DOCSLIB.ORG

Final Environmental Impact Statement Construction and Operation of The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Final Environmental Impact Statement Construction and Operation of The DOE/EIS-0247 SNS FEIS Cover Sheet COVER SHEET RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) TITLE: Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), Construction and Operation of the Spallation Neutron Source (DOE/EIS-0247) LOCATIONS OF ALTERNATIVE SITES: Illinois, New Mexico, New York, and Tennessee. CONTACT: For further information on this document, write or call: Mr. David Wilfert, EIS Document Manager Mr. Jeff Hoy, SNS Program Manager Oak Ridge Operations Office Office of Basic Energy Research U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy (ER-10) 200 Administration Road, 146/FEDC Germantown, MD 20874 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 Telephone: (301) 903-4924 Telephone: (800) 927-9964 Facsimile: (301) 903-9513 Facsimile: (423) 576-4542 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] For general information on DOE's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42) U. S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20585 Telephone: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at (800) 472-2756 Facsimile: (202) 586-7031 ABSTRACT: DOE proposes to construct and operate a state-of-the-art, short-pulsed spallation neutron source comprised of an ion source, a linear accelerator, a proton accumulator ring, and an experiment building containing a liquid mercury target and a suite of neutron scattering instrumentation. The proposed Spallation Neutron Source would be designed to operate at a proton beam power of 1 megawatt. The design would accommodate future upgrades to a peak operating power of 4 megawatts. These upgrades may include construction of a second proton accumulator ring and a second target. The United States needs a high-flux, short-pulsed neutron source to provide the scientific and industrial research communities with a much more intense source of pulsed neutrons for neutron scattering research than is currently available, and to assure the availability of a state-of-the-art facility in the decades ahead. This next-generation neutron source would create new scientific and engineering opportunities. In addition, it would help replace the neutron science capacity that will be lost by the eventual shutdown of existing sources as they reach the end of their useful operating lives in the first half of the next century. This document analyzes the potential environmental impacts from the proposed action and the alternatives. The analysis assumes a facility operating at a power of 1 MW and 4 MW over the life of the facility. The two primary alternatives analyzed in this FEIS are: the proposed action (to proceed with building the Spallation Neutron Source) and the No-Action Alternative. The No-Action Alternative describes the expected condition of the environment if no action were taken. Four siting alternatives for the Spallation DOE/EIS-0247 Cover Sheet SNS FEIS Neutron Source are evaluated: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, (preferred alternative); Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL; Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY; and Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM. PUBLIC COMMENT AND DOE DECISION: The Draft EIS (DEIS) was released to the public for review and comment on December 24, 1998. The comment period extended until February 8, 1999, although late comments were accepted to the extent practicable. All of the received comments were considered in preparation of the FEIS1. DOE will use the analysis in this FEIS and prepare a Record of Decision on construction and operation of the proposed SNS and selection of a site for implementing this proposed action. This decision will be no sooner than 30 days after the Notice of Availability of the FEIS is published in the Federal Register. __________________________ 1 Text additions made since publication of the DEIS are marked with vertical margin bars and the underlining of text in this FEIS. Vertical bars without underlining indicate the deletion of text or the addition of new tables. DOE/EIS-0247 SNS FEIS Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................... S-1 S 1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... S-1 S 1.1 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR AGENCY ACTION............................................................ S-1 S 1.2. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES............................................................... S-4 S 1.2.1 Proposed Action.............................................................................................................. S-4 S 1.2.2 Siting Alternatives for the Proposed Action ..................................................................... S-7 S 1.2.3 No-Action Alternative ..................................................................................................... S-8 S 1.2.4 Alternatives Considered But Eliminated from Detailed Analysis...................................... S-8 S 1.3 DESCRIPTIONS OF SITING ALTERNATIVES............................................................ S-9 S 1.3.1 ORNL Alternative (Preferred Alternative) ....................................................................... S-9 S 1.3.2 LANL Alternative ......................................................................................................... S-11 S 1.3.3 ANL Alternative............................................................................................................ S-13 S 1.3.4 BNL Alternative............................................................................................................ S-15 S 1.4 ISSUES OF PUBLIC CONCERN AND AREAS OF CONTROVERSY....................... S-17 S 1.4.1 Radioactive Contamination of Groundwater .................................................................. S-17 S 1.4.2 Selection of the Proposed SNS Site on the Oak Ridge Reservation................................. S-18 S 1.4.3 Effects on Research Projects in the Walker Branch Watershed....................................... S-19 S 1.4.4 Mitigation Action Plan .................................................................................................. S-19 S 1.5 DEIS REVISIONS REFLECTED IN THE FEIS .......................................................... S-20 S 1.6 ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED ......................................................................................... S-20 S 1.7 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES....................................................................... S-21 S 1.7.1 Summary of Environmental Impacts from the Alternatives ............................................ S-21 S 1.7.1.1 ORNL Alternative ................................................................................................. S-21 S 1.7.1.2 LANL Alternative.................................................................................................. S-21 S 1.7.1.3 ANL Alternative.................................................................................................... S-23 S 1.7.1.4 BNL Alternative .................................................................................................... S-25 S 1.7.1.5 No-Action Alternative ........................................................................................... S-27 S 1.7.2 Tabular Summary of Environmental Impacts............................................................... S-288 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................................. AACC-1 Units of Measure..................................................................................................................AACC-5 Chemicals and Elements ......................................................................................................AACC-7 Radionuclides ......................................................................................................................AACC-8 Metric Conversion Chart......................................................................................................AACC-9 Metric Prefixes...................................................................................................................AACC-10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1-1 1.1 BACKGROUND ON NEUTRON SCATTERING SCIENCE AND FACILITIES.............1-1 1.2 CURRENT AND FUTURE NEUTRON SOURCES ............................................................1-4 TOC-1 DOE/EIS-0247 Table of Contents SNS FEIS 1.3 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ANALYZED............................................1-8 1.3.1 The Proposed Action ...........................................................................................................1-8 1.3.2 Basis of Proposed Action...................................................................................................1-10 1.3.3 Alternatives Analyzed .......................................................................................................1-12 1.3.4 Siting Alternatives Considered in this FEIS .......................................................................1-12 1.4 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS PROCESS.....................................................................1-13 1.4.1 The Scoping Process and Major Issues Identified for Analysis ...........................................1-14 1.4.2 Preparation and Public Review of the Draft Environmental Impact
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Overview of Research and Applications of Neutron Beams: Present Status and Future Activities in Japan
    Overview of Research and Applications of Neutron Beams: Present Status and Future Activities in Japan N. Metoki Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Quantum Beam Science Directorate, 2-4 Shirakata, Shirane, Tokai, Naka, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan Email of the corresponding author: [email protected] There are four neutron sources available for beam experiments in Japan as shown in Table 1. The continuous beam with medium flux from JRR-3 and the intense pulse neutron source of J-PARC/MLF are used for structural and dynamical studies on materials and in life science. Both facilities are at the Tokai site of JAEA, a center of excellence in neutron science. The large pulse height and the time-of- flight (TOF) technique significantly increase the efficiency of the spectrometers at J-PARC/MLF, which now operate at ~200 kW. The proton beam power will be increased to ~300 kW this summer and to 1 MW in the future. JRR-3 remains useful because the time-averaged flux is comparable to that of J-PARC/MLF. The TOF technique is highly efficient for measurements in a wide momentum- energy (q,w) space, while time-averaged flux is crucial for pinpoint measurements in a narrow (q,w) space. The upgrade and reallocation of instruments at JRR-3 are under consideration for the purpose of complementary use with J-PARC/MLF. TABLE 1. NEUTRON SOURCES FOR BEAM EXPERIMENTS IN JAPAN. Neutron Type Beam Power, Instruments Location source character Time-averaged flux JRR-3 Swimming pool + Continuous 20 MW, 3x1014 cm-2s-1 for 37 Tokai- heavy-water reflector thermal instruments Ibaraki J-PARC Spallation, Liquid Short pulse 1 MW, 23 Tokai- /MLF hydrogen moderator 25 Hz, ~3x1014 cm-2s-1eV-1srad-1 instruments Ibaraki (thermal, CM) KUR Swimming pool, Tank Continuous 5 MW, 3x1013 cm-2s-1 for 8 Kumatori- type thermal instruments Osaka Hokudai Electron linac Short pulse 45 MeV, 1 mA 3 Sapporo- Linac beam lines Hokkaido The neutron fluxes of the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) and the Hokkaido university linac (Hokudai Linac) are rather weak.
