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DOE OSTI2020

Distribution of genetic variation underlying adult migration timing in steelhead of the Columbia River basin

Abstract Fish migrations are energetically costly, especially when moving between freshwater and saltwater, but are a viable strategy for Pacific salmon and trout ( Oncorhynchus spp.) due to the advantageous resources available at various life stages. Anadromous steelhead ( O. mykiss ) migrate vast distances and exhibit variation for adult migration phenotypes that have a genetic basis at candidate genes known as greb1L and rock1 . We examined the distribution of genetic variation at 13 candidate markers spanning greb1L , intergenic, and rock1 regions versus 226 neutral markers for 113 populations ( n = 9,471) of steelhead from inland and coastal lineages in the Columbia River. Patterns of population structure with neutral markers reflected genetic similarity by geographic region as demonstrated in previous studies, but candidate markers clustered populations by genetic variation associated with adult migration timing. Mature alleles for late migration had the highest frequency overall in steelhead populations throughout the Columbia River, with only 9 of 113 populations that had a higher frequency of premature alleles for early migration. While a single haplotype block was evident for the coastal lineage, we identified multiple haplotype blocks for the inland lineage. The inland lineage had one haplotype block that corresponded to candidate markers within the greb1L gene and immediately upstream in the intergenic region, and the second block only contained candidate markers from the intergenic region. Haplotype frequencies had similar patterns of geographic distribution as single markers, but there were distinct differences in frequency between the two haplotype blocks for the inland lineage. This may represent multiple recombination events that differed between lineages where phenotypic differences exist between freshwater entry versus arrival timing as indicated by Micheletti et al. (2018a). Redundancy analyses were used to model environmental effects on allelic frequencies of candidate markers, and significant variables were migration distance, temperature, isothermality, and annual precipitation. This study improves our understanding of the spatial distribution of genetic variation underlying adult migration timing in steelhead as well as associated environmental factors and has direct conservation and management implications.

Collins, Erin E.↗

DOE OSTI2024

SMR Current Status: Development Needs and Global Perspectives

Defined as nuclear reactors with a power output up to 300 megawatts electrical (MWe) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and targeted for multipurpose applications, small modular reactors (SMRs) have been recognized as a very promising, clean, affordable, and sustainable energy source by many countries. At present, more than 80 SMRs are under design, development, demonstration, deployment, and beyond (4D+) phases worldwide. This study focuses on the current world status of SMRs and focuses on the necessary developments to accelerate the process of adopting SMRs as a major energy source globally. SMRs are not a new concept, but they do represent a new vision for older concepts if the challenges inherent within them are mitigated with strategic and realistic solution approaches. The major challenges for SMRs 4D+ like any new reactors are: (a) qualifying the advanced fuel-to-reactor design; (b) supporting rapid scaled/prototypic experimentations; (c) maintaining local and global codes, standards, and licensing; (d) supply chain issues;(e) effective cradle-to-grave nuclear fuel cycle and fuel material transportation, and (f) mitigating financial and environmental risks. These upfront challenges can be mitigated with a synergistic solution approach among the various stakeholders: industry, academia, research, government, and international entities.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

SMR Current Status: Development Needs and Global Perspectives

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Scale and Regionality of Nonelectric Markets for U.S. Nuclear Light Water Reactors

