Basic national requirements for safe design, construction and operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franzen, L.F.

1980-01-01

Nuclear power plants have to be save. Vendors and utilities operating such plants, are convinced that their plants meet this requirement. Who, however, is establishing the safety requirements to be met by those manufacturing and operating nuclear power plants. What are the mechanisms to control whether the features provided assure the required safety level. Who controls whether the required and planned safety features are really provided. Who is eventually responsible for assuring safety after commissioning of a nuclear power plant. These fundamental questions being raised in many discussions on safety and environmental protection are dealt with in the following sections: (1) Fundamental safety requirements on nuclear power plants, in which such items as risk, legal bases and licensing procedure are discussed, (2) Surveillance during construction, in which safety analysis report, siting, safety evaluation, document examination, quality assurance, and commissioning testing are dealt with, (3) Operating tests and conditions in which recurrent inspections, environmental protection during operation, investigation of abnormal occurences and backfitting requirements as reviewed, and (4) Safety philosophy and safety policy to conclude this presentation. The German approach to nuclear safety serves as an example for an effective way of assuring safe nuclear power. (orig.)

Importance of safety review to the safe operation of a nuclear plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brinkerhoff, L.C.

1978-01-01

Widely differing standards of construction of nuclear reactors are employed in different countries. Although the reactor vendors, including designers and construction contractors, have a vested interest in safety, the ultimate responsibility for safety rests with the reactor facility operator. Even though governmental agencies, either directly or indirectly, must take a strong lead in developing policies and practices of safe operation, the reactor facility operator must recognize and accept the full responsibility for safe operation of the facility. The policies and practices of safe operation imposed by governmental agencies must help assure the prudent operation and the adequate maintenance of those structures, systems, and components of importance to safety. Since each country has a slightly different philosophy for achieving safety and each vendor utilizes different structures, systems, and components to fulfil this philosophy, it is imperative that the facility operator adequately maintain those engineered safety features and those plant protective systems which have been engineered into achieving the desired levels of safety. An additional method of helping to assure that those structures, systems, and components of importance to safety are prudently operated and adequately maintained is to assign the full safety responsibility for the overall operations of the reactor facility to the operating organization, i.e. assigning a 'line of responsibility' within the reactor facility operator. This assurance can be further strengthened by requiring that the facility operator establish a safety review body that overviews the operation and assures that the operating organization complies with those policies and practices of safe operation which have been imposed on the reactor facility. (author)

Safe Energy Source in Battery-operated Toys for Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossi, Alfredo; Vignola, Silvia; Nason, Francesca; Boschetti, Federica; Bramerio, Manuela; Bailini, Alessandro; Pinarello, Giordano

2017-11-01

Serious and even fatal consequences of disk batteries ingestion in children are well known. Among other applications, disk batteries are used to power small toys, from which they can be unexpectedly extracted and swallowed. We tested a new cell intended for little toys (green cell [GC]), after 6 and 12 hours of in vitro close contact with esophageal swine mucosa. The GC was compared with lithium and silver button batteries under the same experimental conditions. Tissues in contact with the GC did not show pH variations nor histological alterations after 6 and 12 hours. In such conditions, statistically significant differences were found between the GC and the lithium and silver batteries. So far, multidisciplinary medical effort has been driven to both emergency approach and subsequent operative strategies in children with ingested batteries. Our trial demonstrates the possibility to primarily prevent battery-induced damages by designing new-generation safe cells with no tissue toxicity to power little toys intended for children.

Digital image monitoring to optimise safe port operation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Phelp, D

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a low cost video system ‘Harbour Watch’, which can be used to support safe port operations, especially in developing countries. Preset digital images are geo-referenced and then archived for later analysis to improve...

Systems for the safe operation of the JET tokamak with tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stork, D.; Ageladarakis, P.; Bell, A.C.

1999-01-01

In 1997, the JET device was operated for an extensive campaign with deuterium-tritium (D-T) plasmas (the DTE1 campaign). A comprehensive network of machine protection systems was necessary so that this experimental campaign could be executed safely without damage to the machine or release of activated material. This network had been developed over many years of JET deuterium plasma operation and therefore the modifications for D-T operation was not a significant problem. The DTE1 campaign was executed successfully and safely and the machine protection systems proved reliable and robust and, in the limited cases where they were required to act, functioned correctly. The machine protection systems at JET are described and their categorisation and development over time are summarised. The management, commissioning and operational experience during DTE1 are discussed and some examples of fault scenarios are described. The experience with protection systems at JET highlights the importance of correct design and philosophy decisions being taken at an early stage. It is shown that this experience will be invaluable data input to the safe operation of future large fusion machines. (orig.)

Operationalizing safe operating space for regional social-ecological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, Md Sarwar; Dearing, John A; Eigenbrod, Felix; Johnson, Fiifi Amoako

2017-04-15

This study makes a first attempt to operationalize the safe operating space concept at a regional scale by considering the complex dynamics (e.g. non-linearity, feedbacks, and interactions) within a systems dynamic model (SD). We employ the model to explore eight 'what if' scenarios based on well-known challenges (e.g. climate change) and current policy debates (e.g. subsidy withdrawal). The findings show that the social-ecological system in the Bangladesh delta may move beyond a safe operating space when a withdrawal of a 50% subsidy for agriculture is combined with the effects of a 2°C temperature increase and sea level rise. Further reductions in upstream river discharge in the Ganges would push the system towards a dangerous zone once a 3.5°C temperature increase was reached. The social-ecological system in Bangladesh delta may be operated within a safe space by: 1) managing feedback (e.g. by reducing production costs) and the slow biophysical variables (e.g. temperature, rainfall) to increase the long-term resilience, 2) negotiating for transboundary water resources, and 3) revising global policies (e.g. withdrawal of subsidy) that negatively impact at regional scales. This study demonstrates how the concepts of tipping points, limits to adaptations, and boundaries for sustainable development may be defined in real world social-ecological systems. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Safe Operation of Critical Assemblies and Research Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1961-05-15

This Manual is provided as a guide to the safe operation of critical assemblies and small research reactors. It is intended that it should be used by all authorities and persons concerned with, or responsible for, the use of such equipment, in addition to the scientists and technologists who are actually working with, or operating it. It is suggested that it will be of use to those wishing to design and manufacture, or purchase, critical assemblies or research reactors, as well as those already in possession of them, and that it will prove particularly helpful to those users who have no direct access to other collected sources of information. This Manual is not a set of rules or a code of practice, but a series of recommendations which must be interpreted with scientific judgement in their application to any particular problem. The guiding principles are given from which good operational procedures may be established and improved. The promulgation of rigid standards is both impossible and undesirable at the present time, since the topics discussed form part of a rapidly growing science and technology. Therefore, any recommendations made should not be used to restrict or inhibit future developments. The Manual is intended mainly for use in those Member States where there has been little experience in the operation of critical assemblies and research reactors. It has been compounded from the best practices which exist in Member States having a large amount of such experience, so that nothing in it should conflict with the best practices to be encountered in the field of safe operation.

Safe Operation of Critical Assemblies and Research Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1961-01-01

This Manual is provided as a guide to the safe operation of critical assemblies and small research reactors. It is intended that it should be used by all authorities and persons concerned with, or responsible for, the use of such equipment, in addition to the scientists and technologists who are actually working with, or operating it. It is suggested that it will be of use to those wishing to design and manufacture, or purchase, critical assemblies or research reactors, as well as those already in possession of them, and that it will prove particularly helpful to those users who have no direct access to other collected sources of information. This Manual is not a set of rules or a code of practice, but a series of recommendations which must be interpreted with scientific judgement in their application to any particular problem. The guiding principles are given from which good operational procedures may be established and improved. The promulgation of rigid standards is both impossible and undesirable at the present time, since the topics discussed form part of a rapidly growing science and technology. Therefore, any recommendations made should not be used to restrict or inhibit future developments. The Manual is intended mainly for use in those Member States where there has been little experience in the operation of critical assemblies and research reactors. It has been compounded from the best practices which exist in Member States having a large amount of such experience, so that nothing in it should conflict with the best practices to be encountered in the field of safe operation.

Operational limits and conditions and operating procedures for nuclear power plants. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

This Safety Guide was prepared as part of the Agency's programme for establishing safety standards relating to nuclear power plants. The present Safety Guide supersedes the IAEA Safety Guide on Operational Limits and Conditions for Nuclear Power Plants which was issued in 1979 as Safety Series No. 50-SG-O3. For a nuclear power plant to be operated in a safe manner, the provisions made in the final design and subsequent modifications shall be reflected in limitations on plant operating parameters and in the requirements on plant equipment and personnel. Under the responsibility of the operating organization, these shall be developed during the design safety evaluation as a set of operational limits and conditions (OLCs). A major contribution to compliance with the OLCs is made by the development and utilization of operating procedures (OPs) that are consistent with and fully implement the OLCs. The requirements for the OLCs and OPs are established in Section 5 of the IAEA Safety Requirements publication Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Operation, which this Safety Guide supplements. The purpose of this Safety Guide is to provide guidance on the development, content and implementation of OLCs and OPs. The Safety Guide is directed at both regulators and owners/operators. This Safety Guide covers the concept of OLCs, their content as applicable to land based stationary power plants with thermal neutron reactors, and the responsibilities of the operating organization regarding their establishment, modification, compliance and documentation. The OPs to support the implementation of the OLCs and to ensure their observance are also within the scope of this Safety Guide. The particular aspects of the procedures for maintenance, surveillance, in-service inspection and other safety related activities in connection with the safe operation of nuclear power plants are outside the scope of this Safety Guide but can be found in other IAEA Safety Guides. Section 2 indicates the

Operational limits and conditions and operating procedures for nuclear power plants. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

This Safety Guide was prepared as part of the Agency's programme for establishing safety standards relating to nuclear power plants. The present Safety Guide supersedes the IAEA Safety Guide on Operational Limits and Conditions for Nuclear Power Plants which was issued in 1979 as Safety Series No. 50-SG-O3. For a nuclear power plant to be operated in a safe manner, the provisions made in the final design and subsequent modifications shall be reflected in limitations on plant operating parameters and in the requirements on plant equipment and personnel. Under the responsibility of the operating organization, these shall be developed during the design safety evaluation as a set of operational limits and conditions (OLCs). A major contribution to compliance with the OLCs is made by the development and utilization of operating procedures (OPs) that are consistent with and fully implement the OLCs. The requirements for the OLCs and OPs are established in Section 5 of the IAEA Safety Requirements publication Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Operation, which this Safety Guide supplements. The purpose of this Safety Guide is to provide guidance on the development, content and implementation of OLCs and OPs. The Safety Guide is directed at both regulators and owners/operators. This Safety Guide covers the concept of OLCs, their content as applicable to land based stationary power plants with thermal neutron reactors, and the responsibilities of the operating organization regarding their establishment, modification, compliance and documentation. The OPs to support the implementation of the OLCs and to ensure their observance are also within the scope of this Safety Guide. The particular aspects of the procedures for maintenance, surveillance, in-service inspection and other safety related activities in connection with the safe operation of nuclear power plants are outside the scope of this Safety Guide but can be found in other IAEA Safety Guides. Section 2 indicates the

Making operations on standard-library containers strongly exception safe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katajainen, Jyrki

2007-01-01

-library containers to provide the strong guarantee of exception safety, instead of the default guarantee, without violating the stringent performance requirements specified in the C++ standard. In particular, we show that every strongly exception-safe operation on dynamic arrays and ordered dictionaries is only...... a constant factor slower than the corresponding default-guarantee operation. In terms of the amount of space, the overhead introduced is linear in the number of elements stored....

On general principles of supplying safe operation of sea objects of Russian Federation oil and gas complex in ice conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kukui Firmin Jeevo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Ice sheet exerts a force on the hydraulic structures and vessels with developing and transporting hydrocarbons in the offshore waters of the Arctic causing to strengthen their design and/or provide additional measures against ice loads. The risk of ice impacts on objects of offshore oil and gas fields of the Arctic region determines the existence of the problem of ensuring the sustainability of these objects in terms of iceberg danger and ice formations. Reducing these risks involves the development of organizational and technical measures for improving the sustainability of the facilities in terms of iceberg danger through the use of international experience and development of advanced technologies to prevent dangerous effects of ice formations. Based on the fact that ice management is a specific activity that requires special effort and funds which as part of the rescue security (RS forces at sea are missing, as well as on the basis of the fact that the system of RS at sea is not assigned to prevent accidents and to ensure the smooth operation of offshore facilities, an ice management is seen as an independent kind of ensuring the proper functioning objects of hydrocarbons production and marine transportation. The paper considers the analysis and synthesis of domestic and foreign experience of ice and iceberg management. A system of security measures for functioning marine oil and gas facilities in icy conditions on the basis of technology of preventing dangerous effects of ice formations has been worked out. It has been shown that the system of ice and iceberg management of marine objects of hydrocarbon production and marine transportation should be a practical mechanism for reducing deposits' operation risks in ice conditions. The work relates to the safe operation of mining platforms in the Arctic seas, and more particularly, to methods and means of influence on the icebergs in order to prevent collisions with fixed or floating production

Management for nuclear power plants for safe operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kueffer, K.

1981-01-01

This lecture covers management aspects which have an immediate bearing on safety and identifies the objectives and tasks of management which are required for safe operation of a nuclear power plant and is based on the Codes of Practice and Safety Guides of the IAEA as well as arrangements in use at the Swiss Nuclear Power Station Beznau. (orig./RW)

System Safety Program Plan for Project W-314, tank farm restoration and safe operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boos, K.A.

1996-01-01

This System Safety Program Plan (SSPP) outlines the safety analysis strategy for project W-314, ''Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations.'' Project W-314 will provide capital improvements to Hanford's existing Tank Farm facilities, with particular emphasis on infrastructure systems supporting safe operation of the double-shell activities related to the project's conceptual Design Phase, but is planned to be updated and maintained as a ''living document'' throughout the life of the project to reflect the current safety analysis planning for the Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations upgrades. This approved W-314 SSPP provides the basis for preparation/approval of all safety analysis documentation needed to support the project

Simple Automatic File Exchange (SAFE) to Support Low-Cost Spacecraft Operation via the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Paul; Repaci, Max; Sames, David

1998-01-01

Various issues associated with Simple Automatic File Exchange (SAFE) are presented in viewgraph form. Specific topics include: 1) Packet telemetry, Internet IP networks and cost reduction; 2) Basic functions and technical features of SAFE; 3) Project goals, including low-cost satellite transmission to data centers to be distributed via an Internet; 4) Operations with a replicated file protocol; 5) File exchange operation; 6) Ground stations as gateways; 7) Lessons learned from demonstrations and tests with SAFE; and 8) Feedback and future initiatives.

Management of nuclear power plants for safe operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This Guide identifies the main objectives and responsibilities of management with respect to safe operation of nuclear power plants. The Guide discusses the factors to be considered in structuring the operating organization to meet these objectives, to establish the management programmes that assure the safety tasks are performed, and to see that the services and facilities needed to accomplish the tasks are available. The Guide is primarily addressed to safety matters directly related to the operating phase. It assumes, in other words, that the safety aspects of siting, design, manufacturing and construction have been resolved. However, it also covers the interrelationships between operations and design, construction and commissioning, including the involvement of the operating organization in appropriate reviews of safety issues with reference to the future operating phase. The Guide is mainly restricted to matters of principle in relation to management-level decision making aimed at establishing safety policies. It is therefore not suitable for implementing such policies at the operational level. The IAEA Codes of Practice and Safety Guides provide detailed guidance for the latter purpose in those areas considered appropriate

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

Science.gov (United States)

Kopardekar, Parimal H.

2016-01-01

in the airspace. In its most mature form, the UTM system could be developed using autonomicity characteristics that include self-configuration, self-optimization and self-protection. The self-configuration aspect could determine whether the operations should continue given the current andor predicted windweather conditions. NASA envisions concepts for two types of possible UTM systems. The first type would be a Portable UTM system, which would move from between geographical areas and support operations such as precision agriculture and disaster relief. The second type of system would be a Persistent UTM system, which would support low-altitude operations and provide continuous coverage for a geographical area. Either system would require persistent communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) coverage to track, ensure, and monitor conformance. What is NASA doing to test the technologies? NASA's near-term goal is the development and demonstration of a possible future UTM system that could safely enable low-altitude airspace and UAS operations. Working alongside many committed government, industry and academic partners, NASA is leading the research, development and testing that is taking place in a series of activities called Technology Capability Levels (TCL), each increasing in complexity. UTM TCL1 concluded field testing in August 2015 and is undergoing additional testing at an FAA site.

Curiosity's Autonomous Surface Safing Behavior Design

Science.gov (United States)

Neilson, Tracy A.; Manning, Robert M.

2013-01-01

The safing routines on all robotic deep-space vehicles are designed to put the vehicle in a power and thermally safe configuration, enabling communication with the mission operators on Earth. Achieving this goal is made a little more difficult on Curiosity because the power requirements for the core avionics and the telecommunication equipment exceed the capability of the single power source, the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. This drove the system design to create an operational mode, called "sleep mode", where the vehicle turns off most of the loads in order to charge the two Li-ion batteries. The system must keep the vehicle safe from over-heat and under-heat conditions, battery cell failures, under-voltage conditions, and clock failures, both while the computer is running and while the system is sleeping. The other goal of a safing routine is to communicate. On most spacecraft, this simply involves turning on the receiver and transmitter continuously. For Curiosity, Earth is above the horizon only a part of the day for direct communication to the Earth, and the orbiter overpass opportunities only occur a few times a day. The design must robustly place the Rover in a communicable condition at the correct time. This paper discusses Curiosity's autonomous safing behavior and describes how the vehicle remains power and thermally safe while sleeping, as well as a description of how the Rover communicates with the orbiters and Earth at specific times.

Safe operation of research reactors and critical assemblies. Code of practice and annexes. 1984 ed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

The safe operation of research reactors and critical assemblies (hereafter termed 'reactors') requires proper design, construction, management and supervision. This Code of Practice deals mainly with management and supervision. The provisions of the Code apply to the whole life of the reactor, including modification, updating and upgrading. The Code may be subject to revision in the light of experience and the state of technology. The Code is aimed at defining minimum requirements for the safe operation of reactors. Emphasis is placed on which safety requirements should be met rather than on specifying how these requirements may be met. The Code also provides guidance and information to persons and authorities responsible for the operation of reactors. The Code recommends that documents dealing with the operation of reactors and including safety analyses be prepared and submitted for review and approval to a regulatory body. Operation would be authorized on the understanding that it would comply with limits and conditions designed to ensure safety. The Code covers a wide range of reactor types, which gives rise to a variety of safety issues. Safety issues applicable to specific reactor types only (e.g. fast reactors) are not necessarily covered in this Code. Some of the recommendations in the Code are not directly applicable to critical assemblies. A recommendation may therefore be interpreted according to the type of reactor concerned. In such cases the words 'adequate' and 'appropriate' are used to mean 'adequate' or 'appropriate' for the type of reactor under consideration.

Software functions for safe operation - learning from Sizewell-B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welbourne, D.

1996-01-01

Future nuclear plants will use computer-based systems extensively. Regulatory acceptance must be planned and not underestimated. Commercial software packages will simplify it, but costly analysis and demonstration may be needed. Multiplexed control needs preparation of extensive configuration data and careful checking. On-screen soft control will need consideration of the integrity of the control path. Display design should follow human factors analysis of the operators' needs, and display layout needs great care for clarity. Computer-based system with planned quality will then bring great benefits in safe operation. (author) 1 fig., 3 refs

Planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating space for humanity

Science.gov (United States)

Johan Rockström; Will Steffen; Kevin Noone; Asa Persson; F. Stuart Chapin; Eric Lambin; Timothy M. Lenton; Marten Scheffer; Carl Folke; Hans Joachim Schellnhuber; Björn Nykvist; Cynthia A. de Wit; Terry Hughes; Sander van der Leeuw; Henning Rodhe; Sverker Sörlin; Peter K. Snyder; Robert Costanza; Uno Svedin; Malin Falkenmark; Louise Karlberg; Robert W. Corell; Victoria J. Fabry; James Hansen; Brian Walker; Diana Liverman; Katherine Richardson; Paul Crutzen; Jonathan Foley

2009-01-01

Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due...

A logic scheme for regulating safe operation of research reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmad, E E [Reactor Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt); Effat, A; Rahman, F A [Operational Saety Dept, National Center of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

1997-12-31

This investigation presents a logic scheme for regulating the safe operation of research reactor in accordance with the new revision of SS-35 and revised by the 10 CFR. It emphasizes the regulatory inspection and enforcement (RI end E) during the reactor operation phase. IT is developed to provide information, guidance and recommendations to be taken when constructing the RI and E program that could be applied to the operational phase of the egyptian Research Reactors. In the operational phase, the regulatory inspection (RI) means an examination, observation, measurement, or test undertaken or on behalf of the nuclear regulatory body (NRB) during operation to verify that the nuclear materials, components, systems and structures as well operational activities, processes, procedures and personnel competence and performance are in accordance with the requirements established or the provisions approved by NRB or specified in the operational license or contained in regulations. Regulatory inspection includes both routine and non-routine ones. Any of them may be announced or unannounced. The problems identified by the RI must be resolved by the proper RE actions. The RE actions include investigative and corrective RE actions. These RI and E procedures for regulating safe operation of research reactors are presented as flow charts and then developed as a computer logic scheme. The software program is very efficient, very friendly, very simple and is interactive in nature such that the program asks the user certain questions about essential steps that guide the (RI and E) for research reactors, and user responds. The program proceeds based on this response until all the necessary steps for (RI and E) are accomplished. 5 figs.

Management of nuclear power plants for safe operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kueffer, K.

1980-01-01

This lecture covers management aspects which have an immediate bearing on safety and identifies the objectives and tasks of management which are required for safe operation of a nuclear power plant and is based on the Codes of Practice and Safety Guides of the IAEA as well as arrangements in use at the Swiss Nuclear Power Station Beznau. This lecture - discusses the factors to be considered in structuring the operating organization, the support to be provided to plant management, the services and facilities needed and the management system for assuring the safety tasks are performed - describes the responsibilities of plant management and operating organization - outlines the requirements for recruitment, training and retraining as well as qualification and authorization of personnel - describes the programmes for maintenance, testing, examination, inspection, radiological protection, quality assurance, waste management, fuel management, emergency arrangement and security - describes the development of plant operating procedures including procedures to protect the personnel - outlines the requirements for initial and subsequent operation - describes the importance for evaluation and feedback of operating experience - describes the procedures for changes in hardware, procedures and set points - outlines the information flow and the requirements in reference to records and reports. (orig./RW)

Safe and economic performance of nuclear power plant. Operation through meticulous Q/A programmes - a german example

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schenk, H.J.

1989-01-01

Safe and reliable operation of a nuclear power plant over its life time of 40 to 60 years is the essential condition for an economic performance. This goal can be achieved by a qualified responsible staff realizing a high quality of operation and by maintaining high quality and technical standards in the plant in accordance with the status of science and technology. Quality assurance procedures have to verify this in detail, in close contact with the work to be performed. In this presentation I would like to describe our approach in Philippsburg to cope with this task

Operational support of a safe operating envelope for fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, T.J.; Gibb, R.A.

1998-01-01

The mandate of a station safety analysis group is to ensure that the station is operated and maintained in a manner consistent with the basis for our understanding of the safety consequences of process or human failures. As operating experience has developed an awareness of the significance of fuel manufacture and operating conditions on safety consequences has also grown. This awareness has led to a program that is designed to ensure that these influences are appropriately considered. This paper describes the projects that make up this program. (author)

Recommended Practices for the Safe Design and Operation of Flywheels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bender, Donald Arthur [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-12-01

Flywheel energy storage systems are in use globally in increasing numbers . No codes pertaining specifically to flywheel energy storage exist. A number of industrial incidents have occurred. This protocol recommends a technical basis for safe flywheel de sign and operation for consideration by flywheel developers, users of flywheel systems and standards setting organizations.

LHC collimator controls for a safe LHC operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redaelli, S.; Assmann, R.; Losito, R.; Donze, M.; Masi, A.

2012-01-01

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collimation system is designed to protect the machine against beam losses and consists of 108 collimators, 100 of which are movable, located along the 27 km long ring and in the transfer lines. The cleaning performance and machine protection role of the system depend critically on accurate jaw positioning. A fully redundant control system has been developed to ensure that the collimators dynamically follow optimum settings in all phases of the LHC operational cycle. Jaw positions and collimator gaps are interlocked against dump limits defined redundantly as functions of time, beam energy and the β functions, which describe the focusing property of the beams. In this paper, the architectural choices that guarantee a safe LHC operation are presented. Hardware and software implementations that ensure the required performance are described. (authors)

Online condition monitoring to enable extended operation of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Ryan Michael; Bond, Leonard John; Ramuhalli, Pradeep

2012-01-01

Safe, secure, and economic operation of nuclear power plants will remain of strategic significance. New and improved monitoring will likely have increased significance in the post-Fukushima world. Prior to Fukushima, many activities were already underway globally to facilitate operation of nuclear power plants beyond their initial licensing periods. Decisions to shut down a nuclear power plant are mostly driven by economic considerations. Online condition monitoring is a means to improve both the safety and economics of extending the operating lifetimes of nuclear power plants, enabling adoption of proactive aging management. With regard to active components (e.g., pumps, valves, motors, etc.), significant experience in other industries has been leveraged to build the science base to support adoption of online condition-based maintenance and proactive aging management in the nuclear industry. Many of the research needs are associated with enabling proactive management of aging in passive components (e.g., pipes, vessels, cables, containment structures, etc.). This paper provides an overview of online condition monitoring for the nuclear power industry with an emphasis on passive components. Following the overview, several technology/knowledge gaps are identified, which require addressing to facilitate widespread online condition monitoring of passive components. (author)

ANALYSIS OF OPERATING INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM ACCURACY UNDER SIMULATED CONDITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerzy MERKISZ

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The instrument landing system (ILS is the most popular landing aid in the world. It is a distance-angled support system for landing in reduced visibility, while its task is the safe conduct of the aircraft from the prescribed course landing on the approach path. The aim of this study is to analyse the correctness of the ILS in simulated conditions. The study was conducted using a CKAS MotionSim5 flight simulator in the Simulation Research Laboratory of the Institute of Combustion Engines and Transport at Poznan University of Technology. With the advancement of technical equipment, it was possible to check the operation of the system in various weather conditions. Studies have shown that the impact of fog, rain and snow on the correct operation of the system is marginal. Significant influence has been observed, however, during landing in strong winds.

Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Jaewoo; Kopardekar, Parimal H.

2016-01-01

Flexibility where possible, and structure where necessary. Consider the needs of national security, safe airspace operations, economic opportunities, and emerging technologies. Risk-based approach based on population density, assets on the ground, density of operations, etc. Digital, virtual, dynamic, and as needed UTM services to manage operations.

Blue limits of the Blue Planet : An exploratory analysis of safe operating spaces for human water use under deep uncertainty

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kwakkel, J.H.; Timmermans, J.S.

2012-01-01

In the Nature article ‘A safe operating space for humanity’, Rockström et al. (2009) introduce the concept of a safe operating space for humanity. A safe operating space is the space for human activities that will not push the planet out of the ‘Holocene state’ that has seen human civilizations

49 CFR 398.5 - Parts and accessories necessary for safe operation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... REGULATIONS TRANSPORTATION OF MIGRANT WORKERS § 398.5 Parts and accessories necessary for safe operation. (a... not be of welded construction. The installation shall be such as not to cause cracking, warping, or... high, by attachment of sideboards to the permanent body construction if necessary. Stake body...

Feedback control of a primary pump for safe and stable operation of a PIUS-type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tasaka, K.; Imai, S.; Masaoka, H.; Tamaki, M.; Kukita, Y.

1993-01-01

A new automatic pump speed control system by using a measurement of the temperature distribution in the lower density lock is proposed for the PIUS-type reactor. This control system maintains the fluid temperature at the axial center of the lower density lock at the average of the fluid temperatures below and above the density lock in order to prevent the poison water from penetrating into the core during normal operation. The effectiveness of this control system was successfully confirmed by a series of experiments such as start-up and power ramping tests for the stable normal operation and a loss-of-feedwater test for the safe shutdown in an accident condition, using a small scale atmospheric pressure test loop which simulated the PIUS principle. (orig.)

Water hydraulic manipulator for fail safe and fault tolerant remote handling operations at ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieminen, Peetu; Esque, Salvador; Muhammad, Ali; Mattila, Jouni; Vaeyrynen, Jukka; Siuko, Mikko; Vilenius, Matti

2009-01-01

Department of Intelligent Hydraulics and Automation (IHA) of Tampere University of Technology has been involved in the European Fusion program since 1994 within the ITER reactor maintenance activities. In this paper we discuss the design and development of a six degrees of freedom water hydraulic manipulator with a force feedback for teleoperation tasks. The manipulator is planned to be delivered to Divertor Test Platform 2 (DTP2) during year 2008. The paper also discusses the possibility to improve the fail safe and redundant operation of the manipulator. During the design of the water hydraulic manipulator, special provisions have been made in order to meet the safety requirements such as servo valve block for redundant operation and safety vane brakes for fail safe operation.

Safe and efficient operation of multistage cold compressor systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kauschke, M.; Haberstroh, C.; Quack, H.

1996-01-01

Large refrigeration rates in the temperature range of super fluid helium can only be obtained with the help of centrifugal cold compressors. For the large 2 K systems, four compression stages are necessary to reach atmospheric pressure. Centrifugal cold compressors are quite sensitive to mass flow and suction temperature variations; but these have to be expected in a real system. The first step in the systems design is to find safe and efficient quasi-stationary modes of operation. The system which is being proposed for the TESLA refrigerators relies on two features. The first is to allow the room temperature screw compressor, downstream of the cold compressors to work occasionally with a subatmospheric suction pressure. The second is to stabilize the suction temperature of the third stage of compression at about 10 K. With these features it is possible, that in all modes of operation all four compressor stages operate exactly at their design point

Inherently safe in situ uranium recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Krumhansl, James L; Brady, Patrick V

2014-04-29

An in situ recovery of uranium operation involves circulating reactive fluids through an underground uranium deposit. These fluids contain chemicals that dissolve the uranium ore. Uranium is recovered from the fluids after they are pumped back to the surface. Chemicals used to accomplish this include complexing agents that are organic, readily degradable, and/or have a predictable lifetime in an aquifer. Efficiency is increased through development of organic agents targeted to complexing tetravalent uranium rather than hexavalent uranium. The operation provides for in situ immobilization of some oxy-anion pollutants under oxidizing conditions as well as reducing conditions. The operation also artificially reestablishes reducing conditions on the aquifer after uranium recovery is completed. With the ability to have the impacted aquifer reliably remediated, the uranium recovery operation can be considered inherently safe.

Gas Bearing Control for Safe Operation in Critical Speed Regions - Experimental Verification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Theisen, Lukas R. S.; Niemann, Hans H.; Galeazzi, Roberto

2015-01-01

supported by gas bearings to extend their operating range. Using H∞-design methods, active lubrication techniques are proposed to enhance the damping, which in turn reduces the vibrations to a desired safe level. The control design is validated experimentally on a laboratory test rig, and shown to allow...... and deceleration patterns and avoidance of operation near the critical speeds, which is a limiting factor during operation, specially during run-downs. An approach for reducing the vibrations is by feedback controlled lubrication. This paper addresses the challenge of reducing vibrations in rotating machines...

How do operating conditions affect As(III) removal by iron electrocoagulation?

Science.gov (United States)

Delaire, Caroline; Amrose, Susan; Zhang, Minghui; Hake, James; Gadgil, Ashok

2017-04-01

Iron electrocoagulation (Fe-EC) has been shown to effectively remove arsenic from contaminated groundwater at low cost and has the potential to improve access to safe drinking water for millions of people. Understanding how operating conditions, such as the Fe dosage rate and the O 2 recharge rate, affect arsenic removal at different pH values is crucial to maximize the performance of Fe-EC under economic constraints. In this work, we improved upon an existing computational model to investigate the combined effects of pH, Fe dosage rate, and O 2 recharge rate on arsenic removal in Fe-EC. We showed that the impact of the Fe dosage rate strongly depends on pH and on the O 2 recharge rate, which has important practical implications. We identified the process limiting arsenic removal (As(III) oxidation versus As(V) adsorption) at different pH values, which allowed us to interpret the effect of operating conditions on Fe-EC performance. Finally, we assessed the robustness of the trends predicted by the model, which assumes a constant pH, against lab experiments reproducing more realistic conditions where pH is allowed to drift during treatment as a result of equilibration with atmospheric CO 2 . Our results provide a nuanced understanding of how operating conditions impact arsenic removal by Fe-EC and can inform decisions regarding the operation of this technology in a range of groundwaters. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organisational factors important to the safe operation of NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frischknecht, Albert; Baumont, Genevieve

2000-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the achievements of a group of human factor specialists known as Expanded Task Force on Human Factors (ETF). ETF is part of the Principal Working Group No.1 (PWG1) on 'Operating Experience and Human Factors' of the Committee on Nuclear Safety Installations (CSNI) of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). Today, as shown by incident analysis, technology is so far developed that human behaviour and organisational deficiencies can contribute to a major part of the root causes of incidents in nuclear power plants. The influence of the organisation on the safe behaviour and performance of individuals is recognised as a relevant issue for the safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The need for an up-to-date basis of knowledge in this area was recognised by CSNI and therefore the ETF organised a workshop, in Switzerland, in 1998, on Organisational Factors. During the workshop, different aspects of organisational influences on the safe operation of NPPs were discussed and twelve important organisational factors concerning safety related activities in a NPP were identified. The result of the workshop is summarised in a state-of-the-art Report (SOAR) 'Identification and Assessment of Organisational Factors Related to the Safety of NPPs' issued by the OECD/NEA. The present paper gives an overview on the main findings of the workshop and conclusions concerning the evaluation of organisational factors. (author)

Operant Conditioning for Special Educators.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedrini, Bonnie C.; Pedrini, D. T.

The paper briefly explains operant conditioning as it pertains to special educators. Operant conditioning is thought to be an efficient method for modifying student behavior. Using the B. F. Skinner frame of reference, operant conditioning is said to include behavior modification and therapy, programed instruction, and computer assisted and…

Technical innovations at NPP Dukovany - for safe and efficient operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabata, M.; Vasa, I.

2000-01-01

Inherent features of the NPP Dukovany design provide a significant confidence in its nuclear safety assurance; among these features should be emphasised the reactor core stability and its control and protection system capability to hold the reactor in safe state following scram or accident conditions. Nevertheless, NPP Dukovany was designed in the early seventies, and current requirements for nuclear safety assurance are more strict and/or specific as a result of the technical development and lessons learned from nuclear accidents. The paper compares the safety design base established at the time of NPP Dukovany project implementation and the current reference design base. The paper also presents procedures applied to implement technical and operational measures which are introduced to fulfil the current basic safety criteria. The scope of such measures applied at NPP Dukovany is compared with that of EU countries introduced for the same reason - to meet the updated safety related requirements. Examples of some innovations already implemented or under implementation give an idea how NPP Dukovany proceeds in reaching the goal of harmonising its safety with the requirements to be met before the Czech Republic becomes a member country of the European Union. (author)

Safe Reentry for False Aneurysm Operations in High-Risk Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinelli, Gian Luca; Cotroneo, Attilio; Caimmi, Philippe Primo; Musica, Gabriele; Barillà, David; Stelian, Edmond; Romano, Angelo; Novelli, Eugenio; Renzi, Luca; Diena, Marco

2017-06-01

In the absence of a standardized safe surgical reentry strategy for high-risk patients with large or anterior postoperative aortic false aneurysm (PAFA), we aimed to describe an effective and safe approach for such patients. We prospectively analyzed patients treated for PAFA between 2006 and 2015. According to the preoperative computed tomography scan examination, patients were divided into two groups according to the anatomy and extension of PAFA: in group A, high-risk PAFA (diameter ≥3 cm) developed in the anterior mediastinum; in group B, low-risk PAFA (diameter <3 cm) was situated posteriorly. For group A, a safe surgical strategy, including continuous cerebral, visceral, and coronary perfusion was adopted before resternotomy; group B patients underwent conventional surgery. We treated 27 patients (safe reentry, n = 13; standard approach, n = 14). Mean age was 60 years (range, 29 to 80); 17 patients were male. Mean interval between the first operation and the last procedure was 4.3 years. Overall 30-day mortality rate was 7.4% (1 patient in each group). No aorta-related mortality was observed at 1 and 5 years in either group. The Kaplan-Meier overall survival estimates at 1 and 5 years were, respectively, 92.3% ± 7.4% and 73.4% ± 13.4% in group A, and 92.9% ± 6.9% and 72.2% ± 13.9% in group B (log rank test, p = 0.830). Freedom from reoperation for recurrent aortic disease was 100% at 1 year and 88% at 5 years. The safe reentry technique with continuous cerebral, visceral, and coronary perfusion for high-risk patients resulted in early and midterm outcomes similar to those observed for low-risk patients undergoing conventional surgery. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Safe design and operation of fluidized-bed reactors: Choice between reactor models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westerink, E.J.; Westerterp, K.R.

1990-01-01

For three different catalytic fluidized bed reactor models, two models presented by Werther and a model presented by van Deemter, the region of safe and unique operation for a chosen reaction system was investigated. Three reaction systems were used: the oxidation of benzene to maleic anhydride, the

Operational experience at RCD and FCD laboratories during various ventilation conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murali, S.; Ashok Kumar, P.; Thanamani, M.; Rath, D.P.; Sapkal, J.A.; Raman, Anand

2007-01-01

Radiochemistry and Fuel Chemistry wing of Radiological Laboratory facility has various radio-chemical operations on isotopes of plutonium and trans-plutonium elements, carried out under containment and safe operational conditions. The ventilation provided to the facility is a Once - through system. The ventilation system is designed with separate headers for laboratory and glove box exhausts. There is scheduled periodic shut down of ventilation system for maintenance during non-occupancy hours/week ends. The buildup of natural α - emitters activity due to ventilation shut down, observed to be prevailing on stack air sample filter papers after the ventilation startup, is studied. The paper describes the operational experience gained over a period during ventilation shut down and suggests the course of remedial action for reducing the internal exposure due to build up of natural α - emitters and their progenies. (author)

Manpower development for safe operation of nuclear power plant. China. Emergency operating procedures. Activity: 5.1.4-Task-11. Technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walsh, L.A.

1994-01-01

This report covers the period of engagement from July 11, 1994 through July 22, 1994. The events and topics of discussion are as follows: History of Emergency Operating Procedure EOP Development; Emergency Operating Procedures (Event Based, Critical Safe Function Status Trees and Functional Recovery Response Procedures); Transition from Emergency Operating Procedures to Severe Accident Management Guidelines

Safeguards Automated Facility Evaluation (SAFE) methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, L.D.; Grady, L.M.; Bennett, H.A.; Sasser, D.W.; Engi, D.

1978-08-01

An automated approach to facility safeguards effectiveness evaluation has been developed. This automated process, called Safeguards Automated Facility Evaluation (SAFE), consists of a collection of a continuous stream of operational modules for facility characterization, the selection of critical paths, and the evaluation of safeguards effectiveness along these paths. The technique has been implemented on an interactive computer time-sharing system and makes use of computer graphics for the processing and presentation of information. Using this technique, a comprehensive evaluation of a safeguards system can be provided by systematically varying the parameters that characterize the physical protection components of a facility to reflect the perceived adversary attributes and strategy, environmental conditions, and site operational conditions. The SAFE procedure has broad applications in the nuclear facility safeguards field as well as in the security field in general. Any fixed facility containing valuable materials or components to be protected from theft or sabotage could be analyzed using this same automated evaluation technique

Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

Science.gov (United States)

Rios, Joseph

2016-01-01

Currently, there is no established infrastructure to enable and safely manage the widespread use of low-altitude airspace and UAS flight operations. Given this, and understanding that the FAA faces a mandate to modernize the present air traffic management system through computer automation and significantly reduce the number of air traffic controllers by FY 2020, the FAA maintains that a comprehensive, yet fully automated UAS traffic management (UTM) system for low-altitude airspace is needed. The concept of UTM is to begin by leveraging concepts from the system of roads, lanes, stop signs, rules and lights that govern vehicles on the ground today. Building on its legacy of work in air traffic management (ATM), NASA is working with industry to develop prototype technologies for a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system that would evolve airspace integration procedures for enabling safe, efficient low-altitude flight operations that autonomously manage UAS operating in an approved low-altitude airspace environment. UTM is a cloud-based system that will autonomously manage all traffic at low altitudes to include UASs being operated beyond visual line of sight of an operator. UTM would thus enable safe and efficient flight operations by providing fully integrated traffic management services such as airspace design, corridors, dynamic geofencing, severe weather and wind avoidance, congestion management, terrain avoidance, route planning re-routing, separation management, sequencing spacing, and contingency management. UTM removes the need for human operators to continuously monitor aircraft operating in approved areas. NASA envisions concepts for two types of UTM systems. The first would be a small portable system, which could be moved between geographical areas in support of operations such as precision agriculture and public safety. The second would be a Persistent system, which would support low-altitude operations in an approved area by providing continuous automated

Effects of dynamic operating conditions on nitrification in biological rapid sand filters for drinking water treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, Carson Odell; Boe-Hansen, Rasmus; Musovic, Sanin

2014-01-01

Biological rapid sand filters are often used to remove ammonium from groundwater for drinking water supply. They often operate under dynamic substrate and hydraulic loading conditions, which can lead to increased levels of ammonium and nitrite in the effluent. To determine the maximum nitrification...... operating conditions. The ammonium removal rate of the filter was determined by the ammonium loading rate, but was independent of both the flow and influent ammonium concentration individually. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea were almost equally abundant in the filter. Both ammonium removal...... rates and safe operating windows of rapid sand filters, a pilot scale rapid sand filter was used to test short-term increased ammonium loads, set by varying either influent ammonium concentrations or hydraulic loading rates. Ammonium and iron (flock) removal were consistent between the pilot...

Application of digital solutions to help the safe and efficient operation of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortega P, F.; Fernandez F, S.

2017-09-01

In the search for excellence, the emergence of solutions to digitize nuclear power plants is an opportunity to optimize the operation and safety of them. The new technologies available today in the market, applied under a global vision of the operation, can contribute to the excellent operation of nuclear power plants in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Tecnatom has a long experience in various areas related to the operation of the plants, giving the aforementioned global vision, essential to develop global solutions that pursue the safe and efficient operation of the operation. (Author)

Ensuring safe operation at the Loviisa nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regnell, B.

1985-01-01

Safe operation of a nuclear plant can be achieved only if the plant is designed according to stringent safety principles, if the construction and commissioning work meets high standards and finally if proper attention is paid to the safety aspects in all operational activities. Clearly formulated safety principles and standards are required for all these steps. In the early phases of the Loviisa project only a few IAEA codes of practice and safety guides were available. Their usefulness was, however, felt early, and valuable guidance was offered by them in formulating the quality assurance programme, for example. The paper describes the approach taken in order to achieve high operational safety at the first nuclear power station in Finland, the Loviisa plant. The involvement in the project of the plant owner, Imatran Voima Oy (IVO), was very large, the company serving as its own architect-engineer. Experience has shown that the thorough knowledge of the plant, down to the finest details, obtained by extensive participation in design, erection and commissioning of the plant, is invaluable in the actual operation of the plant. This manifests itself most clearly in the event of malfunctions and incidents or if modifications have to be undertaken. Many different activities affecting the operational safety can be identified: actual operation of the plant, including the creation and maintaining of technical specifications, procedures, instructions, documentation systems, etc.; maintenance, repair and modification work; in-service inspection and testing practices; component failure data collection and analysis; incident reporting, collection and evaluation systems; operator training; quality assurance programme; procedures and implementation; reviews of operational safety by an independent safety committee; and supervision by the safety authorities. In the paper, all these activities are described in some detail. (author)

Guidelines for safe process operations and maintenance

CERN Document Server

2010-01-01

First-line managers have to maintain the integrity of facilities, control manufacturing processes, and handle unusual or emergency situations, as well as respond to the pressures of production demand. On a daily basis, they are closest to the operating personnel who may be injured by a process accident, and they are in the best position to spot problem conditions and to act to contain them. This book offers these managers ""how-to"" information on process safety management program execution in the operations and maintenance departments, recommending technical and administrative process safety

Development of JOYO operational guidance system for emergency condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takatsuto, Hiroshi; Owada, Toshio; Morimoto, Makoto; Aoki, Hiroshi; Tokita, Mitsuhiko; Terunuma, Seiichi

1989-01-01

Operational guidance system in JOYO has been developed for safe and stable plant operations and improvement of operational reliability. JOYCAT (JOYO Consulting and Analysing Tool), one of the JOYO operational guidance systems, supports the plant operator to present the causal alarm and select the suitable guidance manual in anomaly situations using artificial intelligence technology. Verification test of JOYCAT was performed using a JOYO operator-training simulator and on-line operation was started by partially linking to the actual plant in May 1988. As the result, the proper diagnosis function was confirmed in the actual plant. (author)

Lessons Learned "Establishing an Electrically Safe Work Condition" Specifically related to Racking Electrical Breakers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, Tommy Robert [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Romero, Philbert Roland [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Garcia, Samuel Anthony [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-11-09

During low voltage electrical equipment maintenance, a bad breaker was identified. The breaker was racked out from the substation cubicle without following the hazardous energy control process identified in the Integrated Work Document (IWD). The IWD required the substation to be in an electrically safe work condition prior to racking the breaker. Per NFPA 70E requirements, electrical equipment shall be put into an electrically safe work condition before an employee performs work on or interacts with equipment in a manner that increases the likelihood of creating an arc flash. Racking in or out a breaker on an energized bus may increase the likelihood of creating an arc flash dependent on equipment conditions. A thorough risk assessment must be performed prior to performing such a task. The risk assessment determines the risk control measures to be put in place prior to performing the work. Electrical Safety Officers (ESO) can assist in performing risk assessments and incorporating risk control measures.

