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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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At least 19 records

National Demonstration Reactor Siting Study—Phase I (Revision 1)

In 2020, the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) initiated the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), with the goal of demonstrating two advanced reactor designs within the next five to seven years. When evaluating challenges in meeting this deadline, the newly established National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) determined that there was a limited number of well-characterized sites that could support this time-sensitive demonstration requirement. To close this gap, NRIC initiated a two-phase joint analytic effort including DOE, National Laboratory, and academic partners to examine demonstration reactor siting alternatives. The first phase of the study, which is documented in this report, describes the development of a methodology for site assessment and a preliminary assessment of a limited number of known siting alternatives. Revision 1 of this report includes 3 additional (13 total) siting alternatives and 2 additional (4 total) example scenarios.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Gas-Phase Study of the Elementary Reaction of the D1-Ethynyl Radical (C 2 D; X 2 Σ + ) with Propylene (C 3 H 6 ; X 1 A') under Single-Collision Conditions

The bimolecular gas-phase reactions of the D1-ethynyl radical (C 2 D; X 2 Σ + ) with propylene (C 3 H 6 ; X 1 A’) and partially substituted D3-3,3,3-propylene (C 2 H 3 CD 3 ; X 1 A’) were studied under single collision conditions utilizing the crossed molecular beams technique. Combining our laboratory data with electronic structure and statistical calculations, the D1-ethynyl radical is found to add without barrier to the C1 and C2 carbons of the propylene reactant, resulting in doublet C 5 H 6 D intermediate(s) with lifetime(s) longer than their rotational period(s). These intermediates undergo isomerization and unimolecular decomposition via atomic hydrogen loss through tight exit transition states forming predominantly cis/trans-3-penten-1-yne ((HCC)CH=CH(CH 3 )) and to a minor amount 3-methyl-3-buten-1-yne ((HCC)C(CH 3 )=CH 2 ) via overall exoergic reactions. Although the title reaction does not lead to the cyclopentadiene molecule (c-C 5 H 6 , X 1 A 1 ), high temperature environments can convert the identified acyclic C 5 H 6 isomers through hydrogen atom assisted isomerization to cyclopentadiene (c-C 5 H 6 , X 1 A 1 ). Since both the ethynyl radical and propylene reactants have been observed in cold interstellar environments such as TMC-1 and the reaction is exoergic and all barriers lie below the energy of the separated reactants, the these C 5 H 6 product isomers are predicted to form in those low temperature regions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Phase 1: Duke Energy Zero Emission Resource Integration Study (ZERIS); Phase 2: Carbon-Free Resource Integration Study for Duke Energy (Final Report)

Phase 1: This statement of work makes up Phase 1 of a larger effort. During this Phase 1 effort, NREL will work with Duke Energy to analyze the impacts of integrating significant amounts of new solar power into the Duke Energy power system under a variety of different penetrations scenarios, with a maximum of ten (10) full scenarios examined. The existing fleet, particularly the nuclear generation, will be considered in the quantitative assessments and discussions. Duke Energy is looking to quantify how much solar generation its system can handle. NREL will work with Duke Energy to quantify solar potential, identify likely integration challenges and possible opportunities for wind, storage, demand side resources and other technologies. Phase 2: This Statement of Work consists of a follow-up effort (Phase 2) to a recently completed Phase 1 modeling effort. During Phase 2, NREL will work closely with Duke Energy to analyze the impacts of integrating significant amounts of variable generation resources (wind and solar) and storage into Duke Energy's system in the Carolinas. The existing fleet, particularly nuclear generation, will be considered in the quantitative assessment and discussions. This Statement of Work also includes an extension to Phase II of the Carbon-Free Resource Integration Study for Duke Energy. In this extension, NREL will work closely with Duke Energy to extend the production cost analysis developed in Phase II to 2018 weather and load data for Duke Energy's territory. This extension leverages the modeling tools and datasets developed as part of Phase II. The analysis will compare results from Phase II (using 2012 weather and load) with 2018 results to assess system operations with increased penetration of renewables and storage. Simplifying assumptions will be made for modeling Duke Energy's neighbors in the production cost model.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Grain boundary effects in high-temperature liquid-metal dealloying: a multi-phase field study

