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DOE OSTI2017

Wind Energy Facilities

This book takes readers inside the places where daily discoveries shape the next generation of wind power systems. Energy Department laboratory facilities span the United States and offer wind research capabilities to meet industry needs. The facilities described in this book make it possible for industry players to increase reliability, improve efficiency, and reduce the cost of wind energy -- one discovery at a time. Whether you require blade testing or resource characterization, grid integration or high-performance computing, Department of Energy laboratory facilities offer a variety of capabilities to meet your wind research needs.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

Office of Science User Facilities Summary Report, Fiscal Year 2015

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science provides the Nation’s researchers with worldclass scientific user facilities to propel the U.S. to the forefront of science and innovation. A user facility is a federally sponsored research facility available for external use to advance scientific or technical knowledge under the following conditions: open, accessible, free, collaborative, competitive, and unique.

Office of Science↗

DOE OSTI2017

Wind Energy Facilities

wind research, wind research facilities, DOE labor↗

DOE OSTI2018

Nuclear Science User Facility: Neutron Irradiation Challenges and Opportunities

The Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF), established in 2007 as the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) National Scientific User Facility is chartered to provide cost-free access to unique and important research and development capabilities and infrastructure to nuclear energy-focused researchers. Users can apply for access to any of the NSUF INL or partner facilities using the same process, either through the annual Office of Nuclear Energy Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research funding announcement or the NSUF Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) opportunities, offered three times each year. The NSUF has several research and test reactors available as well as ion beamlines and x-ray light sources for experimental use in support of the R&D objectives of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. This presentation reviews the current capabilities, needs, awarded irradiation experiments for FY2018.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Technology Advancement and Insertion into Operating Nuclear Facilities

Key challenges in the NNSA modernization effort are centered around the selection of new processing / production technologies to deploy in existing, operating, and oftentimes, aging nuclear facilities. New uranium processing technologies may offer significant improvements in worker and environmental safety, material control and accountability, and production efficiencies, but adaptation of these technologies into existing facilities presents unique (and usually, difficult) engineering solutions for each new technology. This presentation discusses approaches utilized at Y-12 to mature and demonstrate new processing and production technologies for deployment into nuclear facilities. The technology advancement lifecycle (from concept to deployment) of uranium electrorefining technologies will be reviewed, as a prototypical example, to describe steps and approaches utilized at Y-12 (and NNSA Sites) to (i) mature technologies and manufacturing strategies, (ii) establish testbed capabilities for full-scale process demonstrations, and (iii) reduce risks associated with operational disruptions when commissioning new uranium processing technologies.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

Technology Advancement and Insertion into Operating Nuclear Facilities

Key challenges in the NNSA modernization effort are centered around the selection of new processing / production technologies to deploy in existing, operating, and oftentimes, aging nuclear facilities. New uranium processing technologies may offer significant improvements in worker and environmental safety, material control and accountability, and production efficiencies, but adaptation of these technologies into existing facilities presents unique (and usually, difficult) engineering solutions for each new technology. This presentation discusses approaches utilized at Y-12 to mature and demonstrate new processing and production technologies for deployment into aging nuclear facilities. The technology advancement lifecycle (from concept to deployment) of uranium electrorefining technologies will be reviewed, as a prototypical example, to describe steps and approaches utilized at Y-12 (and NNSA Sites) to (i) mature technologies and manufacturing strategies, (ii) establish testbed capabilities for full-scale process demonstrations, and (iii) reduce risks associated with operational disruptions when commissioning new uranium processing technologies.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2012

Neutron source in the MCNPX shielding calculating for electron accelerator driven facility

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) of USA and Kharkov Inst. of Physics and Technology (KIPT) of Ukraine have been collaborating on the design development of an experimental neutron source facility. It is an accelerator driven system (ADS) utilizing a subcritical assembly driven by electron accelerator. The facility will be utilized for performing basic and applied nuclear researches, producing medical isotopes, and training young nuclear specialists. Monte Carlo code MCNPX has been utilized as a design tool due to its capability to transport electrons, photons, and neutrons at high energies. However the facility shielding calculations with MCNPX need enormous computational resources and the small neutron yield per electron makes sampling difficulty for the Monte Carlo calculations. A method, based on generating and utilizing neutron source file, was proposed and tested. This method reduces significantly the required computer resources and improves the statistics of the calculated neutron dose outside the shield boundary. However the statistical errors introduced by generating the neutron source were not directly represented in the results, questioning the validity of this methodology, because an insufficiently sampled neutron source can cause error on the calculated neutron dose. This paper presents a procedure for the validation of the generated neutron source file. The impact of neutron source statistic on the neutron dose is examined by calculating the neutron dose as a function of the number of electron particles used for generating the neutron source files. When the value of the calculated neutron dose converges, it means the neutron source has scored sufficient records and statistic does not have apparent impact on the calculated neutron dose. In this way, the validity of neutron source and the shield analyses could be verified. (authors)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2012

