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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Eu speciation in apatite at 1 bar: An experimental study of valence-state partitioning by XANES, lattice strain, and Eu/Eu* in basaltic systems

Abstract Partition coefficients for rare earth elements (REEs) between apatite and basaltic melt were determined as a function of oxygen fugacity (fO2; iron-wüstite to hematite-magnetite buffers) at 1 bar and between 1110 and 1175 °C. Apatite-melt partitioning data for REE3+ (La, Sm, Gd, Lu) show near constant values at all experimental conditions, while bulk Eu becomes more incompatible (with an increasing negative anomaly) with decreasing fO2. Experiments define three apatite calibrations that can theoretically be used as redox sensors. The first, a XANES calibration that directly measures Eu valence in apatite, requires saturation at similar temperature-composition conditions to experiments and is defined by: ( E u 3 + ∑ E u ) Apatite = 1 1 + 10 - 0.10 ± 0.01 × l o g ⁡ ( f o 2 ) - 1.63 ± 0.16 . The second technique involves analysis of Sm, Eu, and Gd in both apatite and coexisting basaltic melt (glass), and is defined by: ( Eu E u * ) D Sm × Gd = 1 1 + 10 - 0.15 ± 0.03 × l o g ⁡ ( f o 2 ) - 2.46 ± 0.41 . The third technique is based on the lattice strain model and also requires analysis of REE in both apatite and basalt. This calibration is defined by ( Eu E u * ) D lattice strain = 1 1 + 10 - 0.20 ± 0.03 × l o g ⁡ ( f o 2 ) - 3.03 ± 0.42 . The Eu valence-state partitioning techniques based on (Sm×Gd) and lattice strain are virtually indistinguishable, such that either methodology is valid. Application of any of these calibrations is best carried out in systems where both apatite and coexisting glass are present and in direct contact with one another. In holocrystalline rocks, whole rock analyses can be used as a guide to melt composition, but considerations and corrections must be made to either the lattice strain or Sm×Gd techniques to ensure that the effect of plagioclase crystallization either prior to or during apatite growth can be removed. Similarly, if the melt source has an inherited either a positive or negative Eu anomaly, appropriate corrections must also be made to lattice strain or Sm×Gd techniques that are based on whole rock analyses. This being the case, if apatite is primary and saturates from the parent melt early during the crystallization sequence, these corrections may be minimal. The partition coefficients for the REE between apatite and melt range from a maximum DEu3+ = 1.67 ± 0.25 (as determined by lattice strain) to DLu3+ = 0.69 ± 0.10. The REE partition coefficient pattern, as observed in the Onuma diagram, is in a fortuitous situation where the most compatible REE (Eu3+) is also the polyvalent element used to monitor fO2. These experiments provide a quantitative means of assessing Eu anomalies in apatite and how they be used to constrain the oxygen fugacity of silicate melts.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exascale Algorithms and Software for Lattice Field Theory in High Energy Physics: Searching Beyond the Standard Model

The Boston University component has focused on the algorithmic development of new Multigrid solver for the critical kernel for the Dirac propagators that dominated the both simulation require for lattice ensemble and the analysis of physical correlation functions. Progress on this has meet the above objects, even exceeding them a bit. The result is the beginning if multiscale lattice QCD applicable to future Exascale hardware and the development of the QUDA software for NVIDIA GPUs to give near optimal performance. As we approach exascale hardware and computation at that scale this provides the infrastructure for further advances.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Will Solar Panels Help When the Power Goes Out? Planning for PV Resilience