Abstract A multi-phase field model is employed to study the microstructural evolution of an alloy undergoing liquid dealloying, specifically considering the role of grain boundaries. A semi-implicit time-stepping algorithm using spectral methods is implemented, which enables simulating large 2D and 3D domains over long time scales while still maintaining a realistic interfacial thickness. Simulations reveal a mechanism of coupled grain–boundary migration to maintain equilibrium contact angles with the topologically complex solid–liquid interface, which locally accelerates diffusion-coupled growth of a liquid channel into the precursor. This mechanism asymmetrically disrupts the ligament connectivity of the dealloyed structure in qualitative agreement with published experimental observations. The grain boundary migration-assisted corrosion channels form even for precursors with small amounts of the dissolving alloy species, below the parting limit . The activation of this grain boundary dealloying mechanism depends strongly on grain boundary mobility.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation Reduces Brain Metastases and Improves Overall Survival in High-Risk Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Randomized phase 2 Study (PRoT-BM trial)

To date, studies regarding the use of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) versus standard of care (SoC) for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not shown a significant effect in terms of overall survival (OS). Additionally, the effect of PCI among high-risk patients has been scarcely studied. The objective of this randomized phase 2 study was to evaluate the role of PCI in a population of patients at high risk for development of brain metastases (BM).

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Automated pipeline processing X-ray diffraction data from dynamic compression experiments on the Extreme Conditions Beamline of PETRA III

Presented and discussed here is the implementation of a software solution that provides prompt X-ray diffraction data analysis during fast dynamic compression experiments conducted within the dynamic diamond anvil cell technique. It includes efficient data collection, streaming of data and metadata to a high-performance cluster (HPC), fast azimuthal data integration on the cluster, and tools for controlling the data processing steps and visualizing the data using the DIOPTAS software package. This data processing pipeline is invaluable for a great number of studies. The potential of the pipeline is illustrated with two examples of data collected on ammonia–water mixtures and multiphase mineral assemblies under high pressure. The pipeline is designed to be generic in nature and could be readily adapted to provide rapid feedback for many other X-ray diffraction techniques, e.g. large-volume press studies, in situ stress/strain studies, phase transformation studies, chemical reactions studied with high-resolution diffraction etc.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Strategies to overcome electron-beam issues in liquid phase TEM: Study of chemical processes

Abstract Liquid phase (or liquid cell) transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has become a powerful platform for in situ investigation of various chemical processes at the nanometer or atomic level. The electron beam for imaging can also induce perturbation to the chemical processes. Thus, it has been a concern that the observed phenomena in a liquid cell could deviate from the real-world processes. Strategies have been developed to overcome the electron-beam-induced issues. This article provides an overview of the electron-beam effects, and discusses various strategies in liquid cell TEM study of nucleation, growth, and self-assembly of nanoscale materials, where an electron beam is often used to initiate the reactions, and highly electron-beam-sensitive electrochemical reactions. Graphical abstract

Zheng, Wenjing↗

Hydrogen Storage for Load-Following and Clean Power: Duct-firing of Hydrogen to Improve the Capacity Factor of NGCC Plants (Final Report, Phase I Conceptual Study)

