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NPD Classification Tools – User Guide NPD Explorer and NPDamCAT Apps

The existing infrastructure at non-powered dams (NPDs) presents a variety of opportunities from generating electricity and economic value to the myriad services they provide. However, it also presents a significant challenge because aging structures must be maintained, and changes to the ecosystems and river systems by NPDs must be managed. The various stakeholders interested in these opportunities and challenges require varying information about NPDs; in many cases, interest in NPDs can extend across the entire population of dams. Even when interest is more narrowly focused on an individual dam or a small subset of dams, understanding how these dams relate to the broader context of NPD infrastructure can be important. As noted in TM 2021/2155, “Each NPD has unique characteristics describing its design, operation, environmental impacts, social impacts, and economic potential. The large number of dams, the diversity of interests related to dams, the variety of dam characteristics, and the types of data required to describe dams all pose major challenges to an analysis of the entire dam population." This user guide describes two web-based tools that facilitate exploration of dams from a variety of perspectives: the NPD Explorer and the NPD Custom Analysis and Taxonomy (NPDamCAT). These tools facilitate access to information about dams and help users interact with the information, making small- to large-scale analyses more convenient for a broad set of stakeholders.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

NPD Hydro

This tool, the Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development and Ranking Opportunity Tool (NPD HYDRO), allows users to prioritize or rank NPD sites for future development based on user-defined priorities. Benefits can be evaluated in several categories: the grid, community, industry, and environment (represented by the GCIE impact scores in the tool. In addition, the tool provides the user with a qualitative measure for the feasibility of adding energy storage during NPD conversion, specifically battery, hydrogen electrolysis, and pumped-storage hydropower (PSH). By taking a holistic approach to the potential range of benefits provided by NPD conversions with results tailored to the user’s priorities, NPD HYDRO provides the opportunity for national-level screening and enables users to focus on the sites that are most closely aligned with their interests.

Woodruff, Nathan↗

Engineering Challenges for the In Situ Disposal (ISD) of the 20 MWe Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) Reactor - 19407

The Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) reactor is the first CANDU{sup R} type power reactor to be decommissioned. This first of a kind project is to decommission the station using an In-Situ Disposal (ISD) strategy, and presents some engineering challenges to implement. Based on current technology and successful application of industry lessons learned, these challenges are being met. This paper presents a summary of those challenges, to recover from a long period of Storage With Surveillance, solve configuration management, assess the existing structure, determine the performance of the structure following seismic events during the disposal period, adapt the facility design to ISD and select a grout in-fill, and describe the regulatory and public interaction, to demonstrate the integrity of what will be a future disposal site. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Non-Powered Dam Retrofit Exemplary Design for Hydropower Applications

Non-powered dams (NPDs) represent complex systems, situated at the intersection of natural stream environments and the built environment. The presence and operations of NPDs affect stream constituents (e.g., fish, recreational craft, sediment, water) and serve one or more engineered purposes (e.g., recreation, flood control, water supply, irrigation, tailings and debris control, navigation). By definition, NPDs do not provide hydropower generation. However, every NPD contains some untapped hydropower resource potential, represented by the pre-existing hydraulic head created by the dam and presence of flowing water. Adding power generation to an NPD requires retrofitting the NPD, which could involve the addition of any new component or function beyond that currently installed. Because this research is funded by the US Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office, adding hydropower to NPDs is among the primary objectives for research investment. However, NPD retrofitting extends beyond the purview of hydropower additions. This report provides background information regarding NPD development in the United States, including an overview of the US NPD population, development potential, and recent development. It also summarizes challenges and opportunities facing NPD retrofit development, highlights the importance of maintaining or improving stream and dam functionality, notes key NPD characteristics, describes NPD retrofit methods, and identifies innovation areas for spurring future NPD retrofit development. Section 4 describes retrofit exemplary design principles and concepts that could apply to a wide range of NPD projects. These principles and concepts inform an NPD Retrofit Exemplary Design Specification (REDS), as included in Appendix A. The NPD REDS is heavily influenced by prior work under the standard modular hydropower technology acceleration research initiative, especially the work documented in the Exemplary Design Envelope Specification for Standard Modular Hydropower Technology (Witt et al., 2017). Whereas this prior work focuses on a particular technology class that applies most intentionally for new stream-reach development (i.e., greenfield sites), the NPD REDS contained herein applies more broadly to the NPD resource class and is technology-agnostic (i.e., the specific technologies intended to be described are not explicitly prescribed). This report serves as a part of early-phase research on NPD retrofit development, aimed toward spurring additional, follow-on efforts to specifically address development challenges, capitalize on development opportunities, and inspire innovation. As documented in the landmark “Hydropower Vision” report (DOE 2016), “transformative technical innovations able to meet the co-objectives of environmental sustainability and low-carbon energy will be critical to enabling additional hydropower growth.” This report serves as an important step in steering transformation of US non-powered dam infrastructure.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

