposit by comparing the accumulator value at the midpoint to the final accumulator value. The design also employs a number of techniques for rejecting background events. This innovation enables the function to be performed in space where it can operate autonomously with a rapid response time. This implementation combines advantages of computing system-based approaches with those of pure analog approaches. The result is an implementation that is highly reliable, performs in real-time, rejects background events, and consumes minimal power.

Gregory, Kyle↗
DOE OSTI2015

SRAM-Based Digital Arbiter PUF

The increased use of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) in critical systems brings new challenges in securing the diversely programmable fabric from cyber-attacks. FPGAs are an inexpensive, efficient, and flexible alternative to Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), which are becoming increasingly expensive and impractical for low volume manufacturing as technology nodes continue to shrink. Unfortunately, FPGAs are not designed for high security applications, and their high-flexibility lends itself to low security and vulnerability to malicious attacks. Similar to securing an ASIC’s functionality, FPGA programmers can exploit the inherent randomness introduced into hardware structures during fabrication for security applications. Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are one such solution that uses the die specific variability in hardware fabrication for both secret key generation and verification. PUFs strive to be random, unique, and reliable. Throughout recent years many PUF structures have been presented to try and maximize these three design constraints, reliability being the most difficult of the three to achieve. This thesis presents a new PUF structure that combines two elementary PUF concepts (a bi-stable SRAM PUF and a delay-based arbiter PUF) to create a PUF with increased reliability, while maintaining both random and unique qualities. Properties of the new PUF will be discussed as well as the various design modifications that can be made to tweak the desired performance and overhead.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

High-speed multi-frame dynamic transmission electron microscope image acquisition system with arbitrary timing

An electron microscope is disclosed which has a laser-driven photocathode and an arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) laser system ("laser"). The laser produces a train of temporally-shaped laser pulses each being of a programmable pulse duration, and directs the laser pulses to the laser-driven photocathode to produce a train of electron pulses. An image sensor is used along with a deflector subsystem. The deflector subsystem is arranged downstream of the target but upstream of the image sensor, and has a plurality of plates. A control system having a digital sequencer controls the laser and a plurality of switching components, synchronized with the laser, to independently control excitation of each one of the deflector plates. This allows each electron pulse to be directed to a different portion of the image sensor, as well as to enable programmable pulse durations and programmable inter-pulse spacings.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Opportunities in Flavour Physics at the HL-LHC and HE-LHC

Motivated by the success of the flavour physics programme carried out over the last decade at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), we characterize in detail the physics potential of its High-Luminosity and High-Energy upgrades in this domain of physics. We document the extraordinary breadth of the HL/HE-LHC programme enabled by a putative Upgrade II of the dedicated flavour physics experiment LHCb and the evolution of the established flavour physics role of the ATLAS and CMS general purpose experiments. We connect the dedicated flavour physics programme to studies of the top quark, Higgs boson, and direct high-$p_T$ searches for new particles and force carriers. We discuss the complementarity of their discovery potential for physics beyond the Standard Model, affirming the necessity to fully exploit the LHC's flavour physics potential throughout its upgrade eras.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Aquatic organism tracking devices, systems and associated methods

Aquatic organism tracking devices, systems and associated methods are described. According to one aspect, an aquatic organism tracking device includes a housing, a transducer coupled with the housing and configured to transmit a data transmission externally of the housing and an aquatic organism associated with the tracking device, a programmable oscillator coupled with the housing, and wherein the programmable oscillator is configured to generate a clock signal having a selected one of a plurality of different frequencies, processing circuitry coupled with the housing and configured to receive the clock signal from the programmable oscillator and to execute a plurality of executable instructions according to the clock signal, a power source coupled with the housing and configured to store electrical energy, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the provision of the electrical energy from the power source to the transducer to generate the data transmission as a result of the execution of the instructions.

