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| Vol. 56, No. 17 August 20, 2004 |
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Sandia is helping the US Navy create the next generation of aircraft carriers by reviewing and analyzing current Carrier Air Wing (CVW) flight operations, maintenance, and support functions.
The
primary
goal
of
Sandia’s
project
is
to
assist
the
Navy
in
achieving
manpower
reductions
of
at
least
10
to
30
percent
while
increasing
the
amount
of
technology
on
board
an
aircraft
carrier
to
reduce
the
overall
workload
per
sailor.
“We
will
be
probing
each
of
these
areas
to
find
ways
to
maintain
or
improve
airwing
performance
while
reducing
personnel
and
making
the
remaining
jobs
more
desirable,”
says
Jeff
Brewer
(6861),
principal
investigator.
“This
will
be
done
while
simultaneously
improving
the
airwing
staffing
decision-making
process.”
The
first
phase
of
the
project
is
a
four-month
evaluation
of
current
Navy
air
wing
operations,
structure,
and
improvement
alternatives.
The
second
is
a
six-month
phase
in
which
Sandia
will
conduct
an
in-depth
analysis
of
the
alternatives
established
during
the
evaluation.
Sandia
is
assisting
with
the
Navy’s
CVN
21
program
to
develop
the
next-generation
aircraft
carrier.
The
actual
carrier
that
will
result
in
FY
2013
or
2014
will
be
designated
as
the
CVN
78,
the
Navy’s
78th
aircraft
carrier.
“The idea is not to simply have fewer people on board who work harder than previous crews,” says Jeff, “but to enable organizational changes, technology improvements, and work practice changes to achieve the desired operational capability of the airwing and make jobs more desirable for the personnel in the system.”
The
Sandia
team
will
be
reviewing
Navy
documentation
for
aircraft
currently
in
use
and
those
anticipated
to
be
in
service
in
2020.
The
team
will
discuss
how
flight
operations,
maintenance,
and
other
support
operations
are
performed
both
in
the
Atlantic
and
Pacific
fleets.
Jeff
says
there
are
differences
between
documented
procedures
and
actual
practice
revealed
by
subject
matter
experts
within
the
two
fleets.
Sandia
will
work
with
various
Navy
teams
that
have
developed
computational
models
of
how
these
operations
are
currently
performed.
The
team
will
work
with
the
designers
of
the
new
aircraft
carrier
to
generate
substantial
changes
that
may
improve
flight
operations
and
support
functions.
Sandia
will
also
be
gathering
raw
data
by
observing
flight
operations,
maintenance,
and
support
tasks.
Items of particular interest include the definitions and scope of the tasks and functions performed within individual jobs, and staffing levels for various types of jobs and tasks. This includes formal schooling, on-the-job training, self-study, testing of skills involved to prepare people for those jobs, and the tools and techniques used to execute these tasks.
Jeff says the actual execution methods for flight operations, support jobs, and the design of the spaces aboard current aircraft carriers where these tasks are performed will be analyzed. This knowledge will be combined with the designs envisioned for the next-generation aircraft carrier. The complexity of carrier flight operations and the associated support functions require an unusually high level of system understanding and computational modeling to achieve optimal combinations of personnel, equipment, and procedures.
“The concept of operations under which an aircraft carrier is asked to function can change rapidly,” Jeff says. “There currently isn’t a detailed, rapid, and robust analytical tool for probing this particular complex system.”
Creating a “system of systems” analysis capability that enables greater quantitative understanding of the aircraft carrier environment is key to the project, says Jeff.
System
of
systems
refers
to
a
collection
of
systems
that
result
in
emergent
behaviors
that
cannot
be
explained
by
individual
system
analysis.
This
includes
monitoring
system
performance
at
a
sufficient
level
of
detail
and
enabling
rapid
“what
if”
or
tradeoff
analyses
to
aid
in
decision
making
by
Navy
leaders.
In this project, building a comprehensive system of systems capability to monitor and analyze carrier air wing operations may involve linking a number of computer models that have been developed independently. In addition, new models may be built where necessary, and merged into a computational architecture that becomes a system-wide metric-based computational engine including a mix of discrete event simulation and optimization algorithms, says Jeff.
