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At least 1,171 records · Page 65

Distributed Optimization for Nonrigid Nano-Tomography

Resolution level and reconstruction quality in nano-computed tomography (nano-CT) are in part limited by the stability of microscopes, because the magnitude of mechanical vibrations during scanning becomes comparable to the imaging resolution, and the ability of the samples to resist radiation induced deformations during data acquisition. In such cases, there is no incentive in recovering the sample state at different time steps like in time-resolved reconstruction methods, but instead the goal is to retrieve a single reconstruction at the highest possible spatial resolution and without any imaging artifacts. Here we propose a distributed optimization solver for tomographic imaging of samples at the nanoscale. Our approach solves the tomography problem jointly with projection data alignment, nonrigid sample deformation correction, and regularization. Projection data consistency is regulated by dense optical flow estimated by Farneback's algorithm, leading to sharp sample reconstructions with less artifacts. Synthetic data tests show robustness of the method to Poisson and low-frequency background noise. We accelerated the solver on multi-GPU systems and validated the method on three nano-imaging experimental data sets.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Algorithm 1028: VTMOP: Solver for Blackbox Multiobjective Optimization Problems

VTMOP is a Fortran 2008 software package containing two Fortran modules for solving computationally expensive bound-constrained blackbox multiobjective optimization problems. VTMOP implements the algorithm of [32], which handles two or more objectives, does not require any derivatives, and produces well-distributed points over the Pareto front. The first module contains a general framework for solving multiobjective optimization problems by combining response surface methodology, trust region methodology, and an adaptive weighting scheme. The second module features a driver subroutine that implements this framework when the objective functions can be wrapped as a Fortran subroutine. Lastly, support is provided for both serial and parallel execution paradigms, and VTMOP is demonstrated on several test problems as well as one real-world problem in the area of particle accelerator optimization.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Resonance Control System for the PIP-II IT HWR Cryomodule

The HWR (half-wave-resonator) cryomodule is the first one in the superconducting section of the PIP-II LINAC project at Fermilab. PIP-II IT is a test facility for the project where the injector, warm front-end, and the first two superconducting cryomodules are being tested. The HWR cryomodule comprises 8 cavities operating at a frequency of 162.5 MHz and accelerating beam up to 10 MeV. Resonance control of the cavities is performed with a pneumatically operated slow tuner which compresses the cavity at the beam ports. Helium gas pressure in a bellows mounted to an end wall of the cavity is controlled by two solenoid valves, one on the pressure side and one on the vacuum side. The resonant frequency of the cavity can be controlled in one of two modes. A pressure feedback control loop can hold the cavity tuner pressure at a fixed value for the desired resonant frequency. Alternately, the feedback loop can regulate the cavity tuner pressure to bring the RF detuning error to zero. The resonance controller is integrated into the LLRF control system for the cryomodule. The control system design and performance of the resonance control system are described in this paper.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Status of the LCLS-II-HE Project at Jefferson Lab

The Linac Coherent Light Source II High Energy (LCLS-II-HE) upgrade at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is being constructed in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL). The cryomodule production scope consists of the design, procurement, construction, and acceptance testing of 24 eight-cavity, 1.3 GHz cryomodules, as well as R&D activities necessary to develop the required technology. To achieve this, JLab and FNAL are also contributing to SLAC’s effort to develop the cavity recipe and production processes necessary to meet the LCLS-II-HE goal of 20.8 MV/m and average Q₀ of 2.7·10¹⁰. This paper details the JLab scope, focusing on the project initiation phase, in particular technology development and prototyping, project development and planning, and implementation of lessons learned from LCLS-II.

Wilson, K. M.↗

Prototype HB650 Cryomodule Heat Loads Simulations

During the design stages of the PIP-II cryomodules, many analytical calculations and FEA have been performed on simpler geometry in order to estimate the heat loads and also to optimize the design. To better analyze the cryomodule cold tests, simulations have been performed with MATLAB to determine the temperature of the main components during cool down and to determine the heat loads of the cryomodule. These simulations have been applied to the High Beta 650 MHz prototype cryomodule design and compared to the cold tests performed on it.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Final Co-op Presentation Fall 2023

This presentation is an overview of the four projects I worked on during my first co-op term. The first project was a 3D-printed support for a horn that was being X-rayed. My second project was a website that compiled all data available on outgassing and created a comprehensive database. My third project was creating a cart for a PIP-II absorber that needs to be transported down the beamline using NX. My fourth and final project was testing a prototype of a collimator.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Coal to Carbon Fibers

