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DOE OSTI2024

FY23 Laboratory Directed Research & Development Annual Report

At Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), we put science to work to protect the environment and address nuclear security challenges. Through our transformative science and technology efforts, SRNL provides solutions to the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) for the safe cleanup of environmental legacy resulting from nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. SRNL also supports DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as it maintains the nation’s nuclear stockpile and reduces the threat of nuclear proliferation around the world. Investments through SRNL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program drive exploratory research foundational to advancements in mission critical technologies for EM, NNSA and other offices of DOE. Our LDRD program also provides meaningful development opportunities for the people central to innovation. Seven Laboratory Director’s Postdoctoral Research Fellows were supported by LDRD during fiscal year 2023. These named postdoctoral fellows are driving SRNL’s scientific and technical core competencies forward through their dedication to research and advancement of technologies. The LDRD program supports established researchers to explore new concepts, while fueling opportunities for the next generation of scientists to join the SRNL workforce, contributing to the global scientific community through scientific publications. Enjoy reading this Annual Report which summarizes the innovative science and engineering contributions of SRNL staff supported by the LDRD Program. Dr. Vahid Majid

Majidi, Vahid↗
DOE OSTI2023

Summary of INL Integrated Energy Systems Research for the Global National Laboratories Consortium on IES

The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) program on Integrated Energy Systems (IES) is led by researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and work is conducted in partnership with an array of other DOE laboratories, industry, and academia. IES research and development activities are additionally complimented by the DOE-NE Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program, where work under the Flexible Plant Operations & Generation pathway supports analysis of opportunities for non-electric applications of current fleet nuclear plants and collaborates with multiple plants on near-term hydrogen production demonstration opportunities. The DOE-NE programs additionally partner with the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office under the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to jointly fund the development of analysis tools, technologies, and nuclear-integrated hydrogen demonstration projects. This document provides a brief, high-level summary of IES work as contribution to the annual report for the Global National Laboratories Consortium on IES.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

FY 2023 Idaho National Laboratory Site Sustainability Plan

The mission of the Department of Energy (DOE) is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. This FY 2022 Idaho National Laboratory Site Sustainability Plan (SSP) was developed to enable and sustain Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) mission to discover, demonstrate, and secure innovative nuclear solutions, clean energy options, and critical infrastructure. DOE Order 436.1, “Departmental Sustainability,” provides requirements and assigns responsibilities for managing sustainability within DOE to ensure that DOE missions are carried out in a sustainable manner, to institute wholesale cultural change to factor sustainability into all DOE decisions, and to ensure DOE achieves sustainability goals. DOE Order 436.1 also requires DOE sites to commit appropriate personnel resources, establish a financing plan that prioritizes the use of life-cycle cost effective private-sector financing, optimize the application of appropriations and budgeted funds, and establish specific performance measures and deliverables designed to achieve the listed requirements. The SSP was developed according to the narrative requirements from the “FY 2022 DOE Site Sustainability Plan Guidance” document issued in September 2021. The SSP contains strategies and activities that will lead to continual energy, water, and waste reductions that move the INL site toward meeting DOE sustainability goals and requirements. The SSP summarizes energy and available fuel use reporting requirements and references criteria for instituting sustainable design. SSP requirements are integrated into each INL site contractor’s Integrated Safety Management System and Environmental Management System (EMS). Finally, the Sustainability Program directives, based on this SSP, are integrated into INL/LTD-21-62463, Annual Laboratory Plan 2021, and operations and acquisition systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Maximizing Efficiency and Quality: Leveraging Automated Testing for Laboratory Commissioning

The traditional commissioning process uses sampling to select equipment for functional acceptance testing when large quantities of equipment are present. Although this approach is generally effective in identifying wide-spread issues, it has several shortcomings: it fails to evaluate equipment not included in the sample, provides only a one-time validation of equipment operation, and the standard documentation is a simple checklist of pass/fail questions. During the construction and commissioning process of the new Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) in Golden, CO, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory team engaged Group14 Engineering to implement a Connected Commissioning process using fault detection and diagnostic software for automated functional acceptance testing. This presentation highlights the advantages offered by automated functional testing in this critical laboratory setting: (1) sampling 100% of BAS-connected equipment during functional testing, (2) testing results backed by data beyond the traditional pass/fail checklist, and (3) an automated test process that can be regularly executed by the building management team for ongoing commissioning throughout the life of the building. The presentation will also cover technical challenges associated with Connected Commissioning and the important conversations with key stakeholders that need to occur well before functional acceptance testing in order to successfully implement the automated testing processes.