“The hope is that we will be able to utilize a number of the modeling and simulation technologies developed for other major programs such as the Army’s Future Combat System and Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter program,” says Robert Cranwell (15242), project manager for the Navy Manpower Study program. “Use of these technologies has proven to be very successful in supporting these programs,” says Robert.
The
Army
has
incorporated
a
number
of
these
technologies
as
part
of
its
Test
and
Evaluation
Center
capabilities,
Robert
says.
Three
Sandians
recently
visited
the
USS
Harry
S.
Truman
and
received
a
brief
introduction
to
flight
operations,
aircraft
maintenance
operations,
and
flight
operation
planning
techniques.
An
extended
visit
to
the
USS
Nimitz
was
planned
for
mid-to-late-
August.
Sandians involved in the project include Jeff Brewer (6861), Robert Cranwell (15242), Dwight Miller (15242), Paul Werner (6252), Kelly Lowder (15242), Craig Lawton (15242), and Dan Briand (15242). -- Michael Padilla
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By John German
Sandia nonproliferation experts are working with NNSA and other DOE laboratories and the governments of four foreign countries to help locate, repackage, move, and secure large quantities of medical and industrial radioactive materials that currently are stored in facilities that offer little protection.
The goal is to lock up radiation sources that could become the ingredients of a terrorist dirty bomb.
Efforts are under way in Lithuania, Greece, Russia, and Tanzania. Similar projects in other countries are expected to begin this year.Ý The project is funded through NNSAís Radiological Threat Reduction Program.
ìThe safekeeping around some large radiation sources in some countries isnít up to the standards we are used to in the United States,î says Bill Rhodes, Manager of International Physical Protection Program 6952. ìThe goal is to go to the source where a terrorist group might try to steal radioactive material and try to help secure that material.î
Protocols for tracking shipments of radioactive materials also can be less rigorous than they are in the US, he says. In Lithuania, for instance, where many government records have been misplaced or removed in the transition from the former Soviet government, large radiation sources that have been lost in the shuffle are being found and accounted for before being locked up.
ìWe give guidance; they implement their own rules and regulations,î Bill says.
Recommendations include physical security devices, like video motion detection and sensors, he says, or they can focus on revision of administrative procedures and standards for the storage, transport, tracking, and inventory of materials.
A scoping team first traveled to Lithuania in June 2003 to meet with officials of the Lithuanian Radiation Protection Centre (RPC) and other agencies at the invitation of Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, who asked for assistance in a letter to US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
The visit team included Ioanna Illiopulos (NNSA), Tom Coulter (Coulter and Associates), Michael Hasse (Aquila Technologies Group, Inc.), and Rhodes.
Never intended as secure sites
The Lithuanians identified 300 sites they thought contained large quantities of radioactive materials, then culled the list down to 25 high-priority sites where radiation sources needed to be located and secured first. Included in the list were several hospitals where 5,000- to 6,000-curie cobalt-60 sources had been used.
ìAs hospitals they were never intended to be high security areas,î says Bill.
Former Soviet military bases, industrial processing sites, and one nuclear waste repository were also included.
Teams of Sandians, including Dan Lowe (6952), Keith Young (6952) and Scottie Walker (6952) have returned several times to advise the Lithuanian government and oversee security upgrades at some facilities, and to repackage and transport some sources to more secure locations.Ý In addition, surplus Sandia radiation-measurement equipment has been donated to the Lithuanian government.
ìBasically they needed modern diagnostic equipment to accomplish the objectives of the project,î Bill says. ìThey did not have enough equipment for the RPC to monitor the whole country.î
Lithuania was the first of four governments Sandia is now working with.
Sandia personnel also have participated in visits to Tanzania and Greece, where contracts for security upgrades were negotiated. Fred Harper (4117) and Paul McConnell (6142) also provided training to Greek officials in preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
Future projects include work in Russia, Egypt, and additional countries of the Former Soviet Union. -- John German
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By Will Keener
The US needs a systems approach to the problems of providing energy for the world in the 21st century, says Sandia President C. Paul Robinson, and Sandia can help. Nuclear energy is a key part of that solution: It can offer economic growth for developing nations, reduce environmental threats from greenhouse gases and water scarcity, and provide political stability by removing the dangers of nuclear proliferation.
