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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Demonstration of Comprehensive Ex-Vessel Fluence Capability

Several recent developments in the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors’ (CASL) Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) were tested to highlight its capability to perform ex-vessel fluence and reaction rate calculations. VERA offers unique capabilities for integrating the deterministic neutronics code, MPACT, with Shift, a Monte Carlo code, to perform high-fidelity in-core and ex-core radiation transport. Applications such as pressure vessel fluence, ex-core detector response, and coupon irradiation analyses take advantage of this coupling. For these applications, MPACT performs the in-core radiation transport with temperature feedback and isotopic depletion through the direct coupling with the CTF subchannel thermal-hydraulics code. Then, MPACT provides the fission source to Shift for a follow-on fixed source radiation transport calculation that tallies all the ex-core responses of interest for each time-dependent statepoint. The variance reduction method, CADIS, which is implemented in Shift, allows for efficient performance of ex-core transport for calculation of ex-core quantities of interest. This milestone report identifies limitations to the current methodology in place and showcases VERA’s current capability to model ex-core quantities of interest.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

FNCL Enhancements Implementation (FY25 Annual Report)

The FNCL investigations team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has completed research and development of hardware, signal processing, and analysis tools to enhance the measurement capabilities of both the current CAEN SyS VeryFuel Fast Neutron Collar (FNCL) instrument and a next-generation FNCL prototype. The team successfully built and commissioned the LLNL Demonstrator System: a fully integrated, three-panel detector system featuring higher segmentation, plastic scintillators (EJ-276D), Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), no high-voltage requirement, a reduced electronic footprint, and the LLNL-developed Gaussian Mixture Model Pulse Shape Discrimination (GMM-PSD) signal processing. An extensive experimental campaign was conducted at LLNL’s Inherently Safe Subcritical Assembly (ISSA) facility using both the baseline FNCL and the LLNL Demonstrator. The campaign results validated system performance, calibration stability, and the effectiveness of advanced signal processing and analysis algorithms in a relevant environment.

and physical protection↗
DOE OSTI2013

Benchmark for evaluation and validation of reactor simulations (BEAVRS)

Advances in parallel computing have made possible the development of high-fidelity tools for the design and analysis of nuclear reactor cores, and such tools require extensive verification and validation. This paper introduces BEAVRS, a new multi-cycle full-core Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) depletion benchmark based on two operational cycles of a commercial nuclear power plant that provides a detailed description of fuel assemblies, burnable absorbers, in-core fission detectors, core loading patterns, and numerous in-vessel components. This benchmark enables analysts to develop extremely detailed reactor core models that can be used for testing and validation of coupled neutron transport, thermal-hydraulics, and fuel isotopic depletion. The benchmark also provides measured reactor data for Hot Zero Power (HZP) physics tests, boron letdown curves, and three-dimensional in-core flux maps from fifty-eight instrumented assemblies. Initial comparisons between calculations performed with MIT's OpenMC Monte Carlo neutron transport code and measured cycle 1 HZP test data are presented, and these results display an average deviation of approximately 100 pcm for the various critical configurations and control rod worth measurements. Computed HZP radial fission detector flux maps also agree reasonably well with the available measured data. All results indicate that this benchmark will be extremely useful in validation of coupled-physics codes and uncertainty quantification of in-core physics computational predictions. The detailed BEAVRS specification and its associated data package is hosted online at the MIT Computational Reactor Physics Group web site (http://crpg.mit.edu/), where future revisions and refinements to the benchmark specification will be made publicly available. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Elementary Particle Physics

