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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 OSTI2020

Fast Data Processing for Hyperspectral Sensors on Small Platforms

Hyperspectral imaging is a very promising technology for nuclear proliferation detection. However, due to size and weight restrictions, small hyperspectral platforms such as satellites and small drones lack the on-board computing resources for accurate, real-time analysis of the enormous flow of data that a continuously operating hyperspectral sensor generates. This severely limits satellite systems, which can collect far more data than what they can telemeter, and hinders the ability of all platforms to adapt their missions on the fly in response to observations. This program addresses the hyperspectral data processing challenge through development of new, fast and accurate algorithms that produce data products in real time. The algorithms circumvent the major computational bottlenecks in existing processing streams, and would be incorporated in lightweight, power-efficient single-board computer systems. The toolkit of fast algorithms will be immediately useful in current and future hyperspectral systems being built by the Government and by private industry, including drone-based systems and satellite constellations that acquire timely global imagery.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rechargeable Micro-Batteries

The quest for efficient power sources for small sensors has led to a growing interest in rechargeable micro-batteries, offering the potential to harness energy from various sources for extended periods. This project delves into a multifaceted project aimed at enhancing the performance and viability of rechargeable micro-batteries in this context. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has leveraged its expertise in primary micro-battery development, evolving into a software-driven approach for designing cylindrical micro-batteries. This project addresses the cycle life issue through innovative cell design, electrode optimization, and electrolyte refinement. A case study of the MB1842 rechargeable micro-battery demonstrates the promising outcomes of these advancements, showcasing a capacity of 0.32 mAh at ~1C (0.35 mA) and remarkable cycle performance, extending the cycle life to 510-570 cycles at 80% end-of-life (EOL), 710-760 cycles at 70% EOL and 840-940 cycles at 60% EOL, thereby ensuring a service life of 10 years for these rechargeable micro-batteries. This endeavor represents a significant stride towards unlocking the full potential of rechargeable micro-batteries, paving the way for their widespread application in small sensor technologies. The outcome from this project also successfully supports the award of a new project: 80621 - Self-Powered Modular Acoustic Telemetry System with Sensing.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrated Harsh Environment Gas / Temperature Wireless Microwave Acoustic Sensor System for Fossil Energy Applications

There is a significant need for sensors capable of detecting gases, such as H 2 , O 2 , NO x , SO x within harsh environments encountered in power plants, industrial manufacturing, oil and gas exploration, and aerospace applications. This project successfully demonstrated the use of wireless microwave acoustic sensor technology for the detection of gases (H 2 or O 2 ) from ambient temperatures up to 650°C. The work focused on langasite (LGS) based surface acoustic wave resonator (SAWR) sensors as the harsh-environment sensor platform and explored multiple combinations of high-temperature thin films and device structures which were used to increase the sensor platform stability and detection capability at temperatures in the operational range of 150°C to 700°C. Specific material configurations that were investigated include: yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) decorated with Pt nanoparticles, atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al 2 O 3 , palladium, and Pt/Al 2 O 3 co-deposited electrode alloys. Through the deposition of YSZ at temperatures as high as 850°C and the use of graded alloy concentrations of Pt in the fabrication of the Pt/Al 2 O 3 electrode structures, film stress problems were mitigated, and sensor operation and stability achieved. To test and evaluate SAWR sensor performance for the detection of H 2 and O 2 under the influence of temperature variations, a comprehensive gas sensor control system and test apparatus was created to operate within a laboratory box furnace-controlled environment. In addition to the advancement in thin film materials through the deposition and fabrication techniques mentioned above, the work characterized the performance of sensors containing these films in the presence of oxidizing and reducing gases between 25°C and 700°C. In particular, the work revealed that the exposure of the SAWR sensor surfaces to oxidizing environments significantly improve the sensor response to H 2 , whereas the exposure of the sensor to reducing environments at high temperatures (≈ 500°C) renders the sensor irresponsive to H 2 , requiring sensor surface treatment at high temperatures (above 500°C) to recover the responsiveness to H 2 . The SAWR sensors have been also tested for wireless operation and array operation using multiple orientations to resolve the detection of gases under temperature variations. The work developed at the University of Maine was aided by a collaboration with the NETL Research and Innovation Center, Pittsburgh, PA, where thin film materials and device structures fabricated at UMaine were tested and characterized using NETL gas reactors and surface analysis techniques. SAWR sensors fabricated at UMaine were exposed multiple times to temperatures up to 700°C and H 2 concentrations up to 100% in the NETL facilities to measure the sensor performance. Environetix Technologies Corporation, a UMaine harsh-environment sensor spin-off company, also provided support and assistance in sensor system testing and implementation. The sensor small size and configuration allows flexible sensor placement and embedding of multiple sensor arrays into a variety of components within power systems and other aerospace or industrial settings that need to be interrogated wirelessly. The SAW platform is an attractive option for high-temperature harsh-environment gas sensing applications due to its inherent features, namely small size, capability of battery-free and wireless operation, and cost effective scale production using well-established production techniques from the semiconductor industry. The research findings achieved in this work, particularly advances regarding the fabrication and performance of the SAWR gas sensor platform, can be adapted and transferred to industrial power plants and other harsh environments.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of Optical Fiber-Based Sensors for Nuclear Microreactor Structural Health Monitoring

