Results for “sample activation” — Page 8

DOE OSTI2019

Comparison of fluence-rate determination techniques for the Advanced Test Reactor-Critical Facility

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is a unique, water-cooled, high-flux test reactor capable of performing tests prototypical of PWR operating conditions. The design and safe operation of experiments in ATR is aided by the operation of the ATR-Critical Facility (ATR-C), a lower-power reactor with the same size and geometry of the ATR. Short, low-power irradiations at the ATR-C are used to study the effects of control devices and test assemblies on the overall power distribution of various core loadings and to compare calculated data for reactor models. A technique was developed at INL to measure fission rates in fuel plate assembly reactors utilizing small, enriched uranium-aluminum (U-Al) alloy monitors, and to support ATR-C irradiations for forty years. Several hundred monitor wires placed throughout the reactor provide fine spatial resolution of the fission rates. A direct correlation exists between the fission rates of the U-Al monitors and the immediately adjacent reactor region. Extensive calibration was previously performed to determine the conversion factor for beta-particle activity of the irradiated U-Al monitors. The fission rate in the U-Al monitors can thus be determined by measuring the beta-particle decay of fission-products following irradiation of the monitors. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International) has established a standard practice for determining neutron fluence rate by radioactivation of depleted uranium. The ASTM standard practice also measures the concentration of fission-products in the uranium monitors. Rather than measuring the beta-particle decay from fission-products, the decay rate of fission-products is determined by gamma-ray spectroscopy. The feasibility of the ASTM standard practice was investigated for ATR-C irradiations and compared to the present method. The need to analyze hundreds of samples for each irradiation posed several challenges. Therefore, practical considerations such as expected fluence-rates, sample activity, and counting-time were compared between the two methods and the expected sources of error for each method were investigated.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1997

Cosmic Dust Catalog: Particles from Collectors L2036 and L2021 - Volume 15

Since May 1981, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used aircraft to collect cosmic dust (CD) particles from Earth's stratosphere. Specially designed dust collectors are prepared for flight and processed after flight in an ultraclean (Class-100) laboratory constructed for this purpose at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. Particles are individually retrieved from the collectors, examined and cataloged, and then made available to the scientific community for research. Cosmic dust thereby joins lunar samples and meteorites as an additional source of extraterrestrial materials for scientific study. This catalog summarizes preliminary observations on 468 particles retrieved from collection surfaces L2021 and L2036. These surfaces were flat plate Large Area Collectors (with a 300 cm2 surface area each) which was coated with silicone oil (dimethyl siloxane) and then flown aboard a NASA ER-2 aircraft during a series of flights that were made during January and February of 1994 (L2021) and June 7 through July 5 of 1994 (L2036). Collector L2021 was flown across the entire southern margin of the US (California to Florida), and collector L2036 was flown from California to Wallops Island, VA and on to New England. These collectors were installed in a specially constructed wing pylon which ensured that the necessary level of cleanliness was maintained between periods of active sampling. During successive periods of high altitude (20 km) cruise, the collectors were exposed in the stratosphere by barometric controls and then retracted into sealed storage container-s prior to descent. In this manner, a total of 35.8 hours of stratospheric exposure was accumulated for collector L2021, and 26 hours for collector L2036.

Warren, J.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Comparison of fluence-rate determination techniques for the Advanced Test Reactor-Critical Facility