It’s Hip To Be Square - Refurbishment of the NASA Langley National Transonic Facility Test Section Plenum Door

The “nearside” plenum door (NPD) at the 39-year-old NASA Langley Research Center (LARC) National Transonic Facility (NTF) has become increasingly recalcitrant during the opening /closing sequence. The NPD is the primary means of entry into the test section for personnel and for model installation. The sliding NPD hardware guide bearings have failed three (3) times within a one-year period and “quick fixes” were able to be made to guide rails, wheels and bearings to put the NPD back into operation. The NPD no longer can utilize a “quick fix” as the rolling hardware is at its limit for further modifications. This presentation will describe the NPD situation, the findings as to the cause of the periodic NPD failures, and the solution to remove, refurbish, and reinstall the NPD.

Test Facilities↗

Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development and Ranking Opportunity Tool

In pursuit of a net-zero-carbon emissions economy in the United States, non-powered dams (NPDs) represent a large opportunity to develop hydropower while leveraging existing infrastructure. With almost 600 NPD sites in the United States identified as having over 1 megawatt (MW) of potential capacity, only a small portion of the total potential capacity at these sites has been developed in recent years. , Conventional NPD retrofit feasibility analysis primarily focuses on the developer’s perspective but fails to consider the broader impacts of developing a dam, including on the neighboring communities. This tool, the Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development and Ranking Opportunity Tool (NPD HYDRO), allows users to prioritize or rank NPD sites for future development based on user-defined priorities. Benefits can be evaluated in several categories: the grid, community, industry, and environment (referred to as the four impact scores in the tool as discussed in Section 2.2). In addition, the tool provides the user with a qualitative measure for the feasibility of adding energy storage during NPD conversion, specifically battery, hydrogen electrolysis, and pumped-storage hydropower (PSH). By taking a holistic approach to the potential range of benefits provided by NPD conversions with results tailored to the user’s priorities, NPD HYDRO provides the opportunity for national-level screening and enables users to focus on the sites that are most closely aligned with their interests.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

An Assessment of Non-Powered Dam Hydropower Development Opportunities in the United States

Retrofitting non-powered dams (NPDs) to add hydropower offers multiple benefits over traditional, new hydropower development. Since much of the civil works infrastructure already exists, many retrofits require minimal new construction and can leverage existing water conveyances and discharge for generation. Although NPDs vary considerably in terms of their defining characteristics, identifying similarities helps support targeted investment and find opportunities to develop solutions for common challenges. With the publication of NPD-related data in 2022 (Hansen et al. 2022b), the US Department of Energy and relevant stakeholders are equipped with key information across roughly 89,000 US NPDs. These data represent the best-available information to date and extend beyond previous assessments of potential power capacity by describing design, operational, socioeconomic, environmental aspects of NPDs (Hadjerioua et al. 2012). To capitalize on these efforts to improve breadth and depth of NPD data access, this study uses a data-driven approach to assess NPD hydropower development opportunities in the United States. To help describe project feasibility drivers for NPDs, recent NPD retrofits were reviewed to examine variability with respect to a variety of characteristics. Based on the assessment of recent retrofits and data availability, several attributes were selected to characterize the remaining NPD population: (1) owner type, (2) 30% exceedance flow (a common design flow that describes the flow that is exceeded by 30% of the flow in the record), (3) hydraulic head, and (4) maximum reservoir storage. These four characteristics were used as inputs to a statistical clustering analysis (a common technique for grouping individuals of a population based on similarities or how closely associated individuals are to one another) of a set of 2,709 NPDs with at least 100 kW potential capacity and recently retrofit dams with available data. With the large dataset of NPDs, the clusters help describe how the population breaks down into different types (i.e., how many types of dams there are and what portion of the population belongs to each cluster).

