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At least 163 records · Page 9

MONTE CARLO NEUTRONICS ANALYSIS OF THE SNS STS MONOLITH

Neutronics analysis for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Spallation Neutron Source second target station monolith conceptual design was performed entirely with the Monte Carlo method. It has been demonstrated that even though the monolith provides ~peta-scale attenuation of the dose rates, Monte Carlo simulations are within reach of computing capabilities of relatively inexpensive Linux clusters. Several monolith configurations achieved or exceeded design requirements and provide basis for the final design.

Remec, Igor↗

Control System Plans for SNS Upgrade Projects

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is planning two major upgrades to the facility. The Proton Power Upgrade project, currently underway, will double the machine power from 1.4 to 2.8 MW by adding seven additional cryomodules and associated equipment. The Second Target Station project, currently in conceptual design, will construct a new target station effectively doubling the potential scientific output of the facility. This paper discusses the control system upgrades required to integrate these projects into the existing EPICS based control systems used for the machine and neutron instrument beamlines. While much of the control system can be replicated from existing solutions, some systems require new hardware and software. Operating two target stations simultaneously will require a new run permit system to safely manage beam delivery.

Hartman, Steven↗

Target Control and Protection Systems Lessons from SNS Operations

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been in operations since 2006 and proposes a project to build a Second Target Station (STS) to effectively double potential scientific output. The SNS target controls operate in a harsh environment which includes high radiation, exposure to gaseous radionuclides, and activated liquid mercury and mercury vapor. These conditions necessitate protective interlocks and credited controls for protection functions to ensure proper response to off-normal conditions. In order to inform the design of target controls for the STS, we have examined lessons learned during SNS operations regarding the design and implementation of the control and protection systems for the first target station (FTS). This paper will examine various aspects of the performance of the target control and protection systems including reliability, maintainability and sustainability given the challenging environment created by 1.4 MW operations. Specific topics include distributed control of various target subsystems, response to loss of power, selection of nuclear grade instrumentation, and applying these lessons to the design for the STS project.

Humphreys, Dana↗

Monte Carlo Neutronics Analysis of the SNS STS Monolith

The neutronics analysis for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source second target station monolith conceptual design was performed entirely with the Monte Carlo method. It has been demonstrated that even though the monolith provides approximately peta-scale attenuation of the dose rates, Monte Carlo simulations are within reach of computing capabilities of relatively inexpensive Linux clusters. Several monolith configurations achieved or exceeded design requirements and provide basis for the final design.

Remec, Igor↗

Modernizing the SNS Control System

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been operating since 2006. An upgrade to double the machine power from 1.4 MW to 2.8 MW is currently underway and a project to add a second target station is in the preliminary design phase. While each project will add the controls needed for their specific scope, the existing control system hardware, software, and infrastructure require upgrades to maintain high availability and ensure the system will meet facility requirements into the future. While some systems have received new hardware due to obsolescence, much of the system is original apart from some maintenance and technology refresh. Software will also become obsolete and must be upgraded for sustainability. Further, requirements for system capacity can be expected to increase as more subsystems upgrade to smarter devices capable of higher data rates. This paper covers planned improvements to the integrated control system with a focus on reliability, sustainability, and future capability.

White, Karen S.↗

Progress on the Proton Power Upgrade at the Spallation Neutron Source

The Proton Power Upgrade Project at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will double the proton power capability from 1.4 to 2.8 MW. This will be accomplished through an energy increase from 1.0 to 1.3 GeV and a beam current increase from 26 to 38 mA. The energy increase will be accomplished through the addition of 7 cryomodules to the linear accelerator (Linac). The beam current increase will be supported by upgrading several radio-frequency systems in the normal-conducting section of the Linac. Upgrades to the accumulator ring injection and extraction regions will accommodate the increase in beam energy. A new 2-MW-capable target and supporting systems will be developed and installed. Conventional facility upgrades include build-out of the existing klystron gallery and construction of a tunnel stub to facilitate future beam transport to the second target station. The project received approval to proceed with construction in October 2020. Procurements are in progress, and some installation activities have already occurred. Most of the installation will take place during three outages in 2022-2023. The project early finish is planned for 2025.

