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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.

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At least 1,063 records · Page 59
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

ORBUMP Pulsed Dipole Magnet Design for Fermilab Booster

Fermilab initiated the accelerator magnet system upgrade project PIP-II for future neutrino experiments. Old ORBUMP pulsed dipoles should be replaced with new stronger magnets occupying the same space as old ones. Four of these magnets connected in series form dogleg type of proton beam orbit. The magnet field and 19 kA current pulse length are close to 1 ms. Old magnet cores were based on a ferrite material. For new magnets, a magnet gap field is above 0.4 T, which completely saturates ferrite material. So, for the magnet core, 0.127 mm thick laminations of low carbon steel with inorganic coating, as the magnet were placed in a vacuum box. There were investigated transient magnet parameters including skin effect in the iron core and in the single-turn copper coil. The integrated field homogeneity was improved by the copper coil shimming. Simulated by OPERA3D power losses were used for the thermal analysis by ANSYS code. The magnet performance is strongly coupled with the power source. The dynamic magnet inductance and resistance were included in the pulsed power source design. Finally, the paper presented the ORBUMP magnet system design.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

waveSZ: A Hardware-Algorithm Co-Design of Efficient Lossy Compression for Scientific Data

Error-bounded lossy compression is critical to the success of extreme-scale scientific research because of ever-increasing volumes of data produced by today's high-performance computing (HPC) applications. Not only can error-controlled lossy compressors significantly reduce the I/O and storage burden but they can retain high data fidelity for post analysis. Existing state-of-the-art lossy compressors, however, generally suffer from relatively low compression and decompression throughput (up to hundreds of megabytes per second on a single CPU core), which considerably restrict the adoption of lossy compression by many HPC applications especially those with a fairly high data production rate. In this paper, we propose a highly efficient lossy compression approach based on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) under the state-of-the-art lossy compression model SZ. Our contributions are fourfold. (1) We adopt a wavefront memory layout to alleviate the data dependency during the prediction for higher-dimensional predictors, such as the Lorenzo predictor. (2) We propose a co-design framework named WAVESZ based on the wavefront memory layout and the characteristics of SZ algorithm and carefully implement it by using high-level synthesis. (3) We propose a hardware-algorithm co-optimization method to improve the performance. (4) We evaluate our proposed WAVESZ on three real-world HPC simulation datasets from the Scientific Data Reduction Benchmarks and compare it with other state-of-the-art methods on both CPUs and FPGAs. Experiments show that our WAVESZ can improve SZ's compression throughput by 6.9x similar to 8.7x over the production version running on a state-of-the-art CPU and improve the compression ratio and throughput by 2.1x and 5.8x on average, respectively, respectively, compared with the state-of-the-art FPGA design.

Compression Ratio↗
DOE OSTI2024

TEAMER: Results of Investigating Structural Design Concepts and Alternative Materials for a Wave Power System

Included here are materials from a study on the design of a three-body Wave Energy Converter (WEC) utilizing a heave plate, dual Power Take Offs (PTOs), and single point mooring. A material trade study has been conducted to evaluate the effects of introducing various metallic and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) elements to the design. The baseline design is C-Power's patented k2 Wave Power System (WPS). This Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) Request for Technical Support (RFTS) 9 effort resulted in alternative designs of the WPS center member, the nacelle. The analysis resulting from this study will inform the design of a lightweight structure with lower manufacturing and operating costs that increases energy conversion and power-to-weight ratio of the device. The dataset contains several components: finite element analysis (FEA) data, hand calculations, and CAD models. FEA files includes those used for and generated by finite element simulations. Calculations include hand calculations performed using Microsoft Excel, which assess core laminate properties, buckling, and other structural aspects in accordance with risk management DNV-RP-C201 standards. CAD materials include Solidworks files for parts, assemblies, and drawings of the evaluated models.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

Refining NEAMS MARVEL Reactor Model Accuracy

This report outlines the progress of Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in improving the fidelity of the multiphysics model of the Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) reactor developed in FY24. The multiphysics model firstly developed in FY24 leverages three single-physics models coupled via the MOOSE’s MultiApps and Transfer systems. The first single-physics model, that functions as the driver application, leverages Griffin to model the neutron transport in the core through the discontinuous finite element (DFEM) discrete ordinates solver (SN). The second single-physics model uses BISON to compute the solid temperature in the reactor. Finally, the System Analysis Module (SAM) was used to model the flow of the sodium-potassium eutectic in the primary loop. In this report we detail the following improvement and enhancements: • An updated mesh leveraging the latest feature in the reactor module (see Section 3.1.).