This report provides an experimental assessment of two different optical fiber–based acoustic sensors that are being investigated for application in nuclear microreactors to enhance structural health monitoring capabilities. Optical fibers are resilient in high-temperature and high-radiation environments, have a small sensor footprint, are immune to electromagnetic interference, and are capable of spatially distributed sensing. The two sensors investigated here are (1) Fabry–Pérot Cavities (FPCs) between two copper-coated fibers, embedded in nickel capillary tubes and (2) type-I fiber Bragg grating (FBG) arrays contained within metal capillary tubes. These sensors can be interrogated using low-coherence interferometry or swept wavelength interferometry, respectively, to measure the resonant frequencies of the components or systems to which these sensors are bonded. The FPC developed herein has been subjected to temperatures up to nearly 800°C while tack-welded to a tubular test specimen. Even at the highest temperatures, the measured resonant frequencies compared well with those obtained using an accelerometer that was bonded to an unheated portion of the specimen. The FBG array was tested in multiple bonding configurations to a tubular test specimen, all at room temperature, with the understanding that high temperature (i.e., type II) FBGs could be used to obtain similar data at high temperatures; the FBG array data were validated with noncontact laser vibrometry, which is being used at Los Alamos National Laboratory to relate acoustic signatures to component stresses and/or structural defects. The goal of this work is to identify the most promising techniques that are also compatible with operation in a microreactor environment.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Building the Eyes of Discovery

My presentation focuses on the development and enhancement of sensor modules that help particle detectors “see” particles invisible to the human eye, specifically the Compact Muon Shield detector, which is part of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. As a CCI intern at Fermilab’s Silicon Detector Facility, I worked on testing and visual inspection of different module parts before assembly and on testing the modules after assembly. My talk highlights how small sensors carry the capability to collect tiny particle signals within the detector and the reliability of control checks pre-assembly for scientists to produce reliable data for future discoveries.

Siddiqui, Hooriya [Fermilab] (ORCID:00090001510973↗
DOE OSTI2023

Particle showers detected on ISS in Timepix pixel detectors

We detect regular particle showers in several compact pixel detectors, distributed over the International Space Station. These showers are caused by high energy galactic cosmic rays, with energies often in the 10 s of TeV or higher. We survey the frequency of these events, their dependence on location on ISS, and their independence of the location of ISS, on its orbit. The Timepix detectors used allow individual particle tracks to be resolved, providing a possibility to perform physical analysis of shower events, which we demonstrate. In terms of radiation dosimetry, these showers indicate certain possible limitations of traditional dosimetric measures, in that (a) the dose measured in small sensor may be less than that received in a larger distribution of matter, such as a human and (b) the spatial and temporal extent of these events represents a regime of poorly documented biological response.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mercury Detection Utilizing an Aquatic Animal as a Remote-Sensing Platform

