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Martin, James E.

Publications and source records attributed to Martin, James E..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Development of local-power-free, remote α -particle detection using optical fibers

We demonstrate the application of fluorescence optical fiber coupled to a telecom grade fiber as a sensor for alpha particles using alpha-specific ZnS(Ag) scintillation materials whose wavelength is down-shifted into a low-loss region of the telecom grade fiber transmission band. Telecom-grade fiber optics offer a solution for sensing alpha radiation in deep repositories and cask storage for radioactive materials due to the stability of SiO 2 under normal environmental conditions and its relative radiation hardness at low radiation doses. Long-term nuclear waste storage facilities require sensors for the detection of leakage of radioactive materials that are maintenance-free, do not require power and can survive with no ‘wear out’ mechanisms for decades. By accomplishing the wavelength transformation, we maximize efficiencies in the detection of α-particles and signal transport and can detect alpha scintillation at distances on the order of >1 km with a sensor that is ~3% efficient and can be easily scaled as a sensor array. This paper describes the construction and testing of the sensor including manufacture of the controlled thickness films, verification of the wavelength shift from 450 to 620 nm and optimization of the sensitivity as a function of thickness. We also model the relative sensitivity of the film as a function of film thickness, and we demonstrate a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 at a range of greater than 1 km.

alpha particles↗
DOE OSTI2023

Orthogonal luminescence lifetime encoding by intermetallic energy transfer in heterometallic rare-earth MOFs

Lifetime-encoded materials are particularly attractive as optical tags, however examples are rare and hindered in practical application by complex interrogation methods. Here, we demonstrate a design strategy towards multiplexed, lifetime-encoded tags via engineering intermetallic energy transfer in a family of heterometallic rare-earth metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The MOFs are derived from a combination of a high-energy donor (Eu), a low-energy acceptor (Yb) and an optically inactive ion (Gd) with the 1,2,4,5 tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) benzene (TCPB) organic linker. Precise manipulation of the luminescence decay dynamics over a wide microsecond regime is achieved via control over metal distribution in these systems. Demonstration of this platform’s relevance as a tag is attained via a dynamic double encoding method that uses the braille alphabet, and by incorporation into photocurable inks patterned on glass and interrogated via digital high-speed imaging. This study reveals true orthogonality in encoding using independently variable lifetime and composition, and highlights the utility of this design strategy, combining facile synthesis and interrogation with complex optical properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Assessing the Vulnerability of Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Directed Acoustic Energy

The increasingly large payloads of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) are exponentially increasing the threat to the nuclear enterprise. Current mitigation using RF interference is effective, but not feasible for fully autonomous systems and is prohibited in many areas. A new approach to UAS threat mitigation is needed that does not create radio interference but is effective against any type of vehicle. At the present time there is no commercial counter-UAS system that directly assaults the mems gyros and accelerometers in the Inertial Measurement Unit on the aircraft. But lab testing has revealed resonances in some IMUs that make them susceptible to moderate amplitude acoustic monotones. Sandia's energetic materials facility has enabled a quick and thorough exploration of UAS vulnerability to directed acoustic energy by using intense acoustic impulses to destabilize or down a UAS. We have: 1) detonated/deflagrated explosive charges of various sizes; 2) accurately measured impulse pressure and pulse duration; 3) determined what magnitude of acoustic insult to the IMU disrupts flight and for how long and; 4) determined if the air blast/shock wave on aircraft/propellers disrupts flight.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Multifunctional composite coatings for metal whisker mitigation

The present invention relates to composite coatings including particles embedded in a matrix, as well as methods and uses thereof. In some examples, the particles are aligned to enhance mitigation of whisker formation from an underlying metal material. Such coatings can be applied to electrical components, thereby reducing the possibility of electrical short circuits from aberrant whisker growth.

