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DOE OSTI2021

Post-Closure Report for Closed Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Units, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada: For Calendar Year 2020 (Rev. 2)

This report serves as the combined annual report for post-closure activities in compliance with the requirements listed in Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit Number NEV HW0101 associated with the following closed corrective action units (CAUs): 1) CAU 90, Area 2 Bitcutter Containment; 2) CAU 91, Area 3 U-3fi Injection Well; 3) CAU 92, Area 6 Decon Pond Facility; 4) CAU 110, Area 3 WMD U-3ax/bl Crater; 5) CAU 111, Area 5 WMD Retired Mixed Waste Pits; 6) CAU 112, Area 23 Hazardous Waste Trenches The locations of the sites are shown in Figure ES-1. This report covers calendar year 2020. The post-closure requirements for these sites are described in RCRA Permit NEV HW0101 and are summarized in each CAU-specific section of this report. The results of the inspections, a summary of maintenance activities, and an evaluation of monitoring data are presented in this report. Site inspections are conducted annually at CAUs 90, 91, and 112; semiannually at CAUs 92 and 110; and quarterly at CAU 111. Additional inspections are conducted at CAUs 92 and 111 if precipitation occurs in excess of 1.0 inch in a 24-hour period. Inspections include an evaluation of the condition of the units, including covers, fences, signs, gates, and locks. At CAUs 110 and 111, soil moisture monitoring and subsidence surveys are conducted in addition to the visual inspections. At CAU 110, the site fence, gate, lock, and use restriction signs are evaluated. At CAU 111, an ecological survey, direct radiation monitoring, air monitoring, radon flux monitoring, and groundwater monitoring are also conducted. This report will address all monitoring item notes above except groundwater monitoring. Groundwater monitoring is documented in the Nevada National Security Site Data Report: Groundwater Monitoring Program Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site. All required inspections, maintenance, and monitoring were conducted in accordance with the post-closure requirements of the permit. Revision 6 of RCRA Permit NEV HW0101 was issued effective December 10, 2015, and remained in effect until December 10, 2020. At the time of this report submittal, the new RCRA permit application was in review.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Finding of Effect, And Mitigation Documentation for Building 23-620, Mercury, Area 23, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) plans to demolish Building 23-620 in the town of Mercury (Nevada State Historic Preservation Office [SHPO] Resource No. B15283), which is on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada (see Figure 1). The purpose of the undertaking is related to the modernization of Mercury for future mission needs. The NNSA/NFO will implement this undertaking in accordance with the Programmatic Agreement between the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer Regarding Modernization and Operational Maintenance of the Nevada National Security Site, at Mercury in Nye County, Nevada, hereafter referred to as the Mercury PA. Building 23-620 was built in 1968 as office space for the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), who worked on the design and engineering of nuclear weapons. In the 1990s, it became a maintenance facility for Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Company (REECo), and eventually, it became the Real Estate Services building in 2004. The town of Mercury and the immediate surrounding area have been formally determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register, NRHP) as the Mercury Historic District (MHD, SHPO Resource No. D230) under Criteria A and C for its importance in supporting nuclear testing and scientific research from 1951 through 1992. Building 23-620 was identified as a contributing element to the MHD in a 2018 architectural survey of the district (Reno et al.) and recorded on a Nevada Architectural Resource Assessment (ARA) form (Reno et al. 2017). Building 23-620 was also identified in Appendix C of the Mercury PA as a Category I contributing element, indicating that it might be individually eligible for the NRHP. It is a historic property for the purposes of compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and subject to the stipulations of the Mercury PA. Mitigation Report: The purpose of this letter report is to submit documentation related to the mitigation of the demolition of Building 23-620 (Nevada State Historic Preservation Office [SHPO] Resource No. B15283) in the Mercury Historic District (MHD, SHPO Resource No. D230). This submission is intended to comply with the stipulations in the Programmatic Agreement between the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer Regarding Modernization and Operational Maintenance of the Nevada National Security Site, at Mercury in Nye County, Nevada, hereafter referred to as the Mercury PA.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Evaluation of Building 23-620, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory J-3 Office, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) plans to demolish Building 23-620, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) J-3 Office Building (Nevada State Historic Preservation Office [SHPO] Resource No. B15283) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada. The NNSA/NFO is implementing a long-term project to modernize the town of Mercury for future mission needs. The project is considered an undertaking subject to review under Title 54 of United States Code (USC) § 306108, commonly known as Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Title 54 USC § 300101, et seq., and its implementing regulations, Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (36 CFR) Part 800. In 2018, Desert Research Institute (DRI) completed an architectural survey of the town of Mercury. This effort resulted in the identification, recordation, and evaluation of the Mercury Historic District (MHD, SHPO Resource No. D230), including the identification of its contributing elements (Reno et al. 2018). The MHD was recommended eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP, National Register) under the Secretary of the Interior’s (SOI) Significance Criteria A and C, as defined in 36 CFR Part 60.4, as a significant concentration of buildings and structures with a direct and important association with Cold War-era nuclear testing from 1951 through 1992. It has not been evaluated under Criteria B and D to date. As part of a larger modernization program for Mercury, the NNSA/NFO and the SHPO executed the 2018 Programmatic Agreement between the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer regarding Modernization and Operational Maintenance of the Nevada National Security Site, at Mercury in Nye County, Nevada (Mercury PA). The Mercury PA includes streamlined Section 106 procedures for undertakings in the MHD based on contributing element categories. Building 23-620 is identified in Appendix C of the Mercury PA as a Category I contributing element, indicating that it might be individually eligible for the NRHP. It is a historic property for the purposes of Section 106 compliance and subject to the stipulations of the Mercury PA. Per Stipulation VI of the Mercury PA, when the Area of Potential Effect (APE) for an undertaking includes Category I elements, the NNSA/NFO must evaluate the Category I elements for individual NRHP eligibility under all of the SOI Significance Criteria prior to initiating any activity that may affect the elements. The purpose of this report is to evaluate Building 23-620 as a potential individually eligible historic property in fulfillment of Stipulation VI of the Mercury PA. The evaluation detailed herein concludes that Building 23-620 is not individually eligible for listing in the NRHP. Although it retains aspects of integrity and continues to contribute to the MHD, it is not individually significant under any of the SOI Significance Criteria.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Low-Activity Waste Melter Process (LMP) System Design Description (Rev. 4)

