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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 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Opportunities for detailed fission studies using light charged particle reactions

Since its discovery in 1939, the nuclear fission process has provided much insight into the behavior of nuclei under many different conditions. As part of the nuclear chain reaction, the fission process has had a profound impact on modern society and it has consequently attracted much attention to the field of nuclear physics. In this talk, I will argue that the time is ripe for a resumption of studies of the fission process induced by light charged particle reactions. Although fission can be induced in heavy nuclei by several means, in some cases these methods suffer from the complication that fission can occur at several points during the decay chain thus mixing up contributions from different excitation energies. Using instead light charged particle reactions to excite the nuclei in question, the precise excitation energy from which fission takes place, can be determined. In fact, a number of such studies were carried out previously, and a first set of results on fission barrier heights, mass, energy and angular distributions were obtained. Applying detection techniques developed over the last decades will allow researchers to obtain detailed, high-quality data from which to probe and refine our present understanding of the process. Based on these observations, I suggest that substantial advances in the study of this process can be achieved by using simple light charged particle reactions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Automated Electric Vehicle Fleet Operations for On-Demand Service: Challenges and Opportunities

Automated/autonomous vehicle fleet operations within automated mobility districts have been studied over the past five years by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a US Department of Energy federally funded research and development center. This paper extends the analysis in this third phase of research underway to include considerations for electric vehicle operations and charging within a fleet of right-sized automated vehicles providing on-demand public mobility services. The current focus of research is on the operational complexities and associated challenges for automated/autonomous vehicles employing electric drivetrains and the resultant need for an efficient battery charging process while vehicles are operating in an "on-demand" mode of service. The blossoming of microtransit with shared-ride and point-to-point dispatching of each vehicle instills complex operations, with multiple mobility-on-demand transit operating sites being deployed, studied, and analyzed across North America. As a starting point, the authors' experience over the past 20 years with the analysis of automated transit network systems operating on and within dedicated and protected transitways provides initial insights into the system-level operational implications for maintaining a sufficient battery charge for a fleet of automated vehicles. Lessons learned through the prior analyses of automated transit network systems operating in on-demand service are identified, along with the capital cost implications for the requisite operating fleet size and charging station infrastructure for various approaches. These costs are summarized in juxtaposition with the benefits of realizing the higher goals of reducing environmental impacts and energy use within automated mobility districts as automated/autonomous vehicle technology matures. Finally, the discussion addresses key aspects of battery-electric propulsion for managed fleets in fully automated operation that will be studied as the third phase of research continues.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Emerging opportunities for hybrid perovskite solar cells using machine learning

While there are several bottlenecks in hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite (HOIP) solar cell production steps, including composition screening, fabrication, material stability, and device performance, machine learning approaches have begun to tackle each of these issues in recent years. Different algorithms have successfully been adopted to solve the unique problems at each step of HOIP development. Specifically, high-throughput experimentation produces vast amount of training data required to effectively implement machine learning methods. Here, we present an overview of machine learning models, including linear regression, neural networks, deep learning, and statistical forecasting. Experimental examples from the literature, where machine learning is applied to HOIP composition screening, thin film fabrication, thin film characterization, and full device testing, are discussed. These paradigms give insights into the future of HOIP solar cell research. As databases expand and computational power improves, increasingly accurate predictions of the HOIP behavior are becoming possible.

Hering, Abigail R. (ORCID:0000000270806953)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multiparameter optical fiber sensing for energy infrastructure through nanoscale light–matter interactions: From hardware to software, science to commercial opportunities

Monitoring of energy infrastructure through robust yet economical sensing platforms is becoming an area of increased importance, with ubiquitous applications including the electrical grid, natural gas and oil transportation pipelines, H2 infrastructure (storage and transportation), carbon storage, power generation, and subsurface environments. Plasmonic and functional nanomaterial enabled fiber optic sensors show excellent promise for a wide range of sensing applications due to their versatility to be engineered for specific analytes of interest while retaining inherent advantages of the optical fiber sensor platform. Through the design of novel sensing layers, the optical transduction mechanism and wavelength dependence can also be tailored for ease of integration with low-cost interrogation systems enabling an inexpensive yet highly functional optical fiber sensing platform. In addition, recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning theoretical methods have been leveraged to simultaneously extract multiple parameters through multi-wavelength interrogation such that unique wavelengths can also serve as unique sensing elements, analogous to electronic nose sensor technologies. The concept of an optical fiber based “photonic nose” via multiple interrogation wavelengths and/or sensor nodes offers a compelling platform technology to realize multiparameter speciation of chemical analytes within complex gas mixtures. In this Perspective, we further generalize the notion of multiparameter sensing through the novel “photonic nervous system” concept based upon low-cost, functionalized optical fiber sensor probes monitoring a variety of distinct analyte classes (physical, chemical, electromagnetic, etc.) simultaneously to provide broad situational awareness via integrated sensors.

