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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 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

The 65 Elevated Risk Container Status Relative Humidity Measurements RFID RH/T Sensors in Containers [Slides]

In March of 2023, a memo was issued, drafted by the Container Management, Safety, and Engineering Team, identifying 65 elevated risk legacy containers for priority disposition at TA-55. These 65 were identified separately from the “typical” prioritization decision-making method used at TA-55 to disposition legacy items. This new technique gave important feedback and revealed improvement opportunities for the selection process of legacy containers for disposition. The DOE complex and TA-55 have a long history of nuclear operations and therefore the disposition of these legacy materials is vital.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Radiation Effects Considerations for Instrumentation and Control in Space Nuclear Systems

Radiation effects in electrical, electronic, electro-motive, and electro-optical (EEEE) hardware encompass a complex variety of interactions, processes, environments, and an evolving landscape of relevant hardware. Appropriately mitigating the effects of radiation in sensors, data acquisition, and control hardware is among the most significant challenges associated with deploying space nuclear power and propulsion systems. The expertise within EEEE radiation effects disciplines require working knowledge that is at least as complex and diverse as the problem itself, but that should not dissuade stakeholders and engineers in adjacent disciplines from attempting to understand the general principles associated with the problem at hand. This brief overview seeks to bring to the foreground a set of relevant topics that are of special importance for space nuclear propulsion applications that involve high rates of neutron and gamma radiation. The unique set of environments and design requirements for space nuclear systems mean that the experience and utility for methods applied to typical spaceflight hardware or terrestrial nuclear systems must not be applied naively. Forward consideration on the applicability of testing methods applied to either existing or bespoke hardware is likely to drive early decisions on system-wide radiation effects mitigation strategies, and will influence procurement requirements for providers of radiation tolerant hardware who are unlikely to have experience in this unique set of environments. Radiation hardness assurance (RHA) guidance should be adapted and emphasize the importance of hardware testing in the relevant environment. These must consider the combined effects of temperature, total ionizing dose (TID), non-ionizing/displacement damage (TNID/DD), and single event effects (SEE), and should consider the impacts of flux (rate) in addition to cumulative effects.

Radiation↗
DOE OSTI2020

Design and performance of silicon strip sensors with slim edges for HPS experiment

In this paper, we report on design and performance of new strip sensors for the Heavy Photon Search (HPS) experiment. The sensors feature a slim edge implementation using the Scribe–Cleave–Passivate (SCP) method. The slim edge design has allowed the introduction of a new layer closer to the target, which increased the tracking acceptance and vertex precision, improving physics reach of the experiment. We describe the production, testing, and operational experience with the new sensors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Embedding of Optical Fibers with Electric Field Assisted Sintering

The Electric Field Assisted Sintering (EFAS) technique was used for embedding the fibers, involving rapid heating via an electric current and pressure, reducing fiber exposure to high temperatures. Stainless steel guide tubes were inserted at the fiber-matrix junctions to prevent fiber breakage during the sintering process. The study varied key EFAS parameters—temperature (800°C to 980°C), pressure (40-50 MPa), and hold time (5-10 minutes)—to assess how they influenced fiber embedding. After embedding, the fibers were inspected using optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) to evaluate optical losses and strain along the fiber length. The OFDR scans confirmed that the fibers remained intact, and subsequent transmission tests demonstrated no macroscopic fractures. The embedded samples were also analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans. These tests confirmed good bonding between the fiber and matrix with no cracking, though some porosity was present in samples fabricated at lower temperatures. At higher temperatures (980°C), the fiber-matrix bonding was continuous and defect-free, with metal coatings aiding in the bonding process. Elemental analysis showed interdiffusion between the fiber coatings and matrix materials, particularly between the gold coating and stainless steel. Helium leak tests revealed that lower sintering temperatures resulted in matrix porosity, causing leaks, but samples fabricated at 980°C were leak-tight.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗
NASA NTRS1976

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 3: Working group summary. 7: Material (M-1). A. Statement. B. Technology needs (form 1). C. Priority assessment (form 2)

The approach of matching technology areas with various themes needs was not effective for the materials and thermal control discipline because of the diversity of requirements for each. Top priorities were evolved from the advanced space transportation system and the space power platform because these are essential building blocks in fulfilling some of the other themes. Important needs identified include life long-life cryogenic cooling systems for sensors, masers, and other devices and the needs for lightweight nuclear shielding materials for nuclear electric propulsion.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1994

Instrument and spacecraft faults associated with nuclear radiation in space

A review is given which surveys the variety of faults and failures which have occurred in space due both to the effects of single, energetic nuclear particles, as well as effects due to the accumulated ionizing dose or the fluence of nuclear particles. The review covers a variety of problems with sensors, electronics, instruments and spacecraft from several countries.

Trainos, J. H.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation 2022 Summary of Accomplishments

The Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) program is the element of the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) initiative dedicated to Instrumentation and Control (I&C) technology. This document collects in the form of summaries the research accomplishments presented at the program 2022 Annual Review meeting, which was held virtually between October 24 and October 27, 2022.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

(Poster) TRIPWIRE: Multi-modal Distributed Sensing For Repository Verification

Poster submission. This project is developing and demonstrating a multi-modal sensor system, TRIPWIRE, for containment verification in inaccessible radiological and nuclear waste repositories. The TRIPWIRE system will continuously monitor ionizing radiation, electromagnetic fields and vibration in the vicinity of emplaced nuclear materials buried in a repository, reporting on disturbances with a real-time alarm control station.

