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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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389 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Durability of ABC Team Wall Assemblies

This study evaluates the long-term hygrothermal durability of four advanced retrofit wall systems using a field test facility located in Hollywood, South Carolina, representative of a mixed-humid coastal climate (Zone 3). The research focuses on assessing the thermal and moisture performance of a baseline wall assembly retrofitted with (1) Tremco/Dryvit prefabricated panel systems (Revitalite and Fedderlite), (2) Reinforced Fiberglass Plastic (RFP) panels developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and (3) Vacuum Insulated Panels (VIP) integrated with EPS by Home Innovation Research Labs (HIRL) and ORNL. A baseline wall representing a typical uninsulated wood-frame construction was used for comparison.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Recrystallization, cracking, and erosion of dispersoid-strengthened tungsten materials during exposure to divertor plasmas

In this study, we investigated the effects of combined intense particle and heat flux exposure on advanced tungsten plasma-facing materials within the DIII-D fusion facility. Our test matrix included two types of dispersoid-strengthened tungsten (containing either 100 nm diameter TiO 2 or Ni particles), along with high-purity polycrystalline tungsten as a reference. This experiment relied on a sample geometry angled at 15° relative to the divertor surface, thereby allowing the surfaces to intercept steady-state perpendicular heat fluxes (q ⟂ ) ranging from 10.1 to 19.6 MW/m 2 . During each shot, the samples were exposed to 42 Hz edge-localized modes (ELMs), allowing us to test the material response to transient heating. We correlated the exposure conditions with extensive post-test surface composition analysis and microscopy to determine how the plasma modified each surface. The angled specimens closest to the strike point received the highest combined heat and particle flux and melted midway through the experiment. EBSD analysis revealed they were completely recrystallized throughout, with an average grain size >100 µm. On the other hand, the specimens that received a lower steady state heat flux survived with more superficial surface damage. Whereas the high-purity polycrystalline tungsten exhibited a higher surface roughness, the dispersoid-strengthened material exhibited more extensive shallow inter-granular cracking. In addition, the surface was depleted of dispersoids following plasma exposure, possibly because of evaporation and/or sputtering. The results described here provide insights into the performance of these materials in a fusion environment which can guide further optimization for use in long-pulse devices.

Kolasinski, Robert D. [Sandia National Laboratorie↗
DOE OSTI2025

Technology & Design Innovations to Maximize the Reduction Effect on DCFC Unit Cost Economics (Max‐REDUCE)

With the high cost and reliability issues of DCFC infrastructure the project specifically addressed the needs of innovating on the AC to DC power conversion. We proved the integration of a new power module into existing charger units, and that theoretical educational work on single stage energy conversion is commercially viable, and a reduced cost compared to existing methods. Our A sample shown 3 PH 480VAC 60hz to 350VDC 8.5kW power transfer, and our software and simulation proved efficiency greater than 97% from 20kW to > 60kW, over the DC output voltage range 200 – 1200V. The project was stopped before we could implement B sample and execute full power testing, validation and integration into a demonstration charger (budget period 3).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Impact of Bias Row Noise to Photometric Accuracy: Case Study Based on a Scientific CMOS Detector

Abstract We tested a new model of CMOS detector manufactured by the Gpixel Inc, for potential space astronomical application. In laboratory, we obtain some bias images under the typical application environment. In these bias images, clear random row noise pattern is observed. The row noise also contains some characteristic spatial frequencies. We quantitatively estimated the impact of this feature to photometric measurements, by making simulated images. We compared different bias noise types under strict parameter control. The result shows the row noise will significantly deteriorate the photometric accuracy. It effectively increases the readout noise by a factor of 2–10. However, if it is properly removed, the image quality and photometric accuracy will be significantly improved.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Dissecting Disorder: Defect-Driven Structural Complexity in Layered Li3InCl6 Solid Electrolyte

