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At least 595 records · Page 33

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ICME: The Design of Fit-for-Purpose Materials

With the increased emphasis on reducing the cost and time to market of new materials, ICME (Integrated Computational Materials Engineering) has become a fast growing discipline within materials science and engineering. The vision of ICME is compelling in many respects, not only for the value added in reducing time to market for new products with advanced, tailored materials, but also for enhanced efficiency and performance of these materials. Although the challenges and barriers (both technical and cultural) are formidable, substantial cost, schedule, and technical benefits can result from broad development, implementation, and validation of ICME principles. ICME is an integrated approach to the design of products, and the materials that comprise them, by linking material and structural models at multiple time and length scales. NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technology (TTT) Project sponsored a study (performed by a team led by Pratt & Whitney) in 2016 to define the potential 25-year future state required for integrated multiscale modeling of materials and systems (e.g., load-bearing structures) to accelerate the pace and reduce the expense of innovation in future aerospace and aeronautical systems. This talk will briefly review ICME, the findings of the 2040 Vision study, and discuss NASA’s TTT 2040 implementation activities: with special emphasis on recent accomplishments. The 2040 study, NASA CR 2018- 219771, envisions the development of a cyber-physical-social ecosystem comprised of experimentally verified and validated computational models, tools, and techniques, along with the associated digital tapestry, that impacts the entire supply chain to enable cost-effective, rapid, and revolutionary design of fit-for-purpose materials, components, and systems by enabling the engineer to not only “design-with-the” material but also concurrently “design-the” material.

multiscale analysis↗

DOE OSTI2025

Thermophilic site-specific recombination system for rapid insertion of heterologous DNA into the Clostridium thermocellum chromosome

Clostridium thermocellum is an anaerobic thermophile capable of producing ethanol and other commodity chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. The insertion of heterologous DNA into the C. thermocellum chromosome is currently achieved via a time-consuming homologous recombination process, where a single stable insertion can take 2–4 weeks or more to construct. In this work, we developed a thermostable version of the Serine recombinase Assisted Genome Engineering (tSAGE) approach for gene insertion in C. thermocellum utilizing a site-specific recombinase from Geobacillus sp. Y412MC61, enabling quick and easy insertion of DNA into the chromosome for accelerated genetic tool screening and heterologous gene expression. Using tSAGE, chromosomal insertion of plasmid DNA occurred at a maximum transformation efficiency of 5 × 10 3 CFU/µg, which is comparable to the transformation efficiency of a replicating control plasmid in C. thermocellum. Using tSAGE, we chromosomally integrated and characterized 17 reporter genes, 15 homologous and 31 heterologous constitutive promoters of varying strengths, 4 inducible promoters, and 5 riboswitches in C. thermocellum. We also determined that a 6–7 nucleotide gap between the ribosome binding site (RBS) and the start codon is optimal for high expression by employing a library of superfolder green fluorescent protein expression constructs driven by our strongest tested promoter (P clo1313_1194 ) with different distances between the RBS and start codon. The tools developed here will aid in accelerating C. thermocellum strain engineering for producing sustainable fuels and chemicals directly from plant biomass.

Biofuels↗

DOE OSTI2025

Duality defect in a deformed transverse-field Ising model

Physical quantities with long lifetimes have both theoretical significance in the study of quantum many-body systems and practical implications for quantum technologies. In this manuscript, we investigate the roles played by topological defects in the construction of quasiconserved quantities, using as a prototypical example the Kramers-Wannier duality defect in a deformed one-dimensional quantum transverse-field Ising model. We construct the duality defect Hamiltonian in three different ways: half-chain Kramers-Wannier transformation, utilization of techniques in the Ising fusion category, and defect-modified weak integrability breaking deformation. The third method is also applicable for the study of generic integrable defects under weak integrability breaking deformations. We also work out the deformation of defect-modified higher charges in the model and study their slower decay behavior. Furthermore, we consider the corresponding duality defect twisted deformed Floquet transverse-field Ising model and investigate the stability of the isolated zero mode associated with the duality defect in the integrable Floquet Ising model, under such weak integrability breaking deformation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2024

Enabling Lignin Valorization Through Integrated Advances in Plant Biology and Biorefining

