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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 829 records · Page 46
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Discovery of Five SOS2 Fragment Hits with Binding Modes Determined by SOS2 X-Ray Cocrystallography

SOS1 and SOS2 are guanine nucleotide exchange factors that mediate RTK-stimulated RAS activation. Selective SOS1:KRAS PPI inhibitors are currently under clinical investigation, whereas there are no reports to date of SOS2:KRAS PPI inhibitors. SOS2 activity is implicated in MAPK rebound when divergent SOS1 mutant cell lines are treated with the SOS1 inhibitor BI-3406; therefore, SOS2:KRAS inhibitors are of therapeutic interest. In this report, we detail a fragment-based screening strategy to identify X-ray cocrystal structures of five diverse fragment hits bound to SOS2.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

An analytical approach to evaluating magnetic-field closure and topological changes in FRC devices

Here, we describe mathematical methods based on optimizing a modified non-linear flux function (MFF) to evaluate whether odd-parity perturbations affect the local closure of magnetic field lines in field-reversed configurations. Using the MFF methodology, quantitative formulas are derived that provide the shift of the field minimum and the threshold for field-line opening, a discontinuous change in field topology.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Constraining gas motion and non-thermal pressure beyond the core of the Abell 2029 galaxy cluster with XRISM

We report on a detailed spectroscopic study of the gas dynamics and hydrostatic mass bias of the galaxy cluster Abell 2029, utilizing high-resolution observations from XRISM Resolve. Abell 2029, known for its cool core and relaxed X-ray morphology, provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the influence of gas motions beyond the central region. Expanding upon prior studies that revealed low turbulence and bulk motions within the core, our analysis covers regions out to the scale radius $R_{2500}$ (670 kpc) based on three radial pointings extending from the cluster center toward the northern side. We obtain accurate measurements of bulk and turbulent velocities along the line of sight. The results indicate that non-thermal pressure accounts for no more than 2% of the total pressure at all radii, with a gradual decrease outward. The observed radial trend differs from many numerical simulations, which often predict an increase in non-thermal pressure fraction at larger radii. These findings suggest that deviations from hydrostatic equilibrium are small, leading to a hydrostatic mass bias of around 2% across the observed area.

X-rays: galaxies: clusters↗
DOE OSTI2020

AlphaBeta: computational inference of epimutation rates and spectra from high-throughput DNA methylation data in plants

Stochastic changes in DNA methylation (i.e., spontaneous epimutations) contribute to methylome diversity in plants. Here, we describe AlphaBeta, a computational method for estimating the precise rate of such stochastic events using pedigree-based DNA methylation data as input. We demonstrate how AlphaBeta can be employed to study transgenerationally heritable epimutations in clonal or sexually derived mutation accumulation lines, as well as somatic epimutations in long-lived perennials. Application of our method to published and new data reveals that spontaneous epimutations accumulate neutrally at the genome-wide scale, originate mainly during somatic development and that they can be used as a molecular clock for age-dating trees.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Chapter 11: Renewable Microgrids as a Foundation of the Future Sustainable Electrical Energy System

Renewable microgrids are an integral part of the future sustainable energy system. This chapter focuses on the role of renewable energy-based microgrids in the electricity system transformation. It is seen as a foundation that complements large-scale generation plants and high-voltage transmission lines by providing additional flexibility and resilience. This flexibility and resilience are crucial for balancing the energy system and ensuring its long-term sustainability, given the changing supply and demand patterns due to rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV), battery storage, electric mobility, and heat pumps. It is also an opportunity for residential and commercial consumers to become active participants in the energy market. Innovation, new technologies and business models will act as the key enabler for this transformation. The regulatory restructuring of the energy market will be crucial for successful integration of prosumers and aggregated energy communities. The chapter presents the vision of a sustainable, decentralized, and digitized energy future including market potential, most innovative case study projects and start-up companies, and the shifts needed in the regulatory landscape.

battery storage↗
DOE OSTI2021

Improved temperature control for measuring the humidity dependence of aerosol optical properties

