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DOE OSTI2024

Designing workflows for materials characterization

Experimental science is enabled by the combination of synthesis, imaging, and functional characterization organized into evolving discovery loop. Synthesis of new material is typically followed by a set of characterization steps aiming to provide feedback for optimization or discover fundamental mechanisms. However, the sequence of synthesis and characterization methods and their interpretation, or research workflow, has traditionally been driven by human intuition and is highly domain specific. Here, we explore concepts of scientific workflows that emerge at the interface between theory, characterization, and imaging. In this study, we discuss the criteria by which these workflows can be constructed for special cases of multiresolution structural imaging and functional characterization, as a part of more general material synthesis workflows. Some considerations for theory–experiment workflows are provided. We further pose that the emergence of user facilities and cloud labs disrupts the classical progression from ideation, orchestration, and execution stages of workflow development. To accelerate this transition, we propose the framework for workflow design, including universal hyperlanguages describing laboratory operation, ontological domain matching, reward functions and their integration between domains, and policy development for workflow optimization. These tools will enable knowledge-based workflow optimization; enable lateral instrumental networks, sequential and parallel orchestration of characterization between dissimilar facilities; and empower distributed research.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

PowerAmerica (Final Technical Report)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (predecessor to AMMTO) established PowerAmerica in December 2014 to develop and accelerate the adoption of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor chips and power electronics in manufacturing. The objective was to spark early commercialization of energy efficient products; educate and train the workforce; create high-tech jobs; and nurture the growth of the U.S. WBG semiconductor manufacturing industry. PowerAmerica isled by North Carolina State University by way of a five-year, $140M cooperative agreement with DoE. This private-public partnership with DoE includes member companies ranging from startups and small-medium enterprises to large system integrators, world-class universities, and national labs. The WBG power electronic ecosystem formed by our diverse membership is focused on using advanced manufacturing to 1) lower the cost of silicon carbide and gallium nitride semiconductor devices to be comparable to silicon devices; 2) demonstrate the system benefits and energy efficiency advantages of WBG semiconductor power electronics through system demonstrations that validate their effectiveness; and 3) build an education pipeline for a skilled workforce to meet the future demand for emerging WBG semiconductor markets — and enhance U.S. economic competitiveness globally. PowerAmerica was initially funded in six budget periods, each lasting 12 to 18 months. By the end of Budget Period 6 (August 2023), PowerAmerica had achieved its major objectives in technology development, semiconductor device cost reduction, ecosystem growth and engagement, and education and workforce development. Through strategic foundry investments, we helped to establish the first U.S. SiC foundry (X-FAB) and supported a lab (Microchip) to start SiC volume production. We’ve helped bring together companies from different parts of the supply chain, resulting in several successful new partnerships and business relationships. Through projects with some of the largest manufacturers of energy-intensive equipment in the U.S. — John Deere, GE, United Technologies, Raytheon, Carrier, Toshiba, and others — we have successfully demonstrated the energy and system benefits of WBG technology. We have also harnessed the unique capabilities and facilities of national labs — the Naval Research Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory — to help solve challenging technical problems for industry. Thanks to our many webinars, tutorials, annual events, and presence at major energy and electronics conferences around the world, the PowerAmerica name has become synonymous with WBG technology advancement. The commercial interest in WBG technology is higher than ever; companies and governments around the world have announced hundreds of millions of dollarsin future investment to build capacity — and compete with silicon in many markets and applications. We have trained hundreds of engineering students, from universities across the U.S., through hands-on projects and WBG coursework. Working professionals have also benefited through the years from our many targeted short courses, tutorials, and technical webinars. In short, PowerAmerica has made great strides in each of our key objectives, and the organization has been operating without government or NC State

