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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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504 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Enhancing Post-Irradiation Examination (PIE) Efficiency with High-Throughput Experiments

Nuclear materials testing is essential for understanding changes in reactor environments, but traditional methods are costly and time-consuming. High-Throughput Experimentation (HTE) enables rapid screening and optimization of material properties by significantly increasing the number of specimens in the experiment. In this work, HTE methods were employed to irradiate novel materials at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory. A total of 367 sub-sized tensile specimens were irradiated using the standard capsule design. To facilitate HTE, automated systems such as the Automated Mechanical Testing System were implemented for mechanical testing within hot cell environments, thereby reducing the need for manual interaction with hot cell manipulators and significantly lowering both the cost and duration of experiments. Digital image correlation (DIC) was used to measure displacement during mechanical testing, providing precise, non-contact measurement capabilities. The methodologies developed in this research will support the advancement of HTE techniques for future nuclear materials testing experiments at ATR. This approach allows for more efficient and cost-effective evaluation of new materials, ultimately leading to improved reactor performance, enhanced safety, and extended longevity within the nuclear industry.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

All-Printed, Stretchable Zn-Ag 2 O Rechargeable Battery via Hyperelastic Binder for Self-Powering Wearable Electronics

While several stretchable batteries utilizing either deterministic or random composite architectures have been described, none have been fabricated using inexpensive printing technologies. In this study, the authors printed a highly stretchable, zinc-silver oxide (Zn-Ag 2 O) battery by incorporating polystyrene-block-polyisoprene-block-polystyrene (SIS) as a hyperelastic binder for custom-made printable inks. The remarkable mechanical properties of the SIS binder lead to an all-printed, stretchable Zn-Ag 2 O rechargeable battery with a ≈2.5 mA h cm -2 reversible capacity density even after multiple iterations of 100% stretching. This battery offers the highest reversible capacity and discharge current density for intrinsically stretchable batteries reported to date. The electrochemical and mechanical properties are characterized under different strain conditions. The new stress-enduring printable inks pave ways for further developing stretchable electronics for the wide range of wearable applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2018

An advanced experimental design for modified burst testing of nuclear fuel cladding materials during transient loading

Here an advanced tube-burst test system was designed to test samples of nuclear fuel cladding under conditions relevant to a postulated design-basis reactivity insertion accident (RIA) in light-water reactors. The system is based on the “driver tube” concept and allows for high-speed testing with internal pressure impulses of 10–1000 ms. To measure strain, the system was equipped with an ultra-high-speed video camera with a telecentric lens providing high focal depth, to compensate for specimen shift. A mirror system was developed to provide 360° view of the tube specimen into a single camera. Images taken during the test allow the use of a digital image correlation approach in strain evaluation. Several experiments were conducted to assess the performance of the experimental setup, and results are reported.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Assessment of multi-stage telescopic control rods in a pebble bed reactor. Part II: corrosion and wear performance

To support High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor designs, the effects of corrosion and wear on a SS316L telescopic control rod prototype were investigated in helium at 775 °C with up to 5 ppm oxygen for durations up to 500 h. Three deployment conditions were tested to assess their impact on wear and oxide formation: severe cycles, daily cycles, and gravity-driven deployments. Here, a chromium-rich oxide layer developed on regions exposed to the helium flow, reaching up to 2 µm in the most affected areas. No carburization or decarburization was observed. Oxide breakthrough occurred mainly at grooves and contact points during severe cycling of the telescopic rod, while in the other tests it was limited to contact points. Friction forces increased due to oxide growth and thermal expansion, the latter being the dominant factor, but never enough to hinder rod deployment significantly. Coaxial misalignment of stages was identified as the main potential risk to reliable operation under normal conditions.

Control rod↗
DOE OSTI2018

Parameter covariance and non-uniqueness in material model calibration using the Virtual Fields Method

Traditionally, material identification is performed using global load and displacement data from simple boundary-value problems such as uni-axial tensile and simple shear tests. More recently, however, inverse techniques such as the Virtual Fields Method (VFM) that capitalize on heterogeneous, full-field deformation data have gained popularity. In this work, we have written a VFM code in a finite-deformation framework for calibration of a viscoplastic (i.e. strain-rate dependent) material model for 304L stainless steel. Using simulated experimental data generated via finite-element analysis (FEA), we verified our VFM code and compared the identified parameters with the reference parameters input into the FEA. The identified material model parameters had surprisingly large error compared to the reference parameters, which was traced to parameter covariance and the existence of many essentially equivalent parameter sets. This parameter non-uniqueness and its implications for FEA predictions is discussed in detail. Lastly, we present two strategies to reduce parameter covariance – reduced parametrization of the material model and increased richness of the calibration data – which allow for the recovery of a unique solution.

