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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 OSTI2020

Calibration of the Falcon Solid-state Energetic Electron Detector (SEED)

The Falcon Solid-state Energetic Electron Detector (FalconSEED) is an energetic charged particle sensor that has been developed and tested at the United States Air Force Academy in an effort to monitor electron flux across the energy range of 14 to 145 keV in geosynchronous orbit. This sensor has been developed to complement ongoing efforts by the Air Force Research Laboratory to advance a comprehensive space environment sensor suite, Compact Environmental Anomaly Sensor (CEASE3), for anomaly resolution. In addition, FalconSEED is intended to demonstrate the ability to operate a radiation sensor based on predominantly commercial off the shelf components in the geosynchronous environment. This paper describes the design, development, and calibration of FalconSEED. The electron energy spectrum of interest for the FalconSEED sensor is 14 to 145 keV, and is intended to supplement data acquired from the CEASE3 instrument for anomaly resolution. The calibrations at the Space Atmospheric Research Center at the United States Air Force Academy and Kirtland Air Force Base were used to first establish the conversion between histogram bin number and deposited energy in the sensor, and second have been used to determine the geometric factor as a function of energy. The FalconSEED will be integrated as a science payload on the Space Test Program Satellite-6 which also includes the first flight of the CEASE3 instrument and is scheduled to launch in 2021.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

COSMIC DAWN: Distributed Analysis of Wireless at Nextscale

Distributed Analysis of Wireless at Nextscale (DAWN) is a novel simulation framework for large-scale design-space exploration (DSE) of unmodified software-defined radio (SDR) applications interacting in a scalable, high-fidelity, virtual physics environment. The software-defined nature of the coupled software-physics simulation leverages hardware emulation to permit in-depth examination and modification of not only the electromagnetic environment, including each signal in flight, but also the precise state of system software and components. DAWN supports modular, customizable physics environments allowing realistic propagation effects so that computationally efficient empirical models, reduced order/surrogate models, or large-scale, high-fidelity, site-specific simulations can be used as a propagation medium based on scenario requirements. This paper introduces DAWN’s design and initial implementation, detailing key architectural components, including the Physics Realization Engine (PhyRE), Runtime Infrastructure for Simulation Environments (RISE), and the design space exploration (DSE) suite. It concludes with demonstrations using unmodified 4G/LTE software available from srsRAN on computing resources ranging from a small cluster to ORNL’s Frontier Exascale system.

Wise, Mike [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000266120641)↗
DOE OSTI2023

mkite

mkite is a distributed computing platform for materials simulation. mkite is built with the server-client pattern, decoupling production databases from client runners. When used in combination with message brokers, mkite enables any available client to perform calculations without prior hardware specification on the server side. Furthermore, the software enables the creation of complex workflows with multiple inputs and branches, facilitating the exploration of combinatorial chemical spaces. The mkite suite provides recipes and tools to interact with package such as VASP, but is extensible to any other simulation package. Finally, mkite helps keeping the provenance of calculations in a SQL database. A complete description of the software is available at https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.08841.

Schwalbe Koda, Daniel↗
DOE OSTI2022

The International Space Station Environment Triggers Molecular Responses in Aspergillus niger

Due to immense phenotypic plasticity and adaptability, Aspergillus niger is a cosmopolitan fungus that thrives in versatile environments, including the International Space Station (ISS). This is the first report of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic alterations observed in A. niger strain JSC-093350089 grown in a controlled experiment aboard the ISS. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) revealed that ISS conditions, including microgravity and enhanced irradiation, triggered non-synonymous point mutations in specific regions, chromosomes VIII and XII of the JSC-093350089 genome when compared to the ground-grown control. Proteome analysis showed altered abundance of proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism, stress response, and cellular amino acid and protein catabolic processes following growth aboard the ISS. Metabolome analysis further confirmed that space conditions altered molecular suite of ISS-grown A. niger JSC-093350089. After regrowing both strains on Earth, production of antioxidant—Pyranonigrin A was significantly induced in the ISS-flown, but not the ground control strain. In summary, the microgravity and enhanced irradiation triggered unique molecular responses in the A. niger JSC-093350089 suggesting adaptive responses.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Demonstration and analysis of volumetric additive manufacturing via sub-orbital spaceflight testing

