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DOE OSTI2024

Tandem pyrolysis evolved gas–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Analysis of byproducts from thermal degradation of polymer materials provides a wealth of information about a materials’ composition, thermal stability, degradation mechanisms, and kinetics. However, regardless of the instrumentation used, only limited information is obtainable from a single experiment. Microfurnace technology, when interfaced to a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), can be used to obtain both thermal and chemical information via evolved gas analysis-MS (EGA-MS) and GC-MS analysis modes. While both EGA-MS and Py-GC-MS are valuable when characterizing polymer materials, at least two experiments on distinct samples are required, which can be a liability for clear interpretation of results from inhomogeneous samples. Here, we seek to overcome this limitation by combining EGA-MS and Py-GC-MS modes in a single experimental setup. Further, this was done by developing new gas line modifications to allow for tandem Pyrolysis Evolved Gas-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Py/EG-GC-MS) analysis. Verification of Py/EG-GC-MS analysis was performed using a polystyrene standard. Results demonstrate successful Py/EG-GC-MS analysis for the first-time showing the potential of these modifications for application in areas where sample is limited or direct correlation of products to the thermal profile is desirable such as in forensics or product-specific kinetics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Implications of carbon content for the processing, stability, and mechanical properties of cast and wrought Ni-based superalloy Nimonic 105

As the temperature and pressure requirements in land-based turbines for power generation increase, the shift towards more advanced alloys, e.g., Ni-based superalloys, requires improved understanding of their long-term stability and mechanical properties. Additionally, the larger size of the components also presents fabrication and cost-reduction problems. In this study, we investigated Nimonic 105 as a potential rotor material at two carbon content levels – the commonly used maximum of the alloy specification and a lower carbon content variant. Reducing the carbon content presented fabrication challenges, resulting in surface crack formation during hot working. Additionally, a lower M 6 C carbide fraction was present after fabrication/solutioning, leading to a significantly larger grain size. After the standard aging treatment, similar γ' populations formed in the two variants, however the M 6 C carbides in the high-carbon variant already started transforming to intergranular M 23 C 6 . Although we did not observe a noticeable effect on the tensile properties of the two variants, the lower carbon content alloy possessed a superior creep property – mainly due to the larger grain size as the microstructural stability was inferior. Further, upon prolonged thermal exposure, the M 6 C carbides in the low-carbon variant further decomposed to intergranular and intragranular σ and μ precipitates, as opposed to mainly M 23 C 6 as in the high-carbon variant.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

AutoBEM: A scalable framework for nationwide building energy simulation and retrofit evaluation in the United States

This paper presents AutoBEM, an integrated, automated framework for nationwide building energy modeling and retrofit evaluation in the United States. Unlike prior UBEM platforms that either rely primarily on representative stock sampling or operate at city scale, AutoBEM automates the generation of building-resolved, physics-based EnergyPlus/OpenStudio simulation models at national scale using GIS-derived geometry, prototype-based assumptions, and standardized scalable workflows. Leveraging the Model America dataset and high-performance computing, AutoBEM generates and simulates energy models for 122.9 million buildings, representing 97.8% of the U.S. building stock. These models are being made publicly and freely available as the Model America v1.0 (MAv1) dataset. AutoBEM supports detailed, building-level assessments of energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and post-processed anthropogenic heat emissions (AHE), and evaluates 151 energy conservation measures (ECMs) using localized utility pricing and building characteristics. In addition, AutoBEM incorporates both typical and future climate conditions through integration with Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) and Future TMY (fTMY) weather data derived from IPCC scenarios. In a case study of Phoenix, Arizona, AutoBEM identified several high-efficiency HVAC upgrades and selected envelope measures with short modeled payback periods (1.5 years) for certain building types and standards. Simulations under future climate scenarios (SSP5–RCP8.5) project an 11.3% increase in electricity use and a 32% reduction in natural gas demand by 2100, underscoring the need for climate-adaptive retrofit planning. By enabling reproducible, bottom-up, and location-specific analysis at scale, AutoBEM provides a step toward a national digital twin of the built environment and supports data-driven screening and planning for decarbonization, resilience, and energy equity.