This study assesses existing and potential industries that could conceivably be directly coupled to existing nuclear reactors. The goal is to identify the scale, location, and accessibility of the candidate industrial-product markets, as well as process feedstocks that are available near the plants to establish new industries. For example, CO 2 as a feedstock can be combined with H 2 to produce formic acid (FA), transportation fuels, and lubricants. These new plants can be entirely supported with the heat and electricity provided by a nearby NPP. The potential demand for nonelectric industrial products was assessed by documenting current and possible growth of nonelectricity product markets considered. This assessment used DOE- and industry-supported tools, data, and projections to capture regional industrial market opportunities. Electricity-capacity markets that reward large and reliable generators, such as NPPs, were considered because the electricity market will likely continue to be an important revenue source to NPPs. The key is to balance the needs of energy customers so as to optimize revenue for the affiliated energy customers or partners. In most cases, flexible plant energy delivery and power generation for the grid will require either energy storage or a stock of intermediate products to sustain the industrial customers when the NPP dispatches electricity to the grid. A diverse mix of temperate regions with operating NPPs around the U.S.—representing a variety of operating markets, local generation mix, and seasonal climates—were chosen for this market study. Both current and future market opportunities for candidate industrial-product markets surrounding these NPPs were studied. Figure 2 illustrates the regions chosen for this study. The success of developing nonelectric industrial-product markets as alternative revenue-generating sources for LWRs depends, not only on demand from growing existing markets, such as petroleum refining and NH 3 production, but also on the development of new markets such as light-duty (LD) and heavy-duty (HD) hydrogen FCEVs, synfuels, chemical production, biofuels, metal refining, injection of hydrogen into NG pipelines for gas power-generating units, FA, polymers, and close-coupled industrial heat applications, all of which can significantly increase demand relative to current levels while decarbonizing energy sectors. This study also presents a sample analysis of the economics of hydrogen production in an area of Minnesota, considering the capital and operating costs of a hydrogen plant as well as the local market demand for hydrogen. It includes some assumptions on electricity-grid pricing, showing how hydrogen could be integrated with an NPP and be competitive with the incumbent hydrogen-production process, steam methane reforming (SMR). The objectives of this study include: Provide U.S. NPP operators a robust sampling of the market demand location, scale, and accessibility (including storage and transportation) of the wide variety of industrial-product choices that can be produced using nuclear thermal energy and electricity proximate to a subset of U.S. NPPs to inform the industry of the potential opportunity; show examples and trade-off analyses of how U.S. LWR operators can access these markets, including storage and transportation of industrial products to their intended markets; and present a general analysis example for one industrial product (hydrogen) in one region (Minnesota area), including production, storage, and transportation, to show how nuclear-hybrid integrated energy systems (IESs) could access local markets and improve the profitability of an NPP.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Benchmark Calculation for the Quad Cities Unit 1 Cycles 1-3 Using the SCALE 6.3/Polaris–PARCS v3.4.2 Code Package

In this study, benchmark calculations were performed for the Quad Cities Unit 1 cycles 1–3 to validate the SCALE 6.3/Polaris–PARCS v3.4.2 code package with the ENDF/B-VII.1 AMPX 56-group library by comparing the simulated results with the measured data. The benchmark results will be used in evaluating uncertainties of the SCALE/Polaris–PARCS code package for boiling water reactor physics analysis for key nuclear parameters such as reactivity and assembly power peaking factors. This report details plant and fuel design specifications and input data for SCALE/Polaris, GenPMAXS, and PARCS; additionally, detailed information is provided for all the input and output files produced for the benchmark calculations. The benchmark results are summarized herein so that they can be used to evaluate uncertainties with other benchmark results for key nuclear parameters.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Benchmark Calculation for the Hatch Unit 1 Cycles 1-3 Using the SCALE 6.3/Polaris–PARCS v3.4.2 Code Package

This study was the performance of the benchmark calculation for the Hatch Unit 1 cycles 1–3, to validate the SCALE 6.3/Polaris–PARCS v3.4.2 with the ENDF/B-VII.1 AMPX 56-group library by comparing the simulated results with the measured data. The benchmark results will be used in evaluating uncertainties of the SCALE/Polaris–PARCS code package for boiling water reactor (BWR) physics analysis for key nuclear parameters such as reactivity and assembly power peaking factors. This report details plant and fuel design specifications and input data for SCALE/Polaris, GenPMAXS and PARCS, and additionally, detailed information is provided for all the input and output files produced for the benchmark calculations. The benchmark results were summarized such that they can be used in evaluating uncertainties for key nuclear parameters with other BWR benchmark results.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Benchmark Calculation for the Peach Bottom Unit 2 Cycles 1-3 Using the SCALE 6.3/Polaris–PARCS v3.4.2 Code Package

In this study, benchmark calculations were performed for Peach Bottom Unit 2 cycles 1–3 to validate the SCALE 6.3/Polaris–PARCS v3.4.2 with the ENDF/B-VII.1 AMPX 56-group library by comparing the simulated results with the measured data. The benchmark results will be used to evaluate uncertainties of the SCALE/Polaris–PARCS code package for boiling water reactor physics analysis for key nuclear parameters such as reactivity and assembly power peaking factors. This report details plant and fuel design specifications and input data for SCALE/Polaris, GenPMAXS and PARCS. Additionally, detailed information is provided for all the input and output files produced for the benchmark calculations. The benchmark results were summarized such that they can be used to evaluate uncertainties with other benchmark results for key nuclear parameters.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Spatial Study 2022: Water Column, Sediment, and Total Ecosystem Respiration Rates across the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA (v2)

