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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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1,111 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Giant Exfoliation Induced Magnetic Coercivity in Fe 3 GaTe 2

Permanent magnets with strong anisotropy and high coercivity underpin modern information and energy technologies, yet rare-earth-free alternatives remain limited. Here, we show that thickness engineering via mechanical exfoliation induces hard magnetic behavior in the van der Waals ferromagnet Fe 3 GaTe 2 . Bulk crystals exhibit Curie temperatures above 350 K but negligible room-temperature coercivity. When thinned below ∼100 nm, the coercive field is dramatically enhanced, reaching nearly 1 T at room temperature for in-plane fields—comparable to conventional hard magnets. Micromagnetic analysis reveals a crossover in magnetization reversal from domain-mediated processes in bulk samples to quasi-coherent rotation in thin flakes, driven by increased effective anisotropy and suppressed domain formation. This thickness-dependent transition enables tuning of magnetic hardness without chemical modification. Combined with high saturation magnetization and robust room-temperature performance, Fe 3 GaTe 2 emerges as a promising rare-earth-free material for spintronic applications. Its layered structure further allows integration into van der Waals heterostructures, where large in-plane coercivity can stabilize magnetic states against perturbations and interlayer coupling, offering potential for high-density nonvolatile memory and domain-wall-based devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Exceedance Probabilities and Recurrence Intervals for Extended Power Outages in the United States

This report provides estimates of recurrence intervals and conditional exceedance probabilities for major power outages by U.S. region between 2015 and 2021. Additionally, we provide estimates for grid management, particularly outages caused by California’s public safety power shutoffs (PSPS), and for natural outages caused by major hurricanes. Outage recurrence intervals are the average number of years between outage events, and conditional exceedance probabilities are the likelihoods that a customer who experiences a major power outage will experience an outage exceeding a given duration. Major outage events are those that affect 10,000 or more customers, as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Electric Emergency Incident and Disturbance Report, called OE-417 (DOE 2020). These results can be applied to determine the likelihood of experiencing long-duration outages, which can be integrated into cost-benefit analyses of resilience solutions and broader energy resilience studies.

Ericson, Sean [National Renewable Energy Laborator↗
DOE OSTI2023

Core Model Proposal #359: Hydrogen and Transportation Technology Update

This core model proposal updates modeling structures, key technology assumptions, and data sources for a detailed representation of hydrogen in GCAM’s energy system, including production, transmission and distribution, and consumption in hydrogen end-use sectors (buildings, transportation, industry).

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Direct Measurement of Cl − Activity in Metal Chloride Molten Salts using a Cl 2 /Cl − Electrode

Molten metal chloride salts are promising candidates for advanced heat transfer fluids in generation IV nuclear reactors and beyond. The activity of the chloride ion in the salt has a large influence on the redox characteristics of the corresponding molten salt. There exists a knowledge gap for the direct measurement of chlorobasicity (Lewis basicity) in molten-salt mixtures. Here, the focus of this work was to develop a Cl 2 /Cl − electrode for the direct measurement of chloride activity in molten metal-chloride salt mixtures. The LiCl–KCl eutectic system was utilized as the reference melt to determine the change in chloride ion activity as increasing concentrations of MgCl 2 are added to the LiCl–KCl eutectic working electrode. The results of the measurements indicated a reduction in chloride ion activity as the concentration of magnesium chloride increased, consistent with the complexation of free chlorides by Lewis acidic magnesium cationic species. The Temkin model was used to estimate the thermodynamic properties of MgCl 4 2− complex.

Chloride↗
DOE OSTI2026

Electronegativity-Guided Site Differentiation in High-Entropy Alloy for pH-universal Hydrogen Evolution Reactions

