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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 577 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Performance of a Robotic Assistance Device in Computed Tomography-Guided Percutaneous Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures

PurposeTo evaluate a commercially available robotic assistance device for computed tomography-guided diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, compared to regular, manually performed CT scan-guided interventions in terms of precision, exposure to radiation to the patient and intervention time.Materials and MethodsOver a period of 6 months, 55 consecutive patients were recruited and treated using robotic assistance and compared to a control group of 101 patients previously treated with a regular CT scan-guided, manual approach. Evaluated parameters were precision (deviation from planned target and number of needle replacements), radiation exposure to the patient and intervention time. Evaluations were performed with regard to complexity (in-plane vs out-of-plane interventions) and type of anesthesia (general vs local).ResultsParameters related to precision were in general significantly better in the robotic assistance group (p < 0.01) with a mean deviation of 1.2 mm (± 1.6 mm) compared to 2.6 mm (± 1.1 mm) in the comparison group. Compared to manual procedure, the mean intervention time was reduced by 15 min (± 5.4 min) on average for an out-of-plane needle placement in the robotic group. There was no increase of exposure to radiation to the patient while radiation exposure for the physician was reduced to zero when the navigation system was used.ConclusionCompared to manual placement, the use of a robotic assistance device in out-of-plane CT-guided interventions under general anesthesia allows for probe placement with high precision. Intervention time is reduced with no increase of exposure to radiation to the patient.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Statistical analysis of spatial distribution of pores in metal additive manufacturing

We report mechanical properties of additively manufactured parts are sensitive to the presence of pores form during the manufacturing process. The impact of pores on the mechanical performance has been investigated extensively with respect to different parameters, such as pore volume fraction, shape, and size. However, statistical investigations focusing on the relationships between the spatial distribution of pores and process parameters; and consequently, the performance of the manufactured parts are scattered and limited. Also, these sparse investigations usually suffer from an ambiguous definition of terminologies. For instance, the required criteria to consider a point pattern as complete spatial randomness (CSR) are generally not clarified. Moreover, no numerical formalism is yet developed to show how much the observed spatial results are statistically significant. To address these shortcomings, the statistical definition of CSR in a point pattern and the procedure to quantitatively determine the deviation of a pattern from CSR were discussed. The explained statistical approach was used to investigate the effect of scanning speed parameter on the spatial distribution of gas pores in laser powder bed fusion manufactured stainless steel parts. Furthermore, and to highlight the impact of the spatial distribution of pores on mechanical properties, fatigue performances of parts with clustered and randomly distributed pores were simulated by finite element analysis. It is shown that by reducing the scanning speed, the spatial distribution of gas pores deviated more from CSR, and correspondingly fatigue performance deteriorated.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Galaxy bias in the era of LSST: perturbative bias expansions

Upcoming imaging surveys will allow for high signal-to-noise measurements of galaxy clustering at small scales. In this work, we present the results of the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) bias challenge, the goal of which is to compare the performance of different nonlinear galaxy bias models in the context of LSST Year 10 (Y10) data. Specifically, we compare two perturbative approaches, Lagrangian perturbation theory (LPT) and Eulerian perturbation theory (EPT) to two variants of Hybrid Effective Field Theory (HEFT), with our fiducial implementation of these models including terms up to second order in the bias expansion as well as nonlocal bias and deviations from Poissonian stochasticity. Here, we consider a variety of different simulated galaxy samples and test the performance of the bias models in a tomographic joint analysis of LSST-Y10-like galaxy clustering, galaxy-galaxy-lensing and cosmic shear. We find both HEFT methods as well as LPT and EPT combined with non-perturbative predictions for the matter power spectrum to yield unbiased constraints on cosmological parameters up to at least a maximal scale of k max = 0.4 Mpc -1 for all samples considered, even in the presence of assembly bias. While we find that we can reduce the complexity of the bias model for HEFT without compromising fit accuracy, this is not generally the case for the perturbative models. We find significant detections of non-Poissonian stochasticity in all cases considered, and our analysis shows evidence that small-scale galaxy clustering predominantly improves constraints on galaxy bias rather than cosmological parameters. These results therefore suggest that the systematic uncertainties associated with current nonlinear bias models are likely to be subdominant compared to other sources of error for tomographic analyses of upcoming photometric surveys, which bodes well for future galaxy clustering analyses using these high signal-to-noise data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Microstructure Scale Lithium-Ion Battery Modeling: Part II. On In-Plane Heterogeneities and the Mechanisms that Regulate Them