Li, Hang [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000306001920)↗

DOE OSTI2024

Reinforcement learning pulses for transmon qubit entangling gates

The utility of a quantum computer is highly dependent on the ability to reliably perform accurate quantum logic operations. For finding optimal control solutions, it is of particular interest to explore model-free approaches, since their quality is not constrained by the limited accuracy of theoretical models for the quantum processor—in contrast to many established gate implementation strategies. In this work, we utilize a continuous control reinforcement learning algorithm to design entangling two-qubit gates for superconducting qubits; specifically, our agent constructs cross-resonance and CNOT gates without any prior information about the physical system. Using a simulated environment of fixed-frequency fixed-coupling transmon qubits, we demonstrate the capability to generate novel pulse sequences that outperform the standard cross-resonance gates in both fidelity and gate duration, while maintaining a comparable susceptibility to stochastic unitary noise. We further showcase an augmentation in training and input information that allows our agent to adapt its pulse design abilities to drifting hardware characteristics, importantly, with little to no additional optimization. Our results exhibit clearly the advantages of unbiased adaptive-feedback learning-based optimization methods for transmon gate design.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2025

Post-composing ontology terms for efficient phenotyping in plant breeding

Abstract Ontologies are widely used in databases to standardize data, improving data quality, integration, and ease of comparison. Within ontologies tailored to diverse use cases, post-composing user-defined terms reconciles the demands for standardization on the one hand and flexibility on the other. In many instances of Breedbase, a digital ecosystem for plant breeding designed for genomic selection, the goal is to capture phenotypic data using highly curated and rigorous crop ontologies, while adapting to the specific requirements of plant breeders to record data quickly and efficiently. For example, post-composing enables users to tailor ontology terms to suit specific and granular use cases such as repeated measurements on different plant parts and special sample preparation techniques. To achieve this, we have implemented a post-composing tool based on orthogonal ontologies providing users with the ability to introduce additional levels of phenotyping granularity tailored to unique experimental designs. Post-composed terms are designed to be reused by all breeding programs within a Breedbase instance but are not exported to the crop reference ontologies. Breedbase users can post-compose terms across various categories, such as plant anatomy, treatments, temporal events, and breeding cycles, and, as a result, generate highly specific terms for more accurate phenotyping.

Mathematical & Computational Biology↗

DOE OSTI2025

A roadmap to understanding and anticipating microbial gene transfer in soil communities

Engineered microbes are being programmed using synthetic DNA for applications in soil to overcome global challenges related to climate change, energy, food security, and pollution. However, we cannot yet predict gene transfer processes in soil to assess the frequency of unintentional transfer of engineered DNA to environmental microbes when applying synthetic biology technologies at scale. This challenge exists because of the complex and heterogeneous characteristics of soils, which contribute to the fitness and transport of cells and the exchange of genetic material within communities. Here, we describe knowledge gaps about gene transfer across soil microbiomes. Here, we propose strategies to improve our understanding of gene transfer across soil communities, highlight the need to benchmark the performance of biocontainment measures in situ, and discuss responsibly engaging community stakeholders. We highlight opportunities to address knowledge gaps, such as creating a set of soil standards for studying gene transfer across diverse soil types and measuring gene transfer host range across microbiomes using emerging technologies. By comparing gene transfer rates, host range, and persistence of engineered microbes across different soils, we posit that community-scale, environment-specific models can be built that anticipate biotechnology risks. Such studies will enable the design of safer biotechnologies that allow us to realize the benefits of synthetic biology and mitigate risks associated with the release of such technologies.

