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DOE OSTI2018

Economy and Emissions Impacts from Solazyme Fuel in UPS Delivery Vehicles

To improve understanding of the potential fuel economy and emissions impacts from switching a fleet of vehicles from conventional petroleum diesel to synthetic renewable diesel, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted fuel economy and emissions analyses at NREL's Renewable Fuels and Lubricants (ReFUEL) Laboratory. Representative test cycles were developed based on real-world data from six package delivery vehicles and six class 8 day-cab tractors operated by UPS in the Dallas, Texas, area. A three-week in-field data collection period yielded 170 days of real-world vehicle operations data that NREL used to select representative standard drive cycles for testing. Fuel economy and emissions tests at the ReFUEL Laboratory showed that, in general, when switching from conventional diesel to renewable diesel observed changes in tailpipe carbon dioxide (CO2), fuel consumption, and fuel economy are primarily driven by changes in fuel properties such as the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio, density, and lower heating value (LHV). The vehicles tested with the renewable diesel showed a consistent 4.2% reduction in tailpipe CO2 emissions, but a 3.5%-4.8% reduction in fuel economy compared with local pump diesel. This is consistent with the 4.2% lower volumetric LHV of the sourced renewable diesel compared to the pump diesel. The UPS package car tested on renewable diesel also demonstrated a 4.1% oxides of nitrogen (NOx) reduction. NOx emissions from the UPS selective-catalyst-reduction-equipped tractor were an order of magnitude lower than the package car but showed relatively higher variability in results from cycle to cycle.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2017

INL/EXT-17-41117-Rev000

The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) is to advance nuclear power as a resource that is capable of meeting the nation’s energy, environmental, and national security needs by resolving technical, cost, safety, proliferation resistance, and security barriers through research, development, and demonstration. There has never been a more compelling time to develop sources of safe, clean, renewable, carbon-free base power for the United States. Over six decades of use, nuclear power has been proven to be a safe and reliable base alternative to fossil energy sources. The primary barriers to wider commercialization of nuclear power are the life-cycle costs of current plants, the long cycle associated with development of new nuclear technologies that may be more suitable for today’s energy markets, and the regulatory risk associated with this investment in new nuclear technology. While many innovative nuclear energy concepts exist that match current energy market needs, the lengthy and expensive research, development, and demonstration process and uncertain prospects for licensing discourages investment of private capital. The DOE-NE strategy both sustains the current reactor fleet and provides technology options for development of advanced nuclear energy systems. The strategy for moving innovative ideas to the marketplace centers on the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) Initiative. As the lead national laboratory for DOE-NE, Idaho National Laboratory provides much of the nuclear research, development, and demonstration capability needed to move nuclear innovation forward to deployment.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2018

Lessons Learned from Performing a Human Factors Engineering Validation of an Upgraded Digital Control System in a Nuclear Power Plant Control Room

The United States' fleet of nuclear power plants (NPPs) have exceeded their original 40-year licenses and many are seeking license renewals to continue operations into the future. To support continued operation the Department of Energy's (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program (LWRS) provides support for utilities to maintain and upgrade their power production capabilities. Control room modernization is one focus area, which aims to modernization the analog control rooms with digital controls and human-system interfaces (HSIs). The Turbine Control System (TCS) is a non-safety related system undergoing modernization efforts at multiple plants and utilities. Considerable human factors research efforts, comprised of expert reviews and operator in the loop studies were performed to develop human factors compliant and usable TCS. This report documents the final phase of the human factors engineering program used to design and validate the new digital TCS. According to the NUREG-0711 review guide, one of the last steps of human factors engineering program prior to implementation is human factors validation. This report details the method, results and conclusions from the human factors validation study of a collaborating utilities TCS slated to be implemented in one of their plants. One control room team consisting of two control room supervisors and two reactor operators participated in the validation. All team members had participated in the BNP TCS training program foregoing the TCS validation. Performance measures included task performance, situation awareness and workload, expert observation of any negative influences of human-system interface features on control room team performance, and interviews with the participating operators. Performance criteria were based on the performance scores and the topics identified by interviews and expert observations. The results showed that the crew using the new TCS clearly could achieve their overall objectives in the test scenarios with sufficient situation awareness. The new TCS compared to the old system provided clear improvements of the control room work regarding shell and chest warming and regarding valve and other system testing. However, a number of Human Engineering Discrepancies (HEDs) were identified. HEDs were prioritized (level 1, 2 or 3) according to potential safety, plant availability, operability or personnel performance consequences. Since no priority 1 HEDs were identified there is no HFE reason not to continue implementation of the TCS. The TCS upgrade is acceptable if the Priority 2 HEDs are resolved and dispositioned in a satisfactory way. Priority 3 HEDs should be noted and considered for future modifications.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