Deng, Z. Daniel↗
DOE OSTI2015

The Acoustic Emission signal acquired by the microphones placed in the CABRI test device along the fourteen last R.I.A. experiments: an example of reproducible research in nuclear science

The CABRI facility is an experimental nuclear reactor of the French Atomic Energy Commission. It is located at the Cadarache Research Centre in southern France and it is designed to act as a support to the French nuclear infrastructure. The purpose of the new testing programme termed, 'CABRI International Programme' (CIP) is to study the behaviour of PWR-type fuel rods at high burnup, equipped with an 'advanced' cladding, under Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) conditions (such as the scenario of a control rod ejection). Within the framework of this programme, piloted and funded by the French Institute of Nuclear Radioprotection and Safety (IRSN), ten tests are to be conducted with a frequency of two tests per year. The LPRE laboratory of the CEA which is in charge of the Preparation, realisation and breakdown of the test results studies the possibility to set up a new test analysis based on the processing of signals coming from sensors placed within the test equipment. During the experimental phase, the behaviour of the fuel element generates acoustic waves which can be detected by two microphones placed upstream and downstream of the test device. Studies showed the interest to realize temporal and spectral analyses on these signals by showing the existence of signatures which can be correlated with physical phenomena as the rod failure or the test shutdown (i.e. scram). The work presented in this article results from the will to consolidate these studies. Since the main phenomenon to be tracked is the fuel rod failure, the aim would be to highlight specific events which would have been precursors of the rod failure in order to use in the future these signals for further interpretation. Such an antecedent works resumption leads to a better understanding of the experimental needs and constitutes a good initial state to prepare the new very fast digital data acquisition systems. Although all the raw data are accessible in the form of text files, analyses and graphics representations were not straightforward to reproduce from the ancient studies since that, on one hand, people who were in charge of the original work left the laboratory and on the other hand because it is not easy when the time passes, even with our own work, to be able to remember the steps of data manipulations and the exact setup: - During the ancient experiments the use of analog data acquisition systems required to digitize tapes to be able to realize computer treatments. That had had for consequence to lose the initial dating. This one must be correctly edited to do temporal comparisons. - Analyses require functions for calculations whose parameters has to be well-known to reach the same results. We thus wished to manage our workflow in the idea that it can be easily reproducible on all the experiments. The object of the work presented in this article was to put in practice this strong bind between the data, treatments and generation of the document in order not to hesitate to do the iteration principle in action. We do not have to be afraid by the data driven analyses. According to the philosophy of the literate programming, the text of the technical document is woven with the computer code that produces all the printed output as tables, graphs for the study eliminating hence the unrealistic cut and paste. This difficulty is not specific to the nuclear domain. For many years, researchers have been worked out solutions to this mundane issue. And, presently, new technologies and high-level programming languages offer us actual answers. We will firstly present the tools applied in our laboratory to implement this workflow, then we will describe the global perception carried out to continue the study of the Acoustic Emission signals recorded by the two microphones during the fourteen last CABRI R.I.A. test.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Remediation of the FGMSP at Sellafield: The First Transfer of Bulk Sludge - 17133

The very first bulk transfers of radioactive sludge have commenced from one of the most hazardous nuclear plants in Europe, using equipment and systems researched, designed, installed and commissioned by Jacobs as part of the ACKtiv alliance. Sellafield is a nuclear fuel reprocessing and decommissioning site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. Sellafield incorporates the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale, which is currently undergoing decommissioning, and dismantling, and Calder Hall, the world's first nuclear power generating reactor. The first nuclear facilities were built in the 1940's.The First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP) dates back to the 1950's as part of the UK's expanding nuclear programme and was constructed to store, cool and prepare used Magnox nuclear fuel for recycling into new fuel. It urgently needs to be emptied of 1500 cubic metres of radioactive sludge. In this paper we describe the work undertaken by Jacobs to deliver a very challenging programme of work to provide the capability to remove sludge from the pond. The FGMSP Retrievals Project was awarded in March 2007 to supply equipment and services for the removal of sludge and miscellaneous waste from the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond at Sellafield. The Project is being executed by ACKtiv Nuclear (Jacobs, Carillion and Atkins) of which Jacobs is a 40% stakeholder. ACKtiv Nuclear is a mature Joint Venture and has been operating continuously and successfully since 2002, the oldest JV still in operation on Sellafield Site. The roots of the JV can be traced back to the 1980's. The Project covers all project phases from front-end engineering through detailed design, procurement, installation and commissioning support. The Project places huge emphasis on off-Site testing and has several facilities for both installation and integrated testing. This proves equipment prior to installation in a radioactive environment. The Project has achieved success and recognition including winning the 2014 and 2015 Sellafield Business Excellence awards, as well as numerous internal Jacobs awards. The Project achieved a major decommissioning milestone in March 2016. Since the installation of a 31 m pipe-bridge in 2012, using a 1200 te mobile crane surrounded by several other facilities with nuclear inventory, the Project has successfully installed the sludge retrieval and effluent system into the FGMSP. This 4 year programme of work included 2 booster pump platforms, sludge recovery tooling, hoses, umbilicals and a deluge skip wash box which were all trialled and proven off-Site prior to installation in the pond. This milestone to commence transfer of sludge to modern stainless steel containment is a major step forward in the hazard reduction of the facility.The presentation will cover the installation of the pond de-sludging equipment, the innovations deployed that ensured that the milestone was achieved under budget and ahead of schedule, as well the benefits to the facility, the Site and the nuclear industry. It will also examine the challenges that needed to be overcome such as high dose, contamination, limited working times and space constraints. The presentation will describe why the work is of national Importance and conclude with the achievement of commencement of bulk sludge transfer to a modern facility. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Up-skilling and Re-skilling for the Nuclear Industry - 17276

