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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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This publication includes 33 composite data products (CDPs) produced for stationary fuel cell systems, with data through the fourth quarter of 2014.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is interested in increasing capabilities of IAEA safeguards inspectors to access information that would improve their situational awareness on the job. A mobile information platform could potentially provide access to information, analytics, and technical and logistical support to inspectors in the field, as well as providing regular updates to analysts at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna or at satellite offices. To demonstrate the potential capability of such a system, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) implemented a number of example capabilities within a PNNL-developed precision information environment (PIE), and using a tablet as a mobile information platform. PNNL’s safeguards proof-of-concept PIE intends to; demonstrate novel applications of mobile information platforms to international safeguards use cases; demonstrate proof-of-principle capability implementation; and provide “vision” for capabilities that could be implemented. This report documents the lessons learned from this two-year development activity for the Precision Information Environment for International Safeguards (PIE-IS), describing the developed capabilities, technical challenges, and considerations for future development, so that developers working to develop a similar system for the IAEA or other safeguards agencies might benefit from our work.
Reflected computer vision targets are a powerful tool for measurement of mirror surface shape, with several important advantages over traditional fringe deflectometry methods. This method was first presented in 2021 and has undergone significant improvement and demonstration since. We describe a new baseline system using reflected computer vision targets, and present results from a large-scale measurement campaign conducted on both commercial heliostats and test mirrors in the laboratory. Calibration of the measurement system with photogrammetry allows for accurate measurement without careful control of target shape or camera position. Overall, the results show that a baseline setup using this method achieves measurement uncertainties in the slope error root-mean-square less than ±0.11 milliradian due to a series of repeatability conditions, varying sample position, rotation, lighting, camera settings, and system rebuild and recalibration. We present a detailed description of the setup, the results generated by this measurement tool, repeated measurement results, and the strengths and limitations of this metrology system.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been researching the implementation of fully automated passenger transport systems to be operated within dense urban settings, referred to as Automated Mobility Districts, based on roadway vehicle automation as opposed to track or train-based automation. This research, now in its third phase, is presently addressing the full spectrum of benefits and challenges of full automation of passenger transport systems with respect to fleet electrification and the associated multimodal, large fleet operational management, benefits beyond simply automating the driving tasks. The focal points summarized in the paper and presentation address the benefit-analysis of fleet automation to address added complexities imposed on the multi-fleet operational management when there is a simultaneous implementation of an on-demand service mode that connects with and optimizes the effectiveness of legacy transit systems and new sub-regional autonomous vehicle fleets, with specific emphasis on enhanced ability to better meet peak ridership demand. The research also begins to address challenges in operations arising from lack of personnel present to handle unexpected customer and system needs. Combined, this research articulates vehicle automation benefits and challenges beyond simply automating the driving tasks, addressing additional operational benefits automation provides to address the added complexities imposed by electrification and on-demand modes of operation.
Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) is the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) test bed for energy system demonstration and de-risking. ARIES comprises the largest collection of physical and digital assets in the DOE laboratory complex, supporting flexible configuration across a broad range of energy scenarios. In Fiscal Year 2025, ARIES provided a platform for system-level research to anticipate and address future energy needs in energy security, system reliability, and technology deployment.
Mount Desert Island (MDI) (≈110 sq mi; ≈10,000 year‑round residents) is located on the eastern coast of Maine. Acadia National Park is located on the island, protecting 47,000+ acres of land which draws millions of visitors annually. The island is divided into four towns (Tremont, Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert, Bar Harbor). The island’s distribution system is supplied by a single 35‑kV mainland feeder and a mix of aging distribution components; outage exposure is not uniform across the island. Residents fear that outage events are starting to exceed resilience expectations. MDI community leaders asked Sandia National Laboratories to characterize energy system vulnerability and to develop conceptual microgrid solutions that improve community resilience while also producing co‑benefits for reliability, access, and sustainable development.
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) NFE-17-06866 between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Active Energy Systems Inc. (AES) focused on studying and modeling a low cost, high efficiency energy storage technology. The successful development of low-cost, high-efficiency energy storage is a significant bottleneck in the implementation of intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. AES is a startup company developing a heat exchange technology to utilize a low-temperature phase change material (PCM). The work done under this CRADA explored this technology’s ability to augment a heat pump/heat engine device to convert electricity into thermal energy and vice versa, operating to complement the needs of the electric grid. Modeling, design and development of a prototype to prove the technology was successful, but current production economics and market demand make further exploration undesirable.
In preparation for Summit, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s next generation supercomputer, two IBM Power-based systems were deployed in late 2016 at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). This paper presents a detailed description of the acceptance of the first IBM Power-based early access systems installed at the OLCF. The two systems, Summitdev and Tundra, contain IBM POWER8+ processors with NVIDIA Pascal GPUs and were acquired to provide researchers with a platform to optimize codes for the Power architecture. In addition, this paper presents early functional and performance results obtained on Summitdev with the latest software stack available.
