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At least 235 records · Page 13

Trade Study of Nondestructive Assay Technologies

The purpose of this report is to summarize the capabilities of currently existing NDA technologies that can be applied to holdup measurements. Cataloguing the strengths and weaknesses of the existing state of the art is a necessary step towards setting goals for new technology development. The NDA technologies evaluated in this report include gamma imaging, non-imaging gamma detectors, and neutron coincidence counting. These technologies were chosen based on their potential for technological improvement or to be applied in different settings. Each technology will be analyzed on a set of evaluation criteria chosen to represent the most salient features of a detector system for holdup measurements. These criteria include sensitivity, energy resolution, angular resolution (for imaging technologies only), ease of use, and cost.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Spatially resolved absolute quantitation in thin tissue by mass spectrometry

Mass spectrometry (MS) has become the de facto tool for routine quantitative analysis of biomolecules. MS is increasingly being used to reveal the spatial distribution of proteins, metabolites, and pharmaceuticals in tissue and interest in this area has led to a number of novel spatially resolved MS technologies. Most spatially resolved MS measurements are qualitative in nature due to a myriad of potential biases, such as sample heterogeneity, sampling artifacts, and ionization effects. As applications of spatially resolved MS in the pharmacological and clinical fields increase, demand has become high for quantitative MS imaging and profiling data. As a result, several varied technologies now exist that provide differing levels of spatial and quantitative information. Furthermore, this review provides an overview of MS profiling and imaging technologies that have demonstrated quantitative analysis from tissue. Focus is given on the fundamental processes affecting quantitative analysis in an array of MS imaging and profiling technologies and methods to address these biases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Multi-scale planning model for robust urban drought response

Increasingly severe droughts are straining municipal water resources and jeopardizing urban water security, but uncertainty in their duration, frequency, and intensity challenges drought planning and response. We develop the Drought Resilient Interscale Portfolio Planning model (DRIPP) to generate optimal planning responses to urban drought. DRIPP is a generalizable multi-scale framework for optimizing dynamic planning strategies of long-term infrastructure deployment and short-term drought response. It integrates climate and hydrological variability with high-fidelity representations of urban water distribution, available technology options, and demand reduction measures to yield robust and cost-effective water supply portfolios that are location-specific. We apply DRIPP in Santa Barbara, California to assess how least cost water supply portfolios vary under different drought scenarios and identify portfolios that are robust across drought scenarios. In Santa Barbara, we find that drought intensity, not duration or frequency, drives cost increases, reliability risk, and regret of overbuilding infrastructure. Under uncertain drought conditions, a diversified technology portfolio that includes both rapidly deployable, decentralized technologies alongside larger centralized technologies minimizes water supply cost while maintaining high robustness to climate uncertainty.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Gas-mapping 3D imager measurement techniques and method of data processing

Measurement approaches and data analysis methods are disclosed for combining 3D topographic data with spatially-registered gas concentration data to increase the efficiency of gas monitoring and leak detection tasks. Here, the metric for efficiency is defined as reducing the measurement time required to achieve the detection, or non-detection, of a gas leak with a desired confidence level. Methods are presented for localizing and quantifying detected gas leaks. Particular attention is paid to the combination of 3D spatial data with path-integrated gas concentration measurements acquired using remote gas sensing technologies, as this data can be used to determine the path-averaged gas concentration between the sensor and points in the measurement scene. Path-averaged gas concentration data is useful for finding and quantifying localized regions of elevated (or anomalous) gas concentration making it ideal for a variety of applications including: oil and gas pipeline monitoring, facility leak and emissions monitoring, and environmental monitoring.