bioccontainment↗

DOE OSTI2025

Bioaccumulation Factor for Radium in Rio Grande Biota

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or Laboratory) Environmental Protection and Compliance Division’s Environmental Stewardship Group (EPC-ES) performs the radiological analysis portion of biota dose assessments using the computer program RESRAD-Biota (DOE 2004, DOE 2020). RESRAD-Biota uses a default bioaccumulation factor, B iv , for radium in aquatic animals. This bioaccumulation factor, also listed in Department of Energy (DOE) Standard, DOE-STD-1153-2019, is the ratio of a radionuclide concentration in fresh weight biota to the environment in which it resides, which for aquatic animals is water. DOE-STD-1153-2019 offers conservative values for these ratios that are specific to the radiological contaminant, the biota, and the environment. The B iv in RESRAD-Biota can be used for general screening (Level 1 screening). If the factor proves to be too conservative, then a site-specific B iv may be used. The biota dose assessment of fish from the northern New Mexico region of the Rio Grande fail the general screen, which indicates that further analysis is necessary. Level 2 analysis is site-specific but still has conservative limitations. Level 3 analysis is a more realistic and representative, sitespecific analysis. The purpose of this paper is to use data specific to the Rio Grande to calculate a new aquatic animal radium B iv . This B iv can then be used for Level 3 analysis of aquatic animals specifically in the northern New Mexico region of the Rio Grande. The calculated radium B iv is a useful value for performing detailed, accurate biota dose assessments and calculating dose to fish using RESRAD-Biota when only sediment data are available.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Early Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic muscle pain disorder that shares several clinical features with other related rheumatologic disorders. This study investigates the feasibility of using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a fingerprinting approach to diagnose FM and other rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), osteoarthritis (OA), and chronic low back pain (CLBP). Blood samples were obtained on protein saver cards from FM (n = 83), non-FM (n = 54), and healthy (NC, n = 9) subjects. A semi-permeable membrane filtration method was used to obtain low-molecular-weight fraction (LMF) serum of the blood samples. SERS measurement conditions were standardized to enhance the LMF signal. An OPLS-DA algorithm created using the spectral region 750 to 1720 cm -1 enabled the classification of the spectra into their corresponding FM and non-FM classes (Rcv > 0.99) with 100% accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. The OPLS-DA regression plot indicated that spectral regions associated with amino acids were responsible for discrimination patterns and can be potentially used as spectral biomarkers to differentiate FM and other rheumatic diseases. This exploratory work suggests that the AuNP SERS method in combination with OPLS-DA analysis has great potential for the label-free diagnosis of FM.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Signals from New Physics

The 15 yr pulsar timing data set collected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) shows positive evidence for the presence of a low-frequency gravitational-wave (GW) background. In this paper, we investigate potential cosmological interpretations of this signal, specifically cosmic inflation, scalar-induced GWs, first-order phase transitions, cosmic strings, and domain walls. We find that, with the exception of stable cosmic strings of field theory origin, all these models can reproduce the observed signal. When compared to the standard interpretation in terms of inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs), many cosmological models seem to provide a better fit resulting in Bayes factors in the range from 10 to 100. However, these results strongly depend on modeling assumptions about the cosmic SMBHB population and, at this stage, should not be regarded as evidence for new physics. Furthermore, we identify excluded parameter regions where the predicted GW signal from cosmological sources significantly exceeds the NANOGrav signal. These parameter constraints are independent of the origin of the NANOGrav signal and illustrate how pulsar timing data provide a new way to constrain the parameter space of these models. Finally, we search for deterministic signals produced by models of ultralight dark matter (ULDM) and dark matter substructures in the Milky Way. We find no evidence for either of these signals and thus report updated constraints on these models. In the case of ULDM, these constraints outperform torsion balance and atomic clock constraints for ULDM coupled to electrons, muons, or gluons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Scaling Up to Zero Energy Ready - and Down to 530 ft2

There is a demonstrated need for affordable housing and smaller homes. Reduced square footage new construction projects present a solution for this growing need. Completion of these types of projects is not without challenges however, as high efficiency building measures present problems with proper equipment sizing and indoor environmental quality. This case study describes the support provided by FSEC to the Manatee County Habitat for Humanity to create a small footprint home design that qualifies for Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification in Florida. Specific measures to address equipment sizing challenges, and interior air quality targets are identified among other construction elements that contribute to qualifying for ZERH certification. Discussion of the approach to meeting these challenges is informative to other efforts to build to above code standards in hot humid climates, and other regions.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION↗

DOE OSTI2026

Improvements to In-Canal Assay of High Specific Activity 60Co at the ATR

Improvements to the quality of measurements in the assaying of High Specific Activity (HSA) cobalt 60 produced at the Advanced Test Reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory are presented. Such assays are conducted regularly between cycles at the ATR, and due to the radiological safety concerns, they are performed within the ATR canal. A standard ion chamber detector was placed in a collimated assay tube within the canal. Another tube, parallel to the detector, was used to position various cobalt 60 standards and targets. The collimated port between these tubes allows for the targets to be pulled across via a winch system. Previous measurements were performed at discrete 1.5-inch steps using a hand-cranked winch system. Charge was collected and integrated for 10 seconds at each discrete step during a scan. Two substantial improvements to the assay include an electronically controlled, motor-driven winch system and a software controlled continuous charge collection. Combined, these changes improved the quality of measurements as well as streamline the assay process. Further examination of these charge profiles indicated a reasonable amount of photon scattering, or shine, before a line-of-sight is established. This created inaccuracies in the reported activity of the cobalt targets. A series of MCNP-6.3 calculations were performed in an effort to quantify and correct for this shine effect. The results of the calculations and how they were employed to a create shine correction factor for the in-canal cobalt assay at the ATR are presented. The overall bias showed an overestimation of the HSA cobalt 60 activity by around 7-8%.