Su, Yang-Duan (ORCID:0000000214820902)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Challenges and Technology-Driven Opportunities for Safeguarding Microreactors

Nuclear microreactors (MRs) represent a new class of reactors characterized by their compactness, portability, and low power output. These features enable MRs to supply electricity and process heat to remote areas like military bases; inaccessible locations; small grids, such as on islands; or disaster impacted areas. Compared to traditional light water reactors, MRs have a unique set of attributes that need to be considered for the implementation of safeguard strategies. Current safeguard methodologies are reactor technology specific and are employed on large, stationary reactors where there is easy access by safeguards inspectors and where safeguard equipment can be easily installed and retrofitted. While there are numerous benefits to MRs, their compact size, portability, scalability, and operational lifetime create challenges to the traditional safeguard approaches, thus needing novel safeguard strategies. Here, this paper addresses the unique challenges posed by MRs to the international nuclear safeguards regime, including limited human resources, and explores how technology advancements can help mitigate these challenges. Specifically, it examines novel technologies that could contribute to establishing a comprehensive safeguards framework for MRs. These safeguards-enabling technologies encompass safeguards by design, remote sensing and monitoring technologies, applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, utilization of digital twins, and system of systems assessments. While each of these safeguards-enabling technologies offers partial solutions to the challenges posed by MRs for the international safeguards regime, none of them alone can entirely address these challenges. Consequently, a combination of the safeguards-enabling technologies outlined in this paper is recommended to establish a robust safeguards regime for MRs.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2024

Assessment of Technoeconomic Opportunities in Automation for Nuclear Microreactors

Achieving full decarbonization of all economic sectors remains a challenge, especially in niche markets. For example, remote communities and industrial or mining activities detached from the main electric grid heavily rely on fossil fuels, similar to urban and industrial microgrids with combined heat and power needs. A combination of renewables and energy storage is often not suitable due to cost, reliability, intermittency, and large storage requirements. Small nuclear reactors with a flexible purpose could serve these applications. Microreactors (MR) are a class of reactors that are compact, factory manufactured, transportable, and self-regulating. Typically, they generate much less power than their large reactor counterparts. The main advantages of microreactors include the versatile nature of the energy produced, the reliability of supply, and freedom from having to transport and store large quantities of fuels on-site, coupled with the absence of dependence on an electrical grid. A strong business case is needed to move from the microreactor prototype to the commercialization phase. In fact, fossil fuels are still relatively inexpensive, and in the near term, carbon credits will be available to virtually compensate for emissions. For microreactors, one of the main costs in operation and maintenance (O&M) is their staffing levels. In this study, we investigate how to optimize the number (and thus the cost) of workers, moving from a traditional, fully manned, on-site personnel approach to an unmanned, remote personnel approach. We examine four different staffing models that can be implemented as the technology matures and evolves. We estimate the staffing needs of each model and build a business case to justify the substitution of on-site personnel with adequate technologies. To do so, we propose a cost model to quantify potential cost reductions from automating O&M activities. The model accounts for both the reduction in cost derived from the reduced number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees and the increase in cost derived from the need to buy new control hardware as needed. Applying the cost model that we created to different scenarios, an on-site O&M cost reduction exceeding 80% can be expected. Additionally, we found that it is more impactful to focus on automating routine O&M tasks rather than attempting to automate transient management (shutdowns, restarts, monitoring condition deviations). In fact, transients typically account for less than 1% of the total FTE time spent on the reactors.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Challenges and Opportunities Specific to Microreactors: Compact and Light-Weight Shielding During Operation and Transportation

The problem of designing a shield for a mobile microreactor has been addressed. The principal challenges encountered in this endeavor are the dual goals of increasing radiation protection and decreasing weight. It is recognized that these two goals are contradictory. Increasing shielding naturally increases weight. Conversely, decreasing weight naturally calls for decreasing material inventory, including possibly decreasing shield mass. The operational and regulatory drivers for shielding and transportation constraints are identified and summarized. The main constraints pertain to volume, mass, radiation dose, material feasibility and availability, and decommissioning expectations. The latter are limits on residual contamination and dose rates after the reactor is removed. Progress toward solving the challenge of shielding a transportable microreactor is made by considering a tungsten tetraboride (WB4) shell surrounding the reactor vessel. The shield and a generic microreactor were modeled using the MCNP code. It was determined that the presence of a 16-cm-thick WB4 shield reduces the dose equivalent rate during operations to 3.6 mrem/h just outside of a concrete vault and dome and soil berm surrounding the reactor, which is very near the occupational dose rate limits. Without the WB4 layer, the dose rate at the same location outside the berm would be 120 mrem/h. Most importantly, the presence of the WB4 shield substantially protects the surrounding concrete and soil from activation, thus decreasing the duration of administrative control for the site following removal of the reactor from 16 to 3.4 years. At that point, the site may be decommissioned and returned to unrestricted public access. A limitation on the incorporation of a WB4 shield as an intrinsic component of a microreactor is that it results in a design that is transportable only by using the largest road conveyances and that the load would require special permits for transit through the U.S. highway system. New directions for further improvements and possibly more effective solutions to the shielding problem of a mobile microreactor are discussed in the conclusion section.