Thorpe, Michael↗

Life cycle analysis of a hydrogen production system based on solid oxide electrolysis cells integrated with different energy and wastewater sources

Hydrogen production via water electrolysis is a promising and evolving technology. The solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is one of the several technologies for this purpose. They are alternatives to the traditional hydrogen production from fossil fuels to enhance global energy decarbonization. However, in the bid for sustainability and a green economy, these technologies are not free from causing some environmental burdens. Using life cycle assessment (LCA), the greenhouse gas emission and degree of environmental impacts by these technologies can be identified and measured throughout their lifespan. This study addresses how to quantify these CO 2 emission impacts for an electrolytic system with different energy sources. The LCA of a novel integrated hydrogen production SOEC system with energy from solar photovoltaic and bituminous powerplant is performed using simaPro, the leading global LCA solution software. Measuring the environmental impact of the electrolytic operation in terms of weight, the bituminous powerplant poses damage which is, on average 700% more than solar PV. The thermal-to-hydrogen efficiency of the SOEC system is 56%, and a probable 28% reduction in carbon footprint with heat integration. The steam generation and the manufacturing of the SOEC have a very high environmental impact potential on the system. Here, we recommend LCA and net energy analysis is carried out for every new hydrogen technology and adequate comparison to enhance sustainable and green economy.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Review—Micro-Fuel Cell Principal Biosensors for Monitoring Transdermal Volatile Organic Compounds in Humans

Knowledge of transduction mechanisms in biosensing applications paves the way for ultrasensitive and dynamic detection in living systems. Real-world biosensing applications where ultra-sensitivity and dynamic detection are paramount include monitoring the anesthetic agent concentration during surgery; the slightest variation in concentration can potentially result in a life-threatening overdose or, on the other end of the spectrum, the patient’s awareness during the procedure. We review the benefits and functions of the transcutaneous biosensor device compared with other current technology and discuss the sensor’s capability to accurately measure volatile anesthetic gas concentration in blood using fuel cell technology. We review fundamental concepts of fuel-cell technology for wearable bio-sensing applications. The fuel cell sensor can also continuously monitor other volatile organic compounds making it versatile with numerous potential applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Magnetic Measurements of Fermilab Rapid-Cycling Booster Gradient Magnets

Fermilab is upgrading its Booster synchrotron to increase ramp rate and intensity. This is part of the Proton Improvement Plan (PIP-II) that will allow the Main Injector to achieve proton beam power of 1.2 MW within the next few years. This upgrade includes running the 55-year-old Booster magnets at 20 Hz instead of the usual 15 Hz, and construction of some shorter and wider aperture versions of these combined-function gradient magnets. Magnetic measurements were performed to characterize the present 15 Hz AC performance, and then again with 20 Hz ramp cycle to ensure performance and compatibility in this new operating regime. A 3 m-long curved flat-coil was developed for these measurements using Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology. The probe also has a separate 0.5 m-long body-field probe, allowing integral, body, and end fields to be measured across 100 mm of the magnet aperture. The sampling rate for these measurements during the AC cycle was 200 kHz, and field resolution was better than 0.01%. Details of the probe, measurements, and results are presented.

DiMarco, J. [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000228400036)↗

Completion of Transport Property Measurements on Multiple Actinide Fluoride Mixtures

