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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) of Meteorological Time Series Data for Billy Barr, East River, Colorado USA

A comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) statistical framework consists of three major phases: Phase 1—Preliminary raw data sets exploration, including time formatting and combining datasets of different lengths and different time intervals; Phase 2—QA of the datasets, including detecting and flagging of duplicates, outliers, and extreme values; and Phase 3—the development of time series of a desired frequency, imputation of missing values, visualization and a final statistical summary. The time series data collected at the Billy Barr meteorological station (East River Watershed, Colorado) were analyzed. The developed statistical framework is suitable for both real-time and post-data-collection QA/QC analysis of meteorological datasets.The files that are in this data package include one excel file, converted to CSV format (Billy_Barr_raw_qaqc.csv) that contains the raw meteorological data, i.e., input data used for the QA/QC analysis. The second CSV file (Billy_Barr_1hr.csv) is the QA/QC and flagged meteorological data, i.e., output data from the QA/QC analysis. The last file (QAQC_Billy_Barr_2021-03-22.R) is a script written in R that implements the QA/QC and flagging process. The purpose of the CSV data files included in this package is to provide input and output files implemented in the R script.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

MCC On Boarding Section J-2 (Exhibit H) Quality Assurance Requirements [Slides]

Upon MATOC Award, SUBCONTRACTOR shall submit a Quality Assurance Program for evaluation in accordance with subcontract technical and quality requirements. This may be the Subcontractors corporate QA program. Acceptance by Triad of the SUBCONTRACTORS Quality Assurance Program (QAP), as prescribed in Exhibit H, QC-01A and 01B, allows the SUBCONTRACTOR to execute this contract using their approved QAP. SUBCONTRACTORS QAP as approved by CONTRACTOR must meet the applicable requirements of DOE Order 414.1D (see next slide) and must address flow down of the quality requirements to lower tier subcontractors. Triad acceptance of SUBCONTRACTOR’s QAP approval is required prior to Notice to Proceed with on-site work. A Project Specific QA plan may on rare occasions be required for a specific task

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

VERAIO Software Management Plan

VERAIO is a set of utility codes used to provide a common set of input and outputs to the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA). VERA is a collection of several different computer codes that all have a common input and output. This prevents the need to manage input and output from each individual code, allowing for ease of use and reducing errors associated with code operability. The VERAIO utilities include VERAIn, VERAView, and VERARun. Each of these utilities is described below. VERAIn is an input processor that reads an ASCII input file generated by users, parses the file, performs some error checking, and writes an XML file to be read by other VERA codes. The main purpose of VERAIn is to provide a common input to all of the VERA codes so users only need to learn one input. VERAIn is written in Perl and uses YAML configuration files to provide flexibility. VERAView is a graphical user interface (GUI) that reads a VERA HDF output file and allows users to visualize results. VERAView is written in Python. VERARun is a script that drives the VERA execution in a high performance computing (HPC) environment. Work performed at the code level supports the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) (VERA-QA-001), and VERA Software Quality Assurance Plan (VERA-QA-002).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Technical analysis of filter testing at the U.S. Department of Energy Filter Test Facility

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) technical standard DOE-STD-3020-2015 requires verification testing at the Filter Test Facility (FTF) of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to be installed in nuclear facility (Hazard Category 1, 2, 3, and radiological facilities) confinement ventilation systems, or to be installed in habitability systems (e.g., filters for protection of workers required to act for the control and mitigation of emergency situations). Filters in these applications perform a safety function in accident situations, are designated as important to safety, or are necessary for habitability systems. Different FTFs have operated for decades, and results of tests are available to examine the need for and benefits of continued execution of 100 percent QA verification testing. The objective of this study and resulting report was to assess the need for 100 percent QA testing at the current FTF in Maryland, based on an examination of a database of test results from 2013 to August 2020. Filters that require independent testing per DOE-STD-3020-2015 to be installed in nuclear facilities are sent to the FTF before being shipped to the facilities. The FTF examines the documentation (e.g., certificates of compliance, results of particle penetration and airflow resistance testing by the manufacturers, labels affixed to filters and packages, and other requirements specified in purchase orders by the nuclear facility operators), implements visual inspections of the physical state of the filters, and checks the dimensions of frames. Filters that meet the documentation and visual inspection requirements are subjected to particle penetration and airflow resistance testing. In case of rejections, the filters are shipped back to the manufacturers, at the cost of the manufacturers, for replacement. Filters that pass all tests are shipped to the nuclear facilities.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Waveform Data Quality Assessment

