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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle, Thermal Protection System, Lessons Learned

The Orion (CEV) thermal protection system (TPS) advanced development project (ADP) was initiated in late 2006 to reduce developmental risk by significant investment in multiple heat shield architectural solutions that can meet the needs both the Low Earth orbit (LEO) and Lunar return missions. At the same time, the CEV TPS ADP was also charged with developing a preliminary design for the heat shield to meet the PDR requirement and at the time of the PDR, transfer the design to Lockheed- Martin, the prime contractor. We reported on the developmental activities of the first 18 months at the IPPW5 in Bordeaux, France, last summer. In June 08, at the time of the IPPW6, the CEV TPS ADP would have nearly completed the preparation for the Orion PDR and would be close to the original three-year mark. We plan to report on the progress at the Atlanta workshop. In the past year, Orion TPS ADP investment in TPS Technology, especially in PICA ablative Heat-shield design, development, testing and engineering (DDTE) has paid off in enabling MSL mission to switch from SLA 561 V heat shield to PICA heat shield. CEV TPS ADP considered SLA 561 V as a candidate for LEO missions and our testing identified failure modes in SLA and as a result, we dropped SLA for further evaluation. This close synergy between two projects is a highly visible example of how investment in technology areas can and does benefit multiple missions. In addition, CEV TPS ADP has been able to revive the Apollo ablative system namely AVCOAT honeycomb architecture as an alternate to the baseline PICA architecture and we plan to report the progress we have made in AVCOAT. CEV TPS ADP has invested considerable resources in developing analytical models for PICA and AVCOAT, material property measurements that is essential to the design of the heat-shield, in arcjet testing, in understanding the differences between different arc jet facilities, namely NASA Ames, NASA JSC and Air Force's AEDC, and in Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE), and in integration of and manufacturing heat shield as a system. The capabilities of the two heat shield systems including failure modes via testing and analysis, once established, can serve the Probe Community and future mission designers to inner and outer planetary exploration very well. For example, missions to Venus, Mars and Titan can use either one of the system by selecting the mission design parameters that utilizes the full characteristics of these system to make use of system efficiency that will result in reduced heat shield mass, system robustness that will enhance mission success and cost. We plan to present significant progresses of the past three years and highlight the significant contributions CEV TPS ADP Project has made to advance the state of the art in Thermal Protection System technology that has and will continue to benefit future entry probe missions.

NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle↗
DOE OSTI2025

Assessment of Benefits of Solid-State Advanced Manufacturing Processes for Nuclear Energy Products

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology (AMMT) program develops cross cutting technologies in support of a broad range of nuclear reactor technologies and maintains U.S. leadership in materials and manufacturing technologies for nuclear energy applications. This overall project provides the U.S. Department of Energy a critical feasibility study comparison of three solid-state processes to other AM processes, thereby providing the feasibility of the solid-state processes examined to manufacture 316H SS and ODS steel components: • Fused-filament fabrication (FFF): This work provides an initial evaluation of the impact of powder morphology and sizes on the FFF process, and the feasibility and adaptability for different material systems, to use FFF for ODS steels and 316 SS. • Shear-assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE): Specifically for this portion of the project on ShAPE tube forming, the objectives will be to determine the feasibility to direct tube forming of high tensile strength steel tubing, specifically for ODS steel to determine the effect of the patented extrusion process on the dispersoids of the ODS material. Additionally, as often ODS powders are mechanically alloyed and therefore more platelike or angular, this feasibility was to explore the impact on the optimization process and initial feasibility of direct tube forming. • Cold spray and friction stir additive manufacturing as a stretch goal: Bulk and near net shape manufacturing processes for high-temperature, high-strength alloys are needed. Additionally, cold spray techniques can be applied in-situ at the operational level for repair and can provide multiple benefits to the nuclear industry. These tasks aim to provide information to show benefits of cold spray during the full life cycle, namely research and development, product manufacturing, and repair to mention a few key points.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

How Cerium and Lanthanum as Coproducts Promote Stable Rare Earth Production and New Alloys