Computed Axial Lithography (CAL) represents a significant advancement in the emerging field of Volumetric Additive Manufacturing (VAM). CAL addresses key limitations of traditional photopolymer additive manufacturing technologies, by eliminating the need for layering and support structures. Unlike conventional methods, CAL prints components by illuminating all points within a desired geometry simultaneously, using tomographic reconstruction to form the object in a single step. This unique approach eliminates the relative motion between the object and the precursor material, enabling faster printing speeds and reducing the waste associated with support structures. However, CAL parts require post-processing steps before they can be utilized. CAL's core attributes make it particularly suited for In-Space Manufacturing (ISM), due to its fast fabrication times, wide breadth of materials it can use, and minimized footprint. CAL has been successfully demonstrated in microgravity during parabolic flight experiments. However to fully validate and understand CAL's behaviour in microgravity, all manufacturing and post-processing steps must be integrated. In June 2024, we conducted SpaceCAL Mission 3, testing this entire workflow on a suborbital flight aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo. During ~140 s of microgravity, the system autonomously manufactured and post-processed four parts using PEGDA700 resin. Post-flight analysis showed that 2/4 parts were recognisable, while others were distorted due to bubble formation from residual water droplets, off-axis optical aberrations, and non-uniform solvent rinsing. Despite these limitations, this study represents the first integrated CAL workflow in space, providing an initial experimental demonstration and analysis for closed-loop in-space manufacturing.

Waddell, Taylor [Department of Mechanical Engineer↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electrochemical Routes for the Valorization of Biomass-Derived Feedstocks: From Chemistry to Application

The drive to reduce consumption of fossil resources, coupled with expanding capacity for renewable electricity, invites the exploration of new routes to utilize this energy for the sustainable production of fuels, chemicals, and materials. Biomass represents a possible source of platform precursors for such commodities due to its inherent ability to fix CO2 in the form of multi-carbon organic molecules. Electrochemical methods for the valorization of biomass are thus intriguing, but there is a need to objectively evaluate this field and define the opportunity space by identifying pathways suited to electrochemistry. In this contribution we offer a comprehensive, critical review of recent advances in low-temperature (liquid phase), electrochemical reduction and oxidation of biomass-derived intermediates (polyols, furans, carboxylic acids, amino acids, and lignin), with emphasis on identifying the state-of-the-art for each documented reaction. Progress in computational modeling is also reviewed. We further suggest a number of possible reactions that have not yet been explored but which are expected to proceed based on established routes to transform specific functional groups. We conclude with a critical discussion of technological challenges for scale-up, fundamental research needs, process intensification opportunities (e.g., by pairing compatible oxidations and reductions), and new benchmarking standards that will be necessary to accelerate progress toward application in this still-nascent field.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Mineralogy and petrology of fine‐grained samples recovered from the asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Abstract Samples returned from the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission revealed that Ryugu is composed of materials consistent with CI chondrites and some types of space weathering. We report detailed mineralogy of the fine‐grained Ryugu samples allocated to our “Sand” team and report additional space weathering features found on the grains. The dominant mineralogy is composed of a fine‐grained mixture of Mg‐rich saponite and serpentine, magnetite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, dolomite, and Fe‐bearing magnesite. These grains have mineralogy comparable to that of CI chondrites, showing severe aqueous alteration but lacking ferrihydrite and sulfate. These results are similar to previous works on large Ryugu grains. In addition to the major minerals, we also find many minerals that are rare or have not been reported among CI chondrites. Accessory minerals identified are hydroxyapatite, Mg‐Na phosphate, olivine, low‐Ca pyroxene, Mg‐Al spinel, chromite, manganochromite, eskolaite, ilmenite, cubanite, polydymite, transjordanite, schreibersite, calcite, moissanite, and poorly crystalline phyllosilicate. We also show scanning transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope compositional maps and images of some space‐weathered grains and severely heated and melted grains. Although our mineralogical results are consistent with that of millimeter‐sized grains, the fine‐grained fraction is best suited to investigate impact‐induced space weathering.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Fine-grained Asynchronous Bulk Synchronous parallelism model for PGAS applications

The Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) model is well suited for executing irregular applications on cluster-based systems, due to its efficient support for short, one-sided messages. Separately, the actor model has been gaining popularity as a productive asynchronous message-passing approach for distributed objects in enterprise and cloud computing platforms, typically implemented in languages such as Erlang, Scala or Rust. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no past work on using the actor model to deliver both productivity and scalability to irregular PGAS applications with large number of small messages. In this paper, we introduce a new programming system for PGAS applications, in which point-to-point remote operations can be expressed as fine-grained asynchronous actor messages. In our approach, the programmer does not need to worry about programming complexities related to message aggregation and termination detection. Our approach can be viewed as extending the classical Bulk Synchronous Parallelism model with fine-grained asynchronous communications within a phase or superstep. Here, we believe that our approach offers a desirable point in the productivity-performance space for PGAS applications, with more scalable performance and higher productivity relative to past approaches. Specifically, for seven irregular mini-applications from the Bale Kernels and three graph kernels executed using 2048 cores in the NERSC Cori system, our approach shows geometric mean performance improvements of ≥ 20X relative to standard PGAS versions (UPC and OpenSHMEM) while maintaining comparable productivity to those versions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Galaxy clustering in harmonic space from the dark energy survey year 1 data: compatibility with real-space results

