Engineering Commons^™

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv October 1 Through December 31, 2006, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2006, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps to focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects …

A Fuzzy Logic Controller For Autonomous Wheeled Vehicles, Mohamed Trabia, Linda Z. Shi, Neil Eugene Hodge

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Autonomous vehicles have potential applications in many fields, such as replacing humans in hazardous environments, conducting military missions, and performing routine tasks for industry. Driving ground vehicles is an area where human performance has proven to be reliable. Drivers typically respond quickly to sudden changes in their environment. While other control techniques may be used to control a vehicle, fuzzy logic has certain advantages in this area; one of them is its ability to incorporate human knowledge and experience, via language, into relationships among the given quantities. Fuzzy logic controllers for autonomous vehicles have been successfully applied to address various …

High Temperature Heat Exchanger Project: Quarterly Progress Report July 1, 2006 Through September 30, 2006, Anthony Hechanova

Publications (NSTD)

Hydrodynamics and thermal numerical modeling coupled with sulfur trioxide decomposition for the one channel geometry with three different channel configurations were performed. The results obtained from the numerical modeling were compared with the baseline design under the same boundary and operation conditions. The case with diamond shaped channels has the highest percentage of sulfuric acid decomposition. The baseline channel geometry has the lowest pressure drop compared with other cases.

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv July 1 Through September 30, 2006, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Sub-Surface Corrosion Research On Rock Bolt System, Perforated Ss Sheets And Steel Sets For The Yucca Mountain Repository — Quarterly Technical Report No. 9, Dhanesh Chandra, Jaak J.K. Daemen

Publications (YM)

This report shows the work done for this period in accordance to cooperative agreement of University of Nevada system for the Task 019 “Subsurface Corrosion Research on Rock Bolt System, Perforated SS Sheets and Steel Sets for the Yucca Mountain Repository”, the overall objective of which is to conduct corrosion research and predict the durability of rock-bolts and other underground metallic roof supports. We are performing oxidation tests using Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), and Potentiodynamic tests to determine the corrosion rates of rock bolts, other support materials including bench mark materials.

In this quarter, we have performed:

Potentiodynamic tests were performed …

Output Feedback Adaptive Variable Structure Control Of A Smart Projectile Fin, Smitha Mani, Sahjendra N. Singh, Woosoon Yim

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

High Temperature Heat Exchanger Project: Quarterly Progress Report April 1, 2006 Through June 30, 2006, Anthony Hechanova

Publications (NSTD)

Numerical Analyses of the Ceramatec Sulfuric Acid Decomposer. Comparisons with experiments for the Ceramatec sulfuric acid decomposer coupon with eight straight channels for four different geometries and four different flow rates were performed. All of the operation and boundary conditions for the calculations were the same as in the Ceramatec experiments. Good agreement was found. The overall pressure drop difference between calculations and experiments for most of the cases is within 10%.

Viscoelastic Flow In Rotating Curved Pipes, Yitung Chen, Huajun Chen, Jinsuo Zhang, Benzhao Zhang

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Fully developed viscoelastic flows in rotating curved pipes with circular cross section are investigated theoretically and numerically employing the Oldroyd-B fluid model. Based on Dean’s approximation, a perturbation solution up to the secondary order is obtained. The governing equations are also solved numerically by the finite volume method. The theoretical and numerical solutions agree with each other very well. The results indicate that the rotation, as well as the curvature and elasticity, plays an important role in affecting the friction factor, the secondary flow pattern and intensity. The co-rotation enhances effects of curvature and elasticity on the secondary flow. For …

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro 2 -Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix Neutronic Evaluation Of Mgo-Zro2 Inert Fuels, E. Fridman, A. Galperin, E. Shwageraus

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

In the second year of the “Dissolution, Reactor, and Environmental Behavior of ZrO₂-MgO Inert Fuel Matrix” project initiated and directed by UNLV, the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) group research was focused on the development of practical PWR core nuclear design fully loaded with Reactor Grade (RG) Pu fuel incorporated in fertile free matrix. The design strategy was based on the basic feasibility study results performed at BGU in the Year 1 of the project.

