Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Lab Testing”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Perspectives for self-driving labs in synthetic biology

Self-driving labs (SDLs) combine fully automated experiments and data collection with artificial intelligence (AI) and control algorithms that decide not only the set of parameters for the next experiment, but also potentially which scientific hypotheses to test. Taken to their ultimate expression, SDLs could usher a new paradigm of scientific research, where the world is probed, interpreted, and explained by machines for human benefit. Whereas there are functioning SDLs in the fields of chemistry and materials science, we contend that synthetic biology provides a unique opportunity since the genome provides a single, easily accessible, target for affecting the incredibly wide repertoire of biological cell behavior. Since they can provide large amounts of high-quality data, SDLs can be a platform for AI to develop approaches to systematically convert data into scientific knowledge systems. These knowledge systems can be used both to understand the biological world and to design bioengineered systems to fit a desired specification (inverse design). However, the level of investment required for the creation of biological SDLs is only warranted if directed towards solving difficult and enabling biological questions. Here, we discuss challenges and opportunities in creating SDLs for synthetic biology.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Non-visual analysis of miniaturized melt wire arrays for in-pile measurement of peak irradiation temperature

As a part of the in-pile instrumentation program, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has established in-house capabilities to fabricate and test new advanced manufactured printed sensors for measurement of peak temperature inside the harsh environment of a nuclear test reactor. Although nuclear test reactors may use standard methods that can provide real-time temperature information, such as thermocouples, the need for feedthroughs for real-time measurements greatly increases the cost of the experiment. Some experiments also present the problem of limited space available for instrumentation. To address this need, INL is working to improve temperature detection options for such applications. The lab is developing advanced manufactured melt wire arrays to determine peak temperatures in experiments with limited space. Furthermore, capabilities to print multiple melt wires with different melting properties on a single miniaturized unit is being established. Recent results and knowledge from this ongoing work have made it possible to develop unique temperature sensors that can accomplish user specific temperature ranges inside the harsh environments experienced during radiation testing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Environmental exposure to TiO 2 nanomaterials incorporated in building material

Nanomaterials are increasingly being used to improve the properties and functions of common building materials. A new type of self-cleaning cement incorporating TiO 2 nanomaterials (TiO 2 -NMs) with photocatalytic properties is now marketed. This promising cement might provide air pollution-reducing properties but its environmental impact must be validated. During cement use and aging, an altered surface layer is formed that exhibits increased porosity. The surface layer thickness alteration and porosity increase with the cement degradation rate. The hardened cement paste leaching behavior has been fully documented, but the fate of incorporated TiO 2 -NMs and their state during/after potential release is currently unknown. In this study, photocatalytic cement pastes with increasing initial porosity were leached at a lab-scale to produce a range of degradation rates concerning the altered layer porosity and thickness. No dissolved Ti was released during leaching, only particulate TiO 2 -NM release was detected. The extent of release from this batch test simulating accelerated worst-case scenario was limited and ranged from 18.7 ± 2.1 to 33.5 ± 5.1 mg of Ti/m 2 of cement after 168 h of leaching. TiO 2 -NMs released into neutral aquatic media (simulate pH of surface water) were not associated or coated by cement minerals. The TiO 2 -NM release mechanism is suspected to start from freeing of TiO 2 -NMs in the altered layer pore network due to partial cement paste dissolution followed by diffusion into the bulk pore solution to the surface. The extent of TiO 2 -NM release was not solely related to the cement degradation rate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tunable Solid‐State Properties and Anisotropic Charge Mobility in Hydrogen‐Bonded Diketopyrrolopyrrole Polymers via Automated Device Fabrication and Characterization

The optoelectronic properties of semiconducting polymers and device performance rely on a delicate interplay of design and processing conditions. However, screening and optimizing the relationships between these parameters for reliably fabricating organic electronics can be an arduous task requiring significant time and resources. To overcome this challenge, Polybot is developed—a robotic platform within a self‐driving lab that can efficiently produce organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) from various semiconducting polymers via high‐throughput blade coating deposition. Polybot not only handles the fabrication process but also can conduct characterization tests on the devices and autonomously analyze the data gathered, thus facilitating the rapid acquisition of data on a large scale. This work leverages the capabilities of this platform to investigate the fabrication of OFETs using hydrogen bonding‐containing semiconducting polymers. Through high‐throughput fabrication and characterization, various data trends are analyzed, and large extents of anisotropic charge mobility are observed in devices. The materials are thoroughly characterized to understand the role of processing conditions in solid state and electronic properties of these organic semiconductors. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of automated fabrication and characterization platforms in uncovering novel structure–property relationships, facilitating refinement of rational chemical design, and processing conditions, ultimately leading to new semiconducting materials.

