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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

LaserNetUS Collaboration Network—University of Rochester (Final Report)

LaserNetUS Collaborative Network established in 2018 is a network of high-power laser facilities supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) and operating effectively as a user facility. Its mission is to advance and promote intense laser science and applications by providing scientists and students with broad access to unique facilities and enabling technologies, advancing the frontiers of laser-science research, and fostering collaboration among researchers and networks from around the world. Users who submit proposals through an annual call are selected by an external and independent proposal review panel (PRP) not involving personnel from any of the facilities. Besides the Omega Laser Facility at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE), the network during this project period includes high-intensity laser facilities from six other universities and three national laboratories, namely, the Colorado State University (CSU), the University of Michigan (UM), the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), The Ohio State University (OSU), Université du Québec, the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), respectively. The network facilities span a wide range in laser pulse energy, pulse duration, repetition rate, and experimental diagnostic equipment enabling innovative research in a variety of exciting areas. Details of the LaserNetUS facilities, organization and committees, events, and accomplishments can be found at the network website (https://lasernetus.org/). A very important role that the LaserNetUS fulfills is the training of students and young scientists who will be key for the future development of laser-plasma science and high-power laser technology itself. The network provides these students not only with access to the most advanced instrumentation and laser facilities, but also the opportunities to interact and collaborate with students from other institutions and with a large group of experienced scientists. As the largest university-based laser users’ facility in the world, the Omega Laser Facility at the UR/LLE has served the high-energy-density physics (HEDP) and inertial fusion science community for nearly 40 years. The multi-beam multi-kJ OMEGA EP Laser System brings unique capabilities to the LaserNetUS network. The combination of high intensity and high energy in short- and long-pulse operation together with solid or gas-jet targets and externally applied magnetic fields provides users a wide domain of experimental conditions. This award provides a total of eight shot days on OMEGA EP for LaserNetUS users. During the award period of performance (June 2019–November 2021), seven teams have fully utilized the eight shot days for their unique science experiments on OMEGA EP with a total of 83 target shots. These experiments involve 13 graduate students, two undergraduate students and six postdoctoral researchers. Results have been widely disseminated at international conferences including LaserNetUS annual meeting (~20 presentations including three invited), and in peer-reviewed journal publications (three published with several manuscripts in preparation).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantifying the Role of APB Tubes on the Work-hardening of Ordered Phases

For sixty years, it has been theorized that antiphase boundary (APB) tubes, which are defects produced by deformation, contribute to the high strength of ordered alloys or intermetallic compounds. The concept of an APB tube was originally proposed by Vidoz and Brown [A.E. Vidoz, L.M. Brown, "On work-hardening in ordered alloys", Philosophical Magazine, 7 (1962) 1167–1175] in 1962 to explain the ~50% increase in strength observed when an alloy, such as Ni 3 Fe, is chemically ordered compared to when it is disordered. The existence of APB tubes was only definitively confirmed by Chou and Hirsch in 1981 [C.T. Chou, P.B. Hirsch Antiphase domain boundary tubes in plastically deformed ordered Fe 30.5 at.% Al alloy, Philosophical Magazine, A. 44 (1981) 1415–1419] using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Prior to the current work, there had been no studies trying to correlate the presence of APB tubes with their effect on the mechanical properties. The main finding of this project was that APB tubes do not contribute to the strength of the strongly-ordered intermetallic compounds FeAl and Ni 3 Al. This was shown by removing the APB tubes by heating the materials and showing that the mechanical properties were unaffected. In addition, in-situ deformation experiments were undertaken in a TEM on both disordered and ordered Ni 3 Fe, in which it was shown that defects (superdislocations) in the ordered alloy underwent many more interaction events than defect (dislocations) in the disordered alloy. This difference can explain the increase in the increase in strength observed when this material is ordered. The project supported a PhD student, Rachel Osmundsen, who successfully defended her thesis in April, 2022. It also supported the principal investigator, Ian Baker, two PhD exchange students and an undergraduate researcher. The work involved collaborations with the following people and use of the following facilities: Dr. Si Chen, Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, for synchrotron X-ray diffraction; and Dr. Katherine Shanks and Dr. Kelly Nygren, Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), for synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The work led to 12 papers published in refereed journals with two papers currently submitted to journals. There were also 16 presentation made at conferences and universities on the work, ten of which were invited.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

