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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 541 records · Page 30

The DUNE DAQ Application Framework

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation neutrino experiment that will probe the properties of these elusive particles with unparalleled precision. It will also act as an observatory for neutrino bursts caused by nearby supernovae, in the event that one occurs while the experiment is in operation. Given these goals, the DUNE trigger and DAQ system must be able to maintain extremely high uptime and provide a path for full readout of the detectors for very long times (up to 100s). To achieve these ends, we have designed the DUNE DAQ system around a flexible “application framework”, which provides a modular interface for specific tasks while handling the interconnections between them. The application framework collects modules into applications which can then be interacted with as units by the control, configuration and monitoring systems. One of the key features of the framework is its communications abstraction layer, which allows for modules to interact with both internal queues and external network connections with a single transport-agnostic interface. We will report on the architecture and features of the framework.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Quantum Computing and Simulations for Energy Applications

While quantum computing (QC) is considered as a paradigm shift in our basic understanding of physical computation, effective implementation of QC in energy applications also depends on progress and development in the dimensions of both QC hardware and algorithms. To fully address the status and future challenges of QC applied within the energy sector, in this presentation, we firstly summarize recent advancements on the applications of QC to energy infrastructure and materials, complex energy system processes, advanced manufacturing, and energy system security. Then, we will demonstrate the results of QC performed both on a simulator and a quantum device targeting on energy-related applications.

Paudel, Hari P.↗

Report on use of Inoculants in Missile Application Alloys

This report documents the status of current inoculant research relevant to missile application alloys and MTCR control language. The information is intended to provide data on current inoculants for us determining the current state of development and identifying potential research directions. Although there has been significant scientific research into the development and synthesis of inoculants, their current availability is limited is traditional powder inoculants employed during casting processes. However, research continues the development of complex oxides, ribbon materials, high entropy alloys, and other inoculant product forms, including the use of inoculants in the melt pools produced during additive manufacturing. Research to date has focused primarily on aluminum and steel alloys with emphasis on refining grain structures and evolving equiaxed morphologies while increasing strength and castability. The primary inoculants in steel and cast irons include TiN, SiC, FeSi75, and Ce which have increased strength properties. Chief inoculants for Al alloys often include TiC, SiC, Al3Sc(x) and TiB2 to aid in precipitation and refinement. Ti and Ni alloys have fewer research activities involving inoculants, although TiN, TiB, ZrN and LaB6 (for Ti alloys) and WC, Co3FeNb2, and CrFeNb (for Ni alloys) have been used. Sic, Al2O3, Mg and Ti are key inoculants for Mg alloys. Multiple cast alloys from each of the material classes demonstrated increased strength and performance properties using inoculants, with several approaching requirements applicable to missile service environments. The continued evolution of advanced manufacturing capabilities is making it easier to produce high temperature near net shape structural materials using inoculant powders. These shapes may include the geometric shapes addressed within the MTCR (tubes and limited wall thicknesses). The use of inoculants may enable further development of high temperature alloys into near net shapes traditionally produced via casting processes due to limited ductility. This may decrease material and manufacturing costs. In addition, inoculation provides controlled kinetics and achievable chemical segregation that enables potential for far-from equilibrium thermodynamic microstructures and chemistries that could provide new metastable alloy states and subsequent properties to address co-design engineering constraints, including needs for increased strength and ductility. It is recommended that specific material combinations within these alloy classes be carefully watched as the materials evolve, with controls aimed at those having material properties above current MTCR levels. This specifically includes the use of refractory inoculants in alloys, and the application of inoculants in high strength and high temperature alloys via additive manufacturing processes, with care to link capabilities to product forms similar to the current requirements on tube geometries and material feed stocks. The continued development of nanoparticle inoculants will increase strength and ductility of high strength castings and additive manufactured metallic components. For example, adding inoculants into the casting of maraging steels and other precipitation strengthened alloys may drastically elevate mechanical properties above the control limit of current regulations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Assessment of Materials-Based Options for On-Board Hydrogen Storage for Rail Applications

