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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Co-dependent microstructural evolution pathways in metastable d-ferrite in cast austenitic stainless steels during thermal aging

Cast austenitic stainless steels (CASS) are excellent alloys because they combine high corrosion resistance with high strength and toughness. However, they are susceptible to embrittlement upon long-term thermal aging at elevated temperatures. Thus, the microstructural evolution pathways during thermal aging need to be understood to predict and potentially prevent embrittlement. Atom probe tomography was used to identify and quantify the microstructural evolution pathways of the d-ferrite in different CASS alloys aged for up to 10,000 hours at temperatures between 290 °C and 400 °C. The four steels – CF8, CF8M, CF3, and CF3M – which vary by Mo and C concentration, each experienced spinodal decomposition of the d-ferrite, and precipitation of G-phase clusters and Cu clusters attached to the G-phase. There were large differences in the extent of these features due to their Mo and C concentration. Using radial distribution function analysis, the interactions of constituent elements was found to determine the evolution of these features, with Mo and C specifically influencing the movement of Cr, Ni, Si, Mn, and Cu atoms due to their relative miscibility with these elements. The results will help inform predictive models for the use of duplex stainless steels for extended operation at high temperatures.

Duplex stainless steel, Aging, Spinodal decomposit↗
DOE OSTI2015

Phase stability in thermally-aged CASS CF8 under heavy ion irradiation

The stability of the microstructure of a cast austenitic stainless steel (CASS), before and after heavy ion irradiation, was investigated by atom probe tomography (APT). A CF8 ferrite–austenite duplex alloy was thermally aged at 400 °C for 10,000 h. After this treatment, APT revealed nanometer-sized G-phase precipitates and Fe-rich α and Cr-enriched α' phase separated regions in the ferrite. The thermally-aged CF8 specimen was irradiated with 1 MeV Kr ions to a fluence of 1.88 × 10 19 ions/m 2 at 400 °C. After irradiation, APT analysis revealed a strong spatial/dose dependence of the G-phase precipitates and the α–α' spinodal decomposition in the ferrite. For the G-phase precipitates, the number density increased and the mean size decreased with increasing dose, and the particle size distribution changed considerably under irradiation. The inverse coarsening process can be described by recoil resolution. The amplitude of the α–α' spinodal decomposition in the ferrite was apparently reduced after heavy ion irradiation.

Li, Meimei↗
DOE OSTI2018

The impact of contamination and aging effects on the long-term laser-damage resistance of SiO 2 /HfO 2 /TiO 2 high-reflection coatings for 1054nm

The laser damage thresholds of optical coatings can degrade over time due to a variety of factors, including contamination and aging. Optical coatings deposited using electron beam evaporation are particularly susceptible to degradation due to their porous structure. In a previous study, the laser damage thresholds of optical coatings were reduced by roughly a factor of two from 2013 to 2017. The coatings in question were high reflectors for 1054 nm that contained SiO 2 and HfO 2 and/or TiO 2 layers, and they were stored in sealed PETG containers in a class 100 cleanroom with temperature control. At the time, it was not certain whether contamination or thin film aging effects were responsible for the reduced laser damage thresholds. Therefore, to better understand the role of contamination, the coatings were recleaned and the laser damage thresholds were measured again in 2018. Here, the results indicate that contamination played the most dominant role in reducing the laser damage thresholds of these optical coatings, even though they were stored in an environment that was presumed to be clean.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Age at exposure and attained age variations of cancer risk in the Japanese A-bomb and radiotherapy cohorts

