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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Batteries Annual Progress Report (FY2019)

The Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) of the Department of Energy (DOE) conducts research and development (R&D) on advanced transportation technologies that would reduce the nation’s use of imported oil and would also lead to reductions in harmful emissions. Technologies supported by VTO include electric drive components such as advanced energy storage devices (primarily batteries), power electronics and electric drive motors, advanced structural materials, energy efficient mobility systems, advanced combustion engines, and fuels. VTO is focused on funding early-stage high-reward/high-risk research to improve critical components needed for more fuel efficient (and cleaner-operating) vehicles. One of the major VTO objectives is to enable U.S. innovators to rapidly develop the next generation of technologies that achieve the cost, range, and charging infrastructure necessary for the widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). An important prerequisite for the electrification of the nation’s light duty transportation sector is development of more cost-effective, longer lasting, and more abuse-tolerant PEV batteries. One of the ultimate goals of this research, consistent with the current vehicle electrification trend, is an EV which can provide the full driving performance, convenience, and price of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. To achieve this, VTO has established the following overarching goal (Source: FY2021 Congressional Budget Justification1): …identify new battery chemistry and cell technologies with the potential to reduce the cost of electric vehicle battery packs by more than half, to less than $100/kWh (ultimate goal is $60/kWh battery cell cost), increase range to 300 miles, and decrease charge time to 15 minutes or less by 2028. VTO works with key U.S. automakers through the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) – an umbrella organization for collaborative research consisting of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the Ford Motor Company, and General Motors. Collaboration with automakers through the partnership known as U.S. Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle Efficiency and Energy Sustainability (U.S. DRIVE) attempts to enhance the relevance and the success potential of its research portfolio. VTO competitively selects projects for funding through funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). Directly-funded work at the national laboratories are awarded competitively through a lab-call process. During the past year, VTO continued R&D in support of PEVs. Stakeholders for VTO R&D include universities, national laboratories, other government agencies and industry (including automakers, battery manufacturers, material suppliers, component developers, private research firms, and small businesses). This document summarizes the progress of VTO battery R&D projects supported during the fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019).

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Molten Salt Synthesis of Increased (100)-Facet and Polycrystalline Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Impact of Facet and Crystallinity on Electrocatalysis

Nickel oxide nanocubes with increased (100) surface facet presence (NiO(100)) were synthesized through a molten salt synthesis procedure to probe their oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity in order to investigate the relationship between the surface facet and OER performance. While altering the synthesis parameters to decrease NiO(100) particle sizes and agglomeration, a polycrystalline NiO nanoparticle system formed from using Li2O as a Lux-Flood base (labelled Li2O-MSS NiO, where MSS stands for molten salt synthesis). This novel synthesis was further elaborated and the obtained materials were also tested for OER activity. After thorough structural characterization to determine crystallinity, lattice spacings, and elemental distribution, their OER activity was compared versus high surface area NiO(111) nanosheets in a three-electrode rotating disk electrode (RDE) system. The activity trend of (111) > Li2O-MSS > (100) was observed. This decrease in activity of the nanocube and polycrystalline samples was explained by differences between theoretical and experimental conditions, differences in ink rheology and resulting catalyst layer properties, and significant agglomeration seen in the imaging of the sample. Methods for improving the OER activity of these samples are discussed in the conclusion of this study.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2018

