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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Grain boundary structure search by using an evolutionary algorithm with effective mutation methods

Grain boundaries (GBs) accommodate the misorientation between adjacent grains in a polycrystalline material. GBs are geometrically described by the macroscopic and microscopic degrees of freedom. Besides, at the atomistic level, GBs exhibit complicated behaviors under varying thermodynamic conditions. The complexity of atomistic GB structures demands stochastic searching for possible states. The effectiveness of stochastic search methods relies on techniques to recreate and select atomistic structures. In this work, we developed a new mutation operator that can induce direct and collective atomistic structure changes to boost the search efficiency of exploring GB structures with evolutionary algorithms (EA). We implemented the mutation methods along with innovative selection, crossover, boundary condition preprocessing methods to form an EA-based package to explore GB structures in grand canonical ensembles with atomistic simulations. We used this package to study the [001] symmetric tilt grain boundaries (STGBs) in FCC copper (Cu), the [110] STGBs in BCC tungsten (W), and the $[1\bar{2}10]$ STGBs in HCP magnesium (Mg). The results show that our design and implementation based on new mutation procedures, selection, and boundary conditions provide a high-quality search of atomistic GB structures in the grand canonical ensemble for different crystal lattices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Additively manufactured multiplexed inertial coalescence filters

Multiphase flows often pose a significant challenge to the efficient and reliable design of thermofluidic systems. This paper describes multiplexed inertial coalescence filters composed of parallel helical pathways, designed to capture fine droplets (<40 µm) through inertial separation while maintaining a low pressure drop (<400 Pa). Filtration efficiencies for 7 µm and 30 µm droplets were characterized for varying flow conditions, with complete capture observed above a threshold flow rate. Models for filtration efficiency and pressure drop were developed and validated against experimental results to allow system design and optimization, enabled by the tunable additive manufacturing approach used to fabricate the filters. Filter quality factor was computed for varying droplet sizes, showcasing exceptional quality factor when compared to state-of-the-art filters documented in the literature. In conclusion, this multiplexed inertial coalescence filtration approach could find use in dehumidification systems, fog harvesting, chemical reactors, and microgravity droplet capture.

3D Printing↗
DOE OSTI2022

Pre-production results from ATLAS ITk Strip Sensors Quality Assurance Testchip

The production of strip sensors within the framework of the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) development is a process which requires continuous evaluation during the full production period (about 4 years). Such an evaluation is divided into two different parts: Quality Control (QC), which focuses on the final product (the actual sensors) and tries to identify possible defects once the fabrication is completed, and Quality Assurance (QA), which aims to prevent deviations in the manufacturing process and uses specifically-designed test structures. The initial sensor pre-production consists of 5% (1041 sensors) of the total number of sensors expected during production. As part of pre-production, the collaboration has measured key parameters from miniature strip sensors (minis), monitor diodes (MD8), and the ATLAS Testchip, before and after irradiation. In this contribution we focus on the analysis of the results of the MD8 and the Testchip. All parameters have been obtained from the test structures (MD8, bias resistors, interdigitated structures, field oxide capacitors, coupling capacitors, punch-through protection structures and cross-bridge resistors) measured at the different test sites (KEK/Tsukuba, Birmingham, Toronto, Ljubljana, Valencia, Carleton, Prague, CNM-Barcelona). The results are compared to predefined pre- and post-irradiation specifications for each tested parameter.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Development of Design for the STS Extraction Magnet System

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory STS Project will enhance the Spallation Neutron Source by adding a new neutron source. The upgrade includes a 30% increase in beam energy and a 50% boost in beam current, doubling the accelerator's power capability to 2.8 MW. The Ring-to-Second-Target Beam Transport (RTST) system is vital in directing high-energy proton beams to the new second target station. New magnets have to fit into a restricted space within the existing beamline to add the new extraction line. New, fast kicker magnets (Pulsed Dipole), a focusing quad with an aperture for both beamlines (Large Quad) and the replacement of existing 21Q40 Quads with 'Narrow Quads' having identical fields as the existing design are Fermilab's responsibility. The design of these magnets poses unique challenges, as in addition to the high requirements on the quality of magnetic fields, they are subject to major restrictions related to their dimensions.

