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Sample records for reactant storage assembly

  1. Fuel assembly storage pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hiranuma, Hiroshi.

    1976-01-01

    Object: To remove limitation of the number of storage of fuel assemblies to increase the number of storage thereof so as to relatively reduce the water depth required for shielding radioactive rays. Structure: Fuel assembly storage rack containers for receiving a plurality of spent fuel assembly racks are stacked in multi-layer fashion within a storage pool filled with water for shielding radioactive rays and removing heat. (Furukawa, Y.)

  2. Storage method for spent fuel assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tajiri, Hiroshi.

    1992-01-01

    In the present invention, spent fuel assemblies are arranged at a dense pitch in a storage rack by suppressing the reactivity of the assemblies, to increase storage capacity for the spent fuel assemblies. That is, neutron absorbers are filled in the cladding tube of an absorbing rod, and the diameter thereof is substantially equal with that of a fuel rod. A great amount of the absorbing rods are arranged at the outer circumference of the fuel assembly. Then, they are fixed integrally to the fuel assembly and stored in a storage rack. In this case, the storage rack may be constituted only with angle materials which are inexpensive and installed simply. With such a constitution, in the fuel assembly having absorbing rods wound therearound, neutrons are absorbed by absorbing rods and the reactivity is lowered. Accordingly, the assembly arrangement pitch in the storage rack can be made dense. As a result, the storage capacity for the assemblies is increased. (I.S.)

  3. Combustion flame-plasma hybrid reactor systems, and chemical reactant sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Peter C

    2013-11-26

    Combustion flame-plasma hybrid reactor systems, chemical reactant sources, and related methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, a combustion flame-plasma hybrid reactor system comprising a reaction chamber, a combustion torch positioned to direct a flame into the reaction chamber, and one or more reactant feed assemblies configured to electrically energize at least one electrically conductive solid reactant structure to form a plasma and feed each electrically conductive solid reactant structure into the plasma to form at least one product is disclosed. In an additional embodiment, a chemical reactant source for a combustion flame-plasma hybrid reactor comprising an elongated electrically conductive reactant structure consisting essentially of at least one chemical reactant is disclosed. In further embodiments, methods of forming a chemical reactant source and methods of chemically converting at least one reactant into at least one product are disclosed.

  4. Storage arrangement for nuclear reactor fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wade, E.E.

    1977-01-01

    Said invention is intended for providing an arrangement of spent fuel assembly storage inside which the space is efficiently used without accumulating a critical mass. The storage is provided for long fuel assemblies having along their longitudinal axis an active part containing the fuel and an inactive part empty of fuel. Said storage arrangement comprises a framework constituting some long-shaped cells designed so as each of them can receive a fuel assembly. Means of axial positioning of said assembly in a cell make it possible to support the fuel assemblies inside the framework according to a spacing ratio, along the cell axis, such as the active part of an assembly is adjacent to the inactive part of the adjacent assemblies [fr

  5. Casette for storage of spent fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ericsson, S.

    1992-01-01

    Describes a design of a casette for spent fuel storage in a fuelstorage pool. The new design, based on flexible spacers, allows the fuel assemblies to be packed more compact and the fuel storage pool used in a more economic way

  6. Impact Analysis for Fuel Assemblies in Spent Fuel Storage Rack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Jinho

    2013-01-01

    The design and structural integrity evaluation of a spent fuel storage rack (SFSR) utilized for storing and protecting the spent fuel assemblies generated during the operation of a reactor are very important in terms of nuclear safety and waste management. The objective of this study is to show the validity of the SFSR design as well as fuel assembly through a structural integrity evaluation based on a numerical analysis. In particular, a dynamic time history analysis considering the gaps between the fuel assemblies and the walls of the storage cell pipes in the SFSR was performed to check the structural integrity of the fuel assembly and storage cell pipe

  7. Impact Analysis for Fuel Assemblies in Spent Fuel Storage Rack

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Jinho [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-07-01

    The design and structural integrity evaluation of a spent fuel storage rack (SFSR) utilized for storing and protecting the spent fuel assemblies generated during the operation of a reactor are very important in terms of nuclear safety and waste management. The objective of this study is to show the validity of the SFSR design as well as fuel assembly through a structural integrity evaluation based on a numerical analysis. In particular, a dynamic time history analysis considering the gaps between the fuel assemblies and the walls of the storage cell pipes in the SFSR was performed to check the structural integrity of the fuel assembly and storage cell pipe.

  8. Fuel assembly transfer and storage system for nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allain, Albert; Thomas, Claude.

    1981-01-01

    Transfer and storage system on a site comprising several reactors and at least one building housing the installations common to all these reactors. The system includes: transfer and storage modules for the fuel assemblies comprising a containment capable of containing several assemblies carried on a transport vehicle, a set of tracks for the modules between the reactors and the common installations, handling facilities associated with each reactor for moving the irradiated assemblies from the reactor to a transfer module placed in loading position on a track serving the reactor and conversely to move the new assemblies from the transfer module to the reactor, and at least one handling facility located in the common installation building for loading the modules with new assemblies [fr

  9. The optimization of spent fuel assembly storage racks in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yan

    2005-01-01

    This paper gives an evaluation of the spent fuel assembly storage racks in the nuclear power plants at home and abroad, focusing on the characteristics of the high density storage racks and the aseismatic design. It mainly discusses structures and characteristics of the spent fuel assembly storage racks in the Qinshan nuclear power phase II project. Concluding the crucial technical difficulties of the high density spent fuel assembly storage racks: the neutron-absorbing materials, the structural aseismatic design technology and the security analysis technology, this paper firstly generalizes several important neutron-absorbing materials, then introduces the evolution of the aseismatic design of the spent fuel assembly storage racks . In the last part, it describes the advanced aseismatic analysis technology in the Qinshan nuclear power phase II project. Through calculation and analysis for such storage racks, the author concludes several main factors that could have an influence on the aseismatic performance and thus gives the key points and methods for designing the optimal racks and provides some references for the design of advanced spent fuel assembly storage racks in the future. (authors)

  10. Activity release during the dry storage of fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valentine, M.K.; Fettel, W.; Gunther, H.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports that wet storage is the predominant storage method in the USA for spent fuel assemblies. Nevertheless, most utilities have stretched their storage capacities and several reactors will lose their full-core reserve in the 90's. A great variety of out-of-pool storage methods already exist, including the FUELSTOR vault-type dry storage concept. A FUELSTOR vault relies on double containment of the spent fuel (intact cladding as the primary containment and sealing of assemblies in canisters filled with an inert gas as the secondary containment) to reduce radiation levels at the outside wall of the vault to less than site boundary levels. Investigation of accident scenarios reveals that radiation release limits are only exceeded following complete failure of all canisters and simultaneous cladding breach for more than 40% of the rods (or for more than 1% of failed rods if massive fuel oxidation occurs following cladding failure). Such failures are considered highly improbable. Thus, it can be concluded that this type of dry storage is safe and individual canister monitoring is not required in the facility

  11. Storage rack for nuclear fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wachter, W.J.

    1988-01-01

    A storage rack for nuclear fuel assemblies is described comprising storage tubes, each having a polygon cross-section. The tubes being nested with cell walls of one tube aligned with and confronting cell walls of other tubes. Each cell wall having an array of embossed buttons so arranged that buttons of one cell wall engage buttons of a confronting cell wall, and the engage buttons are welded together to secure the tubes. At least one layer of neutron-poison material comprises a flexible, resilient pad interprosed between the aligned cell walls; whereby a major portion of the total outer surface area of each confronting cell wall is engaged with the layer of neutron-poison material

  12. Storage, transportation and disposal system for used nuclear fuel assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scaglione, John M.; Wagner, John C.

    2017-01-10

    An integrated storage, transportation and disposal system for used fuel assemblies is provided. The system includes a plurality of sealed canisters and a cask sized to receive the sealed canisters in side by side relationship. The plurality of sealed canisters include an internal basket structure to receive a plurality of used fuel assemblies. The internal basket structure includes a plurality of radiation-absorbing panels and a plurality of hemispherical ribs generally perpendicular to the canister sidewall. The sealed canisters are received within the cask for storage and transportation and are removed from the cask for disposal at a designated repository. The system of the present invention allows the handling of sealed canisters separately or collectively, while allowing storage and transportation of high burnup fuel and damaged fuel to the designated repository.

  13. Electrochemical cell and method of assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimotake, Hiroshi; Voss, Ernst C. H.; Bartholme, Louis G.

    1979-01-01

    A method of preparing an electrochemical cell is disclosed which permits the assembly to be accomplished in air. The cell includes a metal sulfide as the positive electrode reactant, lithium alloy as the negative electrode reactant and an alkali metal, molten salt electrolyte. Positive electrode reactant is introduced as Li.sub.2 FeS.sub.2, a single-phase compound produced by the reaction of Li.sub.2 S and FeS. The use of this compound permits introduction of lithium in an oxidized form. Additional lithium can be introduced in the negative electrode structure enclosed within an aluminum foil envelope between layers of porous aluminum. Molten salt electrolyte is added after assembly and evacuation of the cell by including an interelectrode separator that has been prewet with an organic solution of KCl.

  14. Corrosion of assemblies in fuel-storage basins at Savannah River Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wollam, C.D.

    1980-09-01

    Pitting of reactor assemblies has been the major corrosion problem in the Savannah River Plant fuel storage basins. From 1972 to 1976 many reactor assemblies experienced severe pitting corrosion with rates up to 9.3 mm/y. Poor cladding, high concentrations of iron and chloride ions in the water, a galvanic couple between the aluminum clad assemblies and the stainless steel hangers, and scratches in the oxide layer on assemblies have been identified as contributors to the problem. This paper describes the examinations and tests that were conducted and discusses a theory that explains the observed phenomena

  15. Assessment of dry storage performance of spent LWR fuel assemblies with increasing burnup

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peehs, M.; Garzarolli, F.; Goll, W.

    1999-01-01

    Although the safety of a dry long-term spent fuel store is scarcely influenced if a few fuel rods start to leak during extended storage - since all confinement systems are designed to retain gaseous activity safely - it is a very conservative safety goal to avoid the occurrence of systematic rod defects. To assess the extended storage performance of a spent fuel assembly (FA), the experience can be collated into 3 storage modes: I - fast rate of temperature decrease δ max ≥ δ ≥ 300 deg. C, II - medium rate of decrease for the fuel rod dry storage temperature 300 deg. C > δ ≥ 200 deg. C, III - slow to negligible rate of temperature decrease for δ 2 -fuel are practically immobile during storage. Consequently all fission-product-driven defect mechanisms will not take place. The leading defect mechanism - also for fuel rods with increased burnup - remains creep due to the hoop strain resulting from the fuel rod internal fission gas pressure. Limiting the creep to its primary and secondary stages prevents fuel rod degradation. The allowable uniform strain of the cladding is 1 - 2%. Calculations were performed to predict the dry storage performance of fuel assemblies with a burnup ≤ 55 GW · d/tHM based on the fuel assemblies end of life (EOL)-data and on a representative curve T = f(t). The maximum allowable hot spot temperature of a fuel rod in the CASTOR V cask was between 348 deg. C (U FA) and 358 deg. C (MOX FA). The highest hoop strain predicted after 40 years of storage is 0.77% proving that spent LWR fuel dry storage is safe. (author)

  16. Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the electrical power generation/power reactant storage and distribution subsystem FMEA/CIL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ames, B. E.

    1988-01-01

    The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) is presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the Electrical Power Generation/Power Reactant Storage and Distribution (EPG/PRSD) subsystem hardware, generating draft failure modes and potential critical items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the NASA FMEA/CIL baselines with proposed Post 51-L updates included. A resolution of each discrepancy from the comparison is provided through additional analysis as required. The results of that comparison are documented for the Orbiter EPG/PRSD hardware. The comparison produced agreement on all but 27 FMEAs and 9 CIL items. The discrepancy between the number of IOA findings and NASA FMEAs can be partially explained by the different approaches used by IOA and NASA to group failure modes together to form one FMEA. Also, several IOA items represented inner tank components and ground operations failure modes which were not in the NASA baseline.

  17. Behaviour of spent fuel assemblies during extended storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-04-01

    This report is the final report of the IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme on Behaviour of Spent Fuel Assemblies During Extended Storage (BEFAST, Phase I, 1981-86). It contains the results on wet and dry spent fuel storage technologies obtained from 11 institutes (10 countries: Austria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Japan, Sweden, USA and USSR) participating in the BEFAST CRP during the time period 1981-86. Names of participating institutes and chief investigators are given. The interim spent fuel storage has been recognized as an important independent step in the nuclear fuel cycle. Due to the delay in commercial reprocessing of spent fuel in some cases it should be stored up to 30-50 years or more before reprocessing or final disposal. This programme was evaluated by all its participants and observers as very important and helpful for the nuclear community and it was decided to continue it further (1986-91) as BEFAST, Phase II

  18. Photon Upconversion and Molecular Solar Energy Storage by Maximizing the Potential of Molecular Self-Assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimizuka, Nobuo; Yanai, Nobuhiro; Morikawa, Masa-Aki

    2016-11-29

    The self-assembly of functional molecules into ordered molecular assemblies and the fulfillment of potentials unique to their nanotomesoscopic structures have been one of the central challenges in chemistry. This Feature Article provides an overview of recent progress in the field of molecular self-assembly with the focus on the triplet-triplet annihilation-based photon upconversion (TTA-UC) and supramolecular storage of photon energy. On the basis of the integration of molecular self-assembly and photon energy harvesting, triplet energy migration-based TTA-UC has been achieved in varied molecular systems. Interestingly, some molecular self-assemblies dispersed in solution or organogels revealed oxygen barrier properties, which allowed TTA-UC even under aerated conditions. The elements of molecular self-assembly were also introduced to the field of molecular solar thermal fuel, where reversible photoliquefaction of ionic crystals to ionic liquids was found to double the molecular storage capacity with the simultaneous pursuit of switching ionic conductivity. A future prospect in terms of innovating molecular self-assembly toward molecular systems chemistry is also discussed.

  19. Self-Reconstructed Formation of a One-Dimensional Hierarchical Porous Nanostructure Assembled by Ultrathin TiO2 Nanobelts for Fast and Stable Lithium Storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yuan; Yan, Xiaodong; Xu, Bingqing; Lan, Jinle; Yu, Yunhua; Yang, Xiaoping; Lin, Yuanhua; Nan, Cewen

    2018-06-06

    Owing to their unique structural advantages, TiO 2 hierarchical nanostructures assembled by low-dimensional (LD) building blocks have been extensively used in the energy-storage/-conversion field. However, it is still a big challenge to produce such advanced structures by current synthetic techniques because of the harsh conditions needed to generate primary LD subunits. Herein, a novel one-dimensional (1D) TiO 2 hierarchical porous fibrous nanostructure constructed by TiO 2 nanobelts is synthesized by combining a room-temperature aqueous solution growth mechanism with the electrospinning technology. The nanobelt-constructed 1D hierarchical nanoarchitecture is evolves directly from the amorphous TiO 2 /SiO 2 composite fibers in alkaline solutions at ambient conditions without any catalyst and other reactant. Benefiting from the unique structural features such as 1D nanoscale building blocks, large surface area, and numerous interconnected pores, as well as mixed phase anatase-TiO 2 (B), the optimum 1D TiO 2 hierarchical porous nanostructure shows a remarkable high-rate performance when tested as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (107 mA h g -1 at ∼10 A g -1 ) and can be used in a hybrid lithium-ion supercapacitor with very stable lithium-storage performance (a capacity retention of ∼80% after 3000 cycles at 2 A g -1 ). The current work presents a scalable and cost-effective method for the synthesis of advanced TiO 2 hierarchical materials for high-power and stable energy-storage/-conversion devices.

  20. Linker-free 3D assembly of nanocrystals with tunable unit size for reversible lithium ion storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deng, Da; Lee, Jim Yang, E-mail: cheleejy@nus.edu.sg [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 119260 (Singapore)

    2011-09-02

    A simple and scalable procedure combining hydrothermal synthesis with post-synthesis calcination was developed to produce a linker-free, thermally stable, mesoscale 3D ordered assembly of spinel-type ZnCo{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocrystals. The mesoscale assembly with distinctively sharp edges was formed by close-packing the ZnCo{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocrystal building blocks with a unit size changeable by the synthesis temperature. A self-templating mechanism based on the topotactic transformation of an oxalato-bridged precursor coordination compound was proposed for the assembly. The packaging of crystalline ZnCo{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles, an active lithium ion storage compound, into a dense organized structure is an effective way to increase the volumetric capacity of ZnCo{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles for reversible lithium ion storage. The highly ordered 3D assembly of ZnCo{sub 2}O{sub 4} demonstrated excellent reversible lithium ion storage properties and a specific capacity ({approx}800 mAh g{sup -1}) much higher than that of carbon (typically {approx} 350 mAh g{sup -1}).

  1. Linker-free 3D assembly of nanocrystals with tunable unit size for reversible lithium ion storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng, Da; Lee, Jim Yang

    2011-01-01

    A simple and scalable procedure combining hydrothermal synthesis with post-synthesis calcination was developed to produce a linker-free, thermally stable, mesoscale 3D ordered assembly of spinel-type ZnCo 2 O 4 nanocrystals. The mesoscale assembly with distinctively sharp edges was formed by close-packing the ZnCo 2 O 4 nanocrystal building blocks with a unit size changeable by the synthesis temperature. A self-templating mechanism based on the topotactic transformation of an oxalato-bridged precursor coordination compound was proposed for the assembly. The packaging of crystalline ZnCo 2 O 4 nanoparticles, an active lithium ion storage compound, into a dense organized structure is an effective way to increase the volumetric capacity of ZnCo 2 O 4 nanoparticles for reversible lithium ion storage. The highly ordered 3D assembly of ZnCo 2 O 4 demonstrated excellent reversible lithium ion storage properties and a specific capacity (∼800 mAh g -1 ) much higher than that of carbon (typically ∼ 350 mAh g -1 ).

  2. Conductive polymer layers to limit transfer of fuel reactants to catalysts of fuel cells to reduce reactant crossover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanis, Ronald J.; Lambert, Timothy N.

    2016-12-06

    An apparatus of an aspect includes a fuel cell catalyst layer. The fuel cell catalyst layer is operable to catalyze a reaction involving a fuel reactant. A fuel cell gas diffusion layer is coupled with the fuel cell catalyst layer. The fuel cell gas diffusion layer includes a porous electrically conductive material. The porous electrically conductive material is operable to allow the fuel reactant to transfer through the fuel cell gas diffusion layer to reach the fuel cell catalyst layer. The porous electrically conductive material is also operable to conduct electrons associated with the reaction through the fuel cell gas diffusion layer. An electrically conductive polymer material is coupled with the fuel cell gas diffusion layer. The electrically conductive polymer material is operable to limit transfer of the fuel reactant to the fuel cell catalyst layer.

  3. Conceptual study of dry storage method for spent fuel assemblies based on honeycomb concrete overpack (COP). Phase 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hida, Yoshio; Hayashi, Shigeki; Katsuyama, Yoshiaki; Hashimoto, Hirohide; Murata, Takashi

    2017-01-01

    The amount of spent fuel assemblies currently stored in Japan is approximately 15,000 tU. Most of these are stored in storage pools, although dry storage method will be safer, as was revealed in the accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In addition, Japan has established a national policy of the nuclear fuel cycle. All spent fuel assemblies are designated for reprocessing. However, the reprocessing plant in Japan is currently under regulatory review for compliance with newly established safety standards. Beyond this, shortfalls in its processing capacity mean interim storage facilities for spent fuel are required. The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Incorporated and the Japan Atomic Power Company are currently building an interim dry storage facility with a storage capacity of 5,000 tU in Aomori Prefecture, while Chubu Electric Power Company, Inc. is currently building a dry storage facility with a storage capacity of 400 tU in the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station. These facilities consist of earthquake-resistant buildings and dry storage casks. Within the buildings, metal transportable storage casks loaded with spent fuel assemblies are placed vertically with spaces between the casks and supported by earthquake-proof measures that prevent toppling or other movement. These structures entail significant cost and construction efforts. At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a temporary dry storage facility has been built within the premises to store spent fuel generated during decommissioning. Part of this facility is already in operation. Here, each metal cask containing spent fuel is mounted on an earthquake-resistant concrete mat, which is anchored to the ground. Each cask is enclosed in a concrete box for additional radiation shielding, and the casks are spaced at intervals. This approach requires a large plot of land. The dry storage method for spent fuel presented here does not require a building. The dry metal casks containing spent

  4. Fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakatsuka, Masafumi.

    1979-01-01

    Purpose: To prevent scattering of gaseous fission products released from fuel assemblies stored in an fbr type reactor. Constitution; A cap provided with means capable of storing gas is adapted to amount to the assembly handling head, for example, by way of threading in a storage rack of spent fuel assemblies consisting of a bottom plate, a top plate and an assembly support mechanism. By previously eliminating the gas inside of the assembly and the cap in the storage rack, gaseous fission products upon loading, if released from fuel rods during storage, are stored in the cap and do not scatter in the storage rack. (Horiuchi, T.)

  5. Inspection experience with RA-3 spent nuclear fuel assemblies at CNEA's central storage facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novara, Oscar; LaFuente, Jose; Large, Steve; Andes, Trent; Messick, Charles

    2000-01-01

    Aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel from Argentina's RA-3 research reactor is to be shipped to the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina, USA. The spent nuclear fuel contains highly enriched uranium of U.S. origin and is being returned under the US Department of Energy's Foreign Research Reactor/Domestic Research Reactor (FRR/DRR) Receipt Program. An intensive inspection of 207 stored fuel assemblies was conducted to assess shipping cask containment limitations and assembly handling considerations. The inspection was performed with video equipment designed for remote operation, high portability, easy setup and usage. Fuel assemblies were raised from their vertical storage tubes, inspected by remote video, and then returned to their original storage tube or transferred to an alternate location. The inspections were made with three simultaneous video systems, each with dedicated viewing, digital recording, and tele-operated control from a shielded location. All 207 fuel assemblies were safely and successfully inspected in fifteen working days. Total dose to personnel was about one-half of anticipated dose. (author)

  6. Accident Analysis of High Density Storage Rack for Fresh Fuel Assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, K. J.; Lee, M. J.; Jin, H. U.; Park, J. H.; Shin, S. Y.

    2009-01-01

    Recently KONES and KNF have developed the so called suspension-type High Density Storage Rack (HDSR) for fresh fuel assemblies. The USNRC OT position paper specifies that the design of the rack must ensure the functional integrity of the fuel racks under all credible fuel assembly drop events. In this context the functional integrity means the criticality safety. That is to say, the drop events must not bring any danger to the criticality safety of HDSR. This paper shows the results of the analysis carried out to demonstrate the regulatory compliance of the proposed racks under postulated accidental drop events

  7. Systems and methods for facilitating hydrogen storage using naturally occurring nanostructure assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fliermans,; Carl, B [Augusta, GA

    2012-08-07

    Some or all of the needs above can be addressed by embodiments of the invention. According to embodiments of the invention, systems and methods for facilitating hydrogen storage using naturally occurring nanostructure assemblies can be implemented. In one embodiment, a method for storing hydrogen can be provided. The method can include providing diatoms comprising diatomaceous earth or diatoms from a predefined culture. In addition, the method can include heating the diatoms in a sealed environment in the presence of at least one of titanium, a transition metal, or a noble metal to provide a porous hydrogen storage medium. Furthermore, the method can include exposing the porous hydrogen storage medium to hydrogen. In addition, the method can include storing at least a portion of the hydrogen in the porous hydrogen storage medium.

  8. Fuel-assembly behavior under dynamic impact loads due to dry-storage cask mishandling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-07-01

    Continued operation of nuclear power plants is contingent on the ability to provide adequate storage of spent fuel. Until recently, utilities have been able to maintain interim in-pool spent fuel storage. However, many facilities have reached their capacity and are now faced with shipping their spent fuel in dry casks to alternate storage facilities. The objective of this report is to provide estimates of the structural integrity of irradiated LWR fuel rods subjected to impact loads resulting from postulated cask handling accidents. This is accomplished in five stages: (1) Material properties for irradiated fuel are compiled for use in the structural analyses. (2) Results from parametric analyses of representative assembly designs are used to determine the most limiting case for end and side drop postulated handling accidents. (3) Detailed structural analysis results are presented for these critical designs. The detailed analyses include the coupling of assembly interaction with the cask and cask internals. (4) Criteria for both ultimate stress and brittle fracture failure modes of fuel rod cladding are established. (5) Safe cask handling drop height limits are computed based on items 2 through 4 above. 44 figs., 18 tabs

  9. Spent nuclear fuel assembly storage vessel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yagishita, Takuya

    1998-01-01

    The vessel of the present invention promotes an effect of removing after heat of spent nuclear fuel assemblies so as not to give force to the storage vessel caused by expansion of heat removing partitioning plates. Namely, the vessel of the present invention comprises a cylinder body having closed upper and lower portions and a plurality of heat removing partitioning cylinders disposed each at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the above-mentioned cylinder body. The heat removing partitioning cylinders comprises (1) first heat removing partitioning plates extended in the radial direction of the cylinder body and opposed at a predetermined gap in the circumferential direction of the cylinder body, and having the base ends on the side of the inner wall of the cylinder body being secured to the inner wall of the cylinder body and (2) a second heat removing plate for connecting the top ends of both opposed heat removing partitioning plates on the central side of the cylinder body with each other. Spent nuclear fuel assemblies are contained in a plurality of closed spaces surrounded by the first heat removing partitioning plates and the second heat removing partitioning plate. With such constitution, since after heat is partially transferred from the heat removing partitioning plates to the cylindrical body directly by heat conduction, the heat removing effect can be promoted compared with the prior art. (I.S.)

  10. Doses of the staff during the spent fuel assemblies transportation and storage in Nuhmos 56V concrete system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atoyan, V.; Muradyan, A.

    2003-01-01

    The NUHMOS 56V concrete system provides long-term interim storage (50 years) for spent fuel assemblies, which have been out of the reactor for a sufficient period of time. It consists from horizontal storage modules. The fuel assemblies are confined in a helium atmosphere by a canister containment pressure vessel. The canister is protected and shielded by a massive reinforced concrete module. Decay heat is removed from the canister and concrete module by a passive natural draft convection ventilation system. The project of storage does not foresee the radiation monitoring inside of building and around it. But we provided and realize the radiation monitoring program around storage, it includes tree phases: - determination the zero background around the building before storage put in exploiting; - monitoring of the radioactive particles in air (additional aspiration plant); dose rate monitoring by portable dosimeters and soil monitoring during the process of the fuel storage; - constantly after the completion the fuel storage process - monitoring of the radioactive particles in air (additional aspiration plant); dose rate monitoring by portable dosimeters, and soil monitoring. Also designed the dose rate monitoring by the dosimeter RME 3 with the transfer of data by radio channel to central monitor. The canistered spent fuel assemblies are transferred from the plant's spent fuel pool to the concrete storage modules in a transfer cask. The cask is aligned with the storage module and the canister and inserted into the module by means of a hydraulic ram. The system is a totally passive installation that is designed to provide shielding and safe confinement of spent fuel for a range of postulated accident conditions and natural phenomena. (authors)

  11. Gross gamma-ray measurements of light water reactor spent-fuel assemblies in underwater storage arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moss, C.E.; Lee, D.M.

    1980-12-01

    Two gross gamma-ray detection systems have been developed for rapid measurement of spent-fuel assemblies in underwater storage racks. One system uses a scintillator as the detector and has a 2% crosstalk between a fuel assembly and an adjacent void. The other system uses an ion chamber as the detector. The measurements with both detectors correlate well with operator-declared burnup and cooling-time values

  12. Equalization equations in reactant resolution

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    given partitioning of the system in physical or functional space. The most frequently ... Then, the inter-reactant equilibrium is considered. The ... Global equilibrium. Even though the chemical potential in the case of global equilibrium is equalized by definition (see (1)), we repeat here the proof, for the current needs, using.

  13. Arrangement and statistics of storage containers of spent fuel for assemblies of the SFP of NPP-L V, Unit 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mijangos D, Z. E.; Vargas A, A. F.; Amador C, C.

    2014-10-01

    This work presents the determination of assemblies of the spent fuel pool (SFP) of the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde (NPP-L V) which are candidates to be assigned to storage containers of independent spent fuel, with the objective of liberating decay heat and to have more space in the SFP, for the store of retired assemblies of the reactors in future reloads of NPP-L V, besides that the removed assemblies of the SFP should be stored in specific containers to guarantee the physical safety of them, as well as the radiological protection to the population and the environment. The design of the containers considered in this work is to store a maximum of 69 assemblies; it has a thermal capacity of 26 kilowatts and allows storing assemblies with a minimum of 5 years of have been extracted of the reactor core. Is considered that in 2016 start the storage of the spent assemblies on the containers, the candidates assemblies to store cover from the first reload in 1991, until the assemblies deposited in the SFP in the 14 reload in 2010; therefore in 2016, such assemblies will have fulfilled with the criteria of 5 years of have been removed of the Reactor, also the 69 assemblies assigned to each container will have a resulting decay heat that does not exceed the thermal capacity of the container, but that in great percentage approximates to the same one, and this way to take full advantage of their storage capacity and thermal capacity for each container. This work also contains the arrangement to accommodate the assemblies in the containers; such arrangement is constituted by areas according to the decay heat of each assembly. (Author)

  14. Solar fuel production in a novel polymeric electrolyte membrane photoelectrochemical (PEM-PEC) cell with a web of titania nanotube arrays as photoanode and gaseous reactants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stoll, T.; Zafeiropoulos, G.; Tsampas, M. N.

    2016-01-01

    A novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell design is proposed and investigated for H-2 production with gaseous reactants. The core of the cell is a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) that consists of a TiO2 nanotube arrays photoanode, a Pt/C cathode, a Pt/C reference electrode and a proton conducting

  15. New fundamental equations of thermodynamics for systems in chemical equilibrium at a specified partial pressure of a reactant and the standard transformed formation properties of reactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alberty, R.A.; Oppenheim, I.

    1993-01-01

    When temperature, pressure, and the partial pressure of a reactant are fixed, the criterion of chemical equilibrium can be expressed in terms of the transformed Gibbs energy G' that is obtained by using a Legendre transform involving the chemical potential of the reactant that is fixed. For reactions of ideal gases, the most natural variables to use in the fundamental equation are T, P', and P B , where P' is the partial pressure of the reactants other than the one that is fixed and P B is the partial pressure of the reactant that is fixed. The fundamental equation for G' yields the expression for the transformed entropy S', and a transformed enthalpy can be defined by the additional Legendre transform H'=G'+TS'. This leads to an additional form of the fundamental equation. The calculation of transformed thermodynamic properties and equilibrium compositions is discussed for a simple system and for a general multireaction system. The change, in a reaction, of the binding of the reactant that is at a specified pressure can be calculated using one of the six Maxwell equations of the fundamental equation in G'

  16. Switching from Reactant to Substrate Engineering in the Selective Synthesis of Graphene Nanoribbons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merino-Díez, Néstor; Lobo-Checa, Jorge; Nita, Pawel; Garcia-Lekue, Aran; Basagni, Andrea; Vasseur, Guillaume; Tiso, Federica; Sedona, Francesco; Das, Pranab K; Fujii, Jun; Vobornik, Ivana; Sambi, Mauro; Pascual, José Ignacio; Ortega, J Enrique; de Oteyza, Dimas G

    2018-04-27

    The challenge of synthesizing graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with atomic precision is currently being pursued along a one-way road, based on the synthesis of adequate molecular precursors that react in predefined ways through self-assembly processes. The synthetic options for GNR generation would multiply by adding a new direction to this readily successful approach, especially if both of them can be combined. We show here how GNR synthesis can be guided by an adequately nanotemplated substrate instead of by the traditionally designed reactants. The structural atomic precision, unachievable to date through top-down methods, is preserved by the self-assembly process. This new strategy's proof-of-concept compares experiments using 4,4''-dibromo-para-terphenyl as a molecular precursor on flat Au(111) and stepped Au(322) substrates. As opposed to the former, the periodic steps of the latter drive the selective synthesis of 6 atom-wide armchair GNRs, whose electronic properties have been further characterized in detail by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, angle resolved photoemission, and density functional theory calculations.

  17. Facility for the storage of spent, heat-emitting and container-enclosed nuclear reactor fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hennings, U.

    1987-01-01

    Patent for facility for the storage of spent, heat-emitting and container-enclosed nuclear reactor fuel assemblies, which are arranged within a building in a horizontal position and are cooled by a gas stream, whereby the building has a storage and a loading zone, characterized by the fact that pallet trucks arranged one above the other in a row and such that an interspace is left for the receiving positions for the containers, the the pallet trucks can be moved along rails that extend between two side walls arranged opposite to one another in the storage zone, that the storage zone can be loaded and unloaded by opening located in these two side walls, and that the gas stream only circulates within the building

  18. Method of assembling spent nuclear fuel storage rack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Igarashi, Ryokichi; Hasegawa, Hidenobu.

    1982-01-01

    Purpose: To improve the safety of a spent fuel storage rack by stably installing the spent fuel in a pool without using supporting beams. Constitution: A restricted unit is composed of a plurality of spuare cylinders. A plurality of such restricted units are aligned in a direction perpendicularly to the arraying direction of the cylinders in the respective restricted units, are coupled with long connecting plates, and are fixed by welding on a common small base, thereby forming a restricted body. According to such assembling method, a plurality of restricted bodies are connected in a direction that the respective restricted bodies are readily overturned, and are secured to the common base. Accordingly, the restricted bodies can be stably installed in a pool without using supporting beams as the conventional one. (Sekiya, K.)

  19. Liquid Water Transport in the Reactant Channels of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Rupak

    Water management has been identified as a critical issue in the development of PEM fuel cells for automotive applications. Water is present inside the PEM fuel cell in three phases, i.e. liquid phase, vapor phase and mist phase. Liquid water in the reactant channels causes flooding of the cell and blocks the transport of reactants to the reaction sites at the catalyst layer. Understanding the behavior of liquid water in the reactant channels would allow us to devise improved strategies for removing liquid water from the reactant channels. In situ fuel cell tests have been performed to identify and diagnose operating conditions which result in the flooding of the fuel cell. A relationship has been identified between the liquid water present in the reactant channels and the cell performance. A novel diagnostic technique has been established which utilizes the pressure drop multiplier in the reactant channels to predict the flooding of the cell or the drying-out of the membrane. An ex-situ study has been undertaken to quantify the liquid water present in the reactant channels. A new parameter, the Area Coverage Ratio (ACR), has been defined to identify the interfacial area of the reactant channel which is blocked for reactant transport by the presence of liquid water. A parametric study has been conducted to study the effect of changing temperature and the inlet relative humidity on the ACR. The ACR decreases with increase in current density as the gas flow rates increase, removing water more efficiently. With increase in temperature, the ACR decreases rapidly, such that by 60°C, there is no significant ACR to be reported. Inlet relative humidity of the gases does change the saturation of the gases in the channel, but did not show any significant effect on the ACR. Automotive powertrains, which is the target for this work, are continuously faced with transient changes. Water management under transient operating conditions is significantly more challenging and has not

  20. Solid-state photoelectrochemical H2 generation with gaseous reactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iwu, Kingsley O.; Galeckas, Augustinas; Kuznetsov, Andrej Yu.; Norby, Truls

    2013-01-01

    Photocurrent and H 2 production were demonstrated in an all solid-state photoelectrochemical cell employing gaseous methanol and water vapour at the photoanode. Open circuit photovoltage of around −0.4 V and short circuit photocurrent of up to 250 μA/cm 2 were obtained. At positive bias, photocurrent generation was limited by the irradiance, i.e., the amount of photogenerated charge carriers at the anode. Time constants and impedance spectra showed an electrochemical capacitance of the cell of about 15 μF/cm 2 in the dark, which increased with increasing irradiance. With only water vapour at the anode, the short circuit photocurrent was about 6% of the value with gaseous methanol and water vapour. The photoanode and electrocatalyst on carbon paper support were affixed to the proton conducting membrane using Nafion ® as adhesive, an approach that yielded photocurrents up to 15 times better than that of a cell assembled by hot-pressing, in spite of the overall cell resistance of the latter being up to five times less than that of the former. This is attributed, at least partially, to reactants being more readily available at the photoanode of the better performing cell

  1. Development of concepts for low-cost energy storage assemblies for annual cycle energy system applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, G. H.; Cooper, D. L.; Cummings, C. A.; Reiber, E. E.

    1981-10-01

    Low cost energy storage assemblies were developed. In the search for low overall cost assemblies, many diverse concepts and materials were postulated and briefly evaluated. Cost rankings, descriptions, and discussions of the concepts were presented from which ORNL selected the following three concepts for the Phase 2 development: (1) a site constructed tank with reinforced concrete walls formed with specialized modular blocks which eliminates most concrete form work and provides integral R-20 insulation designated ORNLFF; (2) a site constructed tank with earth supported walls that are formed from elements common to residential, in-ground swimming pools, designated SWPL; (3) and a site assembled tank used in underground utility vaults, designated UTLBX. Detailed designs of free standing versions of the three concepts are presented.

  2. Regenerative Energy Storage System for Space Exploration Missions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wærnhus Ivar

    2017-01-01

    The breadboard was operated for 1250 hours alternating between electrolyser mode and fuel cell mode with H2/H2O as reactants. During the tests, as long as the mechanical integrity of the system was maintained, no degradation effect was observed. At the end of the test period, the fuel cell was operated for three full cycles (approx. 50 hours with CO/CO2 as reactants. The performance on CO/CO2 was lower than for hydrogen, but sufficient to be used in a compact energy storage system for Mars exploration.

  3. Complex nonlinear behaviour of a fixed bed reactor with reactant recycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Recke, Bodil; Jørgensen, Sten Bay

    1999-01-01

    The fixed bed reactor with reactant recycle investigated in this paper can exhibit periodic solutions. These solutions bifurcate from the steady state in a Hopf bifurcation. The Hopf bifurcation encountered at the lowest value of the inlet concentration turns the steady state unstable and marks......,that the dynamic behaviour of a fixed bed reactor with reactant recycle is much more complex than previously reported....

  4. Criticality Calculations of Fresh LEU and MOX Assemblies for Transport and Storage at the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goluoglu, S.

    2001-01-11

    Transportation of low-enriched uranium (LEU) and mixed-oxide (MOX) assemblies to and within the VVER-1000-type Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant is investigated. Effective multiplication factors for fresh fuel assemblies on the railroad platform, fresh fuel assemblies in the fuel transportation vehicle, and fresh fuel assemblies in the spent fuel storage pool are calculated. If there is no absorber between the units, the configurations with all MOX assemblies result in higher effective multiplication factors than the configurations with all LEU assemblies when the system is dry. When the system is flooded, the configurations with all LEU assemblies result in higher effective multiplication factors. For normal operating conditions, effective multiplication factors for all configurations are below the presumed upper subcritical limit of 0.95. For an accident condition of a fully loaded fuel transportation vehicle that is flooded with low-density water (possibly from a fire suppression system), the presumed upper subcritical limit is exceeded by configurations containing LEU assemblies.

  5. The effects of the pedestal/floor interface on the dynamic characteristics of the storage ring girder support assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jendrzejczyk, J.A.; Chen, S.S.; Zhu, S.; Mangra, D.; Smith, R.K.

    1993-05-01

    To avoid unacceptable vibration of the storage ring quadrupoles, and to ensure that the established vibration criteria are satisfied, the philosophy from inception of the APS has been (1) to locate and design the machine to minimize motion of the storage ring basemat and, (2) following construction, to monitor machine operation and user experiments to ensure that vibration sources are not introduced. This report addresses the design of the storage ring girder support assemblies, and, specifically, the effect of the pedestal/floor interface on the dynamic characteristics (i.e., resonant frequencies, damping, and mode shape)

  6. Optimization of vitamins A and D3 loading in re-assembled casein micelles and effect of loading on stability of vitamin D3 during storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loewen, Anisa; Chan, Benny; Li-Chan, Eunice C Y

    2018-02-01

    The objectives of this study were to apply response surface methodology to optimize fat-soluble vitamin loading in re-assembled casein micelles, and to evaluate vitamin D stability of dry formulations during ambient or accelerated storage and in fortified fluid skim milk stored under refrigeration. Optimal loading of vitamin A (1.46-1.48mg/100mgcasein) was found at 9.7mM phosphate, 5.5mM citrate and 30.0mM calcium, while optimal loading of vitamin D (1.38-1.46mg/100mg casein) was found at 4.9mM phosphate, 4.0mM citrate and 26.1mM calcium. In general, more vitamin D was retained in vitamin D-re-assembled casein micelles than control powders during storage, while vitamin D loss was not different for vitamin D-re-assembled casein micelles and control fortified milks after 21days of refrigerated storage with light exposure. In conclusion, re-assembled casein micelles with high loading efficiency show promise for improving vitamin D stability during dry storage. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  7. Mechanical and thermomechanical calculations related to the storage of spent nuclear-fuel assemblies in granite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butkovich, T.R.

    1980-05-01

    A generic test of the geologic storage of spent-fuel assemblies is being made at Nevada Test Site. The spent-fuel assemblies were emplaced at a depth of 420 m (1370 ft) below the surface in a typical granite and will be retrieved at a later time. The early time, close-in thermal history of this type of repository is being simulated with spent-fuel and electrically heated canisters in a central drift, with auxiliary heaters in two parallel side drifts. Prior to emplacement of the spent-fuel canisters, preliminary calculations were made using a pair of existing finite-element codes, ADINA and ADINAT

  8. Examination of stainless steel-clad Connecticut Yankee fuel assembly S004 after storage in borated water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langstaff, D.C.; Bailey, W.J.; Johnson, A.B. Jr.; Landow, M.P.; Pasupathi, V.; Klingensmith, R.W.

    1982-09-01

    A Connecticut Yankee fuel assembly (S004) was tested nondestructively and destructively. It was concluded that no obvious degradation of the 304L stainless steel-clad spent fuel from assembly S004 occurred during 5 y of storage in borated water. Furthermore, no obvious degradation due to the pool environment occurred on 304 stainless steel-clad rods in assemblies H07 and G11, which were stored for shorter periods but contained operationally induced cladding defects. The seam welds in the cladding on fuel rods from assembly S004, H07, and G11 were similar in that they showed a wrought microstructure with grains noticeably smaller than those in the cladding base metal. The end cap welds showed a dendritically cored structure, typical of rapidly quenched austenitic weld metal. Some intergranular melting may have occurred in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) in the cladding adjacent to the end cap welds in rods from assemblies S004 and H07. However, the weld areas did not show evidence of corrosion-induced degradation

  9. Redox flow batteries with serpentine flow fields: Distributions of electrolyte flow reactant penetration into the porous carbon electrodes and effects on performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Xinyou; Prahl, Joseph M.; Alexander, J. Iwan D.; Savinell, Robert F.

    2018-04-01

    Redox flow batteries with flow field designs have been demonstrated to boost their capacities to deliver high current density and power density in medium and large-scale energy storage applications. Nevertheless, the fundamental mechanisms involved with improved current density in flow batteries with serpentine flow field designs have been not fully understood. Here we report a three-dimensional model of a serpentine flow field over a porous carbon electrode to examine the distributions of pressure driven electrolyte flow penetrations into the porous carbon electrodes. We also estimate the maximum current densities associated with stoichiometric availability of electrolyte reactant flow penetrations through the porous carbon electrodes. The results predict reasonably well observed experimental data without using any adjustable parameters. This fundamental work on electrolyte flow distributions of limiting reactant availability will contribute to a better understanding of limits on electrochemical performance in flow batteries with serpentine flow field designs and should be helpful to optimizing flow batteries.

  10. Partial Defect Verification of Spent Fuel Assemblies by PDET: Principle and Field Testing in Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CLAB) in Sweden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ham, Y.S.; Kerr, P.; Sitaraman, S.; Swan, R. [Global Security Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States); Rossa, R. [SCK-CEN, Mol (Belgium); Liljenfeldt, H. [SKB in Oskarshamn (Sweden)

    2015-07-01

    The need for the development of a credible method and instrument for partial defect verification of spent fuel has been emphasized over a few decades in the safeguards communities as the diverted spent fuel pins can be the source of nuclear terrorism or devices. The need is increasingly more important and even urgent as many countries have started to transfer spent fuel to so called 'difficult-to-access' areas such as dry storage casks, reprocessing or geological repositories. Partial defect verification is required by IAEA before spent fuel is placed into 'difficult-to-access' areas. Earlier, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has reported the successful development of a new, credible partial defect verification method for pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel assemblies without use of operator data, and further reported the validation experiments using commercial spent fuel assemblies with some missing fuel pins. The method was found to be robust as the method is relatively invariant to the characteristic variations of spent fuel assemblies such as initial fuel enrichment, cooling time, and burn-up. Since then, the PDET system has been designed and prototyped for 17x17 PWR spent fuel assemblies, complete with data acquisition software and acquisition electronics. In this paper, a summary description of the PDET development followed by results of the first successful field testing using the integrated PDET system and actual spent fuel assemblies performed in a commercial spent fuel storage site, known as Central Interim Spent fuel Storage Facility (CLAB) in Sweden will be presented. In addition to partial defect detection initial studies have determined that the tool can be used to verify the operator declared average burnup of the assembly as well as intra-assembly burnup levels. (authors)

  11. Electrode assembly for a lithium ion battery, process for the production of such electrode assembly, and lithium ion battery comprising such electrode assemblies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulder, F.M.; Wagemaker, M.

    2013-01-01

    The invention provides an electrode assembly for a lithium ion battery, the electrode assembly comprising a lithium storage electrode layer on a current collector, wherein the lithium storage electrode layer is a porous layer having a porosity in the range of -35 %, with pores having pore widths in

  12. Alternatives for water basin spent fuel storage using pin storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viebrock, J.M.; Carlson, R.W.

    1979-09-01

    The densest tolerable form for storing spent nuclear fuel is storage of only the fuel rods. This eliminates the space between the fuel rods and frees the hardware to be treated as non-fuel waste. The storage density can be as much as 1.07 MTU/ft 2 when racks are used that just satisfy the criticality and thermal limitations. One of the major advantages of pin storage is that it is compatible with existing racks; however, this reduces the storage density to 0.69 MTU/ft 2 . Even this is a substantial increase over the 0.39 MTU/ft 2 that is achievable with current high capacity stainless steel racks which have been selected as the bases for comparison. Disassembly requires extensive operation on the fuel assembly to remove the upper end fitting and to extract the fuel rods from the assembly skeleton. These operations will be performed with the aid of an elevator to raise the assembly where each fuel rod is grappled. Lowering the elevator will free the fuel rod for transfer to the storage canister. A storage savings of $1510 per MTU can be realized if the pin storage concept is incorporated at a new away-from-reactor facility. The storage cost ranges from $3340 to $7820 per MTU of fuel stored with the lower cost applying to storage at an existing away-from-reactor storage facility and the higher cost applying to at-reactor storage

  13. Spent fuel storage rack for BWR fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machado, O.; Henry, C.W.; Congleton, R.L.; Flynn, W.M.

    1990-01-01

    This patent describes for the use in storing nuclear fuel assemblies in a storage pool containing a coolant and having a pool floor, a fuel rack module. It comprises: a base plate to be disposed generally horizontally on the floor and having a horizontal surface area sufficient to support a fuel assemblies; uniformly spaced openings in the base plate, disposed in rows and columns throughout the surface area; fabricated cells of rectangular cross section extending over alternate openings along each row of the openings, the fabricated cells of each row being uniformly staggered by one opening with respect to the cells of its just adjacent rows so that the fabricated cells form a checkerboard like array; each of the fabricated cells having elongated walls mounted generally vertically on the base plate; each of the corners formed by the walls of each fabricated cell, which corners are internal of the periphery of the array, being disposed as closely adjacent as practicable to and face-to-face with a corner of an adjacent fabricated cell and joined by weld means so that substantially no space exists between adjacent cells. The cells being welded to their bottom ends to the base plate so that a strong compact modular structure is produced; neutron-absorbing means on the external surface of the fabricated cell walls except on the coextensive sections of the outer wall around the periphery of the array; and leveling pads are mounted under the base plate near the periphery thereof and adjustably engage the pool floor and intermediate leveling pads are mounted under cells within the fuel-rack module, the intermediate pads being uniformly disposed

  14. Development of a dry transport and storage cask for spent LWR fuel assemblies in Spain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melches, C.; Uriarte, A.; Espallardo, J.A.

    1982-01-01

    One of the advantages of the cask storage concept is its flexibility which makes it specially attractive in the case of the Spanish circumstances. For these reasons the Empresa Nacional del Uranio, S.A. (ENUSA), Junta de Energia Nuclear (JEN) and Equipos Nucleares, S.A. (ENSA) initiated in 1981 a joint program for the development of a prototype cask for the dry transport and storage of spent fuel assemblies. This program includes as main steps the analysis of the conceptual design, the detailed design and experimental tests, the fabrication of a prototype and its licencing and safety testing. The mentioned program, which started in the early 1981, is scheduled to be completed at the end of 1984

  15. Amphiphilic polymer promoted assembly of macroporous graphene/SnO2 frameworks with tunable porosity for high-performance lithium storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yanshan; Wu, Dongqing; Wang, Jinzuan; Han, Sheng; Lv, Lu; Zhang, Fan; Feng, Xinliang

    2014-06-12

    3D macroporous graphene/SnO2 frameworks (MGTFs) are fabricated by amphiphilic polymer-promoted assembly method, which exhibit controllable macroporous structure and outstanding lithium storage performance. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Self-assembly of a superparamagnetic raspberry-like silica/iron oxide nanocomposite using epoxy-amine coupling chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cano, Manuel; de la Cueva-Méndez, Guillermo

    2015-02-28

    The fabrication of colloidal nanocomposites would benefit from controlled hetero-assembly of ready-made particles through covalent bonding. Here we used epoxy-amine coupling chemistry to promote the self-assembly of superparamagnetic raspberry-like nanocomposites. This adaptable method induced the covalent attachment of iron oxide nanoparticles sparsely coated with amine groups onto epoxylated silica cores in the absence of other reactants.

  17. Low temperature synthesis of Mo2C/W2C superlattices via ultra-thin modulated reactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, C.D.; Johnson, D.C.

    1996-01-01

    The authors report here a synthesis method of preparing carbide superlattices using ultra-thin modulated reactants. Initial investigations into the synthesis of the binary systems, Mo 2 C and W 2 C using ultra-thin modulated reactants revealed that both can be formed at relatively low temperatures (500 and 600 C respectively). DSC and XRD data suggested a two step reaction pathway involving interdiffusion of the initial modulated reactant followed by crystallization of the final product, if the modulation length is on the order of 10 angstrom. This information was used to form Mo 2 C/W 2 C superlattices using the structure of the ultra-thin modulated reactant to control the final superlattice period. Relatively large superlattice modulations were kinetically trapped by having several repeat units of each binary within the total repeat of the initial reactant. DSC and XRD data again are consistent with a two step reaction pathway leading to the formation of carbide superlattices

  18. A one-step in-situ assembly strategy to construct PEG@MOG-100-Fe shape-stabilized composite phase change material with enhanced storage capacity for thermal energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Junyong; Andriamitantsoa, Radoelizo S.; Atinafu, Dimberu G.; Gao, Hongyi; Dong, Wenjun; Wang, Ge

    2018-03-01

    A novel in-situ assembly strategy has been developed to synthesis polyethylene glycol (PEG)@iron-benzenetricarboxylate metal-organic gel (MOG-100-Fe) shape-stabilized composite phase change materials by regulating metal-to-ligand ratio. The PEG@MOG-100-Fe was prepared by an ingenious introduction of PEG into the traditional sol-gel prepared MOG-100-Fe. The composite exhibited high heat storage density and thermal stability. The PEG loading content reached up to 92% without any leakage above its melting point. The heat storage density reaches to 152.88

  19. Hydrogen-Bromine Flow Battery: Hydrogen Bromine Flow Batteries for Grid Scale Energy Storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2010-10-01

    GRIDS Project: LBNL is designing a flow battery for grid storage that relies on a hydrogen-bromine chemistry which could be more efficient, last longer and cost less than today’s lead-acid batteries. Flow batteries are fundamentally different from traditional lead-acid batteries because the chemical reactants that provide their energy are stored in external tanks instead of inside the battery. A flow battery can provide more energy because all that is required to increase its storage capacity is to increase the size of the external tanks. The hydrogen-bromine reactants used by LBNL in its flow battery are inexpensive, long lasting, and provide power quickly. The cost of the design could be well below $100 per kilowatt hour, which would rival conventional grid-scale battery technologies.

  20. Electrostatic Self-Assembly Enabling Integrated Bulk and Interfacial Sodium Storage in 3D Titania-Graphene Hybrid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Gui-Liang; Xiao, Lisong; Sheng, Tian; Liu, Jianzhao; Hu, Yi-Xin; Ma, Tianyuan; Amine, Rachid; Xie, Yingying; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Liu, Yuzi; Ren, Yang; Sun, Cheng-Jun; Heald, Steve M; Kovacevic, Jasmina; Sehlleier, Yee Hwa; Schulz, Christof; Mattis, Wenjuan Liu; Sun, Shi-Gang; Wiggers, Hartmut; Chen, Zonghai; Amine, Khalil

    2018-01-10

    Room-temperature sodium-ion batteries have attracted increased attention for energy storage due to the natural abundance of sodium. However, it remains a huge challenge to develop versatile electrode materials with favorable properties, which requires smart structure design and good mechanistic understanding. Herein, we reported a general and scalable approach to synthesize three-dimensional (3D) titania-graphene hybrid via electrostatic-interaction-induced self-assembly. Synchrotron X-ray probe, transmission electron microscopy, and computational modeling revealed that the strong interaction between titania and graphene through comparably strong van der Waals forces not only facilitates bulk Na + intercalation but also enhances the interfacial sodium storage. As a result, the titania-graphene hybrid exhibits exceptional long-term cycle stability up to 5000 cycles, and ultrahigh rate capability up to 20 C for sodium storage. Furthermore, density function theory calculation indicated that the interfacial Li + , K + , Mg 2+, and Al 3+ storage can be enhanced as well. The proposed general strategy opens up new avenues to create versatile materials for advanced battery systems.

  1. Electrostatic Self-Assembly Enabling Integrated Bulk and Interfacial Sodium Storage in 3D Titania-Graphene Hybrid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Gui-Liang [Chemical; Xiao, Lisong [Center; Sheng, Tian [Collaborative; Liu, Jianzhao [Chemical; Hu, Yi-Xin [Chemical; Department; Ma, Tianyuan [Chemical; Amine, Rachid [Materials; Xie, Yingying [Chemical; Zhang, Xiaoyi [X-ray Science; Liu, Yuzi [Nanoscience; Ren, Yang [X-ray Science; Sun, Cheng-Jun [X-ray Science; Heald, Steve M. [X-ray Science; Kovacevic, Jasmina [Center; Sehlleier, Yee Hwa [Center; Schulz, Christof [Center; Mattis, Wenjuan Liu [Microvast Power Solutions, 12603; Sun, Shi-Gang [Collaborative; Wiggers, Hartmut [Center; Chen, Zonghai [Chemical; Amine, Khalil [Chemical

    2017-12-15

    Room temperature sodium-ion batteries have attracted increased attention for energy storage due to the natural abundance of sodium. However, it remains a huge challenge to develop versatile electrode materials with favorable properties, which requires smart structure design and good mechanistic understanding. Herein, we reported a general and scalable approach to synthesize 3D titania-graphene hybrid via electrostatic-interaction-induced self-assembly. Synchrotron X-ray probe, transmission electron microscopy and computational modeling revealed that the strong interaction between Titania and graphene through comparably strong van-der-Waals forces not only facilitates bulk Na+ intercalation but also enhances the interfacial sodium storage. As a result, the titania-graphene hybrid exhibits exceptional long-term cycle stability up to 5000 cycles, and ultrahigh rate capability up to 20 C for sodium storage. Furthermore, density function theory calculation indicated that the interfacial Li+, K+, Mg2+ and Al3+ storage can be enhanced as well. The proposed general strategy opens up new avenues to create versatile materials for advanced battery systems.

  2. Synthesis of new thermoelectrics using modulated elemental reactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hornbostel, M D; Sellinschegg, H; Johnson, D C

    1997-07-01

    A series of new, metastable ternary crystalline compounds with the skutterudite crystal structure have been synthesized using modulated elemental reactants. The initial reactants are made up of multiple repeats of a {approximately}25 {angstrom} thick unit containing elemental layers of the desired ternary metal, iron and antimony. Low temperature annealing (150 C) results in interdiffusion of the elemental layers to form amorphous reaction intermediates. Annealing these intermediates at temperatures between 200 C and 250 C results in exothermic crystallization of the desired skutterudite crystal structure. Most of the new compounds prepared are only kinetically stable, decomposing exothermically to form thermodynamically more stable mixtures of binary compounds and elements. Low angle x-ray diffraction studies show that the resulting films are exceedingly smooth. These films have an ideal geometry for measuring properties of importance for thermoelectric devices--the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical conductivity. Thermal conductivity can be measured using a modification of the 3{omega} technique of Cahill. Samples can be produced rapidly, allowing for systematic screening and subsequent optimization as a function of composition and doping levels.

  3. On the mechanism of effective chemical reactions with turbulent mixing of reactants and finite rate of molecular reactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vorotilin, V. P., E-mail: VPVorotilin@yandex.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Applied Mechanics (Russian Federation)

    2017-01-15

    A generalization of the theory of chemical transformation processes under turbulent mixing of reactants and arbitrary values of the rate of molecular reactions is presented that was previously developed for the variant of an instantaneous reaction [13]. The use of the features of instantaneous reactions when considering the general case, namely, the introduction of the concept of effective reaction for the reactant volumes and writing a closing conservation equation for these volumes, became possible due to the partition of the whole amount of reactants into “active” and “passive” classes; the reactants of the first class are not mixed and react by the mechanism of instantaneous reactions, while the reactants of the second class approach each other only through molecular diffusion, and therefore their contribution to the reaction process can be neglected. The physical mechanism of reaction for the limit regime of an ideal mixing reactor (IMR) is revealed and described. Although formally the reaction rate in this regime depends on the concentration of passive fractions of the reactants, according to the theory presented, the true (hidden) mechanism of the reaction is associated only with the reaction of the active fractions of the reactants with vanishingly small concentration in the volume of the reactor. It is shown that the rate constant of fast chemical reactions can be evaluated when the mixing intensity of reactants is much less than that needed to reach the mixing conditions in an IMR.

  4. Assembly procedure for Shot Loading Platform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Routh, R.D.

    1995-01-01

    This supporting document describes the assembly procedure for the Shot Loading Platform. The Shot Loading Platform is used by multiple equipment removal projects to load shielding shot in the annular spaces of the equipment storage containers. The platform height is adjustable to accommodate different sizes of storage containers and transport assemblies

  5. The single SNR fuel assembly container (ESBB) to transport unirradiated SNR 300 fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilbert, F.; Hottenrott, G.

    1998-01-01

    In this paper a new type B(U) package design is presented. The Single SNR Fuel Assembly Container (ESBB) is designed for the transport and storage of a single SNR 300 fuel assembly. This package is the main component for the future interim storage of the fuel assemblies in heavy storage casks. Its benefits are that it is compatible with the Category I transport system of Nuclear Cargo + Service NCS) used in Germany and that it can be easily handled at the current storage locations as well as in an interim storage facility. In total 205 fuel assemblies are currently stored in Hanau, Germany and Dounreay, U.K. Former studies have shown, that heavy transport and storage casks can be handled there only with considerable efforts. But the required category I transport to an interim storage is not reasonably feasible. To overcome these problems the ESBB was designed. It consists of a stainless steel tube with welded bottom, a welded plug as closure system and shock absorbers 26 packages at maximum can be transported in one batch with the NCS security vehicle. The safety analysis shows that the package complies with IAEA 1996. Standard calculations methods and computer codes like HEATING 7.2 (Childs 1993) have been used for the analysis. Criticality safety assessment is based on conservative assumptions as required in IAEA 1996. Drop tests carried out by BAM will be used to verify the design. These tests are scheduled for mid 1998. For the validation of the design prototypes have already been manufactured. Handling tests show that the design complies with the requirements. Preliminary drop tests show that the certification drop tests will be passed positively. (authors)

  6. High density fuel storage rack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zezza, L.J.

    1980-01-01

    High storage density for spent nuclear fuel assemblies in a pool achieved by positioning fuel storage cells of high thermal neutron absorption materials in an upright configuration in a rack. The rack holds the cells at required pitch. Each cell carries an internal fuel assembly support, and most cells are vertically movable in the rack so that they rest on the pool bottom. Pool water circulation through the cells and around the fuel assemblies is permitted by circulation openings at the top and bottom of the cells above and below the fuel assemblies

  7. Hydrogen storage and integrated fuel cell assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Karl J.

    2010-08-24

    Hydrogen is stored in materials that absorb and desorb hydrogen with temperature dependent rates. A housing is provided that allows for the storage of one or more types of hydrogen-storage materials in close thermal proximity to a fuel cell stack. This arrangement, which includes alternating fuel cell stack and hydrogen-storage units, allows for close thermal matching of the hydrogen storage material and the fuel cell stack. Also, the present invention allows for tailoring of the hydrogen delivery by mixing different materials in one unit. Thermal insulation alternatively allows for a highly efficient unit. Individual power modules including one fuel cell stack surrounded by a pair of hydrogen-storage units allows for distribution of power throughout a vehicle or other electric power consuming devices.

  8. High temperature solid oxide regenerative fuel cell for solar photovoltaic energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bents, David J.

    A hydrogen-oxygen regenerative fuel cell energy storage system based on high temperature solid oxide fuel cell technology is discussed which has application to darkside energy storage for solar photovoltaics. The forward and reverse operating cycles are described, and heat flow, mass, and energy balance data are presented to characterize the system's performance and the variation of performance with changing reactant storage pressure. The present system weighs less than nickel hydrogen battery systems after 0.7 darkside operation, and it maintains a specific weight advantage over radioisotope generators for discharge periods up to 72 hours.

  9. High temperature solid oxide regenerative fuel cell for solar photovoltaic energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bents, David J.

    1987-01-01

    A hydrogen-oxygen regenerative fuel cell energy storage system based on high temperature solid oxide fuel cell technology is discussed which has application to darkside energy storage for solar photovoltaics. The forward and reverse operating cycles are described, and heat flow, mass, and energy balance data are presented to characterize the system's performance and the variation of performance with changing reactant storage pressure. The present system weighs less than nickel hydrogen battery systems after 0.7 darkside operation, and it maintains a specific weight advantage over radioisotope generators for discharge periods up to 72 hours.

  10. Preparation and self-assembly of nanostructured BaCrO4 from CTAB reverse microemulsions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Zhonghao; Zhang Jianling; Du Jimin; Han Buxing; Mu Tiancheng; Gao Yanan; Liu Zhimin

    2005-01-01

    Well-defined superstructures of rectangular-shaped BaCrO 4 and extensive network of BaCrO 4 nanoparticles constructed by self-assembly were prepared in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) reverse microemulsions. The effects of aging time and reactant concentrations on the morphology and the self-assemble pattern of the nanostructured BaCrO 4 were investigated. TEM combined with the electron diffraction was used to characterize the morphology and the crystal structure of the prepared nanostructured BaCrO 4 at different conditions

  11. Further analysis of extended storage of spent fuel. Final report of a co-ordinated research programme on the behaviour of spent fuel assemblies during extended storage (BEFAST-III) 1991-1996

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-05-01

    Considerable quantities of spent fuel continue to be produced and to accumulate in a number of countries. Although some new reprocessing facilities have been constructed, many countries are investigating the option of extended spent fuel storage prior to reprocessing or fuel disposal. Wet storage continues to predominate as an established technology. However, dry storage is becoming increasingly used with many countries considering dry storage for the longer term. This Technical Document is the final report of the IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme on the Behaviour of Spent Fuel Assemblies During Extended Storage (BEFAST-III, 1991-1996). It contains analyses of wet and dry spent fuel storage technologies obtained from 16 organizations representing 13 countries (Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA) which participated in the co-ordinated research programme as participants or observers. The report contains information presented during the three Research Co-ordination meetings and also data which were submitted by the participants in response to request by the Scientific Secretary. 48 refs, 4 tabs

  12. The effects of combined therapy of rheumatoid arthritis on the acute phase reactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rexhepi, Sylejman; Rexhepi, Mjellma; Sahatçiu-Meka, Vjollca; Pllana, Ejup; Dragusha, Gani; Gashi, Masar; Rexhepi, Blerta

    2009-01-01

    The paper presents the results of studies of acute phase reactants in the 60 treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patients were divided into two groups, depending on the applied treatment: group I (n = 30) was treated with methotrexate, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine, and group II (n = 30) with methotrexate. The results of our study shows that there is a statistically significant reduction in the value of acute phase reactants and clinical parameters after treatment in both investigated groups of patients, and also a significant statistical difference between the first and second group of treated patients.