Mercury species in open water, especially the accumulated methylmercury ion, pose a threat to fish and environment. Therefore, it is important to develop a small sensor package that can be integrated into a biotelemetry sensor carried by an aquatic animal, enhancing the ability to detect mercury contamination in large water areas. A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor using metal-organic framework (MOF) as sensing material was developed to detect mercury and methylmercury ions in real time based on acoustic wave perturbation. Thiol groups were introduced into the MOF UiO-66 through the organic linker to prepare the UiO-66-SH which was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy results. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted for the Hg 2+ , CH 3 Hg + , and Ca 2+ ions adsorption in the UiO-66-SH. The adsorption capacities of the mercury ions were more than an order of magnitude higher than those of the competing Ca 2+ ions at the same concentration. The frequency changes of the QCM sensor with the UiO-66-SH sensing film were an order of magnitude higher than those of the controlled baseline QCM sensor without a sensing film. Additionally, the frequency change can be tailored by adjusting the thickness of the MOF film and the adsorption properties of the sensing material. The sensor frequency change correlates well with ion adsorption capacities.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Market Survey of Airborne Small Unmanned Aircraft System Sensors February 2020

Sensors continue to decrease in size and power. This report presents results of a market survey conducted in February 2020 for commercial off-the-self sensors with optimal size, weight, and power to be carried onboard a small unmanned aircraft system. For this report, Sandia National Laboratories considered sensors that can detect an object in three dimensions. The sensors that were researched are broken into three categories: radio detection and ranging sensors, stereo camera sensors, and light detection and ranging sensors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Let’s Get Real: Are Wearable Plant Sensors Ready for Crop Monitoring?

In recent years, the number of publications describing new and exciting developments in wearable plant sensors (WPSs) has skyrocketed. These small, lightweight sensors hold promise to assist precision agriculture and may thus help reduce crop losses, increase resource use efficiency, and automate crop production. However, WPSs are often not adequately tested in environments relevant for crop growth, and the majority of experimental WPS studies reveal a glaring lack of basic knowledge of plant biology. This review aims to bridge the communication gap between WPS developers and the wider plant research community by (1) providing essential physiological and environmental background information for engineers in relation to WPS sensing capabilities, (2) offering a step-by-step guide to conduct sensor tests on plants correctly, and (3) highlighting potential challenges and suggesting WPS applications in the open field, greenhouses, and vertical farming systems. We hope this review facilitates the development of WPSs and guides them to be truly “ready for the world”.

crop monitoring↗
DOE OSTI2021

Testing of Instrumentation and Control Sensors and Cables for Small Modular Reactors

As advanced reactor concepts like small modular reactors (SMRs) progress towards design maturity and commercial deployment, it is important to assess their instrumentation and control (I&C) system sensors and cables to assure their safe, reliable, and efficient operation throughout their service lifetimes. The I&C system of any nuclear power plant (NPP) is the central nervous system of the plant and is made up of field devices such as sensors which are connected via cables to analog and/or digital systems. These systems are responsible for control and/or protection of the plant. The performance of I&C sensors and cables is dependent on several factors, including plant operating conditions. In particular, the plant operation can affect the static (accuracy) and dynamic (response) performance of the sensor, whereas the surrounding ambient environment can impact the remaining useful life of the cables, connectors, and other associated components within I&C sensor circuits.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Testing of an Optical Fiber--Based Gamma Thermometer in the High Flux Isotope Reactor Gamma Irradiation Facility

This report describes the design, thermal modeling, and gamma irradiation testing of an optical fiber–based gamma thermometer (OFBGT), which was irradiated in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF). OFBGTs are a promising technology for application in nuclear reactors because they can provide a distributed measurement of gamma ray heating rate, unlike thermocouple-based gamma thermometers, which are fixed in-core sensors that can be used in boiling water reactors to calibrate local power range monitors. OFBGTs measure gamma ray heating rate by measuring the temperature difference between a pair of optical fibers; one fiber is in thermal contact with a heat sink (usually the reactor coolant), and the other is in thermal contact with a thermally isolated mass. The device can be calibrated with a heating wire within the thermal mass. The OFBGT that was designed and fabricated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory can measure distributed gamma ray heating rate over an effective measurement length of 61 cm, and the outer diameter of the sensor is 12.7 mm, giving the prototypical sensor design a relatively small footprint. The sensor housing is backfilled with Ar to ensure a well-predicted thermal response that is not affected by humidity or chemical interactions during operation. For calibration, the sensor design uses a Ni–Cr wire, which can be supplied with currents from 0 to 1 A to capture the wide range of potential gamma ray heating rates expected in HFIR’s spent fuel elements. The OFBGT was thermally modeled analytically and numerically; both models account for temperature-dependent thermal conductivities of the materials and show good agreement. The thermal response of the sensor inside spent HFIR fuel elements was simulated for times up to 1 year after discharge of the fuel element. Out-of-pile open-air tests indicated that the steady-state response of the sensor matches modeled results within experimental uncertainty. Calibration tests were performed using electrical heating in the HFIR spent fuel pool, above the fuel elements, to establish a relationship between the difference in spectral shift measured by optical fibers located inside and outside the OFBGT and the applied electrical heating. Subsequently, the OFBGT was placed within the the spent fuel element from HFIR cycle 501 to measure the spatial profile of the gamma heating rates. Results showed good agreement between the theoretical and measured gamma dose rate profiles, with maximum deviations of ~10% or less.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Retractable Sensors for In-Core Service in Material Test Reactors

