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At least 145 records · Page 8

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2016

Multiphase separation of copper nanowires

Here, this communication reports a new method to purify copper nanowires with nearly 100% yield from undesired copper nanoparticle side-products formed during batch processes of copper nanowire synthesis. Also, this simple separation method can yield large quantities of long, uniform, high-purity copper nanowires to meet the requirements of nanoelectronics applications as well as provide an avenue for purifying copper nanowires in the industrial scale synthesis of copper nanowires, a key step for commercialization and application of nanowires.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Ultrafast flow chemistry for the acid-catalyzed conversion of fructose

Biomass conversion to chemicals and fuels has been epitomized by batch processing and long reaction times that limit the economic viability of future biorefineries and prevent modular manufacturing near the source-production site that is necessary due to the biomass’ large water content. Herein we introduce a continuous flow microreactor to enable process intensification and one thousand-fold device miniaturization for remote chemical processing. We demonstrate the approach in HCl-catalyzed fructose dehydration in water. We characterize and quantify the mixing using laser induced fluorescence (LIF) of fluorescent dyes and particle image velocimetry (PIV) of fluorescent microspheres. The estimated mixing times ranged from 0.03 to 4.8 s for residence times from 1 to 120 s, respectively. Moreover, a curved channel geometry induces secondary (Dean) vortices that produce a three-fold increase in mixing by diffusion through advection along the cross-sectional direction of the channel, creating dissipative chaotic mixing under laminar flow. We then obtain for the first time isothermal kinetics of fructose dehydration at short contact times and high temperatures and compare to a previously published, hybrid ab initio and data-driven kinetic model. Rigorous model optimization is carried out and an optimal HMF yield of 54% is attained in a single aqueous phase. High temperatures and low pH improve the reactor throughput by increasing the HMF space-time yield. We demonstrate the highest ever productivity (HMF yield per unit time). Importantly, this can be achieved at ~100% fructose conversion, eliminating the need for recycling to improve economics. Furthermore, optimization of the reactor dimensions and the specific energy dissipation rate results in ~60% pressure-drop related energy savings. We describe a methodology to scale-up microreactors to millimeter size and increase productivity 16-fold under optimal conditions. The energy efficiency and cost analysis for HMF production from corn stover of a typical corn farm indicate an optimal strategy for numbering-up millimeter size reactors and, importantly, they underscore the potential feasibility of producing bioproducts in a distributed manner.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

Rapid scalable fabrication of roll-to-roll slot-die coated flexible perovskite solar cells using intense pulse light annealing

Perovskite solar cells have achieved high efficiencies at the lab scale using batch processes that often may not be scalable. Processes that can be integrated into a continuous manufacturing platform, such as roll-to-roll, where several processes can be carried out sequentially are necessary to develop a new cost-competitive solar technology. In this work, intense pulsed light thermal post-processing is coupled with scalable slot-die coating and air knife evaporation in a high-speed roll-to-roll process of up to 2 m min –1 . The optimization of IPL energy parameters, web speeds, solution flow rates, and concentration of precursor inks yielded a champion power conversion efficiency of 11.24% for a 1 cm 2 roll-to-roll coated device. The overall processing time for a single layer in this process is reduced from minutes to seconds and the overall footprint of the manufacturing process is decreased. Furthermore, this demonstrates the promising capabilities for intensed pulsed light to reduce manufacturing costs and paves a roadmap for scalable and efficient PSCs on a roll-to-roll platform.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

Adsorption of basic Red 46 using sea mango (Cerbera odollam) based activated carbon

Sea mango or Cerbera Odollam is another source of carbonaceous material that can be found abundantly in Malaysia. In this research, it is used as a new agricultural source of activated carbon. Sea mango activated carbon was prepared by chemical activation using potassium hydroxide (KOH). The sea mango was soaked in KOH at impregnation ratio of 1:1 and followed by carbonization at temperature of 600°C for 1 hour. The sample was then characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for surface morphology, while Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) was used to study the surface area. The result shown that sea mango activated carbon (SMAC) developed new pores on its surface and the BET surface area measured was 451.87 m{sup 2}/g. The SMAC performance was then tested for the removal of Basic Red 46 in batch process. The removal of Basic Red 46 (50 mg/L, natural pH, 0.1 g SMAC) was more than 99% in 15 minutes where it reached equilibrium in 30 minutes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2016

