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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 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

mzPeak: Designing a Scalable, Interoperable, and Future-Ready Mass Spectrometry Data Format

Advances in mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation, such as higher resolution, faster scan speeds, and improved sensitivity, have significantly increased the volume and complexity of data. The growing adoption of imaging and ion mobility further amplifies these challenges across MS-based omics fields, including proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics. While these technologies unlock new possibilities, they also present significant challenges in data management, storage, and accessibility. Existing open formats, such as the XML-based community standards mzML and imzML, struggle to meet the demands of modern MS workflows due to their large file sizes, slow data access, and limited metadata support. Vendor-specific formats, while optimized for proprietary instruments, lack interoperability, comprehensive metadata support and long-term archival reliability. This white paper lays the groundwork for mzPeak, a next-generation community data format designed to address these challenges and support high-throughput, multi-dimensional MS workflows. By adopting a hybrid model that combines efficient binary storage for numerical data and both human and machine-readable metadata storage, mzPeak will reduce file sizes, accelerate data access, and offer a scalable, adaptable solution for evolving MS technologies. For researchers, mzPeak will enable enhanced interoperability across platforms, seamless support for complex workflows including ion mobility and MS imaging, and faster data access compared to existing community formats such as mzML. Its design will ensure data is managed in compliance with regulatory standards, essential for applications such as precision medicine and chemical safety, where long-term data integrity and accessibility are critical. For vendors, mzPeak provides a streamlined, open alternative to proprietary formats, reducing the burden of regulatory compliance while aligning with the industry's push for transparency and standardization. By offering a high-performance, interoperable solution, mzPeak positions vendors to meet customer demands for sustainable data management tools which will be able to handle emerging and future data types and workflows. mzPeak aspires to become the cornerstone of MS data management, empowering researchers, vendors, and developers to innovate and collaborate more effectively.

data formats↗
DOE OSTI2021

Calibration-Free Quantitative Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery (LiB) Electrode Materials Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

Recent years have seen a surge in the demand for high-performance battery electrode materials for automotive and various electronic device applications. Improving battery performance requires precise knowledge of the structure–composition properties of active electrode materials. To this effect, quantitative and precise estimation of the composition of advanced electrode materials, containing trace amounts of dopants, provide immense value toward developing next-generation high-capacity battery materials. Herein, we demonstrate the application of calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as a powerful analytical tool for rapid and reliable quantitative spectrochemical characterizations of layered Li metal oxide cathodes containing Mo and Cr dopants (<5 atom %). Specifically, we employ the LIBS using an internal calibration methodology to establish the quantitative elemental ratios of major (Ni, Mn, Co) and trace dopant (Cr, Mo) transition metals to bulk Li contents in diverse cathode material samples such as LiNi 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 2 (NM-50/50), LiNi 0.33 Mn 0.33 Co 0.33 O 2 (NMC), LiNi 0.317 Mn 0.317 Co 0.317 Cr 0.05 O 2 (Cr-doped NMC), and LiNi 0.5– x /2 Mn 0.5– x /2 Mo x O 2 ( x = 0.03, 0.04, 0.05) (Mo-doped NM-50/50) that were synthesized via sol–gel routes. The LIBS-estimated elemental compositions are in good agreement with the nominal stoichiometric values. Furthermore, ex situ LIBS characterizations presented here pave the path for future high-efficacy application of calibration-free quantitative LIBS for rapid in situ analyses of elemental composition changes in battery electrode materials under operation that need not resort to off-site analytical techniques requiring cumbersome sample preparations and/or external standards.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Reconstruction and uncertainty quantification of lattice Hamiltonian model parameters from observations of microscopic degrees of freedom

