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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

General-Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Flight Unit 5 Refurbished (GPHS-RTG F5R) Power Prediction

INL has evaluated and refurbished General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) Flight Unit 5 (GPHS-RTG F5R or F5R) that was defueled in 2005. The generator has passed all the INL internal reviews, an end item data package has been delivered to NASA and is ready fueling for a mission. NASA requested a user’s guide for F5R with enough detail for a prospective mission proposal. This report documents the development of the power prediction model used in the user’s guide. The prediction evaluated the thermoelectric “burn-in” and the graceful degradation modes of the missions and developed a thermal inventory dependent equation that predicts the power that matches Galileo, Cassini, and PNH within a three-standard deviation of ±1%. This prediction is only valid for the 30 VDC load voltage of these missions.

30 - DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2026

General-Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Flight Unit 5 Refurbished (GPHS-RTG F5R) Electrically Heated Thermal Vacuum Testing

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been tasked with the evaluation and refurbishment of the General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) Flight Unit 5 (GPHS-RTG F5R or F5R) that was defueled in 2005. This paper describes the testing of F5R in the thermal vacuum chamber and evaluation of the data demonstrating the generator meets updated Cassini-Huygens requirements. The generator produced 260 We of power at the specified 4100 Wth heat source inventory. This power exceeded the power requirement for 250 We , confirming system integrity and demonstrating that the generator is capable of potential NASA missions.

30 - DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2026

General-Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Flight Unit 5 Refurbished (GPHS-RTG F5R) Power Prediction

INL has evaluated and refurbished General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) Flight Unit 5 (GPHS-RTG F5R or F5R) that was defueled in 2005. The generator has passed all the INL internal reviews, an end item data package has been delivered to NASA and is ready fueling for a mission. NASA requested a user’s guide for F5R with enough detail for a prospective mission proposal. This report documents the development of the power prediction model used in the user’s guide. The prediction evaluated the thermoelectric “burn-in” and the graceful degradation modes of the missions and developed a thermal inventory dependent equation that predicts the power that matches Galileo, Cassini, and PNH within a three-standard deviation of ±1%. This prediction is only valid for the 30 VDC load voltage of these missions.

30 - DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
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 OSTI2025

Breaking the mold: Overcoming the time constraints of molecular dynamics on general-purpose hardware

The evolution of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations has been intimately linked to that of computing hardware. For decades following the creation of MD, simulations have improved with computing power along the three principal dimensions of accuracy, atom count (spatial scale), and duration (temporal scale). Since the mid-2000s, computer platforms have, however, failed to provide strong scaling for MD, as scale-out central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) platforms that provide substantial increases to spatial scale do not lead to proportional increases in temporal scale. Important scientific problems therefore remained inaccessible to direct simulation, prompting the development of increasingly sophisticated algorithms that present significant complexity, accuracy, and efficiency challenges. While bespoke MD-only hardware solutions have provided a path to longer timescales for specific physical systems, their impact on the broader community has been mitigated by their limited adaptability to new methods and potentials. In this work, we show that a novel computing architecture, the Cerebras wafer scale engine, completely alters the scaling path by delivering unprecedentedly high simulation rates up to 1.144 M steps/s for 200 000 atoms whose interactions are described by an embedded atom method potential. This enables direct simulations of the evolution of materials using general-purpose programmable hardware over millisecond timescales, dramatically increasing the space of direct MD simulations that can be carried out. In this paper, we provide an overview of advances in MD over the last 60 years and present our recent result in the context of historical MD performance trends.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Technology Transfer from Fermi Research Alliance to Itasca Plastics for the purpose of Commercializing Scintillator Material

Researchers at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) developed extruded plastic scintillator in the late 1990s, which was first used in the D-Zero experiment. Extruded plastic scintillator is currently produced at Fermilab and is used in particle detectors worldwide. The purpose of this CRADA is to transfer the knowledge related to the Fermilab extrusion process to Itasca Plastics, Inc. (Itasca Plastics). Much of this knowledge is contained in documentation that is in the public domain, although it is distributed over several communications (papers, conference records, etc.) and over several years. Under this CRADA Fermilab will assemble the information, provide it to Itasca Plastics and provide limited consulting to complete the knowledge transfer. If the transfer is successful, Itasca Plastics will be able to establish a U.S. commercial manufacturing capability for extruded scintillator material that can be used for high energy physics and commercial applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Application of a Triple Bubbler Inside Molten Salt for Pyroprocessing Safeguards Purposes