98 - NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advanced Sensors & Instrumentation FY24 Summary of Accomplishments

The Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) program is the element of the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) initiative dedicated to Instrumentation and Control (I&C) technology. This document collects in the form of summaries the research accomplishments presented at the program 2024 Annual Review meeting, which was held virtually between November 4 & 6-7, 2024.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Material Effects on Electron-Capture Decay in Cryogenic Sensors

Several current searches for physics beyond the standard model are based on measuring the electron-capture (EC) decay of radionuclides implanted into cryogenic high-resolution sensors. The sensitivity of these experiments has already reached the level where systematic effects related to atomic state energy changes from the host material are a limiting factor. One example is a neutrino mass study based on the nuclear EC decay of 7 Be to 7 Li inside cryogenic Ta-based sensors. Here, to understand the material effects at the required level, we use density-functional theory to model the electronic structure of lithium atoms in different atomic environments of the polycrystalline Ta absorber film. The calculations reveal that the Li 1s binding energies can vary by more than 2 eV due to insertion at different lattice sites, at grain boundaries, in disordered Ta, and in the vicinity of various impurities. However, the total range of Li 1s shifts does not exceed 4 eV, even for extreme amorphous disorder. Furthermore, when investigating the effects on the Li 2s levels, we find broadening of more than 5 eV due to hybridization with the Ta band structure. Material effects are shown to contribute significantly to peak broadening in Ta-based sensors that are used to search for physics beyond the standard model in the EC decay of 7 Be, but they do not explain the full extent of observed broadening. Understanding these in-medium effects will be required for current- and future-generation experiments that observe low-energy radiation from the EC decay of implanted isotopes to evaluate potential limitations on the measurement sensitivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

FY26 Mid-Year Report

The goal of this project is to develop specific aspects of ultra-high-resolution microcalorimeter technologies that support IAEA Nuclear Material Laboratory needs and the goals of SP-1 19/NML-003 "Microcalorimetry Analysis Technique for NML" but are outside the scope of the SP-1. The focus is on commissioning, assembly, and testing of the microcalorimeter decay energy spectrometer with superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs) and magnetic microcalorimeters (MMCs) in preparation for transfer to the IAEA Nuclear Material Laboratory.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2023

Thermally robust and highly stable method for splicing silica glass fiber to crystalline sapphire fiber

This research reports an advancement in splicing silica glass fiber to sapphire single-crystal optical fiber (SCF) using a specialized glass processing device, including data that demonstrate the thermal stability of the splice to 1000°C. A filament heating process was used to produce a robust splice between the dissimilar fibers. A femtosecond laser is used to inscribe a fiber Bragg gratings sensor into the SCF to measure the high-temperature capabilities and signal attenuation characteristics of the splice joint. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed splicing method produces a splice joint that is robust, stable, repeatable, and withstands temperatures up to 1000°C with a low attenuation of 0.5 dB. Here, the proposed method allows placement of SCF-based sensors in the extreme environments encountered in various engineering fields, such as nuclear, chemical, aviation, and metals manufacturing, to enable improvements in process monitoring, product quality, and production efficiency.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Machine Vision-based Robot Manipulators for Nuclear Applications - 20370

Decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities are major challenges facing the nuclear industry. Robot manipulators with capabilities of restoring nuclear structures and significantly prolonging nuclear power generation in addition to their applications in decommissioning and dismantling (D and D) would immensely ease the above-mentioned challenge. Ability to remotely sense/monitor and analyze dangerous and hazardous environments such as nuclear reactors as well as performing reparatory tasks in such environments using robot manipulators require additional information from vision sensors. Structural sample collection and inspection as well as restoration require object and position information. Computer vision is used to obtain precise 3D position information. The current work uses the Sawyer robot with the integrated Cognex camera. The research presents an approach to facilitate and improve operations in a nuclear reactor using robotic vision control. The vision control system is modeled with Augmented Image Space-based visual servoing approach. Results showing accurate robot control. Object recognition is used to recognize the image and calculate it poses. To transform coordinates of the object's pose from the camera frame to the robotic frame transformation matrices are employed. Future work will employ a 3D camera (with depth information) using Denso robot. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2023

Preliminary Results of a Multi-Sensor Data Science System for Monitoring a Solvent Extraction Process

Idaho National Laboratory is building a test bed to allow researchers the opportunity to study nuclear fuel processing operations. This includes studying the solvent extraction process and the use of centrifugal contactors. The goal of this project is to develop a system that utilizes non-traditional measurement sources such as vibration, acoustics, current, color, flow, and temperature in conjunction with data-based, machine learning techniques that will allow for signal discovery. This multi-sensor data supports the development of safeguards by design, provides operator process awareness, and aids in the discovery of process anomalies. This paper highlights some of the preliminary results from initial data collection campaigns and shares some of the lessons learned.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