The objective of this project was to evaluate material- and chemical-based solutions for hydrogen storage in rail applications as an alternative to high-pressure hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen. Three use cases were assessed: yard switchers, long-haul locomotives, and tenders. Four storage options were considered: metal hydrides, nanoporous sorbents, liquid organic hydrogen carriers, and ammonia, using 700 bar compressed hydrogen as a benchmark. The results suggest that metal hydrides, currently the most mature of these options, have the highest potential. Storage in tenders is the most likely use case to be successful, with long-haul locomotives the least likely due to the required storage capacities and weight and volume constraints. Overall, the results are relevant for high-impact regions, such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, for which an economical vehicular hydrogen storage system with minimal impact on cargo capacity could accelerate adoption of fuel cell electric locomotives. The results obtained here will contribute to the development of technical storage targets for rail applications that can guide future research. Moreover, the knowledge generated by this project will assist in development of material-based storage for stationary applications such as microgrids and backup power for data centers.

08 HYDROGEN↗

SQMS Quantum R&D in Machine Learning, Optimization and Sensing beyond Fundamental Physics Applications

This newly formed team at SQMS under the Ecosystem Thrust is looking to develop capabilities impacting societal advances outside the core domain of HEP and condensed matter physics. We explicitly leverage the experimental and algorithmic innovations developed across all groups as well as connect to broad-scope external projects of the diverse team of PIs. As the inaugural set of projects, we are studying numerically quantum machine learning models inspired by efficiently trainable echo-state and orthogonal neural networks and developing designs for related experiments to be performed on quantum processors based on SQMS SRF cQED technology and Rigetti s transmon arrays. Investigated models exploit ideas and lessons learned from multiple prior work by SQMS team members in a variety of internal and external activities [R1]. Target initial applications include noisy signal processing, potentially captured by quantum sensors or noisy QPUs, as well as simulation and classification of healthcare data. For instance, image reconstruction of the brain s electrical properties by solving the inverse Maxwell equation problem with uncertainty [R2] through a hybrid quantum-classical physics-informed architecture for time-dependent processes [R3]. The group is also investigating the application and development of novel quantum sensors based on magnetic levitation of a superconducting sphere coupled to a superconducting qubit. This coupling enables high-precision measurements of the position of the sphere, which can be used for sensitive detection of forces, enabling practical applications such as gravimetry for geophysics analysis, or accelerometry for GPS-denied navigation [R4] [R1] Rieffel, Eleanor G., Ata Akbari Asanjan, M. Sohaib Alam, Namit Anand, David E. Bernal Neira, Sophie Block, Lucas T. Brady et al. "Assessing and advancing the potential of quantum computing: A NASA case study." Future Generation Computer Systems (2024). [R2] Yu, X., Serrall s, J.E., Giannakopoulos, I.I., Liu, Z., Daniel, L., Lattanzi, R. and Zhang, Z., 2023. Pifon-ept: Mr-based electrical property tomography using physics-informed fourier networks. IEEE Journal on Multiscale and Multiphysics Computational Techniques. [R3] Wudarski, Filip, Daniel OConnor, Shaun Geaney, Ata Akbari Asanjan, Max Wilson, Elena Strbac, P. Aaron Lott, and Davide Venturelli. "Hybrid quantum-classical reservoir computing for simulating chaotic systems." arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.14105 (2023). [R4] Higgins, Gerard, Saarik Kalia, and Zhen Liu. "Maglev for dark matter: Dark-photon and axion dark matter sensing with levitated superconductors." Physical Review D 109.5 (2024): 055024.

