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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Isokinetic Inlet Aboard Aircraft (INLETISOK-AIR) Instrument Handbook

Isokinetic Inlet aboard the aircraft designed by Brechtel (Hayward, California) and modified by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Additional information can be found on the manufacturer’s website. An earlier model was used on the Gulfstream-159 (G-1) aircraft operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility (AAF) until 2019. A newer version of this instrument will be deployed on the replacement Challenger 850 aircraft. Modifications to the inlet involve making the software compatible with the aircraft’s data acquisition system.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Replacement Cold Neutron Guide System for HFIR (Conceptual Design Report)

The design of a replacement cold neutron guide system for the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) is presented. The proposed six-channel design uses the latest technologies and is optimally designed to account for operational and site constraints. These include the design of the cold source and the beam tube, the size and shape of the penetrations in the reactor confinement boundary, and the shape and orientation of the guide hall. The existing user instruments are a macromolecular diffractometer (IMAGINE), an IMAGING station, two small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instruments (Bio-SANS and GP-SANS), and a cold triple-axis spectrometer (C-TAX). These instruments will all be reinstalled at end-of-guide positions with improved performance, and a position for a new high-performance neutron spin echo instrument will be created. The proposed guide design requires an extension to the guide hall toward the south. The calculated flux gain for a typical experiment is between a factor of 1.3 and 3 for all instruments, with the exception of the C-TAX instrument, which stands to gain a factor of >30 in flux at the sample. The new guide system will also offer additional performance gains, such as an increase in Q-range on Bio-SANS. The stated performance gains do not take into account any potential performance gains resulting from renewal and realignment of the guide system. The design of the guide system in the common sections up to about 25 m from the source is considered to be complete and ready for engineering design, while the designs of the instrument-specific guides are in some cases still a work in progress. The present report describes the current status of those designs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Disruption modelling for engineering and physics design of ST-E1 fusion power plant

Plasma disruptions represent a critical challenge for high-performance tokamak operations, as they can compromise machine integrity and reduce operational availability. Although future fusion devices essentially need to incorporate strategies to minimise disruption occurrence, complete avoidance remains unattainable. Consequently, assessing and characterising unmitigated disruption consequences is fundamental for the design and qualification of next-generation fusion power plants. This work supports the pre-conceptual design of ST-E1, a low aspect-ratio Tokamak Fusion Power Plant developed by Tokamak Energy Ltd., by presenting a comprehensive disruption modelling approach applied across different design stages. The methodology integrates both physics and engineering considerations to evaluate the impact of disruptions on machine performance and structural integrity. From an engineering perspective, several ST-E1 layout options were analysed to investigate the electromagnetic response of key components under disruption-induced loads, enabling comparison between alternative design solutions. On the physics side, a broad set of disruption scenarios was explored, scanning operational space parameters, plasma-material interactions, and associated thermal loads. Furthermore, the study examined variations in disruption behaviour arising from different reference equilibria, focusing on a range starting from Double Null to Single Null configurations, reflecting the increasing up-down asymmetry consequences. The results reveal significant contrasts in plasma dynamics and structures electromagnetic behaviour between configurations, highlighting the importance of disruption modelling in guiding design choices. These analyses have proven instrumental in shaping ST-E1 development, offering critical insights for mitigating risks and optimising future fusion power plant designs.

Borowiec, Katarzyna [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000335911739↗
DOE OSTI2022

An Automated Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope Guided by Sparse Data Analytics

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to reshape scientific inquiry and enable breakthrough discoveries in areas such as energy storage, quantum computing, and biomedicine. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), a cornerstone of the study of chemical and materials systems, stands to benefit greatly from AI-driven automation. However, present barriers to low-level instrument control, as well as generalizable and interpretable feature detection, make truly automated microscopy impractical. Here, we discuss the design of a closed-loop instrument control platform guided by emerging sparse data analytics. We hypothesize that a centralized controller, informed by machine learning combining limited a priori knowledge and task-based discrimination, could drive on-the-fly experimental decision-making. This platform may unlock practical, automated analysis of a variety of material features, enabling new high-throughput and statistical studies.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Instrumentation for the In-Core Real-Time Mechanical Testing of Structural Materials (INCREASE) Project