automated testing↗
DOE OSTI2023

CASTLE: Conflict Analysis Strategy Testing Laboratory Environment v.1.0.0

SAND2024-01743O The Conflict Analysis Strategy Testing Laboratory Environment (CASTLE) is a software framework that enables and simplifies building a novel, turn-based strategy game in which it can define its own rules, maps, pieces, and interactions. The software is for novice to experienced programmers with some knowledge of Unity3D, a tool used in game production. CASTLE includes a library of common game mechanics used for strategic wargames and traditional board games, such as cards, tokens, dice, and grid maps. It follows design principles popularized by the video game industry and uses singletons for managing portions of the code. CASTLE builds on Unity's component-based design and can respond to engine events during execution. Among the numerous user-friendly features: Build games quickly and cost-effectively Network in real-time and apply data to new games developed on the framework Host multiple participants online Connect rule- or machine learning-based agents to a CASTLE game to serve as opponents or to simulate games Collect data collection from players and in-game behaviors Create a survey to gather demographics or opinions from players Store data locally or save it to an external database through Representational State Transfer (REST) functions CASTLE, which was prototyped using Microsoft Azure, is also designed for easily distributing online games using popular cloud services. The multiplayer functionality includes an agent interface, allowing developers to construct AI players that can substitute for humans in any of the games. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Fabian, Nathan↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nuclear forensic analysis on uranium ore concentrates: A multi-laboratory intercomparison study

A collaboration between the United States and Japan performed nuclear forensic analyses on a set of 7 uranium ore concentrate (UOC) samples with known origins to improve methodologies and best practices in the field. Overall, good agreement between the 4 participating laboratories was achieved for uranium assay, uranium isotope composition, strontium isotope composition, and trace element analysis. In conclusion, the combination of these four signatures is sufficient to distinguish the different origins among these studied UOCs.

and nuclear chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2020

Gene Amplification, Laboratory Evolution, and Biosensor Screening Reveal MucK as a Terephthalic Acid Transporter in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1

Microbial terephthalic acid (TPA) catabolic pathways are conserved among the few bacteria known to turnover this xenobiotic aromatic compound. However, to date there are few reported cases in which this pathway has been successfully expressed in heterologous hosts to impart efficient utilization of TPA as a sole carbon source. In this work, we aimed to engineer TPA conversion in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 via the heterologous expression of catabolic and transporter genes from a native TPA-utilizing bacterium. Specifically, we obtained ADP1-derived strains capable of growing on TPA as the sole carbon source using chromosomal insertion and targeted amplification of the tph catabolic operon from Comamonas sp. E6. Adaptive laboratory evolution was then used to improve growth on this substrate. TPA consumption rates of the evolved strains, which retained multiple copies of the tph genes, were ~0.2 g/L/h (or ~1 g TPA/g cells/h), similar to that of Comamonas sp. E6 and almost 2-fold higher than that of Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, another native TPA-utilizing strain. To evaluate TPA transport in the evolved ADP1 strains, we engineered a TPA biosensor consisting of the transcription factor TphR and a fluorescent reporter. In combination with whole-genome sequencing, the TPA biosensor revealed that transport of TPA was not mediated by the heterologous proteins from Comamonas sp. E6. Instead, the endogenous ADP1 muconate transporter MucK, a member of the major facilitator superfamily, was responsible for TPA transport in several evolved strains in which MucK variants were found to enhance TPA uptake. Furthermore, the IclR-type transcriptional regulator DcaS was identified as a repressor of mucK expression. Overall, this work presents an unexpected function of a native protein identified through gene amplification, adaptive laboratory evolution, and a combination of screening methods. This study also provides a TPA biosensor for application in ADP1 and identifies transporter variants for use in metabolic engineering applications focused on plastic upcycling of polyesters.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Revisiting the Relationship Between Induced Polarization and Surface Conductivity: Ratios From Laboratory to Field

