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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 829 records · Page 46
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Design Report on the MiniFuel Instrumented Test Apparatus for Understanding Radiation Effects

Most nuclear fuels irradiations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) over the past decade have been conducted using MiniFuel—a static capsule design employing subscale fuel specimens to collect separate-effects irradiated fuel performance data. Irradiation conditions for MiniFuel experiments are predicted pre-test using reactor physics, and thermal models are verified post-irradiation via SiC dilatometry and various spectrometry methods. Relevant fuel performance parameters are also observed post-irradiation in a hot cell, thereby providing a single data point for each parameter representing the cumulative effects of the irradiation conditions. Substantially more data can be harvested from a single test and within a shorter duration by instrumenting irradiation vehicles and measuring desired quantities in situ. This report presents the design and analysis of the MiniFuel INstrumented Irradiation Test Apparatus for Understanding Radiation Effects (MINITAURE)—an instrumented test rig based on the separate-effects MiniFuel concept that aims to capture fission gas release (FGR) and thermal conductivity degradation of fuel specimens during irradiation in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). MINITAURE will be integrated with the Materials Irradiation Facility (MIF) located in the HFIR building outside the reactor containment. The MIF will act as the instrumentation and control center for the experiment, enabling real-time feedback from in situ sensors and control of irradiation temperatures via a gas delivery system. Two unique capsule designs were developed to capture each phenomenon: the thermal conductivity capsule, which uses a thermopile method to estimate fuel specimen thermal conductivity, and the fission gas release capsule, which will have continuous flowing gas communication to high-purity germanium detectors that are housed in the MIF for monitoring FGR. This report details the reactor physics and heat transfer modeling activities that were used to inform the experiment design and predict capsule performance. It also describes out-of-pile activities conducted to stand up this new capability and verify the measurement techniques. Modeling efforts to date have demonstrated the feasibility of the in situ measurement techniques and supported the development of the MINITAURE assembly configuration. Out-of-pile testing of the thermal conductivity measurement shows promise in capturing relative changes in thermal conductivity. However, significant errors exist in the measured absolute value, posing a need for further refinement.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Assessment of Survey Results from Advanced Reactor Industry Domain Experts on Nonlinear Soil-Structure Interaction Analysis Software Verification and Validation

The seismic load case has a significant impact on the design and cost of nuclear power plants. Given the need to substantially reduce cost, advanced reactor designers are looking to leverage numerical tools that enable seismic analysis of an integrated vessel/support/structure/soil system. Modern nonlinear analysis tools provide a solution, capturing dynamic coupling between components (including soil-structure interaction (SSI)) concurrent with nonlinear behavior in one or more parts of the system. Although these methods have a rich history of technical development and implementation, software quality assurance (SQA) following nuclear industry standards remains a significant burden for those wishing to adopt such methods for advanced reactor design and licensing. To reduce the SQA burden, this project will develop the guidance for SQA verification and validation (V&V) of coupled nonlinear SSI analysis tools, to include a test matrix of software features and test problems to support commercial grade dedication (CGD). The guidance is intended to be technology-neutral: supporting designers of all advanced reactors. To maximize the value of the project to reactor designers, the project team performed focused surveys of and interviews with advanced reactor designers. Additionally, the project surveyed members of the broader industry involved in reactor design and licensing. The aggregated industry feedback consists of written survey responses, live polling responses, focused interviews, and informal feedback provided after outreach presentations, collectively referred to as “survey results”. Herein, the survey results are reported, reviewed, and assessed to inform follow-on project activities. The survey results confirmed the familiarity of the industry with the coupled nonlinear SSI analysis. They also affirm the project need based upon the expressed intent to (1) incorporate nonlinear features and (2) pursue the coupled nonlinear SSI analysis to reduce seismic demands and construction costs. All reactor designers indicated their intent to incorporate two or more nonlinear features, and all reactor designer respondents opined that the coupled nonlinear SSI analysis would allow for the optimization of the reactor design and construction. However, the programmatic challenges, whether real or perceived, present a significant barrier to reactor designers. The barrier most commonly identified by the reactor designer population was regulatory risk, with 70% citing this as a reason not to pursue the approach. The perceived regulatory risk identified by the reactor designers underscores the importance of regulator engagement and dialogue in this project. Additionally, half of the reactor designers identified cost and lack of guidance as a deterrent. The survey results also provide insights to tailor specific aspects of the guidance document and test matrix. The project plans to prepare both a formal referenceable guidance document and a collaborative, web-based test matrix and problem set. The project will focus on more complete test problem definitions for the prioritized nonlinear features over shallower problem descriptions for a larger set of features. The nonlinearities prioritized as high based upon survey feedback include fluid-structure interaction and seismic isolation and energy dissipation devices. The nonlinearities prioritized as intermediate include nonlinear geomaterials, nonlinear concrete, nonlinear steel, and interface/contact nonlinearity. Deep embedment and the associated nonlinear phenomena are assigned the lowest priority based upon survey feedback.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Investigation of thermal hydraulic behavior of the High Temperature Test Facility's lower plenum via large eddy simulation