42 - ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nramp: Deprive and conquer?

Solute carriers 11 (Slc11) evolved from bacterial permease (MntH) to eukaryotic antibacterial defense (Nramp) while continuously mediating proton (H+)-dependent manganese (Mn2+) import. Also, Nramp horizontal gene transfer (HGT) toward bacteria led to mntH polyphyly. Prior demonstration that evolutionary rate-shifts distinguishing Slc11 from outgroup carriers dictate catalytic specificity suggested that resolving Slc11 family tree may provide a function-aware phylogenetic framework. Hence, MntH C (MC) subgroups resulted from HGTs of prototype Nramp (pNs) parologs while archetype Nramp (aNs) correlated with phagocytosis. PHI-Blast based taxonomic profiling confirmed MntH B phylogroup is confined to anaerobic bacteria vs. MntH A (MA)’s broad distribution; suggested niche-related spread of MC subgroups; established that MA-variant MH, which carries ‘eukaryotic signature’ marks, predominates in archaea. Slc11 phylogeny shows MH is sister to Nramp. Site-specific analysis of Slc11 charge network known to interact with the protonmotive force demonstrates sequential rate-shifts that recapitulate Slc11 evolution. 3D mapping of similarly coevolved sites across Slc11 hydrophobic core revealed successive targeting of discrete areas. The data imply that pN HGT could advantage recipient bacteria for H+-dependent Mn2+ acquisition and Alphafold 3D models suggest conformational divergence among MC subgroups. It is proposed that Slc11 originated as a bacterial stress resistance function allowing Mn2+-dependent persistence in conditions adverse for growth, and that archaeal MH could contribute to eukaryogenesis as a Mn2+ sequestering defense perhaps favoring intracellular growth-competent bacteria.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

H I Depletion Begins Well Beyond the Virial Radius: A FAST Stacking Study of 36 Galaxy Clusters to 5 × R 200

Abstract We present a stacking study of the neutral atomic hydrogen (H i ) content in and around 36 local galaxy clusters at z < 0.07, using a combination of the FAST All Sky H i survey (FASHI) and the extensive spectroscopic catalog mainly from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We employ spectral stacking techniques to probe the average H i mass and HI-to-stellar mass ratio ( M HI / M * ) for member galaxies down to stellar masses of M * ∼ 10 9 M ⊙ , spanning a projected cluster-centric distance of up to 5 R 200 . Our analysis reveals a pronounced environmental effect; both M HI and M HI / M * decrease steadily toward the cluster center, dropping by ∼0.5 dex on average from the outskirts to the core. Crucially, we find that M HI / M * of galaxies remain lower than the field galaxies even at the 5 R 200 . This provides direct, statistical evidence for substantial gas stripping and preprocessing in the cluster outskirts, likely occurring in infalling groups and large-scale filaments. By further splitting the sample by g − r color, we show that the H i deficiency persists at fixed galaxy color; even the bluest cluster members exhibit ∼0.5 dex lower M HI / M * than field galaxies of similar color, reflecting environmental effects on the cold gas reservoir prior to full optical transformation. The total H i mass within clusters and their outskirts agrees broadly with predictions from cosmological simulations. Our results underscore the critical role of the extended cluster environment in quenching galaxies by depleting their cold gas reservoirs well before they enter the dense cluster core.