The emergence of scanning probe and electron beam imaging techniques has allowed quantitative studies of atomic structure and minute details of electronic and vibrational structure on the level of individual atomic units. These microscopic descriptors, in turn, can be associated with local symmetry breaking phenomena, representing the stochastic manifestation of the underpinning generative physical model. In this work, we explore the reconstruction of exchange integrals in the Hamiltonian for a lattice model with two competing interactions from observations of microscopic degrees of freedom and establish the uncertainties and reliability of such analysis in a broad parameter-temperature space. In contrast to other approaches, we specifically specify a loss function inherent to thermodynamic systems and utilize it to estimate uncertainty in simulated realizations of different models. As an ancillary task, we develop a machine learning approach based on histogram clustering to predict phase diagrams efficiently using a reduced descriptor space. We further demonstrate that reconstruction is possible well above the phase transition and in the regions of parameter space when the macroscopic ground state of the system is poorly defined due to frustrated interactions. This suggests that this approach can be applied to the traditionally complex problems of condensed matter physics such as ferroelectric relaxors and morphotropic phase boundary systems, spin and cluster glasses, and quantum systems once the local descriptors linked to the relevant physical behaviors are known.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Practical Comparison of Data-Driven Prognostics Methods for Energy Systems

This study explores data-driven prognostics for nuclear power plant (NPP) condensers, focusing on tube fouling. We utilized the Asherah nuclear power plant simulator (ANS) to compare four methods: Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Regressor (SVR), Fully Connected Neural Network (FCNN), and Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network (LSTM). By simulating various fouling scenarios in the ANS, we generated data with different degradation rates under transient operations. The models were trained and tested on these data, with performance evaluated visually and numerically including uncertainty assessment. The LSTM model excelled, exhibiting minimal prediction noise and the most accurate remaining useful life estimates across all degradation levels. Its ability to capture long-term dependencies and produce cleaner outputs makes it a strong candidate, although accurate training data across the entire component lifespan are crucial. The RF model emerged as a robust alternative, providing reliable predictions with high confidence. The FCNN and SVR models, while less effective overall, showed potential under specific conditions. FCNN offers a less complex alternative to LSTM and might benefit from larger datasets. SVR excels in precision when the quality of the training data is high. Furthermore, this study highlights the operational benefits of advanced prognostics in the energy sector and emphasizes the need for further research in NPP condenser health management through real-life experiments.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Li 7 P 2 S 8 Br 0.5 I 0.5 (LPSBI) solid state electrolyte by XPS

There have been increasing surface characterization studies of battery materials specifically in the context of before and after cell operation to determine any chemical changes. Therefore, providing reliable reference spectra of battery-related materials is important. In this paper, survey and high-energy resolution data are reported for the solid-state electrolyte Li 7 P 2 S 8 Br 0.5 I 0.5 (LPSBI), which has been synthesized and characterized at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The current data presents narrow scan regions of I 3d, I 4d, Br 3d, O 1s, P 2p, S 2p, and C 1s core level spectra as well as wide-scan survey data that was obtained using Al K a x-ray source with a Thermo Fisher Nexsa instrument.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Bioenergy Research: Opportunities and Challenges

The integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) with automated experimentation, genomics, biosystems design, and bioprocessing technologies is poised to revolutionize scientific investigation and, particularly, bioenergy research. To identify the opportunities and challenges in this emerging research area, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Biological and Environmental Research program (BER) and Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) held a joint virtual workshop on AI/ML for Bioenergy Research (AMBER) on August 23–25, 2022. These interests have since been amplified in a September 2022 Executive Order, “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure U.S. Bioeconomy,” to promote a whole-of government approach to biotechnology development (White House 2022). Approximately 50 scientists with various backgrounds and expertise from academia, industry, and DOE national laboratories met to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI/ML for bioenergy research. Workshop participants were tasked with assessing the potential for AI/ML and laboratory automation to advance biological understanding and engineering in general. They particularly examined how integrating AI/ML tools with laboratory automation could accelerate biosystems design and optimize biomanufacturing. Discussions included the data and computational infrastructure needed to augment biosystems design applications and the expertise and workforce development efforts urgently required to shift integrated systems toward bioenergy research more broadly. Participants discussed many existing and future applications of AI/ML for biosystems design ranging from enzymes to plants and microbes, microbiomes, and bioprocess development. They also identified three key categories of scientific and technical opportunities and challenges: high-quality data, AI/ML algorithms, and laboratory automation. Several main takeaways emerged from the workshop: 1. Numerous AI/ML and automated experimentation applications exist for a variety of DOE mission needs in energy and the environment; 2. Exemplary research grand challenges for which AI/ML could provide solutions include: building microbes and microbial communities to specifications, developing closed-loop autonomous design and control for biosystems design, and advancing scale-up and automation; 3. Lack of sufficient high-quality, annotated data hinders the development of AI/ML applications; 4. New and improved AI/ML tools are needed, particularly those meeting the specific needs of the BER and BETO research communities; 5. Trade-offs in performance, cost, and reliability exist between deploying commercially available versus building custom-developed instrumentation and software for automated or autonomous experimentation; translation of manual to automated or autonomous methods is often a nontrivial endeavor; 6. Training a new generation of young scientists who can develop and apply AI/ML tools is needed to solve long-standing scientific challenges in bioenergy research. The integration of AI/ML tools and automated experimentation represents a new data-driven research paradigm complementary to the traditional hypothesis-driven research paradigm. This paradigm accelerates design and optimization of biological systems and processes for a variety of DOE mission needs in energy and the environment. The AMBER workshop broadly explored the potential of this new paradigm for bioenergy research, of particular interest to BER and BETO, and identified key challenges and opportunities that DOE can address in the coming years by leveraging its unique capabilities and resources.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Prospects for Pumped Storage Hydropower in Alaska

Key Takeaways: The resource mapping analysis confirmed that numerous locations in Alaska are suitable for the development of pumped storage hydropower (PSH) projects, both larger grid scale projects and smaller projects that could be suitable for remote communities; The resource assessment for larger, grid-scale projects showed the potential for more than 1,800 closed-loop systems in Alaska, with a total energy storage capacity of about 4 terawatt hours (TWh); Because of their small reservoir sizes and dam heights, many locations were identified as potentially suitable for small-scale PSH systems. Nearly 50% of the identified potentially suitable small-scale PSH sites are in Southeast Alaska; PSH candidate sites were part of the optimal capacity expansion solution in all scenarios analyzed for the Railbelt system. Depending on the scenario, the new PSH capacity that the model selected for the analysis period until 2046 ranged from 300 MW to 600 MW. The locations and timing of new PSH investments vary in different scenarios; Lithium-ion batteries were also selected a source of new generating capacity in all analyzed scenarios for the Railbelt system, indicating that the system will need a mix of short- and long-duration energy storage to support variable renewable energy sources and provide system reliability in the future; For rural communities, analysis results showed that PSH suitability is very site-specific; in addition to diesel fuel costs and PSH capital costs, suitability depends heavily on available renewable resources and existing infrastructure (e.g., reservoirs, transmission access and construction road access); The analysis for rural communities also showed that PSH projects with 10-hour energy storage are likely to be more economical for remote community applications in Alaska than those with larger reservoirs that could provide 10 days of energy storage; Lithium-ion batteries seem to be an economically more viable energy storage option for small, remote communities in Alaska.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Navigating United States Standards and Regulation for Digital Energy Systems

This report provides an analysis of the U.S. standards and regulatory landscape for digital energy systems, focusing on cybersecurity, safety, and reliability requirements. It examines the interplay between federal mandates, state regulations, voluntary industry standards, and utility-specific policies, highlighting critical gaps between compliance and real-world risk mitigation. While NERC CIP standards enforce cybersecurity for Bulk Electric System assets, distribution-level infrastructure and emerging technologies often fall outside mandatory oversight, creating vulnerabilities. The report identifies systemic challenges such as reliance on self-attestation, uneven state adoption of safety codes, and lagging standards for advanced technologies like battery energy storage and inverter-based resources. Through a detailed gap analysis, it underscores the urgency of proactive risk-based approaches, independent verification, and strategic engagement with state and federal entities. Recommendations include adopting tiered security frameworks, strengthening procurement practices, and addressing emerging technology risks to ensure resilient and secure digital energy infrastructure. This guidance is intended for utilities, regulators, and stakeholders navigating compliance obligations and seeking to enhance cybersecurity and safety beyond minimum standards.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrating Light Curve and Atmospheric Modeling of Transiting Exoplanets