R&D Roadmap for Enhanced Resilient Plant Systems, Metrics, Scenarios, Risk Analysis, and Modeling and Simulation

The nuclear industry and the U.S. Department of Energy are jointly developing accident tolerant fuel (ATF) which has the potential to greatly improve the safety and economic performance of the current fleet of NPPs. The combination of ATF with the optimal use of FLEX equipment (deployed as an industry response to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident in 2012), enhancements on plant components and systems, incorporation of augmented cooling systems or new passive cooling systems, and improvements in fuel cycle efficiency, have the potential to render the NPPs more efficient and resilient to events (both internally and externally initiated) that have the potential to challenge the integrity of the fuel or plant containment. In this report, combinations of these plant improvements are called Enhanced Resilient Plant Systems. In order to accelerate the development and deployment of the components that comprise Enhanced Resilient Plant Systems, a well-integrated toolkit that is fuel/clad-, fuel cycle-, systems-, and scenario-centric is required to provide a ready platform for the analysis of the advanced ATF fuel and cladding materials that are being developed, as well as plant systems modifications to achieve enhanced resiliency. Since the deployment of these enhancements will comprise a risk/benefit tradeoff of their impacts on plant safety and economics, the envisioned toolkit will need to be capable to characterizing the multidimensional aspects associated with these evaluations and provide decision-makers with information that can optimize the technological, economic, and safety benefits that are to be obtained. The Risk-Informed Systems Analysis (RISA) Pathway of the DOE Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program initiated several research tasks to develop analytical capabilities to support the industry in the transition to the ATF and Enhanced Resilient Plant Systems. The general idea behind the initiative is the development of an integrated evaluation approach which combines the plant probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) models with Multi-Physics Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty (MP-BEPU) analyses in a seamless fashion. The integrated evaluation framework aims at enabling plant system configuration variations to be studied with speed and precision, including detailed risk and benefit assessments of introducing ATF and Enhanced Resilient Plant Systems into current LWR plants to achieve both safety and operational performance enhancements. The focus of this report is to present an integrated research and development (R&D) roadmap to identify and perform high value evaluations of proposed ATF and Enhanced Resilient Plant Systems concepts to identify both the technical (e.g. benefits to risk, safety, and operational margins) and the economic (i.e. business and cost) elements associated with industry adoption of the technology. The integrated evaluation approach will be developed to support the development, testing, qualification, licensing, and deployment of ATF and Enhanced Resilient Plant Systems technology that is capable of achieving substantial safety and economic improvements as well as timely widespread adoption by the US nuclear industry.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Materials and Fuels Complex FY-18--FY-23 Five-Year Investment Strategy

The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) mission is to provide the research, development, and demonstration foundation to extend the lives of the current operating reactor fleet, develop the next generation of nuclear reactors, and provide integrated nuclear fuel cycle solutions. This document is a complimentary document to the Materials and Fuels Complex Integrated Five-Year Science Strategy (INL/EXT-17-41117, Rev. 1) that defines specific implementation strategies for increasing research capability and throughput through targeted investments in research facilities, research instruments, and research staff.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2018

