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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 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Small fatigue crack growth behavior of Ti-6Al-4V produced via selective laser melting: In situ characterization of a 3D crack tip interactions with defects

Small fatigue crack growth (SFCG) behavior is examined for additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V specimens with optimal and trial build conditions (representing an increased degree of defects) through a combination of in situ tomography and in situ energy dispersive X-ray diffraction. The results showed slower crack growth rates for the SFCG samples compared to the long cracks (which was not expected). Finally, in the case of the trial conditions, the increased levels of porosity deterred crack growth by blunting the crack, as evident by the in situ tomography characterization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Performance analysis of hybrid power configurations: Impact on primary energy intensity, carbon dioxide emissions, and life cycle costs

In this work, utilization of Natural gas and Hydrogen to support current and future building energy needs to offset the total electric demand while improving the grid resiliency and energy efficiency was investigated. Demand side energy management will play an important role in efficiently managing the available energy resources. Performance assessment of different power generation and energy management configurations is presented in this paper. Development of solutions in addressing grid resiliency by providing the ability to design suitable configurations for meeting individual building energy needs is discussed. Primary movers (PM) such as internal combustion engines (ICE) and fuel cells (FC) along with small scale auxiliary renewable energy source such as photovoltaics (PV) were considered. Key attributes of total carbon foot-print, life cycle costs including capital and operational expenditure, electric grid offset or peak shaving capability, thermal energy availability and its further potential to offset total electric demand, and primary energy intensity are analyzed and discussed in detail.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Photoinduced Dynamics with Constrained Vibrational Motion: FrozeNM Algorithm

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation, analyzed in terms of vibrational normal modes, is a widely used technique that facilitates understanding of complex structural motions and coupling between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. Usually, only a subset of vibrations is directly involved in the process of interest. The impact of these vibrations can be evaluated by performing AIMD simulations by selectively freezing certain motions. In this paper, we present frozen normal mode (FrozeNM), a new algorithm to apply normal-mode constraints in AIMD simulations, as implemented in the nonadiabatic excited state molecular dynamics code. We further illustrate its capacity by analyzing the impact of normal-mode constraints on the photoinduced energy transfer between polyphenylene ethynylene dendrimer building blocks. Our results show that the electronic relaxation can be significantly slowed down by freezing a well-selected small subset of active normal modes characterized by their contributions in the direction of energy transfer. The application of these constraints reduces the nonadiabatic coupling between electronic excited states during the entire dynamical simulations. Furthermore, we validate reduced dimensionality models by freezing all the vibrations, except a few active modes. Altogether, we consider FrozeNM as a useful tool that can be broadly used to underpin the role of vibrational motion in a studied process and to formulate reduced models that describe essential physical phenomena.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Rapid discovery and evolution of nanosensors containing fluorogenic amino acids

Binding-activated optical sensors are powerful tools for imaging, diagnostics, and biomolecular sensing. However, biosensor discovery is slow and requires tedious steps in rational design, screening, and characterization. Here we report on a platform that streamlines biosensor discovery and unlocks directed nanosensor evolution through genetically encodable fluorogenic amino acids (FgAAs). Building on the classical knowledge-based semisynthetic approach, we engineer ~15 kDa nanosensors that recognize specific proteins, peptides, and small molecules with up to 100-fold fluorescence increases and subsecond kinetics, allowing real-time and wash-free target sensing and live-cell bioimaging. An optimized genetic code expansion chemistry with FgAAs further enables rapid (~3 h) ribosomal nanosensor discovery via the cell-free translation of hundreds of candidates in parallel and directed nanosensor evolution with improved variant-specific sensitivities (up to ~250-fold) for SARS-CoV-2 antigens. Altogether, this platform could accelerate the discovery of fluorogenic nanosensors and pave the way to modify proteins with other non-standard functionalities for diverse applications.

Biosensors↗
DOE OSTI2020

Analytical Solutions for Seismic Fluid-Structure Interaction of Head-Supported Cylindrical Tanks

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) of earthquake shaking is a design consideration in the civil, nuclear, chemical, and mechanical industries. Preliminary sizing of structures and components in these industries will often use analytical solutions because there is insufficient information to warrant the analysis of numerical models. Here, this study extends prior analytical work on seismic FSI of base-supported tanks in the 1980s to accommodate head-supported tanks with geometries similar to those proposed for new-build, liquid (fluid)-filled, advanced reactors. Analytical solutions are derived for flexible, head-supported, cylindrical tanks subjected to small-amplitude, unidirectional, horizontal seismic motion, and address frequencies of lateral motions of the tank, hydrodynamic pressures, frequencies of waves, wave heights, and reactions at the head support. Solutions are presented for a range of tank dimensions and could be used for a) preliminary design of head-supported cylindrical tanks and their supporting structures with idealized seismic input, and b) verification of numerical models to be used for final seismic analysis, design, and probabilistic risk assessment.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Editorial: Generation, detection and manipulation of skyrmions in magnetic nanostructures