This system design description (SDD) defines the technical, functional, and performance requirements of the low-activity waste (LAW) melter process system (LMP). This document details the waste treatment requirements, environmental compliance requirements, and authorization basis requirements of the LMP system as they are currently known and understood. This SDD describes the process and functional design requirements of the LMP, including the following: 1) Services and utility requirements, operating materials and supplies, and other external interfaces; 2) Operations limits and design bases; 3) Other criteria and requirements pertinent to the design of the LMP system; 4) Boundaries, system interfaces, and functional description of the LMP system. The LMP system is composed of two LAW melters of the same design with the contingency to add the third. Also included in the LMP system are the pour spouts, which are positioned under the melter discharge chambers of each melter, and the container level detectors. The boundaries, system interfaces, and functional description of the LMP system are provided in Section 2.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2023

SolarAPP+ Performance Review (2022 Data)

The Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+) platform is an online portal to facilitate and expedite rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) permitting processes. SolarAPP+ allows PV contractors to upload system specifications, have those specifications automatically reviewed for code compliance, and receive instant approval for code-compliant systems. SolarAPP+ also provides inspection checklists to verify installation practices and adherence to approved designs. SolarAPP+ is available to authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) at no cost. This report is part of an ongoing series of reviews of SolarAPP+ performance. Consistent with previous performance reviews, we summarize SolarAPP+ adoption trends to date and compare various metrics for PV systems permitted through SolarAPP+ versus systems permitted through conventional AHJ permitting processes. As of the end of 2022, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) had contacted over 1,500 AHJs with significant solar permitting volume regarding SolarAPP+. Of those, 607 AHJs had at least expressed interest in the platform. 16 AHJs had begun piloting the platform and 15 of these had publicly launched the platform by the end of 2022. In 2022, 206 installers submitted 11,092 permits through the SolarAPP+ platform, including 708 permits for solar+storage systems. SolarAPP+ permits accounted for around 37% of all permits issued in participating AHJs. We compare permitting timelines through SolarAPP+ to traditional AHJ permitting processes to assess the platform's performance. Consistent with previous SolarAPP+ performance reviews, we find that permitting timelines are significantly shorter for SolarAPP+ projects. Based on median timelines, a typical SolarAPP+ project is permitted and inspected 8 business days sooner than traditional projects. We estimate that automatic SolarAPP+ permitting saved between 3,500 and 13,900 hours of AHJ staff time in 2022. Finally, we find evidence that SolarAPP+ may improve inspection outcomes, with SolarAPP+ projects failing inspections about 28% less frequently than traditional projects.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Hanford Site Composite Analysis Special Analysis: Inventory and Solid Waste Release Modeling for the LLBG Sensitivity Case - UCAQ-22-01 Inventory Discrepancies for 218-E-12B, 218-W-3A, and 218-W-3AE in the Hanford Site Composite Analysis

