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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 OSTI2023

Phase I Summary of Management Activities - Advanced Construction Technology Initiative Project

As the end of the year is approached, it is essential to review the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) management activities undertaken during the Advanced Construction Technology Initiative (ACTI) project. The ACTI project was launched to support a transformation in nuclear energy construction, management, and deployment costs, enabling nuclear energy to make important contributions to the energy systems of the future. This transformation will increase the confidence of investors, energy system planners, policymakers, and ultimately consumers in the capability of nuclear energy to meet future needs; thus, it represents a critical element of advanced nuclear energy system demonstration. Development and/or demonstration project(s) will consider regulatory requirements for commercial nuclear implementation and will incorporate strategies to develop regulator experience and review of the technology. GE Hitachi (GEH), a leading player in the nuclear industry that offers a range of products and services including nuclear reactor design, fuel supply, and decommissioning solutions, submitted a proposal for the ACTI project. GEH was awarded the contract for the first phase of the project.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Prediction of Breakdown in Air and Solid Dielectrics: A Complete Plasma Model from Discharge Initiation to Flashover (Final Technical Report)

A major challenge for most of the technologies of today, and the technologies of the future, is the compact and reliable design of electrical insulation systems for their electrical components. Although controlled low-temperature plasmas (LTPs) or non-thermal plasmas in air at atmospheric pressure are of interest for a wide range of technologies, the appearance of such discharges is considered highly undesirable in insulation systems because they are precursors of a breakdown or flashover, where complete insulation failure takes place. For non-thermal plasmas, often only one mechanism, or the transition from one discharge mechanism to another, has typically been studied to date. On the other hand, in the case of thermal plasma applications, the conditions following the occurrence of an electric arc or flashover have always been considered. Here, there is a big technical gap: there is no paper describing a complete plasma model simulating all discharge mechanisms and their transitions from discharge initiation to electrical arc and flashover. To address this gap, a complete plasma model for both thermal and non-thermal plasmas should be developed using a hydrodynamic approach. The project aimed to build the model. The work has the potential to address industrial applications and is of great importance to higher voltage systems.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effect of Initial Microstructure on the Toughness of Coarse-Grained Heat-Affected Zone in a Microalloyed Steel

Toughness of the coarse-grained-heat-affected-zone (CGHAZ) strongly depends on the prior austenite grain size. The prior austenite grain size is affected not only by chemical composition, thermal cycle, and dissolution of second-phase particles, but also by the initial microstructure. The effect of base metal microstructure (ferrite/pearlite obtained by air cooling and martensite obtained by water-quenching) on Charpy impact toughness of the CGHAZ has been investigated for different heat inputs for high-heat input welding of a microalloyed steel. A welding thermal cycle with a heat input of 100 kJ/cm and 400 kJ/cm were simulated on the MMS-300 system. Despite a similar microstructure in the CGHAZ of both the base metals, the average Charpy impact energy for the air-cooled base metal was found to be higher than the water-quenched base metal. Through thermo-kinetic simulations, it was found that a higher enrichment of Mn/C at the ferrite/austenite transformation interface of the CGHAZ of water-quenched base metal resulted in stabilizing austenite at a lower A1 temperature, which resulted in a coarser austenite grain size and eventually lowering the toughness of the CGHAZ.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Wolf-Rayet Galaxies in SDSS-IV MaNGA. II. Metallicity Dependence of the High-mass Slope of the Stellar Initial Mass Function

As hosts of living high-mass stars, Wolf-Rayet (WR) regions or WR galaxies are ideal objects for constraining the high-mass end of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). We construct a large sample of 910 WR galaxies/regions that cover a wide range of stellar metallicity (from Z ~ 0.001 to 0.03) by combining three catalogs of WR galaxies/regions previously selected from the SDSS and SDSS-IV/MaNGA surveys. We measure the equivalent widths of the WR blue bump at ~4650 Å for each spectrum. They are compared with predictions from stellar evolutionary models Starburst99 and BPASS, with different IMF assumptions (high-mass slope α of the IMF ranging from 1.0 to 3.3). Both singular evolution and binary evolution are considered. We also use a Bayesian inference code to perform full spectral fitting to WR spectra with stellar population spectra from BPASS as fitting templates. We then make a model selection among different α assumptions based on Bayesian evidence. These analyses have consistently led to a positive correlation of the IMF high-mass slope α with stellar metallicity Z, i.e., with a steeper IMF (more bottom-heavy) at higher metallicities. Specifically, an IMF with α = 1.00 is preferred at the lowest metallicity (Z ~ 0.001), and an Salpeter or even steeper IMF is preferred at the highest metallicity (Z ~ 0.03). These conclusions hold even when binary population models are adopted.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The MASSIVE Survey. XVI. The Stellar Initial Mass Function in the Center of MASSIVE Early-type Galaxies

