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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Oil in Alaska North Slope Gas Hydrate Reservoir: Micro-CT and Flow Simulation Insights into Permeability

Gas hydrate-bearing sands on the Alaska North Slope (ANS) host minor volumes of crude oil whose impact on formation permeability has never been quantified relative to a gas hydrate reservoir system. Here, we combine in situ pressure-core microcomputed-tomography (μ-CT), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), gas-chromatography–mass-spectrometry (GC–MS), scanning-electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and Stokes-flow simulation to (i) quantify oil saturation, (ii) infer its source, and (iii) evaluate its influence on permeability after gas-hydrate dissociation. μ-CT and SEM-EDS imaging identify the host sediment as silty, with some grain-coating clay present. Eight representative 3003-voxel subvolumes extracted from a preserved pressure core (Core 15P-3c, from the B1 sand (unit B), HYDRATE 02 Geo Data Well (GDW), 886.96–887.29 m measured depth, MD) exhibit porosities of 0.34–0.37 and an average oil saturation of 0.09 ± 0.03, in comparison to an independent TGA-based estimate of 0.16. GC-MS fingerprints obtained from an adjacent depressurized core (Core 17P-1, 891.37–891.44 m MD), together with oil pore habit revealed by μ-CT, suggest that the oil is partly native but also includes contributions from mineral oil-based drilling fluid contamination. Further analysis of oil–porewater interactions and flushing tests confirms that native oil saturation in the analyzed samples ranges from 0.04 to 0.08 with an average of approximately 0.06, and the oil is highly immobile. Flow simulations demonstrate that the native oil saturation of ≈0.06 reduces permeability by approximately 50% due to both pore blockage and increased flow-path tortuosity. These findings reveal the potential presence of native oil within the ANS gas hydrate reservoir and suggest that future simulation models may need to account for its impact on permeability to improve long-term performance predictions of gas and water production.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2016

Studies in High Energy Heavy Ion Nuclear Physics

This close-out report covers the period 1994 - 2015 for DOE grant DE-FG02-94ER40845 with the University of Texas at Austin. The research was concerned with studies of the strong nuclear force and properties of nuclear matter under extreme conditions of temperature and density which far exceed that in atomic nuclei. Such extreme conditions are briefly created (for about 10 trillionths of a trillionth of a second) during head-on collisions of large atomic nuclei (e.g. gold) colliding at speeds very close to the speed-of-light. The collisions produce thousands of subatomic particles, many of which are detected in our experiment called STAR at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider at the Brookhaven National Lab in New York. The goal of our research is to learn how the strong nuclear force and its fundamental particles (quarks and gluons) behave in extreme conditions similar to that of the early Universe when it was about 1 micro-second old, and in the cores of very dense neutron stars. To learn anything new about the matter which exists for such a very short amount of time requires carefully designed probes. In our research we focused on two such probes, one being short-lived resonance particles and the other using correlations between pairs of the detected particles. Resonances are short-lived particles created in the collision, which interact with the surrounding matter, and which break apart, or "decay" into more stable particles which survive long enough to be seen in our detectors. The dependence of resonance properties on the conditions in the collision system permit tests of theoretical models and improve our understanding. Dynamical interactions in the matter also leave imprints on the final, outgoing particle distributions measured in the experiment. In particular, angular correlations between pairs of particles can be related to the fundamental strong force as it behaves in the hot, dense matter. Studying correlations as a function of experimentally controlled conditions of the collisions provides another test of theory. Our results provide unambiguous evidence that the briefly existing hot, dense matter has strong effects on the measurements and indicate that the matter is best described in terms of the fundamental quarks and gluons, that its internal interactions are surprisingly strong, and that new and never before seen strong interaction processes are occurring which remain to be explained theoretically. To enable these studies our group has also made substantial contributions to the detection capabilities of the STAR experiment. These contributions were to the electronics required to "read out" the weak electrical signals from the detectors and transfer the raw data to offline computers for processing. Although this experimental program is now concluded, the resonance and correlation results we have extracted from the raw collision data will continue to challenge and perhaps guide theoretical developments of the strong nuclear force for many years to come.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

