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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

An Accelerated Testing and Analysis Framework for Qualification of Battery Materials

The continuously growing demand for batteries used within automotive, aviation, and grid applications has exacerbated the need to supplement critical battery material feedstocks, such as those for anode and cathode active materials. New or supplementary material sources, however, universally comprise unique material properties that can significantly affect the lifetime and performance of resultant batteries. As such, the influence of composition, microstructure, and morphology on electrochemical performance should be characterized quickly and accurately to accelerate commercialization of new material sources. This work introduces a tiered framework to quickly assess new material viability and understand the influence of physicochemical properties on battery performance. The Tier 1 testing described here is rapid and lower-effort to quickly recognize materials with fundamental flaws and potentially disqualify them. Later testing would require more time and effort but provide higher fidelity information with a goal of validating materials for specific applications. A case study examining various commercial sources of LiFePO4 (LFP) is presented, using Tier 1 of the protocol to identify rapid electrochemical and physicochemical signals that correlate with performance and to provide early go/no-go decisions on LFP materials without the need for long-term cycling data.

25 - ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Additive Friction Stir Deposition of a Tantalum–Tungsten Refractory Alloy

Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) is a solid-state metal additive manufacturing technique, which utilizes frictional heating and plastic deformation to create large deposits and parts. Much like its cousin processes, friction stir welding and friction stir processing, AFSD has seen the most compatibility and use with lower-temperature metals, such as aluminum; however, there is growing interest in higher-temperature materials, such as titanium and steel alloys. In this work, we explore the deposition of an ultrahigh-temperature refractory material, specifically, a tantalum–tungsten (TaW) alloy. The solid-state nature of AFSD means refractory process temperatures are significantly lower than those for melt-based additive manufacturing techniques; however, they still pose difficult challenges, especially in regards to AFSD tooling. In this study, we perform initial deposition trials of TaW using twin-rod-style AFSD with a high-temperature tungsten–rhenium-based tool. Many challenges arise because of the high temperatures of the process and high mechanical demand on AFSD machine hardware to process the strong refractory alloy. Despite these challenges, successful deposits of the material were produced and characterized. Mechanical testing of the deposited material shows improved yield strength over that of the annealed reference material, and this strengthening is mostly attributed to the refined recrystallized microstructure typical of AFSD. These findings highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with ultrahigh-temperature AFSD, as well as provide some of the first published insights into twin-rod-style AFSD process behaviors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Mechanical Behavior of Neutron Irradiated Refractory Multi-Principal Element Alloys Processed via Spark Plasma Sintering

The search for advanced materials capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of Generation IV reactors is a critical area in materials science research. These reactors operate under severe environments, including high temperatures, corrosion, stress, and irradiation damage. Consequently, there is a need for innovative alloy systems to ensure the reliability and longevity of proposed Generation IV reactor components. Refractory multi-principal-element alloys (RMPEA) have emerged as a promising candidate due to their exceptional properties. These alloys, characterized by their composition of multiple principal elements in near-equiatomic ratios, exhibit superior resistance to irradiation damage, reduced void swelling, enhanced microstructural stability, and minimal irradiation-induced hardening. While initial studies on RMPEAs have shown promising results, most research has been limited to thin films, nanocrystalline microstructures, and ion irradiation, which do not accurately represent the behavior of bulk materials. To address this gap, our research focused on the neutron irradiation of bulk RMPEAs. We aim to conduct comprehensive post-irradiation examinations (PIE) of RMPEAs irradiated at the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. The RMPEAs were synthesized using spark plasma sintering (SPS) with mechanically alloyed metallurgical powder. The RMPEA specimens are a MoNbTi alloy system with additions of -Zr, and -ZrV. Furthermore, PIE consisted of mechanical testing and advanced materials characterization. The mechanical testing consisted of sub-sized tensile testing, micro- and nano- indentation. Microstructural characterization included scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical testing coupled with advanced microscopy techniques provides insight into phase morphology and its effects on the mechanical properties of the RMPEA specimens. The results indicate that both pristine and irradiated RMPEA specimens exhibited brittle behavior during tensile testing, which can be attributed to their heterogeneous microstructure. The SPS manufacturing process did not include any post treatment, which resulted in a heterogeneous microstructure. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed the presence of intermetallic such as laves phases within the microstructure. Specifically, Ti-rich precipitates were observed in the MoNbTi specimen, while Mo-rich precipitates were found in the MoNbTiZrV specimen. Nano-hardness testing of pristine samples showed that the laves phases exhibited higher hardness values compared to the matrix phase, suggesting that precipitate hardening is likely the dominant hardening mechanism in these specimens. The results from this work will be used to build a finite element model to predict mechanical behavior of future MPEA compositions. Thus, enabling for a streamlined approach to developing novel MPEAs for the nuclear industry.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