In the UK, nuclear skills and qualifications have been the subject of several studies in higher levels of Government, including one by UK Cabinet Office. The newly formed UK Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG) has been tasked with addressing the current skills and people gaps for the UK nuclear industry. The NSSG is working with several key organisations in the UK: The National Skills Academy for Nuclear, (NSAN), which covers skills interventions, training and workforce development and experience, and the newly forming National College for Nuclear (NCfN) which will become a nuclear qualifications awarding body, regulating educational qualifications and curriculum in the nuclear sector. The NSSG has published its own UK Nuclear Skills Strategy in December 2016, aligned to the UK Cabinet Office study. It is the intent that, in the near future, nuclear qualifications and experience will be directly transferable across different organisations and nuclear sites in the UK, enabling the maintenance of high standards of behaviours and improved mobility throughout the sector. The UK needs to maintain and grow a diverse workforce and nuclear Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP) people. The 2015 UK Nuclear Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) report, produced by Cogent for the Nuclear Energy Skills Alliance (NESA), concluded that the total nuclear workforce demand for the UK Nuclear Civil and Defence sector needed to grow by 33,000 people in the next five years, which includes replacement and expansion demand. This involved all disciplines and grades, with for example, higher level skilled workers needing to increase by 2200 FTEs every year. The main discipline pinch points were in, for example, Mechanical; Electrical; Project Management; Safety Case Specialists; Commissioning Engineers. Of the overall workforce, around 10% is over 60 years old and around 38% is over 50 years old. Jacobs in the UK is widely involved in many aspects of skills and competence development, with active involvement in local and national training programmes, and driving new methodologies to accelerate our staff's journey to nuclear competence. As well as looking at the immediate future, there is a risk in the UK that, over the 120-year plus clean-up mission, there won't be enough people with the right skills. Jacobs is developing sustainable solutions to this in our skills and development strategy for the nuclear sector. Jacobs has developed a variety of approaches to help us maintain and grow our diverse workforce and nuclear 'SQEP' people. This includes: - Identifying and developing our employees' technical and personal skills and capabilities, particularly the requirements of our millennials in both technical and social aspects of their working lives. - Identifying and planning for our future skills needs to meet our projected business requirements. - Our programme to transfer skilled employees from other sectors into the nuclear industry. - Our extensive school student placement scheme, aligned to the UK's 'Industrial Cadet' scheme, which has helped to bring school-aged students into Jacobs on workplace experience. - Our collaboration with our customers to develop UK national level Trailblazer Apprentice programmes. - Our involvement at a UK national level in the work of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN), the Nuclear Energy Skills Alliance (NESA) High Level Skills Committee and the newly forming UK National College for Nuclear (NCfN). - Our work to ensure diversity is valued in our workplace, for example in our involvement in 'Women in Nuclear'. (authors)

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Study Of Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) Ageing Phenomena In Bentonite - 17605

