SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
With the goal of advancing criticality safety with neutron localization, the following tasks were successful: (1) demonstrated neutron source localization using a NoMAD detector and ML; and (2) developed a real-time system for streaming in data from NoMAD, verifying that the system works in experimental settings.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
This dataset contains neutron diffraction data of a ferritic single phase model alloy (FeCrNi) and a commercial grade duplex stainless steel (DSS2507) collected during in situ heating and holding at 700 and 850 °C at BL1B-NOMAD at the Spallation Neutron Source.
Nontrivial electromagnetic properties of neutrinos are an avenue to physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). To this end, we investigate the power of monophoton signals at neutrino experiments to probe a higher-dimensional operator connecting neutrinos to SM photons dubbed, neutrino polarizability. A simplified scenario giving rise to this operator involves a new pseudoscalar that couples to both neutrinos and photons, with clear implications for axionlike particle (ALP) and Majoron physics. By analyzing the photon energy spectrum and angular distributions, we find that NOMAD and MiniBooNE currently set the most stringent limits, while short baseline near detector and the DUNE near detector will soon provide significantly improved constraints.
Effective border security is essential for maintaining national safety and managing immigration. This helps prevent illegal activities such as smuggling, trafficking, and unauthorized entry. Traditional methods of border monitoring are heavily reliant on human patrols which can be inadequate given the cost and labor-intensity given the challenging terrain involved. This report presents an advanced unmanned solution designed to significantly enhance border security through currently used drone technology using integrated autonomy by the adoption of ORNL’s sophisticated software platform known as Mapster-Nomad.
Advancing neutron detection and analysis techniques for complex radiation environments is an ongoing focus in nuclear instrumentation and monitoring. This proposal presents research and development of a generalized real-time neutron monitoring and analysis system, applicable to any detector capable of producing time-tagged neutron count data. While the work is demonstrated using the Neutron Multiplication Analysis Detector (NoMAD), a modular 15-tube helium-3 (He-3) array, due to its availability, spatial resolution, and flexible deployment, the methods developed are extensible to other systems, including organic scintillators and fast digital detectors. This research investigates two complementary analytical techniques for real-time characterization of neutron emitting sources: neutron multiplicity estimation based on the Hage-Cifarelli formalism and spatial localization using supervised machine learning applied to spatial count rate patterns. These methods are designed to operate under dynamic, evolving conditions such as fuel debris retrieval or reactor startup, where neutron-emitting material geometries may be partially unknown or changing over time. By integrating statistical neutron emission data with spatial localization, this research aims to develop and evaluate methods for real time neutron monitoring, source characterization, and material verification. Key contributions include implementation of a low-latency data pipeline for continuous neutron multiplicity analysis, development and validation of machine learning models for spatial inference, and experimental evaluation of system performance under variable measurement conditions. The outcomes are intended to support applications in nuclear safeguards, verification, emergency response, and reactor startup.