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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program Monitoring Optimization Plan for Groundwater Monitoring Wells at the U.S. Department of Energy Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

This document is the monitoring optimization plan for groundwater monitoring wells associated with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The plan describes the technical approach that is implemented under the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP) to focus available resources on the monitoring wells at Y-12 that provide the most useful hydrologic and groundwater quality monitoring data. The technical approach is based on the GWPP status designation for each well. Under this approach, wells granted “active” status are used by the GWPP for hydrologic monitoring and/or groundwater quality sampling, whereas wells granted “inactive” status are not used for either purpose. The status designation also defines the frequency at which the GWPP will inspect applicable wells, the scope of these well inspections, and extent of any maintenance actions initiated by the GWPP. Details regarding the ancillary activities associated with implementation of this plan (e.g., well inspection) are deferred to the referenced GWPP plans.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Potential to Extend the Range of Established Online Monitoring Technologies, Such as Guided Waves in Nuclear Power Plant Systems

The Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program began to evaluate technologies that could be used to perform online monitoring of piping and other secondary system structural components in commercial NPPs. These online monitoring systems have the potential to identify when a more detailed inspection is needed using real-time measurements, rather than at a pre-determined inspection interval. This transition to condition-based, risk informed automated maintenance will contribute to a significant reduction of operations and maintenance costs that account for most nuclear power generation costs. This report describes the current state of research related to ultrasonic guided wave testing and its application to defect detection in commercial nuclear power plants. The report analyses the applicability of the guided wave technology to secondary piping systems and also study the potential for expanding the range of guided wave technology to include bent piping and other piping components. The ultrasonic guided waves can inspect long stretches of straight piping, however more complex geometries such as elbows, welds, and tees are causing spurious reflections and coherent noise which significantly decrease the sensitivity of the technique. The report analyses two approaches to suppression of coherent noise in guided wave systems: advanced signal processing and pattern recognition based on independent component analysis and blind source separation and hardware-based technique of piezoelectric paint which can be used to facilitate the propagation of mechanical stress waves through piping. It is demonstrated on simulated guided wave data that the independent component analysis is capable of separating different coherent noise components and segregating them from useful signal. The piezoelectric paint approach seem to be a viable alternative to the signal processing methods, however it requires significantly more complicated logistics and initial financial outlay. The future efforts will be concentrated on applying the independent component analysis to real-world guided wave data recorded by the guided wave monitoring system installed on the shell of the low-pressure feedwater heater 13A at Exelon Corporation’s Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station. Also, the joint EPRI-INL research efforts will focus on experimental evaluation of piezoelectric paint as a technique to extend the range of guided wave technology.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reliability Assessment of Remote Visual Examination

Remote visual testing (RVT) is a commonly used nondestructive examination method for inservice inspection (ISI) of reactor internals to detect cracking and gross component failures. Despite widespread use, the detection reliability of RVT and the factors that impact overall RVT performance have been unresolved issues. This report describes the results from an assessment sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in cooperation with the Electric Power Research Institute, for evaluating the reliability of RVT methods currently being used for [reactor] in-vessel visual inspection. The goal was to assess the performance of commercially applied RVT examination procedures implemented by qualified personnel, as well as to identify and qualitatively assess enhancements to examination procedures for detecting flaws in test specimens. The assessment was performed over three phases of research, with the results of the first phase used to identify key controllable parameters impacting RVT performance and to design the next two phases (round-robin testing). Participants in the round-robin tests included teams of inspectors from commercial nuclear power ISI vendors. Participants were asked to determine if a specimen contained a crack and its approximate location, orientation, and length. The detection and location information were used to compute estimates of the probability of detection and false call probability for various scenarios such as the placement and orientation of the flaw on the specimen, team-to-team variations in detection performance, and effects of secondary review on RVT detection. Results showed that crack opening displacement (COD) is the dominant factor in the reliability of crack detection using commercially applied RVT procedures, with crack length being weakly correlated with detection probability. The implication is that RVT detection is likely heavily dependent on the contrast produced by the crack opening, with crack detection becoming less reliable as the COD decreases. Further, the results indicated RVT will be challenged when cracks are located in the vicinity of surface features such as scratches or weld ripples, or close to the edge of welds where shadowing and/or the presence of weld undercuts may complicate the ability to detect the crack. The assessment also reinforced earlier findings on the importance of lighting in flaw detection and appeared to align with other studies that find improved reliability when using multiple inspectors or analysts. Finally, the results pointed to the importance of practice with specimens that mimic conditions likely to be found in the field. Based on the findings and limitations of the assessment, a number of recommendations are made regarding best practices for improving the reliability of RVT in a field setting and for addressing remaining informational gaps. This report describes the design and noted limitations of the three phases of research, the analysis methodology for each phase, and the results of the research. The results of this assessment provide a benchmark set of data on the reliability of RVT for detecting cracking, assuming the implementation of field-like inspection procedures. The likely impact of several uncontrolled factors on RVT detection performance are discussed, and recommendations regarding the use of these results to assess field performance are provided. Finally, recent advances in RVT technology are briefly discussed and point to the potential need for continued research to evaluate the capability and effectiveness of the technique as improvements are implemented.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Magnetostrictive Cold Spray Sensor Feasibility Assessment

