Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Coupled CFD simulation”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Data-driven model for cross ventilation potential in high-density cities based on coupled CFD simulation and machine learning

Effective urban ventilation through decent urban planning and building design can alleviate the deterioration of the urban built environment. Furthermore, natural ventilation requirements and guidelines in current building codes and standards are either qualitative or quantitative but subject to an absolute indoor airspeed threshold without considering the outdoor wind environment. To fill this gap, this paper develops an urban-scale coupled indoor and outdoor computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and defines a novel ventilation index to assess natural ventilation potential. The index considers wind environments of both indoor and outdoor spaces.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

An error-controlled adaptive time-stepping method for particle advancement in coupled CFD-DEM simulations

Coupled Computational-Fluid-Dynamics (CFD) and Discrete-Element-Method (DEM) models provide an accurate description of multiphase physical systems where a solid granular particle phase exists in an underlying gaseous continuous medium. The time integration of the granular phase in these simulations is typically handled using an explicit scheme with a constant time-step among all particles that is invariant in time to resolve inter-particle collisions. A locally third-order accurate adaptive time integration technique for particles that employs an embedded locally second-order scheme for error determination is presented in this work. The particle time-step size is dynamically adapted based on solution error, thus leading to significant savings in computational time. The efficacy of our scheme is quantified using four test cases of varying complexity (binary collision, homogeneous cooling system, fluidized bed and hopper discharge). The adaptive time-stepping method exhibits improved performance (~ 2–3 times in most of the cases studied) compared to three commonly used non-adaptive time-step methods (first-order Euler-explicit, second-order Adams-Bashforth and third-order Runge-Kutta schemes), while maintaining the same level of accuracy and parallel scalability.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Sensitivity study of coupled chemical-CFD simulations for analyzing aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel storage in sealed canisters

We report the United States Department of Energy (DOE) manages over 50 Metric Tons Heavy Metal (MTHM) of aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel. One main source for DOE’s Aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel (ASNF) inventory is the advanced test reactor (ATR) at the INL site, which makes this fuel of particular interest for storage scenarios. Road-ready and final disposition packaging configurations for the ATR fuel dictates storage within helium-backfilled, sealed DOE standard canisters. The conditions within these sealed canisters for extended (greater than50 year dry) storage is of interest. To further this goal, a three-dimensional (3D) multi-physics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed of the sealed DOE standard canisters. This 3D CFD model is one-way coupled with bulk gas radiolysis reactions considering sealed canisters with inert gas and possible trace amounts of air and water vapor. This study looks at the evolution of the thermal history of the canisters over a 50 year time period with a coupling to the chemical reactions occurring from radiolytic breakdown of residual water. A sensitivity study is then carried out over the parameters of the model including the fuel decay heat, residual water content, sealed pressure, canister external temperature, and canister emissivity. In pure helium, hydrogen generation rates are low, under 10 ppm, but hydrogen generation rates are affected greatly by the presence of even 1% residual air, increasing by 50-plus-fold, and nitric acid generation with residual air also occurs ranging from 500 to 4000 ppm after 50 years. The fuel decay heat and the residual water content show the most importance in the generation of hydrogen gas in pure air, and for nitric acid with a residual air condition. External temperature, canister emissivity and sealed pressure all show minor sensitivity effects to the generation of potentially harmful species.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Forecasting Dynamic Line Rating with Spatial Variation Considerations