Cheng, Cheng [Chinese Academy of Sciences South Am↗
DOE OSTI2020

Trends in Carbon, Oxygen, and Nitrogen Core in the X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Carbon Nanomaterials: A Guide for the Perplexed

Successful deployment of carbon nanomaterials in many applications, such as sensing, energy storage, and catalysis, relies on the selection, synthesis, and tailoring of the surface properties. Predictive analysis of the behavior is difficult without detailed knowledge of the differences between various carbon nanomaterials and their surface functionalization, thus leaving the selection process to traditional trial-and-error work. The present characterization fills this knowledge gap for carbon nanomaterial surface properties with respect to chemical states and functionalization. We present an overview of the chemical trends that can be extracted from soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) spectra on an extended set of nonideal carbon nanomaterials as a function of sp 2 bonded carbon and bond ordering. In particular, the surface chemical state, the presence of long-range order in the carbon matrix, and a qualitative estimation of the amount of oxygen and nitrogen and their respective functional group formation on the material surface, together with the detailed material fabrication parameters, are reported. The results expand our understanding of carbon nanomaterial functionalization, which can support material selection in practice, provided that the specifications of the application are known.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Verification of the DIF3D Software to Support Fast Reactor Analysis

Ongoing design activities at Argonne National Laboratory are requiring a thorough verification of the Argonne Reactor Computation codes be performed. DIF3D is central to this system. The driver for this effort requires the 3D Cartesian, triangular-Z, and hexagonal-Z core geometry options of DIF3D be verified. Previous work identified the DIF3D features required to be verified to support current design activities, features of which are generally applicable to hexagonal-Z fast reactor designs. The scope of this verification effort includes verifying DIF3D’s ability to correctly translate the user’s model in to DIF3D’s preferred format, verifying that options planned for use have the desired effect, and verifying the correctness of the eigenvalue, fixed-source, forward, and adjoint solvers in DIF3D-FD and DIF3D-VARIANT. This manuscript provides the verification tasks and their results with respect to the features needed for current design activities. Since analytic solutions of the neutron diffusion and transport equations are either limited in scope or not possible, multiple tiers of problems unique to each solver and geometry type were implemented. Each of these tiers tests features independent and complementary arguments for why the separate testing of functionalities is acceptable. Finally, this separate testing was also supplemented with a high-level integral check of each the diffusion and transport capabilities and applicable geometries. To accommodate cases which an analytic solution is not feasible, MCNP6.2 was relied upon to provide a higher-order reference solution. This therefore required that the capabilities within MCNP6.2 which were relied upon for this work are also verified in this work. No MCNP discrepancies were noted in this effort. Note that the MCNP6.2 verification included in this work does not stand as a full verification of MCNP6.2, but merely verifies the features used in verifying DIF3D. The verification effort identified no issues that are debilitating or otherwise impactful to design usage of DIF3D, and thus DIF3D version 11.0, release 3012 is considered verified. The types of issues that were identified were predominantly in the areas of: unclear documentation, software bugs which were inconsequential to final results, editing options which were ignored in favor of printing more information than requested, bugs in the outputs of intermediate results, or secondary output binary file information which was not present. While not a bug, this verification report also identified that the algorithm used to evaluate the peak fast flux in a nodal transport solution can be quite unreliable due to the polynomial order used and the location of the peak within the mesh. The authors of the report therefore recommend the usage of the EvaluateFlux software (distributed with ARC) as a more robust alternative.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Verification of the DIF3D Software to Support Fast Reactor Analysis

Ongoing design activities at Argonne National Laboratory are requiring a thorough verification of the Argonne Reactor Computation codes be performed. DIF3D is central to this system. The driver for this effort requires the 3D Cartesian, triangular-Z, and hexagonal-Z core geometry options of DIF3D be verified. Previous work identified the DIF3D features required to be verified to support current design activities, features of which are generally applicable to hexagonal-Z fast reactor designs. The scope of this verification effort includes verifying DIF3D’s ability to correctly translate the user’s model in to DIF3D’s preferred format, verifying that options planned for use have the desired effect, and verifying the correctness of the eigenvalue, fixed-source, forward, and adjoint solvers in DIF3D-FD and DIF3D-VARIANT. This manuscript provides the verification tasks and their results with respect to the features needed for current design activities. Since analytic solutions of the neutron diffusion and transport equations are either limited in scope or not possible, multiple tiers of problems unique to each solver and geometry type were implemented. Each of these tiers tests features independent and complementary arguments for why the separate testing of functionalities is acceptable. Finally, this separate testing was also supplemented with a high-level integral check of each the diffusion and transport capabilities and applicable geometries. To accommodate cases which an analytic solution is not feasible, MCNP6.2 was relied upon to provide a higher-order reference solution. This therefore required that the capabilities within MCNP6.2 which were relied upon for this work are also verified in this work. No MCNP discrepancies were noted in this effort. Note that the MCNP6.2 verification included in this work does not stand as a full verification of MCNP6.2, but merely verifies the features used in verifying DIF3D. The verification effort identified no issues that are debilitating or otherwise impactful to design usage of DIF3D, and thus DIF3D version 11.0, release 3012 is considered verified. As some additional changes have been made to the ARC software since this point all versions between release 3012 and 3266 can be considered verified as version 3253 was used for all updates in this revision. The types of issues that were identified were predominantly in the areas of: unclear documentation, software bugs which were inconsequential to final results, editing options which were ignored in favor of printing more information than requested, bugs in the outputs of intermediate results, or secondary output binary file information which was not present. While not a bug, this verification report also identified that the algorithm used to evaluate the peak fast flux in a nodal transport solution can be quite unreliable due to the methodology used and the location of the peak within the mesh. The authors of the report therefore recommend the usage of the EvaluateFlux software (distributed with ARC) as a more robust alternative noting that DIF3D will properly notify the user when the peaking values it is providing are potentially incorrect.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