Li-ion batteries performance and degradation are typically modeled at the macroscopic scale, that is neglecting in-plane heterogeneities that can arise from non-uniform electrode microstructures. Herein, a microstructure scale electrochemical model is used to quantify the impact of microstructure heterogeneity on cell performance during fast charging. The model predicts the electrolyte and solid concentration in-plane standard deviation can reach, respectively, ≈200 mol·m −3 and 6–7 kmol·m −3 locally. Further, the intercalation current density in-plane relative standard deviation can reach extremely high values, around 100% in the cathode and well above 100% in the anode graphite. These denote highly non-uniform lithiation rates and material utilization within each slice of the microstructure along the cell thickness. Non-uniform curvatures, at the particle scale (surface roughness) and between particles (size distribution), were found to initiate these in-plane heterogeneities, while an OCP-induced mechanism subsequently regulates them. The present model provides new insights into small length scale heterogeneity impact on battery performance not available with standard macro-scale/P2D modeling.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS2014

An Evaluation of a Flight Deck Interval Management Algorithm Including Delayed Target Trajectories

NASA's first Air Traffic Management (ATM) Technology Demonstration (ATD-1) was created to facilitate the transition of mature air traffic management technologies from the laboratory to operational use. The technologies selected for demonstration are the Traffic Management Advisor with Terminal Metering (TMA-TM), which provides precise timebased scheduling in the terminal airspace; Controller Managed Spacing (CMS), which provides controllers with decision support tools enabling precise schedule conformance; and Interval Management (IM), which consists of flight deck automation that enables aircraft to achieve or maintain precise in-trail spacing. During high demand operations, TMA-TM may produce a schedule and corresponding aircraft trajectories that include delay to ensure that a particular aircraft will be properly spaced from other aircraft at each schedule waypoint. These delayed trajectories are not communicated to the automation onboard the aircraft, forcing the IM aircraft to use the published speeds to estimate the target aircraft's estimated time of arrival. As a result, the aircraft performing IM operations may follow an aircraft whose TMA-TM generated trajectories have substantial speed deviations from the speeds expected by the spacing algorithm. Previous spacing algorithms were not designed to handle this magnitude of uncertainty. A simulation was conducted to examine a modified spacing algorithm with the ability to follow aircraft flying delayed trajectories. The simulation investigated the use of the new spacing algorithm with various delayed speed profiles and wind conditions, as well as several other variables designed to simulate real-life variability. The results and conclusions of this study indicate that the new spacing algorithm generally exhibits good performance; however, some types of target aircraft speed profiles can cause the spacing algorithm to command less than optimal speed control behavior.

Swieringa, Kurt A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Space Shuttle Main Engine performance analysis