Halide solid electrolytes have emerged as promising candidates for solid-state batteries owing to their high oxidative stability and ionic conductivity. Among them, Li3InCl6 (LIC) has attracted significant attention. However, diffraction patterns of LIC synthesized via different methods exhibit distinct differences particularly at low-angle reflectionsindicative of underlying structural disorder. These variations are attributed to deviations from ideal crystallographic order, especially stacking faults, whose impact on structure and ion transport remains poorly understood. Here, we identify and quantify stacking faults in LIC samples prepared under different synthetic conditions. Using X-ray diffraction and time-of-flight neutron diffraction, we construct and refine stacking fault models that accurately reproduce the experimental diffraction features. LIC samples with higher degrees of stacking faults exhibit only negligible differences in ionic conductivities and activation energies. This indicates that stacking faults have a limited impact on altering the Li+ diffusion pathway along the c-axis, likely due to the high concentration of vacancies in the In layers, while Li+ diffusion remains nearly unchanged in the ab-plane. Our results account for the observed differences in diffraction patterns across samples and provide a quantitative assessment of faulting probabilities and stacking sequences. The insights gained from this study are expected to be broadly applicable to other layered halide solid electrolytes and contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of structural disorder in ion transport.

Liu, Jue [ORNL] (ORCID:000000024453910X)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Characterization of lateral amorphous selenium photodetectors for low-photon and VUV detection at cryogenic temperatures

The performance of amorphous selenium (a-Se) as a cryogenic photodetector material is evaluated through a series of experiments using laterally structured devices operated in a custom optical test stand. These studies investigate the response of a-Se detectors to low-photon fluxes at high electric fields near avalanche conditions, the linearity of the photoconductive response over a wide dynamic range and the direct detection of narrowband 130 nm vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) illumination. At 87 K, matched-filter analysis shows reliable single-shot detection with efficiencies ≥80% and area under the curve (AUC) ≥ 0.85 using as few as ∼ 6800 incident 401 nm photons, corresponding to ∼ 3400 photons within field-active regions after accounting for geometric constraints. Measurements are performed at cryogenic temperatures using calibrated photon fluxes derived from a silicon photomultiplier reference and a characterized optical filter stack. Additional experiments using a tellurium-doped a-Se (a-SeTe) device explore the material's behavior under identical test conditions and demonstrate that avalanche is achievable in a-SeTe at cryogenic temperatures. The results demonstrate reproducible low-noise operation, VUV sensitivity and field-dependent gain behavior in a lateral a-Se architecture, representing the first reported observation of avalanche multiplication in laterally structured a-Se and a-SeTe devices at cryogenic temperatures. These findings support the potential integration of laterally structured a-Se devices into next-generation pixelated liquid-argon time projection chambers (TPCs) requiring scalable, high-field-compatible photon detection systems.

Amorphous selenium↗
DOE OSTI2026

Observation of N-rich solid-electrolyte interphase by ToF-SIMS.

Formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) between lithium electrodes and electrolyte upon multiple charge/discharge cycles is crucial to a long-term lithium-ion battery performance. Addition of LiNO3 to lithium bis (fluorosulfonyl) imide/poly(ethylene oxide) (LiFSI/PEO) electrolyte leads to a durable SEI that is electrically insulating yet highly conductive to Li ions, chemically and electrochemically stable, physically uniform, and mechanically robust. ToF-SIMS was used here in combination with sputtering by a gaseous cluster ion beam (GCIB) to examine how the addition of a small proportion of LiNO3 to the LiFSI/PEO electrolyte affects the SEI composition. Negative ion ToF-SIMS spectra of the cycled samples display an intense m/z 26 peak associated with the SEI. Exact mass assignments and isotopic ratios indicate that this peak should be assigned as (CN-)-C-12, with little to no negative secondary ion signal arising from (LiF-)-Li-7. This CN- signal appears to arise from an N-rich portion of the SEI adjacent to the Li electrode that is depleted in LiF relative to the bulk electrolyte. The dearth of LiF- (and LiF+ from the positive ion spectra) is unexpected because LiF has been identified in the SEI in similar samples. Finally, GCIB sputtering indicates that the SEI adheres more strongly to the Li electrode than to the LiFSI/PEO electrolyte.

