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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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2,103 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Tuning Anisotropic Optical Properties of Inorganic and Hybrid Organic–Inorganic MXenes via Topochemical Surface Modification

Surface groups are central to the properties of MXenes, yet their role in optical anisotropy remains largely unexplored. Here, we use a topochemical route to synthesize single crystals of stacked Ti 3 C 2 Cl 2 and hybrid organic–inorganic MXenes (h-MXenes) with lateral sizes of 38–75 μm, rotational registry, and tunable interlayer spacing. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy shows that topochemical substitution generates mixed amido, imido, and hydride surface motifs, which modify the electronic structure of the Ti 3 C 2 inorganic core. Imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry with micron-scale spatial resolution enables reconstruction of the complex dielectric tensor of individual multilayer crystals. Ti 3 C 2 Cl 2 exhibits a type-II hyperbolicity above 930 nm, whereas h-MXenes do not display hyperbolicity within the measured 300–1700 nm window, instead showing reduced in-plane conductivity, suppressed out-of-plane light absorption, and a chain-length-dependent blue shift of a near-infrared absorption feature. These results demonstrate topochemical surface modification as a direct handle for engineering MXenes as surface-programmable optical media.

Hybrid materials↗
DOE OSTI2024

Detection and characterization of detached tidal dwarf galaxies

Tidal interactions between galaxies often give rise to tidal tails, which can harbor concentrations of stars and interstellar gas resembling dwarf galaxies. Some of these tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) have the potential to detach from their parent galaxies and become independent entities, but their long-term survival is uncertain. In this study, we conducted a search for detached TDGs associated with a sample of 39 interacting galaxy pairs in the local Universe using infrared, ultraviolet, and optical images. We employed IR colors and UV/optical/IR spectral energy distributions to identify potential interlopers, such as foreground stars or background quasars. Through spectroscopic observations using the Boller and Chivens spectrograph at San Pedro Mártir Observatory, we confirmed that six candidate TDGs are at the same redshift as their putative parent galaxy pairs. We identified and measured emission lines in the optical spectra and calculated nebular oxygen abundances, which range from log(O/H) = 8.10 ± 0.01 to 8.51 ± 0.02. We have serendipitously discovered an additional detached TDG candidate in Arp72 using available spectra from SDSS. Utilizing the photometric data and the CIGALE code for stellar population and dust emission fitting, we derived the stellar masses, stellar population ages, and stellar metallicities for these detached TDGs. Compared to standard mass-metallicity relations for dwarf galaxies, five of the seven candidates have higher than expected metallicities, confirming their tidal origins. One of the seven candidates remains unclear due to large uncertainties in metallicity, and another has stellar and nebular metallicities compatible with those of a preexisting dwarf galaxy. The latter object is relatively compact in the optical relative to its stellar mass, in contrast to the other candidate TDGs, which have large diameters for their stellar masses compared to most dwarf galaxies. The derived stellar population ages range from 100 Myr to 900 Myr, while the inferred stellar masses are between 2 × 10 6 M ⊙ and 8 × 10 7 M ⊙ . Four of the six TDGs are associated with the gas-rich M51-like pair Arp 72, one TDG is associated with a second M51-like pair Arp 86, and another is associated with Arp 65, an approximately equal mass pair. In spite of the relatively low stellar masses of these TDGs, they have survived for at least 100–900 Myrs, suggesting that they are stable and in dynamical equilibrium. We conclude that encounters with a relatively low-mass companion (1/10th–1/4th of the mass of the primary) can also produce long-lasting TDGs.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Material Compatibility Testing of Green Hydrazine

Green Hydrazine Propellant Blend (GHPB) is a new green propellant developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne and selected for continued testing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It primarily differs from previous "green” propellants by maintaining traditional hydrazine as the base constituent, along with additives that are intended to increase handling safety by lowering the concentration of hydrazine in the vapor. GSFC has performed material compatibility testing. The scope of this campaign included materials that are common in spacecraft or ground support equipment (GSE), and also included typical safety materials (e.g. permeation rates through gloves). The conclusion in a broad sense is that GHPB is less reactive than hydrazine, including the absorption of metals into the propellant, as examined by Inductively-Coupled Plasma (ICP) analysis of metals uptake.