For a number of years, NASA has relied primarily upon periodically updated versions of Rocketdyne's power balance model (PBM) to provide space shuttle main engine (SSME) steady-state performance prediction. A recent computational study indicated that PBM predictions do not satisfy fundamental energy conservation principles. More recently, SSME test results provided by the Technology Test Bed (TTB) program have indicated significant discrepancies between PBM flow and temperature predictions and TTB observations. Results of these investigations have diminished confidence in the predictions provided by PBM, and motivated the development of new computational tools for supporting SSME performance analysis. A multivariate least squares regression algorithm was developed and implemented during this effort in order to efficiently characterize TTB data. This procedure, called the 'gains model,' was used to approximate the variation of SSME performance parameters such as flow rate, pressure, temperature, speed, and assorted hardware characteristics in terms of six assumed independent influences. These six influences were engine power level, mixture ratio, fuel inlet pressure and temperature, and oxidizer inlet pressure and temperature. A BFGS optimization algorithm provided the base procedure for determining regression coefficients for both linear and full quadratic approximations of parameter variation. Statistical information relative to data deviation from regression derived relations was also computed. A new strategy for integrating test data with theoretical performance prediction was also investigated. The current integration procedure employed by PBM treats test data as pristine and adjusts hardware characteristics in a heuristic manner to achieve engine balance. Within PBM, this integration procedure is called 'data reduction.' By contrast, the new data integration procedure, termed 'reconciliation,' uses mathematical optimization techniques, and requires both measurement and balance uncertainty estimates. The reconciler attempts to select operational parameters that minimize the difference between theoretical prediction and observation. Selected values are further constrained to fall within measurement uncertainty limits and to satisfy fundamental physical relations (mass conservation, energy conservation, pressure drop relations, etc.) within uncertainty estimates for all SSME subsystems. The parameter selection problem described above is a traditional nonlinear programming problem. The reconciler employs a mixed penalty method to determine optimum values of SSME operating parameters associated with this problem formulation.

Santi, L. Michael↗
DOE OSTI2014

A microfabricated electroosmotic pump coupled to a gas-diffusion microchip for flow injection analysis of ammonia

Here we have microfabricated two functional components toward developing a microchip flow injection analysis (FIA) system, i.e., an open-channel electroosmotic pump and a gas-diffusion chip, consisting of two microfabricated glass wafers and a porous polytetrafluoroethylene membrane. This is the first application of gas-diffusion separation in a microchip FIA system. To demonstrate the feasibility of using these two components for performing gas-diffusion FIA, we have incorporated them together with a regular FIA injection valve and a capillary electrophoresis absorbance detector in a flow injection system for determination of ammonia in environmental water samples. This system has a limit of detection of 0.10 mg L -1 NH 3 , with a good repeatability (relative standard deviation of less than 5 % for 4.0 mg L - 1 NH 3 ). We also discuss parameters affecting its performance.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

The effect of laser spot shapes on polar-direct-drive implosions on the National Ignition Facility

Ongoing polar-direct-drive (PDD) implosions on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [J. D. Lindl and E. I. Moses, Phys. Plasmas 18, 050901 (2011)] use existing NIF hardware, including indirect-drive phase plates. This limits the performance achievable in these implosions. Spot shapes are identified that significantly improve the uniformity of PDD NIF implosions; outer surface deviation is reduced by a factor of 7 at the end of the laser pulse and hot-spot distortion is reduced by a factor of 2 when the shell has converged by a factor of ∼10. As a result, the neutron yield increases by approximately a factor of 2. This set of laser spot shapes is a combination of circular and elliptical spots, along with elliptical spot shapes modulated by an additional higher-intensity ellipse offset from the center of the beam. This combination is motivated in this paper. It is also found that this improved implosion uniformity is obtained independent of the heat conduction model. This work indicates that significant improvement in performance can be obtained robustly with the proposed spot shapes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1984

A statistical evaluation and comparison of VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) data

In order to account for the temporal and spatial discrepancies between the VAS and rawinsonde soundings, the rawinsonde data were adjusted to a common hour of release where the new observation time corresponded to the satellite scan time. Both the satellite and rawinsonde observations of the basic atmospheric parameters (T Td, and Z) were objectively analyzed to a uniform grid maintaining the same mesoscale structure in each data set. The performance of each retrieval algorithm in producing accurate and representative soundings was evaluated using statistical parameters such as the mean, standard deviation, and root mean square of the difference fields for each parameter and grid level. Horizontal structure was also qualitatively evaluated by examining atmospheric features on constant pressure surfaces. An analysis of the vertical structure of the atmosphere were also performed by looking at colocated and grid mean vertical profiles of both the satellite and rawinsonde data sets. Highlights of these results are presented.

