Resource
2011 EN
C. Drugan
Researchers found more ways than ever to conduct transformative science at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) in 2010. Both familiar initiatives and innovative new programs at the ALCF are now serving a growing, global user community with a wide range of computing needs. The Department of Energy's (DOE) INCITE Program remained vital in providing scientists with major allocations of leadership-class computing resources at the ALCF. For calendar year 2011, 35 projects were awarded 732 million supercomputer processor-hours for computationally intensive, large-scale research projects with the potential to significantly advance key areas in science and engineering. Argonne also continued to provide Director's Discretionary allocations - 'start up' awards - for potential future INCITE projects. And DOE's new ASCR Leadership Computing (ALCC) Program allocated resources to 10 ALCF projects, with an emphasis on high-risk, high-payoff simulations directly related to the Department's energy mission, national emergencies, or for broadening the research community capable of using leadership computing resources. While delivering more science today, we've also been laying a solid foundation for high performance computing in the future. After a successful DOE Lehman review, a contract was signed to deliver Mira, the next-generation Blue Gene/Q system, to the ALCF in 2012. The ALCF is working with the 16 projects that were selected for the Early Science Program (ESP) to enable them to be productive as soon as Mira is operational. Preproduction access to Mira will enable ESP projects to adapt their codes to its architecture and collaborate with ALCF staff in shaking down the new system. We expect the 10-petaflops system to stoke economic growth and improve U.S. competitiveness in key areas such as advancing clean energy and addressing global climate change. Ultimately, we envision Mira as a stepping-stone to exascale-class computers that will be faster than petascale-class computers by a factor of a thousand. Pete Beckman, who served as the ALCF's Director for the past few years, has been named director of the newly created Exascale Technology and Computing Institute (ETCi). The institute will focus on developing exascale computing to extend scientific discovery and solve critical science and engineering problems. Just as Pete's leadership propelled the ALCF to great success, we know that that ETCi will benefit immensely from his expertise and experience. Without question, the future of supercomputing is certainly in good hands. I would like to thank Pete for all his effort over the past two years, during which he oversaw the establishing of ALCF2, the deployment of the Magellan project, increases in utilization, availability, and number of projects using ALCF1. He managed the rapid growth of ALCF staff and made the facility what it is today. All the staff and users are better for Pete's efforts
Argonne National Laboratory
Resource
2011 EN
R. B. Bair
Now in its seventh year of operation, the Laboratory Computing Resource Center (LCRC) continues to be an integral component of science and engineering research at Argonne, supporting a diverse portfolio of projects for the U.S. Department of Energy and other sponsors. The LCRC's ongoing mission is to enable and promote computational science and engineering across the Laboratory, primarily by operating computing facilities and supporting high-performance computing application use and development. This report describes scientific activities carried out with LCRC resources in 2009 and the broad impact on programs across the Laboratory. The LCRC computing facility, Jazz, is available to the entire Laboratory community. In addition, the LCRC staff provides training in high-performance computing and guidance on application usage, code porting, and algorithm development. All Argonne personnel and collaborators are encouraged to take advantage of this computing resource and to provide input into the vision and plans for computing and computational analysis at Argonne. The LCRC Allocations Committee makes decisions on individual project allocations for Jazz. Committee members are appointed by the Associate Laboratory Directors and span a range of computational disciplines. The 350-node LCRC cluster, Jazz, began production service in April 2003 and has been a research work horse ever since. Hosting a wealth of software tools and applications and achieving high availability year after year, researchers can count on Jazz to achieve project milestones and enable breakthroughs. Over the years, many projects have achieved results that would have been unobtainable without such a computing resource. In fiscal year 2009, there were 49 active projects representing a wide cross-section of Laboratory research and almost all research divisions
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Resource
2011 EN
J. Wesley Hines · B.R. Upadhyaya · J. Michael Doster
+4 more