But nuclear power has to be done right — and gaining acceptance for global nuclear power is a tough sell, he concedes. Last spring Paul accepted the position of chair of the US delegation of seven national laboratory directors, who met in Vienna, Austria, with nine Russian laboratory directors to discuss issues around nuclear power (Lab News, Aug. 4). The directors issued a joint statement on sustainable nuclear energy for the new century and agreed to pursue the cause with their respective governments.
Paul and the US laboratory directors are working closely with DOE, where Kyle McSlarrow, deputy energy secretary, has been a major supporter of the concept. With elections coming up, policy is now taking a back seat to politicking in Washington and elsewhere, but Paul recognizes the importance of working with either party. “Our aim is to provide the right technical answers to whichever party is in power,” he says. “We are setting goals and moving ahead.”
The global nuclear future concept got a big boost from an earlier Bush-Putin summit in Moscow, Paul notes. It makes sense for US and Russian scientists to have technological answers available for a future summit, following the elections.
US laboratory directors are also working with industry, says Paul. At a Decision-Makers Forum before the Vienna conference, held in Crystal City, Va., industry executives weighed in on the issues. “It was very well attended by key manufacturing and energy supply companies,” says Paul. The large nuclear plant vendors of the 20th century are now largely gone, he notes. Many have moved into other energy generating areas. “A key question now is where will the manufacturing be done?” says Paul.
Recognizing
that
only
nuclear
power
is
capable
of
meeting
the
growing
world
demands
for
safe,
clean,
plentiful
electricity,
fresh
water,
and
hydrogen
for
the
critical
transportation
segment,
the
directors
have
outlined
a
plan
to
provide
30
to
40
percent
of
world
electricity
by
2050.
Using
advanced
reactor
designs
and
fuel
cycle
concepts
capable
of
also
burning
“surplus
nuclear
materials”
from
weapons
work
“we
can
extend
the
electricity
available
from
our
initial
fuel
estimates
of
100
to
500
years
up
to
1,000
years,”
says
Paul.
This
approach
would
require
a
change
in
US
policy
to
use
certain
materials,
particularly
plutonium,
as
fuel.
Russian scientists have been doing a surprising amount of research on reactor designs and fuel cycles, with a variety of cooling systems, says Paul. “Their nuclear engineering capability is very highly developed.” The role for US labs in supporting new policy involves their experiences in improving plant reliability, reactor control systems, and efficiencies to get the most electricity for the investor’s dollar.
“In this country we have improved our reactors to the point where they are now operating so much better in producing electricity that we have created the equivalent of 27 additional plants to the grid,” Paul told the Lab News. And that’s important because no new nuclear plants have actually been built in the US since the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona in the 1970s (although a number of plants started earlier and work stopped in the 1970s have now been completed).
Sandia’s
modeling
and
simulation
capabilities
can
be
valuable
in
predicting
reliability
of
new
plant
designs.
“We
can
build
them
and
test
them
in
cyberspace,
and
when
we’re
sure
a
design
has
the
required
reliability
we
can
build
it.
The
Russians
are
keenly
interested
in
this
capability.”
Spreading
the
cause
beyond
the
US
and
Russia
is
another
goal
of
the
consortium
of
laboratory
directors.
France,
a
major
nuclear
power
player,
has
expressed
an
interest
and
will
discuss
the
concepts
with
US
representatives,
says
Paul.
Russia
has
committed
to
approaching
Japan,
another
key
player.
To
make
this
nuclear
dream
a
reality,
the
US
government
may
have
to
intercede,
as
it
did
in
the
first
nuclear
era,
to
build
some
pilot
plants
to
demonstrate
the
effectiveness
of
the
new
designs,
says
Paul.
“Sandia’s
job
will
be
system
integration.
We
need
to
keep
the
consortium
of
talent
we
have
together
to
provide
leadership
and
move
forward.”
“We are doing our homework as a system of national laboratories to predict reliability and address safety concerns. We are addressing proliferation concerns as a centerpiece of the effort. This is a huge research task, but as a system of labs we can accomplish it.”. -- Will Keener
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