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At least 145 records · Page 8

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2025

Surface Chemistry and Particle Morphology Changes in Pine Biomass under Indirect Thermal Gradients: Implications for Feed Screw Design

The conversion of biomass feedstocks into fuels and chemicals using fast pyrolysis is a promising approach to renewable energy. Feed screws that convey biomass to pyrolysis reactors, however, often encounter plugging. Indirect heating of the feed screw occurs due to contact with the pyrolysis chamber, resulting in a heating gradient ranging from ambient temperature (22 °C) to reactor temperature (500 °C). Given that major cell wall macromolecules, such as lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, begin to produce bio-oils and volatile resin acid compounds within this temperature gradient, we hypothesized that indirect heating during feed screw conveyance is sufficient to cause premature degradation of biomass. We characterized this degradation by observing increases in surface roughness, changes in overall particle morphology, and the production and deposition of bio-oils on biomass particle surfaces. Correlative analysis between optical in situ hot-stage microscopy, confocal Raman spectroscopy, and SEM analysis revealed that heating at temperatures as low as 375 °C caused significant increases in surface roughness, with large fissures forming between and within cell walls. Additionally, droplets of bio-oil were observed on particles, especially in the bark and cambium samples. This work suggests that these phenomena contribute to particle agglomeration, leading to feed screw plugging, and that engineering a solution to cool the feed screw could prevent particle agglomeration and reduce plugging incidents, thereby increasing biomass processing efficiency.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Characterizing the Atmospheric Mn Cycle and Its Impact on Terrestrial Biogeochemistry

Abstract The role of manganese (Mn) in ecosystem carbon (C) biogeochemical cycling is gaining increasing attention. While soil Mn is mainly derived from bedrock, atmospheric deposition could be a major source of Mn to surface soils, with implications for soil C cycling. However, quantification of the atmospheric Mn cycle, which comprises emissions from natural (desert dust, sea salts, volcanoes, primary biogenic particles, and wildfires) and anthropogenic sources (e.g., industrialization and land‐use change due to agriculture), transport, and deposition, remains uncertain. Here, we use compiled emission data sets for each identified source to model and quantify the atmospheric Mn cycle by combining an atmospheric model and in situ atmospheric concentration measurements. We estimated global emissions of atmospheric Mn in aerosols (<10 μm in aerodynamic diameter) to be 1,400 Gg Mn year −1 . Approximately 31% of the emissions come from anthropogenic sources. Deposition of the anthropogenic Mn shortened Mn “pseudo” turnover times in 1‐m‐thick surface soils (ranging from 1,000 to over 10,000,000 years) by 1–2 orders of magnitude in industrialized regions. Such anthropogenic Mn inputs boosted the Mn‐to‐N ratio of the atmospheric deposition in non‐desert dominated regions (between 5 × 10 −5 and 0.02) across industrialized areas, but that was still lower than soil Mn‐to‐N ratio by 1–3 orders of magnitude. Correlation analysis revealed a negative relationship between Mn deposition and topsoil C density across temperate and (sub)tropical forests, consisting with atmospheric Mn deposition enhancing carbon respiration as seen in in situ biogeochemical studies.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗

DOE OSTI2024

Tidally Modulated Glacial Slip and Tremor at Helheim Glacier, Greenland

Numerical modeling of ice sheet motion and hence projections of global sea level rise require information about the evolving subglacial environment, which unfortunately remains largely unknown due to its difficulty of access. Here we advance such subglacial observations by reporting multi–year observations of seismic tremor likely associated with glacier sliding at Helheim Glacier. This association is confirmed by correlation analysis between tremor power and multiple environmental forcings on different timescales. Variations of the observed tremor power indicate that different factors affect glacial sliding on different timescales. Effective pressure may control glacial sliding on long (seasonal/annual) timescales, while tidal forcing modulates the sliding rate and tremor power on short (hourly/daily) timescales. Polarization results suggest that the tremor source comes from an upstream subglacial ridge. This observation provides insights on how different factors should be included in ice sheet modeling and how their timescales of variability play an essential role.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Iron mineral dissolution releases iron and associated organic carbon during permafrost thaw

