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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Design Basis Model for Hosting Small Modular Reactors

An aggressive transition from fossil fuels to other types of energy implies the need to construct a large number of nuclear power plants in the near future. However, the real and perceived risks of nuclear energy remain a significant impediment to this transition. This paper describes a comprehensive work process that combines the rigor of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) with 1) the Idaho National Laboratory's (INL) decades of experience with small reactors and with 2) modern project delivery processes. The objective is to reduce the risk of building new facilities or converting existing facilities to nuclear power generation.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Infrastructure Integration Plan

The NRIC Infrastructure Integration Plan serves as a roadmap for integrating future test reactors at the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) desert Site into core infrastructure and services required for reactor operations. This document is not intended to serve as a requirements document, nor does it list all infrastructure requirements for each reactor planned for testing at the Site. It represents an overview of the most likely infrastructure and services that will be required by some or all the test reactors, as well as what infrastructure and services exist at the Site that have the potential to support and enable NRIC test reactors.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

PRO-X Parallelization Study

The proliferation resistance optimization (PRO-X) program is actively supporting the design of nuclear systems by developing a framework to both optimize the fuel cycle infrastructure for nuclear reactor (including both advanced reactors (ARs) and research reactors (RRs)) and minimize the potential for production of weapons-usable nuclear material (Figure 1). One area of interest is in the impact a modular approach to bulk handling fuel cycle facilities could have on meeting safeguards requirements to identify future areas of growth within the proliferation resistance space. This study evaluates how changing the number of streams within a fuel cycle facility could impact a facilities ability to meet both domestic and international safeguards requirements.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

2017 NE-4 Nuclear Technologies Research and Development (NTRD) Achievements Report

Fiscal year (FY) 2017 initiated new and reestablished presidential and departmental nuclear energy priorities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) that will: • Support the Administration’s priorities to achieve U.S. energy dominance and economic prosperity through U.S. technology leadership • Support DOE-NE mission priorities and goals for the existing nuclear fleet, advanced reactor pipeline and national fuel cycle infrastructure • Focus on early stage research, and effective cooperation with industry, academia, and other government agencies • Propose investments to maintain and improve capabilities and infrastructure to conduct leading-edge science, research, and technology development. DOE-NE’s mission priorities will focus on the existing nuclear fleet, advanced reactor pipeline, and fuel cycle infrastructure. Therefore, the DOE Nuclear Technology Research and Development (NE-4) mission aligned to (1) support the research and development (R&D) of innovative reactor technologies that may offer improved safety, functionality, and affordability and (2) conduct research to reduce long-term technical barriers for advanced nuclear energy systems, including space fission systems. Key activities to execute this mission include: • To achieve the NE-4 mission priorities, two major programs with eight R&D campaigns are engaged in impactful research, development, demonstration, and deployment: Fuel Cycle Technologies (FCT) Program • Fuel Cycle Options Campaign evaluates complex fuel cycle options and provides performance metrics on various systems and scenarios to improve the knowledge of interdependencies between technologies and different systems. • Advanced Fuels Campaign performs science-based R&D on accident tolerant fuels in addition to advanced light-water reactor (LWR) fuel and transmutation fuel. • Joint Fuel Cycle Studies (JFCS) is a collaboration with the Republic of Korea to assess the feasibility and nonproliferation of electrochemical recycling to manage used fuel. • Material Recovery and Waste Form Development (MRWFD) Campaign researches advanced fuel cycle material recovery and waste management capabilities to improve fuel cycle performance with less processing and waste generation. • Material Protection, Control, and Accountability Technologies (MPACT) Program develops tools and capabilities to secure the next generation nuclear materials management and safeguards for nuclear fuel cycles. Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Program • Fast Reactors Campaign targets benefits in either resource utilization or waste management and possesses favorable features for small reactor applications and plutonium management. • Gas-Cooled Reactors Campaign seeks to raise the technological readiness of high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) and other reactor concepts utilizing coated particle fuel, graphite, or helium coolant by performing high risk, enabling research and development that commercial developers are unable or unwilling to undertake in the current energy market. • ART Energy Conversion (EC) Project provides solutions to convert heat from an advanced reactor to useful products that support commercial application of the reactor designs.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Challenges and Opportunities in Staffing and Knowledge Transfer at Research Reactors