Since the 1950's, the UK's nuclear activity in energy, defence and medicine has led to the accumulation of a large amount of higher activity radioactive waste (HAW). Most of nuclear waste arises in a wide variety of physical and chemical forms with different radioisotopes and loadings. Due to complexity in HAW, it is imperative that there be a rigorous management system that ensures population and environmental safety over extended periods. The concept of Deep Geological Disposal of waste in a stable geological formation is, nowadays, an internationally accepted solution as the surest and the most viable long term method for management. Any future Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) will comprise, among other artificial and natural engineered barriers, a barrier immediately around the waste containers compounded by a sealing material. The long-term stability of a GDF will be determined by the design and construction of the engineered barriers, and the mechanical, hydraulic and geochemical interactions that may happen between the different engineered components as a result of combined processes such as the heat produced by radioactive decay and the ion water composition of the surrounding host rock. Bentonite clay has been selected as the most promising buffer and backfill material in many disposal programmes because of its swelling capacity, low permeability, plasticity and cation exchange capacity. In the nuclear scope, bentonite testing at different scale-lengths (laboratory and field scale) has been performed and implemented in order to examine the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) and thermo-hydro-geochemical (THG) processes that may happen in the engineered barriers and geological settings associated with a GDF. Two major European field scale tests have been performed to better understand bentonite performance and behaviour immediately after HAW emplacements. The Full-Scale Engineered Barriers Experiment (FEBEX) at the Grimsel Test Sit (Switzerland) and the Alternative Buffer Material (ABM) Project at the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory (Sweden). The Febex Experiment was a pilot project designed for 'field research' of HAW repository hosted in crystalline rock where surrogate HAW canisters were placed horizontally in drifts, surrounded by compacted blocks of bentonite, sealed by a concrete plug and maintaining a constant canister surface temperature of 100 deg. C. After five years of operation, a partial dismantling was carried out in 2002. Heater processes occurring in the surrounding bentonite. The dismantling of the heater no. 2 (after 18 years of operation) started in late 2014 and is planned to be finished at the end of 2016 (termed FEBEX-DP). The FEBEX Project utilised bentonite from the Cortijo de Archidona deposit (Almeria, Spain). This 'Febex' bentonite is sourced from calcium-magnesium montmorillonite with good properties in relation to swelling capacity, permeability, adsorption capacity, and thermal conductivity. The ABM Project is a large-scale programme that has been running since 2006. The programme is designed to study a suite of possible buffer materials and correlate the physical and chemical properties of eleven different types of bentonites to their fundamental mineralogical properties. The ABM test consists in three 'packages' containing a central heater tube surrounded by different pre-compacted bentonite blocks and instrumentation. Each 'package' was installed in separate boreholes. The target temperature for the surface of the heated tubes in contact with the bentonite was 130 deg. C. Both FEBEX and ABM test the bentonite was saturated with water percolating from surrounding host rock (FEBEX and ABM) and also via artificial supply systems (ABM), being the water itself acting as a long term corrosion agent. For both experiments and emerging interest is in the interaction of bentonite with metallic components, under geological disposal conditions are not considered to be thermodynamically stable and hence arising corrosion products could interact with the buffer. These interactions depend on various factors such as the redox potential, temperature, pH, solute concentration and buffer material characteristics. During the operational phases of the FEBEX and ABM and after its 'closure' a significant volume of air was found to be retained in the bentonite. Under these conditions a period of initial aerobic corrosion by the air in the bentonite barrier would have occurred followed by establishment of anaerobic corrosion would be the dominant process ongoing. The anaerobic corrosion began when the bentonite became water saturated. Under these conditions, the water acted as the major oxidant. The present project focuses on the characterization of samples arising from the FEBEX and ABM Projects as well as performing additional independent experiments designed to complement these prior studies. Characterization will focus mainly on corrosion related alteration combined with thermal effects. Through detailed sample characterization, the intention is to achieve a greater knowledge regarding the changes to the bentonite under the experimental conditions to which it was exposed, and plausible alterations in its THM and THG properties occurring during the experiment due to blended effects of temperature,water content, engineering structural components and solutes are also to be measured. The fulfilment of a large-scale 'in-situ' test is intricate, time-consuming and with an abundance of external variables that are not always well controlled. For this reason, the University of Bristol is performing a series of well constrained time-resolved laboratory tests which bentonite is being subjected to different possible scenarios that may happen whilst in a HAW repository. In virtue of this experiment, the UoB aims to understand the illitisation and cementation process and their effects on bentonite safety properties. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

