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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 559 records · Page 31

Optimal Control of an Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter

During this project, we experimentally investigated the hydrodynamics and performance of a laboratory-scale oscillating surge wave energy converter (OSWEC).We looked at how flap buoyancy and driveline losses (primarily in the form of stiction) affected the dynamics and performance of the device. In addition, we assessed the influence of flap profile (rounded vs. square edges) on OSWEC hydrodynamics. Through this, we were able to develop a deeper understanding of OSWEC performance and provide guidance on strategies to counteract artifacts that may be present in laboratory models, but are absent in field-scale devices. To do this, we tested a laboratory-scale OSWEC in the Sea Wave Environmental Lab (SWEL) wave tank at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). We ran several types of experiments to investigate the hydrodynamics and performance of the device. Overall, we achieved the overall goal of experimentally investigating the hydrodynamics and performance of this device. We discovered important and unexpected trends in performance, and collected time-resolved data to help us further investigate the underlying hydrodynamics responsible for these trends. In addition, we are currently using the time-resolved data from these experiments to build data-driven models of the dynamics, which can in turn be used to inform data-driven model predictive control of this device and address this objective in the future.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Image Reconstruction from Sparse-view Data Acquired with Portable X-ray Devices

• Portable X-ray systems enable on-site 3D imaging for non-invasive inspection of suspicious packages and explosives. • Existing reconstruction algorithms (e.g., FDK or Feldkamp, Davis and Kress) require hundreds of projections over 360 degrees. • Sparse-view scan reduces scanning time and setup effort, making it ideal for field use in timecritical scenarios. • Existing reconstruction algorithms introduce severe artifacts when applied to sparse-view data. • We developed a total variation (TV)-based optimization algorithm for yielding 3D images from sparse-view data collected with our portable X-ray imaging system.

Xia, Dan [University of Chicago, Chicago, IL]↗

Long Island Steatite Sourcing from Rhode Island Quarries During the Late Holocene Era

This study aimed to investigate the possible sourcing of Long Island steatite artifacts from quarries in Rhode Island. Seven steatite samples from archeological sites on Long Island including Nassau County, Suffolk County (North Fork and South Fork) and Shelter Island were compared to two Rhode Island quarry sample putative sources using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microscopy at the Submicron Resolution X-ray spectroscopy (SRX) beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source II at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The site-derived steatite samples displayed numerous similarities in elemental composition compared to the two Rhode Island quarries, Oaklawn and Ochee Springs. This study provides new evidence to support the possible sourcing of Long Island steatite from Rhode Island during the late Holocene era.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Abbreviated Report for 25-FS-011: Switch and Stitch Similar Subgraph Synthesizer

Government institutions utilize software from a wide array of development sources, including those written by large software companies, government contractors, and open-source repositories. Avoiding installation of malicious software components is an important national security endeavor. Automated analysis of previously unseen software is an active research area, and there is much research in the design of systems that compare new software artifacts to a large set of previously seen software records organized by various behaviors they contain. One attractive approach is to turn each compiled software binary into a graph representation and apply a graph similarity model that scores pairs of binaries by their relative similarity. When a pair is deemed similar, it is useful to know why, in the sense of providing explanations to security analysts regarding which portions of the software they should look into further.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Supporting Special Values in ZFP

This white paper outlines potential approaches to supporting special values in the ZFP numerical compressor without breaking backwards compatibility. Other than infinities and NaNs, special values are often used to indicate the absence of data, where no value is defined, for example by designating finite but extreme “fill values” as special. Such fill values are commonly used in earth system science, among other applications, but if left as is during compression lead to artifacts and loss of precision in nearby true values. Multiple candidate solutions that would allow ZFP to recognize special values are here proposed. Until such support is available, we also sketch available workarounds.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Advancing Additive Manufacturing Through Artificial Intelligence–Powered, High-Throughput, Nondestructive Characterization and Process Optimization