Spectral retrieval techniques are currently our best tool to interpret the observed exoplanet atmospheric data. Said techniques retrieve the optimal atmospheric components and parameters by identifying the best fit to an observed transmission/emission spectrum. Over the past decade, our understanding of remote worlds in our galaxy has flourished thanks to the use of increasingly sophisticated spectral retrieval techniques and the collective effort of the community working on exoplanet atmospheric models. A new generation of instruments in space and from the ground is expected to deliver higher quality data in the next decade; it is therefore paramount to upgrade current models and improve their reliability, their completeness, and the numerical speed with which they can be run. In this paper, we address the issue of reliability of the results provided by retrieval models in the presence of systematics of unknown origin. More specifically, we demonstrate that if we fit directly individual light curves at different wavelengths (L-retrieval), instead of fitting transit or eclipse depths, as it is currently done (S-retrieval), the said methodology is more sensitive against astrophysical and instrumental noise. This new approach is tested, in particular, when discrepant simulated observations from Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 and Spitzer/IRAC are combined. We find that while S-retrievals converge to an incorrect solution without any warning, L-retrievals are able to flag potential discrepancies between the data sets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

PVDeg: Enhancing Usability and AI-Driven Multi-Mechanism Degradation Modeling

PVDeg version 0.7.0, released in December 2025, introduced major enhancements to improve usability and performance. This update reorganized tutorials and tool notebooks to create a more intuitive experience, enabling users to easily follow and adapt workflows for their specific analyses. In addition to structural improvements, both the notebooks and core logic underwent significant optimization for efficiency, robustness, and style. These refinements were supported by new testing frameworks built on nbval and pytest, adherence to PEP8 standards, and extensive code refactoring, which collectively simplify onboarding for new developers. Looking ahead, version 0.8.0 will deliver advanced AI-driven capabilities. The primary focus is to further develop and automate the degradation workflow, designed to analyze PV module degradation across diverse locations and system configurations. By integrating large language models (LLMs) to scan literature and compile a comprehensive database of materials and degradation rates, this feature will enable modeling of multiple materials and mechanisms within a single, streamlined workflow. Users will be able to evaluate degradation impacts on different system architectures under varying environmental conditions, facilitating informed decisions on bill-of-materials optimization for specific deployment scenarios. These advancements position PVDeg as a powerful, user-friendly tool for accelerating PV reliability research and system design.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1971

Measurements of plasma parameters in a simulated thermionic converter

Cesium-filled thermionic energy converters are examined as candidate electrical energy sources in spacecraft requiring tens to hundreds of kilowatts of electric power. The high operating temperatures necessary for a large specific power and high efficiency inevitably impose stringent constraints on the converter fabrication to achieve the desired reliability of the power system. The converter physics for reducing operating temperatures and cesium plasma losses are studied to achieve high reliability without sacrificing the power performance of the converters. Various cesium parameters which affect the converter performance are: (1) electron temperatures, (2) plasma ion densities, and (3) electric potential profiles. These were investigated using a Langmuir probe in a simulated converter. The parameters were measured in different cesium discharge modes.

Shimada, K.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Statistical evaluation of the significance of the influence of abrupt changes in solar activity on the dynamics of the epidemic process

Statistical evaluations of the significance of the relationship of abrupt changes in solar activity and discontinuities in the multi-year pattern of an epidemic process are reported. They reliably (with probability of more than 99.9%) show the real nature of this relationship and its great specific weight (about half) in the formation of discontinuities in the multi-year pattern of the processes in question.

