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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 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Characterization of Low Gain Avalanche Detector Prototypes’ Response to Gamma Radiation

Motivated by the need for fast timing detectors to withstand up to 2 MGy of ionizing dose at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, prototype low gain avalanche detectors (LGADs) have been fabricated in a single pad configuration, 2 × 2 arrays, and related p-i-n diodes, and exposed to Co-60 sources for study. Devices were fabricated with a range of dopant layer concentrations, and for the arrays, a variety of inter-pad distances and distances from the active area to the edge. Measurements of capacitance versus voltage and leakage current versus voltage have been made to compare pre- and post-irradiation characteristics in gain layer depletion voltage, full bulk depletion voltage, and breakdown voltage. Conclusions are drawn regarding the effects of the gammas on both surface and interface states and on their contribution to acceptor removal through non-ionizing energy loss from Compton electrons or photoelectrons. Comparison of the performances of members of the set of devices can be used to optimize gain layer parameters.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cyber-Physical System Implementation for Manufacturing With Analytics in the Cloud Layer

Effective and efficient modern manufacturing operations require the acceptance and incorporation of the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. Traditional shop floors are evolving their production into smart factories. To continue this trend, a specific architecture for the cyber-physical system is required, as well as a systematic approach to automate the application of algorithms and transform the acquired data into useful information. This work makes use of an approach that distinguishes three layers that are part of the existing Industry 4.0 paradigm: edge, fog, and cloud. Each of the layers performs computational operations, transforming the data produced in the smart factory into useful information. Trained or untrained methods for data analytics can be incorporated into the architecture. A case study is presented in which a real-time statistical control process algorithm based on control charts was implemented. The algorithm automatically detects changes in the material being processed in a computerized numerical control (CNC) machine. The algorithm implemented in the proposed architecture yielded short response times. The performance was effective since it automatically adapted to the machining of aluminum and then detected when the material was switched to steel. The data were backed up in a database that would allow traceability to the line of g-code that performed the machining.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Effect of Annealing on Direct Recycled NMC Cathodes

A substantial number of electric vehicle batteries are poised to reach end-of-life conditions in the next decade. Direct recycling has advantages over typical recycling processes because it preserves the chemical structure of the material. One key step of direct recycling materials like nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) cathodes is relithiation, which includes replacing the depleted lithium inventory in the cathode and annealing the material to fix crystallographic degradation. This work uses multiple characterization techniques (synchrotron X-ray diffraction, Ni X-ray absorption near edge structure, scanning transmission electron microscopy) to understand the lithiation mechanism of degraded and chemically relithiated NMC 622. Despite the necessary reconstruction after relithiation being limited to the surface of the degraded NMC 622, a high annealing temperature of 720 °C is still necessary to restore the NMC 622 structure back to pristine condition after relithiation. This work also finds that treating degraded NMC 622 with an annealing step is sufficient to restore key electrochemical and structural properties, other essential features of pristine NMC 622 material such as particle porosity and morphology are largely unaffected. Understanding the effect of this annealing step has important implications on defining the degree of success of any given direct recycling strategy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Low Temperature Water-Gas Shift: Enhancing Stability through Optimizing Rb Loading on Pt/ZrO 2

Recent studies have shown that appropriate levels of alkali promotion can significantly improve the rate of low-temperature water gas shift (LT-WGS) on a range of catalysts. At sufficient loadings, the alkali metal can weaken the formate C–H bond and promote formate dehydrogenation, which is the proposed rate determining step in the formate associative mechanism. In a continuation of these studies, the effect of Rb promotion on Pt/ZrO 2 is examined herein. Pt/ZrO 2 catalysts were prepared with several different Rb loadings and characterized using temperature programmed reduction mass spectrometry (TPR-MS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), an X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) difference procedure, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) fitting, TPR-EXAFS/XANES, and reactor testing. At loadings of 2.79% Rb or higher, a significant shift was seen in the formate ν(CH) band. The results showed that a Rb loading of 4.65%, significantly improves the rate of formate decomposition in the presence of steam via weakening the formate C–H bond. However, excessive rubidium loading led to the increase in stability of a second intermediate, carbonate and inhibited hydrogen transfer reactions on Pt through surface blocking and accelerated agglomeration during catalyst activation. Optimal catalytic performance was achieved with loadings in the range of 0.55–0.93% Rb, where the catalyst maintained high activity and exhibited higher stability in comparison with the unpromoted catalyst.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effects of resonant magnetic perturbations on radial electric fields in DIII-D tokamak