External Cooling of the BWR Mark I and II Drywell Head as a Potential Accident Mitigation Measure – Expanded Scoping Assessment

This report documents a scoping assessment of a potential accident mitigation action applicable to the US fleet of boiling water reactors with Mark I and II containments. The mitigation action is to externally flood the primary containment vessel drywell head using portable pumps or other means. A scoping assessment of the potential benefits of this mitigation action was conducted focusing on the ability to (1) passively remove heat from containment, (2) prevent or delay leakage through the drywell head seal (due to high temperatures and/or pressure), and (3) scrub radionuclide releases if the drywell head seal leaks. This report is an expanded revision of ORNL/TM-2017/457 and includes an analysis of (1) the delay in initiating drywell head cavity flooding from 2 hours to 8 hours after accident scenario initiation and (2) the effectiveness of including additional drywell head heat transfer area.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Technical & Programmatic Solutions for DPC Direct Disposal: Engineering Cost Analysis Support - Scoping

This memo describes the engineering technical and costing analysis support needed for identifying and evaluating technical and programmatic solutions for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in dual-purpose canisters (DPCs), and the resources planned to provide that support. The Technical and Programmatic Solutions (T&PS) work scope is intended to identify and evaluate the range of feasible options available for DPC direct disposal, considering the range of DPC designs in the existing fleet and a range of generic geologic disposal concepts. It will also identify changes to the way DPCs are loaded, and/or additional hardware that could be installed in DPCs as they are loaded, to improve disposability (chiefly, post closure criticality control). These two thrusts are the focus of engineering support to the work package.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program: Report on the Completion of the Machining of Zion Unit 1 Reactor Pressure Vessel Blocks into Mechanical and Microstructural Test Specimens and Chemical Analysis Coupons

The decommissioning of the Zion Units 1 and 2 Nuclear Generating Station in Zion, Illinois, presented a unique opportunity for developing a better understanding of materials degradation and other issues associated with extending the lifetime of existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) beyond 60 years of service. In support of extended service and current operations of the US nuclear reactor fleet, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), through the Department of Energy (DOE), Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, coordinated with Zion Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Solutions (ES), the selective procurement of materials, structures, and components, from the decommissioned reactors including multiple segments of the Zion Unit 1 Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Technologies for Detecting Interactions between Current Plant Configuration States and Component Manipulations Directed by In-Use Procedures

This research effort is a part of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, which is a research and development (R&D) program sponsored by the Department of Energy. The LWRS Program is performed in close collaboration with industry R&D programs that provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long term, safe, and economical operation of current nuclear power plants (NPPs). The LWRS Program serves to help the United States (U.S.) nuclear industry adopt new technologies and engineering solutions that facilitate the continued safe operation of these NPPs and extension of their current operating licenses. A new area of LWRS research, Outage Risk Management Improvement (ORMI) seeks to improve the management of nuclear power plant outages through the development of tools to assist in evaluating pending activities against requirements to detect undesired interactions. Significant efforts are expended to manage the nuclear risk of an outage. The utilities conduct pre outage risk assessments, based on a very detailed review of the outage schedule, to identify where combinations of outage work and equipment out of service would result in degraded conditions with respect to nuclear safety or regulatory compliance. Probabilistic risk assessment studies are conducted to quantify the incremental core damage frequency as a result of the outage activities and system unavailability. These studies are usually presented to site and fleet management, the site plant operational review committee, and the NPP’s independent Nuclear Safety Review Board for concurrence that the outage is planned safely and that reasonable measures have been taken to reduce the added risk of conducting the outage. During the outage, the plant configuration is monitored continuously to ensure that it conforms to the approved safety plan. Deviations must be assessed and approved by management committees and, in some cases, the plant operational review committee. In virtually all outage meetings and job briefings, the current nuclear safety status of the plant is communicated, including information on the specific equipment that is being relied on to meet the requirements of the nuclear safety plan. In addition, Operations and the Outage organizations implement several layers of physical and administrative barriers to prevent unintended interaction with the systems and equipment credited for nuclear safety. In spite of all these efforts, nuclear safety challenges still occur too frequently in outages. While some of these are due to failures of equipment credited for safety, the majority occur because of human error. These typically involve some form of interaction between work activities and plant configuration changes. Some of them are very subtle and are extremely challenging to detect in advance. Nevertheless, they are not acceptable and represent clear opportunities to improve nuclear safety during outages. This project will develop tools and strategies to minimize these interactions.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Lab-Scale Development of a Solid Sorbent for CO 2 Capture Process for Coal-Fired Power Plants