  13. Manufacturing and Construction of Fresh Fuel Storage Rack for a Research Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Jinho; Lee, Sangjin; Lee, Jongmin; Ryu, Jeong-Soo [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    The objective of this study is to provide the manufacturing and construction information regarding the Fresh Fuel Storage Rack (FFSR). The main function of a FFSR is to store and protect the 2 core new fuel assemblies for the operation of the research reactor. The fresh fuel assemblies are stored in a rack made of stainless steel and the storage rack is installed in the fresh fuel storage room. The fresh fuel facility provides fresh fuel assemblies with dry storage space. General design requirements of the fresh fuel storage facilities are given in the ANSI-57.3. Design, manufacturing, and construction of the fresh fuel storage rack are introduced. The analysis is performed to confirm the structural intensity of the fresh fuel storage rack under the seismic loads. The fresh fuel storage rack designed for storage of fresh fuel assemblies should be manufactured and installed with consideration of predicted number of fresh fuel assemblies, structural integrity, resistivity to corrosion and radiation, cleaning, and workability.

  14. Manufacturing and Construction of Fresh Fuel Storage Rack for a Research Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Jinho; Lee, Sangjin; Lee, Jongmin; Ryu, Jeong-Soo

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study is to provide the manufacturing and construction information regarding the Fresh Fuel Storage Rack (FFSR). The main function of a FFSR is to store and protect the 2 core new fuel assemblies for the operation of the research reactor. The fresh fuel assemblies are stored in a rack made of stainless steel and the storage rack is installed in the fresh fuel storage room. The fresh fuel facility provides fresh fuel assemblies with dry storage space. General design requirements of the fresh fuel storage facilities are given in the ANSI-57.3. Design, manufacturing, and construction of the fresh fuel storage rack are introduced. The analysis is performed to confirm the structural intensity of the fresh fuel storage rack under the seismic loads. The fresh fuel storage rack designed for storage of fresh fuel assemblies should be manufactured and installed with consideration of predicted number of fresh fuel assemblies, structural integrity, resistivity to corrosion and radiation, cleaning, and workability

  15. Manufacturing and Construction of Spent Fuel Storage Rack for Research Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Sangjin; Jung, Kwangsub; Oh, Jinho; Lee, Jongmin [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    The spent fuel storage rack consists of spent fuel storage racks and support frame. The spent fuel storage racks are installed in the support frame. A spent fuel storage rack consists of frame weldment and storage cell pipe assembly. Storage cell pipe assembly is mounted on the base plate of the frame weldment. The spent fuel storage rack is designed to withstand seismic load and other loads during earthquake. The structural integrity of the spent fuel storage rack is evaluated in accordance with ASME Section III, Subsection NF. Computer Code used for this analysis is ANSYS version 14.0.0. Dead load and seismic load is considered in load condition and hydrodynamic mass is included in the analysis. Design, manufacturing, and construction of the spent fuel storage rack are introduced. The spent fuel storage rack is for storage of spent fuel assemblies. The spent fuel storage rack should be designed, manufactured, and installed with consideration of predicted number of spent fuel assemblies, structural integrity, resistivity to corrosion and radiation, cleaning, and workability.

  16. Solvothermal preparation of micro/nanostructured TiO_2 with enhanced lithium storage capability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Jie; Wang, Chao; Zheng, Ping; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Gongxuan; Tang, Chengchun; Wu, Tian

    2017-01-01

    Facile and controllable preparation of TiO_2 is of prime importance to elaborately tailor and then fully exploit its intriguing functionalities in energy storage, catalysis and environmental remediation. Herein, a solvothermal method combined with post annealing is conducted, in which the hydrolysis of tetrabutyl titanate is controlled by the in-situ generated water during solvothermal treatment. By controlling synthetic conditions (i.e. reactant ratio, solvothermal temperature and reaction time), we manage to tailor the morphologies of TiO_2. Specially, three typical structures (nanoparticle, nanoneedle and nanorod) are studied to reveal the growth mechanism and the effects of the synthesis conditions. Nanoneedle-structured TiO_2 shows higher specific capacity and enhanced cycle stability as anode material for lithium ion batteries. - Highlights: • Controllable preparation of nano-TiO_2 is achieved by a solvothermal method. • TiO_2 morphology is tailored by tuning reactant ratio, temperature and duration. • Needle structured TiO_2 shows enhanced lithium storage capability.

  17. Low-density moderation in the storage of PWR fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alcorn, F.M.

    1987-01-01

    The nuclear criticality safety of PWR fuel storage arrays requires that the potential of low-density moderation within the array be considered. The calculated criticality effect of low-density moderation in a typical PWR fuel assembly array is described in this paper. Calculated reactivity due to low-density moderation can vary significantly between physics codes that have been validated for well moderated systems. The availability of appropriate benchmark experiments for low-density moderation is quite limited; attempts to validate against the one set of suitable experiments at low density have been disappointing. Calculations indicate that a typical array may be unacceptable should the array be subjected to interstitial moderation equivalent to 5 % of full density water. Array parameters (such as spacing and size) will dramatically affect the calculated maximum K-eff at low-density moderation. Administrative and engineered control may be necessary to assure maintenance of safety at low-density moderation. Potential sources for low-density moderation are discussed; in general, accidentally achieving degrees of low-density moderation which might lead to a compromise of safety are not credible. (author)

  18. Criticality impacts on LWR fuel storage efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Napolitano, D.

    1992-01-01

    This presentation discusses the criticality impacts throughout storage of fuel onsite including new fuel storage, spent fuel storage, consolidation, and dry storage. The general principles for criticality safety are also be discussed. There is first an introduction which explains today's situation for criticality safety concerns. This is followed by a discussion of criticality safety Regulatory Guides, safety limits and fundamental principles. Design objectives for criticality safety in the 1990's include higher burnups, longer cycles, and higher enrichments which impact the criticality safety design. Criticality safety for new fuel storage, spent fuel storage, fuel consolidation, and dry storage are followed by conclusions. Today's situation is one in which the US does not reprocess, and does not have an operating MRS facility or repository. High density fuel storage rack designs of the 1980s, are filling up. Dry cask storage systems for spent fuel storage are being utilized. Enrichments continue to increase PWR fuel assemblies with enrichments of 4.5 to 5.0 weight percent U-235 and BWR fuel assemblies with enrichments of 3.25 to 3.5 weight percent U-235 are common. Criticality concerns affect the capacity and the economics of light water reactor (LWR) fuel storage arrays by dictating the spacing of fuel assemblies in a storage system, or the use of poisons or exotic materials in the storage system design

  19. Acute-phase reactants in periodontal disease: current concepts and future implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archana, Vilasan; Ambili, Ranjith; Nisha, Krishnavilasam Jayakumary; Seba, Abraham; Preeja, Chandran

    2015-05-01

    Periodontal disease has been linked to adverse cardiovascular events by unknown mechanisms. C-reactive protein is a systemic marker released during the acute phase of an inflammatory response and is a prognostic marker for cardiovascular disease, with elevated serum levels being reported during periodontal disease. Studies also reported elevated levels of various other acute-phase reactants in periodontal disease. It has been reported extensively in the literature that treatment of periodontal infections can significantly lower serum levels of C-reactive protein. Therefore, an understanding of the relationship between acute-phase response and the progression of periodontal disease and other systemic health complications would have a profound effect on the periodontal treatment strategies. In view of this fact, the present review highlights an overview of acute-phase reactants and their role in periodontal disease. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  20. Final Report UCLA-Thermochemical Storage with Anhydrous Ammonia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lavine, Adrienne [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

    2018-02-05

    In ammonia-based thermochemical energy storage (TCES), ammonia is dissociated endothermically as it absorbs solar energy during the daytime. When energy is required, the reverse reaction releases energy to heat a working fluid such as steam, to produce electricity. Ammonia-based TCES has great advantages of simplicity, low cost reactants, and a strong industrial base in the conventional ammonia industry. The concept has been demonstrated over three decades of research at Australian National University, achieving a 24-hour demonstration of a complete system. At the start of this project, three challenges were identified that would have to be addressed to show that the system is technically and economically viable for incorporation into a CSP plant with an advanced, high temperature power block. All three of these challenges have now been addressed: 1. The ammonia synthesis reaction had not, to our knowledge, been carried out at temperatures consistent with modern power blocks (i.e., ~650°C). The technical feasibility of operating a reactor under high-temperature, near-equilibrium conditions was an unknown, and was therefore a technical risk. The project has successfully demonstrated steam heating to 650°C and energy recovery to steam at the 5 kWt level. 2. The ammonia system has a relatively low enthalpy of reaction combined with gas phase reactants. This is not a direct disadvantage since the reactants themselves are low cost. The challenge lies in storing the required volume of reactants cost effectively. Therefore, a second key goal was to show, through techno-economic analysis, that underground storage technologies can be used to store the energy-rich gas at a cost that is consistent with the SunShot cost goal. We have identified two promising technologies for gas storage: storage in salt caverns has an estimated cost of 1(USD)/kWht and storage in drilled shafts could be on the order of 7(USD)/kWht. Together these two options answer the technical challenge

  1. Expertise on the Goesgen-Daeniken nuclear power plant on the granting of a licence for the construction and operation of a water storage pool for fuel assemblies at the site of the power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-04-01

    On June 26, 2002, the Goesgen-Daeniken AG nuclear power plant (KKG) delivered a request to the Swiss Federal Council for the granting of a licence for the construction and operation of a water storage pool for the on-site storage of the power plant's fuel assemblies. The present report contains the results of the examination of the request by the Federal Agency for the Safety of Nuclear Installations (HSK), to check that the projected storage pool satisfies the legal requirements from the point of view of nuclear safety and protection against radioactivity. A water storage pool already exists in the reactor building of KKG. It was conceived for a fuel cycle based on the reprocessing of the spent fuel assemblies. Its capacity is not sufficient when the spent fuel assemblies are no longer reprocessed but have to be transferred and stored in the Central Intermediate Storage Facility (ZWILAG) in Wuerenlingen because their heat production is too high. The capacity of the actual water pool allows a maximum cooling time of 5-6 years, while 7-10 years are required before transfer to ZWILAG. The projected new water storage pool has to be aircraft crash and earthquake proof, in the same way that the reactor building itself has to be. It can store a maximum of 1008 fuel assemblies. The water in the pool as well as the pool walls shield the radiation from of the fuel assemblies almost completely. Each fuel assembly is put into a square steel channel. The channel walls are lined with 6.11 mg/cm 2 of the neutron absorbing nuclide B-10, which guaranties the subcriticality of the water pool even if the storage pool would be entirely filled with non-irradiated fuel assemblies with the maximal allowed enrichment or the maximal allowed content of Plutonium in case of MOX fuel assemblies, which is a very conservative assumption. The heat released by decay in the spent fuel assemblies is transferred to the pool water. Storage pool cooling is carried out by natural circulation through

  2. Device with pivoting base for the storage of nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raymond, T.E.

    1978-01-01

    A storage rack for nuclear fuel assemblies comprising lower and upper bearers to support and hold fuel assemblies in their vertical position is described. The feature of this rack is the lower supporting device which comprises a pivoting base on which rests each fuel assembly, thereby enabling the fuel assembly not be subjected to any fatigue during storage [fr

  3. Criticality safety evaluation report for FFTF 42% fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richard, R.F.

    1997-01-01

    An FFTF tritium/isotope production mission will require a new fuel supply. The reference design core will use a mixed oxide fuel nominally enriched to 40 wt% Pu. This enrichment is significantly higher than that of the standard Driver Fuel Assemblies used in past operations. Consequently, criticality safety for handling and storage of this fuel must be addressed. The purpose of this document is to begin the process by determining the minimum critical number for these new fuel assemblies in water, sodium and air. This analysis is preliminary and further work can be done to refine the results reported here. Analysis was initially done using 45 wt 5 PuO. Additionally, a preliminary assessment is done concerning storage of these fuel assemblies in Interim Decay Storage (IDS), Fuel Storage Facility (FSF), and Core Component Containers/Interim Storage Casks (CCC/ISC)

  4. Assembly procedure for column cutting platform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Routh, R.D.

    1995-01-01

    This supporting document describes the assembly procedure for the Column Cutting Platform and Elevation Support. The Column Cutting Platform is a component of the 241-SY-101 Equipment Removal System. It is set up on the deck of the Strongback Trailer to provide work access to cut off the upper portion of the Mitigation Pump Assembly (MPA). The Elevation Support provides support for the front of the Storage Container with the Strongback at an inclined position. The upper portion of the MPA must be cut off to install the Containment Caps on the Storage Container. The storage Container must be maintained in an inclined position until the Containment Caps are installed to prevent any residual liquids from migrating forward in the Storage Container

  5. Assessment of nitrogen as an atmosphere for dry storage of spent LWR fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, E.R.; Knox, C.A.; White, G.D.

    1985-09-01

    Interim dry storage of spent light-water reactor (LWR) fuel is being developed as a licensed technology in the United States. Because it is anticipated that license agreements will specify dry storage atmospheres, the behavior of spent LWR fuel in a nitrogen atmosphere during dry storage was investigated. In particular, the thermodynamics of reaction of nitrogen compounds (expected to form in the cover gas during dry storage) and residual impurities (such as moisture and oxygen) with Zircaloy cladding and with spent fuel at sites of cladding breaches were examined. The kinetics of reaction were not considered it was assumed that the 20 to 40 years of interim dry storage would be sufficient for reactions to proceed to completion. The primary thermodynamics reactants were found to be NO 2 , N 2 O, H 2 O 2 , and O 2 . The evaluation revealed that the limited inventories of these reactants produced by the source terms in hermetically sealed dry storage systems would be too low to cause significant spent fuel degradation. Furthermore, the oxidation of spent fuel to degrading O/U ratios is unlikely because the oxidation potential in moist nitrogen limits O/U ratios to values less than UO/sub 2.006/ (the equilibrium stoichiometric form in equilibrium with moist nitrogen). Tests were performed with bare spent UO 2 fuel and nonirradiated UO 2 pellets (with no Zircaloy cladding) in a nitrogen atmosphere containing moisture concentrations greater than encountered under dry storage conditions. These tests were performed for at least 1100 h at temperatures as high as 380 0 C, where oxidation reactions proceed in a matter of minutes. No visible degradation was detected, and weight changes were negligible

  6. On-site concrete cask storage system for spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Craig, P.A.; Haelsig, R.T.; Kent, J.D.; Schmoker, D.S.

    1989-01-01

    A method is described of storing spent nuclear fuel assemblies including the steps of: transferring the fuel assemblies from a spent-fuel pool to a moveable concrete storage cask located outside the spent-fuel pool; maintaining a barrier between the fuel and the concrete in the cask to prevent contamination of the concrete by the fuel; maintaining the concrete storage cask containing the spent-fuel on site at the reactor complex for some predetermined period; transferring the fuel assemblies from the concrete storage cask to a shipping container; and, recycling the concrete storage cask

  7. Thermal assessment of Shippingport pressurized water reactor blanket fuel assemblies within a multi-canister overpack within the canister storage building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    HEARD, F.J.

    1999-01-01

    A series of analyses were performed to assess the thermal performance characteristics of the Shippingport Pressurized Water Reactor Core 2 Blanket Fuel Assemblies as loaded within a Multi-Canister Overpack within the Canister Storage Building. A two-dimensional finite element was developed, with enough detail to model the individual fuel plates: including the fuel wafers, cladding, and flow channels

  8. Thermal assessment of Shippingport pressurized water reactor blanket fuel assemblies within a multi-canister overpack within the canister storage building

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    HEARD, F.J.

    1999-04-09

    A series of analyses were performed to assess the thermal performance characteristics of the Shippingport Pressurized Water Reactor Core 2 Blanket Fuel Assemblies as loaded within a Multi-Canister Overpack within the Canister Storage Building. A two-dimensional finite element was developed, with enough detail to model the individual fuel plates: including the fuel wafers, cladding, and flow channels.

  9. Experience with the transport and storage casks CASTOR (registered) MTR 2 for spent nuclear fuel assemblies from research reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jack, Allen; Rettenbacher, Katharina; Skrzyppek, Juergen [GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH, Essen (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    The CASTOR (registered) MTR 2 cask was designed and manufactured by the company GNS during the 1990's for the transport and interim storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies from various types of research reactors. Casks of this type have been used at the VKTA Research Centre in Rossendorf near Dresden, Germany as well as at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre at Petten and at the HOR reactor at Delft in the Netherlands. A total of 24 units have been used for the functions of transport and storage with various spent fuel types (VVER, HFR-HEU, and HOR-HEU) for more than ten years now. This type of packaging for radioactive material is a member of the CASTOR (registered) family of spent nuclear fuel casks used worldwide. Over 1000 units are loaded and in storage in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. This paper presents the experience from the use of the casks for transport and storage in the past, as well as the prospects for the future. (author)

  10. Modeling of the reactant conversion rate in a turbulent shear flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankel, S. H.; Madnia, C. K.; Givi, P.

    1992-01-01

    Results are presented of direct numerical simulations (DNS) of spatially developing shear flows under the influence of infinitely fast chemical reactions of the type A + B yields Products. The simulation results are used to construct the compositional structure of the scalar field in a statistical manner. The results of this statistical analysis indicate that the use of a Beta density for the probability density function (PDF) of an appropriate Shvab-Zeldovich mixture fraction provides a very good estimate of the limiting bounds of the reactant conversion rate within the shear layer. This provides a strong justification for the implementation of this density in practical modeling of non-homogeneous turbulent reacting flows. However, the validity of the model cannot be generalized for predictions of higher order statistical quantities. A closed form analytical expression is presented for predicting the maximum rate of reactant conversion in non-homogeneous reacting turbulence.

  11. Conditioning of spent fuel assemblies from the Rossendorf RFR research reactor in transport and storage containers of the type CASTOR MTR 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, B.; Hofmann, G.

    1994-09-01

    Most of the spent fuel assemblies are temporarily stored in the flooded fuel ponds AB 1 and AB 2 of the RFR, and some are still in the reactor core. The conditioning task described here is part of the RFR spent fuel management concept and covers the safe emplacement of the spent fuel elements in the CASTOR MTR 2 shipping containers and the sealing of the containers in compliance with the nuclear licence issued for the conditioning task. The transfer of the spent fuel assemblies from the present wet storage conditions to the dry storage conditions in the CASTOR MTR 2 containers is done by a mobile manipulation equipment consisting essentially of the transfer sluice gate and a transfer container. Subsequent to conditioning, the shipping containers are to be transported to a licensed intermediate storage facility to await their transport to a national radwaste repository. The technical handling tools for the transfer and manipulation are briefly described, as well as the process steps involved, putting emphasis on the detailed description of processes and the accompanying time frame, so that the conditioning task can be incorporated into the work plan of the entire project. The report further presents the EDP concept established for the task, including the required data archivation and documentation. (orig.) [de

  12. Economical Aspects of Sodium Borohydride for Hydrogen Storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ture, I. Engin; Tabakoglu, F. Oznur; Kurtulus, Gulbahar

    2006-01-01

    Hydrogen is the best fuel among others, which can minimize the cause to global warming. Turkey has an important location with respect to hydrogen energy applications. Moreover, Turkey has 72.2% of the world's total boron reserves. Sodium borohydride (NaBH 4 ) which can be produced from borax has high hydrogen storage capacity. Hence, it is important for Turkey to lead studies about sodium borohydride to make it one of the most feasible hydrogen storage methods. In this paper an approximate process cost analysis of a NaBH 4 -H 2 system is given, starting with NaBH 4 production till recycling of it. It is found that, the usage of NaBH 4 as hydrogen storage material is relatively an expensive method but after improving reactions and by-product removal in the system and reducing the energy and reactant costs, sodium borohydride is one of the best candidates among hydrogen storage technologies. (authors)

  13. On-site storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies in German nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banck, J.

    1999-01-01

    The selection of back-end strategies for spent fuel assemblies is influenced by a number of different factors depending on the given situation in any specific country. In Germany, the back-end strategy implemented in the past was almost exclusively reprocessing. This strategy was required by the German Atomic Energy Act. Since 1994, when the Atomic Energy Act was amended, the option of direct final disposal has been granted the equivalent status by law to that afforded to reprocessing (and reuse of valuable materials). As a result, German utilities may now choose between these two alternatives. Another important condition for optimizing the back-end policy is the fact that fuel cycle costs in Germany are directly dependent on spent fuel volumes (in contrast to the US, for example, such costs are related to the amount of power generated). Another boundary condition for German utilities with respect to spent fuel management is posed by the problems with militant opponents of nuclear energy during transportation of spent fuel to interim storage sites. These facts have given rise to a reconsideration of the fuel cycle back-end, which has resulted in a change in strategy by most German utilities in favour of the following: Preference for long-term storage and maximized use of on-site storage capacity; Reduction in the amount of spent fuel by increasing burnup as much as possible. These decisions have also been driven by the deregulation of energy markets in Europe, where utilities are now permitted to sell electric power to consumers beyond their original supply network and must therefore offer electric power on a very cost competitive basis. (author)

  14. Transesterification of castor oil usingMgO/SiO2 catalyst and coconutoilas co-reactant

    OpenAIRE

    Kamisah D. Pandiangan; Novesar Jamarun; Syukri Arief; Wasinton Simanjuntak

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes the transesterification of castor oil with the use of coconut oil as co-reactant and MgO/SiO2as heterogeneous base catalyst. The catalyst was preparedfrom rice husk silica and magnesium nitrate by sol-gel method, with MgO load of 20% relative to silica, and then subjected to sintering treatment at 600 oC for 6 hours. A series of experiments was carried out, indicating that the use of coconut oil as co-reactant significantly promoted the conversion of castor oil into b...

  15. Solar energy thermalization and storage device

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClelland, J.F.

    A passive solar thermalization and thermal energy storage assembly which is visually transparent is described. The assembly consists of two substantial parallel, transparent wall members mounted in a rectangular support frame to form a liquid-tight chamber. A semitransparent thermalization plate is located in the chamber, substantially paralled to and about equidistant from the transparent wall members to thermalize solar radiation which is stored in a transparent thermal energy storage liquid which fills the chamber. A number of the devices, as modules, can be stacked together to construct a visually transparent, thermal storage wall for passive solar-heated buildings.

  16. Theoretical realization of cluster-assembled hydrogen storage materials based on terminated carbon atomic chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chun-Sheng; An, Hui; Guo, Ling-Ju; Zeng, Zhi; Ju, Xin

    2011-01-14

    The capacity of carbon atomic chains with different terminations for hydrogen storage is studied using first-principles density functional theory calculations. Unlike the physisorption of H(2) on the H-terminated chain, we show that two Li (Na) atoms each capping one end of the odd- or even-numbered carbon chain can hold ten H(2) molecules with optimal binding energies for room temperature storage. The hybridization of the Li 2p states with the H(2)σ orbitals contributes to the H(2) adsorption. However, the binding mechanism of the H(2) molecules on Na arises only from the polarization interaction between the charged Na atom and the H(2). Interestingly, additional H(2) molecules can be bound to the carbon atoms at the chain ends due to the charge transfer between Li 2s2p (Na 3s) and C 2p states. More importantly, dimerization of these isolated metal-capped chains does not affect the hydrogen binding energy significantly. In addition, a single chain can be stabilized effectively by the C(60) fullerenes termination. With a hydrogen uptake of ∼10 wt.% on Li-coated C(60)-C(n)-C(60) (n = 5, 8), the Li(12)C(60)-C(n)-Li(12)C(60) complex, keeping the number of adsorbed H(2) molecules per Li and stabilizing the dispersion of individual Li atoms, can serve as better building blocks of polymers than the (Li(12)C(60))(2) dimer. These findings suggest a new route to design cluster-assembled hydrogen storage materials based on terminated sp carbon chains.

  17. Synthesis of nanoparticles from malleable and ductile metals using powder-free, reactant-assisted mechanical attrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, Brandon W; Perez, Jesus Paulo L; Yu, Jiang; Boatz, Jerry A; Anderson, Scott L

    2014-11-26

    A reactant-assisted mechanochemical method was used to produce copious nanoparticles from malleable/ductile metals, demonstrated here for aluminum, iron, and copper. The milling media is intentionally degraded via a reactant-accelerated wear process, where the reactant aids particle production by binding to the metal surfaces, enhancing particle production, and reducing the tendency toward mechanochemical (cold) welding. The mechanism is explored by comparing the effects of different types of solvents and solvent mixtures on the amount and type of particles produced. Particles were functionalized with oleic acid to aid in particle size separation, enhance dispersion in hydrocarbon solvents, and protect the particles from oxidation. For aluminum and iron, the result is air-stable particles, but for copper, the suspended particles are found to dissolve when exposed to air. Characterization was performed using electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Density functional theory was used to examine the nature of carboxylic acid binding to the aluminum surface, confirming the dominance of bridging bidentate binding.

  18. Fuel storage tank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peehs, M.; Stehle, H.; Weidinger, H.

    1979-01-01

    The stationary fuel storage tank is immersed below the water level in the spent fuel storage pool. In it there is placed a fuel assembly within a cage. Moreover, the storage tank has got a water filling and a gas buffer. The water in the storage tank is connected with the pool water by means of a filter, a surge tank and a water purification facility, temperature and pressure monitoring being performed. In the buffer compartment there are arranged catalysts a glow plugs for recombination of radiolysis products into water. The supply of water into the storage tank is performed through the gas buffer compartment. (DG) [de

  19. Solvothermal preparation of micro/nanostructured TiO{sub 2} with enhanced lithium storage capability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Jie [School of Physics and Mechanical & Electronical Engineering, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan, 430205 (China); Wang, Chao [Department of Architecture and Material Engineering, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan, 430205 (China); Zheng, Ping; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Gongxuan [College of Chemistry and Life Science, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan, 430205 (China); Tang, Chengchun [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130 (China); Wu, Tian, E-mail: twu@whu.edu.cn [School of Physics and Mechanical & Electronical Engineering, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan, 430205 (China); College of Chemistry and Life Science, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan, 430205 (China); Department of Architecture and Material Engineering, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan, 430205 (China)

    2017-04-01

    Facile and controllable preparation of TiO{sub 2} is of prime importance to elaborately tailor and then fully exploit its intriguing functionalities in energy storage, catalysis and environmental remediation. Herein, a solvothermal method combined with post annealing is conducted, in which the hydrolysis of tetrabutyl titanate is controlled by the in-situ generated water during solvothermal treatment. By controlling synthetic conditions (i.e. reactant ratio, solvothermal temperature and reaction time), we manage to tailor the morphologies of TiO{sub 2}. Specially, three typical structures (nanoparticle, nanoneedle and nanorod) are studied to reveal the growth mechanism and the effects of the synthesis conditions. Nanoneedle-structured TiO{sub 2} shows higher specific capacity and enhanced cycle stability as anode material for lithium ion batteries. - Highlights: • Controllable preparation of nano-TiO{sub 2} is achieved by a solvothermal method. • TiO{sub 2} morphology is tailored by tuning reactant ratio, temperature and duration. • Needle structured TiO{sub 2} shows enhanced lithium storage capability.

  20. Spent nuclear fuel storage - Basic concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krempel, Ascanio; Santos, Cicero D. Pacifici dos; Sato, Heitor Hitoshi; Magalhaes, Leonardo de

    2009-01-01

    According to the procedures adopted in others countries in the world, the spent nuclear fuel elements burned to produce electrical energy in the Brazilian Nuclear Power Plant of Angra do Reis, Central Nuclear Almirante Alvaro Alberto - CNAAA will be stored for a long time. Such procedure will allow the next generation to decide how they will handle those materials. In the future, the reprocessing of the nuclear fuel assemblies could be a good solution in order to have additional energy resource and also to decrease the volume of discarded materials. This decision will be done in the future according to the new studies and investigations that are being studied around the world. The present proposal to handle the nuclear spent fuel is to storage it for a long period of time, under institutional control. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to introduce a proposal of a basic concept of spent fuel storage, which involves the construction of a new storage building at site, in order to increase the present storage capacity of spent fuel assemblies in CNAAA installation; the concept of the spent fuel transportation casks that will transfer the spent fuel assemblies from the power plants to the Spent Fuel Complementary Storage Building and later on from this building to the Long Term Intermediate Storage of Spent Fuel; the concept of the spent fuel canister and finally the basic concept of the spent fuel long term storage. (author)

  1. Method and apparatus for storing nuclear fuel assemblies in maximum density racks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wachter, W.J.; Robbins, T.R.

    1979-01-01

    A maximum density storage rack is provided for long term or semipermanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies. The rack consists of storage cells arranged in a regular array, such as a checkerboard, and intended to be immersed in water. Initially, cap members are placed on alternate cells in such a manner that at least 50% of the cells are left open, some of the caps being removable. Spent fuel assemblies are then placed in the open cells until all of them are filled. The level of reactivity of each of the stored fuel assemblies is then determined by accurate calculation or by measurement, and the removable caps are removed and rearranged so that other cells are opened, permitting the storage of additional fuel assemblies in a pattern based on the actual reactivity such that criticality is prevented

  2. Retrievable surface storage: interim storage of solidified high-level waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LaRiviere, J.R.; Nelson, D.C.

    1976-01-01

    Studies have been conducted on retrievable-surface-storage concepts for the interim storage of solidified high-level wastes. These studies have been reviewed by the Panel on Engineered Storage, convened by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management of the National Research Council-National Academy of Sciences. The Panel has concluded that ''retrievable surface storage is an acceptable interim stage in a comprehensive system for managing high-level radioactive wastes.'' The scaled storage cask concept, which was recommended by the Panel on Engineered Storage, consists of placing a canister of waste inside a carbon-steel cask, which in turn is placed inside a thick concrete cylinder. The waste is cooled by natural convection air flow through an annulus between the cask and the inner wall of the concrete cylinder. The complete assembly is placed above ground in an outdoor storage area

  3. Design, fabrication and performance of a mixed-reactant membraneless micro direct methanol fuel cell stack

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrego-Martínez, J. C.; Moreno-Zuria, A.; Cuevas-Muñiz, F. M.; Arriaga, L. G.; Sun, Shuhui; Mohamedi, Mohamed

    2017-12-01

    In the present work, we report the design, fabrication and evaluation of a membraneless mixed-reactant and air-breathing microfluidic direct methanol fuel cell (ML-μDMFC) stack operated in passive mode. The operation under mixed-reactant conditions was achieved by using a highly methanol-tolerant Ag/Pt/CP cathode with ultra-low Pt loading in alkaline medium. Prior to the fabrication of the stack, a flow simulation was made in order to study the behavior of the reactants stream in the microchannel through the 2 cells. Subsequently, the device was tested in passive mode using a mixture of 5 M MeOH +0.5 M KOH. The results showed that by connecting the 2 cells in series, it is possible to effectively double the voltage of a single ML-μDMFC, as well as increasing the absolute power by 75% with practically no cost increase. The stack was capable of operate continuously for more than 2 h with a single charge of 40 μL, producing an OCV of 0.89 V and a maximum power density of 3.33 mW mgPt-1. Additionally, the device exhibited good stability throughout a 10 h test.

  4. Advantages of dry hardened cask storage over wet storage for spent nuclear fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romanato, Luiz Sergio, E-mail: romanato@ctmsp.mar.mil.b [Centro Tecnologico da Marinha em Sao Paulo (CTMSP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Dept. da Qualidade

    2011-07-01

    Pools are generally used to store and maintain spent nuclear fuel assemblies for cooling, after removed from reactors. After three to five years stored in the pools, spent fuel can be reprocessed or sent to a final disposition in a geological repository and handled as radioactive waste or sent to another site waiting for future solution. Spent fuel can be stored in dry or wet installations, depending on the method adopted by the nuclear plant. If this storage were exclusively wet, at the installation decommissioning in the future, another solution for storage will need to be found. Today, after a preliminary cooling, the spent fuel assemblies can be removed from the pool and sent to dry hardened storage installations. This kind of storage does not need complex radiation monitoring and it is safer than wet storage. Brazil has two nuclear reactors in operation, a third reactor is under construction and they use wet spent fuel storage . Dry hardened casks use metal or both metal and concrete for radiation shielding and they are safe, especially during an earthquake. An earthquake struck Japan on March 11, 2011 damaging Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The occurrence of earthquakes in Brazil is very small but dry casks can resist to other events, including terrorist acts, better than pools. This paper shows the advantages of dry hardened cask storage in comparison with the wet storage (water pools) for spent nuclear fuel. (author)

  5. Advantages of dry hardened cask storage over wet storage for spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romanato, Luiz Sergio

    2011-01-01

    Pools are generally used to store and maintain spent nuclear fuel assemblies for cooling, after removed from reactors. After three to five years stored in the pools, spent fuel can be reprocessed or sent to a final disposition in a geological repository and handled as radioactive waste or sent to another site waiting for future solution. Spent fuel can be stored in dry or wet installations, depending on the method adopted by the nuclear plant. If this storage were exclusively wet, at the installation decommissioning in the future, another solution for storage will need to be found. Today, after a preliminary cooling, the spent fuel assemblies can be removed from the pool and sent to dry hardened storage installations. This kind of storage does not need complex radiation monitoring and it is safer than wet storage. Brazil has two nuclear reactors in operation, a third reactor is under construction and they use wet spent fuel storage . Dry hardened casks use metal or both metal and concrete for radiation shielding and they are safe, especially during an earthquake. An earthquake struck Japan on March 11, 2011 damaging Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The occurrence of earthquakes in Brazil is very small but dry casks can resist to other events, including terrorist acts, better than pools. This paper shows the advantages of dry hardened cask storage in comparison with the wet storage (water pools) for spent nuclear fuel. (author)

  6. Horizontal modular dry irradiated fuel storage system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Larry E.; McInnes, Ian D.; Massey, John V.

    1988-01-01

    A horizontal, modular, dry, irradiated fuel storage system (10) includes a thin-walled canister (12) for containing irradiated fuel assemblies (20), which canister (12) can be positioned in a transfer cask (14) and transported in a horizontal manner from a fuel storage pool (18), to an intermediate-term storage facility. The storage system (10) includes a plurality of dry storage modules (26) which accept the canister (12) from the transfer cask (14) and provide for appropriate shielding about the canister (12). Each module (26) also provides for air cooling of the canister (12) to remove the decay heat of the irradiated fuel assemblies (20). The modules (26) can be interlocked so that each module (26) gains additional shielding from the next adjacent module (26). Hydraulic rams (30) are provided for inserting and removing the canisters (12) from the modules (26).

  7. Economics of dry storage systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, G.R.; Winders, R.C.

    1980-01-01

    This paper postulates a dry storage application suitable as a regional away-from-reactor storage (AFR), develops an economical system design concept and estimates system costs. The system discussed uses the experience gained in the dry storage research activities and attempts to present a best foot forward system concept. The major element of the system is the Receiving and Packaging Building. In this building fuel assemblies are removed from transportation casks and encapsulated for storage. This facility could be equally applicable to silo, vault, or caisson storage. However the caisson storage concept has been chosen for discussion purposes

  8. Self-assembled hierarchical graphene/polyaniline hybrid aerogels for electrochemical capacitive energy storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Fan; Xu, Maowen; Bao, Shu-Juan; Wei, Hua; Chai, Hui

    2014-01-01

    In this work, polyaniline nanowires (PANI-NWs) act as spacers, incorporated with graphene oxide and self-assembled into graphene/PANI hybrid aerogels through a facile hydrothermal route. The as-synthesized samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurement, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for their microstructure, morphology and relative affinities toward water. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements have been used to study the effects of composition, microstructure and morphology of the samples on their capacitive performance. The experimental results indicate that the PANI can effectively tailor the microstructures and electrochemical performances of the products. The as-prepared materials with an appropriate proportion of PANI nanowires can efficiently prevent the adjacent graphene sheets from aggregation and provide fast ionic channels for electrochemical energy storage. A specific capacitance of 520.3 F g −1 has been achieved from graphene/PANI hybrid aerogel, which also exhibits excellent cycling stability

  9. Platinum- and membrane-free swiss-roll mixed-reactant alkaline fuel cell.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziznia, Amin; Oloman, Colin W; Gyenge, Előd L

    2013-05-01

    Eliminating the expensive and failure-prone proton exchange membrane (PEM) together with the platinum-based anode and cathode catalysts would significantly reduce the high capital and operating costs of low-temperature (<373 K) fuel cells. We recently introduced the Swiss-roll mixed-reactant fuel cell (SR-MRFC) concept for borohydride-oxygen alkaline fuel cells. We now present advances in anode electrocatalysis for borohydride electrooxidation through the development of osmium nanoparticulate catalysts supported on porous monolithic carbon fiber materials (referred to as an osmium 3D anode). The borohydride-oxygen SR-MRFC operates at 323 K and near atmospheric pressure, generating a peak power density of 1880 W m(-2) in a single-cell configuration by using an osmium-based anode (with an osmium loading of 0.32 mg cm(-2)) and a manganese dioxide gas-diffusion cathode. To the best of our knowledge, 1880 W m(-2) is the highest power density ever reported for a mixed-reactant fuel cell operating under similar conditions. Furthermore, the performance matches the highest reported power densities for conventional dual chamber PEM direct borohydride fuel cells. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Dynamic response of a typical synchrotron magnet/girder assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jendrzejczyk, J.A.; Smith, R.K.; Vogt, M.E.

    1993-06-01

    In the Advanced Photon Source, the synchrotron booster ring accelerates positrons to the required energy level of 7 GeV. The positrons are then injected into the storage ring where they continue to orbit for 10--15 h. The storage ring quadrupoles have very stringent vibration criteria that must be satisfied to ensure that beam emittance growth is within acceptable limits, viz., <10%. Because the synchrotron booster ring is not operated after particle insertion into the storage ring, its vibration response is not a critical issue relative to the performance of the storage ring beam. Nevertheless, the synchrotron pulses at a frequency of 2 Hz, and if a vibration response frequency of the synchrotron magnet/girder assembly were to coincide with the pulsation frequency or its near harmonics, large-amplitude motion could result, with the effect that it could compromise the operation of the synchrotron. Due to the complex dynamics of the synchrotron magnet/girder assembly, it is necessary to measure the dynamic response of a prototypic assembly and its components to ensure that the inherent dynamic response frequencies are not equal to 2 Hz or any near harmonics. Dynamic-response measurement of the synchrotron girder assembly and component magnets is the subject of this report

  11. Modification of the liquid cooling channel of PEMFCs for their operation with dry reactant gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shyu, Jin-Cherng; Hsueh, Kan-Lin; Tsau, Fanghei; Chen, Fa-Lin

    2011-01-01

    In order to tackle both water and thermal problems, a modified PEMFC is proposed in the present study for its operation with dry reactant gases via the modification of liquid cooling channel with circulating liquid electrolyte. Fuel cell with both circulating liquid electrolyte and solid polymer membrane operated with either dry or humidified H 2 /O 2 is compared in the present study at temperatures of 40, 50, 65, and 80 o C, respectively. The measured E-I data show that such single cell can be operated at 80 o C without humidification. Besides, a semi-empirical equation to predict the current/voltage relationship, and the electrochemical impedance method are also employed in the present study for cell resistance analysis. The analysis results show that the high interfacial resistance should be one of the major reasons for the inferior performance of the present cell. Based on the discovery, an improvement of the present fuel cell is further proposed by Nafion ionomer spreading on the electrode before the assembly of membrane and electrode. The maximum power density of the cell after electrode treatment reaches 75 mW/cm 2 for dry H 2 /O 2 operation at 0.4 V, which is almost threefold improvement compared with that without electrode treatment.

  12. Possible use of dual purpose dry storage casks for transportation and future storage of spent nuclear fuel from IRT-Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manev, L.; Baltiyski, M.

    2003-01-01

    Objectives: The main objective of the present paper is related to one of the priority goals stipulated in Bulgarian Governmental Decision No.332 from May 17, 1999 - removal of SNF from IRT-Sofia site and its exporting for reprocessing and/or for temporary storage at Kozloduy NPP site. The variant of using dual purpose dry storage casks for transportation and future temporary storage of SNF from IRT-Sofia aims to find out a reasonable alternative of the existing till now variant for temporary SNF storage under water in the existing Kozloduy NPP Spent Fuel Storage Facility until its export for reprocessing. Results: Based on the given data for the condition of 73 Spent Nuclear Fuel Assemblies (SNFA) stored in the storage pool and technical data as well as data for available equipment and IRT-Sofia layout the following framework are specified: draft technical features of dual purpose dry storage casks and their overall dimensions; the suitability of the available equipment for safety and reliable performance of transportation and handling operations of assemblies from storage pool to dual purpose dry storage casks; the necessity of new equipment for performance of the above mentioned operations; Assemblies' transportation and handling operations are described; requirements to and conditions for future safety and reliable storage of SNFA loaded casks are determined. When selecting the technical solutions for safety assurance during performance of site handling operations of IRT-Sofia and for description of the exemplary casks the Effective Bulgarian Regulations are considered. The experience of other countries in performance of transfer and transportation of SNFA from such types of research reactors is taken into account. Also, Kozloduy NPP experience in SNF handling operations is taken into account. Conclusions: The Decision of Council of Minister for refurbishment of research reactor into a low power one and its future utilization for experimental and training

  13. The general theory of multistage geminate reactions of isolated pairs of reactants. III. Two-stage reversible dissociation in geminate reaction A + A↔C↔B + B

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kipriyanov, Alexey A.; Kipriyanov, Alexander A.; Doktorov, Alexander B. [Voevodsky Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia and Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation)

    2016-04-14

    Specific two-stage reversible reaction A + A↔C↔B + B of the decay of species C reactants by two independent transition channels is considered on the basis of the general theory of multistage reactions of isolated pairs of reactants. It is assumed that at the initial instant of time, the reacting system contains only reactants C. The employed general approach has made it possible to consider, in the general case, the inhomogeneous initial distribution of reactants, and avoid application of model concepts of a reaction system structure (i.e., of the structure of reactants and their molecular mobility). Slowing of multistage reaction kinetics as compared to the kinetics of elementary stages is established and physically interpreted. To test approximations (point approximation) used to develop a universal kinetic law, a widely employed specific model of spherical particles with isotropic reactivity diffusing in solution is applied. With this particular model as an example, ultimate kinetics of chemical conversion of reactants is investigated. The question concerning the depths of chemical transformation at which long-term asymptotes are reached is studied.

  14. Study of the ionization of alkane-electron scavenger reactant mixtures irradiated by 60Co gamma rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonnet, Jacques.

    1977-01-01

    This study deals with ionization of alkane-electron scavenger reactant mixtures, irradiated by 60 Co γ-rays. It is shown that the extrapolated free-ion yields (extrapolated yield method) decrease with the reactant concentration. On the basis of ONSAGER model and theoretical treatment of MOZUMDER, the cross sections of epithermal electron attachment in hexane, cyclohexane, 2,2-dimethylbutane, cyclopentane, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane for CCl 4 , C 7 F 14 , C 6 H 5 Br, C 6 H 5 Cl, C 6 F 14 , (C 6 H 5 ) 2 are determined. A comparison between gas-phase and liquid-phase cross sections is established [fr

  15. Experimental investigation of laminar LPG-H{sub 2} jet diffusion flame with preheated reactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D.P. Mishra; P. Kumar [Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (India). Combustion Laboratory, Department of Aerospace Engineering

    2008-10-15

    This paper presents an experimental investigation of the effect of H{sub 2} addition on flame length, soot free length fraction (SFLF), flame radiant fraction, gas temperature and emission level in LPG-H{sub 2} composite fuel jet diffusion flame for two preheated cases namely, (i) preheated air and (ii) preheated air and fuel. Results show that the H{sub 2} addition leads to a reduction in flame length which may be caused due to an increased gas temperature. Besides this, the flame length is also observed to be reduced with increasing reactants temperature. The soot free length fraction (SFLF) increases as H{sub 2} is added to fuel stream. This might have been caused by decrease in the C/H ratio in the flame and is favorable to attenuate PAH formation rate. Interestingly, the SFLF is observed to be reduced with increasing reactants temperature that may be due to reduction in induction period of soot formation caused by enhanced flame temperature. Moreover, the decreased radiant heat fraction with hydrogen addition is pertinent with the reduction in soot concentration level. The reduction in NOx emission level with H{sub 2} addition to the fuel stream is also observed. On the contrary, NOx emission level is found to be enhanced significantly with reactant temperature that can be attributed to the increase in thermal NOx through Zeldovich mechanism. 31 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

  16. Modular dry storage of spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baxter, J.W.

    1982-01-01

    Long term uncertainties in US spent fuel reprocessing and storage policies and programs are forcing the electric utilities to consider means of storing spent fuel at the reactor site in increasing quantitities and for protracted periods. Utilities have taken initial steps in increasing storage capacity. Existing wet storage pools have in many cases been reracked to optimize their capacity for storing spent fuel assemblies

  17. Device for transferring fast nuclear reactor fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plagnard, Andre.

    1982-01-01

    The description is given of a device for transferring fuel assemblies between a storage position near the reactor vessel and a position where the irradiated assemblies are evacuated and the provision of new assemblies for the reactor. This device can be dismantled and is movable as a whole for its successive use on several reactors and includes: - a platform mounted so as to rotate on a support made to rest on the structure of the reactor, the platform having at least one opening then being horizontal and mobile about a vertical axis to bring the opening successively in position with vertical wells giving access to the storage and evacuation positions of the assemblies provided in the reactor structure, - at least one hopper that can contain one assembly in a vertical position, located on the upper surface of the platform around the opening provided in it and fitted with a winch for the vertical moving of the assemblies inside the wells and the hopper, when these follow each other by rotation of the platform, - at least one connecting device carried on the platform for connecting the hopper and wells when these are in line [fr

  18. Localized synthesis, assembly and integration of silicon nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Englander, Ongi

    Localized synthesis, assembly and integration of one-dimensional silicon nanowires with MEMS structures is demonstrated and characterized in terms of local synthesis processes, electric-field assisted self-assembly, and a proof-of-concept nanoelectromechanical system (HEMS) demonstration. Emphasis is placed on the ease of integration, process control strategies, characterization techniques and the pursuit of integrated devices. A top-down followed by a bottom-up integration approach is utilized. Simple MEMS heater structures are utilized as the microscale platforms for the localized, bottom-up synthesis of one-dimensional nanostructures. Localized heating confines the high temperature region permitting only localized nanostructure synthesis and allowing the surroundings to remain at room temperature thus enabling CMOS compatible post-processing. The vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process in the presence of a catalytic nanoparticle, a vapor phase reactant, and a specific temperature environment is successfully employed locally. Experimentally, a 5nm thick gold-palladium layer is used as the catalyst while silane is the vapor phase reactant. The current-voltage behavior of the MEMS structures can be correlated to the approximate temperature range required for the VLS reaction to take place. Silicon nanowires averaging 45nm in diameter and up to 29mum in length synthesized at growth rates of up to 1.5mum/min result. By placing two MEMS structures in close proximity, 4--10mum apart, localized silicon nanowire growth can be used to link together MEMS structures to yield a two-terminal, self-assembled micro-to-nano system. Here, one MEMS structure is designated as the hot growth structure while a nearby structure is designated as the cold secondary structure, whose role is to provide a natural stopping point for the VLS reaction. The application of a localized electric-field, 5 to 13V/mum in strength, during the synthesis process, has been shown to improve nanowire

  19. Special storage of leaking fuel at Paks NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biro, Janos; Szőke, L.; Burján, T.; Lukács, R.; Hózer, H.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper the activities related with spent, hermetic as well as leaking fuel handling and storage, including: Spent fuel pool; Transportation criteria for the spent fuel assemblies and Interim spent fuel dry storage; Short-term storage in the spent fuel pool; Identification of the leaking assemblies by the TS-device; Present conception of Identification, handling of the leaking FAs; Modified transport procedure for the leaking FAs; Calculation of solved activity inside the leaking fuel rod; Solved activity limit values for the leaking FAs; Long-term storage in the interim spent Fuel dry storage are presented. At the end authors’ concluded that: 1) The leaking FA can be transported to the interim dry storage together with the other spent fuel assemblies in the transport container. 2) The transport-documentation of the leaking FA has to contain: isotope inventory, calculated solved activity values of the failed FA and the quantity of failed fuel rods. 3) Performing three leakage tests of the identified leaking FA before the transportation in the 5FP. it is useful to decrease the solved activity concentration inside the leaking FA and give additional information about the extent of the leakage. 4) We can calculate simply the solved activity of the leaking FA. 5) The modified transport procedure will have to be authorized. 6) The radiological effects of the leaking FA are negligible relative to the natural background radiation

  20. The effect of layer thickness and composition on the kinetics of solid state reactions in the niobium-selenium system studied using superlattice reactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukuto, M.; Kevan, S.D.

    1997-01-01

    The ability to form an amorphous reaction intermediate by the low temperature interdiffusion of a modulated elemental reactant is shown to be a function of the overall composition as well as elemental layer thicknesses in the niobium-selenium system. For niobium-rich reactants, an amorphous reaction intermediate was observed to form upon low temperature annealing of reactants with modulation thicknesses less than 60 A. Further annealing of the amorphous intermediates led to the crystallization of Nb 2 Se, Nb 5 Se 4 or Nb 3 Se 4 depending upon the overall composition of the amorphous intermediate. Modulated elemental reactants with overall compositions containing more than two-thirds selenium were found to heterogeneously nucleate NbSe 2 at the reacting interfaces. The formation of the thermodynamically expected compounds Nb 2 Se 3 , NbSe 3 , and Nb 2 Se 9 at their respective compositions required extended high temperature annealing to react the dichalcogenide with the remaining elemental reactants. A striking difference between the evolution of the low angle diffraction patterns in these two composition regimes suggests the differences in the reaction kinetics result from a composition dependence of the diffusion coefficients. (orig.)

  1. Naphthalene Diels-Alder in a self-assembled molecular flask.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murase, Takashi; Horiuchi, Shinnosuke; Fujita, Makoto

    2010-03-10

    Despite its inertness toward pericyclic reactions under common conditions, naphthalenes readily undergo Diels-Alder reactions when coencapsulated with a suitable dienophile within the cavity of a self-assembled host. Localization of the reactant pair significantly reduces the entropic cost of the reaction, and preorganization within the host cavity controls both the regio- and stereoselectivity of the reaction: electronically disfavored exo adducts were obtained, and with substituted naphthalenes, the reaction takes place on the less electron-rich, unsubstituted ring. Our findings highlight the fact that judicious tuning of substrate size and shape within molecular flasks can unveil new and unusual reactivities for otherwise unreactive molecules.

  2. Energy Storage Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Carolyn R.; Jankovsky, Amy L.; Reid, Concha M.; Miller, Thomas B.; Hoberecht, Mark A.

    2011-01-01

    NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program funded the Energy Storage Project to develop battery and fuel cell technology to meet the expected energy storage needs of the Constellation Program for human exploration. Technology needs were determined by architecture studies and risk assessments conducted by the Constellation Program, focused on a mission for a long-duration lunar outpost. Critical energy storage needs were identified as batteries for EVA suits, surface mobility systems, and a lander ascent stage; fuel cells for the lander and mobility systems; and a regenerative fuel cell for surface power. To address these needs, the Energy Storage Project developed advanced lithium-ion battery technology, targeting cell-level safety and very high specific energy and energy density. Key accomplishments include the development of silicon composite anodes, lithiated-mixed-metal-oxide cathodes, low-flammability electrolytes, and cell-incorporated safety devices that promise to substantially improve battery performance while providing a high level of safety. The project also developed "non-flow-through" proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell stacks. The primary advantage of this technology set is the reduction of ancillary parts in the balance-of-plant--fewer pumps, separators and related components should result in fewer failure modes and hence a higher probability of achieving very reliable operation, and reduced parasitic power losses enable smaller reactant tanks and therefore systems with lower mass and volume. Key accomplishments include the fabrication and testing of several robust, small-scale nonflow-through fuel cell stacks that have demonstrated proof-of-concept. This report summarizes the project s goals, objectives, technical accomplishments, and risk assessments. A bibliography spanning the life of the project is also included.

  3. Serum levels of chicken mannan-binding lectin (MBL) during virus infections; indication that chicken MBL is an acute phase reactant

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, O.L.; Jensenius, J. C.; Jørgensen, Poul Henrik

    1999-01-01

    Mannan-binding lectin (MBL) is a serum collectin which is believed to be an opsonin of the innate immune defence against various microorganisms. MBL is a minor acute phase reactant in man. We investigated the concentration of serum MBL in chickens infected with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV...... levels returned to normal values 6-10 days after infection. The results indicated that MBL is a minor acute phase reactant in chickens....

  4. Multi-purpose canister storage unit and transfer cask thermal analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montgomery, R.A.; Niemer, K.A.; Lindner, C.N.

    1997-01-01

    Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) generated at commercial nuclear power plants throughout the US is a concern because of continued delays in obtaining a safe, permanent disposal facility. Most utilities maintain their SNF in wet storage pools; however, after decades of use, many pools are filled to capacity. Unfortunately, DOE's proposed final repository at Yucca Mountain is at least 10 years from completion, and commercial power utilities have few options for SNF storage in the interim. The Multi-Purpose Canister (MPC) system, sponsored by DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, is a viable solution to the interim storage problem. The system is designed for interim dry storage, transport, and ultimate disposal of commercial SNF. The MPC system consists of four separate components: an MPC, Transfer Cask, Storage Unit, and Transport Cask. The SNF assemblies are loaded and sealed inside the helium-filled steel MPC. Once sealed, the MPC is not reopened, eliminating the need to re-handle the individual spent fuel assemblies. The MPC is transferred, using the MPC Transfer Cask, into a cylindrical, reinforced-concrete Storage Unit for on-site dry storage. The MPC may be removed from the Storage Unit at any time and transferred into the MPC Transport Cask for transport to the final repository. This paper discusses the analytical approach used to evaluate the heat transfer characteristics of an MPC containing SNF assemblies in the MPC Transfer Cask and Storage Unit

  5. The general theory of multistage geminate reactions of isolated pairs of reactants. III. Two-stage reversible dissociation in geminate reaction A + A ↔ C ↔ B + B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kipriyanov, Alexey A; Kipriyanov, Alexander A; Doktorov, Alexander B

    2016-04-14

    Specific two-stage reversible reaction A + A ↔ C ↔ B + B of the decay of species C reactants by two independent transition channels is considered on the basis of the general theory of multistage reactions of isolated pairs of reactants. It is assumed that at the initial instant of time, the reacting system contains only reactants C. The employed general approach has made it possible to consider, in the general case, the inhomogeneous initial distribution of reactants, and avoid application of model concepts of a reaction system structure (i.e., of the structure of reactants and their molecular mobility). Slowing of multistage reaction kinetics as compared to the kinetics of elementary stages is established and physically interpreted. To test approximations (point approximation) used to develop a universal kinetic law, a widely employed specific model of spherical particles with isotropic reactivity diffusing in solution is applied. With this particular model as an example, ultimate kinetics of chemical conversion of reactants is investigated. The question concerning the depths of chemical transformation at which long-term asymptotes are reached is studied.

  6. Modular nuclear fuel assembly rack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, C.J.

    1982-01-01

    A modular nuclear fuel assembly rack constructed of an array of identical cells, each cell constructed of a plurality of identical flanged plates. The unique assembly of the plates into a rigid rack provides a cellular compartment for nuclear fuel assemblies and a cavity between the cells for accepting neutron absorbing materials thus allowing a closely spaced array. The modular rack size can be easily adapted to conform with available storage space. U-shaped flanges at the edges of the plates are nested together at the intersection of four cells in the array. A bar is placed at the intersection to lock the cells together

  7. High electrochemical energy storage in self-assembled nest-like CoO nanofibers with long cycle life

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pramanik, Atin; Maiti, Sandipan [CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute, Fuel Cell & Battery Division (India); Sreemany, Monjoy [CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute, Advanced Mechanical and Materials Characterization Division (India); Mahanty, Sourindra, E-mail: mahanty@cgcri.res.in [CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute, Fuel Cell & Battery Division (India)

    2016-04-15

    Developing efficient electrode material is essential to keep pace with the demand for high energy density together with high power density and long cycle life in next generation energy storage devices. Herein, we report the electrochemical properties of hydrothermally synthesized CoO nanofibers of diameter 30–80 nm assembled in a nest-like morphology which showed a very high reversible lithium storage capacity of 2000 mA h g{sup −1} after 600 cycles at 0.1 mA cm{sup −2} as lithium-ion battery anode. Systematic investigation by ex situ transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and impedance spectroscopy at different cycling stages indicated that the extraordinary performance could be related to an enhancement in the Co{sup 2+}↔Co{sup x+} (2 < x ≤ 3) redox process in addition to the commonly believed structural and morphological evolution during cycling favoring generation of large number of accessible active sites for lithium insertion. Further, when examined as a supercapacitor electrode in 1.0 M KOH, a capacitance of 1167 F g{sup −1} is achieved from these 1D CoO nanofibers after 10,000 charge discharge cycles at a high current density of 5 A g{sup −1} demonstrating good application potential.Graphical AbstractNest-like CoO nanofibers showed a reversible lithium storage capacity of 2000 mA h g{sup −1} after 600 cycles as LIB anode and a capacitance of 1167 F g{sup −1} after 10,000 cycles as electrochemical supercapacitor.

  8. Electrogenerated chemiluminescence of tris(2,2' bipyridine)ruthenium(II) using common biological buffers as co-reactant, pH buffer and supporting electrolyte.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kebede, Noah; Francis, Paul S; Barbante, Gregory J; Hogan, Conor F

    2015-11-07

    A series of aliphatic tertiary amines (HEPES, POPSO, EPPS and BIS-TRIS) commonly used to buffer the pH in biological experiments, were examined as alternative, non-toxic co-reactants for the electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(ii) ([Ru(bpy)3](2+)). These were found to be very attractive as "multi-tasking" reagents, serving not only as co-reactants, but also fulfiling the roles of pH buffer and supporting electrolyte within an aqueous environment; thus significantly simplifying the overall ECL analysis. Sub-nanomolar detection limits were obtained for [Ru(bpy)3](2+) in the presence of BIS-TRIS, making this species an valuable option for co-reactant ECL-based bioanalytical applications.

  9. Failed (leaking) spent fuel management and storage in the Paks NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burjan, T.

    2011-01-01

    At the cycle 22, unit 4, Paks NPP the fissile contents raised irregularly in the water of the primary circuit. At the end of the cycle sipping tests were performed for the entire core to find out the leaking fuel assembly primarily responsible for this phenomenon. The identified leaking assembly temporarily was placed in the Spent Fuel Relaxing Pool. For measuring environmental impact of leaking assemblies an investigation program was developed and implemented. The assessment covered the following: effects of the leaking fuel on the water of relaxing pool and on the gaseous emissions in case open storage; in case when the leaking cassette is in a special hermetical storage case, how much gas is collected in the locked case and what is its composition; how to change the measured sipping test signal depending on relaxing time of leaking fuel cassettes. Based on the evaluation of the investigation program results the NPP modified the operational instructions for the treatment and storage of failed fuel assemblies. (author)

  10. Catalytic membrane in denitrification of water: a means to facilitate intraporous diffusion of reactants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ilinich, O.M.; Cuperus, F.P.; Gemert, van R.W.; Gribov, E.N.; Nosova, L.V.

    2000-01-01

    The series of mono- and bi-metallic catalysts with Pd and/or Cu supported over γ-Al 2O 3 was investigated with respect to reduction of nitrate and nitrite ions in water by hydrogen. Pronounced limitations of catalytic performance due to intraporous diffusion of the reactants were observed in the

  11. Compact nuclear fuel storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiselev, V.V.; Churakov, Yu.A.; Danchenko, Yu.V.; Bylkin, B.K.; Tsvetkov, S.V.

    1983-01-01

    Different constructions of racks for compact storage of spent fuel assemblies (FA) in ''coolin''g pools (CP) of NPPs with the BWR and PWR type reactors are described. Problems concerning nuclear and radiation safety and provision of necessary thermal conditions arising in such rack design are discussed. It is concluded that the problem of prolonged fuel storage at NPPs became Very actual for many countries because of retapdation of the rates of fuel reprocessing centers building. Application of compact storage racks is a promising solution of the problem of intermediate FA storage at NPPs. Such racks of stainless boron steel and with neutron absorbers in the from of boron carbide panels enable to increase the capacity of the present CP 2-2.6 times, and the period of FA storage in them up to 5-10 years

  12. Experience on wet storage spent fuel sipping at IEA-R1 Brazilian research reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perrotta, J.A.; Terremoto, L.A.A.; Zeituni, C.A.

    1998-01-01

    The IEA-R1 research reactor of the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP) is a pool type reactor of B and W design, that has been operating since 1957 at a power of 2 MW. Irradiated (spent) fuels have been stored at the facility during the various years of operation. At present there are 40 spent fuel assemblies at dry storage, 79 spent fuel assemblies at wet storage and 30 fuel assemblies in the core. The oldest fuels are of United States origin, made with U-Al alloy, both of LEU and HEU MTR fuel type. Many of these fuel assemblies have corrosion pits along their lateral fuel plates. These pits originate by galvanic corrosion between the fuel plate and the stainless steel storage racks. As a consequence of the possibility of sending the irradiated old fuels back the U.S.A., sipping tests were performed with the spent fuel assemblies. The reason for this was to evaluate their 137 Cs leaking rate, if any. This work describes the procedure and methodology used to perform the sipping tests with the fuel assemblies at the storage pool, and presents the results obtained for the 137 Cs sipping water activity for each fuel assembly. A correlation is made between the corrosion pits and the activity values measured. A 137 Cs leaking rate is determined and compared to the criteria established for canning spent fuel assemblies before shipment

  13. Assessment of spent WWER-440 fuel performance under long-term storage conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kupca, L [VUJE Inc. (Slovakia)

    2012-07-01

    In the Slovak Republic are under operation 6 units (4 in the Jaslovske Bohunice site, and 2 in the Mochovce), 2 units are under construction in Mochovce site. All units are WWER-440 type. The fresh fuel is imported from the Russian Federation. The spent fuel assemblies are stored in wet conditions in Bohunice Interim Storage Spent Fuel Facility (SFIS). By 15 July 2008, there were 8413 assemblies in SFIS. The objectives are: 1) Wet AR storage of spent fuel from the NPP Bohunice and Mochovce: Surveillance of conditions for spent fuel storage in the at-reactor (AR) storage pools of both NPP's (characteristics of pool water, corrosion product data); Visual control of storage pool components; Evaluation of storage conditions with respect to long-term stability (corrosion of fuel cladding, structural materials); 2) Wet SFIS storage at Bohunice: Measurement of spent fuel conditions during the long-term wet storage, activity data in the storage casks and amount of crud; Surveillance program for SFIS structural materials.

  14. High density fuel storage racks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groves, M.D.

    1978-01-01

    An apparatus is described for the safe and compact storage of nuclear fuel assemblies in an array of discrete open-ended neutron absorbing shields for which the theoretical minimum safe separation distance and cell pitch are known. Open-ended stainless steel end fittings are welded to each end of each shield and the end fittings are welded to each other in side-by-side relation, thereby reducing the cell pitch tolerance due to fabrication uncertainties. In addition, a multiplicity of ridges on the sides of each shield having a height equal to one half the theoretical minimum safe separation distance further reduce shield bowing tolerances. The net tolerance reduction permits a significant increase in the number of fuel assemblies that can be safely contained in a storage area of fixed size

  15. Self-assembled NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}/carbon nanotubes sponge for enhanced glucose biosensing application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Yingchun; Zhao, Minggang, E-mail: zhaomg@ouc.edu.cn; Chen, Jing; Fan, Sisi; Liang, Jingjing; Ding, Longjiang; Chen, Shougang, E-mail: sgchen@ouc.edu.cn

    2016-01-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Self-assembled NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}/CNTs sponge was prepared by ice-templating method. • The mechanism of NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} modified CNTs relied on π-π interactions and static cling. • The porous structure made for GO{sub x} load, electrons transport and reactants diffusion. • Double catalysis and enhanced glucose sensing were achieved with elements Ni and Fe. - Abstract: In this work, self-assembled NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) sponge was prepared by ice-templating method. The device synergized the advantageous features of both the 3D porous nanostructure and the catalytic properties of CNTs with GOx and NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles. The porous network construction of the NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}/CNTs sheets offered enlarged specific surface for GOx immobilization and opened channels for facilitating the electrons transport and reactants diffusion. With the help of the abnormal-valence elements Ni and Fe, double catalysis has happened and the enhanced glucose biosensing performance has been achieved. The fabricated glucose biosensor exhibited two large linear ranges (0–3.0 and 3.2–12.4 mM) and distinct sensitivities (84.1 and 24.6 μA mM{sup −1} cm{sup −2}).

