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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 199 records · Page 11

Innovative approach to counterfeit and noncompliant refrigerant detection: A cost-effective, portable solution

The increasing prevalence of counterfeit and incompatible refrigerants presents significant risks to Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems, including compromised equipment performance, safety hazards, and non-compliance. This article details the development of a novel, cost-effective, and portable detection device designed to accurately verify refrigerants. The device utilizes a controlled gas sampling and analysis system within a sealed chamber, ensuring precise measurements while maintaining safety through a purging mechanism. The system features a high-sensitivity sensor integrated with an onboard control module that analyzes gas composition in real-time, providing feedback within a 2-minute duration. Laboratory validation demonstrated the device’s high accuracy (>95 % based on correct identification of compliant vs. non-compliant blends) in detecting unauthorized refrigerant blends. The projected cost of the product stands at ∼ $150, based on the retail pricing of individual components. Laboratory validation demonstrated the device’s high accuracy (>95 % for composition identification, 100 % rejection of tested counterfeit/incorrect blends) in detecting unauthorized refrigerant blends with a response time <2 min. The device correctly identified authentic R-454A/B/C blends and reliably rejected R-407F and closely related counterfeit mixtures. Key advantages include affordability, ease of use, rapid response time, and compatibility with a wide range of refrigerants. This solution supports compliance with regulatory frameworks, enhances safety in HVAC&R operations, and mitigates the risks associated with counterfeit refrigerants.

Counterfeit refrigerants↗

Nanotechnology and textiles engineered by carbon nanotubes for the realization of advanced personal protective equipments

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) and CNT-based active materials have been used to assemble the gas sensing unit of innovative platforms able to detect toxic atmospheres developing in confined workplaces. The main goal of the project was to realize a full-featured, operator-friendly safety detection and monitoring system based on multifunctional textiles nanotechnologies. The fabricated sensing platform consists of a multiple gas detector coupled with a specifically designed telecommunication infrastructure. The portable device, totally integrated in the workwear, offers several advantages over the conventional safety tools employed in industrial work activities.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Analysis of Reverse Flow Restriction Device to Prevent Dryout Fuel Damage during BWR Instability

Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) are subjected to instabilities due to thermal hydraulics feedback or coupled Neutronics-thermal hydraulics feedback. Feedback is affected by many reactor parameters that could destabilize the core such as distribution of pressure drop across the core, axial power shape, subcooling level at the core inlet, radial power peaking factor, reactivity coefficients, and others. There are three common modes of instability in BWRs: single channel instability, core-wide instability, and regional instability. Each instability mode could damage the fuel if the power oscillations are left without an intervention like reactor scram. However, the instability problem becomes more dangerous if the automatic reactor scram is lost, like in Anticipated Transient without Scram (ATWS) accidents. A reverse flow restriction device (RFRD) would mitigate this problem. Core simulation using TRACE/PARCS code has been used to examine the potential effect of restricting the flow in the downward direction on mitigation of the power and flow oscillations to increase the safety of BWRs. The presented results demonstrate the ability of the device on limiting flow oscillation amplitude in the one bundle where it is used, on an adjacent bundle without it and reducing the power peak when the flow is low and power is high during BWR power oscillations. This exercise demonstrates the potential of previously described hardware device on preventing clad temperature excursion to keep the fuel safe from dryout damage and provide encouraging results ahead of the planned more detailed investigation where the device is to be used in more bundles up to full core. In the future work it is planned to examine the effect of device installed in a fraction of the bundles on the flow rate in other bundles. Also, the effect on the characteristics of dryout and rewetting and the resulting temperature excursions with and without the device will be given special attention. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Best practices mobile application for D and D KM-IT - 15712