Venturelli, Davide↗

Application of Partial Least Squares Approaches to Pyroprocessing ER Data

Multivariate approaches show promise for application to process monitoring for safeguards of pyroprocessing. Past MPACT work explored the application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to detect off-normal conditions in pyroprocessing electrorefiner (ER) data from in the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) known as the Scalable Pyrochemical Recycling testbed (SPyRe) ER. PCA, however, does not consider the output variables. In FY24, multivariate analysis was extended from PCA to Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis. PLS maximizes the variance between both the input signals and output variables. In the case of this work, PLS was applied in two different manners: Predictive PLS and Discriminant PLS. Predictive PLS maximizes the covariance between the process variables of the ER and the measured U concentration from in-situ voltammetry. Discriminant PLS maximizes the covariance between the process variables and a set of training process “states” such as known off-normal conditions. By projecting into the latent variable space in PLS, the process variables can be regressed onto the outputs and predictions can be made for new data sets. In this work, by applying predictive PLS, a penalized non-linear PLS approach was able to make predictions of concentration based on test and training data and detect when operations were off-normal. However, the predictive PLS does not classify the signals to which off-normal operations are attributable. Discriminant PLS can be used to classify off-normal operations but is inadequate to properly classify specific off-normal classes like power supply faults when the Discriminant PLS model is only specifically trained to detect that off-normal class. When all faults are trained against the observation data, all three operational classes are accurately classified and distinguished. Thus, future application of latent variable techniques should not select any given method, but should use a mixture of PCA, Predictive PLS, and Discriminant PLS.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Data-Informed Evaluation Framework for Integrated Energy Systems: Insights from Power, Process Heat, and Hydrogen Production Applications

The multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework provides a systematic evaluation of the diverse preferences and performance metrics associated with alternative solutions. This approach is advantageous over a single-criterion methodology, which are only valid under conditions that assume ceteris paribus or an "apples-to-apples" comparison. However, selecting suitable technologies for integrated energy systems (IES) can be likened to an "apples-to-oranges" comparison, given the heterogeneous factors at stake. These factors include economics and performance parameters, geological compatibility, and environmental impacts. Consequently, past research has often employed a mixture of qualitative and quantitative criteria tailored to the specific interests of each study. While the method proves effective in handling the intricate interplay of criteria, the resulting rankings and scores can vary from study to study. This inconsistency is introduced from the use of subjectively defined thresholds and weights. As a result, decision-makers frequently find it challenging to establish clear connections between specific criteria and the resulting scores, as the transformation of criteria into ordinal scores results in a substantial loss of information. To address this challenge, we introduce a data-informed IES evaluation framework that offers comprehensive, interpretable, and traceable evaluations backed by quantifiable rationale. First, we identified key IES evaluation criteria from a decade of literature, focusing on relevant IES applications in power, process heat, and hydrogen production. We leveraged state-of-the-art cost estimates from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and technical data from 78 reactor designs from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD-NEA). Lastly, we established thresholds by analyzing the mean, variance, root mean square, and slope of values across alternatives, categorizing the preferences of decision-makers into distinct utility functions, such as linear, saturating, exponential, and stepwise. Our approach yielded two main outcomes: (1) it provided consistent assessments across different stakeholder groups and (2) it visualized uncertainties in the decision-making context via comprehensive sensitivity analysis. To demonstrate the impact of our framework, we conducted case studies on 6 reactor designs (AP1000, NuScale, BWRX-300, Xe-100, eVinci, iMSR) for the three applications. Our data-driven framework proved to be highly effective in addressing heterogenous uncertainties faced by varied decision-makers? preferences and IES applications, as well as cost and technical estimates of advanced reactors.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Road Map for the Development of Commercial Maritime Applications of Advanced Nuclear Technology

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is making significant investments in advanced nuclear reactor development and demonstration programs such as the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). The innovations in advanced nuclear reactor technologies (defined in Section 1.4.1), including concepts of microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs), have opened the door to a wide range of applications beyond land-based power stations providing electricity to the grid. Applications for transportation and industrial operations could offer reliable carbon-free energy to achieve decarbonization goals by supporting energy-intensive activities such as alternative fuel production, water desalinization, and local power supply. The DOE recognizes the transformational power of these technologies and is investing in foundational research and development as well as reactor demonstration projects. However, unique and significant challenges exist in each application domain to bring projects into reality beyond just the underlying reactor technology maturation.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Quantum Computing and Simulations for Energy-Related Applications

