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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

The Light Microscopy Module: An On-Orbit Multi-User Microscope Facility

The Light Microscopy Module (LMM) is planned as a remotely controllable on-orbit microscope subrack facility, allowing flexible scheduling and operation of fluids and biology experiments within the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) on the International Space Station (ISS). The LMM will be the first integrated payload with the FIR to conduct four fluid physics experiments. A description of the LMM diagnostic capabilities, including video microscopy, interferometry, laser tweezers, confocal, and spectrophotometry, will be provided.

Motil, Susan M.↗
DOE OSTI2020

PV High Wind User Test Facility

The creation of a PV high wind test facility at the NREL Flatirons Campus that will enable private and public research efforts aimed at storm hardening PV systems. The facility will be instrumented to monitor effects of high wind conditions on modules and other array components. These in-field tests will coordinate with flow models, wind tunnel testing, validation of PV aeroelastic design codes, and post-testing module and system component analysis.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

North Slope of Alaska XSAPR b1 Data Processing Report: May 2025-April 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility operates an X-band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radar (XSAPR) at the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) atmospheric observatory in Utqiaġvik. This radar provides year-round dual-polarization measurements of snow and ice in an arctic environment. Over the past few years, there has been greater focus on the NSA XSAPR, and recent efforts by ARM staff have resulted in quality-controlled, b-level data (Rocque et al. 2026b). This report outlines the processing of the second set of b-level data released for this radar from May 2025 through April 2026 following similar methods from Rocque et al. (2026b).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Partner Facilities Working Group (PFWG) Meeting

The Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) program convened the PFWG meeting to provide a formal venue to capture valued input from the NSUF partner facilities. The general topics of discussion included: • Memorandums of understanding (MOU) • User agreements • Proposal rules and guidelines • Facility reviews • Establishment of standing working committees for the PFWG. In addition, each partner facility provided a short presentation on its capabilities and contributions to the NSUF. This document is a synopsis of the meeting.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

MetaPoL: Immersive VR based Indoor Patterns of Life (PoL) and Anomalies Data Generation for Insider Threat Modeling in Nuclear Security

Insider threats are perhaps the most serious challenges that nuclear and radiological security systems face. Insiders pose such a great threat due to their access, authority, and knowledge, granting them opportunities to bypass dedicated nuclear and radiological security elements. For example, in one of the latest major insider threat incidents to nuclear security, the Doel-4 nuclear powerplant in Belgium suffered a shutdown, the threat of nuclear materials diversion, and long-term loss of tens of millions of dollars. Seven years of investigation concluded that it was an inside job and attempted sabotage. In this regard, there is an immediate need for R&D and technology integration in the domain of modeling indoor Patterns-of-Life (PoL) and anomaly detection. This can be achieved by using datasets of facility users’ mobility and activity, which can support the design of algorithms for insider threat modeling and detection. However, due to classification, privacy, sensitivity, and safety protocols, such datasets from real physical nuclear reactor facilities are not only hard to share, but also not always feasible to deploy and collect. Aiming to find an alternate solution, our proposed demonstration work - MetaPoL, is the first-ever (for the application space) immersive VR (virtual reality) environment of a real-world secure facility and allows users to move-and-stay through the designed indoor physical layout and also encounter NPCs (non-player characters) that emulate other facility users. In the MetaPoL an interactive user performs realistic spatio-temporal movement, dwelling and activities using a Meta Quest Pro VR headset, and that generates high-frequency (in time) high-resolution (in space) indoor spatial-temporal datasets that are valuable for PoL modeling and anomaly detection research specifically for insider threat modeling and detection mission. Such generated realistic, rich in context, and mission specific datasets can boost AI/Machine Learning based research for modeling and detecting insider threats in nuclear security and nonproliferation.

