Hydrogen, a more sustainable source of energy, is a potential substitute for hydrocarbon fuel for power generation. The Very High Temperature gas-cooled Reactor (VHTR) concept can produce hydrogen with high efficiency and in large quantities. The US Department of Energy plans to build a VHTR as a next-generation hydrogen/electricity production plant. This reactor concept is very different from that of commercial reactors in the US. In order to acquire licensing eligibility for VHTRs, analysis tools need to be validated and applied to design and evaluate VHTRs under operation conditions and accident scenarios. In this thesis, MELCOR, a severe accident code, was used to analyze one of the VHTR designs – a prismatic core Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). The NGNP is based on General Atomics‘ (GA) Gas Turbine – Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) 600 MW design. According to the current literature survey, more data is available for the GT-MHR than for the NGNP. Therefore, for the purposes of extending MELCOR capabilities and code validation, a model of the GT-MHR reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was developed. Based on the currently available data, a model of the NGNP RPV was then developed through modifying the GT-MHR RPV model. For both RPV models, coolant outlet temperature under normal operating conditions corresponds well to the data from literature. The reactor cavity cooling systems (RCCS), which passively removes heat from the RPV wall to the outside atmosphere, was then added to this GT-MHR RPV model. With this model addition, the heat removal rate of the RCCS under normal operating conditions was calculated to correspond well to the data from references. Pressurized conduction cooldown (PCC), one of the important postulated accident scenarios for a prismatic core reactor, was simulated with the complete model. MELCOR has been demonstrated to have the ability of modeling a prismatic core VHTR. The calculated outlet temperature and mass flow rate under normal operation correspond well to references. However, the calculation for the heat distribution in the graphite and fuel is unsatisfactory which requires MELCOR modification for the PCC simulation. For future work, a complete model of the NGNP under normal operation conditions will be developed when additional data becomes available.

Hydrogen, a more sustainable source of energy, is a potential substitute for hydrocarbon fuel for power generation. The Very High Temperature gas-cooled Reactor (VHTR) concept can produce hydrogen with high efficiency and in large quantities. The US Department of Energy plans to build a VHTR as a next-generation hydrogen/electricity production plant. This reactor concept is very different from that of commercial reactors in the US. In order to acquire licensing eligibility for VHTRs, analysis tools need to be validated and applied to design and evaluate VHTRs under operation conditions and accident scenarios. In this thesis, MELCOR, a severe accident code, was used to analyze one of the VHTR designs – a prismatic core Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). The NGNP is based on General Atomics‘ (GA) Gas Turbine – Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) 600 MW design. According to the current literature survey, more data is available for the GT-MHR than for the NGNP. Therefore, for the purposes of extending MELCOR capabilities and code validation, a model of the GT-MHR reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was developed. Based on the currently available data, a model of the NGNP RPV was then developed through modifying the GT-MHR RPV model. For both RPV models, coolant outlet temperature under normal operating conditions corresponds well to the data from literature. The reactor cavity cooling systems (RCCS), which passively removes heat from the RPV wall to the outside atmosphere, was then added to this GT-MHR RPV model. With this model addition, the heat removal rate of the RCCS under normal operating conditions was calculated to correspond well to the data from references. Pressurized conduction cooldown (PCC), one of the important postulated accident scenarios for a prismatic core reactor, was simulated with the complete model. MELCOR has been demonstrated to have the ability of modeling a prismatic core VHTR. The calculated outlet temperature and mass flow rate under normal operation correspond well to references. However, the calculation for the heat distribution in the graphite and fuel is unsatisfactory which requires MELCOR modification for the PCC simulation. For future work, a complete model of the NGNP under normal operation conditions will be developed when additional data becomes available.