Eric H Cardiff↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Expanding the Horizons of Polymer Aerogels

As the Space Community endeavors to reach new heights of human exploration, materials for extreme environments are at the forefront of research. One class of materials of particular focus are polymer aerogels; lightweight solids with nanoscale pore size, high internal surface area, and extremely high porosities. These interesting properties allow aerogels to act as superior thermal insulators, IR scattering filters, sensor platforms, and vibro-acoustic mitigating materials. Polymer aerogels also have the potential to combat issues found in lunar environments such as dust and radiation mitigation. Herein, past and present research, synthesis, and applications of polymer aerogels will be discussed.

Stephanie L Vivod↗
DOE OSTI2024

Thermal stability of 3D interface Cu/Nb nanolaminates

Nanocrystalline alloys are promising structural materials yet lack thermal stability in many cases. Recent work shows that interface structure has an outsize effect on the thermal behavior of nanostructured alloys. Here, this work focuses on the role of controlled heterophase interface structure in the thermal evolution of model Cu/Nb nanolaminates. We introduce 3D interfaces containing nanoscale heterogeneities in all spatial dimensions between Cu and Nb, forming 3D Cu/Nb. TEM, nanoindentation, and DSC are used in tandem to establish thermal stability and to identify shifts in microstructure as a function of static annealing temperature. 3D interfaces are shown to survive annealing to 300 °C for 1 hr., while 3D Cu/Nb microstructure evolves to form low-density and voided regions correlating to the onset of layer pinch-off between 500 and 600 °C annealing temperatures. A diffusivity- and vacancy energetics-based mechanism is developed to explain void formation driven by 3D interface degradation at elevated temperature.

3D interfaces↗
NASA NTRS2005

Chapter 17 - Airframe Tests

This Section outlines the flight testing required to demonstrate that each of the systems installed in an aircraft is suitable for its operational role(s). It is primarily written from the perspective of a military Flight Test Engineer (FTE) but most of the contents are applicable to civil aircraft. Reflecting the introductory nature of this Volume, its scope is limited to systems normally found in all aircraft, e.g., fuel, hydraulic, electrical, etc., systems. The tests described below are usually made under the prevailing ambient conditions and, to assess behaviour under climatic extremes and in all weathers, further testing is conducted as described in Section 18. Tests of the propulsion system are covered separately in Section 23, but for systems associated with specific roles the reader should consult appropriate specialized sources.

J K Appleford↗
DOE OSTI2024

Recognizing Blazars Using Radio Morphology from the VLA Sky Survey

Abstract Blazars are radio-loud active galactic nuclei whose jets have a very small angle to our line of sight. Observationally, the radio emissions are mostly compact or compact-core with a one-sided jet. With 2.″5 resolution at 3 GHz, the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) enables us to resolve the structure of some blazar candidates in the sky north of decl. −40°. We introduce an algorithm to classify radio sources as either blazar-like or non-blazar-like based on their morphology in the VLASS images. We apply our algorithm to three existing catalogs, including one of the known blazars (Roma-BzCAT) and two blazar candidates identified by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colors and radio emission (WIBRaLS, KDEBLLACS). We show that in all three catalogs, there are objects with morphologies inconsistent with being blazars. Considering all the catalogs, more than 12% of the candidates are unlikely to be blazars, based on this analysis. Notably, we show that 3% of the Roma-BzCATconfirmedblazars could be a misclassification based on their VLASS morphology. The resulting table with all sources and their radio morphological classification is available online.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Development of in-situ polymerized intrinsically conductive resin and low-cost carbon pigments offering high conductivity for sensing, EMI shielding and lighting protection

Electrically conductive composites are emerging across diverse industries such as electronic, automotive, aerospace, advanced air mobility, biomedical, infrastructure, defense and security offering static charge dissipation, electromagnetic interference shielding, lighting protection, sensing, dicing, corrosion monitoring, etc. Conductivity enhanced composites provide several advantages compared to conventional metals including weight reduction, corrosion resistance, energy efficient processability, tunable properties and multifunctionality. Polymers are typically insulating in nature and require conducting filler for electron transport. However, dispersion and polymer-filler interphases are critical and often disrupt conducting pathways. Besides, conductive fillers such as graphene, carbon nanotube, MXene, silver nanowire, etc. are expensive, limiting their wide adoption in composite industry. On the other hand, a limited number of intrinsically conductive polymers are available among which polyaniline (PANI) has been widely studied due to its high conductivity, thermal and chemical stability. However, PANI is difficult to process and exhibits weak mechanical properties. In brief, there is a significant demand for electrically conductive polymer formulation with cost-effective conducting fillers that offer processability in scale to expand the market of conductivity enhanced materials.

