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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Additive Friction Stir Deposition of a Tantalum–Tungsten Refractory Alloy

Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) is a solid-state metal additive manufacturing technique, which utilizes frictional heating and plastic deformation to create large deposits and parts. Much like its cousin processes, friction stir welding and friction stir processing, AFSD has seen the most compatibility and use with lower-temperature metals, such as aluminum; however, there is growing interest in higher-temperature materials, such as titanium and steel alloys. In this work, we explore the deposition of an ultrahigh-temperature refractory material, specifically, a tantalum–tungsten (TaW) alloy. The solid-state nature of AFSD means refractory process temperatures are significantly lower than those for melt-based additive manufacturing techniques; however, they still pose difficult challenges, especially in regards to AFSD tooling. In this study, we perform initial deposition trials of TaW using twin-rod-style AFSD with a high-temperature tungsten–rhenium-based tool. Many challenges arise because of the high temperatures of the process and high mechanical demand on AFSD machine hardware to process the strong refractory alloy. Despite these challenges, successful deposits of the material were produced and characterized. Mechanical testing of the deposited material shows improved yield strength over that of the annealed reference material, and this strengthening is mostly attributed to the refined recrystallized microstructure typical of AFSD. These findings highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with ultrahigh-temperature AFSD, as well as provide some of the first published insights into twin-rod-style AFSD process behaviors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Progress in development of characterization capabilities to evaluate candidate materials for direct air capture applications

As part of U.S. national efforts to combat the detrimental effect of global climate change, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was recently tasked to support efforts in direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide research and deployment. In order to develop test procedures, materials, and documentary standards, key characterization methods relevant to DAC materials have been investigated and used to identify desirable properties for a potential Standard Reference Material (SRM). Select amine-supported materials that previously showed potential for DAC applications have been characterized using commonly available laboratory methods. Further insights into the adsorption characteristics have been gained from developing and applying more specialized characterization tools ideal for probing low concentrations of carbon dioxide. A broad suite of capabilities that examine relevant properties under appropriate conditions gives the most profound insights into a material's specific performance. We advocate for even more specialized capabilities to be developed and standardized to quantitatively monitor the interactions of CO 2 with molecular species in complex and often disordered systems to advance DAC and support carbon dioxide reduction (CDR) in general.

carbon dioxide↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multi-material ALE remap with interface sharpening using high-order matrix-free finite element methods

The arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) technique involves remapping field quantities from a Lagrangian mesh to an optimized mesh in a conservative, accurate and bounds-preserving manner. For methods based on arbitrary order finite elements, as described in a reference, material volume fractions are advected in pseudo-time using flux-corrected transport (FCT) without any form of interface reconstruction. In practice, this can lead to excessive propagation of small volume fractions throughout the domain. In addition, this method requires assembly of a global advection matrix to compute the bounds-preserving low-order FCT solution. In this work, we introduce a new approach for ALE remap using a high-order matrix-free technique which incorporates a flux modification to sharpen material interfaces in a conservative manner. Our approach begins with computing a bounds-preserving low-order solution to the ALE remap equations at the element level. We then compute a sharp interface solution (not guaranteed to be bounds-preserving) which comes from solving an augmented version of the ALE remap equations with a conservative flux modification which acts to sharpen material volume fractions based on their gradients and transport directions. Using the sharp interface solution, we make global corrections to the bounds-preserving solution while maintaining preservation of bounds. By blending with the sharpened solution at the global level we are able to globally conserve mass without hindering the remap pseudo-time step. This new interface-aware ALE remap method is based entirely on partial assembly techniques where globally assembled matrix operators are no longer needed, resulting in a globally matrix-free FCT method for multi-material, multi-field ALE remap with high performance on GPU architectures. We present results of our new remap method on 1D, 2D and 3D benchmarks and describe the algorithmic tailoring for GPU architectures that was developed.

