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At least 1,117 records · Page 62

Validation of MCNP Critical Benchmarks Models of Highly Enriched Uranium Cylinders

A new centralized repository of high-quality MCNP models of critical benchmark experiments is currently under development at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The benchmark experiments are described in the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook, and the initial set of benchmark models are derived from the Whisper Suite provided with MCNP6.2. This effort is a collaboration among the Nuclear Criticality Safety, Nuclear Data, and Monte Carlo code development/application organization at LANL. The objective is to create a current single LANL benchmark collection that includes the latest ICSBEP revision that has a formal review and revision process, is contained in an open- source repository, and utilizes new Python tools for improved input and output file review.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Chlorine Worth Study Nuclear Data

The Chlorine Worth Study (CWS) was a series of experiments that took place at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC), operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The focus of the experiments was to develop new integral benchmarks for the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook with high sensitivity to chlorine in the thermal neutron energy region and which match sensitivities of aqueous chloride operations at LANL. This work discusses the experiment and how the experimental and simulated results using different nuclear data libraries compare to each other.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

NDMAS

Overview of Current ART-GCR Data: Fuel Fabrication, Irradiation Monitoring (Fuel & Graphite – near real-time for HDG-1), Post-Irradiation Examination (Fuel & Graphite), Graphite Characterization (Baseline and Irradiated), High Temperature Metals Mechanical Tests, Design, Methods, and Validation Data, Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s High Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR), Argonne National Laboratory’s Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF), Oregon State University’s High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF), Generation IV International VHTR Materials Handbook, Additional related data, and Advanced Test Reactor operations (near real-time).

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Synthesis and Evaluation of Conformationally Restricted N4-Tetradentate Ligands for Implementation in An(III)/Ln(III) Separations

The previous literature demonstrates that donor atoms softer than oxygen are effective for separating trivalent lanthanides (Ln(III)) from trivalent actinides (An(III)) (Nash, K.L., in: Gschneider, K.A. Jr., et al. (eds.) Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths, vol. 18-Lanthanides/Actinides Chemistry, pp. 197-238. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 1994). It has also been shown that ligands that 'restrict' their donor groups in a favorable geometry, appropriate to the steric demands of the cation, have an increased binding affinity. A series of tetradentate nitrogen containing ligands have been synthesized with increased steric 'limits'. The pK a values for these ligands have been determined using potentiometric titration methods and the formation of the colored copper(II) complex has been used as a method to determine ligand partitioning between the organic and aqueous phases. The results for the 2-methylpyridyl-substituted amine ligands are encouraging, but the results for the 2-methylpyridyl-substituted diimines indicate that these ligands are unsuitable for implementation in a solvent extraction system due to hydrolysis.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Semiempirical Formulae for Mechanical Properties Controlled by Strength and Ductility of Power-Law Hardening Metallic Materials

Some subordinate mechanical properties, such as the strain hardening exponent (n) and the fracture true stress (σ{sub f}), are not available in general material property handbooks, although they are important in choosing materials. This paper investigated the relations between the subordinate mechanical properties to the basic ones for power-law hardening materials. Our semiempirical analysis shows that, in uniaxial tensile experiment, the strain hardening exponent is controlled by the ratio of the yield strength (σ{sub s}) and the ultimate tensile strength (σ{sub b}), and the value also equals to the maximum uniform strain. The absolute calculation errors of n on various metal materials are approximately within ± 0.03. Physically, n expresses the ability of the strength rising from the yield strength to the ultimate tensile strength during uniform deformation; it may also denote the maximum ability of uniform deformation before necking. The fracture strength is controlled directly by n, σ{sub b} and the reduction in area (ψ{sub K}) in our concise expression. The relative errors of the fracture strength between the calculations and the measurements on metal materials are approximately within 20%. Results also indicate that the fracture true stress represents the increased stress during uniform deformation plus the concentrated stress caused by necking.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Challenges and Advances in Information Extraction from Scientific Literature: a Review

Scientific articles have long been the primary means of disseminating scientific discoveries. Over the centuries, valuable data and potentially groundbreaking insights have been collected and buried deep in the mountain of publications. In materials engineering, such data are spread across technical handbooks specification sheets, journal articles, and laboratory notebooks in myriad formats. Extracting information from papers on a large scale has been a tedious and time-consuming job to which few researchers have wanted to devote their limited time and effort, yet is an activity that is essential for modern data-driven design practices. However, in recent years, significant progress has been made by the computer science community on techniques for automated information extraction from free text. Yet, transformative application of these techniques to scientific literature remains elusive-due not to a lack of interest or effort but to technical and logistical challenges. Using the challenges in the materials science literature as a driving motivation, we review the gaps between state-of-the-art information extraction methods and the practical application of such methods to scientific texts, and offer a comprehensive overview of work that can be undertaken to close these gaps.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

