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NETL and MetroLaser, Inc. (MetroLaser) will collaborate on the commercialization design and validation of a split laser system, useful for sensing and measurement applications relevant to fossil energy and carbon management in subsurface environments relevant to carbon sequestration.
Precise knowledge of nuclear fission is a critical component for nuclear energy and stockpile stewardship research. Despite having been discovered over 80 years ago, fission is not fully described by a predictive theory, so thorough and accurate nuclear data libraries are necessary. These libraries provide information about the fission process in studied isotopes that is used in scientific and engineering models.
Savannah River Site (SRS) has developed a revised approach to performance monitoring of the E Area Low Level Waste Facility (ELLWF) that adds a saturated zone component to the existing vadose zone monitoring program (Kubilius, 2019). The revised approach specifies modifications to the vadose zone monitoring program, the addition of new lysimeters at Engineered Trench 3 (ET3), and the installation of water table monitoring wells to complement the existing well network surrounding the ELLWF. This project summary report is intended to provide the final construction details and layout for the new vadose zone lysimeters at ET3 and the water table monitoring wells installed as part of the new saturated zone component of the revised performance monitoring program.
Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is an important method that enables many mesh-based applications to run at effectively higher resolution within limited computing resources by allowing high resolution only where really needed. This advantage comes at a cost, however: greater complexity in the mesh management machinery and challenges with load distribution. With the current trend of increasing heterogeneity in hardware architecture, AMR presents an orthogonal axis of complexity. Additionally, the usual techniques, such as asynchronous communication and hierarchy management for parallelism and memory that are necessary to obtain reasonable performance are very challenging to reason about with AMR. Different groups working with AMR are bringing different approaches to this challenge. Here, we examine the design choices of several AMR codes and also the degree to which demands placed on them by their users influence these choices.
Alternative polymer feedstocks are highly desirable to address environmental, social, and security concerns associated with petrochemical-based materials. Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) has emerged as one critical feedstock in this regard because it is an abundant and ubiquitous renewable resource. LCB can be deconstructed to generate valuable fuels, chemicals, and small molecules/oligomers that are amenable to modification and polymerization. However, the diversity of LCB complicates the evaluation of biorefinery concepts in areas including process scale-up, production outputs, plant economics, and life-cycle management. We discuss aspects of current LCB biorefinery research with a focus on the major process stages, including feedstock selection, fractionation/deconstruction, and characterization, along with product purification, functionalization, and polymerization to manufacture valuable macromolecular materials. We highlight opportunities to valorize underutilized and complex feedstocks, leverage advanced characterization techniques to predict and manage biorefinery outputs, and increase the fraction of biomass converted into valuable products.
This document details the execution of Cooperative Agreement DE-FE0031847, “Front End Engineering Design of Linde-BASF Advanced Post-Combustion Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) Capture Technology at a Southern Company Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant” during the period of 10/1/2019 to 6/30/2022. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Southern Company Services, Inc. (SCS) was the prime recipient and led the project team. Other members of the project team included Linde, Inc. (Linde), Linde Engineering – Dresden (LED), and BASF. The overall goal of the project was to complete a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for installing the Linde-BASF post-combustion capture (PCC) technology at an existing domestic natural gas-fired combined cycle (NGCC) power plant within Southern Company’s portfolio of assets. The CO 2 capture plant was to be of commercial scale (at least 375 MWe) and include process units for pre-conditioning of the flue gas system, the CO 2 capture plant island, storage vessels, the CO 2 compression train, and any necessary components for integration into the NGCC plant. Mississippi Power’s Plant Daniel Unit #4 was chosen as the host site for the FEED with the target of capturing 90% of CO 2 emissions from the existing combustion turbines. The information produced by the FEED was used to develop a cost estimate of +/- 15% accuracy. Capital costs, excluding financing, are estimated at approximately $\$752$ million dollars (2021). The execution of a project based on this FEED study has an estimated duration of almost five years.