Dynamic line rating (DLR) is a technology that allows the ampacity of an electrical conductor to be calculated using real-time or forecasted weather conditions. Historically, the ampacity of a conductor has been determined using a static line rating method which assumes conservative weather assumptions. Therefore, not only can DLR give a more accurate measurement of the true ampacity of a conductor, but it can also increase its ampacity during weather conditions with greater thermal mitigations. The two primary cooling factors in the ampacity calculations are wind speed and direction. In complex terrain, wind speed and direction can have large variations over short distances. Therefore, accurately identifying the limiting span of a transmission line requires high spatial resolution of the wind along its path. One solution is to install dense weather stations along their path, though this can become costly over long distances. Therefore, researchers have investigated the use of Computation Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations to accurately compute the wind field along the path of a transmission line and use these results to identify the limiting section of the conductor. This work presents a case study that evaluates the coupling of CFD simulations and forecasted weather simulations using the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model points over a 2-year span within a region in south eastern Idaho. The primary goal of the work is the evaluation of the number of HRRR model points used, i.e., weather stations, along the path of the line and the accuracy of the resulting ampacity. This was done using 4, 10, 17, 26, and 35 HRRR model points along two transmission line paths. The results indicate that as the number of model points are increased, the DLR ampacity of the lines decrease, yet converge as more points are added and demonstrate little change with additional HRRR points. It is expected that these results can help transmission line operators identify the number of weather stations that must be installed when coupled with CFD simulations and DLR ampacity to ensure accurate ratings and safe operations.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Forecasting Dynamic Line Rating with Spatial Variation Considerations

Dynamic line rating (DLR) is a technology that allows the ampacity of an electrical conductor to be calculated using real-time or forecasted weather conditions. Historically, the ampacity of a conductor has been determined using a static line rating method which assumes conservative weather assumptions. Therefore, not only can DLR give a more accurate measurement of the true ampacity of a conductor, but it can also increase its ampacity during weather conditions with greater thermal mitigations. The two primary cooling factors in the ampacity calculations are wind speed and direction. In complex terrain, wind speed and direction can have large variations over short distances. Therefore, accurately identifying the limiting span of a transmission line requires high spatial resolution of the wind along its path. One solution is to install dense weather stations along their path, though this can become costly over long distances. Therefore, researchers have investigated the use of Computation Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations to accurately compute the wind field along the path of a transmission line and use these results to identify the limiting section of the conductor. This work presents a case study that evaluates the coupling of CFD simulations and forecasted weather simulations using the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model points over a 2-year span within a region in south eastern Idaho. The primary goal of the work is the evaluation of the number of HRRR model points used, i.e., weather stations, along the path of the line and the accuracy of the resulting DLR ampacity. This was done using 4, 10, 17, 26, and 35 HRRR model points along two transmission line paths. The results indicate that as the number of model points are increased, the DLR ampacity of the lines decrease, yet converge as more points are added and demonstrate little change with additional HRRR points. It is expected that these results can help transmission line operators identify the number of weather stations that must be installed when coupled with CFD simulations and DLR ampacity to ensure accurate ratings and safe operations.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Coupled CFD and chemical-kinetics simulations of cellulosic-biomass enzymatic hydrolysis: Mathematical-model development and validation

Computational simulations of cellulosic-biomass enzymatic hydrolysis using a computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) model coupled to a chemical-kinetics model are presented in this work. A time-step sub-cycling strategy was used to circumvent large disparities in time scales with respect to transport physics and chemical kinetics. The unknown reaction and transport parameters in the mathematical model were first fit to two canonical experiments: a well-mixed case that was limited by reaction kinetics and a settled-solids case that was limited by transport. Here, the model was then validated against a benchtop experiment for an intermediate-mixing scenario, for which simulation results were in reasonable agreement with experimentally measured cellulose conversions. Settling of cellulose particles and diffusion of enzymes determine overall conversion rates for lower mixing rates, while reaction rates dominate conversion at higher mixing rates for which greater homogenization of substrates is achieved.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Plasma-Assisted Pre-Chamber Ignition System for Highly Dilute Stoichiometric Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Engines (Final Technical Report)

