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At least 415 records · Page 23

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2025

Wellbore Stability and Mud Loss Management in Geothermal Drilling: Optimizing Mud Weight to Mitigate Tensile Wellbore Fracturing at The Geysers, California

As part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office-funded initiative, Geysers Power Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Calpine Corporation, has been working to enhance drilling performance at the world’s largest geothermal field, The Geysers, in northern California. In a recent drilling operation of the GDC-36 well, excessive mud losses were encountered, initially addressed through repeated but largely ineffective cement plugging. Ultimately, the most effective strategy was to drill blind through the loss zones, made feasible by the high rate of penetration (ROP) achieved with PDC bits, allowing significant progress before the mud tanks were depleted and water-sensitive argillic formation layers could collapse. In response to these challenges, the project team explored alternative methods to minimize downtime and risks associated with cement plugging and continuous mud loss and to contemplate the driving mechanisms for the losses. Wellbore imaging using Formation MicroImager (FMI) and Ultrasonic Borehole Imager (UBI) tools revealed longitudinal tensile fractures, which were attributed to mud weights exceeding the minimum circumferential stress resulting from the native stress field and formation pressure. This study examines the mud losses encountered and leverages wellbore imaging data to understand the mechanisms behind mud induced tensile fracturing in specific rock facies. Understanding fracture behavior across different lithologies is crucial, as fractures within the reservoir can enhance steam migration throughout the system. The reservoir at The Geysers lies within the Mesozoic Franciscan Assemblage, a tectonic mélange formed by subduction. It consists of metamorphosed turbidite sandstone (greywacke) and mudstone (argillite), oceanic upper crust (including greenstone and chert), and serpentinized ultramafic rocks - each exhibiting distinct geomechanical fracturing properties. The structural fabric of the Franciscan Assemblage was shaped by low-angle Mesozoic thrust faulting and later overprinted by sub-vertical strike-slip structures related to the Pacific-North American plate boundary. A wellbore stability model was developed using core measurements and logs to simulate fracturing scenarios during drilling under varying stress conditions. These simulations guided the development of an optimized mud weight management strategy that should enable adaptive adjustments during drilling, reducing the likelihood of tensile fracturing and mud losses, ultimately improving operational efficiency.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1998

Wind Stress Forcing of the North Sea "Pole Tide"

We conducted numerical simulations of the wind-forcing of the sea level variations in the North Sea using a barotropic ocean model with realistic geography, bathymetry, and boundary conditions, to examine the forcing of the 14-month "pole tide" which is known to be strong along the Denmark- Netherlands coast. The simulation input is the monthly-mean surface wind stress field from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis for the 40-year period 1958-1997. The output sea level response was then compared with 10 coastal tide gauge records from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL). Besides the strong seasonal variations, several prominent quasi-periodicities exist at around 7 years, 3 years, 14 months, 9 months, and 6.5 months. Correlation and spectral analyses show remarkable agreement between the model output and the observations, particularly in the 14-month, or Chandler period band. The latter indicates that the enhanced pole tide found in the North Sea along the Denmark-Netherlands coast is actually the coastal setup response to wind stress forcing with a periodicity of 14 months. We find no need to invoke a geophysical explanation involving resonance-enhancement of pole tide in the North Sea to explain the observations.

OConnor, William P.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Extension during continental convergence, with application to the Tibetan Plateau

An explanation in terms of the thermal evolution of thickened continental lithosphere is offered to explain the transition, in the late Tertiary to Quaternary, from north-south compression to east-west extension in the strain rate field of the Tibetan Plateau. The lower part of the lithosphere consists of a thermal boundary layer which, when thickened by horizontal shortening, is colder and denser than its surroundings. Convective instability of the thickened thermal boundary layer and its replacement by hot asthenosphere would rapidly raise the surface elevation and gravitational potential energy of the overlying part of the lithosphere. The convective instability would happen in a time brief compared with the collision time scale but would only occur after there had already been substantial thickening of the lithosphere. The increase in surface height and of potential energy are sufficient for east-west extension to replace north-south compression as the dominant feature of the stress field.

England, Philip↗

NASA NTRS1984

Dynamic stress analysis of smooth and notched fiber composite flexural specimens

A detailed analysis of the dynamic stress field in smooth and notched fiber composite (Charpy-type) specimens is reported in this paper. The analysis is performed with the aid of the direct transient response analysis solution sequence of MSC/NASTRAN. Three unidirectional composites were chosen for the study. They are S-Glass/Epoxy, Kevlar/Epoxy and T-300/Epoxy composite systems. The specimens are subjected to an impact load which is modeled as a triangular impulse with a maximum of 2000 lb and a duration of 1 ms. The results are compared with those of static analysis of the specimens subjected to a peak load of 2000 lb. For the geometry and type of materials studied, the static analysis results gave close conservative estimates for the dynamic stresses. Another interesting inference from the study is that the impact induced effects are felt by S-Glass/Epoxy specimens sooner than Kevlar/Epoxy or T-300/Epoxy specimens.

