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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 1,459 records · Page 81

EAGLE-I Power Outage Data 2014 - 2022

The provided EAGLE-I historic dataset includes eight years of power outage information at the county level from 2014 to 2022 at 15-minute intervals collected by the EAGLE-I program at ORNL. The data has been collected from utility's public outage maps using an ETL process. The dataset details FIPS code, county name, state name, total number of customers without power, and a date/timestamp. Also included is the EAGLE-I coverage of each state for each year. For detailed metadata, refer to the metadata DOI.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Discovering Hidden Geothermal Signatures using Unsupervised Machine Learning

Discovering hidden geothermal resources is a very challenging task. It requires the mining of large datasets, including various diverse data attributes representing subsurface hydrogeological and geothermal conditions. The commonly used Play Fairway Analysis (PFA) typically relies on subject-matter expertise to analyze site or regional data to estimate geothermal conditions and prospectivity. Here, we demonstrate an alternative approach based on machine learning (ML) to process a geothermal dataset of Southwest New Mexico (SWNM). The study region includes low- and medium-temperature hydrothermal systems. However, most of these systems are poorly characterized because of insufficient existing data and limited past explorative studies. This study aims to discover hidden patterns and relationships in the SWNM geothermal dataset to better understand regional hydrothermal conditions. This is achieved by applying an unsupervised machine learning algorithm based on non-negative matrix factorization coupled with customized k-means clustering (NMFk). NMFk can automatically identify (1) hidden (latent) signatures characterizing datasets, (2) the optimal number of these signatures, (3) dominant data attributes associated with each signature, and (4) spatial distribution of the extracted signatures. Here, NMFk is applied to analyze 18 geological, geophysical, hydrogeological, geothermal attributes at 44 locations in SWNM. NMFk successfully finds data patterns and identifies the spatial associations of hydrothermal signatures with the four physiographic provinces in SWNM (Colorado Plateau, Volcanic Field, Basin and Range, and the Rio Grande rift). The algorithm identified up to 5 hydrothermal signatures in the SWNM datasets that differentiate between low- and medium-temperature hydrothermal systems in different provinces. Also, the algorithm identifies two medium-temperature hydrothermal systems in SWNM that require further exploration for geothermal resource development. Based on our analyses, 12 of the attributes are important to identify medium-temperature hydrothermal systems, and the remaining six attributes are critical to characterize low-temperature hydrothermal systems. Based on the obtained results, we identify potential physiographic provinces for further exploration to characterize them as geothermal resources. The resulting NMFk model can be applied to predict geothermal conditions and their uncertainties at new SWNM locations based on limited data from unexplored areas.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Deep Learning-Based Adaptive Remedial Action Scheme with Security Margin for Renewable-Dominated Power Grids

The Remedial Action Scheme (RAS) is designed to take corrective actions after detecting predetermined conditions to maintain system transient stability in large interconnected power grids. However, since RAS is usually designed based on a few selected typical operating conditions, it is not optimal in operating conditions that are not considered in the offline design, especially under frequently and dramatically varying operating conditions due to the increasing integration of intermittent renewables. The deep learning-based RAS is proposed to enhance the adaptivity of RAS to varying operating conditions. During the training, a customized loss function is developed to penalize the negative loss and suggest corrective actions with a security margin to avoid triggering under-frequency and over-frequency relays. Simulation results of the reduced United States Western Interconnection system model demonstrate that the proposed deep learning–based RAS can provide optimal corrective actions for unseen operating conditions while maintaining a sufficient security margin.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Efficiency and Demand Flexibility in Large Office Buildings

Data is associated with Report "Efficiency and Demand Flexibility in Large Office Buildings" by Joyce McLaren, Thomas Bowen, and Chioke Harris ( https://doi.org/10.2172/1989231 ). Results are created from repos GEB_ECM_Impact_Estimator ( https://github.nlr.gov/tbowen/GEB_ECM_Impact_Estimator ). Results outline the changes in building load in large office buildings based on measures from NREL's Scout, and the impacts those changes in load have on grid-induced emissions, grid operating costs, and customer bills.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Risk reduction using DDP (Defect Detection and Prevention): Software support and software applications

Risk assessment and mitigation is the focus of the Defect Detection and Prevention (DDP) process, which has been applied to spacecraft technology assessments and planning, both hardware and software. DDP's major elements and their relevance to core requirement engineering concerns are summarized. The accompanying research demonstration illustrates DDP's tool support, and further customizations for application to software.

