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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

A high-performance lung-inspired ceramic 3D-printed heat exchanger for high-temperature energy-efficient systems

The thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency of next-generation supercritical carbon dioxide and concentrated solar power plants is significantly augmented by operating at temperatures exceeding 1000 °C if durable, compact, high-temperature heat exchangers (HXs) are developed. Whereas metal 3D-printed HXs fail to operate under extreme temperature conditions, ceramic 3D-printed HXs are deemed promising candidates for high-temperature, highly oxidizing environments. Ceramic 3D-printed HXs, however, exhibit a high gas permeability issue through hot and cold separating walls due to an excessive non-volatile photopolymer content utilized. Here, in this work, a novel leak-free lung-inspired ceramic 3D-printed HX employing a highly complex heat transfer topology is introduced for high-temperature energy-efficient systems. The high permeability issue of ceramic 3D-printed HXs is fully eliminated through a uniform zinc-based coating. It was determined that the effective thermal conductivity of the sintered ceramic heat exchangers is affected by the coated layer. The high-temperature thermal and hydraulic characteristics of the lung-inspired ceramic 3D-printed HX are comprehensively examined and compared against a millichannel 3D-printed HX module. Experimental results indicated that the lung-inspired 3D-printed ceramic HX significantly outperforms its millichannel counterpart. The lung-inspired HX shows a volume-based power density of 8.2 MW/m3 at a hot-side inlet air temperature of 700°C, a 71 % improvement compared with that of the millichannel HX. More importantly, the higher thermal duty of the lung-inspired 3D-printed HX is realized at a lower normalized pressure drop penalty of 510 Pa/W, 22 % lower than that of the millichannel ceramic HX. This study accelerates the advancement of high-performance ceramic 3D-printed HXs with complex topologies for high-temperature energy-efficient systems and/or corrosive environments.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Design and scale-up of 3D printed bat houses with biomass-derived polymer composites

Biomass (e.g., pine sawdust, especially high–ash content pine sawdust) is commonly disposed of as waste. Combining biomass with polymers to make composite feedstocks for 3D printing has been explored as a method to reduce or repurpose the biomass waste. Although not all biocomposite properties are known, the wood-based polylactic acid (PLA) composite has promising qualities for applications in ecological settings. In this work, pine wood–PLA composite feedstock was used to 3D print supplemental roost structures for endangered tree-roosting bats, which often face a paucity of suitable naturally occurring roosts. This material combination was selected because it is estimated to degrade faster than the synthetic material systems that are used widely in supplemental bat roosting structures to aid in the conservation of tree roosting bats. The layered, rough surface created by the 3D printing process serves as a surface that bats can grip while roosting. Computer-aided design (CAD) models were generated based on natural roost structures, and a full-size bat house was successfully additively manufactured using a pellet-fed large-scale 3D printing system. The 3D printed hexagon exhibited a tensile strength of 22–23 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 3202–3218 MPa in the x-direction. It has been demonstrated that the 3D printed bat house can be installed on a tree in a stable fashion. This successful demonstration of a bat roost manufactured using a bioderived composite should promote its use in other fish and wildlife structures and broader industrial applications such as construction and automobiles.

3D printing↗
DOE OSTI2026

Stereo-vision thermal imaging system for tracking flying animals in wind farm areas (CRADA #763) Abstract

CRADA 763: abstract ThermalTracker-3D (TT3D) is a stereo vision thermal imaging system that provides 3D flight information on detected birds, bats, and other flying targets. The system was initially developed for use in the siting and monitoring of offshore wind projects to establish pre-construction and operation collision risk data but can be applied to terrestrial wind energy projects as well as national security monitoring. This technology will reduce monitoring cost, decrease processing time, and provide more accurate data for wind energy developers/operators and regulatory agencies. While the current technology is at a high level of readiness, Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7, there remain several barriers to commercialization, particularly around ease-of-use, that result in a low Adoption Readiness Level (ARL). The proposed work will advance commercialization readiness by streamlining calibration methods for built systems. This work will:1. 1. develop a software package for factory and dynamic calibration processes 2. test that package with existing prototype TT3D systems, and 3. conduct outreach with industry end-users.