Barbier, Charlotte↗

Acceleration Techniques using ADVANTG for the MDF Design and Optimization

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is implementing a Moderator Demonstration Facility (MDF) to demonstrate the performance characteristics of advanced moderators central to the Second Target Station (STS) for SNS. The MDF will provide a small, short-pulsed neutron source for slow neutron production in which we intend to easily and quickly change from one moderator concept to another, characterizing the performance of each moderator in a reproducible and consistent fashion. The MDF will be unique and innovative amongst the world's moderator test facilities in that it will be intended to be very prototypic in terms of 'moderator illumination' - the spatial variation of the neutron flux entering the moderator itself - as well as capable of testing so-called high-brightness moderators in a wing configuration. During the design phase of the MDF, the Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code MCNPX v.2.7.0 is being used as the primary tool for the neutronic analysis of the facility and characterization of the moderator performance. The Automated Variance Reduction Generator (ADVANTG) code is being utilized to accelerate the MCNPX calculations. The ADVANTG code generates space- and energy-dependent weight window parameters for a successive MCNP run by calculating the adjoint flux with the Denovo discrete ordinates code based on the user defined MCNP tally. We have tested various strategies using ADVANTG to generate weight window parameters to efficiently calculate detailed moderator performance. Using point detector response functions for weight window parameter optimization with ADVANTG did not work well for improving the efficiency of Monte Carlo calculations of neutron emission into beam lines. However, using cell fluxes of the area of highest contributions to the point detector for the variance reduction parameter analysis worked very well and improved the FOM of the calculation of neutron emission into a beamline by a factor of 50 over the unbiased case. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗

Shielding and Activation Analyses for Beam Test Facility at SNS

The beam test facility (BTF) will be a copy of the accelerator front end of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) facility and will be used for test and development of new front-end equipment, for conducting research in accelerator physics (in a further build-out) for the SNS second target station moderator development (tests). The BTF is assembled and will be operating in the radio frequency (RF) on-site annex building. Negatively charged hydrogen ions (H{sup -}), generated at the ion source, will be accelerated to 2.5 MeV. The facility is capable of producing one-ms-long pulses at 60 Hz repetition rate with up to 50 mA peak current. This beam will be safely terminated in the beam stop. In order to support the BTF project from a radiation protection point of view, neutronics simulations and activation analyses were performed to develop shielding around the beam stop, evaluate dose rates in case of an accident and to evaluate the radionuclide inventory at the facility end-of-life for decommissioning. The challenge of the analyses was to consider low energy charges particles reaction physics to fit the calculations into our routine transport and activation methods as practiced for the much higher energy spallation environment. (authors)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Monte Carlo neutronics analysis of the SNS STS monolith - 25684

Neutronics analysis for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Spallation Neutron Source second target station monolith conceptual design was performed entirely with the Monte Carlo method. It has been demonstrated that even though the monolith provides ∼peta-scale attenuation of the dose rates, Monte Carlo simulations are within reach of computing capabilities of relatively inexpensive Linux clusters. Several monolith configurations achieved or exceeded design requirements and provide basis for the final design. (authors)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Analysis of Archived Prompt Pulse Data from the SNS HYSPEC Instrument - Paper 68

This is an investigation by the Neutronics team at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) to understand the Hybrid-Spectrometer (HYSPEC) pulsed background problem and ultimately lend qualitative insight toward future shielding considerations. The archived user data from HYSPEC was accessed and manipulated via Mantidplot. Algorithms have been written to identify the background feature, or 'prompt pulse', in these data files and how it fluctuates as a function of time. Correlations between these fluctuations and external/internal physical changes are being analyzed in an attempt to model the behavior of the pulsed background in the SNS target building. Understanding the contributing factors of the background may help mitigate current effects as well as potential effects in future target facilities. This information is initially being used to indicate how the local shielding arrangements and general geometry of the target building and/or greater facility affect the prompt pulse as received by HYSPEC. Additionally, this better understanding of the pulsed background will continue to help our team lend increasingly accurate advice concerning future shielding improvements, minimization of prompt pulse features in the HYSPEC data, other inelastic instruments in the current target facility and suggestions for second target station planning. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Control Systems Design for STS Accelerator

The Second Target Station (STS) Project will expand the capabilities of the existing Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), with a suite of neutron instruments optimized for long wavelengths. A new accelerator transport line will be built to deliver one out of four SNS pulses to the new target station. The Integrated Control Systems (ICS) will provide remote control, monitoring, OPI, alarms, and archivers for the accelerator systems, such as magnets power supply, vacuum devices, and beam instrumentation. The ICS will upgrade the existing Linac LLRF controls to allow independent operation of the FTS and STS and support different power levels of the FTS and STS proton beam. The ICS accelerator controls are in the phase of preliminary design for the control systems of magnet power supply, vacuum, LLRF, Timing, Machine protection system (MPS), and computing and machine network. The accelerator control systems build upon the existing SNS Machine Control systems, use the SNS standard hardware and EPICS software, and take full advantage of the performance gains delivered by the PPU Project at SNS.