Chernenok, V. [Fermilab] (ORCID:0009000778148215)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Biophysical and Structural Features of αβT ‐Cell Receptor Mechanosensing: A Paradigmatic Shift in Understanding T‐Cell Activation

ABSTRACT αβT cells protect vertebrates against many diseases, optimizing surveillance using mechanical force to distinguish between pathophysiologic cellular alterations and normal self‐constituents. The multi‐subunit αβT‐cell receptor (TCR) operates outside of thermal equilibrium, harvesting energy via physical forces generated by T‐cell motility and actin‐myosin machinery. When a peptide‐bound major histocompatibility complex molecule (pMHC) on an antigen presenting cell is ligated, the αβTCR on the T cell leverages force to form a catch bond, prolonging bond lifetime, and enhancing antigen discrimination. Under load, the αβTCR undergoes reversible structural transitions involving partial unfolding of its clonotypic immunoglobulin‐like (Ig) domains and coupled rearrangements of associated CD3 subunits and structural elements. We postulate that transitions provide critical energy to initiate the signaling cascade via induction of αβTCR quaternary structural rearrangements, associated membrane perturbations, exposure of CD3 ITAMs to phosphorylation by non‐receptor tyrosine kinases, and phase separation of signaling molecules. Understanding force‐mediated signaling by the αβTCR clarifies long‐standing questions regarding αβTCR antigen recognition, specificity and affinity, providing a basis for continued investigation. Future directions include examining atomistic mechanisms of αβTCR signal initiation, performance quality, tissue compliance adaptability, and T‐cell memory fate. The mechanotransduction paradigm will foster improved rational design of T‐cell based vaccines, CAR‐Ts, and adoptive therapies.

Immunology↗
DOE OSTI2025

A new method for measuring refractory corrosion of ceramics in glass

Abstract Nuclear waste glass vitrification furnaces are lined with refractory ceramic blocks to contain the molten glass. The refractory liner is susceptible to corrosion and has a finite service lifetime. For this reason, predicting the refractory corrosion in contact with molten glass is integral to estimating melter service lifetime. Standardized laboratory tests varying time and temperature are commonly performed to estimate refractory material loss as a function of glass composition. These data are time and resource‐intensive to collect and are susceptible to considerable measurement error. In order to accelerate glass formulation and design for nuclear waste vitrification, methods are needed to increase laboratory‐scale throughput while maintaining data quality. In this work, a method to remove the residual glass from a corroded coupon using hydrofluoric acid is presented that accelerates the throughput of sample analysis while simultaneously facilitating more accurate measurements.

Amoroso, Jake W. [Savannah River National Laborato↗
DOE OSTI2023

Lab Scale Mercury Dissolution Testing

Researchers at the Savannah River National Laboratory were requested by Savannah River Mission Completion to perform laboratory testing and modeling designed to understand why the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) is not collecting elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) despite long boiling times designed to recover Hg 0 . In response to a Technical Task Request, a Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan was written and approved to authorize this work.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nanomanufacturing of Nanophononic Devices: Ultra-high ZT Thermoelectrics for Efficient Conversion of Waste Heat

Fabrication and Characterization Summary: For this program, the team fabricated and tested silicon thermoelectric test structures that experimentally demonstrated record thermal conductivity reduction (> 85 %) without changes in electrical properties (conductivity and Seebeck coefficient). We also demonstrated the highest ever reported energy conversion efficiency for silicon thermoelectric devices. The team developed a design for 1 cm 2 die with thousands of nanophononic metamaterial structures in the form of nanowalled membranes but were unable to solve all fabrication challenges before the end of the program. Multiple aspects of the design were submitted for patent protection. Primary challenges were related to silicon-on-insulator material quality and high-aspect-ratio etching.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design and Construction of the CMS Outer Tracker for the Phase-2 Upgrade

The High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) is expected to deliver an integrated luminosity of 3000-4000~fb$^{-1}$ after 10 years of operation with peak instantaneous luminosity reaching about 5-7.5$\times10^{34}$cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$. During Long Shutdown 3, several components of the CMS detector will undergo major changes, called Phase-2 upgrades, to be able to operate in the challenging environment of the HL-LHC. The current CMS tracker will be replaced. The Phase-2 Outer Tracker (OT) will have high radiation tolerance, higher granularity, and the capability to handle higher data rates. Moreover, the OT will provide tracking information to the Level-1 trigger, for the first time at hadron colliders, allowing trigger rates to be kept at a sustainable level without sacrificing physics potential. For this, the OT will be made of modules with two closely spaced silicon sensors read out by front-end ASICs, which can correlate hits in the two sensors creating short track segments (stubs), used for tracking in the L1 track finder. The modules come in two flavors: strip-strip (2S) and pixel-strip (PS), containing different sensor configurations and multiple ASICs. This contribution will present the design of the Phase-2 OT, the first results with pre-production devices, and the quality assurance procedures used to ensure the functionality of the modules: from fulfilling the precision specification of the module assembly procedure to ensuring the proper communication among the module's ASICs.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optimization Through Multi-Fidelity Modeling