ThermalTracker↗
DOE OSTI2022

Conductivity and size quantization effects in semiconductor $$\delta$$-layer systems

Abstract We present an open-system quantum-mechanical 3D real-space study of the conduction band structure and conductive properties of two semiconductor systems, interesting for their beyond-Moore and quantum computing applications: phosphorus $$\delta$$ δ -layers and P $$\delta$$ δ -layer tunnel junctions in silicon. In order to evaluate size quantization effects on the conductivity, we consider two principal cases: nanoscale finite-width structures, used in transistors, and infinitely-wide structures, electrical properties of which are typically known experimentally. For devices widths $$W<10$$ W < 10 nm, quantization effects are strong and it is shown that the number of propagating modes determines not only the conductivity, but the distinctive spatial distribution of the current-carrying electron states. For $$W>10$$ W > 10 nm, the quantization effects practically vanish and the conductivity tends to the infinitely-wide device values. For tunnel junctions, two distinct conductivity regimes are predicted due to the strong conduction band quantization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluation of a high-performance storage buffer with 3D XPoint devices for the DUNE data acquisition system

The DUNE detector is a neutrino physics experiment that is expected to take data starting from 2028. The data acquisition (DAQ) system of the experiment is designed to sustain several TB/s of incoming data which will be temporarily buffered while being processed by a software based data selection system. In DUNE, some rare physics processes (e.g. Supernovae Burst events) require storing the full complement of data produced over 1-2 minute window. These are recognised by the data selection system which fires a specific trigger decision. Upon reception of this decision data are moved from the temporary buffers to local, high performance, persistent storage devices. In this paper we characterize the performance of novel 3DXPoint SSD devices under different workloads suitable for high-performance storage applications. We then illustrate how such devices may be applied to the DUNE use-case: to store, upon a specific signal, 100 seconds of incoming data at 1.5 TB/s distributed among 150 identical units each operating at approximately 10GB/s.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

3D structure of anisotropic flow in small collision systems at energies available at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Here, we present (3 + 1)-dimensional [(3 + 1)D] dynamical simulations of asymmetric nuclear collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Employing a dynamical initial state model coupled to (3 + 1)D viscous relativistic hydrodynamics, we explore the rapidity dependence of anisotropic flow in the RHIC small system scan at 200 GeV center-of-mass energy. We calibrate parameters to describe central 3 He + Au collisions and make extrapolations to d + Au and p + Au collisions. Our calculations demonstrate that approximately 50% of the v 3 (p T ) difference between the measurements by the STAR and PHENIX Collaborations can be explained by the use of reference flow vectors from different rapidity regions. This emphasizes the importance of longitudinal flow decorrelation for anisotropic flow measurements in asymmetric nuclear collisions, and the need for (3 + 1)D simulations. We also present results for the beam energy dependence of particle spectra and anisotropic flow in d + Au collisions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hybrid AI-ML and FE-based Digital Twin Predictive Modeling Framework for a PWR Coolant System Components: Updates on Multi-Time-Series-3D-Location Dependent Usages Factor Prediction

The long-term operation (LTO) of nuclear power plants (NPP) beyond their original design life of 40 years can lead to more material damage associated with cyclic fatigue under thermal-mechanical loading cycles and associated long-term exposure of reactor material to the deleterious reactor-coolant environments. However, under this LTO condition, the reactor components can still safely operate but may require more frequent Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) of reactor components. Requiring frequent NDE inspections may lead to frequent NPP shutdowns which can lead to power outages and additional NDE inspection cost-related economic loss. The economic loss can be minimized by reducing uncertainty in life estimation of safety-critical pressure boundary components and by implementing a more digital approach such as using upcoming digital-twin (DT) technology for predicting the structural states (e.g., time and location dependent inside/outside thickness temperature, stress, strain, plastic deformation, etc.) and associated fatigue life of a component in real time. The DT framework is based on limited experimental data, Artificial-intelligence (AI)-Machine-Learning (ML) and multiphysics-computationalmechanics such as finite element- (FE) based models. Given the real-time thermal-hydraulic process measurements from several existing plant sensors, the overall goal of the DT framework is to predict the cumulative usages factors or equivalent fatigue lives in real time and at any random 3D location of the components. This includes inaccessible locations such as inside the thickness or location of a component. This prediction can be at thousands to millions of 3D point clouds or locations like conventional FE-based models, but without running an FE model in real time.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Two-Tone Spectroscopy of 3D SRF Cavities to Understand Two-Level System Loss

