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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Accelerating Laboratory-Based, All-Solid-State Battery Research and Development: Industrially Relevant Small-Batch Dry-Processing, Small and Low-Cost Test Fixtures, and Short-Tolerant Separators

This work presents improvements to mixing (for dry-processed electrodes), separator robustness, and cell testing jigs for all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). These developments combine synergistically to enable rapid research and development of ASSB catholytes. A mechanical "kneader" is designed and built which emulates the mixing and fibrillation of poly-tetrafluoroethylene binder that occurs in industrially relevant twin-screw extruders. A modest improvement in the mixing and dispersion catholyte materials is observed using micro-resolution X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT). Catholytes are paired with an In-metal anode and separated by a novel, dual-layer, polyaramid-fiber-supported, sulfide-solid electrolyte (Li6 PS5 Cl) separator. This separator achieves high short tolerance which enabled a 95% success rate across 20 attempted cells and to date over 100 successful cells have been built. ASSBs were tested in a 2032 coin-cell format. Simultaneous cycling of a large number of cells is further enabled by a compact and low cost (~ 38 USD per jig) pressure application jig of which 100 have been constructed to date. The utility of these advances is demonstrated through a brief study on the effect cathode-side conductive carbon and current collector type has on capacity and rate performance.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

An Instrumented Capsule Design to Measure Thermal Conductivity in Miniature UO2 Specimens

Numerous separate effects irradiations of miniature nuclear fuel specimens have been conducted in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) under the experimental platform designated as MiniFuel. MiniFuel is a static irradiation capability in which microstructural evolution and fuel performance phenomena are observed during postirradiation examination thereby offering a snapshot of the terminal fuel characteristics. This approach inherently requires fielding an irradiation where the experimental conditions are determined using predictive models and the pertinent outcomes are measured at the end of the test. Static irradiations can provide useful insights to the relationships between fuel performance and the pivotal irradiation conditions, namely temperature and burnup, but the ability to monitor fuel performance in situ would further support fuel development and qualification. To this end, an instrumented experiment design is being developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to capture thermal conductivity degradation and fission gas release during HFIR irradiation. These phenomena will be monitored using unique capsule designs that each target a different phenomenon. This paper details the thermal conductivity capsule (TCC) design and its expected performance envelope as determined using computer models. Each TCC will contain a miniature UO2 disc specimen (~0.5 mm thick × 5 mm diameter) sandwiched between metallic slugs with embedded thermocouples. The coupling of in situ temperature measurements, known thermal conductivity of the metallic components, and heat generation rates computed using high-fidelity neutronics models make the thermal conductivity measurement possible. This paper describes the reactor physics and heat transfer models used to predict the capsule’s performance and the methodology for calculating the fuel specimen’s thermal conductivity from the thermocouple measurements.

Gorton, Jacob [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000269806083)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toward accelerating rare-earth metal extraction using equivariant neural networks

The separation of rare-earth metals, vital for numerous advanced technologies, is hampered by their similar chemical properties, making ligand discovery a significant challenge. Traditional experimental and quantum chemistry approaches for identifying effective ligands are often resource-intensive. We introduce a machine learning protocol based on an equivariant neural network, Allegro, for the rapid and accurate prediction of binding energies in rare-earth complexes. Key to this work is our newly curated dataset of rare-earth metal complexes—made publicly available to foster further research—systematically generated using the Architector program. This dataset distinctively features functionalized derivatives of proven rare-earth-chelating scaffolds, hydroxypyridinone (HOPO), catecholamide (CAM), and their thio-analogues, selected for their established efficacy in binding these elements. Trained on this valuable resource, our Allegro models demonstrate excellent performance, particularly when trained to directly predict DFT-level binding energies, yielding highly accurate results that closely correlate with theoretical calculations on a diverse test set. Furthermore, this strategy exhibited strong out-of-sample generalization, accurately predicting binding energies for an isomeric HOPO-derivative ligand not seen during training. By substantially reducing computational demands, this machine learning framework, alongside the provided dataset, represent powerful tools to accelerate the high-throughput screening and rational design of novel ligands for efficient rare-earth metal separation.

