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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 1,225 records · Page 68

Effect of network connectivity on behavior of synthetic Broborg hillfort glasses

There is wide industrial interest in developing robust models of long-term (>100 years) glass durability. Archeological glass analogs, glasses of similar composition, and alteration conditions to those being tested for durability can be used to evaluate and inform such models. Two such analog glasses from a 1500-year-old vitrified hillfort near Uppsala, Sweden have previously been identified as potential analogs for low concentration Fe-bearing aluminosilicate nuclear waste glasses. However, open questions remain regarding the melting environment from which these historic glasses were formed and the effect of these conditions on their chemical durability. A key factor to answering the previous melting and durability questions is the redox state of Fe in the starting and final materials. Past work has shown that the melting conditions of a glass-forming melt may influence the redox ratio value (Fe +3 /ΣFe), a measure of a glass's redox state, and both melting conditions and the redox ratio may influence the glass alteration behavior. Synthetic analogs of the hillfort glasses have been produced using either fully oxidized or reduced Fe precursors to address this question. In this study, the melting behavior, glass transition temperature, oxidation state, network structure, and chemical durability of these synthesized glass analogs is presented. Resulting data suggests that the degree of network connectivity as impacted by the oxidation state of iron impacted the behavior of the glass-forming melt but in this case does not affect the chemical durability of the final glass. Glasses with a lower degree of melt connectivity were found to have a lower viscosity, resulting in a lower glass transition temperature and softening temperature, as well as in a lower temperature of foam onset and temperature of foam maximum. This lower degree of network connectivity most likely played a more significant role in accelerating the conversion of batch chemicals into glass than the presence of water vapor in the furnace's atmosphere. Future work will focus on using the results from this work with outcomes from other aspects of this project to evaluate long-term glass alteration models.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

From Rules to Reasoning: A Survey of Large Language Model-Based Approaches to Scientific Hypothesis and Idea Generation

Scientific hypothesis generation represents a fundamental challenge in contemporary research due to exponentially expanding literature volumes and increasing disciplinary specialization. Large language models (LLMs) have emerged as transformative tools for automated scientific discovery, moving beyond traditional rule-based and literature-mining approaches. Four paradigmatic approaches define current LLM-driven hypothesis generation: direct prompting and fine-tuning methods, knowledge-enhanced frameworks integrating retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), multi-agent collaborative systems simulating research teams, and reasoning-focused approaches implementing cognitive architectures. Domain-specific applications demonstrate statistical equivalence to human expert performance in social psychology, experimental validation in biomedical research, and near-expert quality in astronomy. Evaluation methodologies encompass human expert assessment, LLM-as-judge frameworks, and comprehensive benchmarking systems. Technical challenges include hallucination management, knowledge integration limitations, and balancing novelty with feasibility. Future directions emphasize hybrid neural-symbolic architectures and sophisticated human-AI collaboration models for responsible scientific discovery acceleration.

AI-driven discovery↗

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Instrumentation and Methodology

This report reviews instrumentation and techniques utilized in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The analytical advantages and disadvantages of each major component of different LC-MS systems are discussed, along with a comparison between LC-MS, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This report also details future work regarding the use of LC-MS/MS to analyze and identify degradation products from an extensive accelerated aging process of nitroplasticizer (NP). This report is the first of a series on the use of LC-MS to understand the degradation mechanisms of NP.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Mechanical Design of the PIP-II ORBUMP Pulsed Dipole Magnet

The Proton Improvement Plan-II (PIP-II) is a vital upgrade to Fermilab's accelerator complex. The upgrade is designed to power the world s most intense high-energy neutrino beam in future experiments. The magnet pulse repetition rate of the PIP-II injection system is being upgraded from 15 Hz to 20 Hz and requires a roughly 30% increase in the magnetic field of the new Orbital Bump (ORBUMP) magnets in the Booster. The magnet is secured in a vacuum box and the core is made up of 0.127 mm thick, low carbon steel laminations with a C-5 inorganic coating. The core is clamped using external tie bars welded to the core end plates. ANSYS Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was used to evaluate the clamping design to minimize the deflection of the core post welding of the tie bars. The water-cooled single turn coil is electrically isolated from the core using virgin PEEK insulating material in the gap. An investigation into the high voltage performance of the virgin PEEK insulator was conducted. The design of the coil which shapes the magnetic field by acting as the pole tips is critical for the integrated field homogeneity. The coil manufacturing tolerances and fabrication techniques were evaluated to ensure the magnetic properties of the magnet could be obtained. The ORBUMP magnet mechanical design is presented in this paper.