It is increasingly clear that CO 2 capture and sequestration (CCS) must play a critical role in curbing worldwide CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere. Development of these technologies to cost-effectively remove CO 2 from coal-fired power plants is very important to mitigating the impact these power plants have within the world’s power generation portfolio. Currently, conventional CO 2 capture technologies, such as aqueous-monoethanolamine based solvent systems, are prohibitively expensive and if implemented could result in a 75 to 100% increase in the cost of electricity for consumers worldwide. Solid sorbent CO 2 capture processes – such as RTI’s 3rd Generation Solid Sorbent CO 2 Capture Process – are promising alternatives to conventional, liquid solvents. Supported amine sorbents – of the nature RTI has developed – are particularly attractive due to their potential for high CO 2 loadings, excellent stability over multiple cycles, reduced corrosivity/volatility and a potential to reduce the regeneration energy needed to carry out CO 2 capture. The remaining challenges for these sorbent processes have provided the framework for the project team’s research and development and target for advancing the technology beyond lab-scale testing. Previous work in this area has failed to adequately address various technology challenges such as sorbent stability and regenerability, sorbent scale-up, improved physical strength and attrition-resistance, proper heat management and temperature control, proper solids handling, as well as the proper coupling of process engineering advancements that are tailored for a promising sorbent technology. Under a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy, and part of NETL’s CO 2 Capture Program, RTI has led an effort to address and mitigate the challenges associated with solid sorbent CO 2 capture. The overall objective of this project was to mitigate the technical and economic risks associated with the performance and scale-up of solid sorbent-based CO 2 capture processes, enabling subsequent larger pilot demonstrations and ultimately commercial deployment. An integrated development approach has been a key focus of this project in which sorbent development, process development, and economic analyses have informed each of the other development processes. Development efforts have focused on developing novel hybrid solids-based CO 2 capture sorbents and improving their performance stability, refining process engineering and design, and evaluating the viability of the technology through detailed economic analyses. Sorbent advancements have led to a next generation, commercially-viable CO 2 capture sorbent exhibiting performance stability in various gas environments and a physically strong fluidizable form. The team has reduced sorbent production costs and optimized the production and scale-up of novel metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid solids-based CO 2 capture sorbents, fluidizable sorbents. Refinement of the process engineering and design at the lab-scale research unit has demonstrated promising CO 2 capture performance in simulated coal-fired flue gas conditions. Long-term testing has informed the project team on the process conditions needed to operate a solids-based system for optimal performance. Data collected from all phases of testing has been used to develop a detailed techno-economic assessment of RTI’s technology. These detailed analyses show that RTI’s technology has significant economic advantages over current amine scrubbing and potential to achieve the DOE’s Carbon Capture Program’s goal of >90% CO 2 capture rate at a cost of almost $40/tonne CO 2 captured by 2025. Through this integrated technology development approach, the project team has advanced RTI’s 3rd generation CO 2 capture technology to TRL-3, according to the DOE/FE definitions for Technology Readiness Levels. At a broader level, this project has advanced the whole of the solid sorbent CO 2 capture field, with advancements in process engineering and design, technical risk mitigation, sorbent scale-up optimization, and an understanding of the commercial viability and applicability of solid sorbent CO 2 capture technologies for the U.S. existing fleet of coal-fired power plants.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Modeling, Testing, and Analysis of Volvo Truck Tractor Cabins (Final Report)