Aerosols impact climate and cloud formation by their ability to take up water, which leads to changes in their optical properties. To better characterize the interactions of aerosol with water vapor, a humidification section has been added to the Cavity Attenuation Phase-shift Spectrometry (CAPS) instrument. The CAPS is a diode based method that provides simultaneous measurements of both aerosol total optical extinction and scattering in real-time. We are improving the humidity controlled sample line with new temperature controls. The current system suffers from particlelosses and poorly controlled humidity profiles, both of which were corrected for in the systems redesign. This improved wet-CAPS system has been integrated with a dry-CAPS to simultaneously measure the wet and dry aerosol optical properties. The two CAPS monitors were operated in a dry collection mode to ensure there were no biases between the instruments. Initial calibrations and data were collected to test the functionality of the dual CAPS system (wet + dry). The new two channel CAPS system improves our ability to measure the effects of humidity on aerosol optical properties.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Surprising similarities in model and observational aerosol radiative forcing estimates

Abstract. The radiative forcing from aerosols (particularly through their interaction with clouds) remains one of the most uncertain components of the human forcing of the climate. Observation-based studies have typically found a smaller aerosol effective radiative forcing than in model simulations and were given preferential weighting in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). With their own sources of uncertainty, it is not clear that observation-based estimates are more reliable. Understanding the source of the model and observational differences is thus vital to reduce uncertainty in the impact of aerosols on the climate. These reported discrepancies arise from the different methods of separating the components of aerosol forcing used in model and observational studies. Applying the observational decomposition to global climate model (GCM) output, the two different lines of evidence are surprisingly similar, with a much better agreement on the magnitude of aerosol impacts on cloud properties. Cloud adjustments remain a significant source of uncertainty, particularly for ice clouds. However, they are consistent with the uncertainty from observation-based methods, with the liquid water path adjustment usually enhancing the Twomey effect by less than 50 %. Depending on different sets of assumptions, this work suggests that model and observation-based estimates could be more equally weighted in future synthesis studies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Laboratory Instrument Software Controlled Spread Spectrum Time Domain Reflectometry for Electrical Cable Testing

This research discusses development of a software-controlled laboratory instrument based spread spectrum time domain reflectometry system (SSTDR). This constitutes one task within PNNL’s Light Water Sustainability Program (LWRS) whose mission includes advancing nondestructive examination (NDE) techniques for off-line and on-line in-situ cable condition monitoring. In 2022, PNNL evaluated SSTDR for detection and characterization of a number of cable anomalies (Glass et al. 2022). The review included comparison of SSTDR to Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR) techniques which have enjoyed encouraging feedback and are starting to be used in nuclear power plants for periodic cable condition monitoring of cable systems as part of the plant’s overall cable aging management program. The FDR test introduces a broad-band chirp onto the cable at the cable end then listens for any reflection from a change of impedance along the cable caused by a damaged conductor or insulation, splices, contact with moisture, or other cable anomalies. The signal is captured in the frequency domain then transformed back to the time domain using an inverse Fourier transform (IFT). Based on the velocity of propagation, the impedance response signal is plotted against distance along the cable. Peak locations along the X-axis indicate the distance along the cable where a portion of the signal has been reflected back to the instrument as a result of a cable anomaly. The FDR test is considered the gold standard of reflectometry however it does require the cable to be de-energized to perform the test. The LIVEWIRE commercial SSTDR produces a similar plot to the FDR however all processing is in the time domain. A pseudo-random noise code (PN code) is input onto the cable conductor and the instrument listens for any reflected response from cable anomalies. The SSTDR processes the signal as an autocorrelation comparing the input PN code to any reflected signal detected. The autocorrelation analysis for thermal aging, water and water ingress detection, ground fault and phase-to-phase fault detection at various locations along the cable and with the cable attached and detached from a motor load, and on both energized and un-energized conditions were performed. These results were contrasted to Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR) measurements of the un-energized cable. Results were encouraging but indicated more work was warranted – particularly with the SSTDR, it seemed that the insulation damage would likely be better evaluated with multiple bandwidth cable tests particularly including larger bandwidths than were possible with the current commercial instrument. The commercial instrument’s bandwidth was set at 6, 12, 24, and 48MHz but note that SSTDR and FDR definitions of bandwidth trend similarly but are not the same. The FDR response could be more broadly adjusted, and the bandwidth of 100 to 500 MHz produced the best responses. FDR responses to anomalies were clearer than SSTDR responses and indications were that a broader bandwidth SSTDR may lead to improved SSTDR detection capability. This project used a laboratory instrument based SSTDR (primarily using an Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) and a digital oscilloscope plus Python in-house software) that allowed software adjustment of the SSTDR bandwidth, window functions applied to the exciting Pseudo-random Noise (PN) code plus and other aspects of the SSTDR signal processing. Hereafter, this will be referred to as the PNNL SSTDR. Evaluating specific performance of the PNNL SSTDR is left to a separate report. This report documents hardware and software development to produce the SSTDR cable test system.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deep modelling of plasma and neutral fluctuations from gas puff turbulence imaging

