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448 records · Page 7

The Trash Compaction Processing Systems (TCPS) Ground Unit Control Sample Testing

The Trash Compaction Processing System (TCPS) is being developed by NASA and Sierra Space to process crew trash for long-duration missions. The system compacts and thermally processes mixed spacecraft waste to reduce volume and stabilize the material while managing gas and liquid effluents. A Ground Unit (GU) located at Sierra Space in Madison, Wisconsin was used to run a series of tests using standardized control samples representing different trash conditions, including nominal, high liquid, high cloth, benign, and foam. Gas grab samples were collected during processing and analyzed to identify the compounds present in the effluent stream and compare the concentrations to the NASA spacecraft maximum allowable concentrations (SMACs). Additional testing included odor testing at White Sands Test Facility, aerosol measurements, microbiology, and tile characterization. Overall, the compounds detected in the gas samples were well below the SMAC limits for all trash models tested. The results from this testing are being used to help guide the verification approach and test planning for the TCPS Flight Unit that is planned for on-orbit testing on the International Space Station.

Control Samples

Advanced Non-Intrusive Instrumentation for Propulsion Engines

Changes in engine technology such as higher temperatures, higher tip speeds, new metal/composite/ceramic materials together with radical changes in design philosophy will require amongst other prerequisites the ability to measure and to monitor key internal gas and structural characteristics. The symposium papers presented non-intrusive measurement and analysis technologies in the following categories: Laser Point Measurements (11); Absorption and Infrared Techniques (4); Paints - Surface Sensors (6); Laser Induced Fluorescence (6); Mechanical (7); Films (5); Laser Planar Measurement (9); and a Keynote Address.

Propulsion

Dynamic Regulation of Sub-Atmospheric Pressure for Constant and Cyclic Gas Loads During Testing of Spacesuit Components

New iterations of the various subsystems within the spacesuit will benefit from a new sorbent technology. For example, sorbents used in the Trace Contaminant Control (TCC) and the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) systems within the Exploration Portable Life Support System (xPLSS), part of the Extra-Vehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU). For proper validation, the sub-atmospheric pressure needs to be maintained within a simulated 2 ft 3 spacesuit volume. The traditional approach, which involves placing the entire vent loop within a hypobaric chamber, is not practical for the widespread testing of components and prototypes, as these specialized chambers are costly and not widely available. A two-stage regulator based sub-atmospheric pressure system is presented in this work. The method regulates the pressure based on pressure differentials between the pressure regulation pump, the test system, and the ambient environment. The performance of this system is demonstrated using data collected during a 150+ hour non-regenerative TCC sorbent evaluation, several 24-hour regenerative TCC sorbent evaluations with different regeneration cycles, and an 8-hour RCA sorbent evaluation, all under xEMU operating conditions. For regulation, the inlet regulator was set to propagate a small leak to increase the stability of the system as the gas load from the testing system changes. It was also found that controlling the input flow rate that replaces the material lost during regeneration is critical for ensuring the stability of the system. This system provided excellent pressure regulation, without adjustments, for constant loads during shorter time evaluations (hours), while longer time evaluations (days) are easily obtainable with periodic regulator adjustments. A second method is under development to address longer-term stability and to automate pressure regulation. It will incorporate flow and pressure measurements to dynamically control a set of electronically controlled proportional valves for adjusting the pumping speed and air bleed supply.

Nicholas F Materer

Time-History Statistics of Soot Formation in A Model Gas Turbine Combustor

Soot formation is a complex dynamic and intermittent process determined by properties of the fuel, combustor design, and combustor operation. Although the major steps in soot formation (i.e., formation of precursors, inception, growth and evolution) are similar for a variety of carbonaceous fuels, applications, and operating conditions, it remains unclear when the temporal transition between these steps occurs. An engineering prediction tool coupled with computational fluid physics (CFD), therefore needs to accurately model all these complex steps. To develop such a model, we propose the time-history concept for understanding the time dependency of soot formation as a function of local properties (i.e., temperature, velocity, local fuel air ratio, etc.). We continue our previous work with modeling the DLR aero-combustor [1] with our updated in-house CFD code, Open National Combustion Code (OpenNCC), that now includes a Multiple Time-Scale Flamelet Progress Variable approach and a the semi-empirical two-equation soot model. We injected massless tracer particles upstream of the injector region of the combustor to collect time-history statistics of the solution variables. The correlations between the collected statistics with respect to the experimental soot volume fraction data showed that time-history effect of certain flow variables, including turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and multiple species is indeed important for soot formation. We then conducted a time-history based correlation analysis to determine the key species and the concentration ranges critical for soot formation (C6H5-based nucleation, acetylene-based surface growth, and oxidation with OH and O2). Based on the time-history correlation coefficient (THCC) analysis, we propose possible modifications to improve the current two-equation model.

