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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 OSTI2017

Setup for polarized neutron imaging using in situ 3 He cells at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory High Flux Isotope Reactor CG-1D beamline

Here in the present study, we report a new setup for polarized neutron imaging at the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor CG-1D beamline using an in situ 3 He polarizer and analyzer. This development is very important for extending the capabilities of the imaging instrument at ORNL providing a polarized beam with a large field-of-view, which can be further used in combination with optical devices like Wolter optics, focusing guides, or other lenses for the development of microscope arrangement. Such a setup can be of advantage for the existing and future imaging beamlines at the pulsed neutron sources. The first proof-of-concept experiment is performed to study the ferromagnetic phase transition in the Fe3Pt sample. Lastly, we also demonstrate that the polychromatic neutron beam in combination with in situ 3He cells can be used as the initial step for the rapid measurement and qualitative analysis of radiographs.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Interstate-24 MOTION: Closing the Loop on Smart Mobility

We introduce the I-24 Mobility Technology Interstate Observation Network (MOTION), a transportation cyber-physical systems testbed under development in Tennessee. It consists of a six-mile freeway segment instrumented with 400 4K resolution cameras, processed by a real-time compute system to enable continuous performance monitoring of freeway traffic. The testbed is being developed to support next generation connected and autonomous vehicle technologies and advanced traffic management. When complete, the testbed will be the longest continuously observed freeway segment in the world. This article introduces the testbed, discusses the core design choices, and outlines the preliminary work conducted to support the design.

Gloudemans, Derek↗
DOE OSTI2020

ESS-DIVE reporting format for leaf-level gas exchange data and metadata

Here we present documentation of the ESS-DIVE reporting format for leaf-level gas exchange data and metadata. This reporting format provides guidance to data contributors on how to store data to maximize their discoverability, facilitate their efficient reuse, and add value to individual datasets. For data users, the reporting format will better allow data repositories to optimize data search and extraction, and more readily integrate similar data into harmonized synthesis products. The reporting format specifies data table variable naming and unit conventions, as well as metadata characterizing experimental conditions and protocols. For common data types that were the focus of this initial version of the reporting format, i.e., survey measurements, dark respiration, carbon dioxide and light response curves, and parameters derived from those measurements, we took a further step of defining required additional data that would maximize the potential reuse of those data types. To aid data contributors and the development of data ingest tools by data repositories we provided a translation table comparing the outputs of common gas exchange instruments. The reporting format presented here is intended to form a foundation for future development that will incorporate additional data types and variables as gas exchange systems and measurement approaches advance in the future. The reporting format documentation is maintained and updated on the ESS-DIVE Community Space GitHub. This data package is the first published version of this reporting format, and comprises a zip file of the complete content of https://github.com/ess-dive-community/essdive-leaf-gas-exchange v1.0. The zip contains the reporting format description, guidelines, variable tables and instructions in GitHub markdown language (*.md) and 2 metadata templates as spreadsheets with drop down options (*.xlsx files, also function in GoogleSheets).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fast imaging diagnostics on the C-2U advanced beam-driven field-reversed configuration device

The C-2U device employed neutral beam injection, end-biasing, and various particle fueling techniques to sustain a Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) plasma. As part of the diagnostic suite, two fast imaging instruments with radial and nearly axial plasma views were developed using a common camera platform. To achieve the necessary viewing geometry, imaging lenses were mounted behind re-entrant viewports attached to welded bellows. During gettering, the vacuum optics were retracted and isolated behind a gate valve permitting their removal if cleaning was necessary. The axial view incorporated a stainless-steel mirror in a protective cap assembly attached to the vacuum-side of the viewport. For each system, a custom lens-based, high-throughput optical periscope was designed to relay the plasma image about half a meter to a high-speed camera. Each instrument also contained a remote-controlled filter wheel, set between shots to isolate a particular hydrogen or impurity emission line. The design of the camera platform, imaging performance, and sample data for each view is presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

MethodOpt: a Shiny-based graphical user interface for multivariate optimization of sampling and analytical instrumentation