MxRAM (Final Report)

Sandia National Labs will provide Technical Assistance and consulting to Requester on a series of Requester’s test structures and devices to characterize and aid in the determination of optimal fabrication parameters via fabrication of functional test structures and cells. Working with previously established processes and test die modules, Sandia will construct a series of test chips with varying materials properties to allow the electrical characterization and component testing of Requester’s test structures and devices. Material variations will be selected for optimization of yield and desired target operation parameters. A deliverable in the form of a report will be written. Sandia intends to deliver testable die to the Requester.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Final Design for Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) with Lithium Absorbers to Provide Validation Benchmarks for Y-12 Electrorefining Facility

One of the main goals of the Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) project is to use existing Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) assets to create critical experiment plutonium and uranium test beds for materials important to criticality safety that have insufficient benchmark evaluations. The plutonium test bed experiments were completed in 2018 and are published in the 2020 edition of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook. The uranium test bed assemblies were completed in 2023 and accepted in the 2024 edition of the ICSBEP Handbook. The Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) group at Y-12 National Security Complex has identified programmatic need for validation cases for uranium electrorefining operations at Y-12. The electrorefining operation credits lithium enriched in 6 Li in addition to 35 Cl as absorbers in the design criticality safety evaluation for precluding criticality under upset conditions in the large and geometrically unfavorable electro-refiner. There is, however, inadequate experimental validation for the 6 Li absorbers. As an extension of the TEX uranium test bed, TEX-Cl critical experiments were performed with sodium chloride salt to address the 35 Cl thermal absorption as well as other validation needs at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). These experiments were completed in 2024 and accepted into the 2025 ICSBEP Handbook. To continue the methodology used in TEX-Cl, TEX-Li aims to accomplish the same. The overall design of both experiments was to use commercially available, high purity, salts with polyethylene moderator and HEU plates to configure a critical assembly. Three experiments are planned for TEX-Li using encapsulated lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3 ), with natural 6 Li abundance. For all experiments, the highly enriched uranium (HEU) Jemima plates will be used as fissile material. Multiple layers will be stacked together with encapsulated Li 2 CO 3 alternated with polyethylene in standard configurations. Standard stacking was found to be optimal in matching the different sensitivity profiles provided by the Y-12 models. Three configurations are proposed with varying polyethylene moderation and a constant 1/4” absorber thickness. The first uses 11 layers of 5/4” polyethylene, the second uses 9 layers of 3/4” polyethylene, and the third uses 10 layers of 1/2” polyethylene. Calculations showed that some alternative forms of lithium-based materials provided slightly less-optimal sensitivity profiles when compared to lithium carbonate but come with other drawbacks. These alternatives included lithium aluminate (LiAlO 2 ), Aluminum-2050 alloy, Aluminum-8090, Aluminum-2095, lithium hydride (LiH), and lithium fluoride (LiF). Lithium aluminate and aluminum-2050 provided comparable sensitivity profiles when compared to lithium carbonate and can be used instead if lithium carbonate cannot be readily procured. After a broad material study, lithium carbonate outperformed any alternative material with a balance in affordability and workability. The assessment of experimental uncertainties of the non-absorber and absorber components was predicted to be 0.00089 and 0.00093 Δk eff , respectively. The largest uncertainties may be reduced with precision dimensional inspection of the components. Many of the parts and equipment for IER 575 have already been fabricated or procured for previous projects and therefore do not contribute significantly to the overall cost of this experiment. This includes the Jemima plates and Comet critical assembly machine, which are existing NCSP assets, as well as the aluminum platen and polyethylene reflector rings, which were fabricated and authorized for the TEX experiment involving HEU with polyethylene. Lithium carbonate containers will be procured by LANL and will be filled by LLNL. The total material costs for TEX-Li experiments are estimated to be on the order of $\$$47,400. Precision inspection, including dimensional, mass, density, and impurity, is recommended for all components for an estimated cost of $\$$12,000.