The largest outputs of rare earth mining are the low-value byproducts cerium and lanthanum, which burden rare earth supply chains because they must be separated from more desirable rare earths used in magnet production. Promoting demand for cerium and lanthanum can potentially diversify the economics of rare earth mining and improve supply chain stability for all rare earth elements. A promising avenue for increasing byproduct rare earth element demand is their use in aluminum alloys; an application for cerium and lanthanum offering multiple benefits to manufacturing such as energy reduction and improved throughput. Experimental materials science and economic implications of Al-rare earth element alloys will be discussed. We show that Al–La/Ce alloys have elevated mechanical strength compared to more traditional aluminum alloys, in some formulations can be used without heat treatment, and possess a highly castable eutectic microstructure. This report presents the use of cerium and lanthanum in aluminum alloys as an example of how supply chain focused approaches to technological development can benefit stakeholders at every step in production.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

QuDPy: A Python-based tool for computing ultrafast non-linear optical responses

Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy is a well-developed field with theoretical and experimental advances that have benefited multiple disciplines, including chemistry, biology, and physics. However, for the accurate interpretation of the corresponding multi-dimensional spectra, there is a need for precise quantum dynamical simulations based on model Hamiltonians. In this article, we present the initial release of our code, QuDPy (Quantum Dynamics in Python), which provides a robust numerical platform for performing quantum dynamics simulations based on model systems, including open quantum systems. Furthermore, a distinguishing feature of our approach is the ability to specify various high-order optical response pathways in the form of double-sided Feynman diagrams through a straightforward input syntax. This syntax outlines the time-ordering of ket-sided or bra-sided optical interactions acting on the time-evolving density matrix of the system. We utilize the quantum dynamics capabilities of QuTip to simulate the spectral response of complex systems, allowing us to compute virtually any $n$-th order optical response of the model system. To illustrate the utility of our approach, we provide a series of example calculations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Integrating solar energy with agriculture: Industry perspectives on the market, community, and socio-political dimensions of agrivoltaics

Large-scale development of solar-generated electricity is hindered in some regions of the U.S. by land use competition and localized social resistance. One approach to alleviate these coupled challenges is agrivoltaics: the strategic co-location of solar photovoltaics and agriculture. To explore the opportunities and barriers for agrivoltaics, in-depth interviews with solar industry professionals were conducted and findings suggest that the potential for an agrivoltaic project to retain agricultural interests and consequently increase local support for development is the most significant opportunity of dual use solar. Capable of increasing community acceptance, participants expect agrivoltaics to play an important role in future solar endeavors, especially in places where development may be perceived as a threat to agricultural interests. The results further reveal the interconnections among the various dimensions of social acceptance and suggest that the growth of agrivoltaics is contingent on market adoption of the technology through community acceptance and supportive local regulatory environments. As solar photovoltaic systems transcend niche applications to become larger and more prevalent, the dimensions of social acceptance, including the opportunities and barriers associated with each dimension, can help inform decision making to enhance the growth of agrivoltaics and thus photovoltaic development. Here, the findings can help land use planners, solar developers, and municipal governments make informed decisions that strategically and meaningfully integrate agriculture and solar, and in turn provide multiple benefits including the retention of agricultural land, local economic development, and broad adoption of solar energy technologies.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Demand-side solutions in the US building sector could achieve deep emissions reductions and avoid over $100 billion in power sector costs

Buildings are energy-intensive and a primary source of US end-use sector carbon emissions. Although building emissions today are 25% below their 2005 peak, far deeper reductions are needed to reach the US 2050 net-zero emissions goal. However, plausible decarbonization pathways that consider both buildings and their interactions with the power grid remain poorly understood. Here, we couple detailed modeling of building energy use and the grid to quantify building decarbonization potential and associated grid impacts. We find up to a 91% reduction in building CO 2 emissions from 2005 levels by 2050 using a portfolio of building efficiency, demand flexibility, and electrification measures alongside rapid grid decarbonization. Building efficiency and flexibility could generate up to $107 billion in annual power system cost savings by 2050, offsetting over a third of the incremental cost of full grid decarbonization. Our results underscore multiple benefits of demand-side solutions for deep decarbonization of US buildings.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A systematic review of building energy sufficiency towards energy and climate targets

