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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 1,171 records · Page 65
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

A Coincident CdTe Detector Array for Enhanced Nuclear Process Monitoring

Nuclear fuel cycle aqueous separation processes desire improved real-time material characterization and process monitoring techniques; gamma coincidence spectroscopy has the potential to meet this need in these high throughput and high radiation environments based on its ability to reduce background noise, thereby enhancing detection limits and improving isotopic identification accuracy. A detector array composed of three CdTe detectors was designed to surround a chemical processing pipe in a reprocessing facility and evaluate the feasibility of passively assaying the nuclear materials flowing though this measurement point. This array uses commercial off the shelf components that are radiation hard and highly efficiency at low energies relevant to actinide photon signatures. Detector efficiency characterizations, coincidence detection, and potential configuration improvements are presented here.

Good, Erin C.↗
DOE OSTI2019

The Effect of Shot Peening on Steam Oxidation of 304H Stainless Steel

Shot peening is currently utilized in coal-fired power plant components to mitigate scale exfoliation issues from steamside oxidation of austenitic stainless steel superheater and reheater tubing. To focus on commercially available material, this study exposed quarter-ring specimens cut from two different commercially shot peened type 304H tubes and exposed to 1 bar steam for up to 15,000 h at 550°, 600°, 625°, and 650 °C. Specimens were removed at increments to characterize the oxide thickness and microstructure. The shot peened inner surface generally retained a thin, protective Cr-rich scale with occasional Fe-rich oxide nodules at 550–625 °C. The increased oxidation resistance from shot peening began to degrade at 650 °C after as little as 5,000 h. Cut and polished faces of these specimens formed thick, Fe-rich oxides similar to polished 304H coupons. Surprisingly, the mechanically machined outer surface of the tube specimens performed similarly to the shot peened inner diameter, suggesting it had sufficient cold work to achieve a similar benefit. As a result, electron backscatter diffraction and Vickers-hardness measurements were used to characterize post-exposure changes in underlying microstructure and mechanical properties, respectively, imparted by shot peening.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Root phenotypes for improved nitrogen capture

Abstract Background Suboptimal nitrogen availability is a primary constraint for crop production in low-input agroecosystems, while nitrogen fertilization is a primary contributor to the energy, economic, and environmental costs of crop production in high-input agroecosystems. In this article we consider avenues to develop crops with improved nitrogen capture and reduced requirement for nitrogen fertilizer. Scope Intraspecific variation for an array of root phenotypes has been associated with improved nitrogen capture in cereal crops, including architectural phenotypes that colocalize root foraging with nitrogen availability in the soil; anatomical phenotypes that reduce the metabolic costs of soil exploration, improve penetration of hard soil, and exploit the rhizosphere; subcellular phenotypes that reduce the nitrogen requirement of plant tissue; molecular phenotypes exhibiting optimized nitrate uptake kinetics; and rhizosphere phenotypes that optimize associations with the rhizosphere microbiome. For each of these topics we provide examples of root phenotypes which merit attention as potential selection targets for crop improvement. Several cross-cutting issues are addressed including the importance of soil hydrology and impedance, phenotypic plasticity, integrated phenotypes, in silico modeling, and breeding strategies using high throughput phenotyping for co-optimization of multiple phenes. Conclusions Substantial phenotypic variation exists in crop germplasm for an array of root phenotypes that improve nitrogen capture. Although this topic merits greater research attention than it currently receives, we have adequate understanding and tools to develop crops with improved nitrogen capture. Root phenotypes are underutilized yet attractive breeding targets for the development of the nitrogen efficient crops urgently needed in global agriculture.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Classical symmetries and the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm

Here, we study the relationship between the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) and the underlying symmetries of the objective function to be optimized. Our approach formalizes the connection between quantum symmetry properties of the QAOA dynamics and the group of classical symmetries of the objective function. The connection is general and includes but is not limited to problems defined on graphs. We show a series of results exploring the connection and highlight examples of hard problem classes where a nontrivial symmetry subgroup can be obtained efficiently. In particular, we show how classical objective function symmetries lead to invariant measurement outcome probabilities across states connected by such symmetries, independent of the choice of algorithm parameters or number of layers. To illustrate the power of the developed connection, we apply machine learning techniques toward predicting QAOA performance based on symmetry considerations. We provide numerical evidence that a small set of graph symmetry properties suffices to predict the minimum QAOA depth required to achieve a target approximation ratio on the MaxCut problem, in a practically important setting where QAOA parameter schedules are constrained to be linear and hence easier to optimize.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Solving larger maximum clique problems using parallel quantum annealing