Development and deployment of small-scale nuclear power reactors and their maintenance, monitoring, and control are part of the mission under the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) program. The objectives of this NERI-consortium research project are to investigate, develop, and validate advanced methods for sensing, controlling, monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis of these reactors, and to demonstrate the methods with application to one of the proposed integral pressurized water reactors (IPWR). For this project, the IPWR design by Westinghouse, the International Reactor Secure and Innovative (IRIS), has been used to demonstrate the techniques developed under this project. The research focuses on three topical areas with the following objectives. Objective 1 - Develop and apply simulation capabilities and sensitivity/uncertainty analysis methods to address sensor deployment analysis and small grid stability issues. Objective 2 - Develop and test an autonomous and fault-tolerant control architecture and apply to the IRIS system and an experimental flow control loop, with extensions to multiple reactor modules, nuclear desalination, and optimal sensor placement strategy. Objective 3 - Develop and test an integrated monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis system for SMRs using the IRIS as a test platform, and integrate process and equipment monitoring (PEM) and process and equipment prognostics (PEP) toolboxes. The research tasks are focused on meeting the unique needs of reactors that may be deployed to remote locations or to developing countries with limited support infrastructure. These applications will require smaller, robust reactor designs with advanced technologies for sensors, instrumentation, and control. An excellent overview of SMRs is described in an article by Ingersoll (2009). The article refers to these as deliberately small reactors. Most of these have modular characteristics, with multiple units deployed at the same plant site. Additionally, the topics focus on meeting two of the eight needs outlined in the recently published 'Technology Roadmap on Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface (ICHMI) to Support DOE Advanced Nuclear Energy Programs' which was created 'to provide a systematic path forward for the integration of new ICHMI technologies in both near-term and future nuclear power plants and the reinvigoration of the U.S. nuclear ICHMI community and capabilities.' The research consortium is led by The University of Tennessee (UT) and is focused on three interrelated topics: Topic 1 (simulator development and measurement sensitivity analysis) is led by Dr. Mike Doster with Dr. Paul Turinsky of North Carolina State University (NCSU). Topic 2 (multivariate autonomous control of modular reactors) is led by Dr. Belle Upadhyaya of the University of Tennessee (UT) and Dr. Robert Edwards of Penn State University (PSU). Topic 3 (monitoring, diagnostics, and prognostics system development) is led by Dr. Wes Hines of UT. Additionally, South Carolina State University (SCSU, Dr. Ken Lewis) participated in this research through summer interns, visiting faculty, and on-campus research projects identified throughout the grant period. Lastly, Westinghouse Science and Technology Center (Dr. Mario Carelli) was a no-cost collaborator and provided design information related to the IRIS demonstration platform and defining needs that may be common to other SMR designs. The results of this research are reported in a six-volume Final Report (including the Executive Summary, Volume 1). Volumes 2 through 6 of the report describe in detail the research and development under the topical areas. This volume serves to introduce the overall NERI-C project and to summarize the key results. Section 2 provides a summary of the significant contributions of this project. A list of all the publications under this project is also given in Section 2. Section 3 provides a brief summary of each of the five volumes (2-6) of the report. The contributions of SCSU are described in Section 4, including a summary of undergraduate research experience. The project management organizational chart is provided as Figure 1. Appendices A, B, and C contain the reports on the summer research performed at the University of Tennessee by undergraduate students from South Carolina State University
The University of Tennessee
Resource
2011 EN
Bechtel Jacobs
Zone 1 is a 1400-acre area outside the fence of the main plant at The East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The Record of Decision for Interim Actions in Zone, ETTP (Zone 1 Interim ROD) (DOE 2002) identifies the remedial actions for contaminated soil, buried waste, and subsurface infrastructure necessary to protect human health and to limit further contamination of groundwater. Since the Zone 1 Interim Record of Decision (ROD) was signed, new information has been obtained that requires the remedy to be modified as follows: (1) Change the end use in Contractor's Spoil Area (CSA) from unrestricted industrial to recreational; (2) Remove Exposure Units (EU5) ZI-50, 51, and 52 from the scope of the Zone I Interim ROD; (3) Change the end use of the duct bank corridor from unrestricted industrial to restricted industrial; and (4) Remove restriction for the disturbance of soils below 10 feet in Exposure Unit (EU) Z1-04. In accordance with 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 300.435, these scope modifications are a 'significant' change to the Zone 1 Interim ROD. In accordance with CERCLA Sect. 117 (c) and 40 CFR 300.435 (c)(2)(i), such a significant change is documented with an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD). The purpose of this ESD is to make the changes listed above. This ESD is part of the Administrative Record file, and it, and other information supporting the selected remedy, can be found at the DOE Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The ORR is located in Roane and Anderson