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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 253 records · Page 14

Comparing ICME simulations with scaled laboratory experiment

In stellar physics and astrophysics, numerical simulations and laboratory experiments are often compared to observational data to support their representation of the real world. However, there is also merit in comparing numerical simulations to properly scaled experiments, especially when the experiment and the simulation are both emulating the solar phenomena. Confirming the credibility of scaled experiments and their scaling with well-validated models is important to expand our knowledge of the associated physical phenomena. This is significant because experiments and simulations can be performed frequently, whereas observations may be limited by location, field of view, and missing data. In this work, we use the Alfvén Wave Solar atmosphere Model, a well-validated magnetohydrodynamic model, to simulate an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) and compare it to an experiment which provides a scaled analog to a physical ICME. The experiment was performed on the Big Red Ball facility and scaled using dimensionless parameters such as plasma β and magnetosonic Mach number to reproduce the main structure of an ICME. We compare the model-simulated temperature, density, and magnetic field to those from the experiment, as well as the scaling parameters used in the experiment, to those calculated from the simulation. This comparison is performed to further justify the scaling arguments made by the experiment. Additionally, the comparison would lead to the development of stronger scaling arguments for future experiments.

Bryant, K. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI ↗

Target development using the method of High-Intensity Vibrational Powder Plating (HIVIPP) at the Center for Accelerator Target Science (CATS) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)

One of the primary goals of the Center for Accelerator Target Science (CATS) is to provide targets and foils in support of the ATLAS User Facility and the Low-Energy community at large. While a wide array of target production techniques are available at CATS, new methods that must be explored invariably arise. One such technique, the High-Intensity Vibrational Powder Plating (HIVIPP), was first reported in 1997 by Isao Sugai. It was developed to produce targets and stripper foils that were difficult to make by standard methods. At Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), we have successfully constructed and tested a simple system for this purpose. We have produced targets of carbon and titanium on various metal backings using the HIVIPP method. We are currently in the exciting phase of exploring the production of other elements, including isotopically enriched and radioactive material. This work is in progress and will be further detailed with specific examples.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Accelerating cavity fault prediction using deep learning at Jefferson Laboratory

Abstract Accelerating cavities are an integral part of the continuous electron beam accelerator facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Laboratory. When any of the over 400 cavities in CEBAF experiences a fault, it disrupts beam delivery to experimental user halls. In this study, we propose the use of a deep learning model to predict slowly developing cavity faults. By utilizing pre-fault signals, we train a long short-term memory-convolutional neural network binary classifier to distinguish between radio-frequency (RF) signals during normal operation and RF signals indicative of impending faults. We optimize the model by adjusting the fault confidence threshold and implementing a multiple consecutive window criterion to identify fault events, ensuring a low false positive rate. Results obtained from analysis of a real dataset collected from the accelerating cavities simulating a deployed scenario demonstrate the model’s ability to identify normal signals with 99.99% accuracy and correctly predict 80% of slowly developing faults. Notably, these achievements were achieved in the context of a highly imbalanced dataset, and fault predictions were made several hundred milliseconds before the onset of the fault. Anticipating faults enables preemptive measures to improve operational efficiency by preventing or mitigating their occurrence.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Insights from binary pulsars and laboratories into baryon number violation: Implications for GeV dark matter

Rare processes in laboratory and within astrophysical environments can be highly sensitive probes of baryon-number-violating interactions at the TeV scale. We demonstrate the power of neutron stars to constrain baryon-number violation by considering a minimal extension of the standard model involving a TeV-mass scalar mediator and a GeV scale Majorana fermion ψ . We find that a Δ B = 2 mass-loss process in binary pulsar systems via n → γ ψ and the subsequent scattering ψ n → π − K + places stringent constraints on the model parameter space. These limits will become much stronger, due to the possibility of Λ → γ ψ decays at the tree level, if the neutron star equation of state is hyperonic. We compare these constraints with ongoing and future collider experiments, n − n ¯ oscillations, and dinucleon decay searches at future large-scale neutrino experiments, finding that the binary pulsars bounds on couplings are significantly tighter for specific flavor combinations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

baryons↗

Search for inelastic boosted dark matter with the ICARUS detector at the Gran Sasso Underground National Laboratory