    [Show full text]
  • The Institut Laue Langevin Global Leadership in Neutron Science
    The Institut Laue Langevin Global leadership in neutron science The Institut Laue Langevin At the service of the European neutron community Created in 1967. 3 Associates (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) 11 scientific members A staff of 500 people An annual budget > 80 M€ An investment share of 20 % 2 The Institut Laue Langevin: A reference in terms of knowledge creation within the neutron community 1400 peer reviewed proposals 2000 users 800 experiments 600 publications 3 Continuous upgrading of the scientific infrastructure The « Millennium Programme » has allowed to increase the overall performance by a factor of 20. ILL-2020 is on ESFRI roadmap. 4 Science enabled by neutron sources Helmut Schober Institut Laue Langevin The neutron as probe of matter From the elementary particle to macroscopic objects http://www.iki.kfki.hu/nuclear/research/index_en.shtml The decisive properties of the neutron •Electrically neutral. •Interacts with the nuclei via the strong interaction. •Carries a magnetic moment. •Possesses a mass slightly above that of the proton. •Consequences: DNA without H DNA with H •Simple theoretical description (Born approximation). •Isotope specific contrast. •Gentle and deeply penetrating. •Extreme sensitivity towards magnetism. •Extremely sensitive to microscopic dynamics (fs to µs). The specific case of scattering Neutron wavelength correspond to typical microscopic length scales in matter. The corresponding neutron energies match very well the typical excitation energies of these objects. From 1000 nm down to 0.001 nm and µs (∼1 neV) and 10 fs (∼500 meV) Cold Neutrons Hot Neutrons How to produce free neutrons Fission Spallation 180 MeV/neutron for a reactor 20 MeV/neutron for a spallation source A 1 MW spallation source creates at least the same costs as a 60 MW reactor As produced neutrons have extremely high energies In the case of spallation the mean energies are even higher.
    [Show full text]
  • Experimental Facilities Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum Experimental Facilities Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) Contents
    Experimental facilities Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum Experimental facilities Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) Contents Preface 6 The neutron source FRM II 10 Secondary neutron sources 12 Neutron guides 14 Diffraction RESI thermal neutron single crystal diffractometer 18 HEIDI single crystal diffractometer on hot source 20 POLI polarized hot neutron diffractometer 22 SPODI high resolution powder diffractometer 24 STRESS-SPEC materials science diffractometer 26 BIODIFF diffractometer for large unit cells 28 MIRA multipurpose instrument 30 SANS and Reflectrometry KWS-1 small angle scattering diffractometer 34 KWS-2 small angle scattering diffractometer 36 KWS-3 very small angle scattering diffractometer 38 SANS-1 small angle neutron scattering 40 REFSANS reflectometer and evanescent wave small angle neutron spectrometer 42 NREX neutron reflectometer with X-ray option 44 MARIA magnetic reflectometer with high incident angle 46 Spectroscopy PUMA thermal three axes spectrometer 50 PANDA cold three axes spectrometer 52 TRISP three axes spin echo spectrometer 54 TOFTOF cold neutron time-of-flight spectrometer 56 SPHERES backscattering spectrometer 58 RESEDA resonance spin echo spectrometer 60 J-NSE neutron spin-echo spectrometer 62 DNS Diffuse scattering neutron time of flight spectrometer 64 Imaging ANTARES cold neutron radiography and tomography station 68 NECTAR radiography and tomography using fission neutrons 70 4 Contents Positrons NEPOMUC neutron induced positron source munich 74 CDBS coincident Doppler-broadening spectrometer 76 PAES
    [Show full text]
  • Unique Roles of Compact Neutron Sources
    Unique Roles of Compact Neutron Sources: Starlets Against the Backdrop of Cosmic Light P.E. Sokol C.K. Loong UCANS‐I 16‐18 August 2010 Neutron Scattering in Europe User Community – 6000-8000 Large University based community UCANS‐I 16‐18 August 2010 The “Standard Model” for New Sources SNS JPARC The US Community Now has state-of-the art facilities comparable to/better than Europe User Community ~800 Users HFIR Mainly National Lab Staff UCANS‐I 16‐18 August 2010 The Need for New Sources The broad impact of having a moderate intensity accelerator‐based neutron source in a university environment is of major significance to our national scientific effort. We have all seen how neutron research in Europe blossomed as a result of their university‐based research teams. We have suffered significantly because of a lack of university involvement in this area. NSF Reviewer Reactors Pulsed Sources (short pulsed) National/International (2nd/3rd) SNS, HFIR, LANSCE, NIST ILL, ISIS, PSI, FRM‐II, Saclay University/Regional (1st) MURR, LENS Budapest, Berlin, Delft, Gatchina, (MIT, UNC) Prague, Dubna,, Studsvik, Kjeller A network of new small sources is needed to capitalize on the multi‐billion dollar investment in large sources. UCANS‐I 16‐18 August 2010 The Next Generation Reactors have run out of room for “growth” Short pulsed spallation sources are reaching their limits UCANS‐I 16‐18 August 2010 Current generation spallation source (green field) Variety of different lay-outs for legacy accelerators (e.g., IPNS, ISIS) or combined facilities (J-PARC), other considerations (CSNS) Instantaneous power on target (for 1 MW at 60 Hz, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Declaration of David Lochbaum
