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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

Towards a More Predictive Framework for Laser-Driven Particle Sources through Experimental Data-Informed Models

Laser-driven particle acceleration (LDPA) has emerged as a critical technology for high-energydensity physics applications since its discovery at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory twenty years ago. However, realizing the full potential of these particle sources requires understanding the fundamental acceleration mechanisms and developing enhanced target designs for improved performance. This research addressed the need for controllable, high-performance laser-driven proton sources through two complementary approaches: experimentally investigating sheath field dynamics in multi-picosecond laser regimes and developing novel three-dimensional printed microstructured targets to achieve enhanced particle acceleration.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Large-Aperture High-Field Nb 3 Sn Quadrupole Magnets for HiLumi

The HL-LHC Inner Triplet quadrupole magnets use Nb 3 Sn superconductor for the first time in a particle accelerator. Coil peak field, forces, and stored energy density are significantly higher than in previous accelerator magnets. The original design addressed all these challenges. Lessons learned in the early phases made the final design and specifications for series magnets more robust.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Microsecond-latency feedback at a particle accelerator by online reinforcement learning on hardware

The commissioning and operation of future large-scale scientific experiments will challenge current tuning and control methods. Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms are a promising solution due to their ability to dynamically adapt to changing environments and consider delayed consequences. In many real-world applications, RL policies must produce actions in real time, often within microseconds to milliseconds, imposing significant constraints on system latency and computational overhead that conventional machine learning libraries are not designed to handle. To control phenomena in real time at these timescales, RL needs to be deployed on-the-edge, namely on dedicated hardware located near the system it controls, without relying on a host CPU or cloud-based inference. In this work we present the design and deployment of an experience accumulator system in a particle accelerator. In this system, deep-RL algorithms run using hardware acceleration and act within a few microseconds, enabling the use of RL for control of phenomena like beam instabilities. The training uses the collected data offline to reduce the number of operations carried out on the acceleration hardware. The proposed architecture was tested in real experimental conditions at the Karlsruhe research accelerator, a synchrotron light source, where the system was used to control artificially induced horizontal betatron oscillations in real-time, with a control loop period of just 2.7 μs. The results showed a performance comparable to the commercial feedback system available at the accelerator, demonstrating the viability and potential of this approach. Due to the self-learning and reconfiguration capability of this implementation, a seamless application to other control problems is possible. Applications range from particle accelerators to large-scale research and industrial facilities.

FPGA↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electron-Ion Collider Design Status

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) is being designed for construction at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Activities have been focused on beam-beam simulations, polarization studies, and beam dynamics, as well as on maturing the layout and lattice design of the constituent accelerators and the interaction region. The latest design advances will be presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optimized finite-build stellarator coils using automatic differentiation

A new stellarator coil design code is introduced that optimizes the position and winding pack orientation of finite-build coils. The new code, called flexible optimized curves in space using automatic differentiation (AD) and finite build (FOCUSADD), performs gradient-based optimization in a high-dimensional, non-convex space. The derivatives with respect to parameters of finite-build coils are easily and efficiently computed using AD. FOCUSADD parametrizes coil positions in free space using a Fourier series and uses a multi-filament approximation to the coil winding pack. The orientation of the winding pack is parametrized with a Fourier series and can be optimized as well. Optimized finite-build coils for a Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X)-like stellarator are found, and compared with filamentary coil results. The final positions of optimized finite-build W7-X-like coils are shifted, on average, by approximately 2.5 mm relative to optimized filamentary coils. These results suggest that finite-build effects should be accounted for in the optimization of stellarators with low coil tolerances.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Towards accelerating particle-resolved direct numerical simulation with neural operators

In this paper, we present our ongoing work aimed at accelerating a particle-resolved direct numerical simulation model designed to study aerosol–cloud–turbulence interactions. The dynamical model consists of two main components—a set of fluid dynamics equations for air velocity, temperature, and humidity, coupled with a set of equations for particle (i.e., cloud droplet) tracing. Rather than attempting to replace the original numerical solution method in its entirety with a machine learning (ML) method, we consider developing a hybrid approach. We exploit the potential of neural operator learning to yield fast and accurate surrogate models and, in this study, develop such surrogates for the velocity and vorticity fields. We discuss results from numerical experiments designed to assess the performance of ML architectures under consideration as well as their suitability for capturing the behavior of relevant dynamical systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

New signature method for identifying organic material in atmosphere and water samples

