Deep Learning Models and Tools for Disaster Evacuation and Routing

MoDOT project # TR202202Engineering managers and transportations planners need robust tools to communicate evacuation routing plans following disruptions from earthquake events. The project will use the New Madrid Seismic Zone in South-East Missouri as a testbed for modeling the response to an earthquake and aftershocks at Magnitude 8+. This area was chosen as it allows solutions to specific regions with inadequate road networks, limited communications protocols, and high likelihood of structural damage for the proposed scenario. Research tasks include identifying road structure damage based on the Mercalli Intensity Scale, running traffic simulations for post-earthquake evacuation to determine the desired routes out of the area. This research will then be able to display the warning of the earthquake event along with the desired route for the end user. Effectively providing the safest navigation routes are a vital part of these planning efforts

Experience with certifying borated stainless steel as a shipping cask basket material

The original cask designs for a cask demonstration project featured fuel baskets constructed of borated stainless steel (bss) as a structural material. The project is intended to demonstrate casks that can be used for both shipping and storing spent nuclear fuel assemblies. The baskets were intended to maintain the fuel assemblies in a subcritical array for both normal and accident conditions. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, however, judged bss to be unacceptable as a structural material. The cask designs were subsequently modified. The knowledge gained during this cask demonstration project may be applicable to development of bss as a basket material in future cask design. 6 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Personnel injuries/illnesses associated with natural environment hazards

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how an existing Department of Energy (DOE) resource can be used to gain valuable insight concerning injury/illness incidents. That resource is the Computerized Accident/Incident Reporting System (CAIRS) module of DOE's Safety Performance Measurement System (SPMS). Although this demonstration could have been performed by analyzing reports associated with any numbers of hazards (e.g., noise, chemicals, explosives, electricity, or tools-power/hand), the CAIRS data selected for analysis were the 1981--1991 DOE injury/illness reports that cited a natural environment hazard'' as either the direct or indirect cause of the injury/illness. Specifically, injury/illness reports were selected for analysis if they had a causal factor link to one or more of four natural environment hazard categories; weather, animal life, vegetation, or specific acts of nature (e.g., floods, earthquakes, and lightning strikes)

Reusable molds for casting U-Zr alloys

Refractory oxides, carbides, nitrides and sulfides were examined as mold coating materials for use in casting nuclear fuel. The molds require excellent high temperature chemical and mechanical stability combined with reasonable room temperature ductility to allow for fuel removal. Coatings were applied onto quartz and refractory metal coupons using various techniques. Sessile drop tests employing molten U-10%Zr (by weight) at 1550[degrees]C were used to characterize coating performance. Results indicate that NbC, TiN, and Y[sub 2]O[sub 3] were non-wetting with U-10%Zr. However, only the Y[sub 2]O[sub 3] coating completely prevented adhesion of the fuel. The paper describes coating methods and details of the sessile drop experiments

Organic coolant for ARIES-III

ARIES-III is a D-He{sub 3} reactor design study. It is found that the organic coolant is well suited for the D-He{sub 3} reactor. This paper discusses the unique features of the D-He{sub 3} reactor, and the reason that the organic coolant is compatible with those features. The problems associated with the organic coolant are also discussed. 8 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs