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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

SAM Co-Development to Support Fluoride-salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor Design and Licensing (CRADA 2018-18177 Final Report)

This project aims to raise the SAM code's technical and commercial maturity level to enable the Kairos Power ("Kairos") to use SAM to support its KP-FHR design analysis and licensing application. Argonne National Laboratory ("Argonne") has actively developed and maintained SAM, a modern system-level analysis tool for advanced nonlight water reactors safety analysis. Kairos is currently actively pursuing development of an FHR design and associated technology, and consequently requires a pedigreed safety analysis tool. The purpose of this project is to increase the maturity of the SAM code for the modeling and simulation of the KP-FHR design, thus enabling its use in safety analyses that support licensing application. Argonne will primarily be responsible for software design, development, and testing; while Kairos will be responsible for software requirements, assessment of software capabilities, needs, gaps, and priorities, and development of proprietary models. The research and development activities for the joint SAM development project include: a series of identification and prioritization studies on design characteristics, event sequences, relevant phenomena, and software capabilities; SAM capability enhancements for specific KP-FHR systems and components; performing code verification and validations; integrating uncertainty quantification (UQ), model calibration, and sensitivity analysis (SA) techniques in safety analyses; and raising the software quality rigor level for commercial-grade applications.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

PV Inverter Systems Enabled by Monolithically Integrated SiC based Four Quadrant Power Switch (4-QPS) [BiDFET]

The purpose of this project was to develop a new breed of Power Conversion Systems (PCS) for PV integration that is enabled by the newly developed 4-Quadrant Single Die SiC Power Semiconductor Switches (4-QPS) or also referred to as “Bidirectional FET (BIDFET)”. This work includes semiconductor die development, advanced packaging, converter design, development, and testing of 4-QPS enabled hardware prototypes at 1 kW (for single phase residential application) and 10 kW (for three phase commercial application). The BiDirectional Field-Effect Transistor (BiDFET) can enable circuit topologies requiring four-quadrant switches, that were earlier designed using discrete combinations of MOSFETs, IGBTs, GaN HEMTs, and PiN diodes. The monolithic nature of the BiDFET allows lower device count, smaller switch volume, lower inductance, and simpler packaging, and hence more reliable and commercially viable implementation in power electronics converters. The matrix converter topologies, now feasible using BiDFETs, can eliminate the bulky and unreliable dc link capacitors or inductors required for conventional voltage-source or current-source converters in ac–ac and ac–dc applications. The 1.2 kV BiDFET has the potential to disrupt all the applications utilizing 1.2 kV switches, including electric vehicle (EV) drivetrain, bidirectional EV chargers, industrial motor drives, solid-state transformers, datacenter power supplies, elevator drives, dc microgrids, energy storage grid integration, solid-state breakers, etc.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of a Wide Range Segmented Gamma Scanner for Measuring Radioactive Wastes Arising in the Chinese Nuclear Industry - 16261

There is a requirement to measure a variety of challenging radioactive waste forms generated by the Chinese nuclear industry. These range from low activity waste to high activity waste with a high content of Cs-137 and waste in high density 200 litre drums. This paper describes the design, development and testing of an updated and automated Wide Range Segmented Gamma Scanner (WR-SGS) specifically configured for Chinese nuclear industry radioactive waste measuring requirements. The instrument retains the capabilities of the original SGS developed by Parker and Martin at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and now widely used for radioactive waste assay. It also incorporates additional features to improve measurement efficiency and reduce cost. These features include continuous helical scanning of the waste drum, and separate lifting pillars to lift the detector and the transmission source. In place of a transmission source shutter mechanism, the source is placed in a shielded safe when not in use. The design also incorporates a variable aperture collimator, and tungsten filters that can be deployed for the measurement of high activity, high dose-rate drums. Updated motion control electronics, based on the use of a programed logic controller have been incorporated to address potential future obsolescence. The WR-SGS employs a 40% high purity Germanium detector with electro-mechanical cooling and state of the art digital spectroscopy counting electronics for gamma ray spectrum data acquisition. Testing of the unit has been performed with both point sources and rod sources, which are traceable to international standards. Typical test drums, each with six distributed re-entrant tubes and with different density matrices, have been employed with the rod sources to validate both the calibration and the measurement performance of the WR-SGS for drums of different density. The measurement results have been compared with the reference decay corrected activity values and very good agreement is achieved, confirming the measurement performance of the instrument. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Design and Development of an Automated Instrument for Measuring Radioactivity in an Excavator Bucket - 16246

