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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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DOE OSTI2025

Assembly of the MOLLER Toroidal Magnets at Jefferson Lab

The MOLLER experiment at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) aims to precisely measure the weak interaction between electrons. This experiment leverages the 12 GeV electron beam and will run for three years. A crucial component of MOLLER is a system of five uniquely shaped water-cooled toroidal magnets. These magnets, possessing seven-fold symmetry, are designed to focus particles by separating electrons scattered off hydrogen in a liquid hydrogen target. The five magnets separate electrons scattered off electrons (Møller scattering) and protons (elastic e-p scattering) within target into approximately circular rings at the detector. Here, this paper presents the assembly process for these five toroidal magnets, detailing critical steps including epoxy application, pin insertion, soldering and brazing, coil assembly, and alignment, all performed to meet stringent magnet specifications. Additionally, it discusses challenges encountered during construction and highlights lessons learned, offering insights for future magnet development projects.

Lamont, Joseph [Thomas Jefferson National Accelera↗

DOE OSTI2025

A Combined Computational and Mathematical Analysis of Interconnect Fatigue Potential in Photovoltaic Modules

A finite element model of a 60-cell monocrystalline silicon glass-polymer photovoltaic module was simulated with ±1.0 kPa and ±2.4 kPa loads applied to the glass to calculate the deformation under load. Cell-to-cell displacements were used to approximate interconnect strain and stress. A mathematical fatigue cycle life relation was fitted to data for the interconnect material (copper), to generate a life prediction at each interconnect location based on the local stress means, reversal extents, and amplitudes. Interconnect stress was found to be significantly asymmetric about zero despite symmetric positive and negative module loads due to laminate thickness offsets about the neutral plane and the effects of module framing. Cycle life results indicated that interconnect fatigue failure was unlikely to occur over a 30-year lifetime of conservative wind and snow load cycles since the typical cell design feature of leaving some unconstrained length between the cell edge and first solder pad increases the effective gauge length and decreases the stress levels below the material endurance limit. Follow-up analyses found that 3.6 mm and 6.4 mm were the minimum unconstrained lengths required to survive the assumed lifetime of wind and snow cycles, respectively, confirming that typical industrial module constructions with 8–15 mm unconstrained lengths should survive conservatively. Notably, large magnitude, low-cycle snow loading was consistently the limiting factor requiring a longer unconstrained interconnect length. Finally, insights and workflows from this study inform module interconnection design limits for survival against mechanical fatigue in deployment environments.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

TTW (Transition to Wire Device) [SWR-25-02]

The Transition to Wire (TTW) hardware project is a method for connecting solar research samples with fragile interconnects to robust, weatherproof and consistent commercial connectors. The Transition to Wire device is a printed circuit board designed to facilitate the transition from tab ribbon or other unsecured electrical contacts on research samples to either wires or a connector. The four pin connector provides a kelvin (4 wire) connection at the solder pad where the sample connects.

McDanold, Byron↗

DOE OSTI2024

Rapid Predictions of Part Lifetimes in Corrosive Environments, Corrosion

Corrosion challenges persist throughout SNL’s mission areas. The primary difficulty lies in the fact that corrosion typically manifests as isolated, rare events, making preemptive identification exceedingly difficult. Our current strategy for addressing corrosion issues, such as anomalies and SFIs, is similarly isolated and reactive. This method is costly, time-consuming, heavily dependent on a limited number of experts, and offers minimal understanding of the overall damage distribution within the stockpile. This technical challenge is not unique to corrosion but is also prevalent in other material aging phenomena, such as tin-whisker growth in lead-free solder and fatigue failure of springs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

Fermilab 2025 Summer Internship: Repairing Pre-Amplifiers with Mu2e Electronics Installation Team