The 12-month Feasibility study in Phase I study was completed and confirmed the system is feasible and the proposed system is an improvement over alternate low carbon dispatchable power options. Our demonstration will include 54 MWh of hydrogen storage. CO 2 capture inherent to the CHG process can capture 90% of the CO 2 (with upgrades to >98%) in a commercial system (~300 MWth) for sequestration or other uses. The hydrogen will be utilized in a duct burner in a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) integrated with the existing Southern Company fossil asset. Here, the firing rate of the duct burner is varied to let the plant respond to fluctuations of electrical load. However, H 2 production is relatively constant by storing H 2 , and revenues are improved by arbitrage between use of low-cost off-peak variable electricity generation or use of stored H 2 under peak demand. The study enabled the fidelity of the concept to be improved and allowed identification of the requirements for the system. Defining the individual system and component requirements was performed via system requirements review with the whole team. These requirements were then incorporated into/iterated with our Heat & Mass Balance models and process flow diagrams were generated to reflect the overall system. This information was then used to complete the TEA and show economic feasibility. Our system generates power at 17.4% lower cost than other low carbon approaches for the H 2 generation, H 2 compression and storage, carbon sequestration, and HRSG added electricity production for a large-scale duct-fired system. Our team recommends completing the Phase II Pre-FEED study for the proposed system as the next step for the project and its tasks will achieve the overall objective and be ready to launch the FEED. The Pre-FEED tasks include updating the requirements, Concept of Operations, plant scope/process description, component modeling, system modeling, performance estimates, emission estimates, block flow diagrams, fluid/process conditions (PFD), utility usage, and facility sizing/definition. The approach will be to complete these updates in a greater level of detail for the selected site. The approach for developing the EIV is to use the updated results, including model outputs, for carbon dioxide and waste streams.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Probing the exact form and doping preference of magnesium in ordinary Portland cement clinker phases: A study from experiments and DFT simulations

Highlights: • The doping behaviors of Mg in OPC clinker phases were systematically studied. • About 1.3 wt% MgO enter OPC clinker phases by forming substitutional solid solutions. • In the 4 composed minerals, C{sub 3}S, C{sub 3}A and C{sub 4}AF can host more Mg ions than C{sub 2}S. • Mg ions prefer to replace Ca in C{sub 3}S, C{sub 2}S and C{sub 3}A while replace Fe and Ca in C{sub 4}AF. • Both the large structure distortions and formation energies governs the low solubility. A systematic study was performed to learn the exact existence form and doping behaviors of magnesium in ordinary Portland cement (OPC) clinker. Our results show that about 1.3 wt% MgO incorporates into OPC clinker phases by forming substitutional solid solutions while excess Mg accumulate and exist as periclase. Results from Rietveld refinement present a substitution preference in C{sub 3}S and C{sub 3}A over C{sub 2}S. More in-depth analyses from density function theoretical simulations show that in C{sub 3}S, C{sub 2}S and C{sub 3}A, the substitution occurs by replacing Ca while in C{sub 4}AF, it probably occurs by substituting Fe and Ca ions. The large structure distortions and sharp increase in formation energies with increasing MgO determines its low solubility. This work provides a clear understanding of the existence states and the intrinsic mechanism governing doping behaviors of Mg, thus should be very important in guiding the synthesis of OPC clinker by utilizing high-Mg limestone.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Phase IB study of ziv-aflibercept plus pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors

Background The combination of antiangiogenic agents with immune checkpoint inhibitors could potentially overcome immune suppression driven by tumor angiogenesis. We report results from a phase IB study of ziv-aflibercept plus pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors. Methods This is a multicenter phase IB dose-escalation study of the combination of ziv-aflibercept (at 2–4 mg/kg) plus pembrolizumab (at 2 mg/kg) administered intravenously every 2 weeks with expansion cohorts in programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1)-naïve melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), microsatellite stable colorectal cancer (CRC), and ovarian cancer. The primary objective was to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended dose of the combination. Secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR) and overall survival (OS). Exploratory objectives included correlation of clinical efficacy with tumor and peripheral immune population densities. Results Overall, 33 patients were enrolled during dose escalation (n=3) and dose expansion (n=30). No dose-limiting toxicities were reported in the initial dose level. Ziv-aflibercept 4 mg/kg plus pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg every 2 weeks was established as the MTD. Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 19/33 patients (58%), the most common being hypertension (36%) and proteinuria (18%). ORR in the dose-expansion cohort was 16.7% (5/30, 90% CI 7% to 32%). Complete responses occurred in melanoma (n=2); partial responses occurred in RCC (n=1), mesothelioma (n=1), and melanoma (n=1). Median OS was as follows: melanoma, not reached (NR); RCC, 15.7 months (90% CI 2.5 to 15.7); CRC, 3.3 months (90% CI 0.6 to 3.4); ovarian, 12.5 months (90% CI 3.8 to 13.6); other solid tumors, NR. Activated tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells at baseline (CD8+PD1+), high CD40L expression, and increased peripheral memory CD8 T cells correlated with clinical response. Conclusion The combination of ziv-aflibercept and pembrolizumab demonstrated an acceptable safety profile with antitumor activity in solid tumors. The combination is currently being studied in sarcoma and anti-PD-1-resistant melanoma. Trial registration number NCT02298959 .

