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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Using FENOSOL{sup TM} Phenolic Foam as a Shock Absorber for Type B Packaging - 17256

Type B and fissile material transportation packages are designed to withstand deformation from dynamic forces experienced during impacts in hypothetical accident conditions. A critical aspect is to ensure the containment system is not breached. The package design normally includes impact limiters made up of a shell filled with energy-absorbing material. Various types of materials are used as energy absorbers, including wood, foam, and honeycomb structures. Synthetic foam is an ideal material for impact limiters; it has isotropic material properties, it acts as a heat insulator during fire conditions, and it maintains structural integrity at high temperatures. In addition, the density of the foam may be controlled during the manufacturing process, allowing the cask designer flexibility to select the right density for each application. The foam properties can be used as inputs for numerical simulations of dynamic impacts. These simulations are a key component of the safety analysis report for Type B transportation casks. Robatel has recently invested in equipment to produce FENOSOL{sup TM} phenolic foam in our factory for use in our cask designs. This acquisition was made jointly between Robatel and the CEA, with Robatel ensuring the industrialization of the product. In the past decade, this foam was successfully integrated into more than 10 European cask designs, and there has been extensive in-laboratory characterization of its properties. FENOSOL{sup TM} has already been accepted by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) as a shock absorbing material for use in cask designs. Since the acquisition of the phenolic foam production process by Robatel, a new research and development program has been launched to provide more accurate information to our clients, extend the range of application of this foam, and to improve its properties. Robatel has built an extensive database of material characteristics through the use of a universal mechanical tester, a scanning electron microscope, and a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. In addition, Robatel has successfully implemented FENOSOL{sup TM} in two recent cask designs. This included scale model drop testing of a 9 meter drop in three orientations, and a pin puncture drop test. Robatel is in the process of producing FENOSOL{sup TM} samples for testing according to ASTM standards. Various densities will be included in the study. The testing will include duro-meter hardness, specific heat, thermal conductivity, compressive strength and modulus, and tensile strength. Once the testing is complete, Robatel will compile the data in the form of product specification sheets for each density. These information sheets and test reports will be used to validate FENOSOL{sup TM} for use in future impact limiters for the North American Type B cask market. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Development of Critical Experiments to Provide Validation Data for Multiphysics Coupling Methods (Final Report)

Computational simulation has become one of the most important tools in the modern toolbox for nuclear reactor design. Reactor simulations, like the reactors themselves, involve multiple physical processes including neutronics, fluid flow and heat transfer (thermal-hydraulics), thermo-mechanics, fuel behavior, chemistry, and balance of plant. Each process can affect the behavior of the others, and advanced computational tools have been developed that couple separate physics models together to simulate the feedback effects. The objective of this work is to generate experimental data to support the validation of multi-physics reactor codes. It specifically targets the SHARP toolset from the NEAMS Reactor Product Line, but it is intended to be useful in any set of coded that couples thermal-hydraulics with neutronics simulations. The project takes advantage of the inherent flexibility of the RPI Reactor Critical Facility (RCF), a low power open-pool research reactor. The standard configuration of the RCF is used to explore the effects of moderator temperature on neutronic behavior and reactivity. Because the low power of the reactor generates no appreciable temperature change in the moderator, the moderator temperature is artificially changed with two 18 kW electric immersion heaters. The temperature feedback effects can be observed by recording the change in the reactor power as the reactor goes from a supercritical state, to critical, to a subcritical state. To expand the temperature range and temperature rate of change that can be investigated, an experimental apparatus consisting of a heated water loop was designed and installed in the RCF. In this setup, water from a heated reservoir tank is pumped through a pipe placed through the center of the reactor core. The water in the reservoir can be heated to around 70 °C and pumped through the system. The pump has a variable flow rate and electronic control, so a number of scenarios can be developed. A slug of water can be pushed through the system to generate a reasonably fast change in reactivity. The pump speed can be increased or decreased over the course of a measurement, or even oscillated at different periods, to observe the response of the reactor. To complement the experimental data generated by the RCF, a set of computational models have been developed. They are intended to illustrate the usefulness of the experimental data generated in validating coupled multi-physics simulations. A model previously constructed in MCNP has been used in conjunction with safety analysis at the RCF for many years and was modified to support the design of the heated water loop experiment. This model was translated into Serpent 2, a similar Monte Carlo code, which provided the added advantage of being able to produce collapsed cross-section data files for use in the deterministic neutron transport codes that are part of the SHARP toolset. A complete reconstruction of the RCF model, both with and without the heated fluid loop experiment, were necessary for use with the SHARP codes, PROTEUS (neutronics) and Nek5000 (thermal hydraulics), as these require an unstructured mesh format to operate. The computational requirements for fully coupled three dimensional simulations are significant, and challenges to full implementation and comparison with RCF experiments remain. A wide variety of experiments have been conducted for eventual benchmarking and validation of multi-physics reactor codes. A complete database of detailed time- and temperature-dependent measurements have been generated and stored. Several examples of the experimental results are presented here, with refinement and analysis of experiments ongoing. While these experiments still only address a finite range of operating conditions, in particular being limited to water in the sub-boiling regime, they represent a unique (to date) look at the feedback between temperature and neutronic behavior suited for validation of the coupling routines in multi-physics codes. It is hoped that these will be the foundation of future benchmarks that will provide confidence in the tools that will be used to develop the next generation of nuclear reactor systems.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Breast Density in a Contemporary Cohort of Women With Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)

