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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 1,189 records · Page 66

bibcheck

SAND2026-16981O Bibcheck is designed to extract bibliographies from research papers and perform metadata searches to identify errors. It assists authors in checking their bibliographies for metadata errors during the writing process and helps reviewers identify errors in bibliographies of papers under review. The software uses large language models (LLMs) to extract bibliography entries from PDF documents, classifies the type of bibliography entry, and verifies referenced works. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Pearson, Carl [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Live↗

PARETO 0.2.0 Release

First official software release for Project PARETO..

PARETO,PSE,Process Systems Engineering,Produced wa↗

Validation of Photovoltaic Modeling Tool HelioScope Against Measured Data

HelioScope is a cloud-based solar design software developed by Folsom Labs to model arrays based on physical design. Folsom Labs received a grant from the Department of Energy for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to validate the performance of HelioScope's simulation engine against measured PV system performance. This study builds upon previous validation work by NREL of multiple other PV modeling tools, using the same fixed-tilt systems with available system specifications. HelioScope designs were set up using the same system specifications and concurrent weather data as were used in previous studies. The predicted performance results from the simulations were compared with measured data and to performance predictions by other PV modeling tools.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Report for 2.2.1 Task 2: Provide execution support for the human factors studies conducted for the LWRS Control Room Modernization project for PVNGS

INL contracted IFE to develop custom software functionality to support INL’s use of eye movement tracking in simulator studies. This includes the support of remote eye trackers, the support of dynamic Areas of Interest based on simulator events, and a general-purpose communication protocol between a simulator and the eye tracking software. The report summarises the task deliverables, which include a requirements identification workshop at INL, a software package, and instructional videos.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Numerical Investigation of Enhanced Dehumidification Processes By Using Dielectrophoresis Principles in Moist Airflows

Dispersed particle-laden flows are encountered in many building and industrial applications, such as flow in a fluidized bed, hydrocarbon transportation in pipelines, and the fouling of air-cooled heat exchangers (Kuruneru et al., 2016; Ray et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2019). Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models have been developed in recent years to depict particle-fluid and particle-particle interactions in laminar or turbulent flows with increasing accuracy and stability. One particular particle-laden system of interest for moisture control is electrically-enhanced condensation in air and water droplet flows. Electrically-enhanced condensation consists of the use of highly charged water droplets injected in the moist air. The droplets become electric seeds that attract polar water vapor molecules to their surfaces and promote condensation. The nucleation and growth of the charged droplets deplete the vapor phase near a droplet, which is compensated for by the dielectrophoresis flow and diffusion. Dielectrophoresis flow involves surrounding vapor at a distance of about 10 to 100 nm for droplets charged by an electrospray compared to ~2 nm for a single electron charge in a droplet. As the vapor molecules collapse on the surface of the droplets, their initial electrical charge decreases with time due to the neutralization of the ions. While the physics of this phenomena is well known, engineering models for predicting the condensation rates are not available. This work computationally investigates dehumidification of moist airflow in a converging rectangular duct. The objective is to develop an engineering model that predicts water vapor condensation by employing dielectrophoresis principles. We construct a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model of the duct with electrically-enhanced condensation. The model is implemented in the open-source software OpenFOAM. We utilize the Multi-Phase Particle-In-Cell (MP-PIC) method coupled with a Population Balance Equation (PBE) approach to simulate the particle-laden system. This methodology is an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach used to simulate the droplets' behavior in the humid air. The MP-PIC approach (Andrews and O'Rourke, 1996) mitigates the computational cost by parceling several fundamental particles with similar properties (such as types, sizes, and temperature) into one computational particle. Thus, the billions of particles can be substituted by millions of computational particles without significant loss of information. The PBE was considered with the Lagrangian frame to combine the particle distribution function used in MP-PIC (Kim et al., 2020). This approach preserves mass and energy conservation between the phases in the Eulerian and Lagrangian structures. The PBE in this procedure was directly linked to the discrete parcels, making the simulation of the particle distribution computationally efficient and robust. The MP-PIC-PBE approach used in the present work was applied to the dehumidification of air. Water droplets were injected in the air stream and forced to grow according to experimentally derived correlation. The experiments were conducted on a converging duct with the same geometry and boundary conditions used to build the CFD model. This approach enabled us to approximate the effect of dielectrophoresis phenomena on the droplet and air interface. This presentation will discuss the details of the new CFD model built for the duct, the implementation of the model in OpenFOAM CFD programming language, and the experimental validation of the newly developed model. The results revealed a moderate yet measurable increase in droplet diameter due to water vapor condensation at the vapor-liquid interface of the electrically charged droplets' surface. The seed water droplet particles grew in size by capturing the water vapor in the surrounding air. The OpenFOAM model predicted reductions of humidity in the air from 5 to 10 percent.