Vargas, Arturo [Lawrence Livermore National Labora↗
DOE OSTI2025

Utilization of traceable standards to validate plutonium isotopic purification and separation of plutonium progeny using AG MP-1M resin for nuclear forensic investigations

Radio-chronometric studies on plutonium (Pu) materials require independent measurement of the Pu (parent) content and isotopic distribution as well as concentration and isotopic distribution of the plutonium isotopic decay products. We performed a series of experiments to demonstrate the consistency of separations using the Lewatit MP 800 macroporous anion exchange resin and the AG MP-1M resin with traceable Pu isotopic certified reference material (CRM) standards 136, 137, 138, and 126-A. Two different mesh-sizes of the AG MP-1M resin were tested and the 50–100 mesh size resin was found to work more efficiently for the separation task. Both Lewatit and AG MP-1M resins were found to perform satisfactorily for quantitatively extracting the americium (Am) and uranium (U) progeny as well as gallium (Ga) present as a tracer in the Pu material. Both resins were effective in removing isobaric interferences from the Pu fraction used in isotopic measurements by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). To address the co-elution of uranium and gallium, Alizarin red S (ARS) was used as a colorimetric dye to determine the behavior of UO 2 2+ and Ga 3+ on AG MP-1M resin with various acidic solutions as eluents using UV–vis spectra. Poor resolution of these peaks complicated quantitative analysis by UV–vis spectroscopy, but these results were informative in planning automated separation experiments by HPLC. LA-UR-24-28919.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2025

230Th/234U radiochronometry for uranium materials by alpha spectrometry for nuclear forensics analysis

We have developed an alpha spectrometry method for 230Th/234U radiochronometry to determine the model separation age for uranium materials. This method offers an alternative to the more commonly used, but significantly more resource intensive multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) while providing similar accuracy and precision. The development included radiochemical separation of uranium and thorium, calibration of the 232U tracer and the alpha spectrometry measurement. The method was validated by analyzing a certified reference material, CRM 125-A, which is a uranium oxide pellet assay, isotopic, and radiochronometric standard. The results were compared to those obtained by our routine MC-ICP-MS 230Th/234U radiochronometry analysis method to assess the performance parameters for alpha spectrometry compared to the state-of-the-art technique.

Macsik, Zsuzsanna [Los Alamos National Laboratory ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Adapting Nuclear Forensics from Light Water to Molten Salt Reactors: A Survey of Emerging Needs

Rising interest in molten salt reactors for commercial power production presents an opportunity to evaluate the techniques used to characterize materials of nuclear forensic interest. Since extensive research has been performed to identify and develop signatures of light water reactor (LWR) materials (e.g. uranium ore concentrates and uranium dioxide fuel pellets), we use this as a basis to explore possibilities for molten salt signature development. Through this comparative method, nuclear forensic signatures used today to identify the provenance of nuclear materials found out of regulatory control are adapted to molten salt reactor (MSR) fuel cycle materials. Radiological, elemental composition, isotopic composition, and model age signatures will likely not need large adaptations before being applied to MSR materials but may need to expand to be applicable to both thorium- and uranium-fueled systems. The liquid nature of molten salt fuel may erase signatures related to production and irradiation history that are informative for typical LWR materials. However, it may also lead to opportunities for new signatures, such as cooling rate–controlled morphology. Targets identified for further research include radiological attributes of fuel salts; elemental, chemical, and isotopic analysis of salts with differing production routes; morphological effects of various thermodynamic environments; and relevant fuel cycle radiochronometers. Additionally, the comparative nature of the proposed signatures implies a need for MSR-relevant databases and the production of salt standard reference materials.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrating crystallographic and computational approaches to carbon-capture materials for the mitigation of climate change

Here, this article presents an overview of the current state of the art in the structure determination of microporous carbon-capture materials, as discussed at the recent NIST workshop “Integrating Crystallographic and Computational Approaches to Carbon-Capture Materials for the Mitigation of Climate Change”. The continual rise in anthropogenic CO 2 concentration and its effect on climate change call for the implementation of carbon capture technologies to reduce the CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere. Porous solids, including metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), are feasible candidates for gas capture and storage applications. However, determining the structure of these materials represents a significant obstacle in their development into advanced sorbents. The existing difficulties can be overcome by integrating crystallographic methods and theoretical modeling. The workshop gathered experimentalists and theorists from academia, government, and industry to review this field and identify approaches, including collaborative opportunities, required to develop tools for rapid determination of the structures of porous solid sorbents and the effect of structure on the carbon capture performance. We highlight the findings of that workshop, especially in the need for reference materials, standardized procedures and reporting of sorbent activation and adsorption measurements, standardized reporting of theoretical calculations, and round-robin structure determination.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Synergy in Materials: Leveraging Phosphosilicate Waste Forms for Electrochemical Salt Waste

