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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Fusion Energy Research at Idaho National Laboratory: Experimentation and Simulation to Support Safety and Rapid Technology Development

Research into fusion energy is growing rapidly, responding to a call for sustainable sources of energy to replace fossil fuels and mitigate climate change. Within the United States, at least, researchers are also responding to the “Bold Decadal Vision” proposed by the White House, seeking to have a commercially relevant fusion pilot plant deployed within a decade. Before this can become a reality, many Fusion Science & Technology (FS&T) gaps remain. For over 45 years, Idaho National Laboratory has been at the forefront of addressing these FS&T gaps in the context of fusion safety and technology via the operation of world-leading experimental facilities within the Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) Facility. Here, INL focuses on the tritium fuel cycle, conceptual system design studies, risk assessment, waste management, and materials safety. Modeling and Simulation (M&S) has also been a component of this portfolio of research, but, early on, focused on individual systems. Since 2019, active development and research on integrated whole device modeling tools based on the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework has been undertaken. This has culminated in a MOOSE-based version of the Tritium Migration and Analysis Program (TMAP), an INL code historically focused on tritium permeation and trapping within fusion systems. More recently, INL Laboratory Directed Research and Development funds have been used to create the Fusion ENergy Integrated multiphys-X (FENIX) code focused on scrape-off layer plasma physics and the first wall of a magnetically confined fusion device. This talk will focus on an overview of INL activities in the FS&T research area, with a particular focus on recent M&S activities and results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Commissioning of the Power Supplies and Coils of the SMART Tokamak

The small aspect ratio tokamak (SMART) is a spherical tokamak (ST) that offers unique capabilities for studying the potential of negative triangularity. It has been designed, constructed, and is currently being operated by the Plasma Science Fusion Technology (PSFT) Laboratory at the University of Seville. SMART has a total of 21 coils, organized into seven independent circuits and driven by five modular power supplies (PS). The PS operation relies on switching converter technology based on IGBT and supercapacitors (SCs). The PS delivers predefined current waveforms to the copper coil system consisting of the central solenoid (CS), 12 toroidal field (TF) coils, three series pairs of poloidal field (PF) coils, and two independent PF coils. This study details the commissioning and validation of the PS toroidal and solenoid coils, as well as the assembly of coils in SMART. The maximum rated current and slope were measured, along with the series impedance of the coils, the output current ripple, and the noise levels. The internal parameters of the SCs were measured, and optimized current profiles were proposed to enhance overall performance. A comparison has been made between the theoretical values and the experimental results, providing insight into the performance of the PS and areas for improvement.

Power electronics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Target Design for XFEL Experiments

High-energy-density (HED) experiments utilizing X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) must take a different approach to fielding these experiments than the current methodology used for the large HED facilities in the United States. The XFELs and their associated laser drivers have a much faster repetition rate than do the larger facilities. Experiments must be designed to execute hundreds rather than a few shots per experimental run. The new paradigm requires a different approach to data collection and analysis. It also requires an integrated approach to experiment and target design. Here, in this study, we developed new target designs for a future XFEL experiment that meet both experiment and cost goals.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

STARFIRE – Science and Technology Accelerated Research for Fusion Innovation and Reactor Engineering progress report

The STARFIRE hub leverages foundational science and technology (S&T) research and integrated plant modeling tools to advance Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). S&T breakthroughs achieved in each thrust are incorporated into an integrated modeling tool to assess and prioritize remaining gaps to bridge for IFE to become viable. Scientific highlights span high-gain target design, diode-pumped solid-state lasers, and innovative target manufacturing. Key highlights include the investigation of shock propagation through various foam structures among other limiting factors of compression of IFE target, exploration of novel 3D printing techniques such as light-sheet additive manufacturing for 2-photon polymerization foams, and diode-pumped solid-state laser architectures required for several IFE approaches. In addition, the STARFIRE team has established two public-private working groups to address laser diode supply chain issues and test advanced laser diode configurations. Finally, a lite version of the integrated modeling tool has been developed to facilitate outreach and engage with private companies. STARFIRE’s management structure has been designed to ensure agile resource allocation, robust performance assessment, and alignment with the broader fusion energy mission. STARFIRE’s breakthroughs are disseminated to the community via reports, presentations, and publications, while agreements with private companies are set in place to protect proprietary information.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Introduction to Special Issue on the Early History of Nuclear Fusion