    Critique of the Analysis of Safety and Environmental Risks Posed by Spent Fuel Pool Leaks in the NRC’s Draft Waste Confidence Generic Environmental Impact Statement Declaration of David Lochbaum Under penalty of perjury, I, David Lochbaum, declare as follows: I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 I am the director of the nuclear safety project for the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The UCS puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future. The UCS has over 93,000 members. 1.2 I have been retained by a group of environmental organizations to assist in the preparation of comments invited by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), on its Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Waste Confidence Decision (WC DGEIS). 1.3 The purpose of my declaration is to address the adequacy of the discussion of spent fuel pool leak risks in the WC DGEIS to support the NRC’s proposed finding in 10 CFR. § 51.23(a)(2) that it is feasible to safely store spent nuclear fuel in spent fuel pools after nuclear power reactors permanently cease operation. 1.4 My declaration is organized as follows: Section II (page 3) discusses my professional qualifications. Section III (page 5) provides introductory material on spent fuel storage in the United States and treatment of spent fuel pool leaks within the WC DGEIS. Section IV (page 10) discusses the NRC’s failure to evaluate experience from past spent fuel pool leaks in assessing future spent fuel pool leak risks for the WC DGEIS.
    [Show full text]
  • Position Sensitive Measurement of Trace Lithium in the Brain with NIK (Neutron‑Induced Coincidence Method) in Suicide J
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Position sensitive measurement of trace lithium in the brain with NIK (neutron‑induced coincidence method) in suicide J. Schoepfer1*, R. Gernhäuser2, S. Lichtinger2, A. Stöver1, M. Bendel2, C. Delbridge3, T. Widmann2, S. Winkler2 & M. Graw1 Mood disorder is the leading intrinsic risk factor for suicidal ideation. Questioning any potency of mood‑stabilizers, the monovalent cation lithium still holds the throne in medical psychiatric treatment. Furthermore, lithium`s anti‑aggressive and suicide‑preventive capacity in clinical practice is well established. But little is still known about trace lithium distribution and any associated metabolic efects in the human body. We applied a new technique (neutron‑induced coincidence method “NIK”) utilizing the 6Li(n,α)3H reaction for the position sensitive, 3D spatially resolved detection of lithium traces in post‑mortem human brain tissue in suicide versus control. NIK allowed, for the frst time in lithium research, to collect a three dimensional high resolution map of the regional trace lithium content in the non lithium‑medicated human brain. The results show an anisotropic distribution of lithium, thus indicating a homeostatic regulation under physiological conditions as a remarkable link to essentiality. In contrast to suicide we could empirically prove signifcantly higher endogenous lithium concentrations in white compared to gray matter as a general trend in non‑ suicidal individuals and lower lithium concentrations in emotion‑modulating regions in suicide.
    [Show full text]
  • Westinghouse Hanford Company Reference Guide Acronyms and Abbreviations
    00 3087 WHC-EP-0009 Volume 1 Westinghouse Hanford Company Reference Guide Acronyms and Abbreviations Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Management and Administration ~ Westinghouse \::::) Hanford Company Richland, Washington Hanford Operations and Engineering Contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-87RL 10930 Approved for Public Release RECORD OF (1) Document Number I REVISION Page lofl J WHC-EP -0009 J W Title and Abbreviations V-: estinghouse Hanford Company Rl:fe-=r~nce- ~ui-de . Acronyms CHANGE CONTROL RECORD Authorized for Release (3) Rev1s1on (4) Description of Change - Replace, Add. and Delete Pages (5) Cog.1Pro1. Engr. (6) Cog./Pr0J . Mgr. Date (7) Revision 1 Page 7 20 52 100 103 110 258 318 7)0/fc Replace all to show minor mJ. ,-~ X't~ corrections to content ' A-7320-005 (12189) The following is a summary of instructions to be used in preparing Record of Revision page and how appropriate Engineering Change Notice (ECN) and revisions are identified. NOTE: Prior to revision of an engineering document, all proposed changes shall have been approved by an ECN. The Record of Revision sheet shall include the following information. 1) The engineering document number. 2) The title of the engineering document. Change Control Record 3) The revision number of the change. 4) A description of the change, including page changes, additions, and deletions where appropriate. List the approved ECN number(s) which have been incorporated. 5) The authorizing signature of the Cognizant/Project Engineer signifying accurate editorial incorporation of the previously approved change.
