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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

CASL Annual Report (FY2018)

The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) was established in July 2010 as the first US Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Innovation Hub. The consortium was initially funded for five years to develop advanced modeling and simulation (M&S) tools that can be used to analyze issues associated with the operation of US commercial light water reactors (LWRs). During this period, the program focused primarily on capabilities to solve challenges related to pressurized water reactor (PWR) operation. In January 2015, the program was extended for an additional five years with the goal of finalizing development and deployment of CASL tools for PWR analysis and extending the program’s tools for use in small modular reactor (SMR) operation and boiling water reactor (BWR) analyses. In February 2018, the CASL program was authorized to receive additional funds to focus on the use of advanced M&S tools in a regulatory environment.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modernization of Technical Requirements for Licensing of Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors: Probabilistic Risk Assessment Approach

This report, “Modernization of Technical Requirements for Licensing of Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors: Probabilistic Risk Assessment Approach,” represents a key element in the development of a methodology for the efficient licensing of advanced non-light water reactors (non-LWRs). It is the result of a Licensing Modernization Project (LMP) led by Southern Company and cost-shared by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The LMP has developed detailed proposals for establishing licensing technical requirements to facilitate risk-informed and performance-based design and licensing of advanced non-LWRs. Such a methodology acknowledges enhancements in safety achievable with advanced designs and reflects more recent states of knowledge regarding safety and design innovation, creating an opportunity for reduced regulatory complexity with increased levels of safety. The project builds on best practices, as well as previous activities through DOE and industry-sponsored advanced reactor licensing initiatives.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Non-LWR Fuel Cycle Scenarios for SCALE and MELCOR Modeling Capability Demonstration

To assess the modeling and simulation capabilities for radionuclide characterization, criticality, and shielding in the nuclear fuel cycle of non-light–water reactor (LWR) technologies, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated a collaborative project between the NRC, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with the goal to demonstrate capabilities of MELCOR and SCALE to calculate accident scenarios in all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle for relevant non-LWRs. The first project task was to develop representative nuclear fuel cycles and identify potential hazards and accident scenarios in the individual fuel cycle stages based on publicly available information. Because the nuclear fuel cycle is not established for any non-LWR concept, many assumptions were made, and it is anticipated that the details of the fuel cycles will eventually look different.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Case Study: BESS Capacity Building for Malawi

To strengthen Malawi's national electricity grid and to enhance reliability, the government of Malawi and the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi are partnering with the Global Alliance for People and Planet to develop a 20-megawatt/30-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system at Kanengo, Malawi, expected to come online in 2026. In parallel, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and the National Laboratory of the Rockies implemented a comprehensive technical capacity-building program to equip the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority, and the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences with the expertise needed to plan, regulate, and operate advanced storage systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS1975

Civil mini-RPA's for the 1980's: Avionics design considerations

A number of remote sensing or surveillance tasks (e.g., fire fighting, crop monitoring) in the civilian sector of our society may be performed in a cost effective manner by use of small remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). This study was conducted to determine equipment (and the associated technology) that is available, and that could be applied to the mini-RPA and to examine the potential applications of the mini-RPA with special emphasis on the wild fire surveillance mission. The operational considerations of using the mini-RPA as affected by government regulatory agencies were investigated. These led to equipment requirements (e.g., infra-red sensors) over and above those for the performance of the mission. A computer technology survey and forecast was performed. Key subsystems were identified, and a distributed microcomputer configuration, that was functionally modular, was recommended. Areas for further NASA research and development activity were also identified.

Karmarkar, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA's UAS [Unmanned Aircraft Systems] Related Activities