The UT Dallas High Energy Physics group collaborates on the ATLAS experiment which observes the world’s high energy proton-proton collisions. The UTD group utilized ATLAS 8 TeV Run 1 data to search for evidence of a “dark photon”, a gauge boson outside the “Standard Model of Particle Physics” that theorist hypothesize could mediate a force felt only by the dark matter particles that dominate out universe. The observable signature is a pair of prompt lepton jets. The results of this search were published in 2013. More recently, we have improved the sensitivity of the analysis using machine learning techniques, and we are extending the search to higher and lower mass dark photons using the ATLAS 13 TeV data set. Detection of a new fifth force would represent an important advance beyond the 4 known forces that influence baryonic matter. The LHC Long Shutdown 1 from 2013-2014 was a period of intense work on refurbishment and upgrades for the ATLAS Pixel community and the UTD group. The service quarter panels of the original Pixel detector were replaced, and the Insertable B Layer (IBL) detector was integrated. During IBL integration, UTD participated on the Stave Task Force that solved corrosion problems with IBL wire bonds. We developed a relative humidity sensor that was used during integration and transport to the beamline when detector was unpowered. The sensors were repurposed to monitor relative humidity inside the ID endplates until the built-in sensors were recommissioned. The UTD group worked on the connection of the Pixel and IBL at Point 1 and we were in charge of electric service testing. The IBL wire bond corrosion was the instigation for developing a new conformal coating method using an atomizing spray and Cellpack polyurethane. It is being considered for use in the ITk tracker upgrade. We have demonstrated its tolerance both of a 9 MGy ionizing dose and thermal expansion. Two UTD students are completing authorship qualification projects. One is helping understand variations in impact parameter resolution across different running periods. The second is developing a data-driven method to monitor the fraction of fake tracks in dense jets.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Preparation of iridium targets by electrodeposition for neutron capture cross section measurements

Here, the preparation of 191 Ir and 193 Ir electrodeposits for neutron capture cross-section measurements at the detector for advanced neutron capture experiments located at the at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center is described. The electrodeposition of iridium in the desired thickness of 0.4–1 mg/cm 2 is challenging. Better yields and thicknesses were obtained using electrodeposition from isopropyl alcohol solutions than from ammonium sulfate solutions. 191 Ir and 193 Ir targets were initially prepared using the standard single-sided electrodeposition cell. Iridium electrodepositions using a double-sided electrodeposition cell were developed and were optimized, resulting in thick, uniform iridium deposits. LA UR 15-22475.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2012

Direct visualization method of the atomic structure of light and heavy atoms with double-detector C{sub s}-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy

The advent of C{sub s}-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has advanced the observation of atomic structures in materials and nanotechnology devices. High-angle annular dark-field (HAADF)-STEM using an annular detector visualizes heavy elements as bright spots at atomic resolution that can be observed with the Z-contrast technique. In this study, the atomic column of light elements is directly observed as bright spots by middle-angle bright-field (MABF)-STEM imaging. Therefore, a double-detector STEM imaging method was developed, exploiting the advantage of both MABF-STEM and HAADF-STEM to maximum, which consists of multiple exposures of simultaneously observed MABF- and HAADF-STEM images in red-green-blue color.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design and performance testing of a novel far field Gamma system to assay radioactive waste in 400 and 200 litre drums - 15339

A Far Field Gamma ray Measurement system has been developed for measuring and assaying both 400 and 200 litre waste drums with a wide range of activity at nuclear power stations. These include radioactive waste drums with surface dose-rates of less than 2 mSv/h (200 mrem/h) and, at the higher range of activity, 400 litre drums with surface dose-rates of up to 50 mSv/h (5 rem/h). The assay system incorporates an electro-mechanically cooled high purity Germanium profile detector and advanced digital spectroscopic analysis electronics. A novel optimised conical-trapezoidal collimator has been incorporated to reduce the effect of the radioactive background in addition to the conventional detector lead shield with tin and copper graded lining to reduce the effect of lead X-rays. Two features have been incorporated to reduce detector dead time and maintain detector resolution when measuring high activity drums. The first is the inclusion of two automated tungsten filters of different thickness as an integral part of the detector collimator. The filters are used in conjunction with an automated rail system on which the detector platform is mounted. The detector can be positioned at different distances from the drum surface in order to reduce detector dead time. The deployment of the filters and the adjustment of the drum - detector position are automatically controlled based on a user defined dose-rate limit table. The data is provided by two Geiger-Muller dose-rate detectors, which are used to measure the drum surface dose-rate. This data is subsequently used to adjust the detector position and in cases of higher dose-rate deploy one or other of the tungsten filters. The drum rotation platform incorporates a load cell to determine drum weight and hence the drum density. This information is used to calculate an attenuation correction based on the assumption of uniform drum density and uniform distribution of activity within the drum. Where the waste drums have a more complicated and known regular internal structure, such as a small radioactive region surrounded by an annulus of shielding material, the analysis algorithms incorporated into the far field geometry and attenuation correction spectroscopic data analysis code are able to make a more accurate determination of drum activity than would be possible assuming a completely uniform drum. The detector energy and efficiency calibration is achieved using a point source with multiple gamma ray energy peaks. The response of the high purity Germanium detector is also modelled using the Monte Carlo Neutron Photon code and the model is benchmarked using the measured point source calibration data. The performance of the instrument has been determined for a range of uniform density matrix drums containing a set of Eu-152 line or rod sources located in re-entrant tubes positioned on an equal volume basis. When rotated, the test drums with volume distributed line sources simulate waste drums of different density each with a uniformly distributed radioactive source. The measurements have been validated using Monte Carlo simulations. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Angular Dependence of Drell-Yan in the SeaQuest Experiment using Deep Neural Network-Based Reconstruction