A technique using small, enriched uranium-aluminum alloy monitors to measure fission rates in fuel plate assembly reactors was developed at the Idaho National Laboratory Radiation Measurements Laboratory in support of Advanced Test Reactor Critical (ATR-C) Facility irradiations. Previous measurements were performed to determine the correlation between the beta-particle activity and the fission rate in the U-Al monitors following irradiation. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has established a standard practice E704 for determining neutron fluence rate by radioactivation of depleted uranium by measuring the concentration of fission-products in irradiated uranium monitors. Rather than measuring the beta-particle decay from fission-products, the decay rate of fission-products is determined by gamma-ray spectroscopy. The feasibility of using a method adapted from the ASTM standard practice E704 was investigated for ATR-C irradiations and compared to the present method by analyzing a subset of 21 monitor wires using both methods. The resulting calculated fission rates agreed with an average standard deviation of 7.45%, within the average combined measurement error of 9.05%. Practical considerations such as expected fluence-rates, sample activity, and counting-time were compared between the two methods and the sources of error for each method were investigated. Quality assurance measurements utilizing the modified ASTM standard method are recommended for future test irradiation, but gross-beta-particle counting remains the most practical solution for ATR-C fluence-rate determination.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Characterization of a double-sided silicon strip detector autoradiography system

Purpose: The most commonly used technology currently used for autoradiography is storage phosphor screens, which has many benefits such as a large field of view but lacks particle-counting detection of the time and energy of each detected radionuclide decay. A number of alternative designs, using either solid state or scintillator detectors, have been developed to address these issues. The aim of this study is to characterize the imaging performance of one such instrument, a double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSD) system for digital autoradiography. A novel aspect of this work is that the instrument, in contrast to previous prototype systems using the same detector type, provides the ability for user accessible imaging with higher throughput. Studies were performed to compare its spatial resolution to that of storage phosphor screens and test the implementation of multiradionuclide ex vivo imaging in a mouse preclinical animal study. Methods: Detector background counts were determined by measuring a nonradioactive sample slide for 52 h. Energy spectra and detection efficiency were measured for seven commonly used radionuclides under representative conditions for tissue imaging. System dead time was measured by imaging {sup 18}F samples of at least 5 kBq and studying the changes in count rate over time. A line source of {sup 58}Co was manufactured by irradiating a 10 μm nickel wire with fast neutrons in a research reactor. Samples of this wire were imaged in both the DSSD and storage phosphor screen systems and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) measured for the line profiles. Multiradionuclide imaging was employed in a two animal study to examine the intratumoral distribution of a {sup 125}I-labeled monoclonal antibody and a {sup 131}I-labeled engineered fragment (diabody) injected in the same mouse, both targeting carcinoembryonic antigen. Results: Detector background was 1.81 × 10{sup −6} counts per second per 50 × 50 μm pixel. Energy spectra and detection efficiency were successfully measured for seven radionuclides. The system dead time was measured to be 59 μs, and FWHM for a {sup 58}Co line source was 154 ± 14 μm for the DSSD system and 343 ± 15 μm for the storage phosphor system. Separation of the contributions from {sup 125}I and {sup 131}I was performed on autoradiography images of tumor sections. Conclusions: This study has shown that a DSSD system can be beneficially applied for digital autoradiography with simultaneous multiradionuclide imaging capability. The system has a low background signal, ability to image both low and high activity samples, and a good energy resolution.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

DOE OSTI2012

THE SPATIAL CLUSTERING OF ROSAT ALL-SKY SURVEY ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI. III. EXPANDED SAMPLE AND COMPARISON WITH OPTICAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

This is the third paper in a series that reports on our investigation of the clustering properties of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) identified in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In this paper, we extend the redshift range to 0.07 < z < 0.50 and measure the clustering amplitudes of both X-ray-selected and optically selected SDSS broad-line AGNs with and without radio detections as well as for X-ray-selected narrow-line RASS/SDSS AGNs. We measure the clustering amplitude through cross-correlation functions (CCFs) with SDSS galaxies and derive the bias by applying a halo occupation distribution model directly to the CCFs. We find no statistically convincing difference in the clustering of X-ray-selected and optically selected broad-line AGNs, as well as with samples in which radio-detected AGNs are excluded. This is in contrast to low-redshift optically selected narrow-line AGNs, where radio-loud AGNs are found in more massive halos than optical AGNs without a radio detection. The typical dark matter halo masses of our broad-line AGNs are log (M{sub DMH}/[h{sup -1} M{sub Sun }]) {approx} 12.4-13.4, consistent with the halo mass range of typical non-AGN galaxies at low redshifts. We find no significant difference between the clustering of X-ray-selected narrow-line AGNs and broad-line AGNs. We confirm the weak dependence of the clustering strength on AGN X-ray luminosity at a {approx}2{sigma} level. Finally, we summarize the current picture of AGN clustering to z {approx} 1.5 based on three-dimensional clustering measurements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISS External Microorganisms: Collecting Planetary Protection Samples During Extravehicular Activity