Blending Novatein{sup ®} thermoplastic protein with PLA for carbon dioxide assisted batch foaming

The convenience of polymeric foams has led to their widespread utilisation in everyday life. However, disposal of synthetic petroleum-derived foams has had a detrimental effect on the environment which needs to be addressed. This study uses a clean and sustainable approach to investigate the foaming capability of a blend of two biodegradable polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) and Novatein® Thermoplastic Protein (NTP). PLA, derived from corn starch, can successfully be foamed using a batch technique developed by the Biopolymer Network Ltd. NTP is a patented formulation of bloodmeal and chemical additives which can be extruded and injection moulded similar to other thermoplastics. However, foaming NTP is a new area of study and its interaction with blowing agents in the batch process is entirely unknown. Subcritical and supercritical carbon dioxide have been examined individually in two uniquely designed pressure vessels to foam various compositions of NTP-PLA blends. Foamed material were characterised in terms of expansion ratio, cell size, and cellular morphology in order to study how the composition of NTP-PLA affects foaming with carbon dioxide. It was found that blends with 5 wt. % NTP foamed using subcritical CO{sub 2} expanded up to 11 times due to heterogeneous nucleation. Morphology analysis using scanning electron microscopy showed that foams blown with supercritical CO{sub 2} had a finer cell structure with consistent cell size, whereas, foams blown with subcritical CO{sub 2} ranged in cell size and showed cell wall rupture. Ultimately, this research would contribute to the production of a biodegradable foam material to be used in packaging applications, thereby adding to the application potential of NTP.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2016

High-throughput shadow mask printing of passive electrical components on paper by supersonic cluster beam deposition

We report the rapid prototyping of passive electrical components (resistors and capacitors) on plain paper by an additive and parallel technology consisting of supersonic cluster beam deposition (SCBD) coupled with shadow mask printing. Cluster-assembled films have a growth mechanism substantially different from that of atom-assembled ones providing the possibility of a fine tuning of their electrical conduction properties around the percolative conduction threshold. Exploiting the precise control on cluster beam intensity and shape typical of SCBD, we produced, in a one-step process, batches of resistors with resistance values spanning a range of two orders of magnitude. Parallel plate capacitors with paper as the dielectric medium were also produced with capacitance in the range of tens of picofarads. Compared to standard deposition technologies, SCBD allows for a very efficient use of raw materials and the rapid production of components with different shape and dimensions while controlling independently the electrical characteristics. Discrete electrical components produced by SCBD are very robust against deformation and bending, and they can be easily assembled to build circuits with desired characteristics. The availability of large batches of these components enables the rapid and cheap prototyping and integration of electrical components on paper as building blocks of more complex systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2016

Characterization of reclaimed GaAs substrates and investigation of reuse for thin film InGaAlP LED epitaxial growth

This study reports a method to reuse GaAs substrates with a batch process for thin film light emitting diode (TF-LED) production. The method is based on an epitaxial lift-off technique. With the developed reclaim process, it is possible to get an epi-ready GaAs surface without additional time-consuming and expensive grinding/polishing processes. The reclaim and regrowth process was investigated with a one layer epitaxial test structure. The GaAs surface was characterized by an atomic force microscope directly after the reclaim process. The crystal structure of the regrown In{sub 0.5}(Ga{sub 0.45}Al{sub 0.55}){sub 0.5}P (Q{sub 55}) layer was investigated by high resolution x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. In addition, a complete TF-LED grown on reclaimed GaAs substrates was electro-optically characterized on wafer level. The crystal structure of the epitaxial layers and the performance of the TF-LED grown on reclaimed substrates are not influenced by the developed reclaim process. This process would result in reducing costs for LEDs and reducing much arsenic waste for the benefit of a green semiconductor production.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2021

Holistic Numerical Calibration of the iMESA Electrostatic Analyzer

A drifted Maxwellian velocity distribution is the most common model used to interpret the data from low-energy charged-particle instruments onboard spacecraft that are used to investigate the ambient plasma environment in the low Earth orbit (LEO). An original method is presented for determining the flow parameters (density, temperature, and flow energy) of such a distribution from the output of the integrated miniaturized electrostatic analyzer, which has been successfully flown on several LEO missions. Rather than attempting to deconvolve from the on-orbit data the analyzer’s response to an ideal, monoenergetic input, numerical simulation is used to predict and parameterize the response of the device to an input distribution that includes an isotropic, non-zero temperature, yielding a straightforward method for extracting the flow parameters from the spacecraft data. The method is computationally simple enough to be incorporated into a robust algorithm suitable for rapid batch processing or real-time analysis of data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Advanced Health Information Technology Analytic Framework and Application to Hazard Detection

