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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 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Using electron energy-loss spectroscopy to measure nanoscale electronic and vibrational dynamics in a TEM

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) can measure similar information to x-ray, UV–Vis, and IR spectroscopies but with atomic resolution and increased scattering cross-sections. Recent advances in electron monochromators have expanded EELS capabilities from chemical identification to the realms of synchrotron-level core-loss measurements and to low-loss, 10–100 meV excitations, such as phonons, excitons, and valence structures. EELS measurements are easily correlated with electron diffraction and atomic-scale real-space imaging in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) to provide detailed local pictures of quasiparticle and bonding states. This perspective provides an overview of existing high-resolution EELS (HR-EELS) capabilities while also motivating the powerful next step in the field—ultrafast EELS in a TEM. Ultrafast EELS aims to combine atomic-level, element-specific, and correlated temporal measurements to better understand spatially specific excited-state phenomena. Ultrafast EELS measurements also add to the abilities of steady-state HR-EELS by being able to image the electromagnetic field and use electrons to excite photon-forbidden and momentum-specific transitions. We discuss the technical challenges ultrafast HR-EELS currently faces, as well as how integration with in situ and cryo measurements could expand the technique to new systems of interest, especially molecular and biological samples.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in Z -tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =13$ TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a Z boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 < p T < 100 GeV and in the pseudorapidity range 2.5 < η <4. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb –1 . Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optics-Free Chip-Scale Intraoperative Imaging Using NIR-Excited Upconverting Nanoparticles

Here we present an optics-free CMOS image sensor that incorporates a novel time-gated dual-photodiode pixel design to allow filter- and lens-less image acquisition of near-infrared-excited (NIR-excited) upconverting nanoparticles. Recent biomedical advances have highlighted the benefits of NIR excitation, but NIR interaction with silicon has remained a challenge, even with high-performance optical blocking filters. Using a secondary diode and a dual-photodiode design, this sensor is able to remove the 100s of mV of NIR background on pixels and bring it down to single-digit mV level, nearing its noise floor of 2.2 mV rms, not achievable with any optical filter. Non-linear effects of background cancellation using the diode pair has been mitigated using an initial one-time pixel-level curve fitting and calibration in a post-processing setting. This imager comprises a highly linear 11 fF metal-oxide-metal (MOM) capacitor and includes integrated angle-selective gratings to reject oblique light and enhance sharpness. Each pixel also includes two distinct correlated double sampling schemes, to remove low frequency flicker noise and systematic offset in the datapath. We demonstrate the performance of this imager using pulsed NIR-excited upconverting nanoparticles on standard United-States-Air-Force (USAF) resolution targets and achieve an SNR of 15 dB, while keeping NIR background below 6 mV. This 36-by-80-pixel array measures only 2.3 mm by 4.8 mm and can be thinned down to 25 µm, allowing it to become surgically compatible with intraoperative instruments and equipment, while remaining optics-free.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

RFSoC based digital low level RF control firmware and software suite (mimo_llrf) v1.0

It features a framework of a firmware and software architecture in support of building a digital low-level RF control system for accelerators, where precised digital RF generation and measurement are needed across many RF channels. It primarily supports the Xilinx RFSoC chips (xczu48dr, xczu47dr, xczu29dr) and their evaluation boards (zcu208, zcu216), for a highly integrated solution enabling the need for synchronous low-level RF systems, including: multi-tile synchronization, external reference for sampling clocks, deterministic delay, aligned NCO phase for digital mixers, and built-in EPICS IOC.

Du, Qiang [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (↗
DOE OSTI2026

The need for standardization and improved open (meta)data practices in metaproteomics

Metaproteomics enables functional insight into microbial communities by identifying and quantifying proteins in complex samples. Yet, heterogeneous analytical workflows and the lack of standardization across experimental and bioinformatics stages hinder reproducibility and comparability, limiting integration with other omics data. We here present a community-developed reporting checklist tailored to the specific needs of metaproteomics. We also outline current efforts to enable structured and interoperable metadata capture, drawing on standards from proteomics and microbiome research wherever possible. By promoting transparent reporting and advancing metadata practices, our recommendations aim to align metaproteomics more closely with FAIR principles and support reproducible and interoperable research practices.