Background: Mammographic breast density (MBD) is an independent risk factor for breast cancer. Information regarding the relationship of MBD and breast cancer biology in women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is currently lacking. This study aimed to examine the clinicopathologic characteristics of DCIS in women stratified by MBD. Methods: A retrospective review was performed to identify women with pure DCIS who underwent preoperative mammography between 2010 and 2018. Clinicopathologic and demographic data were collected. For the purpose of analysis, MBD was categorized as “non-dense” (Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System [BI-RADS] density categories A and B) or “dense” (BI-RADS C and D) according to its identification in radiology reports. Results: Of 3227 patients with a breast cancer diagnosis enrolled in the institutional Breast Cancer Database during the study period, 658 (20%) had pure DCIS. Of these 658 patients, 42% had non-dense breasts, and 58% had dense breasts. Most lesions were non-palpable (92%) and detected by mammography (84%). Patients with dense breasts were more likely to be younger at the time of diagnosis (p < 0.001), premenopausal (p < 0.001), and Asian (p = 0.018), and to have higher-grade disease (p = 0.006; Table 2). Family history, BRCA status, parity, mammogram frequency, palpability, method of presentation, lesion size, hormone receptor status, comedo histology, and recurrence did not differ significantly between the two groups (Table 1). The median follow-up period was 7.1 years. Conclusion: Women with pure DCIS and higher MBD are more likely to be younger at the time of diagnosis, premenopausal, and Asian, and to present with higher-grade disease. Further research on the relationship of age, MBD, and tumor biology in DCIS is warranted.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tritium permeability measurement in hydrogen-tritium system

Fusion power promises to provide electricity generation with outstanding safety and environmental performance. Safety plays a crucial role in fusion material selection since tritium behavior in materials determines two key safety evaluation source terms: in-vessel inventory source term and ex-vessel release term, which are used in reactor safety assessments for licensing fusion facilities. Tritium permeation through materials at elevated temperature during long pulse operation expected in a burning plasma environment will become a major safety issue and development of tritium permeation barrier materials is required to minimize ex-vessel release to the environment [1]. Extensive work on hydrogen and deuterium behavior in fusion materials has been conducted, but very little database is available for tritium, the radioactive fuel for future reactors, due to the cost and difficulty associated with handling tritium [2]. A majority of the experiments were carried out at high hydrogen/deuterium partial pressure (> 100 Pa), but the expected tritium partial pressure in the blanket system is at low tritium partial pressure (< 100 Pa), where the tritium behavior deviates from diffusion-limited to surface-limited permeation. At these pressures the behavior of tritium is suspected to deviate from diffusion-limited to surface-limited permeation or isotope-limited [3]. The use of tritium enables us to investigate hydrogen isotope behavior in low partial pressure range with beta radiation detection. The physics of two-component hydrogen (H+T) permeation through metal in the surface-limited regime and through liquid breeding material are still too poorly understood to confidently design environmentally benign and safe fusion systems. In this paper, we discuss development of tritium permeation system for low tritium partial pressure [4], and discuss the results from two-component hydrogen (H+T) permeation in 20 mm disc samples of pure alpha-iron at H2 partial pressure of 100 Pa, wide T2 partial pressure range from 10-12 to 10 Pa, and sample temperature up to 600 °C to uncover the basic scientific understanding of tritium permeation behavior at realistic blanket conditions for DEMO. [1] FESAC report on “Opportunities for Fusion Materials Science and Technology Research Now and During the ITER Era” (2012) DOE/SC-0149 [2] R.A. Causey, R.A. Karnesky, and C. San Marchi, “4.16 Tritium Barriers and Tritium Diffusion in Fusion Reactors”, Comprehensive Nuclear Materials (2012) Chapter 4.16. [3] P. Humrickhouse “Permeation of Tritium and Hydrogen in the Diffusion-Limited and Surface–Limited Regimes”, submitted to Journal of Nuclear Materials. [4] R.J. Pawelko, M. Shimada, K. Katayama, S. Fukada, P.W. Humrickhouse, and T. Terai, “Low tritium partial pressure permeation system for mass transport measurement in lead lithium eutectic”, Fusion Engineering and Design 102 (2016) 8

