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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

BISON fuel performance modeling optimization for experiment X447 and X447A using axial swelling and cladding strain measurements

With the recent need to qualify new reactor designs such as the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), fuel performance calculations need to be performed to determine safety criteria of the proposed designs. In order to validate the fuel performance results obtained by a fuel performance code, BISON, for new reactor designs, legacy fuel from EBR-II and FFTF MFF with Post -Irradiation Examination (PIE) data need to be used as validation cases to benchmark models. Here in this work, BISON has been paired with the Fuels Irradiation & Physics Database (FIPD) and IFR Materials Information System (IMIS) to supply PIE data for comparison with simulations of EBR-II experiments X447/X447A. X447/X447A were assessed by implementing models for Fuel Cladding Chemical Interaction (FCCI) within BISON and optimizing the friction coefficient between the fuel surface and the cladding, the anisotropic swelling factor, and the HT9 first thermal creep scalar (which scales the first term in the HT9 creep equation) to best match the PIE axial fuel swelling height and cladding profilometry for all pins in X447/X447A. The optimal values were found using a generic algorithm developed to select different values for the three parameters until end criteria was met and error couldn’t be reduced further. The BISON-simulated cladding profilometry was evaluated using Standard Error of the Estimate (SEE) to account for the profile shape of the cladding profilometry. Optimal values for the friction coefficient, anisotropic fuel swelling factor, and HT9 first thermal creep scalar were found to best fit the BISON simulation results to the PIE measurements found in IMIS and FIPD. Improvements to current models are suggested to account for the underprediction of fuel swelling at low burnups and the overprediction of fuel swelling at higher burnups observed for the axial fuel swelling height. Although two pins in EBR-II X447/X447A (DP70 and DP75) were known to fail due to FCCI, none of the pins simulated in BISON reached a cumulative damage fraction (CDF) above 0.008 with FCCI correlations coupled in the BISON simulations. The error estimate generated for all pins in X447/X447A using optimal values was 209 µm, which is deemed acceptable.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

An Uncertainty Management Framework for Integrated Gas-Electric Energy Systems

In many parts of the world, electric power systems have seen a significant shift toward generation from renewable energy and natural gas. Because of their ability to flexibly adjust power generation in real time, gas-fired power plants are frequently seen as the perfect partner for variable renewable generation. However, this reliance on gas generation increases interdependence and propagates uncertainty between power grids and gas pipelines and brings coordination and uncertainty management challenges. To address these issues, we propose an uncertainty management framework for uncertain, but bounded gas consumption by gas-fired power plants. The admissible ranges are computed based on a joint optimization problem for the combined gas and electricity networks, which involves chance-constrained scheduling for the electric grid and a novel robust optimization formulation for the natural-gas network. This formulation ensures feasibility of the integrated system with a high probability, while providing a tractable numerical formulation. A key advance with respect to existing methods is that our method is based on a physically accurate, validated model for transient gas pipeline flows. Our case study benchmarks our proposed formulation against methods that ignore how reserve activation impacts the fuel use of gas power plants and only consider predetermined gas consumption. Here, the results demonstrate the importance of considering uncertainty to avoid operating constraint violations and curtailment of gas to the generators.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hardware Demonstration of Weak Grid Oscillations in Grid-Following Converters

The increasing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) introduces some unexpected dynamic issues, including low-frequency oscillations. In this paper, a laboratory-scale grid-following voltage-source converter (VSC) system is implemented to demonstrate weak grid oscillations. Grid-following control is applied in VSC to provide active power, reactive power or ac voltage control. The test bed is also replicated in electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation environment (MAT-LAB/SimPowerSystems) for benchmark purpose. Case studies are carried out to demonstrate low-frequency oscillations under real power/ac voltage or real power/reactive power control. The excellent agreement between the simulation and experimental results ensures that the two test beds are exchangeable and can be used for testing oscillation mitigation strategies in future research.