Here, gyrokinetic simulations of DIII-D tokamak equilibrium find that resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) drives a neoclassical non-ambipolar electron particle flux, which causes a rapid change of equilibrium radial electric fields consistent with experimental observations during the suppression of the edge localized mode (ELM). The simulation results provide a support for the conjecture that RMP-induced changes of radial electric fields lead to the enhanced turbulent transport at the pedestal top during the ELM suppression (Taimourzadeh et al 2019 Nucl. Fusion 59 046005). Furthermore, gyrokinetic simulations of collisionless damping of zonal flows show that resonant responses to the RMP decrease the residual level of the zonal flows and damp the geodesic acoustic mode.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bismuthene Under Cover: Graphene Intercalation of a Large Gap Quantum Spin Hall Insulator

Abstract The quantum spin Hall insulator bismuthene, a two‐third monolayer of bismuth on SiC(0001), is distinguished by helical metallic edge states that are protected by a groundbreaking 800 meV topological gap, making it ideal for room temperature applications. This massive gap inversion arises from a unique synergy between flat honeycomb structure, strong spin orbit coupling, and an orbital filtering effect that is mediated by the substrate. However, the rapid oxidation of bismuthene in air has severely hindered the development of applications, so far confining experiments to ultra‐high vacuum conditions. Intercalating bismuthene between SiC and a protective sheet of graphene, this barrier is successfully overcome. As demonstrated by scanning tunneling microscopy and photoemission spectroscopy, graphene intercalation preserves the structural and topological integrity of bismuthene, while effectively shielding it from oxidation in air. Hereby, hydrogen is identified as the critical process gas that was missing in previous bismuth intercalation attempts. These findings facilitate ex‐situ experiments and pave the way for the development of bismuthene based devices, signaling a significant step forward in the development of next‐generation technologies.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2025

Libration of hydroxyl groups in layered aluminum (oxy)hydroxides and other material analogs: insights from inelastic neutron scattering and theory

We analyzed the hydroxyl librational signatures of five structurally related aluminum (oxy)hydroxides, using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and plane-wave lattice dynamics simulations. A clear trend across these aluminum-containing phases illustrates the relationship between hydrogen bonding, local atomic structure, and the spectral location and profile of the librational bands. The INS spectra have been compared to previous optical spectroscopy and computational studies, highlighting the complementary nature of the INS technique. Taking into account other structurally or chemically related material analogs, we have identified a correlation between a blueshift (to higher energy) of the upper librational band edge and the geometry of the hydrogen bond interactions, mirroring (with opposite correlation) the well-known redshift in the intramolecular O–H stretching energy with increasing hydrogen bond strength. For hydroxyl groups that do not participate in hydrogen bonding effectively, the bending librations occur at lower energies and hybridize with metal–oxygen lattice modes. Standard density functional theory approximations, including dispersion corrections, struggle to correctly predict vibrational frequencies of motions dominated by H but perform well for metal–oxygen modes, allowing us to make detailed mode assignments in several cases, including a demonstration of how layer-to-layer disorder in boehmite hydrogen bond orientations is reflected in the sharp but minor low energy peaks (at ∼70–80 meV) of the INS spectrum.

Wang, Hsiu-Wen [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Structure of domain walls in chiral spin liquids

The chiral spin liquid is a canonical state of quantum spins combining topological and symmetry-breaking order, and possible experimental realizations have attracted growing interest. We examine the physics at interfaces between chiral spin liquid domains of opposite chirality. We show that a self-consistent mean-field description of spinons remains possible in the vicinity of a domain wall and use this to formulate a Ginzburg–Landau theory of the domain wall. The bulk of a chiral spin liquid contains gapped spinon excitations and gauge fluctuations, set by a finite spinon mass and a nonzero spinon Chern number. A third class of excitations consists of amplitude fluctuations of the spinon hoppings, which admit a geometric interpretation in terms of effective vielbein fields. These fluctuations are usually neglected because they are irrelevant for a homogeneous chiral spin liquid and are suppressed in standard large- N treatments. Going beyond the purely topological Chern–Simons limit, we incorporate these fluctuations into an effective field theoretic framework and show that they generate momentum-dependent corrections, including Chern–Simons-like linear terms and higher-order contributions, beyond the universal topological limit. We then analyze nontopological properties, including domain wall tension and edge velocity, and explain how they modify observables relative to the uniform case. These results connect measurable, nonuniversal quantities such as domain wall width, domain wall tension, and edge velocity to microscopic parameters and provide concrete targets for experiments.