Jedlovec, G. J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal hydraulic analysis of the AFIP-7 irradiation test in the Advanced test Reactor – Model correlation and performance evaluation

We report as a system level code, RELAP5 is widely used in the nuclear field for the reactor hydraulic analysis. In the component/experimental level, it is frequently employed as well. This paper demonstrates that the RELAP5 flow simulation of the AFIP-7 irradiation experiment which has a complicated 3D geometry/flow path deviates by ~28% from the flow evaluation through a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, which has been validated against a flow test performed at Oregon State University. Thermal safety compliance analysis of an experiment planned to be irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor is usually performed using the finite element analysis code, Abaqus. This research reveals the disadvantages of the Abaqus simulation in the flow instability and departure from nucleate boiling evaluations via a conjugate heat transfer analysis of the AFIP-7 irradiation experiment. As a result, a detailed CFD simulation is suggested for irradiation experiments with complicated flow paths, rather than a simplified RELAP5 simulation or hand calculations. The validated simulation approach will be integrated with the Boehmite correlations to investigate the oxide growth prediction on the fuel cladding in Part II of this research.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS2011

MesoNAM Verification Phase II

The 45th Weather Squadron Launch Weather Officers use the 12-km resolution North American Mesoscale model (MesoNAM) forecasts to support launch weather operations. In Phase I, the performance of the model at KSC/CCAFS was measured objectively by conducting a detailed statistical analysis of model output compared to observed values. The objective analysis compared the MesoNAM forecast winds, temperature, and dew point to the observed values from the sensors in the KSC/CCAFS wind tower network. In Phase II, the AMU modified the current tool by adding an additional 15 months of model output to the database and recalculating the verification statistics. The bias, standard deviation of bias, Root Mean Square Error, and Hypothesis test for bias were calculated to verify the performance of the model. The results indicated that the accuracy decreased as the forecast progressed, there was a diurnal signal in temperature with a cool bias during the late night and a warm bias during the afternoon, and there was a diurnal signal in dewpoint temperature with a low bias during the afternoon and a high bias during the late night.

Watson, Leela R.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Advanced Burner Reactor with Breed-and-Burn Thorium Blankets for Improved Economics and Resource Utilization

