SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Dry Runs”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2004

Launch Vehicle Propulsion Parameter Design Multiple Selection Criteria

The optimization tool described herein addresses and emphasizes the use of computer tools to model a system and focuses on a concept development approach for a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen single-stage-to-orbit system, but more particularly the development of the optimized system using new techniques. This methodology uses new and innovative tools to run Monte Carlo simulations, genetic algorithm solvers, and statistical models in order to optimize a design concept. The concept launch vehicle and propulsion system were modeled and optimized to determine the best design for weight and cost by varying design and technology parameters. Uncertainty levels were applied using Monte Carlo Simulations and the model output was compared to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle Main Engine. Several key conclusions are summarized here for the model results. First, the Gross Liftoff Weight and Dry Weight were 67% higher for the design case for minimization of Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost when compared to the weights determined by the minimization of Gross Liftoff Weight case. In turn, the Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost was 53% higher for optimized Gross Liftoff Weight case when compared to the cost determined by case for minimization of Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost. Therefore, a 53% increase in Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost results in a 67% reduction in Gross Liftoff Weight. Secondly, the tool outputs define the sensitivity of propulsion parameters, technology and cost factors and how these parameters differ when cost and weight are optimized separately. A key finding was that for a Space Shuttle Main Engine thrust level the oxidizer/fuel ratio of 6.6 resulted in the lowest Gross Liftoff Weight rather than at 5.2 for the maximum specific impulse, demonstrating the relationships between specific impulse, engine weight, tank volume and tank weight. Lastly, the optimum chamber pressure for Gross Liftoff Weight minimization was 2713 pounds per square inch as compared to 3162 for the Design, Development, Test and Evaluation cost optimization case. This chamber pressure range is close to 3000 pounds per square inch for the Space Shuttle Main Engine.

Shelton, Joey Dewayne↗

DOE OSTI2023

Techno-Economic Case Study: Low-Temperature Conversion Performance Based on Isolated Anatomical Fractions of Corn Stover

This report summarizes analysis conducted to support a case study under the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC) focused on techno-economic analysis (TEA) modeling to quantify the yield and cost ramifications for processing isolated anatomical fractions of corn stover through a low-temperature conversion (biochemical pathway) biorefinery. It is hypothesized that different individual anatomical fractions of corn stover vary in composition and recalcitrance, such that processing each fraction on its own e.g. through dedicated campaigns may enable economic benefits relative to processing the whole stover material. To investigate this concept, we worked with FCIC researchers to obtain data on compositional analysis, as well as processing conditions and yields, for conversion of whole corn stover plus three individual anatomical fractions (cobs, husks, and stalks) across key steps of the biorefinery conversion process within FCIC research scope, namely pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. After running the data through the TEA models, fractionated cobs and husks achieved higher fuel yields and lower minimum fuel selling prices than whole corn stover, but stalks fared worse than whole stover on both metrics. The most direct takeaway from this assessment is that a biorefinery would stand to benefit economically from maximizing the use of cob and husk fractions while avoiding or minimizing the use of stalks, though recognizing practical constraints with this approach in maintaining an equivalent processing capacity (fixed at 2,000 dry metric tonne per day in all cases).

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

NASA NTRS1997

Examination of Soil Moisture Retrieval Using SIR-C Radar Data and a Distributed Hydrological Model

A major objective of soil moisture-related hydrological-research during NASA's SIR-C/X-SAR mission was to determine and compare soil moisture patterns within humid watersheds using SAR data, ground-based measurements, and hydrologic modeling. Currently available soil moisture-inversion methods using active microwave data are only accurate when applied to bare and slightly vegetated surfaces. Moreover, as the surface dries down, the number of pixels that can provide estimated soil moisture by these radar inversion methods decreases, leading to less accuracy and, confidence in the retrieved soil moisture fields at the watershed scale. The impact of these errors in microwave- derived soil moisture on hydrological modeling of vegetated watersheds has yet to be addressed. In this study a coupled water and energy balance model operating within a topographic framework is used to predict surface soil moisture for both bare and vegetated areas. In the first model run, the hydrological model is initialized using a standard baseflow approach, while in the second model run, soil moisture values derived from SIR-C radar data are used for initialization. The results, which compare favorably with ground measurements, demonstrate the utility of combining radar-derived surface soil moisture information with basin-scale hydrological modeling.