Software-specific customizations↗

Strategic Trade Atlas 2014-2018. Country- and Commodity-Based Views

A Strategic Trade Atlas was developed to promote understanding of global trade flows of strategic goods, i.e., goods of militarily strategic value, including dual-use goods. This Atlas provides macroscopic graphical representations of global trade flows classified under Harmonized System (HS) codes associated by the World Customs Organization with strategic commodities. The profiles provide information rich representations of strategic commodity-related imports and exports classified under these HS codes, based on data originally reported to and made publicly available by the United Nations Statistical Division, then processed to reconcile trade asymmetries by the Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales. This and other high quality, statistically relevant data sources exist, but are largely untapped resources for strategic trade control purposes. Efforts to promote and facilitate use of trade data should enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of strategic trade control efforts.

strategic trade, world customs organization, trade↗

Strategic Trade Atlas 2015-2019: Country- and Commodity-Based Views

A Strategic Trade Atlas was developed to promote understanding of global trade flows of strategic goods, i.e., goods of militarily strategic value, including dual-use goods. This Atlas provides macroscopic graphical representations of global trade flows classified under Harmonized System (HS) codes associated by the World Customs Organization with strategic commodities. The profiles provide information rich representations of strategic commodity-related imports and exports classified under these HS codes, based on data originally reported to and made publicly available by the United Nations Statistical Division, then processed to reconcile trade asymmetries by the Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales. This and other high quality, statistically relevant data sources exist, but are largely untapped resources for strategic trade control purposes. Efforts to promote and facilitate use of trade data should enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of strategic trade control efforts.

strategic trade, world customs organization, trade↗

Research and Development Pathways for Powering the Blue Economy with Marine Renewable Energy

As marine renewable energy technology is adapted or designed for Blue Economy end-uses, challenges unique to operation at sea and in remote coastal areas must be addressed to meet demands distinct from utility grid electricity generation. Foundational research and development with this end goal is conducted to broadly enable the initiative of Powering the Blue Economy. Determination of distinct R&D topics is informed by pathways including an engineering design customer-driven approach and feedback from the creation and administration of prize competitions in the Blue Economy technology space. Critical research outcomes, such as determining the performance of small wave energy converters and benchmarking the reliability for power systems at sea, are among the goals of ten foundational R&D projects currently underway.

customer discovery↗

Predicting Deposition Rate and Closing the Loop on Aerosol Jet Printing with In‐Line Light Scattering Measurements

Aerosol jet printing is a compelling noncontact, digital manufacturing technology for flexible, hybrid, and conformal electronics, but batch‐to‐batch variability and process drift inhibit systematic study and translation to production environments. Emerging measurement techniques for the aerosol volume fraction, a key parameter governing deposition rate, have shown promise for real‐time response, including a recent demonstration of human‐in‐the‐loop control. By integrating improved light scattering measurements with custom software, a robust environment for real‐time monitoring is established and fully automated closed‐loop control over the deposition rate during printing is enabled. The physical basis for scattering measurements as a feedback source is examined and the quantitative insight this provides for ink development and fundamental process studies is highlighted. Three candidate process variables for closed‐loop control, namely the atomizer voltage, carrier gas flow rate, and print speed, are then evaluated. The atomizer voltage demonstrates the best extended duration validity because it addresses atomization variability directly, but carrier gas flow rate and print speed provide faster and more deterministic responses. This methodology is then demonstrated for electrical properties using a silver nanoparticle ink, maintaining 98% of printed patterns within 10% of the mean resistance value over 3 h of printing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Additive Manufacturing of Self‐Sensing Carbon Fiber Composites

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have gained substantial attention across various industries owing to their exceptional mechanical properties and lightweight nature. The emergence of additive manufacturing technologies brings new opportunities to the industry, offering advantages such as design freedom, rapid prototyping, and customization. However, the fabrication of CFRP composites through 3D printing techniques poses challenges pertaining to low resolution and limitations in complex geometry realization. This work introduces digital light processing printing as a versatile, high-resolution method ideal for CFRP composite fabrication. Furthermore, the development and characterization of CFRP are focused on and the manipulation of mechanical properties through variations in matrix resins and fiber loadings is investigated, showcasing the versatility of CFRP composites for tailored applications. Additionally, the integration of self-sensing capabilities in CFRP structures is explored, which opens up opportunities for applications in smart components for automotive and structural health monitoring.

carbon fiber composites↗

Machine Learning-Enabled Correlation and Modeling of Multimodal Response of Thin Film to Environment on Macro and Nanoscale Using “Lab-on-a-Crystal”

