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At least 145 records · Page 8

Survey of Cyber Risk Analysis Techniques for Use in the Nuclear Industry

Using traditional probabilistic risk analysis methods for severe accident safety risk management on non-digital systems, structures, and components at nuclear power plants is well-established. In contrast, cyber risk analysis of digital assets is still an immature field with unproven techniques due, in part, to the continuously changing threat environment and the challenge of digital assets failing in unexpected ways. As the nuclear fleet continues to adopt digital instrumentation and control systems, it is increasingly important to have effective and efficient cyber risk analysis techniques to support risk management decisions, such as risk elimination by system redesign or risk mitigation by implementation of prioritized security controls. To understand the state of the art in cyber risk analysis for future research, we surveyed 36 publications across ten application domains. We describe our survey methodology and rate each technique based upon scope, adoptability, and repeatability. In this work, we examine the unique constraints of the nuclear industry and outline the strengths and weaknesses of using the cyber risk analysis techniques in the industry, highlighting gaps with current techniques. We also discuss challenges and potential research directions for advancing the science for both existing and new advanced reactors.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Cost Reduction of School Bus Fleet Electrification With Optimized Charging and Distributed Energy Resources: Preprint

Considerations for electrifying school buses are presented with an analysis of battery sizing to match bus driving requirements. The charging and vehicle-to-building dispatch of the electric school buses were optimized to evaluate the potential to reduce the impact of the bus charging on the school's electric utility bill. Distributed energy resources (DER) and flexible building loads were also considered with the school bus electrification to evaluate the further reduction in energy costs with enhanced system integration and optimized dispatch. The effect of degradation on the school bus batteries was analyzed to determine if the smart charging and vehicle-to-building battery operation decreases the life of the battery. The results show that there is an opportunity to mitigate the increase of electric utility bills with improved charging controls and bi-directionally operating the school bus batteries to reduce building demand charges. The battery degradation analysis using dispatch with optimized charging and discharging shows acceptable battery life.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

STS-114: Discovery Return to Flight: Langley Engineers Analysis Briefing

This video features a briefing on NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) contributions to the Space Shuttle fleet's Return to Flight (RTF). The briefing is split into two sections, which LaRC Shuttle Project Manager Robert Barnes and Deputy Manager Harry Belvin deliver in the form of a viewgraph presentation. Barnes speaks about LaRC contributions to the STS-114 mission of Space Shuttle Discovery, and Belvin speaks about LaRC contributions to subsequent Shuttle missions. In both sections of the briefing, LaRC contributions are in the following areas: External Tank (ET), Orbiter, Systems Integration, and Corrosion/Aging. The managers discuss nondestructive and destructive tests performed on ET foam, wing leading edge reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) composites, on-orbit tile repair, aerothermodynamic simulation of reentry effects, Mission Management Team (MMT) support, and landing gear tests. The managers briefly answer questions from reporters, and the video concludes with several short video segments about LaRC contributions to the RTF effort.

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Designing of a Fleet-Leader Program for Carbon Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels

Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) are often used for storing pressurant gases on board spacecraft when mass saving is a prime requirement. Substantial weight savings can be achieved compared to all metallic pressure vessels. For example, on the space shuttle, replacement of all metallic pressure vessels with Kevlar COPVs resulted in a weight savings of about 30 percent. Mass critical space applications such as the Ares and Orion vehicles are currently being planned to use as many COPVs as possible in place of all-metallic pressure vessels to minimize the overall mass of the vehicle. Due to the fact that overwraps are subjected to sustained loads during long periods of a mission, stress rupture failure is a major concern. It is, therefore, important to ascertain the reliability of these vessels by analysis, since it is practically impossible to show by experimental testing the reliability of flight quality vessels. Also, it is a common practice to set aside flight quality vessels as "fleet leaders" in a test program where these vessels are subjected to slightly accelerated operating conditions so that they lead the actual flight vessels both in time and load. The intention of fleet leaders is to provide advanced warning if there is a serious design flaw in the vessels so that a major disaster in the flight vessels can be averted with advance warning. On the other hand, the accelerating conditions must be not so severe as to be prone to false alarms. The primary focus of the present paper is to provide an analytical basis for designing a viable fleet leader program for carbon COPVs. The analysis is based on a stress rupture behavior model incorporating Weibull statistics and power-law sensitivity of life to fiber stress level.

