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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
DOE OSTI2024

Criticality Analysis of FSV Spent Nuclear Fuel in the DOE Standard Canister

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing over 300 types of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). To manage this large variety of fuel types, DOE plans to employ standardized canisters for the transportation, long-term storage, and eventual disposal of SNF. Idaho National Laboratory is currently supporting DOE’s SNF Packaging Demonstration Project, in which Fort Saint Vrain (FSV) fuel assemblies will be loaded into a DOE Standard Canister. This paper presents criticality calculations demonstrating that all four or five FSV fuel assemblies loaded into the DOE Standard Canister will remain subcritical in any expected normal or credible abnormal conditions. Previous criticality analyses were performed for one FSV fuel assembly and 12 Peach Bottom Core 2 fuel elements loaded into a DOE Standard Canister. This paper covers the criticality analysis performed for loading both four and five FSV fuel assemblies into a DOE Standard Canister. Various intact and degraded mode configurations were modeled in conducting the criticality calculations. This analysis encompassed three different configurations: (1) a single DOE Standard Canister loaded into a concrete storage overpack, (2) seven DOE Standard Canisters loaded into a concrete storage overpack, and (3) nine DOE Standard Canisters loaded into a concrete storage overpack. The overpack dimensions were varied for each of the three configurations, and transport, storage, and disposal scenarios were analyzed for each configuration. For transport scenarios, a pair of degradation cases was analyzed. In the first case, the fuel compacts became degraded and were removed from the fuel block, then deposited at the bottom of a horizontally placed canister, thereby simulating a drop event. The canister was considered to remain intact. In the second case, the spacing between horizontally placed canisters in a nine-canister overpack was reduced such that the canisters were piled on top of each other, simulating a drop event. For this case, no degradation of the canister internals or fuel was considered. For storage scenarios, the water moderator location in the system was varied to enable identification of the most reactive configurations. Dry and wet conditions were analyzed for the fuel materials, canister, and overpack. For disposal scenarios, two degradation cases were analyzed. In the first, the stainless-steel internals of the canister degraded to either hematite or goethite under both dry and wet conditions. In the second case, degraded FSV fuel formed a uranium-water slurry that filled the coolant/void holes. None of the cases presented exceeded the application specific upper subcritical limit.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1990

Budgets of reactive nitrogen, hydrocarbons, and ozone over the Amazon forest during the wet season

The atmospheric composition over the Amazon forest during the wet season is simulated with a one-dimensional photochemical model for the planetary boundary layer (PBL) extending from the ground to 2000-m altitude. The model is constrained and evaluated using observations from the Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment 2B field expedition. Results indicate that only about 20 percent of NO(x) emitted by soils is exported to the atmosphere above the forest canopy. The balance is deposited to vegetation before leaving the canopy layer. The small NO(x) flux that escapes from the canopy is nevertheless sufficient to account for the low NO concentrations observed in the PBL. Soil emission can account for only a portion of NO(y) observed over the forest. Organic nitrates of nonbiogenic origin likely account for the balance of NO(y). Enhancements of CO observed in the PBL appear to reflect direct emission of CO by the forest ecosystem. Concentrations of O3 in the PBL are regulated largely by transport from aloft and deposition to the canopy, with little net influence from photochemistry. Ozone is photochemically produced immediately above the forest where NO concentrations are relatively high, but is photochemically consumed in the upper portion of the PBL.

Jacob, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The enhanced oxidation of SO2 by NO2 on carbon particulates