Armengaud, Jean [Universite Paris-Saclay, France]↗
DOE OSTI2024

NEWTS Integrated Dataset (version 1.0)

The National Energy Water Treatment and Speciation (NEWTS) Integrated Dataset v1.0 provides water researchers, community leaders, and regulators with a unified and standardized energy-related wastewater stream database. This resource is derived from 27 state and federal entities, and scientific publications, and contains more than 400,000 sample records, many of which also provide geospatial information. The dataset includes data for several different energy-related wastewater types including produced water, other oil and gas wastewaters, mine drainage, coal ash leachate, and power plant wastewater. The NEWTS Integrated Dataset was built to support environmentally prudent decision-making, explore treatment opportunities, and identify potential critical mineral sources. A subset of this novel resource is also featured on NETL NEWTS State-Level Database Dashboard. Additional data can be found in the NEWTS EDX Group and the NEWTS Federal Database Dashboard.

abandoned mine drainage↗
DOE OSTI2021

Vibration-Based Sensor Design: A Grey-Box Approach

Knowledge of the internal structure of an object or device under investigation proceeds from the basic idea of constructing its dynamic behavioral relations governed by a set of differential/algebraic equations that characterize its response. These equations can be partial differential equations leading to finite element or finite difference relations requiring a complex numerical solution on a super computer or ordinary differential equations requiring sophisticated numerical integration techniques to obtain the desired solution. Discrete dynamic systems evolving from digitized data acquisition are typically captured by sampled-data (continuous-to-discrete) representations characterized by a set of difference equations specifying the underlying system dynamics. In any case, with a mathematical description in hand, Grey-Box modeling techniques have evolved, concerned with the estimation of model parameters embedded in a prescribed set of equations (the system) governing its behavior, while capturing the underlying physical phenomenology of the problem at hand.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Thermal Compton Scattering of Electron Beams on Blackbody Photons: A Monte Carlo Event Generator for Multi-Turn Tracking at the Electron-Ion Collider

Compton scattering of ultra-relativistic electrons on thermal (blackbody) photons is typically a subdominant process in electron storage rings, but at sufficiently high electron energy and low residual gas pressure it can become competitive with beam-gas scattering and contribute to dis tributed losses and backgrounds. We present a self-contained Monte Carlo event generator for thermal Compton scattering designed for integration into multi-turn tracking workflows. The im plementation follows H. Burkhardt’s proposal method: trial scattering angles are sampled from the Thomson differential cross section and accepted/rejected using the Klein-Nishina to Thomson ratio, yielding the correct Compton spectrum while retaining simple absolute-rate normalization. Ther mal photon energies are sampled from the blackbody photon-number spectrum via an exact mixture representation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Direct Ink-Write Printing of Ceramic Clay with an Embedded Wireless Temperature and Relative Humidity Sensor

This research presents a simple method to additively manufacture Cone 5 porcelain clay ceramics by using the direct ink-write (DIW) printing technique. DIW has allowed the application of extruding highly viscous ceramic materials with relatively high-quality and good mechanical properties, which additionally allows a freedom of design and the capability of manufacturing complex geometrical shapes. Clay particles were mixed with deionized (DI) water at different ratios, where the most suitable composition for 3D printing was observed at a 1:5 w/c ratio (16.2 wt.%. of DI water). Differential geometrical designs were printed to demonstrate the printing capabilities of the paste. In addition, a clay structure was fabricated with an embedded wireless temperature and relative humidity (RH) sensor during the 3D printing process. The embedded sensor read up to 65% RH and temperatures of up to 85 °F from a maximum distance of 141.7 m. The structural integrity of the selected 3D printed geometries was confirmed through the compressive strength of fired and non-fired clay samples, with strengths of 70 MPa and 90 MPa, respectively. This research demonstrates the feasibility of using the DIW printing of porcelain clay with embedded sensors, with fully functional temperature- and humidity-sensing capabilities.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modeling Dust Production, Growth, and Destruction in Reionization-era Galaxies with the CROC Simulations: Methods and Parameter Exploration

We introduce a model for the explicit evolution of interstellar dust in a cosmological galaxy formation simulation. We post-process a simulation from the Cosmic Reionization on Computers project, integrating an ordinary differential equation for the evolution of the dust-to-gas ratio along pathlines in the simulation sampled with a tracer particle technique. This model incorporates the effects of dust grain production in asymptotic giant branch star winds and supernovae, grain growth due to the accretion of heavy elements from the gas phase of the interstellar medium, and grain destruction due to thermal sputtering in the high-temperature gas of supernova remnants due to thermal sputtering. A main conclusion of our analysis is the importance of a carefully chosen dust destruction model, for which different reasonable parameterizations can predict very different values at the ∼100 pc resolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) in our simulations. We run this dust model on the single most massive galaxy in a 10 h$^{−1}$ comoving megaparsec box, which attains a stellar mass of ∼2 × 10$^{9}$ M $_{⊙}$ by z = 5. We find that the model is capable of reproducing dust masses and dust-sensitive observable quantities broadly consistent with existing data from high-redshift galaxies. The total dust mass in the simulated galaxy is somewhat sensitive to parameter choices for the dust model, especially the timescale for grain growth due to accretion in the ISM. Consequently, observable quantity observations that can constrain galaxy dust masses at these epochs are potentially useful for placing constraints on dust physics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Correlation Calculations for the Russian Pu Metal Fast Experiments