  16. Self-assembled graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer film and its application in electrochemical energy storage device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dongrui; Wang, Xiaogong

    2011-03-01

    Graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer films were fabricated through electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly, and their performance as electrochemical capacitor electrode was investigated. Cationic azo polyelectrolyte (QP4VP-co-PCN) was synthesized through radical polymerization, postpolymerization azo coupling reaction, and quaternization. Negatively charged graphene nanosheets were prepared by a chemically modified method. The LbL films were obtained by alternately dipping a piece of the pretreated substrates in the QP4VP-co-PCN and nanosheet solutions. The processes were repeated until the films with required numbers of bilayers were obtained. The self-assembly and multilayer surface morphology were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, AFM, SEM, and TEM. The performance of the LbL films as electrochemical capacitor electrode was estimated using cyclic voltammetry. Results show that the graphene nanosheets are densely packed in the multilayers and form random graphene network. The azo polyelectrolyte cohesively interacts with the nanosheets in the multilayer structure, which prevents agglomeration of graphene nanosheets. The sheet resistance of the LbL films decreases with the increase of the layer numbers and reaches the stationary value of 1.0 × 10(6) Ω/square for the film with 15 bilayers. At a scanning rate of 50 mV/s, the LbL film with 9 bilayers shows a gravimetric specific capacitance of 49 F/g in 1.0 M Na(2)SO(4) solution. The LbL films developed in this work could be a promising type of the electrode materials for electric energy storage devices.

  17. Underwater Nuclear Fuel Disassembly and Rod Storage Process and Equipment Description. Volume II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viebrock, J.M.

    1981-09-01

    The process, equipment, and the demonstration of the Underwater Nuclear Fuel Disassembly and Rod Storage System are presented. The process was shown to be a viable means of increasing spent fuel pool storage density by taking apart fuel assemblies and storing the fuel rods in a denser fashion than in the original storage racks. The assembly's nonfuel-bearing waste is compacted and containerized. The report documents design criteria and analysis, fabrication, demonstration program results, and proposed enhancements to the system

  18. National waste terminal storage conceptual reference repository description

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odgers, I.L.; Collings, J.L.

    1981-01-01

    The conceptual reference repository description (CRRD) discusses, from a conceptual engineering standpoint, the structures, systems, equipment, and operations necessary to: (1) receive unreprocessed spent fuel assemblies in standard casks; (2) unload these assemblies; (3) place them in canisters; (4) transport the canisters to underground storage locations in the salt dome; and (5) place the canisters in terminal storage. The CRRD also elaborates on the concepts for retrieval and recovery of the spent fuel after burial and describes the development of the shafts and the underground areas, as well as the supporting operational utility and administrative features of the repository

  19. Evaluation of the impact of RNA preservation methods of spiders for de novo transcriptome assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kono, Nobuaki; Nakamura, Hiroyuki; Ito, Yusuke; Tomita, Masaru; Arakawa, Kazuharu

    2016-05-01

    With advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies, de novo transcriptome sequencing and assembly has become a cost-effective method to obtain comprehensive genetic information of a species of interest, especially in nonmodel species with large genomes such as spiders. However, high-quality RNA is essential for successful sequencing, and sample preservation conditions require careful consideration for the effective storage of field-collected samples. To this end, we report a streamlined feasibility study of various storage conditions and their effects on de novo transcriptome assembly results. The storage parameters considered include temperatures ranging from room temperature to -80°C; preservatives, including ethanol, RNAlater, TRIzol and RNAlater-ICE; and sample submersion states. As a result, intact RNA was extracted and assembly was successful when samples were preserved at low temperatures regardless of the type of preservative used. The assemblies as well as the gene expression profiles were shown to be robust to RNA degradation, when 30 million 150-bp paired-end reads are obtained. The parameters for sample storage, RNA extraction, library preparation, sequencing and in silico assembly considered in this work provide a guideline for the study of field-collected samples of spiders. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Teachers' Misconceptions about the Effects of Addition of More Reactants or Products on Chemical Equilibrium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Derek; Ma, Hong-jia; Yang, Jie

    2009-01-01

    The importance of research on misconceptions about chemical equilibrium is well recognized by educators, but in the past, researchers' interest has centered on student misconceptions and has neglected teacher misconceptions. Focusing on the effects of adding more reactants or products on chemical equilibrium, this article discusses the various…

  1. Arrangement and statistics of storage containers of spent fuel for assemblies of the SFP of NPP-L V, Unit 1; Arreglo y estadistica de contenedores de almacenamiento de combustible gastado para los ensambles de la ACG de la Unidad 1 de la Central Nucleoelectrica Laguna Verde

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mijangos D, Z. E.; Vargas A, A. F.; Amador C, C., E-mail: zoedelfin@gmail.com [Comision Federal de Electricidad, Central Nucleoelectrica Laguna Verde, Subgerencia de Ingenieria, Km 44.5 Carretera Cardel-Nautla, 91476 Laguna Verde, Alto Lucero, Veracruz (Mexico)

    2014-10-15

    This work presents the determination of assemblies of the spent fuel pool (SFP) of the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde (NPP-L V) which are candidates to be assigned to storage containers of independent spent fuel, with the objective of liberating decay heat and to have more space in the SFP, for the store of retired assemblies of the reactors in future reloads of NPP-L V, besides that the removed assemblies of the SFP should be stored in specific containers to guarantee the physical safety of them, as well as the radiological protection to the population and the environment. The design of the containers considered in this work is to store a maximum of 69 assemblies; it has a thermal capacity of 26 kilowatts and allows storing assemblies with a minimum of 5 years of have been extracted of the reactor core. Is considered that in 2016 start the storage of the spent assemblies on the containers, the candidates assemblies to store cover from the first reload in 1991, until the assemblies deposited in the SFP in the 14 reload in 2010; therefore in 2016, such assemblies will have fulfilled with the criteria of 5 years of have been removed of the Reactor, also the 69 assemblies assigned to each container will have a resulting decay heat that does not exceed the thermal capacity of the container, but that in great percentage approximates to the same one, and this way to take full advantage of their storage capacity and thermal capacity for each container. This work also contains the arrangement to accommodate the assemblies in the containers; such arrangement is constituted by areas according to the decay heat of each assembly. (Author)

  2. Dry Cask Storage Characterization Project - Phase 1: CASTOR V/21 Cask Opening and Examination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bare, Walter Claude; Ebner, Matthias Anthony; Torgerson, Laurence Dale

    2001-08-01

    This report documents visual examination and testing conducted in 1999 and early 2000 at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) on a Gesellschaft für Nuklear Service (GNS) CASTOR V/21 pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel dry storage cask. The purpose of the examination and testing is to develop a technical basis for renewal of licenses and Certificates of Compliance for dry storage systems for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste at independent spent fuel storage installation sites. The examination and testing was conducted to assess the condition of the cask internal and external surfaces, cask contents consisting of 21 Westinghouse PWR spent fuel assemblies from Dominion’s (formerly named Virginia Power) Surry Power Station and cask concrete storage pad. The assemblies have been continuously stored in the CASTOR cask since 1985. Cask exterior surface and selected fuel assembly temperatures, and cask surface gamma and neutron dose rates were measured. Cask external/internal surfaces, fuel basket components including accessible weldments, fuel assembly exteriors, and primary lid seals were visually examined. Selected fuel rods were removed from one fuel assembly, visually examined, and then shipped to Argonne National Laboratory for nondestructive, destructive, and mechanical examination. Cask interior crud samples and helium cover gas samples were collected and analyzed. The results of the examination and testing indicate the concrete storage pad, CASTOR V/21 cask, and cask contents exhibited sound structural and seal integrity and that long-term storage has not caused detectable degradation of the spent fuel cladding or the release of gaseous fission products between 1985 and 1999.

  3. Contribution to the experimental qualification of PWR fuel storage calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marsault, Philippe.

    1980-12-01

    Experiments were carried out on assemblies representative of those used in PWR reactors in a configuration made critical with a driver zone. In this way, certain parameters were able to be measured using current classical techniques. As the multiplication factor for a group of assemblies cannot be determined directly, substitutions were made with an equivalent homogeneous lattice in which Laplacian measurements could be made. The k(infinite) factor was obtained by introducing a migration area which can only be obtained from calculations. Experimental storage studies realized during the CRISTO 1 campaign utilize: 1) a lattice with 4 14x14 pin assemblies immersed in ordinary water; 2) a lattice with 4 14x14 pin assemblies and 3) a regular lattice. The CRISTO experiment enabled criticality calculations to be qualified with these lattices for storage under accidental conditions [fr

  4. Status and operational experience report of spent fuel storage facility in Kozloduy NPP for the period 1990 - 1994

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalimanov, M [Kombinat Atomna Energetika, Kozloduj (Bulgaria)

    1994-12-31

    Spent Fuel Storage Facility (SFSF) of Kozloduy NPP is designed for a long-term storage of 4920 spent fuel assemblies which are generated by all units for ten year operational period. The assemblies are stored in SFSF after 3 year storage in the reactor cooling pool. The SFSF operational safety is ensured by a number of strictly followed regulations related to: arrangement of the assemblies and conditions at which they are stored; transportation of the assemblies to the facility; residual heat removal; quality of the water used in the storage pool; water temperature and level control. Two independent groups of experts have carried out investigations to study the building safety. Their reports have been considered and accepted by the council of the Ministry of Environment which was the final step in licensing the SFSF.

  5. Polyimide resin composites via in situ polymerization of monomeric reactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavano, P. J.

    1974-01-01

    Thermo-oxidatively stable polyimide/graphite-fiber composites were prepared using a unique in situ polymerization of monomeric reactants directly on reinforcing fibers. This was accomplished by using an aromatic diamine and two ester-acids in a methyl alcohol solvent, rather than a previously synthesized prepolymer varnish, as with other A-type polyimides. A die molding procedure was developed and a composite property characterization conducted with high modulus graphite fiber tow. Flexure, tensile, compressive, and shear tests were conducted at temperatures from 72 to 650 F on laminates before and after exposures at the given temperatures in an air environment for times up to 1000 hours. The composite material was determined to be oxidatively, thermally, and hydrolytically stable.

  6. WWER spent fuel storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bower, C C; Lettington, C [GEC Alsthom Engineering Systems Ltd., Whetstone (United Kingdom)

    1994-12-31

    Selection criteria for PAKS NPP dry storage system are outlined. They include the following: fuel temperature in storage; sub-criticality assurance (avoidance of criticality for fuel in the unirradiated condition without having to take credit for burn-up); assurance of decay heat removal; dose uptake to the operators and public; protection of environment; volume of waste produced during operation and decommissioning; physical protection of stored irradiated fuel assemblies; IAEA safeguards assurance; storage system versus final disposal route; cost of construction and extent of technology transfer to Hungarian industry. Several available systems are evaluated against these criteria, and as a result the GEC ALSTHOM Modular Vault Dry Store (MVDS) system has been selected. The MVDS is a passively cooled dry storage facility. Its most important technical, safety, licensing and technology transfer characteristics are outlined. On the basis of the experience gained some key questions and considerations related to the East European perspective in the field of spent fuel storage are discussed. 8 figs.

  7. WWER spent fuel storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bower, C.C.; Lettington, C.

    1994-01-01

    Selection criteria for PAKS NPP dry storage system are outlined. They include the following: fuel temperature in storage; sub-criticality assurance (avoidance of criticality for fuel in the unirradiated condition without having to take credit for burn-up); assurance of decay heat removal; dose uptake to the operators and public; protection of environment; volume of waste produced during operation and decommissioning; physical protection of stored irradiated fuel assemblies; IAEA safeguards assurance; storage system versus final disposal route; cost of construction and extent of technology transfer to Hungarian industry. Several available systems are evaluated against these criteria, and as a result the GEC ALSTHOM Modular Vault Dry Store (MVDS) system has been selected. The MVDS is a passively cooled dry storage facility. Its most important technical, safety, licensing and technology transfer characteristics are outlined. On the basis of the experience gained some key questions and considerations related to the East European perspective in the field of spent fuel storage are discussed. 8 figs

  8. The NASA Redox Storage System Development project, 1980

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-12-01

    The technical accomplishments pertaining to the development of Redox systems and related technology are outlined in terms of the task elements: prototype systems development, application analyses, and supporting technology. Prototype systems development provides for a major procurement to develop an industrial capability to take the current NASA Lewis technology and go on to the design, development, and commercialization of iron-chromium Redox storage systems. Application analyses provides for the definition of application concepts and technology requirements, specific definition studies, and the identification of market sectors and their penetration potential. Supporting technology includes both in house and contractual efforts that encompass implementation of technology improvements in membranes, electrodes, reactant processing, and system design. The status of all elements is discussed.

  9. Assessment of spent WWER-440 fuel performance under long-term storage conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takats, F [TS Enercon Kft. (Hungary)

    2012-07-01

    Paks Nuclear Power Plant is the only NPP in Hungary. It has four WWER-440 type reactor units. The fresh fuel is imported from Russia so far. The spent fuel assemblies were shipped back to Russia until 1997 after about 6 years cooling at the plant. A dry storage facility (MVDS type) has been constructed and is operational since then. By 1 January 2008, there were 5107 assemblies in dry storage. The objectives are: 1) Wet AR storage of spent fuel from the NPP Paks: Measurements of conditions for spent fuel storage in the at-reactor (AR) storage pools of Paks NPP (physical and chemical characteristics of pool water, corrosion product data); Measurements and visual control of storage pool component characteristics; Evaluation of storage characteristics and conditions with respect to long-term stability (corrosion of fuel cladding, construction materials); 2) Dry AFR storage at Paks NPP: Calculation and measurement of spent fuel conditions during the transfer from the storage pool to the modular vault dry storage (MVDS) on the site; Calculation and measurement of spent fuel conditions during the preparation of fuel for dry storage (drying process), such as crud release, activity build-up; Measurement of spent fuel conditions during the long-term dry storage, activity data in the storage tubes and amount of crud.

  10. Storage experience in Hungary with fuel from research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gado, J.; Hargitai, T.

    1996-01-01

    In Hungary several critical assemblies, a training reactor and a research reactor have been in operation. The fuel used in the research and training reactors are of Soviet origin. Though spent fuel storage experience is fairly good, medium and long term storage solutions are needed. (author)

  11. Characterization of spent fuel assemblies for storage facilities using non destructive assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebrun, A.; Bignan, G.; Recroix, H.; Huver, M.

    1999-01-01

    Many non destructive assay (NDA) techniques have been developed by the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) for spent fuel characterization and management. Passive and active neutron methods as well as gamma spectrometric methods have been carried out and applied to industrial devices like PYTHON TM and NAJA. Many existing NDA methods can be successfully applied to storage, but the most promising are the neutron methods combined with on line evolution codes. For dry storage applications, active neutron measurements require further R and D to achieve accurate results. Characterization data given by NDA instruments can now be linked to automatic fuel recognition. Both information can feed the storage management software in order to meet the storage operation requirements like: fissile mass inventory, operators declaration consistency or automatic selection of proper storage conditions. (author)

  12. The influence of tertiary butyl hydrazine as a co-reactant on the atomic layer deposition of silver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Golrokhi, Zahra; Marshall, Paul A.; Romani, Simon [Centre for Materials and Structures, School of Engineering,The University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Rushworth, Simon [EpiValence, The Wilton Centre, Redcar, Cleveland, TS10 4RF (United Kingdom); Chalker, Paul R. [Centre for Materials and Structures, School of Engineering,The University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Potter, Richard J., E-mail: rjpott@liverpool.ac.uk [Centre for Materials and Structures, School of Engineering,The University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GH (United Kingdom)

    2017-03-31

    Highlights: • We demonstrate metallic silver growth by direct liquid injection thermal ALD. • A substituted hydrazine is used as a powerful reducing agent for the first time. • The hydrazine extends the ALD temperature window compared with alcohol. • Hydrazine promotes a more planar growth mode compared to alcohol. • Film adhesion is improved using hydrazine compared with alcohol. - Abstract: Ultra-thin conformal silver films are the focus of development for applications such as anti-microbial surfaces, optical components and electronic devices. In this study, metallic silver films have been deposited using direct liquid injection thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) using (hfac)Ag(1,5-COD) ((hexafluoroacetylacetonato)silver(I)(1,5-cyclooctadiene)) as the metal source and tertiary butyl hydrazine (TBH) as a co-reactant. The process provides a 23 °C wide ‘self-limiting’ ALD temperature window between 105 and 128 °C, which is significantly wider than is achievable using alcohol as a co-reactant. A mass deposition rate of ∼20 ng/cm{sup 2}/cycle (∼0.18 Å/cycle) is observed under self-limiting growth conditions. The resulting films are crystalline metallic silver with a near planar film-like morphology which are electrically conductive. By extending the temperature range of the ALD window by the use of TBH as a co-reactant, it is envisaged that the process will be exploitable in a range of new low temperature applications.

  13. Categorization of failed and damaged spent LWR [light-water reactor] fuel currently in storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailey, W.J.

    1987-11-01

    The results of a study that was jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute are described in this report. The purpose of the study was to (1) estimate the number of failed fuel assemblies and damaged fuel assemblies (i.e., ones that have sustained mechanical or chemical damage but with fuel rod cladding that is not breached) in storage, (2) categorize those fuel assemblies, and (3) prepare this report as an authoritative, illustrated source of information on such fuel. Among the more than 45,975 spent light-water reactor fuel assemblies currently in storage in the United States, it appears that there are nearly 5000 failed or damaged fuel assemblies. 78 refs., 23 figs., 19 tabs

  14. Equipment designs for the spent LWR fuel dry storage demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steffen, R.J.; Kurasch, D.H.; Hardin, R.T.; Schmitten, P.F.

    1980-01-01

    In conjunction with the Spent Fuel Handling and Packaging Program (SFHPP) equipment has been designed, fabricated and successfully utilized to demonstrate the packaging and interim dry storage of spent LWR fuel. Surface and near surface storage configurations containing PWR fuel assemblies are currently on test and generating baseline data. Specific areas of hardware design focused upon include storage cell components and the support related equipment associated with encapsulation, leak testing, lag storage, and emplacement operations

  15. Spent LWR fuel encapsulation and dry storage demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahorich, R.J.; Durrill, D.C.; Cross, T.E.; Unterzuber, R.

    1980-01-01

    In 1977 the Spent Fuel Handling and Packaging Program (SFHPP) was initiated by the Department of Energy to develop and test the capability to satisfactorily encapsulate typical spent fuel assemblies from commercial light-water nuclear power plants and to establish the suitability of one or more surface and near surface concepts for the interim dry storage of the encapsulated spent fuel assemblies. The E-MAD Facility at the Nevada Test Site, which is operated for the Department of Energy by the Advanced Energy Systems Division (AESD) of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, was chosen as the location for this demonstration because of its extensive existing capabilities for handling highly radioactive components and because of the desirable site characteristics for the proposed storage concepts. This paper describes the remote operations related to the process steps of handling, encapsulating and subsequent dry storage of spent fuel in support of the Demonstration Program

  16. Two applications of airtightness control techniques on big assemblies

    CERN Document Server

    Devallan, C; Marcellin, J

    1973-01-01

    Deals with two airtightness control techniques respectively applied on intersecting storage rings (ISR) at CERN in Geneva and on a liquid methane storage tank. These two big assemblies called for two different control techniques which use helium and ammonia respectively as tracer gas. Existing practical leakage detection techniques to meet industrial needs are discussed at the end of the article. (2 refs).

  17. Different types of intermediate storages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spilker, H.

    1982-01-01

    Spent nuclear fuel elements require a period of ''cooling'' after withdrawal from a nuclear reactor. This is done in water storage pools located at the reactor facility. The minimum storage time prior to subsequent operations with the spent fuel is recognized as six to twelve months. After the initial storage period for cooling, the subsequent storage time in water pools could vary from a few years to several decades. Up to 1980, about 15.700 MTHM of spent LWR and HWR fuel have been discharged from nuclear stations. Since only a small fraction thereof has been already reprocessed. The spent fuel assemblies are stored at the reactor-side (AR) in reactor basins in normal or compact racks and away from reactor (AFR) in water pool storages awaiting either reprocessing or final disposal depending on the fuel cycle concept chosen by the individual countries. (orig.)

  18. Layer-by-layer assembled polyaniline nanofiber/multiwall carbon nanotube thin film electrodes for high-power and high-energy storage applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyder, Md Nasim; Lee, Seung Woo; Cebeci, Fevzi Ç; Schmidt, Daniel J; Shao-Horn, Yang; Hammond, Paula T

    2011-11-22

    Thin film electrodes of polyaniline (PANi) nanofibers and functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are created by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly for microbatteries or -electrochemical capacitors. Highly stable cationic PANi nanofibers, synthesized from the rapid aqueous phase polymerization of aniline, are assembled with carboxylic acid functionalized MWNT into LbL films. The pH-dependent surface charge of PANi nanofibers and MWNTs allows the system to behave like weak polyelectrolytes with controllable LbL film thickness and morphology by varying the number of bilayers. The LbL-PANi/MWNT films consist of a nanoscale interpenetrating network structure with well developed nanopores that yield excellent electrochemical performance for energy storage applications. These LbL-PANi/MWNT films in lithium cell can store high volumetric capacitance (~238 ± 32 F/cm(3)) and high volumetric capacity (~210 mAh/cm(3)). In addition, rate-dependent galvanostatic tests show LbL-PANi/MWNT films can deliver both high power and high energy density (~220 Wh/L(electrode) at ~100 kW/L(electrode)) and could be promising positive electrode materials for thin film microbatteries or electrochemical capacitors. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  19. Verification of the enrichment of fresh VVER-440 fuel assemblies at NPP Paks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Almasia, I.; Hlavathya, Z.; Nguyena, C. T. [Institute of Isotopes, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, (Hungary); others, and

    2012-06-15

    A Non Destructive Analysis (NDA) method was developed for the verification of {sup 235}U enrichment of both homogeneous and profiled VVER-440 reactor fresh fuel assemblies by means of gamma spectrometry. A total of ca. 30 assemblies were tested, five of which were homogeneous, with {sup 235}U enrichment in the range 1,6% to 3,6%, while the others were profiled with pins of 3,3% to 4,4% enrichment. Two types of gamma detectors were used for the test measurements: 2 coaxial HPGe detectors and a miniature CdZnTe (CZT) detector fitting into the central tube of the assemblies. It was therefore possible to obtain information from both the inside and the outside of the assemblies. It was shown that it is possible to distinguish between different types of assemblies within a reasonable measurement time (about 1000 sec). For the HPGe measurements the assemblies had to be lifted out from their storage rack, while for the CZT detector measurements the assemblies could be left at their storage position, as it was shown that the neighbouring assemblies do not affect measurement inside the assemblies' central tube. The measured values were compared to Monte Carlo simulations carried out using the MCNP code, and a recommendation for the optimal approach to verify the {sup 235}U enrichment of fresh VVER-440 reactor fuel assemblies is suggested.

  20. Long term wet spent nuclear fuel storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-04-01

    The meeting showed that there is continuing confidence in the use of wet storage for spent nuclear fuel and that long-term wet storage of fuel clad in zirconium alloys can be readily achieved. The importance of maintaining good water chemistry has been identified. The long-term wet storage behaviour of sensitized stainless steel clad fuel involves, as yet, some uncertainties. However, great reliance will be placed on long-term wet storage of spent fuel into the future. The following topics were treated to some extent: Oxidation of the external surface of fuel clad, rod consolidation, radiation protection, optimum methods of treating spent fuel storage water, physical radiation effects, and the behaviour of spent fuel assemblies of long-term wet storage conditions. A number of papers on national experience are included

  1. Use of periodic variations of reactant concentrations in time resolved ftir studies of CO oxidation on Pd/ZrO{sub 2} catalysts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ortelli, E; Wokaun, A [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1999-08-01

    Sine wave modulation of feed concentrations was used to induce dynamic variations in the concentrations of products, intermediates and reactants, which were monitored in a diffuse reflectance FTIR (DRIFT) cell. The phase shift {Delta}{phi} between the external perturbation of the feed and the signals of products, intermediates and reactants was examined in dependence on the modulation frequency {omega}. Reaction constants of a simplified model mechanism were estimated for a Pd{sub 25}Zr{sub 75} based catalyst for CO oxidation. (author) 1 fig., 2 refs.

  2. An improved assembly for the transport of fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myers, G.

    1979-01-01

    An improved assembly for the transport and storage of radioactive nuclear fuel elements is described. The fuel element transport canister is of the type in which the fuel elements are submerged in liquid with a self regulating ullage system, so that the fuel elements are always submerged in the liquid even when the assembly is used in one orientation during loading and another orientation during transportation. (UK)

  3. Compressed gas fuel storage system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wozniak, John J.; Tiller, Dale B.; Wienhold, Paul D.; Hildebrand, Richard J.

    2001-01-01

    A compressed gas vehicle fuel storage system comprised of a plurality of compressed gas pressure cells supported by shock-absorbing foam positioned within a shape-conforming container. The container is dimensioned relative to the compressed gas pressure cells whereby a radial air gap surrounds each compressed gas pressure cell. The radial air gap allows pressure-induced expansion of the pressure cells without resulting in the application of pressure to adjacent pressure cells or physical pressure to the container. The pressure cells are interconnected by a gas control assembly including a thermally activated pressure relief device, a manual safety shut-off valve, and means for connecting the fuel storage system to a vehicle power source and a refueling adapter. The gas control assembly is enclosed by a protective cover attached to the container. The system is attached to the vehicle with straps to enable the chassis to deform as intended in a high-speed collision.

  4. Critical experiments supporting close proximity water storage of power reactor fuel. Technical progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldwin, M.N.; Hoovler, G.S.; Eng, R.L.; Welfare, F.G.

    1979-07-01

    Close-packed storage of LWR fuel assemblies is needed in order to expand the capacity of existing underwater storage pools. This increased capacity is required to accommodate the large volume of spent fuel produced by prolonged onsite storage. To provide benchmark criticality data in support of this effort, 20 critical assemblies were constructed that simulated a variety of close-packed LWR fuel storage configurations. Criticality calculations using the Monte Carlo KENO-IV code were performed to provide an analytical basis for comparison with the experimental data. Each critical configuration is documented in sufficient detail to permit the use of these data in validating calculational methods according to ANSI Standard N16.9-1975

  5. Criticality safety evaluation for long term storage of FFTF fuel in interim storage casks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richard, R.F.

    1995-01-01

    It has been postulated that a degradation phenomenon, referred to as ''hot cell rot'', may affect irradiated FFTF mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel during dry interim storage. ''Hot cell rot'' refers to a variety of phenomena that degrade fuel pin cladding during exposure to air and inert gas environments. It is thought to be a form of caustic stress corrosion cracking or environmentally assisted cracking. Here, a criticality safety analysis was performed to address the effect of the ''hot cell rot'' phenomenon on the long term storage of irradiated FFTF fuel in core component containers. The results show that seven FFTF fuel assemblies or six Ident-69 pin containers stored in core component containers within interim storage casks will remain safely subcritical

  6. Self-assembled materials and supramolecular chemistry within microfluidic environments: from common thermodynamic states to non-equilibrium structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevim, S; Sorrenti, A; Franco, C; Furukawa, S; Pané, S; deMello, A J; Puigmartí-Luis, J

    2018-05-01

    Self-assembly is a crucial component in the bottom-up fabrication of hierarchical supramolecular structures and advanced functional materials. Control has traditionally relied on the use of encoded building blocks bearing suitable moieties for recognition and interaction, with targeting of the thermodynamic equilibrium state. On the other hand, nature leverages the control of reaction-diffusion processes to create hierarchically organized materials with surprisingly complex biological functions. Indeed, under non-equilibrium conditions (kinetic control), the spatio-temporal command of chemical gradients and reactant mixing during self-assembly (the creation of non-uniform chemical environments for example) can strongly affect the outcome of the self-assembly process. This directly enables a precise control over material properties and functions. In this tutorial review, we show how the unique physical conditions offered by microfluidic technologies can be advantageously used to control the self-assembly of materials and of supramolecular aggregates in solution, making possible the isolation of intermediate states and unprecedented non-equilibrium structures, as well as the emergence of novel functions. Selected examples from the literature will be used to confirm that microfluidic devices are an invaluable toolbox technology for unveiling, understanding and steering self-assembly pathways to desired structures, properties and functions, as well as advanced processing tools for device fabrication and integration.

  7. Modular Firewalls for Storage Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fedor, O. H.; Owens, L. J.

    1986-01-01

    Giant honeycomb structures assembled in modular units. Flammable materials stored in cells. Walls insulated with firebrick to prevent spread of fire among cells. Portable, modular barrier withstands heat of combustion for limited time and confines combustion products horizontally to prevent fire from spreading. Barrier absorbs heat energy by ablation and not meant to be reused. Designed to keep fires from spreading among segments of solid rocket propellant in storage, barrier erected between storage units of other flammable or explosive materials; tanks of petroleum or liquid natural gas. Barrier adequate for most industrial purposes.

  8. Criticality safety for TMI-2 canister storage at INEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, R.R.; Briggs, J.B.; Ayers, A.L. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    Canisters containing Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) core debris will be researched, stored, and prepared for final disposition at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The canisters will be placed into storage modules and assembled into a storage rack, which will be located in the Test Area North (TAN) storage pool. Criticality safety calculations were made (a) to ensure that the storage rack is safe for both normal and accident conditions and (b) to determine the effects of degradation of construction materials (Boraflex and polyethylene) on criticality safety

  9. Spent fuel dry storage in Hungary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buday, G.; Szabo, B.; Oerdoegh, M.; Takats, F.

    1999-01-01

    Paks Nuclear Power Plant is the only NPP in Hungary. It has four WWER-440 type reactor units. Since 1989, approximately 40-50% of the total annual electricity generation of the country has been supplied by this plant. The fresh fuel is imported from Russia. Most of the spent fuel assemblies have been shipped back to Russia. Difficulties with spent fuel transportation to Russia have begun in 1992. Since that time, some of the shipments were delayed, some of them were completely cancelled, thus creating a backlog of spent fuel filling all storage positions of the plant. To provide assurance of the continued operation, Paks NPPs management decided to implement an independent spent fuel storage facility and chose GEC-Althom's MVDS design. The construction of the facility started in February 1995 and the first spent fuel assembly was placed in the store in September 1997. The paper gives an overview of the situation, describing the conditions leading to the construction of the dry storage facility at Paks and its implementation. Finally, some information is given about the new Public Agency for Radioactive Waste Management established this year and responsible for managing the issues related to spent fuel management. (author)

  10. Modeling and experimental performance of an intermediate temperature reversible solid oxide cell for high-efficiency, distributed-scale electrical energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wendel, Christopher H.; Gao, Zhan; Barnett, Scott A.; Braun, Robert J.

    2015-06-01

    Electrical energy storage is expected to be a critical component of the future world energy system, performing load-leveling operations to enable increased penetration of renewable and distributed generation. Reversible solid oxide cells, operating sequentially between power-producing fuel cell mode and fuel-producing electrolysis mode, have the capability to provide highly efficient, scalable electricity storage. However, challenges ranging from cell performance and durability to system integration must be addressed before widespread adoption. One central challenge of the system design is establishing effective thermal management in the two distinct operating modes. This work leverages an operating strategy to use carbonaceous reactant species and operate at intermediate stack temperature (650 °C) to promote exothermic fuel-synthesis reactions that thermally self-sustain the electrolysis process. We present performance of a doped lanthanum-gallate (LSGM) electrolyte solid oxide cell that shows high efficiency in both operating modes at 650 °C. A physically based electrochemical model is calibrated to represent the cell performance and used to simulate roundtrip operation for conditions unique to these reversible systems. Design decisions related to system operation are evaluated using the cell model including current density, fuel and oxidant reactant compositions, and flow configuration. The analysis reveals tradeoffs between electrical efficiency, thermal management, energy density, and durability.

  11. Handling of multiassembly sealed baskets between reactor storage and a remote handling facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Massey, J.V.; Kessler, J.H.; McSherry, A.J.

    1989-06-01

    The storage of multiple fuel assemblies in sealed (welded) dry storage baskets is gaining increasing use to augment at-reactor fuel storage capacity. Since this increasing use will place a significant number of such baskets on reactor sites, some initial downstream planning for their future handling scenarios for retrieving multi-assembly sealed baskets (MSBs) from onsite storage and transferring and shipping the fuel (and/or the baskets) to a federally operated remote handling facility (RHF). Numerous options or at-reactor and away-from-reactor handling were investigated. Materials handling flowsheets were developed along with conceptual designs for the equipment and tools required to handle and open the MSBs. The handling options were evaluated and compared to a reference case, fuel handling sequence (i.e., fuel assemblies are taken from the fuel pool, shipped to a receiving and handling facility and placed into interim storage). The main parameters analyzed are throughout, radiation dose burden and cost. In addition to evaluating the handling of MSBs, this work also evaluated handling consolidated fuel canisters (CFCs). In summary, the handling of MSBs and CFCs in the store, ship and bury fuel cycle was found to be feasible and, under some conditions, to offer significant benefits in terms of throughput, cost and safety. 14 refs., 20 figs., 24 tabs

  12. Kinetics of the glucose/glycine Maillard reaction pathways: influences of pH and reactant initial concentrations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martins, S.I.F.S.; Boekel, van M.A.J.S.

    2005-01-01

    A previously proposed kinetic model for the glucose/glycine Maillard reaction pathways has been validated by changing the initial pH (4.8, 5.5, 6.0, 6.8 and 7.5) of the reaction and reactant initial concentrations (1:2 and 2:1 molar ratios were compared to the 1:1 ratio). The model consists of 10

  13. CNAAA spent fuel complementary storage building (UFC) construction and licensing: an overview of current status

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima Neto, Bertino do Carmo; Pacifi, Cicero Durval

    2013-01-01

    The reprocessing of nuclear fuel assemblies could be a valuable solution in order to make available additional energy resources and also to decrease the volume of discarded materials. After the burning of nuclear fuel assemblies to produce electrical energy, these components have to be stored in the spent fuel pools of each unit, for at least 10 years, in order to decrease their residual heat. Even after this initial 10 year-period, these spent fuel assemblies still have a great amount of energy, which can be reused. Nowadays, the spent fuel materials can be reprocessed in order to produce electrical energy, or be stored to provide, in the future, an opportunity to decide how these materials will be treated. At the present moment, Brazil does not plan to reprocess these spent fuels assemblies, as performed by some other countries. Thus, Brazil intends to build a spent fuel long term intermediate storage facility to allow the chance to make a decision in the future, taking into account the available technology at that time. Considering the three CNAAA units (Angra 1, 2 and 3 of Central Nuclear Almirante Alvaro Alberto, the Brazilian nuclear power plant, located at Angra dos Reis county, Rio de Janeiro state) have a life time estimated in 60 years, and the intrinsical spent fuel pools storage capacity of these units, a Spent Fuel Complementary Storage Building - UFC has to be foreseen in order to increase the storage capacity of CNAAA. Therefore, the Spent Fuel Complementary Storage Building shall be in operation in 2018, capable to receive the first spent fuel assemblies from Angra 2 and, in the next year, from Angra 1. The same procedure will be applied for the spent fuel assemblies of Angra 3, currently in construction. The Spent Fuel Complementary Storage Building will be constructed and operated by Eletrobras Eletronuclear - the CNAAA owner - and will be located at the same site of the plant. Conceptually, the UFC will be built as a wet storage modality

  14. Supramolecular assembled three-dimensional graphene hybrids: Synthesis and applications in supercapacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ni, Lubin [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, Jiangsu (China); Zhang, Wang [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, Jiangsu (China); Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Wu, Zhen; Sun, Chunyu; Cai, Yin; Yang, Guang; Chen, Ming [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, Jiangsu (China); Piao, Yuanzhe, E-mail: parkat9@snu.ac.kr [Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Diao, Guowang, E-mail: gwdiao@yzu.edu.cn [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, Jiangsu (China)

    2017-02-28

    Graphical abstract: Supramolecular assembled three-dimensdional graphene-based architectures were built by host-guest interactions of β-cyclodextrin polymers(β-CDPs) with adamantine end-capped poly(ethylene oxide) polymer linker (PEG-AD), exhibit significantly improved electrochemical performances of supercapacitor in terms of high specific capacitance, remarkable rate capability, and excellent cycling stability compared to pristine reduced graphene oxide. - Highlights: • Supramolecular assembled three-Dimensional (3D) graphene was first fabricated by host-guest interactions of β-CDPs with PEG-AD linkers. • The incorporation of PEG-AD linker into rGO sheets can provide efficient 3D electron transfer pathways and ion diffusion channels. • The 3D self-assembled graphene exhibits high specific capacitance, remarkable rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. • This study shed new lights to design 3D self-assembled graphene materials and their urgent applications in energy storage. - Abstract: Graphene-based materials have received worldwide attention in the focus of forefront energy storage investigations. Currently, the design of novel three-dimensional (3D) graphene structures with high energy capability, superior electron and ion conductivity, and robust mechanical flexibility is still a great challenge. Herein, we have successfully demonstrated a novel approach to fabricate 3D assembled graphene through the supramolecular interactions of β-cyclodextrin polymers (β-CDP) with an adamantine end-capped poly(ethylene oxide) polymer linker (PEG-AD). The incorporation of PEG-AD linker into rGO sheets increased the interlayer spacing of rGO sheets to form 3D graphene materials, which can provide efficient 3D electron transfer pathways and ion diffusion channels, and facilitate the infiltration of gel electrolyte. The as-prepared 3D self-assembled graphene materials exhibit significantly improved electrochemical performances of supercapacitor in terms

  15. Supramolecular assembled three-dimensional graphene hybrids: Synthesis and applications in supercapacitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ni, Lubin; Zhang, Wang; Wu, Zhen; Sun, Chunyu; Cai, Yin; Yang, Guang; Chen, Ming; Piao, Yuanzhe; Diao, Guowang

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Supramolecular assembled three-dimensdional graphene-based architectures were built by host-guest interactions of β-cyclodextrin polymers(β-CDPs) with adamantine end-capped poly(ethylene oxide) polymer linker (PEG-AD), exhibit significantly improved electrochemical performances of supercapacitor in terms of high specific capacitance, remarkable rate capability, and excellent cycling stability compared to pristine reduced graphene oxide. - Highlights: • Supramolecular assembled three-Dimensional (3D) graphene was first fabricated by host-guest interactions of β-CDPs with PEG-AD linkers. • The incorporation of PEG-AD linker into rGO sheets can provide efficient 3D electron transfer pathways and ion diffusion channels. • The 3D self-assembled graphene exhibits high specific capacitance, remarkable rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. • This study shed new lights to design 3D self-assembled graphene materials and their urgent applications in energy storage. - Abstract: Graphene-based materials have received worldwide attention in the focus of forefront energy storage investigations. Currently, the design of novel three-dimensional (3D) graphene structures with high energy capability, superior electron and ion conductivity, and robust mechanical flexibility is still a great challenge. Herein, we have successfully demonstrated a novel approach to fabricate 3D assembled graphene through the supramolecular interactions of β-cyclodextrin polymers (β-CDP) with an adamantine end-capped poly(ethylene oxide) polymer linker (PEG-AD). The incorporation of PEG-AD linker into rGO sheets increased the interlayer spacing of rGO sheets to form 3D graphene materials, which can provide efficient 3D electron transfer pathways and ion diffusion channels, and facilitate the infiltration of gel electrolyte. The as-prepared 3D self-assembled graphene materials exhibit significantly improved electrochemical performances of supercapacitor in terms

  16. Design and Construction of 10 kWh Class Flywheel Energy Storage System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, S. Y.; Han, S. C.; Han, Y. H.; Park, B. J.; Bae, Y. C.; Lee, W. R.

    2011-01-01

    A superconductor flywheel energy storage system (SFES) is an electro-mechanical battery which transforms electrical energy into mechanical energy for storage, and vice versa. A 10 kWh class flywheel energy storage system (FESS) has been developed to evaluate the feasibility of a 35 kWh class SFES with a flywheel Ip/If ratio larger than 1. The 10 kWh class FESS is composed of a main frame, a composite flywheel, active magnetic dampers (AMDs), a permanent magnet bearing, and a motor/generator. The flywheel of the FESS rotates at a very high speed to store energy, while being levitated by a permanent magnetic bearing and a pair of thrust AMDs. The 10 kWh class flywheel is mainly composed of a composite rotor assembly, where most of the energy is stored, two radial and two thrust AMD rotors, which dissipate vibration at critical speeds, a permanent magnet rotor, which supports most of the flywheel weight, a motor rotor, which spins the flywheel, and a central hollow shaft, where the parts are assembled and aligned to. The stators of each of the main components are assembled on to housings, which are assembled and aligned to the main frame. Many factors have been considered while designing each part of the flywheel, stator and frame. In this study, a 10 kWh class flywheel energy storage system has been designed and constructed for test operation.

  17. Compact spent fuel storage at the Atucha I nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antonaccio, Carlos; Conde, Alberto; Flores, Alexis; Masciotra, Humberto; Sala, Guillermo; Zanni, Pablo

    2000-01-01

    The object of this report is to verify the possibility to increase the available storage of irradiated fuel assemblies, placed in the spent fuel pools of the Atucha I nuclear power plant. There is intends the realization of structural modifications in the storage bracket-suspension beam (single and double) for the upper and lower level of the four spent fuel pools. With these modifications that increase the storage capacity 25%, would arrive until the year 2014, it dates dear for the limit of the commercial operation of nuclear power plant. The increase of the capacity in function of the permissible stress for the supports of the bracket-suspension beam. They should be carried out 5000 re-accommodations of irradiated fuel assemblies. The task would demand approximately 3 years. (author)

  18. Predicting Chiral Nanostructures, Lattices and Superlattices in Complex Multicomponent Nanoparticle Self-Assembly

    KAUST Repository

    Hur, Kahyun

    2012-06-13

    "Bottom up" type nanoparticle (NP) self-assembly is expected to provide facile routes to nanostructured materials for various, for example, energy related, applications. Despite progress in simulations and theories, structure prediction of self-assembled materials beyond simple model systems remains challenging. Here we utilize a field theory approach for predicting nanostructure of complex and multicomponent hybrid systems with multiple types of short- and long-range interactions. We propose design criteria for controlling a range of NP based nanomaterial structures. In good agreement with recent experiments, the theory predicts that ABC triblock terpolymer directed assemblies with ligand-stabilized NPs can lead to chiral NP network structures. Furthermore, we predict that long-range Coulomb interactions between NPs leading to simple NP lattices, when applied to NP/block copolymer (BCP) assemblies, induce NP superlattice formation within the phase separated BCP nanostructure, a strategy not yet realized experimentally. We expect such superlattices to be of increasing interest to communities involved in research on, for example, energy generation and storage, metamaterials, as well as microelectronics and information storage. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

  19. LFI Radiometric Chain Assembly (RCA) data handling ``Rachel''

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malaspina, M.; Franceschi, E.; Battaglia, P.; Binko, P.; Butler, R. C.; D'Arcangelo, O.; Fogliani, S.; Frailis, M.; Franceschet, C.; Galeotta, S.; Gasparo, F.; Gregorio, A.; Lapolla, M.; Leonardi, R.; Maggio, G.; Mandolesi, N.; Manzato, P.; Maris, M.; Meharga, M.; Meinhold, P.; Morisset, N.; Pasian, F.; Perrotta, F.; Rohlfs, R.; Sandri, M.; Tomasi, M.; Türler, M.; Zacchei, A.; Zonca, A.

    2009-12-01

    Planck's Low Frequency Instrument is an array of 22 pseudo-correlation radiometers at 30, 44, and 70 GHz. Before integrating the overall array assembly, a first set of tests has been performed for each radiometer chain assembly (RCA), consisting of two radiometers. In this paper, we describe Rachel, a software application which has been purposely developed and used during the RCA test campaign to carry out both near-realtime on-line data analysis and data storage (in FITS format) of the raw output from the radiometric chains.

  20. LFI Radiometric Chain Assembly (RCA) data handling 'Rachel'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malaspina, M; Franceschi, E; Butler, R C; Mandolesi, N; Battaglia, P; Franceschet, C; Lapolla, M; Binko, P; Meharga, M; D'Arcangelo, O; Fogliani, S; Frailis, M; Galeotta, S; Gasparo, F; Maggio, G; Manzato, P; Maris, M; Gregorio, A; Leonardi, R; Meinhold, P

    2009-01-01

    Planck's Low Frequency Instrument is an array of 22 pseudo-correlation radiometers at 30, 44, and 70 GHz. Before integrating the overall array assembly, a first set of tests has been performed for each radiometer chain assembly (RCA), consisting of two radiometers. In this paper, we describe Rachel, a software application which has been purposely developed and used during the RCA test campaign to carry out both near-realtime on-line data analysis and data storage (in FITS format) of the raw output from the radiometric chains.

  1. Rapid heterogeneous assembly of multiple magma reservoirs prior to Yellowstone supereruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wotzlaw, Jörn-Frederik; Bindeman, Ilya N; Stern, Richard A; D'Abzac, Francois-Xavier; Schaltegger, Urs

    2015-09-10

    Large-volume caldera-forming eruptions of silicic magmas are an important feature of continental volcanism. The timescales and mechanisms of assembly of the magma reservoirs that feed such eruptions as well as the durations and physical conditions of upper-crustal storage remain highly debated topics in volcanology. Here we explore a comprehensive data set of isotopic (O, Hf) and chemical proxies in precisely U-Pb dated zircon crystals from all caldera-forming eruptions of Yellowstone supervolcano. Analysed zircons record rapid assembly of multiple magma reservoirs by repeated injections of isotopically heterogeneous magma batches and short pre-eruption storage times of 10(3) to 10(4) years. Decoupled oxygen-hafnium isotope systematics suggest a complex source for these magmas involving variable amounts of differentiated mantle-derived melt, Archean crust and hydrothermally altered shallow-crustal rocks. These data demonstrate that complex magma reservoirs with multiple sub-chambers are a common feature of rift- and hotspot related supervolcanoes. The short duration of reservoir assembly documents rapid crustal remelting and two to three orders of magnitude higher magma production rates beneath Yellowstone compared to continental arc volcanoes. The short pre-eruption storage times further suggest that the detection of voluminous reservoirs of eruptible magma beneath active supervolcanoes may only be possible prior to an impending eruption.

  2. Assembly processor program converts symbolic programming language to machine language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelto, E. V.

    1967-01-01

    Assembly processor program converts symbolic programming language to machine language. This program translates symbolic codes into computer understandable instructions, assigns locations in storage for successive instructions, and computer locations from symbolic addresses.

  3. Design review report FFTF interim storage cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, P.L.

    1995-01-01

    Final Design Review Report for the FFTF Interim Storage Cask. The Interim Storage Cask (ISC) will be used for long term above ground dry storage of FFTF irradiated fuel in Core Component Containers (CCC)s. The CCC has been designed and will house assemblies that have been sodium washed in the IEM Cell. The Solid Waste Cask (SWC) will transfer a full CCC from the IEM Cell to the RSB Cask Loading Station where the ISC will be located to receive it. Once the loaded ISC has been sealed at the RSB Cask Loading Station, it will be transferred by facility crane to the DSWC Transporter. After the ISC has been transferred to the Interim Storage Area (ISA), which is yet to be designed, a mobile crane will be used to place the ISC in its final storage location

  4. Conceptual design of interim storage facility for CNAI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuenzalida Troyano, Carlos S.; Bergallo, Juan E.; Nassini, Horacio E.P.; Blanco, Anibal; Delmastro, Dario F.

    2007-01-01

    The reduced storage capacity available in the two spent fuel pools of argentine PHWR Atucha-1 power plant, the current plans for extending the reactor operation beyond its design lifetime, and the government decision on Atucha-2 NPP construction ending, have motivated the evaluation of a dry storage option for the interim management of spent fuel assemblies. Two different designs are presently being analyzed by an expert working group, from both technical and economical points of views. Authors are proposing a modular system consisting of an arrangement of reinforced concrete structures into which welded metallic canisters loaded with 37 spent fuel assemblies each stored in horizontal position. The reinforced concrete module is designed to provide the necessary physical protection and biological shielding to the loaded canisters during long-term storage, as well as passive means to remove the spent fuel decay heat by a combination of radiation, conduction and natural air convection. In this works are presented advances in the conceptual designs for a spent nuclear fuel system to Atucha I nuclear power plant. (author) [es

  5. Technology for national asset storage systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyne, Robert A.; Hulen, Harry; Watson, Richard

    1993-01-01

    An industry-led collaborative project, called the National Storage Laboratory, was organized to investigate technology for storage systems that will be the future repositories for our national information assets. Industry participants are IBM Federal Systems Company, Ampex Recording Systems Corporation, General Atomics DISCOS Division, IBM ADSTAR, Maximum Strategy Corporation, Network Systems Corporation, and Zitel Corporation. Industry members of the collaborative project are funding their own participation. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory through its National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC) will participate in the project as the operational site and the provider of applications. The expected result is an evaluation of a high performance storage architecture assembled from commercially available hardware and software, with some software enhancements to meet the project's goals. It is anticipated that the integrated testbed system will represent a significant advance in the technology for distributed storage systems capable of handling gigabyte class files at gigabit-per-second data rates. The National Storage Laboratory was officially launched on 27 May 1992.

  6. Hydrogen storage property of nanoporous carbon aerogels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen Jun; Liu Nianping; Ouyang Ling; Zhou Bin; Wu Guangming; Ni Xingyuan; Zhang Zhihua

    2011-01-01

    Carbon aerogels were prepared from resorcinol and formaldehyde via sol-gel process, high temperature carbonization and atmospheric pressure drying technology with solvent replacement. By changing the resorcinol-sodium carbonate molar ratio and the mass fraction of the reactants,resorcinol and formaldehyde, the pore structure of carbon aerogels can be controlled and the palladium-doped carbon aerogels were prepared.By transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra, it is confirmed that the Pd exists in the skeleton structure of carbon aerogels as a form of nano simple substance pellet. The specific surface area is successfully raised by 2 times, and palladium-doped carbon aerogels with a specific surface area of 1 273 m 2 /g have been obtained by carrying out the activation process as the post-processing to the doped carbon aerogels. The hydrogen adsorption results show that the saturated hydrogen storage mass fraction of the carbon aerogels with the specific surface area of 3 212 m 2 /g is 3% in the condition of 92 K, 3.5 MPa, and 0.84% in the condition of 303 K, 3.2 MPa. In addition, the hydrogen adsorption test of palladium-doped carbon aerogels at room temperature (303 K) shows that the total hydrogen storage capacity of doped carbon aerogels is declined due to the relative small specific surface, but the hydrogen storage of unit specific surface area is enhanced. (authors)

  7. Criticality studies for dry storage cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnani, P.D.; Srinivasan, K.R.

    1993-01-01

    Spent nuclear fuel from Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) is stored in a storage pool located inside the reactor building. The capacity of this pool was initially to meet storage requirements of 528 bundles which was later augmented from time to time. Since the enhanced capacity was also getting exhausted, setting up of a storage pool away from reactor was envisaged. As an interim measure, the dry storage casks were designed to store the spent fuel already cooled for a few years in the storage pools. If water enters the cask, the cask interior may be covered with steam water or air-water mixture. This paper gives the results of criticality calculations for storage cask under various conditions of steam water mixture, using the computer code LWRBOX. In these calculations, it has been assumed that the cask contains the most reactive fuel assemblies of reload-1 at zero burnup. It also gives the comparison of some of the results with General Electric (GE) calculations. (author). 3 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

  8. Safety for fuel assembly handling in the nuclear ship Mutsu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ando, Yoshio

    1978-01-01

    The safety for fuel assembly handling in the nuclear ship Mutsu is deliberated by the committee of general inspection and repair technique examination for Mutsu. The result of deliberation for both cases of removing fuel assemblies and keeping them in the reactor is outlined. The specification of fuel assemblies, and the nuclides and designed radioactivity of fission products of fuel are described. The possibility of shielding repair work and general safety inspection keeping the fuel assemblies in the reactor, the safety consideration when the fuel assemblies are removed at a quay, in a dry dock and on the ocean, the safety of fuel transport in special casks and fuel storage are explained. It is concluded finally that the safety of shielding repair work and general inspection work is secured when the fuel assemblies are kept in the reactor and also when the fuel assemblies are removed from the reactor by cautious working. (Nakai, Y.)

  9. Improvements in or relating to gripping means for handling nuclear reactor fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batjukov, V.I.; Vjugov, O.N.; Fadeev, A.I.; Shkhian, T.G.

    1980-01-01

    A gripping means for handling fuel assemblies, the heads of which are internally recessed to receive gripping jaws, forms part of a reactor refuelling machine and is telescopically accommodated within a manipulator tube of the machine. A through hole is provided to allow cooling medium to be passed through the fuel assemblies to remove afterheat when the gripping means is used to transfer assemblies from a reactor core to spent fuel storage sockets. (author)

  10. An incomplete assembly with thresholding algorithm for systems of reaction-diffusion equations in three space dimensions IAT for reaction-diffusion systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, Peter K.

    2003-01-01

    Solving systems of reaction-diffusion equations in three space dimensions can be prohibitively expensive both in terms of storage and CPU time. Herein, I present a new incomplete assembly procedure that is designed to reduce storage requirements. Incomplete assembly is analogous to incomplete factorization in that only a fixed number of nonzero entries are stored per row and a drop tolerance is used to discard small values. The algorithm is incorporated in a finite element method-of-lines code and tested on a set of reaction-diffusion systems. The effect of incomplete assembly on CPU time and storage and on the performance of the temporal integrator DASPK, algebraic solver GMRES and preconditioner ILUT is studied

  11. Alternatives for water basin spent fuel storage: executive summary and comparative evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viebrock, J.M.

    1979-09-01

    A five part report identifies and evaluates alternatives to conventional methods for water basin storage of irradiated light water reactor fuel assemblies (spent fuel). A recommendation is made for development or further evaluation of one attractive alternative: Proceed to develop fuel disassembly with subsequent high density storage of fuel pins (pin storage). The storage alternatives were evaluated for emplacement at reactor, in existing away-from-reactor storage facilities and in new away-from-reactor facilities. In the course of the study, the work effort necessarily extended beyond the pool wall in scope to properly assess the affects of storage alternatives on AFT systems

  12. Layer-by-layer assembly of MXene and carbon nanotubes on electrospun polymer films for flexible energy storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zehang; Panatdasirisuk, Weerapha; Mathis, Tyler S; Anasori, Babak; Lu, Canhui; Zhang, Xinxing; Liao, Zhiwei; Gogotsi, Yury; Yang, Shu

    2018-03-29

    Free-standing, highly flexible and foldable supercapacitor electrodes were fabricated through the spray-coating assisted layer-by-layer assembly of Ti3C2Tx (MXene) nanoflakes together with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) fiber networks. The open structure of the PCL network and the use of MWCNTs as spacers not only limit the restacking of Ti3C2Tx flakes but also increase the accessible surface of the active materials, facilitating fast diffusion of electrolyte ions within the electrode. Composite electrodes have areal capacitance (30-50 mF cm-2) comparable to other templated electrodes reported in the literature, but showed significantly improved rate performance (14-16% capacitance retention at a scan rate of 100 V s-1). Furthermore, the composite electrodes are flexible and foldable, demonstrating good tolerance against repeated mechanical deformation, including twisting and folding. Therefore, these tens of micron thick fiber electrodes will be attractive for applications in energy storage, electroanalytical chemistry, brain electrodes, electrocatalysis and other fields, where flexible freestanding electrodes with an open and accessible surface are highly desired.

  13. Computational Modelling of Thermal Stability in a Reactive Slab with Reactant Consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. D. Makinde

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates both the transient and the steady state of a one-step nth-order oxidation exothermic reaction in a slab of combustible material with an insulated lower surface and an isothermal upper surface, taking into consideration reactant consumption. The nonlinear partial differential equation governing the transient reaction-diffusion problem is solved numerically using a semidiscretization finite difference technique. The steady-state problem is solved using a perturbation technique together with a special type of the Hermite-Padé approximants. Graphical results are presented and discussed quantitatively with respect to various embedded parameters controlling the systems. The crucial roles played by the boundary conditions in determining the thermal ignition criticality are demonstrated.

  14. Surface mediated assembly of small, metastable gold nanoclusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettibone, John M.; Osborn, William A.; Rykaczewski, Konrad; Talin, A. Alec; Bonevich, John E.; Hudgens, Jeffrey W.; Allendorf, Mark D.

    2013-06-01

    The unique properties of metallic nanoclusters are attractive for numerous commercial and industrial applications but are generally less stable than nanocrystals. Thus, developing methodologies for stabilizing nanoclusters and retaining their enhanced functionality is of great interest. We report the assembly of PPh3-protected Au9 clusters from a heterogeneous mixture into films consisting of sub 3 nm nanocluster assemblies. The depositing nanoclusters are metastable in solution, but the resulting nanocluster assemblies are stabilized indefinitely in air or fresh solvent. The films exhibit distinct structure from Au nanoparticles observed by X-ray diffraction, and film dissolution data support the preservation of small nanoclusters. UV-Vis spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron microscopy are used to elucidate information regarding the nanocluster formation and assembly mechanism. Preferential deposition of nanocluster assemblies can be achieved on multiple substrates, including polymer, Cr, Si, SiO2, SiNx, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Unlike other vapor phase coating processes, nanocluster assembly on the MIL-68(In) MOF crystal is capable of preferentially coating the external surface and stabilizing the crystal structure in hydrothermal conditions, which should enhance their storage, separation and delivery capabilities.The unique properties of metallic nanoclusters are attractive for numerous commercial and industrial applications but are generally less stable than nanocrystals. Thus, developing methodologies for stabilizing nanoclusters and retaining their enhanced functionality is of great interest. We report the assembly of PPh3-protected Au9 clusters from a heterogeneous mixture into films consisting of sub 3 nm nanocluster assemblies. The depositing nanoclusters are metastable in solution, but the resulting nanocluster assemblies are stabilized indefinitely in air or fresh solvent. The

  15. Fuel cell system with separating structure bonded to electrolyte

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourgeois, Richard Scott; Gudlavalleti, Sauri; Quek, Shu Ching; Hasz, Wayne Charles; Powers, James Daniel

    2010-09-28

    A fuel cell assembly comprises a separating structure configured for separating a first reactant and a second reactant wherein the separating structure has an opening therein. The fuel cell assembly further comprises a fuel cell comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, and an electrolyte interposed between the first and second electrodes, and a passage configured to introduce the second reactant to the second electrode. The electrolyte is bonded to the separating structure with the first electrode being situated within the opening, and the second electrode being situated within the passage.

  16. Characteristics of fuel crud and its impact on storage, handling, and shipment of spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazelton, R.F.

    1987-09-01

    Corrosion products, called ''crud,'' form on out-of-reactor surfaces of nuclear reactor systems and are transported by reactor coolant to the core, where they deposit on external fuel-rod cladding surfaces and are activated by nuclear reactions. After discharge of spent fuel from a reactor, spallation of radioactive crud from the fuel rods could impact wet or dry storage operations, handling (including rod consolidation), and shipping. It is the purpose of this report to review earlier (1970s) and more recent (1980s) literature relating to crud, its characteristics, and any impact it has had on actual operations. Crud characteristics vary from reactor type to reactor type, reactor to reactor, fuel assembly to fuel assembly in a reactor, circumferentially and axially in an assembly, and from cycle to cycle for a specific facility. To characterize crud of pressurized-water (PWRs) and boiling-water reactors (BWRs), published information was reviewed on appearance, chemical composition, areal density and thickness, structure, adhesive strength, particle size, and radioactivity. Information was also collected on experience with crud during spent fuel wet storage, rod consolidation, transportation, and dry storage. From experience with wet storage, rod consolidation, transportation, and dry storage, it appears crud spallation can be managed effectively, posing no significant radiological problems. 44 refs., 11 figs

  17. Spent fuel dry storage technology development: thermal evaluation of three adjacent drywells (each containing a 0.6 kW PWR spent fuel assembly)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Unterzuber, R.; Hanson, J.P.

    1981-09-01

    A spent fuel Adjacent Drywell Test was conducted at the Engine-Maintenance, Assembly and Disassembly (E-MAD) facility on the Nevada Test Site utilizing three nearly identical pressurized water reactor spent fuel assemblies each having a decay heat level of approximately 0.6 kW. Each fuel assembly was encapsulated inside the E-MAD Hot Bay and placed in an instrumented near-surface drywell storage cell for thermal testing. Each fuel assembly was sealed inside a 14-in. diam, 168-in.-long stainless steel canister and attached to a concrete-filled, 20-in.-diam, 34-in.-long, shield plug. The canister assembly was then placed in a carbon steel drywell liner which had been grouted into a hole drilled in the soil adjacent to E-MAD. The three drywells were located 25 feet apart in a linear array. Thermocouples, provided to measure canister, liner and soil temperatures, were inserted into tubes on the outside of the canister and drywell liner and were attached to plastic pipes which were grouted into holes in the soil. Temperatures from the three drywells and the adjacent soil were recorded throughout the Adjacent Drywell Test. Drywell thermal data showed virtually no thermal interaction between adjacent drywells. However, peak temperatures reached by the three drywells did show a fairly significant difference. Peak canister and drywell liner temperatures were reached in August 1981 for all three drywells. The two previously unused drywells responded similarly with peak canister and liner temperatures reaching 199 0 F and 158 0 F, respectively. Comparable peak temperatures for the third drywell which had previously contained spent fuel for nearly 21 months prior to the Adjacent Drywell Test reached 210 0 F for the canister and 169 0 F for the drywell liner. This difference is attributed to a decrease in soil thermal conductivity caused by the dryout of soil around the drywell used for previous spent fuel testing

  18. Refitting of the 'Celimene' hot cell for following up the fuel assembly of 900 MWe PWR power reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lhermenier, Andre; Van Craeynest, J.-C.

    1980-05-01

    The 'Celimene' cell adjoining the EL3 reactor provides for the acceptance, handling and the examination of irradiated fuel assemblies from power reactors (length approximately 4m, weight approximately 700 kg). Within the framework of the PWR fuel behavior follow-up or reprocessing, it is possible to extract an assembly representative of the normal fuel cycle, carry out non destructive tests on this assembly, extract pencils from it and re-insert this assembly, after refitting the head, into the normal fuel cycle for handling in a reprocessing plant or storage pond. Given suitable refitting techniques, the re-irradiation of the assembly can be considered after examination. Significant changes have been made to the buildings and the hoist facilities for handling very heavy flasks. It was necessary to rearrange the handling, machining and in-cell storage facilities. The development of an inspection rig will make it possible, some time in 1980, to carry out non destructive tests of assemblies, optical and metrological examination of assemblies prior to dismantling or of the structure after dismantling [fr

  19. Predicting Upscaled Behavior of Aqueous Reactants in Heterogeneous Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, E. E.; Hansen, S. K.; Bolster, D.; Richter, D. H.; Vesselinov, V. V.

    2017-12-01

    When modeling reactive transport, reaction rates are often overestimated due to the improper assumption of perfect mixing at the support scale of the transport model. In reality, fronts tend to form between participants in thermodynamically favorable reactions, leading to segregation of reactants into islands or fingers. When such a configuration arises, reactions are limited to the interface between the reactive solutes. Closure methods for estimating control-volume-effective reaction rates in terms of quantities defined at the control volume scale do not presently exist, but their development is crucial for effective field-scale modeling. We attack this problem through a combination of analytical and numerical means. Specifically, we numerically study reactive transport through an ensemble of realizations of two-dimensional heterogeneous porous media. We then employ regression analysis to calibrate an analytically-derived relationship between reaction rate and various dimensionless quantities representing conductivity-field heterogeneity and the respective strengths of diffusion, reaction and advection.

  20. Environmental Assessment: Relocation and storage of TRIGA reg-sign reactor fuel, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-08-01

    In order to allow the shutdown of the Hanford 308 Building in the 300 Area, it is proposed to relocate fuel assemblies (101 irradiated, three unirradiated) from the Mark I TRIGA Reactor storage pool. The irradiated fuel assemblies would be stored in casks in the Interim Storage Area in the Hanford 400 Area; the three unirradiated ones would be transferred to another TRIGA reactor. The relocation is not expected to change the offsite exposure from all Hanford Site 300 and 400 Area operations

  1. Energy storage, compression, and switching. Vol. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nardi, V.; Bostick, W.H.; Sahlin, H.

    1983-01-01

    This book is a compilation of papers presented at the Second International Conference on Energy Storage, Compression, and Switching, which was held in order to assemble active researchers with a major interest in plasma physics, electron beams, electric and magnetic energy storage systems, high voltage and high current switches, free-electron lasers, and pellet implosion plasma focus. Topics covered include: Slow systems: 50-60 Hz machinery, homopolar generators, slow capacitors, inductors, and solid state switches; Intermediate systems: fast capacitor banks; superconducting storage and switching; gas, vacuum, and dielectric switching; nonlinear (magnetic) switching; imploding liners capacitors; explosive generators; and fuses; and Fast systems: Marx, Blumlein, oil, water, and pressurized water dielectrics; switches; magnetic insulation; electron beams; and plasmas

  2. Interim spent-fuel storage options at commercial nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thakkar, A.R.; Hylko, J.M.

