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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 1,585 records · Page 88
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Boron coated straw-based neutron multiplicity counter for neutron interrogation of TRISO fueled pebbles

Pebble bed reactors (PBRs) can improve the safety and economics of the nuclear energy production. PBRs rely on TRIstructural-ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel pebbles for enhanced fission product retention. Accurate characterization of individual fuel pebbles would enable the validation of computational models, efficient use of TRISO fuel, and improve fuel accountability. Here, we have developed and tested a new neutron multiplicity counter (NMC) based on 192 boron coated straw (BCS) detectors optimized for 235 U assay in TRISO fuel. The new design yielded a singles and doubles neutron detection efficiency of 4.71% and 0.174%, respectively, and a die-away time of 16.7 μs. The NMC has a low intrinsic gamma-ray detection efficiency of 8.71 x 10 –8 at an exposure rate of 80.3 mR/h. In simulation, a high-efficiency version of the NMC encompassing 396 straws was able to estimate the 235 U in a pebble with a relative uncertainty and error both below 2% in 100 s.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coherent multiple scattering of out-of-equilibrium interacting Bose gases

We review recent theoretical and experimental progresses in the coherent multiple scattering of weakly interacting disordered Bose gases. These systems have allowed, in the recent years, a characterization of weak and strong localization phenomena in disorder at an unprecedented level of control. In this paper, we first discuss the main physical concepts and recent experimental achievements associated with a few emblematic “mesoscopic” effects in disorder like coherent backscattering, coherent forward scattering or mesoscopic echos, focusing on the context of out-of-equilibrium cold-atom setups. We then address the role of weak particle interactions and explain how, depending on their relative strength with respect to the disorder and on the time scales probed, they can give rise to a dephasing mechanism for weak localization, thermalize a non-equilibrium Bose gas or make it become a superfluid.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

HomPINNs: Homotopy physics-informed neural networks for learning multiple solutions of nonlinear elliptic differential equations

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) based machine learning is an emerging framework for solving nonlinear differential equations. However, due to the implicit regularity of neural network structure, PINNs can only find the flattest solution in most cases by minimizing the loss functions. In this paper, we combine PINNs with the homotopy continuation method, a classical numerical method to compute isolated roots of polynomial systems, and propose a new deep learning framework, named homotopy physics-informed neural networks (HomPINNs), for solving multiple solutions of nonlinear elliptic differential equations. The implementation of an HomPINN is a homotopy process that is composed of the training of a fully connected neural network, named the starting neural network, and training processes of several PINNs with different tracking parameters. The starting neural network is to approximate a starting function constructed by the trivial solutions, while other PINNs are to minimize the loss functions defined by boundary condition and homotopy functions, varying with different tracking parameters. These training processes are regraded as different steps of a homotopy process, and a PINN is initialized by the well-trained neural network of the previous step, while the first starting neural network is initialized using the default initialization method. Finally, several numerical examples are presented to show the efficiency of our proposed HomPINNs, including reaction-diffusion equations with a heart-shaped domain.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Additive manufacturing of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced SiC ceramic composite with multiple fiber bundles by an extrusion-based technique

Due to the high cost, complex preparation process and difficulty in structural design, the traditional methods for carbon fiber-reinforced SiC ceramic composite preparation have great limitations. This paper presents a technique for the additive manufacturing multiple continuous carbon fiber bundle-reinforced SiC ceramic composite with core-shell structure using an extrusion-based technique. A conventional nozzle system was modified to print simultaneously a water-based SiC paste with continuous carbon fibers. Different levels of binder contents were investigated to optimize the stickiness, viscosity, thixotropy and viscoelasticity of the paste. After sintering, SiC whiskers were generated on the surface of fiber, which is conjectured to be due to the reaction between SiO and carbon fiber at high temperature. The continuous carbon fiber-reinforced SiC ceramic composite exhibited non-brittle fracture. In conclusion, the flexural strength of the additively manufactured Cf/SiC composites improved from 162 MPa with no fiber bundles to a maximum of 219 MPa with three fiber bundles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effects of temperature on surface-controlled dislocation multiplication in body-centered-cubic metal nanowires

