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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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9 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Reactor System Demonstration with Cyber-Attack Scenarios Using CrowPis and Arduino Microcontrollers

This study covers developing and simulating nuclear reactor system using CrowPis and Arduino microcontrollers for demonstrating cyber-attack scenarios. The team was tasked with implementing more sensors and cybersecurity aspects to the reactor program that was created by last year’s high school interns. The team received the opportunity to collaborate and obtain advice from multiple university interns that helped us gain a better perspective of our project. Our mentor’s background in nuclear science was pivotal to our understanding what we could add to the reactor program to make it as realistic as possible. The first week of our internship was spent reading as much material as possible to gain an understanding of and the background for cyber-attacks and nuclear science. Nuclear science was a new horizon for each of the high school interns on the team, so spending this time in the beginning of our internship was crucial to our success. For the remaining portion of our internship, the team collectively did our best to implement as many sensors and use as much hardware as we could to make an accurate representation of a nuclear reactor in the program that was created. This internship was a big learning experience for everyone on the team. We all gained so many insights into the nuclear world and how it can benefit our lives, as well as how so many moving pieces are needed for it to work properly.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Complete Stokes vector analysis with a compact, portable rotating waveplate polarimeter

Accurate calibration of polarization dependent optical elements is often necessary in optical experiments. A versatile polarimeter device to measure the polarization state of light is a valuable tool in these experiments. Here we report a rotating waveplate-based polarimeter capable of complete Stokes vector analysis of collimated light. Calibration of the device allows accurate measurements over a range of wavelengths, with a bandwidth of >30 nm in this implementation. A photo-interrupter trigger system supplies the phase information necessary for full determination of the Stokes vector. An Arduino microcontroller performs rapid analysis and displays the results on a liquid crystal display. The polarimeter is compact and can be placed anywhere on an optical table on a single standard post. The components to construct the device are only a fraction of the cost of commercially available devices while the accuracy and precision of the measurements are of the same order of magnitude.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Sensor Testing for DarkNESS

DarkNESS is an effort to look for a 3.5 keV signal in the Milky Way using CCDs. The goal is to build a lab test station using an Arduino microcontroller and implement a Proportional, Integral and Derivative control scheme to stabilize the temperature for a CCD inside of a vacuum chamber and future testing. A way to monitor real time data from the temperature and pressure inside the vacuum chamber was also applied within the lab test station.

Jaime, Trino↗
DOE OSTI2020

Verifying Deep Reductions in the Nuclear Arsenals: Development and Demonstration of a Motion-detection Subsystem for a “Buddy Tag” Using Non-export Controlled Accelerometers

Future nuclear arms-control agreements may place numerical limits on items that are difficult to monitor with national technical means, even when complemented with onsite inspections. Such items could include small objects and mobile assets, such as non-deployed nuclear warheads and mobile missile launchers. Typically, this verification task can be addressed with unique identifiers, but standard tagging techniques may be unacceptable in this case due to host concerns about safety and intrusiveness. First proposed in the late 1980s and partially developed by Sandia National Laboratories in the early 1990s, the “Proximity Tag” or “Buddy Tag” concept seeks to overcome these concerns by separating the tag from the treaty accountable item itself. A buddy tag has two key elements: a tamper-indicating enclosure and a motion-detection system designed to detect illicit movements in a stand-down period. As part of this project, we have built a buddy-tag prototype for demonstration and evaluation purposes. This paper reviews the design choices and functionalities of the tag’s motion-detection subsystem.We pursue a modular approach for the tag’s hardware, built around an Arduino-class microcontroller and a non-export-controlled low-noise accelerometer, and use open-source algorithms for the motion-detection software. Finally, we discuss the results of an extensive experimental campaign involving both indoor and outdoor measurements assessing the performance of the tag under real-world environmental conditions.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ionizing Radiation Sensing with Functionalized and Copper-Coated SWCNT/PMMA Thin Film Nanocomposites