Nuclear criticality experiments are often conducted in campaigns with multiple variations. These experiments reuse the same basic components, like the fuel, moderator, or positioning machines. The components have uncertainties in their geometry and composition that propagate to models of the experiments. Shared components create shared uncertainty between the $k_{eff}$ of benchmarks. The shared uncertainty is commonly quantified with a covariance, or correlation coefficient. These covariances can impact criticality safety and nuclear data validation applications. While benchmark evaluations tabulate an experiment’s uncertainty, they often lack a detailed calculation of correlations between experiments. Even some very commonly used benchmarks, like the Russian Pu Metal Fast (PMF) experiments, have missing correlations. This paper presents our approach to calculate the correlations for five of the Russian PMF experiments. The experiments share hemispherical Pu shells that induce a correlation between modeled $k_{eff}$ values. We estimated the correlations with simplified and detailed models of the experiments through linear-perturbation theory. The correlations between the experiments vary significantly between the detailed vs. simplified models. We also investigate how the correlations affect validation metrics of the experiments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dissecting the dominant hot spring microbial populations based on community-wide sampling at single-cell genomic resolution

With advances in DNA sequencing and miniaturized molecular biology workflows, rapid and affordable sequencing of single-cell genomes has become a reality. Compared to 16S rRNA gene surveys and shotgun metagenomics, large-scale application of single-cell genomics to whole microbial communities provides an integrated snapshot of community composition and function, directly links mobile elements to their hosts, and enables analysis of population heterogeneity of the dominant community members. To that end, we sequenced nearly 500 single-cell genomes from a low diversity hot spring sediment sample from Dewar Creek, British Columbia, and compared this approach to 16S rRNA gene amplicon and shotgun metagenomics applied to the same sample. We found that the broad taxonomic profiles were similar across the three sequencing approaches, though several lineages were missing from the 16S rRNA gene amplicon dataset, likely the result of primer mismatches. At the functional level, we detected a large array of mobile genetic elements present in the single-cell genomes but absent from the corresponding same species metagenome-assembled genomes. Moreover, we performed a single-cell population genomic analysis of the three most abundant community members, revealing differences in population structure based on mutation and recombination profiles. While the average pairwise nucleotide identities were similar across the dominant species-level lineages, we observed differences in the extent of recombination between these dominant populations. Most intriguingly, the creek's Hydrogenobacter sp. population appeared to be so recombinogenic that it more closely resembled a sexual species than a clonally evolving microbe. Together, this work demonstrates that a randomized single-cell approach can be useful for the exploration of previously uncultivated microbes from community composition to population structure.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Specimen sizing and remaining life sample calculations for high temperature reactor material surveillance

Advanced high-temperature nuclear reactors rely on structural components that will operate for decades under combined mechanical, thermal, and environmental loading. Materials surveillance programs are a promising strategy for managing the resulting uncertainty in long-term structural integrity by monitoring degradation in service using passively actuated mechanical test articles. Previous reports have developed a simplified, spreadsheetimplementable framework for sizing these test articles and for inferring accumulated creep damage and remaining life from ex-situ test data. This report advances that work toward practical deployment by providing a sample-problem book: a collection of worked, end-toend examples in which the ASME Section III, Division 5 design analysis of a representative high-temperature reactor component is carried through to a sized surveillance article, verified with detailed finite-element analysis, and concluded with a remaining-life assessment based on an assumed ex-situ creep-rate measurement on the retrieved specimen. The report also summarizes ongoing ANL engagement with ASTM Committee E10 on Nuclear Technology and Applications toward drafting a standard covering surveillance procedures for advanced reactors.

Barua, Bipul (ORCID:0000000247184113)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for a heavy neutral lepton that mixes predominantly with the tau neutrino

We report a search for a heavy neutral lepton (HNL) that mixes predominantly with ν τ . The search utilizes data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy e + e − collider. The data sample was collected at and just below the center-of-mass energies of the ϒ ( 4 S ) and ϒ ( 5 S ) resonances and has an integrated luminosity of 915 fb − 1 , corresponding to ( 836 ± 12 ) × 10 6 e + e − → τ + τ − events. We search for production of the HNL (denoted N ) in the decay τ − → π − N followed by its decay via N → μ + μ − ν τ . The search focuses on the parameter-space region in which the HNL is long-lived, so that the μ + μ − originate from a common vertex that is significantly displaced from the collision point of the KEKB beams. Consistent with the expected background yield, one event is observed in the data sample after application of all the event-selection criteria. We report limits on the mixing parameter of the HNL with the τ neutrino as a function of the HNL mass. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis of Non-Nuclear Advanced Controls Testbed Reactor Mockup