West Virginia University Industrial Assessment Center (Final Progress Report)

The Industrial Assessment Center at West Virginia University has been successful in workforce development, and in generation of energy savings for manufacturing facilities during the period 2016 to 2021. Graduate and undergraduate students have benefited from energy assessment experience and most of them have found good positions as energy engineers and analysts in the industrial sector. Several peer reviewed research papers in archival journals as well as conference papers on the topic of energy engineering and assessment have been published. The implemented energy savings for manufacturing facilities have been significant in the areas of lighting, compressed air, process heating, steam, HVAC, chillers and cooling towers, and motors. In addition, water use reduction, smart manufacturing applications to save energy, cyber security evaluation, energy management, productivity improvements and waste reduction opportunities that lead to energy intensity reductions have been explored. The students have obtained an opportunity to interact with energy efficiency and productivity improvement professionals at various conferences and workshops and their research has generated important results. In summary, the West Virginia University Industrial Assessment Center (WVU-IAC) has fulfilled its mission in regard to workforce development, energy efficiency for manufacturing facilities, and laid a strong platform enhancing sustainability through reductions in carbon emissions achieved through energy efficiency and energy management initiatives and reductions in water usage and waste reduction. During the project period (2016-2021) the WVU-IAC has made numerous energy efficiency, water use reduction, waste reduction, and productivity improvement recommendations, a significant number of them having been implemented by the manufacturing facilities. The research adds significant understanding to the area of energy efficiency, water and waste reduction, and productivity improvement. The technical effectiveness and economic feasibility of the methods and techniques investigated and demonstrated through this project have been exemplary, resulting in significant recommended and implemented resource savings and reductions in carbon emissions. The project has been of significant benefit to the public owing to replication of results within the industrial sector, thus reducing operating costs for businesses that result in increase of growth and employment, as well as community benefits in terms of reductions in carbon emissions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nuclear Forensics

Nuclear forensics is a key part of the nuclear security strategy for the United States and the international community. The NACS Division is central to the leadership role that LLNL has had in nuclear forensics over the past 25 years. Our current nuclear forensic program includes conducting R&D on provenance and attribution signatures, collaborating with international partners, training the next generation of nuclear forensic experts, developing test materials for verification and validation exercises, and providing expert advice to national and international policy makers. Key to our success in these areas has been the strong and continuing involvement in nuclear forensic casework obtained through law enforcement and intelligence channels as well as our outstanding analytical capabilities. NACS must continue to conduct forward-thinking R&D in nuclear forensics that supports operational programs and addresses intelligence gaps. To maintain leadership in nuclear forensics, we must attract, develop, and retain the best talent. The NNSA has a central leadership role in developing educational initiatives for nuclear forensics. In concert with the Glenn T. Seaborg Institute, the NACS Division will continue to participate in all nuclear forensic educational initiatives (undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral) and incorporate LLNL’s D&I vision into its student and postdoc recruitment efforts. We will continue to build formal relationships with key academic partners and institutions with active and emerging nuclear forensic research interests. We will also strengthen relationships with NNSA DNN and SSAA funded university consortia (e.g. NSSC, ACE, CNEC, CVT, ETI, MTV), helping them conduct research of interest and relevance to nuclear forensics, while at the same time evaluating and recruiting promising talent from these programs.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

AI-Enabled Robots for Automated Nondestructive Evaluation and Repair of Power Plant Boilers. Final Report