Main corrective measures in an early phase of nuclear power plants’ preparation for safe long term operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krivanek, Robert, E-mail: r.krivanek@iaea.org [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, Operational Safety Section, Vienna 1400 (Austria); Fiedler, Jan, E-mail: fiedler@fme.vutbr.cz [University of Technology Brno, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Energy Institute, Technická 2896/2, 616 69 Brno (Czech Republic)

2017-05-15

Highlights: • Results of SALTO missions provide the most important issues for safe long term operation (LTO) of nuclear power plants. • The most important technical corrective measures in an early phase of preparation for safe LTO are described. • Their satisfactory resolution creates a basis for further activities to demonstrate preparedness for safe LTO. - Abstract: This paper presents the analysis of main technical deficiencies of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in preparedness for safe long term operation (LTO) and the main corrective measures in an early phase of preparation for safe LTO of NPPs. It focuses on technical aspects connected with management of physical ageing of NPP structures, systems and components (SSCs). It uses as a basis results of IAEA SALTO missions performed between 2005 and 2016 (see also paper NED8805 in Nuclear Engineering and Design in May 2016) and the personal experiences of the authors with preparation of NPPs for safe LTO. This paper does not discuss other important aspects of safe LTO of NPPs, e.g. national nuclear energy policies, compliance of NPPs with the latest international requirements on design, obsolescence, environmental impact and economic aspects of LTO. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction of the current status of the NPP’ fleet in connection with LTO. Chapter 2 provides an overview of SALTO peer review service results with a focus on deficiencies related to physical ageing of safety SSCs and a demonstration that SSCs will perform their safety function during the intended period of LTO. Chapter 3 discusses the main corrective measures which NPPs typically face during the preparation for demonstration of safe LTO. Chapter 4 summarizes the current status of the NPP’ fleet in connection with LTO and outlines further steps needed in preparation for safe LTO.

Fuel Supply Shutdown Facility Interim Operational Safety Requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BENECKE, M.W.

2000-01-01

The Interim Operational Safety Requirements for the Fuel Supply Shutdown (FSS) Facility define acceptable conditions, safe boundaries, bases thereof, and management of administrative controls to ensure safe operation of the facility

Smart aircraft fastener evaluation (SAFE) system: a condition-based corrosion detection system for aging aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Schoess, Jeffrey N.; Seifert, Greg; Paul, Clare A.

1996-05-01

The smart aircraft fastener evaluation (SAFE) system is an advanced structural health monitoring effort to detect and characterize corrosion in hidden and inaccessible locations of aircraft structures. Hidden corrosion is the number one logistics problem for the U.S. Air Force, with an estimated maintenance cost of $700M per year in 1990 dollars. The SAFE system incorporates a solid-state electrochemical microsensor and smart sensor electronics in the body of a Hi-Lok aircraft fastener to process and autonomously report corrosion status to aircraft maintenance personnel. The long-term payoff for using SAFE technology will be in predictive maintenance for aging aircraft and rotorcraft systems, fugitive emissions applications such as control valves, chemical pipeline vessels, and industrial boilers. Predictive maintenance capability, service, and repair will replace the current practice of scheduled maintenance to substantially reduce operational costs. A summary of the SAFE concept, laboratory test results, and future field test plans is presented.

Deep geological repositories. Safe operation and long-term safety in the prism of reversibility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espivent, Camille; Tichauer, Michael [IRSN, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)

2015-07-01

A deep geological repository is the reference solution enshrined in the French law for the long-term management of high-level radioactive waste. The current project is led by Andra, the French radioactive waste management organization. As a technical support organization, IRSN's mission is, on the basis of the safety case produced by Andra, to assess the safety of such a facility at its various stages of development, that is to say the design, construction, operation and post-closure phases of the facility. Such a facility will have to meet specific requirements, within different time frames as stated above. One of the requirements is ''reversibility'': in fact, French law poses that the geological disposal will have to be ''reversible'' for a certain time, yet not fully defined. Reversibility is nevertheless believed encompassing both the decision making process related to the waste emplacement process during operational phase and the ability to retrieve waste, should such a decision be made. Thus, underground structures have to be designed and operated to allow both waste emplacement and removal. Moreover, future decision making about the disposal process will have to rely on a sound technical basis. This implies a data collection scheme and a monitoring program of the facility to check if the disposal process is bound by limits, controls and conditions compatible with (i) a safe operation of the facility and (ii) the state of the facility that the operator wants to achieve at the time of its closure, so that long-term safety is guaranteed. Therefore, technical criteria and key parameters have to be selected and monitored during construction and operation, that is to say for decades. Then, reversibility have to make room for corrective actions, including the retrieval of waste, if something goes wrong and especially if the facility is not seen as safe anymore, especially in the perspective of long-term safety. To

Deep geological repositories. Safe operation and long-term safety in the prism of reversibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espivent, Camille; Tichauer, Michael

2015-01-01

A deep geological repository is the reference solution enshrined in the French law for the long-term management of high-level radioactive waste. The current project is led by Andra, the French radioactive waste management organization. As a technical support organization, IRSN's mission is, on the basis of the safety case produced by Andra, to assess the safety of such a facility at its various stages of development, that is to say the design, construction, operation and post-closure phases of the facility. Such a facility will have to meet specific requirements, within different time frames as stated above. One of the requirements is ''reversibility'': in fact, French law poses that the geological disposal will have to be ''reversible'' for a certain time, yet not fully defined. Reversibility is nevertheless believed encompassing both the decision making process related to the waste emplacement process during operational phase and the ability to retrieve waste, should such a decision be made. Thus, underground structures have to be designed and operated to allow both waste emplacement and removal. Moreover, future decision making about the disposal process will have to rely on a sound technical basis. This implies a data collection scheme and a monitoring program of the facility to check if the disposal process is bound by limits, controls and conditions compatible with (i) a safe operation of the facility and (ii) the state of the facility that the operator wants to achieve at the time of its closure, so that long-term safety is guaranteed. Therefore, technical criteria and key parameters have to be selected and monitored during construction and operation, that is to say for decades. Then, reversibility have to make room for corrective actions, including the retrieval of waste, if something goes wrong and especially if the facility is not seen as safe anymore, especially in the perspective of long-term safety. To

Identification of efforts required for continued safe operation of KANUPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghafoor, M.A.; Hashmi, J.A.; Siddiqui, Z.H.

1991-01-01

Kanupp, the first commercial CANDU PHWR, rated at 137 MWe, was built on turnkey basis by the Canadian General Electric Company for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, and went operational in October, 1972 near Karachi. It has operated since then with a lifetime average availability factor of 51.5% and capacity factor of 25%. In 1976, Kanupp suffered loss of technical support from its original vendors due to the Canadian embargo on export of nuclear technology. Simultaneously, the world experienced the most explosive development and advancement in electronic and computer technology, accelerating the obsolescence of such equipment and systems installed in Kanupp. Replacement upgrading of obsolete computers, control and instrumentation was thus the first major set of efforts realized as essential f or continued safe operation. On the other hand, Kanupp was able to cope with the normal maintenance of its process, mechanical and electrical equipment till the late 80's. But now many of these components are reaching the end of their useful life, and developing chronic problems due to ageing, which can only be solved by complete replacement. This is much more difficult for custom-made nuclear process equipment, e.g. the reactor internals and the fuelling machine. Public awareness and international concern about nuclear safety have increased significantly since the TMI and Chernobyl events. Corresponding realization of the critical role of human factors and the importance of operational experience feedback, has helped Kanupp by opening international channels of communication, including renewed cooperation on CANDU technology. The safety standards and criteria for CANDU as well as other NPPs have matured and evolved gradually over the past two decades. First Kanupp has to ensure that its present ageing-induced equipment problems are resolved to satisfy the original safety requirements and public risk targets which are still internationally acceptable. But as a policy, we

Identification of efforts required for continued safe operation of KANUPP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghafoor, M A; Hashmi, J A; Siddiqui, Z H [Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, Karachi (Pakistan)

1991-04-01

Kanupp, the first commercial CANDU PHWR, rated at 137 MWe, was built on turnkey basis by the Canadian General Electric Company for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, and went operational in October, 1972 near Karachi. It has operated since then with a lifetime average availability factor of 51.5% and capacity factor of 25%. In 1976, Kanupp suffered loss of technical support from its original vendors due to the Canadian embargo on export of nuclear technology. Simultaneously, the world experienced the most explosive development and advancement in electronic and computer technology, accelerating the obsolescence of such equipment and systems installed in Kanupp. Replacement upgrading of obsolete computers, control and instrumentation was thus the first major set of efforts realized as essential f or continued safe operation. On the other hand, Kanupp was able to cope with the normal maintenance of its process, mechanical and electrical equipment till the late 80's. But now many of these components are reaching the end of their useful life, and developing chronic problems due to ageing, which can only be solved by complete replacement. This is much more difficult for custom-made nuclear process equipment, e.g. the reactor internals and the fuelling machine. Public awareness and international concern about nuclear safety have increased significantly since the TMI and Chernobyl events. Corresponding realization of the critical role of human factors and the importance of operational experience feedback, has helped Kanupp by opening international channels of communication, including renewed cooperation on CANDU technology. The safety standards and criteria for CANDU as well as other NPPs have matured and evolved gradually over the past two decades. First Kanupp has to ensure that its present ageing-induced equipment problems are resolved to satisfy the original safety requirements and public risk targets which are still internationally acceptable. But as a policy, we

Fail-safe computer-based plant protection systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keats, A.B.

1983-01-01

A fail-safe mode of operation for computers used in nuclear reactor protection systems was first evolved in the UK for application to a sodium cooled fast reactor. The fail-safe properties of both the hardware and the software were achieved by permanently connecting test signals to some of the multiplexed inputs. This results in an unambiguous data pattern, each time the inputs are sequentially scanned by the multiplexer. The ''test inputs'' simulate transient excursions beyond defined safe limits. The alternating response of the trip algorithms to the ''out-of-limits'' test signals and the normal plant measurements is recognised by hardwired pattern recognition logic external to the computer system. For more general application to plant protection systems, a ''Test Signal Generator'' (TSG) is used to compute and generate test signals derived from prevailing operational conditions. The TSG, from its knowledge of the sensitivity of the trip algorithm to each of the input variables, generates a ''test disturbance'' which is superimposed upon each variable in turn, to simulate a transient excursion beyond the safe limits. The ''tripped'' status yielded by the trip algorithm when using data from a ''disturbed'' input forms part of a pattern determined by the order in which the disturbances are applied to the multiplexer inputs. The data pattern formed by the interleaved test disturbances is again recognised by logic external to the protection system's computers. This fail-safe mode of operation of computer-based protection systems provides a powerful defence against common-mode failure. It also reduces the importance of software verification in the licensing procedure. (author)

Considerations on Fail Safe Design for Design Basis Accident (DBA) vs. Design Extension Condition (DEC): Lesson Learnt from the Fukushima Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, Jun Su; Kim, Sungyeop

2014-01-01

The fail safety design is referred to as an inherently safe design concept where the failure of an SSC (System, Structure or Component) leads directly to a safe condition. Usually the fail safe design has been devised based on the design basis accident (DBAs), because the nuclear safety has been assured by securing the capability to safely cope with DBAs. Currently regards have been paid to the DEC (Design Extension Condition) as an extended design consideration. Hence additional attention should be paid to the concept of the fail safe design in order to consider the DEC, accordingly. In this study, a case chosen from the Fukushima accident is studied to discuss the issue associated with the fail safe design in terms of DBA and DEC standpoints. For the fail safe design to be based both on the DBA and the DEC, a Mode Changeable Fail Safe Design (MCFSD) is proposed in this study. Additional discussions on what is needed for the MCFSD to be applied in the nuclear safety are addressed as well. One of the lessons learnt from the Fukushima accident should include considerations on the fail-safe design in a changing regulatory framework. Currently the design extension condition (DEC) including severe accidents should be considered during designing and licensing NPPs. Hence concepts on the fail safe design need to be changed to be based on not only the DBA but also the DEC. In this study, a case on a fail-safe design chosen from the Fukushima accident is studied to discuss the issue associated with the fail safe design in terms of DBA and DEC conditions. For the fail safe design to be based both on the DBA and the DEC, a Mode Changeable Fail Safe Design (MCFSD) is proposed in this study. Additional discussions on what is needed for the MCFSD to be applied in the nuclear safety are addressed as well

Fuel supply shutdown facility interim operational safety requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besser, R.L.; Brehm, J.R.; Benecke, M.W.; Remaize, J.A.

1995-01-01

These Interim Operational Safety Requirements (IOSR) for the Fuel Supply Shutdown (FSS) facility define acceptable conditions, safe boundaries, bases thereof, and management or administrative controls to ensure safe operation. The IOSRs apply to the fuel material storage buildings in various modes (operation, storage, surveillance)

Operational limits and conditions and operating procedures for research reactors. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This publication provides practical guidance on all important aspects of developing, formulating and presenting the operational limits and conditions as well as the operating procedures for research reactors. It covers the concept of operational limits and conditions, their content, and the responsibilities of the operating organization with respect to their establishment, modification, documentation and compliance. The guidance also covers the training of operating personnel on performing periodic testing, established by the operational limits and conditions, and operating procedures

Hanford high level waste (HLW) tank mixer pump safe operating envelope reliability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, S.R.; Clark, J.

1993-01-01

The US Department of Energy and its contractor, Westinghouse Corp., are responsible for the management and safe storage of waste accumulated from processing defense reactor irradiated fuels for plutonium recovery at the Hanford Site. These wastes, which consist of liquids and precipitated solids, are stored in underground storage tanks pending final disposition. Currently, 23 waste tanks have been placed on a safety watch list because of their potential for generating, storing, and periodically releasing various quantities of hydrogen and other gases. Tank 101-SY in the Hanford SY Tank Farm has been found to release hydrogen concentrations greater than the lower flammable limit (LFL) during periodic gas release events. In the unlikely event that an ignition source is present during a hydrogen release, a hydrogen burn could occur with a potential to release nuclear waste materials. To mitigate the periodic gas releases occurring from Tank 101-SY, a large mixer pump currently is being installed in the tank to promote a sustained release of hydrogen gas to the tank dome space. An extensive safety analysis (SA) effort was undertaken and documented to ensure the safe operation of the mixer pump after it is installed in Tank 101-SY.1 The SA identified a need for detailed operating, alarm, and abort limits to ensure that analyzed safety limits were not exceeded during pump operations

Safely Enabling Civilian Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace by Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management (UTM)

Science.gov (United States)

Kopardekar, Parimal Hemchandra

2015-01-01

Many UAS will operate at lower altitude (Class G, below 2000 feet). There is an urgent need for a system for civilian low-altitude airspace and UAS operations. Stakeholders want to work with NASA to enable safe operations.

Integrated Life Cycle Management: A Strategy for Plants to Extend Operating Lifetimes Safely with High Operational Reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esselman, Thomas; Bruck, Paul; Mengers, Charles

2012-01-01

Nuclear plant operators are studying the possibility of extending their existing generating facilities operating lifetime to 60 years and beyond. Many nuclear plants have been granted licenses to operate their facilities beyond the original 40 year term; however, in order to optimize the long term operating strategies, plant decision-makers need a consistent approach to support their options. This paper proposes a standard methodology to support effective decision-making for the long-term management of selected station assets. Methods detailed are intended to be used by nuclear plant site management, equipment reliability personnel, long term planners, capital asset planners, license renewal staff, and others that intend to look at operation between the current time and the end of operation. This methodology, named Integrated Life Cycle Management (ILCM), will provide a technical basis to assist decision makers regarding the timing of large capital investments required to get to the end of operation safely and with high plant reliability. ILCM seeks to identify end of life cycle failure probabilities for individual plant large capital assets and attendant costs associated with their refurbishment or replacement. It will provide a standard basis for evaluation of replacement and refurbishment options for these components. ILCM will also develop methods to integrate the individual assets over the entire plant thus assisting nuclear plant decision-makers in their facility long term operating strategies. (author)

Who's Got the Bridge? - Towards Safe, Robust Autonomous Operations at NASA Langley's Autonomy Incubator

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, B. Danette; Cross, Charles D.; Motter, Mark A.; Neilan, James H.; Qualls, Garry D.; Rothhaar, Paul M.; Tran, Loc; Trujillo, Anna C.; Crisp, Vicki K.

2015-01-01

NASA aeronautics research has made decades of contributions to aviation. Both aircraft and air traffic management (ATM) systems in use today contain NASA-developed and NASA sponsored technologies that improve safety and efficiency. Recent innovations in robotics and autonomy for automobiles and unmanned systems point to a future with increased personal mobility and access to transportation, including aviation. Automation and autonomous operations will transform the way we move people and goods. Achieving this mobility will require safe, robust, reliable operations for both the vehicle and the airspace and challenges to this inevitable future are being addressed now in government labs, universities, and industry. These challenges are the focus of NASA Langley Research Center's Autonomy Incubator whose R&D portfolio includes mission planning, trajectory and path planning, object detection and avoidance, object classification, sensor fusion, controls, machine learning, computer vision, human-machine teaming, geo-containment, open architecture design and development, as well as the test and evaluation environment that will be critical to prove system reliability and support certification. Safe autonomous operations will be enabled via onboard sensing and perception systems in both data-rich and data-deprived environments. Applied autonomy will enable safety, efficiency and unprecedented mobility as people and goods take to the skies tomorrow just as we do on the road today.

Supplement to safety analysis report. 306-W building operations safety requirement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richey, C.R.

1979-08-01

The operations safety requirements (OSRs) presented in this report define the conditions, safe boundaries, and management control needed for safely conducting operations with radioactive materials in the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) 306-W building. The safety requirements are organized in five sections. Safety limits are safety-related process variables that are observable and measurable. Limiting conditions cover: equipment and technical conditions and characteristics of the facility and operations necessary for continued safe operation. Surveillance requirements prescribe the requirements for checking systems and components that are essential to safety. Equipment design controls require that changes to process equipment and systems be independently checked and approved to assure that the changes will have no adverse effect on safety. Administrative controls describe and discuss the organization and administrative systems and procedures to be used for safe operation of the facility. Details of the implementation of the operations safety requirements are prescribed by internal PNL documents such as criticality safety specifications and radiation work procedures

Proceedings of the conference on the Safety in Reactor Operations - TopSafe 2012 Transactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

TopSafe 2012 provides a forum for addressing the current status and future perspectives with regards to safety at nuclear installations worldwide. In view of the on-going discussions and initiatives that have been taken over the last months the European Nuclear Society (ENS) decided organising this edition of this topical conference from 22 to 26 April 2012 in Helsinki, Finland. TopSafe 2012 focus on three main subjects: Safety and related analyses in operating nuclear power plants and other nuclear installations; Safety and Risk Assessment; Trends in nuclear safety for existing and future installations. The conference is directed at a broad range of experts in the area of nuclear safety, including professionals from the different disciplines involved in the safety of nuclear power plants, fuel cycle installations and research reactors. It is aimed at professionals coming from the research organisations, universities, vendors, operators, regulatory bodies as well as policy makers. Top level representatives of the Countries that are constructing new nuclear power plants are invited. Regulators of all individual Countries with nuclear programme are expected to contribute the Conference. (authors)

Teaching Operant Conditioning at the Zoo.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukas, Kristen E.; Marr, M. Jackson; Maple, Terry L.

1998-01-01

Describes a partnership between Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology in teaching the principles of operant conditioning to students in an experimental psychology class. Maintains that the positive training techniques used in zoos are models of applied operant conditioning. Includes a discussion of zoo training goals. (MJP)

What influences youth to operate all-terrain vehicles safely?

Science.gov (United States)

Grummon, A. H.; Heaney, C. A.; Dellinger, W. A.; Wilkins, J. R.

2014-01-01

The operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) by youth has contributed to the incidence of serious and fatal injuries among children. This study explored factors related to the frequency with which youth wore a helmet and refrained from engaging in three risky driving behaviors (driving at risky speeds, on paved roads and on unfamiliar terrain) while operating an ATV. Youth (n = 248) aged 9–14 from central Ohio and one of their parents completed self-report measures of ATV safety behaviors, youth general propensity for risk taking, protection motivation and parental behaviors to facilitate youth safety. Data from two focus groups provided insight on quantitative results. Analyses revealed considerable variation in the frequency with which youth performed the safety behaviors, with 13- and 14-year-olds reporting less frequent safe behavior than 9- to 12-year-olds. Multiple regression analyses suggested that parental behaviors, such as providing reminders to wear a helmet, were associated with more frequent helmet use but were not associated with risky driving behaviors. Youth’s general propensity toward risk taking was not associated with helmet use and only associated with riskydriving behaviors among the 13- and 14-year-olds. Self-efficacy was an important predictor across both age groups and behaviors. Implications for injury prevention are discussed. PMID:24740837

A guide to safe field operations

Science.gov (United States)

Yobbi, D.K.; Yorke, T.H.; Mycyk, R.T.

1996-01-01

Most functions of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Division (WRD) require employees to participate in numerous field activities ranging from routine meetings with cooperators, other federal and public officials, and private citizens to potentially hazardous assignments, such as making flood measurements and scuba diving to service underwater instruments. It is paramount that each employee be aware of safety procedures and operational policies of the WRD to ensure that (1) their activities avoid or minimize personal injury to the employee, coworkers, or anyone in the vicinity of the field activity, and (2) their conduct does not infringe on the personal or property rights of any individual or organization. The purpose of the guide is to familiarize employees with the operational and safety procedures expected to be followed by each employee as a representative of the WRD. It is also intended as a training tool for all new employees and a document to be reviewed by each employee before undertaking a field assignment. It includes general procedures that are standard and applicable to all field operations, such as communication, vehicle operation, and adequate preparation for anticipated weather conditions. It also includes a discussion of specific procedures and safety considerations for most of the routine field assignments undertaken by hydrologists and hydrologic technicians of the WRD. The guide is not intended to be a technical handbook outlining step-by-step procedures for performing specific tasks or a comprehensive discussion of every possible activity that may be undertaken by a USGS employee. Employees are referred to the Techniques for Water-Resources Investigations (TWRI) series for specific technical procedures and to the U.S. Geological Survey Safety and Environmental Health Handbook 445-1-H (USGS, August 1989), USGS Occupational Hazards and Safety Procedures Handbook 445-2-H (December 1993), the WRD notebook on Safety Policy and

ETHEL's systems and facilities for safe management of tritiated wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mannone, F.; Dworschak, H.; Vassallo, G.

1992-01-01

The European Tritium Handling Experimental Laboratory (ETHEL) is a new tritium facility at the Commission of the European Community's Joint Research Centre, Ispra Site. The laboratory, destined to handle multigram amounts of tritium for safety related R and D purposes, is foreseen to start radioactive operations in late 1992. The general operation and maintenance of laboratory systems and future experiments will generate tritiated wastes in gaseous, liquid and solid forms. The management of such wastes under safe working conditions is a stringent laboratory requirement aimed at minimizing the risk of unacceptable tritium exposures to workers and the general public. This paper describes the main systems and facilities installed in ETHEL for the safe management of tritiated wastes

The influence of operational conditions on radiation damage in JFET-input operational amplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Yuzhan; Wang Yiyuan; Chen Rui; Fei Wuxiong; Lu Wu; Ren Diyuan

2010-01-01

High- and low-dose-rate irradiation have been performed on JFET-input operational amplifiers (op-amps) with normal operational and zero biased conditions, respectively. The experimental results show that operational conditions have a great influence on the radiation effects and damage in JFET-input operational amplifiers. Under normal condition, the JFET-input op-amps have exhibited time-dependent effect (TDE); while they show enhanced low-dose-rate sensitivity (ELDRS) at zero biased condition. Compared with zero biased condition, the JFET-input op-amps would degrade more severely at normal condition for high-dose-rate irradiation; while for the low-dose-rate case, they have more degradation at normal condition. Irradiation would induce positive oxide-trapped charge and interface traps in bipolar transistors, which are the basic components in JFET-input op-amps. From the dependence of oxide trapped charge and interface traps on operational conditions, the degradation behavior is discussed. (authors)

Condition Monitoring Of Operating Pipelines With Operational Modal Analysis Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mironov Aleksey

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In the petroleum, natural gas and petrochemical industries, great attention is being paid to safety, reliability and maintainability of equipment. There are a number of technologies to monitor, control, and maintain gas, oil, water, and sewer pipelines. The paper focuses on operational modal analysis (OMA application for condition monitoring of operating pipelines. Special focus is on the topicality of OMA for definition of the dynamic features of the pipeline (frequencies and mode shapes in operation. The research was conducted using two operating laboratory models imitated a part of the operating pipeline. The results of finite-element modeling, identification of pipe natural modes and its modification under the influence of virtual failure are discussed. The work considers the results of experimental research of dynamic behavior of the operating pipe models using one of OMA techniques and comparing dynamic properties with the modeled data. The study results demonstrate sensitivity of modal shape parameters to modification of operating pipeline technical state. Two strategies of pipeline repair – with continuously condition-based monitoring with proposed technology and without such monitoring, was discussed. Markov chain reliability models for each strategy were analyzed and reliability improvement factor for proposed technology of monitoring in compare with traditional one was evaluated. It is resumed about ability of operating pipeline condition monitoring by measuring dynamic deformations of the operating pipe and OMA techniques application for dynamic properties extraction.

Determining the microwave coupling and operational efficiencies of a microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition reactor under high pressure diamond synthesis operating conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nad, Shreya [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 (United States); Gu, Yajun; Asmussen, Jes [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 (United States)

2015-07-15

The microwave coupling efficiency of the 2.45 GHz, microwave plasma assisted diamond synthesis process is investigated by experimentally measuring the performance of a specific single mode excited, internally tuned microwave plasma reactor. Plasma reactor coupling efficiencies (η) > 90% are achieved over the entire 100–260 Torr pressure range and 1.5–2.4 kW input power diamond synthesis regime. When operating at a specific experimental operating condition, small additional internal tuning adjustments can be made to achieve η > 98%. When the plasma reactor has low empty cavity losses, i.e., the empty cavity quality factor is >1500, then overall microwave discharge coupling efficiencies (η{sub coup}) of >94% can be achieved. A large, safe, and efficient experimental operating regime is identified. Both substrate hot spots and the formation of microwave plasmoids are eliminated when operating within this regime. This investigation suggests that both the reactor design and the reactor process operation must be considered when attempting to lower diamond synthesis electrical energy costs while still enabling a very versatile and flexible operation performance.

The Role of Well Control Training in Developing Safe Onshore and Offshore Oil Drilling Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Abulhassn, Aber

2016-01-01

This research investigates the role of the International Well Control Forum (IWCF) Rotary Drilling Well Control Training Program in developing safe oil drilling operations from the perspective of onshore and offshore drilling crews. The research methodology is a qualitative case study. A total of 40 IWCF candidates were interviewed, with 10 from…

Project Management Plan to Maintain Safe and Compliant Conditions at the Plutonium Finishing Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

COX, G.J.

1999-01-01

This Project Management Plan presents the overall plan, description, mission, and workscope for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) maintain safe and compliant conditions project at PFP. This plan presents the overall description, mission, work scope, and planning for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Maintain Safe and Compliant Conditions Project at PFP. This project includes all tasks required to maintain the safety boundary for the PFP Complex, except for the 2736-2 Vault Complex and the 234-52 vaults and vault-type rooms. The intent of this plan is to describe how this project will be managed and integrated with the stabilization, and deactivation activities. This plan supplements the overall integrated plan presented in the Plutonium Finishing Plant Integrated Project Management Plan (IPMP), HNF-3617, Rev. 0. This is the top-level definitive project management document that specifies the technical (work scope), schedule, and cost baselines that will manage the execution of this project. It describes the organizational approach and roles/responsibilities implemented to execute the project. This plan is under configuration management and any deviations must be authorized by appropriate change control action

Operant Conditioning and Education.

Science.gov (United States)

de Noronha, Mario

A case study of a learning disabled 8-year-old with behavior disturbancs is presented to highlight the use of operant conditioning in cutting down educational costs and easing the teacher's class management problems. (CL)

Organising a safe space for navigating social-ecological transformations to sustainability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

L. Pereira (Laura); T. Karpouzoglou (Timothy); S. Doshi (Samir); N. Frantzeskaki (Niki)

2015-01-01

textabstractThe need for developing socially just living conditions for the world’s growing population whilst keeping human societies within a ‘safe operating space’ has become a modern imperative. This requires transformative changes in the dominant social norms, behaviours, governance and

Organising a safe space for navigating social-ecological transformations to sustainability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pereira, L.; Karpouzoglou, T.D.; Doshi, S.; Frantzeskaki, N.

2015-01-01

The need for developing socially just living conditions for the world’s growing population whilst keeping human societies within a ‘safe operating space’ has become a modern imperative. This requires transformative changes in the dominant social norms, behaviours, governance and management regimes

Validation and Verification of Future Integrated Safety-Critical Systems Operating under Off-Nominal Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Belcastro, Christine M.

2010-01-01

Loss of control remains one of the largest contributors to aircraft fatal accidents worldwide. Aircraft loss-of-control accidents are highly complex in that they can result from numerous causal and contributing factors acting alone or (more often) in combination. Hence, there is no single intervention strategy to prevent these accidents and reducing them will require a holistic integrated intervention capability. Future onboard integrated system technologies developed for preventing loss of vehicle control accidents must be able to assure safe operation under the associated off-nominal conditions. The transition of these technologies into the commercial fleet will require their extensive validation and verification (V and V) and ultimate certification. The V and V of complex integrated systems poses major nontrivial technical challenges particularly for safety-critical operation under highly off-nominal conditions associated with aircraft loss-of-control events. This paper summarizes the V and V problem and presents a proposed process that could be applied to complex integrated safety-critical systems developed for preventing aircraft loss-of-control accidents. A summary of recent research accomplishments in this effort is also provided.

Dynamic operator actions analysis for inherently safe fast reactors and light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, V.; Apostolakis, G.

1988-01-01

A comparative dynamic human actions analysis of inherently safe fast reactors (ISFRs) and light water reactors (LWRs) in terms of systems response and estimated human error rates is presented. Brief overviews of the ISFR and LWR systems are given to illustrate the design differences. Key operator actions required by the ISFR reactor shutdown and decay heat removal systems are identified and are compared with those of the LWR. It is observed that, because of the passive nature of the ISFR safety-related systems, a large time window is available for operator actions during transient events. Furthermore, these actions are fewer in number, are less complex, and have lower error rates and less severe consequences than those of the LWRs. We expect the ISFR operator errors' contribution to risk is smaller (at least in the context of the existing human reliability models) than that of the LWRs. (author)

Conceptual design report for tank farm restoration and safe operations, project W-314

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Briggs, S.R., Westinghouse Hanford

1996-05-02

This Conceptual Design Report (CDR) presents the conceptual level design approach that satisfies the established technical requirements for Project W-314, `Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations.` The CDR also addresses the initial cost and schedule baselines for performing the proposed Tank Farm infrastructure upgrades. The scope of this project includes capital improvements to Hanford`s existing tank farm facilities(primarily focused on Double- Shell Tank Farms) in the areas of instrumentation/control, tank ventilation, waste transfer, and electrical systems.

Light water ultra-safe plant concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klevans, E.

1989-01-01

Since the accident at Three Mile Island (TMI), Penn State Nuclear Engineering Department Faculty and Staff have considered various methods to improve already safe reactor designs and public perception of the safety of Nuclear Power. During 1987 and 1988, the Department of Energy provided funds to the Nuclear Engineering Department at Penn State to investigate a plant reconfiguration originated by M.A. Schultz called ''The Light Water Ultra-Safe Plant Concept''. This report presents a final summary of the project with references to several masters' theses and addendum reports for further detail. The two year research effort included design verification with detailed computer simulation of: (a) normal operation characteristics of the unique pressurizing concept, (b) severe transients without loss of coolant, (c) combined primary and secondary system modeling, and (d) small break and large break loss of coolant accidents. Other studies included safety analysis, low power density core design, and control system design to greatly simplify the control room and required operator responses to plant upset conditions. The overall conclusion is that a reconfigured pressurized water reactor can achieve real and perceived safety improvements. Additionally, control system research to produce greatly simplified control rooms and operator requirements should be continued in future projects

Operant conditioning in the ant Myrmica sabuleti.

Science.gov (United States)

Cammaerts, M C

2004-11-30

Operant conditioning could be obtained in the ant Myrmica sabuleti by presenting to the workers, during a six-day period, an apparatus containing either sugared water or meat as a reward. The conditioning obtained using sugared water as a reward was short lasting. A reconditioning was more persistent and lasted four hours. The ants' response was very precise, since they exhibited it only in front of an apparatus identical to that used during the training phase. Operant conditioning obtained using meat as a reward was more pronounced than that obtained by using sugared water, probably because meat is more valuable as a reward than sugar for the species studied, which is essentially a carnivorous one. Such a conditioning was rather persistent. Indeed, a first operant conditioning obtained by using meat as a reward could still be detected after seven hours, and a reconditioning was still significant after eight hours. One day after this eight-hour period without rewarding the ants, the response was higher again and a further day later, it was still significant. Since the operant conditioning is easy to perform and quantify and since the ants' response is very precise, such a conditioning can be used for further studying M. sabuleti workers' visual perception.

Operant conditioning of autobiographical memory retrieval.

Science.gov (United States)

Debeer, Elise; Raes, Filip; Williams, J Mark G; Craeynest, Miet; Hermans, Dirk

2014-01-01

Functional avoidance is considered as one of the key mechanisms underlying overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM). According to this view OGM is regarded as a learned cognitive avoidance strategy, based on principles of operant conditioning; i.e., individuals learn to avoid the emotionally painful consequences associated with the retrieval of specific negative memories. The aim of the present study was to test one of the basic assumptions of the functional avoidance account, namely that autobiographical memory retrieval can be brought under operant control. Here 41 students were instructed to retrieve personal memories in response to 60 emotional cue words. Depending on the condition, they were punished with an aversive sound for the retrieval of specific or nonspecific memories in an operant conditioning procedure. Analyzes showed that the course of memory specificity significantly differed between conditions. After the procedure participants punished for nonspecific memories retrieved significantly more specific memories compared to participants punished for specific memories. However, whereas memory specificity significantly increased in participants punished for specific memories, it did not significantly decrease in participants punished for nonspecific memories. Thus, while our findings indicate that autobiographical memory retrieval can be brought under operant control, they do not support a functional avoidance view on OGM.

Safe operation of existing radioactive waste management facilities at Dalat Nuclear Research Institute

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pham Van Lam; Ong Van Ngoc; Nguyen Thi Nang

2000-01-01

The Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor was reconstructed from the former TRIGA MARK-II in 1982 and put into operation in March 1984. The combined technology for radioactive waste management was newly designed and put into operation in 1984. The system for radioactive waste management at the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute (DNRI) consists of radioactive liquid waste treatment station and disposal facilities. The treatment methods used for radioactive liquid waste are coagulation and precipitation, mechanical filtering and ion- exchange. Near-surface disposal of radioactive wastes is practiced at DNRI In the disposal facilities eight concrete pits are constructed for solidification and disposal of low level radioactive waste. Many types of waste generated in DNRI and in some Nuclear Medicine Departments in the South of Vietnam are stored in the disposal facilities. The solidification of sludge has been done by cementation. Hydraulic compactor has done volume reduction of compatible waste. This paper presents fifteen-years of safe operation of radioactive waste management facilities at DNRI. (author)

Proposal for a new normalization reference in LCA based on “safe operating space”: presentation of framework and global factors at midpoint level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

Planetary boundaries have been suggested for a range of environmental impacts,such as climate change, eutrophying nutrients and land use. The boundaries demarcate the safe operating space of humanity: Staying within the space ensures environmental sustainability, while exceeding it risks pushing...... ecosystems into alternative regimes, leading to adverse effects for humanity. Planetary boundaries can be applied as policy targets. To promote a societal development in the direction of these targets, an indicator system is needed that measures the fraction of the safe operating space that a given activity...... normalization factors in units compatible with characterized results at midpoint level in LCA. Our suggested framework allows expressing normalized results in units of “sustainable person years”. Normalization factors are derived by dividing the safe operating space by the global population. The proposed...

Paranormal weighted conditional type operators

OpenAIRE

Estaremi, Yousef

2014-01-01

In this paper, some sub-classes of paranormal weighted conditional expectation type operators, such as *-paranormal, quasi-*-paranormal and (n; k)-quasi-*-paranormal weighted conditional expectation type opera- tors on $L^2(\\Sigma)$ are investigated. Also, some applications about the spectrum, point spectrum, joint point spectrum, approximate point spectrum and joint approximate point spectrum of these classes are presented.

ANALYSIS OF OPTIMUM OPERATING MODES OF POWER TRANSFORMERS UNDER OPERATING CONDITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. V. Khomenko

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The study of parallel operation optimal modes of transformer equipment for a variety of operating conditions: same or different types of transformers, with or without reactive power flows. Methodology. Losses of energy in transformers make 30 % of all losses. Therefore the choice of the economically justified parallel operation of transformers is effective action to reduce losses. Typically, in the calculations of reactive power flows in the transformers are not taken into account. It is interesting to analyze the optimal operating conditions of transformers with and without reactive power flows. Results. Calculations for transformers in distribution networks showed that the inclusion of reactive power flows in transformers significant impact on the calculated optimum regimes of transformers.

How to operate safely steam generators with multiple tube through-wall defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernalsteen, P.

1993-01-01

For a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) of the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) type, the Steam Generator (SG) tube bundle represents the major but also the thinnest part of the primary pressure boundary. To the extent that no tube material has yet been identified to be immune to corrosion, defects may initiate in service and easily propagate through wall. While not a desirable feature, a Through Wall Deep (TWD) defect does not necessarily pose a threat to either the structural integrity or leaktightness and this paper shows how SG can (and indeed, do) operate safely and reliably while having many tubes affected by deep and even TWD defects

A selection of problems related to safe working conditions in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, K.H.

1984-01-01

Two representative examples were chosen to demonstrate that the problems related to safe working conditions can be solved with work being prepared extensively and in detail taking into consideration radiation protection and conventional job safety measures and with qualified staff. Most of the job safety problems in nuclear power plants are pretty much the same as in conventional plants. Despite successful implementation of employment and radiation protection in nuclear power plants, improvements in detail are possible and make sense. (orig.) [de

Cost-competitive, inherently safe LFMBR pool plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, J.S.; Brunings, J.E.; Chang, Y.I.; Hren, R.R.; Seidensticker, R.W.

1984-01-01

The Cost-Competitive, Inherently Safe LMFBR Pool Plant design was prepared in GFY 1983 under a DOE-sponsored program. This plant design was developed as a joint effort by Rockwell International and the Argonne National Laboratory with major contributions from the Bechtel Group, Inc.; Combustion engineering, Inc.; the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company; and the General Electric Company. Using current LMFBR technology, many innovative features were developed and incorporated into the design to meet the ultimate objectives of the Breeder Program, i.e., energy costs competitive with LWRs and inherent safety features to maintain the plant in a safe condition following assumed accidents without requiring operator action. This paper provides a description of the principal features that were incorporated into the design to achieve low cost and inherent safety

Test and evaluation plan for Project W-314 tank farm restoration and safe operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hays, W.H.

1998-01-01

The ''Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations'' (TFRSO), Project W-314 will restore and/or upgrade existing Hanford Tank Farm facilities and systems to ensure that the Tank Farm infrastructure will be able to support near term TWRS Privatization's waste feed delivery and disposal system and continue safe management of tank waste. The capital improvements provided by this project will increase the margin of safety for Tank Farms operations, and will aid in aligning affected Tank Farm systems with compliance requirements from applicable state, Federal, and local regulations. Secondary benefits will be realized subsequent to project completion in the form of reduced equipment down-time, reduced health and safety risks to workers, reduced operating and maintenance costs, and minimization of radioactive and/or hazardous material releases to the environment. The original regulatory (e.g., Executive Orders, WACS, CFRS, permit requirements, required engineering standards, etc.) and institutional (e.g., DOE Orders, Hanford procedures, etc.) requirements for Project W-314 were extracted from the TWRS S/RIDs during the development of the Functions and Requirements (F and Rs). The entire family of requirements were then validated for TWRS and Project W-314. This information was contained in the RDD-100 database and used to establish the original CDR. The Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) team recognizes that safety, quality, and cost effectiveness in the Test and Evaluation (T and E) program is achieved through a planned systematic approach to T and E activities. It is to this end that the Test and Evaluation Plan (TEP) is created. The TEP for the TFRSO Project, was developed based on the guidance in HNF-IP-0842, and the Good Practice Guide GPG-FM-005, ''Test and Evaluation,'' which is derived from DOE Order 430.1, ''Life Cycle Asset Management.'' It describes the Test and Evaluation program for the TFRSO project starting with the definitive design phase and ending

The safe home project.

Science.gov (United States)

Arphorn, Sara; Jiraniratisai, Sopaphan; Rungtakul, Rungsri; Phutta, Nikom

2011-12-01

The Thai Health Promotion Foundation supported the Improvement of Quality of Life of Informal Workers project in Ban Luang District, Amphur Photaram, Ratchaburi Province. There were many informal workers in Ban Luang District. Sweet-crispy fish producers in Ban Luang were the largest group among the sweet-crispy fish producers in Thailand. This project was aimed at improving living and working conditions of informal workers, with a focus on the sweet-crispy fish group. Good practices of improved living and working conditions were used to help informal workers build safe, healthy and productive work environments. These informal workers often worked in substandard conditions and were exposed to various hazards in the working area. These hazards included risk of exposure to hot work environment, ergonomics-related injuries, chemical hazards, electrical hazards etc. Ergonomics problems were commonly in the sweet-crispy fish group. Unnatural postures such as prolonged sitting were performed dominantly. One hundred and fifty informal workers participated in this project. Occupational health volunteers were selected to encourage occupational health and safety in four groups of informal workers in 2009. The occupational health volunteers trained in 2008 were farmers, beauty salon workers and doll makers. The occupational health and safety knowledge is extended to a new informal worker group: sweet-crispy fish producer, in 2009. The occupational health and safety training for sweet-crispy fish group is conducted by occupational health volunteers. The occupational health volunteers increased their skills and knowledge assist in to make safe home and safe community through participatory oriented training. The improvement of living and working condition is conducted by using a modified WISH, Work Improvement for Safe Home, checklist. The plans of improvement were recorded. The informal workers showed improvement mostly on material handling and storage. The safe uses and safe

Teachers and Operant Conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, Sherman

A survey was conducted of 406 elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers to determine their understanding, acceptance, and use of the principle of operant conditioning. The treatment of data was by percent and chi square analysis primarily according to sex, experience, degree, and position. Subjects reported that a) they believed that the…

46th Annual meeting on nuclear technology (AMNT 2015). Key topic / Enhanced safety and operation excellence / Sustainable reactor operation management - safe, efficient, valuable

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, Erwin

2015-01-01

Summary report on the following Topical Session of the 46 th Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology (AMNT 2015) held in Berlin, 5 to 7 May 2015: - Sustainable Reactor Operation Management - Safe, Efficient, Valuable (Erwin Fischer) The other Sessions of the Key Topics - ''Outstanding Know-How and Sustainable Innovations'', - ''Enhanced Safety and Operation Excellence'' and - ''Decommissioning Experience and Waste Management Solutions'' have been covered in atw 7 (2015) and will be covered in further issues of atw.