University research reactors have been a cornerstone of nuclear engineering research and education since the first reactor was deployed at North Carolina State University in the 1950s. The population of university reactors grew to a high of almost 80 in 1970 but has dropped to 24 operating today. The US Department of Energy – Office of Nuclear Energy supports the remaining reactors through fuel and infrastructure funding. The Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) collaborated with the National Organization of Test, Research, and Training Reactors (TRTR) to study the needs of the university research reactor community. Staffing and knowledge transfer were identified as critical areas. The panel will discuss challenges and opportunities in these areas including how COVID-19 has affected their facilities.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2012

2012 Annual Report Research Reactor Infrastructure Program

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) manages and provides project management, technical support, quality engineering, quality inspection and nuclear material support for the Department of Energy (DOE) Research Reactor Infrastructure Program (RRI). This program provides fresh, unirradiated nuclear reactor fuel for United States domestic University Test, Research and Training Reactor Programs. The two fuel types fabricated for the program, plate fuel and Training, Research, Isotope Production, General Atomics (TRIGA) fuel are obtained through subcontracts with two fuel fabricators, Babcock and Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group (B&W) and TRIGA International (TI). Respectively, these subcontractors fabricate high and low enriched uranium aluminide, silicide and TRIGA fuel on a recurring basis. The program is also responsible for funding the return of the DOE-owned, irradiated nuclear fuel over the life of the program.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Synergies Between Nuclear Security and Critical Infrastructure: National Legal and Regulatory Frameworks

Nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities are part of a nation's critical infrastructure assets. Key cross-sector interdependencies, in relation to energy, transportation systems, communications, emergency services, water, information technologies and others, result in inevitable synergies between legal frameworks for the security of nuclear facilities and legal frameworks for the protection of critical infrastructure. The protection of nuclear facilities against sabotage and other malicious acts is paramount in ensuring energy security and thus ensuring uninterrupted energy supply. The protection of other sectors, such as uninterrupted communications, secure water supply, and others, supports a safe and secure operation of nuclear facilities. Some countries rely on broader critical infrastructure frameworks to impose security requirements on nuclear facilities, or to achieve robust cybersecurity systems. This paper will analyze the interdependencies and synergies between the legal and regulatory frameworks for critical infrastructure protection and nuclear facilities' security by comparing various national frameworks. The paper will also propose modalities to leverage the best practices and requirements from each framework towards energy security goals and stronger national nuclear security regimes.

Man, Madalina-Anca↗
DOE OSTI2018

Preliminary Evaluation of the SNF Transportation Infrastructure at Operating Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Sites - 18466

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a goal to develop solutions for the long-term, sustainable management of the nation's spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's (DOE-NE) Office of Integrated Waste Management (IWM) is applying integrated waste management system analysis, system engineering, and decision analysis principles to inform future decisions regarding potential future nuclear waste management system architectures. One aspect of an integrated nuclear waste management system architecture is transportation of spent nuclear fuel from the fleet of commercial nuclear reactors to interim storage and/or disposal facilities. This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of the SNF transportation infrastructure at existing commercial nuclear power plant sites. Reactor site surveys performed by DOE in the 1990's and early 2000's that described the transportation infrastructure at commercial reactor sites at that time served as the starting point for the evaluation. Geographical information systems (GIS) and available open-source information about the reactor sites were used to identify changes in the transportation infrastructure at operating commercial nuclear power plant sites. The data and schematics contained within the previous surveys were comparatively analyzed alongside the GIS tools Google Earth, Google Maps, and DOE's Stakeholder Tool for Assessing Radioactive Transportation (START) to determine potential transportation modes and to identify improvements to the transportation infrastructure that may be needed at each of the sites. The preliminary results obtained and the insight gained from this effort support both integrated waste management system architecture analyses and future planning efforts. This is a technical paper that does not take into account the contractual limitations under the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste (Standard Contract) (10 CFR Part 961). Under the provisions of the Standard Contract, DOE does not consider spent nuclear fuel in multi-assembly canisters to be an acceptable waste form, absent a mutually agreed to contract amendment. To the extent discussions or recommendations in this paper conflict with the provisions of the Standard Contract, the Standard Contract provisions prevail. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Providing Experimental Infrastructure for Accelerating Advanced Reactor Demonstrations through the National Reactor Innovation Center