Introduction: We have designed1, built, and tested a sampling kit (Fig. 1) to aseptically collect microbiological samples from exterior surfaces on the ISS (International Space Station). The kit was flown to ISS as part of the NG-19 commercial cargo mission in August of 2023. Astronauts will use the kit to collect samples from six exterior surfaces on ISS. These samples will be frozen at -80°C after collection and returned to the ground for next generation DNA sequencing. The results of this experiment will help inform planetary protection requirements for crewed missions. We hypothesize that there are detectable microbial communities outside ISS and that these communities originate from inside ISS. Current life support systems do not include any components for reducing microbial leakage. Gases are vented from inside ISS without filtration and there are currently no protocols in place to minimize bioburden on space suit exteriors prior to use. It is important to quantify the bioburden on current vehicles so that achievable limits can be set for crewed missions to astrobiologically relevant locations like Mars. Figure 1: The sampling kit contains eight swab canisters in total (six on the top and two on the bottom). A resuable end effector (1) is used to remove and reinstall the swabs. The kit also contains a handrail (2), tether loop (3), and, bayonet probes(4) to allow easy manipulation during EVA. Methods: We have designed a kit to carry 8 commercially available foam swabs into and out of vacuum without compromising the swabs’ sterility. The specially designed swab canisters contain a 0.2 µm Teflon filter that allows the canister to accommodate pressure changes without introducing unwanted contaminants. The kit meets existing EVA (Extravehicular Activity) safety requirements and has been used by human test subjects in the neutral buoyance lab and at vacuum in test chambers at the Johnson Space Center. In the early part of 2024, astronauts will use this sampling kit to swab six surfaces on the exterior of ISS. We will collect samples from: the airlock vestibule, the interior surface of the airlock thermal cover, an exterior handrail, a vent connected to the CO2 removal system, and a vent connected to the payload vacuum system inside ISS. Approximately 300 cm2 will be swabbed at each location. A seventh swab will be exposed to the vacuum of space without touching any surfaces as a blank. The eighth swab will remain sealed as a process control. After the EVA the swab kit will be frozen at -80°C and returned to earth at the earliest possible opportunity. The samples will remain frozen until they are thawed for next generation DNA sequencing on earth. We will use amplicon sequencing to identify any bacteria, archaea or fungi present in the samples. If there is enough DNA present, we will use shotgun metagenomic sequencing to further characterize the microbial ecology outside ISS. Preliminary Results: Results from ground-based testing demonstrate that the swab kit is capable of cycling in and out of vacuum without contaminating the swabs. Test subjects, wearing flight-like EVA gloves could remove swabs from the canister and sample discrete locations without inadvertently touching any other surfaces. Several types of bacteria and fungi were collected during these ground tests and survived up to 6 hours at vacuum. This includes non-spore forming bacterial like Staphyloccus capitis that are not traditionally considered extremophiles. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of the ground-test samples revealed bacteria associated with human skin and airways on the exterior of space suits used during these tests 2 In addition to these results we will present preliminary results from our space-flight samples. We will also present lessons learned from attempting to collect microbiological samples during an EVA and describe how our results will affect planetary protection requirements for future crewed missions.