Recent computational studies revealed that screw dislocations in body-centered-cubic (bcc) metal nanowires can self-multiply through cross-slip near the free surface. This unique process was termed surface-controlled dislocation multiplication (SCDM). In bcc metals, screw dislocation motion and its cross-slip behavior are often related to thermally activated processes; due to this relation, SCDM is expected to be highly temperature-sensitive. In this study, therefore, we investigated how temperature influences the SCDM in bcc molybdenum and niobium nanowires using atomistic simulations. Regardless of the difference in lattice resistance at a given temperature, both systems show similar trends of critical shear stress of SCDM with respect to temperature. Further, the temperature dependence was found to be divided into three different regimes; (1) lattice-resistance-dominant; (2) segmentation-dominant; (3) steady-state segmentation. The presence of these three regimes will be discussed in terms of the temperature-dependence of the lattice resistance and the dynamics of dislocation segmentation in the nano-scale volume. Our results provide a fundamental understanding of screw dislocation behavior in bcc metals at the nanometer scale and varying temperatures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

A direct transcription-based multiple shooting formulation for dynamic optimization

The growing need for fast and efficient solution techniques for solving dynamic optimization problems is driven by a broad spectrum of applications in scheduling and control. We suggest a novel framework for dynamic optimization that utilizes a multiple shooting “backbone” with discrete rather than continuous subproblems, thereby eliminating need for repeated time-integration. A Lagrangian relaxation (LR)-based decomposition scheme is proposed, which dualizes the state continuity requirements between subproblems and enables parallel solution of the problem. We demonstrate the applicability of our method on two case studies: the Van der Pol oscillator and a batch reactor.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Fully-relativistic full-potential multiple scattering theory: A pathology-free scheme

The Green function plays an essential role in the Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker(KKR) multiple scattering method. In practice, it is constructed from the regular and irregular solutions of the local Kohn–Sham equation and robust methods exist for spherical potentials. However, when applied to a non-spherical potential, numerical errors from the irregular solutions give rise to pathological behaviors of the charge density at small radius. Here we present a full-potential implementation of the fully-relativistic KKR method to perform ab initio self-consistent calculation by directly solving the Dirac differential equations using the generalized variable phase (sine and cosine matrices) formalism Liu et al. (2016). The pathology around the origin is completely eliminated by carrying out the energy integration of the single-site Green function along the real axis. Here, by using an efficient pole-searching technique to identify the zeros of the well-behaved Jost matrices, we demonstrated that this scheme is numerically stable and computationally efficient, with speed comparable to the conventional contour energy integration method, while free of the pathology problem of the charge density. As an application, this method is utilized to investigate the crystal structures of polonium and their bulk properties, which is challenging for a conventional real-energy scheme. The noble metals are also calculated, both as a test of our method and to study the relativistic effects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

MITNS: Multiple-Ion Transport Numerical Solver for magnetized plasmas

MITNS (Multiple-Ion Transport Numerical Solver) is a new numerical tool designed to perform 1D simulations of classical cross-field transport in magnetized plasmas. Furthermore, its detailed treatment of multi-species effects makes it a unique tool in the field. We describe the physical model it simulates, as well as its numerical implementation and performance.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

How to avoid multiple scattering in strongly scattering SANS and USANS samples

Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Ultra Small Angle Neutron Scattering (USANS) are the only available experimental techniques to provide seamless non-destructive measurements of the geometry of the accessible and inaccessible pore structure of rocks from sub-nanopore size to the scale of macropores. They have therefore become the measurement of choice for tight reservoir rocks such as organic rich shales. A simplifying assumption in the analysis is, however, that during the path of neutrons through the sample each neutron is only scattered once. Shales are samples with a high scattering power and Multiple Scattering (MS) may occur which requires special modelling for deconvolution of the results. The approach to avoid MS is to simply reduce the sample thickness to <0.15–0.5 mm. Here, in this work, we present a systematic method on wavelength selection and preparation of samples to optimise extraction of microstructural data and minimise parasitic errors. Experimentally measured SAS transmission (TSAS) values are used as a practical criterion for estimation of the extent of MS. Generous beamtime allocations allowed robust testing revealing that sample thicknesses can be twice as thick as predicted using the standard protocol. Analysing thicker samples is particularly beneficial for statistically relevant characterisation of heterogeneous samples making the new protocol the method of choice for such samples.

