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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 1,729 records · Page 96
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Assessment of HRA method predictions against operating crew performance: Part II: Overall simulator data, HRA method predictions, and intra-method comparisons

This is the third in a series of four papers documenting two large-scale human reliability analysis (HRA) empirical studies – the International HRA Empirical Study and the US HRA Empirical Study. Here, the goal of the two studies was to develop an empirically-based understanding of the performance, strengths, and weaknesses of HRA methods by comparing HRA method predictions against actual operator performance in simulated accident scenarios on nuclear power plant (NPP) simulators. However, since in most cases only a single HRA team applied a given method in the International study, it was often difficult to separate analyst effects from variability in results related to the methods themselves. Since at least two HRA teams used each of the HRA methods in the US Study, intra-method comparisons were performed to identify method strengths and weaknesses independent of analyst specific effects where possible. This paper first summarizes the intra-method comparison results from the U.S. Study. Then, it discusses the reasons for the observed HRA predictive differences and the underlying methodological and guidance limitations that permitted the differences to arise. In the fourth paper, this information is combined wit h the results of the comparisons of method predictions to the actual crew data, from both the International and U.S. Studies, to develop the final conclusions about overall strengths and weaknesses of HRA methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2013

JBP485 improves gentamicin-induced acute renal failure by regulating the expression and function of Oat1 and Oat3 in rats

We investigated the effects of JBP485 (an anti-inflammatory dipeptide and a substrate of OAT) on regulation of the expression and function of renal Oat1 and Oat3, which can accelerate the excretion of accumulated uremic toxins (e.g. indoxyl sulfate) in the kidney to improve gentamicin-induced ARF in rats. JBP485 caused a significant decrease in the accumulation of endogenous substances (creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and indoxyl sulfate) in vivo, an increase in the excretion of exogenous compounds (lisinopril and inulin) into urine, and up-regulation of the expressions of renal Oat1 and Oat3 in the kidney tissues and slices via substrate induction. To determine the effect of JBP485 on the accelerated excretion of uremic toxins mediated by Oat1 and Oat3, the mRNA and protein expression levels of renal basolateral Oats were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR, western blot, immunohistochemical analysis and an immunofluorescence method. Gentamicin down-regulated the expression of Oats mRNA and protein in rat kidney, and these effects were reversed after administration of JBP485. In addition, JBP485 caused a significant decrease in MPO and MDA levels in the kidney, and improved the pathological condition of rat kidney. These results indicated that JBP485 improved acute renal failure by increasing the expression and function of Oat1 and Oat3, and by decreasing overoxidation of the kidney in gentamicin-induced ARF rats. - Highlights: • JBP485 could up-regulate function and expression of Oat1 and Oat3 in kidney. • Effects of JBP485 on ARF are mediated by stimulating excretion of uremic toxins. • JBP485 protected against gentamicin-induced ARF by decreasing MPO and MDA.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Genistein modulates the expression of NF-κB and MAPK (p-38 and ERK1/2), thereby attenuating D-Galactosamine induced fulminant hepatic failure in Wistar rats

Genistein is an isoflavanoid abundantly found in soy. It has been found to play an important role in the prevention of various chronic diseases including cancer. In this study, we evaluated potential therapeutic properties of Genistein against D-Galactosamine (D-GalN) induced inflammation and hepatotoxicity in male Wistar rats. Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) was induced in rats by intraperitoneal injection of D-GalN (700 mg/kgBW). Genistein (5 mg/kgBW/day) was given as pre-treatment for 30 days via intra-gastric route followed by D-GalN (700 mg/kgBW) injection. The hepatoprotective and curative effects of Genistein were evident from a significant decrease in the serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels as well as prevention of histological damage by pre-treatment of Genistein. Genistein pre-treatment significantly inhibited the increased protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), thereby reducing nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin-E2 (PGE) levels, respectively. In addition Genistein significantly suppressed the production of D-GalN-induced proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-1β. These inhibitory effects were associated with the suppression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-ĸB) activation, IKKα/β and Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation by Genistein in D-GalN-treated animals. In conclusion, our results suggest that Genistein may serve as a potential supplement in the prevention of hepatic and inflammatory diseases. Furthermore Genistein is able to maintain the redox potential and strengthens the antioxidant defense system of a cell. - Highlights: • First study to evaluate hepatoprotective effect of Genistein against D-GalN • Genistein prevents oxidative damage induced by D-GalN. • Genistein blunts iNOS, COX-2, NF-ĸB, IKKα/β and MAPK expression. • Genistein prevents D-GalN induced apoptosis and necrosis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Failure Mode Identification of Insulin Drug Products – Impact of Relevant Stress Conditions on the Quality of the Drug