ABSTRACT We perform an analysis in harmonic space of the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Data (DES-Y1) galaxy clustering photometric data using products obtained for the real-space analysis. We test our pipeline with a suite of lognormal simulations, which are used to validate scale cuts in harmonic space as well as to provide a covariance matrix that takes into account the DES-Y1 mask. We then apply this pipeline to DES-Y1 data taking into account survey property maps derived for the real-space analysis. We compare with real-space DES-Y1 results obtained from a similar pipeline. We show that the harmonic space analysis we develop yields results that are compatible with the real-space analysis for the bias parameters. This verification paves the way to performing a harmonic space analysis for the upcoming DES-Y3 data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effective bias expansion for 21-cm cosmology in redshift space

A near-future detection of the 21-cm signal from the epoch of reionization will provide unique opportunities to probe the underlying cosmology, provided that such cosmological information can be extracted with precision. To this end, we further develop effective field theory (EFT) inspired techniques for the 21-cm brightness temperature field during the epoch of reionization, incorporating renormalized bias and a treatment of redshift space distortions. Notably, we confirm that in redshift space, measures of the 21-cm brightness, e.g., the power spectrum, should have irreducible contributions that lack a bias coefficient and therefore contain direct, astrophysics-free information about the cosmological density field; in this work, we study this effect beyond linear order. To validate our theoretical treatment, we fit the predicted EFT Fourier-space shapes to the thesan suite of hydrodynamical simulations of reionization at the field level, where the considerable number of modes prevents overfitting. We find agreement at the level of a few percent between the 21-cm power spectrum from the EFT fits and simulations over the wave number range k ≲ 0.8 h/Mpc and neutral fraction x HI ≳ 0.4, which is imminently measurable by the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and future experiments. Furthermore, the ability of the EFT to describe the 21-cm signal extends to simulations that have different astrophysical prescriptions for reionization as well as simulations with interacting dark matter.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Scientific Computational Imaging Code (SCICO)

Scientific Computational Imaging Code (SCICO) is a Python package for solving the inverse problems that arise in scientific imaging applications. Its primary focus is providing methods for solving ill-posed inverse problems by using an appropriate prior model of the reconstruction space. SCICO includes a growing suite of operators, cost functionals, regularizers, and optimization routines that may be combined to solve a wide range of problems, and is designed so that it is easy to add new building blocks. SCICO is built on top of JAX rather than NumPy, enabling GPU/TPU acceleration, just-in-time compilation, and automatic gradient functionality, which is used to automatically compute the adjoints of linear operators. An example of how to solve a multi-channel tomography problem with SCICO is shown in Figure 1. The SCICO source code is available from GitHub, and pre-built packages are available from PyPI. It has extensive online documentation, including API documentation and usage examples, which can be run online at Google Colab and binder.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Gallium Arsenide Semiconductor Opening Switches: Enabling Nanosecond High Powering Pulsed Systems

The goal of this work awas to investigate design manufacturing semiconductor opening switches (SOS) in both silicon and gallium arsenide (GaAs). Solid-state opening switches are critical components for pulsed power systems and applications in directed energy, dielectric wall accelerators, and novel semiconductor manufacturing techniques. Under this funding, we have developed silicon SOS designs that suppresses an unwanted prepulse, increases the peak output voltage by about 10 percent, and reduces the pulse rise time by ~ 4x compared with more conventional profiles. Through this effort we have improved device fabrication and bonding techniques. Additionally, work on this the GaAs opening switch has defined a unique application space that these devices are suited for. GaAs opening switches have short risetimes and pulse widths compared to silicon devices, however the short carrier lifetime of GaAs makes the circuit design more challenging than in silicon. For high PRF operation, the lifetime of the GaAs is an advantage compared to silicon. TCAD simulations of GaAs devices have been used to optimize a GaAs profile. Additionally, we have designed pulsers with sub 50ns reserve pump times and tested GaAs COTs PIN diodes in them.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Magnetic fields with general omnigenity