Annual fuel use for sleeper cab truck rest period idling is estimated at 667 million gallons in the United States, or 6.8% of long-haul truck fuel use. Truck idling during a rest period represents zero freight efficiency and is largely done to supply accessory power for climate conditioning of the cab. This project aimed to reduce heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) loads and resulting fuel use from rest period idling by using efficient long-haul truck thermal management systems while maintaining occupant comfort. Enhancing the thermal performance of cab/sleepers will enable smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective idle reduction solutions. In addition, if the fuel savings provide a one- to three-year payback period, fleet owners will be economically motivated to incorporate them. This project evaluated several promising candidate technologies through experimentation and modeling to determine their effectiveness in reducing rest period HVAC loads. Load reduction strategies were grouped into the focus areas of solar envelope, occupant environment, conductive pathways, and efficient equipment. Technologies in each of these focus areas were investigated. The most promising of these technologies were then combined with the goal of exceeding a 30% reduction in HVAC loads. These technologies included 'ultra-white' paint, advanced insulation, and advanced curtain design. This project showed more than a 35.7% reduction in rest period idle air conditioning loads using thermal load reduction technologies. Overall heat transfer coefficient testing during cab heating, showed a 43% reduction in heating load using this technology package.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2018

Utility-Scale Solar: Empirical Trends in Project Technology, Cost, Performance, and PPA Pricing in the United States – 2018 Edition

The utility-scale solar sector has led the overall U.S. solar market in terms of installed capacity since 2012. In 2017, the utility-scale sector accounted for nearly 60% of all new solar capacity, and is expected to maintain its market-leading position for at least another six years. Two-thirds of all states, representing all regions of the country, are now home to one or more utility-scale solar projects. This report—the sixth in an ongoing annual series—provides in-depth data-driven analysis of the utility-scale solar project fleet in the United States. Drawing on empirical project-level data from a wide range of sources, this report analyzes technology trends, installed project prices, operating costs, capacity factors, power purchase agreement ("PPA") prices, the levelized cost of solar energy (LCOE), and the market value of solar. Given its current preeminence in the market, utility-scale PV also dominates much of this report, though data from CPV and CSP projects are also presented where appropriate. Highlights from this year's edition include: -Installation and Technology Trends: The use of solar trackers dominated 2017 installations with nearly 80% of all new capacity. In a reflection of the ongoing geographic expansion of the market beyond California and the high-insolation Southwest, the median insolation level at newly built project sites declined again in 2017. While new fixed-tilt projects are now seen predominantly in less-sunny regions, tracking projects are increasingly pushing into these same regions. The median inverter loading ratio grew to 1.32 in 2017, allowing the inverters to operate closer to full capacity for a greater percentage of the day. -Installed Prices: Median installed PV project prices have steadily fallen by two-thirds since the 2007-2009 period, to $2.0/WAC (or $1.6/WDC) for projects completed in 2017. The lowest 20th percentile of projects within our 2017 sample were priced at or below $1.8/WAC, with the lowest-priced projects around $0.9/WAC. Overall price dispersion across the entire sample has decreased steadily every year since 2013; similarly, price variation across regions decreased in 2017. -Operation and Maintenance ("O&M") Costs: PV O&M costs were in the neighborhood of $16/kWAC-year, or $8/MWh, in 2017. These numbers include only those costs incurred to directly operate and maintain the generating plant. -Capacity Factors: The cumulative net AC capacity factors of individual projects vary widely, from 14.3% to 35.2%, with a sample median of 26.3%. This project-level variation is based on a number of factors, including the strength of the solar resource at the project site, whether the array is mounted at a fixed tilt or on a tracking mechanism, the inverter loading ratio, degradation, and curtailment. Changes in at least the first three of these factors drove mean capacity factors higher from 2010-vintage to 2013-vintage projects, where they've remained fairly steady among more-recent project vintages as an ongoing increase in the prevalence of tracking has been offset by a build-out of lower resource sites. -PPA Prices and LCOE: Driven by lower installed project prices and improving capacity factors, levelized PPA prices for utility-scale PV have fallen dramatically over time, by $20-$30/MWh per year on average from 2006 through 2012, with a smaller price decline of ~$10/MWh per year evident from 2013 through 2016. Most recent PPAs in our sample—including many outside of California and the Southwest—are priced at or below $40/MWh levelized (in real 2017 dollars), with a few priced as aggressively as ~$20/MWh. The median LCOE among operational PV projects in our sample has followed PPA prices lower, suggesting a relatively competitive market for PPAs. -Solar's Wholesale Energy Market Value: Falling PPA prices have been offset to some degree by a decline in the wholesale energy market value of solar within higher-penetration markets like California, where solar earned just 79% of the average price across all hours within CAISO's real-time wholesale energy market in 2017 (down from 125% back in 2012). In other markets with less solar penetration, however, solar's hourly generation profile still earns more than the average wholesale price (e.g., 127% in ERCOT, 112% in PJM). -Solar+Storage: Adding battery storage is one way to at least partially restore the value of solar, and three recent PV+storage PPAs in Nevada (each using 4-hour batteries sized at 25% of PV nameplate capacity) suggest that the incremental PPA price adder for storage has fallen to ~$5/MWh, down from ~$15/MWh just a year ago for a similarly configured project. As PV plus battery storage becomes more cost-effective, a number of developers are regularly offering it as a viable upgrade to standalone PV. At the end of 2017, there were at least 188.5 GW of utility-scale solar power capacity within the interconnection queues across the nation. The 2017 growth within these queues is widely distributed across all regions of the country, but is most pronounced in the up-and-coming Midwest region, which accounts for 27% of the 99.2 GW of new queue capacity. The widening geographic distribution is as clear of a sign as any that the utility-scale market is maturing and expanding outside of its traditional high-insolation comfort zones.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2018

