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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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DOE OSTI2017

Building America Case Study: Side-by-Side Testing of Water Heating Systems: Results from the 2013–2014 Evaluation Final Report

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) has completed a fourth year-long evaluation on residential hot water heating systems in a laboratory environment (east central Florida, hot-humid climate). This report contains a summary of research activities regarding the evaluation of two residential electric heat pump water heaters (HPWHs), a solar thermal system utilizing a polymer glazed absorber and a high efficiency natural gas system.

BA-PIRC↗

DOE OSTI2017

Building America Case Study: Side-by-Side Testing of Water Heating Systems: Results from 2013-2014 Evaluation Final Report, Cocoa, FL

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2023

Improvements in Reflected Target Non-intrusive Assessment (ReTNA)

Accurate optical surfaces are a primary driver of concentrated solar power plant performance. Errors in pointing and tracking mirrors, the canting of individual mirror facets, and the surface slope of the mirror itself can be caused by errors during assembly, transportation, wind loading, gravity, and many other sources. The tools that exist to measure these error sources today largely rely on fringe deflectometry (SOFAST, QDec, others), or photogrammetry with targets attached to the mirror surface. In 2022, NREL presented a new indoor optical measurement system to measure fully assembled heliostats during development and on the assembly line for quality assurance purposes, which has undergone significant development in the last year, including the installation of a new, larger laboratory setup. This system, called ReTNA (Reflected Target Non-intrusive Assessment), uses a printed pattern as a deflectometry target. Using printed pattern features as deflectometry targets instead of fringes allows the software to measure the surface slope in two dimensions, eliminating the need to for changing, projected targets. In the last year, NREL's ReTNA tool has been adapted to use a tall, thin target, that only spans one dimension of the mirror, and a camera moving on an automatic track system. We will present these new developments, including the new setup, target patterns, software methodology for fast, automatic optical analysis, and important lessons learned throughout the process. ReTNA results will be compared to established tools, to establish the uncertainty of this new method. ReTNA leverages recent improvements in computer vision and photogrammetry to remove as much careful calibration from the setup process as possible, making the tool low cost, simple, and portable. While it will not achieve the resolution of a fringe deflectometry system, its advantages make it well suited for CSP evaluation, and allow it to fill a different industry need.

concentrating solar power↗

DOE OSTI2026

Autonomous elemental characterization enabled by a low cost robotic platform built upon a generalized software architecture

Despite the rapidly growing applications of robots in industry, the use of robots to automate tasks in scientific laboratories is less prolific due to the lack of generalized methodologies and the high cost of hardware. This paper focuses on the automation of characterization tasks necessary for reducing cost while maintaining generalization and proposes a software architecture for building robotic systems in scientific laboratory environments. A dual-layer (Socket.IO and ROS) action server design is the basic building block, which facilitates the implementation of a web-based front end for user-friendly operation and the use of ROS Behavior Trees for convenient task planning and execution. A robotic platform for automating mineral and material sample characterization is built upon the architecture, with an open-source, low-cost three-axis computer numerical control gantry system serving as the main robot. A handheld laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analyzer is integrated with a 3D printed adapter, enabling (1) automated 2D chemical mapping and (2) autonomous sample measurement (with the support of an RGB-Depth camera). We demonstrate the utility of automated chemical mapping by scanning the surface of a spodumene-bearing pegmatite core sample with a 1071-point dense hyperspectral map acquired at a rate of 1520 bits per second. Furthermore, we showcase the autonomy of the platform in terms of perception, dynamic decision-making, and execution, through a case study of LIBS measurement of multiple mineral samples. The platform enables controlled and autonomous chemical quantification in the laboratory that complements field-based measurements acquired with the same handheld device, linking resource exploration and processing steps in the supply chain for lithium-based battery materials.

