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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 OSTI2022

On the frontiers of coupled extreme environments

Coupled extreme environments pose among the highest demands on materials, stressing the limits of temperature, pressure, electric and magnetic fields, atomic displacement rates, and chemical potentials that can be simultaneously sustained. Here, this issue highlights exciting new materials science methods that will enable rapid progress in what has traditionally been the most difficult materials arena. New opportunities in artificial intelligence, multi-physics simulations capabilities, the use of extreme conditions to synthesize novel materials, and our ability to interrogate materials under relevant conditions provide new avenues to understand and design new materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fungal diversity and function in metagenomes sequenced from extreme environments

Fungi are increasingly recognized as key players in various extreme environments. Here we present an analysis of publicly-sourced metagenomes from global extreme environments, focusing on fungal taxonomy and function. The majority of 855 selected metagenomes contained scaffolds assigned to fungi. Relative abundance of fungi was as high as 10% of protein-coding genes with taxonomic annotation, with up to 289 fungal genera per sample. Despite taxonomic clustering by environment, fungal communities were more dissimilar than archaeal and bacterial communities, both for within- and between-environment comparisons. Relatively abundant fungal classes in extreme environments included Dothideomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Leotiomycetes, Pezizomycetes, Saccharomycetes, and Sordariomycetes. Broad generalists and prolific aerial spore formers were the most relatively abundant fungal genera detected in most of the extreme environments, bringing up the question of whether they are actively growing in those environments or just surviving as spores. More specialized fungi were common in some environments, such as zoosporic taxa in cryosphere water and hot springs. Relative abundances of genes involved in adaptation to general, thermal, oxidative, and osmotic stress were greatest in soda lake, acid mine drainage, and cryosphere water samples.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Characterization of advanced nuclear materials under extreme environments

The performance of materials under extreme environments poses important fundamental questions about the behavior of condensed matter under far-from-equilibrium conditions. These conditions create challenges in materials design, testing and evaluation. One important aspect of advancing nuclear power is the discovery and investigation of new classes of materials able to withstand the harsh environments in nuclear reactors. However, investigating and understanding the performance of these materials requires sophisticated tools and characterization techniques and skills. Furthermore, the goal of this special issue is to present recent research on the characterization of the response of candidate advanced nuclear materials to extreme environments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Materials properties characterization in the most extreme environments

Abstract There is an ever-increasing need for material systems to operate in the most extreme environments encountered in space exploration, energy production, and propulsion systems. To effectively design materials to reliably operate in extreme environments, we need an array of tools to both sustain lab-scale extreme conditions and then probe the materials properties across a variety of length and time scales. Within this article, we examine the state-of-the-art experimental systems for testing materials under extreme environments and highlight the limitations of these approaches. We focus on three areas: (1) extreme temperatures, (2) extreme mechanical testing, and (3) chemically hostile environments. Within these areas, we identify six opportunities for instrument and technique development that are poised to dramatically impact the further understanding and development of next-generation materials for extreme environments. Graphical abstract

Schreiber, Daniel K.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Intelligent Manufacturing for Extreme Environments Conference Proceedings

The Intelligent Manufacturing for Extreme Environments (IMEE) workshop was held at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls, Idaho, May 2–3, 2023, in support of the United States (U.S.) National Science Foundation (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research: Workshop Opportunities (EPSCoR-WO) program. This workshop featured keynote speakers, panels, and breakout sessions with 58 participants. Nuclear reactors need to operate under extreme service conditions, such as high temperatures, corrosive environments, and high-radiation doses. Hence, reactor components must be able to withstand those conditions. The participants envision a future where on demand manufacture of components for small modular reactors (SMRs), microreactors, and other advanced reactor designs are possible. In this future, regulatory bodies accept validated manufacturing processes and standardized feedstocks, thus eliminating the need for individual component testing. However, the necessary technologies and regulatory policies needed for this future do not exist today. Successful innovation would revolutionize the nuclear power sector, enable fast commercial development, create economic opportunities in the U.S., reduce the carbon footprint and associated risks, and promote a skilled and highly competitive workforce. The objective of the workshop was to convene world-class experts, researchers, educators, and students to identify gaps and envision solutions for five interrelated challenges for intelligent manufacturing in extreme environments. The key outcomes of the conference were: (1) to take the opportunity for researchers and educators to network and form collaborations; and (2) to produce a full report to inform policy-makers, industry, and the academic community of various challenges and opportunities in the nuclear energy sector.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