Murthy, Pappu L.N.↗

Port of New York and New Jersey Drayage Electrification Analysis

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) evaluated the potential for drayage electrification in the Port of New York and New Jersey (PoNYNJ), with a focus on operators: Harbor Freight Transport (HF), Safeway Trucking (SWT), and International Motor Freight Inc (IMF). This report summarizes the data collection and electrification evaluation of all three drayage operators, includes detailed operational data, and identifies the performance requirements for battery electric tractors (BETs) and corresponding infrastructure operated within the context of PoNYNJ drayage operation. This report also details a methodology to evaluate opportunities, strategies, and challenges associated with future expansions of BETs in meeting PANYNJ emissions goals. The Port Authority has established a goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 across all facilities, including from tenant and stakeholder sources such as drayage trucks. NREL used real-world performance data collected on the three PoNYNJ drayage operations, along with modeling and analysis tools to compare BET to diesel trucks. From March to July 2021, NREL collected 1Hz vehicle and engine data from 46 drayage trucks at the three operators totaling nearly 121,000 miles of operation, providing enough information to assess vehicle operations for electrification potential. A Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) electric truck powertrain model was validated using PoNYNJ data and scenarios were run to evaluate drayage truck electrification requirements over the real-world cycles. The first scenario examined BET viability with minimal changes to existing operations. This assumes the trucks charge when stopped for two hours or longer, have a functional battery size of 375 kWh, and can charge at 270 kilowatts (kW) average which are the specification of the commercially available Freightliner eCascadia. The second scenario looked at what operational, charging infrastructure, and BET technology changes would be needed to fully electrify. Finally, detailed analysis was run on charging rate structure to understand operational costs to the fleets. The studied drayage trucks averaged 5.1 MPG, spent roughly 9% of their energy at idle, and drove an average of 140 miles per day with a maximum daily distance of 573 miles. The FASTSim model results indicate a comparable BET would use 417 kWh of energy per day on average accounting for cargo weight, which is close to the full usable capacity of the eCascadia currently available on the market. Based on the daily average operating data, partial fleet electrification is possible with current technology. However, some specific days of operation would require over 1,600 kWh of energy due to longer distances traveled by the trucks and more intense operation. Trucks used for long distance and intense operation cannot be readily electrified with current technology without operational changes. Full adoption of BETs could reduce CO 2 emissions from these fleets by roughly 75% today, eliminating 76 metric tons of CO 2 (MTCO 2 ) per vehicle each year, which equates to 24,100 MTCO 2 per year for all three operators. Commercially available direct current fast chargers (DCFC) have charge rates up to 350 kW. Based on the average daily modeled energy use for each operator, current industrial rate structures, and the assumption of 350 kW peak charging, full drayage electrification would increase electricity consumption. In addition, peak demand usage would increase with unmanaged charging along with cost of electricity having a direct impact on cost per mile for electric vehicles. The resulting cost per mile for BETs along with comparable cost per mile for conventional diesel trucks are also examined at $\$$4.00 per gallon of diesel. It will be important for PANYNJ and the drayage operators within the PoNYNJ to consider these load impacts to their existing electrical infrastructure and devise operational strategies that avoid coincident charging of vehicles to mitigate demand charges. Despite these electricity cost increases, savings from reductions in diesel consumption will help offset the costs of this increased electricity consumption. However, prices of both electricity and diesel are subject to change based on various factors meaning the realized savings will vary over time. This shows BETs could be cost-competitive on an energy cost per mile basis for all scenarios while diesel is above $\$$3.00/gal. Further, if diesel prices dropped to the 15-year low of $2.33/gal, it would still be cost competitive to operate the EVs with electricity costs of 16.3 ¢/kWh or less.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Development of a CRAB-MELCOR Framework for Utilization in Support of Estimating a Realistic Mechanistic Source Term for Microreactors

