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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 37 records · Page 2

Transient Photocurrent From High-Voltage Vertical GaN Diodes Irradiated With Electrons: Experiments and Simulations

Radiation-hard high-voltage vertical GaN p-n diodes are being developed for use in power electronics subjected to ionizing radiation. Here, we present a comparison of the measured and simulated photocurrent response of diodes exposed to ionizing irradiation with 70 keV and 20 MeV electrons at dose rates in the range of 1.4x10 7 - 5.0x10 8 rad(GaN)/s. The simulations correctly predict the trend in measured steady-state photocurrent and agree with experimental results within a factor of 2. Furthermore, simulations of the transient photocurrent response to dose rates with uniform and non-uniform ionization depth profiles uncover the physical processes involved that cannot be otherwise experimentally observed due to orders of magnitude larger RC time constant of the test circuit. The simulations were performed using an Exploratory Physics Development code developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The code offers the capability to include defect physics under more general conditions, not included in commercially available software packages, extending the applicability of the simulations to different types of radiation environments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Enabling Extended-Term Simulation of Power Systems with High PV Penetration. Final Report

This is the final Technical Report for DOE-SETO Project Award # DE-EE0036461. The goal of this project is to advance the understanding of the grid impact of high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) generation by developing novel numerical methods to solve the differential algebraic equations (DAEs) that define power systems. This will overcome the limitations of current software packages – namely that they only consider fast dynamics over brief time periods. The work presented in this final project report covers results over the entire period of the project. This includes results on model development, code development for the PST repository, datasets in the PST repository, algorithm development and results from variable time-step simulations, development and results from multirate simulations, and sensitivity analysis of key parameter in variable time-step methods. In addition, this report discusses project outreach activities to stakeholders, and a summary of project products. Also covered in this final report is the writing of two conference papers (one of which has already been accepted) and a journal paper. In addition, the updating of two inverter models (both grid forming and grid following) to be compatible with the latest version of PST software is discussed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

CSAC observations from 2025 CHEDAR review [Slides]

Overall, the CSAC is impressed by the strong start of CHEDAR, a multi-institutional center with broader scope than its predecessor. The CSAC was impressed and energized by discussions with center students and staff; the enthusiasm for science is universal and the sense of the contribution in context to the NNSA mission is mostly understood. The Center is well positioned to build on a strong start and (1) enhance integration of code-development targeted to, and numerical design in on-going experimental campaigns, (2) focus and better tell the story of the astrophysical connection for on-going experimental campaigns, and (3) expand and deepen ties between Center students (and faculty) and the NNSA National Laboratories. Overall, the CSAC was encouraged and energized by the materials presented. Now, the Center has to recognize the need to continue growing strategically. There is abundant access to experimental facilities – is that a challenge to focused effort? The PIs will need to balance the pace of experimental campaigns and analysis and simulation so that informed progress and focused investigation can develop in each campaign. There was a clear need to connect simulations to the goals of experimental campaigns – what is the best way to cultivate that connection? Are there adequate resources in the near term to develop code capability? What is the balance between close personal mentorship and collaboration across the separate institutions that compose the Center? The CSAC feels confident that the team leading CHEDAR will find creative solution to these challenges.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A sensitivity analysis of twinning crystal plasticity finite element model using single crystal and poly crystal Zircaloy

The popularity of crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) models is increasing due to their ability to predict the mechanical response of crystalline materials such as metals and metal alloys more accurately than traditional continuum mechanics models. This is since the crystal plasticity models consider the effect of atomic structure, microstructural morphology, and properties of individual grains. These CPFEM models use a large number of material parameters in order to capture the mesoscale physics which comes with the downside of the tedious calibration process. In this paper, a CPFEM code was developed to include the twinning induced grain reorientation and subsequent crystallographic slip for HPC material. The developed code is incorporated in a large-scale, parallelized nonlinear solver WARP3D. Further, a sensitivity analysis with respect to 22 material parameters was then conducted using single crystal and polycrystal representative volume element (RVE) of Zircaloy material. Loading was applied along five different crystallographic orientations for single crystal RVE and along three directions namely, rolling (RD), transverse (TD), and normal (ND) direction for polycrystal RVE. Results obtained from the sensitivity analysis were used for the calibration of material parameters for Zircaloy. Finally, developed code along with calibrated material parameters was used to investigate the effect of the hydride phase formation in Zircaloy which is a typical case observed for nuclear applications. It was found that the volume fraction of the hydride phase has a significant impact on the mechanical properties of Zircaloy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Opening the Door to Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings with Energy Codes

