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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 271 records · Page 15

Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry and Fisher Ratio Analysis for Discovery-Based Analysis

The ability to discover minute differences between samples or sample classes for ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF) can be a challenging endeavor especially when these differences are not known a priori. Indeed a typical UHPLC-QTOF analysis time of ~15 minutes can generate over 4 gigabytes of information for a single sample. Implementation of chemometrics such as Fisher ratio (F-ratio) analysis will allow the analyst to quickly and precise probe the chemical differences between different samples or sample classes. F-ratio analysis can be used to find sample or sample class distinguishing compounds reducing the 5 gigabytes of information into a simple, yet informative hit list. Moreover through combinatorial rearrangement, it is possible to determine a F-ratio threshold to separate the real and non-real hits. The F-ratio software presented herein is a semi-automated algorithm that processes the raw, exported .csv files from the SCIEX 500R QTOF in as little as 30 seconds. While further research is needed to modify and perfect the software to deal with high resolution mass spectra precise to 0.0001 Daltons, the current software, precise to 0.1 Da, is able to find significant chemical differences despite some of them being at extremely low concentrations nearing the limit of detection.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Energy Audit of MC-1

The goal of the Muon g-2 project is to measure the muon magnetic anomalous moment to a precision of 140 ppb. This is an unprecedented endeavor that will allow for the comparison of the standard model’s prediction and experimental value of the muon magnetic anomaly. If the difference is statistically significant this could mean there is physics beyond the standard model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Final Status of HEPA Filter 10-Year Lifetime Evaluation

High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are widely employed by nuclear facilities to remove radiological particulate matter from their effluent exhaust streams. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationships between the 10-year HEPA filter lifespan and its other performance indicators. The 10-year-long endeavor to collect and analyze data regarding the lifetime of HEPA filters at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory began in 2010. Forty-nine HEPA filters were selected and have been surveyed and analyzed at least annually to verify compliance with permit conditions. The study suggests the frequency of filter replacement should be based on the actual operational requirements, such as fume hood face velocity and/or efficiency test results, instead of on the prescribed filter “age limit” of 10 years from the date of manufacture (e.g., birth date) when operating under dry conditions. Over the past decade, the study has now been completed, and all forty-nine HEPA filters have been replaced, due to either technical issues listed in this report, or the previously recommended filter “age limit” of 10 years.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

China’s Bid To Lead Artificial Intelligence Chip Development within the Decade

In 2017, the Chinese government announced an ambitious, broad strategy to become the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) theories, technologies, and applications by 2030 and indicated that China’s ability to indigenously produce cutting-edge AI chips would be integral to its success. China’s goal to become a dominant producer of AI hardware within a decade is a bold undertaking because China faces domestic chip production challenges and fierce competition from US chip producers. Our review of Chinese AI chip product lines shows various levels where Chinese companies compete with global firms in the production chain. China lacks a robust indigenous AI chip production infrastructure, and the United States and its allies are tightening controls on the supply of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) and electronic design automation (EDA) software to China. In contrast to their Chinese counterparts, US companies operate in all areas of AI chip production and have consistently driven the development of new chip designs. AI chip production is a costly endeavor, and China’s chip producers currently lack the customer base to lead global AI chip development by the 2030 goal. An expanded customer base may help China attract the necessary expertise to bolster its AI chip production chain. This would also help Chinese producers make their investments in the requisite technology economically sustainable. Chinese researchers continue to pursue promising next-generation AI chip designs, such as neuromorphic computing-based architectures, which in the next five to ten years could position Chinese companies to make or contribute to key innovations in the field.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Nuclear Security Governance in India: Institutions, Instruments, and Culture (2019)

There is an emerging consciousness in India of the importance of nuclear security and safety. Motivated by a combination of rapid growth in its civil nuclear sector, heightened scrutiny of recent nuclear accidents around the world, and the deteriorating regional security environment, India has pushed to adopt measures to strengthen and enhance its nuclear security and safety governance structures. India recognizes that the various recent global nuclear security initiatives are in its own best interest and has been an enthusiastic participant in the Nuclear Security Summit process. Today, India demonstrates a greater willingness to showcase its nuclear security arrangements before the public and has undertaken many institutional, legal, and operational reforms to maintain international regime compliance. This study takes a comprehensive look at India's approach to nuclear security and critically examines the physical security measures the country has put in place. Particular focus is placed on the evolution and strengths, as well as weaknesses, of the country's nuclear security institutions, instruments, practices, and culture. Given that the strengthening of India's nuclear security governance is an ongoing endeavor, the paper also puts forward a number of policy recommendations.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Data Movement Categories