Envision Charlotte Project Final Report

The Envision Charlotte Project (EC Project), supported by partners at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Center for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites and the City of Charlotte, has successfully demonstrated that existing buildings can benefit from operations improvements and low-cost efficiency upgrades, and that behavioral change campaigns can be effectively designed for measurability, longevity and impact. Support from this grant gave Envision Charlotte and its partners the resources and flexibility to demonstrate a variety of approaches to improve coordination with stakeholders in the implementation of programs to reduce the consumption of energy, water and waste. The project team also gained insights into the motivations and abilities that influence stakeholder engagement in sustainability initiatives at multiple levels. Importantly, as this report describes, strong partnerships between nonprofits, industry partners and research institutions can produce tangible impacts and replicable results in building efficiency. Further, building operators working alongside student researchers can form productive relationships that can advance building energy management goals. Key Findings of the EC Project This project focused on advancing solutions to energy efficiency in U.S. commercial buildings. The Building Re-Tuning™ Training (BRT) developed by the U.S. DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL), designed to detect energy savings opportunities and implement improvements with resources and online tools, provided the starting point for the curriculum developed by stakeholders in the EC Project. Although the project partners encountered some issues with data consistency, the overall project outcomes fell short of the energy savings stated in the original proposal, and the total participating building targets were lower than anticipated, important findings, outcomes and lessons learned were achieved. EC Project grantees observed that the PNNL BRT, as currently written, was not compatible with the skills of average frontline mechanical personnel in the Charlotte region where the grant program was performed. Frontline staff are not, typically, energy managers, engineers or building commissioning agents, but they can play a key role in building performance. As detailed in this report, the grantees therefore focused on changes to the BRT that improved the level of training and competency of the frontline workers in this region. Among the technical observations related to improving the BRT that were observed in the EC Project: centralized facilities management often has an impact on building performance; operators can be overly reliant on service contracts; individual behaviors matter, and technology cannot be viewed as a crutch; current Building Automation Systems (BAS) are often too complex to support building efficiency optimization, but BAS coupled with appropriate training can support better outcomes; the “perfectly optimized” building is not a near-term possibility, but better education, especially of executives and managers, on the role of behavioral intervention is a promising direction the building science community can and should pursue; a lack of standards and protocols, and competition between proprietary software from service contracts, remain challenges for this industry. These technical observations, in turn, informed the EC Project’s overall findings, which were: Accomplishing building efficiency is a process of education for all involved in the building design, construction and operation supply chain. Building operators, as a professional class, have an opportunity for further training and education that will lead to better on-the-job performance. An updated Building Re-Tuning™ Training curriculum, based on the findings of this report, could be an avenue for these operators’ professional development.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Lifting the Garage Door on Spawn, An Open-Source BEM-Controls Engine

Spawn is the latest whole-building energy simulation engine developed by the US Department of Energy, National Labs and industry. Whereas EnergyPlus was designed as a successor to DOE-2, Spawn is not a direct successor of–nor is it intended as an imminent replacement for– EnergyPlus. Instead, Spawn reuses parts of EnergyPlus while supporting new use cases in HVAC and controls. Spawn is intended to provide several capabilities that significantly advance beyond EnergyPlus. It is intended to support the evaluation of novel HVAC and district energy systems in a more physically realistic way. Critically, it can model control in a physically realistic way, using portable specifications that can be compiled for execution on control platforms. Spawn is also intended to support co-simulation in an intrinsic way to enable integration with third-party models. This paper describes the software architecture of Spawn from model authoring to compilation and simulation. It explains how Spawn reuses the envelope and daylighting modules of EnergyPlus and couples them to HVAC and control models from the Modelica Buildings Library using the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI) standard. It presents a number of examples that: i) validate Spawn’s coupled simulation approach by comparing its results to those of EnergyPlus, ii) illustrate the Spawn methodology for modeling and simulating HVAC systems, and iii) evaluate the performance of Spawn’s Quantized State System (QSS) time integration algorithms

Wetter, Michael↗
DOE OSTI2018

Moisture Performance of High-R Wall Systems

High-performance homes offer improved comfort, lower utility bills, and assured durability. The next generation of building enclosures is a key step toward achieving high-performance goals through decreasing energy load demand and enabling advanced space-conditioning systems. Yet the adoption of high-R enclosures and particularly high-R walls has been a slow-growing trend because mainstream builders are hesitant to make the transition. In a survey of builders on this topic, one of the challenges identifi ed is an industry-wide concern about the long-term moisture performance of energy-effi cient walls. This study takes a step toward addressing this concern through direct monitoring of the moisture performance of high-R walls in occupied homes in several climate zones. In addition, the robustness of the design and modeling tools for selecting high-R wall solutions is evaluated using the monitored data from the field. The information and knowledge gained through this research will provide an objective basis for decision-making so that builders can implement advanced designs with confidence.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nanoscale Tracking of the High-Temperature Spin-State Transition in LaCoO 3

The high-temperature spin and electronic transitions in LaCoO 3 have recently been leveraged to create neuromorphic (brain-inspired) devices. While these devices have shown the potential for impactful functionality in next-generation computing systems, the nanoscale dynamics of the spin and electronic transitions that underlie their operation are not well understood. Inhomogeneities related to interfaces, electrode contacts, strain, and crystal defects can all affect device performance, making nanoscale characterization of the transitions essential for producing consistent and reliable devices. Here, we demonstrate the first nanoscale in situ measurement of the spin transition in LaCoO 3 at device-relevant temperatures (25–325 °C) over length scales of tens of nanometers using STEM-EELS. This measurement is enabled by an Al 2 O 3 coating, which prevents unwanted reduction of the LaCoO 3 specimen at high temperature and vacuum. The detailed understanding of LaCoO 3 transition dynamics enabled by such measurements will be crucial for optimizing LaCoO 3 -based neuromorphic devices and increasing reliability for real-world application.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

