Award Data

Neutron scattering is one of the most useful methods of studying the structure and dynamics of matter. Therefore, a number of new large neutron facilities have recently being constructed, upgraded or planned around the world. Examples include the new, 1.4 billion-dollars Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at DoE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and upgrades of ORNL’s High-Flux Isotope React ...

Realizing solid state lighting systems with high efficiency and enhanced functionality will require the adoption of color-mixing (cm-LEDs) architectures combining highly efficient red, green, blue and amber light emitting diodes. Already, the hybrid architectures (hy-LEDs) pair phosphor-converted wide bandgap nitride LEDs with (AlxGa1-x)0.51In0.49P red LEDs to improve the emission spect ...

Existing research and commercial software that apply the Finite Element Method to solve the equations of classical continuum mechanics have received widespread acceptance for structural analysis of traditional macroscale materials. Challenges persist in the modeling of complex phenomena in new advanced materials with heterogeneous structure. Such materials can revolutionize the aerospace and autom ...

Superconducting magnets used for plasma confinement in magnetic fusion energy systems operate at cryogenic temperatures. The support structures used to hold them in place act as a heat leak path from room temperature areas to the superconductors. This results in the need for additional cryogenic refrigeration capacity, which is expensive. High-strength, low thermal conductivity, radiation-tolerant ...

One daunting challenge facing future plasma burning fusion reactors is the extreme conditions that expose plasma-facing components (wall materials) are exposed to. Extreme particle and heat fluxes exceeding 10-20 MW/m2 drive traditional material surfaces out of equilibrium and induce topographical and compositional changes that can have deleterious effects on the plasma edge and, ultimately, the c ...

Cost-effective application of advanced commercial electronics technologies in DoD space systems requires early development of radiation-hardened-by-design (RHBD) techniques, and use of simulations is critical to the efficiency of this process. CFDRC has developed an integrated, mixed-mode simulation approach allowing their NanoTCAD device physics simulator to interface with commercial circuit simu ...

Thermal injuries are common in all modern military conflicts and care given shortly after a severe burn is critical to its treatment and recovery. Triage for burn injuries is primarily separated into superficial burns which will heal naturally, and deep burns which require surgery. In far-forward environments non-expert combat medics must make burn triage decisions without the aid of lab equipment ...

Surgical simulations aiming to support surgeon practices and medical education have attracted enormous research effort over the last two decades. However, the physical reality, especially on simulating aggregated tissue interaction, is still unsatisfactory. In this proposed work, an open source surgery simulation framework, SoFMIS, will be utilized and enhanced with tissue interaction models to a ...

Nuclear fusion is one of humanity’s grand challenges offering a non-fossil fuel, green energy source that is inherently safe and clean. There is a critical knowledge gap in fusion energy development on how the plasma-material interface correlates to plasma performance. Driving this gap is a lack of robust, in-situ and in-process diagnostics that can measure how the composition and structure of p ...

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) uses low efficiency klystrons in the CEBAF machine. In the older portion they operate at 30% efficiency with a tube mean time between failure (MTBF) of five to six years. A highly efficient source (>55-60%) must provide a high degree of backwards compatibility, both in size and voltage requirements, to replace the klystron presently used at JLa ...