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DOE OSTI2025

Image-Driven Hybrid Structural Analysis Based on Continuum Point Cloud Method with Boundary Capturing Technique

Conventional approaches for the structural health monitoring of infrastructures often rely on physical sensors or targets attached to structural members, which require considerable preparation, maintenance, and operational effort, including continuous on-site adjustments. This paper presents an image-driven hybrid structural analysis technique that combines digital image processing (DIP) and regression analysis with a continuum point cloud method (CPCM) built on a particle-based strong formulation. Polynomial regressions capture the boundary shape change due to the structural loading and precisely identify the edge and corner coordinates of the deformed structure. The captured edge profiles are transformed into essential boundary conditions. This allows the construction of a strongly formulated boundary value problem (BVP), classified as the Dirichlet problem. Capturing boundary conditions from the digital image is novel, although a similar approach was applied to the point cloud data. It was shown that the CPCM is more efficient in this hybrid simulation framework than the weak-form-based numerical schemes. Unlike the finite element method (FEM), it can avoid aligning boundary nodes with regression points. A three-point bending test of a rubber beam was simulated to validate the developed technique. The simulation results were benchmarked against numerical results by ANSYS and various relevant numerical schemes. The technique can effectively solve the Dirichlet-type BVP, yielding accurate deformation, stress, and strain values across the entire problem domain when employing a linear strain model and increasing the number of CPCM nodes. In addition, comparative analysis with conventional displacement tracking techniques verifies the developed technique’s robustness. The proposed technique effectively circumvents the inherent limitations of traditional monitoring methods resulting from the reliance on physical gauges or target markers so that a robust and non-contact solution for remote structural health monitoring in real-scale infrastructures can be provided, even in unfavorable experimental environments.

Chemistry↗

DOE OSTI2021

Fielding and analyzing performance of a prototype high voltage output gas switch for Saturn

Timing spread between the thirty-six Saturn modules affects peak electrical power delivered to the Bremsstrahlung diode and can affect vacuum power flow and impedance behavior of the load. To reduce the module spread, a new megavolt gas-insulated closing switch was developed employing design techniques developed for the Z-machine laser triggered switches while retaining Saturn’s simpler electrical triggering. Two modules were temporarily outfitted with the new switches and used separately into local resistive loads (instead of the usual Saturn electron beam load). A reliable operating point and switch time jitter at that point were the goals of the experiments. The target switch reliability is less than one pre-fire in one thousand switch-shots, and a timing standard deviation of 4 nanoseconds. The switches were able to meet both requirements but the number of tests at the chosen point are limited.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Complete Initial Studies in Microstructural Studies of Nuclear Graphite

Nuclear graphite is a critical material for the performance and safety of high-temperature reactors, making its study essential for the successful deployment of next-generation reactors in the United States. During the past year, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has contributed extensively to advancing the understanding of nuclear graphite’s properties, behavior, and applications; particular focus has been given to irradiation effects, oxidation mechanisms, thermal and mechanical performance, and long-term stability under reactor conditions. This report provides an update on the ongoing publications being prepared at ORNL. These studies are collectively intended to build a comprehensive knowledge base on nuclear graphite. The studies focus on key aspects such as microstructural characterization, oxidation behavior, advanced analytical techniques, molten salt infiltration, technique development, and billet-to-billet variability. By summarizing the progress of these publications, this report outlines ORNL’s contributions to the field, identifies knowledge gaps, and proposes future research directions. The findings presented in these studies will help enhance the understanding of nuclear graphite’s behavior, support the qualification of nuclear graphite materials, further the development of new techniques and guidelines for using microscopy techniques, and improve reactor safety and performance.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Production of Uranium from Seawater Using a Novel Polymer Adsorbent – Process Development and Cost Analysis (Final Scientific/Technical Report SBIR Phase II)

