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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of Materials-Based Options for On-Board Hydrogen Storage for Rail Applications

The objective of this project was to evaluate material- and chemical-based solutions for hydrogen storage in rail applications as an alternative to high-pressure hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen. Three use cases were assessed: yard switchers, long-haul locomotives, and tenders. Four storage options were considered: metal hydrides, nanoporous sorbents, liquid organic hydrogen carriers, and ammonia, using 700 bar compressed hydrogen as a benchmark. The results suggest that metal hydrides, currently the most mature of these options, have the highest potential. Storage in tenders is the most likely use case to be successful, with long-haul locomotives the least likely due to the required storage capacities and weight and volume constraints. Overall, the results are relevant for high-impact regions, such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, for which an economical vehicular hydrogen storage system with minimal impact on cargo capacity could accelerate adoption of fuel cell electric locomotives. The results obtained here will contribute to the development of technical storage targets for rail applications that can guide future research. Moreover, the knowledge generated by this project will assist in development of material-based storage for stationary applications such as microgrids and backup power for data centers.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ta Based Damascene Resonators

Transmon qubits have become a leading technology in quantum information science (QIS), with fabrication techniques widely accessible. Historically, devices were predominantly made from aluminum (Al) and niobium (Nb), but state-of-the-art transmons now use tantalum (Ta) achieving coherence times up to and exceeding 0.5 milliseconds [1-3]. The differentiation in performance between Ta and Nb-based devices is attributed to the surface oxidation states affecting Two-Level-System (TLS) noise. One approach to quickly evaluating material and device performance consists of fabricating only the readout resonator of a qubit and evaluating the quality factor which is the strategy employed in this project. Our research focuses on Ta coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonators fabricated using a damascene technique producing pristine metal structures within silicon substrates. This approach increases the dielectric substrate's participation ratio while keeping device edges oxide-free due to entrenchment. This collaborative effort, involving Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), NY CREATES/SUNY Poly, and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), has resulted in resonators with Q factors as high as 104 at low power. Ongoing studies aim to further understand and improve device performance by systematic analysis of oxygen trapped between device layers during processing. This research showcases the potential for significant improvements in superconducting qubit performance via the damascene process, heralding new possibilities for the advancement of scalable QIS technology.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Prioritizing Nuclear Materials for SAM-3 Neutron Irradiation Campaign: Structural and Cladding Materials Candidates

This report outlines a framework for selecting structural and cladding materials for the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) SAM-3 neutron irradiation campaign to support the advancement of nuclear energy technologies. The document begins with an introduction that provides background context, highlights the motivations for launching a new irradiation campaign, and defines the overall objectives. The core of the report describes the design considerations for the irradiation campaign, including capsule configurations, irradiation temperature ranges, and target dose levels (defined by displacements per atom, or dpa). The material recommendation was guided by the Specimen Identification and Prioritization (SIP) Working Group, a multidisciplinary team of experts representing national laboratories, academia, industry, federal government and agency. This group played a central role in identifying candidate materials, evaluating technical justifications, and ensuring alignment with boarder programmatic goals. A detailed set of criteria for material prioritization is then presented, taking into account reactor relevance, performance gaps, advanced manufacturing methods, and emerging material classes. Based on the input of SIP working group, specific materials were selected and justified for inclusion in the irradiation campaign by the NSUF leadership and its U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) management. The final section provides recommended capsule designs, summarizing critical parameters such as material type, fabrication method, sample geometry, irradiation conditions, and specimen quantities. This report serves as a foundation for executing a focused and high-impact neutron irradiation campaign aimed at addressing key materials challenges for both existing and advanced nuclear reactors.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of Cathode Materials with Lithium-Metal Anodes: Baseline Performance and Protocol Standardization of Coin Cells

The collaborative evaluation of electrode materials across multiple research entities requires standardized electrochemical testing protocols to produce reliable, one-to-one comparisons between different systems of interest. Similar to the work done by Long et al. on protocol standardization for coin-cell testing with graphite anodes [J. Electrochem. Soc., 163, A2999, (2016)], here we introduce two standardized testing protocols designed to quickly evaluate important electrochemical properties of cathode materials using lithium-metal anodes. The two protocols measure kinetic and thermodynamic capacity losses, rate- and voltage-dependent cycling capacities, instabilities at high voltage and high cycling rate, and overpotentials at various states of charge. We then apply these protocols to four commercially available cathode materials to establish benchmark performance metrics that can be used to screen and evaluate new cathode materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantitative assessment of Ni + and He + ion irradiation damage in a tungsten heavy alloy under the simulated nuclear fusion environment