Murthy, P. L. N.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Dynamic stress analysis of smooth and notched fiber composite flexural specimens

Murthy, P. L. N.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Deformation of binary and boron-doped Ni 3 Al alloys at high pressures studied with synchrotron x-ray diffraction

In situ x-ray synchrotron diffraction experiments were carried out on nickel-based high-strength superalloys under pressure to understand their deformation mechanism using a diamond anvil cell (DAC). Radial x-ray diffraction determines the room-temperature equations of state and yield strengths of binary Ni 3 Al alloy and 500 ppm boron-doped Ni 3 Al to pressures of 20 and 46 GPa, respectively. Crystallographic preferred orientations observed in these superalloys due to anisotropic stress field in DAC indicate the onset of plastic deformation. Inverse pole figure analysis reveals that the underlying deformation mechanisms change from an octahedral slip to a simultaneous activation of octahedral and cube slips upon doping with boron. The yield-strength values were found to increase with pressure and are comparable to those determined from axial diffraction experiments. The results indicate that the yield strength of Ni 3 Al:B is about 0.5 GPa higher (at pressures below 20 GPa) due to grain boundary strengthening by boron. It is shown that due to high elastic anisotropy of Ni 3 Al alloy, the yield-strength estimations from diffraction experiments strongly depend on the micromechanical model used to convert the measured elastic strains into stresses.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS1984

Compressional features in the Tharsis Region of Mars: Orientations and Timing of Deformation

The Tharsis ridge system appears to form a great circle around the major volcanoes. The roughly circumferential orientation of these ridges could be interpreted as the formation of a ridge system in response to a single stress field with a center near Pavonis Mons. Wise, et al. (1979) plotted the perpendiculars to strikes of ridges on the eastern flanks of Tharsis as great circles on the upper hemisphere of an equal area net. In order to further test for circular symmetry and possible other influences on ridge orientations, normals to vector means of ridge orientations were calculated using over 1850 digitized ridge segments sampled in 10 degree boxes. Orientations of individual ridge segments were weighted by their lengths, and the magnitudes of normals to vectors means were weighted by cummulative length of the ridge segments. Normals to vector means with magnitudes less than 100 km are not shown. Assuming a single fold origin for ridges, the resulting plot shows compressive stress trajectories for the ridges in the Tharsis region. The averaged compressive stress orientation around Tharsis confirm the suggestion by Wise, et al. that the ridge system is not concentric to any single point.

Watters, T. R.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Estimating SHmax azimuth with P sources and vertical geophones: Use P-P reflection amplitudes or use SV-P reflection times?

We compared two methods for extracting the azimuth of maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) from 3D land-based seismic data generated by a P source and recorded with vertical geophones. In the first method, we used the direct-SV mode that is produced by all land-based P sources. P sources generate SV illumination that radiates in all azimuth directions from a source station and creates SV-P reflections that are recorded by vertical geophones. Unless stratigraphy has steep dip, SV-P raypaths recorded by vertical geophones are the reverse of P-SV raypaths recorded by horizontal geophones. Thus, SV-P data provide the same S-wave sensitivity to stress fields as popular P-SV data do. In the second method, we retrieved P-P reflections and then performed an amplitude-variation-with-azimuth (AVA) analysis of the amplitude-gradient behavior of P-P reflection wavelets. We did this analysis in narrow azimuth corridors to determine the gradient of reflection-wavelet amplitudes as a function of azimuth. This P-P AVA amplitude-gradient method has been of great interest in the reflection seismology community since it was introduced in the late 1990s. Each of these methods, AVA analysis of the gradient of P-P reflection amplitudes and azimuth-dependent arrival times of SV-P reflections, can be used to determine the azimuth of SHmax stress. We compare the results of the two methods with ground truth measurements of SHmax azimuth at a CO 2 sequestration site in the Michigan Basin. SHmax azimuths were determined from P-P and SV-P data at three major boundaries at depths of approximately 3500 ft (1067 m), 5500 ft (1676 m), and 7500 ft (2286 m). Two estimates of SHmax azimuth (one using SV-P data and one using P-P data) were made at each stacking bin inside a 24 mi 2 (62 km 2 ) image space. The result was approximately 98,000 estimates of SHmax azimuth across each of these three boundaries for each of these two prediction strategies. Histogram displays of PP AVA gradient estimates had peaks at correct azimuths of SHmax at all three depths, but the spread of the distributions widened with depth and split into two peaks at the deepest boundary. In contrast, each histogram of SHmax azimuth predicted by azimuth-dependent SV-P traveltimes had a single, definitive peak that was positioned at the correct SHmax azimuth at all three boundary depths.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗

NASA NTRS1993

Shear sensitive monomer-polymer laminate structure and method of using same

Monomer cholesteric liquid crystals have helical structures which result in a phenomenon known as selective reflection, wherein incident white light is reflected in such a way that its wavelength is governed by the instantaneous pitch of the helix structure. The pitch is dependent on temperature and external stress fields. It is possible to use such monomers in flow visualization and temperature measurement. However, the required thin layers of these monomers are quickly washed away by a flow, making their application time dependent for a given flow rate. The laminate structure according to the present invention comprises a liquid crystal polymer substrate attached to a test surface of an article. A light absorbing coating is applied to the substrate and is thin enough to permit bonding steric interaction between the liquid crystal polymer substrate and an overlying liquid crystal monomer thin film. Light is directed through and reflected by the liquid crystal monomer thin film and unreflected light is absorbed by the underlying coating. The wavelength of the reflected light is indicative of the shear stress experienced by the test surface. Novel aspects of the invention include its firm bonding of a liquid crystal monomer to a model and its use of a coating to reduce interference from light unreflected by the monomer helical structure.

Singh, Jag J.↗

NASA NTRS1971

Investigation of flaw geometry and loading effects on plane strain fracture in metallic structures

The effects on fracture and flaw growth of weld-induced residual stresses, combined bending and tension stresses, and stress fields adjacent to circular holes in 2219-T87 aluminum and 5AI-2.5Sn(ELI) titanium alloys were evaluated. Static fracture tests were conducted in liquid nitrogen; fatigue tests were performed in room air, liquid nitrogen, and liquid hydrogen. Evaluation of results was based on linear elastic fracture mechanics concepts and was directed to improving existing methods of estimating minimum fracture strength and fatigue lives for pressurized structure in spacecraft and booster systems. Effects of specimen design in plane-strain fracture toughness testing were investigated. Four different specimen types were tested in room air, liquid nitrogen and liquid hydrogen environments using the aluminum and titanium alloys. Interferometry and holograph were used to measure crack-opening displacements in surface-flawed plexiglass test specimens. Comparisons were made between stress intensities calculated using displacement measurements, and approximate analytical solutions.

Hall, L. R.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Viscoplastic Constitutive Theory Demonstrated for Monolithic Ceramic Materials

Development of accurate three-dimensional (multiaxial) inelastic stress-strain models is critical in utilizing advanced ceramics for challenging 21st century high-temperature structural applications. The current state of the art uses elastic stress fields as a basis for both subcritical crack growth and creep life prediction efforts aimed at predicting the time dependent reliability response of ceramic components subjected to elevated service temperatures. However, to successfully design components that will meet tomorrow's challenging requirements, design engineers must recognize that elastic predictions are inaccurate for these materials when subjected to high-temperature service conditions such as those encountered in advanced heat engine components. Analytical life prediction methodologies developed for advanced ceramics and other brittle materials must employ accurate constitutive models that capture the inelastic response exhibited by these materials at elevated service temperatures. A constitutive model recently developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center helps address this issue by accounting for the time-dependent (inelastic) material deformation phenomena (e.g., creep, rate sensitivity, and stress relaxation) exhibited by monolithic ceramics exposed to high-temperature service conditions. In addition, the proposed formulation is based on a threshold function that is sensitive to hydrostatic stress and allows different behavior in tension and compression, reflecting experimental observations obtained for these material systems.