Quantum Information Science (QIS) is an emerging field that has the potential to cause revolutionary advances in many areas of science and engineering, and nations around the world are vying for dominance in the field. To support DOE urgent task to make sure the U.S. wins the quantum race, in Spring of 2019 NETL started to establish and maintain QIS competency by focusing on energy-related applications. After more than five years’ hard-working, NETL QUEST (quantum for energy systems & technologies) team has made great progress on quantum sensing and quantum computing for energy applications. Significant outcomes have been achieved. To report our research progress and to propose new research directions, in this presentation at the American Physical Society (APS) annual meeting, I'm highlighting the progress of QUEST team on quantum computing for energy-related applications.

quantum computing↗

Low-cost buffer storage for solar industrial steam applications

Motivation and importance: Many industrial process heat consumers operate throughout the day, and deep decarbonization with solar energy requires thermal energy storage. Thermal energy storage provides an additional operational benefit of firm delivery of steam – essential to reducing the risk of costly production interruptions. The group of process heat consumers that use steam for biofuels production for the California transportation fuels market is incentivized through the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to reduce their carbon intensity through the use of solar steam. Examples include ethanol and dimethyl ether production. The production of these and other fuels involves distillation driven by steam reboilers with steam pressures in the range 100-280 psig. These pressures can be delivered from the type of thermal energy storage that has been the focus of this project – a steam accumulator Sunvapor, Inc. (SVI) calls a “Bullet Steam Accumulator” or “BSA TM ”. Our project adds to the understanding of the design and integration of steam accumulators charged by solar thermal energy in a biofuels production facility, and similar facilities that consume process steam. The fuel application requires a demanding level of Process Safety Management not found in other steam applications. The type of steam accumulator SVI engineered and built integrates steam generation and storage in one vessel to reduce cost. Achieving a first of a kind permit to operate such a first device has also added to the understanding of the industrial application of such systems. Goals: The overall goal of the project has been to demonstrate the advantages that a “Bullet Steam Accumulator” (BSA™) can provide to solar steam integration with a manufacturing process. The industrial host has already been convinced of the potential of the available solar steam to lower than carbon intensity score. They have been interviewed for a number of publications such as that tout the advantages SVI’s system brings to their operations. Accomplishments: At the end of 2023 Sunvapor placed in service the country’s first industrial solar boiler with thermal energy storage. At the same time, this placement in service represents the first pilot commercial system to decarbonize biofuels production through the use of solar thermal energy. While the full technical effectiveness will be shown as soon as the customer’s plant is able to consume the available steam, the economic feasibility was indicated early in the project when the combination of costs and steam pricing required to meet investor expectations was determined. The project represents a reference pilot from which a full-scale commercial system may be expanded. This pilot is a necessary first step in providing the full potential benefits to the public, including decarbonization of transportation fuels. The decarbonization of the separation steps in fuels production may be the most cost-effective and nearest term solar fuel. Co-benefits include a reduction of air pollutants such as NOx and particulate matter, and job creation for the construction, operation and maintenance of industrial solar facilities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

High-Performance Nanoparticle-Mediated Surfaces for Bio-medical Applications

CONCLUSIONS Scalability: could reduce produce cost of nanomaterials for widespread application • Nanomaterials can be produced on macro-scale supports, i.e. metal filters, textile, via solution chemistries • Applications: • Antimicrobial and antiviral applications • Capturing contaminants from aqueous environments • Biocompatibility and Toxicity: safety & long-term effects • Airborne Release Fraction and Respirable Fraction must be considered when moieties released in the atmosphere • Evidence for Bioavailability of Au Nanoparticles from Soil and Biodistribution within Earthworms