Among the sufficiency, efficiency, and renewable frameworks for reducing energy use and energy-related carbon emissions, Building Energy Sufficiency (BES) is gaining attention from policy makers and engineers. Despite the significant role of the building sector in the success of national energy and climate plans, there is a lack of research on the drivers, technologies, and effective policy instruments required to achieve BES in the building operational phase. To fill this gap, this study presents a systematic review of the definition and paradigm of BES and concludes that BES should address both occupant demand and energy or emissions requirements simultaneously. The characteristics of occupant demand in building services are divided into four dimensions: time and space, quality and quantity, control and adjustment, and flexibility. Technical options regarding the building architecture, the envelope system, and the building energy system are reviewed. Finally, policy implications and recommendations are discussed. As a result, the multiple benefits and multidisciplinary nature of BES justify further research and accelerated policy implementation in developed and developing countries.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Demonstration of and future perspective on scaling ultrafast-laser-ablation microstructuring of Li-ion battery electrodes to roll-to-roll production and large-format cells

This work demonstrates integration of an ultrafast laser onto a roll-to-roll machine, the laser structuring of a double-sided, 700 m long roll of graphite battery anode and its subsequent manufacture into 27 Ah prismatic cells. The electrode was ablated with a novel hybrid-microstructure composed of both hexagonally arranged pores for enhanced rate performance and channels for fast electrolyte wetting. Subsequently, this anode and a non-ablated baseline anode are paired with an NMC111 cathode for cell building and electrochemical characterization. Compared to the baseline, laser ablated cells demonstrated a reduction in soaking time of at least 60%, an improvement in fast charge capability with >30% more capacity accepted during 6C charging, and an extension of cycle life of >40% during 0.5C cycling. Further, a perspective is provided on scaling ultrafast laser ablation of battery electrodes to industrial throughputs. Additionally, lessons learned from this pilot-scale demonstration are provided in regards to optical architecture, debris removal, and system control. A techno-economic analysis is used to demonstrate that laser ablation can be integrated into existing electrode manufacturing facilities with only ≈$\$$1.3 per kWh increase (≈2%) in manufacturing cost. Preemptive electrode design for laser ablation is discussed as a further method for enhancing performance. Finally, an analysis of available laser systems and beam-scanning architectures is used to determine design requirements to scale process throughput to a state-of-the-art speed of 50 m min −1 . This analysis demonstrates that laser ablating Li-ion battery electrodes has multiple benefits to manufacturing and battery performance, that the technology already exists to achieve high laser-ablation throughputs, and that integrating ultrafast laser ablation to electrode manufacturing will not create a cost or processing bottleneck.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Atomic scale interface engineering for realizing a perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB-based skyrmion hosting material

Néel-type magnetic skyrmions in perpendicularly magnetized systems have attracted considerable interest due to their potential in fundamental research on topological objects and spintronics applications. Various systems have been explored to study Néel-type magnetic skyrmions, including repeated magnetic multilayers, two-dimensional materials, and single magnetic thin-films. Among these, single magnetic thin-films, especially a CoFeB single layer, offers multiple benefits, such as reduced defect energy, high mobility, and easy integration with existing magnetoresistive random access memory technology. However, optimizing CoFeB-based skyrmion hosting materials remains challenging and requires further systematic and comprehensive investigation. Here, in this study, we examine the effect of atomic-scale interface engineering by inserting a Ta layer between the CoFeB/MgO interface on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, saturation magnetization, and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction. Moreover, we provide a guideline for engineering material parameters and demonstrate the validity of atomic-scale interface engineering. Our findings contribute to the development of optimized CoFeB-based skyrmion hosting materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Improved Particle Swarm Algorithm Using Rubik’s Cube Topology for Bilevel Building Energy Transaction