A high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed using the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model for the lower plenum of the High–Temperature Test Facility (HTTF), a ¼ scale test facility of the modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor (MHTGR) managed by Oregon State University. In most next–generation nuclear reactors, thermal stress due to thermal striping is one of the risks to be curiously considered. This is also true for HTGRs, especially since the exhaust helium gas temperature is high. In order to evaluate these risks and performance, organizations in the United States led by the OECD NEA are conducting a thermal hydraulic code benchmark for HTGR, and the test facility used for this benchmark is HTTF. HTTF can perform experiments in both normal and accident situations and provide high-quality experimental data. However, it is difficult to provide sufficient data for benchmarking through experiments, and there is a problem with the reliability of CFD analysis results based on Reynolds–averaged Navier–Stokes to analyze thermal hydraulic behavior without verification. To solve this problem, high-fidelity 3-D CFD analysis was performed using the LES model for HTTF. It was also verified that the LES model can properly simulate this jet mixing phenomenon via a unit cell test that provides experimental information. As a result of CFD analysis, the lower the dependency of the sub-grid scale model, the closer to the actual analysis result. In the case of unit cell test CFD analysis and HTTF CFD analysis, the volume-averaged sub-grid scale model dependency was calculated to be 13.0% and 9.16%, respectively. As a result of HTTF analysis, quantitative data of the fluid inside the HTTF lower plenum was provided in this paper. As a result of qualitative analysis, the temperature was highest at the center of the lower plenum, while the temperature fluctuation was highest near the edge of the lower plenum wall. The power spectral density of temperature was analyzed via fast Fourier transform (FFT) for specific points on the center and side of the lower plenum. FFT results did not reveal specific frequency-dominant temperature fluctuations in the center part. It was confirmed that the temperature power spectral density (PSD) at the top increased from the center to the wake. The vortex was visualized using the well-known scalar Q-criterion, and as a result, the closer to the outlet duct, the greater the influence of the mainstream, so that the inflow jet vortex was dissipated and mixed at the top of the lower plenum. Additionally, FFT analysis was performed on the support structure near the corner of the lower plenum with large temperature fluctuations, and as a result, it was confirmed that the temperature fluctuation of the flow did not have a significant effect near the corner wall. In addition, the vortices generated from the lower plenum to the outlet duct were identified in this paper. It is considered that the quantitative and qualitative results presented in this paper will serve as reference data for the benchmark.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

STAT7 v2.0 Verification and Validation Report

This report documents the software testing which has been performed for STAT7 Version 2.0 (hereafter STAT7 v2.0), a code for the statistical propagation of uncertainties in steady-state thermal hydraulics (TH) analysis of plate-fueled research and test reactors. The key capabilities addressed in this testing were selected based on the use of the software for analysis work supporting the conversion to low-enriched uranium fuel of U.S. High-Performance Research Reactors (USHPRR) such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR-II). This testing scope includes comparison of the code’s statistical processing capabilities using statistical tests, comparison of coolant property evaluations to NIST data tables, and systematic comparison of key TH solver capabilities to the results of hand calculations and to predictions from PLTEMP/ANL Version 4.4. The

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Plant Bioengineering Atlas: A Knowledge Graph of Genes, DNA Constructs, and Plant Traits.