Hydropower technologies bolster high penetration of variable renewable energies (VREs) in the net zero emissions scenarios. Nevertheless, there are various challenges to meeting the ambitious goal, such as stability, reliability, resiliency, security, lack of reactive power, voltage support and inertia, large-scale storage deployment and coordination, interconnectedness, demand-side response, higher thermal cycles with increased start/stops, and inadequate Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for system-wise VRE integration and profitability. This survey conducts a bottom-up analysis to unveil the opportunities to utilize hydropower facilities and disentangle the nested problem for intertwining design features, control algorithms, operation, optimization approaches, incentives, services, and market mechanisms using a three-pillar framework perspective: grid owners, power producers, and machine designers. The survey identified emerging trends in real-time and capacity markets, flexible power systems, and enhanced grid capabilities, including advanced voltage support and updated grid codes. These developments present significant opportunities for hydropower, such as achieving super-flexibility through hybridization, expanded reactive power capabilities, and advanced operational modes like a synchronous condenser and power adequator functionalities. These opportunities require novel design philosophies — including new winding, stator, and rotor configurations, optimized ventilation, and active cooling systems — to enhance performance under stressed grid and climate conditions. Finally, integrating climate and energy models for multi-basin optimization with finer spatial and temporal granularity enhances the planning accuracy for water management of hydropower while addressing environmental challenges. The review delivers helpful prospective suggestions and tools that would serve researchers, power engineers, and stakeholders in making decisions about hydropower technologies and services in 2050 and beyond.
In this work, we demonstrate a two-phase capillary-fed boiling micro-cooler that consists of a ~ 25-..mu..m-thick copper inverse opal (CIO) porous wicking structure for high-heat-flux boiling and a silicon 3D-manifold for distributed liquid delivery and vapor extraction across a 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm heated area. At low inlet water mass flow rates of 1.5 to 1.9 g(min)-1, the micro-cooler displays nearly two-phase boiling with exit vapor quality ~ 1 and a high critical heat flux (CHF) of 253 to 320 W cm-2 with low superheat of ~ 10 degrees C resulting in a thermal resistance of boiling ~ 0.025 cm2 degrees C W-1 or heat transfer coefficient of 0.4 MW m-2 degrees C-1. For higher flow rates of 5, 10, and 15 g(min)-1, the micro-cooler exhibits a hybrid single-phase and two-phase cooling regime where the contribution of the sensible heat (single-phase) cooling is linearly added to that of the two-phase cooling. For the highest flow rate of 15 g(min)-1, the CHF is increased to ~ 500 W cm-2 resulting in an overall thermal resistance of ~ 0.18 cm2 degrees C W-1. However, the two-phase heat transfer effectiveness, which estimates the utilization level of the inlet mass flow rate for two-phase boiling, is reduced to ~ 0.11. To achieve the best cooling system performances, the micro-cooler must operate entirely within the two-phase boiling regime (exit vapor quality or two-phase heat transfer effectiveness ~ 1). Ideally, the "coolant" should be delivered near its saturation temperature (~ 100 degrees C for water), which provides significant advantages for the energy-efficient operation of data centers and power electronics. We present detailed analysis with Infrared and high speed camera images at various inlet flow rates and heat fluxes to understand complex heat transfer in the micro-cooler. Furthermore, a conjugate thermofluidic simulation model, which incorporates the physics of capillary-fed boiling in a porous copper layer, agrees well with the experimental data.
TaskWorks is a portable, high-level, task engine designed for HPC workloads. Applications can create tasks and define dependencies between them with the task engine. Once the task is defined and submitted to TaskWorks, the TaskWorks engine will execute it according to the specified dependencies, without additional input from the application. TaskWorks has an integrated event manager monitors files, sockets, timers, and MPI operations, and these events can be used as task dependencies. TaskWorks is compatible with MPI and is designed to work efficiently with HPC applications that perform.
This presentation provides an overview of Explosives and Detonators for the NNSA NSTE 270 Course. It includes an overview of how detonators and high explosives are considered as part of Nuclear Explosives Safety. Several accidents involving High Explosives are also discussed. This presentation was adapted from LA-CP-16-20438 and LA-UR-21-20246.
This virtual invited talk in the session " Electrocatalysis and Energy”) at the International Conference on Catalysis Science and Chemical Engineering (CatScience 2024) will briefly overview diverse research areas of NETL to advance energy and environmental sustainability along with carbon management to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Subsequently, the talk will primarily discuss how rational design of novel electrocatalysts would maximize the CO2 conversion in different cell configurations.
