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SQMS, affiliated with Fermilab, is one of five research centers funded by the DOE dedicated to the development and deployment of advanced quantum computers and sensors. The objective of our research was to devise an experimental design for quantum transduction, with the aim of facilitating the development of a distributed quantum network to connect quantum computers over large distances.
SQMS, affiliated with Fermilab, is one of five research centers funded by the DOE dedicated to the development and deployment of advanced quantum computers and sensors. The objective of our research was to devise an experimental design for quantum transduction, with the aim of facilitating the development of a distributed quantum network to connect quantum computers over large distances.
This work presents the recent development of a fiber-coupled multipass near-infrared (NIR) gas sensor used to monitor water vapor desorption of small material coupons. The gas sensor design employs a White cell topology to maximize the optical path length over a compact, hand-size footprint. Water vapor concentrations are quantified over a large dynamic range by simultaneously applying wavelength modulation and tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy techniques. A custom headspace optimized for material desorption experiments is assembled using commercially available vacuum chamber components. We provide in situ measurements of water vapor desorption from two geometries of the industrially important silicone elastomer Sylgard-184 as a case study for sensor viability. To corroborate the results, the gas sensor data are compared to numerical simulations based on a triple-mode diffusion–sorption model, consisting of Henry, Langmuir, and Pooling modes.
This project aims to develop and enhance a low-cost, highly scalable control solution for Small and Medium-Sized Commercial Buildings (SMCB), assess the business potential at multiple sites, and perform commercialization efforts. The technology can be applied to any buildings served by multiple units, with the benefits being greatest for open-spaced buildings, such as banks, retail stores, restaurants, and factories. This project aims to develop an affordable control solution for: 1) SMCB grid responsiveness, 2) reduction of GHG by changing unit operations, 3) greater reduction in utility costs, and 4) rapid adoption in the marketplace. The proposed technology will be built on a previously developed and demonstrated MPC solution. The minimal sensor requirement and less need of control expertise are the unique feature of the algorithm that leads to low capital and maintenance costs, and short installation and implementation time. These attributes contribute to low capital and maintenance costs, as well as a short installation and implementation time. However, these advantages come with a trade-off: increased difficulties and unreliability when applying traditional modeling and MPC control approaches due to limited information. This final report describes the modeling approaches developed and tested to overcome these challenges. It begins by outlining the modeling challenge posed by minimal sensor requirements, then delves into the proposed modeling approaches, which primarily involve system identification. Finally, preliminary test results for a simulation case study are presented.
A passive wireless high-temperature sensor for far-field applications was developed for stable temperature sensing up to 1000 °C. The goal is to leverage the properties of electroceramic materials, including adequate electrical conductivity, high-temperature resilience, and chemical stability in harsh environments. Initial sensors were fabricated using Ag for operation to 600 °C to achieve a baseline understanding of temperature sensing principles using patch antenna designs. Fabrication then followed with higher temperature sensors made from (In, Sn) O2 (ITO) for evaluation up to 1000 °C. A patch antenna was modeled in ANSYS HFSS to operate in a high-frequency region (2.5–3.5 GHz) within a 50 × 50 mm2 confined geometric area using characteristic material properties. The sensor was fabricated on Al2O3 using screen printing methods and then sintered at 700 °C for Ag and 1200 °C for ITO in an ambient atmosphere. Sensors were evaluated at 600 °C for Ag and 1000 °C for ITO and analyzed at set interrogating distances up to 0.75 m using ultra-wideband slot antennas to collect scattering parameters. The sensitivity (average change in resonant frequency with respect to temperature) from 50 to 1000 °C was between 22 and 62 kHz/°C which decreased as interrogating distances reached 0.75 m.