Quantum annealing has the potential to find low energy solutions of NP-hard problems that can be expressed as quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problems. However, the hardware of the quantum annealer manufactured by D-Wave Systems, which we consider in this work, is sparsely connected and moderately sized (on the order of thousands of qubits), thus necessitating a minor-embedding of a logical problem onto the physical qubit hardware. The combination of relatively small hardware sizes and the necessity of a minor-embedding can mean that solving large optimization problems is not possible on current quantum annealers. In this research, we show that a hybrid approach combining parallel quantum annealing with graph decomposition allows one to solve larger optimization problem accurately. We apply the approach to the Maximum Clique problem on graphs with up to 120 nodes and 6395 edges.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

SUDA: A SUrface Dust Analyser for Compositional Mapping of the Galilean Moon Europa

Abstract The Surface Dust Analyser (SUDA) is a mass spectrometer onboard the Europa Clipper mission for investigating the surface composition of the Galilean moon Europa. Atmosphereless planetary moons such as the Galilean satellites are wrapped into a ballistic dust exosphere populated by tiny samples from the moon’s surface produced by impacts of fast micrometeoroids. SUDA will measure the composition of such surface ejecta during close flybys of Europa to obtain key chemical signatures for revealing the satellite’s composition such as organic molecules and salts, history, and geological evolution. Because of their ballistic orbits, detected ejecta can be traced back to the surface with a spatial resolution roughly equal to the instantaneous altitude of the spacecraft. SUDA is a Time-Of-Flight (TOF), reflectron-type impact mass spectrometer, optimized for a high mass resolution which only weakly depends on the impact location. The instrument will measure the mass, speed, charge, elemental, molecular, and isotopic composition of impacting grains. The instrument’s small size of$268 ~\mathrm {mm} \times 250 ~\mathrm {mm} \times 171$ 268 mm × 250 mm × 171 $~\mathrm {mm}$ mm , radiation-hard design, and rather large sensitive area of 220 cm 2 matches well the challenging demands of the Clipper mission.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quality Control Metrics to Assess MoS2 Sputtered Films for Tribological Applications

Abstract Pure molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) solid lubricant coatings could attain densities comparable to doped films (and the associated benefits to wear rate and environmental stability) through manipulation of the microstructure via deposition parameters. Unfortunately, pure films can exhibit highly variable microstructures and mechanical properties due to processes that are not controlled during deposition (i.e., batch-to-batch variation). This work focuses on developing a relationship between density, hardness, friction, and wear for pure sputtered MoS 2 coatings. Results show that dense films ( ρ = 4.5 g/cm 3 ) exhibit a 100 × lower wear rate compared to porous coatings ( ρ = 3.04–3.55 g/cm 3 ). The tribological performance of high density pure MoS 2 coatings is shown to surpass that of established composite coatings, achieving a wear rate 2 × ( k = 5.74 × 10 –8 mm 3 /Nm) lower than composite MoS 2 /Sb 2 O 3 /Au in inert environments.

Babuska, Tomas F.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Harnessing Machine Learning to Predict MoS 2 Solid Lubricant Performance

Physical vapor deposited (PVD) molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) solid lubricant coatings are an exemplar material system for machine learning methods due to small changes in process variables often causing large variations in microstructure and mechanical/tribological properties. Here, in this work, a gradient boosted regression tree machine learning method is applied to an existing experimental data set containing process, microstructure, and property information to create deeper insights into the process-structure–property relationships for molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) solid lubricant coatings. The optimized and cross-validated models show good predictive capabilities for density, reduced modulus, hardness, wear rate, and initial coefficients of friction. The contribution of individual deposition variables (i.e., argon pressure, deposition power, target conditioning) on coating properties is highlighted through feature importance. The process-property relationships established herein show linear and non-linear relationships and highlight the influence of uncontrolled deposition variables (i.e., target conditioning) on the tribological performance.

MoS2↗
DOE OSTI2024

High Speed Impact Testing of UHMWPE Composite Using Orthogonal Arrays

Abstract Background Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene composites are fiber based composites used in armor applications. While some characterization has been conducted experimentally, this study varies multiple parameters simultaneously to investigate material response under a wide range of conditions. Objective This work focuses on characterizing the response of Dyneema ® HB26 hard laminate composites under high-speed impacts to examine the influence of plate diameter, clamping pressure, and plate spacing on target performance. Additionally, micro Computer Tomography scans are used to nondestructively evaluate the damage evolution in the targets. Methods These scan results are used in concert with more traditional armor performance metrics to evaluate the effect of various parameters using the method of orthogonal array analysis. This technique allows for multiple variables to be investigated in the same test series, saving time and budget while still providing quality results across a range of variables and variable values. Results We conclude that of the parameters investigated, the plate spacing parameter has the largest effect on performance, followed by the plate diameter. Bolt torque was found to not have a significant impact on results, indicating that an edge clamping pressure is not critical to material response. Additionally, by examining the high resolution scans, we can quantify the damage with an effective damage angle and that this angle is a good predictor of performance. Conclusion Finally a damage theory involving the effective bending strength of the plates is discussed as an explanation for all of the results observed in this test series.

