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DOE OSTI2020

Highly Integrated WBG Power Module for Next Generation Plug-In Vehicles

Current inverter technologies used in electric vehicles (EVs) are bulky, heavy, and expensive. The performance of the inverter is also limited by the traditional Si-based semiconductor and packaging technology. These constraints are responsible for extra weight and volume in the vehicle that reduces the driving range along with usable space within the vehicle. Moreover, operating temperature restrictions, and boundaries on the inverter location within the vehicle drastically reduces the inverter performance. Thus an improved inverter design is required for next generation electric vehicles. The objective of this project was to research, develop and demonstrate a highly integrated WBG power module targeting the next generation of plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). This power module needed to be functionally and mechanically optimized for General Motors (GM) traction inverter architecture. General Motors was the prime contractor, led the project, and oversaw the design, build, and test of the integrated power module. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) performed modeling and simulation tasks as well as power module design support. Monolith Semiconductor, Inc provided SiC dies and consulted on devices for the inverter. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) performed power module technology evaluations, design evaluations of interconnect options, and performed material analysis and cross-sectioning of die activities.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2024

FY2023 NSTTF Annual Report

The National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) is a DOE Core Capability and Technology Deployment Center located in Albuquerque, NM. It is operated by Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The NSTTF is the only multi-mission, multi-use, multi-story test facility of its type in the United States. The NSTTF was founded in 1978 and began testing with high heat flux that same year. Over the past 45 years, the NSTTF has been at the forefront of the research, design, fabrication, and testing of many of the critical Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies. These technologies have allowed costs to be dramatically reduced from over $\$ $0.40 /kWh to $\$$0.12 /kWh since the conception of this renewable energy technology. The NSTTF has worked to make the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) parabolic trough plants successful, while also working with the Solar One and Solar Two facilities for successful implementation. Over the four decades since its founding, the mission of the NSTTF has grown to include new receiver technologies, like our generation 3 falling particle system (G3P3 Tower), optical metrology techniques like SOFAST, molten salt testing, thermal energy storage, solar thermal chemistry, and more. We continue to expand our capabilities in pursuit of the DOE SETO mission and the DOE SunShot 2030 goals: unsubsidized LCOE of $\$$0.05/kWh for CSP that includes 12 or more hours of thermal energy storage. To support both the DOE SETO mission and support the CSP sector as a whole, we are working to develop our operations and maintenance framework to provide a world class testing facility in support of our technological achievements. To accomplish both of these missions, the NSTTF draws on the decades of experience and expertise of our staff along with the world-class facilities at Sandia National Laboratories to further the science of concentrated solar thermal technologies in diverse applications. We remain a trusted partner for high-quality and impactful research in both fundamental and applied arenas. We are able to provide our partners with both one-of-a-kind testing platforms as well as world-class analytics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Reduction of Methane Leaks through Corrosion Mitigation Pre-treatments for Pipelines with Field Applied Coatings

Corrosion of buried, coated steel pipelines transporting natural gas is a significant source of methane emissions, from pipeline venting required for maintenance and repairs and from pipeline leaks and incidents. Corrosion of steel under field applied coatings is an important safety concern for the pipeline industry. This project investigates the application of a field applied alloy over girth welds to mitigate external corrosion of buried coated steel pipelines. Various metallic coating options were considered, which were required to meet several criteria: (1) it must resist corrosion under open-circuit or mild cathodic protection conditions, (2) it must protect the substrate steel, and (3) it must not negatively affect the adhesion of the field coating. Finite element models and lab testing were performed of alloy coating compositions to identify promising alloy types underneath disbonded coatings. Polarization curves of coating alloys were generated to provide the boundary conditions for the COMSOL model to compute potential and current distributions around coated areas. Sacrificial and corrosion-resistant metal alloy coatings were evaluated and optimized using corrosion modeling and laboratory electrochemical testing, where aluminum alloy 5356 (5% Mg) and steel alloy B9 (9% Cr) were selected. Corrosion test coupons were designed and fabricated using thermal spray aluminum 5356 and welded B9 steel overlays on API 5L grade X42 line pipe steel. The corrosion test coupons, with simulated pipe coating damage, were tested in a laboratory soil box and a field pipeline site in Texas for 3-months. Corrosion test coupons were then tested for 6-months at field pipeline sites in Texas and Tennessee to quantify corrosion rates and performance of the aluminum and steel alloys under polyethylene tape and 2-part epoxy coatings, various coating holidays, and with and without cathodic protection.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Real-Time Seismic System for Monitoring, Imaging, and Characterization (RT-SEISMIC)