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

SR19016 - Characterization of AM Materials for SRTE Service

This project addresses several issues and challenges for the use of AM produced components in the tritium facility. It will evaluate the effect of low level hydrogen and tritium exposure on the mechanical and chemical characteristics of Arcam A2X Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion Produced (EPBF) Ti-6AI-4V by printing tensile samples and testing them in the as printed, machined, and hydrogen exposed conditions. Hydrogen uptake will be measured using an Eltra Hydrogen-Oxygen- Nitrogen analyzer. Hydride response will be measured using a Seiffert's apparatus and determining the effects of various surface treatments on the hydriding susceptibility. Tools, fixtures, and other objects will be deigned and printed for use in the AM lab and tritum facility and for other groups that support the tiritum mission.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Explainable physics-based constraints on reinforcement learning for accelerator optimization

We present a reinforcement learning (RL) framework for optimizing particle accelerator experiments that builds explainable physics-based constraints on agent behavior. The goal is to increase transparency and trust by letting users verify that the agent’s decision-making process incorporates suitable physics. Our algorithm uses a learnable surrogate function for physical observables, such as energy, and uses them to fine-tune how actions are chosen. This surrogate can be represented by a neural network or by an interpretable sparse dictionary model. We test our algorithm on a range of particle accelerator optimization environments designed to emulate the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at Jefferson Lab. By examining the mathematical form of the learned constraint function, we are able to confirm the agent has learned to use the established physics of each environment. In addition, we find that the introduction of a physics-based surrogate enables our RL algorithms to reliably converge for difficult high-dimensional accelerator optimization environments.

explainability↗

DOE OSTI2023

The large-area hybrid-optics CLAS12 RICH: First years of data-taking

The CLAS12 deep-inelastic scattering experiment at the upgraded 12 GeV continuous electron beam accelerator facility of Jefferson Lab conjugates luminosity and wide acceptance to study the 3D nucleon structure in the yet poorly explored valence region, and to perform precision measurements in hadron spectroscopy. A large area ring-imaging Cherenkov detector has been designed to achieve the required hadron identification in the momentum range from 3 GeV/c to 8 GeV/c, with the kaon rate about one order of magnitude lower than the rate of pions and protons. The adopted solution comprises aerogel radiator and composite mirrors in a novel hybrid optics design, where either direct or reflected light could be imaged in a high-packed and high-segmented photon detector. The first RICH module was assembled during the second half of 2017 and installed at the beginning of January 2018, in time for the start of the experiment. The second RICH module, planned with the goal to be ready for the beginning of the operation with polarized targets, has been timely built despite the complications caused by the pandemic crisis and successfully installed in June 2022. Finally, the detector performance is here discussed with emphasis on the operation and stability during the data-taking, calibration and alignment procedures, reconstruction and pattern recognition algorithms, and particle identification.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2021

Characterization of the scintillation time response of liquid argon detectors for dark matter search

The scintillation time response of liquid argon has a key role in the discrimination of electronic backgrounds in dark matter search experiments. However, its extraordinary rejection power can be affected by various detector effects such as the delayed light emission of TetraPhenyl Butadiene, the most commonly used wavelength shifter, and the electric drift field applied in Time Projection Chambers. Herein, we characterized the TetraPhenyl Butadiene delayed response and the dependence of the pulse shape discrimination on the electric field, exploiting the data acquired with the ARIS, a small-scale single-phase liquid argon detector exposed to monochromatic neutron and gamma sources at the ALTO facility of IJC Lab in Orsay.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2022

ECP SOLLVE: Validation and Verification Testsuite Status Update and Compiler Insight for OpenMP

The OpenMP language continues to evolve with every new specification release, as does the need to validate and verify the new features that have been implemented by the different vendors. With the release of OpenMP 5.0 and OpenMP 5.1, new target offload and host-based features have been introduced to the programming model. While OpenMP continues to grow in maturity, there is an observable growth in the number of compiler and hardware vendors that support OpenMP. In this manuscript, the main focus is on evaluating the conformity and OpenMP implementation progress of various compiler vendors such as Cray, IBM, GNU, Clang/LLVM, NVIDIA, and Intel. More specifically, the 4.5, 5.0, and 5.1 versions of the OpenMP specification are analyzed. For our experimental setup, the Crusher and Summit computing systems hosted by Oak Ridge National Lab’s Computing Facilities are utilized. The effort of vendor agnostic analysis of these implementations is especially valuable for application developers who are using new OpenMP features to accelerate their scientific codes. Insights are presented into the current implementation status of various vendors, the progression of specific compiler’s support for OpenMP overtime, the subset of OpenMP 4.5, 5.0, and 5.1 that is supported by all compilers, and examples of how our test suite has influenced discussion regarding the correct interpretation of the OpenMP specification. By evaluating OpenMP conformity of pre-Exascale computing systems, the aim is to detail progress and status of AMD + Cray ecosystem before the system and their OpenMP implementation is used for mission critical applications when the first Exascale Computer Frontier is made available to applications.

