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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Risk perception and social representation on radioactive waste: a case study with students of IPEN

Proper management of radioactive waste in teaching and research laboratories involves not only techniques and procedures for the treatment, storage and disposal of these materials but also the responsibility of all those who handle them. Responsibility begins with with methods that generate less waste and with the correct segregation of contaminated materials prior to disposal, In this context, the present study aimed to know, identify, understand and analyze the perception of risk and social representations about radioactive waste and its management by students and researchers of the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute. According to Renn (1992), two of the approaches to risk perception are cultural and sociological, which served as the basis to the present study. Within this analysis, the concept of risk is understood as a phenomenon and, therefore, the phenomena experienced by the individuals are related to their life histories, social relations, religious beliefs and academic formation, elements that interfere in the perception of risk. The method used to collect data was free evocation, with participants receiving the following instructions: 'Please write five words that pop up into your mind when you listen to the words radioactive waste and, sequentially, write a sentence using these words'. All participants received instructions of the voluntary character of the participation and of the confidentiality of the data. A total of 73 students and researchers were interviewed, including scientific initiation, masters degree, doctorate and postdoctoral researchers. 353 words were mentioned, of which 209 were different from each other. After analyzing the sentences, the words were inserted in 12 categories and later analyzed in the software INVOCADO, which provides a diagram with the possible structure of the social representations of the group studied. The analysis of the four-quadrants and their categories, as well as the mentioned words that compose them, are therefore consistent with the universe of the public analyzed. While it is not the totality of students dealing with radioactive materials, in general these individuals understand the importance of technology and that the adoption of safe practices ensures the successful development of research. Future developments: Analyze quantitatively and qualitatively the other questions of the questionnaire. Analyze the data and information obtained from the participant observation, which consisted of a follow-up of three students in their laboratory practices. Propose to the institute a manual of good practices that can be used by the students in their laboratory practices.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Robotic Assisted Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

Mission Statement: Concrete wall characterization for structural integrity evaluation of H-Canyon exhaust tunnel using a remote controlled robotic arm with a NDT Concrete Instrument. Challenges: Rough and Curved Surfaces, Remote location. The UR5 is a collaborative robotic arm capable of: Payload: 11 lbs (5 kg), Reach: 33.5 in (850 mm), Footprint: 5.87 in (149 mm) diameter, Weight: 45.4 Ibs (20.6 kg). The force torque sensor reacts to a set value inputted by the user that can be utilized for sensitive products. This allows the UR5 to react to surfaces using the built-in function to search for a wall and orient itself normal to that plane. The Proceq Pundit 250 array is a nondestructive device that the user applies against a concrete wall and scans using ultrasonic transducers. The back wall and other defects can be show through the touchscreen. A fixture to hold the Proceq Pundit 250 array onto the UR5 robotic arm was designed and 3D printed. It includes openings for easy access to the buttons from the Pundit array as well as a reinforced structural design. The scan from the Pundit array can show the back-wall, rebars, and other defects to assist in determining the structural integrity. In order to scan, a program was made to search for the wall first. 1. The UR5 robotic arm will go to the desired location away from the wall. 2. It will then search for the wall by moving towards it slowly. 3. After contact, the force applied will slowly but steadily increase to a preset value inputted by the user. 4. The force torque sensor will use those values and communicate with the UR5 by adjusting the arm to become normal to the wall. 5. The arm will then apply force to push back the transducers on the Pundit array to avoid gaps. 6. It will then prompt the user to collect data and wait until finished. The UR5 teach pendant allows the user to program the robot to perform automated and repeatable tasks. It includes a free drive mode which allows the user to move the arm to a desired position by hand. The user can also apply restricted planes which include either stopped or slower motion to ensure safety. The concrete sample being tested includes rebars and different grades of surface roughness to understand the readings from the Proceq Pundit 250 array. Desired concrete samples are currently being fabricated that will simulate the terrain being tested.