47 CFR 18.111 - General operating conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... EQUIPMENT General Information § 18.111 General operating conditions. (a) Persons operating ISM equipment... equipment otherwise complies with the rules in this part, the operator of ISM equipment that causes harmful... interference to an authorized radio station or a radiocommunication device operating in an ISM frequency band...

[Prevention of adverse effects in latex allergic patients: organizing a latex safe operating theatre].

Science.gov (United States)

Bonalumi, Sabrina; Barbonaglia, Patrizia; Bertocchi, Carmen

2006-01-01

In 2001 the General Health Direction of Region Lombardia approved (decree n. 22303) a guideline for the prevention of latex allergic reactions in patients and health care workers. This document provides general recommendations in order to standardize behaviors in regional health care facilities. The reason is due to a rise in the incident of reactions to latex products in the last 20 years. Nowadays the prevalence is higher in certain risk groups (subjected to frequent and repeated exposures) rather than the general population. The aim of the project was to organize a latex safe operating theatre in the Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan (Fondazione) and to standardize behaviors in order to prevent adverse effects in latex allergic patients. Thanks to the literature review and the creation of a multidisciplinar team, we produced a protocol. Therefore, we requested manufacturers the certification of the latex content of their products. Results and conclusion. When latex allergic patients need to undergone surgery in our hospital, a latex safe operating theatre is organized by personnel following a multidisciplinar protocol. No allergic reactions were experienced during surgical procedures after the creation of an environment as free as possible from latex contamination. The project will involve an emergency room, one room or more of a ward and of the outpatients department.

Operant Conditioning - Token Economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, Jacqueline; McBurney, Raymond D.

Described is an Operant Conditioning-Token Economy Program, teaching patients to be responsible for their own behavior, to make choices, and to be motivated to change. The program was instigated with mentally ill patients in a state hospital and was later used with institutionalized mentally handicapped groups. After two years, only four of the…

Travel report on a preparatory mission to the Agencija RAO, Ljubljana for a radium conditioning operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neubauer, J.

2001-07-01

The purpose of the trip was to establish the current status of radioactive waste management in Slovenia, to discuss their plans for the future management of their radioactive wastes and to prepare for a radium source conditioning operation to make safe and secure their known inventory of radium withdrawn from service. The IAEA are considering placing a contract on the Oesterreichisches Forschungszentrum Seibersdorf (OeFZS) to carry out the radium conditioning operation on the agency's behalf in a manner used successfully on a number of previous occasions. In Slovenia responsibility for the management of radioactive wastes arising from nuclear applications in medicine research and industry is delegated to 'Agencija Rao'. First a visit was made to the storage building in which such wastes are stored, the building being within the grounds of the Josef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana. The possibility of carrying out the radium conditioning operation in the building and the improvements and modifications necessary was discussed. The inventory of stored waste was reviewed, the packages containing radium were identified and located in the store. Some of these contained radium-beryllium sources. It was agreed that such sources would not be conditioned during the forthcoming operation. Next a visit was made to the chemistry laboratories of the Josef Stefan Institute, these being a possible alternative location for the operation. On returning to the 'Agencija Rao' office in Ljubljana detail discussion of the merits of the alternative locations were discussed. It was realized that the operation could proceed quicker and at less cost if the existing laboratory was chosen, the unknown factor is the time taken to obtain regulatory approval. Next detailed discussion took place of the availability of necessary equipment and consumable items and agreement reached on what should be supplied locally and what should be brought to Slovenia, by the conditioning team. Plans were made to

VISIR: technological infrastructure of an operational service for safe and efficient navigation in the Mediterranean Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Mannarini, Gianandrea; Turrisi, Giuseppe; D'Anca, Alessandro; Scalas, Mario; Pinardi, Nadia; Coppini, Giovanni; Palermo, Francesco; Carluccio, Ivano; Scuro, Matteo; Cretì, Sergio; Lecci, Rita; Nassisi, Paola; Tedesco, Luca

2016-08-01

VISIR (discoVerIng Safe and effIcient Routes) is an operational decision support system (DSS) for optimal ship routing designed and implemented in the frame of the TESSA (TEchnology for Situational Sea Awareness) project. The system is aimed to increase safety and efficiency of navigation through the use of forecast environmental fields and route optimization. VISIR can be accessed through a web interface (www.visir-nav.com) and mobile applications for both iOS and Android devices. This paper focuses on the technological infrastructure developed for operating VISIR as a DSS. Its main components are described, the performance of the operational system is assessed through experimental measurements, and a few case studies are presented.

Denying Sanctuary: Rejecting Safe Havens in Counterinsurgency Operations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Monarch, Robert M

2009-01-01

Physical sanctuary is one of the bedrocks of a successful insurgency. Denial of these safe havens is critical to a successful counterinsurgency campaign and the eventual defeat of the insurgents by the host state...

How safe is safe enough?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desnoyers, B.; Chanzy, Y.

2004-01-01

The IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, were historically established with the objective to reduce the probability that persons be exposed to unacceptable doses due to normal operation or accident situations during transport of radioactive material. Based on the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation (BSS), the definition, which was adopted for an unacceptable dose for an accident situation, is the excess of the maximum dose limits permissible in a single year for the occupational exposure of a worker in the BSS. Concerning the severity of accident situations, it has always be clearly stated that the objective of the tests for demonstrating ability to withstand accident conditions of transport was not to cover every accident condition, but solely most of them. The last available evaluations regarding the rate of accidents which are covered by the standardised accident conditions of transport defined in the IAEA Regulations give a range of about 80%, plus or minus 15% which depends on transport mode and studies. Consequently, slight variations in the capabilities of the packages to meet the specified performance would probably not have significant consequences on the protection level in case of accident. In the assessment of the compliance with the regulations, the tendency of experts, taking advantage of the enhanced performances of computer calculation codes, is to ask more and more calculations, with more and more accuracy, leading to more and more restrictions. Consequently, cost and delay are considerably increased without any evidence of an equivalent effect on the level of protection. This paper will initiate a reflection on the general objectives and principles when implementing the Regulations, in such a way that demonstrations remain cost effective, taking into account evolution of the techniques and a high level of safety

46{sup th} Annual meeting on nuclear technology (AMNT 2015). Key topic / Enhanced safety and operation excellence / Sustainable reactor operation management - safe, efficient, valuable

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, Erwin [E.ON Kernkraft GmbH, Global Unit Next Generation, Hannover (Germany)

2015-08-15

Summary report on the following Topical Session of the 46{sup th} Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology (AMNT 2015) held in Berlin, 5 to 7 May 2015: - Sustainable Reactor Operation Management - Safe, Efficient, Valuable (Erwin Fischer) The other Sessions of the Key Topics - ''Outstanding Know-How and Sustainable Innovations'', - ''Enhanced Safety and Operation Excellence'' and - ''Decommissioning Experience and Waste Management Solutions'' have been covered in atw 7 (2015) and will be covered in further issues of atw.

Dukovany NPP - Safely 16 TERA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlcek, J.

2008-01-01

In this presentation increasing of power output of the Dukovany NPP is reviewed. To operate all Dukovany Units safely with the perspective of long-term operation (LTO) of 50 - 60 years it is proposed.

Managing Cassini Safe Mode Attitude at Saturn

Science.gov (United States)

Burk, Thomas A.

2010-01-01

The Cassini spacecraft was launched on October 15, 1997 and arrived at Saturn on June 30, 2004. It has performed detailed observations and remote sensing of Saturn, its rings, and its satellites since that time. In the event safe mode interrupts normal orbital operations, Cassini has flight software fault protection algorithms to detect, isolate, and recover to a thermally safe and commandable attitude and then wait for further instructions from the ground. But the Saturn environment is complex, and safety hazards change depending on where Cassini is in its orbital trajectory around Saturn. Selecting an appropriate safe mode attitude that insures safe operation in the Saturn environment, including keeping the star tracker field of view clear of bright bodies, while maintaining a quiescent, commandable attitude, is a significant challenge. This paper discusses the Cassini safe table management strategy and the key criteria that must be considered, especially during low altitude flybys of Titan, in deciding what spacecraft attitude should be used in the event of safe mode.

Qualification of conditioning process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolf, J.

1989-01-01

A conditioning process is qualified by the PTB if the execution of pre-treatment and conditioning occurs so that a safe and orderly final storage of the products and waste containers produced can be assumed. All the relevant operating conditions for the plant are laid down by the producer/conditioner of the waste in a handbook. The elements of product inspection by process qualification are shown in tabular form. (DG) [de

The safe operation zone of the spark ignition engine working with dual renewable supplemented fuels (hydrogen+ethyl alcohol)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Baghdadi, Maher Abdul-Resul Sadiq [Babylon Univ., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Babylon (Iraq)

2001-04-01

The effect of the amount of hydrogen/ethyl alcohol addition on the performance and pollutant emission of a four-stroke spark ignition engine has been studied. The results of the study show that all engine performance parameters have been improved when operating the gasoline spark ignition engine with dual addition of hydrogen and ethyl alcohol. The important improvements of alcohol addition are to reduce the NOx emission while increasing the higher useful compression ratio and output power of hydrogen-supplemented engine. An equation has been derived from experimental data to specify the least quantity of ethyl alcohol blended with gasoline and satisfying constant NOx emission when hydrogen is added. A chart limiting the safe operation zone of the engine fueled with dual renewable supplemented fuel, (hydrogen and ethyl alcohol) has been produced. The safe zone provides lower NOx and CO emission, lower s.f.c. and higher brake power compared to an equivalent gasoline engine. When ethyl alcohol is increased over 30%, it causes unstable engine operation which can be related to the fact that the fuel is not vaporized, and this causes a reduction in both brake power and efficiency. (Author)

Third-order operator-differential equations with discontinuous coefficients and operators in the boundary conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Araz R. Aliev

2013-10-01

Full Text Available We study a third-order operator-differential equation on the semi-axis with a discontinuous coefficient and boundary conditions which include an abstract linear operator. Sufficient conditions for the well-posed and unique solvability are found by means of properties of the operator coefficients in a Sobolev-type space.

WORK CONDITIONS OF CHAINSAW OPERATORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Roberto Malinovski

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research was to analyze the human factors and the work conditions in clear-cutting operations using chainsaws in mountainous areas. Data were colected in a forestry company in Minas Gerais, Brazil, by interviews with 29 chainsaw operators. The results indicated that the operators average age was 32.3 years, height 1.68m and body weight 64.4Kg. The average job time in the company was 112 months and the average time of chainsaw operation experience was 81.5 months. Most (93.1% were dexterous and 6.9% were left-handed. The high incidence of backache (41.4% indicated that the task demands an overload of lumbar column, so that the company should take preventive measures to avoid backaches, using educational strategies or changing the opera-tional system. The high level of accidents (44.8% indicated that some precautions are needed to im-prove work safety.

Towards Safe Robotic Surgical Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sloth, Christoffer; Wisniewski, Rafael

2015-01-01

a controller for motion compensation in beating-heart surgery, and prove that it is safe, i.e., the surgical tool is kept within an allowable distance and orientation of the heart. We solve the problem by simultaneously finding a control law and a barrier function. The motion compensation system is simulated...... from several initial conditions to demonstrate that the designed control system is safe for every admissible initial condition....

From Planetary Boundaries to national fair shares of the global safe operating space - How can the scales be bridged?

Science.gov (United States)

Häyhä, Tiina; Cornell, Sarah; Lucas, Paul; van Vuuren, Detlef; Hoff, Holger

2016-04-01

The planetary boundaries framework proposes precautionary quantitative global limits to the anthropogenic perturbation of crucial Earth system processes. In this way, it marks out a planetary 'safe operating space' for human activities. However, decisions regarding resource use and emissions are mostly made at much smaller scales, mostly by (sub-)national and regional governments, businesses, and other local actors. To operationalize the planetary boundaries, they need to be translated into and aligned with targets that are relevant at these smaller scales. In this paper, we develop a framework that addresses the three dimension of bridging across scales: biophysical, socio-economic and ethical, to provide a consistent universally applicable approach for translating the planetary boundaries into national level context-specific and fair shares of the safe operating space. We discuss our findings in the context of previous studies and their implications for future analyses and policymaking. In this way, we help link the planetary boundaries framework to widely- applied operational and policy concepts for more robust strong sustainability decision-making.

Hygiene guideline for the planning, installation, and operation of ventilation and air-conditioning systems in health-care settings - Guideline of the German Society for Hospital Hygiene (DGKH).

Science.gov (United States)

Külpmann, Rüdiger; Christiansen, Bärbel; Kramer, Axel; Lüderitz, Peter; Pitten, Frank-Albert; Wille, Frank; Zastrow, Klaus-Dieter; Lemm, Friederike; Sommer, Regina; Halabi, Milo

2016-01-01

Since the publication of the first "Hospital Hygiene Guideline for the implementation and operation of air conditioning systems (HVAC systems) in hospitals" (http://www.krankenhaushygiene.de/informationen/fachinformationen/leitlinien/12) in 2002, it was necessary due to the increase in knowledge, new regulations, improved air-conditioning systems and advanced test methods to revise the guideline. Based on the description of the basic features of ventilation concepts, its hygienic test and the usage-based requirements for ventilation, the DGKH section "Ventilation and air conditioning technology" attempts to provide answers for the major air quality issues in the planning, design and the hygienically safe operation of HVAC systems in rooms of health care.

Water chemistry technology. One of the key technologies for safe and reliable nuclear power plant operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchida, Shunsuke; Katsumura, Yosuke

2013-01-01

Water chemistry control is one of the key technologies to establish safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants. Continuous and collaborative efforts of plant manufacturers and plant operator utilities have been focused on optimal water chemistry control, for which, a trio of requirements for water chemistry should be simultaneously satisfied: (1) better reliability of reactor structures and fuel rods; (2) lower occupational exposure and (3) fewer radwaste sources. Various groups in academia have carried out basic research to support the technical bases of water chemistry in plants. The Research Committee on Water Chemistry of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ), which has now been reorganized as the Division of Water Chemistry (DWC) of AESJ, has played important roles to promote improvements in water chemistry control, to share knowledge about and experiences with water chemistry control among plant operators and manufacturers and to establish common technological bases for plant water chemistry and then to transfer them to the next generation of plant workers engaged in water chemistry. Furthermore, the DWC has tried and succeeded arranging R and D proposals for further improvement in water chemistry control through roadmap planning. In the paper, major achievements in plant technologies and in basic research studies of water chemistry in Japan are reviewed. The contributions of the DWC to the long-term safe management of the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant until their decommissioning are introduced. (author)

78 FR 47817 - Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application for an Exemption From Van Hool N...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-06

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA-2013-0314] Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application for an Exemption From Van Hool N... exemption from Van Hool N.V. and Coach USA (Van Hool/Coach USA) to allow the use of double deck motorcoaches...

Simulation study on detection performance of eye-safe coherent Doppler wind lidar operating near 1.6 μm

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Han; Wang, Qing; Na, Quanxin; Gao, Mingwei

2018-01-01

Coherent Doppler wind lidars (CDWL) are widely used in aerospace, atmospheric monitoring and other fields. The parameters of laser source such as the wavelength, pulse energy, pulse duration and pulse repetition rate (PRR) have significant influences on the detection performance of wind lidar. We established a simulation model which takes into account the effects of atmospheric transmission, backscatter, atmospheric turbulence and parameters of laser source. The maximum detection range is also calculated under the condition that the velocity estimation accuracy is 0.1 m/s by using this model. We analyzed the differences of the detection performance between two operation systems, which show the high pulse energy-low pulse repetition rate (HPE-LPRR) and low pulse energy-high repetition rate (LPE-HPRR), respectively. We proved our simulation model reliable by using the parameters of two commercial lidar products. This research has important theoretical and practical values for the design of eye-safe coherent Doppler wind lidar.

Review of Issues Associated with Safe Operation and Management of the Space Shuttle Program

Science.gov (United States)

Johnstone, Paul M.; Blomberg, Richard D.; Gleghorn, George J.; Krone, Norris J.; Voltz, Richard A.; Dunn, Robert F.; Donlan, Charles J.; Kauderer, Bernard M.; Brill, Yvonne C.; Englar, Kenneth G.;

Placement of the radiochemical processing plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory into a safe standby condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holladay, D.W.; Bopp, C.D.; Farmer, A.J.; Johnson, J.K.; Miller, C.H.; Powers, B.A.; Collins, E.D.

1986-01-01

Extensive upgrade, cleanup, and decontamination efforts are being conducted for appropriate areas in the Radiochemical Processing Plant (RPP) with the goal of achieving safe standby condition by the end of FY 1989. The ventilation system must maintain containment thus, it is being upgraded via demolition and replacement of marginally adequate ductwork, fans, and control systems. Areas that are being decontaminated and stripped of various services (e.g., piping, ductwork, and process tanks) include hot cells, makeup rooms, and pipe tunnels. Operating equipment that is being decontaminated includes glove boxes and hoods. Replacement of the ventilation system and removal of equipment from pipe tunnels, cells, and makeup rooms are accomplished by contact labor by workers using proper attire, safety rules, and shielding, Removal of contaminated ductwork and piping is conducted with containment enclosures that are strategically located at breakpoints, and methods of separation are chosen to conform with health physics requirements. The methods of cutting contaminated piping and ductwork include portable reciprocating saws, pipe cutters, burning, and plasma torch. Specially designed containment enclosures will be used to prevent the spread of radioactive contamination while maintaining adequate ventilation

Placement of the radiochemical processing plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory into a safe standby condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holladay, D.W.; Bopp, C.D.; Farmer, A.J.; Johnson, J.K.; Miller, C.H.; Powers, B.A.; Collins, E.D.

1986-01-01

Extensive upgrade, cleanup, and decontamination efforts are being conducted for appropriate areas in the Radiochemical Processing Plant (RPP) with the goal of achieving ''safe standby'' condition by the end of FY 1989. The ventilation system must maintain containment; thus, it is being upgraded via demolition and replacement of marginally adequate ductwork, fans, and control systems. Areas that are being decontaminated and stripped of various services (e.g., piping, ductwork, and process tanks) include hot cells, makeup rooms, and pipe tunnels. Operating equipment that is being decontaminated includes glove boxes and hoods. Replacement of the ventilation system and removal of equipment from pipe tunnels, cells, and makeup rooms are accomplished by contact labor by workers using proper attire, safety rules, and shielding. Removal of contaminated ductwork and piping is conducted with containment enclosures that are strategically located at breakpoints, and methods of separation are chosen to conform with health physics requirements. The methods of cutting contaminated piping and ductwork include portable reciprocating saws, pipe cutters, burning, and plasma torch. Specially designed containment enclosures will be used to prevent the spread of radioactive contamination while maintaining adequate ventilation. 6 figs

A novelty detection diagnostic methodology for gearboxes operating under fluctuating operating conditions using probabilistic techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, S.; Heyns, P. S.; de Villiers, J. P.

2018-02-01

In this paper, a fault diagnostic methodology is developed which is able to detect, locate and trend gear faults under fluctuating operating conditions when only vibration data from a single transducer, measured on a healthy gearbox are available. A two-phase feature extraction and modelling process is proposed to infer the operating condition and based on the operating condition, to detect changes in the machine condition. Information from optimised machine and operating condition hidden Markov models are statistically combined to generate a discrepancy signal which is post-processed to infer the condition of the gearbox. The discrepancy signal is processed and combined with statistical methods for automatic fault detection and localisation and to perform fault trending over time. The proposed methodology is validated on experimental data and a tacholess order tracking methodology is used to enhance the cost-effectiveness of the diagnostic methodology.

Chernobyl new safe confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodd, L.

2011-01-01

The author presents the new safe confinement that will be commissioned at Unit 4 of the Chernobyl NPP in 2015. The confinement will ensure that Chernobyl Unit 4 will be placed in an environmentally safe condition for at least next 100 years. The article highlights the current work status, future perspectives and the feasibility of confinement concept [ru

Analysis of the prevailing standard and technical documents for their applicability under conditions of the 'Ukrytie' operation and technical proposals relating to the elaboration of new ones concerning fire safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazarenko, B.S.; Emets, V.G.

1998-01-01

An analysis of the prevailing laws and standards and technical documents (STD) to ensure safe operation of nuclear power installations, with requirements of nuclear, radiation and fire safety taken into account, has been performed. Proposals on application of some items of prevailing STD under conditions of the 'Ukrytie' operation are presented. Also given are technical proposals on correction of the prevailing operational standard documents and elaboration of special STD

The End-To-End Safety Verification Process Implemented to Ensure Safe Operations of the Columbus Research Module

Science.gov (United States)

Arndt, J.; Kreimer, J.

2010-09-01

The European Space Laboratory COLUMBUS was launched in February 2008 with NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis. Since successful docking and activation this manned laboratory forms part of the International Space Station(ISS). Depending on the objectives of the Mission Increments the on-orbit configuration of the COLUMBUS Module varies with each increment. This paper describes the end-to-end verification which has been implemented to ensure safe operations under the condition of a changing on-orbit configuration. That verification process has to cover not only the configuration changes as foreseen by the Mission Increment planning but also those configuration changes on short notice which become necessary due to near real-time requests initiated by crew or Flight Control, and changes - most challenging since unpredictable - due to on-orbit anomalies. Subject of the safety verification is on one hand the on orbit configuration itself including the hardware and software products, on the other hand the related Ground facilities needed for commanding of and communication to the on-orbit System. But also the operational products, e.g. the procedures prepared for crew and ground control in accordance to increment planning, are subject of the overall safety verification. In order to analyse the on-orbit configuration for potential hazards and to verify the implementation of the related Safety required hazard controls, a hierarchical approach is applied. The key element of the analytical safety integration of the whole COLUMBUS Payload Complement including hardware owned by International Partners is the Integrated Experiment Hazard Assessment(IEHA). The IEHA especially identifies those hazardous scenarios which could potentially arise through physical and operational interaction of experiments. A major challenge is the implementation of a Safety process which owns quite some rigidity in order to provide reliable verification of on-board Safety and which likewise provides enough

Strategy for monitoring and ensuring safe operation of Russian gas transportation systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dudin Sergey

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The authors examined the legislative framework of the Russian Federation operating in the field of industrial safety, and described how to obtain a license to operate hazardous production facilities. The paper demonstrates that the importance should be given to the quality and completeness of the background information, as well as the choice of inspection strategy in evaluating the technical condition of the line section of main gas pipelines. As a part of a package of measures to ensure industrial safety and technical reliability of existing gas pipelines it is proposed to carry out conditioning of their line sections. The paper describes general requirements for pipeline inspection, which include: detection efficiency of dangerous damages and major leaks, maximum accuracy of detection of the defect location, continuity of monitoring throughout the entire range of operation modes of the pipeline, cost recovery at the stages of development and operation of control systems, forecasting the state of the pipeline and the effects of accidents. In practice, these parameters have the prevailing significance.

Hygiene guideline for the planning, installation, and operation of ventilation and air-conditioning systems in health-care settings – Guideline of the German Society for Hospital Hygiene (DGKH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Külpmann, Rüdiger

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Since the publication of the first “Hospital Hygiene Guideline for the implementation and operation of air conditioning systems (HVAC systems in hospitals” ( in 2002, it was necessary due to the increase in knowledge, new regulations, improved air-conditioning systems and advanced test methods to revise the guideline. Based on the description of the basic features of ventilation concepts, its hygienic test and the usage-based requirements for ventilation, the DGKH section “Ventilation and air conditioning technology” attempts to provide answers for the major air quality issues in the planning, design and the hygienically safe operation of HVAC systems in rooms of health care.

A Short-Circuit Safe Operation Area Identification Criterion for SiC MOSFET Power Modules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reigosa, Paula Diaz; Iannuzzo, Francesco; Luo, Haoze

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a new method for the investigation of the short-circuit safe operation area (SCSOA) of state-of-the-art SiC MOSFET power modules rated at 1.2 kV based on the variations in SiC MOSFET electrical parameters (e.g., short-circuit current and gate–source voltage). According...... to the experimental results, two different failure mechanisms have been identified, both reducing the short-circuit capability of SiC power modules with respect to discrete SiC devices. Based on such failure mechanisms, two short-circuit safety criteria have been formulated: 1) the short-circuit...

Water chemistry - one of the key technologies for safe and reliable nuclear power plant operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchida, S.; Otoha, K.; Ishigure, K.

2006-01-01

Full text: Full text: Water chemistry control is one of the key technologies to establish safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants. Continuous and collaborative efforts of plant manufacturers and plant operator utilities have been focused on optimal water chemistry control, for which, a trio of requirements for water chemistry, a) better reliability of reactor structures and fuels, b) lower occupational exposure, and c) fewer radwaste sources, should be simultaneously satisfied. The research committee related to water chemistry of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan has played important roles to enhance improvement in water chemistry control, to share knowledge and experience with water chemistry among plant operators and manufacturers, to establish common technological bases for plant water chemistry and then to transfer them to the next generation related to water chemistry. Furthermore, the committee has tried to contribute to arranging R and D proposals for further improvement in water chemistry control through road map planning

77 FR 12059 - Using Innovative Technologies and Other Conditions of Safe Use To Expand Which Drug Products Can...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-28

...] Using Innovative Technologies and Other Conditions of Safe Use To Expand Which Drug Products Can Be... over-the- counter or OTC products) can be purchased by consumers in pharmacies, supermarkets, and other retail establishments without the need for a prescription. Currently, consumers can purchase...

A minicomputer interface for realtime operations: an application to operant conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayor, S J; Wilson, J

1975-09-01

A PDP-12 interface was designed, constructed, and tested for realtime imput and output of binary information. Within limits this interface can be used with any peripheral device which operates in the binary mode. In addition to its generality of application the interface features include ease of expansion and low cost. A description of its design and operation is give here is terms of a typical application: the control of behavioral equipment (i.e. "Skinner Boxes") for operant conditioning.

Cellular automata model for traffic flow with safe driving conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lárraga María Elena; Alvarez-Icaza Luis

2014-01-01

In this paper, a recently introduced cellular automata (CA) model is used for a statistical analysis of the inner microscopic structure of synchronized traffic flow. The analysis focuses on the formation and dissolution of clusters or platoons of vehicles, as the mechanism that causes the presence of this synchronized traffic state with a high flow. This platoon formation is one of the most interesting phenomena observed in traffic flows and plays an important role both in manual and automated highway systems (AHS). Simulation results, obtained from a single-lane system under periodic boundary conditions indicate that in the density region where the synchronized state is observed, most vehicles travel together in platoons with approximately the same speed and small spatial distances. The examination of velocity variations and individual vehicle gaps shows that the flow corresponding to the synchronized state is stable, safe and highly correlated. Moreover, results indicate that the observed platoon formation in real traffic is reproduced in simulations by the relation between vehicle headway and velocity that is embedded in the dynamics definition of the CA model. (general)

Condition Monitoring Of Operating Pipelines With Operational Modal Analysis Application

OpenAIRE

Mironov Aleksey; Doronkin Pavel; Priklonsky Aleksander; Kabashkin Igor

2015-01-01

In the petroleum, natural gas and petrochemical industries, great attention is being paid to safety, reliability and maintainability of equipment. There are a number of technologies to monitor, control, and maintain gas, oil, water, and sewer pipelines. The paper focuses on operational modal analysis (OMA) application for condition monitoring of operating pipelines. Special focus is on the topicality of OMA for definition of the dynamic features of the pipeline (frequencies and mode shapes) i...

Design, qualification and operation of nuclear rockets for safe Mars missions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buden, D.; Madsen, W.W.; Olson, T.S.; Redd, L.R.

1993-01-01

Nuclear thermal propulsion modules planned for use on crew missions to Mars improve mission reliability and overall safety of the mission. This, as well as all other systems, are greatly enhanced if the system specifications take into account safety from design initiation, and operational considerations are well thought through and applied. For instance, the use of multiple engines in the propulsion module can lead to very high system safety and reliability. Operational safety enhancements may include: the use of multiple perigee burns, thus allowing time to ensure that all systems are functioning properly prior to departure from Earth orbit; the ability to perform all other parts of the mission in a degraded mode with little or no degradation of the mission; and the safe disposal of the nuclear propulsion module in a heliocentric orbit out of the ecliptic plane. The standards used to qualify nuclear rockets are one of the main cost drivers of the program. Concepts and systems that minimize cost and risk will rely on use of the element and component levels to demonstrate technology readiness and validation. Subsystem or systems testing then is only needed for verification of performance. Also, these will be the safest concepts because they will be more thoroughly understood and the safety margins will be well established and confirmed by tests

Operating conditions of steam generators for LMFBR's

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratzel, W

1975-07-01

Operating conditions considered to be appropriate for a LMFBR steam generator are discussed on the example of the SNR 300. The areas covered are steady state and transient conditions, upset and emergency temperature transients, and requirements due to sodium-water reactions. (author)

Operating conditions of steam generators for LMFBR's

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratzel, W.

1975-01-01

Operating conditions considered to be appropriate for a LMFBR steam generator are discussed on the example of the SNR 300. The areas covered are steady state and transient conditions, upset and emergency temperature transients, and requirements due to sodium-water reactions. (author)

A study on the Safe Operation of RHRS during Shut-Down and Low Power Operations of Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeon, Moon Hun; Sung, Chang Kyung; Kim, Yang Suk; You, Sun Oh; Joo, In Chul [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1996-08-01

The main objective is to perform basic research for safe operation of RHRs, which is an important part in the safety analysis of nuclear reactors during a mid-loop operation of nuclear power plants. To achieve this objective, a series of experiments have been performed to simulate the wave phenomena of countercurrent flow that may occur in the hot legs during a mid-loop operation. The major contents and the scope are as follows, To collect and to analyse existing experimental works and also numerical works which have been carried out using large computer codes. To collect and to analyse existing works on the flow patterns of two-phase flows. To perform a series of experiments to simulate the wave phenomena for the countercurrent two-phase flow in hot legs. To obtain correlations for the interfacial friction factor and the flow patterns for a countercurrent flow from the experimentally measured parameters. To obtain the interfacial friction factor between the two-phases of air-water countercurrent flow in a horizontal pipe, a series of experiments have been performed using two different sections of 0.05 m in diameter, whose lengths are 2 m and 4 m, respectively. The results presented here can be used as the fundamental information to obtain the most important thermal-hydraulic parameters such as flow patterns and interfacial friction factors for air-water two-phase flows, which are necessary for safety analyses and operation of nuclear power plants during a mid-loop operation. 46 refs., 8 tabs., 35 figs., 3 ills. (author)

Targets of operation monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wenger, H.

1997-01-01

The condition monitoring system of a nuclear power plant should be an assurance for the user and the authorities that the safety of the installation constantly corresponds to the nominal condition. As soon as deviations from these conditions occur, it should quickly provide fundamentals for corrective measures. It contributes to a high degree of availability of the installation and makes safe and economical operation throughout the whole life of the installation possible. (author) 1 fig

Condition Monitoring of Machinery in Non-Stationary Operations : Proceedings of the Second International Conference "Condition Monitoring of Machinery in Non-Stationnary Operations"

CERN Document Server

Bartelmus, Walter; Chaari, Fakher; Zimroz, Radoslaw; Haddar, Mohamed

2012-01-01

Condition monitoring of machines in non-stationary operations (CMMNO) can be seen as the major challenge for research in the field of machinery diagnostics. Condition monitoring of machines in non-stationary operations is the title of the presented book and the title of the Conference held in Hammamet - Tunisia March 26 – 28, 2012. It is the second conference under this title, first took place in Wroclaw - Poland , March 2011. The subject CMMNO comes directly from industry needs and observation of real objects. Most monitored and diagnosed objects used in industry works in non-stationary operations condition. The non-stationary operations come from fulfillment of machinery tasks, for which they are designed for. All machinery used in different kind of mines, transport systems, vehicles like: cars, buses etc, helicopters, ships and battleships and so on work in non-stationary operations. The papers included in the book are shaped by the organizing board of the conference and authors of the papers. The papers...

VISIR: technological infrastructure of an operational service for safe and efficient navigation in the Mediterranean Sea

OpenAIRE

G. Mannarini; G. Turrisi; A. D'Anca; M. Scalas; N. Pinardi; G. Coppini; F. Palermo; I. Carluccio; M. Scuro; S. Cretì; R. Lecci; P. Nassisi; L. Tedesco

2016-01-01

VISIR (discoVerIng Safe and effIcient Routes) is an operational decision support system (DSS) for optimal ship routing designed and implemented in the frame of the TESSA (TEchnology for Situational Sea Awareness) project. The system is aimed to increase safety and efficiency of navigation through the use of forecast environmental fields and route optimization. VISIR can be accessed through a web interface (www.visir-nav.com) and mobile applications for both iOS and Androi...

Super-compactor and grouting. Efficient and safe treatment of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Hongyou; Starke, Holger; Muetzel, Wolfgang; Winter, Marc

2014-01-01

The conditioning and volume reduction of nuclear waste are increasingly important factors throughout the world. Efficient and safe treatment of nuclear waste therefore plays a decisive role. Babcock Noell designed, manufactured and supplied a complete waste treatment facility for conditioning of the solid radioactive waste of a nuclear power plant to China. This facility consists of a Sorting Station, a Super-Compactor, a Grouting Unit with Capping Device and other auxiliary equipment which is described in more detail in the following article. This article gives an overview of the efficient and safe treatment of nuclear waste. Babcock Noell is a subsidiary of the Bilfinger Power Systems and has 40 years of experience in the field of design, engineering, construction, static and dynamic calculations, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, as well as in the service and operation of a wide variety of nuclear components and facilities worldwide.

Operational limits and conditions for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

This Safety Guide was prepared as part of the Agency's programme, referred to as the NUSS programme, for establishing Codes of Practice and Safety Guides relating to nuclear power plants. It covers the concept of operational limits and conditions, their content as applicable to various types of thermal reactors, and the responsibilities of the operating organization regarding their establishment, modification, compliance and documentation. The principles of the operational limits and conditions are established in section 3 of the Agency's Code of Practice on Safety in Nuclear Power Plant Operation, including Commissioning and Decommissioning (IAEA Safety Series No. 50-C-O), which this present Safety Guide supplements. In order to present all pertinent information in this Guide, the provisions of section 3 of the Code are repeated

Concept of an inherently-safe high temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohashi, Hirofumi; Sato, Hiroyuki; Tachibana, Yukio; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko; Ogawa, Masuro

2012-01-01

As the challenge to ensure no harmful release of radioactive materials at the accidents by deterministic approach instead to satisfy acceptance criteria or safety goal for risk by probabilistic approach, new concept of advanced reactor, an inherently-safe high temperature gas-cooled reactor, is proposed based on the experience of the operation of the actual High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) in Japan, High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), and the design of the commercial plant (GTHTR300), utilizing the inherent safety features of the HTGR (i.e., safety features based on physical phenomena). The safety design philosophy of the inherently-safe HTGR for the safety analysis of the radiological consequences is determined as the confinement of radioactive materials is assured by only inherent safety features without engineered safety features, AC power or prompt actions by plant personnel if the design extension conditions occur. Inherent safety features to prevent the loss or degradation of the confinement function are identified. It is proposed not to apply the probabilistic approach for the evaluation of the radiological consequences of the accidents in the safety analysis because no inherent safety features fail for the mitigation of the consequences of the accidents. Consequently, there are no event sequences to harmful release of radioactive materials if the design extension conditions occur in the inherently-safe HTGR concept. The concept and future R and D items for the inherently-safe HTGR are described in this paper.

From Planetary Boundaries to national fair shares of the global safe operating space — How can the scales be bridged?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Häyhä, Tiina; Lucas, Paul L.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/272607444; van Vuuren, Detlef P.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/11522016X; Cornell, Sarah E.; Hoff, Holger

2016-01-01

The planetary boundaries framework proposes quantitative global limits to the anthropogenic perturbation of crucial Earth system processes, and thus marks out a planetary safe operating space for human activities. Yet, decisions regarding resource use and emissions are mostly made at less aggregated

Remaining useful life estimation for deteriorating systems with time-varying operational conditions and condition-specific failure zones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Qi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Dynamic time-varying operational conditions pose great challenge to the estimation of system remaining useful life (RUL for the deteriorating systems. This paper presents a method based on probabilistic and stochastic approaches to estimate system RUL for periodically monitored degradation processes with dynamic time-varying operational conditions and condition-specific failure zones. The method assumes that the degradation rate is influenced by specific operational condition and moreover, the transition between different operational conditions plays the most important role in affecting the degradation process. These operational conditions are assumed to evolve as a discrete-time Markov chain (DTMC. The failure thresholds are also determined by specific operational conditions and described as different failure zones. The 2008 PHM Conference Challenge Data is utilized to illustrate our method, which contains mass sensory signals related to the degradation process of a commercial turbofan engine. The RUL estimation method using the sensor measurements of a single sensor was first developed, and then multiple vital sensors were selected through a particular optimization procedure in order to increase the prediction accuracy. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method are presented in a comparison with existing methods for the same dataset.

Organising a safe space for navigating social-ecological transformations to sustainability

OpenAIRE

Pereira, L.; Karpouzoglou, T.D.; Doshi, S.; Frantzeskaki, N.

2015-01-01

textabstractThe need for developing socially just living conditions for the world’s growing population whilst keeping human societies within a ‘safe operating space’ has become a modern imperative. This requires transformative changes in the dominant social norms, behaviours, governance and management regimes that guide human responses in areas such as urban ecology, public health, resource security (e.g., food, water, energy access), economic development and biodiversity conservation. Howeve...

Safe handling of TBP and nitrates in the nuclear process industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hyder, M.L.

1994-07-01

A laboratory and literature study was made of the reactions of tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) with nitric acid and nitrates. Its goal was to establish safe conditions for solvent extraction processes involving these chemicals. The damaging explosions at the Tomsk-7 PUREX plant in Russia graphically illustrated the potential hazard involved in such operations. The study has involved a review of prior and contemporary experiments, and new experiments to answer particular questions about these reactions. TBP extracts nitric acid and some metal nitrates from aqueous solutions. The resulting liquid contains both oxidant and reductant, and can react exothermically if heated sufficiently. Safe handling of these potentially reactive materials involves not only limiting the heat generated by the chemical reaction, but also providing adequate heat removal and venting. Specifically, the following recommendations are made to ensure safety: (1) tanks in which TBP-nitrate complexes are or may be present should be adequately vented to avoid pressurization. Data are supplied as a basis for adequacy; (2) chemically degraded TBP, or TBP that has sat a long time in the presence of acids or radiation, should be purified before use in solvent extraction; (3) evaporators in which TBP might be introduced should be operated at a controlled temperature, and their TBP content should be limited; (4) evaporator bottoms that may contain TBP should be cooled under conditions that ensure heat removal. Finally, process design should consider the potential for such reactions, and operators should be made aware of this potential, so that it is considered during training and process operation

Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants: Impacts of Human and Organisational Factors and Emerging Technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

In co-operation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the Halden Reactor Project organised a Summer School on ''Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants: Impacts of Human and Organisational Factors and Emerging Technologies'' in the period August 27-August 31, 2001. The Summer School was intended for scientists, engineers and technicians working for nuclear installations, engineering companies, industry and members of universities and research institutes, who wanted to broaden their nuclear background by getting acquainted with Man-Technology-Organisation-related subjects and issues. The Summer School should also serve to transfer knowledge to the ''young generation'' in the nuclear field. The following presentations were given: (1) Overview of the Nuclear Community and Current issues, (2) The Elements of Safety Culture; Evaluation of Events, (3) Quality Management (QM), (4) Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PSA), (5) Human Behaviour from the Viewpoint of Industrial Psychology, (6) Technical tour of the Halden Project Experimental Facilities, (7) Human Factors in Control Room Design, (8) Computerised Operator Support Systems (COSSs) and (9) Artificial Intelligence; a new Approach. Most of the contributions are overhead figures from spoken lectures

Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants: Impacts of Human and Organisational Factors and Emerging Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

In co-operation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the Halden Reactor Project organised a Summer School on ''Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants: Impacts of Human and Organisational Factors and Emerging Technologies'' in the period August 27-August 31, 2001. The Summer School was intended for scientists, engineers and technicians working for nuclear installations, engineering companies, industry and members of universities and research institutes, who wanted to broaden their nuclear background by getting acquainted with Man-Technology-Organisation-related subjects and issues. The Summer School should also serve to transfer knowledge to the ''young generation'' in the nuclear field. The following presentations were given: (1) Overview of the Nuclear Community and Current issues, (2) The Elements of Safety Culture; Evaluation of Events, (3) Quality Management (QM), (4) Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PSA), (5) Human Behaviour from the Viewpoint of Industrial Psychology, (6) Technical tour of the Halden Project Experimental Facilities, (7) Human Factors in Control Room Design, (8) Computerised Operator Support Systems (COSSs) and (9) Artificial Intelligence; a new Approach. Most of the contributions are overhead figures from spoken lectures.

Operational Markov Condition for Quantum Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Pollock, Felix A.; Rodríguez-Rosario, César; Frauenheim, Thomas; Paternostro, Mauro; Modi, Kavan

2018-01-01

We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for a quantum process to be Markovian which coincides with the classical one in the relevant limit. Our condition unifies all previously known definitions for quantum Markov processes by accounting for all potentially detectable memory effects. We then derive a family of measures of non-Markovianity with clear operational interpretations, such as the size of the memory required to simulate a process or the experimental falsifiability of a Markovian hypothesis.

Univalence Conditions Related to a General Integral Operator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoleta Breaz

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a general integral operator based on two types of analytic functions, namely, regular functions and, respectively, functions having a positive real part. Some univalence conditions for this integral operator are obtained.

Spontaneous decisions and operant conditioning in fruit flies.

Science.gov (United States)

Brembs, Björn

2011-05-01

Already in the 1930s Skinner, Konorski and colleagues debated the commonalities, differences and interactions among the processes underlying what was then known as "conditioned reflexes type I and II", but which is today more well-known as classical (Pavlovian) and operant (instrumental) conditioning. Subsequent decades of research have confirmed that the interactions between the various learning systems engaged during operant conditioning are complex and difficult to disentangle. Today, modern neurobiological tools allow us to dissect the biological processes underlying operant conditioning and study their interactions. These processes include initiating spontaneous behavioral variability, world-learning and self-learning. The data suggest that behavioral variability is generated actively by the brain, rather than as a by-product of a complex, noisy input-output system. The function of this variability, in part, is to detect how the environment responds to such actions. World-learning denotes the biological process by which value is assigned to environmental stimuli. Self-learning is the biological process which assigns value to a specific action or movement. In an operant learning situation using visual stimuli for flies, world-learning inhibits self-learning via a prominent neuropil region, the mushroom-bodies. Only extended training can overcome this inhibition and lead to habit formation by engaging the self-learning mechanism. Self-learning transforms spontaneous, flexible actions into stereotyped, habitual responses. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Allowing variance may enlarge the safe operating space for exploited ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Stephen R; Brock, William A; Folke, Carl; van Nes, Egbert H; Scheffer, Marten

2015-11-17

Variable flows of food, water, or other ecosystem services complicate planning. Management strategies that decrease variability and increase predictability may therefore be preferred. However, actions to decrease variance over short timescales (2-4 y), when applied continuously, may lead to long-term ecosystem changes with adverse consequences. We investigated the effects of managing short-term variance in three well-understood models of ecosystem services: lake eutrophication, harvest of a wild population, and yield of domestic herbivores on a rangeland. In all cases, actions to decrease variance can increase the risk of crossing critical ecosystem thresholds, resulting in less desirable ecosystem states. Managing to decrease short-term variance creates ecosystem fragility by changing the boundaries of safe operating spaces, suppressing information needed for adaptive management, cancelling signals of declining resilience, and removing pressures that may build tolerance of stress. Thus, the management of variance interacts strongly and inseparably with the management of resilience. By allowing for variation, learning, and flexibility while observing change, managers can detect opportunities and problems as they develop while sustaining the capacity to deal with them.

Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility interim operational safety requirements

CERN Document Server

Covey, L I

2000-01-01

The Interim Operational Safety Requirements (IOSRs) for the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) define acceptable conditions, safe boundaries, bases thereof, and management or administrative controls required to ensure safe operation during receipt and inspection of cesium and strontium capsules from private irradiators; decontamination of the capsules and equipment; surveillance of the stored capsules; and maintenance activities. Controls required for public safety, significant defense-in-depth, significant worker safety, and for maintaining radiological consequences below risk evaluation guidelines (EGs) are included.

Compliant Task Execution and Learning for Safe Mixed-Initiative Human-Robot Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Shuonan; Conrad, Patrick R.; Shah, Julie A.; Williams, Brian C.; Mittman, David S.; Ingham, Michel D.; Verma, Vandana

2011-01-01

We introduce a novel task execution capability that enhances the ability of in-situ crew members to function independently from Earth by enabling safe and efficient interaction with automated systems. This task execution capability provides the ability to (1) map goal-directed commands from humans into safe, compliant, automated actions, (2) quickly and safely respond to human commands and actions during task execution, and (3) specify complex motions through teaching by demonstration. Our results are applicable to future surface robotic systems, and we have demonstrated these capabilities on JPL's All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) robot.

Infant Operant Conditioning and Its Implications for Early Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Lancioni, Giullo E.

1980-01-01

In this article infant operant conditioning studies are grouped according to distinct procedures: free operant; discrete trial with one discriminative stimulus; discrete trial with two or more discriminative stimuli; controlled operant with two or more discriminative stimuli; and unrestricted operant with two or more discriminative stimuli.…

Reactive, Safe Navigation for Lunar and Planetary Robots

Science.gov (United States)

Utz, Hans; Ruland, Thomas

2008-01-01

When humans return to the moon, Astronauts will be accompanied by robotic helpers. Enabling robots to safely operate near astronauts on the lunar surface has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of crew surface operations. Safely operating robots in close proximity to astronauts on the lunar surface requires reactive obstacle avoidance capabilities not available on existing planetary robots. In this paper we present work on safe, reactive navigation using a stereo based high-speed terrain analysis and obstacle avoidance system. Advances in the design of the algorithms allow it to run terrain analysis and obstacle avoidance algorithms at full frame rate (30Hz) on off the shelf hardware. The results of this analysis are fed into a fast, reactive path selection module, enforcing the safety of the chosen actions. The key components of the system are discussed and test results are presented.

Welded repair joints of boiler steels following operation in creep conditions exceeding the design time of operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dobrzanski, J.; Paszkowska, H.; Zielinski, A. [Institute for Ferrous Metallurgy, Gliwice (Poland)

2010-07-01

The assessment of suitability for further operation for materials and welded repair joints of thick-walled main steam pipeline components, made of steel 14MoV63, as well as steam superheater outlet headers made of steel X20CrMoV121 following operation in creep conditions in time periods considerably longer than the specified calculated time of operation. Strength properties, impact strength and transition temperature into brittle condition, as well as structure condition have been evaluated. On the basis of shortened creep tests, the residual life and disposable residual life of materials and welded joints have been determined. Material properties following operation and those of fabricated circumferential welded repair joints have been compared. The condition of examined components and suitability of the fabricated welded repair joints for further operation have been assessed. (orig.)

Instructional maps of safe working methods and practices for separate types of opera-tions conducted in the oil mine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

И. В. Климова

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Instructing personnel in the issues of labor protection and industrial safety at hazardous facilities is one of the main tasks that face the employer; the quality with which this procedure is organized and carried out defines not only company’s indicators, but the mere possibility of its normal functioning. The paper contains a detailed overview of the typical content of standard documentation, which is currently used when conducting operations in the oil mines of Yarega high-viscosity oil deposit. Distinct features and unique nature of this oil field require special measures to guarantee safety of personnel and all facilities in general.The author proposes and reviews an additional type of operating guidelines – instructional map of safe working methods and practices. It is more illustrative than existing documentation (charts of inclined shaft development, labor protection regulations, which allows to upgrade the process of instructing personnel in the oil mines, to improve the quality of instructions and to reduce the risk of emergencies, accidents, industrial injuries.The author reviews the structure of suggested instructional map, offers a detailed arrangement diagram for the main thematic sections of the map, as well as their content. Instructional maps are regarded as a type of operating guidelines that include: description and characteristics of equipment, instruments and appliances; general safety requirements; content and execution sequence of operational elements with their graphical images; distribution of responsibilities with an indication of their priority in case the operations are conducted by several workers; specific safety requirements for equipment, materials, instruments, safety clothes and footwear, personal protective gear etc. (prohibitions, warnings.Advantages and disadvantages of proposed instructional maps of safe working methods and practices are highlighted.

Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants: Impacts of Human and Organisational Factors and Emerging Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

In co-operation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the Halden Reactor Project organised a Summer School on ''Safe Operation of Nuclear Power Plants: Impacts of Human and Organisational Factors and Emerging Technologies'' in the period August 27-August 31, 2001. The Summer School was intended for scientists, engineers and technicians working for nuclear installations, engineering companies, industry and members of universities and research institutes, who wanted to broaden their nuclear background by getting acquainted with Man-Technology-Organisation-related subjects and issues. The Summer School should also serve to transfer knowledge to the ''young generation'' in the nuclear field. The following presentations were given: (1) Overview of the Nuclear Community and Current issues, (2) The Elements of Safety Culture; Evaluation of Events, (3) Quality Management (QM), (4) Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PSA), (5) Human Behaviour from the Viewpoint of Industrial Psychology, (6) Technical tour of the Halden Project Experimental Facilities, (7) Human Factors in Control Room Design, (8) Computerised Operator Support Systems (COSSs) and (9) Artificial Intelligence; a new Approach. Most of the contributions are overhead figures from spoken lectures.

The right to adequate and safe working conditions in Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Едуард Валентинович Гаврилов

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The special attention is given to the rights of the citizens for independent and safe working conditions. The rights secured by law and guaranteed of each among workers and employers have been considered. The court case on infliction of harm to health in the performance of job duties has been analyzed. Taking this case as an example one can see different possible ways of its solution that cause controversy and contradictions. The Court of First Instance takes the side of the employer, Court of Appeal – on the side of the victim and consideration of the case on cassation appeal - shows only that the state taking the role of the judge is on the employer side not on the side of the worker as a victim. So, one can see that course of the state policy secured by legislators in the numerous normative acts and being reflection of the constitutional principle of the recognition by the state of  the human being, his or her life and health, honour and dignity, inviolability and security as the highest social value that is foreseen by Article 3 and by the provision of Part 4 Article 43 of the Basic Law does not correspond to the realities of life.

Safe management of sealed radioactive sources at Karachi nuclear power complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahir, T.B.; Qamar, A.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the conditioning of sealed radioactive sources, carried out at the Karachi Nuclear Power Complex (KNPC) in co-operation with the IAEA. The radioactive sources were radium needles of various size, used by various radiotherapy units in different hospitals throughout the country. For some time the use of radium needles had been abandoned and they were stored in hospitals awaiting proper disposal. Since their storage conditions were not ideal and there was a potential of leakage of radioactive material into the environment, it was decided to condition and store them safely. A significant logistic effort was required to identify these sources, bring them to a central facility and condition them according to current international standards. Various steps were involved in conditioning the sources: place it in a stainless steel capsule, weld the capsule, test it for a leak, place the capsule in a lead shielded package, put and seal the shielded package in a concrete-lined steel drum and finally store it at the waste storage facility. A total amount of about 1500 mg of Radium needles were conditioned. Radiation exposure during the entire operation was within acceptable limits. (author)

Operant conditioning of facial displays of pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunz, Miriam; Rainville, Pierre; Lautenbacher, Stefan

2011-06-01

The operant model of chronic pain posits that nonverbal pain behavior, such as facial expressions, is sensitive to reinforcement, but experimental evidence supporting this assumption is sparse. The aim of the present study was to investigate in a healthy population a) whether facial pain behavior can indeed be operantly conditioned using a discriminative reinforcement schedule to increase and decrease facial pain behavior and b) to what extent these changes affect pain experience indexed by self-ratings. In the experimental group (n = 29), the participants were reinforced every time that they showed pain-indicative facial behavior (up-conditioning) or a neutral expression (down-conditioning) in response to painful heat stimulation. Once facial pain behavior was successfully up- or down-conditioned, respectively (which occurred in 72% of participants), facial pain displays and self-report ratings were assessed. In addition, a control group (n = 11) was used that was yoked to the reinforcement plans of the experimental group. During the conditioning phases, reinforcement led to significant changes in facial pain behavior in the majority of the experimental group (p .136). Fine-grained analyses of facial muscle movements revealed a similar picture. Furthermore, the decline in facial pain displays (as observed during down-conditioning) strongly predicted changes in pain ratings (R(2) = 0.329). These results suggest that a) facial pain displays are sensitive to reinforcement and b) that changes in facial pain displays can affect self-report ratings.

Operating conditions of batteries in off-grid renewable energy systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svoboda, V.; Wenzl, H.; Kaiser, R.

2007-01-01

for batteries. Categories are defined in such a way that batteries belonging to the same category are subjected to similar operating conditions and a similar combination of stress factors. The results provide a comprehensive overview of battery operating conditions in existing off-grid renewable energy systems...

Manpower development for safe operation of nuclear power plant. China. Simulator software development. UNDP-Activity: 2.1.8-IAEA-Task-01. Technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, C.P.

1994-01-01

In the frameworks of the project ''manpower development for safe operation of nuclear power plant'' the development of reactor simulator software is described. Qinshan nuclear power plant was chosen as a reference one

On Formal and Informal Factors: Enabling Learning for Safe Offshore Drilling Operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trygve J. Steiro

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Traditional safety thinking has been concerned with investigating accident causations in order to learn from these. However, successful operations constitute the great majority of all the operations. It would thus be interesting to add a focus towards learning from operations that go well. The purpose of the current study is to identify factors that might contribute to successful operations in terms of safety. This purpose is approached by an empirical study consisting of 10 interviews with people who work on board a drilling rig currently operating in Norway. The informants who participated in the interviews hold different positions and come from different companies represented on board the rig. The findings in this study show that it can be difficult to characterize or define successful operations. The definition will be subjective; however, there are some common features of successful operations. Maintaining the life and health of people are the number one priority. A successful operation should also result in the intended product even though it might take some more time than planned. A successful operation is created by many factors and conditions. This study identified 27 factors that might contribute to successful operations in terms of safety. A lot of the theory explaining successful operations focuses on informal factors related to humans and their actions. However, the findings in this study implies that there must be both formal and informal factors present.

System and method of vehicle operating condition management

Science.gov (United States)

Sujan, Vivek A.; Vajapeyazula, Phani; Follen, Kenneth; Wu, An; Moffett, Barty L.

2015-10-20

A vehicle operating condition profile can be determined over a given route while also considering imposed constraints such as deviation from time targets, deviation from maximum governed speed limits, etc. Given current vehicle speed, engine state and transmission state, the present disclosure optimally manages the engine map and transmission to provide a recommended vehicle operating condition that optimizes fuel consumption in transitioning from one vehicle state to a target state. Exemplary embodiments provide for offline and online optimizations relative to fuel consumption. The benefit is increased freight efficiency in transporting cargo from source to destination by minimizing fuel consumption and maintaining drivability.

Controllable conditional quantum oscillations and quantum gate operations in superconducting flux qubits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Aimin; Cho Samyoung

2011-01-01

Conditional quantum oscillations are investigated for quantum gate operations in superconducting flux qubits. We present an effective Hamiltonian which describes a conditional quantum oscillation in two-qubit systems. Rabi-type quantum oscillations are discussed in implementing conditional quantum oscillations to quantum gate operations. Two conditional quantum oscillations depending on the states of control qubit can be synchronized to perform controlled-gate operations by varying system parameters. It is shown that the conditional quantum oscillations with their frequency synchronization make it possible to operate the controlled-NOT and -U gates with a very accurate gate performance rate in interacting qubit systems. Further, this scheme can be applicable to realize a controlled multi-qubit operation in various solid-state qubit systems. (author)

Operant Conditioning in Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Spira, Adam P.; Edelstein, Barry A.

2007-01-01

Behavioral interventions based on operant principles are commonly attempted to manage agitation in older adults with dementia. The extent to which operant conditioning can occur in persons with particular dementias, however, is unclear. The present study involved use of a button-pressing task to evaluate the sensitivity of the responding of older…

Safeguards Automated Facility Evaluation (SAFE) methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, L.D.; Grady, L.M.; Bennett, H.A.; Sasser, D.W.; Engi, D.

1978-01-01

The SAFE procedure is an efficient method of evaluating the physical protection system of a nuclear facility. Since the algorithms used in SAFE for path generation and evaluation are analytical, many paths can be evaluated with a modest investment in computer time. SAFE is easy to use because the information required is well-defined and the interactive nature of this procedure lends itself to straightforward operation. The modular approach that has been taken allows other functionally equivalent modules to be substituted as they become available. The SAFE procedure has broad applications in the nuclear facility safeguards field as well as in the security field in general. Any fixed facility containing valuable materials or components to be protected from theft or sabotage could be analyzed using this same automated evaluation technique

Limits and conditions for permanent operation of the LVR-15 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

The ''Limits and Conditions'' have been set up to demonstrate compliance with all nuclear safety requirements specified by the Decree of the Czechoslovak Atomic Energy Commission No. 9/1985, and to serve as a guide for the reactor operators to respond adequately to deviations from the required values in normal operation conditions. The publications is divided into the following chapters: (1) Safety limits of the LVR-15 reactor; (2) Adjusting the reactor protection and control system parameters; (3) Limiting conditions for normal operation modes; (4) Control requirements; and (5) reactor operation management. A document by the Institute for Research, Production, and Application of Radioisotopes specifying conditions for the acceptance of radioactive wastes to the central repository is appended. (P.A.). 7 tabs

Potential Operating Orbits for the SAFE-400

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houts, Mike; Kos, Larry; Poston, David

2002-01-01

Safety must be ensured during all phases of space fission system design, development, fabrication, launch, operation, and shutdown. One potential space fission system application is fission electric propulsion (FEP), in which fission energy is converted into electricity and used to power high efficiency (Isp > 3000 s) electric thrusters. For these types of systems it is important to determine which operational scenarios ensure safety while allowing maximum mission performance and flexibility. Space fission systems are essentially non-radioactive at launch, prior to extended operation at high power. Once high power operation begins, system radiological inventory steadily increases as fission products build up. For a given fission product isotope, the maximum radiological inventory is typically achieved once the system has operated for a length of time equivalent to several half-lives. After that time, the isotope decays at the same rate it is produced, and no further inventory builds in. For an FEP mission beginning in Earth orbit, altitude and orbital lifetime increase as the propulsion system operates. Two simultaneous effects of fission propulsion system operation are thus (1) increasing fission product inventory and (2) increasing orbital lifetime. Phrased differently, as fission products build up, more time is required for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Simultaneously, as fission products build up, orbital lifetime increases, providing more time for the fission products to naturally convert back into nonradioactive isotopes. Operational constraints required to ensure safety can thus be quantified. (authors)

Safe driving for teens

Science.gov (United States)

Driving and teenagers; Teens and safe driving; Automobile safety - teenage drivers ... months before taking friends as passengers. Teenage-related driving deaths occur more often in certain conditions. OTHER SAFETY TIPS FOR TEENS Reckless driving is still a ...

Safe decommissioning of the Romanian VVR-S research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garlea, C.; Garlea, I.; Kelerman, C.; Rodna, A.

2002-01-01

The VVR-S Romania research reactor was operated between 1957-1997, at 2 MW nominal power, for research and radioisotopical production. The detailed decommissioning plan was developed between 1995-1998, in the frame of the International Atomic Energy Agency Technical assistance project ROM/9/017. The proposed strategy agreed by the counterpart as well as international experts was stage 1. In 1997, an independent analysis performed by European Commission experts, in the frame of PHARE project PH04.1/1994 was dedicated to the 'Study of Soviet Design Research Reactors', had consolidated the development of the project emphasizing technical options of safe management for radioactive wastes and VVR-S spent fuel. The paper presents the main technical aspects as well as those of social impact, which lead to the establishment of strategy for safe management of decommissioning. Technical analysis of the VVR-S reactor and associated radwaste facilities (Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant - Magurele and National Repository Baita-Bihor) proved the possibility of the classical method utilization for dismantling of the facility and treatment-conditioning-disposal of the arrised wastes in safe conditions. The decommissioning plan at stage 2 has been developed based on radiological safety assessment, evaluation of radwaste inventory (removed as well as preserved on site), cost analysis and environmental impact. Technical data were provided by the R and D programme including neutron calculations and experiments, radiological characterizing (for facility and its influence area), seismic analysis and environmental balance during the operation and after shut down of the reactor. A special chapter is dedicated to regulatory issues concerning the development of decommissioning under nuclear safety. Based on the Fundamental Norms of Radiological Safety, the Regulatory Body defined the clearance levels and safety criteria for the process. The development of National Norms for the

Regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

Regulations and rules for the safe transport of radioactive materials by all kinds of conveyance are offered. Different types of packages and the conditions associated with the methods of safe packaging are given

Automated Operant Conditioning in the Mouse Home Cage.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Nikolas A; Kanold, Patrick O

2017-01-01

Recent advances in neuroimaging and genetics have made mice an advantageous animal model for studying the neurophysiology of sensation, cognition, and locomotion. A key benefit of mice is that they provide a large population of test subjects for behavioral screening. Reflex-based assays of hearing in mice, such as the widely used acoustic startle response, are less accurate than operant conditioning in measuring auditory processing. To date, however, there are few cost-effective options for scalable operant conditioning systems. Here, we describe a new system for automated operant conditioning, the Psibox. It is assembled from low cost parts, designed to fit within typical commercial wire-top cages, and allows large numbers of mice to train independently in their home cages on positive reinforcement tasks. We found that groups of mice trained together learned to accurately detect sounds within 2 weeks of training. In addition, individual mice isolated from groups also showed good task performance. The Psibox facilitates high-throughput testing of sensory, motor, and cognitive skills in mice, and provides a readily available animal population for studies ranging from experience-dependent neural plasticity to rodent models of mental disorders.

Safe operation of nuclear ships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danilov, L.

1982-01-01

A summary is given of the experience with the three Soviet nuclear icebreakers, Lenin, Arktika and Sibir. Engineering problems, especially of reactor maintenance, and the way they have been overcome, are described. Reference is also made to improvements in reactor fuel and core design, and to safety aspects of the refuelling operation. (U.K.)

Safe management of discussed sealed sources in Peru

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallaupoma, M.

2000-01-01

The future safe development of nuclear energy and progressive increasing use of sealed sources in medicine, research, industry and other fields in Peru, in the past years have determined the necessity to formulate and apply an Institutional policy to assure harmless and ecologically rational management of disused sealed sources in Peru. Some results of the studies, which served as a basis for design and construction of a facility for treatment, conditioning and storage of conditioned sealed sources are presented in this paper. The waste management system in Peru comprises operational and regulatory capabilities. Both of these activities are performed under a legislation. The Nuclear Research Center RACSO has a radioactive waste management department which is in charge of the management of disused sealed sources produced in the country. It is considered as a centralized waste processing and storage facility (WPSF). (author)

Safe application of a restrictive transfusion protocol in moderate-risk patients undergoing cardiac operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Howard K; von Heymann, Christian; Jespersen, Christian M; Karkouti, Keyvan; Korte, Wolfgang; Levy, Jerrold H; Ranucci, Marco; Saugstrup, Trine; Sellke, Frank W

2014-05-01

Perioperative red blood cell transfusion is associated with adverse outcomes after cardiac operations. Although restrictive transfusion protocols have been developed, their safety and efficacy are not well demonstrated, and considerable variation in transfusion practice persists. We report our experience with a restrictive transfusion protocol. We analyzed the outcomes in 409 patients undergoing cardiac operations enrolled in a trial conducted at 30 centers worldwide. Blood products were administered on the basis of a transfusion algorithm applied across all centers, with a restrictive transfusion trigger of hemoglobin less than or equal to 6 g/dL. Transfusion was acceptable but not mandatory for hemoglobin 6 to 8 g/dL. For hemoglobin 8 to 10 g/dL, transfusion was acceptable only with evidence for end-organ ischemia. The patient population was moderately complex, with 20.5% having combined procedures and 29.6% having nonelective operations. The mean EuroSCORE for the population was 4.3, which predicted a substantial incidence of morbidity and mortality. Actual outcomes were excellent, with observed mortality of 0.49% and rates of cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, and acute renal failure 1.2%, 6.1%, and 0.98%, respectively. The frequency of red blood cell transfusion was 33.7%, which varied significantly by center. Most transfusions (71.9%) were administered for hemoglobin 6 to 8 g/dL; 21.4% were administered for hemoglobin 8 to 10 g/dL with evidence for end-organ ischemia; 65.0% of patients avoided allogeneic transfusion altogether. A restrictive transfusion protocol can be safely applied in the care of moderate-risk patients undergoing cardiac operations. This strategy has significant potential to reduce transfusion and resource utilization in these patients, standardize transfusion practices across institutions, and increase the safety of cardiac operations. Copyright © 2014 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

International co-operation for safe radioactive waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

As a specialised inter-governmental body, NEA pursues three main objectives for its radioactive waste management programme: - The promotion of studies to improve the data base available in support of national programmes. - The support of Research and Development through co-ordination of national activities and promotion of international projects. - An improvement in the general level of understanding of waste management issues and options, particularly in the field of waste disposal. The management of radioactive waste from nuclear activities covers several sequences of complex technical operations. However, as the ultimate objective of radioactive waste management is the disposal of the waste, the largest part of the work programme is directed towards the analysis of disposal options. In addition, NEA is active in various other areas of waste management, such as the treatment and conditioning of waste, the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and the institutional aspects of the long term management of radioactive waste

Flux behaviour under different operational conditions in osmosis process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korenak, Jasmina; Zarebska, Agata; Buksek, Hermina

the active membrane layer is facing draw solution. Osmosis process can be affected by several factors, such as operating conditions (temperature and cross flow velocity), feed and draw solution properties, and membrane characteristics. These factors can significantly contribute to the efficiency......, and total dissolved solids. Taken together our results can contribute understanding of the how performance of asymmetric FO membranes can be enhanced by feed and draw properties, membrane characteristics and operational conditions.......The transport of water molecules across a semi-permeable membrane is driven by the osmotic pressure difference between feed and draw solution. Two different operational modes can be distinguished, namely FO mode when the active membrane layer is facing the wastewater (feed), and PRO mode when...

Operational forecasting of human-biometeorological conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Giannaros, T. M.; Lagouvardos, K.; Kotroni, V.; Matzarakis, A.

2018-03-01

This paper presents the development of an operational forecasting service focusing on human-biometeorological conditions. The service is based on the coupling of numerical weather prediction models with an advanced human-biometeorological model. Human thermal perception and stress forecasts are issued on a daily basis for Greece, in both point and gridded format. A user-friendly presentation approach is adopted for communicating the forecasts to the public via the worldwide web. The development of the presented service highlights the feasibility of replacing standard meteorological parameters and/or indices used in operational weather forecasting activities for assessing the thermal environment. This is of particular significance for providing effective, human-biometeorology-oriented, warnings for both heat waves and cold outbreaks.

Effect analysis of core barrel openings under CEFR normal condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yabo; Yang Hongyi

2008-01-01

Openings on the bottom of core barrel are important part of the decay heat removal system of China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR), which are designed to discharge the decay heat from reactor under accident condition. This paper analyses the effect of the openings design on the normal operation condition using the famouse CFD code CFX. The result indicates that the decay heat can be discharged safely and at the same time the effect of core barrel openings on the normal operation condition is acceptable. (authors)

Optimal operating conditions for external cavity semiconductor laser optical chaos communication system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Priyadarshi, S; Pierce, I; Hong, Y; Shore, K A

2012-01-01

In optical chaos communications a message is masked in the noise-like broadband output of a chaotic transmitter laser, and message recovery is enabled through the synchronization of the transmitter and the (chaotic) receiver laser. Key issues are to identify the laser operating conditions which provide the highest quality synchronization conditions and those which provide optimized message extraction. In general such operating conditions are not coincident. In this paper numerical simulations are performed with the aim of identifying a regime of operation where the highest quality synchronization and optimizing message extraction efficiency are achieved simultaneously. Use of such an operating regime will facilitate practical deployment of optical chaos communications systems without the need for re-adjustment of laser operating conditions in the field. (paper)

Pre-Swirl Stator and Propeller Design for Varying Operating Conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saettone, Simone; Regener, Pelle Bo; Andersen, Poul

2016-01-01

blades ahead of the propeller.This paper describes the hydrodynamic design of apre-swirl stator with radially variable pitch, paired with aconventional propeller. The aim is to achieve the highest possible effciency in various operating conditions, and to avoid effciency penalties in off-design operation.......To investigate the propeller and stator designs and configurations in different operating conditions, the computationally inexpensive vortex-lattice method is used a sa first step to optimize the geometry in an initial parameter study. Then the flow over hull, stator and propelleris simulated in a CFD...

Operating features of decorative polymer-impregnated concretes under severe operating conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapustina, I.B.; Lobasenok, V.A.; Yakimtsiv, V.P.

1991-01-01

The study was carried out to investigate the possibility of a decorative polymer-impregnated concrete as a lining material in radiation-endangered rooms. Their extreme properties such as radiation resistance, decontamination ability, fire resistance and melting-freezing cycle resistance were studied. The material proposed shows substantially high resistance under severe operating conditions

Assessment of safety levels in operation rooms at two major tertiary care public hospitals of Karachi. Safe surgery saves life

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minhas, M.S.; Muzzammil, M.; Effendi, J.

2017-01-01

The objectives of this study are to determine the knowledge and attitude towards surgical safety among the health care professionals including surgeons, anaesthetist, hospital administrators, and operation room personnel and raise awareness towards the importance of safe surgery. Method: A pilot cross- sectional study of 543 healthcare providers working in the operating rooms and the surgical intensive care units was conducted in two tertiary care hospitals, within a study period of one month. A structured questionnaire was constructed and an informed verbal consent was taken. The questionnaire was then distributed; data collected and analysed on SPSS 20.0. Results: A total of 543 respondents participated in the study out of which there were 375 (69%) men and 168 (31%) women. The ages ranged between 23-58 years, mean 40.5+-24.74. There were 110 (20.25%) surgeons, 58 (10.68%) anaesthetist, 132 (24.30%) trainees, 125 (23.02%) technicians, and were 118 (21.73%) nurses. The question regarding briefing operation room personnel is important for patient safety was agreed by 532 (98%) respondents. Amongst the respondents, 239 (44%) did not feel safe to be operated in their own setup. Team communication improvement through the check list implementation was agreed by 483 (89%) respondents. 514 (94.7%) opted for the checklist to be used while they are being operated. That operation room personnel frequently disregard established protocols was agreed by 374 (69%) respondents. 193 (35.54%) of the respondents stated that it is difficult for them to speak up in the or if they perceive a problem with patient care. Conclusion: Operation room personnel were not aware of several important areas related to briefing, communication, safety attitude, following standard protocols and use of WHO Surgical Safety check list. A pre-post intervention study should be conducted after formal introduction of the Checklist. Successful implementation will require taking all stake holders on board

Analysis for the Effects of Grid Voltage Degradation on APR1400 Operation, Case Study for Egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, Mostafa Ahmed Fouad; Koo, Chang Choong

2015-01-01

Egypt is one of the countries planning to introduce a NPP into its electrical power system. Although the Egyptian power system has sufficient capacity to integrate any commercially available nuclear unit as the total installed capacity of the power system is more than 32GWe, which is more than 10 times capacity of any nuclear unit in the range of 1000 to 1700MWe, the system is vulnerable to extreme voltage variations, especially voltage degradation during peak load conditions. These conditions can lead to voltage collapse if a counter measure, usually load shedding, is not taken in a proper time. Hence, it is necessary to analyze the effect of such conditions on the safe and economic operation of the NPP. In this paper we analyzed the effects of grid voltage degradation on the safe and economic operation of the Advanced Power Reactor (APR1400) to determine any adverse effects on the plant auxiliary loads while operating in the Egyptian power system. In this paper the effects of grid voltage degradation on the safe and economic operation of APR1400 were investigated taking into account, generator operating limits, plant safety requirements, operation modes and loading categories in order to determine any adverse effect on the plant auxiliary loads while operating in the Egyptian power system. The results of the load flow and motor starting analysis demonstrated that during normal operation the automatic voltage regulator and transformers OLTCs can mitigate the effect of grid voltage degradation without any detrimental effect on the plant auxiliary loads. During the highly unlikely LOCA condition if the grid voltage degraded below 95%, the degraded voltage relays at Class 1E 4.16 kV buses will trip the supply and load breakers and reconnect the required safety loads to the EDG after 4 minutes time delay. During this period the safety loads required for LOCA can be started and accelerated to their rated speed safely even in the worst case of expected degraded voltage

Safe operation of critical assemblies and research reactors. Code of practice and Technical appendix. 1971 ed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, J.

1971-01-01

This book is in two parts. The first is a Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Critical Assemblies and Research Reactors, prepared as a result of a meeting of experts which took place in Vienna on 20-24 May 1968. The Code has been prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency in co-operation with the World Health Organization, and its publication is sponsored by both organizations. In addition, the Code was approved by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 16 December 1968 as part of the Agency's safety standards, which are applied to operations undertaken by Member States with the assistance of the Agency. The Board, in approving the publication of the present book, also recommended Member States to take the Code into account in the formulation of national regulations and recommendations. The second part of the book is a Technical Appendix to give information and illustrative samples that would be helpful in implementing the Code of Practice. This second part, although published under the same cover, is not part of the Code. An extensive Bibliography, amplifying the Technical Appendix, is included at the end.

Equivalent Electrical Circuits of Thermoelectric Generators under Different Operating Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saima Siouane

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Energy harvesting has become a promising and alternative solution to conventional energy generation patterns to overcome the problem of supplying autonomous electrical systems. More particularly, thermal energy harvesting technologies have drawn a major interest in both research and industry. Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs can be used in two different operating conditions, under constant temperature gradient or constant heat flow. The commonly used TEG electrical model, based on a voltage source in series with an electrical resistance, shows its limitations especially under constant heat flow conditions. Here, the analytical electrical modeling, taking into consideration the internal and contact thermal resistances of a TEG under constant temperature gradient and constant heat flow conditions, is first given. To give further insight into the electrical behavior of a TEG module in different operating conditions, we propose a new and original way of emulating the above analytical expressions with usual electronics components (voltage source, resistors, diode, whose values are determined with the TEG’s parameters. Note that such a TEG emulation is particularly suited when designing the electronic circuitry commonly associated to the TEG, to realize both Maximum Power Point Tracking and output voltage regulation. First, the proposed equivalent electrical circuits are validated through simulation with a SPICE environment in static operating conditions using only one value of either temperature gradient or heat flow. Then, they are also analyzed in dynamic operating conditions where both temperature gradient and heat flow are considered as time-varying functions.

Experimental study on the impact of operating conditions on PCCI combustion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leermakers, C.A.J.; Luijten, C.C.M.; Somers, L.M.T.; Goey, de L.P.H.; Albrecht, B.A.

2013-01-01

In a short–term scenario, using near–standard components and conventional fuels, PCCI combustion relies on a smart choice of operating conditions. Here, the effects of operating conditions on ignition delay, available mixing time, combustion phasing and emissions are investigated. In the PCCI

Examination of a University-Affiliated Safe Ride Program

Science.gov (United States)

Gieck, D. Joseph; Slagle, David M.

2010-01-01

A university-affiliated safe ride program was evaluated to determine whether these programs can reduce drunk-driving related costs. Data was collected from 187 safe ride passengers during three nights of operation. Among the passengers, 93% were enrolled at a local University, 31% were younger than 21, and 40% reported a prior alcohol-related…

Quality performance-based training enhances safe and effective transport operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCall, D.L.

1993-01-01

If the hazardous materials transportation industry is to reduce human error, reduce accidents, and improve its public image, there must be assurance that transportation personnel are properly trained and qualified to perform their jobs in a safe and efficient manner. This training must make them intimately aware of the hazards and risks associated with transport activities, ensure understanding of responsibilities and liabilities unique to their job, and ensure that they can competently perform functional duties vital to safety. To ensure that trained and qualified personnel are on the job, it is essential that the training be performance-based and require trainees to demonstrate functional proficiency. Performance-based training has proven to be a highly effective means of ensuring personnel are qualified to conduct their assignments safely and efficiently. This training is designed around the basic premise that training must be provided that supplies the information necessary for each worker to perform their assigned duties at a predetermined and acceptable level of expertise and skill. (J.P.N.)

Solid oxide fuel cell performance under severe operating conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Søren; Hendriksen, P.V.; Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg

2006-01-01

The performance and degradation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) were studied under severe operating conditions. The cells studied were manufactured in a small series by ECN, in the framework of the EU funded CORE-SOFC project. The cells were of the anode-supported type with a double layer LSM...... cathode. They were operated at 750 °C or 850 °C in hydrogen with 5% or 50% water at current densities ranging from 0.25 A cm–2 to 1 A cm–2 for periods of 300 hours or more. The area specific cell resistance, corrected for fuel utilisation, ranged between 0.20 Ω cm2 and 0.34 Ω cm2 at 850 °C and 520 m......V, and between 0.51 Ω cm2 and 0.92 Ω cm2 at 750 °C and 520 mV. The degradation of cell performance was found to be low (ranging from 0 to 8%/1,000 hours) at regular operating conditions. Voltage degradation rates of 20 to 40%/1,000 hours were observed under severe operating conditions, depending on the test...

Experience and Lessons Learned from Conditioning of Spent Sealed Sources in Singapore - 13107

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Dae-Seok; Kang, Il-Sik; Jang, Kyung-Duk; Jang, Won-Hyuk [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1045 Daedeokdaero, Yuseong, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Hoo, Wee-Teck [National Environment Agency, 40 Scotts Road 228231 (Singapore)

2013-07-01

In 2010, IAEA requested KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) to support Singapore for conditioning spent sealed sources. Those that had been used for a lightning conductor, check source, or smoke detector, various sealed sources had been collected and stored by the NEA (National Environment Agency) in Singapore. Based on experiences for the conditioning of Ra-226 sources in some Asian countries since 2000, KAERI sent an expert team to Singapore for the safe management of spent sealed sources in 2011. As a result of the conditioning, about 575.21 mCi of Am-241, Ra-226, Co-60, and Sr-90 were safely conditioned in 3 concrete lining drums with the cooperation of the KAERI expert team, the IAEA supervisor, the NEA staff and local laborers in Singapore. Some lessons were learned during the operation: (1) preparations by a local authority are very helpful for an efficient operation, (2) a preliminary inspection by an expert team is helpful for the operation, (3) brief reports before and after daily operation are useful for communication, and (4) a training opportunity is required for the sustainability of the expert team. (authors)

Operant Conditioning: A Tool for Special Physical Educators in the 1980s.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, John M.; French, Ron

1982-01-01

The usefulness of operant conditioning for the special physical educator in managing behavior problems is pointed out, and steps to follow in applying operant conditioning techniques are outlined. (SB)

InaSAFE applications in disaster preparedness

Science.gov (United States)

Pranantyo, Ignatius Ryan; Fadmastuti, Mahardika; Chandra, Fredy

2015-04-01

Disaster preparedness activities aim to reduce the impact of disasters by being better prepared to respond when a disaster occurs. In order to better anticipate requirements during a disaster, contingency planning activities can be undertaken prior to a disaster based on a realistic disaster scenario. InaSAFE is a tool that can inform this process. InaSAFE is a free and open source software that estimates the impact to people and infrastructure from potential hazard scenarios. By using InaSAFE, disaster managers can develop scenarios of disaster impacts (people and infrastructures affected) to inform their contingency plan and emergency response operation plan. While InaSAFE provides the software framework exposure data and hazard data are needed as inputs to run this software. Then InaSAFE can be used to forecast the impact of the hazard scenario to the exposure data. InaSAFE outputs include estimates of the number of people, buildings and roads are affected, list of minimum needs (rice and clean water), and response checklist. InaSAFE is developed by Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Australian Government, through the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction (AIFDR), in partnership with the World Bank - Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). This software has been used in many parts of Indonesia, including Padang, Maumere, Jakarta, and Slamet Mountain for emergency response and contingency planning.

Pain Report and Pain-Related Evoked Potentials Operantly Conditioned

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lousberg, Richel; Vuurman, Eric; Lamers, Theo; van Breukelen, Gerard; Jongen, Ellen; Rijnen, Heidi; Maessen, Christa; Hermens, Hermanus J.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to answer the ques- tion whether pain report can be increased and decreased by operant conditioning. We predicted that the conditioned pain effects would remain significant after correction for social desirability and fantasy proneness. Furthermore, we

On the safeness of examinees and the reliability of system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kudo, Kazumi; Kanda, Kosuke; Saito, Kazuhiko; Maesawa, Tsuneharu; Idekami, Tomio

1979-01-01

The control technique of the reliability of examination system was investigated from the viewpoint of patient safety and image information, based on the prevention of microshock owing to circulatory organ checking system. As for the equipments in hospitals, the size of rooms, air conditioning system, power source installation, earth and piping arrangements should be fully discussed at the planning stage. EPR system must be introduced for the prevention for microshock. Intensive education and training are required for operators to secure safeness in operation. Thorough care should be taken to prevent bacilli infection. Further examinations were made on the control technique of the reliability of photographing system from viewpoint of image information, and it is necessary to study the factors for obtaining the reliability of compound machinery components and the devices of generating radiation. (Kobatake, H.)

The Operator's Diagnosis Task under Abnormal Operating Conditions in Industrial Process Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goodstein, L.P.; Pedersen, O.M.; Rasmussen, Jens

1974-01-01

Analysis of serious accidents in connection with the operation of technical installations demonstrate that the diagnosis task which confronts personnel under non-normal plant conditions is a critical one. This report presents a preliminary outline of characteristic traits connected with the task...... of diagnosis for use in discussions of (a) the studies which are necessary in order to formulate the operator's diagnostic procedures and (b) the possibilities which exists for supporting these procedures through appropriate data processing and display in the control system. At the same time, attempts are made...

Ageing management and knowledge base for safe long-term operation of japanese light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimura, N.

2008-01-01

There are 55 operating commercial light water reactor plants (32 BWRs and 23 PWRs) in Japan. Twelve (12) plants have been operating for more than 30 years. Utility companies are required to perform an 'Ageing Management Technical Assessment' be-fore the end of 30 years operation of each plant. The assessments for each plant have been evaluated by the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency (NISA) of the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (WTI) for these 12 plants. The Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organisation (JNES) has compiled Technical Review Manuals for six major degradation phenomena for the evaluation of Ageing Management Technical Assessment. A 'Road-map for Ageing and Plant Life Management' was established in 2005 by the Special Committee in the Atomic Energy Society of Japan under the commission from the JNES. Within the framework of the road-map, the major research and development fields are divided into the following four categories: 1) engineering information systems; 2) research and development of technologies for inspection, evaluation and repair of the components and materials; 3) development of codes and standards; 4) synthesised maintenance engineering. Continuous revision of the 'Strategy Maps for Ageing Management and Safe Long-term Operation' has been performed under the Coordinating Committee of Ageing Management to promote research and development activities by industries, government and academia, effectively and efficiently. Systematic development of the information basis for database and knowledge-base has been undertaken in addition to the development of codes and standards by academic societies through intensive domestic safety research collaborations and international collaboration. (author)

Reactor internals design/analysis for normal, upset, and faulted conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burke, F.R.

1977-06-01

The analytical procedures used by Babcock and Wilcox to demonstrate the structural integrity of the 205-FA reactor internals are described. Analytical results are presented and compared to ASME Code allowable limits for Normal, Upset, and Faulted conditions. The particular faulted condition considered is a simultaneous loss-of-coolant accident and safe shutdown earthquake. The operating basis earthquake is addressed as an Upset condition

Inherently safe in situ uranium recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krumhansl, James Lee; Beauheim, Richard Louis; Brady, Patrick Vane; Arnold, Bill Walter; Kanney, Joseph F.; McKenna, Sean Andrew

2009-01-01

Expansion of uranium mining in the United States is a concern to some environmental groups and sovereign Native American Nations. An approach which may alleviate some problems is to develop inherently safe in situ uranium recovery ('ISR') technologies. Current ISR technology relies on chemical extraction of trace levels of uranium from aquifers that, once mined, can still contain dissolved uranium and other trace metals that are a health concern. Existing ISR operations are few in number; however, high uranium prices are driving the industry to consider expanding operations nation-wide. Environmental concerns and enforcement of the new 30 ppb uranium drinking water standard may make opening new mining operations more difficult and costly. Here we propose a technological fix: the development of inherently safe in situ recovery (ISISR) methods. The four central features of an ISISR approach are: (1) New 'green' leachants that break down predictably in the subsurface, leaving uranium, and associated trace metals, in an immobile form; (2) Post-leachant uranium/metals-immobilizing washes that provide a backup decontamination process; (3) An optimized well-field design that increases uranium recovery efficiency and minimizes excursions of contaminated water; and (4) A combined hydrologic/geochemical protocol for designing low-cost post-extraction long-term monitoring. ISISR would bring larger amounts of uranium to the surface, leave fewer toxic metals in the aquifer, and cost less to monitor safely - thus providing a 'win-win-win' solution to all stakeholders.

Operant Conditioning and Learning: Examples, Sources, Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedrini, Bonnie C.; Pedrini, D. T.

The purpose of this paper is to relate psychology to teaching generally, and to relate behavior shaping to curriculum, specifically. Focusing on operant conditioning and learning, many studies are cited which illustrate some of the work being done toward effectively shaping or modifying student behavior whether in terms of subject matter or…

Safe sex

Science.gov (United States)

... sex; Sexually transmitted - safe sex; GC - safe sex; Gonorrhea - safe sex; Herpes - safe sex; HIV - safe sex; ... contact. STIs include: Chlamydia Genital herpes Genital warts Gonorrhea Hepatitis HIV HPV Syphilis STIs are also called ...

Reliability and risk-based planning of operation and maintenance of offshore wind turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Florian, Mihai; Berzonskis, Arvydas

2016-01-01

costly (and safe), and it is important to include in the reliability assessment the information obtained during operation (from condition monitoring and inspections) and the maintenance performed (incl. repairs and replacements). The paper presents a risk-based approach for optimal planning of Operation...

Validation and Verification (V&V) of Safety-Critical Systems Operating Under Off-Nominal Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Belcastro, Christine M.

2012-01-01

Loss of control (LOC) remains one of the largest contributors to aircraft fatal accidents worldwide. Aircraft LOC accidents are highly complex in that they can result from numerous causal and contributing factors acting alone or more often in combination. Hence, there is no single intervention strategy to prevent these accidents. Research is underway at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the development of advanced onboard system technologies for preventing or recovering from loss of vehicle control and for assuring safe operation under off-nominal conditions associated with aircraft LOC accidents. The transition of these technologies into the commercial fleet will require their extensive validation and verification (V&V) and ultimate certification. The V&V of complex integrated systems poses highly significant technical challenges and is the subject of a parallel research effort at NASA. This chapter summarizes the V&V problem and presents a proposed process that could be applied to complex integrated safety-critical systems developed for preventing aircraft LOC accidents. A summary of recent research accomplishments in this effort is referenced.

Improving operator quality at Genkai Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuwano, Takeshi.

1989-01-01

Improvement in operator quality, or improvement in an operator's skill and professional knowledge, is of prime importance because of its great influence on safe and steady plant operation. This paper describes the education and training of reactor operators at the Genkai pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant with respect to the following topics: organization of Genkai power plant; education and training program management; training at the Nuclear Training Center; training and education on-site including emergency procedures training, normal operating procedures training, informational study of emergency conditions in existing plants, and all-around training of operators; qualifying tests for supervisors; and operator motivation

Organising a safe space for navigating social-ecological transformations to sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Laura; Karpouzoglou, Timothy; Doshi, Samir; Frantzeskaki, Niki

2015-05-28

The need for developing socially just living conditions for the world's growing population whilst keeping human societies within a 'safe operating space' has become a modern imperative. This requires transformative changes in the dominant social norms, behaviours, governance and management regimes that guide human responses in areas such as urban ecology, public health, resource security (e.g., food, water, energy access), economic development and biodiversity conservation. However, such systemic transformations necessitate experimentation in public arenas of exchange and a deepening of processes that can widen multi-stakeholder learning. We argue that there is an emergent potential in bridging the sustainability transitions and resilience approaches to create new scientific capacity that can support large-scale social-ecological transformations (SETs) to sustainability globally, not just in the West. In this article, we elucidate a set of guiding principles for the design of a 'safe space' to encourage stronger interactions between these research areas and others that are relevant to the challenges faced. We envisage new opportunities for transdisciplinary collaboration that will develop an adaptive and evolving community of practice. In particular, we emphasise the great opportunity for engaging with the role of emerging economies in facilitating safe space experimentation.