Boiler failure could cause loss of life and safety issues, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment repairs, property damage and production losses, and drive up the cost of electric power. Boiler maintenance is challenging and risky for inspectors working on scaffolding in confined hazardous spaces inside of a boiler and sometimes the space is hard to access. The operation is also time-consuming due to the large area of vertical structures for inspection and the tremendous effort needed for scaffolding. Recently, the use of robotics (e.g., drones and crawlers) in power plants for maintenance is growing rapidly. However, the existing robotics solutions show two notable technological gaps: no live repair capability, and no Artificial Intelligence (AI) for smart autonomy. The objective of this project is to develop an integrated autonomous robotic platform that is equipped with compact non-destructive evaluation (NDE) sensors to perform live inspection, operates onboard repair devices to perform live repair, and uses AI for intelligent data fusion and predictive analysis for automated and smart spatiotemporal inspection, analysis and repair of the furnace walls in coal-fired boilers. The approach to achieve the objective includes developing NDE sensors with signal processing techniques, designing and evaluating repair devices for robots based on fusion and solid-state technologies, and an autonomous robotic platform that can attach to and navigate on boiler furnace walls using magnetic drive tracks. The robot is also powered by AI to automate data gathering (e.g., 3D mapping and damage localization) and predictive analysis. This project has advanced the state-of-the-art by providing technological breakthroughs including compact NDE and repair tools for robots, AI capabilities for smart autonomy, and a robotic platform for automated boiler maintenance. This project has great potential to result in significant benefits including limiting or eliminating the need to send operators to assess difficult-to-access or hazardous areas, enabling automated live inspection and repair, avoiding time consuming scaffolding (especially for partial maintenance during unplanned outage), collecting comprehensive and well-organized data smartly, and avoiding or limiting the need for onsite or remote piloting technicians. The impacts can be tremendous in terms of the time and cost savings, reducing the risk for human operators, and increasing boiler reliability, usability, and efficiency. In addition, by developing the new technologies on the autonomous inspection and repair robot, by involving multiple undergraduate and graduate students working together with the faculty members on this project, and by generating knowledge and building up collaborations with industrial partners, this effort will significantly update the education capabilities, support long-term fundamental research, and maintain the leadership of Colorado School of Mines and Michigan State University in energy fields.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bi-metallic Nanoparticle Synthesis for Advanced Manufactured Melt Wires

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) Program Report: Additive manufacturing (AM) based on direct-write technologies has emerged as the predominant method for the fabrication of passive sensors for the harsh operating environments seen in a nuclear reactor. Through the modification of previous methods, Idaho National Laboratory and Villanova University have improved the synthesis process for AM feedstock, which will allow for the improvement of advanced nuclear sensors and instrumentation. A major part of this work includes the synthesis process of relevant AM compatible feedstock to support the development, fabrication, and testing of AM sensors for peak temperature detection. For this report, bismuth, bismuth/platinum, tin, tin/silver, tin/zinc, indium, and indium/silver bi-metallic nanoparticles were synthesized using the polyol method, which will enhance temperature sensitivity and allow for miniaturization. To characterize the synthesized nanoparticles, we used x-ray fluorescence to evaluate the elemental composition of the nanoparticles and differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis to determine the melting point and mass loss of the samples. Results show that bi-metallic nanoparticles are a viable option for the fabrication of high-resolution AM melt wires. The temperature sensitivity can be brought to within 5°C and melt wires can be fabricated that are in the micrometer scale. This will expand the range of irradiation experiments melt wires can be used for and the measured temperature will be significantly more accurate.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Generating and Sustaining Microplasma with Microwaves (Final Report)

Plasma can be generated in spaces ranging in size from astronomical down to the microscopic. The physics that describes the gas breakdown is different at each size scale. The dominant physical phenomenon also depends on the type of electromagnetic field that drives the breakdown – static, AC, RF, microwave, visible. This project, staffed by undergraduate researchers and their mentor, focused on plasma generated in the size range of 10 to 500 micrometers using microwave energy. This project was motivated by the prior observation that plasma can only be generated in microgaps when the gas is above a certain gap-dependent pressure, here called the transition pressure. A microwave-driven microgap was designed and constructed in this project and then used to measure the electric field required to initiate plasma over a wide range of pressures from 0.1 Torr to 760 Torr (1 atmosphere).