Janosik, Lesley A.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Optimizing Insulation Design for Transformers in Medium Voltage Power Conversion Systems

Medium-frequency transformers (MFTs) play a crucial role in medium-voltage (MV) solidstate transformer (SST) systems, particularly in extreme fast charging applications. Achieving partial discharge (PD)-free operation while maintaining high power density is a significant challenge due to the high electric field (E-field) stresses inherent in MV applications. This dissertation focuses on the insulation design and optimization of MFTs used in both the main power electronics circuits and auxiliary power supplies. The study begins with an overview of insulation testing methodologies, including high potential tests, basic insulation level tests, and PD tests, which are critical for evaluating MFT insulation reliability. Given the importance of PD-free operation for long-term reliability, particular emphasis is placed on understanding PD mechanisms, including void, corona, and surface discharge, and their mitigation strategies. A high voltage isolated auxiliary power supply is then introduced, utilizing a gapped transformer encapsulated in silicone gel. This design achieves PD-free insulation up to 18 kV RMS while maintaining low coupling capacitance to minimize common-mode current. The proposed solution ensures reliable operation in MV environments and offers a scalable approach for auxiliary power in cascaded SST architectures. To improve MFT insulation in main power conversion circuits, a novel structure is developed using polypropylene sheets and potting compounds to create a void-free air gap, effectively mitigating E-field intensity. A prototype transformer with this insulation structure is built and achieves PD-free operation up to 30 kV RMS. This design is experimentally validated in a resonant converter operating at 46 kW, demonstrating its feasibility for MV SST applications. Further optimization is implemented to enhance MFT performance for dual-active-bridge(DAB) converters by integrating a semiconductive shielding layer within the insulation structure. This shielding layer improves the magnetic coupling coefficient while effectively confining the E-field within high insulation materials, thereby reducing eddy current losses. The optimized MFT achieves PD-free operation at 12.6 kV RMS and is successfully tested in a DAB converter operating at 43 kW, which meets the insulation requirements for a 13.2 kV SST system. This dissertation advances MFT insulation design by introducing and experimentally validating novel approaches that improve high voltage insulation while optimizing magnetic coupling and manufacturability. The proposed insulation structures enable PD-free operation while minimizing insulation material usage and simplifying assembly, making them ideal for high power, high voltage applications.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Accelerating Nature: Induced Atomic Order in Equiatomic FeNi

Abstract The production of locally atomically ordered FeNi (known by its meteoric mineral name, tetrataenite) is confirmed in bulk samples by simultaneous conversion X‐ray and backscattered γ‐ray 57 Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Up to 22 volume percent of the tetragonal tetrataenite phase is quantified in samples thermally treated under simultaneous magnetic‐ and stress‐field conditions for a period of 6 weeks, with the remainder identified as the cubic FeNi alloy. In contrast, all precursor samples consist only of the cubic FeNi alloy. Data from the processed alloys are validated using Mössbauer parameters derived from natural meteoritic tetrataenite. The meteoritic tetrataenite exhibits a substantially higher degree of atomic order than do the processed samples, consistent with their low uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of ≈1 kJ·m −3 . These results suggest that targeted refinements to the processing conditions of FeNi will foster greater atomic order and increased magnetocrystalline anisotropy, leading to an enhanced magnetic energy product. These outcomes also suggest that deductions concerning paleomagnetic conditions of the solar system, as derived from meteoritic data, may warrant re‐examination and re‐evaluation. Additionally, this work strengthens the argument that tetrataenite may indeed become a member of the advanced permanent magnet portfolio, helping to meet rapidly escalating green energy imperatives.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Interfacial toughness: dependence on surface roughness and test temperature

Interfacial toughness quantifies resistance to crack growth along an interface and in this investigation the toughness of an aluminum/epoxy interface was measured as a function of surface roughness and test temperature. The large strain response of the relatively ductile epoxy adhesive used in this study was also characterized. This epoxy adhesive exhibits intrinsic strain-softening after initial compressive yield and then deforms plastically at a roughly constant flow stress until it rapidly hardens at large compressive strains. Here, we find that interface toughness scales as the product of the temperature dependent epoxy yield strength and a length scale that characterizes surface roughness. The proposed scaling is based upon dimensional considerations of a model problem that assumes that the characteristic length scale of both the roughness and the crack-tip yield zone is small relative to the region dominated by the linear elastic asymptotic crack-tip stress field. Furthermore, the model assumes that interfacial failure occurs only after the epoxy begins to harden at large strains. The proposed relationship is validated by our interfacial toughness measurements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Methods to Observe Tribological Failures in Self-Mated Steel Contacts