Hannah, T. (ORCID:0000000230261362)↗
DOE OSTI2021

Penetration of Fission Products Ions into Complex Solids and the Effect of Ionic Wash Methods

During washing of radiologically impacted building surfaces, penetration of radionuclide ions into complex solids associated with these surfaces may occur. This study investigates the penetration of Cs-137, Sr-85, and Eu-152 solutions into numerous common building materials and radionuclide behavior when these materials were exposed to a static bath or low-pressure flow of tap water, 0.1 M potassium chloride (KCl), and 0.5 M KCl. The decontamination efficacy and the depth profile for residual contamination were measured to determine the conditions under which applying a wash solution has benefit compared to physically removing the surface material. On asphalt, 70-80% of the radionuclides were found to be within 0.02 mm of the surface. Concrete is more porous than asphalt, and 80% of the radionuclides were within 0.2 mm of the surface for Cs-137 and Eu-152 and 50-80% for Sr-85. Water effectively removed all contaminants from hard nonporous surfaces. Finally, this paper illustrates that a wash penalty factor concept-defined as ratio of the depth at which 50% of the radioactivity is found in the washed sample divided by the depth at which 50% of radioactivity is found in the control-can serve as a way to quantify whether the wash method increases the depth at which contamination penetrates into the material and thus the material becomes more difficult to decontaminate.

building materials↗
DOE OSTI2021

A High-Throughput Method to Define Additive Manufacturing Process Parameters: Application to Haynes 282

This paper demonstrates how an analytical and experimental method can be used to rapidly define the 45 additive manufacturing settings for a new alloy where the process parameters were previously unknown. A nickel-based superalloy, Haynes 282, was chosen for the analysis. An experimental matrix of focused processing parameters was predicted with a dimensionless number and 100 samples were printed using the Selective Laser Melting technique. High-throughput measurements validated the predicted process conditions needed to achieve desired density and hardness. The whole process was completed in 16 hours. The new technique was confirmed with analytical processing maps adopted by the metal additive manufacturing community. With the predicted set of process parameters, microstructural characterizations and tensile testing were used to confirm the predictions. The resultant as-fabricated microstructures have refined length scales of both microsegregation and secondary phase distributions. As a result, the mechanical properties were comparable within the predicted processing window and exhibited high strength and high ductility.

Laser Material Processing↗
DOE OSTI2023

Microstructure Evolution of a Multimodal Gamma-Prime Ni-Based Superalloy Characterized by In Situ Diffraction

The relationship between the evolution of microstructure, deformation micromechanisms and mechanical properties is difficult to establish in multimodal size distribution $_γ$$'$ superalloys, as the microstructure evolves with both temperature and time, and multiple strengthening mechanisms across each size distribution contribute to mechanical performance. In situ X-ray scattering can offer unparalleled insight regarding microstructure evolution at the temperatures and stresses of importance to gas-turbine applications; however, in situ X-ray diffraction has not been applied to the study of multimodal $_γ$$'$ distribution superalloys. Herein, lattice parameter evolution of secondary and tertiary $_γ$$'$ precipitates in a representative superalloy, Nimonic 115, is determined between 750 °C and 950 °C and correlated to room-temperature SEM and microhardness values. A large positive lattice parameter misfit of secondary $_γ$$'$ induces precipitate splitting, and the tertiary $_γ$$'$ goes into dissolution at ~ 800 °C, but with little apparent change in hardness values. The volume fraction of $_γ$$'$ decreases above 900 °C and precipitate-matrix coherency is lost, and there is a corresponding decrease in microhardness values. Importantly, the diffraction analysis demonstrates the capability to determine critical microstructural parameters of both precipitate size distributions in situ, representing an additional tool for determining microstructure-mechanical property relationships of multimodal superalloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Room Temperature Stamping of High-Strength Aluminum for Lightweight Structural Automotive Components

The use of aluminum (Al) 7xxx series in automobile structural applications is limited by factors such as its low room-temperature formability in T6 temper and the need for off-line artificial aging to regain high strength if it is formed in soft temper. In this study, two tempers were established that enable Al 7075 blanks to be room temperature stamped to create side impact beams that achieve near-T6 strength without post-forming artificial aging. It is shown that natural aging at room temperature, after solution treatment and before stamping, provides an alternative to high temperature pre-aging and hot stamping techniques in 7xxx alloys. Both tempers enabled room temperature stamping of the beams without cracking, indicating good formability. The Al beams were ~38% lighter than the benchmark boron steel beam. Further, the hardness in the low-deformation regions of the stamped Al beams were within 88% of a conventional 7075-T6 sheet. Paint-bake treatment of the beams appeared to cause over aging, lowering the ultimate tensile strength and ductility. Finite element three point bending simulations of the beams showed higher bending force and energy absorption before failure for the Al 7075 showing good promise for 7xxx series Al as a light-weight alternative to steel beams.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Enhancement in Mechanical Properties of Bulk Nanocrystalline Aluminum by Grain Boundary Strengthening Mechanism