Due to their compact shape and small size down to a few nanometers, good thermal stability, and low driven current density, magnetic skyrmions have become promising building blocks for high-density storage and fast information processing applications. In a dozen years, this field dubbed as skyrmionics has attracted significant attention for exploring fundamental physics as well as for practical applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Parameters, Properties, and Process: Conditional Neural Generation of Realistic SEM Imagery Toward ML-Assisted Advanced Manufacturing

Abstract The research and development cycle of advanced manufacturing processes traditionally requires a large investment of time and resources. Experiments can be expensive and are hence conducted on relatively small scales. This poses problems for typically data-hungry machine learning tools which could otherwise expedite the development cycle. We build upon prior work by applying conditional generative adversarial networks (GANs) to scanning electron microscope (SEM) imagery from an emerging advanced manufacturing process, shear-assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE). We generate realistic images conditioned on temper and either experimental parameters or material properties. In doing so, we are able to integrate machine learning into the development cycle, by allowing a user to immediately visualize the microstructure that would arise from particular process parameters or properties. This work forms a technical backbone for a fundamentally new approach for understanding manufacturing processes in the absence of first-principle models. By characterizing microstructure from a topological perspective, we are able to evaluate our models’ ability to capture the breadth and diversity of experimental scanning electron microscope (SEM) samples. Our method is successful in capturing the visual and general microstructural features arising from the considered process, with analysis highlighting directions to further improve the topological realism of our synthetic imagery.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Field-scale fault reactivation experiments by fluid injection highlight aseismic leakage in caprock analogs: Implications for CO 2 sequestration

Observations on tens-of-meter scale experiments of fault activation by fluid injection conducted in shales allow exploring how aseismic and seismic events may jeopardize the integrity of a sealing caprock overlying a CO 2 sequestration reservoir. We contrast the behavior of shale faults with another set of experiments conducted in carbonates. Significant fluid leakage occurs along the initially low-permeability shale faults when rupture is activated. Most of the leakage pathway closes when fluid injection ceases and fluid pressure drops. Dilatant slip on the fault plane alone does not explain the observed leakage behavior, which is also caused by fault opening favored by the softness of the shale, and by the structure of the fault zone that prevents fluids from diffusing into the adjacent damage zone. Experiments show a large amount of aseismic deformation. Small-magnitude seismicity (M w < -2.5) is observed outside the pressurized leakage patch. Stress transferred from this aseismic deformation patch can build up to stress-criticality and favor seismicity. Thus, in terms of fault activation in caprocks, aseismic fault slip leading to increased permeability and a loss of seal integrity is of great concern.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

SolarPlus-Optimizer v0.1

With the falling costs of solar arrays and battery storage and reduced reliability of the grid due to natural disasters, small-scale local generation and storage resources are beginning to proliferate. However, very few software options exist for integrated control of building loads, batteries and other distributed energy resources. The available software solutions on the market can force customers to adopt one particular ecosystem of products, thus limiting consumer choice, and are often incapable of operating independently of the grid during blackouts. In this software package, we present the "Solar+ Optimizer" (SPO), a control platform that provides demand flexibility, resiliency and reduced utility bills, built using open-source software. SPO employs Model Predictive Control (MPC) to produce real time optimal control strategies for the building loads and the distributed energy resources on site. SPO is designed to be vendor-agnostic, protocol-independent and resilient to loss of wide-area network connectivity. The software was evaluated in a real convenience store in northern California with on-site solar generation, battery storage and control of HVAC and commercial refrigeration loads. Preliminary tests showed price responsiveness of the building and cost savings of more than 10% in energy costs alone.

Prakash, AnandKrishnan↗
DOE OSTI2022

In-Cell Thermal Creep Frame Capability: Out-of-Cell Construction and Subsized Sample Testing

This report describes the activities related to the construction of an in-cell thermal creep test facility for small-scale specimens in the irradiation-assisted stress-corrosion cracking (IASCC) hotcell located at the Fuels and Applied Science Building (FASB) at INL. The whole project includes three stages: (i) conceptual design; (ii) out-of-cell demonstration tests; and (iii) in-cell demonstration testing. During the current fiscal year (FY)-2022, materials and equipment required to construct the conceptual design outlined in a previous report were procured. Frames for conducting out-of-cell testing have been constructed, and testing plans have been developed to assess the operation of the newly constructed frames. Preliminary testing of flat subsized tensile specimens on ASTM creep frames has also been completed for two sample thicknesses: 0.75 mm and 1.0 mm.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Enhanced neutrino polarizability

We point out that neutrinos can have enhanced couplings to photons, if light (pseudo)scalar mediators are present, resulting in a potentially measurable neutrino polarizability. We show that the expected suppression from small neutrino masses can be compensated by the light mediator mass, generating dimension 7 Rayleigh operators at low scales. We explore the rich phenomenology of such models, computing in detail the constraints on the viable parameter space, spanned by the couplings of the mediator to neutrinos and photons. Finally, we build several explicit models that lead to an enhanced neutrino polarizability by modifying the inverse see-saw majoron, i.e., the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson of the U(1) L global lepton number responsible for generating small neutrino masses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Considerations for Distributed Edge Data Centers and Use of Building Loads to Support Large Interconnections

