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At least 1,747 records · Page 97

Preservation and control of the proton and deuteron polarizations in the proposed electron-ion collider at Jefferson Lab

We propose a scheme of preserving the proton and deuteron beam polarizations during acceleration and storage in the proposed electron-ion collider at Jefferson Lab. This scheme allows one to provide both the longitudinal and transverse polarization orientations of the proton and deuteron beams at the interaction points of the figure-8 ion collider ring. We discuss questions of matching the polarization direction at all stages of the beam transport including the pre-booster, large booster and ion collider ring.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Dominating Controls for Wetter South Asian Summer Monsoon in the Twenty-First Century

This study analyzes a suite of global climate models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) archives to understand the mechanisms behind a net increase in the South Asian summer monsoon precipitation in response to enhanced radiative forcing during the twenty-first century. An increase in radiative forcing fuels an increase in the atmospheric moisture content through warmer temperatures, which overwhelms the weakening of monsoon circulation and results in an increase of moisture convergence and therefore summer monsoon precipitation over South Asia. Moisture source analysis suggests that both regional (local recycling, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal) and remote (including the south Indian Ocean) sources contribute to the moisture supply for precipitation over South Asia during the summer season that is facilitated by the monsoon dynamics. For regional moisture sources, the effect of excessive atmospheric moisture is offset by weaker monsoon circulation and uncertainty in the response of the evapotranspiration over land, so anomalies in their contribution to the total moisture supply are either mixed or muted. In contrast, weakening of the monsoon dynamics has less influence on the moisture supply from remote sources that not only is a dominant moisture contributor in the historical period but is also the net driver of the positive summer monsoon precipitation response in the twenty-first century. Finally, the results also indicate that historic measures of the monsoon dynamics may not be well suited to predict the nonstationary moisture-driven South Asian summer monsoon precipitation response in the twenty-first century.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Parametric evaluation of ducted fuel injection in an optically accessible mixing-controlled compression-ignition engine with two- and four-duct assemblies

Ducted fuel injection (DFI) is a strategy to improve fuel/charge-gas mixing in direct-injection compression-ignition engines. DFI involves injecting fuel along the axis of a small tube in the combustion chamber, which promotes the formation of locally leaner mixtures in the autoignition zone relative to conventional diesel combustion. Previous work has demonstrated that DFI is effective at curtailing engine-out soot emissions across a wide range of operating conditions. This study extends previous investigations, presenting engine-out emissions and efficiency trends between ducted two-orifice and ducted four-orifice injector tip configurations. For each configuration, parameters investigated include injection pressure, injection duration, intake manifold pressure, intake manifold temperature, start of combustion timing, and intake-oxygen mole fraction. For both configurations and across all parameters, DFI reduced engine-out soot emissions compared to conventional diesel combustion, with little effect on other emissions and engine efficiency. Emissions trends for both configurations were qualitatively the same across the parameters investigated. The four-duct configuration had higher thermal efficiency and indicated-specific engine-out nitrogen oxide emissions but lower indicated-specific engine-out hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions than the two-duct assembly. Both configurations achieved indicated-specific engine-out emissions for both soot and nitrogen oxides that comply with current on- and off-road heavy-duty regulations in the United States without exhaust-gas aftertreatment at an intake-oxygen mole fraction of 12%. High-speed in-cylinder imaging of natural soot luminosity shows that some conditions include a second soot-production phase late in the cycle. The probability of these late-cycle events is sensitive to both the number of ducted sprays and the operating conditions.

Yraguen, Boni Frances↗

Pellet cladding mechanical interaction as a potential failure mechanism during a control rod drop accident in a boiling water reactor

Boiling water reactors (BWRs) represent approximately one-third of the operating fleet in the United States, contributing significantly towards the global effort in reducing carbon emissions. Even though most of the operating fleet has been in operation for quite some time, continued advancements in new nuclear fuel (such as accident tolerant fuel) or operating regimes (such as power up-rates and higher burnup operation) necessitates similar advancements in modeling and simulation capabilities. Bison, a component of the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA), is a high-fidelity fuel performance code able to explore the fuel performance of a wide variety of fuel types in one-, two-, and three-dimensions. Until recently, the code had not been used for analyses of BWRs. Modeling capabilities have been added for Gd-bearing UO{sub 2} and pure zirconium liners. New models have been added based upon the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) guide-lines for hydrogen pickup in Zircaloy-2 claddings and pellet-clad mechanical interaction (PCMI) failure during a reactivity insertion accident (RIA), known as a rod drop accident (CRDA) in BWRs. Implementing and/or improving Bison modeling capabilities extended its analytical reach to areas beyond its original intended purpose. This paper demonstrates one of these capabilities as a proof of concept. Recently developed models enable Bison to provide an alternate approach for cladding integrity determination in CRDA evaluations, which currently use bounding conservative estimates. As part of this demonstration, NRC guidance on hydrogen-pickup and PCMI failure models were utilized in this research. Even though more research is needed in establishing right inputs and process in this area, this paper demonstrates Bison's ability to determine cladding integrity in a CRDA evaluation. This first of a kind demonstration is a proof of concept in this area, which could potentially be extended to a number of other areas where a more accurate cladding integrity determination would be needed. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Improved control of electron computer-generated holographic grating groove profiles using ion beam gas-assisted etching