A suite of experimental infrastructure projects has been developed by the National Reactor Innovation Center to accelerate advanced reactor demonstrations and facilitate their development, addressing crucial gaps in data, materials characterization, and modeling. First, the Molten Salt Thermophysical Examination Capability (MSTEC) provides a specialized platform for post-irradiation characterization of molten salt reactor fuel, coolant salts, and structural materials, essential for supporting the design and operation of advanced reactors and future commercial molten salt reactor development and licensing. The Virtual Test Bed (VTB) complements these efforts by leveraging advanced modeling and simulation tools to evaluate reactor performance and safety. Serving as a library of reference models, the VTB offers a database of multiphysics reactor models, facilitating rapid safety evaluations and includes continuous software quality assurance, crucial for accelerating deployment while maintaining reliability. Additionally, the Helium Component Test Facility (HeCTF) addresses the need for high-temperature helium-cooled reactor component testing. As the first-of-its-kind facility in the United States, HeCTF emulates high-temperature gas reactor conditions, reducing time and cost associated with component validation, thereby accelerating reactor development. Finally, In-cell Thermal Creep Frames provide a unique solution for obtaining thermal creep data from irradiated materials, critical for materials qualification and licensing. Developed by the National Reactor Innovation Center, these compact frames enable the examination of previously irradiated materials, overcoming traditional limitations and enhancing the understanding of mechanical properties crucial for reactor development. Collectively, these experimental infrastructure projects form a comprehensive framework aimed at expediting advanced reactor demonstrations, fostering innovation, and ensuring the viability of next-generation nuclear energy solutions.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Grid Connection Roadmap

In an effort to define the roadmap for establishing the necessary electrical infrastructure at the Idaho National Laboratory to fully support connection of NRIC reactors, this roadmap serves to identify the current forecasted reactors planned for installation at INL and provide a consolidated list of the identified infrastructure improvements that will be necessary to support testing of NRIC reactors. Additionally, the roadmap will leverage this information to establish an integrated timeline to support detailed planning and execution of system improvements. To drive this planning, requirements, as derived from authoritative sources, will be identified. A clear definition of impacted stakeholders will be established, as well as a list of risks that will need to be managed as the program moves forward.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Report on Characterization and Processing of MDD Powder

Uranium oxide powers most civilian nuclear reactors worldwide. A large infrastructure based on a well-established technology is in place to support this strategic component of the energy industry. Because uranium oxide fuels are used so ubiquitously, it is expected that ceramic fuel pellets will continue to be used. A better understanding of the properties of the starting materials, the processing methods used to fabricate fuel pellets and how the properties of pellets change in service, are important aspects being studied via experiments, models and simulations. A close integration of these approaches is essential if we are to find new ways to optimize both the fuel composition and structure for the purpose of improving performance, e.g., designed microstructures, reducing process losses, e.g. by net shape sintering, and enabling reprocessing of used fuel; e.g., incorporation of transuranics. Ceramic oxide fuel pellets are typically cold pressed and sintered from a powder feedstock. Consequently, a complete understanding of pellet fabrication requires a thorough knowledge of the process from powder synthesis through quality control and acceptance. In this study, uranium oxide powder synthesized by Modified Direct Denitration (MDD) is evaluated. Use of powders synthesized by novel, simplified approaches such as MDD are both a challenge and an opportunity. The MDD synthesis process offers an opportunity to simplify the fabrication process potentially reducing process losses. MDD also provides a simple path to incorporate transuranics from used fuel reprocessing with minimal handling. The challenge is to demonstrate and ultimately prove the reliability and reproducibility of simplified processing with the performance of fuel pellets experiencing in-pile service. This report summarizes a processing study of uranium oxide pellets made from MDD uranium oxide.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Report on Evolutionary Enhancements to UO 2 Pellets

Sintered uranium oxide fuel pellets are the primary fuel used in civilian nuclear reactors. Due to extensive experience and established infrastructure, these ceramic fuels are likely to remain important for nuclear energy well into the future. Fuel pellets are produced mainly through cold-pressing ceramic powder and high temperature sintering. The processing technique presented here is designed to fit into the current fuel pellet production infrastructure with minimal changes to fuel manufacturers and reactor operators. This study makes changes in the UO 2 powder before the pellets are pressed, possibly requiring only minor changes in the manufacturing process.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Real-Time In-Pile Acoustic Measurement Infrastructure at the Advanced Test Reactor

