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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 307 records · Page 17

Drilling Down I/O Bottlenecks with Cross-layer I/O Profile Exploration

I/O performance monitoring tools such as Darshan and Recorder collect I/O-related metrics on production systems and help understand the applications' behavior. However, some gaps prevent end-users from seeing the whole picture when it comes to detecting and drilling down to the root causes of I/O performance slowdowns and where those problems originate. These gaps arise from limitations in the available metrics, their collection strategy, and the lack of translation to actionable items that could advise on optimizations. This paper highlights such gaps and proposes solutions to drill down to the source code level to pinpoint the root causes of I/O bottlenecks scientific applications face by relying on cross-layer analysis combining multiple performance metrics related to I/O software layers. We demonstrate with two real applications how metrics collected in high-level libraries (which are closer to the data models used by an application), enhanced by source-code insights and natural language translations, can help streamline the understanding of I/O behavior and provide guidance to end-users, developers, and supercomputing facilities on how to improve I/O performance. Using this cross-layer analysis and the heuristic recommendations, we attained up to 6.9× speedup from run-as-is executions.

Ather, Hammad↗

BuildingQA: A Benchmark for Natural Language Question Answering over Building Knowledge Graphs

Graph-based representations of building metadata using ontologies like Brick are vital for smart building applications, but querying them remains a challenge for practitioners. Knowledge Graph Question Answering (KGQA) systems, meant to retrieve answers from natural language questions, traditionally require large-scale training data, making them ill-suited for the specialized and data-scarce building domain. The advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) offers a paradigm shift, enabling zero-shot natural language querying without building/domain-specific training. Yet, there is no standardized benchmark for building-specific KGQA which can guide and validate research in this area. To address this gap, our work makes three primary contributions. First, we introduce the BuildingQA Benchmark Dataset, constructed through a multi-stage process of collecting practitioner data, augmenting it with LLMs for linguistic diversity, and curating a final set of 188 questions across 4 buildings. Second, we characterize the benchmark's complexity and ambiguity, introducing a novel method to quantify its "lexical gap" and providing a four-stage diagnostic framework for analyzing how systems fail. Third, we benchmark zero-shot LLM-powered KGQA systems to establish baseline performance and analyze their failure modes. Our evaluation reveals that top-performing systems achieve a maximum F1 score of only 0.38. This result does not indicate a failure of these powerful systems, but rather underscores the unique challenges posed by our benchmark. It demonstrates a critical performance gap, showing that current methods successful on general KGs struggle with the specific lexical and structural nuances of the building domain. BuildingQA1 thus provides the benchmark dataset and foundational analysis needed to drive the development of novel, domain-aware methods required to unlock the use of semantic data in buildings.

Mulayim, Ozan Baris↗

CFD Modeling of Concentration Polarization in High-Performance Flat-Sheet Modules

Membrane-based gas separation is a promising, regeneration-free route for industrial CO₂ capture, but its performance is often limited by concentration polarization (CP). Classical 1-D models neglect CP and thus overpredict fluxes, especially for today’s high-permeance, high-selectivity membranes. Therefore, we built a 3-D CFD model that resolves local species transport, boundary-layer resistance, permeate-side effects, and pressure drop in flat-sheet modules. Using the Concentration Polarization Coefficient (CPC) and the overall Effective Membrane CP Index (EAC), the model quantifies how geometry and operating conditions shape CP intensity. Simulations show CP becomes pronounced for advanced membranes, with feed-channel height emerging as the dominant geometric lever: shrinking the gap mitigates CP but raises pressure drop, forcing a trade-off between mass-transfer enhancement and energy cost. These insights emphasize the need for CFD-level analysis in next-generation module design, where 1-D treatments can severely underestimate required membrane area and misguide scale-up.

carbon capture↗

Global Regulations for Sustainable Battery Recycling: Challenges and Opportunities