Gupta, Ankur K. [Lawrence Berkeley National Labora↗
DOE OSTI2024

Level 2 Milestone: Develop and Incorporate Novel Code Verification of Fundamental Equations in Gemma and Set Up Appropriate Tests

For computational physics simulations, code verification plays a major role in establishing the credibility of the results by assessing the correctness of the implementation of the underlying numerical methods. In computational electromagnetics, surface integral equations, such as the method-of-moments implementations of the electric-, magnetic-, and combinedfield integral equations, are frequently used to solve Maxwell’s equations on the surfaces of electromagnetic scatterers. These electromagnetic surface integral equations yield many code-verification challenges due to the various sources of numerical error and their possible interactions. In this report, we provide approaches to separately measure the numerical errors arising from these different error sources. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches in Gemma.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Defect Detection Model Development for Large Scale Thermoplastic Printing

Large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) offers several advantages, including high throughput, cost-effective pellet-fed extrusion, and the capability to produce large-scale structures. The main pain points of LFAM include start and stops during the printing process, warpage, long layer times that lead to bead freezing, and bead separation due to shrinkage. These issues can lead to overfill, underfill and buildup of material in different sections of a print. This can lead to hidden defects embedded within the printed layers, or even ultimate failure of the printed structure. This ensures these defects can only be identified through nondestructive testing (NDT) inspection methods after printing, which can be timely and costly. Aligned Vision work specializes in 2D projectors with visual inspection systems and machine learning. Traditionally system is used for composite layup and layup inspections. In this work we used the LFAM system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to create defect rich samples. The Aligned Vision inspection system then performed in-situ monitoring of the print process after each part was printed. This in-situ vision inspection system was used to develop a layer-by-layer inspection model that looks for overfill, underfill, and the buildup of defects using only a camera-based vision system. This leads to the assurance of high-quality production components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

In situ oxidation of reduced graphene oxide membranes by peracetic acid for dye desalination

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes with tunable interlayer spacings are of interest for dye removal from salty textile wastewater, and the membranes are often reduced to improve their stability, which inevitably lowers water permeance. Herein, we demonstrate that reduced GO (rGO) membranes can be facilely modified using peracetic acid (PAA) in situ to dramatically enhance water permeance while retaining dye rejection. Specifically, PAA-modified membranes (PrGO) are synthesized by vacuum-filtering hydrazine-reduced rGO nanosheets onto Nylon substrate and then exposing them to PAA solutions. The effects of the rGO layer thickness, PAA content, and PAA exposure time on the membrane chemistry, nanostructures, and salt/dye separation properties are thoroughly examined. For example, the PAA oxidation of a 100 nm-thick rGO membrane for 10 min increases water permeance by 180 %, from 35 to 93 Liter m −2 h −1 bar −1 , and decreases Na 2 SO 4 rejection from 10 % to 3.3 % while retaining the rejection of Congo red at ≈99.7 %. The PrGO membranes exhibit stable water permeance and >99 % dye rejection in multi-cycle tests in a crossflow system, surpassing state-of-the-art GO membranes and showcasing their potential for practical applications.

Dye desalination↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cost Competitive Process of Battery Grade Oxides Preparation from Aged LIBS

The increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs ) is driving development of advanced recycling and refining methods. In this project, new cathode active materials are prepared from recycled lithium battery materials and subsequently electrochemically evaluated in coin cells. In detail, scrap LIBs were mechanically processed into a metal rich black mass, then reductive acid leached into an aqueous metal solution, and finally high-purity metal hydroxide precursor materials were prepared by selective electrochemical flow precipitation. Closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials will enable US manufacturers to break their reliance on foreign sources of critical materials. For example, electroextraction process used here has potential to significantly reduce chemical & water use as compared to traditional metallurgic techniques. To this end, electroextracted materials refined from used batteries were collected and processed to be tested as precursor cathode active material (pCam).During this project ,samples of high-purity recycled NMC hydroxide (~2kg each) were received from Nth Cycle. In the first received batch some impurities like cadmium, calcium, and sodium are present in quantities that would negatively impact battery performance. Nth Cycle indicated that the impurities such as cadmium are present due to poor battery separation and co-shredding of NiCd batteries with with LIB. Cadmium was not present in the two subsequent batches as Nth Cycle processed cadmium free black mass. Thus, effective recycled battery sorting is critical to closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Investigation of Flux Spreading in a Light-Trapping, Planar-Cavity Receiver for Enclosed Solar Particle Heating

Concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technology development has recently focused on increasing the operating temperatures to accommodate high efficiency power cycles and thermochemical processes. Inert solid particles as heat transfer media enable solar receivers to operate above 700 degrees Celsius resulting in increased system thermal efficiency compared to the conventional molten salt based CSP system. An open-cavity falling-particle solar receiver that can efficiently heat particles by direct heating from concentrated solar radiation faces challenges with large particle losses from wind and unable to support thermochemical reactions. A light-trapping, planar cavity reiver (LTPCR) where particles are indirectly heated can significantly minimize the particle losses during the operation, support thermochemical reactions, and offer scalability potential. The LTPCR features an array of vertical planar receiver/absorber panels arranged within a cavity configuration. Concentrated solar radiation from heliostats is focused onto the receiver walls, where heat is indirectly transferred to solid particles flowing inside the receiver channels. Heat transfer occurs through direct contact between the receiver panel walls and particles, and can be enhanced by fluidizing particles with air. This fluidization increases particle-wall contact and extends particle residence time, maximizing heat transfer efficiency. The unique vertical planar receiver structure originated from a near-blackbody tubular light absorber, effectively distributing the incoming solar beam spread across the panel walls and trapping light. This flux spreading effect, driven by cosine projection, converts high incident solar flux into a lower, more uniform heat flux on the panel walls. This redistribution enhances heat transfer efficiency between particle-wall or reaction gases-wall, while preventing localized overheating of the receiver panel. Indirect planar cavity solar receivers completely separate solid particles from the ambient environment that can greatly reduce the thermal losses in heated particles resulting in high efficiency at high temperatures above 700 degrees Celsius. This design ensures no particle losses to the environment during the operation while open-cavity designs can experience significant particle losses from wind. An experimental investigation was conducted to observe flux spreading on the receiver panel wall. A lab-scale prototype planar receiver, fabricated using Haynes 230 alloy, was tested under direct concentrated solar radiation using the high-flux solar furnace (HFSF) facility at NREL. The experiment was performed under normal peak radiative heat fluxes ranging from 800 to 1900 kW/m2. A temperature distribution on the panel wall was measured using a thermal imaging camera (FLIR A 6600). To prevent overheating at the receiver front tip, prism-shaped heat shields (Zircar UNIFROM C1) were placed in front of the receiver, and their influence on flux spreading was also studied. Absorbed flux distribution on the panel wall was modeled using SolTrace. The total solar power and flux distributions delivered from HFSF were determined based on the heliostat mirror optical properties, direct normal irradiance (DNI) on the on-sun testing days, peak flux measurement during the on-sun testing, and shutter/attenuator settings Due to the large incident angles of the solar beam on the panel wall, the angular optical properties of Haynes 230 alloy and Zircar heat shields were incorporated into the model. This flux distribution model was then integrated into a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to predict the receiver panel wall temperature, which was compared with the experimental measurements. Both prediction and measurements identified a temperature hotspot at the backside of the panel, indicating that the incident solar beam can fully reach to the rear of the receiver. The heat shields positioned at the front of the receiver effectively reduced the excessive temperature rise at the receiver front tip. Overall, the temperature was well distributed over the panel wall, with a minor hotspot at the back of the receiver. The model slightly overpredicted the temperature, possibly due to discrepancies in optical properties of the panel and an underprediction of thermal loss in the receiver. The advancement of the particle LTPCR offers a viable alternative to open-cavity receivers by addressing particle loss issues. Additionally, it presents a pathway for enabling solar thermochemical processes, extending CSP technology beyond power generation to fuel and chemical production.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Photoelectrode Durability in Two- versus Three-Electrode Configurations: Understanding the Impact of Circuit Configuration on Water-Splitting Stability

Device durability remains a significant challenge in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting under ambient conditions. Yet, a lack of understanding of the test configuration and applied bias effects continue to hinder progress. In this study, we differentiate two-electrode (2E) and three-electrode (3E) configurations for evaluating PEC material durability, focusing particularly on their impacts on photoabsorber solid-state operating conditions. Our results underscore the fallacy of inferring 2E device stability from durability measurements performed solely in 3E configurations. Unmeasured and often misunderstood total circuit bias in 3E tests moderates material degradation, leading to the overestimation of photoelectrode stability compared to short-circuit operation. We demonstrate how the photoabsorber's operating voltage critically governs charge separation, surface stability, and degradation mechanisms during PEC operation. With these findings, we propose a standardized framework for conducting more reliable 3E durability experiments that simulate unassisted performance to help accelerate the development of robust, stable materials for solar-driven water splitting.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cost Competitive Process of Battery Grade Oxides Preparation from Aged LIBS

The increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is driving development of advanced recycling and refining methods. In this project, new cathode active materials are prepared from recycled lithium battery materials and subsequently electrochemically evaluated in coin cells. In detail, scrap LIBs were mechanically processed into a metal rich black mass, then reductive acid leached into an aqueous metal solution, and finally high-purity metal hydroxide precursor materials were prepared by selective electrochemical flow precipitation. Closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials will enable US manufacturers to break their reliance on foreign sources of critical materials. For example, electroextraction process used here has potential to significantly reduce chemical & water use as compared to traditional metallurgic techniques. To this end, electroextracted materials refined from used batteries were collected and processed to be tested as precursor cathode active material (pCam). During this project , samples of high-purity recycled NMC hydroxide (~2 kg each) were received from Nth Cycle. In the first received batch some impurities like cadmium, calcium, and sodium are present in quantities that would negatively impact battery performance. Nth Cycle indicated that the impurities such as cadmium are present due to poor battery separation and co-shredding of NiCd batteries with with LIB. Cadmium was not present in the two subsequent batches as Nth Cycle processed cadmium free black mass. Thus, effective recycled battery sorting is critical to closed-loop LIB recycling into active electrode materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nutrient Limitation Induces a Productivity Decline From Light‐Controlled Maximum

Abstract Nutrient impacts on productivity in stream ecosystems can be obscured by light limitation imposed by canopy cover and water turbidity, thereby creating uncertainties in linking nutrient and productivity regimes. Evaluations of nutrient limitations are often based on a response ratio (RR) quantifying productivity stimulation above ambient levels given augmented nutrient supply. This metric neglects the primacy of light effects on productivity. We propose an alternative approach to quantify nutrient limitations using a “decline ratio” (DR), which quantifies the productivity decline from the maximum established by light availability. The DR treats light as the first‐order control and nutrient depletion as a disturbance causing productivity decline, allowing separation of nutrient and light influences. We used DR to assess nutrient diffusing substrate (NDS) experiments with three nutrients (nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P], iron [Fe]) from five Greenland streams during summer, where light is not limited due to the lack of canopy and low turbidity. We tested two hypotheses: (a) productivity maximum (i.e., highest chlorophyll‐ a among NDS treatments) is controlled by light and (b) DR depends on both light and nutrients. The productivity maximum was strongly predicted by light ( R 2 = 0.60). The productivity decline induced by N limitation (i.e., DR N ) was best explained by light availability when parameterized with either dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration ( R 2 = 0.79) or N:Fe ratio ( R 2 = 0.87). These predictions outperformed predictions of RR for which light was not a significant factor. Reversing the perspective on nutrient limitation from “stimulation above ambient” to “decline below maximum” provides insights into both light and nutrient impacts on stream productivity.

Shin, Yuseung [School of Natural Resources and Env↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of high-mass $t\bar{t}\ell ^{+}\ell ^{-}$ production and lepton flavour universality-inspired effective field theory interpretations at $\sqrt{s}=13$ $\text {T}\text {e}\hspace{-1.00006pt}\text {V}$ with the ATLAS detector

Measurements of $t\bar{t}\ell ^{+}\ell ^{-}$ production in the region of high dilepton invariant mass with effective field theory (EFT) interpretations are presented. They are performed using final states with three isolated leptons (electrons or muons) and are based on $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV proton–proton collision data with an integrated luminosity of $140\,\textrm{fb}^{-1}$, recorded from 2015 to 2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Measurements of the $t\bar{t}\ell ^{+}\ell ^{-}$ signal strength and cross-section upper-limits are performed inclusively in lepton flavour and separately for electrons and muons. The study also aims to probe anomalous four-fermion interactions including to test for possible lepton flavor universality violation. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed and the measurements are interpreted through the EFT formalism to provide new constraints on the relevant operators.