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Relationship between magnetoresistance behavior and magnetic states in intercalated compounds Fe x TiS 2

Here, temperature and field-dependent neutron powder diffraction (NPD) measurements have been performed to reveal the nature of the unusual evolution of the magnetoresistance behavior with increasing Fe content in the intercalated compounds Fe x TiS 2 (with x=0.25,0.33,0.50,0.55) synthesized by solid-phase reaction method with prolonged homogenization heat treatment. As derived from neutron diffraction measurements, both the Fe 0.25 TiS 2 and the Fe 0.50 TiS 2 compound exhibit an antiferromagnetic (AFM) order below their respective Néel temperatures T N ≈52 K and T N ≈140K, which results in the presence of a large magnetoresistance accompanying the field-induced phase transition from AFM to the ferromagnetic (FM) state. At low temperatures, this AFM-FM transition is irreversible, confirmed by the irreversibility of changes in the NPD patterns and the presence of remnant magnetoresistance. In contrast, Fe 0.33 TiS 2 shows short-range magnetic order at T f ≈44 K due to a triangular network of intercalated Fe atoms and frustrations of exchange interactions with a field-induced FM alignment of Fe magnetic moments in an applied magnetic field as revealed by NPD measurements. The field-induced transformations of the cluster glass magnetic state in this compound lead to a significant decrease in electrical resistivity. According to NPD data, a reduced impact of an external magnetic field on the electrical resistivity of the compound Fe 0.55 TiS 2 can be ascribed to the presence of ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic order in compounds with the Fe concentrations above x=0.50. The results obtained indicate that the distribution of the Fe atoms, along with their concentration in Fe x TiS 2 layered compounds, plays a decisive role in the formation of the magnetic state and the behavior of the magnetoresistance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

2020 Cost Analysis of Hydropower Options at Non-Powered Dams

This report provides a cost analysis of potential hydropower development for representative non-powered dam (NPD) sites in the United States. The overarching objective is to support the establishment of a basis for evaluating progress towards improving the competitiveness of new hydropower development for electricity generation. The representative sites, herein referred to as “reference sites”, were selected from sites with detailed water resource data to support the cost analysis. Facility designs, capital costs, plant generation and efficiency profiles, capacity factors, and levelized costs of energy (LCOE) are presented for the sites under baseline and near-term innovation cases. The baseline case represents facility configurations using technologies that are already widely applied in the hydropower industry, whereas near-term innovations are technologies likely to reach wide acceptance within the next 5 to 10 years. Cost savings in the near-term relative to the baseline are discussed to illustrate the potential benefits to the hydropower industry from research and development (R&D) and adoption of these innovations. Medium- to long-term innovation options expected from ongoing private and government R&D efforts are also highlighted but are not quantified in this report because of a current lack of complete information on these options. The key findings of the cost analysis in this study imply that near-term innovations could reduce the baseline costs of hydropower development at US NPD sites. Thus, if remaining R&D issues with these near-term innovations can be resolved within the next 5 to 10 years, industry-wide adoption of these technologies and improved competitiveness of NPD hydropower development can be expected. Specific key findings of the analysis include the following: 1) Potential installed capacity at the NPD sites evaluated in this study vary from 200 kW to 70 MW, representing two orders of magnitude variation across nearly 20 sites; 2) Capital costs, not including development costs, for the sites evaluated in this study vary from $2,200/kW to $34,000/kW but are below $12,000/kW for most sites; 3) Baseline LCOE estimates for lake dams are from $79/MWh to $790/MWh with most sites under $400/MWh, whereas estimates for lock dams are from $134/MWh to $289/MWh with most sites under $200/MWh; 4) Reductions in capital cost per kilowatt under the near-term innovation case are from −77% to −14% for lake dams and −21% to −2.1% for lock dams (excluding one site with a 14% increase in per-kilowatt capital costs); 5) Combined changes in capital costs and capacity factors in the near-term case relative to the baseline lead to reductions in LCOE of −71% to −14% for lake dams and −21% to −14% for lock dams; 6) Overall, LCOE reductions lead to 8 of the 18 sites under the near-term case having LCOE values below $150/MWh compared with only 2 of 18 sites in the baseline case.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