RhizoVision Explorer: open-source software for root image analysis and measurement standardization

Abstract Roots are central to the function of natural and agricultural ecosystems by driving plant acquisition of soil resources and influencing the carbon cycle. Root characteristics like length, diameter and volume are critical to measure to understand plant and soil functions. RhizoVision Explorer is an open-source software designed to enable researchers interested in roots by providing an easy-to-use interface, fast image processing and reliable measurements. The default broken roots mode is intended for roots sampled from pots and soil cores, washed and typically scanned on a flatbed scanner, and provides measurements like length, diameter and volume. The optional whole root mode for complete root systems or root crowns provides additional measurements such as angles, root depth and convex hull. Both modes support providing measurements grouped by defined diameter ranges, the inclusion of multiple regions of interest and batch analysis. RhizoVision Explorer was successfully validated against ground truth data using a new copper wire image set. In comparison, the current reference software, the commercial WinRhizo™, drastically underestimated volume when wires of different diameters were in the same image. Additionally, measurements were compared with WinRhizo™ and IJ_Rhizo using a simulated root image set, showing general agreement in software measurements, except for root volume. Finally, scanned root image sets acquired in different labs for the crop, herbaceous and tree species were used to compare results from RhizoVision Explorer with WinRhizo™. The two software showed general agreement, except that WinRhizo™ substantially underestimated root volume relative to RhizoVision Explorer. In the current context of rapidly growing interest in root science, RhizoVision Explorer intends to become a reference software, improve the overall accuracy and replicability of root trait measurements and provide a foundation for collaborative improvement and reliable access to all.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Influence of microstructure on replacement and porosity generation during experimental dolomitization of limestones

Replacement reactions commonly alter the multiscale pore structures of rocks during fluid-rock interactions. Analysis of these processes in various model fluid-rock systems during controlled laboratory experiments provides insights into the origins of microstructures found in natural materials. This study focused on understanding the effects of initial starting material permeability and resultant differences in transport pathways on porosity and mineralogical changes during limestone dolomitization.A series of replacement experiments (32–317 days in duration) have been conducted in which 1.59 cm (5/8 in.) diameter cores of two different limestones were reacted with saturated MgCl2 solutions at 200 °C. The Texas Cream (Austin Chalk) is a high-porosity, high-permeability limestone, whereas both the porosity and permeability of the Carthage Marble (Burlington Limestone) are relatively low. Altered limestones were imaged using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF–SIMS) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). A representative grain boundary of the low-porosity limestone was targeted for a focused ion beam (FIB) lift-out and characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These results were coupled with analyses of radial changes in the porosity distribution of the core derived from X-ray and neutron small- and ultra-small angle scattering ((U)SANS/(U)SAXS).The high-porosity/permeability limestone showed a four times faster bulk replacement rate than the lower-porosity/permeability material, and a different mechanism of porosity development. For the low-porosity limestone, a two-stage replacement occurred, with the reacted region of the core consisting of an inner rim in which the limestone was replaced by two calcite-dolomite solid solutions, and an outer rim in which the dolomite was replaced by magnesite. Elongated pores formed along grain boundaries at the initial limestone/dolomite reaction interface, and additional nanometer-scale porosity was formed at the secondary magnesite replacement rim. Grain boundaries were identified as preferential pathways for transport leading to dolomitization and a grain boundary diffusion rate was calculated based on microstructural characterization. In contrast, replacement in the high-porosity limestone was accompanied by porosity generation through replacement of individual grains by dolomite throughout the sample and, in longer runs, magnesite in outer parts of the core. These observations emphasize that both the mechanisms of the replacement reaction and the microstructure and chemistry of the replaced product are contingent on the initial structure of the starting material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Analysis of Postulated Accident Scenarios for the Transformational Challenge Reactor