A 90W-7Ni-3Fe (wt.%) tungsten heavy alloy has been sequentially Ni + and He + ion irradiated at 700 °C to simulate the high temperature irradiation environment of a fusion reactor interior. W/Ni–Fe-W dual-phase alloys have been proposed to serve as plasma facing materials and require detailed investigation of their behavior under fusion relevant conditions to assess their overall applicability. To evaluate material performance under five years of simulated fusion reactor service, microstructural characterization of the nanoscale defect distribution has been performed on both constituent phases, revealing peak swelling in the W phase of approximately 0.03%. The γ-phase (Ni–Fe-W) is found to swell approximately 0.68% under the same irradiation conditions, indicating significant cavity formation and growth. Additionally, a novel multi-projection imaging approach has been applied to determine the extent of damage segregation along the dual-phase W-to-γ interface and exposes that these interfaces act as sink sites for the accumulation of cavities. Interphase boundaries are noted to possess an 11.8% areal coverage of defects along the boundary plane, primarily on the γ-phase side of the boundary. The accumulation of cavities at these interphase boundaries is anticipated to adversely affect overall material toughness, and this work reveals a pressing need for mechanical property testing of irradiated W–Ni-Fe dual-phase alloys.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

ENDF/B-VIII.1: Photonuclear Sublibrary

The photonuclear sublibrary aims to describe nuclear reactions between incident gamma particles and different nuclei. For ENDF/B-VIII.1, we adopted around 200 evaluations from the IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on photonuclear data while, for a few select mission-critical materials, evaluations from ENDF/B-VIII.0 were maintained. Additionally, many fixes to many files were implemented. Finally, ENDF/B-VIII.1 includes a new photonuclear file, 242 Pu, which was adopted from JENDL-5.0.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Impact of divertor material on neutral recycling and discharge fueling in DIII-D

We report that experiments with the lower divertor of DIII-D during the Metal Rings Campaign (MRC) show that the fraction F of atomic D in the total recycling flux is material-dependent and varies through the ELM cycle, which may affect divertor fueling. Between ELMs, F C ~ 10% and FW ~ 40%, consistent with expectations if all atomic recycling is due to reflections. During ELMs, F C increases to 50% and F W to 60%. In contrast, the total D recycling coefficient including atoms and molecules R stays close to unity near the strike point where the surface is saturated with D. During ELMs, R can deviate from unity, increasing during high energy ELM-ion deposition (net D release) and decreasing at the end of the ELM which leads to ability of the target to trap the ELM-deposited D. The increase of R > 1 in response to an increase in ion impact energy Ei has been studied with small divertor target samples using Divertor Materials Evaluation System (DiMES). An electrostatic bias was applied to DiMES to change E i by 90 eV. On all studied materials including C, Mo, uncoated and W-coated TZM (>99% Mo, Ti, and Zr alloy), W, and W fuzz, an increase of E i transiently increased the D yield (and R) by ~10%. On C there was also an increase in the molecular D 2 yield, probably due to ion-induced D 2 desorption. Despite the measured increase in F on W compared to C, attached H-mode shots with OSP on W during MRC did not demonstrate a higher pedestal density. About 8% increase in the edge density could be seen only in attached L-mode scenarios. The difference can be explained by higher D trapping in the divertor and lower divertor fueling efficiency in H- versus L-mode.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Effect of Material Properties on Oxygen Evolution Activity and Assessing Half-Cell Screening as a Predictive Tool in Electrolysis

Iridium-based oxygen evolution catalysts are screened in this study for activity and stability with rotating disk electrode (RDE) half-cells. This study focuses on the electrochemical and materials approaches needed to characterize oxygen evolution catalysts, and include testing for activity, stability, composition, oxide content, and structure. Findings also discuss recommendations for data interpretation and detail the difficulties of comparing catalysts across materials sets with different elemental and oxide compositions, and linking RDE activity to device-level performance. The materials evaluated are a mixture of oxides and metals, and several methods are used to quantify metal content, qualitatively assess oxide content, and determine total surface area. Oxygen evolution activities and stabilities are compared, where a wide range of results are reported. In general, higher RDE performances are found for catalysts that contained larger amounts of ruthenium and metals. Higher durability, however, is found for catalysts that only contained iridium and a higher proportion of oxides. Additionally, catalysts are evaluated for performance in membrane electrode assemblies to assess RDE as a predictive tool in electrolysis. While activity trends within individual material sets generally held between ex- and in-situ testing, RDE tends to overestimate the activity of more metallic catalysts when compared to device-level performance. These results stress the need for multiple metal/oxide baselines for mixed catalysts, to better project in-situ kinetics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Molten Salt Reactors: What about Materials? An Overview and Future Needs