One of the missions of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) Campaign under the Advanced Reactor Technology program has been to experimentally measure thermophysical properties of MSR-relevent salt systems, with the intent of supporting the development of the Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database (MSTDB). This database is jointly funded by the DOE-NE Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation Program and the MSR Campaign. Multiple DOE national laboratories, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), have been conducting measurements of thermophysical properties to support MSTDB development and provide MSR developers with access to new data that has been measured using modern methodologies and more advanced sample characterization techniques. These data may either fill gaps in the database or provide updated higher quality data to replace legacy data. Researchers at ORNL have recognized significant gaps in the transport property data of actinide-bearing fluoride salt systems of MSR industry interest. Moreover, for the data present in MSTDB in this category, the uncertainty margins are generally high, leading to questionability in our current understanding of the thermophysical characterization of actinide fluoride mixtures. As such, the focus of this study has been to generate new transport property data of actinide fluoride mixtures that are of immediate interest to MSR developers. Specifically, the mixtures NaF-UF 4 (78 - 22 mol%) and NaF-KF-UF 4 (57-16.04-26.91 mol%) have been studied—NaF-UF 4 for thermal conductivity and viscosity and NaF-KF-UF 4 for viscosity. Thermal conductivity measurements have been conducted with a variable gap apparatus, whereas viscosity has been measured with a rolling ball viscometer. Methodological and calibration details are provided for both measurement processes, along with measurement system updates that have enabled easier manufacturing of components and fewer challenges associated with conducting the measurements themselves. The resultant data collected for NaF-UF 4 (78–22 mol%) and NaF-KF-UF 4 (57-16.04-26.91 mol%) have been compared with relevant mixture data within the thermophysical arm of the MSTDB (MSTDB-TP).

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Online Alpha Monitoring of High Cs-137 Hanford and SRS High Level Waste with Tensioned Metastable Fluid Detectors

The Department of Energy’s Hanford and Savannah River Sites maintain millions of gallons of caustic supernate and salt high activity waste in their high-level waste (HLW) tank farm inventories. The Savannah River Site is currently treating this waste with a calixarene-based solvent extraction of Cs-137 to reduce these inventories. Hanford is employing an at-tank crystalline silico titanate (CST) based solid phase extraction methodology to reduce their liquid HLW inventories. Due to the high solubility of Cs-137 and the relative insolubility of the actinides in these caustic waste forms, the beta to alpha radioactivity ratio can often exceed six orders of magnitude in the feed solutions to these treatment processes. This unique characteristic leads to significant technical challenges in making rapid gross alpha measurements in the presence of the overwhelming beta, gamma, as well as dissolved sodium salt in these HLW matrices. Conventional radioanalytical techniques, such as liquid scintillation analysis or gas flow proportional counting require significant radiochemistry preparation prior to the radiometric measurements for gross alpha activity. These required pretreatments render these technologies untenable for rapid quantification of gross alpha activity that could be required to support on or at-line measurements ensuring a waste stream will meet regulatory requirements. The radiation measurement properties of Tensioned Metastable Fluid Detectors (TMFDs) have been studied by Purdue University’s Taleyarkhan research group for well over a decade. Fluids tensioned to the appropriate degree will rupture when struck by radiation, resulting in a measurable cavitation event. The negative pressure generating this tension can be adjusted by centrifugal rotation or by acoustic means in such a way that these cavitation events can be generated from alpha radiation but will not be generated by beta or gamma radiation. Purdue University and the Savannah River National Laboratory are currently collaborating to develop a gamma/beta blind, spectroscopic alpha measurement system based on the Tensioned Metastable Fluid Detector technology to provide a potential solution for performing rapid gross alpha measurements on these high gamma/beta sample matrices. Measurements using the Indirect Drive Acoustically Tensioned Metastable Fluid Detectors developed as part of this collaboration were performed with an alpha emitting radionuclide. Successful determination of gross alpha activity was observed, indicating a potential pathway for rapid gross alpha measurements in remote-handled shielded cells or in process situations requiring online alpha monitoring. Measurements using this system have been conducted on high beta activity solutions, demonstrating the beta blind capability of this system. Measurements are currently underway to test the system’s capability to measure gross alpha activity on Savannah River Site high level waste high Cs-137 samples that have been measured by the SRNL radiochemistry team. This work was supported by the DOE EM Technology Development program.