PV systems, like all energy systems, must chart a difficult course in order to improve resilience. They need to simultaneously withstand extreme conditions that cause grid power disruptions, be configured in a way that allows electricity to be delivered to meet the PV user's needs, and overcome disruptions arising from solar resource intermittency. Certain considerations reveal themselves as key to a PV system's resilience benefits. Choice of hardware is critical, as is site selection for the PV array. Voluminous evidence in a hurricane context demonstrates that durable hardware, properly maintained and sited, leads to PV systems surviving extreme weather with their functionality intact. Structurally weak or poorly maintained PV equipment, on the other hand, has demonstrated failures during extreme weather events. PV system stakeholders should ensure that best practices are followed for hardware procurement and siting. It is also important to understand that PV systems are not one-size-fits-all. While incorporating islanding capabilities and energy storage into the system's electrical topology will typically enhance resilience, the user's needs will determine the optimally resilient conformation of any given system. These factors - appropriate hardware, siting, maintenance, and system design - are the primary drivers of PV resilience. PV systems possess high potential for resilient energy generation due to their distributed, abundant, and free fuel supply, but the technology itself does not inherently lead to resilient outcomes. Realizing PV's potential for resilience requires consideration of these determinative factors.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Advancing Scientific Productivity through Better Scientific Software: Developer Productivity and Software Sustainability Report

The Exascale Computing Project (ECP) provides a unique opportunity to advance computational science and engineering (CSE) through an accelerated growth phase in extreme-scale computing. Central to the project is the development of next-generation applications and software technologies that can exploit emerging architectures for optimal performance and provide high-fidelity, multiphysics, multiscale capabilities. However, disruptive changes in computer architectures and the complexities of tackling new frontiers in extreme-scale modeling, simulation, and analysis present daunting challenges to the productivity of software developers and the sustainability of software artifacts. Members of the CSE community - especially at extreme scales but more broadly at all scales of computing - face an urgent need to improve developer productivity, positively impacting product quality, development time, and staffing resources, and software sustainability, reducing the cost of maintaining, sustaining, and evolving software capabilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation of an Additively Manufactured Respirator for Personnel Protection from Particulates

Additively manufactured respirators (AMRs) made using rigid plastic can be fitted with repurposed filter media to yield a wearable mask capable of passing a quantitative fit test with criteria set for commercial, N95 health care particulate respirators. This has been verified through an evaluation study assessing AMR masks fabricated using open-source design files and a commercial fused-filament fabrication machine, using N95 filter cloth and a P100 respirator cartridge. A few examples of filter media not designed for human respiratory protection were also evaluated in an AMR mask but did not demonstrate filtering sufficient to pass the N95 test criteria. All attributes of an AMR mask system must be considered during design and when testing performance, including the mask frame, gasket, and the cord used to secure the mask to the face. AMR masks are not the same as commercially available respiratory masks. If AMR masks are used as personal protective equipment (PPE) during a crisis when there is a shortage of regular PPE it is important that wearers are fully informed of the differences, tradeoffs, and risks associated with their use. Quantitative fit testing and proper training on how to don and doff the AMR mask are important to help achieve the best possible outcome when they are used.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electrification Annual Progress Report (FY2019)

During fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) funded early stage research & development (R&D) projects that address Batteries and Electrification of the U.S. transportation sector. The VTO Electrification Sub-Program is composed of Electric Drive Technologies, and Grid Integration activities. The Electric Drive Technologies group conducts R&D projects that advance electric motors and power electronics technologies. The Grid and Charging Infrastructure group conducts R&D projects that advance grid modernization and electric vehicle charging technologies. This document presents a brief overview of the Electrification Sub-Program and progress reports for its R&D projects. Each of the progress reports provide a project overview and highlights of the technical results that were accomplished in FY 2019.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