Hsu, A. Y.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Interannual fires as a source for subarctic summer decadal climate variability mediated by permafrost thawing

Climate model simulations run under the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) use an inhomogeneous biomass burning aerosol (BBA) emission dataset, which exhibits pronounced interannual variability from 1997–2014 due to the infusion of satellite data. Using the Community Earth System Model version 2 Large Ensemble (CESM2-LE) with original and smoothed CMIP6 BBA forcings, we show that the CMIP6 data inhomogeneity causes spurious decadal subarctic land warming. During years with reduced aerosol concentrations, increased solar radiation can trigger abrupt subarctic permafrost thawing, increased soil water drainage, upper soil drying, and subsequent surface warming. This slow process, which is further amplified by nonlinear cloud-aerosol interactions, cannot be completely offset during years of increased aerosol fluxes, thereby reddening surface temperature spectra in response to large-amplitude interannual aerosol forcing. More generally, our CESM2 experiments identify a pathway for generating decadal variability in high latitudes, involving interannual shortwave forcing and slow nonlinear soil responses.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2023

Robustness of Gridded Precipitation Products for Vietnam Basins using the Comprehensive Assessment Framework of Rainfall

The use of satellite–based precipitation products (SPPs) have become increasingly prevalent as key inputs to provide regional rainfall for improving hydrological simulations in data–spare regions. This study introduces a new approach – Comprehensive Assessment Framework of Rainfall (CAFR) to evaluate six satellite–based precipitation products (SPPs) for eleven basins with different sizes across Vietnam (2007–2015). These SPPs include the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement Final run Version 6 (GPM IMERGF V6), Multi–Source Weighted–Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) V2.2, Soil Moisture to Rain (SM2RAIN) – Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) V1.5, Asian Precipitation–Highly–Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation (APHRODITE) V1901, Climate Hazards group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) V2.0, and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN) – Climate Data Record (CDR) V1.0. With the proposed CAFR: (1) IMERGF is suggested to have the best performance overall, especially when simulating flood peaks; (2) SM2RAIN–ASCAT demonstrates the best skills in metrics related to the dry season; (3) For streamflow simulations, SPPs' performance is sensitive to basin size, with larger basins showing better performance skills. In this study, we demonstrate the capability of our proposed framework to better understand SPP applications in hydrological modeling.

Comprehensive Assessment Framework of Rainfall (CA↗

DOE OSTI2025

Designing a repository in domal salt: The influence of design variants in different modelling environments

To understand the long-term environmental impact of disposing radioactive waste of in a deep geological repository and to optimise its design, performance assessments are used. In this study, four teams (COVRA, GRS, Quintessa, and DOE) modified the previously developed generic repository of DECOVALEX task F2 to identify commonalities and differences between the teams for specific changes in repository design. The teams tested six design modifications: (1) Replacing concrete abutments with run-of-mine salt; (2) Replacing the salt seal with a concrete abutment and using run-of-mine salt instead for the two concrete abutments in each drift seal; (3) Halving the size of the infrastructure area; (4) Using run-of-mine salt instead of gravel for backfilling the infrastructure area; (5) Disposal of spent nuclear fuel without the POLLUX-10 containers (6); Lower initial saturation of the spent nuclear fuel and vitrified waste disposal drifts. Despite different modelling strategies used, models agreed that a smaller infrastructure area has a limited effect on radionuclide transport. Responses to the absence of the two concrete abutments in each seal, the use of single large concrete abutments (200 m each), or the use of run-of-mine salt in the infrastructure area differ between teams due to differing modelling assumptions. Based on these results, the estimated efficacy of containment depends strongly on the model assumptions of each team. More specifically, it appears to depend on the compaction model used and therefore on the backfill material used in different areas of the repository. However, the drift seal appears to be a critical design element in all models, effectively limiting radionuclide transport by hydrologically disconnecting sections of the repository. Additional beneficial design choices include the use of dry salt in disposal drifts to limit radionuclide transport and reducing the infrastructure area costs and minimizing host rock damage.