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), the Joint Research Center (JRC), the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG), and the Research Center Rez (CVR), started a Joint Experimental Program (JEEP) project that operates within the Nuclear Energy Agency’s Framework for Irradiation Experiments (FIDES II) program in order to develop capabilities for the in-core real-time mechanical testing of structural materials. This effort will focus on designing a shared capsule capable of housing a variety of in-core mechanical testing instrumentation allowing enhanced experiments for the material science community. The outcome of the project would be high-priority, stress relaxation data for stainless-steel-based materials provided by EPRI and CEA. Stress relaxation is a major phenomenon that contributes to material degradation in nuclear reactor components. Currently, nuclear material stress relaxation is assessed both before and after irradiation, using complex and costly post-irradiation examination (PIE) activities. In-situ data would support the development of precision modeling and simulation of this degradation phenomena and would provide validation and benchmarking for existing models using the PIE data. As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Sensor and Instrumentation (ASI) program, INL has fabricated and tested out-of-core mechanical test instrumentation. This instrumentation was designed for easy adaptation to the irradiation capsule proposed under this JEEP, and can be deployed to measure real-time stress relaxation under pressurized-water reactor (PWR) conditions. This initial effort will partially serve to replace the testing capabilities lost because of shutting down the Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR). The project would provide these capabilities to the international community via a shared capsule design that is easily adaptable to additional material test reactors. The design features will incorporate expansion to PWR and non-light-water reactor (LWR) environments that will be developed in future work. The capsule and instrumentation will be demonstrated in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor (MITR) for phase I and the Petten High Flux Reactor (HFR) for phase II irradiations to deliver real-time stress relaxation data on high priority stainless steel structural materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Improved evaluation of safeguards parameters from spent fuel measurements with the Differential Die-Away (DDA) instrument

The Differential Die-Away (DDA) technique is a highly sensitive non-destructive assay method for characterizing and detecting the presence of fissile material within an item of interest. DDA utilizes a series of pulses from a neutron generator (NG) to actively interrogate an item of interest. The die-away time of the neutron population induced by this active interrogation and the integral of the total differential die-away signal can be used to characterize items such as nuclear waste drums and spent nuclear fuel assemblies. In this work, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) conceptualized, designed, and fabricated a DDA instrument that was deployed for field test measurements at the Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (Clab) in Oskarshamn, Sweden. The instrument performed multiple static measurements at fixed locations and dynamic axial scans of 15 pressurized water reactor (PWR) and 10 boiling water reactor (BWR) spent fuel assemblies, collecting both passive and active measurement data. The static assays of the assemblies measured the differential die-away signal, die-away time, and total passive neutron emission rate to create calibration curves for the evaluation of assembly multiplication, burnup, initial enrichment, effective fissile mass, and total elemental plutonium mass. Each calibration curve was optimized by minimizing the relative root mean square error (RRMSE) of assembly assay results compared to declared assembly parameters. The same quantities were also measured with the axial scans, and the resulting data were applied in two ways: (1) in the creation of calibration curves to improve evaluation of the same safeguards parameters as static assays, and (2) for comparison to simulation. In most cases, across both PWR and BWR assemblies, axial scan data improved the estimation of the above parameters, quantified by decreasing the calibration curve RRMSE. These axial scan results demonstrate the ability of the DDA instrument and analysis method to characterize spent PWR and BWR fuel as well as, or better than, a static assay of the same assembly. Furthermore, the DDA instrument’s unique ability to obtain both active and passive data in a single, axial scan of an entire spent fuel assembly represents a more efficient and accurate way of assaying spent fuel for verification purposes. These results represent a significant advancement for characterizing spent nuclear fuel compared to current technologies.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

