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CRYOGENIC HELIUM REFRIGERATORS AND LIQUIFIERS CONVENTIONALLYEMPLOY OIL LUBRICATED POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT COMPRESSORS AT THE WARM END AND FREQUENTLY USE PISTON TYPE EXPANSION ENGINES AT THE COLD END. THESE SYSTEMS REQUIRE EXTENSIVE AND VIGILANT MAINTENANCE TO CONTROL CONTAMINATION FROM LUBRICATING OIL AND ITS VOLATILE COMPONENTS MIGRATING TO THE COLD END. HENCE THE NEED FOR LOW MAINTENANCE COMPRESSO ...

THIS PROJECT WILL ANALYZE AND PREPARE THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR A DIGITAL FEEDWATER CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A COMMERCIAL LIGHT WATER REACTOR POWERPLANT. THE CONTROL SYSTEM WILL FEATURE SENSOR VALIDATION AND REPLACEMENT OF FAILED SENSORS WITH SYNTHETIC VARIABLES. AN ADVANCED TECHNIQUE BASED ON PATTERN-RECOGNITION ALGORITHMS ALREADY PROVEN IN SURVEILLANCE APPLICATIONS WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE SENSOR INPU ...

Abstract Ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) power is anticipated to be a primary auxiliary heating source in next step tokamak experiments like ITER. From a technological perspective, electrical breakdown is a significant challenge for ICRF utilization in present experiments and will become more challenging for future devices like ITER and other reactors. An ICRF system utilizes an antenna to ...

The recent events at the Fukushima nuclear power plant highlight the need for enhanced accident tolerance. Of particular concern is the overheating of standard zirconium alloy cladding in a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). One of the leading candidates for future claddings is a silicon carbide (SiC) composite. However, it is clear that due to the inherent brittle nature of ceramics and the intrins ...

ACTIVE COOLING IS ESSENTIAL FOR FUSION REACTOR COMPONENTS EXPOSED TO HIGH HEAT FLUX LEVELS OVER LONG PULSE DURATIONS. EXISTING WATER COOLING CONCEPTS FACE A POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH TRITIUM PERMEATION. HELIUM GAS COOLING CONCEPTS NOW BEING CONSIDERED SUFFER FROM LOW HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS AND HIGH PRESSURE DROP AND PUMPING POWER. THESE EXISTING TECHNIQUES, THOUGH ACCEPTABLE FOR PRESENT FUSION DE ...

IN MOST CRYOGENIC SYSTEMS, THE PIPING JOINTS IN COLD REGIONSOF THE SYSTEM ARE MADE BY WELDING OR SOLDERING. THIS IS ESSENTIAL BECAUSE EXISTING DESIGNS OF CRYOGENIC PIPE SEALS CANNOT BE RELIED ON NOT TO LEAK. ANY SUCH LEAKS INTO THE COLD BOX REDUCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INSULATION, THEREBY REDUCING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE REFRIGERATOR. WELDEDJOINTS MAKE REPLACEMENT OF COMPONENTS DIFFICULT AND HAVE ...

Current drug discovery and development efforts are severely limited by expensive animal trials and oversimplified in vitro models. Results obtained from in vitro models are not predictive of in vivo toxicity owing to significant difference from the in vivo physiological conditions. In this context, we propose to develop and demonstrate a novel microfluidic device that reproduces the physiological ...

SEISMIC TESTS PROVIDE IMPORTANT DATA FOR IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF PIPING DESIGNS AND THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF DESIGN STANDARDS. UNFORTUNATELY, DISPLACEMENT MEASUREMENTS AT LOW FREQUENCIES FROM SUCH TESTS ARE GENERALLY UNAVAILABLE, EITHER BECAUSE DOUBLE INTEGRATION OF ACCELEROMETER SIGNALS CAUSES INACCURACIES OR BECAUSE LASER BASED EQUIPMENT IS TOO COSTLY TO ALLOW FOR SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENTS IN S ...

Neutron scattering is one of the most useful methods of studying the structure and dynamics of matter. These methods require large installations at national laboratories, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other facilities constructed or planned in the US and around the world. These facilities serve a large and diverse community ...

Interfaces on existing military chemical/biological protection garments are not designed to fully eliminate macroscopic and microscopic air gaps at folds, fabric surfaces, or hook-and-loop closures, and thus do not provide a hermetic barrier against exposure. Creare is developing hermetic garment closure systems that seal macroscopic and microscopic gaps at interfaces and closures and provide high ...