ORNL Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) – 60’s- early 70’s Developed INOR-8 (aka Hastelloy N); MSRE operated over the period Dec 1965 to 1969. (not continuous); Operated for >13,000 hr at T from ~550 to ~650°C using U, Li-7, Be and Zr fluoride salt fuel; Post-Irradiation Material Evaluation (corrosion + neutron irradiation) of surveillance specimens; Noted ”beneficial effect of Nb” in alloy (on intergranular Te embrittlement) More recent (post-1980) Materials R&D for Gen IV …. Alloys 316L, 316H, 304, Alloy 800H, Alloy 617 (!!), Hastelloy N (mod), plus numerous experimental alloys developed

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Biopolymer‐assisted Synthesis of P‐doped TiO 2 Nanoparticles for High‐performance Lithium‐ion Batteries: A Comprehensive Study

Abstract TiO 2 material has gained significant attention for large‐scale energy storage due to its abundant, low‐cost, and environmentally friendly properties, as well as the availability of various nanostructures. Phosphorus doping has been established as an effective technique for improving electronic conductivity and managing the slow ionic diffusion kinetics of TiO 2 . In this study, non‐doped and phosphorus doped TiO 2 materials were synthesized using sodium alginate biopolymer as chelating agent. The prepared materials were evaluated as anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). The electrodes exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance, including a high reversible capacity of 235 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C and excellent first coulombic efficiency of 99 %. An integrated approach, combining operando XRD and ex‐situ XAS, comprehensively investigates the relationship between phosphorus doping, material structure, and electrochemical performance, reinforced by analytical tools and first principles calculations. Furthermore, a full cell was designed using 2 %P‐doped TiO 2 anode and LiFePO 4 cathode. The output voltage was about 1.6 V with high initial specific capacity of 148 mAh g −1 , high rate‐capability of 120 mAh g −1 at 1 C, and high‐capacity retention of 96 % after 1000 cycles at 1 C.

El Halya, Nabil↗
DOE OSTI2022

CINDER90 and CINDER2008 Comparison for Second Target Station Analysis

A preliminary target activation analysis for the Second Target Station (STS) at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was preformed using Monte Carlo N-Particle X (MCNPX), CINDER90, and the corresponding multi-group cross section libraries distributed with CINDER90. This preliminary analysis has been used to guide some design decisions of the STS target design. Using the MCNPX output files from this preliminary analysis, a comparison of the activation analysis using CINDER90 and CINDER2008 was performed. While the CINDER90 code has been validated for use in spallation source activation and transmutation calculations, and compares well with measurements, the transition to the modernized version of the code (CINDER2008) and the updated cross section libraries is desirable. The goal of this comparison is to evaluate the differences and implications for the STS activation analysis. Overall, the total activity differs between CINDER2008 and CINDER90 by no more than 20% for the materials evaluated in this report. The largest discrepancies were observed in the decay gamma intensity densities with CINDER90 calculating a factor of 2 higher than CINDER2008.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Design and Validation of a Cryogenic Dilatometer

This project focuses on the design and development of a cryogenic dilatometer capable of measuring the thermal expansion of materials at extremely low temperatures. Understanding how materials change dimension with temperature is critical for applications involving cryogenic environments, particularly laminated systems housing superconducting magnets, where small dimensional changes can significantly affect performance and reliability. To address this, a dilatometer system was designed to operate within a liquid nitrogen environment while accurately measuring displacements caused by thermal contraction. The purpose of this device is to determine the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of a material. The design process involved defining functional requirements, developing mechanical and thermal concepts for the measurement apparatus, selecting appropriate materials compatible with cryogenic temperatures, and integrating sensors capable of detecting small dimensional changes. The resulting system aims to provide a practical and repeatable method for evaluating material thermal expansion at cryogenic temperatures, supporting research into composite use in superconducting applications that require accurate characterization of material behavior in low-temperature environments.