GM Light Duty Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Validation Data

General Motors LLC (GM) completed a multi-phase project with the Department of Energy to validate light-duty fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) performance and durability using dynamometer fuel cell system and real-world vehicle performance data. This project began with GM’s Gen 0 Fuel Cell Fleet vehicles with Technology Insertion operating strategies and materials, and extended to GM’s Gen 1 and early Gen 2 commercial-design intent Fuel Cell stacks and Fuel Cell Systems. The intent of this project was to understand how fuel cell materials, system architectures, and operating strategies impact fuel cell stack durability under fully dynamic operating conditions such as those seen in a light duty vehicle application. More than 87,000 hours of system run time were accumulated under this project simulating several vehicle lifetimes under aggressive driver usage conditions. Lessons learned from this demonstration project have helped expedite the development of a commercially viable, zero-petroleum, zero-emission, Fuel Cell propulsion system. Durability test results have enabled a substantial reduction in the precious metal content in the Fuel Cell Stack with each successive generation of stack design. Stack lifetimes between the first and current design iterations have increased nearly tenfold, while the overall precious metal content has been reduced by approximately 85%. The Gen 2 system power density (kW/gPt) is over five times that of the Gen 0 system. In addition, run time voltage degradation as a function of total platinum was reduced by more than an order of magnitude between the first and last phase of this project. GM is proceeding with a low volume production program aided by the results of the durability testing performed under this cooperative agreement.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2018

Acoustic Channel Link Models for Digital Communication Protocols

Integration of advanced communication technologies into nuclear facility operation has the potential for enhancing safety and accident -resiliency of the existing fleet of aging light water reactors, as well those of future advanced reactors. Conventional wired and wireless communication systems face implementation challenges at nuclear facilities due to the presence of thick reinforced concrete walls with steel liners throughout much of nuclear facility, especially the containment building. In addition, concerns related to security gaps in conventional communication networks have to be addressed when developing communication systems for nuclear facilities. To address communication technology gaps for nuclear energy, we are currently developing the acoustic communication (AC) hardware and network protocols for efficient and secure transfer of data, and will provide a preliminary experimental demonstration of the AC system prototype in a representative environment.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of Backgrounds for EXO

