Assistance program
Environmental Management R&D and Validation Testing on High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters
$8.7 Million committed in FY2018–FY2023
- Agency
- Energy, Department of, Energy, Department of
- Assistance
- Cooperative Agreements
- CFDA number
- 81.139
- What it does
- EM research and development and validation testing (R&DT) provides necessary investments in mid- to long-range activities to address the technological gaps in defense environmental cleanup, including: (1) radioactive liquid and solid waste treatment, storage and disposal; (2) soil and groundwater remediation; (3) nuclear materials and spent fuel management and disposition; (4) facility deactivation and decommissioning; and (5) public, worker, facility/asset, and environmental safety and security. EM R&DT investments seek high-payoff, game-changing technologies and innovations to positively impact EM’s program lifecycle baseline by: (1) reducing costs; (2) accelerating schedules; (3) mitigating mission uncertainties, vulnerabilities, and risks; and (4) minimizing the mortgage associated with long-term, post-closure and post-completion stewardship. EM R&DT also provides the opportunity to perform work and operate facilities more effectively and in a manner that assures public, worker and environmental safely. New and novel technologies as well as innovative solutions are needed to address the significant challenges associated with the remaining nuclear cleanup work that will span the next five decades. The program encompasses the entire maturation lifecycle of technology which includes transfer of technologies from other nuclear and non-nuclear industry sectors. EM’s technology portfolio will leverage and harness the expertise, resources, and capabilities of US universities and colleges. Academia will support EM in four distinct roles: (1) as an expert-based resource for conducting early-stage and applied scientific research and for providing engineering solutions; (2) as a pool of recognized subject matter experts to support technical peer reviews and independent technical assessments; (3) as incubators and pipelines for EM’s future workforce; and (4) as a source of independent testing, verification, and confirmatory evaluation. EM will work to improve the technical training of its workforce through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, experiential learning, and apprenticeships. EM R&DT supports the safety and quality of permanent containment and confinement ventilation systems as well as modular worksite and breathing-zone ventilation systems used to support nuclear, radiological, chemical, and other high-consequence facility and environmental operations. Future funds will be executed to: (1) conduct basic and early-stage applied research, particularly in areas that lead to the basis of the development, transfer and industrial utilization (commercialization) of new clean air technologies; (2) perform design-specification and quality control inspection, testing and evaluation of existing, newly available, and emerging designs of High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters and other air filtration technologies; (3) perform testing and evaluation of HEPA filter performance in design-basis and off-normal operating conditions as well as in scenarios of major plant or system failures; (4) perform computer modeling and computational (numerical) simulation of airflow dynamics, including multiphase flow, particle tracking, evaporation, combustion, convection, conduction, and radiation heat transfer; (5) perform in-depth engineering analysis of complex fluid flows, including detailed flow characteristics such as velocity, pressure, turbulence, temperature, and species concentration for internal or external flows; (6) support the research and development of new and plant-specific designs of air filtration technologies, including in-line sensors and measurement devices; and (7) complementary and alternative technologies, such as robotics and remote systems, to support the inspection and maintenance of ventilation systems as critical infrastructure. As air filtration systems perform critical safety functions in many high-consequence facilities, continued focus on the quality of commercial, off-the-self technologies as well as on the advancing state-of-the-art must be maintained to assure safety and quality in environmental management operations. Specific to HEPA filters, R&DT under various normal and upset test conditions will help determine valuable operational information (i.e., develop suggested controls and operational methods, and identify failure modes) that can be applied at various commercial and Government/military facilities that treat, store, or process nuclear material or waste streams (e.g. commercial nuclear power facilities), or filter out hazardous particulates or dust for commercial microelectronic clean rooms or hospital operations. This R&DT may increase the protective nature of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) AG-1 Code (Code on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment), enhance the ability of professionals to design filters and air filtration systems, and reduce uncertainty in the development of standard operating procedures for facilities involved in nuclear containment ventilation activities. Improving the durability of HEPA filters used in nuclear containment is a key component in protecting the worker and general population in the event of a fire at a nuclear facility, particularly segments of the population near nuclear facilities.