Shavandi, Seyedeh Reyhaneh↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wettability of Two-Dimensional Carbon Allotropes from Molecular Simulations

Force-field Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulations are used to compare wetting behaviors of model carbon sheets mimicking neat graphene, its saturated derivative, graphane, and related planar allotropes penta-graphene, γ-graphyne, and ψ-graphene in contact with aqueous droplets or an aqueous film confined between parallel carbon sheets. Atomistic and area-integrated surface/water potentials are found to be essentially equivalent in capturing moderate differences between the wetting free energies of tested substrates. Despite notable differences in mechanical and electric properties of distinct allotropes, the predicted allotrope/water contact angles span a narrow window of weakly hydrophilic values. Contact angles in the range of 80 ± 10° indicate modest hydration repulsion incapable of competing with van der Waals attraction between carbon particles. Poor dispersibility in neat water is hence a common feature of studied materials.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology↗
DOE OSTI2025

Chemical Bond Covalency in Superionic Halide Solid‐State Electrolytes

Abstract Halide solid‐state electrolytes (SSEs) are promising superionic conductors with high oxidative stability and ionic conductivity, making them attractive for all‐solid‐state lithium‐ion batteries. However, most studies have focused on ion‐stacking structures, overlooking the role of bond characteristics in ionic transport. Here, we investigate bond dynamics and the superionic transition (SIT) in bromide electrolyte, Li 3 InBr 6 , using synchrotron X‐ray techniques and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. We demonstrate that the SIT in halide SSEs is driven by a thermally induced transition in bonding character (ionic to covalent) rather than a change in crystal phase. AIMD simulations further reveal enhanced Li⁺ diffusion and collective anion motion at elevated temperatures. Expanding our study to Li 3 LnBr 6 (Ln = Gd, Tb, Ho, Tm, and Lu), we confirm the widespread occurrence of SIT in this material class, with Li 3 GdBr 6 exhibiting the highest ionic conductivity (5.2 mS cm −1 at 298 K). More importantly, the ionic‐covalent transition is highly tunable through electrolyte modifications, such as cation/anion substitution and synthesis methods. Our findings provide a new perspective on ionic transport, highlighting the critical role of chemical bond characteristics in halide SSEs.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2026

Research and Development Related to the Commercialization of Perovskite Radiation Detectors (CRADA Final Report)

This work will focus on the development of perovskite radiation detectors fabricated with nanocrystal, thick polycrystalline films, or single crystal materials. This will harness NREL’s instrumentation and expertise in a variety of research areas including but not limited to metal halide perovskites, device characterization, device packaging, accelerated lifetime testing, and ink chemistry development.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Delineating the Impact of Transition‐Metal Crossover on Solid‐Electrolyte Interphase Formation with Ion Mass Spectrometry

Abstract Lithium‐metal batteries (LMB) employing cobalt‐free layered‐oxide cathodes are a sustainable path forward to achieving high energy densities, but these cathodes exhibit substantial transition‐metal dissolution during high‐voltage cycling. While transition‐metal crossover is recognized to disrupt solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation on graphite anodes, experimental evidence is necessary to demonstrate this for lithium‐metal anodes. In this work, advanced high‐resolution 3D chemical analysis is conducted with time‐of‐flight secondary‐ion mass spectrometry (TOF‐SIMS) to establish spatial correlations between the transition metals and electrolyte decomposition products found on cycled lithium‐metal anodes. Insights into the localization of various chemistries linked to crucial processes that define LMB performance, such as lithium deposition, SEI growth, and transition‐metal deposition are deduced from a precise elemental and spatial analysis of the SEI. Heterogenous transition‐metal deposition is found to perpetuate both heterogeneous SEI growth and lithium deposition on lithium‐metal anodes. These correlations are confirmed across various lithium‐metal anodes that are cycled with different cobalt‐free cathodes and electrolytes. An advanced electrolyte that is stable to higher voltages is shown to minimize transition‐metal crossover and its effects on lithium‐metal anodes. Overall, these results highlight the importance of maintaining uniform SEI coverage on lithium‐metal anodes, which is disrupted by transition‐metal crossover during operation at high voltages.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2026