    [Show full text]
  • Institut Laue-Langevin and the University of Edinburgh
    Where and how to get your neutrons Andrew Harrison Institut Laue-Langevin and The University of Edinburgh 13th Oxford School on Neutron Scattering September 2013 1 Oxford University Overview • Where – places to get neutrons? • Who – eligibility to apply? • How – gaining access? 2 Why? • Huge sweep of science across many length and time-scales 3 Where to get your neutrons ? Mozilla Firefox. lnk • Sources worldwide – http://neutronsources.org – http://www.neutron.anl.gov • Sources in Europe: European Neutron and Muon portal (NMI3/FP7) – http://nmi3.eu • Specific search facility to find which technique best suits a problem - http://nmi3.eu/neutron-research • Techniques • Scientific disciplines • ‘Grand challenges’ • Where to access them 4 Where in Europe ? Centre Organisation Location Web-site Flux/power Start-up Spallation sources ISIS Rutherford Appleton Oxford, UK http://www.isis.rl.ac.uk/ 0.16 MW 1985 Laboratory SINQ Paul Scherrer Institute Nr Willigen, http://sinq.web.psi.ch/ 1 MW 1996 Switzerland ESS ESS Lund, Sweden http://ess-scandinavia.eu/ 5 MW 2019 High-flux reactor (>1015 n cm-2 s-1) ILL Institut Laue-Langevin Grenoble, www.ill.eu 58 MW 1971 France PIK Pik Reactor, St. Petersburg, http://nrd.pnpi.spb.ru/inde 100 MW ? Kurchatov Institute Russia x_en.html 14 -2 -1 15 -2 -1 Medium-flux reactor (10 n cm s < nth < 10 n cm s ) BENSC Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Germany http://www.helmholtz- 10 MW 1992 Berlin berlin.de/ (after rebuild) LLB CEA/CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, http://www-llb.cea.fr/en/ 14 MW 1980 France FRM-II/ Munich Technical Munich,
    [Show full text]
  • NRC Collection of Abbreviations
    I Nuclear Regulatory Commission c ElLc LI El LIL El, EEELIILE El ClV. El El, El1 ....... I -4 PI AVAILABILITY NOTICE Availability of Reference Materials Cited in NRC Publications Most documents cited in NRC publications will be available from one of the following sources: 1. The NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW., Lower Level, Washington, DC 20555-0001 2. The Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P. 0. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20402-9328 3. The National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161-0002 Although the listing that follows represents the majority of documents cited in NRC publica- tions, it is not intended to be exhaustive. Referenced documents available for inspection and copying for a fee from the NRC Public Document Room include NRC correspondence and internal NRC memoranda; NRC bulletins, circulars, information notices, inspection and investigation notices; licensee event reports; vendor reports and correspondence; Commission papers; and applicant and licensee docu- ments and correspondence. The following documents in the NUREG series are available for purchase from the Government Printing Office: formal NRC staff and contractor reports, NRC-sponsored conference pro- ceedings, international agreement reports, grantee reports, and NRC booklets and bro- chures. Also available are regulatory guides, NRC regulations in the Code of Federal Regula- tions, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issuances. Documents available from the National Technical Information Service Include NUREG-series reports and technical reports prepared by other Federal agencies and reports prepared by the Atomic Energy Commission, forerunner agency to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Documents available from public and special technical libraries include all open literature items, such as books, journal articles, and transactions.