domain walls↗
DOE OSTI2022

Shallow Cumulus Properties as Captured by Adiabatic Fraction in High-Resolution LES Simulations

Abstract Shallow convective clouds are important players in Earth’s energy budget and hydrological cycle, and are abundant in the tropical and subtropical belts. They greatly contribute to the uncertainty in climate predictions due to their unresolved, complex processes that include coupling between the dynamics and microphysics. Analysis of cloud structure can be simplified by considering cloud motions as a combination of moist adiabatic motions like adiabatic updrafts and turbulent motions leading to deviation from adiabaticity. In this work, we study the sizes and occurrence of adiabatic regions in shallow cumulus clouds during their growth and mature stages, and use the adiabatic fraction (AF) as a continuous metric to describe cloud processes and properties from the core to the edge. To do so, we simulate isolated trade wind cumulus clouds of different sizes using the System of Atmospheric Modeling (SAM) model in high resolution (10 m) with the Hebrew University spectral bin microphysics (SBM). The fine features in the clouds’ dynamics and microphysics, including small near-adiabatic volumes and a thin transition zone at the edge of the cloud (∼20–40 m in width), are captured. The AF is shown to be an efficient measure for analyzing cloud properties and key processes determining the droplet-size distribution formation and shape during the cloud evolution. Physical processes governing the properties of droplet size distributions at different cloud regions (e.g., core, edge) are analyzed in relation to AF. Significance Statement 1) This study investigates the evolution of cumulus clouds (Cu) using a 10-m-resolution LES model with spectral bin microphysics. 2) The study improves the understanding of the mutual effects of adiabatic updrafts and lateral entrainment and mixing. 3) The study demonstrates the existence of an adiabatic core in nonprecipitating Cu. 4) Shapes of the droplet size distributions are closely related to the adiabatic fraction values. 5) Utilization of high resolution reveals the existence of physically significant small features in the cloud structure, such as a narrow cloud interface zone and small adiabatic volumes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Exploring the impact of ions on oxygen K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy in NaCl solution using the GW-Bethe-Salpeter-equation approach

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a powerful experimental tool to probe the local structure in materials with the core hole excitations. Here, the oxygen K-edge XAS spectra of the NaCl solution and pure water are computed by using a recently developed GW-Bethe-Salpeter equation approach, based on configurations modeled by path-integral molecular dynamics with the deep-learning technique. The neural network is trained on ab initio data obtained with strongly constrained and appropriately normed density functional theory. The observed changes in the XAS features of the NaCl solution, compared to those of pure water, are in good agreement between experimental and theoretical results. We provided detailed explanations for these spectral changes that occur when NaCl is solvated in pure water. Specifically, the presence of solvating ion pairs leads to localization of electron-hole excitons. As a result, our theoretical XAS results support the theory that the effects of the solvating ions on the H-bond network are mainly confined within the first hydration shell of ions, however beyond the shell the arrangement of water molecules remains to be comparable to that observed in pure water.

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

Quasi-mode evolution in a stochastic magnetic field

Abstract We present a multi-scale model of quasi-mode evolution in a stochastic magnetic field. The similarity between a quasi-mode and a ballooning mode enables us to address the challenges arising from the disparate geometries in the theories of ballooning modes in the presence of resonant magnetic perturbations. We obtain useful insights into our understanding of ballooning mode dynamics in a stochastic background. To maintain quasi-neutrality at all scales, the beat between the quasi-mode and the stochastic magnetic field drives microturbulence, which drives the turbulent background that promotes mixing and damps the quasi-mode. As a result of the broad mode structure of the quasi-mode, the turbulent viscosity and the turbulent diffusivity produced by the microturbulence are larger than those in our related study on resistive interchange modes. The stochastic magnetic field can also enhance the effective plasma inertia and reduce the effective drive, thereby slowing the mode growth. A nontrivial correlation between the microturbulence and the magnetic perturbations is shown to develop. This could account for the reduction in the Jensen–Shannon complexity of pedestal turbulence in the Resonant Magnetic Perturbation Edge-Localized Mode suppression phase observed in recent experiments. Directions for future experimental and theoretical studies are suggested.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Development and Evaluation of a Cost-Effective Behind-the-Meter Synchronized Measurement Unit for Enhanced Grid Integration