A Reduced-form Cost Model for Prefeasibility Analysis of Hydropower at Non-Powered Dams

This study presents a reduced-form model to support a better understanding of the capacity potential and drivers of costs for hydropower development at U.S. non-powered dams (NPD), which are existing dams that are not currently used for hydropower. With information on nineteen reference sites, a set of reduced-form design and cost equations were estimated to enable rapid assessments of aggregate costs and their components for a large number of NPD sites. The model was then applied to 36,000+ potential U.S. NPD sites using the limited data commonly available. Although the cost estimates span a wide range, there exists a significant amount of U.S. NPD hydropower capacity potential, which are considered cost-competitive in the current market using baseline technologies.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

HydroFish: freshwater fish co-occurrence with hydropower plants and non-powered dams in conterminous United States sub-basins

The HydroFish dataset lists all existing hydropower plants (EHAs) and non-powered dams (NPDs; ≥ 0.001 MW potential nominal capacity), delineates the hydrologic sub-basins in which they are situated, and then lists all freshwater fish species reported to occur in those sub-basins. This dataset was compiled using the HydroBio dataset (https://hydrosource.ornl.gov/data/datasets/hydrobio/) and contains 24 total variables that describe hydrologic sub-basins, each unique EHA (plant ID and name, geographic coordinates, permit type, capacity, etc.) and NPD (ID value, known names, geographic coordinates, and estimated potential nominal capacity), and freshwater fish species in the sub-basin (common and scientific name, origin, and migratory and threat status). The HydroBio dataset was built using Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Existing Hydropower Assets Dataset (2024 version) and Non-powered Dam Technical Potential Dataset (2024 version), and NatureServe’s fish species distribution dataset (2023 version). The dataset also contains summary variables that report the unique number of EHAs, NPDs, and freshwater fish species per sub-basin. The HydroFish dataset contains two unique data files: 1) a .csv metadata file describing the dataset variables, and 2) a .csv data file containing the actual dataset. Note that there may be many rows per unique existing hydropower plant or non-powered dam given that distinct species are listed per existing plant or NPD per sub-basin. The dataset is downloadable as a zip file containing the metadata and dataset files.

Bozeman, Bryan [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORN↗

Structure and magnetism of AlCoCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloy

We report on the investigation of magnetic and structural properties of AlCoCrCuFeNi, which is known to crystallize in a dual phase solid solution: the face-centred cubic (FCC) or the body-centred cubic (BCC). The results of neutron (NPD) and synchrotron powder diffraction (SXRD) allow to partially resolve magnetic information coming from BCC and FCC phases, which is impossible in the bulk magnetic measurements. Electron diffraction (PED) revealed that AlCoCrCuFeNi forms dendritic microstructure with the Cu-rich FCC phase and the Ni-rich BCC phase. Lattice parameters obtained from PED method are in good agreement with parameters obtained after refinement on the basis of powder X-ray diffraction measurements. The local crystal and electronic structure around Co was studied using Co K X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS). The magnetic measurements show that AlCoCrCuFeNi reveal a ferromagnetic transition at about 330K and displays magnetic hysteresis loop at the room temperature. Results from NPD suggest that the magnetic moment is mostly located in the BCC subsystem. The alloy shows soft magnetic properties. Saturated magnetizations (M s ), remanence ratio (M r /M s ) and coercivity (H c ) of the cast are estimated to be 45.10emu/g, 5.1% and 56 Oe at 300K, respectively. Finally, the BCC-FCC phase transformation up to 673K (400°C) was investigated using temperature dependent NPD, where a possible second BCC phase was identified.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Consequences of long-term water exposure for bulk crystal structure and surface composition/chemistry of nickel-rich layered oxide materials for Li-ion batteries