Yan, Jay↗

Fatigue analysis of the Spallation Neutron Source 2 MW target design

Upgrades to the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are under way with two major projects. The first project is the Proton Power Upgrade (PPU), which will double the power capacity of the SNS accelerator system to enable the operation of a future second neutron source target station—the second project. PPU also will increase power to the SNS first target station – which currently operates at 1.4 MW with 1.0 GeV protons – to 2 MW with 1.3 GeV protons. Final design of the PPU 2 MW target module is finished, including all necessary design and analysis calculations. The fatigue evaluation described herein is an assessment of the fitness of the PPU 2 MW target mercury vessel to resist failure from cyclic loading from the pulsed 60 Hz proton beam and thermal changes from disrupted operation. In addition to the reliability predictions, the method, detail, and depth of this fatigue evaluation are superior to those of past target design assessments. Furthermore, the thermal fatigue life is predicted to exceed 3125 thermal cycles per 1250 h of operation for all load cases. The design also meets the (relative) fatigue design goal for combined thermal and pulse loading of greater than 0.5 times the minimum fatigue life calculated for a jet-flow target design operating at 1.4 MW—the most robust design to date in terms of resistance to fatigue failure. From the onset of the PPU, it has been known that pulse loading requires effective application of helium gas injection into the target mercury to reduce beam pressure loading. For the PPU 2 MW target, none of the pulse load cases requires a maximum strain reduction from gas injection of more than 50% (for base material) to meet the fatigue design goal. This level of reduction is achievable from gas injection, according to historical strain measurements from 1.4 MW target operation. Overall, the PPU 2 MW target design is predicted to have superior resistance to fatigue failure compared with past target designs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Integrated edge-to-exascale workflow for real-time steering in neutron scattering experiments

We introduce a computational framework that integrates artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and high-performance computing to enable real-time steering of neutron scattering experiments using an edge-to-exascale workflow. Focusing on time-of-flight neutron event data at the Spallation Neutron Source, our approach combines temporal processing of four-dimensional neutron event data with predictive modeling for multidimensional crystallography. At the core of this workflow is the Temporal Fusion Transformer model, which provides voxel-level precision in predicting 3D neutron scattering patterns. The system incorporates edge computing for rapid data preprocessing and exascale computing via the Frontier supercomputer for large-scale AI model training, enabling adaptive, data-driven decisions during experiments. This framework optimizes neutron beam time, improves experimental accuracy, and lays the foundation for automation in neutron scattering. Although real-time experiment steering is still in the proof-of-concept stage, the demonstrated potential of this system offers a substantial reduction in data processing time from hours to minutes via distributed training, and significant improvements in model accuracy, setting the stage for widespread adoption across neutron scattering facilities and more efficient exploration of complex material systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Characterization of D-T Generator Neutron Flux Spectrum for Cyclic Neutron Activation Analysis Experiments

Improving nuclear data for short-lived fission product yields will further our fundamental understanding of fission, which is needed across various scientific fields and applications. One method of attaining the needed product yield data is through cyclic neutron activation, which allows a target to be irradiated in a neutron environment and then transported for counting of the radionuclides produced, typically via g spectroscopy. Recently, such a system has been constructed and commissioned at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Targets are shuttled between the head of a D-T neutron generator and a counting station with a transit time of 2 seconds. As part of the characterization of this system, the neutron flux was studied using two activation targets. The neutron flux from the deuterium-tritium fusion generator was determined to be 9.95(33) x10^8 n/cm2-s with a peak energy of 14.9 MeV and a spread of approximately 4 decades between the epithermal and 14 MeV peak group flux.

cyclic neutron activation, gamma-ray spectroscopy,↗

Versatile attosecond beamline in a two-foci configuration for simultaneous time-resolved measurements