Healthy seismoacoustic sensors and accurate metadata are critical to all the science objectives of both the Source Physics Experiment (SPE) Rock Valley Direct Comparison (RV/DC) and LowYield Physics Experiment-1 (LYNM PE-1). Both projects share similar seismoacoustic stations. We provide a plan on how to move forward with waveform data quality assessments (QA) to the working groups. The identification of stations with instrument response errors will be useful to researchers using amplitudes to study source effects and Earth attenuation. The data QA can also be useful for field technicians to help identify and correct problem sites.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

VERAIO Software Management Plan

VERAIO is a set of utility codes used to provide a common set of inputs and outputs to the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA). VERA is a collection of several different computer codes that all have a common input and output. This prevents the need to manage input and output from each individual code, allowing for ease of use and reducing errors associated with code operability. The VERAIO utilities include VERAIn, VERAView, and VERARun. Each of these utilities is described below. VERAIn is an input processor that reads an ASCII input file generated by users, parses the file, performs some error checking, and writes an XML file to be read by other VERA codes. The main purpose of VERAIn is to provide a common input to all of the VERA codes, so users only need to learn one input. VERAIn is written in Perl and uses YAML configuration files to provide flexibility. VERAView is a graphical user interface (GUI) that reads a VERA hierarchical data format (HDF) output file and allows users to visualize results. VERAView is written in Python. VERARun is a script that drives the VERA execution in a high performance computing (HPC) environment. Work performed at the code level supports the quality assurance program plan (QAPP) (VERA-QA-001) and the VERA Software Quality Assurance Plan (VERA-QA-002).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

MPACT Software Management Plan (V.4.3)

The MPACT code solves a discretized form of the Boltzmann transport equation on a wide variety of geometries and is distributed with a multigroup neutron cross section library. MPACT provides an advanced geometrically resolved neutral-particle transport capability to solve the flux distribution throughout the entire problem geometry, and it can model the isotopic depletion, decay, and activation of materials. The flux solution in MPACT is provided using a 2D/1D synthesis method within the framework of the 3D coarse mesh finite difference (CMFD) method for which axial and radial correction factors are obtained from 2D method of characteristics (MOC) and 1D nodal expansion method (NEM), PN, or SN. Other key characteristics of the MPACT code include the subgroup method and the embedded self-shielding method (ESSM) for resonance treatment, depletion capability based on the ORIGEN exponential matrix method, and a simplified thermal-hydraulics method for temperature/fluid feedback. The sole purpose of the simplified feedback model is to provide a mechanism for testing during code development and to provide a limited capability for educational applications. Work performed at the code level supports the VERA-QA-001, quality assurance program plan (QAPP) and VERA-QA-002, VERA Software Quality Assurance Plan.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fiscal Year 2023 Software Quality Assurance Activities for the ARC Software