Very high temperature reactor (VHTR) is one of the candidates for Generation IV reactor. It can be continuously operated with average core outlet temperature between 900°C and 950°C, so the core temperature is one of the key features in the design of VHTR. Bypass flow in the prismatic core of VHTR is not a designed feature but it is inevitable due to the combination of several causes and considerably affects the core temperature. Although bypass flow has been studied extensively, the current status of research on thermal/hydraulic core flow of VHTR is far from completion. Present study is the starting of bypass flow characteristic investigation using small-scale model that will fulfill understandings of bypass flow in the prismatic core of VHTR. Bypass flow experiments are conducted by using three small-scale models of prismatic blocks. They are stacked in a test section to form bypass gaps of single-layer blocks as exist in prismatic core of VHTR. Three bypass gap widths set in air and water flow experiments are 6.1, 4.4 and 2.7 mm. Experimental data shows that bypass flow fraction depends on bypass gap width and downstream condition of prismatic blocks, while pressure drop of flow through bypass gaps depends on bypass gap width only. Bypass flow simulations are performed by using STAR-CCM+ software after meshing parameters were determined from simulation exercises and grid independent study. Three turbulence models are employed in all bypass flow simulations which are stopped at physical time of 100 seconds marching by implicit unsteady scheme. Bypass flow fraction, coolant channel Reynolds number and bypass gap Reynolds number from air flow and water flow simulations with 6.1-mm bypass gap width are very close to experimental data. This is because bypass flow fractions from experiments at this bypass gap width are matched in construction of the simulation models. Discrepancies between results from simulations and experiments for remaining gaps increase when bypass gap width becomes smaller. Finally, guidelines for bypass flow experiments and simulations are drawn from the data in present study to improve bypass flow study in the future.

Very High Temperature Rector (VHTR) had been designated as one of those promising reactors for the Next Generation (IV) Nuclear Plant (NGNP). For a prismatic core VHTR, one of the most crucial design considerations is the bypass flow and crossflow effect. The bypass flow occurs when the coolant flow into gaps between fuel blocks. These gaps are formed as a result of carbon expansion and shrinkage induced by radiations and manufacturing and installation errors. Hot spots may appear in the core if the large portion of the coolant flows into bypass gaps instead of coolant channels in which the cooling efficiency is much higher. A preliminary three dimensional steady-state CFD analysis was performed with commercial code STARCCM+ 6.04 to investigate the bypass flow and crossflow phenomenon in the prismatic VHTR core. The k-ε turbulence model was selected because of its robustness and low computational cost with respect to a decent accuracy for varied flow patterns. The wall treatment used in the present work is two-layer all y+ wall treatment to blend the wall laws to estimate the shear stress. Uniform mass flow rate was chose as the inlet condition and the outlet condition was zero gauge pressure outlet. Grid independence study was performed and the results indicated that the discrepancy of the solution due to the mesh density was within 2% of the bypass flow fraction. The computational results showed that the bypass flow fraction was around 12%. Furthermore, the presence of the crossflow gap resulted in a up to 28% reduction of the coolant in the bypass flow gap while mass flow rate of coolant in coolant channels increased by around 5%. The pressure drop at the inlet due to the sudden contraction in area could be around 1kpa while the value was about 180 Pa around the crossflow gap region. The error analysis was also performed to evaluate the accumulated errors from the process of discretization and iteration. It was found that the total error was around 4% and the variation for the bypass flow fraction was within 1%.

In this work, three methods of measuring the polarization state of light in the thermal infrared (3-12 microns) are modeled, simulated, calibrated and experimentally verified in the laboratory. The first utilizes the method of channeled spectropolarimetry (CP) to encode the Stokes polarization parameters onto the optical power spectrum. This channeled spectral technique is implemented with the use of two Yttrium Vanadate (YVO4) crystal retarders. A basic mathematical model for the system is presented, showing that all the Stokes parameters are directly present in the interferogram. Theoretical results are compared with real data from the system, an improved model is provided to simulate the effects of absorption within the crystal, and a modified calibration technique is introduced to account for this absorption. Lastly, effects due to interferometer instabilities on the reconstructions, including nonuniform sampling and interferogram translations, are investigated and techniques are employed to mitigate them.Second is the method of prismatic imaging polarimetry (PIP), which can be envisioned as the monochromatic application of channeled spectropolarimetry. Unlike CP, PIP encodes the 2-dimensional Stokes parameters in a scene onto spatial carrier frequencies. However, the calibration techniques derived in the infrared for CP are extremely similar to that of the PIP. Consequently, the PIP technique is implemented with a set of four YVO4 crystal prisms. A mathematical model for the polarimeter is presented in which diattenuation due to Fresnel effects and dichroism in the crystal are included. An improved polarimetric calibration technique is introduced to remove the diattenuation effects, along with the relative radiometric calibration required for the BPIP operating with a thermal background and large detector offsets. Data demonstrating emission polarization are presented from various blackbodies, which are compared to data from our Fourier transform infrared spectropolarimeter. Additionally, limitations in the PIP technique with regards to the spectral bandwidth and F/# of the imaging system are analyzed. A model able to predict the carrier frequency's fringe visibility is produced and experimentally verified, further reinforcing the PIP's limitations.The last technique is significantly different from CP or PIP and involves the simulation and calibration of a thermal infrared division of amplitude imaging Stokes polarimeter. For the first time, application of microbolometer focal plane array (FPA) technology to polarimetry is demonstrated. The sensor utilizes a wire-grid beamsplitter with imaging systems positioned at each output to analyze two orthogonal linear polarization states simultaneously. Combined with a form birefringent wave plate, the system is capable of snapshot imaging polarimetry in any one Stokes vector (S1, S2 or S3). Radiometric and polarimetric calibration procedures for the instrument are provided and the reduction matrices from the calibration are compared to rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) and raytracing simulations. The design and optimization of the sensor's wire-grid beam splitter and wave plate are presented, along with their corresponding prescriptions. Polarimetric calibration error due to the spectrally broadband nature of the instrument is also overviewed. Image registration techniques for the sensor are discussed and data from the instrument are presented, demonstrating a microbolometer's ability to measure the small intensity variations corresponding to polarized emission in natural environments.