Method optimization is an important step in producing useful data in various experimental settings involving the use of sampling and analytical instrumentation, such as gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry or other analytical techniques. However, traditional optimization techniques often lack the sophistication of more modern optimization techniques developed in areas of applied mathematics. A graphical user interface has been developed that implements a multivariate, multi-objective optimization technique for spectra-generating sampling and analytical instrumentation, which saves substantial time and resources compared to the more traditional approaches to method development.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electron temperature and density probe for small aeronomy satellites

A compact and low power consumption instrument for measuring the electron density and temperature in the ionosphere has been developed by modifying the previously developed Electron Temperature Probe (ETP). A circuit block which controls frequency of the sinusoidal signal is added to the ETP so that the instrument can measure both T{sub e} in low frequency mode and N{sub e} in high frequency mode from the floating potential shift of the electrode. The floating potential shift shows a minimum at the upper hybrid resonance frequency (f{sub UHR}). The instrument which is named “TeNeP” can be used for tiny satellites which do not have enough conductive surface area for conventional DC Langmuir probe measurements. The instrument also eliminates the serious problems associated with the contamination of satellite surface as well as the sensor electrode.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Interpreting best available technologies more flexibly: A policy perspective for municipal wastewater management in India and other developing countries

Inadequate sanitation is amongst the causes of escalating pollution problems in developing countries, as municipal wastewater treatment systems remove only a fraction of pollutants that could be removed with best available technologies (BAT). Although BAT is a proven instrument of environmental policies, its potential for municipalities remains largely unused in developing countries. In order to ease its implementation, the paper developed a simplified assessment approach towards identifying an approximating of BAT in terms of a “flexible BAT” (FlexiBAT), which is based on the identification of national reference plants assessed with respect to pollutant removal (environmental impact, health impact), costs (economic viability, affordability) and social acceptability. The concept was tested for 58 case studies in India, where none of the technologies passed all tests for FlexiBAT. Therefore, there is a need to improve or develop better and more innovative technologies. Amongst the most promising ones, membrane bioreactors provided good physical water quality, but costs were high, while for moving bed biofilm reactors costs were low, but water quality was insufficient. Conventional onsite systems require separate consideration. In order to ease the identification of FlexiBAT, a national environmental information system with data from the regular monitoring of existing plants would be needed.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Visual Data-Analytics of Large-Scale Parallel Discrete-Event Simulations

Parallel discrete-event simulation (PDES) is an important tool in the codesign of extreme-scale systems because PDES provides a cost-effective way to evaluate designs of highperformance computing systems. Optimistic synchronization algorithms for PDES, such as Time Warp, allow events to be processed without global synchronization among the processing elements. A rollback mechanism is provided when events are processed out of timestamp order. Although optimistic synchronization protocols enable the scalability of large-scale PDES, the performance of the simulations must be tuned to reduce the number of rollbacks and provide an improved simulation runtime. To enable efficient large-scale optimistic simulations, one has to gain insight into the factors that affect the rollback behavior and simulation performance. We developed a tool for ROSS model developers that gives them detailed metrics on the performance of their large-scale optimistic simulations at varying levels of simulation granularity. Model developers can use this information for parameter tuning of optimistic simulations in order to achieve better runtime and fewer rollbacks. In this work, we instrument the ROSS optimistic PDES framework to gather detailed statistics about the simulation engine. We have also developed an interactive visualization interface that uses the data collected by the ROSS instrumentation to understand the underlying behavior of the simulation engine. The interface connects real time to virtual time in the simulation and provides the ability to view simulation data at different granularities. We demonstrate the usefulness of our framework by performing a visual analysis of the dragonfly network topology model provided by the CODES simulation framework built on top of ROSS. The instrumentation needs to minimize overhead in order to accurately collect data about the simulation performance. To ensure that the instrumentation does not introduce unnecessary overhead, we perform a scaling study that compares instrumented ROSS simulations with their noninstrumented counterparts in order to determine the amount of perturbation when running at different simulation scales.