So-called two-level system (TLS) defects are among the most detrimental sources of loss and decoherence in superconducting quantum devices, and their microscopic nature still poorly understood. We develop a two-tone spectroscopy technique to characterize the spectral line width of TLS. This knowledge will help to distinguishes various types of TLS defects. In our experiments we use the fundamental TM010 pass band modes of 9-cell elliptical SRF cavities to probe spectral properties of TLS in native niobium oxide formed on the inside walls of the resonator. We pump one of the modes (4¿/9 through 8¿/9) with continuous high-power to saturate TLSs that couple to this frequency, and we probe the Q-factor of the ¿-mode. We observe increase of the quality factor of the probed ¿-mode when one of the neighboring modes is pumped. Extremely high quality factors of the pass band modes and their relative proximity in the frequency space allow us to estimate the width of the spectral hole burned in the TLS bath absorption spectrum which is related to the line spectral width of the TLS defects.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Utility of Big Area Additive Manufacturing for Part Production for Low-Head Hydropower (CRADA NFE-18-07280 Final Report)

ORNL worked with Cadens, LLC, to explore the use of additive manufacturing (AM) to produce low-cost parts for low-head hydropower systems. Cadens develops design optimization software that leverages the flexible, low-cost, high-strength benefits of AM and composite materials. Cadens also operates a micro-hydro lab to test AM components in controlled environments. Until now, Cadens’ tests have been limited to components of a size that they can cost-effectively manufacture using local commercial systems. This project provided an opportunity for Cadens to scale up their modular AM hydropower parts using the capabilities of Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM). This project was a success and resulted in the design and fabrication of several end-use parts of a hydropower system, using a Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system. The fabricated parts include a draft tube, thimble, runner housing mold, PVC end fitting and two PVC pipe supports. In addition, a runner system was fabricated using fused deposition modeling on a 3D Platform Workbench 400 Series System.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

3D Reality Energy Modeling Software

The team will combine Bentley Systems’ ContextCapture and extend Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s building energy modeling capabilities in order to create digital twins of buildings that allow simulation-informed improvement for energy efficiency and demand response in the design and operation of the built environment. Bentley Systems’ ContextCapture software processes data from 3D laser scanning and photographs (through photogrammetry) to create a photorealistic, 3D mesh with a scale of individual objects to building to city-sized. This capability easily provides city-level visualization models and platforms where sustainable design alternatives are readily evaluated. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) serves the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) as one of three core laboratories developing building energy modeling tools EnergyPlus and OpenStudio. ORNL’s AutoBEM software (bit.ly/AutoBEM) can process imagery (satellite, aerial, and street level), LiDAR, cartographic layers, tax assessor’s data, and other data sources to extract building footprints, height, window-to-wall ratio, building type, vintage, and other building properties. AutoBEM has created 178,368 building energy models that were empirically validated with 15-minute whole-building electrical data from a utility.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

RELAP5-3D modelling of the HTTR-GT/H 2 secondary system and turbomachinery

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) can be used for the cogeneration of electricity and hydrogen. The JAEA-operated High-Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR-GT/H 2 ) is exploring using the reactor for electricity and hydrogen production. Here, a RELAP5-3D model of the HTTR-GT/H 2 secondary system has been developed using design information. The various components and heat exchangers in the secondary system were investigated, modified, and improved where applicable. With these changes made, the model was run, and the results were compared to the design conditions. The results for the sole-power generation mode were shown to fit the design conditions very well. The largest temperature difference was on the order of 7 K, and the largest pressure difference was on the order of 0.05 MPa. The results for the hydrogen cogeneration mode did not fit the design conditions as well as the other case. The largest temperature difference was about 39 K and the largest pressure difference was about 0.27 MPa at the compressor outlet. The larger differences for the hydrogen cogeneration mode are attributed to the various complex components and the flow being split in the secondary loop. A transient reduction in heat removal capability of the secondary system was investigated. Reactor temperatures were predicted to rise as a result. The core reactivity response due to this increase in temperature is investigated and is expected to add negative reactivity to the reactor.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling of HTTF test PG-26 using RELAP5-3D and SAM