It has been shown that reactive soil minerals, specifically iron(III) (oxyhydr)oxides, can trap organic carbon in soils overlying intact permafrost, and may limit carbon mobilization and degradation as it is observed in other environments. However, the use of iron(III)-bearing minerals as terminal electron acceptors in permafrost environments, and thus their stability and capacity to prevent carbon mobilization during permafrost thaw, is poorly understood. We have followed the dynamic interactions between iron and carbon using a space-for-time approach across a thaw gradient in Abisko (Sweden), where wetlands are expanding rapidly due to permafrost thaw. We show through bulk (selective extractions, EXAFS) and nanoscale analysis (correlative SEM and nanoSIMS) that organic carbon is bound to reactive Fe primarily in the transition between organic and mineral horizons in palsa underlain by intact permafrost (41.8 ±10.8 mg carbon per g soil, 9.9 to 14.8% of total soil organic carbon). During permafrost thaw, water-logging and O 2 limitation lead to reducing conditions and an increase in abundance of Fe(III)-reducing bacteria which favor mineral dissolution and drive mobilization of both iron and carbon along the thaw gradient. By providing a terminal electron acceptor, this rusty carbon sink is effectively destroyed along the thaw gradient and cannot prevent carbon release with thaw.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Coupling physics in machine learning to predict properties of high-temperatures alloys

Abstract High-temperature alloy design requires a concurrent consideration of multiple mechanisms at different length scales. We propose a workflow that couples highly relevant physics into machine learning (ML) to predict properties of complex high-temperature alloys with an example of the 9–12 wt% Cr steels yield strength. We have incorporated synthetic alloy features that capture microstructure and phase transformations into the dataset. Identified high impact features that affect yield strength of 9Cr from correlation analysis agree well with the generally accepted strengthening mechanism. As a part of the verification process, the consistency of sub-datasets has been extensively evaluated with respect to temperature and then refined for the boundary conditions of trained ML models. The predicted yield strength of 9Cr steels using the ML models is in excellent agreement with experiments. The current approach introduces physically meaningful constraints in interrogating the trained ML models to predict properties of hypothetical alloys when applied to data-driven materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Data analytics approach to predict high-temperature cyclic oxidation kinetics of NiCr-based Alloys

Abstract Although of practical importance, there is no established modeling framework to accurately predict high-temperature cyclic oxidation kinetics of multi-component alloys due to the inherent complexity. We present a data analytics approach to predict the oxidation rate constant of NiCr-based alloys as a function of composition and temperature with a highly consistent and well-curated experimental dataset. Two characteristic oxidation models, i.e., a simple parabolic law and a statistical cyclic oxidation model, have been chosen to numerically represent the high-temperature oxidation kinetics of commercial and model NiCr-based alloys. We have successfully trained machine learning (ML) models using highly ranked key input features identified by correlation analysis to accurately predict experimental parabolic rate constants ( k p ). This study demonstrates the potential of ML approaches to predict oxidation kinetics of alloys over wide composition and temperature ranges. This approach can also serve as a basis for introducing more physically meaningful ML input features to predict the comprehensive cyclic oxidation behavior of multi-component high-temperature alloys with proper constraints based on the known underlying mechanisms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

A theoretical investigation of the effect of Ga alloying on thermodynamic stability, electronic-structure, and oxidation resistance of Ti 2 AlC MAX phase

We present a systematic investigation of thermodynamic stability, phase-reaction, and chemical activity of Al containing disordered Ti 2 (Al-Ga)C MAX phases using machine-learning driven high-throughput framework to understand the oxidation resistance behavior with increasing temperature and exposure to static oxygen. The A-site (at Al) disordering of Ti 2 AlC with Ga shows significant change in the chemical activity of Al with increasing temperature and exposure to static oxygen, which is expected to enable surface segregation of Al, thereby, the formation of Al 2 O 3 and improved oxidation resistance. We performed in-depth convex hull analysis of ternary Ti-Al-C, Ti-Ga-C, and Ti-Al-Ga-C based MAX phase, and provide detailed contribution arising from electronic, chemical and vibrational entropies. The thermodynamic analysis shows change in the Gibbs formation enthalpy (ΔG form ) at higher temperatures, which implies an interplay of temperature-dependent enthalpy and entropic contributions in oxidation resistance Ga doped Ti 2 AlC MAX phases. A detailed electronic structure and chemical bonding analysis using crystal orbital Hamilton population method reveal the origin of change in phases stability and in oxidation resistance in disorder Ti2(Al 1-x Ga x )C MAX phases. Our electronic structure analysis correlate well with the change in oxidation resistance of Ga doped MAX phases. We believe our study provides a useful guideline to understand to role of alloying on electronic, thermodynamic, and oxidation related mechanisms of bulk MAX phases, which can work as a precursor to understand oxidation behavior of twodimensional MAX phases, i.e., MXenes (transition metal carbides, carbonitrides and nitrides).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