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Radiation Protection for the First Korea Heavy-ion Medical Accelerator (KHIMA) Facility - Paper 7

The number of particle therapy facilities is increasing worldwide due to the encouraging results obtained at research facilities such as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA), the Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research GSI (Germany), and the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator (HIMAC) in Chiba (Japan). The first hospital-based heavy-ion therapy facility is under construction in Busan, Korea, at the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences [KIRAMS]. The project was originally designed to develop a compact superconducting cyclotron for hadron therapy able to deliver forefront beams of heavier ions, essentially carbon ions of energy, 430 MeV/u. Radiation protection issues play an important role in every stage of the project such as civil construction planning, control system design, and special technological plants. Monte Carlo transport codes are the best tools to solve these issues and the FLUKA2011 and MCNPX2.7.0 codes are used in this work. Beam loss distributions of cyclotron installations in combination with passive or active beam shaping methods have a particularly high implication on the protection layout of the facility. Methods for shielding and activation calculations are described with an emphasis on carbon ion beams. All the tools and databases require verification. Benchmarking is an instrumental process for verification. An overview of benchmarking efforts will also be given and the need for further benchmarks is discussed. (authors)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Lower-length-scale modeling of chemical additions, corrosion and fission products in select MSR base salts

Molten salts play a crucial role in advancing Generation IV nuclear energy technology, with chloride-based salts like NaCl-UCl 3 garnering significant attention due to their distinctive properties. However, the corrosive nature of molten salts causes the dissolution of chromium (Cr), leading to the formation of CrCl 2 and CrCl 3 species in molten chlorides. Moreover, the radioactive decay of nuclear fuel gives rise to fission products, including Cs, Sr, and I chlorides. The first part of this report presents a comprehensive study utilizing ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations to investigate the properties of eutectic NaCl-UCl 3 molten salt in the presence of corrosion products (CrCl 2 and CrCl 3 ) and fission product (CsCl). The study focuses on essential structural and thermophysical properties such as density, mixing energy, coordination numbers (CN), and Radial Distribution Functions (RDF) of the salts with varying compositions of corrosion products and fission product, covering a range from 0% to 13.5%. The results offer valuable insights into the behavior of corrosion and fission products in uranium-based molten salts, providing essential data that can be used as input to the MTDB-TC and MSTDB-TP property databases being developed by the NEAMS program. Due to their favorable characteristics such as low melting points, high boiling points, and low costs, MgCl 2 +NaCl+KCl (MNK) eutectic salts have recently attracted attention as high-temperature heat transfer fluids. The incorporation of LiCl into MNK salts can further reduce their melting points and increase their specific heat capacities, which is de- sirable for high-temperature heat transfer applications. The second part of this report presents the development and validation of a new shell-model potential for the MgCl 2 +NaCl+KCl+LiCl system, which captures the polarization of Cl anions. The extensive comparison with experimental data and AIMD simulations demonstrates the accuracy and reliability of the potential. Furthermore, using this potential, we elucidate the intricate network structure in MNK eutectic salts that is formed through polyhedron sharing. This research contributes to a fundamental understanding of the atomic structures and thermophysical properties of multi-component molten salts, which is crucial for future development of heat transfer fluids for applications in molten salt reactors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis of Reactivity Insertion Accidents using BISON Fuel Performance Code