Organizational and psychological measures for data center energy efficiency: barriers and mitigation strategies

Abstract It was last estimated that in 2020, data centers comprised approximately 2% of total US electricity consumption, with an estimated annual growth rate of 4%. As our country increasingly relies on information technology (IT), our data centers (DCs) will need to increase their energy efficiency (EE) to stabilize their energy consumption. The task of studying EE in DCs is complicated by the interconnected nature of humans and mission-critical technical systems. Moreover, the literature tends to focus on technology solutions such as improvements to IT equipment, cooling infrastructure, and software, without addressing organizational and psychological drivers. Our research demystifies the complex interactions between humans and DCs, by asking What non-technical barriers impede EE investment decision-making and/or implementing energy management strategies? To begin to answer this question, we perform a literature review of 86 resources, ranging from peer-reviewed journal publications to handbooks. We also consider related fields such as organizational behavioral management and energy intensive buildings. We develop a public Zotero library, perform content coding, and complete a rudimentary network analysis. Our findings from the literature review suggest that (1) technological solutions are abundant in the literature but fall short of providing practical guidance on the pitfalls of implementation, (2) making energy efficiency a priority at the executive level of organizations will be largely ineffective if the IT and facilities staff are not directly incentivized to increase EE, and (3) there is minimal current understanding of how the individual psychologies of IT and facilities staff affect EE implementation in DCs. In the next phase of our research, we plan to interview data center operators/experts to ground-truth our literature findings and collaboratively design decarbonization policy solutions that target organizational structure, empower individual staff, and foster a supportive external market.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

What is the gradient of a scalar function defined on a subspace of square matrices?

We illustrate a technique to calculate the gradient of scalar functions that are defined on any arbitrary matrix subspace. It generalizes our earlier work titled “What is the gradient of a scalar function of a symmetric matrix ?”(Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics (2022), https://doi.org/10.1007/s13226-022-00313-x), in which we considered the special case of the subspace of symmetric matrices. Extant methods to calculate the gradient in such cases have an inherent flaw which leads to spurious results that populate several publications, as well as respected textbooks and handbooks on matrix calculus. Here, we examine these sources and results in a rigorous and concrete mathematical setting of a finite-dimensional inner-product space and discover the inherent flaw and also a remedy. We demonstrate two ways to calculate the derivative/gradient and second derivative for scalar functions of matrices defined over an arbitrary matrix subspace; the first method is by considering any (differentiable) extension to the space of square matrices and projection of its gradient onto the given subspace. The second method utilizes an ordered basis and computes each component of the gradient through evaluation of the directional derivative. All the ideas presented are illustrated by non-trivial examples, namely, considering the subspace of 3 x 3 circulant and Toeplitz matrices and presenting the results of gradient-descent with both the spurious and correct gradients. Moreover, our bibliography makes it clear that a rigorous approach to matrix calculus is not common in practice, and our presentation of matrix calculus in the language of inner-product spaces will be significant and meaningful for applied mathematicians, engineers and researchers working in inter-disciplinary fields to avoid the conceptual pitfalls that exist.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

On the convergence and convergence order of finite volume gradient schemes for oblique derivative boundary value problems