The author spent nine weeks over summer 2025 working on the tracker electronics installation team for the Mu2e experiment. One of her main responsibilities was repairing high voltage (HV) and calibration (Cal) pre-amplifiers (pre-amps). During installation, the fragile wires connecting the two sockets to the pre-amp board must be bent, often leading to breakage. During production, the sockets and wires were initially soldered to the board at UC Berkely, then the whole pre-amp was coated in parylene before transport to Fermilab. The interns were able to expedite the repairs, and thus whole installation process, by using an alternative method on-site with epoxy. Another task they were responsible for, not included in the original project specifications, was attaching copper clips to specific vias on the Cals to reduce noise. The talk will give listeners insight into the daily problem-solving required by the novel technologies in the Mu2e project. The author would like to acknowledge her fellow Monmouth College undergraduate interns, Lizzie Durfee and Gianna Maughan, advisor and PI of the DOE RENEW Grant Dr. Christopher G. Fasano, and the Mu2e team lead by co-spokesperson Dr. Bob Bernstein and tracker L2 manager Dr. Brendan Kiburg.

de Zwart, Bronte [Monmouth Coll.]↗

DOE OSTI2026

Quench Propagation On Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) Tape

Rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) high-temperature superconductors can carry high currents with zero electrical resistance, enabling applications in high-field magnets, energy systems, and fusion devices. However, localized losses of superconductivity, known as quenches, pose a severe risk due to REBCO’s mechanical brittleness and slow quench propagation, complicating early detection. This work investigates quench propagation and thermal response through controlled experiments. A segmented REBCO tape soldered onto a printed circuit board (PCB) with multiple voltage taps and temperature sensors was submerged in liquid nitrogen at 77 K. In the first test, current ramping produced a quench near 360 A, consistent with theoretical current limits, but resulted in local burnout. In the second test, a heater-induced quench at 300 A propagated bidirectionally with velocities ranging from 164–226 mm/s. These results provide critical parameters for improving REBCO quench detection and protection system design while accounting for REBCO’s limited bendability.

Ju, Han [Northern Illinois U.]↗

DOE OSTI2026

Quench Propagation on Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) Tape

Rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) high-temperature superconductors can carry high currents with zero electrical resistance, enabling applications in high-field magnets, energy systems, and fusion devices. However, the localized losses of superconductivity called a quench pose a severe risk due to REBCO’s mechanical brittleness and slow quench propagation, hence complicating early detection. This work investigates quench propagation and thermal response through controlled experiments. A segmented REBCO tape soldered on a PCB with multiple voltage taps and temperature sensors was submerged in liquid nitrogen at 77 K. In the first test, current ramping produced a quench near 360 A, consistent with theoretical current limits but resulted in a local burn. In the second test, a heater-induced quench at 300 A propagated bidirectionally with measured velocities ranging from 164–226 mm/s. These measurements provide critical parameters for improving REBCO quench detection and protection system design with accounts for REBCO's limited bendability.

Ju, Han [NIU, DeKalb]↗

DOE OSTI2024

Radiopaque particle processing additive

A radiopaque processing medium comprising a plurality of radiopaque particles and a non-radiopaque processing medium. The plurality of radiopaque particles is added to the non-radiopaque processing medium to increase a bulk density of the processing medium thereby forming the radiopaque processing medium. The radiopaque processing medium allows excess process media to be located and characterized during X-ray inspection of an electronic device on which the radiopaque processing medium was used. The radiopaque processing medium may also be used to locate and identify flaws/defects of the electronic device based on the location of excess radiopaque processing medium. The radiopaque processing medium may also be used as an underfill material to reinforce electronic chips soldered to the electronic device.

Diamond, Louis↗

DOE OSTI2024

The Path to Global Discovery: U.S. Leadership and Partnership in Particle Physics

In February 2022, HEPAP, the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel to DOE (Department of Energy) and NSF (National Science Foundation), was charged with forming a subpanel to conduct an international benchmarking study to evaluate U.S. leadership in particle physics in a global context (Appendix D). HEPAP formed an International Benchmarking Subpanel and gathered qualitative and quantitative data from the international particle physics community to 1) determine how the U.S. particle physics program can maintain critical international cooperation in an increasingly competitive environment for both talent and resources, 2) identify key areas where the U.S. has or could aspire to leadership roles, and 3) determine how programs and facilities can be structured to attract and retain talented people. This report also serves as input to P5 (Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel), a subpanel of HEPAP that defines the strategic scientific direction for the U.S. particle physics program.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