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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 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Soft X-ray measurements of transport and MHD activity in the core and edge NSTX plasma (Final Technical Report)

A comprehensive suite of innovative diagnostic instrumentation and techniques has been developed by the Johns Hopkins collaboration for measurements of transport and MHD activity in the core and edge of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). These include ultrafast multi-energy poloidal soft X-ray arrays, high spatial resolution multi-energy tangential soft X-ray arrays, high spectral resolution transmission grating imaging VUV spectrometers and ultrafast bolometric arrays, which measure over a broad range of spatial, spectral, and temporal scales the emission from ohmic, RF, and beam driven NSTX plasmas. The instrumentation was designed to fulfill the specific measurement needs of the Spherical Torus (ST) magnetic fusion concept and is accompanied by a comprehensive set of numerical tools for data analysis and modeling, aimed at determining as many as possible plasma parameters and at extracting as much as possible physics information from NSTX experiments. The Johns Hopkins diagnostics have been and continue to be instrumental for essentially all the NSTX experiments. In addition, our own research and experiments using these diagnostics has led over the years to fundamental conclusions for the ST fusion physics, such as the establishment of near neoclassical impurity transport in the NSTX core and edge plasma, and the critical role of the Global Alfven Eigenmode (GAE) MHD activity for the ST core electron thermal transport. The Johns Hopkins Diagnostics continue to be operational on the upgraded NSTX-U and will provide key plasma information in its upcoming high field, current and power experimental campaigns. The present report summarizes the main technical characteristics and measurement capabilities of the diagnostic instrumentation and methods developed within our research and describes a key physics result achieved during this research. Success in our research was made possible also by the excellent support and cooperation of the NSTX research team and of PPPL researchers, who are warmly acknowledged here.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2010

Monitoring System for Storm Readiness and Recovery of Test Facilities: Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) Approach

Severe weather events are likely occurrences on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is important to rapidly diagnose and mitigate the effects of storms on Stennis Space Center's rocket engine test complex to avoid delays to critical test article programs, reduce costs, and maintain safety. An Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) approach and technologies are employed to integrate environmental (weather) monitoring, structural modeling, and the suite of available facility instrumentation to provide information for readiness before storms, rapid initial damage assessment to guide mitigation planning, and then support on-going assurance as repairs are effected and finally support recertification. The system is denominated Katrina Storm Monitoring System (KStorMS). Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) describes a comprehensive set of capabilities that provide insight into the behavior the health of a system. Knowing the status of a system allows decision makers to effectively plan and execute their mission. For example, early insight into component degradation and impending failures provides more time to develop work around strategies and more effectively plan for maintenance. Failures of system elements generally occur over time. Information extracted from sensor data, combined with system-wide knowledge bases and methods for information extraction and fusion, inference, and decision making, can be used to detect incipient failures. If failures do occur, it is critical to detect and isolate them, and suggest an appropriate course of action. ISHM enables determining the condition (health) of every element in a complex system-of-systems or SoS (detect anomalies, diagnose causes, predict future anomalies), and provide data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) to control systems for safe and effective operation. ISHM capability is achieved by using a wide range of technologies that enable anomaly detection, diagnostics, prognostics, and advise for control: (1) anomaly detection algorithms and strategies, (2) fusion of DIaK for anomaly detection (model-based, numerical, statistical, empirical, expert-based, qualitative, etc.), (3) diagnostics/prognostics strategies and methods, (4) user interface, (5) advanced control strategies, (6) integration architectures/frameworks, (7) embedding of intelligence. Many of these technologies are mature, and they are being used in the KStorMS. The paper will describe the design, implementation, and operation of the KStorMS; and discuss further evolution to support other needs such as condition-based maintenance (CBM).

Figueroa, Fernando↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enhanced particle flux due to localized divertor MHD instability in DIII-D tokamak

An MHD mode with a frequency of <10 kHz has been identified near the inner strike point from various diagnostics, i.e., divertor Langmuir probes, magnetics sensors, and interferometers, but does not appear in the upstream and core diagnostics. This MHD mode is associated with magnetic oscillations of ≳5 G, has a long wavelength in the toroidal direction with toroidal mode number n=1, but is localized in a narrow radial region of a few cm. The mode appears when the outer strike point remains attached and the inner strike point nearly detaches, grows with increasing density, and eventually weakens and vanishes as the outer strike point detaches. This mode results in particle flux with an order of magnitude higher than the background plasmas near the inner strike point. The mode characteristics are consistent with the Current-Convective-Instability theory prediction. Initial simulations based on experimental input have found oscillations with similar frequencies but weaker amplitude.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

