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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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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Insights into the rapid two-phase transport dynamics in different structured porous transport layers of water electrolyzers through high-speed visualization

In proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs), maintaining efficient two-phase transport is one of the most important functions of porous transport layers (PTLs). To enhance the two-phase transport in PTLs, thin/titanium liquid/gas diffusion layers (TT-LGDLs) are introduced in PEMECs, and their difference from the conventional Ti felt PTLs are analyzed in-situ through high-speed and microscale visualization and electrochemical characterizations. The visualization results show that unfavorable large slugs can be greatly reduced in the PEMEC with a TT-LGDL compared to the PEMEC with a Ti felt PTL. More importantly, the recovery capability of water starvation with different PTLs is studied. After water starvation, the PEMEC with the TT-LGDL can recover the water starvation much more rapidly than the Ti felt cell, benefiting from its short and straight-through flow paths. Furthermore, the TT-LGDL tends to generate oxygen bubbles that are almost six times smaller and 236 times more frequently than the Ti felt PTL, indicating significantly boosted removal efficiency of produced oxygen and PEMEC performance. Finally, this study offers new insights into the dynamic processes of two-phase transport and the recovery capability of water starvation for different PTLs, which will provide valuable guidance for further optimization of PTLs and performance enhancement of PEMECs.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2016

Anisotropic transport in the quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor Li{sub 0.33}MoO{sub 3}

Transport measurements (electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity) in the temperature range 80–500 K are presented for single crystals of the quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) semiconductor Li{sub 0.33}MoO{sub 3}. Opposite signs are observed for the Seebeck coefficient along the trinclinic a and c axes, with S{sub c} − S{sub a} ≃ 250 μV/K near room temperature and ≃100 μV/K at 380 K. The thermal conductivity at room temperature in the a-c planes was ∼2 W/m K and ∼10 times smaller along b*. A weak structural anomaly at T{sub s} ≈ 355 K, identified in the temperature-dependent lattice constants, coincides with anomalies in the electrical properties. Analysis of the electronic transport at T > T{sub s} favors an intrinsic semiconductor picture for transport along the most conducting Q1D axis and small-polaronic transport along the other directions, providing insight into the origin of the Seebeck anisotropy.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

A molecular dynamics study of the effect of thermal boundary conductance on thermal transport of ideal crystal of n-alkanes with different number of carbon atoms

Phase change materials such as n-alkanes that exhibit desirable characteristics such as high latent heat, chemical stability, and negligible supercooling are widely used in thermal energy storage applications. However, n-alkanes have the drawback of low thermal conductivity values. The low thermal conductivity of n-alkanes is linked to formation of randomly oriented nano-domains of molecules in their solid structure that is responsible for excessive phonon scattering at the grain boundaries. Thus, understanding the thermal boundary conductance at the grain boundaries can be crucial for improving the effectiveness of thermal storage systems. The concept of the ideal crystal is proposed in this paper, which describes a simplified model such that all the nano-domains of long-chain n-alkanes are artificially aligned perfectly in one direction. In order to study thermal transport of the ideal crystal of long-chain n-alkanes, four (4) systems (C{sub 20}H{sub 42}, C{sub 24}H{sub 50}, C{sub 26}H{sub 54}, and C{sub 30}H{sub 62}) are investigated by the molecular dynamics simulations. Thermal boundary conductance between the layers of ideal crystals is determined using both non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) and equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations. Both NEMD and EMD simulations exhibit no significant change in thermal conductance with the molecular length. However, the values obtained from the EMD simulations are less than the values from NEMD simulations with the ratio being nearly three (3) in most cases. This difference is due to the nature of EMD simulations where all the phonons are assumed to be in equilibrium at the interface. Thermal conductivity of the n-alkanes in three structures including liquid, solid, and ideal crystal is investigated utilizing NEMD simulations. Our results exhibit a very slight rise in thermal conductivity values as the number of carbon atoms of the chain increases. The key understanding is that thermal transport can be significantly altered by how the molecules and the nano-domains are oriented in the structure rather than by the length of the n-alkane molecules.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