Yel Mahi, Maliha↗

Hybrid Tandem Photovoltaics

Tandem solar cell structures are the only strategy demonstrated to surpass the detailed balance efficiency limit of high-quality single-junction solar cells. To continue to improve the efficiencies of cost-effective terrestrial solar power, hybrid tandems of dissimilar subcells are being considered by many around the world, especially designs that incorporate silicon solar cells as a bottom subcell. In this project, we studied a wide variety of tandem design possibilities including those with three-terminal (3T) and four-terminal (4T) configurations. The use of 3T and 4T designs could be useful for efficient and economical hybrid tandem designs that utilize the best available subcell materials such as emerging perovskite materials. Three-terminal configurations, in particular, have not been sufficiently studied previously. We have laid the foundational groundwork in this project for understanding the operation of 3T tandems: developing a taxonomy for naming, a methodology for measuring and interconnecting, and models for simply characterizing 3T tandems. Electrical and optical subcell coupling between the subcells was also measured and modeled. An important part of this work was the fabrication of novel example tandem structures, including 4T GaAs/Si, 3T GaInP/Si, 3T GaAs/Si, and 3T GaInP/GaAs devices. Using these high-quality tandem cells, we have been able to clearly demonstrate the achievability of high-efficiencies, and subtle physical effects such as photon recycling and luminescent coupling. We have developed and demonstrated essential building-block tools such as transparent conductive adhesives (TCA) and 3T silicon bottom cells with interdigitated back contacts (IBC) that can also be used in many other tandem designs. We have tested the reliability of these tools and devices under standardized testing and outdoor measurements. We have found 4T GaAs/Si tandems to be relatively straightforward to fabricate and robust in real-world outdoor conditions. While we have demonstrated working hybrid 3T III-V/TCA/Si IBC tandems, we experienced low yields even with our best process flows yet. Further work is still needed to improve the processing yield of these devices. We therefore also created tandem cells using an all-III-V 3T tandem process which was very robust with high yields, allowing for the creation of voltage-matched strings in many different configurations using 8 nearly identical 3T tandems. Using these robust 3T tandem examples, we were able measure and precisely characterize 3T tandem behaviors to predict their operation under changing spectrum and temperature. The optoelectronic equivalent-circuit model was shown to be very general and applicable to hybrid tandems, and encompassed the operation 3T Si IBC cells. This general model has been distributed to the public in as open-source Python-based software called PVcircuit. We have calculated the implications of these new tandem device designs on the real-world energy production and shown how the relative performance of different tandem configurations is situational and can be engineered using the tools developed here.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Augmenting the Structural Dynamics Workflow to Reduce Development Times [Slides]

The structural dynamics workflow at LANL stands to be improved by implementing methods and techniques related to reduced-order finite-element modeling (FEM), pretest predictions, and FEM-test correlation and updating. The benefits of these industry-standard practices are demonstrated in this work. Software used for this project included Ansys 2023 R2 (Mechanical and Spaceclaim), Creo Parametric 8.0, MathCAD Prime 8.0, Matlab R2023b.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Management of Digital Equipment in Preproduction by Means of Uniform Numeric Control Language

The requirements on preproduction and the control software for various digital machining systems (numerically controlled machine tools, robot manipulators, additive manufacturing equipment) in flexible production are considered. By analysis of existing programming languages for digital equipment, UNCL (Uniform Numeric Control Language) has been developed for standard representation of control commands. The use of UNCL in verifying program operation on a machining simulator is considered. Software for the translation of control programs (specified in CLDATA formats and in ISO code) to the invariant format of the universal language is described. The postprocessing of control software from the universal language into programs in commonly used digital control systems is also considered.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Development of an Automated J-R Curve Analysis Software Based on the ASTM E1820-18 Normalization Method