Karas, Dino [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000304340670)↗

Graphical User Interface for a Biasing Board for the PSEC6

The PSEC6 is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for a readout system for a large area picosecond photodetector (LAPPD). The PSEC6 is currently in fabrication and pending testing. The testing system for the PSEC5, the previous iteration of the ASIC, required expensive and non-portable equipment, because the ASIC needs twelve adjustable reference voltages. The new testing system consists of an low-cost, open-source, cross-platform graphical user interface (GUI), a digital system, and a biasing board. The digital system is the interface between the GUI and biasing board, and can be implemented on a microcontroller or field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The biasing board contains twelve digital-to-analog converters (DACs) that are configurable via the GUI, which gives users the ability to write voltage values to all or specific DACs. The GUI was developed in C on Linux using the widget library GTK4 and cross-compiled for Windows compatibility. I2C and SPI protocols were implemented on an Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 microcontroller to write commands to the DACs and PSEC6. A hardware implementation of the I2C protocol is in development on an FPGA. Since LAPPDs will be used by the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) at Fermilab, the PSEC6 testing system in this internship project can potentially benefit future neutrino research. The project is relevant to the Department of Energy’s microelectronics mission, because the PSEC6 is an ASIC that will handle fast time signals arriving from the detector for readout. It also provided experience with building a cross-platform user interface, practicing digital design and implementation in hardware description language (HDL), and using simulations to inform new design iterations.

Guerrero, Sasha Camila [North Central Coll.]↗

Allometric Trophic Networks From Individuals to Socio-Ecosystems: Consumer–Resource Theory of the Ecological Elephant in the Room

A well-known parable is that of the blind men studying an elephant each of which assert the elephant is the part they first hold in their hands, e.g., “rope!” says the tail holder while the leg holder asserts “tree!” The various subdisciplines of ecology appear similar in that we each engage in our enthusiastic but at least somewhat myopic study with remarkably limited agreement or even discussion about the overall system which we all study. Allometric trophic network (ATN) theory offers a path out of this dilemma by integrating across scales, taxa, habitats and organizational levels from physiology to ecosystems based on consumer-resource interactions among co-existing organisms. The network architecture and the metabolic and behavioral processes that determine the structure and dynamics of these interactions form the first principles of ATN theory, which in turn provides a synthetic overview and powerfully predictive framework for ecology from organisms to ecosystems. Beyond ecology, ATN theory also synthesizes eco-evolutionary and socio-ecological research still largely based on consumer-resource mechanisms but respectively integrated with different processes including natural selection and market mechanisms. This paper briefly describes foundations, advances, and future directions of ATN theory including predicting an ecosystem’s phenotype from its community’s genotype in order to accelerate more predictive and unified understanding of the complex systems studied by ecologists and other environmental scientists.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Synergy between land use and climate change increases future fire risk in Amazon forests

Tropical forests have been a permanent feature of the Amazon basin for at least 55 million years, yet climate change and land use threaten the forest's future over the next century. Understory forest fires, which are common under the current climate in frontier forests, may accelerate Amazon forest losses from climate-driven dieback and deforestation. Far from land use frontiers, scarce fire ignitions and high moisture levels preclude significant burning, yet projected climate and land use changes may increase fire activity in these remote regions. Here, we used a fire model specifically parameterized for Amazon understory fires to examine the interactions between anthropogenic activities and climate under current and projected conditions. In a scenario of low mitigation efforts with substantial land use expansion and climate change – Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 – projected understory fires increase in frequency and duration, burning 4–28 times more forest in 2080–2100 than during 1990–2010. In contrast, active climate mitigation and land use contraction in RCP4.5 constrain the projected increase in fire activity to 0.9–5.4 times contemporary burned area. Importantly, if climate mitigation is not successful, land use contraction alone is very effective under low to moderate climate change, but does little to reduce fire activity under the most severe climate projections. These results underscore the potential for a fire-driven transformation of Amazon forests if recent regional policies for forest conservation are not paired with global efforts to mitigate climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Measurement and Analysis of the Extreme Physical Shock Environment Experienced by Crane-Mounted Radiation Detection Systems

At ports of entry, radiation detectors could be mounted on container gantry crane spreaders to monitor cargo containers entering and leaving the country. These detectors would have to withstand the extreme physical conditions experienced by these spreaders during normal operations. Physical shock data from the gable ends of a spreader were recorded during the loading and unloading of a cargo ship by twohard mounted PCB Piezotronics model 340A50 accelerometers and two Lansmont SAVER 9X30 units(with padding). The majority of large shocks were observed in the vertical direction. The Lansmont units recorded mean shocks of 22.215 ±1.174and 23.776 ±1.140g, while the PCB accelerometers recorded mean shocks of 31.608 ±1.798and 37.072 ±2.015g in this direction. Maximum shocks were as high as 118.854 g. A scatter plot of observed peak acceleration versus velocity change is presented to allow comparison with the damage boundary curve for any planned instrumentation for future systems. Furthermore, it is hoped that the results of this research will aid in the design of future crane-mounted systems.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Analysis and test for space shuttle propellant dynamics (1/10th scale model test results). Volume 2: 1/10th scale model test data