The Argonne Reactor Code (ARC) software suite [1-17] has been developed by Argonne researchers for fast reactor design and analysis since the 1970s. With the ARC software suite, a user can quickly build a model of a proposed or existing fast spectrum reactor and carry out fuel cycle, nominal thermal analysis and flow requirements, and assess, as is appropriate, whether the core design and constraint system yield an acceptable mechanical behavior. For transient reactor analysis with SAS4A [18], the ARC software suite can be used to generate reactivity coefficients and kinetics parameters at any modeled fuel cycle time point which forms part of the input to SAS4A. The ARC suite was consistently being developed until the 1990s and followed a software QA program which was an appropriate standard for the time. In the 1990s, the DOE funding to fast reactor research and development was all but eliminated and the ARC software was put into maintenance mode. In the early 2000s, the software quality assurance (SQA) program for ARC was still in place to define an official version, but by 2005 it all but was abandoned as there were insufficient staff to fill the work roles. Since 2005, there has been a considerable increase in research and design work on fast spectrum reactors. The ARC software as a whole has since been exported to many universities and commercial companies and ANL support has been given to the various projects over the years [19-23]. Further, MC 2 -3, PERSENT, and DASSH were all developed after 2005 without any adherence to a software standard. In recent time, the DOE VTR project [22] paid for verification work to be done on the ARC software as part of the goal of making it NQA-1 complaint. The VTR project was not considered the appropriate pathway to fund and maintain a SQA program for the ARC software and while software developments (DASSH) were made and several manuals were updated and software verification work was carried out, the ARC software is not NQA-1 compliant. More recently the Advanced Reactor Development Program (ARDP [23]) has funded the creation of manuals for some ARC utility programs and funded additional software verification work on DIF3D [6, 7] and MC 2 -3 [2-5] for the purpose of commercial grade dedication. Because of the VTR and ARDP projects, software verification work was completed on MC 2 -3 and DIF3D, and detailed reports were created for each piece of software, which discuss the inputs and outputs from the codes that are covered by the verification work and link various analytic, code-to-code, and hand calculation based verification work presented in the report with verification test problems provided with the software. This is a key part of the commercial grade dedication work and constitutes the bulk of the cost to get the ARC software to commercial grade. The ARC software suite is a valuable asset as a fast reactor design and analysis tool set that has been reasonably well verified and validated with various fast reactor benchmark problems and experiments over decades. Some or all of the ARC software suite has been utilized for designing the IFR [20], PGSFR [21], VTR [22], and Natrium [23] reactors and we can expect it to continue to be used for advanced fast reactor design and/or confirmatory calculation purposes in the future. Due to increased interest by commercial companies and regulatory bodies, it is becoming more important to make the ARC software suite complete and ready-to-use in terms of its SQA pedigree and commercial grade dedication needs. This report discusses the achievements made towards building a new SQA program for the ARC software and dealing with outstanding identified QA gaps.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design and construction of the CMS Outer Tracker for the Phase-2 Upgrade

he High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) is expected to deliver an integrated luminosity of $3000-4000$~fb$^{-1}$ after 10 years of operation with peak instantaneous luminosity reaching about $5-7.5\times10^{34}$cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$. During Long Shutdown 3, several components of the CMS detector will undergo major changes, called Phase-2 upgrade, to be able to operate in the challenging environment of the HL-LHC. The current CMS silicon strip tracker has to be replaced with a new detector. The Phase-2 Outer Tracker (OT) will have higher radiation tolerance, higher granularity, and the capability to handle higher data rates compared to the current system. Another key feature of the OT will be to provide tracking information to the Level-1 (L1) trigger, allowing trigger rates to be kept at a sustainable level without sacrificing physics potential. For this, the OT will be made out of modules with two closely spaced sensors read out by front-end ASICs, which can correlate hits in the two sensors creating short track segments called stubs. The stubs will be used for tracking in the L1 track finder. The modules come in two flavors: strip-strip (2S) and pixel-strip (PS), which contain different sensor configurations and multiple ASICs. In this contribution, the design of the CMS Phase-2 OT, the technological choices, and the quality assurance (QA) procedures used to ensure the functionality of the modules will be reported. The contribution will cover the first results with pre-production devices and the different aspects taken into account during the QA: from fulfilling the precision specification of the module assembly procedure to ensuring the proper communication between the different ASICs on the module. The module noise performance is also checked and the full module functionality is verified at different temperatures.