DECOVALEX↗

DOE OSTI2024

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Bacterial and Thermochemical Retting of Hemp

The processes of hemp bast fiber retting, forming, and drying offer the opportunity for value-added products such as natural fiber-reinforced composites. A new process for the retting of raw bast fibers through enzyme-triggered self-cultured bacterial retting was developed in the lab-scale setup. This study focused on comparing the energy consumption and environmental impacts of this bacterial retting process with the thermochemical retting process currently widely used to obtain lignocellulosic fibers for composites. The gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) models of the two retting processes were constructed to run a comparison analysis using the TRACI (the tool for the reduction and assessment of chemical and other environmental impacts) method for environmental impacts and the cumulative energy demand (CED) method for energy consumptions. This work has demonstrated the advantages of the bacterial retting method from an environmental standpoint. The result of our research shows about a 24% gate-to-gate reduction in CED for bacterial retting and 20–25% lower environmental impacts relating to global warming, smog formation, acidification, carcinogenics, non-carcinogenics, respiratory effects, ecotoxicity, and fossil fuel depletion when compared to that of thermochemical retting.

Chemistry↗

NASA NTRS2012

Performance of McRAS-AC in the GEOS-5 AGCM: Part 1, Aerosol-Activated Cloud Microphysics, Precipitation, Radiative Effects, and Circulation

A revised version of the Microphysics of clouds with Relaxed Arakawa-Schubert and Aerosol-Cloud interaction (McRAS-AC), including, among others, the Barahona and Nenes ice nucleation parameterization, is implemented in the GEOS-5 AGCM. Various fields from a 10-year long integration of the AGCM with McRAS-AC were compared with their counterparts from an integration of the baseline GEOS-5 AGCM, and with satellite data as observations. Generally using McRAS-AC reduced biases in cloud fields and cloud radiative effects are much better over most of the regions of the Earth. Two weaknesses are identified in the McRAS-AC runs, namely, too few cloud particles around 40S-60S, and too high cloud water path during northern hemisphere summer over the Gulf Stream and North Pacific. Sensitivity analyses showed that these biases potentially originated from biases in the aerosol input. The first bias is largely eliminated in a sensitivity test using 50% smaller aerosol particles, while the second bias is much reduced when interactive aerosol chemistry was turned on. The main drawback of McRAS-AC is dearth of low-level marine stratus clouds, probably due to lack of dry-convection, not yet implemented into the cloud scheme. Despite these biases, McRAS-AC does simulate realistic clouds and their optical properties that can improve with better aerosol-input and thereby has the potential to be a valuable tool for climate modeling research because of its aerosol indirect effect simulation capabilities involving prediction of cloud particle number concentration and effective particle size for both convective and stratiform clouds is quite realistic.

Sud, Y. C.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Predicting Water Cycle Characteristics from Percolation Theory and Observational Data