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is driving unprecedented electricity demand from data centers. It is predicted that by 2030, 90% of AI workloads will be inference-based, requiring interconnection of multiple low-latency edge data centers (<20 MW) sited closer to end users - often on already constrained distribution feeders. Although individually small, these loads can aggregate to large loads per feeder, straining infrastructure, creating multi-year interconnection delays, and driving up customer costs. This paper proposes a data center-focused grid-integration framework that combines feeder hosting capacity analysis with building energy efficiency, building load flexibility, and waste heat reuse to expand effective feeder and substation headroom. Such approaches can reduce interconnection delays, lower costs for ratepayers, and accelerate AI-ready infrastructure deployment.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Centering Energy and Environmental Justice in the Buildings Energy Sector

We face incredible challenges for decarbonizing our economy and raising the standard of living for all members of our society at the same time. Historical energy efficiency efforts have been effective in making small steps, but they fall far short of the massive changes we need to make, and they completely miss helping communities of disadvantage (e.g. low-income, African American, Hispanic American, Native American and tribal nations, etc). Business as usual efforts do not take the time to connect with and understand the challenges of these historical underinvested communities and therefore have not been effective at helping these communities. The Biden Harris Administration has set ambitious goals for decarbonization of our economy that include a requirement that 40% of efforts support energy and environmental justice communities. If we are to meet our decarbonization goals, it is imperative that we change our approach to research, development, and deployment of new technologies. The Department of Energy has set energy justice as a priority and is working with the national laboratories to change our approaches. This paper starts with definitions of what we mean by energy and environmental justice and how they apply to building technologies and deployment efforts. We provide several examples of how historical efforts have succeeded and how they have failed to account for challenges of communities of disadvantage. We identify market and technology barriers to decarbonization and energy efficiency for specific technologies and how these barriers are exacerbated for disadvantaged communities. From these examples, we propose a new framework for integrating energy and environmental justice into all aspects of technology development, deployment, and policy efforts within the building energy sector.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Unveiling the sea: universality of the transverse momentum dependent quark distributions at small x

Within the Colour Glass Condensate effective theory, we demonstrate that back-to-back dijet correlations in dilute-dense collisions involving a small-quark from the nuclear target can be factorised in terms of universal transverse momentum dependent distributions (TMDs) for the sea quarks. Two building blocks are needed to construct all these TMDs at the operator level: the sea quark TMD operator which appears in semi-inclusive Deep-Inelastic Scattering (SIDIS) or in the Drell-Yan process and the elastic-matrix for a quark-antiquark dipole. Compared to SIDIS, the saturation effects are stronger for dijet production in forward proton-nucleus collisions, due to additional scattering in the initial and final state, effectively resulting in a larger value for the nuclear saturation momentum.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Polymer Coatings on Virus-like Particle Nanoreactors at Low Ionic Strength—Charge Reversal and Substrate Access

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a class of biomaterials which serve as platforms for achieving the desired functionality through interior and exterior modifications. Through ionic strength-mediated electrostatic interactions, VLPs have been assembled into hierarchically ordered materials. This work builds on predictive models to prepare polymer-coated VLP dusters at very low ionic strength. Zeta potential measurements showed that the clusters carried a strongly positive charge, a complete charge reversal from the VLP building block. SAXS analysis confirmed polymer adsorption onto the VLP exterior. Furthermore, we then studied the activity of an encapsulated enzyme toward small molecular and macromolecular substrates to determine the effect of each component of the hierarchically assembled material. We found that while encapsulation and polymer coating did not have a large effect on access to the enzyme by its native, small molecular substrate, substrate modification with a macromolecule caused the polymer coating and encapsulation to affect the access to the enzyme.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cheaper and more noise-resilient quantum state preparation using eigenvector continuation

Subspace methods are powerful, noise-resilient methods that can effectively prepare ground states on quantum computers. The challenge is to get a subspace with a small condition number that spans the states of interest using minimal quantum resources. In this work, we will use eigenvector continuation to build a subspace from the low-lying states of a set of Hamiltonians. The basis vectors are prepared using truncated versions of standard state preparation methods such as imaginary-time evolution (ITE), adiabatic state preparation (ASP), and variational quantum eigensolver. By using these truncated methods combined with eigenvector continuation, we can directly improve upon them, obtaining more accurate ground-state energies at a reduced cost. We use several spin systems to demonstrate convergence even when methods like ITE and ASP fail, such as ASP in the presence of level crossings and ITE with vanishing energy gaps. We also showcase the noise resilience of this approach beyond the gains already made by having shallower quantum circuits. Furthermore, our findings suggest that eigenvector continuation can be used to improve existing state preparation methods in the near term.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