Enhancing the intrinsic activity of transition metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains a critical challenge in sustainable energy conversion. Herein, we report an electronegativity-guided site differentiation strategy in a single-phase CoNiCuMoW high-entropy alloy (HEA) via electrodeposition by incorporating high-electronegativity 4d/5d orbital transition metals (Mo, W) into the face-centered cubic (fcc) matrix (CoNiCu). The as-synthesized HEA demonstrates exceptional HER performance in all pH conditions, delivering an outstanding overpotential of 65 mV (alkaline), 28 mV (acidic), and 155 mV (neutral) at a current density of 100 mA cm−2, showing performance comparable to commercial Pt/C and has excellent long-term stability at high current density (1 A cm−2, 1000 h). X-Ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the incorporation of Mo/W simultaneously alters the local coordination environment and induces element-dependent charge redistribution, accompanied by a system-level d-band center downshift, thereby optimizing the hydrogen binding strength across multimetallic sites. Meanwhile, oxophilic Mo/W sites lower the water dissociation energy barrier. These synergistic effects collectively enable efficient and durable pH-universal HER performance.

Wu, Yutong↗
DOE OSTI2022

Variational Quantum Circuits to Prepare Low Energy Symmetry States

We explore how to build quantum circuits that compute the lowest energy state corresponding to a given Hamiltonian within a symmetry subspace by explicitly encoding it into the circuit. We create an explicit unitary and a variationally trained unitary that maps any vector output by ansatz A(α → ) from a defined subspace to a vector in the symmetry space. The parameters are trained varitionally to minimize the energy, thus keeping the output within the labelled symmetry value. The method was tested for a spin XXZ Hamiltonian using rotation and reflection symmetry and H 2 Hamiltonian within S z = 0 subspace using S 2 symmetry. We have found the variationally trained unitary gives good results with very low depth circuits and can thus be used to prepare symmetry states within near term quantum computers.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tensorized Interior Radiative Heat Transfer for a Scalable and Calibrated Building Energy Simulator

Building energy simulation is a critical tool for developing and testing advanced control strategies, such as Reinforcement Learning (RL), to provide demand flexibility and affordable energy costs. The recently introduced Smart Buildings Control Suite (sbsim) provides a lightweight, scalable, and data-calibrated simulation environment based on a 2D finite-difference model. However, the initial model primarily focused on conductive and convective heat transfer, neglecting the significant impact of long-wave radiative heat exchange between interior surfaces. This paper presents a significant extension to the sbsim framework by incorporating a physically-grounded model for interior radiative heat transfer. Our primary contribution is the development and integration of a fully tensorized radiative heat transfer module, which preserves the computational efficiency and scalability of the original simulator. This was achieved by developing a pipeline for view factor calculation, including an algorithm to identify directly seeing surfaces within complex floor plans, and formulating the net radiation equations for efficient execution on modern hardware accelerators. We validate the numerical accuracy of our tensorized implementation by comparing its results against a traditional iterative approach, demonstrating identical outcomes. This enhancement increases the physical fidelity of sbsim, enabling more accurate training of RL agents for building energy optimization.

Ham, Sang woo↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Development of Kinetic and Radiation Hydrodynamics Modeling of Thermonuclear Burn Propagation in Isochoric p - 11 B Through the Support of the INFUSE Program

The report summarizes DOE INFUSE-supported work between HB11 Energy and the University of Rochester’s TriForce Institute to improve computational modeling of advanced fusion fuels, especially proton–boron-11 (p- 11 B). The project extended the TriForce particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision code to include physics needed for dense, high-temperature p- 11 B burn studies, including p- 11 B fusion reactions, three-alpha-particle reaction products, relativistic Coulomb collisions, large-angle nuclear scattering, bremsstrahlung radiation, inverse bremsstrahlung absorption, and photon transport. The upgraded models were verified against focused physics tests and against known deuterium–tritium burn behavior. The study then used one-dimensional spherical simulations to estimate the conditions required for thermonuclear burn propagation in isochoric p- 11 B fuel. The calculations found that burn propagation is possible in the model, but only under very extreme hot-spot conditions, such as about 7000 g/cm 3 at 500 keV or 9000 g/cm 3 at 300 keV for a 20-micron hot spot. These conditions are much more demanding than current demonstrated inertial confinement fusion hot spots. The report concludes that the INFUSE collaboration successfully advanced kinetic and radiation modeling capabilities for p- 11 B fusion and provided useful estimates of ignition requirements. However, the simulated fuel gains remain below what would be needed for practical inertial fusion energy, and further work is needed to reconcile differences among kinetic, radiation-hydrodynamic, and analytic models and to identify more achievable target designs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