Fast-acting insulin drug products (DPs) are carried and administered by diabetic patients to maintain their blood glucose level throughout the day, exposing the DPs to stress conditions. Apidra, Novolog, and Humalog insulin DPs were tested under various stress conditions. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) were used to monitor the stability and aggregation. Thermal stress alone did not influence the stability. However, 24 hr exposure to vigorous mechanical stress shifted the DLS size peaks of Novolog and Humalog from 5 ± 1 nm to > 50.9 ± 25.6 nm, and the SEC native protein peak areas decreased 52% for Novolog and 18.4% for Humalog. Combined stress accelerated protein aggregation more drastically. Novolog and Humalog size shifted (>75 nm) after 3 hr and the peak area decreased > 97.9% after 6 hr exposure, indicating that high temperature accelerated the aggregation triggered by agitation. Soluble aggregates were captured by DLS early on compared to SEC. Apidra was comparably stable indicating DP formulation plays a critical role in stability. Here this study provides a greater understanding of potential failure modes patients and care givers may encounter while handling insulin DPs.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

v-Src causes delocalization of Mklp1, Aurora B, and INCENP from the spindle midzone during cytokinesis failure

Src-family tyrosine kinases are aberrantly activated in cancers, and this activation is associated with malignant tumor progression. v-Src, encoded by the v-src transforming gene of the Rous sarcoma virus, is a mutant variant of the cellular proto-oncogene c-Src. Although investigations with temperature sensitive mutants of v-Src have shown that v-Src induces many oncogenic processes, the effects on cell division are unknown. Here, we show that v-Src inhibits cellular proliferation of HCT116, HeLa S3 and NIH3T3 cells. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that inducible expression of v-Src results in an accumulation of 4N cells. Time-lapse analysis revealed that binucleation is induced through the inhibition of cytokinesis, a final step of cell division. The localization of Mklp1, which is essential for cytokinesis, to the spindle midzone is inhibited in v-Src-expressing cells. Intriguingly, Aurora B, which regulates Mklp1 localization at the midzone, is delocalized from the spindle midzone and the midbody but not from the metaphase chromosomes upon v-Src expression. Mklp2, which is responsible for the relocation of Aurora B from the metaphase chromosomes to the spindle midzone, is also lost from the spindle midzone. These results suggest that v-Src inhibits cytokinesis through the delocalization of Mklp1 and Aurora B from the spindle midzone, resulting in binucleation. -- Highlights: • v-Src inhibits cell proliferation of HCT116, HeLa S3 and NIH3T3 cells. • v-Src induces binucleation together with cytokinesis failure. • v-Src causes delocalization of Mklp1, Aurora B and INCENP from the spindle midzone.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Failure mechanisms of single-crystal silicon electrodes in lithium-ion batteries

Long-term durability is a major obstacle limiting the widespread use of lithium-ion batteries in heavy-duty applications and others demanding extended lifetime. As one of the root causes of the degradation of battery performance, the electrode failure mechanisms are still unknown. In this paper, we reveal the fundamental fracture mechanisms of single-crystal silicon electrodes over extended lithiation/delithiation cycles, using electrochemical testing, microstructure characterization, fracture mechanics and finite element analysis. Anisotropic lithium invasion causes crack initiation perpendicular to the electrode surface, followed by growth through the electrode thickness. The low fracture energy of the lithiated/unlithiated silicon interface provides a weak microstructural path for crack deflection, accounting for the crack patterns and delamination observed after repeated cycling. On the basis of this physical understanding, we demonstrate how electrolyte additives can heal electrode cracks and provide strategies to enhance the fracture resistance in future lithium-ion batteries from surface chemical, electrochemical and material science perspectives.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Interface microstructure effects on dynamic failure behavior of layered Cu/Ta microstructures