This dataset supports a broader study examining the drivers of spatial variability in sediment respiration rates in the Yakima River Basin and is associated with the manuscript “Sediment-associated processes account for most of the spatial variation in ecosystem respiration in the Yakima River basin” submitted to Nature Communications Earth & Environment (Garayburu-Caruso et al., in review). The dataset provides ecosystem metabolism estimates generated from streamMetabolizer (Appling et al.; 2018) using data collected during the same five-week period at 48 sites within multiple rivers throughout the Yakima River Basin in Washington, USA. Additionally, it includes the scripts used for the analysis and producing the figures in the manuscript. The contents include streamMetabolizer inputs and outputs and additional relevant data needed to generate the main manuscript results. The data included are: total ecosystem respiration, water respiration, calculated sediment-associated respiration, gross primary production outputs from the river corridor model for the Yakima River Basin, median grain size (d50), depth, dissolved oxygen, water temperature, pressure, and annual oxygen consumption. The associated GitHub repository can be found at https://github.com/river-corridors-sfa/SSS_metabolism. Samples collected during this study were labeled as “Second Spatial Study” or “SSS.” Raw time series sensor data, total suspended solids, and depth data from SSS were published at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/datasets/doi:10.15485/1969566. A subset of data from the SSS samples were published in the contiguous United States (CONUS)-Scale Model-Sample (CM) study data package available at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/view/doi:10.15485/1923689 that presents data from across the CONUS. They include dissolved organic carbon (DOC, measured as non-purgeable organic carbon, NPOC), total nitrogen (TN), grain size, aerobic sediment respiration, dissolved oxygen (DO), and temperature. Parent IDs and Site IDs are consistent between the SSS and CM data packages, and they can be mapped directly so data across packages can be used together. Field metadata for the samples in this da This dataset is comprised of one main data folder with four subfolders. The main data folder contains of (1) file-level metadata; (2) data dictionary; (3) total/water column/sediment respiration; (4) gross primary production (GPP); (5) median grain size (d50); and (6) annual oxygen consumption. The “Figures” subfolder contains the figures used in the paper and all intermediate files (including geospatial files). The “Published_Data” contains a readme directing the user to download the public data to reproduce analyses and figures. The “Scripts” folder contains all scripts used in the analyses that were not part of running StreamMetabolizer. Lastly, the “Stream_Metabolizer” folder contains all files associated with running StreamMetabolizer including (1) model input files, (2) model output files, (3) processing scripts, (4) histogram plots of the outputs, and (5) an R project. All files are .csv, .pdf, .R, .Rmd, .Rproj, .html, .png, .txt, .qgz, .cpg, .dbf, .prj, .shp, .shp.ea.iso.xml, .shp.iso.xml, .shx, .sbn. ta package can be found at either link. We acknowledge the Yakama Nation as owners and caretakers of the lands where we collected these data. We thank the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and Yakama Nation Fisheries for working with us to facilitate sample collection and optimization of data usage according to their values and worldview.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Performance Profile of Transformer Fine-Tuning in Multi-GPU Cloud Environments

The study presented here focuses on performance characteristics and trade-offs associated with running machine-learning tasks in multi-GPU environments on both on-site cloud computing resources and commercial cloud services (Azure). Specifically, this study examines these tradeoffs by examining the performance of training and fine-tuning of transformer-based deep-learning (DL) networks on clinical notes and data, a task of critical importance in the medical domain. To this end, we perform DL-related experiments on the widely deployed NVIDIA V100 GPUs and on the newer A100 GPUs connected via NVLink or PCIe. This study analyzes the execution time of major operations to train DL models and investigate popular options to optimize each of them. We examine and present the findings on the impacts that various operations (e.g. data loading into GPUs, training, fine-tuning), optimizations, and system configurations (single vs. multi-GPU, NVLink vs. PCIe) have on the overall training performance.

