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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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Proteomic and metabolomic profiling of acute and chronic stress events associated with military exercises

By characterizing physiological changes that occur in warfighters during simulated combat, we can start to unravel the key biomolecular components that are linked to physical and cognitive performance. Viable field-based sensors for the warfighter must be rapid and noninvasive. In an effort to facilitate this, we applied a multiomics pipeline to characterize the stress response in the saliva of warfighters to correlate biomolecular changes with overall performance and health. In this study, two different stress models were observed – one of chronic stress and one of acute stress. In both models, significant perturbations in the immune, metabolic, and protein manufacturing/processing systems were observed. However, when differentiating between stress models, specific metabolites associated with the “fight or flight” response and protein folding were seen to be discriminate of the acute stress model.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Abstract for CRADA between NETL and Hope Gas, Inc.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Hope Gas (PARTICIPANT) will collaborate in field demonstrations of NETL-developed methane quantification and mitigation technologies, including pipeline sensors and pipeline protection materials to mitigate methane emissions. Hope Gas will also provide access to gathering pipelines and other facilities for an NETL team to perform methane emission field survey.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multisite Field Evaluation of Oil Accumulation and Agronomic Performance in Grain and Sweet Sorghums Engineered for Lipid Hyperaccumulation

Oil sorghum (OS) has been developed by engineering grain (TX430) and sweet (Ramada) genetic backgrounds to accumulate triacylglycerols (TAG) in vegetative tissues as an energy-dense feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other biofuels. This study evaluated two TX430 OS lines (TxHO-2, TxHO-3) and two Ramada OS lines (RmHO-1, RmHO-2) alongside wild-type (WT) lines in NE and IL over 2 years (2023–2024) to quantify genotype × environment effects on agronomic performance and TAG accumulation. Across four environments, TX430 OS lines showed average TAG concentrations of 15.0 g kg −1 in leaves and 12.8 g kg −1 in stems, approximately 19-fold higher than WT. Ramada OS lines accumulated 26.1 g kg −1 in leaves and 12.3 g kg −1 in stems, approximately 25-fold and 13-fold increases over WT, respectively. OS lines in TX430 exhibited an 18% reduction in biomass (8.4 vs. 9.9 Mg ha −1 for WT), while Ramada OS lines had similar WT biomass (18.3 vs. 19.9 Mg ha −1 for WT). Among TX430 OS lines, TxHO-2 achieved the highest TAG yield (190 kg ha −1 ), while RmHO-1 led the Ramada lines (335 kg ha −1 ) due to higher biomass and similar TAG concentration. Enhanced TAG accumulation increased N, P, and K removal in TX430 lines but not in Ramada lines. Structural carbohydrate and ash concentration were unaffected. Overall, results confirm vegetative lipid accumulation as a viable strategy for high-biomass sorghum, supporting its potential as a dual-purpose feedstock for SAF. Future work should focus on minimizing biomass yield penalties and improving nutrient use efficiency in oil sorghum systems.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Continuous multimodal technologies in industrial microbiology: potential for achieving high process performance and agility

The field of industrial microbiology has great potential to tackle the most pressing challenges facing society, but today, this entails much more than classical fermentation technology followed by product upgrading. Methods are needed to confer unit-operation-level functionality and whole-system-level robustness, as well as flexibility. As examples of this concept, we focus here on methodologies often deployed at industrial scale as discrete processes—such as biological, chemical, and electrochemical unit operations—that are also capable of substantial complementarity when combined sequentially and operated continuously. A key and relatively new type of conversion step is made possible by catalyst immobilization methods at both the enzymatic and cellular level. Cases drawn from electro-fermentation for acetoin production and syngas-mediated microbial electrosynthesis of ethanol exemplify the synergy of combined operational approaches. Because modular processes can be treated as a series of reactor elements, considerable flexibility is possible. As discussed, however, not all processes are amenable to this intensification.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Validation of Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations for Biological Performance Assessment in Hydropower units (Final Report)