The Deactivation and Decommissioning Knowledge Management Information Tool (D and D KM-IT) is the repository of useful information built specifically for D and D community. The knowledge provided by the D and D KM-IT is the experience and expertise gained by people within the field and fellow employees of the Department of Energy (DOE). This information has been the result of gathering, analyzing, storing, and sharing knowledge to help reduce time spent on discovering previously found data. In order to help in organizing all the data from all the professional contributors, the D and D KM-IT has been divided into 12 different modules. Each individual module pertains to a different area of information for users, such as vendor and technology information, collaboration tools, and even a hotline that contains problems posted by the users. Purpose: - Design and develop the module for the Best Practices on D and D KM-IT mobile platform deployed at https://m.dndkm.org; - The Best Practices mobile module should integrate with existing modules seamlessly; - Use the D and D KM-IT existing database to consume information for the mobile system. jQuery Mobile framework was used to develop Best Practices module for mobile devices. jQuery Mobile framework provides support for responsive web design (RWD). RWD allows adaptation of the layout and user interface of web sites and web apps to different device resolutions, screen densities, and views. UI design was implemented with three fundamental elements: CSS media queries, An adaptable grid, Flexible images and media. Advantages/benefits: - A responsive web design adapts to any-sized screen / resolution and orientation view; - ASP.NET compatible which allows the D and D KM-IT database to support all platforms accessing the system; - Navigating pages is more bandwidth efficient by refreshing data in small section with Ajax instead of reloading the entire page; - Multiple parts of a page can perform different tasks resulting in improved user's experience. Results: - Mobile system is accessible on compatible devices running Android, Apple, Blackberry, Palm, and Windows devices; - Best Practices searches through Characterization, Decontamination, Dismantlement, Material Disposition, and Worker Safety; - Keyword search is enabled for the best practices that are available on both the desktop and mobile systems - Documents are formatted into a PDF file format to ensure compatibility on any device. Conclusion: - Fully integrated with the desktop Best Practices module and displays documents that are uploaded on web platform; - Fast-loading with D and D KM-IT mobile system and downloadable documents; - Responsive design which gives the same user experience when either viewed on smart phone or tablet.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

The hybrid reactor project based on the straight field line mirror concept

The straight field line mirror (SFLM) concept is aiming towards a steady-state compact fusion neutron source. Besides the possibility for steady state operation for a year or more, the geometry is chosen to avoid high loads on materials and plasma facing components. A comparatively small fusion hybrid device with 'semi-poor' plasma confinement (with a low fusion Q factor) may be developed for industrial transmutation and energy production from spent nuclear fuel. This opportunity arises from a large fission to fusion energy multiplication ratio, Q{sub r} = P{sub fis}/P{sub fus}>>1. The upper bound on Q{sub r} is primarily determined by geometry and reactor safety. For the SFLM, the upper bound is Q{sub r} Almost-Equal-To 150, corresponding to a neutron multiplicity of k{sub eff}=0.97. Power production in a mirror hybrid is predicted for a substantially lower electron temperature than the requirement T{sub e} Almost-Equal-To 10 keV for a fusion reactor. Power production in the SFLM seems possible with Q Almost-Equal-To 0.15, which is 10 times lower than typically anticipated for hybrids (and 100 times smaller than required for a fusion reactor). This relaxes plasma confinement demands, and broadens the range for use of plasmas with supra-thermal ions in hybrid reactors. The SFLM concept is based on a mirror machine stabilized by qudrupolar magnetic fields and large expander tanks beyond the confinement region. The purpose of the expander tanks is to distribute axial plasma loss flow over a sufficiently large area so that the receiving plates can withstand the heat. Plasma stability is not relying on a plasma flow into the expander regions. With a suppressed plasma flow into the expander tanks, a possibility arise for higher electron temperature. A brief presentation will be given on basic theory for the SFLM with plasma stability and electron temperature issues, RF heating computations with sloshing ion formation, neutron transport computations with reactor safety margins and material load estimates, magnetic coil designs as well as a discussion on the implications of the geometry for possible diagnostics. Reactor safety issues are addressed and a vertical orientation of the device could assist passive coolant circulation. Specific attention is put to a device with a 25 m long confinement region and 40 cm plasma radius in the mid-plane. In an optimal case (k{sub eff}= 0.97) with a fusion power of only 10 MW, such a device may be capable of producing a power of 1.5 GW{sub th}.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Severe accident: hardening of standards and qualification requirements for nuclear pressure transmitters - 319

Nuclear power stations are designed according to the nuclear safety principle: the achievement of proper operating conditions, prevention of accidents or mitigation of accident consequences, resulting in protection of workers, the public and the environment from undue radiation hazards. This principle is applicable from the design to the dismantling of the power station, including normal and accident (and post-accident) operation. To take into account the world experience (incident or accident as Fukushima), international safety authorities recommends to reinforce safety functions and qualification requirements level. Concerning the instrumentation, devices like sensors are mainly impacted by the following constraint improvements: - Radiation resistance in normal and accident conditions: - Higher total dose; - Dose Rate; - Nature of radiation; - Pressure and Temperature profile in terms of: - Magnitude of pressure and / or temperature (higher); - Duration of higher constraints (longer). All these specifications induce: - The creation of a new qualification level - Severe Accident (SA) or equivalent; - An impact on the sensor technology to improve the resistance to harsh environment. Finally, the paper will present in details the evolution of the requirements and will sum up the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies to meet the severe accident conditions. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Highly Conductive, Lightweight, Low-Tortuosity Carbon Frameworks as Ultrathick 3D Current Collectors