Abstract Among the subsurface geophysical methods used in the critical zone investigations, induced polarization (IP) shows great vitality thanks to its unique ability to assess porosity via bulk conduction and estimate permeability through surface conduction and/or polarization. However, such an advantageous separation between bulk and surface is mostly implemented by multi‐salinity experiments in the laboratory, which is incredibly difficult to realize in the field. One promising approach to address such an obstinate issue is to gauge the surface conductivity ( σ s ) from the quadrature conductivity ( σ ″) or normalized chargeability ( M n ) with the ratios between ( l = σ ″/ σ s , l mn = M n / σ s ). While these ratios are known not to be universal, the underlying principles are not fully understood and relevant theoretical studies are rare, which makes quantitative IP applications difficult. Here we scrutinize the conduction and polarization mechanisms of geomaterials and pinpoint that the two ratios are inherently functions of salinities and frequencies rather than only determined by the properties of the electrical double layer (EDL), hence representative samples from the investigated field must be calibrated in the laboratory and a characteristic frequency should be chosen for their usage. Besides the macro‐scale ratios l and l mn , we define two micro‐scale ratios χ and χ mn directly from the EDL, such that the new ratios exclude the effect of salinity and frequency and offer the opportunity to characterize and monitor changes of the EDL. Our study demonstrates that the existing macro‐scale ratios converge toward the values of novel micro‐scale ratios at high water salinity.

Qi, Youzheng [Earth and Environmental Sciences Are↗
DOE OSTI2025

Reconstitution of Sandia's Melt Laboratory: A Strategic Approach to Address Alloy Procurement and Quality Challenges - Part 1

In recent years, the procurement of essential materials such as Stainless Steels, Ni-Alloys, and Kovar has become increasingly challenging. Lead times for these materials have extended to over 24 months, placing significant stress on the reliability of attaining these alloys. This situation is exacerbated by the supplier’s minimum purchase requirement of excessively large quantities to meet unique purchase order (PO) requirements which is usually above the maximum requirements of Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Additionally, the reluctance of foundries to engage in small lot development for SNL specific needs further complicates the procurement process. This white paper explores the reconstitution of SNL’ Melt Laboratory as a strategic solution to mitigate these challenges.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

A new capability facilitating nuclear materials research: the Activated Materials Laboratory at the Advanced Photon Source

The Activated Materials Laboratory (AML), located in the Long Beamline Building (LBB) of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), serves as a centralized radiological facility for preparing radioactive samples for APS beamline experiments. The AML is equipped to receive shipments, handle open-form radioactive materials, encapsulate samples, and transport samples to-and-from beamline end-stations. The AML works closely with users and the APS radiological safety committee to make sure the safe conduct of experiments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

FY25 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report

Overview The Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program represents a cornerstone of foundational scientific research and development (R&D) at SRNL. It is central to advancing SRNL’s mission areas—National Security, Environmental Stewardship, and Energy Resilience—while aligning with the laboratory’s Strategic Plan to deliver long-term benefits to the Department of Energy (DOE) and other key stakeholders

Taylor, Tammy P. [Savannah River National Laborato↗
DOE OSTI2025

Development of a portable high-T c spherical neutron polarimetry device at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Spherical neutron polarimetry is a powerful polarized neutron scattering technique used to determine complex magnetic structures which are only partly accessible by other methods. This technique measures the full neutron polarization change upon scattering from a sample by fully decoupling the incoming and outgoing neutron polarization with a zero-field chamber placed at the sample position. Recent advancements and testing are presented for a new spherical neutron polarimetry device utilizing high-T c superconducting YBCO films, PHiTPAD, at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Furthermore, we introduce a conceptual design that utilizes wavelength-independent adiabatic transitions to adapt spherical neutron polarimetry for use with pulsed neutron sources, thereby expanding its potential applications in neutron scattering research.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Surface Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (SQUIRE) of Snow Water Equivalent from the Surface Atmospheric Integrated Field Laboratory