Ultrasound sensors and inspection systems are frequently used to generate acoustic waves in metal structures capable of detecting and characterizing cracks, pits, erosion, inclusions, weld anomalies, and other material and structural features. One significant problem with piezoelectric transducers is the difficulty to achieve good coupling between the transducer and the surface being examined. This is particularly true in harsh conditions with high temperatures, cyclical hot and cold temperatures, highly radioactive fields found near nuclear reactors or spent nuclear fuel, caustic or corrosive fluids, and other extreme environmental conditions, as well as in long-term monitoring applications where repair or replacement of the sensor is difficult or expensive. Typically, coupling between the surface and the transducer is achieved with water, gel, grease, viscous shear coupling material, or pressure, which might not be possible or appropriate for long-term applications in which the impedance -matching materials wear away, evaporate, or simply stop functioning due to changes in surface conditions. Fluid couplings can evaporate or drain away from the transducer-substrate interface; glue- based couplings may foul or fail and are notoriously unreliable at high temperatures and in radioactive environments. This work explores the behavior of a magnetostrictive cold-spray patch that is metallurgically bonded to a stainless steel inspection target surface, and compares it to the performance of a standard adhesively-bonded ferrous-cobalt magnetostrictive strip solution. Cold-spray is a coating process where 10 –100 micron diameter powdered metal is accelerated to Mach 2 to Mach 3 (2–3 × speed of sound) and impacted on the surface to be coated. Each powder particle forms a kinetic bond with the substrate or other coating particles to produce a metallurgically bonded layer. If the powder is nickel or cobalt with high magnetostrictive coefficients, this surface can serve as the base of a magnetostrictive sensor suitable for crack or pitting-damage inspection and monitoring that is not subject to temporal or environmental degradation.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Channel Gap Probe EMPIrE Report

EMPIrE aims to provide data for the "comprehension phase" of the European Low Enriched Uranium (LEU ) U-Mo Fuel Development program for the conversion of European civilian research reactors. The majority of the fuel performance data will be obtained during post-irradiation examinations (PIE) of the fuel. The primary EMPIrE fuel specimen design is based on uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) alloy particles dispersed in an aluminum matrix clad in the European alloy AG3NE and in the form of mini-plate sized specimens (1" x 4" plates). Secondary EMPIrE specimens include U Mo monolithic fuel clad in European alloy AlFeNi. The experiment is designed in such a way that U-Mo samples achieve three distinct end-of-life burnup groupings. Irradiation has taken place at ATR (Advance Treatment Reactor). The fuel plates are contained in fuel capsules holding four plates each, with 2 plates at 2 levels. Once the capsules with the plates are irradiated, they have to be inspected during the outage in-between cycles. The capsules need to have visual inspection performed and channel gap widths measured prior to reinsertion. These inspections are to ensure that the plates have not deformed significantly. Obstruction of the coolant channels and restriction of the coolant flow are less of a concern in EMPIrE testing as the channels were made intentionally wide. The Channel Gap Probe (CGP) has been developed to measure channel gap widths, which serves as indirect measures of the fuel plate performance and deformation in the course of irradiation which enables the evaluation of the risk from continuing irradiation prior to reinsertion of the plates in reactor.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Development of a Technology Roadmap for Online Monitoring of Nuclear Power Plants