This paper studies the ionizing radiation effects on functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) thin-film nanocomposites [SWNT/PMMA]. The functionalized thin-film devices are made of ferrocene-doped SWCNTs, SWCNTs functionalized with carboxylic acid (COOH), and SWCNTs coated/ modified with copper. The nanocomposite was synthesized by the solution blending method and the resulting nanocomposite was spin-cast on interdigitated electrodes (IDEs). A 160 kV X-ray source was used to irradiate the thin film and changes in the electrical resistance of the nanocomposites due to X-rays were measured using a semiconductor device analyzer. Carboxylic acid functionalized and copper-coated SWCNT/PMMA nanocomposite showed a reduced response to X-rays compared to unfunctionalized SWCNT/PMMA nanocomposite. Ferrocene-doped SWCNT showed a higher sensitivity to X-rays at lower dose rates. This is in contrast to a previous study that showed that similar nanocomposites using functionalized multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) had demonstrated an improved response to X-rays ionizing radiation compared to unfunctionalized MWCNTs for all dose rates. Electrical measurements were also performed using the Arduino Nano microcontroller. The result showed that a relatively economical, lightweight-designed prototype radiation sensor based on SWCNT/PMMA thin-film devices could be produced by interfacing the devices with a modest microcontroller. This work also shows that by encapsulating the SWCNT/PMMA thin-film device in a plastic container, the effect of ambient humidity can be reduced and the device can still be used to detect X-ray radiation. This study further shows that the sensitivity of SWCNT to X-rays was dependent on both the functionalization of the SWCNT and the dose rate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

HunStat – a simple and low-cost potentiostat for analytical and educational purposes

We have developed a truly low-cost (15 USD), simple do-it-yourself (DIY) potentiostat with compact dimensions. The output potential range of this device is between ±1.65 V. The developed instrument takes advantage of a Seeeduino XIAO microcontroller equipped with 10 bit digital-to-analog (D/A) and 12 bit analog-to-digital (A/D) converters and supports various voltammetry techniques, including cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and chronoamperometry (CA). Interested users are provided with circuit diagrams, bill of materials, and design files. Additionally, software components are also provided free of charge, including an Arduino sketch and control software. The software enables easy manipulation of electrochemical parameters and visualization of results. The presented design introduces a simple and low-cost DIY potentiostat recommended for both analytical and educational purposes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Report on ISR-1 High-Altitude Balloon Flight

To test small technologies at lower cost for space science applications, LANL has developed a small high altitude balloon payload that could, in the future, be regularly and inexpensively launched from LANL. A neutron detector, NEMO, was integrated to evaluate its performance in a space-like mixed-radiation environment and collect neutron data in the atmosphere. In collaboration with EES-14, a high-altitude balloon payload was launched from LANL Technical Area 51 on February 27, 2023 and April 17, 2023. For real-time geolocation, a SAM-M8Q M8 GNSS module was used to get position and time, and an Iridium RockBLOCK 9603 was used to communicate with the ground using the Iridium satellite fleet. These modules were all controlled using an Iteaduino Mega microcontroller board. Finally, a High Altitude Science Eagle Flight Computer with a temperature pressure sensor ran independently, writing data to an SD card. All of these modules were powered by a 5 mAh lithium polymer battery. The battery was attached to the bottom of the payload while the remaining electronics were embedded in the underside of the top of the payload. These modules were wired as seen in Figure 1-2. The Iteaduino Mega microcontroller board was programmed to use the RockBLOCK to send a message once every 10 minutes containing neutron and GPS data read off the NEMO and SAM M8Q, respectively. Once the message send attempt finished, the RockBLOCK would be slept for the rest of the 10 minute interval. The Eagle Flight Computer ran continuously throughout the flight, taking data every 6 seconds. The RockBLOCK message data was set up to be delivered from the Iridium satellite fleet to a website, where it was stored and parsed to create live maps and plots for analysis and balloon retrieval. The RockBLOCK message data was additionally configured to be sent to an email as a fail-safe. The payload was ground-tested successfully for over 50 hours, with multiple revisions occurring to best prepare for conditions at altitude and improve the software and firmware to fix any issues that cropped up with the data pipeline. Additional to the balloon payload, the flight had an attached iMet-4 radiosonde and Garmin T5 GPS Dog Collar. The radiosonde provided GPS and meteorological data. The T5 dog collar is used along with a Garmin Astro 430 to track the balloon at a range of up to 9 miles for retrieval. The balloon itself was initially a 1600 g meteorological balloon with an attached High Altitude Science parachute, both of which can be seen in Figure 1-3. After the first flight, the EES team swapped to a Rocketman parachute.

42 ENGINEERING↗