Research and development activities are being performed to link important advanced non-light-water microreactor technology research and development activities sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy with regulatory requirements and critical licensing needs likely to impact the deployment of a domestic commercial microreactor fleet. This report presents the progress of ongoing work to perform a gap analysis of the coupling of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Comprehensive Reactor Analysis Bundle code suite and MELCOR code. This key Fiscal Year 2023 research reflects microreactor regulatory needs and challenges noted by industry, Department of Energy, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission stakeholders.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Updated Commercial Aviation Non-Airport Crash Density Values Using Data Obtained from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for 2000 through 2019

This report documents the calculation of the commercial aviation (CA) non-airport crash density for Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) area associated with the Contiguous United States (CONUS) using the methodology outlined in the Department of Energy (DOE) Standard 3014-2006, Accident Analysis for Aircraft Crash Into Hazardous Facilities. For analytical purposes, the CA aircraft fleet is comprised of aircraft engaged in operations under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 (i.e., Air Carrier) and Part 135 (i.e., Air Taxi).

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Challenges of Sustaining the International Space Station through 2020 and Beyond: Including Epistemic Uncertainty in Reassessing Confidence Targets

This paper introduces an analytical approach, Probability and Confidence Trade-space (PACT), which can be used to assess uncertainty in International Space Station (ISS) hardware sparing necessary to extend the life of the vehicle. There are several key areas under consideration in this research. We investigate what sparing confidence targets may be reasonable to ensure vehicle survivability and for completion of science on the ISS. The results of the analysis will provide a methodological basis for reassessing vehicle subsystem confidence targets. An ongoing annual analysis currently compares the probability of existing spares exceeding the total expected unit demand of the Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) in functional hierarchies approximating the vehicle subsystems. In cases where the functional hierarchies availability does not meet subsystem confidence targets, the current sparing analysis further identifies which ORUs may require additional spares to extend the life of the ISS. The resulting probability is dependent upon hardware reliability estimates. However, the ISS hardware fleet carries considerable epistemic uncertainty (uncertainty in the knowledge of the true hardware failure rate), which does not currently factor into the annual sparing analysis. The existing confidence targets may be conservative. This paper will also discuss how confidence targets may be relaxed based on the inclusion of epistemic uncertainty for each ORU. The paper will conclude with strengths and limitations for implementing the analytical approach in sustaining the ISS through end of life, 2020 and beyond.

Anderson, Leif↗

Irradiation Experiments and Thermal Analysis for Reactor System Design and Analysis at INL

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the nation's lead nuclear laboratory working to enhance reactor systems' safety, security, economics, and efficiency. Research and development (R&D) programs at INL support the current fleet of nuclear reactors for safer operation and newer reactors technology design, development, demonstration, and deployment. A major focus of INL's mission is the reactor system design and analysis supported by the irradiation experiments and thermal analysis of advanced and current-generation nuclear fuels and materials. The irradiation experiments and thermal analysis provide a deeper understanding of basic radiation damage processes that can determine the basis for performance improvements and verification of modeling assumptions. These experiments and analyses include experiment management: design, fabrication, characterization, irradiation, and post-irradiation examination. This research involves thermal, neutronic, and material investigation using the INL's Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facilities. The results from these experiments and analysis are required to develop the regulatory basis for deploying new or modified fuels and materials. This seminar talk will also provide a general overview of the INL's research facilities, ongoing research programs, core capabilities, and opportunities for students and faculties.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Aircraft Emission Inventories Projected in Year 2015 for a High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) Universal Airline Network

This report describes the development of a three-dimensional database of aircraft fuel burn and emissions (fuel burned, NOx, CO, and hydrocarbons) from projected fleets of high speed civil transports (HSCT's) on a universal airline network.Inventories for 500 and 1000 HSCT fleets, as well as the concurrent subsonic fleets, were calculated. The objective of this work was to evaluate the changes in geographical distribution of the HSCT emissions as the fleet size grew from 500 to 1000 HSCT's. For this work, a new expanded HSCT network was used and flights projected using a market penetration analysis rather than assuming equal penetration as was done in the earlier studies. Emission inventories on this network were calculated for both Mach 2.0 and Mach 2.4 HSCT fleets with NOx cruise emission indices of approximately 5 and 15 grams NOx/kg fuel. These emissions inventories are available for use by atmospheric scientists conducting the Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft (AESA) modeling studies. Fuel burned and emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx as NO2), carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons have been calculated on a 1 degree latitude x 1 degree longitude x 1 kilometer attitude grid and delivered to NASA as electronic files.