ICRF near-field effects sensitivity to magnetic tilt-angle

This paper complements the study reported in G. Urbanczyk et al 2025 Nucl. Fusion 65 046018 by investigating how near-field effects from Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequency (ICRF) antennas depend on the magnetic geometry, particularly focusing on the sensitivity of rectified sheath potentials and associated impurity production to variations in magnetic field tilt-angle. Simulations were conducted using Petra-M, employing a flat model of the ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) three-strap antenna, and COMSOL, utilizing a curved model of the WEST antenna. Results demonstrate indications of sensitivity of the rectified sheath potentials and impurity sputtering to the alignment of Faraday screen bars with the magnetic field lines, emphasizing the necessity for careful consideration of geometric alignment in antenna design for fusion devices. This trend is consistent with experimental data measured with various diagnostics.

Urbanczyk, Guillaume [Universite de Lorraine, Nanc↗
DOE OSTI2023

Foundations of plasma standards

Abstract The field of low-temperature plasmas (LTPs) excels by virtue of its broad intellectual diversity, interdisciplinarity and range of applications. This great diversity also challenges researchers in communicating the outcomes of their investigations, as common practices and expectations for reporting vary widely in the many disciplines that either fall under the LTP umbrella or interact closely with LTP topics. These challenges encompass comparing measurements made in different laboratories, exchanging and sharing computer models, enabling reproducibility in experiments and computations using traceable and transparent methods and data, establishing metrics for reliability, and in translating fundamental findings to practice. In this paper, we address these challenges from the perspective of LTP standards for measurements, diagnostics, computations, reporting and plasma sources. This discussion on standards, or recommended best practices, and in some cases suggestions for standards or best practices, has the goal of improving communication, reproducibility and transparency within the LTP field and fields allied with LTPs. This discussion also acknowledges that standards and best practices, either recommended or at some point enforced, are ultimately a matter of judgment. These standards and recommended practices should not limit innovation nor prevent research breakthroughs from having real-time impact. Ultimately, the goal of our research community is to advance the entire LTP field and the many applications it touches through a shared set of expectations.

data and reaction mechanisms↗
DOE OSTI2025

Pseudoatom molecular dynamics plasma microfields

Spectral lines are powerful diagnostic tools for both laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, as their shape is sensitive to the plasma environment. The low-frequency component of the electric microfield is an important input for semi-analytic line broadening codes. Here, in this paper, we detail a new method of calculating plasma microfields using configuration-resolved pseudoatom molecular dynamics. This approach accounts for both quantum atomic structure and N-body effects, similar to density functional theory molecular dynamics, but with less computational cost. We present pseudoatom microfields at plasma conditions relevant for recent high energy density laboratory astrophysics experiments conducted at the Sandia Z-Machine, National Ignition Facility, and Linac Coherent Light Source. Compared to established microfield codes we find moderate deviations at solid density conditions and strong agreement at lower plasma densities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing In-Process Monitoring and Optimization Using Thermionic Emission Detection

In this project, the emission of electrons during laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing was identified and investigated to resolve the underlying dynamics driven by laser-material interactions. Laser powder bed fusion involves the selective laser melting of metal powder particles layer by layer which fuse together forming a larger 3D structure. Laser-based additive manufacturing approaches such as laser powder bed fusion hold the potential to revolutionize manufacturing of complex metal components in the aerospace, medical, and automotive industries. However, the difficulty in producing defect-free components by metal 3D printing is a major hurdle for widespread commercial adoption. This project resolved important dynamics in laser powder bed fusion including the identification of plasma formation mechanisms, transitions between laser-induced melting modes and stochastic precursors to defect formation. These findings were realized through implementation of electronic sensing diagnostics into an existing testbed system and harnessing capabilities developed for the time dependent analysis of laser powder bed fusion datasets. Importantly, the results advance our understanding of laser-material interactions and reveal that detection of thermionic emission can also resolve information critical to optimization of the laser powder bed fusion fabrication process. The findings are critical for advancing our fundamental understanding of the laser powder bed fusion process and can help assure the requisite fidelity of fabricated components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

