Award Data

78953 In the fabrication of powder-in-tube (PIT) Nb3Sn superconductors, needed for high energy physics applications, the particle size distribution limits the final filament size to which the strand can be drawn. In previous work, a virtual impactor (VI) aerosol particle sizing process was developed to process powders with near-zero-defect removal of all particles larger than a desired threshol ...

78000 One way to reduce greenhouse gases is to sequester carbon dioxide. Once sequestered, a bioconversion process can convert carbon dioxide into methane, an environmentally friendly energy source. The process requires an abundance of hydrogen, which is present in the hydrogen-rich coal macerals and paraffin. This project will develop techniques to accelerate the in situ biomethanation of sequ ...

76059S In order to safely remove transuranic waste (TRU) and mixed low-level waste buried in the subsurface disposal areas (SDAs), it is important to anticipate exactly what materials are directly below the surface. This project will develop neutron-based, logging tools that can identify TRU and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the vicinity of probe holes, thereby permitting safer retrieval ...

75604S The U.S. government sponsors and supports various programs to monitor nuclear explosions through seismic, hydroacoustic, and infrasound data collection stations. These stations are typically deployed in remote areas all over the world. However, current remote data acquisition station technology is limited by (1) poor data quality and reliability and (2) high installation, operation, and ...

79564S Silicon carbide (SiC) is being used to break barriers with respect to the design and fabrication of high-temperature, high-power transistors, but capacitors remain the weak link in achieving higher temperature electronics. SiC devices have been demonstrated to operate safely at temperatures up to 400¿C, but at these temperatures, capacitors have been shown to severely degrade. High-tem ...

79811 Coal-fired power plants are a significant part of the nation¿s power generating capacity, currently accounting for more than 55 percent of the country¿s total electricity production. Efficient and profitable operation of coal-fired power plants requires higher steam temperatures, necessitating the use of advanced alloys such as ferritic and austenitic alloys. A major concern in using the ...

78950S Lithium-ion batteries have been selected as the long-term battery solution for electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). However, lithium-ion batteries are sensitive to certain types of abuse, particularly overcharge abuse wherein the normal operating voltage is exceeded during recharge. In the overcharge state, lithium-ion batteries could cause irreversible, exothermic ...

78763S 18F-FDG ([18F]2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose) is widely used for the diagnosis, staging, and monitoring of malignancies using positron emission tomography (PET). However, its accumulation in tissue is not specific to malignancies only, and also is ineffective for detecting cancers with no enhanced glucose utilization. Consequently, there is a great need to develop tumor-selective PET agents. ...

78757S Yttrium-86 is a positron emitter with a 14.7 hour half-life and has proven to be suitable for the assessment of Y-90-pharmaceutical biodistribution with positron emission tomography (PET). Because Y-86 can be produced in a cyclotron by bombardment of a strontium target with ~14 MeV protons, it potentially is readily available. However, its routine production is not optimal because curren ...

79589S In his 2003 State of the Union Address, President Bush announced his initiative to make fuel cell powered automobiles a reality by 2020. This goal would require technology to reduce the cost of the fuel cell power plant. The platinum catalyst is an important target for cost reduction. Automotive fuel cell power plants require up to 17 grams of platinum per vehicle (raw material costs fo ...