The core of any nuclear reactor presents a particularly harsh environment for sensors and instrumentation. The reactor core also imposes challenging constraints on signal transmission from inside the reactor core to outside of the reactor vessel. In this paper, an acoustic measurement infrastructure installed at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), located at Idaho National Laboratory, is presented. The measurement infrastructure consists of ATR in-pile structural components, coolant, acoustic receivers, primary coolant pumps (PCPs), a data acquisition system, and signal-processing algorithms. Intrinsic and cyclic acoustic signals generated by the operation of the PCPs are collected and processed. Finally, the characteristics of the intrinsic signal can indicate the process state of the ATR (such as reactor startup, reactor criticality, reactor attaining maximum power, and reactor shutdown) during operation (i.e., real-time measurement).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Generalization Equations for Machine Learners Based on Physical and Abstract Laws

The physical and abstract laws derived from the first principles have been recently exploited to customize and sharpen machine learning (ML) methods and also derive their generalization equations. These laws often encapsulate knowledge that complements datasets and ML models. We present a generic framework that uses these laws to provide ML codes that are transferable across multiple areas, including data transport infrastructures and thermal hydraulics analytics of nuclear reactors. By anchoring on datasets from these areas and the statistical generalization theory, we present a rigorous approach to co-develop ML solutions and the generalization equations that characterize them, by exploiting the structure and constraints from the laws. We present illustrative examples using practical problems from existing literature on the performance characterization of data transport infrastructures, and the sensor error and power level estimation in nuclear reactor systems using sensor measurements of primary and secondary coolant systems, respectively.

Rao, Nageswara↗
DOE OSTI2020

Systems Theory Principles and Complex Systems Engineering Concepts for Protection and Resilience in Critical Infrastructure: Lessons from the Nuclear Sector

Part of the Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21) (PPD 2013) mandate includes evaluating safety, security, and safeguards (or nonproliferation) mechanisms traditionally implemented within the nuclear reactors, materials, and waste sector of critical infrastructure—including a complex, dynamic set of risks and threats within an all-hazards approach. In response, research out of Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) explores the ability of systems theory principles (hierarchy and emergence) and complex systems engineering concepts (multidomain interdependence) to better understand and address these risks and threats. Herein, this Sandia research explores the safety, safeguards, and security risks of three different nuclear sector-related activities—spent nuclear fuel transportation, small modular reactors, and portable nuclear power reactors—to investigate the complex and dynamic risk related to the PPD-21-mandated all-hazards approach. This research showed that a systems-theoretic approach can better identify inter-dependencies, conflicts, gaps, and leverage points across traditional safety, security, and safeguards hazard mitigation strategies in the nuclear reactors, materials, and waste sector. Resulting from this, mitigation strategies from applying systems theoretic principles and complex systems engineering concepts can be (1) designed to better capture interdependencies, (2) implemented to better align with real-world operational uncertainties, and (3) evaluated as a systems-level whole to better identify, characterize, and manage PPD-21's all hazards strategies.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Digital Infrastructure Industry Engagement

The commercial nuclear sector faces unprecedented financial challenges driven by low natural gas prices and subsidized renewables in a market that does not reward carbon-free baseload capacity. These circumstances, along with increasingly antiquated labor-centric operating models and analog technology, have forced the early closure of multiple nuclear facilities and placed a much larger population of nuclear stations at risk. Nuclear plant economic survival in current and forecasted market conditions requires an efficient and technology-centric operating model that harvests the native efficiencies of advanced technology. This is analogous to transformations that have occurred in other industries.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Sensitivity analysis of synergistic collaborative scenarios towards sustainable nuclear energy systems

The paper presents results of the study on the role of collaboration among countries towards sustainable global nuclear energy systems. The study explores various market shares for nuclear fuel cycle services, possible scale of collaboration among countries and assesses benefits and issues relevant for collaboration between suppliers and users of nuclear fuel cycle services. The approach used in the study is based on a heterogeneous world model with grouping of the non-personified nuclear energy countries according to different nuclear fuel cycle policies. The methodology applied in the analysis allocates a fraction of future global nuclear energy generation to each of such country-groups as a function of time. The sensitivity studies performed show the impacts of the group shares on the scope of collaboration among countries and on the resulting possible reactor mix and nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure versus time. The study quantitatively demonstrates that the synergistic approach to nuclear fuel cycle has a significant potential for offering a win-win collaborative strategy to both, technology holders and technology users on their joint way to future sustainable nuclear energy systems. The study also highlights possible issues on such a collaborative way. (authors)

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