The growing demand for advanced energy storage techniques and devices has driven the energy storage market to strive for higher performance, longer cycling life, and better safety. Thick electrode design enabling more electroactive materials has the potential to significantly improve the energy density on device level yet faces major challenges of slow ion transport and high deformability. In this work, inspired by natural wood materials with aligned channels along the tree growth direction, a highly conductive, lightweight, and low-tortuosity carbon framework (CF) directly carbonized from natural wood as an ultrathick 3D current collector is demonstrated. Benefiting from the uniqueness of the multichanneled CF, an ultrathick 3D electrode of lithium iron phosphate filled carbon framework with a large thickness of 800 µm and active material mass loading of 60 mg cm -2 delivers a rational capacity of 7.6 mAh cm -2 (95 Ah L -1 based on volume), long cycling life, and lower deformability with enhanced mechanical properties. This work presents a design concept for thick electrode toward high performance energy storage devices that are not limited to lithium-ion batteries.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Offsite Source Recovery Program; High Activity Beta Gamma Removal, Transport and Disposition - 19663

The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Office of Radiological Security's (ORS) Off-Site Source Recovery Program (OSRP) has been tasked with the removal and disposition of radioactive sealed sources in the interest of national security and public health and safety. It is the mission of the program to recover radioactive sources to prevent them from falling into the hands of individuals who would use this material for malicious intent. OSRP is a collaborative effort involving Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). At the inception of the program, Pu-239 was the only isotope acceptable for recovery. As a wider security scope developed, OSRP expanded its mission to include the recovery of other sources that posed a potential risk to national security, health, and safety. Starting in 2004, OSRP began recovering cesium and cobalt devices, largely from medical, research, and industrial facilities. These disused higher-activity devices present a burden to licensees in terms of security, and demand for OSRP's assistance in removing them has been high. Today, OSRP removes around 40 high-activity devices per year in support of domestic demand as well as ORS's Cesium Irradiator Replacement Project (CIRP). This represents an average of over 50,000 Ci of Cs-137 and Co-60 removed from the private sector each year for permanent disposition. A major component of this effort is the use of the proper shipping container to transport the devices. As a way to increase transportation capabilities ORS has developed two new Type B containers. The most recently completed of these containers, the 435-B, is currently certified to transport Gammators and Gammacell-1000, -3000, and -40 irradiators in an overpack configuration. This provides greater capacity and flexibility to safely and effectively transport these devices, for which acceptable shipping configurations had been previously limited. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Technology for Innovation in Radiation Oncology

Radiation therapy is an effective, personalized cancer treatment that has benefited from technological advances associated with the growing ability to identify and target tumors with accuracy and precision. Given that these advances have played a central role in the success of radiation therapy as a major component of comprehensive cancer care, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sponsored a workshop entitled “Technology for Innovation in Radiation Oncology,” which took place at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, on June 13 and 14, 2013. The purpose of this workshop was to discuss emerging technology for the field and to recognize areas for greater research investment. Expert clinicians and scientists discussed innovative technology in radiation oncology, in particular as to how these technologies are being developed and translated to clinical practice in the face of current and future challenges and opportunities. Technologies encompassed topics in functional imaging, treatment devices, nanotechnology, and information technology. The technical, quality, and safety performance of these technologies were also considered. A major theme of the workshop was the growing importance of innovation in the domain of process automation and oncology informatics. The technologically advanced nature of radiation therapy treatments predisposes radiation oncology research teams to take on informatics research initiatives. In addition, the discussion on technology development was balanced with a parallel conversation regarding the need for evidence of efficacy and effectiveness. The linkage between the need for evidence and the efforts in informatics research was clearly identified as synergistic.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Bivalence Mn5O8 with hydroxylated interphase for high-voltage aqueous sodium-ion storage

Aqueous electrochemical energy storage devices have attracted significant attention owing to their high safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, their applications have been limited by a narrow potential window (~1.23 V), beyond which the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions occur. Here, we report the formation of layered Mn 5 O 8 pseudocapacitor electrode material with a well ordered hydroxylated interphase. A symmetric full cell using such electrodes demonstrates a stable potential window of 3.0 V in an aqueous electrolyte, as well as high energy and power performance, nearly 100% coulombic efficiency and 85% energy efficiency after 25,000 charge-discharge cycles. Furthermore, the interplay between hydroxylated interphase on the surface and the unique bivalence structure of Mn 5 O 8 suppresses the gas evolution reactions, offers a two-electron charge transfer via Mn 2+ /Mn 4+ redox couple, and provides facile pathway for Na-ion transport via intra-/inter-layer defects of Mn 5 O 8 .