The High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) at Oregon State University (OSU) is a scaled integral effects experiment designed to investigate transient behavior in high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors (HTGR) with prismatic fuel and reflector blocks [1]. Several tests have been completed at the HTTF including depressurized conduction cooldown (DCC) and pressurized conduction cooldown (PCC) transients. This summary reports on the analysis of test PG-26 using the INL system code REALP5-3D [2] as well as the ANL system code SAM [3]. Test PG-26 is a progression of the Double Ended Inlet-Outlet Crossover Duct Break transient that is referred to as a DCC [4]. Core initial conditions (i.e., before the DCC started) have been met using low power (<100 kW) and two of ten available electric heater banks. The DCC transient was initiated during the 50th hour of the test. The break valves were opened, and hot helium from the core and cold helium from the reactor cavity simulation tank (RCST) started mixing. The gases flowed in a countercurrent fashion, where the top half of the hot duct contained hot helium that flowed in one direction and cold helium that flowed in the other direction in the bottom half of the duct. After the pressure and density reached equilibrium, the event entered a diffusion mode. The onset of a reverse natural circulation was not observed during the DCC period of the test.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Additive manufacturing system and method having toolpath analysis

An additive manufacturing (AM) system is disclosed for constructing a three dimensional (3D) part with optimized orthotropy. The system combines an electronic processor which calculates an optimal set of physically achievable toolpaths to meet a given design objective, and a 3D printing direct ink write machine capable of printing inks with reinforcing particles that result in orthotropic materials. The electronic processor may combine a Domain of Interest subsystem that transforms a mathematical description of a desired part orthotropy to a plurality of guidepaths, a toolpath generate subsystem that develops a plurality of physically realizable toolpaths from those guidepaths with a minimum number of starts and stops, a finite element subsystem that computes spatially varying material orthotropy from those toolpaths and then solves a boundary value problem to determine a figure of merit for the design, and an optimization subsystem that uses that figure of merit to update the mathematical description of the part orthotropy to iteratively develop an improved part. The optimization subsystem also includes convergence criteria to indicate when toolpaths have been achieved that yield a sufficiently optimal part has been achieved. The toolpath generate can then output the final toolpaths, which are converted to suitable code that controls the motion of the 3D printer toolhead and allows the optimized 3D part to be manufactured.

King, Michael J.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Recent Developments in Femtosecond Laser-Enabled TriBeam Systems

Streams of multimodal three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) data are revolutionizing our ability to design and predict the behavior of a broad array of advanced materials systems. Over the last 10 years, a new 3D imaging platform consisting of a femtosecond (fs) pulsed laser coupled with a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB SEM) has been developed by UC Santa Barbara in collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific (formerly FEI). The femtosecond-laser-enabled FIB SEM, called the TriBeam, has become one of the only 3D serial sectioning methods available that can gather millimeter-scaled multimodal datasets at sub-μm voxel resolutions; these length scales are critical for many materials problems. Multimodal chemical, crystallographic, and morphological information can be gathered rapidly on a layer-by-layer basis and reconstructed in 3D. Large (gigabyte to terabyte scale) 3D datasets have been generated for a broad array of materials systems, including metallic alloys, ceramics, biomaterials, polymer- and ceramic-matrix composites, and semiconductors. The research tasks conducted have resulted in a completely new design, operating with a dual-wavelength femtosecond-pulsed laser on a plasma focused ion beam (PFIB) platform.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Seamless High-Q Microwave Cavities for Multimode Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics

Multimode cavity quantum electrodynamics ---where a two-level system interacts simultaneously with many cavity modes---provides a versatile framework for quantum information processing and quantum optics. Due to the combination of long coherence times and large interaction strengths, one of the leading experimental platforms for cavity QED involves coupling a superconducting circuit to a 3D microwave cavity. In this work, we realize a 3D multimode circuit QED system with single photon lifetimes of $2$ ms and cooperativities of $0.5-1.5\times10^9$ across 9 modes of a novel seamless cavity. We demonstrate a variety of protocols for universal single-mode quantum control applicable across all cavity modes, using only a single drive line. We achieve this by developing a straightforward flute method for creating monolithic superconducting microwave cavities that reduces loss while simultaneously allowing control of the mode spectrum and mode-qubit interaction. We highlight the flexibility and ease of implementation of this technique by using it to fabricate a variety of 3D cavity geometries, providing a template for engineering multimode quantum systems with exceptionally low dissipation. This work is an important step towards realizing hardware efficient random access quantum memories and processors, and for exploring quantum many-body physics with photons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