In a transmission electron microscope, electrons are described by matter-waves with wavelengths five orders of magnitude smaller than optical electromagnetic waves. Analogous to optical holography, electron wavefronts can be shaped using nanoscale holographic gratings. Here we demonstrate a novel, scalable nanofabrication method for creating off-axis holographic gratings that demonstrate near ideal diffraction efficiencies for binary, sinusoidal, and blazed grating groove profiles. We show that this method can produce up to 50 µm diameter area gratings that diffract up to 68% of the transmitted electron wave into a desired diffraction order with less than 7% into any other order. Additionally, we find that the amount of inelastically scattered electrons from the material gratings remaining in the coherent diffraction orders from the gratings is negligible in the far field.

Johnson, Cameron W.↗

Analysis Of Tank 38H (HTF-38-14-6, 7) And Tank 43H (HTF-43-14-8, 9) Samples For Support Of The Enrichment Control And Corrosion Control Programs

SRNL performed analysis on Tanks 38H and 43H surface and subsurface supernate samples to support ECP and CCP. The U-235 mass divided by the total U mass ranged from 0.0059 to 0.0060. Uranium concentration ranged from 53.1 mg/L in the Tank 43H surface sample to the 85.1 mg/L in the Tank 38H subsurface sample. The U-235/U and uranium concentration are in line with the prior 2H-Evaporator System ECP samples.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Ventilation Control of Volatile Organic Compounds in New U.S. Homes: Results of a Controlled Field Study in Nine Residential Units

In order to optimize strategies to remove airborne contaminants in residences, it is necessary to determine how contaminant concentrations respond to changes in the air exchange rate. The impact of air exchange rate on the indoor concentrations of 39 target volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was assessed by measuring air exchange rates and VOC concentrations at three ventilation settings in nine residences. Active sampling methods were used for VOC concentration measurements, and passive perfluorocarbon tracer gas emitters with active sampling were used to determine the overall air exchange rate corresponding to the VOC measurements at each ventilation setting. The concentration levels and emission rates of the target VOCs varied by as much as two orders of magnitude across sites. Aldehyde and terpene compounds were typically the chemical classes with highest concentrations, followed by alkanes, aromatics, and siloxanes. For each home, VOC concentrations tended to decrease as the air exchange rate was increased, however, measurement uncertainty was significant. The indoor concentration was inversely proportional to air exchange rate for most compounds. For a subset of compounds including formaldehyde, however, the indoor concentration exhibited a non-linear dependence on the timescale for air exchange.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Development of an Outdoor Temperature Based Control Algorithm for Residential Mechanical Ventilation Control

The Incremental Ventilation Energy (IVE) model developed in this study combines the output of simple air exchange models with a limited set of housing characteristics to estimate the associated change in energy demand of homes. The IVE model was designed specifically to enable modellers to use existing databases of housing characteristics to determine the impact of ventilation policy change on a population scale. The IVE model estimates of energy change when applied to US homes with limited parameterisation are shown to be comparable to the estimates of a well-validated, complex residential energy model.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Demonstration of thermal control, microstructure control, defect mitigation and process parameter database generation for Ti-6Al-4V Direct Digital Manufacturing - Understanding defect mitigation and process parameter database generation for direct digital manufacturing

Researchers from Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) worked with Applied Optimization (AO) to understand and evaluate the propensity for defect formation in builds manufactured using DM3D-POM laser direct metal deposition. The main aim of this collaboration was to understand the character of powder jet behavior as a function of the nozzle parameters such as cover gas, carrier gas, and shaping gas. In order to evaluate the sensitivities of the parameters used in model, various experiments were performed with in-situ monitoring of the powder stream characteristics using a high speed camera. A wide variety of conditions while keeping the hopper motor rpm constant, including laser power and travel speed were explored. The cross sections of the deposits were characterized using optical microscopy.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Analysis of tank 38H (HTF-38-17-18, -19) and tank 43H (HTF-43-17-20, -21) samples for support of the enrichment control and corrosion control programs