The goal of this Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project was to develop a borehole seismic source and sensor array to enable real-time seismic imaging at scales and conditions relevant to the energy industry including both fossil-energy and geothermal. In FY21 and FY22, we designed, built, and tested both a prototype impulse source module for generating seismic energy and a sensing module for recording ground motions generated by the source module array. A pneumatically driven vibratory source was also designed. The source modules were fabricated with all high temperature components and the team has worked to incorporate the current RT-SEISMIC electronics design into a commercially available, high temperature silicon-on-insulator chip integrated circuit. Several issues were identified during fabrication and lab testing that led to redesign of several system components and subsequent retesting. The final round of testing showed that while metal/graphite-based seals worked quite well for static seals, they were unable to provide an adequate gas seal for dynamic, reciprocating part movements which necessitated a final redesign using Kalrez. This change will result in a continuous temperature rating of approximately 275 degrees C for the system. While a field test of the RT-SEISMIC system was targeted in FY22, due to the extended lab testing and redesign efforts, field testing was not achieved. As a result of this LDRD investment, several sponsors have expressed interest in RT-SEISMIC and we expect to continue towards a field demonstration of the full system in the future.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Definition of the Stiesdal Offshore TetraSpar Floating Wind System for OC6 Phase IV

The Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continued, with Correlation, and unCertainty (OC6) is an international project focused on verifying and validating modeling tools used in the analysis of floating offshore wind systems. The fourth phase of the project aims to assess the ability of the tools to model a novel floating wind design. The TetraSpar was designed by Stiesdal Offshore Technologies and was selected as the subject platform for the project. The platform is a unique design that features spar-like stability with a very low center of gravity, but does not require rare deep-water ports. This combination is achieved with a system made of two separate steel structures, a hull at the water's surface that supports the wind turbine tower, and a keel that is suspended below the main body. This lower keel has a very high density and drives the total platform's low center of gravity. The TetraSpar, with hull and keel, spar-type stability, and relatively slender components, is unique compared to platforms studied in earlier phases of OC3-OC6 projects, and it offers an opportunity to evaluate the applicability of modeling tools to a novel design, especially unique hydrodynamics and compliant cables. Scaled model tests of the TetraSpar design were performed in 2018-2019 by the University of Maine. The data collected in the model tests provides a detailed description of the response of the platform in various controlled and relatively well understood conditions. Comparison with this data provides a good opportunity for validation of numerical models. The OC6 Phase IV work focuses on the specific parameters used in these scaled model tests. Descriptions of the platform and the test campaign in this document are based on the report written by Allen and Fowler of the University of Maine in 2019.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Design and Engineering of LUPIN: A Test-Bed Radiofrequency Ion Source for Enhanced Neutral Beam Injection on DIII-D

The Large, Uniform Plasma for Ionizing Neutrals (LUPIN) is an RF inductively coupled plasma (ICP) chamber for demonstrating plasma performance of an RF ICP positive ion source upgrade for the DIII-D Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) system. LUPIN will be used to investigate ion source physics, including neutral gas dynamics, plasma density uniformity, interactions with Faraday shields, and power coupling to novel RF antenna designs. LUPIN has an RF generator capable of delivering 20 kW of power at 2 MHz, which is coupled into a cylindrical quartz vessel measuring 20 cm in length and 10 cm in radius. This configuration matches the power density requirements for a full-scale ion source. Target hydrogen and deuterium plasma densities exceeding 10 18 m -3 would relate to extracted ion current densities of 2100 A/m 2 for 10 s. Vacuum conductance and gas flow calculations predict a maximum achievable neutral gas flow rate of 1675 Pa·L/s at 5 Pa of He, which mimics the gas flow of the DIII-D NBI system. Designs have been developed for an internal Faraday shield to mitigate heat flux and ion sputtering on the dielectric vessel. Thermomechanical finite element simulations demonstrated the Faraday shield design to be capable of withstanding anticipated heat loads from worst-case operation scenarios. Results of upcoming experimental investigations on LUPIN will guide the design of a full-scale prototype for DIII-D integration.

