Sandia LabNews

W80-4 Life Extension Program achieves major milestone

The W80-4 Life Extension Program achieved a major milestone last month when the joint DOE and Department of Defense Nuclear Weapons Council approved the program to enter Phase 6.3, development engineering. The approval follows multiple briefings by the W80-4 leadership team to program stakeholders at NNSA headquarters and the Pentagon.

Process modernization

Modernizing the nuclear deterrent also means modernizing the weapon development process. To this end, Sandia and the Kansas City National Security Campus have established the New Product Introduction initiative. By integrating lessons learned from past weapons programs and industry best practices into the existing process, NPI can help enhance the security, reliability and performance of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.

CALLING GAMERS: Future nuclear security experts train with Sandia-designed game

The next generation of nuclear security experts is being trained in an exciting new way — by playing a first-of-its-kind war game Sandia helped design. The game, Signal, which goes online this spring after its launch as a board game last year, offers players a chance to make strategic decisions using modern political, economic and military tools.

Extreme fast-charging batteries

A key roadblock to widespread use of long-range electric vehicles — the longer time needed for a complete recharge compared to a gas station fill-up — may soon be overcome, thanks to DOE support for extreme fast-charging battery research. Fueled by a $1.5 million award from DOE’s Vehicle Technology Office, Sandia and the University of Michigan have teamed up to develop engineered battery materials that can be charged in less than 10 minutes.

Sandia spiking tool improves artificially intelligent devices

Whetstone, a software tool that sharpens the output of artificial neurons, has enabled neural computer networks to process information up to a hundred times more efficiently than the current industry standard. The software, created by Sandia neuroscientists, greatly reduces the amount of circuitry needed to perform autonomous tasks and is expected to increase the penetration of artificial intelligence into numerous markets.

Power to spare: New Battery Test Facility boosts work of power sources team, with big benefits for customers

When Sandia tests the performance of high-capacity energy storage devices, the power sources group frequently would hit obstacles that reduced efficiencies and stretched out schedules. Those obstacles have now been removed with the construction of a 7,500 square-foot Battery Test Facility that enables the team to assemble and test batteries more efficiently for customers to validate whether they perform up to expectations.