The effect of stressed economic conditions on operational risk loss distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ja'nel Esterhuysen

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The depth and duration of the credit crisis has highlighted a number of problems in modern finance. Banks have been accused of excessive risk taking, rating agencies of severe conflicts of interest, central banks of neglecting the inflation of asset price bubbles and national supervisors of lax regulatory controls. Credit and market losses have been considerable. Operational losses have also surged as surviving corporates merge or acquire less fortunate ones without the requisite controls. Furthermore, as more jobs get made redundant it is believed that people are getting forced to play their hand to get involved in internal fraud as their sources of income has dried up drastically and stealing from the institution seems to be their last resort.. The main objective of this paper is to establish if there has been a changed in the nature of operational risk with regards to the number of operational losses as well as their impact pre and during the crisis. The way in which operational losses have been affected will be presented and a comparison will be made between operational loss characteristics pre and during the crisis. Some of the main findings of this paper were that operational losses shown little change in frequency, but shown a significant increase in severity, meaning that their financial impact has been more severe during the crisis.  Therefore it is quite safe to say that the financial crisis most defiantly had an impact on operational risk as the impact of operational losses became much more severe

A standardized and safe method of sterile field maintenance during intra-operative horizontal plane fluoroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaska Serge C

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Intra-operative fluoroscopy for orthopaedic procedures frequently involves imaging in the horizontal plane, which requires the lower portion of the C-arm (x-ray tube to be rotated from an unsterile zone (beneath the table into the sterile field. To protect the integrity of the sterile field the C-arm must be draped repeatedly throughout the surgical case. The current, un-standardized, practice employs draping procedures which violate the Association of peri-Operative Registered Nurses (AORN Standards and Recommended Practices, waste time and material, and pose an increased risk for surgical site infection. Presentation of the hypothesis Use of a novel sterile C-arm drape (C-armor that maintains the integrity of the sterile field, will improve operating room efficiency and reduce surgical site infection risk factors. This reduction in risk factors may potentially reduce surgical site infections in orthopaedic surgical cases requiring repeated horizontal x-ray imaging. Testing the Hypothesis Savings in time and material and the reduction in surgical site infection risk factors afforded by using C-armor are intuitive to those skilled in the practice of orthopaedic surgery. Testing for a reduction in the number of microorganisms introduced to the surgical site by improved C-arm draping would be challenging due to the multiple confounding factors during a surgical operation. Determination of an absolute reduction in surgical site infections may be possible, but will require accounting for many confounding variables and a large study sample in order to achieve statistical significance. Implications of the Hypothesis Improved intraoperative workflow, healthcare savings and a reduction in surgical site infection risk factors will be achieved by utilizing a standardized and safe method of sterile field maintenance during intra-operative horizontal plane fluoroscopy.

Safe handling of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The main objective of this publication is to provide practical guidance and recommendations on operational radiation protection aspects related to the safe handling of tritium in laboratories, industrial-scale nuclear facilities such as heavy-water reactors, tritium removal plants and fission fuel reprocessing plants, and facilities for manufacturing commercial tritium-containing devices and radiochemicals. The requirements of nuclear fusion reactors are not addressed specifically, since there is as yet no tritium handling experience with them. However, much of the material covered is expected to be relevant to them as well. Annex III briefly addresses problems in the comparatively small-scale use of tritium at universities, medical research centres and similar establishments. However, the main subject of this publication is the handling of larger quantities of tritium. Operational aspects include designing for tritium safety, safe handling practice, the selection of tritium-compatible materials and equipment, exposure assessment, monitoring, contamination control and the design and use of personal protective equipment. This publication does not address the technologies involved in tritium control and cleanup of effluents, tritium removal, or immobilization and disposal of tritium wastes, nor does it address the environmental behaviour of tritium. Refs, figs and tabs

Lifting simulation of an offshore supply vessel considering various operating conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Hoon Jeong

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Recently, an offshore support vessel is being widely used to install an offshore structure such as a subsea equipment which is laid on its deck. The lifting operation which is one of the installation operations includes lifting off, lifting in the air, splash zone crossing, deep submerging, and finally landing of the structure with an offshore support vessel crane. There are some major considerations during this operation. Especially, when lifting off the structure, if operating conditions such as ocean environmental loads and hoisting (or lowering speed are bad, the excess of tension of wire ropes of the crane and the collision between the offshore support vessel and the structure can be occurred due to the relative motion between them. To solve this problem, this study performs the lifting simulation while the offshore support vessel installs the structure. The simulation includes the calculation of dynamic responses of the offshore support vessel and the equipment, including the wire tension and the collision detection. To check the applicability of the simulation, it is applied to some lifting steps by varying operating conditions. As a result, it is confirmed that the conditions affect the operability of those steps.

Limiting conditions for operation relaxation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merz, J.F.

1985-01-01

The purpose of this effort was to assess the impact of system maintenance unavailability on plant risk to provide technical justification for the relaxation of system limiting conditions for operation from three to seven days. The primary goal of the relaxation program is to allow for more thorough equipment maintenance. A potential increase in out-of-service time for a particular outage caused by the performance of more effective repairs will be counterbalanced by a probable decrease in the frequency in the outage rate of a component. Benefits resulting from an increase in allowed outage time include: (a) a potential reduction in total system out-of-service time, (b) a minimization of challenges to plant systems, and (c) a reduction in the number of emergency technical specification change requests. This program therefore offers an opportunity to more effectively manage plant maintenance and operation

Operating manual for the critical experiments facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

The operation of the Critical Experiments Facility (CEF) requires careful attention to procedures in order that all safety precautions are observed. Since an accident could release large amounts of radioactivity, careful operation and strict enforcement of procedures are necessary. To provide for safe operation, detailed procedures have been written for all phases of the operation of this facility. The CEF operating procedures are not to be construed to constitute a part ofthe Technical Specifications. In the event of any discrepancy between the information given herein and the Technical Specifications, limits set forth in the Technical Specifications apply. All normal and most emergency operation conditions are covered by procedures presented in this manual. These procedures are designed to be followed by the operating personnel. Strict adherence to these procedures is expected for the following reasons. (1) To provide a standard, safe method of performing all operations, the procedures were written by reactor engineers experienced in supervising the operation of reactors and were reviewed by an organization with over 30 years of reactor operating experience. (2) To have an up-to-date description of operating techniques available at all times for reference and review, it is necessary that the procedures be written

Operating manual for the critical experiments facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-01-01

The operation of the Critical Experiments Facility (CEF) requires careful attention to procedures in order that all safety precautions are observed. Since an accident could release large amounts of radioactivity, careful operation and strict enforcement of procedures are necessary. To provide for safe operation, detailed procedures have been written for all phases of the operation of this facility. The CEF operating procedures are not to be construed to constitute a part ofthe Technical Specifications. In the event of any discrepancy between the information given herein and the Technical Specifications, limits set forth in the Technical Specifications apply. All normal and most emergency operation conditions are covered by procedures presented in this manual. These procedures are designed to be followed by the operating personnel. Strict adherence to these procedures is expected for the following reasons. (1) To provide a standard, safe method of performing all operations, the procedures were written by reactor engineers experienced in supervising the operation of reactors and were reviewed by an organization with over 30 years of reactor operating experience. (2) To have an up-to-date description of operating techniques available at all times for reference and review, it is necessary that the procedures be written.

A knowledge-based operator advisor system for integration of fault detection, control, and diagnosis to enhance the safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatnagar, R.

1989-01-01

A Knowledged-Based Operator Advisor System has been developed for enhancing the complex task of maintaining safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants. The operator's activities have been organized into the four tasks of data interpretation for abstracting high level information from sensor data, plant state monitoring for identification of faults, plan execution for controlling the faults, and diagnosis for determination of root causes of faults. The Operator Advisor System is capable of identifying the abnormal functioning of the plant in terms of: (1) deviations from normality, (2) pre-enumerated abnormal events, and (3) safety threats. The classification of abnormal functioning into the three categories of deviations from normality, abnormal events, and safety threats allows the detection of faults at three levels of: (1) developing faults, (2) developed faults, and (3) safety threatening faults. After the identification of abnormal functioning the system will identify the procedures to be executed to mitigate the consequences of abnormal functioning and will help the operator by displaying the procedure steps and monitoring the success of actions taken. The system also is capable of diagnosing the root causes of abnormal functioning. The identification, and diagnosis of root causes of abnormal functioning are done in parallel to the task of procedure execution, allowing the detection of more critical safety threats while executing procedures to control abnormal events

Analysis of operating conditions of the voltage transformer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fastiy G. P.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In electrical networks, constant monitoring of the electrical equipment operation is necessary. To accomplish this task, current transformers and voltage transformers (VT are used, on which the accuracy of electrical measurements, electricity metering, and the reliability of the emergency control system depend. The results of the analysis of the conditions for forming the magnetization of a voltage transformer in the mode with unilateral connection of overhead transmission lines, as well as variants of violations in the 110 kV network that may exist for a relatively long time have been presented. It should be noted that the considered network has its own peculiarities: the overhead transmission lines connected in series have a significant length and a low level of load, which may be a condition for the appearance of a transmission lines capacitive effect (the Ferranti effect, the latter can cause overvoltage. Overvoltage occurs when the operating modes are temporary in terms of operation, adverse combinations of network parameters take place, and can continue until the circuit and network modes change. Most often they appear in asymmetric modes, with short circuits to ground, etc. Asymmetric modes caused by incomplete-phase commutations and wire breaks on the overhead line, as well as wire breaks with subsequent disconnection of power transformers that can affect the voltage level on the VT have been considered. The possibility of VT magnetizing with a prolonged voltage rise in symmetric modes, namely, the manifestation of the Ferranti effect with various loads at substations up to complete switching-off and power transformers switching off has been investigated. The analysis of the measuring voltage transformer operating conditions has been based on materials provided by the "Kolenergo" services.

Engineering and planning for reactor 105-C interim safe storage project subcontract no. 0100C-SC-G0001 conceptual design report. Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-04-01

The 105-C Reactor, one of eight surplus production reactors at the Hanford Site, has been proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland, Operations Office to be the first large-scale technology demonstration project in the decontamination and decommissioning (D ampersand D) focus area as part of the project for dismantlement and interim safe storage. The 105-C Reactor will be placed in an interim safe storage condition, then undergo the decontamination and decommissioning phase. After D ampersand D, the reactor will be placed in long- term safe storage. This report provides the conceptual design for these activities

Safe specification of operator precedence rules

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Afroozeh, A.; Brand, van den M.G.J.; Johnstone, A.; Scott, E.; Vinju, J.J.; Erwig, M.; Paige, R.F.; Van Wyk, E.

2013-01-01

In this paper we present an approach to specifying operator precedence based on declarative disambiguation constructs and an implementation mechanism based on grammar rewriting. We identify a problem with existing generalized context-free parsing and disambiguation technology: generating a correct

Framework for Combined Diagnostics, Prognostics and Optimal Operation of a Subsea Gas Compression System

OpenAIRE

Verheyleweghen, Adriaen; Jaeschke, Johannes

2017-01-01

The efficient and safe operation of subsea gas and oil production systems sets strict requirements to equipment reliability to avoid unplanned breakdowns and costly maintenance interventions. Because of this, condition monitoring is employed to assess the status of the system in real-time. However, the condition of the system is usually not considered explicitly when finding the optimal operation strategy. Instead, operational constraints on flow rates, pressures etc., based on worst-case sce...

Iterative co-creation for improved hand hygiene and aseptic techniques in the operating room: experiences from the safe hands study.

Science.gov (United States)

Erichsen Andersson, Annette; Frödin, Maria; Dellenborg, Lisen; Wallin, Lars; Hök, Jesper; Gillespie, Brigid M; Wikström, Ewa

2018-01-04

Hand hygiene and aseptic techniques are essential preventives in combating hospital-acquired infections. However, implementation of these strategies in the operating room remains suboptimal. There is a paucity of intervention studies providing detailed information on effective methods for change. This study aimed to evaluate the process of implementing a theory-driven knowledge translation program for improved use of hand hygiene and aseptic techniques in the operating room. The study was set in an operating department of a university hospital. The intervention was underpinned by theories on organizational learning, culture and person centeredness. Qualitative process data were collected via participant observations and analyzed using a thematic approach. Doubts that hand-hygiene practices are effective in preventing hospital acquired infections, strong boundaries and distrust between professional groups and a lack of psychological safety were identified as barriers towards change. Facilitated interprofessional dialogue and learning in "safe spaces" worked as mechanisms for motivation and engagement. Allowing for the free expression of different opinions, doubts and viewing resistance as a natural part of any change was effective in engaging all professional categories in co-creation of clinical relevant solutions to improve hand hygiene. Enabling nurses and physicians to think and talk differently about hospital acquired infections and hand hygiene requires a shift from the concept of one-way directed compliance towards change and learning as the result of a participatory and meaning-making process. The present study is a part of the Safe Hands project, and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT02983136 ). Date of registration 2016/11/28, retrospectively registered.

Ergonomic requirements for the operation of machines and technical equipment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Górny Adam

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In order to operate machinery and equipment safely, it is critical for the solutions in place to conform to design-related and operating requirements. Design-related requirements are primarily the responsibility of machine designers/developers and manufacturers. Operating requirements should be satisfied by employers, who are responsible for ensuring safe working conditions for their employees. Under applicable laws, machinery and equipment should be designed, produced and then operated without placing excessive loads on workers and in keeping with machine functionality and intended use. One should also ensure that machinery and equipment can be maintained and adjusted without exposing their operators to hazards. Ergonomic criteria are an integral part of such requirements. They ensure that human users and operators of technical equipment are enabled to function properly. Design-related requirements are viewed as a priority safety consideration. While they facilitate the use of technical tools, the actual safety of employees ultimately depends on the satisfaction of specific requirements during operation.

Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richardson, Katherine; Rockström, Johan; Steffen, Will

2009-01-01

boundaries are rough, first estimates only, surrounded by large uncertainties and knowledge gaps. Filling these gaps will require major advancements in Earth System and resilience science. The proposed concept of "planetary boundaries" lays the groundwork for shifting our approach to governance...... and management, away from the essentially sectoral analyses of limits to growth aimed at minimizing negative externalities, toward the estimation of the safe space for human development. Planetary boundaries define, as it were, the boundaries of the "planetary playing field" for humanity if we want to be sure...

The IPR-R1 TRIGA Mark I Reactor in 39 years: Operations and general improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maretti Junior, Fausto; Prado Fernandes, Marcio; Oliveira, Paulo Fernando; Alves de Amorim, Valter

1999-01-01

The nuclear IPR-R1 TRIGA Mark I Reactor operating in the Nuclear Technology Development Center, originally Institute for Radioactive Research in Minas Gerais, Brazil, was dedicated in November 11, 1960. Initially operating for the production of radioisotopes for different uses, it started later to be used in large scale for neutron activation analysis and training of operators for nuclear power plants. Many improvements have been made throughout these years to provide a better performance in its operation and safety conditions. A new cooling system to operate until 300 kW, a new control rod mechanism, an aluminum tank for the reactor pool, an optimization in the pneumatic system, a new reactor control console and a general remodeling of the reactor laboratory were some of the improvements added. To prevent and mitigate the ageing effects, the reactor operation personnel is starting a program to minimize future operation problems. This paper describes the improvements made, the results obtained during the past 39 years, and the precautions taken to ensure future safe operation of the reactor to give operators better conditions of safe work. (author)

Analysis of Fukushima unit 2 accident considering the operating conditions of RCIC system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sung Il, E-mail: sikim@kaeri.re.kr; Park, Jong Hwa; Ha, Kwang Soon; Cho, Song-Won; Song, JinHo

2016-03-15

Highlights: • Fukushima unit 2 accident was analyzed using MELCOR 1.8.6. • RCIC operating conditions were assumed and best case was selected. • Effect of RCIC operating condition on accident scenario was found. - Abstract: A severe accident in Fukushima occurred on March 11, 2011 and units 1, 2 and 3 were damaged severely. A tsunami following an earthquake made the supply of electricity power stop, and the safety systems, which use AC or DC power in plants could not operate properly. It is supposed that the degree of core degradation of unit 2 is less serious than in the other plants, and it was estimated that the operation of reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) system at the initial stage of the accident minimized the core damage through decay heat removal. Although the operating conditions of the RCIC system are not known clearly, it can be important to analyze the accident scenario of unit 2. In this study, best case of the Fukushima unit 2 accident was presented considering the operating conditions of the RCIC system. The effects of operating condition on core degradation and fission product release rate to environment were also examined. In addition, importance of torus room flooding level in the accident analysis was discussed. MELCOR 1.8.6 was used in this research, and the geometries of plant and operating conditions of safety system were obtained from TEPCO through OECD/NEA BSAF Project.

Failure prognostics by support vector regression of time series data under stationary/nonstationary environmental and operational conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Jie

2015-01-01

This Ph. D. work is motivated by the possibility of monitoring the conditions of components of energy systems for their extended and safe use, under proper practice of operation and adequate policies of maintenance. The aim is to develop a Support Vector Regression (SVR)-based framework for predicting time series data under stationary/nonstationary environmental and operational conditions. Single SVR and SVR-based ensemble approaches are developed to tackle the prediction problem based on both small and large datasets. Strategies are proposed for adaptively updating the single SVR and SVR-based ensemble models in the existence of pattern drifts. Comparisons with other online learning approaches for kernel-based modelling are provided with reference to time series data from a critical component in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) provided by Electricite de France (EDF). The results show that the proposed approaches achieve comparable prediction results, considering the Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Mean Relative Error (MRE), in much less computation time. Furthermore, by analyzing the geometrical meaning of the Feature Vector Selection (FVS) method proposed in the literature, a novel geometrically interpretable kernel method, named Reduced Rank Kernel Ridge Regression-II (RRKRR-II), is proposed to describe the linear relations between a predicted value and the predicted values of the Feature Vectors (FVs) selected by FVS. Comparisons with several kernel methods on a number of public datasets prove the good prediction accuracy and the easy-of-tuning of the hyper-parameters of RRKRR-II. (author)

Beam interlock system and safe machine parameters system 2010 and beyond

CERN Document Server

Todd, B

2010-01-01

The Beam Interlock System (BIS) and Safe Machine Parameters (SMP) system are central to the protection of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine. The BIS has been critical for the safe operation of LHC from the first day of operation. It has been installed and commissioned, only minor enhancements are required in order to accommodate all future LHC machine protection requirements. At reduced intensity, the SMP system is less critical for LHC operation. As such, the current system satisfies the 2010 operational requirements. Further developments are required, both at the SMP Controller level, and at the system level, in order to accommodate the requirements of the LHC beyond 2010.

Fail-safe logic elements for use with reactor safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobis, J.P.; McDowell, W.P.

1976-01-01

A complete fail-safe trip circuit is described which utilizes fail-safe logic elements. The logic elements used are analog multipliers and active bandpass filter networks. These elements perform Boolean operations on a set of AC signals from the output of a reactor safety-channel trip comparator

New maintenance strategy of Tokyo Electric Power Company and Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant for effective ageing management and safe long-term operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inagaki, Takeyuki; Yamashita, Norimichi

2009-01-01

Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant is the oldest among three nuclear power plants owned and operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, which consists of six boiling water reactor units. The commercial operation of Unit 1 was commenced in 1971 (37 years old) and Unit 6 in 1978 (29 years old). Currently ageing degradations of systems, structures and components are managed through maintenance programs, component replacement/refurbishment programs and long-term maintenance plans. The long-term maintenance plans are established through ageing management component replacement/refurbishment programs reviews performed before the 30th year of operation and they are for safe and reliable operation after 30 years (long-term operation). However the past maintenance actions and past component replacement/refurbishment programs were not always proactive and past operational experience and maintenance practices suggest that effective/proactive ageing management programs be introduced in earlier stage of the plant operation. In this circumstance, Tokyo Electric Power Company and Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant are setting up a new maintenance strategy that includes 1) improving the normal maintenance programs by using ageing degradation data, 2) effective use of information on internal/external operational experience and maintenance practices related to ageing, and 3) proactive component/equipment refurbishment programs during a refreshment outage for safe and reliable long-term operation. To accomplish the goal of this strategy, strengthening engineering capability of plant staff members is a crucial required for the plant. The objective of this paper is to briefly explain main results ageing management reviews, past and current significant ageing issues and management programs against them, and the new maintenance strategy established by Tokyo Electric Power Company and Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. (author)

Assessment of biogas production from MBT waste under different operating conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pantini, Sara; Verginelli, Jason; Lombardi, Francesco

2015-01-01

In this work, the influence of different operating conditions on the biogas production from mechanically-. biologically treated (MBT) wastes is investigated. Specifically, different lab-scale anaerobic tests varying the water content (26-43% w/w up to 75% w/w), the temperature (from 20 to 25......, the obtained results highlighted that the operative conditions can drastically affect the gas production from MET wastes. This suggests that particular caution should be paid when using the results of lab-scale tests for the evaluation of long-term behaviour expected in the field where the boundary conditions...

A Problem-Solving Approach to Teaching Operant Conditioning

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Carolyn; Gredler, Margaret

2003-01-01

Psychology students frequently have misconceptions of basic concepts in operant conditioning. Prior classroom observations revealed that most students defined positive reinforcement as reward and equated negative reinforcement and punishment. Students also labeled positive reinforcement as rewarding good behavior and negative reinforcement as…

78 FR 57319 - Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed Self-Regulatory Guidelines...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-18

...-AB20 Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed Self-Regulatory Guidelines; kidSAFE... proposed self-regulatory guidelines submitted by the kidSAFE Seal Program (``kidSAFE''), owned and operated... enabling industry groups or others to submit to the Commission for approval self-regulatory guidelines that...

Schwarzian conditions for linear differential operators with selected differential Galois groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelaziz, Y; Maillard, J-M

2017-01-01

We show that non-linear Schwarzian differential equations emerging from covariance symmetry conditions imposed on linear differential operators with hypergeometric function solutions can be generalized to arbitrary order linear differential operators with polynomial coefficients having selected differential Galois groups. For order three and order four linear differential operators we show that this pullback invariance up to conjugation eventually reduces to symmetric powers of an underlying order-two operator. We give, precisely, the conditions to have modular correspondences solutions for such Schwarzian differential equations, which was an open question in a previous paper. We analyze in detail a pullbacked hypergeometric example generalizing modular forms, that ushers a pullback invariance up to operator homomorphisms. We finally consider the more general problem of the equivalence of two different order-four linear differential Calabi–Yau operators up to pullbacks and conjugation, and clarify the cases where they have the same Yukawa couplings. (paper)

Schwarzian conditions for linear differential operators with selected differential Galois groups

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelaziz, Y.; Maillard, J.-M.

2017-11-01

We show that non-linear Schwarzian differential equations emerging from covariance symmetry conditions imposed on linear differential operators with hypergeometric function solutions can be generalized to arbitrary order linear differential operators with polynomial coefficients having selected differential Galois groups. For order three and order four linear differential operators we show that this pullback invariance up to conjugation eventually reduces to symmetric powers of an underlying order-two operator. We give, precisely, the conditions to have modular correspondences solutions for such Schwarzian differential equations, which was an open question in a previous paper. We analyze in detail a pullbacked hypergeometric example generalizing modular forms, that ushers a pullback invariance up to operator homomorphisms. We finally consider the more general problem of the equivalence of two different order-four linear differential Calabi-Yau operators up to pullbacks and conjugation, and clarify the cases where they have the same Yukawa couplings.

Digital computer operation of a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colley, R.W.

1984-01-01

A method is described for the safe operation of a complex system such as a nuclear reactor using a digital computer. The computer is supplied with a data base containing a list of the safe state of the reactor and a list of operating instructions for achieving a safe state when the actual state of the reactor does not correspond to a listed safe state, the computer selects operating instructions to return the reactor to a safe state

Evaluation of turbine microjet engine operating parameters in conditions conducive to inlet freezing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markowski Jaroslaw

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The problem of turbine microjet engine operation is related to flight conditions of unmanned aircraft. These flights are often performed at low altitudes, where, in autumn and winter conditions, the air can be characterized by high humidity and low temperature. Such operating conditions may cause freezing the turbine engine inlet. In particular, this problem may be related to microengines, which most often are not equipped with a de-icing installation. Frosting of the inlet violates the air flow conditions at the engine inlet and may cause unstable operation and even outages, which eventually may lead to a loss of aircraft’s stability and breakdown. Therefore, an attempt was made to evaluate the changes in operational parameters of the turbine microjet engine under conditions leading to the freezing of the inlet. The engine test was performed in stationary conditions and the analysis of the obtained results are presented in this article.

Effect of RCIC Operating Conditions on the Accident Scenario in Fukushima Unit 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sung Il; Park, Jong Hwa; Ha, Kwang Soon

2015-01-01

This study was conducted by using MELCOR 1.8.6. Fukushima unit 2 accident was analyzed using MELCOR in this study, and best estimate scenario with considering RCIC operating conditions was presented. Researches on the boiling water reactor (BWR) plant with reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) system have been conducted. Research on the RCIC operation in Fukushima unit 2 was also conducted by Sandia National Laboratory. MELCOR analysis of the Fukushima unit 2 accident was conducted in the report and energy balance in wetwell was described by considering RCIC operation. However, the effect of RCIC operation condition on the accident scenario has not been studied. The operating conditions of RCIC system affect the pressures in wetwell and drywell, and the high pressure can make leakage path of fission product from PCV to reactor building. Thus it can be directly related with the amount of fission product which released to environment. In this study, severe accident on Fukushima unit 2 was analyzed considering the operating condition of RCIC system, and best estimated scenario was presented. In addition, the effect of RCIC turbine efficiency on the accident progression was examined. Energy balance in suppression chamber was also considered with discussion on the effect of torus room flooding level. It was found that the operating condition of RCIC turbine not only affects the variation of drywell pressure but also the amount of released fission products to environment. It was also confirmed that the RCIC turbine efficiency in the accident would be less than normal operating condition

ITER operating limit definition criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciattaglia, S.; Barabaschi, P.; Carretero, J.A.; Chiocchio, S.; Hureau, D.; Girard, J.Ph.; Gordon, C.; Portone, A.; Rodrigo, L. Rodriguez; Roldan, C.; Saibene, G.; Uzan-Elbez, J.

2009-01-01

The operating limits and conditions (OLCs) are operating parameters and conditions, chosen among all system/components, which, together, define the domain of the safe operation of ITER in all foreseen ITER states (operation, maintenance, commissioning). At the same time they are selected to guarantee the required operation flexibility which is a critical factor for the success of an experimental machine such as ITER. System and components that are important for personnel or public safety (safety important class, SIC) are identified considering their functional importance in the overall plant safety analysis. SIC classification has to be presented already in the preliminary safety analysis report and approved by the licensing authority before manufacturing and construction. OLCs comprise the safety limits that, if exceeded, could result in a potential safety hazard, the relevant settings that determine the intervention of SIC systems, and the operational limits on equipment which warn against or stop a functional deviation from a planned operational status that could challenge equipment and functions. Some operational conditions, e.g. in-Vacuum Vessel (VV) radioactive inventories, will be controlled through procedures. Operating experience from present tokamaks, in particular JET, and from nuclear plants, is considered to the maximum possible extent. This paper presents the guidelines for the development of the ITER OLCs with particular reference to safety limits.

UAV Research at NASA Langley: Towards Safe, Reliable, and Autonomous Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Davila, Carlos G.

2016-01-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are fundamental components in several aspects of research at NASA Langley, such as flight dynamics, mission-driven airframe design, airspace integration demonstrations, atmospheric science projects, and more. In particular, NASA Langley Research Center (Langley) is using UAVs to develop and demonstrate innovative capabilities that meet the autonomy and robotics challenges that are anticipated in science, space exploration, and aeronautics. These capabilities will enable new NASA missions such as asteroid rendezvous and retrieval (ARRM), Mars exploration, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), pollution measurements in historically inaccessible areas, and the integration of UAVs into our everyday lives all missions of increasing complexity, distance, pace, and/or accessibility. Building on decades of NASA experience and success in the design, fabrication, and integration of robust and reliable automated systems for space and aeronautics, Langley Autonomy Incubator seeks to bridge the gap between automation and autonomy by enabling safe autonomous operations via onboard sensing and perception systems in both data-rich and data-deprived environments. The Autonomy Incubator is focused on the challenge of mobility and manipulation in dynamic and unstructured environments by integrating technologies such as computer vision, visual odometry, real-time mapping, path planning, object detection and avoidance, object classification, adaptive control, sensor fusion, machine learning, and natural human-machine teaming. These technologies are implemented in an architectural framework developed in-house for easy integration and interoperability of cutting-edge hardware and software.

Model Skinner Operant Conditioning automata i bionički naučeno upravljanje robota

OpenAIRE

Cai, Jianxian; Hong, Li; Cheng, Lina; Yu, Ruihong

2016-01-01

Fuzzy Skinner Operant Conditioning Automaton (FSOCA) sastavljen je na temelju Operant Conditioning mehanizma primjenom teorije neizrazitih skupova. Osnovno obilježje automata FSOCA je sljedeće: neizraziti rezultati stanja pomoću Gausove funkcije koriste se kao skupovi neizrazitog stanja; neizrazita pravila preslikavanja (fuzzy mapping rules) kod fuzzy-conditioning-operacije zamjenjuju stohastičke "conditioning-operant" skupove preslikavanja. Stoga se automat FSOCA može koristiti za opisivanje...

Self-adjoint elliptic operators with boundary conditions on not closed hypersurfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Mantile, Andrea; Posilicano, Andrea; Sini, Mourad

2016-07-01

The theory of self-adjoint extensions of symmetric operators is used to construct self-adjoint realizations of a second-order elliptic differential operator on Rn with linear boundary conditions on (a relatively open part of) a compact hypersurface. Our approach allows to obtain Kreĭn-like resolvent formulae where the reference operator coincides with the ;free; operator with domain H2 (Rn); this provides an useful tool for the scattering problem from a hypersurface. Concrete examples of this construction are developed in connection with the standard boundary conditions, Dirichlet, Neumann, Robin, δ and δ‧-type, assigned either on a (n - 1) dimensional compact boundary Γ = ∂ Ω or on a relatively open part Σ ⊂ Γ. Schatten-von Neumann estimates for the difference of the powers of resolvents of the free and the perturbed operators are also proven; these give existence and completeness of the wave operators of the associated scattering systems.

Premiering SAFE for Safety Added Fuel Element - 15020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhowmik, P.K.; Shamim, J.A.; Suh, K.Y.; Suh, K.S.

2015-01-01

The impact of the Fukushima accident has been the willingness to implement passive safety measures in reactor design and to simplify reactor design itself. Within this framework, a new fuel element, named SAFE (Safety Added Fuel Element) based on the concept of accident tolerant fuel, is presented. SAFE is a new type of fuel element cooled internally and externally by light water and with stainless steel as the cladding material. The removal of boron may trigger a series of changes which may simplify the system greatly. A simplified thermal analysis of SAFE shows that the fuel centerline temperature is well below the maximal limit during the normal operation of the plant

The Resident-Run Minor Surgery Clinic: A Pilot Study to Safely Increase Operative Autonomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wojcik, Brandon M; Fong, Zhi Ven; Patel, Madhukar S; Chang, David C; Petrusa, Emil; Mullen, John T; Phitayakorn, Roy

increased operative autonomy as the greatest strength. Implementation of a resident-run minor surgery clinic is a safe and effective method to increase trainee operative autonomy. The rotation is well suited for mid-level residents, as it provides an opportunity for realistic self-evaluation and focused learning that may enhance their operative experience during senior level rotations. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Operant Conditioning Concepts in Introductory Psychology Textbooks and Their Companion Web Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Sheldon, Jane P.

2002-01-01

Psychology instructors and textbook authors rate operant conditioning as one of the most essential concepts for students to learn, yet textbook writers, as well as students, can fall prey to misconceptions. This study is a content analysis of the presentation of operant conditioning in introductory psychology textbooks and their companion Web…

C-SAFE: A Computer-Delivered Sexual Health Promotion Program for Latinas.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Charles H; Kuhn, Tamara; Altamirano, Midori; Lomonaco, Carmela

2017-07-01

This article describes the development and evaluation of C-SAFE (Sexual Awareness for Everyone), a computer-delivered sexual health promotion program for Latinas. We first describe the process of adapting an evidence-based, group-level intervention into an individually administered computer-delivered program. We then present the methods and results of a randomized control trial with 321 Latinas in California and Florida to test C-SAFE's preliminary efficacy in reducing sexual health risk. We found no statistically significant differences between the two conditions at a six-month follow-up in terms of sexual behaviors or attitudes toward sexually transmitted infections and condoms, although C-SAFE women reported fewer days in the past month when their mental health was not good (p = .02). C-SAFE condition women also reported more satisfaction than control condition women in their assessment of information presentation (on a scale of 1 = poor and 5 = excellent; C-SAFE = 4.45 vs. control = 4.25, p = .053) and having learned something new (C-SAFE = 95.1% vs. control = 79.3%, χ 2 importance of teachable moments, matching of delivery modalities to implementation contexts, and possible directions for evidence-based sexual health promotion programs given the current sexual health landscape.

Mathematical modelling of unglazed solar collectors under extreme operating conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bunea, M.; Perers, Bengt; Eicher, S.

2015-01-01

average temperature levels at the evaporator. Simulation of these systems requires a collector model that can take into account operation at very low temperatures (below freezing) and under various weather conditions, particularly operation without solar irradiation.A solar collector mathematical model......Combined heat pumps and solar collectors got a renewed interest on the heating system market worldwide. Connected to the heat pump evaporator, unglazed solar collectors can considerably increase their efficiency, but they also raise the coefficient of performance of the heat pump with higher...... was found due to the condensation phenomenon and up to 40% due to frost under no solar irradiation. This work also points out the influence of the operating conditions on the collector's characteristics.Based on experiments carried out at a test facility, every heat flux on the absorber was separately...

Procedure of safe handling with cytostatic drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kodžo Dragan

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Working group for safe handling with cytostatic drugs has been formed by the Ministry of Health, and it consists of professionals from IORS, Federal Bureau of Weights and Measures, Industrial Medicine, Institute of Hematology, Military Medical Academy, and Crown Agents. The aim of this working group is to prepare procedures for safe handling with cytostatic drugs, as well as program for educational seminar for nurses, medical technicians, and pharmaceutical technicians. The procedures will serve as a guide of good practice of oncology health care, and will refer to all actions that health care professionals carry out from the moment of drugs arrival to the pharmacy to the moment of their application. In the first segment of this procedure, general rules are given for working with cytotoxic agents, control for risky exposures, safe system of work, control of working environment, monitoring of the employees' health condition adequate protection in the working environment, protective equipment of the employees (gloves, mask, cap, eyeglasses, shoe covers, coats and chambers for vertical laminary air stream. Storing of cytostatics, procedure in case of accident, and waste handling and removal are also described in this segment. Fifty-three standard operational procedures are described in detail in the second segment. Training scheme for preparation of chemotherapy is given in the third segment - education related to various fields and practical part, which would be carried out through workshops, and at the end of the course participants would pass a test and obtain certificate. After the procedures for safe handling with cytostatics are legally regulated employer will have to provide minimum of protective equipment, special rooms for the drugs dissolving, chambers with laminar airflow, 6 hours working time, rotation of the staff working with drugs dissolving in intervals of every five years, higher efficiency, better health control. In conclusion

14 CFR 203.5 - Compliance as condition on operations in air transportation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... air transportation. 203.5 Section 203.5 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... DEFENSES § 203.5 Compliance as condition on operations in air transportation. It shall be a condition on the authority of all direct U.S. and foreign carriers to operate in air transportation that they have...

Organising a Safe Space for Navigating Social-Ecological Transformations to Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Pereira

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The need for developing socially just living conditions for the world’s growing population whilst keeping human societies within a ‘safe operating space’ has become a modern imperative. This requires transformative changes in the dominant social norms, behaviours, governance and management regimes that guide human responses in areas such as urban ecology, public health, resource security (e.g., food, water, energy access, economic development and biodiversity conservation. However, such systemic transformations necessitate experimentation in public arenas of exchange and a deepening of processes that can widen multi-stakeholder learning. We argue that there is an emergent potential in bridging the sustainability transitions and resilience approaches to create new scientific capacity that can support large-scale social-ecological transformations (SETs to sustainability globally, not just in the West. In this article, we elucidate a set of guiding principles for the design of a ‘safe space’ to encourage stronger interactions between these research areas and others that are relevant to the challenges faced. We envisage new opportunities for transdisciplinary collaboration that will develop an adaptive and evolving community of practice. In particular, we emphasise the great opportunity for engaging with the role of emerging economies in facilitating safe space experimentation.

Organising a Safe Space for Navigating Social-Ecological Transformations to Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Laura; Karpouzoglou, Timothy; Doshi, Samir; Frantzeskaki, Niki

2015-01-01

The need for developing socially just living conditions for the world’s growing population whilst keeping human societies within a ‘safe operating space’ has become a modern imperative. This requires transformative changes in the dominant social norms, behaviours, governance and management regimes that guide human responses in areas such as urban ecology, public health, resource security (e.g., food, water, energy access), economic development and biodiversity conservation. However, such systemic transformations necessitate experimentation in public arenas of exchange and a deepening of processes that can widen multi-stakeholder learning. We argue that there is an emergent potential in bridging the sustainability transitions and resilience approaches to create new scientific capacity that can support large-scale social-ecological transformations (SETs) to sustainability globally, not just in the West. In this article, we elucidate a set of guiding principles for the design of a ‘safe space’ to encourage stronger interactions between these research areas and others that are relevant to the challenges faced. We envisage new opportunities for transdisciplinary collaboration that will develop an adaptive and evolving community of practice. In particular, we emphasise the great opportunity for engaging with the role of emerging economies in facilitating safe space experimentation. PMID:26030471

Power source with spark-safe outlet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsesarenko, N P; Alekhin, A V

1982-01-01

The invention refers to the technique of electrical monitoring and control in systems operating in a spark-safe medium (for example, in coal mines). A more accurate area of application is mobile objects with autonomous source of electricity (mine diesel locomotives, battery electric locomotives etc.). The purpose of the invention is to simplify and to improve the reliability of the planned device, and also to expand the area of application for conditions when it is powered from an autonomous generator of direct voltage. This goal is achieved because the power source with spark-safe outlet (the source contains a thyristor of advance disconnection, connected by anode to the delimiting throttle, one outlet of which is connected to the capacitor included between the controlling electrode and the anode of the thyristor, and the capacitor is connected through the resistor parallel to the outlet clamps of the source, while the thyristor of emergency protection connected parallel to the inlet clamps of the power source) is additionally equipped with a current sensor, hercon, transistor key (included in series in the power circuit) and optron, whose emitter is connected parallel to the current sensor connected in series to the inlet of the power source, while the receiver of the optron is connected in a circuit for controlling the thyristor of emergency protection. Hercon is built into the core of the delimiting throttle and is connected to the circuit for controlling the transistor key.

Integrating weather and geotechnical monitoring data for assessing the stability of large scale surface mining operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steiakakis Chrysanthos

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The geotechnical challenges for safe slope design in large scale surface mining operations are enormous. Sometimes one degree of slope inclination can significantly reduce the overburden to ore ratio and therefore dramatically improve the economics of the operation, while large scale slope failures may have a significant impact on human lives. Furthermore, adverse weather conditions, such as high precipitation rates, may unfavorably affect the already delicate balance between operations and safety. Geotechnical, weather and production parameters should be systematically monitored and evaluated in order to safely operate such pits. Appropriate data management, processing and storage are critical to ensure timely and informed decisions.

Fuel conditioning facility electrorefiner cadmium vapor trap operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaden, D. E.

1998-01-01

Processing sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel at the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-West involves an electrometallurgical process employing a molten LiCl-KCl salt covering a pool of molten cadmium. Previous research has shown that the cadmium dissolves in the salt as a gas, diffuses through the salt layer and vaporizes at the salt surface. This cadmium vapor condenses on cool surfaces, causing equipment operation and handling problems. Using a cadmium vapor trap to condense the cadmium vapors and reflux them back to the electrorefiner has mitigated equipment problems and improved electrorefiner operations

The safe use of radiation sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-01

As a means of promoting safety in the use of radiation sources, as well as encouraging consistency in regulatory control, the IAEA has from time to time organized training courses with the co-operation of Member State governments and organizations, to inform individuals from developing countries with appropriate responsibilities on the provisions for the safe use and regulation of radiation sources. Three such courses on the safe use of radiation sources have been held in both the USA, with the co-operation of the United States Government, and in Dublin, Ireland, with the co-operation of the Irish Government. The Training Course on the Safe Use and Regulation of Radiation Sources has been successfully given to over 77 participants from over 30 countries during the last years. The course is aimed at providing a basis of radiation protection knowledge in all aspects of the uses of radiation and of radiation sources that are used today. It is the intention of this course to provide a systematic enhancement of radioisotope safety in countries with developing radiological programmes through a core group of national authorities. The IAEA's training programmes provide an excellent opportunity for direct contact with lecturers that have extensive experience in resolving issues faced by developing countries and in providing guidance documents useful in addressing their problems. This document uses this collective experience and provides valuable technical information regarding the safety aspects of the uses not only of sealed and unsealed sources of radiation, but also for those machines that produce ionizing radiation. The first of these training courses, 'Safety and Regulation of Unsealed Sources' was held in Dublin, Ireland, June through July 1989 with the co-operation of the Nuclear Energy Board and Trinity College. This was an interregional training course, the participants came from all over the world. The second and third interregional courses, 'Safety and Regulation

The safe use of radiation sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

As a means of promoting safety in the use of radiation sources, as well as encouraging consistency in regulatory control, the IAEA has from time to time organized training courses with the co-operation of Member State governments and organizations, to inform individuals from developing countries with appropriate responsibilities on the provisions for the safe use and regulation of radiation sources. Three such courses on the safe use of radiation sources have been held in both the USA, with the co-operation of the United States Government, and in Dublin, Ireland, with the co-operation of the Irish Government. The Training Course on the Safe Use and Regulation of Radiation Sources has been successfully given to over 77 participants from over 30 countries during the last years. The course is aimed at providing a basis of radiation protection knowledge in all aspects of the uses of radiation and of radiation sources that are used today. It is the intention of this course to provide a systematic enhancement of radioisotope safety in countries with developing radiological programmes through a core group of national authorities. The IAEA's training programmes provide an excellent opportunity for direct contact with lecturers that have extensive experience in resolving issues faced by developing countries and in providing guidance documents useful in addressing their problems. This document uses this collective experience and provides valuable technical information regarding the safety aspects of the uses not only of sealed and unsealed sources of radiation, but also for those machines that produce ionizing radiation. The first of these training courses, 'Safety and Regulation of Unsealed Sources' was held in Dublin, Ireland, June through July 1989 with the co-operation of the Nuclear Energy Board and Trinity College. This was an interregional training course, the participants came from all over the world. The second and third interregional courses, 'Safety and Regulation

Effect of circadian phase on memory acquisition and recall: operant conditioning vs. classical conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Garren, Madeleine V; Sexauer, Stephen B; Page, Terry L

2013-01-01

There have been several studies on the role of circadian clocks in the regulation of associative learning and memory processes in both vertebrate and invertebrate species. The results have been quite variable and at present it is unclear to what extent the variability observed reflects species differences or differences in methodology. Previous results have shown that following differential classical conditioning in the cockroach, Rhyparobia maderae, in an olfactory discrimination task, formation of the short-term and long-term memory is under strict circadian control. In contrast, there appeared to be no circadian regulation of the ability to recall established memories. In the present study, we show that following operant conditioning of the same species in a very similar olfactory discrimination task, there is no impact of the circadian system on either short-term or long-term memory formation. On the other hand, ability to recall established memories is strongly tied to the circadian phase of training. On the basis of these data and those previously reported for phylogenetically diverse species, it is suggested that there may be fundamental differences in the way the circadian system regulates learning and memory in classical and operant conditioning.