From MAST-U to STEP: Power exhaust control challenges and opportunities

This work explores the challenges and opportunities for power exhaust control in STEP, informed by dedicated MAST-U experiments. The STEP system primarily relies on hydrogenic and argon gas injection into the divertors, compensating for transients originating in the plasma core. Fast transients (>10 Hz) that evolve too quickly for actuators to compensate must be absorbed passively; the enhanced transient buffering of the foreseen long-legged divertor provides a clear advantage over conventional geometries, as demonstrated in the MAST-U Super-X divertor. Experiments further indicate that STEP’s tight divertor baffling enables near-independent control of the upper and lower divertors. The most challenging transients are expected from power-sharing fluctuations, as MAST-U experiments observed extremely fast dynamics. Fluctuations from core pellet fuelling remain relatively benign due to the small pellet size according to simulations. Exhaust control in a reactor like STEP requires an integrated approach befitting its machine-critical nature. A predictive control element, integrated with core plasma control, allows pre-emptive preparation of the divertor for incoming transients. An observer-based diagnostic approach is foreseen to monitor the divertor in the challenging reactor environment, supported by an extended diagnostic set in the non-nuclear phase to validate the required dynamic models.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Pulsed High Temperature Superconducting Central Solenoid Model Coil for Plasma Current Drive and Control in High-Field Compact Commercial Fusion Power Plants (CRADA Final Report)

This ARPA-E BETHE project was aimed to design, build and test a fast-ramping HighTemperature Superconducting (HTS) Central Solenoid Model Coil (CSMC) that significantly derisks a full-size HTS Central Solenoid (CS) capable of driving and controlling the plasma current in a compact, high-field, low-cost tokamak power plant. The LBNL objectives and milestones for this project were divided into two distinct tracts: Diagnostics and Quench Simulation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Species mix & distribution function dependence of energetic-ion driven magnetospheric instabilities on DIII-D (Final Report)

Energetic ions drive a rich variety of instabilities in the complex multi-species plasma of Earth’s magnetosphere. This experiment exploited the highly flexible, high power particle beam injection capability and sophisticated diagnostic suite of the DIII-D tokamak to advance understanding of two particular instabilities of significant interest to the magnetospheric research community that have closely-related counterparts in beam-heated tokamak plasmas: electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves (EMIC) [1], observed at frequencies somewhat below the ion cyclotron frequencies of bulk ion species, and equatorial noise [2], observed at energetic-ion cyclotron harmonics. In the magnetic fusion energy domain, such waves are called ICE (Ion Cyclotron Emission). Recent substantial advances in diagnostic capability in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies in DIII-D, including measurement of wave polarization, spa)al structure and amplitude created an exciting opportunity to challenge and drive advances in theoretical understanding of these phenomena.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2003

Spiral-Bevel-Gear Damage Detected Using Decision Fusion Analysis

Helicopter transmission integrity is critical to helicopter safety because helicopters depend on the power train for propulsion, lift, and flight maneuvering. To detect impending transmission failures, the ideal diagnostic tools used in the health-monitoring system would provide real-time health monitoring of the transmission, demonstrate a high level of reliable detection to minimize false alarms, and provide end users with clear information on the health of the system without requiring them to interpret large amounts of sensor data. A diagnostic tool for detecting damage to spiral bevel gears was developed. (Spiral bevel gears are used in helicopter transmissions to transfer power between nonparallel intersecting shafts.) Data fusion was used to integrate two different monitoring technologies, oil debris analysis and vibration, into a health-monitoring system for detecting surface fatigue pitting damage on the gears.

Dempsey, Paula J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Single-Shot Reconstruction of Electron Beam Longitudinal Phase Space in a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

We report on a single-shot longitudinal phase-space reconstruction diagnostic for electron beams in a laser wakefield accelerator via the experimental observation of distinct periodic modulations in the angularly resolved spectra. Such modulated angular spectra arise as a result of the direct interaction between the ultrarelativistic electron beam and the laser driver in the presence of the wakefield. A constrained theoretical model for the coupled oscillator, assisted by a genetic algorithm, can recreate the experimental electron spectra and, thus, fully reconstructs the longitudinal phase-space distribution of the electron beam with a temporal resolution of approximately 1.3 fs. In particular, it reveals the slice energy spread of the electron beam, which is important to measure for applications such as x-ray free electron lasers. In our experiment, the root-mean-square energy spread retrieved is bounded at 9.9 MeV, corresponding to a 0.9%–3.0% relative spread, despite the overall GeV energy beam having approximately 100% relative energy spread.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2011

Investigation of Data Fusion Applied to Health Monitoring of Wind Turbine Drive train Components

The research described was performed on diagnostic tools used to detect damage to dynamic mechanical components in a wind turbine gearbox. Different monitoring technologies were evaluated by collecting vibration and oil debris data from tests performed on a "healthy" gearbox and a damaged gearbox in a dynamometer test stand located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The damaged gearbox tested was removed from the field after experiencing component damage due to two losses of oil events and was retested under controlled conditions in the dynamometer test stand. Preliminary results indicate oil debris and vibration can be integrated to assess the health of the wind turbine gearbox.