The fate of water and water-soluble toxic wastes in the subsurface is of high importance for many scientific and practical applications. Although solute transport is proportional to water flow rates, theoretical and experimental studies show that heavy-tailed (power-law) solute transport distribution can cause chemical transport retardation, prolonging clean-up time-scales greatly. However, no consensus exists as to the physical basis of such transport laws. In percolation theory, the scaling behavior of such transport rarely relates to specific medium characteristics, but strongly to the dimensionality of the connectivity of the flow paths (for example, two- or three-dimensional, as in fractured-porous media or heterogeneous sediments), as well as to the saturation characteristics (i.e., wetting, drying, and entrapped air). In accordance with the proposed relevance of percolation models of solute transport to environmental clean-up, these predictions also prove relevant to transport-limited chemical weathering and soil formation, where the heavy-tailed distributions slow chemical weathering over time. The predictions of percolation theory have been tested in laboratory and field experiments on reactive solute transport, chemical weathering, and soil formation and found accurate. Recently, this theoretical framework has also been applied to the water partitioning at the Earth’s surface between evapotranspiration, ET, and run-off, Q, known as the water balance. A well-known phenomenological model by Budyko addressed the relationship between the ratio of the actual evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation, ET/P, versus the aridity index, ET 0 /P, with P being the precipitation and ET 0 being the potential evapotranspiration. Existing work was able to predict the global fractions of P represented by Q and ET through an optimization of plant productivity, in which downward water fluxes affect soil depth, and upward fluxes plant growth. In the present work, based likewise on the concepts of percolation theory, we extend Budyko’s model, and address the partitioning of run-off Q into its surface and subsurface components, as well as the contribution of interception to ET. Using various published data sources on the magnitudes of interception and information regarding the partitioning of Q, we address the variability in ET resulting from these processes. The global success of this prediction demonstrated here provides additional support for the universal applicability of percolation theory for solute transport as well as guidance in predicting the component of subsurface run-off, important for predicting natural flow rates through contaminated aquifers.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

GLBRC Soil Yearlong Incubation 13C-SIP-Lipidomics

Data package for Lipids represent a dynamic, yet stable pool of microbially-derived soil carbon This data is published under a CC0 license. The authors encourage data reuse and request attribution by referencing the below citations for the data packages and associated manuscript. Please cite as: Rempfert KR, Bell SL, Kasanke CP, Kyle JE, Hofmockel KS. 2025. GLBRC Soil Yearlong Incubation 13C-SIP-Lipidomics. [Data Set] PNNL DataHub. doi: Rempfert KR, Bell SL, Kasanke CP, Kyle JE, Hofmockel KS. 2025. MSV000097435: GLBRC soil yearlong incubation 13C-SIP-Lipidomics [Data Set] MassIVE. doi:10.25345/C57659T3K Rempfert KR, Bell SL, Kasanke CP, Kyle JE, Hofmockel KS. 2025. Lipids represent a dynamic, yet stable pool of microbially-derived soil carbon. In Prep This data package consists of compound-specific 13C SIP-lipidomics data from a yearlong tracer incubation experiment designed to investigate microbial lipid persistence in switchgrass bioenergy crop soils. In order to explore how lipid structure may modulate the persistence of C in soil lipids, we leveraged soils from two sites (Michigan - sandy texture, Wisconsin - silty texture) operated by the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). These sites had comparable climates, identical management practices, but contrasting soil textures, allowing us to assess the variability of lipid accrual or degradation in soils as well as provide insight regarding the degree to which edaphic properties may regulate the retention of soil lipids. Untargeted lipidomics analyses were performed to identify 13C-labeled lipids in the soil microbiome after long-term incubation. Soils were supplemented with 100 micrograms glucose per gram dry soil (99 atom % 13C or natural abundance for paired control) and incubated; samples were collected two months and one year after glucose addition. Lipid extracts (MPLEx) were analyzed by LC-MS/MS and identified using LIQUID. Calculation of isotopic enrichment of lipids was performed by targeted approach using TarMet to quantify lipid isotopologues and IsoCorrectoR to correct for natural abundance isotopes. Contents: Data package contents reported here are the first version and contain downstream analysis files for the raw LC-MS mass spectrometry files (.mzXML) deposited at the MassIVE database repository under accession MSV000097435 (80 experimental runs; 5.85 GB) | MassIVE DOI: 10.25345/C57659T3K. Support files include the additional data download 'Read Me' file containing data descriptor information. Reported data download contents are structured for compliance with project data sharing guidelines, community standards initiatives, and sponsor stakeholder policies supporting FAIR data principles. Data processing software, analysis tools, and data workflows are listed below corresponding to the host repository long-term location. Available Data Downloads (0.3 GB): "GLBRC soil yearlong incubation 13C-SIP-Lipidomics_readme.txt" - 'Read Me' data package content file (txt) "GLBRC_DataPackage_analysis files" - Data processing files (Rmd) and saved intermediate data processing outputs (rds, csv, xlsx) "GLBRC_13C_lipidomics_dataset.xlsx" - processed data in tabular format (xlsx) Linked Software: LIQUID LC-MS Analysis Software | 10.5281/zenodo.6459462 Lipid Mini-On Software Tools | 10.5281/zenodo.1492803 pmartR Omics Statistical Software | 10.5281/zenodo.6108667 xcms (v4.3.3) TarMet (v1.1.1) IsoCorrectoR (1.24.0) Funding Acknowledgments: This research was supported by an Early Career Research Program award funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) Genomic Science program under FWP 68292, FWP 07880 and EMSL Exploratory Research Project 51095. A portion of this work was performed in the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a national scientific user facility sponsored by OBER and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is a multi-program national laboratory operated by Battelle for the DOE under Contract DE-AC05-76RLO1830.