3D PRINTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of Critical Experiments to Benchmark Moderator Temperature Reactivity Worth

The simulation of nuclear reactors requires being able to accurately model several different interrelated physical processes including neutronics, heat production, fluid/thermal physics, structural mechanics, fuel behavior, chemistry, and balance-of-plant. In order to design and use new types of nuclear reactors, modern codes have been developed which couple together the behavior of these different physical models to accurately consider the feedback effects between different physical effects. The SHARP toolset, part of the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) project, is an example of an effort to combine models of neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, and structural mechanics in a coupled simulation to model any type of nuclear reactor as accurately as possible. The validation of multi-physics coupling techniques requires new experimental benchmark experiments specifically designed for that purpose. As a preliminary step towards design of these experiments, a series of measurements have been performed to demonstrate the temperature-dependent neutronic behavior of a well-characterized reactor assembly for comparison with the available codes. The facility adopted for these experiments is Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility (RCF) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The RCF is unique in several aspects and provides several advantages to this type of experiment. Built in 1954 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO), the RCF has been used to design small compact reactors. RPI acquired the facility in 1963, and the highly-enriched uranium fuel was later swapped for low-enriched fuel pins that were excess from the SPERT facility experiments. Nowadays, The RCF is regarded as a teaching and research facility, permitting the training of licensed Senior Reactor Operators, and offering a critical experiments laboratory course to students. The reactor core standard configuration consists of 332 or 333 UO{sub 2} fuel pins, containing a total of 35.2 grams of U- 235 each (4.81 % enriched). The pins are arranged in a regular lattice with a pitch of 1.6256 cm. The number and configuration of these pins are flexible, and the reactor's overall thermal power is limited to no more than 15 W. As the low thermal output of the reactor does not induce any measurable temperature changes, the effect of temperature in the reactor is observed by applying two 18- kW electric heaters to the water moderator, with mechanical agitators to maintain uniformity in moderator temperature. Before beginning experiments, each fuel pin inside the core was surveyed for mechanical defects (bending or warping) that may contribute to uncertainty in core behavior. Every fuel pin has been individually removed from the core and checked for any irregularities on its surface (caused by shocks or usage). About 12 % of the 333 pins were found to have a small degree of warping and were replaced with excess pins available in the facility. In doing this, we made sure all the pins are identical, thereby increasing the accuracy of future models. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

E-Learning in Neutron Activation Analysis

Since the middle 1990's electronic technology (E learning) has slowly infiltrated and now dominates education at all levels. E-learning encompasses a wide array of deliveries from simple introductions of animations in a teaching class to Massive Open-On-Line Courses (MOOCs) and Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (MOODLEs). Even the definition of e-learning can be allusive. E-learning can or cannot have the following aspects: internet availability, supervised exams, a teacher to advise the students by electronic means such as e-mail, telephone, SKYPE, GOOGLE HANGOUT, FACETIME, etc., and multimedia designs. E-learning has transformed education from the Traditional Classroom Course to a) Synchronous Distributed Course in which web-based technologies are used to extend classroom lectures and discussions to students at remote sites in real time; b) Web-Enhanced Course in which online course activity complements class sessions without reducing the number of required class meetings; c). 'Emporium' Course where this model is designed for on-campus use, eliminates all class meetings and replaces them with a learning resource center featuring online materials and on-demand personalized assistance; d) Hybrid Course where online activity is mixed with classroom meetings, replacing at least 20 percent, but not all required face-to-face meetings; and e) Online Course where all course activity is done online and there are no required face-to-face sessions within the course and no requirements for on-campus activity. E-learning takes an extra challenge where the subject matter is highly scientific and engineering oriented encompassing multiple complex mathematical notations and concepts. A straight forward presentation of equations in Power Point is a recipe for an unsuccessful delivery of lectures. But how does one deliver intricate concepts without the use of a traditional blackboard to write on and how does one reach a worldwide diverse community in a fast moving arena of technological changes in education delivery?. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international organizations as well, have undertaken large efforts to secure nuclear knowledge management in a wide area of nuclear science and engineering including research reactors. (authors)