This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and ZEISS Industrial Metrology has demonstrated the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled x-ray computed tomography (XCT) to accelerate the qualification and certification of additively manufactured (AM) parts. At the core of this effort is Simurgh, an AI-powered XCT reconstruction framework jointly advanced by ORNL and ZEISS that integrates computer-aided design (CAD) models, physics-based simulations, and deep learning to overcome the long-standing challenges of metal artifact correction, long scan durations, and limited flaw detectability in dense and geometrically complex components. Simurgh enables high-throughput, high-quality 3D reconstruction from sparse and fast scans, which reduces XCT acquisition times by more than an order of magnitude and simultaneously improves defect detection limits by up to fourfold compared with industry-standard approaches. This capability reduces scan costs by more than 50%, lowers labor overhead, and makes XCT characterization economically viable for routine industrial use. By enabling reliable flaw detection in minutes rather than hours, Simurgh facilitates real-time feedback loops for process parameter optimization, which was highlighted in a recent npj Computational Materials (a Nature journal) issue. In the published study, more than 100 alloy coupons were characterized within a single day. This work represents a tenfold acceleration in the development of novel AM alloys and processes compared with conventional workflows. The ZEISS collaboration has also demonstrated the scalability of Simurgh to diverse application domains, including aerospace, nuclear, automotive, and biomedical components; in these applications, ensuring structural integrity is paramount. By drastically reducing barriers to XCT adoption, this partnership has laid the foundation for digital twins and data-driven certification pipelines and directly addressed bottlenecks in qualifying new materials and designs. Together, ORNL and ZEISS have shown that Simurgh advances the state of the art in nondestructive evaluation and aligns with the broader mission of enabling Industry 4.0 manufacturing ecosystems, in which intelligent, cost-effective, rapid quality assurance is integral to accelerating innovation and ensuring safety in critical applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Designing FAIR Workflows at OLCF: Building Scalable and Reusable Ecosystems for HPC Science

High Performance Computing (HPC) centers, such as the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), provide advanced infrastructure that enables scientific research at extreme scale. These centers operate with unique hardware configurations, specialized software environments, and elevated security re quirements that differ substantially from what most users encounter on their local systems. As a result, users often develop customized digital artifacts that are tightly coupled to the specific configuration of a given HPC center. Although necessary, this practice can lead to significant duplication of effort as multiple users independently create similar solutions to common problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Advancing Additive Manufacturing Through Artificial Intelligence–Powered, High-Throughput, Nondestructive Characterization and Process Optimization

This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and ZEISS Industrial Metrology has demonstrated the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled x-ray computed tomography (XCT) to accelerate the qualification and certification of additively manufactured (AM) parts. At the core of this effort is Simurgh, an AI-powered XCT reconstruction framework jointly advanced by ORNL and ZEISS that integrates computer-aided design (CAD) models, physics-based simulations, and deep learning to overcome the long-standing challenges of metal artifact correction, long scan durations, and limited flaw detectability in dense and geometrically complex components. Simurgh enables high-throughput, high-quality 3D reconstruction from sparse and fast scans, which reduces XCT acquisition times by more than an order of magnitude and simultaneously improves defect detection limits by up to fourfold compared with industry-standard approaches. This capability reduces scan costs by more than 50%, lowers labor overhead, and makes XCT characterization economically viable for routine industrial use. By enabling reliable flaw detection in minutes rather than hours, Simurgh facilitates real-time feedback loops for process parameter optimization, which was highlighted in a recent npj Computational Materials (a Nature journal) issue. In the published study, more than 100 alloy coupons were characterized within a single day. This work represents a tenfold acceleration in the development of novel AM alloys and processes compared with conventional workflows. The ZEISS collaboration has also demonstrated the scalability of Simurgh to diverse application domains, including aerospace, nuclear, automotive, and biomedical components; in these applications, ensuring structural integrity is paramount. By drastically reducing barriers to XCT adoption, this partnership has laid the foundation for digital twins and data-driven certification pipelines and directly addressed bottlenecks in qualifying new materials and designs. Together, ORNL and ZEISS have shown that Simurgh advances the state of the art in nondestructive evaluation and aligns with the broader mission of enabling Industry 4.0 manufacturing ecosystems, in which intelligent, cost-effective, rapid quality assurance is integral to accelerating innovation and ensuring safety in critical applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Complete Performance Comparison Between the Optimized Image Construction Algorithm (U-MBIR) and the Existing Reconstruction Algorithm for Detecting Defects and Damage in Concrete