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Theoretical Particle Physics in the Data-Driven Era (Final Report)

DOE award DE-SC0021447 supports theoretical research in high energy physics. PI and students are not a part of any experimental collaboration, even if some works were done in collaboration with experimental colleagues. All research products are in the form of research articles and they are publicly available under inspirehep.net and arxiv.org, which are typical publication methods in high energy physics. No invention or patent is involved with this research. No equipment or hardware is involved with the research under this award. Research outcomes are used by colleagues in high energy physics, including both theorists and experimentalists. Therefore the outcome of research topics under this award supported the High Energy Physics experimental research program, both in understanding the data and in finding new directions for experimental exploration. The research materials are used to train undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. We summarize research activity under this award in the following section and major products are listed in section 3. Section 4 contains professional presentations given by PI. Other products developed during the award period are in section 5. Students’ activities are summarized in section 6.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

High Temperature Optocoupler for 3D High Density Power Modules

The goal of this proposed research is to develop a reliable high-temperature optocouplers, which can operate at 250°C with at least ten-year lifetime, and replace isolation transforms as the galvanic isolation solution for the 3D integration of high density power modules. The electrification of future transportations (i.e., electric vehicles) will continuously drive the demand for high density power modules. Optocouplers (i.e., packaged light emitter and detector) as a promising candidate to replace bulky isolation transformers are highly desirable to facilitate the continuous scale-down of gate driver circuitry that will lead to 3D high density power modules and achieve disruptive performance in terms of thermal management, power density, power efficiency, reliability and operating environments. However, regular semiconductor optoelectronic materials and devices have significant difficulty functioning in the harsh environments designated for high density power module usage (such as operation at high temperatures). Ultimately, it is not the intrinsic properties of power devices that prevent their use at higher temperatures, but rather the low voltage electronics needed to drive them and the packaging that surrounds them. The typical operating temperature for optocouplers is only up to 100°C, due to the limitations of light emitting diode (LED) devices inside and packaging materials. A systematic characterization methodology will be developed to analyze the performance, lifetime and reliability of LED devices and distinguish multiple failure mechanisms at high temperatures. An original methodology of “design for reliability” will be developed to design the optoelectronic devices with high reliability and long lifetime at high temperatures. A new architecture of high temperature high reliable optocouplers will be developed, fabricated and demonstrated with continuous operating at 250°C. The development of efficient, reliable high density 3D power modules is the foundation for energy efficiency and energy reliability. Enabled with advanced 3D integration and packaging technologies, high density power module solutions can achieve much more superior performance over the conventional discrete solutions in terms of efficiency, thermal management and power density. The proposed concept of high temperature optocouplers as the galvanic isolation solution for high density power modules will bring together interdisciplinary research involving the wide bandgap materials, optoelectronics, high reliable device design, electronics packaging and power modules. A streamline of skilled personnel would be trained including graduate and undergraduate students, local engineers and scientists which are in great demand to both academia and optoelectronics industry. The proposed research topics, such as, solid state lighting and high temperature device reliability, are currently of major interest at the Department of Energy, in particular, Sandia National Laboratories. This project can enhance collaborations between the University of Arkansas (UA) and Sandia National Laboratories. The findings of the proposed research are expected to be integrated into high density 3-D power modules at the Engineering Research Center for Power Optimization for Electro-Thermal Systems (POETS).

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Neptunyl and Uranyl Peroxide Chemistry in Molten Salts, Uranyl Structures from Nature, and Thermodynamic Studies Extending into the Transuranium Elements (Final Report)

This project was initially funded in 2007 and the current technical report is for 2019-2022. The specific objectives of this project (2019-2022) were: (1) Synthesis of actinide peroxide compounds in molten salt eutectics, (2) Studies of new uranyl minerals with fascinating structures and compositions, (3) Drop-solution calorimetric studies of actinide compounds extending into the transuranium elements, with an emphasis on the uranyl-sulfate system, (4) Continuation of studies of uranyl vanadate clusters synthesized using ionic liquids, (5) The training of Ph.D. graduate students in actinide chemistry, and to introduce undergraduate students to actinide research through providing research assistantships and supervision. The report lists 67 archival journal papers describing the work, of which 23 were since 2019. Highlights of the work are summarized for the period 2019-2022.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