The research presented in this report describes our progress in applying stochastic methods and uncertainty quantification, parametric study, and variance-based sensitivity analysis (also known as Sobol sensitivity analysis) to a full-core model of a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system simulated with Griffin, with the goal of developing a reduced order (surrogate) model which can be rapidly sampled while perturbing multiple input parameters. In this NTP system, reactivity and power feedback affect the rotation of control drums, which are controlled by a hybrid proportional, integral and derivative (PID) controller, actuated by the power demand and reactivity feedback from the numerical model. This model uses reactor kinetic feedback (mean generation time and $\beta$ from a transient Griffin simulation executed with the improved quasi-static method to provide the kinetic parameters) as inputs to functions which control the CD rotation angle. Using a number of stochastic method approaches, we developed a dual purpose training-surrogate model of the NTP system using polynomial regression. The trained model can be rapidly sampled while simultaneously perturbing various input parameters of the model, such as coefficients on the PID control, or temperature (directly affect the neutron cross section). The surrogate model delivers accurate results orders-of-magnitude faster (minutes, not days) than the base model. Once the base model has been trained, distributions of the uncertain parameters can be changed at will to investigate the effects of perturbing multiple inputs and their effect on the output. For example, coefficients used in the PID control system may vary due to some physical interference, or there may be uncertainty in the temperature of the neutron cross sections in various regions of the reactor. A distribution can be placed on these parameters and operational boundaries can be determined. The goal of this work is to support development of an advanced control system to operate CDs in a functioning NTP system.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrating ytopt and libEnsemble to autotune OpenMC

Ytopt is a Python machine-learning-based autotuning software package developed within the ECP PROTEAS-TUNE project. The ytopt software adopts an asynchronous search framework that consists of sampling a small number of input parameter configurations and progressively fitting a surrogate model over the input-output space until exhausting the user-defined maximum number of evaluations or the wall-clock time. libEnsemble is a Python toolkit for coordinating workflows of asynchronous and dynamic ensembles of calculations across massively parallel resources developed within the ECP PETSc/TAO project. libEnsemble helps users take advantage of massively parallel resources to solve design, decision, and inference problems and expands the class of problems that can benefit from increased parallelism. In this paper we present our methodology and framework to integrate ytopt and libEnsemble to take advantage of massively parallel resources to accelerate the autotuning process. Specifically, we focus on using the proposed framework to autotune the ECP ExaSMR application OpenMC, an open source Monte Carlo particle transport code. OpenMC has seven tunable parameters some of which have large ranges such as the number of particles in-flight, which is in the range of 100,000 to 8 million, with its default setting of 1 million. Setting the proper combination of these parameter values to achieve the best performance is extremely time-consuming. Therefore, we apply the proposed framework to autotune the MPI/OpenMP offload version of OpenMC based on a user-defined metric such as the figure of merit (FoM) (particles/s) or energy efficiency energy-delay product (EDP) on Crusher at Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. In conclusion, the experimental results show that we achieve the improvement up to 29.49% in FoM and up to 30.44% in EDP.

Autotuning↗
DOE OSTI2022

Superior CO 2 /N 2 separation performance of highly branched Poly(1,3 dioxolane) plasticized by polyethylene glycol

With its high content of CO 2 -philic ether oxygen groups, poly(1,3-dioxolane) (PDXLA) has emerged as an attractive platform to achieve excellent CO 2 /N 2 separation properties for post-combustion carbon capture. Herein we demonstrate that the separation properties of PDXLA can be further enhanced by plasticizing with miscible polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based additives using an integrated experimentation and modeling approach. The effects of the chain end groups and loading level of the additives on the physical properties of the blends are thoroughly investigated, including glass transition temperature (T g ), fractional free volume, and gas transport properties, and the effects can be satisfactorily described using models available for homogeneous blends. Notably, a T g -integrated free volume model is adapted to successfully interpret the unified effect of the blend composition and temperature on gas diffusivity and permeability. A sample containing 45 mass% PEG dimethyl ether (PEGDME with a molecular mass of 240 g/mol) displays stable mixed-gas CO 2 permeability of 1540 Barrer and CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 40 when challenged with a model flue gas at 60 °C, outperforming Robeson's 2008 upper bound. Elucidating how small plasticizers impact gas transport in homogeneous blends may unravel a facile way to design high-performance membranes for gas separations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