DiPrete, David [Savannah River National Laboratory↗

Ultrasonic Thermometer Sticking Mitigation Assessment

Ultrasonic thermometers have potential to improve on current technologies for very high temperature measurements. One issue limiting their adoption is the formation of diffusion bonds between the acoustic waveguide used as the sensor, and its surroundings (in some cases, a protective sheath). Several potential methods for reducing this diffusion bonding (known as sticking) have been identified. Prototype ultrasonic thermometers were fabricated and tested to high temperatures in order to evaluate these methods. Several showed promise for low temperature use. The most promising option was 3-D printed ceramic spacers.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Optimizing Hydronic Heating for Comfort and Performance in Multifamily Housing

Inefficient control settings in multifamily boilers often lead to substantial energy and cost penalties. To address this, a Fault Detection and Diagnostic (FDD) tool was developed to automate data analysis and identify operational faults such as suboptimal outdoor temperature sensor placement, misconfigured outdoor air reset (OAR) curves, excess boiler cycling, and domestic hot water (DHW) setpoint errors. By comparing pre- and post-implementation periods and applying engineering models, the tool quantifies energy savings and reduces manual analysis time by over 90%. Testing on over 100 monitored sites and a targeted subset of 12 buildings showed an average 11% energy savings from remote optimization; further validation across 19 OAR curve changes confirmed the tool’s accuracy, predicting actual savings within ±5% for most cases. Simple payback can be under three years for many multifamily buildings, though rising hardware, labor, and fuel costs create uncertainties, and decarbonization goals increasingly shift focus to electrification. The FDD tool remains invaluable for optimizing existing boilers, enhancing future electrification measures, and adapting to new technologies by refining building load estimates. In doing so, it supports both near-term efficiency and long-term transitions to low-carbon alternatives, ensuring buildings achieve substantial cost and energy benefits throughout their system lifecycles.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Accurate Efficiency Measurements for Emerging PV: A Comparison of NREL's Steady-State Performance Calibration Protocol Between Conventional and Emerging PV Technologies

Emerging PV technologies (e.g. Perovskite, and Quantum Dot) are commonly known to possess challenges for accurate performance measurement under the existing IEC 60904 series of standards, which were developed for conventional Si solar cells. Potential performance artifacts depending on scan rates and directions and light bias exposure history are often seen in those emerging solar cells. To avoid these artifacts and provide an unbiased and reliable efficiency measurement, NREL's Cell and Module Performance (CMP) Group has developed a steady-state performance calibration protocol - the asymptotic P MAX method. In this paper, we applied this procedure to four PV cell technologies, Si, CIGS, perovskite, and Quantum Dot (QD), and compared their performance variations between the transient and the steady-state conditions. By comparison, we found that the performance parameters ( i.e. V OC , I SC , FF, ..eta..) measured between fast I-V scans (and the asymptotic method (steady-state) change significantly for perovskite and QD cells. These changes do not happen for Si and CIGS cells. Furthermore, the statistical performance analysis on nearly 100 emerging cells received globally (including OPV, Perovskite, and QD) shows that over 70 % of the fast I-V scans have a relative performance deviation larger than 1% compared to those determined using the asymptotic P MAX scan. Given the complex dynamic behavior observed in emerging PV devices, the CMP group at NREL thus only certifies their steady steady-state performance using the Asymptotic P MAX method. We highly recommend similar steady-state performance calibration protocol for all researchers in emerging PV because accuracy in reported efficiencies is critical to the long-term success of those promising new PV technologies.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗

Chimera Events for Performance Studies of the MicroBooNE Deep Learning-based Low Energy Excess Search

MicroBooNE is a short baseline neutrino oscillation experiment based at Fermilab that employs Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) technology. One of its target measurements is to investigate the nature of the excess of low energy electron-like events observed by MiniBooNE. This measurement will require an excellent understanding of systematic uncertainties, obtained through testing the performance of reconstruction algorithms on samples with known properties. However, using exclusively Monte Carlo events for this task is limited by how well the discrepancies between simulation and data are understood. An alternative is to test against samples of “chimera” events, which are made up of separate single-particle components from data that are combined to create neutrino-like events. These chimera events can be used to help quantify systematic uncertainties. This note covers the performance and status of creating and using chimera events that match a target neutrino topology in MicroBooNE.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Sub-Ambient Performance of Potassium Sarcosinate for Direct Air Capture Applications: CO 2 Flux and Viscosity Measurements