Gunaratne, Chathika↗
DOE OSTI2026

Eddy Correlation Flux Measurement System (ECOR) Instrument Handbook

The eddy correlation (ECOR) flux measurement system provides in situ, half-hour measurements of surface turbulent fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, latent heat, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility sites. ARM’s ECORs also historically measured methane fluxes at Utqiaġvik and Oliktok Point, Alaska. The fluxes are obtained with the eddy covariance technique, which involves correlation of the vertical wind component with the horizontal wind component, the air temperature, the water vapor density, and the CO 2 concentration.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

NSUF 2016 Annual Report

The Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) and its partner facilities represent a prototype laboratory that utilizes a distributed partnership, with each facility bringing exceptional capabilities to the relationship including reactors, beamlines, state-of-the-art instruments, hot cells, and equally important, expertise. These capabilities and people together create a nationwide infrastructure that allows the best ideas to be tested using the most advanced capabilities. Through the NSUF, researchers and their collaborators are building on current knowledge to better understand the complex behavior of materials and fuels in a nuclear reactor. The NSUF’s partnership program in 2016 included eight universities, one research and education consortium, three national laboratories, and one industry partner. The avenues opened through these partnerships facilitate cooperative research across the country, matching people with capabilities and students with mentors. The NSUF in 2016 included Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the following institutions: • Argonne National Laboratory • Center for Advanced Energy Studies (a research and education consortium between Boise State University, INL, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming) • Illinois Institute of Technology • Massachusetts Institute of Technology • North Carolina State University • Oak Ridge National Laboratory • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory • Purdue University • University of California, Berkeley • University of Michigan • University of Nevada, Las Vegas • University of Wisconsin • Westinghouse Materials Center of Excellence. This report contains details on new capabilities brought into the NSUF in 2016, the evidence of the increasing research facilitated by the NSUF, and new tools and activities to propel nuclear research and development forward to meet energy reliability and security needs. Learn about the NSUF Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library and the Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Database, and how the robust NSUF website continues to evolve to support new tools. Read about how the NSUF supports Department of Energy (DOE) missions through efforts like the 2016 NSUF Ion Beam Options Workshop, which led to a prioritiza-tion of ion beam facilities according to their ability to support Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) missions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
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 OSTI2018

Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) Facility Stewardship Plan: Revision 2.1

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), has established the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and has designated it as a DOE user facility. This 182,500-ft2 research facility provides state-of-the-art laboratory and support infrastructure to optimize the design and performance of electrical, thermal, fuel, and information technologies and systems at scale. This Facility Stewardship Plan provides DOE and other decision makers with information about the existing and expected capabilities of the ESIF and the expected performance metrics to be applied to ESIF operations. This plan is a living document that will be updated and refined throughout the lifetime of the facility.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

OLCF’s Advanced Computing Ecosystem (ACE): FY25 Update for Ongoing Efforts

The advent of widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models in science, coupled with fast data production rates of scientific instruments strain the traditional batch-oriented high-performance computing (HPC) environment. As scientific exploration continues to require more data and faster processing and analysis, new emerging technologies and capabilities to enable cross-facility and time-sensitive workflows are required for seamless integration of HPC and experimental facilities. The Advanced Computing Ecosystem (ACE) is a strategic initiative within the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) established in 2024 to support the development of cutting-edge technologies to advance computational research and infrastructure at OLCF and across the Department of Energy (DOE). Several DOE initiatives are spearheading the evolution of the scientific landscape by blurring facility boundaries and connecting the user facilities to advance scientific capabilities and ensure energy dominance. The DOE Integrated Research Infrastructure (IRI) program is one example that is laying a foundation to support complex cross-facility workflows. The IRI program aims to integrate diverse computational resources, data infrastructures, and scientific instruments to facilitate collaboration and accelerate scientific discovery. The Interconnected Science Ecosystem (INTERSECT) initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is another example that aims to revolutionize scientific research through AI-driven, interconnected autonomous laboratories and research facilities. Finally, the American Science Cloud (AmSC), recently announced in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, aims to leverage prior infrastructure efforts of the IRI and automation and AI efforts of INTERSECT (and others) to build a federated, AI-augmented AmSC platform to unify the DOE’s computing, experimental, and data resources to catalyze scientific innovation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

