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

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At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Testing, Calibration, and UxS Integration of the Kromek GR1 Plus CZT Gamma Spectrometer

Collecting radiation measurements can be a hazardous task, especially in the presence of highly active sources. Various scenarios necessitate source search, classification, and quantification, often with limited or no a priori information. Activities such as disaster mitigation, emergency response, environmental monitoring, and site remediation may involve dangerous radioactive sources. In these situations, there is a pressing need for remote monitoring capabilities that protect human operators from potential harm and enhance adherence to the principle of “As Low as Reasonably Achievable” (ALARA) for radiation doses. The first step toward achieving remote radiation measurement capabilities is the remote operation of a radiation sensor. Once this milestone is reached, the next challenge is to integrate this remote sensing capability into suitable actuation agents, collectively referred to as uncrewed systems (UxS). These systems include familiar platforms such as robotic quadrupeds, aerial multirotor vehicles, and ground vehicles, any of which may be teleoperated, act autonomously, or utilize a combination of both. A critical factor in achieving remote radiation sensing is the availability of data from the appropriate sensor. Many commercially available radiation sensors have closed-source documentation for their communication protocols. Typical end-user products are often self-contained, handheld devices designed for manual measurement scenarios. While there are commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) integrations of radiation sensors with UxS available for purchase, these solutions are typically tailored for specific use cases and may not meet the requirements of different applications. This paper discusses efforts to remotely acquire radiation measurements from a small form-factor CZT gamma spectrometer. Sandia National Laboratories has successfully demonstrated the initial capability to integrate low size, weight, and power (SWaP) gamma spectroscopy into various UxS, alongside co-located GPS data logging and sensor calibration and qualification. With remote gamma spectroscopy achieved, the stage is set for UxS integration of this capability.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

FUEL PERFORMANCE STUDIES AT IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY MAKING USE OF THE BYRON FUEL SHIPMENT

In December of 2023 a shipment of commercially irradiated fuel rods from the Byron Generating Station in Illinois was successfully shipped to the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The make-up of the rods includes a mix of cladding types from traditional ZirloTM, advanced zirconium alloys, and chrome coated ZirloTM. Burnups range from regular end of life values to over 70 GWd/MTU rod average. The R&D plan for the rods involves multiple projects from developing licensing data for new claddings to integral transient tests to support burnup extension efforts in the United States. The R&D began in early 2024 with the nondestructive examinations of the rods after which they will be sectioned for microscopy, mechanical testing, and analytical chemistry. Additionally, many rod segments will be refabricated into new test pins and inserted into a static water capsule for integral Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) and Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) testing at the TREAT reactor.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A framework for evaluating power electronic systems for grid integration

As power electronic systems (PESs) grow increasingly complex, integrating and testing these systems in the development stages is becoming more crucial and more challenging. New modes and resource integration strategies are in development and must be tested before pilot demonstrations and mass production. This paper proposes a framework for testing of PES technologies including early validation with integration of simulated resources. The framework is demonstrated to work in two example configurations as proof of principle.

Dean, Ben↗
DOE OSTI2023

Code Benchmark of the HTTF Pressurized Conduction Cooldown Test Using SAM

The High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) at Oregon State University is an integral system test facility to simulate postulated reactor transients of prismatic high-temperature gas-cooled reactors(HTGRs). A series of test campaigns was launched, providing abundant test data that could be used to benchmark reactor system analysis codes like the System Analysis Module (SAM). In this study, a SAM model of the facility is developed based on the two-dimensional (2D) ring model approach. All components including the ceramic matrix, graphite heaters, helium coolant channels, core barrel, upcomer, pressure vessel, and reactor cavity cooling system are modeled as concentric cylindrical rings. The model is used to simulate one of the benchmark problems-Pressurized Conduction Cooldown (PCC)-within the scope of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency International HTTF Benchmark. The simulations consist of two parts. In the first part, operating and boundary conditions as well as thermophysical properties of materials are specified for the benchmark problem. In this work, results from the first part will be used in code-to-code comparison. In the second part, the SAM model is used to simulate Test PG-27, which is the first PCC test carried out in the HTTF, with only two of the ten heater banks activated. The results in the second part are used for code-to-data comparison. Because the helium coolant flow rate is not measured in this facility, it is estimated using the input power and inlet/outlet coolant temperatures. Additionally, radial heat flow in the ceramic blocks is complicated by hundreds of cylindrical coolant channels and heater rods embedded in them. As such, it is necessary to deduce an effective thermal conductivity for the ceramic to analyze the core thermal behavior. SAM predictions of the helium coolant and ceramic temperatures are compared with test data measured in three equivalent sectors. Overall, the SAM results agree reasonably well with test data within the variation of data among the three sectors, which demonstrates SAM's capability in capturing transient effects in HTGR using the simplified 2D ring model.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Beam physics research with the IOTA electron lens