Material Test Reactors (MTRs) such as the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are used to irradiate nuclear fuels and materials to evaluate their performance after high levels of exposure to a reactor in-core environment. The most critical tests are equipped with instrumentation leads, which allow real-time data collection. However, because of the very harsh environment inside high-power MTR experiments, there are very few sensors that can survive and maintain their calibrated readings for the time periods required to obtain the high neutron doses needed for new fuels and materials qualification. As a result, sometimes sponsoring programs are forced to accept low reliability of sensors, collecting useful data for only part of the experiment duration. The work described herein is based on the observation that MTRs normally run at constant power and the corresponding conditions within reactor experiments typically evolve relatively slowly. Therefore, even one or two measurements per day would provide a complete and representative data set. With this in mind, INL has embarked on a program to develop a mechanism capable of pushing a very small-diameter sensor (typically a thermocouple or optical fiber) into the location to be measured, leave the sensor for roughly 60 seconds to allow it to reach equilibrium and transmit the signal, then pull it up and away from the high neutron flux and high-temperature region. Small-diameter capillary tubes, up to 8 m long, are used to guide the sensors to the appropriate locations. These capillary tubes serve as essentially very deep, thin-walled thermowells. The distance a thermocouple or optical fiber would need to traverse is on the order of 40 – 80 cm. By adopting this infrequent cycling strategy, the thermocouple or optical fiber would spend only a few hours in the high-neutron flux/high-temperature environment over the duration of even the longest irradiation experiment. To date, INL has developed two styles of drive mechanisms. The first is based on counter-rotating wheels which drive the sensors in a manner similar to a small MIG welder. This has the advantage of being able to accommodate a very long insertion length. The second is based on a ball screw drive and has the advantages of positive attachment and being able to move more than one sensor at a time. Both drive mechanisms have been fabricated and tested in a laboratory setting. Both systems can handle hard mineral insulated cable (such as thermocouples) or optical fibers encased in small diameter tube. The sizes tested to date are 1 – 1.6 mm diameter. Work in this area is ongoing with an eye toward demonstration in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MITR reactor, followed by deployment in an ATR irradiation experiment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Retractable Sensors for In-Core Use in Material Test Reactors - conf paper