With the rapid expansion of transportation electrification worldwide, the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has increased dramatically, creating new and sustainable growth opportunities for the global economy. However, as the most expensive component of EVs, lithium-ion batteries pose significant sustainability challenges due to raw material consumption and supply chain constrains, as well as the complexities of end-of-life battery disposal and recycling. To address these concerns, many countries are actively establishing regulations to promote sustainable pathways for battery reuse and recycling. Despite these efforts, existing battery recycling regulations remain often inefficient and vary significantly across different countries in legal enforcement, producer responsibility, waste classification, recycling targets, design standards, public engagement, and financial incentives, particularly given the complexities of the global supply chain and resource distribution within the battery industry. Understanding these regulatory differences and establishing a unified framework are therefore crucial to ensuring sustainable and efficient battery recycling. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the necessity of establishing robust regulations for sustainable development of battery recycling industry. The evolution and refinement of battery recycling regulations are deeply reviewed to identifying persistent gaps and challenges in key countries. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges associated with regulatory enforcement and propose strategies for developing a more cohesive legislative framework to ensure the effective utilization of retired batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Transcriptomic Analysis of the CAM Species Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi Under Low- and High-Temperature Regimes

Temperature stress is one of the major limiting environmental factors that negatively impact global crop yields. Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi is an obligate crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant species, exhibiting much higher water-use efficiency and tolerance to drought and heat stresses than C 3 or C 4 plant species. Previous studies on gene expression responses to low- or high-temperature stress have been focused on C 3 and C 4 plants. There is a lack of information about the regulation of gene expression by low and high temperatures in CAM plants. To address this knowledge gap, we performed transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) of leaf and root tissues of K. fedtschenkoi under cold (8 °C), normal (25 °C), and heat (37 °C) conditions at dawn (i.e., 2 h before the light period) and dusk (i.e., 2 h before the dark period). Our analysis revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under cold or heat treatment in comparison to normal conditions in leaf or root tissue at each of the two time points. In particular, DEGs exhibiting either the same or opposite direction of expression change (either up-regulated or down-regulated) under cold and heat treatments were identified. In addition, we analyzed gene co-expression modules regulated by cold or heat treatment, and we performed in-depth analyses of expression regulation by temperature stresses for selected gene categories, including CAM-related genes, genes encoding heat shock factors and heat shock proteins, circadian rhythm genes, and stomatal movement genes. Our study highlights both the common and distinct molecular strategies employed by CAM and C 3 /C 4 plants in adapting to extreme temperatures, providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying temperature stress responses in CAM species.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Sifting for a Stream: The Morphology of the $300S$ Stellar Stream

Stellar streams are sensitive laboratories for understanding the small-scale structure in our Galaxy’s gravitational field. Here, we analyze the morphology of the $300S$ stellar stream, which has an eccentric, retrograde orbit and thus could be an especially powerful probe of both baryonic and dark substructures within the Milky Way. Due to extensive background contamination from the Sagittarius stream (Sgr), we perform an analysis combining Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey photometry, $Gaia$ DR3 proper motions, and spectroscopy from the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey (S 5 ). We redetermine the stream coordinate system and distance gradient, then apply two approaches to describe $300S$ ’s morphology. In the first, we analyze stars from $Gaia$ using proper motions to remove Sgr. In the second, we generate a simultaneous model of $300S$ and Sgr based purely on photometric information. Both approaches agree within their respective domains and describe the stream over a region spanning 33° . Overall, $300S$ has three well-defined density peaks and smooth variations in stream width. Furthermore, $300S$ has a possible gap of ~4.7 and a kink. Dynamical modeling of the kink implies that $300S$ was dramatically influenced by the Large Magellanic Cloud. This is the first model of $300S$ ’s morphology across its entire known footprint, opening the door for deeper analysis to constrain the structures of the Milky Way.