Dempsey, Paula J.↗
DOE OSTI2021

CY2020 Report for PECOS Activities

All experiments involving the Pecos target chamber in calendar year (CY) 2020 were dedicated to Pre-Heat studies in the context of Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF). Activities at the target area included actual laser shots but also diagnostic and maintenance, and preparatory work for experiments with cryogenically cooled targets. The latter took up a large part of CY2020’s shot availability, and consequently there were fewer shots performed than in previous years. Since the Z-Beamlet and Z-Petawatt lasers support multiple campaigns, we can only anticipate laser and laser-operator time for one out of three shot windows in a day, and typically not on every day of the week. For that reason, many of our non-shot activities need to be traded against shots as well.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

A novel method to measure ion density in ICF experiments using x-ray spectroscopy of cylindrical tracers

The indirect drive approach to inertial confinement fusion has undergone important advances in the past few years. Improvements in temperature and density diagnostic methods are leading to more accurate measurements of the plasma conditions inside the Hohlraum and therefore to more efficient experimental designs. The implementation of dot spectroscopy has proven to be a versatile approach to extracting space- and time-dependent electron temperatures. In this method, a microdot of a mid-Z material is placed inside the Hohlraum and its K-shell emission spectrum is used to determine the plasma temperature. However, radiation transport of optically thick lines acting within the cylindrical dot geometry influences the outgoing spectral distribution in a manner that depends on the viewing angle. This angular dependence has recently been studied in the high energy density regime at the OMEGA laser facility, which allowed us to design and benchmark appropriate radiative transfer models that can replicate these geometric effects. By combining these models with the measurements from the dot spectroscopy experiments at the National Ignition Facility, we demonstrate here a novel technique that exploits the transport effects to obtain time-resolved measurements of the ion density of the tracer dots, without the need for additional diagnostics. Furthermore, we find excellent agreement between experiment and simulation, opening the possibility of using these geometric effects as a density diagnostic in future experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Validating and optimizing mismatch tolerance of Doppler backscattering measurements with the beam model (invited)

In this work, we use the beam model of Doppler backscattering (DBS), which was previously derived from beam tracing and the reciprocity theorem, to shed light on mismatch attenuation. This attenuation of the backscattered signal occurs when the wavevector of the probe beam’s electric field is not in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. Correcting for this effect is important for determining the amplitude of the actual density fluctuations. Previous preliminary comparisons between the model and Mega-Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) plasmas were promising. In this work, we quantitatively account for this effect on DIII-D, a conventional tokamak. We compare the predicted and measured mismatch attenuation in various DIII-D, MAST, and MAST-U plasmas, showing that the beam model is applicable in a wide variety of situations. Finally, we performed a preliminary parameter sweep and found that the mismatch tolerance can be improved by optimizing the probe beam’s width and curvature at launch. This is potentially a design consideration for new DBS systems.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Demonstration of object location, classification, and characterization by developed deep learning dust ablation trail analysis code package using plasma jets

Based on deep learning, a Dust Ablation Trail Analysis (DATA) code package is developed to detect dust ablation trails in tokamaks, which is intended to analyze a large amount data of tokamak dusts. To validate and benchmark the DATA code package, 2440 plasma jet images are exploited for the training and test of the deep learning DATA code package, since plasma jets resemble the shape and size of dust ablation clouds in tokamaks. After being trained by 1920 plasma jet images, the DATA code package is able to locate 100% plasma jets, classify plasma jets with the accuracy of >99.9%, and output image skeleton information for classified plasma jets. The DATA code package trained by the plasma jet images is also used to analyze the dust ablation trails captured in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting (EAST) tokamak with the satisfactory performance, further verifying its applicability in the fusion dust ablation investigation. Based on its excellent performance presented here, it is demonstrated that our DATA code package is able to automatically identify and analyze dust ablation trails in tokamaks, which can be used for further detailed investigations, such as the three-dimensional reconstruction of dusts and their ablation trails.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diagnostics of plasma–liquids systems: Challenges and their mitigation

This article will review two popular methods of laser diagnostics in a plasma–liquid system and generally in low-temperature plasmas. These are Thomson scattering and laser-induced fluorescence. Setting up the plasma–liquid interaction experiment will be described while stressing the important points for laser diagnostics and maintaining conditions for correct and repeatable measurements. In this work, I will discuss the caveats that are encountered when measuring an inherently unstable and collisional system, such as plasma interacting with the liquid and how these challenges impact that data analysis and calibration efforts for these two-diagnostic approaches.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