Zoi, Irene↗
DOE OSTI2025

Building Datasets and Training Methods for ML Based Magnet Quench Detection

Detecting quenches in superconducting (SC) magnets during training is a challenging process that involves capturing physical events that occur at different frequencies and appear as various signal features. These events may be correlated across instrumentation type, thermal cycle, and ramp. These events together build a more complete picture of continuous processes occurring in the magnet, and may allow us to flag potential precursors for quench detection. We present our work on building an automatic machine learning (ML) based quench detection system. We build upon our existing work on unsupervised auto-encoders for acoustic sensors and quench antenna (QA) by first establishing a supervised ML training pipeline. We show the results of an event tagging, analysis, and simulation framework on our QA and acoustic data which are used concurrently to build a training dataset for a supervised implementation. We then show how this supervised training can be used as a prior in a semi-supervised framework and compare this to the unsupervised neural network auto-encoder performance.This allows us to have a more concrete understanding of the performance of our algorithms relative to physical events occurring in the magnet, and also provides a baseline software tool to generically evaluate our quench prediction autoencoders under completely unsupervised, supervised, and semi-supervised training conditions.

Khan, Maira [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS1974

Global parallel unification for large question-answering systems

An efficient means of storing data in a first-order predicate calculus theorem-proving system is described. The data structure is oriented for large scale question-answering (QA) systems. An algorithm is outlined which uses the data structure to unify a given literal in parallel against all literals in all clauses in the data base. The data structure permits a compact representation of data within a QA system. Some suggestions are made for heuristics which can be used to speed-up the unification algorithm in systems.

Auguston, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Modified aerospace reliability and quality assurance method for wind turbines

The safety, reliability, and quality assurance (SR&QA) approach developed for the first large wind turbine generator project is described. The SR&QA approach was used to assure that the machine would not be hazardous to the public or operating personnel, would operate unattended on a utility grid, would demonstrate reliable operation and would help establish the quality assurance and maintainability requirements for future wind turbine projects. A modified failure modes and effects analysis during the design phase, minimal hardware inspections during parts fabrication, and three simple documents to control activities during machine construction and operation were presented.

Klein, W. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Reliability and quality assurance on the MOD 2 wind system

The Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance (R&QA) approach developed for the largest wind turbine generator, the Mod 2, is described. The R&QA approach assures that the machine is not hazardous to the public or to the operating personnel, is operated unattended on a utility grid, demonstrates reliable operation, and helps establish the quality assurance and maintainability requirements for future wind turbine projects. The significant guideline consisted of a failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) during the design phase, hardware inspections during parts fabrication, and three simple documents to control activities during machine construction and operation.

Mason, W. E. B.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Cosmic ray diurnal anisotropy for a solar magnetic cycle

Cosmic ray diurnal anisotropy at high primary rigidities is extended for the 1980-1987 period. The computed values of the limiting primary rigidity for the period vary over the range 30 GV to 200 GV. For the previously studied 1965-1980 period, the mean value of the amplitude of the anisotropy is 0.5 percent. The amplitude of the diurnal anisotropy for 1965 and 1986-1987 is about 20 percent smaller. Very large amplitudes of diurnal variation are observed during the 1982-1985 period, at all primary rigidities. The value of the coupled variable lambda(parallel) x G(r) found to remain constant at about 1 percent for qA less than zero solar magnetic polarity epochs, independent of the primary rigidity. Its value is significantly lower for qA greater than zero epochs.