(U)SANS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Evaluation of multiple reduced-order models to enhance confidence in global sensitivity analyses

Variance-based global sensitivity analysis (e.g., the Sobol' sensitivity index) can be used to identify the important parameters over the entire parameter space. However, one often cannot afford the computational costs of sampling-based approaches in combination with expensive high-fidelity forward models. Reduced-order models (ROM) can substantially accelerate calculation of these sensitivities. However, it is usually difficult to determine what type of ROM should be used and how accurately the ROM represents the high-fidelity model (HFM) results. Here in this paper, we propose to concurrently use multiple ROMs as a way to assess the robustness of the model-reduction method. Two sets of HFM simulations are needed, one set for building ROMs and the other for validating ROMs. Our goal is to keep the total number of HFM simulations to a minimum. Ideally some of the HFM simulations in the first set can be shared by different ROMs. Based on validation results, the ROMs can be combined with different schemes. We demonstrate that we can achieve the goal by using four different ROMs and still considerably save computational time compared to using traditional HFM simulation for calculating sensitivity indices. We apply the approach to an example problem of a large-scale geological carbon dioxide storage system, in which the objective is to calculate a sensitivity index to identify important parameters. For this problem, the locally best ROM provides better estimates than the weighted average from all ROMs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling the dynamic response of rock masses with multiple compliant fluid saturated joint sets - Part II: Continuum modeling

Part I of this two-part paper describes enhancements of a mesoscale model to include: many non-persistent fluid saturated joints with finite area, normal compliance with hysteresis and the weakening effects of angular deviation in the joint sets and of fluid pressure in the joints. The objective of this Part II is to use the results of the mesoscale model as simulated data to inspire functional forms in a continuum model for rock masses with multiple compliant fluid saturated joint sets which include these enhancements. Also, an algorithm is proposed for reducing the number of joint sets being modeled. Examples are presented here which show that the continuum model can predict similar anisotropic response to that observed in mesoscale simulations. In contrast with the mesoscale model, the continuum model can be used for large scale simulations of real applications, smoothly transitioning from coupled inelastic thermomechanical response near an explosive source to orthotropic elastic response far from the source.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multiple-charging effects on the CCN activity and hygroscopicity of surrogate black carbon particles

Accurate measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and hygroscopicity of black carbon (BC)-containing particles are particularly important because of the positive climate forcing from these particles. Such measurements are typically conducted on particles selected by a Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA), which in addition to singly charged particles transmits multiply charged larger particles that have the same electrical mobility. These larger particles activate at lower supersaturations than the singly charged particles, biasing measurements and resulting in overestimation of CCN activity and hygroscopicity parameter (κ). Here, we measure the CCN activity and determine κ for different BC surrogates with electrical mobility diameters from 100 to 200 nm selected 1) only by electrical mobility with a DMA, and 2) by both electrical mobility and mass using a DMA and a Centrifugal Particle Mass Analyzer (CPMA), thus allowing selection of only singly charged particles. We demonstrate the use of the DMA-CPMA system in resolving biases caused by multiply charged particles, and we show that the effect of multiple charging on the CCN activity of the BC particles is strongly influenced by morphology dispersion, i.e., the variability due to the range of morphologies of particles that have the same electrical mobility and mass. Finally, our findings show that electrical mobility-based methods alone are unlikely to lead to accurate results in measurements of CCN activation and hygroscopicity of BC particles, even for those with a more compact morphology.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Understanding activity engagement across weekdays and weekend days: A multivariate multiple discrete-continuous modeling approach

This paper is motivated by the increasing recognition that modeling activity-travel demand for a single day of the week, as is done in virtually all travel forecasting models, may be inadequate in capturing underlying processes that govern activity-travel scheduling behavior. The considerable variability in daily travel suggests that there are important complementary relationships and competing tradeoffs involved in scheduling and allocating time to various activities across days of the week. Both limited survey data availability and methodological challenges in modeling week-long activity-travel schedules have precluded the development of multi-day activity-travel demand models. With passive and technology-based data collection methods increasingly in vogue, the collection of multi-day travel data may become increasingly commonplace in the years ahead. This paper addresses the methodological challenge associated with modeling multi-day activity-travel demand by formulating a multivariate multiple discrete-continuous probit (MDCP) model system. The comprehensive framework ties together two MDCP model components, one corresponding to weekday time allocation and the other to weekend activity-time allocation. By tying the two MDCP components together, the model system also captures relationships in activity-time allocation between weekdays on the one hand and weekend days on the other. Model estimation on a week-long travel diary data set from the United Kingdom shows that there are significant inter-relationships between weekdays and weekend days in activity-travel scheduling behavior. In conclusion, the model system presented in this paper may serve as a higher-level multi-day activity scheduler in conjunction with existing daily activity-based travel models.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Multiple-scattering Corrections to Measurements of the Prompt Fission Neutron Spectrum