Traffic simulation is an effective tool for urban planners, traffic engineers, and researchers to study traffic. In particular, microscopic traffic simulation, which simulates individual vehicles’ movements within a transportation network, has demonstrated its importance in analyzing and managing transportation systems. However, integrating data from various sources, generating traffic scenarios, and importing information into traffic simulators to conduct microscopic simulations have always been a challenge. This paper presents a solution to overcome this challenge: RealTwin, a comprehensive tool for automated scenario generation for microscopic traffic simulation. Following a streamlined scenario generation and calibration workflow, RealTwin effectively bridges gaps between traffic data from various sources and traffic simulators, making microscopic traffic simulation more accessible for researchers and engineers across various levels of expertise. Using RealTwin to generate a real-world traffic scenario in Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO), VISSIM, and AIMSUN, RealTwin’s ability is demonstrated in the construction of realistic and consistent traffic scenarios in different simulators. Furthermore, this paper introduces and illustrates RealTwin’s capability for technology (e.g., autonomous vehicle) scenario generation. This feature can contribute to more comprehensive microscopic simulations, facilitating the analysis of potential effects of various technological innovations on mobility, energy efficiency, and safety. Finally, RealTwin is used to calibrate a simulation in SUMO. In conclusion, the calibration module enhances RealTwin’s ability to generate consistent simulations across different platforms and more realistic simulations that reflect real-world traffic operations.
A set of obligations in the yearly storage container surveillance program, ensures that a retrospective approach is applied with loaded containers in inventory to confirm compliance with all “users” to ensure nuclear material storage container requirements are being followed. Validation that packaged containers are properly used, within a specific set of container types prescribed “bounding conditions of use,” is based on meeting requirements as identified in operating procedures associated with TA55-DOP-091, TA-55 Nuclear Material Packaging, and PA-RD-01022, Nuclear Material Packaging Requirements. The surveillance plan obligation requires the application of local area nuclear material accountability software or (LANMAS) to produce queries. The data queries are used to assess attributes of containers in storage these investigations are conducted on a bi-annual basis. This rules of use (ROU) compliance process ensures proper usage of storage containers as containment systems and therefore provides effective worker protection. It is structured as a supporting effort by implementing aspects of PA-AP-01207, Nuclear Material Container Safety Management at TA-55.
Here, we investigate a transmission mechanism aiming to improve the data rate between a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) through deploying multiple relaying UAVs. We consider the effect of interference incurred by another established communication network, which makes our problem challenging and different from the state of the art. We aim to design the 3D trajectories and power allocation for the UAVs to maximize the data flow of the network while keeping the interference on the existing communication network below a threshold. We utilize the mobility feature of the UAVs to evade the (un)-intended interference caused by (un)-intentional interferers. To this end, we propose an alternating-maximization approach to jointly obtain the 3D trajectories and the UAVs transmission powers. We handle the 3D trajectory design by resorting to spectral graph the power allocation through convex optimization techniques. We also approach the problem from the intentional interferer’s perspective where smart jammers chase the UAVs to effectively degrade the data flow of the network. We also extend our work to the case for multiple UEs. Finally, we demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed method through extensive simulations.
This document contains an evaluation of the applicability of the current Quality Assurance Standards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Standard NQA-1 (NQA-1) criteria and identifies and describes the quality assurance process(es) by which attributes of historical, analytical, and other data associated with sodium-cooled fast reactor [SFR] metallic fuel will be evaluated. This process is being instituted to facilitate validation of data to the extent that such data may be used to support future licensing efforts associated with advanced reactor designs. The initial data to be evaluated under this program were generated during the US Integral Fast Reactor program between 1984-1994, where the data include, but are not limited to, research and development data and associated documents, test plans and associated protocols, operations and test data, technical reports, and information associated with past United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews of SFR designs. It is recognized that managing the data generated by large research and development projects presents a significant challenge for retaining data integrity and availability. American Society of Mechanical Engineers Standard NQA-1 (NQA-1) 2008/2009a provides appropriate requirements for this plan.
This document contains an evaluation of the applicability of the current Quality Assurance Standards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Standard NQA-1 (NQA-1) criteria and identifies and describes the quality assurance process(es) by which attributes of historical, analytical, and other data associated with sodium-cooled fast reactor [SFR] metallic fuel will be evaluated. This process is being instituted to facilitate validation of data to the extent that such data may be used to support future licensing efforts associated with advanced reactor designs. The initial data to be evaluated under this program were generated during the US Integral Fast Reactor program between 1984-1994, where the data include, but are not limited to, research and development data and associated documents, test plans and associated protocols, operations and test data, technical reports, and information associated with past United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews of SFR designs. It is recognized that managing the data generated by large research and development projects presents a significant challenge for retaining data integrity and availability. American Society of Mechanical Engineers Standard NQA-1 (NQA-1) 2008/2009a provides appropriate requirements for this plan.
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