This introductory paper to the special issue of Fusion Science and Technology commemorates early research on fusion conducted at Los Alamos (the singular entity denoted Los Alamos Laboratory/Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory/Los Alamos National Laboratory at different times is designated “Los Alamos” in this paper) in support of the eventual H-bomb program. We survey the historical origins of the thermonuclear program, what was known of fusion reactions at the outbreak of the war, and the remarkable breakthroughs involving particularly the prospect of deuterium-tritium (DT) reactions conducted during the war, and we summarize the papers in this volume. Much of the nuclear fusion technical history presented herein has not been previously reported. Papers describe aspects of fusion science during these days, on shock hydrodynamics and on electron-radiation coupling, and on nuclear physics including the discoveries of resonances in both the DT cross section and in the lithium tritium-breeding cross section. Three papers follow our colleague Mark Paris’s finding Arthur Ruhlig’s 1938 paper on the first observation of DT fusion: one on how it influenced subsequent Manhattan Project research, another on a modern calculation of that historic experiment, and a third that has repeated the experiment using modern experimental capabilities. Other papers discuss how the first H-bomb test, Ivy Mike, led to the discovery of the new elements einsteinium and fermium and how the DT fusion processes played a key role in our universe’s development after the Big Bang. We also present a paper that analyzes the pioneering Cambridge University 1934 experiment by Marcus Oliphant, Paul Harteck, and Ernest Rutherford where deuterium-deuterium fusion was first observed and that describes how Ernest Lawrence missed identifying fusion in 1933. Finally, we present a summary of early concepts for controlled fusion energy that grew out of wartime discussions at Los Alamos. The papers show how J. Robert Oppenheimer played a leading technical role in the early developments of the H-bomb, before his later opposition—our first paper in this issue addresses the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2022 vacation of the earlier 1954 decision to revoke his security clearance.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2025

Milestone in predicting core plasma turbulence: successful multi-channel validation of the gyrokinetic code GENE

On the basis of several recent breakthroughs in fusion research, many activities have been launched around the world to develop fusion power plants on the fastest possible time scale. In this context, high-fidelity simulations of the plasma behavior on large supercomputers provide one of the main pathways to accelerating progress by guiding crucial design decisions. When it comes to determining the energy confinement time of a magnetic confinement fusion device, which is a key quantity of interest, gyrokinetic turbulence simulations are considered the approach of choice – but the question, whether they are really able to reliably predict the plasma behavior is still open. The present study addresses this important issue by means of careful comparisons between state-of-the-art gyrokinetic turbulence simulations with the GENE code and experimental observations in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak for an unprecedented number of simultaneous plasma observables.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Initial electron cyclotron heating/current drive scoping study for the SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak (SMART)

In this work an initial electron cyclotron heating/current drive (EC H&CD) scoping study is presented for the SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak (SMART), constructed and operated by the Plasma Science and Fusion Technology (PSFT) Laboratory of the University of Seville. We consider two planned phases of operation with different magnitude of magnetic field (B 0.4, and 1 T). This EC H&CD scoping study is carried out by using the ray tracing code TRAVIS, which allows to quickly perform a series of scans on the main SMART plasma scenarios. A scan in the poloidal and toroidal launching angles is performed for the B 0.4 T plasma scenario assuming three launching locations (mid-plane, off-mid-plane, and top-launcher) and the extraordinary (X-) mode polarization. The absorption occurs at the second harmonic and, overall, the highest power absorption is obtained launching the EC beam from the top of the machine. A numerical analysis of the fundamental X-mode EC H&CD start-up regime for the B 1.0 T plasma scenario with two different wave frequencies (28 and 35 GHz) is presented showing a very high current drive efficiency.