Purpose: Phenomenological risk models for radiation-induced cancer are frequently applied to estimate the risk of radiation-induced cancers at radiotherapy doses. Such models often include the effect modification, of the main risk to radiation dose response, by age at exposure and attained age. The aim of this paper is to compare the patterns in risk effect modification by age, between models obtained from the Japanese atomic-bomb (A-bomb) survivor data and models for cancer risks previously reported for radiotherapy patients. Patterns in risk effect modification by age from the epidemiological studies of radiotherapy patients were also used to refine and extend the risk effect modification by age obtained from the A-bomb survivor data, so that more universal models can be presented here. Methods: Simple log-linear and power functions of age for the risk effect modification applied in models of the A-bomb survivor data are compared to risks from epidemiological studies of second cancers after radiotherapy. These functions of age were also refined and fitted to radiotherapy risks. The resulting age models provide a refined and extended functional dependence of risk with age at exposure and attained age especially beyond 40 and 65 yr, respectively, and provide a better representation than the currently available simple age functions. Results: It was found that the A-bomb models predict risk similarly to the outcomes of testicular cancer survivors. The survivors of Hodgkin’s disease show steeper variations of risk with both age at exposure and attained age. The extended models predict solid cancer risk increase as a function of age at exposure beyond 40 yr and the risk decrease as a function of attained age beyond 65 yr better than the simple models. Conclusions: The standard functions for risk effect modification by age, based on the A-bomb survivor data, predict second cancer risk in radiotherapy patients for ages at exposure prior to 40 yr and attained ages before 55 yr reasonably well. However, for larger ages, the refined and extended models can be applied to predict the risk as a function of age.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Younger facial looks are associate with a lower likelihood of several age-related morbidities in the middle-aged to elderly

Abstract Background Looking older for one’s chronological age is associated with a higher mortality rate. Yet it remains unclear how perceived facial age relates to morbidity and the degree to which facial ageing reflects systemic ageing of the human body. Objectives To investigate the association between ΔPA and age-related morbidities of different organ systems, where ΔPA represents the difference between perceived age (PA) and chronological age. Methods We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. High-resolution facial photographs of 2679 men and women aged 51.5–87.8 years of European descent were used to assess PA. PA was estimated and scored in 5-year categories using these photographs by a panel of men and women who were blinded for chronological age and medical history. A linear mixed model was used to generate the mean PAs. The difference between the mean PA and chronological age was calculated (ΔPA), where a higher (positive) ΔPA means that the person looks younger for their age and a lower (negative) ΔPA that the person looks older. ΔPA was tested as a continuous variable for association with ageing-related morbidities including cardiovascular, pulmonary, ophthalmological, neurocognitive, renal, skeletal and auditory morbidities in separate regression analyses, adjusted for age and sex (model 1) and additionally for body mass index, smoking and sun exposure (model 2). Results We observed 5-year higher ΔPA (i.e. looking younger by 5 years for one’s age) to be associated with less osteoporosis [odds ratio (OR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62–0.93], less chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77–0.95), less age-related hearing loss (model 2; B = −0.76, 95% CI −1.35 to −0.17) and fewer cataracts (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73–0.97), but with better global cognitive functioning (g-factor; model 2; B = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04–0.10). Conclusions PA is associated with multiple morbidities and better cognitive function, suggesting that systemic ageing and cognitive ageing are, to an extent, externally visible in the human face.

Mekić, Selma↗
DOE OSTI2024

Brain‐age prediction: Systematic evaluation of site effects, and sample age range and size

Abstract Structural neuroimaging data have been used to compute an estimate of the biological age of the brain (brain‐age) which has been associated with other biologically and behaviorally meaningful measures of brain development and aging. The ongoing research interest in brain‐age has highlighted the need for robust and publicly available brain‐age models pre‐trained on data from large samples of healthy individuals. To address this need we have previously released a developmental brain‐age model. Here we expand this work to develop, empirically validate, and disseminate a pre‐trained brain‐age model to cover most of the human lifespan. To achieve this, we selected the best‐performing model after systematically examining the impact of seven site harmonization strategies, age range, and sample size on brain‐age prediction in a discovery sample of brain morphometric measures from 35,683 healthy individuals (age range: 5–90 years; 53.59% female). The pre‐trained models were tested for cross‐dataset generalizability in an independent sample comprising 2101 healthy individuals (age range: 8–80 years; 55.35% female) and for longitudinal consistency in a further sample comprising 377 healthy individuals (age range: 9–25 years; 49.87% female). This empirical examination yielded the following findings: (1) the accuracy of age prediction from morphometry data was higher when no site harmonization was applied; (2) dividing the discovery sample into two age‐bins (5–40 and 40–90 years) provided a better balance between model accuracy and explained age variance than other alternatives; (3) model accuracy for brain‐age prediction plateaued at a sample size exceeding 1600 participants. These findings have been incorporated into CentileBrain ( https://centilebrain.org/#/brainAGE2 ), an open‐science, web‐based platform for individualized neuroimaging metrics.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Physical aging and charge transport in poly(3‐hexylthiophene)