The electron lens in the Fermilab Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) will enable new research in nonlinear integrable optics, space-charge compensation, electron cooling, and the stability of intense beams. This research addresses scientific questions on high-brightness beams and operational challenges of high-power accelerators for nuclear and particle physics. We review the roles that electron lenses play in this field and the physical principles behind their applications. The design criteria and specifications for the IOTA storage ring and electron lens are then discussed. We conclude with a description of the components of the apparatus.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Characterizing Vulnerabilities Associated with Connected Lighting: Exploring Authorization Protocols

Cities are upgrading their infrastructure and converting traditional indoor and outdoor luminaires to Connected Lighting Systems equipped with sensors in an aggressive effort to reduce energy consumption, increase sustainability, and improve the quality of life. When you take something seemingly benign like a lighting system and connect it to the internet, if improperly secured a potential attack vector for hackers is created. Hackers could then access sensitive information, pivot into other networks, shut down services, or enslave devices to do their bidding. In attempt to close this attack vector and secure these systems, this paper extends previous work that investigated, compared and contrasted authentication vulnerabilities in Connected Lighting Systems that identified the need for additional testing and improved test method documentation. One additional authentication test and four new authorization tests were developed utilizing the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) as a test development and documentation guide. The new tests were integrated with the previous work to develop an updated test method with a focus on describing test procedures to make them easy to understand and repeat. In addition, a first Connected Lighting System use case was established to begin developing threat profiles that will aid in the identification of vulnerabilities whose focus areas extend beyond authentication and authorization. This use case describes the generation and flow of CLS data which assists in specifying methods to harden CLSs from outside interference and exploitation that can be implemented immediately on existing CLSs and as new products come to market.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling Transverse Space Charge effects in IOTA with pyORBIT

The role and mitigation of space charge effects are important aspects of the beam physics research to be performed at the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) at Fermilab. The impact of nonlinear integrability (partial and complete) on space charge driven incoherent and coherent resonances will be a new feature of this accelerator and has the potential to influence the design of future low energy proton synchrotrons. In this report we model transverse space charge effects using the PIC code pyORBIT. First we benchmark the single particle tracking results against MADX with checks on symplecticity, tune footprints, and dynamic aperture in a partially integrable lattice realized with a special octupole string insert. Our space charge calculations begin with an examination of the 4D symplecticity. Short term tracking is done first with the initial bare lattice and then with a matching of the rms values with space charge. Next, we explore slow initialization of charge as a technique to establish steady state and reduce emittance growth and beam loss following injection into a mismatched lattice. We establish values of space charge simulation parameters so as to ensure numerical convergence. Finally, we compare the simulated space charge induced tune shifts and footprints against theory.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Design of double- and multi-bend achromat lattices with large dynamic aperture and approximate invariants

A numerical method to design nonlinear double- and multi-bend achromat (DBA and MBA) lattices with approximate invariants of motion is investigated. The search for such nonlinear lattices is motivated by Fermilab’s Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA), whose design is based on an integrable Hamiltonian system with two invariants of motion. While it may not be possible to design an achromatic lattice for a dedicated synchrotron light source storage ring with one or more exact invariants of motion, it is possible to tune the sextupoles and octupoles in existing DBA and MBA lattices to produce approximate invariants. In our procedure, the lattice is tuned while minimizing the turn-by-turn fluctuations of the Courant-Snyder actions J x and J y at several distinct amplitudes, while simultaneously minimizing diffusion of the on-energy betatron tunes. The resulting lattices share some important features with integrable ones, such as a large dynamic aperture, trajectories confined to invariant tori, robustness to resonances and errors, and a large amplitude-dependent tune-spread. Compared to the nominal NSLS-II lattice, the single- and multi-bunch instability thresholds are increased and the bunch-by-bunch feedback gain can be reduced.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Mu2e Calorimeter

The EM CsI crystals and SiPM readout calorimeter of the Mu2e experiment is fully assembled, with all components completed and tested; the mechanical structure is fully built, with a complete integration and test of all the analog sensors and electronics. The digital electronics is being produced and installed. We summarise the Calorimeter characteristics and the assembly status, as well as the move, installation and commissioning plans of the final disks in the Mu2e hall.