    1991-01-01

    Although spent fuel can be stored safely in waterfilled pools at reactor sites, some utilities may not possess sufficient space for life-of-plant storage capability. In-pool storage capability may be increased by reracking assemblies, rod consolidation, double tiering spent-fuel racks, and by shipping spent fuel to other utility-owned facilities. Long-term on-site storage capability for spent fuel may be provided by installing (dry-type) metal casks, storage and transportation casks, concrete casks, horizontal concrete modules, modular concrete vaults, or by constructing additional (pool-type) storage installations. Experience to date has provided valuable information regarding dry-type or pool-type installations, cask handling and staffing requirements, security features, decommissioning activities, and radiological issues

  3. Engineering of soybean seed storage proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dickinson, C.D.; Floener, L.A.; Evans, R.P.; Nielsen, N.C.

    1987-01-01

    Protein engineering is one approach to the improvement of seed quality. With this in mind, a rapid in vitro system has been developed to assay the effect structural modifications have on the assembly of glycinin and β-conglycinin subunit complexes. Transcription plasmids were constructed for production of synthetic glycinin and β-conglycinin mRNAs by SP6 RNA-polymerase. Radiolabeled translation products from these messages were tested for their ability to form complexes. Gy4 and Gy5 proglycinins (group-2 subunits) and the a-subunit of β-conglycinin self-assembled into trimers. Proglycinin Gy2 (group-1 subunit) did not self-assemble, but assembled into mixed trimers in combination with Gy4 proglycinin. No assembly was observed for preproglycinins Gyl and Gy4, or for a Gy4 proglycinin which lacked 27 amino acids in a highly conserved internal sequence. Insertion of alternating MET-ARG residues in predicted turn regions of a hypervariable sequence in Gy4 proglycinin were tolerated when the string was short but inhibited trimer assembly as it became longer. The response to several different long deletions in this hypervariable region have also been tested. Different levels of trimer assembly were obtained and may depend on the secondary structures of the regions being joined in the engineered subunits. This system will be useful to study the assembly of storage protein complexes and to screen against modifications that interfere with subunit assembly

  4. High-coercivity FePt nanoparticle assemblies embedded in silica thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Q; Purkayastha, A; Singh, A P; Li, H; Ramanath, G; Li, A; Ramanujan, R V

    2009-01-01

    The ability to process assemblies using thin film techniques in a scalable fashion would be a key to transmuting the assemblies into manufacturable devices. Here, we embed FePt nanoparticle assemblies into a silica thin film by sol-gel processing. Annealing the thin film composite at 650 deg. C transforms the chemically disordered fcc FePt phase into the fct phase, yielding magnetic coercivity values H c >630 mT. The positional order of the particles is retained due to the protection offered by the silica host. Such films with assemblies of high-coercivity magnetic particles are attractive for realizing new types of ultra-high-density data storage devices and magneto-composites.

  5. Considerations for Disposition of Dry Cask Storage System Materials at End of Storage System Life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard, Rob; Van den Akker, Bret

    2014-01-01

    Dry cask storage systems are deployed at nuclear power plants for used nuclear fuel (UNF) storage when spent fuel pools reach their storage capacity and/or the plants are decommissioned. An important waste and materials disposition consideration arising from the increasing use of these systems is the management of the dry cask storage systems' materials after the UNF proceeds to disposition. Thermal analyses of repository design concepts currently under consideration internationally indicate that waste package sizes for the geologic media under consideration may be significantly smaller than the canisters being used for on-site dry storage by the nuclear utilities. Therefore, at some point along the UNF disposition pathway, there could be a need to repackage fuel assemblies already loaded into the dry storage canisters currently in use. In the United States, there are already over 1650 of these dry storage canisters deployed and approximately 200 canisters per year are being loaded at the current fleet of commercial nuclear power plants. There is about 10 cubic meters of material from each dry storage canister system that will need to be dispositioned. The concrete horizontal storage modules or vertical storage overpacks will need to be reused, re-purposed, recycled, or disposed of in some manner. The empty metal storage canister/cask would also have to be cleaned, and decontaminated for possible reuse or recycling or disposed of, likely as low-level radioactive waste. These material disposition options can have impacts of the overall used fuel management system costs. This paper will identify and explore some of the technical and interface considerations associated with managing the dry cask storage system materials. (authors)

  6. Self-assembly of nano/micro-structured Fe3O4 microspheres among 3D rGO/CNTs hierarchical networks with superior lithium storage performances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Jinlong; Feng, Haibo; Wang, Xipeng; Qian, Dong; Jiang, Jianbo; Li, Junhua; Peng, Sanjun; Deng, Miao; Liu, Youcai

    2014-01-01

    Nano/micro-structured Fe 3 O 4 microspheres among three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hierarchical networks (the ternary composite is denoted as rGCFs) have been synthesized using a facile, self-assembled and one-pot hydrothermal approach. The rGCFs composite exhibits superior lithium storage performances: initial discharge and charge capacities of 1452 and 1036 mAh g −1 , respectively, remarkable rate capability at current densities from 100 mA g −1 to 10 A g −1 and outstanding cycling performance up to 200 cycles. The highly enhanced electrochemical performances of rGCFs depend heavily on the robust 3D rGO/CNTs hierarchical networks, the stable nano/microstructures of active Fe 3 O 4 microspheres and the positive synergistic effects of building components. The systematic structure characterizations and electrochemical investigations provide insightful understanding towards the relationship between structure/morphology and lithium storage performances, which may pave the way for the rational design of composite materials with desirable goals. (papers)

  7. Time resolved FTIR study of the catalytic CO oxidation under periodic variation of the reactant concentration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kritzenberger, J; Wokaun, A [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1997-06-01

    Oxidation of CO over palladium/zirconia catalyst obtained from an amorphous Pd{sub 25}Zr{sub 75} precursor was investigated by time resolved FTIR spectroscopy. Sine wave shaped modulation of the reactant concentration, i.e. variation of CO or O{sub 2} partial pressure, was used to induce variations of the IR signals of product (CO{sub 2}) and unconverted reactant (CO), which were detected in a multi-pass absorption cell. The phase shift {phi} between external perturbation and variation of the CO{sub 2} signal was examined in dependence on temperature (100{sup o}C{<=}T{<=}350{sup o}C) and modulation frequency (1.39x10{sup -4}Hz{<=}{omega}{<=}6.67x10{sup -2}Hz). From the phase shift values, a simple Eley-Rideal mechanism is excluded, and the rate limiting step of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism for the CO oxidation may be identified. Adsorption and possible surface movement of CO to the actual reaction site determine the rate of the CO oxidation on the palladium/zirconia catalyst used in our study. The introduction of an external perturbation is a first step towards the application of two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy to heterogeneous catalyzed reactions. (author) 3 figs., 4 refs.

  8. PWR Core II blanket fuel disposition recommendation of storage option study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dana, C.M.

    1995-01-01

    After review of the options available for current storage of T Plant Fuel the recommended option is wet storage without the use of chillers. A test has been completed that verifies the maximum temperature reached is below the industrial standard for storage of spent fuel. This option will be the least costly and still maintain the fuel in a safe environment. The options that were evaluated included dry storage with and without chillers, and wet storage with and without chillers. Due to the low decay heat of the Shippingport Core II Blanket fuel assemblies the fuel pool temperature will not exceed 100 deg. F

  9. Management number identification method for nuclear fuel assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furuya, Nobuo; Mori, Kazuma.

    1995-01-01

    In the present invention, a management number indicated to appropriate portions of a fuel assembly can be read with no error for the management of nuclear fuel materials in the nuclear fuel assembly (counting management) and physical protection: PP. Namely, bar codes as a management number are printed by electrolytic polishing to one or more portions of a side surface of an upper nozzle of the assembly, an upper surface of a clamp and a side surface of a lower nozzle. The bar codes are read by a reader at one or more portions in a transporting path for transporting the fuel assembly and at a fuel detection device disposed in a fuel storage pool. The read signals are inputted to a computer. With such procedures, the nuclear fuel assembly can be identified with no error by reading the bar codes and without applying no danger to a human body. Since the reader is disposed in the course of the transportation and test for the assembly, and the read signals are inputted to the computer, the management for the counting number and PP is facilitated. (I.S.)

  10. General theory of the multistage geminate reactions of the isolated pairs of reactants. II. Detailed balance and universal asymptotes of kinetics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kipriyanov, Alexey A; Doktorov, Alexander B

    2014-10-14

    The analysis of general (matrix) kinetic equations for the mean survival probabilities of any of the species in a sample (or mean concentrations) has been made for a wide class of the multistage geminate reactions of the isolated pairs. These kinetic equations (obtained in the frame of the kinetic approach based on the concept of "effective" particles in Paper I) take into account various possible elementary reactions (stages of a multistage reaction) excluding monomolecular, but including physical and chemical processes of the change in internal quantum states carried out with the isolated pairs of reactants (or isolated reactants). The general basic principles of total and detailed balance have been established. The behavior of the reacting system has been considered on macroscopic time scales, and the universal long-term kinetics has been determined.

  11. Burnup credit in a dry storage module

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thornton, J.R.

    1989-01-01

    Comparison of spent fuel storage expansion options available to Oconee Nuclear Station revealed that dry storage could be economically competitive with transshipment and rod consolidation. Economic competitiveness, however, mandated large unit capacity while existing cask handling facilities at Oconee severely limited size and weight. The dry storage concept determined to best satisfy these conflicting criteria is a 24 pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assembly capacity NUTECH Horizontal Modular Storage (NUHOMS) system. The Oconee version of the NUHOMS system takes advantage of burnup credit in demonstrating criticality safety. The burnup credit criticality analysis was performed by Duke Power Company's Design Engineering Department. This paper was prepared to summarize the criticality control design features employed in the Oconee NUHOMS-24P DSC basket and to describe the incentives for pursuing a burnup credit design. Principal criticality design parameters, criteria, and analysis methodology are also presented

  12. A cooling concept of spent fuels in lag storage system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jeong-Hwa; Yoo, Jae-Hyung; Park, Hyun-Soo

    1991-01-01

    A cooling concept of spent fuels by natural convection of hot cell air in storage pits was developed. Each storage pit was considered to be located below the hot cell floor and to accommodate only one spent fuel assembly. The aim of this study is to apply an appropriate cooling system to the design of a hot cell where considerable heat-generating fuels are handled. In such operations as disassembling, rod consolidation and packaging of spent fuels, a number of assemblies are on stand-by in the cell before and/or after the operations. A lag storage system can be used for temporary storage of spent fuels in nuclear facilities. Since the air in contact with bare fuel assemblies is potentially contaminated, it must be exhausted through high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. If the storage pit is completely isolated from the hot cell space, then it will require another separate ventilation system by forced convection of air, which will result in additional cost for the construction. In this work, however, a cooling system was proposed where natural convection of hot cell air itself is achieved by thermo-syphon. The cold air from the hot cell is supplied to the inlet provided at the bottom of each pit through the gap between the concrete pit wall and the interior thermal shield. This thermal shield is needed to form flow channels for cold and heated air, and to prevent the concrete from over-heating. The heated air exhausts from the outlet located at the top of cell wall. No additional HEPA filters are needed in this system because the heated air is routed back to the hot cell due to buoyancy-induced flow. The technical feasibility of this concept was validated by thermal analyses. As the key design constraints are the surface temperature of fuel cladding and the concrete temperature of the storage pit, the thermal analyses were focused on these parameters whether they follow within allowable limits or not. (author)

  13. Fuel Assemblies Thermal Analysis in the New Spent Fuel Storage Facility at Inshass Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khattab, M.; Mariy, Ahmed

    1999-01-01

    New Wet Storage Facility (NSF) is constructed at Inshass site to solve the problem of spent fuel storage capacity of ETRR-1 reactor . The Engineering Safety Heat Transfer Features t hat characterize the new facility are presented. Thermal analysis including different scenarios of pool heat load and safety limits are discussed . Cladding temperature limit during handling and storage process are specified for safe transfer of fuel

  14. Improving of spent fuel monitoring in condition of Slovak wet interim spent fuel storage facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miklos, M.; Krsjak, V.; Bozik, M.; Vasina, D.

    2008-01-01

    Monitoring of WWER fuel assemblies condition in Slovakia is presented in the paper. The leak tightness results of fuel assemblies used in Slovak WWER units in last 20 years are analyzed. Good experiences with the 'Sipping system' are described. The Slovak wet interim spent fuel storage facility in NPP Jaslovske Bohunice was build and put in operation in 1986. Since 1999, leak tests of WWER-440 fuel assemblies are provided by special leak tightness detection system 'Sipping in Pool' delivered by Framatome-ANP facility with external heating for the precise detection of active specimens. Another system for monitoring of fuel assemblies condition was implemented in December 2006 under the name 'SVYPP-440'. First non-active tests started at February 2007 and are described in the paper. Although those systems seems to be very effective, the detection time of all fuel assemblies in one storage pool is too long (several months). Therefore, a new 'on-line' detection system, based on new sorbent KNiFC-PAN for effective 134 Cs and 137 Cs activity was developed. This sorbent was compared with another type of sorbent NIFSIL and results are presented. The design of this detection system and its possible application in the Slovak wet spent fuel storage facility is discussed. For completeness, the initial results of the new system are also presented. (authors)

  15. Earth-covered storage of LPG - Development, construction and operating experiences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuldt, P.; Grote, G.

    1990-01-01

    The paper describes the planning, approval procedures, design, fabrication, site-assembling and the testing of liquefied petroleum gas storage tanks. The practical experience after three years of operation is reported. 8 figs

  16. Electrochemical Hydrogen Storage in Facile Synthesized Co@N-Doped Carbon Nanoparticle Composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Lina; Qu, Xiaosheng; Zheng, Dong; Tang, Haolin; Liu, Dan; Qu, Deyang; Xie, ZhiZhong; Li, Junsheng; Qu, Deyu

    2017-11-29

    A Co@nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticle composite was synthesized via a facile molecular self-assembling procedure. The material was used as the host for the electrochemical storage of hydrogen. The hydrogen storage capacity of the material was over 300 mAh g -1 at a rate of 100 mAg -1 . It also exhibited superior stability for storage of hydrogen, high rate capability, and good cyclic life. Hybridizing metallic cobalt nanoparticle with nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon is found to be a good approach for the electrochemical storage of hydrogen.

  17. Superconductivity, energy storage and switching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laquer, H.L.

    1974-01-01

    The phenomenon of superconductivity can contribute to the technology of energy storage and switching in two distinct ways. On one hand the zero resistivity of the superconductor can produce essentially infinite time constants so that an inductive storage system can be charged from very low power sources. On the other hand, the recovery of finite resistivity in a normal-going superconducting switch can take place in extremely short times, so that a system can be made to deliver energy at a very high power level. Topics reviewed include: physics of superconductivity, limits to switching speed of superconductors, physical and engineering properties of superconducting materials and assemblies, switching methods, load impedance considerations, refrigeration economics, limitations imposed by present day and near term technology, performance of existing and planned energy storage systems, and a comparison with some alternative methods of storing and switching energy. (U.S.)

  18. Peak cladding temperature in a spent fuel storage or transportation cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, J.; Murakami, H.; Liu, Y.; Gomez, P.E.A.; Gudipati, M.; Greiner, M.

    2007-01-01

    From reactor discharge to eventual disposition, spent nuclear fuel assemblies from a commercial light water reactor are typically exposed to a variety of environments under which the peak cladding temperature (PCT) is an important parameter that can affect the characteristics and behavior of the cladding and, thus, the functions of the spent fuel during storage, transportation, and disposal. Three models have been identified to calculate the peak cladding temperature of spent fuel assemblies in a storage or transportation cask: a coupled effective thermal conductivity and edge conductance model developed by Manteufel and Todreas, an effective thermal conductivity model developed by Bahney and Lotz, and a computational fluid dynamics model. These models were used to estimate the PCT for spent fuel assemblies for light water reactors under helium, nitrogen, and vacuum environments with varying decay heat loads and temperature boundary conditions. The results show that the vacuum environment is more challening than the other gas environments in that the PCT limit is exceeded at a lower boundary temperature for a given decay heat load of the spent fuel assembly. This paper will highlight the PCT calculations, including a comparison of the PCTs obtained by different models.

  19. Graphene macro-assembly-fullerene composite for electrical energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Patrick G.; Baumann, Theodore F.; Biener, Juergen; Merrill, Matthew; Montalvo, Elizabeth; Worsley, Marcus A.; Biener, Monika M.; Hernandez, Maira Raquel Ceron

    2018-01-16

    Disclosed here is a method for producing a graphene macro-assembly (GMA)-fullerene composite, comprising providing a GMA comprising a three-dimensional network of graphene sheets crosslinked by covalent carbon bonds, and incorporating at least 20 wt. % of at least one fullerene compound into the GMA based on the initial weight of the GMA to obtain a GMA-fullerene composite. Also described are a GMA-fullerene composite produced, an electrode comprising the GMA-fullerene composite, and a supercapacitor comprising the electrode and optionally an organic or ionic liquid electrolyte in contact with the electrode.

  20. Transitioning aluminum clad spent fuels from wet to interim dry storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Louthan, M.R. Jr.; Iyer, N.C.; Sindelar, R.L.; Peacock, H.B. Jr.

    1994-01-01

    The United States Department of Energy (DOE) currently owns several hundred metric tons of aluminum clad, spent nuclear fuel and target assemblies. The vast majority of these irradiated assemblies are currently stored in water basins that were designed and operated for short term fuel cooling prior to fuel reprocessing. Recent DOE decisions to severely limit the reprocessing option have significantly lengthened the time of storage, thus increasing the tendency for corrosion induced degradation of the fuel cladding and the underlying core material. The portent of continued corrosion, coupled with the age of existing wet storage facilities and the cost of continuing basin operations, including necessary upgrades to meet current facility standards, may force the DOE to transition these wet stored, aluminum clad spent fuels to interim dry storage. The facilities for interim dry storage have not been developed, partially because fuel storage requirements and specifications for acceptable fuel forms are lacking. In spite of the lack of both facilities and specifications, current plans are to dry store fuels for approximately 40 to 60 years or until firm decisions are developed for final fuel disposition. The transition of the aluminum clad fuels from wet to interim dry storage will require a sequence of drying and canning operations which will include selected fuel preparations such as vacuum drying and conditioning of the storage atmosphere. Laboratory experiments and review of the available literature have demonstrated that successful interim dry storage may also require the use of fuel and canister cleaning or rinsing techniques that preclude, or at least minimize, the potential for the accumulation of chloride and other potentially deleterious ions in the dry storage environment. This paper summarizes an evaluation of the impact of fuel transitioning techniques on the potential for corrosion induced degradation of fuel forms during interim dry storage

  1. Past experience and future needs for the use of burnup credit in LWR fuel storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyd, W.A.; Wrights, G.N.

    1987-01-01

    To achieve improved fuel economics and reduce the amount of fuel discharged annually, utilities are engaging in fuel management strategies that will achieve higher discharge burnups for their fuel assemblies. Although burnup credit methodologies have been developed and spent-fuel racks have been licensed, burnup credit fuel storage racks are not the answer for all utilities. Off-site and out-of-pool spent-fuel storage may be more appropriate. This is leading to the development of dry spent-fuel storage and shipping casks. Cask designs with spent-fuel storage capability between 20 and 32 assemblies are being developed by several vendors. The US Dept. of Energy is also funding work by VEPCO. Westinghouse is currently licensing its dry storage cask, developing a shipping cask for the domestic market, and is involved in a joint venture to develop a cask for the international market. Although methods of taking credit for fuel burnup in spent-fuel storage racks have been developed and licensed, use of these methods on dry spent-fuel storage and shipping casks can lead to new issues. These issues arise because the excess reactivity margin that is inherent in a burnup credit spent-fuel storage rack criticality analysis will not be available in a dry cask analysis

  2. Effect of reactant concentration on the structural properties of hydrothermally-grown ZnO rods on seed-layer ZnO / polyethylene terephthalate substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeong, Y. I.; Shin, C. M.; Heo, J. H.; Ryu, H. [Inje University, Gimhae (Korea, Republic of); Lee, W. J. [Dong-Eui University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Son, C. S. [Silla University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Choi, H. [Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-09-15

    The morphology and the structural properties were studied for zinc-oxide (ZnO) rods hydrothermally grown on seed-layer ZnO/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates at various reactant concentrations. Dissolved solutions with de-ionized water, zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO{sub 3}){sub 2}{center_dot}6H{sub 2}O, ZNH) and hexamethylenetetramine (C{sub 6}H{sub 12}N{sub 4}, HMT) were employed as reactants for hydrothermal growth of ZnO. The transparency of the mixtures (ZNH+HMT) with increasing reactant concentration from 0.025 to 0.25 M changed from transparent to translucent to opaque (white colors) due to Zn(OH){sub 2} precipitates. When the concentration was increased, the density of the ZnO rods increased, and the morphology of the ZnO rods changed from a hexagonal flat-end shape to a sharp-end or flake-like structure. The sharp-end rods with increasing concentration from 0.1 to 0.15 M resulted from the etching process at a lower pH condition (less than pH 6) after the ZnO rod growth, and the flake-like structure was due to a high growth rate. The ZnO seed layer might have improved the alignment of ZnO rods and made a high density of ZnO rods. In addition, the structural properties were improved at lower concentrations by inserting a seed layer.

  3. Performance evaluation of METAMIC neutron absorber in spent fuel storage rack

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiyoung Kim

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available High-density spent fuel (SF storage racks have been installed to increase SF pool capacity. In these SF racks, neutron absorber materials were placed between fuel assemblies allowing the storage of fuel assemblies in close proximity to one another. The purpose of the neutron absorber materials is to preclude neutronic coupling between adjacent fuel assemblies and to maintain the fuel in a subcritical storage condition. METAMIC neutron absorber has been used in high-density storage racks. But, neutron absorber materials can be subject to severe conditions including long-term exposure to gamma radiation and neutron radiation. Recently, some of them have experienced degradation, such as white spots on the surface. Under these conditions, the material must continue to serve its intended function of absorbing neutrons. For the first time in Korea, this article uses a neutron attenuation test to examine the performance of METAMIC surveillance coupons. Also, scanning electron microscope analysis was carried out to verify the white spots that were detected on the surface of METAMIC. In the neutron attenuation test, there was no significant sign of boron loss in most of the METAMIC coupons, but the coupon with white spots had relatively less B-10 content than the others. In the scanning electron microscope analysis, corrosion material was detected in all METAMIC coupons. Especially, it was confirmed that the coupon with white spots contains much more corrosion material than the others. Keywords: Blister, Criticality, METAMIC, Neutron Absorber, Neutron Attenuation Test, Scanning Electron Microscope

  4. Storage vessel for containing radiation contaminated material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogawa, Kazuya.

    1995-01-01

    A container pipe and an outer pipe are coaxially assembled integrally in a state where securing spacers are disposed between the container pipe and the outer pipe, and an annular flow channel is formed around the container pipe. Radiation contaminated material-containing body (glass solidified package) is contained in the container pipe. The container pipe and the outer pipe in an integrated state are suspended from a ceiling plug of a cell chamber of a storage vessel, and supporting devices are assembled between the pipes and a support structure. A shear/lug mechanism is used for the supporting devices. The combination of the shear/lug allows radial and vertical movement but restrict horizontal movement of the outer tube. The supporting devices are assembled while visually recognizing the state of the shear/lug mechanism between the outer pipe and the support mechanism. Accordingly, operationability upon assembling the container pipe and the outer pipe is improved. (I.N.)

  5. Technical basis for storage of Zircaloy-clad spent fuel in inert gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, A.B. Jr.; Gilbert, E.R.

    1983-09-01

    The technical bases to establish safe conditions for dry storage of Zircaloy-clad fuel are summarized. Dry storage of fuel with zirconium alloy cladding has been licensed in Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Switzerland. Dry storage demonstrations, hot cell tests, and modeling have been conducted using Zircaloy-clad fuel. The demonstrations have included irradiated boiling water reactor, pressurized heavy-water reactor, and pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies. Irradiated fuel has been emplaced in and retrieved from metal casks, dry wells, silos, and a vault. Dry storage tests and demonstrations have involved about 15,000 fuel rods, and about 5600 rods have been monitored during dry storage in inert gases with maximum cladding temperatures ranging from 50 to 570 0 C. Although some tests and demonstrations are still in progress, there is currently no evidence that any rods exposed to inert gases have failed (one PWR rod exposed to an air cover gas failed at about 270 0 C). Based on this favorable experience, it is concluded that there is sufficient information on fuel rod behavior, storage conditions, and potential cladding failure mechanisms to support licensing of dry storage in the US. This licensing position includes a requirement for inert cover gases and a maximum cladding temperature guideline of 380 0 C for Zircaloy-clad fuel. Using an inert cover gas assures that even if fuel with cladding defects were placed in dry storage, or if defects develop during storage, the defects would not propagate. Tests and demonstrations involving Zircaloy-clad rods and assemblies with maximum cladding temperatures above 400 0 C are in progress. When the results from these tests have been evaluated, the viability of higher temperature limits should be examined. Acceptable conditions for storage in air and dry storage of consolidated fuel are issues yet to be resolved

  6. Evaluation of the effect of reactant gases mass flow rates on power density in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahveci, E. E.; Taymaz, I.

    2018-03-01

    In this study it was experimentally investigated the effect of mass flow rates of reactant gases which is one of the most important operational parameters of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell on power density. The channel type is serpentine and single PEM fuel cell has an active area of 25 cm2. Design-Expert 8.0 (trial version) was used with four variables to investigate the effect of variables on the response using. Cell temperature, hydrogen mass flow rate, oxygen mass flow rate and humidification temperature were selected as independent variables. In addition, the power density was used as response to determine the combined effects of these variables. It was kept constant cell and humidification temperatures while changing mass flow rates of reactant gases. From the results an increase occurred in power density with increasing the hydrogen flow rates. But oxygen flow rate does not have a significant effect on power density within determined mass flow rates.

  7. The effects of reactants ratios, reaction temperatures and times on Maillard reaction products of the L-ascorbic acid/L-glutamic acid system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong-Yan ZHOU

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The transformation law of the Maillard reaction products with three different reactants ratios - equimolar reactants, excess L-glutamic acid and excess L-ascorbic acid reaction respectively, five different temperatures, and different time conditions for the L-ascorbic acid / L-glutamic acid system were investigated. Results showed that, the increase of the reaction time and temperature led to the increase of the browning products, uncoloured intermediate products, as well as aroma compounds. Compared with the equimolar reaction system, the excess L-ascorbic acid reaction system produced more browning products and uncoloured intermediate products, while the aroma compounds production remained the same. In the excess L-glutamic acid system, the uncoloured intermediate products increased slightly, the browning products remained the same, while the aroma compounds increased.

  8. Spent fuel heatup following loss of water during storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benjamin, A.S.; McCloskey, D.J.

    1978-01-01

    Spent fuel assemblies from light water reactors are typically stored for one year or more in the reactor spent fuel pool and then transported for long-term storage at an off-site location. Because of the design, construction, and operation features of spent fuel storage pools, an accident that might drain most of the water from a pool is assessed as being extremely improbable. As a limiting case, however, a hypothetical incident involving instantaneous draining of all the water from a storage pool has been postulated, and the subsequent heatup of the spent fuel elements has been evaluated. The model is analyzed, and results are summarized

  9. Assembly for transport and storage of radioactive nuclear fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myers, G.

    1978-01-01

    The invention concerns the self-control of coolant deficiencies on the transport of spent fuel elements from nuclear reactors. It guarantees that drying out of the fuel elements is prevented in case of a change of volume of the fluid contained in storage tanks and accumulators and serving as coolant and shielding medium. (TK) [de

  10. Self-assembled three-dimensional and compressible interdigitated thin-film supercapacitors and batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyström, Gustav; Marais, Andrew; Karabulut, Erdem; Wågberg, Lars; Cui, Yi; Hamedi, Mahiar M.

    2015-01-01

    Traditional thin-film energy-storage devices consist of stacked layers of active films on two-dimensional substrates and do not exploit the third dimension. Fully three-dimensional thin-film devices would allow energy storage in bulk materials with arbitrary form factors and with mechanical properties unique to bulk materials such as compressibility. Here we show three-dimensional energy-storage devices based on layer-by-layer self-assembly of interdigitated thin films on the surface of an open-cell aerogel substrate. We demonstrate a reversibly compressible three-dimensional supercapacitor with carbon nanotube electrodes and a three-dimensional hybrid battery with a copper hexacyanoferrate ion intercalating cathode and a carbon nanotube anode. The three-dimensional supercapacitor shows stable operation over 400 cycles with a capacitance of 25 F g−1 and is fully functional even at compressions up to 75%. Our results demonstrate that layer-by-layer self-assembly inside aerogels is a rapid, precise and scalable route for building high-surface-area 3D thin-film devices. PMID:26021485

  11. Thermal-hydraulic experiment and analysis for interim dry storage of spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoo, Seung Hun

    2011-02-01

    The experimental and numerical studies of interim storages for nuclear spent fuels have been performed to investigate thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the dry storage systems and to propose new methodologies for the analysis and the design. Three separate researches have been performed in the present study: (a) Development of a scaling methodology and thermal-hydraulic experiment of a single spent fuel assembly simulating a dry storage cask: (b) Full-scope simulation of a dry storage cask by the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code: (c) Thermal-hydraulic design of a tunnel-type interim storage facility. In the first study, a scaling methodology has been developed to design a scaled-down canister. The scaling was performed in two steps. For the first step, the height of a spent fuel assembly was reduced from full height to half height. In order to consider the effect of height reduction on the natural convection, the scaling law of Ishii and Kataoka (1984) was employed. For the second step, the quantity of spent fuel assemblies was reduced from multiple assemblies to a single assembly. The scaling methodology was validated through the comparison with the experiment of the TN24P cask. The Peak Cladding Temperature (PCT), temperature gradients, and the axial and radial temperature distribution in the nondimensional forms were in good agreement with the experimental data. Based on the developed methodology, we have performed a single assembly experiment which was designed to simulate the full scale of the TN24P cask. The experimental data was compared with the CFD calculations. It turns out that their PCTs were less than the maximum allowable temperature for the fuel cladding and that the differences of their PCTs were agreed within 3 .deg. C, which was less than measurement uncertainty. In the second study, the full-scope simulations of the TN24P cask were performed by FLUENT. In order to investigate the sensitivity of the numerical and physical

  12. Measurements of Fundamental Fluid Physics of SNF Storage Canisters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Condie, Keith Glenn; Mc Creery, Glenn Ernest; McEligot, Donald Marinus

    2001-09-01

    With the University of Idaho, Ohio State University and Clarksean Associates, this research program has the long-term goal to develop reliable predictive techniques for the energy, mass and momentum transfer plus chemical reactions in drying / passivation (surface oxidation) operations in the transfer and storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from wet to dry storage. Such techniques are needed to assist in design of future transfer and storage systems, prediction of the performance of existing and proposed systems and safety (re)evaluation of systems as necessary at later dates. Many fuel element geometries and configurations are accommodated in the storage of spent nuclear fuel. Consequently, there is no one generic fuel element / assembly, storage basket or canister and, therefore, no single generic fuel storage configuration. One can, however, identify generic flow phenomena or processes which may be present during drying or passivation in SNF canisters. The objective of the INEEL tasks was to obtain fundamental measurements of these flow processes in appropriate parameter ranges.

  13. CASTORR 1000/19: Development and Design of a New Transport and Storage Cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Funke, Th.; Henig, Ch.

    2008-01-01

    The design of the new transport and storage cask type CASTOR R 1000/19 is presented in this paper. This cask was developed for the dry interim storage of spent VVER1000 fuel assemblies concerning the requirements of the Temelin NPP, Czech Republic. While the cask body is based on well-known ductile cast iron cask types with in-wall moderator, the basket follows a new concept. The basket is able to carry 19 fuel assemblies with a total decay heat power up to approximately 17 kW. The cask fulfils all requirements for a type B(U)F package. The main nuclear, mechanical and thermal properties of the cask are illustrated for normal conditions and for hypothetical accident scenarios during transport and storage. The main steps of the handling procedure such as loading the cask, drying the cavity and mounting the double lid system for tightness during interim storage are shown in principle. For this handling, boundary conditions at the NPP site such as dimensions, weight and the loading machine interface are considered. (authors)

  14. Multi-particle assembled porous nanostructured MgO: its application in fluoride removal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gangaiah, Vijayakumar; Chandrappa, Gujjarahalli Thimanna; Siddaramanna, Ashoka

    2014-01-01

    In this article, a simple and economical route based on ethylene glycol mediated process was developed to synthesize one-dimensional (1D) multiparticle assembled nanostructured MgO using magnesium acetate and urea as reactants. Porous multiparticle chain-like MgO has been synthesized by the calcination of a solvothermally derived single nanostructured precursor. The prepared products were characterized by an x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, thermogravimetry, scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) and N 2 adsorption (BET). As a proof of concept, the porous multiparticle chain-like MgO has been applied in a water treatment for isolated and rural communities, and it has exhibited an excellent adsorption capability to remove fluoride in waste water. In addition, this method could be generalized to prepare other 1D nanostructures with great potential for various attractive applications. (paper)

  15. The cascad spent fuel dry storage facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guay, P.; Bonnet, C.

    1991-01-01

    France has a wide variety of experimental spent fuels different from LWR spent fuel discharged from commercial reactors. Reprocessing such fuels would thus require the development and construction of special facilities. The French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) has consequently opted for long-term interim storage of these spent fuels over a period of 50 years. Comparative studies of different storage concepts have been conducted on the basis of safety (mainly containment barriers and cooling), economic, modular design and operating flexibility criteria. These studies have shown that dry storage in a concrete vault cooled by natural convection is the best solution. A research and development program including theoretical investigations and mock-up tests confirmed the feasibility of cooling by natural convection and the validity of design rules applied for fuel storage. A facility called CASCAD was built at the CEA's Cadarache Nuclear Research Center, where it has been operational since mid-1990. This paper describes the CASCAD facility and indicates how its concept can be applied to storage of LWR fuel assemblies

  16. Response of APS storage ring basemat to ambient vibration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jendrzejczyk, J.A.; Wambsganss, M.W.; Smith, R.K.

    1992-08-01

    The storage ring of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility at Argonne is very sensitive to vibration. Large vibration amplitudes would result in degraded machine performance. Because the storage ring assembly is supported on the storage ring basemat, the dynamics of the basemat are critical to successful operation. Before construction began, a survey of site ground vibration indicated that the site was acceptable from a vibration standpoint. When construction of the linear accelerator (Linac) floor slab and shielding walls was completed, dynamic-response measurements were conducted. The slab/wall system showed attenuation of soilborne vibrations in the horizontal directions, but an amplification (approximately a factor of 1.5) of vertical vibration at a frequency of 7.7 Hz. Vibration response of the slab/wall system at all other frequencies showed attenuation of soilborne vibrations. Dynamic-response measurements were also conducted on an incomplete section of the storage ring basemat. Although this section was not prototypical, results were similar to those of the Linac floor in the horizontal direction, showing large damping and attenuation of horizontal soilborne vibrations. While the basemat followed the soil vibration in the vertical direction, no large amplification was observed. However, measured vertical amplitudes on the basemat were a function of location, indicating a modal response. A series of vibration response measurements was conducted on a completed section of the storage ring basemat/tunnel adjacent and to the west of the Early Assembly Area (EAA) on May 21, 1992, and is the subject of this report

  17. Measurements on spent-fuel assemblies at Arkansas Nuclear One using the Fork system. Final report, January 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ewing, R.I.; Bronowski, D.R.; Bosler, G.E.; Siebelist, R.; Priore, J.; Hansford, C.H.; Sullivan, S.

    1997-03-01

    The Fork measurement system has been used to examine spent-fuel assemblies at the two reactors of Arkansas Nuclear One, operated by Entergy Operations, Inc. The Unit 1 reactor is a Babcock and Wilcox (B and W) design, and the Unit 2 reactor is a Combustion Engineering (CE) design. The neutron and gamma-ray emissions from individual spent-fuel assemblies were measured in the storage pools by raising each assembly pathway out of the storage rack and performing a measurement near the center of the assembly. The overall accuracy of the measurements after corrections is about 2%. Thirty-four assemblies were examined at Unit 1, and forty-one assemblies at Unit 2. The average deviation of the burnup measurements from the calibration was 3.0% at Unit 1 and 3.5% at Unit 2, indicating 2 to 3% random variation among the reactor records. There was no indication of clearly anomalous assemblies. Axial Scans of the variation in neutron and gamma ray emission were obtained by collecting data at several locations along the length of three assemblies at Unit 2. Two of these assemblies were nonstandard in that each contained a small neutron source. The sources were detected by the axial scans. The test program was a cooperative effort involving Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Entergy Operations, Inc., the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management of the US Department of Energy

  18. Study of temperature, air dew point temperature and reactant flow effects on proton exchange membrane fuel cell performances using electrochemical spectroscopy and voltammetry techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wasterlain, S.; Hissel, D. [FC LAB, Techn' Hom, rue Thierry Mieg, 90010 Belfort Cedex (France); FEMTO-ST (UMR CNRS 6174), ENISYS Department, University of Franche-Comte, Techn' Hom, rue Thierry Mieg, 90010 Belfort Cedex (France); Candusso, D.; Harel, F. [FC LAB, Techn' Hom, rue Thierry Mieg, 90010 Belfort Cedex (France); INRETS, The French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research, Techn' Hom, rue Thierry Mieg, 90010 Belfort Cedex (France); Bergman, P.; Menard, P.; Anwar, M. [University of Connecticut, Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 44 Weaver Road, Unit 5233, Storrs, CT 06269-5233 (United States)

    2010-02-15

    A single PEMFC has been operated by varying the assembly temperature, the air dew point temperature and the anode/cathode stoichiometry rates with the aim to identify the parameters and combinations of factors affecting the cell performance. Some of the experiments were conducted with low humidified reactants (relative humidity of 12%). The FC characterizations tests have been conducted using in situ electrochemical methods based on load current and cell voltage signal analysis, namely: polarization curves, EIS measurements, cyclic and linear sweep voltammetries (CV and LSV). The impacts of the parameters on the global FC performances were observed using the polarization curves whereas EIS, CV and LSV test results were used to discriminate the different voltage loss sources. The test results suggest that some parameter sets allow maximal output voltages but can also induce material degradation. For instance, higher FC temperature and air flow values can induce significant electrical efficiency benefits, notably by increasing the reversible potential and the reaction kinetics. However, raising the cell temperature can also gradually dry the FC and increase the risk of membrane failure. LSV has also shown that elevated FC temperature and relative humidity can also accelerate the electrolyte degradation (i.e. slightly higher fuel crossover rate) and reduce the lifetime consequently. (author)

  19. Study of temperature, air dew point temperature and reactant flow effects on proton exchange membrane fuel cell performances using electrochemical spectroscopy and voltammetry techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasterlain, S.; Candusso, D.; Hissel, D.; Harel, F.; Bergman, P.; Menard, P.; Anwar, M.

    A single PEMFC has been operated by varying the assembly temperature, the air dew point temperature and the anode/cathode stoichiometry rates with the aim to identify the parameters and combinations of factors affecting the cell performance. Some of the experiments were conducted with low humidified reactants (relative humidity of 12%). The FC characterizations tests have been conducted using in situ electrochemical methods based on load current and cell voltage signal analysis, namely: polarization curves, EIS measurements, cyclic and linear sweep voltammetries (CV and LSV). The impacts of the parameters on the global FC performances were observed using the polarization curves whereas EIS, CV and LSV test results were used to discriminate the different voltage loss sources. The test results suggest that some parameter sets allow maximal output voltages but can also induce material degradation. For instance, higher FC temperature and air flow values can induce significant electrical efficiency benefits, notably by increasing the reversible potential and the reaction kinetics. However, raising the cell temperature can also gradually dry the FC and increase the risk of membrane failure. LSV has also shown that elevated FC temperature and relative humidity can also accelerate the electrolyte degradation (i.e. slightly higher fuel crossover rate) and reduce the lifetime consequently.

  20. Fuel cell system blower configuration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Kirtikumar H.; Saito, Kazuo

    2017-11-28

    An exemplary fuel cell system includes a cell stack assembly having a plurality of cathode components and a plurality of anode components. A first reactant blower has an outlet situated to provide a first reactant to the cathode components. A second reactant blower has an outlet situated to provide a second reactant to the anode components. The second reactant blower includes a fan portion that moves the second reactant through the outlet. The second reactant blower also includes a motor portion that drives the fan portion and a bearing portion associated with the fan portion and the motor portion. The motor portion has a motor coolant inlet coupled with the outlet of the first reactant blower to receive some of the first reactant for cooling the motor portion.

  1. Design analysis of various transportation package options for BN-350 SNF in terms of nuclear radiation safety in planning for long-terms dry storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aisabekov, A.Z.; Mukenova, S.A.; Tur, E.S.; Tsyngaev, V.M.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: This effort is performed under the BN-350 reactor facility decommissioning project. One of the project tasks - spent nuclear fuel handling - includes the following: fuel packaging into sealed canisters, transportation of the canisters in multi-seat metallo-concrete containers and placement of the containers for a long-term dry storage. The goal of this effort is to computationally validate nuclear and radiation safety of the SNF containers placed for storage both under normal storage conditions and probable accident situations. The basic unit structure and design configurations are presented: assemblies, canisters, transportation containers. The major factors influencing nuclear and radiation safety are presented: fuel burn-up, enrichment, fabrication tolerance, types of fuel assemblies, configuration of assemblies in the canister and canisters in the container, background of assemblies placed in the reactor and cooling pool. Conditions under which the SNF containers will be stored are described and probable accident situations are listed. Proceeding from the conservatism principle, selection of the assemblies posing the greatest nuclear hazard is validated. A neutron effective multiplication factor is calculated for the SNF containers under the normal storage conditions and for the case of emergency. The effective multiplication factor is shown to be within a standard value of 0.95 in any situation. Based on the experimental data on assembly and canister dose rates, canisters posing the highest radiation threat are selected. Activities of sources and gamma-radiation spectral composition are calculated. Distribution of the dose rate outside the containers both under the normal storage conditions and accident situations are calculated. The results obtained are analyzed

  2. Start It up: Flywheel Energy Storage Efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, Michelle

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this project was to construct and test an off-grid photovoltaic (PV) system in which the power from a solar array could be stored in a rechargeable battery and a flywheel motor generator assembly. The mechanical flywheel energy storage system would in turn effectively power a 12-volt DC appliance. The voltage and current of…

  3. Nondestructive examination of Oconee 1 fuel assemblies after four cycles of irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pyecha, T.D.; Mayer, J.T.; Guthrie, B.A. III; Riordan, J.E.

    1980-12-01

    Five B and W Mark B (15 x 15) pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies were nondestructively examined after four cycles of irradiation in the Oconee 1 reactor. Four of the five assemblies examined had a burnup of 40,000 MWd/mtU; the fifth assembly had a burnup of 36,800 MWd/mtU. This effort is part of a Department of Energy program to improve uranium utilization by extending the burnup of light water reactor fuel. The examinations were conducted in the Oconee 1 and 2 spent fuel storage pool. Data obtained included fuel assembly and fuel rod dimensions, water channel spacings, spacer grid and holddown spring forces, fuel column stack and axial gap lengths, and crud samples. The results indicate that the assemblies performed well through four cycles of operation; all of the data were within design limits

  4. Bases for extrapolating materials durability in fuel storage pools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, A.B. Jr.

    1994-12-01

    A major body of evidence indicates that zirconium alloys have the most consistent and reliable durability in wet storage, justifying projections of safe wet storage greater than 50 y. Aluminum alloys have the widest range of durabilities in wet storage; systematic control and monitoring of water chemistry have resulted in low corrosion rates for more than two decades on some fuels and components. However, cladding failures have occurred in a few months when important parameters were not controlled. Stainless steel is extremely durable when stress, metallurgical and water chemistry factors are controlled. LWR SS cladding has survived for 25 y in wet storage. However, sensitized, stressed SS fuels and components have seriously degraded in fuel storage pools (FSPs) at ∼ 30 C. Satisfactory durability of fuel assembly and FSP component materials in extended wet storage requires investments in water quality management and surveillance, including chemical and biological factors. The key aspect of the study is to provide storage facility operators and other decision makers a basis to judge the durability of a given fuel type in wet storage as a prelude to basing other fuel management plans (e.g. dry storage) if wet storage will not be satisfactory through the expected period of interim storage

  5. SHS synthesis of Si-SiC composite powders using Mg and reactants from industrial waste

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanadee, Tawat

    2017-11-01

    Si-SiC composite powders were synthesized by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) using reactants of fly ash-based silica, sawdust-based activated carbon, and magnesium. Fly ash-based silica and sawdust-based activated carbon were prepared from coal mining fly ash and Para rubber-wood sawdust, respectively. The work investigated the effects of the synthesis atmosphere (air and Ar) on the phase and morphology of the SHS products. The SHS product was leached by a two-step acid leaching processes, to obtain the Si-SiC composite powder. The SHS product and SHS product after leaching were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The results indicated that the SHS product synthesized in air consisted of Si, SiC, MgO, and intermediate phases (SiO2, Mg, Mg2SiO4, Mg2Si), whereas the SHS product synthesized in Ar consisted of Si, SiC, MgO and a little Mg2SiO4. The SiC content in the leached-SHS product was higher when Ar was used as the synthesis atmosphere. As well as affecting the purity, the synthesis atmospheres also affected the average crystalline sizes of the products. The crystalline size of the product synthesized in Ar was smaller than that of the product synthesized in air. All of the results showed that fly ash and sawdust could be effective waste-material reactants for the synthesis of Si-SiC composite powders.

  6. U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Storage Cost Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Law, Karen; Rosenfeld, Jeffrey; Han, Vickie; Chan, Michael; Chiang, Helena; Leonard, Jon

    2013-03-11

    The overall objective of this project is to conduct cost analyses and estimate costs for on- and off-board hydrogen storage technologies under development by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on a consistent, independent basis. This can help guide DOE and stakeholders toward the most-promising research, development and commercialization pathways for hydrogen-fueled vehicles. A specific focus of the project is to estimate hydrogen storage system cost in high-volume production scenarios relative to the DOE target that was in place when this cost analysis was initiated. This report and its results reflect work conducted by TIAX between 2004 and 2012, including recent refinements and updates. The report provides a system-level evaluation of costs and performance for four broad categories of on-board hydrogen storage: (1) reversible on-board metal hydrides (e.g., magnesium hydride, sodium alanate); (2) regenerable off-board chemical hydrogen storage materials(e.g., hydrolysis of sodium borohydride, ammonia borane); (3) high surface area sorbents (e.g., carbon-based materials); and 4) advanced physical storage (e.g., 700-bar compressed, cryo-compressed and liquid hydrogen). Additionally, the off-board efficiency and processing costs of several hydrogen storage systems were evaluated and reported, including: (1) liquid carrier, (2) sodium borohydride, (3) ammonia borane, and (4) magnesium hydride. TIAX applied a bottom-up costing methodology customized to analyze and quantify the processes used in the manufacture of hydrogen storage systems. This methodology, used in conjunction with ® software and other tools, developed costs for all major tank components, balance-of-tank, tank assembly, and system assembly. Based on this methodology, the figure below shows the projected on-board high-volume factory costs of the various analyzed hydrogen storage systems, as designed. Reductions in the key cost drivers may bring hydrogen storage system costs closer to this DOE target

  7. Internal Corrosion Analysis of Model 9975 Packaging Containing Pu or PuO2 During Shipping and Storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vormelker, P.

    1999-01-01

    The Materials Consultation Group of SRTC has completed an internal corrosion analysis of the Model 9975 packaging assembly containing either Pu or PuO2 for storage in K Reactor under ambient conditions for a period of 12 years. The 12-year storage period includes two years for shipping and up to ten years for storage

  8. Laser surveillance systems for fuel storage pools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boeck, H.

    1985-06-01

    A Laser Surveillance System (LASSY) as a new safeguards device has been developed under the IAEA research contract No. 3458/RB at the Atominstitut Wien using earlier results by S. Fiarman. This system is designed to act as a sheet of light covering spent fuel assemblies in spent fuel storage pools. When movement of assemblies takes place, LASSY detects and locates the position of the movement in the pool and when interrogated, presents a list of pool positions and times of movement to the safeguards inspector. A complete prototype system was developed and built. Full scale tests showed the principal working capabilities of a LASSY underwater

  9. Loads imposed on dual purpose casks in German on-site-storage facilities for long term intermediate storage of spent nuclear fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wetzel, N.; Rabe, O. [TUeV NORD EnSys Hannover GmbH und Co. KG, Hanover (Germany)

    2004-07-01

    In accordance with recent changes of the atomic energy act and in order to secure reliable removal of spent fuel from the nuclear power plants' fuel storage ponds the German utilities filed license applications for a total of 12 onsite- storage facilities for spent fuel assemblies. By the end of 2003 the last of these storage facilities were licensed and are currently under construction. The first on-site-storage facility of that line became operational in late 2002. There are several design lines of storage facilities with different handling procedures or possible accident conditions. Short term interim storage facilities for a few casks are characterized by individual concrete hoods shielding the casks in horizontal position whereas long term intermediate storage facilities currently erected for large numbers of casks typically feature a condensed pattern of casks stored in upright position and massive structures of reinforced concrete. TUeV Hannover/Sachsen-Anhalt e. V. (now TUeV NORD EnSys Hannover GmbH and Co. KG) has been contracted as a body of independent experts for the assessment of all related safety requirements on behalf of the national licensing authority, the federal office for radiation protection (BfS).

  10. Loads imposed on dual purpose casks in German on-site-storage facilities for long term intermediate storage of spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wetzel, N.; Rabe, O.

    2004-01-01

    In accordance with recent changes of the atomic energy act and in order to secure reliable removal of spent fuel from the nuclear power plants' fuel storage ponds the German utilities filed license applications for a total of 12 onsite- storage facilities for spent fuel assemblies. By the end of 2003 the last of these storage facilities were licensed and are currently under construction. The first on-site-storage facility of that line became operational in late 2002. There are several design lines of storage facilities with different handling procedures or possible accident conditions. Short term interim storage facilities for a few casks are characterized by individual concrete hoods shielding the casks in horizontal position whereas long term intermediate storage facilities currently erected for large numbers of casks typically feature a condensed pattern of casks stored in upright position and massive structures of reinforced concrete. TUeV Hannover/Sachsen-Anhalt e. V. (now TUeV NORD EnSys Hannover GmbH and Co. KG) has been contracted as a body of independent experts for the assessment of all related safety requirements on behalf of the national licensing authority, the federal office for radiation protection (BfS)

  11. Dry spent fuel storage facility at Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goehring, R.; Stoev, M.; Davis, N.; Thomas, E.

    2004-01-01

    The Dry Spent Fuel Storage Facility (DSF) is financed by the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF) which is managed by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). On behalf of the Employer, the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, a Project Management Unit (KPMU) under lead of British Nuclear Group is managing the contract with a Joint Venture Consortium under lead of RWE NUKEM mbH. The scope of the contract includes design, manufacturing and construction, testing and commissioning of the new storage facility for 2800 VVER-440 spent fuel assemblies at the KNPP site (turn-key contract). The storage technology will be cask storage of CONSTOR type, a steel-concrete-steel container. The licensing process complies with the national Bulgarian regulations and international rules. (authors)

  12. Performances of TN {sup registered} 24 E. An AREVA used fuel transport and interim storage cask for the German market

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brion, Thomas [AREVA TN International, Montigny Le Bretonneux (France)

    2013-07-01

    Part of the AREVA Group, TN International offers a complete range of transport and interim storage solutions for radioactive materials throughout the entire nuclear fuel cycle. A world leader in its sector, TN International has supported for 50 years the expansion of the nuclear industry, in particular by providing expertise in secure packing systems for the storage of used fuel assemblies. As an answer to EON and EnBW, two German utilities, needs, TN International has designed and manufactured the TN {sup registered} 24E cask, offering the following high level performances: 1. transport and storage over a period of 40 years of up to 21 PWR spent nuclear fuel (SNF), allowing for example to load up to 17 MOX fuel assemblies and 4 UOX SNF. 2. high flexibility in the fuel assemblies loading plans, inducing no general predefined constraints with regards to the MOX or UOX fuel positions in the basket of the cask Safety margin related to radioprotection, thermal and mechanical behaviour of the fuel assemblies can be calculated loading plan per loading plan. (orig.)

  13. CATALYST-FREE REACTIONS UNDER SOLVENT-FEE CONDITIONS: MICROWAVE-ASSISTED SYNTHESIS OF HETEROCYCLIC HYDRAZONES BELOW THE MELTING POINT OF NEAT REACTANTS: JOURNAL ARTICLE

    Science.gov (United States)

    NRMRL-CIN-1437 Jeselnik, M., Varma*, R.S., Polanc, S., and Kocevar, M. Catalyst-free Reactions under Solvent-fee Conditions: Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Heterocyclic Hydrazones below the Melting Point of Neat Reactants. Published in: Chemical Communications 18:1716-1717 (200...

  14. Concrete spent fuel storage casks dose rates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bace, M.; Jecmenica, R.; Trontl, K.

    1998-01-01

    Our intention was to model a series of concrete storage casks based on TranStor system storage cask VSC-24, and calculate the dose rates at the surface of the casks as a function of extended burnup and a prolonged cooling time. All of the modeled casks have been filled with the original multi-assembly sealed basket. The thickness of the concrete shield has been varied. A series of dose rate calculations for different burnup and cooling time values have been performed. The results of the calculations show rather conservative original design of the VSC-24 system, considering only the dose rate values, and appropriate design considering heat rejection.(author)

  15. Compact approach to long-term monitored retrievable storage of spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muir, D.W.

    1986-01-01

    We examine a new approach to monitored retrievable storage (MRS) that is extremely compact in terms of total land use and may offer increased security and reduced environmental impact, relative to current designs. This approach involves embedding the spent fuel assemblies in monolithic blocks of metallic aluminum. While this would clearly require increased effort in the spent-fuel packaging phase, it would offer in return the above-mentioned environmental advantages, plus the option of easily extending the surface-storage time scale from several years to several decades if a need for longer storage times should arise in the future

  16. Utilization of the NFS West Valley Installation for spent fuel storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacDonald, R.W.

    1978-04-01

    Several thousand MT of capacity of AFR storage will be required in the 1980's. The pool at NFS has capacity for an additional 60 MT of BWR fuel or 150 MT of PWR assemblies. Zircaloy-clad LWR fuel can be stored in pools for up to 100 years. Environmental effects are discussed. Expansion of the pool capacity for as much as 1000 MT more, either by using more compact storage racks or constructing a new pool or an independent pool, is considered. Some indication of the environmental impacts of expanded fuel storage capacity at West Valley is offered by experience at Barnwell

  17. Geometry-coupled reactive fluid transport at the fracture scale -Application to CO 2 geologic storage

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Seunghee

    2015-08-19

    Water acidification follows CO2 injection and leads to reactive fluid transport through pores and rock fractures, with potential implications to reservoirs and wells in CO2 geologic storage and enhanced oil recovery. Kinetic rate laws for dissolution reactions in calcite and anorthite are combined with Navier-Stokes law and advection-diffusion transport to perform geometry-coupled numerical simulations in order to study the evolution of chemical reactions, species concentration and fracture morphology. Results are summarized as a function of two dimensionless parameters: the Damköhler number Da which is the ratio between advection and reaction times, and the transverse Peclet number Pe defined as the ratio between the time for diffusion across the fracture and the time for advection along the fracture. Reactant species are readily consumed near the inlet in a carbonate reservoir when the flow velocity is low (low transverse Peclet number and Da>10-1). At high flow velocities, diffusion fails to homogenize the concentration field across the fracture (high transverse Peclet number Pe>10-1). When the reaction rate is low as in anorthite reservoirs (Da<10-1) reactant species are more readily transported towards the outlet. At a given Peclet number, a lower Damköhler number causes the flow channel to experience a more uniform aperture enlargement along the length of the fracture. When the length-to-aperture ratio is sufficiently large, say l/d>30, the system response resembles the solution for 1-D reactive fluid transport. A decreased length-to-aperture ratio slows the diffusive transport of reactant species to the mineral fracture surface, and analyses of fracture networks must take into consideration both the length and slenderness of individual fractures in addition to Pe and Da numbers.

  18. Geometry-coupled reactive fluid transport at the fracture scale -Application to CO 2 geologic storage

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Seunghee; Santamarina, Carlos

    2015-01-01

    Water acidification follows CO2 injection and leads to reactive fluid transport through pores and rock fractures, with potential implications to reservoirs and wells in CO2 geologic storage and enhanced oil recovery. Kinetic rate laws for dissolution reactions in calcite and anorthite are combined with Navier-Stokes law and advection-diffusion transport to perform geometry-coupled numerical simulations in order to study the evolution of chemical reactions, species concentration and fracture morphology. Results are summarized as a function of two dimensionless parameters: the Damköhler number Da which is the ratio between advection and reaction times, and the transverse Peclet number Pe defined as the ratio between the time for diffusion across the fracture and the time for advection along the fracture. Reactant species are readily consumed near the inlet in a carbonate reservoir when the flow velocity is low (low transverse Peclet number and Da>10-1). At high flow velocities, diffusion fails to homogenize the concentration field across the fracture (high transverse Peclet number Pe>10-1). When the reaction rate is low as in anorthite reservoirs (Da<10-1) reactant species are more readily transported towards the outlet. At a given Peclet number, a lower Damköhler number causes the flow channel to experience a more uniform aperture enlargement along the length of the fracture. When the length-to-aperture ratio is sufficiently large, say l/d>30, the system response resembles the solution for 1-D reactive fluid transport. A decreased length-to-aperture ratio slows the diffusive transport of reactant species to the mineral fracture surface, and analyses of fracture networks must take into consideration both the length and slenderness of individual fractures in addition to Pe and Da numbers.

  19. Cadmium verification measurements of HFIR shroud assembly 22

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, J.A.; Schultz, F.J.

    1994-04-01

    This report discusses radiation-based nondestructive examination methods which have been used to successfully verify the presence of cadmium in High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) spent-fuel shroud assembly number 22 (SA22). These measurements show, in part, that SA22 is certified to meet the criticality safety specifications for a proposed reconfiguration of the HFIR spent-fuel storage array. Measurement of the unique 558.6-keV gamma-ray from neutron radiative capture on cadmium provided conclusive evidence for the presence of cadmium in the outer shroud of the assembly. Cadmium verification in the center post and outer shroud was performed by measuring the degree of neutron transmission in SA22 relative to two calibration shroud assemblies. Each measurement was performed at a single location on the center post and outer shroud. These measurements do not provide information on the spatial distribution or uniformity of cadmium within an assembly. Separate measurements using analog and digital radiography were performed to (a) globally map the continuity of cadmium internal mass, and (b) locally determine the thickness of cadmium. Radiography results will be reported elsewhere. The measurements reported here should not be used to infer the thickness of cadmium in either the center post or outer shroud of an assembly

  20. Nondestructive examination of Oconee 1 fuel assemblies after three cycles of irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pyecha, T.D.; Davis, H.H.; Mayer, J.T.; Guthrie, B.A. III; Larson, J.G.

    1979-09-01

    The Babcock and Wilcox Company (B and W) in conjunction with Duke Power Company is participating in a Department of Energy sponsored research and development program to qualify current design pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assemblies for extended burnup (>40,000 MWd/mtU). The information obtained from this program will provide a basis for future design improvements in PWR fuel assemblies culminating in an extended burnup assembly having a nominal operating limit of approximately 50,000 MWd/mtU. An extension of the current assembly design to higher burnups will result in the following benefits: (1) lower uranium ore requirements, (2) greater fuel cycle efficiency, (3) reduction in spent fuel storage requirements, and (4) increased flexibility in tailoring fuel batch sizes to better accommodate the varying energy requirements of the utilities

  1. Nondestructive Assay Data Integration with the SKB-50 Assemblies - FY16 Update

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tobin, Stephen Joseph; Fugate, Michael Lynn; Trellue, Holly Renee; DeBaere, Paul; Sjoland, Anders; Liljenfeldt, Henrik; Hu, Jianwei; Backstrom, Ulrika; Bengtsson, Martin; Burr, Tomas; Eliasson, Annika; Favalli, Andrea; Gauld, Ian; Grogan, Brandon; Jansson, Peter; Junell, Henrik; Schwalbach, Peter; Vaccaro, Stefano; Vo, Duc Ta; Wildestrand, Henrik

    2016-01-01

    A project to research the application of non-destructive assay (NDA) techniques for spent fuel assemblies is underway at the Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (for which the Swedish acronym is Clab) in Oskarshamn, Sweden. The research goals of this project contain both safeguards and non-safeguards interests. These nondestructive assay (NDA) technologies are designed to strengthen the technical toolkit of safeguard inspectors and others to determine the following technical goals more accurately; Verify initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of facility declaration for spent fuel assemblies; Detect replaced or missing pins from a given spent fuel assembly to confirm its integrity; and Estimate plutonium mass and related plutonium and uranium fissile mass parameters in spent fuel assemblies. Estimate heat content, and measure reactivity (multiplication).

  2. Nondestructive Assay Data Integration with the SKB-50 Assemblies - FY16 Update

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tobin, Stephen Joseph [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Fugate, Michael Lynn [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Trellue, Holly Renee [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); DeBaere, Paul [DG Energy, Luxembourg (Germany); Sjoland, Anders [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Liljenfeldt, Henrik [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Hu, Jianwei [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Backstrom, Ulrika [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Vattenfall AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Bengtsson, Martin [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Vattenfall AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Burr, Tomas [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria); Eliasson, Annika [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Favalli, Andrea [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gauld, Ian [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Grogan, Brandon [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Jansson, Peter [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden); Junell, Henrik [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Schwalbach, Peter [DG Energy, Luxembourg (Germany); Vaccaro, Stefano [DG Energy, Luxembourg (Germany); Vo, Duc Ta [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Wildestrand, Henrik [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Vattenfall AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2016-10-28

    A project to research the application of non-destructive assay (NDA) techniques for spent fuel assemblies is underway at the Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (for which the Swedish acronym is Clab) in Oskarshamn, Sweden. The research goals of this project contain both safeguards and non-safeguards interests. These nondestructive assay (NDA) technologies are designed to strengthen the technical toolkit of safeguard inspectors and others to determine the following technical goals more accurately; Verify initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of facility declaration for spent fuel assemblies; Detect replaced or missing pins from a given spent fuel assembly to confirm its integrity; and Estimate plutonium mass and related plutonium and uranium fissile mass parameters in spent fuel assemblies. Estimate heat content, and measure reactivity (multiplication).

  3. CFD Simulation of Heat and Fluid Flow for Spent Fuel in a Dry Storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    In, Wangkee; Kwack, Youngkyun; Kook, Donghak; Koo, Yanghyun

    2014-01-01

    A dry storage system is used for the interim storage of spent fuel prior to permanent depository and/or recycling. The spent fuel is initially stored in a water pool for more than 5 years at least after dispatch from the reactor core and is transported to dry storage. The dry cask contains a multiple number of spent fuel assemblies, which are cooled down in the spent fuel pool. The dry cask is usually filled up with helium gas for increasing the heat transfer to the environment outside the cask. The dry storage system has been used for more than a decade in United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU). Korea is also developing a dry storage system since its spent fuel pool is anticipated to be full within 10 years. The spent fuel will be stored in a dry cask for more than 40 years. The integrity and safety of spent fuel are important for long-term dry storage. The long-term storage will experience the degradation of spent fuel such as the embrittlement of fuel cladding, thermal creep and hydride reorientation. High burn-up fuel may expedite the material degradation. It is known that the cladding temperature has a strong influence on the material degradation. Hence, it is necessary to accurately predict the local distribution of the cladding temperature using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. The objective of this study is to apply the CFD method for predicting the three-dimensional distribution of fuel temperature in a dry cask. This CFD study simulated the dry cask for containing the 21 fuel assemblies under development in Korea. This paper presents the fluid velocity and temperature distribution as well as the fuel temperature. A two-step CFD approach was applied to simulate the heat and fluid flow in a dry storage of 21 spent fuel assemblies. The first CFD analysis predicted the helium flow and temperature in a dry cask by a assuming porous body of the spent fuel. The second CFD analysis was to simulate a spent fuel assembly in the

  4. Combined storage system for LWR spent fuel and high-level waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baxter, B.J.; Ganley, J.T.; Washington, J.A.