The oxidation of SO2 on carbon particles in dry air and in air at 65% relative humidity (RH) was found to be greatly enhanced by the presence of gaseous NO2. Exposures of 20-80ppm SO2 + 10ppm NO2 on 1-mg samples of commercial carbon black were found to produce both sorption and desorption coverages (weight retained after desorption into N2) of over one order of magnitude greater than for corresponding SO2 exposures. Significant agglomeration and wetting were observed to occur progressively during exposures at 65% RH, and samples, even after 150-h exposure, rarely reached steady-state weight gain. The wetting may have regenerated fresh reactive carbon surface. Sorptions conducted in nitrogen atmospheres, rather than in air, appeared to produce slightly higher sorptions and weight retentions for equivalent exposure concentrations and times, indicating that NO2 served as the oxidizer and that molecular oxygen, or some trace constitutents in air, may have weakly inhibited the oxidation by NO2. Wet chemical analysis of the desorbed phase indicated that sulfate, presumably H2SO4 accounted for over half of the retained weight. Measurements of pH from water-quenched samples indicated a highly acidic surface phase, and suggested the oxidation process could proceed in an acidic environment.

Cofer, W. R., III↗
NASA NTRS1993

Investigation of etching techniques for superconductive Nb/Al-Al2O3/Nb fabrication processes

Wet etching, CF4 and SF6 reactive ion etching (RIE), RIE/wet hybrid etching, Cl-based RIE, ion milling, and liftoff techniques have been investigated for use in superconductive Nb/Al-Al2O3/Nb fabrication processes. High-quality superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions have been fabricated using a variety of these etching methods; however, each technique offers distinct tradeoffs for a given process an wafer design. In particular, it was shown that SF6 provides an excellent RIE chemistry for low-voltage anisotropic etching of Nb with high selectivity to Al. The SF6 tool has greatly improved the trilevel resist junction insulation process. Excellent repeatability, selectivity with respect to quartz, and submicron resolution make Cl2 + BCl3 + CHCl3 RIE a very attractive process for trilayer patterning.

Lichtenberger, A. W.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Seasonal mixing from intermittent flow drives concentration-discharge behaviour in a stream affected by coal mine drainage

Abandoned mining operations continue to severely degrade many ecosystems worldwide by releasing acidic water and/or heavy metals into surface and groundwater. Contaminant concentrations in affected streams vary with discharge in patterns that reflect both geochemical reactions and variable mixing of contaminated and non-contaminated waters. However, controls on concentration-discharge (C-Q) patterns remain unclear, particularly for constituents that experience changing solubility across redox and pH gradients. Understanding the C-Q behaviour of contaminants aids in predicting both downstream transport and effects on aquatic life under variable flow. Here, we examined the C-Q behaviours of non-reactive (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl - ) and reactive (Fe, Mn, Al, H + , SO 4 2- ) solutes in a stream contaminated with acid mine drainage in northeastern Ohio, USA. Concentration-discharge patterns at the watershed outlet primarily reflected mixing of contaminated baseflow with intermittent inputs of high pH water draining from a passive limestone treatment system into the stream. The treatment system acted as an ephemeral tributary that mitigated contamination in the stream by diluting solutes, raising pH, and driving metal precipitation, but only when flow was present during wet seasons. Consequently, AMD-derived reactive solutes (H + , Fe, Mn, Al) decreased with increasing stream discharge while relatively conservative solutes (e.g., Ca, Mg, K, Na) decreased only slightly or were chemostatic. This study highlights both the unique C-Q patterns of reactive solutes when compared to those of non-reactive solutes and the potential for intermittent streams to control C-Q behaviour in headwater catchments.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ammonia in northeast Colorado is increasing, rising most quickly in regions close to confined animal feeding operations

The Colorado Front Range urban corridor and nearby agricultural operations are important source regions of atmospheric ammonia (NH 3 ). Upslope flows periodically transport these emissions into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), located 50 km west of the urban corridor, where wet and dry deposition of excess reactive nitrogen (N) impacts ecosystems. Here, we use a combination of in situ passive NH 3 measurements and NH 3 vertical column density retrievals from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) to assess variability and changes in NH 3 across three land use categories in the northeast Colorado source region (agricultural, urban, and remote) during the period 2013-2023. A strong seasonal cycle is present across the region with increased NH 3 during summer months. Elevated NH 3 is spatially correlated with the number of permitted animal units in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) within 12 km. Ground-level NH 3 concentrations are strongly positively correlated with monthly gridded IASI satellite column densities. Satellite retrievals reveal an increasing trend in NH 3 column amounts of ∼3% per year in agricultural and ∼2% per year in urban sub-regions. The magnitude of the trend observed in NH 3 columns averaged over the agricultural sub-region is > 3 times larger than observed near and over Denver. The largest increases in NH 3 are closely aligned with the distribution of CAFOs. Reductions in particle sulfate associated with declining sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions could account for only ∼0.1% per year increase in gaseous NH 3 . Wildfire smoke across the region has increased but appears unlikely to explain the majority of the observed NH 3 increase.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Multicomponent Reactive Transport Model for Integrated Surface‐Subsurface Hydrology Problems