This report documents activities carried out by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and by Ramaco Carbon LLC under CRADA project NFE-20-08273 entitled “Coal to Carbon Fibers.” This project’s main objective was the demonstration of commercially relevant utilization of coal as a precursor for high-value-added products, such as carbon fibers. The specific objectives included the following: • Deploy a production platform for the conversion of coal into carbon fibers in a way that utilizes preexisting base technologies and accelerates the commercialization of coal to carbon fibers. • Rapid deployment and utilization of versatile conversion test beds for accommodating preexisting base technologies for both the conversion of coal-to-pitch (proven donor solvent liquefaction techniques) and conversion of pitch-to-fiber (proven melt spun and melt blown techniques). Results from the generation of an isotropic pitch from a subbituminous coal through the low severity direct coal liquefaction process are presented. Carbon fibers were produced from this isotropic pitch through melt spinning and melt blowing.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Wyoming CarbonSAFE Phase III: Site Characterization and Permitting Commercial-Scale Carbon Storage Complex Feasibility Study at Dry Fork Station, Wyoming

This report presents the findings of the technical and non-technical site characterization and permitting activities (“Phase III”) conducted under the Wyoming CarbonSAFE: Accelerating CCUS Commercialization and Deployment at Dry Fork Power Station (DFS) and the Wyoming Integrated Test Center project (“Wyoming CarbonSAFE”). Wyoming CarbonSAFE is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (“CarbonSAFE”) Initiative. The results of Phase III demonstrate that the Wyoming CarbonSAFE project - referred to as the Northern Powder River Basin Carbon Sequestration Hub (NPRB-CSH) - meets the technical, regulatory, and commercial feasibility requirements necessary to advance toward commercial development and construction. The activities completed under this project Phase make the NPRB-CSH one of the region’s most commercially ready carbon storage sites. Completion of this Phase included the finalization of all site surface and subsurface characterization activities, completion and testing of two Class VI standard wells, 10 draft Class VI permits-to construct to address the future needs of a storage complex, finalized NEPA assessments, transportation and capture FEED studies, and a full commercialization strategy with economic modeling, operation and site closure strategies. The NPRB-CSH meets all requirements to progress to a CarbonSAFE Phase IV program or advance to full commercial operations under the development of a business partner.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Coupons (mini-modules) experimental data

Adhesion testing results on mini-module coupons (cell/encapsulant/glass laminates) that were aged under the different accelerated aging conditions (outlined more in the DataHub URL).

accelerated aging↗

Operation at Reduced Atmospheric Pressure and Concept of Reliability Redundancy for Optimized Design of Insulation Systems

Electrified transportation is calling for insulation design criteria that is adequate to provide elevated levels of power density, power dynamics and reliability. Increasing voltage levels are expected to cause accelerated intrinsic and extrinsic aging effects which will not be easily predictable at the design stage due to a lack of suitable modeling. Designing reliable insulation systems would require finding solutions able to control accelerated aging due to an unpredictable increase of intrinsic stresses and the onset of extrinsic stresses as partial discharges. This paper proposes the concept of reliability redundancy for the insulation design of aerospace electrical asset components, which is also validated at lower-than-standard atmospheric pressure. The principle is that extrinsic-aging-free design might be achieved upon determining the aging stress or abnormal service stresses distribution and being sure that aging will not generate conditions that can incept extrinsic aging (partial discharges) during operation life. However, such information is never, in practice, fully available to insulation system designers. Hence, especially in critical applications such as electrified aircraft, aerospace, and combat ships a further level of reliability should be added to a partial-discharge-free design, which can consist of the use of corona-resistant materials and/or of life models able to consider the accelerated aging effect of partial discharges (or any other type of extrinsic-accelerated aging factor). Innovative life modeling considering both extrinsic and intrinsic aging stresses, insulating material testing to estimate model parameters, and a metric for quantifying the extent of corona (or partial discharge) resistance can lead to establishing feasibility and limit conditions for optimized or fully reliability-redundant design. It is shown in the paper that if an extrinsic-aging-free design is not feasible, and it is therefore replaced by a redundant design, a further level of reliability redundancy can be provided by effective condition monitoring plans.

Montanari, Gian Carlo↗

Recent Progress in the Engineering of Polymeric Membranes for CO2 Capture from Flue Gas

CO2 capture from coal- or natural gas-derived flue gas has been widely considered as the next opportunity for the large-scale deployment of gas separation membranes. Despite the tremendous progress made in the synthesis of polymeric membranes with high CO2/N2 separation performance, only a few membrane technologies were advanced to the bench-scale study or above from a highly idealized laboratory setting. Therefore, the recent progress in polymeric membranes is reviewed in the perspectives of capture system energetics, process synthesis, membrane scale-up, modular fabrication, and field tests. These engineering considerations can provide a holistic approach to better guide membrane research and accelerate the commercialization of gas separation membranes for post-combustion carbon capture.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Accelerating Nuclear Fuels and Materials Qualification-Learning from MeV Summer School 2022