    1983-01-01

    The MODREX storage system consists of four basic elements: (1) the storage canister, (2) the storage module, (3) the storage cask, and (4) the transport cask. The storage canister is the heart of the system and, when used in combination with the module or either of the casks, allows the MODREX system to respond quickly to varied storage system requirements. The MODREX system can be used to hold either spent fuel assemblies or canistered solidified HLW. The ability to combine a basic storage canister with either a concrete module or a metal cask provides flexibility to meet a wide range of storage requirements. The spent fuel is stored in a dry, inert atmosphere, which essentially eliminates corrosion or deterioration of the cladding during extended storage periods. The storage canister and concrete storage module provide additional barriers against radioactivity release, enhancing long-term safety. Heat dissipation is passive, eliminating the need for additional emergency cooling systems or special redundancy. Modular, expandable construction permits minimum initial investment and capital carrying charges; additional capacity is built and paid for only as it is needed, retaining flexibility. 6 references, 2 figures, 1 table

  5. Apparatus and method for assembling fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arya, S.P.

    1978-01-01

    A nuclear fuel element assembling method and apparatus is preferably operable under programmed control unit to receive fuel rods from storage, arrange them into axially aligned stacks of closely monitored length, and transfer the stacks of fuel rods to a loading device for insertion into longitudinal passages in the fuel elements. In order to handle large numbers of one or more classifications of fuel rods or other cylindrical parts, the assembling apparatus includes at least two feed troughs each formed by a pair of screw members with a movable table having a plurality of stacking troughs for alignment with the feed troughs and with a conveyor for delivering the stacks to the loading device, the fuel rods being moved along the stacking troughs upon a fluid cushion. 23 claims, 6 figures

  6. Calibration of the TVO spent BWR reference fuel assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarvainen, M.; Baecklin, A.; Haakanson, A.

    1992-02-01

    In 1989 the Support Programmes of Finland (FSP) and Sweden (SSP) initiated a joint task to cross calibrate the burnup of the IAEA spent BWR reference fuel assembly at the TVO AFR storage facility (TVO KPA-STORE) in Finland. The reference assembly, kept separately under the IAEA seal, is used for verification measurements of spent fuel by GBUV method (SG-NDA-38). The cross calibration was performed by establishing a calibration curve, 244 Cm neutron rate versus burnup, using passive neutron assay (PNA) measurements. The declared burnup of the reference assembly was compared with the burnup value deduced from the calibration curve. A calibration line was also established by using the GBUV method with the aid of high resolution gamma ray spectrometry (HRGS). Normalization between the two different facilities was performed using sealed neutron and gamma calibration sources. The results of the passive neutron assay show consistency, better than 1 %, between the declared mean burnup of the reference assembly and the burnup deduced from the calibration curve. The corresponding consistency is within +-2 % for the HRGS measurements

  7. CASTOR{sup R} 1000/19: Development and Design of a New Transport and Storage Cask

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Funke, Th.; Henig, Ch. [GNS mbH, Hollestrasse 7A, 45127 Essen (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    The design of the new transport and storage cask type CASTOR{sup R} 1000/19 is presented in this paper. This cask was developed for the dry interim storage of spent VVER1000 fuel assemblies concerning the requirements of the Temelin NPP, Czech Republic. While the cask body is based on well-known ductile cast iron cask types with in-wall moderator, the basket follows a new concept. The basket is able to carry 19 fuel assemblies with a total decay heat power up to approximately 17 kW. The cask fulfils all requirements for a type B(U)F package. The main nuclear, mechanical and thermal properties of the cask are illustrated for normal conditions and for hypothetical accident scenarios during transport and storage. The main steps of the handling procedure such as loading the cask, drying the cavity and mounting the double lid system for tightness during interim storage are shown in principle. For this handling, boundary conditions at the NPP site such as dimensions, weight and the loading machine interface are considered. (authors)

  8. Lessons learned from 50 years period the storage of the spent fuel from nuclear research reactor VVR-S

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dragusin, M.

    2010-01-01

    The nuclear research reactor VVR-S was commissioned in July 1957. This reactor is in permanent shutdown since December 1997 and will be decommissioned. The duration of the decommissioning project is 11 years. The first year of decommissioning project is 2010. The spent nuclear fuels resulting from the 40 years of operating the nuclear research reactor are stored under wet conditions. The chemical and physical water parameters monitored are: transparency, conductibility, pH, chloride content, oxygen content, temperature, dry residual content, Al, Mn, Mg, Fe, Vn, Cr. Residual dry content must be maintained in requested range in order to prevent degradation and corrosion both of the clads, assemblies and linen material of the ponds. Two types of the nuclear fuel assemblies were used: LEU type -EK-10 and HEU type S-36 Russian origin. All spent nuclear fuel assemblies HEU-S-36 type were repatriated in Russian Federation in June 2009 in safety and security conditions without any problems due of the wet storage, after 25 years storage in wet conditions. The spent nuclear fuel assemblies types LEU EK-10 were stored in wet conditions more than 50 years. This paper describes the lessons learned during the 50 years management of the spent nuclear fuel resulted from the operation the research reactor VVR-S. The management was based on the maintenance of water parameters by water filtration, using at all times air HEPA filter incorporated in technological ventilation system and by monitoring the level, temperature, physical and chemical parameters of the water storage from ponds and by controlling ponds linen physical integrity. Also we have used the discs having the same compositions with materials from assemblies stored in the same ponds, in order to verify degradation and corrosion phenomena induced due to the quality of storage water. The paper will described these results obtained by metallographic, visual, XRF analysis onto discs and dry residual samples from storage

  9. New developments in dry spent fuel storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonnet, C.; Chevalier, Ph.

    2001-01-01

    As shown in various new examples, HABOG facility (Netherlands), CERNAVODA (Candu - Romania), KOZLODUY (WWER - Bulgaria), CHERNOBYL ( RMBK - Ukraine), MAYAK (Spent Fuel from submarine and Icebreakers - Russia), recent studies allow to confirm the flexibility and performances of the CASCAD system proposed by SGN, both in safety and operability, for the dry storage of main kinds of spent fuel. The main features are: A multiple containment barrier system: as required by international regulation, 2 independent barriers are provided (tight canister and storage pit); Passive cooling, while the Fuel Assemblies are stored in an inert atmosphere and under conditions of temperature preventing from degradation of rod cladding; Sub-criticality controlled by adequate arrangements in any conditions; Safe facility meeting ICPR 60 Requirements as well as all applicable regulations (including severe weather conditions and earthquake); Safe handling operations; Retrievability of the spent fuel either during storage period or at the end of planned storage period (100 years); Future Decommissioning of the facility facilitated through design optimisation; Construction and operating cost-effectiveness. (author)

  10. Evaluation of Radionuclide Release from Aluminum-Based SNF in Basin Storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sindelar, R.L.; Burke, S.D.; Howell, J.P.

    1998-09-01

    This report provides an evaluation of the release rates of radionuclides from breached A1-SNF assemblies and evaluates the effect of direct storage of breached fuel at a conservative upper bound reference condition on the SRS basin water activity levels

  11. Performance of CASTOR {sup registered} HAW cask cold trials for loading, Transport and storage of HAW canisters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilmsmeier, Marco; Horn, Thomas; Graf, Wilhelm [GNS Gesellschaft fuer Nuklear-Service mbH (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    With over 30 years of experience in the design, manufacturing, assembly and loading of CASTOR {sup registered} casks, GNS is one of the worldwide leading suppliers of casks for the transport and storage of spent fuel assemblies as well as for canisters with vitrified high active wastes (meanwhile over 1.000 casks loaded and stored and more than 1.500 ordered). GNS's products are used at around 30 sites worldwide for a wide range of inventories from pressurised and boiling water reactor fuels (PWR, VVER and BWR, RBMK), thorium high-temperature reactor fuels (THTR) and research reactor fuels (MTR) to vitrified high active wastes (HAW) from reprocessing plants. GNS is responsible for all nuclear wastes resulting from German Nuclear Power Plants and assists and/or performs in the loading and dispatch of CASTOR {sup registered} casks as well as their transport to and storage at central interim storage facilities and local interim storage areas. (orig.)

  12. Equipment for nondestructive testing of the PWR and BWR spept fUel elements and assemblies in the NPP storage pools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gorskij, V.V.

    1983-01-01

    Design features are considered of units for nondestructive testing of spent fUel elements and fuel assemblies (FA) in the storage pools of NPP with the PWR and BWR reactors. Units for remote viewing control of fuel element cans and FA, for direct measurements of their geometrical dimensions, for FA leak-testing, fuel element can nondestructive testing and gamma scanning, for measuring gaseous fission product pressure and fuel element free volume are described along with units for complex checking of fuel element and FA parameters. The units for nondestructive testing of spent fuel elements and EA are shown to differ both in their designs and a number of checked parameters of fuel elements and FA. The remote viewing and those for measuring the basic FA parameters are most generally employed. Units for complex testing of multiple fuel element parameters, designed in the last few years, are intended for operation with FA disassembled partially or fully and are characteristic of a high degree of computer measuring automation both for the process control and data processing

  13. Hybrid heat pipe based passive cooling device for spent nuclear fuel dry storage cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, Yeong Shin; Bang, In Cheol

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Hybrid heat pipe was presented as a passive cooling device for dry storage cask of SNF. • A method to utilize waste heat from spent fuel was suggested using hybrid heat pipe. • CFD analysis was performed to evaluate the thermal performance of hybrid heat pipe. • Hybrid heat pipe can increase safety margin and storage capacity of the dry storage cask. - Abstract: Conventional dry storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) were designed to remove decay heat through the natural convection of air, but this method has limited cooling capacity and a possible re-criticality accident in case of flooding. To enhance the safety and capacity of dry storage cask of SNF, hybrid heat pipe-based passive cooling device was suggested. Heat pipe is an excellent passive heat transfer device using the principles of both conduction and phase change of the working fluid. The heat pipe containing neutron absorber material, the so-called hybrid heat pipe, is expected to prevent the re-criticality accidents of SNF and to increase the safety margin during interim and long term storage period. Moreover, a hybrid heat pipe with thermoelectric module, a Stirling engine and a phase change material tank can be used for utilization of the waste heat as heat-transfer medium. Located at the guide tube or instrumentation tube, hybrid heat pipe can remove decay heat from inside the sealed metal cask to outside, decreasing fuel rod temperature. In this paper, a 2-step analysis was performed using computational fluid dynamics code to evaluate the heat and fluid flow inside a cask, which consisted of a single spent fuel assembly simulation and a full-scope dry cask simulation. For a normal dry storage cask, the maximum fuel temperature is 290.0 °C. With hybrid heat pipe cooling, the temperature decreased to 261.6 °C with application of one hybrid heat pipe per assembly, and to 195.1 °C with the application of five hybrid heat pipes per assembly. Therefore, a dry

  14. COBRA-SFS thermal analysis of a sealed storage cask for the Monitored Retrievable Storage of spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rector, D.R.; Wheeler, C.L.

    1986-01-01

    The COBRA-SFS (Spent Fuel Storage) computer code was used to predict temperature distributions in a concrete Sealed Storage Cask (SSC). This cask was designed for the Department of Energy in the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) program for storage of spent fuel from commercial power operations. Analytical results were obtained for nominal operation of the SSC with spent fuel from 36 PWR fuel assemblies consolidated in 12 cylindrical canisters. Each canister generates 1650 W of thermal power. A parametric study was performed to assess the effects on cask thermal performance of thermal conductivity of the concrete, the fin material, and the amount of radial reinforcing steel bars (rebar). Seven different cases were modeled. The results of the COBRA-SFS analysis of the current cask design predict that the peak fuel cladding temperature in the SSC will not exceed the 37 0 C design limit for the maximum spent fuel load of 19.8 kW and a maximum expected ambient temperature of 37.8 0 C (100 0 F). The results of the parametric analyses illustrate the importance of material selection and design optimization with regard to the SSC thermal performance

  15. 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

  16. Determining initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of pressurized-water-reactor spent fuel assemblies by analyzing passive gamma spectra measured at the Clab interim-fuel storage facility in Sweden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Favalli, A.; Vo, D.; Grogan, B.; Jansson, P.; Liljenfeldt, H.; Mozin, V.; Schwalbach, P.; Sjöland, A.; Tobin, S. J.; Trellue, H.; Vaccaro, S.

    2016-06-01

    The purpose of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI)-Spent Fuel (SF) project is to strengthen the technical toolkit of safeguards inspectors and/or other interested parties. The NGSI-SF team is working to achieve the following technical goals more easily and efficiently than in the past using nondestructive assay measurements of spent fuel assemblies: (1) verify the initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of facility declaration; (2) detect the diversion or replacement of pins; (3) estimate the plutonium mass [which is also a function of the variables in (1)]; (4) estimate the decay heat; and (5) determine the reactivity of spent fuel assemblies. Since August 2013, a set of measurement campaigns has been conducted at the Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (Clab), in collaboration with Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB). One purpose of the measurement campaigns was to acquire passive gamma spectra with high-purity germanium and lanthanum bromide scintillation detectors from Pressurized Water Reactor and Boiling Water Reactor spent fuel assemblies. The absolute 137Cs count rate and the 154Eu/137Cs, 134Cs/137Cs, 106Ru/137Cs, and 144Ce/137Cs isotopic ratios were extracted; these values were used to construct corresponding model functions (which describe each measured quantity's behavior over various combinations of burnup, cooling time, and initial enrichment) and then were used to determine those same quantities in each measured spent fuel assembly. The results obtained in comparison with the operator declared values, as well as the methodology developed, are discussed in detail in the paper.

  17. Measurements of decay heat and gamma-ray intensity of spent LWR fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vogt, J.; Agrenius, L.; Jansson, P.; Baecklin, A.; Haakansson, A.; Jacobsson, S.

    1999-01-01

    Calorimetric measurements of the decay heat of a number of BWR and PWR fuel assemblies have been performed in the pools at the Swedish Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel, CLAB. Gamma-ray measurements, using high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy (HRGS), have been carried out on the same fuel assemblies in order to test if it is possible to find a simple and accurate correlation between the 137 CS -intensity and the decay heat for fuel with a cooling time longer than 10-12 years. The results up to now are very promising and may ultimately lead to a qualified method for quick and accurate determination of the decay heat of old fuel by gamma-ray measurements. By means of the gamma spectrum the operator declared data on burnup, cooling time and initial enrichment can be verified as well. CLAB provides a unique opportunity in the world to follow up the decay heat of individual fuel assemblies during several decades to come. The results will be applicable for design and operation of facilities for wet and dry interim storage and subsequent encapsulation for final disposal of the fuel. (author)

  18. Replacing Chlorine with Hydrogen Chloride as a Possible Reactant for Synthesis of Titanium Carbide Derived Carbon Powders for High-Technology Devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tallo, Indrek; Thomberg, Thomas; Jänes, Alar; Lust, Enn

    2013-01-01

    Micro- and mesoporous carbide-derived carbons were synthesized from titanium carbide (TiC) powder via gas phase reaction by using different reactants (Cl 2 and HCl) within the temperature range from 700 to 1100 °C. Analysis of XRD results show that TiC-derived carbons (TiC-CDC) consist mainly of graphitic crystallites. The first-order Raman spectra showed the graphite-like absorption peaks at ∼1577 cm 1 and the disorder-induced peaks at ∼1338 cm- 1 . The energy-related properties of supercapacitors based on 1 M (C 2 H 5 ) 3 CH 3 NBF 4 in acetonitrile and carbide-derived carbons (TiC-CDC (Cl 2 ) and TiC-CDC (HCl)) as electrode materials were also investigated using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, galvanostatic charge/discharge and constant power methods. The Ragone plots for carbide-derived carbons prepared by using different reactants (Cl 2 , HCl) are quite similar and at high power loads TiC-CDC (Cl 2 ) material synthesized at 900 °C, i.e. materials with optimal porous structure, deliver higher power at constant energy

  19. Technical products for radiation shielding. Shield assembled from lead blocks for radiation protection. General technical requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    The object of this standard description is the general technological requirements of 50 and 100 mm thick radiation protection shields assembled from lead blocks. The standard contains the definitions, types, parameters and dimensions of shields, their technical and acceptance criteria with testing methods, tagging, packaging, transportation and storage requirements, producer's liability. Some illustrated assembling examples, preferred parameters and dosimetry methods for shield inspection are given. (R.P.)

  20. An independent spent-fuel storage installation at Surry Station: Design and operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKay, H.S.; Wakeman, B.H.; Pickworth, J.M.; Routh, S.D.; Hopkins, W.C.

    1989-07-01

    Design and licensing of the Surry Power Station Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) was initiated in 1982 by Virginia Power as part of a comprehensive strategy to increase spent fuel storage capacity at the Station. Designed to use large, metal dry storage casks, the Surry ISFSI will accommodate 84 such casks with a total storage capacity of 811 MTU of spent PWR fuel assemblies. The ISFSI is located at the Surry Station in a wooded area approximately 1000 meters (3300 feet) east of the reactor facilities. Construction of the first of three reinforced concrete storage pads and its associated support systems was completed in March 1986. The operating license and Technical Specifications were issued by the US NRC on July 2, 1986. Initial loading operations of a General Nuclear Systems, Inc., CASTOR V/21 storage cask began in September 1986. The first two CASTOR V/21 casks were placed in storage at the ISFSI in December 1986. 16 refs., 33 figs., 16 tabs

  1. Use of burnup credit for transportation and storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanders, T.L.; Ewing, R.I.; Lake, W.H.

    1991-01-01

    Burnup credit is the application of the effects of fuel burnup to nuclear criticality design. When burnup credit is considered in the design of storage facilities and transportation casks for spent fuel, the objectives are to reduce the requirements for storage space and to increase the payload of casks with acceptable nuclear criticality safety margins. The spent-fuel carrying capacities of previous-generation transport casks have been limited primarily by requirements to remove heat and/or to provide shielding. Shielding and heat transfer requirements for casks designed to transport older spent fuel with longer decay times are reduced significantly. Thus a considerable weight margin is available to the designer for increasing the payload capacity. One method to achieve an increase in capacity is to reduce fuel assembly spacing. The amount of reduction in assembly spacing is limited by criticality and fuel support structural concerns. The optimum fuel assembly spacing provides the maximum cask loading within a basket that has adequate criticality control and sufficient structural integrity for regulatory accident scenarios. The incorporation of burnup credit in cask designs could result in considerable benefits in the transport of spent fuel. The acceptance of burnup credit for the design of transport casks depends on the resolution of system safety issues and the uncertainties that affect the determination of criticality safety margins. The remainder of this report will examine these issues and the integrated approach under way to resolve them. 20 refs., 2 figs

  2. An economic evaluation of a storage system for casks with burnup credit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mimura, Masahiro; Tsuda, Kazuaki; Yamada, Nobuyuki; O-iwa, Akio.

    1993-01-01

    It is generally recognized that casks designed with burnup credit are more economical than those without burnup credit. To estimate how much more economical they are, we made conceptual designs of transport/storage casks with and without burnup credit for PWR and BWR fuels of various uranium enrichment. The casks were designed to contain the maximum number of fuel assemblies under the necessary weight and dimensional limitations as well as the criticality and shielding criteria. The results showed that approximately 8 % to 44 % more fuel assemblies could be contained in casks with burnup credit. We then evaluated the economy of cask storage system incorporating the cask designs obtained above both with and without burnup credit. The results showed that the cost of storing casks with burnup credit is approximately 7 % to 30 % less expensive than storing casks without burnup credit. (J.P.N.)

  3. Demonstration of cask transportation and dry storage of spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teer, B.R.; Clark, J.

    1984-01-01

    Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. and the Department of Energy's Idaho Operations Office have signed a cost sharing contract to demonstrate dual purpose shipping and storage casks for spent nuclear fuel. Transnuclear, Inc. has been selected by NFS to design and supply two forged steel casks - one for 40 PWR assemblies from the Ginna reactor, the other for 85 BWR assemblies from the Big Rock Point reactor. The casks will be delivered to West Valley in mid-1985, loaded with the fuel assemblies and shipped by rail to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The shipments will be made under a DOE Certificate of Compliance which will be issued based on reviews by Oak Ridge National Laboratory of Transnuclear's designs

  4. Self-assembly of polyhedral metal–organic framework particles into three-dimensional ordered superstructures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avci, Civan; Imaz, Inhar; Carné-Sánchez, Arnau; Pariente, Jose Angel; Tasios, Nikos; Pérez-Carvajal, Javier; Alonso, Maria Isabel; Blanco, Alvaro; Dijkstra, M.; López, Cefe; Maspoch, Daniel

    Self-assembly of particles into long-range, three-dimensional, ordered superstructures is crucial for the design of a variety of materials, including plasmonic sensing materials, energy or gas storage systems, catalysts and photonic crystals. Here, we have combined experimental and simulation data

  5. Development of Ozone Technology Rice Storage Systems (OTRISS) for Quality Improvement of Rice Production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nur, M; Kusdiyantini, E; Wuryanti, W; Winarni, T A; Widyanto, S A; Muharam, H

    2015-01-01

    This research has been carried out by using ozone to address the rapidly declining quality of rice in storage. In the first year, research has focused on the rice storage with ozone technology for small capacity (e.g., household) and the medium capacity (e.g., dormitories, hospitals). Ozone was produced by an ozone generator with Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma (DBDP). Ozone technology rice storage system (OTRISS) is using ozone charateristic which is a strong oxidizer. Ozone have a short endurance of existence and then decompose, as a result produce oxygen and radicals of oxygen. These characteristics could kill microorganisms and pests, reduce air humidity and enrich oxygen. All components used in SPBTO assembled using raw materials available in the big cities in Indonesia. Provider of high voltage (High Voltage Power Supply, 40-70 kV, 23 KH, AC) is one of components that have been assembled and tested. Ozone generator is assembled with 7 reactors of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma (DBDP). Rice container that have been prepared for OTRISS have adjusted so can be integrated with generator, power supply and blower to blow air. OTRISS with a capacity of 75 kg and 100 kg have been made and tested. The ability of ozone to eliminate bacteria and fungi have been tested and resulted in a decrease of microorganisms at 3 log CFU/g. Testing in food chemistry showed that ozone treatment of rice had not changed the chemical content that still meet the standard of chemical content and nutritional applicable to ISO standard milled rice. The results of this study are very likely to be used as an alternative to rice storage systems in warehouse. Test and scale-up is being carried out in a mini warehouse whose condition is mimicked to rice in National Rice Storage of Indonesia (Bulog) to ensure quality. Next adaptations would be installed in the rice storage system in the Bulog. (paper)

  6. Moore's law realities for recording systems and memory storage components: HDD, tape, NAND, and optical

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontana, Robert E.; Decad, Gary M.

    2018-05-01

    This paper describes trends in the storage technologies associated with Linear Tape Open (LTO) Tape cartridges, hard disk drives (HDD), and NAND Flash based storage devices including solid-state drives (SSD). This technology discussion centers on the relationship between cost/bit and bit density and, specifically on how the Moore's Law perception that areal density doubling and cost/bit halving every two years is no longer being achieved for storage based components. This observation and a Moore's Law Discussion are demonstrated with data from 9-year storage technology trends, assembled from publically available industry reporting sources.

  7. Reversible storage of lithium in a rambutan-like tin-carbon electrode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Da; Lee, Jim Yang

    2009-01-01

    Fruity electrodes: A simple bottom-up self-assembly method was used to fabricate rambutan-like tin-carbon (Sn@C) nanoarchitecture (see scheme, green Sn) to improve the reversible storage of lithium in tin. The mechanism of the growth of the pear-like hairs is explored.

  8. Self-assembled air-stable magnesium hydride embedded in 3-D activated carbon for reversible hydrogen storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shinde, S S; Kim, Dong-Hyung; Yu, Jin-Young; Lee, Jung-Ho

    2017-06-01

    The rational design of stable, inexpensive catalysts with excellent hydrogen dynamics and sorption characteristics under realistic environments for reversible hydrogen storage remains a great challenge. Here, we present a simple and scalable strategy to fabricate a monodispersed, air-stable, magnesium hydride embedded in three-dimensional activated carbon with periodic synchronization of transition metals (MHCH). The high surface area, homogeneous distribution of MgH 2 nanoparticles, excellent thermal stability, high energy density, steric confinement by carbon, and robust architecture of the catalyst resulted in a noticeable enhancement of the hydrogen storage performance. The resulting MHCH-5 exhibited outstanding hydrogen storage performance, better than that of most reported Mg-based hydrides, with a high storage density of 6.63 wt% H 2 , a rapid kinetics loading in hydrogenation compared to that of commercial MgH 2 . The origin of the intrinsic hydrogen thermodynamics was elucidated via solid state 1 H NMR. This work presents a readily scaled-up strategy towards the design of realistic catalysts with superior functionality and stability for applications in reversible hydrogen storage, lithium ion batteries, and fuel cells.

  9. An Investigation on the Persistence of Uranium Hydride during Storage of Simulant Nuclear Waste Packages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stitt, C A; Harker, N J; Hallam, K R; Paraskevoulakos, C; Banos, A; Rennie, S; Jowsey, J; Scott, T B

    2015-01-01

    Synchrotron X-rays have been used to study the oxidation of uranium and uranium hydride when encapsulated in grout and stored in de-ionised water for 10 months. Periodic synchrotron X-ray tomography and X-ray powder diffraction have allowed measurement and identification of the arising corrosion products and the rates of corrosion. The oxidation rates of the uranium metal and uranium hydride were slower than empirically derived rates previously reported for each reactant in an anoxic water system, but without encapsulation in grout. This was attributed to the grout acting as a physical barrier limiting the access of oxidising species to the uranium surface. Uranium hydride was observed to persist throughout the 10 month storage period and industrial consequences of this observed persistence are discussed.

  10. COBRA-SFS predictions of single assembly spent fuel heat transfer data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lombardo, N.J.; Michener, T.E.; Wheeler, C.L.; Rector, D.R.

    1986-04-01

    The study reported here is one of several efforts to evaluate and qualify the COBRA-SFS computer code for use in spent fuel storage system thermal analysis. The ability of COBRA-SFS to predict the thermal response of two single assembly spent fuel heat transfer tests was investigated through comparisons of predictions with experimental test data. From these comparisons, conclusions regarding the computational treatment of the physical phenomena occurring within a storage system can be made. This objective was successfully accomplished as reasonable agreement between predictions and data were obtained for the 21 individual test cases of the two experiments

  11. UHV seal studies for the advanced photon source storage ring vacuum system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonczy, J.D.; Ferry, R.J.; Niemann, R.C.; Roop, B.

    1991-01-01

    The Advanced Photon Source (APS) Storage Ring Vacuum Chambers (SRVC) are constructed of aluminum. The chamber design incorporates aluminum alloy 2219-T87 Conflat flanges welded to an aluminum alloy 6063-T5 extruded chamber body. Vacuum connections to the aluminum Conflat chamber flanges are by means of 304 stainless steel Conflat flanges. To evaluate the Conflat seal assemblies relative to vacuum bake cycles, a Conflat Bake Test Assembly (CBTA) was constructed, and thermal cycling tests were performed between room temperature and 150 degrees C on both stainless steel to aluminum Conflat assemblies and aluminum to aluminum Conflat assemblies. A Helicoflex Bake Test Assembly (HBTA) was similarly constructed to evaluate Helicoflex seals. Both Conflat and Helicoflex seals were studied in a SRVC Sector String Test arrangement of five SRVC sections. The CBTA, HBTA and SRVC tests and their results are reported. 3 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

  12. Performance and cost of energy transport and storage systems for dish applications using reversible chemical reactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schredder, J. M.; Fujita, T.

    1984-01-01

    The use of reversible chemical reactions for energy transport and storage for parabolic dish networks is considered. Performance and cost characteristics are estimated for systems using three reactions (sulfur-trioxide decomposition, steam reforming of methane, and carbon-dioxide reforming of methane). Systems are considered with and without storage, and in several energy-delivery configurations that give different profiles of energy delivered versus temperature. Cost estimates are derived assuming the use of metal components and of advanced ceramics. (The latter reduces the costs by three- to five-fold). The process that led to the selection of the three reactions is described, and the effects of varying temperatures, pressures, and heat exchanger sizes are addressed. A state-of-the-art survey was performed as part of this study. As a result of this survey, it appears that formidable technical risks exist for any attempt to implement the systems analyzed in this study, especially in the area of reactor design and performance. The behavior of all components and complete systems under thermal energy transients is very poorly understood. This study indicates that thermochemical storage systems that store reactants as liquids have efficiencies below 60%, which is in agreement with the findings of earlier investigators.

  13. Dynamic Self-Assembly of Homogenous Microcyclic Structures Controlled by a Silver-Coated Nanopore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Rui; Lin, Yao; Ying, Yi-Lun; Liu, Xiao-Yuan; Shi, Xin; Hu, Yong-Xu; Long, Yi-Tao; Tian, He

    2017-07-01

    The self-assembly of nanoparticles is a challenging process for organizing precise structures with complicated and ingenious structures. In the past decades, a simple, high-efficiency, and reproducible self-assembly method from nanoscale to microscale has been pursued because of the promising and extensive application prospects in bioanalysis, catalysis, photonics, and energy storage. However, microscale self-assembly still faces big challenges including improving the stability and homogeneity as well as pursuing new assembly methods and templates for the uniform self-assembly. To address these obstacles, here, a novel silver-coated nanopore is developed which serves as a template for electrochemically generating microcyclic structures of gold nanoparticles at micrometers with highly homogenous size and remarkable reproducibility. Nanopore-induced microcyclic structures are further applied to visualize the diffusion profile of ionic flux. Based on this novel strategy, a nanopore could potentially facilitate the delivery of assembled structures for many practical applications including drug delivery, cellular detection, catalysis, and plasmonic sensing. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. 2D Metal Chalcogenides Incorporated into Carbon and their Assembly for Energy Storage Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Zongnan; Jiang, Hao; Li, Chunzhong

    2018-05-01

    2D metal chalcogenides have become a popular focus in the energy storage field because of their unique properties caused by their single-atom thicknesses. However, their high surface energy and van der Waals attraction easily cause serious stacking and restacking, leading to the generation of more inaccessible active sites with rapid capacity fading. The hybridization of 2D metal chalcogenides with highly conductive materials, particularly, incorporating ultrasmall and few-layered metal chalcogenides into carbon frameworks, can not only maximize the exposure of active sites but also effectively avoid their stacking and aggregation during the electrochemical reaction process. Therefore, a satisfactory specific capacity will be achieved with a long cycle life. In this Concept, the representative progress on such intriguing nanohybrids and their applications in energy storage devices are mainly summarized. Finally, an outlook of the future development and challenges of such nanohybrids for achieving an excellent energy storage capability is also provided. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Templated assembly of photoswitches significantly increases the energy-storage capacity of solar thermal fuels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kucharski, Timothy J; Ferralis, Nicola; Kolpak, Alexie M; Zheng, Jennie O; Nocera, Daniel G; Grossman, Jeffrey C

    2014-05-01

    Large-scale utilization of solar-energy resources will require considerable advances in energy-storage technologies to meet ever-increasing global energy demands. Other than liquid fuels, existing energy-storage materials do not provide the requisite combination of high energy density, high stability, easy handling, transportability and low cost. New hybrid solar thermal fuels, composed of photoswitchable molecules on rigid, low-mass nanostructures, transcend the physical limitations of molecular solar thermal fuels by introducing local sterically constrained environments in which interactions between chromophores can be tuned. We demonstrate this principle of a hybrid solar thermal fuel using azobenzene-functionalized carbon nanotubes. We show that, on composite bundling, the amount of energy stored per azobenzene more than doubles from 58 to 120 kJ mol(-1), and the material also maintains robust cyclability and stability. Our results demonstrate that solar thermal fuels composed of molecule-nanostructure hybrids can exhibit significantly enhanced energy-storage capabilities through the generation of template-enforced steric strain.

  16. Magnetic Measurements of Storage Ring Magnets for the APS Upgrade Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doose, C.; Dejus, R.; Jaski, M.; Jansma, W.; Collins, J.; Donnelly, A.; Liu, J.; Cease, H.; Decker, G.; Jain, A.; DiMarco, J.

    2017-06-01

    Extensive prototyping of storage ring magnets is ongoing at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) in support of the APS Multi-Bend Achromat (MBA) upgrade project (APS-U) [1]. As part of the R&D activities four quadrupole magnets with slightly different geometries and pole tip materials, and one sextupole magnet with vanadium permendur (VP) pole tips were designed, built and tested. Magnets were measured individually using a rotating coil and a Hall probe for detailed mapping of the magnetic field. Magnets were then assembled and aligned relative to each other on a steel support plate and concrete plinth using precision machined surfaces to gain experience with the alignment method chosen for the APS-U storage ring magnets. The required alignment of magnets on a common support structure is 30 μm rms. Measurements of magnetic field quality, strength and magnet alignment after subjecting the magnets and assemblies to different tests are presented.

  17. Determining initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of pressurized-water-reactor spent fuel assemblies by analyzing passive gamma spectra measured at the Clab interim-fuel storage facility in Sweden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Favalli, A., E-mail: afavalli@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Vo, D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Grogan, B. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Jansson, P. [Uppsala University, Uppsala (Sweden); Liljenfeldt, H. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Mozin, V. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Schwalbach, P. [European Commission, DG Energy, Euratom Safeguards Luxemburg, Luxemburg (Luxembourg); Sjöland, A. [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Tobin, S.J.; Trellue, H. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Vaccaro, S. [European Commission, DG Energy, Euratom Safeguards Luxemburg, Luxemburg (Luxembourg)

    2016-06-01

    The purpose of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI)–Spent Fuel (SF) project is to strengthen the technical toolkit of safeguards inspectors and/or other interested parties. The NGSI–SF team is working to achieve the following technical goals more easily and efficiently than in the past using nondestructive assay measurements of spent fuel assemblies: (1) verify the initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of facility declaration; (2) detect the diversion or replacement of pins; (3) estimate the plutonium mass [which is also a function of the variables in (1)]; (4) estimate the decay heat; and (5) determine the reactivity of spent fuel assemblies. Since August 2013, a set of measurement campaigns has been conducted at the Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (Clab), in collaboration with Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB). One purpose of the measurement campaigns was to acquire passive gamma spectra with high-purity germanium and lanthanum bromide scintillation detectors from Pressurized Water Reactor and Boiling Water Reactor spent fuel assemblies. The absolute {sup 137}Cs count rate and the {sup 154}Eu/{sup 137}Cs, {sup 134}Cs/{sup 137}Cs, {sup 106}Ru/{sup 137}Cs, and {sup 144}Ce/{sup 137}Cs isotopic ratios were extracted; these values were used to construct corresponding model functions (which describe each measured quantity’s behavior over various combinations of burnup, cooling time, and initial enrichment) and then were used to determine those same quantities in each measured spent fuel assembly. The results obtained in comparison with the operator declared values, as well as the methodology developed, are discussed in detail in the paper.

  18. Multifunctional Nanoparticles Self-Assembled from Small Organic Building Blocks for Biomedicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Pengyao; Zhao, Yanli

    2016-09-01

    Supramolecular self-assembly shows significant potential to construct responsive materials. By tailoring the structural parameters of organic building blocks, nanosystems can be fabricated, whose performance in catalysis, energy storage and conversion, and biomedicine has been explored. Since small organic building blocks are structurally simple, easily modified, and reproducible, they are frequently employed in supramolecular self-assembly and materials science. The dynamic and adaptive nature of self-assembled nanoarchitectures affords an enhanced sensitivity to the changes in environmental conditions, favoring their applications in controllable drug release and bioimaging. Here, recent significant research advancements of small-organic-molecule self-assembled nanoarchitectures toward biomedical applications are highlighted. Functionalized assemblies, mainly including vesicles, nanoparticles, and micelles are categorized according to their topological morphologies and functions. These nanoarchitectures with different topologies possess distinguishing advantages in biological applications, well incarnating the structure-property relationship. By presenting some important discoveries, three domains of these nanoarchitectures in biomedical research are covered, including biosensors, bioimaging, and controlled release/therapy. The strategies regarding how to design and characterize organic assemblies to exhibit biomedical applications are also discussed. Up-to-date research developments in the field are provided and research challenges to be overcome in future studies are revealed. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. CESAR, 2 MeV electron storage ring; construction period; general view.

    CERN Multimedia

    Service Photo; CERN PhotoLab

    1962-01-01

    A general view of the 2-MeV electron storage-ring model during the last stages of assembly. The injection line for the electrons enters at the bottom of the picture (under the ladder) and meets the ring at the back, to the right. Near there, Joseph Karouanton (S.G.T.E, Paris) (inside the ring), and Marcel Bernasconi (AR Division) are seen testing for leaks in the vacuum system. In white coats are Mervin Barnes (left) and Boony Bruggerman (AR Division), considering the reading shown by one of the vacuum gauges.

  20. Nondestructive determination of burnup and fissile isotope balance in spent fuel assemblies of water cooled reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinel, J.

    1983-03-01

    Two non-destructive methods for measuring fuel assemblies in storage pools have been developed: a gamma fuel scanning method, using the 134 Cs - 137 Cs and 144 Ce gamma rays, and the measurement of the neutron flux emitted by the fuel assembly. For interpreting the measurement, we have used calculated correlations to establish a connection between the measured phenomena and the parameters to be determined. A measurement campaign involving 58 assemblies from the C.N.A. reactor was conducted in the reprocessing plant of LA HAGUE. The results obtained show that the objectives can be achevied within an industrial environment [fr

  1. Storage of spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machado, O.J.; Moore, J.T.; Cooney, B.F.

    1989-01-01

    This patent describes a rack for storing nuclear fuel assemblies. The rack including a base, an array of side-by-side fuel-storage locations, each location being a hollow body of rectangular transverse cross section formed of metallic sheet means which is readily bent, each body having a volume therein dimensioned to receive a fuel assembly. The bodies being mounted on the base with each body secured to bodies adjacent each body along welded joints, each joint joining directly the respective contiguous corners of each body and of bodies adjacent to each body and being formed by a series of separate welds spaced longitudinally between the tops and bottoms of the secured bodies along each joint. The spacings of the separate welds being such that the response of the rack when it is subjected to the anticipated seismic acceleration of the rack, characteristic of the geographical regions where the rack is installed, is minimized

  2. Examples of remote handling of irradiated fuel assemblies in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peehs, M.; Knecht, K.

    1999-01-01

    Examples for the remote handling of irradiated fuel in Germany are presented in the following areas: - fuel assembling pool service activities; - early encapsulation of spent fuel in the pool of a nuclear power plant (NPP) at the end of the wet storage period. All development in remote fuel assembly handling envisages minimization of the radioactive dose applied to the operating staff. In the service area a further key objective for applying advanced methods is to perform the work faster and at a higher quality standard. The early encapsulation is a new technology to provide the final packaging of spent fuel already in the pool of a NPP to ensure reliable handling for all further back end processes. (author)

  3. A Chebyshev method for state-to-state reactive scattering using reactant-product decoupling: OH + H2 → H2O + H.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cvitaš, Marko T; Althorpe, Stuart C

    2013-08-14

    We extend a recently developed wave packet method for computing the state-to-state quantum dynamics of AB + CD → ABC + D reactions [M. T. Cvitaš and S. C. Althorpe, J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 4557 (2009)] to include the Chebyshev propagator. The method uses the further partitioned approach to reactant-product decoupling, which uses artificial decoupling potentials to partition the coordinate space of the reaction into separate reactant, product, and transition-state regions. Separate coordinates and basis sets can then be used that are best adapted to each region. We derive improved Chebyshev partitioning formulas which include Mandelshtam-and-Taylor-type decoupling potentials, and which are essential for the non-unitary discrete variable representations that must be used in 4-atom reactive scattering calculations. Numerical tests on the fully dimensional OH + H2 → H2O + H reaction for J = 0 show that the new version of the method is as efficient as the previously developed split-operator version. The advantages of the Chebyshev propagator (most notably the ease of parallelization for J > 0) can now be fully exploited in state-to-state reactive scattering calculations on 4-atom reactions.

  4. A Regime Diagram for Autoignition of Homogeneous Reactant Mixtures with Turbulent Velocity and Temperature Fluctuations

    KAUST Repository

    Im, Hong G.

    2015-04-02

    A theoretical scaling analysis is conducted to propose a diagram to predict weak and strong ignition regimes for a compositionally homogeneous reactant mixture with turbulent velocity and temperature fluctuations. The diagram provides guidance on expected ignition behavior based on the thermo-chemical properties of the mixture and the flow/scalar field conditions. The analysis is an extension of the original Zeldovich’s analysis by combining the turbulent flow and scalar characteristics in terms of the characteristic Damköhler and Reynolds numbers of the system, thereby providing unified and comprehensive understanding of the physical and chemical mechanisms controlling ignition characteristics. Estimated parameters for existing experimental measurements in a rapid compression facility show that the regime diagram predicts the observed ignition characteristics with good fidelity.

  5. A Regime Diagram for Autoignition of Homogeneous Reactant Mixtures with Turbulent Velocity and Temperature Fluctuations

    KAUST Repository

    Im, Hong G.; Pal, Pinaki; Wooldridge, Margaret S.; Mansfield, Andrew B.

    2015-01-01

    A theoretical scaling analysis is conducted to propose a diagram to predict weak and strong ignition regimes for a compositionally homogeneous reactant mixture with turbulent velocity and temperature fluctuations. The diagram provides guidance on expected ignition behavior based on the thermo-chemical properties of the mixture and the flow/scalar field conditions. The analysis is an extension of the original Zeldovich’s analysis by combining the turbulent flow and scalar characteristics in terms of the characteristic Damköhler and Reynolds numbers of the system, thereby providing unified and comprehensive understanding of the physical and chemical mechanisms controlling ignition characteristics. Estimated parameters for existing experimental measurements in a rapid compression facility show that the regime diagram predicts the observed ignition characteristics with good fidelity.

  6. New phenomena observed during fuel assemblies testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tzotcheva, V.

    2001-01-01

    The paper presents a new attempt to explain inexplicable increase of specific activity for some of the fuel assemblies during the fuel tightness testing procedures on Kozloduy NPP. A brief description of established procedure for fuel tightness control is presented in the paper. Special emphasis is given on a hypothesis that explains the fact of existence of deviation in Iodine activity more than usual, which have no reasonable interpretation. The reasons for uniform high Iodine activity for reloaded assemblies, that have kept in the open measuring can for a long time (1-3 hours), is found to be the process of Iodine dissolving in the water and the accelerated process of natural degassing. A proposal to use the 134 Cs and 137 Cs as stand-alone criteria for more precise results is made in respect to increase the reliability of fuel reloading and storage procedures

  7. Radioprotection and safety for a dry storage module for bare PWR fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tzontlimatzin, E.

    1983-01-01

    A module for dry storage of spent fuel from PWR, after a previous cooling time of 2 years, is examined. Biological protection is obtained by 185 cm of concrete. The safety study shows the impossibility of a fast increase in temperature in case of cooling system failure because in this case the module will be cooled by natural convection or thermosiphon. A project for a storage installation consisting of 5 modules for 1500 irradiated fuel assemblies is described [fr

  8. Current state and perspectives of spent fuel storage in Russia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurnosov, V.A.; Tichonov, N.S.; Makarchuk, T.F.

    1999-01-01

    Twenty-nine power units at nine nuclear power plants, having a total installed capacity of 22 GW(e), are now in operation in the Russian Federation. They produce approximately 12% of the generated electricity in the country. The annual spent fuel arising is approximately 790 tU. The concept of the closed fuel cycle was adopted as the basis for nuclear power development in the Russian Federation, but until now this concept is only implemented for the fuel cycles of WWER-440 and BN-600 reactors. The WWER-1000 spent fuel is planned to be reprocessed at the reprocessing plant RT-2 which is under construction near Krasnoyarsk. The RBMK-1000 spent fuel is not reprocessed. It is meant to be stored in intermediate storage facilities at the NPP sites. The status of the spent fuel (SF) stored in the storage facilities is given in the paper. The principal characteristics of the fuel cycles of the Russian NPPs in the period up to 2015 is also given in the report. The key variant of the current spent fuel management at RBMK-1000 NPPs is storage in at-reactor and in away-from-reactor wet storage facilities at the power plant site with a capacity of 2,000 W. The storage capacity at the operating RBMKs (including the increase due to denser fuel assembly arrangement) will provide SF reception from the NPPs only up to 2005. For RBMK spent fuel, intermediate dry storage is foreseen at power plant sites in metallic concrete casks and thereafter transportation to the central storage facility at the RT-2 plant for long-term storage. The SF will be reprocessing after completion of the reprocessing plant at RT-2. In the Programme of Nuclear Power Development in the Russian Federation for the period 1998 to 2005 and for the period until 2010 year, provisions are made for the construction of a central dry storage facility before 2010. The facility will have a design capacity of 30,000 tU for WWER-1000 and RBMK-1000 spent fuel and is part of the reprocessing plant RT-2. The paper considers

  9. A drying system for spent fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suikki, M.; Warinowski, M.; Nieminen, J.

    2007-06-01

    The report presents a proposed drying apparatus for spent fuel assemblies. The apparatus is used for removing the moisture left in fuel assemblies during intermediate storage and transport. The apparatus shall be installed in connection with the fuel handling cell of an encapsulation plant. The report presents basic requirements for and implementation of the drying system, calculation of the drying process, operation, service and maintenance of the equipment, as well as a cost estimate. Some aspects of the apparatus design are quite specified, but the actual detailed planning and final selection of components have not been included. The report also describes actions for possible malfunction and fault conditions. An objective of the drying system for fuel assemblies is to remove moisture from the assemblies prior to placing the same in a disposal canister for spent nuclear fuel. Drying is performed as a vacuum drying process for vaporizing and draining the moisture present on the surface of the assemblies. The apparatus comprises two pieces of drying equipment. One of the chambers is equipped to take up Lo1-2 fuel assemblies and the other OL1-2 fuel assemblies. The chambers have an internal space sufficient to accommodate also OL3 fuel assemblies, but this requires replacing the internal chamber structure for laying down the assemblies to be dried. The drying chambers can be closed with hatches facing the fuel handling cell. Water vapour pumped out of the chamber is collected in a controlled manner, first by condensing with a heat exchanger and further by freezing in a cold trap. For reasons of safety, the exhaust air of vacuum pumps is further delivered into the ventilation outlet duct of a controlled area. The adequate drying result is ascertained by a low final pressure of about 100 Pa, as well as by a sufficient holding time. The chamber is built for making its cleaning as easy as possible in the event of a fuel rod breaking during a drying, loading or unloading

  10. Gold nanoparticle assemblies of controllable size obtained by hydroxylamine reduction at room temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tódor, István Sz.; Szabó, László; Marişca, Oana T.; Chiş, Vasile; Leopold, Nicolae

    2014-12-01

    Colloidal nanoparticle assemblies (NPAs) were obtained in a one-step procedure, by reduction of HAuCl4 by hydroxylamine hydrochloride, at room temperature, without the use of any additional nucleating agent. By changing the order of the reactants, NPAs with mean size of 20 and 120 nm were obtained. Because of their size and irregular popcorn like shape, the larger size NPAs show absorption in the NIR spectral region. The building blocks of the resulted nanoassemblies are spherical nanoparticles with diameters of 4-8 and 10-30 nm, respectively. Moreover, by stabilizing the colloid with bovine serum albumin at different time moments after synthesis, NPAs of controlled size between 20 and 120 nm, could be obtained. The NPAs were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, TEM and SEM electron microscopies. In addition, the possibility of using the here proposed NPAs as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was assessed and found to provide a higher enhancement compared to conventional citrate-reduced nanoparticles.

  11. LLNL Site plan for a MOX fuel lead assembly mission in support of surplus plutonium disposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bronson, M.C.

    1997-10-01

    The principal facilities that LLNL would use to support a MOX Fuel Lead Assembly Mission are Building 332 and Building 334. Both of these buildings are within the security boundary known as the LLNL Superblock. Building 332 is the LLNL Plutonium Facility. As an operational plutonium facility, it has all the infrastructure and support services required for plutonium operations. The LLNL Plutonium Facility routinely handles kilogram quantities of plutonium and uranium. Currently, the building is limited to a plutonium inventory of 700 kilograms and a uranium inventory of 300 kilograms. Process rooms (excluding the vaults) are limited to an inventory of 20 kilograms per room. Ongoing operations include: receiving SSTS, material receipt, storage, metal machining and casting, welding, metal-to-oxide conversion, purification, molten salt operations, chlorination, oxide calcination, cold pressing and sintering, vitrification, encapsulation, chemical analysis, metallography and microprobe analysis, waste material processing, material accountability measurements, packaging, and material shipping. Building 334 is the Hardened Engineering Test Building. This building supports environmental and radiation measurements on encapsulated plutonium and uranium components. Other existing facilities that would be used to support a MOX Fuel Lead Assembly Mission include Building 335 for hardware receiving and storage and TRU and LLW waste storage and shipping facilities, and Building 331 or Building 241 for storage of depleted uranium.

  12. LLNL Site plan for a MOX fuel lead assembly mission in support of surplus plutonium disposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bronson, M.C.

    1997-01-01

    The principal facilities that LLNL would use to support a MOX Fuel Lead Assembly Mission are Building 332 and Building 334. Both of these buildings are within the security boundary known as the LLNL Superblock. Building 332 is the LLNL Plutonium Facility. As an operational plutonium facility, it has all the infrastructure and support services required for plutonium operations. The LLNL Plutonium Facility routinely handles kilogram quantities of plutonium and uranium. Currently, the building is limited to a plutonium inventory of 700 kilograms and a uranium inventory of 300 kilograms. Process rooms (excluding the vaults) are limited to an inventory of 20 kilograms per room. Ongoing operations include: receiving SSTS, material receipt, storage, metal machining and casting, welding, metal-to-oxide conversion, purification, molten salt operations, chlorination, oxide calcination, cold pressing and sintering, vitrification, encapsulation, chemical analysis, metallography and microprobe analysis, waste material processing, material accountability measurements, packaging, and material shipping. Building 334 is the Hardened Engineering Test Building. This building supports environmental and radiation measurements on encapsulated plutonium and uranium components. Other existing facilities that would be used to support a MOX Fuel Lead Assembly Mission include Building 335 for hardware receiving and storage and TRU and LLW waste storage and shipping facilities, and Building 331 or Building 241 for storage of depleted uranium

  13. Critical experiments supporting underwater storage of tightly packed configurations of spent fuel pins. Technical progress report, January 1-March 31, 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoovler, G.S.; Baldwin, M.N.

    1981-04-01

    Critical experiments are in progress on arrays of 2 1/2% enriched UO 2 fuel pins simulating underwater pin storage of spent power reactor fuel. Pin storage refers to a spent fuel storage concept in which the fuel assemblies are dismantled and the fuel pins are tightly packed into specially designed canisters. These experiments are providing benchmark data with which to validate nuclear codes used to design spent fuel pin storage racks

  14. Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane Photoelectrochemical (PEM-PEC Cell with a Web of Titania Nanotube Arrays as Photoanode and Gaseous Reactants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsampas M.N.

    2017-01-01

    Photoanodes of titania nanotube arrays, TNTAs, were developed, for the first time, on a Ti-web of microfiber substrates, by electrochemical anodization. The performance of TNTAs/Ti-web photoanodes were evaluated in both gaseous and liquid reactants. Due to the presence of reliable reference electrode in gas phase direct comparison of the results was possible. Gas phase operation with He or Air as carrier gases and only 2.5% of water content exhibits very promising photoefficiency in comparison with conventional PEC cells.

  15. Energy storage, to make the wager to believe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Signoret, Stephane; Guilhem, Jean; De Santis, Audrey; Kim, Caroline; Petitot, Pauline; Mary, Olivier

    2016-01-01

    After having evoked some examples and studies (an assessment of the costs of energy storage, an industrial perspective for sodium-ion batteries, the development of an energy recovery system for road transport), a first article discusses the importance of a right definition of energy storage, of its functions and development framework (how to store, where to store, at which price, in which context). A second article evokes the installation of Forsee Power (a leader in battery assembly) in France. A third article discusses how to couple renewable energies and local energy storage. While evoking the example of the LMP battery by Bollore, a fourth article outline the common benefits of high capacity batteries used in electric vehicles as well as in domestic applications or renewable energy supply schemes. The fifth article proposes an overview of researches for the improvement of energy storage solutions (study of battery ageing, use of super-capacitors, thermal storage in industry, a hybrid storage of renewable energy in overseas districts, use of nano-silicon to improve anodes, improvement of oxygen supply in fuel cells, development of very porous silicon layers for anodes). The sixth article discusses the development of a process by Babcok and the Cnim Group for a massive storage of energy by thermal accumulation for electric or thermal energy producers. The seventh and last article notices that the IRENA (International renewable energy Agency) outlined the role of energy storage for the development of rural areas and of islands which are disconnected from the grid

  16. Entropy, pricing and productivity of pumped-storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karakatsanis, Georgios; Tyralis, Hristos; Tzouka, Katerina

    2016-04-01

    , Vienna, Austria, April 27 - May 2 2014, "The Face of the Earth - Process and Form", European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2. Paine, Nathan et al. (2014), Why market rules matter: Optimizing pumped hydroelectric storage when compensation rules differ, Energy Economics 46, 10-19

  17. PWR and BWR spent fuel assembly gamma spectra measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vaccaro, S. [European Commission, DG Energy, Directorate EURATOM Safeguards Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Tobin, S.J.; Favalli, A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Grogan, B. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (United States); Jansson, P. [Uppsala University, Uppsala (Sweden); Liljenfeldt, H. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (United States); Mozin, V. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Hu, J. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (United States); Schwalbach, P. [European Commission, DG Energy, Directorate EURATOM Safeguards Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Sjöland, A. [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) (Sweden); Trellue, H.; Vo, D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-10-11

    A project to research the application of nondestructive assay (NDA) to spent fuel assemblies is underway. The research team comprises the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), embodied by the European Commission, DG Energy, Directorate EURATOM Safeguards; the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB); two universities; and several United States national laboratories. The Next Generation of Safeguards Initiative–Spent Fuel project team is working to achieve the following technical goals more easily and efficiently than in the past using nondestructive assay measurements of spent fuel assemblies: (1) verify the initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of facility declaration; (2) detect the diversion or replacement of pins, (3) estimate the plutonium mass, (4) estimate the decay heat, and (5) determine the reactivity of spent fuel assemblies. This study focuses on spectrally resolved gamma-ray measurements performed on a diverse set of 50 assemblies [25 pressurized water reactor (PWR) assemblies and 25 boiling water reactor (BWR) assemblies]; these same 50 assemblies will be measured with neutron-based NDA instruments and a full-length calorimeter. Given that encapsulation/repository and dry storage safeguards are the primarily intended applications, the analysis focused on the dominant gamma-ray lines of {sup 137}Cs, {sup 154}Eu, and {sup 134}Cs because these isotopes will be the primary gamma-ray emitters during the time frames of interest to these applications. This study addresses the impact on the measured passive gamma-ray signals due to the following factors: burnup, initial enrichment, cooling time, assembly type (eight different PWR and six different BWR fuel designs), presence of gadolinium rods, and anomalies in operating history. To compare the measured results with theory, a limited number of ORIGEN-ARP simulations were performed.

  18. Spent fuel handling system for a geologic storage test at the Nevada Test Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duncan, J.E.; House, P.A.; Wright, G.W.

    1980-01-01

    The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is conducting a test of the geologic storage of encapsulated spent commercial reactor fuel assemblies in a granitic rock at the Nevada Test Site. The test, known as the Spent Fuel Test-Climax (SFT-C), is sponsored by the US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office. Eleven pressurized-water-reactor spent fuel assemblies are stored retrievably for three to five years in a linear array in the Climax stock at a depth of 420 m

  19. Self-assembled 3-D flower-shaped SnO2 nanostructures with improved electrochemical performance for lithium storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Rong; Gu Yingan; Li Yaoqi; Zheng Jie; Li Xingguo

    2010-01-01

    Flower-shaped SnO 2 nanoplates were successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal treatment of a mixture of tin(II) dichloride dihydrate (SnCl 2 .2H 2 O) and sodium citrate (Na 3 C 6 H 5 O 7 .2H 2 O) in alkali solution. The obtained SnO 2 nanoplates were less than 5 nm thick and self-assembled into flower-shaped nanostructures. The introduction of citrate was essential for the preparation of the SnO 2 nanoplates. The nanoscale shape and self-assembled architecture of SnO 2 nanoparticles were mainly controlled by the alkalinity of the solution. When the self-assembled SnO 2 nanostructures were used as anode materials in Li-ion batteries, they exhibit a reversible capacity of 670 mA h g -1 after 30 cycles and an average capacity fading of 0.95% per cycle after the second cycle. The good electrochemical performance of the SnO 2 sample prepared via the hydrothermal synthesis indicates the possibility of fabricating specific self-assembled three-dimensional nanostructures for Li-ion batteries.

  20. An Investigation on the Persistence of Uranium Hydride during Storage of Simulant Nuclear Waste Packages.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C A Stitt

    Full Text Available Synchrotron X-rays have been used to study the oxidation of uranium and uranium hydride when encapsulated in grout and stored in de-ionised water for 10 months. Periodic synchrotron X-ray tomography and X-ray powder diffraction have allowed measurement and identification of the arising corrosion products and the rates of corrosion. The oxidation rates of the uranium metal and uranium hydride were slower than empirically derived rates previously reported for each reactant in an anoxic water system, but without encapsulation in grout. This was attributed to the grout acting as a physical barrier limiting the access of oxidising species to the uranium surface. Uranium hydride was observed to persist throughout the 10 month storage period and industrial consequences of this observed persistence are discussed.

  1. Thermohydraulic analysis of BWR and PWR spent fuel assemblies contained within square canisters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiles, L.E.; McCann, R.A.

    1981-09-01

    This report presents the results of several thermohydraulic simulations of spent fuel assembly/canister configurations performed in support of a program investigating the feasibility of storing spent nuclear fuel assemblies in canisters that would be stored in an air environment. Eleven thermohydraulic simulations were performed. Five simulations were performed using a single BWR fuel assembly/canister design. The various cases were defined by changing the canister spacing and the heat generation rate of the fuel assembly. For each simulation a steady-state thermohydraulic solution was achieved for the region inside the canister. Similarly, six simulations were performed for a single PWR fuel assembly/canister design. The square fuel rod arrays were contained in square canisters which would permit closer packing of the canisters in a storage facility. However, closer packing of the canisters would result in higher fuel temperatures which would possibly have an adverse impact on fuel integrity. Thus, the most important aspect of the analysis was to define the peak fuel assembly temperatures for each case. These results are presented along with various temperature profiles, heat flux distributions, and air velocity profiles within the canister. 48 figures, 4 tables

  2. High-energy-density hydrogen-halogen fuel cells for advanced military applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balko, E.N.; McElroy, J.F.

    1981-01-01

    It is pointed out that hydrogen-halogen fuel cell systems are particularly suited for an employment as ground power sources for military applications. The large cell potential and reversible characteristics of the H 2 Cl 2 and H 2 Br 2 couples permit high energy storage density and efficient energy conversion. When used as flow batteries, the fluid nature of the reactants in the hydrogen-halogen systems has several advantages over power sources which involve solid phases. Very deep discharge is possible without degradation of subsequent performance, and energy storage capacity is limited only by the external reactant storage volume. Very rapid chemical recharging is possible through replenishment of the reactant supply. A number of H 2 Cl 2 and H 2 Br 2 fuel cell systems have been studied. These systems use the same solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) cell technology originally developed for H2/O2 fuel cells. The results of the investigation are illustrated with the aid of a number of graphs

  3. Multiple-Angle Muon Radiography of a Dry Storage Cask

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Durham, J. Matthew [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Guardincerri, Elena [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Morris, Christopher [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Poulson, Daniel Cris [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Bacon, Jeffrey Darnell [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Morley, Deborah Jean [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Plaud-Ramos, Kenie Omar [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-01-23

    A partially loaded dry storage cask was imaged using cosmic ray muons. Since the cask is large relative to the size of the muon tracking detectors, the instruments were placed at nine different positions around the cask to record data covering the entire fuel basket. We show that this technique can detect the removal of a single fuel assembly from the center of the cask.

  4. Transfer hood for handling fuel assemblies in nuclear reactors and especially fast reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aubert, M.; Merland, D.; Renaux, C.

    1975-01-01

    A description is given of a hood for transferring fuel assemblies between two or more separate guide ramps inclined to the vertical at the same angle of slope and extending respectively through a first passage into the reactor vessel and through a second passage into a fuel-assembly storage chamber. The hood comprises at least one shielded duct joined to a flanged rotating portion which is so arranged that the open lower end of the shielded duct is positioned in the line of extension of one guide ramp and then the other as a result of displacement of the rotating portion

  5. Characterization of the Spindle Morphology Nanomicelles Assembled from Sericin and Gelatin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaozhou Su

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Complex nanomicelles were prepared by sericin and type A gelatin with molecular weight of 5789 Da and 128664 Da separately. The assembling conditions were as follows: mass ratio (sericin/gelatin was 1 : 1, protein concentration was 0.5%, temperature was 35°C, and assembling time was 18 hours. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, atomic force microscopy (AFM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, and dynamic light scattering (DLS were conducted to observe and characterize the complex nanomicelles. Results showed that the complex sericin/gelatin micelles was a kind of nanospindle micelles. The micelles had high electrochemical stability, thermal stability, antidilution stability, and storage stability.

  6. Nondestructive measurement of spent fuel assemblies at the Tokai Reprocessing and Storage Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, J.R.; Bosler, G.E.; Halbig, J.K.; Lee, D.M.

    1979-12-01

    Nondestructive verification of irradiated fuel assemblies is an integral part of any safeguards system for a reprocessing facility. Available techniques are discussed with respect to the level of verification provided by each. A combination of high-resolution gamma spectrometry, neutron detectors, and gross gamma activity profile monitors provide a maximum amount of information in a minimum amount of time

  7. Architecture, Assembly, and Emerging Applications of Branched Functional Polyelectrolytes and Poly(ionic liquid)s.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Weinan; Ledin, Petr A; Shevchenko, Valery V; Tsukruk, Vladimir V

    2015-06-17

    Branched polyelectrolytes with cylindrical brush, dendritic, hyperbranched, grafted, and star architectures bearing ionizable functional groups possess complex and unique assembly behavior in solution at surfaces and interfaces as compared to their linear counterparts. This review summarizes the recent developments in the introduction of various architectures and understanding of the assembly behavior of branched polyelectrolytes with a focus on functional polyelectrolytes and poly(ionic liquid)s with responsive properties. The branched polyelectrolytes and poly(ionic liquid)s interact electrostatically with small molecules, linear polyelectrolytes, or other branched polyelectrolytes to form assemblies of hybrid nanoparticles, multilayer thin films, responsive microcapsules, and ion-conductive membranes. The branched structures lead to unconventional assemblies and complex hierarchical structures with responsive properties as summarized in this review. Finally, we discuss prospectives for emerging applications of branched polyelectrolytes and poly(ionic liquid)s for energy harvesting and storage, controlled delivery, chemical microreactors, adaptive surfaces, and ion-exchange membranes.

  8. Fast Neutron Emission Tomography of Used Nuclear Fuel Assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hausladen, Paul; Iyengar, Anagha; Fabris, Lorenzo; Yang, Jinan; Hu, Jianwei; Blackston, Matthew

    2017-09-01

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory is developing a new capability to perform passive fast neutron emission tomography of spent nuclear fuel assemblies for the purpose of verifying their integrity for international safeguards applications. Most of the world's plutonium is contained in spent nuclear fuel, so it is desirable to detect the diversion of irradiated fuel rods from an assembly prior to its transfer to ``difficult to access'' storage, such as a dry cask or permanent repository, where re-verification is practically impossible. Nuclear fuel assemblies typically consist of an array of fuel rods that, depending on exposure in the reactor and consequent ingrowth of 244Cm, are spontaneous sources of as many as 109 neutrons s-1. Neutron emission tomography uses collimation to isolate neutron activity along ``lines of response'' through the assembly and, by combining many collimated views through the object, mathematically extracts the neutron emission from each fuel rod. This technique, by combining the use of fast neutrons -which can penetrate the entire fuel assembly -and computed tomography, is capable of detecting vacancies or substitutions of individual fuel rods. This paper will report on the physics design and component testing of the imaging system. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development within the National Nuclear Security Administration, under Contract Number DE-AC05-00OR22725.