The bulk charge transport in a series of regioregular poly(3‐hexylthiophene) materials with different molecular weights (MW) has been studied by the time‐of‐flight technique. Three distinct temperature regions with transitions at ∼60 and ∼140 °C in lower MW material (9.6 kDa), and four regions with an additional transition at ∼180 °C in higher MW material (32.3 kDa) are identified in the temperature dependence of charge carrier mobility and the origin of these transitions is discussed. A pronounced effect of physical aging which reveals as a reversible increase of charge mobility is found. Densification of amorphous phase in‐between the nanocrystals, which reduces the potential energy barriers and provides larger charge transfer integrals, is proposed as an origin of the effect.

Duzhko, Volodimyr V.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Universal scaling in the aging of the strong glass former SiO{sub 2}

We show that the aging dynamics of a strong glass former displays a strikingly simple scaling behavior, connecting the average dynamics with its fluctuations, namely, the dynamical heterogeneities. We perform molecular dynamics simulations of SiO{sub 2} with van Beest-Kramer-van Santen interactions, quenching the system from high to low temperature, and study the evolution of the system as a function of the waiting time t{sub w} measured from the instant of the quench. We find that both the aging behavior of the dynamic susceptibility χ{sub 4} and the aging behavior of the probability distribution P(f{sub s,r}) of the local incoherent intermediate scattering function f{sub s,r} can be described by simple scaling forms in terms of the global incoherent intermediate scattering function C. The scaling forms are the same that have been found to describe the aging of several fragile glass formers and that, in the case of P(f{sub s,r}), have been also predicted theoretically. A thorough study of the length scales involved highlights the importance of intermediate length scales. We also analyze directly the scaling dependence on particle type and on wavevector q and find that both the average and the fluctuations of the slow aging dynamics are controlled by a unique aging clock, which is not only independent of the wavevector q, but is also the same for O and Si atoms.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cognitive Aging as a Human Factor: Effects of Age on Human Performance

Nuclear power plant (NPP) control room operators must make ongoing computations and decisions that maximize production and ensure safety, which places a high cognitive burden on the operators. How cognitions such as attention, visuospatial ability, and working memory interact with socio-technical systems to achieve optimal operations is well studied. However, there is an absence of research that examines how cognitive functioning within the NPP control room environment is moderated by developmental aging processes. This is of critical importance because different types of cognitive actions are known to develop and peak at different times across the adult life span, and it is becoming increasingly clear that there is no age at which all cognitive faculties operate at maximum capacity. Thus, given that NPPs are experiencing an aging workforce, it is vital to identify how mission critical cognitions change with age. This paper reviews implications of aging on reactor operators in the current and new fleet. We highlight lessons that can be learned from state-of-the-art human factors research that considers aging, lessons from the large cognitive aging literature, and lessons from aging workers in other industries that use sophisticated socio-technical systems, such as aviation. We also consider the important subject of aging effects versus expertise and present preliminary data that support the premise that age of operator is linked to effective and efficient operations but that this relationship may be moderated by level of operations expertise. In conclusion, we apply these lessons to future considerations for aging research in current nuclear operations and with the advent of advanced modernized control rooms.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Accuracy and Precision of Age Estimates Obtained from Three Calcified Structures for Known-Age Kokanee

Abstract Kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka growth is often density dependent; thus, proper management of kokanee populations necessitates an understanding of population dynamics using age structure data. To date, no calcified structures have been validated for kokanee. We compared the accuracy (i.e., the percentage of reconciled age estimates that matched the known ages of fish) and precision (i.e., the percentage of fish for which complete agreement was achieved on age estimates among all readers) of aging estimates for scales, sectioned otoliths, and sectioned pectoral fin rays from 455 known-age kokanee (ages 0–4) collected from five lentic waters in Idaho. Across all waters combined, mean weighted accuracy and precision were similar for scales (86% and 70%, respectively), fin rays (83% and 65%), and otoliths (82% and 65%), with no significant differences between structures. However, among water bodies, accuracy and precision of each calcified structure varied considerably. For example, scales were the most accurate and precise structure and otoliths were the least accurate and precise structure at one water body, while otoliths were the most accurate and precise structure and scales were the least accurate structure at two water bodies. Fin rays were the least precise structure at four of the five study waters, but were the least accurate structure for only one water body. Individual reader accuracy was most affected by fish age and water body, and older fish (age 3 and older) were consistently assigned incorrect ages regardless of the water body or the calcified structure. Taken collectively, all three structures produced satisfactory aging accuracy and precision for kokanee, but no structure was unequivocally best; at any individual water body, annual growth and local environmental conditions appeared to influence the readability of calcified structures.

