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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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156 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2024

Simplified Meteorite Parent Body Alteration of Amino Acids By Hydrothermal Processes

Amino acids have been identified in extraterrestrial materials such as meteorites and returned samples from asteroids and comets. Some of these amino acids or their precursors may have formed on icy interstellar dust grains or at a later phase when these grains became incorporated into larger parent bodies. In this work, we simulated parent body aqueous alteration of the residues from irradiated interstellar ice analogs in the presence of relevant minerals (pulverized serpentinite and Allende meteorite). We tracked the change in amino acid abundances as a function of hydrothermal processing time and examined how these differed based on the presence of minerals. We find that the presence of minerals and their mineralogy can have a significant impact on the formation and destruction of amino acids during simulated aqueous alteration experiments.

Christopher K Materese↗
DOE OSTI2014

Ion Production and Transport in Atmospheric Pressure Ion Source Mass Spectrometers (Final Report)

This document is the final report on a project that focused in the general theme of atmospheric-pressure ion production and transport for mass spectrometry. Within that general theme there were two main projects: the fundamental study of the transport of elemental ions through the vacuum interface of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICPMS), and fundamental studies of the ionization mechanisms in ambient desorption/ionization (ADI) sources for molecular mass spectrometry. In both cases the goal was to generate fundamental understanding of key instrumental processes that would lead to the development of instruments that were more sensitive and more consistent in their performance. The emphasis on consistency derives from the need for instruments that have the same sensitivity, regardless of sample type. In the jargon of analytical chemistry, such instruments are said to be free from matrix effects. In the ICPMS work each stage of ion production and of ion transport from the atmospheric pressure to the high-vacuum mass analyzer was studied. Factors controlling ion transport efficiency and consistency were identified at each stage of pressure reduction. In the ADI work the interactions between an electrospray plume and a fluorescent sample on a surface were examined microscopically. A new mechanism for analyte ion production in desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) was proposed. Optical spectroscopy was used to track the production of reactive species in plasmas used as ADI sources. Experiments with mixed-gas plasmas demonstrated that the addition of a small amount of hydrogen to a helium ADI plasma could boost the sensitivity for some analytes by over an order of magnitude.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Beam Stability R&D for the APS MBA Upgrade

Beam diagnostics required for the APS Multi-bend acromat (MBA) are driven by ambitious beam stability requirements. The major AC stability challenge is to correct rms beam motion to 10% the rms beam size at the insertion device source points from0.01 to 1000 Hz. The vertical plane represents the biggest challenge forAC stability, which is required to be 400 nm rms for a 4-micron vertical beam size. In addition to AC stability, long-term drift over a period of seven days is required to be 1 micron or less. Major diagnostics R&D components include improved rf beam position processing using commercially available FPGA-based BPM processors, new X-ray beam position monitors based on hard X-ray fluorescence from copper and Compton scattering off diamond, mechanical motion sensing to detect and correct long-term vacuum chamber drift, a new feedback system featuring a tenfold increase in sampling rate, and a several-fold increase in the number of fast correctors and BPMs in the feedback algorithm. Feedback system development represents a major effort, and we are pursuing development of a novel algorithm that integrates orbit correction for both slow and fast correctors down to DC simultaneously. Finally, a new data acquisition system (DAQ) is being developed to simultaneously acquire streaming data from all diagnostics as well as the feedback processors for commissioning and fault diagnosis. Results of studies and the design effort are reported.

APS MBA Upgrade↗
DOE OSTI2017

FIRST BEAM TESTS OF THE APS MBA UPGRADE ORBIT FEEDBACK CONTROLLER

The new orbit feedback system required for the APS multi-bend acromat (MBA) ring must meet challenging beam stability requirements. The AC stability requirement is to correct rms beam motion to 10 % the rms beam size at the insertion device source points from 0.01 to 1000 Hz. The vertical plane represents the biggest challenge for AC stability which is required to be 400 nm rms for a 4 micron vertical beam size. In addition long term drift over a period of 7 days is required to be 1 micron or less at insertion de- vice BPMs and 2 microns for arc bpms. We present test re- sults of theMBA prototype orbit feedback controller (FBC) in the APS storage ring. In this test, four insertion device BPMs were configured to send data to the FBC for process- ing into four fast corrector setpoints. The configuration of four bpms and four fast correctors creates a 4-bump and the configuration of fast correctors is similar to what will be implemented in the MBA ring. We report on performance benefits of increasing the sampling rate by a factor of 15 to 22.6 kHz over the existing APS orbit feedback system, lim- itations due to existing storage ring hardware and extrapo- lation to theMBA orbit feedback design. FBC architecture, signal flow and processing design will also be discussed.

Sereno, N. S.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Solving Operational Challenges with INL's Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) - 19003

In 2005, the THOR steam reforming fluidized-bed reactor technology was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for treatment of sodium-bearing waste at the INL. The initial commissioning was typical, until June of 2012 when an over-pressurization event resulted in a significant release of solids. Recovery and subsequent testing systematically dealt with challenges associated with operation of three primary vessels: the denitration and mineralization reformer, the process gas filter, and the carbon reduction reformer. Additional challenges with the following ancillary systems surfaced during testing: the auger/grinder, sample system, and the approach to decontamination of the process vessels prior to outages. The major operational challenges covered fluidization issues, premature refractory failure, high-temperature gaseous filter element blinding, cementitious material formation in solids handling equipment, sampling reliability, and vessel decontamination. The purpose of this paper is to share the lessons learned during the extended commissioning of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Developing and Testing a New Gas Distribution System for the Fluidized Bed of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) Steam Reformer - 19219

The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) has been tasked with using steam reforming technology to treat 3.4 million liters of radioactive sodium-bearing waste (SBW) at the INL. Progress in developing steam reforming for SBW treatment has been hampered by numerous processing issues associated with the existing process equipment during simulant testing. The primary issue was high differential temperatures that developed in the fluidized bed of the denitration mineralization reformer (DMR). Based on technical evaluations and computer modeling, it was determined that the primary cause of poor fluidization in the DMR was the existing fluidized gas distributor. This distributor consisted of a combination of a ring header and four removable fluidizing gas rails. The combined ring header/rail system was unable to effectively fluidize the bed at the bottom of the DMR (around and below the ring header). As a result, a decision was made to design and test a new fluidized gas distributor. Conceptual designs focused on three different distributors: a modified design of the current system; a flat plate with bubble caps; and a conical bottom with dual plena. After testing the conceptual prototypes at Hazen Research Inc., the conical bottom distributor was chosen. A 30-day test with simulant SBW feed was then performed with the new distributor. During testing, a temperature differential of less than 2 deg. C was maintained in the DMR fluidized bed. The results supported the conclusion that poor fluidized gas distribution was the primary cause of high temperature differentials in the DMR fluidized bed. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Successes and Challenges of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit's 50-Day Demonstration Run - 20151

The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) has been tasked with using steam reforming technology to treat 3.4 million liters (900,000 gallons) of radioactive sodium-bearing waste (SBW) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The project has been hampered by a number of processing issues associated with process equipment during simulant testing, with the two main issues involving the fluidizing gas distribution system in the main reactor vessel, the denitration mineralization reformer (DMR), and high differential pressures in the main filter vessel, the process gas filter (PGF). Following the replacement of the fluidizing gas distribution system in the DMR, a successful 30-day demonstration run was performed that revealed unacceptable bridging in the filter bundles of the PGF. The bundles were replaced with new ones, and a 50-day demonstration run was performed. The main purpose of this run was to operate the IWTU over a range of operating conditions. Overall, the run was a success; however, there were multiple challenges that arose from the run. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