The nuclear power industry has recently recognized the potential cost saving that can be achieved from migrating the current manual and labor dependent surveillance and preventive maintenance activities to data-driven online monitoring methods. Since then, several efforts have been launched with various degrees of momentum to tackle specific surveillance or preventive maintenance activities. The light water reactor sustainability program (LWRS) program has anticipated this need and launched an effort that aimed to develop a technology roadmap for the nuclear power industry. Because the roadmap has to be focused towards the user or application’s value, and because nuclear power plants have different process efficiencies and deficiencies, the technology roadmap has to be plant independent. Achieving this objective required optimizing the extent of details described by a technology roadmap. The approach followed is for the roadmap to describe the sequence of activities needed to automate a process or equipment activity, but not describe the sequence of processes or equipment to target. For example, the steps required to migrate the inspection of a pump are plant independent. However, defining that the migration of feed water pumps inspections to online monitoring should be performed before inspections of feed water valves is dependent on multiple plant factors such as the plant requirements, labor work capacity, and process or equipment conditions. The technology roadmap was broken down into six elements, four of which have a sequential path of advancement, while the other two are supporting elements to the sequential elements. The sequential part of the roadmap analyzes data collection, analytics, visualization, and management. For these elements of the technology roadmap, the migration of an activity is defined in three states. The base state is defined as the most primitive, manual, and labor dependent process used by some nuclear power plants. The modern state is defined as the state that can be achieved if the activities are augmented or replaced by current technologies that are commercially available or are soon to be available. The state of the art is defined as using technologies of the future, i.e. concept and technologies that are being researched. The data collection part of the technology roadmap defines three states of every process performed in a nuclear power plant. However, the data analytics part is described based on equipment, because automating an activity performed on one equipment required considering multiple data sources. The visualization and data management elements are process or equipment independent. Visualization describes the means to use human factor science and technologies advancement in presenting the data collected and the data analytics results. The data management targets storage, communication, and computational power need, in addition to data integration and sharing. Since storage, communication, and computational power technologies and path for deployment are known to any information technology organization, this effort targeted the cost of data management. This has a direct impact on the feasibility of the automation effort. The supporting elements analyzes the value of automating the activity and the change challenges to tackle. For the support elements, the roadmap targeted describing activities that need to be performed as part of the roadmap development. The value element of the roadmap describes how to analyze the cost saving and the associated risk. The change management identifies multiple factors to consider such as regulation, cybersecurity, resource availability, supporting infrastructure availability, feasibility (power, fitness, environment tolerance, facilities), and cultural change.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Chemical Waste Landfill Annual Post-Closure Care Report Calendar Year 2016

The purpose of this CWL Annual Post-Closure Care Report is to document monitoring, inspection, maintenance, and repair activities conducted during CY 2016 in accordance with PCCP Attachment 1. This annual report documents post-closure care activities conducted from January through December 2016 and fulfills the PCCP requirement for annual reporting to the NMED. The PCCP requires monitoring, inspection, and maintenance/repair activities that must be documented and reported for each CY. Monitoring activities include semi-annual groundwater monitoring for specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and metals, and annual vadose zone soil-gas monitoring for specific VOCs. Inspection, maintenance, and repair activities are required for the following components: final cover (vegetation and surface); storm-water diversion structures; monitoring networks and sampling equipment (groundwater and soil-gas); and security fence, locks, gates, signage, and survey monuments. The CWL final cover is a vegetative at-grade soil cover, or ET Cover.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Mixed Waste Landfill Annual Long-Term Monitoring & Maintenance Report April 2016-March 2017