This study assesses the feasibility of designing Seed and Blanket (S&B) Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) to generate a significant fraction of the core power from radial thorium fueled blankets that operate on the Breed-and-Burn (B&B) mode without exceeding the radiation damage constraint of presently verified cladding materials. The S&B core is designed to maximize the fraction of neutrons that radially leak from the seed (or “driver”) into the subcritical blanket and reduce neutron loss via axial leakage. The blanket in the S&B core makes beneficial use of the leaking neutrons for improved economics and resource utilization. A specific objective of this study is to maximize the fraction of core power that can be generated by the blanket without violating the thermal hydraulic and material constraints. Since the blanket fuel requires no reprocessing along with remote fuel fabrication, a larger fraction of power from the blanket will result in a smaller fuel recycling capacity and lower fuel cycle cost per unit of electricity generated. A unique synergism is found between a low conversion ratio (CR) seed and a B&B blanket fueled by thorium. Among several benefits, this synergism enables the very low leakage S&B cores to have small positive coolant voiding reactivity coefficient and large enough negative Doppler coefficient even when using inert matrix fuel for the seed. The benefits of this synergism are maximized when using an annular seed surrounded by an inner and outer thorium blankets. Among the high-performance S&B cores designed to benefit from this unique synergism are: (1) the ultra-long cycle core that features a cycle length of ~7 years; (2) the high-transmutation rate core where the seed fuel features a TRU CR of 0.0. Its TRU transmutation rate is comparable to that of the reference Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR) with CR of 0.5 and the thorium blanket can generate close to 60% of the core power; but requires only one sixth of the reprocessing and fabrication capacity per unit of core power. Nevertheless, these high-performance cores were designed to set upper bounds on the S&B core performance by using larger height and pressure drop than those of typical SFR design. A study was subsequently undertaken to quantify the tradeoff between S&B core design variables and the core performance. This study concludes that a viable S&B core can be designed without significant deviation from SFR core design practices. For example, the S&B core with 120cm active height will be comparable in volume, HM mass and specific power with the S-PRISM core and could fit within the S-PRISM reactor vessel. 43% of this core power will be generated by the once-through thorium blanket; the required capacity for reprocessing and remote fuel fabrication per unit of electricity generated will be approximately one fifth of that for a comparable ABR. The sodium void worth of this 120cm tall S&B core is significantly less positive than that of the reference ABR and the Doppler coefficient is only slightly smaller even though the seed uses a fertile-free fuel. The seed in the high transmutation core requires inert matrix fuel (TRU-40Zr) that has been successfully irradiated by the Fuel Cycle Research & Development program. An additional sensitivity analysis was later conducted to remove the bias introduced by the discrepancy between radiation damage constraints -- 200 DPA applied for S&B cores and fast fluence of 4x1023 n(>0.1MeV)/cm2 applied for ABR core design. Although the performance characteristics of the S&B cores are sensitive to the radiation damage constraint applied, the S&B cores offer very significant performance improvements relative to the conventional ABR core design when using identical constraint.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Influence of store dimensions and auxiliary volume configuration on the performance of medium-sized solar combisystems

To increase the fractional energy savings achieved with solar thermal combisystems the store volume may be increased. Installation of large stores in single-family houses is, however, often limited by space constraints. In this article the influence of the store dimensions, as well as internal and external auxiliary volume configurations, are investigated for large solar water stores by annual dynamic TRNSYS simulations. The results show that store sizes up to 4 m{sup 3} may be used in solar heating systems with 30 m{sup 2} collector area. It is further shown that well-insulated stores are rather insensitive to the geometry. Stores deviating from the conventional dimensions still yield high fractional energy savings. Furthermore, the simulations show that the performance of an internal auxiliary volume configuration in most cases exceeds that of a solution with an external auxiliary unit. The practical limitations of very thin auxiliary volumes must, however, be further investigated. (author)

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Fire Safety Tests for Spherical Resorcinol Formaldehyde Resin: Data Summary Report

A draft safety evaluation of the scenario for spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (SRF) resin fire inside the ion exchange column was performed by the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Fire Safety organization. The result of this draft evaluation suggested a potential change of the fire safety classification for the Cesium Ion Exchange Process System (CXP) emergency elution vessels, equipment, and piping, which may be overly bounding based on the fire performance data from the manufacturer of the ion exchange resin selected for use at the WTP. To resolve this question, the fire properties of the SRF resin were measured by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), following the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard procedures, through a subcontract managed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). For some tests, the ASTM standard procedures were not entirely appropriate or practical for the SRF resin material, so the procedures were modified and deviations from the ASTM standard procedures were noted. This report summarizes the results of fire safety tests performed and reported by SwRI. The efforts by PNNL were limited to summarizing the test results provided by SwRI into one consolidated data report. All as-received SwRI reports are attached to this report in the Appendix. Where applicable, the precision and bias of each test method, as given by each ASTM standard procedure, are included and compared with the SwRI test results of the SRF resin.

cesium ion exchange↗
DOE OSTI2020

Quantum Critical Higgs: from AdS 5 to colliders

We examine distinctive signatures of Quantum Critical Higgs models at the LHC and future higher energy colliders. In these models the Higgs boson is part of a conformal sector that is softly broken at a threshold scale, and generically the scaling dimension of the Higgs is larger than in the Standard Model. In particular we examine the gg → H → ZZ, gg → H → γγ, and gg → Z → H Z channels to see how the cross sections deviate from the Standard Model in the high invariant mass region. In order to perform the calculations we use 5D duals of Quantum Critical Higgs models using the AdS/CFT correspondence, with a soft wall to break the conformal symmetry.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Real-Time US-{sup 18}FDG-PET/CT Image Fusion for Guidance of Thermal Ablation of {sup 18}FDG-PET-Positive Liver Metastases: The Added Value of Contrast Enhancement