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

A review of composite solid-state electrolytes for lithium batteries: fundamentals, key materials and advanced structures

All-solid-state lithium ion batteries (ASSLBs) are considered next-generation devices for energy storage due to their advantages in safety and potentially high energy density. As the key component in ASSLBs, solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) with non-flammability and good adaptability to lithium metal anodes have attracted extensive attention in recent years. Among the current SSEs, composite solid-state electrolytes (CSSEs) with multiple phases have greater flexibility to customize and combine the advantages of single-phase electrolytes, which have been widely investigated recently and regarded as promising candidates for commercial ASSLBs. Based on existing investigations, herein, we present a comprehensive overview of the recent developments in CSSEs. Initially, we introduce the historical development from solid-state ionic conductors to CSSEs, and then summarize the fundamentals including mechanisms of lithium ion transport, key evaluation parameters, design principles, and key materials. Finally, four main types of advanced structures for CSSEs are classified and highlighted according to the recent progress. Moreover, advanced characterization and computational simulation techniques including machine learning are reviewed for the first time, and the main challenges and perspectives of CSSEs are also provided for their future development.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Lessons Learned: Summary of Insights From the HERO WEC and Waves to Water Deployments Between 2022 and 2024

In 2020, a team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) partnered with the East Carolina University Coastal Studies Institute to develop a small, modular, wave-powered point absorber desalination prototype. That prototype, known as the hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter (HERO WEC), was intended to de-risk the installation activities planned for the Waves to Water Prize sponsored by the Water Power Technologies Office. The NREL team was given approximately 18 months to design, build, bench test, and deploy the HERO WEC prototype. Since the initial HERO WEC development, it has been used for two in-lab test programs and three ocean deployments. The first in-lab test program focused on ensuring that the overall operation of the device occurred as expected and on validating the operation of safety systems such as pressure relief valves or electrical breakers for load mitigation. The second in-lab test program was the first time the NREL team leveraged NREL’s large-amplitude motion platform to characterize the performance of the HERO WEC. Of the three in-water deployments, the first deployment was effectively an installation and recovery practice with no meaningful wave activity during the time that it was installed. The second deployment was a 2-week effort that enabled both the electric and hydraulic configurations of the device to be in the water for approximately 5 days each. This deployment was also the first time that the team had the opportunity to perform a drivetrain swap on the Coastal Studies Institute research vessel. The third deployment had to be split into two separate installations due to minor damage incurred from the WEC spinning during the initial installation. This report summarizes the deployments, the challenges encountered with each deployment, and the lessons learned for future work.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

High-Capacity Hydrogen and Hydrogen Isotope Getters

Hydrogen can quietly build up inside sealed devices and industrial systems, shortening equipment life and creating safety risks. Los Alamos National Laboratory has developed a new class of high-capacity hydrogen getters that permanently remove hydrogen before it causes damage. Compared with conventional getters, this technology stores more hydrogen, operates across a wider range of conditions, and can be manufactured in multiple forms for easy integration into commercial products.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Cathode–Sulfide Solid Electrolyte Interfacial Instability: Challenges and Solutions

All-solid-state batteries are a candidate for next-generation energy-storage devices due to potential improvements in energy density and safety compared to current battery technologies. Due to their high ionic conductivity and potential scalability through slurry processing routes, sulfide solid-state electrolytes are promising to replace traditional liquid electrolytes and enable All-solid-state batteries, but stability of cathode-sulfide solid-state electrolytes interfaces requires further improvement. Herein we review common issues encountered at cathode-sulfide SE interfaces and strategies to alleviate these issues.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

FedADMP: A Joint Anomaly Detection and Mobility Prediction Framework via Federated Learning

With the proliferation of mobile devices and smart cameras, detecting anomalies and predicting their mobility are critical for enhancing safety in ubiquitous computing systems. Due to data privacy regulations and limited communication bandwidth, it is infeasible to collect, transmit, and store all data from mobile devices at a central location. To overcome this challenge, we propose FedADMP, a federated learning based joint Anomaly Detection and Mobility Prediction framework. FedADMP adaptively splits the training process between the server and clients to reduce computation loads on clients. To protect the privacy of user data, clients in FedADMP upload only intermediate model parameters to the cloud server. We also develop a differential privacy method to prevent the cloud server and external attackers from inferring private information during the model upload procedure. Extensive experiments using real-world datasets show that FedADMP consistently outperforms existing methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Leak Detection and H 2 Sensor Development

