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DOE OSTI2020

Stepped pressure equilibrium with relaxed flow and applications in reversed-field pinch plasmas

The multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRxMHD) has been successful in the construction of equilibria in three-dimensional (3D) configurations. In MRxMHD, the plasma is sliced into sub-volumes separated by ideal interfaces, each undergoing relaxation, allowing the formation of islands and chaos. The resulting equilibrium has a stepped pressure profile across sub-volumes. The stepped pressure equilibrium code (SPEC) was developed to calculate MRxMHD equilibria numerically. In this work, we have extended the SPEC code to compute MRxMHD equilibria with field-aligned flow and rotation, following the theoretical development to incorporate cross-helicity and angular momentum constraints. The code has been verified for convergence and compared to a Grad–Shafranov solver in 2D. We apply our new tool to study the flow profile change before and after the sawtooth crash of a reversed-field pinch discharge, in which data of the parallel flow is available. We find the promising result that under the constraints of cross-helicity and angular momentum, the parallel flow profile in post-crash SPEC equilibrium is flat in the plasma core and the amplitude of the flow matches experimental observations. Lastly, we provide an example equilibrium with a 3D helical field structure as the favored lower energy state. This will be the first 3D numerical equilibrium in which the flow effects are self-consistently calculated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Machine Learning Characterization of Alfvénic and Sub-Alfvénic Chirping and Correlation With Fast-Ion Loss at NSTX

Abrupt large events in the Alfvenic and sub-Alfvenic frequency bands in tokamaks are typically correlated with increased fast-ion loss. Here, machine learning is used to speed up the laborious process of characterizing the behavior of magnetic perturbations from corresponding frequency spectrograms that are typically identified by humans. The analysis allows for comparison between different mode character (such as quiescent, fixed frequency, and chirping, avalanching) and plasma parameters obtained from the TRANSP code, such as the ratio of the neutral beam injection (NBI) velocity and the Alfven velocity (v_inj./v_A), the q-profile, and the ratio of the neutral beam beta and the total plasma beta (beta_beam,i / beta). In agreement with the previous work by Fredrickson et al., we find a correlation between beta_beam,i and mode character. In addition, previously unknown correlations are found between moments of the spectrograms and mode character. Character transition from quiescent to nonquiescent behavior for magnetic fluctuations in the 50200-kHz frequency band is observed along the boundary v_phi ~ (1/4)(v_inj. - 3v_A), where v_phi is the rotation velocity.

machine learning↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Global Spectra-Trait Initiative: A database of paired leaf spectroscopy and functional traits associated with leaf photosynthetic capacity (v1.0.0)

The Global Spectra-Trait Initiative (GSTI) aims to generate generalizable spectra trait models using reflectance data to predict leaf traits associated with the photosynthesis capacity of leaves. It comprises a synthesized dataset of leaf trait data, input datasets and code. Leaf traits include the maximum carboxylation rate of rubisco (Vcmax), the maximum electron transport rate (Jmax), the dark respiration, as well as the prediction of leaf nitrogen, leaf mass per area (LMA), and leaf water content (LWC). The dataset comprises >7500 paired observations from around 400 species from a broad range of biomes. This dataset comprises a zip file of the GSTI GitHub repository (https://github.com/plantphys/gsti), the synthesized database (.csv) and database metadata files. This dataset was updated on 2025-12-12 with minor edits to mirror the accepted manuscript version and GitHub release (Version 1.0.0 (ESSD accepted version)). Edits included minor changes to the project documentation on GitHub and removal of 12 duplicate entries from the database.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

PIAFS: A 2D nonlinear hydrodynamics code to model gaseous optics

The survivability of final optics is expected to be a major challenge for all future inertial fusion energy concepts. Due to their higher damage threshold, gaseous optics have been identified as a promising solution to this problem. Gaseous optics can be created through the photoabsorption of spatially modulated UV light, which induces various chemical processes that heat the gas. This heating leads to a pressure perturbation, which in turn launches a density perturbation that can imprint a refractive index modulation such as a grating. In this article, we introduce a parallel C/C++ code to simulate gaseous optics. PIAFS2D is a high-order conservative finite-difference code to solve the compressible Navier–Stokes equations along with the photochemical heating sources on Cartesian grids. The simulations are validated by the linear theory derived in a previous paper [Michel et al., Phys. Rev. Appl. 22, 024014 (2024)]. For larger perturbations, the behavior of the system—particularly the evolution of the generated acoustic wave—demonstrates strong nonlinearity. PIAFS2D allows the study of nonlinear behaviors and can be used for the design of high-efficiency gaseous optics elements in realistic experimental conditions.