Abstract Structural metallic materials with interfaces of immiscible materials provide opportunities to design and tailor the microstructures for desired mechanical behavior. Metallic microstructures with plasticity contributors of the FCC and BCC phases show significant promise for damage-tolerant applications due to their enhanced strengths and thermal stability. A fundamental understanding of the dynamic failure behavior is needed to design and tailor these microstructures with desired mechanical responses under extreme environments. This study uses molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to characterize plasticity contributors for various interface microstructures and the damage evolution behavior of FCC/BCC laminate microstructures. This study uses six model Cu/Ta interface systems with different orientation relationships that are as- created, and pre-deformed to understand the modifications in the plasticity contributions and the void nucleation/evolution behavior. The results suggest that pre-existing misfit dislocations and loading orientations (perpendicular to and parallel to the interface) affect the activation of primary and secondary slip systems. The dynamic strengths are observed to correlate with the energy of the interfaces, with the strengths being highest for low-energy interfaces and lowest for high-energy interfaces. However, the presence of pre-deformation of these interface microstructures affects not only the dynamic strength of the microstructures but also the correlation with interface energy.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Abruptness of Cascade Failures in Power Grids

Electric power-systems are one of the most important critical infrastructures. In recent years, they have been exposed to extreme stress due to the increasing demand, the introduction of distributed renewable energy sources, and the development of extensive interconnections. We investigate the phenomenon of abrupt breakdown of an electric power-system under two scenarios: load growth (mimicking the ever-increasing customer demand) and power fluctuations (mimicking the effects of renewable sources). Our results on real, realistic and synthetic networks indicate that increasing the system size causes breakdowns to become more abrupt; in fact, mapping the system to a solvable statistical-physics model indicates the occurrence of a first order transition in the large size limit. Such an enhancement for the systemic risk failures (black-outs) with increasing network size is an effect that should be considered in the current projects aiming to integrate national power-grids into ‘‘super-grids’’.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Mitigating mechanical failure of crystalline silicon electrodes for lithium batteries by morphological design [Morphological design of silicon electrode with anisotropic interface reaction rate for lithium ion batteries]

Although crystalline silicon (c-Si) anodes promise very high energy densities in Li-ion batteries, their practical use is complicated by amorphization, large volume expansion and severe plastic deformation upon lithium insertion. Recent experiments have revealed the existence of a sharp interface between crystalline Si (c-Si) and the amorphous Li x Si alloy during lithiation, which propagates with a velocity that is orientation dependent; the resulting anisotropic swelling generates substantial strain concentrations that initiate cracks even in nanostructured Si. Here we describe a novel strategy to mitigate lithiation-induced fracture by using pristine c-Si structures with engineered anisometric morphologies that are deliberately designed to counteract the anisotropy in the crystalline/amorphous interface velocity. This produces a much more uniform volume expansion, significantly reducing strain concentration. Based on a new, validated methodology that improves previous models of anisotropic swelling of c-Si, we propose optimal morphological designs for c-Si pillars and particles. The advantages of the new morphologies are clearly demonstrated by mesoscale simulations and verified by experiments on engineered c-Si micropillars. The results of this study illustrate that morphological design is effective in improving the fracture resistance of micron-sized Si electrodes, which will facilitate their practical application in next-generation Li-ion batteries. In conclusion, the model and design approach present in this paper also have general implications for the study and mitigation of mechanical failure of electrode materials that undergo large anisotropic volume change upon ion insertion and extraction.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Effect of reversible dislocation-based deformation on nanoparticle strain at failure

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to isolate and quantify the reversible and irreversible mechanisms that contribute to deformation in platinum nanoparticles under compression. Quantitative analysis reveals how the nucleation and entanglement of dislocations can lead to reversible dislocation-based deformation. Simulations run at different temperatures and loading conditions show that the formation of entangled dislocations is more likely at higher temperatures and is facilitated by loading orientations where dislocations nucleate on intersecting slip planes. The presence of entangled dislocations increases the strain at failure due to the ability of those dislocations to accommodate strain reversibly. The results are corroborated by the observation of similar entangled dislocation loops during in situ compression experiments on nanoparticles of the same material. Altogether, these findings provide insight into the role of dislocations in both reversible and irreversible deformation and their implications for nanoparticle stability and properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Numerical models for the prediction of failure for multilayer fusion Al-alloy sheets

Initiation and propagation of cracks in monolithic and multi-layer aluminum alloys, called “Fusion”, is investigated. 2D plane strain finite element simulations are performed to model deformation due to bending and to predict failure. For this purpose, fracture strains are measured based on microscopic pictures of Nakajima specimens. In addition to, micro-structure of materials is taken into account by introducing a random grain distribution over the sheet thickness as well as a random distribution of the measured yield curve. It is shown that the performed experiments and the introduced FE-Model are appropriate methods to highlight the advantages of the Fusion material, especially for bending processes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Critical analysis and remedy of switching failures in straintronic logic using Bennett clocking in the presence of thermal fluctuations