Murph, Simona E. [Savannah River National Laborato↗

Multi-Scale Modeling of the Evolution of Structure and Properties in Materials for Nuclear Energy Applications [Slides]

Nuclear energy is an important component of an overall strategy to address climate change. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary facility for research and development in nuclear science and technology for energy generation, supporting the improvement and life extension of the existing reactor fleet and the development and licensing of new reactor designs. Computational modeling is an important component of these activities, particularly in the area of materials for nuclear applications, where experimental data can be very challenging and expensive to acquire, and where data is especially scarce for new reactor designs. INL has used multi-scale modeling – linking atomistic, mesoscale, and engineering scales – to improve the ability to predict the performance of materials for nuclear energy applications. In this talk, I will give an overview of the approach and tools used, and several examples of application, including performance of nuclear fuels, understanding radiation-driven formation of nanoscale void and gas bubble superlattices, and powder densification through electric field assisted sintering.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

LLMs for Mfg.—On the State of Large Language Models and Applications to Manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing (AM), referred to as 3D printing, has emerged as a key pillar of Industry 4.0 enabling layer-by-layer fabrication of intricate geometries from CAD models. In parallel, Large Language Models (LLMs), deep learning models for natural language generation trained on vast text corpora, have demonstrated unprecedented capabilities in understanding and generating human-like text. The convergence of these trends opens new opportunities at the intersection of AM and AI/ML, where LLMs can assist engineers and researchers in design, manufacture planning, and knowledge discovery. Recent academic work has begun to explore LLM applications in AM and adjacent fields, such as material science, mechanical engineering, and design for additive manufacturing. This exploration ranges from intelligent process planning to domain-specific knowledge retrieval. This survey provides a comprehensive review of current developments, focusing on peer-reviewed literature contributions that apply, adapt, and advance LLMs in general and domain-specific domains. We analyze state-of-the-art (SOTA) techniques, such as fine-tuning foundational models for specific domains, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, knowledge graph integration, and delve into the architectures and evaluation methods employed. The goal of this survey is to inform researchers and practitioners of the current capabilities and limitations of LLMs in general and in domain-specific applications, and to outline how these models are being tailored to meet the requirements of these applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A case study in contrastive learning information combination: Application to technical forensics of additive manufacturing filament source identification

Combination of information from disparate data sources into a single decision is a core challenge in many fields, including the field of technical forensics. Technical forensics (TF) utilizes technical characterization of questioned samples to determine properties of that sample; these properties are then used to infer information of forensic interest, such as provenance, age, or attribution. TF is utilized in traditional forensic applications, such as the attribution of material fragments from an explosive, and in nuclear forensic applications, such as the attribution of actinides which have been interdicted out of regulatory control. The challenge of combining information from disparate sources, described alternately by many terms including “Data Fusion” and “Data Integration”, is exacerbated in the technical forensics domain due to at least two factors: the challenge of interpreting each information source singularly, and the relatively small data set sizes available. Extensive literature exists attempting to combine technical forensics information sources, both in manual and automated processes. These attempts are often bespoke to the specific information sources (such as the bi-, tri-, or quad-isotope chart (Moody, Grant, and Hutcheon 2005)), with some emerging examples of simple early- and late- fusion (, respectively). Simultaneous to the information combination efforts described in the previous paragraph, the field of natural language processing attempted (and largely succeeded) in combining information from multiple non-technical information sources. The ecosystem of “multi-modal” language models, which can take text and images as input, and generate text and images as output, became large and diverse by 2025 (Khan et al. 2025). In a generalized sense, many of these methods are trained by learning neural networks which can convert raw text or images into a vector of numbers describing the text or image, hereafter called “embeddings” and the neural networks performing the conversion are called “embedders”. By using a separate embedder for text and images, finding coincident text and images (such as images with their captions), and optimizing the parameters of the embedders such that the embeddings for the text and the image are similar, the field has found a bridge between text and images (Girdhar et al. 2023). It is the contention of the authors of this report that this insight is not limited to text and images but instead can be extended to any modality which can be found coincidently. The subject of the rest of this report is the application of this method to example multi-modal technical forensic data. Some details about the data used in this report are not appropriate for this report, and are included in a companion report (PNNL-38669).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Application of SAMMY for Non-Destructive Characterization of Irradiated Samples Using Neutron Transmission Measurements at VENUS