Following the rapid growth of distributed energy resources (e.g., renewables, battery), localized peer-to-peer energy transactions are receiving more attention for multiple benefits, such as reducing power loss and stabilizing the main power grid. To promote distributed renewables locally, the local trading price is usually set to be within the external energy purchasing and selling price range. Consequently, building prosumers are motivated to trade energy through a local transaction center. This local energy transaction is modeled in bilevel optimization game. A selfish upper level agent is assumed with the privilege to set the internal energy transaction price with an objective of maximizing its arbitrage profit. Meanwhile, the building prosumers at the lower level will response to this transaction price and make decisions on electricity transaction amount. Therefore, this non-cooperative leader-follower trading game is seeking for equilibrium solutions on the energy transaction amount and prices. Additionally, a uniform local transaction price structure (purchase price equals selling price) is considered here. Aiming at reducing the computational burden from classical Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) transformation and protecting the private information of each stakeholder (e.g., building), swarm intelligence-based solution approach is employed for upper level agent to generate trading price and coordinate the transactive operations. On one hand, to decrease the chance of premature convergence in global-best topology, Rubik’s Cube topology is proposed in this study based on further improvement of a two-dimensional square lattice model (i.e., one local-best topology-Von Neumann topology). Rotating operation of the cube is introduced to dynamically changing the neighborhood and enhancing information flow at the later searching state. Several groups of experiments are designed to evaluate the performance of proposed Rubik’s Cube topology-based particle swarm algorithm. The results have validated the effectiveness of proposed topology and operators comparing with global-best version PSO and Von Neumann topology-based PSO and its scalability on larger scale applications.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Domain-decomposition nonlinear manifold reduced order model

This software combines nonlinear-manifold reduced order models (NM-ROMs) with domain decomposition (DD) techniques. NM-ROMs, which utilize a shallow, sparse autoencoder trained with full order model (FOM) snapshot data, approximate the FOM state on a nonlinear manifold. These models offer advantages over linear-subspace ROMs (LS-ROMs) particularly in scenarios with slowly decaying Kolmogorov n-width. However, the training of NM-ROMs involves a number of parameters that scale with the size of the FOM, and storing high-dimensional FOM snapshots can significantly increase the cost of ROM training for extreme-scale problems. To mitigate these costs, the software employs DD to partition the FOM into smaller subdomains, computes NM-ROMs for each, and then integrates these to form a global NM-ROM. This strategy offers multiple benefits: it enables parallel training of subdomain NM-ROMs, reduces the number of parameters needed, decreases the dimensional requirements of subdomain FOM training data, and allows for customization to the unique characteristics of each FOM subdomain. The use of a shallow, sparse autoencoder architecture in each subdomain NM-ROM facilitates the application of hyper-reduction (HR), simplifying the nonlinear complexities and enhancing computational speed. This software marks the inaugural application of NM-ROM combined with HR to a DD problem. It features an algebraic DD reformulation of the FOM, training of NM-ROMs with HR for each subdomain, and employs a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) solver for the evaluation of the coupled global NMROM. The effectiveness of the DD NM-ROM with HR is numerically demonstrated on the 2D steady-state Burgers' equation, showing an order of magnitude improvement in accuracy over the DD LS-ROM with HR.

Diaz, AlejandroN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Application of Manufacturing Quality Management Principles to PV System Installations

To help SETO/DOE achieve its goals, the IBTS team proposed a project addressing system reliability by improving installation standards and quality management. The proposed approach was designed to help achieve measurable reductions in installation defect density and improvements in the performance of PV systems by optimizing design and installation of residential and commercial PV systems. This approach addressed the soft costs associated with installations and quality management. The project demonstrated improved system reliability and reduced PV system installation costs. The software developed improved operations, decreased risk, and increased the overall value of PV systems across their lifecycle. The project used several data collection methods, including extensive industry surveys, face-to-face high-level interviews at industry conferences, stakeholder teleconferences, and in-depth interviews conducted by IBTS staff. Results from the research found the industry needs a uniform assessment method for national providers to be more efficient; the software should support both code officials and installers; most industry stakeholders would find value in a centralized software system that allows them to collect, report, and review information on in-process and completed solar installations; and mobile solutions that bridge existing knowledge gaps with inspectors and integrate with existing methodologies (such as permitting software) are of great value. The software solution developed is web-based, allowing for national access, and is built on a Google Firebase platform that can handle significant users and data. It can be used onsite or remotely, allowing for code compliance to continue despite ongoing pandemic related delays or shutdowns for local economies. The information provided by the software tool allows users to uniformly assess a system for compliance and use that aggregated data to identify training topics or create internal process designed to improving issues and reducing occurrence. This solution has multiple benefits in managing quality at time of use and promoting an increase in future safety and quality through education. Perhaps most importantly, this software increases public safety by ensuring compliance of installed systems and allows for local AHJs to remotely engage specialized and qualified solar specific expertise for oversite of the installation in their jurisdictions. Data analysis provides the quality feedback loop identifying the root cause of failure and drives installation practices to improve through training and education, resulting in systems with higher performance, greater reliability, and reduced operations and maintenance costs. With the successful completion of this project, the industry can expect reduced soft costs and increased performance and safety and will ultimately benefit from longer performing systems that cost less to operate.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy and Water Resilience Indicator Library