Relationships Between Pacific And Atlantic Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures And U.S. Streamflow Variability, Glenn A. Tootle, Thomas C. Piechota

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

An evaluation of Pacific and Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and continental U.S. streamflow was performed to identify coupled regions of SST and continental U.S. streamflow variability. Both SSTs and streamflow displayed temporal variability when applying the singular value decomposition (SVD) statistical method. Initially, an extended temporal evaluation was performed using the entire period of record (i.e., all years from 1951 to 2002). This was followed by an interdecadal-temporal evaluation for the Pacific (Atlantic) Ocean based on the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)). Finally, an extended temporal evaluation was performed using detrended SST …

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv April 1 Through June 30, 2006, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Sub-Surface Corrosion Research On Rock Bolt System, Perforated Ss Sheets And Steel Sets For The Yucca Mountain Repository — Quarterly Technical Report No. 8, Dhanesh Chandra, Jaak J.K. Daemen

Publications (YM)

This report shows the work done for this period, in accordance to cooperative agreement of University of Nevada system for the Task 019 “Subsurface Corrosion Research on Rock Bolt System, Perforated SS Sheets and Steel Sets for the Yucca Mountain Repository”, the overall objective of which is to conduct corrosion research and predict the durability of rock-bolts and other underground metallic roof supports. We are performing oxidation tests using Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), and Potentiodynamic tests to determine the corrosion rates of rock bolts, other support materials including bench mark materials.

In this quarter, we have performed:

Potentiodynamic tests were performed …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2006, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps to focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects …

Experimental And Finite Element Analysis Of Preloaded Bolted Joints Under Impact Loading, Brendan O'Toole, Kumarswamy Karpanan, Masoud Feghhi

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

One of the primary parameters in analyzing bolted joints is preload in the bolt. We have considered several possible preload modeling techniques to analyze the effect of preload on the dynamic response of the bolted joints. Five different methods of applying preload in the nonlinear finite element analysis are evaluated. These methods are “force on bolt and nut”, “force on bolt shank”, “interference fit”, “thermal gradient” and “initial stress method”. Explicit and implicit analyses are used for transient response and preload generation in bolt respectively. Time history and shock response spectrum are used to compare experimental and simulation results. Simulation …

High Temperature Heat Exchanger Project: Quarterly Progress Report January 1, 2006 Through March 31, 2006, Anthony Hechanova

Publications (NSTD)

Quarterly Collaboration Meeting. The UNLVRF HTHX Project quarterly meeting was held in Albuquerque, NM, March 16 and 17, 2006. The purpose of the meeting was to promote collaboration and communication among the UNLV Research Foundation partners. A tour of Sandia National Laboratory was also provided that included a visit to their sulfuric acid decomposition test apparatus. There were 24 attendees from universities, national laboratories, and private industry. Collaborators discussed their research progress. The next meeting will be in July in Salt Lake City, UT.

Unlv Research Foundation High Temperature Heat Exchanger Development, Anthony Hechanova

Publications (NSTD)

Barriers addressed:

Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative R&D Plan – Material performance and component design and testing for: intermediate heat exchanger and high-temperature thermochemical water splitting (H2SO4 decomposition and HI decomposition). Improved materials for High Temperature Electrolysis.

Design Concepts And Process Analysis For Transmuter Fuel Manufacturing: Quarterly Progress Report #6, Kamalakar Alluri, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

Project Milestones

• Completed a systematic study seeking to arrive at an optimized plant configuration, using value engineering techniques in January 2006.

• Vision-based robot serving and automated plant safety monitoring is currently in progress.