This project explored advanced ignition technologies to significantly enhance efficiency and reduce operating costs for heavy-duty natural gas engines operating at stoichiometric conditions, while meeting ultra-low NOx emission standards. The main goal was to develop and validate a plasma-assisted pre-chamber ignition system that could deliver at least a 2% increase in brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and a 4% decrease in total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to a typical multi-cylinder engine with three-way catalyst aftertreatment, ensuring compatibility with the expected 2027 EPA/CARB regulations. In the first half of the project, the research team concentrated on developing and testing plasma-assisted pre-chamber ignition using nanosecond pulsed discharges. Extensive experiments were conducted in an optically accessible rapid-compression and expansion machine, a constant-volume chamber, and an optical single-cylinder engine. Experiments were coupled with CFD simulations. The work produced unique insights into pre-chamber flame formation, jet ignition, dilution effects, and flame quenching at pressures, temperatures, and dilution levels relevant to engines. Although plasma-assisted ignition showed promise in controlled lab settings, the research also identified fundamental and practical challenges when applying this technology to real engine conditions. Midway through the project, a crucial pivot was made, guided by three key findings. First, the power electronics required for nanosecond plasma discharges were found to be too costly for commercial use, undermining the project’s cost-of-ownership goals. Second, nanosecond plasma ignition was highly sensitive to turbulent flow in the pre-chamber, resulting in lower ignition reliability than traditional spark under engine-like conditions. Third, achieving a truly diffuse low-temperature plasma at high pressures near top dead center was not possible, reducing the anticipated chemical enhancement benefits. These results collectively suggested that continuing with plasma-assisted ignition was unlikely to meet both efficiency and cost objectives. In response, the project shifted focus to a more realistic approach: enhancing traditional spark-based pre-chamber ignition with significantly less spark energy. Using insights gained earlier in the project, the team redesigned the pre-chamber to maintain high dilution tolerance and quick combustion, even with lower ignition energy. Testing confirmed that with optimized pre-chamber design and combustion timing, a lower-energy spark could reliably ignite highly diluted stoichiometric mixtures, reduce burn time, and boost thermal efficiency. Final engine testing and techno-economic analysis verified that this revised approach successfully achieved the project goals. The optimized pre-chamber ignition system provided over a 2% increase in calculated brake thermal efficiency compared to the baseline engine. Notably, the lower ignition energy and simplified hardware reduced component stress, extended maintenance intervals, and lowered the total cost of ownership. When used with stoichiometric operation and traditional three-way aftertreatment, the system remained compatible with near-zero NOx emissions targets without increasing cost or complexity in the emissions control system. In summary, although the project deviated from its initial plasma-assisted ignition idea, the work produced a more practical and commercially viable solution. The results show that precisely optimized, low-energy pre-chamber spark ignition can significantly improve efficiency and reduce overall ownership costs for heavy-duty natural gas engines. This directly aligns with DOE goals for cleaner, more efficient, and cost-effective transportation technologies.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Bridging particle and reactor scales in the simulation of biomass fast pyrolysis by coupling particle resolved simulation and coarse grained CFD-DEM

Efficient utilization of biomass is challenging due to the complexity of the feedstock at molecular, particle, and reactor scales. Direct coupling of particle scale model and reactor scale simulation is computationally infeasible. In this work, the results from a particle resolved simulation were used to calibrate the heat transfer and reaction kinetics of particles. A hybrid drag model was used to consider the different fluidization properties of sands and biomass particles. The computation cost was reduced using a coarse-grained Discrete Element Method (DEM). The simulated conversion rate, char yield, tar yield, and pyrolysis gas yield compare well with experiment. The residence time and axial distributions of biomass were also analyzed. This novel multi-scale method provides an efficient and accurate tool for the modeling of biomass pyrolysis reactors.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

CFD Simulation of Floating Body Motion with Mooring Dynamics: Coupling MoorDyn with OpenFOAM

It is increasingly popular to use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to study floating structures subjected to ocean waves, especially when it comes to applications of floating offshore wind turbines and Wave Energy Converters (WECs). Mooring dynamics are currently lacking in most of these applications. This paper presents a coupled simulation study of moored floating body motion by coupling two open-source libraries: a finite volume CFD toolbox, OpenFOAM, and a lumped-mass mooring model, MoorDyn. The instantaneous floating body position and velocity are passed from the body motion solver in the CFD model to the mooring model to calculate the fairlead kinematics. The mooring reaction forces, which are calculated by MoorDyn after updating the mooring system states, are then returned to the body motion solver to update the floating body motion. Both mesh deformation and overset mesh methods are used as the mesh motion solver in the CFD model to account for the floating body motion. The coupled model was validated against experimental measurements for a floating box moored with four catenary lines under the action of regular waves, which came from a preliminary test campaign for WECs. Apart from the lumped-mass mooring model, the present work also coupled a quasi-static mooring model and a finite element model with the floating body motion solver in OpenFOAM. The mooring line tensions predicted by these models were compared. The coupled model equipped with three mooring line codes may be further used to carry out survivability studies of FOWTs and WECs subject to severe sea states.