TRACE Input Modernization

This work presents a Tom’s Obvious Minimal Language (TOML)-based representation of input for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s TRAC/RELAP Advanced Computational Engine (TRACE) thermal hydraulics code. Implemented using the Workbench Analysis Sequence Processor (WASP), the approach maps traditional TRACE input structures to a hierarchical format composed of named parameters, typed values, and native data collections. The resulting representation preserves TRACE’s existing modeling capabilities while providing a modern, structured interface for model development and management. WASP further extends TOML through a file import directive that supports modular model composition and reusable input organization. In addition, WASP provides extended array data entry convenience with various data repeat and interpolation capabilities. Examples of the new TOML syntax are provided for major TRACE input categories, including hydraulic components, heat structures, control systems, and trip logic. The TOML representation establishes a foundation for improved validation, tooling, automation, and model maintainability while remaining compatible with existing TRACE workflows. To facilitate migration to the TOML-based input format, the TRACE executable now supports conversion of native TRACE input into an intermediate JSON representation. A Python utility subsequently transforms the JSON data into an equivalent TOML model. Lastly, the TRACE executable now supports execution using TOML-formatted input.

Lefebvre, Robert A. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2026

Environmental Performance Report 2025: Annual Site Environmental Report per the U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1B Chg 1

The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities in calendar year 2025, including information on environmental performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have positively affected or could adversely affect the health and safety of the public or workers, the environment, or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the DOE requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) and has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B Chg 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

U.S. Pacific Coast Workshop Report on Preconstruction Research Recommendations (U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) Project)

In May 2022, the U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project team hosted a stakeholder workshop focused on preconstruction (baseline) research needs for potential floating offshore wind (OSW) energy development on the U.S. Pacific Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington. Prior to the workshop, the SEER team developed a set of initial synthesized research recommendations that were identified based on a review of relevant, publicly available resources and with advisory group input. The workshop covered three marine life breakout groups on subsequent days to discuss research recommendations related to 1) marine mammals and sea turtles, 2) fish and invertebrates, and 3) birds and bats. As part of the workshop, over a hundred participants from the public and private sectors provided feedback on various aspects of the initial research recommendations, including associated data and knowledge gaps, benefits/limitations of available methods and technologies, and technological advancements or infrastructure needed to address the recommendation. Approximately 1,000 total comments were received on the workshop MURAL boards and were synthesized in this report. Based on workshop feedback, SEER developed a final database of over 500 specific research recommendations based on more than 40 resources. In Fall 2022, the full database and a tool with updated synthesized research recommendations were disseminated on Tethys (https://tethys.pnnl.gov) to assist with informing future funding opportunities and research programming. There is a continued need to improve awareness of the potential environmental effects, monitoring technologies, and management strategies for floating OSW energy development on the U.S. Pacific Coast. Coordination of these activities will require the sustained involvement of multiple stakeholders from across sectors. Beyond the baseline considerations discussed in this workshop, future state-of-the-science activities should be planned to consider research needs across wind energy life cycle phases for all relevant wildlife taxa and associated habitat and ecosystem processes.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

IBPSA Project 2 BOPTEST: An update on the test cases available in the framework for testing advanced control strategies in buildings

Project 2 develops software infrastructure, test cases, and extensions for the Building Optimization Testing Framework (BOPTEST) to address the expanding needs of building and urban energy system controls through open international collaboration. This paper provides an overview of the new test cases available as of BOPTEST version 0.7.1. Each test case is developed using open-source Modelica libraries and Spawn of EnergyPlus, enabling the creation of high-fidelity building models that incorporate envelope dynamics, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, and explicit control representations. Currently, eight test cases are available, with five additional cases under development. These test cases cover a wide range of climates, building types, and HVAC systems. This paper compiles and summarizes test case descriptions, cites original manuscripts that developed them for a more detailed description, and reports baseline control performance metrics. Furthermore, two example applications are presented: one illustrating different levels of control, from supervisory to low-level, and another demonstrating how Model Predictive Control (MPC) solutions must be adapted from continuous to integer to control some building actuators.

Zanetti, Ettore↗