Schmitt, Nicholas [Northern Illinois U.]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Thermomechanical analysis and modeling of a high-temperature light trapping planar cavity solar receiver

The development of durable particle-based high-temperature solar receivers is critical for advancing concentrating solar-thermal (CST) technologies to enable high-efficiency power generation and industrial process heat. Here, this study presents a computational framework to evaluate the thermomechanical performance of a proposed enclosed light-trapping planar cavity receiver designed for particle-based thermal energy systems. The receiver incorporates absorptive cavities and fluidized particle-bed channels to enhance heat capture and reduce thermal losses. Finite element analysis (FEA) is employed to assess stress, strain, and creep-fatigue behavior under concentrated solar flux using realistic thermal boundary conditions derived from coupled system models and experimental assembly parameters. The analysis investigates the influence of particle-to-wall heat transfer coefficients (HTC) ranging from 800 to 1800 W/m 2 .K on the thermomechanical response of six candidate high-temperature alloys: Alloy 740H, Alloy 282, Alloy 617, 316H, Alloy 230, and 800H. Results show that increasing HTC reduces thermal gradients, leading to lower stresses and strains and extended minimum predicted creep life. While all materials satisfy fatigue life requirements under the investigated conditions, significant differences in creep resistance are observed. Alloy 740H consistently exhibits the longest minimum predicted creep life and the most favorable durability margins, followed by Alloy 282, with the remaining materials showing reduced creep resistance under identical loading. The reported creep lives are conservative lower-bound estimates intended for comparative material evaluation. This framework highlights the critical roles of material selection and geometry optimization in improving mechanical durability and reliability of solar-thermal receivers, forming a foundation for future experimental validation and design optimization.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

ETF Grout Expansion: Evaluation of MgO Additions and Struvite Precipitation Protocol for Potential Expansion

The ETF ammonia tolerant grout waste form was developed by the Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL) to stabilize ammonium and thereby prevent emission of ammonia vapor during solidification of an ammonium-rich, concentrated sulfate aqueous waste stream generated at the Hanford Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). VSL did not observe expansion in samples prepared during the waste form development work. However, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) personnel did encounter expansion, in some cases up to 20+ volume percent expansion in ETF grout samples while preforming work scope to evaluate compositional ranges for ETF brine and of the precipitation and solidification reagent. The work requests can be found in Washington River Protection Services (WRPS) Statement of Work (SOW), Requisitions #: 339922 Revisions 0 and 1, March 11, 2021, and November 2021. Additional evaluation was requested by WRPS SOW Requisitions #: 356730, Revision 1, February 1, 2022, to determine whether differences in the slags or differences in sample preparation protocols used by VSL and SRNL were the cause of the expansion observed in the SRNL samples. G. Chen, WRPS, arranged a materials exchange between VSL and SRNL and coordinated the VSL protocol for grouting and curing 1L of Base Case ETF simulant. Materials were exchanged between VSL and SRNL and both laboratories performed the VSL struvite precipitation-solidification protocol and cured samples for at least 28 days. VSL and SRNL encountered expansion, at varying degrees, in all samples prepared under the material exchange and grouting protocol. Additional material exchange testing between VSL and SRNL and alternative materials evaluation to further investigate the causes of grout expansion and differentiate the effects of various dry materials, grouting procedures, and curing containers was requested by WRPS SOW Requisitions #: 356730, Revision 2, January 10, 2023. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) assembled and distributed materials to both laboratories for testing. Observations from this study indicated variations in MgO additions, water-to-dry mix (dm) ratios and curing containers did not correlate to ETF ammonia grout expansion. In comparison to previous work, SRNL observed the addition rate of NaOH to be a potential factor for the final pH in the struvite precipitation step. In the current testing NaOH was added in bulk (5-10 mL at one time) during the precipitation step. The resulting pH was 7.57-9.15 which is slightly higher than pH observed at a slower addition rate. Additional testing is needed to identify the presence and/or struvite stability in high-pH struvite precipitant ETF ammonia grout samples. Therefore, based on current data, it is unknown if NaOH addition rate is the fundamental cause of grout expansion.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Scintillators