How To Maintain Effective IAEA Safeguards While Reducing Facility Impact

For almost twenty years, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been visiting the K-Area Material Storage facility at the Savannah River Site where excess plutonium has been placed under IAEA safeguards as part of the United States Volunatary Offer Agreement. During that time, the mission of K-Area Complex has expanded from storage of nuclear matieral to glovebox operations in support of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Plutonium Disposition program. With this change in mission, it is becoming increasingly challenging to manage facility staff radiation exposure and operating activities during the IAEA’s annual Physcial Inventory Verifications (PIV). This study has identified both near-term and long-term recommendations for IAEA monitoring protocols that would allow the IAEA to maintain effective safeguards of the material while decreasing the impact to the facility. A statisitical analysis has shown that reducing the number of containers measured during an annual PIV from 12 to 4 still ensures a high level of confidence in the confidence while reducing the inspector time in the facility amd with a corresponding significant reduction in personnel radiation exposure. A modified installation pattern of Remotely Monitored Sealing Arrays (RMSAs) is also proposed utilizing only the outer rows of arrays of stored material containers in the Stack Area (SA). The modified RMSA placement will provide equivalent protection, while significantly reducing personnel radiological exposure, manpower requirements and associated costs. With advances in technology, there are additional potential options in containment/surveillance and continuity of knowledge that would allow the agency to be outside of the facility during PIV measurements and have confidence in the accuracy and authencitity of the results.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling Noise: Paths toward AI-Enabled Stochastic Earth System Models and Parameterizations

Some of the key challenges in Earth system prediction arise from an uncertain representation of unpredictable natural variability, across time and space scales. This variability, hereafter referred to as noise, represents the quantity against which the strength of a signal of interest is measured to assess predictability. Underestimating or overestimating this noise in Earth system models can lead to issues ranging between overconfidence in an erroneous prediction and a lack thereof in an otherwise accurate one. Noise is part of the physical processes in the Earth system and can amplify or damp a signal of interest in a complex manner that is not systematically characterized. Specifically, while there has been significant progress in our understanding of multiscale interactions among known modes of variability (potentially predictable signals), how these are impacted by the noise is not clear. Recent effort toward stochastic parametrization schemes that provide a representation of noise due to uncertain sub-grid processes in climate models (Berner et al., 2017 and references therein) has shown promise not only in reducing biases and improving probabilistic prediction but also in improving the representation of natural variability in the model toward what is observed. However, today’s standard schemes for stochastic parametrization are still simplistic as they do not take the state of the atmosphere into account (other than by the use of multiplicative noise for model tendencies). Furthermore they require hand-tuning and trial-and-error testing for the magnitude of the added noise, which is difficult in a chaotic system that is as complex as the Earth system.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

High-efficiency High-energy Photon Radiography Panels [Slides]

Demonstrate a developmental path towards production of efficient radiography panel for high energy radiography while keeping the production cost reasonable. Fulfill some needs identified in the research thrust GOR 2/K/b "Diagnostics systems".

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2021

EpiCast: Simulating Epidemics with Extreme Detail

In early 2020, COVID-19 swept the globe. Governments attempted to “flatten the curve” through business shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, but the United States was hit hard. By the end of March, mere months after the virus first emerged in humans 7,000 miles away, the U.S. had recorded 192,300 cases and 5,300 deaths. While this unprecedented disaster sent shockwaves through every level of society and clouded an uncertain future, state and local governments turned to computational and mathematical epidemiology researchers to help formulate intervention strategies to limit the spread of the disease. Traditional forecasting models provided a reasonable understanding of how the near future was likely to look, but local policy makers and public health communities still struggled to understand how potential mitigations ought to be implemented. Decision makers needed a way to measure the impact of their policy choices—they needed better technology. EpiCast answered the call, bringing urgently needed answers to policymakers grappling with how to adjust school and business schedules. EpiCast is modeling software that generates a synthetic, representative population to simulate infectious disease transmission in the United States with extreme detail and granularity. The software models human behavior combined with community-specific information to provide a fine-grained preview of the effect of potential mitigation strategies for decision makers.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