Rohwer, Lauren E. S.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Method for multi-axis, non-contact mixing of magnetic particle suspensions

Continuous, three-dimensional control of the vorticity vector is possible by progressively transitioning the field symmetry by applying or removing a dc bias along one of the principal axes of mutually orthogonal alternating fields. By exploiting this transition, the vorticity vector can be oriented in a wide range of directions that comprise all three spatial dimensions. Detuning one or more field components to create phase modulation causes the vorticity vector to trace out complex orbits of a wide variety, creating very robust multiaxial stirring. This multiaxial, non-contact stirring is particularly attractive for applications where the fluid volume has complex boundaries, or is congested.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Chevrons, filaments, spinning clusters and phase coexistence: emergent dynamics of 2- and 3-d particle suspensions driven by multiaxial magnetic fields

In recent years a rich variety of emergent phenomena have been observed when suspensions of magnetic particles are subjected to alternating magnetic fields. These particle assemblies often exhibit vigorous dynamics due to the injection of energy from the field. These include surface and interface phenomena, such as highly organized, segmented “snakes” that can be induced to swim by structural symmetry breaking, and “asters” and “anti-asters,” particle assemblies that can be manipulated to capture and transport cargo. In bulk suspensions of magnetic platelets subjected to multiaxial alternating fields, advection lattices and even vortex lattices have been created, and a variety of biomimetic dynamics – serpents, bees and amoebas – have been discovered in magnetic fluids suspended in an immiscible liquid. In this paper several new driven phases are presented, including flying chevrons, dense spinning clusters, filaments, and examples of phase coexistence in driven phases. These observations broaden the growing field of driven magnetic suspensions and present new challenges to those interested in simulating the dynamics of these complex systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Magnetic method for stimulating transport in fluids

A method for producing mass and heat transport in fluids, wherein the method does not rely on conventional convection, that is, it does not require gravity, a thermal gradient, or a magnetic field gradient. This method gives rise to a unique class of vigorous, field-controllable flow patterns termed advection lattices. The advection lattices can be used to transport heat and/or mass in any desired direction using only magnetic fields.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

On the origin of vorticity in magnetic particle suspensions subjected to triaxial fields

We have recently reported that two classes of time-dependent triaxial magnetic fields can induce vorticity in magnetic particle suspensions. The first class – symmetry-breaking fields – is comprised of two ac components and one dc component. The second class – rational triad fields – is comprised of three ac components. In both cases deterministic vorticity occurs when the ratios of the field frequencies form rational numbers. A strange aspect of these fields is that they produce fluid vorticity without generally having a circulating field vector, such as would occur in a rotating field. It has been shown, however, that the symmetry of the field trajectory, considered jointly with that of the converse field, allows vorticity to occur around one particular field axis. This axis might be any of the field components, and is determined by the relative frequencies of the field components. However, the symmetry theories give absolutely no insight into why vorticity should occur. In this paper we propose a particle-based model of vorticity in these driven fluids. This model proposes that particles form volatile chains that follow, but lag behind, the dynamic field vector. Furthermore, this model is consistent with the predictions of symmetry theory and gives reasonable agreement with previously reported torque density measurements for a variety of triaxial fields.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Elastic magnetic composites for energy storage flywheels

The bearings used in energy storage flywheels dissipate a significant amount of energy and can fail catastrophically. Magnetic bearings would both reduce energy dissipation and increase flywheel reliability. The component of magnetic bearing that creates lift is a magnetically soft material embedded into a rebate cut into top of the inner annulus of the flywheel. Because the flywheels stretch about 1% as they spin up, this magnetic material must also stretch and be more compliant than the flywheel itself, so it does not part from the flywheel during spin up. At the same time, the material needs to be sufficiently stiff that it does not significantly deform in the rebate and must have a sufficiently large magnetic permeability and saturation magnetization to provide the required lift. It must also have high electrical resistivity to prevent heating due to eddy currents. In this paper we investigate whether adequately magnetic, mechanically stiff composites that have the tensile elasticity, high electrical resistivity, permeability and saturation magnetism required for flywheel lift magnet applications can be fabricated. Lastly, we find the best composites are those comprised of bidisperse Fe particles in the resin G/Flex 650. The primary limiting factor of such materials is the fatigue resistance to tensile strain.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Creating orbiting vorticity vectors in magnetic particle suspensions through field symmetry transitions–a route to multi-axis mixing