ESnet Watershed Field Science Data Backhaul Campaign Report

ESnet’s Watershed Field Science Data Backhaul Campaign is intended to improve the ability to gather data from sensors deployed across the East River and Trail Creek watersheds, with a special focus on the Snodgrass distributed sensor area, the Pumphouse instruments with co-located U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) tethered balloon setup, and the former ARM SAIL campaign’s second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) site by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area (WFSFA) program. This program is not funded by ARM, but collaborates with ARM as part of the SAIL campaign, collocated with the WFSFA field sites in Colorado’s East River Watershed.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Anomaly Detection in Accelerator Facilities Using Machine Learning

Synchrotron light sources are user facilities and usually run about 5000 hours per year to support many beamlines operations in parallel. Reliability is a key parameter to evaluate machine performance. Even many facilities have achieved >95% beam reliability, there are still many hours of unscheduled downtime and every hour lost is a waste of operation costs along with a big impact on individual scheduled user experiments. Preventive maintenance on subsystems and quick recovery from machine trips are the basic strategies to achieve high reliability, which heavily depends on experts’ dedication. Recently, SLAC, APS, and NSLS-II collaborated to develop machine-learning-based approaches aiming to solve both situations, hardware failure prediction and machine failure diagnosis to find the root sources. In this paper, we report our facility operation status, development progress, and plans.

Accelerator Physics↗
DOE OSTI2015

Online remote control systems for static and dynamic compression and decompression using diamond anvil cells

The ability to remotely control pressure in diamond anvil cells (DACs) in accurate and consistent manner at room temperature, and at cryogenic and elevated temperatures, is crucial for effective and reliable operation of a high-pressure synchrotron facility such as High Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HPCAT). Over the last several years, a considerable effort has been made to develop instrumentation for remote and automated pressure control in DACs during synchrotron experiments. We have designed and implemented an array of modular pneumatic (double-diaphragm), mechanical (gearboxes), and piezoelectric devices and their combinations for controlling pressure and compression/decompression rate at various temperature conditions from 4 K in cryostats to several thousand Kelvin in laser-heated DACs. Because HPCAT is a user facility and diamond cells for user experiments are typically provided by users, our development effort has been focused on creating different loading mechanisms and frames for a variety of existing and commonly used diamond cells rather than designing specialized or dedicated diamond cells with various drives. In this paper, we review the available instrumentation for remote static and dynamic pressure control in DACs and show some examples of their applications to high pressure research.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Overview of H- radio frequency ion sources for particle accelerators

Particle accelerators are among the most important scientific tools of the modern era. Large accelerator complexes have supported scientific user facilities which have had an enormous societal impact spanning many decades and enabling the work of thousands of scientific users worldwide contributing to many Nobel prizes in physics, biology and chemistry [1]. Many of the large hadron facilities employ accelerator complexes which include cyclotrons, synchrotrons, storage rings, linear or tandem accelerators and deliver ion beams of very high-intensity and/or very high-energy to their user facilities. These accelerator complexes require the injection of high-intensity beams of ions which are produced within an ion source and formed within a plasma or by bombardment of a surface [2]. Increasingly, RF systems are being utilized, to generate these ion-rich plasmas due to their high reliability and minimal use of consumable components. This report will first discuss the basic mechanisms of ion formation and plasma generation as well as some specifics of RF/microwave generators, matching circuits and plasma coupling structures typically employed. A detailed discussion will then be given of the RF-driven negative ion source systems employed by US Spallation Neutron Source as well as those used in similar facilities located around the globe. REFERENCES [1]Vladimir Shiltsev, “Particle beams behind physics discoveries”, Physics Today 73, Issue 4, 32 (2020) [2]Robert Welton et al, “Negative hydrogen ion sources for particle accelerators: Sustainability issues and recent improvements in long-term operations”, Journal of Physics Conf Series, 2244 012045