This environmental calculation file (ECF) documents the methodologies, assumptions, and results of four sensitivity analyses that reevaluate the representativeness of solid-waste radionuclide inventory and release rate from three solid waste sites included in the recently completed Hanford Site Composite Analysis (CA) (DOE-RL-2019-52, Composite Analysis for Low-Level Waste Disposal in the Hanford Site Central Plateau (FY 2020), Rev. 1) (hereinafter called the CA Update). Specifically, this ECF reevaluates the representativeness of the base case inventory and radionuclide waste release rates from three solid waste sites (i.e., 218-E-12B, 218-W-3A, and 218-W-3AE) and two radionuclides (i.e., carbon-14 [C-14] and technetium-99 [Tc-99]). These three waste sites and two radionuclides were identified as being the most significant contributors to groundwater contamination and dose in the CA Update for the Inner Area boundary at times periods after the compliance period. This ECF first evaluates the representativeness of the C-14 and Tc-99 inventory and second, radionuclide release rates for the three waste sites1. If the inventory and release rates assumed in the CA Update are determined to be not representative, as hypothesized in the CA Update, then this ECF evaluates the impact of more representative inventories and release rates on the transfer of radionuclides to the vadose zone. The four analyses described in this ECF are as follows: 1) 218-E-12B C-14 Inventory and Release Rate Sensitivity Case – Determine the representativeness of the C-14 inventory and associated waste release rate from the 218-E-12B waste site assumed in the CA Update. If the inventory and associated waste release are more appropriately characterized as being different from the assumptions in the CA Update, then update the predicted C-14 release rate and compare the results to the results presented in the CA Update (DOE/RL-2019-52); 2) 218-W-3A C-14 Inventory and Release Rate Sensitivity Case – Determine the representativeness of the C-14 inventory and associated waste release rate from the 218-W-3A waste site assumed in the CA Update. If the inventory and associated waste release are more appropriately characterized as being different from the assumptions in the CA Update, then update the predicted C-14 release rate and compare the results to the results presented in the CA Update (DOE/RL-2019-52); 3) 218-W-3AE Tc-99 Release Rate Sensitivity Case – Determine the representativeness of the Tc-99 inventory and associated waste release rate from the 218-W-3AE waste site assumed in the CA Update. If the inventory and associated waste release are more appropriately characterized as being different from the assumptions in the CA Update, then update the predicted Tc-99 release rate and compare the results to the results presented in the CA Update (DOE/RL-2019-52); 4) 218-W-3AE Tc-99 Release Footprint Sensitivity Case – Determine the representativeness of the Tc-99 waste area footprint for the 218-W-3AE waste site assumed in the CA Update. If the footprint of the waste is more appropriately characterized as being different from the assumptions in the CA Update, then update the predicted Tc-99 release rate and compare the results to the result presented in the CA Update (DOE/RL-2019-52).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

EFA Soil Project Work Order: 554001

Sample analyses were conducted using methodology as outlined in GEL Laboratories, LLC (GEL) Standard Operating Procedures. Any technical or administrative problems during analysis, data review, and reduction are contained in the analytical case narratives in the enclosed data package. The enclosed data package contains the following sections: General Narrative, Chain of Custody and Supporting Documentation, and data from the following fractions: General Chemistry, Metals and Radiochemistry. This package, to the best of my knowledge, is in compliance with technical and administrative requirements.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Cultural Resource Management Plan for Brookhaven National Laboratory