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) is a helium-cooled, yttrium-hydride-moderated reactor that was designed for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy. A key objective of the TCR was to employ advanced manufacturing techniques in a nuclear system and demonstrate their potential for revolutionizing the nuclear reactor design process. One purpose of the present work is to demonstrate the safety of the TCR under postulated accidents. Based on RELAP5-3D and COMSOL analyses, the TCR remained below all current safety limits and far below the expected failure limits for the core materials. Another purpose of this work is to provide useful insights and recommendations regarding the application of RELAP5-3D to gas-cooled or other advanced reactors. A novel approach was implemented for simultaneously modeling conduction and radiation in RELAP5-3D, which was found to provide reasonable predictions of radial core, vessel, and ex-vessel heat transfer during postulated events. A multicode approach was also applied, in which high-fidelity COMSOL calculations were used to tune the radial heat transfer parameters in RELAP5-3D. The tuned RELAP5-3D model demonstrated comparable peak temperature predictions as COMSOL, despite a coarse treatment of the core in RELAP5-3D consisting of only two lumped heat structures. This high-fidelity tuning approach enabled enhanced accuracy as well as minimal complexity within the RELAP5-3D model, even for complex fuel geometric designs as in the TCR. Finally, investigations were made into the potential for flow reversal during a pressurized loss-of-forced-flow event in the TCR. The TCR is designed with downward helium flow through the core during normal operation. The RELAP5-3D model predicted that this downward flow would persist, without flow reversal, up to several days after the circulator trip. This was attributed to natural circulation hysteresis effects as have been noted in similar thermofluidic systems. Although flow stagnation and eventual reversal did not lead to unsafe TCR conditions, interesting spatial effects were observed which may have safety relevance for other reactor system designs and coolant types that are designed for downward core flow during normal operation, warranting closer investigation of the flow reversal phenomenon.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

SCALE 6.2 Lattice Physics Performance Assessment

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission relies on the lattice physics analysis capabilities of the SCALE code system to perform confirmatory licensing analyses. Either SCALE lattice physics code—TRITON/NEWT or Polaris—can be used to generate cross section data used by the PARCS nodal core simulator for full-core neutronics calculations. This report presents an assessment of the accuracy of SCALE lattice physics codes for preparation of lattice physics data that are used to support simulator codes such as the NRC’s PARCS, for UO 2 -mixed oxide (MOX)/Zr fueled light water reactor (LWR) analyses. Due to the nature of lattice physics calculations, critical reactor experiment benchmarks cannot be modeled in explicit detail in a lattice physics code. However, this limitation does not mean that these measurement data are not usable for lattice physics studies. Therefore, either geometry approximations or axial buckling must be implemented to determine the critical water height. These modeling limitations have led to development of a three-phase assessment strategy. In the first phase, selected critical experiment benchmarks are modeled using the SCALE 3D continuous-energy (CE) Monte Carlo (MC) code KENO, which is the most rigorous neutron transport method available in SCALE, with no approximations in the spatial, angle, or energy treatments. Biases and statistical uncertainties in quantities of interest such as k eff and pin power distributions are determined by comparing CE KENO results to experimental data. This first phase in the accuracy assessment is to demonstrate and establish the use of CE KENO as a reference solution for the second phase. In the second phase, 14 numerical test suites are used to compare SCALE lattice physics calculations with CE KENO as a reference solution. In the third phase, SCALE lattice physics depletion calculations are performed, and the spent fuel isotopic results are compared with available radiochemical assay measurements. Isotopic measurement comparisons provide quantitative assessment of isotopic density distribution predictions with the depletion models in SCALE lattice physics codes. This report documents results for all test suites. The assessment was performed using standard production techniques unless otherwise noted. Both TRITON/NEWT and Polaris exhibited acceptable accuracy for most test cases. For the few test cases in which acceptable accuracy criteria were not met, further code and data development are planned. The computer codes used in this assessment are as follows: SCALE 6.2 rev19189 (pre-release of 6.2.1) was used for CE KENO, TRITON/NEWT and Polaris (PWR only) calculations; SCALE 6.2.2 was used for Polaris calculations to address several updates in support of support boiling water reactor (BWR) lattice geometries. For this work, there is no difference between SCALE 6.2.1 and SCALE 6.2.2 beyond the inclusion of the Polaris BWR analysis capability; The ENDF/B-VII.1 continuous energy and 252 group libraries deployed in SCALE 6.2 were generated with AMPX 6.2 that is distributed with SCALE.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Assessment of CASL VERA for BWR analysis and application to accident tolerant SiC/SiC channel box