It has recently been reported that two types of triaxial electric or magnetic fields can drive vorticity in dielectric or magnetic particle suspensions, respectively. The first type-symmetry -- breaking rational fields -- consists of three mutually orthogonal fields, two alternating and one dc, and the second type -- rational triads -- consists of three mutually orthogonal alternating fields. In each case it can be shown through experiment and theory that the fluid vorticity vector is parallel to one of the three field components. For any given set of field frequencies this axis is invariant, but the sign and magnitude of the vorticity (at constant field strength) can be controlled by the phase angles of the alternating components and, at least for some symmetry-breaking rational fields, the direction of the dc field. In short, the locus of possible vorticity vectors is a 1-d set that is symmetric about zero and is along a field direction. In this paper we show that continuous, 3-d control of the vorticity vector is possible by progressively transitioning the field symmetry by applying a dc bias along one of the principal axes. Such biased rational triads are a combination of symmetry-breaking rational fields and rational triads. A surprising aspect of these transitions is that the locus of possible vorticity vectors for any given field bias is extremely complex, encompassing all three spatial dimensions. As a result, the evolution of a vorticity vector as the dc bias is increased is complex, with large components occurring along unexpected directions. More remarkable are the elaborate vorticity vector orbits that occur when one or more of the field frequencies are detuned. As a result, these orbits provide the basis for highly effective mixing strategies wherein the vorticity axis periodically explores a range of orientations and magnitudes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Platelet composite coatings for tin whisker mitigation

In this study, reliable methods for tin whisker mitigation are needed for applications that utilize tin-plated commercial components. Tin can grow whiskers that can lead to electrical shorting, possibly causing critical systems to fail catastrophically. The mechanisms of tin whisker growth are unclear and this makes prediction of the lifetimes of critical components uncertain. The development of robust methods for tin whisker mitigation is currently the best approach to eliminating the risk of shorting. Current mitigation methods are based on unfilled polymer coatings that are not impenetrable to tin whiskers. In this paper we report tin whisker mitigation results for several filled polymer coatings. The whisker-penetration resistance of the coatings was evaluated at elevated temperature and high humidity and under temperature cycling conditions. The composite coatings comprised Ni and MgF 2 -coated Al/Ni/Al platelets in epoxy resin or silicone rubber. In addition to improved whisker mitigation, these platelet composites have enhanced thermal conductivity and dielectric constant compared with unfilled polymers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Science-based design of stable quantum dots for energy-efficient lighting

II-VI quantum dots, such as CdSe and CdTe, are attractive as downconversion materials for solid-state lighting, because of their narrow linewidth, tunable emission. However, for these materials to have acceptable quantum yields (QYs) requires that they be coated with a II-VI shell material whose valence band offset serves to confine the hole to the core. Confinement prevents the hole from accessing surface traps that lead to nonradiative decay of the exciton. Examples of such hole-confined core/shell QDs include CdTe/CdSe and CdSe/CdS. Unfortunately, the shell can also cause problems due to lattice mismatch, which ranges from 4-6% for systems of interest. This lattice mismatch can create significant interface energies at the heterojunction and places the core under radial compression and the shell under tangential tension. At elevated temperatures (~240°C) interfacial diffusion can relax these stresses, as can surface reconstruction, which can expose the core, creating hole traps. But such high temperatures favor the hexagonal Wurtzite structure, which has lower QY than the cubic zinc blende structure, which can be synthesized at lower temperatures, ~140°C. In the absence of alloying the core/shell structure can become metastable, or even unstable, if the shell is too thick. This can cause result in an irregular shell or even island growth. But if the shell is too thin thermallyactivated transport of the hole to surface traps can occur. In our LDRD we have developed a fundamental atomistic modeling capability, based on Stillinger-Weber and Bond-Order potentials we developed for the entire II-VI class. These pseudo-potentials have enabled us to conduct large-scale atomistic simulations that have led to the computation of phase diagrams of II-VI QDs. These phase diagrams demonstrate that at elevated temperatures the zinc blende phase of CdTe with CdSe grown on it epitaxially becomes thermodynamically unstable due to alloying. This is accompanied by a loss of hole confinement and a severe drop in the QY and emission lifetime, which is confirmed experimentally for the zinc blende core/shell QDs prepared at low temperatures. These QDs have QYs as high as 95%, which makes them very attractive for lighting. Finally, to address strain relaxation in these materials we developed a model for misfit dislocation formation that we have validated through atomistic simulations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2015