Health Information Technology (HIT) aims to improve healthcare outcomes by organizing and analyzing various health-related data. With data accumulating at a staggering rate, the importance of real-time analytics has been increasing dramatically, shifting the focus of informatics from batch processing to streaming analytics. HIT is also facing unprecedented challenges in adapting to this new requirement and leveraging advanced IT technologies. This paper introduces a HIT data and compute platform that supports multi-granularity real-time analytics from heterogeneous data sources. The paper first identifies functional requirements and proposes a framework that satisfies the requirements using state-of-the-art big data technologies including Apache Kafka, Spark Structured Streaming Engine, and Delta Lake. To demonstrate its capability to support data analytics in multiple time granularities analytics, a statistical process control-based hazard detection algorithm has been implemented on top of the framework to detect unexpected hazards from order cancellation data of the Department of US Veterans Affairs (VA) in near real-time.

Kumar, Mohit↗

DOE OSTI2015

Protective structures on the surface of zirconium components of light water reactor cores: Formation, testing, and prototype equipment

The results of tests of plasma treatment of zirconium and deposition of protective yttrium coatings used as the methods of protection of zirconium components of light water reactor cores against hydrogenation are detailed. The amount of hydrogen in the treated sample exposed to superheated steam for 2500 h at temperature T = 400°C and pressure p = 1 atm was five times lower than the corresponding value for the untreated one. The amount of hydrogen in the sample coated with yttrium remained almost unchanged in 4000 h of exposure. A plasma method for rapid testing for hydrogen resistance is proposed. The hydrogenation rate provided by this method is 700 times higher than that in tests with superheated steam. The results of preliminary experiments confirm the possibility of constructing a unit for batch processing of the surfaces of fuel rod claddings.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2025

xGFabric: Coupling Sensor Networks and HPC Facilities with Private 5G Wireless Networks for Real-Time Digital Agriculture

Advanced scientific applications require coupling distributed sensor networks with centralized high-performance computing facilities. Citrus Under Protective Screening (CUPS) exemplifies this need in digital agriculture, where citrus research facilities are instrumented with numerous sensors monitoring environmental conditions and detecting protective screening damage. CUPS demands access to computational fluid dynamics codes for modeling environmental conditions and guiding real-time interventions like water application or robotic repairs. These computing domains have contrasting properties: sensor networks provide low-performance, limited-capacity, unreliable data access, while high-performance facilities offer enormous computing power through high-latency batch processing. Private 5G networks present novel capabilities addressing this challenge by providing low latency, high throughput, and reliability necessary for near-real-time coupling of edge sensor networks with HPC simulations. This work presents xGFabric, an end-to-end system coupling sensor networks with HPC facilities through Private 5G networks. The prototype connects remote sensors via 5G network slicing to HPC systems, enabling real-time digital agriculture simulation.

Digital Agriculture↗

DOE OSTI2018

Lagomorph

Existing tools for computational anatomy and image registration are not aimed at HPC environments. As such they are not easily adapted to multimode platforms and contain inefficient batch processing modes. Lagomorph addresses this by providing an easy to install and use pure python implementation of very efficient image registration and atlas building which is aimed at extreme-scale anatomical studies using modern HPC and GPU resources.

Hinkle, JacobD↗

DOE OSTI2024

BARDI

BARDI: Batch-processing Abstraction for Raw Data Integration

Krawczuk, PatrycjaNikol↗

DOE OSTI2025

BULKI-Store v0.3.2

BULKI-Store is a distributed object storage system optimized for high-performance computing environments. Built with a Rust core and Python bindings, it efficiently manages scientific and machine learning datasets across HPC clusters. The system employs a client-server architecture with MPI integration, enabling seamless scaling on supercomputers like Perlmutter. BULKI-Store's object-oriented approach provides intuitive data organization with rich metadata support, contrasting with traditional file-based solutions. Key optimizations include selective checkpoint loading, unified checkpoint files, and object chunking for large data transfers. For machine learning workloads, BULKI-Store offers advantages through fine-grained access patterns, dynamic data sharing between training instances, and reduced memory pressure. Memory management features include strategic Python GC calls, minimized data copies, and batch processing capabilities. The system leverages Rayon's thread pool for asynchronous data prefetching and supports multiple CPU architectures (ARM64, x86, AMD, RISC-V). By combining performance optimizations with developer-friendly APIs, BULKI-Store addresses the complex data management challenges of modern HPC applications while maintaining compatibility across heterogeneous computing environments.