Milky Way galaxy↗

Review of data-driven models for quantifying load shed by non-residential buildings in the United States

Shifting and shedding power demand in buildings can be cost-effective techniques for grids to function reliably and for end users to earn compensation. Grid operators reimburse customers in proportion to the quantity of load shed. Simple data-driven methods are used to quantify this shed, which is the difference between a measured load during the event and modeled "baseline" that would have occurred in absence of the event. These methods have evolved over the years and in many cases have been integrated with building physics, to make them a hybrid between physics based and empirical models. However, there is no comprehensive analysis that provides guidance to building operators, grid operators and researchers in selecting appropriate models based on their specific needs and available data. Here, this work aims to fill this gap by critically assessing the performance of baseline models put forward from the year 2000 through 2023. The literature reviewed includes reports generated by grid operators, reports from national laboratories and academic journal articles. The work outlines modeling features like the inputs, training period, estimation method, adjustments to fine tune the predictions and metrics to evaluate the performance. A comprehensive list of 50 models has been provided. For each model, the study explores the applicability of the model to weather sensitive buildings, variability in the building profile, timing of the event, and whether the building reduces energy consumption before an event. The work identifies the situations in which a particular model works and draws lessons based on evidence of performance. Finally, recommendations to aid in model selection are given.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Investigations on the Origin of Topotactic Phase Transition of LaCoO 3 Thin Films with In Situ XRD and Ambient Pressure Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

With the applications of in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrical I–V measurement, and ambient pressure hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-HAXPES), the characteristics of the topotactic phase transition of LaCoO 3 (LCO) thin films are examined. XRD measurements show clear evidence of structural phase transition (SPT) of the LCO thin films from the perovskite (PV) LaCoO 3 to the brownmillerite (BM) La 2 Co 2 O 5 phases through the intermediate La 3 Co 3 O 8 phase at a temperature of 350 °C under high-vacuum conditions, ~10 –5 mbar. The reverse SPT from BM to PV phases is also found under ambient pressure (>100 mbar) of air near 100 °C. Both observed SPTs in XRD are also identified in the electrical I–V measurements, i.e., the metallic PV phase to the insulating BM phase and vice versa. During the onset of SPTs, the bulk chemical and electronic states of LCO thin films are monitored with AP-HAXPES. The oxidation states in Co 2p spectra indicate that the oxygen vacancies are closely related to the SPT of LCO thin films. Also, the presence of enlarged band gap is observed as the SPT from PV to BM phases takes place, revealing the modified electronic properties of LCO due to the creation of oxygen vacancies. In conclusion, the analysis of valence band structures is further compared to the I–V measurements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electron– K -phonon interaction in twisted bilayer graphene

We develop an analytic theory to describe the interaction between electrons and K phonons and study its influence on superconductivity in the bare bands of twisted bilayer graphene (TBG). We find that, due to symmetry and the two-center approximation, only one optical K phonon (160meV) of graphene is responsible for the intervalley electron-phonon interaction. Here, this phonon has recently been found in angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to be responsible for replicas of the TBG flat bands. By projecting the interaction to the TBG flat bands, we perform the full symmetry analysis of the phonon-mediated attractive interaction and pairing channels in the Chern basis, and show that several channels are guaranteed to have gapless order parameters. From the linearized gap equations, we find that the highest T c pairing induced by this phonon is a singlet gapped s-wave inter-Chern-band order parameter, followed closely by a gapless nematic d-wave intra-Chern-band order parameter. We justify these results analytically, using the topological heavy-fermion mapping of TBG which has allowed us to obtain an analytic form of a phonon-mediated attractive interaction and to analytically solve the linearized and T = 0 gap equations. For the intra-Chern-band channel, the nematic state with nodes is shown to be stabilized in the chiral flat-band limit. While the flat-band Coulomb interaction can be screened sufficiently enough—around the Van Hove singularities—to allow for electron-phonon based superconductivity, it is unlikely that this effect can be maintained in the lower density of states excitation bands around the correlated insulator states.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Mapping Rydberg States of H 2 with the Halfium R-Matrix Method