Ross, Caitlin↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exocortex Network for AI-Augmented Human-Led Scientific Expedition

AI advances in science can be viewed along two main directions with a fluid boundary: enhancing efficiency through automation and smart tools to accelerate tasks that humans can already perform; and enabling exploration into uncharted territories and potentially toward AGI. These advances manifest in the AI cognitive core through the development and explainability of foundation models; in the physical embodiment of instruments and facilities; and in the integrated agency of AI workflows exemplified by the science exocortex. To address the role of humans in this evolving landscape, in this Perspective, we suggest a third direction: the development of personalized agents that form human-centered networks, supporting both efficiency and exploration while ensuring that AI remains aligned with human vision.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Design of the 2D electron cyclotron emission imaging instrument for the J-TEXT tokamak

A new 2D Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging (ECEI) diagnostic is being developed for the J-TEXT tokamak. It will provide the 2D electron temperature information with high spatial, temporal, and temperature resolution. The new ECEI instrument is being designed to support fundamental physics investigations on J-TEXT including MHD, disruption prediction, and energy transport. The diagnostic contains two dual dipole antenna arrays corresponding to F band (90-140 GHz) and W band (75-110 GHz), respectively, and comprises a total of 256 channels. The system can observe the same magnetic surface at both the high field side and low field side simultaneously. An advanced optical system has been designed which permits the two arrays to focus on a wide continuous region or two radially separate regions with high imaging spatial resolution. It also incorporates excellent field curvature correction with field curvature adjustment lenses. An overview of the diagnostic and the technical progress including the new remote control technique are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

DEVELOPING ATMOSPHERIC RETRIEVAL METHODS FOR DIRECT IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY OF GAS GIANTS IN REFLECTED LIGHT. I. METHANE ABUNDANCES AND BASIC CLOUD PROPERTIES

Upcoming space-based coronagraphic instruments in the next decade will perform reflected light spectroscopy and photometry of cool directly imaged extrasolar giant planets. We are developing a new atmospheric retrieval methodology to help assess the science return and inform the instrument design for such future missions, and ultimately interpret the resulting observations. Our retrieval technique employs a geometric albedo model coupled with both a Markov chain Monte Carlo Ensemble Sampler ( emcee ) and a multimodal nested sampling algorithm ( MultiNest ) to map the posterior distribution. This combination makes the global evidence calculation more robust for any given model and highlights possible discrepancies in the likelihood maps. As a proof of concept, our current atmospheric model contains one or two cloud layers, methane as a major absorber, and a H{sub 2}–He background gas. This 6-to-9 parameter model is appropriate for Jupiter-like planets and can be easily expanded in the future. In addition to deriving the marginal likelihood distribution and confidence intervals for the model parameters, we perform model selection to determine the significance of methane and cloud detection as a function of expected signal-to-noise ratio in the presence of spectral noise correlations. After internal validation, the method is applied to realistic spectra of Jupiter, Saturn, and HD 99492c, a model observing target. We find that the presence or absence of clouds and methane can be determined with high confidence, while parameter uncertainties are model dependent and correlated. Such general methods will also be applicable to the interpretation of direct imaging spectra of cloudy terrestrial planets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Instrument-Aided Assessment of the Effect of Natural and Technogenic Factors on the Geomechanical State of a Massif Enclosing an HPP Turbine Room

A package of geophysical criteria has been developed using seismic spatiotemporal tomography (SST) of a rock massif to perform an instrument-aided assessment of the effect of natural and technogenic factors on the geomechanical state of a rock massif enclosing an underground turbine room at an HPP. Results are presented for a detailed assessment for the underground turbine room at the Verkhnyaya Tuloma HPP on the Kola peninsula.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dispersive X-ray absorption spectroscopy using independent grazing-incidence focusing and convexly bent Bragg-crystal dispersing optics