First Measurements of the Parity-Violating and Beam-Normal Single-Spin Asymmetries in Elastic Electron-Aluminum Scattering

The Q weak collaboration has made the first measurements of the elastic parity-violating and beam-normal single-spin asymmetries from the 27 Al nucleus. Both are the result of ancillary measurements conducted during the Q weak experiment at Jefferson Lab. The goal of the experimental was to determine the proton's weak charge, Q p W , via a measurement of the elastic parity-violating electron-proton scattering asymmetry. During the experiment, ancillary measurements were made with different beam configurations on a separate aluminum alloy target, in an effort to directly measure the aluminum background coming from the experiment's liquid hydrogen target cell. This dissertation discusses three primary results: the parity-violating 27 Al asymmetry analysis used to correct for the aluminum target background in the final Q weak analysis, its extended analysis leading to the extraction of the pure elastic parity-violating 27 Al asymmetry, and the determination of the elastic beam-normal single-spin 27 Al asymmetry. The parity-violating result was also used to make a semi model-independent determination of 27 Al neutron distribution radius, an important test for models used to describe neutron-rich matter. The beam-normal single-spin asymmetry stands to possibly shed light on an observed disagreement between theory and a previous measurement performed on 208 Pb, as 27 Al is the next highest atomic mass nucleus to have this observable measured. The elastic parity-violating 27 Al asymmetry was found to be 1.927 +/- 0.173 ppm at (Q 2 ) = 0.0236 +/- 0.0001 GeV 2 . This measured parity-violating asymmetry implies a 27 Al neutron distribution radius of 3.024 +/- 0.104 fm. Calculating the difference between this radius and the 27 Al proton distribution radius yields the neutron skin, which was found to be 0.092 +/- 0.104 fm. This skin value is consistent with zero, within its uncertainty, and it confirms the naive expectation for a light nucleus like 27 Al. The beam-normal single-spin 27 Al asymmetry was found to be -16.322 +/- 2.679 ppm at ⟨Q⟩ = 0.154 GeV. This value agrees with the previous observed trend of beam-normal single-spin asymmetries measured from light nuclei, which motivates the need for future measurements of higher atomic mass nuclei.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2025

House Advantage or House of Cards? Stacking the Deck for Data Videos Leads to Null Results: Preprint

Videos are becoming a ubiquitous means of sharing information on social media platforms. In response, data videos - short clips combining visualization with dynamic storytelling, audio descriptions, and spatial referencing - have gained popularity for communicating data. These affordances suggest that data videos might communicate data patterns, trends, and concepts more effectively than static visualizations, enhancing comprehension. However, existing research has not systematically tested this claim. To address this gap, we conducted three controlled studies to measure comprehension differences between data videos and static visualizations. Despite leveraging visual cues and audio explanations, no data video led to significantly better comprehension than an analogous static visualization. Our results suggest data videos are not categorically better and that future research should examine the tradeoffs between their engagement benefits and costs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Comparison of three measurement modalities for 3D characterization of manufactured features and process-induced porosity in titanium alloy additively manufactured parts

Nondestructive characterization of internal features and defects within complex components is vital for many industrial applications, particularly with the advent of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. However, community understanding of the limitations of nondestructive methods such as X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) can be limited in certain industrial sectors as these may be emergent applications. In this paper, we investigate the limits of X-ray CT measurements and compare extracted data with mechanical polishing serial sectioning (MPSS) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The test object is an additively manufactured titanium alloy disk that contains both process-induced porosity and machined features, including focused ion beam milled features designed to probe the resolution limits of X-ray CT. Results show that each of these characterization techniques has advantages and disadvantages. We compare data acquisition times, spatial resolution, geometric measurement accuracy and defect visualization fidelity across these modalities to establish a practical framework.