Research in developing techniques for extracting uranium from seawater is of considerable current interest. One reason which drives scientists to develop techniques of sequestering uranium from ocean is the prediction that the land-based uranium reserves would be depleted by the end of this century based on the current production rate. Uranium exists in seawater at a very low concentration (about 3 ppb) and as highly stable uranyl tris-carbonato complexes, primarily in the form Ca 2 [UO 2 (CO 3 ) 3 ]. Because of the enormous volume of seawater, the total amount of uranium in ocean is estimated to be a thousand times greater than the land-based uranium resources. As early as 1964, the idea of extracting uranium from seawater was discussed by Davies et al. in a Nature paper. In the past decades, many different materials were tested to evaluate their ability for sequestering uranium from seawater. Among them, amidoxime and carboxylate containing polymer fiber adsorbents appear most promising because of their high uranium adsorption capacity and stability in seawater. The carboxylate groups are necessary to make the polymer adsorbent hydrophilic whereas the amidoxime groups provide strong coordination sites for uranyl ions. Moreover, according to theoretical analysis, the adsorbability of uranium may involve synergistic effects of both amidoxime and carboxyl groups in the fiber adsorbent.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2023

R&D Outcomes of Surrogate Environmental Swipe Manufacturing Technique Method Development for Arms Control and Treaty Verification Applications

The analysis of environmental samples is a critical component of nuclear compliance verification and safeguards activities. While the associated particle analyses have benefitted from recent advances in the production of actinide-bearing particulates with uniform and well-characterized particle size, material phase, and isotopic ratios to serve as reference materials for calibration and interlaboratory comparisons, there is an outstanding need for surrogate environmental samples, which resemble field-collected samples, with the aforementioned reference particulates to support future nuclear compliance verification exercises and method development. This effort seeks to leverage the recent advances in tailored reference particle production to generate surrogate environmental swipe samples via parallel production techniques (direct and indirect) which are uniquely suited to the hydrothermal and aerosol-based synthesis routes developed at PNNL and SRNL, respectively. PNNL’s hydrothermal particle production method was used to generate surrogate reference particles for the indirect production of test swipes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Mechanical Detection of Nuclear Decays

We report the detection of individual nuclear alpha decays through the mechanical recoil of the entire micron-sized particle in which the decaying nuclei are embedded. Momentum conservation ensures that such measurements are sensitive to any particles emitted in the decay, including neutral particles that may otherwise evade detection with existing techniques. Detection of the minuscule recoil of an object more than 10^12 times more massive than the emitted particles is made possible by recently developed techniques in levitated optomechanics, which enable high-precision optical control and measurement of the mechanical motion of optically trapped particles. Observation of a change in the net charge of the particle coincident with the recoil allows decays to be identified with background levels at the micro-Becquerel level. Here, the techniques developed here may find use in fields ranging from nuclear forensics to dark matter and neutrino physics.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Big Data Analytic for Cascading Failure Analysis

With the challenges of increased grid dynamics and more variability of power generation from renewable energy sources, rapidly increasing complexity in the grid model, and abundant data from measurements and simulations, the requirements for computational analysis have also increased dramatically. Power system operators and engineers need to analyze more scenarios, extract meaningful information from a larger set of data, and respond more quickly when faced with these new challenges for large-scale applications, such as contingency analysis. This paper proposes a novel big data analysis approach for power system cascading analysis, prevention, and remediation. The developed techniques will be capable of cascading analysis, better assessment of the system’s vulnerability level, as well as proposing potential remediation. Case studies using IEEE 118-bus system and a 500-bus system, with a comparison against a commercial tool, validate the advantages of the developed big data approach: accurate prediction, and more importantly, faster and effective correction actions.The developed techniques could be further used for other power system applications.

big data, cascading analysis, corrective action, m↗

DOE OSTI2020

Reconstruction and Measurement of $\mathcal{O}$(100) MeV Energy Electromagnetic Activity from $\pi^0 \rightarrow \gamma\gamma$ Decays in the MicroBooNE LArTPC