    [Show full text]
  • Safety Issues at the DOE Test and Research Reactors. a Report to the U.S
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 299 107 SE 049 603 TITLE Safety Issues at the DOE Test and Research Reactors. A Report to the U.S. Department of Energy. INSTITUTION National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources. SPONS AGENCY Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 88 CONTRACT DE-FG01-86ER35012 NOTE 151p.; Contains drawings and colored photographs which may not reproduce well. AVAILABLE FROMNational Research Council, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418 (free while supply lasts). PUB TYPE Reports - Evaluative/Feasibility (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Accident Prevention; Engineering; Higher Education; *Mechanics (Process); Nuclear Energy; *Nuclear Physics; Nuclear Power Plants; *Nuclear Power Plant Technicians; *Nuclear Technology; Radiation Effects; Safety; Science Education; *Scientific Research IDENTIFIERS Department of Energy; National Academy of Sciences; *Nuclear Engineering; Nuclear Reactors; Nuclear Wastes ABSTRACT This report provides an assessment of safety issues at the Department if Energy (DOE) test and research reactors. Part A identifies six safety issues of the reactors. These issues include the safety design philosophy, the conduct of safety reviews, the performance of probabilistic risk assessments, the reliance on reactor operators, the fragmented character of the DOE management structure, and the safety implications of the current budgetary climate. Part B provides an assessment of technical issues to each of five reactors, such as (1) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR); (2) Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBRII); (3) Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF); (4) High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR); and (5) High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR).
    [Show full text]
  • Energy-Saving Gas Turbines from the 3D Printer by Andrea Voit, Technical University Munich
    Home / Engineering Home / Energy & Green Tech APRIL 27, 2021 Energy-saving gas turbines from the 3D printer by Andrea Voit, Technical University Munich Neutrons can "see" through metal. Therefore neutron diffraction is an ideal method for measuring residual stress inside of components made by additive manufacturing. The image shows a lattice structure in the measurement position on the residual stress diffractometer STRESS-SPEC at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz of the Technical University of Munich. Credit: Dr. Tobias Fritsch / BAM 3D printing has opened up a completely new range of possibilities. One example is the production of novel turbine buckets. However, the 3D printing process often induces internal stress in the components, which can, in the worst case, lead to cracks. Now a research team has succeeded in using neutrons from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) research neutron source for non-destructive detection of this internal stress—a key achievement for the improvement of the production processes. Gas turbine buckets have to withstand extreme conditions: Under high pressure and at high temperatures they are exposed to tremendous centrifugal forces. In order to further maximize energy yields, the buckets have to hold up to temperatures which are actually higher than the melting point of the material. This is made possible using hollow turbine buckets which are air-cooled from the inside. These turbine buckets can be made using laser powder bed fusion, an additive manufacturing technology: Here, the starter material in powder form is built up layer by layer by selective melting with a laser. Following the example of avian bones, intricate lattice structures inside the hollow turbine buckets provide the part with the necessary stability.
    [Show full text]
  • FRM-II PROJECT STATUS and SAFETY of ITS COMPACT FUEL ELEMENT M. NUDING, M. ROTTMANN, A. AXMANN and K. BONING ABSTRACT 42
    FRM-II PROJECT STATUS AND SAFETY OF ITS COMPACT FUEL ELEMENT M. NUDING, M. ROTTMANN, A. AXMANN and K. BONING Technische Universitdt Munchen ZEE FRM-U-Bau D-85747 Garching - Germany ABSTRACT The construction of the new research reactor FRM-II is close to completion and the nuclear start-up is scheduled to begin in January 2001. This contribution provides an overview about the concept of the facility and the safety features of the reactor. It also describes some of the tests performed during the licensing procedure of the compact fuel element and their results. At the end a short status report is given. 1. Introduction The Technische Universitat Munchen (TUM) is presently building a new high-flux reactor, the FRM-II. This new reactor shall replace the existing "Forschungsreaktor Munchen" (FRM) which has been operating very successfully for about 43 years now. The FRM-II was developed with first priority for beam-tube experiments, but it will also provide excellent possibilities for irradiation experiments or isotope production. For this reason the reactor was designed in a way that a high and spectrally pure thermal neutron flux is available in a large volume outside of the reactor core, where it is accessible for experimental use. In addition to beam-tubes which will end in the thermal neutron field there will be beam-tubes that will provide - with the help of "spectrum shifters" - cold, hot and fast neutrons. Even though the thermal power of the FRM-II was limited to 20 MW a maximum thermal neutron flux of about 8 x 1014 cm"2s"' will be reached.
    [Show full text]