304L stainless steel↗
DOE OSTI2024

In-situ determination of strain during transient burst testing and the temperature dependence of Zircaloy-4 claddings

Understanding fuel system behavior during postulated loss-of-coolant accidents is pertinent for continued safe and efficient operation of light water reactors, particularly as higher burnups are being pursued and safety margins re-evaluated. Conventional mechanical models for the incumbent Zr alloys typically rely on the assumption that steady-state creep is the dominant fuel cladding response during transient accident conditions. To investigate this assumption, simulated accident burst testing was performed on Zircaloy-4 claddings with balloon behavior measured in-situ. Here, two distinct loading conditions were utilized during burst testing: (1) constant-gas-inventory where pressure was allowed to increase with temperature and (2) constant pressure. In-situ strains and strain rates were measured via 2-dimensional digital image correlation techniques and synchronized with temperature to determine deformation dependencies. The temperature dependence of strain rate was characterized by a two segment Arrhenius relationship, with a distinct transition between the high and low temperature/strain regimes. The average activation energy of the lower temperature/strain regime was 328 ± 25 kJ/mol, in agreement with the ~320 kJ/mol used for conventional LOCA models. However, the higher temperature/strain segment, which encompassed most of ballooning, showed increased activation energies as well as a dependence on whether the burst region was in view. For tests that burst away from the camera view, the average high temperature/strain segment activation energy was 635 ± 150 kJ/mol. For samples where the rupture opening formed in view, the average activation energy was 1015 ± 179 kJ/mol. This observed shift in temperature dependence indicates a transition in deformation mechanism at the end of life, possibly to time independent failure mechanisms, which has not yet been visualized in the literature for Zr alloys. Parameters at the transition points were analyzed to determine thresholds for this change in behavior, which occurred at an average hoop strain of 6.9 ± 2.1 %.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of Photovoltaic Module Deformation Dynamics During Hail Impact Using Digital Image Correlation

Stereo high-speed video of photovoltaic modules undergoing laboratory hail tests was processed using digital image correlation to determine module surface deformation during and immediately following impact. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate a methodology for characterizing module impact response differences as a function of construction and incident hail parameters. Video capture and digital image analysis were able to capture out-of-plane module deformation to a resolution of ±0.1 mm at 11 kHz on an in-plane grid of 10 × 10 mm over the area of a 1 × 2 m commercial photovoltaic module. With lighting and optical adjustments, the technique was adaptable to arbitrary module designs, including size, backsheet color, and cell interconnection. Furthermore, impacts were observed to produce an initially localized dimple in the glass surface, with peak deflection proportional to the square root of incident energy. Subsequent deformation propagation and dissipation were also captured, along with behavior for instances when the module glass fractured. Natural frequencies of the module were identifiable by analyzing module oscillations postimpact. Limitations of the measurement technique were that the impacting ice ball obscured the data field immediately surrounding the point of contact, and both ice and glass fracture events occurred within 100 μs, which was not resolvable at the chosen frame rate. Increasing the frame rate and visualizing the back surface of the impact could be applied to avoid these issues. Applications for these data include validating computational models for hail impacts, identifying the natural frequencies of a module, and identifying damage initiation mechanisms.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

The Uniaxial Tensile Response of Porous and Microcracked Ceramic Materials

The uniaxial tensile stress-strain behavior of three porous ceramic materials was determined at ambient conditions. Test specimens in the form of thin beams were obtained from the walls of diesel particulate filter honeycombs and tested using a microtesting system. A digital image correlation technique was used to obtain full-field 2D in-plane surface displacement maps during tensile loading, and in turn, the 2D strains obtained from displacement fields were used to determine the Secant modulus, Young s modulus and initial Poisson s ratio of the three porous ceramic materials. Successive unloading-reloading experiments were performed at different levels of stress to decouple the linear elastic, anelastic and inelastic response in these materials. It was found that the stress-strain response of these materials was non-linear and that the degree of nonlinearity is related to the initial microcrack density and evolution of damage in the material.

anelasticity↗
DOE OSTI2024

Data and Scripts Associated with the Manuscript “Water Column Respiration in the Yakima River Basin is Explained by Temperature, Nutrients and Suspended Solids”

