Using CMOS Sensors in a Cellphone for Gamma Detection and Classification

The CMOS camera found in many cellphones is sensitive to ionized electrons. Gamma rays penetrate into the phone and produce ionized electrons that are then detected by the camera. Thermal noise and other noise needs to be removed on the phone, which requires an algorithm that has relatively low memory and computational requirements. The continuous high-delta algorithm described fits those requirements. Only a small fraction of the energy of even the electron is deposited in the camera sensor, so direct methods of measuring the energy cannot be used. The fraction of groups of lit up pixels that are lines is correlated with the energy of the gamma rays. This correlation under certain conditions allows limited low resolution energy resolution to be performed

RAVEN: a GUI and an Artificial Intelligence Engine in a Dynamic PRA Framework

Increases in computational power and pressure for more accurate simulations and estimations of accident scenario consequences are driving the need for Dynamic Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) [1] of very complex models. While more sophisticated algorithms and computational power address the back end of this challenge, the front end is still handled by engineers that need to extract meaningful information from the large amount of data and build these complex models. Compounding this problem is the difficulty in knowledge transfer and retention, and the increasing speed of software development. The above-described issues would have negatively impacted deployment of the new high fidelity plant simulator RELAP-7 (Reactor Excursion and Leak Analysis Program) at Idaho National Laboratory. Therefore, RAVEN that was initially focused to be the plant controller for RELAP-7 will help mitigate future RELAP-7 software engineering risks. In order to accomplish such a task Reactor Analysis and V

Application of a Java-based, univel geometry, neutral particle Monte Carlo code to the searchlight problem

A univel geometry, neutral particle Monte Carlo transport code, written entirely in the Java programming language, is under development for medical radiotherapy applications. The code uses ENDF-VI based continuous energy cross section data in a flexible XML format. Full neutron-photon coupling, including detailed photon production and photonuclear reactions, is included. Charged particle equilibrium is assumed within the patient model so that detailed transport of electrons produced by photon interactions may be neglected. External beam and internal distributed source descriptions for mixed neutron-photon sources are allowed. Flux and dose tallies are performed on a univel basis. A four-tap, shift-register-sequence random number generator is used. Initial verification and validation testing of the basic neutron transport routines is underway. The searchlight problem was chosen as a suitable first application because of the simplicity of the physical model. Results show excellent agreement with analytic solutions. Computation times for similar numbers of histories are comparable to other neutron MC codes written in C and FORTRAN

Development Status of the PEBBLES Code for Pebble Mechanics: Improved Physical Models and Speed-up

PEBBLES is a code for simulating the motion of all the pebbles in a pebble bed reactor. Since pebble bed reactors are packed randomly and not precisely placed, the location of the fuel elements in the reactor is not deterministically known. Instead, when determining operating parameters the motion of the pebbles can be simulated and stochastic locations can be found. The PEBBLES code can output information relevant for other simulations of the pebble bed reactors such as the positions of the pebbles in the reactor, packing fraction change in an earthquake, and velocity profiles created by recirculation. The goal for this level three milestone was to speedup the PEBBLES code through implementation on massively parallel computer. Work on this goal has resulted in speeding up both the single processor version and creation of a new parallel version of PEBBLES. Both the single processor version and the parallel running capability of the PEBBLES code have improved since the fiscal year start. The hybrid MPI/OpenMP PEBBLES version was created this year to run on the increasingly common cluster hardware profile that combines nodes with multiple processors that share memory and a cluster of nodes that are networked together. The OpenMP portions use the Open Multi-Processing shared memory parallel processing model to split the task across processors in a single node that shares memory. The Message Passing Interface (MPI) portion uses messages to communicate between different nodes over a network. The following are wall clock speed up for simulating an NGNP-600 sized reactor. The single processor version runs 1.5 times faster compared to the single processor version at the beginning of the fiscal year. This speedup is primarily due to the improved static friction model described in the report. When running on 64 processors, the new MPI/OpenMP hybrid version has a wall clock speed up of 22 times compared to the current single processor version. When using 88 processors, a speed up of 23 times is achieved. This speedup and other improvements of PEBBLES combine to make PEBBLES more capable and more useful for simulation of a pebble bed reactor. This report details the implementation and effects of the speedup work done over the course of the fiscal year