Neutrinos are fundamental particles that are all around us in nature. While neutrinos do not make up the building blocks of matter, they are an important byproduct of the fusion process that makes the sun burn. Because neutrinos are so light in mass, they almost exclusively interact with the weak force in nature. As such, they provide a unique probe for understanding the weak force. The heaviest mass of the neutrino is still so much lighter than all the other charged quarks and leptons that it hints at the possibility that their mass is produced by a different mechanism than the Higgs boson. How can we study these fleeting objects? This is the challenge for neutrino physicists, and we continue to push the limits of the experimental techniques further and further. Neutrinoless double beta decay is a unique probe of neutrinos that will attempt to answer the question of whether the neutrino is its own anti-particle (Majorana), what it's absolute mass is and if observed, we will see violation of lepton number which will lead the way to new physics. Discovering neutrinoless double beta decay will be exciting but still left to be answered will be what the mechanism is that causes the decay. Understanding this mechanism will also give us more insight into the weak force or new forces at work in the universe. The current experiments are attempting to measure the decay half-life at the level of 1025-1026 years. In order to do this (and better in the future), it is critical to eliminate as many radioactive background processes as possible by shielding from external radioactivity and reducing the internal radioactivity of the detector. This report discusses measurements performed to study potential backgrounds due to neutrons interacting with 136Xe that could affect experiments such as EXO-200 (Enriched Xenon Observatory - 200 kg) and nEXO (next Enriched Xenon Observatory) and KamLAND-Zen.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for FY 2016

Reliable instrumentation, information, and control (II&C) systems technologies are essential to ensuring safe and efficient operation of the U.S. light water reactor (LWR) fleet. These technologies affect every aspect of nuclear power plant (NPP) and balance-of-plant operations. In 1997, the National Research Council conducted a study concerning the challenges involved in modernization of digital instrumentation and control systems in NPPs. Their findings identified the need for new II&C technology integration.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for FY 2017

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Enabling Situation Awareness Under High Levels of Automation: Results From An Experimental Study

The Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) program sponsors research, development and deployment activities through its Next Generation Nuclear Plant, Advanced Reactor Concepts, and Advanced Small Modular Reactor (aSMR) programs to promote safety, technical, economical, and environmental advancements of innovative Generation IV nuclear energy technologies. The Human Automation Collaboration (HAC) research project is located under the aSMR program, which identifies developing advanced instrumentation and controls and human-machine interfaces as one of four key research areas. New nuclear plants are expected to employ significantly more advanced technology than the systems in the current reactor fleet as well as utilize automation to a greater extent. However, advancing technology and increasing automation does not necessarily imply improved efficiency and safety of the plant. Instead, a number of concerns about how these technologies will affect human performance and the overall safety of the plant need to be addressed. More specifically, it is important to investigate how the operator and the automation work as a team to ensure effective and safe plant operation, also known as the human-automation collaboration (HAC). The HAC project at INL, investigates collaboration methods between a system’s automation and human operators and how that collaboration impacts the performance and reliability of overall system performance. Some well documented human performance issues associated with typical human automation collaboration methods include reduced operator situation awareness (SA), complacency, and over reliance on the system automation (Endsley, 1995, 1996, 1997; Endsley & Kaber, 1999; Kaber & Endsley, 1997, 2004; Parasuraman et al., 2000; Sheridan, 2002; Wickens & Hollands, 2000; Wright & Kaber, 2005). The HAC research effort addresses how to best design the collaboration between the operators and the automated systems in a manner that has the greatest positive impact on overall plant performance and reliability, hence addressing many of the documented issues. The ultimate goal of the HAC research effort is to develop design guidance that supports optimal interaction between humans and automated systems.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