No description available.

The tribosphenic molar is an ancestral type of mammalian teeth and a phy- lotypic stage of the mammalian dental evolution. Yet, in contrast to derived teeth types, its enamel microarchitecture attracted only little attention and the information on that subject is often restricted to statements suggesting a simple homogenous arrangement of a primitive radial prismatic enamel. The present paper tests this prediction with aid of comparative study of eight model species representing the orders Chiroptera, Afrosoricida, Eulipotyphla (Erinaceomorpha) and Eulipotyphla (Soricomorpha). Spe- cial attention was paid to shrews (Soricidae), the group with most derived tribosphenic dentition among extant insectivores. The detailed electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of standardized cross sections over essential structural elements of tribosphenic molars (in shrews supplemented with sections of the lower incisor, the most derived tooth of the dentition) was a basic source of information. The results demonstrated common arrangements related to tribosphenic design (he- terotopy of enamel thickness, radial prismatic enamels as primary product of ameloge- netic activity), yet, an unexpectedly broad span of variation in state of further variables was discovered at the same time. The taxon-specific arrangements and...

Esta pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de fornecer subsídios técnicos para projetos de silos prismáticos metálicos para uso industrial, mais especificamente para fábricas de ração, como também contribuir para o desenvolvimento da futura norma brasileira específica para projeto de ações e fluxo em silos. Apresenta-se uma análise da evolução técnica das fábricas de ração no mundo até os dias de hoje com a concepção atual, atendendo às exigências de mercado que, a cada dia, torna-se mais competitivo e necessita do controle de qualidade total para preencher os pré-requisitos das normas nacionais e internacionais, já que o país está abrindo o mercado ao capital externo. Determinou-se as propriedades físicas de dois tipos de ração e de seus ingredientes, que são utilizados na maioria das rações fabricadas no país. Estas são as primeiras propriedades determinadas no país, com a máquina TSG70-140 conhecida em nível mundial como \"Jenike Shear Cell\' e recomendada pela maioria das normas de ações em silos existentes no mundo, com a finalidade da adoção dos parâmetros necessários para o cálculo das ações e fluxo de produtos armazenados. Foram estudados os painéis de construção de silos prismáticos para fábrica de ração com conformação ziguezague na horizontal e inclinação de 20° com o plano vertical, para aumentar a inércia das paredes e não acumular ração, que provocaria deterioração e/ou infestação de fungos e bactérias os quais contaminariam as rações, provocando danos econômicos aos fabricantes e aos criadores de animais. Foram feitos ensaios para determinar a rigidez e a resistência dos painéis conformados em ziguezague, em escala natural, que formaram as paredes dos silos prismáticos para a construção modular. Os resultados experimentais foram comparados com os obtidos com as teorias simplificadas propostas para o cálculo estrutural de silos e com o software estrutural LUSAS, que utiliza o métodos dos elementos finitos. A comparação dos resultados teóricos com os obtidos experimentalmente mostram que a teoria de TROITSKY (1988) apresenta boa correlação, portanto é adequada para o dimensionamento dos painéis. / This research was developed purposing to generate technical hints for the design of steel prismatic silos for industrial use, especially in the powder industry, as well as to contribute for the set up latter on of a Brazilian standard specifically for the design of actions and flow in silos. The world powder industry technological evolution up to now was evaluated, trying to take care of the trade demand, that always becomes more competitive, and thus requiring a total quality control to match the national and international standards, mostly because the Brazilian trade getting so much attractive to the foreign capital. It was determined the physical properties of the ingredients of two kinds of powder, which are used in most of the powder made in Brazil. These are the first properties evaluated in Brazil with the TSG70-140 machine, that is known over the world as \"Jenike Shear Cell\", and is recommend by most of the silo action standard existing in the word, with the purpose of adopting the necessary parameters to calculation of action and flow of materials storage. It was studied construction panels of prismatic silo for powder industry, with zigzag conformation and a slope of 20° from the vertical plan to increase the wall inertia and do not accumulate powder, that it would cause deterioration and/or infestation of fungus and bacterias that would contaminate the powder resulting economical damage to manufacture and animal criator. lt was done tests in to determine the rigidity and strength of the panels in full scale, that will make up the formed prismatic silo wall for modular construction. The experimental results were compared to simplified theories proposed to structural calculations of silos, and to the results given by the LUSA software which utilities finites elements. These comparations showed that the theory of TROITSKY (1988) presents a good correlation, and so it is suitable for the panel design.