The development of Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF) has expanded into a considerable research program in the wake of the events at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011. The ATF goal is to insert a test assembly into a commercial reactor by 2022. To support this, testing of the ATF design under off-normal conditions is needed to assess the 'enhanced accident tolerance' capability of the fuel rod design over standard UO{sub 2}-Zircaloy concepts. Transient testing capabilities are necessary for off-normal testing of events such as loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) and reactivity insertion accidents (RIA). A transient testing program has been developed to support the testing of ATF designs. The Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility has been chosen as the site to perform the transient testing of the ATF designs. TREAT is a versatile test facility capable of subjecting fuel specimens to various off-normal conditions. Historic TREAT experiments were performed in a variety of experimental test vehicles including static environment capsules, once-through flowing systems, and also recirculating flowing systems. The planned TREAT experiments will be operated under PWR conditions. Therefore, a static capsule vehicle is under development to handle required temperatures and pressures. The static capsule, termed the Static Environment Rodlet Transient Test Apparatus (SERTTA), will be used for irradiation tests in TREAT to subject ATF fuel rodlets to a range of power pulse conditions and environments. To aid in the design and analysis of future tests in TREAT, the fuel performance code BISON is being used. Fuel performance codes capable of accident modeling have been developed for some time and they have shown an ability to reproduce experimental results with some degree of adequacy, but they still require extensive verification and validation. Future experiments in TREAT will add to a limited database of past transient tests performed in transient reactors to support LWR systems. These tests can be used for future verification and validation of fuel performance codes. Understanding the impact of the uncertainty of influential parameters is critical for not only analyzing the results of the experiment but also for modeling and validation of codes. For example, uncertainties associated with the initial manufactured state of the sample, instrument measurements, material property models, and planned experiment conditions can provide important insight into model performance, experimental data, and play an important role in experimental design. The objective of this work is to perform an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis on a simplified RIA case of a standard UO{sub 2}-Zircaloy sample using expected nominal conditions in the SERTTA capsule in TREAT. The BISON fuel performance code is used in conjunction with DAKOTA (Design Analysis Kit for Optimization and Tera-scale Applications) to perform the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Assessment of NDE for Key Indicators of Aging Cables in Nuclear Power Plants – Interim Status

Degradation of the cable jacket, electrical insulation, and other cable components of installed cables within nuclear power plants (NPPs) is known to occur as a function of age, temperature, radiation, and other environmental factors. System tests verify cable function under normal loads; however, the concern is over cable performance under exceptional loads associated with design-basis events (DBEs). The cable’s ability to perform safely over the initial 40 year planned and licensed life has generally been demonstrated and there have been very few age-related cable failures. With greater than 1000 km of power, control, instrumentation, and other cables typically found in an NPP, replacing all the cables would be a severe cost burden. Justification for life extension to 60 and 80 years requires a cable aging management program to justify cable performance under normal operation as well as accident conditions. Currently the gold standard for determining cable insulation degradation is the elongation-at-break (EAB). This, however, is an ex-situ measurement and requires removal of a sample for laboratory investigation. A reliable nondestructive examination (NDE) in-situ approach is desirable to objectively determine the suitability of the cable for service. A variety of tests are available to assess various aspects of electrical and mechanical cable performance, but none of these tests are suitable for all cable configurations nor does any single test confirm all features of interest. Nevertheless, the complete collection of test possibilities offers a powerful range of tools to assure the integrity of critical cables. Licensees and regulators have settled on a practical program to justify continued operation based on condition monitoring of a lead sample set of cables where test data is tracked in a database and the required test data are continually adjusted based on plant and fleet-wide experience. As part of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Department of Energy, and industry (represented by the Electric Power Research Institute), an assessment of cable NDE methods was commissioned. Technologies include both bulk electrical measurements (Tan d, time domain reflectometry, frequency domain reflectometry (FDR), partial discharge, and other techniques) and local insulation measurement (indenter, dynamic mechanical analysis interdigital capacitance, infrared spectral measurement, etc.). This aging cable NDE program update reviews the full range of techniques but focuses on the most interesting test approaches that have a chance to be deployed in-situ, particularly including Tan d, FDR, and ultrasound methods that have been reviewed most completely in this progress period.