The role of turbulence in setting boundary plasma conditions is presently a key uncertainty in projecting to fusion energy reactors. To robustly diagnose edge turbulence, we develop and demonstrate a technique to translate brightness measurements of HeI line radiation into local plasma fluctuations via a novel integrated deep learning framework that combines neutral transport physics and collisional radiative theory for the $3^3 D - 2^3 P$ transition in atomic helium. The tenets for experimental validity are reviewed, illustrating that this turbulence analysis for ionized gases is transferable to both magnetized and unmagnetized environments with arbitrary geometries. Based upon fast camera data on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, we present the first 2-dimensional time-dependent experimental measurements of the turbulent electron density, electron temperature, and neutral density revealing shadowing effects in a fusion plasma using a single spectral line.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Influence of the symmetry energy on the nuclear binding energies and the neutron drip line position

A clear connection can be established between properties of nuclear matter and finite-nuclei observables, such as the correlation between the slope of the symmetry energy and the dipole polarizability, or between compressibility and the isoscalar monopole giant resonance excitation energy. Establishing a connection between realistic atomic nuclei and an idealized infinite nuclear matter leads to a better understanding of underlying physical mechanisms that govern nuclear dynamics. In this work, we aim to study the dependence of the binding energies and related quantities (e.g., location of drip lines, the total number of bound even-even nuclei) on the symmetry energy S 2 (ρ). The properties of finite nuclei are calculated by employing the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model, assuming even-even axial and reflection symmetric nuclei. Calculations are performed by employing two families of relativistic energy density functionals, based on different effective Lagrangians, constrained to a specific symmetry energy at the saturation density J within the interval of 30–36 MeV. Nuclear binding energies and related quantities of bound nuclei are calculated between 8 ≤ Z ≤ 104 from the two-proton to the two-neutron drip line. As the neutron drip line is approached, the interactions with stiffer J tend to predict more bound nuclei, resulting in a systematic shift of the two-neutron drip line towards more neutron-rich nuclei. Consequentially, a correlation between the number of bound nuclei N nucl and S 2 (ρ) is established for a set of functionals constrained using the similar optimization procedures. Furthermore the direction of the relationship between the number of bound nuclei and the symmetry energy highly depends on the density under consideration.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Robust analysis of space-, time-, and energy-resolved soft x-ray measurements of magnetically confined fusion plasmas (invited)

A novel compact multi-energy soft x-ray (ME-SXR) diagnostic based on the PILATUS3 100K x-ray detector has been developed in collaboration between the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and tested on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) reversed-field pinch. This solid-state photon-counting detector consists of a two-dimensional array of ~100 000 pixels for which the lower photon absorption cutoff energy can be independently set, allowing it to be configured for a unique combination of simultaneous spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of ~1 cm, 100 eV, and 500 Hz, respectively. The diagnostic is highly versatile and can be readily adapted to diverse plasma operating conditions and scientific needs without any required downtime. New results from improved-confinement and quasi-single helicity plasmas in the MST demonstrate how the detector can be applied to study multiple aspects of the evolution of magnetically confined fusion-grade plasmas. These include observing the evolution of thermal emissivity, characterizing the energy of mid-Z excitation lines, extracting the T e profile, and observing the evolution of non-thermal populations. A technique for integrating the ME-SXR diagnostic into an integrated data analysis framework based on Bayesian inference is also presented. As a result, this allows ME-SXR measurements to be combined with data for complementary diagnostics in order to simultaneously infer Te and nZ from all available information.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Power System Resilience Enhancement in Typhoons Using a Three-Stage Day-Ahead Unit Commitment

