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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Non-covalent interactions govern critical physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials. Recent progress in probing how these interactions impact charge transport through molecules is surveyed and discussed in this paper.
The past two decades have witnessed tremendous progress in understanding the properties of neutron stars, their maximum mass and radii, and the properties of the dense matter in their cores, made possible by electromagnetic observations of neutron stars and the detection of gravitational waves from their mergers. These observations have provided novel constraints on neutron-star structure that are intimately related to the properties of dense neutron-rich matter described by the nuclear equation of state. Nevertheless, constraining the equation of state over the wide range of densities probed by astrophysical observations is still challenging, as the physics involved is broad and the system spans many orders of magnitude in density. Here, theoretical approaches to calculate and model the neutron-star equation of state in various regimes of densities are reviewed, and the related consequent properties of neutron stars are discussed. How the equation of state at low densities can be calculated from nuclear interactions that are constrained and benchmarked by nuclear experiments is described. Neutron-star observations, with a particular emphasis on information provided by gravitational-wave signals and electromagnetic observations, are reviewed. Finally, future challenges and opportunities in the field are discussed.
Vegetative transpiration (E) and photosynthetic carbon assimilation (A) are known to be seasonally dynamic, with changes in their ratio determining the marginal water use efficiency (WUE). Despite an understanding that stomata play a mechanistic role in regulating WUE, it is still unclear how stomatal and nonstomatal processes influence change in WUE over the course of the growing season. As a result, limited understanding of the primary physiological drivers of seasonal dynamics of canopy WUE remains one of the largest uncertainties in earth system model projections of carbon and water exchange in temperate deciduous forest ecosystems. Here, we investigated seasonal patterns in leaf-level physiological, hydraulic, and anatomical properties, including the seasonal progress of the stomatal slope parameter (g 1 ; inversely proportional to WUE) and the maximum carboxylation rate (V cmax ). V cmax and g 1 were seasonally variable; however, their patterns were not temporally synchronized. g 1 generally showed an increasing trend until late in the season, while V cmax peaked during the midsummer months. Seasonal progression of V cmax was primarily driven by changes in leaf structural, and anatomical characteristics, while seasonal changes in g 1 were most strongly related to changes in V cmax and leaf hydraulics. Using a seasonally variable V cmax and g 1 to parameterize a canopy-scale gas exchange model increased seasonally aggregated A and E by 3% and 16%, respectively.
Motivated by the experimental progress in controlling the properties of the energy bands in superconductors, significant theoretical efforts have been devoted to study the effect of the quantum geometry and the flatness of the dispersion on the superfluid weight. In conventional superconductors, where the energy bands are wide and the Fermi energy is large, the contribution due to the quantum geometry is negligible, but in the opposite limit of flat-band superconductors the superfluid weight originates purely from the quantum geometry of Bloch wave functions. Here, we study how the energy band dispersion and the quantum geometry affect the disorder-induced suppression of the superfluid weight. In particular, we consider non-magnetic disorder and s-wave superconductivity. Surprisingly, we find that the disorder-dependence of the superfluid weight is universal across a variety of models, and independent of the quantum geometry and the flatness of the dispersion. Our results suggest that a flat-band superconductor is as resilient to disorder as a conventional superconductor.
The research objective of this proposal was to provide a detailed analysis of how solvent and anion structure govern the solvation state of Li+ cations in solvent-LiX mixtures and how this, in turn, dictates the electrolyte physicochemical and electrochemical properties which govern (in part) battery performance. Lithium battery electrolytes remain a poorly understood and hardly studied topic relative to the research devoted to battery electrodes. This is due to the fact that it is the electrodes which determine the energy (capacity) of the battery. The electrolyte, however, plays a crucial role in the practical energy density, power, low and/or high temperature performance, lifetime, safety, etc. which is achievable. The development within this project of a "looking glass" into the molecular interactions (i.e., solution structure) in bulk electrolytes through a synergistic experimental approach involving three research thrusts complements work by other researchers to optimize multi-solvent electrolytes and efforts to understand/control the electrode-electrolyte interfaces, thereby enabling the rational design of electrolytes for a wide variety of battery chemistries and applications (electrolytes-on-demand). The three research thrusts pursued include: (1) conduction of an in-depth analysis of the thermal phase behavior of diverse solvent-LiX mixtures, (2) exploration of the ionic association/solvate formation behavior of select LiX salts with a wide variety of solvents, and (3) linking structure to properties-determination of electrolyte physicochemical and electrochemical properties for comparison with the ionic association and phase behavior.