Increasing interest and emphasis is being given to the presence of radioactive contamination in the environment and the methods by which this contamination can be remediated. Radioactive contamination may arise from industrial process including the operation of nuclear facilities. It may also arise from the enhancement of naturally occurring radioactive material by industrial processes. An area of particular concern is the remediation of soil and rubble with radioactive contamination. Traditional methods of soil remediation involve sampling followed by the excavation of areas where contamination is found. The soil removal process is normally very inefficient and can involve multiple handling of excessive quantities of soil and ultimately an over estimate of the quantity of soil with radioactive contamination. In order to both minimize material handling and to reduce the final volume of contaminated material, which must be handled for disposal, a sensitive instrument has been developed and tested which is designed to measure the radioactive content of an excavator bucket. The instrument detector is positioned automatically just above the open top of the bucket and the measurement employs a high efficiency sodium iodide crystal which has a graded shadow shield to reduce the effect of background radioactivity. The measurement efficiency is enhanced as the detector is located in close proximity to the soil in the bucket and the thick steel shell of the bucket acts as a shield to further reduce the effect of background from the ground below. The method has obvious advantages over methods, which attempt to measure the potentially radioactive soil through the shielding provided by the thick steel bucket shell. As the first stage of the bucket measurement the excavator operator fills the bucket and locates it in a designated position with the open top of the bucket facing upwards, close to the operator cab. A measurement technician, located outside the danger area of the excavator boom, begins the measurement using a tablet computer with a wireless connection to the instrument. The shielded detector is moved from a storage position above the operator cab to the measurement position close to the open surface of the excavator bucket. Once the measurement is completed in typically one to two minutes, the detector is repositioned in its storage location and the measurement data is transmitted to the tablet computer. At this point the measurement technician makes the decision based on the measurement results as to how to disposition the bucket contents. Typically contaminated material will be transferred to a vehicle for off-site disposal. Alternatively, and this is the great advantage of this technique, uncontaminated material may be returned directly to the site of the excavation without the need for further handling. The development, detailed design and preliminary testing of the instrument are described. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

KRUSTY Reactor Design

The Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) was a reactor design, development, and test program to demonstrate the nuclear operation of a Kilopower reactor. Kilopower systems are intended to provide between 1 and 10 kW(electric) in space, or on the surface of planets or moons, with a clear evolution to substantially higher power systems. KRUSTY was a prototype of a 1-kW(electric) highly enriched uranium–fueled Kilopower system. In March of 2018, KRUSTY successfully operated as a fission power system and was the first nuclear-powered operation of any truly new reactor concept in the United States in over 40 years. This paper discusses the design of the KRUSTY reactor along with the philosophy, goals, and engineering work that ultimately led to KRUSTY’s success.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Computational and Experimental Benchmarking for Transient Fuel Testing

In 2018 the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility was restarted. This now-operational facility brings back world-class transient fuel testing capabilities to the U.S. Among a number of parallel efforts prior to the TREAT Facility’s restart a Department of Energy (DoE) Integrated Research Project (IRP) was funded for the purpose of benchmarking the TREAT with several goals in mind: To produce a comprehensive evaluation of existing TREAT Facility neutronics data using the next generation reactor core neutronics codes in accordance with established guidelines per the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments (IRPhEP). To perform a benchmark using ready-use computational fluid dynamics tools against that of a historically collected sodium loop experiment collected in the TREAT. To design, develop and test a new experimental thermal hydraulic system of a representative TREAT Facility water flow loop. And benchmark the data collected against that produced via RELAP5-3D and TRACE. To develop a comprehensive instrumentation plan for the TREAT Facility by benchmarking performing of advanced in-pile instruments in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR) and the TREAT. The integrated team brought together collaborating members from three universities including Oregon State University (OSU), the University of Michigan (UM), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); three national laboratories, Idaho National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); and two industry partners, TerraPower (TP) and Harris Thermal Transfer Products (HTTP). A brief summary of accomplishments resulting from this IRP includes two filed patents, more than 40 conference papers, two published benchmark reports through IRPhEP, a new representative thermal hydraulic test facility alike the in-pile PWR water flow loop for TREAT and the first advanced instruments tested within the TREAT core upon its restart. The papers presented herein were developed and provide a summary of the significant technical accomplishments which align with the four project’s objectives. The collaborators has significant support from countless parties including the operational and technical staff at TREAT to ensure that their outcomes most impactfully aligned with program needs. Lastly the collaborators would like to acknowledge the fiscal support of the DoE’s Office of Nuclear Energy under work package identification number NU-15-OR-OSU- 0701-01. This report contains selected papers from the Computational and Experimental Benchmarking for Transient Fuel Testing Integrated Research Project.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Developing affordable and efficient heating devices for enhanced live cell imaging in confocal microscopy