Huber, Thomas↗

DOE OSTI2025

Deep-learning-based domain adaptation for cavity fault prediction at Jefferson Laboratory

Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities are the core components of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Lab, providing high-power electron beams for nuclear physics experiments. The facility comprises 418 SRF cavities, and any fault in these cavities can lead to interruptions in the electron beam supply. Cavity faults are the leading cause of beam trips in CEBAF. Predicting and mitigating those faults before onset can help maintain normal operation. Existing models face challenges in distinguishing between normal and fault signals when changes occur in the underlying time-series data, from changes in control software, operational parameters, or the environment. This work proposes a deep learning domain adaptation model that leverages transfer learning to address fault prediction challenges by improving accuracy. The model is trained and fine-tuned using a dataset collected for faulty and normal operation using a data acquisition system in CEBAF. Our deep learning-based domain adaptation model achieves a prediction accuracy of 89.61% of the fault and normal signals. The developed model effectively predicts normal running signals compared to the baseline approach without domain adaptation. This capacity is essential for the fault prediction task in the CEBAF because of heavily imbalanced data containing vast amounts of normal signals. The model performs well for predicting faults several hundred milliseconds before the fault onset compared to other models where no adaptation is applied. Incorporating deep learning-based domain adaptation techniques will significantly improve the fault prediction performance.

Rahman, Md Monibor [Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, V↗

DOE OSTI2021

Simulation Studies on the Interactions of Electron Beam with Wastewater

The manufactured chemical pollutants, like 1,4 dioxane and PFAS (per- and polyfluroralkyl substances), found in the underground water and/or drinking water are challenging to be removed or biodegraded. Energetic electrons are capable of mediating and removing them. This paper utilizes FLUKA code to evaluate the beam-wastewater interaction effects with different energy, space and divergence distributions of the electron beam. With 8 MeV average energy, the electron beam exits from a 0.0127 cm thick titanium window, travels through a 4.3 cm distance air and a second 0.0127 cm thick stainless water container window with 2.43 cm radius, and finally is injected into the water area, where the volume of water is around 75 cubic cm. The distribution parameters of the electron beam are from the GPT (General Particle Tracer) simulations for UITF (Upgraded Injector Test Facility) in Jefferson lab. By varying the distributions, several measurements including the dose (or energy deposition) distribution, electron fluence, photon fluence are scored and compared. Taking the comparisons into consideration, this paper is aiming to find better electron beams for the wastewater irradiation.

Li, X.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Polarized electron injector for positron production at CEBAF

As a part of the effort to expand the capabilities of CE-BAF 12 GeV (Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility) at Jefferson Lab, the addition of a polarized positron source is considered. This capability would provide acceleration of high duty-cycle polarized posi-trons, with spin >60% polarization, through the same main CEBAF accelerator machine with appropriate mag-net field reversals and linac phasing to the four CEBAF experimental halls. To produce this positron beam, a high average current (3-10 mA) highly polarized electron beam with energy of 100 ? 150 MeV is required at the positron source target. The focus of this paper is the de-sign of that polarized electron beam injector. We will describe the production and delivery of a >3 mA highly polarized electron beam. We will discuss different aspects of the design, the photocathode gun, beam dynamics simulation results, spin manipulation, bunching and accelerating process and final electron beam parameters.