On-board hydrogen/methane storage in fuel cell-powered vehicles is a major component of the national need to achieve energy independence and protect the environment. The main obstacles in hydrogen storage are slow kinetics, poor reversibility and high dehydrogenation temperatures for the chemical hydrides; and very low desorption temperatures/energies for the physisorption materials (MOF’s, porous carbons). Similarly, the current methane storage technologies are mainly based on physisorption in porous materials but the gravimetric and volumetric storage capacities are below the target values. Finally, carbon capture, a critical component of the mitigation of CO 2 emissions from industrial plants, also suffers from similar problems. The solid-absorbers such as MOFs are either not stable against real flue-gas conditions and/or do not have large enough CO 2 capture capacity to be practical and cost effective. In this project, we addressed these challenges using a unique combination of computational, synthetic and experimental methods. The main scope of our research was to achieve fundamental understanding of the chemical and structural interactions governing the storage and release of hydrogen/methane and carbon capture in a wide spectrum of candidate materials. We studied the effect of scaffolding and doping of the candidate materials on their storage and dynamics properties. We reviewed current progress, challenges and prospect in closely related fields of hydrogen/methane storage and carbon capture. For example, for physisorption based storage materials, we show that tap-densities or simply pressing MOFs into pellet forms reduce the uptake capacities by half and therefore packing MOFs is one of the most important challenges going forward. For room temperature hydrogen storage application of MOFs, we argue that MOFs are the most promising scaffold materials for Ammonia-Borane (AB) because of their unique interior active metal-centers for AB binding and well defined and ordered pores. Here the main challenge is to find a chemically stable MOF required for regeneration of the AB-spent fuel. Finally, for carbon capture application of MOFs, we investigate the performance of a number of metal–organic frameworks with particular focus on their behavior at the low pressures commonly used in swing adsorption. This comparison clearly shows that it is the process that determines which MOF is optimal rather than there being one best MOF, though MOFs that possess enhanced binding at open metal sites generally perform better than those with high surface area.
Photosystem II (PSII) is the only known natural enzyme that uses solar energy to split water, making the elucidation of its design principles critical for our fundamental understanding of photosynthesis and for our ability to mimic PSII’s remarkable properties. This report discusses progress towards addressing key open questions about the PSII RC. It describes new spectroscopic methods that were developed to answer these questions, and summarizes the outcomes of applying these methods to study the PSII RC. Using 2D electronic spectroscopy and 2D electronic Stark spectroscopy, models for the PSII RC were tested and refined. Work is ongoing to use the collected data to elucidate the charge separation mechanism in the PSII RC. Coherent dynamics were also observed in the PSII RC for the first time. Through extensive characterization and modeling we have assigned these coherences as vibronic in nature, and believe that they reflect resonances between key vibrational pigment modes and electronic energy gaps that may facilitate charge separation. Work is ongoing to definitively test the functional relevance of electronic-vibrational resonances.
Predicting the long-term integrity of caprock is essential for determining the viability of carbon sequestration. Accurate prediction requires incorporating knowledge about small-scale, subcritical fracture and how they contribute to developing micro and macro-cracks. Tests such as short rod, notched three-point bending (N3PB), cylinder splitting, double torsion, etc. are used to determine the physical characteristics of material. Unlike other materials such as metals, geomaterials have different moduli in tension than compression. This study compares the effects of separate tension and compression moduli on simulations in Abaqus for the N3PB test. Previous models of N3PB created by Rhinehart et al. and Borowski have struggled to create results that accurately portrayed experimental results. Borowski found that previous models with only one value for Young's modulus improved when two moduli were used though it was difficult to determine regions of tension and compression prior to simulation. This study develops an Abaqus subroutine written in Fortran to dynamically reassign material properties as the simulation progresses and produces simulation results capable of much better replication of experimental data. However, the accuracy of the model heavily depends on accurate determination of the Young's modulus in tension.
BASiC-3C needs advanced characterization of material properties to continue making progress towards high quality 3C-SiC. For over 190 growth runs, BASiC 3C has relied almost exclusively on feedback from commercially available metrology such as cross-sectional FESEM, AFM, Raman, XRD and SIMS. This standard feedback loop has enabled BASiC 3C to "rough-in" growth conditions and achieve growth of epitaxial growth over a 4" wafer size, at respectable growth rates. Still, the material quality deduced from X-ray rocking FWMH and APB density must be further improved to be viable for our industry partners. Electron Spin Resonance (EPR) and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) data and interpretation by an experienced scientist is identified as a critical, yet not commercially readily available feedback that would enable further material improvement.