This work is an improvement of the previous note (Bradji in: Fuhrmann et al., Finite volumes for complex applications VII–methods, theoretical aspects. Proceedings of the FVCA 7, Berlin, 2014) which dealt with the convergence analysis of a finite volume scheme for the Poisson’s equation with a linear oblique derivative boundary condition. The formulation of the finite volume scheme given in Bradji (in: Fuhrmann et al., Finite volumes for complex applications VII–methods, theoretical aspects. Proceedings of the FVCA 7, Berlin, 2014) involves the discrete gradient introduced recently in Eymard et al. (IMA J Numer Anal 30(4):1009–1043, 2010). In this paper, we consider the convergence analysis of finite volume schemes involving the discrete gradient of Eymard et al. (IMA J Numer Anal 30(4):1009–1043, 2010) for elliptic and parabolic equations with linear oblique derivative boundary conditions. Linear oblique derivative boundary conditions arise for instance in the study of the motion of water in a canal, cf. Lesnic (Commun Numer Methods Eng 23(12):1071–1080, 2007). We derive error estimates in several norms which allow us to get error estimates for the approximations of the exact solutions and its first derivatives. In particular, we provide an error estimate between the gradient of the exact solutions and the discrete gradient of the approximate solutions. Convergence of the family of finite volume approximate solutions towards the exact solution under weak regularity assumption is also investigated. In the case of parabolic equations with oblique derivative boundary conditions, we develop a new discrete a priori estimate result. The proof of this result is based on the use of a discrete mean Poincaré–Wirtinger inequality. Thanks to the stated a priori estimate and to a comparison with an appropriately chosen auxiliary finite volume scheme, we derive the convergence results. This work can be viewed as a continuation of the previous work (Bradji and Gallouët in Int J Finite Vol 3(2):1–35, 2006) where a convergence analysis for a finite volume scheme, based on the admissible mesh of Eymard et al. (In: Ciarlet and Lions, Handbook of numerical analysis, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 2000), for the Poisson’s equation with a linear oblique derivative boundary conditions is given. The obtained convergence results do not require any relation between the mesh sizes of the spatial and time discretizations. Some numerical tests are presented for both elliptic and parabolic equations. In particular, we present three methods to compute the discrete solution.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Microstructure, fatigue, and impact toughness properties of additively manufactured nickel alloy 718

A complete understanding of processing-structure-property-performance relationship of additively manufactured (AM) components are critical from an application standpoint. Therefore, in the current investigation, a comprehensive microstructural characterization and mechanical properties (tensile, fatigue and impact toughness) evaluation of nickel alloy 718 AM by the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) technique have been performed. AM builds were made from powders manufactured via different atomization conditions. Although the standard post-heat treatment procedure led to the removal of severe interdendritic segregation both grain boundary and intra-grain precipitation of d phase occurred. Regardless of d phase presence, axial fatigue properties of both the AM builds were similar to design handbook wrought fatigue data. However, due to the d phase, impact toughness properties were comparable to the wrought material conditions that exhibited d phase. Fractured surfaces of Charpy impact samples exhibited crack propagation extensively along the boundaries decorated by d precipitates.

Komarasamy, Mageshwari↗

Criticality calculations of the Very High Temperature Reactor Critical Assembly benchmark with Serpent and SCALE/KENO-VI

Within the framework of the IAEA Coordinated Research Project on HTGR Uncertainty Analysis in Modeling, criticality calculations of the Very High Temperature Critical Assembly experiment were performed as the validation reference to the prismatic MHTGR-350 lattice calculations. Criticality measurements performed at several temperature points at this Japanese graphite-moderated facility were recently included in the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments and represent one of the few data sets available for the validation of HTGR lattice physics. Here, this work compares VHTRC criticality simulations utilizing the Monte Carlo codes Serpent and SCALE/KENO-VI. Reasonable agreement was found between Serpent and KENO-VI, but only the use of the latest ENDF cross section library release, namely the ENDF/B-VII.1 library, led to an improved match with the measured data. Furthermore, the fourth beta release of SCALE 6.2/KENO-VI showed significant improvements from the current SCALE 6.1.2 version, compared to the experimental values and Serpent.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

SCALE/AMPX multigroup libraries for sodium-cooled fast reactor systems

New multigroup cross section libraries and associated covariance files that are optimized for the analysis of sodium-cooled fast reactors were generated with the AMPX tools distributed with the SCALE code system. These new libraries account for the fast neutron flux spectrum with sufficient resolution of resonances in the higher energy range to reproduce continuous-energy reference results and to provide the basis for sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of fast spectrum systems with the SCALE code system. The performance of the new libraries was investigated in terms of the eigenvalue, the neutron flux and reaction rates in criticality calculations, and the generation of group constants. A library using 302 energy groups and a fast neutron flux spectrum as the weighting function led to very good agreement with reference continuous-energy results. As a result, the performance of the new library was demonstrated in calculations of experiments from the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project handbook.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Progress on the reevaluation and validation of the n+233U neutron cross sections

The set of 233 U resonance parameters of the ENDF/B-VIII.0 nuclear data library was adopted from the previous ENDF/B-VII.1 evaluation using the external levels to update the thermal values. Adoption of IAEA 2017 thermal standards ( σ f = 533.0 ± 2.2 b, σ c = 44.9 ± 0.9 b, and ν ‾ tot = 2.487 ± 0.011 ) and of the IAEA-recommended thermal-neutron induced prompt fission neutron spectrum (PFNS) with average PFNS energy of 2.030 ± 0.013 MeV requires a re-evaluation of 233 U neutron cross sections in the resolved resonance region. A newly produced evaluation is being tested on benchmarks carefully selected from the Handbook of International Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments (ICSBEP) which are highly sensitive to 233 U data. An important goal of this work was to eliminate the strong negative gradient of the calculated effective multiplication factors with respect to the epithermal fission fraction observed in the validation of the ENDF/B-VIII.0 library for those assemblies. A significant improvement in integral performance of critical 233 U solutions is observed for the newly proposed evaluation. Further work addressing the fast neutron region is needed.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Robotics for HVAC applications: A critical review and future perspectives