Building codes represent standard design practice in the construction industry and must continually evolve to account for advancing technologies and innovative practices. Energy codes have historically focused on energy efficiency within buildings and across their systems. However, many of tomorrow's technologies go beyond efficiency and target increased flexibility. These demand flexibility (DF) measures can postpone or reduce building electric load based on price or other grid signals, and include smart appliances, connected lighting, and connected mechanical systems. Expanding codes to enable such grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) has the potential to influence their realization at scale, which will support renewable-energy grid-integration and building-sector decarbonization. However, considering DF measures in code development creates a new set of challenges for codes and the practices contained therein. This paper considers the role of building energy codes in enabling GEB. Specifically, it reviews the status of demand flexibility (DF) measures in current commercial building energy code. It examines the national model code development process and identifies components barring the consideration and inclusion of DF measures - including code scope, characterization and analysis of proposed new prescriptive measures, and accounting for time-of-day and geographic differences in their benefits. The paper presents findings from code development analyses that indicate the cost benefit of DF measures and the limitations associated with current code development conventions. To encourage building flexibility and improved energy resilience moving forward, recommendations are made for removing code development barriers and sanctioning DF measure consideration in future model codes.

Building Energy Codes and Standards, Grid-Interact↗

Report on FY 2023 Welding R&D at ORNL in support of ASME Alloy 709 Code Case Development

As part of the Alloy 709 (A709) ASME Code Case development effort under the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Program, this work covers the development of the technical basis for weld fabrication and weld qualification of A709. This report summarizes the A709 welding research conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in FY 2023. One of the focuses of the A709 welding research at ORNL is to relax the restriction of the P content in the A709 filler metal weld wire. In this report, we show the success in welding of high phosphorus (P) commercial A709 plates using A709 weld wires with relaxed P content of 80 wppm. A test weld was fabricated with the 80 wppm weld wire on the first commercial heat A709 base metal with 140 wppm P content using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). The test weld passed all weld qualification tests without issues. This study concludes that A709 matching filler metal with moderate amount of P of less than 80 wppm could be used to produce code qualified A709 welds with standard welding process without special treatment. It is recommended that the P level in the weld wire to be kept low to avoid hot cracking. Cross-weld specimens were machined from the two A709 production welds.. Cross welding creep rupture Code Case testing on these two production welds was initiated . The preliminary cross-weld creep tests results continue to show little or no creep strength reduction relative to the base metal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

ASME Composite Code Rule Development Status

This report provides an update on the status of the composite code rule development for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler Pressure Vessel (BPV) code Section III Division 5 Subsection HA Subpart B (HAB) and Subsection HH Subpart B (HHB) during FY 2025 (from October 2024 to September 2025). In the context of this document, reference to “the code” is specific to these subsections unless otherwise specified. A composites task group under the ASME Nonmetallic Design and Materials Working Group (WG-NDM), with the support of external experts, was established and is now working toward addressing previously identified areas.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Design-to-Deployment Continuum Platform for Microscopes and Computing Ecosystems

Science ecosystems with networked computing systems and physical instruments are increasingly being deployed with a goal to achieve the productivity promised by AI-supported remote automation. In support of these efforts, the virtual infrastructure twins (VITs) have been successfully utilized to develop the orchestration codes for these ecosystems without requiring physical access to expensive instruments, such as electron microscopes. Currently, the utility of such a VIT is severely limited by the computing capacity and capability of the computing system used as its host. Furthermore, codes developed on the VIT typically need to be transferred and refactored for production use, particularly, on high-performance systems with accelerators. In response, we develop a design-to-deployment continuum platform wherein a VIT runs natively on the ecosystem's own computing system, and thereby facilitates the continual in-situ testing and transition of codes for production use. Here, we describe the development and testing of software for remote microscope steering and GPU-based image reconstruction using this platform on a multi-GPU computing system networked to Nion microscopes. We demonstrate a continual transition of steering and reconstruction codes developed under VIT platform to production ecosystem deployment.