We present a novel method for optimizing parameter selection for simulations with an evaluation budget. We start with an existing method for building a multi-fidelity model out of many low-fidelity simulations and few high-fidelity simulations. We propose a novel method to simplify parameter selection without sacrificing performance. We verify these results and compare with existing literature. Next, we propose a novel algorithm which uses this difference model to suggest new points in the parameter design space to simulate. We add each point we simulate to the model to improve its quality for the next iteration. The algorithm trades off reducing the uncertainty of the existing model with optimization of the objective. The first is more useful when a large fraction of the computation budget remains. The second is more useful when a small fraction of the computation budget remains. Our method converges to the optimum by using a high-fidelity evaluation for just 16 of the 427 points. Our method is general enough to work if there is no low-fidelity model. Furthermore, it is agnostic to the underlying physics of the problem. Therefore, both the low-fidelity and high-fidelity models can be generated by any arbitrary function, including simulations and physical experiments.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

MOOSE: A Modular Platform for Fission and Fusion Multiphysics

The Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) Framework, as well as MOOSE-based simulation tools, have accelerated the development of fission energy and advanced reactor technologies through the United States Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Science, Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling & Simulation (NEAMS) Program. MOOSE contains a complete platform of multiphysics simulation capabilities, capable of running on massively parallel systems, and is developed in an open-source manner with great attention paid to high-quality software quality assurance practices. This overall approach could greatly benefit the fusion energy community, which requires rapid design iteration and improvement in order to facilitate the successful development of fusion as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels. In the first half of this talk, applications of MOOSE and MOOSE-based tools for advanced reactor designs will be showcased, as well as MOOSE ecosystem infrastructure (such as the NEAMS Virtual Test Bed) that enables and accelerates fission reactor design. In the second half, a discussion of how the MOOSE approach to modeling and simulation is currently being applied internationally in fusion energy research and development at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority will be discussed, and ongoing/future domestic research efforts will be highlighted.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

High temperature electrical property measurements of ceramics

Emerging applications in energy and aerospace systems require high quality data on the high temperature electrical properties of ceramics, particularly oxides, to guide material selection, design, and modeling. This presentation demonstrates the functionality of a specially designed sample fixture that enables electrical measurements to be conducted up to temperatures as high as 1600°C. Utilizing the mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion between two materials, a purely mechanical method for establishing electrical contact in the van der Pauw geometry is used to measure the bulk resistivity of ceramic materials. Measurements conducted on a number of common high temperature materials will be presented, including 20 mol % Gd-doped cerium oxide. Measurements are performed using multiple techniques and compared to literature values finding excellent agreement. The approach described in this work enables the van der Pauw method to be applied to many ceramic materials over a wide range of temperatures and environments.

Cann, David P.↗
DOE OSTI2025

A review of prefabricated overclad panels for building energy retrofits

Over 50% of existing buildings in the US were constructed before 1980 and lack modern, energy-efficient technologies. Despite the large number of old buildings, less than 2% of buildings are retrofitted each year with many of those retrofits consisting of small incremental improvements that often ignore the building envelope. The opaque building envelope affects 25% of building energy use equating to 10% of total US primary energy use. To meet decarbonization goals by 2035, the US must increase the rate of retrofit of existing building envelopes. The process of prefabrication is one potential opportunity to increase the rate of envelope retrofits and reduce costs. Prefabrication is the process of manufacturing construction components in a controlled environment before shipping them on-site to perform assembly of the construction. The process of prefabrication has been demonstrated to increase production efficiency, quality control, and rate of production. Prefabricated overclad panels, consisting of a cladding material and insulation designed to be installed over the existing envelope, have been successfully used to retrofit existing buildings in countries other than the US; however, the technology still has some barriers to major market adoption within the US. This paper will present a review of current implementations and demonstrations of prefabricated overclad panels. The review will include identification of panel types, materials, and applications and aims to identify barriers to retrofit market entry and widespread adoption.