From Chaos to Clarity: Autonomous Materials Discovery for Extreme Environments

The pursuit of advanced functional materials for energy applications demands an understanding of their behavior under the most challenging conditions. Extreme environments, characterized by intense radiation, high temperatures, and corrosive chemistries, push materials to their limits, often revealing unexpected behaviors and degradation pathways. Traditional materials research approaches, relying on trial-and-error experimentation, are often slow and resource-intensive, ill-suited to the complexities of extreme environments. This talk will explore the transformative potential of autonomous materials science in revolutionizing our understanding of materials synthesis and degradation in extreme environments. By integrating advanced microscopy techniques, artificial intelligence, and robotic experimentation, we can accelerate the discovery and design of resilient materials for a sustainable future. The presentation will highlight recent breakthroughs in autonomous microscopy, computer vision, and machine learning, showcasing their ability to unravel complex material transformations at the atomic scale. The talk will also delve into the challenges and opportunities associated with deploying autonomous systems to probe extreme environments, emphasizing the importance of robust algorithms, real-time data analysis, and adaptive experimentation. Our ultimate goal is to empower scientists with unprecedented capabilities to explore, understand, and engineer materials that can withstand the harshest conditions, paving the way for innovations in energy, aerospace, and beyond.

artificial intelligence↗
DOE OSTI2024

From Chaos to Clarity: Autonomous Materials Discovery for Extreme Environments [Slides]

The pursuit of advanced functional materials for energy applications demands an understanding of their behavior under the most challenging conditions. Extreme environments, characterized by intense radiation, high temperatures, and corrosive chemistries, push materials to their limits, often revealing unexpected behaviors and degradation pathways. Traditional materials research approaches, relying on trial-and-error experimentation, are often slow and resource-intensive, ill-suited to the complexities of extreme environments. This talk will explore the transformative potential of autonomous materials science in revolutionizing our understanding of materials synthesis and degradation in extreme environments. By integrating advanced microscopy techniques, artificial intelligence, and robotic experimentation, we can accelerate the discovery and design of resilient materials for a sustainable future. The presentation will highlight recent breakthroughs in autonomous microscopy, computer vision, and machine learning, showcasing their ability to unravel complex material transformations at the atomic scale. The talk will also delve into the challenges and opportunities associated with deploying autonomous systems to probe extreme environments, emphasizing the importance of robust algorithms, real-time data analysis, and adaptive experimentation. The ultimate goal is to empower scientists with unprecedented capabilities to explore, understand, and engineer materials that can withstand the harshest conditions, paving the way for innovations in energy, aerospace, and beyond.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

High entropy ceramics for applications in extreme environments

Abstract Compositionally complex materials have demonstrated extraordinary promise for structural robustness in extreme environments. Of these, the most commonly thought of are high entropy alloys, where chemical complexity grants uncommon combinations of hardness, ductility, and thermal resilience. In contrast to these metal–metal bonded systems, the addition of ionic and covalent bonding has led to the discovery of high entropy ceramics (HECs). These materials also possess outstanding structural, thermal, and chemical robustness but with a far greater variety of functional properties which enable access to continuously controllable magnetic, electronic, and optical phenomena. In this experimentally focused perspective, we outline the potential for HECs in functional applications under extreme environments, where intrinsic stability may provide a new path toward inherently hardened device design. Current works on high entropy carbides, actinide bearing ceramics, and high entropy oxides are reviewed in the areas of radiation, high temperature, and corrosion tolerance where the role of local disorder is shown to create pathways toward self-healing and structural robustness. In this context, new strategies for creating future electronic, magnetic, and optical devices to be operated in harsh environments are outlined.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Editorial: Ecology, evolution, and biodiversity of microbiomes and viromes from extreme environments

Ecology, evolution, and biodiversity of microbiomes and viromes in extreme environments are key areas of research that explore how microbial communities adapt, survive, and thrive under harsh conditions. The studies published in our Research Topic advance our understanding of microbial and viral diversity, evolutionary processes, and the ecological roles of these communities, with implications for biotechnology, climate resilience, and even astrobiology.

adaptation↗
DOE OSTI2025

Materials Degradation in Extreme Environments: Novel In-situ Measurements of Cracking in Molten Salt

The safety and reliability of next-gen reactors, i.e. molten salt reactors (MSR), depends on materials performance and longevity in extreme environments, yet no in-situ, validated measurement techniques for environmentally assisted cracking (EAC), one potential degradation mechanism, exist for these conditions. This project combined the use of in-situ direct current potential drop (DCPD) crack growth rate determination applied to a horizontal load frame with high temperature fittings and novel sample geometries to enable evaluation in MSR environments and develop a full in-situ SCC measurement capability for extreme environments (high conductivity and elevated T), necessary to predict materials reliability. A successful demonstration of DCPD measurement in molten NaNO 3 /KNO 3 salts at 340 o C was accomplished and validated through post-test fractography imaging. This is the first ever public example, to the authors knowledge, of an in-situ crack growth rate measurement in a molten salt environment.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Roundtable Report: Terahertz and 6G Wireless Communications in Science and Extreme Environments