Baughcum, Steven L.↗

Integrated operations/payloads/fleet analysis (executive summary)

The Integrated Operations/Payloads/Fleet Analysis predicts total national space program costs and launch vehicle traffic assuming either an expendable, a partially reusable or a fully reusable launch vehicle fleet. The payload system costs are estimated and reported for each payload program at the subsystem level, payload program level, user level and national level, providing complete system cost traceability. The analysis determines the primary changes to be expected for space payload programs and space operations in the space shuttle era. When the space shuttle becomes fully operational, not only will launch costs be reduced but refurbished satellite units will be flown instead of new units and maintenance will be performed on failing satellites. It is possible to implement the concepts of satellite refurbishment and maintenance because of the space shuttle's capability to retrieve and return payloads to the earth's surface. The two-way satellite transportation capability is extended to high energy orbits by use of the space shuttle/space tug combination.

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Near-Earth Phase Risk Comparison of Human Mars Campaign Architectures

A risk analysis of the launch, orbital assembly, and Earth-departure phases of human Mars exploration campaign architectures was completed as an extension of a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) originally carried out under the NASA Constellation Program Ares V Project. The objective of the updated analysis was to study the sensitivity of loss-of-campaign risk to such architectural factors as composition of the propellant delivery portion of the launch vehicle fleet (Ares V heavy-lift launch vehicle vs. smaller/cheaper commercial launchers) and the degree of launcher or Mars-bound spacecraft element sparing. Both a static PRA analysis and a dynamic, event-based Monte Carlo simulation were developed and used to evaluate the probability of loss of campaign under different sparing options. Results showed that with no sparing, loss-of-campaign risk is strongly driven by launcher count and on-orbit loiter duration, favoring an all-Ares V launch approach. Further, the reliability of the all-Ares V architecture showed significant improvement with the addition of a single spare launcher/payload. Among architectures utilizing a mix of Ares V and commercial launchers, those that minimized the on-orbit loiter duration of Mars-bound elements were found to exceed the reliability of no spare all-Ares V campaign if unlimited commercial vehicle sparing was assumed

Manning, Ted A.↗

Space Shuttle Orbiter corrosion history, 1981-1993: A review and analysis of issues involving structures and subsystems

This report summarizes past corrosion issues experienced by the NASA space shuttle orbiter fleet. Design considerations for corrosion prevention and inspection methods are reviewed. Significant corrosion issues involving structures and subsystems are analyzed, including corrective actions taken. Notable successes and failures of corrosion mitigation systems and procedures are discussed. The projected operating environment used for design is contrasted with current conditions in flight and conditions during ground processing.

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A Study of Transport Airplane Crash-Resistant Fuel Systems

This report presents the results of a study, funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), of transport airplane crash-resistant fuel system (CRFS). The report covers the historical studies related to aircraft crash fires and fuel containment concepts undertaken by the FAA, NASA, and the U.S. Army, which ultimately led to the current state of the art in CRFS technology. It describes the basic research, testing, field investigations and production efforts which have led to the highly successful military CRFS, which has saved many lives and reduced costs of accidents. Current CRFS technology used in transport category airplanes is defined and compared to the available state-of-the-art technology. The report provides information to the FAA and other government organizations which can help them plan their efforts to improve the state of crash fire protection in the transport airplane fleet. The report provides guidance to designers looking for information about CRFS design problems, analysis tools to use for product improvement, and a summary of current and proposed regulations for transport category airplane fuel systems.