NASA continues to operate all sizes of UAS in all classes of airspace both domestically and internationally. Missions range from highly complex operations in coordination with piloted aircraft, ground, and space systems in support of science objectives to single aircraft operations in support of aeronautics research. One such example is a scaled commercial transport aircraft being used to study recovery techniques due to large upsets. NASA's efforts to support routine UAS operations continued on several fronts last year. At the national level in the United States (U.S.), NASA continued its support of the UAS Executive Committee (ExCom) comprised of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and NASA. The committee was formed in recognition of the need of UAS operated by these agencies to access to the National Airspace System (NAS) to support operational, training, development and research requirements. Recommendations were received on how to operate both manned and unmanned aircraft in class D airspace and plans are being developed to validate and implement those recommendations. In addition the UAS ExCom has begun developing recommendations for how to achieve routine operations in remote areas as well as for small UAS operations in class G airspace. As well as supporting the UAS ExCom, NASA is a participant in the recently formed Aviation Rule Making Committee for UAS. This committee, established by the FAA, is intended to propose regulatory guidance which would enable routine civil UAS operations. As that effort matures NASA stands ready to supply the necessary technical expertise to help that committee achieve its objectives. By supporting both the UAS ExCom and UAS ARC, NASA is positioned to provide its technical expertise across the full spectrum of UAS airspace access related topic areas. The UAS NAS Access Project got underway this past year under the leadership of NASA s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. This project is focused on advancing the state of the art and providing research and analysis results in the areas of Separation Assurance, Communications (non-governmental spectrum allocation for UAS), Certification, and Human System Integration (ground control station design/pilot interfaces). The project is working in close coordination with the FAA and industry standards organizations (e.g. RTCA SC 203). More details on this project are provided in a separate article in this year's yearbook

Bauer, Jeffrey↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluation Challenges for the Application of Extended Reality Devices in Medicine

Augmented and virtual reality devices are being actively investigated and implemented for a wide range of medical uses. However, significant gaps in the evaluation of these medical devices and applications hinder their regulatory evaluation. Addressing these gaps is critical to demonstrating the devices’ safety and effectiveness. We outline the key technical and clinical evaluation challenges discussed during the US Food and Drug Administration’s public workshop, “Medical Extended Reality: Toward Best Evaluation Practices for Virtual and Augmented Reality in Medicine” and future directions for evaluation method development. Evaluation challenges were categorized into several key technical and clinical areas. Finally, we highlight current efforts in the standards communities and illustrate connections between the evaluation challenges and the intended uses of the medical extended reality (MXR) devices. Participants concluded that additional research is needed to assess the safety and effectiveness of MXR devices across the use cases.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Game theoretic modeling and optimization of competition and collaboration in dual channel electronic waste supply chains

The rapid growth of electronic waste (e-waste) presents critical challenges for sustainable resource recovery and environmental protection. This study develops a dual-channel closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) model formulated as a hierarchical Stackelberg game, that integrates dynamic pricing and cost-sharing mechanisms to optimize both economic and environmental outcomes. The model explicitly captures strategic interactions between manufacturer-led and third-party recycling channels, accounting for consumer behavior, regulatory incentives, and market competition. Numerical simulations conducted (implemented over a four-iteration horizon using a commercial optimization solver) show that, relative to the baseline equilibrium, manufacturer profit increases from 11.6 thousand USD to 37.9 thousand USD (+226.8%), total recycled volume rises from 7,848 to 7,942 units (+1.2%), and collector profit nearly doubles under cost-sharing, enabling more equitable profit distribution. Furthermore, scenario-based simulations across Sub-Saharan Africa, high-income economies, and emerging Asian industrial countries reveal that infrastructure quality, policy intensity, and labor costs critically shape recycling efficiency and profit allocation. These findings demonstrate that subsidies alone are insufficient to ensure system efficiency. Instead, coordinated strategies that integrate internal incentive alignment with context-sensitive policy support are required. Overall, this study offers a robust framework for designing resilient, efficient, and regionally adaptable e-waste management systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Decoding FGF/FGFR Signaling: Insights into Biological Functions and Disease Relevance

Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs) and their cognate receptors, FGFRs, play pivotal roles in a plethora of biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, tissue repair, and metabolic homeostasis. This review provides a comprehensive overview of FGF-FGFR signaling pathways while highlighting their complex regulatory mechanisms and interconnections with other signaling networks. Further, we briefly discuss the FGFs involvement in developmental, metabolic, and housekeeping functions. By complementing current knowledge and emerging research, this review aims to enhance the understanding of FGF-FGFR-mediated signaling and its implications for health and disease, which will be crucial for therapeutic development against FGF-related pathological conditions.