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Remote Gamma Ray Spectrum Acquisition

An approach is presented that utilizes networking, hardware, and software components to allow data acquisition from Canberra's Osprey multi-channel analyzer (MCA) detector. The research has allowed researchers to remotely connect to Canberra's ProSpect gamma spectroscopy software and the detector by making use of Windows Server 2012 and a network connection. Gamma rays are ionizing, electromagnetic radiation of high energy and short wavelength. They are produced primarily by radioactive decay. Several undergraduate courses at Texas A and M University-Kingsville focus on teaching students to measure and research gamma rays while in the laboratory. Recent needs have motivated efforts to develop a network solution that allows authorized students and researchers to access the ProSpect software and Osprey MCA detectors remotely from multiple computers connected to the campus network. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Radiation Science and Engineering Center Utilizations and Future Developments at Penn State University

The Radiation Science and Engineering Center (RSEC) facilities at Penn State include the Penn State Breazeale Reactor (PSBR), gamma irradiation facilities (In-pool Irradiator and Dry Irradiator), Neutron Beam Laboratory, Hot Cells, Radio-nuclear Applications Laboratory (RAL), Radiochemistry Teaching Laboratory, Nuclear Security Education Laboratory, Subcritical Graphite Reactor Facility, and various Radiation Detection and Measurement Laboratories. The PSBR is a 1 MW TRIGA Mark III reactor with pulsing capabilities. A variety of dry tubes and fixtures are available in or near the core for irradiations. When the reactor core is placed next to the D{sub 2}O tank and graphite reflector assembly near the beam port locations, thermal neutron beams become available. In steady state operation at 1 MW, the thermal neutron flux is 1x10{sup 13} n/cm{sup 2} sec at the edge of the core and 3x10{sup 13} n/cm{sup 2} sec at the central thimble. The peak flux during a maximum pulse is ∼ 6x10{sup 16} n/cm{sup 2} sec with a pulse half width of ∼10 msec. The PSBR, the centerpiece of the RSEC, first went critical in 1955 and is the longest continuously operating university research reactor in the United States. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the PSBR's license for an additional 20 years in November 2009. A significant redesign of the core-moderator/beam port is currently underway to make full use of the PSBR's capabilities and to establish state-of-the-art neutron beam facilities.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Development of criticality safety awareness training for front line workers at AWE - 14422

This paper provides an overview of the current criticality safety training given to front line workers at the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). This 'Criticality Awareness' training has been developed to provide front line workers with adequate instruction to ensure that they are aware of the hazards and risks associated with the plant and its operations. Additionally, this training details the actions to be taken in the event of an accident or emergency. When the current Criticality Awareness training course was initially created in 2008, it was considered beneficial to use both criticality safety specialists and criticality trainers to deliver the course. The format chosen was a classroom style of teaching, to help facilitate open questions/answers between the training staff and course participants. Experience gained through previous methods of delivering the course found that it was more effective to include both the criticality and training specialists in the development and delivery of the course, as each supplements the other with respect to their fields of expertise. This paper provides an overview of the course content and structure and discusses the development of the course over time. This development has arisen based on feedback from the participants and accredited professional training staff. The benefits to the participants from the style of delivery of the course is discussed, together with the wider benefits to criticality safety across site from direct interaction between the criticality safety specialists and the operators who have the practical experience and knowledge of actual work with fissile material. Future developments to the course are also discussed, and potential improvements highlighted. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Leveraging Machine Learning Capabilities for the Characterization of Irradiated Uranium: A Case Study of Analysis Methods for Nuclear Safeguards and Nuclear Forensics