Will Atkins, a Sandia National Laboratories computer engineer discusses cybersecurity research work for process control systems. Will explains his work on the Virtual Control Systems Environment project to develop a modeling and simulation framework of the U.S. electric grid in order to study and mitigate possible cyberattacks on infrastructure.
During FY2018 the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program completed re-establishment of capability to produce platinum-30% rhodium (Pt-30Rh) alloy components for the Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Unit (LWRHU) Program. These components were last produced at Mound Laboratory in the mid/late-1990s for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Cassini mission. The LWRHU Pt-30Rh Clad Body Subassembly and component fabrication operations are being performed in the iridium alloy Clad Vent Set (CVS) production area at ORNL. Existing equipment (furnaces, electron beam welders, presses, inspection, etc.) are being utilized along with new equipment (two lathes and laser marker) that were purchased for this work. ORNL purchased and qualified an initial quantity of starting materials (Pt powder, Pt-30Rh foil, sheet, and tubing). Equipment, tooling, and materials were procured/fabricated and qualified. Drawings and specifications were updated/modified/developed to the ORNL RPS Program format. Procedures were developed and qualified. All drawings, specifications, and procedures were reviewed/approved by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) RPS Lead Lab Document Configuration Control Board (DCCB). The dimensional inspection operations and special processes (cleaning, heat treating, sintering, dye penetrant inspection, leak testing, and welding) were successfully qualified and documented. This paper will discuss the process of re-establishing LWRHU production at ORNL to provide for future NASA space exploration science mission needs10.
Overview: Anonymized job-level records from the Eagle high-performance computing (HPC) system at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). Each record represents a Slurm batch job with scheduling metadata, resource requests, resource utilization, CPU/GPU energy consumption, and efficiency metrics. Sensitive fields (user, account, job name) are replaced with cryptographic hashes. System & Timeframe: Eagle was a 2,000-node, 8-petaflop system operated at NLR from 2019–2024. Data covers the full operational lifetime of the system. Slurm data was processed nightly; timestamps are in Mountain Time. Funding provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, EERE. Files: esif.hpc.eagle.job-anon.zip — Core anonymized job records (Hive-partitioned Parquet) esif.hpc.eagle.job-anon-energy-metrics.zip — Same records with additional iLO and Ganglia energy metrics datacard.md — Full dataset documentation ~13.8 million rows, 62 variables. Readable with PyArrow, pandas, DuckDB, Apache Spark, or any Parquet-compatible tool. Data Collection: Jobs collected via sacct through a pipeline: Eagle Jobs API → Redpanda → StreamSets → HPCMON API → PostgreSQL. Node-level power from iLO (HP Integrated Lights-Out); GPU power from Ganglia monitoring, joined to jobs via node lists and time ranges. Preprocessing: Anonymization of name, user, and account fields via cryptographic hashing Derived columns: queue_wait, cpu_eff, max_mem_eff Simplified job state mapping (e.g., "CANCELLED BY 12345" → "CANCELLED") QoS accounting rules (buy-in, standby, or Slurm QoS value) CPU energy estimated from TDP (200W, Intel Xeon Gold 6154, 18 cores) Timezone-aware columns (_tz) sourced from LEX accounting database to correctly handle DST transitions Key Variables: Scheduling: job_id, partition, state_simple, submit_time_tz, start_time_tz, end_time_tz, queue_waitResources: nodes_req/used, processors_req/used, memory_req, wallclock_req/used, gpus_requested Efficiency: cpu_eff, max_mem_eff Energy: cpu_energy_tdp_estimated_max/used_watt_hours, node_energy_total_watt_hours (iLO), gpu0/1_energy_total_watt_hours (Ganglia) Partitions: bigmem, bigmem-8600, bigscratch, csc, dav, ddn, debug, gpu, haswell, long, mono, short, standard Job States: CANCELLED, COMPLETED, FAILED, NODE_FAIL, OUT_OF_MEMORY, PENDING, RUNNING, TIMEOUT QoS Levels: Unknown, normal, buy-in, debug, penalty, high, standby Important Notes: Non-_tz timestamp columns may be off by one hour across DST boundaries; use _tz columns for time difference calculations Energy fields are null for jobs without monitoring coverage Job step records and raw Slurm JSONB fields are excluded from this extract Do not attempt to re-identify individuals from hashed fields
The Platform for Regional Integrated Modeling and Analysis (PRIMA) is an innovative modeling system developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to simulate interactions among natural and human systems at scales relevant to regional decision making. PRIMA brings together state-of-the-art models of regional climate, hydrology, agriculture, socioeconomics, and energy systems using a flexible coupling approach. The platform can be customized to inform a variety of complex questions and decisions, such as the integrated evaluation of mitigation and adaptation options across a range of sectors. Research into stakeholder decision support needs underpins the platform's application to regional issues, including uncertainty characterization. Ongoing numerical experiments are yielding new insights into the interactions among human and natural systems on regional scales with an initial focus on the energy-land-water nexus in the upper U.S. Midwest. This paper focuses on PRIMA’s functional capabilities and describes some lessons learned to date about integrated regional modeling.