We present results on the reconstruction of electromagnetic (EM) activity from photons produced in charged current νμ interactions with final state π0s. We employ a fully-automated reconstruction chain capable of identifying EM showers of &calO;(100) MeV energy, relying on a combination of traditional reconstruction techniques together with novel machine-learning approaches. These studies demonstrate good energy resolution, and good agreement between data and simulation, relying on the reconstructed invariant π0 mass and other photon distributions for validation. The reconstruction techniques developed are applied to a selection of νμ + Ar → μ + π0 + X candidate events to demonstrate the potential for calorimetric separation of photons from electrons and reconstruction of π0 kinematics.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2019

Electron radiated power in cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy experiments

The recently developed technique of Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) uses frequency information from the cyclotron motion of an electron in a magnetic bottle to infer its kinetic energy. Here we derive the expected radio-frequency signal from an electron in a waveguide CRES apparatus from first principles. We demonstrate that the frequency-domain signal is rich in information about the electron's kinematic parameters and extract a set of measurables that in a suitably designed system are sufficient for disentangling the electron's kinetic energy from the rest of its kinematic features. This lays the groundwork for high-resolution energy measurements in future CRES experiments, such as the Project 8 neutrino mass measurement.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

Determining plasmonic hot-carrier energy distributions via single-molecule transport measurements

Hot carriers in plasmonic nanostructures, generated via plasmon decay, play key roles in applications such as photocatalysis and in photodetectors that circumvent bandgap limitations. However, direct experimental quantification of steady-state energy distributions of hot carriers in nanostructures has so far been lacking. We present transport measurements from single-molecule junctions, created by trapping suitably chosen single molecules between an ultrathin gold film supporting surface plasmon polaritons and a scanning probe tip, that can provide quantification of plasmonic hot-carrier distributions. Our results show that Landau damping is the dominant physical mechanism of hot-carrier generation in nanoscale systems with strong confinement. The technique developed in this work will enable quantification of plasmonic hot-carrier distributions in nanophotonic and plasmonic devices.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

DOE OSTI2021

Non-neutral plasma manipulation techniques in development of a high-capacity positron trap

Preliminary experiments have been performed toward the development of a multi-cell Penning–Malmberg trap for the storage of large numbers of positrons (≥10 10 e + ). We introduce the master-cell test trap and the diagnostic tools for first experiments with electrons. The usage of a phosphor screen to measure the z-integrated plasma distribution and the number of confined particles is demonstrated, as well as the trap alignment to the magnetic field ( B = 3.1 T) using the m = 1 diocotron mode. The plasma parameters and expansion are described along with the autoresonant excitation of the diocotron mode using rotating dipole fields and frequency chirped sinusoidal drive signals. We analyze the reproducibility of the excitation and use these findings to settle on the path for the next generation multi-cell test device.

Singer, M.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Field Validation of MVA Technology for Offshore CCS: Novel Ultra-High-Resolution 3D Marine Seismic Technology (P-Cable) (Final Report)