The upper Colorado River basin is the primary source of water for 40 million people. With declining snowpack in the basin, forecasting hydrological budgets in the Southwest United States is more important than ever. However, due in part, to a lack of reliable observations of precipitation in complex terrain, hydrological models struggle to assess and forecast snowpack snow water equivalent (SWE) in the upper Colorado River basin (UCRB). Therefore, the need for more reliable SWE forecasts in the UCRB motivated the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility’s Surface Atmospheric Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) that occurred from June 2021 to June 2023. During SAIL, the X-band precipitation radar from Colorado State University conducted volume scans sampling the precipitation properties over the UCRB. The ARM facility developed a gridded Surface Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (SQUIRE) product from the radar observations. To do this, various daily SWE estimates from radar using the radar reflectivity factor Z e and specific differential phase K dp were compared against ground-based precipitation gauges. SWE in precipitation calculated from Wolfe and Snider’s S–Z e estimator was in best agreement with the rain gauges for the days when SWE < 12 mm. For days with SWE > 12 mm, the WSR-88D Intermountain West relationship had the best agreement with the precipitation gauges. Airborne snow depth observations show that SQUIRE captures regions of orographic enhancement in the mountains to the west and northwest of the SAIL study area, indicating that the scientific community should focus on understanding and ultimately simulating orographic atmospheric precipitation processes to improve UCRB snowpack SWE assessment and forecasting.

Hydrology↗
DOE OSTI2025

Pyrogenic Organic Matter Laboratory Experiment: Aerobic Respiration and Geochemistry from Variably Inundated Stream Sediments (v3)

This dataset supports a broader study examining the effects of variable inundation and pyrogenic organic matter on ecosystem respiration. The dataset provides data generated from a laboratory batch experiment investigating the interaction between variable inundation conditions (wet and dry sediment) and pyrogenic organic matter (burned and unburned treatments). The contents include time series dissolved oxygen, sediment geochemistry data, and field metadata (including qualitative information on instream and river corridor characteristics). This data package was originally published in November 2025. It was updated in April 2026 (v2; new and modified files) and May 2026 (v3; modified files). See the change history section in the readme for more details For details on how to navigate data packages generated by this project, see https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/PNNLRiverCorridorSFA/About. In addition to a readme, this data package also includes a file-level metadata (FLMD) file that describes each file and a data dictionary (DD) that describes all column/row headers and variable definitions. This dataset is comprised of (1) file-level metadata; (2) data dictionary; (3) field metadata; (4) international generic sample number (IGSN) mapping file; (5) readme; (6) field protocol; (7) sample name metadata; (8) an environmental context picture for the dry and inundated sampling locations; and (9) a subfolder with sample data from the sediment incubation experiment. The sample data subfolder contains (1) dissolved organic carbon (DOC, measured as non-purgeable organic carbon, NPOC); (2) total nitrogen (TN); (3) gravimetric moisture; (4) partial pressure and production rates of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide; (5) field wet sediment mass, dry sediment mass, water mass, and field wet sediment volume in incubation and sediment NPOC/TN vials; (6) methods codes; (7) respiration rates, pH, and temperature from after the incubation, raw time series dissolved oxygen and temperature, and a subfolder containing associated plots and scripts; (8) ions; (9) FTICR-MS methods; and (10) a subfolder of 12 Tesla (12T) FTICR-MS data. This folder contains the CoreMS processed data and three subfolders, one containing the .xml files, one containing the CoreMS output files, and the other containing instructions and scripts for processing the files in CoreMS (https://github.com/EMSL-Computing/CoreMS). All files are .csv, .pdf, .R, .xml, .html, .Rmd, .py, .cal, .json, or .jpg.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

230 Th/ 234 U Model Age of International Atomic Energy Agency Sample 27107-14-04 Measured at Los Alamos National Laboratory

This report details the uranium age-dating of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) bulk environmental cotton swipe sample 27107-14-04 at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The 230 Th/ 234 U radiochronometer was used to determine sample model age requiring the following analyses: U assay, U isotope composition, Th assay and Th isotope composition. Sample 27107-14-04 was received at LANL on November 3, 2025, along with cotton swipe blank 30124-24-20.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2025