Effect Of Silicon Content On The Corrosion Resistance And Radiation-Induced Embrittlement Of Materials For Advanced Heavy Liquid Metal Nuclear Systems: Quarterly Progress Report (November 2005 – January 2006), Ajit K. Roy

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

This task is intended to study the effect of Si content not only on the corrosion resistance but also on the radiation-induced embrittlement of martensitic stainless steels. The susceptibility of these alloys with different Si content to stress corrosion cracking, general corrosion and localized corrosion will be evaluated in the molten LBE and aqueous environments of different pH values using state-of-the-art testing techniques. Testing in the aqueous media is intended to develop baseline data for comparison purpose. Radiation-induced embrittlement of these alloys will initially be studied by irradiating the test specimens with bremmstrahlung gamma radiation from 20-40 MeV electron beams …

Clarifying The Role Of Self-Efficacy And Metacognition As Indicators Of Learning: Construct Development And Test, Trevor T. Moores, Jerry Cha-Jan Chang, Deborah K. Smith

Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology Faculty Publications

We propose extending our understanding of self-efficacy by comparing self-efficacy with a related construct called metacognition. Metacognition involves the monitoring and control of one's thought processes and is often related, as is self-efficacy, to performance on a task. We develop an instrument that attempts to measure both self-efficacy and metacognition with respect to one's performance on a test covering declarative and procedural knowledge (knowing that, and knowing how) of DFDs and ERDs. With data collected from a sample of 124 students, we use partial least squares (PLS) to show that self-efficacy and metacognition are distinct yet related constructs. While self-efficacy …

Development Of Integrated Process Simulation System Model For Spent Fuel Treatment Facility (Sftf) Design: Quarterly Progress Report January 1-March 31, 2006, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The UNLV developed TRPSEMPro software package can access engineering modeling software, ASPEN Plus through its own interface. The new interface eliminates the user interaction with the complex ASPEN Plus package and also provides input and output results for analysis purpose. The current interface will keep improving on collecting multiple scenario runs and database population.

Two separation processes, acid and plutonium separations, are near completion. The unit operations were finished while some sensitive chemical data for certain species are unknown. Graduate student, Matthew Hodges, continues on finishing those processes using dummy values for those restricted variables. Once the processes complete, researchers …

Theoretical Modeling Of Protective Oxide Layer Growth In Non-Isothermal Lead-Alloys Coolant Systems: Quarterly Progress Report (01/01/06- 03/31/06), Yitung Chen

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

Research highlights:

• A cellular automaton model using method of global restructuring on the growth and corrosion during the formation of the passive layer has been developed.

• A stochastic model, which combines the surface growth and internal oxidation, has been developed to explain the oxidation mechanism of steels in liquid lead alloys.

• Two conference papers have been accepted and will be presented in 2006 International Congress on the Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP '06).

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv January 1 Through March 31, 2006, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Neutron Multiplicity Measurements For The Afci Program Final Quarterly Progress Report January-March 2006, Denis Beller

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

This project was developed to test a Russian-built Neutron Multiplicity Detector System (NMDS) for measuring neutrons generated in a central target by a variety of accelerators. To assist in experiment design and evaluation, we use the most advanced high-energy radiation transport code, MCNPX, to model experiments. Experimental results are compared to computational predictions and discrepancies are investigated. Initial plans were to conduct experiments using a 70-MeV proton cyclotron at the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory at the University of California at Davis and/or a 20 to 40 MeV electron linac (linear accelerator) at the Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC) at Idaho State University …

Reactor Physics Studies For The Afci Race Project: Reactor-Accelerator Coupling Experiments Project: Quarterly Progress Report January-March 2006, Denis Beller

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

In the RACE Project of the U.S. Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI), a series of accelerator driven subcritical systems (ADSS) experiments is being conducted at the Idaho State University’s Idaho Accelerator Center (ISU-IAC) and at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, and will be conducted at the Texas A&M University. In these experiments electron accelerators are used to induce bremsstrahlung photon-neutron reactions in heavy-metal targets; this source of 10¹⁰ to 10¹³ n/s initiates fission reactions in the subcritical systems. These systems include a compact, transportable assembly at ISU and TRIGA reactors at UT-Austin and Texas A&M. These …