  9. Passive gamma analysis of the boiling-water-reactor assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vo, D., E-mail: ducvo@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Favalli, A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Grogan, B. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Jansson, P. [Uppsala University, Uppsala (Sweden); Liljenfeldt, H. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Mozin, V. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Schwalbach, P. [European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), Luxemburg (Luxembourg); Sjöland, A. [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, Stockholm (Sweden); Tobin, S.; Trellue, H. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Vaccaro, S. [European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), Luxemburg (Luxembourg)

    2016-09-11

    This research focused on the analysis of a set of stationary passive gamma measurements taken on the spent nuclear fuel assemblies from a boiling water reactor (BWR) using pulse height analysis data acquisition. The measurements were performed on 25 different BWR assemblies in 2014 at Sweden's Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (Clab). This study was performed as part of the Next Generation of Safeguards Initiative–Spent Fuel project to research the application of nondestructive assay (NDA) to spent fuel assemblies. The NGSI–SF team is working to achieve the following technical goals more easily and efficiently than in the past using nondestructive assay (NDA) measurements of spent fuel assemblies: (1) verify the initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of facility declaration; (2) detect the diversion or replacement of pins, (3) estimate the plutonium mass, (4) estimate the decay heat, and (5) determine the reactivity of spent fuel assemblies. The final objective of this project is to quantify the capability of several integrated NDA instruments to meet the aforementioned goals using the combined signatures of neutrons, gamma rays, and heat. This report presents a selection of the measured data and summarizes an analysis of the results. Specifically, trends in the count rates measured for spectral lines from the following isotopes were analyzed as a function of the declared burnup and cooling time: {sup 137}Cs, {sup 154}Eu, {sup 134}Cs, and to a lesser extent, {sup 106}Ru and {sup 144}Ce. From these measured count rates, predictive algorithms were developed to enable the estimation of the burnup and cooling time. Furthermore, these algorithms were benchmarked on a set of assemblies not included in the standard assemblies set used by this research team.

  10. Thermal Analysis Evaluation of Spent Fuel Storage Rack for Research Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Sangjin; Oh, Jinho; Kwak, Jinsung; Lee, Jongmin [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Spent fuel storage rack is to store spent fuel assemblies. The spent fuel storage rack is submerged in the designated pool for cooling. Due to the condition change of the pool water, the effect of thermal load on spent fuel storage rack must be analyzed and evaluated. In this paper, thermal stress analysis is performed and evaluated on a spent fuel storage rack. For thermal stress evaluation of the spent fuel storage rack, load combinations and allowable criteria in ASME Sec. III NB-3220 are applied. In cases of A-1 and B-1, the same temperature applied on the whole model, thermal stress doesn't occur because there is no constraint about the thermal expansion. The support frame is located on the pool bottom in free standing type and the racks are located in the support frame with enough space. Thermal expansion was considered and reflected in the design of spent fuel storage rack in advance. Thermal stress analysis is performed and evaluated on a spent fuel storage rack with consideration of pool water temperature variation. The thermal analysis including a linear heat transfer and the thermal stress analysis is performed for the racks and support frame and resulted stresses are within allowable criteria.

  11. The passive nondestructive assay of the plutonium content of spent-fuel assemblies from the BN-350 fast-breeder reactor in the city of Aqtau, Kazakhstan

    CERN Document Server

    Lestone, J P; Rennie, J A; Sprinkle, J K; Staples, P; Grimm, K N; Hill, R N; Cherradi, I; Islam, N; Koulikov, J; Starovich, Z

    2002-01-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency is presently interested in developing equipment and techniques to measure the plutonium content of breeder reactor spent-fuel assemblies located in storage ponds before they are relocated to more secure facilities. We present the first quantitative nondestructive assay of the plutonium content of fast-breeder reactor spent-fuel assemblies while still underwater in their facility storage pond. We have calibrated and installed an underwater neutron coincidence counter (Spent Fuel Coincidence Counter (SFCC)) in the BN-350 reactor spent-fuel pond in Aqtau, Kazakhstan. A procedure has been developed to convert singles and doubles (coincidence) neutron rates observed by the SFCC into the total plutonium content of a given BN-350 spent-fuel assembly. The plutonium content has been successfully determined for spent-fuel assemblies with a contact radiation level as high as approx 10 sup 5 Rads/h. Using limited facility information and multiple measurements along the length of spe...

  12. Wet storage of nuclear spent fuel from nuclear research reactor WWR-S

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dragolici, A. C; Zorliu, A.; Petran, C.; Mincu, I.

    2001-01-01

    Nuclear research reactor WWR-S of IFIN-HH was commissioned on 29 July 1957 and shut down on December 1997. Now it is in Conservation State. During 40 years , the reactor was operated about 150,000 hours at variable power level ranging within 5 W and 3500 kW, and producing a total power of 9,510 MWday. After 20 years of operation a large number of spent fuel elements became available for storage exceeding the stocking capacity of the small cooling pond near reactor. Therefore, in 1980 the nuclear spent fuel repository was commissioned that contains at present all the fuel elements burnt in the reactor during years, minus 51 S-36 fuel assemblies which are conserved in the cooling pond. This repository contains 4 identical ponds, each of them having the storage capacity of 60 fuel assemblies. Every pond having the outer sizes of 2,750 mm (length) x 900 mm (breadth) x 5,700 mm (depth), is made from a special aluminum alloy (AlMg 3 ), with the walls thickness of 10 mm and bottom thickness of 15 mm. Pond's lids are made of cast iron having the thickness of 500 mm; they provide only the biological protection for the maintenance personnel. A 1.5 m concrete layer ensures the biological protection of the ponds. Over the fuel elements in every pond a 4.5 m water layer is provided, playing the role of biological protection and coolant. Inside the ponds exists an aluminum rack, which contains 60 locations for fuel storage. The spacing between these locations was determined from considerations of criticality and it is was the same with that of the cooling pond near the reactor. To have supplementary protection in the case of an accident which can destroy the entire rack and put together all the fuel elements thus forming critical mass, cadmium plates were placed on the ponds bottom for a better neutron absorption. Exploitation of cooling pond near the WWR-S reactor which has the identical structure with that of nuclear spent fuel repository, demonstrate the reliability and

  13. Design ampersand operational experience of the NUHOMS reg-sign-24P spent fuel storage system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McConaghy, W.J.; Lehnert, R.A.; Rasmussen, R.W.

    1991-01-01

    The NUHOMS reg-sign Spent Fuel Storage System provides a safe and economical method for the dry storage of spent fuel assemblies either at an at-reactor Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) or at a centralized away-from-reactor (AFR) storage facility. The system consists of three major safety related components: a dry shielded canister (DSC) which provides a high integrity containment boundary and a controlled storage environment for the fuel; a reinforced concrete horizontal storage module (HSM) which houses the stored DSC and provides radiation shielding, protection against natural phenomena, and an efficient means for decay heat removal; and a transfer cask which provides for the safe shielded transfer of the DSC from the plant spent fuel pool to the HSM. The NUHOMS reg-sign system is designed and licensed to the requirements of 10 CFR 72 and ANS/ANSI 57.9 for ISFSIs

  14. Overview of the spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at the Savannah River Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conatser, E.R.; Thomas, J.E.

    2000-01-01

    The May 1996 Record of Decision on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel initiated a 13 year campaign renewing a policy to support the return of spent nuclear fuel containing uranium of U.S. origin from foreign research reactors to the United States. As of December 1999, over 22% of the approximately 13,000 spent nuclear fuel assemblies from participating countries have been returned to the Savannah River Site (SRS). These ∼2650 assemblies are currently stored in two dedicated SRS wet storage facilities. One is the Receiving Basin for Off-site Fuels (RBOF) and the other as L-Basin. RBOF, built in the early 60's to support the 'Atoms for Peace' program, has been receiving off-site fuel for over 35 years. RBOF has received approximately 1950 casks since startup and has the capability of handling all of the casks currently used in the FRR program. However, RBOF is 90% filled to capacity and is not capable of storing all of the fuel to be received in the program. L-Basin was originally used as temporary storage for materials irradiated in SRS's L-Reactor. New storage racks and other modifications were completed in 1996 that improved water quality and allowed the L-Basin to receive, handle and store spent nuclear fuel assemblies and components from off-site. The first foreign cask was received into the L-Area in April 1997 and approximately 105 foreign and domestic casks have been received since that time. This paper provides an overview of activities related to fuel receipt and storage in both the Receiving Basin for Off-site Fuels (RBOF) and L-Basin facilities. It will illustrate each step of the fuel receipt program from arrival of casks at SRS through cask unloading and decontamination. It will follow the fuel handling process, from fuel unloading, through the cropping and bundling stages, and final placement in the wet storage rack. Decontamination methods and equipment will be explained to show

  15. Overview of the spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at the Savannah River Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, Jay

    1999-01-01

    The May 1996 Record of Decision on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel initiated a 13 year campaign renewing a policy to support the return of spent nuclear fuel containing uranium of U.S.-origin from foreign research reactors to the United States. As of July 1999, over 18% of the approximately 13,000 spent nuclear fuel assemblies from participating countries have been returned to the Savannah River Site (SRS). These 2400 assemblies are currently stored in two dedicated SRS wet storage facilities. One is the Receiving Basin for Off-site Fuels (RBOF) and the other as L-Basin. RBOF, built in the early 60's to support the 'Atoms for Peace' program, has been receiving off-site fuel for over 35 years. RBOF has received approximately 1950 casks since startup and has the capability of handling all of the casks currently used in the FRR program. However, RBOF is 90% filled to capacity and is not capable of storing all of the fuel to be received in the program. L-Basin was originally used as temporary storage for materials irradiated in SRS's L-Reactor. New storage racks and other modifications were completed in 1996 that improved water quality and allowed L-Basin to receive, handle and store spent nuclear fuel assemblies and components from off-site. The first foreign cask was received into L-Area in April 1997 and approximately 86 foreign and domestic casks have been received since that time. This paper provides an overview of activities related to fuel receipt and storage in both the Receiving Basin for Off-site Fuels (RBOF) and L-Basin facilities. It will illustrate each step of the fuel receipt program from arrival of casks at SRS through cask unloading and decontamination. It will follow the fuel handling process, from fuel unloading, through the cropping and bundling stages, and final placement in the wet storage rack. Decontamination methods and equipment will be explained to show how the empty

  16. Overview of the spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at the Savannah River Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Conatser, E.R.; Thomas, J.E. [Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States)

    2000-07-01

    The May 1996 Record of Decision on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel initiated a 13 year campaign renewing a policy to support the return of spent nuclear fuel containing uranium of U.S. origin from foreign research reactors to the United States. As of December 1999, over 22% of the approximately 13,000 spent nuclear fuel assemblies from participating countries have been returned to the Savannah River Site (SRS). These {approx}2650 assemblies are currently stored in two dedicated SRS wet storage facilities. One is the Receiving Basin for Off-site Fuels (RBOF) and the other as L-Basin. RBOF, built in the early 60's to support the 'Atoms for Peace' program, has been receiving off-site fuel for over 35 years. RBOF has received approximately 1950 casks since startup and has the capability of handling all of the casks currently used in the FRR program. However, RBOF is 90% filled to capacity and is not capable of storing all of the fuel to be received in the program. L-Basin was originally used as temporary storage for materials irradiated in SRS's L-Reactor. New storage racks and other modifications were completed in 1996 that improved water quality and allowed the L-Basin to receive, handle and store spent nuclear fuel assemblies and components from off-site. The first foreign cask was received into the L-Area in April 1997 and approximately 105 foreign and domestic casks have been received since that time. This paper provides an overview of activities related to fuel receipt and storage in both the Receiving Basin for Off-site Fuels (RBOF) and L-Basin facilities. It will illustrate each step of the fuel receipt program from arrival of casks at SRS through cask unloading and decontamination. It will follow the fuel handling process, from fuel unloading, through the cropping and bundling stages, and final placement in the wet storage rack. Decontamination methods and equipment

  17. Layer-by-layer self-assembly in the development of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices from fuel cells to supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Yan; Lu, Shanfu; Jiang, San Ping

    2012-11-07

    As one of the most effective synthesis tools, layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technology can provide a strong non-covalent integration and accurate assembly between homo- or hetero-phase compounds or oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, resulting in highly-ordered nanoscale structures or patterns with excellent functionalities and activities. It has been widely used in the developments of novel materials and nanostructures or patterns from nanotechnologies to medical fields. However, the application of LbL self-assembly in the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts, specific functionalized membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and electrode materials for supercapacitors is a relatively new phenomenon. In this review, the application of LbL self-assembly in the development and synthesis of key materials of PEMFCs including polyelectrolyte multilayered proton-exchange membranes, methanol-blocking Nafion membranes, highly uniform and efficient Pt-based electrocatalysts, self-assembled polyelectrolyte functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphenes will be reviewed. The application of LbL self-assembly for the development of multilayer nanostructured materials for use in electrochemical supercapacitors will also be reviewed and discussed (250 references).

  18. Leak testing fuel stored in the ICPP fuel storage basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J.L.; Rhodes, D.W.

    1977-06-01

    Irradiated fuel to be processed at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant is stored under water at the CPP-603 Fuel Storage Facility. Leakage of radionuclides through breaks in the cladding of some of the stored fuels contaminates the water with radionuclides resulting in radiation exposure to personnel during fuel handling operations and contamination of the shipping casks. A leak test vessel was fabricated to test individual fuel assemblies which were suspected to be leaking. The test equipment and procedures are described. Test results demonstrated that a leaking fuel element could be identified by this method; of the eleven fuel assemblies tested, six were estimated to be releasing greater than 0.5 Ci total radionuclides/day to the basin water

  19. A study for providing additional storage spaces to ET-RR-1 spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Kady, A.; Ashoub, N.; Saleh, H.G.

    1995-01-01

    The ET-RR-1 reactor spent fuel storage pool is a trapezoidal aluminum tank concrete shield and of capacity 10 m 3 . It can hold up to 60 fuel assemblies. The long operation history of the ET-RR-1 reactor resulted in a partially filled spent fuel storage with the remaining spaces not enough to host a complete load from the reactor. This work have been initiated to evaluate possible alternative solutions for providing additional storage spaces to host the available EK-10 fuel elements after irradiation and any foreseen fuel in case of reactor upgrading. Several alternate solutions have been reviewed and decision on the most suitable one is under study. These studies include criticality calculation of some suggested alternatives like reracking the present spent fuel storage pool and double tiering by the addition of a second level storage rack above the existing rack. The two levels may have different factor. Criticality calculation of the double tiering possible accident was also studied. (author)

  20. New fuel vault criticality analysis at Chinshan nuclear power station with new approaches to improve the storage flexibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, P. H.

    2010-10-01

    The Chinshan new fuel vault (NFV) consists of 13 fuel storage racks, each rack may store 10 fuel assemblies. Prior to 2008, the NFV had never been used and the practice by the Taiwan Power Company (TPC) was to temporarily store the fuel assemblies in the shipping containers after received, until the inspection work was performed shortly before the outage, and then assemblies were loaded directly into the spent fuel pool (SFP). Starting from 2009, this practice has been revised since the new fuel contract would only supply a small amount of containers for storage, and the SFP would lose full-core-off load capability soon; therefore, use of NFV to store fuel assemblies following inspection becomes extremely crucial. The original Chinshan NFV criticality analysis was performed for the initial fuel design. Although many new fuel designs had been used (e.g., Atrium-10 reported in PBNC-14), no reanalysis had been performed because it was not anticipated that NFV would be used. Therefore, TPC requested the vendor to perform the analysis for Atrium-10. Originally, the vendor estimated that number of assemblies allowed to be stored would be limited severely to about 60. To enhance storage flexibility, Tpc proposed some new approaches: 1) All assemblies are assumed in vendor's standard method to contain a single limiting lattice for entire fuel length, it is suggested that axially zoned limiting lattices be selected based on characteristics of reloads to be delivered, and this significantly improves flexibility. 2) The maximum k-effective equation used by vendor was corrected (manufacturing tolerances were conservatively mistreated). Also, the vendor typically used 0.95 k-effective as the criterion, it is suggested that NUREG-0800 requirement (≤0.98 for optimum moderation conditions) be applied. After several iterations, all the 130 locations are allowed to store fuel. The analysis report has been approved by the authority in June 2008. (Author)

  1. New fuel vault criticality analysis at Chinshan nuclear power station with new approaches to improve the storage flexibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, P. H., E-mail: u808966@taipower.com.t [Taiwan Power Company, Department of Nuclear Generation, 242 Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 3, Taipei, Taiwan (China)

    2010-10-15

    The Chinshan new fuel vault (NFV) consists of 13 fuel storage racks, each rack may store 10 fuel assemblies. Prior to 2008, the NFV had never been used and the practice by the Taiwan Power Company (TPC) was to temporarily store the fuel assemblies in the shipping containers after received, until the inspection work was performed shortly before the outage, and then assemblies were loaded directly into the spent fuel pool (SFP). Starting from 2009, this practice has been revised since the new fuel contract would only supply a small amount of containers for storage, and the SFP would lose full-core-off load capability soon; therefore, use of NFV to store fuel assemblies following inspection becomes extremely crucial. The original Chinshan NFV criticality analysis was performed for the initial fuel design. Although many new fuel designs had been used (e.g., Atrium-10 reported in PBNC-14), no reanalysis had been performed because it was not anticipated that NFV would be used. Therefore, TPC requested the vendor to perform the analysis for Atrium-10. Originally, the vendor estimated that number of assemblies allowed to be stored would be limited severely to about 60. To enhance storage flexibility, Tpc proposed some new approaches: 1) All assemblies are assumed in vendor's standard method to contain a single limiting lattice for entire fuel length, it is suggested that axially zoned limiting lattices be selected based on characteristics of reloads to be delivered, and this significantly improves flexibility. 2) The maximum k-effective equation used by vendor was corrected (manufacturing tolerances were conservatively mistreated). Also, the vendor typically used 0.95 k-effective as the criterion, it is suggested that NUREG-0800 requirement ({<=}0.98 for optimum moderation conditions) be applied. After several iterations, all the 130 locations are allowed to store fuel. The analysis report has been approved by the authority in June 2008. (Author)

  2. Process and device for controling lateral wall of fuel assembly storage cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreau, B.

    1989-01-01

    The inspection procedure involves moving a detection system along the length of the wall of a cell in the fuel storage rack immersed in water. The detection system has at least one probe for determining the wall thickness. The probe signal is received above the pond and compared against a reference signal. This process allows to verify the presence of neutron absorbing material in the side walls of the cell [fr

  3. Comparison of HYDRA predictions to temperature data from two single-assembly spent fuel heat transfer tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCann, R.A.

    1986-12-01

    The HYDRA computer code was used to simulate the thermal performance of an actual and a model spent fuel assembly. The HYDRA-predicted temperatures were then compared with measured data from two single-assembly test sections. The objective of this effort was to further verify the predictive capabilities of the HYDRA code for use in assessments of the hydrothermal performance of spent fuel dry storage systems. After HYDRA has been adequately evaluated and validated, the code will be documented to permit design and licensing safety analyses

  4. Design and operational experience of the NUHOMS-24P spent fuel storage system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McConaghy, W.J.; Lehnert, R.A.; Rasmussen, R.W.

    1991-01-01

    The NUHOMS spent fuel storage system provides a safe and economical method for the dry storage of spent fuel assemblies either at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at reactor or at a centralized storage facility away from reactor. The system consists of three major safety-related components: a dry shielded canister (DSC) which provides a high integrity containment boundary and a controlled storage environment for the fuel; a reinforced concrete horizontal storage module (HSM) which houses the stored DSCs and provides radiation shielding, protection against natural phenomena and an efficient means for decay heat removal; and a transfer cask which provides for the safe shielded transfer of DSCs from a plant spent fuel pool to a HSM. The NUHOMS system is designed and licensed to the requirements of 10 CFR 72 and ANS/ANSI 57.9 for ISFSIs. The NUHOMS concept was developed in early 1980s, and in 1987, a larger version of the NUHOMS system, 24P, was developed. The operational features of NUHOMS and the loading experience at Oconee are reported. (K.I.)

  5. Spent fuel storage rack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurokawa, Hideaki; Kumagaya, Naomi; Oda, Masashi; Matsuda, Masami; Maruyama, Hiromi; Yamanaka, Tsuneyasu.

    1997-01-01

    The structure of a spent fuel storage rack is determined by the material, thickness, size of square cylindrical tubes (the gap between spent fuel assemblies and the square cylindrical tubes) and pitch of the arrangement (the gap between each of the square cylindrical tubes). In the present invention, the thickness and the pitch of the arrangement of the square tubes are optimized while evaluating subcriticality. Namely, when the sum of the thickness of the water gap at the outer side (the pitch of arrangement of the cylindrical tubes) and the thickness of the cylindrical tubes is made constant, the storage rack is formed by determining the thickness of the cylindrical tubes which is smaller than the optimum value among the combination of the thickness of the water gap at the outer side and that of the cylindrical tube under the effective multiplication factor to be performed. Then, the weight of the rack can be reduced, and the burden of the load on the bottom of the pool can be reduced. Further, the amount of the constitutional materials of the rack itself can be reduced thereby capable of reducing the cost for the materials of the rack. (T.M.)

  6. Electrochemical Hydrogen Storage in a Highly Ordered Mesoporous Carbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan eLiu

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available A highly order mesoporous carbon has been synthesized through a strongly acidic, aqueous cooperative assembly route. The structure and morphology of the carbon material were investigated using TEM, SEM and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The carbon was proven to be meso-structural and consisted of graphitic micro-domain with larger interlayer space. AC impedance and electrochemical measurements reveal that the synthesized highly ordered mesoporous carbon exhibits a promoted electrochemical hydrogen insertion process and improved capacitance and hydrogen storage stability. The meso-structure and enlarged interlayer distance within the highly ordered mesoporous carbon are suggested as possible causes for the enhancement in hydrogen storage. Both hydrogen capacity in the carbon and mass diffusion within the matrix were improved.

  7. Beta-Sheet-Forming, Self-Assembled Peptide Nanomaterials towards Optical, Energy, and Healthcare Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sungjin; Kim, Jae Hong; Lee, Joon Seok; Park, Chan Beum

    2015-08-12

    Peptide self-assembly is an attractive route for the synthesis of intricate organic nanostructures that possess remarkable structural variety and biocompatibility. Recent studies on peptide-based, self-assembled materials have expanded beyond the construction of high-order architectures; they are now reporting new functional materials that have application in the emerging fields such as artificial photosynthesis and rechargeable batteries. Nevertheless, there have been few reviews particularly concentrating on such versatile, emerging applications. Herein, recent advances in the synthesis of self-assembled peptide nanomaterials (e.g., cross β-sheet-based amyloid nanostructures, peptide amphiphiles) are selectively reviewed and their new applications in diverse, interdisciplinary fields are described, ranging from optics and energy storage/conversion to healthcare. The applications of peptide-based self-assembled materials in unconventional fields are also highlighted, such as photoluminescent peptide nanostructures, artificial photosynthetic peptide nanomaterials, and lithium-ion battery components. The relation of such functional materials to the rapidly progressing biomedical applications of peptide self-assembly, which include biosensors/chips and regenerative medicine, are discussed. The combination of strategies shown in these applications would further promote the discovery of novel, functional, small materials. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. New tool to assemble repetitive regions using next-generation sequencing data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuśmirek, Wiktor; Nowak, Robert M.; Neumann, Łukasz

    2017-08-01

    The next generation sequencing techniques produce a large amount of sequencing data. Some part of the genome are composed of repetitive DNA sequences, which are very problematic for the existing genome assemblers. We propose a modification of the algorithm for a DNA assembly, which uses the relative frequency of reads to properly reconstruct repetitive sequences. The new approach was implemented and tested, as a demonstration of the capability of our software we present some results for model organisms. The new implementation, using a three-layer software architecture was selected, where the presentation layer, data processing layer, and data storage layer were kept separate. Source code as well as demo application with web interface and the additional data are available at project web-page: http://dnaasm.sourceforge.net.

  9. Selection of rational technical solutions in designing a robotized assembly complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, B.M.; Rasulbekov, R.I.

    1984-01-01

    One of the methods permitting a more objective approach to decision making in design is the method of ordered search which, in combination with the methods of expert estimate was used in designing the robotized assembly-finishing complex for automobile tires. The assembly-finishing complex consists of a number of functionally independent parts, i.e., modules provided with manipulators and mutually connected by a transport system with intermediate storage. The modified method of ordered search, examined in the present work, was therefore used for each module separately, and not for the complex as a whole. We will examine the main principles of our approach to the selection of design solutions for the example of a module for laying on the bottom-cushion cords

  10. Hierarchical CuO hollow microspheres: Controlled synthesis for enhanced lithium storage performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guan Xiangfeng; Li Liping; Li Guangshe; Fu Zhengwei; Zheng Jing; Yan Tingjiang

    2011-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Hierarchical CuO microspheres with hollow interiors were formed through self-wrapping of a single layer of radically oriented CuO nanorods, and these microspheres showed excellent cycle performance and enhanced lithium storage capacity. Display Omitted Research highlights: → Hierarchical CuO hollow microspheres were prepared by a hydrothermal method. → The CuO hollow microspheres were assembled from radically oriented nanorods. → The growth mechanism was proposed to proceed via self-assembly and Ostwald's ripening. → The microspheres showed good cycle performance and enhanced lithium storage capacity. → Hierarchical microstructures with hollow interiors promote electrochemical property. - Abstract: In this work, hierarchical CuO hollow microspheres were hydrothermally prepared without use of any surfactants or templates. By controlling the formation reaction conditions and monitoring the relevant reaction processes using time-dependent experiments, it is demonstrated that hierarchical CuO microspheres with hollow interiors were formed through self-wrapping of a single layer of radically oriented CuO nanorods, and that hierarchical spheres could be tuned to show different morphologies and microstructures. As a consequence, the formation mechanism was proposed to proceed via a combined process of self-assembly and Ostwald's ripening. Further, these hollow microspheres were initiated as the anode material in lithium ion batteries, which showed excellent cycle performance and enhanced lithium storage capacity, most likely because of the synergetic effect of small diffusion lengths in building blocks of nanorods and proper void space that buffers the volume expansion. The strategy reported in this work is reproducible, which may help to significantly improve the electrochemical performance of transition metal oxide-based anode materials via designing the hollow structures necessary for developing lithium ion batteries and the relevant

  11. Quality assurance in the procurement, design and manufacture of nuclear fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-01-01

    This Safety Guide provides requirements and recommendations for quality assurance programmes that are relevant for the unique features of the procurement, design, manufacture, inspection, testing, packaging, shipping, storage, and receiving inspection of fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants. The generic quality assurance requirements of the Code and related Safety Guides are referred to where applicable, and are duplicated in this document where increased emphasis is desirable

  12. Gold nanoparticle assemblies of controllable size obtained by hydroxylamine reduction at room temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tódor, István Sz.; Szabó, László; Marişca, Oana T.; Chiş, Vasile; Leopold, Nicolae, E-mail: nicolae.leopold@phys.ubbcluj.ro [Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Physics (Romania)

    2014-12-15

    Colloidal nanoparticle assemblies (NPAs) were obtained in a one-step procedure, by reduction of HAuCl{sub 4} by hydroxylamine hydrochloride, at room temperature, without the use of any additional nucleating agent. By changing the order of the reactants, NPAs with mean size of ∼20 and ∼120 nm were obtained. Because of their size and irregular popcorn like shape, the larger size NPAs show absorption in the NIR spectral region. The building blocks of the resulted nanoassemblies are spherical nanoparticles with diameters of 4–8 and 10–30 nm, respectively. Moreover, by stabilizing the colloid with bovine serum albumin at different time moments after synthesis, NPAs of controlled size between 20 and 120 nm, could be obtained. The NPAs were characterized using UV–Vis spectroscopy, TEM and SEM electron microscopies. In addition, the possibility of using the here proposed NPAs as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was assessed and found to provide a higher enhancement compared to conventional citrate-reduced nanoparticles.

  13. Analysis of ICPP fuel storage rack inner tie and corner tie substructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nitzel, M.E.; Rahl, R.G.

    1996-01-01

    Finite element models were developed and analyses performed for the tie plate, inner tie block assembly, and corner tie block assembly of a 25 port fuel rack assembly designed for installation in Pool 1 of Building 666 at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. These models were specifically developed to investigate the adequacy of certain welds joining components of the fuel storage rack assembly. The work scope for the task was limited to an investigation of the stress levels in the subject subassemblies when subjected to seismic loads. Structural acceptance criteria used for the elastic calculations performed were as found in the overall rack design report as issued by the rack`s designer, Holtec International. Structural acceptance criteria used for the plastic calculations performed as part of this effort were as defined in Subsection NF and Appendix F of the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code. The results of the analyses will also apply to the 30 port fuel storage rack design that is also scheduled for installation in Pool 1 of ICPP 666. The results obtained from the analyses performed for this task indicate that the welds joining the inner tie block and corner tie block to the surrounding rack structure meet the acceptance criteria. Further, the structural members (plates and blocks) were also found to be within the allowable stress limits established by the acceptance criteria. The separate analysis performed on the inner tie plate confirmed the structural adequacy for both the inner tie plate, corner tie plate, and tie block bolts. The analysis results verified that the inner tie and corner tie block should be capable of transferring the expected seismic load without structural failure.

  14. Data needs for long-term dry storage of LWR fuel. Interim report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Einziger, R.E.; Baldwin, D.L.; Pitman, S.G.

    1998-04-01

    The NRC approved dry storage of spent fuel in an inert environment for a period of 20 years pursuant to 10CFR72. However, at-reactor dry storage of spent LWR fuel may need to be implemented for periods of time significantly longer than the NRC's original 20-year license period, largely due to uncertainty as to the date the US DOE will begin accepting commercial spent fuel. This factor is leading utilities to plan not only for life-of-plant spent-fuel storage during reactor operation but also for the contingency of a lengthy post-shutdown storage. To meet NRC standards, dry storage must (1) maintain subcriticality, (2) prevent release of radioactive material above acceptable limits, (3) ensure that radiation rates and doses do not exceed acceptable limits, and (4) maintain retrievability of the stored radioactive material. In light of these requirements, this study evaluates the potential for storing spent LWR fuel for up to 100 years. It also identifies major uncertainties as well as the data required to eliminate them. Results show that the lower radiation fields and temperatures after 20 years of dry storage promote acceptable fuel behavior and the extension of storage for up to 100 years. Potential changes in the properties of dry storage system components, other than spent-fuel assemblies, must still be evaluated

  15. Developing Spent Fuel Assembly for Advanced NDA Instrument Calibration - NGSI Spent Fuel Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Jianwei [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Gauld, Ian C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Banfield, James [GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Wilmington, NC (United States); Skutnik, Steven [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

    2014-02-01

    This report summarizes the work by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to investigate the application of modeling and simulation to support the performance assessment and calibration of the advanced nondestructive assay (NDA) instruments developed under the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative Spent Fuel (NGSI-SF) Project. Advanced NDA instrument calibration will likely require reference spent fuel assemblies with well-characterized nuclide compositions that can serve as working standards. Because no reference spent fuel standard currently exists, and the practical ability to obtain direct measurement of nuclide compositions using destructive assay (DA) measurements of an entire fuel assembly is prohibitive in the near term due to the complexity and cost of spent fuel experiments, modeling and simulation will be required to construct such reference fuel assemblies. These calculations will be used to support instrument field tests at the Swedish Interim Storage Facility (Clab) for Spent Nuclear Fuel.

  16. New faces of porous Prussian blue: interfacial assembly of integrated hetero-structures for sensing applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Biao; Selomulya, Cordelia; Zheng, Gengfeng; Zhao, Dongyuan

    2015-11-21

    Prussian blue (PB), the oldest synthetic coordination compound, is a classic and fascinating transition metal coordination material. Prussian blue is based on a three-dimensional (3-D) cubic polymeric porous network consisting of alternating ferric and ferrous ions, which provides facile assembly as well as precise interaction with active sites at functional interfaces. A fundamental understanding of the assembly mechanism of PB hetero-interfaces is essential to enable the full potential applications of PB crystals, including chemical sensing, catalysis, gas storage, drug delivery and electronic displays. Developing controlled assembly methods towards functionally integrated hetero-interfaces with adjustable sizes and morphology of PB crystals is necessary. A key point in the functional interface and device integration of PB nanocrystals is the fabrication of hetero-interfaces in a well-defined and oriented fashion on given substrates. This review will bring together these key aspects of the hetero-interfaces of PB nanocrystals, ranging from structure and properties, interfacial assembly strategies, to integrated hetero-structures for diverse sensing.

  17. Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 214: Bunkers and Storage Areas Nevada Test Site, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    This Corrective Action Investigation Plan contains the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 214 under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Located in Areas 5, 11, and 25 of the Nevada Test Site, CAU 214 consists of nine Corrective Action Sites (CASs): 05-99-01, Fallout Shelters; 11-22-03, Drum; 25-99-12, Fly Ash Storage; 25-23-01, Contaminated Materials; 25-23-19, Radioactive Material Storage; 25-99-18, Storage Area; 25-34-03, Motor Dr/Gr Assembly (Bunker); 25-34-04, Motor Dr/Gr Assembly (Bunker); and 25-34-05, Motor Dr/Gr Assembly (Bunker). These sites are being investigated because existing information on the nature and extent of potential contamination is insufficient to evaluate and recommend corrective action alternatives (CAAs). The suspected contaminants and critical analyte s for CAU 214 include oil (total petroleum hydrocarbons-diesel-range organics [TPH-DRO], polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs]), pesticides (chlordane, heptachlor, 4,4-DDT), barium, cadmium, chronium, lubricants (TPH-DRO, TPH-gasoline-range organics [GRO]), and fly ash (arsenic). The land-use zones where CAU 214 CASs are located dictate that future land uses will be limited to nonresidential (i.e., industrial) activities. The results of this field investigation will support a defensible evaluation of viable corrective action alternatives that will be presented in the corrective action decision document

  18. Temperature modulation and quadrature detection for selective titration of two-state exchanging reactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zrelli, K; Barilero, T; Cavatore, E; Berthoumieux, H; Le Saux, T; Croquette, V; Lemarchand, A; Gosse, C; Jullien, L

    2011-04-01

    Biological samples exhibit huge molecular diversity over large concentration ranges. Titrating a given compound in such mixtures is often difficult, and innovative strategies emphasizing selectivity are thus demanded. To overcome limitations inherent to thermodynamics, we here present a generic technique where discrimination relies on the dynamics of interaction between the target of interest and a probe introduced in excess. Considering an ensemble of two-state exchanging reactants submitted to temperature modulation, we first demonstrate that the amplitude of the out-of-phase concentration oscillations is maximum for every compound involved in a reaction whose equilibrium constant is equal to unity and whose relaxation time is equal to the inverse of the excitation angular frequency. Taking advantage of this feature, we next devise a highly specific detection protocol and validate it using a microfabricated resistive heater and an epifluorescence microscope, as well as labeled oligonucleotides to model species displaying various dynamic properties. As expected, quantification of a sought for strand is obtained even if interfering reagents are present in similar amounts. Moreover, our approach does not require any separation and is compatible with imaging. It could then benefit some of the numerous binding assays performed every day in life sciences.

  19. Construction of an individualized temporary storage in CN ASCO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Massuet Vilamajo, J.; Nunez Marfil, M.

    2012-01-01

    The design requirements of concrete shielding of storage containers, with limitation in the minimum density of the concrete, have forced the use of aggregates of high density (magnetite) and a feedback control of the dosage used depending on the characteristics obtained in the concrete plant. Likewise, high density Assembly into the pit of transfer along with the presence of a large metallic inner linner, has behaved the need to use innovative methods of galvanized and joint of reinforcement bars.

  20. Refurbishment and retrofitting of SF6 gas storage tanks of the pelletron accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reddy, G.R.; Datar, V.M.; Parulekar, Y.M.

    2015-01-01

    The BARC-TIFR Pelletron Accelerator Facility has completed more than twenty six years of successful round-the-clock operation, serving diverse users from institutions within and outside DAE. The main accelerating structure and associated subsystems are housed in the accelerator tank under SF 6 gas medium. During maintenance of the accelerator, the SF 6 gas present in the accelerator tank is transferred in the four storage tanks located on the terrace of the building open to outside environment. These four storage tanks (with ∼ 1/4th of the main tank volume each) are ∼ 4.27 m in diameter and ∼ 10 m in height each and are supported on RCC ring beams which are monolithically connected with the RCC structure below. Over the years, the anchor bolts and the base plates of support structure of storage tanks were found corroded and the foundation RCC ring beam indicated a few corrosion cracks. Health assessment of relevant structures and components were carried out. Considering the limitations of existing anchorage and also giving due considerations for reparability and replaceability, a new anchorage system was designed. The entire refurbishment and retrofitting works pertaining to the four SF 6 gas storage tanks was executed in a time bound manner to comply with the then PASC (Particle Accelerator Safety Committee) recommendations successfully, without disrupting the operations of the round-the-clock running Pelletron Accelerator facility. In addition, the thickness measurements for the storage tanks were performed. The relief valves and rupture disc assemblies across the storage tanks were replaced and reinstalled after introducing appropriate manual valves as suggested by the PASC. A new test set up was fabricated to perform pneumatic testing at the recommended pressure off-line for these relief valves and rupture disc assemblies prior to reinstallation. This paper describes the comprehensive rehabilitation and retrofitting procedures that were carried out at the

  1. Storage system and method for spent fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Queiser, H.; Eckardt, B.

    1981-01-01

    The proposal concerns an additional protection against leakage of a FE-transport container for interim storage of spent fuel elements. The gastight container has a second cover placed at a short distance from the first cover. The intermediate hollow space can be connected with a measuring system which indicates if part of the trace gas (mostly helium) added as indicator has escaped from the container due to leakage. The description explains the method and the assembly of required lines and measuring points etc. (UWI) [de

  2. Mechanically stable ternary heterogeneous electrodes for energy storage and conversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Libo; Zhang, Hongti; Surjadi, James Utama; Li, Peifeng; Han, Ying; Sun, Dong; Lu, Yang

    2018-02-01

    Recently, solid asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) has been deemed as an emerging portable power storage or backup device for harvesting natural resources. Here we rationally engineered a hierarchical, mechanically stable heterostructured FeCo@NiCo layered double hydroxide (LDH) with superior capacitive performance by a simple two-step electrodeposition route for energy storage and conversion. In situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) nanoindentation and electrochemical tests demonstrated the mechanical robustness and good conductivity of FeCo-LDH. This serves as a reliable backbone for supporting the NiCo-LDH nanosheets. When employed as the positive electrode in the solid ASC, the assembly presents high energy density of 36.6 W h kg -1 at a corresponding power density of 783 W kg -1 and durable cycling stability (87.3% after 5000 cycles) as well as robust mechanical stability without obvious capacitance fading when subjected to bending deformation. To demonstrate its promising capability for practical energy storage applications, the ASC has been employed as a portable energy source to power a commercially available digital watch, mini motor car, or household lamp bulb as well as an energy storage reservoir, coupled with a wind energy harvester to power patterned light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

  3. Shipping and storage cask data for spent nuclear fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, E.R.; Notz, K.J.

    1988-11-01

    This document is a compilation of data on casks used for the storage and/or transport of commercially generated spent fuel in the US based on publicly available information. In using the information contained in the following data sheets, it should be understood that the data have been assembled from published information, which in some instances was not internally consistent. Moreover, it was sometimes necessary to calculate or infer the values of some attributes from available information. Nor was there always a uniform method of reporting the values of some attributes; for example, an outside surface dose of the loaded cask was sometimes reported to be the maximum acceptable by NRC, while in other cases the maximum actual dose rate expected was reported, and in still other cases the expected average dose rate was reported. A summary comparison of the principal attributes of storage and transportable storage casks is provided and a similar comparison for shipping casks is also shown. References to source data are provided on the individual data sheets for each cask.

  4. Shipping and storage cask data for spent nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, E.R.; Notz, K.J.

    1988-11-01

    This document is a compilation of data on casks used for the storage and/or transport of commercially generated spent fuel in the US based on publicly available information. In using the information contained in the following data sheets, it should be understood that the data have been assembled from published information, which in some instances was not internally consistent. Moreover, it was sometimes necessary to calculate or infer the values of some attributes from available information. Nor was there always a uniform method of reporting the values of some attributes; for example, an outside surface dose of the loaded cask was sometimes reported to be the maximum acceptable by NRC, while in other cases the maximum actual dose rate expected was reported, and in still other cases the expected average dose rate was reported. A summary comparison of the principal attributes of storage and transportable storage casks is provided and a similar comparison for shipping casks is also shown. References to source data are provided on the individual data sheets for each cask

  5. Layer-by-layer assembled graphene-coated mesoporous SnO2 spheres as anodes for advanced Li-ion batteries

    KAUST Repository

    Shahid, Muhammad

    2014-10-01

    We report layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of graphene/carbon-coated mesoporous SnO2 spheres (Gr/C-SnO2 spheres), without binder and conducting additives, as anode materials with excellent Li-ion insertion-extraction properties. Our results indicate that these novel LBL assembled electrodes have high reversible Li storage capacity, improved cycling, and especially good rate performance, even at high specific currents. The superior electrochemical performance offered by these LBL assembled Gr/C-SnO2 spheres is attributed to the enhanced electronic conductivity and effective diffusion of Li ions in the interconnected network of nanoparticles forming the mesoporous SnO2 spheres. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Layer-by-layer assembled graphene-coated mesoporous SnO2 spheres as anodes for advanced Li-ion batteries

    KAUST Repository

    Shahid, Muhammad; Yesibolati, Nulati; Reuter, Mark C.; Ross, Frances M.; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2014-01-01

    We report layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of graphene/carbon-coated mesoporous SnO2 spheres (Gr/C-SnO2 spheres), without binder and conducting additives, as anode materials with excellent Li-ion insertion-extraction properties. Our results indicate that these novel LBL assembled electrodes have high reversible Li storage capacity, improved cycling, and especially good rate performance, even at high specific currents. The superior electrochemical performance offered by these LBL assembled Gr/C-SnO2 spheres is attributed to the enhanced electronic conductivity and effective diffusion of Li ions in the interconnected network of nanoparticles forming the mesoporous SnO2 spheres. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional Graphene Macrostructures: Synthesis and Applications in Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yuxi; Shi, Gaoquan; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2015-06-16

    Graphene and its derivatives are versatile building blocks for bottom-up assembly of advanced functional materials. In particular, with exceptionally large specific surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and superior chemical/electrochemical stability, graphene represents the ideal material for various electrochemical energy storage devices including supercapacitors. However, due to the strong π-π interaction between graphene sheets, the graphene flakes tend to restack to form graphite-like powders when they are processed into practical electrode materials, which can greatly reduce the specific surface area and lead to inefficient utilization of the graphene layers for electrochemical energy storage. The self-assembly of two-dimensional graphene sheets into three-dimensional (3D) framework structures can largely retain the unique properties of individual graphene sheets and has recently garnered intense interest for fundamental investigations and potential applications in diverse technologies. In this Account, we review the recent advances in preparing 3D graphene macrostructures and exploring them as a unique platform for supercapacitor applications. We first describe the synthetic strategies, in which reduction of a graphene oxide dispersion above a certain critical concentration can induce the reduced graphene oxide sheets to cross-link with each other via partial π-π stacking interactions to form a 3D interconnected porous macrostructure. Multiple reduction strategies, including hydrothermal/solvothermal reduction, chemical reduction, and electrochemical reduction, have been developed for the preparation of 3D graphene macrostructures. The versatile synthetic strategies allow for easy incorporation of heteroatoms, carbon nanomaterials, functional polymers, and inorganic nanostructures into the macrostructures to yield diverse composites with tailored structures and properties. We then summarize the applications of the 3D graphene macrostructures

  8. A three-dimensional numerical investigation of trapezoid baffles effect on non-isothermal reactant transport and cell net power in a PEMFC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perng, Shiang-Wuu; Wu, Horng-Wen

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We study how angle and height of trapezoid baffle affect PEMFC net power. • The jet-type, trapping, and blockage effects augment non-isothermal transport in flow channel. • Greater angles and heights of trapezoid baffles provide more reactant to the catalyst layer. • Baffles of 1.5 mm and 90° fully block flow channel to show bad heat transfer and large pressure drop. • Maximum enhancement of cell net power is 90% with baffles of 60° angle and 1.125 mm height. - Abstract: The present study performed a three-dimensional numerical simulation to observe how trapezoid baffles affect non-isothermal reactant transports and cell net power in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) by the SIMPLE-C method. The geometric parameters of trapezoid baffles installed in the gas channel employed in this study include the angle and height with the same gas diffusion and catalyst layers to realize the cell net power considering the effect of liquid water formation on the fluid flow field. The cell net power is adopted to evaluate the real enhancement of cell performance due to the additional pumping power induced by the pressure loss through the PEMFC. The results illustrated that compared with traditional gas channel without baffles, the novel gas channel with trapezoid baffles, whose angle is 60° and height is 1.125 mm, enhances the cell net power best by approximately 90% among all trapezoid baffle designs

  9. Flywheel energy storage workshop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O`Kain, D.; Carmack, J. [comps.

    1995-12-31

    Since the November 1993 Flywheel Workshop, there has been a major surge of interest in Flywheel Energy Storage. Numerous flywheel programs have been funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), by the Department of Energy (DOE) through the Hybrid Vehicle Program, and by private investment. Several new prototype systems have been built and are being tested. The operational performance characteristics of flywheel energy storage are being recognized as attractive for a number of potential applications. Programs are underway to develop flywheels for cars, buses, boats, trains, satellites, and for electric utility applications such as power quality, uninterruptible power supplies, and load leveling. With the tremendous amount of flywheel activity during the last two years, this workshop should again provide an excellent opportunity for presentation of new information. This workshop is jointly sponsored by ARPA and DOE to provide a review of the status of current flywheel programs and to provide a forum for presentation of new flywheel technology. Technology areas of interest include flywheel applications, flywheel systems, design, materials, fabrication, assembly, safety & containment, ball bearings, magnetic bearings, motor/generators, power electronics, mounting systems, test procedures, and systems integration. Information from the workshop will help guide ARPA & DOE planning for future flywheel programs. This document is comprised of detailed viewgraphs.

  10. Self-Assembly of Flux-Closure Polygons from Magnetite Nanocubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szyndler, Megan W; Corn, Robert M

    2012-09-06

    Well-defined nanoscale flux-closure polygons (nanogons) have been fabricated on hydrophilic surfaces from the face-to-face self-assembly of magnetite nanocubes. Uniform ferrimagnetic magnetite nanocubes (∼86 nm) were synthesized and characterized with a combination of electron microscopy, diffraction, and magnetization measurements. The nanocubes were subsequently cast onto hydrophilic substrates, wherein the cubes lined up face-to-face and formed a variety of polygons due to magnetostatic and hydrophobic interactions. The generated surfaces consist primarily of three- and four-sided nanogons; polygons ranging from two to six sides were also observed. Further examination of the nanogons showed that the constraints of the face-to-face assembly of nanocubes often led to bowed sides, strained cube geometries, and mismatches at the acute angle vertices. Additionally, extra nanocubes were often present at the vertices, suggesting the presence of external magnetostatic fields at the polygon corners. These nanogons are inimitable nanoscale magnetic structures with potential applications in the areas of magnetic memory storage and high-frequency magnetics.

  11. Energetics of the lithium-magnesium imide-magnesium amide and lithium hydride reaction for hydrogen storage: An ab initio study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Velikokhatnyi, Oleg I.; Kumta, Prashant N.

    2007-01-01

    An ab initio study within the density functional theory of the recently described reversible hydrogen storage reaction Mg(NH 2 ) 2 + 2LiH ↔ Li 2 Mg(NH) 2 + 2H 2 has been conducted. The electronic structure, structural parameters, vibrational spectra, and enthalpies of formation of all the reactants and products as well as the heat of the overall reaction at zero and finite temperature have been calculated in the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) to the exchange correlation potential. The heat of the overall reaction is calculated to be 53.4 kJ/mol H 2 in contrast to the experimentally obtained overall heat of reaction of ∼44.1 kJ/mol H 2 . The difference of ∼20% between the experimental and calculated values is discussed

  12. THE INFLUENCE OF BENZENE AS A TRACE REACTANT IN TITAN AEROSOL ANALOGS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trainer, Melissa G. [Planetary Environments Laboratory, Code 699, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Sebree, Joshua A. [NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, Code 699, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Heidi Yoon, Y.; Tolbert, Margaret A., E-mail: melissa.trainer@nasa.gov [Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Box 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

    2013-03-20

    Benzene has been detected in Titan's atmosphere by Cassini instruments, with concentrations ranging from sub-ppb in the stratosphere to ppm in the ionosphere. Sustained levels of benzene in the haze formation region could signify that it is an important reactant in the formation of Titan's organic aerosol. To date, there have not been laboratory investigations to assess the influence of benzene on aerosol properties. We report a laboratory study on the chemical composition of organic aerosol formed from C{sub 6}H{sub 6}/CH{sub 4}/N{sub 2} via far ultraviolet irradiation (120-200 nm). The compositional results are compared to those from aerosol generated by a more ''traditional Titan'' mixture of CH{sub 4}/N{sub 2}. Our results show that even a trace amount of C{sub 6}H{sub 6} (10 ppm) has significant impact on the chemical composition and production rates of organic aerosol. There are several pathways by which photolyzed benzene may react to form larger molecules, both with and without the presence of CH{sub 4}, but many of these reaction mechanisms are only beginning to be explored for the conditions at Titan. Continued work investigating the influence of benzene in aerosol growth will advance understanding of this previously unstudied reaction system.

  13. Use of Gas Transported Reactants for Uranium Remediation in Vadose Zone Sediments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szecsody, James E.; Zhong, Lirong; Truex, Michael J.; Resch, Charles T.; Williams, Mark D.

    2010-01-01

    This laboratory-scale investigation is focused on decreasing mobility of uranium in subsurface contaminated sediments in the vadose zone by in situ geochemical manipulation at low water content. This geochemical manipulation of the sediment surface phases included reduction, pH change (acidic and alkaline), and additions of chemicals (phosphate, ferric iron) to form specific precipitates. Reactants were advected into 1-D columns packed with Hanford 200 area U-contaminated sediment as a reactive gas (for CO2, NH3, H2S, SO2), with a 0.1% water content mist (for NaOH, Fe(III), HCl, PO4) and with a 1% water content foam (for PO4). Because uranium is present in the sediment in multiple phases, changes in U surface phases were evaluated with a series of liquid extractions that dissolve progressively less soluble phases and electron microbe identification of mineral phases. In terms of the short-term decrease in U mobility (in decreasing order), NH3, NaOH mist, CO2, HCl mist, and Fe(III) mist showed 20% to 35% change in U surface phases. The two reductive gas treatments (H2S and SO2) showed little change. For long-term decrease in U transport, mineral phases created that had low solubility (phosphates, silicates) were desired, so NH3, phosphates (mist and foam delivered), and NaOH mist showed the greatest formation of these minerals.

  14. Robotically Assembled Aerospace Structures: Digital Material Assembly using a Gantry-Type Assembler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trinh, Greenfield; Copplestone, Grace; O'Connor, Molly; Hu, Steven; Nowak, Sebastian; Cheung, Kenneth; Jenett, Benjamin; Cellucci, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    This paper evaluates the development of automated assembly techniques for discrete lattice structures using a multi-axis gantry type CNC machine. These lattices are made of discrete components called "digital materials." We present the development of a specialized end effector that works in conjunction with the CNC machine to assemble these lattices. With this configuration we are able to place voxels at a rate of 1.5 per minute. The scalability of digital material structures due to the incremental modular assembly is one of its key traits and an important metric of interest. We investigate the build times of a 5x5 beam structure on the scale of 1 meter (325 parts), 10 meters (3,250 parts), and 30 meters (9,750 parts). Utilizing the current configuration with a single end effector, performing serial assembly with a globally fixed feed station at the edge of the build volume, the build time increases according to a scaling law of n4, where n is the build scale. Build times can be reduced significantly by integrating feed systems into the gantry itself, resulting in a scaling law of n3. A completely serial assembly process will encounter time limitations as build scale increases. Automated assembly for digital materials can assemble high performance structures from discrete parts, and techniques such as built in feed systems, parallelization, and optimization of the fastening process will yield much higher throughput.

  15. Vacuum Drying Tests for Storage of Aluminum Spent Nuclear Fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, K.F.; Large, W.S.; Sindelar, R.L.

    1998-05-01

    A total inventory of up to approximately 32,000 aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel (Al SNF) assemblies are expected to be shipped to Savannah River Site (SRS) from domestic and foreign research reactors over the next several decades. Treatment technologies are being developed as alternatives to processing for the ultimate disposition of Al SNF in the geologic repository. One technology, called Direct/Co-disposal of Al SNF, would place the SNF into a canister ready for disposal in a waste package, with or without canisters containing high-level radioactive waste glass logs, in the repository. The Al SNF would be transferred from wet storage and would need to be dried in the Al SNF canister. The moisture content inside the Al SNF canister is limited to avoid excessive Al SNF corrosion and hydrogen buildup during interim storage before disposal. A vacuum drying process was proposed to dry the Al SNF in a canister. There are two major concerns for the vacuum drying process. One is water inside the canister could become frozen during the vacuum drying process and the other one is the detection of dryness inside the canister. To vacuum dry an irradiated fuel in a heavily shielded canister, it would be very difficult to open the lid to inspect the dryness during the vacuum drying operation. A vacuum drying test program using a mock SNF assembly was conducted to demonstrate feasibility of drying the Al SNF in a canister. These tests also served as a check-out of the drying apparatus for future tests in which irradiated fuel would be loaded into a canister under water followed by drying for storage

  16. Possibility for dry storage of the WWR-K reactor spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arinkin, F.M.; Belyakova, E.A.; Gizatulin, Sh.Kh.; Khromushin, I.V.; Koltochik, S.N.; Maltseva, R.M.; Medvedeva, Z.V.; Petukhov, V.K.; Soloviev, Yu.A.; Zhotabaev, Zh.R.

    2000-01-01

    This work is devoted to development of the way for dry storage of spent fuel of the WWR-K reactor. Residual energy release in spent fuel element assembly was determined via fortune combination of calculations and experiments. The depth of fission product occurrence relative to the fuel element shroud surface was found experimentally. The time of fission product release to the fuel element shroud surface was estimated. (author)

  17. Ultraporous films with uniform nanochannels by block copolymer micelles assembly

    KAUST Repository

    Nunes, Suzana Pereira

    2010-10-12

    Films with high pore density and regularity that are easy to manufacture by conventional large-scale technology are key components aimed for fabrication of new generations of magnetic arrays for storage media, medical scaffolds, and artificial membranes. However, potential manufacture strategies like the self-assembly of block copolymers, which lead to amazing regular patterns, could be hardly reproduced up to now using commercially feasible methods. Here we report a unique production method of nanoporous films based on the self-assembly of copper(II) ion-polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) complexes and nonsolvent induced phase separation. Extremely high pore densities and uniformity were achieved. Water fluxes of 890 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 were obtained, which are at least 1 order of magnitude higher than those of commercially available membranes with comparable pore size. The pores are also stimuli (pH)-responsive. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

  18. One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of hollow Fe3O4 microspheres assembled with nanoparticles for lithium-ion battery anodes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Yanguo; Wang, Xiaoliang; Ma, Wuming

    2016-01-01

    Hollow Fe3O4 microspheres assembled with nanoparticles were successfully synthesized without the addition of any templates or subsequent treatments. When used as the anode materials for lithium-ion battery (LIB), the products showed good lithium storage properties, demonstrating their promising...

  19. Sequence assembly

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scheibye-Alsing, Karsten; Hoffmann, S.; Frankel, Annett Maria

    2009-01-01

    Despite the rapidly increasing number of sequenced and re-sequenced genomes, many issues regarding the computational assembly of large-scale sequencing data have remain unresolved. Computational assembly is crucial in large genome projects as well for the evolving high-throughput technologies and...... in genomic DNA, highly expressed genes and alternative transcripts in EST sequences. We summarize existing comparisons of different assemblers and provide a detailed descriptions and directions for download of assembly programs at: http://genome.ku.dk/resources/assembly/methods.html....

  20. Spent fuel storage cask testing and operational experience at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eslinger, L.E.; Schmitt, R.C.

    1989-01-01

    Spent-fuel storage cask research, development, and demonstration activities are being performed for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) as a part of the storage cask testing program. The cask testing program at federal sites and other locations supports the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) and DOE objectives for cooperative demonstrations with the cask vendors and utilities for development of at-reactor dry cask storage capabilities for spent nuclear fuel assemblies. One research and development program for the storage cask performance testing of metal storage cask was initiated through a cooperative agreement between Virginia Power and DOE in 1984. The performance testing was conducted for the DOE and the Electric Power Research Institute by the Pacific Northwest laboratory, operated for DOE by Battelle Memorial Institute, and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), operated for DOE by EG ampersand G Idaho, Inc. In 1988 a cooperative agreement was entered into by DOE with Pacific Sierra Nuclear Associates (PSN) for performance testing of the PSN concrete Ventilated Storage Cask. Another closely related activity involving INEL is a transportable storage cask project identified as the Nuclear Fuel Services Spent-Fuel Shipping/Storage Cask Demonstration Project. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility of packing, transporting, and storing commercial spent fuel in dual-purpose transport/storage casks

  1. U.S. Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Assembly Characteristics - 1968-2013

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Jianwei [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Peterson, Joshua L. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Gauld, Ian C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bowman, Stephen M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2016-09-01

    Activities related to management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) are increasing in the US and many other countries. Over 240,000 SNF assemblies have been discharged from US commercial reactors since the late 1960s. The enrichment and burnup of SNF have changed significantly over the past 40 years, and fuel assembly designs have also evolved. Understanding the general characteristics of SNF helps regulators and other stakeholders form overall strategies towards the final disposal of US SNF. This report documents a survey of all US commercial SNF assemblies in the GC-859 database and provides reference SNF source terms (e.g., nuclide inventories, decay heat, and neutron/photon emission) at various cooling times up to 200 years after fuel discharge. This study reviews the distribution and evolution of fuel parameters of all SNF assemblies discharged over the past 40 years. Assemblies were categorized into three groups based on discharge year, and the median burnups and enrichments of each group were used to establish representative cases. An extended burnup case was created for boiling water reactor (BWR) fuels, and another was created for the pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuels. Two additional cases were developed to represent the eight mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies in the database. Burnup calculations were performed for each representative case. Realistic parameters for fuel design and operations were used to model the SNF and to provide reference fuel characteristics representative of the current inventory. Burnup calculations were performed using the ORIGEN code, which is part of the SCALE nuclear modeling and simulation code system. Results include total activity, decay heat, photon emission, neutron flux, gamma heat, and plutonium content, as well as concentrations for 115 significant nuclides. These quantities are important in the design, regulation, and operations of SNF storage, transportation, and disposal systems.

  2. Study of storage capacity in various carbon/graphene-based solid-state supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramaniam, C. K.; Boopalan, G.

    2014-09-01

    Solid-state electrochemical double-layer capacitor (SEDLC) forms excellent energy storage device for high-power applications. They are highly reliable, with no electrolyte leaks, and can be packaged to suit various applications. The electrode material can be activated carbon to graphene. These can have a range of particle size, surface area, pore size and pore distribution for charge storage. The emphasis will be to optimize the graphene to carbon blend in the electrodes which would provide appreciable storage density of the SEDLC. We can use perfluorosulfonic acid polymer as the solid electrolyte in the SEDLC assembly. They have high ionic conductivity, good thermal stability, and mechanical strength. They also have excellent long-term chemical stability. Carbon is widely used for many practical applications, especially for the adsorption of ions and molecules, as it is possible to synthesize one-, two- or three-dimensional (1-, 2-, or 3-D) carbons. Some of the problems in activated carbon like varying micro or mesopores, poor ion mobility due to varying pore distribution, low electrical conductivity, can be overcome using graphene and blends of graphene with carbon of the right pore dimension and distribution. Graphene in various structural nomenclatures have been used by various groups for charge storage. Graphene nanoplates (GNP), with narrow mesopore distributions have been effectively used for SEDLCs. SEDLCs assembled with GNP and blends of GNP with Vulcan XC and solid polymer electrolyte like Nafion show exceptional performance. The cyclic voltammetric studies show that they support high scan rates with substantial smaller capacitance drop as we increase scan rates. Optimization of the electrode structure in terms of blend percentage, binder content and interface character in the frequency and time domain provides excellent insight into the double-layer interface.

  3. Fuel handling and storage systems in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    The scope of this Guide includes the design of handling and storage facilities for fuel assemblies from the receipt of fuel into the nuclear power plant until the fuel departs from that plant. The unirradiated fuel considered in this Guide is assumed not to exhibit any significant level of radiation so that it can be handled without shielding or cooling. This Guide also gives limited consideration to the handling and storage of certain core components. While the general design and safety principles are discussed in Section 2 of this Guide, more specific design requirements for the handling and storage of fuel are given in detailed sections which follow the general design and safety principles. Further useful information is to be found in the IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 189 ''Storage, Handling and Movement of Fuel and Related Components at Nuclear Power Plants'' and No. 198 ''Guide to the Safe Handling of Radioactive Wastes at Nuclear Power Plants''. However, the scope of the Guide does not include consideration of the following: (1) The various reactor physics questions associated with fuel and absorber loading and unloading into the core; (2) The design aspects of preparation of the reactor for fuel loading (such as the removal of the pressure vessel head for a light water reactor) and restoration after loading; (3) The design of shipping casks; (4) Fuel storage of a long-term nature exceeding the design lifetime of the nuclear power plant; (5) Unirradiated fuel containing plutonium

  4. Bacteriophage Assembly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasia A. Aksyuk

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Bacteriophages have been a model system to study assembly processes for over half a century. Formation of infectious phage particles involves specific protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, as well as large conformational changes of assembly precursors. The sequence and molecular mechanisms of phage assembly have been elucidated by a variety of methods. Differences and similarities of assembly processes in several different groups of bacteriophages are discussed in this review. The general principles of phage assembly are applicable to many macromolecular complexes.

  5. Annotated bibliography of cultural resources literature for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-11-01

    This annotated bibliography of the cultural resources literature pertinent for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations was assembled in order to (1) identify and evaluate the prehistoric and historic properties previously recorded in the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations Project Area of southern Nye County, Nevada, (2) identify and develop research problems that have been and/or could be addressed by the cultural resources of this area, (3) isolate factors that might be important in the selection of a potential locality for a high level nuclear waste repository in the project area, and (4) critically evaluate the adequacy and current status of cultural resources knowledge in the project area. 195 references

  6. An Evaluation of Criticality Margin by an Application of Parallelogram Lattice Arrangement in the Nuclear Fuel Storage Rack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Song Hyun; Kim, Hong Chul; Shin, Chang Ho; Kim, Jong Kyung; Kim, Kyo Youn

    2010-01-01

    The criticality evaluation in the nuclear fuel storage rack is essentially required for the prevention of the criticality accident. The square lattice structure of the storage rack is commonly used because it has a simple structure for the storage of the numerous fuel assemblies as well as the good mechanical strength. For the design of the fuel storage rack, the boron plate is commonly used for the criticality reduction. In this study, an arrangement method with the parallelogram lattice structure is proposed for the reduction of the boron concentration or the rack pitch. The criticality margins by the application of the parallelogram lattice were evaluated with MCNP5 code. From the result, the reduction of the boron concentrated in the borated-Al plate was evaluated

  7. Tailoring the self-assembly of linear alkyl chains for the design of advanced materials with technological applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoppe, Cristina E; Williams, Roberto J J

    2018-03-01

    The self-assembly of n-alkyl chains at the bulk or at the interface of different types of materials and substrates has been extensively studied in the past. The packing of alkyl chains is driven by Van der Waals interactions and can generate crystalline or disordered domains, at the bulk of the material, or self-assembled monolayers at an interface. This natural property of alkyl chains has been employed in recent years to develop a new generation of materials for technological applications. These studies are dispersed in a variety of journals. The purpose of this article was to discuss some selected examples where these advanced properties arise from a process involving the self-assembly of alkyl chains. We included a description of electronic devices and new-generation catalysts with properties derived from a controlled two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) self-assembly of alkyl chains at an interface. Then, we showed that controlling the crystallization of alkyl chains at the bulk can be used to generate a variety of advanced materials such as superhydrophobic coatings, shape memory hydrogels, hot-melt adhesives, thermally reversible light scattering (TRLS) films for intelligent windows and form-stable phase change materials (FS-PCMs) for the storage of thermal energy. Finally, we discussed two examples where advanced properties derive from the formation of disordered domains by physical association of alkyl chains. This was the case of photoluminescent nanocomposites and materials used for reversible optical storage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Spent fuel treatment to allow storage in air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, K.L.