Sampling activities for this reporting period included two semiannual monitoring events each for groundwater, soil-vapor, and radon. Annual soil-moisture monitoring was conducted in April 2016, annual tritium surface soil sampling was conducted in August 2016, and annual biota sampling (metals and radionuclides) was conducted in September 2016. All monitoring activities were conducted in accordance with LTMMP requirements and no monitoring results exceeded LTMMP trigger levels. All monitoring results were consistent with historic MWL monitoring data. Inspections of the MWL final cover system, storm-water diversion structures, compliance monitoring systems, and security fence were performed in accordance with LTMMP requirements. Required maintenance and repairs were minor and were generally performed during the inspections. The Evapotranspirative (ET) Cover continues to meet successful revegetation criteria and is in excellent condition with even coverage of mature, native perennial grasses. Maintenance was performed during the reporting period as a best management practice for ET Cover vegetation, and included a lower level of effort relative to previous years. The purpose of ongoing ET Cover maintenance efforts is to promote the growth and health of the desired native grass species by reducing competition with weedy species for limited moisture and nutrients. Based on previous inspections, additional best management practice activities were conducted during this reporting period to improve the site and reduce long-term ET Cover and site maintenance. These activities included improvements to site access and drainage (i.e., improvements to the access and perimeter road) and the installation of erosion and burrow control measures at the ten perimeter monitoring well locations.

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

Federal Emergency Management Agency Mobile Housing Unit Running Gear Testing (Final Report)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stages manufactured housing units (MHUs) at key locations to be used during disasters when other housing accommodations cannot be arranged for individuals or families. Due to the unpredictability of natural disasters and the limitations of the manufactured housing industry to produce large numbers of MHUs in very short periods of time, it is necessary for FEMA to store a large number of units for many months or years. With these long storage periods come degradation issues with frames, tires, bearing, and braking systems. These types of issues are also of interest to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) because regulated carriers normally transport these units and 49 CFR 393.75 Tires specifies tire loading restrictions for manufactured homes. To compare the running gear (tires, brakes, drums, bearings, axles, springs, and spring mounting hardware) currently specified in the 2014 Rugged Based Performance Requirements (RBPR) and the newly recommended running gear specified in the upcoming revision to the RBPR, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) outlined a Longevity Test Plan, which focused on the assessment of component longevity (failure rates by component type). The Test Plan also studied the forces imparted to the MHU from the running gear from interaction with the roadway for both the running gear in the 2014 RBPR and the running gear specified in the upcoming RBPR revision. Since the assessment of component longevity and failures are also issues of concern for FMCSA, both agencies collaborated to support the research presented in this report. The tests and data collection were conducted at the Navistar Proving Grounds (NPG) in New Carlisle (near South Bend), Indiana, during the May-November 2018 period. Four alternatives for the suspension system of a typical three-bedroom MHU were considered in this test. Alternative 0 was the MHU that was selected from the FEMA staging area in Selma, Alabama. Empirical data had shown that, on average, this alternative experiences one tire failure every 150 miles (or 0.0067 tire failures per mile traveled). Before testing, Alternative 0 was equipped with similar running gear hardware, although in new condition and installed following the manufacturer’s specifications. This became the Baseline Unit, or Alternative 1. Another unit, also selected from the FEMA staging area in Selma, Alabama, was equipped with better axles (i.e., axles that were rated for 7,000lbs as opposed to 6,000lbs for the Baseline Unit) and better tires. This became the Upgrade Unit, or Alternative 2. At the end of the Longevity Test, the Upgrade Unit was mounted with radial tires. This became Alternative 3.Alternative 1 (Baseline Unit) had, on average, one tire failure every 251 miles (or 0.0040 tire failures per mile traveled). So, by simply following the correct manufacturer’s specifications for the assembly of the transportation system, a reduction of 41% in the per mile tire failure was achieved. In the same test, Alternative 2 (Upgrade Unit) showed, on average, one tire failure every 728 miles traveled (or 0.0014 tire failure s per mile traveled). When the Upgrade Unit was mounted with radial tires in the last part of the test, no tire failures were observed for the 2,400 miles tested. That is, in the case of the radial tires (Alternative 3) the tire failure was less than one per 2,400 miles traveled (or less than 0.0004 tire failures per mile traveled). The data collected for the Longevity Test showed that the maximum accelerations were registered in all cases at the center of the MHU in the vertical direction. The overall maximum was registered by the Baseline Unit, Alternative 1. If that value is normalized to 100%, then the Upgrade Unit (Alternative 2) showed, on average, 81% at the same location, and Alternative 3 (radial-tire test) 59%. That is, the upgraded transportation system showed a reduction of 19% and 41% in the vertical accelerations transmitted to MHU at its center when regular and radial tires, respectively, were used. As part of the Test Protocol, NPG conducted a visual inspection of the MHUs and transportation system at the end of each test day. ORNL reviewed all the inspection reports in an attempt to determine if there was any difference in the damage that the Baseline and Upgrade MHUs showed during the test. The Upgrade Unit always showed lower accelerations transmitted to the MHU than the Baseline Unit. In most cases, these differences were statistically significant. The FEMA inspection report, conducted by a FEMA certified inspector at the end of the tests, included a shorter list of damaged items for the Baseline Unit than for the Upgrade Unit, although similar type of damages was described for both units. This may be an indication that, although lower than those of the Baseline Unit, the accelerations transmitted by the Upgrade Unit were above the threshold at which MHU elements start to fail.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