In this article, we use the Halfium R-matrix method to investigate the Rydberg states of the H 2 molecule up to n = 20, filling the gap above the low-lying bound states already calculated with configuration interaction packages. Moreover, we show that the use of Quantum Defect Theory scaling laws, allows for a comprehensive analysis of the regular patterns resulting from the coupling between Rydberg series and doubly excited states. The results should open the door for more efficient quasi-diabatization of the potential energy curves which is required for calculating cross sections and rate coefficients of the (e + H 2 + ) collisional processes, involved in the plasma modeling for fusion devices.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Defensive Cybersecurity Architecture Design Using Force-on-Force Cyber-Physical Modeling

Currently, nuclear power plant physical security systems are highly dependent on air-gaps as a protective measure against cyber-threats. Cyber-physical threats become more likely as advanced cyber-threat capabilities to jump air-gaps transition into common use. Defending against the emerging threat of cyber-enabled physical intrusions is poorly understood. The consequence of these cyber-physical attacks has no quantitative analysis method to inform risk-informed, performance-based cybersecurity approaches. By modifying the physical security simulation tool Dante, cyber-physical threat consequence was able to be analyzed on a notional facility. The results of this analysis are used to design a Defensive Cybersecurity Architecture (DCSA) for the physical security system to produce example resilience measures for this notional facility. A DCSA defines security levels to provide a graded approach for defending plant functions, and security zones for trusted communication between systems. This approach can be applied to real world systems to produce physical protection systems and response measures that are resilient to cyber-physical threats.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Droplet Entrainment in Steam Supply System of Water-Cooled Small Modular Reactors: Experiment and Modeling Approaches

Droplet entrainment in steam-flow is a prominent phenomenon that needs adequate safety and risk analysis of postulated transient and accident scenarios—including experimental investigation and representative modeling and simulation (M&S)—for small modular reactor (SMR) system design and demonstration. This study identifies knowledge gaps by evaluating experimental and computational fluid dynamics modeling approaches to support early-stage reactor system design, testing, and model evaluation. Previous studies reported in the literature for steam-flow entrainment primarily focused on gigawatt capacity pressurized water reactor (PWR) systems. However, entrainment phenomena are even more prominent for PWR-type SMRs due to their more compact integrated designs, which need further research and development. To fill the research gaps, this study provides insight by specifying the phenomena of interest by leveraging the lessons learned from past research, adopting advanced M&S techniques and advanced instrumentation and control. The findings and recommendations are applicable for evaluating steam-flow entrainment models and for designing integral effect test and separate effect test facilities for gaining reactor design approvals.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Community Dynamics Drive Calcium Carbonate Production in an Enriched Consortium of Soil Microbes

Recently, there has been a focus on using soil microbes as a means to store carbon in the soil in the form of calcium carbonate, outcomes of which include soil stabilization and biocementation. The molecular processes involved in microbially induced calcium carbonate formation are known, but there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding how community interactions, emergent processes that are distinct from the roles of individual members, may drive the formation of carbonate. To answer these questions, we describe the development and application of a consortium of soil microbes consisting of one species each of the Rhodococcus , Microbacterium , and Curtobacterium genera and two species from the Bacillus genus. We term these five species cultivated together carbon storing consortium A (CSC-A). Growth assays show that only a subset of CSC-A members produces CaCO 3 with Rhodococcus producing the most CaCO 3 but the complete CSC-A produces significantly higher amounts of CaCO 3 compared to the sum total carbonate produced by all member species. The development of CSC-A shows that CaCO 3 production may be as much a community process as it is the contribution of individual species, requiring us to move beyond single species analysis to fully understand carbonate formation by microbial communities in nature. CSC-A will allow the scientific community to ask and answer key questions about the molecular interactions surrounding inorganic carbon formation in soil, an important knowledge gap that must be filled if we wish to stabilize soils and harness microbial processes for materials production.