The levels of plastic contamination in the earth’s oceans have steadily increased over the past century, creating a threat to marine life and increasing climate change. Several methods have been developed over the past decade to try to determine the amount and accumulation rate of plastic impurities in the ecosystem. These methods have proven promising but suffer from long measurement times, bulky non-mobile systems, and sample degradation. We propose a smaller, faster system that employs an electron beam to examine seawater samples for polyethylene contamination levels. This process generates a full electron and photon energy spectrum analyses based on the subatomic particles generated from electron interactions. Our simulations have already been developed based on the known molecular composition of seawater and polyethylene, showing the possibility of discerning molecular plastics from microorganisms. With a system the size of a suitcase, this system would be easily deployable to remote locations around the world or installed as a monitoring system for manufacturing facilities. This concept could lead to a new methodology for the science of signatures and be applied to other biological hazard investigations, such as general virus detection.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1987

A long-duration balloon payload for hard X-ray and gamma-ray observations of the sun

A balloon payload designed to study the processes of energy release, particle acceleration, and heating of the active corona in hard X-ray microflares and normal flares is described. An array of liquid nitrogen-cooled germanium detectors together with large area phoswich scintillation detectors provide the highest sensitivity (about 500 sq cm) and energy resolution (not greater than 0.7 keV) ever achieved for solar hard X-ray (about 15-600 keV) measurements. These detectors were flown in February 1987 from Australia on a long duration radiation controlled balloon flight (LDBF) which provided 12 days of observations before cutdown in Brazil. The payload includes solar cells for power, pointing, and navigation sensors, a microprocessor controlled data system with VCR tape storage, and transmitters for GOES and ARGOS spacecraft. This successful flight illustrates the potential of LDBFs for solar flare studies.

Lin, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

INSPIRE - Premission

The Interactive NASA Space Physics Ionosphere Radio Experiment (INSPIRE) designed to assist in a Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators (SEPAC) project is discussed. INSPIRE is aimed at recording data from a large number of receivers on the ground to determine the exact propagation paths and absorption of radio waves at frequencies between 50 Hz and 7 kHz. It is indicated how to participate in the experiment that will involve high school classes, colleges, and amateur radio operators.

Taylor, William W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Space and radiation protection: scientific requirements for space research

Ionizing radiation poses a significant risk to humans living and working in space. The major sources of radiation are solar disturbances and galactic cosmic rays. The components of this radiation are energetic charged particles, protons, as well as fully ionized nuclei of all elements. The biological effects of these particles cannot be extrapolated in a straightforward manner from available data on x-rays and gamma-rays. A radiation protection program that meets the needs of spacefaring nations must have a solid scientific basis, capable not only of predicting biological effects, but also of making reliable estimates of the uncertainty in these predictions. A strategy leading to such predictions is proposed, and scientific requirements arising from this strategy are discussed.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advancing 1D thermo-hydraulic tools for large cryogenic facilities

The Cryogenic Division at Fermilab develops large-scale cryogenic systems for particle accelerators and superconducting magnet test facilities. To support design and diagnostics, a Python-based code was created to calculate pressure drops in components such as valves and pipes. This paper presents recent enhancements to the code, including new heat transfer functions that improve the accuracy of thermal and hydraulic predictions. The first application models pressure and temperature changes in Proton Improvement Plant PIP-II relief pipes, aiding pipe sizing and protecting relief valves. The second example analyses heat load evolution in a pipe carrying sub-atmospheric helium, helping interpret temperature sensor data and understand gas return behavior to cold compressors. These improvements significantly expand the tool's capabilities, offering a practical resource for designing and troubleshooting cryogenic systems under dynamic thermal and flow conditions.

Beckwith, R. [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS1990

The EPACT experiment for the WIND spacecraft

The Energetic Particle: Acceleration, Composition and Transport (EPACT) experiment for the WIND spacecraft to be launched in late 1992 is presented. This experiment is designed to study the acceleration, composition and transport of a wide variety of energetic particle populations, including particles accelerated in interplanetary shocks, particles from solar flares, the anomalous component, and the Galactic cosmic rays.

Von Rosenvinge, T. T.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Solar Flares Observed with the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)

Solar flares are impressive examples of explosive energy release in unconfined, magnetized plasma. It is generally believed that the flare energy is derived from the coronal magnetic field. However, we have not been able to establish the specific energy release mechanism(s) or the relative partitioning of the released energy between heating, particle acceleration (electrons and ions), and mass motions. NASA's RHESSI Mission was designed to study the acceleration and evolution of electrons and ions in flares by observing the X-ray and gamma-ray emissions these energetic particles produce. This is accomplished through the combination of high-resolution spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging, including the first images of flares in gamma rays. RHESSI has observed over 12,000 solar flares since its launch on February 5, 2002. I will demonstrate how we use the RHESSI spectra to deduce physical properties of accelerated electrons and hot plasma in flares. Using images to estimate volumes, w e typically find that the total energy in accelerated electrons is comparable to that in the thermal plasma. I will also present flare observations that provide strong support for the presence of magnetic reconnection in a large-scale, vertical current sheet in the solar corona. RHESSI observations such as these are allowing us to probe more deeply into the physics of solar flares.