35Cl↗
DOE OSTI2026

Final Design for Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) with Lithium Absorbers to Provide Validation Benchmarks for Y-12 Electrorefining Facility (IER 575, CED-2 Report)

One of the main goals of the Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) project is to use existing Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) assets to create critical experiment plutonium and uranium test beds for materials important to criticality safety that have insufficient benchmark evaluations. The plutonium test bed experiments were completed in 2018 and are published in the 2020 edition of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook. The uranium test bed assemblies were completed in 2023 and accepted in the 2024 edition of the ICSBEP Handbook.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Novel Preprocessing Techniques for Enhancing Flowability of Miscanthus

Purpose-grown energy crops possess significant potential as promising feedstocks for biofuel and biochemical production. However, similar to other biomass feedstocks, their utilization has been hindered by handling and feeding challenges such as clogging and segregation, which prevent biorefineries from operating at full capacity. These challenges arise primarily due to particle attributes including irregular shape, high flexibility, and high compressibility, leading to interlocking, high compaction, and significant friction under stress consolidation. To enhance operational reliability, it is crucial to focus on preprocessing techniques to address these issues, alongside accurately characterizing the mechanical and physical properties and flow performance of these feedstocks. This study investigates novel preprocessing techniques, including pelletization and torrefaction, to fundamentally alter these particle attributes and improve flowability. Miscanthus, an herbaceous energy crop, was the primary focus of this study. Samples were processed using a Forest Concepts Crumbler rotary shear system and an oscillating multi-stack screen bed to achieve two nominal (baseline) particle sizes: 6mm and 2mm. The study evaluated the efficiency and energy consumption of size reduction, revealing that while 2mm particles required more energy, they exhibited better flowability and higher yield strength compared to 6mm particles. Shear and compression tests assessed the material's shear strength, internal friction, and elastic modulus, while wedge-shaped hopper tests measured the critical arching distance and mass flow rate. The results provide valuable insights into the mechanical properties and processing efficiency of Miscanthus, contributing to the development of a preprocessing framework that enhances energy efficiency and material flowability in bioenergy production. However, further preprocessing and development are required to optimize this framework fully.

09 - BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

An improved method for quantitatively measuring antifouling coating performance using a mussel single thread tensile adhesion test

Surface biofouling reduces the efficiency and lifespan of equipment across many industries. The development of high-performance antifouling surfaces, such as foul release coatings, benefits from test methods that can quickly identify superior antifouling surfaces in the laboratory during material development. Existing test methods poorly discriminate between different foul release coatings. Here is presented a method to assess the ability of surfaces to resist mussel adhesion using a quantitative, controlled single thread adhesion test (STAT) method, allowing for meaningful comparisons between low adhesion foul release surfaces. This method provides greater accuracy and finer resolution than push-based mussel shear adhesion methods without the difficulties associated with mussel size, thread attachment angle, or harming the mussels. The single thread tensile method is demonstrated on a variety of standard and high-performance coatings, and it is shown that the method detects differentiation between commercial foul release coatings that could not be resolved using other methods.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Informing ARC divertor design and plasma facing material selection through integrated modeling

This INFUSE 2023 project between UCLA and Commonwealth Fusion Systems used computer modeling to test whether tungsten materials can survive in CFS's ARC fusion reactor divertor. The team simulated plasma conditions and material responses, finding that tungsten-rhenium alloys resist grain growth better than pure tungsten, and that hydrogen buildup depends more on particle flux than temperature. The work helps CFS design durable plasma-facing components for their fusion power plant.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluation of Significance Tests on Stack Sample Data

In October 2023, external assessors visiting LANL’s Rad-NESHAP team reviewed the annual source term documentation package for stack emissions. This document discusses how the team uses significance tests to determine whether or not a measurement represents an actual detection of emitted radioactive material. The significance tests used in the evaluation compare the measured sample result to the Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) for the sample; to the uncertainty of that measurement; and to the mean blank sample for the same time period. The blank test uses the average blank plus 2-standard deviations (2σ) of the blank results as a comparison threshold for this final evaluation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