The Cultural Resource Management Plan (CRMP) for Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) provides an organized guide that describes or references the facets and interrelationships of cultural resources at BNL. Management strategies included within this CRMP are designed to adequately identify the cultural resources that BNL and DOE consider significant and to acknowledge associated management actions. A principal objective of the CRMP is to reduce the need for additional regulatory documents and to serve as the basis for a formal agreement between the DOE and the New York State Historic Preservation Officer (NYSHPO). The BNL CRMP is designed to be a “living document.” Each section includes identified gaps in the management plan, with proposed goals and actions for addressing each gap. The plan will be periodically revised to incorporate new documentation. The current (2023) update incorporates new findings and/or updated text based on completed or ongoing projects related to cultural resources at BNL since inception of the last updated CRMP in 2013. Historically, Brookhaven National Laboratory had little need for cultural resource management because many of its buildings were less than 50 years old. Most of the features that are potentially eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places were protected simply by avoiding the features. Compliance with cultural resource laws and regulations has included archeological surveys, such as those associated with the 1977 Final Environmental Impact Statement for Brookhaven National Laboratory and the 1978 Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proton-Proton Storage Accelerator Facility (ISABELLE). In 1979, World War I trenches associated with the former Camp Upton and located near ISABELLE were determined to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places; however, many of these trenches had been destroyed by construction work. In 1991, the NYSHPO provided BNL with a letter indicating that only three structures and features were likely to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Between 1991 and 1999, little work associated with cultural resource management was accomplished. Beginning in 1999, awareness for the need of a program to manage cultural resources grew out of the realization that over half of the buildings at BNL were either 50 years old or were reaching that age and were, therefore, subject to the requirements in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This fact, concomitant with the decontamination and decommissioning of the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor (BGRR) and the subsequent determination of BGRR’s eligibility for listing as an historical site, fueled the need for developing and implementing a more structured program for managing cultural resources at BNL.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Recent Code Developments/Improvements to SAM Multi-dimensional Flow Model

The System Analysis Module (SAM) is under development at Argonne National Laboratory as a modern system-level modeling and simulation tool for advanced non-light water reactor safety analyses. In addition to its conventional one-dimensional flow network module, the multi-dimensional flow model of SAM offers significant benefits to its end-users, including the U.S. NRC, who uses it to develop reference models for advanced reactor concepts. This report provides a summary of the recent progress achieved under DOE-NE’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation program in the continuous code development and improvements of the SAM code, specifically its multi-dimensional flow model. The improvements include enhancements to the physical model, code usability, addressing user feedback, and compliance with the SQA program standards that aim to enhance and maintain the quality of the software.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System Management Assessment Internal Review Assessing Organization: EPC-ES LANL-ASMT-2022-0289 (Spring 2023)

The Environmental Protection and Compliance Division-Environmental Stewardship Group of Los Alamos National Laboratory conducted a management assessment that supports the implementation of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Environmental Management System according to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001:2015, Environmental Management System. The assessment resulted in zero findings of nonconformity, five opportunities for improvement, four noteworthy practices, and three observations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Safety Analysis Report for Packagings – Model 9979 Type AF Shipping Package

This Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) documents the performance of the Department of Energy (DOE) Model USA/9979/AF-96 shipping package and compliance with the regulatory safety requirements of Title 10 and Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The SARP is prepared in accordance with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 460.1D. The Model 9979 Type A Fissile shipping package replaces the Department of Transportation (DOT) UN1A2 Specification Packaging. Formerly, the UN1A2 was authorized under Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 173.417 (2004) for transport of Type A quantities of fissile material over public highways. In accordance with the Federal Register, final rule making issued on January 26, 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in a joint effort with the Department of Transportation, initiated a planned phase out of multiple Specification Packagings from 49 CFR 173, the UN1A2 being one. The rulemaking mandated, by law, removal of these specification packagings from service no later than September 30, 2008. The 9979 is a Performance Packaging and replaces the UN1A2 Specification Packaging. The Packaging Technology and Transportation Engineering (PT&TE) organization of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is the Design Authority and Design Agency for the 9979.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

HVAC System Performance for Energy Codes (Technical Brief)