Nondestructively determining the initial enrichment of irradiated uranium is a complex and laborious multivariable problem due to the presence of fission products. This work demonstrates the capabilities of machine learning to analyze gamma-ray spectral data to determine initial enrichment without knowledge of the decay time of the sample. The approach developed is agnostic to the particular scenario and is applicable to a wide variety of applications in nuclear forensics and nuclear safeguards. We irradiated 5 mg uranium standard reference materials at discrete enrichment values ranging from 0.02% to 97% 235 U (weight percent) in UT Austin’s Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory TRIGA Mark II 1.1 MW research reactor, allowed each to decay for 8 hours, and then measured each sample via gamma-ray spectrometry for 50 hours post-irradiation yielding 1,400 individual gamma-ray spectra discretized into 8,192 energy bins. We then trained decision trees models to analyze individual gamma-ray spectra and estimate the associated initial enrichment without knowledge of the time since end of irradiation. We evaluated the performance of the models with a reserved test set not used for training or calibrating the model. A decision tree model constructed with this procedure achieved a mean absolute error in initial enrichment determination of 2.3% (weight percent 235 U). Next, we implemented a principal component analysis pre-processing routine of the gamma-ray spectrometry data to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset from 8,192 channels in the spectrum to 10 principal components while retaining over 99% of the inherent variance in the data. Decision tree models constructed with these data demonstrated decreased mean absolute error in enrichment determination, reduced computational time, and decreased complexity. A single decision tree model constructed with this procedure achieved a mean absolute error in initial enrichment determination of 0.05% (weight percent 235 U). Furthermore, we analyzed these models with learning curves to ensure that overfitting did not occur. The capabilities provided by these models can be naturally extended to other application-focused measurements in the fields of nuclear safeguards, nuclear forensics, and nuclear non-proliferation.

Drescher, Adam↗
DOE OSTI2023

Workshop on Addressing Rigor and Reproducibility in Thermal, Heterogeneous Catalysis

Heterogeneous catalysis has long served as the bedrock of the manufacturing of energy carriers, fuels and chemicals, and various technologies for pollution abatement. The significant complexity and variability spanning the entire breadth of catalyst material properties, synthesis methods, characterization techniques, and evaluation procedures, has focused attention on the need to establish community-accepted best practices for ensuring high-quality, benchmarked, and reproducible data. In addition, increased societal urgency to transition to clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas concentrations has incentivized interdisciplinary, convergent, and translational approaches to catalysis research in recent years. Research engineers and scientists with expertise cutting broadly across materials science, chemical synthesis, interfacial science, spectroscopy, and methods of data science and computational simulation, all bring diverse and important perspectives to catalysis research, but often with little awareness of the complexity of catalytic systems, especially in their working environment. As has already occurred in other scientific fields, there has been growing recognition and consensus in the heterogeneous catalysis research community that mechanisms are needed to improve the rigor and reproducibility (R&R) of experimental measurements, to ensure alignment of the broader research community with a common core of best practices specific to the realization of high-quality catalysis research. Similarly, the field is moving rapidly toward computationally informed and data science-driven catalyst design, but the success of implementing such predictive tools hinges on model training and validation rooted in rigorously obtained and reproducible experimental data that are benchmarked to common specifications. As such, this workshop was convened to prepare a report summarizing best practices for reporting data and performing experiments that researchers can use to benchmark, validate, and reproduce data in specific sub-fields of thermal, heterogeneous catalysis. Additionally, we discussed recommendations for future actions that may improve R&R in this field. The workshop organizers and participants include a diverse range of catalysis researchers from various employment sectors (e.g., academia, industry, national laboratory), institutional mission and resources (e.g., PhD-granting research universities, non-PhD-granting teaching universities), career stage (e.g., early, mid and late-career), technical expertise, and demographic background. This diverse group was involved in the discussion of workshop agenda items, writing this report, and discussing possible future action items for the community to consider, which helped ensure that a broad range of perspectives were captured in the description of the problems at hand and the creation of actionable solutions that may be effectively adopted by the diverse practitioners in catalysis research. Importantly, this group of workshop participants also included very early career researchers (e.g., senior PhD students, postdoctoral scholars) who will become the next generation of scientific leaders in various sectors, thus capturing emerging perspectives of newcomers to the field to shape its future while positively impacting the development of its future workforce. We envision that this effort will help advance the field of catalysis science by improving the rigor and reproducibility of experimental data collected by current researchers and future newcomers to the field, which is of broad importance to health and vitality of any scientific discipline. Therefore, best practices identified in this endeavor for thermal heterogeneous catalysis can be translated to such efforts in other areas of catalysis and other scientific fields involving the study of materials, and vice versa. We also envision this to be an ongoing effort, with future workshops that are convened to discuss issues of rigor and reproducibility on technical topics that were unable to be covered in this workshop due to its scope limitations, and as emerging methods and materials become more prevalent in the research community.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maximization in Energy-Constrained Robots