Branigan, Philip R. (ORCID:0000000337990573)↗
DOE OSTI2017

Mechanical property degradation and microstructural evolution of cast austenitic stainless steels under short-term thermal aging

Mechanical testing and microstructural characterization were performed on short-term thermally aged cast austenitic stainless steels (CASS) to understand the severity and mechanisms of thermal-aging degradation experienced during extended operation of light water reactor (LWR) coolant systems. Four CASS materials – CF3, CF3M, CF8, and CF8M – were thermally aged for 1500 hours at 290 °C, 330 °C, 360 °C, and 400 °C. All four alloys experienced insignificant change in strength and ductility properties but a significant reduction in absorbed impact energy. The primary microstructural and compositional changes during thermal aging were spinodal decomposition of the δ-ferrite into α/ α`, precipitation of G-phase in the δ-ferrite, segregation of solute to the austenite/ ferrite interphase boundary, and growth of M23C6 carbides on the austenite/ferrite interphase boundary. These changes were shown to be highly dependent on chemical composition, particularly the concentration of C and Mo, and aging temperature. A comprehensive model is being developed to correlate the microstructural evolution with mechanical behavior and simulation for predictive evaluations of LWR coolant system components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Improving mitochondrial function with SS-31 reverses age-related redox stress and improves exercise tolerance in aged mice

Sarcopenia and exercise intolerance are major contributors to reduced quality of life in the elderly for which there are few effective treatments. We tested whether enhancing mitochondrial function and reducing mitochondrial oxidant production with SS-31 (elamipretide) could restore redox balance and improve skeletal muscle function in aged mice. Young (5 mo) and aged (26 mo) female C57BL/6Nia mice were treated for 8-weeks with 3 mg/kg/day SS-31. Mitochondrial function was assessed in vivo using 31P and optical spectroscopy. SS-31 reversed age-related decline in maximum mitochondrial ATP production (ATPmax) and coupling of oxidative phosphorylation (P/O). Despite the increased in vivo mitochondrial capacity, mitochondrial protein expression was either unchanged or reduced in the treated aged mice and respiration in permeabilized gastrocnemius (GAS) fibers was not different between the aged and aged+SS-31 mice. Treatment with SS-31 also restored redox homeostasis in the aged skeletal muscle. The glutathione redox status was more reduced and thiol redox proteomics indicated a robust reversal of cysteine S- glutathionylation post-translational modifications across the skeletal muscle proteome. The gastrocnemius in the age +SS-31 mice was more fatigue resistant with significantly greater mass compared to aged controls. This contributed to a significant increase in treadmill endurance compared to both pretreatment and untreated control values. These results demonstrate that the shift of redox homeostasis due to mitochondrial oxidant production in aged muscle is a key factor in energetic defects and exercise intolerance. Treatment with SS-31 restores redox homeostasis, improves mitochondrial quality, and increases exercise tolerance without an increase in mitochondrial content. Since elamipretide is currently in clinical trials these results indicate it may have direct translational value for improving exercise tolerance and quality of life in the elderly.

aging, fatigue, mitochondria, oxidative stress, sk↗
DOE OSTI2020

Probing Active-Site Relocation in Cu/SSZ-13 SCR Catalysts during Hydrothermal Aging by in situ EPR Spectroscopy, Kinetic Studies, and DFT Calculations