Zhang, Wei [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Scaling the polymerization of polyaldehydes through continuous flow synthesis

Abstract A plug flow reactor was constructed to scale the synthesis of metastable, phthalaldehyde-based polymers to achieve production rates of 1–2 kg per day. The flow-induced mixing and in-line polymerization quench and precipitation sequences resulted in improved polymer purity and long-term stability compared to the same materials made from a conventional batch process. Cryogenic rheology was used to probe the complex fluid dynamics encountered during the polymerization of PPA homopolymers. It is envisioned that this continuous flow manufacturing approach could be extended to other low ceiling temperature or aldehyde monomer systems to help implement and support a plastic circular economy. Graphical abstract

Schwartz, Jared M.↗

DOE OSTI2019

Development of Ambient Mass Spectrometry Rapid Analysis Methods for Trace Inorganics

Ambient mass spectrometry is being investigated as a new method for rapidly characterizing trace inorganic species, including nuclear materials. SRNL is currently developing electrospray ionization (ESI) and paper spray ionization (PSI) methods for mass spectrometry for the detection of trace inorganic compounds JEOL AccuTOF™-DART ® LP 4G mass spectrometer. Sample analysis generates a complex three-dimensional data set with 10 2 -10 3 individual mass spectra spread temporally. To improve the quality and ease of data extraction from this amount of information, a simple data analysis pipeline written in R/R Studio has been improved and expanded upon. Specifically, the software now has header inputs to set base input/output filenames, isotopes of interest, and a list of concentrations analyzed on the instrument. Using list-based structures to enable batch processing of many concentrations at once, it then loads each file, extracts the relevant intensities for masses of interest from each spectrum, and iterates through each concentration to generate graphs of internal standard & analyte correlations, measured isotope ratios, and total ion chromatograms. It then filters the data to remove points at background levels or at the detector saturation limit. Using this filtered data, the pipeline re-creates the graphs to reveal high-quality information from a low-quality raw dataset. All graphs of the R software then output to PowerPoint format. Additionally, faster 3D visualization functionality was added to the pipeline for viewing the entire data file produced by the instrument as an intensity map. With these data analysis tools ready, samples of strontium nitrate/yttrium nitrate as an analyte/internal standard combination were measured on the AccuTOF. From the filtered data, calibration curves were prepared and limits of detection (LOD) of 1 ppb for ESI-MS and 20 ppb for PSI-MS were obtained. The quality available from the calibration curves and the low limits of detection demonstrate the value of the instrument/analysis pipeline system in characterizing trace inorganics.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2022

Organomercury Measurements from Sludge Batch 10 Simulant Studies

Researchers at the Savannah River National Laboratory have recently performed testing to evaluate the Sludge Batch 10 flowsheet using simulated sludge waste. In the course of this testing several samples were taken to determine the concentration of organomercury species resulting from sludge batch processing. These samples were submitted to the Savannah River National Laboratory Sensing and Metrology department quantitation using a mercury analyzer. The signal amplifier used to perform organomercury quantitation in the mercury analyzer experienced a malfunction in the course of analysis, leading to uncertainty of organomercury concentrations observed. Seventy-three organomercury samples from six project submissions to the Savannah River National Laboratory Sensing and Metrology department have been critically reviewed.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2022

User guide for the Geospatial Risk Analysis Tool (V.1.0.1)

Developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Geospatial Risk Analysis Tool (GRAT) links to Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), a complete system for computing simple air parcel trajectories, as well as complex transport, dispersion, chemical transformation, and deposition simulations. The HYSPLIT model was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Research Center in 1998. GRAT is used to batch process meteorological data into ARL format. While HYSPLIT GUI limits users to convert meteorological data up to 6 date time points per operation, GRAT enables users to convert a significantly large amount of data (For example, 10 years of meteorological data measured with an interval of 5 minutes) within one operation. Incorporated with the Potential source distribution function (PSDF), GRAT can also be used to determine the areas influenced by the emission of hazardous chemicals.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