As concerns about the illicit movement of radioactive materials across international borders increase, so too has the need for increased protection of those borders both foreign and domestic. The challenge is not only to detect hidden radioactive materials, but also to distinguish them from legitimate radionuclides such as radio-pharmaceuticals that are often transported across borders and shipped throughout a country. With more than 600 U.S. border sites to protect, screening imported radioactive material requires a careful balance of high throughput and high search efficiency. However, these requirements are difficult to meet as rapid screening operations leave less time for radiation detectors to efficiently evaluate materials. In support of border security, Sandia developed organic glass scintillators.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Stresses within rare-earth doped yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings from in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction at high temperatures

There is a growing interest for smart coatings that can be integrated into turbine engines for in-situ temperature measurements or health monitoring. The addition of rare-earth dopants into standard thermal barrier ceramic top coat materials is used to obtain luminescent coatings that enable spectral measurements, for real-time temperature or health monitoring. The thermomechanical performance and durability of such novel coating compositions in extreme environments still remains to be evaluated. Consequently, the ability to manufacture sensor coatings which present suitable thermal properties needs to be demonstrated. For this study, highly luminescent erbium and europium doped yttria-stabilized zirconia and state-of-the-art yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings manufactured by air plasma spray were characterized to determine the effects of the embedded rareearth dopants on coating internal strain and stress and to quantify and compare their high temperature response using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. In-situ depth-resolved strain measurements were performed at 15 μm intervals along the depth of the coatings to evaluate materials response at key locations, specifically at layer interfaces. In-plane stress was calculated for the coatings and a finite element model was implemented to supplement the results and enable further predictions. The results show that the sensor coatings that were manufactured in this work revealed only minor variations in the strain response of sensor coatings under a typical thermal cycle and especially at temperatures closer to that of gas turbine operating conditions, compared to state-of-the-art coatings. This work demonstrates the viability of manufacturing rare-earth doped yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings that provide beneficial spectroscopic monitoring capabilities while having minimal impact on the thermomechanical response of the thermal barrier coatings.

Air plasma spray↗
DOE OSTI2025

Fused filament fabrication of thermoplastic polyurethane composites with microencapsulated phase-change material

Here, the present study examines the thermal energy storage (TES) effectiveness and printability of microencapsulated phase-change material (MEPCM) combined with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for fused filament fabrication (FFF). Two formulations were assessed: 24D MEPCM, which changes phase at 24 ° C, compounded with TPU pellets and 43D MEPCM, which changes phase at 43 ° C, integrated with TPU powder. These combinations are designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the form of the TPU (pellets versus powder) in the FFF process. The investigation includes a comprehensive analysis of thermal characteristics, encompassing phase-change temperature, latent heat of fusion, thermal conductivity, and thermal decomposition, which are assessed through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Additionally, mechanical properties, including stress-strain behavior, are examined to evaluate material suitability for TES applications, while microstructural visualization is used to provide deeper insights into material performance, structural integrity, and the quality of printed components. The 24D MEPCM and TPU pellets formulation experienced a significant loss of approximately 39.6% of PCM during filament extrusion and printing, resulting in a reduced effective latent heat. Therefore, further characterization of the pellet formulation was discontinued due to excessive leakage. In contrast, the 43D MEPCM and TPU powder formulation demonstrated minimal PCM loss, with the 60 wt.% composition achieving an effective latent heat of 132 J/g. This value represents the highest effective latent heat currently documented in the literature for PCM-polymer-composite materials produced using an FFF-based additive manufacturing process.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

DOC-DICAM: Domain Aware One Class Defect Identification in Composite Aerostructure Material

Fiber-reinforced composites are a common material used in the design of aircraft structures due to their good tensile strength and resistance to compression. During the manufacturing process, these structures are thoroughly inspected for flaws and defects to ensure structural integrity during commercial use. Non-destructive testing (NDT) is a collection of inspection methods that allow inspectors to evaluate material without altering it. Due to the high safety standards in aerospace manufacturing, the NDT process is done manually and can be a significant bottleneck in the development workflow. In this paper, we develop an AI-based assistance tool to drastically reduce inspection time. Typical AI workflows require large amounts of annotated data, but defects rarely occur resulting in strong class imbalance. To overcome this, we formulate the problem of defect identification as an anomaly detection task in which our primary focus is learning non-defect characteristics. To do this, we develop a multi-task self-supervised learning framework that embeds problem specific domain knowledge into the deep learning model. We verify our method using fuselage data generated in a production environment. As a result, we show that our method can effectively identify defects and requires minimal training and inference time.

anomaly detection↗