2008-07-16 14:56:00
SAN ANTONIO–(EMWNews)–Software that simulates the transport of radioactive elements beneath
the Earth’s surface has received a 2008 R&D
100 Award. R&D Magazine selected Southwest Research Institute’s
TDRW (Time Domain Random Walk) software as one of the 100 most
significant technological achievements of the past year.
“As more nations develop geological
repositories for high-level nuclear waste, the study and prediction of
radionuclide transport in the Earth’s
subsurface is a key process in assessing the safety of these potential
repositories,” said Dr. Scott Painter, a staff
scientist in the Geosciences and Engineering Division’s
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses at SwRI and principal
developer of the software program.
TDRW uses a novel particle tracking algorithm in which individual
particles represent packets of radionuclide mass. These particles are
moved along one-dimensional pathways according to rules that closely
mimic the underlying physical and chemical transport processes. That
process makes it possible to represent geological complexity in much
greater detail than was previously available, resulting in a better
understanding of potential risks associated with radionuclide transport.
“The semi-analytical nature of the algorithm
is one reason for the improved robustness and computational efficiency,”
Painter said, adding that the software also samples randomly from a set
of many possible pathways before launching a particle, making it
possible to efficiently obtain statistical estimates of total release to
the accessible environment. Previous software calculated each pathway
and then aggregated the results, which is vastly more expensive to
compute.
TDRW already has been licensed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, as well as six organizations in Europe that are evaluating
potential geological repositories for nuclear waste disposal.
SwRI has won 33 R&D 100 Awards since 1971. This year’s
awards will be presented Oct. 16, 2008, in Chicago. For more technical
information about TDRW, contact Painter at 210-522-3348 or via e-mail scott.painter@swri.org.
SwRI is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development
organization based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 3,100 employees
and an annual research volume of more than $501 million. Southwest
Research Institute and SwRI are registered marks in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. For more information about Southwest Research
Institute, please visit www.newsroom.swri.org
or www.swri.org.
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Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio |
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