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental property in the measurement of stellar masses and galaxy star formation histories. In this work, we focus on the most massive galaxies in the nearby universe $\mathrm{log}({M}_{\star }/\,{M}_{\odot })\gt 11.2$. We obtain high-quality Magellan/LDSS-3 long-slit spectroscopy with a wide wavelength coverage of 0.4–1.01 μm for 41 early-type galaxies (ETGs) in the MASSIVE survey and derive high signal-to-noise spectra within an aperture of R e /8. Using detailed stellar synthesis models, we constrain the elemental abundances and stellar IMF of each galaxy through full spectral modeling. All the ETGs in our sample have an IMF that is steeper than a Milky Way (Kroupa) IMF. The best-fit IMF mismatch parameter, α IMF = (M/L)/(M/L) MW , ranges from 1.1 to 3.1, with an average of $\langle$α IMF $\rangle$ = 1.84, suggesting that on average, the IMF is more bottom heavy than Salpeter. Comparing the estimated stellar masses with the dynamical masses, we find that most galaxies have stellar masses that are smaller than their dynamical masses within the 1σ uncertainty. We complement our sample with lower-mass galaxies from the literature and confirm that $\mathrm{log}({\alpha }_{\mathrm{IMF}})$ is positively correlated with $\mathrm{log}(\sigma )$, $\mathrm{log}({M}_{\star })$, and $\mathrm{log}({M}_{\mathrm{dyn}})$. From the combined sample, we show that the IMF in the centers of more massive ETGs is more bottom heavy. In addition, we find that $\mathrm{log}({\alpha }_{\mathrm{IMF}})$ is positively correlated with both [Mg/Fe] and the estimated total metallicity [Z/H]. We find suggestive evidence that the effective stellar surface density Σ Kroupa might be responsible for the variation of α IMF . We conclude that σ, [Mg/Fe], and [Z/H] are the primary drivers of the global stellar IMF variation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Global Spectra-Trait Initiative: A database of paired leaf spectroscopy and functional traits associated with leaf photosynthetic capacity

Accurate assessment of leaf functional traits is crucial for a diverse range of applications from crop phenotyping to parameterizing global climate models. Leaf reflectance spectroscopy offers a promising avenue to advance ecological and agricultural research by complementing traditional, time-consuming gas exchange measurements. However, the development of robust hyperspectral models for predicting leaf photosynthetic capacity and associated traits from reflectance data has been hindered by limited data availability across species and environments. Here we introduce the Global Spectra-Trait Initiative (GSTI), a collaborative repository of paired leaf hyperspectral and gas exchange measurements from diverse ecosystems. The GSTI repository currently encompasses over 7500 observations from 397 species and 41 sites gathered from 36 published and unpublished studies, thereby offering a key resource for developing and validating hyperspectral models of leaf photosynthetic capacity. The GSTI database is developed on GitHub (https://github.com/plantphys/gsti, last access: 4 January 2026) and published to ESS-DIVE https://doi.org/10.15485/2530733, Lamour et al., 2025). It includes gas exchange data, derived photosynthetic parameters, and key leaf traits often associated with traditional gas exchange measurements such as leaf mass per area and leaf elemental composition. By providing a standardized repository for data sharing and analysis, we present a critical step towards creating hyperspectral models for predicting photosynthetic traits and associated leaf traits for terrestrial plants.

Lamour, Julien [Université of Toulouse (France); U↗
DOE OSTI2020

High-burnup Experiments in Reactivity Initiated Accidents (HERA)

HERA is a joint experimental program (JEEP) operating within the Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA’s) framework for irradiation experiments (FIDES). HERA is dedicated to the understanding of light water reactor (LWR) fuel performance at high burnup under reactivity-initiated accidents (RIA). During RIAs the fuel cladding can be breached by one of two mechanisms; pellet-cladding mechanical interaction or high temperature balloon and rupture. Pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) failure occurs in the early phase of an RIA transient where the fuel pellet expands rapidly into the cladding prior to any meaningful heat transfer from the pellet to the cladding. This results in high stresses in the cladding resulting in crack propagation through the base Zircaloy metal and axially along the cladding tube. Failure by PCMI is a brittle failure mode and occurs at low cladding strains, approximately 2% hoop strain. If the cladding survives the PCMI phase of the transient, it may still fail due to ballooning and rupture induced by extended exposure to high temperature. Thermal transport from the fuel pin to the coolant is significantly reduced if a transition to film boiling on the cladding surface occurs. This result in both a rapid increase in fuel temperature, which drives fission gas release, and a spike in cladding temperature, which results in loss of mechanical strength. If the internal pressure of the fuel rod is greater than the system pressure the cladding can inelastically deform and eventually rupture. Failure by swelling and rupture occurs at larger strains, generally greater than 5% hoop strain. While PCMI failures are generally seen as more limiting, the dominance of one failure mode over the other can be affected by both the cladding material conditions, and the transient evolution.