Rempfert, Kaitlin R [Pacific Northwest National La↗

NASA NTRS1991

An evaluation of water vapor radiometer data for calibration of the wet path delay in very long baseline interferometry experiments

The internal consistency of the baseline-length measurements derived from analysis of several independent VLBI experiments is an estimate of the measurement precision. The paper investigates whether the inclusion of water vapor radiometer (WVR) data as an absolute calibration of the propagation delay due to water vapor improves the precision of VLBI baseline-length measurements. The paper analyzes 28 International Radio Interferometric Surveying runs between June 1988 and January 1989; WVR measurements were made during each session. The addition of WVR data decreased the scatter of the length measurements of the baselines by 5-10 percent. The observed reduction in the scatter of the baseline lengths is less than what is expected from the behavior of the formal errors, which suggest that the baseline-length measurement precision should improve 10-20 percent if WVR data are included in the analysis. The discrepancy between the formal errors and the baseline-length results can be explained as the consequence of systematic errors in the dry-mapping function parameters, instrumental biases in the WVR and the barometer, or both.

Kuehn, C. E.↗

DOE OSTI2026

Field and Model Data Associated with the Manuscript “Drivers of Streamflow Intermittency in Humid Regions: 1. Evaluating Above- and Below-ground Controls of Flow Persistence in a Forested Catchment”