cable aging inspection↗
DOE OSTI2012

Waste Information Management System-2012 - 12114

The Waste Information Management System (WIMS) -2012 was updated to support the Department of Energy (DOE) accelerated cleanup program. The schedule compression required close coordination and a comprehensive review and prioritization of the barriers that impeded treatment and disposition of the waste streams at each site. Many issues related to waste treatment and disposal were potential critical path issues under the accelerated schedule. In order to facilitate accelerated cleanup initiatives, waste managers at DOE field sites and at DOE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., needed timely waste forecast and transportation information regarding the volumes and types of radioactive waste that would be generated by DOE sites over the next 40 years. Each local DOE site historically collected, organized, and displayed waste forecast information in separate and unique systems. In order for interested parties to understand and view the complete DOE complex-wide picture, the radioactive waste and shipment information of each DOE site needed to be entered into a common application. The WIMS application was therefore created to serve as a common application to improve stakeholder comprehension and improve DOE radioactive waste treatment and disposal planning and scheduling. WIMS allows identification of total forecasted waste volumes, material classes, disposition sites, choke points, technological or regulatory barriers to treatment and disposal, along with forecasted waste transportation information by rail, truck and inter-modal shipments. The Applied Research Center (ARC) at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida, developed and deployed the web-based forecast and transportation system and is responsible for updating the radioactive waste forecast and transportation data on a regular basis to ensure the long-term viability and value of this system. WIMS continues to successfully accomplish the goals and objectives set forth by DOE for this project. It has replaced the historic process of each DOE site gathering, organizing, and reporting their waste forecast information utilizing different databases and display technologies. In addition, WIMS meets DOE's objective to have the complex-wide waste forecast and transportation information available to all stakeholders and the public in one easy-to-navigate system. The enhancements to WIMS made since its initial deployment include the addition of new DOE sites and facilities, an updated waste and transportation information, and the ability to easily display and print customized waste forecast, the disposition maps, GIS maps and transportation information. The system also allows users to customize and generate reports over the web. These reports can be exported to various formats, such as Adobe{sup R} PDF, Microsoft Excel{sup R}, and Microsoft Word{sup R} and downloaded to the user's computer. Future enhancements will include database/application migration to the next level. A new data import interface will be developed to integrate 2012-13 forecast waste streams. In addition, the application is updated on a continuous basis based on DOE feedback. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

An approach to model reactor core nodalization for deterministic safety analysis

Adopting good nodalization strategy is essential to produce an accurate and high quality input model for Deterministic Safety Analysis (DSA) using System Thermal-Hydraulic (SYS-TH) computer code. The purpose of such analysis is to demonstrate the compliance against regulatory requirements and to verify the behavior of the reactor during normal and accident conditions as it was originally designed. Numerous studies in the past have been devoted to the development of the nodalization strategy for small research reactor (e.g. 250kW) up to the bigger research reactor (e.g. 30MW). As such, this paper aims to discuss the state-of-arts thermal hydraulics channel to be employed in the nodalization for RTP-TRIGA Research Reactor specifically for the reactor core. At present, the required thermal-hydraulic parameters for reactor core, such as core geometrical data (length, coolant flow area, hydraulic diameters, and axial power profile) and material properties (including the UZrH{sub 1.6}, stainless steel clad, graphite reflector) have been collected, analyzed and consolidated in the Reference Database of RTP using standardized methodology, mainly derived from the available technical documentations. Based on the available information in the database, assumptions made on the nodalization approach and calculations performed will be discussed and presented. The development and identification of the thermal hydraulics channel for the reactor core will be implemented during the SYS-TH calculation using RELAP5-3D{sup ®} computer code. This activity presented in this paper is part of the development of overall nodalization description for RTP-TRIGA Research Reactor under the IAEA Norwegian Extra-Budgetary Programme (NOKEBP) mentoring project on Expertise Development through the Analysis of Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics for Malaysia, denoted as EARTH-M.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS2001

Molecular motors and their functions in plants

Molecular motors that hydrolyze ATP and use the derived energy to generate force are involved in a variety of diverse cellular functions. Genetic, biochemical, and cellular localization data have implicated motors in a variety of functions such as vesicle and organelle transport, cytoskeleton dynamics, morphogenesis, polarized growth, cell movements, spindle formation, chromosome movement, nuclear fusion, and signal transduction. In non-plant systems three families of molecular motors (kinesins, dyneins, and myosins) have been well characterized. These motors use microtubules (in the case of kinesines and dyneins) or actin filaments (in the case of myosins) as tracks to transport cargo materials intracellularly. During the last decade tremendous progress has been made in understanding the structure and function of various motors in animals. These studies are yielding interesting insights into the functions of molecular motors and the origin of different families of motors. Furthermore, the paradigm that motors bind cargo and move along cytoskeletal tracks does not explain the functions of some of the motors. Relatively little is known about the molecular motors and their roles in plants. In recent years, by using biochemical, cell biological, molecular, and genetic approaches a few molecular motors have been isolated and characterized from plants. These studies indicate that some of the motors in plants have novel features and regulatory mechanisms. The role of molecular motors in plant cell division, cell expansion, cytoplasmic streaming, cell-to-cell communication, membrane trafficking, and morphogenesis is beginning to be understood. Analyses of the Arabidopsis genome sequence database (51% of genome) with conserved motor domains of kinesin and myosin families indicates the presence of a large number (about 40) of molecular motors and the functions of many of these motors remain to be discovered. It is likely that many more motors with novel regulatory mechanisms that perform plant-specific functions are yet to be discovered. Although the identification of motors in plants, especially in Arabidopsis, is progressing at a rapid pace because of the ongoing plant genome sequencing projects, only a few plant motors have been characterized in any detail. Elucidation of function and regulation of this multitude of motors in a given species is going to be a challenging and exciting area of research in plant cell biology. Structural features of some plant motors suggest calcium, through calmodulin, is likely to play a key role in regulating the function of both microtubule- and actin-based motors in plants.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2013