automated fabrication and characterization↗
DOE OSTI2019

Vapor-Phase Stabilization of Biomass Pyrolysis Vapors Using Mixed-Metal Oxide Catalysts

Mixed-metal oxides possess a wide range of tunability and show promise for catalytic stabilization of biomass pyrolysis products. For materials derived from layered double hydroxides, understanding the effect of divalent cation species and divalent/trivalent cation stoichiometric ratio on catalytic behavior is critical to their successful implementation. In this study, four mixed-metal oxide catalysts consisting of Al, Zn, and Mg in different stoichiometric ratios were synthesized and tested for ex-situ catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) using pine wood as feedstock. The catalytic activity and deactivation behavior of these catalysts were monitored in real-time using a lab-scale pyrolysis reactor and fixed catalyst bed coupled with a molecular beam mass spectrometer (MBMS), and data were analyzed by multivariate statistical approaches. In the comparison between Mg-Al and Zn-Al catalyst materials, we demonstrated that the Mg-Al materials possessed greater quantities of basic sites, which we attributed to their higher surface areas, and they produced upgraded pyrolysis vapors which contained less acids and more deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene. However, detrimental impacts on carbon yields were realized via decarbonylation and decarboxylation reactions and coke formation. Given that the primary goals of catalytic upgrading of bio-oil are deoxygenation, reduction of acidity, and high carbon yield, these results highlight both promising catalytic effects of mixed-metal oxide materials and opportunities for improvement.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Materials properties characterization in the most extreme environments

Abstract There is an ever-increasing need for material systems to operate in the most extreme environments encountered in space exploration, energy production, and propulsion systems. To effectively design materials to reliably operate in extreme environments, we need an array of tools to both sustain lab-scale extreme conditions and then probe the materials properties across a variety of length and time scales. Within this article, we examine the state-of-the-art experimental systems for testing materials under extreme environments and highlight the limitations of these approaches. We focus on three areas: (1) extreme temperatures, (2) extreme mechanical testing, and (3) chemically hostile environments. Within these areas, we identify six opportunities for instrument and technique development that are poised to dramatically impact the further understanding and development of next-generation materials for extreme environments. Graphical abstract

Schreiber, Daniel K.↗
DOE OSTI2016

The “Who” and “How” of Microbial Control over Soil Carbon Dynamics: a Multi-omics, Stable Isotope Probing, and Modeling Approach

Soils are the largest repository of organic carbon (C) in the terrestrial biosphere and represent an important source of CO 2 to the atmosphere, releasing 60-75 Pg C annually through microbial decomposition of organic materials. Microbes are key drivers of C cycling, and exhibit a large range in C use efficiency (CUE). CUE is the substrate C incorporated into biomass per substrate assimilated. While small changes in CUE can have profound effects on soil CO 2 flux, our understanding of the intersection of genomic and abiotic factors driving soil CUE dynamics is still very limited. Our long-term goal is to better predict the fate of soil C by developing mathematical and ecosystem models of SOM decomposition that incorporate a genetic and physiological understanding of CUE. The goal of this work was to define genes, metabolic pathways, and phylogenetic signals associated with microbial CUE for terrestrial microorganisms (bacteria and fungi). Our specific objectives are to: (1) Define genomic markers that indicate how terrestrial bacteria and fungi change CUE in response to environmental drivers of microbial activity; (2) Determine how well genomic markers identified predict CUE in soils; and (3) Improve predictions of soil C by incorporating genomics-informed CUE into ecosystem C models based on genomic features defined in and validated for soil in the course of this work. We address these objectives by coupling multi-omics analyses (genomics, metatranscriptomics) with physiological assays (CUE, enzyme activities) across environmental drivers (substrate quantity/quality, temperature, moisture). We employ a hierarchical approach to incrementally scale from cells to ecosystems, starting with pure cultures of bacteria and fungi, then mock communities in artificial, organic matter-free soil, then finally field soil manipulated to elicit microbial communities differing in community composition and CUE. By focusing on microbial isolates and communities in a temperate forest (Harvard Forest), we leverage a rich context for validating data based on multiple ongoing field, lab and modeling studies of soil C cycling. This research couples two culture collections of fungi and bacteria isolated from the Harvard Forest, along with over a decade of field measurements of CUE and C cycling, and microbial community analyses using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. Because microbial feedbacks to the environment are regulated at the organismic level, the foundation of this research is the physiology and genomics of CUE among isolates that we have determined to be either dominant in our soil system, sensitive to climate change factors, or both. A series of three experiments using artificial soil, lab incubation of field-collected soil, and a field manipulation is designed to validate potential omics-informed, novel genomic markers to be used as proxies for CUE in models. We test our new understanding of the genetic basis for CUE and its implications for soil C dynamics using the trait-based model DEMENT and the ecosystem models MIIMICS and SCAMPS. All models are modified to simulate SOM decomposition in mineral soils and validated with other temperate forest climate change manipulation studies. By developing mathematical and ecosystem models of SOM decomposition that incorporate a genetic and physiological understanding of CUE, we hope to facilitate more realistic models of SOM decomposition for C cycling in soils.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Subcomponent Validation of Composite Joints for the Marine Energy Advanced Materials Project