The objectives of the proposed study were to deploy and validate a specific monitoring technology, high-resolution 3D marine seismic (HR3D), appropriate for large-demonstration and commercial-scale offshore CCS sites. The project accomplished successful acquisition two HR3D seismic surveys. The first HR3D dataset was over the offshore injection site of the Tomakomai, Japan integrated pilot CCS project, which at the time of survey acquisition was actively injecting CO 2 . The first survey also represented a successful international collaboration between the DOE NETL program and Japan’s national CCS program and was the first successful acquisition and use of HR3D over an active CO 2 injection site (Meckel, Feng et al. 2019). The Tomakomai HR3D survey successfully tested a novel 4-streamer HR3D system array in which, for the first time, no cross-cable (aka “P-Cable”) was utilized and only four GeoEel streamers were used instead of the standard 12-streamer configuration. Consequently, this was not, strictly speaking, a deployment of the “P-Cable” system of (Planke and Berndt 2004) but rather a modified version, thereof, and it is the first known demonstration of the modified system configuration. One very positive outcome from the Japanese collaboration earlier in the project was the ability to learn from the Japanese how they used tail buoys with GPS to determine the position of the seismic source and receivers in time and space. Based on that experience, GCCC designed and built six GPS receivers that could be used to position the streamer receivers and the seismic source via tail buoys. A fundamental advance that was made on the original design, was the ability to directly power the tail buoy GPS units and transfer data through the streamers (i.e., vs. the batteries used at Tomakomai). The bulkiness of the GPS batteries caused drag and episodic surging of the buoys, which affected data quality by lifting up the tail end of the streamers so the receivers were not at the same depth. The units were tested onshore for accuracy and functionality, and the design was subsequently and successfully tested in marine acquisition mode during the SLP survey acquisition. The marine acquisition test and survey satisfied Subtasks 2.2.2, Novel Positioning Technology Selection and Subtask 2.2.3, Novel Positioning Technology Deployment. Results of the novel positioning technology selection (Subtask 2.2.2) were considered successful and will be incorporated in future HR3D seismic acquisition projects to reduce costs, improve deployment safety at sea, and integrate both seismic and data recording via a single data transfer through the streamers to the recording system. The project also established a permitting process through NETL NEPA compliance, which included an Environmental Assessment in a marine setting and is required for conducting these types of surveys using Federal funding. The permitting process charted a “boilerplate,” which can allow future surveys related to other funded projects to move forward more expeditiously. Future improvements that could be considered are more robust seals on the GPS module and stronger materials (especially joints) on tail buoy fabrication. These would increase fixed costs, but would be advisable and probably more economic long-term if multiple HR3D surveys are planned. Project Accomplishments include: • Pre-survey Sensitivity Study • Marine geochemistry methods and data analysis • Successful HR3D seismic dataset acquired @ Tomakomai active CO 2 injection marine site • Developed advanced seismic processing techniques • No NRMS anomalies detected in overburden; Demonstration of containment • Repeatability study • Second survey collected @ San Luis Pass, TX • 4D application using positioning techniques developed in the project for monitoring were successful

3D seismic GPS positioning↗

DOE OSTI2025

Develop Accurate Techniques for Passive SiC Temperature Monitoring of Miniature Samples for Cross-Cutting Applications

Passive thermometry is critically important because most fuels and materials irradiation experiments are not instrumented, and it is necessary to understand the irradiation temperature to properly interpret any post-irradiation examination data, including evolving properties and/or microstructures. The standard passive thermometry approach uses continuous dilatometry to evaluate changes in the instantaneous coefficient of thermal expansion during post-irradiation thermal annealing. This approach has limitations in terms of sample size (minimum length requirements) and the maximum irradiation temperature that can be accurately determined, which is limited by the reduced swelling (and therefore recovery) following higher temperature irradiation and limitations on the furnaces used with push-rod dilatometers. This work evaluates two new proposed techniques for post-irradiation evaluation of passive SiC temperature monitors: differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Raman spectroscopy. DSC is an extremely sensitive technique that can be used for any specimen geometry and is capable of higher temperature operation. Raman spectroscopy is similar in that it is a surface technique capable of examining extremely small samples (submillimeter), can be used with a heated stage up to 1,500°C (planned for future work), and is capable of mapping local irradiation temperatures throughout a sample. Existing SiC samples that were previously irradiated over a wide range of temperatures were cut into multiple pieces to allow for annealing studies using multiple different techniques: dilatometry, DSC, and Raman spectroscopy. This approach mitigates the concern that samples analyzed using one technique may have a slightly different irradiation history than those analyzed using a different technique. Recovery was clearly observed during annealing using both DSC and dilatometry. In some cases, a direct comparison could not be made due to some of the DSC runs accidentally including material from multiple specimens and issues with using an alternative DSC sample holder for the highest temperature annealing studies. Nevertheless, one trend was clear: the DSC runs resulted in higher irradiation temperatures compared to those of the dilatometry runs. Part of this could be attributed to the higher temperature ramp rates used during the DSC runs, which are often preferred to reduce noise in the measurements. By comparison, dilatometry has previously been shown to produce better data at lower ramp rates. Future work should further investigate the ideal ramp rate for both techniques to produce consistent results. Additional work should evaluate the best holder material to use for DSC runs exceeding 1,000°C to provide reliable data while preventing interactions between SiC and the holder.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Develop Accurate Techniques for Passive SiC Temperature Monitoring of Miniature Samples for Cross-Cutting Applications