Druzhinin, I. P.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Redundant Strapdown Laser Gyro Navigation System

For the last several years, NASA has pursued the development of low-cost high-reliability inertial navigation systems that would satisfy a broad spectrum of future space and avionics missions. Two specific programs have culminated in the construction of a Redundant Strapdown Laser Gyro Navigation System. These two programs were for development of a space ultrareliable modular computer (SUMC) and a redundant laser gyro inertial measurement unit (IMU). The SUMC is a digital computer that employs state-of-the-art large-scale integrated circuits configured in a functional modular breakdown. The redundant laser gyro IMU is a six-pack strapdown sensor package in a dodecahedron configuration which uses six laser gyros to provide incremental angular positions and six accelerometers for linear velocity outputs. The sensor arrangement allows automatic accommodation of two failures; a third failure can be tolerated provided it can be determined. The navigation system also includes redundant power supplies, built-in test-equipment (BITE) circuits for failure detection, and software which provides for navigation, redundancy management, and automatic calibration and alignment.

Mcpherson, B. W.↗
NASA NTRS1980

SPS phase control studies

To properly point and form the SPS microwave power beam, the outputs of the power amplifiers in the transmitting array must be phased in a specific and coherent fashion. The purpose of the SPB phase control system is to bring this about reliably. A number of different phase control schemes were studied. The one selected for the SPS baseline system is a retrodirective CW phase that is distributed via fiber optics. The basis of this selection is relative technical simplicity and requisite assurance of success.

Lund, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Trends in environmentally induced spacecraft anomalies

The Spacecraft Anomaly Data Base was useful in identifying trends in anomaly occurrence. Trends alone do not provide quantitative testimony to a spacecraft's reliability, but they do indicate areas that command closer study. An in-depth analysis of a specific anomaly can be expensive and difficult without access to the spacecraft. Statistically verified anomaly trends can provide a good reference point to begin anomaly analysis. Many spacecraft experience an increase in anomalies during the period of several days centered on the solar equinox, a period that is also correlated with sun eclipse at geostationary altitude and an increase in major geomagnetic storms. Increase anomaly occurrence can also be seen during the local time interval between midnight and dawn. This local time interval represents a region in Earth's near space that experiences an enhancement in electron plasma density due to a migration from the magnetotail during or following a geomagnetic substorm.

Wilkinson, Daniel C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Transmission research activities at NASA Lewis Research Center

A joint research program, to advance the technology of rotorcraft transmissions, consists of analytical and experimental efforts to achieve the overall goals of reducing transmission weight and noise, while increasing life and reliability. Recent activities in the areas of transmission and related component research are highlighted. Current areas include specific technologies in support of military rotary wing aviation, gearing technology, transmission noise reduction studies, a recent interest in gearbox diagnostics, and advanced transmission system studies. Results of recent activities are presented along with near term research plans.

Lewicki, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Analysis of faults in an N-version software experiment

The authors have conducted a large-scale experiment in N-version programming. A total of 27 versions of a program were prepared independently from the same specification at two universities. The results of executing the versions revealed that the versions were individually extremely reliable but that the number of input cases in which more than one failed was substantially more than would be expected if they were statistically independent. After the versions had been executed, the failures of each version were examined and the associated faults located. The analysis showed that in some cases the programmers made equivalent logical errors, indicating that some parts of the problem were simply more difficult than others. The authors also found cases in which apparently different logical errors yielded faults that caused statistically correlated failures, indicating that there are special cases in the input space that present difficulty in various parts of the solution. A formal model is presented to explain this phenomenon. It appears that minor differences in the software development environment would not have a major impact in reducing the incidence of faults that cause correlated failures.

Brilliant, Susan S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

On protection of Freedom's solar dynamic radiator from the orbital debris environment. Part 2: Further testing and analyses

Presented here are results of a test program undertaken to further define the response of the solar dynamic radiator to hypervelocity impact (HVI). Tests were conducted on representative radiator panels (under ambient, nonoperating conditions) over a range of velocity. Target parameters are also varied. Data indicate that analytical penetration predictions are conservative (i.e., pessimistic) for the specific configuration of the solar dynamic radiator. Test results are used to define the solar dynamic radiator reliability with respect to HVI more rigorously than previous studies. Test data, reliability, and survivability results are presented.

Rhatigan, Jennifer L.↗