Additive manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tritium Fires: Simulation and Safety Assessment

This is the Sandia report from a joint NSRD project between Sandia National Labs and Savannah River National Labs. The project involved development of simulation tools and data intended to be useful for tritium operations safety assessment. Tritium is a synthetic isotope of hydrogen that has a limited lifetime, and it is found at many tritium facilities in the form of elemental gas (T 2 ). The most serious risk of reasonable probability in an accident scenario is when the tritium is released and reacts with oxygen to form a water molecule, which is subsequently absorbed into the human body. This tritium oxide is more readily absorbed by the body and therefore represents a limiting factor for safety analysis. The abnormal condition of a fire may result in conversion of the safer T 2 inventory to the more hazardous oxidized form. It is this risk that tends to govern the safety protocols. Tritium fire datasets do not exist, so prescriptive safety guidance is largely conservative and reliant on means other than testing to formulate guidelines. This can have a consequence in terms of expensive and/or unnecessary mitigation design, handling protocols, and operational activities. This issue can be addressed through added studies on the behavior of tritium under representative conditions. Due to the hazards associated with the tests, this is being approached mainly from a modeling and simulation standpoint and surrogate testing. This study largely establishes the capability to generate simulation predictions with sufficiently credible characteristics to be accepted for safety guidelines as a surrogate for actual data through a variety of testing and modeling activities.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

MiniMOD

SAND2025-03854O MiniMod is a user-friendly software tool designed to assess the performance of high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Researchers can use the program to test communication methods and computational tasks to understand how different setups can affect application efficiency. This software is particularly useful for optimizing network performance in scientific research, simulations, and data analysis. MiniMod‘s flexible design allows users to make informed decisions about their computing environments, which can enhance productivity and results in real-world applications. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Dosanjh, Matthew [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), L↗
DOE OSTI2024

Radioimaging for real-time tracking of high-voltage breakdown

Development of a radioimaging diagnostic for high-voltage component reliability testing and electrical breakdown computational model validation is described. Radioimaging has its roots in radio astronomy, where aperture synthesis (also known as synthesis imaging) has been utilized for decades to image radio sources far from Earth. Radioimaging as described herein, in contrast, seeks to image radio sources in close proximity to its receivers (i.e., in a laboratory environment). Here it is shown that corona discharge, a non-destructive precursor to catastrophic (thermal) arc discharge, electromagnetically radiates strongly within a 250 kHz – 2.5 GHz bandwidth, and is readily detected and located by postprocessing the received radio signals. The ability of radioimaging to detect both corona and arc discharge (grouped together herein as high voltage breakdown or HVB) makes it a valuable tool for 100% HVB detection in materials, components, and devices, and has the ability to indicate electrical weakness (via corona detection) prior to a destructive arc discharge event. Radioimaging enables HVB to be located both internal and external to dielectric components under test in near-real-time, with multiple and/or extended HVB events located simultaneously. In contrast, existing non-destructive diagnostics (at the time of this writing) either indicate electrical breakdown without resolving failure locations (e.g., current, voltage, and chemical measurements), locate external HVB (e.g., high-speed optical and ultraviolet (UV) measurements or photography), or locate both external and internal HVB but with low fidelity (e.g., a single HVB source can be located by existing time-of-arrival (TOA) UHF or acoustic emissions). Radioimaging instead creates a sequence of high-fidelity images similar to an optical high-speed camera but at radiofrequencies (RF), and is not limited to two-dimensions. Moreover, radioimaging has already served one internal and two external industry customers, the results of which are detailed in this report. The radioimaging results described herein were part of a three-year effort funded by the Sandia Lab Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program within the Radiation, Electromagnetic, High Energy Density Science (REHEDS) investment area.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering on the Proton in Hall A at Jefferson Lab

The structure of nucleons as they are composed of quarks and gluons is not well understood. Non-perturbative methods (such as lattice-QCD) describing quark/gluon interactions are ongoing in development, but still cannot fully reproduce the structure of hadrons. Among the observables which describe longitudinal momentum and transverse position of partons, generalized parton distributions (GPDs) describe the correlations between the two, and are accessible through p(right-arrow e;e'y)p scattering experiments in the Bjorken limit when factorization holds. A complete understanding of these functions will help us to better understand the structure of nucleons. Experiment E12-06-114 was performed by JLab's DVCS Hall A Collaboration in 2014 and 2016. Using a polarized electron beam and a liquid hydrogen target, the collaboration measured cross sections for the exclusive reaction p(right-arrow e;e'y)p at xB=0.36, 0.48, and 0.60,3 .2 lte Q2 lte 9.00, and -1.28 lte t lte -0.69. This dissertation details the analysis and results of measuring the p(right-arrow e;e'y)p cross section at xB=0.48. The measured cross section results allow us to demonstrate the validity of factorization in our kinematic regime, and extract Compton Form Factor combinations important for understanding GPDs. Additionally, the cross section results are used to test existing GPD models, KM10a and KM15.