Here, waste forms containing glassy and crystalline phosphate and silicate phases were produced to immobilize salt waste simulants from pyroprocessing and characterized by using Raman spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, heat capacity, and chemical durability measurements. In this work, a phosphosilicate waste form is presented to leverage the benefits of both borosilicate glasses and iron phosphate glasses. To improve waste loading, prior to immobilization, salt simulants were successfully dechlorinated using ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, mixed with a borosilicate frit (5–30 wt %) and Fe 2 O 3 , and vitrified. Additions of 2.5–15 wt % borosilicate glass (NBS3) improved normalized release rates for Cs relative to iron-phosphates without NBS3, resulting in chemical durabilities similar to high-level waste borosilicate glass reference materials. The release rates of the alkalis (i.e., Li, Na, K, Cs) were the lowest with the addition of 5 wt % NBS3. Although Sr was not specifically targeted in this study, evidence exists that it preferentially partitioned with Si to form an amorphous droplet phase within the iron phosphate glass matrix.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Ammonolysis Under NH 3 –Limiting Conditions as a Pathway to Improved LaTiO 2 N Water Splitting Photoanodes

LaTiO 2 N is a promising intermediate band gap semiconductor for the water splitting reaction, a pathway to hydrogen fuel from solar energy. However, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity of the material is hindered by defects, particularly Ti(III) species, which promote photocarrier recombination. These defects are formed during the high-temperature ammonolysis reaction. Here we show that improved LaTiO 2 N materials can be synthesized under NH 3 -limiting conditions by introducing N 2 to lower the NH 3 partial pressure to0.13atm.This reduces the Ti(III) defect density in the material from 6.06 × 10 16 to ∼4.61 × 10 15 cm −3 , by a factor of 13, based on electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Any remaining Ti(III) defects are localized at the LaTiO 2 N surface, according to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), due to the formation of a depletion layer in the semico. Optical absorption spectra of the improved LaTiO 2 N reveal a blue-shifted band gap absorption edge and a suppressed sub-band gap absorption. Defect removal also reduces a sub-band gap surface photovoltage feature visible in the 1.0 atm reference material. The improved LaTiO 2 N supports a 1.57 mA cm −2 water oxidation photocurrent at 1.23 V RHE under simulated sunlight conditions, and an enhanced quantum efficiency of 4.5% (400 nm) for photocatalytic oxygen evolution from aqueous silver nitrate solution. Stable PEC operation is observed for over 55 min. This confirms that ammonolysis under NH 3 -limiting conditions improves the solar energy conversion properties of LaTiO 2 N. The ability to control metal ion defects in oxynitrides by varying the ammonia partial pressure during ammonolysis might be generally useful for the preparation of metal nitrides and oxynitrides.

defects↗
DOE OSTI2024

ASME Section III, Division 5, Class A 100,000-hour design data for Alloy 709

This report documents the 100,000 hour, Class A ASME design material data for Alloy 709 based on the extensive Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Advanced Reactor Technologies qualification test campaign. This report includes design tensile properties, creep rupture data, allowable stresses, isochronous stress-strain curves, buckling charts, and a few additional miscellaneous pieces of design data. Companion work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory provide design cyclic data --- fatigue charts and creep-fatigue diagrams --- and an inelastic constitutive model. This work substantially completes the ASME data package for the Alloy 709 Code Case, though the design data will continue to updated as the final tests finish. This report also compares the design performance of Alloy 709 against that of 316H stainless steel to provide a reference for the improved high temperature strength of 709 compared to a reference material for sodium fast reactor construction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

On the effect of strain rate during the cyclic compressive loading of liquid crystal elastomers and their 3D printed lattices

Nematic liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are a unique class of network polymers with the potential for enhanced mechanical energy absorption and dissipation capacity over conventional network polymers because they exhibit both conventional viscoelastic behavior and soft-elastic behavior (nematic director changes under shear loading). This additional inelastic mechanism makes them appealing as candidate damping materials in a variety of applications from vibration to impact. The lattice structures made from the LCEs provide further mechanical energy absorption and dissipation capacity associated with packing out the porosity under compressive loading. Understanding the extent of mechanical energy absorption, which is the work per unit mass (or volume) absorbed during loading, versus dissipation, which is the work per unit mass (or volume) dissipated during a loading cycle, requires measurement of both loading and unloading response. Here, in this study, a bench-top linear actuator was employed to characterize the loading-unloading compressive response of polydomain and monodomain LCE polymers and polydomain LCE lattice structures with two different porosities (nominally, 62% and 85%) at both low and intermediate strain rates at room temperature. As a reference material, a bisphenol-A (BPA) polymer with a similar glass transition temperature (9 °C) as the nematic LCE (4 °C) was also characterized at the same conditions for comparing to the LCE polymers. Based on the loading-unloading stress-strain curves, the energy absorption and dissipation for each material at different strain rates (0.001, 0.1, 1, 10 and 90 s -1 ) were calculated with considerations of maximum stress and material mass/density. The strain-rate effect on the mechanical response and energy absorption and dissipation behaviors was determined. The energy dissipation ratio was also calculated from the resultant loading and unloading stress-strain curves. All five materials showed significant but different strain rate effects on energy dissipation ratio. The solid LCE and BPA materials showed greater energy dissipation capabilities at both low (0.001 s -1 ) and high (above 1 s -1 ) strain rates, but not at the strain rates in between. The polydomain LCE lattice structure showed superior energy dissipation performance compared with the solid polymers especially at high strain rates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Round Robin Measurements of Molten Salt Properties for LiF-NaF-KF (FLiNaK) and NaCl-KCl Mixtures