Rahma, Osama E.↗

Morphology selection in dealloying: A phase field study of the coupling among kinetic mechanisms

A phase field model is used to investigate how the corrosion rate and morphology of a dealloying metal is controlled by the kinetic rates of bulk solid diffusion, interfacial diffusivity, and interface dissolution. A specific focus is investigating the manner by which variations in these kinetic parameters synergistically influence the onset of a morphological instability at the solid-liquid interface, which is known to precede rapid dealloying corrosion towards highly topologically complex structures such as bicontinuous porous solids. This work demonstrates that this instability can be suppressed by either an increase of interdiffusion in the solid alloy, or by a decreasing rate of dissolution at the solid-liquid interface. When the instability is suppressed, the result is a relatively planar, passivated dealloying front. Importantly, however, coupled changes in kinetic parameters can also promote the morphological instability and sustain fine-scale ligament and pore formation. Finally, the relevance of the solid-liquid interfacial diffusion for determining the rate of dealloying and ligament formation is highlighted. By elucidating the mechanistic influence of bulk and interfacial kinetic factors on the dealloyed morphology, this work helps to rationalize the contrasting morphologies observed in various dealloying systems.

Diffusion↗

Co-Based superalloy morphology evolution: A phase field study based on experimental thermodynamic and kinetic data

Cobalt-based superalloys with two phase $\gamma$/$\gamma '$ microstructures offer great promise as candidates for next-generation high-temperature alloys for applications, such as turbine blades. It is essential to understand the thermodynamic and kinetic factors that influence the microstructural evolution of these alloys in order to optimize the alloy compositions and processing steps with a goal to improve their coarsening, creep and rafting behavior. We are using a continuum phase field approach to study the diffusion process and to predict the equilibrium shapes of Co-Al-W $\gamma '$ precipitates. In order to obtain quantitatively predictive capabilities, we extract chemical free energies for the $\gamma$/$\gamma '$ phases based on CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) thermodynamic data and diffusion mobilities for Co alloys based on CALPHAD kinetic data. We also use experimental or first-principles data for other quantities, such as misfit strain and interface information, for the parameterization of our model. A particular focus of our study is to understand how different energy balances, misfit strain and kinetics affect the coarsening and rafting behavior of $\gamma '$ precipitates, and the sensitivity of the final precipitate shape to materials parameters. Here, we find that the equilibrium shape of the precipitate results from a delicate competition between chemical, interfacial, and elastic energies, and it is very sensitive to changes in model parameters. Here, we examine how modeling input parameters affect the equilibrium shape of precipitates and relate these parameters to experimentally available values.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Storage Futures Study: Four Phases Framework and Modeling

This webinar, presented by Paul Denholm and Will Frazier, incorporates material from two publications of the NREL Storage Futures Study: "The Four Phases of Storage Deployment: A Framework for the Expanding Role of Storage in the U.S. Power System" (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77480.pdf) and "Storage Futures Study: Economic Potential of Diurnal Storage in the U.S. Power Sector" (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77449.pdf).

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Prospective Phase 2 Study of Radiation Therapy Dose and Volume De-escalation for Elective Neck Treatment of Oropharyngeal and Laryngeal Cancer

The required elective nodal dose and volumes for head and neck intensity modulated radiation therapy have largely been extrapolated from conventional radiation therapy fields. In this prospective, dual-center, phase 2 study, we investigated the efficacy and tolerability of reduced elective nodal volume and dose in oropharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