This presentation focused on the general overview of the lecture content that related to nuclear fuels and material qualification. The content of this presentation is taken from the lecture notes of MeV Summer School 2022. The sources are cited as per lecture notes. The focus of this presentation is to review the learning from the Modeling, Experiment, and Validation (MeV) Summer School (July 18-29, 2022) for early career researchers and scientists. This year's school was hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and was focused on Accelerating nuclear fuels, and materials qualification by combining high through-put materials irradiation and testing, advanced PIE, and Multiphysics modeling.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Electrospinner Upgrades for Nanofiber Production

Electrospinning is an inexpensive and flexible method for producing nanofibers. Nanofibers are highly adaptable with potential applications in accelerator target systems, air and water filtration, and biomedicine. This project aims to upgrade and test an existing roll-to-roll electrospinner that is more economical for industrial nanofiber production. Varying the diameter of nanofiber can change its functional properties. The current unit cannot adjust spinneret-collector separation, which determines nanofiber diameter. The electro-spinneret channel also does not have lateral adjustment capabilities for precise alignment. Lastly, the viscosities of our polymer solutions have not been quantified. Solution injection into the channel is presently inconsistent because of imperfect nozzle sizing, resulting in waste and decreased efficiency. Modeling was done with Siemens NX CAD software, and viscosity was measured using a Brookfield DVE-LV viscometer. A dual scissor lift design for channel displacement, powered by a dual-shaft DC motor coupled to precision lead screws, was approved and construction was started. Preliminary channel modifications also were initiated. Going forward, the scissor lift system will be integrated and evaluated with our electrospinner, along with further channel modifications. Viscosity measurements of polyvinyldimethylformamide (PVDF) were recorded with inconsistent results due to inadequate testing conditions. Future viscosity trials must be completed in accordance with testing requirements. The optimization and commercialization of roll-to-roll electrospinner units can make nanofiber production more feasible for many new industries and consumer products.

Black, Niko↗

nuSTORM Accelerator Challenges and Opportunities

The nuSTORM facility uses a stored muon beam to generate a neutrino source. Muons are captured and stored in a storage ring using stochastic injection. The facility will aim to measure neutrino-nucleus scattering cross-sections with uniquely well-characterized neutrino beams; to facilitate the search for sterile neutrino and other Beyond Standard Model processes with exquisite sensitivity, and to provide a muon source that makes an excellent technology test-bed required for the development of muon beams capable of serving as a multi-TeV collider. In this paper, we describe the latest status of the development of nuSTORM, the R&D needs, and the potential for nuSTORM as a Muon Collider test facility.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

BACKFLIP: A Comparison of Market-Benchmark Backsheet Technologies to Novel Non-Fluoro-Based Coextruded Materials and Their Correlation and Impact on PV Module Degradation Rates: Final Results of the Study at 4000 Hours or 2 Years

As the photovoltaic (PV) industry is rapidly expanding around the world, there has been an increasing interest in extending the lifespan of PV modules. Concern has also emerged regarding the recyclability of modules and their component materials, including fluoropolymer-based backsheets. Laminated polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) core backsheets have traditionally been used in the PV industry, but new, co-extruded polyolefin (PO) backsheets show promise as an improved alternative. Mini-module and coupon samples of seven different backsheets (made of layers including contemporary PET and fluoropolymers, novel PO, and polyamide (PA) materials) were run through hygrometric- or UV photolytic-accelerated aging to identify and better understand each material's degradation modes and the backsheets' field reliability. In addition to the artificial aging, the natural weathering methods used in this study are described. The comprehensive set of chemical, mechanical, and structural characterizations at intermittent read points in this study is presented, including: visual appearance and color; gloss; mechanical tensile testing; I-V performance; electroluminescence (EL) imaging; dielectric breakdown; FTIR-chemical structure; X-ray-polymer structure (WAXS); and DSC-crystalline content. After 4000 h of accelerated aging or 2y of outdoor aging, a strong correlation occurs between initial physical characteristics (mechanical tensile test) and operating performance (EL and I-V characteristics).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Advanced Diagnostics of Broad Spectrum Multipactor

Multipactor is a resonance event between electron emission and RF fields causing exponential secondary electron re-emission growth when the secondary electron yield of the primary electron impact energy exceeds unity. Multipactor is a serious problem in vacuum electron devices (VEDs) such as particle accelerators, radars, electronic warfare systems, directed energy devices, and even Hall effect thrusters. It also poses an even greater threat to space communication systems where high power, multi-channel links are required. The UC Davis and SLAC team will conduct basic research to advance the fundamental understanding of multipactor physics by developing and carrying out full spectrum, radio frequency (RF) laboratory tests aimed at understanding both single and two-surface multipactor phenomena and at evaluating novel multipactor mitigation approaches for accelerator, space-based RF systems, as well as high power microwave (HPM) applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Model 9975 O Ring Fixture Long-Term Leak Performance (FY2024 Status Report)