The Marine Energy Advanced Materials project is an ongoing multi-year, multi-lab project with the main goals of addressing barriers and uncertainties facing marine energy developers in adopting advanced materials for structural applications. NREL's goals of the project were to address subcomponents testing needs for marine energy materials, to improve understanding of design allowables at the full-scale and provide near net-scale static and fatigue data of composite subcomponents using materials applicable to the marine energy industry. In the long term, the test method development and data generated would be used to inform standards development. This report outlines perhaps one of the largest-scale studies conducted with regards to saltwater conditioning of various composite material subcomponents and their subsequent structural validation, specifically directed at the marine renewable energy industry. A variety of fiberglass composite panels with epoxy and vinyl ester epoxy resin systems were manufactured at Montana State University, which were then used to manufacture an array of different types of subcomponent test specimens at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Flatirons Campus. These subcomponents were in the form of T-bolt and double-ended-insert specimens, which were intended to represent bonded and mechanical bolted connections for thick composite laminates, metal-metal and composite lap shear specimens to evaluate adhesion of constituent materials, and adhesive beam-shear specimens as part of an effort to better evaluate the characteristics of thick adhesive bondlines. Overall, the materials used were fiberglass reinforced epoxy and vinyl ester matrix composites, epoxy and methacrylate adhesives, and 316 and 2507 stainless steels. Specimens were then conditioned in salt water at various temperatures and for various periods of time at Florida Atlantic University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. All specimens were then mechanically characterized and validated using various test methods under static and fatigue loading conditions at NREL's Structural Technology Laboratory. Throughout the conditioning and mechanical validation process, valuable experience was gained, which will help guide future test method development for marine energy materials. In many instances, the results indicated similar observations as to what had been observed during previous coupon scale characterization efforts that provided a vital understanding of the scale up process. However in some instances, unexpected phenomena were observed, such as interactions between the adhesives and 316 steel. Furthermore, some materials exhibited significant degradation due to the saltwater conditioning. Ultimately, this report provides a detailed summary of the specimens that were designed, the subcomponent test methods that were developed, and the results that were generated, which will serve as important guidance for marine renewable energy developers and researchers for future structural designs and validation.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2017

Latest results from GlueX

The GlueX experiment aims to study the gluonic degrees of freedom in QCD by mapping the light meson spectrum with an emphasis on searching for and studying light hybrid mesons. Hybrid mesons, and in particular exotic hybrid mesons, provide the ideal laboratory for testing QCD in the confinement regime since these mesons explicitly manifest the gluonic degrees of freedom. GlueX uses a solenoid-based detector and the new 12-GeV electron beam at Jefferson Lab to produce a 9-GeV beam of linearly polarized photons to study the photoproduction of light mesons. We will present results from our commissioning run, which already represents an order-of-magnitude statistical increase over the very limited existing world data.