ORNL Package Testing Program Overview

When transporting radioactive or hazardous materials, safety and security are top priorities. Packaging and transportation regulations require reliable evidence that containers have passed rigorous performance tests to ensure that the public and the environment are protected from the hazardous nature of the cargo. Because of its long history in energy and security research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has needed to ship hazardous packages for the past 65 years. Since the 1940s, ORNL has made significant contributions to transportation regulations and has been at the forefront of regulatory testing development. Today, ORNL is a leader in standards development and testing of designs of radioactive material packages. ORNL plays a critical role in ensuring the safe transportation of radioactive materials across the United States by executing rigorous testing campaigns of packages that contain radioactive materials. Early testing activities focused on supporting the development of transportation regulations established by both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United States. Currently, all package testing activities are performed under the Package Testing Program (PTP) at the Package Evaluation Facility (PEF) located at the National Transportation Research Center (NTRC), which is about 10 miles from the main ORNL campus. The PTP develops and evaluates testing solutions, ensuring that they are safe efficient, and in compliance with regulatory requirements. The vision for the PTP is to be a world-class leader in the evaluation and testing of radioactive and hazardous material packages. The key elements necessary to fulfill this mission are an experienced and professional staff; state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and instrumentation; and completion of challenging programs and projects important to package transportation. Collaborations with other internal and external organizations play a significant role in building stronger teams and achieving this vision. By adhering to and advancing regulatory standards, ORNL’s PTP supports development of safe and compliant packaging, safeguarding the transportation process from potential risks associated with radioactive material logistics.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Noble Liquid Test Facility at Fermilab

The Noble Liquid Test Facility (NLTF) at Fermilab is a liquid argon detector R\&D facility open to the national and international HEP community. The facility consists of 4 permanent cryostats, ranging from 250L up to 3000L, open space for small open dewar testing, and an optical test stand facility capable of measuring the optical properties of materials and characterizing photon detectors. NLTF’s strongest advantage is its capability to provide ultra-pure LAr in a reliable manner. Its inline filters are capable of filtering all of the three biggest contaminants for standard LAr detectors, O$_2$ and H$_2$O down to $< 1$ppb and N$_2$ $< 1$ppm. This is critical for the users of the test stands as small levels of impurities can dramatically change the efficiency of LArTPCs for the collection of charge and light. The smallest cryostat is mainly used for material testing, a service provided to the international HEP community interested in understanding how the introduction of a specific material might affect the electron lifetime in LAr. The test stands can be equipped with a purity monitor, which allows measuring the electron lifetime in real time, as well as gas sampling and analyzing, and in the near future, local recirculation and filtering. The facility has hosted many successful R\&D projects, which have published their results in well-known journals and talks. A few examples of such projects are: NIR light production in LAr and GAr, the characterization of VUV metalenses, the testing of new filter media capable of filtering N$_2$ from LAr, high voltage studies and direct charge amplification in LAr, and various doping studies.

Blaszczyk, Flor María [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Accelerated Fuel Qualification of Fast Modular Reactor Fuel in a Thermal Reactor: Modeling and Simulation Paired with Irradiation Testing

The accelerated fuel qualification (AFQ) methodology is applied by simulating accelerated fuel tests of the General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems’ fuel system for its 44-MW(electric) gas-cooled, fast-spectrum fast modular reactor (FMR). This fuel is comprised of UO 2 pellets in SiGA® cladding, a silicon carbide ceramic matrix composite. Fast reactors, like the FMR, offer many benefits, including high fuel utilization and flexibility, but may require a lengthy material design process if tests are performed using fast neutron irradiation alone. A thermal neutron irradiation can instead be used to rapidly test how well key components of the current material models extend to high burnup. Thermal neutrons produce a different radial power distribution within the pin than fast neutrons. However, the temperature and burnup values for the two neutron types are comparable, and the differences between the simulated fuel responses are relatively small, demonstrating the weak sensitivity of the physics-based fuel model calculations on the neutron type and the irradiation rate. Furthermore, the deformation of the SiGA cladding saturates after about 1 displacement per atom for both neutron spectra. In an accelerated fuel test, the irradiation time required to reach the target fuel burnup can be reduced by a factor of 3 by using a small rodlet with a 45% smaller pellet diameter while maintaining the same linear power. Therefore, the time for data collection up to high burnup can be significantly reduced while maintaining the same temperature profile, which largely determines the material response. Tests of fuel rodlets of standard and compact size will be carried out in the Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), including full size and compact rodlets with varying gap sizes. By applying physics-based mechanistic modeling and simulation in accordance with the AFQ methodology, this type of compact rodlet testing in a thermal test reactor captures the necessary phenomena to test fuel material models up to high burnup and to simulate the expected impact of fast neutron radiation on the fuel in FMR operations. Finally, this approach to testing fast reactor fuels in existing thermal test reactors, paired with advanced physics-based mechanistic modeling and simulation, is expected to be applicable to a range of advanced fuels and will decrease the overall fuel qualification timeframe from decades to years.