Omnigenity is a desirable property of toroidal magnetic fields that ensures confinement of trapped particles. Confining charged particles is a basic requirement for any fusion power plant design, but it can be difficult to satisfy with the non-axisymmetric magnetic fields used by the stellarator approach. Every ideal magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium previously found to approximate omnigenity has been either axisymmetric, quasi-symmetric or has poloidally closed contours of magnetic field strength $B$ . However, general omnigenous equilibria are a much larger design space than these subsets. A new model is presented and employed in the DESC stellarator optimization suite to represent and discover the full parameter space of omnigenous equilibria. Although exact omnigenity aside from quasi-symmetry is impossible, these results reveal that excellent particle confinement can be achieved in practice. Examples far from quasi-symmetry with poloidally, helically and toroidally closed $B$ contours are attained with DESC and shown to have low neoclassical collisional transport and fast particle losses.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spin-squeezing-enhanced dual-species atom interferometric accelerometer employing large momentum transfer for precision test of the equivalence principle

Here, we theoretically investigate the feasibility of applying spin squeezing to a light pulse atom interferometer in the presence of large momentum transfer using off resonant Raman transitions, in order to enhance the sensitivity of accelerometry close to the Heisenberg limit. We also show how to implement this scheme in a dual-species atom interferometer for a precision test of the equivalence principle by measuring the Eötvös parameter, and to identify the spin squeezing protocol that is best suited for such an experiment. For a space borne platform in low Earth orbit, such a scheme may eventually enable the measurement of the Eötvös parameter with a sensitivity of the order of 10 -20 within 150 days when 10 5 atoms are employed in each cycle of the experiment.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Impact of Tropical Cyclone Wind Forcing on the Global Climate in a Fully Coupled Climate Model

Tropical cyclones (TCs) alter upper-ocean temperature and influence ocean heat content via enhanced turbulent mixing. A better understanding of the role of TCs within the climate system requires a fully coupled modeling framework, where TC-induced ocean responses feed back to the atmosphere and subsequently to the climate mean state and variability. Here, we investigate the impacts of TC wind forcing on the global ocean and the associated feedbacks within the climate system using the fully coupled Community Earth System Model version 1.3 (CESM1.3). Using the low-resolution version of CESM1.3 (1° atmosphere and ocean grid spacing) with no intrinsic TCs, we conduct a suite of sensitivity experiments by inserting TC winds extracted from a high-resolution (0.25° atmosphere grid spacing) TC-permitting simulation into the low-resolution model. Results from the low-resolution TC experiment are compared to a low-resolution control simulation to diagnose TCs’ impact. We found that the added TC winds can increase ocean heat content by affecting ocean vertical mixing, air–sea enthalpy fluxes, and cloud amount. Here, the added TCs can influence mean SST, precipitation, ocean subsurface temperature, and ocean mixed layer depth. We found a strengthening of the wind-driven subtropical cells and a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation due to the changes of surface buoyancy fluxes. TCs in the model cause anomalous equatorward ocean heat convergence in the deep tropics and an increase of poleward ocean heat transport out of the subtropics. Our modeling results provide new insights into the multiscale interactions between TCs and the coupled climate system.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Oddities in Lightning Measurements from Space Reveal Extreme Flashes and Thunderstorms [Slides]

Space-based sensors are well-suited for detecting intracloud (IC) and Cloud to Ground (CG) lightning over large swaths of the Earth. Current sensors also measure the signals generated by lightning that contain information about the physical discharge process and the radiative transfer effects they experience on their path to orbit. Long records of orbital lightning data reveal rare and exceptional lightning signals push the boundaries of what the sensors are designed to measure and our understanding of what lightning and thunderstorms are capable of. Space-based sensors have revealed long-horizontal “megaflashes,” highly radiant “superbolts,” extremely high flash rate thunderstorms, and more.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Demonstration and Automation of Reflected Target Optical Measurement for Heliostats