NDE Reliability Issues for the Examination of CASS Components

The relatively low cost and corrosion resistance of cast austenitic stainless steel (CASS) materials resulted in their extensive use for piping systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, CASS component welds are among the most challenging volumetric examinations required to be performed for detection of potential service degradation. Effective and reliable inspection methods for CASS materials are essential to achieving the objectives of defense-in-depth. A complicating issue is the presence of thermal aging embrittlement, a known degradation mechanism that occurs in CASS NPP materials. Further, while not as yet reported in CASS, many unforeseen instances of cracking in safety-related piping system welds have been experienced in other austenitic materials. Currently, a performance-based method to qualify NDE in CASS is not available. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has performed nondestructive examination (NDE) research under the sponsorship of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for over four decades. A primary objective of the research has been to assess the effectiveness and reliability of conventional and advanced NDE methods for the inspection of light-water reactor components. One of the tasks being performed within this framework is to evaluate state-of-the-art technical approaches for examining safety-related nuclear reactor components that pose significant challenges to traditional NDE methods. A specific area of research in this regard is the volumetric examination of coarse-grained weldments and base materials. This report summarizes, compiles, and assesses relevant investigations performed by PNNL and other domestic and international organizations for welds adjacent to CASS components to provide a comprehensive evaluation on this subject. The primary objectives of the report are to assess the overall feasibility for advanced NDE methods to reliably and effectively examine field CASS piping components and to determine if techniques similar to those described in existing standards could be applied to develop performance demonstration requirements for CASS piping components. This report discusses improving the reliability of CASS examinations through the use of advanced low-frequency phased-array techniques, coupled with other “best practice” examination parameters, and makes recommendations for consideration by NRC Staff regarding the development of effective performance-based qualifications for CASS weldments. In addition to the PNNL research documented here, over 230 historical and more recent publications have been reviewed in the development of this document. The report is expected to be a useful resource for engineers and scientists involved in NDE of CASS for purposes of inservice inspection on existing plants during current and extended periods of operation. Finally, researchers and NDE practitioners conducting future investigations to advance the state-of-the-art should find the information contained in this report to be beneficial.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nevada National Security Site - E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System: Fourth Quarter 2019

This report includes the results of monthly inspections and monitoring for October, November, and December 2019. Monthly inspections and monitoring were conducted on October 15, November 26, and December 18, 2019. Inspections include a visual assessment of the berms, ponding, water levels relative to the overflow pipes, tunneling or burrowing into the berms, soil conditions on and around the berms, erosion or sloughing of the slopes of the berms, seeps at the toe of the berms, deep-rooting botanicals on the berms, and fencing. Monthly monitoring includes measurements of the instantaneous flow rate, hydrogen ion activity (pH), and specific conductance of the E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System (ETDS) discharge. Annual sample results of the effluent water from the ETDS are also included in this report. The effluent sample was collected on September 11, 2019, and analyzed for the parameters listed in Table 1-B of Permit NEV 96021. In addition, Permit NEV 96021 requires the collection and analysis of representative groundwater samples from Well ER 12-1 every 24 months. This summary report provides the information pertaining to the sampling and analysis of groundwater samples collected on April 10, 2019.