Ultrasonic technologies offer the potential for high accuracy and resolution in-pile measurement of numerous parameters, including geometry changes, temperature, crack initiation and growth, gas pressure and composition, and microstructural changes. Many Department of Energy-Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) programs are exploring the use of ultrasonic technologies to provide enhanced sensors for in-pile instrumentation during irradiation testing. For example, the ability of single, small diameter ultrasonic thermometers (UTs) to provide a temperature profile in candidate metallic and oxide fuel would provide much needed data for validating new fuel performance models. Other efforts include an ultrasonic technique to detect morphology changes (such as crack initiation and growth) and acoustic techniques to evaluate fission gas composition and pressure. These efforts are limited by the lack of existing knowledge of ultrasonic transducer material survivability under irradiation conditions. To address this need, the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) was awarded an Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR NSUF) project to evaluate promising magnetostrictive and piezoelectric transducer performance in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR) up to a fast fluence of at least 1021 n/cm2 (E> 0.1 MeV). This test will be an instrumented lead test; and real-time transducer performance data will be collected along with temperature and neutron and gamma flux data. By characterizing magnetostrictive and piezoelectric transducer survivability during irradiation, test results will enable the development of novel radiation tolerant ultrasonic sensors for use in Material and Test Reactors (MTRs). The current work bridges the gap between proven out-of-pile ultrasonic techniques and in-pile deployment of ultrasonic sensors by acquiring the data necessary to demonstrate the performance of ultrasonic transducers
Combustion systems make up a large sum of the world’s yearly energy production despite advances in renewable energy sources. Precise control of pressure and temperature in combustion chambers allows for lower carbon emissions, and overall higher efficiency. Wireless temperature and pressure sensors are critical for the operation of combustion chambers. Energy harvesters have emerged as a viable way to power wireless sensors when heat and mechanical energy are available. Lithium niobate (LNB), barium titanate (BTO), and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) pyroelectric ceramics were studied and fabricated through additive manufacturing (AM) for use as energy harvesting structures in combustion environments. The electric power generation potential of LNB and PZT ceramics was studied by varying the temperature from 50 to 60 °C and by introducing cyclic compression loads of 2000 N amplitude. It was found that thermal energy conversion had the highest output of 500 nW and that combined thermal and mechanical conversion did not increase the harvesting potential because of the competing contributions of both effects. Powder bed and slurry extrusion AM methods were used to fabricate BTO and PZT ceramic structures. Optimization of the powder-based binder jetting method produced BTO ceramics with a relative density of 36.77% a piezoelectric coefficient of 153 pC/N. The density of the ceramics increased up to 56% when increasing the saturation of binder in the powder to because of liquid phase sintering. Finally, PZT structures were manufactured through AM and fin features were added to the design to enhance the heat transfer along the material. The harvested power density of the flat samples was 3.643 μW/cm 3 and of the finned samples was 3.034 μW/cm3. This research paves the ways for the development of self-powered wireless sensors in critical areas of operation such as combustion.
With the increase in electricity supply from clean energy sources, electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) has received increasing attention as an alternative source of carbon-based fuels. As CO 2 reduction is becoming a stronger alternative for the clean production of chemicals, the need to model, optimize and control the electrochemical reduction of the CO 2 process becomes inevitable. However, on one hand, a first-principles model to represent the electrochemical CO 2 reduction has not been fully developed yet because of the complexity of its reaction mechanism, which makes it challenging to define a precise state-space model for the control system. On the other hand, the unavailability of efficient concentration measurement sensors continues to challenge our ability to develop feedback control systems. Gas chromatography (GC) is the most common equipment for monitoring the gas product composition, but it requires a period of time to analyze the sample, which means that GC can provide only delayed measurements during the operation. Moreover, the electrochemical CO 2 reduction process is catalyzed by a fast-deactivating copper catalyst and undergoes a selectivity shift from the product-of-interest at the later stages of experiments, which can pose a challenge for conventional control methods. To this end, machine learning (ML) techniques provide a potential approach to overcome those difficulties due to their demonstrated ability to capture the dynamic behavior of a chemical process from data. Motivated by the above considerations, we propose a machine learning-based modeling methodology that integrates support vector regression and first-principles modeling to capture the dynamic behavior of an experimental electrochemical reactor; this model, together with limited gas chromatography measurements, is employed to predict the evolution of gas-phase ethylene concentration. The model prediction is directly used in a proportional-integral (PI) controller that manipulates the applied potential to regulate the gas-phase ethylene concentration at energy-optimal set-point values computed by a real-time process optimizer (RTO). Specifically, the RTO calculates the operation set-point by solving an optimization problem to maximize the economic benefit of the reactor. Finally, suitable compensation methods are introduced to further account for the experimental uncertainties and handle catalyst deactivation. The proposed modeling, optimization, and control approaches are the first demonstration of active control for a CO 2 electrolyzer and contribute to the automation and scale-up efforts for electrified manufacturing of fuels and chemicals starting from CO 2 .