Kumar, Vipin [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Real-space visualization of a defect-mediated charge density wave transition

Here, we study the coupled charge density wave (CDW) and insulator-to-metal transitions in the 2D quantum material 1T-TaS 2 . By applying in situ cryogenic 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy with in situ electrical resistance measurements, we directly visualize the CDW transition and establish that the transition is mediated by basal dislocations (stacking solitons). We find that dislocations can both nucleate and pin the transition and locally alter the transition temperature T c by nearly ~75 K. This finding was enabled by the application of unsupervised machine learning to cluster five-dimensional, terabyte scale datasets, which demonstrate a one-to-one correlation between resistance—a global property—and local CDW domain-dislocation dynamics, thereby linking the material microstructure to device properties. This work represents a major step toward defect-engineering of quantum materials, which will become increasingly important as we aim to utilize such materials in real devices.

4D-STEM↗
DOE OSTI2025

Photophysical and Time‐resolved Infrared Properties of Long‐Lived Rhenium(I) 4,5‐Diazafluorene Tricarbonyl Chromophores

This report investigates the synthesis, structural characterization, fundamental molecular photophysics, electrochemistry, UV-Vis spectroelectrochemistry, and time-resolved infrared spectroscopic properties of eight [fac-Re(dafR)(CO) 3 L] 0/+ complexes, where R=ethyl [(dedaf); 1, 3, 5, 7] or H [(dafH); 2, 4, 6, 8] and L=Cl− (1, 2), imidazole [(Im); 3, 4], 4-ethylpyridine [(4-Etpy); 5, 6], or pyridine [(py); 7, 8]. Universally, 1–8 yield higher energy photoluminescence (PL) emission bands and higher PL quantum yields (up to 53 %) than the classic 2,2’-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligated Re(I) tricarbonyl complexes. The excited state lifetimes of 1–8 lie between those corresponding to the bpy and phen derivatives, ranging from 120 and 1300 ns at room temperature. Combinations of reductive UV-Vis spectroelectrochemistry, transient absorption spectroscopy, and time-resolved infrared spectroscopy consistently assigned the lowest excited states in 1–8 being of metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) character. These new ReI MLCT chromophores follow classic energy gap law behavior and possess the characteristics necessary for serving as valuable photosensitizers suitable to energize excited state electron and energy transfer photochemistry.

Charge transfer↗
DOE OSTI2023

Enhancing Charge Storage of Mo 2 Ti 2 C 3 MXene by Partial Oxidation

Abstract Driving the pseudocapacitive redox intercalation in 2DMXenes with neutral electrolytes is important for safer, more sustainable, and improved electrochemical charge storage. Single transition metal MXenes, such as Ti 3 C 2 , have shown great promise for energy storage, owing to their high conductivity and redox activity. Mixed metallic MXenes, such as out‐of‐plane ordered Mo 2 Ti 2 C 3 , have remained underexplored in energy storage because of the absence of redox activity in most of the electrolytes. Simultaneous structural modifications and instigating intercalation pseudocapacitance in neutral electrolytes could be a viable strategy for enhancing their electrochemical properties. Herein, a facile synthesis of partially oxidized Mo 2 Ti 2 C 3 MXene (PO‐Mo 2 Ti 2 C 3 ) exhibiting improved charge storage capability is demonstrated. Optical, structural, and spectroscopic analyses indicate the formation of oxide nanostructures upon thermal oxidation of Mo 2 Ti 2 C 3 . This leads to an enhanced energy storage capability with remarkably improved cyclability as well as a high Coulombic efficiency in a neutral LiCl electrolyte. This work highlights the importance of structural modifications of MXenes to enhance their charge storage and shows the promise of less explored double transition metal MXenes in energy storage.