Plant bioengineering has generated tens of thousands of genotype-to-phenotype relationships, but this knowledge remains fragmented across narrative literature and difficult to use computationally. Inconsistent descriptions of DNA constructs, host species, and traits, including variable species names, omitted regulatory elements, and inconsistent gene symbols, impede data reuse, comparative analysis, and design-build-test-learn cycles. Here, we present the Plant Bioengineering Atlas, a literature-mined, ontology-grounded knowledge base assembled using an artificial intelligence (AI)-aided extraction pipeline. A large language model parsed open-access primary research articles to generate structured, provenance-anchored records of engineered genes, modification types, promoter-gene-terminator constructs, host species, target traits, and reported phenotypes, with every record traceable to its source. The current release contains 14,358 curated records encompassing 6,998 distinct genes across 436 plant species from 6,452 papers published between 2000 and 2026. Corpus analysis reveals that experiments are concentrated in a small group of model and crop species, disease and pathogen resistance is the most frequently engineered trait class, and constitutive regulatory parts (particularly the CaMV 35S promoter and NOS terminator) remain pervasive. Two in five records omit one or both flanking regulatory elements (i.e., promoter and terminator), while only 23.4% describe cassettes in which both elements resolve to named part classes, exposing a systematic reproducibility gap. We organize these data into a knowledge graph linking genes, constructs, species, and traits; provide access through an interactive web portal; and propose an AI-compatible documentation standard for AI-ready reporting. The Plant Bioengineering Atlas provides a foundation for data-driven hypothesis generation and AI-aided plant biodesign.

, Genes, DNA Constructs↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Explosive Hazards of Icosahedral Carboranes and Dodecaborate with Common Oxidizers and Salts

Carboranes find use in a wide variety of applications ranging from specialty catalysts to medicinal uses. Certain functionalized carboranes are described as explosive materials, although their nonfunctionalized precursors are regarded as inherently stable and not explosive. Herein, we report new findings on the sensitization of nonfunctionalized 12-vertex ortho-, meta-, and para-carboranes as well as dodecaborate in physical mixtures with several common inorganic salts. These mixtures were evaluated for explosive properties with drop hammer impact tests, friction tests, and differential scanning calorimetry thermal gravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA). Results indicate explosive sensitization to mechanical stimuli for the nonfunctionalized carboranes tested with a wide variety of inorganic salts, especially oxidizers. Sensitization of these compounds has not previously been reported, and raising awareness to the broader scientific community on this matter is warranted, especially as several of the mixtures evaluated are more sensitive to mechanical stimuli than primary explosives such as lead azide or pentaerythritol tetranitrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Design of a Test Article and Test Facility to Investigate Flow-Induced Vibration of a Helical Coil Steam Generator

NuScale Power LLC (NuScale) is developing a small modular reactor (SMR) with unique design features and arrangements that require testing to provide quality data for safety analysis codes and design validation, as well as for technology maturation. A multi-phase testing program is underway at NuScale to demonstrate that its unique helical coil steam generator design is not susceptible to flow-induced vibration during operation. The phases of the testing program include modal testing of individual tubes during test article fabrication and modal and flow testing after test article completion. NuScale has contracted SIET S.p.A. in Piacenza, Italy for the design and fabrication of the test article and test facility. In-fabrication testing was performed at the site of test article build in Cremosano, Italy. Modal testing and flow testing of the completed test article will be performed at SIET’s facilities in Piacenza. This paper discusses the design of the test article and test facility, including supporting systems, required to generate the quality data required to support NuScale’s comprehensive vibration assessment program as part of the overall licensing effort for NuScale’s first-of-a-kind small modular light water reactor.