To close the feedback loop between artificial intellegence-controlled materials synthesis and characterization, material functionality must be rapidly tested. A platform for high-throughput multifunctional materials characterization is developed using a quartz crystal microbalance with auxiliary in-plane electrodes and a custom gas/vapor flow cell, enabling simultaneous scanning probe microscopy and electrical, optical, gravimetric, and viscoelastic characterization on the same film under controlled environment. The lab-on-a-crystal in situ multifunctional output allows direct correlations between the gravimetric/viscoelastic, electrical, and optical responses of polymer film in response to environment. Finally, when multiple film properties are used to augment the training set for machine learning regression, prediction of material response to the environment improves by a factor of 13 when <5% of the total dataset is used for model training.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Broadband Asymmetric Transmission of Linearly Polarized Mid‐Infrared Light Based on Quasi‐3D Metamaterials

Abstract Metamaterials consisting of subwavelength resonators offer an exciting opportunity for realizing asymmetric transmission (AT) of linearly polarized light. However, to date, only moderate/narrow‐band AT responses have been obtained in metadevices based on stacked planar nanostructures. Here, leveraging a combination of a genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization method and a membrane projection lithography (MPL) fabrication approach, a quasi‐3D metamaterial for broadband AT of linearly polarized mid‐infrared light is demonstrated. Facilitated by the customized GA, an efficient exploration of 3D plasmonic meta‐atoms with broken mirror symmetry in the light propagation direction allows the satisfaction of the rigorous conditions for AT of linearly polarized waves over a broad wavelength range. Confirmed by surface current analysis, the observed AT behavior is attributed to the resonant coupling between the plasmonic nanostructures located on the two orthogonal walls of the MPL cavities. Incorporating an advanced inverse‐design method and a state‐of‐art fabrication technique, the methodology used in the present study provides a promising route for exploiting 3D metamaterials with sophisticated functionalities via effectively exploring the high‐dimensional parametric space offered by true 3D meta‐atoms.

Whiting, Eric B.↗

Trace-Level, Multi-Gas Detection for Food Quality Assessment Based on Decorated Silicon Transistor Arrays

Multiplexed gas detection at room temperature is critical for practical applications, such as for tracking the complex chemical environments associated with food decomposition and spoilage. Here, an integrated array of multiple silicon-based, chemical-sensitive field effect transistors (CSFETs) is presented to realize selective, sensitive, and simultaneous measurement of gases typically associated with food spoilage. CSFETs decorated with sensing materials based on ruthenium, silver, and silicon oxide are used to obtain stable room-temperature responses to ammonia (NH 3 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), and humidity, respectively. For example, one multi-CSFET sensor signal changes from its baseline by 13.34 in response to 1 ppm of NH 3 , 724.45 under 1 ppm H 2 S, and 23.46 under 80% relative humidity, with sensitive detection down to 10 ppb of NH 3 and H 2 S. To demonstrate this sensor for practical applications, the CSFET sensor array is combined with a custom-printed circuit board into a compact, fully integrated, and portable system to conduct real-time monitoring of gases generated by decomposing food. By using existing silicon-based manufacturing methodologies, this room-temperature gas sensing array can be fabricated reproducibly and at low cost, making it an attractive platform for ambient gas measurement needed in food safety applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Additive Manufacturing of Poly(phenylene Sulfide) Aerogels via Simultaneous Material Extrusion and Thermally Induced Phase Separation

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) of aerogels increases the achievable geometric complexity, and affords fabrication of hierarchically porous structures. In this work, a custom heated material extrusion (MEX) device prints aerogels of poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS), an engineering thermoplastic, via in situ thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). First, pre‐prepared solid gel inks are dissolved at high temperatures in the heated extruder barrel to form a homogeneous polymer solution. Solutions are then extruded onto a room‐temperature substrate, where printed roads maintain their bead shape and rapidly solidify via TIPS, thus enabling layer‐wise MEX AM. Printed gels are converted to aerogels via postprocessing solvent exchange and freeze‐drying. This work explores the effect of ink composition on printed aerogel morphology and thermomechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs reveal complex hierarchical microstructures that are compositionally dependent. Printed aerogels demonstrate tailorable porosities (50.0–74.8%) and densities (0.345–0.684 g cm −3 ), which align well with cast aerogel analogs. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms indicate printed aerogels are highly crystalline (≈43%), suggesting that printing does not inhibit the solidification process occurring during TIPS (polymer crystallization). Uniaxial compression testing reveals that compositionally dependent microstructure governs aerogel mechanical behavior, with compressive moduli ranging from 33.0 to 106.5 MPa.