(HERA)↗
DOE OSTI2022

National Community Solar Partnership Credit Ready Solar Initiative

This fact sheet discusses the Credit Ready Solar Initiative, which will leverage working groups, technical assistance, training, and strategic partnerships to build a pipeline of credit-ready community solar projects and broad access to a community solar marketplace that connects owners, developers, lenders, and philanthropy to support more equitable deployment of community solar.

solar, solar energy, community solar, national com↗
DOE OSTI2022

The E3 Initiative

The Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office is developing a national initiative focused on efficient and clean heating and cooling systems in residential and commercial buildings, making it easier to afford and install high-performance heat pump solutions.

HVAC, residential, commercial, Cold Climate Heat P↗
DOE OSTI2023

Data-Centric AI and the Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI)

This presentation emphasizes the critical importance of data-centric AI. The limitations of model-centric AI when dealing with poor or insufficient data are highlighted, and it is illustrated how training models on inaccurate or noisy data leads to suboptimal results. This talk advocates for a hybrid approach that combines a focus on data quality and model parameters to achieve optimal results. The Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI) is introduced as a valuable resource for obtaining high-quality energy-related datasets, hosting nearly 2,000 publicly accessible datasets, including 99 solar-related datasets, totaling over 2.7 petabytes of data. OEDI's data lakes enable users to query and work with data without extensive transfers. In conclusion, the significance of data-centric AI and adherence to data curation best practices is emphasized, positioning OEDI as a prime source of high-quality data for AI and machine learning in the renewable energy sector.

AI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project

An overview of the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP), a U.S. Department of Energy program that provides technical assistance and cash awards to coastal, island, and remote communities. This fact sheet includes updated information about ETIPP eligibility requirements for communities; new program offerings, including cash awards; and the locations of communities in the program's first three cohorts.

cash award↗
DOE OSTI2023

Applications of Similarity Analysis of Reactivity-initiated Accident Experiments in TREAT

Experimental testing capabilities have been created to perform reactivity-initiated accident experiments in the Transient Reactor Test Facility for fuel safety testing of Accident Tolerant Fuel concepts and to extend the burnup limits for our current light water reactor fuel designs. Completely prototypic test conditions are not possible and compromises naturally have to be made. To date, the representativity of the small scale safety testing to a similar event in a commercial reactor is made by comparing a few specific phenomena of interest. The goal of this work is to apply similarity analysis as another metric to judge the representativity of in-pile safety tests to full-scaled accident scenario.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-burnup Experiments in Reactivity Initiated Accidents (HERA)

HERA is a joint experimental program (JEEP) operating within the Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA’s) framework for irradiation experiments (FIDES). HERA is dedicated to the understanding of light water reactor (LWR) fuel performance at high burnup under reactivity-initiated accidents (RIA). During RIAs the fuel cladding can be breached by one of two mechanisms; pellet-cladding mechanical interaction or high temperature balloon and rupture. Pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) failure occurs in the early phase of an RIA transient where the fuel pellet expands rapidly into the cladding prior to any meaningful heat transfer from the pellet to the cladding. This results in high stresses in the cladding resulting in crack propagation through the base Zircaloy metal and axially along the cladding tube. Failure by PCMI is a brittle failure mode and occurs at low cladding strains, approximately 2% hoop strain. If the cladding survives the PCMI phase of the transient, it may still fail due to ballooning and rupture induced by extended exposure to high temperature. Thermal transport from the fuel pin to the coolant is significantly reduced if a transition to film boiling on the cladding surface occurs. This result in both a rapid increase in fuel temperature, which drives fission gas release, and a spike in cladding temperature, which results in loss of mechanical strength. If the internal pressure of the fuel rod is greater than the system pressure the cladding can inelastically deform and eventually rupture. Failure by swelling and rupture occurs at larger strains, generally greater than 5% hoop strain. While PCMI failures are generally seen as more limiting, the dominance of one failure mode over the other can be affected by both the cladding material conditions, and the transient evolution.