As advanced reactor concepts are developed, instrumentation and control (I&C) cables and sensors will play a significant role in assuring their operation is well understood, and safety-related process information can be collected reliably over the course of their design life. As a first step to develop acceptance criteria and define the limits of currently available nuclear I&C cable and sensor technology, a collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Analysis and Measurement Services (AMS) Corporation was initiated under the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) Program. This collaborative effort focused on providing technical information related to the combined thermal and radiation aging of nuclear power plant (NPP) cables, companion NPP cable insulation samples, and two prototype temperature and two pressure sensors. This work was carried out using the instrumented gamma irradiation system that is part of the High Flux Isotope Reactor Gamma Irradiation Facility (HFIR GIF). This system provided the opportunity for the condition of the prototype sensors to be tracked during the irradiation in order to determine their functional limits with greater granularity when compared to a simple irradiation insertion at the HFIRGIF. Experimental assemblies for sensor irradiation were successfully completed, and sensor irradiation to accumulated dose of 3000 kGy at a rate of approximately 6 kGy/hr was carried out. Two prototype temperature assemblies were continuously monitored during exposure to 3000 kGy and found to have no observable degradation from the irradiation. Two pressure sensors were first irradiated to 1000 kGy. At which point, one of the sensors was found to operate normally; however, a second sensor failed the operability test. The operable pressure sensor output was then continuously monitored from 1000 kGy to 3000 kGy. The sensor output exhibited steady trendable drift versus the accumulated radiation dose. At the conclusion of the irradiation, the four test sensors were released for laboratory calibration checks. The calibration check of the temperature sensors found no significant change after irradiation compared to baseline measurements before irradiation; however, both pressure sensors failed the post-test calibration checks and both sensors were not functioning properly. These results will help inform sensor manufacturers and I&C design engineers of potential limitations of these types of sensors for use in high radiation environments associated with the compact configuration of new Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) such as NuScale’s reactor power module. Irradiations on NPP cables and companion samples were not completed due to programmatic delays, however a path forward that was based on lessons learned from this project was defined to accommodate future, comparable instrumented gamma irradiations at the HFIR GIF.
The ability to exploit quantum phenomena has enabled sensing technologies with detection limits below the classical limit. Sensors with applications in energy discovery, production, transportation, and consumption can be enhanced through quantum or hybrid quantum-classical sensors. Here, in this Review, we provide an overview of commercial and emerging quantum sensor platforms and their opportunity areas specific to advanced energy technologies. Key examples include: power grid-enhancing-technologies, where quantum magnetometers can detect powerline and transformer faults; electric vehicle-to-grid applications, where chip-scale atomic clocks can enable grid synchronization; and carbon capture and storage, where quantum gravimeters and single-photo LiDAR can detect microscopic leaks. Quantum sensor deployment requires further research into miniaturization and ruggedization for field deployment, cost-reduction, and workforce development. The maturation of clean energy technologies and quantum sensors provide opportunities for synergy, with the integration of quantum sensors into advanced energy technologies maximizing their security, reliability, and efficiency.
Borehole breakouts are used to constrain the magnitude of maximum horizontal stress. However, when the borehole wall strength is higher than the in situ tangential stress, borehole wall failure does not develop. Additional compressive stress can be induced by heating borehole walls. To validate this concept experimentally, we conducted room-temperature and elevated temperature true-triaxial tests on Berea sandstone and Niagaran dolomite samples. We used acoustic emission sensors to capture the onset of breakout development, and we measured the temperature close to borehole wall to assess the magnitude of induced thermal hoop stress. The test results show that within a specific rock type, the breakouts develop in similar manner in room-temperature and elevated-temperature tests. Therefore, the maximum horizontal stress can be constrained from the following dataset: critical tangential stress at which breakout develops, minimum horizontal stress, elastic and thermal properties, and temperature change at the borehole wall.
The hydrological urban heat island (HUHI) is a recent facet of the urban heat island (UHI), describing thermal enhancement of bodies of water in response to urbanization. Although the forefront of this work has been studied for large Metropolitan areas, this effect on developing cities is currently unknown. To locally measure and quantify HUHI effects in a developing city, we utilized Multi-Radar Multi Sensor (MRMS) radar-derived rainfall data to estimate rainfall in the Augusta Metropolitan Area (AMA) and the Savannah Metropolitan Area (SMA), two developing communities adjacent to the Savannah River. We analyzed mean temperature trends of two stream gauges measuring temperature at, and downstream of the central AMA and the SMA. Results show overall peak stream temperatures within AMA are reached within a 2hr timeframe with surge temperatures between 1-2 K, perhaps assisted by the presence of the Augusta Shoals further upstream. The SMA appears to have little HUHI effects due to urban greening and impacts to coastal meteorology. It is suggested that Moderate rainfall events (10-25mm of rainfall) have a significant correlation (~0.1 correlation coefficient with a significance level of 0.05) between stream temperature and rainfall, indicating potential warmer runoff input into the Savannah River. Although results seem promising, further research into moderate rainfall events are needed to determine the extent of the HUHI for AMA.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a toxic gas associated with adverse health and environmental effects that necessitate reliable monitoring techniques. Here, we report the development of an all-solid-state electrochemical sensor utilizing a lithium borate (Li3BO3) solid electrolyte capable of subppm of SO2 detection. While subppm of SO2 sensing has been previously demonstrated in other solid-state electrolyte systems─such as stabilized zirconia, natrium super ionic conductors (NASICON) under mixed-potential conditions─here we establish Li3BO3 as an alternative solid electrolyte enabling equilibrium potentiometric sensing in an all-solid architecture. This sensor demonstrates a detection limit of at least 0.25 ppm, surpassing the human-olfactory threshold and meeting the rigorous requirements for industrial and personal monitoring applications. The sensing mechanism relies on the formation of Li2SO4 on the electrode surface, as evidenced by multimodal characterization techniques, including Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The strong linear correlation between the open-circuit potential (OCV) and the logarithm of SO2 concentration between 0.25 and 2 ppm indicates that the response is Nernstian in nature.