The biological performance assessment (BioPA) toolset developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) estimates the relative biological performance of fish passage at a hydroelectric power turbine unit. The tool is based on the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and fish biological response relationships. The recent release, BioPA-v3, is based on directly computed trajectory and collision of material Lagrangian particles using CFD simulation codes rather than the prior version that relies on Tecplot to compute streamtrace trajectories. Before modifying the toolset, a series of validation tests were performed at the various steps of modification in the toolset. Validation is a critical step of any numerical investigation that reflects the accuracy and reliability of the predicted results. It raises the confidence level of the user to use the modified version of the BioPA toolset. Several test cases were simulated and compared, where available, to observed data. The trajectory and collision of the small spherical and cylindrical particles in a water flume were compared to in-house experiments. The CFD predicted collision rate and flow field compared well with experimental observation for vane array and large cylinder as target bodies. Next, the CFD-predicted flow field and hydraulic performance of a laboratory-scale model of a Francis turbine was also successfully validated. Note that the trajectory of the particles is significantly affected by the flow field in such extreme conditions. In addition to the particle trajectories and flow field, the collision detection method employed in the CFD simulations was also successfully validated. The CFD predicted impact velocity, collision time, velocity, and trajectory of a sphere excellently matched with analytical value for a bouncing ball in the elastic collision. A similar approach was also tested and successfully validated for a collision of sphere with a 45° inclined plane. After successfully validating different cases, the BioPA toolset was modified to use direct output of the CFD prediction and the new version can be used in evaluating biological performance at hydroelectric turbines.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Real Time - Optimal Power Flow Based Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS) (CRADA Number CRD-20-16909 Final Report)

The integration of behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs) into distribution systems brings transformative changes to power systems. This requires operators and planners to find solutions to modernize electric grids and to effectively manage DERs for grid services. NREL developed novel DER management algorithms (referred to as Real-Time Optimal Power Flow, RT-OPF) through U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded efforts, including Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) Network Optimized Distributed Energy Systems (NODES) funding. This cutting-edge control technology aims to modernize distribution systems with large amounts of DER integration, which will help utilities solve issues brought by renewable integration and build resilient and renewable-based electric grids nationwide. Utilidata worked with NREL to investigate the commercialization opportunity of this RT-OPF-based distributed energy resource management system (DERMS). In this project, NREL performs the technology transfer of the RT-OPF to Utilidata to help them fully understand the RT-OPF solution, to identify potential engineering hurdles, and to assess the expected commercial value of various RT-OPF use cases and deployment. The technology transfer work includes two major tasks. First, NREL performs an in-depth knowledge transfer of the entire RT-OPF solution to Utilidata to help them gain an extensive and detailed understanding of the complete RT-OPF solution. In this task, NREL provides exhaustive information (e.g., documentation, code packages, laboratory and field trial data, performance results) while conducting in-depth training sessions to provide a thorough explanation of the entire solution. NREL hosts meetings to present different topics related to the RT-OPF solution, and question-and-answer sessions are included in each meeting to better explain the RT-OPF-related work. Second, the RT-OPF simulations are performed in a laboratory environment. The main objectives of this task are to walk through with Utilidata engineers how to set up a simulation of RT-OPF, identifying each RT-OPF code block/component in operation, learning how these components interact with each other, and eventually running RT-OPF simulations under various system conditions. This task helps Utilidata engineers understand performance limitations and constraints while also quantifying the commercial value of the RT-OPF for different use cases. Based on these two tasks, Utilidata engineers should be able to define and prioritize the next steps of RT-OPF implementation with an eye toward commercial success and scalability of the solution. The next steps are expected to be part of a new project following the conclusion of this project.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Waves of Electric Charge Generated by Pulse Corona of Alternating Polarity

The project contributes to DoE Office of Science program “Opportunities in Frontier Plasma Science” by providing plasma science experiments at the Princeton Collaborative Research Facility (PCRF) – the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The research consisted of - extensive experimental/simulation studies of a pulse corona discharge pattern and dynamics performed at the University of Notre Dame; - non-intrusive measurements of electric field distribution and dynamics performed at PCRF by the method employing Electric Field-Induced Second Harmonic Generation (EFISH); and - analysis of the data acquired.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetic-Field Effects in Unstable High-Energy-Density Plasmas