Kazimi, R.↗

DOE OSTI2024

RESONANT MATCHING SECTION FOR CEBAF ENERGY UPGRADE

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jeffer- son Lab) currently studies the feasibility of upgrading its energy to 22 GeV. It considers addition of six more linac passes. The highest energy passes will share two new arcs designed using the Fixed-Field Alternating Gradient (FFA) technology. The FFA arcs are built using permanent combined-function magnets. They will be connected to the linacs through transition sections that will match the optics of all six passes to the linacs. With the high number of con- straints and the limited space available, we are investigating a parametric resonance technique to match the optics quasi- independently at each energy. A resonance is excited at each individual energy to selectively control its optics. The reso- nant dipole and quadrupole kick harmonics are imposed for all energies simultaneously using Panofsky corrector mag- nets placed throughout the FFA arcs. This paper presents the current progress on that transition section design

Deitrick, K.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Progress on the Autonomous Event Detection System For the Laser Particulate Counter

Field emission is one of the most important issues that limits the performance of the superconducting radio frequency (SRF) systems and leads to SRF cavity trips at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at Jefferson Lab. Studies have confirmed that particulates are the dominant source of field emitters and the particulates can be transported into a cavity from other parts of the accelerator. To monitor the transportation of the particulates, a prototype of a novel, non-invasive laser particulate counter (LPC) has been developed and tested. Experiments have been done to validate the capability of the LPC. We are developing autonomous event detection system to continuously monitor the readout from the LPC and to recognize real events generated by particulates from noises using machine learning model. In this report, we will present how the data are prepared and how the model is trained. We will also discuss the performance of the model.

Zhang, H.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Measured Performance of Over the Range Microwave Range Hoods

The California residential building code requires kitchen exhaust ventilation to protect indoor air quality. The requirement can be met with a kitchen exhaust fan or a range hood that conforms to airflow and sound specifications based on certified, standard test results. Appliances that integrate an exhaust fan with an over the range microwave (OTRs) are popular for their space saving utility; but for years there were none with the certified performance data required for building code compliance. This project, initiated during that period, aimed to evaluate OTR models found in new California homes and compare their performance to range hoods that minimally met code requirements. The study aimed to expand on limited information available about OTR performance with a particular focus on measuring the fraction of cooktop-generated air pollutants that are captured and removed by the exhaust devices, a parameter called “capture efficiency”. Airflow and capture efficiency (CE) were measured in a simulated kitchen in Berkeley Lab’s FLEXLAB facility. Airflows were measured using several variations of a balanced-pressure flow method (Walker et al. 2001) including a protocol that had been used in the California Healthy Efficient New Gas Homes (HENGH) field study. Measurements were made for six OTRs observed in the field study, including three with certified test results (published after the start of this project) for airflow and sound. Measurements were also made on two standard range hoods with comparable airflows and costs to the OTRs, when accounting for the microwave functionality. CE was measured using the CO 2 emitted from burners while heating pots of water (POW) as a tracer and calculating the ratio of added CO 2 in the exhaust flow over the total CO 2 generated from burning fuel. Results show that OTRs generally met the California code requirements for airflow, which are the same as those of the residential ventilation standard of ASHRAE. It was determined that the field protocol used in HENGH study homes was biased low by ~14% on average. The CE performance of OTRs tested in this study were consistent with those tested under controlled conditions in prior studies, showing CE increasing with airflow and being higher for emissions occurring at the back cooktop burner(s) compared with front burner emissions. The measured CE covered a range of 40% to 85% for the front burners and 60% to 100% for the back burners. The relationship of CE to airflow for OTRs was within the range of those found for standard range hoods in this study and prior studies, with the key caveat that OTRs appear to have more consistent CE performance for emissions on the front burner.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Possible Observation of Sigma-nn Continuum Structures and A Bound Sigma-NN State Using the (e, e 'K+) Reaction