Bertelli, Nicola [Princeton Plasma Physics Laborat↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimal Chloride Salt Mixture for a Fusion Blanket

Deuterium-tritium fusion reactors cannot operate for a significant period without a closed tritium fuel cycle, according to a recent National Academies of Sciences (NAS) report on bringing fusion reactors to the US electrical grid. This fact places breeder blankets as one of the foundational systems for self-sustained fusion reactor operation. The typical functional requirements for a breeder blanket system include producing tritium, absorbing kinetic energy, transporting thermal energy, and being environmentally attractive. State-of-the-art research on liquid blankets has converged to primarily focus on (LiF) 2 and BeF 2 (FLiBe) molten salts and a metallic eutectic of lead and lithium (PbLi), but “virtually all of the technologies related to the tritium fuel cycle are at a low technological readiness level”. This work sought to explore optimum blanket configurations as it aligned with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) FY 2023 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program’s research priority of developing and expanding the current understanding of fusion blanket science and technology. This purpose of this work was to address ORNL research priorities and NAS recommendations by investigating novel liquid blanket materials that could provide self-sustaining operation and draw on experience from research on molten salts used for advanced fission reactors, concentrated solar, and thermal energy storage. The hypothesis when proposing this research was that there could be chloride-based blanket designs that can exceed the tritium breeding ratios of (FLiBe) molten salt blankets while reducing the use of Be (FLiBe), avoiding the generation of HF (FLiBe), and minimizing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-perturbed flow fields (PbLi). The fastest and most cost-effective path to deploying liquid fusion breeder blankets could be from maximizing the synergistic technological overlap between fusion, fission, concentrated solar, and thermal energy storage industries.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Jupiter Laser Facility Annual Report, FY 2025

Dear JLF community, I cannot believe I am now entering my third year as JLF director — time definitely flies when you are having fun! FY25 was another pivotal year for the Jupiter Laser Facility, marked by both scientific achievement and growing visibility for our community. Building on the successful reopening and refurbishment of the facility, we continued to demonstrate how JLF drives innovation in high energy density and fusion energy science, laser technology, and workforce development. Across Janus, Titan, and COMET, users executed a diverse portfolio of experiments, from dynamic compression and opacity measurements to laser plasma interactions, laboratory astrophysics, and advanced diagnostics. These efforts are highlighted in this report, including the development of new probes that capture the time evolution of plasmas on a single shot, and diagnostics and platforms that are already impacting experiments at NIF and other large facilities. JLF continues to serve as both a testbed for new ideas and a bridge to larger scale campaigns. FY25 also showcased the broader role of JLF within the Laboratory and the national HED science ecosystem. The NIF JLF User Groups Meeting in February brought nearly 180 participants to Livermore and highlighted the scientific progress made during JLF’s first full year of renewed operations. JLF research and users were recognized with Director’s Institutional Awards and Early and Mid Career awards, underscoring the quality and impact of the work performed here. Our team also contributed prominently to national conversations about laser safety, plasma physics, and inertial fusion energy through invited talks, conferences, and professional society leadership. JLF’s integration with LaserNetUS deepened this year as well. We launched a new technical exchange program across LaserNetUS facilities and kicked it off with a JLF team visit to the BELLA Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. These exchanges are strengthening operations, sharing best practices, and improving the user experience across the network. Filming for the LaserNetUS “Behind the Scenes” series and participation in the annual LaserNetUS meeting further increased the visibility of our facility and our users. At the same time, JLF continues to play a central role in ambitious new programs, such as the Big Aperture Thulium laser effort funded through one of the DOE Office of Science Microelectronics Science Research Centers, which will use JLF infrastructure to explore next generation high rep rate lasers for EUV and x-ray source development. A core part of our mission remains training the next generation of scientists. In FY25, we welcomed another cohort of summer students, who joined experimental teams on Titan and presented their research at LLNL’s student poster symposium and national inertial fusion energy meetings. JLF users and early career scientists showcased their work at conferences across the country, highlighting experiments performed at the facility. These hands on experiences, and the mentoring provided by our staff and user teams, are central to JLF’s identity as a true user facility. Finally, FY25 reinforced JLF’s role as a focal point for partnerships and outreach. We hosted visits from international collaborators, science leaders, and we shared the story of the facility through venues such as the Big Ideas Lab podcast. These interactions help connect our work to a broader scientific and policy audience and open new pathways for collaboration. As we look ahead, the combination of refurbished hardware, new capabilities like STILETTO and enhanced short pulse performance on Titan, strong partnerships across LLNL and LaserNetUS, and a growing user community positions JLF for an even more ambitious program in the coming years. I am deeply grateful to our technical and operations staff for their dedication, to our LLNL partners for their continued support, and to our users for bringing bold, creative ideas to the facility. I look forward to more experiments, capabilities, partnerships, and groundbreaking science in the years to come! With brightest regards, Félicie Albert, JLF Director.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Enhancement of mid-/high-Z impurity transport by continuous Li-granule dropping in a stellarator plasma