Smith, Elton↗
DOE OSTI2025

CalTestBed - Twelve Benefit Co - Understanding Degradation of Water Management Properties in Gas Diffusion Layers (CRADA Final Report)

The research between Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Twelve Benefit Co. enhanced Twelve’s understanding of how chemical changes to the gas diffusion layer lead to failure of their CO 2 electrolyzers. During the CRADA period, LBNL team tested Twelve’s gas diffusion layer samples (GDL), some with microporous layer (MPL) and some without MPL using the water-air capillary pressure setup. LBNL team also tested microporous layer samples using the fuel cell test stands and compared those results with commercial GDL and MPL. Understanding the hydrophobicity of the material, along with electrochemical performance is the key to determining Twelve’s ability to scale their platform. Further improvements to Twelve’s CO 2 electrolyzer can enhance the net zero emissions with their technology.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

RhizoNet segments plant roots to assess biomass and growth for enabling self-driving labs

Abstract Flatbed scanners are commonly used for root analysis, but typical manual segmentation methods are time-consuming and prone to errors, especially in large-scale, multi-plant studies. Furthermore, the complex nature of root structures combined with noisy backgrounds in images complicates automated analysis. Addressing these challenges, this article introduces RhizoNet, a deep learning-based workflow to semantically segment plant root scans. Utilizing a sophisticated Residual U-Net architecture, RhizoNet enhances prediction accuracy and employs a convex hull operation for delineation of the primary root component. Its main objective is to accurately segment root biomass and monitor its growth over time. RhizoNet processes color scans of plants grown in a hydroponic system known as EcoFAB, subjected to specific nutritional treatments. The root detection model using RhizoNet demonstrates strong generalization in the validation tests of all experiments despite variable treatments. The main contributions are the standardization of root segmentation and phenotyping, systematic and accelerated analysis of thousands of images, significantly aiding in the precise assessment of root growth dynamics under varying plant conditions, and offering a path toward self-driving labs.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ultra-High Operation Temperature SiC-matrix Solar Thermal Air Receiver (HOTSSTAR) enabled by additive manufacturing: Test Facility & Performance Evaluations

Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) cavity receivers are capable of generating electricity or industrial process heat by absorbing thermal energy from solar radiation, focused on a small area. The concentration of solar radiation on the small area of the receiver enables the achievement of high temperatures (ranging from 400°C to 1,100°C) of a working fluid, thus making the SHIP technology thermodynamically comparable with conventional power plants. A volumetric receiver consists of a porous structure-generally made of silicon carbide or metal, which absorbs solar radiation and converts it into heat energy. Heat energy from the porous materials is then transferred to the fluid following through them. A volumetric receiver acts as a convective heat exchanger, transferring heat to the fluid through convection. Open-loop volumetric receivers work with air at atmospheric pressure and are suitable for single-cycle or multi-cycle energy plants. A Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach was used to develop a test bed at Sandia national Laboratories (SNL) capable of demonstrating an open-loop volumetric air receiver developed by General Electric Aerospace (GE Aerospace). This paper presents the development of the various MBSE methods, test bed, and testing operations for the GE air receiver, which was experimentally demonstrated to achieve 1,350°C for over 3 hours of operation and an approximate 70% receiver efficiency. By being able to achieve such high temperatures >1,000°C, this work provides the potential to support many SHIP industrial use cases.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Model-based Extracted Water Desalination System for Carbon Sequestration

The focus of this research effort centered around water recovery from high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) extracted waters (180,000 mg/L) using a combination of water recovery (partial desalination) technologies. The research goals of this project were as follows: 1. Define the scope and test location for pilot-scale implementation of the desalination system, 2.Define a scalable, multi-stage extracted water desalination system that yields clean water, concentrated brine, and, salt from saline brines, and 3. Validate overall system performance with field-sourced water using GE pre-pilot lab facilities. Conventional falling film-mechanical vapor recompression (FF-MVR) technology was established as a baseline desalination process. A quality function deployment (QFD) method was used to compare alternate high TDS desalination technologies to the base case FF-MVR technology, including but not limited to: membrane distillation (MD), forward osmosis (FO), and high pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO). Technoeconomic analysis of high pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO) was performed comparing the following two cases: 1. a hybrid seawater RO (SWRO) plus HPRO system and 2. 2x standard seawater RO system, to achieve the same total pure water recovery rate. Pre-pilot-scale tests were conducted using field production water to validate key process steps for extracted water pretreatment. Approximately 5,000 gallons of field produced water was processed through, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and steam regenerable sorbent operations. Improvements in membrane materials of construction were considered as necessary next steps to achieving further improvement in element performance at high pressure. Several modifications showed promising results in their ability to withstand close to 5,000 PSI without gross failure.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Flexibility Options: A Proposed Product for Managing Imbalance Risk