VIPIR: A High-Throughput Drop-Weight Impact Instrument for Imaging the Initiation and Propagation of Reactions in Energetic Materials

Characterizing the handling safety and sensitivity of explosives has been a challenging area of study for over 60 years. Historically one of the most accessible and widely utilized experiments has been the drop-weight impact test, which involves dropping a weight on a small sample sandwiched between two anvils. Because this experiment generally only utilizes sound thresholds to determine whether or not a sample reacted, the physical and chemical properties governing sensitivity remain convolved. Better understanding of chemical and material characteristics is needed to give the chemistry and engineering communities a predictive tool to determine the handling sensitivity of explosives prior to pursuing expensive and potentially hazardous synthesis and formulation operations. Here, we are developing a high throughput drop tower instrument capable of imaging the deformation and flow of energetic materials during impact and the resulting thermal ignition and propagation events. This instrument is based on previous designs but has been modified for higher throughput and tailorable modifications in the future. Herein, we present key design features that enable high-speed visible and thermal imaging of explosive initiation by sub-shock impacts, as well as preliminary results in which ignition sites were observed in an erythritol tetranitrate sample.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effectiveness of Versalink 143 on Improving Shock Survival of Encapsulated Electronics

In the past, test-vehicle-mounted instrumentation modules that record sensor data during shock and vibration events have been coated with a polymer isolation layer to enhance survivability. This study uses finite element modeling to evaluate the effectiveness of the isolation material Versalink 143 on reducing stress in an instrumentation module. The modeling shows that while the isolation layer does attenuate stress due to high frequency shock and vibration, it also amplifies stress due to lower frequency shock and vibration. Thicker layers tend to attenuate high frequency stress more and amplify low frequency stress less. In addition, at higher test temperatures thermal expansion of the isolation layer can cause static stress in the module far greater than the stress due to shock, depending on how the module is constrained within the test vehicle. When designing and implementing vehicle- mounted instrumentation modules, the expected input shock spectrum, mounting constraints, and static effects of temperature must be carefully considered.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Sulfur Solutions: Advancing High Voltage and High Energy Lithium Batteries with Organosulfur Electrolytes

Achieving energy densities exceeding 350 Wh kg -1 while operating at elevated voltages (>4.5 V vs Li/Li + ) is attainable through judicious selection of electrochemical pairs at the cathode and anode. However, current state-of-the-art electrolytes exhibit limited stability when exposed to systems operating at or above 4.3 V. This limitation contributes to the degradation of electrode materials and raises critical safety concerns, impeding the commercialization of such systems. Consequently, there has been a notable surge in research efforts aimed at developing innovative electrolyte compositions capable of supporting high-voltage lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). A substantial portion of this research has focused on the family of organosulfur molecules, which possess high oxidative stability. Organosulfur salts also facilitate the formation of dense, ionically conductive solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI) and demonstrate excellent solubility. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the field of organosulfur electrolyte components for their applications in energy storage, encompassing solvents, alternative conducting salts, and additives. It emphasizes the idea that the deliberate design of electrolyte compositions is instrumental in controlling electrode passivation, with organosulfur-based structures historically proving advantageous in every aspect of the electrolyte. Crucially, it should be noted that many of these components are commercially available, holding significant implications for industrial applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

OrganiCam: First Camera for Noncontact Biodetection in Space

Los Alamos National Laboratory designed a compact laser-induced fluorescence imaging camera with Raman spectrometer to identify organic molecules and biosignatures in environments such as Martian caves, icy-moons, and asteroid surfaces. OrganiCam is the primary instrument on the Laser-Induced Fluorescence Exploration of Caves for Organics and Volatiles using an Elevated Platform (LIFE COVE) NASA mission concept. OrganiCam could also determine if instruments being sent into space for NASA are sterile and analyze samples returned to Earth. OrganiCam’s robust design for extreme environments, portability, simple operation, and low power requirement build on LANL’s 50+ years designing robotic instruments for space applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Effect of Luminance Pattern on Nighttime Discomfort Glare Response - CRADA 653 (Abstract)