Straintronic logic is a promising platform for beyond Moore's law computing. Using Bennett clocking mechanism, information can propagate through an array of strain-mediated multiferroic nanomagnets, exploiting the dipolar coupling between the magnets without having to physically interconnect them. Here, we perform a critical analysis of switching failures, i.e., error in information propagation due to thermal fluctuations through a chain of such straintronic devices. We solved stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation considering room-temperature thermal perturbations and show that magnetization switching may fail due to inherent magnetization dynamics accompanied by thermally broadened switching delay distribution. Avenues available to circumvent such issue are proposed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Simulation study of HEMT structures with HfO{sub 2} cap layer for mitigating inverse piezoelectric effect related device failures

The Inverse Piezoelectric Effect (IPE) is thought to contribute to possible device failure of GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). Here we focus on a simulation study to probe the possible mitigation of the IPE by reducing the internal electric fields and related elastic energy through the use of high-k materials. Inclusion of a HfO{sub 2} “cap layer” above the AlGaN barrier particularly with a partial mesa structure is shown to have potential advantages. Simulations reveal even greater reductions in the internal electric fields by using “field plates” in concert with high-k oxides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dynamic failure in two-phase materials

Previous experimental research has shown that microstructural features such as interfaces, inclusions, vacancies, and heterogeneities can all act as voidnucleation sites. However, it is not well understood how important these interfaces are to damage evolution and failure as a function of the surrounding parentmaterials. In this work, we present results on three different polycrystallinematerials: (1) Cu, (2) Cu-24 wt. %Ag, and (3) Cu-15 wt. %Nb which were studied to probe the influence of bi-metal interfaces onvoidnucleation and growth. These materials were chosen due to the range of difference in structure and bulk properties between the two phases. The initial results suggest that when there are significant differences between the bulk properties (for example: stacking fault energy, melting temperature, etc.) the type of interface between the two parent materials does not principally control the damage nucleation and growth process. Rather, it is the “weaker” material that dictates the dynamic spall strength of the overall two-phase material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Heavy ion irradiation induced failure of gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors: effects of in-situ biasing

Abstract While radiation is known to degrade AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), the question remains on the extent of damage governed by the presence of an electrical field in the device. In this study, we induced displacement damage in HEMTs in both ON and OFF states by irradiating with 2.8 MeV Au 4+ ion to fluence levels ranging from 1.72 × 10 10 to 3.745 × 10 13 ions cm −2 , or 0.001–2 displacement per atom (dpa). Electrical measurement is done in situ , and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), geometrical phase analysis (GPA), and micro-Raman are performed on the highest fluence of Au 4+ irradiated devices. The selected heavy ion irradiation causes cascade damage in the passivation, AlGaN, and GaN layers and at all associated interfaces. After just 0.1 dpa, the current density in the ON-mode device deteriorates by two orders of magnitude, whereas the OFF-mode device totally ceases to operate. Moreover, six orders of magnitude increase in leakage current and loss of gate control over the 2-dimensional electron gas channel are observed. GPA and Raman analysis reveal strain relaxation after a 2 dpa damage level in devices. Significant defects and intermixing of atoms near AlGaN/GaN interfaces and GaN layer are found from HRTEM and EDX analyses, which can substantially alter device characteristics and result in complete failure.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Modelling the brittle failure of graphite induced by the controlled impact of runaway electrons in DIII-D

The thermo-mechanical response of an ATJ graphite sample to controlled runaway electron (RE) dissipation, realized in DIII-D, is modelled with a novel work-flow that features the RE orbit code KORC, the Monte Carlo particle transport code Geant4 and the finite element multiphysics software COMSOL. KORC provides the RE striking positions and momenta, Geant4 calculates the volumetric energy deposition and COMSOL simulates the thermoelastic response. Brittle failure is predicted according to the maximum normal stress criterion, which is suitable for ATJ graphite owing to its linear elastic behavior up to fracture and its isotropic mechanical properties. Measurements of the conducted energy, damage topology, explosion timing and blown-off material volume, impose a number of empirical constraints that suffice to distinguish between different RE impact scenarios and to identify RE parameters which provide the best match to the observations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