The prescriptive path is likely the most widely used approach for commercial code compliance in the United States. Though easy to implement, the prescriptive approach does not discriminate between high-performing and poorly performing heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) system configurations that are both minimally compliant. To meet aggressive energy and carbon reduction goals, energy codes will need to transition from prescriptive to performance-based approaches, a transition that is riddled with several challenges. HVAC System Performance is a discipline performance path and provides a simpler solution to HVAC system evaluation compared to whole building performance, while keeping tradeoffs limited to specific building systems. The Total System Performance Ratio (TSPR) is a metric for evaluation of overall system efficiency instead of individual component efficiency, a solution that could also eventually facilitate the transition to a 100% performance-based code structure. TSPR is a ratio that compares the annual heating and cooling load of a building to the annual energy consumed by the building’s HVAC system. A web-based calculation tool has been developed for determining a building’s TSPR. Already incorporated into the 2018 Washington State Energy Code, this approach has also been evaluated by the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Project Committee and has the potential to provide a comprehensive performance-based approach for HVAC system evaluation and analysis

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2022

Qualification of SAS4A/SASSYS-1 for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor Authorization and Licensing (Final CRADA Report)

This project focuses on assessment and qualification of the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 advanced reactor safety analysis code and its capacity to fulfill requirements associated with license/authorization of a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). Specific objectives of this proposal include: development of a formal documentation requirements matrix that complies with a vendor’s NQA-1 program to identify needs for qualification documentation; completion of software methods qualification gap analysis to identify and close gaps in the verification and validation basis of the software; generation of an Acceptance Test Report to confirm compliance with the software requirements specification; and closure of gaps in Software Design Description (SDD) to assist with the eventual generation of a Modeling Licensing Topic Report (LTR).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Student Programs Office Overview [Slides]

The Student Programs further the Laboratory’s goal of developing and mentoring the next generation of scientific, technical, and professional staff by supporting 2,000+ interns at all levels (high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate) along with 2,000+ mentors and 70 division student liaisons. The activities include internship promotion and external engagement, intern identification and sourcing, training and orientation, professional and career development, social and community engagement, and compliance.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Light Water Sustainability Program: Optimizing Information Automation Using a New Method Based on System-Theoretic Process Analysis

This report describes the interim progress for research supporting the design and optimization of information automation systems for nuclear power plants. Much of the domestic nuclear fleet is currently focused on modernizing technologies and processes, including transitioning toward digitalization in the control room and elsewhere throughout the plant, along with a greater use of automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, and other emerging technologies. While there are significant opportunities to apply these technologies toward greater plant safety, efficiency, and overall cost-effectiveness, optimizing their design and avoiding potential safety and performance risks depends on ensuring that human-performance-related organizational and technical design issues are identified and addressed. This report describes modeling tools and techniques, based on sociotechnical system theory, to support these design goals and their application in the current research effort. The report is intended for senior nuclear energy stakeholders, including regulators, corporate management, and senior plant management. We have developed and employed a method to design an optimized information automation ecosystem (IAE) based on the systems-theoretic constructs underlying sociotechnical systems theory in general and the Systems-Theoretic Accident Modeling and Processes (STAMP) approach in particular. We argue that an IAE can be modeled as an interactive information control system whose behavior can be understood in terms of dynamic control and feedback relationships amongst the system’s technical and organizational components. Up to this point, we have employed a Causal Analysis based on STAMP (CAST) technique to examine a performance- and safety-related incident at an industry partner’s plant that involved the unintentional activation of an emergency diesel generator. This analysis provided insight into the behavior of the plant’s current information control structure within the context of a specific, significant event. Our ongoing analysis is focused on identifying near-term process improvements and longer-term design requirements for an optimized IAE system. The latter analyses will employ a second STAMP-derived technique, System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA). STPA is a useful modeling tool for generating and analyzing actual or potential information control structures. Finally, we have begun modeling plantwide organizational relationships and processes. Organizational system modeling will supplement our CAST and STPA findings and provide a basis for mapping out a plantwide information control architecture. CAST analysis findings indicate an important underlying contributor to the incident under investigation, and a significant risk to information automation system performance, was perceived schedule pressure, which exposed weaknesses in interdepartmental coordination between and within responsible plant organizations and challenged the resilience of established plant processes, until a human caused the initiating event. These findings are discussed in terms of their risk to overall system performance and their implications for information automation system resilience and brittleness. We present two preliminary information automation models. The proactive issue resolution model is a test case of an information automation concept with significant near-term potential for application and subsequent reduction in significant plant events. The IAE model is a more general representation of a broader, plantwide information automation system. From our results, we have generated a set of preliminary system-level requirements and safety constraints. These requirements will be further developed over the remainder of our project in collaboration with nuclear industry subject matter experts and specialists in the technical systems under consideration. Additionally, we will continue to pursue the system analyses initiated in the first part of our effort, with a particular emphasis on STPA as the main tool to identify weak or weakening control structures that affect the resilience of organizations and programs. Our intent is to broaden the scope of the analysis from an individual use case to a related set of use cases (e.g., maintenance tasks, compliance tasks) with similar human-system performance challenges. This will enable more generalized findings to refine the Proactive Issue Resolution and IAE models, as well as their system-level requirements and safety constraints. We will use organizational system modeling analyses to supplement STPA findings and model development. We conclude the report with a set of summary recommendations and an initial draft list of system-level requirements and safety constraints for optimized information automation systems.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Hazard and Operability Study for the Ammonia Fuel Systems at the National Transportation Research Center