Abstract Despite the widespread use of integrated hydrology models in a variety of applications, consideration of multicomponent reactive transport is still not common. The implementation of these processes requires coupling transport at the surface‐subsurface interface and efficient solution of the non‐linear geochemical model that is consistent with the integrated hydrology solution. The Advanced Terrestrial Simulator provides a flexible multiphysics framework that facilitated this process. In this work, the integrated reactive transport process kernel (PK) was weakly coupled to the integrated hydrology PK. In turn, integrated transport and reactions were coupled using an operator splitting approach. This splitting enabled an explicit solution of the integrated transport problem, including a novel algorithm to calculate exchange fluxes across the surface‐subsurface interface and a point‐by‐point solution of the geochemical problem. Geochemical capabilities were added using well‐established external codes, but rather than using a custom interface to each, a generic interface was used that clearly specifies the variables and operations used by the chemistry PK. The implementation is demonstrated with two example simulations: transport of a tracer in a soil column as it saturates over time and water ponds on the surface and reactive transport in a hillslope driven by successive wet‐dry cycles that result in infiltration, runoff and exfiltration processes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Large area nanoscale patterning of functional materials using organosilicate ink based nanotransfer printing

Abstract This paper presents a versatile nanotransfer printing method for achieving large-area sub-micron patterns of functional materials. Organosilicate ink formulations combined with effective release layers have been shown to facilitate patterning of materials through the commonly used patterning approaches—lift off, physical etching and chemical etching. In this paper, we demonstrate that organosilicate ink formulations function as an effective resist owing to its superior physico-chemical stability whereas the release layers ensure clean removal of the resist post patterning. We successfully demonstrate patterning of sub-micron structures (800 nm feature sizes) of chromium metal through the lift off approach, silicon through reactive ion etching technique and silicon dioxide through wet chemical etching technique illustrating the versatility of the reported method. This patterning methodology represents a significant advancement in enabling nanostructure fabrication within resource-constrained laboratories. The approach requires nothing more than a master mold containing the desired structures, a spin coater, a low-temperature hotplate, and a desktop reactive ion etch tool.

Engineering↗
NASA NTRS2004

Selection of an Alternate Biocide for the ISS Internal Thermal Control System Coolant, Phase 2

The ISS (International Space Station) ITCS (Internal Thermal Control System) includes two internal coolant loops that utilize an aqueous based coolant for heat transfer. A silver salt biocide had previously been utilized as an additive in the coolant formulation to control the growth and proliferation of microorganisms within the coolant loops. Ground-based and in-flight testing demonstrated that the silver salt was rapidly depleted, and did not act as an effective long-term biocide. Efforts to select an optimal alternate biocide for the ITCS coolant application have been underway and are now in the final stages. An extensive evaluation of biocides was conducted to down-select to several candidates for test trials and was reported on previously. Criteria for that down-select included: the need for safe, non-intrusive implementation and operation in a functioning system; the ability to control existing planktonic and biofilm residing microorganisms; a negligible impact on system-wetted materials of construction; and a negligible reactivity with existing coolant additives. Candidate testing to provide data for the selection of an optimal alternate biocide is now in the final stages. That testing has included rapid biocide effectiveness screening using Biolog MT2 plates to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (amount that will inhibit visible growth of microorganisms), time kill studies to determine the exposure time required to completely eliminate organism growth, materials compatibility exposure evaluations, coolant compatibility studies, and bench-top simulated coolant testing. This paper reports the current status of the effort to select an alternate biocide for the ISS ITCS coolant. The results of various test results to select the optimal candidate are presented.