This paper presents the development of the Inverter Based Resource Monitor (IBRM), an innovative behind-the-meter synchronized measurement unit (SMU) tailored for integration with inverter-based resources (IBRs). The IBRM distinguishes itself as a highly accurate and cost-effective SMU, offering facile deployment and connectivity to IBRs. It is equipped to conduct real-time voltage and current waveform analyses, serving as a phasor measurement unit (PMU) with exceptionally rapid synchrophasor transmission capabilities. The device incorporates a cutting-edge dual-core architecture designed to minimize sampling delays inherent to its microprocessor, thereby enhancing the precision of synchronized waveform measurements. Moreover, the IBRM is adept at recording high-fidelity waveform data, capturing nuances such as waveform distortions, high-order harmonics, and wide-band oscillations prevalent in power grids with substantial IBR presence. A prototype of the IBRM has been constructed and subjected to rigorous testing to assess its functional capabilities and measurement precision, utilizing both idealized signal generators and a real-world off-grid inverter setup as benchmarks.

Wu, Ori [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000326723410)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Physics-Based Real-time Analysis and Control to Achieve Transient-Free Operations for the ITER Era (Final Report)

This is the final report for the early career award for Prof. Egemen Kolemen that aimed to develop the physics and technical basis of real-time transient – i.e. disruptions and Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) – avoidance and feedback control at the DIII-D nuclear fusion facility for the ITER era. During this project, we reconstructed high quality real-time DIII-D equilibria using kinetic information from the motional Stark effect (MSE), Thomson Scattering (TS), and Charge Exchange Recombination (CER) spectroscopy. These equilibria were analyzed in real-time to determine the low-n ideal MHD stability and the pedestal stability thresholds, and to obtain plasma response models. These calculations were used to understand which physical process evolves to lead to the onset of disruption in ITER-relevant scenarios at DIII-D, and how disruption can be predicted using stability analysis as opposed to the current methods of correlation of various signals, which are descriptive but lack predictive power. In the disruption studies, we focused on tearing modes, since these constitute the vast majority of disruptions in this regime. With this knowledge, real-time disruption avoidance algorithms were developed and tested. The enhanced situation awareness and physics insight were used in advanced real-time feedback control of pedestal and core profiles, which allowed the pursuit and sustainment of transient-free high-confinement regimes that cannot be achieved via feed-forward design based on in-between shot analysis.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

System and method to facilitate a search for a hybrid-manufacturing process plan

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system and method for facilitating a search for a hybrid-manufacturing process plan for manufacturing an object. During operation, the system can obtain a set of partial order constraints constraining the order in which a set of at least two manufacturing actions, corresponding to addition or removal of predefined regions of space, appear in a process plan. The system can constrain, based on the set of partial order constraints, a search space. The search space can correspond to a tree in which the nodes represent the object's state and the edges represent available actions at each node. The system can then determine a set of optimized process plans represented by orderings of the actions, corresponding to paths on the search tree, that produce the desired final state in a cost-effective manner.

Crawford, Lara S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

New trends in photonic switching and optical networking architectures for data centers and computing systems [Invited]

The rapid increases in data traffic coupled with user preferences are driving the data center and computing system service providers to offer energy-efficient, intelligent, flexible, cost-effective, high-capacity, and low-latency data services without added complexity to the users. Disaggregated heterogeneous reconfigurable computing systems realized by photonic switching and interconnects can enhance throughput and energy efficiency for artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) workloads, especially when aided by the AI/ML-enhanced control plane. Photonic switching and new optical networking architectures are expected to solve many of these challenging problems. This paper discusses new trends in photonic switching and optical network architectures for future data centers and computing systems summarized as follows: (1) flat reconfigurable disaggregated computing enabled by high-radix photonic switching and interconnects in data centers; (2) chiplet-based computing architectures empowered by embedded photonics toward heterogeneous reconfigurable computing; (3) nanosecond-scale photonic switching in data centers and computing systems; (4) AI/ML in self-driving, application-aware, and situation-aware data centers; (5) the emergence of flexible networking for cloud computing, edge computing, and split computing, as well as flexible networking for 5G/6G RF-optical networks; and (6) the deployment of embedded co-designed silicon photonics being considered for future data centers.