counties, within and adjacent to the corporate city limits of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ETTP is located in Roane County near the northwest corner of the ORR. ETTP began operation during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. The original mission of ETTP was to produce enriched uranium for use in atomic weapons. The plant produced enriched uranium from 1945 until 1985. Uranium production was terminated in 1987. ORR was placed on the National Priorities List in 1989, so remediation activities are conducted under CERCLA. The primary contaminants of concern at ETTP follow: (1) In groundwater - volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at multiple locations (trichloroethene is generally the most prevalent compound); (2) In sediment - inorganic elements, radionuclides, and polychlorinated biphenyls; (3) In soil - inorganic elements, radionuclides, semivolatile organic compounds (particularly the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and VOCs; and (4) In facilities - radionuclides and polychlorinated biphenyls (abandoned facilities also pose a safety and health hazard to workers.) The purposes of the remedial actions selected in the Zone 1 Interim ROD are to allow unrestricted industrial use down to 10 feet and to remediate potential sources of groundwater contamination. Following is a summary of the major components of the Zone 1 Interim ROD remedy: (1) Excavation of the Blair Quarry burial area and associated contaminated soil; (2) Excavation of miscellaneous contaminated soil in the K-895 Cylinder Destruct Facility area and in the Powerhouse Area; (3) Removal of sludge and demolition of the K-710 sludge beds and Imhoff tanks; (4) Implementation of land use controls (LUCs); and (5) Characterization of soil and remediation of areas that exceed remediation levels
East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Resource
2011 EN
Curtis Smith · S. T. Wood · W.J. Galyean
+2 more
The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of computer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessment (PRAs). Herein information is provided on the principles used in the construction and operation of Version 8.0 of the SAPHIRE system. This report summarizes the fundamental mathematical concepts of sets and logic, fault trees, and probability. This volume then describes the algorithms used to construct a fault tree and to obtain the minimal cut sets. It gives the formulas used to obtain the probability of the top event from the minimal cut sets, and the formulas for probabilities that apply for various assumptions concerning reparability and mission time. It defines the measures of basic event importance that SAPHIRE can calculate. This volume gives an overview of uncertainty analysis using simple Monte Carlo sampling or Latin Hypercube sampling, and states the algorithms used by this program to generate random basic event probabilities from various distributions. Also covered are enhance capabilities such as seismic analysis, Workspace algorithms, cut set "recovery," end state manipulation, and use of "compound events.
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Resource
2011 EN
John M. Svoboda
The Electric Power Transmission Line Security Monitor System Operational Test is a project funded by the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG). TSWG operates under the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office that functions under the Department of Defense. The Transmission Line Security Monitor System is based on technology developed by Idaho National Laboratory. The technology provides a means for real-time monitoring of physical threats and/or damage to electrical transmission line towers and conductors as well as providing operational parameters to transmission line operators to optimize transmission line operation. The end use is for monitoring long stretches of transmission lines that deliver electrical power from remote generating stations to cities and industry. These transmission lines are generally located in remote transmission line corridors where security infrastructure may not exist. Security and operational sensors in the sensor platform on the conductors take power from the transmission line and relay security and operational information to operations personnel hundreds of miles away without relying on existing infrastructure. Initiated on May 25, 2007, this project resulted in pre-production units tested in realistic operational environments during 2010. A technology licensee, Lindsey Manufacturing of Azusa California, is assisting in design, testing, and ultimately production. The platform was originally designed for a security monitoring mission, but it has been enhanced to include important operational features desired by electrical utilities
Idaho National Laboratory
Resource
2011 EN
H. Ludewig · A. Aronson