Wilson, Mark E.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Global nitrogen and sulfur deposition mapping using a measurement–model fusion approach

Abstract. Global reactive nitrogen (N) deposition has more than tripled since 1860 and is expected to remain high due to food production and fossil fuel consumption. Global sulfur emissions have been decreasing worldwide over the last 30 years, but many regions are still experiencing unhealthily high levels of deposition. We update the 2010 global deposition budget for reactive nitrogen and sulfur components with new regional wet deposition measurements from Asia, improving the ensemble results of 11 global chemistry transport models from the second phase of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (HTAP II). The observationally adjusted global N deposition budget is 114.5 Tg N, representing a minor increase of 1 % from the model-only derived values, and the adjusted global sulfur deposition budget is 88.9 Tg S, representing a 6.5 % increase from the modeled values, using an interpolation distance of 2.5∘. Regionally, deposition adjustments can be up to ∼ 73 % for nitrogen and 112 % for sulfur. Our study demonstrates that a global measurement–model fusion approach can improve N and S deposition model estimates at a regional scale, with sufficient availability of observations; however, in large parts of the world, alternative approaches need to be explored. The analysis presented here represents a step forward toward the World Meteorological Organization's goal of global fusion products for accurately mapping harmful air pollution deposition.

Rubin, Hannah J. (ORCID:0000000182226924)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hardness Measurements and Interface Behavior of SiC-B 4 C-Si Multiple Phase Particulate Composites Made with Melt Infiltration and Additive Manufacturing

Reaction-bonded SiC-B 4 C-Si ceramic composites were binder jet 3D-printed and subsequently pressureless-melt-infiltrated with molten Si. The addition of B 4 C aided the Si infiltration to produce a highly dense composite. The microstructures and phases of these composites were examined. The measured hardness values of each constituent with Vickers and nanoindentation matched the bulk values, and the macro-hardness values with Knoop and spherical indentation represented the bulk, composite hardness values of all three phases together, which was close to a rule of mixtures value. For particulate-based composites, this is a significant finding. The interfacial bonds of SiC and Si were imaged using scanning transmission electron microscopy to view intimacy, whereas the crack propagation was examined with carefully placed indents. This work demonstrated that pressureless melt infiltration with a reactive particle provides a method to shape non-wetting reaction-bonded ceramic composites with limited shrinkage and high density and provides insights into the mechanical behavior with numerous indentation techniques.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2011

Modifying Matrix Materials to Increase Wetting and Adhesion

In an alternative approach to increasing the degrees of wetting and adhesion between the fiber and matrix components of organic-fiber/polymer matrix composite materials, the matrix resins are modified. Heretofore, it has been common practice to modify the fibers rather than the matrices: The fibers are modified by chemical and/or physical surface treatments prior to combining the fibers with matrix resins - an approach that entails considerable expense and usually results in degradation (typically, weakening) of fibers. The alternative approach of modifying the matrix resins does not entail degradation of fibers, and affords opportunities for improving the mechanical properties of the fiber composites. The alternative approach is more cost-effective, not only because it eliminates expensive fiber-surface treatments but also because it does not entail changes in procedures for manufacturing conventional composite-material structures. The alternative approach is best described by citing an example of its application to a composite of ultra-high-molecular- weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers in an epoxy matrix. The epoxy matrix was modified to a chemically reactive, polarized epoxy nano-matrix to increase the degrees of wetting and adhesion between the fibers and the matrix. The modification was effected by incorporating a small proportion (0.3 weight percent) of reactive graphitic nanofibers produced from functionalized nanofibers into the epoxy matrix resin prior to combining the resin with the UHMWPE fibers. The resulting increase in fiber/matrix adhesion manifested itself in several test results, notably including an increase of 25 percent in the maximum fiber pullout force and an increase of 60-65 percent in fiber pullout energy. In addition, it was conjectured that the functionalized nanofibers became involved in the cross linking reaction of the epoxy resin, with resultant enhancement of the mechanical properties and lower viscosity of the matrix.