An enhancement of core impurity transport is observed in high-density plasmas of the stellarator large helical device, heated by neutral beam injection, when continuous lithium (Li) granule dropping is performed. In the reported experiments, in which the tracer-encapsulated solid pellet is employed to inject trace amounts of titanium (Ti) and molybdenum (Mo) into the plasma core, confinement times for these impurities are seen to reduce significantly when Li dropping is applied, this reduction being more notable for Mo. To gain some initial insight into these observations, simulations are performed using the drift-kinetic transport code SFINCS for the Mo case. These simulations indicate that, while neoclassical transport prevails for the main plasma components (electrons, majority ions, and low-Z impurities), the classical contribution appears dominant for transporting Mo impurities. In summary, this work reports the first experimental observation of the degradation of mid-Z and high-Z impurity confinement induced by the continuous dropping of Li granules into a high-density stellarator plasma. In the case of the Mo impurity, simulations suggest that classical transport is the key mechanism underlying the enhanced impurity transport.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate and Information Technology Services Directorate HPC Cluster Reduction, Consolidation, and Savings in Data Center Space, Power, and Cooling

This report evaluates the benefits of decommissioning six legacy FFESD purchased HPC clusters and consolidating services and workloads into a new HPC cluster named HELIOS. The findings demonstrate significant reductions in the data center power and cooling requirements, data center footprint, and operational overhead, while simultaneously increasing computational capacity.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Overview of the KSTAR experiments and future plan

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device has recently entered a new phase of operation following the installation of a tungsten mono-block divertor, providing a unique platform to investigate high-performance, long-pulse plasma scenarios for future reactors. The 2023–2024 experimental campaigns demonstrated significant progress in commissioning the tungsten divertor, developing plasma operation scenarios, and achieving real-time control. Comparative studies revealed increased core radiation losses and associated performance degradation relative to the carbon divertor environment. Alleviation strategies, such as optimized neutral beam injection timing, boron powder seeding, and impurity control through gas puffing, were shown to reduce tungsten accumulation and extend high-performance phases, including record H-mode operation exceeding 100 s. International collaboration enabled the first demonstration of high poloidal beta scenarios with an internal transport barrier on KSTAR. Advances in control included upgraded real-time resonant magnetic perturbation schemes and disruption forecasting. Furthermore, divertor detachment control using a new surrogate-model-based approach with real-time radiation imaging demonstrated active impurity and heat flux management. Supported by enhanced heating, current drive, and diagnostic systems, these achievements offer valuable insights into tungsten impurity behavior, transport physics, and control strategies for future reactors including ITER. Planned upgrades toward a full-tungsten wall and ITER-aligned real-time plasma control will further establish KSTAR as a leading experimental platform for developing operational scenarios required to achieve steady-state, burning plasma conditions.

KSTAR↗
DOE OSTI2024

NSTX-U – A national User Facility to close the key fusion gaps

This presentation lays out how the NSTX-U Research Program will help close the science and technology gaps for moving towards a Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP) and how this work is aligned with the Bold Decadal Vision. The science gap focuses on determining whether the good confinement trends in Spherical Tokamaks extends to lower collisionalities that are comparable to those expected in FPPs. The technology gap is one of mitigating the power exhaust in FPPs, and NSTX-U is uniquely positioned to test Liquid Metal components in the highest heat flux environment of any existing tokamak, spherical or otherwise.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2002

Purification method for recombinant proteins based on a fusion between the target protein and the C-terminus of calmodulin