Chemistry↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Risk Reduction Project in Pad Abort-1 Launch Vehicle Loads & Dynamics

The Pad Abort (PA-1) system includes the Launch Abort System (LAS) and the Command Module (CM). The PA-1 abort flight test will launch from the White Sands Missile Range. Prior to the ignition, the vehicle will be resting, without restraints, on a short support structure. The Launch Abort Motor will ignite and burn for less than 5 seconds before a 20 second coast. Then the LAS will separate from the CM and the CM will descend via parachute to a soil landing. The static firing of the Abort Motor (ST-1) for PA-1 Launch Vehicle resulted in unexpected higher levels that superseded the environment predictions and all the design and test loads of all subassemblies and components. A rapid project was put in place to develop the flight environments, loads and associated uncertainties for the Verification Load Cycle (VLC) of PA-1. An acoustic test and shaker test of the CM were planned and executed in support of the developments of damping and transfer functions. Instead of using the traditional structure-borne envelops, the actual ST-1 pressures and forces were used to develop the internal accelerations. The PA-1 motor was cooled to 60 Deg F using thermal conditioning to reduce the thrust profile. The plumes of the abort motor were studied to determine if the airborne environments would be reduced. The combination of all items, noted above, allowed a reduction in loads for VLC.

Sasan C Armand↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantifying the dislocation content of atomically resolved grain boundary line defects using the Nye tensor

The Nye tensor, which quantifies the density of Burgers vector for a given dislocation line direction, can be effectively used to characterize dislocation content in bulk crystals from atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy images. The Nye tensor can be calculated from these images, in part because the reference state is simply defined by the lattice of the perfect crystal. The application of the Nye tensor to interfacial line defects, for which the natural reference state is the dichromatic pattern of the two grains in their reference orientation, poses additional challenges. In this work, we present a method that employs the Nye tensor to characterize the edge dislocation content of line defects at grain boundaries from atomic-resolution images. This approach enables us to rapidly characterize all edge dislocation content along a grain boundary. Additionally, the Nye tensor provides information about line defect core structure. Finally, we demonstrate this method on two exemplar defects: a twin boundary disconnection and a facet junction in face-centered cubic Au.

Crystallographic defects↗
DOE OSTI2026

October 2025 Semiannual Composite Salt Waste Processing Facility Decontaminated Salt Solution Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure Results

The aqueous waste from the Salt Waste Processing Facility is sampled semiannually for transfers to the Saltstone Disposal Facility. Salt solution is treated at the Saltstone Production Facility and disposed of in the Saltstone Disposal Facility. Per request of customer, X-TTR-Z-00027, Revision 0, one Saltstone Processing Facility Decontaminated Salt Solution and Z area premix material for the October 2025 semiannual Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure sample. The sample contained 60:40 (by weight) of slag and fly ash (referred to as the “Cement-Free grout sample”). Results from the technical report support Task 2: ‘Grout Leaching Analyses’ of the Task Technical Request prepared by Savannah River Mission Completion. At 51 days cured, the Saltstone sample was collected and shipped to a certified laboratory for analysis using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. The October 2025 Semiannual Cement-Free grout sample met 61 79.268.48 requirements for a non-hazardous waste form with respect to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act metals and Underlying Hazardous Constituents and met the Saltstone Production Facility Waste Acceptance Criteria that was in effect at the time of the sample collection at the Salt Waste Processing Facility.

Hsieh, Madison [Savannah River National Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2025

Should I stay or should I flow? An exploration of phase‐separated metallosupramolecular liquid crystal polymers

Abstract Dynamic liquid crystalline polymers (dLCPs) incorporate both liquid crystalline mesogens and dynamic bonds into a single polymeric material. These dual functionalities impart order‐dependent thermo‐responsive mechano‐optical properties and enhanced reprocessability/programmability enabling their use as soft actuators, adaptive adhesives, and damping materials. While many previous works studying dynamic LCPs utilize dynamic covalent bonds, metallosupramolecular bonds provide a modular platform where a series of materials can be accessed from a single polymeric feedstock through the variation of the metal ion used. A series of dLCPs were prepared by the addition of metal salts to a telechelic 2,6‐bisbenzimidazolylpyridine (Bip) ligand endcapped LCP to form metallosupramolecular liquid crystal polymers (MSLCPs). The resulting MSLCPs were found to phase separate into hard and soft phases which aids in their mechanical robustness. Variations of the metal salts used to access these materials allowed for control of the thermomechanical, viscoelastic, and adhesive properties with relaxations that can be tailored independently of the mesogenic transition. This work demonstrates that by accessing phase separation through the incorporation of metallosupramolecular moieties, highly processable yet robust MSLCP materials can be realized. This class of materials opens the door to LCPs with bulk flow behavior that can also be utilized as multi‐level adhesives.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2026