LES

In-suit CO2 Washout Test System (ICWTS) for CO2 Washout Verification in Spacesuits

Since the time of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, NASA has been performing CO 2 washout verification of spacesuits with Human in the Loop (HITL) test methods. Classically, the only instrumentation both with the accuracy and response time necessary was that of external mass spectrometers or medical gas analyzers fed by a long capillary line from the oro-nasal region within the suit. The helmet CO 2 washout configuration including the challenges posed by variation of a suited human subject frequently created difficulty in capturing adequate breath by breath data. For example, a nasal cannula could be worn with reasonable comfort however it posed the following challenges: (1) impeded the test subject’s ability to do a proper Valsalva maneuver; (2) frequently provided a corrupted waveform with relative movement; (3) precluded the ability to evaluate the Flow Weighted Average (FWA) at subject interface. A mouthpiece could be used in lieu of a cannula but posed challenges as well: (1) created potential disturbances of the flow field; (2) precluded the test subject from speaking during usage; and (3) presented comfort issues limiting the duration of test points. These challenges made it impractical to use a mouthpiece for anything other than short lab ambient environment tests. Technology development and NASA investment have afforded new capabilities to address some of these measurements providing improved data collection and are implemented in the In-suit CO 2 Washout Test System (ICWTS) which provides suit inlet/outlet pressure, temperature, relative humidity, partial pressure of oxygen, partial pressure of CO 2 , and flow measurement coupled with the acquisition of the inspired PPCO 2 including the ability for FWA measurement. This test system, coupled with use of the In-suit Respiration Mannequin Assembly (IRMA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) combine to provide a full picture of the in-suit oro-nasal flow field and effectiveness of CO 2 washout in a spacesuit design.

Colin Campbell

In-suit CO 2 Washout Test System (ICWTS) for CO 2 Washout Verification in Spacesuits

Since the time of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, NASA has been performing CO 2 washout verification of spacesuits with Human in the Loop (HITL) test methods. Classically, the only instrumentation both with the accuracy and response time necessary was that of external mass spectrometers or medical gas analyzers fed by a long capillary line from the oro-nasal region within the suit. The helmet CO 2 washout configuration including the challenges posed by variation of a suited human subject frequently created difficulty in capturing adequate breath by breath data. For example, a nasal cannula could be worn with reasonable comfort however it posed the following challenges: (1) impeded the test subject’s ability to do a proper Valsalva maneuver; (2) frequently provided a corrupted waveform with relative movement; (3) precluded the ability to evaluate the Flow Weighted Average (FWA) at subject interface. A mouthpiece could be used in lieu of a cannula but posed challenges as well: (1) created potential disturbances of the flow field; (2) precluded the test subject from speaking during usage; and (3) presented comfort issues limiting the duration of test points. These challenges made it impractical to use a mouthpiece for anything other than short lab ambient environment tests. Technology development and NASA investment have afforded new capabilities to address some of these measurements providing improved data collection and are implemented in the In-suit CO 2 Washout Test System (ICWTS) which provides suit inlet/outlet pressure, temperature, relative humidity, partial pressure of oxygen, partial pressure of CO 2 , and flow measurement coupled with the acquisition of the inspired PPCO 2 including the ability for FWA measurement. This test system, coupled with use of the In-suit Respiration Mannequin Assembly (IRMA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) combine to provide a full picture of the in-suit oro-nasal flow field and effectiveness of CO 2 washout in a spacesuit design.

Colin Campbell

Organic Inventory - Planetary Protection on the Moon

All spacecraft generate and carry contaminants, i.e., unwanted and potentially harmful material. When a spacecraft lands and operates in vacuum, as onto Earth’s Moon, it introduces contaminants into its environment that may compromise mission science objectives and engineering performance. Contamination may degrade sites of unique value to planetary science or in situ resource utilization. This presentation will identify and compare source terms and transport vectors for contaminants – in particular, organic material – generated by landed spacecraft. An integrated modeling framework for the organic contamination footprint of spacecraft missions will be described and presented.