We present a modular instrument for dispersive X-ray absorption spectroscopy (DXAS) developed for the Advanced Spectroscopy Beamline at Sector 25 of the Advanced Photon Source. The setup employs a double-multilayer monochromator to provide X-rays with a broad energy bandwidth, Kirkpatrick–Baez mirrors for focusing, a convexly bent Bragg-crystal polychromator for energy dispersion, and a pixel-array detector to resolve all X-ray energies and collect their intensity simultaneously, thereby enabling acquisition of a full X-ray absorption spectrum in a single shot. The use of separate optics for X-ray focusing and energy dispersion provides high spatial resolution and avoids chromatic aberrations inherent in focusing bent-crystal optics, and a modular design makes implementation of the technique at other beamlines possible without requiring modifications to the upstream beamline configurations. Theoretical calculations are performed to determine optimal instrument operating parameters and demonstrate that an energy resolution better than the K-edge core-hole lifetime broadening can be maintained while providing a sufficient bandwidth for X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy through the full operating range of 5–11 keV. Additionally, instrument design, data analysis methods, and initial DXAS results on lithium–manganese–nickel oxide laminates are presented.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microscopy Instrumentation and Nanopositioning at NSLS-II: Current Status and Future Directions

The development of ultra-brilliant synchrotron facilities and recent advances in the fabrication of efficient nano-focusing optics have stimulated rapid development and applications of the focused beams used to elucidate nanoscale phenomena in many areas of science and technology. Various nano-focusing optics, including Kirkpatrick- Baez (KB) and elliptical mirrors, Fresnel zone plates (ZP), compound refractive and kinoform lenses, and multilayer Laue lenses (MLL), are routinely used to achieve nano-focusing. The latest experiments utilizing KB mirrors have demonstrated focal spot size of 13 nm with the ZPs and MLLs being able to focus hard X-rays to 10 nm and below. When the focused beam size is reduced to below 100 nm, there is a need to develop a dedicated system tailored for a specific application, which satisfies stringent mechanical, vibrational, and thermal characteristics to successfully enable nano-scale imaging. Multiple degrees of motion, including their positioning accuracy, resonance frequencies, and amount of heat being dissipated, have to be thoroughly considered in order to efficiently perform nano-focusing experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Report on the 4th Marine Energy Instrumentation and Data Workshop

The 4th Marine Energy Instrumentation and Data workshop was held on March 16 - 17 2022. This gathering brought together marine energy (ME) developers, researchers, and stakeholders to discuss the current state of ME technologies and the industry's instrument and data needs. The overall objective of the workshop was to identify gaps facing the ME industry for needed data collection, processing, and analysis. This report contains findings and recommendations derived from the discussions and presentations during the workshop.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Diethylene Glycol Condensation Particle Counter for Rapid Sizing of sub-3 nm Atmospheric Clusters

AbstractThis paper describes the modification of a laminar flow, thermally diffusive universal-fluid condensation particle counter (standard operation: 50% detection efficiency at 5 nm) to rapidly measure the size distribution of sub 3 nm aerosol. Sub 3 nm detection was achieved by using diethylene glycol as the working fluid, which enabled high instrument super-saturations while minimizing homogenous nucleation of the working fluid; a detection efficiency of 50% was achieved at 1.6 nm with laboratory-generated ammonium sulfate aerosol. Rapid aerosol sizing beneath 3 nm was achieved by inverting the measured grown droplet size distribution (1 second sampling) to recover the sampled aerosol size distribution. The developed inversion algorithm utilizes analytical kernel functions determined from the instrument response to pseudo-monodisperse ammonium sulfate aerosol from 1.5 nm to 20 nm, generated by a high resolution DMA and a nano DMA. The inversion algorithm was tested numerically with assumed, idealized aerosol size distributions consistent with observed new particle formation events, yielding reasonable agreement between inverted and assumed aerosol size distributions below 3 nm. Furthermore, this technique provides a measure of the aerosol size assuming an aerosol composition identical to that of the aerosol used to generate the experimentally determined kernel function.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Recent developments of MCViNE and its applications at SNS

Abstract MCViNE is an open source, object-oriented Monte Carlo neutron ray-tracing simulation software package. Its design allows for flexible, hierarchical representations of sophisticated instrument components such as detector systems, and samples with a variety of shapes and scattering kernels. Recently this flexible design has enabled several applications of MCViNE simulations at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Lab, including assisting design of neutron instruments at the second target station and design of novel sample environments, as well as studying effects of instrument resolution and multiple scattering. Here we provide an overview of the recent developments and new features of MCViNE since its initial introduction (Jiao et al 2016 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 810 , 86–99), and some example applications.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