The J-integral versus crack-growth resistance curve (J-R curve) is a useful tool for evaluating material fracture toughness in the ductile region. A widely accepted practice for conducting J-R curve testing is ASTM standard E1820, which introduces the normalization method. This method does not require compliance measurements during testing, significantly simplifying J-R curve testing compared with the conventional elastic unloading compliance (EUC) method. Despite the advantage in testing, analysis procedures for the normalization method are very complicated. Also, there is no open source software currently available to perform such analysis.The authors developed an open source automated J-R curve-analysis software based on the normalization method in ASTM E1820-18. Source codes were written in MATLAB and the compiled software, in the form of a stand-alone executable, has a user-friendly graphic interface and is readily compatible with modern Windows operating systems. Both source codes and the compiled executable file are available for download at https://code.ornl.gov/xc8/ANJR.git. Comparisons between resulting J-R curves from the software and manual analysis procedures show essentially identical results, indicating the suitability of applying the automated software for J-R curve analysis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Common Cause Failure Evaluation of High Safety Significant Safety-related Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems using IRADIC Technology

Digital instrumentation and control (DI&C) systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs) have many advantages over analog systems but also pose different engineering and technical challenges, such as potential threats due to common cause failures (CCFs). This paper proposes an integrated risk assessment technology for DI&C systems (IRADIC) developed by Idaho National Laboratory for dealing with potential software CCFs in DI&C systems of NPPs. The methodology development of the IRADIC technology on the quantitative evaluation of software CCFs in high safety-significant safety-related DI&C systems in NPPs is illustrated in this paper. In IRADIC, qualitative hazard analysis and quantitative reliability and consequence analysis are successively implemented to obtain quantitative risk information, compare with respective risk evaluation acceptance criteria, and provide suggestions for risk reduction and design optimization. A comprehensive case study was also performed and documented in this paper. Results show that the IRADIC technology can effectively identify potential digital-based CCFs, estimate their failure probabilities, and evaluate their impacts to system and plant safety.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

COG11.1 description, new features, and development activities - 14521

The latest COG code version, COG11.1, is now available. New features include: hybrid criticality detector variance reduction (CritDetVR); delayed fission gammas (DFG); nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF); radiation sources (RadSrc); an updated COG dictionary (COGLEX); and additional nuclear data libraries. Ongoing software quality assurance and code development activities are also described. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗

Resource Aware Intelligent Network Services (RAINS) Final Technical Report

The Resource Aware Intelligent Network Services (RAINS) project conducted research and developed technologies in the area of cyber infrastructure resource modeling and computation. The goal of this work was to provide a foundation to enable intelligent, software defined services which spanned the network AND the resources which connect to the network. A Multi-Resource Service Plane (MRSP) was defined, which allows resource owners/managers to locate and place themselves from a topology and service availability perspective within the dynamic networked cyberinfrastructure ecosystem. The MRSP enables the presentation of integrated topology views and computation results which can include resources across the spectrum of compute, storage, and networks. The RAINS project developed MSRP includes the following key components: i) Multi-Resource Service (MRS) Ontology/Multi-Resource Markup Language (MRML), ii) Resource Computation Engine (RCE), iii) Modular Driver Framework (to allow integration of a variety of external resources). The MRS/MRML is a general and extensible modeling framework that allows for resource owners to model, or describe, a wide variety of resource types. All resources are described using three categories of elements: Resources, Services, and Relationships between the elements. This modeling framework defines a common method for the transformation of cyber infrastructure resources into data in the form of MRML models. In order to realize this infrastructure datification, the RAINS project developed a model based computation system, i.e. “RAINS Computation Engine (RCE)”. The RCE has the ability to ingest, process, integrate, and compute based on automatically generated MRML models. The RCE interacts with the resources thru system drivers which are specific to the type of external network or resource controller. The RAINS project developed a modular and pluggable driver system which facilities a variety of resource controllers to automatically generate, maintain, and distribute MRML based resource descriptions. Once all of the resource topologies are absorbed by the RCE, a connected graph of the full distributed system topology is constructed, which forms the basis for computation and workflow processing. The RCE includes a Modular Computation Element (MCE) framework which allows for tailoring of the computation process to the specific set of resources under control, and the services desired. The input and output of an MCE are both model data based on MRS/MRML ontology and schema. Some of the RAINS project accomplishments include: Development of general and extensible multi-resource modeling framework; Design of a Resource Computation Engine (RCE) system which includes the following key capabilities; Absorb a variety of multi-resource model types and build integrated models; Novel architecture which uses model based communications across the full stack for all Flexible provision of abstract or intent based user facing interfaces; Workflow processing based on model descriptions; Release of the RCE as an open source software; Deployment of RCE in the University of Maryland/Mid-Atlantic Crossroad ScienceDMZ in prototype mode with a plan under way to transition to production; Deployment at the Argonne National Laboratory DTN Facility in prototype mode; Selection of RCE by the DOE SENSE (SDN for End-to-end Networked Science at the Exascale) project as the basis for their orchestration service.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Engineering the Microstructure and Morphology of Explosive Films via Control of Interfacial Energy

