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 sub-projects. The first project will replace the existent diesel-electrical bus (E-3), switchgear, and the fifty year old antiquated marine diesels with commercial power that is backed with safety-related emergency diesel generators (EDGs), switchgear, and uninterruptible power supply. The second project will replace the four, obsolete, original primary coolant pumps and motors. The third project, the subject of this major …

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 …

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 …

A 12 GHz 50MW X-band klystron is under development at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Klystron Department. The klystron will be fabricated to support programs currently underway at three European Labs; CERN, PSI, and INFN Trieste. The choice of frequency selection was due to the CLIC RF frequency changing from 30 GHz to the European X-band frequency of 11.99 GHz in 2008. Since the Klystron Department currently builds 50MW klystrons at 11.424 GHz known collectively as the XL4 klystrons, it was deemed cost-effective to utilize many XL4 components by leaving the gun, electron beam transport, solenoid magnet and collector unchanged. To realize the rf parameters required, the rf cavities and rf output hardware were necessarily altered. Some improvements to the rf design have been made to reduce operating gradients and increase reliability. Changes in the multi-cell output structure, waveguide components, and the window will be discussed along with testing of the devices. Five klystrons known as XL5 klystrons are scheduled for production over the next two years.

This report updates a previous report covering the performance of a permeable reactive barrier installed at 100N. In this report we re-evaluate the results after having an additional year of performance monitoring data to incorporate.

This paper summarizes the work completed under the CRADA between NREL and American Superconductor (AMSC). The CRADA combined NREL and AMSC resources to benchmark high temperature superconducting direct drive (HTSDD) generator technology by integrating the technologies into a conceptual wind turbine design, and comparing the design to geared drive and permanent magnet direct drive (PMDD) wind turbine configurations. Analysis was accomplished by upgrading the NREL Wind Turbine Design Cost and Scaling Model to represent geared and PMDD turbines at machine ratings up to 10 MW and then comparing cost and mass figures of AMSC's HTSDD wind turbine designs to theoretical geared and PMDD turbine designs at 3.1, 6, and 10 MW sizes.

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This document contains the summaries of papers presented in poster format at the March 2010 Atmospheric System Research Science Team Meeting held in Bethesda, Maryland. More than 260 posters were presented during the Science Team Meeting. Posters were sorted into the following subject areas: aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions, aerosol properties, atmospheric state and surface, cloud properties, field campaigns, infrastructure and outreach, instruments, modeling, and radiation. To put these posters in context, the status of ASR at the time of the meeting is provided here.

Results from the 9975 shipping package Storage and Surveillance Program at the Savannah River Site (SRS) are summarized for justification to extend the life of the 9975 packages currently stored in the K-Area Complex (KAC). This justification is established with the stipulation that surveillance activities will continue throughout the extended time to ensure the continued integrity of the 9975 materials of construction and to further understand the currently identified degradation mechanisms. The 10 year storage life justification was developed prior to storage. A subsequent report was later used to validate the qualification of the 9975 shipping packages for 10 years in storage. However the qualification for the storage period was provided by the monitoring requirements of the 9975 Storage and Surveillance Program. This report summarizes efforts to determine a new safe storage limit for the 9975 shipping package based on the surveillance data collected since 2005 when the 9975 Storage and Surveillance Program began. The Program has demonstrated that the 9975 package has a robust design that can perform under a variety of conditions. The primary emphasis of the on-going 9975 Storage and Surveillance Program is an aging study of the 9975 Viton{reg_sign} containment vessel O-rings and the Celotex{reg_sign} fiberboard …

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This project focused on the variability of clouds that is present across a wide range of scales ranging from the synoptic to the millimeter. In particular, there is substantial variability in cloud properties at scales smaller than the grid spacing of models used to make climate projections (GCMs) and weather forecasts. These models represent clouds and other small-scale processes with parameterizations that describe how those processes respond to and feed back on the largescale state of the atmosphere.