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

Nevada National Security Site E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System Quarterly Monitoring Report, Water Pollution Control Permit NEV 96021 (First Quarter Calendar Year 2020)

This report includes the results of monthly inspections and monitoring for January, February, and March 2020. Monthly inspections and monitoring were conducted on January 15, February 12, and March 17, 2020. Inspections include a visual assessment of the berms, ponding, water levels relative to the overflow pipes, tunneling or burrowing into the berms, soil conditions on and around the berms, erosion or sloughing of the slopes of the berms, seeps at the toe of the berms, deep-rooting botanicals on the berms, and fencing. Monthly monitoring includes measurements of the instantaneous flow rate, hydrogen ion activity (pH), and specific conductance of the E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System discharge.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

Design Requirements for Ultrasonic Deformation Sensor for TREAT Experiments

Ultrasonic measurements of deformation can provide nondestructive measurements of dimensional changes rapidly (within tens to hundreds of microseconds). Further these methods are sensitive to both microstructural changes due to damage (from thermal, mechanical, and irradiation environments) and gross structural changes (such as swelling). As a result, ultrasonic methods have been applied to address needs in the nondestructive evaluation of structural components in nuclear power plants (including fuel cladding) during periodic pre-service and in-service inspection inspections. Ultrasonic measurements have been successfully used for nondestructive materials characterization, including nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of degradation and damage, microstructure characterization, and process control. Ultrasonic NDE is a critical element of the nuclear power industry’s in-service inspection program for maintaining the integrity of the pressure boundary, and is being actively investigated for post-irradiation examination of fuels. Ultrasonic measurements, typically performed at 10 MHz or higher, performed post irradiation show that fuel microstructural parameters, such as porosity and grain size, can be correlated to ultrasonic velocity. Ultrasonic methods historically have seen limited applicability to environments with high temperatures and irradiation. Though some environmental factors (such as temperature) affect the measurement (sound speed, for instance), the limitation is primarily due to the probes themselves. Most commonly, lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) is used as the piezoelectric sensor material for ultrasonic nondestructive measurements. PZT is limited in its applicability at elevated temperatures (approximately above 300C). However, recent tests (through DOE-NE’s NEET-ASI program) have identified a number of alternatives that can operate at elevated temperatures (in excess of 400C) and can survive irradiation. Certain grades of PZT have also been demonstrated for use in imaging under-sodium in sodium fast reactors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Resilient U.S. Land Ports of Entry

The continued operation of Land Ports of Entry (LPOE), managed by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and General Services Administration% is vital to the U.S. economy and security. Border faculties are included in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Government Facilities Sector2, one of the 16 critical infrastructures "whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.'" Specifically, disruptions to the flow of border crossing traffic, in the form of closures or increased border crossing wait times, impact the economy and security of all countries involved. This paper describes a process for analyzing and improving the resilience of U.S. Land Ports of Entry. For LPOE, the team believes that energy resilience is the primary objective due to the complete reliance on the e-manifest system and the increasing use of Multi-Energy Portals (MEPs). Emanifests are part of CPB's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). They document several key pieces of information about cargo vehicles wishing to cross the border into the United States and are submitted before arriving at the port. Vehicles can be flagged for more invasive inspection based on the content of the e-manifest. MEPs are a non-intrusive inspection (NII) technology used to scan the contents of the cargo. Together MEPs and ACE serve an important role in aiding CBP with their mission to protect "the public from dangerous people and materials", and "enabling legitimate trade and travel.'" To analyze resilience of a port, the team would need to understand the port's current energy usage, which systems depend on energy and what backup systems exist, and any emergency operation plans that dictate how systems are operated in the event of a power outage. The team would also need to determine the design basis threats (DBTs) for the LPOE which could include natural disasters, manmade events, and accidents. The magnitudes of the DBTs are calculated and are then translated to expected impacts on the infrastructure and systems at the port. With this information gathered, existing LPOE models developed here at Sandia National Laboratories could be extended to support decisions about resilience. Current models are implemented in FlexSim, a 3rd party discrete event simulator. FlexSim provides 3-D visuals of physical layout that can reveal valuable insights, allows input to be variable (e.g. time it takes to interact with the CBP officer at primary inspection can vary) so that a whole range of possibilities can be captured in the results, and can be used to collect user-defined output metrics. Current LPOE models focus on cargo vehicle traffic, and process changes caused by the installation of new drive-through MEPs. Extending them to address resilience questions would require the addition of key pieces of information learned during the resilience analysis including critical systems, failure rates, and process changes for when failures occur. The primary output metric for current models is border crossing wait time. Additional metrics would also be added to the model to gain a more complete understanding of impacts related to resilience, for example, MEP scan rate. Once complete, the model could be used to analyze the effectiveness of mitigation strategies representing some future state.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