Cu/SSZ-13 selective catalytic reduction catalysts display activity loss after mild hydrothermal aging without support degradation or loss of isolated Cu ion content. By applying electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to compare hydrated, dehydrated and NH3-saturated catalysts before and after hydrothermal aging, as well as density functional theory calculations, it is found that hydrothermal aging induces Cu relocation, leading to stronger Cu-support interactions. This is particularly evidenced by ZCuOH conversion to Z2Cu, which leads to the generation of a unique structure with two Cu(II) ions positioned in a double 6-membered ring prism. The Cu(II) ions that do not undergo such dramatic changes also appear to stay closer to framework windows as evidenced by the overall increased anisotropy during EPR measurements. In situ EPR measurements under SCR conditions demonstrate that, in comparison to the fresh catalyst, higher percentages of Cu species stay as Cu(II) in the aged catalyst. This suggests that the reduction half-cycle of the SCR redox, i.e., Cu(II) ? Cu(I), becomes slower for the hydrothermally aged catalyst.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Uranium particle age dating, aggregation, and model age best estimators

We present important aspects of uranium particle age dating by Large-Geometry Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (LG-SIMS) that can introduce bias and increase model age uncertainties, especially for small, young, and/or low-enriched particles. This metrology is important for applications related to International Nuclear Safeguards. We explore influential factors related to model age estimation, including the effects of evolving surface chemistry on inter-element measurements of particles (e.g., Th and U), detector background, and aggregation methods using simulated and actual particle samples. We introduce a new model age estimator, called “mid68”, that supplements 95% confidence intervals, providing a “best estimate” and uncertainty about the most likely age. The mid68 estimator can be calculated using the Feldman and Cousins method or Bayesian methods and provides a value with a symmetric uncertainty that can be used for calculations and approximate aggregation of processed model age values when the raw data and correction factors are not available. For particles yielding low 230 Th counts amidst nonzero detector background, their underlying model age probability distributions are asymmetric, so the mid68 estimator provides additional robust information regarding the underlying model age likelihood. This study provides a comprehensive and timely examination of critical aspects of uranium particle age dating as more laboratories establish particle chronometry capabilities.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

DNA methylation–based age prediction and sex-specific epigenetic aging in a lizard with female-biased longevity

Sex differences in life span are widespread across animal taxa, but their causes remain unresolved. Alterations to the epigenome are hypothesized to contribute to vertebrate aging, and DNA methylation–based aging clocks allow for quantitative estimation of biological aging trajectories. Here, we investigate the influence of age, sex, and their interaction on genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), a lizard with pronounced female-biased survival and longevity. We develop a series of age predictor models and find that, contrary to our predictions, rates of epigenetic aging were not slower in female lizards. However, methylation states at loci acquiring age-associated changes appear to be more “youthful” in young females, suggesting that female DNA methylomes are preemptively fortified in early life in opposition to the direction of age-related drift. Collectively, our findings provide insights into epigenetic aging in reptiles and suggest that early-life epigenetic profiles may be more informative than rates of change for predicting sex biases in longevity.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thermal Aging Phenomena in Cast Duplex Stainless Steels

Cast stainless steels (CASSs) have been extensively used for the large components of light water reactor (LWR) power plants such as primary coolant piping and pump casing. The thermal embrittlement of CASS components is one of the most serious concerns related to the extended-term operation of nuclear power plants. Many past researches have concluded that the formation of Cr–rich α'-phase by Spinodal decomposition of δ-ferrite phase is the primary mechanism for the thermal embrittlement. Cracking mechanism in the thermally-embrittled duplex stainless steels consists of the formation of cleavage at ferrite and its propagation via separation of ferrite-austenite interphase. This article intends to provide an introductory overview on the thermal aging phenomena in LWR relevant conditions. Firstly, the thermal aging effect on toughness is discussed in terms of the cause of embrittlement and influential parameters. An approximate analysis of thermal reaction using Arrhenius equation was carried out to scope the aging temperatures for the accelerated aging experiments to simulate the 60 and 80 years of services. Further, equilibrium precipitation calculation was performed for model CASS alloys using the CALPHAD program and the results are used to describe the precipitation behaviors in duplex stainless steels. These results are also to be used to guide an on-going research aiming to provide knowledge-based conclusive prediction for the integrity of the CASS components of LWR power plants during the service life extended up to and beyond 60 years.

Aging↗