Application of the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) to BWR analysis is assessed in this paper by comparing results to those calculated using other widely-used modeling tools, namely the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s PARCS/PATHS and the Serpent Monte Carlo particle transport code. Additionally, VERA is used to calculate 3-D temperature and fast neutron flux distributions in silicon carbide (SiC) fiber-reinforced, SiC matrix composite (SiC/SiC) BWR channel boxes, which are being studied as an Accident Tolerant Fuel core structural material concept. We found that the code-to-code comparisons were favorable, and the SiC/SiC channel box evaluation demonstrates the many advanced modeling features VERA provides while also highlighting the non-uniformity in fast neutron flux distributions that can play a role in potential SiC/SiC channel box deformation. Traditional BWR analysis tools do not have the calculation fidelity necessary for coupled assessment of flux and temperature gradients in a SiC/SiC channel box. VERA is a state-of-the-art modeling environment that was developed to increase the safety and economic competitiveness of nuclear power through improved modeling accuracy. While VERA has already been deployed in the nuclear industry for PWR applications, the current study is a vital initial step in the extensive development, validation, and verification that VERA must go through to be useful for BWR applications.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Towards Realistic and High Fidelity Models for Nuclear Reactor Power Synthesis Simulation with Self-Powered Neutron Detectors

As presented in this report, a weighting function–based inferencing method is being applied to synthesize the power distribution in next-generation and university research reactors based on simulated self power neutron detector (SPND) responses. The overall goal is to assess the impacts of sensor uncertainty and true power distribution perturbations on the error in the synthesized power distribution. Regarding sensor uncertainty, the NuScale Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and the Westinghouse AP1000 serve as testbeds for analyzing the impact of varying the sensor uncertainty, as well as varying the number of sensors per sensor string in the reactor core. The reactor models are informed by Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) neutron flux tallies. For the NuScale SMR and Westinghouse AP1000, the SPND response functions (i.e., the response of the SPNDs to individual segments of fuel) were determined homogeneously. Regarding an analysis of power distribution perturbation detection, the Texas A&M Testing, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics Reactor (TAMU TRIGA) reactor was used as a demonstration case with one particular arrangement of SPNDs; the response functions for this reactor model were determined heterogeneously, making this a uniquely high-fidelity demonstration of perturbation detection. Finally, SPND models generated in the Geometry and Tracking 4 (Geant4) code have been generated and tested for comparison with traditionally implemented analytical SPND models, with the intent for Geant4 integration with the full methodological framework. SPND current outputs as a function of distance from some fuel assembly segment in the NuScale SMR are compared with the analytically determined currents. Results from the sensor uncertainty simulations for the NuScale SMR and AP1000 indicate that the average error in the inferred power distribution on the fuel assembly segment level is reasonably low, being slightly less than the random uncertainty applied to all respective SPNDs in both cores. For example, if all SPNDs in the core have a random uncertainty of 5%, then the corresponding fuel assembly segment level error (i.e. difference between the true and inferred local power) is ~2–3%. However, the maximum error in the inferred power distribution on the fuel assembly segment level can be considerably high (>15%) when SPND random uncertainties start to exceed ~3%. In general, the average and maximum errors in the inferred power distribution were slightly higher in the AP1000 as opposed to the NuScale SMR for the sensor string configurations considered herein. Another result determined from analysis of the sensor uncertainty simulations was that increasing the number of SPNDs per string does not clearly reduce inferred power distribution error and can in fact make the error large in some cases; however, this assessment may skewed due to imposed iteration limits. Results from the perturbation detection demonstration using the high-fidelity TAMU TRIGA model indicate that, given the arrangement of 17 SPND strings and 4 SPNDs per string considered herein, there is a clear, provable ability to infer a localized Gaussian-type peak perturbation in the 3D power distribution. Such a perturbation was detected with an average fuel assembly segment level error of 0.19%, and the general visualization of the detected perturbation clearly indicates that the magnitude and shape were appropriately resolved. Finally, the electrical current output generated by the Geant4 modeled SPND indicates significant magnitude differences than the analytically modeled SPND, demonstrating the need for accurate SPND models which account for finite sensor geometry effects to inform the power synthesis work described herein.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Coupled Neutronic and Thermal Hydraulic Analysis of a Natural Circulation Based Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Using VERA-CS