Quantifying vorticity in magnetic particle suspensions driven by symmetric and asymmetric multiaxial fields.

We recently reported two methods of inducing vigorous fluid vorticity in magnetic particle suspensions. The first method employs symmetry-breaking rational fields. These fields are comprised of two orthogonal ac components whose frequencies form a rational number and an orthogonal dc field that breaks the symmetry of the biaxial ac field to create the parity required to induce deterministic vorticity. The second method is based on rational triads, which are fields comprised of three orthogonal ac components whose frequency ratios are rational (e.g., 1 : 2 : 3). For each method a symmetry theory has been developed that enables the prediction of the direction and sign of vorticity as functions of the field frequencies and phases. However, this theory has its limitations. It only applies to those particular phase angles that give rise to fields whose Lissajous plots, or principal 2-d projections thereof, have a high degree of symmetry. Nor can symmetry theory provide a measure of the magnitude of the torque density induced by the field. In this paper a functional of the multiaxial magnetic field is proposed that not only is consistent with all of the predictions of the symmetry theories, but also quantifies the torque density. This functional can be applied to fields whose Lissajous plots lack symmetry and can thus be used to predict a variety of effects and trends that cannot be predicted from the symmetry theories. These trends include the dependence of the magnitude of the torque density on the various frequency ratios, the unexpected reversal of flow with increasing dc field amplitude for certain symmetry-breaking fields, and the existence of off-axis vorticity for rational triads, such as 1 : 3 : 5, that do not have the symmetry required to analyze by symmetry theory. As a result, experimental data are given that show the degree to which this functional is successful in predicting observed trends.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Can symmetry transitions of complex fields enable 3-d control of fluid vorticity?

Methods of inducing vigorous noncontact fluid flow are important to technologies involving heat and mass transfer and fluid mixing, since they eliminate the need for moving parts, pipes and seals, all of which compromise system reliability. Unfortunately, traditional noncontact flow methods are few, and have limitations of their own. We have discovered two classes of fields that can induce fluid vorticity without requiring either gravity or a thermal gradient. The first class we call Symmetry-Breaking Rational Fields. These are triaxial fields comprised of three orthogonal components, two ac and one dc. The second class is Rational Triad Fields, which differ in that all three components are alternating. In this report we quantify the induced vorticity for a wide variety of fields and consider symmetry transitions between these field types. These transitions give rise to orbiting vorticity vectors, a technology for non-contact, non-stationary fluid mixing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Driven assembly with multiaxial fields: Creating a soft mode in assemblies of anisometric induced dipoles

We show that multiaxial fields can induce time-averaged, noncentrosymmetric interactions between particles having polarization anisotropy, yet the multiaxial field itself does not exert either a force or a torque on an isolated particle. These induced interactions lead to particle assemblies whose energy is strongly dependent on both the translational and orientational degrees of freedom of the system. The situation is similar to a collection of permanent dipoles, but the symmetry of the time-averaged interaction is quite distinct, and the scale of the system energy can be dynamically controlled by the magnitude of the applied multiaxial field. In our paper, the case of polarizable rods is considered in detail, and it is suggested that collections of rods embedded in spheres can be used to create a material with a dynamically tunable magnetic permeability or dielectric permittivity. We report on Monte Carlo simulations performed to investigate the behavior of assemblies of both multiaxial-field induced dipoles and permanent dipoles arranged onto two-dimensional lattices. Lastly, the ground state of the induced dipoles is an orientational soft mode of aligned dipoles, whereas that of the permanent dipoles is a vortex state.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