Effect of circadian phase on memory acquisition and recall: operant conditioning vs. classical conditioning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madeleine V Garren

Full Text Available There have been several studies on the role of circadian clocks in the regulation of associative learning and memory processes in both vertebrate and invertebrate species. The results have been quite variable and at present it is unclear to what extent the variability observed reflects species differences or differences in methodology. Previous results have shown that following differential classical conditioning in the cockroach, Rhyparobia maderae, in an olfactory discrimination task, formation of the short-term and long-term memory is under strict circadian control. In contrast, there appeared to be no circadian regulation of the ability to recall established memories. In the present study, we show that following operant conditioning of the same species in a very similar olfactory discrimination task, there is no impact of the circadian system on either short-term or long-term memory formation. On the other hand, ability to recall established memories is strongly tied to the circadian phase of training. On the basis of these data and those previously reported for phylogenetically diverse species, it is suggested that there may be fundamental differences in the way the circadian system regulates learning and memory in classical and operant conditioning.

Safe operation and maintenance of research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munsorn, S.

1999-01-01

The first Thai Research Reactor (TRR-1) was established in 1961 at the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP), Bangkok. The reactor was light water moderated and cooled, using HEU plate-type with U 3 O 8 - Al fuel meat and swimming pool type. The reactor went first critical on October 27, 1962 and had been licensed to operate at 1 MW (thermal). On June 30, 1975 the reactor was shutdown for modification and the core and control system was disassemble and replaced by that of TRIGA Mark III type while the pool cooling system, irradiation facilities and other were kept. Thus the name TRR-1/M1' has been designed due to this modification the fuel has been changed from HEU plate type to Uranium Zirconium Hydride (UZrH) Low Enrichment Uranium (LEU) which include 4 Fuel Follower Control Rods and 1 Air Follower Control Rod. The TRR-1/M1 went critical on November 7, 1977 and the purpose of the operation are training, isotope production and research. Nowadays the TRR-1/M1 has been operated with core loading No.12 which released power of 1,056 MWD. (as of October 1998). The TRR-1/M1 has been operated at the power of 1.2 MW, three days a week with 34 hours per week, Shut-down on Monday for weekly maintenance and Tuesday for special experiment. The everage energy released is about 40.8 MW-hour per week. Every year, the TRR-1/M1 is shut-down about 2 months between February to March for yearly maintenance. (author)

Safe operation and maintenance of research reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munsorn, S. [Reactor Operation Division, Office of Atomic Energy for Peace, Chatuchak, Bangkok (Thailand)

1999-10-01

The first Thai Research Reactor (TRR-1) was established in 1961 at the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP), Bangkok. The reactor was light water moderated and cooled, using HEU plate-type with U{sub 3}O{sub 8}- Al fuel meat and swimming pool type. The reactor went first critical on October 27, 1962 and had been licensed to operate at 1 MW (thermal). On June 30, 1975 the reactor was shutdown for modification and the core and control system was disassemble and replaced by that of TRIGA Mark III type while the pool cooling system, irradiation facilities and other were kept. Thus the name TRR-1/M1' has been designed due to this modification the fuel has been changed from HEU plate type to Uranium Zirconium Hydride (UZrH) Low Enrichment Uranium (LEU) which include 4 Fuel Follower Control Rods and 1 Air Follower Control Rod. The TRR-1/M1 went critical on November 7, 1977 and the purpose of the operation are training, isotope production and research. Nowadays the TRR-1/M1 has been operated with core loading No.12 which released power of 1,056 MWD. (as of October 1998). The TRR-1/M1 has been operated at the power of 1.2 MW, three days a week with 34 hours per week, Shut-down on Monday for weekly maintenance and Tuesday for special experiment. The everage energy released is about 40.8 MW-hour per week. Every year, the TRR-1/M1 is shut-down about 2 months between February to March for yearly maintenance. (author)

Canadian East Coast offshore petroleum industry safe lifting practices respecting offshore pedestal cranes, offshore containers, loose gear, other lifting devices, and operational best practices : standard practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-11-15

This document was developed by a working group with representatives from the petroleum industry, the Offshore Petroleum Boards and Certifying Authorities. It outlines industry best practices for operators responsible for the management, planning and execution of offshore lifting operations. Its purpose is to assist in the interpretation of applicable legislation and standards. Considered within the practice are safe design requirements, manufacture, certification, testing, maintenance and inspection requirements for pedestal cranes, offshore containers, loose gear and lifting devices. Operational best practices for lifting operations are also included along with a section that identifies additional requirements for personnel lifting operations, including personnel transfers by crane and man-riding operations. 82 refs., 2 tabs., 4 figs., 3 appendices.

Procedures and practices for day-to-day operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Distler, K.

1986-01-01

This lecture deals with problems of safe plant operation under day-to-day conditions. Operation, maintenance and surveillance have to be organized in a preventive manner. It will be shown that nearly all expected jobs and proceedings can be done rule-based. The connection of documentation and work preparation will be lined out. Moreover, the need for control and quality assurance for nearly all proceedings will be pointed out. The question of communication and scheduling will be touched. (orig.)

Preparatory mining and geotechnical work for safe closure of the Asse mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, M.W.; Schauermann, V.; Kappei, G.

2002-01-01

After the GSF Research Centre for Environment and Health discontinued its own research into the safe ultimate storage of waste hazardous to the environment in deep geological formations and the work of the Institute for Deep Storage was likewise suspended there is no longer any need to continue operation of the Asse mine for research purposes. Hence the closure of the mine is being prepared on the basis of the Federal Mining Act. The GSF accordingly has to submit a final operating plan, with which a comprehensive safety report containing inter alia proof of the long-time safety should be enclosed. The proof should be furnished according to the specific location and takes into account the geological, hydrogeological, geochemical, geotechnical, mining-related conditions and the radionuclide inventory in the Asse mine. (orig.) [de

14 CFR 125.221 - Icing conditions: Operating limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... appendix C of this part or those for transport category airplane type certification, no pilot may fly— (1... pilot may fly an airplane into known or forecast severe icing conditions. (e) If current weather reports... CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS: AIRPLANES HAVING A SEATING CAPACITY OF 20 OR MORE PASSENGERS OR A MAXIMUM PAYLOAD...

Updating Coverage of Operant Conditioning in Introductory Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Buskist, William; Miller, Erin; Ecott, Cheryl; Critchfield, Thomas S.

1999-01-01

Offers an example of determining what the experts of psychology deem as essential concepts in their subfield by investigating the current principles in operant conditioning through surveys of the board of editors of the "Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior." Recommends concepts that are appropriate for up-to-date coverage of operant…

Effects of Operating Conditions on Gas Release Thermal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The gas release rates and the flame length of the potential jet fires were initially estimated using Simplex Source Term Models which pay limited attention to operating conditions. Finally a more detailed follow-up study, accounting for a range of practical factors was conducted. A number of useful risk management metrics ...

Sex differences in learning processes of classical and operant conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalla, Christina; Shors, Tracey J

2009-05-25

Males and females learn and remember differently at different times in their lives. These differences occur in most species, from invertebrates to humans. We review here sex differences as they occur in laboratory rodent species. We focus on classical and operant conditioning paradigms, including classical eyeblink conditioning, fear-conditioning, active avoidance and conditioned taste aversion. Sex differences have been reported during acquisition, retention and extinction in most of these paradigms. In general, females perform better than males in the classical eyeblink conditioning, in fear-potentiated startle and in most operant conditioning tasks, such as the active avoidance test. However, in the classical fear-conditioning paradigm, in certain lever-pressing paradigms and in the conditioned taste aversion, males outperform females or are more resistant to extinction. Most sex differences in conditioning are dependent on organizational effects of gonadal hormones during early development of the brain, in addition to modulation by activational effects during puberty and adulthood. Critically, sex differences in performance account for some of the reported effects on learning and these are discussed throughout the review. Because so many mental disorders are more prevalent in one sex than the other, it is important to consider sex differences in learning when applying animal models of learning for these disorders. Finally, we discuss how sex differences in learning continue to alter the brain throughout the lifespan. Thus, sex differences in learning are not only mediated by sex differences in the brain, but also contribute to them.

Thermal-hydraulic experiment for safe and stable operation of a PIUS-type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tasaka, K.; Imai, S.; Masaoka, H.; Irianto, I.D.; Kohketsu, H.; Tamaki, M.; Anoda, Y.; Murata, H.; Kukita, Y.

1992-01-01

A new automatic pump speed control system by using a measurement of the temperature distribution in the lower density lock is proposed for the PIUS-type reactor. This control system maintains the fluid temperature at the axial center of the lower density lock at the average of the fluid temperatures below and above the density lock in order to prevent the poison water from penetrating into the core during normal operation. The effectiveness of this control system was successfully confirmed by a series of experiments such as start-up and power ramping tests for normal operation simulation and a loss of feedwater test for an accident condition simulation, using a small scale atmospheric pressure test loop which simulated the PIUS principle. (author)

Operational characteristics of nuclear power plants - modelling of operational safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Studovic, M.

1984-01-01

By operational experience of nuclear power plants and realize dlevel of availability of plant, systems and componenst reliabiliuty, operational safety and public protection, as a source on nature of distrurbances in power plant systems and lessons drawn by the TMI-2, in th epaper are discussed: examination of design safety for ultimate ensuring of safe operational conditions of the nuclear power plant; significance of the adequate action for keeping proess parameters in prescribed limits and reactor cooling rquirements; developed systems for measurements detection and monitoring all critical parameters in the nuclear steam supply system; contents of theoretical investigation and mathematical modeling of the physical phenomena and process in nuclear power plant system and components as software, supporting for ensuring of operational safety and new access in staff education process; program and progress of the investigation of some physical phenomena and mathematical modeling of nuclear plant transients, prepared at faculty of mechanical Engineering in Belgrade. (author)

Design and operating condition. Consequences for EDF NPP's chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bretelle, Jean-Luc; Stutzmann, Agnes; Nordmann, Francis

2009-01-01

Since the beginning of the French nuclear programme in 1977, four major types of design have been commissioned, the fifth one being under construction (EPR). The paper points out advantages and drawbacks of chemistry choices for the primary, secondary and tertiary systems in French NPP, for each design particularity and it describes the corresponding operating conditions. Chemistry option proposals are drawn for the future of the French fleet, taking into account the material behaviour and the operation improvement. (orig.)

Operation aid device upon periodical inspection of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukusaka, Ryoji.

1997-01-01

The present invention provides an operation aid device upon periodical inspection of a nuclear power plant, capable of controlling a plurality of control rods safely at good operation efficiency while maintaining subcritical state. Namely, a fuel exchange computer controls an operation for exchanging fuel assemblies upon periodical inspection. An operation aiding computer aids the exchanging operation of fuel assemblies. A control rod position monitoring device allows withdrawal of one control rod under the condition of establishment of entire control rod insertion signal upon operation of exchanging fuel assemblies. Whether all of the four fuel assemblies around one control rod have been entirely taken out or not is judged based on information on the fuel assembly exchanging operation. When conditions for the judgement for operation aiding computer are established, the all insertion signals for the entire control rods as the condition for the withdrawal of the control rods are bypassed, and operation enable signals for plurality control rods are outputted to a control rod manual operation device. (I.S.)

A method for aggregating external operating conditions in multi-generation system optimization models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lythcke-Jørgensen, Christoffer Ernst; Münster, Marie; Ensinas, Adriano Viana

2016-01-01

This paper presents a novel, simple method for reducing external operating condition datasets to be used in multi-generation system optimization models. The method, called the Characteristic Operating Pattern (CHOP) method, is a visually-based aggregation method that clusters reference data based...... on parameter values rather than time of occurrence, thereby preserving important information on short-term relations between the relevant operating parameters. This is opposed to commonly used methods where data are averaged over chronological periods (months or years), and extreme conditions are hidden...... in the averaged values. The CHOP method is tested in a case study where the operation of a fictive Danish combined heat and power plant is optimized over a historical 5-year period. The optimization model is solved using the full external operating condition dataset, a reduced dataset obtained using the CHOP...

Development of BWR computerized operator support system for emergency conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murata, F.

1984-01-01

A BWR computerized operator support system (COSS) for emergency conditions has been under development for three years. The conceptual design of the system has been settled and some of the subsystems are in the detailed design or manufacturing stage. The principal functions are technical specification monitoring, diagnosis, guidance during emergency conditions, predictive simulation and safety monitoring. Before a reactor trip, alternative operational guidance for anomalous events is provided by utilization of the CTT (cause consequence tree) and FPS (failure propagation simulator). After the trip, operational guidance is based on event-oriented and symptom-oriented methods in association with the safety function monitor. The technical specification monitor controls the readiness monitor and performs surveillance tests of safety systems to maintain plant operational reliability and to ensure correct performance when initiated. The predictive simulator gives the future trends of significant plant parameters. These subsystems are expected to assist the operational personnel. The feasibility of the COSS functions is confirmed separately by off-line simulation. The paper considers the conceptual design, the functions of the subsystems and the off-line simulation results. Each subsystem has shown that useful information to operational personnel is provided. Henceforth these functions will be integrated into a single system and the feasibility will be thoroughly evaluated using a plant simulator which is being separately developed to verify the COSS. (author)

Determination of Pressure Fluctuations in Rotor Bundle of Centrifugal Compressor at Critical Conditions of Operation

Science.gov (United States)

Levashov, V. A.; Lyubchenko, K. Yu

2017-08-01

This article describes the physical processes that occur in the stage flow part of the compressor while it is operating and can create conditions for the occurrence of forced vibrations, which in turn can lead to the destruction of the impellers. Critical conditions of compressor operation are determined. To understand that critical condition of operation is cause of the destruction of the impellers, transient CFD analysis was carried for test stage of compressor. The obtained pressure fluctuation amplitudes allow to evaluate the critical conditions of compressor operation.

Teleportation protocol with non-ideal conditional local operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Franco, C., E-mail: cdifranco@caesar.ucc.i [Department of Physics, University College Cork, Cork (Ireland); Ballester, D. [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom)

2010-07-12

We analyze teleportation protocol when some of receiver's conditional operations are more reliable than others and a non-maximally entangled channel is shared by the two parts. We show that the average fidelity of teleportation can be maximized by choosing properly the basis in which the sender performs her two-qubit measurement.

VERIFICATION OF GEAR DYNAMIC MODEL IN DIFFERENT OPERATING CONDITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grzegorz PERUŃ

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of verification of the drive system dynamic model with gear. Tests were carried out on the real object in different operating conditions. For the same assumed conditions were also carried out simulation studies. Comparison of the results obtained from those two series of tests helped determine the suitability of the model and verify the possibility of replacing experimental research by simulations with use of dynamic model.

Simulation of worst-case operating conditions for integrated circuits operating in a total dose environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhuva, B.L.

1987-01-01

Degradations in the circuit performance created by the radiation exposure of integrated circuits are so unique and abnormal that thorough simulation and testing of VLSI circuits is almost impossible, and new ways to estimate the operating performance in a radiation environment must be developed. The principal goal of this work was the development of simulation techniques for radiation effects on semiconductor devices. The mixed-mode simulation approach proved to be the most promising. The switch-level approach is used to identify the failure mechanisms and critical subcircuits responsible for operational failure along with worst-case operating conditions during and after irradiation. For precise simulations of critical subcircuits, SPICE is used. The identification of failure mechanisms enables the circuit designer to improve the circuit's performance and failure-exposure level. Identification of worst-case operating conditions during and after irradiation reduces the complexity of testing VLSI circuits for radiation environments. The results of test circuits for failure simulations using a conventional simulator and the new simulator showed significant time savings using the new simulator. The savings in simulation time proved to be circuit topology-dependent. However, for large circuits, the simulation time proved to be orders of magnitude smaller than simulation time for conventional simulators

On the Similarity of Sturm-Liouville Operators with Non-Hermitian Boundary Conditions to Self-Adjoint and Normal Operators

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krejčiřík, David; Siegl, Petr; Železný, Jakub

2014-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 1 (2014), s. 255-281 ISSN 1661-8254 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC06002; GA MŠk LC527; GA ČR GAP203/11/0701 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GD202/08/H072 Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : Sturm-Liouville operators * non-symmetric Robin boundary conditions * similarity to normal or self-adjoint operators * discrete spectral operator * complex symmetric operator * PT-symmetry * metric operator * C operator * Hilbert- Schmidt operators Subject RIV: BE - Theoretical Physics Impact factor: 0.545, year: 2014

Is nuclear power safe enough

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andresen, A F [Institutt for Atomenergi, Kjeller (Norway)

1979-01-01

The lecture formed a commentary on the report of the Norwegian Government's Commission on Nuclear power Safety which was published in October 1978. It was introductorily pointed out that 'safe' and 'safety' are not in themselves meaningful terms and that the probability of an occurrence is the real measure. The main items in the Commission's report have been core meltdown, releases during reprocessing, waste disposal, plutonium diversion and environmental impacts. The 21 members of the Commission were unanimous in 7 of the 8 chapters. In chapter 2, 'Summary and Conclusions', 3 members dissented from the majority opinion, that, subject to certain conditions, nuclear power was a safe and acceptable source of energy.

How Much of Language Acquisition Does Operant Conditioning Explain?

Science.gov (United States)

Sturdy, Christopher B; Nicoladis, Elena

2017-01-01

Since the 1950s, when Chomsky argued that Skinner's arguments could not explain syntactic acquisition, psychologists have generally avoided explicitly invoking operant or instrumental conditioning as a learning mechanism for language among human children. In this article, we argue that this is a mistake. We focus on research that has been done on language learning in human infants and toddlers in order to illustrate our points. Researchers have ended up inventing learning mechanisms that, in actual practice, not only resemble but also in fact are examples of operant conditioning (OC) by any other name they select. We argue that language acquisition researchers should proceed by first ruling out OC before invoking alternative learning mechanisms. While it is possible that OC cannot explain all of the language acquisition, simple learning mechanisms that work across species may have some explanatory power in children's language learning.

Reconsidering 'appropriate technology': the effects of operating conditions on the bacterial removal performance of two household drinking-water filter systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumgartner, Jill; Murcott, Susan; Ezzati, Majid

2007-01-01

We examined the performance of two household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) systems, the Danvor plastic biosand filter and the Potters for Peace Filtron ceramic filter, under ideal as well as modified operating conditions using systematic and comparable measurements. The operating variables for the biosand filter were (i) pause times between filtration runs (ii) water-dosing volumes and (iii) the effluent volume at which a filtered water sample was collected. For the ceramic filter we examined overflow filtration versus standard filtration. We used the bacterial indicators of total coliforms and Escherichia coli to quantify microbiological removal. With the biosand filter, a 12 h pause time had significantly higher total coliform removal than a 36 h pause time at the 20 l collection point (79.1% versus 73.7%; p < 0.01) and borderline significance at the 10 l collection point (81.0% versus 78.3%; p = 0.07). High-volume filtration (20 l) had significantly lower total coliform removal efficacy than low-volume (10 l) filtration at the 10 l collection point (81.0% versus 84.2%; p = 0.03). We observed a decreasing trend in total coliform removal by sample collection volume with the highest removal efficacy at the 5 l sample collection point (versus at the 10 and 20 l collection points). Using the ceramic filter, mean total coliform and E. coli removal were significantly lower (p < 0.01) in overflow filtration than in standard filtration. The findings indicate that operating conditions can reduce the effectiveness of the systems in a field-based setting and increase environmental risk exposure

CFD simulation of a four-loop PWR at asymmetric operation conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Jian-Ping; Yan, Li-Ming; Li, Feng-Chen, E-mail: lifch@hit.edu.cn

2016-04-15

Highlights: • A CFD numerical simulation procedure was established for simulating RPV of VVER-1000. • The established CFD approach was validated by comparing with available data. • Thermal hydraulic characteristics under asymmetric operation condition were investigated. • Apparent influences of the shutdown loop on its neighboring loops were obtained. - Abstract: The pressurized water reactor (PWR) with multiple loops may have abnormal working conditions with coolant pumps out of running in some loops. In this paper, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical study of the four-loop VVER-1000 PWR pressure vessel model was presented. Numerical simulations of the thermohydrodynamic characteristics in the pressure vessel were carried out at different inlet conditions with four and three loops running, respectively. At normal stead-state condition (four-loop running), different parameters were obtained for the full fluid domain, including pressure losses across different parts, pressure, velocity and temperature distributions in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and mass flow distribution of the coolant at the inlet of reactor core. The obtained results for pressure losses matched with the experimental reference values of the VVER-1000 PWR at Tianwan nuclear power plant (NPP). For most fuel assemblies (FAs), the inlet flow rates presented a symmetrical distribution about the center under full-loop operation conditions, which accorded with the practical distribution. These results indicate that it is now possible to study the dynamic transition process between different asymmetric operation conditions in a multi-loop PWR using the established CFD method.

Assessment methodology applicable to safe decommissioning of Romanian VVR-S research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baniu, O.; Vladescu, G.; Vidican, D.; Penescu, M.

2002-01-01

The paper contains the results of research activity performed by CITON specialists regarding the assessment methodology intended to be applied to safe decommissioning of the research reactors, developed taking into account specific conditions of the Romanian VVR-S Research Reactor. The Romanian VVR-S Research Reactor is an old reactor (1957) and its Decommissioning Plan is under study. The main topics of paper are as follows: Safety approach of nuclear facilities decommissioning. Applicable safety principles; Main steps of the proposed assessment methodology; Generic content of Decommissioning Plan. Main decommissioning activities. Discussion about the proposed Decommissioning Plan for Romanian Research Reactor; Safety risks which may occur during decommissioning activities. Normal decommissioning operations. Fault conditions. Internal and external hazards; Typical development of a scenario. Features, Events and Processes List. Exposure pathways. Calculation methodology. (author)

How safe are nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danzmann, H.J.

1976-01-01

The question 'how safe are nuclear power plants' can be answered differently - it depends on how the term 'safety' is understood. If the 'safety of supply' is left out as a possibility of interpretation, then the alternative views remain: Operational safety in the sense of reliability and safety of personnel and population. (orig.) [de

Safe laparoscopic colorectal surgery performed by trainees

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langhoff, Peter Koch; Schultz, Martin; Harvald, Thomas

2013-01-01

Laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer is safe, but there have been hesitations to implement the technique in all departments. One of the reasons for this may be suboptimal learning possibilities since supervised trainees have not been allowed to do the operations to an adequate extent...

Safe injection procedures, injection practices, and needlestick ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nermine Mohamed Tawfik Foda

2017-01-10

Jan 10, 2017 ... Background: Of the estimated 384,000 needle-stick injuries occurring in hospitals each year, 23% occur in surgical settings. This study was conducted to assess safe injection procedures, injection practices, and circumstances contributing to needlestick and sharps injures (NSSIs) in operating rooms.

Modifications in the operational conditions of the IEA-R1 reactor under continuous 48 hours operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, Joao Manoel Losada; Frajndlich, Roberto

1995-01-01

This work shows the required changes in the IEA-R1 reactor for operation at 2 Mw, 48 hours continuously. The principal technical change regards the operating conditions of the reactor, namely, the required excess reactivity which now will amount to 4800 pcm in order to compensate the Xe poisoning at equilibrium at 2 Mw. (author). 6 refs, 1 fig, 1 tab

Improved Rosen's conditions on bound states of Schroedinger operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Exner, P.

1984-01-01

We derive a necessary condition on a Schroedinger operator H=-Δ+V on Lsup(2)(Rsup(d)), d>=3 to have a bound state below a given energy epsilon, and a lower bound to the ground-state energy of H. These conditions are expressed in terms of the potential V alone, and generalize the recent results of Rosen to the dimensions d>3 and to the potentials that are not necessarily rapidly decreasing. Some examples are given

The inherently-safe power reactor DYONISOS (Dynamic Nuclear Inherently-Safe Reactor Operating with Spheres)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taube, M.; Lanfranchi, M.; Weissenfluh, Th. von; Ligou, J.; Yadigaroglu, G.; Taube, P.

1986-01-01

A philosophy of inherent safety is formulated and an inherently-safe thermal power reactor is presented. Solid fuel in the form of spheres a few centimetres in diameter is suspended under the hydro-dynamic pressure of molten lead coolant in vertical channels within the graphite moderator. Loss of main pump pressure, or a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), results in immediate removal of the fuel to rigid sieves below the core, with consequent subcriticality. Residual and decay heat are carried away by thermal conduction through the coolant or, in the case of a LOCA, by a combination of radiation and natural convection of cover gas or incoming air from the fuel to the reactor vessel and convection of air between the vessel and steel containment wall. All decay heat removal systems are passive, though actively initiated external spray cooling of the containment can be used to reduce wall temperature. This, however, is only necessary in the case of a LOCA and after a period of 24 h. (author)

Analysis of critical operating conditions for LV distribution networks with microgrids

Science.gov (United States)

Zehir, M. A.; Batman, A.; Sonmez, M. A.; Font, A.; Tsiamitros, D.; Stimoniaris, D.; Kollatou, T.; Bagriyanik, M.; Ozdemir, A.; Dialynas, E.

2016-11-01

Increase in the penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) in distribution networks, raises the risk of voltage limit violations while contributing to line losses. Especially in low voltage (LV) distribution networks (secondary distribution networks), impacts of active power flows on the bus voltages and on the network losses are more dominant. As network operators must meet regulatory limitations, they have to take into account the most critical operating conditions in their systems. In this study, it is aimed to present the impact of the worst operation cases of LV distribution networks comprising microgrids. Simulation studies are performed on a field data-based virtual test-bed. The simulations are repeated for several cases consisting different microgrid points of connection with different network loading and microgrid supply/demand conditions.

The Relationship between Human Operators' Psycho-physiological Condition and Human Errors in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Arryum; Jang, Inseok; Kang, Hyungook; Seong, Poonghyun

2013-01-01

The safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is substantially dependent on the performance of the human operators who operate the systems. In this environment, human errors caused by inappropriate performance of operator have been considered to be critical since it may lead serious problems in the safety-critical plants. In order to provide meaningful insights to prevent human errors and enhance the human performance, operators' physiological conditions such as stress and workload have been investigated. Physiological measurements were considered as reliable tools to assess the stress and workload. T. Q. Tran et al. and J. B. Brooking et al pointed out that operators' workload can be assessed using eye tracking, galvanic skin response, electroencephalograms (EEGs), heart rate, respiration and other measurements. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the human operators' tense level and knowledge level to the number of human errors. For this study, the experiments were conducted in the mimic of the main control rooms (MCR) in NPP. It utilized the compact nuclear simulator (CNS) which is modeled based on the three loop Pressurized Water Reactor, 993MWe, Kori unit 3 and 4 in Korea and the subjects were asked to follow the tasks described in the emergency operating procedures (EOP). During the simulation, three kinds of physiological measurement were utilized; Electrocardiogram (ECG), EEG and nose temperature. Also, subjects were divided into three groups based on their knowledge of the plant operation. The result shows that subjects who are tense make fewer errors. In addition, subjects who are in higher knowledge level tend to be tense and make fewer errors. For the ECG data, subjects who make fewer human errors tend to be located in higher tense level area of high SNS activity and low PSNS activity. The results of EEG data are also similar to ECG result. Beta power ratio of subjects who make fewer errors was higher. Since beta power ratio is

Analysis of Multiple Spurious Operation Scenarios for Decay Heat Removal Function of CANDU Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Youngseung; Bae, Yeon-kyoung; Kim, Myungsu [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

The worst fire broke out in the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant on March 22, 1975. A fire occurrence in a nuclear power plant has recognized a latently serious incident. Nuclear power plants should achieve and maintain the safe shutdown conditions during and after the occurrence of a fire. Functions of the safe shutdown are five such as the shutdown function, the decay heat removal function, the containment function, monitoring and control function, and the supporting function for CANDU type reactors. The purpose of this paper is to analyze that the decay heat removal function of the safe shutdown functions for CANDU type reactors is achieved under the fire induced multiple spurious operation. The scenarios of the fire induced multiple spurious operations (MSO) for the systems used for the decay heat cooling were analyzed. Additionally, Integrated Severe Accident Analysis code for CANDU plants (ISAAC) for determining success criteria of thermal hydraulic analysis was used. Decay heat cooling systems of CANDU reactors are the auxiliary feedwater system, the emergency water supply system, and the shutdown cooling system. A big fire can threat the safety of nuclear power plants, and safe shutdown conditions. The regulatory body in Korea requires the fire hazard analysis including fire induced MSOs. The safe shutdown functions for CANDU reactors are the shutdown function, the decay heat removal function, the containment function, the monitoring and control function, and the supporting service function. The number of spurious operations for the auxiliary feedwater system is more than six and that for the emergency water supply system is one. Additionally, misoperations for the shutdown cooling system are more than two. Accordingly, if total nine components could be spuriously operated, the decay heat removal function would be lost entirely.

Analysis of Multiple Spurious Operation Scenarios for Decay Heat Removal Function of CANDU Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Youngseung; Bae, Yeon-kyoung; Kim, Myungsu

2016-01-01

The worst fire broke out in the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant on March 22, 1975. A fire occurrence in a nuclear power plant has recognized a latently serious incident. Nuclear power plants should achieve and maintain the safe shutdown conditions during and after the occurrence of a fire. Functions of the safe shutdown are five such as the shutdown function, the decay heat removal function, the containment function, monitoring and control function, and the supporting function for CANDU type reactors. The purpose of this paper is to analyze that the decay heat removal function of the safe shutdown functions for CANDU type reactors is achieved under the fire induced multiple spurious operation. The scenarios of the fire induced multiple spurious operations (MSO) for the systems used for the decay heat cooling were analyzed. Additionally, Integrated Severe Accident Analysis code for CANDU plants (ISAAC) for determining success criteria of thermal hydraulic analysis was used. Decay heat cooling systems of CANDU reactors are the auxiliary feedwater system, the emergency water supply system, and the shutdown cooling system. A big fire can threat the safety of nuclear power plants, and safe shutdown conditions. The regulatory body in Korea requires the fire hazard analysis including fire induced MSOs. The safe shutdown functions for CANDU reactors are the shutdown function, the decay heat removal function, the containment function, the monitoring and control function, and the supporting service function. The number of spurious operations for the auxiliary feedwater system is more than six and that for the emergency water supply system is one. Additionally, misoperations for the shutdown cooling system are more than two. Accordingly, if total nine components could be spuriously operated, the decay heat removal function would be lost entirely

Project management plan for Reactor 105-C Interim Safe Storage project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plagge, H.A.

1996-09-01

Reactor 105-C (located on the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington) will be placed into an interim safe storage condition such that (1) interim inspection can be limited to a 5-year frequency; (2) containment ensures that releases to the environmental are not credible under design basis conditions; and (3) final safe storage configuration shall not preclude or significantly increase the cost for any decommissioning alternatives for the reactor assembly.This project management plan establishes plans, organizational responsibilities, control systems, and procedures for managing the execution of Reactor 105-C interim safe storage activities to meet programmatic requirements within authorized funding and approved schedules

Integral Battery Power Limiting Circuit for Intrinsically Safe Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Bradley M.; Blalock, Norman N.

2010-01-01

A circuit topology has been designed to guarantee the output of intrinsically safe power for the operation of electrical devices in a hazardous environment. This design uses a MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) as a switch to connect and disconnect power to a load. A test current is provided through a separate path to the load for monitoring by a comparator against a preset threshold level. The circuit is configured so that the test current will detect a fault in the load and open the switch before the main current can respond. The main current passes through the switch and then an inductor. When a fault occurs in the load, the current through the inductor cannot change immediately, but the voltage drops immediately to safe levels. The comparator detects this drop and opens the switch before the current in the inductor has a chance to respond. This circuit protects both the current and voltage from exceeding safe levels. Typically, this type of protection is accomplished by a fuse or a circuit breaker, but in order for a fuse or a circuit breaker to blow or trip, the current must exceed the safe levels momentarily, which may be just enough time to ignite anything in a hazardous environment. To prevent this from happening, a fuse is typically current-limited by the addition of the resistor to keep the current within safe levels while the fuse reacts. The use of a resistor is acceptable for non-battery applications where the wasted energy and voltage drop across the resistor can be tolerated. The use of the switch and inductor minimizes the wasted energy. For example, a circuit runs from a 3.6-V battery that must be current-limited to 200 mA. If the circuit normally draws 10 mA, then an 18-ohm resistor would drop 180 mV during normal operation, while a typical switch (0.02 ohm) and inductor (0.97 ohm) would only drop 9.9 mV. From a power standpoint, the current-limiting resistor protection circuit wastes about 18 times more power than the

Optimization of recirculating laminar air flow in operating room air conditioning systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enver Yalcin

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The laminar flow air-conditioning system with 100% fresh air is used in almost all operating rooms without discrimination in Turkey. The laminar flow device which is working with 100% fresh air should be absolutely used in Type 1A operating rooms. However, there is not mandatory to use of 100% fresh air for Type 1B defined as places performed simpler operation. Compared with recirculating laminar flow, energy needs of the laminar flow with 100 % fresh air has been emerged about 40% more than re-circulated air flow. Therefore, when a recirculating laminar flow device is operated instead of laminar flow system with 100% fresh air in the Type 1B operating room, annual energy consumption will be reduced. In this study, in an operating room with recirculating laminar flow, optimal conditions have been investigated in order to obtain laminar flow form by analyzing velocity distributions at various supply velocities by using computational fluid dynamics method (CFD.

Field study evaluation of diffuse ceiling ventilation in classroom during real operating conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Martin Heine; Jensen, Jakob Søland; Heiselberg, Per Kvols

2017-01-01

Highlights •Field experimental measurements during real operating conditions. •Evaluation of pressure chamber effect. •Evaluation of displacement effect. •Evaluation of thermal comfort.......Highlights •Field experimental measurements during real operating conditions. •Evaluation of pressure chamber effect. •Evaluation of displacement effect. •Evaluation of thermal comfort....

A conditioned reinforcer did not help to maintain an operant conditioning in the absence of a primary reinforcer in horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Lansade, Léa; Calandreau, Ludovic

2018-01-01

The use of conditioned reinforcers is increasingly promoted in animal training. Surprisingly, the efficiency of their use remains to be demonstrated in horses. This study aimed to determine whether an auditory signal which had previously been associated with a food reward 288 times could be used as a conditioned reinforcer to replace the primary reinforcer in an unrelated operant conditioning procedure. Fourteen horses were divided into two groups of 7: No Reinforcement (NR) and Conditioned Reinforcement (CR). All horses underwent nine sessions of Pavlovian conditioning during which the word "good" was associated with food (32 associations/session). The horses then followed five sessions of operant conditioning (30 trials/session) during which they had to touch a cone signaled by an experimenter to receive a food reward. The last day, horses underwent one test session of the operant response: no reward was given, but the word "good" was said each time a CR horse touched the cone. Nothing was said in the NR group. CR horses did not achieve more correct trials than NR horses during the test. These findings again show that the conditioned reinforcement was ineffective when used instead of the primary reinforcement to maintain conditioning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How Much of Language Acquisition Does Operant Conditioning Explain?

Science.gov (United States)

Sturdy, Christopher B.; Nicoladis, Elena

2017-01-01

Since the 1950s, when Chomsky argued that Skinner’s arguments could not explain syntactic acquisition, psychologists have generally avoided explicitly invoking operant or instrumental conditioning as a learning mechanism for language among human children. In this article, we argue that this is a mistake. We focus on research that has been done on language learning in human infants and toddlers in order to illustrate our points. Researchers have ended up inventing learning mechanisms that, in actual practice, not only resemble but also in fact are examples of operant conditioning (OC) by any other name they select. We argue that language acquisition researchers should proceed by first ruling out OC before invoking alternative learning mechanisms. While it is possible that OC cannot explain all of the language acquisition, simple learning mechanisms that work across species may have some explanatory power in children’s language learning. PMID:29163295

How Much of Language Acquisition Does Operant Conditioning Explain?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher B. Sturdy

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Since the 1950s, when Chomsky argued that Skinner’s arguments could not explain syntactic acquisition, psychologists have generally avoided explicitly invoking operant or instrumental conditioning as a learning mechanism for language among human children. In this article, we argue that this is a mistake. We focus on research that has been done on language learning in human infants and toddlers in order to illustrate our points. Researchers have ended up inventing learning mechanisms that, in actual practice, not only resemble but also in fact are examples of operant conditioning (OC by any other name they select. We argue that language acquisition researchers should proceed by first ruling out OC before invoking alternative learning mechanisms. While it is possible that OC cannot explain all of the language acquisition, simple learning mechanisms that work across species may have some explanatory power in children’s language learning.

Burn up calculations for the Iranian miniature reactor: A reliable and safe research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faghihi, F.; Mirvakili, S.M.

2009-01-01

Presenting neutronic calculations pertaining to the Iranian miniature research reactor is the main goal of this article. This is a key to maintaining safe and reliable core operation. The following reactor core neutronic parameters were calculated: clean cold core excess reactivity (ρ ex ), control rod and shim worth, shut down margin (SDM), neutron flux distribution of the reactor core components, and reactivity feedback coefficients. Calculations for the fuel burnup and radionuclide inventory of the Iranian miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR), after 13 years of operational time, are carried out. Moreover, the amount of uranium burnup and produced plutonium, the concentrations and activities of the most important fission products, the actinide radionuclides accumulated, and the total radioactivity of the core are estimated. Flux distribution for both water and fuel temperature increases are calculated and changes of the central control rod position are investigated as well. Standard neutronic simulation codes WIMS-D4 and CITATION are employed for these studies. The input model was validated by the experimental data according to the final safety analysis report (FSAR) of the reactor. The total activity of the MNSR core is calculated including all radionuclides at the end of the core life and it is found to be equal to 1.3 x 10 3 Ci. Our investigation shows that the reactor is operating under safe and reliable conditions.

Burn up calculations for the Iranian miniature reactor: A reliable and safe research reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faghihi, F. [Department of Nuclear Engineering, School of Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71345 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Research Center for Radiation Protection, Shiraz University, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: faghihif@shirazu.ac.ir; Mirvakili, S.M. [Department of Nuclear Engineering, School of Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71345 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2009-06-15

Presenting neutronic calculations pertaining to the Iranian miniature research reactor is the main goal of this article. This is a key to maintaining safe and reliable core operation. The following reactor core neutronic parameters were calculated: clean cold core excess reactivity ({rho}{sub ex}), control rod and shim worth, shut down margin (SDM), neutron flux distribution of the reactor core components, and reactivity feedback coefficients. Calculations for the fuel burnup and radionuclide inventory of the Iranian miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR), after 13 years of operational time, are carried out. Moreover, the amount of uranium burnup and produced plutonium, the concentrations and activities of the most important fission products, the actinide radionuclides accumulated, and the total radioactivity of the core are estimated. Flux distribution for both water and fuel temperature increases are calculated and changes of the central control rod position are investigated as well. Standard neutronic simulation codes WIMS-D4 and CITATION are employed for these studies. The input model was validated by the experimental data according to the final safety analysis report (FSAR) of the reactor. The total activity of the MNSR core is calculated including all radionuclides at the end of the core life and it is found to be equal to 1.3 x 10{sup 3}Ci. Our investigation shows that the reactor is operating under safe and reliable conditions.

Licensing operators for commercial nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hannon, J.N.

1988-01-01

The human element in the operation of commercial nuclear power plants is of utmost importance. Not only must the operators be technically competent in the execution of numerous complicated tasks, they must be capable of working together as a team to diagnose dynamic plant conditions to ensure that their plants are operated safely. The significance of human interaction skills and crew communications has been demonstrated most vividly in TMI and Chernobyl. It follows that the NRC must retain its high standards for licensing operators. This paper discusses activities and initiatives being employed by the NRC to enhance the reliability of its licensing examinations, and to build a highly qualified examiner work force

76 FR 12719 - Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools; Safe Schools/Healthy...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-08

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Office of Safe and Drug- Free Schools; Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84... priorities, requirements, and definitions under the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) program. Since...

Marine Vessel Models in Changing Operational Conditions - A Tutorial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perez, Tristan; Sørensen, Asgeir; Blanke, Mogens

2006-01-01

conditions (VOC). However, since marine systems operate in changing VOCs, there is a need to adapt the models. To date, there is no theory available to describe a general model valid across different VOCs due to the complexity of the hydrodynamic involved. It is believed that system identification could......This tutorial paper provides an introduction, from a systems perspective, to the topic of ship motion dynamics of surface ships. It presents a classification of parametric models currently used for monitoring and control of marine vessels. These models are valid for certain vessel operational...

Implications of inherent safe nuclear power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Yo-Taik

1987-01-01

The safety of present day nuclear power reactors and research reactors depends on a combination of design features of passive and active systems, and the alert judgement of their operators. A few inherently safe designs of nuclear reactors for power plants are currently under development. In these designs, the passive systems are emphasized, and the active systems are minimized. Also efforts are made to eliminate the potential for human failures that initiate the series of accidents. If a major system fails in these designs, the core is flooded automatically with coolants that flow by gravity, not by mechanical pumps or electromagnetic actuators. Depending on the choice of the coolants--water, liquid metal and helium gas--there are three principal types of inherently safe reactors. In this paper, these inherently safe reactor designs are reviewed and their implications are discussed. Further, future perspectives of their acceptance by nuclear industries are discussed. (author)

Ionization beam profile monitor for operation under hard environmental conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teterev, Yu.G.; Kaminski, G.; Phi Thanh Huong; Kaminski, G.; Kozik, E.

2010-01-01

The design and the performance of the Ionization Beam Profile Monitor (IBPM) operating on the residual gas ionization principle are described. The main advantage of the constructed device is the non-contact measuring method. Operating under hard environmental conditions it delivers the information about the primary beam position, profile and intensity in 'on-line' regime. It was found out that the device is capable to operate in vacuum in the range of 10 -6 /10 -3 mbar without the loss of the resolution power at the beam current as low as a few nA. The IBPM is prospective for beam profile monitoring due to long time. Emergency situations do not lead to decrease of its operability.

Spent sealed radium sources conditioning in Latin America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mourao, R.P.

1999-01-01

The management of spent sealed sources is considered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) one of the greatest challenges faced by nuclear authorities today, especially in developing countries. One of the Agency's initiatives to tackle this problem is the Spent Radium Sources Conditioning Project, a worldwide project relying on the regional co-operation between countries. A team from the Brazilian nuclear research institute Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN) was chosen as the expert team to carry out the operations in Latin America; since December 1996 radium sources have been safely conditioned in Uruguay, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador and Paraguay. A Quality Assurance Program was established, encompassing the qualification of the capsule welding process, written operational procedures referring to all major steps of the operation, calibration of monitors and information retrievability. A 200L carbon steel drum-based packaging concept was used to condition the sources, its cavity being designed to receive the lead shield device containing stainless steel capsules with the radium sources. As a result of these operations, a total amount of 2,897 mg of needles, tubes, medical applicators, standard sources for calibration, lightning rods, secondary wastes and contaminated objects were stored in proper conditions and are now under control of the nuclear authorities of the visited countries

Spent sealed radium sources conditioning in Latin America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mourao, Rogerio Pimenta

1999-01-01

The management of spent sealed sources is considered by the IAEA one of the greatest challenges faced by nuclear authorities today, especially in developing countries. One of the Agency's initiatives to tackle this problem is the 'Spent Radium Sources Conditioning Project', a worldwide project relying on the regional cooperation between countries. A CDTN team was chooses as the expert team to carry out the operations in Latin America; since Dec 96 radium sources have been safely conditioned in Uruguay, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Ecuador. A Quality Assurance Program was established, encompassing the qualification of the capsule welding process, written operational procedures referring to all major steps of the operation, calibration of monitors and information retrievability. A 200L carbon steel drum-based packaging concept was used to condition the sources, its cavity being designed to receive the lead shield device containing stainless steel capsules with the radium sources. As a result of these operations, a total amount of 2,629 mg (approx. 98 GBq) of needles, tubes, medical applicators, standard sources for calibration, lightning rods, secondary wastes (generated during the operations) and contaminated objects were stored in proper conditions and are now under control, of the nuclear authorities of the visited countries. (author)

Non-trapping condition for semiclassical Schr dinger operators with matrix-valued potentials.