Absorption based direct air capture (DAC) technologies have garnered significant interest in recent years due to their scalability, competitive regeneration energy requirements, and low susceptibility to degradation. One of the key advantages of DAC lies in its flexible siting options and the potential to utilize low-value land. However, most of the research in this field has been focused on ambient climate zones (T > 20 °C), overlooking sub-ambient (–30 °C < T < 20 °C) regions, which comprise approximately 70 % of the Earth’s surface. To fully realize the potential of DAC, it is essential to understand how DAC solvents perform in these sub-ambient conditions before any large-scale deployment can be considered. Among DAC solvents of interest, potassium sarcosinate (K-SAR) has emerged as a promising candidate due to its high CO 2 capacity, fast uptake kinetics, compatibility with contactor packing materials, low volatility, good thermal and oxidative stability, and competitive regeneration energy requirements compared to current industry standards. This paper characterizes the CO 2 flux and viscosity of K-SAR at sub-ambient conditions and explores the potential of using ethylene glycol and triethylene glycol as additives to prevent solvent freezing in DAC applications. For 1 M K-SAR, the CO 2 flux ranges between 1.3 × 10 -5 and 8.0 × 10 -5 mol m –2 s –1 across a temperature range of –5 °C to 45 °C. Ethylene glycol is shown to effectively suppress the freezing point of K-SAR below –30 °C with volumetric loadings of the additive as low as 0.1. Here, a reaction model was developed to predict the CO 2 flux for 1 M K-SAR at different temperatures, demonstrating good agreement between experimental and theoretical fluxes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Cation Data for the East River Watershed, Colorado (2014-2025)