2022 LLNL Nuclear Science and Security Summer Internship Program

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Nuclear Science and Security Summer Internship Program (NS 3 IP) is designed to give graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to come to LLNL for 8–10 weeks of hands-on research. Students conduct research under the supervision of a staff scientist, attend a weekly lecture series, interact with other students, and present their work to the LLNL scientific community at the end of the program. Students also have the opportunity to meet staff scientists one-on-one, participate in LLNL facility tours (e.g., the National Ignition Facility and Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry), and gain a better understanding of the various science programs at LLNL. Due to the travel and access restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 NS 3 IP was organized as a hybrid internship program. Five of the 20 NS 3 IP students participated remotely. One of the 8 students funded directly by DTRA participated remotely. With LLNL’s extensive institutional support, remote students accessed the laboratory’s cyberinfrastructure through a secure virtual desktop environment and all seminars, mentor interactions, summer presentations, and laboratory tours had a remote option. The hybrid approach to the internship program provided flexibility to both the interns and their mentors to construct creative research projects that maximized student exposure to nuclear science research that is relevant to DTRA and LLNL. We anticipate continuing a hybrid internship format in the summer of 2023.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2023

Exploratory Synthesis for Reactive f-Element Separations without Solvent

Solvent extraction is commonly used to separate different f-metals found in spent nuclear fuel, but this process results in large volumes of highly contaminated liquid waste that must be remediated or stored at significant expense. The project funded under this award was aimed at addressing solvent-related issues encountered in conventional f-metal separations. Our strategy focused on using solvent-free mechanochemical reactions to prepare lanthanide and actinide borohydride complexes so that they could be separated based on differences in their volatility. Key deliverables described in this report include proof-of-principle results demonstrating that borohydrides called aminodiboranates can be used for volatile lanthanide/lanthanide and lanthanide/uranium separations, as we proposed. Moreover, exploration of a closely related class of borohydrides called phosphinodiboranates allowed us to identify underlying chemical factors that control the volatility of trivalent lanthanide and uranium borohydride complexes with identical structures. Details of published and pending research products are provided, and these include comprehensive synthesis and characterization efforts required to support fundamental studies related to the proposed separations. These technical efforts supported the training of nine graduate students and three undergraduate researchers, and they established air-sensitive transuranic capabilities at the University of Iowa to enhance radiochemical workforce development.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Understanding and Controlling Turbulent Mixing in a Laboratory Magnetosphere

This report summarizes our most important recent research, building upon several years of productive research. This resulted in breakthroughs in our understanding of plasma confined by the strong field of a magnetic dipole, dissertations from several graduate students, and learning experiences from our undergraduate students.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Understanding and Controlling Turbulent Mixing in a Laboratory Magnetosphere

This report summarizes our most important recent re search, building upon several years of productive research. This resulted in breakthroughs in our understanding of plasma confined by the strong field of a magnetic dipole, dissertations from several graduate students, and learning experiences from our undergraduate students.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Reduced diffusion and enhanced retention of multiple radionuclides from pore structure characterization of barrier materials for enhanced repository performance