We present our attoline which is a versatile attosecond beamline at the Ultrafast Laser Physics Group at ETH Zurich for attosecond spectroscopy in a variety of targets. High-harmonic generation (HHG) in noble gases with an infrared (IR) driving field is employed to generate pulses in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral regime for XUV-IR cross-correlation measurements. The IR pulse driving the HHG and the pulse involved in the measurements are used in a non-collinear set-up that gives independent access to the different beams. Single attosecond pulses are generated with the polarization gating technique and temporally characterized with attosecond streaking. This attoline contains two target chambers that can be operated simultaneously. A toroidal mirror relay-images the focus from the first chamber into the second one. In the first interaction region a dedicated double-target allows for a simple change between photoelectron/photoion measurements with a time-of-flight spectrometer and transient absorption experiments. Any end station can occupy the second interaction chamber. A surface analysis chamber containing a hemispherical electron analyzer was employed to demonstrate successful operation. Simultaneous RABBITT measurements in two argon jets were recorded for this purpose.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Orion Handling Qualities During ISS Proximity Operations and Docking

NASA's Orion spacecraft is designed to autonomously rendezvous and dock with many vehicles including the International Space Station. However, the crew is able to assume manual control of the vehicle s attitude and flight path. In these instances, Orion must meet handling qualities requirements established by NASA. Two handling qualities assessments were conducted at the Johnson Space Center to evaluate preliminary designs of the vehicle using a six degree of freedom, high-fidelity guidance, navigation, and control simulation. The first assessed Orion s handling qualities during the last 20 ft before docking, and included both steady and oscillatory motions of the docking target. The second focused on manual acquisition of the docking axis during the proximity operations phase and subsequent station-keeping. Cooper-Harper handling qualities ratings, workload ratings and comments were provided by 10 evaluation pilots for the docking study and 5 evaluation pilots for the proximity operations study. For the docking task, both cases received 90% Level 1 (satisfactory) handling qualities ratings, exceeding NASA s requirement. All ratings for the ProxOps task were Level 1. These evaluations indicate that Orion is on course to meet NASA's handling quality requirements for ProxOps and docking.

Stephens, John-Paul↗

New Mie Scattering Diffuse Targets Development and Characterization

Earth science remote sensing observations require the detection and measurement of light originating from bright targets, such as clouds, and darker targets, such as an open ocean. This requirement drives the need to design, develop, and characterize improved calibration targets in support of current and future NASA instruments. New diffuse targets to be used as spectral albedo calibration standards were developed and characterized. The new targets based on fused silica or/and pressed and sintered Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were developed to be Earth scene specific. The various reflectance levels are achieved by modifying the material parameters, thickness, and surface finish. The new targets were characterized in laboratory and simulated space environments. We acquired high accuracy reflectance and transmittance data using a precision optical scatterometer and spectrophotometer located in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Diffuser Calibration Lab. The Total hemispherical reflectance (THR) and Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) were measured over the range of solar incident and scattered elevation and azimuthal angles typically realized on orbit by remote sensing instruments. We intend to space certify the new calibration targets after concluding on-orbit testing on the International Space Stations (ISS) scheduled for the second half of 2023.

Georgi Georgiev↗

(abstract) Asteroid Radar Astronomy at Goldstone in the 1990s

Since 1990, much effort has been devoted to optimizing Goldstone's capability to study near-Earth objects (NEOs). Three different configurations are now available. The nominal system on the 70-m antenna (DSS 14) uses separate feed horns for transmitting and receiving, and the 15-plus seconds required for transmit-to-receive switching renders the system useless for targets much closer than about 0.025 AU (about 10 lunar distances, about 25 seconds of echo time delay) and unwieldy even for targets twice that far. However, an additional, recently installed single horn system shrinks switching time to about 5 seconds, letting DSS 14 observe NEOs as close as about 5 lunar distances. Closer targets will require two-station observations, with DSS 14 transmitting continuously while DSS 13, a 34-m antenna 22 km away, receives. That configuration, first used for Toutatis, will also be required for delay-Doppler imaging that places thousands of pixels on any NEO whose rotation period P(h) and echo roundtrip time delay RTT (s) satisfy P > RTT. Between January 1990 and June 1994, the Goldstone radar has detected 11 asteroids. During the next 2 years, seven asteroids are scheduled for Goldstane observations. After completion of the Arecibo upgrade, Goldstone will play an important complementary role to that much more sensitive instrument.

asteroids radar Goldstone delay-Doppler imaging Ar↗