This package contains field data, modeling files, and scripts supporting the investigation of the drivers of streamflow intermittency in a forested catchment. It includes the field data collected from electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys, ground penetrating radar (GPR), continuous self-potential (SP) monitoring, electromagnetic (EM) imaging, groundwater and stilling well. In addition, it contains the data and results of the coupled water- and electrical-flow model developed using the COMSOL Multiphysics and Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS), as well as software files and Jupyter notebooks used to process the data and generate figures in the manuscript submitted for peer review. The data archive is organized in the following directories: 1) Climate Includes hourly precipitation and daily evapotranspiration time series (2024 – 2025) provided as CSV files, alongside a text file detailing dataset units. 2) Coupled_model Contains two subfolders: Synthetic and Field_Application subfolder. Synthetic subfolder contains the ATS XML input script (can be opened using any code editor) for the four synthetic hydrological cases tested (Connected and gaining, Connected and losing, Disconnected and losing, and dry stream). It also includes other experimental cases to test the influence of precipitation and concentration gradient. For each synthetic case, the flow model simulation is executed using the ATS XML scripts and the included Python script (generate_data_set.py) to convert ATS output to COMSOL-ready input. COMSOL Multiphysics template (.mph can be opened with the commercial software COMSOL and requires a license) is executed using the ATS output data to simulate the potential field. It also includes the Synthetic_model_plot.ipynb (can be opened using any code editor) to visualize the SP result and generate manuscript figures. The data subfolder contains mesh files to run both the ATS (.exo and .stl files can be viewed using Paraview; .h5 files can be opened using HDFView software and h5py Python package) and COMSOL models. Field_Application subfolder contains two subfolders: ES_MDA_inversion and Final_Model. ES_MDA_inversion contains the Python script (.py can be opened using any code editor) and SP observation data used to run the Ensemble Smoother with Multiple Data Assimilation (ES-MDA) inversion sequence to get the optimal model parameters. The Final_model subfolder contains the ATS XML input scripts, data files, output data for the two SP sites. The same workflow steps outlined for the Synthetic subfolder apply here. It also contains the Jupyter notebook (Plot_final_calib.ipynb) to visualize the results of the modeled SP, stream-groundwater exchange and moisture content. 3) Discharge Includes the electrical conductivity (EC) time series (provided as CSV files) from salt slug injections. It also includes the Jupyter notebook (Discharge_process.ipynyb) used to estimate discharge. All discharge measurements collated into rating_curve_processed.csv 4) EM Contains the CSV file of the EM data from the DUALEM-42, including spatial coordinates (x, y, z), apparent conductivity, and in-phase measurements at 2 m coil separations for horizontal coplanar (HCP) and perpendicular (PRP) geometries. 5) ERT Contains raw resistivity data (provided as CSV files), spatial location of each of the electrodes (provided as CSV files), and files used for the resistivity inversion (.resipy can be opened with the open-source ResIPy software). 6) GPR Includes GPR field datasets collected at 100 MHz and 250 MHz antenna frequencies, along with the processing/interpretation project file (GPR_process.gpz can be viewed using EKKO_Project 6, a commercial software by Sensors & Software that requires a license). 7) Slug_test Includes the slug test data at all the groundwater wells provided as CSV files, as well as the Jupyter notebook (Slug_test.ipynb) for calculating hydraulic conductivity. 8) SP Contains the SP data collected in field at the two SP sites (one in the perennial reach and the other in the intermittent reach), provided as DAT files. 9) Well_data Contains two subfolders: 1) Raw, which provides unprocessed pressure, electrical conductivity and temperature timeseries downloaded from the loggers in all the groundwater and stilling wells, and 2) Processed, which contains sorted, QA/QC timeseries data for each well. The data archive also contains data_process.ipynb, a Jupyter notebook used for field data analysis and generating figures (plotting well, SP, climate, and discharge data, as well as calculating head gradient at sites with nested groundwater wells). It also includes DTW.ipynb, a Jupyter notebook containing the code for the dynamic time warping (DTW) with sliding window to evaluate SP signal synchronicity.

ATS↗

NASA NTRS2002

Convective Systems Over the South China Sea: Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations

The South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) was conducted in May-June 1998. One of its major objectives is to better understand the key physical processes for the onset and evolution of the summer monsoon over Southeast Asia and southern China. Multiple observation platforms (e.g., upper-air soundings, Doppler radar, ships, wind profilers, radiometers, etc.) during SCSMEX provided a first attempt at investigating the detailed characteristics of convective storms and air pattern changes associated with monsoons over the South China Sea region. SCSMEX also provided rainfall estimates which allows for comparisons with those obtained from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a low earth orbit satellite designed to measure rainfall from space. The Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model (with 1-km grid size) is used to understand and quantify the precipitation processes associated with the summer monsoon over the South China Sea. This is the first (loud-resolving model used to simulate precipitation processes in this particular region. The GCE-model results captured many of the observed precipitation characteristics because it used a fine grid size. For example, the temporal variation of the simulated rainfall compares quite well to the sounding-estimated rainfall variation. The time and domain-averaged temperature (heating/cooling) and water vapor (drying/ moistening) budgets are in good agreement with observations. The GCE-model-simulated rainfall amount also agrees well with TRMM rainfall data. The results show there is more evaporation from the ocean surface prior to the onset of the monsoon than after the on-~et of monsoon when rainfall increases. Forcing due to net radiation (solar heating minus longwave cooling) is responsible for about 25% of the precipitation in SCSMEX The transfer of heat from the ocean into the atmosphere does not contribute significantly to the rainfall in SCSMEX. Model sensitivity tests indicated that total rain production is reduced 17-18% in runs neglecting the ice phase. The SCSMEX results are compared to other GCE-model-simulated weather systems that developed during other field campaigns (i.e., west Pacific warm pool region, eastern Atlantic region and central USA). Large-scale forcing vie temperature and water vapor tendency, is the major energy source for net condensation in the tropical cases. The effects of large-scale cooling exceed that of large-scale moistening in the west pacific warm pool region and eastern Atlantic region. For SCSMEX, however, the effects of large-scale moistening predominate. Net radiation and sensible and latent hc,it fluxes play a much more important role in the central USA.

Tao, Wei-Kuo↗

DOE OSTI2026

Preliminary neutronic and thermal analysis of Inertial Fusion Energy systems with a focus on thick liquid wall concepts

This paper provides an assessment of the neutronic behavior of Inertial Fusion Energy systems using the Serpent 2 Monte Carlo code. The study explores different types of reactor concepts, including dry-wall and thick liquid wall systems. In particular, it characterizes the tritium breeding and energy multiplication performance, as well as the effect of long-term irradiation on structural materials. For this purpose, the displacement per atom (DPA) and the gas production rate in structural materials are calculated. A simplified geometry with varying geometrical parameters is used as a representation for the different kinds of devices. Additionally, the case of the HYLIFE-II concept is used to assess modeling inaccuracies arising from certain approximations. A comparison between the simplified geometry and a realistic one is performed, thanks to Serpent’s capability to run transport calculations on unstructured meshes. The study then addresses the impact of these discrepancies on the temperature distribution in the first wall using the GeN-Foam code for conjugate heat transfer analysis. The results highlight the necessity to consider the heterogeneous nature of the liquid wall, as simplified models tend to underestimate radiation damage metrics and heat loads.

Conjugate heat transfer↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Establishing Cleaning Methods for Cleanroom and Safety Suits at Remote Sites with Available Resources

"The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spent considerable time in multiple clean facilities during its launch campaign at the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. Throughout this time, it was imperative that personnel wear approved cleanroom or safety suits when working in proximity to the JWST observatory. This proved to be challenging for two reasons: 1) A large quantity of NASA cleanroom suits needed to be shipped to CSG to account for the heavy volume of NASA and ESA personnel requiring access to the clean facilities. It became evident that shipping clean suits from the US to CSG in a timely fashion during the launch campaign would be challenging. Consequently, a backup plan needed to be established to avoid running out. 2) For safety purposes, Self-Contained Atmospheric Protection Ensemble (SCAPE) and Splash suits were required for hazardous operations. Neither type of suit was cleanroom compatible; therefore, a viable cleaning process needed to be developed to ensure both types of suits met JWST’s approved cleanliness standards. The NASA Contamination Control (CC) team partnered with CSG’s S5E cleanroom and suit processing team. The teams were able to make modifications to the S5E facility to create a NASA approved makeshift clean environment where NASA cleanroom suits and CSG Splash suits were inspected, folded, and bagged for cleanroom use once they were washed and dried. Since SCAPE suits could not be cleaned using conventional methods, a procedure was developed to clean and inspect the suits by the CC team in a temporary clean environment prior to fueling. "

James Webb Space Telescope↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Establishing Cleaning Methods For Cleanroom And Safety Suits At Remote Sites With Available Resources