Physical vapor deposition of organic explosives enables growth of polycrystalline films with a unique microstructure and morphology compared to the bulk material. This study demonstrates the ability to control crystal orientation and porosity in pentaerythritol tetranitrate films by varying the interfacial energy between the substrate and the vapor-deposited explosive. Additionally, variation in density, porosity, surface roughness, and optical properties is achieved in the explosive film, with significant implications for initiation sensitivity and detonation performance of the explosive material. Various surface science techniques, including angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and multiliquid contact angle analysis, are utilized to characterize interfacial characteristics between the substrate and explosive film. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy of pentaerythritol tetranitrate surfaces and fracture cross sections illustrate the difference in morphology evolution and the microstructure achieved through surface energy modification. X-ray diffraction studies with the Tilt-A-Whirl three-dimensional pole figure rendering and texture analysis software suite reveal that high surface energy substrates result in a preferred (110) out-of-plane orientation of pentaerythritol tetranitrate crystallites and denser films. Low surface energy substrates create more randomly textured pentaerythritol tetranitrate and lead to nanoscale porosity and lower density films. This work furthers the scientific basis for interfacial engineering of polycrystalline organic explosive films through control of surface energy, enabling future study of dynamic and reactive detonative phenomena at the microscale. Results of this study also have potential applications to active pharmaceutical ingredients, stimuli-responsive polymer films, organic thin film transistors, and other areas.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Predictive Engineering Tools for Injection-Molded Long-Carbon-Fiber Thermoplastic Composites - FY 2015 First Quarterly Report

During the first quarter of FY 2015, the following technical progress has been made toward project milestones: 1) Autodesk delivered a new research version of ASMI to PNNL. This version includes the improved 3D fiber orientation solver, and the reduced order model (ROM) for fiber length distribution using the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) implemented in the mid-plane, dual-domain and 3D solvers. 2) Autodesk coordinated a conference paper with PNNL reporting ASMI mid-plane fiber orientation predictions compared with the measured data for two PlastiComp plaques. This paper was accepted for presentation at the 2015 Society for Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC conference. 3) The University of Illinois (Prof. Tucker) assisted team members from Purdue with fiber orientation measurement techniques, including interpretation of off-axis cross sections. 4) The University of Illinois assisted Autodesk team members with software implementation of the POD approach for fiber length modeling, and with fiber orientation modeling. 5) The University of Illinois co-authored in the SPE ANTEC paper, participated with the team in discussions of plaque data and model results, and participated in the definition of go/no-go experiments and data. 6) Purdue University (Purdue) conducted fiber orientation measurements for 3 PlastiComp plaques: fast-fill 30wt% LCF/PP center-gated, fast-fill 50wt% LCF/PA66 edge-gated and fast-fill 50wt% LCF/PA66 center-gated plaques, and delivered the fiber orientation data for these plaques at the selected locations (named A, B, and C) to PNNL. However, the data for the fast-fill 50wt% LCF/PA66 edge-gated plaque exhibited unusual variations and could not be used for the model validation. Purdue will re-measure fiber orientation for this plaque. 7) Based on discussions with the University of Illinois Purdue explained the ambiguity in the measurements of the fiber orientation components. 8) PNNL discussed with team members to establish a go/no-go decision plan for the project and submitted the established plan to DOE. 9) PNNL performed ASMI mid-plane analyses for the fast-fill center-gated 30wt% LCF/PP and 50wt% LCF/PA66 plaques and compared the predicted fiber orientations with the measured data provided by Purdue at Locations A, B, and C on these plaques. 10) Based on discussions with the University of Illinois and Autodesk, PNNL proposed a procedure to adjust fiber orientation data for Location A of the center-gated plaques so that the data can be expressed and interpreted in the flow/cross-flow direction coordinate system. 11) PNNL tested the new ASMI version received from Autodesk, examined and discussed 3D fiber orientation predictions for PlastiComp plaques. 12) PlastiComp, Inc. (PlastiComp), Toyota Research Institute North America (Toyota) and Magna Exteriors and Interiors Corp. (Magna) participated in discussions with team members on the go/no-go plan and the issues related to fiber length measurements. Toyota continued the discussion with Magna on tool modification for molding the complex part in order to achieve the target fiber length in the part.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Flow Sensor Test Article (F-STAr) - Assembly and Water Testing Report