Bao, Li↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluating Space Object Conjunction Probabilities Using Characteristic Function Inversion

This report discusses an approach to computing the probability of a conjunction between two space objects in the short-term encounter scenario. A conjunction is defined here as an event where the miss distance between the objects is less than some specified value. The scenario assumptions are that the motion of the objects is linear, their positions are Gaussian distributed, and their velocities are known and constant. Under these assumptions, the squared-miss distance is shown to have the generalized chi-square distribution. An established statistical technique called characteristic function inversion is employed to evaluate the distribution and obtain conjunction probabilities. The method is closely related to a recent approach based on moment generating function inversion, and a qualitative comparison of the approaches is provided. Last, the method is tested on several benchmark test cases where it agrees with numerical integration on the cases with conjunction probabilities above 10 –12 . However, the exact probability in these cases is usually not needed and this probability can be bounded above using an independent Gaussian approximation. Overall, the report shows how to compute conjunction probabilities using a standard statistical method, though numerical integration seems to perform equally well.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Bottom-up design of actinide materials from molecular clusters: Demonstration of a general-purpose simulation capability leveraging machine-learned atomic potentials

Actinide thin-film coatings such as uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) play an important role in nuclear reactors and other mission-relevant applications, but realization of their potential requires a deep fundamental understanding of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes used for their growth. The slow experimental progress can be attributed, in part, to the standard safety guidelines associated with handling uranium byproducts, which are often corrosive, toxic, and radioactive. Accurate simulation techniques, when used in concert with experiment, can improve laboratory safety, material durability, and deliverable timeframes. However, state-of-the-art computational methods are either insufficiently accurate or intractably expensive. To remedy this situation, in this project we suggested a machine-learning (ML) accelerated workflow for simulating molecular clustering toward deposition. As a benchmark test case, we considered molecular clustering in steam and assessed independent components of our workflow by comparing with measured thermodynamic properties of water. After analyzing each component individually and finding no fundamental barrier to realization of the workflow, we attempted to integrate the ML component, a Sandia-developed tool called FitSNAP. As this was the first application of FitSNAP to atoms and molecules in the gas phase at Sandia, the method required more fitting data than was originally anticipated. Systematic improvements were made by including in the fit data diatomic potentials, molecular single-bond-breaking curves, and symmetry-constrained intermolecular potentials. We concluded that our strategy provides a feasible pathway toward modeling CVD and related processes, but that extensive training data must be generated before it can be of practical use.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Block-Structured Operator Inference for Coupled Multiphysics Model Reduction

This work presents a block-structured formulation of Operator Inference as a way to learn structured reduced-order models for multiphysics systems. The approach specifies the governing equation structure for each physics component and the structure of the coupling terms. Once the multiphysics structure is specified, the reduced-order model is learned from snapshot data following the nonintrusive Operator Inference methodology. In addition to preserving physical system structure, which in turn permits preservation of system properties such as stability and second-order structure, the block-structured approach has the advantages of reducing the overall dimensionality of the learning problem and admitting tailored regularization for each physics component. The numerical advantages of the block-structured formulation over a monolithic Operator Inference formulation are demonstrated for aeroelastic analysis, which couples aerodynamic and structural models. For the benchmark test case of the AGARD 445.6 wing, block-structured Operator Inference provides an average 20% online prediction speedup over monolithic Operator Inference across subsonic and supersonic flow conditions in both the stable and fluttering parameter regimes while preserving the accuracy achieved with monolithic Operator Inference.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

The inviscid incompressible limit of Kelvin–Helmholtz instability for plasmas

The Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability (KHI) is an interface instability that develops between two fluids or plasmas flowing with a common shear layer. KHI occurs in astrophysical jets, solar atmosphere, solar flows, cometary tails, planetary magnetospheres. Two applications of interest, encompassing both space and fusion applications, drive this study: KHI formation at the outer flanks of the Earth’s magnetosphere and KHI growth from non-uniform laser heating in magnetized direct-drive implosion experiments. Here, we study 2D KHI with or without a magnetic field parallel to the flow. We use both the GAMERA code, which solves the compressible Euler equations, and the STRATOSPEC code, which solves the Navier-Stokes equations under the Boussinesq approximation, coupled with the magnetic field dynamics. GAMERA is a global three-dimensional MHD code with high-order reconstruction in arbitrary nonorthogonal curvilinear coordinates, which is developed for a large range of astrophysical applications. STRATOSPEC is a three-dimensional pseudo-spectral code with an accuracy of infinite order (no numerical diffusion). Magnetized KHI is a canonical case for benchmarking hydrocode simulations with extended MHD options. An objective is to assess whether or not, and under which conditions, the incompressibility hypothesis allows to describe a dynamic compressible system. For comparing both codes, we reach the inviscid incompressible regime, by decreasing the Mach number in GAMERA, and viscosity and diffusion in STRATOSPEC. Here, we specifically investigate both single-mode and multi-mode initial perturbations, either with or without magnetic field parallel to the flow. The method relies on comparisons of the density fields, 1D profiles of physical quantities averaged along the flow direction, and scale-by-scale spectral densities. We also address the triggering, formation and damping of filamentary structures under varying Mach number or Atwood number, with or without a parallel magnetic field. Comparisons show very satisfactory results between the two codes. The vortices dynamics is well reproduced, along with the breaking or damping of small-scale structures. We end with the extraction of growth rates of magnetized KHI from the compressible regime to the incompressible limit in the linear regime assessing the effects of compressibility under increasing magnetic field. The observed differences between the two codes are explained either from diffusion or non-Boussinesq effects.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