In this work, we propose a three-stage resilient unit commitment model which considers uncertain typhoon paths and line outages to improve the power system resilience against typhoon events. The proposed solution coordinates resources in response to the worst-case scenario for each possible typhoon path. The optimal decision is based on the characterization of the power system schedule into three stages of preventive control, emergency control, and restoration. Preventive control is performed before the typhoon occurs by quickly adjusting the three-stage resilient unit commitment schedule; emergency control is conducted during the typhoon by shedding local loads to meet the power balance, while other control strategies are assumed to be unavailable due to possible interruptions in the communication system; restoration is realized after the typhoon, when resources are optimally dispatched to repair the outages of critical devices and recover the normal operation state of the power system quickly. Considering the typhoon path uncertainty, we have introduced a stochastic model for possible typhoon paths where all possible affected lines along each typhoon path are assumed to be on outage during the typhoon. Accordingly, we explore the strategy for co-optimizing the three stages in unit commitment. The proposed model is tested on the IEEE 118-bus system and the real-world provincial system to verify its effectiveness.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Workshop on Establishing and Operating a National Nuclear Security Support Centre Hypothetical Scenario: “Centralia Nuclear Security Support Centre Strategy Implementation Plan”

[This is part of a hypothetical scenario-based exercise for workshop participants, based on the fictitious country "Centralia."] In prior years, as a part of efforts to strengthen and better sustain nuclear security within the State, Centralia requested through the Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plan (INSSP) framework that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conduct an expert mission on establishing and operating a national nuclear security support centre (NSSC). After the IAEA conducted the NSSC expert mission, members of the Centralia Committee on Nuclear Security (CNS) agreed to initiate the feasibility determination phase of establishing an NSSC, in line with the systematic process recommended by the IAEA. Centralia Nuclear Regulatory Authority (CNRA), as the designated lead organization for coordinating the feasibility determination process, prepared a Feasibility Report in collaboration with members of the CNS and based on input gathered among relevant national stakeholders. The report was presented to the National Security Advisor (NSA), who reviewed and approved the proposal for Centralia to proceed with establishing an NSSC. After Centralia moved into the planning phase for the Centralia Nuclear Security Support Centre (CNSSC), per REF, the primary stakeholders of the centre jointly developed this strategy implementation plan, which provides an outline of the organizational structure, needs analysis, programme objectives, financial and project management, risk management, and other key aspects of the centre. This document will be reviewed and updated as necessary on a semi-annual basis during the project implementation period of establishing CNSSC.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

MUSEQuBES: calibrating the redshifts of Ly α emitters using stacked circumgalactic medium absorption profiles

ABSTRACT Ly α emission lines are typically found to be redshifted with respect to the systemic redshifts of galaxies, likely due to resonant scattering of Ly α photons. Here, we measure the average velocity offset for a sample of 96 z ≈ 3.3 Ly α emitters (LAEs) with a median Ly α flux (luminosity) of ${\approx}10^{-17}~\rm erg~cm^{-2}~s^{-1}$ (${\approx}10^{42}~\rm erg~s^{-1}$) and a median star formation rate (SFR) of ≈1.3 $\rm M_{\odot }~yr^{-1}$ (not corrected for possible dust extinction), detected by the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer as part of our MUSEQuBES circumgalactic medium (CGM) survey. By postulating that the stacked CGM absorption profiles of these LAEs, probed by eight background quasars, must be centred on the systemic redshift, we measure an average velocity offset, Voffset = 171\pm 8 km s−1, between the Ly α emission peak and the systemic redshift. The observed Voffset is lower by factors of ≈1.4 and ≈2.6 compared to the velocity offsets measured for narrow-band-selected LAEs and Lyman break galaxies, respectively, which probe galaxies with higher masses and SFRs. Consistent with earlier studies based on direct measurements for individual objects, we find that the Voffset is correlated with the full width at half-maximum of the red peak of the Ly α line, and anticorrelated with the rest-frame equivalent width. Moreover, we find that Voffset is correlated with SFR with a sub-linear scaling relation, $V_{\rm offset}\propto \rm SFR^{0.16\pm 0.03}$. Adopting the mass scaling for main-sequence galaxies, such a relation suggests that Voffset scales with the circular velocity of the dark matter haloes hosting the LAEs.