We have endeavored to classify the commonly seen data movement needs, as observed in data-intensive institutions (both commercial and non-profit), into four categories. Knowing how to map a data movement task into one of the four categories helps select proper data mover tools. For each category, how the data storage is involved, high-level examples and the nature of typical solutions are described. Finally, some general remarks are provided to help further orient readers new to this field - the 4th IT pillar.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) established its artificial intelligence (AI) team in the summer of 2019. The AI Team's work and research in this space are new endeavors for OSTI; identifying the appropriate areas of research and investigation are priorities for the team and will ensure results and products that support OSTI and the collection, preservation, and dissemination of R&D results. To support OSTI’s strategic plan, the AI Team has started an assessment of the current R&D results corpus (e.g., metadata and full text) collected through ingest products such as E-Link and DOE CODE and disseminated through OSTI.GOV and other discovery applications. This presentation will present applied AI and Machine Learning (ML) approaches to assess and address data challenges and discuss how these data challenges are being evaluated to establish a comprehensive corpus of R&D results, support the reuse of R&D results and its data, and extend these findings to the broader DOE community. This presentation can be presented live or via a recorded presentation.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

Combining information from multiple cosmological surveys: inference and modeling challenges

The tightest and most robust cosmological results of the next decade will be achieved by bringing together multiple surveys of the Universe. This endeavor has to happen across multiple layers of the data processing and analysis, e.g., enhancements are expected from combining Euclid, Rubin, and Roman (as well as other surveys) not only at the level of joint processing and catalog combination, but also during the post-catalog parts of the analysis such as the cosmological inference process. While every experiment builds their own analysis and inference framework and creates their own set of simulations, cross-survey work that homogenizes these efforts, exchanges information from numerical simulations, and coordinates details in the modeling of astrophysical and observational systematics of the corresponding datasets is crucial.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

When to use rsync

We have endeavored to show, using a series of data transfer results obtained from two testbeds, when to use the popular data copying tool rsync and related tools. Tests have been conducted in local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) environments. We conclude that for files in a certain size range and network latency ≦ 10 ms round trip time (RTT), rsync is still useful for data moving tasks in the category 4 of the U.S. DOE Technical Report “Data Movement Categories”. For more demanding data movement requirements, tools of different classes are suggested. Sample histograms from two DOE user facilities are provided to further support our conclusions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Precursor Processing Development for Low Cost, High Strength Carbon Fiber for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel Applications

Carbon fiber (CF) is central to produce lightweight, high pressure, composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), which are used for on-board storage of hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. In 2015, carbon fiber cost accounted for 62% of the cost of a hydrogen storage system, as COPVs were manufactured with T700S CF at $\$ $29.40/kg CF. The high cost of hydrogen storage, largely attributed to the carbon fiber cost, limits the application of fuel cells in vehicles. Therefore, our team endeavored to develop fiber processing to demonstrate carbon fiber tensile properties similar to T700S with a production cost potential of $\$ $12.60/kg or less. Here, the overarching goal of the project was the development of low cost, high strength carbon fiber for composite overwrapped pressure vessels. Within the project, our team investigated a new low-cost, high-volume, high quality polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based precursor terpolymer for the production of carbon fiber precursors, methods for increasing water and energy use efficiency in wash-water/solvent separation, and ultimately developed a multifilament spinning and conversion process for the production of hollow carbon fibers from a segmented arc spinneret utilizing a solution spinning method.

08 HYDROGEN↗

China Civilian Nuclear Power Reactor Study

China is endeavoring to build nuclear power plants (NPPs) in numerous countries around the globe - an initiative that has the potential to strengthen Chinas political and economic influences on those countries. This study provides an overview of the situation and considers the issues involved in such partnerships with China. In order to assess Chinas ability to follow through with its agreements, this study also presents a technical review of its NPP production capability.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Application of Refractory High-Entropy Alloys for Higher-Reliability and Higher-Efficiency Brayton Cycles and Advanced Nuclear Reactors