Energy and water resilience indicators provide a way to assess a site’s current energy and water resilience status relative to higher-level organizational goals. Using a consistent approach for evaluating the resilience posture of a portfolio of sites provides a mechanism for an organization to track progress over time. It also provides a mechanism for identifying opportunity areas across sites so that organizations can prioritize funding of measures that would benefit multiple sites. The information presented in this document provides an approach to defining energy and water resilience indicators that align with organizational goals, and a reference library of indicators that can help organizations create their own process of tracking the resilience performance of their sites over time.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Removable, Sequestration Coatings for Mitigating Hazardous Contaminants Related to Deactivation and Decommissioning Activities

This project is a collaborative effort between InnoSense LLC (ISL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) aimed at mitigating the mercury (Hg) contamination problem at the Y-12 National Security Complex (NSC). The report summarizes the research and technology development work of the Phase IIB Project, led by Dr. Uma Sampathkumaran at ISL for the period of July 31, 2017–October 31, 2021. The Y-12 site cleanup includes technologies for safe and cost-effective facility demolition, soil remediation, and on-site treatment and disposal of mercury bearing wastes. One of the technology demonstration goals was a reactive strippable coating for targeted pre-demolition and de-contamination to limit Hg mobilization and the volume of debris requiring treatment for disposal. Toward this, ISL has developed a water-based reactive strippable coating (Trap & See-Hg™) to sequester elemental Hg(0) and mercuric Hg(II) species in the coating. The coating provides multiple benefits including (1) Hg vapor suppression, (2) sealing in the hazardous contaminants, (3) visually locating the contaminant through color changes, and (4) remediating the contaminated surfaces upon coating removal. Through collaboration between ORNL and ISL in Phase II work, the team successfully demonstrated the Trap & See-Hg technology to (1) visually locate the presence of Hg on concrete, soil and drywall surfaces, (2) effectively sequester all mercury species (elemental, soluble and insoluble Hg) from lab-generated and ex-situ soil and brick/rubble samples collected from the Y 12 site with 80 to 95% efficiency to capture/reduce Hg vapor concentration, (3) be applied by manual and robotic spray applicators and cure at room ambient, (4) remain a cohesive and peelable coating upon drying, and (5) sequester Hg0 from walls in the alpha-2 building basement at Y-12 during a small scale in-situ field trial. In Phase IIB, ISL’s effort was focused on refining the coating formulations with additives containing passive and reactive sorbents, colorimetric indicator, and thixotropic agents to achieve the desired performance. The paints were then evaluated at ORNL for applicability to metal and concrete surfaces of different sizes and shapes, and soil rubble, Hg-sorption capacity and achieving sag-free coating on surfaces when applied by a manual spray applicator. Ambient cure of the coating resulted in a dry thickness of 16–20 mil. The coatings were removed from smooth or rough surfaces with low to moderate force. Both lab-generated Hg-contaminated samples and soil and brick/rubble samples containing a range of Hg concentrations (collected from the Y-12 site by UCOR) were used in this project. Optimized formulations were applied to these samples and evaluated for ability to suppress Hg vapors, sequester Hg 0 and Hg(II) species and color mapping of mercury species on the test surface. The ORNL team initially identified three to four potential sites at Y-12 and ORNL for potential demonstration. However, the pandemic closed any possible avenues for on-site demonstration of the robotic spray applicator. The metal and concrete samples with low to high Hg content provided by UCOR from an ongoing demolition were subsequently used for ex-situ sample characterization and analysis at ORNL over a period of 25 days. The coatings suppressed Hg vapors with an efficiency of 95–99% from heavily contaminated metal and 60% from concrete substrate. Analysis of total Hg in the peeled paints indicates sorption capacities ranging from 12 µg Hg/g of paint from concrete to 1.2 mg Hg/g of paint from the metal substrates while peeled paints from soil samples could capture a total Hg from 2.3 mg Hg/g to 66 mg/g paint. Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) tests recovered total mercury leached at 0.15±0.0008 µg/L for concrete to 126.81±0.67 µg/L and 377.25±5.67 µg/L for the two metal substrates, to allow for informed decisions on downstream disposal considerations. Together, this Phase IIB demonstrated the potential value of the Trap & See-Hg for Hg uptake, vapor suppression, and color mapping, and may thus be used to enhance worker safety during site cleanup, facility demolition, and downstream waste disposal at Y-12 NSC.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Simulink Modeling and Dynamic Study of Fixed-Speed, Variable-Speed, and Ternary Pumped Storage Hydropower

Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) is one of the most popular energy storage technologies in the world. It uses an upper reservoir to store water which can be later used during high-demand. In the United States, most of the energy storage capability actually corresponds to PSH. Moreover, PSH also brings multiple benefits to grid operation. This report presents the Simulink models of three common PSH technologies: Fixed-Speed (FS), Variable-Speed (VS), and Ternary (T)-PSH. These models are available to the general public on this GitHub repository, which contains the MATLAB model initialization files, the Simulink model files, and supplementary MATLAB code used to obtain the figures in this work. For each PSH model, an introductory description of the model components and other relevant functionalities are provided. For further information regarding the models and the initialization parameters, the reader is referred to the shared files in the repository. This report also presents the dynamic behavior of each model. The response of such models to a load event is analyzed and matched with each model's features. A custom IEEE 39 bus case is employed for the FS and T-PSH simulations, while the VS-PSH is simulated on a simplified three-bus test system due to the computational complexity of the model. For the T-PSH, the steady-state and the switching between several operating modes are also studied in this work.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

An Assessment of Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development Opportunities in the United States

Retrofitting non-powered dams (NPDs) to add hydropower offers multiple benefits over traditional, new hydropower development. Since much of the civil works infrastructure already exists, many retrofits require minimal new construction and can leverage existing water conveyances and discharge for generation. Although NPDs vary considerably in terms of their defining characteristics, identifying similarities helps support targeted investment and find opportunities to develop solutions for common challenges. With the publication of NPD-related data in 2022 (Hansen et al. 2022b), the US Department of Energy and relevant stakeholders are equipped with key information across roughly 89,000 US NPDs. These data represent the best-available information to date and extend beyond previous assessments of potential power capacity by describing design, operational, socioeconomic, environmental aspects of NPDs (Hadjerioua et al. 2012). To capitalize on these efforts to improve breadth and depth of NPD data access, this study uses a data-driven approach to assess NPD hydropower development opportunities in the United States. To help describe project feasibility drivers for NPDs, recent NPD retrofits were reviewed to examine variability with respect to a variety of characteristics. Based on the assessment of recent retrofits and data availability, several attributes were selected to characterize the remaining NPD population: (1) owner type, (2) 30% exceedance flow (a common design flow that describes the flow that is exceeded by 30% of the flow in the record), (3) hydraulic head, and (4) maximum reservoir storage. These four characteristics were used as inputs to a statistical clustering analysis (a common technique for grouping individuals of a population based on similarities or how closely associated individuals are to one another) of a set of 2,709 NPDs with at least 100 kW potential capacity and recently retrofit dams with available data. With the large dataset of NPDs, the clusters help describe how the population breaks down into different types (i.e., how many types of dams there are and what portion of the population belongs to each cluster).