Borrel, L. [Caltech]↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal-hydraulic and Fuel Performance Scoping Studies of a Flowing Water Capsule in TREAT

The restart of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility has provided a much needed capability for integral transient testing of nuclear fuel. This testing is necessary to qualify new fuel concepts such as those developed under the Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) program, increasing the burnup limit of light water reactor (LWR) fuels, or a variety of other programs under the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC). The ATF campaign has been the main driver behind the development and implementation of a variety of capsules for TREAT experiments. The Separate-Effect Test Holder (SETH) was a dry capsule that enabled testing of ATF concepts under reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) heating conditions. Following SETH, the Static Environment Rodlet Transient Test Apparatus (SERTTA) was developed to enable RIA testing in a static water environment. In efforts to support the need for future Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) tests, the Transient Water Irradiation System for TREAT (TWIST) capsule has been developed that allows for water to drain from around the fuel rod and lower the pressure to simulate LOCA conditions. All these capsules that have been developed for LWR fuel testing all lack the capability for forced convective cooling which in some applications may limit their ability to test under prototypic conditions. A design and modeling effort has been started to modify the TWIST capsule by adding a flow tube and impeller that can create flowing coolant conditions for the fuel rod. RELAP5-3D and BISON models are being used to study the differences between RIA, LOCA, Anticipated Operational Occurrences (AOO), LWR power cycling, and other transient scenarios under flowing conditions capable in the flowing capsule and the current stagnant water capsules (SERTTA and TWIST). The scoping study will provide guidance on the needed capabilities for the flowing capsule and the limitations of the currently developed capsule for LWR testing in TREAT.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Sister Rod Destructive Examinations (FY23) Appendix F: Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tests

Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies must be shipped to other sites for processing and disposal. During shipment, the fuel is typically oriented horizontally, and the fuel rods are subject to periodic alternating loads related to the movement of the vehicle that results in alternating bending of the SNF fuel rods. The number of bending cycles is related to the length of the shipping route, with longer routes producing more cycles. Because it is well-known that cyclic loads can produce failures, even when the stress and strain imposed are below the material’s yield point, investigation of the SNF’s fatigue behavior is prudent. This report discusses the results of fatigue testing conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) using the Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT) created by the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy for the High Burnup Spent Fuel Data Project and its sister rods. The results of the tests are compared with results obtained over the last decade using the same CIRFT for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

PDV Methods and Analysis for Surveillance of Explosive Components

The Weapons Evaluation Test Laboratory (WETL) at Sandia is collaborating with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to enhance explosive surveillance testing by integrating Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) data. This project has streamlined the testing environment, reducing hardware costs and training needs while improving data collection efficiency and usability for lab technicians.

Kress, Matthew Kip [Sandia National Laboratories (↗
DOE OSTI2025

Integrate Power Conversion Unit with MAGNET to Enable Integrated Microreactor Heat Transfer System Testing

Idaho National Laboratory obtained a closed, Brayton-cycle, power conversion unit (PCU) from Sandia National Laboratories. This PCU began as a commercially available, 30 kWe, C30, gas turbine from Capstone. The C30 was modified to use heat from an electric heater in a closed-loop system pressurized with nitrogen or dry air. INL has modified the unit further to integrate it with MAGNET and use heat from a microreactor test article.

42 - ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simple, Secure, Internet Delivery of MOOSE-based Applications

Application packaging and distribution are the final steps for delivering software to end-users; both are frequently neglected when creating scientific software. Commercial businesses rely on electronic distribution systems that have rendered disk drives obsolete. Still, national laboratories continue to rely heavily on removable media to distribute and limit access to controlled applications. With increasing concerns of unauthorized copying of sensitive applications, a modern distribution system that utilizes cryptographically secure communication and authentication protocols has been developed. This new distribution system will secure the chain of custody for nuclear software while simultaneously simplifying access to these tools. This report summarizes four primary advancements made toward the secure distribution of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS)-developed, Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE)-based applications: application installation, package distribution, automated package building, and distribution of documentation. NEAMS is currently developing more than ten separate applications based on the open-source MOOSE Framework. Distribution of these applications has primarily been accomplished by distributing source code, with end-users compiling the applications themselves. This work created a mechanism where MOOSE applications can be installed in a similar way to any other software. This allows both administrators and end-users simplified access to runnable executables. With this new installation capability, it was then possible to rethink distribution. A new, secure capability for delivering MOOSE-based applications over the internet has been created. This system requires unique cryptographic tokens for authentication, greatly securing the custody chain for software. Once granted access, installation of any NEAMS code can be accomplished with these terminal commands: "conda install ncrc" "ncrc install ncrc-bison." After these two commands (and authenticating) the BISON application will be securely down- loaded from Idaho National Laboratory (INL)’s servers, installed, and ready to use. To enable this new distribution capability to be successful, the open-source Continuous Integration, Verification, Enhancement, and Testing (CIVET) Continuous Integration (CI) capability was augmented to add Continuous Delivery (CD). CD enables the automated building and packaging of MOOSE-based applications as they are modified by development teams, ensuring that our customers can obtain up-to-date versions of the software at any time. The need for instruction on how to use these applications was addressed through modifications to the MOOSE documentation system. The MooseDocs capability, which enables robust documentation of MOOSE-based applications, has been extended to allow both for the installation of documentation and the packaging of documentation with installed applications. Together, these enhancements form the core of a new, secure distribution mechanism for nuclear simulation tools. In concert with the Nuclear Computational Resource Center (NCRC), NEAMS- developed applications will now be straightforward to obtain securely.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Testing Instrument Extremes in the TREAT Facility