SRNL analyzed samples from Tank 38H and Tank 43H to support ECP and CCP. The total uranium in the Tank 38H samples ranged from 53.7 mg/L for the surface sample to 57.0 mg/L in the sub-surface sample. The Tank 43H samples showed uranium concentrations of 46.2 mg/L for the surface sample and 45.7 mg/L in the sub-surface sample. The U-235 percentage was 0.63% in the Tank 38H samples and 0.62% in the Tank 43H samples. The total uranium and percent U-235 results appear consistent with recent Tank 38H and Tank 43H uranium measurements. The plutonium results for the Tank 38H surface sample are slightly higher than recent sample results, while the Tank 43H plutonium results are within the range of values measured on previous samples. The Cs-137 results for the Tank 38H surface and subsurface samples are slightly higher than the concentrations measured in recent samples. The Cs-137 results for the two Tank 43H samples are within the range of values measured on previous samples. The comparison of the sum of the cations in each sample versus the sum of the anions shows a difference of 23% for the Tank 38H surface sample and 18% for the Tank 43H surface sample. The four samples show silicon concentrations somewhat lower than the previous samples with values ranging from 80.2 to 105 mg/L.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Analysis of Tank 38H (HTF-38-17-52, -53) and Tank 43H (HTF-43-17-54, -55) Samples for Support of the Enrichment Control and Corrosion Control Programs

SRNL analyzed samples from Tank 38H and Tank 43H to support ECP and CCP. The total uranium in the Tank 38H surface sample was 41.3 mg/L while the sub-surface sample was 43.5 mg/L. The Tank 43H samples contained total uranium concentrations of 28.5 mg/L in the surface sample and 28.1 mg/L in the sub-surface sample. The U-235 percentage ranged from 0.62% to 0.63% for the Tank 38H samples and Tank 43H samples. The total uranium and percent U-235 results in the table appear slightly lower than recent Tank 38H and Tank 43H uranium measurements. The plutonium results in the table show a large difference between the surface and sub-surface sample concentrations for Tank 38H. The Tank 43H plutonium results closely match the range of values measured on previous samples. The Cs-137 results for the Tank 38H surface and sub-surface samples show similar concentrations slightly higher than the concentrations measured in recent samples. The Cs-137 results for the two Tank 43H samples also show similar concentrations within the range of values measured on previous samples. The four samples show silicon concentrations somewhat lower than the previous samples with values ranging from 124 to 168 mg/L.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Analysis of Tank 38H (HTF-38-18-43, -44) and Tank 43H (HTF-43-18-41, -42) Samples for Support of the Enrichment Control and Corrosion Control Programs

SRNL analyzed samples from Tank 38H and Tank 43H to support ECP and CCP. The total uranium in the Tank 38H surface sample was 38.8 mg/L while the sub-surface sample was 35.7 mg/L. The Tank 43H samples contained total uranium concentrations of 27.5 mg/L in the surface sample and 23.4 mg/L in the sub-surface sample. The U-235 weight fraction ranged from 0.62% to 0.63% for the Tank 38H samples and Tank 43H samples. The total uranium concentrations in the table are reasonably consistent with recent Tank 38H/43H sample uranium measurements. The plutonium results in the table are consistent with the range of concentrations measured in recent samples from these tanks with the exception of the Pu-238 value measured in the Tank 43H sub-surface sample. The Pu-238 in the Tank 43H sub-surface sample is higher than any recent measurement by a factor of two. The Cs-137 results show slightly lower concentrations in the surface samples versus the sub-surface samples from each tank. The non-radioactive components of the samples show some differences between the surface and sub-surface samples for each tank.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Analysis of Tank 38H (HTF-38-18-43,-44) and Tank 43H (HTF-43-18-41, -42) Samples for Support of the Enrichment Control and Corrosion Control Programs

SRNL analyzed samples from Tank 38H and Tank 43H to support ECP and CCP. The total uranium in the Tank 38H surface sample was 38.8 mg/L while the sub-surface sample was 35.7 mg/L. The Tank 43H samples contained total uranium concentrations of 27.5 mg/L in the surface sample and 23.4 mg/L in the sub-surface sample. The U-235 weight fraction ranged from 0.62% to 0.63% for the Tank 38H samples and Tank 43H samples. The total uranium concentrations in the table are reasonably consistent with recent Tank 38H/43H sample uranium measurements. The plutonium results in t he table are consistent with the range of concentrations measured in recent samples from these tanks with the exception of the Pu-238 value measured in the Tank 43H sub-surface sample. The Pu-238 in the Tank 43H sub-surface sample is higher than any recent measurement by a factor of two. The Cs-137 reslts show slightly lower concentrations in the surface samples versus the sub-surface samples from each tank. The non-radioactive components of the samples show some differences between the surface and sub-surface samples for each tank.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Analysis of Tank 38H (HTF-38-18-78, -79) and Tank 43H (HTF-43-18-80, -81, -83) Samples for Support of the Enrichment Control and Corrosion Control Programs

SRNL analyzed samples from Tank 38H and Tank 43H to support ECP and CCP. Compared with recent samples, the surface and sub-surface samples from Tank 38H show much lower concentrations of most species analyzed except for silicon. The Tank 38H samples show stratification in the tank with the concentration of species in the surface sample being much lower than in the sub-surface sample and both samples being much lower than recent results. The Tank 43H surface and two sub-surface samples generally showed consistent results across the three samples and compare well with recent analyses. The lowest sub-surface sample from Tank 43H contained slightly higher concentrations of uranium and plutonium likely due to the presence of a small amount of dark sludge solids in the sample.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