The MAX facility for CFD code validation

ANL has recently completed construction of a fluid dynamics test facility devised to provide validation data for CFD simulation tools used to evaluate various aspects of nuclear power plant design and safety. Experiments with the facility involve mixing air jets within a 1x1x1.7m long glass tank at atmospheric pressure. A particle image velocimetry system measures flow velocity and turbulence quantities within the tank while a high-speed infrared camera records temperatures across the tank lid. The tandem of high fidelity thermal and turbulence data is particularly useful for benchmarking transient heat transfer phenomena such as thermal striping. This paper describes the MAX facility, preliminary data obtained during shakedown tests, and the results of companion CFD calculations employing RANS-based Star-CCM+ and large eddy simulations with Nek 5000. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2012

The Fast-spectrum Transmutation Experimental Facility FASTEF: Main design achievements (part 2: Reactor building design and plant layout) within the FP7-CDT collaborative project of the European Commission

MYRRHA (Multi-purpose hybrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications) is the flexible experimental accelerator-driven system (ADS) in development at SCK-CEN in replacement of its material testing reactor BR2. SCK-CEN in association with 17 European partners from industry, research centres and academia, responded to the FP7 (Seventh Framework Programme) call from the European Commission to establish a Central Design Team (CDT) for the design of a Fast Spectrum Transmutation Experimental Facility (FASTEF) able to demonstrate efficient transmutation and associated technology through a system working in subcritical and/or critical mode. The project has started on April 01, 2009 for a period of three years. In this paper, we present the latest concept of the reactor building and the plant layout. The FASTEF facility has evolved quite a lot since the intermediate reporting done at the ICAPP'10 and ICAPP'11 conferences 1,2. Many iterations have been performed to take into account the safety requirements. The present configuration enables an easy operation and maintenance of the facility, including the possibility to change large components of the reactor. In a companion paper 3, we present the latest configuration of the reactor core and primary system. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2013

Dismantling of the 904 Cell at the HAO/Sud Facility - 13466

La Hague facility, in France, is the spent fuel recycling plant wherein a part of the fuel coming from some of the French, German, Belgian, Swiss, Dutch and Japanese nuclear reactors is reprocessed before being recycled in order to separate certain radioactive elements. The facility has been successively handled by the CEA (1962-1978), Cogema (1978-2006), and AREVA NC (since 2006). La Hague facility is composed of 3 production units: The UP2-400 production unit started to be operated in 1966 for the reprocessing of UNGG metal fuel. In 1976, following the dropout of the graphite-gas technology by EDF, an HAO workshop to reprocess the fuel from the light water reactors is affiliated and then stopped in 2003. - UP2-400 is partially stopped in 2002 and then definitely the 1 January 2004 and is being dismantled - UP2-800, with the same capacity than UP3, started to be operated in 1994 and is still in operation. And UP3 - UP3 was implemented in 1990 with an annual reprocessing capacity of 800 tons of fuel and is still in operation The combined licensed capacity of UP2-800 and UP3 is 1,700 tons of used fuel. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Radioactive Waste Management at the New Conversion Facility of 'TVEL'{sup R} Fuel Company - 13474

The project on the new conversion facility construction is being implemented by Joint Stock Company (JSC) 'Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises' (SGChE) within TVEL{sup R} Fuel Company. The objective is to construct the up-to-date facility ensuring the industrial and environmental safety with the reduced impact on the community and environment in compliance with the Russian new regulatory framework on radioactive waste (RW) management. The history of the SGChE development, as well as the concepts and approaches to RW management implemented by now are shown. The SGChE future image is outlined, together with its objectives and concept on RW management in compliance with the new act 'On radioactive waste management' adopted in Russia in 2011. Possible areas of cooperation with international companies are discussed in the field of RW management with the purpose of deploying the best Russian and world practices on RW management at the new conversion facility. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2013