Our goal is to teach a robot to walk in an energy efficient way. Inspired by nature [1], we create a reinforcement learning method that balances distance traveled and energy consumption, which we call “utility.” Further, each step is symmetric to ensure equal strides while walking straight. We achieve our goal by rewarding decisions that lead to the best utility over several training iterations.

Pereira, Luiz Manella↗
DOE OSTI2024

Experiments and Project-Based Enhancements for STEM Learning: Preprint

Motivating k-12 students to pick a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an effort that requires consistent attention. At different points in time, STEM educators need to pivot themselves and update educational materials to consistently motivate the next generation of k-12 students to enter into STEM careers. Once they enter undergraduate education, universities need to motivate their undergraduates students to consider graduate studies to ensure qualified human resources can be developed for research, and teaching. We present in this paper, our work on developing STEM materials for k-12 students targeting grid integration of hydrogen assets. This paper also presents our work on leveraging open source distribution system model, digital real time simulation tool to create projects for undergraduate students and motivate their interest in research topics, and enter into graduate level education.

electro-magnetic transients↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mathematics Integrated with Computer Science through Scratch: Curricular Modules for the Middle Grades

A project funded by the National Science Foundation, Computer Science Integrated with Mathematics in Middle Schools (CSIMMS) (DRL-1640039), brought middle-school mathematics teachers together with university computer science (CS) faculty and STEM education faculty to design, develop, and test curriculum modules in which CS is integrated into instruction for middle-school general-mathematics courses. The project developed integrated math/CS curriculum modules (for grades 6, 7, and 8), complete with student tasks and teacher materials to guide classroom implementation. Across the project, sixteen teachers from four middle schools representing different school contexts (both urban and suburban, serving students from a range of demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds) participated as members of the design team and trial testers of the math/CS modules. All modules underwent multiple years of testing and refinement, with extensive input from the teachers who co-designed and implemented them. Approximately 50-100 middle-school students participated in the classes of those who taught each year. The modules in this volume feature a range of models for integrating mathematics and computer science at the 6th and 7th grade levels. All modules foreground the teaching of grade-level mathematics content, with computer science functioning to motivate and/or reinforce these ideas.