The development, operation, and regulation of nuclear reactors that utilize molten salts as fuel or as heat transfer media require knowledge of the thermal properties of the salt systems and quantification of the corresponding uncertainties. Knowledge of molten salt properties is also necessary for applications in material synthesis, processing, separations, solar thermal power generation, and energy storage. A round robin was conducted with national laboratory and university participants from twenty-one laboratories in five countries to compare property measurements, to better understand uncertainties, and to identify possible best practices. Two salt mixtures, each from a common batch, were distributed to participants for evaluation: equimolar NaCl-KCl and 45.0LiF-13.7NaF-41.3KF mol % (FLiNaK). Measurements were performed to determine the major constituent composition, oxygen content, density, thermal expansivity, melting point, and thermal conductivity. Error analysis was performed on each measurement for uncertainty quantification for each type of property that was explored. Finally, the resulting discussion of the methodologies used in this work is meant to lay the groundwork for the development of standard methods and reference materials for future high-temperature property measurements on halide melts.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ammonolysis with N 2 -diluted NH 3 suppresses Ta( IV ) defects in BaTaO 2 N and enhances photocatalytic water oxidation

BaTaO 2 N stands out among oxynitride photocatalysts because of its ability to capture visible light and to drive the photoelectrochemical water oxidation reaction. However, its solar energy conversion performance is limited by electron–hole recombination at Ta( IV ) defects in the material. These defects are formed by overreduction of the Ta(v) oxide precursor by excess ammonia under the high temperature conditions during ammonolysis. Here we show for the first time that Ta( IV ) defect concentrations can be lowered by conducting the ammonolysis reaction in mixed NH 3 /N 2 gas. The obtained BaTaO 2 N samples crystallize in the cubic CaTiO 3 structure type and form 200–300 nm faceted nanocrystals, based on X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and HRTEM. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra observe the Ta( IV ) defects at g = 1.999 and confirm an 11-fold reduction for the product synthesized in mixed (0.13 : 1.0 vol) NH 3 /N 2 gas, equivalent to 1.14 × 10 16 cm −3 Ta( IV ) ions. This optimized BaTaO 2 N has nearly twice the photocatalytic oxygen evolution activity (AQE of 6.78% at 400 nm) of a reference material made with 1.0 atm ammonia and 78% higher photoelectrochemical water oxidation photocurrent (0.9 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE) under simulated sunlight. According to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, remaining Ta( IV ) defects are concentrated in the surface region of the BaTaO 2 N particles, where >50% of all Ta ions are found in the +4 oxidation state. This surface Ta( IV ) population can be directly observed in Vibrating Kelvin Probe Surface Photovoltage Spectra (VK-SPV) via its 1.2–1.4 eV photovoltage onset. Here, it suggests that the surface Ta( IV ) ions contribute empty d-states 0.5–0.7 eV below the BaTaO 2 N conduction band edge. These findings highlight how the energetics and concentrations of Ta( IV ) defects influence the photoelectrochemical water oxidation ability of BaTaO 2 N. Additionally, the work establishes ammonolysis with diluted NH 3 as a new tool to minimize defects in BaTaO 2 N and to raise its solar energy conversion efficiency toward its theoretical limit. Because of its simplicity, the reduced ammonia pressure strategy will likely be applicable to other oxynitrides, which generally suffer from overreduction problems during ammonolysis.

Salmanion, Mahya [University of California, Davis,↗
DOE OSTI2024

Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Critical Minerals (CM) in Middle Pennsylvanian-Age Coals and Associated Sediments in the Central Appalachian Basin, Eastern U.S.A.