Microreactor↗
DOE OSTI2021

Plasma-catalyst modeling for materials selection: challenges and opportunities in nitrogen oxidation

Reliable kinetic models are essential to rationalize observations and to guide the selection of appropriate plasma-catalyst combinations. Kinetic models coupling plasma- and heterogeneous-catalytic-chemistries, however, are primitive. Here, we combine reduced plasma chemistries and density functional theory parameterized surface reactions to model NO formation from N2 oxidation, an alternative nitrogen fixation process. We first show plasma excited species can enhance turnover frequencies of both Pt and Au. The enhancing potential is a function of plasma species and their densities. We then compare NO production between plasma/Pt and plasma/Au with an integral reactor model and explore the dependence of NO production as a function of plasma conditions, reactor configurations and chemical compositions. Plasma/Pt generates more NO than plasma/Au under most thermal and plasma parametric conditions. Plasma/Au outperforms plasma/Pt under high plasma excitations at low temperatures. Furthermore, these results highlight that selection of plasma-catalyst combinations should consider the properties of plasmas, materials and the coupling of the two.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

New opportunities at the next-generation neutrino experiments I: BSM neutrino physics and dark matter

The combination of the high intensity proton beam facilities and massive detectors for precision measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters including the charge-parity violating (CPV) phase will open the door to help make beyond the standard model (BSM) physics reachable even in low energy regimes in the accelerator-based experiments. Large-mass detectors with highly precise tracking and energy measurements, excellent timing resolution, and low energy thresholds will enable the searches for BSM phenomena from cosmogenic origin, as well. Therefore, it is also conceivable that BSM topics in the next-generation neutrino experiments could be the dominant physics topics in the foreseeable future, as the precision of the neutrino oscillation parameter and CPV measurements continue to improve. This paper reviews the current landscape of BSM theory in neutrino experiments in two selected areas of the BSM topics-dark matter and neutrino related BSM-and summarizes the current results from existing neutrino experiments to set benchmarks for both theory and experiment. This paper then provides a review of upcoming neutrino experiments throughout the next 10 to 15 year time scale and their capabilities to set the foundation for potential reach in BSM physics in the two aforementioned themes. An important outcome of this paper is to ensure theoretical and simulation tools exist to carry out studies of these new areas of physics, from the first day of the experiments, such as Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in the U.S. and Hyper-Kamiokande Experiment in Japan.

dark sector↗
DOE OSTI2023

Channeling acceleration in crystals and nanostructures and studies of solid plasmas: new opportunities

In this study, plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) has shown illustrious progress and resulted in an impressive demonstration of tens of GeV particle acceleration in meter-long single structures. To reach even higher energies in the 1 TeV to 10 TeV range, a promising scheme is channeling acceleration in solid-density plasmas within crystals or nanostructures. The E336 experiment studies the beam-nanotarget interaction with the highly compressed electron bunches available at the FACET-II accelerator. These studies furthermore involve an in-depth research on dynamics of beam-plasma instabilities in ultra-dense plasma, its development and suppression in structured media like carbon nanotubes and crystals, and its potential use to transversely modulate the electron bunch.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Current challenges and future opportunities of phage therapy

ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance is a major public health challenge worldwide, whose implications for global health might be devastating if novel antibacterial strategies are not quickly developed. As natural predators of bacteria, (bacterio)phages may play an essential role in escaping such a dreadful future. The rising problem of antibiotic resistance has revived the interest in phage therapy and important developments have been achieved over the last years. But where do we stand today and what can we expect from phage therapy in the future? This is the question we set to answer in this review. Here, we scour the outcomes of human phage therapy clinical trials and case reports, and address the major barriers that stand in the way of using phages in clinical settings. We particularly address the potential of phage resistance to hinder phage therapy and discuss future avenues to explore the full capacity of phage therapy.

Pires, Diana P.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Drug-induced kidney injury: challenges and opportunities

Abstract Drug-induced kidney injury (DIKI) is a frequently reported adverse event, associated with acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, and end-stage renal failure. Prospective cohort studies on acute injuries suggest a frequency of around 14%–26% in adult populations and a significant concern in pediatrics with a frequency of 16% being attributed to a drug. In drug discovery and development, renal injury accounts for 8 and 9% of preclinical and clinical failures, respectively, impacting multiple therapeutic areas. Currently, the standard biomarkers for identifying DIKI are serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. However, both markers lack the sensitivity and specificity to detect nephrotoxicity prior to a significant loss of renal function. Consequently, there is a pressing need for the development of alternative methods to reliably predict drug-induced kidney injury (DIKI) in early drug discovery. In this article, we discuss various aspects of DIKI and how it is assessed in preclinical models and in the clinical setting, including the challenges posed by translating animal data to humans. We then examine the urinary biomarkers accepted by both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency for monitoring DIKI in preclinical studies and on a case-by-case basis in clinical trials. We also review new approach methodologies (NAMs) and how they may assist in developing novel biomarkers for DIKI that can be used earlier in drug discovery and development.

Connor, Skylar (ORCID:0000000233479180)↗