Aaron B. Regberg↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISS External Microorganisms: Collecting Planetary Protection Samples During Extravehicular Activity

Introduction: We have designed1, built, and tested a sampling kit (Fig. 1) to aseptically collect microbiological samples from exterior surfaces on the ISS (International Space Station). The kit was flown to ISS as part of the NG-19 commercial cargo mission in August of 2023. Astronauts will use the kit to collect samples from six exterior surfaces on ISS. These samples will be frozen at -80°C after collection and returned to the ground for next generation DNA sequencing. The results of this experiment will help inform planetary protection requirements for crewed missions. We hypothesize that there are detectable microbial communities outside ISS and that these communities originate from inside ISS. Current life support systems do not include any components for reducing microbial leakage. Gases are vented from inside ISS without filtration and there are currently no protocols in place to minimize bioburden on space suit exteriors prior to use. It is important to quantify the bioburden on current vehicles so that achievable limits can be set for crewed missions to astrobiologically relevant locations like Mars. Figure 1: The sampling kit contains eight swab canisters in total (six on the top and two on the bottom). A resuable end effector (1) is used to remove and reinstall the swabs. The kit also contains a handrail (2), tether loop (3), and, bayonet probes(4) to allow easy manipulation during EVA. Methods: We have designed a kit to carry 8 commercially available foam swabs into and out of vacuum without compromising the swabs’ sterility. The specially designed swab canisters contain a 0.2 µm Teflon filter that allows the canister to accommodate pressure changes without introducing unwanted contaminants. The kit meets existing EVA (Extravehicular Activity) safety requirements and has been used by human test subjects in the neutral buoyance lab and at vacuum in test chambers at the Johnson Space Center. In the early part of 2024, astronauts will use this sampling kit to swab six surfaces on the exterior of ISS. We will collect samples from: the airlock vestibule, the interior surface of the airlock thermal cover, an exterior handrail, a vent connected to the CO2 removal system, and a vent connected to the payload vacuum system inside ISS. Approximately 300 cm2 will be swabbed at each location. A seventh swab will be exposed to the vacuum of space without touching any surfaces as a blank. The eighth swab will remain sealed as a process control. After the EVA the swab kit will be frozen at -80°C and returned to earth at the earliest possible opportunity. The samples will remain frozen until they are thawed for next generation DNA sequencing on earth. We will use amplicon sequencing to identify any bacteria, archaea or fungi present in the samples. If there is enough DNA present, we will use shotgun metagenomic sequencing to further characterize the microbial ecology outside ISS. Preliminary Results: Results from ground-based testing demonstrate that the swab kit is capable of cycling in and out of vacuum without contaminating the swabs. Test subjects, wearing flight-like EVA gloves could remove swabs from the canister and sample discrete locations without inadvertently touching any other surfaces. Several types of bacteria and fungi were collected during these ground tests and survived up to 6 hours at vacuum. This includes non-spore forming bacterial like Staphyloccus capitis that are not traditionally considered extremophiles. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of the ground-test samples revealed bacteria associated with human skin and airways on the exterior of space suits used during these tests 2 In addition to these results we will present preliminary results from our space-flight samples. We will also present lessons learned from attempting to collect microbiological samples during an EVA and describe how our results will affect planetary protection requirements for future crewed missions.

Aaron B. Regberg↗

DOE OSTI2019

Metal-organic frameworks based on magnesium(II): adsorption and luminescence properties

Two new metal-organic frameworks based on magnesium(II) ions, [Mg{sub 4}(bdc){sub 3}(dma){sub 6}(NO{sub 3}){sub 2}]•DMA (1; bdc is 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate; dma, DMA is N,N-dimethylacetamide) and [Mg{sub 3}(bpdc){sub 3}(nmp){sub 4}] (2; bpdc is 4,4´-biphenyldicarboxylate; nmp is N-methylpyrrolidone), were synthesized in DMA or NMP, respectively. According to the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data, compound 1 is built of binuclear carboxylate units {Mg_2(O_2CR)_3}, which were previously not observed in metal-organic frameworks. Compound 2 is based on trinuclear carb oxylate units {Mg_3(O_2CR)_6}. Compound 1 has a layered structure (hcb topology), whereas compound 2 has a distorted three-dimensional cubic structure (pcu topology). The phase purity and chemical identity of the compounds were confirmed by IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, elemental analysis, and powder X-ray diffraction. Photoluminescence properties of both compounds are indicative of intraligand charge-transfer transitions of one (for 1) or two (for 2) types. Textural characteristics of an activated sample of 1 were measured by nitrogen and hydrogen adsorption at 77 K and by carbon dioxide adsorption at 195 K.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2015