Planetary Protection

Observational evidence for Criegee intermediate oligomerization reactions relevant to aerosol formation in the troposphere

Criegee intermediates are reactive intermediates that are implicated in transforming the composition of Earth’s troposphere and in the formation of secondary organic aerosol, impacting Earth’s radiation balance, air quality and human health. Yet, direct identification of their signatures in the field remains elusive. Here, from particulate and gas-phase mass-spectrometric measurements in the Amazon rainforest, we identify sequences of masses consistent with the expected signatures of oligomerization of the CH 2 OO Criegee intermediate, a process implicated in ozonolysis-driven aerosol formation. In this study, we assess the potential contributions of oligomerization through laboratory ozonolysis experiments, direct kinetic studies of Criegee intermediate reactions, and high-level theoretical calculations. Global atmospheric models built on these kinetics results indicate that Criegee intermediate chemistry may play a larger role in altering the composition of Earth’s troposphere than is captured in current atmospheric models, especially in areas of high humidity. However, the models still capture only a relatively small fraction of the observed signatures, suggesting considerable underestimates of Criegee intermediate concentrations and reactivity and/or the dominance of other, presently uncharacterized, oxidation mechanisms. Resolving the remaining uncertainties in emission inventories and the effects of atmospheric water vapour on key chemical reactions will be required to definitively assess the role of Criegee intermediate oligomerization reactions.

58 GEOSCIENCES

Scalable multiplexed machine learning gas sensor chips for food classification

Multiplexed gas sensor arrays combined with machine learning have unlocked previously inaccessible applications for scent-based sensing. Current platforms are limited by overlapping sensing materials with similar compositions, leading to highly correlated responses, or multistep deposition processes that hinder scalability. In this work, we developed a 16-element monolithic chip with fully distinct sensing layers, enabling a truly heterogeneous array. The system consists of highly sensitive carbon nanotube field effect transistors that are functionalized through a single-step microdispensing method compatible with automated pipetting systems. The resulting chip produces characteristic signal patterns in response to object-specific scent profiles and, when combined with machine learning algorithms, can perform automated object identification. We demonstrate the classification of 16 different objects, including food spoilage and nut allergens, with a 92.6% overall prediction accuracy.

Bassil, Carla [University of California, Berkeley,

The Contaminant Footprint of Landed Spacecraft: Toward an Inventory and Modelling Framework

All spacecraft generate and carry contaminants, i.e., unwanted and potentially harmful material. When a spacecraft lands and operates in vacuum, as onto Earth’s Moon, it introduces contaminants into its environment that may compromise mission science objectives and engineering performance. Contamination may degrade sites of unique value to planetary science or in situ resource utilization. This presentation will identify and compare source terms and transport vectors for contaminants – in particular, organic material – generated by landed spacecraft. An integrated modeling framework for the organic contamination footprint of spacecraft missions will be described and presented.

Gas Dynamics

RTE: A Computer Code for Rocket Thermal Evaluation

The numerical model for a rocket thermal analysis code (RTE) is discussed. RTE is a comprehensive thermal analysis code for thermal analysis of regeneratively cooled rocket engines. The input to the code consists of the composition of fuel/oxidant mixture and flow rates, chamber pressure, coolant temperature and pressure. dimensions of the engine, materials and the number of nodes in different parts of the engine. The code allows for temperature variation in axial, radial and circumferential directions. By implementing an iterative scheme, it provides nodal temperature distribution, rates of heat transfer, hot gas and coolant thermal and transport properties. The fuel/oxidant mixture ratio can be varied along the thrust chamber. This feature allows the user to incorporate a non-equilibrium model or an energy release model for the hot-gas-side. The user has the option of bypassing the hot-gas-side calculations and directly inputting the gas-side fluxes. This feature is used to link RTE to a boundary layer module for the hot-gas-side heat flux calculations.