    1988-01-01

    During Fiscal Year 1987 (FY-87), research began at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) to develop a treatment material and process to coat fuel rods in commercial spent fuel assemblies to allow the assemblies to be stored in hot (up to 380 0 C) air without oxidation of the fuel. This research was conducted under a research and development fund provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and independently administered by EG and G Idaho, Inc., DOE's prime contractor at the INEL. The objectives of the research were to identify and evaluate possible treatment processes and materials, identify areas of uncertainty, and to recommend the most likely candidate to allow spent fuel dry storage in hot air. The results of the research are described: results were promising and several good candidates were identified, but further research is needed to examine the candidates to the point where comparison is possible

  9. Thermal analysis model for the temperature distribution of the CANDU spent fuel assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Hae Yun; Kwon, Jong Soo; Park, Seong Hoon; Kim, Seong Rea; Lee, Gi Won

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of this technical is to introduce the methodology and experimental process for the experimental research work with the mock-up test performed to verify and validate the MAXROT code which is a thermal analysis method for Wolsong (CANDU) spent fuel dry storage canister. The experiment was conducted simulating the heat transfer characteristics of combinations of equilateral triangular and square pitch arrays of heater rods, similar to a CANDU spent fuel bundle. After assembly of the heater rod bundle into the containment vessel, the experimental apparatus was operated under the same operating and boundary conditions as an interim dry storage condition at the nuclear power plant site. The reduced data from this experiment has been utilized to verity a model developed to predict the maximum fuel rod surface temperature in a fuel bundle. These test procedures and the experiment can be utilized to establish the fine thermal analysis method applicable to dry storage system for the spent fuel. 12 figs., 5 tabs., 36 refs. (Author) .new

  10. Thermal analysis model for the temperature distribution of the CANDU spent fuel assembly

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Hae Yun; Kwon, Jong Soo; Park, Seong Hoon; Kim, Seong Rea; Lee, Gi Won [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of this technical is to introduce the methodology and experimental process for the experimental research work with the mock-up test performed to verify and validate the MAXROT code which is a thermal analysis method for Wolsong (CANDU) spent fuel dry storage canister. The experiment was conducted simulating the heat transfer characteristics of combinations of equilateral triangular and square pitch arrays of heater rods, similar to a CANDU spent fuel bundle. After assembly of the heater rod bundle into the containment vessel, the experimental apparatus was operated under the same operating and boundary conditions as an interim dry storage condition at the nuclear power plant site. The reduced data from this experiment has been utilized to verity a model developed to predict the maximum fuel rod surface temperature in a fuel bundle. These test procedures and the experiment can be utilized to establish the fine thermal analysis method applicable to dry storage system for the spent fuel. 12 figs., 5 tabs., 36 refs. (Author) .new.

  11. Self-assembly of cationic multidomain peptide hydrogels: supramolecular nanostructure and rheological properties dictate antimicrobial activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Linhai; Xu, Dawei; Sellati, Timothy J.; Dong, He

    2015-11-01

    Hydrogels are an important class of biomaterials that have been widely utilized for a variety of biomedical/medical applications. The biological performance of hydrogels, particularly those used as wound dressing could be greatly advanced if imbued with inherent antimicrobial activity capable of staving off colonization of the wound site by opportunistic bacterial pathogens. Possessing such antimicrobial properties would also protect the hydrogel itself from being adversely affected by microbial attachment to its surface. We have previously demonstrated the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of supramolecular assemblies of cationic multi-domain peptides (MDPs) in solution. Here, we extend the 1-D soluble supramolecular assembly to 3-D hydrogels to investigate the effect of the supramolecular nanostructure and its rheological properties on the antimicrobial activity of self-assembled hydrogels. Among designed MDPs, the bactericidal activity of peptide hydrogels was found to follow an opposite trend to that in solution. Improved antimicrobial activity of self-assembled peptide hydrogels is dictated by the combined effect of supramolecular surface chemistry and storage modulus of the bulk materials, rather than the ability of individual peptides/peptide assemblies to penetrate bacterial cell membrane as observed in solution. The structure-property-activity relationship developed through this study will provide important guidelines for designing biocompatible peptide hydrogels with built-in antimicrobial activity for various biomedical applications.Hydrogels are an important class of biomaterials that have been widely utilized for a variety of biomedical/medical applications. The biological performance of hydrogels, particularly those used as wound dressing could be greatly advanced if imbued with inherent antimicrobial activity capable of staving off colonization of the wound site by opportunistic bacterial pathogens. Possessing such antimicrobial properties would

  12. Resistive switching memories in MoS{sub 2} nanosphere assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Xiao-Yong, E-mail: xxxy@yzu.edu.cn, E-mail: xcxseu@seu.edu.cn, E-mail: jghu@yzu.edu.cn [School of Physics Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002 (China); State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Yin, Zong-You [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Xu, Chun-Xiang, E-mail: xxxy@yzu.edu.cn, E-mail: xcxseu@seu.edu.cn, E-mail: jghu@yzu.edu.cn; Dai, Jun [State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); Hu, Jing-Guo, E-mail: xxxy@yzu.edu.cn, E-mail: xcxseu@seu.edu.cn, E-mail: jghu@yzu.edu.cn [School of Physics Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002 (China)

    2014-01-20

    A resistive switching memory device consisting of reduced graphene oxide and indium tin oxide as top/bottom two electrodes, separated by dielectric MoS{sub 2} nanosphere assemblies as the active interlayer, was fabricated. This device exhibits the rewritable nonvolatile resistive switching with low SET/RESET voltage (∼2 V), high ON/OFF resistance ratio (∼10{sup 4}), and superior electrical bistability, introducing a potential application in data storage field. The resistance switching mechanism was analyzed in the assumptive model of the electron tunneling across the polarized potential barriers.

  13. Highly efficient quenching of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) electrochemiluminescence by ozone using formaldehyde, methylglyoxal, and glyoxalate as co-reactants and its application to ozone sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Ying; Liu, Xiaoyun; Qi, Wenjing; Gao, Wenyue; Li, Yunhui; Xu, Guobao

    2015-06-21

    Most electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems require high concentrations of quencher to totally quench ECL. In this study, we found that ozone can quench tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) ECL using formaldehyde, methylglyoxal, or glyoxalate as co-reactants at a glassy carbon electrode with remarkable efficiencies even when the concentration of ozone is merely 0.25% of that of the co-reactant. The strongest quenching is observed with the tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)/formaldehyde ECL system. The tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)/formaldehyde ECL intensities decrease linearly with the ozone concentration over the range of 0.025-25 μM (r = 0.9947) with a limit of detection of 8 nM. The method is more sensitive and faster than most methods. It shows high selectivity in the presence of other ROS or oxidants and some metal ions, such as H2O2, ClO(-), Mg(2+), Ni(2+), etc. The method exhibits high recoveries for the detection of ozone in a ventilated photocopy room.

  14. Optimizing Transcriptome Assemblies for Eleusine indica Leaf and Seedling by Combining Multiple Assemblies from Three De Novo Assemblers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu Chen

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Due to rapid advances in sequencing technology, increasing amounts of genomic and transcriptomic data are available for plant species, presenting enormous challenges for biocomputing analysis. A crucial first step for a successful transcriptomics-based study is the building of a high-quality assembly. Here, we utilized three different de novo assemblers (Trinity, Velvet, and CLC and the EvidentialGene pipeline tr2aacds to assemble two optimized transcript sets for the notorious weed species, . Two RNA sequencing (RNA-seq datasets from leaf and aboveground seedlings were processed using three assemblers, which resulted in 20 assemblies for each dataset. The contig numbers and N50 values of each assembly were compared to study the effect of read number, k-mer size, and in silico normalization on assembly output. The 20 assemblies were then processed through the tr2aacds pipeline to remove redundant transcripts and to select the transcript set with the best coding potential. Each assembly contributed a considerable proportion to the final transcript combination with the exception of the CLC-k14. Thus each assembler and parameter set did assemble better contigs for certain transcripts. The redundancy, total contig number, N50, fully assembled contig number, and transcripts related to target-site herbicide resistance were evaluated for the EvidentialGene and Trinity assemblies. Comparing the EvidentialGene set with the Trinity assembly revealed improved quality and reduced redundancy in both leaf and seedling EvidentialGene sets. The optimized transcriptome references will be useful for studying herbicide resistance in and the evolutionary process in the three allotetraploid offspring.

  15. Nuclear fuel storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bevilacqua, F.

    1981-01-01

    A nuclear fuel storage apparatus for use in a water-filled pool is fabricated of a material such as stainless steel in the form of an egg crate structure having vertically extending openings. Fuel may be stored in this basic structure in a checkerboard pattern with high enrichment fuel, or in all openings when the fuel is of low effective enrichment. Inserts of a material such as stainless steel are adapted to fit within these openings so that a water gap and, therefore, a flux trap is formed between adjacent fuel storage locations. These inserts may be added at a later time and fuel of a higher enrichment may be stored in each opening. When it is desired to store fuel of still greater enrichment, poison plates may be added to the water gap formed by the installed insert plates, or substituted for the insert plates. Alternately, or in addition, fuel may be installed in high neutron absorption poison boxes which surround the fuel assembly. The stainless steel inserts and the poison plates are each not required until the capacity of the basic egg crate structure is approached. Purchase of these items can, therefore, be deferred for many years. Should the fuel to be stored be of higher enrichment than initially forecast, the deferred decision on the poison plates makes it possible to obtain increased poison in the plates to satisfy the newly discovered requirement

  16. Layered assembly of graphene oxide and Co-Al layered double hydroxide nanosheets as electrode materials for supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lei; Wang, Dong; Dong, Xin Yi; Zhang, Zhi Jun; Pei, Xian Feng; Chen, Xin Jiang; Chen, Biao; Jin, Jian

    2011-03-28

    An innovative strategy of fabricating electrode material by layered assembling two kinds of one-atom-thick sheets, carboxylated graphene oxide (GO) and Co-Al layered double hydroxide nanosheet (Co-Al LDH-NS) for the application as a pseudocapacitor is reported. The Co-Al LDH-NS/GO composite exhibits good energy storage properties.

  17. Submersible energy storage apparatus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mccartney, J.F.; Rowe, R.A.

    1980-01-01

    A submersible energy storage apparatus for an electrical power source is provided which includes an electrolysis unit feed water gas collection assembly and a fuel cell. The electrolysis unit feed water gas collection assembly includes a hydrogen container and an oxygen container wherein each container has a gas outlet and is capable of containing feed water as well as hydrogen and oxygen gases respectively. An electrolysis cell is provided which has a hydrogen outlet, an oxygen outlet and a feed water inlet. The hydrogen outlet is located in the hydrogen container, the oxygen outlet is located in the oxygen container, and the feed water inlet is located in one of the containers. Each of the containers has an opening to the submersible environment so as to be pressure responsive thereto. A barrier device is provided in association with the opening in each container for isolating the feed water in the container from water in the submersible environment. The fuel cell is operatively connected to the hydrogen and oxygen containers, and the electrical power source is operatively connected to the electrolysis cell. With this arrangement the electrolysis cell is capable of utilizing power from the power source during low electrical energy demand, and the fuel cell is capable of utilizing the hydrogen and oxygen gases for generating electricity during high demand periods

  18. Durability of spent nuclear fuels and facility components in wet storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-04-01

    Wet storage continues to be the dominant option for the management of irradiated fuel elements and assemblies (fuel units). Fuel types addressed in this study include those used in: power reactors, research and test reactors, and defence reactors. Important decisions must be made regarding acceptable storage modes for a broad variety of fuel types, involving numerous combinations of fuel and cladding materials. A broadly based materials database has the following important functions: to facilitate solutions to immediate and pressing materials problems; to facilitate decisions on the most effective long term interim storage methods for numerous fuel types; to maintain and update a basis on which to extend the licenses of storage facilities as regulatory periods expire; to facilitate cost-effective transfer of numerous fuel types to final disposal. Because examinations of radioactive materials are expensive, access to materials data and experience that provide an informed basis to analyse and extrapolate materials behaviour in wet storage environments can facilitate identification of cost-effective approaches to develop and maintain a valuable materials database. Fuel storage options include: leaving the fuel in wet storage, placing the fuel in canisters with cover gases, stored underwater, or transferring the fuel to one of several dry storage modes, involving a range of conditioning options. It is also important to anticipate the condition of the various materials as periods of wet storage are extended or as decisions to transfer to dry storage are implemented. A sound basis for extrapolation is needed to assess fuel and facility component integrity over the expected period of wet storage. A materials database also facilitates assessment of the current condition of specific fuel and facility materials, with minimal investments in direct examinations. This report provides quantitative and semi-quantitative data on materials behaviour or references sources of data to

  19. Durability of spent nuclear fuels and facility components in wet storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-04-01

    Wet storage continues to be the dominant option for the management of irradiated fuel elements and assemblies (fuel units). Fuel types addressed in this study include those used in: power reactors, research and test reactors, and defence reactors. Important decisions must be made regarding acceptable storage modes for a broad variety of fuel types, involving numerous combinations of fuel and cladding materials. A broadly based materials database has the following important functions: to facilitate solutions to immediate and pressing materials problems; to facilitate decisions on the most effective long term interim storage methods for numerous fuel types; to maintain and update a basis on which to extend the licenses of storage facilities as regulatory periods expire; to facilitate cost-effective transfer of numerous fuel types to final disposal. Because examinations of radioactive materials are expensive, access to materials data and experience that provide an informed basis to analyse and extrapolate materials behaviour in wet storage environments can facilitate identification of cost-effective approaches to develop and maintain a valuable materials database. Fuel storage options include: leaving the fuel in wet storage, placing the fuel in canisters with cover gases, stored underwater, or transferring the fuel to one of several dry storage modes, involving a range of conditioning options. It is also important to anticipate the condition of the various materials as periods of wet storage are extended or as decisions to transfer to dry storage are implemented. A sound basis for extrapolation is needed to assess fuel and facility component integrity over the expected period of wet storage. A materials database also facilitates assessment of the current condition of specific fuel and facility materials, with minimal investments in direct examinations. This report provides quantitative and semi-quantitative data on materials behaviour or references sources of data to

  20. Methods for Generating Highly Magnetically Responsive Lanthanide-Chelating Phospholipid Polymolecular Assemblies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isabettini, Stéphane; Baumgartner, Mirjam E; Reckey, Pernille Q; Kohlbrecher, Joachim; Ishikawa, Takashi; Fischer, Peter; Windhab, Erich J; Kuster, Simon

    2017-06-27

    Mixtures of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and its lanthanide ion (Ln 3+ ) chelating phospholipid conjugate, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-ethanolamine-diethylene triaminepentaacetate (DMPE-DTPA), assemble into highly magnetically responsive polymolecular assemblies such as DMPC/DMPE-DTPA/Ln 3+ (molar ratio 4:1:1) bicelles. Their geometry and magnetic alignability is enhanced by introducing cholesterol into the bilayer in DMPC/Cholesterol/DMPE-DTPA/Ln 3+ (molar ratio 16:4:5:5). However, the reported fabrication procedures remain tedious and limit the generation of highly magnetically alignable species. Herein, a simplified procedure where freeze thawing cycles and extrusion are replaced by gentle heating and cooling cycles for the hydration of the dry lipid film was developed. Heating above the phase transition temperature T m of the lipids composing the bilayer before cooling back below the T m was essential to guarantee successful formation of the polymolecular assemblies composed of DMPC/DMPE-DTPA/Ln 3+ (molar ratio 4:1:1). Planar polymolecular assemblies in the size range of hundreds of nanometers are achieved and deliver unprecedented gains in magnetic response. The proposed heating and cooling procedure further allowed to regenerate the highly magnetically alignable DMPC/Cholesterol/DMPE-DTPA/Ln 3+ (molar ratio 16:4:5:5) species after storage for one month frozen at -18 °C. The simplicity and viability of the proposed fabrication procedure offers a new set of highly magnetically responsive lanthanide ion chelating phospholipid polymolecular assemblies as building blocks for the smart soft materials of tomorrow.

  1. Redesign of the spent fuel storage racks at the Trojan Nuclear Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stump, K.

    1987-01-01

    The spent fuel pool (SFP) at the Trojan Nuclear Plant located near Prescott, Oregon, was originally designed to hold 1.33 cores worth of spent fuel assemblies. Due to the delay in the site selection and preparation process for the spent fuel repository, the SFP storage capacity was increased in 1978 from 260 assemblies to 651 assemblies and in 1983 was increased again from 651 to 1408 assemblies to allow Trojan to continue operations through the year 2003 with a full core reserve in the SFP. Now it appears unlikely that a high level waste repository will be in operation before 2010. This indicates that a further capacity increase in the SFP is required to allow commercial operation until 2010, at which time the repository should be open to receive spent fuel. To accomplish this, an increase of seven times the original SFP capacity of 260 assemblies is needed. This paper presents a spent fuel assembly rack design that enables the required capacity increase in the SFP to be met. By the use of a boron carbide - silicon polymer inside a titanium/vanadium honeycomb as a neutron absorber between the fuel assemblies and by increasing the metal to water ratio of the spent fuel pool to harden the neutron energy spectrum the capacity of the SFP is increased to 1880 assemblies for an increase of 7.23 times the original spent fuel pool capacity. The multiplication factor for the pool with every fuel assembly slot filled in the new rack system is 0.62; well below the NRC regulatory limit of keff < 0.95. The capacity increase with allow the commercial operation of the Trojan Nuclear Plant through 2010 with a full core reserve in the spent fuel pool

  2. Tuning different kinds of entangled metal-organic frameworks by modifying the spacer group of aliphatic dicarboxylate ligands and the reactant ratio.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jin-Xia; Zhai, Ji-Quan; Zhang, Xin; Qin, Ye-Yan; Yao, Yuan-Gen

    2016-01-14

    Taking advantage of the conformational flexibility of the bpp ligand and aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, six interesting entangled coordination polymers, {[Cd(fum)(bpp)(H2O)]·(H2O)}n (), {[Cd(fum)(bpp)2]·(H2O)5}n (), {[Cd2(suc)1.5(bpp)2(NO3)(H2O)2]·6H2O}n (), {[Cd(suc)(bpp)2]·(H2O)1.5}n (), {[Cd2(glu)2(bpp)3]·10H2O}n (), and {Cd(adp)(bpp)(H2O)}n () have been prepared and structurally characterized (bpp = 1,3-bi(4-pyridyl)propane, fum = fumaric, suc = succinate, glu = glutaric, adp = adipic). Compounds and are comprised of undulated 2D 4(4)-sql networks. In the structure of compound , two identical undulated layers are parallelly interpenetrated with each other to give a 2D → 2D interpenetrating framework. For , the dangling arms projected from 2D layers are intercalated into the neighboring sheets, producing a 2D → 3D polythreading framework. Compound shows a rare example of a 2D self-penetrating framework with a (3,4)-connected (4(2)·6(3)·8)(4(2)·6) topology. Compound presents an unusual 2D self-threading network with a novel 4-connected {4(2)·6(3)·8} topology. Compound displays a 3D self-penetrating system based on a 2D → 3D parallel polycatenation array. Compound exhibits an unprecedented 3D self-penetrating structure having both 1D + 1D → 1D polycatenation and 3D + 3D → 3D interpenetration characteristics. A comparison of these six compounds demonstrates that both the different spacer lengths of the aliphatic dicarboxylates and reactant ratios appear to play a significant role in the assembly of entangled frameworks. In addition, thermal stabilities and photoluminescence properties of have been examined in the solid state at room temperature.

  3. Investigation on the MOC with a linear source approximation scheme in three-dimensional assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Chenglin; Cao, Xinrong

    2014-01-01

    Method of characteristics (MOC) for solving neutron transport equation has already become one of the fundamental methods for lattice calculation of nuclear design code system. At present, MOC has three schemes to deal with the neutron source of the transport equation: the flat source approximation of the step characteristics (SC) scheme, the diamond difference (DD) scheme and the linear source (LS) characteristics scheme. The MOC for SC scheme and DD scheme need large storage space and long computing time when they are used to calculate large-scale three-dimensional neutron transport problems. In this paper, a LS scheme and its correction for negative source distribution were developed and added to DRAGON code. This new scheme was compared with the SC scheme and DD scheme which had been applied in this code. As an open source code, DRAGON could solve three-dimensional assembly with MOC method. Detailed calculation is conducted on two-dimensional VVER-1000 assembly under three schemes of MOC. The numerical results indicate that coarse mesh could be used in the LS scheme with the same accuracy. And the LS scheme applied in DRAGON is effective and expected results are achieved. Then three-dimensional cell problem and VVER-1000 assembly are calculated with LS scheme and SC scheme. The results show that less memory and shorter computational time are employed in LS scheme compared with SC scheme. It is concluded that by using LS scheme, DRAGON is able to calculate large-scale three-dimensional problems with less storage space and shorter computing time

  4. Equipment for RAW handling, packaging, transport and storage from ZTS VVU KOSICE a.s

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vargovcik, L.

    2004-01-01

    Since 1988, the company ZTS VVU KOSICE has devoted a great part of its activities to the development of equipment for RAW handling, packaging, transport and storage, mainly for application in the decommissioning of NPP A1 at Jaslovske Bohunice in Slovakia. This is a HWGCR NPP shut down following a breakdown in 1977. This incident was caused by disruption of the technological channel serving as a barrier between heavy water moderator and fuel assembly. Damage of this barrier enabled heavy water leakage into the primary circuit with partial fuel elements cladding damage and subsequent additional contamination of the primary circuit. During two consecutive years after the incident main effort was focused on activities related to personnel and environment protection, moderator draining, reactor defuelling, dry cleaning of the primary circuit, repair and maintenance of equipment. The next step was the preparation of the concept of NPP A-1 introduction into dry safe state. The order of importance of RAW liquidation was as follows: 1. Spent fuel - spent fuel assemblies from NPP A-1 were, after short cooling, stored temporarily in storage pipe containers filled at the beginning of NPP operation with ''chrompik'' (an aqueous solution of K 2 Cr 2 O 7 with concentration of 3-5%), later with ''dowtherm'' (mixture of bi-phenyl oxide and bi-phenyl). The containers were placed in a storage pond filled with water. 2. Liquid RAW - combustible (dowtherm, oils) and non-combustible (chrompik, Demi water, decontaminating solutions, sludge, sorbents, etc.) 3. Solid RAW - metallic and non-metallic For this purpose, it was necessary to build RAW processing lines, intermediate storage facilities and systems for manipulation and transport of RAW

  5. Atomic layer deposition of Ru thin film using N{sub 2}/H{sub 2} plasma as a reactant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong, Tae Eun [Busan Center, Korea Basic Science Institute, 1275 Jisadong, Gangseogu, Busan, 618-230 (Korea, Republic of); Mun, Ki-Yeung; Choi, Sang-Kyung; Park, Ji-Yoon [School of Materials Science and Engineering Yeungnam University 214-1, Dae-dong, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Soo-Hyun, E-mail: soohyun@ynu.ac.kr [School of Materials Science and Engineering Yeungnam University 214-1, Dae-dong, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Cheon, Taehoon [Center for Core Research Facilities, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Sang-ri, Hyeonpung-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Woo Kyoung [School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, 214-1, Dae-dong, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Byoung-Yong; Kim, Sunjung [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ulsan, Mugeo-dong, Nam-go, Ulsan, 680-749 (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-07-31

    Ruthenium (Ru) thin films were grown by atomic layer deposition using IMBCHRu [({eta}6-1-Isopropyl-4-MethylBenzene)({eta}4-CycloHexa-1,3-diene)Ruthenium(0)] as a precursor and a nitrogen-hydrogen mixture (N{sub 2}/H{sub 2}) plasma as a reactant, at the substrate temperature of 270 Degree-Sign C. In the wide range of the ratios of N{sub 2} and total gas flow rates (fN{sub 2}/N{sub 2} + H{sub 2}) from 0.12 to 0.70, pure Ru films with negligible nitrogen incorporation of 0.5 at.% were obtained, with resistivities ranging from {approx} 20 to {approx} 30 {mu} Ohm-Sign cm. A growth rate of 0.057 nm/cycle and negligible incubation cycle for the growth on SiO{sub 2} was observed, indicating the fast nucleation of Ru. The Ru films formed polycrystalline and columnar grain structures with a hexagonal-close-packed phase. Its resistivity was dependent on the crystallinity, which could be controlled by varying the deposition parameters such as plasma power and pulsing time. Cu was electroplated on a 10-nm-thick Ru film. Interestingly, it was found that the nitrogen could be incorporated into Ru at a higher reactant gas ratio of 0.86. The N-incorporated Ru film ({approx} 20 at.% of N) formed a nanocrystalline and non-columnar grain structure with the resistivity of {approx} 340 {mu} Ohm-Sign cm. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Ru and N-incorporated Ru film using N{sub 2}/H{sub 2} plasma. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The growth rate of 0.057 nm/cycle and negligible incubation cycle. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A low resistivity of Ru ({approx} 16.5 {mu} Ohm-Sign cm) at the deposition temperature of 270 Degree-Sign C. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Electroplating of Cu on a 10-nm-thick ALD-Ru film.

  6. A continuous flow microfluidic calorimeter: 3-D numerical modeling with aqueous reactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sen, Mehmet A.; Kowalski, Gregory J.; Fiering, Jason; Larson, Dale

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A co-flow microreactor is modeled in flow, reaction/diffusion, and thermal domains. • Analysis shows how arrayed temperature sensors can provide enthalpy of reaction. • Optical plasmonic temperature sensors could be arrayed suitably for calorimetry. • The reactor studied has a volume of 25 nL. - Abstract: A computational analysis of the reacting flow field, species diffusion and heat transfer processes with thermal boundary layer effects in a microchannel reactor with a coflow configuration was performed. Two parallel adjacent streams of aqueous reactants flow along a wide, shallow, enclosed channel in contact with a substrate, which is affixed to a temperature controlled plate. The Fluent computational fluid dynamics package solved the Navier–Stokes, mass transport and energy equations. The energy model, including the enthalpy of reaction as a nonuniform heat source, was validated by calculating the energy balance at several control volumes in the microchannel. Analysis reveals that the temperature is nearly uniform across the channel thickness, in the direction normal to the substrate surface; hence, measurements made by sensors at or near the surface are representative of the average temperature. Additionally, modeling the channel with a glass substrate and a silicone cover shows that heat transfer is predominantly due to the glass substrate. Finally, using the numerical results, we suggest that a microcalorimeter could be based on this configuration, and that temperature sensors such as optical nanohole array sensors could have sufficient spatial resolution to determine enthalpy of reaction

  7. A continuous flow microfluidic calorimeter: 3-D numerical modeling with aqueous reactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sen, Mehmet A., E-mail: mehmet.sen@mathworks.com [Northeastern University, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 360 Hungtington Avenue, 334 Snell Engineering Center, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Kowalski, Gregory J., E-mail: gkowal@coe.neu.edu [Northeastern University, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 360 Hungtington Avenue, 334 Snell Engineering Center, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Fiering, Jason, E-mail: jfiering@draper.com [Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Larson, Dale, E-mail: dlarson@draper.com [Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2015-03-10

    Highlights: • A co-flow microreactor is modeled in flow, reaction/diffusion, and thermal domains. • Analysis shows how arrayed temperature sensors can provide enthalpy of reaction. • Optical plasmonic temperature sensors could be arrayed suitably for calorimetry. • The reactor studied has a volume of 25 nL. - Abstract: A computational analysis of the reacting flow field, species diffusion and heat transfer processes with thermal boundary layer effects in a microchannel reactor with a coflow configuration was performed. Two parallel adjacent streams of aqueous reactants flow along a wide, shallow, enclosed channel in contact with a substrate, which is affixed to a temperature controlled plate. The Fluent computational fluid dynamics package solved the Navier–Stokes, mass transport and energy equations. The energy model, including the enthalpy of reaction as a nonuniform heat source, was validated by calculating the energy balance at several control volumes in the microchannel. Analysis reveals that the temperature is nearly uniform across the channel thickness, in the direction normal to the substrate surface; hence, measurements made by sensors at or near the surface are representative of the average temperature. Additionally, modeling the channel with a glass substrate and a silicone cover shows that heat transfer is predominantly due to the glass substrate. Finally, using the numerical results, we suggest that a microcalorimeter could be based on this configuration, and that temperature sensors such as optical nanohole array sensors could have sufficient spatial resolution to determine enthalpy of reaction.

  8. Treatment method of hydrogen storage alloy for battery; Denchiyo suiso kyuzo gokin no shori hoho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Negi, Y.; Kaminaka, H.; Nagata, T.; Takeshita, Y.

    1997-04-04

    A nickel-hydrogen battery using a hydrogen storage alloy takes considerably long time for the initial activation treatment after the assembly of the battery. In this invention, a hydrogen storage alloy containing nickel is immersed in an aqueous acid solution or an aqueous alkaline solution and washed with a solution containing a complexing agent to form a nickel complex by a reaction with Ni(OH)2 in a concentration of 10{sup -6} to 10{sup -1} followed by washing with water. By using this method, hydroxides, particularly, Ni(OH)2 deposited on the alloy surface on the treatment of the hydrogen storage alloy with aqueous acid or alkaline solution can be removed efficiently to afford the hydrogen storage alloy with a high initial activity. The hydrogen storage alloy which is the object of this treatment method is AB5 type and AB2 type alloy used for a nickel-hydrogen battery and an alloy composed of nickel is particularly preferable. The complexing agent is selected from ammonia, ethylenediamine and cyanides. 2 figs., 6 tabs.

  9. Towards Ordered Silicon Nanostructures through Self-Assembling Mechanisms and Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. A. Puglisi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The design and development of innovative architectures for memory storage and energy conversion devices are at the forefront of current research efforts driving us towards a sustainable future. However, issues related to the cost, efficiency, and reliability of current technologies are still severely limiting their overtake of the standard designs. The use of ordered nanostructured silicon is expected to overcome these limitations and push the advancement of the alternative technologies. Specifically, self-assembling of block copolymers has been recognized as a promising and cost-effective approach to organize silicon nanostructures. This work reviews some of the most important findings on block copolymer self-assembling and complements those with the results of new experimental studies. First of all, a quantitative analysis is presented on the ordering and fluctuations expected in the synthesis of silicon nanostructures by using standard synthesis methods like chemical vapour deposition. Then the effects of the several parameters guiding the ordering mechanisms in the block copolymer systems, such as film thickness, molecular weight, annealing conditions, solvent, and substrate topography are discussed. Finally, as a proof of concept, an in-house developed example application to solar cells is presented, based on silicon nanostructures resulting from self-assembling of block copolymers.

  10. Natural convection heat transfer within horizontal spent nuclear fuel assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canaan, R.E.

    1995-12-01

    Natural convection heat transfer is experimentally investigated in an enclosed horizontal rod bundle, which characterizes a spent nuclear fuel assembly during dry storage and/or transport conditions. The basic test section consists of a square array of sixty-four stainless steel tubular heaters enclosed within a water-cooled rectangular copper heat exchanger. The heaters are supplied with a uniform power generation per unit length while the surrounding enclosure is maintained at a uniform temperature. The test section resides within a vacuum/pressure chamber in order to subject the assembly to a range of pressure statepoints and various backfill gases. The objective of this experimental study is to obtain convection correlations which can be used in order to easily incorporate convective effects into analytical models of horizontal spent fuel systems, and also to investigate the physical nature of natural convection in enclosed horizontal rod bundles in general. The resulting data consist of: (1) measured temperatures within the assembly as a function of power, pressure, and backfill gas; (2) the relative radiative contribution for the range of observed temperatures; (3) correlations of convective Nusselt number and Rayleigh number for the rod bundle as a whole; and (4) correlations of convective Nusselt number as a function of Rayleigh number for individual rods within the array

  11. Status of the Cryogenic Storage Ring (CSR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menk, Sebastian; Becker, Arno; Berg, Felix; Blaum, Klaus; Fellenberger, Florian; Froese, Michael; Goullon, Johannes; Grieser, Manfred; Krantz, Claude; Lange, Michael; Laux, Felix; Repnow, Roland; Schornikov, Andrey; Hahn, Robert von; Wolf, Andreas [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik (MPIK), 69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Spruck, Kaija [Institut fuer Atom- und Molekuelphysik Justus-Liebig-Universitaet, 35392 Giessen (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    A novel cryogenic storage ring is currently under construction at the MPIK. By electrostatic ion optical elements, the 35 m circumference Cryogenic Storage Ring will be able to store ions at energies of up to 300 keV per charge unit without any mass limitations. The CSR consists of a cryogenic ({proportional_to}5 K) beam pipe surrounded by two radiation shields (40 and 80 K) in a large outer, thermal insulation vacuum. Extreme vacuum (density {proportional_to}10{sup 3} cm{sup -3}) will be achieved by 2 K cryopumping as demonstrated in a prototype ion beam trap. The ion optics was completely assembled within the precision cryogenic mounting and shielding structure of the first corner. There, cooldown tests to {proportional_to}40 K were performed which confirmed the required sub-millimeter accuracy of the specially designed electrode positioning under large temperature changes. The high-voltage connections to the cryogenic electrodes were installed and breakdown tests will be reported. Based on the test results the beam pipe, electrode mounting and shielding structures are under final construction for mounting during 2012.

  12. Energy storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This chapter discusses the role that energy storage may have on the energy future of the US. The topics discussed in the chapter include historical aspects of energy storage, thermal energy storage including sensible heat storage, latent heat storage, thermochemical heat storage, and seasonal heat storage, electricity storage including batteries, pumped hydroelectric storage, compressed air energy storage, and superconducting magnetic energy storage, and production and combustion of hydrogen as an energy storage option

  13. Final Report: Hydrogen Storage System Cost Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    James, Brian David [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Houchins, Cassidy [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Huya-Kouadio, Jennie Moton [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); DeSantis, Daniel A. [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States)

    2016-09-30

    The Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has identified hydrogen storage as a key enabling technology for advancing hydrogen and fuel cell power technologies in transportation, stationary, and portable applications. Consequently, FCTO has established targets to chart the progress of developing and demonstrating viable hydrogen storage technologies for transportation and stationary applications. This cost assessment project supports the overall FCTO goals by identifying the current technology system components, performance levels, and manufacturing/assembly techniques most likely to lead to the lowest system storage cost. Furthermore, the project forecasts the cost of these systems at a variety of annual manufacturing rates to allow comparison to the overall 2017 and “Ultimate” DOE cost targets. The cost breakdown of the system components and manufacturing steps can then be used to guide future research and development (R&D) decisions. The project was led by Strategic Analysis Inc. (SA) and aided by Rajesh Ahluwalia and Thanh Hua from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Lin Simpson at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Since SA coordinated the project activities of all three organizations, this report includes a technical description of all project activity. This report represents a summary of contract activities and findings under SA’s five year contract to the US Department of Energy (Award No. DE-EE0005253) and constitutes the “Final Scientific Report” deliverable. Project publications and presentations are listed in the Appendix.

  14. Trial evaluation on criticality safety of the fuel assemblies at falling accident as spent fuel transport and storage cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tadano, Tomoaki

    2016-01-01

    The authors conducted critical safety assessment on the supposed event at the time of a fall accident of cask, and examined the influence on criticality safety. If the spacer of fuel assembly is sound, it is assumed that the pitch of fuel rod interval changes, and if the spacer is broken, it is assumed that the fuel rod is unevenly distributed in the basket. For the critical calculation of fuel assembly basket system, they performed it using a calculation code. For both of the single cell and assembly, calculation results showed an increase in the effective multiplication factor of reactivity of 2-3%. When this reactivity is applied to the criticality analysis result of PWR fuel assembly, the value approaches to the limit 0.95 of the neutron effective multiplication factor keff. However, the keff when new fuel is loaded is sufficiently lower than 0.93. Therefore, it is unlikely that the criticality analysis result approaches to 0.95 at all burnups, and the possibility to become criticality is very low in actual spent fuel transport. When considering the reactivity of this research, it is possible that the design condition for the assumption of novel fuel loading becomes severer. Furthermore, criticality analysis under non-uniform pitch will become necessary, and criticality safety analysis for BWR fuel with heterogeneous enrichment degree and burnup degree will become also necessary. (A.O.)

  15. Spent fuel handling and storage facility for an LWR fuel reprocessing plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, W.H.; King, F.D.

    1979-01-01

    The facility will have the capability to handle spent fuel assemblies containing 10 MTHM/day, with 30% if the fuel received in legal weight truck (LWT) casks and the remaining fuel received in rail casks. The storage capacity will be about 30% of the annual throughput of the reprocessing plant. This size will provide space for a working inventory of about 50 days plant throughput and empty storage space to receive any fuel that might be in transit of the reprocessing plant should have an outage. Spent LWR fuel assemblies outside the confines of the shipping cask will be handled and stored underwater. To permit drainage, each water pool will be designed so that it can be isolated from the remaining pools. Pool water quality will be controlled by a filter-deionizer system. Radioactivity in the water will be maintained at less than or equal to 2 x 10 -4 Ci/m 3 ; conductivity will be maintained at 1 to 2 μmho/cm. The temperature of the pool water will be maintained at less than or equal to 40 0 C to retard algae growth and reduce evaporation. Decay heat will be transferred to the environment via a heat exchanger-cooling tower system

  16. Heat storage properties of organic phase-change materials confined in the nanospace of mesoporous SBA-15 and CMK-3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadoono, Tomosuke; Ogura, Masaru

    2014-03-28

    A novel type of material encapsulating phase-change materials (PCMs) is reported concerning their implication for use as thermal energy storage devices. The composites of siliceous SBA-15 or carbonaceous CMK-3 mesoporous assemblies and organic PCMs could be used to make leak-free devices that retain their capabilities over many thermal cycles for heat storage/release. A confinement effect was observed that alters the thermal properties of the encapsulated PCM, especially in CMK-3 without any similar effects in other carbon materials.

  17. The reactants equation of state for the tri-amino-tri-nitro-benzene (TATB) based explosive PBX 9502

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aslam, Tariq D.

    2017-07-01

    The response of high explosives (HEs), due to mechanical and/or thermal insults, is of great importance for both safety and performance. A major component of how an HE responds to these stimuli stems from its reactant equation of state (EOS). Here, the tri-amino-tri-nitro-benzene based explosive PBX 9502 is investigated by examining recent experiments. Furthermore, a complete thermal EOS is calibrated based on the functional form devised by Wescott, Stewart, and Davis [J. Appl. Phys. 98, 053514 (2005)]. It is found, by comparing to earlier calibrations, that a variety of thermodynamic data are needed to sufficiently constrain the EOS response over a wide range of thermodynamic state space. Included in the calibration presented here is the specific heat as a function of temperature, isobaric thermal expansion, and shock Hugoniot response. As validation of the resulting model, isothermal compression and isentropic compression are compared with recent experiments.

  18. Sensor mount assemblies and sensor assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, David H [Redondo Beach, CA

    2012-04-10

    Sensor mount assemblies and sensor assemblies are provided. In an embodiment, by way of example only, a sensor mount assembly includes a busbar, a main body, a backing surface, and a first finger. The busbar has a first end and a second end. The main body is overmolded onto the busbar. The backing surface extends radially outwardly relative to the main body. The first finger extends axially from the backing surface, and the first finger has a first end, a second end, and a tooth. The first end of the first finger is disposed on the backing surface, and the tooth is formed on the second end of the first finger.

  19. Rewritable three-dimensional holographic data storage via optical forces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yetisen, Ali K., E-mail: ayetisen@mgh.harvard.edu [Harvard Medical School and Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Montelongo, Yunuen [Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Butt, Haider [Nanotechnology Laboratory, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom)

    2016-08-08

    The development of nanostructures that can be reversibly arranged and assembled into 3D patterns may enable optical tunability. However, current dynamic recording materials such as photorefractive polymers cannot be used to store information permanently while also retaining configurability. Here, we describe the synthesis and optimization of a silver nanoparticle doped poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) recording medium for reversibly recording 3D holograms. We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate organizing nanoparticles into 3D assemblies in the recording medium using optical forces produced by the gradients of standing waves. The nanoparticles in the recording medium are organized by multiple nanosecond laser pulses to produce reconfigurable slanted multilayer structures. We demonstrate the capability of producing rewritable optical elements such as multilayer Bragg diffraction gratings, 1D photonic crystals, and 3D multiplexed optical gratings. We also show that 3D virtual holograms can be reversibly recorded. This recording strategy may have applications in reconfigurable optical elements, data storage devices, and dynamic holographic displays.

  20. Fuel cell cooler-humidifier plate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitale, Nicholas G.; Jones, Daniel O.

    2000-01-01

    A cooler-humidifier plate for use in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack assembly is provided. The cooler-humidifier plate combines functions of cooling and humidification within the fuel cell stack assembly, thereby providing a more compact structure, simpler manifolding, and reduced reject heat from the fuel cell. Coolant on the cooler side of the plate removes heat generated within the fuel cell assembly. Heat is also removed by the humidifier side of the plate for use in evaporating the humidification water. On the humidifier side of the plate, evaporating water humidifies reactant gas flowing over a moistened wick. After exiting the humidifier side of the plate, humidified reactant gas provides needed moisture to the proton exchange membranes used in the fuel cell stack assembly. The invention also provides a fuel cell plate that maximizes structural support within the fuel cell by ensuring that the ribs that form the boundaries of channels on one side of the plate have ends at locations that substantially correspond to the locations of ribs on the opposite side of the plate.

  1. Agent-based simulation of reactions in the crowded and structured intracellular environment: Influence of mobility and location of the reactants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lapin Alexei

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In this paper we apply a novel agent-based simulation method in order to model intracellular reactions in detail. The simulations are performed within a virtual cytoskeleton enriched with further crowding elements, which allows the analysis of molecular crowding effects on intracellular diffusion and reaction rates. The cytoskeleton network leads to a reduction in the mobility of molecules. Molecules can also unspecifically bind to membranes or the cytoskeleton affecting (i the fraction of unbound molecules in the cytosol and (ii furthermore reducing the mobility. Binding of molecules to intracellular structures or scaffolds can in turn lead to a microcompartmentalization of the cell. Especially the formation of enzyme complexes promoting metabolic channeling, e.g. in glycolysis, depends on the co-localization of the proteins. Results While the co-localization of enzymes leads to faster reaction rates, the reduced mobility decreases the collision rate of reactants, hence reducing the reaction rate, as expected. This effect is most prominent in diffusion limited reactions. Furthermore, anomalous diffusion can occur due to molecular crowding in the cell. In the context of diffusion controlled reactions, anomalous diffusion leads to fractal reaction kinetics. The simulation framework is used to quantify and separate the effects originating from molecular crowding or the reduced mobility of the reactants. We were able to define three factors which describe the effective reaction rate, namely f diff for the diffusion effect, f volume for the crowding, and f access for the reduced accessibility of the molecules. Conclusions Molecule distributions, reaction rate constants and structural parameters can be adjusted separately in the simulation allowing a comprehensive study of individual effects in the context of a realistic cell environment. As such, the present simulation can help to bridge the gap between in vivo and in vitro

  2. Simulation and analysis of the plutonium oxide/metal storage containers subject to various loading conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gong, C.; Miller, R.F.

    1995-05-01

    The structural and functional requirements of the Plutonium Oxide/Metal Storage Containers are specified in the Report ''Complex 21 Plutonium Storage Facility Material Containment Team Technical Data Report'' [Complex 21, 1993]. There are no existing storage containers designed for long term storage of plutonium and current codes, standards or regulations do not adequately cover this case. As there is no extensive experience with the long term (50+ years) storage of plutonium, the design of high integrity storage containers must address many technical considerations. This analysis discusses a few potential natural phenomena that could theoretically adversely affect the container integrity over time. The plutonium oxide/metal storage container consists of a primary containment vessel (the outer container), a bagless transfer can (the inner container), two vertical plates on top of the primary containment vessel, a circular plate (the flange) supported by the two plates, tube for gas sampling operations mounted at the center of the primary containment vessel top and a spring system being inserted in the cavity between the primary containment vessel and the cap of the bagless transfer can. The dimensions of the plutonium oxide/metal storage container assembly can be found in Figure 2-1. The primary container, the bagless transfer can, and all the attached components are made of Type 304L stainless steel

  3. Method of preventing criticality of fresh fuel assembly in storage facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Makoto.

    1990-01-01

    With an aim of improving the operation efficiency of a reactor, extention of the operation cycle by increasing U 235 enrichment degree of fuel uranium is planned. However, along with the increase of the enrichment degree of the fuel uranium, there occurs a problem of criticality upon fuel handling. Then, in the present invention, boric acid incorporating B-10 of great neutron absorption effect are packed with water soluble polymeric materials which are further packed with a fuel packing sheet, or the water soluble polymeric materials incorporating boric acids are packed with fuel packing sheets which are disposed to a fresh fuel assembly and stored in a store house as they are. The fuel packing sheet is a perforated sheet having a plurality of water intruding pores. Then, if water should intrude to the store house accidentally, the water soluble polymeric materials are dissolved, so that the intruded water is converted into aqueous boric acid easily and absorbs neutrons effectively to thereby attain the prevention of criticality. (T.M.)

  4. Advanced surveillance technologies for used fuel long-term storage and transportation - 59032

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsai, Hanchung; Liu, Yung Y.; Nutt, Mark; Shuler, James

    2012-01-01

    Utilities worldwide are using dry-cask storage systems to handle the ever-increasing number of discharged fuel assemblies from nuclear power plants. In the United States and possibly elsewhere, this trend will continue until an acceptable disposal path is established. The recent Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, specifically the events with the storage pools, may accelerate the drive to relocate more of the used fuel assemblies from pools into dry casks. Many of the newer cask systems incorporate dual-purpose (storage and transport) or multiple-purpose (storage, transport, and disposal) canister technologies. With the prospect looming for very long term storage - possibly over multiple decades - and deferred transport, condition- and performance-based aging management of cask structures and components is now a necessity that requires immediate attention. From the standpoint of consequences, one of the greatest concerns is the rupture of a substantial number of fuel rods that would affect fuel retrievability. Used fuel cladding may become susceptible to rupture due to radial-hydride-induced embrittlement caused by water-side corrosion during the reactor operation and subsequent drying/transfer process, through early stage of storage in a dry cask, especially for high burnup fuels. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an automated data capture and remote-sensing technology ideally suited for monitoring sensitive assets on a long-term, continuous basis. One such system, called ARG-US, has been developed by Argonne National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy's Packaging Certification Program for tracking and monitoring drums containing sensitive nuclear and radioactive materials. The ARG-US RFID system is versatile and can be readily adapted for dry-cask monitoring applications. The current built-in sensor suite consists of seal, temperature, humidity, shock, and radiation sensors. With the universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter interface in

  5. Self-Assembly of Bi2Te3-Nanoplate/Graphene-Nanosheet Hybrid by One-Pot Route and Its Improved Li-Storage Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinbing Zhao

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available A sandwich structured Bi2Te3-nanoplates/graphene-nanosheet (Bi2Te3/G hybrid has been synthesized by a facile in situ solvothermal route and has been investigated as a potential anode material for Li-ion batteries. Bi2Te3 grows during the solvothermal process with the simultaneous reduction of graphite oxide into graphene. The in situ formation process of the hybrid has been investigated by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectra. The Li-storage mechanism and performance of Bi2Te3/G and bare Bi2Te3 have been studied by galvanostatic cycling and cyclic voltammetry. The Bi2Te3/G sandwich exhibits an obviously improved cycling stability compared to bare Bi2Te3. The enhancement in electrochemical performance can be attributed to the combined conducting, confining and dispersing effects of graphene for Bi2Te3 nanoplates and to the self-assembled sandwich structure.

  6. Logistics of LHC cryodipoles from simulation to storage management

    CERN Document Server

    Foraz, K; CERN. Geneva; CERN. Geneva. TS Department

    2004-01-01

    The main families of LHC superconducting cryomagnets consist of approximately 1240 cryodipoles and 480 Short Straight Sections (SSS). The different contracts, which are constraining the production and installation of these cryomagnets, have been initially rated according to the baseline schedule, based on a "just in time" scheme. However the complexity of the construction and the time required to fully test the cryomagnets require that each contract is decoupled as much as possible from the others' evolutions and impose temporary storage between different assembly and test activities. Therefore, a tool simulating the logistics over the whole duration of the project was created in order to determine the number of cryomagnets to be stored at the various stages of their production. In this paper the organization of cryomagnet flow and the main challenges of logistics are analyzed on the basis of the planning of each main step before installation in the LHC. Finally, the solutions implemented for storage, handlin...

  7. ACCELERATORS: Beam based alignment of the SSRF storage ring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Man-Zhou; Li, Hao-Hu; Jiang, Bo-Cheng; Liu, Gui-Min; Li, De-Ming

    2009-04-01

    There are 140 beam position monitors (BPMs) in the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) storage ring used for measuring the closed orbit. As the BPM pickup electrodes are assembled directly on the vacuum chamber, it is important to calibrate the electrical center offset of the BPM to an adjacent quadrupole magnetic center. A beam based alignment (BBA) method which varies individual quadrupole magnet strength and observes its effects on the orbit is used to measure the BPM offsets in both the horizontal and vertical planes. It is a completely automated technique with various data processing methods. There are several parameters such as the strength change of the correctors and the quadrupoles which should be chosen carefully in real measurement. After several rounds of BBA measurement and closed orbit correction, these offsets are set to an accuracy better than 10 μm. In this paper we present the method of beam based calibration of BPMs, the experimental results of the SSRF storage ring, and the error analysis.

  8. Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment (HTRE)-3 Container Storage Unit Resource Conservation Recovery Act closure plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spry, M.J.

    1992-11-01

    This document describes the closure of the HTRE-3 Container Storage Unit under the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The unit's location, size, history, and current status are described. The document also summarizes the decontamination and decommissioning efforts performed in 1983 and provides an estimate of,waste residues remaining in the HTRE-3 assembly. A risk evaluation was performed that demonstrates that the residue does not pose a hazard to public health or the environment. Based on the risk evaluation, it is proposed that the HTRE-3 Container Storage Unit be closed in its present condition, without further decontamination or removal activities

  9. Energy Storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eaton, William W.

    Described are technological considerations affecting storage of energy, particularly electrical energy. The background and present status of energy storage by batteries, water storage, compressed air storage, flywheels, magnetic storage, hydrogen storage, and thermal storage are discussed followed by a review of development trends. Included are…

  10. Burnup credit calculations for criticality safety justification for RBMK-1000 spent fuel of transport and storage systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Galchenko

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In present paper the burnup credit calculations for TK-8 transport container and SVJP-1 spent fuel storage fa-cility of pool type with RBMK-1000 spent fuel during 100-years of cooling time were performed for criticality safety analysis purpose using MCNP and SCALE codes. Only actinides were taken into account for these critical systems. Two approaches were analyzed with isotopes distribution calculations along fuel assembly height and without it. The results show that subcriticality margin is increased considerably using burnup credit and isotopes distribution along fuel assembly height made this value more reasonable.

  11. Vacuum technologies developed for at-400A Type B transportation and storage package

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Franklin, K.W.; Cockrell, G.D.

    1995-01-01

    The AT-400A TYPE B transportation and storage container will be used at Pantex Plant for the transportation and interim storage of plutonium pits. The AT-400A was designed by a joint effort between Sandia National Labs, Los Alamos National Labs, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc. In order to meet the requirements for transportation and storage, five different vacuum technologies had to be developed. The goals of the various vacuum technologies were to verify the plutonium pit was sealed, perform the assembly verification leak check in accordance with ANSI N-14.5 and to provide a final inert gas backfill in the containment vessel. This paper will discuss the following five vacuum technologies: (1) Pit Leak Testing, (2) Containment Vessel Purge and Backfill with tracer gas, (3) Containment Vessel Leak Testing, (4) Containment Vessel Purge and Final Backfill, and (5) Leak Testing of the Containment Vessel Gas Transfer tube

  12. Self-Assembly of TiO2/CdS Mesoporous Microspheres with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity via Hydrothermal Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sujing Yu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Self assembly of TiO2/CdS mesoporous microspheres was synthesized via hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis (EDS, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, and photoluminescence spectra (PL. The as-synthesized TiO2/CdS mesoporous microspheres showed superior photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB under either visible light or simulated sunlight irradiation; the 10 wt% TiO2/CdS sample showed the best performance. Moreover, this catalyst showed improved stability, and the activity did not decrease significantly after four recycles. The heterojunction between TiO2 and CdS may be favorable for the transport of photoinduced electrons from CdS to TiO2. In addition, the mesoporous structure could increase the utilization of light energy and facilitate the diffusion of reactants and products during the photocatalytic reaction.

  13. Underground Storage Tanks - Storage Tank Locations

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — A Storage Tank Location is a DEP primary facility type, and its sole sub-facility is the storage tank itself. Storage tanks are aboveground or underground, and are...

  14. Block copolymer-nanoparticle hybrid self-assembly

    KAUST Repository

    Hoheisel, Tobias N.; Hur, Kahyun; Wiesner, Ulrich B.

    2015-01-01

    © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Polymer-inorganic hybrid materials provide exciting opportunities as they may display favorable properties from both constituents that are desired in applications including catalysis and energy conversion and storage. For the preparation of hybrid materials with well-defined morphologies, block copolymer-directed nanoparticle hybrids present a particularly promising approach. As will be described in this review, once the fundamental characteristics for successful nanostructure formation at or close to the thermodynamic equilibrium of these nanocomposites are identified, the approach can be generalized to various materials classes. In addition to the discussion of recent materials developments based on the use of AB diblock copolymers as well as ABC triblock terpolymers, this review will therefore emphasize progress in the fundamental understanding of the underlying formation mechanisms of such hybrid materials. To this end, critical experiments for, as well as theoretical progress in the description of these nanostructured block copolymer-based hybrid materials will be discussed. Rather than providing a comprehensive overview, the review will emphasize work by the Wiesner group at Cornell University, US, on block copolymer-directed nanoparticle assemblies as well as their use in first potential application areas. The results provide powerful design criteria for wet-chemical synthesis methodologies for the generation of functional nanomaterials for applications ranging from microelectronics to catalysis to energy conversion and storage.

  15. Basket criticality design of a dual purpose cask for VVER 1000 spent fuel assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rezaeian, Mahdi [Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kamali, Jamshid [Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    Dual purpose cask technology is one of the most prominent options for interim storage of spent fuels following their removal from reactors. Criticality safety of the spent fuel assemblies are ensured by design of the basket within these casks. In this study, a set of criticality design calculations of a dual purpose cask for 12 VVER 1000 spent fuel assemblies of Bushehr nuclear power plant were carried out. The basket material of borated stainless steel with 0.5 to 2.5 wt% of boron and Boral (Al-B{sub 4}C) with 1.5 to 40 wt% of boron carbide, were investigated and the minimum required receptacle pitch of the basket was determined. Using the calculated receptacle pitch of the basket, the minimum required diameter of the cavity could be established.

  16. Enhanced magnetostriction derived from magnetic single domain structures in cluster-assembled SmCo films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Yulong; Yang, Bo; Guo, Fei; Lu, Qingshan; Zhao, Shifeng

    2017-11-01

    Cluster-assembled SmCo alloy films were prepared by low energy cluster beam deposition. The structure, magnetic domain, magnetization, and magnetostriction of the films were characterized. It is shown that the as-prepared films are assembled in compact and uniformly distributed spherical cluster nanoparticles, most of which, after vacuum in situ annealing at 700 K, aggregated to form cluster islands. These cluster islands result in transformations from superparamagnetic states to magnetic single domain (MSD) states in the films. Such MSD structures contribute to the enhanced magnetostrictive behaviors with a saturation magnetostrictive coefficient of 160 × 10-6 in comparison to 105 × 10-6 for the as-prepared films. This work demonstrates candidate materials that could be applied in nano-electro-mechanical systems, low power information storage, and weak magnetic detecting devices.

  17. One-Dimensional Multichromophor Arrays Based on DNA: From Self-Assembly to Light-Harvesting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ensslen, Philipp; Wagenknecht, Hans-Achim

    2015-10-20

    Light-harvesting complexes collect light energy and deliver it by a cascade of energy and electron transfer processes to the reaction center where charge separation leads to storage as chemical energy. The design of artificial light-harvesting assemblies faces enormous challenges because several antenna chromophores need to be kept in close proximity but self-quenching needs to be avoided. Double stranded DNA as a supramolecular scaffold plays a promising role due to its characteristic structural properties. Automated DNA synthesis allows incorporation of artificial chromophore-modified building blocks, and sequence design allows precise control of the distances and orientations between the chromophores. The helical twist between the chromophores, which is induced by the DNA framework, controls energy and electron transfer and thereby reduces the self-quenching that is typically observed in chromophore aggregates. This Account summarizes covalently multichromophore-modified DNA and describes how such multichromophore arrays were achieved by Watson-Crick-specific and DNA-templated self-assembly. The covalent DNA systems were prepared by incorporation of chromophores as DNA base substitutions (either as C-nucleosides or with acyclic linkers as substitutes for the 2'-deoxyribofuranoside) and as DNA base modifications. Studies with DNA base substitutions revealed that distances but more importantly relative orientations of the chromophores govern the energy transfer efficiencies and thereby the light-harvesting properties. With DNA base substitutions, duplex stabilization was faced and could be overcome, for instance, by zipper-like placement of the chromophores in both strands. For both principal structural approaches, DNA-based light-harvesting antenna could be realized. The major disadvantages, however, for covalent multichromophore DNA conjugates are the poor yields of synthesis and the solubility issues for oligonucleotides with more than 5-10 chromophore

  18. BWR spent fuel storage cask performance test. Volume 1. Cask handling experience and decay heat, heat transfer, and shielding data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKinnon, M.A.; Doman, J.W.; Tanner, J.E.; Guenther, R.J.; Creer, J.M.; King, C.E.

    1986-02-01

    This report documents a heat transfer and shielding performance test conducted on a Ridihalgh, Eggers and Associates REA 2023 boiling water reactor (BWR) spent fuel storage cask. The testing effort consisted of three parts: pretest preparations, performance testing, and post-test activities. Pretest preparations included conducting cask handling dry runs and characterizing BWR spent fuel assemblies from Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station. The performance test matrix included 14 runs consisting of two loadings, two cask orientations, and three backfill environments. Post-test activities included calorimetry and axial radiation scans of selected fuel assemblies, in-basin sipping of each assembly, crud collection, video and photographic scans, and decontamination of the cask interior and exterior

  19. Glycerol transesterification with ethyl acetate to synthesize acetins using ethyl acetate as reactant and entrainer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin Shafiei

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Transesterification of glycerol with ethyl acetate was performed over acidic catalysts in the batch and semi-batch systems. Ethyl acetate was used as reactant and entrainer to remove the produced ethanol during the reaction, through azeotrope formation. Since the azeotrope of ethyl acetate and ethanol forms at 70 oC, all the experiments were performed at this temperature. Para-toluene sulfonic acid, sulfuric acid, and Amberlyst 36 were used as catalyst. The effect of process parameters including ethyl acetate to glycerol molar ratio (6-12, reaction time (3-9 h, and the catalyst to glycerol weight (2.5-9.0%, on the conversion and products selectivities were investigated. Under reflux conditions, 100% glycerol conversion was obtained with 45%, 44%, and 11% selectivity to monoacetin, diacetin, and triacetin, respectively. Azeotropic reactive distillation led to 100% conversion of glycerol with selectivities of 3%, 48% and 49% for monoacetin, diacetin, and triacetin. During the azeotropic reactive distillation, it was possible to remove ethanol to shift the equilibrium towards diacetin and triacetin. Therefore, the total selectivity to diacetin and triacetin was increased from 55% to 97% through azeotropic distillation.

  20. An overview of Ball Aerospace cryogen storage and delivery systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marquardt, J; Keller, J; Mills, G; Schmidt, J

    2015-01-01

    Starting on the Gemini program in the 1960s, Beech Aircraft (now Ball Aerospace) has been designing and manufacturing dewars for a variety of cryogens including liquid hydrogen and oxygen. These dewars flew on the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle spacecraft providing fuel cell reactants resulting in over 150 manned spaceflights. Since Space Shuttle, Ball has also built the liquid hydrogen fuel tanks for the Boeing Phantom Eye unmanned aerial vehicle. Returning back to its fuel cell days, Ball has designed, built and tested a volume-constrained liquid hydrogen and oxygen tank system for reactant delivery to fuel cells on unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). Herein past history of Ball technology is described. Testing has been completed on the UUV specific design, which will be described. (paper)

  1. Burnup credit for storage and transportation casks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wells, A.H.

    1988-01-01

    The application of burnup credit to storage and transportation cask licensing results in a significant improvement in cask capacity and an associated reduction of the cost per kilogram of uranium in the cask contents. The issues for licensing with burnup credit deal primarily with the treatment of fission product poisons and methods of verification of burnup during cask operations. Other issues include benchmarking of cross-section sets and codes and the effect of spatial variation of burnup within an assembly. The licensing of burnup credit for casks will be complex, although the criticality calculations are not themselves difficult. Attention should be directed to the use of fission product poisons and the uncertainties that they introduce. Verification of burnup by measurements will remove some of the concerns for criticality safety. Calculations for burnup credit casks should consider rod-to-rod and axial variations of burnup, as well as variability of burnable poisons it they are used in the assembly. In spite of the complexity of cask burnup credit licensing issues, these issues appear to be resolvable within the current state of the art of criticality safety

  2. Carbon coated anatase TiO2 mesocrystals enabling ultrastable and robust sodium storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Weifeng; Lan, Tongbin; Ding, Tianli; Wu, Nae-Lih; Wei, Mingdeng

    2017-08-01

    Nanoporous anatase TiO2 mesocrystals with tunable architectures and crystalline phases were successfully fabricated in the presence of the butyl oleate and oleylamine. Especially, the introduced surfactants served as a carbon source, bring a uniform carbon layer (about 2-8 nm) for heightening the electronic conductivity. The carbon coated TiO2 mesocrystals assembled from crystalline tiny subunits have more space sites for sodium-ion storage. When the material was applied as an electrode material in rechargeable sodium-ion batteries, it exhibited a superior capacity of about 90 mA h g-1 at 20 C (1 C = 168 mA g-1) and a highly reversible capacity for 5000 cycles, which is the longest cycle life reported for sodium storage in TiO2 electrodes.

  3. Mobius Assembly: A versatile Golden-Gate framework towards universal DNA assembly.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas I Andreou

    Full Text Available Synthetic biology builds upon the foundation of engineering principles, prompting innovation and improvement in biotechnology via a design-build-test-learn cycle. A community-wide standard in DNA assembly would enable bio-molecular engineering at the levels of predictivity and universality in design and construction that are comparable to other engineering fields. Golden Gate Assembly technology, with its robust capability to unidirectionally assemble numerous DNA fragments in a one-tube reaction, has the potential to deliver a universal standard framework for DNA assembly. While current Golden Gate Assembly frameworks (e.g. MoClo and Golden Braid render either high cloning capacity or vector toolkit simplicity, the technology can be made more versatile-simple, streamlined, and cost/labor-efficient, without compromising capacity. Here we report the development of a new Golden Gate Assembly framework named Mobius Assembly, which combines vector toolkit simplicity with high cloning capacity. It is based on a two-level, hierarchical approach and utilizes a low-frequency cutter to reduce domestication requirements. Mobius Assembly embraces the standard overhang designs designated by MoClo, Golden Braid, and Phytobricks and is largely compatible with already available Golden Gate part libraries. In addition, dropout cassettes encoding chromogenic proteins were implemented for cost-free visible cloning screening that color-code different cloning levels. As proofs of concept, we have successfully assembled up to 16 transcriptional units of various pigmentation genes in both operon and multigene arrangements. Taken together, Mobius Assembly delivers enhanced versatility and efficiency in DNA assembly, facilitating improved standardization and automation.

  4. Public Responses to CO2 Storage Sites. Lessons from Five European Cases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oltra, C.; Boso, A. [Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Upham, P. [Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki and Centre for Integrated Energy Research, University of Leeds, Leeds (United Kingdom); Riesch, H. [Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom); Brunsting, S. [ECN Policy Studies, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Duetschke, E. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer System- und Innovationsforschung ISI, Karlsruhe (Germany); Lis, A. [Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Central European University, Budapest (Hungary)

    2012-05-24

    Studies of the factors involved in public perceptions of CO2 storage projects reveal a level of complexity and diversity that arguably confounds a comprehensive theoretical account. To some extent, a conceptual approach that simply organises the relevant social scientific knowledge thematically, rather than seeking an integrated explanation, is as useful as any single account that fails to do justice to the contingencies involved. This paper reviews and assembles such knowledge in terms of six themes and applies these themes to five European cases of carbon capture and storage (CCS) implementation. We identify the main factors involved in community responses to CCS as relating to: the characteristics of the project; the engagement process; risk perceptions; the actions of the stakeholders; the characteristics of the community, and the socio-political context.

  5. Spent Fuel Test-Climax: An evaluation of the technical feasibility of geologic storage of spent nuclear fuel in granite: Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patrick, W.C.