Zhong, Katie↗
DOE OSTI2026

Impact of Rock Wettability and Mineralization on CO 2 Storage Efficiency in Basalt Reservoirs

Basalt formations have emerged as highly promising targets for geological CO 2 storage due to their abundance of reactive silicate minerals that can rapidly convert dissolved CO 2 into stable carbonate minerals. The efficiency of CO 2 trapping in basalts, however, depends not only on their geochemical reactivity but also on reservoir wettability, which governs how CO 2 partitions among structural, residual, solubility, and mineral trapping mechanisms. However, wettability and mineral kinetics have largely been examined separately, wettability for plume migration and kinetics in terms of mineralization, leaving their coupled impact unquantified. Here, we systematically integrate th ese processes in a reservoir-scale reactive transport model to quantify the impact of three distinct wettability conditions (water-wet, mixed-wet, and CO 2 -wet) on plume migration, mineral precipitation, pore-scale blockage, and long-term immobilization. Results show that under ideal conditions (no mineralization), water-wet systems exhibited plume aspect ratios up to 28% higher than CO 2 -wet systems and promoted at least 60% greater residual trapping. When mineralization was incorporated, mineral trapping accounted for 57%, 53%, and 46% of the total immobilized CO 2 in water-wet, mixed-wet, and CO 2 -wet systems, respectively. Dissolved CO 2 contributed 43-46%, while residual trapping remained below 5%, and mobile CO 2 was substantially reduced due to mineralization, demonstrating that as the system becomes more water-wet, CO 2 is more effectively converted into stable carbonate minerals, although extensive mineral precipitation may lead to pore clogging. A global Sobol-Morris sensitivity analysis further reveals that the kinetic parameters of reactive minerals are the most influential factor, followed by wettability, while salinity has only a minor influence. Furthermore, these findings highlight that wettability is not merely a flow property but a fundamental control on CO 2 mineralization in basalts, with direct implications for site selection for storage projects.

Basalts↗
DOE OSTI2023

Microstructural investigation of PBX 9501: Comparing wet slurry and resonant acoustic mixing techniques

The microstructure of a high explosive (HE) material directly influences the reactive behavior under a variety of insults. Furthermore, the preparation method of polymer-bonded explosives (PBX), as well as the constituent material particle size distribution and consolidation parameters, will dominate the microstructural features that are observed. Here, we compare batches of PBX 9501 prepared by the typical wet slurry process and those prepared by resonant acoustic mixing. The “prills” produced by the wet slurry process leads to an inherently different microstructure than the coated powder produced by resonant acoustic mixing. Additionally, we observed that the conditions required to consolidate (press) the material to the nominal PBX 9501 density varied depending on the preparation technique, which also dictates the observed binder distribution. Furthermore, X-ray microcomputed tomography and ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering analyses revealed distinct differences in the void structure and distribution.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1978

Thermal performance of shaft bearing system

Computer program calculates loads, torques, temperature, and fatigue life of multibearing shaft system operating with either wet or dry friction. Program is also capable of predicting system reactive to termination of lubricant supply to bearings and other lubricated mechanical elements.

Crecelius, W.↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Icebreaker Mission to Search for Life on Mars