floating body↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal-Hydraulics Modeling and Simulations of Hot Pool Using the SAS-CFD Coupled Code

The main goal of this activity is to test the dynamic coupling of the SAS4A/SASSYS-1 (SAS) and CFD models, using a recently patched version of the SAS code intended to address an undocumented limitation that hindered the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) simulation efforts in FY21. As described in previous VTR calculation reports, the undocumented limitation in SAS v5.4 does not allow the user to activate the CFD coupling option during restart calculations. Since the analysts were unaware of this limitation, prior SAS-CFD simulation results for the protected station blackout (PSBO) transient were erroneous. Root-cause analysis was performed to determine the cause of this undocumented limitation in SAS v5.4, the SAS software was updated in a new patch, and the SAS-CFD simulations were repeated with this patched software. The results of the SAS-CFD simulations documented in this report show that the software patch does address the cited issue, and that the patched software indeed supports the activation of the CFD coupling model in restart calculations. The SAS development team will determine the schedule for implementing the patch in an official software release. This report documents updated SAS-CFD simulations of the PSBO transient response in the VTR. The hot pool is modeled with the CFD code STAR-CCM+, which is coupled at the flow boundaries to the SAS model of the primary heat transport system. SAS computes the mass flow rate and temperature at each core subassembly outlet, the thermal insulation cavity bypass, and the IHX inlet windows. CFD in turn computes the absolute pressure and temperature at each of these boundaries. The SAS code will ignore the temperature data at flow boundaries where flow is directed into the hot pool, i.e., at the core subassembly outlets unless flow reversal occurs. Similarly, CFD will ignore temperature data at boundaries where the flow is directed out of the hot pool, i.e., at the IHX inlets except under flow reversal. The focus of this work is to ensure that the SAS software patch addresses the undocumented limitation described in prior VTR calculation reports, rather than the accurate assessment of thermal stratification in the VTR during protected transients. This motivates the development of a new, simplified CFD model with a coarser mesh to accelerate the testing process. The updated model, and simplifying assumptions, are documented in this report. In future work, the thermal stratification assessment should be performed in more detail. The simplified CFD model can be improved by performing grid convergence studies sensitivity studies of turbulence parameters (e.g., Prandtl number, turbulence production and dissipation parameters) on temperature distributions and thermal stratification.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coupling particle scale model and SuperDEM–CFD for multiscale simulation of biomass pyrolysis in a packed bed pyrolyzer

An efficient biomass pyrolysis process requires a comprehensive understanding of the chemical and physical phenomena that occur at multi-length and time scales. In this study, a multiscale computational approach was developed and validated for biomass pyrolysis in a packed-bed reactor by integrating pyrolysis kinetics, a particle scale model, and SuperDEM-CFD in open-source code MFiX. A one-dimensional particle-scale model that discretizes the characteristic length of biomass particle into layers was developed to predict the intraparticle phenomena inside a single particle. The 1D model was validated by comparing it with a single biomass particle pyrolysis experiment. Here, a recently developed SuperDEM-CFD model was employed to simulate the non-spherical particle-particle contact and fluid-particle interaction. The coupled model was applied to simulate the pyrolysis of cubic biomass particles in a packed bed and validated by comparing with experimental data. Simulation with and without particle-scale model was compared, and the effect of the gas-solid heat transfer models was also investigated.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

MFiX: Fractional-Step Method Implementation

A comprehensive, multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation solves several coupled transport equations including continuity, momentum, species, and energy. Chemical reactions further couple these equations through heats of reaction and rates of formation of products and rates of destruction of reactants. A fractional-step method separates changes attributed to chemical reactions from transport phenomena like convection and diffusion. When the governing equations are split into the transport and reacting components, efficient and independent methodologies can be exploited to solve the different systems. Specifically, discretization of field variable transport equations results in large, sparse matrices which are loosely coupled. These systems are solved in succession using iterative techniques that take advantage of the matrix structure. In contrast, chemical reactions tightly couple field variables locally within the domain (e.g., within a single computational cell) resulting in low dimensional but dense, nonlinear systems that are better solved using direct integration techniques.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simulation of Microcapsule Transport in Fractured Media Using Coupled CFD‐DEM