The GlueX beamline and detector

The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab has been designed to study photoproduction reactions with a 9-GeV linearly polarized photon beam. The energy and arrival time of beam photons are tagged using a scintillator hodoscope and a scintillating fiber array. The photon flux is determined using a pair spectrometer, while the linear polarization of the photon beam is determined using a polarimeter based on triplet photoproduction. Charged-particle tracks from interactions in the central target are analyzed in a solenoidal field using a central straw-tube drift chamber and six packages of planar chambers with cathode strips and drift wires. Electromagnetic showers are reconstructed in a cylindrical scintillating fiber calorimeter inside the magnet and a lead-glass array downstream. Charged particle identification is achieved by measuring energy loss in the wire chambers and using the flight time of particles between the target and detectors outside the magnet. The signals from all detectors are recorded with flash ADCs and/or pipeline TDCs into memories allowing trigger decisions with a latency of 3.3 $μs$. The detector operates routinely at trigger rates of 40 kHz and data rates of 600 megabytes per second. Here, we describe the photon beam, the GlueX detector components, electronics, data-acquisition and monitoring systems, and the performance of the experiment during the first three years of operation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Concentrating Rare Earth Elements in Coal mine drainage Using Coal Combustion Products through Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation

Rare earth elements (REEs) (including scandium, yttrium and a group of 15 lanthanides) are often considered to be critical components in the productions of renewable energy hardware, electric vehicles, health care and military equipment, and consumer electronic products. The demand of REEs has been projected to be growing at an annual rate of 5-9% in the next 25 years. In 2011, the global demand of total rare earth oxides (REOs) was estimated to be approximately 105,000 tons, which is expected to grow to 210,000 tons by 2025. China overwhelmingly dominates the current worldwide rare earth productions but has strategically restricted its exports, causing significant instability for the global market. In response to the increasing demand for REEs and the supply dominance of China, identifying alternative sources of REEs has become a critical issue for the United States and other countries. Coal, coal ash, and coal mine drainage (CMD) are considered to be the alternative sources of REEs. In the U.S., high REE concentrations have been reported to be closely associated with coal deposits, including the Appalachian Basins. When surface and/or groundwater come in contact with geologic strata containing sulfide minerals exposed by coal mining, the accelerated oxidation of sulfide minerals in the presence of ferric iron and/or oxygen can produce sulfuric acid. The process promotes the weathering of REE-bearing rocks and minerals in the host geologic strata. Compared to average river water and seawater, the concentrations of REEs can be orders of magnitude higher in CMD. In this study, we demonstrated a trap-extract-precipitate (TEP) process that can effectively recover REEs from CMD. The three-stage TEP process uses alkaline industrial by-products to capture REEs from CMD and then applies an extraction/precipitation procedure to produce a feedstock that can be economically processed to produce marketable rare earth oxides. The alkaline industrial by-products tested in this study include the residual from a water softening process (DRWP sludge) and two types of stabilized flue gas desulfurization materials (sFGDs). sFGD material is a mixture of lime (CaO) and two coal combustion by-products, calcium sulfite FGD by-product and fly ash. The objectives of this study are to (1) validate the effectiveness and feasibility; (2) determine mechanisms controlling the rare earth recovery, (3) quantify the associated economic and environmental benefits, and (4) evaluate the full-scale application. To achieve these objectives, tasks to be carried out in this proposed project are organized into three phases. In the first phase, the research team collaborated with Ohio Department of Natural Resources, American Electric Power, The Wilds (a nonprofit wildlife conservation organization), and a private landowner to carry out field investigations aimed to screen and evaluate the seasonal changes of rare earths in the CMD discharges that have high recovery potentials. Next, the recovery of REEs from CMD was tested using a series of lab-scale column and batch tests under, respectively, percolation and completely mixed conditions. Results obtained from these lab-scale studies show that all three tested solids are very effective in retaining REEs. Over 98% of the CMD REEs that contacted the solids were captured before the solids exhausted their neutralization capacities. We also determined an extraction process using a non-acid, organic ligand extraction solution that can effectively remobilize the retained REEs from the spent solids (over 90%). The REE concentrate (>7.5 wt. % of total REEs) is then formed in an aeration process. The TEP process uses environmentally benign industrial by-products and a naturally-occurring organic ligand to mitigate CMD and recover REEs. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out in the third phase. The engineering-economic costs and net energy, net CO2 emissions, and water and other requirements were investigated to understand the economic and environmental implications of this process. This work uses mass and energy balances from laboratory-scale experiments to estimate the economic costs and environmental impacts. The results suggest that passive treatment systems that use DRWP sludge are preferred over those that use sFGD material, because of lower economic costs ($89,300/yr with a unit cost of $86/gT-REE vs. $89,800/yr, or $278/gT-REE) and improved environmental performance across all indicators from two different impact assessment methods. These differences are largely attributable to the larger capacity of DRWP sludge in the passive treatment application. We envision this TEP process can be integrated with abandoned mine land (AML) reclamation to create an approach that can add economic incentives for AML reclamation, remediate CMD discharge, and eliminate public safety hazards and threats to local environment and ecological systems posed by AMLs. It can restore lands and communities that are adversely impacted by legacy mining.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2025