CERN Document Server

Jecko, T

2004-01-01

We consider semiclassical Schr dinger operators with matrix-valued, long-range, smooth potential, for which different eigenvalues may cross on a codimension one submanifold. We denote by h the semiclassical parameter and we consider energies above the bottom of the essential spectrum. Under some invariance condition on the matricial structure of the potential near the eigenvalues crossing and some structure condition at infinity, we prove that the boundary values of the resolvent at energy lambda, as bounded operators on suitable weighted spaces, are O(1/h) if and only if lambda is a non-trapping energy for all the Hamilton flows generated by the eigenvalues of the operator's symbol.

Classifier-ensemble incremental-learning procedure for nuclear transient identification at different operational conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baraldi, Piero, E-mail: piero.baraldi@polimi.i [Dipartimento di Energia - Sezione Ingegneria Nucleare, Politecnico di Milano, via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milano (Italy); Razavi-Far, Roozbeh [Dipartimento di Energia - Sezione Ingegneria Nucleare, Politecnico di Milano, via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milano (Italy); Zio, Enrico [Dipartimento di Energia - Sezione Ingegneria Nucleare, Politecnico di Milano, via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milano (Italy); Ecole Centrale Paris-Supelec, Paris (France)

2011-04-15

An important requirement for the practical implementation of empirical diagnostic systems is the capability of classifying transients in all plant operational conditions. The present paper proposes an approach based on an ensemble of classifiers for incrementally learning transients under different operational conditions. New classifiers are added to the ensemble where transients occurring in new operational conditions are not satisfactorily classified. The construction of the ensemble is made by bagging; the base classifier is a supervised Fuzzy C Means (FCM) classifier whose outcomes are combined by majority voting. The incremental learning procedure is applied to the identification of simulated transients in the feedwater system of a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) under different reactor power levels.

Classifier-ensemble incremental-learning procedure for nuclear transient identification at different operational conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baraldi, Piero; Razavi-Far, Roozbeh; Zio, Enrico

2011-01-01

An important requirement for the practical implementation of empirical diagnostic systems is the capability of classifying transients in all plant operational conditions. The present paper proposes an approach based on an ensemble of classifiers for incrementally learning transients under different operational conditions. New classifiers are added to the ensemble where transients occurring in new operational conditions are not satisfactorily classified. The construction of the ensemble is made by bagging; the base classifier is a supervised Fuzzy C Means (FCM) classifier whose outcomes are combined by majority voting. The incremental learning procedure is applied to the identification of simulated transients in the feedwater system of a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) under different reactor power levels.

Operation of Dokan Reservoir under Stochastic Conditions as Regards the Inflows and the Energy Demands

Science.gov (United States)

Rashed, G. I.

2018-02-01

This paper presented a way of obtaining certain operating rules on time steps for the management of a large reservoir operation with a peak hydropower plant associated to it. The rules were allowed to have the form of non-linear regression equations which link a decision variable (here the water volume in the reservoir at the end of the time step) by several parameters influencing it. This paper considered the Dokan hydroelectric development KR-Iraq, which operation data are available for. It was showing that both the monthly average inflows and the monthly power demands are random variables. A model of deterministic dynamic programming intending the minimization of the total amount of the squares differences between the demanded energy and the generated energy is run with a multitude of annual scenarios of inflows and monthly required energies. The operating rules achieved allow the efficient and safe management of the operation and it is quietly and accurately known the forecast of the inflow and of the energy demand on the next time step.

Dokan Hydropower Reservoir Operation under Stochastic Conditions as Regards the Inflows and the Energy Demands

Science.gov (United States)

Izat Rashed, Ghamgeen

2018-03-01

This paper presented a way of obtaining certain operating rules on time steps for the management of a large reservoir operation with a peak hydropower plant associated to it. The rules were allowed to have the form of non-linear regression equations which link a decision variable (here the water volume in the reservoir at the end of the time step) by several parameters influencing it. This paper considered the Dokan hydroelectric development KR-Iraq, which operation data are available for. It was showing that both the monthly average inflows and the monthly power demands are random variables. A model of deterministic dynamic programming intending the minimization of the total amount of the squares differences between the demanded energy and the generated energy is run with a multitude of annual scenarios of inflows and monthly required energies. The operating rules achieved allow the efficient and safe management of the operation and it is quietly and accurately known the forecast of the inflow and of the energy demand on the next time step.

The creep life of superheater and reheater tubes under varying pressure conditions in operational boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizen, D.C.; Plastow, B.

1975-01-01

The first of each manufacturer's 500 MW boilers supplied to the CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board) have been subjected to an extensive programme of tests for performance optimization and safe operation. Around 250 thermocouples on superheater and reheater tubes have in each case been monitored as part of the exercise. The readings are corrected and used to compute creep rupture damage based on internationally agreed stress rupture data and a simple cumulative damage concept. Comparison of the design creep rupture life and the cumulative life consumed has in several applications been invaluable in influencing operating procedures and arranging tube modifications or replacements, so that loss of generation by creep rupture failure is minimized. (author)

The Safe Zone Range for Cup Anteversion Is Narrower Than for Inclination in THA.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, William S; Yun, Ho Hyun; Hayden, Brett; Kowal, Jens H; Murphy, Stephen B

2018-02-01

Cup malposition is a common cause of impingement, limitation of ROM, acceleration of bearing wear, liner fracture, and instability in THA. Previous studies of the safe zone based on plain radiographs have limitations inherent to measuring angles from two-dimensional projections. The current study uses CT to measure component position in stable and unstable hips to assess the presence of a safe zone for cup position in THA. (1) Does acetabular component orientation, when measured on CT, differ in stable components and those revised for recurrent instability? (2) Do CT data support historic safe zone definitions for component orientation in THA? We identified 34 hips that had undergone revision of the acetabulum for recurrent instability that also had a CT scan of the pelvis between August 2003 and February 2017. We also identified 175 patients with stable hip replacements who also had a CT study for preoperative planning and intraoperative navigation of the contralateral side. For each CT study, one observer analyzed major factors including acetabular orientation, femoral anteversion, combined anteversion (the sum of femoral and anatomic anteversion), pelvic tilt, total offset difference, head diameter, age, sex, and body mass index. These measures were then compared among stable hips, hips with cup revision for anterior instability, and hips with cup revision for posterior instability. We used a clinically relevant measurement of operative anteversion and inclination as opposed to the historic use of radiographic anteversion and inclination. The percentage of unstable hips in the historic Lewinnek safe zone was calculated, and a new safe zone was proposed based on an area with no unstable hips. Anteriorly unstable hips compared with stable hips had higher operative anteversion of the cup (44° ± 12° versus 31° ± 11°, respectively; mean difference, 13°; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5°-21°; p = 0.003), tilt-adjusted operative anteversion of the cup (40° �

Cocaine self-administration in social dyads using custom-built operant conditioning chambers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacy, Ryan T; Strickland, Justin C; Smith, Mark A

2014-10-30

Traditionally, the analysis of intravenous drug self-administration is limited to conditions in which subjects are tested in isolation. This limits the translational appeal of these studies because drug use in humans often occurs in the presence of others. We used custom-built operant conditioning chambers that allowed social dyads visual, olfactory, auditory, and limited tactile contact while concurrently self-administering cocaine. Male rats were trained to respond according to a fixed interval schedule of reinforcement (with a limited hold) in order to determine if patterns of cocaine (0.75mg/kg/infusion) self-administration became more similar over time in social pairs. Cocaine self-administration was tested across five days according to a 10-min fixed interval schedule (with a 5-min limited hold). Quarter-life values (time at which 25% of responses were emitted per interval) were analyzed using intraclass correlations. The total number of reinforcers obtained did not vary across the five days of testing; however, quarter-life values became progressively more similar between individuals within the social dyads. Standard operant conditioning chambers are unable to assess responding in multiple animals due to their small size, the need to prevent subjects from responding on the lever of their partner, and the need to prevent infusion lines from entangling. By using custom-built social operant conditioning chambers, we assessed the effects of social contact on cocaine self-administration. Social operant conditioning chambers can be used as a preclinical method to examine social influences on drug self-administration under conditions that approximate human substance use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

TFTR tritium operations lessons learned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentile, C.A.; Raftopoulos, S.; LaMarche, P.

1996-01-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor which is the progenitor for full D-T operating tokamaks has successfully processed > 81 grams of tritium in a safe and efficient fashion. Many of the fundamental operational techniques associated with the safe movement of tritium through the TFTR facility were developed over the course of many years of DOE tritium facilities (LANL, LLNL, SRS, Mound). In the mid 1980's The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at LANL began reporting operational techniques for the safe handling of tritium, and became a major conduit for the transfer of safe tritium handling technology from DOE weapons laboratories to non-weapon facilities. TFTR has built on many of the TSTA operational techniques and has had the opportunity of performing and enhancing these techniques at America's first operational D-T fusion reactor. This paper will discuss negative pressure employing 'elephant trunks' in the control and mitigation of tritium contamination at the TFTR facility, and the interaction between contaminated line operations and Δ pressure control. In addition the strategy employed in managing the movement of tritium through TFTR while maintaining an active tritium inventory of < 50,000 Ci will be discussed. 5 refs

Risk management of exposure to chemicals under operational conditions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langenberg, J.P.

2007-01-01

The HFM panel has decided to install an Exploratory Team, ET-078, which should advise whether or not a Technical Group (TG) should be established on the subject of risk management of exposure to chemicals under operational conditions. This paper described the context and approach of ET-078.

Solutions for increase of the NPP operators competitiveness in liberalised market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pliska, J.; Rubek, J.

2004-01-01

Safe, reliable and efficient operation of equipment is essential for profitable energy production. Ensuring conditions for the continuous safe operation is of primary importance in any nuclear power plant. However, if power production is considered, the important task is to operate the system optimally. This can be achieved by running the system close to its maximum efficiency. The paper describes the on-line monitoring systems integration into the overall plant information system and the process data warehouse built in the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant and integration of the process data validation and thermal performance monitoring into it. The solution is based on the Industrial SQL server database and the InTouch human machine interface by Invensys' Wonderware, the RECON data validation package by ChemPlant Technology and TEP thermal performance monitoring package by I and C Energo. The solution unifies three different level of integration that should be taken into consideration. These are the data level, the functional level and the operational level. (author)

Indicators for monitoring of safety operation and condition of nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manova, D.

2001-01-01

A common goal of all employees in the nuclear power field is safety operation of nuclear power stations. The evaluation and control of NPP safety operation are a part of the elements of safety management. The present report is related only to a part of the total assessment and control of the plant safety operation, namely - the indicator system for monitoring of Kozloduy NPP operation and condition. (author)

Application of signature analysis for determining the operational readiness of motor-operated valves under blowdown test conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haynes, H.D.

1988-01-01

In support of the NRC-funded Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) program, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has carried out a comprehensive aging assessment of Motor-Operated Valves (MOVs). As part of this work, ORNL participated in the Gate Valve Flow Interruption Blowdown (GVFIB) tests carried out in Huntsville, Alabama. The GVFIB tests were intended primarily to determine the behavior of motor-operated gate valves under the temperature, pressure, and flow conditions expected to be experienced by isolation valves in Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) during a high energy line break (blowdown) outside of containment. In addition, the tests provided an excellent opportunity to evaluate signature analysis methods for determining the operational readiness of the MOVs under those accident conditions. ORNL acquired motor current and torque switch shaft angular position data on two test MOVs during various times of the GVFIB tests. The reduction in operating ''margin'' of both MOVs due to the presence of additional valve running loads imposed by high flow was clearly observed in motor current and torque switch angular position signatures. In addition, the effects of differential pressure, fluid temperature, and line voltage on MOV operations were observed and more clearly understood as a result of utilizing signature analysis techniques. 1 ref.; 16 figs

Operation of static series compensator under distorted utility conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Awad, H.; Nelsen, H.; Blaabjerg, Frede

2005-01-01

in the case of distorted grid voltage. Furthermore, a selective harmonic compensation strategy is applied to filter out the grid harmonics. The operation of the SSC under distorted utility conditions and voltage dips is discussed. The validity of the proposed controller is verified by experiments, carried out...... on a 10-kV SSC laboratory setup. Experimental results have shown the ability of the SSC to mitigate voltage dips and harmonics. It is also shown that the proposed controller has improved the transient performance of the SSC even under distorted utility conditions....

Principal trends in ensuring safety in nuclear power plant operation in the CSSR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beranek, J.; Kriz, Z.; Kovar, P.; Macoun, J.

1984-01-01

At present two reactor units of the VVER-440 type industrial nuclear power plant are in operation in Czechoslovakia and another ten units are planned to be commissioned and put in operation by 1990. The operation of these units is carried out in compliance with licences and regulations issued by the State Regulatory Body for Nuclear Safety, a body established within the framework of the Czechoslovak Atomic Energy Commission. Operational nuclear safety assurance is based primarily on compliance with the basic safety concept as conceived in the plant design and on compliance with the requirements and terms stipulated in the course of the licensing process. On this basis, the State supervisory activity concentrates on the quality assurance of components and installations important for nuclear safety, on the quality of operating personnel and on compliance with limits and conditions for safe operation. The paper presents the main requirements stipulated in Regulation No.5 on quality assurance issued by the Czechoslovak Atomic Energy Commission and shows how the regulation is being applied. The conditions and modes of proving compliance with quality assurance programmes during plant implementation (design, fabrication, assembly, commissioning) and plant operation are described. The qualification prerequisites and capability requirements for selected categories of operating personnel as stipulated in the existing regulations are outlined. The experience accumulated by the regulatory body in preparing, examining and supervising the activity of the personnel is described. Consideration is given to the question of operational management, with the emphasis on compliance with the limits and conditions for safe operation and on the procedures for their alteration and for reporting infringements. (author)

Determination of Initial Conditions for the Safety Analysis by Random Sampling of Operating Parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hae-Yong; Park, Moon-Ghu

2015-01-01

In most existing evaluation methodologies, which follow a conservative approach, the most conservative initial conditions are searched for each transient scenario through tremendous assessment for wide operating windows or limiting conditions for operation (LCO) allowed by the operating guidelines. In this procedure, a user effect could be involved and a remarkable time and human resources are consumed. In the present study, we investigated a more effective statistical method for the selection of the most conservative initial condition by the use of random sampling of operating parameters affecting the initial conditions. A method for the determination of initial conditions based on random sampling of plant design parameters is proposed. This method is expected to be applied for the selection of the most conservative initial plant conditions in the safety analysis using a conservative evaluation methodology. In the method, it is suggested that the initial conditions of reactor coolant flow rate, pressurizer level, pressurizer pressure, and SG level are adjusted by controlling the pump rated flow, setpoints of PLCS, PPCS, and FWCS, respectively. The proposed technique is expected to contribute to eliminate the human factors introduced in the conventional safety analysis procedure and also to reduce the human resources invested in the safety evaluation of nuclear power plants

Cool and Safe: Multiplicity in Safe Innovation at Unilever

Science.gov (United States)

Penders, Bart

2011-01-01

This article presents the making of a safe innovation: the application of ice structuring protein (ISP) in edible ices. It argues that safety is not the absence of risk but is an active accomplishment; innovations are not "made safe afterward" but "safe innovations are made". Furthermore, there are multiple safeties to be accomplished in the…

20 CFR 662.430 - Under what conditions may One-Stop operators designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system established prior to the enactment of WIA be designated... DESCRIPTION OF THE ONE-STOP SYSTEM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT One-Stop Operators § 662.430 Under what conditions may One-Stop operators designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system...

Safety Analysis For Evaluating (SAFE) sUAS, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the NAS (UAS in the NAS) project is aimed at developing new technologies to enable safe operations of UAS in the NAS....

Projection operators and supplementary conditions for superfields with an arbitrary spin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokatchev, E.

1975-01-01

It is shown that a superfield with an external spin j and a nonzero mass contains four non reducible representations of supersymmetry algebra. A general method is proposed for the evolution the representations out of the superfield by using projection operators, derived from Casimir operators. This expansion is also expressed in terms of additional differential conditions

Safe affordable fission engine (SAFE 30) module conductivity test thermal model correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roman, Jose

2001-01-01

The SAFE 30 is a simple, robust space fission power system that is comprised of several independent modules. Each module contains 4 fuel tubes bonded to a central heatpipe. Fission energy is conducted from the fuel tubes to the heatpipe, which in turn transfers the energy to a power conversion system. This paper benchmarks a thermal model of the SAFE 30 with actual test data from simulated SAFE 30 module tests. Two 'dummy' SAFE 30 modules were fabricated - each consisted of 4 1-inch dia. tubes (simulating the fuel tubes) bonded to a central '1' dia. tube (simulating the heatpipe). In the first module the fuel tubes were simply brazed to the heatpipe along the line of contact (leaving void space in the interstices), and in the second module the tubes and heatpipe were brazed via tri-cusps that completely fill the interstices between the tubes. In these tests, fission energy is simulated by placing resistance heaters within each of the 4 fuel tubes. The tests were conducted in a vacuum chamber in 4 configurations: tri-cusps filled with and without an outer insulation wrap, and no tri-cusps with and without an outer insulation wrap. The baseline SAFE 30 configuration uses the brazed tri-cusps. During the tests, the power applied to the heaters was varied in a stepwise fashion, until a steady-state temperature profile was reached. These temperature levels varied between 773 K and 1073 K. To benchmark the thermal model, the input energy and chamber surface temperature were used as boundary conditions for the model. The analytical results from the nodes at the same location as the test thermocouples were plotted again test data to determinate the accuracy of the analysis. The unknown variables on the analysis are the radiation emissivity of the pipe and chamber and the radiation view factor between the module and the chamber. A correlation was determined using a parametric analysis by varying the surface emissivity and view factor until a good match was reached. This

The Relationship between Human Operators' Psycho-physiological Condition and Human Errors in Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Arryum; Jang, Inseok; Kang, Hyungook; Seong, Poonghyun [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

The safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is substantially dependent on the performance of the human operators who operate the systems. In this environment, human errors caused by inappropriate performance of operator have been considered to be critical since it may lead serious problems in the safety-critical plants. In order to provide meaningful insights to prevent human errors and enhance the human performance, operators' physiological conditions such as stress and workload have been investigated. Physiological measurements were considered as reliable tools to assess the stress and workload. T. Q. Tran et al. and J. B. Brooking et al pointed out that operators' workload can be assessed using eye tracking, galvanic skin response, electroencephalograms (EEGs), heart rate, respiration and other measurements. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the human operators' tense level and knowledge level to the number of human errors. For this study, the experiments were conducted in the mimic of the main control rooms (MCR) in NPP. It utilized the compact nuclear simulator (CNS) which is modeled based on the three loop Pressurized Water Reactor, 993MWe, Kori unit 3 and 4 in Korea and the subjects were asked to follow the tasks described in the emergency operating procedures (EOP). During the simulation, three kinds of physiological measurement were utilized; Electrocardiogram (ECG), EEG and nose temperature. Also, subjects were divided into three groups based on their knowledge of the plant operation. The result shows that subjects who are tense make fewer errors. In addition, subjects who are in higher knowledge level tend to be tense and make fewer errors. For the ECG data, subjects who make fewer human errors tend to be located in higher tense level area of high SNS activity and low PSNS activity. The results of EEG data are also similar to ECG result. Beta power ratio of subjects who make fewer errors was higher. Since beta

Condition for unambiguous state discrimination using local operations and classical communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chefles, Anthony

2004-01-01

We obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for a finite set of states of a finite-dimensional multiparticle quantum system to be amenable to unambiguous discrimination using local operations and classical communication. This condition is valid for states which may be mixed, entangled, or both. When the support of the set of states is the entire multiparticle Hilbert space, this condition is found to have an intriguing connection with the theory of entanglement witnesses

Study of the cyclotron operating conditions; Etude des conditions de fonctionnement du cyclotron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Debraine, P; Bariaud, A; Goldschmidt-Clermont, Y

1948-12-01

This work is a detailed study of the operating conditions of the cyclotron. It analyzes the behaviour of the particles from their first accelerations to their arrival on an external target. Calculations were performed using relativistic formulations in order to make the results usable without any energy level restriction. The obtained results supply some numerical elements for a cyclotron pre-determination and allow a satisfactory visualization of the real phenomena taking place during the accelerations. The shape of the phase change during the successive accelerations has been obtained for a given magnetic field configuration with respect to the operating frequency, to the magnetic field value in the center, and to the accelerating voltage between the dees. Taking into account the limitations due to the accelerating and focussing conditions, the usable phase interval has been determined with respect to the characteristic operating parameters. The study of this phase interval with respect to the accelerating voltage, on the one hand, and with respect to the frequency or to the center magnetic field, on the other hand, has permitted to find again two facts experimentally observed: voltage threshold and dissymmetry of the response curve. The study of radial and axial oscillations has shown the existence of precession phenomena and indicates a maximum limit for the magnetic field variation in order to avoid the disturbances due to oscillations coupling. The study of the ion beam envelope inside the chamber with respect to the initial phases has permitted to determine the optimum shape of the dees and the height of the deflecting channel. Moreover, the influence of various parameters on the ion beam efficiency can be shown using an ideal source. The study of the passing conditions inside the deflecting channel has shown the influence of the separation sheet, has given the dimensions to foresee for the deflecting channel, and has indicated the way to follow to obtain

Quantifying Social Motivation in Mice Using Operant Conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Loren; Iceberg, Erica

2015-08-08

In this protocol, social motivation is measured in mice through a pair of operant conditioning paradigms. To conduct the experiments, two-chambered shuttle boxes were equipped with two operant levers (left and right) and a food receptacle in one chamber, which was then divided from the second chamber by an automated guillotine door covered by a wire grid. Different stimulus mice, rotated across testing days, served as a social stimulus behind the wire grid, and were only visible following the opening of the guillotine door. Test mice were trained to lever press in order to open the door and gain access to the stimulus partner for 15 sec. The number of lever presses required to obtain the social reward progressively increased on a fixed schedule of 3. Testing sessions ended after test mice stopped lever pressing for 5 consecutive minutes. The last reinforced ratio or breakpoint can be used as a quantitative measure of social motivation. For the second paradigm, test mice were trained to discriminate between left and right lever presses in order to obtain either a food reward or the social reward. Mice were rewarded for every 3 presses of each respective lever. The number of food and social rewards can be compared as a measurement of the value placed upon each reward. The ratio of each reward type can also be compared between mouse strains and the change in this ratio can be monitored within testing sessions to measure satiation with a given reward type. Both of these operant conditioning paradigms are highly useful for the quantification of social motivation in mouse models of autism and other disorders of social behavior.

Principles and methods for ensuring safe operation of high-rise buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Korol, Oleg; Kustikova, Yuliya

2018-03-01

The purpose of monitoring the technical condition of high-rise buildings is to prevent possible negative situations leading to significant socio-economic losses by timely warning of the emergence of such situations. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following main tasks, such as: identifying the time and place of origin and development of negative processes that lead to the emergence of an emergency situation; analysis of the possible development of the situation in time; development of management decisions; formation and submission of warning signals; obtaining new knowledge about the operation of the object, the factors of influence on this object, the speed of development of destructive processes. When solving the above problems, an important role is played by constructing an adequate mathematical model of the object, the parameters of which should be calibrated according to the current monitoring results.

Exploration of robust operating conditions in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tromp, John W.; Pomares, Mario; Alvarez-Prieto, Manuel; Cole, Amanda; Ying Hai; Salin, Eric D.

2003-01-01

'Robust' conditions, as defined by Mermet and co-workers for inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-atomic emission spectrometry, minimize matrix effects on analyte signals, and are obtained by increasing power and reducing nebulizer gas flow. In ICP-mass spectrometry (MS), it is known that reduced nebulizer gas flow usually leads to more robust conditions such that matrix effects are reduced. In this work, robust conditions for ICP-MS have been determined by optimizing for accuracy in the determination of analytes in a multi-element solution with various interferents (Al, Ba, Cs, K, Na), by varying power, nebulizer gas flow, sample introduction rate and ion lens voltage. The goal of the work was to determine which operating parameters were the most important in reducing matrix effects, and whether different interferents yielded the same robust conditions. Reduction in nebulizer gas flow and in sample input rate led to a significantly decreased interference, while an increase in power seemed to have a lesser effect. Once the other parameters had been adjusted to their robust values, there was no additional improvement in accuracy attainable by adjusting the ion lens voltage. The robust conditions were universal, since, for all the interferents and analytes studied, the optimum was found at the same operating conditions. One drawback to the use of robust conditions was the slightly reduced sensitivity; however, in the context of 'intelligent' instruments, the concept of 'robust conditions' is useful in many cases

Recommendations of the NUSS programme to achieve safe operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertini, A.

1985-01-01

The paper exposes essentially the spirit of the Code of Practice and of the Safety Guides on Operation. Emphasis is put on the fact that safety operation is the outcome of a mental habit which must permeate all levels of the operating organization, rather than just being due to the effect of specific rules, which, like safety factors in design, ensure achievement of the safety goals. The paper, starting from what is written in the NUSS documents, deals with what is not actually written in these, because a mental habit cannot be codified and a safety-minded organization cannot be created by a law or by a regulation. The paper underlines the necessity for all problems connected with nuclear operation to be tackled without prejudices, without reference to irrelevant precedents or practices, in the exclusive interest of safety. (author)

Asymptotically Safe Standard Model via Vectorlike Fermions

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, R. B.; Meffe, J. R.; Sannino, F.; Steele, T. G.; Wang, Z. W.; Zhang, C.

2017-12-01

We construct asymptotically safe extensions of the standard model by adding gauged vectorlike fermions. Using large number-of-flavor techniques we argue that all gauge couplings, including the hypercharge and, under certain conditions, the Higgs coupling, can achieve an interacting ultraviolet fixed point.

Use of Frequency Distribution Functions to Establish Safe Conditions in Relation to the Foodborne Pathogen Bacillus cereus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Begoña Delgado

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Minimal processing implementation greatly depends on a detailed knowledge of the effects of preservation factors and their combinations on the spoilage and foodborne pathogenic microorganisms. The effectiveness of mild preservation conditions will become increasingly dependent on a more stochastic approach linking microbial physiological factors with product preservation factors. In this study, the validity of frequency distributions to efficiently describe the inactivation and growth of Bacillus cereus in the presence of natural antimicrobials (essential oils has been studied. For this purpose, vegetative cells were exposed to 0.6 mM of thymol or cymene, obtaining survival curves that were best described by the distribution of Weibull, since a tailing effect was observed. B. cereus was also exposed in a growth medium to a low concentration (0.1 mM of both antimicrobials, separately or combined, and the lag times obtained were fitted to a normal distribution, which allowed a description of dispersion of the start of growth. This allowed a more efficient evaluation of the experimental data to establish safe processing conditions according to accurate parameters and their implementation in risk assessment.

Plant life time management for safe long term operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burket, Danes

2010-01-01

The topics discussed include LTO (long-term operation) and licensing procedure in general and specifically for the Dukovany NPP, components of an LTO programme, the PLIM (plant life management) concept for Dukovany and Temelin, the LTO implementation project for Dukovany, LTO strategy, LTO risk study, international verification. The Conclusions include the following items: (i) Technical-economic study of Dukovany NPP LTO demonstrates technical feasibility and economic profitability of Dukovany NPP LTO with perspective for up to 60 years of operation. (ii) Safety part of Program for assurance of Dukovany NPP LTO complies with IAEA SALTO recommendations. (iii) Dukovany NPP LTO programme incorporated IAEA SALTO Peer Review Mission recommendations. (iv) LTO Implementation Project for 2009-2015 was approved with major targets to renew operational permission and prepare NPP for operation up to 60 years. (v) Preparation of Temelin NPP LTO programme has been started. (P.A.)

Research on Group Operation Mode of Once-through Steam Generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Cheng Ming; Liu, Xinkai; Peng, Min Jun; Xia, Genglei

2011-01-01

Integrated Pressurized Water Reactor (IPWR) owns more than one once-through steam generators (OTSGs). Flow instability may occur in secondary side of OTSG under certain conditions. Trying to avoid the occurrence of flow instability is of great important for the safe and stable operation of OTSG. Because of the fact that flow instability often occurs in certain regions, so when OTSGs operate with low load, OTSGs can be separated into several groups, which can avoid flow instability. In this paper, operational characteristics of IPWR are analyzed by RELAP5/MOD3.4 code and during the discussion of group operation, a rapid change load operation scheme using OTSG group operation mode which can be used in IPWR is proposed

Research on Group Operation Mode of Once-through Steam Generator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hao, Cheng Ming; Liu, Xinkai; Peng, Min Jun; Xia, Genglei [Harbin Engineering University, Harbin (China)

2011-08-15

Integrated Pressurized Water Reactor (IPWR) owns more than one once-through steam generators (OTSGs). Flow instability may occur in secondary side of OTSG under certain conditions. Trying to avoid the occurrence of flow instability is of great important for the safe and stable operation of OTSG. Because of the fact that flow instability often occurs in certain regions, so when OTSGs operate with low load, OTSGs can be separated into several groups, which can avoid flow instability. In this paper, operational characteristics of IPWR are analyzed by RELAP5/MOD3.4 code and during the discussion of group operation, a rapid change load operation scheme using OTSG group operation mode which can be used in IPWR is proposed.

Reconsidering 'appropriate technology': the effects of operating conditions on the bacterial removal performance of two household drinking-water filter systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baumgartner, Jill [Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States); Murcott, Susan [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States); Ezzati, Majid [Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States)

2007-04-01

We examined the performance of two household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) systems, the Danvor plastic biosand filter and the Potters for Peace Filtron ceramic filter, under ideal as well as modified operating conditions using systematic and comparable measurements. The operating variables for the biosand filter were (i) pause times between filtration runs (ii) water-dosing volumes and (iii) the effluent volume at which a filtered water sample was collected. For the ceramic filter we examined overflow filtration versus standard filtration. We used the bacterial indicators of total coliforms and Escherichia coli to quantify microbiological removal. With the biosand filter, a 12 h pause time had significantly higher total coliform removal than a 36 h pause time at the 20 l collection point (79.1% versus 73.7%; p < 0.01) and borderline significance at the 10 l collection point (81.0% versus 78.3%; p = 0.07). High-volume filtration (20 l) had significantly lower total coliform removal efficacy than low-volume (10 l) filtration at the 10 l collection point (81.0% versus 84.2%; p = 0.03). We observed a decreasing trend in total coliform removal by sample collection volume with the highest removal efficacy at the 5 l sample collection point (versus at the 10 and 20 l collection points). Using the ceramic filter, mean total coliform and E. coli removal were significantly lower (p < 0.01) in overflow filtration than in standard filtration. The findings indicate that operating conditions can reduce the effectiveness of the systems in a field-based setting and increase environmental risk exposure.

The Gerbil Jar: A Basic Home Experience in Operant Conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Plant, L.

1980-01-01

Explains how a teaching method such as allowing students to raise gerbils at home can encourage students to gain experience with the fundamental techniques of operant conditioning which are otherwise generally unavailable to students in large introductory psychology courses. (DB)

A Safe Cooperative Framework for Atmospheric Science Missions with Multiple Heterogeneous UAS using Piecewise Bezier Curves

Science.gov (United States)

Mehdi, S. Bilal; Puig-Navarro, Javier; Choe, Ronald; Cichella, Venanzio; Hovakimyan, Naira; Chandarana, Meghan; Trujillo, Anna; Rothhaar, Paul M.; Tran, Loc; Neilan, James H.;

Numerical modelling of multi-vane expander operating conditions in ORC system

Science.gov (United States)

Rak, Józef; Błasiak, Przemysław; Kolasiński, Piotr

2017-11-01

Multi-vane expanders are positive displacement volumetric machines which are nowadays considered for application in micro-power domestic ORC systems as promising alternative to micro turbines and other volumetric expanders. The multi-vane expander features very simple design, low gas flow capacity, low expansion ratios, an advantageous ratio of the power output to the external dimensions and are insensitive to the negative influence of the gas-liquid mixture expansion. Moreover, the multi-vane expander can be easily hermetically sealed, which is one of the key issues in the ORC system design. A literature review indicates that issues concerning the application of multi-vane expanders in such systems, especially related to operating of multi-vane expander with different low-boiling working fluids, are innovative, not fully scientifically described and have the potential for practical implementation. In this paper the results of numerical investigations on multi-vane expander operating conditions are presented. The analyses were performed on three-dimensional numerical model of the expander in ANSYS CFX software. The numerical model of the expander was validated using the data obtained from the experiment carried out on a lab test-stand. Then a series of computational analysis were performed using expanders' numerical model in order to determine its operating conditions under various flow conditions of different working fluids.

The role of safe practices in hospitals’ total factor productivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy R Huerta

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Timothy R Huerta1, Mark A Thompson2, Eric W Ford31Center for Health Innovation, Education, and Research, 2Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA; 3Forsyth Medical Center Distinguished Professor of Health Care, The University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USAAbstract: The dual aims of improving safety and productivity are a major part of the health care reform movement hospital leaders must manage. Studies exploring the two phenomena conjointly and over time are critical to understanding how change in one dimension influences the other over time. A Malmquist approach is used to assess hospitals’ relative productivity levels over time. Analysis of variance (ANOVA algorithms were executed to assess whether or not the Malmquist Indices (MIs correlate with the safe practices measure. The American Hospital Association’s annual survey and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Case Mix Index for fiscal years 2002–2006, along with Leapfrog Group’s annual survey for 2006 were used for this study. Leapfrog Group respondents have significantly higher technological change (TC and total factor productivity (TFP than nonrespondents without sacrificing technical efficiency changes. Of the three MIs, TC (P < 0.10 and TFP (P < 0.05 had significant relationships with the National Quality Forum’s Safe Practices score. The ANOVA also indicates that the mean differences of TFP measures progressed in a monotonic fashion up the Safe Practices scale. Adherence to the National Quality Forum’s Safe Practices recommendations had a major impact on hospitals’ operating processes and productivity. Specifically, there is evidence that hospitals reporting higher Safe Practices scores had above average levels of TC and TFP gains over the period assessed. Leaders should strive for increased transparency to promote both quality improvement and increased productivity.Keywords: safety, productivity, quality, safe

Operational experience of air washer based ventilation system for power conditioning system of Indus-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pandey, R.M.; Baghel, S.L.; Parate, J.K.; Ahlawat, Sandeep; Rawlani, B.K.; Chouksey, Sanjay

2015-01-01

Indus-2 Synchrotron Accelerator requires high quality conditioned uninterrupted AC mains power for their smooth and reliable operation. Three units of 1670 kVA and one unit of 1100 kVA capacity rotary uninterruptible power conditioning systems (UPS) were installed and commissioned. These UPS units require dust free and cool ambient conditions for smooth operation. In order to meet the ventilation requirements, an evaporative cooling system of 80000 cubic meter/hour capacity with filtration units was designed, installed and commissioned in February 2011 and is operational on round-the-clock basis. Evaporative cooling scheme was chosen as has various advantages over a refrigerated system like lower initial capital costs, lower energy usage, lower running costs, less greenhouse gas and it does not contribute to ozone depletion. The ventilation system filters the environment air in stages up to 5 micron level and being conditioned with an automatic controlled soft water circulating system with cooling pads. An instrumentation and control scheme is included in the system to provide the automation requirements for operating 24 x 7 through the year. All the mechanical, hydraulic and electrical devices are maintained by providing preventive maintenance work without affecting the accelerator machine operation. Availability and reliability of the system was analysed based on the failure data. In Year 2014, the ventilation system was upgraded to accommodate standby blower unit, coupling unit and improved quality of supply air with new air conditioning devices. The control panel monitors the condition of air in the UPS hall and maintainsup to 28°C air temperature and 85% maximum relative humidity in round-the clock shift with more than 98% operational reliability. In this paper, we present design philosophy, installation, instrumentation, testing, operation experience and availability of the ventilation system for Power Conditioning System, Indus complex. (author)

Outages 1999 and 2000, investments in safety and long-term operation of NE Krsko

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sirola, P.; Krajnc, J.; Androjna, F.

1999-01-01

Plant outage is an important part of nuclear power plant operation. During that time the conditions are established for the performance of specific activities, such as refueling, tests, inspections, preventive and corrective maintenance and modifications, that are intended to confirm proper condition and availability of safety and other important components and improve overall plant safety and reliability. It is well know that in Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (Nuklearna elektrarna Krsko NEK) during Outage 2000 new Steam Generators (SGs) will be placed in service, while Outage '99 was used for preparatory works. But the importance of those two outages is even greater, because they are implementing a broad number of improvements and establishing a basis for long-term plant operation. Outage '99 required very detailed planning to assure a good control over the outage activities and operational plant systems necessary for safe shutdown. Numerous activities took place in a relatively narrow space in the Reactor Building. Some of these activities will have a big significance for the future. The article treats the status update and summarizes the specifics and importance of the mentioned activities to long-term plant safe and reliable operation.(author)

Control of hybrid AC/DC microgrid under islanding operational conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, G.; Gao, F.; Zhang, S.

2014-01-01

This paper presents control methods for hybrid AC/DC microgrid under islanding operation condition. The control schemes for AC sub-microgrid and DC sub-microgrid are investigated according to the power sharing requirement and operational reliability. In addition, the key control schemes...... of interlinking converter with DC-link capacitor or energy storage, which will devote to the proper power sharing between AC and DC sub-microgrids to maintain AC and DC side voltage stable, is reviewed. Combining the specific control methods developed for AC and DC sub-microgrids with interlinking converter......, the whole hybrid AC/DC microgrid can manage the power flow transferred between sub-microgrids for improving on the operational quality and efficiency....

Safety training and safe operating procedures written for PBFA (Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator) II and applicable to other pulsed power facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donovan, G.L.; Goldstein, S.A.

1986-12-01

To ensure that work in advancing pulsed power technology is performed with an acceptably low risk, pulsed power research facilities at Sandia National Laboratories must satisfy general safety guidelines established by the Department of Energy, policies and formats of the Environment, Safety, and Health (ES and H) Department, and detailed procedures formulated by the Pulsed Power Sciences Directorate. The approach to safety training and to writing safe operating procedures, and the procedures presented here are specific to the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator II (PBFA II) Facility but are applicable as guidelines to other research and development facilities which have similar hazards.

Safety training and safe operating procedures written for PBFA [Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator] II and applicable to other pulsed power facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donovan, G.L.; Goldstein, S.A.

1986-12-01

To ensure that work in advancing pulsed power technology is performed with an acceptably low risk, pulsed power research facilities at Sandia National Laboratories must satisfy general safety guidelines established by the Department of Energy, policies and formats of the Environment, Safety, and Health (ES and H) Department, and detailed procedures formulated by the Pulsed Power Sciences Directorate. The approach to safety training and to writing safe operating procedures, and the procedures presented here are specific to the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator II (PBFA II) Facility but are applicable as guidelines to other research and development facilities which have similar hazards

Application of digital solutions to help the safe and efficient operation of nuclear power plants; Aplicacion de soluciones digitales para la ayuda a la operacion segura y eficiente de las centrales nucleares

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortega P, F.; Fernandez F, S., E-mail: fortega@tecnatom.es [Tecnatom S. A., Av. Montes de Oca 1, 28703 San Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid (Spain)

2017-09-15

In the search for excellence, the emergence of solutions to digitize nuclear power plants is an opportunity to optimize the operation and safety of them. The new technologies available today in the market, applied under a global vision of the operation, can contribute to the excellent operation of nuclear power plants in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Tecnatom has a long experience in various areas related to the operation of the plants, giving the aforementioned global vision, essential to develop global solutions that pursue the safe and efficient operation of the operation. (Author)

Wire system aging assessment and condition monitoring (WASCO)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fantoni, P.F.

2007-04-01

Nuclear facilities rely on electrical wire systems to perform a variety of functions for successful operation. Many of these functions directly support the safe operation of the facility; therefore, the continued reliability of wire systems, even as they age, is critical. Condition Monitoring (CM) of installed wire systems is an important part of any aging program, both during the first 40 years of the qualified life and even more in anticipation of the license renewal for a nuclear power plant. This report contains some test results of a method for wire system condition monitoring, developed at the Halden Reactor Project, called LIRA (LIne Resonance Analysis), which can be used on-line to detect any local or global changes in the cable electrical parameters as a consequence of insulation faults or degradation. (au)

Eye safe laser range finders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snir, M.; Margaliot, M.; Amitzi, A.

2004-01-01

During the 1970's, Ruby (Q switched) laser based range finders with a wavelength of 694nm were first used. These lasers operated in a pulse mode within the visible light range and produced a risk for the eye retina. The laser beam striking the macula could damage the eye and might cause blindness. Over the years, Nd:YAG (Q switched) lasers were developed (operating at 1064nm) for range finding and designation uses. The wavelength of these lasers, operating in the near Infra-Red range (invisible), is also focused tightly on the retina. The human eye does not respond to the invisible light so there is no natural protection (eye blink reflex) as in the visible light. The operation of these lasers worldwide, especially when the laser beam is exposed, causes occasional eye accidents. Another risk is stemming from the use of observation systems with a high optical gain, in the laser operation areas, which enlarge the range of risk quite significantly. Therefore, research and development efforts were invested in order to introduce eye safe lasers. One of the solutions for this problem is presented in following document

Conduct of Operations at Nuclear Power Plants. Safety Guide (Spanish Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

This Safety Guide identifies the main responsibilities and practices of nuclear power plant (NPP) operations departments in relation to their responsibility for the safe functioning of the plant. The guide presents the factors to be considered in structuring the operations department of an NPP; setting high standards of performance; making safety related decisions in an effective manner; conducting control room and field activities in a thorough and professional manner; and maintaining an NPP within established operational limits and conditions. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Management and organization of plant operations; 3. Shift complement and functions; 4. Shift routines and operating practices; 5. Control of equipment and plant status; 6. Operations equipment and operator aids; 7. Work control and authorization.

LACK OF AWARENESS ABOUT SAFE BLOOD IN PAKISTANI POPULATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Usman

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Blood transfusion is a life saving procedure in various transfusion-dependent life threatening conditions and donation of safe blood is a prerequisite for achieving this goal. This study was designed to evaluate the awareness regarding “safe blood” in Pakistani population. This study was conducted at a large scale through a population survey. The test population was divided into two groups i.e. general population and students. The Performa was designed for a general and student population and included 20 questions related to awareness of safe blood. A total of 4900 individuals belonging to different ethnic groups were included in this population survey. Results of social survey were analyzed by using Usman and Moin awareness chart. Results of this study revealed profound unawareness about safe blood in Pakistani population. This study found lack of awareness about safe blood as a major factor that is playing a vital role in the propagation of blood borne diseases in Pakistan. To secure the recipients from blood borne complications through blood donation, it is necessary to create effective awareness about safe blood in Pakistani population.

Characterization of a thermoelectric cooler based thermal management system under different operating conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russel, M.K.; Ewing, D.; Ching, C.Y.

2013-01-01

The performance of a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) based thermal management system for an electronic packaging design that operates under a range of ambient conditions and system loads is examined using a standard model for the TEC and a thermal resistance network for the other components. Experiments were performed and it was found that the model predictions were in good agreement with the experimental results. An operating envelope is developed to characterize the TEC based thermal management system for peak and off peak operating conditions. Parametric studies were performed to analyze the effect of the number of TEC module(s) in the system, geometric factor of the thermo-elements and the cold to hot side thermal resistances on the system performance. The results showed that there is a tradeoff between the extent of off peak heat fluxes and ambient temperatures when the system can be operated at a low power penalty region and the maximum capacity of the system. - Highlights: ► A model was developed for thermal management systems using thermoelectric coolers. ► Model predictions were in good agreement with experimental results. ► An operating envelope was developed for peak and off peak conditions. ► The effect of the number of thermoelectric coolers on the system was determined.

Relative Effectiveness of Operant Conditioning and Play Therapy in Childhood Schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Ney, Philip G.; And Others

1971-01-01

An experimental study designed to examine the relative effectiveness of operant conditioning and play therapy in improving the communication and social functioning of psychotic children was presented and discussed. (Author)

Solutions for Safe Hot Coil Evacuation and Coil Handling in Case of Thick and High Strength Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sieberer Stefan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Currently hot rolling plants are entering the market segment for thick gauges and high strength steel grades where the elastic bending property of the strip leads to internal forces in the coil during coiling operation. The strip tends to open. Primetals is investigating several possibilities to facilitate safe coil evacuation and coil handling under spring-back conditions. The contribution includes finite element models of such mechanical solutions. Results of parameter variation and stability limits of case studies are presented in the paper.