calcium carbonate↗

Feasibility and strategic implications of deploying nuclear power reactors in Africa

This report assesses the feasibility and strategic implications of deploying nuclear power reactors, including large-scale plants, advanced small modular reactors (SMRs), and microreactors, in African countries. Case studies focus on South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria, examining nuclear energy’s role in Africa’s rapidly evolving energy landscape, marked by fast-growing demand, significant electricity access gaps, increasing renewable penetration, and strong policy commitments to industrialization and energy security. Several U.S. reactor technologies and designs are considered based on their development status and readiness for deployment. The analysis finds that nuclear power can provide reliable, clean baseload and flexible generation, as well as high-temperature process heat for desalination, hydrogen production, and industrial applications. However, suitability is highly country-specific, depending on grid size and stability, transmission capacity, cooling water availability, regulatory readiness, and fuel supply chains. Near-term deployment opportunities are strongest for light-water reactors (such as NuScale, BWRX-300, AP300, and SMR-300) that use low-enriched uranium and build on proven technology. More advanced concepts, including gas-cooled, sodium-cooled, molten-salt cooled reactors, and microreactors, will likely be relevant for African deployment in the 2030s or later, contingent on demonstration projects, high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel availability, and mature international licensing frameworks. Economic analysis shows that SMRs are capital-intensive, with projected overnight costs for 300 MWe units in 2025 ranging from approximately 1.4 to 2.6 billion USD per module. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is highly sensitive to the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Given typically higher financing costs and utility balance-sheet weaknesses in many African countries, bankable project structures will require sovereign guarantees, robust offtake arrangements, and layered financing from export credit agencies, development finance institutions, and vendor nations. Comparisons with recent large nuclear projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt underscore the central role of state-backed loans, long tenors, and concessional terms. Country case studies illustrate a spectrum of readiness and opportunity. South Africa operates two 920 MWe pressurized light water reactors (totaling 1,840 MWe) at Koeberg and has the most mature regulatory and industrial base, positioning it as a prime candidate for both large reactors and SMRs to replace coal, support desalination, and anchor industrial hubs. Egypt is constructing four VVER-1200 units at El Dabaa with strong state leadership and could later complement this fleet with SMRs for coastal and industrial applications. Kenya and Ghana are advancing through IAEA Milestones with growing institutional capacity and clear interest in SMRs that match their smaller grids and industrialization plans. Nigeria has the largest demand potential but faces acute constraints in grid reliability, project bankability, and regulatory capacity; targeted deployments of large reactors and SMRs near coastal or industrial sites could have high impact if accompanied by major grid upgrades and institutional reforms. The report identifies cross-cutting challenges such as financing, political continuity, public acceptance, nonproliferation and security, waste and back-end management, regulatory capacity, grid adequacy, and long deployment timelines for first-of-a-kind designs, and ANL/NSE-26/3 ii proposes broad directions for resolution. These include stronger multifaceted financing for nuclear, long-term national energy strategies that transcend electoral cycles, proactive stakeholder engagement, strengthened regional and national regulators, and systematic workforce development through centers of excellence and expanded training. The United States should develop partnerships with African countries and offer end-to-end nuclear package similar to those used effectively by competitors: coordinated project development, state-backed financing, long-term fuel services, and durable in-country support through regional offices and sustained workforce/regulatory training. With timely planning, sustained political commitment, and appropriate financing and institutional support, nuclear energy, both large reactors and advanced SMRs, can become a meaningful, though not dominant, pillar of Africa’s future power mix, enhancing energy security, enabling industrial growth, and supporting climate goals.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Prestressed Concrete Poles Subjected to Wind, Surges, and Waves