Temperature control is crucial for live cell imaging, particularly in studies involving plant responses to high ambient temperatures and thermal stress. This study presents the design, development, and testing of two cost-effective heating devices tailored for confocal microscopy applications: an aluminum heat plate and a wireless mini-heater. The aluminum heat plate, engineered to integrate seamlessly with the standard 160 mm × 110 mm microscope stage, supports temperatures up to 36°C, suitable for studies in the range of non-stressful warm temperatures (e.g., 25-27°C forArabidopsis thaliana) and moderate heat stress (e.g., 30-36°C forA. thaliana). We also developed a wireless mini-heater that offers rapid, precise heating directly at the sample slide, with a temperature increase rate over 30 times faster than the heat plate. The wireless heater effectively maintained target temperatures up to 50°C, ideal for investigating severe heat stress and heat shock responses in plants. Both devices performed well in controlled studies, including the real-time analysis of heat shock protein accumulation and stress granule formation inA. thaliana. Our designs are effective and affordable, with total construction costs lower than $300. This accessibility makes them particularly valuable for small laboratories with limited funding. Future improvements could include enhanced heat uniformity, humidity control to mitigate evaporation, and more robust thermal management to minimize focus drift during extended imaging sessions. These modifications would further solidify the utility of our heating devices in live cell imaging, offering researchers reliable, budget-friendly tools for exploring plant thermal biology.

Plant Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2021

The SuperCam Instrument Suite on the Mars 2020 Rover: Science Objectives and Mast-Unit Description

On the NASA 2020 rover mission to Jezero crater, the remote determination of the texture, mineralogy and chemistry of rocks is essential to quickly and thoroughly characterize an area and to optimize the selection of samples for return to Earth. As part of the Perseverance payload, SuperCam is a suite of five techniques that provide critical and complementary observations via Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Time-Resolved Raman and Luminescence (TRR/L), visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VISIR), high-resolution color imaging (RMI), and acoustic recording (MIC). SuperCam operates at remote distances, primarily 2–7 m, while providing data at sub-mm to mm scales. We report on SuperCam’s science objectives in the context of the Mars 2020 mission goals and ways the different techniques can address these questions. The instrument is made up of three separate subsystems: the Mast Unit is designed and built in France; the Body Unit is provided by the United States; the calibration target holder is contributed by Spain, and the targets themselves by the entire science team. This publication focuses on the design, development, and tests of the Mast Unit; companion papers describe the other units. The goal of this work is to provide an understanding of the technical choices made, the constraints that were imposed, and ultimately the validated performance of the flight model as it leaves Earth, and it will serve as the foundation for Mars operations and future processing of the data.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Low-cost desalination of seawater and hypersaline brine using nanophotonics enhanced solar energy membrane distillation

A stand-alone small-scale nanophotonics enhanced solar membrane distillation (NESMD) testbed was designed, developed, and tested for desalinating seawater and high salinity feedwaters. This NESMD system can take almost any source water and turn it into clean water with sunlight as the only energy source. The NESMD technology applies nanophotonic coating materials on a commercial hydrophobic polypropylene support of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane surface. The photothermal coating serves as a solar thermal collector, absorbs solar energy, and generates highly localized heat on the membrane, while the rest of the membrane performs membrane distillation functions. The presented NESMD system is equipped with an internal heat recovery system with no need for external electricity and no additional water for cooling. The NESMD testbed is installed and tested at Rice University campus (29.7174° N, 95.4018° W). In this study, real seawater from Galveston Bay, Texas, U.S. and high salinity simulated feedwaters (total dissolved solids (TDS) of 113 200–200 000 PPM) have been tested for long-term testing under the weather conditions of Houston, Texas. Here, the field testing results showed stable desalination performance in consecutive 5–8 hour operation cycles, with a TDS removal of ≥99.5% in all experiments. An average daily membrane flux of ≥0.75 L m –2 h –1 was achieved at a solar intensity close to 1 kW m –2 without an external heat exchanger. Further investigations and improvements are required to enhance the performance of the reactor since it is still a new promising technology.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Summary: High Temperature Downhole Motor

