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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

AI-Batt (Autonomous Identification of Battery Life Models) [SWR 21-36]

Autonomous Identification of Battery Life Models (AI-Batt) AI-Batt is a MATLAB code base for developing lifetime models for batteries from accelerated aging data. The code base provides many functions for processing, visualizing, and modeling battery aging data, making the data processing, exploration, and modeling workflow substantially faster. These tools are tailored for working with battery aging data sets, which usually consist of many separate time-series for each cell, with many test conditions and possible replicates at each condition, which makes it difficult to simply process or visualize the data set. Complex modeling tasks, such as cross-validation, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty quantification have been implemented to enable thorough statistical investigation of model predictions. Additionally, several machine-learning algorithms are implemented to autonomously identify suitable models via symbolic regression. Data processing functions automatically cast data from the struct data type, which is commonly used to store experimental data, but is not an acceptable input for most algorithms, to the table data type, which can be easily used as input to any optimization algorithm. Also, the data can be separated into time-invariant and time-variant data tables, which is helpful for exploring the data set as well as developing separate models for time-variant and time-invariant aging mechanisms. For example, in aging tests with constant temperature, temperature is a time-invariant experimental condition. Visualization tools enable plotting of data, model fits, and model simulations possible with single-line function calls, empowering data exploration of complex data sets with both time-varying and time-invariant trends. Plots can be automatically generated for the whole data set, or separated by data group (groups of test replicates) or individual data series. Data points or data series can be automatically colored by the value of a variable with a variety of color maps, and model predictions can also be colored by the value of a fit statistic. Comparisons between data sets and the predictions/simulations of different models on the same data set can be easily plotted as well. Distributions of parameter values from bootstrap resampling can be plotted to visualize the reliability of parameter estimation, or determine any correlations between parameters. Modeling tools handle the complex task of creating and parsing symbolic equations for modeling battery lifetime. Equations are parsed to grab relevant data variables, parameter values, or specified sub-models for input into optimization, evaluation, or simulation functions. Models can be optimized locally (one set of parameters for each data series), bi-level (some parameters shared across the data set), or globally (single set of parameters for all data). Functions implementing symbolic regression algorithms help users to discover effective model equations, even in poorly sampled, high-dimensional data.

Smith, Kandler↗

BLAST aka: BLAST-Py see also BLAST-Lite (Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulation Tool Suite - Python) [SWR-22-69]

Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulation Tool Suite (BLAST or BLAST-Py) developed in the Python programming language. BLAST-Py predicts the evolution of lithium-ion battery performance metrics over their lifetime, using models trained on lab-based accelerated aging data to predict battery performance in dynamic, real-world use. BLAST-Py contains existing models for a variety of lithium-ion battery chemistries (NMC/Gr and LFP/Gr). See also the open-source version of this software tool known as "BLAST-Lite" at: https://github.com/NREL/BLAST-Lite

Smith, Kandler↗

XPS Investigation on Changes in UO 2 Speciation following Exposure to Humidity

High purity UO 2 powder samples were subjected to accelerated aging under controlled conditions with relative humidity ranging from 34% to 98%. Characterization of the chemical speciation of the products was accomplished using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A shift to higher uranium oxidation states was found to be directly correlated to increased relative humidity exposure. In addition, the relative abundance of O 2- , OH - , and H 2 O was found to vary with exposure time. Therefore, it is expected that uranium oxide materials exposed to high relative humidity conditions during processing and storage would display a similar increase in average uranium valence.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Pyrolysis Oil Stabilization: Hot-Gas Filtration (CRADA Final Report)

The hypothesis that was tested in this task was that separation of char, with its associated mineral matter from pyrolysis vapors before condensation, will lead to improved oil quality and stability with respect to storage and transportation. The metric used to evaluate stability in this case was a 10-fold reduction in the rate of increase of viscosity as determined by ASTM D445 (the accelerated aging test). The primary unit operation that was investigated for this purpose was hot-gas filtration. A custom-built heated candle filter system was fabricated by the Pall Corporation and furnished to NREL for this test campaign. This system consisted of a candle filter element in a containment vessel surrounded by heating elements on the external surface of the vessel. The filter element and housing were interfaced to NREL’s existing 0.5 MTD pyrolysis Process Development Unit (PDU). For these tests the pyrolysis reactor of the PDU was operated in the entrained-flow mode. The HGF test stand was installed on a slipstream from the PDU so that both hot-gas filtered oil and bio-oil that was not hot-gas filtered could be collected for purposes of comparison. Two filter elements from Pall were tested: 1) porous stainless steel (PSS) sintered metal powder; 2) sintered ceramic powder. An extremely sophisticated bio-oil condensation and collection system was designed and fabricated at NREL and interfaced to the filter unit.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Status Report - Cane Fiberboard Properties and Degradation Rates for Storage of the 9975 Shipping Package in KAMS