Advanced test reactor (ATR)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Lifetime extension drop-test of real-world corroded 5 Quart Hagan nuclear material storage container

A 5Qt Hagan container with a 20-year history of nuclear material storage was challenged with three successive drop tests at a height of 3.7 meters. The total mass of the test package was 12.1 kg. The 1st and 2nd drop tests (center of gravity over the container bottom corner but 180 degrees apart on the container bottom face) passed the pre- and post- impact helium leak criterion at less than 1.00E-6 atm-cc/sec (ambient cubic centimeters per second). The 3rd and final test (center of gravity over top corner) failed with a post-impact gross leak of 1.1E-1 atmcc/sec. The RRFMC (Respirable Release Fraction Measurement Chamber) is a drop tower test system that is critical for the sustainability of the SAVY-4000™ series and Hagan-type (NFT Inc. Golden CO) nuclear material storage containers. These are the primary in-use nuclear material storage container types at the Los Alamos National Laboratory TA-55 facility. Results are presented to expand the technical knowledge basis for container lifetime, regarding actual exposure to corrosive gas species on the container inner surfaces. The primary source of general corrosion throughout the container is gaseous hydrogen chloride (HCl). This gas is generated by the degradation of the polyvinylchloride (PVC) bag-out bag. Additionally, in most cases, the nuclear material itself also releases HCl gas (due to residual chemical components associated with the material formation). The RRFMC drop tower gives the end-user the ability record and analyze high-speed video and photography and if needed aerosol mass release measurements. In this report the principal issue is the physical deformation of the 5Qt Hagan container. There were no mass release experiments of test aerosol mass in the present study.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Oxidation of Materials and Coatings at 1000°C and 250 bar for use in Oxy-Combustion Turbine

Combinations of materials and coatings were tested in supercritical CO2 (sCO2) to evaluate their reliability in an oxy-fuel turbine being designed to operate in the 150-300 MWe size range at inlet temperatures of 1,150 °C at 300 bar and exhaust temperatures in the 725-775 °C range. Nickel alloys and stainless steels were exposed to supercritical CO2 at 1,000 °C and 250 bar for a total of over 1,500 hours. The materials were tested bare, with a nanocrystalline MCrAlY bond coat only, or with one of two types of bond coat and a thermal barrier coating. A novel test facility using a localized heat zone generated by an induction heater inside an externally cooled autoclave was developed to perform those tests. The specimens were weighed before and after exposure to determine the oxidation rate. All specimens were inspected visually, and a smaller group of coated specimens were studied using secondary electron microscopy (SEM). The integrity of the coating, and the morphology and composition of the thermally grown oxide were especially of interest for the SEM investigation. This paper presents the up-to-date results of the testing coated and uncoated superalloys in sCO2 at up to 1150 °C and up to 300 bar performed at Southwest Research Institute.

Bocher, Florent [Southwest Research Institute, San↗
DOE OSTI2025

Experimental characterization and potential energy savings of insulated cladding for U.S. residential buildings

This study evaluates a novel insulated cladding composed of foamed cement and vinyl siding that is designed as a retrofit product to enhance thermal performance in U.S. residential buildings. Experimental measurements showed that foamed cement exhibits a thermal conductivity of 0.0334–0.0365 W/m-K (R-value of 4.0–4.3 °F⋅ft 2 ⋅h/BTU), which is significantly higher than that of conventional fiber cement boards. Although mechanical testing confirmed the material’s brittleness and low strength, it also indicated its suitability for nonstructural insulation applications. Water vapor permeability testing demonstrated effective moisture resistance with the polymer coating. To evaluate the insulated cladding’s energy performance, we used the U.S. Department of Energy’s prototype single-family building model and simulated across 50 locations spanning 16 International Energy Conservation Code climate zones. The R-7 (R-value of 7 °F⋅ft 2 ⋅h/BTU per inch) retrofit cladding resulted in heating energy savings up to 275 therms (Fairbanks, AK) and cooling energy savings up to 1,547 kWh (Phoenix, AZ). The energy cost savings varied by region, but the highest annual cost savings ($\$$434/year) were observed in Santa Maria, CA, and the highest annual cost savings percentage (37 %) were noted in Monterey, CA. On a national scale, the insulated retrofit provided an average annual energy cost reduction of 16 %, highlighting the cladding system’s broad applicability and financial viability.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