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), enhanced computational capabilities, and innovations in sensors and hardware have driven the increasing development and application of robots in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. We selected and reviewed 101 studies published between 2005 and 2025, sourced from IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and the ACM Digital Library. To analyze these works, we developed a five-dimensional analytical framework (morphology, sensing, navigation, task execution, and system integration), inspired by the Springer Handbook of Robotics and tailored specifically for robotic applications in HVAC. Based on the reviewed studies, six distinct tasks spanning the entire HVAC lifecycle have been identified. Among the six tasks, inspection and maintenance dominate (59 %), followed by indoor monitoring and auditing (21 %), whereas leakage detection, comfort support, and installation/retrofit remain less explored. To address the identified gaps, this review proposes future research directions including investigating robot-aware HVAC design principles, developing multimodal HVAC sensing and data fusion techniques, enhancing robot training and hardware capabilities, and expanding robotic applications beyond Maintenance and Operations (M&O). The findings from this review inform future robotics research for HVAC applications and ultimately enhance system affordability, energy efficiency, resilience or reliability, and occupant environmental comfort. Moreover, it seeks to inspire researchers to explore the intersections of robotics, computer science, building science, and HVAC engineering fostering advancements in this multidisciplinary field.

AI↗

Benchmarking ENDF/B-VII.1, JENDL-4.0 and JEFF-3.1.1 with MCNP6

Recent releases of three major world nuclear reaction data libraries, ENDF/B-VII.1, JENDL-4.0, and JEFF-3.1.1, have been tested extensively using benchmark calculations. The calculations were performed with the latest release of the continuous energy Monte Carlo neutronics code MCNP, i.e. MCNP6. Three types of benchmarks were used, viz. criticality safety benchmarks, (fusion) shielding benchmarks, and reference systems for which the effective delayed neutron fraction is reported. For criticality safety, more than 2000 benchmarks from the International Handbook of Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments were used. Benchmarks from all categories were used, ranging from low-enriched uranium, compound fuel, thermal spectrum ones (LEU-COMP-THERM), to mixed uranium-plutonium, metallic fuel, fast spectrum ones (MIX-MET-FAST). For fusion shielding many benchmarks were based on IAEA specifications for the Oktavian experiments (for Al, Co, Cr, Cu, LiF, Mn, Mo, Si, Ti, W, Zr), Fusion Neutronics Source in Japan (for Be, C, N, O, Fe, Pb), and Pulsed Sphere experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (for {sup 6}Li, {sup 7}Li, Be, C, N, O, Mg, Al, Ti, Fe, Pb, D2O, H2O, concrete, polyethylene and teflon). The new functionality in MCNP6 to calculate the effective delayed neutron fraction was tested by comparison with more than thirty measurements in widely varying systems. Among these were measurements in the Tank Critical Assembly (TCA in Japan) and IPEN/MB-01 (Brazil), both with a thermal spectrum, two cores in Masurca (France) and three cores in the Fast Critical Assembly (FCA, Japan), all with fast spectra. The performance of the three libraries, in combination with MCNP6, is shown to be good. The results for the LEU-COMP-THERM category are on average very close to the benchmark value. Also for most other categories the results are satisfactory. Deviations from the benchmark values do occur in certain benchmark series, or in isolated cases within benchmark series. Such instances can often be related to nuclear data for specific non-fissile elements, such as C, Fe, or Gd. Indications are that the intermediate and mixed spectrum cases are less well described. The results for the shielding benchmarks are generally good, with very similar results for the three libraries in the majority of cases. Nevertheless there are, in certain cases, strong deviations between calculated and benchmark values, such as for Co and Mg. Also, the results show discrepancies at certain energies or angles for e.g. C, N, O, Mo, and W. The functionality of MCNP6 to calculate the effective delayed neutron fraction yields very good results for all three libraries.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Evaluation of Delayed Critical ORNL Unreflected HEU Metal Sphere (ORSphere)