TREAT is a transient power-shaping reactor whose primary mission is to enhance safety performance by testing nuclear fuels and materials under thermodynamic and neutronic conditions ranging from off-normal to extreme. Transient testing of nuclear fuels is analogous to car crash testing, in that the dramatic changes commonly seen when comparing the test specimens' initial and final state points necessitate in-situ measuring in order to interpret and understand the evolution of the experiment. TREAT’s experiment design strategy utilizes a highly reconfigurable and accessible reactor core that affords flexibility when installing experiment devices, thanks to the lack of a primary coolant boundary and the inclusion of multiple access points in the reactor bioshield. Within the experiment devices, the test specimens (which are integrated with their test environments), desired instrumentation diagnostics, and safety considerations are all contained in a single engineered package. The experiments encompass various types of environments (e.g., water, sodium, and gas at temperature and pressure), as well as a range of control options (e.g., static or flowing coolants). The experimental conditions are uniquely representative of advanced reactors, providing challenges to sensor performance but also affording a unique opportunity for development and qualification of sensors suited to these environments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Practical Effects of Integrating Temperature with Strang Split Reactions

For astrophysical reacting flows, operator splitting is commonly used to couple hydrodynamics and reactions. Each process operates independent of one another, but by staggering the updates in a symmetric fashion (via Strang splitting) second order accuracy in time can be achieved. However, approximations are often made to the reacting system, including the choice of whether or not to integrate temperature with the species. Here we demonstrate through a simple convergence test that integrating an energy equation together with reactions achieves the best convergence when modeling reactive flows with Strang splitting. Additionally, second order convergence cannot be achieved without integrating an energy or temperature equation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Overview of the fusion nuclear science facility, a credible break-in step on the path to fusion energy

The Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF) is examined here as part of a two step program from ITER to commercial power plants. This first step is considered mandatory to establish the materials and component database in the real fusion in-service environment before proceeding to larger electricity producing facilities. The FNSF can be shown to make tremendous advances beyond ITER, toward a power plant, particularly in plasma duration and fusion nuclear environment. A moderate FNSF is studied in detail, which does not generate net electricity, but does reach the power plant blanket operating temperatures. The full poloidal Dual Coolant Lead Lithium (DCLL) blanket is chosen, with alternates being the Helium Cooled Lead Lithium (HCLL) and Helium Cooled Ceramic Breeder/Pebble Bed (HCCB/PB). Several power plant relevant choices are made in order to follow the philosophy of targeted technologies. Any fusion core component must be qualified by fusion relevant neutron testing and highly integrated non-nuclear testing before it can be installed on the FNSF in order to avoid the high probability of constant failures in a plasma-vacuum system. A range of missions for the FNSF, or any fusion nuclear facility on the path toward fusion power plants, are established and characterized by several metrics. A conservative physics strategy is pursued to accommodate the transition to ultra-long plasma pulses, and parameters are chosen to represent the power plant regime to the extent possible. An operating space is identified, and from this, one point is chosen for further detailed analysis, with R = 4.8 m, a = 1.2 m, IP = 7.9 MA, BT = 7.5 T, βN Gr = 0.9, fBS = 0.52, q95 = 6.0, H98 ∼1.0, and Q = 4.0. The operating space is shown to be robust to parameter variations. A program is established for the FNSF to show how the missions for the facility are met, with a He/H, a DD and 5 DT phases. The facility requires ∼25 years to complete its DT operation, including 7.8 years of neutron production, and the remaining spent on inspections and maintenance. The DD phase is critical to establish the ultra-long plasma pulse lengths. The blanket testing strategy is examined, and shows that many sectors have penetrations for heating and current drive (H/CD), diagnostics, or Test Blanket Modules (TBMs). The hot cell is a critical facility element in order for the FNSF to perform its function of developing the in-service material and component database. The pre-FNSF R&D is laid out in terms of priority topics, with the FNSF phases driving the time-lines for R&D completion. A series of detailed technical assessments of the FNSF operating point are reported in this issue, showing the credibility of such a step, and more detailed emphasis on R&D items to pursue. These include nuclear analysis, thermo-mechanics and thermal-hydraulics, liquid metal thermal hydraulics, transient thermo-mechanics, tritium analysis, maintenance assessment, magnet specification and analysis, materials assessments, core and scrape-off layer (SOL)/divertor plasma examinations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