A FORCE to be reckoned with: Computer modeling for optimal energy partnerships

Integrating nuclear power into broader energy systems, including renewable energy sources and heat-intensive industries, could improve flexibility and unlock revenue streams for nuclear power producers.

DOE Announces $72 Million For Small Business Research and Development Grants

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $72 million in funding for small businesses to pursue scientific, clean energy, and climate research, development, and demonstration projects. The funding will support 296 projects across 44 states and addresses multiple topic areas, such as renewable energy, nuclear energy, cybersecurity, advanced materials and manufacturing, microelectronics, and artificial intelligence. Today’s announcement underscores the Biden-Harris Administration’s deep commitment to advancing innovative climate solutions and strengthening America’s global scientific leadership, which are critical to achieving the President’s goal of a carbon-free grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Idaho National Laboratory Begin Irrigation Modernization Case Study

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is partnering with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to modernize the Fort Hall, Idaho-based irrigation system.

Teletrix licenses methods for ionizing radiation training using augmented reality

A method using augmented reality to create accurate visual representations of ionizing radiation, developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been licensed by Teletrix, a firm that creates advanced simulation tools to train the nation’s radiation control workforce.

FROM ATOMS TO EARTHQUAKES TO MARS: HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING A SWISS ARMY KNIFE FOR MODELING AND SIMULATION

At Idaho National Laboratory, computational scientists use INL’s supercomputers to perform “virtual experiments” to accomplish research that couldn’t be done by conventional means. While supercomputing can’t replace traditional experiments, supercomputing is an essential component of all modern scientific discoveries and advancements.

Underground tests dig into how heat affects salt-bed repository behavior

Scientists from Sandia, Los Alamos and Lawrence Berkeley national laboratories have just begun the third phase of a years-long experiment to understand how salt and very salty water behave near hot nuclear waste containers in a salt-bed repository.Salt’s unique physical properties can be used to provide safe disposal of radioactive waste, said Kristopher Kuhlman, a Sandia geoscientist and technical lead for the project.

Not so Basic: Advances in pH and Phosphate Monitoring Enhance Safety in Nuclear Fuel Recycling

Two PNNL interns are behind recent innovation in real-time testing and continuous monitoring for pH and the concentration of chemicals of interest in chemical solutions; outcomes have applicability not only to nuclear, but to industries.

Researchers “Watch” Molten Salts Carve Tiny Nooks and Tunnels into Metal Alloys in 3D

A multidisciplinary team of scientists has used the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User facility located at the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, to investigate how high-temperature molten salts corrode metal alloys.

Toward Scaling Up Nanocages to Trap Noble Gases

Commercially available materials may be a potentially scalable platform for trapping gases for nuclear energy and other applications.

Extending nuclear power accident code for advanced reactor designs

A number of new nuclear reactor designs, such as small modular reactors and non-light water reactors, have been developed over the past 10 to 15 years. In order to help the Nuclear Regulatory Commission evaluate the safety of the next generation of reactors, fuel cycle facilities and fuel technologies, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have been expanding their severe accident modeling computer code, called Melcor, to work with different reactor geometries, fuel types and coolant systems.

Nuclear reactor components 3D printed by ORNL now installed at TVA Browns Ferry nuclear plant

Four first-of-a-kind 3D-printed fuel assembly brackets, produced at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have been installed and are now under routine operating conditions at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2 in Athens, Alabama.

People of Argonne’s history: A look at leaders who made Argonne what it is today

Since its founding, Argonne has employed and partnered with innovators whose contributions have dramatically pushed the frontiers of our understanding and improved the world.

Decisions, Decisions: Climate Change and Water

PNNL’s Framework for Assessment of Complex Environmental Tradeoffs (FACET) is designed to navigate and rigorously evaluate competing environmental, economic, and social impacts to help make decisions more equitable. In an example scenario prepared using publicly available data, FACET was applied to predict tradeoffs facing the Colorado River and to balance competing demands of river flow and temperature, along with withdrawals for cities, crop irrigation, and power generation.

HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE READY FOR NUCLEAR-POWERED ELECTRICITY?

A new study in the journal Risk Analysis suggests that countries representing more than 80 percent of potential growth in low-carbon electricity demand—in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa—may lack the economic or institutional quality to deploy nuclear power to meet their energy needs. The authors suggest that if nuclear power is to safely expand its role in mitigating climate change, countries need to radically improve their ability to manage the technology.

Caroline Nesaraja: Providing nothing but the best nuclear data

Nuclear physicist Caroline Nesaraja of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory evaluates nuclear data. Her work ensures that the scientific community has the best nuclear data for fundamental research and applications including medical isotopes, nuclear energy and national and international security.

Sandia to put nuclear waste storage canisters to the test

Sandia National Laboratories is outfitting three 22.5-ton, 16.5-feet-long stainless-steel storage canisters with heaters and instrumentation to simulate nuclear waste so researchers can study their durability. The three canisters, which arrived in mid-November and have never contained any nuclear materials, will be used to study how much salt gathers on canisters over time. Sandia will also study the potential for cracks caused by salt- and stress-induced corrosion with additional canisters that will be delivered during the next stage of the project.

3D-printed nuclear reactor promises faster, more economical path to nuclear energy

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are refining their design of a 3D-printed nuclear reactor core, scaling up the additive manufacturing process necessary to build it, and developing methods to confirm the consistency and reliability of its printed components.

ORNL, TVA sign agreement to collaborate on advanced reactor technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Valley Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate a new generation of flexible, cost-effective advanced nuclear reactors.

Knowledgebase is power for nuclear reactor developers

Six new nuclear reactor technologies are planned to commercially deploy between 2030 and 2040. ORNL’s Weiju Ren heads a project managing structural materials information. This conversation explores challenges and opportunities in sharing nuclear materials knowledge internationally.

Radioactive tadpoles reveal contamination clues

Tadpoles can be used to measure the amount of radiocesium, a radioactive material, in aquatic environments, according to new research from University of Georgia scientists. Whether from nuclear accidents, global fallout from weapons testing, or production of nuclear energy, tadpoles…