Cao, Xuan [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (↗

DOE OSTI2019

Screening of Gel Formation Methods in Paraffin Based Systems

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has evaluated gel formation in kerosene using a lecithin-based system, the aluminum soap of naphthenic and palmitic acid or derivatives, and an acrylamide copolymerization. Some gelling was observed in the lecithin system, but not sufficient gelling to meet the customer’s needs. The napthenic systems provided a good degree of gelling yet required a larger wt.% than the customer desires. The acrylamide copolymerization gels easily in aqueous systems yet does not extend to an organic system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2021

About the Complex Natural and Engineered Systems Pillar

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a world leader in applying multi-disciplinary science to complex systems within the Complex Natural and Engineered Systems (CNES) challenge areas. Our search for solutions requires science and technology innovation, as well as an integrated experiment, theory, and modeling and simulation approach. Our research and development spans from improving engineered systems such as nuclear weapons and the power grid, to understanding the interface of human and engineered systems from the subsurface to space, to studying how complex natural systems such as disease and climate impact humanity.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Dynamic cycling enhances battery lifetime

Laboratory aging campaigns benchmark and elucidate the complex degradation behavior of lithium-ion batteries, and are critical not only for developing new battery chemistries and cell designs but also for engineering reliable battery management systems. Critically, these laboratory experiments aim to quantify and capture realistic aging mechanisms. In this study, we systematically compare dynamic discharge profiles representative of electric vehicle driving to the well-accepted constant-current profiles. Surprisingly, we discovered that dynamic discharge enhances lifetime substantially compared to constant current discharge. Specifically, for the same average current and voltage window, varying the dynamic discharge profile leads to an increase of up to 38 % in equivalent full cycles at end-of-life. Explainable machine learning reveals the importance of low-frequency current pulses as well as time-induced aging under these realistic discharge conditions. Our work quantifies the importance of evaluating new battery chemistries and designs with realistic load profiles, and highlights the opportunities to revisit our understanding of aging mechanisms at the chemistry, materials, and cell levels.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2022

New Industry Partnerships: Solar Energy Technologies Office Support for Early Projects in the Energy Systems Integration Facility: An Agreement Closeout Summary Report

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)-funded New Industry Partnerships (NIPs) agreement established multiple new cooperative research projects with industry partners. Each project demonstrated the use of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) as a national asset for research and development, testing, and validation of new technologies to support high penetrations of solar energy on the electric grid. The agreement was launched in 2013 and represented the SETO portion of the DOE EERE-wide Integrated Network Testbed for Energy Grid Research and Technology Experimentation (INTEGRATE) program. The focus of INTEGRATE was on multi-energy system testing and on testing the interactions of energy systems with information technology, communications, and telecommunications (ICT) systems. The NIPs agreement was a bit different from traditional research projects because it was specifically structured to enable partnerships for ESIF testing and as such required at least a 1:1 funds-in cost share from industry partners. In the end, the project engaged six different industry partnerships and resulted in testing a large number of innovative technologies. These included tiny inverters; power-to-gas technologies; and advanced simulation, analysis, and power-hardware-in-the-loop testing techniques. The agreement also provided significant impact for both research and industrial communities. This summary report provides a brief, high-level overview of these projects and their highlights along with lists of citations and other impacts. Readers are referred to the corresponding project reports for more in-depth information.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Modeling and simulation study for the design of the Fuel Interrogation and Examination using Submersible Tomography Analysis Mk II instrument

Here, the design of a submersible, gamma-ray tomography system for imaging irradiated nuclear fuel is described. The system—named Fuel Interrogation and Examination using Submersible Tomography Analysis (FIESTA) Mk. II—is a variation on a previous Mk. I I design, which was developed to non-destructively image fuel capsules irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. The FIESTA system uses a combination of transmission computed tomography and emission computed tomography to image the restructuring and fission product migration at different points of burnup. Changes made to FIESTA Mk. I reflect the revised design requirements and a need to reduce background noise, largely originating from downscattered photons from fuel and transmission source. The computational design and radiation transport simulations are described.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗

DOE OSTI2025

Commission < 5 µm spatial resolution x-ray imager for High Resolution Turbulence experiments

This report presents the successful development, commissioning, and deployment of the Scintillation-Based X-ray Imager (SBXI) for the High-Resolution Turbulence (HRT) campaign at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The SBXI system was designed to overcome the spatial resolution and efficiency limitations of conventional x-ray imaging detectors. Through careful system engineering, rigorous laboratory characterization, and experimental validation at NIF, the SBXI has demonstrated spatial resolution at the object plane of 5 μm (±0.5 μm) and a detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of 34% at 7.2 keV, both of which surpass the requirements set by the campaign, and meeting the L2 milestone. The system’s deployment enables high-fidelity imaging of fine-scale hydrodynamic instabilities, directly supporting advanced turbulence model validation and future high energy density physics research.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2023