We have developed a new transition-edge sensor material with critical temperature (T-c) in the range 100-200 mK. The new material is a solid solution of two superconducting components, MoxNb1-x, co-sputtered from two high-purity single-component targets (Mo and Nb). The T-c has a minimum (dT(c)/dx = 0) at an intermediate concentration of the components. We have optimized the deposition parameters and composition to provide films with a sharp superconducting transition at ~ 150 mK. We investigated structural features of the films and surface morphology using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy. The XRD measurements indicate that the grown films are polycrystalline, with a preferred orientation along the (110) crystal direction and a clear correlation between superconducting properties and film microstructure.
Families of cosmic inflation models predict a primordial gravitational-wave background that imprints B-mode polarization pattern in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). High-sensitivity instruments with wide frequency coverage and well-controlled systematic errors are needed to constrain the faint B-mode amplitude. We have developed antenna-coupled transition edge sensor arrays for high-sensitivity polarized CMB observations over a wide range of millimeter-wave bands. BICEP array, the latest phase of the BICEP/Keck experiment series, is a multi-receiver experiment designed to search for inflationary B-mode polarization to a precision σ(r) between 0.002 and 0.004 after 3 full years of observations, depending on foreground complexity and the degree of lensing removal. We describe the electromagnetic design and measured performance of BICEP array’s low-frequency 40-GHz detector, their packaging in focal plane modules, and optical characterization including efficiency and beam matching between polarization pairs. We summarize the design and simulated optical performance, including an approach to improve the optical efficiency due to mismatch losses. Here, we report the measured beam maps for a new broadband corrugation design to minimize beam differential ellipticity between polarization pairs caused by interactions with the module housing frame, which helps minimize polarized beam mismatch that converts CMB temperature to polarization (T→P) anisotropy in CMB maps.
The off-diagonal magnetoimpedance in a composite wire consisting of a highly conductive inner core covered by a soft magnetic layer is studied theoretically. In the presence of bias current, the field dependence of the off-diagonal magnetoimpedance becomes asymmetric due to the combination of the circular magnetic field produced by the bias current and a helical anisotropy in the magnetic layer of the composite wire. The dependences of the asymmetric off-diagonal magnetoimpedance on the external field, frequency, and bias current are investigated. It is demonstrated that the off-diagonal magnetoimpedance in composite wires has high field sensitivity and exhibits nearly linear behavior at low external fields. The influence of the wire parameters such as the anisotropy axis angle, the magnetic layer thickness, and conductivity on the field sensitivity of the off-diagonal magnetoimpedance is analyzed. The results obtained may be useful for development of weak magnetic-field sensors.
Low-energy molecular lumiphores have seen increased interest due to potential imaging and communications applications. Specifically, molecules that emit in the near-infrared (NIR, 700–1700 nm) or telecom (∼1260–1625 nm) regions, where attenuation is minimized in biological tissue and optical fibers, respectively, can drastically improve image resolution and depth penetration; however, bright low-energy emission is rare due to exponentially decreasing quantum yields in this region. Chiral molecules exhibiting strong NIR or telecom absorption/emission would be of particular interest due to advanced security and spintronics applications, but these compounds remain scarce and are currently restricted to lanthanide or nanoparticle-based systems. Here, we report the synthesis of a chiral organic-based NIR emitter, enabled by simple peripheral installation of chiral capping ligands. These ligands twist the achiral NIR-emissive core, breaking inversion symmetry. Furthermore, this twisting enables strong chiroptical responses observed via static and transient circular dichroism and increased magnetic anisotropy through electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements, establishing this strategy as a promising method for the development of new chiral emitters and sensors.