The presence of variable renewable energy resources with uncertain outputs in day-ahead electricity markets results in additional balancing needs in real-time. Addressing those needs cost-effectively and reliably within a competitive market with unbundled products is challenging as both the demand for and the availability of flexibility depends on day-ahead energy schedules. Existing approaches for reserve procurement usually rely either on oversimplified demand curves that do not consider how system conditions that particular day affect the value of flexibility, or on bilateral trading of hedging instruments that are not co-optimized with day-ahead schedules. This article proposes a new product, ‘Flexibility Options', to address these two limitations. The demand for this product is endogenously determined in the day-ahead market and it is met cost-effectively by considering real-time supply curves for product providers, which are co-optimized with the energy supply. As we illustrate with numerical examples and mathematical analysis, the product addresses the hedging needs of participants with imbalances cost-effectively, provides a less intermittent revenue stream for participants with flexible outputs, promotes value-driven pricing of flexibility, and ensures that the system operator is revenue-neutral. This article provides a comprehensive design that can be further tested and applied in large-scale systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Investigation on lateral resolution of surface slope profilers

Here, we investigate and compare the spatial (lateral) resolution, or more generally, the optical/instrumental transfer function (OTF/ITF) of surface slope measuring profilometers of two different types that are commonly used for high accuracy characterization of x-ray optics at the long-spatial-wavelength range. These are an autocollimator based profiler, Optical Surface Measuring System (OSMS), and a long trace profiler, LTP-II, both available at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) X-Ray Optics Lab (XROL). In the OSMS, an ELCOMAT-3000 electronic auto-collimator, vertically mounted to the translation carriage and equipped with an aperture of 2.5 mm diameter, is scanned along the surface under test. The LTP-II OTF has been measured for two different configurations, a classical two-beam pencil-beam-interferometry and a single-Gaussian-beam deflectometry. For the ITF calibration, we apply a recently developed method based on test surfaces with one-dimensional (1D) linear chirped height profiles of constant slope amplitude. Analytical expressions for the OTFs, empirically deduced based on the experimental results, are presented. We also discuss the application of the results of the ITF measurements and modeling to improve the surface slope metrology with state-of-the-art x-ray mirrors.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Yoke

System for prototyping, training, and testing of deep ML models

Hickmann, Kyle [Los Alamos National Laboratory]↗
DOE OSTI2025

CABLE Stage 3 – Ultra‐High Strength/Highly Conductive Al Alloys

This work is to be conducted in support of the CABLE Conductor Manufacturing Prize Program awarded by NREL. The intent is to connect competitor teams with national laboratories that can help accelerate the development of innovative solutions and products. Teams who receive CABLE Prize awards are eligible to utilize vouchers at national laboratories to advance their ideas. NanoAL LLC has been awarded a voucher to utilize at Ames National Laboratory. Ames National Laboratory will perform a scale‐up trial of Nano 6000‐T9 to evaluate and optimize the heat treatment and other processing variables to validate the lab‐scale work done at NanoAL. The final processing schedule will be used to fabricate the submission samples for the Stage 3 contest. All work will be supported by mechanical and electrical conductivity testing be performed by Ames.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

HamLib: A library of Hamiltonians for benchmarking quantum algorithms and hardware

In order to characterize and benchmark computational hardware, software, and algorithms, it is essential to have many problem instances on-hand. This is no less true for quantum computation, where a large collection of real-world problem instances would allow for benchmarking studies that in turn help to improve both algorithms and hardware designs. To this end, here we present a large dataset of qubit-based quantum Hamiltonians. The dataset, called HamLib (for Hamiltonian Library), is freely available online and contains problem sizes ranging from 2 to 1000 qubits. HamLib includes problem instances of the Heisenberg model, Fermi-Hubbard model, Bose-Hubbard model, molecular electronic structure, molecular vibrational structure, MaxCut, Max- k -SAT, Max- k -Cut, QMaxCut, and the traveling salesperson problem. The goals of this effort are (a) to save researchers time by eliminating the need to prepare problem instances and map them to qubit representations, (b) to allow for more thorough tests of new algorithms and hardware, and (c) to allow for reproducibility and standardization across research studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