The application of a triple bubbler system within molten salt environments, specifically a eutectic mixture of LiCl-KCl, is explored for nuclear safeguards purposes, focusing on nuclear material accountancy (NMA) and holdup accountancy in pyroprocessing techniques. Traditional holdup accountancy methods, which involve periodic sampling and lengthy lead times, are being supplemented by the development of actinide sensors using electrochemistry. However, these methods alone are insufficient to meet regulatory requirements set by agencies like NRC and IAEA. The triple bubbler device measures salt level, density, and surface tension simultaneously using three dip tubes of varying diameters and heights. This study investigates the accuracy and robustness of the triple bubbler in molten salt conditions at temperatures ranging from 450-550°C. The updated bubbler design, utilizing tantalum metal and larger tube geometry, demonstrated minimal plugging and maintained measurement accuracy within acceptable uncertainties: 0.611% for depth, 1.34% for density, and approximately 40% for surface tension. Results indicate that the triple bubbler system is effective for real-time, accurate measurements in pyroprocessing environments, making it a promising tool for ensuring compliance with nuclear safeguards and supporting nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multi-purpose quantum laboratories from superconducting circuits

Superconducting circuits (SCs) are the cornerstone of modern quantum technology, enabling scalable computing through coherent control of macroscopic quantum states. Through a legacy that predates modern quantum computing, SCs have emerged as high-precision instruments for discovery. In this review, we highlight the role of SCs as general-purpose quantum laboratories, outlining the emerging landscape of correlated matter-circuit science. We review and unify the capabilities of superconducting quantum hardware across condensed matter, high energy and quantum information sciences. We trace the technical evolution of these architectures, illustrating how their foundational development has culminated in a toolkit for resolving the complexities of macroscopic quantum states.

Arora, Arpit [UCLA, Los Angeles (main); UCLA; Haim↗
DOE OSTI2026

Nitrogen Status Rewires Transcriptional Regulation of Dhurrin, a Dual‐Purpose Defense Metabolite in Sorghum bicolor

Dhurrin, a cyanogenic glucoside, plays an important role in Sorghum bicolor physiology and defense. The concentration of dhurrin in sorghum is influenced by both nitrogen status and stage of plant organ development. While nitrogen resupply activates the expression of genes for dhurrin biosynthesis, the molecular mechanisms underlying this regulation remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the transcriptional response of sorghum to nitrogen resupply following growth under nitrogen-limiting conditions. Using a time-course design, we measured hydrogen cyanide potential (HCNp), growth, and nitrate content at 0-, 2-, 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, 48-, and 60-h after resupply and collected tissue for RNAseq analysis in parallel for analysis of gene expression and construction of gene regulatory networks (GRNs). HCNp (mg g −1 DW) increased significantly in leaf and stem tissues following nitrogen resupply, with increases in the leaf partially driven by continued declines in controls under ongoing nitrogen stress. Expression of the dhurrin pathway genes was upregulated in leaves from 24 h after nitrogen resupply, with diel expression patterns observable over the remaining time points. No upregulation was observed in roots or stems, suggesting that developmental context overrides environmental cues. GRN analysis identified candidate transcription factors regulating dhurrin biosynthesis genes, including members of the MYB, bZIP, and GARP-type transcription factor families. Some of these candidate transcription factors may be involved in relieving senescence-associated suppression of dhurrin biosynthesis and link nitrogen signaling to pathway activation. These findings provide new insight into the nitrogen-responsive regulation of dhurrin in sorghum, highlighting candidate regulators for future functional characterization.

S. bicolor↗
DOE OSTI2024

Scalable Graphene Oxide Hollow Fiber Membranes for Dye Desalination Enabled by Multi‐Purpose Polyamine Functionalization

2D nanosheets such as graphene oxide (GO) can be stacked to construct membranes with fine-tuned nanochannels to achieve molecular sieving ability. These membranes are often thin to achieve high water permeance, but their fabrication with consistent nanostructures on a large scale presents an enormous challenge. Herein, GO-based hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) are developed for dye desalination by synergistically combining chemical etching to form in-plane nanopores (10–30 nm) to increase water permeance and polyamine functionalization to improve underwater stability and enable facile large-scale production using existing membrane manufacturing processes. HFM modules with areas of 88 cm 2 and GO layer thicknesses of ≈500 nm are fabricated, and they exhibited a stable dye water permeance of 75 L m −2 h −1 bar −1 , rejection of >99.5% for Direct red and Congo red, and Na 2 SO 4 /dye separation factor of 300–500, superior to state-of-the-art commercial membranes. Furthermore, the versatility of this approach is also demonstrated using different short polyamines and porous substrates. This study reveals a scalable way of designing 2D materials into high-performance robust membranes for practical applications.

amine functionalization↗
DOE OSTI2025

OpenEdge: A collaborative, open-source, multi-purpose direct simulation Monte Carlo for plasma simulation in magnetic fusion environments

OpenEdge is a collaborative, open-source, object-oriented Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code, designed specifically for plasma simulations in magnetic fusion environments. Here, the code features include advanced structures, robust capabilities, and an effective parallelization strategy, all of which significantly enhance performance. It includes specialized modules for managing complex particle interactions, including collisions, ionization/recombination, and reflection/sputtering. Benchmarks and performance analyses have confirmed its efficiency and scalability. Versatile and adaptable, OpenEdge is applied across a broad spectrum of plasma-material interaction studies and charged particle transport in various fusion research settings.