Geothermal energy is sustainable and gaining momentum as a solution to energy crises and environmental issues. However, challenges like production temperature and thermal breakthrough can impact geothermal project efficiency. One innovative solution to alleviate the thermal breakthrough is to inject polymer-based materials that are encapsulated in microcapsules into fractures to modify fracture permeability and prevent preferential flow. In our study, we utilized a coupled computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method to simulate the transport of microcapsules under various scenarios controlled by microcapsule size, microcapsule concentration, and fracture roughness. For a smooth fracture, the results indicate that small microcapsules can travel through a smooth fracture regardless of their concentrations. Large microcapsules can transport through a smooth fracture when present in lower concentrations. However, medium and mixed-size microcapsules tend to cause the sealing of a smooth fracture, irrespective of their concentrations. For a rough fracture, the transport of microcapsules is complicated by their interactions with the rough fracture walls. The presence of two sealing positions in a rough fracture adds further complexity to this transport phenomenon. The size and concentration of microcapsules control one sealing location, while the rough fracture walls determine the other sealing location. The rough walls substantially affect microcapsule transport, rendering the role of microcapsule size and concentration less significant. The simulation results suggest that complex fracture surfaces significantly elevate the occurrence of sealing behavior. To mitigate sealing behavior within more complex fractures, it would be beneficial to use smaller and lower concentrations of microcapsules.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Code-Agnostic Driver Application for Coupled Neutronics and Thermal-Hydraulic Simulations

While the literature has numerous examples of Monte Carlo and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) coupling, most are hard-wired codes intended primarily for research rather than as standalone, general-purpose applications. In this work, we describe an open source application, ENRICO, that enables coupled neutronic and thermal-hydraulic simulations between multiple codes that can be chosen at runtime (as opposed to a coupling between two specific codes). The application has been designed such that the control flow logic, domain mapping, nonlinear fixed-point iteration, solution transfers, and convergence checks are all agnostic to the underlying physics solvers used. Special emphasis has also been placed on enabling efficient execution on distributed-memory computing environments. The transfer of solution fields between solvers is performed in memory rather than through filesystem I/O. Additionally, solvers can be configured to run on overlapping or disjoint sets of processes. To date, coupling with the OpenMC and Shift Monte Carlo codes, the Nek5000 CFD code, and a simplified heat diffusion and subchannel solver has been implemented in ENRICO. We present results for coupled simulations of a single light-water reactor fuel assembly based on the NuScale reactor using various combinations of the physics solvers. For this problem, the coupled simulations are shown to converge in about four Picard iterations. A comparison of the heat source and temperature distributions computed by ENRICO using OpenMC coupled with Nek5000 and Shift coupled with Nek5000 illustrates remarkable agreement between the codes.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Extended Modeling of DOE Sealed Canisters with Updated Chemistry Models