Oudin, A. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ↗

DOE OSTI2025

ELG spectroscopic systematics analysis of the DESI Data Release 1

Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) uses more than 2.4 million Emission Line Galaxies (ELGs) for 3D large-scale structure (LSS) analyses in its Data Release 1 (DR1). Such large statistics enable thorough research on systematic uncertainties. In this study, we focus on spectroscopic systematics of ELGs. The redshift success rate (f goodz ) is the relative fraction of secure redshifts among all measurements. It depends on observing conditions, thus introduces non-cosmological variations to the LSS. We, therefore, develop the redshift failure weight (w zfail ) and a per-fibre correction (η zfail ) to mitigate these dependences. They have minor influences on the galaxy clustering. For ELGs with a secure redshift, there are two subtypes of systematics: 1) catastrophics (large) that only occur in a few samples; 2) redshift uncertainty (small) that exists for all samples. The catastrophics represent 0.26% of the total DR1 ELGs, composed of the confusion between [O ii] and sky residuals, double objects, total catastrophics and others. We simulate the realistic 0.26% catastrophics of DR1 ELGs, the hypothetical 1% catastrophics, and the truncation of the contaminated 1.31 < z < 1.33 in the A BACUS S UMMIT ELG mocks. Their P ℓ show non-negligible bias from the uncontaminated mocks. But their influences on the redshift space distortions (RSD) parameters are smaller than 0.2σ. The redshift uncertainty of DR1 ELGs is 8.5km s -1 with a Lorentzian profile. The code for implementing the catastrophics and redshift uncertainty on mocks can be found in https://github.com/Jiaxi-Yu/modelling_spectro_sys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Excitation functions of proton-induced nuclear reactions on $$^{86}$$Sr, with particular emphasis on the formation of isomeric states in $$^{86}$$Y and $$^{85}$$Y

Abstract Cross sections of proton-induced nuclear reactions on enriched $$^{\mathrm {86}}$$ 86 Sr target were measured by the activation technique up to proton energies of 44 MeV. The isomeric cross-section ratios for $$^{\mathrm {86m,g}}$$ 86 m , g Y and $$^{\mathrm {85m,g}}$$ 85 m , g Y as a function of projectile energy were deduced from their measured data. The present experimental data for the nuclear reaction products, namely $$^{\mathrm {86m}}$$ 86 m Y, $$^{\mathrm {86g+xm}}$$ 86 g + xm Y, $$^{\mathrm {85m}}$$ 85 m Y, $$^{\mathrm {85g}}$$ 85 g Y, $$^{\mathrm {84}}$$ 84 Rb and $$^{\mathrm {83}}$$ 83 Rb were compared with the results of nuclear model calculations using the code TALYS, which combines the statistical, precompound, and direct interactions. In general, the experimental cross-section data as well as the isomeric cross-section ratios are reproduced well by the model calculations, provided the input model parameters are properly chosen and the level structure of the product nucleus is thoughtfully considered. The quality of the agreement between experimental data and model calculations was numerically quantified. For products formed via emission of a light complex particle as well as multi-nucleons (e.g., $$\alpha $$ α and 2p2n), the contribution of the latter process starts increasing when its energy threshold is crossed.

Uddin, M. S.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Design and Validation of a Gammaray Scanning System for Measuring Irradiated Nuclear Fuel

A prototype gamma-ray scanning system was designed to perform post-irradiation measurements of nuclear fuel at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The system is composed of a coaxial high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector, a collimator, and mechanical positioning stages that translate the fuel sample across the front of the collimator. This paper documents the design process, modeling and the laboratory characterization performed to validate the system. The modeling of the system was done using the Monte Carlo N-Particle code with vendor-supplied design specifications, dimensional measurements, and x-ray radiographs of the HPGe detector. The characterization included measurements of calibrated radiation sources in different geometries, and calculations for absolute efficiency and dead time. Benchmark measurements were performed by scanning an irradiated fuel rodlet containing ten pellets of 4.9% enriched UO2 in zirconium alloy. These results were compared to simulated spectra to further help characterize the detector model. One goal of the system is to determine the number of fissions per gram of UO2 in the fuel; comparison of the results from this prototype system's assay of the irradiated fuel rodlet are in agreement with previously estimated results.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