An exceptional set of newly-discovered advanced superalloys known as refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) can provide near-term solutions for wear, erosion, corrosion, high-temperature strength, creep, and radiation issues associated with supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) Brayton Cycles and advanced nuclear reactors. In particular, these superalloys can significantly extend their durability, reliability, and thermal efficiency, thereby making them more cost-competitive, safer, and reliable. For this project, it was endeavored to manufacture and test certain RHEAs, to solve technical issues impacting the Brayton Cycle and advanced nuclear reactors. This was achieved by leveraging Sandia’s patents, technical advances, and previous experience working with RHEAs. Herein, three RHEA manufacturing methods were applied: laser engineered net shaping, spark plasma sintering, and spray coating. Two promising RHEAs were selected, HfNbTaZr and MoNbTaVW. To demonstrate their performance, erosion, structural, radiation, and hightemperature experiments were conducted on the RHEAs, stainless steel (SS) 316 L, SS 1020, and Inconel 718 test coupons, as well as bench-top components. The experimental data is presented, analyzed, and confirms the superior performance of the HfNbTaZr and MoNbTaVW RHEAs vs. SS 316 L, SS 1020, and Inconel 718. In addition, to gain more insights for larger-scale RHEA applications, the erosion and structural capabilities for the two RHEAs were simulated and compared with the experimental data. The experimental data confirm the superior performance of the HfNbTaZr and MoNbTaVW RHEAs vs. SS and Inconel. Most importantly, the erosion and the coating material experimental data show that erosion in sCO2 Brayton Cycles can be eliminated completely if RHEAs are used. The experimental suite and validations confirm that HfNbTaZr is suitable for harsh environments that do not include nuclear radiation, while MoNbTaVW is suitable for harsh environments that include radiation.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

High-Brightness Ultraviolet Lasers for Leap-Ahead National Security Applications

In this project we endeavored to improve the state-of-the-art in UV lasers diodes. We made important advancements in several fronts from modeling, to epitaxial growth, to fabrication, and testing. Throughout the project it became clear that polarization doping would be able to help advance the state of laser diode design in terms of electrical performance, but the optical design would need to be investigated to ensure that a 2D guided mode would be supported. New capability in optical modeling using commercial software demonstrated that the new polarization doped structures would be viable. New capability in pulsed testing was established to reach the current and voltage required. Our fabricated devices had some parasitic electrical paths which hindered performance that we were ultimately unable to overcome in the project timeframe. We do believe that future projects will be able to leverage the advancements made under this project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Report on Mowry Shale Thermal Maturity Mapping in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming

The Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute (EORI) has completed a map of thermal maturity of the Mowry Shale in the Powder River Basin (PRB). Thermal maturity, the degree to which the total organic carbon in a formation has been transformed from kerogen to producible hydrocarbons due to heat and pressure, is an important measure for not just the quality of a source rock, but also helps for delineating areas more favorable for unconventional drilling. There is a dearth of published Mowry maturity maps available for the PRB and this publication endeavors to provide a detailed map based on a large, public data set covering the Wyoming portion of the PRB. Additional data, currently held confidential by operators in the basin, would be of benefit to future iterations of this map.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Development of Corrosion- and Erosion-Resistant Coatings for Advanced Ultra-Supercritical Materials