The SeaQuest and SpinQuest experiments at Fermilab were designed to probe the internal dynamics of protons and neutrons via the angular dependence of muons created by colliding 120 GeV protons into stationary targets. To do this, it is necessary to translate the detector data into coherent information about the particles detected in the experiment. This dissertation describes the development and implementation of QTracker, a neural network-based algorithm designed to reconstruct muons. The application of QTracker to experimental data yields improved reconstruction of muon tracks, allowing for a more precise investigation of the transverse momentum distributions and angular modulations in the Drell-Yan process. This work highlights the potential of neural network-based methods to advance particle tracking and enhance our understanding of nucleon structure.

Conover, Arthur↗
DOE OSTI2015

Developments in time-resolved high pressure x-ray diffraction using rapid compression and decompression

Complementary advances in high pressure research apparatus and techniques make it possible to carry out time-resolved high pressure research using what would customarily be considered static high pressure apparatus. This work specifically explores time-resolved high pressure x-ray diffraction with rapid compression and/or decompression of a sample in a diamond anvil cell. Key aspects of the synchrotron beamline and ancillary equipment are presented here, including source considerations, rapid (de)compression apparatus, high frequency imaging detectors, and software suitable for processing large volumes of data. A number of examples are presented, including fast equation of state measurements, compression rate dependent synthesis of metastable states in silicon and germanium, and ultrahigh compression rates using a piezoelectric driven diamond anvil cell.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Distinguishing isotropic and anisotropic signals for X-ray total scattering using machine learning

Understanding structure–property relationships is essential for advancing technologies based on thin films. X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) analysis can access relevant atomic structure details spanning local-, mid- and long-range structure. While X-ray PDF has been adapted for thin films on amorphous substrates, measurements on single-crystal substrates are necessary to accurately determine structure origins for some thin film materials, especially those for which the substrate changes the accessible structure and properties. However, when measuring films on single-crystal substrates, high-intensity anisotropic Bragg spots saturate 2D detector images, overshadowing the thin films' isotropic scattering signal. This renders previous data processing methods for films on amorphous substrates unsuitable for films on single-crystal substrates. To address this measurement need, we developed IsoDAT2D, an innovative data processing approach using unsupervised machine learning algorithms. The program combines dimensionality reduction and clustering algorithms to separate thin film and single-crystal substrate X-ray scattering signals. We use SimDAT2D , a program we developed to generate simulated thin film data, to validate IsoDAT2D . Here we also use IsoDAT2D to isolate X-ray total scattering signal from a thin film on a single-crystal substrate. The resulting PDF data are compared with similar data processed using previous methods, especially substrate subtraction for single-crystal and amorphous substrates. PDF data from IsoDAT2D -identified X-ray total scattering data are significantly better than from single-crystal substrate subtraction, but not as reliable as PDF data from amorphous substrate subtraction. With IsoDAT2D , there are new opportunities to expand PDF to a wider variety of thin films, including those on single-crystal substrates, with which new structure–property relationships can be elucidated to enable fundamental understanding and technological advances.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Development of Elastic Recoil Detection Technique for Quantifying Light Isotope Concentrations in Irradiated TPBAR Materials.