Despite lignin having long been viewed as an impediment to the processing of biomass for the production of paper, biofuels, and high-value chemicals, the valorization of lignin to fuels, chemicals, and materials is now clearly recognized as a critical element for the lignocellulosic bioeconomy. However, the intended application for lignin will likely require a preferred lignin composition and form. To that end, effective lignin valorization will require the integration of plant biology, providing optimal feedstocks, with chemical process engineering, providing efficient lignin transformations. Recent advances in our understanding of lignin biosynthesis have shown that lignin structure is extremely diverse and potentially tunable, while simultaneous developments in lignin refining have resulted in the development of several processes that are more agnostic to lignin composition. Here, we review the interface between in planta lignin design and lignin processing and discuss the advances necessary for lignin valorization to become a feature of advanced biorefining.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Reinventing wastewater treatment plants: energy neutral treatment and enhanced fertilizer production through a novel resource recovery center

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are typically energy intensive, mainly due to the secondary treatment processes such as activated sludge (AS) for treatment of organics as well as nutrients like nitrogen. Nitrogen removal presents a big problem for WWTPs. The main form of nitrogen in wastewater is ammonium, and an AS process uses oxygen to convert ammonium into nitrite and nitrate which is then converted to nitrogen through denitrification process. During anaerobic digestion (AD), organic nitrogen gets degraded, resulting in an effluent stream (centrate) with a high nitrogen content, mostly in the form of ammonium. This contributes 15-30% of total nitrogen to the wastewater influent which further increases energy consumption for aeration. The project aims to transform this conventional municipal WWTPs into energy-neutral, resource-recovering facilities by integrating three core technologies: • Cloth Media Filtration (CMF) to replace conventional primary sedimentation (CPS) and increase the diversion of organics from the energy intensive secondary treatment to AD. This results in reduced energy demand for aeration in the secondary process while simultaneously increasing the biogas production in the anaerobic digesters. • Anerobic Digester to increase biogas and ammonia production. • Membrane Evaporation (ME) to recover ammonia from AD centrate and produce marketable fertilizer. The benefits of proposed WWTP process modifications were evaluated using techno economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). For CMF portion of the research a statistical analysis was employed to develop data-driven tools that could be used to enhance and optimize its performance in terms of energy savings and effluent quality. The main objective of this project is to reduce the energy demand for secondary treatment at municipal WWTPs by at least 50%, increase anaerobic digester (AD) biogas and ammonia production by 100% and 120%, respectively, and recover 90% of ammonia from the AD. Integrated CMF, AD, and ME was shown to work synergistically toward achieving these decarbonization targets through energy-positive treatment and fertilizer recovery techniques.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Phylogenomic discovery and engineering of nitrogen fixation into the bioenergy woody crop poplar

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a key process enabling plants in specific lineages to convert atmospheric dinitrogen (N₂) into bioavailable ammonia through symbioses with diazotrophic microbes. Expanding this capability beyond native nitrogen-fixing clades into non-nodulating crops would reduce synthetic fertilizer use, lowering energy inputs and environmental impacts in agriculture. Supported by DOE Funding Award DE-SC0018247, the NitFix project advanced foundational knowledge required to engineer root-nodule symbioses in new host species. The team generated the most comprehensive phylogenomic analysis to date of all known nodulating lineages, resolving the evolutionary history of nitrogen-fixing symbiosis and identifying core gene suites retained across nodulating taxa. Through multimodal genomics, transcriptomics, and functional analyses in Medicago truncatula and related species, the project mapped regulatory networks underlying nodule organogenesis, bacterial infection, and nitrogen-fixation efficiency. Key discoveries include the identification of conserved signaling modules for rhizobial recognition, transcription factors controlling nodule differentiation, and metabolic pathways integrating fixed nitrogen into plant growth. The project also developed enabling tools—including optimized transformation pipelines, gene-editing workflows, and imaging-based phenotyping—to accelerate engineering efforts in emerging models. Together, these results refine the mechanistic framework of symbiotic nitrogen fixation and highlight transferable components essential for rewiring these traits into non-nodulating crops.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Final Report: Process Intensification of Hydrogen Production through Sorption-Enhanced Gasification of Biomass