Leak testing experiments to monitor the aging performance of Viton ® GLT and GLT-S O-rings used in the model 9975 shipping package have been ongoing since 2004 at Savannah River National Laboratory. Seventy tests using mock-up 9975 primary containment vessels (PCVs) with GLT O-rings were assembled and heated to temperatures ranging from 200 to 450 °F. Due to material substitution, fourteen tests with GLT-S O-rings were initiated in 2008 and heated to temperatures ranging from 200 to 400 °F. The conditioning temperatures are elevated compared to the calculated maximum O-ring temperature in a 9975 package in storage, 158 °F, to accelerate aging and enable observations of O-ring failures in a reasonable time frame. The mock-up PCV fixtures are leak tested periodically, and all GLT O-ring fixtures aging at 350 °F or above have failed to maintain a leak-tight seal. Eight GLT O-ring fixtures aging at 300 °F have failed after 2.8 to 5.7 years at temperature while the remaining fixtures at 300 °F were retired from testing following more than five years of aging without failure. Two of these retired fixtures were returned to testing and heated to 350 °F to evaluate the impact of additional heating at higher temperature for aged O-rings. Fixture #20 failed after 3 months of testing while fixture #18 remained leak tight. These O-rings demonstrated that aged and in-service O-rings can continue to be used, even at higher temperatures, after being in storage, and their leak performance are consistent with other samples at 350 °F.

42 ENGINEERING↗

FY2025 Status Report: Model 9975 O Ring Fixture Long-Term Leak Performance

Leak testing experiments to monitor the aging performance of Viton® GLT and GLT-S O-rings used in the model 9975 shipping package have been ongoing since 2004 at Savannah River National Laboratory. Seventy tests using mock-up 9975 primary containment vessels (PCVs) with GLT O-rings were assembled and heated to temperatures ranging from 200 to 450 °F. Due to material substitution, fourteen tests with GLT-S O-rings were initiated in 2008 and heated to temperatures ranging from 200 to 400 °F. The conditioning temperatures are elevated compared to the calculated maximum O-ring temperature in a 9975 package in storage, 158 °F, to accelerate aging and enable observations of O-ring failures in a reasonable time frame. The mock-up PCV fixtures are leak tested periodically, and all GLT O-ring fixtures aged at 350 °F or above have failed to maintain a leak-tight seal. Eight GLT O-ring fixtures aged at 300 °F have failed after 2.8 to 5.7 years at temperature while the remaining fixtures at 300 °F were retired from testing following more than five years of aging without failure. Two of these retired fixtures were returned to testing and heated to 350 °F to evaluate the impact of additional heating at higher temperature for aged O-rings. Fixture #20 failed after 3 months while fixture #18 failed after 9 months at 350 °F. These O-rings demonstrated that aged and in-service O-rings can continue to be used, even at higher temperatures, after being in storage, and their leak performance are consistent with other samples at 350 °F. There has been one GLT O-ring fixture which failed after 13.4 years of aging at 200 °F. However, 20 other GLT O-rings aging at 200 °F have remained leak-tight for over 16.9 years and remain in test. There are two GLT O-ring fixtures at 270 °F; one fixture has failed after 12.9 years while the other fixture remains in test after 12.5 years. All GLT-S O-ring fixtures aged at 300 °F or above have failed their leak test. No failures have yet been observed in GLT-S O-ring fixtures aging at 250 °F for 14.9 years, while one GLT-S O-ring fixture failed after 12.4 years at 200 °F. The leak testing data to date suggest the GLT and GLT-S O-rings aging in the K-Area Complex (KAC) storage at temperatures of 158 °F might maintain a leak-tight seal for up to 59 years. Data from the O-ring fixtures are generally consistent with results from compression stress-relaxation testing and provide confidence in the predictive models based on those results. However, uncertainty exists in extrapolating these elevated temperature results to the lower temperatures of interest for normal storage in KAC. The collective data from these test efforts suggest the minimum O-ring service life at KAC normal storage conditions should be at least 34 years for GLT and GLT-S O-rings. Measurement of compression set in O-rings removed from failed fixtures, compared to that from KAC surveillance O-rings, indicate significant margin remains for O-rings still in service in 9975 packages in KAC. Aging and periodic leak testing will continue for the remaining 24 mock-up PCV fixtures.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