In 1971 and 1972 experimenters at the Oak Ridge Critical Experiment Facility performed critical experiments using an unreflected metal sphere of highly enriched uranium (HEU). The sphere used for the criticality experiments, originally used for neutron leakage spectrum measurements by General Atomic Company, consisted of three main parts and were assembled with a vertical assembly machine. Two configurations were tested. The first was nearly spherical with a nominal radius of 3.467 inches and had a reactivity of 68.1 ± 2.0 cents. The sphere parts were then re-machined as a sphere with a nominal radius of 3.4425 inches. This assembly had a reactivity of -23 cents. The method, dimensions, and uncertainty of the critical experiment were extensively recorded and documented. The original purpose of the experiments was for comparison to GODIVA I experiments. The ORNL unreflected HEU Metal Spheres have been evaluated for inclusion in the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments (scheduled for inclusion in the September 2013 edition).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

What Students Think About (Nuclear) Radiation – Before and After Fukushima

Preparing successful science lessons is very demanding. One important aspect a teacher has to consider is the students' previous knowledge about the specific topic. This is why research about students' preconceptions has been, and continues to be, a major field in science education research. Following a constructivistic approach [R. Duit et al., International handbook of research on conceptual change, p. 629 (2008)], helping students learn is only possible if teachers know about students' ideas beforehand. Studies about students' conceptions regarding the major topics in physics education (e.g. mechanics, electrodynamics, optics, thermodynamics), are numerous and well-documented. The topic radiation, however, has seen very little empirical research about students' ideas and misconceptions. Some research was conducted after the events of Chernobyl [P. Lijnse et al., International Journal of Science Education 12, 67 (1990); B. Verplanken, Environment and Behavior 21, 7 (1989)] and provided interesting insight into some of the students' preconceptions about radiation. In order to contribute empirical findings to this field of research, our workgroup has been investigating the conceptions students have about the topic radiation for several years [S. Neumann et al., Journal of Science Education and Technology 21, 826 (2012)]. We used children's drawings and conducted short follow-up interviews with students (9 – 12 years old) and more detailed interviews with 15-year-old students. Both studies were originally done before the events in Fukushima and replicated a year later. We not only asked students about their general associations and emotions regarding the term radiation, but also examined the students' risk perceptions of different types of radiation. Through the use of open-ended questions we were able to examine students' conceptions about different types of radiation (including nuclear) that could be a hindrance to student learning. Our results show that students' associations with the term radiation are almost exclusively related to nuclear radiation. Their emotions concerning the word radiation are predominately negative, and the idea that radiation is something to be avoided is widespread among students. Since most students were not familiar with the idea of naturally occurring nuclear radiation, it does not seem surprising that a lot of them generally described radiation as something artificial and man-made. Also, none of the students interviewed mentioned applications of nuclear radiation in medicine or technology (besides its use in nuclear power plants). All of these results have shown to be even more prevalent in the interview session that was conducted after the tragic events in Fukushima in 2011. In this article, we will also include suggestions for improving the teaching of the topic radiation in school.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Environmental performance of household waste management in Europe - An example of 7 countries

Highlights: • Attributional LCA of household waste management in 7 EU countries. • Country-specific technologies and waste composition are crucial for impacts. • Proper waste management is a benefit to society. • Waste hierarchy focus needs to change from quantity to quality. • Need for overall improvement in waste data. - Abstract: An attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) of the management of 1 ton of household waste was conducted in accordance with ISO 14044:2006 and the ILCD Handbook for seven European countries, namely Germany, Denmark, France, UK, Italy, Poland and Greece, representing different household waste compositions, waste management practices, technologies, and energy systems. National data were collected from a range of sources regarding household waste composition, household sorting efficiency, collection, waste treatments, recycling, electricity and heat composition, and technological efficiencies. The objective was to quantify the environmental performance in the different countries, in order to analyze the sources of the main environmental impacts and national differences which affect the results. In most of the seven countries, household waste management provides environmental benefits when considering the benefits of recycling of materials and recovering and utilization of energy. Environmental benefits come from paper recycling and, to a lesser extent, the recycling of metals and glass. Waste-to-energy plants can lead to an environmental load (as in France) or a saving (Germany and Denmark), depending mainly on the composition of the energy being substituted. Sensitivity analysis and a data quality assessment identified a range of critical parameters, suggesting from where better data should be obtained. The study concluded that household waste management is environmentally the best in European countries with a minimum reliance on landfilling, also induced by the implementation of the Waste Hierarchy, though environmental performance does not correlate clearly with the rate of material recycling. From an environmental point of view, this calls for a change in the waste management paradigm, with less focus on where the waste is routed and more of a focus on the quality and utilization of recovered materials and energy.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