This Technical Support Document presents the energy and cost savings analysis that PNNL conducted to measure the potential energy savings of 90.1-2010 relative to 90.1-2004. PNNL conducted this analysis with inputs from many other contributors and source of information. In particular, guidance and direction was provided by the Simulation Working Group under the auspices of the SSPC90.1. This report documents the approach and methodologies that PNNL developed to evaluate the energy saving achieved from use of ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010. Specifically, this report provides PNNL’s Progress Indicator process and methodology, EnergyPlus simulation framework, prototype model descriptions. This report covers the combined upgrades from 90.1-2004 to 90.1-2010, resulting in a total of 153 addenda. PNNL has reviewed and considered all 153 addenda for quantitative analysis in the Progress Indicator process. 53 of those are included in the quantitative analysis. This report provides information on the categorization of all of the addenda, a summary of the content, and deeper explanation of the impact and modeling of 53 identified addenda with quantitative savings.

This document describes the design-build acquisition strategy that will be applied to the Remote Handled LLW Disposal Project. The design-build delivery method will be tailored, as appropriate, to integrate the requirements of Department of Energy (DOE) Order 413.3B, 'Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets,' with the DOE budget formulation process and the safety requirements of DOE-STD-1189, 'Integration of Safety into the Design Process.'

During the last eighteen months, Abound Solar (formerly AVA Solar) has enjoyed significant success under the SAI program. During this time, a fully automated manufacturing line has been developed, fabricated and commissioned in Longmont, Colorado. The facility is fully integrated, converting glass and semiconductor materials into complete modules beneath its roof. At capacity, a glass panel will enter the factory every 10 seconds and emerge as a completed module two hours later. This facility is currently undergoing trials in preparation for large volume production of 120 x 60 cm thin film CdTe modules. Preceding the development of the large volume manufacturing capability, Abound Solar demonstrated long duration processing with excellent materials utilization for the manufacture of high efficiency 42 cm square modules. Abound Solar prototype modules have been measured with over 9% aperture area efficiency by NREL. Abound Solar demonstrated the ability to produce modules at industry leading low costs to NREL representatives. Costing models show manufacturing costs below $1/Watt and capital equipment costs below $1.50 per watt of annual manufacturing capacity. Under this SAI program, Abound Solar supported a significant research and development program at Colorado State University. The CSU team continues to make progress on device and materials …

Today, researchers, engineers, and policy makers are seeking ways to meet the world's growing demand for energy while addressing critical issues such as energy security, reliability, and sustainability. Many believe that distributed generators operating within a microgrid have the potential to address most of these issues. Sandia National Laboratories has developed a concept called energy surety in which five of these 'surety elements' are simultaneously considered: energy security, reliability, sustainability, safety, and cost-effectiveness. The surety methodology leads to a new microgrid design that we call an energy surety microgrid (ESM). This paper discusses the unique control requirement needed to produce a microgrid system that has high levels of surety, describes the control system from the most fundamental level through a real-world example, and discusses our ideas and concepts for a complete system.

The advances in high-voltage switching developed in this project allow a camera user to rapidly vary the number of output frames from 1 to 25. A high-voltage, variable-amplitude pulse train shifts the deflection location to the new frame location during the interlude between frames, making multiple frame counts and locations possible. The final deflection circuit deflects to five different frame positions per axis, including the center position, making for a total of 25 frames. To create the preset voltages, electronically adjustable {+-}500 V power supplies were chosen. Digital-to-analog converters provide digital control of the supplies. The power supplies are clamped to {+-}400 V so as not to exceed the voltage ratings of the transistors. A field-programmable gated array (FPGA) receives the trigger signal and calculates the combination of plate voltages for each frame. The interframe time and number of frames are specified by the user, but are limited by the camera electronics. The variable-frame circuit shifts the plate voltages of the first frame to those of the second frame during the user-specified interframe time. Designed around an electrostatic image tube, a framing camera images the light present during each frame (at the photocathode) onto the tube’s phosphor. The phosphor persistence …

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. …

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This is the 2010 ATR National Scientific User Facility Annual Report. This report provides an overview of the program for 2010, along with individual project reports from each of the university principal investigators. The report also describes the capabilities offered to university researchers here at INL and at the ATR NSUF partner facilities.