Calmodulin (CaM) was used as an affinity tail to facilitate the purification of the green fluorescent protein (GFP), which was used as a model target protein. The protein GFP was fused to the C-terminus of CaM, and a factor Xa cleavage site was introduced between the two proteins. A CaM-GFP fusion protein was expressed in E. coli and purified on a phenothiazine-derivatized silica column. CaM binds to the phenothiazine on the column in a Ca(2+)-dependent fashion and it was, therefore, used as an affinity tail for the purification of GFP. The fusion protein bound to the affinity column was then subjected to a proteolytic digestion with factor Xa. Pure GFP was eluted with a Ca(2+)-containing buffer, while CaM was eluted later with a buffer containing the Ca(2+)-chelating agent EGTA. The purity of the isolated GFP was verified by SDS-PAGE, and the fluorescence properties of the purified GFP were characterized.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2023

Activation Analysis for the Inboard Region of FNSF Using SERPENT

This study describes an application of the SERPENT 2 code with the TENDL-2017 nuclear data library and the latest available model features of the Fusion Energy System Studies–Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF), to evaluate the activation of components after shutdown at 1, 10, and 100 years, assuming a plant lifetime of 8.5 full-power years. The primary parameters evaluated include the specific activity, decay heat, and waste disposal rating (WDR). The specific activity and decay heat are calculated with SERPENT 2 using a 360-deg model of the FNSF, while the WDR is calculated and classified based on the waste disposal limits established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission under 10 CFR 61.55 as well as by using the Fetter approach. A python-based script developed for a previous high-level waste classification and analysis study was implemented and adapted to this research to calculate the WDR by comparing nuclide concentrations to the values established in 10 CFR 61.55 to generate a waste classification for each component surveyed. As only three short-lived isotopes have limitations for classifications beyond Class A, of which only 63Ni is present in appreciable quantities, there is a limit to the amount that short-lived isotopes contribute to the most significant waste analyzed here. In most cases, a handful of long-lived isotopes can be problematic, such as 59Ni and 94Nb, for example, which are solely responsible for multiple Class C classifications. The results herein reported heavily depend on the specific materials and mass/volume fractions in the specific model used in this study, which has changed and evolved since the inception of the FNSF concept and past studies. Furthermore, the more significant contributions of this study may be the development of a modeling and simulation toolkit and a strategy to perform these calculations, so to help evaluate and optimize future fusion facilities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Angular-spectral filtering of recoil protons for optimization of fast neutron imaging employing proton converters

Fast neutron imaging is an important capability for diverse applications such as inertial confinement fusion diagnostics, cargo security, nuclear nonproliferation and arms control, and industrial inspection. Traditional phosphor image plates can be enhanced for fast neutron imaging using hydrogenous plastic converters which allow fast neutrons to scatter off hydrogen nuclei to produce energetic protons that can be recorded by the image plate. However, protons emitted by image plates are not constrained in their emission angle, which contributes to the blur of the resulting image. Here, we investigate two methods that can alter the spatial extent of converted protons that deposit energy in the image plate: reducing the converter thickness, and introducing a proton filter between the plastic converter and image plate to reduce the contribution of lower-energy, off-axis protons to the image. Here we determine the optimal plastic converter thickness for maximizing the signal intensity to be 2–3 mm through Monte Carlo simulations, and we benchmark this result against experimental measurements with a deuterium-tritium (DT) neutron generator. Next, we evaluate the image smearing and signal loss for various converters to show that solely reducing the converter thickness has the expected effect of reducing the blur from proton image smearing of the sharpness of an edge recorded on the image plate at the cost of reducing the signal intensity. The use of a proton filter is shown to achieve a similar improvement of edge sharpness as reducing the converter thickness while also sacrificing the signal intensity. We conclude that the use of proton energy filtering can improve the sharpness of fast neutron images in situations where the converter thickness cannot be reduced below some practical minimum. For more intense neutron sources, the signal intensity is of less concern, and optimizing the resolution of the image plate and therefore of the imaging system could have greater value. In these applications, proton filters may allow for improved fast neutron imaging measurements.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