Jones, Lisa↗

Admissible Powertrain Alternatives for Heavy-Duty Fleets: A Case Study on Resiliency and Efficiency

Heavy-duty vehicles dominate global freight movement and primarily rely on fossil-derived diesel fuel. However, fluctuations in crude oil prices and evolving emissions regulations have prompted interest in alternative powertrains to enhance fleet energy resiliency. This study paired real-world operational data from a large commercial fleet with high-fidelity vehicle models to evaluate the potential for replacing diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks with alternative powertrain architectures. The baseline vehicle for this analysis is a diesel-powered ICE truck. Alternatives include ICE trucks fueled by bio- and renewable diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG) or hydrogen (H 2 ), as well as plug-in hybrid (PHEV), fuel cell electric (FCEV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV). While most alternative powertrains resulted in some payload capacity loss, the overall fleetwide impact was negligible due to underutilized payload capacity for the specific fleet considered in this study. For sleeper cab trucks, CNG-powered trucks achieved the highest replacement potential, covering 85% of the fleet. In contrast, H 2 and BEV architectures could replace fewer than 10% and 1% of trucks, respectively. Day cab trucks, with shorter daily routes, showed higher replacement potential: 98% for CNG, 78% for H 2 , and 34% for BEVs. However, achieving full fleet replacement would still require significant operational changes such as route reassignment and enroute refueling, along with considerable improvements to onboard energy storage capacity. Additionally, the higher total cost of ownership (TCO) for alternative powertrains remains a key challenge. This study also evaluated lifecycle impacts across various fuel sources, both fossil and bio-derived. Bio-derived synthetic diesel fuels emerged as a practical option for diesel displacement without disrupting operations. Conversely, H 2 and electrified powertrains provide limited lifecycle impacts under the current energy scenario. This analysis highlights the complexity of replacing diesel ICE trucks with admissible alternatives while balancing fleet resiliency, operational demands, and emissions goals. These results reflect a US-based fleet’s duty cycles, payloads, GVWR allowances, and an assumption of depot-only refueling/recharging. Applicability to other fleets and regions may differ based on differing routing practices or technical features such as battery swapping.

BEV↗

Oceanic Satellite Data Distribution System

The Satellite Data Distribution System (SDDS) serves to process satellite-derived ocean observations, generate ocean analysis and forecast products, and distribute the products to a limited set of commercial users. The SDDS functions in series with the U.S. Navy Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center (FNOC) to provide products on a near-real-time basis to commercial marine industries. Conventional meteorological and oceanographic observations provided to FNOC serve as the input set to the numerical analysis and forecast models. Large main-frame computers are used to analyze and forecast products on a routine, operational basis (at 6-hour and 12-hour synoptic times). The products, reformatted to meet commercial users needs, are transferred to a NASA-owned computer for storage and distribution. Access to the information is possible either by a commercial dial-up packet-switching network or by a direct computer-computer connection.

Montgomery, D. R.↗

Solutions for Enhanced Legacy Probabilistic Risk Assessment Tools and Methodologies: Improving Efficiency of Model Development and Processing via Innovative Human Reliability Dependency Analysis

Probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) are integral to nuclear power plant (NPP) operations, having tremendously benefitted the safety of the U.S. reactor fleet for decades. Insights obtained from the models have provided perspectives on a variety of applications, both at the plant and for the regulator. While these models are very useful, they are now being asked to represent and analyze aspects of the plant that were never envisioned by the initial PRA practitioners. Furthermore, heightened demands on the PRA models have led to increased computing power requirements. Additionally, as the complexity of the PRA models increased, the difficulty experienced by non-PRA experts in trying to understand these models, grasp the insights they provide, and effectively use that information has become problematic. The need for research to address key issues regarding PRA tools and methods has never been greater. Although the nuclear power industry has largely been well-served by these tools and methods, the underlying science is dated, remaining mostly unchanged for over two decades. Three areas were identified as most beneficial to address to maintain and improve the usefulness of the current practice legacy PRA tools: improved quantification speed, increased ability to efficiently model multi-hazard models, and improved modeling human action dependency in PRA. This report is focused on the third critical area, improvements in dependency analysis of human actions conducted as part of a typical human reliability assessment.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