Edirisinghe, Oshadi↗
NASA NTRS2002

Effects of microgravity on myogenic factor expressions during postnatal development of rat skeletal muscle

To clarify the role of gravity in the postnatal development of skeletal muscle, we exposed neonatal rats at 7 days of age to microgravity. After 16 days of spaceflight, tibialis anterior, plantaris, medial gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles were removed from the hindlimb musculature and examined for the expression of MyoD-family transcription factors such as MyoD, myogenin, and MRF4. For this purpose, we established a unique semiquantitative method, based on RT-PCR, using specific primers tagged with infrared fluorescence. The relative expression of MyoD in the tibialis anterior and plantaris muscles and that of myogenin in the plantaris and soleus muscles were significantly reduced (P < 0.001) in the flight animals. In contrast, MRF4 expression was not changed in any muscle. These results suggest that MyoD and myogenin, but not MRF4, are sensitive to gravity-related stimuli in some skeletal muscles during postnatal development.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1978

Carbon Monoxide Sensor

The fuel cell is a system which employs an electrochemical process to convert gases- J such as hydrogen and oxygen directly into electricity. Under NASA sponsorship, GE's Aircraft Equipment Division developed fuel cells to supply electrical power for the Gemini and Biosatellite spacecraft of the sixties and is currently working on advanced fuel cell development. This long-term effort has resulted in a series of spinoff applications using the same general technology for a variety of purposes, among them the recently marketed Dosimeter. The Dosimeter is designed to help users meet safety requirements for industrial atmospheres, as specified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other regulatory agencies. The compact, pocket-sized sensor measures personnel exposure to carbon monoxide and provides both a visual and an audible alarm if the concentration of the gas exceeds present levels. The Dosimeter offers substantial improvement in measuring accuracy over earlier warning indicators.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2006

HALE UAS Concept of Operations. Version 3.0

This document is a system level Concept of Operations (CONOPS) from the perspective of future High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) service providers and National Airspace System (NAS) users. It describes current systems (existing UAS), describes HALE UAS functions and operations to be performed (via sample missions), and offers insight into the user s environment (i.e., the UAS as a system of systems). It is intended to be a source document for NAS UAS operational requirements, and provides a construct for government agencies to use in guiding their regulatory decisions, architecture requirements, and investment strategies. Although it does not describe the technical capabilities of a specific HALE UAS system (which do, and will vary widely), it is intended to aid in requirements capture and to be used as input to the functional requirements and analysis process. The document provides a basis for development of functional requirements and operational guidelines to achieve unrestricted access into the NAS. This document is an FY06 update to the FY05 Access 5 Project-approved Concept of Operations document previously published in the Public Domain on the Access 5 open website. This version is recommended to be approved for public release also. The updates are a reorganization of materials from the previous version with the addition of an updated set of operational requirements, inclusion of sample mission scenarios, and identification of roles and responsibilities of interfaces within flight phases.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2024

Instrumentation for the In-Core Real-Time Mechanical Testing of Structural Materials (INCREASE) Project

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), the Joint Research Center (JRC), the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG), and the Research Center Rez (CVR), started a Joint Experimental Program (JEEP) project that operates within the Nuclear Energy Agency’s Framework for Irradiation Experiments (FIDES II) program in order to develop capabilities for the in-core real-time mechanical testing of structural materials. This effort will focus on designing a shared capsule capable of housing a variety of in-core mechanical testing instrumentation allowing enhanced experiments for the material science community. The outcome of the project would be high-priority, stress relaxation data for stainless-steel-based materials provided by EPRI and CEA. Stress relaxation is a major phenomenon that contributes to material degradation in nuclear reactor components. Currently, nuclear material stress relaxation is assessed both before and after irradiation, using complex and costly post-irradiation examination (PIE) activities. In-situ data would support the development of precision modeling and simulation of this degradation phenomena and would provide validation and benchmarking for existing models using the PIE data. As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Sensor and Instrumentation (ASI) program, INL has fabricated and tested out-of-core mechanical test instrumentation. This instrumentation was designed for easy adaptation to the irradiation capsule proposed under this JEEP, and can be deployed to measure real-time stress relaxation under pressurized-water reactor (PWR) conditions. This initial effort will partially serve to replace the testing capabilities lost because of shutting down the Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR). The project would provide these capabilities to the international community via a shared capsule design that is easily adaptable to additional material test reactors. The design features will incorporate expansion to PWR and non-light-water reactor (LWR) environments that will be developed in future work. The capsule and instrumentation will be demonstrated in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor (MITR) for phase I and the Petten High Flux Reactor (HFR) for phase II irradiations to deliver real-time stress relaxation data on high priority stainless steel structural materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cost of Fish Exclusion and Passage Technologies for Hydropower