Thermal, mechanical and physical properties have been measured on cane fiberboard samples following accelerated aging for up to approximately 7 years. The aging environments have included elevated temperature ≤ 250 °F (the maximum allowed service temperature for fiberboard in 9975 packages) and elevated humidity. The results from this testing have been analyzed, and aging models fit to the data. Correlations relating several properties (thermal conductivity, energy absorption, weight loss and height decrease) to their rate of change in potential storage environments have been developed. Combined with an estimate of the actual conditions the fiberboard experiences in KAMS, these models allow development of service life predictions. Some of the predicted degradation rates presented in this report are relatively extreme. However, these relate to environments that do not exist within KAMS, or would be postulated only as upset conditions that would not likely persist for an extended period. For a typical package with ~10 watts internal heat load or less, and ambient temperatures below 90 °F, the fiberboard experiences storage conditions less severe than any of the aging environments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

April 2013 Progress Report for the SAVY-4000 O-Ring Performance Studies

The authors are undertaking a research program to determine the service lifetime of O-rings used in SAVY-4000 containers. We have designed a comprehensive program to predict the O-ring service lifetime under expected operating conditions, and we have designed the program such that we can more easily relate surveillance measurements to our accelerated aging studies. This report details our progress as of May 1, 2013.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SAVY-4000 Surveillance and Life Extension Program Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Report

The Packaging Surveillance Program section of the DOE M441.1-1 /sup>1, Nuclear Material Packaging Manual (DOE, 2008) requires DOE contractors to “ensure that a surveillance program is established and implemented to ensure the nuclear material storage package continues to meet its design criteria.” In order to ensure continuing safe storage of nuclear material and the maximization of risk reduction, TA-55 has established a Surveillance Program to ensure storage container integrity for operations within its specified design life. The LANL SAVY-4000 Field Surveillance Plan 2 defines the near-term field surveillance plan for SAVY-4000 containers as required by the Manual. A long-term surveillance plan will be established based on the results of the first several years of surveillance and the results of the lifetime extension studies as defined in the Accelerated Aging Plan 3 . This report details progress in positioning the Surveillance Program for successful implementation in FY14 and status of the Design Life Extension Program in terms of its implementation and data collection for FY13.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Status Report - Cane Fiberboard Properties And Degradation Rates For Storage Of The 9975 Shipping Package In KAC

Thermal, mechanical and physical properties have been measured on cane fiberboard samples following accelerated aging for up to approximately 10 years. The aging environments have included elevated temperature < 250 ºF (the maximum allowed service temperature for fiberboard in 9975 packages) and elevated humidity. The results from this testing have been analyzed, and aging models fit to the data. Correlations relating several properties (thermal conductivity, energy absorption, weight, dimensions and density) to their rate of change in potential storage environments have been developed. Combined with an estimate of the actual conditions the fiberboard experiences in KAC, these models allow development of service life predictions.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Status Report - Softwood Fiberboard Properties And Degradation Rates For Storage Of The 9975 Shipping Package In KAC

Thermal, mechanical and physical properties have been measured on softwood fiberboard samples following accelerated aging for up to approximately 7 years. The aging environments have included elevated temperature < 250 ºF (the maximum allowed service temperature for fiberboard in 9975 packages) and elevated humidity. The results from this testing have been analyzed, and preliminary aging models fit to the data. Correlations relating several properties (thermal conductivity, energy absorption, weight, dimensions and density) to their rate of change in potential storage environments have been developed. Combined with acceptance criteria and an estimate of the actual conditions the fiberboard experiences in KAC, these models allow development of service life predictions.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Strength and Durability of Continuous Fiber Polymer Composites Final Report CRADA No. TC-0170-91