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of US-{sup 18}FDG-PET/CT fusion-guided microwave ablation of liver metastases either poorly visible or totally undetectable with US, CEUS and CT, but visualized by PET imaging. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three patients with 58 liver metastases underwent microwave ablation guided by image fusion system that combines US with {sup 18}FDG-PET/CT images. In 28/58 tumors, {sup 18}FDG-PET/CT with contrast medium (PET/CECT) was used. The registration technical feasibility, registration time, rates of correct targeting, technical success at 24 h, final result at 1 year and complications were analyzed and compared between the PET/CT and PET/CECT groups. Results: Registration was successfully performed in all cases with a mean time of 7.8 + 1.7 min (mean + standard deviation), (4.6 + 1.5 min for PET/CECT group versus 10.9 + 1.8 min for PET/CT group, P < 0.01). In total, 46/58 (79.3%) tumors were correctly targeted, while 3/28 (10.7%) and 9/30 (30%) were incorrectly targeted in PET/CT and PET/CECT group, respectively (P < 0.05). Complete ablation was obtained at 24 h in 70.0% of cases (n = 40 tumors), 23/28 (82.1%) in the PET/CECT group and 17/30 (56.7%) in the PET/CT group (P < 0.037). Fourteen tumors underwent local retreatment (11 ablations, 2 with resection and 1 with stereotactic body radiation therapy), while 4 tumors could not be retreated because of distant disease progression and underwent systemic therapy. Finally, 54/58 (93.1%) tumors were completely treated at 1 year. One major complication occurred, a gastrointestinal hemorrhage which required surgical repair. Conclusions: Percutaneous ablation of {sup 18}FDG-PET-positive liver metastases using fusion imaging of real-time US and pre-acquired {sup 18}FDG-PET/CT images is feasible, safe and effective. Contrast-enhanced PET/CT improves overall ablation accuracy and shortens procedural duration time.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Identifying crack tip position and stress intensity factors from displacement data

Fracture prognosis and characterization efforts require knowledge of crack tip position and the Stress Intensity Factors (SIFs) acting in the vicinity of the crack. Here, in this work, we present an efficient numerical approach to infer both of these characteristics under a consistent theoretical framework from noisy, unstructured displacement data. The novel approach utilizes the separability of the asymptotic linear elastic fracture mechanics fields to expedite the search for crack tip position and is particularly useful for noisy displacement data. The manuscript begins with an assessment of the importance of accurately locating crack tip position when quantifying the SIFs from displacement data. Next, the proposed separability approach for quickly inferring crack tip position is introduced. Comparing to the widely used displacement correlation approach, the performance of the separability approach is assessed. Cases involving both noisy data and systematic deviation from the asymptotic linear elastic fracture mechanics model are considered, e.g. inelastic material behavior and finite geometries. An open source python implementation of the proposed approach is available for use by those doing field and laboratory work involving digital image correlation and simulations, e.g. finite element, discrete element, molecular dynamics and peridynamics, where the crack tip position is not explicitly defined.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab

The upcoming Fermilab E989 experiment will measure the muon anomalous magnetic moment aμ. This measurement is motivated by the previous measurement performed in 2001 by the BNL E821 experiment that reported a 3-4 standard deviation discrepancy between the measured value and the Standard Model prediction. The new measurement at Fermilab aims to improve the precision by a factor of four reducing the total uncertainty from 540 parts per billion (BNL E821) to 140 parts per billion (Fermilab E989). This paper gives the status of the experiment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