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s) Buildings and Transportation Science Division (BTSD) plans to operate research engines fueled by ammonia in two engine test cells at the National Transportation Research Center (NTRC). A scientific need has recently emerged to evaluate the suitability of liquid anhydrous ammonia as a low-lifecycle-carbon fuel source for difficult-to-electrify transportation sectors, including the marine sector. Therefore, BTSD plans to install an ammonia storage and delivery system to 2360 HVC engine research labs L125 (Cell 3) and L111 (Cell 7) capable of delivering 35 and 75 lb/h, respectively. These laboratories are specifically designed to allow for engine and fuels research and development, and they have existing safety systems for mitigating risks associated with toxics and flammables. Anhydrous ammonia is toxic and flammable, and the system will use relatively large quantities compared with standard gas bottles. Ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world, and the hazards associated with toxicity and flammability are well understood. Ammonia storage for use in engine research at NTRC is anticipated to take the form of an ammonia tank with capacity of 1,000 water gallons; this quantity will remain below the threshold quantity of 10,000 lb (~2,000 gal) used both by the US Environmental Protection Agency for reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act and for Risk Management Program requirements, and also by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration for Process Safety Management requirements. ORNL’s Environmental Protection Services Division was also consulted to verify that the quantities of ammonia anticipated to be used would be in compliance with environmental regulations. The Environmental Protection Services Division staff confirmed that the anticipated quantities fall below ORNL’s permit thresholds. However, because of the hazards associated with anhydrous ammonia, the quantities to be used, and the limited experience with similar quantities of ammonia at ORNL, BTSD decided to perform a hazard and operability (HazOp) study on the ammonia storage and delivery system.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Qualification of ANSI/HPS N13.1-2011 Mixing Criteria by Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling for the 3430 Building Fan Addition and Increased Ventilation Capacity

Additional ventilation capacity has been designed for the 3430 Building filtered exhaust stack system. The updated system will increase the number of fans from two to three and include new ductwork with a larger diameter to integrate the new fan into the existing stack. Stack operations will involve running various fan combinations at any given time. The air monitoring system of the existing two-fan stack previously was found to comply with the American National Standards Institute/Health Physics Society (ANSI/HPS) N13.1-1999 standard. Full-scale, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was used to evaluate the modified three-fan system for compliance with the ANSI/HPS N13.1-2011 standard, which essentially is equivalent to the ANSI/HPS N13.1-1999 standard. The four mixing criteria evaluated are 1) flow angle, 2) velocity, 3) gas tracer, and 4) particle tracer. Benchmarking of the CFD modeling methodology showed good agreement with previous testing used to qualify the stack, and modeling of the existing two-fan system showed good agreement with test data collected from the 3430 Building stack. Modeling was performed to develop a suitable three-fan design. Initial modeling of the three-fan design and basic ductwork showed that flow angles and velocity uniformity were acceptable; however, the gas tracer and particle tracer mixing results were not acceptable. To meet ANSI/HPS N13.1-2011 criteria, an air blender was added to the stack design.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Qualification of ANSI/HPS N13.1-2011 Mixing Criteria by Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling for the 3430 Building Fan Addition and Increased Ventilation Capacity

42 ENGINEERING↗