Low-cost, durable, and reliable Hydrogen safety sensor for vehicle, stationary, and infrastructure applications. A new zirconia, electrochemical-based sensor technology is being transitioned out of the laboratory and into an advanced testing phase for vehicular and stationary H 2 safety applications. Mixed potential sensors are a class of electrochemical devices that develop an open-circuit electromotive force due to the difference in the kinetics of the redox reactions of various gaseous species at each electrode/electrolyte/gas interface, referred to as the triple phase boundary (TPB). Therefore, these sensors have been considered for the sensing of various reducible or oxidizable gas species in the presence of oxygen. Based on this principle, a unique sensor design was developed by LANL and LLNL. The uniqueness of this sensor derives from minimizing heterogeneous catalysis (detrimental to sensor response) by avoiding gas diffusion through a catalytically active material and minimizing diffusion path to the TPB. Unlike the conventional design of these devices that use a dense solid electrolyte and porous thin film electrodes (similar to the current state-of-the-art zirconia-based sensors and fuel cells), the design of this sensor uses dense electrodes and porous electrolytes. Such a sensor design facilitates a stable and reproducible device response, since dense electrode morphologies are easy to reproduce and are significantly more stable than the conventional porous morphologies. Moreover, these sensors develop higher mixed potentials since the gas diffusion is through the less catalytically active electrolyte than the electrode. Lastly, the choice of electrodes is primarily based on their O2 reduction kinetics and catalytic properties vis-a-vis the target gas of interest.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Plasma treatments of wool fiber surface for microfluidic applications

Highlights: • We used atmospheric plasma for tuning the wettability of wool fibers. • The wicking rates of the wool fibers increased with increasing treatment time. • The increasing of wettability results in removement of fatty acid on the wool surface. - Abstract: Recent progress in health diagnostics has led to the development of simple and inexpensive systems. Thread-based microfluidic devices allow for portable and inexpensive field-based technologies enabling medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety analysis. However, controlling the flow rate of wool thread, which is a very important part of thread-based microfluidic devices, is quite difficult. For this reason, we focused on thread-based microfluidics in the study. We developed a method of changing the wettability of hydrophobic thread, including wool thread. Thus, using natural wool thread as a channel, we demonstrate herein that the manipulation of the liquid flow, such as micro selecting and micro mixing, can be achieved by applying plasma treatment to wool thread. In addition to enabling the flow control of the treated wool channels consisting of all natural substances, this procedure will also be beneficial for biological sensing devices. We found that wools treated with various gases have different flow rates. We used an atmospheric plasma with O{sub 2}, N{sub 2} and Ar gases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

ORNL Trusted Corridors Project: Watts Bar Dam Inland Waterway Project

Radiation has existed everywhere in the environment since the Earth's formation - in rocks, soil, water, and plants. The mining and processing of naturally occurring radioactive materials for use in medicine, power generation, consumer products, and industry inevitably generate emissions and waste. Radiological measuring devices have been used by industry for years to measure for radiation in undesired locations or simply identify radioactive materials. Since the terrorist attacks on the United States on 9-11-01 these radiation measuring devices have proliferated in many places in our nation's commerce system. DOE, TVA, the Army Corps and ORNL collaborated to test the usefulness of these devices in our nation's waterway system on this project. The purpose of the Watts Bar Dam ORNL Trusted Corridors project was to investigate the security, safety and enforcement needs of local, state and federal government entities for state-of-the-art sensor monitoring in regards to illegal cargo including utilization of the existing infrastructure. TVA's inland waterways lock system is a recognized and accepted infrastructure by the commercial carrier industry. Safety Monitoring activities included tow boat operators, commercial barges and vessels, recreational watercraft and their cargo, identification of unsafe vessels and carriers, and, monitoring of domestic and foreign commercial vessels and cargo identification. Safety Enforcement activities included cargo safety, tracking, identification of hazardous materials, waterway safety regulations, and hazardous materials regulations. Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Applications included Radiological Dispersive Devices (RDD) identification, identification of unsafe or illicit transport of hazardous materials including chemicals and radiological materials, and screening for shipments of illicit drugs. In the Fall of 2005 the SensorNet funding for the project expired. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a Federal sponsor to continue with the project, the Watts Bar Dam Project was canceled and the Exploranium radiation monitors were removed from the doors of Watts Bar Dam in early 2006. The DHS Domestic Nuclear Detection Office decided to proceed with a Pilot building on the ORNL work performed at the TN and SC weigh stations in the highway sector of the Trusted Corridors project and eventually expanded it to other southern states under the name of Southeastern Corridor Pilot Project (SETCP). Many of the Phase I goals were achieved however real-world test data of private watercraft and barges was never obtained.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