On-chip pulse shaping of entangled photons

The miniaturization of optical systems via integrated photonics is critical to the ultimate scalability and performance of photonic quantum processors, yet many longstanding optical signal processing capabilities—such as Fourier-transform pulse shaping—remain unrealized on chip. In this work, we demonstrate on-chip spectral shaping of entangled photons using a multichannel microring-resonator-based silicon photonic pulse shaper. Achieving line-by-line phase control on a 3 GHz grid for two frequency-bin-entangled qudits, the pulse shaper's fine spectral resolution enables control of nanosecond-scale temporal features, which are observed by direct coincidence detection of biphoton correlation functions that show excellent agreement with theory. This work marks a demonstration of biphoton pulse shaping using an integrated spectral shaper and holds significant promise for applications in photonic quantum information processing.

Entanglement manipulation↗
DOE OSTI2025

Findings on subtask 3.3 – applicability of automated brine chemistry determinations for treatment and recovery processes through facility automation/modularization: engineering design study

Under the Energy & Environmental Research Center’s (EERC’s) ~$\$$22 million Phase II Brine Extraction and Storage Test (BEST) Program, a multimillion-dollar brine treatment technology test bed facility was established in western North Dakota to provide a platform for evaluating developing technologies and approaches for brine treatment and volume reduction. The initial facility, and associated research effort, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), with in-kind contributions provided by several industry participants and the state of North Dakota. Since its opening, the Brine Technology Test Facility (BTTF) has supported performance evaluations of desalination technologies capable of treating high-salinity produced water (PW) and enabled data collection for multiple approaches of PW management and critical material recovery. As part of the decommissioning process for the original project, facility ownership and liability were transferred to Select Water, which is providing the EERC with a continuing site access option for state or federal research and/or commercial technology development. This report documents the findings from a design study conducted by the EERC and the engineering firm that was originally contracted to design and construct the facility (Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, LLC [AE2S]) that evaluated the current status of BTTF and its systems and developed a retrofit design to increase the facility’s capabilities through automation and modularization of its PW treatment infrastructure. The proposed retrofit will provide DOE and industry with an expanded range of conditioned PW that can be produced at the facility for evaluating fit-for-purpose water treatment technologies, online instrumentation for brine chemistry determination, and systems that recover critical materials like lithium and magnesium. The current facility consists of an 9600-square-foot facility that includes a 40-foot by 65-foot Class 1, Division 2-rated demonstration area and associated control rooms and lab-ready space capable of sourcing oil and gas PW and wastewater from industrial sources or tailoring brine compositions up to 300,000 mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS) and supplying them at rates up to 25 gpm for extended-duration technology demonstrations. The colocation of the facility with Select Water’s water management facilities allows for access and unloading of more than 10,000 bbl/day of trucked water delivered to site and associated access to on-site Class I and Class II brine disposal wells and nearby hazardous waste landfills operated and/or contracted by Select Water to dispose of concentrate and/or effluents associated with the testing.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Ceramic Proppant Design for In-situ Microbially Enhanced Methane Recovery