The detection of marine microseismic activity with the CUORE tonne-scale cryogenic experiment

Vibrations from experimental setups and the environment are a persistent source of noise for low-temperature calorimeters searching for rare events, including neutrinoless double beta ( 0νββ ) decay or dark matter interactions. Such noise can significantly limit experimental sensitivity to the physics case under investigation. Here, we report the detection of marine microseismic vibrations using mK-scale calorimeters. This study employs a multi-device analysis correlating data from CUORE, the leading experiment in the search for 0νββ decay with mK-scale calorimeters, and the Copernicus Earth Observation program, revealing the seasonal impact of Mediterranean Sea activity on CUORE’s energy thresholds, resolution, and sensitivity over four years. The detection of marine microseisms underscores the need to address faint environmental noise in ultra-sensitive experiments. Understanding how such noise couples to the detector and developing mitigation strategies is essential for next-generation experiments. We demonstrate one such strategy: a noise decorrelation algorithm implemented in CUORE using auxiliary sensors, which reduces vibrational noise and improves detector performance. Enhancing sensitivity to 0νββ decay and to rare events with low-energy signatures requires identifying unresolved noise sources, advancing noise reduction methods, and improving vibration suppression systems, all of which inform the design of next-generation rare event experiments.

experimental nuclear physics↗

DOE OSTI2022

Copper(ii)-photocatalyzed decarboxylative oxygenation of carboxylic acids

Showcasing the concept of light-induced homolysis for the generation of radicals, the Cu II -photocatalyzed decarboxylative oxygenation of carboxylic acids with molecular oxygen as the terminal oxidant is described. Here, two Cu II -carboxylate complexes with different coordination geometries were synthesized and characterized by X-ray analysis, correlating their structure with their ability to initiate light-induced decarboxylations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

Coherent diffractive imaging with twisted X-rays: Principles, applications, and outlook

Recent technological breakthroughs in synchrotron and x-ray free electron laser facilities have revolutionized nanoscale structural and dynamic analyses in condensed matter systems. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the advancements in coherent scattering and diffractive imaging techniques, which are now at the forefront of exploring materials science complexities. These techniques, notably Bragg coherent diffractive imaging and x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, x-ray magnetic dichroism, and x-ray correlation analysis leverage beam coherence to achieve volumetric three-dimensional imaging at unprecedented sub-nanometer resolutions and explore dynamic phenomena within sub-millisecond timeframes. Such capabilities are critical in understanding and developing advanced materials and technologies. Simultaneously, the emergence of chiral crystals—characterized by their unique absence of standard inversion, mirror, or other roto-inversion symmetries—presents both challenges and opportunities. These materials exhibit distinctive interactions with light, leading to phenomena such as molecular optical activity, chiral photonic waveguides, and valley-specific light emissions, which are pivotal in the burgeoning fields of photonic and spintronic devices. This review elucidates how novel x-ray probes can be leveraged to unravel these properties and their implications for future technological applications. A significant focus of this review is the exploration of new avenues in research, particularly the shift from conventional methods to more innovative approaches in studying these chiral materials. Inspired by structured optical beams, the potential of coherent scattering techniques utilizing twisted x-ray beams is examined. This promising direction not only offers higher spatial resolution but also opens the door to previously unattainable insights in materials science. By contextualizing these advancements within the broader scientific landscape and highlighting their practical applications, this review aims to chart a course for future research in this rapidly evolving field.

