Award Data

THE DIFFICULTY IN PREDICTING STRUCTURAL DEGRADATION RATES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT COMPONENTS DUE TO CORROSION AND OTHER FACTORS HAS LED TO THE NEED FOR COSTLY, TIME CONSUMING INSPECTIONS AND INCREASED COST FROM INTENTIONALLY OVERDESIGNED COMPONENTS. THE SITUATION INDICATES A SERIOUS, UNMET NEED FOR A SIMPLE BUT ACCURATE SYSTEM FOR REAL- TIME, IN SITU, NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ...

THE SOLUBILITY OF AIRBORNE RADIONUCLIDES IS AN IMPORTANT PARAMETER IN THE ASSESSMENT OF INHALATION HAZARDS IN THE WORKPLACE AND IN THE INTERPRETATION OF ROUTINE BIOASSAY DATA. SOLUBILITY IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN DETERMINING THE METABOLISM OF THE INHALED ISOTOPES AND DISSOLUTION RATES OF ALPHA-EMITTING COMPOUNDS WHICH ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT DUE TO THEIR HIGH RADIOTOXICITY. CURRENT SOLUBILITY TESTIN ...

Conventional cement based construction materials such as stucco and concrete are prone to cracking with poor thermal insulation, and are very permeable to water. Repair of deteriorated cement based structures is a major problem, and in United States alone repair cost is estimated to be over $100 billion range. Commercial stuccos are susceptible to cracking under the influenced of repeated fluctu ...

During this Phase I research project, MER Corporation will investigate the effects of recycled polymers on cement-based materials, particularly the effects on mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, and stability to water and air. Conventional construction materials based on cement usually are poor thermal insulators and very permeable to water. The latter properties have been imp ...

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AT MULTI-UNIT NUCLEAR GENRATING STATIONS, CONTROL ROOM OPERATORS ARE GENERALLY LICENSED TO OPERATE ALL SIMILAR UNITS. SIMULATOR TRAINING CONDUCTED AT THE LICENSEE TRAINING FACILITY OCCURS ON ONE SIMULATOR WHICH MAY NOT EXACTLY MIMIC ANY UNIT. INADEQUATE TRAINING ON UNIT-TO-UNIT AND UNIT-TO-SIMULATOR DIFFERENCES, IN CONJUNCTION WITH LIMITED PER-PERSON SIMULATOR TRAINING HOURS, CAN RESULT IN INCREAS ...

WHEN ROTATING MACHINERY DETERIORATES, VIBRTION PATTERSN CHANGE. WHEN BEARING FREQUENCIES APPEAR, THEN INCREASE IN AMPLITUDE, BEARING FAILURE LOOMS. THE SAME WITH VALVES; WHEN THEY LEAK, THEY VIBRATE. AS LEAKAGE INCREASES, THE VIBRATION PATTERN CHANGES. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS. THE KEY IS KNOWING WHERE AND HOW DEEPLY TO LOOK. THE KEY IN OLDER REACTOR PLANTS IS TO UNOBTRUSIVELY, ECONOMICALLY BACKFIT S ...

CHANGES IN PLANT STATUS, EITHER BEFORE OR DURING AN ACCIDENT SEQUENC CAN CONSIDERABLY AFFECT ITS OUTCOME; BOTH THE ACTURAL OUTCOME AND THAT PREDICTED BY PROBABILISTIC RISK ASSESSMENT. IN ORDER TO ACCURATELY REPRESENT THE POSSIBLE ACCIDENTS AND THEIR PROBABILITIES, THE PRA MODEL MUST CONSIDER THE DYNAMIC CHARACTER OF THE PLANT, IT'S SYSTEMS AND OPERATORS. A LIVING, DYNAMIC PRA IS ONE IN WHICH ALL T ...

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