Flow-induced vibration, helical coil, steam genera↗
DOE OSTI2021

Analysis of Completion Design Impact on Cluster Efficiency and Pressure-Based Well Communication in HFTS-2 Delaware Basin

The Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site 2 (HFTS-2) is a joint industry project in the Delaware basin to advance hydraulic fracturing understanding and improve productivity in shale reservoirs. The project integrates multi-disciplinary approaches to evaluate different completion designs, well spacing, inter-well communication, and stimulated rock volume, among other factors. This paper focused on two major areas related to hydraulic fracture performance. First, an analysis of different completion designs on cluster efficiency based on near well Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). Second, an evaluation of well and completion designs on inter-well fracture driven interactions (FDIs) based on downhole pressure monitoring. Fluid/sand distribution and cluster efficiency analyses were based on near wellbore DAS data collected from two adjacent horizontal wells completed in two different landing zones in the Wolfcamp formation. These wells had different completion designs aiming to evaluate the effect of normal vs. extended stage lengths, perforation hole tapering and limited entry. Standard deviation from ideal fluid/sand distribution and waterfall plots were used to evaluate cluster efficiency for each design and stage. Inter-well FDIs analysis was conducted among the horizontal wells and a vertical monitor well. One horizontal well served as the monitor well while the other horizontal well was being treated. The vertical well was instrumented with downhole pressure and temperature gauges to aid monitoring fracture height growth. The pressure response during and after fracturing was characterized based on maximum pressure increase value and slope. Pressure response vs. FDIs trigger factors such distance, cluster efficiency and stage fluid volume were also analyzed. Based on the different completion and perforation designs tested, DAS analysis suggests that limited entry design worked best. Extreme limited entry showed the potential of high perforation erosion and reduced cluster efficiency. Here, the limited entry and tapered perforation design demonstrated potential to improve the cluster efficiency for extended stage lengths. Pressure monitoring across formation units proved to be critical to understand fracture interactions and fracture vertical growth. Pressure communication across different formation units during hydraulic fracturing operation indicate fractures grew upwards during Wolfcamp wells fracturing. However, this pressure communication dissipated over time. High intensity FDIs were recorded when the frac stages Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/URTECONF/proceedings-pdf/21URTC/1-21URTC/D011S018R001/2477607/urtec-2021-5289-ms.pdf/1 by Carol Worster on 28 February 2022 URTeC 5289 were closer to the pressure gauge location in the monitor wells. Some of these stages that produced high intensity FDIs also had high fluid volume per cluster and low cluster efficiency. The multi-disciplinary and high-quality data collected from HFTS-2 helped to further understand why completion approaches such as limited entry and tapered perforation design are successful in improving cluster efficiency. The DAS data combined with downhole high-resolution pressure measurements also helped to quantify the effect of lower cluster efficiency data on the incidence and intensity of FDIs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Indirectly probing the structural change in ion-irradiated Zr-Based metallic glasses from small scale mechanical tests

Ion irradiation was applied to tailor the structural heterogeneities in Zr-based metallic glasses at room temperature. Experimental methods of X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation, and micropillar compression were conducted to examine the irradiation effects on their structural and mechanical property changes. It is found that the irradiated materials retained amorphous structure after room-temperature Ni ion irradiation. The reduction of elastic modulus and hardness measured by nanoindentation indicated the irradiation-induced mechanical degradation. A unified statistic model was employed to quantitatively predict the density and strength of irradiation defects, although their specific structural and physical nature is not explicitly included in this model. The transition of non-intersecting shear bands to multiple intersecting shear bands was observed on compression tests of irradiated micropillars with the increase of irradiation dose. Furthermore, the analysis of the displacement excursion of micropillar compression tests indicated a different deformation mode from the unirradiated state. These results from nanoindentation pop-in and micro-pillar compression tests suggested that irradiation eventually leads to a new state with different types and characteristics of structural heterogeneities from violent displacement cascades and non-equilibrium energy deposition/dissipation processes, which also proves ion irradiation as an effective method to tune the structure and mechanical properties of metallic glasses.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Comprehensive Efficiency Analysis of Current Source Inverter Based on CSI-Type Double Pulse Test and Genetic Algorithm