Spallation Neutron Source Hydrogen Relief Analysis for the Cryogenic Moderator System

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory operates the Cryogenic Moderator System (CMS) which provides hydrogen cooling at 20K to three neutron moderators. Each hydrogen loop is protected by multiple burst discs and reclosing relief valves. As a result of the Proton Power Upgrade project, the CMS moderator loops will hold more hydrogen and thus require piping modifications. Operational experience has demonstrated that transient pressure increases in these hydrogen loops occasionally result in the rupture of the burst discs. The causes for pressure transients in the system that might lead to hydrogen venting are varied and complex, for example loss of vacuum or cooling. Dynamic simulation and analysis of the parameters considered as the worst-case relief venting scenario were performed and will be presented.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2019

Design of Fieldable Head Space Manifold

A system has been designed and built to meet the expected requirements for sampling large UF 6 cylinders in the field and to provide similar purification and analyses to those currently performed for 1S and 2S samples at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The system was designed to be modular, allowing flexibility to perform under a variety of conditions. At a minimum, a large cylinder can be accessed to collect head space samples. These samples can additionally be processed in the field to generate 10 cc purified samples that should be similar to ones currently generated at ORNL from sampling of smaller cylinders. Variable inlet mass spectrometer operation can be performed at the time of purification or at a different location on a purified sample. This design should allow collection, processing and analysis of one extracted sample per day based on similar operations using the ORNL manifold. Reduced operations can be performed at a slightly faster rate although movement between cylinders does require time to evacuate and dry the connection adequately for accessing the UF 6 head space.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Commercialization of Reflected Target Non-Intrusive Assessment (ReTNA) Tool, for Indoor Optical Analysis of Heliostats

Under HelioCon, NLR began developing a new optical measurement system, called Reflected Target Non-Intrusive Assessment (ReTNA). ReTNA has shown promise towards addressing metrology gaps for heliostat used in concentrated solar thermal (CST) plant. This project is focused on advancing this measurement system from the laboratory into industry, where it can provide valuable information for heliostat developers during research, development, and qualification of a heliostat design, and be used for quality assurance during heliostat manufacture. Over the course of this project, ReTNA was deployed at several commercial heliostat facilities. The system developed and deployed with the primary project partner, Solar Dynamics LLC, is described in detail. The report discusses each project Milestone, the ending status, the achieved value, and how these Milestones improve and qualify the ReTNA measurement tool. Finally, the final report covers the market advancements, path forward, commercial successes, and lessons learned. Final Technical report for TCF Base Technology-Specific project TCF-23-20118, Commercialization of Reflected Target Non-Intrusive Assessment (ReTNA) tool, for indoor optical analysis of Heliostats.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2016

The Laboratory for Laser Energetics’ Hydrogen Isotope Separation System

Not Available

Shmayda, W. T.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Characterizing novel Indium Phosphide pad detectors with focused X-ray beams and laboratory tests

Future tracking systems in High Energy Physics experiments will require large instrumented areas with low radiation length. Crystalline silicon sensors have been used in tracking systems for decades, but are difficult to manufacture and costly to produce for large areas. We are exploring alternative sensor materials that are amenable to fast fabrication techniques used for thin film devices. Indium Phosphide pad sensors were fabricated at Argonne National Lab using commercially available InP:Fe 2-inch mono-crystal substrates. Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characterizations were performed to study the basic operating characteristics of a group of sensors. Micro-focused X-ray beams at Canadian Light Source and Diamond Light Source were used to study the response to ionizing radiation, and characterize the uniformity of the response for several devices. Electrical test results showed a high degree of performance uniformity between the 48 tested devices. X-ray test beam results showed good performance uniformity within tested devices after accounting for spatially-local defects and edge fields. As a result, this motivates further studies into thin film devices for future tracking detectors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2013

Improved Processing of High Alloy Steels for Wear Components in Energy Generation Systems, Transportation and Manufacturing Systems