Results of a 5-Week Schedule of Modern Total Skin Electron Beam Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To report the outcomes of a 5-week schedule of total skin electron beam radiation therapy (TSEB) for mycosis fungoides (MF). Methods: Over 5 years, 41 patients with confirmed MF were treated with a modern TSEB technique delivering 30 Gy in 20 fractions over 5 weeks to the whole skin surface. Data were collected prospectively and entered into the skin tumor unit research database. Skin modified skin weighted assessment tool score data were collected to determine response, duration of response, survival, and toxicity. The outcomes were analyzed according to the patient's stage before TSEB, prognostic factors, and adjuvant treatments. Results: Seventeen patients were stage 1B, 19 were stage IIB, 3 were stage III, and 2 were stage IV. The overall response rate was 95%, with a complete response rate of 51%. Seventy-six percent of patients had relapsed at median follow-up of 18 months. The median time to relapse was 12 months, to systemic therapy was 15 months, and to modified skin weighted assessment tool progression above baseline was 44 months. The complete response rate was 59% in stage IB and 47% in stage IIB patients. The median time to skin relapse was longer in stage IB compared with stage IIB, 18 months versus 9 months. The median time to systemic therapy was longer in stage IB compared with stage IIB, >56 months versus 8 months. The median overall survival was 35 months: >56 months for stage IB, 25 months for stage IIB, 46 months for stage III, and 23.5 months for stage IV. Fifteen patients received adjuvant psoralen + ultraviolet A treatment with no difference seen in the time to relapse. Conclusions: This 5-week schedule of TSEB for MF has a high response rate with comparable duration of response to other regimens. Future studies are needed to find adjuvant and combination treatments to improve the duration of response.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2014

A Visual Analytics Approach to Structured Data Analysis to Enhance Nonproliferation and Arms Control Verification Activities

Analysis activities for Nonproliferation and Arms Control verification require the use of many types of data. Tabular structured data, such as Excel spreadsheets and relational databases, have traditionally been used for data mining activities, where specific queries are issued against data to look for matching results. The application of visual analytics tools to structured data enables further exploration of datasets to promote discovery of previously unknown results. This paper discusses the application of a specific visual analytics tool to datasets related to the field of Arms Control and Nonproliferation to promote the use of visual analytics more broadly in this domain. Visual analytics focuses on analytical reasoning facilitated by interactive visual interfaces (Wong and Thomas 2004). It promotes exploratory analysis of data, and complements data mining technologies where known patterns can be mined for. Also with a human in the loop, they can bring in domain knowledge and subject matter expertise. Visual analytics has not widely been applied to this domain. In this paper, we will focus on one type of data: structured data, and show the results of applying a specific visual analytics tool to answer questions in the Arms Control and Nonproliferation domain. We chose to use the T.Rex tool, a visual analytics tool developed at PNNL, which uses a variety of visual exploration patterns to discover relationships in structured datasets, including a facet view, graph view, matrix view, and timeline view. The facet view enables discovery of relationships between categorical information, such as countries and locations. The graph tool visualizes node-link relationship patterns, such as the flow of materials being shipped between parties. The matrix visualization shows highly correlated categories of information. The timeline view shows temporal patterns in data. In this paper, we will use T.Rex with two different datasets to demonstrate how interactive exploration of the data can aid an analyst with arms control and nonproliferation verification activities. Using a dataset from PIERS (PIERS 2014), we will show how container shipment imports and exports can aid an analyst in understanding the shipping patterns between two countries. We will also use T.Rex to examine a collection of research publications from the IAEA International Nuclear Information System (IAEA 2014) to discover collaborations of concern. We hope this paper will encourage the use of visual analytics structured data analytics in the field of nonproliferation and arms control verification. Our paper outlines some of the challenges that exist before broad adoption of these kinds of tools can occur and offers next steps to overcome these challenges.