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spent considerable time in multiple clean facilities during its launch campaign at the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. Throughout this time, it was imperative that personnel wear approved cleanroom or safety suits when working in proximity to the JWST observatory. This proved to be challenging for two reasons: 1) A large quantity of NASA cleanroom suits needed to be shipped to CSG to account for the heavy volume of NASA and ESA personnel requiring access to the clean facilities. It became evident that shipping clean suits from the US to CSG in a timely fashion during the launch campaign would be challenging. Consequently, a backup plan needed to be established to avoid running out. 2) For safety purposes, Self-Contained Atmospheric Protection Ensemble (SCAPE) and Splash suits were required for hazardous operations. Neither type of suit was cleanroom compatible; therefore, a viable cleaning process needed to be developed to ensure both types of suits met JWST’s approved cleanliness standards. The NASA Contamination Control (CC) team partnered with CSG’s S5E cleanroom and suit processing team. The teams were able to make modifications to the S5E facility to create a NASA approved makeshift clean environment where NASA cleanroom suits and CSG Splash suits were inspected, folded, and bagged for cleanroom use once they were washed and dried. Since SCAPE suits could not be cleaned using conventional methods, a procedure was developed to clean and inspect the suits by the CC team in a temporary clean environment prior to fueling.

James Webb Space Telescope↗

DOE OSTI2022

Operation Plumbbob

On June 24, 1957, a thirty-seven kiloton nuclear device, codenamed Priscilla, exploded 700 feet over the Nevada Test Site’s Frenchman dry lake. Below, on the lakebed, was a bank vault designed by the Mosler Safe Company for one of several Federal Civil Defense Administration experiments. The vault was constructed “to evaluate the effectiveness of a reinforced-concrete vault and steel vault door in providing protection against the effects of a nuclear detonation.” Blast damage to the exterior was largely confined to the side walls, whose concrete was stripped off; its steel reinforcing rods bent and twisted. The vault door was essentially undamaged and was opened with minimal difficulty. The vault contents - sandbags, movie camera, and thermometers - were only slightly disturbed. The camera operated as planned, running 40 ft of film. The film, however, was completely fogged. Two clinical type thermometers registered 88°F, and a 24-hr stylus American temperature recorder registered a constant 88°F. Priscilla was the fifth of twenty-nine tests conducted in 1957 as part of Operation Plumbbob, whose stated purpose was to conduct tests “aimed to attain new knowledge important to the defense of the United States and the Free World.” Individual events included “proof tests of air defense and antisubmarine warheads to be stockpiled, development tests of bomb components and mockups, and design tests of smaller and lighter warheads.” One test, John, was that of an air-to-air missile detonated 18,500 feet over the test site.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

NASA NTRS1997

Assay of the Martian Regolith with Neutrons

The purpose of the research is to combine experiments and Monte Carlo transport of neutrons through volume of soil in an attempt to model neutron leakage from planetary surfaces. Emphasis is given to the change of neutron spectra as a function of water content and location. During the first stage of effort, two experiments were conducted in which leakage of neutrons from a Pu-Be source through about 30 g/cm(exp 2) of soil were measured with several counters. A Monte Carlo code, MCNP, has been used to model many of the 100 individual runs of the experiment. Hydrogen is the element that has the most dramatic effect on the neutron spectrum and its effect on the neutron spectrum is almost the same whether it is in the form of water or polyethylene. In order to simulate various water configurations, sheets of polyethylene have been used between layers of soil as well as water in several concentrations up to 18%. Comparison of experimental results to theoretical predictions made with the MCNP code were disappointing for low concentrations of water. We have made extensive calculations to see if room return could be the cause of the discrepancies. Water concentrations of the 'dry' soil were measured by two different laboratories and differed only by 0.5%. We have made calculations to optimize the next experiment and are investigating other methods of determining the water content of 'dry' soil.

Drake, Darrell M.↗