The HTR-Proteus Benchmark: Analysis and Use as a Verification and Validation Case

This presentation outlines the evaluation and application of the HTR-Proteus benchmark as a verification and validation (V&V) case for advanced reactor modeling tools. The work supports the U.S. Department of Energy’s HALEU Availability Program (HAP) and the joint DOE/NRC DNCSH project, which aims to reduce criticality safety uncertainties in commercial-scale HALEU fuel cycle and transportation systems. The HTR-Proteus experiments, conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute, provide high-fidelity data for TRISO-fueled, graphite-moderated pebble bed reactors with high neutron leakage—conditions relevant to HALEU transport scenarios. This study focuses on Cores 4.2 and 4.3 of the HTR-Proteus benchmark, analyzing key sources of uncertainty including pebble packing, TRISO particle positioning, and core height. Using Project Chrono for realistic pebble geometries and Serpent, SHIFT, and MCNP for neutronics simulations, the study quantifies the impact of these uncertainties on the effective multiplication factor (keff). Results show that a sample size of 110 pebble configurations is sufficient to converge keff, with ±30 pcm uncertainty due to packing randomness. TRISO positioning and core height variations also significantly influence keff, highlighting the importance of detailed modeling in V&V efforts. The benchmark serves as a valuable test case for validating the Griffin reactor physics code and improving confidence in HALEU system simulations.

73 - NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Summary of LANL Critical Benchmark Comparison Study and Revisions for Cases Involving HEU, LEU, MIX, and Pu

This report documents results obtained for revisions made to cases involving Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU), Intermediate Enriched Uranium (IEU), a mixture of Pu and Uranium (MIX), as well as Pu cases. A previous summary of revisions for HEU an Pu cases was reported and additional investigations into four cases originally presented therein uncovered further revisions which led to better agreement with other transport codes, those cases are updated in this report. The summary of all cases reported in Reference 2 is updated in this report. In addition, a previous summary of revisions for LEU and MIX was reported, a summary of those revisions in reproduced in this report for a comprehensive summary of changes to benchmarks beginning in fiscal year 2020 to current date. The report focuses on the changes made to LANL benchmarks modeled with MCNP6 using ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data that appeared to have discrepant results when compared with results of other codes. Feedback was used to pinpoint review of benchmark input files and to revise them when necessary. This report documents the results of review and revision of specific benchmarks highlighted as possibly discrepant in the comparison study. In addition, there is an effort tied to this work involving collaboration between LANL XCP and NCS Divisions in the development of a shared review/revision procedure and use of a new benchmark repository. LANL has a benchmark library of critical experiments from the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook modeled for use with MCNP. This collection is now over 1100 benchmarks, referred to as the Whisper-1.1 library because it is used with the sensitivity/uncertainty package, Whisper, which supports nuclear criticality safety validation and is released with MCNP6.2. The collection, originally created several decades ago, is a combination of smaller collections, which has been revised and expanded, by various groups at LANL over the years. The original authors are no longer at the laboratory and little formal documentation of review and revision of these benchmarks exists today. A branch of the benchmark collection was already the subject of a formal review undertaken by the LANL NCS Division and expanded to include XCP Division.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Perform Design Support with MCNP for New Measurements

This report incorporates our work carried out during our 5-month internship at LANL under an internship agreement with EAMEA (École des Applications Militaires de l’Énergie Atomique). After outlining the context in which we worked, we present our work as aid to modeling and predicting the neutronic behavior of nuclear systems, with a view to carrying out criticality experiments qualifying the MCNP code as part of innovative projects. Fourth generation reactors will enable to tackle a lot of issues such as environmental crisis, affordable energy access, and nuclear waste management. They seem to be one of the keys for a sustainable future. Most of the projects that emerge nowadays include the use of HALEU (high assay low enriched uranium) or MOX recycled fuels. Our projects are part of this dynamic and addresses concrete scientific research issues in the nuclear field. Studies of HALEU package are essential to anticipate the need, therefore the Optimus L (OPTImal Modular Universal Shipping cask technology) designed by NAC (Nuclear Assurance Corporation) international but filled with 20 % enriched uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) will be studied to support safe transportation. However, it seems there is no benchmark with a high correlation with the combination of this fuel and this package to validate MCNP simulations. As such, the study will focus on the development of new criticality safety benchmarks for this case. On the other hand, there is a great need for critical benchmarks in the intermediate energy range with MOX fuel. An IER (Integral Experiment Request) has then be requested to answer it through a partnership between French institution IRSN and U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP). This experience planned for 2025 requires to gather calculated data through a MCNP model to be realized safely. Finally, a presentation of our one-week experience at the DAF as part of our discovery of criticality experiments will be introduced in Appendix 1: Week at the DAF (Device Assembly Facility)