Hydropower represents a reliable source of renewable energy and accounts for approximately 7% of the total electrical generation in the United States. Future expansion of hydropower is likely to be in the form of either smaller new stream development projects or powering existing non-powered dams. For these new projects to be successful, careful analysis of risks, costs, and uncertainty to offset reduced power production as well as ensuring the protection and safe passage of migratory fish to gain public support, will be required. Exclusion and passage are two common approaches to protect fish from entrainment and impingement at hydropower facilities. The thresholds for entrainment risk and requirements for exclusion and passage often differ depending on the species involved, the characteristics of the facility, and the goals of stakeholders. While the costs associated with environmental mitigations represent a large proportion of the total costs required for the licensing of hydropower facilities, little quantitative information is present within the literature regarding the specific costs of fish exclusion and passage. Working with FOA awardee Natel Energy, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were tasked with assessing the capital construction costs for downstream fish exclusion and passage infrastructure. This report used keyword searches of an existing environmental mitigation cost data set and manual extraction of additional cost data associated with protection, mitigation, and enhancement (PM&E) measures related to positive barrier screening and passage from regulatory licensing documents available in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) eLibrary. This approach yielded a total of 50 PM&E mitigation measures with estimated capital construction costs pertaining to positive barrier screens, 142 pertaining to passage studies, and 26 pertaining to passage-related studies. PM&E measures associated with positive barrier screens represented <10% of the 171 total FERC project dockets available in the data set. These data were highly skewed toward conventional relicensing projects, as <7% were associated with new stream development (NSD) projects. Results from these data indicate highly variable costs associated with fish screening, with flow-normalized costs one to two orders of magnitude higher for screening with the highest exclusion capability (≤0.09 in. spacing) compared with coarser screening (1 to 2 in.). Furthermore, estimated capital costs of passage infrastructure were positively related to the scale of the project based on installed capacity for some, but not all, types of passage. These data provide an initial baseline for estimating exclusion and passage costs for hydropower development and may help developers consider options for more fish-friendly generation technologies, though gaps remain relating to a lack of data, particularly for NSD projects. More data may still be available within the FERC eLibrary, but significant effort will be required to manually identify and extract the data for future analyses.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Small Signaling Peptides in Sorghum bicolor : Integrating Phylogeny and Gene Expression to Characterize Roles in Stem Development

Small signaling peptides (SSPs) are important regulators of plant growth, development, and responses to biotic and abiotic stress, yet their role in the C4 grass Sorghum bicolor is largely uncharacterized. To help fill this knowledge gap, 219 sorghum genes that encode SSPs were identified based on SSP sequences previously identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, Zea mays, Oryza sativa, Triticum aestivum , and Brachypodium distachyon . The 219 sorghum SSP-encoding genes were assigned to 19 gene families, analyzed for the presence of motifs, and aligned with genes that encode SSPs in other plants using phylogenetic analysis. Sorghum genes in 12 of the 19 SSP gene families had not been previously characterized. Expression of the 219 SSP-encoding genes in sorghum organs, during stem development, and in stem tissues and cell types revealed distinct spatial, temporal, and developmental patterns of expression. Genes associated with the SbCEP and SbRGF families were preferentially expressed in roots, whereas SbEPF genes were expressed in stem epidermal and pith parenchyma cells and panicles. The expression of genes during bioenergy sorghum stem growth and development was investigated because stems account for ~80% of harvested biomass and serve as conduits for water and nutrient transport between leaves and roots. During stem development, 28 SSP genes in several families ( CLE, EPF, CEP, GASS, PSY, ES, PSK, CAPE, POE ) were expressed at higher levels in zones of cell proliferation. For example, the TDIF homologs SbCLE41 and SbCLE42 were expressed at high levels in nascent stem nodes where they may regulate vascular bundle cambial activity and cell differentiation. A different set of 15 genes in the CIF, POE, CAPE, PSY, CEP, RALF , and CLE families were expressed at higher levels in zones of stem tissue differentiation highlighted by elevated expression of five SbRALFR s in the stem nodal plexus. Cell type–specific expression of many sorghum genes that encode SSPs was observed in fully elongated internodes indicating gene expression is regulated with high spatial resolution. Overall, the results provide a foundation of information for analysis of SSP function in sorghum that can be integrated with knowledge of sorghum gene regulatory networks to modulate traits important for production of sorghum crops.

bioenergy sorghum↗
DOE OSTI2024

Limited increases in Arctic offshore oil and gas production with climate change and the implications for energy markets