The main objective of the roundtable is to bring together computer scientists and wireless communications experts from industry, academia, and government to explore the electromagnetic spectrum in the Terahertz (THz) bands for ultra-high-speed short-distance wireless communications in extreme environments. This new generation of THz wireless communications is the key to future machine-to-machine communications critical for the mass deployment of an intelligent Internet of Things (IoT). The roundtable discussion explores THz and 6G wireless technologies along with Visible Light Communications (VLC), intelligent reflection surfaces, free-space quantum and optical communications, and nano communications. The roundtable considers the suitability of these technologies for extreme environments from the nanoscale to the mesoscale for the following: scientific facilities and associated instruments, as well as industry, and manufacturing. Such use cases are not traditionally the primary customer of commercial wireless networks which are focused on personal broadband voice and data communications. Finally, the discussion identifies high-level opportunities and challenges for leveraging THz and 6G wireless communications and related Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can catalyze the advancement of the development of hyperconnected smart scientific instruments and facilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Radiation‐Resistant Aluminum Alloy for Space Missions in the Extreme Environment of the Solar System

Future human exploration of the solar system demands advanced materials capable of withstanding extreme environments, particularly exposure to solar energetic particle radiation. Current material selection criteria for space applications prioritize a high strength-to-weight ratio, high corrosion resistance and manufacturability, favoring age-hardenable Al-based alloys. However, conventional precipitation-hardened Al alloys suffer from irradiation-assisted dissolution of strengthening phases at doses as low as 0.2 displacements-per-atom (dpa), undermining their performance. Furthermore, these alloys develop radiation-induced defects, such as dislocation loops and voids, even at low doses. This study presents a novel ultrafine-grained (UFG) Al-based alloy, designed using the crossover alloying concept and strengthened by T-phase precipitates, featuring a chemically-complex structure with 162 atoms in its unit cell composed of Mg 32 (Zn,Al) 49 . It is showed that T-phase precipitates have exceptional radiation tolerance up to 24 dpa. Owing to the nanoscale UFG structure, dislocation loops are suppressed, and voids are only observed beyond 75 dpa. Microtensile tests up to 20 dpa confirm the preservation of mechanical performance under irradiation. The results underline the potential of this alloy as a radiation-resistant, lightweight material for future space applications. Three key strategies enable this performance: (i) stabilization of a UFG microstructure, (ii) T-phase precipitation featuring a highly negative Gibbs free energy and chemically-complex giant unit cell, and (iii) precise process control to prevent grain growth during heat treatment and irradiation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Perspectives on novel refractory amorphous high-entropy alloys in extreme environments

Two new refractory amorphous high-entropy alloys (RAHEAs) within the W–Ta–Cr–V and W–Ta–Cr–V–Hf systems were herein synthesized using magnetron-sputtering and tested under high-temperature annealing and displacing irradiation using in situ Transmission Electron Microscopy. While the 14W-41Ta-26Cr-19V in at.% RAHEA (defined as WTaCrV RAHEA) was found to be unstable under such tests, additions of Hf in this system composing a new quinary 24W-40Ta-18Cr-5V-13Hf in at.% RAHEA (defined as WTaCrVHf RAHEA) was found to be a route to achieve stability both under annealing and irradiation. A new effect of nanoprecipitate reassembling observed to take place within the WTaCrVHf RAHEA under irradiation indicates that a duplex microstructure composed of an amorphous matrix with crystalline nanometer-sized precipitates enhances the radiation response of the system. Further, it is demonstrated that tunable chemical complexity arises as a new alloy design strategy to foster the use of novel RAHEAs within extreme environments. New perspectives for the alloy design and application of chemically-complex amorphous metallic alloys in extreme environments are presented with focus on their thermodynamic phase stability when subjected to high-temperature annealing and displacing irradiation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Predicting oxidation damage of ultra high-temperature carbide ceramics in extreme environments using machine learning

Determining the oxidation resistance of UHTC carbides in extreme environments is challenging theoretically and experimentally due to the high dimensional complexity of influencing variables and intricate testing setups. Herein we demonstrate the use of machine learning (ML) models trained with experimental literature data to predict the oxide thickness of UHTC carbides exposed to air based on composition, mean grain size, relative densification, holding time, and temperature. A multi-dimensional database with 76 occurrences is created containing experimental results of Hf, Zr, and Ta carbides plus additives. In this study, the preprocessed database is then used to train ML models to predict their oxidation behavior. The trained model predicts the oxidation damage in the form of an average oxide thickness in UHTC carbides with a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of ±65.45 μm for samples in the testing set that developed thicknesses up to 1000 μm. The model successfully predicted oxidation damage for a recession rate lower than 60 μm/min. It is noticed that the ensemble method MAE is increased to ±134.34 μm while forecasting the oxidation of samples with a recession rate higher than the threshold. The unprecedented approach is a novel way to predict the damage through the oxidation of carbide compounds before processing for a smarter design with room for improvement.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Will high-entropy carbides and borides be enabling materials for extreme environments?