Boundary plasma↗
DOE OSTI2024

A new purpose for the W -boson mass measurement: Searching for New Physics in lepton+ MET

We show that the m W measurement is a direct probe of New Physics (NP) contributing to lepton and missing transverse momentum (ℓ + MET), independently from indirect tests via the electroweak fit. Such NP modifies the kinematic distributions used to extract m W , necessitating a simultaneous fit to m W and NP. This effect can in principle bias the m W measurement, but only to a limited extent for our considered models. Given that, we demonstrate that the agreement at high-precision with SM-predicted shapes results in bounds competitive to, if not exceeding, existing ones for two examples: anomalous W decay involving a L μ −L τ gauge boson and ν̃ll̃ production in the MSSM.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Seeding Advanced Treated Wastewater for Purposes of Direct Potable Reuse

Direct potable reuse (DPR) is a promising solution to address water scarcity. However, a better understanding of how introducing advanced treated water (ATW) affects microbial communities present in distribution systems is needed. Here, in this study, we measured changes to the microbial water quality in simulated distribution systems that were conditioned using treated, unimpaired surface water (SW) and then transitioned to ATW. In addition, we investigated whether adding a biological filtration step would seed the microbial community of the ATW and whether the influence would persist in the simulated distribution systems. We found that the bulk water in the ATW-fed distribution systems had lower cell counts and ATP concentrations and a distinct microbial community (based on 16S amplicon sequencing) compared to the SW-fed or the seeded ATW-fed systems. However, biofilm community composition and biomass remained consistent regardless of the feedwater. Increased microbial biomass and diversity were present in the seeded ATW, with several amplicon sequence variants identified as being introduced by the biological filter. Our results suggest that directly introducing ATW to distribution systems could disturb the existing microbial community. Preparing ATW for distribution via biological filtration may deliver more predictable and stable microbial water quality than introducing unseeded ATW.

16S↗
DOE OSTI2025

Raman Laser-Induced Structural Modification in CVD-Grown Monolayer MoS 2 for Multi-Purposed Nanofabrication

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has been extensively explored to be utilized as an electronic material in a variety of device applications. In particular, the tunability of MoS 2 enhances its electrical properties making it an intriguing candidate for field-effect transistors (FETs), while also extending beyond electrical properties to structural phase engineering. Laser-induced modifications, particularly with Raman lasers, offer a straightforward method to modulate materials via thermal processes with precise patterning control and energy-level flexibility. However, most studies on the modification of MoS 2 have focused on multilayered structures or have been conducted under low-power laser conditions, leaving the feasibility of structural modifications in monolayer MoS 2 elusive. In this study, we fundamentally elucidated the effects of high-power Raman laser irradiation on the surface of chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown monolayer MoS 2 under ambient conditions and uncovered the underlying mechanisms of laser-induced modifications by applying intense photon energy with highly interactive reactions. Our results revealed both etching and deposition phenomena in two discernible regions, and it can be demonstrated by intensity regimes based on the spatial distribution of laser irradiance within the laser-irradiated spot. Furthermore, phase transition was found to be inhibited due to the promoted oxidation and the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H), and p-type doping was observed, likely occurring in the region beneath the a-C:H deposition as substitutional doping on the 2H phase of MoS 2 . To compare the thermal effects, MoS 2 modifications were further analyzed using simplified heat transfer estimations. In conclusion, these findings deepen our understanding of how Raman laser irradiation modifies MoS 2 under ambient conditions, providing guidelines for optimizing its modification processes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exploiting Kubernetes to Simplify the Deployment and Management of the Multi-purpose CMS Pilot Job Factory

GlideinWMS, a widely utilized workload management system in high-energy physics (HEP) research, serves as the backbone for efficient job provisioning across distributed computing resources. It is utilized by various experiments and organizations, including CMS, OSG, Dune, and FIFE, to create HTCondor pools as large as 600k cores. In particular, a shared factory service historically deployed at UCSD has been configured to interface with more than 500 routes to compute clusters. As part of our team’s initiative to modernize infrastructure and enhance scalability, we undertook the migration of the GlideinWMS factory service into the Kubernetes environment. Leveraging the flexibility and orchestration capabilities of Kubernetes, we successfully deployed the factory service within the OSG Tiger Kubernetes cluster. The major benefits Kubernetes gives us is it streamlines the management and monitoring of the factory infrastructure, and improves fault tolerance through its resilient deployment strategies. Through this case study, we aim to share insights, challenges, and best practices encountered during the migration process. Our experience underscores the benefits of embracing containerization and Kubernetes orchestration for HEP computing infrastructure, paving the way for scalability and resilience in distributed computing environments.

Dost, Jeffrey Michael [UC, San Diego (main)]↗