Zyvex Labs has created several p-n junction devices with a variety of gaps between the boron and phosphorus electrodes, from 0-7.7 nm, which are now being measured. We have developed a different contacting process based on palladium disilicide rather than aluminium to improve the reliability of the device contacts. Preliminary measurements indicate that these new contacts are successfully contacting the buried dopant layers, which are intact after the overgrowth process. Modelling of the p-n junction properties has made good progress, with the model matching previous published data, and modelling of n-p-n junction devices has begun. This now awaits experimental validation.
The present collection of papers deals with advances in several areas of interest in in-situ composites. Major areas discussed include solidification and structural control, physical properties, mechanical behavior, stability, environmental response, and development of new metallic and ceramic systems. New evidence about directional solidification in terms of temperature gradients is presented along with solidification rates for successful formation of in-situ composite structures. Much is learned about the factors that control structure in directionally solidified eutectic alloys and the relationship of properties to structure, especially the change in properties as a function of operating environment. Less progress is achieved in the area of physical properties than in the area of mechanical properties. Individual items are announced in this issue.
One aspect of the study of Titan's atmosphere is the elucidation of the chemical and physical nature of the aerosols. In order to facilitate this, a program to produce laboratory synthesized model materials for Titan's aerosol and to study their chemical and physical properties is now in progress. Various processes, including electric discharge, photolysis by ultraviolet light, and irradiation by energetic particles, will be used to produce the materials. A first set of experiments where a nominal Titan mixture (97%N2, 3% CH4, 0.2% H2) was subjected to pulsed high temperature shocks yielded a reddish brown waxy solid. This material was subjected to pyrolysis/gas chromatography, a technique that has been proposed as a method for analysis of the Titan aerosols. Preliminary results show the material to consist of simple hydrocarbons but little else, at least up to temperatures of 600 C. Since the material was colored, compounds other than those mentioned above must be present.
Ceramic matrix composites (CMC) are suitable for high temperature structural applications such as turbine airfoils and hypersonic thermal protection systems due to their low density high thermal conductivity. The employment of these materials in such applications is limited by the ability to accurately monitor and predict damage evolution. Current nondestructive methods such as ultrasound, x-ray, and thermal imaging are limited in their ability to quantify small scale, transverse, in-plane, matrix cracks developed over long-time creep and fatigue conditions. CMC is a multifunctional material in which the damage is coupled with the material s electrical resistance, providing the possibility of real-time information about the damage state through monitoring of resistance. Here, resistance measurement of SiC/SiC composites under mechanical load at both room temperature monotonic and high temperature creep conditions, coupled with a modal acoustic emission technique, can relate the effects of temperature, strain, matrix cracks, fiber breaks, and oxidation to the change in electrical resistance. A multiscale model can in turn be developed for life prediction of in-service composites, based on electrical resistance methods. Results of tensile mechanical testing of SiC/SiC composites at room and high temperatures will be discussed. Data relating electrical resistivity to composite constituent content, fiber architecture, temperature, matrix crack formation, and oxidation will be explained, along with progress in modeling such properties.
Baseline Graphite Characterization: Purpose of Baseline, Mechanical Baseline Tests, Physical Properties Tests, Methodology, Baseline progress, Density, Ultimate Tensile Strength, PCEA Ultimate Tensile Strength, Split Disc Tests, Compression Tests, Flexural Tests, and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion.
A detailed experimental investigation was performed at a single maximum cyclic stress (sigma max) level to physically characterize the progression of thermomechanical fatigue (lW) damage in continuously reinforced (0 deg) SCS-6/Timetal 21S, a titanium matrix composite. In-phase (IP) and out of-phase (OP) loadings were investigated at sigma max = 1000 MPa with a temperature cycle from 150 to 6500 C. Damage progression, in terms of macroscopic property degradation, was experimentally quantified through an advanced TMF test methodology which incorporates explicit measurements of the isothermal static moduli at the TMF temperature extremes and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) as functions of the TMF cycles. Detailed characterization of the physical damage progression at the microstructural level was performed by interrupting multiple TMF tests at various stages of mechanical property degradation and analyzing the microstructure through extensive destructive metallography. Further, the extent of damage was also quantified through residual static strength measurements. Results indicated that damage initiation occurred very early in cyclic life (N less than 0.1Nf) for both the IP and OP TMF loadings. IP TMF damage was found to be dominated by fiber breakage with a physical damage progression in the microstructure which was difficult to quantify. OP TMF loadings produced matrix cracking exclusively associated with surface initiations. Here, damage progression was easily distinguished in terms of both the number of cracks and their relative inward progressions toward the outer fiber rows with increased cycling. The point at which the leading cracks reached the outer fiber rows (when localized fiber/matrix de-bonding and matrix crack bridging occurred) appeared to be reflected in the macroscopic property degradation curves.