Process control-enabled mitigation of microstructural and plastic heterogeneities in additively manufactured Grade 91 steel

Synergizing wire arc-directed energy deposition (WA-DED) additive manufacturing (AM) with particle-strengthened creep strength-enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steels enables fabrication and repair of critical power-plant components. Investigations focused on fusion-welded particle-strengthened CSEF steels, such as Grade 91 steel, have linked microstructurally heterogeneous regions—forming due to heat affected zones (HAZ)—with premature failure during elevated temperature service. Fusion-based AM, including WA-DED, likewise generates microstructurally and plastically heterogeneous regions due to spatiotemporally varying thermokinetics during deposition. However, works investigating such microstructural heterogeneities, their implications for mechanical behavior, and strategies to mitigate their formation remain scarce. This work identifies microstructurally and plastically heterogeneous regions within the WA-DED-processed Grade 91 steel. Spatial microhardness variations in the as-fabricated specimen correlate with the variation in the attributes of grain, martensitic microstructure, and precipitates across the fusion zone and HAZ. Digital image correlation-enabled tensile tests performed at 500 °C revealed pronounced deformation localization and a wave-like strain distribution, with wavelength close to the melt pool depth, indicating susceptibility of the as-fabricated components to premature creep failure. Such heterogeneity in microstructural and mechanical behavior was attributed to recurring solid-state phase transformations. Subsequently, an interlayer temperature control strategy was implemented, wherein maintaining interlayer temperature above the martensitic start temperature mitigated the heterogeneous microstructural and plastic response in the as-fabricated condition. Findings open pathways to achieving deformation-localization- and creep-resistant microstructures in WA-DED fabricated particle-strengthened CSEF steel components, reducing reliance on post-welding heat treatments—conventionally required to enhance creep resistance—and enabling on-demand, short lead-time fabrication of next-generation power-plant components.

Heat affected zones↗
DOE OSTI2025

Taking three-dimensional x-ray diffraction (3DXRD) from the synchrotron to the laboratory scale

Three-dimensional x-ray diffraction (3DXRD), a rotating x-ray diffraction technique, is a powerful tool for studying the micromechanical behavior of polycrystalline materials, capable of measuring the volume, position, orientation, and strain of thousands of grains simultaneously. However, its application has been historically limited to synchrotron facilities. Here, we present the first demonstration of laboratory-scale 3DXRD (Lab-3DXRD) using a liquid-metal-jet source. Lab-3DXRD achieves accuracy comparable to synchrotron-based 3DXRD, as validated against laboratory diffraction contrast tomography (LabDCT) and synchrotron-3DXRD. Over 96% of the grains detected with Lab-3DXRD are cross-validated, particularly for coarse grains (> ~60 μm), while the results suggest that finer grains should be accessible by taking advantage of high-efficiency detectors. We further demonstrate that its sensitivity to finer grains is enhanced by incorporating pre-characterization into the analysis. This study establishes Lab-3DXRD as a practical alternative to synchrotron techniques, making 3DXRD accessible to a wider range of academic and industrial researchers.

characterization and analytical techniques↗
NASA NTRS1993

Data Analysis for GOPEX Image Frames

This article describes the data analysis based on the image frames received at the Solid State Imaging (SSI) camera of the Galileo Optical Experiment (GOPEX) demonstration conducted between December 9 and 16, 1992. Laser uplink was successfully established between the ground and the Galileo spacecraft during its second Earth-gravity-assist phase in December 1992. SSI camera frames were acquired which contained images of detected laser pulses transmitted from the Table Mountain Facility (TMF), Wrightwood, California, and the Starfire Optical Range (SOR), Albuquerque, New Mex/co. Laser pulse data were processed using standard image-processing techniques at the Multimission Image Processing Laboratory (MIPL) for preliminary pulse identification and to produce public re/ease images. Subsequent image analysis corrected for background noise to measure received pulse intensities. Data were plotted to obtain histograms on a dmly basis and were then compared with theoretical results derived from applicable weak-turbulence and strong-turbulence considerations. This article describes processing steps and compares the theories with the experimented results. Quantitative agreement was found in both turbulence regimes, and better agreement would have been found, given more received laser pulses. Future experiments should consider methods to reliably measure low-intensity pulses, and through experimented planning to geometrically locate pulse positions with greater certainty.

B M Levine↗