The National Nuclear Security Administration's Tritium Sustainment Program is responsible for the design, development, demonstration, testing, analysis, and characterization of tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs) and their components, in addition to producing tritium for the nation's strategic stockpile. The FY18 call for proposals included the specific basic science research topic, "Demonstration and evaluation of advanced characterization methods, particularly for quantifying the concentration of light isotopes ( 1 H, 2 H, and 4 He, 6 Li, and 7 Li) in metal or ceramic matrices". A project IWO-389859 was awarded to the Ion Beam Lab (IBL) at Sandia-NM in FY18. This reports the success we had in developing and demonstrating such a method: 42 MeV Si + 7 from the IBL' s Tandem was used to recoil these light isotopes into special detectors that separated all these isotopes by simultaneously measuring the energy and stopping power of these reoils. This technique, called Heavy Ion - Elastic Recoil Detection or HI-ERD, accurately measured the enriched 6 Li/Li-total of 0.246 +- 0.016, compared to the known value of 0.239. The isotopes 1 H, 2 H, 4 He, 6 Li and 7 Li were also measured. (page intentionally left blank)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Time Projection Chamber (TPC) detectors for nuclear astrophysics studies with gamma beams

Gamma-Beams at the HIS facility in the USA and anticipated at the ELI-NP facility, now constructed in Romania, present unique new opportunities to advance research in nuclear astrophysics; not the least of which is resolving open questions in oxygen formation during stellar helium burning via a precise measurement of the 12C() reaction. Time projection chamber (TPC) detectors operating with low pressure gas (as an active target) are ideally suited for such studies. We look over the progress of the current research program and plans for the future at the HIS facility with the optical readout TPC (O-TPC) and the development of an electronic readout TPC for the ELI-NP facility (ELITPC).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Single Photon Detection with On-Chip Number Resolving Capability

Single photon detection (SPD) plays an important role in many forefront areas of fundamental science and advanced engineering applications. In recent years, rapid developments in superconducting quantum computation, quantum key distribution, and quantum sensing call for SPD in the microwave frequency range. We have explored in this LDRD project a new approach to SPD in an effort to provide deterministic photon-number-resolving capability by using topological Josephson junction structures. In this SAND report, we will present results from our experimental studies of microwave response and theoretical simulations of microwave photon number resolving detector in topological Dirac semimetal Cd 3 As 2 . These results are promising for SPD at the microwave frequencies using topological quantum materials.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Harnessing the Quantum Zeno Effect in superconducting qubits for particle detection

Superconducting qubits, originally developed for quantum computing, are emerging as a potentially powerful tool for detecting low-energy particle interactions, such as dark matter and neutrinos. These devices can register energy deposits as small as a few meV, dramatically lowering the detection threshold compared to conventional sensors. However, their deployment in rare-event searches is hampered by a critical and unresolved background: Two-Level Systems (TLSes). TLSes are material defects that can scramble qubit frequencies and coherence times in a way that resembles particle energy deposits. Such false signals can critically limit the sensitivity and extend experimental runtimes for qubit-based sensors by years. This talk introduces a novel method to eliminate TLSes as a background source in superconducting qubit-based detectors. By harnessing the Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE), a well-established quantum phenomenon where frequent observation inhibits system evolution, I will discuss the possibility of “freezing” these TLS defects in place. This effectively suppresses their interference, stabilizes qubit behavior, and opens the door to using TLSes themselves as auxiliary sensors. I have already identified target TLSes and observed early signs of QZE-like dynamics in Fermilab-fabricated devices. The method builds on my existing collaborations at Fermilab’s Quantum Information Testbed (QUIET), with access to low muon flux cryogenic facilities 100 meters underground, control electronics, and expert mentors across multiple institutions. By removing a key bottleneck to superconducting sensor deployment, this research targets advancing the development of a general-purpose technique to enhance sensitivity, reduce false positives, and accelerate discovery in searches for dark matter, neutrinos, and other rare phenomena.