Physics↗

DOE OSTI2026

Machine Learning for Mapping Multipactor Susceptibility in RF Systems: Capabilities and Generalization Constraints

Multipactor is a surface-driven electron avalanche phenomenon that degrades the performance and reliability of radio-frequency (RF) systems in particle accelerator and vacuum electronics applications. Multipactor behavior in a given device structure is conventionally assessed through susceptibility charts, which provide a parameter-space characterization of the instability. In this work, we assess the capabilities of machine-learning (ML) models to learn and predict such susceptibility charts and analyze the constraints governing their generalization across materials. Using a simulation-derived dataset spanning six distinct secondary-electron-yield material profiles in a canonical two-surface planar geometry, we train supervised regression models and artificial neural networks to predict the time-averaged electron growth rate, δavg, across the relevant parameter space. Model performance is evaluated using metrics that explicitly probe the structure of susceptibility charts, including Intersection over Union, Structural Similarity Index, and correlation analysis. Tree-based ensemble models outperform neural-network models in reconstructing susceptibility regions and in generalizing across material domains. Principal-component analysis reveals disjoint material feature distributions, indicating that the piecewise mode structure of multipactor susceptibility is difficult to represent with a single global model and that generalization is constrained by data coverage rather than by model complexity. An exhaustive reduced-coverage study further shows that sparse material-space coverage can yield mean performance in the same general range but producing large variability in the susceptibility-region overlap. These results clarify the capabilities of ML-based surrogate models for parameter-space characterization of multipactor discharge. They also provide guidance for their appropriate use in RF system design.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Photon energy-resolved velocity map imaging from spectral domain ghost imaging

Abstract We present an approach that combines photon spectrum correlation analysis with the reconstruction of three-dimensional momentum distribution from velocity map images in an efficient, single-step procedure. We demonstrate its efficacy with the results from the photoionization of the 2 p -shell of argon using the Free-electron LASer in Hamburg free-electron laser (FEL). Distinct spectral features due to the spin-orbit splitting of Ar + ( 2 p − 1 ) are resolved, despite the large average bandwidth of the ionizing pulses from the FEL. This demonstrates a clear advantage over the conventional analysis method, and it will be broadly beneficial for velocity map imaging experiments with FEL sources. The retrieved linewidth of the binding energy spectrum approaches the resolution limitation prescribed by the spectrometers used to collect the data. Our approach presents a path to extend spectral-domain ghost imaging to the case where the photoproduct observable is high-dimensional.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2022

Constraining low redshift [C II ] emission by cross-correlating FIRAS and BOSS data

ABSTRACT We perform a tomographic cross-correlation analysis of archival FIRAS data and the BOSS galaxy redshift survey to constrain the amplitude of [C II] 2P3/2 → 2P1/2 fine structure emission. Our analysis employs spherical harmonic tomography (SHT), which is based on the angular cross-power spectrum between FIRAS maps and BOSS galaxy over-densities at each pair of redshift bins, over a redshift range of 0.24 < z < 0.69. We develop the SHT approach for intensity mapping, where it has several advantages over existing power spectral estimators. Our analysis constrains the product of the [C II] bias and [C II] specific intensity, $b_{\rm [C \small{\rm II}]}I_{\rm [C \small{\rm II}]}$, to be <0.31 MJy/sr at z ≈ 0.35 and <0.28 MJy/sr at z ≈ 0.57 at $95{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ confidence. These limits are consistent with most current models of the [C II] signal, as well as with higher-redshift [C II] cross-power spectrum measurements from the Planck satellite and BOSS quasars. We also show that our analysis, if applied to data from a more sensitive instrument such as the proposed PIXIE satellite, can detect pessimistic [C II] models at high significance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2025

𝛾-ray spectroscopy of 140 La decay for nuclear forensics applications

140 La is an important isotope in nuclear forensics. It is typically paired with 140 Ba as a chronometer for dating nuclear events. Here, in this work, we report the results of two measurements performed to fully characterize the decay scheme of 140 La. The experiments were performed using the Gammasphere array at Argonne National Laboratory and the CLARION2 array at Florida State University. Sources of 140 La were produced through neutron irradiation of natural lanthanum (99.9% 139 La) in the University of Massachusetts Lowell research reactor. We identify a total of 40 transitions, three of which were not previously reported. An angular correlation analysis was conducted confirming current literature 𝐽 assignments and mixing ratios. By considering all data available in the literature, we provide new recommended values for the intensities of the strongest transitions commonly used in applications.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Decay spectroscopy of the blocked fission product 130 $\mathrm{I}$