Faraday shield↗

DOE OSTI2024

Explosively driven Richtmyer–Meshkov instability jet suppression and enhancement via coupling machine learning and additive manufacturing

The ability to control the behavior of fluid instabilities at material interfaces, such as the shock-driven Richtmyer–Meshkov instability, is a grand technological challenge with a broad number of applications ranging from inertial confinement fusion experiments to explosively driven shaped charges. In this work, we use a linear-geometry shaped charge as a means of studying methods for controlling material jetting that results from the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability. A shaped charge produces a high-velocity jet by focusing the energy from the detonation of high explosives. The interaction of the resulting detonation wave with a hollowed cavity lined with a thin metal layer produces the unstable jetting effect. By modifying the characteristics of the detonation wave prior to striking the lined cavity, the kinetic energy of the jet can be enhanced or reduced. Modifying the geometry of the liner material can also be used to alter jetting properties. We apply optimization methods to investigate several design parameterizations for both enhancing or suppressing the shaped-charge jet. This is accomplished using 2D and 3D hydrodynamic simulations to investigate the design space that we consider. We also apply new additive manufacturing methods for producing the shaped-charge assemblies, which allow for the experimental testing of complicated design geometries obtained through computational optimization. We present a direct comparison of our optimized designs with experimental results carried out at the High Explosives Application Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

NSUF BOILER Pre-Irradiation Characterization and High Flux Isotope Reactor Experiment Design

Alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) stainless steels have emerged as a candidate alloy because of their high-temperature strength, formability, cost, and compatibility with primary coolants for lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs). This class of steels has exceptional high-temperature oxidation performance; however, a high concentration of Ni is required to stabilize the austenite phase and to provide sufficient creep strength. AFA stainless steels are also susceptible to liquid metal embrittlement (LME). Additionally, under neutron irradiation, Ni will enrich at grain boundaries due to radiation-induced segregation (RIS). Nickel RIS can increase the LME under these coupled effects. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the NSUF program have leveraged its High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and experience with complex irradiation experiments to design experiment capsules that test the aforementioned coupled effects. These capsules are designed for insertion in the central flux trap, the highest flux region, of HFIR. The experiment capsules will be filled with Pb, designed to passively melt from the gamma heating in HFIR. The specimens were fabricated into miniature tensile specimens from two different alloys, GA05-25Ni and GA05-20Ni, varying Ni concentrations. The experiment capsules are designed to achieve target temperatures of 400 °C and 650 °C with accumulated dosage of 3 dpa. This report documents the specimen alloy characterization, experimental design, and expected performance of the capsules.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2025

VSR SRF HOM load and waveguide

Under the expired ICRADA JSA2012S015 mod 5, JLab collaborated with HZB to design and prototype the high power HOM load for HZB VSR upgrade 1.5GHz cavities and bERLinpro cavities, as well as the optimization of the HOM waveguide thermal design. The scope of work to be contracted with this ICRADA includes: finalize the HZB VSR HOM load design for production; fabricate, test and deliver 30 HOM loads to HZB; design and prototype the HZB VSR HOM waveguide assembly.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Capsule Design and Preparation for YH x Specimen Irradiation in the High Flux Isotope Reactor

Advanced nuclear systems for terrestrial microreactors and space applications require moderator materials with high thermal stability, hydrogen retention, and efficient neutron moderation. Yttrium hydride (YH x ) is a promising candidate, but its irradiation performance and hydrogen stability remain insufficiently understood. To address this, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory, supported by the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities program, have initiated an irradiation campaign in ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor. The experiment employs six irradiation capsules containing YH x specimens (H/Y ≈ 1.9) designed for three target temperatures (300°C, 400°C, and 500°C) and two distinct neutron fast fluence levels. This report documents the irradiation test matrix, capsule design, specimen precharacterization, and experiment readiness for insertion. Planned postirradiation examinations will provide new insights into hydrogen retention and microstructural stability, advancing the understanding of YH x as a moderator for compact reactor applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Capsule Design and Preparation for YH x Specimen Irradiation in the High Flux Isotope Reactor

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Accelerating engineered microbe optimization through machine learning and multi-omics datasets