Yoo, S. J. Ben (ORCID:0000000274201871)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Drift-kinetic effects of tungsten on plasma response to RMP in ITER

Here, effects of high- Z ( Z is the particle charge number) tungsten impurity ions on the plasma response to the resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) field are numerically investigated for the ITER 15 MA baseline scenario, where the tungsten contribution to the plasma response is computed with a drift-kinetic model while the bulk thermal particle contributions follow the fluid approximation. The study yields three highlights: (i) the drift-kinetic contribution of the tungsten impurity exerts minor influence on the plasma response compared to that computed by the pure fluid model without tungsten; (ii) a new figure of merit, based on the resonant spectrum perturbation at the plasma boundary surface, results in different optimal coil phasing compared to that previously obtained by maximizing the edge-peeling plasma response; (iii) the optimal $n = 3$ RMP (for edge localized mode (ELM) control, $n$ is the toroidal mode number) is found to induce a large tungsten particle influx near the plasma edge associated with the neoclassical toroidal viscosity. The study thus provides useful data on the compatibility of the full tungsten wall with RMP ELM control in ITER.

ITER↗
DOE OSTI2020

Atomically Dispersed Iron–Nitrogen Sites on Hierarchically Mesoporous Carbon Nanotube and Graphene Nanoribbon Networks for CO 2 Reduction

Atomically dispersed metal and nitrogen co-doped carbon (M-N/C) catalysts hold great promise for electrochemical CO 2 conversion. However, there is a lack of cost-effective synthesis approaches to meet the goal of economic mass production of single-atom M-N/C with desirable carbon support architecture for efficient CO 2 reduction. Herein, we report facile transformation of commercial carbon nanotube (CNT) into isolated Fe-N 4 sites anchored on carbon nanotube and graphene nanoribbon (GNR) networks (Fe-N/CNT@GNR). The oxidization-induced partial unzipping of CNT results in the generation of GNR nanolayers attached to the remaining fibrous CNT frameworks, which reticulates a hierarchically mesoporous complex and thus enables a high electrochemical active surface area and smooth mass transport. The Fe residues originating from CNT growth seeds serve as Fe sources to form isolated Fe-N-4 moieties located at the CNT and GNR basal plane and edges with high intrinsic capability of activating CO 2 and suppressing hydrogen evolution. The Fe-N/CNT@GNR delivers a stable CO Faradaic efficiency of 96% with a partial current density of 22.6 mA cm -2 at a low overpotential of 650 mV, making it one of the most active M-N/C catalysts reported. This work presents an effective strategy to fabricate advanced atomistic catalysts and highlights the key roles of support architecture in single-atom electrocatalysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

EELS Studies of Cerium Electrolyte Reveal Substantial Solute Concentration Effects in Graphene Liquid Cells

Graphene liquid cell transmission electron microscopy is a powerful technique to visualize nanoscale dynamics and transformations at atomic resolution. However, the solution in liquid cells is known to be affected by radiolysis, and the stochastic formation of graphene liquid cells raises questions about the solution chemistry in individual pockets. In this study, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) was used to evaluate a model encapsulated solution, aqueous CeCl 3 . First, the ratio between the O K-edge and Ce M-edge was used to approximate the concentration of cerium salt in the graphene liquid cell. It was determined that the ratio between oxygen and cerium was orders of magnitude lower than what is expected for a dilute solution, indicating that the encapsulated solution is highly concentrated. To probe how this affects the chemistry within graphene liquid cells, the oxidation of Ce 3+ was measured using time-resolved parallel EELS. Here, it was determined that Ce 3+ oxidizes faster under high electron fluxes, but reaches the same steady-state Ce 4+ concentration regardless of flux. The time-resolved concentration profiles enabled direct comparison to radiolysis models, which indicate rate constants and g-values of certain molecular species are substantially different in the highly concentrated environment. Finally, electron flux-dependent gold nanocrystal etching trajectories showed that gold nanocrystals etch faster at higher electron fluxes, correlating well with the Ce 3+ oxidation kinetics. Understanding the effects of the highly concentrated solution in graphene liquid cells will provide new insight on previous studies and may open up opportunities to systematically study systems in highly concentrated solutions at high resolution.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