Material Test Reactors (MTRs) such as the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are used to irradiate nuclear fuels and materials to evaluate their performance after high levels of exposure to a reactor in-core environment. The most critical tests are equipped with instrumentation leads, which allow real-time data collection. However, because of the very harsh environment inside high-power MTR experiments, there are very few sensors that can survive and maintain their calibrated readings for the time periods required to obtain the high neutron doses needed for new fuels and materials qualification. As a result, sometimes sponsoring programs are forced to accept low reliability of sensors, collecting useful data for only part of the experiment duration. The work described herein is based on the observation that MTRs normally run at constant power and the corresponding conditions within reactor experiments typically evolve relatively slowly. Therefore, even one or two measurements per day would provide a complete and representative data set. With this in mind, INL has embarked on a program to develop a mechanism capable of pushing a very small-diameter sensor (typically a thermocouple or optical fiber) into the location to be measured, leave the sensor for roughly 60 seconds to allow it to reach equilibrium and transmit the signal, then pull it up and away from the high neutron flux and high-temperature region. Small-diameter capillary tubes, up to 8 m long, are used to guide the sensors to the appropriate locations. These capillary tubes serve as essentially very deep, thin-walled thermowells. The distance a thermocouple or optical fiber would need to traverse is on the order of 40 - 80 cm. By adopting this infrequent cycling strategy, the thermocouple or optical fiber would spend only a few hours in the high-neutron flux/high-temperature environment over the duration of even the longest irradiation experiment. To date, INL has developed two styles of drive mechanisms. The first is based on friction drive wheels which drive the sensors in a manner similar to a small MIG welder. This has the advantage of being able to accommodate a very long insertion length. The second is based on a ball screw drive and has the advantages of positive attachment and being able to move more than one sensor at a time. Both drive mechanisms have been fabricated and tested in a laboratory setting. Both systems can handle hard mineral insulated cable (such as thermocouples) or optical fibers encased in small diameter tube. The sizes tested to date are 1 - 1.6 mm diameter. Work in this area is ongoing with an eye toward demonstration in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's MITR reactor, followed by deployment in an ATR irradiation experiment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Retractable Sensors for In-Core Service in Material Test Reactors

Material Test Reactors (MTRs) such as the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are used to irradiate nuclear fuels and materials to evaluate their performance after high levels of exposure to a reactor in-core environment. The most critical tests are equipped with instrumentation leads, which allow real-time data collection. However, because of the very harsh environment inside high-power MTR experiments, there are very few sensors that can survive and maintain their calibrated readings for the time periods required to obtain the high neutron doses needed for new fuels and materials qualification. As a result, sometimes sponsoring programs are forced to accept low reliability of sensors, collecting useful data for only part of the experiment duration. The work described herein is based on the observation that MTRs normally run at constant power and the corresponding conditions within reactor experiments typically evolve relatively slowly. Therefore, even one or two measurements per day would provide a complete and representative data set. With this in mind, INL has embarked on a program to develop a mechanism capable of pushing a very small-diameter sensor (typically a thermocouple or optical fiber) into the location to be measured, leave the sensor for roughly 60 seconds to allow it to reach equilibrium and transmit the signal, then pull it up and away from the high neutron flux and high-temperature region. Small-diameter capillary tubes, up to 8 m long, are used to guide the sensors to the appropriate locations. These capillary tubes serve as essentially very deep, thin-walled thermowells. The distance a thermocouple or optical fiber would need to traverse is on the order of 40 - 80 cm. By adopting this infrequent cycling strategy, the thermocouple or optical fiber would spend only a few hours in the high-neutron flux/high-temperature environment over the duration of even the longest irradiation experiment. To date, INL has developed two styles of drive mechanisms. The first is based on counter-rotating wheels which drive the sensors in a manner similar to a small MIG welder. This has the advantage of being able to accommodate a very long insertion length. The second is based on a ball screw drive and has the advantages of positive attachment and being able to move more than one sensor at a time. Both drive mechanisms have been fabricated and tested in a laboratory setting. Both systems can handle hard mineral insulated cable (such as thermocouples) or optical fibers encased in small diameter tube. The sizes tested to date are 1 - 1.6 mm diameter. Work in this area is ongoing with an eye toward demonstration in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's MITR reactor, followed by deployment in an ATR irradiation experiment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Flex-PCB Quench Antenna Developments at FNAL

We report flexible printed-circuit-board-based quench antenna arrays have been developed at FNAL since 2017. They proved to be low-noise, low-cost, sensitive, and non-invasive sensors for quench characterization in superconducting magnets, having the potential to extend even to quench detection. Starting with applications of small area sensors of this type, we have explored feasibility for operations at high pressure, and have invested in multi-channel quench antenna arrays covering the complete area of the innermost magnet layer of the conductor. We've also tested and optimized sensor geometry and relative orientations to increase sensitivity and spatial resolution. Beyond developments of warm and cold bore antennas, we've progressed to concepts which attach quench antennas to the conductor surfaces of accelerator magnets. Multiple programs and projects at FNAL and collaborating institutions benefited from this work already and our plans target further extensions of capabilities and applicability of these devices. In this paper we present the logic behind the development steps taken so far, status of our work and direction of near-term research on quench antennas at Fermilab.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