We present the result of a search for inelastic boosted dark matter using the data corresponding to an exposure of 0.13 kton · year , collected by the ICARUS T-600 detector during its 2012–2013 operational period at the INFN Gran Sasso Underground National Laboratory. The benchmark boosted dark matter model features a multiparticle dark sector with a U ( 1 ) ′ gauge boson, the dark photon. The kinetic mixing of the dark photon with the Standard Model photon allows for a portal between the dark sector and the visible sector. The inelastic boosted dark matter interaction occurs when a dark matter particle inelastically scatters with an electron in the ICARUS detector, producing an outgoing, heavier dark sector state which subsequently decays back down to the dark matter particle, emitting a dark photon. The dark photon subsequently couples to a Standard Model photon through kinetic mixing. The Standard Model photon then converts to an electron-positron pair in the detector. This interaction process provides a distinct experimental signature that consists of a recoil electron from the primary interaction and an associated electron-positron pair from the secondary vertex. After analyzing 4,134 triggered events, the search results in zero observed events. Exclusion limits are set in the dark photon mass and coupling ( m X , ε ) parameter space for several selected optimal boosted dark matter mass sets and cover previously unexplored parameter space. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Can we achieve atmospheric chemical environments in the laboratory? An integrated model-measurement approach to chamber SOA studies

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA), atmospheric particulate matter formed from low-volatility products of volatile organic compound (VOC) oxidation, affects both air quality and climate. Current 3D models, however, cannot reproduce the observed variability in atmospheric organic aerosol. Because many SOA model descriptions are derived from environmental chamber experiments, our ability to represent atmospheric conditions in chambers directly affects our ability to assess the air quality and climate impacts of SOA. Here, we develop an approach that leverages global modeling and detailed mechanisms to design chamber experiments that mimic the atmospheric chemistry of organic peroxy radicals (RO 2 ), a key intermediate in VOC oxidation. Drawing on decades of laboratory experiments, we develop a framework for quantitatively describing RO 2 chemistry and show that no previous experimental approaches to studying SOA formation have accessed the relevant atmospheric RO 2 fate distribution. We show proof-of-concept experiments that demonstrate how SOA experiments can access a range of atmospheric chemical environments and propose several directions for future studies.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Electronic Visualization Laboratory's 50th Anniversary Retrospective: Look to the Future, Build on the Past

September 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). EVL's introduction of the CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment in 1992, the first widely replicated, projection-based, walk-in, virtual-reality (VR) system in the world, put EVL at the forefront of collaborative, immersive data exploration and analytics. However, the journey did not begin then. Since its founding in 1973, EVL has been developing tools and techniques for real-time, interactive visualizations—pillars of VR. But EVL's culture is also relevant to its successes, as it has always been an interdisciplinary lab that fosters teamwork, where each person's expertise contributes to the development of the necessary tools, hardware, system software, applications, and human interface models to solve problems. Over the years, as multidisciplinary collaborations evolved and advanced scientific instruments and data resources were distributed globally, the need to access and share data and visualizations while working with colleagues, local and remote, synchronous and asynchronous, also became important fields of study. This paper is a retrospective of EVL's past 50 years that surveys the many networked, immersive, collaborative visualization and VR systems and applications it developed and deployed, as well as lessons learned and future plans.

Johnson, Andrew E.↗

Progress on Pu-238 production at Idaho National Laboratory from February 2022 to July 2023

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has continued to qualify irradiation positions in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) for Pu-238 production to support NASA deep space missions. Over the past year, INL qualified Np-237 targets for ATR’s North East Flux Trap (NEFT), Inner-A and H positions. Work has begun to requalify the South Flux Trap (SFT) and to qualify the East Flux Trap (EFT) for the ATR GEN I target and is midway through the qualification process. This paper gives an overview of operational and technical activities from February 2022 to July 2023.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Overview and Current Status of Neutron Imaging at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Neutron imaging is a non-destructive technique used to study the internal structure and composition of a wide range of materials. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), there are two neutron imaging beamlines that provide complementary capabilities that serve a diverse community, from materials science and engineering to biomedical and plant sciences. This report provides an overview of the current ORNL imaging capabilities that support materials research for a broad user community.