Directional drilling can be used to enable multi-lateral completions from a single well pad to improve well productivity and decrease environmental impact. Downhole rotation is typically developed with a motor in the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) that develops drilling power (speed and torque) necessary to drive rock reduction mechanisms (i.e., the bit) apart from the rotation developed by the surface rig. Historically, wellbore deviation has been introduced by a “bent-sub,” located in the BHA, that introduces a small angular deviation, typically less than 3 degrees, to allow the bit to drill off-axis with orientation of the BHA controlled at the surface. The development of a high temperature downhole motor would allow reliable use of bent subs for geothermal directional drilling. Sandia National Laboratories is pursuing the development of a high temperature motor that will operate on either drilling fluid (water-based mud) or compressed air to enable drilling high temperature, high strength, fractured rock. The project consists of designing a power section based upon geothermal drilling requirements; modeling and analysis of potential solutions; and design, development and testing of prototype hardware to validate the concept. Drilling costs contribute substantially to geothermal electricity production costs. The present development will result in more reliable access to deep, hot geothermal resources and allow preferential wellbore trajectories to be achieved. This will enable development of geothermal wells with multi-lateral completions resulting in improved geothermal resource recovery, decreased environmental impact and enhanced well construction economics.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Higher Efficiency HVAC Motors

The objective of this project was to design and build a cost competitive, more efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) motor than what is currently available on the market. Though different potential motor architectures among QMP’s primary technology platforms were investigated and evaluated, including through the building of numerous prototypes, the project ultimately focused on scaling up QM Power, Inc.’s (QMP) Q-Sync permanent magnet synchronous motors from available sub-fractional horsepower (HP) sizes for commercial refrigeration fan applications to larger fractional horsepower sizes appropriate for HVAC applications, and to add multi-speed functionality. The more specific goal became the research, design, development, and testing of a prototype 1/2 HP Q-Sync motor that has at least two operating speeds and 87% peak efficiency compared to incumbent electronically commutated motors (EC or ECM, also known as brushless direct current (DC) motors), the heretofore highest efficiency HVACR fan motor solution, at approximately 82% peak efficiency. The resulting motor prototype built achieved these goals, hitting 90% efficiency and .95 power factor at full load and speed, and 80% efficiency and .7 power factor at half speed. Q-Sync, developed in part through a DOE SBIR grant (Award # DE-SC0006311), is a novel, patented motor technology that improves on electronically commutated permanent magnet motors through an advanced electronic circuit technology. It allows a motor to “sync” with the alternating current (AC) power flow. It does so by eliminating the constant, wasteful power conversions from AC to DC and back to AC through the synthetic creation of a new AC wave on the primary circuit board (PCB) by a process called pulse width modulation (PWM; aka electronic commutation) that is incessantly required to sustain motor operation in an EC permanent magnet motor. The Q-Sync circuit improves the power factor of the motor by removing all failure prone capacitors from the power stage. Q-Sync’s simpler electronics also result in higher efficiency because it eliminates the power required by the PCB to perform the obviated power conversions and PWM processes after line synchronous operating speed is reached in the first 5 seconds of operation, after which the PWM circuits drop out and a much less energy intensive “pass through” circuit takes over, allowing the grid-supplied AC power to sustain the motor’s ongoing operation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
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 OSTI2019

Development of eXternal Nuclear Reaction Analysis (XNRA) Detection Technique for Quantifying Light Isotope Concentrations