Mohammad H N Naraghi

Renewable Energy and Efficiency Technologies in Scenarios of U.S. Decarbonization in Two Types of Models: Comparison of GCAM Modeling and Sector-Specific Modeling

Energy system projections from analytic models inform actions ranging from short-term and local decisions, such as technology and infrastructure deployment, to global and long-term negotiations and targets. Computational limits require the designers of these models to trade off between coverage and resolution. Some models, such as the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM), represent all energy sources and uses but at a relatively coarse level of resolution. GCAM balances global supply and demand of all energy carriers by endogenously projecting prices for energy sources and costs of greenhouse gas mitigation while capturing interlinkages between the energy system, water, agriculture and land use, the economy, and the climate. This global model was used to frame the Long-Term Strategy released by the White House in 2021 and has been used to inform national and global economy-wide decarbonization discussions and strategy development for decades. Other models instead focus on a portion of the energy sector with greater detail and resolution. The Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) electricity-sector model, for example, projects capacity expansion with an emphasis on integration of variable renewable energy into the grid of the future. The Transportation Energy and Mobility Pathway Options (TEMPO) transportation-sector model enables analysis of household choices in adoption, charging, and use of electric vehicles. The Scout buildings-sector model supports detailed consideration of the policies and markets that can accelerate the adoption of energy conservation measures in buildings. Such sector-specific models are instrumental in informing technology research, sectoral planning strategies, and sector-specific aspects of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation strategies in the United States. These global and sector-specific modeling approaches can complement each other. The global approach ensures consistent, endogenous energy pricing and resource allocation, which can substantially diverge from current conditions in transformative scenarios, while the sector-specific approach facilitates representation of granular details across spatial, temporal, technological, and market dimensions that enable exploration of particular interactions and trade-offs. This report presents the results of recent work to explore the differences and tradeoffs between these approaches by comparing GCAM with the sector-specific ReEDS, TEMPO, and Scout models. The report compares both model structures and results, and discusses their potential relevance and applications.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY

Fluidized Bed Gasification For Conversion of Biomass and Waste Materials to Renewable Hydrogen

This project was undertaken in order to study the potential for hydrogen production, at low cost, from mixtures of biomass and municipal solid waste (MSW). This approach allows for the production of hydrogen with a very low fossil carbon burden, while taking advantage of tipping fees (associated with MSW) to improved process economics. The team sourced three primary feedstocks (wood, MSW, and waste plastics) and characterized them comprehensively using established techniques with a long track record in the field of gasification. All three primary feedstocks were highly reactive and lost most of their mass during initial devolatilization. The production of tars, including heavy tars, was quite high, and was most problematic in the case of the MSW and Waste Plastics feedstocks. Little practical difference was identified between the MSW and Waste Plastics materials, and the addition of bed-forming materials (dolomite and brown alumina) to the feedstocks was found to reduce production of tars during devolatilization under thermogravimetric analysis and/or Fischer Assay conditions. A series of four tests in a lab-scale bubbling-fluidized-bed gasifier, at 50 psig of pressure and about 825 C, confirmed these findings. Pellet feedstocks, broken into fragments, were used for these tests, and pellets comprised of 50% MSW and 50% biomass were found to be the best option in terms of fossil carbon burden, economic potential, and gasification characteristics. Tests were then undertaken in a pilot-scale gasifier facility based on the GTI U-Gas fluidized-bed gasification technology. The feedstock handling train of the 20 TPD U-Gas pilot-scale gasifier located in Des Plaines, IL, was operated under simulated gasification conditions, and the 50/50 pellets were found to be very robust and unproblematic. An improved design for the forward end of the feedstock injection screw of the gasifier was developed and installed. The design approach was based on improved passive cooling of the front-most shroud at the end of the screw, since this approach was found in comprehensive modeling studies to be more than sufficient to accomplish the project objectives associated with this phase of the work, while also avoiding thermal gradients that could have caused heat-stress-induced damage to the refractory around the feedstock inlet if an active cooling approach had been applied. Careful technoeconomic analysis (TEA) of two possible 1000 TPD facilities was carried out. The TEA of conversion of MSW with corn stover in one case, and MSW with woody feedstock in the other case, showed that both had the potential to provide hydrogen at about $1/kg (minimum selling price, 2018 dollar basis). Of the two TEA cases, the one that was based on the conversion of wood in the southeastern USA was found to have slightly better economic potential. The other TEA case was based on a real location in Nebraska and called for corn stover feedstock conversion along with MSW. An underserved communities outreach program plan was developed in cooperation with personnel from the Nebraska Public Power District.