EnergySolution's Clive Disposal Facility Operational Research Model - 13475

EnergySolutions owns and operates a licensed, commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facility located in Clive, Utah. The Clive site receives low-level radioactive waste from various locations within the United States via bulk truck, containerised truck, enclosed truck, bulk rail-cars, rail boxcars, and rail inter-modals. Waste packages are unloaded, characterized, processed, and disposed of at the Clive site. Examples of low-level radioactive waste arriving at Clive include, but are not limited to, contaminated soil/debris, spent nuclear power plant components, and medical waste. Generators of low-level radioactive waste typically include nuclear power plants, hospitals, national laboratories, and various United States government operated waste sites. Over the past few years, poor economic conditions have significantly reduced the number of shipments to Clive. With less revenue coming in from processing shipments, Clive needed to keep its expenses down if it was going to maintain past levels of profitability. The Operational Research group of EnergySolutions were asked to develop a simulation model to help identify any improvement opportunities that would increase overall operating efficiency and reduce costs at the Clive Facility. The Clive operations research model simulates the receipt, movement, and processing requirements of shipments arriving at the facility. The model includes shipment schedules, processing times of various waste types, labor requirements, shift schedules, and site equipment availability. The Clive operations research model has been developed using the WITNESS{sup TM} process simulation software, which is developed by the Lanner Group. The major goals of this project were to: - identify processing bottlenecks that could reduce the turnaround time from shipment arrival to disposal; - evaluate the use (or idle time) of labor and equipment; - project future operational requirements under different forecasted scenarios. By identifying processing bottlenecks and unused equipment and/or labor, improvements to operating efficiency could be determined and appropriate cost saving measures implemented. Model runs forecasting various scenarios helped illustrate potential impacts of certain conditions (e.g. 20% decrease in shipments arrived), variables (e.g. 20% decrease in labor), or other possible situations. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2013

Protecting Lake Ontario - Treating Wastewater from the Remediated Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Facility - 13227

The Port Granby Project is part of the larger Port Hope Area Initiative, a community-based program for the development and implementation of a safe, local, long-term management solution for historic low level radioactive waste (LLRW) and marginally contaminated soils (MCS). The Port Granby Project involves the relocation and remediation of up to 0.45 million cubic metres of such waste from the current Port Granby Waste Management Facility located in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, adjacent to the shoreline of Lake Ontario. The waste material will be transferred to a new suitably engineered Long-Term Waste Management Facility (LTWMF) to be located inland approximately 700 m from the existing site. The development of the LTWMF will include construction and commissioning of a new Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) designed to treat wastewater consisting of contaminated surface run off and leachate generated during the site remediation process at the Port Granby Waste Management Facility as well as long-term leachate generated at the new LTWMF. Numerous factors will influence the variable wastewater flow rates and influent loads to the new WWTP during remediation. The treatment processes will be comprised of equalization to minimize impacts from hydraulic peaks, fine screening, membrane bioreactor technology, and reverse osmosis. The residuals treatment will comprise of lime precipitation, thickening, dewatering, evaporation and drying. The distribution of the concentration of uranium and radium - 226 over the various process streams in the WWTP was estimated. This information was used to assess potential worker exposure to radioactivity in the various process areas. A mass balance approach was used to assess the distribution of uranium and radium - 226, by applying individual contaminant removal rates for each process element of the WTP, based on pilot scale results and experience-based assumptions. The mass balance calculations were repeated for various flow and load scenarios. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2013

Westinghouse Cementation Facility of Solid Waste Treatment System - 13503

During NPP operation, several waste streams are generated, caused by different technical and physical processes. Besides others, liquid waste represents one of the major types of waste. Depending on national regulation for storage and disposal of radioactive waste, solidification can be one specific requirement. To accommodate the global request for waste treatment systems Westinghouse developed several specific treatment processes for the different types of waste. In the period of 2006 to 2008 Westinghouse awarded several contracts for the design and delivery of waste treatment systems related to the latest CPR-1000 nuclear power plants. One of these contracts contains the delivery of four Cementation Facilities for waste treatment, s.c. 'Follow on Cementations' dedicated to three locations, HongYanHe, NingDe and YangJiang, of new CPR-1000 nuclear power stations in the People's Republic of China. Previously, Westinghouse delivered a similar cementation facility to the CPR-1000 plant LingAo II, in Daya Bay, PR China. This plant already passed the hot functioning tests successfully in June 2012 and is now ready and released for regular operation. The 'Follow on plants' are designed to package three 'typical' kind of radioactive waste: evaporator concentrates, spent resins and filter cartridges. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on the Westinghouse experience to design and execution of cementation facilities. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2012

Construction, Startup and Operation of a New LLRW Disposal Facility in Andrews County, Texas - 12151

During this last year, Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) completed construction and achieved start of operations of a new low level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal facility in Andrews County Texas. Disposal operations are underway for commercial LLRW, and start up evolutions are in progress for disposal of Department of Energy (DOE) LLRW. The overall approach to construction and start up are presented as well as some of the more significant challenges and how they were addressed to achieve initial operations of the first new commercial low level radioactive waste disposal facility in more than 30 years. The WCS disposal facility consists of two LLRW disposal cells, one for Texas Compact waste, and a separate disposal cell for DOE waste. Both disposal cells have very robust and unique designs. The cells themselves are constructed entirely in very low permeability red bed clay. The cell liners include a 0.91 meter thick clay liner meeting unprecedented permeability limits, 0.3 meter thick reinforced concrete barriers, as well as the standard geo-synthetic liners. Actions taken to meet performance criteria and install these liners will be discussed. Consistent with this highly protective landfill design, WCS chose to install a zero discharge site water management system. The considerations behind the design and construction of this system will be presented. Other activities essential to successful start of LLRW disposal operations included process and procedure development and refinement, staffing and staff development, and training. Mock ups were built and used for important evolutions and functions. Consistent with the extensive regulation of LLRW operations, engagement with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was continuous and highly interactive. This included daily activity conference calls, weekly coordination calls and numerous topical conference calls and meetings. TCEQ staff and consultants frequently observed specific construction evolutions, such as geological feature mapping of designated excavation faces, disposal cell clay liner installation, disposal cell concrete barrier construction, etc. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2012