Scuffing, a type of wear found in highly stressed or poorly lubricated contacts, is characterized by a rapid increase in friction and severe plastic deformation of the near-surface material. Scuffing has proven difficult to study because it initiates unpredictably, progresses rapidly, and typically develops within an inaccessible contact interface. Although there have been successful in-situ studies of scuffing in real-time, the transparent counter body needed for these studies changes the interactions between the surfaces and the lubricant, which affects the scuffing process in unknown ways. This paper describes the development of X-ray-compatible tribometry to study the scuffing of self-mated steels in-situ and in real-time. The method uses a crossed cylinders configuration with a thin (500 μm thick) stationary component and a small (≈200 μm) contact width to maximize X-ray interactions with atoms within the stress field generated by the contact. The resulting instrument and method are used to benchmark the scuffing response of self-mated 52,100 steel under tribologically challenging ‘oil-off’ lubrication conditions. The results demonstrate reliable scuffing in this configuration despite the relatively small contact areas and loads used. Following scuffing, gross plastic deformation was observed on both surfaces along with significant subsurface grain refinement and flow only on the stationary surface, which experienced constant contact. Interestingly, high friction initiated at specific locations of the migratory surface, which experienced intermittent contact, and then propagated across the track over time, suggesting that local conditions of the migratory surface dominated friction leading into the failure event.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Thermophysical properties of the Ghareb formation relevant for nuclear waste disposal

The Ghareb formation, a shallowly buried porous chalk in Israel, is currently a candidate for nuclear waste disposal. The potential repository is somewhat unique for its host rock and emplacement in shallow (500 m) engineered large diameter boreholes. Herein, the thermal properties of the Ghareb are determined to support design and performance assessment; the relevant properties measured are thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal expansion coefficient along with their relationship with varying temperature. For the temperature range of 40 to 275 °C, the thermal conductivity ranges from 0.30 to 1.10 W/m·K, the thermal diffusivity ranges from 0.20 to 0.72 mm 2 /s, and volumetric heat capacity ranges from 0.86 to 2.00 MJ/m 3 ·K. Thermal strain measurements were used to estimate the linear thermal expansion coefficient to be 6·10 –4 –9·10 –2 °C -1 from 40 to 300 °C. These measured properties were used in a thermomechanical model to estimate near-field stresses an hour and 10 years after waste emplacement; the borehole was found to be stable. Thermal loading after 10 years was predicted to elevate local pore pressures by 1–1.5 MPa. The laboratory measurements coupled with analyses are the first attempts at performance assessment characterization for this first of its kind potential repository setting with this chosen host rock.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

Seismic source characterization of the Arabian Peninsula and Zagros Mountains from regional moment tensor and coda envelopes

Reliable estimates of moment magnitude and source mechanism for seismic events in the Middle East can be challenging due to a small number of openly available stations, the complex tectonic setting, and regions of high attenuation. Access to high-quality waveform data from well-calibrated regional seismic stations is fundamental in producing robust and stable estimates of earthquake source parameters, particularly when measurements of absolute ground motion amplitudes are required. Earthquake source mechanism and moment magnitude are invaluable information in the assessment of seismic hazard, plate motions, and the characterization of faults and regional stress field. The expansion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s national seismic network in the past several decades provides an opportunity to develop the capabilities of routine focal mechanism and moment magnitude estimations. In this study, we use time-domain full waveform moment tensor inversion and coda envelope–derived amplitude measurements to solve for earthquake source mechanism, moment magnitudes, and their source type. Furthermore, we compared the moment magnitudes calculated from the two methods and publicly available earthquake catalogs and discuss the implications of the obtained source parameters.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Enhanced accuracy through ensembling of randomly initialized auto-regressive models for dynamical systems

Computational mechanics simulations using traditional finite element methods (FEM) require prohibitively expensive computational resources for real-time engineering applications, design optimization, and digital twin implementations. While machine learning (ML) surrogate models offer significant computational speedups, autoregressive ML models for time-dependent mechanical systems suffer from error accumulation that compromises long-term prediction reliability - a critical concern for engineering applications where accuracy over extended time horizons is essential for safety and performance assessments. Here, we propose a deep ensemble framework specifically designed to address this challenge in computational mechanics applications, where multiple ML surrogate models with random weight initializations are trained in parallel and their predictions aggregated during inference. This approach leverages statistical diversity to maximize information gain from a fixed set of training data and to mitigate error propagation, while maintaining the computational efficiency that makes ML surrogates attractive for engineering practice. We validate the framework on three representative problems spanning critical areas of computational mechanics: stress field evolution in heterogeneous microstructures under complex loading (relevant to advanced materials design and composite analysis), planetary-scale shallow water dynamics (applicable to environmental and geotechnical engineering), and Gray-Scott reaction-diffusion systems (relevant to mass transport and chemical process engineering). Across all test cases, the ensemble approach demonstrates consistent error reduction of 15-33% compared to individual models. The codes for this work are available on GitHub (https://github.com/Graham-Brady-Research-Group/AutoregressiveEnsemble_SpatioTemporal_Evolution).

autoregressive prediction↗