    1986-01-01

    In the Climax stock granite on the Nevada Test Site, eleven canisters of spent nuclear reactor fuel were emplaced, and six electrical simulators were energized. When test data indicated that the test objectives were met during the 3-year storage phase, the spent-fuel canisters were retrieved and the thermal sources were de-energized. The project demonstrated the feasibility of packaging, transporting, storing, and retrieving highly radioactive fuel assemblies in a safe and reliable manner. In addition to emplacement and retrieval operations, three exchanges of spent-fuel assemblies between the SFT-C and a surface storage facility, conducted during the storage phase, furthered this demonstration. The test led to development of a technical measurements program. To meet these objectives, nearly 1000 instruments and a computer-based data acquisition system were deployed. Geotechnical, seismological, and test status data were recorded on a continuing basis for the three-year storage phase and six-month monitored cool-down of the test. This report summarizes the engineering and scientific endeavors which led to successful design and execution of the test. The design, fabrication, and construction of all facilities and handling systems are discussed, in the context of test objectives and a safety assessment. The discussion progresses from site characterization and experiment design through data acquisition and analysis of test data in the context of design calculations. 117 refs., 52 figs., 81 tabs

  6. Spent Fuel Test-Climax: An evaluation of the technical feasibility of geologic storage of spent nuclear fuel in granite: Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patrick, W.C. (comp.)

    1986-03-30

    In the Climax stock granite on the Nevada Test Site, eleven canisters of spent nuclear reactor fuel were emplaced, and six electrical simulators were energized. When test data indicated that the test objectives were met during the 3-year storage phase, the spent-fuel canisters were retrieved and the thermal sources were de-energized. The project demonstrated the feasibility of packaging, transporting, storing, and retrieving highly radioactive fuel assemblies in a safe and reliable manner. In addition to emplacement and retrieval operations, three exchanges of spent-fuel assemblies between the SFT-C and a surface storage facility, conducted during the storage phase, furthered this demonstration. The test led to development of a technical measurements program. To meet these objectives, nearly 1000 instruments and a computer-based data acquisition system were deployed. Geotechnical, seismological, and test status data were recorded on a continuing basis for the three-year storage phase and six-month monitored cool-down of the test. This report summarizes the engineering and scientific endeavors which led to successful design and execution of the test. The design, fabrication, and construction of all facilities and handling systems are discussed, in the context of test objectives and a safety assessment. The discussion progresses from site characterization and experiment design through data acquisition and analysis of test data in the context of design calculations. 117 refs., 52 figs., 81 tabs.

  7. Programmed Nanomaterial Assemblies in Large Scales: Applications of Synthetic and Genetically- Engineered Peptides to Bridge Nano-Assemblies and Macro-Assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsui, Hiroshi

    2014-09-09

    Work is reported in these areas: Large-scale & reconfigurable 3D structures of precise nanoparticle assemblies in self-assembled collagen peptide grids; Binary QD-Au NP 3D superlattices assembled with collagen-like peptides and energy transfer between QD and Au NP in 3D peptide frameworks; Catalytic peptides discovered by new hydrogel-based combinatorial phage display approach and their enzyme-mimicking 2D assembly; New autonomous motors of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) powered by reorganization of self-assembled peptides at interfaces; Biomimetic assembly of proteins into microcapsules on oil-in-water droplets with structural reinforcement via biomolecular recognition-based cross-linking of surface peptides; and Biomimetic fabrication of strong freestanding genetically-engineered collagen peptide films reinforced by quantum dot joints. We gained the broad knowledge about biomimetic material assembly from nanoscale to microscale ranges by coassembling peptides and NPs via biomolecular recognition. We discovered: Genetically-engineered collagen-like peptides can be self-assembled with Au NPs to generate 3D superlattices in large volumes (> μm{sup 3}); The assembly of the 3D peptide-Au NP superstructures is dynamic and the interparticle distance changes with assembly time as the reconfiguration of structure is triggered by pH change; QDs/NPs can be assembled with the peptide frameworks to generate 3D superlattices and these QDs/NPs can be electronically coupled for the efficient energy transfer; The controlled assembly of catalytic peptides mimicking the catalytic pocket of enzymes can catalyze chemical reactions with high selectivity; and, For the bacteria-mimicking swimmer fabrication, peptide-MOF superlattices can power translational and propellant motions by the reconfiguration of peptide assembly at the MOF-liquid interface.

  8. Energy Storage Technology Development for Space Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Carolyn R.; Jankovsky, Amy L.; Reid, Concha M.; Miller, Thomas B.; Hoberecht, Mark A.

    2011-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is developing battery and fuel cell technology to meet the expected energy storage needs of human exploration systems. Improving battery performance and safety for human missions enhances a number of exploration systems, including un-tethered extravehicular activity suits and transportation systems including landers and rovers. Similarly, improved fuel cell and electrolyzer systems can reduce mass and increase the reliability of electrical power, oxygen, and water generation for crewed vehicles, depots and outposts. To achieve this, NASA is developing non-flow-through proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell stacks, and electrolyzers coupled with low permeability membranes for high pressure operation. The primary advantage of this technology set is the reduction of ancillary parts in the balance-of-plant fewer pumps, separators and related components should result in fewer failure modes and hence a higher probability of achieving very reliable operation, and reduced parasitic power losses enable smaller reactant tanks and therefore systems with lower mass and volume. Key accomplishments over the past year include the fabrication and testing of several robust, small-scale non-flow-through fuel cell stacks that have demonstrated proof-of-concept. NASA is also developing advanced lithium-ion battery cells, targeting cell-level safety and very high specific energy and energy density. Key accomplishments include the development of silicon composite anodes, lithiatedmixed- metal-oxide cathodes, low-flammability electrolytes, and cell-incorporated safety devices that promise to substantially improve battery performance while providing a high level of safety.

  9. The behavior of exciplex decay processes and interplay of radiationless transition and preliminary reorganization mechanisms of electron transfer in loose and tight pairs of reactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuzmin, Michael G; Soboleva, Irina V; Dolotova, Elena V

    2007-01-18

    Exciplex emission spectra and rate constants of their decay via internal conversion and intersystem crossing are studied and discussed in terms of conventional radiationless transition approach. Exciplexes of 9-cyanophenanthrene with 1,2,3-trimethoxybenzene and 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene were studied in heptane, toluene, butyl acetate, dichloromethane, butyronitrile, and acetonitrile. A better description of spectra and rate constants is obtained using 0-0 transition energy and Gauss broadening of vibrational bands rather than the free energy of electron transfer and reorganization energy. The coincidence of parameters describing exciplex emission spectra and dependence of exciplex decay rate constants on energy gap gives the evidence of radiationless quantum transition mechanism rather than thermally activated medium reorganization mechanism of charge recombination in exciplexes and excited charge transfer complexes (contact radical ion pairs) as well as in solvent separated radical ion pairs. Radiationless quantum transition mechanism is shown to provide an appropriate description also for the main features of exergonic excited-state charge separation reactions if fast mutual transformations of loose and tight pairs of reactants are considered. In particular, very fast electron transfer (ET) in tight pairs of reactants with strong electronic coupling of locally excited and charge transfer states can prevent the observation of an inverted region in bimolecular excited-state charge separation even for highly exergonic reactions.

  10. Very large virtual compound spaces: construction, storage and utility in drug discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Zhengwei

    2013-09-01

    Recent activities in the construction, storage and exploration of very large virtual compound spaces are reviewed by this report. As expected, the systematic exploration of compound spaces at the highest resolution (individual atoms and bonds) is intrinsically intractable. By contrast, by staying within a finite number of reactions and a finite number of reactants or fragments, several virtual compound spaces have been constructed in a combinatorial fashion with sizes ranging from 10(11)11 to 10(20)20 compounds. Multiple search methods have been developed to perform searches (e.g. similarity, exact and substructure) into those compound spaces without the need for full enumeration. The up-front investment spent on synthetic feasibility during the construction of some of those virtual compound spaces enables a wider adoption by medicinal chemists to design and synthesize important compounds for drug discovery. Recent activities in the area of exploring virtual compound spaces via the evolutionary approach based on Genetic Algorithm also suggests a positive shift of focus from method development to workflow, integration and ease of use, all of which are required for this approach to be widely adopted by medicinal chemists.

  11. Neutrino Signals in Electron-Capture Storage-Ring Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avraham Gal

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Neutrino signals in electron-capture decays of hydrogen-like parent ions P in storage-ring experiments at GSI are reconsidered, with special emphasis placed on the storage-ring quasi-circular motion of the daughter ions D in two-body decays P → D + ν e . It is argued that, to the extent that daughter ions are detected, these detection rates might exhibit modulations with periods of order seconds, similar to those reported in the GSI storage-ring experiments for two-body decay rates. New dedicated experiments in storage rings, or using traps, could explore these modulations.

  12. Gas storage materials, including hydrogen storage materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohtadi, Rana F; Wicks, George G; Heung, Leung K; Nakamura, Kenji

    2013-02-19

    A material for the storage and release of gases comprises a plurality of hollow elements, each hollow element comprising a porous wall enclosing an interior cavity, the interior cavity including structures of a solid-state storage material. In particular examples, the storage material is a hydrogen storage material such as a solid state hydride. An improved method for forming such materials includes the solution diffusion of a storage material solution through a porous wall of a hollow element into an interior cavity.

  13. Cryogenic storage tank with built-in pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zwick, E.B.

    1984-01-01

    A cryogenic storage tank with a built-in pump for pumping cryogen directly from the primary storage container consistent with low boil-off losses of cryogen has an outer vessel, an inner vessel and an evacuated insulation space therebetween. A pump mounting tube assembly extends into the interior of the inner vessel and includes an inner pump mounting tube and an outer pump mounting tube joined at their lower rims to define an insulating jacket between the two tubes. The inner pump mounting tube is affixed at its upper end to the outer vessel while the outer pump mounting tube is affixed at its upper end to the inner vessel. The inner pump mounting tube defines a relatively long heat path into the cryogenic container and is itself insulated from the liquid cryogen by a pocket of trapped gas formed within the inner pump mounting tube by heated cryogen. A pump may be introduced through the inner pump mounting tube and is also insulated against contact with liquid cryogen by the trapped gas such that only the lowermost end of the pump is immersed in cryogen thereby minimizing heat leakage into the tank

  14. Self-assembly of self-assembled molecular triangles

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    While the solution state structure of 1 can be best described as a trinuclear complex, in the solidstate well-fashioned intermolecular - and CH- interactions are observed. Thus, in the solid-state further self-assembly of already self-assembled molecular triangle is witnessed. The triangular panels are arranged in a linear ...

  15. Two-Stage orders sequencing system for mixed-model assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemczak, M.; Skolud, B.; Krenczyk, D.

    2015-11-01

    In the paper, the authors focus on the NP-hard problem of orders sequencing, formulated similarly to Car Sequencing Problem (CSP). The object of the research is the assembly line in an automotive industry company, on which few different models of products, each in a certain number of versions, are assembled on the shared resources, set in a line. Such production type is usually determined as a mixed-model production, and arose from the necessity of manufacturing customized products on the basis of very specific orders from single clients. The producers are nowadays obliged to provide each client the possibility to determine a huge amount of the features of the product they are willing to buy, as the competition in the automotive market is large. Due to the previously mentioned nature of the problem (NP-hard), in the given time period only satisfactory solutions are sought, as the optimal solution method has not yet been found. Most of the researchers that implemented inaccurate methods (e.g. evolutionary algorithms) to solving sequencing problems dropped the research after testing phase, as they were not able to obtain reproducible results, and met problems while determining the quality of the received solutions. Therefore a new approach to solving the problem, presented in this paper as a sequencing system is being developed. The sequencing system consists of a set of determined rules, implemented into computer environment. The system itself works in two stages. First of them is connected with the determination of a place in the storage buffer to which certain production orders should be sent. In the second stage of functioning, precise sets of sequences are determined and evaluated for certain parts of the storage buffer under certain criteria.

  16. Evaluation of nine popular de novo assemblers in microbial genome assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forouzan, Esmaeil; Maleki, Masoumeh Sadat Mousavi; Karkhane, Ali Asghar; Yakhchali, Bagher

    2017-12-01

    Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are revolutionizing biology, with Illumina being the most popular NGS platform. Short read assembly is a critical part of most genome studies using NGS. Hence, in this study, the performance of nine well-known assemblers was evaluated in the assembly of seven different microbial genomes. Effect of different read coverage and k-mer parameters on the quality of the assembly were also evaluated on both simulated and actual read datasets. Our results show that the performance of assemblers on real and simulated datasets could be significantly different, mainly because of coverage bias. According to outputs on actual read datasets, for all studied read coverages (of 7×, 25× and 100×), SPAdes and IDBA-UD clearly outperformed other assemblers based on NGA50 and accuracy metrics. Velvet is the most conservative assembler with the lowest NGA50 and error rate. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Membrane electrode assembly with doped polyaniline interlayer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells under low relative humidity conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cindrella, L. [Fuel Cell Research Lab, Engineering Technology Department, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212 (United States); Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620015 (India); Kannan, A.M. [Fuel Cell Research Lab, Engineering Technology Department, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212 (United States)

    2009-09-05

    A membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was designed by incorporating an interlayer between the catalyst layer and the gas diffusion layer (GDL) to improve the low relative humidity (RH) performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). On the top of the micro-porous layer of the GDL, a thin layer of doped polyaniline (PANI) was deposited to retain moisture content in order to maintain the electrolyte moist, especially when the fuel cell is working at lower RH conditions, which is typical for automotive applications. The surface morphology and wetting angle characteristics of the GDLs coated with doped PANI samples were examined using FESEM and Goniometer, respectively. The surface modified GDLs fabricated into MEAs were evaluated in single cell PEMFC between 50 and 100% RH conditions using H{sub 2} and O{sub 2} as reactants at ambient pressure. It was observed that the MEA with camphor sulfonic acid doped PANI interlayer showed an excellent fuel cell performance at all RH conditions including that at 50% at 80 C using H{sub 2} and O{sub 2}. (author)

  18. Antiphase dual-color correlation in a reactant-product pair imparts ultrasensitivity in reaction-linked double-photoswitching fluorescence imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Wei; Zhu, Ming-Qiang; Tian, Zhiyuan; Li, Alexander D Q

    2015-04-08

    A pair of reversible photochemical reactions correlates their reactant and product specifically, and such a correlation uniquely distinguishes their correlated signal from others that are not linked by this reversible reaction. Here a nanoparticle-shielded fluorophore is photodriven to undergo structural dynamics, alternating between a green-fluorescence state and a red-fluorescence state. As time elapses, the fluorophore can be in either state but not both at the same time. Thus, the red fluorescence is maximized while the green fluorescence is minimized and vice versa. Such an antiphase dual-color (AD) corelationship between the red and green fluorescence maxima as well as between their minima can be exploited to greatly improve the signal-to-noise ratio, thus enhancing the ultimate detection limit. Potential benefits of this correlation include elimination of all interferences originating from single-color dyes and signal amplification of AD photoswitching molecules by orders of magnitude.

  19. A conceptual design of assembly strategy and dedicated tools for assembly of 40o sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, H.K.; Nam, K.O.; Kim, D.J.; Ahn, H.J.; Lee, J.H.; Im, K.; Shaw, R.

    2010-01-01

    The International Thermanuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) tokamak device is composed of 9 vacuum vessel (VV)/toroidal field coils (TFCs)/vacuum vessel thermal shields (VVTS) 40 o sectors. Each VV/TFCs/VVTS 40 o sector is made up of one 40 o VV, two 20 o TFCs and associated VVTS segments. The 40 o sectors are sub-assembled at assembly hall respectively and then nine 40 o sectors sub-assembled at assembly hall are finally assembled at tokamak in-pit hall. The assembly strategy and tools for the 40 o sector sub-assembly and final assembly should be developed to satisfy the basic assembly requirements of the ITER tokamak device. Accordingly, the purpose-built assembly tools should be designed and manufactured considering assembly plan, available space, cost, safety, easy operation, efficient maintenance, and so on. The 40 o sector assembly tools are classified into 2 groups. One group is the sub-assembly tools including upending tool, lifting tool, sub-assembly tool, VV supports and bracing tools used at assembly hall and the other group is the in-pit assembly tools including lifting tool, central column, radial beams and their supports. This paper describes the current status of the assembly strategy and major tools for the VV/TFCs/VVTS 40 o sector assembly at in-pit hall and assembly hall. The conceptual design of the major assembly tools and assembly process at assembly hall and tokamak in-pit hall are presented also.

  20. A Preliminary Design Study of Ultra-Long-Life SFR Cores having Heterogeneous Fuel Assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, GeonHee; You, WuSeung; Hong, Ser Gi [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    The PWR and CANDU reactors have provided electricity for several decades in our country but they have produced lots of spent fuels and so the safe and efficient disposal of these spent fuels is one of the main issues in nuclear industry. This type ultra-long-life cores are quite efficient in terms of the amount of spent fuel generation per electricity production and they can be used as an interim storage for PWR or CANDU spent fuel over several tens of years if they use the PWR or CANDU spent fuel as the initial fuel. Typically, the previous works have considered radially homogeneous fuel assemblies in which only blanket or driver fuel rods are employed and they considered axially or radially heterogeneous core configurations with the radially homogeneous fuel assemblies. These core configurations result in the propagation of the power distribution which can lead to the significant temperature changes for each fuel assembly over the time. In this work, the radially heterogeneous fuel assemblies are employed in new ultra-long-life SFR (Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor) cores to minimize the propagation of power distribution by allowing the power propagation in the fuel assemblies. In this work, new small ultra-long life SFR cores were designed with heterogeneous fuel assemblies having both blanket and driver fuel rods to minimize the propagation of power distribution over the core by allowing power propagation from driver rods to blanket rods in fuel assemblies. In particular, high fidelity depletion calculation coupled with heterogeneous Monte Carlo neutron transport calculation was performed to assess the neutronic feasibility of the ultralong life cores. The results of the analysis showed that the candidate core has the cycle length of 77 EFPYs, a small burnup reactivity swing of 1590 pcm and acceptably small SVRs both at BOC and EOC.

  1. Fuel injection assembly for use in turbine engines and method of assembling same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Jonathan Dwight; Johnson, Thomas Edward; York, William David; Uhm, Jong Ho

    2015-12-15

    A fuel injection assembly for use in a turbine engine is provided. The fuel injection assembly includes an end cover, an endcap assembly, a fluid supply chamber, and a plurality of tube assemblies positioned at the endcap assembly. Each of the tube assemblies includes housing having a fuel plenum and a cooling fluid plenum. The cooling fluid plenum is positioned downstream from the fuel plenum and separated from the fuel plenum by an intermediate wall. The plurality of tube assemblies also include a plurality of tubes that extends through the housing. Each of the plurality of tubes is coupled in flow communication with the fluid supply chamber and a combustion chamber positioned downstream from the tube assembly. The plurality of tube assemblies further includes an aft plate at a downstream end of the cooling fluid plenum. The plate includes at least one aperture.

  2. Risk Assessment of Structural Integrity of Transportation Casks after Extended Storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ibarra, Luis; Medina, Ricardo; Yang, Haori

    2018-03-23

    This study assessed the risk of loss of structural integrity of transportation casks and fuel cladding after extended storage. Although it is known that fuel rods discharged from NPPs have a small percentage of rod cladding defects, the behavior of fuel cladding and the structural elements of assemblies during transportation after long-term storage is not well understood. If the fuel degrades during extended storage, it could be susceptible to damage from vibration and impact loads during transport operations, releasing fission-product gases into the canister or the cask interior (NWTRB 2010). Degradation of cladding may occur due to mechanisms associated with hydrogen embrittlement, delayed hydride cracking, low temperature creep, and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) that may affect fuel cladding and canister components after extended storage of hundreds of years. Over extended periods at low temperatures, these mechanisms affect the ductility, strength, and fracture toughness of the fuel cladding, which becomes brittle. For transportation purposes, the fuel may be transferred from storage to shipping casks, or dual-purpose casks may be used for storage and transportation. Currently, most of the transportation casks will be the former case. A risk assessment evaluation is conducted based on results from experimental tests and simulations with advanced numerical models. A novel contribution of this study is the evaluation of the combined effect of component aging and vibration/impact loads in transportation scenarios. The expected levels of deterioration will be obtained from previous and current studies on the effect of aging on fuel and cask components. The emphasis of the study is placed on the structural integrity of fuel cladding and canisters.

  3. AutoAssemblyD: a graphical user interface system for several genome assemblers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veras, Adonney Allan de Oliveira; de Sá, Pablo Henrique Caracciolo Gomes; Azevedo, Vasco; Silva, Artur; Ramos, Rommel Thiago Jucá

    2013-01-01

    Next-generation sequencing technologies have increased the amount of biological data generated. Thus, bioinformatics has become important because new methods and algorithms are necessary to manipulate and process such data. However, certain challenges have emerged, such as genome assembly using short reads and high-throughput platforms. In this context, several algorithms have been developed, such as Velvet, Abyss, Euler-SR, Mira, Edna, Maq, SHRiMP, Newbler, ALLPATHS, Bowtie and BWA. However, most such assemblers do not have a graphical interface, which makes their use difficult for users without computing experience given the complexity of the assembler syntax. Thus, to make the operation of such assemblers accessible to users without a computing background, we developed AutoAssemblyD, which is a graphical tool for genome assembly submission and remote management by multiple assemblers through XML templates. AssemblyD is freely available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/autoassemblyd. It requires Sun jdk 6 or higher.

  4. Spent fuel test-climax: a test of geologic storage of high-level waste in granite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramspott, L.D.; Ballou, L.B.; Patrick, W.C.

    1981-01-01

    A test of retrievable geologic storage of spent fuel assemblies from an operating commercial nuclear reactor is underway at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) of the US Department of Energy. This generic test is located 420 m below the surface in the Climax granitic stock. Eleven canisters of spent fuel approximately 2.5 years out of reactor core (about 1.6 kW/canister thermal output) were emplaced in a storage drift along with 6 electrical simulator canisters. Two adjacent drifts contain electrical heaters, which are operated to simulate within the test array the thermal field of a large repository. Fuel was loaded during April to May 1980 and initial results of the test will be presented

  5. Probing long-lived dark excitons in self-assembled quantum dots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Jeppe; Julsgaard, Brian; Stobbe, Søren

    2010-01-01

    Long-lived dark exciton states are formed in self-assembled quantum dots due to the combination of the angular momentum of electrons and holes. The lifetime of dark excitons are determined by spin-flip processes that transfer dark excitons into radiative bright excitons. We employ time......-resolved spontaneous emission measurements in a modified local density of optical states to unambiguously record the spin-flip rate. Pronounced variations in the spin-flip rate with the quantum dot emission energy are observed demonstrating that the exciton storage time can be extended by controlling the quantum dot......, which illustrates the important role of interfaces for quantum dot based nanophotonic structures....

  6. Scheme of higher-density storage of spent nuclear fuel in Chernobyl NPP interim storage facility no. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Britan, P.M.

    2008-01-01

    On 29. March 2000 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued a decree prescribing that the last operating unit of Chernobyl NPP be shut down before its design lifetime expiry. In accordance with the Contract concluded on 14 June 1999 between the National Energy-generating Company 'Energoatom' and the Consortium of Framatome, Campenon Bernard-SGE and Bouygues, in order to store the spent ChNPP fuel a new interim dry storage facility (ISF-2) for spent ChNPP fuel would be built. Currently the spent nuclear fuel (spent fuel assemblies - SFAs) is stored in reactor cooling pools and in the reactors on Units 1, 2, 3, as well as in the wet Interim Storage Facility (ISF-1). Taking into account the expected delay with the commissioning of ISF-2, and in connection with the scheduled activities to build the New Safe Confinement (including the taking-down of the existing ventilation stack of ChNPP Units 3 and 4) and the expiry of the design operation life of Units 1 and 2, it is expedient to remove the nuclear fuel from Units 1, 2 and 3. This is essential to improve nuclear safety and ensure that the schedule of construction of the New Safe Confinement is met. The design capacity of ISF-1 (17 800 SFAs) is insufficient to store all SFAs (21 284) currently on ChNPP. A technically feasible option that has been applied on other RBMK plants is denser storage of spent nuclear fuel in the cooling ponds of the existing ISF-1. The purpose of the proposed modifications is to introduce changes to the ISF-1 design supported by necessary justifications required by the Ukrainian codes with the objective of enabling the storage of additional SFAs in the existing storage space (cooling pools). The need for the modification is caused by the requirement to remove nuclear fuel from the ChNPP units as soon as possible, before the work begins to decommission these units, as well as to create safe conditions for the construction of the New Safe Confinement over the existing Shelter Unit. (author)

  7. Fabrication and quality assurance of some important components and sub-assemblies for Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dutta, N.G.; More, S.S.

    2010-01-01

    Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (BHAVINI) is engaged in construction of 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Chennai. In this very important and prestigious national programmed M/s Kay Bouvet Engg. Pvt. Ltd. (M/s KBEPL) Satara is contributing in a major way by supplying many important sub-assemblies. M/s KBEPL is engaged in manufacturing, quality assurance and supply of many subassemblies of PFBR like under water trolley (UWT), shielding door, container and container storage rack (CSR), vessel in fuel transfer cell (FTC), personnel air lock (PAL), emergency air lock (EAL) and material air lock (MAL), absorber rod drive mechanism (ARDM) flask assembly and carriage in MAL etc. Two partition doors and four nos. of embedded parts (SS 304L) have already been supplied to Bhavini. The paper deals with manufacturing and Q.A. activities being carried out for supply of these important assemblies to PFBR projects. (author)

  8. PC-Cluster based Storage System Architecture for Cloud Storage

    OpenAIRE

    Yee, Tin Tin; Naing, Thinn Thu

    2011-01-01

    Design and architecture of cloud storage system plays a vital role in cloud computing infrastructure in order to improve the storage capacity as well as cost effectiveness. Usually cloud storage system provides users to efficient storage space with elasticity feature. One of the challenges of cloud storage system is difficult to balance the providing huge elastic capacity of storage and investment of expensive cost for it. In order to solve this issue in the cloud storage infrastructure, low ...

  9. Assembly, alignment and test of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) optical assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balonek, Gregory; Brown, Joshua J.; Andre, James E.; Chesbrough, Christian D.; Chrisp, Michael P.; Dalpiaz, Michael; Lennon, Joseph; Richards, B. C.; Clark, Kristin E.

    2017-08-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will carry four visible waveband, seven-element, refractive F/1.4 lenses, each with a 34 degree diagonal field of view. This paper describes the methods used for the assembly, alignment and test of the four flight optical assemblies. Prior to commencing the build of the four flight optical assemblies, a Risk Reduction Unit (RRU) was successfully assembled and tested [1]. The lessons learned from the RRU were applied to the build of the flight assemblies. The main modifications to the flight assemblies include the inking of the third lens element stray light mitigation, tighter alignment tolerances, and diamond turning for critical mechanical surfaces. Each of the optical assemblies was tested interferometrically and measured with a low coherence distance measuring interferometer (DMI) to predict the optimal shim thickness between the lens assembly and detector before -75°C environmental testing. In addition to individual test data, environmental test results from prior assemblies allow for the exploration of marginal performance differences between each of the optical assemblies.

  10. SWAP-Assembler: scalable and efficient genome assembly towards thousands of cores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Jintao; Wang, Bingqiang; Wei, Yanjie; Feng, Shengzhong; Balaji, Pavan

    2014-01-01

    There is a widening gap between the throughput of massive parallel sequencing machines and the ability to analyze these sequencing data. Traditional assembly methods requiring long execution time and large amount of memory on a single workstation limit their use on these massive data. This paper presents a highly scalable assembler named as SWAP-Assembler for processing massive sequencing data using thousands of cores, where SWAP is an acronym for Small World Asynchronous Parallel model. In the paper, a mathematical description of multi-step bi-directed graph (MSG) is provided to resolve the computational interdependence on merging edges, and a highly scalable computational framework for SWAP is developed to automatically preform the parallel computation of all operations. Graph cleaning and contig extension are also included for generating contigs with high quality. Experimental results show that SWAP-Assembler scales up to 2048 cores on Yanhuang dataset using only 26 minutes, which is better than several other parallel assemblers, such as ABySS, Ray, and PASHA. Results also show that SWAP-Assembler can generate high quality contigs with good N50 size and low error rate, especially it generated the longest N50 contig sizes for Fish and Yanhuang datasets. In this paper, we presented a highly scalable and efficient genome assembly software, SWAP-Assembler. Compared with several other assemblers, it showed very good performance in terms of scalability and contig quality. This software is available at: https://sourceforge.net/projects/swapassembler.

  11. Assembly tool design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanamori, Naokazu; Nakahira, Masataka; Ohkawa, Yoshinao; Tada, Eisuke; Seki, Masahiro

    1996-06-01

    The reactor core of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is assembled with a number of large and asymmetric components within a tight tolerance in order to assure the structural integrity for various loads and to provide the tritium confinement. In addition, the assembly procedure should be compatible with remote operation since the core structures will be activated by 14-MeV neutrons once it starts operation and thus personal access will be prohibited. Accordingly, the assembly procedure and tool design are quite essential and should be designed from the beginning to facilitate remote operation. According to the ITER Design Task Agreement, the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has performed design study to develop the assembly procedures and associated tool design for the ITER tokamak assembly. This report describes outlines of the assembly tools and the remaining issues obtained in this design study. (author)

  12. Safeguards on MOX assemblies at LWRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arenas Carrasco, J.; Koulikov, I.; Heinonen, O.J.; Arlt, R.; Grigoleit, K.; Clarke, R.; Swinhoe, M.

    2000-01-01

    Operating within the framework of the New Partnership Approach (NPA) for unirradiated MOX fuel assemblies in LWRs, the IAEA and EURATOM have gained experience in safeguarding 13 LWRs licensed to operate with MOX assemblies. In order to fulfil SIR requirements, verification methods and techniques capable of measuring MOX assemblies under water have been and are still being developed. These encompass both qualitative tests for the detection of plutonium (gross attribute tests) and quantitative tests for the measurement of the amount of plutonium (partial defect tests) and are based on gamma and neutron detection techniques. There are nine PWR and two BWR where the reactor and the spent fuel pond can be covered by the same surveillance device. These are Type I reactors where the reactor and the pond are located in the same hall. In these types of facilities relying on surveillance during the MOX refuelling is especially difficult at the BWRs due to the depth of the core pond. There are two PWR type facilities where the reactor and the spent fuel pond are located in different halls and cannot be covered by the same surveillance device (Type II). An open core camera has not been installed during refuelling and therefore indirect surveillance is currently used to survey MOX loading. Improvements are therefore required and are under consideration. After receipt at the facility, there are a few facilities which must keep the received fresh MOX fuel in wet storage, not only for a short period prior to refuelling, but for more than a year, until the next refuelling campaign. In these cases timely inspections for direct use fresh nuclear material require considerable inspection effort. Additionally, where human surveillance of core loading and finally core closure are necessary there is also a large demand for manpower. Either an agreement should be reached with the operators to delay the MOX loading until the end of the fuelling campaign, or alternative approaches should be

  13. Porous NiCo_2S_4-halloysite hybrid self-assembled from nanosheets for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chai, Hui; Dong, Hong; Wang, Yucheng; Xu, Jiayu; Jia, Dianzeng

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • The NiCo_2S_4-HL nanomaterial is achieved via two-step hydrothermal approach. • The unique structures are assembled self-assembly by nanosheets. • The obtained electrode exhibits high capacitance and excellent retention. • An asymmetric supercapacitor also displays high energy density and outstanding cycling stability. • The high-performance of the device is possibly due to the introduction of HL and formation of composed nanosheets. - Abstract: The porous nanostructures have drawn considerable attention because of their abundant pore volume and unique properties that provide outstanding performance in catalysis and energy storage applications. This study proposes the growth mechanism of porous NiCo_2S_4 composited with halloysite (HL) via a self-assembly method using halloysite as a template and component. Electrochemical tests showed that the NiCo_2S_4-HL exhibited an ultrahigh specific capacitance (Csp) (589C g"−"1 at 1A g"−"1) and good cycle stability (Csp retention of 86% after 1000 cycles). The desirable capacitive performance of the NiCo_2S_4-HL can be attributed to the large specific surface area and short diffusion path for electrons and ions in the hierarchical porous structure. The superior electrochemical performances with the energy density of 35.48 W h kg"−"1 at a power density of 199.9 W kg"−"1 were achieved in an assembled aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device using NiCo_2S_4-HL as a positive electrode and N-doped graphene (NG) as a negative electrode. Moreover, the NiCo_2S_4-HL//NG asymmetric supercapacitor achieved outstanding cycle stability (also retained 83.2% after 1700 cycles). The high-performance of the ASC device will undoubtedly make the porous NiCo_2S_4-HL as potential electrode materials attractive in energy storage systems.

  14. Thermal Instability Induced Oriented 2D Pores for Enhanced Sodium Storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Lingjun; Xie, Chen-Chao; Gu, Haichen; Wang, Chao-Peng; Zhou, Xianlong; Liu, Jian; Zhou, Zhen; Li, Zhao-Yang; Zhu, Jian; Bu, Xian-He

    2018-04-19

    Hierarchical porous structures are highly desired for various applications. However, it is still challenging to obtain such materials with tunable architectures. Here, this paper reports hierarchical nanomaterials with oriented 2D pores by taking advantages of thermally instable bonds in vanadium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). High-temperature calcination of these MOFs accompanied by the loss of coordinated water molecules and other components enables the formation of orderly slit-like 2D pores in vanadium oxide/porous carbon nanorods (VO x /PCs). This unique combination leads to an increase of the reactive surface area. In addition, optimized VO x /PCs demonstrate high-rate capability and ultralong cycling life for sodium storage. The assembled full cells also show high capacity and cycling stability. This report provides an effective strategy for producing MOFs-derived composites with hierarchical porous architectures for energy storage. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Drive piston assembly for a valve actuator assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Zongxuan

    2010-02-23

    A drive piston assembly is provided that is operable to selectively open a poppet valve. The drive piston assembly includes a cartridge defining a generally stepped bore. A drive piston is movable within the generally stepped bore and a boost sleeve is coaxially disposed with respect to the drive piston. A main fluid chamber is at least partially defined by the generally stepped bore, drive piston, and boost sleeve. First and second feedback chambers are at least partially defined by the drive piston and each are disposed at opposite ends of the drive piston. At least one of the drive piston and the boost sleeve is sufficiently configured to move within the generally stepped bore in response to fluid pressure within the main fluid chamber to selectively open the poppet valve. A valve actuator assembly and engine are also provided incorporating the disclosed drive piston assembly.

  16. Characterizing and packaging BN-350 spent fuel for long-term dry storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambert, J. D. B.; Bolshinsky, I.; Haues, S.L.; Allen, K.J.; Howden, E.A.; Hill, R.N.; Planchon, H.P.; Staples, P.; Karaulov, V.N.; Blynskij, A.P.; Yakovlev, I.K.; Maev, V.; Dumchev, I. A.

    2000-01-01

    The Republic of Kazakhstan is being assisted by the U.S. Department of Energy in preparing spent fuel from the BN-350 fast reactor for long term dry storage. Argonne National Laboratory was assigned responsibility for the physical and nuclear characterization of the spent fuel, for the design and safety analysis of 6-pac and 4-pac canisters used to contain spent fuel assemblies for storage, and for the design, testing and installation of a closure station at the reactor in which the canisters of fuel are dried, filled with inert gas and welded shut. This paper briefly describes the specialized components and equipment used, the process followed, and experience gained in packaging the spent fuel. Olsen et al and Schaefer separately discuss overall safety and criticality considerations of the packaging process in parallel papers to this conference

  17. SOLID-STATE STORAGE DEVICE WITH PROGRAMMABLE PHYSICAL STORAGE ACCESS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2017-01-01

    a storage device action request, and the storage device evaluating a first rule of the one or more rules by determining if the received request fulfills request conditions comprised in the first rule, and in the affirmative the storage device performing request actions comprised in the first rule......Embodiments of the present invention includes a method of operating a solid-state storage device, comprising a storage device controller in the storage device receiving a set of one or more rules, each rule comprising (i) one or more request conditions to be evaluated for a storage device action...... request received from a host computer, and (ii) one or more request actions to be performed on a physical address space of a non-volatile storage unit in the solid-state storage device in case the one or more request conditions are fulfilled; the method further comprises: the storage device receiving...

  18. Treatment of hydrogen storage alloy for battery; Denchiyo suiso kyuzo gokin no shori hoho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagata, T.; Negi, N.; Kaminaka, Takeshita, Y.

    1997-03-28

    At present, Ni-Cd battery is mainly used for the power source of portable AV devices and back-up power source of computer memory. From an environmental point of view, however, Ni-hydrogen battery in which hydrogen storage alloy is used instead of Cd as for the negative electrode has been developed. The productivity of Ni-hydrogen battery is not so high because it takes a very long time to activate the battery after it is assembled. This invention solves the problem. According to the invention, the hydrogen storage alloy containing Ni is immersed in a non-oxidizing acid aqueous solution containing dissolved oxygen by 1 mg/L or less. If a large amount of dissolved oxygen is contained in the acid solution, metal appearing on the surface of alloy by the acid treatment is directly combined with the dissolved oxygen, resulting in the re-formation of metal oxide. So that the effect of oxide removal by the acid treatment is reduced. Using the treated hydrogen storage alloy in the Ni-hydrogen battery makes it possible to produce the battery which has a high initial activity and a good storage property with less self-discharge. 2 tabs.

  19. Applying x-ray digital imaging to the verification of cadmium in fuel-storage components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dabbs, R.D.; Cook, D.H.

    1997-01-01

    The High Flux Isotope Reactor utilizes large underwater fuel-storage arrays to stage irradiated fuel before it is shipped from the facility. Cadmium is required as a thermal neutron absorber in these fuel-storage arrays to produce an acceptable margin of nuclear subcriticality during both normal and off-normal operating conditions. Due to incomplete documentation from the time of their fabrication, the presence of cadmium within two stainless-steel parts of fuel-storage arrays must be experimentally verified before they are reused in new fuel-storage arrays. A cadmium-verification program has been developed in association with the Waste Examination and Assay Facility located at the Oak Ridge national Laboratory to nondestructively examine these older shroud assemblies. The program includes the following elements (1) x-ray analog imaging, (2) x-ray digital imaging, (3) prompt-gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements, and (4) neutron-transmission measurements. X-ray digital imaging utilizes an analog-to-digital convertor to record attenuated x-ray intensities observed on a fluorescent detector by a video camera. These x-ray intensities are utilized in expressions for cadmium thickness based upon x-ray attenuation theory

  20. Criteria for Corrosion Protection of Aluminum-Clad Spent Nuclear Fuel in Interim Wet Storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howell, J.P.

    1999-01-01

    Storage of aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and other locations in the U. S. and around the world has been a concern over the past decade because of the long time interim storage requirements in water. Pitting corrosion of production aluminum-clad fuel in the early 1990''s at SRS was attributed to less than optimum quality water and corrective action taken has resulted in no new pitting since 1994. The knowledge gained from the corrosion surveillance testing and other investigations at SRS over the past 8 years has provided an insight into factors affecting the corrosion of aluminum in relatively high purity water. This paper reviews some of the early corrosion issues related to aluminum-clad spent fuel at SRS, including fundamentals for corrosion of aluminum alloys. It updates and summarizes the corrosion surveillance activities supporting the future storage of over 15,000 research reactor fuel assemblies from countries over the world during the next 15-20 years. Criteria are presented for providing corrosion protection for aluminum-clad spent fuel in interim storage during the next few decades while plans are developed for a more permanent disposition

  1. Development of a Vsible-Light-Active Film for Direct Solar Energy Storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salazar, Audrey

    We conceived of a two-compartment photocatalytic assembly for direct storage of solar energy as chemical potential. Our approach was to maintain reductant and oxidant in separate compartments and develop a visible light (wavelength >400nm) photo-active film to effect an uphill photoreaction between compartments. A proton exchange membrane was included in the assembly to complete the electrical circuit. Towards obtaining a working prototype of the assembly, we developed a freeze-drying method to adhere visible-light photoactive nanoparticles to a self- standing, non-porous and conductive indium tin oxide-polyvinylidene difluoride (ITO-PVDF) support film, developed in-house. We explored the possibility of employing an iron-rich metal oxide as the photocatalytic component of the film and several were explored utilizing the sodium tartrate-assisted photoreduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Although the Fe2O3-coated TiO2 nanoparticles were active for photoreduction, the initial reaction rate was modest and was slowed by substantial deactivation, making it unsuitable as a photo-active material for the composite film. A complete, two-compartment assembly was prepared using cadmium sulfide (CdS) and preliminarily examined for the Cr(VI) probe reaction, however, no catalytic activity was observed. To identify the reason(s) for this observation, further testing of the apparatus and the composite film is required.

  2. Proton electroinsertion in self-assembled materials for neutralization pseudocapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Facci, Tiago; Gomes, Wellington J A S; Bravin, Bruno; Araújo, Diógenes M; Huguenin, Fritz

    2014-01-14

    We propose novel pseudocapacitors that can store energy related to the partial entropy change associated with proton concentration variations following neutralization reactions. In this situation, it is possible to obtain electrochemical energy after the complete charge/discharge cycle conducted in electrolytic solutions with different proton concentrations. To this end, we prepared modified electrodes from phosphomolybdic acid (PMA), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS), and polyallylamine (PAH) by the layer-by-layer (LbL) method and investigated their electrochemical behavior, aiming to use them in these neutralization pseudocapacitors. We analyzed the potentiodynamic profile of the current density at several scan rates, to evaluate the reversibility of the proton electroinsertion process, which is crucial to maximum energy storage efficiency. On the basis of the proposed reaction mechanism and by using frequency-domain measurements and models, we determined rate constants at different potentials. Our results demonstrated that the conducting polymer affects the self-assembled matrixes, ensuring that energy storage is high (22.5 kJ mol(-1)). The process involved neutralization of a hydrochloric acid solution from pH = 1 to pH = 6, which corresponds to 40% of the neutralization enthalpy.

  3. Seismic analysis of spent nuclear fuel storage racks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, S.J.; Biddle, J.R.; Bennett, S.M.; Schechter, C.B.; Harstead, G.A.; Marquet, F.

    1996-01-01

    In many nuclear power plants, existing storage racks are being replaced with high-density racks to accommodate the increasing inventory of spent fuel. In the hypothetical design considered here, the high-density arrangement of fuel assemblies, or consolidated fuel canisters, is accomplished through the use of borated stainless steel (BSS) plates acting as neutron absorbers. No structural benefit from the BSS is assumed. This paper describes the methods used to perform seismic analysis of high density spent fuel storage racks. The sensitivity of important parameters such as the effect of variation of coefficients of friction between the rack legs and the pool floor and fuel loading conditions (consolidated and unconsolidated) are also discussed in the paper. Results of this study are presented. The high-density fuel racks are simply supported by the pool floor with no structural connections to adjacent racks or to the pool walls or floor. Therefore, the racks are free standing and may slide and tip. Several time history, nonlinear, seismic analyses are required to account for variations in the coefficient of friction, rack loading configuration, and the type of the seismic event. This paper presents several of the mathematical models usually used. Friction cannot be precisely predicted, so a range of friction coefficients is assumed. The range assumed for the analysis is 0.2 to 0.8. A detailed model representing a single rack is used to evaluate the 3-D loading effects. This model is a controlling case for the stress analysis. A 2-D multi-rack model representing a row of racks between the spent fuel pool walls is used to evaluate the change in gaps between racks. The racks are normally analyzed for the fuel loading conditions of consolidated, full, empty, and half-loaded with fuel assemblies

  4. Problems and experience of ensuring nuclear safety in NPP spent fuel storage facilities in Russia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vnukov, Victor S.; Ryazanov, Boris G.

    2003-01-01

    The amount of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) spent fuel in special storage facilities of Russia runs to more than 15000 tons and the annual growth is equal to about 850 tons. The storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel from the main nuclear reactors of Russia (RBMK-1000, VVER-1000, BN-600, EGP-6) were designed in the 60s - 70s. In the last years when the concept of closed fuel cycle and safety requirements had changed, the need was generated to have the nuclear storage facilities more crowded. First of all it is due to the necessity to increase the storage capacity because the RBMK-1000, VVER-1000, EGP-6 fuel is not reprocessed. So there comes the need for the facilities of a bigger capacity which meet the current safety requirements. The paper presents the results of studies of the most important nuclear safety issues, in particular: development of regulatory requirements; analysis of design-basis and beyond-the design-basis accidents (DBA and BDBA); computation code development and verification; justification of nuclear safety when water density goes down; the use of burn-up fraction values; the necessity and possibility to experimentally study the storage facility subcriticality; development of storage norms and rules for new types of fuel assemblies with mixed fuel and burnable poison. (author)

  5. Developing new transportable storage casks for interim dry storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayashi, K.; Iwasa, K.; Araki, K.; Asano, R.

    2004-01-01

    Transportable storage metal casks are to be consistently used during transport and storage for AFR interim dry storage facilities planning in Japan. The casks are required to comply with the technical standards of regulations for both transport (hereinafter called ''transport regulation'') and storage (hereafter called ''storage regulation'') to maintain safety functions (heat transfer, containment, shielding and sub-critical control). In addition to these requirements, it is not planned in normal state to change the seal materials during storage at the storage facility, therefore it is requested to use same seal materials when the casks are transported after storage period. The dry transportable storage metal casks that satisfy the requirements have been developed to meet the needs of the dry storage facilities. The basic policy of this development is to utilize proven technology achieved from our design and fabrication experience, to carry out necessary verification for new designs and to realize a safe and rational design with higher capacity and efficient fabrication

  6. Integrated System for Retrieval, Transportation and Consolidated Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel in the US - 13312

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bracey, William; Bondre, Jayant; Shelton, Catherine; Edmonds, Robert

    2013-01-01

    The current inventory of used nuclear fuel assemblies (UNFAs) from commercial reactor operations in the United States totals approximately 65,000 metric tons or approximately 232,000 UNFAs primarily stored at the 104 operational reactors in the US and a small number of decommissioned reactors. This inventory is growing at a rate of roughly 2,000 to 2,400 metric tons each year, (Approx. 7,000 UNFAs) as a result of ongoing commercial reactor operations. Assuming an average of 10 metric tons per storage/transportation casks, this inventory of commercial UNFAs represents about 6,500 casks with an additional of about 220 casks every year. In January 2010, the Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) [1] was directed to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and recommend a new plan. The BRC issued their final recommendations in January 2012. One of the main recommendations is for the United States to proceed promptly to develop one or more consolidated storage facilities (CSF) as part of an integrated, comprehensive plan for safely managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Based on its extensive experience in storage and transportation cask design, analysis, licensing, fabrication, and operations including transportation logistics, Transnuclear, Inc. (TN), an AREVA Subsidiary within the Logistics Business Unit, is engineering an integrated system that will address the complete process of commercial UNFA management. The system will deal with UNFAs in their current storage mode in various configurations, the preparation including handling and additional packaging where required and transportation of UNFAs to a CSF site, and subsequent storage, operation and maintenance at the CSF with eventual transportation to a future repository or recycling site. It is essential to proceed by steps to ensure that the system will be the most efficient and serve at best its purpose by defining: the problem to be resolved, the criteria to

  7. Integrated System for Retrieval, Transportation and Consolidated Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel in the US - 13312

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bracey, William; Bondre, Jayant; Shelton, Catherine [Transnuclear, Inc., 7135 Minstrel Way Suite 300, Columbia MD 21045 (United States); Edmonds, Robert [AREVA Federal Services, 7207 IBM Drive, Charlotte NC 28262 (United States)

    2013-07-01

    The current inventory of used nuclear fuel assemblies (UNFAs) from commercial reactor operations in the United States totals approximately 65,000 metric tons or approximately 232,000 UNFAs primarily stored at the 104 operational reactors in the US and a small number of decommissioned reactors. This inventory is growing at a rate of roughly 2,000 to 2,400 metric tons each year, (Approx. 7,000 UNFAs) as a result of ongoing commercial reactor operations. Assuming an average of 10 metric tons per storage/transportation casks, this inventory of commercial UNFAs represents about 6,500 casks with an additional of about 220 casks every year. In January 2010, the Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) [1] was directed to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and recommend a new plan. The BRC issued their final recommendations in January 2012. One of the main recommendations is for the United States to proceed promptly to develop one or more consolidated storage facilities (CSF) as part of an integrated, comprehensive plan for safely managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Based on its extensive experience in storage and transportation cask design, analysis, licensing, fabrication, and operations including transportation logistics, Transnuclear, Inc. (TN), an AREVA Subsidiary within the Logistics Business Unit, is engineering an integrated system that will address the complete process of commercial UNFA management. The system will deal with UNFAs in their current storage mode in various configurations, the preparation including handling and additional packaging where required and transportation of UNFAs to a CSF site, and subsequent storage, operation and maintenance at the CSF with eventual transportation to a future repository or recycling site. It is essential to proceed by steps to ensure that the system will be the most efficient and serve at best its purpose by defining: the problem to be resolved, the criteria to

  8. Basic Considerations for Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuels and Revisited CFD Thermal Analysis on the Concrete Cask

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noh, Jae Soo [ACT Co. Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Younwon; Song, Sub Lee [BEES Inc., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hyeun Min [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    The integrity of storage facility and also of the spent nuclear fuel itself is considered very important. Storage casks can be located in a designated area on a site or in a designated storage building. A number of different designs for dry storage have been developed and used in different countries. Dry storage system was classified into two categories by IAEA. One is container including cask and silo, the other one is vault. However, there is various way of categorization for dry storage system. Dry silo and cask are usually classified separately, so the dry storage system can be classified into three different types. Furthermore, dry cask storage can be categorized into two types based on the type of the materials, concrete cask and metal cask. In this paper, the design characteristics of dry storage cask are introduced and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based thermal analysis for concrete cask is revisited. Basic principles for dry storage cask design were described. Based on that, thermal analysis of concrete dry cask was introduced from the study of H. M. Kim et al. From the CFD calculation, the temperature of concrete wall was maintained under the safety criteria. From this fundamental analysis, further investigations are expected. For example, thermal analysis on the metal cask, thermal analysis on horizontally laid spent nuclear fuel assemblies for transportation concerns, and investigations on better performance of natural air circulation in dry cask can be promising candidates.

  9. Basic Considerations for Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuels and Revisited CFD Thermal Analysis on the Concrete Cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noh, Jae Soo; Park, Younwon; Song, Sub Lee; Kim, Hyeun Min

    2016-01-01

    The integrity of storage facility and also of the spent nuclear fuel itself is considered very important. Storage casks can be located in a designated area on a site or in a designated storage building. A number of different designs for dry storage have been developed and used in different countries. Dry storage system was classified into two categories by IAEA. One is container including cask and silo, the other one is vault. However, there is various way of categorization for dry storage system. Dry silo and cask are usually classified separately, so the dry storage system can be classified into three different types. Furthermore, dry cask storage can be categorized into two types based on the type of the materials, concrete cask and metal cask. In this paper, the design characteristics of dry storage cask are introduced and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based thermal analysis for concrete cask is revisited. Basic principles for dry storage cask design were described. Based on that, thermal analysis of concrete dry cask was introduced from the study of H. M. Kim et al. From the CFD calculation, the temperature of concrete wall was maintained under the safety criteria. From this fundamental analysis, further investigations are expected. For example, thermal analysis on the metal cask, thermal analysis on horizontally laid spent nuclear fuel assemblies for transportation concerns, and investigations on better performance of natural air circulation in dry cask can be promising candidates

  10. Self-assembled nanostructures

    CERN Document Server

    Zhang, Jin Z; Liu, Jun; Chen, Shaowei; Liu, Gang-yu

    2003-01-01

    Nanostructures refer to materials that have relevant dimensions on the nanometer length scales and reside in the mesoscopic regime between isolated atoms and molecules in bulk matter. These materials have unique physical properties that are distinctly different from bulk materials. Self-Assembled Nanostructures provides systematic coverage of basic nanomaterials science including materials assembly and synthesis, characterization, and application. Suitable for both beginners and experts, it balances the chemistry aspects of nanomaterials with physical principles. It also highlights nanomaterial-based architectures including assembled or self-assembled systems. Filled with in-depth discussion of important applications of nano-architectures as well as potential applications ranging from physical to chemical and biological systems, Self-Assembled Nanostructures is the essential reference or text for scientists involved with nanostructures.

  11. German Approach for the Transport of Spent Fuel Packages after Interim Storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wille, Frank; Wolff, Dietmar; Droste, Bernhard; Voelzke, Holger

    2014-01-01

    In Germany the concept of dry interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in dual purpose metal casks is implemented, currently for periods of up to 40 years. The casks being used have an approved package design in accordance with the international transport regulations. The license for dry storage is granted on the German Atomic Energy Act with respect to the recently (in 2012) revised 'Guidelines for dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel and heat-generating waste' by the German Waste management Commission (ESK) which are very similar to the former RSK (reactor safety commission) guidelines. For transport on public routes between or after long term interim storage periods, it has to be ensured that the transport and storage casks fulfil the specifications of the transport approval or other sufficient properties which satisfy the proofs for the compliance of the safety objectives at that time. In recent years the validation period of transport approval certificates for manufactured, loaded and stored packages were discussed among authorities and applicants. A case dependent system of 3, 5 and 10 years was established. There are consequences for the safety cases in the Package Design Safety Report including evaluation of long term behavior of components and specific operating procedures of the package. Present research and knowledge concerning the long term behavior of transport and storage cask components have to be consulted as well as experiences from interim cask storage operations. Challenges in the safety assessment are e.g. the behavior of aged metal and elastomeric seals under IAEA test conditions to ensure that the results of drop tests can be transferred to the compliance of the safety objectives at the time of transport after the interim storage period (aged package). Assessment methods for the material compatibility, the behavior of fuel assemblies and the aging behavior of shielding parts are issues as well. This paper describes the state

  12. Dry storage of MTR spent fuel from the Argentine radioisotope production reactor RA-3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Marco, A.; Gillaume, E.J.; Ruggirello, G.; Zaweruchi, A.

    1996-01-01

    The nuclear fuel elements of the RA-3 reactor consist in 19 rectangular fuel plates held in position by two lateral structural plates. The whole assembly is coupled to the lower nozzles that fits in the reactor core grid. The inner plates are 1.5 mm thick, 70.5 mm wide and 655 mm long and the outer plates are 100 mm longer. The fuel plates are formed by a core of an AI-U alloy co-laminated between two plates of Al. Enrichment is 90% 235 U. After being extracted from the reactor, the fuel elements have been let to cool down in the reactor storage pool and finally moved to the storage facility. This facility is a grid of vertical underground channels connected by a piping system. The system is filled with processed and controlled water. At the present the storage capacity of the facility is near to be depleted and some indications of deterioration of the fuel elements has been detected. Due to the present status of the facility and the spent fuel stored there, a decision has been taken to proceed to modify the present underwater storage to dry storage. The project consist in: a) Decontamination and conditioning of the storage channels to prepare them for dry storage. b) Disassembly of the fuel elements in hot cells in order to can only the active fuel plates in an adequate tight canister. c) The remnant structural pieces will be treated as low level waste. (author). 10 figs

  13. Groundwater and Terrestrial Water Storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodell, Matthew; Chambers, Don P.; Famiglietti, James S.

    2011-01-01

    Most people think of groundwater as a resource, but it is also a useful indicator of climate variability and human impacts on the environment. Groundwater storage varies slowly relative to other non-frozen components of the water cycle, encapsulating long period variations and trends in surface meteorology. On seasonal to interannual timescales, groundwater is as dynamic as soil moisture, and it has been shown that groundwater storage changes have contributed to sea level variations. Groundwater monitoring well measurements are too sporadic and poorly assembled outside of the United States and a few other nations to permit direct global assessment of groundwater variability. However, observational estimates of terrestrial water storage (TWS) variations from the GRACE satellites largely represent groundwater storage variations on an interannual basis, save for high latitude/altitude (dominated by snow and ice) and wet tropical (surface water) regions. A figure maps changes in mean annual TWS from 2009 to 2010, based on GRACE, reflecting hydroclimatic conditions in 2010. Severe droughts impacted Russia and the Amazon, and drier than normal weather also affected the Indochinese peninsula, parts of central and southern Africa, and western Australia. Groundwater depletion continued in northern India, while heavy rains in California helped to replenish aquifers that have been depleted by drought and withdrawals for irrigation, though they are still below normal levels. Droughts in northern Argentina and western China similarly abated. Wet weather raised aquifer levels broadly across western Europe. Rains in eastern Australia caused flooding to the north and helped to mitigate a decade long drought in the south. Significant reductions in TWS seen in the coast of Alaska and the Patagonian Andes represent ongoing glacier melt, not groundwater depletion. Figures plot time series of zonal mean and global GRACE derived non-seasonal TWS anomalies (deviation from the mean of

  14. Fabrication and operational experience with the interim storage cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, P.L.

    1998-01-01

    This paper discusses the fabrication and operational experience of the Interim Storage Cask (ISC). The ISC is a dry storage cask which is used to safely store a Core Component Container (CCC) containing up to seven Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) spent fuel assemblies at the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site. Under contract to B and W Hanford Company (BWHC), General Atomics (GA) designed and fabricated thirty ISC casks which BWHC is remotely loading at the FFTF facility. BWHC designed and fabricated the CCCS. As of December 1997, thirty ISCs have been fabricated, of which eighteen have been loaded and moved to a storage site adjacent to the FFTF facility. Fabrication consisted of three sets of casks. The first unit was completed and acceptance tested before any other units were fabricated. After the first unit passed all acceptance tests, nine more units were fabricated in the first production run. Before those nine units were completed, GA began a production run of twenty more units. The paper provides an overview of the cask design and discusses the problems encountered in fabrication, their resolution, and changes made in the fabrication processes to improve the quality of the casks. The paper also discusses the loading process and operational experiences with loading and handling of the casks. Information on loading times, worker dose exposure, and total dose for loading are presented

  15. Effects of balneotherapy on the reactants of acute inflammation phase in Ankylosing spondylitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stamenković Bojana

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects sacroiliac joints, spinal column and peripheral joints. Beside medication therapy, physical and balneotherapy play an important role in its complex treatment. Objective. The aim of the research was to establish serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP, α 1-acid glycoprotein (α 1-AGP, ceruloplasmine (CP and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (SE before and after the balneotherapy in ankylosing spondylitis. Methods. The research included 50 AS patients according to the revised New York criteria, of mean age 43 years, who were treated for 14 days on the average at the Clinic for Rheumatology of the Institute 'Niška Banja'. All the patients received medications and balneotherapy (radioactive oligomineral baths, peloid, massage, kinesitherapy; the serum concentrations of CRP, α1-AGP, CP and SE were measured before and after balneotherapy. Serum proteins were determined using original Nor Partigen plates Boehringer. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was measured by Westergreen method. Balneotherapy was applied individually, intensively or mildly, depending on the AS stage and activity phase. Results. After dosed balneotherapy, a significant decrease in the concentrations of CP (p<0.05, α1-AGP (p<0.01 and CRP (p<0.05 was registered in the serums of AS patients. ESR was not significantly reduced. Conclusion. The research proved that α 1-acid glycoprotein, ceruloplasmine and C-reactive protein represent more sensitive inflammation markers as compared to erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The identification of acute phase reactants is important in the evaluation of dosed balneotherapy efficiency in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis.

  16. Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 135: Areas 25 Underground Storage Tanks, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D. H. Cox

    2001-06-01

    Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 135, Area 25 Underground Storage Tanks, was closed in accordance with the approved Corrective Action Plan (DOE/NV, 2000). CAU 135 consists of three Corrective Action Sites (CAS). Two of these CAS's were identified in the Corrective Action Investigation Data Quality Objective meeting as being improperly identified as underground storage tanks. CAS 25-02-03 identified as the Deluge Valve Pit was actually an underground electrical vault and CAS 25-02-10 identified as an Underground Storage Tank was actually a former above ground storage tank filled with demineralized water. Both of these CAS's are recommended for a no further action closure. CAS 25-02-01 the Underground Storage Tanks commonly referred to as the Engine Maintenance Assembly and Disassembly Waste Holdup Tanks and Vault was closed by decontaminating the vault structure and conducting a radiological verification survey to document compliance with the Nevada Test Site unrestricted use release criteria. The Area 25 Underground Storage Tanks, (CAS 25-02-01), referred to as the Engine Maintenance, Assembly, and Disassembly (E-MAD) Waste Holdup Tanks and Vault, were used to receive liquid waste from all of the radioactive and cell service area drains at the E-MAD Facility. Based on the results of the Corrective Action Investigation conducted in June 1999, discussed in ''The Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 135: Area 25 Underground Storage Tanks, Nevada Test Site, Nevada'' (DOE/NV, 199a), one sample from the radiological survey of the concrete vault interior exceeded radionuclide preliminary action levels. The analytes from the sediment samples exceeded the preliminary action levels for polychlorinated biphenyls, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons as diesel-range organics, and radionuclides. The CAU 135 closure activities consisted of scabbling radiological ''hot spots

  17. Functionalization of graphene for efficient energy conversion and storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Liming

    2013-01-15

    As global energy consumption accelerates at an alarming rate, the development of clean and renewable energy conversion and storage systems has become more important than ever. Although the efficiency of energy conversion and storage devices depends on a variety of factors, their overall performance strongly relies on the structure and properties of the component materials. Nanotechnology has opened up new frontiers in materials science and engineering to meet this challenge by creating new materials, particularly carbon nanomaterials, for efficient energy conversion and storage. As a building block for carbon materials of all other dimensionalities (such as 0D buckyball, 1D nanotube, 3D graphite), the two-dimensional (2D) single atomic carbon sheet of graphene has emerged as an attractive candidate for energy applications due to its unique structure and properties. Like other materials, however, a graphene-based material that possesses desirable bulk properties rarely features the surface characteristics required for certain specific applications. Therefore, surface functionalization is essential, and researchers have devised various covalent and noncovalent chemistries for making graphene materials with the bulk and surface properties needed for efficient energy conversion and storage. In this Account, I summarize some of our new ideas and strategies for the controlled functionalization of graphene for the development of efficient energy conversion and storage devices, such as solar cells, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and batteries. The dangling bonds at the edge of graphene can be used for the covalent attachment of various chemical moieties while the graphene basal plane can be modified via either covalent or noncovalent functionalization. The asymmetric functionalization of the two opposite surfaces of individual graphene sheets with different moieties can lead to the self-assembly of graphene sheets into hierarchically structured materials. Judicious

  18. Developing new transportable storage casks for interim dry storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hayashi, K.; Iwasa, K.; Araki, K.; Asano, R. [Hitachi Zosen Diesel and Engineering Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2004-07-01

    Transportable storage metal casks are to be consistently used during transport and storage for AFR interim dry storage facilities planning in Japan. The casks are required to comply with the technical standards of regulations for both transport (hereinafter called ''transport regulation'') and storage (hereafter called ''storage regulation'') to maintain safety functions (heat transfer, containment, shielding and sub-critical control). In addition to these requirements, it is not planned in normal state to change the seal materials during storage at the storage facility, therefore it is requested to use same seal materials when the casks are transported after storage period. The dry transportable storage metal casks that satisfy the requirements have been developed to meet the needs of the dry storage facilities. The basic policy of this development is to utilize proven technology achieved from our design and fabrication experience, to carry out necessary verification for new designs and to realize a safe and rational design with higher capacity and efficient fabrication.

  19. Hydrogen generation systems utilizing sodium silicide and sodium silica gel materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Andrew P.; Melack, John M.; Lefenfeld, Michael

    2015-07-14

    Systems, devices, and methods combine reactant materials and aqueous solutions to generate hydrogen. The reactant materials can sodium silicide or sodium silica gel. The hydrogen generation devices are used in fuels cells and other industrial applications. One system combines cooling, pumping, water storage, and other devices to sense and control reactions between reactant materials and aqueous solutions to generate hydrogen. Multiple inlets of varied placement geometries deliver aqueous solution to the reaction. The reactant materials and aqueous solution are churned to control the state of the reaction. The aqueous solution can be recycled and returned to the reaction. One system operates over a range of temperatures and pressures and includes a hydrogen separator, a heat removal mechanism, and state of reaction control devices. The systems, devices, and methods of generating hydrogen provide thermally stable solids, near-instant reaction with the aqueous solutions, and a non-toxic liquid by-product.

  20. Hydrogen generation systems and methods utilizing sodium silicide and sodium silica gel materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wallace, Andrew P.; Melack, John M.; Lefenfeld, Michael

    2017-12-19

    Systems, devices, and methods combine thermally stable reactant materials and aqueous solutions to generate hydrogen and a non-toxic liquid by-product. The reactant materials can sodium silicide or sodium silica gel. The hydrogen generation devices are used in fuels cells and other industrial applications. One system combines cooling, pumping, water storage, and other devices to sense and control reactions between reactant materials and aqueous solutions to generate hydrogen. Springs and other pressurization mechanisms pressurize and deliver an aqueous solution to the reaction. A check valve and other pressure regulation mechanisms regulate the pressure of the aqueous solution delivered to the reactant fuel material in the reactor based upon characteristics of the pressurization mechanisms and can regulate the pressure of the delivered aqueous solution as a steady decay associated with the pressurization force. The pressure regulation mechanism can also prevent hydrogen gas from deflecting the pressure regulation mechanism.