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 used to produce tritium for the nation’s strategic stockpile. The FY19 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, 3 H, 3 He, and 4 He, 6 Li and 7 Li) in metal or ceramic matrices”. Last year the same language appeared in the call for proposals, and a project IWO-389859 was awarded to the Ion Beam Lab (IBL) at Sandia-NM which was successful using Elastic Recoil Detection, but in the future could have resulted in tritium contamination that jeopardized other equally important NNSA projects. An alternative approach using deuterium nuclear reaction analysis was proposed and funded in FY2019 which was also successful and eliminated any possibility of contaminating the Ion Beam Laboratory with tritium, and will be described in this report.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fiber optic system for direct detection of CO 2 leakage in carbon storage wells (Abbreviated Final Report)

The feasibility study focused on the development of new fiber for distributed chemical sensing that will allow direct detection of CO2 leakages in the environment. This is particularly important for monitoring well integrity for carbon capture and storage (CSS), which can provide early warning for an incoming well failure and potential CO2 leaking through it. We proposed Raman or IR interrogation within gas-filled Holey Fibers (HoFs) interleaved with Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sections, so that the location and concentration of the gases would be provided simultaneously. The methodology would overcome current roadblocks to using fiber optics for CO2 (and other gases) detection in wells with direct in-situ measurements of concentration along with other important parameters such as temperature and pressure. We were able to assess commercially available IR/Raman hollow core fiber and demonstrated detection of CO2 through them in our controlled environment setups at various pressure conditions. We have also established the ability of drilling precisely with fs-lases side holes to enable penetration of CO2 into the hollow core fiber and reduce diffusion rates. Open joint collars were also explored with double functionality: to obtain splice to solid core fiber critical for field deployment and create gas ingress locations. Both diffusion-only and pressurized fiber system have been constructed following COMSOL based semi-hybrid optical /fluidodynamics models. FBGs have been identified and procured and characterized. Along the work we leveraged internal modeling/design, photonics/laser characterization, optical fiber fabrication, and AM lab capabilities to design, develop and test in-house components or assemblies. Our results indicate the potential of HoF for CO2 downhole direct detection.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Abstract for CRADA between National Energy Technology Laboratory and Western Michigan University

NETL will team up with Western Michigan University (WMU) on designing, developing, and testing the integration of enzyme/Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) treatment with kraft pulping with a focus on optimizing kraft pulp conditions and testing pulp strength, and optical, and barrier properties. NETL will perform pulping experiments by combining Kraft pulping with DES to allow lower temperature, and reduced chemical use thus improved yield. The main purpose of this study is to investigate different heating methods during chlorine dioxide bleaching of kraft pulps. This study also compares the methods with one another with respect to pulp properties and fiber morphologies. In addition, the energy consumption and quality of bleached pulps under different bleaching conditions are going to be analyzed to provide a solid basis for scale up microwave bleaching process.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Metal-to-Ceramic Joining Methods to Support Development of Advanced Ceramic-Based CSP Components

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Colorado School of Mines (CSM) collaborated to design, develop, and test a material concept at bench scale which will be used to achieve a ceramic-to-metal (C2M) joint between a selected metal HTF loop material and a selected ceramic material used by the Gen3 CSP technology pathway. The final joint assembly will need to possess sufficient mechanical properties to withstand static high-temperature (650 degrees-700 degrees C) and high-pressure (20 MPa) and thermal cycling (between 650 degrees C and 100 degrees C) conditions. The material concept consists of three key components: (1) a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) that serves as a compliant transition material aiming to mitigate the stresses due to the mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) from a direct ceramic-to-metal joint, (2) a metal-end joint utilizing a multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) with changing percentage of particle loading to bond the candidate metal to the CMC, and (3) a ceramic-end joint utilizing a glass ceramic to bond the candidate ceramic to the CMC.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Puck Loop Seal (Final Project Technical Report)

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is advancing technical capabilities used in passive loop seals. The “Puck” seal used a set of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements for new passive loop seals published in 2020 as a design guide. The seal is based on an oxygen-sensitive inner mixture encased in an oxygen-impermeable shell, is monolithic rather than two-part, incorporates self-capturing wire features, contains colored water beads and bubbles formed during processing as unique identifiers (UIDs), and visually indicates tamper (whether from seal body penetration or from seal wire removal) by irreversibly changing the seal body from multi-colored to black. This paper will provide details on the design, development, and testing of Puck seal prototypes.

42 ENGINEERING↗