Al-Najjar, Anees [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (O↗

Development and Implementation of a CTF Code Verification Suite.

CTF is a thermal hydraulic subchannel code developed to predict light water reactor (LWR) core behavior. It is a version of Coolant Boiling in Rod Arrays (COBRA) developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and North Carolina State University (NCSU) and used in the Consortium for the Advanced Simulation of LWRs (CASL). Here, the existing CTF code verification matrix is expanded, which ensures that the code is a faithful representation of the underlying mathematical model. The suite of code verification tests are mapped to the underlying conservation equations of CTF and significant gaps are addressed. As such, five new problems are incorporated: isokinetic advection, conduction, pressure drop, convection, and pipe boiling. Convergence behavior and numerical errors are quantified for each of the tests and all tests converge at the correct rate to their corresponding analytic solution. A new verification utility that generalizes the code verification process is used to incorporate these problems into the CTF automated test suite.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Survey of Relevant Data from the MSRP to Guide Development of MSR Chemistry Modeling Benchmarks

The Multiphysics Applications technical area of the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program is tasked with assessing, demonstrating, and applying NEAMS tools in solving multiphysics problems of nuclear reactors, such as liquid-fueled molten salt reactors (MSRs), which are the focus of this report. MSRs are actively being pursued as a potential candidate for power and heat generation by the nuclear industry. However, the inherent multiphysics nature of liquid-fueled MSRs, stemming from the strong interrelationship of neutronics, thermal fluids, and chemistry phenomena, provides unique challenges in modeling and simulation (mod/sim). Therefore, it will be important to develop mod/sim tools with varying types of multiphysics coupling that depend on the problem. The current work is focused on the initiation and development of MSR chemistry modeling benchmarks useful for validating current and potential future NEAMS tools. Development of such benchmarks include the following actions: 1) Summarize available chemistry data from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) MSR Program (MSRP) including operation of the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) and design studies for the Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR) concept; 2) Recommend simulation problems in MSR chemistry mod/sim based on (1); 3) Assess the current state of NEAMS tools that may support (2); 4) Demonstrate and validate the capabilities of the NEAMS tools in (3) while providing iterative feedback on future code development activities. The objective of this report is to initiate this effort by completing actions (1) and (2), which are discussed in Section 2. An overview of the relevant available MSRE experimental data is provided with examples of how this data may be useful in chemistry mod/sim problems, with the caveat that most of this data is over 50 years old, therefore some problem details as well as uncertainty estimates are often not provided. In Section 3, the current state of NEAMS tools is assessed for potential use in these mod/sim problems, with considerations for future code development activities, supporting action (3). Future work supporting this project under NEAMS may include a deeper dive into the specific phenomena discussed here including tasks such as the compilation of additional available data, updates in code development activities, and ultimately the demonstration and validation of these tools, supporting action (4).

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Development of phenomena identification and ranking table for Westinghouse lead fast reactor’s safety

The Westinghouse Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) is a medium-size, passively safe, economic, Gen-IV nuclear reactor. An important effort within the Westinghouse LFR program is the development of the safety analysis methodology, which comprises computer code development, model development, and experimental testing. A key initial task associated with the development of the safety analysis methodology is the identification of processes and phenomena that affect the plant's capability to meet selected safety performance indicators. This is accomplished through the development of a Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT) for selected accident scenarios which, for this specific PIRT effort, included selected postulated design basis accidents and hypothetical beyond design basis accidents in LFRs. This paper describes the role of PIRT in the development of the Westinghouse LFR safety analysis methodology and the process used in the PIRT development. Specifically, the Westinghouse LFR PIRT assessed importance of pertinent phenomena and identified gaps in their knowledge-base by evaluating current modeling capabilities and data available for validation. The ultimate goal was to provide guidance on computer code development and validation efforts and to prioritize testing to support LFR design and licensing. The key phenomena and processes that are deemed highly important for the safety performance indicators, but for which the state of knowledge is low, are presented. The testing program and analyses development are planned to address significant phenomena in the PIRT.

Lead fast reactor↗