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in Partnership with Avure Technologies Inc. and Carpenter Technology Corporation, explored methods to improve durability of steels considered essential to bearings in wind turbine applications by using hot isostatic pressing of steel alloy powders as a manufacturing method. The objective of the project was to evaluate the wear mechanism of selected high alloy tool steels, 440C, 440XH, and M62, fabricated by powder metallurgy (PM) techniques via the hot isostatic press (HIP) process, and compare these results to two conventionally produced wrought alloys, 52100 and M50. Samples from the five candidate metals were characterized microstructurally via optical and scanning microscopy methods. A micro-pit wear testing machine was purchased and used to simulate bearing loads in a wind turbine gear box The candidate samples were subsequently heat treated in accordance with industrial protocols and machined into wear test specimens suitable for the micro-pit wear testing machine. Wear testing produced surfaces that were subsequently analyzed for wear and damage using both optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy methods. Optimized rolling-sliding experiments with a relatively small slip ratio (5%) and higher load (650N) exhibited signs of abrasive wear on all specimens, but not all specimens had the same degree of micro-pitting damage. The conventional wrought 52100 steel had the most severe micro-pitting, consisting of distorted craters, many of which were connected by micro-cracks. Cross-sectional examination showed multiple micro-cracks extending into the alloy microstructure from the same pit. The depth of the cracks was several times the depth of the micro-pit. Type 440XH had the least amount of micro-pitting damage under similar test conditions. Micro-pits on 440HX were more localized and the micro-cracks associated with them tended to avoid carbides during propagation. Abrasive processes were observed on all the test specimens and were produced by debris from mico-pitting. The combination of micro-pitting in conjunction with abrasive processes could work together to worsen the surface damage, diminishing bearing service life. The results suggest that there is a potential advantage of PM consolidated high alloy tool steels, such as 440XH produced via hot isostatic pressing to better resist micro-pitting when compared to other alloy types and wrought processing methods.

Peter, William H.↗

DOE OSTI2017

Summer Proceedings 2016: The Center for Computing Research at Sandia National Laboratories

Solving sparse linear systems from the discretization of elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) is an important building block in many engineering applications. Sparse direct solvers can solve general linear systems, but are usually slower and use much more memory than effective iterative solvers. To overcome these two disadvantages, a hierarchical solver (LoRaSp) based on H2-matrices was introduced in [22]. Here, we have developed a parallel version of the algorithm in LoRaSp to solve large sparse matrices on distributed memory machines. On a single processor, the factorization time of our parallel solver scales almost linearly with the problem size for three-dimensional problems, as opposed to the quadratic scalability of many existing sparse direct solvers. Moreover, our solver leads to almost constant numbers of iterations, when used as a preconditioner for Poisson problems. On more than one processor, our algorithm has significant speedups compared to sequential runs. With this parallel algorithm, we are able to solve large problems much faster than many existing packages as demonstrated by the numerical experiments.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

In-Situ Process Monitoring Evaluation and Demonstration using Advanced Characterization with Laser Powder Bed Systems

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) worked with EOS Group to evaluate the current in-situ sensor capabilities of an EOS M290 Laser Powder Bed Fusion machine. The M290 was fitted with a 1 Mega-Pixel (MP) grayscale visible-light camera and a 5 MP temporally integrated (TI) near-infrared (NIR) camera. One print from stainless steel (SS) 316 and two from Inconel 625 (IN625) were performed where data including in-situ imaging and a machine log file were captured. These data were subsequently analyzed using a Dynamic Multi-Scale Segmentation Convolutional Neural Network (DMSCNN) trained on user defined classes and correlated to as-printed flaws, in the form of porosity, discovered in X-Ray Computed Tomography (XCT). In Phase I, two indications were detected in-situ and spatially correlated to stochastic lack-of-fusion flaws discovered using XCT. In Phase II, using these links from in-situ signatures to XCT flaw populations, a second neural network (NN) was trained to create a Voxelized Property Prediction Model (VPPM) to predict porosity percentages within the part using only features garnered from the in-situ data from two IN625 complex geometries. The VPPM was able to accurately predict porosity values for IN625 parts with an R 2 value of 0.764.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