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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 1,027 records · Page 57
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Real-Time Automated pH Control within Batch Processes Relying on Raman pH Measurement

Nuclear fission is an energy source that can provide consistent power with very low associated carbon emissions. However, management of the used nuclear fuel is an important aspect of the application of nuclear power. Recycling of useful components from used fuel is an attractive option, but this involves chemical processing of the fuel. Possible chemical separation technologies that might be used in this regard are sensitive to solution pH. Raman spectroscopy is a promising technique for monitoring the pH of solutions in real time. Classical pH probes are too fragile to be used in the harsh environments encountered in nuclear fuel processing. Raman probes are robust and can withstand these harsh environments to track pH. Coupled with chemometric analysis, the demonstration of the use of Raman spectroscopy to track and predict the pH in carboxylate-buffered systems is made possible. Utilizing this spectroscopy in conjunction with Programmable Logic Controllers mimics industrial control systems used in many modern industrial settings. This showcases a pragmatic approach toward leveraging Raman spectroscopy and chemometric model outputs as inputs for a real-time control system. The model to predict pH created by chemometrics proved to be successful in tracking pH. The optimal pH for TALSPEAK extraction of lanthanides and actinides from aqueous solution is known to proceed in a narrow pH range of around pH = 2.8 ± 0.1. This study uses Raman optical monitoring and automated control to return and maintain solution pH within this range after acid or base perturbations move the solution pH well outside this region. Root-mean-square errors show that pH changes measured using Raman spectroscopy on the batch process solution are reliably measured and used to automatically correct and maintain solution pH. Measurement of solution pH tracks favorably with electrochemical pH probe comparison measurements. As a result, the ability to showcase Raman spectroscopy paired with chemometrics analysis acts as a durable, better alternative data source compared to traditional pH probes to optimize the separation efficiency in the used nuclear fuel processing.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Engineering Controls for the Processing and Repackaging of Gloveboxes Contaminated with Plutonium - 19629

Gloveboxes used for processing plutonium (Pu)-238 at the US DOE Mound site in Miamisburg, Ohio, in support of the United States space mission were packaged in non-standard waste boxes and sent to the INL Site for temporary disposal. In addition to the gloveboxes, an assortment of smaller items, all with varying levels of Pu-238 contamination, were found in the non-standard waste boxes. The characteristics of Pu-238 make it especially difficult to contain and control contamination; alpha recoil phenomena and nanometer particle sizes lend to the contamination exhibiting near gas like characteristics. The Idaho Cleanup Project Core contractor, Fluor Idaho, LLC, engineered and deployed a waste processing containment with specialized ventilation and processes to characterize and disposition this waste. This paper summarizes the successes and lessons learned from processing Pu-238-contaminated waste. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Automating the Solar Interconnection Technical Evaluation Process: PREconfiguring and Controlling Inverter SEt-Points (PRECISE)

Utilities are receiving an increasing number of interconnection requests for distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems from their customers, requiring a solution to quickly and intelligently perform technical assessments of these requests and to manage these new renewable energy assets. In this paper, we present a stand-alone interconnection tool, PREconfiguring and Controlling Inverter SEt-points (PRECISETM), and how it overcomes the challenges of accelerating technical evaluations and leverages smart inverter functionality to provide local voltage support on an as-needed basis. The paper details the purpose and architecture of PRECISE, including tools, data source requirements, the model-based interconnection evaluation process, and technical results. PRECISE is an integrated software tool that customizes PV inverter settings for utilities by modeling and assessing impacts on local voltages and the need for advanced inverter functions (AIFs) (e.g., volt-VAR and volt-watt). PRECISE maximizes the use of readily available utility data sets to make fast online assessments of incoming PV interconnection requests and makes accept/reject recommendations along with custom settings for AIFs.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Profiling Real-Time Electricity Consumption Data for Process Monitoring and Control

Today, smart meters serve as key assets to utilities and their customers because they are capable of recording and communicating real-time energy usage data; thus, enabling better understanding of energy usage patterns. Other potential benefits of smart meters data include the ability to improve customer experience, grid reliability, outage management, and operational efficiency. Despite these tangible benefits, many utilities are inundated by data and remain uncertain about how to extract additional value from these deployed assets outside of billing operations. One way to overcome this challenge is the development of new metrics for classifying utility customers. Traditionally, utilities classified their customers based on their business nature (residential, commercial, and industrial) and/or their total annual consumption. While this classification is useful for some operational functions, it is too limited for designing effective monitoring and control strategies. In this paper, a data mining methodology is proposed for clustering and profiling smart meters data in order to form unique classes of customers exhibiting similar usage patterns. The developed clusters could help utilities in identifying opportunities for achieving some of the benefits of smart meters data.

consumer engagement↗
DOE OSTI2015

Eliminating Voltage Decay of Lithium-Rich Li 1.14 Mn 0.54 Ni 0.14 Co 0.14 O 2 Cathodes by Controlling the Electrochemical Process

Lithium-rich material owns a particularly high capacity owing to the activation of electrochemical inactive Li 2 MnO 3 phase. But at the same time, MnO 2 phase formed after Li 2 MnO 3 activation confronts a severe problem of converting to spinel phase, and resulting in voltage decay. To our knowledge, this phenomenon is inherent property of layered manganese oxide materials and can hardly be overcome. Based on this, unlike previous reports, herein we design a method for the first time to accelerate the phase transformation by tuning the charge upper-limit voltage at a high value, so the phase transformation process can be finished in a few cycles. Then material structure remains stable while cycling at a low upper-limit voltage. By this novel method voltage decay is eliminated significantly.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Generation of one-way Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen steering using interference-controlled asymmetric dissipation process