An Updated Performance Assessment For A New Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility In West Texas - 12192

This Performance Assessment (PA) submittal is an update to the original PA that was developed to support the licensing of the Waste Control Specialists LLC Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) disposal facility. This update includes both the Compact Waste Facility (CWF) and the Federal Waste Facility (FWF), in accordance with Radioactive Material License (RML) No. R04100, License Condition (LC) 87. While many of the baseline assumptions supporting the initial license application PA were incorporated in this update, a new transport code, GoldSim, and new deterministic groundwater flow codes, including HYDRUS and MODFLOWSURFACT{sup TM}, were employed to demonstrate compliance with the performance objectives codified in the regulations and RML No. R04100, LC 87. A revised source term, provided by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality staff, was used to match the initial 15 year license term. This updated PA clearly confirms and demonstrates the robustness of the characteristics of the site's geology and the advanced engineering design of the disposal units. Based on the simulations from fate and transport models, the radiation doses to members of the general public and site workers predicted in the initial and updated PA were a small fraction of the criterion doses of 0.25 mSv and 50 mSv, respectively. In a comparison between the results of the updated PA against the one developed in support of the initial license, both clearly demonstrated the robustness of the characteristics of the site's geology and engineering design of the disposal units. Based on the simulations from fate and transport models, the radiation doses to members of the general public predicted in the initial and updated PA were a fraction of the allowable 25 mrem/yr (0.25 m sievert/yr) dose standard for tens-of-thousands of years into the future. Draft Texas guidance on performance assessment (TCEQ, 2004) recommends a period of analysis equal to 1,000 years or until peak doses from the more mobile radionuclides occur. The EPA National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants limits radionuclide doses through the air pathway to 10 mrem/yr. Gaseous radionuclide doses from the CWF and the FWF, due to decomposition gases, are a small fraction of the dose limit. The radon flux from the CWF and FWF were compared to the flux limit of 20 pCi/m{sup 2}-s from 40 CFR 192. Because of the thick cover system, the calculated radon flux was a very small fraction of the limit. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2012

Environmental Radio-Analytical Research in the Field of a New LILW Disposal Facility in Hungary - 12401

The new Hungarian National Radioactive Waste Repository was established in the granite of the Moragy Block Mountains (Bataapati) to store low and intermediate level radioactive waste originating from Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Before the start of the operation of the facility the environmental characteristics of the site and its vicinity, i.e. the so-called zero level was determined. The determination of the zero level is inevitable as the evaluation of the measurement data in the course of the operation of nuclear facilities should mainly be related to this zero level. In the course of the monitoring activity environmental elements, i.e. air, soil, water (springs, streams, precipitation, fall-out, wash-out, plant and animal samples were investigated from several points of view. From the samples radiocarbon, tritium, Sr-90, gamma emitters, gross alpha, gross beta, and field gamma measurements were carried out. Results reported show that the state preceding the operation of the facility can approximately be considered as the Hungarian background data. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2012

Control of the Reduction/Oxidation State of the High Level Waste Form in the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site - 12451

The Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site treats and immobilizes High Level Waste into a durable borosilicate glass for safe, permanent storage. Among the parameters important to the overall process is the reduction/oxidation state of the glass. Control strategies for the reduction/oxidation state of the glass have been developed and evolved over the last 20 years to provide a current strategy which is both accurate and robust. A description of the methodologies implemented to control, evaluate, and validate the reduction/oxidation state of the glass is discussed along with the impact of future facility changes (made to pursue a more aggressive program to empty High Level Waste tanks at the Savannah River Site) on the reduction/oxidation state of glass. The reduction/oxidation state of the glass is an important parameter to the operation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility. Control, evaluation, and validation of the reduction/oxidation state of the glass is of particular importance for melter operation. Melter feed which is too oxidizing can negatively impact production, while feed which is too reducing can result in catastrophic failure of the melter. Control strategies for the reduction/oxidation state of the glass have been developed and evolved over the last 20 years to provide a current strategy which is both accurate and robust. (authors)

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