The SafeCOP ECSEL Project: Safe Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems Using Wireless Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pop, Paul; Scholle, Detlef; Hansson, Hans

2016-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the ECSEL project entitled "Safe Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems using Wireless Communication" (SafeCOP), which runs during the period 2016 -- 2019. SafeCOP targets safety-related Cooperating Cyber-Physical Systems (CO-CPS) characterised by use of wireless...... detection of abnormal behaviour, triggering if needed a safe degraded mode. SafeCOP will also develop methods and tools, which will be used to produce safety assurance evidence needed to certify cooperative functions. SafeCOP will extend current wireless technologies to ensure safe and secure cooperation...

Working safely with electronics racks

CERN Document Server

Simon Baird, HSE Unit Head

2016-01-01

Think of CERN and you’ll probably think of particle accelerators and detectors. These are the tools of the trade in particle physics, but behind them are the racks of electronics that include power supplies, control systems and data acquisition networks.   Inside an electronics rack: danger could be lurking if the rack is not powered off. In routine operation, these are no more harmful than the home entertainment system in your living room. But unscrew the cover and it’s a different matter. Even after following appropriate training, and with formal authorisation from your group leader or equivalent to carry out electrical work or any work in the vicinity of electrical hazards, and even with extensive experience of carrying out such operations, it’s important to incorporate safe working practices into your routine. At CERN, before the racks of electronics reach their operational configurations for the accelerators and detectors, they play a vital role in test set-ups ...

Development of JOYO plant operation management expert tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michino, Masanobu; Sawada, Makoto [Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp., Oarai, Ibaraki (Japan). Oarai Engineering Center

1995-03-01

Operation and maintenance support systems for JOYO are being developed in order to keep the stable and safe operation of JOYO and to improve operational reliability of future FBR plants. As one of the systems, an operation support system named JOYPET has been developing and applied. The system supports the plant management works of JOYO which are necessary for much manpower and knowledge of the plant. The plant management of JOYO was able to improve its reliability and reduce manpower by using this system. As a final step, a judgment function based on the accumulated plant management rule of JOYO will be developed and applied. The function judges the plant condition which allows to start the maintenance works or not. (author).

A dynamic switching strategy for air-conditioning systems operated in light-thermal-load conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Jin-Long; Yeh, T.-J.; Hwang, Wei-Yang

2009-01-01

Recently, modern air-conditioners have begun to incorporate variable-speed compressors and variable-opening expansion valves, together with feedback control to improve the performance and energy efficiency. However, for the compressor there usually exists a low-speed limit below which its speed can not be continuously modulated unless it is completely turned off. When the air-conditioning system is operated in light-thermal-load conditions, the low-speed limit causes the compressor to run in an on-off manner which can significantly degrade the performance and efficiency. In this paper, a dynamic switching strategy is proposed for such scenarios. The strategy is basically an integration of a cascading control structure, an intuitive switching strategy, and a dynamic compensator. While the control structure provides the nominal performance, the intuitive switching strategy and the dynamic compensator together can account for the compressor's low-speed limitation. Theoretical analysis reveals that when the output matrix of the dynamic compensator is chosen properly, the proposed strategy can effectively reduce the output error caused by the on-off operation of the compressor. Experiments also demonstrate that the proposed strategy can simultaneously provide better regulation for the indoor temperature and improve the energy efficiency at steady state.

Safe operation of power plants. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freymeyer, P.

1977-01-01

Electrotechniques were given a dominating role in the construction of nuclear power plants. The operation of power plants - particularly nuclear power plants - is impossible without the use of electrotechnical and control means. Despite of all reserve in the development and despite of the conservative attitude it is necessary to use the newest results of development and to incite the development ot new electronic systems for the solution of these tasks. (orig.) [de

An Operation Control Strategy for the Connected Maglev Trains Based on Vehicle-Borne Battery Condition Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenjing Zhang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Vehicle-borne battery condition is an important factor affecting the efficiency of the maglev train operation and other connected ones. To effectively eliminate the influence of the battery condition and improve the operation efficiency of the connected maglev trains, an operation control strategy is proposed to guarantee train operation safety. First, based on Internet of Things, a sensor network is designed to monitor vehicle-borne battery condition in each vehicle of the train. Second, the train Operation Control System collects battery data of all vehicles in a maglev train by Train Communication Network. Third, all connected maglev trains share the battery data via a 38 GHz directional Radio Communication System and adjust operation control strategy accordingly. Simulation results indicate that the proposed strategy can guarantee the operation safety of the connected maglev trains.

A completely automatic operation type super-safe fast reactor, RAPID. Its application to dispersion source on lunar and earth surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanbe, Mitsuru; Tsunoda, Hirokazu; Mishima, Kaichiro; Kawasaki, Akira; Iwamura, Takamichi

2002-01-01

At a viewpoint of flexible measures to future electric power demands, expectation onto a small-scale reactor for dispersion source is increasing gradually. This is thought to increase its importance not only for a source at proximity of its market in advanced nations but also for the one in developing nations. A study on development of the completely automatic operation type super-safe fast reactor, RAPID (refueling by all pins integrated design) has been carried out as a part of the nuclear energy basic research promoting system under three years project since 1999 by a trust of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute to a group of the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) and so on. As the reactor is a lithium cooled fast reactor with 200 Kw of electric output supposing to use at lunar surface, it can be applied to a super-small scale nuclear reactor on the earth, and has feasibility to become a new option of future nuclear power generation. On the other hand, CRIEPI has investigated on various types of fast reactors (RAPID series) for fast reactor for dispersion source on the earth. Here was introduced on such super-safe fast reactors at a center of RAPID-L. (G.K.)

The evaluation of operator reliability factors on power reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karlina, Itjeu; Supriatna, Piping; W, Suharyo; Santosa, Kussigit; Darlis; S, Bambang; Y, Sasongko

1999-01-01

The sophisticated technology system was not assured the reliability system itself because it has contained a part of human dependence affected successfully of reactor operation either how work smoothly and safe or failure ac cured and then accident appears promptly. The evaluation of operator reliability factor on ABWR power reactor has been carried out which consist of criterion skill and workload according to NUREG/CR-2254, NUREG/CR-4016 and NUREG-0835 the reactor operation reliability emphasize to the operator are synergic between skill and workload themselves. The employee's skill will affect to the type and level of their tasks. The operator's skill depend on education and experiences, position or responsibility of tasks, physical conditions (age uninvalid of physic/mental

The operation and maintenance manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoll, A.; Krotil, H.; Klein, W.

1976-01-01

The operating manual is one of many technical documents which the nuclear power plant operator needs for ensuring safe operation. For the operating staff, however, there is only one document, namely the operating manual. The operating manual is an essential element in bringing man and machine in harmony. This is necessary for safe and, as far as possible, uninterrupted operation of the power plant. The operating manual is the only document containing binding instructions for plant operation. All the tasks of plant operation which are carried out by plant staff are described in the operating manual in a form which is as clear and comprehensible as possible. A considerable number of these tasks can only be carried out by man, namely: 1) tasks concerning operational organization, 2) all non-automated areas of plant operation. (orig./TK) [de

Structural characterization and condition for measurement statistics preservation of a unital quantum operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kai-Yan; Fung, Chi-Hang Fred; Chau, H F

2013-01-01

We investigate the necessary and sufficient condition for a convex cone of positive semidefinite operators to be fixed by a unital quantum operation ϕ acting on finite-dimensional quantum states. By reducing this problem to the problem of simultaneous diagonalization of the Kraus operators associated with ϕ, we can completely characterize the kinds of quantum states that are fixed by ϕ. Our work has several applications. It gives a simple proof of the structural characterization of a unital quantum operation that acts on finite-dimensional quantum states—a result not explicitly mentioned in earlier studies. It also provides a necessary and sufficient condition for determining what kind of measurement statistics is preserved by a unital quantum operation. Finally, our result clarifies and extends the work of Størmer by giving a proof of a reduction theorem on the unassisted and entanglement-assisted classical capacities, coherent information, and minimal output Renyi entropy of a unital channel acting on a finite-dimensional quantum state. (paper)

The past and the future in the forty years of the IPR-R1 TRIGA MARK I reactor operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maretti Junior, Fausto

2008-01-01

Full text: The nuclear IPR-R1 TRIGA Mark I Reactor operating in the Nuclear Technology Development Center, originally Institute for Radioactive Research in Minas Gerais, Brazil, was dedicated in November 11, 1960. Initially operating for the production of radioisotopes for different uses, it started later to be used in large scale for neutron activation analysis and training of operators for nuclear power plants. Many improvements have been made throughout these years to provide a better performance in its operation and safety conditions. A new cooling system to operate until 300 kW, a new control rod mechanism, an aluminum tank for the reactor pool, an optimization in the pneumatic system, a new reactor control console and a general remodeling of the reactor laboratory were some of the improvements added. During these years a lot of irradiations, analysis , MSc and PhD thesis, training courses and isotopes production take place at the reactor. This paper describes the improvements made, the results obtained during the past 40 years, type of works realized, isotopes produced, the neutron activation analysis and the precautions taken to ensure future safe operation of the reactor to give operators better conditions of safe work. (authors)

Operating conditions of T.B.P. line uranium purification plant, for uranium dioxide production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vardich, R.N.; La Gamma, A.M.; Anasco, R.; Soler, S.M.G. de; Isnardi, E.; Gea, V.; Chiaraviglio, R.; Matyjasczyk, E.; Aramayo, R.

1992-01-01

In this contribution are presented the operative conditions and the results obtained step of the Uranium dioxide production plant of Argentina. The refining step involve the Uranium concentrate dissolution, the silica ageing, the filtration and liquid - liquid extraction with n-tributyl phosphate solution in kerosene. The established operative conditions allow to obtain Uranyl nitrate solutions of nuclear purity in industrial scale. (author)

Safe Kids Worldwide

Science.gov (United States)

... Blog Videos Newsletter facebook twitter instagram pinterest gplus youtube Search Menu Why It Matters Who We Are What We Do Find Your Safe Kids Safe Kids Day Main menu Keeping All Kids Safe Safety Tips Get Involved 4 Star Charity Donate Text Burns and Scalds 4 tips ...

Extending In Vitro Conditioning in "Aplysia" to Analyze Operant and Classical Processes in the Same Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Brembs, Bjorn; Baxter, Douglas A.; Byrne, John H.

2004-01-01

Operant and classical conditioning are major processes shaping behavioral responses in all animals. Although the understanding of the mechanisms of classical conditioning has expanded significantly, the understanding of the mechanisms of operant conditioning is more limited. Recent developments in "Aplysia" are helping to narrow the gap in the…

Worcester 1 Inch Solenoid-Actuated Gas Operated SCHe System Valves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

VAN KATWIJK, C.

2000-01-01

1 inch Gas-operated full-port ball valves incorporate a solenoid and limit switches as integral parts of the actuator. These valves are normally open and fail safe to the open position (GOV-1*02 and 1*06 fail closed) to provide a flow path of helium gas to the MCO under helium purge and off-normal conditions when the MCO is isolated

Numerical modelling of multi-vane expander operating conditions in ORC system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rak Józef

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Multi-vane expanders are positive displacement volumetric machines which are nowadays considered for application in micro-power domestic ORC systems as promising alternative to micro turbines and other volumetric expanders. The multi-vane expander features very simple design, low gas flow capacity, low expansion ratios, an advantageous ratio of the power output to the external dimensions and are insensitive to the negative influence of the gas-liquid mixture expansion. Moreover, the multi-vane expander can be easily hermetically sealed, which is one of the key issues in the ORC system design. A literature review indicates that issues concerning the application of multi-vane expanders in such systems, especially related to operating of multi-vane expander with different low-boiling working fluids, are innovative, not fully scientifically described and have the potential for practical implementation. In this paper the results of numerical investigations on multi-vane expander operating conditions are presented. The analyses were performed on three-dimensional numerical model of the expander in ANSYS CFX software. The numerical model of the expander was validated using the data obtained from the experiment carried out on a lab test-stand. Then a series of computational analysis were performed using expanders' numerical model in order to determine its operating conditions under various flow conditions of different working fluids.

Technical evaluation on high aging, and performance conditions on long-term conservation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, Atsushi

2001-01-01

In order to secure safety and safe operation of power plants, in every nuclear power plants, conservation actions based on preventive conservation are performed. They contain operative condition monitoring, patrolling inspection, and periodical tests on important systems and apparatus by operators under plant operation and condition monitoring by maintenance workers, and so on, and when finding out their abnormal conditions, their detailed survey is performed to adopt adequate countermeasures such as recovery, exchange, and so on. And, to equipments for nuclear power generation periodical conditions were obliged by legal examinations and by independent inspections. As a result of these conservation actions, even on a plant elapsed about 30 years since beginning of its operation it was thought that the plant was aged with elapsing time even if not recognizing any indication on its aged deterioration at that time. Therefore, for its concrete countermeasure, by supposing long-term operation of a plant with longer operation history, some technical evaluation on aged phenomena were carried out, to investigate on reflection of the obtained results to present conservation actions. Here were described on efforts on the high aging countermeasures, and performing conditions of long-term conservation in the Tsuruga Unit No. 1 Nuclear Power Station. (G.K.)

Methodology for selection of attributes and operating conditions for SVM-Based fault locator's

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debbie Johan Arredondo Arteaga

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Energy distribution companies must employ strategies to meet their timely and high quality service, and fault-locating techniques represent and agile alternative for restoring the electric service in the power distribution due to the size of distribution services (generally large and the usual interruptions in the service. However, these techniques are not robust enough and present some limitations in both computational cost and the mathematical description of the models they use. Method: This paper performs an analysis based on a Support Vector Machine for the evaluation of the proper conditions to adjust and validate a fault locator for distribution systems; so that it is possible to determine the minimum number of operating conditions that allow to achieve a good performance with a low computational effort. Results: We tested the proposed methodology in a prototypical distribution circuit, located in a rural area of Colombia. This circuit has a voltage of 34.5 KV and is subdivided in 20 zones. Additionally, the characteristics of the circuit allowed us to obtain a database of 630.000 records of single-phase faults and different operating conditions. As a result, we could determine that the locator showed a performance above 98% with 200 suitable selected operating conditions. Conclusions: It is possible to improve the performance of fault locators based on Support Vector Machine. Specifically, these improvements are achieved by properly selecting optimal operating conditions and attributes, since they directly affect the performance in terms of efficiency and the computational cost.

Safe pill-dispensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Testa, Massimiliano; Pollard, John

2007-01-01

Each patient is supplied with a smart-card containing a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) chip storing a unique identification code. The patient places the Smart-card on a pill-dispenser unit containing an RFID reader. The RFID chip is read and the code sent to a Base-station via a wireless Bluetooth link. A database containing both patient details and treatment information is queried at the Base-station using the RFID as the search key. The patient's treatment data (i.e., drug names, quantities, time, etc.) are retrieved and sent back to the pill-dispenser unit via Bluetooth. Appropriate quantities of the required medications are automatically dispensed, unless the patient has already taken his/her daily dose. Safe, confidential communication and operation is ensured.

Model development and optimization of operating conditions to maximize PEMFC performance by response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanani, Homayoon; Shams, Mehrzad; Hasheminasab, Mohammadreza; Bozorgnezhad, Ali

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The optimization of the operating parameters in a serpentine PEMFC is done using RSM. • The RSM model can predict the cell power over the wide range of operating conditions. • St-An, St-Ca and RH-Ca have an optimum value to obtain the best performance. • The interactions of the operating conditions affect the output power significantly. • The cathode and anode stoichiometry are the most effective parameters on the power. - Abstract: Optimization of operating conditions to obtain maximum power in PEMFCs could have a significant role to reduce the costs of this emerging technology. In the present experimental study, a single serpentine PEMFC is used to investigate the effects of operating conditions on the electrical power production of the cell. Four significant parameters including cathode stoichiometry, anode stoichiometry, gases inlet temperature, and cathode relative humidity are studied using Design of Experiment (DOE) to obtain an optimal power. Central composite second order Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is used to model the relationship between goal function (power) and considered input parameters (operating conditions). Using this statistical–mathematical method leads to obtain a second-order equation for the cell power. This model considers interactions and quadratic effects of different operating conditions and predicts the maximum or minimum power production over the entire working range of the parameters. In this range, high stoichiometry of cathode and low stoichiometry of anode results in the minimum cell power and contrary the medium range of fuel and oxidant stoichiometry leads to the maximum power. Results show that there is an optimum value for the anode stoichiometry, cathode stoichiometry and relative humidity to reach the best performance. The predictions of the model are evaluated by experimental tests and they are in a good agreement for different ranges of the parameters

Wedge gate valves selecting essentials in pipeline systems designing based on permissible operation parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Zakirnichnaya, M. M.; Kulsharipov, I. M.

2017-10-01

Wedge gate valves are widely used at the fuel and energy complex enterprises. The pipeline valves manufacturers indicate the safe operation resource according to the current regulatory and technical documentation. In this case, the resource value of the valve body strength calculation results is taken into consideration as the main structural part. However, it was determined that the wedge gate valves fail before the assigned resource due to the occurrence of conditions under which the wedge breaks in the hooks and, accordingly, the sealing integrity is not ensured. In this regard, it became necessary to assess the conditions under which the resource should be assigned not only to the valve body, but also to take into account the wedge durability. For this purpose, wedge resource calculations were made using the example of ZKL2 250-25 and ZKL2 300-25 valves using the ABAQUS software package FE-SAFE module under the technological parameters influence on the basis of their stressstrain state calculation results. Operating conditions, under which the wedge resource value is lower than the one set by the manufacturer, were determined. A technique for limiting the operating parameters for ensuring the wedge durability during the wedge gate valve assigned resource is proposed.

Operational Meanings of Orders of Observables Defined through Quantum Set Theories with Different Conditionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masanao Ozawa

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In quantum logic there is well-known arbitrariness in choosing a binary operation for conditional. Currently, we have at least three candidates, called the Sasaki conditional, the contrapositive Sasaki conditional, and the relevance conditional. A fundamental problem is to show how the form of the conditional follows from an analysis of operational concepts in quantum theory. Here, we attempt such an analysis through quantum set theory (QST. In this paper, we develop quantum set theory based on quantum logics with those three conditionals, each of which defines different quantum logical truth value assignment. We show that those three models satisfy the transfer principle of the same form to determine the quantum logical truth values of theorems of the ZFC set theory. We also show that the reals in the model and the truth values of their equality are the same for those models. Interestingly, however, the order relation between quantum reals significantly depends on the underlying conditionals. We characterize the operational meanings of those order relations in terms of joint probability obtained by the successive projective measurements of arbitrary two observables. Those characterizations clearly show their individual features and will play a fundamental role in future applications to quantum physics.

A discussion on turbine design for safe operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brekke, H

2012-01-01

The paper gives a brief description of the hydraulic design of Francis and Pelton runners. The dynamic behaviour at part load has been a major problem for low head and medium head Francis turbines. The main reason for this has been inter blade separation and unstable swirl flow in the draft tube. A description is given on the hydraulic design of X-BLADE runners to obtain stable operation on the whole range of operation by reducing the cross flow. A classical theoretical analysis is also given on the dynamic hydraulic load on Pelton buckets. Several CFD analyses of this non stationary flow have been presented during the last decade, but the velocity distribution in the jets have not been correct. Experimental research work is presented on the complexity of this problem.

A discussion on turbine design for safe operation

Science.gov (United States)

Brekke, H.

2012-11-01

The paper gives a brief description of the hydraulic design of Francis and Pelton runners. The dynamic behaviour at part load has been a major problem for low head and medium head Francis turbines. The main reason for this has been inter blade separation and unstable swirl flow in the draft tube. A description is given on the hydraulic design of X-BLADE runners to obtain stable operation on the whole range of operation by reducing the cross flow. A classical theoretical analysis is also given on the dynamic hydraulic load on Pelton buckets. Several CFD analyses of this non stationary flow have been presented during the last decade, but the velocity distribution in the jets have not been correct. Experimental research work is presented on the complexity of this problem.

Significance of Operating Environment in Condition Monitoring of Large Civil Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sreenivas Alampalli

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Success of remote long-term condition monitoring of large civil structures and developing calibrated analytical models for damage detection, depend significantly on establishing accurate baseline signatures and their sensitivity. Most studies reported in the literature concentrated on the effect of structural damage on modal parameters without emphasis on reliability of modal parameters. Thus, a field bridge structure was studied for the significance of operating conditions in relation to baseline signatures. Results indicate that in practice, civil structures should be monitored for at least one full cycle of in-service environmental changes before establishing baselines for condition monitoring or calibrating finite-element models. Boundary conditions deserve special attention.

Detection and classification of alarm threshold violations in condition monitoring systems working in highly varying operational conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Strączkiewicz, M.; Barszcz, T.; Jabłoński, A.

2015-07-01

All commonly used condition monitoring systems (CMS) enable defining alarm thresholds that enhance efficient surveillance and maintenance of dynamic state of machinery. The thresholds are imposed on the measured values such as vibration-based indicators, temperature, pressure, etc. For complex machinery such as wind turbine (WT) the total number of thresholds might be counted in hundreds multiplied by the number of operational states. All the parameters vary not only due to possible machinery malfunctions, but also due to changes in operating conditions and these changes are typically much stronger than the former ones. Very often, such a behavior may lead to hundreds of false alarms. Therefore, authors propose a novel approach based on parameterized description of the threshold violation. For this purpose the novelty and severity factors are introduced. The first parameter refers to the time of violation occurrence while the second one describes the impact of the indicator-increase to the entire machine. Such approach increases reliability of the CMS by providing the operator with the most useful information of the system events. The idea of the procedure is presented on a simulated data similar to those from a wind turbine.

Detection and classification of alarm threshold violations in condition monitoring systems working in highly varying operational conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strączkiewicz, M; Barszcz, T; Jabłoński, A

2015-01-01

All commonly used condition monitoring systems (CMS) enable defining alarm thresholds that enhance efficient surveillance and maintenance of dynamic state of machinery. The thresholds are imposed on the measured values such as vibration-based indicators, temperature, pressure, etc. For complex machinery such as wind turbine (WT) the total number of thresholds might be counted in hundreds multiplied by the number of operational states. All the parameters vary not only due to possible machinery malfunctions, but also due to changes in operating conditions and these changes are typically much stronger than the former ones. Very often, such a behavior may lead to hundreds of false alarms. Therefore, authors propose a novel approach based on parameterized description of the threshold violation. For this purpose the novelty and severity factors are introduced. The first parameter refers to the time of violation occurrence while the second one describes the impact of the indicator-increase to the entire machine. Such approach increases reliability of the CMS by providing the operator with the most useful information of the system events. The idea of the procedure is presented on a simulated data similar to those from a wind turbine. (paper)

Detection of Partial Demagnetization Fault in PMSMs Operating under Nonstationary Conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Chao; Delgado Prieto, Miguel; Romeral, Luis

2016-01-01

Demagnetization fault detection of in-service Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs) is a challenging task because most PMSMs operate under nonstationary circumstances in industrial applications. A novel approach based on tracking characteristic orders of stator current using Vold-Kalman F......Demagnetization fault detection of in-service Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs) is a challenging task because most PMSMs operate under nonstationary circumstances in industrial applications. A novel approach based on tracking characteristic orders of stator current using Vold......-Kalman Filter is proposed to detect the partial demagnetization fault in PMSMs running at nonstationary conditions. Amplitude of envelope of the fault characteristic orders is used as fault indictor. Experimental results verify the superiority of the proposed method on partial demagnetization online fault...... detection of PMSMs under various speed and load conditions....

Significance of Operating Environment in Condition Monitoring of Large Civil Structures

OpenAIRE

Alampalli, Sreenivas

1999-01-01

Success of remote long-term condition monitoring of large civil structures and developing calibrated analytical models for damage detection, depend significantly on establishing accurate baseline signatures and their sensitivity. Most studies reported in the literature concentrated on the effect of structural damage on modal parameters without emphasis on reliability of modal parameters. Thus, a field bridge structure was studied for the significance of operating conditions in relation to bas...

The Establishment and Administration of Operant Conditioning Programs in a State Hospital for the Retarded.

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, Thomas S., Ed.

Seven articles treat the establishment of operant conditioning programs for the mentally retarded at Pacific State Hospital in California. Emphasis is on the administrative rather than the demonstration of research aspects of operant conditioning programs. Following an introduction and overview, the medical director's point of view on operant…

Safe delivery practices: experience from cross-sectional data of Bangladeshi women.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabir, M A; Goh, Kim-Leng; Khan, M M H; Al-Amin, Abul Quasem; Azam, Mohammad Nurul

2015-03-01

This study examines the safe delivery practices of Bangladeshi women using data on 4905 ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Variables that included age, region of origin, education level of respondent and spouse, residence, working status, religion, involvement in NGOs, mass media exposure, and wealth index were analyzed to find correlates of safe delivery practices. More than 80% of the deliveries took place at home, and only 18% were under safe and hygienic conditions. The likelihood of safe deliveries was significantly lower among younger and older mothers than middle-aged mothers and higher among educated mothers and those living in urban areas. Economically better-off mothers and those with greater exposure to mass media had a significantly higher incidence of safe delivery practices. A significant association with religion and safe delivery practices was revealed. Demographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and programmatic factors that are strongly associated with safe delivery practices should be considered in the formulation of reproductive health policy. © 2012 APJPH.

Operant conditioning of neural activity in freely behaving monkeys with intracranial reinforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Ryan W; Libey, Tyler; Fetz, Eberhard E

2017-03-01

Operant conditioning of neural activity has typically been performed under controlled behavioral conditions using food reinforcement. This has limited the duration and behavioral context for neural conditioning. To reward cell activity in unconstrained primates, we sought sites in nucleus accumbens (NAc) whose stimulation reinforced operant responding. In three monkeys, NAc stimulation sustained performance of a manual target-tracking task, with response rates that increased monotonically with increasing NAc stimulation. We recorded activity of single motor cortex neurons and documented their modulation with wrist force. We conditioned increased firing rates with the monkey seated in the training booth and during free behavior in the cage using an autonomous head-fixed recording and stimulating system. Spikes occurring above baseline rates triggered single or multiple electrical pulses to the reinforcement site. Such rate-contingent, unit-triggered stimulation was made available for periods of 1-3 min separated by 3-10 min time-out periods. Feedback was presented as event-triggered clicks both in-cage and in-booth, and visual cues were provided in many in-booth sessions. In-booth conditioning produced increases in single neuron firing probability with intracranial reinforcement in 48 of 58 cells. Reinforced cell activity could rise more than five times that of non-reinforced activity. In-cage conditioning produced significant increases in 21 of 33 sessions. In-cage rate changes peaked later and lasted longer than in-booth changes, but were often comparatively smaller, between 13 and 18% above non-reinforced activity. Thus intracranial stimulation reinforced volitional increases in cortical firing rates during both free behavior and a controlled environment, although changes in the latter were more robust. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Closed-loop brain-computer interfaces (BCI) were used to operantly condition increases in muscle and neural activity in monkeys by delivering

Commercial experience with facility deactivation to safe storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sype, T.T. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Fischer, S.R. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Lee, J.H. Jr.; Sanchez, L.C.; Ottinger, C.A.; Pirtle, G.J. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1995-09-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has shutdown many production reactors; the Department has begun a major effort to also shutdown a wide variety of other nuclear facilities. Because so many facilities are being closed, it is necessary to place many of them into a safe- storage status, i.e., deactivation, before conducting decommissioning- for perhaps as long as 20 years. The challenge is to achieve this safe-storage condition in a cost-effective manner while remaining in compliance with applicable regulations. The DOE Office of Environmental Management, Office of Transition and Management, commissioned a lessons-learned study of commercial experience with safe storage and decommissioning. Although the majority of the commercial experience has been with reactors, many of the lessons learned presented in this document can provide insight into transitioning challenges that Will be faced by the DOE weapons complex.

Commercial experience with facility deactivation to safe storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sype, T.T.; Fischer, S.R.; Lee, J.H. Jr.; Sanchez, L.C.; Ottinger, C.A.; Pirtle, G.J.

1995-09-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has shutdown many production reactors; the Department has begun a major effort to also shutdown a wide variety of other nuclear facilities. Because so many facilities are being closed, it is necessary to place many of them into a safe- storage status, i.e., deactivation, before conducting decommissioning- for perhaps as long as 20 years. The challenge is to achieve this safe-storage condition in a cost-effective manner while remaining in compliance with applicable regulations. The DOE Office of Environmental Management, Office of Transition and Management, commissioned a lessons-learned study of commercial experience with safe storage and decommissioning. Although the majority of the commercial experience has been with reactors, many of the lessons learned presented in this document can provide insight into transitioning challenges that Will be faced by the DOE weapons complex

A phase angle based diagnostic scheme to planetary gear faults diagnostics under non-stationary operational conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Ke; Wang, Kesheng; Ni, Qing; Zuo, Ming J.; Wei, Dongdong

2017-11-01

Planetary gearbox is a critical component for rotating machinery. It is widely used in wind turbines, aerospace and transmission systems in heavy industry. Thus, it is important to monitor planetary gearboxes, especially for fault diagnostics, during its operational conditions. However, in practice, operational conditions of planetary gearbox are often characterized by variations of rotational speeds and loads, which may bring difficulties for fault diagnosis through the measured vibrations. In this paper, phase angle data extracted from measured planetary gearbox vibrations is used for fault detection under non-stationary operational conditions. Together with sample entropy, fault diagnosis on planetary gearbox is implemented. The proposed scheme is explained and demonstrated in both simulation and experimental studies. The scheme proves to be effective and features advantages on fault diagnosis of planetary gearboxes under non-stationary operational conditions.

Validation of AEGIS/SCOPE2 system through actual core follow calculations with irregular operational conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabuchi, M.; Tatsumi, M.; Ohoka, Y.; Nagano, H.; Ishizaki, K.

2017-01-01

This paper describes overview of AEGIS/SCOPE2 system, an advanced in-core fuel management system for pressurized water reactors, and its validation results of actual core follow calculations including irregular operational conditions. AEGIS and SCOPE2 codes adopt more detailed and accurate calculation models compared to the current core design codes while computational cost is minimized with various techniques on numerical and computational algorithms. Verification and validation of AEGIS/SCOPE2 has been intensively performed to confirm validity of the system. As a part of the validation, core follow calculations have been carried out mainly for typical operational conditions. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, however, all the nuclear reactors in Japan suffered from long suspension and irregular operational conditions. In such situations, measured data in the restart and operation of the reactors should be good examinations for validation of the codes. Therefore, core follow calculations were carried out with AEGIS/SCOPE2 for various cases including zero power reactor physics tests with irregular operational conditions. Comparisons between measured data and predictions by AEGIS/SCOPE2 revealed the validity and robustness of the system. (author)

Design and operation of off-gas cleaning systems at high level liquid waste conditioning facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The immobilization of high level liquid wastes from the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuels is of great interest and serious efforts are being undertaken to find a satisfactory technical solution. Volatilization of fission product elements during immobilization poses the potential for the release of radioactive substances to the environment and necessitates effective off-gas cleaning systems. This report describes typical off-gas cleaning systems used in the most advanced high level liquid waste immobilization plants and considers most of the equipment and components which can be used for the efficient retention of the aerosols and volatile contaminants. In the case of a nuclear facility consisting of several different facilities, release limits are generally prescribed for the nuclear facility as a whole. Since high level liquid waste conditioning (calcination, vitrification, etc.) facilities are usually located at fuel reprocessing sites (where the majority of the high level liquid wastes originates), the off-gas cleaning system should be designed so that the airborne radioactivity discharge of the whole site, including the emission of the waste conditioning facility, can be kept below the permitted limits. This report deals with the sources and composition of different kinds of high level liquid wastes and describes briefly the main high level liquid waste solidification processes examining the sources and characteristics of the off-gas contaminants to be retained by the off-gas cleaning system. The equipment and components of typical off-gas systems used in the most advanced (large pilot or industrial scale) high level liquid waste solidification plants are described. Safety considerations for the design and safe operation of the off-gas systems are discussed. 60 refs, 31 figs, 17 tabs

Final hazard classification and auditable safety analysis for the 105-C Reactor Interim Safe Storage Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodovsky, T.J.; Larson, A.R.; Dexheimer, D.

1996-12-01

This document summarizes the inventories of radioactive and hazardous materials present in the 105-C Reactor Facility and the operations associated with the Interim Safe Storage Project which includes decontamination and demolition and interim safe storage of the remaining facility. This document also establishes a final hazard classification and verifies that appropriate and adequate safety functions and controls are in place to reduce or mitigate the risk associated with those operations

Appetitive operant conditioning in mice: heritability and dissociability of training stages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hemi A I Malkki

2010-11-01

Full Text Available To study the heritability of different training stages of appetitive operant conditioning, we carried out behavioural screening of 5 standard inbred mouse strains, 28 recombinant-inbred (BxD mouse lines and their progenitor strains C57BL/6J and DBA/2J. We also computed correlations between successive training stages to study whether learning deficits at an advanced stage of operant conditioning may be dissociated from normal performance in preceding phases of training.The training consisted of two phases: an operant nose poking phase, in which mice learned to collect a sucrose pellet from a food magazine by nose poking, and an operant lever press and nose poking phase, in which mice had to execute a sequence of these two actions to collect a food pellet. As a measure of magazine oriented exploration, we also studied the nose poke entries in the food magazine during the intertrial intervals at the beginning of the first session of the nose-poke training phase.We found significantly heritable components in initial magazine checking behaviour, operant nose-poking and lever press-nose poking. Performance levels in these phases were positively correlated, but several individual strains were identified that showed poor lever press-nose poking while performing well in preceding training stages. Quantitative trait loci mapping revealed suggestive likelihood ratio statistic peaks for initial magazine checking behaviour and lever press – nose poking. These findings indicate that consecutive stages towards more complex operant behavior show significant heritable components, as well as dissociability between stages in specific mouse strains. These heritable components may reside in different chromosomal areas.

International conference on safe decommissioning for nuclear activities: Assuring the safe termination of practices involving radioactive materials. Contributed papers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-07-01

Thousands of operations involving the use of radioactive substances will end during the current century. While there is considerable regulatory experience in the 'front end' of the regulatory system for practices, the experience at the back end is more limited as fewer practices have actually been terminated. When a practice is terminated because the facility has reached the end of its useful life, action has to betaken to ensure the safe shutdown of the facility and allow the removal of regulatory controls. There are many issues involved in the safe termination of practices. These include setting criteria for the release of material and sites from regulatory control; determining the suitability of the various options for decommissioning nuclear facilities, managing the waste and material released from control (recycling, reuse or disposal), and the eventual remediation of the site. Some countries have put in place regulatory infrastructures and have developed programmes to manage the associated decommissioning and remediation activities. Other countries are at the stage of assessing what is involved in terminating such practices. The purpose of this Conference is to foster an information exchange on the safe an orderly termination of practices that involve the use of radioactive substances, including both decommissioning and environmental remediation, and to promote improved coherence internationally on strategies and criteria for the safe termination of practices.

International conference on safe decommissioning for nuclear activities: Assuring the safe termination of practices involving radioactive materials. Contributed papers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

Thousands of operations involving the use of radioactive substances will end during the current century. While there is considerable regulatory experience in the 'front end' of the regulatory system for practices, the experience at the back end is more limited as fewer practices have actually been terminated. When a practice is terminated because the facility has reached the end of its useful life, action has to betaken to ensure the safe shutdown of the facility and allow the removal of regulatory controls. There are many issues involved in the safe termination of practices. These include setting criteria for the release of material and sites from regulatory control; determining the suitability of the various options for decommissioning nuclear facilities, managing the waste and material released from control (recycling, reuse or disposal), and the eventual remediation of the site. Some countries have put in place regulatory infrastructures and have developed programmes to manage the associated decommissioning and remediation activities. Other countries are at the stage of assessing what is involved in terminating such practices. The purpose of this Conference is to foster an information exchange on the safe an orderly termination of practices that involve the use of radioactive substances, including both decommissioning and environmental remediation, and to promote improved coherence internationally on strategies and criteria for the safe termination of practices

Supplement analysis for the proposed upgrades to the tank farm ventilation, instrumentation, and electrical systems under Project W-314 in support of tank farm restoration and safe operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-05-01

The mission of the TWRS program is to store, treat, and immobilize highly radioactive tank waste in an environmentally sound, safe, and cost-effective manner. Within this program, Project W-314, Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations, has been established to provide upgrades in the areas of instrumentation and control, tank ventilation, waste transfer, and electrical distribution for existing tank farm facilities. Requirements for tank farm infrastructure upgrades to support safe storage were being developed under Project W-314 at the same time that the TWRS EIS alternative analysis was being performed. Project W-314 provides essential tank farm infrastructure upgrades to support continued safe storage of existing tank wastes until the wastes can be retrieved and disposed of through follow-on TWRS program efforts. Section4.0 provides a description of actions associated with Project W-314. The TWRS EIS analyzes the environmental consequences form the entire TWRS program, including actions similar to those described for Project W-314 as a part of continued tank farm operations. The TWRS EIS preferred alternative was developed to a conceptual level of detail to assess bounding impact areas. For this Supplement Analysis, in each of the potential impact areas for Project W-314, the proposed action was evaluated and compared to the TWRS EIS evaluation of the preferred alternative (Section 5.0). Qualitative and/or quantitative comparisons are then provided in this Supplement Analysis to support a determination on the need for additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis. Based on this Supplement Analysis, the potential impacts for Project W-314 would be small in comparison to and are bounded by the impacts assessed for the TWRS EIS preferred alternative, and therefore no additional NEPA analysis is required (Section 7.0)

Mobility and cloud: operating in intermittent, austere network conditions

OpenAIRE

Wee, Toon Joo; Ling, Yu Xian Eldine

2014-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Cloud computing is emerging as the mainstream platform for a range of on-demand applications, services, and infrastructure. Before the benefits of cloud computing are realized, several technology challenges must be addressed. Operating in intermittent and austere network conditions is one of such challenges, which navy ships face when communicating with land-based cloud computing environments. Given limited bandwidth and intermittent c...

"Same Room, Safe Place".

Science.gov (United States)

Keene Woods, Nikki

2017-04-01

There are many different professional stances on safe sleep and then there is the reality of caring for a newborn. There is a debate among professionals regarding safe sleep recommendations. The continum of recommendations vary from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Safe Sleep Guidelines to the bed-sharing recommendations from the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory. The lack of consistent and uniform safe sleep recommendations from health professionals has been confusing for families but has more recently raised a real professional ethical dilemma. Despite years of focused safe sleep community education and interventions, sleep-related infant deaths are on the rise in many communities. This commentary calls for a united safe sleep message from all health professionals to improve health for mothers and infants most at-risk, "Same Room, Safe Place."

Unsupervised laparoscopic appendicectomy by surgical trainees is safe and time-effective.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Kenneth; Duncan, Tristram; Pearson, Andrew

2007-07-01

Open appendicectomy is the traditional standard treatment for appendicitis. Laparoscopic appendicectomy is perceived as a procedure with greater potential for complications and longer operative times. This paper examines the hypothesis that unsupervised laparoscopic appendicectomy by surgical trainees is a safe and time-effective valid alternative. Medical records, operating theatre records and histopathology reports of all patients undergoing laparoscopic and open appendicectomy over a 15-month period in two hospitals within an area health service were retrospectively reviewed. Data were analysed to compare patient features, pathology findings, operative times, complications, readmissions and mortality between laparoscopic and open groups and between unsupervised surgical trainee operators versus consultant surgeon operators. A total of 143 laparoscopic and 222 open appendicectomies were reviewed. Unsupervised trainees performed 64% of the laparoscopic appendicectomies and 55% of the open appendicectomies. There were no significant differences in complication rates, readmissions, mortality and length of stay between laparoscopic and open appendicectomy groups or between trainee and consultant surgeon operators. Conversion rates (laparoscopic to open approach) were similar for trainees and consultants. Unsupervised senior surgical trainees did not take significantly longer to perform laparoscopic appendicectomy when compared to unsupervised trainee-performed open appendicectomy. Unsupervised laparoscopic appendicectomy by surgical trainees is safe and time-effective.

Fan Efficiency Improvement via Changing Guide Blade Shape Under Various Operating Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. I. Zamolodchikov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to examine the influence of sweep and tangential blade lean the guide vanes (GV on the pressure losses in the blade row, and development of an approach to creating the GV with a rationally-shaped blades to ensure increased efficiency in the partial operating conditions.A numerical simulation method was used for research. As an object to be studied, was used an axial fan comprising an impeller and a GV, which were profiled to have constant circulation of velocity in radius. Verification of numerical simulation was based on the experimental data of fan. It comprised a GV with a straight blade and a circular-arc blade, with an impeller remained stationary in both cases. Among the turbulence models under consideration, preference is given to k-ω, as under operating conditions close to design ones, its result falls within the confidence span of the experimental characteristics, and at much higher and lower discharge coefficients a discrepancy is 4% at most.  In addition to the characteristics, the fields of pressure losses in GV have been analyzed. Numerical modeling allowed us to have a well-reproduced structure of losses in the stationary blade row.Analysis of pressure loss fields has shown that in the original GV near the hub, on the blade back, under design conditions a flow breakdown takes off. In view of the research, was designed a new GV with a modified blade geometry. The GV blade axis near the hub was bent in the circumferential direction by 0.1 length of the blade. In the near-hub cross-sections the blade chord was increased by 10%.The results of numerical simulation have shown that, with the flow less than the designed one, a change of just the GV blade tip sections leads to reduced break-down zone near the hub by about 40% under both operating conditions without raising profile losses and to improved fan efficiency, which reduces fan drive power consumption under typical operating conditions in the propulsion

Designing visual displays and system models for safe reactor operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown-VanHoozer, S.A.

1995-12-31

The material presented in this paper is based on two studies involving the design of visual displays and the user`s prospective model of a system. The studies involve a methodology known as Neuro-Linguistic Programming and its use in expanding design choices from the operator`s perspective image. The contents of this paper focuses on the studies and how they are applicable to the safety of operating reactors.

Maintaining reduced noise levels in a resource-constrained neonatal intensive care unit by operant conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramesh, A; Denzil, S B; Linda, R; Josephine, P K; Nagapoornima, M; Suman Rao, P N; Swarna Rekha, A

2013-03-01

To evaluate the efficacy of operant conditioning in sustaining reduced noise levels in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Quasi-experimental study on quality of care. Level III NICU of a teaching hospital in south India. 26 staff employed in the NICU. (7 Doctors, 13 Nursing staff and 6 Nursing assistants). Operant conditioning of staff activity for 6 months. This method involves positive and negative reinforcement to condition the staff to modify noise generating activities. Comparing noise levels in decibel: A weighted [dB (A)] before conditioning with levels at 18 and 24 months after conditioning. Decibel: A weighted accounts for noise that is audible to human ears. Operant conditioning for 6 months sustains the reduced noise levels to within 62 dB in ventilator room 95% CI: 60.4 - 62.2 and isolation room (95% CI: 55.8 - 61.5). In the preterm room, noise can be maintained within 52 dB (95% CI: 50.8 - 52.6). This effect is statistically significant in all the rooms at 18 months (P = 0.001). At 24 months post conditioning there is a significant rebound of noise levels by 8.6, 6.7 and 9.9 dB in the ventilator, isolation and preterm room, respectively (P =0.001). Operant conditioning for 6 months was effective in sustaining reduced noise levels. At 18 months post conditioning, the noise levels were maintained within 62 dB (A), 60 dB (A) and 52 dB (A) in the ventilator, isolation and pre-term room, respectively. Conditioning needs to be repeated at 12 months in the ventilator room and at 18 months in the other rooms.

Quality assurance for the safe transport of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

All activities related to the safe transport of radioactive material should be covered by a quality assurance programme. This publication recognizes that a single transport operation often involves several different organizations, each having specific responsibilities. Hence, it is unlikely that the operation will be covered by a single quality assurance programme. Each quality assurance programme should be tailored to the specific organizational structure for which the programme is prepared, with account taken of the particular transport activities of that organization and the interfaces with other organizations. The aim of this publication is to give a detailed interpretation of what must be done by whom to produce a quality assurance programme for radioactive material transport. This publication provides guidance on methods and practical examples to develop QA programmes for the safe transport of radioactive material. It provides information on how to develop the programme, the standards and the common features of a QA programme

LEADIR-PS: the path to a safe and economic SMR