This data package contains mean values for cation concentration for water samples taken from the East River Watershed in Colorado. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been used to measure the concentrations of elements of interest simultaneously for the East River Watershed, Colorado groundwater and surface water samples to inform insights on the biogeochemistry processes within the watershed. The East River is part of the Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (WFSFA) located in the Upper Colorado River Basin, United States. For samples collected prior to 06-16-2021, the instrumentation, Elan DRC II, PerkinElmer SCIEX, automatically switches among the three models necessary to analyze all 37 elements. These 37 elements include: (1) Lithium (Li), Beryllium (Be), Boron (B), Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg), Aluminium (Al), Silicon (Si), Phosphorus (P), Titanium (Ti), Cobalt (Co), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Germanium (Ge), Arsenic (As), Rubidium (Rb), Strontium (Sr), Zirconium (Zr), Molybdenum (Mo), Silver (Ag), Cadmium (Cd), Tin (Sn), Antimony (Sb), Caesium (Cs), Barium (Ba), Europium (Eu), Lead (Pb), Thorium (Th), Uranium (U) using standard model, argon Ar as reaction gas, (2) Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Vanadium (V), Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe) using dynamic reaction cell (DRC) model, ammonia NH3 as reaction gas, and (3) Phosphorus (P) and Selenium (Se) using DRC model, oxygen O2 as reaction gas. Note for the samples with higher concentrations of chloride (Cl-), asenic (As) concentrations were analysed with DRC model (oxygen O2 as reaction gas) to avoid the interference of chloride. For samples collected on and after 06-16-2021, an advanced Agilent 8900 triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry system (Agilent 8900 QQQ ICP-MS, Agilent Technologies) has been used to measure the concentrations of interested 36 elements simultaneously for environmental samples, including (1) Lithium (Li), Beryllium (Be) and Boron (B) using standard no gas mode, (2) Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg), Aluminium (Al) Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Germanium (Ge), Arsenic (As), Rubidium (Rb), Strontium (Sr), Zirconium (Zr), Molybdenum (Mo), Silver (Ag), Cadmium (Cd), Tin (Sn), Antimony (Sb), Cesium (Cs), Barium (Ba), Europium (Eu), Lead (Pb), Thorium (Th) and Uranium (U) using standard helium (He) collision mode, (3) Titanium (Ti) and Vanadium (V) using high Energy (HEHe) helium (He) collision mode, and (4) Silicon (Si), Calcium (Ca) and Selenium (Se) using standard H2 reaction mode. All samples were prepared/diluted with 2% (v/v) ultrapure nitric acid in Milli-Q water (18.2 mega ohm-cm), and analyzed under a rigorous quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) process. This data package contains (1) a zip file (cation_data_2014_2025.zip) containing a total of 5,849 files: 5.848 data files of cation data from across the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (SFA) which is reported in .csv files per location and a locations.csv (1 file) with latitude and longitude for each location; (2) a file-level metadata (v6_20260901_flmd.csv) file that lists each file contained in the dataset with associated metadata; (3) a data dictionary (v6_20260901_dd.csv) file that contains terms/column_headers used throughout the files along with a definition, units, and data type; (4) PDF and docx files for the detemination of Method Detection Limits (MDLs) for ICP-MS PerkinElmer DRC II instrumentation (Detemination_of_Method_Detection_Limits__MDLs__for_ICP_MS__PerkinElmer_Elan_DRC_II__LBL_Bldg74_Lab214D) for samples before November 2021; (5) PDF and docx files for the determination of MDLs for ICP-MS Agilent 8900 QQQ instrumentation (ICP_MS_Analysis_detection_limits_and_QA_QC_WenmingDong_updated_2026-08-06) for samples November 2021 and onward. Missing values within the anion data files are noted as either "-9999" or "0.0" for not detectable (N.D.) data. There are a total of 113 locations containing cation data. Update on 2021-04-11: Added Detemination of Method Detection Limits (MDLs) for ICP-MS document, which can be accessed as a PDF or with Microsoft Word. Update on 2022-06-10: versioned updates to this dataset was made along with these changes: (1) updated cation data for all locations up to 2021-12-31, (2) removal of units from column headers in datafiles, (3) added row underneath headers to contain units of variables, (4) removed suffix and prefix on two variables (“aqberylliumion_asberyllium” and “aqlithiumion_aslithium”), (5) added -9999 for empty numerical cells, and (6) the addition of the file-level metadata (flmd.csv) and data dictionary (dd.csv) were added to comply with the File-Level Metadata Reporting Format. Update on 2022-09-09: Updates were made to reporting format specific files (file-level metadata and data dictionary) to correct swapped file names, add additional details on metadata descriptions on both files, add a header_row column to enable parsing, and add version number and date to file names (v2_20220909_flmd.csv and v2_20220909_dd.csv). Update on 2023-08-08: Updates were made to both the data files and reporting format specific files. New available anion data was added, up until 2023-01-05. The file level metadata and data dictionary files were updated to reflect the additional data added. Update on 2024-03-11: Updates were made to both the data files and reporting format specific files. New available anion data was added, up until 2023-10-16. Further, revisions to the data files were made to remove incorrect data points (from 1970 and 2001). The reporting format specific files were updated to reflect the additional data added. Updated versions of the PDF and docx files for determination of MDLs for ICP-MS data were added to this dataset for samples starting in November 2021. Update on 2025-05-15: Updates were made to both the data files and reporting format specific files. New available cation data was added, up until the end of WY2024 (September 30, 2024). International Generic Sample Numbers (IGSNs), when registered, were added to the data files. The reporting format specific files were updated to reflect the additional data added. Update on 2026-09-01: Updates were made to both the data files and reporting format specific files. New available cation data was added, up until the end of WY2025 (September 30, 2025). Updated versions, as of 2026-08-06, of the PDF and docx files for determination of MDLs for ICP-MS data were added to this dataset for samples starting in November 2021.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