To assure nuclear power sustainability, ongoing efforts on advanced closed-fuel cycle options and adapted open cycles have led to investigations of various strategies involving utilization of Transuranic (TRU) nuclides in nuclear reactors. Due to favorable performance characteristics, multiple studies are focused on transmutation options using High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs). Prismatic HTGRs allow for 3-Dimensional (3D) fuel shuffling and prior shuffling algorithms were based on experimental block movement and/or manual block shuffle patterns. In this dissertation, a physics based 3D multi-directional reloading algorithm for prismatic deep burn very high temperature reactors (DB-VHTRs) was developed and tested to meet DB-VHTR operation constraints utilizing a high fidelity neutronics model developed for this dissertation. The high fidelity automated neutronics model allows design flexibility and metric tracking in spatial and temporal dimensions. Reduction of TRUs in DB-VHTRs utilizing full vectors of TRUs from light water reactor spent nuclear fuel has been demonstrated for both a single and two-fuel composition cores. Performance of the beginning-of-life and end-of-life (EOL) domains for multi-dimensional permutations were evaluated. Utilizing a two-fuel assembly permutation within the two-fuel system domain for a Single-Fuel vector, the developed shuffling algorithm for this dissertation has successfully been tested to meet performance objectives and operation constraints.

In the scope of the study, prismatic roughness elements with different longitudinal spacing and arrangements have been tested in a rectangular flume in order to reveal their effects on fundamental characteristics of a hydraulic jump. Two basic roughness types with altering arrangements have been tested. Roughness elements of the first type extends through the channel width against the flow with varying length and pitch ratios for different arrangements. The second type is of staggered essence and produced by piecing the roughness elements defined in the initial type into three parts which are equal in length. The doublet formed from the pieces on the sides is shifted to the consequent row to make two successive roughness rows encapsulate the channel span completely. Staggered roughness type is formed with the repetition of this arrangement along the flume. Independent of their type and arrangement, the entirety of roughness elements are embedded in the channel bed in order to avoid their protuberance into the flow, based on the presumption that the crests of the roughness elements levelled with the channel inlet would be less exposed to caving effects of flow than the protruding elements. In the study, influence of the proposed roughness elements on the fundamental engineering concerns as the length, height (tail water depth) and energy dissipation capacity of hydraulic jumps has been questioned in the light of empirical work and related literature on forced and smooth hydraulic jumps. At the final stage of the study, it was concluded that both strip and staggered roughness have positive effects on the characteristics of hydraulic jump given above. 3-7% more energy dissipation was observed in jumps on rough beds compared to classical hydraulic jumps. For tailwater dept reduction, whereas strip roughness provided 5-13%, staggered roughness led to 7-15% tailwater depth reduction compared to classical hydraulic jump. While strip roughness reduced jump length around 40%, 35-55% reduction was observed with staggered roughness when compared to classical hydraulic jump.