The objective of this CRADA was to develop accelerated lifetime methodologies for predicting and enhancing the durability of high temperature fiber polymer composites. This required developing tools for conducting accelerated aging and modeling of continuous fiber . composites and organic materials in order to provide aged-time dependent mechanical property information for component aging analysis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Interfacial Modifiers

Our project objective in the first and only Budget Period was to demonstrate the potential of nm-scale organofunctional silane coatings as a method of extending the lifetime of PV materials and devices. Specifically, the target was to double the lifetime performance of a laminated Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) cell under real-world and accelerated aging exposure conditions. Key findings are that modification of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films (materials used as transparent conductive oxide (TCO) top contacts) resulted in decreased degradation of optical and electrical properties under damp heat (DH) exposure compared to un-modified AZO. The most significant finding is that modification of the AZO top contact of full CIGS devices resulted in significantly improved properties under DH exposure compared to un-modified devices, by a factor of 4 after 1000 h. Results of this one-year project have demonstrated that surface functionalization is a viable pathway for extending the lifetime of state-of-the-art CIGS devices.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Status Report - Fiberboard Properties and Degradation Rates for Storage of the 9975 Shipping Package in KAC

Thermal, mechanical and physical properties have been measured on fiberboard samples following accelerated aging for up to approximately 12 years. The aging environments include elevated temperature up to 250 ºF (the maximum allowed service temperature for fiberboard in 9975 packages) and elevated humidity. The results from this testing have been analyzed, and aging models fit to the data. Correlations relating several properties (thermal conductivity, energy absorption, weight, dimensions and density) to their rate of change in potential storage environments have been developed. Combined with an estimate of the actual conditions the fiberboard experiences in KAC, these models allow development of service life predictions.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

LT61LEP-40 Phase II, Final Report

LT-40 Phase II evaluates the shear strength of Wilethane 44 (W44) when bonded to plastic bonded explosives (PBXs) as a function of accelerated aging time. These tests involve two PBX formulations, PBX 9502 and PBX 9012 (which is identical to the LX-07 formulation but lacks the orange dye). The LT-40 Phase I and Phase II test series differ from each other in their use of different lots of the two PBX formulations. The earlier LT-40 Phase I reports captured the initial shear strength data aged to 6 months [1] and18 months [2] for LX-07 lot 692 -5 and PBX 9502 lot 891-008. The Phase I final report [2] incorrectly refers to LX -07 as PBX 9012. These materials have the same formulation but, again, LX-07 includes orange dye. This report gives the Phase II data which includes the test results of 3-month and 6-month specimens [3] along with the18-month aged specimens of PBX 9012 Development Lot 1 and PBX 9502 Development Lot 2. The summary of all the LT-40 Phase II results are given and compared with the Phase I work. In a separate study, LT61LEP-21 [4 ], using the same Iosipescu loading configuration, the dependence of W44 shear bond strength as a function of cure time was investigated on the Phase I lots.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Evaluating Corrosion Effects on the Stainless Steel Components of the SAVY-4000/Hagan Nuclear Material Storage Containers

Surveillance of vented, stainless-steel Hagan and SAVY-4000 storage containers with some plutonium materials has revealed evidence of corrosion inside the container. There are ~3000 items stored in Hagan containers and ~600 items currently stored in SAVY-4000 containers at TA -55. The Hagan is made of 304L steel, while the SAVY-4000 is made of 316L and should be less susceptible to corrosion. Given the relatively thin body wall of these containers (nominally 0.762 millimeters), it is essential to understand the effects of corrosion on the lifetime of the containers to ensure worker safety. Studies are being conducted on both container types to determine the relative susceptibility of the two containers to corrosion. This paper describes the potential cause of corrosion, the extent of corrosion, and types of corrosion observed, along with the results of accelerated aging experiments. The combined results of the surveillance and lifetime extension studies establish a technical basis for extending the design life of the stainless steel components of the SAVY-4000 container from 5 years to 15 years.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Compositionally Graded Alloy Quantum Dot Phosphors for Solid State Lighting. Final Report