Torres, James [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000289407610)↗

CROCUS Air Quality Data at Argonne National Laboratory Prairie Site

The AQT (Vaisala AQT530) instrument provides observations on meteorological conditions, including particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), gas species concentrations (NO, NO2, O3, CO), and environment temperature and moisture. These measurements are critical for understanding air quality. These measurements are useful for understanding changes in aerosol properties, air quality research, and comparing to model experiments especially in urban environments. These measurements are collected at the Argonne Testbed for Multiscale Observational Science (ATMOS), a prairie field site at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois. Data is available in the netCDF data format, we encourage data users review documentation through Project Pythia to understand how to work with netCDF data https://foundations.projectpythia.org/core/data-formats/netcdf-cf.html. Each file contains one day's worth of data (24 hours, starting at 0000 UTC). The data is aggregated into daily frequency to make it easier to process multiple days, and compress the higher-resolution fields. File naming convention includes the project (CROCUS), location (atmos), data level (raw, a1), date (year, month, day), and hour (0000).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

CROCUS Weather Data at Argonne National Laboratory Prairie Site

Vaisala WXT sensor is an all-in-one weather instrument that provides 6 of the most important weather parameters: barometric pressure, temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction. Temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and rainfall are sampled at 1 second frequency, while wind speed/direction is measured at ten per second (10Hz) frequency. These measurements are useful for looking at characterizing local weather, identifying unique weather events, and studying local turbulence, especially given the high temporal resolution of the wind measurements. These measurements are collected at the Argonne Testbed for Multiscale Observational Science (ATMOS), a prairie field site at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois. Data is available in the netCDF data format, we encourage data users review documentation through Project Pythia to understand how to work with netCDF data https://foundations.projectpythia.org/core/data-formats/netcdf-cf.html. The data is aggregated into daily frequency to make it easier to process multiple days, and compress the higher-resolution fields. Each file contains one day's worth of data (24 hours, starting at 0000 UTC). File naming convention includes the project (CROCUS), location (atmos), data level (raw, a1), date (year, month, day), and hour (0000).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

AmeriFlux US-Fo1 Flux Observations of Carbon from an Airborne Laboratory (FOCAL) Campaign Site 1

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Fo1 Flux Observations of Carbon from an Airborne Laboratory (FOCAL) Campaign Site 1. Site Description - This tower is locate south of Prudhoe Bay off the Dalton Highway along the Sagavanirktok (Sag) River. Landcover at the site is wetsedge (based on NSSI land cover map). During the first campaign (2013-2014), the tower location was 70.085450N; -148.570160W. It was moved to the current location (70.085050N, 148.567090W) during 2022 to 2024.

Krishnan, Praveena [NOAA/ARL/ATDD]↗

Abstract for CRADA between National Energy Technology Laboratory and OMC Hydrogen, Inc

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and OMC Thermochemistry (Participant) will collaborate in the development of a better understanding of the current domestic data of TRL 7+ syngas conversion technologies and their current and potential markets. This will provide a basis for future comparative life cycle emission and techno-economic evaluations with the participant’s syngas production process using industrial and biogenic CO2 conversion approaches.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗

Abstract for CRADA between National Energy Technology Laboratory and Eion Corp

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Eion Carbon (Participant) will collaborate on a lifecycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic assessment (TEA) of Eion Carbon’s carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) removal process. Eion Carbon’s process removes atmospheric CO 2 using high efficiency, fast-weathering minerals applied on farmland. Eion Carbon’s patented direct measurement process delivers permanent, verifiable carbon removal and diverse environmental co-benefits. This collaboration with NETL aims to produce corroborated assessment reports that will play an instrumental role in follow on funding applications and customer evaluations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Abstract for CRADA between National Energy Technology Laboratory and ClearSign Technologies Corporation

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and ClearSign Technologies Corporation (Participant) will collaborate in the development of a preliminary LCA for the scaling of a hydrogen burner product currently in proof of concept and primarily developed for chemicals processing at refineries. The current combustion product has been tested at 80% hydrogen content (20% natural gas) and maintains the NOx 97% improvement vs incumbent technologies, yet the GHG emissions of the product and use case in refining to chemicals processing would be the focus of this preliminary LCA. The Participant has noted areas where they expect environmental improvements relative to alternatives, but these improvements have not been quantified to date. The collaboration will facilitate characterizing the emissions improvement comparative to some selected incumbent technologies during the deployment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Abstract for CRADA between National Energy Technology Laboratory and Blacksand Technology, LLC

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Black Sand Technology, LLC (Participant) will collaborate in the optimization of low-cost manufacturing routes to produce ultralow-oxygen reactive metal powders of M=Ti, Zr, and Nb using Mg or Ca as reduction agents. Reactive metals have a strong chemical affinity to oxygen, making it very challenging to produce high-purity metal powders of these elements with extremely low oxygen content. This project integrates multiscale modeling and experimental validation to provide fundamental understanding of the thermodynamic limits on the deoxygenation process through HDH and optimize the key deoxygenation parameters to achieve ultralow oxygen content ≤0.1 wt.% in the reactive metal powders. The collaboration will significantly expedite the optimization of deoxygenation processes, reducing the timeline for refining deoxygenation techniques for Ti, Zr and Nb and other reactive refractory metals by about 0.5 and 2 years, respectively. This accelerated timeline translates to substantial cost savings estimated at $\$$3 million in research and development expenditures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Invasive Plant Species Management Plan for Los Alamos National Laboratory (Rev.3)

Native species are plants and animals that continually occupy a natural range without direct or indirect introduction and/or care by humans. They are adapted to the environmental conditions and processes of the ecosystem in which they reside. A species introduced into a novel ecosystem can either exploit that ecosystem and thrive or be unable to survive in that ecosystem (Hobbs et al. 2006). Alien or non-native species are species that are intentionally or accidentally introduced into a novel ecosystem and are capable of living and propagating within the physical parameters of that ecosystem. Invasive species is a species that is non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and a noxious species are those whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm. The term invasive species is applicable to plants and animals alike; however, this invasive species management plan currently focuses on invasive vegetation. Invasive plant species are usually capable of rapid colonization of disturbed ground, such as after a change in wildfire regime intensity and frequency (Reilly et al. 2020) or anthropogenic ground disturbance (Burke and Grime 1996; Hobbs and Huenneke 1992). Climate change facilitates the spread and establishment of many alien species and creates new opportunities for them to become invasive (Turbelin and Catford 2021). As climate change impacts increase in the coming decades, we may see in an increase in invasive species establishment. See a list of definitions of terms pertinent to this document in Appendix A: Definitions. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) hosts populations of non-native and invasive species all typical of the northern New Mexico region (Martin 2004; NMDA 2020). By implementing an invasive species management plan, LANL will have readily accessible management strategies for invasive species that are found on-site. The benefits of managing invasive species include a decrease in wildland fire risks, an increase in soil productivity, an increase in (productive or beneficial) wildlife habitat, an increase in water quantity and quality, and the restoration of impacted areas (Burke and Grime 1996; Hobbs and Huenneke 1992; D’Antonio and Hobbie 2005; MacDougall et al. 2013; Reilly et al. 2020). The aforementioned benefits from invasive species management directly enable the LANL mission by ensuring compliance requirements are met and site-wide programs, such as the Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Plan, are supported for a mutually beneficial outcome. An example for the LANL site specifically, controlling non-native annual plant species, for example, could reduce the costs associated with stabilizing soils during the stormwater pollution prevention compliance process. Roadway and utility right-of-way areas are another place where an integrated vegetation management strategy would promote low growing perennial plants in a way that is mutually beneficial to habitat and the institution through lowered maintenance costs. There is also an economic benefit to managing invasive species. In one nationwide study, invasive plants had an estimated impact cost of $190.45 billion (Fantel-Lepczyk et al. 2022). Investing in preventative measures and surveillance could help to offset future control and management costs of invasive species that have the potential to become established. The State of New Mexico has developed plant species lists and recommendations through the New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s Noxious Weeds Management Act, Article 7D (NM Statute § 76-7D-4 2021); however, effective invasive species management must rely on local knowledge of the site and region. Los Alamos County (LAC) has already compiled a target invasive plant species list and species-specific management objectives (Martin 2004). Therefore, the New Mexico Noxious Weed List and the LAC invasive plant species list, as well as management objectives from those documents, are integrated into LANL’s invasive plant species management plan.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