Chemistry↗

Defect‐Free Nanowelding of Bilayer SnSe Nanoplates

Nanowelding is a bottom‐up technique to create custom‐designed nanostructures and devices beyond the precision of lithographic methods. Here, a new technique is reported based on anisotropic lubricity at the van der Waals interface between monolayer and bilayer SnSe nanoplates and a graphene substrate to achieve precise control of the crystal orientation and the interface during the welding process. As‐grown SnSe monolayer and bilayer nanoplates are commensurate with graphene's armchair direction but lack commensuration along graphene's zigzag direction, resulting in a reduced friction along that direction and a rail‐like, 1D movement that permits joining nanoplates with high precision. This way, molecular beam epitaxially grown SnSe nanoplates of lateral sizes 30–100 nm are manipulated by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope at room temperature. In situ annealing is applied afterward to weld contacting nanoplates without atomic defects at the interface. This technique can be generalized to any van der Waals interfaces with anisotropic lubricity and is highly promising for the construction of complex quantum devices, such as field effect transistors, quantum interference devices, lateral tunneling junctions, and solid‐state qubits.

2D ferroelectrics↗

Molecules to Masterpieces: Bridging Materials Science and the Arts

Art and materials innovation have always been intertwined, dating back to the earliest human creations. In modern times, however, the increasing specialization of materials science often restricts artists' access to cutting-edge materials. Here, the materials science aspects of an art-science collaboration between artist Kimsooja and the Wiesner Lab at Cornell University, are detailed. The project involves the development of a custom-made iridescent block copolymer coating by means of self-assembly, originally applied to transparent window panels of a façade for the ≈14 m tall art installation: A Needle Woman: Galaxy Is a Memory, Earth is a Souvenir by artist Kimsooja. After several exhibitions in the US and Europe, the installation is now part of the permanent museum collection at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield, UK. Full characterization of the solution blade-cast coatings show shear aligned, standing up lamellar morphologies that behave as volume-phase gratings with periodicities between 300 and 400 nm. Coatings are also applied to foldable (origami) paper and converted into iridescent porous ceramic materials. Furthermore, it is hoped this work inspires and informs communities across materials science, the arts, and architecture.

Architectural nanomaterials↗

Electronic Excitation‐Driven β‐Ga 2 O 3 Metastability Transformation and Self‐Organization Mechanism: β→κ/γ/δ Phases

Here, irradiation-driven multiphase self-organization presents emergent opportunities for the customization of nanoscale engineering properties, dynamically tuning strain-field distributions and interfacial electronic structures. Responding to intense electronic excitation-induced energy deposition, the dominant phase transformations, with varying Gibbs free energy $Δ,G^o_f$ are confirmed as β → κ → γ → δ that are located in specific microregions for Gallium (III) oxide (Ga 2 O 3 ), as follows: (i) Surface-localized interstitial accumulation under compressive stress triggers β → δ via semi-coherent interface formation. (ii) Tensile stress within latent tracks drives vacancy-mediated oxygen layer truncation (4/12 periodicity along ⟨0001⟩), stabilizing coherent 4H (ABCB) κ and 3C (ABC) β (ABC) interfaces through strain-compensated octahedral distortion. (iii) Screw dislocation-mediated lattice relaxation induces β → γ via cation disordering (Ga 3+ occupancy at β-interstitial sites), forming metastable spinel γ with mixed occupancy across 16d/8a Wyckoff sites. Irradiation-driven β-Ga 2 O 3 →κ/γ/δ transitions, as mechanistically revealed via inelastic thermal spike (i-TS) calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, induce defect-mediated nonlinear photoresponse, critical for optoelectronic engineering.

Han, Xinqing [Shandong Univ., Jinan (China)]↗

Tunable 3D Aerosol Jet Printing of Low‐Power Redox‐Gated Transistors with Multicomponent Inks

Printed hybrid electronics (PHE) offer a promising alternative for microelectronics fabrication, addressing some limitations of traditional subtractive manufacturing. Despite the versatility of PHE, particularly in the customization of printing inks, these devices have not yet matched the performance of silicon-based electronics due to challenges in gating mechanisms and operational stability. However, the potential of low-voltage redox-gating to achieve significant carrier modulations in correlated metal oxides remains unexplored in PHE. This study systematically investigates vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) nanoparticles and redox inks, linking their organization in solution to their morphology, phase state, and properties in solid films and multilayered structures. Using an aerosol jet printer (AJP), a solid-state VO 2 transistor is fabricated, operating at just 0.4 V gating voltage. The printed VO 2 films demonstrate redox-modulated conductivity and consistent transistor behavior. The solid-state redox gating materials also provide long-term stability, with the device maintaining performance over 6000 cycles without degradation. These results highlight the potential of redox gating to enhance the application of functional nanoparticles in printed hybrid microelectronics, especially for flexible, low-voltage, and energy-efficient devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