The E12-17-003 (e, e'K+) experiment was carried out in the experimental Hall A facility of Jefferson Lab in November 2018. The experiment aimed at providing the experimental data for the unknown Lambda-n interaction by measuring the bound state or the resonance state as indicated by the HypHI experiment. The so obtained Lambda-n interaction was assumed to solve the existing charge symmetry breaking problem in the case of Lambda-N interaction. The experiment used Hall A high resolution spectrometers (both left and right spectrometers) positioned symmetrically at constant angle 13.2 deg. each. A 25 cm long aluminum cylinder filled with H-3 gas was used as a production target. The major calibration data were taken with the H target contained in an identical aluminum cylinder. The electroproduction of Lambda and Sigma^0 via p(e, e'K+)Lambda, Sigma^0 reactions was used to calibrate the absolute energy scale with the known masses of the Lambda and Sigma^0. Then by using the (e, e'K+) Sigma-reaction, two possible Lambda-nn resonance states and one NN bound state were observed. The observed states have the energy resolution about 1.6 MeV (FWHM), however, great r statistics are required to solidly confirm the observed states. The A = 3 and 4 Sigma bound states have been predicted long ago but only the A = 4 Sigma hypernucleus, that is He-4/Sigma, was found in the (K-, pi-) reaction. A careful Monte Carlo study was conducted to study the A (nuclear mass number) dependence on the missing mass resolution by using the identical experimental conditions. The simulated and experimentally obtained Lambda and Sigma^0 channels agreed within 100 keV in sigma, where sigma is the standard deviation. The intrinsic missing mass resolution of A = 3 (3/Lambda-n) resonance was predicted about sigma = 0.67 MeV with a natural width of about 0.6 MeV. However, due to the low statistics the precision does not permit sufficient constrain on the determination of the Lambda-n interaction. The reason of having such low statistics is due to the use of unoptimized Hall A system which was definitely feasible but not ideal for this experiment. In addition, the cross section was found to be much smaller than expected.

Pandey, Bishnu↗

DOE OSTI2022

Physical Sciences Vistas Perspectives on LANSCE Issue 2, 2022

What’s LANSCE? The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center is a facility at the Lab with one of the nation’s most powerful linear accelerators, which is a half-mile in length. What’s an accelerator? An accelerator is a machine that uses electric or time-varying magnetic fields to accelerate nuclear particles to high velocities.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Simulation Studies on the Interactions of Electron Beam with Wastewater

Li, X.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Electron beam irradiation of 1,4 dioxane

Electron beam irradiation produces both, reducing and oxidizing species which facilitate the reduction of contaminants found in water and wastewater. To investigate the impact of electron beam on 1,4-dioxane, a widely used solvent which has been declared as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a beamline was designed and commissioned at the Upgraded Injector Test Facility at Jefferson Lab. Here, wastewater samples can be irradiated with a beam energy up to 10 MeV and a beam current of up to 100 nA. Beam acceleration is achieved by two superconducting radio-frequency cavities cooled by liquid helium in a cryomodule. A beam spot with a diameter of ~5 cm was produced at the target location using a pair of raster coils. Electron beam irradiation studies were performed using 1,4-dioxane in two different matrices, de-ionized water and secondary effluent wastewater, and for two concentrations, 10 microg/L and 100 microg/L. The concentration of 1,4-dioxane after irradiation was measured as a function of dose.

Li, Xi↗

DOE OSTI2023

Standard Operating Procedure for Optimal Deployment of Meteorological Instrumentation Within the Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (BMS and RMS SOP)

The objective of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) is to collect and use high-quality solar radiation data sets for research leading to the widespread adoption of solar technologies. To appropriately populate and track the diverse array of instruments at the NREL-SRRL, NREL has established a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for optimal instrument deployment within the SRRL for both the Baseline Measurement System (BMS) and the Research Measurement System (RMS). Using best practices methodologies, the NREL-SRRL maintains a varied and extensive array of solar monitoring equipment to test, evaluate, and characterize the solar sensors used by federal and international agencies as well as the solar industry to determine the solar resource. The SOP provides the industry with guidance for solar resource assessment and is used for procedures in the long-term continuous monitoring of legacy instruments alongside state-of-the-art instruments. Based on the SOP, instruments are annually evaluated for continued deployment. Instruments that do not meet the SOP criteria are decommissioned, and new instruments that meet the criteria are deployed. Streamlining and optimizing the use of this facility ensures that the lab continues to be a world-leading solar calibration and measurement facility.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