Begoli, Edmon↗

DOE OSTI2025

CFD modeling and simulation for corrosive wear of refractory in molten slag

The development of high-wear resistant refractories having minimal production costs is facilitated by characterizing the wear mechanisms associated with their corrosive wear. Static cup testing is a commonly used method for comparing the corrosion resistance performance of two or more refractory materials. Although the static cup test conditions are not as severe as dynamic tests, this study shows that the thermal gradient present within the system during heating and cooling stages serves to generate movement of the slag leading to mechanical wear. The thermal gradient within the refractory, and between the slag and the refractory, occurs during the ramp stage of the test and lasts until the soaking stage is reached bringing the system to a thermal equilibrium. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) capabilities embedded within ANSYS software, this study modelled and quantified the convection currents within the slag and associated shear stresses generated on the refractory walls due to the thermal gradient. A traditional ladle furnace was employed as a case study to verify the results of the studied CFD model. The corrosion rate of the refractory lining was found to depend on the mass transfer coefficient of the refractory dissolution into the slag, and a velocity term which governs the extent of corrosion at any given location. This velocity term is a function of slag viscosity, as well as the concentration gradient and/or temperature gradient at the triple points. In this study, wall shear stress was used as a reliable proxy for identifying high-velocity regions prone to excessive corrosive wear. Elevated wall shear stress near the slag/air and slag/molten steel interfaces align with observed corrosion grooves, which reflects the intensified corrosive wear at these locations.

Ramteke, Rajat Rajat Durgesh Ramteke [University o↗

DOE OSTI2026

Anomaly Detection for Online Monitoring of Thermocouple Sensors in the Advanced Test Reactor

This study explores data-driven anomaly detection methods to analyze sensor fail- ures in the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) nuclear fuel irradiation experiments. Specifically, we examine failures of thermocouples (TCs), which are critical for mon- itoring and controlling in-reactor temperatures during operation. Failures were pri- marily observed during abrupt power transitions and manifested as sensor drop-outs, drifts, or unexplained behavior. We applied three time-series analysis techniques— rolling mean smoothing, matrix profile, and vector auto-regression (VAR)—to de- tect anomalies in TC data prior to failure events. The rolling mean method effec- tively highlighted deviations aligned with reported failures, while the matrix profile provided partial early warning but sometimes flagged normal fluctuations during power-down periods. VAR shows potential in capturing multivariate dependencies but requires further calibration. A rare case of TC drift was also documented, which did not result in failure, underscoring the challenge of building predictive models with sparse positive examples. Our findings demonstrate that traditional statistical tools can aid anomaly detection but have limited predictive power without richer training data. We propose future directions including synthetic data generation, real- time surrogate modeling, and multi-modal feature integration. This work provides a foundation for applying robust anomaly detection frameworks to mission-critical sensor systems in experimental settings.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Ion Pairing and Redissociaton in Low-Permittivity Electrolytes for Multivalent Battery Applications

Detailed speciation of electrolytes as a function of chemical system and concentration provides the foundation for understanding bulk transport as well as possible decomposition mechanisms. In particular, multivalent electrolytes have shown a strong coupling between anodic stability and solvation structure. Furthermore, solvents that are found to exhibit reasonable stability against alkaline-earth metals generally exhibit low permittivity, which typically increases the complexity of the electrolyte species. To improve our understanding of ionic population and associated transport in these important classes of electrolytes, the speciation of Mg(TFSI)2 in monoglyme and diglyme systems is studied via a multiscale thermodynamic model using first-principles calculations for ion association and molecular dynamics simulations for dielectric properties. The results are then compared to Raman and dielectric relaxation spectroscopies, which independently confirm the modeling insights. We find that the significant presence of free ions in the low-permittivity glymes in the concentration range from 0.02 to 0.6 M is well-explained by the low-permittivity redissociation hypothesis. Here, salt speciation is largely dictated by long-range electrostatics, which includes permittivity increases due to polar contact ion pairs. The present results suggest that other low-permittivity multivalent electrolytes may also reach high conductivities as a result of redissociation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Multiphysics Pebble-Bed Reactor Control Rod Withdrawal Study

This work studied the responses of both a generic gas- and a fluoride-cooled PBR concept---the gPBR-200 and gFHR, respectively---during reactivity insertion accidents. Both models rely on 2-D axisymmetric simulations to solve the neutron flux distribution, nuclide concentrations, and temperature across the core---in addition to numerous representative pebble and TRISO particle simulations for determining fuel and moderator temperatures. This not only allows for computing maximum temperatures in the core---thus enabling estimation of how near the fuel is to peak operational and safety limits---as prescribed by specified acceptable fuel design limits, which are determined in such a way that fuel is not damaged during operational or anticipated abnormal occurrences---but also predicting how much of the core exceeds a given temperature limit, as well as determining the local energy deposition rate. These models consider both control rod withdrawal and ejection events. The former introduces a great deal more reactivity, as all the control rods are withdrawn (as opposed to a single one in the latter case), though at a much slower pace. In addition, for the gPBR-200, two limiting cases were considered: one with the core starting under hot full-power conditions and one with it starting under cold zero-power conditions. While the amount of reactivity added in the latter case is much higher (due to the far lower temperatures and the lack of neutron poisons such as Xe-135), the margin to temperature limits is also much more significant. Overall, for the design considered, none of the accidents resulted in the maximum fuel temperature reaching values close to the TRISO limit. However, the methodology presented herein could be very relevant if some designs consider reduced margins (e.g., higher temperatures) to achieve enhanced economics. Further model improvement is needed to better capture control rod worth, both in terms of cusping effects (as the rods are slowly withdrawn) and differential worth, especially as the tips of the rods near the upper cavity.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Proteomic assessment of serum biomarkers of longevity in older men