07 - ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Design Basis Document / Owner’s Technical Specification for Nitrate Salt Systems in CSP Projects (Final Technical Report)

The number of commercial coal, gas, and nuclear projects built over the past 100 years number in the thousands. As such, there is a large database, available to a wide range of commercial engineering contractors, on proven designs. In essence, unsuccessful designs have, through generations of iterations, been identified and then deleted from further consideration. In contrast, the number of commercial parabolic trough projects using nitrate salt for the thermal storage media is perhaps 60. Further, the number of commercial central receiver projects using nitrate salt as the working fluid is on the order of 20, including estimates for China. Given the relative immaturity of salt technology, and commercial pressures to successfully bid new solar projects into a mature electricity market, solar projects often promise more than has been delivered. The Design Basis Document / Owner’s Technical Specification is a first step in the iteration process. The report describes the successful features of commercial projects, outlines a range equipment and system failures in projects that didn’t operate as intended, and provides a draft set of design changes intended to correct the known problems. The product of the study is 3 volumes of technical material; one volume is on parabolic trough technologies; a second is on central receiver technologies, and the third is on potential design changes to parabolic trough and central receiver projects. The 3 volumes, which total some 590 pages, can be found at https://www.solardynllc.com/csp-plant-technologies. One of the principal topics in the report is the use of functional or prescriptive specifications. Functional specifications describe what the equipment needs to do, consistent with the minimum legal requirements of the local jurisdictions. The details of how this is to be accomplished is developed by the engineering contractor. Prescriptive specifications, which are developed by the Owner, prescribe to the engineering contractor how the functional requirements are to be met. This arrangement ensures that the favorable experience from a previous project is repeated. One example is the design code for the hot salt tank in central receiver projects. The closest design basis is API Standard 650 Welded Steel Tanks for Oil Storage. However, the maximum design temperature in API 650 is 260 °C. As such, solar projects have typically adopted a hybrid Code approach, in which allowable material stresses are taken from ASME Section II Materials. Further, since the tanks experience daily changes in temperature and in (static) pressure, and since portions of the tank can operate at stresses beyond the elastic range, the low cycle fatigue life of the tank is conducted using the rules of Section VIII Division 2. However, in a recent study by NREL, the principal damage mechanism was identified as creep rather than fatigue. Further, design stresses permitted under Section VIII Division 2, corresponding to a fatigue life of 30 years, result in projected creep lifetimes of only 2 to 5 years. An alternate design approach, prescribed by the Owner, would be based on Code sections intended for high temperature service in the creep regime. A candidate is Section III Division 5. Granted, this is a nuclear code section, and it’s use would not likely be mandated by local jurisdictions. However, the effects of creep have been deemed to be of sufficient importance that one nuclear project developer, and one central receiver project developer, have stipulated in the tank design specification that the equipment be designed to the requirements of Section III Division 5.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Decommissioning of the V1 Nuclear Power Plant Jaslovske Bohunice - 20270