Hayes, Nolan [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000332245718)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tailoring Fibre Structure Enabled by X-ray Analytics for Targeted Biomedical Applications

The rising interest in designing fibres via spinning techniques combining the properties of various polymeric materials into advanced functionalised materials is directed towards targeted biomedical applications such as drug delivery, wearable sensors or tissue engineering. Understanding how these functional polymers exhibit multiscale structures ranging from the molecular level to nano-, micro-and millimetre scale is a key prerequisite for their challenging applications that can be addressed by a non-destructive X-ray based analytical approach. X-ray multimodalities combining X-ray imaging, scattering and diffraction allow the study of morphology, molecular structure, and the analysis of nano-domain size and shape, crystallinity and preferential orientation in 3D arrangements. The incorporation of X-ray analytics in the design process of polymeric fibers via their nanostructure under non-ambient conditions (i.e. temperature, mechanical load, humidity…) allows for efficient optimization of the fabrication process as well as quality control along the product lifetime under operating environmental conditions. Here, we demonstrate the successful collaboration between the laboratory of Biomimetic Textiles and Membranes and the Center of X-ray Analytics at Empa for the design, characterisation and optimisation of advanced functionalised polymeric fibrous material systems.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Across the Board: Sheng Dai on Catalyst Design by Entropic Factors

In this series of articles, the board members of ChemSusChem discuss recent research articles that they consider of exceptional quality and importance for sustainability. This entry features Dr. S. Dai, who discusses high-entropy materials (HEMs) as new materials in catalysis. In this viewpoint, two types of HEMs (alloy and non-alloy HEMs), their synthesis, and their application in various catalytic reactions are presented.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design and fabrication of robust hybrid photonic crystal cavities

Abstract Heterogeneously integrated hybrid photonic crystal cavities enable strong light–matter interactions with solid state, optically addressable quantum memories. A key challenge to realizing high quality factor ( Q ) hybrid photonic crystals is the reduced index contrast on the substrate compared to suspended devices in air. This challenge is particularly acute for color centers in diamond because of diamond’s high refractive index, which leads to increased scattering loss into the substrate. Here, we develop a design methodology for hybrid photonic crystals utilizing a detailed understanding of substrate-mediated loss, which incorporates sensitivity to fabrication errors as a critical parameter. Using this methodology, we design robust, high-Q, GaAs-on-diamond photonic crystal cavities, and by optimizing our fabrication procedure, we experimentally realize cavities with Q approaching 30,000 at a resonance wavelength of 955 nm.

Abulnaga, Alex↗
DOE OSTI2025

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Sensing for Environmental and Subsurface Monitoring

Groundwater monitoring is essential to timely and accurately reflect the current situations and the trends of water quality. However, the long-term stability and survival of any potential in-situ monitoring method is threatened by the harsh conditions and the groundwater monitoring in downhole environments poses numerous challenges to the sensor community. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been demonstrated as a promising technology for chemical monitoring in high-temperature high-pressure (HTHP) environments and hard to reach places. The technique demonstrates several advantages, such as rapid, real-time, in-situ, and simultaneous detection of multiple elements with simple or no sample preparation. This chapter includes a brief review of the field-portable LIBS systems, and development of a compact, robust, and simple LIBS instrument for downhole HTHP water quality monitoring. The fieldable prototype sensor is tested in an onsite monitoring well where trace elements’ concentrations are tracked over an extended period. The testing has verified that the fiber coupled design performs as desired. The system shows good calibration linearity for tested elements and collection times, and Limits of Detection (LODs) that are comparable to those of tabletop LIBS instruments. In addition to groundwater quality monitoring, the fabricated LIBS-based sensor could have widespread sub-surface detection applications.

Jain, Jinesh [NETL Site Support Contractor, Nation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Melt Pool and Heat Treatment Optimization for the Fabrication of High-Strength and High-Toughness Additively Manufactured 4340 Steel

Additively manufactured (AM) components offer superior design flexibility compared to their conventionally manufactured counterparts, and optimizing processing parameters is key to achieving high-quality depositions with desirable and predictable mechanical properties. This study was focused on 4340 steel fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), and 42 laser power and scan speed combinations have been systematically investigated to determine an optimized melt pool geometry that would ensure fully-dense parts. The AM material was compared with a wrought 4340 equivalent and studied in two customized heat treated conditions, optimized for strength and toughness, respectively. The microstructures of the as-fabricated and heat treated AM and wrought materials were characterized to assess differences introduced by the layer-by-layer fabrication process and subsequent heat treatment. Tensile properties of both materials were also evaluated and demonstrate that the AM materials offer equal or superior properties compared to the wrought equivalents. Differences in fracture surface morphologies indicate the distinct failure mechanisms associated with the materials’ characteristic microstructures, and the role of inclusions in the failures was studied to elucidate these differences. Complementary to the experimental investigations, the dataset was leveraged to make recommendations for future design of experiments to optimize AM build parameters in other material systems. A statistical Monte Carlo analysis was used to predict the interpolation error produced using reduced datasets and to enable informed processing parameters selection. These findings are discussed to make recommendations for the use of AM materials for high-integrity structural applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