The biological bases of longevity are not well understood, and there are limited biomarkers for the prediction of long life. We used a high-throughput, discovery-based proteomics approach to identify serum peptides and proteins that were associated with the attainment of longevity in a longitudinal study of community-dwelling men age ≥65 years. Baseline serum in 1196 men were analyzed using liquid chromatography–ion mobility–mass spectrometry, and lifespan was determined during ~12 years of follow-up. Men who achieved longevity (≥90% expected survival) were compared to those who died earlier. Rigorous statistical methods that controlled for false positivity were utilized to identify 25 proteins that were associated with longevity. All these proteins were in lower abundance in long-lived men and included a variety involved in inflammation or complement activation. Lower levels of longevity-associated proteins were also associated with better health status, but as time to death shortened, levels of these proteins increased. Pathway analyses implicated a number of compounds as important upstream regulators of the proteins and implicated shared networks that underlie the observed associations with longevity. Overall, these results suggest that complex pathways, prominently including inflammation, are linked to the likelihood of attaining longevity. This work may serve to identify novel biomarkers for longevity and to understand the biology underlying lifespan.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Association between soil organic carbon and calcium in acidic grassland soils from Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Organo-mineral and organo-metal associations play an important role in the retention and accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC). Recent studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between calcium (Ca) and SOC content in a range of soil types. However, most of these studies have focused on soils that contain calcium carbonate (pH > 6). To assess the importance of Ca-SOC associations in lower pH soils, we investigated their physical and chemical interaction in the grassland soils of Point Reyes National Seashore (CA, USA) at a range of spatial scales. Multivariate analyses of our bulk soil characterisation dataset showed a strong correlation between exchangeable Ca (Ca Exch ; 5–8.3 c.mol c kg –1 ) and SOC (0.6–4%) content. Additionally, linear combination fitting (LCF) of bulk Ca K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra revealed that Ca was predominantly associated with organic carbon across all samples. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM C/Ca NEXAFS) showed that Ca had a strong spatial correlation with C at the microscale. The STXM C NEXAFS K-edge spectra indicated that SOC had a higher abundance of aromatic/olefinic and phenolic C functional groups when associated with Ca, relative to C associated with Fe. In regions of high Ca-C association, the STXM C NEXAFS spectra were similar to the spectrum from lignin, with moderate changes in peak intensities and positions that are consistent with oxidative C transformation. Through this association, Ca thus seems to be preferentially associated with plant-like organic matter that has undergone some oxidative transformation, at depth in acidic grassland soils of California. Our study highlights the importance of Ca-SOC complexation in acidic grassland soils and provides a conceptual model of its contribution to SOC preservation, a research area that has previously been unexplored.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Development of an In-Situ Method for Cable Condition Monitoring in Nuclear Power Plants (SBIR Phase IIB Final Report)