DESIGN AND VALIDATION OF A GAMMA-RAY SCANNING SYSTEM FOR MEASURING IRRADIATED NUCLEAR FUEL (ABSTRACT)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Modernizing the Legacy Fission Wire Measurement System for the Advanced Test Reactor-Critical Facility

Operational lifetime extensions of existing research reactors have emphasized the need for refurbishment, replacements, and upgrades to supporting equipment and instrumentation. The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), which entered service in 1967, has recently completed the sixth core internals change-out and has scheduled operations until at least 2040. Reactor maintenance and operational risk management is critically important in the research reactor community, however supporting measurement systems sometimes get overlooked when maintenance is planned. The Fission Wire Measurement System (FWMS) is a custom measurement system designed in the 1960s to measure the beta-particle activity of irradiated uranium-aluminum fission wires. This measurement is conducted to determine the fission rate profile of the Advanced Reactor Test Critical (ATR-C) facility. The ATR-C is an open-pool, low-power test reactor that was purpose driven to resemble ATR and is used to qualify experiment configurations and verify core models prior to full-power experiment irradiations in ATR. A power distribution measurement in ATR-C uses uranium-aluminum wires that are distributed throughout the ATR-C core to validate simulation and modeling results. These measurements require 340 to 1500 wires to be irradiated and measured within a 12-hour window. The activity of the wires is measured in the required time with the FWMS, which was put into service in 1965 at the Radiation Measurements Laboratory (RML). The system consists of 4 measurement channels and one reference channel, each with a 2-pi proportional gas flow detector and the measurement channels each have an automated sample changer. This legacy system is crucial to the continued operations of ATR and has undergone some minor hardware upgrades since 1965, however the system presently relies on custom control boards, custom gas ion chambers, analog amplifiers/discriminators, and a user interface (UI) for the system written in outdated code. Much of the equipment and software is custom with no commercial replacements or support and limited documentation. The existing control software requires an operating system that is no longer supported, creating more vulnerabilities to continued operations. A project is underway with a third-party vendor to design, build, and document a new control and data acquisition system (CDAS) for the FWMS. The new upgrade will replace the control system, computer, UI, sample changer motors, and main power supply while maintaining the interface with existing detector hardware. The upgraded system will be operated in parallel with the current hardware and software to conduct validation testing. This equipment upgrade demonstrates the commitment at ATR to ensuring successful operations and potential future research reactors at INL.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗

DOE OSTI2022

WHONDRS Surface Water Dissolved Organic Carbon and FTICR-MS across Stream Orders in Four United States Watersheds in 2019 and 2020 (v3)

This dataset supports the broader Watershed Rules of Life (WROL) study examining spatial and temporal biogeochemical and microbial relationships across the Connecticut River, Deschutes River, Gunnison River, and Willamette River watersheds. The dataset provides geochemistry and organic matter characterization data generated from surface water collected from August 2019 to September 2020 in Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, and Vermont. Related data were collected and will be published separately in collaboration with P. A. Raymond and B. C. Crump as part of WROL. This dataset is comprised of one folder containing (1) file-level metadata; (2) data dictionary; (3) readme; (4) field metadata; (5) dissolved organic carbon (DOC, measured as non-purgeable organic carbon, NPOC) data and averages; (6) surface water sampling protocol; (7) methods codes; (8) international generic sample number (IGSN) mapping file; and (9) a folder of high resolution characterization of organic matter via 12 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) generated through the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL; https://www.pnnl.gov/environmental-molecular-sciences-laboratory). The FTICR folder contains two subfolders, one containing the .xml data files and the other containing instructions for using Formularity (https://omics.pnl.gov/software/formularity) and an R script to process the data based on the user's specific needs. All files are .csv, .pdf, .R, .ref, or .xml. This data package was originally published in October 2022. It was updated in July 2023 (v2) and again in November 2023 (v3). See the change history section in the readme for more details.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

OC7 Project Phase II: Code Comparison and Experimental Validation of Hydroelastic Effects and Member-Level Loads in Floating Structures

This paper presents results from Phase II of the OC7 project, focusing on hydroelastic modeling and member-level load prediction for a flexible floating offshore structure. Numerical predictions from 11 academic and industrial partners are validated against experimental measurements obtained from a 1:70-scale test of the VolturnUS-S semisubmersible platform. A comprehensive set of verification and validation cases is examined. The results demonstrate that hydrodynamic added mass has a significant impact on predicted elastic natural frequencies. Under regular wave excitation, the numerical models reproduce platform motions and mooring line tensions with good accuracy. Member-level loads are also predicted with reasonable accuracy. Some discrepancies are observed for potential-flow models not accounting for higher-order effects associated with the instantaneous wetted surface.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Peridigm Meshfree Peridynamics Code