Fluid flow and chemical transport in porous media are the macroscopic consequences of pore structure, which integrates geometry (e.g., pore size and surface area, pore-size distribution) and topology (e.g., pore connectivity). Low-permeability geological media whose pores are poorly interconnected will exhibit the characteristics of anomalous diffusion and sample size-dependent effective porosity, which will strongly impact long-term net diffusion and retention of radionuclides in geological repository settings involving different host rocks and barrier materials. A suite of innovative and complementary experimental approaches is utilized to study the microscopic pore structure and macroscopic fluid flow & chemical transport for a range of host rocks and barrier materials, in addition to standard clay minerals and reference rocks. With a particular focus on quantifying the presence and magnitude of “isolated” pores for a reduced effective porosity in low-permeability geomedia, the integrated methodologies for basic properties and pore structure characterization of these geomedia include X-ray diffraction, thin section petrography, grain size distribution, water immersion porosimetry after vacuum-pulling for full saturation, mercury intrusion porosimetry, nitrogen physisorption, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray computed tomography, and (ultra-)small angle neutron (X-ray) scattering. In addition, custom-designed gas diffusion, tracer recipe involving a range of anionic and cationic chemicals with subsequent analyses by laser ablation and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, along with batch sorption, column transport, and imbibition tests were conducted for coupled effects of pore structure and chemical retention/transport. From the perspectives of pore structure in conjunction with multiple and complementary approaches to examining a range of sample sizes under different observational scales, we find that the poor pore connectivity is prevalent in low-permeability media (mudstone and crystalline rock) that is related to geological processes (e.g., compaction, diagenesis and thermal maturation). For example, the deep and organic matter-rich mudstones have a much smaller effective porosity than the total porosity (as a result of poor pore connectivity) and associated diffusion coefficient, and the effective porosity & diffusion coefficients are also dependent upon the sample sizes used in the measurement. Similarly, most of the pore space in the shallow mudstone is also controlled by pore-throat diameters in the 5-50 nm range of intergranular pore types from its fine-grained nature, but with an overall good pore connectivity. However, the nm-sized pore space (physically pore-network architecture) and strong sorption capacities (chemical retention from clay minerals) of both shallow and deep mudstones lead to the synergistic retention of cationic radionuclides and their utilities as effective host rocks and barrier materials. Our unique approaches of studying how the micro-scale pore structure affect macro-scale fluid flow, diffusion & retention, and chemical transport produce improved mechanistic understanding, and realistic quantification, of diffusion and retention of typical radionuclides in a range of generic host rocks and barrier materials (clay/shale, salt, crystalline rock, and tuff), with the overall results leading to scientifically-based understanding of enhanced isolation (from both diffusion and retention) of radionuclides and improved confidence on the long-term performance of geological repository to store high-level radioactive wastes. In addition to the training of 25 undergraduates, graduates, and postdocs of UTA, the scientists (organizations) involved in performing this work (e.g., discussion, sample sharing, and operation of SANS and SAXS instruments) include Ed Matteo, Yifeng Wang, and Kristopher Kuhlman (Sandia National Laboratories), Jens Birkholzer, Liange Zheng, Tim Kneafsey, and Sharon Borglin (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), Mavrik Zavarin (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Yukio Tachi and Yuta Fukatsu (Japan Atomic Energy Agency), Mieke de Craen (Euridice, Belgium), Markus Bleuel (NIST), Wei-Ren Chen, Gergely Nagy, Changwoo Do, William Heller, Larry Anovitz, and Kenneth Littrell (ORNL), as well as Jan Illvsky, Ivan Kuzmenko, Ju-Sang Park and Jon Almers (ANL). Key deliverables include a total of 13 peer-reviewed journal articles (nine published and three under review), 23 presentations at scientific conferences (AAPG, AAPG Southwest Section, AGU, Asian Clay Conference, GSA, GSA South-Central Section, IHLRWM, InterPore, International Conference on Chemistry and Migration Behavior of Actinides and Fission Products in the Geosphere, International Conference on Coupled Processes in Fractured Geological Media: Observation, Modeling and Application), and academic institutions (UTA, New Mexico State University; University of Poitiers, France; University of Helsinki, Finland; Uppsala University, Sweden; Istanbul Technical University, Turkey) and other organizations (Andra, France; Posiva Oy, Finland).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Production and Separations for High Specific Activity 186 Re, 189 Re and 47 Sc for Research and Clinical Applications: effective design of targets and recycling of targets and radioisotope separation

This grant involved three objectives for producing high specific activity radionuclides using reactor and accelerator technologies that would find use in medical, industrial and research applications. There was a strong emphasis in all projects to develop and train staff and students in all aspects of targetry, reactor and accelerator production, separation of radionuclides from enriched target material, and evaluating the specific activity of the product radionuclides. An additional objective was training of students (undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral) in all aspects of radiochemistry.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Tunable Laser-Plasma Amplifier (Final Report)