Progress is described in developing, through mathematical expressions, values for the parameters which apparently determine the values of atomic density, melting point, and principal elastic constant for the alkali halides. This necessarily required the review and refinement of these data for the monohalides in general and for LiH. A more sensitive and dimensionless expression of the mass factor appears to have promise and a still more sensitive one is suggested for future study. A periodicity factor based on inert gas core configuration has been suggested to replace the atomic number previously used.
To be used as efficient alpha particle scintillator in the fields of nuclear security, nuclear nonproliferation and high-energy physics, scintillator screens must have high light output and fast decay properties. While there has been a great deal of progress in scintillation efficiency, achieving fast decay time properties are still a challenge. In this work, the near band edge (NBE) UV luminescence and alpha particle induced scintillation properties of vertically aligned densely packed ZnO nanorods (NRs) doped with Al, Ga, and In have been thoroughly investigated. The high crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure with a strong orientation through the c -axis plane (002) and aspect ratios in the range 13–22 have been observed for all ZnO NRs. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis exhibited paramagnetic signals at g ≈ 1.96 for all ZnO NRs. A cost effective green hydrothermal synthesis technique was employed to grow well-aligned NRs. Using citrate as an additive acting as a strong reducing agent in the solution during the crystal growth, defects on the surface are significantly suppressed, thereby enhancing the NBE UV emission. Significantly higher NBE UV emission was observed from the top surface of ZnO NRs in cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy. Results show that citrate assisted donor doping of ZnO NRs not only reduces the defect emission and NBE self-absorption, but also induces fast decay time (~ 600–700 ps), which makes ZnO NRs a good candidate for fast alpha particle scintillator screens used in associated particle imaging for time and direction tagging of individual neutrons generated in D–T and D–D neutron generators.
General circulation models and downscaled regional models exhibit persistent biases in deep convective initiation location and timing, cloud top height, stratiform area and precipitation fraction, and anvil coverage. Despite important impacts on the distribution of atmospheric heating, moistening, and momentum, nearly all climate models fail to represent convective organization, while system evolution is not represented at all. Improving representation of convective systems in models requires characterization of their predictability as a function of environmental conditions, and this characterization depends on observing many cases of convective initiation, non-initiation, organization, and non-organization. The Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) experiment in the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range of north-central Argentina is designed to improve understanding of cloud life cycle and organization in relation to environmental conditions so that cumulus, microphysics, and aerosol parameterizations in multi-scale models can be improved. The Sierras de Córdoba range has a high frequency of orographic boundary-layer clouds, many reaching congestus depths, many initiating into deep convection, and some organizing into mesoscale systems uniquely observable from a single fixed site. Some systems even grow upscale to become among the deepest, largest, and longest-lived in the world. These systems likely contribute to an observed regional trend of increasing extreme rainfall, and poor prediction of them likely contributes to a warm, dry bias in climate models downstream of the Sierras de Córdoba range in a key agricultural region. Many environmental factors influence the convective lifecycle in this region including orographic, low-level jet, and frontal circulations, surface fluxes, synoptic vertical motions influenced by the Andes, cloud detrainment, and aerosol properties. Local and long-range transport of smoke resulting from biomass burning as well as blowing dust are common in the austral spring, while changes in land surface properties as the wet season progresses impact surface fluxes and boundary layer evolution on daily and seasonal time scales that feed back to cloud and rainfall generation. This range of environmental conditions and cloud properties coupled with a high frequency of events makes this an ideal location for improving our understanding of cloud-environment interactions. The following primary science questions will be addressed through coordinated first ARM Mobile Facility (AMF1), mobile C-band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radar (C-SAPR2), guest instrumentation, and potential ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) Gulfstream-1 (G-1) observations: 1. How are the properties and lifecycles of orographically generated cumulus humulis, mediocris, and congestus clouds affected by environmental kinematics, thermodynamics, aerosols, and surface properties? How do these cloud types alter these environmental conditions? 2. How do environmental kinematics, thermodynamics, and aerosols impact deep convective initiation, upscale growth, and mesoscale organization? How are soil moisture, surface fluxes, and aerosol properties altered by deep convective precipitation events and seasonal accumulation of precipitation? This multi-faceted experiment involves a long term 8.5-month Extended Observing Period (EOP, 15 August, 2018-30 April, 2019) as well as a 6-week Intensive Observation Period (IOP, 1 November-15 December) that will coincide with the international multi-agency RELAMPAGO field campaign.