Climate change impacts on sea ice thickness is opening access to offshore Arctic resources. The degree to which these resources are exploited will depend on sea-ice conditions, technology costs, international energy markets, and the regulatory environment. We use an integrated human-Earth system model, GCAM, to explore the effects of spatial–temporal patterns of sea-ice loss under climate change on future Arctic offshore oil and gas extraction, considering interactions with global energy markets and emission reduction scenarios. We find that under SSP5, a “fossil-fueled development” scenario, the effects of sea-ice loss are larger for Arctic offshore oil production than gas. Under SSP5, future extraction of Arctic offshore oil and gas through 2100 adds roughly 0.8–2.6 EJ/year to oil and gas markets but does not have large impacts on global oil and gas markets. Surprisingly, a low-carbon scenario results in greater Arctic offshore oil production to offset the more emissions-intensive unconventional oil production.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

KRUSTY Experiment: Reactivity Insertion Accident Analysis

The centerpiece of the Kilopower Project, i.e., the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) test, consists of the development and testing of a ground technology demonstration of a small fission power system based on a 1-kW(electric) space science power requirement. The KRUSTY test was authorized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office. Authorization was obtained by adding an amendment to the existing regulatory documents for the National Criticality Experiments Research Center to cover the KRUSTY experiment. This amendment was reviewed and approved by the DOE. The most important safety question for the experiment was the addition of over 2 $ of excess reactivity to the reactor system. This amount of excess reactivity meant that the analyst could postulate accidents where the reactor went prompt critical, leading to physical shock or melting of the fuel. This paper analyzes these accidents using computer calculations and examines the controls used to mitigate them. The estimation of the impacts both on accident progression and consequences of reactivity insertion events was a significant part of obtaining approval for the KRUSTY experiment. The regulatory approval of KRUSTY was one of the first to be obtained for a completely new reactor concept in many decades.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Overexpression of RuBisCO form I and II genes in Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 augments polyhydroxyalkanoate production heterotrophically and autotrophically

ABSTRACT With the rising demand for sustainable renewable resources, microorganisms capable of producing bioproducts such as bioplastics are attractive. While many bioproduction systems are well-studied in model organisms, investigating non-model organisms is essential to expand the field and utilize metabolically versatile strains. This investigation centers on Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1, a purple non-sulfur bacterium capable of producing bioplastics. To increase bioplastic production, genes encoding the putative regulatory protein PhaR and the depolymerase PhaZ of the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biosynthesis pathway were deleted. Genes associated with pathways that might compete with PHA production, specifically those linked to glycogen production and nitrogen fixation, were deleted. Additionally, RuBisCO form I and II genes were integrated into TIE-1’s genome by a phage integration system, developed in this study. Our results show that deletion of phaR increases PHA production when TIE-1 is grown photoheterotrophically with butyrate and ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl). Mutants unable to produce glycogen or fix nitrogen show increased PHA production under photoautotrophic growth with hydrogen and NH 4 Cl. The most significant increase in PHA production was observed when RuBisCO form I and form I & II genes were overexpressed, five times under photoheterotrophy with butyrate, two times with hydrogen and NH 4 Cl, and two times under photoelectrotrophic growth with N 2 . In summary, inserting copies of RuBisCO genes into the TIE-1 genome is a more effective strategy than deleting competing pathways to increase PHA production in TIE-1. The successful use of the phage integration system opens numerous opportunities for synthetic biology in TIE-1. IMPORTANCE Our planet has been burdened by pollution resulting from the extensive use of petroleum-derived plastics for the last few decades. Since the discovery of biodegradable plastic alternatives, concerted efforts have been made to enhance their bioproduction. The versatile microorganism Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 (TIE-1) stands out as a promising candidate for bioplastic synthesis, owing to its ability to use multiple electron sources, fix the greenhouse gas CO 2 , and use light as an energy source. Two categories of strains were meticulously designed from the TIE-1 wild-type to augment the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), one such bioplastic produced. The first group includes mutants carrying a deletion of the phaR or phaZ genes in the PHA pathway, and those lacking potential competitive carbon and energy sinks to the PHA pathway (namely, glycogen biosynthesis and nitrogen fixation). The second group comprises TIE-1 strains that overexpress RuBisCO form I or form I & II genes inserted via a phage integration system. By studying numerous metabolic mutants and overexpression strains, we conclude that genetic modifications in the environmental microbe TIE-1 can improve PHA production. When combined with other approaches (such as reactor design, use of microbial consortia, and different feedstocks), genetic and metabolic manipulations of purple nonsulfur bacteria like TIE-1 are essential for replacing petroleum-derived plastics with biodegradable plastics like PHA.

Ranaivoarisoa, Tahina Onina↗