Welton, Robert F.↗
DOE OSTI2018

First ARM Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor Users’ Meeting Report

The first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) users’ meeting was held on April 11-13, 2017, at Aerodyne Research, Inc. in Billerica, Massachusetts, to discuss the Southern Great Plains (SGP) atmospheric observatory ACSM data quality and establish best practices for data collection and processing. The participants examined six years of calibration and processed data. Specific issues raised by data users were addressed and case studies from two field experiments were examined. The most recent data from the ACSM installed in the newly commissioned SGP ARM Mobile Facility 7 (AMF7) were also evaluated. The participants recommended that the SGP ACSM data be reprocessed using calibration values averaged over the history of SGP ACSM calibrations. They also recommended that the data quality be evaluated by comparing (1) observed versus predicted particulate ammonium (NH4+) mass loadings, and (2) ACSM mass loadings versus mass loadings calculated from particle size and light scattering data. The contents of the datastreams from the ACSM were defined based on ARM requirements and the necessary tasks to implement these recommendations were assigned to the mentor and the instrument manufacturer. Some of the recommendations were implemented for the SGP data and are presented in this report. Data from two ARM sites located in marine environments were also analyzed. These analyses as well as instrument intercomparisons have led to further questions about data treatment. These will be addresses in the second users’ meeting scheduled for the summer of 2018.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

First ARM Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor Users’ Meeting Report

The first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) users’ meeting was held on April 11-13, 2017, at Aerodyne Research, Inc. in Billerica, Massachusetts, to discuss the Southern Great Plains (SGP) atmospheric observatory ACSM data quality and establish best practices for data collection and processing. The participants examined six years of calibration and processed data. Specific issues raised by data users were addressed and case studies from two field experiments were examined. The most recent data from the ACSM installed in the newly commissioned SGP ARM Mobile Facility 7 (AMF7) were also evaluated. The participants recommended that the SGP ACSM data be reprocessed using calibration values averaged over the history of SGP ACSM calibrations. They also recommended that the data quality be evaluated by comparing (1) observed versus predicted particulate ammonium (NH 4 + ) mass loadings, and (2) ACSM mass loadings versus mass loadings calculated from particle size and light scattering data. The contents of the datastreams from the ACSM were defined based on ARM requirements and the necessary tasks to implement these recommendations were assigned to the mentor and the instrument manufacturer. Some of the recommendations were implemented for the SGP data and are presented in this report. Data from two ARM sites located in marine environments were also analyzed. These analyses as well as instrument intercomparisons have led to further questions about data treatment. These will be addresses in the second users’ meeting scheduled for the summer of 2018.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

First ARM Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor Users’ Meeting Report

The first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) users’ meeting was held on April 11-13, 2017, at Aerodyne Research, Inc. in Billerica, Massachusetts, to discuss the Southern Great Plains (SGP) atmospheric observatory ACSM data quality and establish best practices for data collection and processing. The participants examined six years of calibration and processed data. Specific issues raised by data users were addressed and case studies from two field experiments were examined. The most recent data from the ACSM installed in the newly commissioned SGP ARM Mobile Facility 7 (AMF7) were also evaluated. The participants recommended that the SGP ACSM data be reprocessed using calibration values averaged over the history of SGP ACSM calibrations. They also recommended that the data quality be evaluated by comparing (1) observed versus predicted particulate ammonium (NH 4 + ) mass loadings, and (2) ACSM mass loadings versus mass loadings calculated from particle size and light scattering data. The contents of the datastreams from the ACSM were defined based on ARM requirements and the necessary tasks to implement these recommendations were assigned to the mentor and the instrument manufacturer. Some of the recommendations were implemented for the SGP data and are presented in this report. Data from two ARM sites located in marine environments were also analyzed. These analyses as well as instrument intercomparisons have led to further questions about data treatment. These will be addresses in the second users’ meeting scheduled for the summer of 2018.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