The Flow Sensor Test Article (F-STAr) is a new test article under development for the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) facility at Argonne National Laboratory. F-STAr’s purpose is to provide sodium submersible, high flowrate testing capabilities for the development of sensors, components, fluid studies and more. This report will provide a status update on the assembly and initial qualification testing of F-STAr. All components have been manufactured and received. Some modifications to these components were made to support minor changes in the test article design. Additionally, the power distribution, and data acquisition and control enclosures were designed, completed, and tested along with the control system software. Furthermore, initial qualification testing was completed in water. Finally, the F-STAr submersible Electromagnetic Flowmeter (EMFM) was completed and calibrated in flowing sodium.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Automating Bug Report Classification with Few Shot Learning

Orthogonal defect classification (ODC) is a method used to categorize software defects, providing valuable insights into the development process. This study focuses on automating the classification of software bug reports into different ODC defect types using few shot learning, a machine learning approach that requires minimal labeled data. Previous research has manually classified bug reports or used traditional machine learning algorithms like linear support vector machine, achieving limited success. Our approach uses few shot learning to improve classification accuracy and efficiency. The results show a harmonic mean of recall and precision (i.e., the F1 score) of around 0.6 which is a performance improvement over previous methods. The results highlight the potential benefit of few shot learning techniques and their application in enhancing the safety and reliability of nuclear digital instrumentation and control (DI&C) systems. Future work will explore incorporating advanced techniques to supplement the model's training data and achieve better results.

42 - ENGINEERING↗

Legacy OpenStudio® SketchUp Plug-in [SWR-07-40]

The Legacy OpenStudio® SketchUp Plug-in makes it easy to create and edit the building geometry in EnergyPlus® input files. This free plug-in also allows you to launch EnergyPlus simulations and view the results without leaving the SketchUp 3D drawing program. Note that active OpenStudio development has moved from the Legacy OpenStudio Plug-in to the more comprehensive OpenStudio suite of tools and libraries found here: https://github.com/NREL/OpenStudio. More information can be found at http://openstudio.net. The OpenStudio Legacy Plug-in has been relaunched as Euclid by Big Ladder Software, the project's new homepage is http://bigladdersoftware.com/projects/euclid/. The Legacy OpenStudio Plug-in was created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy as an interface to the EnergyPlus simulation engine. Refer to the EnergyPlus webpage at energyplus.gov for an overview of the concept and features. User support is available via the community moderated question and answer resource unmethours.com.

Macumber, Dan↗

Building Efficiency Targeting Tool for Energy Retrofits (BETTER) Web Application (BETTER Web App) v1.0

The Building Efficiency Targeting Tool for Energy Retrofits (BETTER) V.1.0 web application identifies cost-saving energy and emissions reductions in buildings and portfolios, without site visits or complex modeling. With minimal data entry, BETTER benchmarks a building's or portfolio's energy use against peers; quantifies energy, cost, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential; and recommends energy efficiency measures for individual buildings or portfolios, targeting specific energy savings levels. The source code of BETTER's modular, cross-platform analytical engine has previously been disclosed (2019-001) and is available on GitHub and can be adopted, redeveloped, and redistributed freely under an open-source license, allowing users to incorporate BETTER's analytical capabilities into their own software platforms and tools. The BETTER V.1.0 web application, developed with the Django web-framework and the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture being disclosed here, provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for any user to view the software tutorials, download and upload a data entry template, configure and run the BETTER analyses, and view the final analytical reports.

Szum, Carolyn↗