This project designed a new type of multi-functional lightweight proppant. The proppant is utilized as the conventional lightweight proppant but also transports microorganisms to coalbed reservoirs. The proppant is coated with a polymer which protects the methanogenic microorganisms and serves as a time-release delivery for methane generation. To produce the multifunctional proppant, we assigned five tasks: 1) culturing methanogenic microbes from natural carbon sources; 2) identifying optimized growth and methanogenesis conditions for the microbial consortia; 3) synthesizing the lightweight ceramic proppant; 4) encapsulating the consortia and proppant; and 5) demonstrating lab scale simulated performance by monitoring in-situ methane generation and hydraulic conductivity. Task 1) To evaluate the feasibility of ex-situ cultivation, natural microbial populations were collected from various hydrocarbon-rich environments and locations characterized by natural methanogenesis. Different rank coals, complex hydrocarbon sources, hydrocarbon seeps, and natural biogenic environments were incorporated in the sampling. Three levels of screening allowed selection of microbial populations, favorable nutrient amendments, sources of the microbial community, and quantification of methane produced from various coal types. Incubation periods of up to 24 weeks were evaluated at 23°C. Headspace concentrations of CH 4 and CO 2 were analyzed by gas chromatography. After a two-week incubation period of the most promising microbes, generated headspace gas concentrations reached 873,400 ppm for methane and 176,370 ppm for carbon dioxide. Task 2) A central composite design (CCD) was used to explore a broad range of operational conditions, examine the effects of the important environmental factors, such as temperature, pH and salt concentration, and query a feasible region of operation to maximize methane production from coal. Coal biogasification was optimal for this consortium at an initial pH value of 5.5, at 30 °C, and at a NaCl concentration 3.7 mg/cm 3 (i.e., 145,165 ppm). Task 3) To create the lightweight ceramic proppant, the kaolinite and iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) mixture were sintered under reducing atmosphere varying partial pressures of oxygen from 1.7×10 -13 atm to 1.8×10-11 atm. The Fe 2 O 3 reduces to FeO and reacts with kaolinite decomposed to mullite to form Fe 2 SiO 4 , FeSiO 3 , and FeAl 2 O 4 . As a result the proppant develops large pores (~100 µm), giving it a low bulk density (1.43 g/cm 3 ), and high porosity (45.2 vol%) at P_(O_2 )of 1.8×10 -11 atm. The proppant sintered at P_(O_2 )of 1.7×10 -13 atm is characterized by smaller pores (26 µm), higher density (1.72 g/cm3) and lower porosity (37.5 vol%). Crush resistance testing at 9,000 psi yields 6.8 wt% fine particles increasing to 17.7 wt% in porous samples. Acid solubility varies from 5.5 wt% loss increasing to 12.9 wt% in porous samples. Task 4 and 5) The microbial consortia obtained from the optimized condition and lightweight proppant were encapsulated by calcium-alginate polymer. The encapsulation system, including microbes and a proppant, was stored at 20°C and 36°C. The sample stored at 36°C generated 7.1×[10] 3 ppm of methane at 670 h, whereas the sample incubated at 20°C generated 1.1×[10] 3 ppm of methane. Benchtop lab-scale bioreactors were constructed and showed with real-time measurements that, as the microbes produced methane, the pH decreased, and hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases were consumed. A calcium ion-selective sensor revealed the release mechanism of the microbes from encapsulation. The calcium ions interconnecting the alginate monomers were disassociated by counter cations such as protons and potassium ions. The counter cations bound to the carboxyl group on the alginate monomer, which thus lost its ionic interactions with the calcium ions, resulting in decomposition of the hydrogel structure. Furthermore, the conductivity was increased to ~700 mD-ft from ~530 mD-ft once the encapsulated sample was applied to the coal pack. The particle size of coal was reduced when the encapsulated sample was added to the coal. The reduced coal size implied that the microbes would consume the hydrocarbon in coal.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Benchmarking Optimizers for Qumode State Preparation with Variational Quantum Algorithms

Quantum state preparation involves preparing a target state from an initial system, a process integral to applications such as quantum machine learning and solving systems of linear equations. Recently, there has been a growing interest in qumodes due to advancements in the field and their potential applications. However there is a notable gap in the literature specifically addressing this area. This paper aims to bridge this gap by providing performance benchmarks of various optimizers used in state preparation with Variational Quantum Algorithms. We conducted extensive testing across multiple scenarios, including different target states, both ideal and sampling simulations, and varying numbers of basis gate layers. Our evaluations offer insights into the complexity of learning each type of target state and demonstrate that some optimizers perform better than others in this context. Notably, the Powell optimizer was found to be exceptionally robust against sampling errors, making it a preferred choice in scenarios prone to such inaccuracies. Additionally, the Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation optimizer was distinguished for its efficiency and ability to handle increased parameter dimensionality effectively.