Aad, G. [CNRS/IN2P3] (ORCID:0000000266654934)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Investigation of competitive sorption and plasticization of hyperaged CANAL ladder polymers for acid gas purification

Identifying membrane materials that have exceptional separation performance and stability to complex CO 2 -containing mixtures is a pressing topic in separation science. In this work, the membrane separation performance for a recently discovered class of contorted polymers synthesized via catalytic arene-norbornene annulation (CANAL) polymerization is presented. These CANAL polymers achieve high CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity of 68 after physical aging (up to ∼1 year), which significantly augments the size-sieving capabilities of the membranes. Binary CO 2 /CH 4 and ternary H 2 S/CO 2 /CH 4 testing result in a 41 % and 50 % enhancement in selectivities, respectively, for hyperaged (∼1 year) contorted CANAL polymers, highlighting their size-sieving capabilities. The remarkably high CO 2 /CH 4 mixed-gas and combined acid gas (CAG, (CO 2 +H 2 S)/CH 4 ) selectivities of 88 and 95, respectively, for CANAL-Me-S 5 F in particular surpass both the 2018 CO 2 /CH 4 mixed-gas and CAG upper bounds. Performance stability was also investigated for high concentrations of CO 2 , revealing a reduction in CO 2 /CH 4 mixed-gas selectivity without compromising CO 2 permeability, suggesting strong sorption of CO 2 but minimal plasticization effects for short testing periods. In addition, time-dependent plasticization shows negligible effects on CO 2 /CH 4 mixed-gas selectivity despite an increase in CO 2 permeability when exposed to high concentrations of plasticizing CO 2 over an extended period of 170 h. This study provides valuable insights into hyperaged CANAL polymers and their performance in practical industrial processes.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2024

A directional electrode separator improves anodic biofilm current density in a well-mixed single-chamber bioelectrochemical system

In this study, a directional electrode separator (DES) was designed and incorporated into a single-chamber bioelectrochemical system (BES) to reduce migration and reoxidation of hydrogen. This issue arises when H 2 , generated at the cathode, travels to the anode where anodic biofilms use H 2 . To test the feasibility of our design, a 3D-printed BES reactor equipped with a DES was inoculated with anaerobic digestor granules and operated under fed-batch conditions using fermented corn stover effluent. The DES equipped reactor achieved significantly higher current densities (~53 A/m²) compared to a conventional single-chamber BES without a separator (~16 A/m²), showing a 3.3 times improvement. Further, control abiotic electrochemical experiments revealed that the DES exhibited significantly higher proton conductivity (456±127 µS/mm) compared to a proton exchange membrane (67±21 µS/mm) with a statistical significance of P=0.03. The DES also effectively reduced H 2 migration to the anode by 21-fold relative to the control. Overall, incorporating a DES in a single-chamber BES enhanced anodic current density by reducing H 2 migration to the anode.

3D printed BES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Iterative methods in GPU-resident linear solvers for nonlinear constrained optimization

Linear solvers are major computational bottlenecks in a wide range of decision support and optimization computations. The challenges become even more pronounced on heterogeneous hardware, where traditional sparse numerical linear algebra methods are often inefficient. For example, methods for solving ill-conditioned linear systems have relied on conditional branching, which degrades performance on hardware accelerators such as graphical processing units (GPUs). To improve the efficiency of solving ill-conditioned systems, our computational strategy separates computations that are efficient on GPUs from those that need to run on traditional central processing units (CPUs). Our strategy maximizes the reuse of expensive CPU computations. Iterative methods, which thus far have not been broadly used for ill-conditioned linear systems, play an important role in our approach. In particular, we extend ideas from Arioli et al., (2007) to implement iterative refinement using inexact LU factors and flexible generalized minimal residual (FGMRES), with the aim of efficient performance on GPUs. In conclusion, we focus on solutions that are effective within broader application contexts, and discuss how early performance tests could be improved to be more predictive of the performance in a realistic environment.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

OB200-DV-1 Treatability Testing: Final Results

The Hanford Site in Washington state previously generated plutonium for nuclear weapons. During operations, radionuclide byproducts and chemical process fluids were intentionally and/or unintentionally released to the subsurface, resulting in more than 800 contaminated waste sites across the Central Plateau, where historical chemical separations and waste management activities took place. As the Hanford Site mission transitioned from operations to site cleanup, remediation of the vadose zone and groundwater became a priority. However, given the depth of the unsaturated zone contamination above the groundwater, the unique nature of the waste, and the continuing impacts on groundwater quality, technologies needed to be identified and evaluated for in situ remediation in the deep vadose zone (DVZ). A laboratory treatability study has been completed to evaluate site-relevant effectiveness for nine in situ technologies that may be used to treat continuing sources of contaminants in specific areas of the Central Plateau waste sites that are grouped into the 200-DV-1 Operable Unit (OU). The 200-DV-1 OU was established in 2010 to address 43 Central Plateau waste sites with complex DVZ remediation challenges. Eight of these technologies were identified through a prescreening effort that evaluated remedial technologies potentially applicable to DVZ contamination in the Central Plateau . These eight technologies were selected for further study based on site specific knowledge gaps about their effectiveness. A ninth technology was added to the treatability study based on new information from separate laboratory investigations (conducted following the prescreening effort) demonstrating the technology’s potential effectiveness (see Section 1.2 for more information) and value for inclusion in the treatability study.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Comparative Performance of Three Eye-Tracking Devices in Detection of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Acute Versus Chronic Subject Populations