Light Emitting Diode (LED) adoption is critical for widespread energy savings from commercial outdoor lighting systems. A complaint from the public, concerns glare from LED light fixtures especially those with exposed LED arrays. This human factor study will examine luminance uniformity of the fixture aperture to identify parameters related to this response. The outcome will inform optical design by lighting manufacturers, retaining LED energy efficiency while mitigating glare. The results may also lead to improved industry standard glare metrics for lighting. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Lighting Science and Technology Lab in Portland OR has a purpose-built apparatus with exposed LED arrays that have been used for prior work. It can easily be adapted for use in this experiment. Interchangeable templates will allow changing patterns for the stimulus. Glare ratings from the recruited subjects will be analyzed and reported in a peer-reviewed journal for application by luminaire manufacturers for improved products. The McClung Foundation’s interest is to better understand human perception of lighting, leading to more comfortable and effective visual environments. Members of the Foundation’s Technical Review Committee will be instrumental in reviewing the experimental design, analysis, and the final report. They will also help disseminate information about the results within the lighting community.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Line emission mapper microcalorimeter spectrometer

The line emission mapper (LEM) is a probe-class mission concept that is designed to detect x-ray emission lines from hot ionized gas (T > 10 6 K) that will enable us to test galaxy evolution theories. It will permit us to study the effects of stellar and black-hole feedback and flows of baryonic matter into and out of galaxies. The key to being able to study the hot gases that are otherwise invisible to current imaging x-ray spectrometers is that the energy resolution is sufficient to use cosmological redshift to separate extragalactic source lines from foreground Milky Way emission. LEM incorporates a large-format microcalorimeter array instrument called the LEM microcalorimeter spectrometer (LMS) with a light-weight x-ray optic with 10” half power diameter angular resolution. The LMS microcalorimeter array has pixels with 15" pixel pitch over a 33' field of view (FOV) optimized for the 0.3 to 2 keV energy band. The central 7' region of the array has an energy resolution of 1.3 eV at 1 keV and the rest of the FOV has 2.5 eV energy resolution at 1 keV. The array will be read out with state-of-the-art time-division multiplexing. We present an overview of the LMS instrument, including details of the entire detection chain, the focal plane assembly, as well as the cooling system and overall mechanical and thermal design. For each of the key technologies, we discuss the current technology readiness level and the plan to advance them to be ready for flight. We also describe the current system design and our estimate for the mass, power, and data rate of the instrument. The design details presented concentrate primarily on the unique aspects of the LMS design compared with prior missions and confirm that the type of microcalorimeter instrument needed for LEM is not only feasible but also technically mature.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Synthesis of ARM User Facility Surface Rainfall Datasets to Construct a Best Estimate Value Added Product (PrecipBE)