Kan, Shuwen [Fordham University]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bacterial nitrite production oxidizes Fe(II) bioremediating acidic abandoned coal mine drainage

Passive remediation systems (PRSs) treating either acidic or neutral abandoned coal mine drainage (AMD) are colonized by bacteria that can bioremediate iron (Fe) through chemical cycling. Due to the low pH in acidic AMD, iron oxidation from soluble Fe(II) to precipitated Fe(III) is mainly directed by microbial oxidation. Less well described are biotic reactions that lead to iron remediation through abiotic secondary reactions. We describe here iron oxidation in acidic AMD that is mediated by the bacterial reduction of nitrate to nitrite followed by the geochemical oxidation of Fe(II). Within an acidic PRS, 4,560 bacteria cultured from the microbial community were screened for their ability to oxidize iron and to perform nitrate-dependent iron oxidation (NDFO). Iron oxidation in the culturable community was observed in every pond of the system, ranging from 2.1% to 11.4%, and NDFO was observed in every pond, ranging from 1.4% to 6.0% of the culturable bacteria. Five NDFO isolates were purified and identified as Paraburkholderia spp. One of our isolates, Paraburkholderia sp. AV18 was shown to drive NDFO through the bacterial production of nitrite that in turn chemically oxidizes Fe(II) (nitrate reduction-iron oxidation; NRIO). AV18 expressed nitrate reductase, napA, concurrent to nitrite production. Burkholderiales are found by 16S rRNA gene sequencing in every pond of the PRS. The frequency of NDFO metabolism in the culturable microbial community and abundance of Burkholderiales in the PRS suggest nitrite producers contribute to the bioremediation of iron in acidic AMD and may be an unharnessed opportunity to increase iron bioremediation in acidic conditions.

(NDFO)↗
DOE OSTI2023

W ± -boson production in p–Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}} $ = 8.16 TeV and Pb–Pb collisions at $ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}} $ = 5.02 TeV

The production of the W ± bosons measured in p–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon collision $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV and Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV with ALICE at the LHC is presented. The W ± bosons are measured via their muonic decay channel, with the muon reconstructed in the pseudorapidity region -4 < η$_{lab}^{μ}$ < -2.5 with transverse momentum p$_{T}^{μ}$ > 10 GeV/c. While in Pb–Pb collisions the measurements are performed in the forward (2.5 < y$_{cms}^{μ}$ < 4) rapidity region, in p–Pb collisions, where the centre-of-mass frame is boosted with respect to the laboratory frame, the measurements are performed in the backward (-4.46 < y$_{cms}^{μ}$ < -2.96) and forward (2.03 < y$_{cms}^{μ}$ < 3.53) rapidity regions. The W - and W + production cross sections, lepton-charge asymmetry, and nuclear modification factors are evaluated as a function of the muon rapidity. In order to study the production as a function of the p–Pb collision centrality, the production cross sections of the W - and W + bosons are combined and normalised to the average number of binary nucleon–nucleon collision $\langle$N coll $\rangle$. In Pb–Pb collisions, the same measurements are presented as a function of the collision centrality. Study of the binary scaling of the W ± -boson cross sections in p–Pb and Pb–Pb collisions is also reported. The results are compared with perturbative QCD calculations, with and without nuclear modifications of the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs), as well as with available data at the LHC. Significant deviations from the theory expectations are found in the two collision systems, indicating that the measurements can provide additional constraints for the determination of nuclear PDFs and in particular of the light-quark distributions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Short Distance of Nuclei - Mining the Wealth of Existing Jefferson Lab Data - Final Report