French Atomic and alternative energies commission decommissioning policy and strategies: What is at stake lessons learned and feedback experience - 15013

Since its creation in 1945, the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission has carried out research programmes on civil use of nuclear, and its application. CEA has set up and run various types of installations from research (accelerators, pond reactors, fast reactors, laboratories) to industry (power reactor, processing facilities). There are currently more than several tens of facilities which are presently closed down pending dismantling or in the process of being dismantled by CEA, the governmental body for research and development in nuclear and renewable energies. When operating, all these installations have generated radioactive waste. When they are shutdown, either as a result of the programmes for which they were set up, or due to equipment wearing out or being obsolete, these installations must be cleaned up, dismantled and decommissioned, taking into account their nuclear nature and requirements related to safety and environment. During the decommissioning process, the implementer has to deal with safety and site remediation issues. Dealing with these installations is a long-term programme which must be carefully planned and financed in order to optimise its management. The paper will describe the CEA's decommissioning policy, strategies adopted, and draw up lessons learned and feedback experience, showing that: - Safety is guaranteed, - Dismantling is a technically controllable operation, but R and D actions are to be developed for specific problems as characterization or operation in hostile environment. Moreover all the methods and techniques improve as a result of feedback experience, - The amount of material and waste produced by the dismantling are manageable. The very low, low and intermediate level waste can be stored on existing shallow land burial centres, some new repositories have to be created for specific waste (graphite, radium,...) and for high and intermediate level long live waste, which are stored in interim storage , - The dismantling must be optimized, especially by appliance of a good strategy based on rational industrial choices. - Communication and transparency with stakeholders is essential for global process acceptance, - The lessons learned and how feedback experience could benefit for future decommissioning projects. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

The use of underground research facilities for the demonstration of safety of geological disposal - 15094

Many countries are progressing towards developing research programmes related to the development of geological disposal facilities and as part of these research programmes many countries have constructed or are planning to construct Underground Research Facilities (URFs). The development of the safety case for geological disposal facilities, which covers both the operational phase and the post-closure phase, is built on the acquisition and integration of all necessary data including data on the natural and engineered barriers, on the facility itself (design), on the operation of the disposal facility, and in the specific case of geological disposal facilities, the conditions at the depth of disposal relevant for both in-situ and waste emplacement states. Taking these conditions into account can make the demonstration of safety more complex and demanding than for near surface disposal facilities. Most if not all of the countries well advanced in the development of geological disposal facilities have also developed underground research facilities to support the decision processes within their disposal facility development programme. Underground Research Facilities play an essential role in the demonstration of safety of geological disposal facilities and a distinction has to be made between data acquired from surface based investigations and boreholes and those data and experiments carried out in-situ. The use of in-situ data contribute to build confidence in the demonstration of safety and contribute to public confidence and acceptance of geological disposal facilities. Further discussion will elaborate on whether to use the URF as part of a future disposal facility or not, with an emphasis on the transposition of data from the experimental site to the disposal site and how this is addressed and validated in the demonstration of safety. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

The underground research facilities (URF) network - illustrating the IAEA's concept and use of professional networks - 15382

Since 2001, the IAEA has championed the concept and use of professional networks (Communities of Practice) to advance best practices and to provide a platform for cooperation in radioactive waste management, decommissioning and environmental remediation across the globe. The Underground Research Facilities (URF) Network was the first in a series of networks implemented under the auspices of the IAEA to share experiences, elicit best practices, and transfer knowledge on topics relevant to the development and implementation of geological disposal of long lived and high level radioactive waste - i.e. intermediate level waste (ILW), high-level waste (HLW) and/or spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Special emphasis is placed on the role and use of URFs to support such geological disposal developments. In addition to the direct benefits provided to Member States through its programme of work, the URF Network also delivers less tangible, yet equally valuable benefits through the informal exchange of information, the development of peer-to-peer professional networks, and seeding of multi-lateral cooperation between Member States. Network members represent a range of nuclear programme sizes and advancements in their respective repository programmes. After a decade of fruitful cooperation, delivering more than 30 training courses on topics relevant to geological disposal, the URF Network is gradually reassessing its mode of operation and focus of work. Emphasizing selected strategic goals - focused in part on more systematic training of URF Network members human resources and in part on select key technical issues - would benefit all network members, while remaining cautious in the commitment of scarce resources. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