From the Great Wave of Translation to the Force between Quarks

Here, the chance observation of a novel traveling wave in a canal led over time to the formulation of a nonlinear wave equation—the Korteweg–de Vries equation—that describes strikingly robust disturbances now called solitons. The figure of an isolated soliton corresponds to a reflectionless potential that supports a single bound state in the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation. An appropriate combination of individual solitons yields a symmetric reflectionless potential that supports multiple bound states. Thus, the KdV equation opens the path to solving the inverse scattering problem for a collection of bound states. Applied to the quarkonium spectra, this formalism allows the construction of reflectionless approximations to the confining potentials that account for the force between quarks, and to tests of the flavor-independence of the interquark interaction.

Inverse Scattering↗
DOE OSTI2026

Revolutionizing thermal Management in Next-Generation AI data centers: Challenges and breakthrough innovations

Data centers (DCs) serve as critical infrastructure for powering the growth and evolution of AI. Next-generation AI DCs present unique challenges in thermal management driven by unprecedented computational demands. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of key stakeholder perspectives on technology gaps, infrastructure requirements, test bed needs, emerging opportunities, and preliminary solutions related to thermal management for AI DCs. It establishes six strategic pillars of thermal management for next generation AI DC: reliability, deployability, efficiency, resilience, measurability, and valorization. The discussion spans a range of critical topics, including advanced cooling technologies, thermal strategies for emerging modular and edge DCs, system-level optimization and control frameworks, infrastructure planning and grid integration designs, benchmarking approaches, and pathways for waste heat recovery and reuse. The proposed research, development, and demonstration efforts are aimed at accelerating the deployment of AI DCs while ensuring energy efficiency, reliability, safety, and regulatory compliance.

Wang, Pengtao [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000214713429)↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Critical Review on the History of Fabricating Monolithic U-Mo Fuel Plates

Fabrication of uranium-molybdenum alloy fuels has been occurring since the early 2000s in support of the development of a high-uranium-density low-enrichment fuel for use in high-performance research and test reactors which operate at relatively low temperatures. The primary fuel form—a thin foil of uranium, alloyed with 10wt% molybdenum, which is coated in a layer of zirconium and then encapsulated with aluminum 6061 as a cladding material—was developed over a number of years.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Mechanistic Understanding of Interphase-driven Aging in Silicon Anodes

Conventional solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs) strongly adhere to micro-silicon (µ-Si) and crack under volume changes, causing poor cycling performance. Nano-silicon improves cycling performance but remains costly with limited calendar life. Here potentiostatic ageing tests demonstrate that both calendar and cycle ageing are governed by SEI cracking and dissolution with different relative contributions. When the system is not dominated by SEI dissolution, the relative calendar life of Si anodes could correlates positively with their cycle life. LiF-rich SEI that enables long cycle life in µ-Si is therefore expected to enhance calendar life as well. Using this framework, we screened electrolytes, SEIs and electrodes and validated them with full-cell storage. LiF-rich SEI minimizes cracking and dissolution, enabling μ-Si to achieve excellent calendar life, whereas nano-silicon suffers from SEI dissolution and needs reduced electrolyte–electrode contact for better calendar life. This work clarifies calendar-ageing behaviour and accelerates electrolytes and SEI development for long-life Si anodes.