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

LANL Critical Benchmark Comparison Study and Subsequent Revision for Cases Involving LEU and MIX

As part of an international collaboration within the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP), LANL is involved in a comparison study to quantify differences in k-effective results from neutron transport simulations of critical benchmark experiments. The DOE NCSP Mission and Vision details the activity in which the French Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) leads the study with LANL, ORNL, and LLNL to compare results of various neutron transport codes and nuclear data libraries for ICSBEP benchmarks held in common by the entities. The task statement from the DOE NCSP Five-Year Execution Plan is given as: "The proposal is for IRSN to lead a new intercomparison based on the MORET code with the latest JEFF-3.3 data and ENDF/B-VIII.0 data, when available, using their existing comprehensive selection of 2,714 benchmarks and collate their results together with those from LLNL (COG), LANL (MCNP) and ORNL (SCALE). Due to the large number of benchmarks involved, this effort is envisioned to take three years with an additional year for IRSN to complete a summary report. The benchmark development will be performed independently to minimize modeling errors through discovery and resolution of discrepant results. A summary report will be generated (led by IRSN) to document the results of this study." This report documents results obtained for revisions made to cases involving Intermediate Enriched Uranium (IEU) and a mixture of Pu and Uranium (MIX), with a focus on the changes made to LANL benchmarks modeled with MCNP6 using ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data that appeared to have discrepant results when compared with results of other codes. Feedback was used to pinpoint review of particular benchmark input files and to revise them when necessary. This report documents the results of review and revision of specific benchmarks highlighted as possibly discrepant in the comparison study. In addition, there is an effort tied to this work involving collaboration between LANL XCP and NCS Divisions in the development of a shared review/revision procedure and use of a new benchmark repository.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Benchmarking large language models for materials synthesis: The case of atomic layer deposition

In this work, we introduce an open-ended question benchmark, ALDbench, to evaluate the performance of large language models (LLMs) in materials synthesis, and, in particular, in the field of atomic layer deposition, a thin film growth technique used in energy applications and microelectronics. Our benchmark comprises questions with a level of difficulty ranging from the graduate level to domain expert current with the state of the art in the field. Human experts reviewed the questions along the criteria of difficulty and specificity, and the model responses along four different criteria: overall quality, specificity, relevance, and accuracy. We ran this benchmark on an instance of OpenAI’s GPT-4o. The responses from the model received a composite quality score of 3.7 on a 1–5 scale, consistent with a passing grade. However, 36% of the questions received at least one below average score. An in-depth analysis of the responses identified at least five instances of suspected hallucination. Finally, we observed statistically significant correlations between the difficulty of the question and the quality of the response, the difficulty of the question and the relevance of the response, the specificity of the question, and the accuracy of the response as graded by the human experts. Furthermore, this emphasizes the need to evaluate LLMs across multiple criteria beyond difficulty or accuracy.

Artificial intelligence↗
DOE OSTI2026

Validation of OpenPronghorn for Periodic Hill Flow Separation

OpenPronghorn is an open-source, MOOSE-based thermal-hydraulics simulation tool used for advanced reactor analysis. As an open-source code, it offers a transparent framework for validating governing equations, assumptions, and numerical methods against established benchmarks. This study evaluates OpenPronghorn's RANS turbulence model against the ERCOFTAC Case 81 periodic hill benchmark, a standard test case for separated turbulent flow featuring curved-wall separation, recirculation, shear-layer development, and reattachment. Streamwise velocity profiles predicted by OpenPronghorn were compared to reference LES data at multiple x/h locations. Results show that OpenPronghorn captures the overall trend of the velocity profiles, but the largest discrepancies occur in the separated-flow region, where turbulence is highly anisotropic and strongly affected by adverse pressure gradients and wall curvature—conditions that are inherently difficult for standard RANS models to resolve. Future work will test alternative k-e model variants and correction terms to improve prediction accuracy in this region.