The University of Utah, in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), evaluated Sorption-Enhanced Gasification (SEG) as a transformative pathway for producing hydrogen with the potential for negative CO 2 emissions. SEG integrates gasification, water-gas shift, and in-situ carbon capture within a dual fluidized bed reactor to enable efficient clean hydrogen production. Key challenges related to biomass variability and process complexity were addressed through feedstock engineering, reaction optimization, and process validation. A co-pelletized biomass–limestone feedstock was developed to simplify feeding and introduction of makeup limestone. Kinetic and sorbent studies identified optimal operating conditions and confirmed the suitability of low-cost limestone, while catalysts were developed to reduce tar formation. Reactor modeling and techno-economic analysis indicated that SEG can achieve competitive hydrogen production costs, particularly when combined with carbon incentives, supporting its potential for scale-up and carbon-negative operation.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2026

Loss of Glen Canyon Dam Hydropower Plant Capabilities

The power grid in the western United States is undergoing a major transformation, driven by technological advancements, power markets, policy shifts, and evolving energy demands. The integration of variable renewable energy (VRE) resources, such as wind and solar, into the power grid has become a major driver of change. Between 2018 and 2023, about 19 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity and 14 GW of new wind capacity was built in the Western Interconnection (WI) region. These two VRE resources accounted for the majority of WI capacity additions. The Western Interconnection is expected to host 30 GW of wind, 40 GW of solar, and 14 GW of energy storage by 2030 (Western Electricity Coordinating Council n.d.).

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1971

Earth physics and phase transformations program: A concept and proposal

A program to study the geophysical characteristics of the earth is presented as an integration of the different disciplines that constitute the earth sciences, through the foundation of a generalized geodynamic theory of earth physics. A program is considered for defining the physical constants of the earth's material which parametrize the hydrodynamic equation in the microscopic solid state behavior of the crystals of the lithosphere. In addition, in order to lay the foundation for a generalized theory in earth physics, specific research areas are considered, such as the nature of the kinetics of the phase transitions in mineral assemblages, the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of crystals which are major constituents of mineral assemblages, and the transport properties of pure crystals which are major constituents of mineral assemblages.

Bonavito, N. L.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Accurate integration of geostationary orbits with Burdet's focal elements

The theory of Burdet's focal elements (1969) is outlined. The differential equations are presented, and the initial value problem is described together with the transformation to rectangular coordinates and classical elements. The focal elements are well defined for zero eccentricity and inclination and can be adopted for the computation of elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic motion. For the numerical integration of near-geostationary orbits, a comparison of the efficiency is made between focal elements, Kustaanheimo-Stiefel (1971) theory, and rectangular coordinates. For this class of orbits, a higher accuracy has been obtained by integrating elements than integrating rectangular coordinates.

Flury, W.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Simple Magnetometer for Autopilots

Simple, low-cost magnetometer is suitable for heading-reference applications in autopilots and other directional control systems. Sensing element utilizes commercially available transformer core; and supporting electronics consist of one transistor, two readily-available integrated-circuit chips, and associated resistors and capacitors.

Garner, H. D.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Photometry, spectrophotometry and polarimetry of comet P/Encke during fall of 1979

Broadband S-20, B and V magnitudes of P/Encke were obtained with the digital area photometer, using an Image Dissector Scanner (IDS) detector on the 2.7 m telescope at McDonald Observatory during August 1979. The notation V(S-20) is used for S-20 magnitudes transformed to V magnitudes. The variation in the V(S20) magnitudes (26, 5 minute integrations) on the best photometric night (21 August) was small and random indicating either a lack of rotational albedo variations or, more likely, a masking of the nucleus by the outburst activity. A spectrum covering the region from 3630 to 4900 A at a resolution of 5 A was obtained on 27 August with the IDS spectrograph. The spectrum was featureless, showing no emission at the CN or CO+ wavelengths.

Barker, E. S.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Aeroelastic tailoring of rotor blades for vibration reduction in forward flight

Modern structural optimization techniques are applied to vibration reduction of helicopter rotor blades in forward flight. The objective function minimized consists of the oscillatory vertical hub shears or the hub rolling moments at one particular advance ratio. The behavior constraints are the frequency placements of the blade and the requirement that aeroelastic stability margins, in hover, remain unaffected by the optimization process. The aeroelastic stability and response analysis is based on a fully coupled flap-lag-torsional analysis of the blade. The vertical hub shears and rolling moments used as the objective function are obtained by appropriate integration of the loads acting along the span of the blade combined with a transformation to a hub fixed coordinate system, and a summation over the total number of blades. Numerical results for both a stiff-in-plane and a soft-in-plane configuration are presented, indicating that structural optimization yields the highest benefits when applied to soft-in-plane blade configuration. The results indicate substantial (15-40 percent) reduction in vibration levels, as well as a blade which is 20 percent lighter than the initial design.