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

DEEPER: An Intergrated Platform for Deeper Roots

Crops with deeper roots would have multiple benefits, including better drought tolerance, reduced requirement for nitrogen fertilizer, and better sequestration of atmospheric CO 2 . DEEPER is an integrated platform of phenomic, genomic, and in silico technologies to generate maize lines with deeper roots. DEEPER is: LEADER (Leaf Elemental Accumulation from Deep Roots) is a breakthrough technology to nondestructively measure rooting depth by using the plant itself as a sensor. LEADER uses handheld X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry to quantify foliar accumulation of elements that are differentially distributed in the soil profile. LEADER is nondestructive and is orders of magnitude cheaper, faster, and more precise than any competing assay of rooting depth in the field. LEADER is able to distinguish deep-rooted from shallow-rooted maize lines in the field without the need for costly and noisy soil coring. RootRobot/DIRT3D, to automatically phenotype root architecture in any field, combining RootRobot, a mechatronics platform to excavate, clean, section, and image mature root crowns, with DIRT3D, software to quantify architectural traits in 3D. Anatomics, a high-throughput platform to phenotype root anatomy, combining LAT 2.0, a technology for 3D imaging of root anatomy and composition, with RootScan3D, software to automatically extract 3D anatomical and cell wall composition metrics from LAT 2.0 output. Using this platform we discovered two novel root traits, parenchyma cell wall thickness and multiseriate cortical sclerenchyma, that improve rooting depth and drought tolerance in maize and wheat. OpenSimRoot/Deep, software to simulate root interaction with hard subsoils. Using this platform we discovered novel concepts regarding how to increase crop rooting depth by modulating how individual root axes respond to hard soil. DeepGenes, a toolkit of genes, parent lines, and genomic selection strategies to enable breeding hybrids with deeper roots. We discovered 3 novel root genes that increase rooting depth in maize and wheat. DEEPER discovered novel root phenotypes for deeper rooting, and delivered validated ideotypes for deeper-rooted maize; novel technologies to rapidly assess root depth, root architecture and anatomy in field-grown plants; novel software tools for root modeling and 3D image analysis of root architecture and anatomy; and validated genes and genomic selection models to deploy traits for deeper rooting in maize breeding. Each DEEPER technology is transformative in its own right, and exceeds existing technologies. They are mutually synergistic, deployable for field-grown plants, and are ready for application. The phenotyping and modeling technologies are readily applicable to many crops, and genetic leads in maize may have utility in other grasses. Taken as a whole they represent a transformative platform to develop deeper-rooted crops, with greater drought tolerance, reduced fertilizer requirement, and greater carbon sequestration.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Low-Cost Radiant Heater for Rapid Response, High-Temperature Heating

High-temperature processing has an irreplaceable role in many research and industrial applications. Despite remarkable development spanning over a century, the pursuit of even higher thermal flux density and more rapid thermal transients has not slowed down. As part of the ongoing energy evolution, many industrial applications are transitioning from direct combustion of fossil fuels as primary energy sources to increasing electrification, capable of adapting to renewable power grids. Thus, there is an emerging need for electrical heaters that can replace burners and supply the heat demand, especially at the highest temperatures. In this study, we report on a radiant heater design that can achieve cyclic heating/cooling rates of up to 400 K min –1 and a temperature range in excess of 1,800 K, comparable to those of commercial infrared gold image furnaces, at high surface and volumetric power densities. The heater consists of a modular unit of incandescent tungsten filament and is enclosed in an evacuated ceramic envelope, chemically inert, tolerant of thermal shock, and impervious to gasses. The material and manufacture cost of such heaters, which is estimated at ~$0.05/W, is less than 0.03% of that for infrared gold image furnaces, which is at >$2/W. Tests of more than 10,000 demanding cycles (high temperature and high heating/cooling rate) over 350 h of total operational time and in different temperature ranges confirm the robust performance of radiant heater prototypes. The design is widely applicable to high-temperature reactor and furnace designs. In thermochemistry research and practice, these radiant heaters could offer multiple benefits compared to solar simulators, lasers, infrared gold furnaces, ceramic heaters, or direct concentration of solar input.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