42 - ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multiphysics modelling in PyLith: poroelasticity

SUMMARY PyLith, a community, open-source code for modelling quasi-static and dynamic crustal deformation with an emphasis on earthquake faulting, has recently been updated with a flexible multiphysics implementation. We demonstrate the versatility of the multiphysics implementation by extending the code to model fully coupled continuum poromechanics. We verify the newly incorporated physics using standard benchmarks for a porous medium saturated with a slightly compressible fluid. The benchmarks include the 1-D consolidation problem as outlined by Terzaghi, Mandel’s problem for the 2-D case, and Cryer’s problem for the 3-D case. All three benchmarks have been added to the PyLith continuous integration test suite. We compare the closed form analytical solution for each benchmark against solutions generated by our updated code, and lastly, demonstrate that the poroelastic material formulation may be used alongside the existing fault implementation in PyLith.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Integral Experiment Final Design for Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) Plutonium Additional Mixed Spectrum Configurations

This report presents the final design (CED-2) for three additional mixed-spectra configurations for plutonium Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) to target the intermediate energy region (IER-553). The baseline cases of IER-184 (PU-MET-MIXED-002 [2]) spanned the entire fission energy spectrum. Case 3, which had a median fission energy (MFE) of approximately 6E-5 MeV and had a fission fraction of about 42% in the intermediate energy range, resulted in a $k_{eff}$ overestimation of 1.1%. Compared to 749 previous ICSBEP plutonium benchmarks, the baseline cases accurately predicted the experiments in the thermal and fast regions where the majority of benchmarks inhabit. The benchmarks in the intermediate energy region to date are sparse and overestimate $k_{eff}$ with an average C/E between 1.02 and 1.03. The additional proposed configurations span the whole of the intermediate energy region. The experimental design utilizes the plutonium/aluminum metal alloy Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR) Plutonium-Aluminum No-Nickel (PANN) plates with varying polyethylene moderator thicknesses to span the intermediate fission energy region. Each of the cases have varying fractions of thermal, intermediate, and fast fissions. The designs were chosen to maximize the intermediate energy fraction. The experiment will take place on the universal critical assembly machine, Planet. The layers will be split as equally as possible between the lower platen and the upper stationary platform of Planet. The upper half of the experimental configuration will also have an upper reflector of polyethylene of specified thicknesses to achieve criticality when the lower platen is raised fully. The previous IER-184 configurations, specifically Case 3, were used to determine the configurations for the additional experiments and neutronics calculations were used to fine-tune the configurations to ensure criticality. The quadrature sum uncertainty in Δ$k_{eff}$ for Case 3 in PU-MET-MIXED-002 was found to be 0.00219. Section 3.8 gives a detailed description of the uncertainties calculated. The additional configurations, which are based directly on Case 3, are expected to have similar uncertainties. However, it is possible to reduce the overall uncertainty of Δ$k_{eff}$ for the additional configurations using the knowledge obtained from the calculations in the benchmark.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Comparative studies of 2HDMs under the Higgs boson precision measurements

We perform comparative studies for four types of the two Higgs Doublet Models (2HDMs) under the precision measurements of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs observables at the proposed Higgs factories. We explore the discovery potential based on the hypothetical deviations in the precision data for the 2HDMs up to one-loop level. We find 5σ observability from the χ2 fitting in a significant theory parameter space at future Higgs factories. For the Type-I 2HDM, regions with cos(β - α) ≲ -0.1 or cos(β - α) ≳ 0.08 are discoverable at more than 5σ level. For the other three types of 2HDMs, the 5σ region is even bigger: | cos(β - α)| ≳ 0.02 for tan β ~ 1. At small and large values of tan β, the region in cos(β - α) is further tightened. We examine the extent to which the different 2HDM theories may be distinguishable from one to the other at the 95% Confidence Level with four benchmark points as case studies. We show that a large part of the parameter space of the other types of 2HDMs can be distinguished from the benchmark points of the target model. The impacts of loop corrections are found to be significant in certain parameter regions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

2D radial-azimuthal particle-in-cell benchmark for E × B discharges

In this paper we propose a representative simulation test-case of E × B discharges accounting for plasma wall interactions with the presence of both the electron cyclotron drift instability and the modified-two-stream-instability. Seven independently developed particle-in-cell (PIC) codes have simulated this benchmark case, with the same specified conditions. The characteristics of the different codes and computing times are given. Here, results show that both instabilities were captured in a similar fashion and good agreement between the different PIC codes is reported as main plasma parameters were closely related within a 5% interval. The number of macroparticles per cell was also varied and statistical convergence was reached. Detailed outputs are given in the supplementary data, to be used by other similar groups in the perspective of code verification.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