Road-ready and final disposition packaging configurations for the advanced test reactor (ATR) fuel currently specifies storage within helium backfilled DOE sealed standard canisters. The aluminum cladding of the ATR fuel contains an oxyhydroxide layer of boehmite/bayerite that generates hydrogen when subjected to irradiation. Understanding the effect of this hydrogen buildup over time to important for long term storage considerations. Previous modeling efforts have built a coupled CFD-chemical model to simulate the temperature gas phase concentrations within the DOE sealed standard canisters. These models have coupled the temperature conditions to both the gas phase radiolysis chemistry and the surface chemistry associated with the oxyhydroxide layer. The previous iteration of the model utilized constant G-values for the hydrogen generation a 50-year period. This new iteration of the model utilizes new experimental data to update the hydrogen generation rate, as well as increase the simulated time to a 200-year period. Given the half-life assumed for the primary Cs-137 isotope responsible for gamma radiation in the ATR spent fuel, the 200-year period decreases the decay heat and dose rate of the spent fuel by a factor of 100, which combined with the updated chemistry substantially decreases new hydrogen generation. Continued experimental work has identified trends for aluminum surrogate samples with oxyhydroxide layers for tests done at higher dose rates. At low initial doses a fast generation rate of hydrogen occurs which starts to roll over to a lower generation as the total dose applied increase. A small-scale chemical model was built to replicate as mini-canister surrogate system at SRNL as well as for the smaller capsule tests performed at INL. A variety of chemical models to capture this effect were tested, and a back reaction of H radical absorbing onto the surface, or inhibition of the reaction by significant H 2 cover gas were both able to fit both the mini-canister and the small capsule test data. Both kinetic fits were used to generate data from the new 200-year simulation. As additional experiments continue, the kinetic fits may be adjusted to adapt to new data. However, updated data shows that hydrogen atmosphere has little effect on actual generation data, so the model was reverted to use a star-stepped G-value for low-dose and high-dose regions. For the undried fuel case, the three models differ significantly with an end concentration of 1% for back reaction, 4.2% for inhibition, and 13.1% for constant G-value for the nominal scenario. For the dried fuel case, the nominal cases showed end concentrations of 0.23% for back reaction, 1.9% for inhibition, and 4.2% for const G-value for the nominal scenario. For the constant G-value case that is less conservative than the other two, the pressure for undried fuel increases to 1.94 atm over 200 years for the nominal case and 2.11 atm for the high decay heat case. The total hydrogen concentration after 200 years is 4.92% for the low decay heat case and 27.4% for the high decay heat case for undried fuel and is 1.4% and 9.6% for low and high decay heat fuel for the dried fuel case. If small amount of residual air is present, the potential for nitric acid formation of 595, 1568, and 2816 ppm for the lower, nominal, and upper fuel decay heat can occur. At long-term timeframes no significant shift in major species present occurs, so no appreciable amount of oxygen is present in the system. The continued rate of hydrogen generation in the canister occurs at an increase of 0.04% by mole over the final 10 years. Increasing the model range out to 1000 years continues to drop the hydrogen generation rate through decreasing dose rate.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modeling DOE Standard Canister Configurations with Updated Surface Chemistry

Road-ready and final disposition packaging configurations for the advanced test reactor (ATR) fuel currently specifies storage within helium backfilled DOE sealed standard canisters. The aluminum cladding of the ATR fuel contains an oxyhydroxide layer of boehmite/bayerite that generates hydrogen when subjected to irradiation. Understanding the effect of this hydrogen buildup over time to important for long term storage considerations. Previous modeling efforts have built a coupled CFD-chemical model to simulate the temperature gas phase concentrations within the DOE sealed standard canisters. These models have coupled the temperature conditions to both the gas phase radiolysis chemistry and the surface chemistry associated with the oxyhydroxide layer. Continued experimental work has identified trends for aluminum surrogate samples with oxyhydroxide layers for tests done at higher dose rates. At low initial doses a fast generation rate of hydrogen occurs which starts to roll over to a lower generation rate as the total dose applied in increased. A previous study created a small-scale chemical model was built to replicate a mini-canister surrogate system at SRNL as well as for the smaller capsule tests performed at INL. The previous iteration of the model utilized step function for its G-values for the hydrogen generation over a 200-year period. This model makes an update to the surface chemistry to account for theorized surface chemistry reactions allowing for oxygen to remain bounded to the oxyhydroxide layer. As additional experiments continue, the kinetic fits may be adjusted to adapt to new data. Three canister configurations are modeled – the base 18-inch, 15-foot DOR standard canister with 30 ATR fuel elements, an 18-inch, 10-foot DOE standard canister with 32 ATR fuel elements and a 24-inch, 10-foot DOE standard canister with 40 ATR fuel elements. In previous reports, the primary sensitivity of the canister conditions was identified as the decay heat of the fuel and the dried condition of the fuel. Only these parameters are studied in the report. For the nominal case with dried fuel, the hydrogen generation is only about 2%, so it is even less than the flammability limit if it were exposed to oxygen. For the densely packed 18-inch case the total hydrogen concentration is only around 4% with the nominal decay heat. For the densely packed 24-inch case the total hydrogen concentration is only 2.5%, roughly 20% higher than the original packing design, and still under flammability conditions if exposed to oxygen.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