Abstract Peridigm is a meshfree peridynamics code written in C++ for use on large-scale parallel computers. It was originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories and is currently managed as an open-source, community driven software project. Its primary features include bond-based, state-based, and non-ordinary state-based constitutive models, bond failure laws, contact, and support for explicit and implicit time integration. To date, Peridigm has been used primarily by methods developers focused on solid mechanics and material failure. Peridigm utilizes foundational software components from Sandia’s Trilinos project and was designed for extensibility. This paper provides an overview of the solution methods implemented in Peridigm , a discussion of its software infrastructure, and demonstrates the use of Peridigm for the solution of several example problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Understanding detachment of the W7-X island divertor

The fundamental behavior of the W7-X island divertor under detached conditions, which has been theoretically predicted with the EMC3-Eirene code, is re-examined here under the experimental conditions achieved so far and compared with the first experimental results. Both simulations and experiments cover a range of divertor configurations and plasma parameters, and show the following common trends: (1) with rising impurity radiation, the target heat load decreases 'uniformly' over the entire target surface in the sense that both the peak and average heat loads can drop by an order of magnitude. Impurity radiation (mainly from intrinsic carbon) occurs primarily at the plasma edge and the resulting negative impact on the stored energy is less than 10%. (2) When the total radiation exceeds a critical level, the target particle flux (the recycling flux Γrecy) begins to fall and can drop by a factor of 3–5 at high radiation levels without an obvious indication of significant volume recombination. (3) While Γ recy decreases, the divertor neutral pressure continues to build up and reaches a maximum, at which point Γ recy has declined significantly. (4) During detachment, the electron temperature at the last closed flux surface falls in a way that is not quantitatively understandable from parallel classical heat conduction processes. This paper presents a physical explanation of the numerical/experimental results described above. Furthermore, using the EMC3-Eirene code as a diagnostic tool, we are able, apparently for the first time, to provide a full quantitative analysis of each transport channel in the island divertor, aiming to clarify how the island divertor plasma self-regulates to maintain particle, energy, and momentum balance under detached conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

SAS4A/SASSYS-1 Verification Testing for Sodium Fast Reactor Applications (Acceptance Testing Report)

SAS4A/SASSYS-1 (SAS) is a simulation tool used to perform deterministic analyses of anticipated events as well as design basis and beyond design basis accidents for advanced liquid-metal- cooled nuclear reactors. With its origin as SAS1A in the late 1960s, the SAS series of codes has been under continuous use and development for over fifty years and represents a critical investment in safety analysis capabilities for the U.S. Department of Energy. To support demonstration of software pedigree and confirm key functional requirements, this report has been generated to provide detailed verification of the software. Although SAS was developed to support the analysis of any liquid-metal-cooled nuclear reactor, the acceptance testing described in this document focuses on the verification of SAS capabilities as they relate to pool-type Sodium Fast Reactors (SFRs). This report includes documentation of the test problem definition, analytical solution(s), computational solution(s), acceptance criteria, comparisons of analytical/computational solutions, and determination of acceptance of the computational solution(s). Deviations from acceptance criteria are noted.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Nuclear data uncertainty quantification for the nuclide inventory of a Calvert Cliffs spent fuel sample

The impact of nuclear data cross section uncertainties and covariance matrices on the nuclide vector of spent nuclear fuel was investigated; This exercise was carried out for the Calvert Cliffs fuel assembly D047 benchmark available in the SFCOMPO database. Sample P irradiated in rod MKP109 for 4 cycles up to a burnup of approximately 44 GWd/MTU was selected for the analysis. Nuclear data uncertainties were taken from the most recent libraries released by evaluation projects JEFF, ENDF/B and JENDL, and were propagated using the SANDY code via a stochastic sampling approach. This paper provides a quantification of the uncertainty on the concentration of several actinides and fission products relevant for spent fuel management. Uncertainties generally below 5 % were predicted for the concentrations of most of the uranium, neptunium and plutonium isotopes relevant for SNF applications. Curium isotopes carry larger uncertainties that might exceed 10 %. The contribution of cross section uncertainties on the concentrations of fission products was found to be marginal with the exception of a few nuclides. These results can be significantly affected by the lack of evaluated covariance matrices for the capture cross section of several fission products. Burnup tracers such as {sup 148}Nd and {sup 137}Cs have negligible uncertainties because of the power normalisation imposed in every stochastic calculation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Temperature response and brine availability to heated boreholes in bedded salt