Structure and scintillation of Eu2+-activated calcium bromide iodide

© 2015, Elsevier. All rights reserved. We report the structure and scintillation properties of Eu2+-activated calcium bromide iodide. CaBr0.7I1.3was the only composition that could be synthesized in the CaBr2-CaI2 system. The compound has an effective atomic number of 47 and crystallizes in a trigonal crystal system with the R-3 space group and a density of 3.93 g/cc. The structure is layered and contains Ca in an octahedral environment with the Br/I anions jointly occupying a single site. Eu2+-activated samples show an intense narrow emission, characteristic of the 5d-4f transition of Eu2+, when excited with UV or X-rays. The sample with 0.5% Eu shows a light output of 63,000 ph/MeV at 662 keV with 96% of the light emitted with a monoexponential decay time of 1332 ns. An energy resolution of 10.4% full width at half maximum (FWHM) has been achieved for 662 keV gamma rays at room temperature.

Gundiah, Gautam↗

DOE OSTI2013

A microporous metal–organic framework with butynelene functionality for selective gas sorption

A porous metal−organic framework ([Cu{sub 2}(BBTC)(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}]·2DMSO·4H{sub 2}O){sub n} (Cu-BBTC, BBTC=1, 1′-butadiynebenzene −3,3′,5,5′-tetracarboxylate; DMSO=dimethyl sulfoxide) was solvothermally synthesized from a tetracarboxylate ligand with butynelene functionality and structurally characterized. Cu-BBTC features a three-dimensional fof network with two types of cages, a small cage is about 14 Å in diameter and a large shows an ellipsoidal pore with about 14.2×22.6 Å in axes. The activated sample of Cu-BBTC, with Langmuir surface area of 1569 m{sup 2} g{sup −1}, exhibits selective gas adsorption behavior with respect to C{sub 2}H{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} and CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} at room temperature. - Graphical abstract: A microporous metal–organic framework with butynelene groups, ([Cu{sub 2}(BBTC)(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}]·2DMSO·4H{sub 2}O){sub n}, exhibits higher gas selective sorption towards C{sub 2}H{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} and CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} at room temperature with a selectivity of 5.7 and 4.1, respectively. Highlights: • Microporous dicopper MOFs containing butynelene functionality with fof structure. • Gas adsorption. • Selective separation of C{sub 2}H{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} and CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4}.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2011

Characterization of exfoliated/delamination kaolinite

A novel and facile approach for the preparation of exfoliated/delamination kaolinite was reported in this study. Kaolinite was mechanochemically activated by grinding with dimethylsulfoxide in a globe mill for different periods of time, and then the activated samples were treated for several hours at 120 {sup o}C to obtain the precursors of kaolinite. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The experimental data indicated that the clay layers were well exfoliated/delamination under mechanochemical effect in a significantly short intercalation time. The expansion of the basal spacing (d{sub 001}) of raw kaolinite by 0.40 nm pointed out that the hydrogen bonds between adjacent kaolinite layers were partially broken as a result of the intercalation with dimethylsulfoxide.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

Facile formation of Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4}/AgX (X = Cl, Br, I) hybrid nanorods with enhanced visible-light-driven photoelectrochemical properties