Friedmann, P. P.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Intercenter Problem Reporting and Corrective Action System (PRACAS)

The Kennedy Space Center is transforming the PRACA bath automatic data processing (ADP) system of today into a fully integrated data base with on-line update and retrieval capabilities. The present manual system of reporting (Datafax, mail, and telephone) to the off-site design and engineering organizations is to be replaced by direct access to the most current information as it accrues at KSC or VAFB. Two major goals of the Intercenter PRACA are to provide a single data depository for both launch sites and to fully integrate the problem data with engineering data as well as other relevant information. The resulting ADP system can provide a closed loop system for problem reporting, corrective action and recurrence control that should serve the engineering community as well as reliability and quality assurance at the launch sites, KSC and VAFB, and at the design centers, JSC and MSFC.

Brock, G. H.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Wave-packet evolution and quantization

A general relationship is established between wave-packet evolution and quantization in classically integrable systems. Because of wave-packet spreading, one cannot simply take the Fourier transform of the time evolution of a wave-packet. Instead, one must propagate the wave-packet using the actions as Hamiltonians. The energy eigenvalues which result are the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller values, and new forms for the eigenfunctions appear. These are free of caustic singularities, and represent averages of wave packets over the invariant torus.

Littlejohn, R. G.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth observation and model data sets

We propose to develop an interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth science observation and model data sets. We will use a standard scientific data storage format and a large capacity (greater than 20 GB) optical disk system for data management; develop libraries for coordinate transformation and regridding of data sets; modify the NCSA X Image and X Data Slice software for typical Earth observation data sets by including map transformations and missing data handling; develop analysis tools for common mathematical and statistical operations; integrate the components described above into a system for the analysis and comparison of observations and model results; and distribute software and documentation to the scientific community.

Bowman, Kenneth P.↗

NASA NTRS1993

An interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth observation and model data sets

We propose to develop an interactive environment for the analysis of large Earth science observation and model data sets. We will use a standard scientific data storage format and a large capacity (greater than 20 GB) optical disk system for data management; develop libraries for coordinate transformation and regridding of data sets; modify the NCSA X Image and X DataSlice software for typical Earth observation data sets by including map transformations and missing data handling; develop analysis tools for common mathematical and statistical operations; integrate the components described above into a system for the analysis and comparison of observations and model results; and distribute software and documentation to the scientific community.

Bowman, Kenneth P.↗

NASA NTRS2002

The Statistical Mechanics of Ideal Homogeneous Turbulence

Plasmas, such as those found in the space environment or in plasma confinement devices, are often modeled as electrically conducting fluids. When fluids and plasmas are energetically stirred, regions of highly nonlinear, chaotic behavior known as turbulence arise. Understanding the fundamental nature of turbulence is a long-standing theoretical challenge. The present work describes a statistical theory concerning a certain class of nonlinear, finite dimensional, dynamical models of turbulence. These models arise when the partial differential equations describing incompressible, ideal (i.e., nondissipative) homogeneous fluid and magnetofluid (i.e., plasma) turbulence are Fourier transformed into a very large set of ordinary differential equations. These equations define a divergenceless flow in a high-dimensional phase space, which allows for the existence of a Liouville theorem, guaranteeing a distribution function based on constants of the motion (integral invariants). The novelty of these particular dynamical systems is that there are integral invariants other than the energy, and that some of these invariants behave like pseudoscalars under two of the discrete symmetry transformations of physics, parity, and charge conjugation. In this work the 'rugged invariants' of ideal homogeneous turbulence are shown to be the only significant scalar and pseudoscalar invariants. The discovery that pseudoscalar invariants cause symmetries of the original equations to be dynamically broken and induce a nonergodic structure on the associated phase space is the primary result presented here. Applicability of this result to dissipative turbulence is also discussed.

Shebalin, John V.↗