Ahluwalia, H. S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Defining the performance gap: Conducting a self-assessment

This paper presents two different approaches to performing self-assessments of continuous improvement activities. Case Study 1 describes the activities performed by JSC to assess the implementation of continuous improvement efforts at the NASA Center. The JSC approach included surveys administered to randomly selected NASA personnel and personal interviews with NASA and contractor management personnel. Case Study 2 describes the continuous improvement survey performed by the JSC Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance (SR&QA) organization. This survey consisted of a short questionnaire (50 questions) administered to all NASA and contractor SR&QA personnel. The questionnaire is based on the eight categories of the President's Award for Quality and Productivity Improvement. It is designed to objectively determine placement on the TQ benchmark and identify a roadmap for improvement.

Braymer, Susan A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Quality control of EUVE databases

The publicly accessible databases for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer include: the EUVE Archive mailserver; the CEA ftp site; the EUVE Guest Observer Mailserver; and the Astronomical Data System node. The EUVE Performance Assurance team is responsible for verifying that these public EUVE databases are working properly, and that the public availability of EUVE data contained therein does not infringe any data rights which may have been assigned. In this poster, we describe the Quality Assurance (QA) procedures we have developed from the approach of QA as a service organization, thus reflecting the overall EUVE philosophy of Quality Assurance integrated into normal operating procedures, rather than imposed as an external, post facto, control mechanism.

John, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Production and quality assurance automation in the Goddard Space Flight Center Flight Dynamics Facility

The Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) generates numerous products for NASA-supported spacecraft, including the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS's), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), and the space shuttle. These products include orbit determination data, acquisition data, event scheduling data, and attitude data. In most cases, product generation involves repetitive execution of many programs. The increasing number of missions supported by the FDF has necessitated the use of automated systems to schedule, execute, and quality assure these products. This automation allows the delivery of accurate products in a timely and cost-efficient manner. To be effective, these systems must automate as many repetitive operations as possible and must be flexible enough to meet changing support requirements. The FDF Orbit Determination Task (ODT) has implemented several systems that automate product generation and quality assurance (QA). These systems include the Orbit Production Automation System (OPAS), the New Enhanced Operations Log (NEOLOG), and the Quality Assurance Automation Software (QA Tool). Implementation of these systems has resulted in a significant reduction in required manpower, elimination of shift work and most weekend support, and improved support quality, while incurring minimal development cost. This paper will present an overview of the concepts used and experiences gained from the implementation of these automation systems.

Chapman, K. B.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Quality assurance and risk management: Perspectives on Human Factors Certification of Advanced Aviation Systems

This paper is based on the experience of engineering psychologists advising the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) on the procurement of advanced aviation systems that conform to good human engineering (HE) practice. Traditional approaches to HE in systems procurement focus on the physical nature of the human-machine interface. Advanced aviation systems present increasingly complex design requirements for human functional integration, information processing, and cognitive task performance effectiveness. These developing requirements present new challenges for HE quality assurance (QA) and risk management, requiring focus on design processes as well as on design content or product. A new approach to the application of HE, recently adopted by NATO, provides more systematic ordering and control of HE processes and activities to meet the challenges of advanced aircrew systems design. This systematic approach to HE has been applied by MoD to the procurement of mission systems for the Royal Navy Merlin helicopter. In MoD procurement, certification is a judicial function, essentially independent of the service customer and industry contractor. Certification decisions are based on advice from MoD's appointed Acceptance Agency. Test and evaluation (T&E) conducted by the contractor and by the Acceptance Agency provide evidence for certification. Certification identifies limitations of systems upon release to the service. Evidence of compliance with HE standards traditionally forms the main basis of HE certification and significant non-compliance could restrict release. The systems HE approach shows concern for the quality of processes as well as for the content of the product. Human factors certification should be concerned with the quality of HE processes as well as products. Certification should require proof of process as well as proof of content and performance. QA criteria such as completeness, consistency, timeliness, and compatibility provide generic guidelines for progressive acceptance and certification of HE processes. Threats to the validity of certification arise from problems and assumptions in T&E methods. T&E should seek to reduce the risk of specification non-compliance and certification failure.

Taylor, Robert M.↗