Water exposure of layered nickel-rich transition metal oxide electrodes, widely used in high-energy lithium-ion batteries, has detrimental effects on the electrochemical performance, which complicates electrode handling and prevents implementation of environmentally benign aqueous processing procedures. Elucidating the degradation mechanisms in play may help rationally mitigate/circumvent key challenges. Here, the bulk structural consequences of long-term (>2.5 years) deuterated water (D2O) exposure of intercalation materials with compositions Li x Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 O 2 (NCM523) and Li x Ni 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 (NCM811) are studied by neutron powder diffraction (NPD). Detailed inspection of the NPD data reveals gradual formation of a secondary crystalline phase in all exposed samples, not previously reported for this system. This unknown phase forms faster in liquid- compared to vapor-exposed compounds. Structural modelling of the NPD data shows a stable level of Li/Ni anti-site defects and does not indicate any significant changes in lattice parameters or hydrogen-lithium (D + /Li + ) exchange in the structure. Consequently, the secondary phase formation must take place via transformation rather than modification of the parent material. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data indicate formation of LiHCO 3 /Li 2 CO 3 at the surface and a Li-deficient oxide in the sub-surface region of the pristine compounds, and the presence of adsorbed water and transition metal hydroxides at the exposed sample surfaces.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Electrical injection and transport in Teflon-diluted hole transport materials

Diluting small molecule organic semiconductor hole transport materials with Teflon AF (TAF) dramatically increases their thermal/morphological stability while counterintuitively also increasing the current density in hole-only diodes. Here, we explore the origin of this current enhancement in co-evaporated blends of TAF and N,N'-Di(1-naphthyl)-N,N'-diphenyl-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diamine (NPD) and find that it results from improved hole injection and not from a mobility enhancement due to semiconductor dilution effects. Whereas electroabsorption measurements indicate that an interface dipole shift of up to 0.5 eV (depending on TAF concentration) aides hole injection at the indium-tin-oxide anode, time-of-flight and temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements show that the mobility of 25 vol% TAF:NPD blends decreases by roughly an order of magnitude relative to neat NPD despite having slightly lower energetic disorder. For comparison, diluting with 25 vol% high density polyethylene achieves a similar reduction in energetic disorder but only decreases the mobility by a factor of two. Furthermore, these results highlight the tradeoff between reducing energetic disorder and frustrating percolation in diluted organic semiconductors, and represent a step toward thermally-evaporated polymer-small molecule composites that maintain high mobility while offering improved morphological stability and lower refractive index for organic light emitting diodes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Metastable Li 1+δ Mn 2 O 4 (0 ≤ δ ≤ 1) Spinel Phases Revealed by in Operando Neutron Diffraction and First-Principles Calculations

Here, we examine the reaction mechanisms driven by the lithiation of Li 1+δ Mn 2 O 4 (0 ≤ δ ≤ 1) spinels via in operando neutron powder diffraction (NPD). New reaction mechanisms are proposed involving solid-solution regions within both cubic and tetragonal spinel phases in addition to a continuous phase transition between them. In operando NPD is an ideal tool to follow the light elements such as lithium and oxygen in cathode materials which are often the key to fully understand their structural evolutions. Here, we report a novel methodology to prepare an extremely thick electrode with ~378 mg·cm –2 loading density suitable for the in operando NPD studies. Enabled by such thick electrode, we find that the metal oxygen M–O (M = Li and Mn) bond lengths in both end members LiMn 2 O 4 and Li 2 Mn 2 O 4 experience pronounced changes larger than dictated by the change in lattice parameters because of the locally formed Jahn–Teller distorted Mn 3+ . First-principles density functional theory calculations confirm these metastable intermediates and further propose atomistic reaction pathways for the phase transition by coupling a global structure search algorithm. In conclusion, these findings redefine the conventional understandings on two-phase reactions of this spinel material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The preparation and phase diagrams of ( 7 Li 1-x Fe x OD)FeSe and (Li 1-x Fe x OH)FeSe superconductors