The search for evidence of life on Mars is the ultimate motivation for its scientific exploration. The results from the Phoenix mission indicate that the high N. latitude ice-rich regolith at low elevations is likely to be a recently habitable place on Mars [Stoker et al., 2010]. The near-surface ice likely provided adequate water activity during periods of high obliquity, 3 to 10 Myr ago. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are present in the atmosphere, and nitrates may be present in the soil. Together with iron in basaltic rocks and perchlorate in the soil they provide carbon and energy sources, and oxidative power to drive metabolism. Furthermore, the presence of organics is possible, as thermally reactive perchlorate would have prevented their detection by Viking and Phoenix. The Mars Icebreaker Life mission [McKay et al., 2013] focuses on the following science goals: (1) Search for biomolecular evidence of life; (2) Search for organic matter from either exogeneous or endogeneous sources using methods that are not effected by the presence of perchlorate; (3) Characterize oxidative species that produced reactivity of soils seen by Viking; and 4) Assess the habitability of the ice bearing soils. The Icebreaker Life payload (Figure 1) includes a 1-m rotary percussive drill that brings cuttings samples to the surface where they are delivered to three instruments (Fig. 1), the Signs of Life Detector (SOLID) [Parro et al., 2011] for biomolecular analysis, Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometer (LDMS) [??? 2015]) for broad spectrum organic analysis, and Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) [Hecht et al., 2009] for detecting soluble species of nutrients and reactive oxidants. The Icebreaker payload fits on the Phoenix spacecraft and can land at the well-characterized Phoe-nix landing site in 2020 in a Discovery-class mission.

Carbon dioxide and nitrogen↗
NASA NTRS1999

Quantifying BRDF Effects in Comparing Landsat-7 and AVIRIS Near-Simultaneous Acquisitions for Studies of High Plains Vegetation Cover

Approximately 100,000 sq. km of the High Plains of the central United States are covered by sand dunes and sand sheets deposited during the Holocene. Soil-dating evidence shows that there were at least four periods of dune reactivation during major droughts in the last 10,000 years. The dunes in this region are anchored by vegetation. We have undertaken a study of land-use change in the High Plains from 1985 to the present using Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+ images to map variation in vegetation cover during wet and dry years. Mapping vegetation cover of less than 20% is important in modeling potential surface reactivation since at this level the vegetation no longer sufficiently shields sandy surfaces from movement by wind. Landsat TM data have both the spatial resolution and temporal coverage to facilitate vegetation cover analysis for model development and verification. However, there is still the question of how accurate TM data are for the measurement of both growing and senescent vegetation in and and semi-arid regions. AVIRIS provides both high spectral resolution as well as high signal-to-noise ratio and can be used to test the accuracy of Landsat TM and ETM+ data. We have analyzed data from AVIRIS flown nearly concurrently with a Landsat 7 overpass. The comparison between an AVIRIS image swath of 11 km width subtending a 30 deg. angle and the same area covered by a 0.8 deg. angle from Landsat required accounting for the BRDF. A normalization technique using the ratio of the reflectances from registered AVIRIS and Landsat data proved superior to the techniques of column averaging on AVIRIS data alone published previously by Kennedy et al. This technique can be applied to aircraft data covering a wider swath angle than AVIRIS to develop BRDF responses for a wide variety of surfaces more efficiently than from ground measurements.

Goetz, A. F. H.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fabrication and field emission properties of vertical, tapered GaN nanowires etched via phosphoric acid

The controlled fabrication of vertical, tapered, and high-aspect ratio GaN nanowires via a two-step top-down process consisting of an inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etch followed by a hot, 85% H 3 PO 4 crystallographic wet etch is explored. The vertical nanowires are oriented in the $[0001]$ direction and are bound by sidewalls comprising of $\{33\bar{6}2\}$ semipolar planes which are at a 12° angle from the [0001] axis. High temperature H3PO4 etching between 60 °C and 95 °C result in smooth semipolar faceting with no visible micro-faceting, whereas a 50 °C etch reveals a micro-faceted etch evolution. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging confirms nanowire tip dimensions down to 8–12 nanometers. The activation energy associated with the etch process is 0.90 ± 0.09 eV, which is consistent with a reaction-rate limited dissolution process. The exposure of the $\{33\bar{6}2\}$ type planes is consistent with etching barrier index calculations. The field emission properties of the nanowires were investigated via a nanoprobe in a scanning electron microscope as well as by a vacuum field emission electron microscope. Finally, the measurements show a gap size dependent turn-on voltage, with a maximum current of 33 nA and turn-on field of 1.92 V nm -1 for a 50 nm gap, and uniform emission across the array.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