This data package is associated with the publication “Water Column Respiration in the Yakima River Basin is Explained by Temperature, Nutrients and Suspended Solids” published in EGU Biogeochemistry (Laan et al. 2025). In this research, water column respiration (ERwc) data, surface water chemistry data, organic matter (OM) chemistry data, and publicly available geospatial data were used in analysis to evaluate the variability in ERwc at 47 sites across the Yakima River basin in Washington, USA. In addition to this readme, this data package also includes a file-level metadata (FLMD) file that describes each file and a data dictionary (DD) that describes all column/row headers and variable definitions. The data package includes the data inputs, and outputs, and R scripts to reproduce all the analyses performed in the manuscript and create manuscript figures. The data package is comprised of three main folders (Code, Data, and Figures). The Code folder is comprised of four scripts and three analysis-specific subfolders that contain the R scripts to perform the analyses described in the publication and create publication figures. The Data folder is comprised of two “.csv” files and four subfolders that contain data input and output files. The Published_Data folder contains a readme that directs the user to download the appropriate files and add to this folder when using scripts. The Figures folder includes figures from the manuscript in “.pdf” and “.png” formats and a folder with intermediate figure files. This data package is associated with a GitHub repository which can be found at https://github.com/river-corridors-sfa/rcsfa-RC2-SPS-ERwc. We acknowledge the Yakama Nation as owners and caretakers of the lands where we collected some of these data. We thank the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and Yakama Nation Fisheries for working with us to facilitate sample collection and optimization of data usage according to their values and worldview.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Data and scripts associated with “Non-random processes impacting organic matter chemistry are maximized in mid-order streams”

NOTE: The manuscript associated with this data package is currently in review. The data may be revised based on reviewer feedback. Upon manuscript acceptance, this data package will be updated with the final dataset and additional metadata. This data package is associated with the publication “Non-random processes impacting organic matter chemistry are maximized in mid-order streams” submitted to Limnology and Oceanography (L&O) by Danczak et al. (in review). This package contains data and scripts used to investigate dissolved organic matter (DOM) molecular chemistry and diversification processes across 47 surface-water sampling sites in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA, during an August 2021 sampling campaign. The package contains analyses of ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS), geochemical measurements, geospatial attributes, molecular diversity, and meta-metabolome ecological null models needed to reproduce the main manuscript results. The underlying field data were pulled from exising data packages at https://doi.org/10.15485/1892052 (Fulton et al., 2022) and https://doi.org/10.15485/1898914 (Grieger et al., 2022). For details on how to navigate data packages generated by this project, see https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/PNNLRiverCorridorSFA/About. We thank the following organizations for providing access to field locations for sample collection: the United States Forest Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and the Cowiche Canyon Conservatory. Research was conducted under Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Scientific Research Permit #210901. We are grateful to the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and Yakama Nation Fisheries for their collaboration in facilitating sample collection and ensuring data usage aligns with their values and worldview. This data package contains an R-Markdown file for analyses and five folders: (1) Data, (2) Geospatial Data, (3) Supplemental_Files, (5) Figures_pdf, (4) and src. The Data folder contains tabular inputs and derived files used in the manuscript analysis. The Geospatial Data folder contains climate and water-balance, hydrologic, land-cover, population/regional water-use, stream, topographic, and stream-order attribute CSV files. The src folder contains scripts used to process data, run analyses, and generate figures. The Figures_pdf folder contains manuscript figure outputs. The Supplemental_Files folder contains supplemental analysis products. All files are .csv, .pdf, .html, .png, .R, .Rmd, .svg, or .tre. This data package is associated with the rcfsa-RC2-SPS_Null_Modeling repository found at https://github.com/river-corridors-sfa/rcfsa-RC2-SPS_Null_Modeling.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optical Imaging for Machine Vision [Slides]

This slide deck is intended for proper specification and procurement of cameras and (thin) lenses for machine vision applications. This will include equations that allow one to calculate image size, field of view, depth of field, and length of extension tubes required to focus the image. This requires knowledge of the camera sensor, lens, distance to imaged object, and visual acuity.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of Accelerated High Temperature Mechanical Testing Techniques

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) Program focuses on advancing materials and manufacturing techniques for nuclear energy applications, particularly in the qualification of materials for high-temperature structural use. This report presents work on refining the creep testing of small specimen geometries. Efforts include the development of a new specimen geometry for sub-sized specimens, which were subjected to uniaxial creep tests. The results contribute to the understanding of material behavior under stress at elevated temperatures and offer potential improvements in creep data collection methods. These findings support ongoing advancements in material qualification processes essential for nuclear reactor applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Surface and Active Layer Pore Water Chemistry from Ice Wedge Polygons, Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, 2013-2014

This data set reports the results of spatial surveys of aqueous geochemistry conducted at Intensive Site 1 of the Barrow Environmental Observatory in 2013 and 2014 (Herndon et al., 2015). Surface water and soil pore water samples were collected from multiple depths within the tundra active layer of different microtopographic features (troughs, ridges, center) of a low-centered polygon (Area A), high-centered polygon (Area B), flat-centered polygon (Area C), and transitional polygon (Area D). Reported analytes include dissolved organic and inorganic carbon, dissolved carbon dioxide and methane, major inorganic anions, and major and minor cations. This dataset contains one csv file and one pdf file.The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research.The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska.Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