Thirty sets of test data selected from the 89 low-g aircraft tests flown by NASA KC-135 zero-g aircraft are listed in tables with their accompanying test conditions. The data for each test consists of the time history plots of digitalized data (in engineering units) and the time history plots of the load cell data transformed to the tank axis system. The transformed load cell data was developed for future analytical comparisons; therefore, these data were transformed and plotted from the time at which the aircraft Z axis acceleration passed through l-g. There are 14 time history plots per test condition. The contents of each plot is shown in a table.

Berry, R. L.↗

V/STOL maneuverability and control

Maneuverability and control of V/STOL aircraft in powered-lift flight is studied with specific considerations of maneuvering in forward flight. A review of maneuverability for representative operational mission tasks is presented and covers takeoff, transition, hover, and landing flight phases. Maneuverability is described in terms of the ability to rotate and translate the aircraft and is specified in terms of angular and translational accelerations imposed on the aircraft. Characteristics of representative configurations are reviewed, including experience from past programs and expectations for future designs. The review of control covers the characteristics inherent in the basic airframe and propulsion system and the behavior associated with ontrol augmentation systems. Demands for augmented stability and control response to meet certain mission operational requirements are discussed. Experience from ground-based simulation and flight experiments that illustrates the impact of augmented stability and control on aircraft design is related by example.

Franklin, J. A.↗

Aerothermal Instrumentation Loads To Implement Aeroassist Technology in Future Robotic and Human Missions to MARS and Other Locations Within the Solar System

The strategy of NASA to explore space objects in the vicinity of Earth and other planets of the solar system includes robotic and human missions. This strategy requires a road map for technology development that will support the robotic exploration and provide safety for the humans traveling to other celestial bodies. Aeroassist is one of the key elements of technology planning for the success of future robot and human exploration missions to other celestial bodies. Measurement of aerothermodynamic parameters such as temperature, pressure, and acceleration is of prime importance for aeroassist technology implementation and for the safety and affordability of the mission. Instrumentation and methods to measure such parameters have been reviewed in this report in view of past practices, current commercial availability of instrumentation technology, and the prospects of improvement and upgrade according to the requirements. Analysis of the usability of each identified instruments in terms of cost for efficient weight-volume ratio, power requirement, accuracy, sample rates, and other appropriate metrics such as harsh environment survivability has been reported.

Parmar, Devendra S.↗

2017 NEPP Tasks Update for Ceramic and Tantalum Capacitors

This presentation gives an overview of current NEPP tasks on ceramic and tantalum capacitors and plans for the future. It includes tasks on leakage currents, gas generation and case deformation in wet tantalum capacitors; ESR degradation and acceleration factors in MnO2 and polymer cathode capacitors. Preliminary results on the effect of moisture on degradation of reverse currents in MnO2 tantalum capacitors are discussed. Latest results on mechanical characteristics of MLCCs and modeling of degradation of leakage currents in BME capacitors with defects are also presented.

ceramic capacitors↗

Synergy Between Land Use and Climate Change Increases Future Fire Risk in Amazon Forests

Tropical forests have been a permanent feature of the Amazon basin for at least 55 million years, yet climate change and land use threaten the forest's future over the next century. Understory forest fires, which are common under the current climate in frontier forests, may accelerate Amazon forest losses from climate-driven dieback and deforestation. Far from land use frontiers, scarce fire ignitions and high moisture levels preclude significant burning, yet projected climate and land use changes may increase fire activity in these remote regions. Here, we used a fire model specifically parameterized for Amazon understory fires to examine the interactions between anthropogenic activities and climate under current and projected conditions. In a scenario of low mitigation efforts with substantial land use expansion and climate change – Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 – projected understory fires increase in frequency and duration, burning 4–28 times more forest in 2080–2100 than during 1990–2010. In contrast, active climate mitigation and land use contraction in RCP4.5 constrain the projected increase in fire activity to 0.9–5.4 times contemporary burned area. Importantly, if climate mitigation is not successful, land use contraction alone is very effective under low to moderate climate change, but does little to reduce fire activity under the most severe climate projections. These results underscore the potential for a fire-driven transformation of Amazon forests if recent regional policies for forest conservation are not paired with global efforts to mitigate climate change.