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Full size plate In center flux trap Position (AFIP) experiment AFIP-1 was designed to demonstrate the performance of second-generation dispersion fuels at a prototypic scale with a length of 21.5 inches (54.6 cm), width of 2.25 inches (5.75 cm) and a thickness of 0.050 inch (0.13 cm). The experiment was fabricated using commercially standard practices at BWX Technology, Inc. (BWXT). The U-7Mo fuel particles were supplied by the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) using equipment intended for commercial supply. Two fuel plates were tested that incorporated two different matrix compositions, Al-2Si and Al-4043.1 The following report summarizes the life of the AFIP-1 experiment through end of irradiation, including a brief description of the safety analysis, as-run neutronic analysis results, hydraulic testing results, and thermal analysis results

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Full size plate In center flux trap Position (AFIP) experiment AFIP-2 was designed to evaluate the performance of monolithic fuels at a prototypic scale of 2.25 inches x 21.5 inches x 0.050 inches (5.75 cm x 54.6 cm x 0.13cm). The AFIP-2 experiment was fabricated by friction bond (FB) and consists of two plates, one with a zirconium (Zr) diffusion barrier and one with a silicon (Si) enhanced fuel/clad interface1,2. The following report summarizes the life of the AFIP-2 experiment through end of irradiation, including a brief description of the safety analysis, as-run neutronic analysis results, hydraulic testing results, and thermal analysis results. The safety analyses performed for AFIP-2 are summarized in Table 5 of the following report.

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Full size plate In center flux trap Position (AFIP) experiment AFIP-3 was designed to evaluate the performance of monolithic fuels at a prototypic scale of 2.25 inches x 21.5 inches x 0.050 inches (5.75 cm x 54.6 cm x 0.13cm). The AFIP-3 experiment was fabricated by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and consists of two plates, one with a zirconium (Zr) diffusion barrier and one with a silicon (Si) enhanced fuel/clad interface1,2. The following report summarizes the life of the AFIP-3 experiment through end of irradiation, including a brief description of the safety analysis, as-run neutronic analysis results, hydraulic testing results, and thermal analysis results.

Efficient production of plant-based, lignocellulosic biofuels relies upon continued improvement of existing biofuel feedstock species, as well as the introduction of newfeedstocks capable of growing on marginal lands to avoid conflicts with existing food production and minimize use of water and nitrogen resources. To this end, specieswithin the plant genus Agave have recently been proposed as new biofuel feedstocks. Many Agave species are adapted to hot and arid environments generally unsuitable forfood production, yet have biomass productivity rates comparable to other second-generation biofuel feedstocks such as switchgrass and Miscanthus. Agavesachieve remarkable heat tolerance and water use efficiency in part through a Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) mode of photosynthesis, but the genes andregulatory pathways enabling CAM and thermotolerance in agaves remain poorly understood. We seek to accelerate the development of agave as a new biofuelfeedstock through genomic approaches using massively-parallel sequencing technologies. First, we plan to sequence the transcriptome of A. tequilana to provide adatabase of protein-coding genes to the agave research community. Second, we will compare transcriptome-wide gene expression of agaves under different environmentalconditions in order to understand genetic pathways controlling CAM, water use efficiency, and thermotolerance. Finally, we aim to compare the transcriptome of A.tequilana with that of other …

The influence of temperature and radiation on Viton{reg_sign} GLT and GLT-S fluoroelastomer O-rings is an ongoing research focus at the Savannah River National Laboratory. The O-rings are credited for leaktight containment in the Model 9975 shipping package used for transportation of plutonium-bearing materials. At the Savannah River Site, the Model 9975 packages are being used for interim storage. Primary research efforts have focused on surveillance of O-rings from actual packages, leak testing of seals at bounding aging conditions and the effect of aging temperature on compression stress relaxation behavior, with the goal of service life prediction for long-term storage conditions. Recently, an additional effort to evaluate the effect of aging temperature on the oxidation of the materials has begun. Degradation in the mechanical properties of elastomers is directly related to the oxidation of the polymer. Sensitive measurements of the oxidation rate can be performed in a more timely manner than waiting for a measurable change in mechanical properties, especially at service temperatures. Measuring the oxidation rate therefore provides a means to validate the assumption that the degradation mechanisms(s) do not change from the elevated temperatures used for accelerated aging and the lower service temperatures. Monitoring the amount of oxygen uptake …