Abstract The concept of multi-principal component has created promising opportunities for the development of novel high-entropy ceramics for extreme environments encountered in advanced turbine engines, nuclear reactors, and hypersonic vehicles, as it expands the compositional space of ceramic materials with tailored properties within a single-phase solid solution. The unique physical properties of some high-entropy carbides and borides, such as higher hardness, high-temperature strength, lower thermal conductivity, and improved irradiation resistance than the constitute ceramics, have been observed. These promising properties may be attributed to the compositional complexity, atomic-level disorder, lattice distortion, and other fundamental processes related to defect formation and phonon scattering. This manuscript serves as a critical review of the recent progress in high-entropy carbides and borides, focusing on synthesis and evaluations of their performance in extreme high-temperature, irradiation, and gaseous environments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ultrasonic Measurements of Temperature Distribution in Extreme Environments: Results of Power Plant Testing

The most hardened insertion sensors do not perform reliably in extreme environmental conditions. We address this problem by developing an ultrasonic thermometry system for the measurements of segmental temperature distributions (MSTD) in solid materials and, specifically, across containments of energy conversion processes. The MSTD approach uses an echogenically segmented ultrasound propagation path, structured to contain engineered or naturally occurring echogenic features. In pulse-echo mode, these features produce a train of echoes in response to an external pulse of ultrasonic excitation created and acquired by a transducer located outside the extreme environment. The delays between the echoes encode the information on the temperature distribution in the corresponding segments of the ultrasonic propagation path, which we use to reconstruct an unknown temperature profile. This note describes the preliminary results and initial experience in applying the developed MSTD ultrasonic thermometry system to the measurements of temperatures in a utility-scale 500MW coal-fired boiler.

John, Mason↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ultrahigh Performance Metallic Turbine Blades for Extreme Environments

In ULTIMATE Phase-I, The Boeing Company and Alloyed Inc. aimed to produce ultrahigh performance metallic extreme environment turbine blades with a base blade alloy capable of inert operation at 1300C, and a maximum coated blade operating temperature up to 1800C. High-performance structural designs for extreme service conditions place additional demands on the present material capability and can potentially outpace the current state-of-the-art in the alloy design space and metal processing. As a part of exploration and adoption of novel concepts for material maturation, the team explored a series of capable base novel refractory complex concentrated alloy (RCCA) compositions and potential powder enhancements. Advanced manufacturing processes, with a focus on laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (AM) and powder metallurgy (PM) approaches, were applied to consolidate new alloys and for near net shape processing of blades from the base RCCA.

Yousefiani, Ali↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ultrasonic measurement of temperature distributions in extreme environments: Electrical power plants testing in utility-scale steam generators

Thermal heterogeneities within energy conversion and storage, material processing, nuclear processes, aerospace, and military applications are often inaccessible to characterization by insertion sensors. When sensor deployment is possible, conventional pointwise temperature probes quickly degrade when inserted into harsh environments typical of such processes. We developed spatially-resolved ultrasonic thermometry to noninvasively measure the spatial distributions of thermal properties in such applications, even when sizable thermal gradients are present. Our method divides the path of ultrasonic propagation into segments bound by echogenic features, which create echoes in pulse-echo mode, encoding the information about interior temperature distributions. We use the acquired ultrasonic responses to estimate the internal temperature distributions by solving an inverse problem or concatenating segmental estimates. This work describes the implementation and industrial testing of the developed method at a coal-fired electrical power generation plant. We inserted an echogenically segmented Inconel 625 waveguide into the combustion zone of the utility-scale boiler and continuously acquired ultrasonic data while keeping sensitive components away from the damaging combustion environment. The accuracy of the time-dependent temperature distributions reconstructed from the ultrasonic measurements was comparable to that of thermocouples. The resiliency of ultrasonic thermometry to harsh combustion conditions was far superior to conventional insertion sensors. The measurements obtained during plant operation captured daily steam generation cycles in response to changing customer demand and intermittent contributions of renewable power sources to the power grid. These measurements have revealed new insights into the relationship between the dynamic power generation load and the conditions inside the steam generator. As a result, the successful industrial testing of spatially-resolved ultrasonic thermometry in solids indicates that the developed technology has matured to become an attractive alternative to conventional sensing in solving challenging problems of long-term thermal characterizations in extreme environments.

42 ENGINEERING↗