arms control↗
DOE OSTI2022

Combined TREAT-LOC & SATS Integral LOCA Experiment Plan

The Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) loss-of-coolant (LOC) and highburnup (HBu) experiment series, along with the Severe Accident Test Station (SATS) HBu experiment series, are integral LOC accident (LOCA) experiments planned under the Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) program, which aims to support burnup extension needs by addressing identified R&D priorities in order to achieve an improved understanding of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) of HBu fuel during LOCA events. Priorities have been identified by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)’s Collaborative Research on Advanced Fuel Technologies (CRAFT) Fuel Performance and Testing Technical Experts Group (FPTTEG). The data produced under this plan will be used to further validate and confirm existing models and inform future R&D and model development. The experimental program was specifically developed to address data gaps and opportunities identified via detailed review of the existing public knowledge base on LOCA FFRD, as well as reviewing specific experimental development activities regarding prototypic LOCA conditions for light-water reactor (LWR) systems. The test program relies on a unique combination of in- and out-of-pile experimental approaches to provide a clear tieback to the existing integral and semi-integral LOCA experiment database, using state-of-the-art facilities. More importantly, the program will systematically investigate the impacts of prototypic HBu fuel/cladding thermomechanical behaviors under postulated LWR LOCA conditions not yet fully investigated. These conditions correspond with prototypic decay-energy heatup (DEH) and stored-energy heatup (SEH) conditions. First, TREAT’s unique capability will enable the first evaluation of the impact of SEH conditions on HBu fuels. The test program will emphasize the development of an improved mechanistic understanding of key phenomena through independent experimental systems, development of a database to support fuel performance modeling tools, world-leading advanced materials characterization, and the most advanced approach to in situ diagnostics ever deployed to evaluate FFRD. The results will represent a significant leap forward in evaluating prototypic conditions and novel data to support modeling development and validation, as well as to inform the technical basis for LOCA-induced FFRD.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Insights and Trends from a Literature Assessment of the Thorium Fuel Cycle

The thorium fuel cycle is often perceived to have limited experience, thereby imposing a barrier to its implementation. Thorium fuel cycles do not have the degree of commercial-scale experience associated with the uranium fuel cycle (especially the use of uranium oxide in a once-through configuration in light- or heavy-water reactors); however the abundance of major research campaigns - and the test and demonstration reactor operations that capped these campaigns - illustrate that significant knowledge concerning the use of thorium is available. Part of the reason for thorium's perceived immaturity is that the information is scattered among a multitude of sources and has not previously been consolidated and evaluated on a comprehensive scale. In recognition of this challenge, Vanderbilt University (VU) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) included a thorium fuel cycle literature assessment task as part of their Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) project. The first phase of this literature assessment culminated in a comprehensive report. This paper describes the highlights of the initial version of this literature report, including item quantification, trends by category, and implications. This preliminary literature assessment has identified that a wealth of documented experience with thorium fuel cycles exists, across many varieties and specific technology options. Though a significant share of the literature is comprised of systems studies and/or proposed work, there is also a substantial knowledge base from experimentation and demonstration with thorium fuel cycle technologies. It is intended that this initial literature report serve as a starting point for continued discussions and consolidation of thorium fuel cycle literature. There are likely still records of work from the 1950's to the 1970's (and even more recently) which could be significant but were not adequately catalogued or are not readily available to a broad audience; hopefully, the ongoing discussions that have been spurred by the present work will stimulate making these documents available. The authors strongly encourage those with knowledge of additional data sources to share them with the interested community. Furthermore, the 21. century is experiencing a resurgence in thorium fuel cycle work that continues to develop the knowledge base. Thus, it would be beneficial to produce updated accounts of this thorium literature summary in future years. Ultimately, the items identified during the course of this literature assessment, along with additional items that continue to be identified, will be housed in an information repository. This will take the form of a relational database, with specific functionality to be determined based on user interest. This format is intended to enable future users to quickly find specific topics or sources as well as assess how much information is available about a particular topic. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Empirical scaling of the L–H threshold power for metal wall tokamaks using a multi-device database