Prestressed concrete (PC) poles are becoming popular choices to support coastal power transmission systems. However, the existing literature does not offer a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of PC poles in terms of long-term vulnerabilities and the direct and indirect costs. This is due to (1) lack of fragility models for PC poles and (2) lack of probabilistic wind, storm surge, and wave models in coastal settings. In this study, we address these gaps through a series of Monte Carlo simulations to estimate fragility of PC poles as a function of age and hazard (wind, surges, and waves) intensity, and the development of a probabilistic hazard model based on 10,000 years of synthetic tropical cyclone data. The probabilistic hazard model is used in conjunction with high-resolution hydrodynamic models to generate realizations of coastal wind, storm surges, and waves for the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. A comprehensive life cycle cost analysis for a service life of 70 years considering direct and indirect losses is conducted to compare the performance of a transmission line located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, when wood poles are replaced by PC poles. Results showed that aging has a minor effect on the reliability of PC poles, highlighting the advantages of replacing wood poles with PC poles, especially in coastal areas. In addition, PC poles are significantly more cost-effective compared with wood poles over their life cycle, leading to an estimated saving of $11.55 million (68.17% reduction). The results of this study provide key insight to inform decision-making processes to keep the coastal power grids resilient and cost-effective against future storm hazards.

natural disasters↗

Data-Informed Synthetic Networks of Water Distribution Systems for Resilience Analysis in Puerto Rico

The increasing potential of infrastructure disruptions calls for high-quality infrastructure models to be used in resilience analysis and decision making. Unfortunately, many utilities and communities do not have access to accurate and detailed models due to a lack of data and resources. Furthermore, security restrictions on sharing infrastructure models present roadblocks to research, analysis, and decision making. Recent advances in the development of synthetic water distribution models provide a potential solution to this problem. There is an opportunity to improve these methods by leveraging incomplete pipe datasets to aid synthetic network generation. To address this gap, we developed a methodology for synthetic network generation that incorporates partial pipe data using a modification of the minimum cost flow algorithm for network generation and pipe sizing. This methodology demonstrates how partial pipe data can be leveraged to improve site-specific synthetic network generation. For the study area of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, a synthetic model generated using 50% of real pipe data matches the pressure of the validation system with an average error of 23.5 m of head, which improves upon the average error of 31.6 m of head produced by a synthetic model generated using no data of the real pipes. Additionally, synthetic networks are shown to replicate the pressure response under a disruption scenario of the validation network, suggesting potential use in resilience analysis.

resilience analysis↗

Mic-hackathon 2024: hackathon on machine learning for electron and scanning probe microscopy

Microscopy is one of the primary sources of information on materials structure and functionality at the nanometer and atomic scales. The data generated through microscopy is often contained in well-structured datasets, enriched with extensive metadata and sample histories, although not always with the same level of detail or storage format. The broad incorporation of data management plans by major funding agencies ensures the preservation and accessibility of this data. However, deriving insights from these rich datasets remains challenging due to the lack of established code ecosystems, standardized benchmarks, and integration strategies. Correspondingly, the efficiency of data usage is very low, and time expenditures at the analysis stage are enormous. In addition to post-acquisition data analysis, the emergence of application programming interfaces by major microscope manufacturers now creates opportunities for real-time ML-based data analytics to enable automated decision making, and particularly ML-agent controlled real-time microscope operation. Despite these opportunities, there is a significant gap in integrating the ML community with the broader microscopy community, limiting the value that these methods bring to physics and materials discovery and materials optimization. Hackathons address these challenges by fostering collaboration between ML experts and microscopy professionals, encouraging the development of innovative solutions that leverage ML for microscopy and preparing the workforce of the future both for microscopy-intensive domains areas, instrument manufacturers, and ML scientists interested in real world applications for fundamental research, materials optimization, and manufacturing. The hackathon generated benchmark datasets and digital twins of microscopes that further contribute to the development of the field and establish data analysis ecosystems. All the codes can be found at GitHub(https://github.com/KalininGroup/Mic-hackathon-2024-codes-publication/tree/1.0.0.1) and Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/records/15579940).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