The primary advantages that accelerator driven systems have over critical reactors are: (1) Greater flexibility regarding the composition and placement of fissile, fertile, or fission product waste within the blanket surrounding the target, and (2) Potentially enhanced safety brought about by operating at a sufficiently low value of the multiplication factor to preclude reactivity induced events. The control of the power production can be achieved by vary the accelerator beam current. Furthermore, once the beam is shut off the system shuts down. The primary difference between the operation of an accelerator driven system and a critical system is the issue of beam interruptions of the accelerator. These beam interruptions impose thermo-mechanical loads on the fuel and mechanical components not found in critical systems. Studies have been performed to estimate an acceptable number of trips, and the value is significantly less stringent than had been previously estimated. The number of acceptable beam interruptions is a function of the length of the interruption and the mission of the system. Thus, for demonstration type systems and interruption durations of 1sec < t < 5mins, and t > 5mins 2500/yr and 50/yr are deemed acceptable. However, for industrial scale power generation without energy storage type systems and interruption durations of t < 1sec., 1sec < t < 10secs., 10secs < t < 5mins, and t > 5mins, the acceptable number of interruptions are 25000, 2500, 250, and 3 respectively. However, it has also been concluded that further development is required to reduce the number of trips. It is with this in mind that the following study was undertaken. The primary focus of this study will be the merit of a multi-beam target system, which allows for multiple spallation sources within the target/blanket assembly. In this manner it is possible to ameliorate the effects of sudden accelerator beam interruption on the surrounding reactor, since the remaining beams will still be supplying source neutrons. The proton beam will be assumed to have an energy of 1 GeV, and the target material will be natural lead, which will also be the coolant for the reactor assembly. Three proton beam arrangements will be considered, first a single beam (the traditional arrangement) with an entry at the assembly center, two more options will consist of three and six entry locations. The reactor fuel assembly parameters will be based on those of the S-PRISM fast reactor proposed by GE, and the fuel composition and type will be based on that proposed by Aker Solutions for use in their accelerator driven thorium reactor. The following table summarizes the parameters to be used in this study. The isotopic composition of the fertile material is 100% Th-232, and the plutonium isotopic distribution corresponds to that characteristic of the discharge from a typical LWR, following five years of decay. Thus, the isotopic distribution for the plutonium is; Pu-238 2.5%, Pu-239 53.3%, Pu-240 25.1%, Pu-241 11.8%, and Pu-242 7.3%
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Resource
2011 EN
K. Taylor-Pashow
The HB-Line Facility has a long-term mission to dissolve and disposition legacy fissile materials. HB-Line dissolves plutonium dioxide (PuO{sub 2}) from K-Area parting support of the 3013 Destructive Examination (DE) program. The PuO{sub 2}-bearing solids originate from a variety of unit operations and processing facilities, but all of the material is assumed to be high-fired (i.e., calcined in air for a minimum of two hours at {ge} 750 C). The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) conducted dissolution flowsheet studies on 3013 DE Sample 10-16 (can R610826), which contains weapons-grade plutonium (Pu) as the fissile material. The dissolution flowsheet study was performed for 4 hours at 108 C on unwashed material using 12 M nitric acid (HNO{sub 3}) containing 0.20 M potassium fluoride (KF). After 4 hours at 108 C, the {sup 239}Pu Equivalent concentration was 32.5 g/L (gamma, 5.0% uncertainty). The insoluble residue comprised 9.88 wt % of the initial bulk weight, and contained 5.31-5.95 wt % of the initial Pu. The residue contained Pu in the highest concentration, followed by tungsten (W). Analyses detected 2,770 mg/L chloride (Cl{sup -}) in the final dissolver solution (3.28 wt %), which is significantly lower than the amount of Cl{sup -} detected by prompt gamma (9.86 wt %) and the 3013 DE Surveillance program (14.7 wt %). A low bias in chloride measurement is anticipated due to volatilization during the experiment. Gas generation studies found approximately 60 mL of gas per gram of sample produced during the first 30 minutes of dissolution. Little to no gas was produced after the first 30 minutes. Hydrogen gas (H{sub 2}) was not detected in the sample. Based on detection limits and accounting for dilution, the generated gas contained < 0.12 vol % H{sub 2}, which is well below the 4.0 vol % flammability limit for H{sub 2} in air. Filtration of the dissolver solution occurred readily. When aluminum nitrate nonahydrate (ANN) was added to the filtered dissolver solution at a 3:1 Al:F molar ratio, and stored at room temperature for 24 hours, the solution filtered approximately 6 times slower than when filtered 30 minutes after ANN addition, requiring 6 minutes to complete compared to 55 seconds for the first filtration. It is likely that the ambient-temperature solubility for ANN was exceeded. A 4-hour dissolution time at a temperature of 108 C in 12 M HNO{sub 3}/0.2 M KF is recommended for dissolution of this material
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Resource
2011 EN
Noel Duckwtiz