The empirical scaling for the H-mode power threshold in tokamaks has been revisited using a database with threshold data from machines with a metallic first wall as part of International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) task TC-26. The database contains discharges from ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) (W), JET (Be/W) and Alcator C-Mod (Mo). This was motivated by reports that in like-for-like discharges the power threshold was reduced by approximately 30% after the change from carbon based to metallic first wall materials on AUG (Ryter et al 2013 Nucl. Fusion 53 113003) and JET (Maggi et al 2014 Nucl. Fusion 54 023007). The database contains L–H transition data for all hydrogen isotopes and mixtures, including T and DT from the recent JET campaigns. Compared to the ITPA 2008 scaling (Martin et al 2008 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 123 012033), the metal wall scaling has a smaller magnetic field exponent but a larger density exponent. We present an additional parameter to capture the strong dependence of the L–H power threshold (approx. factor 2) on the magnetic configuration in the divertor on JET. The scaling recovers the approximate inverse isotope mass scaling of the threshold power. Alternative scalings involving the plasma current and poloidal magnetic field are explored. Despite the reduction in threshold observed earlier, the scalings based on the metal wall database do not necessarily extrapolate to a lower threshold for ITER compared to the ITPA 2008 scaling, especially at high density. The divertor configuration effect induces the largest uncertainty in the extrapolation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Operation and Maintenance of the National Radiobiology Archives

The National Radiobiology Archives (NRA) are an archival program, started in 1989, to collect, organize and maintain data, laboratory notebooks, and animal tissue specimens from government (Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies) sponsored radiobiology life-span animal studies. These unique records, histopathology slides and paraffin embedded tissue blocks are maintained in a central facility and are available for further research study. The materials include electronic and paper records for each of more than 6,000 life-span-observations on dogs as well as details of major studies involving nearly 30,000 mice. Although these studies were performed over many years and at different laboratories with differing data management systems, the NRA has translated them into a standardized set of relational database tables. These can be distributed to interested individuals on written request. Specific Aims are: (1) To Maintain the Archive of Written Records from the Animal Experiments - The USTUR continued to maintain the NRA archives which consist of approximately 175 storage boxes containing laboratory notebooks, animal exposure records, animal pathologic records, and radiographs. These were stored in a 6,000 square foot leased facility in Richland, WA. Additionally, through a collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) Low Dose Program, many of these records were scanned into digital files. These totaled 34 GB of data, which are saved in 2,407 separate PDF files that are organized by box number and animal identification number. (2) To Maintain the Archive of Animal Tissues at Washington State University - The USTUR continued to house the NRA dog tissue collection in the leased facility. The NRA tissue collection consisted of pathology slides and tissue blocks. Approximately 25% of the laboratory facility was dedicated to the storage of the NRA materials. (3) To Organize the Datasets of These Animals in the Context of Other Datasets so That They Can be Used by the Scientific Community at Large - As was reported in the FY2009 NRA progress report, Dr. Chuck Watson (NRA Database Consultant) completed his service as the US representative on the European Radiobiological Archives (ERA) Advisory Board during FY2009. Unfortunately, due to the lack of financial support during FY2010, the NRA was not able to make further contributions to the ERA's efforts.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Practice Patterns Analysis of Ocular Proton Therapy Centers: The International OPTIC Survey

Purpose: To assess the planning, treatment, and follow-up strategies worldwide in dedicated proton therapy ocular programs. Methods and Materials: Ten centers from 7 countries completed a questionnaire survey with 109 queries on the eye treatment planning system (TPS), hardware/software equipment, image acquisition/registration, patient positioning, eye surveillance, beam delivery, quality assurance (QA), clinical management, and workflow. Results: Worldwide, 28,891 eye patients were treated with protons at the 10 centers as of the end of 2014. Most centers treated a vast number of ocular patients (1729 to 6369). Three centers treated fewer than 200 ocular patients. Most commonly, the centers treated uveal melanoma (UM) and other primary ocular malignancies, benign ocular tumors, conjunctival lesions, choroidal metastases, and retinoblastomas. The UM dose fractionation was generally within a standard range, whereas dosing for other ocular conditions was not standardized. The majority (80%) of centers used in common a specific ocular TPS. Variability existed in imaging registration, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) rarely being used in routine planning (20%). Increased patient to full-time equivalent ratios were observed by higher accruing centers (P=.0161). Generally, ophthalmologists followed up the post–radiation therapy patients, though in 40% of centers radiation oncologists also followed up the patients. Seven centers had a prospective outcomes database. All centers used a cyclotron to accelerate protons with dedicated horizontal beam lines only. QA checks (range, modulation) varied substantially across centers. Conclusions: The first worldwide multi-institutional ophthalmic proton therapy survey of the clinical and technical approach shows areas of substantial overlap and areas of progress needed to achieve sustainable and systematic management. Future international efforts include research and development for imaging and planning software upgrades, increased use of MRI, development of clinical protocols, systematic patient-centered data acquisition, and publishing guidelines on QA, staffing, treatment, and follow-up parameters by dedicated ocular programs to ensure the highest level of care for ocular patients.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