The paper focuses on introducing the approach and method applied for decommissioning of the V1 nuclear power plant (further the 'V1 NPP') located in Jaslovske Bohunice in the Slovak Republic, to the conference participants. The Paper outlines activities and steps necessary to comply with the requirements contained in the decision of the Slovak government from 1999 regarding the early shutdown of the V1 NPP. The company responsible for the V1 NPP decommissioning is Jadrova a vyradovacia spolocnost, a.s., (further JAVYS) with the State as a sole shareholder. On the basis of the V1 NPP Decommissioning Conceptual Plan, out of four assessed options, JAVYS selected the immediate decommissioning option (the 'IDO') for the V1 NPP. On the basis of multi-criteria analysis, the IDO specified the approach of immediate and continuous dismantling of equipment followed by demolition of buildings and preparation of the site for its further potential use. The IDO also included the summary of technical, environmental, legislative information as well as the determination of assumed costs for decommissioning of the V1 NPP. Prior to commencement of the V1 NPP decommissioning, within the process of termination of operation, activities connected with de-fuelling, monitoring, processing of historical waste and, not to forget, the process of obtaining the license for the V1 NPP decommissioning were executed. JAVYS decided to divide the decommissioning process into two stages. In 2011, JAVYS obtained a license for the first stage of the V1 NPP decommissioning. Within this stage, dismantling of inactive equipment, demolitions of inactive buildings, monitoring of systems and preparatory works for the upcoming stage of decommissioning were implemented. In 2015, in line with the license for the 2. stage of the V1 NPP decommissioning, the activities of decontamination and dismantling of contaminated and active equipment as well as demolitions of remaining buildings began. In this stage radioactive waste (RAW) produced during the decommissioning is to be processed. After decontamination, the material fulfilling the free release criteria is to be released into the environment, the site is to be cleared from the scope of the Atomic Act and released from the surveillance of the national regulators. Future application of certain methods and techniques for decontamination and dismantling in similar environments might bring an added value to the operators. Paper includes a description of best practices for Nuclear Power Plant VVER type reactors decommissioning. Schedule comparison is given to show how the critical path of certain projects is being managed. Application of the International Standard for Decommissioning Costing (ISDC) methodology provides a uniform method which enables comparison of cost estimates to other nuclear facilities under decommissioning. The cost estimate for the V1 NPP decommissioning has been continuously updated based on more advanced and detailed information on the decommissioning activities and projects. Monitoring of progress of the V1 NPP decommissioning is performed via four key-performance indicators. The Earned Value Management (EVM) methodology is used for evaluating time and cost aspect of decommissioning activities while waste conditioning index is calculated by comparing the actually produced waste to planned values of waste for a respective monitored period. Radiological safety index is assessed by comparison of the personnel records on the individual yearly doses received by each respective employee to the boundary value. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2022

Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell/Gas Turbine Model Development for Electric Aviation

A thermodynamic model was developed and validated to analyze a high-performance solid oxide fuel cell and gas turbine (SOFC-GT) hybrid power system for electric aviation. This study used a process simulation software package (ProMax) to study the role of SOFC design and operation on the feasibility and performance of the hybrid system. Standard modules, including compressor, turbine, heat exchanger, reforming reactor, and combustor were used from the ProMax tool suite while a custom module was created to simulate the SOFC stack. The model used an SOFC test data set as an input. Additional SOFC stack performance effects, such as pressure, temperature, and utilization of air and fuel, were added from open source data. System performance predictors were SOFC specific power, fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency, and hybrid system efficiency. Using these input data and predictors, a static thermodynamic performance model was created that can be modified for different system configurations and operating conditions. Prior to creating the final aircraft performance model, initial demonstration models were developed to validate output results. We used the NASA SOFC model as a benchmark, which was created with their Numerical Propulsion System Simulator (NPSS) software framework. Our output results matched within 1% of both the NASA model and open source SOFC performance data. With confidence gained in the accuracy of this model, a 1-MW SOFC-GT hybrid power system was constructed for an aircraft propulsion concept. Overall hybrid system efficiencies of > 75% FTE were observed during standard 36,000 feet cruise flight conditions.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2024

Site-specific Design Case Study for Wet Waste Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Biocrude Upgrading to Hydrocarbon Fuels

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a thermal process that converts wet biomass to renewable hydrocarbon fuel blendstocks (i.e., renewable naphtha, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)). It can utilize a wide range of pure and blended wet feedstocks, including sewage sludge from water resource recovery facilities (WRRF), food and agriculture wastes, algae, fats, oils and greases (FOG) and blends of dry and wet wastes/feedstocks. Historically, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and annual state of technology (SOT) assessments with standard economic assumptions used by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) were conducted for the wet waste HTL pathway leveraging experimental data collected from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) continuous flow reactor systems. The objective of the SOT assessment has been to guide and track progress of BETO’s HTL research and development (R&D) toward reduced cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the pathway. However, gaps exist between BETO’s traditional SOT updates and the needs of key external stakeholders that – if addressed – will accelerate technology adoption. This Business Case Study aims to bridge this gap by providing an updated design, TEA, and LCA based on PNNL’s FY23 R&D with added analyses and information that provide enhanced relevance for stakeholders of the HTL technology. This includes specific siting, regional wet waste resource inventory and transportation cost analyses, fuel market information, sustainable fuel policy impacts, economic metrics of net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis, and statistical analysis of cost and technical uncertainties of the HTL plant design. The study focuses on the “Detroit combined statistical area (CSA)” region for siting of a wet waste HTL plant adjacent to the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) facility with guidance from industry participants. Regional resource and siting analyses were conducted to identify feedstock availability, scale, and cost, as well as a beneficial site location. TEA with detailed rigorous capital cost estimation for the specific site application was conducted to evaluate the key economic metrics of most value to industrial partners. These include total capital investment, operating costs, minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of the biocrude and fuel blendstock, and NPV and internal rate of return IRR with sustainable fuel credits. Life cycle analysis was conducted to evaluate the supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the wet waste HTL process as compared with petroleum derived diesel. This study is also informed by years of R&D and process de-risking learnings and was conducted with a basic engineering HTL plant design and costing that akin to a “first-of-a-kind” plant economics. This differs from our conventional “nth plant ” SOT assessments. Specifically, the HTL process model has been updated with more operationally reliable methods for feed heating and phase separations. Further, we have implemented additional spare equipment for redundancy, a more rigorous installed equipment cost estimation approach, and additional costs associated with feed formatting and delivery, building, piping and site development. An Excel-based cost sheet based on the basic engineering design is also released alongside the report that allows users to conduct customized TEA with their own feed composition and financial assumptions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Supporting data for Site-specific Design Case Study for Wet Waste Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Biocrude Upgrading to Hydrocarbon Fuels