Le Page, Yannick↗

How Discipline-Oriented DAACs Collaborate to Support Interdisciplinary Earth Science

The Earth system is made of multiple complex subsystems. While scientists tend to specialize in single subsystems or even portions of a subsystem, to fully understand the physical, chemical and biological processes occurring on the Earth, we must understand how these systems interact. Thus, scientists need to be able to expand beyond their chosen field and collaborate across disciplines. The NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is focusing on new capabilities to make interdisciplinary science easier. The EOSDIS DAACS are responsible for archiving and distributing NASA’s rapidly growing collection of satellite, airborne and field data. Like the scientists they serve, the DAACs are discipline oriented. This has many advantages. Scientists are able to interact with experts on data in their domain and receive data appropriate for their research. However, discipline-oriented services may be confusing to cross-disciplinary users who may not know how to get started. Fortunately, collaboration across scientific communities is a specialty of the DAACs who support interdisciplinary users with a collaborative culture and technology that empowers the open sharing of data, information, and knowledge within the scientific community and the wider public to accelerate scientific research and understanding. This presentation will discuss the capabilities of a discipline-oriented approach to support future Earth science goals including those of Open Science and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Sara Lubkin↗

Empowering Scientific Innovation Through An Integrated Research Infrastructure: The Role of the Advanced Computing Ecosystem

As the landscape of computational science evolves, the Department of Energy (DOE) is reimagining the roles of its large-scale computing facilities to meet emerging research challenges. The Integrated Research Infrastructure (IRI) program aims to transform how experiments are designed, conducted, and shared, with significant impacts on all stakeholders. In response, the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) has established the Advanced Computing Ecosystem (ACE), a strategic framework to prepare its hardware, software, and experimental capabilities for the IRI era. ACE focuses on integrating novel compute environments, orchestrating advanced workflows, and developing foundational technologies, ensuring a seamless transition to IRI while accelerating scientific discovery. This paper outlines ACE's role in advancing OLCF's mission and its impact on the future of computational science.

Widener, Patrick↗

Graphical User Interface for a Biasing Board for the PSEC6

The PSEC6 is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for a readout system for a large area picosecond photodetector (LAPPD). The PSEC6 is currently in fabrication and pending testing. The testing system for the PSEC5, the previous iteration of the ASIC, required expensive and non-portable equipment, because the ASIC needs twelve adjustable reference voltages. The new testing system consists of an low-cost, open-source, cross-platform graphical user interface (GUI), a digital system, and a biasing board. The digital system is the interface between the GUI and biasing board, and can be implemented on a microcontroller or field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The biasing board contains twelve digital-to-analog converters (DACs) that are configurable via the GUI, which gives users the ability to write voltage values to all or specific DACs. The GUI was developed in C on Linux using the widget library GTK4 and cross-compiled for Windows compatibility. I2C and SPI protocols were implemented on an Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 microcontroller to write commands to the DACs and PSEC6. A hardware implementation of the I2C protocol is in development on an FPGA. Since LAPPDs will be used by the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) at Fermilab, the PSEC6 testing system in this internship project can potentially benefit future neutrino research. The project is relevant to the Department of Energy’s microelectronics mission, because the PSEC6 is an ASIC that will handle fast time signals arriving from the detector for readout. It also provided experience with building a cross-platform user interface, practicing digital design and implementation in hardware description language (HDL), and using simulations to inform new design iterations.

Guerrero, Sasha Camila [North Central Coll.]↗

Electricity Capacity Expansion Modeling, Analysis, and Visualization. A Summary of High-Renewable Modeling Experience for China

Mathematical and computational models are widely used for the analysis and design of both physical and financial systems. Modeling the electric grid is of particular importance to China for three reasons. First, power-sector assets are expensive and long-lived, and they are critical to any country's development. China's electric load, transmission, and other energy-related infrastructure are expected to continue to grow rapidly; therefore it is crucial to understand and help plan for the future in which those assets will operate (NDRC ERI 2015). Second, China has dramatically increased its deployment of renewable energy (RE), and is likely to continue further accelerating such deployment over the coming decades. Careful planning and assessment of the various aspects (technical, economic, social, and political) of integrating a large amount of renewables on the grid is required. Third, companies need the tools to develop a strategy for their own involvement in the power market China is now developing, and to enable a possible transition to an efficient and high RE future.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

First Beam and High-Gradient Cryomodule Commissioning Results of the Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator at Fermilab

The advanced superconducting test accelerator at Fermilab has accelerated electrons to 20 MeV and, separately, the International Linear Collider (ILC) style 8-cavity cryomodule has achieved the ILC performance milestone of 31.5 MV/m per cavity. When fully completed, the accelerator will consist of a photoinjector, one ILC-type cryomodule, multiple accelerator R&D beamlines, and a downstream beamline to inject 300 MeV electrons into the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA). We report on the results of first beam, the achievement of our cryomodule to ILC gradient specifications, and near-term future plans for the facility.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