Surface precipitation measurements are essential for Earth system model (ESM) evaluation and understanding cloud processes. An ever-growing need for robust, temporally evolving, and easy-to-use statistical datasets provides motivation for a baseline ground-based precipitation properties data product. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility operates an extensive suite of precipitation instruments with various sensitivities and operating mechanisms, which render the decision of which instrument to use based on one or more fixed thresholds challenging and prone to errors and bias. Using a long-term instrument inter-comparison from a unique per-precipitation event perspective, rather than instantaneous sample comparison, we demonstrate that ARM rainfall-measuring instruments are generally consistent with each other at the statistical level. Inter-instrument deviations at the single event level can be large, especially for specific rainfall event properties such as maximum precipitation rates. A machine-learning (ML) analysis using a random forest regressor indicates that in some cases, depending on instrument, local site climatology, and/or specific deployment configuration, certain atmospheric state variables influence the measured quantities in an unpredictable manner. Thus, a-priori weighting of different instruments does not necessarily lead to more accurate and less biased synthesis of instrument data. These results motivate the design of the ARM precipitation best-estimate (PrecipBE) value-added product, which incorporates all valid precipitation data while considering data quality and other instrument limitations. PrecipBE consists of time series and tabular statistics datasets in an easy-to-use and insightful per-precipitation event format. It provides a large set of precipitation event properties supplemented with ancillary data from ARM datasets that correspond to the detected precipitation events. We describe the PrecipBE algorithm and demonstrate its use via the examination of a single-day output as well as a long-term trend analysis of precipitation events at the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, covering more than 30 years of data. The trend analysis tentatively suggests a long-term temporal tendency for mainly shorter and less intense precipitation events at the SGP site, but a long-term increase in annual rainfall by more than 36 mm (5 %) per decade. This rainfall trend is catalyzed primarily by more extreme event properties of relatively rare, intense precipitation events, with event total and 1 min maximum precipitation rate at a 1 year timeframe increasing up to 5 mm and 9 mm h −1 (several percent) per decade, respectively. While the currently available PrecipBE datasets (at https://adc.arm.gov/discovery/, last access: 8 December 2025) cover rainfall from multiple ARM deployments up to March 2025, PrecipBE is planned to be expanded to include solid-phase precipitation and will soon become an operational product with a several-day lag from real-time. We invite the ARM user community to leverage this new product and welcome user feedback to further enhance the dataset.

Silber, Israel [Pacific Northwest National Laborat↗
DOE OSTI2021

A time-resolved, in-chamber x-ray pinhole imager for Z

We have commissioned a new time-resolved, x-ray imaging diagnostic for the Z facility. The primary intended application is for diagnosing the stagnation behavior of Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) and similar targets. We have a variety of imaging systems at Z, both time-integrated and time-resolved, that provide valuable x-ray imaging information, but no system at Z up to this time provides a combined high-resolution imaging with multi-frame time resolution; this new diagnostic, called TRICXI for Time Resolved In-Chamber X-ray Imager, is meant to provide time-resolved spatial imaging with high resolution. The multi-frame camera consists of a microchannel plate camera. A key component to achieving the design goals is to place the instrument inside the Z vacuum chamber within 2 m of the load, which necessitates a considerable amount of x-ray shielding as well as a specially designed, independent vacuum system. Here, a demonstration of the imaging capability for a series of MagLIF shots is presented. Predictions are given for resolution and relative image irradiance to guide experimenters in choosing the desired configuration for their experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Posiva's Onkalo{sup R} FST (Full-Scale In Situ System Test) - 20051

The FST - Full-scale In Situ System Test - is a unique full-scale demonstration of disposal system in crystalline host rock. The FST was constructed in ONKALO{sup R} demonstration area at the disposal depth of 420 metres, in Posiva's actual final disposal facility at Olkiluoto, Finland. The demonstration has included design, manufacture, installation and comprehensive instrumentation for monitoring the evolution of the disposal system and its components. The demonstration tunnel and experimental deposition holes were excavated in 2010 in ONKALO to address that they can be excavated to meet the requirements set for them. Two experimental deposition holes, bored in the floor of the tunnel, host each a canister surrounded by bentonite clay buffer rings/segments in the holes. Inside the canisters are heating elements to simulate decay heat emitted by spent fuel. The tunnel part used for the test is about 50 m long and it was filled with bentonite clay backfill after the installation of the canisters and buffer components. The tunnel is closed with a steel-reinforced concrete plug. The test is equipped with 500 sensors to monitor early evolution of the system. To forecast the evolution of the system, a mathematical model has been created. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

HAZARD ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL ENGINEERED SAFETY FEATURES ACTUATION SYSTEM IN ADVANCED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS USING A REDUNDANCY-GUIDED APPROACH