Highlights: • Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4}/AgX hybrid nanorods were prepared by a facile in-situ anion exchange reaction. • Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4} nanorods and different X{sup −} ions were reacted in water at room temperature. • The hybrids possess significantly enhanced photoelectrochemical properties. • Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4}/AgBr hybrids exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity among three samples. • The active species tests were also investigated to confirm photocatalytic mechanism. - Abstract: In this work, we demonstrated a general strategy for the preparation of a series of uniform Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4}/AgX (X = Cl, Br, I) hybrid nanorods by a facile in-situ anion exchange reaction occurring at room temperature between pregrown Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4} nanorods and different X{sup −} ions in water. Compared with Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4} nanorods, further investigation has revealed that the as-prepared hybrid nanorods possess significantly enhanced photocurrent response and photocatalytic activity in degrading methyl orange (MO) under visible-light irradiation. In particular, the Ag{sub 2}WO{sub 4}/AgBr hybrid nanorods exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity among the three kinds of samples. The active species tests indicate that superoxide anion radicals and photogenerated holes are responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2012

Understanding Oxygen Reduction on Tantalum Oxyphosphate and Tantalum Oxide Supported Platinum by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

The Pt activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is improved when Pt nanoparticles are supported on nanoscale layers of tantalum oxyphosphate (nominally, TaOPO{sub 4}) on Vulcan carbon (VC) and heated at high temperature (660 C) in reducing conditions. We attempt to explain the increased activity of the Pt-TaOPO{sub 4}/VC 'HT' by comparison to other less-active electrocatalysts comprising Pt on tantalum oxide (Pt-Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/VC) and Pt-TaOPO{sub 4}/VC heated to 200 C in air. Our toolbox for this analysis contains the rotating disk electrode methodology for characterization of the ORR and high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy with high-resolution energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) capabilities. The adsorption of molecular species on the Pt and Ta is determined from the {Delta}{mu} XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) adsorbate isolation technique of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) data for electrocatalsyts in situ, whereby H and OH adsorption products from water activation can be used to infer how an electrocatalyst would react for oxygen reduction. The {Delta}{mu} XANES analysis at the Pt L{sub 2} edge suggests that interfacial hydrogen exists between the Pt and the support for Pt-Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/VC and Pt-TaOPO{sub 4}/VC 'HT' at potentials > 0.3 V vs RHE even after surface H is removed. More importantly, in the most active sample, Pt-TaOPO{sub 4}/VC 'HT', the onset potential for O(H) adsorption is highest in the {Delta}{mu} XANES. The XAS and microscopy/EDS results show that the Pt-TaOPO{sub 4}/VC 'HT' is Pt-Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/VC with polyphosphate groups directly associated with the Pt. From the body of results, we surmise that the nanoscale layer of polyphosphate on the Pt-TaOPO{sub 4}/VC 'HT' facilitates proton conduction to the Pt particles and hence moves the equilibrium for OH adsorption on the Pt to higher potentials.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2015

Non-Contact Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity in Ion-Implanted Nuclear Materials

Knowledge of mechanical and physical property evolution due to irradiation damage is essential for the development of future fission and fusion reactors. Ion-irradiation provides an excellent proxy for studying irradiation damage, allowing high damage doses without sample activation. Limited ion-penetration-depth means that only few-micron-thick damaged layers are produced. Substantial effort has been devoted to probing the mechanical properties of these thin implanted layers. Yet, whilst key to reactor design, their thermal transport properties remain largely unexplored due to a lack of suitable measurement techniques. Here we demonstrate non-contact thermal diffusivity measurements in ion-implanted tungsten for nuclear fusion armour. Alloying with transmutation elements and the interaction of retained gas with implantation-induced defects both lead to dramatic reductions in thermal diffusivity. These changes are well captured by our modelling approaches. Our observations have important implications for the design of future fusion power plants.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Curiosity driven exploration to optimize structure–property learning in microscopy