Holman, Gordon D.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission...Resolving Fundamental Processes in Space Plasmas

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a multiple-spacecraft Solar-Terrestrial Probe designed to study the microphysics of magnetic reconnection, charged particle acceleration, and turbulence in key boundary regions of Earth's magnetosphere. These three processes, which control the flow of energy, mass, and momentum within and across plasma boundaries, occur throughout the universe and are fundamental to our understanding of astrophysical and solar system plasmas. Only in Earth's magnetosphere, however, are they readily accessible for sustained study through in-situ measurement. MMS will employ five co-orbiting spacecraft identically instrumented to measure electric and magnetic fields, plasmas, and energetic particles. The initial parameters of the individual spacecraft orbits will be designed so that the spacecraft formation will evolve into a three-dimensional configuration near apogee, allowing MMS to differentiate between spatial and temporal effects and to determine the three dimensional geometry of plasma, field, and current structures. In order to sample all of the magnetospheric boundary regions, MMS will employ a unique four-phase orbital strategy involving carefully sequenced changes in the local time and radial distance of apogee and, in the third phase, a change in orbit inclination from 10 degrees to 90 degrees. The nominal mission operational lifetime is two years. Launch is currently scheduled for 2006.

Curtis, S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Simplified Method to Evaluate Energy Life Cycle Cost Effectiveness for Electron Ion Collider Infrastructure Design

The new DOE Order 436.1A approved on April 25 th provides instructions to incorporate principles of sustainability early in the project planning and design process. Integral to the principles of sustainability is life cycle cost effectiveness Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis is vital to the sustainable energy efficient design and construction of the Electron Ion Collider (EIC). Reducing energy consumption has a direct impact on reducing life cycle operating costs with benefits to the environment. The early stages of the project are the most influential where design decisions and so life-cycle considerations during this stage can result in significant impacts to the energy footprint of the design. For example, when comparing between various options, it is necessary to compare the energy savings in $\frac{US$}{kWh}$ to the capital cost in US$. And although uncertain by nature, it is important to factor in the expected inflation and discount of future spendings to compare with the cost of immediate capital investment. This tech note presents a tool that engineers can readily use to analyze energy operating costs using an incremental life cycle cost method when comparing different design alternative.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

F2D2 Targetry Overview and Conceptual Design Updates

F2D2 is a proposed 2.5 MW beam dump facility using PIP-II beam to serve dark sector physics experiments, and potentially other users. Further updates to the conceptual design are presented, along with targetry theory informing the design.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Novel indium phosphide charged particle detector characterization with a 120 GeV proton beam

Thin film detectors which incorporate semiconductor materials other than silicon have the potential to build upon their unique material properties and offer advantages such as faster response times, operation at room temperature, and radiation hardness. To explore the possibility, promising candidate materials were selected, and particle tracking detectors were fabricated. An indium phosphide detector with a metal-intrinsic-metal structure has been fabricated for particle tracking. The detector was tested using radioactive sources and a high energy proton beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In addition to its simplistic design and fabrication process, the indium phosphide particle detector showed a very fast response time of hundreds of picoseconds for the 120 GeV protons, which are comparable to the ultra-fast silicon detectors. This fast-timing response is attributed to the high electron mobility of indium phosphide. Such material properties can be leveraged to build novel detectors with superlative performance.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Experimental Studies of Nonlinear Integrable Optics with Elliptic Potentials

The stable transport of charged particle beams is the core challenge in designing and operating accelerators. The current paradigm for transverse focusing is based on quadrupole and dipole elements, described as a linear integrable Hamiltonian by Courant and Snyder. The operational limits of high intensity accelerators are often determined by collective instabilities within the beam. Nonlinear elements may be added to suppress certain forms of these collective effects, but restrict the range of stable trajectories. These shortcomings motivate extending to a nonlinear integrable system which can offer the benefits of suppressing collective instabilities without limiting the stable trajectories. Danilov and Nagaitsev proposed a novel nonlinear integrable system with elliptical potentials, which could be implemented as magnetic elements in an accelerator. Such a system has been implemented for practical verification in the integrable optics test accelerator (IOTA), a small storage ring constructed for beam dynamics studies. Electron beam studies in IOTA treat the low-emittance beam as a macroparticle for detailed probing of the expected single particle dynamics. This dissertation details new measurements of the nonlinear integrable system relevant for practical implementation. Turn-by-turn measurements of the kicked beam responses are used for phase space reconstruction and analysis of the predicted nonlinear dynamics. The stability and aperture for various nonlinear configurations are measured with beam losses. Amplitude dependent detuning, a core figure of merit for suppressing instabilities, is measured and compared with high fidelity particle tracking simulations. The synchrotron radiation images of circulating beam allow direct measurements of the topology and lifetime in configurations where nonlinear focusing terms dominate.

Wieland, John [Michigan U.] (ORCID:000000028971852↗