As part of the work supported by a US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear FY 2020 Voucher, Holtec International subsidiary SMR LLC (hereinafter referred to as Holtec) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to develop coupled multiphysics core models of the Holtec developed small modular reactor (SMR), SMR-160. The scope of the 1 year project was to use the DOE–developed tool set, VERA, to analyze several aspects of a representative SMR-160 core design. The goals of the project were to perform the code-to-code benchmarking and to provide Holtec with a confirmatory calculations to compare against the results with the codes used in the SMR-160 design, identify and resolve areas of discrepancy between the two models to give Holtec a basis for selecting certain tool and model options, and develop a workflow so that the VERA model could be adapted easily to any future changes in the design of the SMR-160 core. The work proceeded in four phases: 1. Developing the initial VERA model based on Holtec-provided core design information; 2. Comparing VERA results with Holtec-provided calculations for the first five cycles; 3. Developing a VERA transient model based on the prior model; and 4. Training Holtec personnel on VERA and hand-off the developed models. This report summarizes at a high level the completed tasks. Details of the tasks and results are reserved for the full report, which will not be publicly released for 5 years per the terms of the CRADA. The report is titled “Coupled Neutronic and Thermal Hydraulic Analysis of a Natural Circulation Based Small Modular Reactor (SMR) using VERA-CS” and has the ORNL technical report number ORNL/TM 2021/2303 (NFE-20-08305)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hydride Migration within RhH 2 Ag 19 Superatom: A Combined Neutron Diffraction and DFT Analysis

Abstract An investigation combining neutron diffraction and DFT allows determining the most likely hydride migration pathway within the icosahedral metal framework of [RhH 2 Ag 19 {S 2 P(O n Pr) 2 } 12 ] (RhH 2 Ag 19 ). Starting from the experimentally derived solid‐state structures, a computational analysis is able to reveal an energetically favorable migration pathway with a maximum energy barrier of 4.2 kcal mol −1 . The two hydrides migrate simultaneously within the Rh@Ag 12 icosahedral core, traversing several positional isomers. This study expands the understanding of hydride dynamics in nanoclusters and provides critical insights into the structural flexibility of the superatom framework. These findings have significant implications for hydrogen storage, catalysis, and the design of advanced hydride‐containing materials.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structure of phospholipase Cε reveals an integrated RA1 domain and previously unidentified regulatory elements

Phospholipase Cε (PLCε) generates lipid-derived second messengers at the plasma and perinuclear membranes in the cardiovascular system. It is activated in response to a wide variety of signals, such as those conveyed by Rap1A and Ras, through a mechanism that involves its C-terminal Ras association (RA) domains (RA1 and RA2). However, the complexity and size of PLCε has hindered its structural and functional analysis. Herein, we report the 2.7 Å crystal structure of the minimal fragment of PLCε that retains basal activity. This structure includes the RA1 domain, which forms extensive interactions with other core domains. A conserved amphipathic helix in the autoregulatory X–Y linker of PLCε is also revealed, which we show modulates activity in vitro and in cells. The studies provide the structural framework for the core of this critical cardiovascular enzyme that will allow for a better understanding of its regulation and roles in disease.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