Reinforced concrete (RC) is a composite material subjected to mechanical, thermal, and chemical loads throughout its service life. Because of these external stressors and the susceptibility of RC structural members to shrinkage and microcracking, the material degrades throughout its life cycle. This deterioration can lead to a decrease in member capacity and, ultimately, poses a threat to the structural integrity. Thus, it is crucial that the damage caused by aging and degradation be monitored and assessed at regular intervals throughout the material’s service life. Since coring of the material is typically not feasible for in-service structural systems, non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methodologies are used to assess remaining structural capacity. NDE methods enable surface and subsurface examination without damaging or degrading the medium. Moreover, RC is a critical component of nuclear power plants; thus, its safety and reliability must be thoroughly examined throughout the life cycle of the structural system. Ultrasonic measurements have been an industry standard for both surface and subsurface inspections. To this end, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has researched and developed advanced image reconstruction algorithms to capture internal damage. The results and discussion presented herein summarize the current state of the ultrasonic model–based iterative reconstruction (U-MBIR) algorithm developed at ORNL. More specifically, this report presents a comparison between reconstruction images produced via a widely employed ultrasonic NDE technique—the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT)—and the ORNL-developed U-MBIR algorithm. These NDE methodologies are demonstrated using ultrasonic data collected from four concrete specimens. Overall, the U-MBIR algorithm eliminates artifacts and noise that are typically present within the SAFT reconstructions, and it shows defects and anomalies more clearly than the SAFT images. In conclusion, this algorithm is suitable for identifying concrete defects, although more improvements and optimization could be done to better define internal defects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Source Attribution of Methane Enhancements at the Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Site Field Campaign Report

Tower data from 2017 to 2020 revealed that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) observatory in Oklahoma exhibited significant CH 4 enhancements compared to other U.S. tower sites. On average, near-surface CH 4 at the ARM site was higher, had larger diurnal and seasonal variations, and had sharper near-surface increases at night compared to other tower sites in the U.S. A field campaign was conducted in June 2024 to identify and quantify the surrounding CH 4 emission sources by two researchers from the University of Oklahoma. During the campaign, a mobile measurement was conducted using a LI-COR 7810 tracer gas analyzer mounted on a vehicle during June 23-26, 2024 near the SGP site (within 7 km distance). We sampled CH 4 along predefined routes surrounding a suspected source, i.e., a large animal feeding operation (AFO) farm 5.8 km northwest of the SGP ARM site. Measurements were collected between 04:30 and 09:00 local time when the planetary boundary layer (PBL) was shallow, increasing sensitivity to surface emissions. Driving speed was kept below 5 mph to minimize pressure-related artifacts. CH 4 concentrations downwind of the AFO exceeded 6000 ppb on the early morning of June 26, corresponding to an emission rate of ~95 kg⋅hr -1 estimated using the mass balance method. Additional sources identified during the campaign include nearby open-range cattle and leaks from a nearby natural gas pipeline.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE FAIR Surrogate Benchmarks Supporting AI and Simulation Research (SBI Surrogate Benchmark Initiative) (Final Report)

Computational Science is being revolutionized by integrating AI and simulation and, in particular, by deep learning surrogate models that can replace all or part of traditional large‐scale HPC computations. Such surrogates can achieve remarkable performance improvements, as much as several orders of magnitude, and save both compute time and energy. The Surrogate Benchmark Initiative (SBI) project creates a community repository and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data ecosystem for HPC application surrogate benchmarks. The SBI team comes from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Indiana University (IU), Rutgers University, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), and the University of Virginia(UVA). SBI repositories include data, code, and all relevant collateral artifacts, that the science and engineering community needs to use and reuse these data sets and surrogates. SBI repositories generate active research from both participants in SBI and the broader AI and domain science communities. This project develops surrogates that use several different neural nets to learn and quickly infer the results of simulations and data systems and capture them as surrogate benchmarks with a rich set of metadata, covering. Data; Model; Metrics specification; Machine specification; Science, Speed, Power Results, We research FAIR metadata for these benchmarks. We develop application surrogate examples as benchmarks across many fields (ANL, UTK, IU, UVA). We also study non Surrogate benchmarks that have many common features and similar issues regarding FAIRness. We work with MLCommons (UVA, UTK), which is a major machine learning benchmarking activity where we get metadata ontologies, software, and benchmarks, benchmarks have datasets, models, and metadata, and they need a technical framework developed by UTK and Rutgers and deployed by UVA. We study features of Surrogates, including performance, training set size, and uncertainty quantification (Rutgers, UVA and IU).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Corrected Moments in Antenna Coordinates (CMAC) Technical Report