A current-source inverter (CSI) has a natural output voltage boost feature that can be advantageous for traction applications. Switching frequency is one of the easily-controlled variables that can be adjusted to improve the CSI efficiency at different operating points when the boost function is used. This paper investigates a CSI-based double-pulse test (DPT) measurement that mimics normal operation of the CSI. A loss model of the CSI is developed based on the CSI-type DPT experimental results. The impacts of the switching frequency and voltage boost ratio on the CSI efficiency and output voltage ripple are investigated. Based on the loss model, a genetic algorithm has been introduced that makes it possible to optimize the CSI's switching frequency and modulation index to maximize its efficiency under any desired operating condition.

current-source inverter, genetic algorithm, SPM ma↗
DOE OSTI2023

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Experimental Test Site 300 (S300): S300 Roadway Improvements - 817 Complex Soil Sampling and Analysis Plan (May 2023)

This Soil Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) was prepared by the Environmental Function Area (EFA)/Technical Services Department (TSD) of the Environment, Safety & Health (ES&H) Directorate for the Project Management Office (PMO) for the proposed Roadway Improvements Project at the 817 Complex (project). The purpose of the SAP was to describe the procedures for collection and analysis of environmental samples and evaluation of analytical data (chemical and radiological) to determine management options of excavated soil during project construction in accordance with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Soils Screening and Management Plan (SSMP) (LLNL 2022), which was developed in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance for developing Data Quality Objectives for environmental data (EPA 2006) and the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) guidance (U.S. NRC, U.S. EPA, U.S. DOE, and U.S. DOD 2000). The SAP was developed in accordance with the SSMP and based on preliminary design information provided to EFA by PMO.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Experimental Test Site, Site 300: Building 843 Corp Yard Redesign Soil Sampling and Analysis Plan (June 2023)

This Soil Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) was prepared by the Environmental Functional Area (EFA)/Technical Services Department (TSD) of the Environment, Safety & Health (ES&H) Directorate for the Project Management Office (PMO) for the proposed Building 843 (B843) Corp Yard Redesign project (project). The purpose of the SAP was to identify chemicals of concern, describe the procedures for collection and analysis of environmental samples, and evaluation of analytical data (chemical and radiological) to determine management options of excavated soil during project construction. This SAP follows the criteria established in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) Soils Screening and Management Plan (SSMP) (LLNL 2022), which is consistent with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance for developing Data Quality Objectives for environmental data (EPA 2006) and the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) guidance (U.S. NRC, U.S. EPA, U.S. DOE, U.S. DOD 2000). The scope of this SAP is based on the B843 Corp Yard Redesign drawing set dated December 3, 2021.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Experimental Test Site, Site 300: S300 Roadway Improvements - 854 Complex Soil Sampling and Analysis Plan (June 2023)

This Soil Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) was prepared by the Environmental Functional Area (EFA)/Technical Services Department (TSD) of the Environment, Safety & Health (ES&H) Directorate for the Project Management Office (PMO) for the proposed Roadway Improvements Project at the Building 854 Complex (project). The purpose of the SAP was to identify chemicals of concern, describe the procedures for collection and analysis of environmental samples, and evaluation of analytical data (chemical and radiological) to determine management options of excavated soil during project construction. This SAP follows criteria established in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Soils Screening and Management Plan (SSMP) (LLNL 2022), which was formalized in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance for developing Data Quality Objectives for environmental data (EPA 2006) and the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) guidance (U.S. NRC, U.S. EPA, U.S. DOE, and U.S. DOD 2000). The scope of this SAP is based on preliminary design information provided by PMO.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