Muzahid, Sowgat↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Sequential Model Predictive and Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Controller for Distribution System Outage Mitigation under Hurricane Events

This paper proposes a proactive outage mitigation framework for power distribution networks to withstand hurricane-induced disruptions. It leverages Model Predictive Control (MPC) to identify safe lines for proactive switching during hurricanes, minimizing the risk of cascading failures and voltage violations. The switching strategies optimized by MPC are sequentially integrated with a Deep Reinforcement Learning agent using the Advantage Actor-Critic algorithm, enabling dynamic line switching to maximize connected buses and minimize voltage violations in real time. Using a probabilistic hurricane model, the framework predicts line failures and adapts to varying conditions to enhance grid resilience. Simulations on the IEEE 123-bus system demonstrate its effectiveness in maintaining high connectivity and minimizing disruptions. Real-time testing with an RTDS confirms the practicality and reliability of the proposed approach.

Selim, Alaa [University of Connecticut]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Laser‐Sintered Silver Metallization for Silicon Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells

Herein, a novel metallization technique is reported for crystalline silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells in which silver (Ag) fingers are printed on the SHJ substrates by dispensing Ag nanoparticle‐based inks through a needle and then sintered with a continuous‐wave carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) laser. The impact of the Ag ink viscosity on the line quality and the line resistance is investigated on three Ag inks with different viscosities. Increasing ink viscosity yields higher Ag contact heights, larger aspect ratios, and lower line resistance values. The Ag line height increases from less than a micrometer to ≈18.62 ± 3.48 μm with the increasing viscosity. Photoluminescence imaging shows that the low‐resistance Ag metal contacts obtained do not result in any passivation damage of the SHJ substrate. This is because the wavelength of light emitted from the CO 2 laser (i.e., 10.6 μm) leads to optical absorption in the Ag, but this light is effectively transparent to the transparent conductive oxide film, amorphous silicon films, and crystalline silicon substrate. Bulk resistivity values as low as 6.5 μΩ cm are obtained for the laser‐sintered Ag contact and printed using the Ag ink with the highest viscosity in this work.

Mousumi, Jannatul Ferdous↗
DOE OSTI2021

Identification and correction of temporal and spatial distortions in scanning transmission electron microscopy

Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has become the technique of choice for quantitative characterization of atomic structure of materials, where the minute displacements of atomic columns from high-symmetry positions can be used to map strain, polarization, octahedra tilts, and other physical and chemical order parameter fields. The latter can be used as inputs into mesoscopic and atomistic models, providing insight into the correlative relationships and generative physics of materials on the atomic level. However, these quantitative applications of STEM necessitate understanding the microscope induced image distortions and developing the pathways to compensate them both as part of a rapid calibration procedure for in situ imaging, and the post-experimental data analysis stage. Here, we explore the spatiotemporal structure of the microscopic distortions in STEM using multivariate analysis of the atomic trajectories in the image stacks. Based on the behavior of principal component analysis (PCA), we develop the Gaussian process (GP)-based regression method for quantification of the distortion function. The limitations of such an approach and possible strategies for implementation as a part of in-line data acquisition in STEM are discussed. Here, the analysis workflow is summarized in a Jupyter notebook that can be used to retrace the analysis and analyze the reader's data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Computer vision models enable mixed linear modeling to predict arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization using fungal morphology

Abstract The presence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) in vascular land plant roots is one of the most ancient of symbioses supporting nitrogen and phosphorus exchange for photosynthetically derived carbon. Here we provide a multi-scale modeling approach to predict AMF colonization of a worldwide crop from a Recombinant Inbred Line (RIL) population derived from Sorghum bicolor and S. propinquum . The high-throughput phenotyping methods of fungal structures here rely on a Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (Mask R-CNN) in computer vision for pixel-wise fungal structure segmentations and mixed linear models to explore the relations of AMF colonization, root niche, and fungal structure allocation. Models proposed capture over 95% of the variation in AMF colonization as a function of root niche and relative abundance of fungal structures in each plant. Arbuscule allocation is a significant predictor of AMF colonization among sibling plants. Arbuscules and extraradical hyphae implicated in nutrient exchange predict highest AMF colonization in the top root section. Our work demonstrates that deep learning can be used by the community for the high-throughput phenotyping of AMF in plant roots. Mixed linear modeling provides a framework for testing hypotheses about AMF colonization phenotypes as a function of root niche and fungal structure allocations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