ABSTRACT Introduction Presently, traumatic brain injury (TBI) triage in field settings relies on symptom-based screening tools such as the updated Military Acute Concussion Evaluation. Objective eye-tracking may provide an alternative means of neurotrauma screening due to sensitivity to neurotrauma brain-health changes. Previously, the US Army Medical Research and Development Command Non-Invasive NeuroAssessment Devices (NINAD) Integrated Product Team identified 3 commercially available eye-tracking devices (SyncThink EYE-SYNC, Oculogica EyeBOX, NeuroKinetics IPAS) as meeting criteria toward being operationally effective in the detection of TBI in service members. We compared these devices to assess their relative performance in the classification of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) subjects versus normal healthy controls. Materials and Methods Participants 18 to 45 years of age were assigned to Acute mTBI, Chronic mTBI, or Control group per study criteria. Each completed a TBI assessment protocol with all 3 devices counterbalanced across participants. Acute mTBI participants were tested within 72 hours following injury whereas time since last injury for the Chronic mTBI group ranged from months to years. Discriminant analysis was undertaken to determine device classification performance in separating TBI subjects from controls. Area Under the Curves (AUCs) were calculated and used to compare the accuracy of device performance. Device-related factors including data quality, the need to repeat tests, and technical issues experienced were aggregated for reporting. Results A total of 63 participants were recruited as Acute mTBI subjects, 34 as Chronic mTBI subjects, and 119 participants without history of TBI as controls. To maximize outcomes, poorer quality data were excluded from analysis using specific criteria where possible. Final analysis utilized 49 (43 male/6 female, mean [x̅] age = 24.3 years, SD [s] = 5.1) Acute mTBI subjects, and 34 (33 male/1 female, x̅ age = 38.8 years, s = 3.9) Chronic mTBI subjects were age- and gender-matched as closely as possible with Control subjects. AUCs obtained with 80% of total dataset ranged from 0.690 to 0.950 for the Acute Group and from 0.753 to 0.811 for the Chronic mTBI group. Validation with the remaining 20% of dataset produced AUCs ranging from 0.600 to 0.750 for Acute mTBI group and 0.490 to 0.571 for the Chronic mTBI group. Conclusions Potential eye-tracking detection of mTBI, per training model outcomes, ranged from acceptable to excellent for the Acute mTBI group; however, it was less consistent for the Chronic mTBI group. The self-imposed targeted performance (AUC of 0.850) appears achievable, but further device improvements and research are necessary. Discriminant analysis models differed for the Acute versus Chronic mTBI groups, suggesting performance differences in eye-tracking. Although eye-tracking demonstrated sensitivity in the Chronic group, a more rigorous and/or longitudinal study design is required to evaluate this observation. mTBI injuries were not controlled for this study, potentially reducing eye-tracking assessment sensitivity. Overall, these findings indicate that while eye-tracking remains a viable means of mTBI screening, device-specific variability in data quality, length of testing, and ease of use must be addressed to achieve NINAD objectives and DoD implementation.

General & Internal Medicine↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mesofluidic Oil-Water Separation

Separating flowing multiphase solutions in process at industrial scale is challenging. A rapid continuous approach is desired. These mesofluidic oil-water separation tests were motivated by reports by Dijkshoorn et al [1] who reported separating droplets and particles using displacement with regularly spaced channels using a cross-flow microsieve.. Droplets, including deformable particles, larger than the channel migrate in one direction and thereby deplete in the other direction. Test flowrates were motivated by Burns et al. [4] who showed that separation could occur under laminar conditions, and Pease et al [8, 9] who extended the range to turbulent flow. Testing was conducted using two two-component oil-water mixtures at room temperature. Analysis showed separation of both mineral oils from their oil water mixtures at flowrates from 1-2 L/min and concentrations from 2-10 wt% oil in water.

cloud height, effective cleaning radius, effective↗