08 HYDROGEN

Utility Experience with Inverter Based Resource Impacts on Transmission Protection

High penetration of inverter-based resources (IBR) can adversely affect the transmission protection schemes in the area. With the proliferation of IBRs, utilities are finding out that conventional protection schemes are not adequately equipped to protect the electric systems because the existing system has been designed based on the fault current response of conventional rotating-machine-based generators. In several cases, the available literature does not provide any clear solution for the issues when the protection scheme does not operate properly near IBRs. This report identifies various protection challenges due to IBRs that industry is facing, from the utility perspective. It includes a broad review of all challenges that system protection has experienced so far with high penetration of IBRs. Key issues have been identified based on a survey of different utility protection engineers. Finally, fault event recordings are shown to demonstrate some actual cases of mis-operations of relays near IBRs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

Ammonolysis with N 2 -diluted NH 3 suppresses Ta( IV ) defects in BaTaO 2 N and enhances photocatalytic water oxidation

BaTaO 2 N stands out among oxynitride photocatalysts because of its ability to capture visible light and to drive the photoelectrochemical water oxidation reaction. However, its solar energy conversion performance is limited by electron–hole recombination at Ta( IV ) defects in the material. These defects are formed by overreduction of the Ta(v) oxide precursor by excess ammonia under the high temperature conditions during ammonolysis. Here we show for the first time that Ta( IV ) defect concentrations can be lowered by conducting the ammonolysis reaction in mixed NH 3 /N 2 gas. The obtained BaTaO 2 N samples crystallize in the cubic CaTiO 3 structure type and form 200–300 nm faceted nanocrystals, based on X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and HRTEM. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra observe the Ta( IV ) defects at g = 1.999 and confirm an 11-fold reduction for the product synthesized in mixed (0.13 : 1.0 vol) NH 3 /N 2 gas, equivalent to 1.14 × 10 16 cm −3 Ta( IV ) ions. This optimized BaTaO 2 N has nearly twice the photocatalytic oxygen evolution activity (AQE of 6.78% at 400 nm) of a reference material made with 1.0 atm ammonia and 78% higher photoelectrochemical water oxidation photocurrent (0.9 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE) under simulated sunlight. According to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, remaining Ta( IV ) defects are concentrated in the surface region of the BaTaO 2 N particles, where >50% of all Ta ions are found in the +4 oxidation state. This surface Ta( IV ) population can be directly observed in Vibrating Kelvin Probe Surface Photovoltage Spectra (VK-SPV) via its 1.2–1.4 eV photovoltage onset. Here, it suggests that the surface Ta( IV ) ions contribute empty d-states 0.5–0.7 eV below the BaTaO 2 N conduction band edge. These findings highlight how the energetics and concentrations of Ta( IV ) defects influence the photoelectrochemical water oxidation ability of BaTaO 2 N. Additionally, the work establishes ammonolysis with diluted NH 3 as a new tool to minimize defects in BaTaO 2 N and to raise its solar energy conversion efficiency toward its theoretical limit. Because of its simplicity, the reduced ammonia pressure strategy will likely be applicable to other oxynitrides, which generally suffer from overreduction problems during ammonolysis.

Salmanion, Mahya [University of California, Davis,

Designing a Propylene-Glycol Coolant Servicer System for Gateway’s Internal Active Thermal Control System

A human spacecraft ATCS—especially one using single-phase coolant loops exposed to cabin atmospheric conditions—requires periodic degassing and refilling to support long-duration missions of 15 to 30 years. During initial fill operations, system maintenance, gas permeation, and quick-disconnect mating or de-mating, small amounts of gas can gradually enter the coolant system over time. This can lead to degraded heat transfer performance, pump cavitation, and potentially pump vapor lock if a significant gas volume accumulates over time. Additionally, system leaks and routine fluid sampling can gradually reduce accumulator volumes to unacceptable levels, requiring periodic refills. In more severe cases, catastrophic changes in fluid composition may necessitate emergency draining, refilling, and degassing to ensure continued system functionality. These risks were identified and mitigated on the ISS ITCS through the development of a dual-membrane degasser ORU and a Fluid Servicer System ORU for coolant refilling. These systems were developed for the fully water-based ISS ITCS Coolant[1]. The Gateway space station, the first permanent human habitat in lunar orbit, uses a propylene-glycol/water coolant mixture, which has significantly different fluid properties compared to pure water. Because microgravity degassing technologies are sensitive to fluid surface tension and viscosity, existing ISS hardware is not suitable for servicing a propylene-glycol-based TCS. Unlike the ISS, the Gateway will operate in a higher-radiation environment and must meet stricter mass constraints due to its location outside of low earth orbit. This Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) flight hardware project aims to develop a lightweight, radiation-resistant Coolant Servicer System (CSS) capable of degassing and refilling Gateway’s propylene-glycol water-based IATCS.