Abstract There is a growing need for disposal of high‐level nuclear waste. To reduce uncertainty associated with brine availability to repository excavations in salt formations, a collaboration between Sandia, Los Alamos, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories is performing a series of borehole‐scale coupled process tests. Here, we report on the first round of the Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) project, a “shakedown” experiment called Phase 1s. Experimental testing included placing a resistive heater, a 260‐W radiative heater, and a 750‐W radiative heater within previously drilled horizontal boreholes at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) while monitoring temperature and water inflow. The experiments successfully achieved the targeted temperature of 120 °C when using the 750‐W radiative heater. Simulations using FEHM (Finite Element Heat and Mass transfer code) and TOUGH‐FLAC (Transport Of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat–Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua) were able to accurately predict the coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical–chemical response of salt, matching the observed temperature and brine production. Due to the extremely low permeability of salt, these systems take many years to reach steady state when perturbed by mining activities. Long‐term numerical simulations are used to develop the initial pressure and saturation conditions. The inclusion of a damaged rock zone with higher permeability around the borehole also affects the saturation and pressure distributions and plays an important role in dissipating the potential for thermal pressurization. Knowledge gained from this round of experimentation and simulation will be used to conduct the next BATS project experiment in new boreholes at WIPP.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Implementation of new mixture rules has a substantial impact on combustion predictions for H 2 and NH 3

Complex-forming reactions comprise a substantial fraction of all important combustion reactions and are central to combustion behavior. Despite being often called “pressure-dependent” reactions, their rate constants depend on not only the pressure but also the composition. While modern combustion codes allow arbitrarily high accuracy in treating pressure dependence, recent work has consistently demonstrated dramatic failures of essentially all available treatments of mixture dependence. In situations where mixture dependence is treated at all, it is inevitably treated through specification of pressure-dependent rate constants for a set of pure bath gases, which are then combined to estimate the rate constant in a mixture via a “mixture rule.” While there had been a generally unquestioning confidence in these mixture rules, they had, in reality, been scarcely tested until the last decade, when comparisons against master equation calculations revealed order-of-magnitude errors for important pressure-dependent reactions. New mixture rules, based on the reduced pressure, have recently been proposed and shown to reproduce master equation calculations for broad classes of complex-forming reactions very accurately. Here, in this work, we present an implementation of one such new mixture rule (“LMR-R”) in Cantera and then use it to enable simulations that use new high-accuracy ab initio data for individual bath gases (for the first time, since codes previously could not accommodate the complex bath gas dependence). Demonstrations focus on combustion of H 2 and NH 3 , where (1) high-accuracy ab initio data are available and (2) the impact is expected to be large due to the high fractions of efficient colliders (e.g., H 2 O and NH 3 ) in the burned and unburned gases. Indeed, we find the impact of this treatment to be substantial and may explain previous modeling difficulties for these important carbon-free fuels, particularly for NH 3 , whose extraordinarily high third-body efficiency (~20) is often omitted from kinetic models.

Ammonia↗

DOE OSTI2023

Star formation efficiency and AGN feedback in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies with fast X-ray nuclear winds

ABSTRACT We present the first systematic study of the molecular gas and star formation efficiency in a sample of ten narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies selected to have X-ray Ultra Fast Outflows and, therefore, to potentially show AGN feedback effects. CO observations were obtained with the IRAM 30-m telescope in six galaxies and from the literature for four galaxies. We derived the stellar mass, star formation rate, AGN, and FIR dust luminosities by fitting the multi-band spectral energy distributions with the CIGALE code. Most of the galaxies in our sample lie above the main sequence (MS), and the molecular depletion time is one to two orders of magnitude shorter than the one typically measured in local star-forming galaxies. Moreover, we found a promising correlation between the star formation efficiency and the Eddington ratio, as well as a tentative correlation with the AGN luminosity. The role played by the AGN activity in the regulation of star formation within the host galaxies of our sample remains uncertain (little or no effect? positive feedback?). Nevertheless, we can conclude that quenching by the AGN activity is minor and that star formation will likely stop in a short time due to gas exhaustion by the current starburst episode.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