Johnson, Alexa N.↗
DOE OSTI2025

American WAKE Experiment (AWAKEN) Field Campaign Report

The American WAKE experimeNt (AWAKEN) was a large-scale, international collaborative field campaign funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office. Its main purpose was to gather detailed observations of wind farm-atmosphere interactions to improve understanding of wind farm physics, validate and improve simulation tools, lower uncertainties in wind farm modeling, understand environmental impacts, and ultimately reduce the cost and increase the reliability of wind energy systems. The campaign specifically focused on seven testable hypotheses that include characterizing wind turbine and wind farm wake effects, wind farm blockage, turbulent mixing, structural loading impacts, local environmental impacts, and testing wind farm control technologies. AWAKEN was a highly collaborative effort involving numerous agencies, including: DOE, through the Wind Energy Technologies Office and the Office of Science Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility, the U.S. Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, many American universities, and internationally funded collaborators from Germany and Brazil.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Computer Aided Battery Engineering Consortium

A multi-national lab collaborative team was assembled that includes experts from academia and industry to enhance recently developed Computer-Aided Battery Engineering for Electric Drive Vehicles (CAEBAT)-II battery crush modeling tools and to develop microstructure models for electrode design - both computationally efficient. Task 1. The new Multi-Scale Multi-Domain model framework (GH-MSMD) provides 100x to 1,000x computation speed-up in battery electrochemical/thermal simulation while retaining modularity of particles and electrode-, cell-, and pack-level domains. The increased speed enables direct use of the full model in parameter identification. Task 2. Mechanical-electrochemical-thermal (MECT) models for mechanical abuse simulation were simultaneously coupled, enabling simultaneous modeling of electrochemical reactions during the short circuit, when necessary. The interactions between mechanical failure and battery cell performance were studied, and the flexibility of the model for various batteries structures and loading conditions was improved. Model validation is ongoing to compare with test data from Sandia National Laboratories. The ABDT tool was established in ANSYS. Task 3. Microstructural modeling was conducted to enhance next-generation electrode designs. This 3- year project will validate models for a variety of electrodes, complementing Advanced Battery Research programs. Prototype tools have been developed for electrochemical simulation and geometric reconstruction.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

DuraMAT FY 2022 Annual Report: Towards Predicting Lifetime

The Durable Module Materials Consortium (DuraMAT) launched in November 2016 with five years of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE's) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). The program renewed in 2022 for an additional 6 years. DuraMAT is a multi-lab consortium led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, with Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) as core research labs. DuraMAT's overarching goal is to accelerate a sustainable, just, and equitable transition to zero-carbon electricity generation by 2035. We work in partnership with our 22-member industry advisory board and the technical management team at SETO. DuraMAT transitioned from our first five-year program into a new six-year program in 2022. It was a very busy year; DuraMAT wrapped up projects from DuraMAT 1 and kicked off new laboratory-led projects for DuraMAT 2. This transition brings new goals and a renewed focus on accelerating the energy transition by improving photovoltaic (PV) module reliability.

accelerated stress testing↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF): World-Class Systems Integration Capabilities and Research

The Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) South Table Mountain campus, is a world-renowned user facility for research and development of modern, advanced, and clean energy technologies. ESIF is distinguished by its continuously evolving, highly integrated systems that span throughout the building, connecting research capabilities across multiple laboratories and test areas. The primary ESIF research systems include: [1] data, cyber, and control networks, [2] research electrical distribution buses (REDB), [3] thermal integration infrastructure, and [4] hydrogen systems. The data, cyber, and control networks provide monitoring, control, communication, automation, visualization, and time series data storage and tagging capabilities for research projects and ESIF systems, including facility safety functions. The REDB system consists of four dedicated AC and DC electrical power networks that can connect devices located across the facility through versatile, automatic circuit configuration to support complex power electronics experiments up to the megawatt-scale. The thermal integration infrastructure consists of three temperature-conditioned water loops that provide heating and cooling interfaces and capabilities for thermal energy research. The hydrogen systems provide megawatt-scale hydrogen production, drying, compression, high-pressure storage, and delivery to laboratory end uses, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicle fueling. The ESIF research systems interconnect and extend throughout the various lab areas of the facility to create elaborate networks composed of diverse technologies for cutting-edge research. The ESIF capabilities are operated and stewarded by the ESIF Research Operations group, who also actively upgrade and advance the systems to ensure they remain ahead of anticipated research - enabling the success of many pioneering energy integration projects. The poster, created by members of the ESIF Research Operations team, highlights and summarizes the four core integrated systems at ESIF. The poster was first presented at the internal NREL Energize Forum on May 13th, 2024, and received the "Best Poster" award.

capabilities↗
DOE OSTI2021

Core-flood Effluent and Shale Surface Chemistries in Predicting Interaction between Shale, Brine, and Reactive Fluid

We report field and laboratory observations to date indicate that the efficiency of hydraulic fracturing, as it relates to hydrocarbon recovery, depends significantly on geochemical alterations to rock surfaces that diminish accessibility by partial or total plugging of the pore and fracture networks. This is caused by mineral scale deposition such as coating of fracture surfaces with precipitates, particle migration, and/or crack closure due to dissolution under stress. In reactive flow-through experiments, mineral reactions in response to acidic fluid injection significantly reduced system porosity and core permeability. The present study focuses on changes to fluid chemistry and shale surfaces (inlet and fracture walls) resulting from shale-fluid interactions and integrating these findings for an improved estimate of transport-related consequences. The reacted shale surfaces were examined by spatially-resolved scanning electron microscopy - energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis. Importantly, inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry/optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-MS/OES) was utilized to probe the chemical evolution of the core-flood effluents. The three study cores selected from the Marcellus formation represent different mineralogies and structural features. In flow-through experiments, lab-generated brine and HCl-based fracture fluid (pH=2) were injected sequentially under effective stress (up to 500 psi) at reservoir temperature (80°C). SEM-EDS results confirmed by the ICP concentration trends showed significant Fe hydroxide precipitates in clay- and pyrite-rich outcrop samples due to partial oxidation of Fe-bearing phases in the case of intrusion of low salinity water-based fluids. Porosity reduction in the MSEEL (Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Laboratory) carbonate-rich sample is related to compaction of cores under stress due to matrix softening with substantial dissolution, and pore-filling by hydroxides, as well as barite and salts. Despite the same fluid compositions and experimental conditions used for both MSEEL samples, barite precipitation was much more intense in the MSEEL clay-rich sample due to its greater sorption capacity and additional sulfate source as well as fissile nature with multiple lengthwise cracks. ICP tests revealed time-resolved concentration trends in produced brine and reactive fluids that in turn complemented the pre-/post-reaction SEM-EDS observations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Stellarator Research Opportunities: A Report of the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee

This paper is the product of a stellarator community workshop, organized by the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee and referred to as Stellcon, that was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 2016, hosted by MIT. The workshop was widely advertised, and was attended by 40 scientists from 12 different institutions including national labs, universities and private industry, as well as a representative from the Department of Energy. The final section of this document describes areas of community wide consensus that were developed as a result of the discussions held at that workshop. Areas where further study would be helpful to generate a consensus path forward for the US stellarator program are also discussed. The program outlined in this document is directly responsive to many of the strategic priorities of FES as articulated in “Fusion Energy Sciences: A Ten-Year Perspective (2015–2025)” [1]. The natural disruption immunity of the stellarator directly addresses “Elimination of transient events that can be deleterious to toroidal fusion plasma confinement devices” an area of critical importance for the US fusion energy sciences enterprise over the next decade. Another critical area of research “Strengthening our partnerships with international research facilities,” is being significantly advanced on the W7-X stellarator in Germany and serves as a test-bed for development of successful international collaboration on ITER. Finally, this report also outlines how materials science as it relates to plasma and fusion sciences, another critical research area, can be carried out effectively in a stellarator. Additionally, significant advances along two of the Research Directions outlined in the report; “Burning Plasma Science: Foundations—Next-generation research capabilities”, and “Burning Plasma Science: Long pulse—Sustainment of Long-Pulse Plasma Equilibria” are proposed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