(HERA)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Initial Engineering Framework for Species Tracking in MSRs Involving Fuel Salt and Structures

This report implements a high-fidelity multiphysics modeling framework using the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program tools to track leaching and plating of materials between the fuel salt and structures in Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs). Specifically, this framework is demonstrated in modeling various processes within MSRs including hot and cold leg corrosion, redox potential driven corrosion, colloid precipitation and deposition, and noble metal plating and decay heat modeling. The model integrates neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, depletion, and thermochemistry to simulate the evolving chemical behavior of the fuel salt in interactions with structural materials. Initial findings suggest that hot-cold leg corrosion in MSR systems may become significant if the redox potential of the fuel salt is not sufficiently controlled. Additionally, the impact of noble metal decay heat deposition in large power reactors is explored. The resulting engineering framework for species tracking will be applied in the future toward specific validation work with ongoing experimental efforts focusing on both chloride and fluoride salt loop experiments with in-situ corrosion and redox control instrumentation.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Positron emission tomography harmonization in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: A scalable and rigorous approach to multisite amyloid and tau quantification

Abstract INTRODUCTION A key goal of the Alzheimer's Disease NeuroImaging Initiative (ADNI) positron emission tomography (PET) Core is to harmonize quantification of β‐amyloid (Aβ) and tau PET image data across multiple scanners and tracers. METHODS We developed an analysis pipeline (Berkeley PET Imaging Pipeline, B‐PIP) for ADNI Aβ and tau PET images and applied it to PET data from other multisite studies. Steps include image pre‐processing, refacing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/PET co‐registration, visual quality control (QC), quantification of tracer uptake, and standardization of Aβ and tau standardized uptake value ratios (SUVrs) across tracers. RESULTS Measurements from 10,105 cross‐sectional and longitudinal Aβ and tau PET scans acquired in several studies between 2010 and 2024 can be processed, harmonized, and directly merged across tracers and cohorts. DISCUSSION The B‐PIP developed in ADNI is a scalable image harmonization approach used in several observational studies and clinical trials that facilitates rigorous Aβ and tau PET quantification and data sharing. Highlights Quantitative results from ADNI Aβ and tau PET data are generated using a rigorous, scalable image processing pipeline This pipeline has been applied to PET data from several other large, multisite studies and trials Quantitative outcomes are harmonizable across studies and are shared with the scientific community

Neurosciences & Neurology↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Effect of Membrane Casting Irregularities on Initial Fuel Cell Performance

Membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) may possess as-manufactured non-uniformities in any of its constituent components. This article studies casting irregularities located within the PEM to understand their potential impact on MEA initial performance. Membrane material was cast on a lab-scale polymer casting line operating either within or at the boundaries of the process window. The resulting membrane material was either pristine in the former case, or, in the latter case, contained air bubbles, cracks, and other irregularities, ranging in size from about 0.6 to 3 mm. Spatial polarization experiments were conducted using a 121-channel segmented fuel cell system, and thermal imaging was performed subsequently to map hydrogen crossover to spatial performance. While total-cell polarization data was minimally impacted by the irregularities, the spatial diagnostics showed local performance impacts that, in operation over time, could cause degradation in performance or earlier failure of the MEA. Such impacts could lead to these irregularities being classified as defects, i.e., manufacturing variations that should be identified and not included in a fuel cell stack. Classification of irregularities as defects will ultimately assist the industry by contributing to the development of threshold detection limits for in-line quality control diagnostics.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Shock Initiation Microscopy with High Time and Space Resolution

In this paper, we describe studies of shock initiation and shock-to-detonation transitions in energetic materials using a tabletop shock compression microscope with nanosecond time resolution and micrometer spatial resolution. Planar input shocks with durations of 4–20 ns are produced using 0–4.5 km/s laser-launched flyer plates. Emphasis is on measurements of temperature, velocities, pressure, and microstructure using photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV), optical pyrometry and high-speed videography. Techniques are discussed for fabricating disposable shock target arrays of tiny plastic-bonded explosives (PBX), liquid and powder explosives, and single-crystal explosives for high-throughput studies. Optical temperature measurements of shocked triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) are discussed. Since TATB is yellow, we developed methods to correct for the blue absorption to obtain more accurate temperatures. Hot spots in shocked polymer-encased HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) crystals are observed in real-time, showing a hot spot produced in a collapsing void that ignites a deflagration. Despite the small dimensions of our explosive charges (typically 1 mm diameter and 250 μm length), we produced reproducible detonation states in solid and liquid explosives using short-duration shocks near the von Neumann spike (VNS) pressure. We show the VNS pressure is associated with a transition to high-efficiency gas production from the explosives. In studies of NM, prior to detonation, we see reaction originating at hot spots which coalesce to form a superdetonation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