Development of disposal container designs for disposal of high level waste and legacy spent fuel in the UK - 15471

Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM), a fully owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), is responsible for the implementation of geological disposal in the UK. Three illustrative concepts of a geological disposal facility (GDF), corresponding to three generic geological environments - higher strength rock, lower strength sedimentary rock and evaporite rock - have been developed to demonstrate the viability of geological disposal of intermediate level waste, high level waste and spent fuel. It is envisaged that HLW which has been encapsulated in Waste Vitrification Plant (WVP) canisters, advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) SF which has been stripped of their spacers and packaged into slotted fuel cans, and PWR SF will be packaged into disposal containers for disposal. A set of schematic designs of these disposal containers was developed in the late 2000's. The design concept for the higher strength rock environment was based on the joint Posiva/SKB disposal container design, and the design concept for the lower strength sedimentary rock and evaporate rock illustrative environments was based on the disposal container concept from Switzerland's National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra). The size, mass and dimensions of the disposal containers in the scheme designs vary significantly. The construction method and the lid closing method also vary between the disposal containers for the different waste contents. A design study has indicated that optimization of the number of HLW WVP canisters and the number of AGR slotted fuel cans in the disposal containers, standardizing construction method and closure arrangement across the containers for each geology type, providing handling features at both ends of the disposal container, and balancing of shielding around the containers, could bring significant advantage to the overall GDF programme by reducing the number of disposal containers, reducing GDF footprint, and reducing the extent of excavations, spoil generated and materials that are required for construction. A project to develop the scheme designs to conceptual level was carried in 2011 to 2013. In this project, the above changes were taken into account, technical underpinning of the designs was carried out and manufacturing method was considered. Two disposal container variants for different host rock environments have been developed: - Variant 1, for compatibility with the higher strength rock illustrative disposal system design. This is constructed from copper, with a cast iron insert and is based on the joint Posiva/SKB disposal container design. - Variant 2, for compatibility with the lower strength sedimentary rock and evaporite rock illustrative disposal system designs. This is a steel container based on the NAGRA disposal container design. Each variant has three internal configurations to accommodate 3 HLW vitrified canisters, 16 consolidated cans of AGR SF and 4 PWR spent fuel assemblies. These designs have been shown to bring significant benefit to the GDF designs, bringing a significant reduction to the operating programme and GDF programme cost, including reducing the number of disposal containers by 33% for HLW, 50% for AGR SF and reducing the size of the GDF footprint by 25%. (authors)

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

The New International Project on Irradiated Graphite Processing Approaches (GRAPA) - 16559

Developing of strategies and methods for the management of spent nuclear (irradiated) graphite is one of the major task in decommissioning internationally. More than 250.000 Mg of i-graphite have been accumulated worldwide. Having completed in 2014 a comprehensive collaborative research programme on the treatment options for the disposal of i-graphite wastes to meet disposal criteria, the IAEA decided to maintain an active group of international specialists in this area as part of the International Decommissioning Network (IDN). To foster further development in R and D and steps towards industrial applications in i-graphite management this group was requested to propose the terms of reference and work programme for a new IAEA project. The basic concept for this future programme has been formulated by the German Forschungszentrum (Research Centre) Juelich, Institute IEK-6. The initiative has expanded to include representation from UK, USA, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania. Additional Member States of the IAEA are expected to join the project. The concept presented by the IEK-6 was discussed among the experts and extended on an international meeting at IAEA in Vienna in February 2015. In addition to the development of the terms of reference a number of individual tasks have been identified. The project will combine a comprehensive state-of-the-art study with concerted actions as well as cross-cutting sub-projects. This will include a practical demonstration of the removal, treatment and disposal of highly-irradiated graphite from a decommissioned reactor. Prior to official implementation of this project preparatory work has been started on topic areas where weaknesses in the scientific knowledge or the technology have been identified. The scope of the international project ('Irradiated Graphite Processing Approaches, GRAPA') and its expected development as well as the possible impact of GRAPA on the future international i-graphite research activities will be described in this presentation. The project will be performed jointly by both the IAEA International Decommissioning Network and the new IAEA Pretreatment Network (IMM, under development). (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