Accurate optical surfaces are a primary driver of concentrated solar power plant performance. Errors in pointing and tracking mirrors, the canting of individual mirror facets, and the surface slope of the mirror itself can be caused by errors during assembly, transportation, wind loading, gravity, and many other sources. The tools that exist to measure these error sources today largely rely on fringe deflectometry (SOFAST, QDec, others), or photogrammetry with targets attached to the mirror surface. Since 2022, NREL has been developing a measurement method called the Reflected Target Non-intrusive Assessment (ReTNA) system. This system differs from most established methods in that we perform deflectometry with a pattern of coded targets, identified in space with photogrammetry. Reflected target systems have several advantages over traditional fringe deflectometry systems. Firstly, they can be operated in bright or ambient lighting, a challenge for fringe systems that use a projector and screen. Reflected target systems also can use a much lighter and less expensive target than projector-based systems. Lastly, 2D slope measurement can be solved from a single image, which leads to several advantages for accommodating faster measurements and smaller sized targets. These advantages make ReTNA particularly well-suited for applications where there are space or lighting constraints, like performing heliostat quality assurance on an assembly line. It's also useful when a lightweight, flexible system is needed, like for heliostat developers to quickly measure a new heliostat design at different orientations, to observe gravitational effects on the mirror surface shape. In the last year, significant improvements were made to this tool to make it more useful for these applications. These improvements were focused around validation of the ReTNA measurement system, and automation of the setup and measurement process. First, we present an improved ReTNA layout, for use on the heliostat assembly line. Next, we detail the various changes to the ReTNA software and computer vision methods to automate data collection in this new setup, and lessons learned from this process. The goal with this new setup is to perform a full heliostat surface characterization without removing the mirror from the assembly line. Lastly, we share results from several ReTNA validation studies undertaken over the last year. These include repeated ReTNA measurement on demonstration mirror facets, comparisons with other optical measurement tools, and some studies aimed at quantifying the uncertainty of ReTNA measurement under various constraints (mirror-target spacing, camera resolution, etc.). These results are compared with 2024 HelioCon performance targets, and our planned next steps for the ReTNA measurement system are presented.

CSP↗
DOE OSTI2024

First-Principles Simulation of Beam-Induced Processes Underlying Atomic Manipulation in Electron Microscopes

The development of experimental methods and apparatuses capable of promoting atomically precise material manipulations holds great promise for realizing the ultimate limit of feature miniaturization in materials and devices. The ability to modify materials atom by atom is anticipated to usher in new technologies in areas as diverse as separation science, medicine, and quantum information science. Historically, scanning probe-based techniques have been the most prominent approaches in this space. However, these methods are best suited for the manipulation of surface-exposed regions of materials, as the strong perturbations required for bond scission are delivered most effectively to atoms in the near-proximity to the scanning probe. In contrast, convergent electron beams with energies tuned slightly below the threshold for inducing irreversible knock-on damage have recently been employed (within scanning transmission electron microscopy) to promote atomic-scale bond rearrangements in various beam-stable solids. Currently, however, the efficiency and selectivity of beam-induced atomic manipulation processes with focused electron beams are such that long irradiation times are required to induce a desired atomic rearrangement. With a better understanding of the underlying physics dictating the outcome of a given irradiation event, methods can be devised to improve the efficiency of these techniques so that their promise can be fully realized through widespread adoption.To this end, this Account details our recent efforts to develop and apply tractable first-principles simulation approaches for studying the response of materials to electric beam-like external electric potentials applied in real space. We briefly review the concepts and capabilities in the area of atomically precise materials manipulation and review the early demonstrations of accomplishments in this area, focusing on studies using scanned convergent electron beam probes in particular. We expound upon the depth of the challenge and identify critical shortcomings of theoretical methods that have previously been employed in the simulation of beam-induced processes. We then describe the computational methods that we have generalized from the concepts and tools most commonly applied to the study of molecular photochemistry and how our adaptations of these methods can be employed to capture the relevant dynamical phenomena for beam-induced processes ranging from the initial electron scattering to the ensuing multistate reactions. Here, we contextualize these methods within the current state of the art in this area, which has historically focused primarily on the simulation of inelastic image formation in the electron microscope for the purpose of interpreting the results of quantitative electron microscopy experiments. We demonstrate that the spatial distribution of state-specific excitation rates due to the presence of an external (probe) electric charge is inhomogeneous, such that irradiation at particular locations in materials can favor specific electronic transitions (and disallow others). In addition to the potential for excited-state reaction pathways to be accessed through the initial inelastic scattering of the tightly focused electron beam from the targeted atoms, we also identify favorable conditions for the electronically nonadiabatic evolution of the highly vibrationally excited system to open complex multistate reaction pathways. Implications of the early results for understanding the mechanisms and potential routes to improved efficiency and selectivity in beam-induced reactions are discussed. We conclude with a summary of the current state of theory and modeling capabilities in this area and provide our perspective on future directions for theoretical and experimental developments that we view as crucial to advancing the use of convergent electron beams in mode-specific, atomically precise platforms for direct-write materials modifications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