Pebble Bed Reactor Dust Production Model

The operation of pebble bed reactors, including fuel circulation, can generate graphite dust, which in turn could be a concern for internal components; and to the near field in the remote event of a break in the coolant circuits. The design of the reactor system must, therefore, take the dust into account and the operation must include contingencies for dust removal and for mitigation of potential releases. Such planning requires a proper assessment of the dust inventory. This paper presents a predictive model of dust generation in an operating pebble bed with recirculating fuel. In this preliminary work the production model is based on the use of the assumption of proportionality between the dust production and the normal force and distance traveled. The model developed in this work uses the slip distances and the inter-pebble forces computed by the authors’ PEBBLES. The code, based on the discrete element method, simulates the relevant static and kinetic friction interactions between the pebbles as well as the recirculation of the pebbles through the reactor vessel. The interaction between pebbles and walls of the reactor vat is treated using the same approach. The amount of dust produced is proportional to the wear coefficient for adhesive wear (taken from literature) and to the slip volume, the product of the contact area and the slip distance. The paper will compare the predicted volume with the measured production rates. The simulation tallies the dust production based on the location of creation. Two peak production zones from intra pebble forces are predicted within the bed. The first zone is located near the pebble inlet chute due to the speed of the dropping pebbles. The second peak zone occurs lower in the reactor with increased pebble contact force due to the weight of supported pebbles. This paper presents the first use of a Discrete Element Method simulation of pebble bed dust production

PEBBLES: A COMPUTER CODE FOR MODELING PACKING, FLOW AND RECIRCULATIONOF PEBBLES IN A PEBBLE BED REACTOR

A comprehensive, high fidelity model for pebble flow has been developed and embodied in the PEBBLES computer code. In this paper, a description of the physical artifacts included in the model is presented and some results from using the computer code for predicting the features of pebble flow and packing in a realistic pebble bed reactor design are shown. The sensitivity of models to various physical parameters is also discussed

Anxiety increases information-seeking in response to large changes

Seeking information when anxious may help reduce the aversive feeling of uncertainty and guide decision-making. If information is negative or confusing, however, this may increase anxiety further. Information gathered under anxiety can thus be beneficial and/or damaging. Here, we examine whether anxiety leads to a general increase in information-seeking, or rather to changes in the type of information and/or situations in which it is sought. In two controlled laboratory studies, we show that both trait anxiety and induced anxiety lead to a selective alteration in information-seeking. In particular, anxiety did not enhance the general tendency to seek information, nor did it alter the valence of the information gathered. Rather, anxiety amplified the tendency to seek information more in response to large changes in the environment. This was true even when the cause of the anxiety was not directly related to the information sought. As anxious individuals have been shown to have problems learning in changing environments, greater information-seeking in such environments may be an adaptive compensatory mechanism

Muscle contractile properties directly influence shared synaptic inputs to spinal motor neurons

Alpha band oscillations in shared synaptic inputs to the alpha motor neuron pool can be considered an involuntary source of noise that hinders precise voluntary force production. This study investigated the impact of changing muscle length on the shared synaptic oscillations to spinal motor neurons, particularly in the physiological tremor band. Fourteen healthy individuals performed low-level dorsiflexion contractions at ankle joint angles of 90° and 130°, while high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) was recorded from the tibialis anterior (TA). We decomposed the HDsEMG into motor units spike trains and calculated the motor units’ coherence within the delta (1–5 Hz), alpha (5–15 Hz), and beta (15–35 Hz) bands. Additionally, force steadiness and force spectral power within the tremor band were quantified. Results showed no significant differences in force steadiness between 90° and 130°. In contrast, alpha band oscillations in both synaptic inputs and force output decreased as the length of the TA was moved from shorter (90°) to longer (130°), with no changes in delta and beta bands. In a second set of experiments (10 participants), evoked twitches were recorded with the ankle joint at 90° and 130°, revealing longer twitch durations in the longer TA muscle length condition compared to the shorter. These experimental results, supported by a simple computational simulation, suggest that increasing muscle length enhances the muscle's low-pass filtering properties, influencing the oscillations generated by the Ia afferent feedback loop. Therefore, this study provides valuable insights into the interplay between muscle biomechanics and neural oscillations