Replacing the existing aging analog instrumentation and control (I&C) systems with modern safety control and protection digital technology offers one of the foremost means of performance improvements and cost reductions for the existing nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, the qualification of digital I&C systems remains a challenge, especially considering the issue of software common-cause failures (CCFs), which are difficult to address. With the application and upgrades of advanced digital I&C systems, software CCFs have become a potential threat to plant safety because most redundant designs use similar digital platforms or software in the operating and application systems. With complex designs of multilayer redundancy to meet the single-failure criterion, digital I&C safety systems (e.g., engineered safety-features actuation system [ESFAS]) are of a particular concern in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing procedures. This paper applies a modularized approach to conduct redundancy-guided systems-theoretic hazard analysis for an advanced digital ESFAS with multilevel redundancy designs. Systematic methods and risk-informed tools are incorporated to address both hardware and software CCFs, which provide guidance to eliminate the triggers of potential single points of failure in the design of digital safety systems in advanced plant designs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

TRUST Testing Procedure Documentation

The TRUST testbed was designed and fabricated to conduct vibration testing and validate the behavior of hyper-elastic foams in a pre-loaded condition. The main goals of this testbed design were to ensure symmetry, proper instrumentation alignment and mounting, simplified geometry to make the data analysis validation process more straightforward, and to apply and monitor the applied pre-load. Based off of the test parameters, a shaker system was purchased. The baseplate was designed to mount directly to the bolt holes provided on the top of the shaker table. It was determined that the specimens will be cylindrical and vary in thickness from 2-10mm. The baseplate riser, center-mass, and testbed cap were designed to be cylindrical to make alignment about the center axis more straightforward. It was determined to fabricate the parts previously mentioned using Aluminum 6061-T6 due to its stiffness in order to reduce the likelihood of the stiff material impacting the data being collected for the foam specimens. The design concept used to apply the pre-load to the testbed was a through bolt/nut configuration. A through hole was included in each piece of the testbed, specimens, and instrumentation large enough to allow for 1/8” clearance between the through bolt and each of these pieces. This was imperative to avoid causing friction and complicating the validation model. A load cell was then purchased and used to measure the pre-load being applied to the testbed. It was also required to collect data for 3 axes at 3 different locations 120° apart on the center-mass. This configuration was required to be placed on the cylindrical face and toward the top and bottom of the center-mass. Slots were milled out in the middle of each sensor block with tight tolerances for mounting each of the accelerometers at 120° apart. This same approach was taken to mount 2 accelerometers on the baseplate at 180° apart. Holes were milled out of the corners of each accelerometer mounting slot to relieve the corner and allow for a flat edge at the back of each slot. Sensor blocks were mounted into the center-mass using 6-32 bolts at the required locations. This initial testbed design was fabricated at the TA53 machine shop.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Correction and verification of x-ray imaging crystal spectrometer analysis on Wendelstein 7-X through x-ray ray tracing

X-ray ray tracing is used to develop ion-temperature corrections for the analysis of the X-ray Imaging Crystal Spectrometer (XICS) used at Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) and perform verification on the analysis methods. The XICS is a powerful diagnostic able to measure ion-temperature, electron-temperature, plasma flow, and impurity charge state densities. While these systems are relatively simple in design, accurate characterization of the instrumental response and validation of analysis techniques are difficult to perform experimentally due to the requirement of extended x-ray sources. For this reason, a ray tracing model has been developed that allows characterization of the spectrometer and verification of the analysis methods while fully considering the real geometry of the XICS system and W7-X plasma. Through the use of ray tracing, several important corrections have been found that must be accounted for in order to accurately reconstruct the ion-temperature profiles. The sources of these corrections are described along with their effect on the analyzed profiles. The implemented corrections stem from three effects: (1) effect of sub-pixel intensity distribution during de-curving and spatial binning, (2) effect of sub-pixel intensity distribution during forward model evaluation and generation of residuals, and (3) effect of defocus and spherical aberrations on the instrumental response. Possible improvements to the forward model and analysis procedures are explored, along with a discussion of trade-offs in terms of computational complexity. Finally, the accuracy of the tomographic inversion technique in stellarator geometry is investigated, providing for the first time a verification exercise for inversion accuracy in stellarator geometry and a complete XICS analysis tool-chain.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