We show that one-way Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) steering effects can be generated via the asymmetric dissipation scheme induced by the spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) in a resonantly driven V-type atomic system. According to the dressed atomic states and Bogoliubov transformation, we find that there exist two identical dissipation channels being responsible for the appearance of entanglement and symmetric two-way steering effects in the absence of SGC effect. More interestingly, the one-way EPR steering effect occurs when the population differences between the dressed states are prominently modified by the SGC effect. As a consequence, the symmetry of the two dissipation channels is broken by the quantum interference, leading to the generation of one-way EPR steering effect.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Optimization of adsorption processes for climate control and thermal energy storage

Adsorption based heat-pumps have received significant interest owing to their promise of higher efficiencies and energy savings when coupled with waste heat and solar energy compared to conventional heating and cooling systems. While adsorption systems have been widely studied through computational analysis and experiments, general design guidelines to enhance their overall performance have not been proposed. In this work, we identified conditions suitable for the maximum utilization of the adsorbent to enhance the performance of both intermittent as well as continuously operating adsorption systems. A detailed computational model was developed based on a general framework governing adsorption dynamics in a single adsorption layer and pellet. We then validated the computational analysis using experiments with a model system of zeolite 13X-water for different operating conditions. A dimensional analysis was subsequently carried out to optimize adsorption performance for any desired operating condition, which is determined by the choice of adsorbent-vapor pair, adsorption duration, operational pressure, intercrystalline porosity, adsorbent crystal size, and intracrystalline vapor diffusivity. The scaling analysis identifies the critical dimensionless parameters and provides a simple guideline to determine the most suitable geometry for the adsorbent particles. Based on this selection criterion, the computational model was used to demonstrate maximum utilization of the adsorbent for any given operational condition. By considering a wide range of parametric variations for performance optimization, these results offer important insights for designing adsorption beds for heating and cooling systems. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Narayanan, S↗
DOE OSTI2012

Atomic scale control of catalytic process in oxidation of Pb thin films

Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we demonstrate that oxidation on Pb films is greatly enhanced by atomic Cs catalysts. With only a minute concentration of isolated Cs substitutional atoms in the surface layer (0.004 ML coverage), surface oxidation rates are greatly enhanced. First-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that a substitutional Cs atom strongly increases O2 binding on the surface. Then, with additional oxygen exposure this substitutional Cs-initiated oxidation process results in growth of PbO layers in an auto-catalytic manner. Furthermore, we investigate the role of temperature in the oxidation of the Pb films with and without Cs, and we explore the overall morphology of the resultant oxide layers.

Kim, Jisun↗
DOE OSTI2018

Potential-Dynamic Surface Chemistry Controls the Electrocatalytic Processes of Ethanol Oxidation on Gold Surfaces

Electro-catalysis has various important applications especially fuel cells. As a key element in electro-catalysis, the surface chemistry of electro-catalysts may strongly influence the catalytic activity and reaction mechanism, the fundamental understanding of which would provide guidance for designing high-efficiency catalysts. Herein, we utilized our recently developed in situ liquid SIMS approach to investigate the electro-catalytic oxidation of ethanol on gold surfaces in alkaline environments involved in direct alcohol fuel cells. Formation of adsorbed hydroxide intermediates on the gold surfaces upon electro-oxidation was molecularly witnessed under operando conditions, the evolution of which was revealed to govern the electro-catalytic processes. Moreover, the hydroxide intermediates as active sites participated in the reaction through transferring nucleophilic hydroxyl groups into the adjacent ethanol molecules. This work brings new light into electro-catalytic research and will facilitate the improvement of catalytic systems on the basis of surface chemistry-catalytic performance relationship.

Zhang, Yanyan↗
DOE OSTI2013

Canted Undulator Upgrade for GeoSoilEnviroCARS Sector 13 at the Advanced Photon Source

Support for the beamline component of the canted undulator upgrade of Sector 13 (GeoSoilEnviroCARS; managed and operated by the University of Chicago) at the Advanced Photon Source (APS; Argonne National Laboratory) was received from three agencies (equally divided): NASA-SRLIDAP (now LARS), NSF-EAR-IF (ARRA) and DOE-Single Investigator Small Group (SISGR). The associated accelerator components (undulators, canted front end) were provided by the APS using DOE-ARRA funding. The intellectual merit of the research enabled by the upgrade lies in advancing our knowledge of the composition, structure and properties of earth materials; the processes they control; and the processes that produce them. The upgrade will facilitate scientific advances in the following areas: high pressure mineral physics and chemistry, non-crystalline and nano-crystalline materials at high pressure, chemistry of hydrothermal fluids, reactions at mineral-water interfaces, biogeochemistry, oxidation states of magmas, flow dynamics of fluids and solids, and cosmochemistry. The upgrade, allowing the microprobe to operate 100% of the time and the high pressure and surface scattering and spectroscopy instruments to receive beam time increases, will facilitate much more efficient use of the substantial investment in these instruments. The broad scientific community will benefit by the increase in the number of scientists who conduct cutting-edge research at GSECARS. The user program in stations 13ID-C (interface scattering) and 13ID-D (laser heated diamond anvil cell and large volume press) recommenced in June 2012. The operation of the 13ID-E microprobe station began in the Fall 2012 cycle (Oct.-Dec 2012). The upgraded canted beamlines double the amount of undulator beam time at Sector 13 and provide new capabilities including extended operations of the X-ray microprobe down to the sulfur K edge and enhanced brightness at high energy. The availability of the upgraded beamlines will advance the research being conducted at Sector 13.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