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3D printed “Frankenstein design” collimator show the “scars” where the individual parts are joined

Scientists at ORNL have developed 3D-printed collimator techniques that can be used to custom design collimators that better filter out noise during different types of neutron scattering experiments

Images showing distortion caused by residual stress in the horizontal and vertical axes of material. ORNL researchers found that simply adding material in critical regions mitigates the accumulation of stress. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL scientists have determined how to avoid costly and potentially irreparable damage to large metallic parts fabricated through additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, that is caused by residual stress in the material. 

Astrophysicists at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and University of California, Berkeley created 3D simulations of X-ray bursts on the surfaces of neutron stars. Two views of these X-ray bursts are shown: the left column is viewed from above while the right column shows it from a shallow angle above the surface.

Astrophysicists at the State University of New York, Stony Brook and University of California, Berkeley, used the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility’s Summit supercomputer to compare models of X-ray bursts in 2D and 3D. 

Prasad Kandula builds a medium-voltage solid state circuit breaker as part of ORNL’s project to develop medium-voltage power electronics in GRID-C. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at ORNL are looking for a happy medium to enable the grid of the future, filling a gap between high and low voltages for power electronics technology that underpins the modern U.S. electric grid.

2023 Top Science Achievements at SNS & HFIR

The 2023 top science achievements from HFIR and SNS feature a broad range of materials research published in high impact journals such as Nature and Advanced Materials.

Wire arc additive manufacturing allowed this robot arm at ORNL to transform metal wire into a complete steam turbine blade like those used in power plants. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at ORNL became the first to 3D-print large rotating steam turbine blades for generating energy in power plants.

Sangkeun “Matt” Lee received the Best Poster Award at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 24th International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration.

Lee's paper at the August conference in Bellevue, Washington, combined weather and power outage data for three states – Texas, Michigan and Hawaii –  and used a machine learning model to predict how extreme weather such as thunderstorms, floods and tornadoes would affect local power grids and to estimate the risk for outages. The paper relied on data from the National Weather Service and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environment for Analysis of Geo-Located Energy Information, or EAGLE-I, database.

A small droplet of water is suspended in midair via an electrostatic levitator that lifts charged particles using an electric field that counteracts gravity. Credit: Iowa State University/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

How do you get water to float in midair? With a WAND2, of course. But it’s hardly magic. In fact, it’s a scientific device used by scientists to study matter.

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In response to a renewed international interest in molten salt reactors, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a novel technique to visualize molten salt intrusion in graphite.

The sun sets behind the ORNL Visitor Center in this aerial photo from April 2023. Credit: Kase Clapp/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

In fiscal year 2023 — Oct. 1–Sept. 30, 2023 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory was awarded more than $8 million in technology maturation funding through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund, or TCF.