The Chi-Nu project, conducted jointly by LANL and LLNL, aims to measure the shape of the prompt fission neutron spectrum (PFNS) for fission of {sup 239}Pu induced by neutrons from 50 keV to 15 MeV with accuracies of 3–5% in the outgoing energy from 50 keV to 9 MeV and 15% from 9 to 15 MeV. In order to meet this goal, detailed Monte Carlo simulations are being used to assess the importance and effect of every component in the experimental configuration. As part of this effort, we have also simulated some past PFNS measurements to identify possible sources of systematic error. We find that multiple scattering plays an important role in the target geometry, collimators, and detector response and that past experiments probably underestimated the extent of this effect.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Statistical estimation of the performance of a fast-neutron multiplicity system for nuclear material accountancy

Statistical analyses have been performed to develop bounding estimates of the expected performance of a conceptual fast-neutron multiplicity system (FNMS) for assaying plutonium. The conceptual FNMS design includes 32 cubic liquid scintillator detectors, measuring 7.62 cm per side, configured into 4 stacked rings of 8 detectors each. Expected response characteristics for the individual FNMS detectors, as well as the response characteristics of the entire FNMS, were determined using Monte Carlo simulations based on prior validation experiments. The results from these simulations were then used to estimate the Pu assay capabilities of the FNMS in terms of counting time, assay mass, and assay mass variance, using assay mass variance as a figure of merit. The analysis results are compared against a commonly used thermal-neutron coincidence counter. The advantages of using a fast-neutron counting system versus a thermal-neutron counting system are significant. Most notably, the time required to perform an assay to an equivalent assay mass variance is greatly reduced with a fast-neutron system, by more than an order of magnitude compared with that of the thermal-neutron system, due to the reduced probability of random summing with the fast system. The improved FNMS performance is especially relevant for assays involving Pu masses of 10 g or more.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Extension of the Dytlewski-style dead time correction formalism for neutron multiplicity counting to any order

Here, neutron multiplicity counting using shift-register calculus is an established technique in the science of international nuclear safeguards for the identification, verification, and assay of special nuclear materials. Typically passive counting is used for Pu and mixed Pu-U items and active methods are used for U materials. Three measured counting rates, singles, doubles and triples are measured and, in combination with a simple analytical point-model, are used to calculate characteristics of the measurement item in terms of known detector and nuclear parameters. However, the measurement problem usually involves more than three quantities of interest, but even in cases where the next higher order count rate, quads, is statistically viable, it is not quantitatively applied because corrections for dead time losses are currently not available in the predominant analysis paradigm. In this work we overcome this limitation by extending the commonly used dead time correction method, developed by Dytlewski, to quads. We also give results for pents, which may be of interest for certain special investigations. Extension to still higher orders, may be accomplished by inspection based on the sequence presented. We discuss the foundations of the Dytlewski method, give limiting cases, and highlight the opportunities and implications that these new results expose. In particular there exist a number of ways in which the new results may be combined with other approaches to extract the correlated rates, and this leads to various practical implementations.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Analytical error bars and RSD for neutron multiplicity counting

This article derives the standard deviation of the moments of neutron multiplicity distributions for both random and (shift register) triggered counting gates by propagating the multinomial distribution of errors in the counting distribution. Exact and approximate analytical formulas for the singles, doubles, and triples error bars are given along with the corresponding RSD (relative standard deviation). These analytical formulas provide a simple way to analyze and predict error bars without needing empirical data or simulations. The comparison of these analytical error bars to actual measurement errors can reveal systematic errors that are not being accounted for in the modeling of the data.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multiple Coulomb scattering in acrylic of a 221.3 MeV therapeutic proton beam

Measurements of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) distributions for 221.3 MeV therapeutic protons are presented using a novel detector system comprised of a thin scintillator, a pellicle mirror, and a digital camera. The MCS distributions were characterized for three acrylic phantoms of varying lengths and for two biological density-equivalent phantoms simulating bone and muscle. Additionally, beam profiles were measured across an energy range of 80.3–221.3 MeV in 20 MeV increments. The observed energy dependence of the photon yields is consistent with the tabulated stopping power values. Finally, the experimental results are benchmarked against Geant4 simulations, demonstrating consistent agreement and validating the capability of the detector system for radiology measurements.

Digital camera↗