Li, Shuyun↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Review of Remote Welding and Nondestructive Examination Technologies for the DOE Standard Canister

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) manages a wide variety of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) that poses a unique management challenge. To help address this challenge, the DOE Standard Canister (DOESC), designed to remain sealed during handling, storage, transportation, and disposal, was conceptualized as a standardized containment vessel to accommodate DOE-managed SNF. Since 1999, several welding and examination processes have been independently developed for the DOESC’s closure welds. However, neither the DOESC nor these processes have been realized in an operational capacity. This review paper seeks to present and compare previously developed DOESC closure weld, nondestructive examination, and repair processes and technologies. Specific processes developed for the Idaho Spent Fuel Facility, in preparation for the Yucca Mountain geological repository, and the recent Road-Ready Demonstration Project are discussed. Further, specific focus is given to how different operating constraints and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) have driven certain welding and nondestructive examination requirements. Historical DOESC welding and examination strategies are assessed against current regulatory and BPVC requirements. The comparison of welding processes, technologies, and DOESC designs presented in this review paper will inform further construction efforts for other commercial and DOE-managed SNF containments, including the DOESC.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2023

Technical Report on Waveform Fit Metrics for Global Models

The new WAVEFORMS Initiative in the Ground-based Nuclear Detonation Detection (GNDD) program includes an increased emphasis on the development of Earth models and methods to predict entire seismic and acoustic waveforms more accurately. In general, this increased emphasis is predicated on the need to better characterize seismic events and provide improved model-based discrimination between event types including earthquakes and explosions. More specifically, while current moment tensor inversion methods tend to work well for larger events (M>~4) using tuned 1-D Earth models, the development of state-of-the-art 3-D models and methods is required for the prediction of shorter period waves over large areas for discrimination of smaller events. There is no standard metric for model-based waveform prediction accuracy used in the waveform modeling/inversion community. However, there are several popular waveform misfit definitions; and minimizing the corresponding objective functions is the goal of waveform inversion. Some example misfit definitions employed for adjoint waveform tomography include measures of simple travel time differences (e.g. Tape et al., 2010), cross-correlation travel time differences (e.g. Luo and Schuster, 1991), multi-taper frequency dependent methods (e.g. Lei et al., 2020), time-frequency phase misfit functions (e.g. Fichtner 2010; Rodgers et al., 2022), normalized cross-correlation methods (e.g. Tao et al., 2018), and others. In some cases, these misfit definitions also involve complicated weighting schemes and summations over multiple frequency bands making it difficult to duplicate the misfit measurement with alternative models and datasets. Although each of the misfit definitions mentioned above are useful for developing waveform models, the actual misfit values are not usually meaningful outside of a given project, model, and/or dataset. Therefore, it is difficult to understand and communicate model performance for predicting waveforms and comparing to other models and/or new model iterations with a different dataset. Therefore, there is a need for a generalized method for evaluating overall model performance that is independent from the specific misfit chosen to develop the waveform models that is also intuitive and meaningful. In this report, we describe a new metric we refer to as ‘Percent of Correlated Signal’. The following sections describe and demonstrate the metric with a case study event and a more rigorous test using a random selection of globally distributed events. While the focus here is on global tomography models, the metric is meant to applicable to regional ‘wiggle-for-wiggle’ waveform models/studies as well.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