E-Tunnel wastewater discharge permit quarterly monitoring report. Water pollution control permit Nev 96021, third quarter 2020

Monitoring and sampling activities are performed at the E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System (ETDS ) in accordance with the requirements of Water Pollution Control (WPC) Permit NEV 96021, Revision 1, which is effective October 1, 2013. Although the end date of the WPC permit is September 30, 2018, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), in a letter dated September 21, 2018, provided guidance that indicated the WPC Permit NEV 96021, Revision 1, is in effect until NDEP notifies the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office otherwise. This QMR includes the results of monthly inspections and monitoring for July, August, and September 2020. Monthly inspections and monitoring were conducted on July 21, August 19, and September 16, 2020. Inspections include a visual assessment of the berms, ponding, water levels relative to the overflow pipes, tunneling or burrowing into the berms, soil conditions on and around the berms, erosion or sloughing of the slopes of the berms, seeps at the toe of the berms, deep-rooting botanicals on the berms, and fencing. Monthly monitoring includes measurement s of the instantaneous flow rate, hydrogen ion activity (pH), and specific conductance of the ETDS discharge. The report will be submitted to the State of Nevada.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

E-Tunnel Wastewater Discharge Permit Quarterly Monitoring Report

Monitoring and sampling activities are performed at the E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System (ETDS) in accordance with the requirements of Water Pollution Control (WPC) Permit NEV 96021, Revision 1, which is effective October 1, 2013. Although the end date of the WPC permit is September 21, 2018, provided Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), in a letter date September 21, 2018, provided guidance that indicated the WPC Permit NEV 96021, Revision 1, is in effect until NDEP notifies the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office otherwise. This QMR includes the results of monthly inspections and monitoring for April, May, and June 2020. Monthly inspections and monitoring were conducted on April 21, May 28, and June 24 2020. Inspections include a visual assessment of the berms, ponding, water levels relative to the overflow pipes, tunneling or burrowing into the berms, seeps at the toe of the berms, deep-rooting botanicals on the berms, and fencing. Monthly monitoring includes measurements of the instantaneous flow rate, hydrogen ion activity (pH), and specific conductance of the ETDS discharge.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Demonstrating the Value of Human Factors for Process Design in a Controlled Experiment

A controlled between-groups experiment was conducted to demonstrate the value of human factors for process design. Most evidence to convey the benefits of human factors is derived from reactive studies of existing flawed systems designed with little or no human factors involvement. Controlled experiments conducted explicitly to demonstrate the benefits of human factors have been scarce since the 1990s. Further, most previous research focused on product or interface design as opposed to process design. The present study was designed to fill these research gaps. Toward that end, 24 Sandia National Laboratories employees completed a simple visual inspection task simulating receipt inspection. The experimental group process was designed to conform to human factors and visual inspection principles, whereas the control group process was designed without consideration of such principles. Results indicated the experimental group exhibited superior performance accuracy, lower workload, and more favorable usability ratings as compared to the control group. Given the differences observed in the simple task used in the present study, the author concluded that incorporating human factors should have even greater benefits for complex products and processes. The study provides evidence to help human factors practitioners revitalize the critical message regarding the benefits of human factors involvement for a new generation of designers.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

November 2019 Initial Deployment of LiDAR in the H-Canyon Exhaust Tunnel

The H-Canyon Exhaust Tunnel (CAEX) structure is periodically inspected under the Structural Integrity Program using camera equipped crawlers or poles to remotely perform visual inspections. To explore the use of enhanced inspection methods a “Proof of Concept” using the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology was performed over a 2-day period in November 2019. The purpose of the “Proof of Concept” deployment was to confirm whether a commercially available LiDAR unit could successfully operate and remotely transmit data from the tunnel CAEX environment and whether the data would provide quantitative information to establish baseline measurements. The LiDAR performance requirement was a measurement accuracy of ± 0.25-inches over a 30-foot distance. This report documents the work activities leading to the deployment, the deployment and processing of data, lessons learned from the deployment and the post data processing methods that will be applied to future deployments.

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