Propylene Glycol Water

Designing a Propylene-Glycol Coolant Servicer System for Gateway’s Internal Active Thermal Control System

A human spacecraft ATCS—especially one using single-phase coolant loops exposed to cabin atmospheric conditions—requires periodic degassing and refilling to support long-duration missions of 15 to 30 years. During initial fill operations, system maintenance, gas permeation, and quick-disconnect mating or de-mating, small amounts of gas can gradually enter the coolant system over time. This can lead to degraded heat transfer performance, pump cavitation, and potentially pump vapor lock if a significant gas volume accumulates over time. Additionally, system leaks and routine fluid sampling can gradually reduce accumulator volumes to unacceptable levels, requiring periodic refills. In more severe cases, catastrophic changes in fluid composition may necessitate emergency draining, refilling, and degassing to ensure continued system functionality. These risks were identified and mitigated on the ISS ITCS through the development of a dual-membrane degasser ORU and a Fluid Servicer System ORU for coolant refilling. These systems were developed for the fully water-based ISS ITCS Coolant[1]. The Gateway space station, the first permanent human habitat in lunar orbit, uses a propylene-glycol/water coolant mixture, which has significantly different fluid properties compared to pure water. Because microgravity degassing technologies are sensitive to fluid surface tension and viscosity, existing ISS hardware is not suitable for servicing a propylene-glycol-based TCS. Unlike the ISS, the Gateway will operate in a higher-radiation environment and must meet stricter mass constraints due to its location outside of low earth orbit. This Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) flight hardware project aims to develop a lightweight, radiation-resistant Coolant Servicer System (CSS) capable of degassing and refilling Gateway’s propylene-glycol water-based IATCS.

Propylene Glycol Water

SAM Code Enhancements for Fission Product Tracking of Noble Gases and Metals in MSRs

This report documents fiscal year 2026 enhancements to the System Analysis Module (SAM) for modeling fission product transport in liquid-fueled molten salt reactors (MSRs). The work advances three principal areas: noble gas transport, noble metal deposition, and user interface improvements. The noble gas transport capability integrates drift-flux gas transport, Henry’s law two-film interphase mass transfer with pressure-based nucleation suppression, Knudsen-regime pore diffusion into porous graphite with a conjugate salt-graphite interface constraint, built-in material properties, five Sherwood-number mass transfer correlations including three derived from high-fidelity NekRS simulations, and xenon-135 reactivity feedback through SAM’s point-kinetics model. This work also presents a comprehensive verification test suite, including new analytically verified cases for pressure-dependent onset of interphase gas transfer in a stagnant vertical pipe, a postulated FLiBe-graphite Xe extraction permeator, a gravity riser with a fission-product source, and a descending pipe with gas redissolution driven by hydrostatic pressure. A machine learning framework for bubble rise velocity prediction in molten salt systems is developed and benchmarked on molten-salt and diverse aqueous bubble datasets. The best-performing fine-tuned transfer-learning networks achieve an 82% reduction in RMSE relative to the Clift correlation, and is implemented directly in SAM. The noble metal transport capability is developed, including a liquid-wall deposition model and a gas-surface flotation mechanism that transfers insoluble particles entrained by sparging gas to wetted structures. Verification tests and demonstration cases cover the surface deposition, flotation efflux, and flotation shedding. Finally, a new [SpeciesTransport] input structure replaces positional global vectors with selfcontained, order-independent, named species blocks, simplifies the specification of multiphase species and decay chains, and remains fully compatible with existing SAM input files. Together, these developments improve the physical fidelity, verification basis, and usability of SAM for system-level analyses of fissionproduct behavior in MSRs.

Mui, Travis (ORCID:0000000303736470)