HVAC Duct Pressure Optimization System

The US Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, and other public and private entities including the venture capital community are seeking technical solutions that include “smart, grid-interactive, efficient buildings - to best serve the needs of building occupants and the grid while reducing energy consumption overall.” In this paper, a systems engineering approach is used to examine elements of a prior proof-of-concept project along with new ideas seeking to justify additional research funding to further advance the technology. With additional research and development funding, the technology described here has the potential to achieve success toward development of a commercially viable product. These types of projects provide financial and environmental benefit to American taxpayers and investors. Cost effectiveness and return on investment are key criteria for energy efficiency projects. By evaluating the end-to-end processes including manufacturing, installation, commissioning and comparing various options, we arrived at a proposed implementation concept of a HVAC Duct Pressure Optimization System that saves energy in commercial buildings and improves the return on investment by a factor of 6X compared to previous research projects.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Towards Predictive Plasma Science and Engineering through Revolutionary Multi-Scale Algorithms and Models (Final Report)

This report describes the high-level accomplishments from the Plasma Science and Engineering Grand Challenge LDRD at Sandia National Laboratories. The Laboratory has a need to demonstrate predictive capabilities to model plasma phenomena in order to rapidly accelerate engineering development in several mission areas. The purpose of this Grand Challenge LDRD was to advance the fundamental models, methods, and algorithms along with supporting electrode science foundation to enable a revolutionary shift towards predictive plasma engineering design principles. This project integrated the SNL knowledge base in computer science, plasma physics, materials science, applied mathematics, and relevant application engineering to establish new cross-laboratory collaborations on these topics. As an initial exemplar, this project focused efforts on improving multi-scale modeling capabilities that are utilized to predict the electrical power delivery on large-scale pulsed power accelerators. Specifically, this LDRD was structured into three primary research thrusts that, when integrated, enable complex simulations of these devices: (1) the exploration of multi-scale models describing the desorption of contaminants from pulsed power electrodes, (2) the development of improved algorithms and code technologies to treat the multi-physics phenomena required to predict device performance, and (3) the creation of a rigorous verification and validation infrastructure to evaluate the codes and models across a range of challenge problems. These components were integrated into initial demonstrations of the largest simulations of multi-level vacuum power flow completed to-date, executed on the leading HPC computing machines available in the NNSA complex today. These preliminary studies indicate relevant pulsed power engineering design simulations can now be completed in (of order) several days, a significant improvement over pre-LDRD levels of performance.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Attack Scenarios Relating to Army Facility-Related Control Systems: Quantifying the Cost to Secure and Cost Savings of the Army’s FRCS Program

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) analyzed the cyber-threat environment to U.S. Army facilities. This report describes three key factors in securing Army-owned facility-related control systems (FRCS). First, Section 1.0 provides background information about the project. Section 2.0 describes the various types of cyber-attacks. Section 3.0 provides a series of attack scenarios from real-world use cases are described in Section 3. These examples are relevant to the Army because the targeted systems or operating environments are like those used at Army installations. An estimated range for the cost to secure these systems is described in Section 4.0. Finally, the cost savings of preventing these kinds of attacks are described in Section 5.0.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2021

PHOENIX Electrostatic Design

PHOENIX (Portable, High-efficiency, Optimal ENergy Imaging X-rays) is a quasi-DC, electrostatic, vacuum-diode designed as a portable x-ray source with national defense and commercial applications. The patent-pending PHOENIX concept combines a megavoltage, Cockroft-Walton voltage multiplier with a Van de-Graaff electrostatic charge-storage dome to create a vacuum-diode suitable for x-ray production. Naturally this structure must minimize internal electric fields to reduce electrical breakdown while simultaneously reducing size and weight to enhance portability. In this paper we describe the optimization process and model results obtained using the COMSOL multi-physics code. We describe three models: a prototype model built to demonstrate the PHOENIX concept as part of Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Mission Foundation Research (MFR) Phase-I , a “back-of-the-envelope” design used as a starting point for further COMSOL optimization, and finally, the optimized geometry implemented in the MFR Phase-II. In all cases compromises resulting from cost, schedule, and manufacturing constraints were taken into account as the design progressed.

42 ENGINEERING↗