The influence of magnetic fields in high-energy-density (HED) systems is a widely unexplored field of research that can play an important role in magnetized inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and in astrophysical systems. Hydrodynamic instabilities are presently believed to be the dominant degradation mechanism in ICF implosions. Therefore, understanding the influence of an imposed B-field on RT growth is important for future mitigation strategies as well as fundamental physics of ICF implosions that utilize B-fields for enhanced performance. The Crab Nebula, one of the most observed objects in our universe, contains elongated spikes of material created by hydrodynamic instabilities, however these spikes do not break-up and become turbulent as they evolve late in time. One hypothesis for this behavior is that B-fields around these spikes prevent vortex generation typical in these types of systems.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

R “SHINY” GUI DEVELOPMENT FOR URANIUM ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS WITH MATRIX-ASSISTED IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY

The international nuclear safeguards community continues to seek rapid, accurate, and precise characterization capabilities for the in-field measurement of uranium isotopic compositions in nuclear facilities. Mass spectrometry (MS) is considered the “gold standard” for analysis of relatively long-lived actinides such as uranium (U) and plutonium; however, conventional MS analysis often requires time consuming sample preparation and complex analytical methodologies that are difficult to perform in-field or in-facility. Matrix assisted ionization (MAI) is a novel ambient ionization MS technique (i.e., MAI-MS) that potentially addresses these challenges due to the relative simplicity of the ionization phenomenon and ruggedness of ambient MS instrumentation. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL, USA) has demonstrated this technique for nanogram-level 235U/238U isotope ratio measurements within seconds, with percent-level analytical uncertainties capable of discriminating depleted, natural, and low-enriched uranium. Current experimental work on developing MAI methods for uranium isotopic analysis has been enabled by parallel development of a comprehensive MAI-MS data analysis suite at SRNL. Development of this bespoke data analysis software was necessary because commercially available ambient MS software is poorly suited for uranium isotope ratio measurement. The effort leverages the power of R, a popular open-source programming language, and Shiny, an R package providing tools for graphical user interface (GUI) and web interface coding. This software allows researchers without any programming experience to harness and utilize R’s considerable data analysis/visualization power.

LaBone, Elizabeth D.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Magnetic phase diagram and multiple field-induced states in the intermetallic triangular-lattice antiferromagnet NdAuAl 4 Ge 2 with Ising-like spins

Geometrical frustration and the enhancement of strong quantum fluctuations in two-dimensional triangular antiferromagnets can lead to various intriguing phenomena. Here, in this work, we studied the spin-1/2 triangular lattice antiferromagnet NdAuAl 4 Ge 2 . Thermodynamic and transport properties, such as magnetization and specific heat together with the resistivity measurements were performed. In zero field, two successive phase transitions were observed at T N1 = 1.75 ± 0.02 and T N2 = 0.49 ± 0.02 K, respectively. Under magnetic field, XXZ-type anisotropy was revealed with the moments pointing along the easy c axis. For B∥c, multiple field-induced states were observed, and the magnetic phase diagram was established based on the specific-heat and magnetization data. The temperature-dependent resistivity measurements indicate that NdAuAl 4 Ge 2 is a good metal. It is very likely that both the long-range Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interactions and the geometrical frustration play important roles in this case.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Isotope effects under the influence of global radial electric fields in a helical configuration

Isotope effects under the influence of a radial electric field are examined in a helical magnetic field configuration. We perform global gyrokinetic simulations with additional poloidal rotations to estimate quasi-linear heat flux due to ion temperature gradient mode under the mixing length model. In single-ion-species plasmas, the mass number dependency of heat flux agrees with gyro-Bohm scaling in the absence of a radial electric field. Favorable mass number dependencies violating gyro-Bohm scaling are observed in the presence of a global radial electric field or a heavy hydrogen component in multi-ion-species plasmas. The radial electric field and the heavy hydrogen component affect the heat flux through an increase of wavelength as well as mode stabilization. Poloidal Mach number characterizes the transition from unfavorable to favorable mass number dependency under radial electric fields. While the heat flux is independent of mass number for a given poloidal Mach number, the heat flux decreases for higher mass numbers in a given radial electric field. The heat flux is also independent of average mass number in multi-ion-species plasmas because the heavy hydrogen component effectively enhances the light hydrogen heat flux. The present results are potentially relevant to the violation of gyro-Bohm scaling observed in the recent deuterium experiments in the Large Helical Device.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Autogenerating a Domain-Specific Question-Answering Data Set from a Thermoelectric Materials Database to Enable High-Performing BERT Models