The Central Appalachian Basin (CAB) of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia has a long history of coal mining and oil and gas extraction that has empowered the regional and national economies, the development of infrastructure, and a highly trained energy resources work force. As our societal demands for advanced technologies have rapidly increased in recent years, coal-related materials are viewed as an important new unconventional domestic source of critical minerals (CM) that are required for telecommunications, aerospace and transportation industries, electronics, the transition to low-carbon emissions energy production, and many consumer products. Coal-related materials encompass coal, associated sediments, coal mining waste materials, produced waters, and ash residues from coal-fired power plants. An important objective of the Evolve Central Appalachia Project (Evolve CAPP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is to assess the quantity and distribution of CM resources in the CAB region. The rare earth elements (REE) are considered highest priority, although other important CM such as niobium, gallium, and zirconium are known to occur in the Middle Pennsylvanian-age coals and sediments. Working with coal industry partners who provided access to drill cores, coal-related sediments and waste materials, over 600 samples have been collected for laboratory analysis, and over 730 materials have been scanned using portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) equipment. The application of pXRF provides the means for real-time semiquantitative analysis of CM content at very close spacings (typically 2-3 inch intervals) along drill core and in-situ channel samples that span the roof, coal seam, and floor rock. The comparison of pXRF geochemical data with laboratory results, geologic data, and downhole spectral gamma logs can provide high resolution input to lithologic and depositional models for future CM resource evaluations. The preliminary findings show that pXRF is capable of accurately measuring low concentrations of many of the CM with a high level of confidence (Ba, Cr, Ga, K, Nb, Rb, Sr, Th, Y), whereas for others (La, Ce, Co, Mn, Nd, Ni, Sc, Ti, V) the detection limits are very high or spectral interferences increase the uncertainty. Notably, the mean abundances of Y (34 ppm), La (86 ppm), Ga (40 ppm), and V (146 ppm) in coal underclays in the CAB region are up to 7X enriched compared with the overlying coal. These values also exceed the reported concentrations in published reference materials for upper continental crustal rocks (Rudnick and Gao, 2003), North American Shale Composite (Gromet et al., 1984), and North American coal (Finkelman, 1993). The pXRF data are in part verified by laboratory results that indicate the mean Y abundance (36 ppm) is highly correlated (R2 = 0.807) with total REE (ΣREE). The correlation is even higher (R2 = 0.957) with heavy REE (ΣHREE). Applying these correlations to the pXRF data for the coal underclays, the mean estimated values for ΣREE+Y and ΣHREE+Y are 270 ppm and 58 ppm, respectively. Although these average values are not considered high, the range of Y measured by pXRF in the coal underclays extended as high as 114 ppm, which would suggest ΣREE+Y equal to 847 ppm. The mean abundances of Zr (192 ppm) and Th (21 ppm) in coal underclays are also enriched compared with the overlying coal and these results likely reflect the presence of resistant detrital heavy minerals such as monazite, xenotime, and zircon in the underclay matrix. Several of the profiled coal seams and associated wall rocks contained thin volcanic ash layers up to 4-5 inches in thickness. The extent to which these ash fall layers provided a source for CM under the paleoenvironmental conditions that resulted in coal deposits in the CAB remains to be fully studied. Continuing investigations in the Evolve CAPP study area will include laboratory determinations of mineralogic and clay compositions, and evaluations of CM geochemical mobility in the coal and coal underclays.

Lassetter, Billy↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unraveling the role of temperature on the onset of ejecta formation at atomic scales

Shock wave interactions with perturbations on a free surface can lead to the inversion and growth of the perturbation and eventual ejection of a jet of material, referred to as an ejecta microjet, from shocked surfaces. Here, this study carries out large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using single-crystal Cu and Sn systems with a pre-existing groove to characterize the localized gradients in temperatures and pressures generated that render the microjet formation. MD simulations are carried out for three loading orientations (along the [001], [011], and [111] directions) and shock pressures ranging from 16 GPa to 100 GPa to understand the role of temperatures generated at the groove vertex on the formation of ejecta. The simulations suggest that the interaction of the shock wave with the groove results in a localized increase in temperatures, leading to localized softening at the groove vertex and the generation of an ejecta microjet. For Cu systems, the simulations suggest that the orientation effects on shock wave structures, velocities, and localized softening affect the ejecta formation at low pressures. Jetting is only observed when temperatures at the groove vertex are high enough to induce localized softening (close to melting temperature), and the jet velocity increases with shock pressure. In contrast, the loading orientation is rendered inconsequential for Sn systems due to the melting of the material during shock compression at the pressures chosen. The jet velocities are similar, regardless of crystal orientation in Sn systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