This is the final report of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project that Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS) has conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) over a seven-and-a-half year period (February 2013 through April 2020 with the awards of Phase I, Phase II and Phase IIB projects). The goal of the project was to design, develop, validate, and demonstrate a technique for in-situ testing of cable insulation polymers that will identify, locate, and provide the degree of aging for cables commonly used in nuclear power plants. During the Phase I project, AMS established that the frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) technique can successfully identify and measure cable insulation degradation that can be trended with aging. In Phase II, AMS performed extensive cable aging studies to correlate FDR measurements with other laboratory condition monitoring techniques and developed aging condition categories to quantify the severity of insulation degradation. In Phase IIB, the project expanded the research to include a wider variety of cable polymers that are used in the commercial nuclear power industry. This work also involved developing acceptance criteria to objectively assess age-related cable degradation while sharing the results of this research with industry, academia, and national laboratories to advance the state of the art in cable aging management technologies. The products developed under this research project provide the nuclear industry with an effective condition monitoring tool to support safe and long-term plant operation. Throughout the project, collaborations and support were received from a variety of industry organizations and individuals including DOE National Laboratories as well as nuclear plant utilities and several other industry experts and cable manufacturers. Contributions from these organizations included the donation of new cables, naturally aged cables, and research collaboration. The validation and commercialization of the products of this project were achieved through opportunities to test and demonstrate the technologies’ capabilities on-site at nuclear power generation and research facilities as well as in the laboratory alongside industry peers and cable testing service companies. The research resulted in a technology that can be used to identify, locate, and quantify age-related degradation in several types of cable polymers. This included developing software and hardware as well as the methodology for using the FDR technique to assess age-related degradation of installed cables. The technology developed under this project can provide nuclear plant management, engineers, and technicians with an in-situ electrical test method to determine if in-service cables need to be replaced, monitored on a periodic basis, or show no evidence of significant age-related degradation that may require action. Near the end of this Phase IIB project, the FDR product was sold to a nuclear power utility in South Korea. This sale of a dedicated aging assessment tool is the beginning of a comprehensive contract with the expectation of twelve (12) units sold to that country. Additionally, the FDR technology has been sold to several industry organizations including a nuclear research institute and the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. This technology is also being leased by other nuclear industry service companies for incorporation into aging management programs. The cable testing technology that was developed under this project was also integrated into a comprehensive cable aging assessment service that is being offered to the nuclear industry at the request of U.S. nuclear utilities and is currently part of onsite testing services provided by AMS.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2026

ODIN: Characterizing the Three-dimensional Structure of Two Protocluster Complexes at z = 3.1

We present a detailed study of the 3D morphology of two extended associations of multiple protoclusters at z = 3.1. These protocluster "complexes," designated COSMOS-z3.1-A and COSMOS-z3.1-C, are the most prominent overdensities of z = 3.1 Lyα emitters (LAEs) identified in the COSMOS field by the One-hundred-deg$^{2}$ DECam Imaging in Narrowbands survey. These protocluster complexes have been followed up with extensive spectroscopy from Keck, Gemini, and DESI. Using a probabilistic method that combines photometrically selected and spectroscopically confirmed LAEs, we reconstruct the 3D structure of these complexes on scales of ≈50 cMpc. We validate our reconstruction method using the IllustrisTNG300-1 cosmological hydrodynamical simulation and show that it consistently outperforms approaches relying solely on spectroscopic data. The resulting 3D maps reveal that both complexes are irregular and elongated along a single axis, emphasizing the impact of sightline on our perception of structure morphology. The complexes consist of multiple density peaks, 10 in COSMOS-z3.1-A and 4 in COSMOS-z3.1-C. The former is confirmed to be a proto-supercluster, similar to Hyperion at z = 2.4 but observed at an even earlier epoch. Multiple "tails" connected to the cores of the density peaks are seen, likely representing cosmic filaments feeding into these extremely overdense regions. The 3D reconstructions further provide strong evidence that Lyα blobs preferentially reside in the outskirts of the highest density regions. Descendant mass estimates of the density peaks suggest that COSMOS-z3.1-A and COSMOS-z3.1-C will evolve to become ultramassive structures by z = 0, with total masses log ( M / M ,⊙ ,) ≳ 15.3 , exceeding that of Coma.

Ramakrishnan, Vandana [Purdue U., West Lafayette] ↗

DOE OSTI2022

Multi-scale imaging of high-pressure hydrogen induced damage in EPDM rubber using X-ray microcomputed tomography, helium-ion microscopy and transmission electron microscopy

Ethylene propylene diene (EPDM) rubber has gained increasing interest for use in hydrogen infrastructure due to its excellent sealing performance and low temperature properties. However, severe structural damage has been observed in EPDM O-rings after exposure to high-pressure hydrogen. The origination and propagation mechanisms of this damage are poorly understood. Here, to address this knowledge gap, multi-scale imaging leveraging X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), helium ion microscopy (HeIM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used in this work to study a series of sulfur-cured ethylene propylene diene (EPDM) rubber materials with varying additives that were exposed to different hydrogen environments. Micro-CT captured the substantial structural damage due to hydrogen exposure; it revealed an association between zinc oxide (ZnO) particles and damage initiation. Further studies by TEM and scanning TEM with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were focused on these particles at the micro-to nano-scale range. TEM indicated that hydrogen causes void formation at the interface between ZnO and the rubber matrix. HeIM enabled imaging of surface morphology of the material at high resolution pre- and post-hydrogen exposure while providing information on chemical composition and that cannot be captured by either micro-CT or TEM.

08 HYDROGEN↗