We present a method for autogenerating a large domain-specific question-answering (QA) dataset from a thermoelectric materials database. We show that a small language model, BERT, once fine-tuned on this automatically generated dataset of 99,757 QA pairs about thermoelectric materials, affords better performance in the field of thermoelectric materials compared to a BERT model fine-tuned on the generic English-language QA data set, SQuAD-v2. We further show that mixing the two data sets (ours and SQuAD-v2), which have significantly different syntactic and semantic scopes, allows the BERT model to achieve even better performance. The best-performing BERT model fine-tuned on the mixed data set outperforms the models fine-tuned on the other two data sets by scoring an exact match of 67.93% and an F1 score of 72.29% when evaluated on our test data set. This has important implications as it demonstrates the ability to realize high-performing small language models, with modest computational resources, empowered by domain-specific materials data sets which can be generated according to our method.

biological databases↗
DOE OSTI2022

Benzimidazolone-Dioxazine Pigments-Based Conjugated Polymers for Organic Field-Effect Transistor

Molecules based on benzimidazolone-dioxazine are known as blue/violet pigments and have been commercialized for decades. However, unfavorable solubility limits the application of these structures as building blocks of conjugated polymers despite their low band gaps. Herein, a series of donor–acceptor conjugated polymers containing soluble benzimidazolone-dioxazine structures as the acceptors and oligothiophene as donors are synthesized and investigated. With increasing numbers of thiophene rings, the steric hindrance diminishes and high molecular weight polymers can be achieved, leading to an improved performance in organic field effect transistor devices. The hole mobility of polymers with three to six thiophene units is in the order of 10 -1 cm2 V -1 s -1 . Among all the polymers, polymer P3 with three thiophene units between benzimidazolone-dioxazine structures shows the best hole mobility of 0.4 cm2 V -1 s -1 . Grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering results reveal that the high mobility of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) can be accredited by matched donor–acceptor packing in the solid thin films.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Segregated Approach for Modeling the Electrochemistry in the 3-D Microstructure of Li-Ion Batteries and Its Acceleration Using Block Preconditioners

Abstract Battery performance is strongly correlated with electrode microstructure. Electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries have complex microstructure geometries that require millions of degrees of freedom to solve the electrochemical system at the microstructure scale. A fast-iterative solver with an appropriate preconditioner is then required to simulate large representative volume in a reasonable time. In this work, a finite element electrochemical model is developed to resolve the concentration and potential within the electrode active materials and the electrolyte domains at the microstructure scale, with an emphasis on numerical stability and scaling performances. The block Gauss-Seidel (BGS) numerical method is implemented because the system of equations within the electrodes is coupled only through the nonlinear Butler–Volmer equation, which governs the electrochemical reaction at the interface between the domains. The best solution strategy found in this work consists of splitting the system into two blocks—one for the concentration and one for the potential field—and then performing block generalized minimal residual preconditioned with algebraic multigrid, using the FEniCS and the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation libraries. Significant improvements in terms of time to solution (six times faster) and memory usage (halving) are achieved compared with the MUltifrontal Massively Parallel sparse direct Solver. Additionally, BGS experiences decent strong parallel scaling within the electrode domains. Last, the system of equations is modified to specifically address numerical instability induced by electrolyte depletion, which is particularly valuable for simulating fast-charge scenarios relevant for automotive application.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Single-hole couplings in GaAs/AlGaAs double dots probed with transport and EDSR spectroscopy