We report the phase diagram for the superconducting system ( 7 Li 1-x Fe x OD)FeSe and contrast it with that of (Li 1-x Fe x OH)FeSe both in single crystal and powder forms. Samples were prepared via hydrothermal methods and characterized by laboratory and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, high-resolution neutron powder diffraction (NPD), and high intensity NPD. We find a correlation between the tetragonality of the unit cell parameters and the critical temperature, Tc, which is indicative of the effects of charge doping on the lattice and formation of iron vacancies in the FeSe layer. We observe no appreciable isotope effect on the maximum Tc in substituting H by D. The NPD measurements definitively rule out an antiferromagnetic ordering in the non-superconducting (Li 1-x Fe x OD)FeSe samples below 120 K, which has been reported in non-superconducting (Li 1-x Fe x OH)FeSe. A likely explanation for the observed antiferromagnetic transition in (Li 1-x Fe x OH)FeSe samples is the formation of impurities during their preparation such as Fe 3 O 4 and Li x FeO 2 , which express a charge ordering transition known as the Verwey transition near 120 K. The concentration of these oxide impurities is found to be dependent on the concentration of the lithium hydroxide reagent and the use of H 2 O vs. D 2 O as the solvent during synthesis. We also describe the reaction conditions that lead to some of our superconducting samples to exhibit ferromagnetism below T c .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enhancement of magnetoresistance and ferromagnetic coupling in the complex perovskites CaCu{sub 3}(Mn{sub 4−x}Al{sub x})O{sub 12} (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6): A neutron diffraction study

New compounds of the series CaCu{sub 3}(Mn{sub 4−x}Al{sub x})O{sub 12} have been prepared under high pressure conditions (2 GPa), in the presence of KClO{sub 4} as oxidizing agent to stabilize Mn{sup 3+,4+} mixed valence. The polycrystalline samples have been characterized by x-ray diffraction, neutron powder diffraction (NPD), magnetic, and magnetotransport measurements. All the samples are cubic, space group Im-3. These oxides adopt a superstructure of ABO{sub 3} perovskite given by the long-range 1:3 ordering of Ca{sup 2+} and Cu{sup 2+} ions at the A sublattice. The NPD study for x = 0.4 shows that Al{sup 3+} ions are statistically distributed at the octahedral positions, being the (Mn,Al)O{sub 6} octahedra strongly tilted, with superexchange (Mn,Al)-O-(Mn,Al) angles of 142.1°. Also, neutron data clearly show that some Mn{sup 3+} ions (0.65(2) per formula) are located together with Cu{sup 2+} at the square-planar 6b positions. Regarding the magnetic properties, all the compounds present a spontaneous increase of the magnetization below T{sub C}, typical of ferro-or ferrimagnetic materials, with T{sub C} decreasing upon Al introduction. The magnetic structure determined from low-temperature NPD data unveils a ferromagnetic coupling between (Cu{sup 2+}, Mn{sup 3+}){sub 6b} spins and Mn{sub 8c} spins at octahedral positions; this is in contrast with the ferrimagnetic structure observed for RCu{sub 3}Mn{sub 4}O{sub 12} and CaCu{sub 3}Mn{sub 4}O{sub 12}, where an AFM coupling is observed between both magnetic sublattices. Interestingly, an enhancement of the magnetoresistance effect is observed for x = 0.2, well beyond that found for the parent compound. This effect, in materials subtly doped with non-magnetic elements at the Mn positions, may be of interest for applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