This project demonstrated the use of a combination of multi-omics data with deep learning and a high-throughput Design- Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle to improve the production of malonic acid, a versatile product with a large market. The project leveraged the unique capabilities of both Lygos and the Agile BioFoundry (ABF): Lygos provided its expertise efficiently designing, building, and cultivating P. kudriavzevii strains; LBNL, PNNL, and NTESS provided multi-omics analysis in the Test phase, LBNL provided machine learning techniques in the Learn phase to analyze the -omics datasets and make recommendations so as to increase malonic acid production in the next DBTL cycle. This project is the first to use large amounts of multi-omics time-series data to feed deep learning models, creating around 80,000 data points in a single DBTL cycle. This project has 1) demonstrated the utility of combining deep learning and multi-omics data sets by improving the production of malonic acid two fold, 2) created a large time-series datasets to be released publicly for external development of new machine learning algorithms, and 3) shown that supply chain problems, strain building bottlenecks, and adaptation times for new ML approaches are key obstacles for fast DBTL cycle times.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2025

Design and Engineering of LUPIN: A Test-Bed Radio-Frequency Ion Source for Enhanced Neutral Beam Injection on DIII-D

The Large, Uniform Plasma for Ionizing Neutrals (LUPIN) is a radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) chamber for demonstrating plasma performance of an RF ICP positive ion source upgrade for the DIII-D neutral beam injection (NBI) system. LUPIN will be used to investigate ion source physics, including neutral gas dynamics, plasma density uniformity, interactions with Faraday shields, and power coupling to novel RF antenna designs. LUPIN has an RF generator capable of delivering 20 kW of power at 2 MHz, which is coupled into a cylindrical quartz vessel measuring 20 cm in length and 10 cm in radius. This configuration matches the power density requirements for a full-scale ion source. Target hydrogen and deuterium plasma densities exceeding 10 18 m -3 would relate to extracted ion current densities of 2100 A/m 2 for 10s. Vacuum conductance and gas flow calculations predict a maximum achievable neutral gas flow rate of 1675 Pa ⋅ L/s at 5 Pa of He, which mimics the gas flow of the DIII-D NBI system. Designs have been developed for an internal Faraday shield to mitigate heat flux and ion sputtering on the dielectric vessel. Thermomechanical finite element simulations demonstrated the Faraday shield design to be capable of withstanding anticipated heat loads from worst-case operation scenarios. Finally, results of upcoming experimental investigations on LUPIN will guide the design of a full-scale prototype for DIII-D integration.

Faraday shield↗

DOE OSTI2020

Multi-Gas Sensors for Enhanced Reliability of SOFC Operation

GE Research, in partnership with SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly), designed, built, and tested gas sensors for in situ monitoring of H 2 and CO anode tail gases produced with on-site steam reforming in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems. The knowledge of the H 2 /CO ratio of these anode tail gases should allow accurate determination and control of the efficiency of the reforming process in the SOFC system and should deliver a lower operating cost for SOFC customers. The project objectives were to achieve multi-gas monitoring capability with a single multivariable sensor, and to sustain this performance in the presence of gaseous interferences and a potential poison for the sensor. The duration of the project was 24 months with the project structure that included three technical tasks such as (1) development of design rules of photonic nanostructures for H 2 and CO gas detection, (2) laboratory validation of photonic nanostructures for selective H 2 and CO gas detection, and (3) validation of photonic nanostructures for initial stability and poison-resistance against H 2 S. To build multivariable sensors for selective H 2 and CO gas detection in the presence of interferences, we expanded our earlier knowledge of multi-gas sensors into new fabrication and functionalization methodologies as well as into new methodologies for the spectral data analysis of multi-gas responses. We have advanced our design rules of the three-dimensional (3D) photonic nanostructures that allowed detection of H 2 and CO at high temperatures as individual gases and as their mixtures and rejection of interferences such as CO 2 , H 2 O, CH 4 , and other hydrocarbons for SOFC applications. Our advanced design rules should be attractive for building the new generation of cost-effective industrial sensors. Stability and poison resistance of our 3D photonic nanostructures was tested in the laboratory conditions. While initially we utilized conventional machine learning data analysis tools, we have found that they were unable to correct for the sensor drift. Thus, we have implemented new methods of machine learning for the analysis of our spectral data. These learnings pave the way to move the future studies into advanced testing of effects of interferences, aging and field tests. In future, our work will continue to advance our sensing designs to operate in conditions with known and unknown interferences by implementing nanostructures with enhanced spectral diversity of responses to gaseous species of interest and interferences. Our systematic reduction of technical risks in this completed project and in future studies will ensure transition of this sensing technology to commercialization.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Biomaniac

Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers are developing a machine-learning based algorithm to revolutionize how biopolymers are designed and optimized. BioManIAC is a software platform that fills the gaps in data to gain insight into new potential polymer properties without making and testing them. Polymer engineers are able to use BioManIAC software to extrapolate and tune new biopolymer properties that allow the user to create small smart libraries, rather than largescale trial and error testing. This targeted design is expected to improve both time to market and R&D expenditure, as well as the resulting mechanical properties of biopolymers, enabling for more direct competition with traditional petroleum-based polymers. Los Alamos is seeking partners to further validate our software platform.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Developing Novel Electrode Materials for Aqueous Battery

Aqueous rechargeable batteries (ARBs) are particularly interesting for large-scale energy storage due to their inherent safety, superior rate capability and environmental friendliness. However, ARBs are not widely explored as yet, so we proposed designing, preparing, and testing new intercalation materials for ARBs. Development of these electrodes will enrich the electrode chemistry of existing ARBs, open up new avenues for high-performance electrode and system design, offer opportunities to improve energy efficiency of water purification, and inform future development of controls strategies and management systems for stationary aqueous energy storage. Researchers from Bosch and LBNL collaborated on relevant materials to pursue and the general design of experiments to implement. Bosch researchers prepared and fabricated the electrodes and used various characterization facilities at LBNL to evaluate electrode performance in-device. The research collaboration resulted in identifying electrode materials capable of Na + and Ca 2+ intercalation in aqueous systems, and their application for desalination was explored using testing platform available at LBNL. Besides the specific materials and their performance, the data collected during the study was also used to inform a broader techno-economic analysis to compare intercalation-desalination technique to commercially available capacitive desalination approach. Outcomes of this research effort will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Feasibility study for test rig assessments of fish passage conditions in a Kaplan turbine

The assessment of fish passage conditions in hydroelectric turbines consists of identifying and quantifying physical magnitudes leading to increased risks of injury of fish passing through turbines in operation. Such assessments are usually carried out either with the use of computer-based methods during design or with field testing of live fish and sensors passing through prototypes. A method in between consists of test rig experimentation, which is critical for testing fish-focused design concepts and offers the opportunity for implementing the most effective design measures for improved fish survivability. However, fish-related assessments in test rigs are not sufficiently documented for industrial applications. This work presents the main findings of an experimental campaign to quantify fish-related hydraulic magnitudes in a physical model of a Kaplan turbine in a commercial test rig. Two operating conditions were tested by releasing miniaturized autonomous sensor devices (termed Sensor Fish Mini) at the turbine intake flow, passing them through the runner in motion and recovering them at the draft tube exit. During passage, time series of acceleration, absolute pressure and rotational velocity were recorded. The recordings were then interpreted to determine the magnitude and likely location of hydraulic stressors hazardous to fish. The statistical tests on the reported measurements indicated that low pressure, collisions on the runner and rotations in the draft tube were not different between the two tested operating points. On the other hand, pressure drop and collision rates on the distributor differed considerably as a function of net head. The outcomes of this investigation showed that test rig evaluations of fish-related properties with Sensor Fish Mini can contribute to an evidence-based development of turbine geometries designed for providing safer passage conditions. Future work will investigate the scaling of test rig measurements to hydraulically equivalent magnitudes in the prototype and their biological consequences.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

Corrosion Testing of Refractory in Contact with Molten Glasses Designed for Waste Vitrification – APPS1 Matrix Glasses (Revision 3)

Preface or Acknowledgements This document serves to convey the refractory loss measurement results from corrosion testing of Monofrax® K-3 refractory by molten glass to support the enhanced waste glass program being led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Any discussion or conclusions to be drawn from the data are not presented in this report. The refractory corrosion data is intended to be used in the development, validation, and implementation of enhanced property/composition models for waste glass vitrification at Hanford. Funding for this work by the U.S. Department of Energy, Hanford Field Office, Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant Project through Department of Energy Work Authorization M0SRV00101 managed by Albert A. Kruger is gratefully acknowledged.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