We report numerous applications rely on the identification and quantification of fission products with the activation technique, where γ-rays emitted in the decay are used to estimate the initial activity of the radionuclide of interest. 130 I is a so-called blocked fission product, which can be produced only directly through fission, a property that makes it particularly attractive for nuclear forensics. A source of 130 I was produced using a (p,n) reaction on enriched 130 Te at the Brookhaven Tandem Van de Graaff and its decay was studied with Gammasphere at Argonne National Laboratory. Two new levels were identified, and over 25 transitions were added, removed or re-placed in the level scheme, with intensity measurements made down to I γ = 0.00066 per 100 decays. The uncertainty on the intensities of the strongest transitions, those that are commonly used to quantify the activity of the radionuclide, was improved by a factor of 2 compared to the previous best assessment and discrepancies in the literature values were resolved. A detailed angular correlation analysis further permitted the determination of a number of spin assignments for excited levels and mixing ratios for γ-ray transitions

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Cross-shell excited configurations in the structure of 34 Si

The cross-shell excited states of 34 Si have been investigated via β decays of the 4 − ground state and the 1 + isomeric state of 34 Al. Since the valence protons and valence neutrons occupy different major shells in the ground state as well as the intruder 1 + isomeric state of 34 Al, intruder levels of 34 Si are populated via allowed β decays. Spin assignments to such intruder levels of 34 Si were established through γ-γ angular correlation analysis for the negative-parity states. The configurations of such intruder states play crucial roles in our understanding of the N = 20 shell gap evolution. A configuration interaction model derived from the FSU Hamiltonian was utilized in order to interpret the intruder states in 34 Si. Furthermore, shell model interaction derived from a more fundamental theory with the valence space in medium similarity renormalization group method was also employed to interpret the structure of 34 Si.

20 ≤ A ≤ 38↗

DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of forward charged hadron flow harmonics in peripheral PbPb collisions at s N N = 5.02 TeV with the LHCb detector

Flow harmonic coefficients, v n , which are the key to studying the hydrodynamics of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in heavy-ion collisions, have been measured in various collision systems and kinematic regions and using various particle species. The study of flow harmonics in a wide pseudorapidity range is particularly valuable to understand the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of the QGP. This paper presents the first LHCb results of the second- and the third-order flow harmonic coefficients of charged hadrons as a function of transverse momentum in the forward region, corresponding to pseudorapidities between 2.0 and 4.9, using the data collected from PbPb collisions in 2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV . The coefficients measured using the two-particle angular correlation analysis method are smaller than the central-pseudorapidity measurements at ALICE and ATLAS from the same collision system but share similar features. ©2024 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration 2024 CERN

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Compiled properties of nucleonic matter and nuclear and neutron star models from nonrelativistic and relativistic interactions

Here, this paper compiles the model parameters and zero-temperature properties of an extensive collection of published theoretical nuclear interactions, including 255 nonrelativistic (Skyrme-like) forces, 270 relativistic mean field (RMF) and point-coupling (RMF-PC) forces, and 13 Gogny-like forces. This forms the most exhaustive tabulation of model parameters to date. The properties of uniform symmetric matter and pure neutron matter at the saturation density are determined. Symmetry properties found from the second-order term of a Taylor expansion in neutron excess are compared with the energy difference of pure neutron and symmetric nuclear matter at the saturation density. Selected liquid-droplet model parameters, including the surface tension and surface symmetry energy, are determined for semi-infinite surfaces. Theoretical liquid droplet model neutron skin thicknesses of the neutron-rich closed-shell nuclei 48 Ca and 208 Pb are compared with published theoretical Hartree-Fock and experimental results. A similar comparison is made between theoretical liquid-droplet and experimental values of dipole polarizabilities. In addition, radii, binding energies, moments of inertia and tidal deformabilities of 1.2⁢M ⊙ , 1.4⁢M ⊙ and 1.6⁢M ⊙ neutron stars are computed. An extensive correlation analysis of bulk matter, nuclear structure, and low-mass neutron star properties is performed and compared with nuclear experiments and astrophysical observations.

nuclear astrophysics↗