Various corrections are needed in order to extract the best value of the measurements from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility’s scanning precipitation radars. The Corrected Moments in Antenna Coordinates (CMAC) Value-Added Product provides an application chain for providing radar moments that are corrected for artifacts such as aliasing, attenuation, multi-trip echoes, and beam blockage. This technical report provides details on the entire process of correcting the ARM scanning precipitation radar data using CMAC. CMAC has been used at multiple ARM sites and ARM Mobile Facility deployments including the Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER), Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI), and the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Laboratory (SAIL).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

FAIR Surrogate Benchmarks Supporting AI and Simulation Research (Final Report)

Computational Science is being revolutionized by integrating AI and simulation and, in particular, by deep learning surrogate models that can replace all or part of traditional large‐scale HPC computations. Such surrogates can achieve remarkable performance improvements, as much as several orders of magnitude, and save both compute time and energy. The Surrogate Benchmark Initiative (SBI) project creates a community repository and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data ecosystem for HPC application surrogate benchmarks. The SBI team comes from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Indiana University (IU), Rutgers University, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), and the University of Virginia (UVA). SBI repositories include data, code, and all relevant collateral artifacts that the science and engineering community need to use and reuse these data sets and surrogates. SBI repositories generate active research from both the participants in SBI and the broad community of AI and domain scientists. This project develops surrogates that use several different neural nets to learn and quickly infer the results of simulations and data systems and captures them as surrogate benchmarks with a rich set of metadata covering: Data; Model; Metrics specification; Machine specification; and Science, Speed, and Power Results. We research FAIR metadata for these benchmarks. We develop application surrogate examples as benchmarks across many fields (ANL, UTK, IU, UVA). We also study non-Surrogate benchmarks that have many common features and similar issues as regards FAIRness. We work with MLCommons (UVA, UTK), which is a major machine learning benchmarking activity where we get metadata ontologies, software, and benchmarks, Benchmarks have datasets, models, and metadata and they need a technical framework developed by UTK and Rutgers and deployed by UVA. We study features of Surrogates including performance, training set size, and uncertainty quantification (Rutgers, UVA and IU).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Integration into Model- Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

Engineering design in the field of industrial engineering, such as designing automated factories or warehouses, is critical for the effective operation of facilities. Any design flaws introduced early can result in significant capital expenses to correct. However, early-stage engineering design is inherently complex. The systems are not yet built, requiring designers to integrate various aspects, including digital engineering and cybersecurity, to support virtual representations throughout the design process. In this study, we propose an approach to integrate Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) principles into model-based systems engineering (MBSE). This approach facilitates the development of a digital thread for engineering systems, ensuring secure digital artifacts in the design of industrial engineering systems.

42 - ENGINEERING↗

Wavelength Scan Results of VULCAN Chopper

We scanned VULCAN chopper by different wavelength band center and band width. Three commonly used settings 60, 30, and 20 Hz are investigated for existing detector banks. The full scanned results in wavelength unit are included in this report. From the result, one can decide what chopper setting can be used to meet experiment requirement while avoiding time-of-flight frame overlapping or leakage, which generate artifacts in collected neutron data.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Characterization of the X-ARAPUCA Systems' Response for SBND's Light Detection

X-ARAPUCA waveform data, collected at a test stand at the Noble Liquid Test Facility (NLTF) and the Short Baseline Near Detector (SBND), were analyzed via python scripts. For the ARARA system, various distributions and correlations were studied, including the area and amplitude distributions of the waveform peaks for identifying single photoelectron peaks, as well as characterizing the behavior of the baseline artifact. The ARARA system is being studied in order to be implemented into SBND, just as the APSAIA X-ARAPUCAs have been.