Near term replacement of aging and obsolescent original ATR equipment has become important to ensure ATR capability in support of NE’s long term national missions. To that end, a mission needs statement has been prepared for a non-major system acquisition which is comprised of three interdependent subprojects. The first project, subject of this determination, will replace the existent diesel-electrical bus (E-3) and associated switchgear. More specifically, INL proposes transitioning ATR to 100% commercial power with appropriate emergency backup to include: • Provide commercial power as the normal source of power to the ATR loads currently supplied by diesel-electric power. • Provide backup power to the critical ATR loads in the event of a loss of commercial power. • Replace obsolescent critical ATR power distribution equipment, e.g., switchgear, transformers, motor control centers, distribution panels. Completion of this and two other age-related projects (primary coolant pump and motor replacement and emergency firewater injection system replacement) will resolve major age related operational issues plus make a significant contribution in sustaining the ATR safety and reliability profile. The major modification criteria evaluation of the project pre-conceptual design identified several issues make the project a major modification: 1. Evaluation Criteria #2 (Footprint change). The addition of a new PC-4 structure to the ATR Facility to house safety-related SSCs requires careful attention to maintaining adherence to applicable engineering and nuclear safety design criteria (e.g., structural qualification, fire suppression) to ensure no adverse impacts to the safety-related functions of the housed equipment. 2. Evaluation Criteria #3 (Change of existing process). The change to the strategy for providing continuous reliable power to the safety-related emergency coolant pumps requires careful attention and analysis to ensure it meets a project primary object to maintain or reduce CDF and does not negatively affect the efficacy of the currently approved strategy. 3. Evaluation Criteria #5 (Create the need for new or revised safety SSCs). The change to the strategy for providing continuous reliable power to the safety-related emergency coolant pumps, based on the pre-conceptual design, will require the addition of two quick start diesel generators, their associated power coordination/distribution controls, and a UPS to the list of safety-related SSCs. Similarly to item 1 above, the addition of these active SSCs to the list of safety-related SSCs and replacement of the E-3 bus requires careful attention to maintaining adherence to applicable engineering and nuclear safety design criteria (e.g., seismic qualification, isolation of redundant trains from common fault failures) to ensure no adverse impacts to the safety-related functions
Idaho National Laboratory
Resource
2011 EN
Noel Duckwitz
The continued safe and reliable operation of the ATR is critical to the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) mission. While ATR is safely fulfilling current mission requirements, a variety of aging and obsolescence issues challenge ATR engineering and maintenance personnel’s capability to sustain ATR over the long term. First documented in a series of independent assessments, beginning with an OA Environmental Safety and Health Assessment conducted in 2003, the issues were validated in a detailed Material Condition Assessment (MCA) conducted as a part of the ATR Life Extension Program in 2007.Accordingly, near term replacement of aging and obsolescent original ATR equipment has become important to ensure ATR capability in support of NE’s long term national missions. To that end, a mission needs statement has been prepared for a non-major system acquisition which is comprised of three interdependent subprojects. The first project will replace the existent diesel-electrical bus (E-3), switchgear, and the 50-year-old obsolescent marine diesels with commercial power that is backed with safety related emergency diesel generators, switchgear, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The second project, the subject of this major modification determination, will replace the four, obsolete, original primary coolant pumps (PCPs) and motors. Completion of this and the two other age-related projects (replacement of the ATR diesel bus [E-3] and switchgear and replacement of the existent emergency firewater injection system) will resolve major age-related operational issues plus make a significant contribution in sustaining the ATR safety and reliability profile. The major modification criteria evaluation of the project pre-conceptual design identified several issues that lead to the conclusion that the project is a major modification: 1. Evaluation Criteria #3 (Change of existing process). The proposed strategy for equipping the replacement PCPs with VFDs and having the PCPs also function as ECPs will require significant safety basis changes requiring DOE approval. 2. Evaluation Criteria #4 (Use of new technology). The use of VFD and VFD “pump catcher” technology for the PCPs is not currently in use and has not been previously formally reviewed/approved by DOE for ATR. It is noted that VFD technology has several decades of commercial use and experience. However, the ATR probabilistic risk assessment will have to be updated, reflecting the changes for supplying ECP flows including VFD reliability, to confirm that the proposed activity maintains or reduces the CDF for the ATR. 3. Evaluation Criteria #5 (Create the need for new or revised safety SSCs). It is expected that the proposed activity will result in a revised list of safety-related SSCs. Specifically, as currently proposed, the existing ECPs will be deleted from the list. The PCPs and their associated components, picking up the ECP function, will be classified as safety-related active Seismic Category I
Idaho National Laboratory