Andrews larson, Christine↗
DOE OSTI2024

ION Work Reduction Opportunity Realization Demonstration

The purpose of this research was to realize one of the advanced training work reduction opportunities first presented in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) report, “Process for Significant Nuclear Work Function Innovation Based on Integrated Operations Concepts” (INL/EXT-21-64134) [1], with a nuclear power plant (NPP) research partner. Researchers modernized two trainings: (1) an accredited instructor-led training (ILT) overview course on Westinghouse DS 480-volt (V) circuit breakers to a multimedia-focused computer-based-training (CBT) learning module, and (2) an on-demand chaptered video on how to properly rack and un-rack a Westinghouse DS 480-V circuit breaker. These modernized work products were developed and implemented in a manner consistent with the industry guidelines found in Institution of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) Teaching and Learning 23-001 [2]. Researchers calculated that the modernized accredited training course reduced the time necessary to prepare and deliver the training material by a factor of 8:1. The amount of time learners spend in class could be reduced by this same factor. In other words, if a course took 8 hours to deliver a class, the new CBT instruction would take just over 1 hour. The researchers noted that the requirement for any practicum training by the learners with the instructor(s) would remain in place. But through interviews with new and experienced learners, the researchers discovered that the confidence of these learners in performing the racking and un-racking of the circuit breaker improved as a result of using the new modernized CBT process. Additionally, the learners who tested the modernized work products enjoyed the modernized CBT and the learning video significantly more than current in-class learning methods. These are encouraging results for the nuclear industry, as this modernization of training can be applied to other classes and is scalable across the industry. In line with the Integrated Operations for Nuclear (ION) model, positive workload analysis supports the investment of resources in modernizing NPP training processes and infrastructure. Implementation of the advanced training technologies in this report is likely to result in substantive long-term workload benefits to instructors and learners and result in hard-dollar savings on contractor spends. Additionally, investment in these modernized training processes will result in improved learner proficiency. The results of this research can be applied to additional operator, technical, and general training topics to provide additional workload and learning benefits in addition to what was explored.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Developing Smart Building Technology Modules to Enhance Workforce Preparedness: A Case for AI-Driven Academic and Professional Education

Smart building technologies are resources that improve building energy efficiency and resilience, reduce carbon emissions, and provide load flexibility to the grid. However, in both academic curricula and building professionals’ continuing education, there is a lack of systematic instruction on methods to integrate multiple energy systems including distributed energy resources (DER), smart building technologies, AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools and key concepts, components, and controls, including “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices. In today’s dynamic workforce, this major gap in smart building technology education prevents stakeholders from being able to attract talent with an understanding and preparation to adopt smart building technologies in building design and operations. A federally funded project included a partnership between Slipstream and Texas A&M University (TAMU) to develop a semester-long smart building curriculum for engineering college students with the ability to adapt the contents for workforce development of professionals in building services. The final product consists of 16 training videos adapted for building professionals and the public. The educational content and training materials cover the benefits of building energy systems, the latest sensor technologies and IoT devices, all with a focus on smart building technologies. The key drivers are on topics related to smart building controls (i.e., energy management information systems), smart building control platforms, cybersecurity, grid-interactive-efficient buildings (GEBs), smart building control methods, and occupant-centric control. Although not explicitly included the technologies nod to the need for AI driven technologies to prepare engineers and industry professionals to be future ready. This paper describes the project approach, provides outlines of the training materials, and identifies lessons learned in creating the content for this course. The authors suggest ways to scale the instruction of smart building concepts to empower the workforce to accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies and AI-based teaching and learning in higher education and building sector.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exotic Hadrons: A Subatomic Bestiary

Particle physicists study unfamiliar forms of matter – matter that hasn’t commonly existed in the cosmos since fractions of a second after the universe began. It has allowed scientists to dive down into an ever-decreasing set of size scales, from molecules, to atoms, to protons and neutrons, and even to quarks. The world of quarks can be a confusing one, but over the past couple decades, it has gotten even more complicated. Using powerful particle accelerators researchers have begun to create and study a truly new form of matter, one in which quarks are combined in unusual ways and one which will teach us some interesting new things about the strong nuclear force.

Lincoln, Don [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000205997407)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electrometallurgical Treatment of Used Sodium-Bonded Metal Fuels

This is a teaching presentation for the University of New Mexico, Radioactive Waste Management class. This is a senior/graduate level class. The presentation does not contains any OUO information. All information provided has been previously presented publicly.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2015

EERE Resources for Graduate Students

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a number of resources available for graduate students, including research positions, internships, and career-planning information to help you navigate the education-to-employment pathway in energy.

Graduate, Energy, Resources, Education, Teaching, ↗