Process understanding and parameter identification using numerical methods based on experimental findings are a key aspect of the international cooperative project DECOVALEX. Comparing the predictions from numerical models against experimental results increases confidence in the site selection and site evaluation process for a radioactive waste repository in deep geological formations. In the present phase of the project, DECOVALEX-2015, eight research teams have developed and applied models for simulating an in-situ heater experiment HE-E in the Opalinus Clay in the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory in Switzerland. The modelling task was divided into two study stages, related to prediction and interpretation of the experiment. A blind prediction of the HE-E experiment was performed based on calibrated parameter values for both the Opalinus Clay, that were based on the modelling of another in-situ experiment (HE-D), and modelling of laboratory column experiments on MX80 granular bentonite and a sand/bentonite mixture .. After publication of the experimental data, additional coupling functions were analysed and considered in the different models. Moreover, parameter values were varied to interpret the measured temperature, relative humidity and pore pressure evolution. The analysis of the predictive and interpretative results reveals the current state of understanding and predictability of coupled THM behaviours associated with geologic nuclear waste disposal in clay formations.
Neutrino-less double beta decay (0{nu}{beta}{beta}) is currently known to be an only experiment to verify whether lepton number is conserved or not. The lepton number non-conservation is the key to create matter dominated universe with CP violation. The so-called leptogenesys scenario presents a way to create the matter dominated universe by these violations. If neutrinos have Majorana mass, transition from a particle to an anti-particle is possible and the left-handed and right-handed neutrinos could have different masses. It is highly likely that the neutrinos are Majorana particles. We have been studying double beta decay of {sup 48}Ca. Our first stage experiment using the ELEGANT VI detector system gave the best lower limit of the half life of 0{nu}{beta}{beta} of {sup 48}Ca. We have been working on CANDLES detector system to sense much longer lifetime region. We have developed techniques to reduce backgrounds. The CADLES detector system was installed at Kamioka underground laboratory. Here I describe a schematic view of the system.
Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is a pervasive condition of enlargement of the male prostate gland which leads to several urinary difficulties ranging from hesitancy to incontinence to kidney dysfunction in severe cases. Currently the most common therapy is transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) utilizing an electrosurgical device. Although TURP is largely successful, new BPH therapy methods are desired to reduce the cost and recovery time, improve the success rate, and reduce side effects. Recently, lasers have been introduced for this purpose. Indigo Medical Inc. is currently engaged in the development, testing, and preparation for sales of a new diode laser based BPH therapy system. The development is based on laboratory experiments, animal studies, and a limited FDA-approved clinical trial in the US and in other countries. The addition of sophisticated numerical modeling, of the sort that has been highly developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, can greatly aid in the design of the system and treatment protocol. The benefits to DOE include the maintenance and advancement of numerical modeling expertise in radiation-matter interactions of the sort essential for the stockpile stewardship, inertial confinement fusion, and advanced manufacturing, and the push on advanced scientific computational methods, ultimately in areas such as 3-D transport.
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A high-performance wall system is under development to improve wall thermal performance to a level of U-factor of 0.19 W/(m2 K) (R-30 [h ft2 F]/Btu) in a standard wall thickness by incorporating vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) into an exterior insulation finish system (EIFS). Such a system would be applicable to new construction and will offer a solution to more challenging retrofit situations as well. Multiple design options were considered to balance the need to protect theVIPs during construction and building operation, while minimizing heat transfer through the wall system. The results reported here encompass an indepth assessment of potential system performances including thermal modeling, detailed laboratory measurements under controlled conditions on the component, and system levels according to ASTM C518 (ASTM 2010). The results demonstrate the importance of maximizing the VIP coverage over the wall face. The results also reveal the impact of both the design and execution of system details, such as the joints between adjacent VIPs. The test results include an explicit modeled evaluation of the system performance in a clear wall.
A case study is presented on specific program elements that supported the transition of a temporary field radiological screening lab to an accredited operation capable of meeting client quality objectives for definitive results data. The temporary field lab is located at the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program Linde Site in Tonawanda, NY. The site is undergoing remediation under the direction of the United States Army Corps of Engineers - Buffalo District, with Cabrera Services Inc. as the remediation contractor and operator of the on-site lab. Analysis methods employed in the on-site lab include gross counting of alpha and beta particle activity on swipes and air filters and gamma spectroscopy of soils and other solid samples. A discussion of key program elements and lessons learned may help other organizations considering pursuit of accreditation for on-site screening laboratories. (authors)