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2019

Developing Analytical Techniques for Modeling Construction/Infrastructure of Energy Systems - ISSST2019

This work was presented at the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Transportation (ISSST) 2019 Conference in Portland, OR on June 25, 2019. Using detailed component-level cost estimates for new fossil power plants as documented in Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Plants Volume 1a: Bituminous Coal (PC) and Natural Gas to Electricity Revision 3, economic demands for the construction of a power plant and the manufacturing of its components are estimated. The model produces national average construction impact results for the life cycle of a power plant. This output highlights areas of further research that help to define valuable data collection efforts.

Carlson, Derrick R.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Low‐dimensional manifold learning for uncertainty quantification in complex multi‐scale stochastic systems

Broadly speaking, the goals of the project are to develop techniques to use manifold learning to develop reduced‐order and surrogate models for "hyper‐reduction" of very high‐dimensional complex multi‐scale systems. This is being achieved by employing a newly proposed form of manifold projection and learning that leverages recent advancements in computational geometry and data‐driven modeling. In particular, we are applying a manifold projection technique to project the solutions of very high‐dimensional systems onto the so‐called Grassmannmanifold, a Reimannian manifold comprised of orthonormal matrices. We then apply data‐driven machine learning techniques to classify the solutions on the manifold (e.g. clustering techniques) according to their proximity on the manifold and leverage a further nonlinear dimension reduction to organize the structured data on the manifold. Finally, we are developing novel techniques that enable us to directly interpolate the hyper‐reduced data such that we can predict the solution of the complex, high‐ dimensional system without need to call the full expensive computational model. Given their adherence to the underlying structure of the solution of the physical system, it is expected that these approximate solutions will be sufficiently constrained so as to (approximately) adhere to physical principles.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Snowmass 2021 Cosmic Frontier White Paper: Cosmology with Millimeter-Wave Line Intensity Mapping

Next-generation tests of fundamental physics and cosmology using large scale structure require measurements over large volumes of the Universe, including high redshifts inaccessible to present-day surveys. Line intensity mapping, an emerging technique that detects the integrated emission of atomic and molecular lines without resolving sources, can efficiently map cosmic structure over a wide range of redshifts. Observations at millimeter wavelengths detect far-IR emission lines such as CO/[CII], and take advantage of observational and analysis techniques developed by CMB experiments. These measurements can provide constraints with unprecedented precision on the physics of inflation, neutrino masses, light relativistic species, dark energy and modified gravity, and dark matter, among many other science goals. In this white paper we forecast the sensitivity requirements for future ground-based mm-wave intensity mapping experiments to enable transformational cosmological constraints. We outline a staged experimental program to steadily improve sensitivity, and describe the necessary investments in developing detector technology and analysis techniques.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Magnetic Reconnection in High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas

Understanding the physics of collisionless, magnetized plasmas is key to unlocking a number of important problems in space and astrophysics. Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental mechanism which can explosively release stored magnetic energy, convert it to plasma heat and flows, and accelerate particles. In this project we developed technique and conducted experiments and simulations of magnetic reconnection in laser produces plasmas. Through this project, we also developed experimental techniques to generate magnetized collisionless shocks, and we therefore expanded the scope of the project to develop these experiments. These projects make fundamental progress on understanding the dynamics of magnetized laser-produced plasmas. In additional to plasma astrophysics, these results have broad interest for laboratory high energy density plasmas, since magnetic fields can be used to confine and control plasmas in many contexts and may offer new capabilities toward laboratory ignited plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