This final report summarized the research efforts and major findings of the Phase I Project “Development of Corrosion- and Erosion-Resistant Coatings for Advanced Ultra-Supercritical Materials”, for the period of October 1, 2019 – Sept. 30, 2021. This project is a collaborative endeavor between Tennessee Tech University, Purdue University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Siemens Corporation, and Eastern Plating, LLC, aiming at improving the durability and lifetime of high-pressure (HP) steam turbine blades in advanced ultra-supercritical (A-USC) coal-fired power plants through the development of corrosion/erosion-resistant coatings manufactured via a low-cost electrolytic codeposition process. While Tribaloy alloy T-400C was identified by the U.S. A-USC Materials Consortium as a promising coating composition, further composition optimization is needed to enhance its corrosion and erosion resistance for protecting the A-USC Ni-base turbine components. An integrated computational and experimental approach was employed to optimize coating composition/microstructure and processing parameters. In order to identify candidate coating compositions that could offer balanced properties, thermodynamic calculations were performed to explore the γ+Laves composition space in the Co-Ni-Cr-Mo-Si system with different alloying additions at 600-800 °C. Guided by the calculation results, experimental assessment of selected alloys led to the development of a new generation of Tribaloy compositions with the optimal levels of Cr, Mo and Si, reactive element (e.g., 0.4-0.6 wt.% Y) and other alloying additions. The low-cost and non-line-of-sight electro-codeposition process was employed to deposit a Ni(Co)-CrMoSiY composite coating on commercial Haynes 282 (H282) Ni-base alloy. A diffusion treatment was subsequently applied to convert the composite to the Tribaloy-type coating. Both the codeposition parameters and heat treatment conditions were varied to achieve the desired coating composition, microstructure and phase constituents. In addition, since additive manufacturing (AM) may be an alternative cost-saving option for potential A-USC turbine repair, laser direct deposition was explored to fabricate the H282 alloy with minimal defects. The electro-codeposited Tribaloy coating was also applied to the AM H282 substrate to demonstrate the viability of the coating process in improving the surface finish of AM alloys. Both high-temperature oxidation performance and solid particle erosion (SPE) resistance of model alloys and electro-codeposited coatings were evaluated. About 25 model alloys with various Cr/Mo ratios and reactive element levels, as well as partial substitution of Mo with Nb were evaluated with regard to their oxidation resistance in both air and pure steam at 760-800°C. Compositions based on Ni(Co)-20Cr-18Mo-2.6Si-0.6Y (wt.%) showed significantly improved oxidation resistance over the baseline T400-C. Based on the alloy development results, three generations of new Tribaloy coatings (Gen-1, Gen-2, and Gen-3) with various Mo/Cr contents and Y levels were prepared via electro-codeposition and their microstructure/performance were evaluated. Outstanding air and steam oxidation resistance was achieved for the Gen-2 and Gen-3 coatings. Furthermore, while the SPE resistance of the coatings depended on many factors such as temperature, environment, erodent, velocity and impact angle, the coated samples exhibited similar or better SPE resistance compared to the H282 substrate when magnetite was used as erodent (which is a realistic erodent in A-USC steam turbines). The new Tribaloy coatings also had good long-term compatibility with the H282 alloy substrate. The two large-sized rotating barrels were designed, constructed, and employed to coat dummy HP blades. Uniform coating thickness and microstructure were achieved at various blade locations. Also, a preliminary techno-economic analysis of the proposed coating process was conducted to quantify the cost-effectiveness and to assess the commercial viability of the corrosion- and erosion-resistant coatings. It is estimated that a cost reduction of ~30% could be achieved with the electro-codeposition coating process over the state-of-the-art high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spray. Compared to the leading Tribaloy coating technologies such as HVOF and plasma transfer alloying, electro-codeposition based process has advantages such as low-cost process equipment, uniform deposition even for complex shapes, low levels of contaminants/porosities, reduction of powder waste, and potentially better surface finish and longer turbine service life. The Phase 1 study has demonstrated that it is feasible to develop an electro-codeposited Tribaloy coating with balanced corrosion and erosion properties, even though additional research efforts such as further coating process scale-up and longer-term performance evaluation under realistic A-USC conditions are clearly needed.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Manipulating Quantum Systems: An Assessment of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics in the United States

The AMO2020 decadal report took a forward-looking perspective on how the different elements that constitute AMO science provide a broad interdisciplinary driver for capitalizing on future opportunities in the scientific community. Goals for this project were to produce a report that (1) displays AMO science as a vital field that relates and unifies broad scientific endeavors; (2) discusses how AMO is supplying these and other fields with emerging technologies and fulfilling national needs; (3) identifies new opportunities, compelling scientific questions, and themes that have arisen from recent advances and accomplishments in the AMO field; (4) explains how AMO science meets workforce, educational, and other societal needs; and (5)makes recommendations for a strategy to fully realize the potential at the frontiers of AMO science. The study also compared the trajectory of AMO science in the US in the context of the international community of AMO science, in terms of cooperation, collaboration, and competition. The study resulted in a report composed in a style accessible to the non-scientist reader in order to understand how AMO science will lead the way in these fields and what AMO researchers want to learn in the coming decades and why.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Stochastic Neutronics Primer (Volume I)

The purpose of this document is to introduce the elementary concepts and to build a concrete understanding of the stochastic theory of neutron transport to the motivated undergraduate student, the Ph.D. engineer/physicist/mathematician, and the staff scientist or professor learning yet another new skill. The authors understand that there are many learning types- from visual to analytical to repetitive to word-based to analogy-based (and combinations thereof)- and so we have tasked ourselves with providing as many representations as possible within to ensure every reader a fruitful endeavor. This document is written as a set of chapters that continually build upon the previous chapter. In this chapter, we provide the discussion, motivation, and background topics for the remainder of the text.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

IPv6 Tunneling and Translation Technologies Pilot

Based on the latest DOE (Department of Energy) milestones, Sandia needs to convert to IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)-only networks over the next 5 years. Our original IPv6 migration plan did not include migrating to IPv6-only networks at any point within the next 10 years, so it must necessarily change. To be successful in this endeavor, we need to evaluate technologies that will enable us to deploy IPv6-only networks early without creating system stability or security issues. We have set up a test environment using technology representative of our production network where we configured and evaluated industry standard translation technologies and techniques. Based on our results, bidirectional translation between IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and IPv6 is achievable with our current equipment, but due to the complexity of the configuration, may not scale well to our production environment.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