A preliminary investigation into the feasibility of laser ablation U–Pb isotope ratio measurement via all‐faraday cup detection with 10 11 ‐ and 10 13 ‐Ω amplifiers on the Neoma multicollector‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometer

Rationale Signal detection for uranium–lead (U–Pb) dating of zircon is typically performed via ion counters. Here, we develop a preliminary understanding of the strengths and limitations of faraday‐cup‐based detection. Methods A suite of zircon reference materials and the NIST‐610 glass were sampled using laser ablation followed by U–Pb isotope ratio measurement on a Neoma multicollector‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometer. Results We were able to produce geologically accurate 207 Pb/ 206 Pb, 206 Pb/ 238 U, and 207 Pb/ 235 U ratios for the NIST‐610 glass and the zircon standards, with ages ranging from ~2.5 Ga to ~337 Ma (TanBrown A, Oracle, 91550, Mud Tank, Temora, and Plešovice). Two of the younger zircon standards examined (94‐35, ~55.6 Ma, and Fish Canyon, 28.6 Ma) yielded accurate 206 Pb/ 238 U but not 207 Pb/ 235 U or 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ratios, whereas the youngest zircon standard (Penglai, ~4.4 Ma) failed for all three ratios of interest. The accuracy and precision of the all‐faraday method are directly tied to signal intensity, with reliable data capable of being produced even when both isotopes in a ratio have signals below ~0.001 V (equivalent to ~62 500 cps on an ion counter). Conclusion The all‐faraday cup multicollection method provides sufficient sensitivity to obtain geologically meaningful U–Pb data, with possible advantages being that laser pit depth‐dependent changes in the observed interelemental fractionation behavior may be easier to correct using a static collector configuration compared to when the ion beam is swept across a single detector while also removing the need for an interdetector‐type calibration. Further work is needed to refine the all‐faraday cup method (e.g., application of background subtraction and common Pb corrections, outlier removal, and interelement as well as down‐hole fractionation corrections), but our initial results demonstrate that the faraday detector method has sufficient sensitivity to warrant further study.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantifying Uncertainties in Heat Capacity Measurements of Molten Salts Determined Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Uncertainty in specific heat capacity values of a molten salt determined by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was assessed based on the precision of replicate measurements of heat flows used in the calculation and effects of corrections that are commonly made to heat flow measurements. The ratio method of determining heat capacity was applied using the results of replicate heat flow measurements made with two empty cells, a sapphire reference material, and three samples of a doped NaCl-UCl 3 salt mixture. Replicate measurements with empty cells were used to quantify the effects of system instabilities and sensitivities on the measured heat flows of sapphire and salt. The combined effects of uncertainties in individual heat flow measurements made with blank cells using this system were quantified to be 2.6 μV based on isothermal holds before and after the scan, with cell placement adding the greatest uncertainty. This value was used as the tolerance for accepting background-corrected heat flows measured with sapphire and salt to calculate the specific heat capacity. The acceptable heat flows measured for sapphire and salt over the temperature range of 540 to 725 °C resulted in calculated specific heat capacity values ranging from 0.53 to 0.91 J g −1 K −1 with an overall average value of 0.70 J g −1 K −1 and an uncertainty of 0.22 J g −1 K −1 at the 99 % confidence level. The combined uncertainty in the specific heat capacity masked detection of any effect of temperature or salt composition that occurred.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sample screening of uranium ore concentrates using portable spectrophotometers: investigating the correlation between visible colors and chemical signatures

A research collaboration between the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration examined nuclear forensic signatures and analytical methods for tracing the origins of uranium ore concentrates (UOCs). Here, this study focuses on utilizing portable spectrophotometers capable of reflectance measurements in the visible light spectrum as a potential rapid screening tool for nuclear forensics analysis. Unlike laboratory-based near-infrared spectroscopy or digital image analysis, this research investigated the potential to correlate visible color measurements with key nuclear forensics signatures using seven types of UOC samples with known origins and three UOC certified reference materials. Results demonstrated that distinct color groups, quantified using CIELAB values, correlated with major uranium compounds. Furthermore, the findings indicated that trace elements can influence the UOC colors, providing additional insights into material characteristics. Although this approach requires further validation across a broader range of UOC species, this study demonstrated that simple colorimetric analysis using visible spectrophotometry, which does not require complex sample preparation or data processing, can serve as a practical and novel rapid tool for preliminary screening and attribution in nuclear forensics investigations.

and nuclear chemistry↗