In the present work, commercially pure aluminum (Al) powders were milled at cryogenic temperatures (a) without magnesium (Mg) and (b) with 5 wt.% Mg powders for different durations. The cryomilled powders were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the changes in particle morphology, elemental composition, and crystallite size. The results showed a reduction in crystallite size with the increase in cryomilling duration. Thereafter, the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process was carried out to manufacture bulk samples. The mechanical properties of the bulk SPS samples were assessed by conducting microhardness, tensile, and fatigue tests. The Vickers microhardness tests showed improved hardness for the Al-Mg bulk samples as compared to pure Al. The Al-Mg samples also showed an increase in tensile strength with increasing cryomilling time. Fatigue test results showed an improvement in Al-Mg components' high-cycle fatigue response. Furthermore, the mechanism for the enhancement in mechanical properties as a result of crystallite size reduction and grain boundary strengthening by the addition of Mg dopant is also discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Neutron Diffraction Residual Stress Study of a AA2219-T87 Self-Reacting Friction Stir Weld

2219-T87 is a precipitation hardenable aluminum-copper alloy which sees wide use in structural aerospace components. Thick panels of this alloy are joined via self-reacting friction welding (SRFSW); however, this thermomechanical process can result in significant loss of the alloy’s strengthening precipitates and large residual stresses which are detrimental to mechanical behavior and performance. High-resolution maps of the residual strain and stress states along the normal, transverse, and longitudinal directions of 2219-T87 SRFSW were obtained using neutron diffraction measurements. Residual stress had the highest tensile value in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the largest compressive stress in the base metal region of the normal and transverse directions. Line profile residual stress distributions displayed an “M”-shaped distribution in each direction with the longitudinal direction being the most pronounced while 2D residual stresses displayed an hourglass-shaped pattern. Further, average maximal longitudinal residual stress values ranged from 60.6 to 85.6% of yield. Microhardness testing across the transverse weld section produced a “V”-shaped curve with slight hardness recovery in the stir zone. Maximal and minimal microhardness values were observed in the base metal (154 HV) and thermomechanically affected zone (82 HV), respectively. Microstructural evolution was recorded using optical microscopy and showed decreasing grain size from the HAZ to the stir zone.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Metal Powder Recyclability in Binder Jet Additive Manufacturing

The recyclability of 316L stainless steel powder in the binder jetting process has been determined. The powder characterization results demonstrated a 22% increase in the number of coarse particles (> 30 µm) and an 18.2% reduction in the number of small particles (< 10 µm) after recycling up to 16 times. A few elongated and irregular-shaped particles were found after recycling, possibly due to particle agglomeration during handling and sieving. Here, a negligible increase in the oxygen content by 0.036% was detected in the recycled powder. The density of sintered parts produced using recycled powder was approximately 1.5% lower than when using fresh powder due to the changes in the particle size distribution and the flowability of the powder caused by the changes in morphology. Final parts built using fresh and recycled powder showed similar hardness (155 ± 3 HV and 165 ± 9 HV) and yield strength (206 ± 16 MPa and 192 ± 10 MPa), respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Unraveling Site Selective Magnetic Properties of Cobalt Sites in Critical Elements Lean RE(TM)5 Magnet Materials

We report here our discovery of crystallographic and interstitial sites and onsite electron correlation propelled intrinsic and derived permanent magnetic properties of critical elements lean RE(TM) 5 (RE = La, Ce and TM = Fe, Co) magnet materials. A full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within the local density approximation (LDA) is used to investigate and analyze the electronic structure and magnetism of these RE(TM) 5 type structures. To better correlate the experimental results, the effective Coulomb (U) and exchange (J) interactions (Hubbard parameters) are crucial at the transition metal sites. Results show that the main propeller of magnetic anisotropy in these compounds is the cobalt atoms at the 2c sites not the 3g sites. This site-specific property and site preference energetics are used to replace 3g sites with non-critical elements such as iron that exhibits a larger magnetic moment. Based on this strategic replacement, we predict two new compounds that have a larger hardness parameter with a relatively large energy product due to the atomic dilution caused by interstitial addition of nitrogen in the compounds: CeCo 2 Fe 3 N 2 and LaCo 2 Fe 3 N 2 .

Rare-earths↗