In Situ Plasma processing of SRF cuperconducting cavities at JLAB, 2024 Update

Jefferson Lab has an ongoing R&D program in plasma processing. The experimental program investi-gated processing using argon/oxygen and heli-um/oxygen gas mixtures. Plasma processing is a com-mon technique where the free oxygen produced by the plasma breaks down and removes hydrocarbons from surfaces. This increases the work function and reduces the secondary emission coefficient. The initial focus of the effort was processing C100 cavities by injecting RF power into the high order mode (HOM) coupler ports. We also developed the methods for establishing a plasma in C75 cryomodules where the RF power is injected via the fundamental power-coupler. Four C100 cryomodules were in situ processed in the CE-BAF accelerator in May 2023 with the cryomodules returning to an operational status in Sept. 2023. The overall operational energy gain for the four cryomod-ules was 49 MeV. Methods, systems and results from processing cryomodules in the CEBAF accelerator and vertical test results are presented. Current status and future plans are discussed.

Powers, T.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Stellarator Research Opportunities: A Report of the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee

This document is the product of a stellarator community workshop, organized by the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee and referred to as Stellcon, that was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 2016, hosted by MIT. The workshop was widely advertised, and was attended by 40 scientists from 12 different institutions including national labs, universities and private industry, as well as a representative from the Department of Energy. The final section of this document describes areas of community wide consensus that were developed as a result of the discussions held at that workshop. Areas where further study would be helpful to generate a consensus path forward for the US stellarator program are also discussed. The program outlined in this document is directly responsive to many of the strategic priorities of FES as articulated in ‘‘Fusion Energy Sciences: A Ten-Year Perspective (2015–2025)’’ [1]. The natural disruption immunity of the stellarator directly addresses ‘‘Elimination of transient events that can be deleterious to toroidal fusion plasma confinement devices’’ an area of critical importance for the US fusion energy sciences enterprise over the next decade. Another critical area of research ‘‘Strengthening our partnerships with international research facilities,’’ is being significantly advanced on the W7-X stellarator in Germany and serves as a test-bed for development of successful international collaboration on ITER. This report also outlines how materials science as it relates to plasma and fusion sciences, another critical research area, can be carried out effectively in a stellarator. Additionally, significant advances along two of the Research Directions outlined in the report; ‘‘Burning Plasma Science: Foundations—Next-generation research capabilities’’, and ‘‘Burning Plasma Science: Long pulse—Sustainment of Long-Pulse Plasma Equilibria’’ are proposed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Stellarator Research Opportunities: A report of the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee

This document is the product of a stellarator community workshop, organized by the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee and referred to as Stellcon, that was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 2016, hosted by MIT. The workshop was widely advertised, and was attended by 40 scientists from 12 different institutions including national labs, universities and private industry, as well as a representative from the Department of Energy. The final section of this document describes areas of community wide consensus that were developed as a result of the discussions held at that workshop. Areas where further study would be helpful to generate a consensus path forward for the US stellarator program are also discussed. The program outlined in this document is directly responsive to many of the strategic priorities of FES as articulated in “Fusion Energy Sciences: A Ten-Year Perspective (2015-2025)” [2]. The natural disruption immunity of the stellarator directly addresses “Elimination of transient events that can be deleterious to toroidal fusion plasma confinement devices” an area of critical importance for the U.S. fusion energy sciences enterprise over the next decade. Another critical area of research “Strengthening our partnerships with international research facilities,” is being significantly advanced on the W7-X stellarator in Germany and serves as a test-bed for development of successful international collaboration on ITER. This report also outlines how materials science as it relates to plasma and fusion sciences, another critical research area, can be carried out effectively in a stellarator. Additionally, significant advances along two of the Research Directions outlined in the report; “Burning Plasma Science: Foundations - Next-generation research capabilities”, and “Burning Plasma Science: Long pulse - Sustainment of Long-Pulse Plasma Equilibria” are proposed.

Gates, David A.↗