To push the boundaries of efficiency and cost in solid state lighting (SSL), narrow band red emitting down conversion phosphors must be improved. These materials are critical to both the color rendering ability and optical output of phosphor converted light emitting diodes (LEDs). Improvements in these performance parameters will have a significant impact on the adoption of SSL in retail, office, and home lighting applications. Quantum Dots (QDs) are widely acknowledged as a cost-effective front-runner among developing downconverting technologies because they emit narrow band luminescence that is tunable across the visible spectrum. Current syntheses of quantum dots, however, utilize expensive and toxic reagents and often involve several time-intensive purification steps. To address this, we have introduced a novel, cost-effective synthetic scheme, whereby the final quantum dot structures can be accessed with fewer synthetic steps using a library of inexpensive, easily-synthesized precursors. With the help of automated high throughput synthesis robotics, Columbia, LBNL, and OSRAM have optimized red and amber CdS/CdSe/CdS QD architectures for SSL. QDs with improved shelling layers have been identified that meet the industry state of the art performance on chip under high humidity accelerated aging tests. This is remarkable considering the time frame of this project compared to the time and resources allocated for the development of the industrial standard. Furthermore, although particle stability to optical charging is often stressed in improving QLED performance, we have identified effective ZnS particle over-coating as the most important factor determining particle survivability and device performance in down-converting LEDs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Instrumentation and Methodology

This report reviews instrumentation and techniques utilized in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The analytical advantages and disadvantages of each major component of different LC-MS systems are discussed, along with a comparison between LC-MS, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This report also details future work regarding the use of LC-MS/MS to analyze and identify degradation products from an extensive accelerated aging process of nitroplasticizer (NP). This report is the first of a series on the use of LC-MS to understand the degradation mechanisms of NP.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Radiation-Induced Modifications in Copper Oxide Growth

Radiation-induced effects and their influence on oxidation processes were evaluated for their use as a forensic tool for special nuclear material (SNM). A beam of 10 MeV Au³⁺ ions was used to mimic the accumulation of microstructural damage from self-irradiation through the decay of radionuclides. Several copper samples were irradiated as suitable surrogate materials at 200 °C with a flux of 1x10¹² ions/cm·s to damage levels of 5, 10, and 15 displacements per atom (dpa). This corresponds to about 50, 100, and 150 years, respectively, of accumulated α-decay damage in a PuGa alloy assuming a damage rate of 0.1 dpa/year. After irradiation, all samples were exposed to an accelerated aging process induced by thermal treatment at 350 °C for 1 hour in air. This resulted in the growth of a mixed oxide layer (Cu₂O and CuO) which was characterized in detail using several complementary analytical techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (transmission mode), and Grazing Incidence X-ray diffraction. The oxide layer growth of irradiated Cu at 350°C is distinctly modified as a result of the ion irradiation. Most notably, the growth of the CuO phase is suppressed with increasing radiation damage on the Cu substrate, and structural changes occurred in the Cu₂O phase. These results indicate that damage from self-irradiation over time can cause quantifiable modifications in the oxidation process of metals that could be harnessed for their use as a novel forensic tool.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SAVY-4000 Corrosion Evaluation Plan

Nuclear material packages, with few exceptions, outside of an approved engineered contamination barrier must meet packaging, surveillance, and testing requirements designed to protect workers from airborne contamination per Department of Energy (DOE) Manual 441.1-1, Nuclear Material Packaging. The SAVY-4000 containers were developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in conjunction with Nuclear Filter Technology Inc. (NFT Inc.) as a general purpose vented manually-compliant container system for staging and storage of plutonium for LANL and the DOE complex. The SAVY-4000 containers have a 316L stainless steel containment barrier, which was selected based on its corrosion resistant properties. These containers were approved for use in 2014 with a five-year design life; LANL requested and DOE has approved lifetime extension from 5 to 15 years. The 10-year lifetime extension was proposed as a conservative recommendation based on the corrosion observations for the metal components in surveillance and results from laboratory studies. Extensive accelerated aging studies have been done on the SAVY-4000 O-ring with very little evidence of significant degradation when subjected to aggressive elevated temperature and radiation conditions. Therefore, our current conservative lifetime estimate for the O-ring and the filter is 40 years at 80°C. Additional work is ongoing in a phased approach to further extend the design life of the Manual compliant SAVY-4000 storage container; the limiting component for further life extension is still the 316L containment barrier.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