Novotny, Andrew [U. Illinois, Chicago]↗

Precursor Analysis Report: Ryuk Ransomware Attack on Universal Health Services 2020

The Ryuk Ransomware Attack on Universal Health Services (UHS) 2020 Precursor Analysis Report leverages publicly available information about the 2020 UHS cyber attack and catalogs anomalous observables for each technique employed in the attack. This analysis is based upon the methodology of the Cybersecurity for the Operational Technology Environment (CyOTE) program. UHS manages over 400 hospitals and is one of the largest healthcare providers in the United States with 3.5 million patients each year. On 27 September 2020, UHS suffered a widespread ransomware attack that resulted in a denial of service to critical internet-dependent healthcare systems including workstations, phones, and data centers. Employees resorted to filing patient details with pen and paper, while other facilities had to redirect ambulances and urgent patients to other facilities for adequate care. Adversaries carried out the attack with Ryuk, a ransomware that encrypts data and generates a RyukReadMe.txt ransom note with the ransom fee to decrypt the data, varying from 15 Bitcoin (BTC) to 50 BTC, equivalent to roughly $\$$353,892 to $\$$964,617. UHS did not pay the ransom and was able to recover data through backups, but still reported an impact of $\$$67 million dollars in recovery costs. On 29 October, one month after the attack, UHS made an official statement that their systems had been restored and they were resuming normal operations. Researchers and analysts identified 18 unique techniques (used in a sequence of 19 steps) utilized during the attack with a total of 185 observables using MITRE ATT&CK® for Industrial Control Systems. The CyOTE program assesses observables accompanying techniques used prior to the triggering event to identify opportunities to detect malicious activity. If observables accompanying the attack techniques are perceived and investigated prior to the triggering event, earlier comprehension of malicious activity can take place. Fourteen of the identified techniques used during the UHS cyber attack were precursors to the triggering event. Analysis identified 106 observables associated with these precursor techniques, 82 of which were assessed to have an increased likelihood of being perceived in the 30 days to two hours preceding the triggering event. The response and comprehension time could have been reduced if the observables had been identified earlier. The information gathered in this report contributes to a library of observables tied to a repository of artifacts, data sources, and technique detection references for practitioners and developers to support the comprehension of indicators of attack. Asset owners and operators can use these products if they experience similar observables or to prepare for comparable scenarios.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Precursor Analysis Report: JBS Foods Ransomware Attack 2021

The JBS Foods 2021 Ransomware Attack Precursor Analysis Report leverages publicly available information about the JBS ransomware cyber attack and catalogs anomalous observables for each technique employed in the attack. This analysis is based upon the methodology of the Cybersecurity for the Operational Technology Environment (CyOTE) program. In late May 2021, one of the world’s largest meat producers, JBS Foods, announced they had fallen victim to a worldwide ransomware attack, later found to be REvil ransomware. In the United States alone, JBS Foods accounts for nearly 25% of beef and roughly 20% of pork production. Adversaries initially launched a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on the company’s Information Technology (IT) networks in Australia, but the attack impacted operations in Brazil, Canada, and the United States, as well. The attack caused plant operations in all four countries to shut down for at least one day. All nine of the U.S. meatpacking plants temporarily shut down because of the attack. The adversaries initially demanded a $\$$22 million ransom for the company’s data, but later negotiated the ransom down to $\$$11 million even after JBS Foods restored most of their systems. JBS Foods eventually paid the $\$$11 Million for reassurance from the adversaries that none of their customers’ data would be compromised in the future. Despite its short duration, the attack still caused large stocks of meat to spoil. The incident also underscored how adversaries can simultaneously compromise and move laterally through global subsidiaries of an organization. Researchers and analysts identified 22 unique techniques (in a sequence of 21 steps) utilized during the attack with a total of 361 observables using MITRE ATT&CK® for Industrial Control Systems. The CyOTE program assesses observables accompanying techniques used prior to the triggering event to identify opportunities to detect malicious activity. If observables accompanying the attack techniques are perceived and investigated prior to the triggering event, earlier comprehension of malicious activity can take place. Sixteen of the identified techniques used during the JBS Foods cyber attack were precursors to the triggering event. Analysis identified 308 observables associated with these precursor techniques, 163 of which were assessed to have an increased likelihood of being perceived in the 75 days preceding the triggering event. The response and comprehension time could have been reduced if the observables had been identified earlier. The information gathered in this report contributes to a library of observables tied to a repository of artifacts, data sources, and technique detection references for practitioners and developers to support the comprehension of indicators of attack. Asset owners and operators can use these products if they experience similar observables or to prepare for comparable scenarios.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