Over the last fifteen years of operation, the Jefferson Lab CLAS Collaboration has performed many experiments using nuclear targets. Because the CLAS detector has a very large acceptance and because it used a very open (i.e., nonspecific) trigger, there is a vast amount of data on many different reaction channels yet to be analyzed. The goal of the Jefferson Lab Nuclear Data Mining grant was to (1) collect the data from nuclear target experiments using the CLAS detector, (2) collect the associated cuts and corrections used to analyze that data, (3) provide non-expert users with a software environment for easy analysis of the data, and (4) to search for interesting reaction signatures in the data. We formed the Jefferson Lab Nuclear Data Mining collaboration under the auspices of this grant. The collaboration successfully carried out all of our goals. Dr. Gavalian, the data mining scientist, created a remarkably user-friendly web-based interface to enable easy analysis of the nuclear-target data by non-experts. Data from many of the CLAS nuclear target experiments has been made available on servers at Old Dominion University. Many of the associated cuts and corrections have been incorporated into the data mining software. The data mining collaboration was extraordinarily successful in finding interesting reaction signatures in the data. Our paper Momentum sharing in imbalanced Fermi systems was published in Science. Several analyses of CLAS data are continuing and will result in papers after the end of the grant period. We have held several analysis workshops and have given many invited talks at international conferences and workshops related to the data mining initiative. Our initiative to maximize the impact of data collected with CLAS in the 6-GeV era was very successful. During the hiatus between the end of 6-GeV experiments and the beginning of 12-GeV experiments, our collaboration and the physics community at large benefited tremendously from the Jefferson Lab Nuclear Data Mining effort.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Solving sparse finite element problems on neuromorphic hardware

The finite element method (FEM) is one of the most important and ubiquitous numerical methods for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) on computers for scientific and engineering discovery. Applying the FEM to larger and more detailed scientific models has driven advances in high-performance computing for decades. Here we demonstrate that scalable spiking neuromorphic hardware can directly implement the FEM by constructing a spiking neural network that solves the large, sparse, linear systems of equations at the core of the FEM. We show that for the Poisson equation, a fundamental PDE in science and engineering, our neural circuit achieves meaningful levels of numerical accuracy and close to ideal scaling on modern, inherently parallel and energy-efficient neuromorphic hardware, specifically Intel’s Loihi 2 neuromorphic platform. We illustrate extensions to irregular mesh geometries in both two and three dimensions as well as other PDEs such as linear elasticity. Our spiking neural network is constructed from a recurrent network model of the brain’s motor cortex and, in contrast to black-box deep artificial neural network-based methods for PDEs, directly translates the well-understood and trusted mathematics of the FEM to a natively spiking neuromorphic algorithm.

Applied mathematics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Holistic Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle/Hydrogen Station Optimization Model (CRADA CRD-18-00745 Final Report)

The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Argonne National Lab (ANL), Sandia National Lab (SNL), and Frontier Energy, Inc comprise a team that will perform a review of currently available models that can simulate both a hydrogen station and a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), and whose owners are willing to make them available freely. We will then down select to a single model or model pair, secure agreements for their free use, and validate the resulting model or coupled models. For example, we may evaluate an existing 1-D hydrogen fueling model developed by Kyushu University for the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The validation will take place using data from various sources, potentially including the European Joint Research Center (JRC) HyTransfer project, SAE testing performed by Powertech to validate SAE J2601, and whole-station validation using the NREL’s Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility (HITRF). The team will make the model and all the validation data open to the public at the end of the project.

1-D hydrogen fueling model↗
DOE OSTI2025

Ab initio prediction of FeCr sigma (001)/FCC Fe(111) interfacial energy: Effect of interfacial doping of C, B, and N

Interfacial energy plays a crucial role for high-temperature material systems in determining their microstructure evolution and mechanical properties. Optimizing the interfacial energy through doping can improve the stability, performance, and overall functionality of these materials. Here, the present study delivers theoretical investigation on the sigma FeCr (001)//FCC Fe (111) interfacial energy using ab initio methods, focusing on the implications of interfacial doping with important interstitial elements carbon (C), boron (B), and nitrogen (N). The calculated interfacial energy without doping is 0.183J/m 2 . Upon doping, notable reductions in interfacial energy were observed. Doping with B decreased the interfacial energy to 0.046J/m 2 , with single C doping to 0.126J/m 2 , with two C doping to 0.098J/m 2 , and with a single N doping to 0.071J/m 2 . These findings not only shed light on the atomistic origin for the effect of stabilizing the microstructure of stainless steel at elevated temperatures by interstitial doping, but also present a systematic, thorough ab initio approach to predict interfacial doping properties and guide alloy design to enhance the performance and stability.

FeCr sigma phase↗