Exploration at the laser intensity frontier has always offered new avenues for physics and reaching beyond this frontier is a grand challenge. Present-day petawatt-class lasers provide focused intensities on target of 10 22 W/cm 2 , corresponding to electric fields of 200 TV/m, while laser-plasma amplification opens a route for focused intensities well above 10 23 W/cm 2 . Intensities in this range provide the ability to test quantum electrodynamics in the unexplored low-energy, strong-field regime where signatures for new physics may arise. The behavior of matter under such extraordinary conditions is a rich and fascinating subject, not only in its own right in fundamental plasma physics, but for the many potential applications that promise to enrich the natural sciences in the future, including compact electron-beam, ion-beam particle accelerators, and ultra-bright X-ray sources. Although laser systems are now under construction internationally to access intensities of 10 23 W/cm 2 , the current technologies used appear to be fundamentally limited to these intensities. The realization of intensities beyond 10 23 W/cm 2 using parametric amplification in plasmas promises a breakthrough in high-energy density physics. Parametric amplification using Raman scattering in a plasma could provide the enabling technology for the generation of ultra-high-power laser pulses, but a more complete understanding of the nonlinear optics of plasmas is required. There is a significant gap in well-diagnosed laser-plasma instability studies of nonlinear plasma-wave phenomena, which are critical to understand for future laser-plasma devices. To achieve an efficient laser-plasma amplifier, plasma waves must be driven to large amplitude where significant energy can be rapidly transferred from the pump to the seed over the pulse duration of the seed. Simulations suggest that this nonlinear pump depletion regime can be achieved in the “pi-pulse” amplification regime. While simulations show this optimal regime with efficient amplification, it has remained elusive in experiments and there is a growing consensus within the community that thermal effects and pump beam limitations prevent laser-plasma amplifiers from progressing through the linear regime into the nonlinear pump depletion regime. Previous experiments have been significantly limited by the laser power available at the necessary wavelengths for the seed laser; therefore, the amplification is required to start in the linear regime where it is sensitive to many deleterious effects. The enabling technology (currently unique to plasma-wave amplification in the world) at the University of Rochester is the ability to provide a seed pulse with sufficient power (4 mJ/100 fs seed) to immediately drive nonlinear plasma waves into the pi-pulse regime and to tune its wavelength to optimize the efficiency of energy transfer. This in combination with the state-of-the-art OMEGA heater beams providing multiple kilojoules in a nanosecond to sufficiently heat the plasma make this system distinct from previous studies. These heater beams will provide, for the first time in Raman amplification studies, a homogeneous electron temperature high enough to prevent pump beam propagation issues that have plagued previous experiments. These systems will provide a platform for driving electron-plasma waves into the nonlinear regime where pump depletion and pulse shortening are predicted to lead to high amplification efficiencies (>30%). The Team has made significant progress through prior support from DOE Fusion Energy Sciences [DOE Office of Science Award Number DE-SC0016253 (2016-2022)]. This includes twenty-two peer-reviewed manuscripts, one patent, ten contributed talks presented at international conferences, and research that was highlighted as invited talks at fifteen international conferences. The broader impacts of this research are evident in the support of early career scientists, two Ph.D. theses, four current graduate students, a Masters Project, two undergraduate researchers, and an underrepresented minority student hired through the California Alliance for Minority Participation who now works as a Research Engineer in the group. This research met all of the funded research objectives and the highlights from primary Raman amplification thrust of this work are discussed below and form the foundation for the proposed research.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Mechanistic Studies to Enable Aerobic Oxidation of C-H Bonds by Manganese Catalysts (Final Report)

The project Mechanistic Studies to Enable Aerobic Oxidation of C-H Bonds by Manganese Catalysts provided fundamental new insight into the factors affecting hydrocarbon oxidation reactions by manganese-oxo complexes. These insights stem from the development of a structure-function relationship, whereby particular molecular properties of manganese(IV)-oxo complexes were shown to correlate to their efficacy in hydrocarbon oxidation reactions. This work is important, as manganese oxidation catalysts have seen increasing use in synthetic transformations, including reactions relevant to the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other value-added chemicals. The desirability of developing new manganese catalysts stems from the inexpensive nature and low toxicity of the metal manganese, which contrasts with the high cost and toxicity of many other metals. The work carried out by this project was disseminated to the scientific community in the form of 14 peer-reviewed publications and over twenty presentations. In addition, the research results were incorporated into graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Kansas, providing additional means of dissemination.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