This report presents the application of SAMMY (Larson 2008), an R-matrix Bayesian fitting system, for analyzing neutron transmission data to enable non-destructive isotopic identification. Transmission measurements were conducted at the VENUS (Bilheux et al. 2023) beamline of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) using samples with unknown or partially characterized compositions. Through the application of SAMMY’s R-matrix Bayesian fitting capabilities to the measured transmission spectra and comparison against evaluated nuclear data libraries, isotopic constituents can be quantitatively determined based on their characteristic neutron resonance signatures. This methodology demonstrates significant potential for applications in nuclear safeguards, forensics, and post-irradiation examination.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Evaluation of Thermal & Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Monolithic SiC for Solar Receiver Applications

Increasing the operating temperatures of solar receivers is paramount to the efficiency of concentrated solar thermal (CST) and solar power (CSP) systems. Owing to its high temperature stability combined with excellent thermal and optical properties, SiC has been the material of choice for application in high-temperature solar receivers. State-of-the-art SiC volumetric concentrating solar air receivers such as the honeycomb design have successfully demonstrated in field exit air temperatures approaching 800oC. However, a successful application of CST systems for the decarbonization of heat reliant industrial sectors requires significant increases in the temperature capability of SiC receiver technology. Supported by an award from the Solar Technology Office (SETO), US Department of Energy (DOE), GE Research in collaboration with Heliogen Holdings Inc, is engaged in the development of an ultra-High Operating Temperature SiC-matrix Solar Thermal Air Receiver (HOTSSTAR) enabled by additive manufacturing. The program objective is to design and demonstrate a techno-economically viable SiC air receiver technology that can achieve exit air temperatures up to 1100oC for CST applications. We report and discuss the results of our testing and evaluation of thermal and mechanical properties of reaction-bonded SiC fabricated via binder jet printing to support the receiver component design, development, and analyses.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Advancing Diffusion Bonded Compact Heat Exchangers for High Temperature Applications

Enhancement of the diffusion bonding process for the development of compact heat exchangers (CHXs) provides an energy efficient solution for high-temperature applications in advanced nuclear reactors and other technologies. However, available information is limited concerning the diffusion bonding (and manufacturing) of CHXs in high temperature applications and associated selection of bonded materials, bonding conditions, mechanical performance, and thermo-fluid characteristics. Here this article reviews the available knowledge and the ongoing research being conducted to address gaps in information and application.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The water-soluble fraction of extracellular polymeric substances from a resource recovery demonstration plant: characterization and potential application as an adhesive

Currently, there is a growing interest in transforming wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) into resource recovery plants. Microorganisms in aerobic granular sludge produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which are considered sustainable resources to be extracted and can be used in diverse applications. Exploring applications in other high-value materials, such as adhesives, will not only enhance the valorization potential of the EPS but also promote resource recovery. This study aimed to characterize a water-soluble fraction extracted from the EPS collected at the demonstration plant in the Netherlands based on its chemical composition (amino acids, sugar, and fatty acids) and propose a proof-of-concept for its use as an adhesive. This fraction comprises a mixture of biomolecules, such as proteins (26.6 ± 0.3%), sugars (21.8 ± 0.2%), and fatty acids (0.9%). The water-soluble fraction exhibited shear strength reaching 36–51 kPa across a pH range of 2–10 without additional chemical treatment, suggesting a potential application as an adhesive. The findings from this study provide insights into the concept of resource recovery and the valorization of excess sludge at WWTPs.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