Seidel, Olivia [Texas U., Arlington]↗
DOE OSTI2019

Modeling of Pyroprocessing Hot Cell for Process Monitoring Evaluation

In this report, we examine studies undertaken to determine the applicability of applying measurements with a neutron counter within a pyroprocessing hot cell. The studies focus on the modeling of the hot cell and neutron counter in Monte Carlo N- Particle Code (MCNP) to determine expected radiation effects and applicability of neutron counters. The neutron counter of focus was the High Dose Neutron Detector (HDND) developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). We studied the HDND to determine what would be the detector response under normal background conditions with operating process equipment as well as the background’s potential effect on counting applications involving a U/TRU ingot produced by the pyroprocessing electrorefiner. To perform this task, we were required to develop models of the pyroprocessing process cell and unit operations and generate source terms for various different times in the process. The data for the pyroprocessing materials came from SNL’s Safeguards and Security Process Model (SSPM) as part of MPACT’s advanced integration mission. This report will discuss the development of the pyroprocessing process cell and unit operations models in MCNP as well as various simulations to determine the applicability of the HDND for process monitoring efforts in the hot cell.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2016

Recent developments in Geant4

Geant4 is a software toolkit for the simulation of the passage of particles through matter. It is used by a large number of experiments and projects in a variety of application domains, including high energy physics, astrophysics and space science, medical physics and radiation protection. Over the past several years, major changes have been made to the toolkit in order to accommodate the needs of these user communities, and to efficiently exploit the growth of computing power made available by advances in technology. The adaptation of Geant4 to multithreading, advances in physics, detector modeling and visualization, extensions to the toolkit, including biasing and reverse Monte Carlo, and tools for physics and release validation are discussed here.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Final Report: Advanced Detector Technologies for Precision Measurement of Inflation, Dark Energy, and Neutrino Masses with the Cosmic Microwave Background

Precision measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) provide unparalleled op- portunities to probe the conditions in the early universe and thereby explore particle physics and gravity at the highest energies yet; measure the number of neutrino species and the sum of the neutrino masses with sensitivity beyond what is achievable with planned terrestrial experiments; improve our knowledge of dark energy; and search for other forms of new physics. The P-5 panel recognized the importance and potential of future CMB observations and recommended the DOE fund a stage four CMB experiment (CMB-S4) under all budget scenarios with construction commencing near the end of this decade. The objective of this proposal is to develop and demonstrate new technologies in time to maximize the science return of CMB-S4. The proposed technologies include: (i) broad band metamaterial antireflection coatings on relevant lenses with negligible absorptive and reflective losses; (ii) filters that reduce out of band optical loading with near perfect in band transmission; (iii) broad-band continuously spinning metamaterial half wave plates that boost the sensitivity to inflationary gravitational waves on large angular scales and mitigate systematics with minimal penalty to the instantaneous sensitivity; and (iv) broad band detectors that will enable excellent foreground discrimination while simultaneously maximizing the sensitivity to the signals from inflation and neutrinos. Together these technologies can realize significant improvements in instrumental sensitivity and control of systematic effects. This improvement in raw sensitivity could be used to reduce costs without sacrificing science by deploying a smaller number of more sensitive detectors, or to improve the sensitivity of CMB-S4 to physics parameters including reducing the error bar on r by the inverse of the mapping speed improvement. Beyond raw sensitivity these technologies address key systematics including polarization mixing and galactic foregrounds and enable CMB-S4 to test the shape of the polarization power spectrum out to larger angular scales further boosting measurements of inflation. In this report we detail the progress that has been made in these technical areas. This includes: (i) a demonstration of 4:1 bandwidth AR coating technology and a detailed understanding of the production challenges, (ii) prototype filters that incorporate absorptive and reflective components into silicon, (iii) a prototype broad band HWP fabricated from metamaterial silicon, and (iv) detector designs spanning 20-350 GHz with an understanding of the difficulties associated with bandwidths greater than one octave.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

PandAna: A Python Analysis Framework for Scalable High Performance Computing in High Energy Physics

Modern experiments in high energy physics analyze millions of events recorded in particle detectors to select the events of interest and make measurements of physics parameters. These data can often be stored as tabular data in files with detector information and reconstructed quantities. Current techniques for event selection in these files lack the scalability needed for high performance computing environments. We describe our work to develop a high energy physics analysis framework suitable for high performance computing. This new framework utilizes modern tools for reading files and implicit data parallelism. Framework users analyze tabular data using standard, easy-to-use data analysis techniques in Python while the framework handles the file manipulations and parallelism without the user needing advanced experience in parallel programming. In future versions, we hope to provide a framework that can be utilized on a personal computer or a high performance computing cluster with little change to the user code.

Groh, Micah↗