Johnson, Christopher S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimizing Renewable Ammonia Production for a Sustainable Fertilizer Supply Chain Transition

Local renewable ammonia production using electrolytic hydrogen is an emerging approach to alleviate emissions attributed to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer production while also insulating against fluctuations in fertilizer prices and mitigating transportation costs and emissions. However, replacing ammonia currently produced using fossil fuels will not be immediate. To this end, we develop a supply chain transition model, which first optimizes the design and hourly operation of new renewable ammonia facilities to minimize production costs and then optimizes the annual installation timing, production scale, and location of these new renewable facilities along with ammonia transportation to meet county resolution demands. The objective is to augment and eventually replace conventional ammonia market imports in an economically competitive manner. We performed a case study for Minnesota's ammonia supply chain and found that a full transition to in-state renewable production by 2032 is optimal. This is incentivized by the U.S. federal government's clean hydrogen production credits. This transition results in 99 % reduction in carbon intensity along with stable supply costs below $475 per metric tonne. New renewable production facilities are an order of magnitude smaller than existing conventional plants. They use both wind and solar resources and operate dynamically to minimize expensive battery and hydrogen storage capacities.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unveiling the lithium-ion transport mechanism in Li{sub 2}ZrCl{sub 6} Solid-State Electrolyte {ital via} deep learning-accelerated molecular dynamics simulations.

Lithium zirconium chlorides (LZCs) present a promising class of cost-effective solid electrolytes for next-generation all-solid-state batteries. The unique crystal structure of LZCs plays a crucial role in facilitating lithium-ion mobility, which further affects the electrochemical performance. To understand the underlying mechanism governing ion transport, we employed deep learning-accelerated molecular dynamics simulation on Li2ZrCl6 (trigonal alpha- and monoclinic beta-LZC), focusing specifically on the zirconium coordination environment. Our results reveal that disordered alpha-LZC exhibits the highest ionic conductivity, while beta-LZC demonstrates significantly lower conductivity, closely aligning with experimental findings. The study confirms that across all phases, lithium migration proceeds via the site-to-site hopping mechanism, where variations in site residence times critically impact the overall ionic conductivity. In alpha-LZCs, lithium ions prefer to anisotropically diffuse across interlayers as the result of a lower energy barrier, driven primarily by collective diffusion. In contrast, lithium ions in beta-LZC primarily isotropically diffuse within the intralayer, hindered by higher energy barriers and determined by individual diffusion. The variation in ZrCl6 2- octahedral unit softening, induced by the specific layered arrangement of zirconium atoms, emerges as a critical determinant of the energy barriers across the LZC phases. These atomic-scale insights into the transport processes provide valuable guidance for the rational design and optimization of LZCs-based electrolytes, accelerating their practical application in advanced energy storage technologies.

Guo, Hanzeng↗
DOE OSTI2026

Secondary-Side Active Rectifier Synchronization and Control in LCC-LC Compensated Inductive Power Transfer Systems

This paper proposes a communication-less synchronization and output power control strategy for LCC-LC compensated inductive power transfer systems with a secondaryside active rectifier. By replacing the passive rectifier with an active bridge, the proposed architecture eliminates the need for a separate secondary-side DC-DC converter and enables direct regulation of battery power. The key challenge in such a system is achieving robust synchronization of the secondary active bridge with the primary inverter without access to primary-side signals. To address this issue, the secondary-side variables are analyzed and the current through the secondary series inductor is identified as a load-independent synchronization variable with a fixed phase relationship to the primary excitation. A fixed-frequency second order generalized (SOGI)-based phase locked loop (PLL) is used to estimate the switching phase and frequency, and a phase-shift-based output power controller is developed using a phasor-transformer model of the active bridges. A modified control formulation is further introduced to remove phase-dependent loop-gain variation and simplify controller design. Simulation results validate the proposed method under both fixed and varying switching-frequency conditions, demonstrating successful frequency tracking from 82 kHz to 88 kHz and accurate output power regulation over a wide operating range. The proposed method offers a compact and effective solution for high-power IPT systems by enabling secondary-side synchronization and control without wireless communication or an additional DC-DC conversion stage.

Fernandes, Arnold Anthony [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000631↗