Here, we report a detailed study of the tunnel barriers within a single-hole GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum dot device (DQD). For quantum information applications as well as fundamental studies, careful tuning and reliable measurements of the barriers are important requirements. In order to tune a DQD device adequately into the single-hole electric dipole spin resonance regime, one has to employ a variety of techniques to cover the extended range of tunnel couplings. In this work, we demonstrate four separate techniques, based upon charge sensing, quantum transport, time-resolved pulsing, and electron dipole spin resonance spectroscopy to determine the couplings as a function of relevant gate voltages and magnetic field. Measurements were performed under conditions of both symmetric and asymmetric tunnel couplings to the leads. Good agreement was observed between different techniques when measured under the same conditions. The results indicate that even in this relatively simple circuit, the requirement to tune multiple gates and the consequences of real potential profiles result in non-intuitive dependencies of the couplings as a function of the plunger gate voltage and the magnetic field.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Performance Results from DOE Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge Field Validation

Space conditioning and water heating consume over 40% of the nation’s primary energy use and represent a significant component of many homeowners’ monthly energy bill. However, in cold climates, performance of heat pumps has traditionally suffered as the units have been unable to efficiently transfer heat from colder outdoor air temperatures to warm the interior space of homes. Optimizing heat pumps for cold climates (5 °F and below) requires coordinated effort to ensure heat pump technologies can be enjoyed by Americans living in these regions. The DOE Cold Climate Heat Pump (CCHP) Challenge sought to address this challenge by partnering with industry to develop, test, and validate the performance of new, highly efficient heat pumps in real homes. The Challenge, launched in 2021, brought together leading heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturers to develop prototype units optimized for performance at cold climates. This report summarizes results from the field validation that occurred 2022-2024.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Influence of Alkyl Spacers and Molecular Weight on the Charge Transport and Storage Properties of Oxy‐Bithiophene‐Based Conjugated Polymers

Abstract Conjugated polymers (CPs) with polar side chains can conduct electronic and ionic charges simultaneously, making them promising for bioelectronics, electrocatalysis and energy storage. Recent work showed that adding alkyl spacers between CP backbones and polar side chains improved electronic charge carrier mobility, reduced swelling and enhanced stability, without compromising ion transport. However, how alkyl spacers impact polymer backbone conformation and, subsequently, electronic properties remain unclear. In this work, we design two oxy‐bithiophene‐based CP series, each featuring progressively extended alkyl spacer lengths and two distinct molecular weight (MW) distributions. Using operando characterisations, we evaluate the (spectro)electrochemical and swelling properties of the polymer thin films, and their performance in organic field‐effect transistors and organic electrochemical transistors. Surprisingly, alkyl spacers negatively impact the hole mobility of our polymers, with higher MW amplifying this effect. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that it is thermodynamically favourable for adjacent non‐polar alkyl spacers to aggregate in polar electrolytes, leading to backbone twisting. Further spectroscopic measurements corroborate this prediction. Our findings demonstrate the active interactions between side chain structure, MW and electrolyte/solvent polarity in influencing polymer performance, underscoring the importance of considering solvation environment effects on polymer conformation when designing new mixed conducting CPs for electrochemical applications.

Yu, Hang [Department of Physics and Centre for Pro↗
DOE OSTI2024

Polarimetry-Interferometry Diagnostic for Magnetic Field and Magnetic Fluctuation Measurements in High-Performance and Long-Pulse Tokamaks (Final Report)

In this grant, we executed a multi-year plan to develop an advanced Faraday-effect polarimeter-interferometer system to address both fluctuation and equilibrium diagnostic needs by providing a measurement of the plasma internal magnetic field fluctuations (including non-axisymmetric 3-D perturbations) and plasma vertical position. This diagnostic included both fast time response and low phase noise so that both the temporal dynamics of equilibrium quantities as well as high-frequency electromagnetic fluctuations could be measured simultaneously, adding new and unique measurement capabilities for the core of high-temperature plasmas. The combined polarimeter-interferometer diagnostic development was applied primarily to the tokamak magnetic configuration, focusing on high-performance regimes including H-mode, reversed shear advanced tokamak scenarios, and non-inductive current drive.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