Rapidly determining structure–property correlations in materials is an important challenge in better understanding fundamental mechanisms and greatly assists in materials design. In microscopy, imaging data provides a direct measurement of the local structure, while spectroscopic measurements provide relevant functional property information. Deep kernel active learning approaches have been utilized to rapidly map local structure to functional properties in microscopy experiments, but are computationally expensive for multi-dimensional and correlated output spaces. Here, we present an alternative lightweight curiosity algorithm which actively samples regions with unexplored structure–property relations, utilizing a deep-learning based surrogate model for error prediction. We show that the algorithm outperforms random sampling for predicting properties from structures, and provides a convenient tool for efficient mapping of structure–property relationships in materials science.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Thoron detection with an active Radon exposure meter—First results

For state-of-the-art discrimination of Radon and Thoron several measurement techniques can be used, such as active sampling, electrostatic collection, delayed coincidence method, and alpha-particle-spectroscopy. However, most of the devices available are bulky and show high power consumption, rendering them unfeasible for personal exposition monitoring. Based on a Radon exposure meter previously realized at the Helmholtz Center Munich (HMGU), a new electronic prototype for Radon/Thoron monitoring is currently being developed, which features small size and weight. Operating with pin-diode detectors, the low-power passive-sampling device can be used for continuous concentration measurements, employing alpha-particle-spectroscopy and coincidence event registration to distinguish decays originating either from Radon or Thoron isotopes and their decay products. In open geometry, preliminary calibration measurements suggest that one count per hour is produced by a 11 Bq m{sup −3} Radon atmosphere or by a 15 Bq m{sup −3} Thoron atmosphere. Future efforts will concentrate on measurements in mixed Radon/Thoron atmospheres.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2017

Determining the ion temperature and energy distribution in a lithium-plasma interaction test stand with a retarding field energy analyzer

The ThermoElectric-driven Liquid-metal plasma-facing Structures (TELS) experiment at the University of Illinois is a gas-puff driven, theta-pinch plasma source that is used as a test stand for off-normal plasma events incident on materials in the edge and divertor regions of a tokamak. The ion temperatures and resulting energy distributions are crucial for understanding how well a TELS pulse can simulate an extreme event in a larger, magnetic confinement device. A retarding field energy analyzer (RFEA) has been constructed for use with such a transient plasma due to its inexpensive and robust nature. The innovation surrounding the use of a control analyzer in conjunction with an actively sampling analyzer is presented and the conditions of RFEA operation are discussed, with results presented demonstrating successful performance under extreme conditions. Such extreme conditions are defined by heat fluxes on the order of 0.8 GW m -2 and on time scales of nearly 200 μs. Measurements from the RFEA indicate two primary features for a typical TELS discharge, following closely with the pre-ionizing coaxial gun discharge characteristics. For the case using the pre-ionization pulse (PiP) and the theta pinch, the measured ion signal showed an ion temperature of 23.3 ± 6.6 eV for the first peak and 17.6 ± 1.9 eV for the second peak. For the case using only the PiP, the measured signal showed an ion temperature of 7.9 ± 1.1 eV for the first peak and 6.6 ± 0.8 eV for the second peak. These differences illustrate the effectiveness of the theta pinch for imparting energy on the ions. This information also highlights the importance of TELS as being one of the few linear pulsed plasma sources whereby moderately energetic ions will strike targets without the need for sample biasing.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2013

FAST DIFFERENTIAL EMISSION MEASURE INVERSION OF SOLAR CORONAL DATA

We present a fast method for reconstructing differential emission measures (DEMs) using solar coronal data. The method consists of a fast, simple regularized inversion in conjunction with an iteration scheme for removal of residual negative emission measure. On average, it computes over 1000 DEMs s{sup -1} for a sample active region observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and achieves reduced chi-squared of order unity with no negative emission in all but a few test cases. The high performance of this method is especially relevant in the context of AIA, which images of order one million solar pixels per second. This paper describes the method, analyzes its fidelity, compares its performance and results with other DEM methods, and applies it to an active region and loop observed by AIA and by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