Laboratory time series moisture manipulative experiment from sediment across San Antonio, Texas: time series aerobic respiration and geochemistry

This dataset supports a broader study examining the effects of wetting and drying on hyporheic zone respiration. The dataset provides data generated from a laboratory moisture manipulation experiment. The contents include time series aerobic respiration and moisture; dissolved oxygen; sediment geochemistry data; and field metadata (including qualitative information on instream and river corridor characteristics). Samples were collected as part of the WHONDRS Allison Veach collaboration (AV1). The data package associated with the AV1 study is available at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/datasets/doi:10.15485/2529428. AV1 sampling occurred across 7 perennial and 7 intermittent streams in San Antonio, Texas. Each stream/site was visited both in summer during base flow (July-September 2023) and winter during peak flow (January-February 2024). This study uses subsamples from a subset of AV1 samples. The original field samples were labeled as AV1_###. Subsequent subsamples for this study were labeled as EV_###. The labels from the field samples and the EV subsamples can be mapped directly based on the digits following the prefix and underscore (i.e., EV_001 is a subsample from AV1_001). See the critical details section below for more details on sample naming. For details on how to navigate data packages generated by this project, see https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/PNNLRiverCorridorSFA/About. This dataset is comprised of one main data folder containing (1) file-level metadata; (2) data dictionary; (3) field metadata; (4) readme; (5) field protocol; and a (6) a subfolder with sediment sample data from the incubation experiment. The sample data subfolder contains (1) effect size; (2) iron (II); (3) gravimetric moisture; (4) respiration rates; (5) raw dissolved oxygen values and plots; (6) specific conductance; (7) pH; (8) temperature; (9) a summary containing mean, median, and standard deviation values of each data type for each treatment (wet and dry); and (10) methods codes. All files are .csv or.pdf.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Adaptive laboratory evolution and genetic engineering improved terephthalate utilization in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most ubiquitous plastics and can be depolymerized through biological and chemo-catalytic routes to its constituent monomers, terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). TPA and EG can be re-synthesized into PET for closed-loop recycling or microbially converted into higher-value products for open-loop recycling. Here, in this study, we expand on our previous efforts engineering and applying Pseudomonas putida KT2440 for PET conversion by employing adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) to improve TPA catabolism. Three P. putida strains with varying degrees of metabolic engineering for EG catabolism underwent an automation-enabled ALE campaign on TPA, a TPA and EG mixture, and glucose as a control. ALE increased the growth rate on TPA and TPA-EG mixtures by 4.1- and 3.5-fold, respectively, in approximately 350 generations. Evolved isolates were collected at the midpoints and endpoints of 39 independent ALE experiments, and growth rates were increased by 0.15 and 0.20 h -1 on TPA and a TPA-EG, respectively, in the best performing isolates. Whole-genome re-sequencing identified multiple converged mutations, including loss-of-function mutations to global regulators gacS, gacA, and turA along with large duplication and intergenic deletion events that impacted the heterologously-expressed tphAB II catabolic genes. Reverse engineering of these targets confirmed causality, and a strain with all three regulators deleted and second copies of tphAB II and tpaK displayed improved TPA utilization compared to the base strain. Taken together, an iterative strain engineering process involving heterologous pathway engineering, ALE, whole genome sequencing, and genome editing identified five genetic interventions that improve P. putida growth on TPA, aimed at developing enhanced whole-cell biocatalysts for PET upcycling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Ceramic High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter Research and Development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Ceramic high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter development program began at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) over 20 years ago. Historical incidents motivated current safety systems at nuclear facilities. A ceramic filter that can survive a fire can provide robust, passive safety protection. Research has been conducted to improve the safety of nuclear facilities and to reduce operational and lifecycle costs, through ceramic filter technology that can survive fire conditions. Here, the research focused on applications in both new facilities as well as meeting operational requirements necessary to retrofit filters into existing DOE facilities. The research has developed multiple filter technologies spanning traditional HEPA filter materials to advanced manufacturing technologies (e.g., electrospinning, additive manufacturing, etc.). This communication will present highlights of selected development efforts for ceramic HEPA filter research, current state-of-the-art for ceramic filters, and future needs including technical, regulatory, and commercial efforts.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