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix: Quarterly Report, January 2006 To March 2006, Kiel Steven Holliday, Thomas Hartmann, Kenneth Czerwinski

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This project will examine inert matrix fuels containing ZrO₂ and MgO as the inert matrix, with the relative amount of MgO varied from 30% to 70% in ZrO₂. Reactor physics calculations will be used to examine suitable quantities of burnable poisons from the candidate elements Gd, Er, or Hf with reactor grade Pu providing the fissile component, with up to 10% of ²³⁹Pu. Ceramics will be synthesized and characterized based on the reactor physics results. The solubility of the fuel ceramics, in reactor conditions, reprocessing conditions, and repository conditions, will be investigated in a manner to …

Crystal Structure And Nano Structure Of Oxide-And Nitride Transmutation Fuel – Refinement Of Transmutation Fuel Processing For Surrogate And Radioactive Fuel Systems: Quarterly Report, January 2006 To March 2006, Chinthaka Silva

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

Transmutation-related research work at the National Laboratories, e.g. Los Alamos National Laboratory, is focused on mono-nitride ceramic fuel forms, and consists of closely coordinated “hot” actinide and “cold” inert and surrogate fuels work. Matrix and surrogate materials work involves three major components: (1) fuel matrix synthesis and fabrication, (2) fuel performance, and (3) fuel materials modeling. The synthesis and fabrication component supports basic material studies, as well as actinide fuel fabrication work through fuel fabrication process development.

This project, task 28, supports the TRP program by delivering structural data on surrogate and radioactive fuels. Crystal structure and nanostructures of the …

Long-Term Mechanical Behavior Of Yucca Mountain Tuff And Its Variability, Jaak J.K. Daemen, Lumin Ma, Guohua Zhao

Publications (YM)

The study of the long term mechanical behavior of Yucca Mountain tuffs is important for several reasons. Long term stability of excavations will affect accessibility (e.g. for inspection purposes), and retrievability. Long term instabilities may induce loading of drip shields and/or emplaced waste, thus affecting drip shield and/or waste package corrosion. Failure of excavations will affect airflow, may affect water flow, and may affect temperature distributions.

The long term mechanical behavior of “hard” rocks remains an elusive topic, loaded with uncertainties. A variety of approaches have been used to improve the understanding of this complex subject, but it is doubtful …

Least Squares Support Vector Machine Based Classification Of Abnormalities In Brain Mr Images, S. Thamarai Selvi, D. Selvathi, R. Ramkumar, Henry Selvaraj

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

The manual interpretation of MRI slices based on visual examination by radiologist/physician may lead to missing diagnosis when a large number of MRIs are analyzed. To avoid the human error, an automated intelligent classification system is proposed. This research paper proposes an intelligent classification technique to the problem of classifying four types of brain abnormalities viz. Metastases, Meningiomas, Gliomas, and Astrocytomas. The abnormalities are classified based on Two/Three/ Four class classification using statistical and textural features. In this work, classification techniques based on Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) using textural features computed from the MR images of patient are …

Synthesis And Properties Of Metallic Technetium And Technetium - Zirconium Alloys As A Radioactive Storage Waste Form To Stabilize The Technetium Waste Stream Of The Urex+1 Process, Frederic Poineau, Thomas Hartmann, Kenneth Czerwinski

Waste Forms Campaign (TRP)

In the AFCI program the UREX+1 process is proposed as one of the most promising technique to separate TRU (transuranic elements) form LWR spent nuclear fuel in the years to come. The application of UREX+1 results in good separation of the 5f-transuranics from the 4f-lanthanides, reduced waste volumes by eliminating the uranium content, and reduced waste package costs. Technetium-99 will be separated together with uranium and iodine within the first process steps. After the separation of uranium, technetium and iodine must be immobilized by their incorporation in a suitable waste storage form. Based on recent activities within the AFCI community, …