A KINETIC TRANSPORT THEORY FOR PARTICLE ACCELERATION AND TRANSPORT IN REGIONS OF MULTIPLE CONTRACTING AND RECONNECTING INERTIAL-SCALE FLUX ROPES

Simulations of particle acceleration in turbulent plasma regions with multiple contracting and merging (reconnecting) magnetic islands emphasize the key role of temporary particle trapping in island structures for the efficient acceleration of particles to form hard power-law spectra. Statistical kinetic transport theories have been developed that capture the essential physics of particle acceleration in multi-island regions. The transport theory of Zank et al. is further developed by considering the acceleration effects of both the mean and the variance of the electric fields induced by the dynamics of multiple inertial-scale flux ropes. A focused transport equation is derived that includes new Fokker-Planck terms for particle scattering and stochastic acceleration due to the variance in multiple flux-rope magnetic fields, plasma flows, and reconnection electric fields. A Parker transport equation is also derived in which a new expression for momentum diffusion appears, combining stochastic acceleration by particle scattering in the mean multi-flux-rope electric fields with acceleration by the variance in these electric fields. Test particle acceleration is modeled analytically considering drift acceleration by the variance in the induced electric fields of flux ropes in the slow supersonic, radially expanding solar wind. Hard power-law spectra occur for sufficiently strong inertial-scale flux ropes with an index modified by adiabatic cooling, solar wind advection, and diffusive escape from flux ropes. Flux ropes might be sufficiently strong behind interplanetary shocks where the index of suprathermal ion power-law spectra observed in the supersonic solar wind can be reproduced.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tritium Transport Modeling at the Pore Scale in Ceramic Breeder Materials Using TMAP8

Fusion reactors depend on the blanket material to breed and release tritium at the same rate or faster than it is consumed by the fusion reaction. Cellular ceramic breeders (CCBs) are dense materials that can maintain a high tritium breeding ratio while promoting tritium release because of highly connected pores. Assessing the tritium breeding capabilities of these materials requires a combination of extensive experimental and modeling efforts. In this work, we develop and calibrate a multiphysics model of tritium transport. This novel model accounts for ceramic and pore diffusion, trapping and detrapping, and several surface reactions at the pore surface. We perform a sensitivity analysis and calibrate the model by comparing its predictions against experimental measurements of deuterium absorption. The calibrated model is then used to model tritium absorption in samples with different pore microstructures to investigate the effect of pore interconnectivity on tritium absorption. The model is part of the development of the multiscale, multiphysics framework for tritium transport [i.e., the Tritium Migration Analysis Program (TMAP8)], which is itself built on top of the finite-element multiphysics framework multiphysics object-oriented simulation environment (MOOSE). This study demonstrates some of TMAP8’s capabilities and is the first step toward assessing the tritium breeding capabilities of ceramic breeder material designs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Evaluating Transport Properties and Ionic Dissociation of LiPF 6 in Concentrated Electrolyte

The presence of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF 6 ) ion pairs in carbonate-based electrolyte solutions is widely accepted in the field of battery electrolyte research and is expected to affect solution transport properties. No existing techniques are capable of directly quantifying salt dissociation in these solutions. Previous publications by others have provided estimates of dissociation degrees using dilute solution theory and pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (PFG-NMR) measurements of self-diffusivity. However, the behavior of a concentrated electrolyte solution can deviate significantly from dilute solution theory predictions. This paper, for the first time, instead uses Onsager–Stefan–Maxwell concentrated solution theory and the generalized Darken relation with PFG-NMR measurements to quantify the degrees of dissociation in electrolyte solutions (LiPF 6 in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate, 1:1 by weight). At LiPF 6 concentrations ranging from 0.1 M to 1.5 M, the salt dissociation degree is found to range from 61% to 37%. Finally, transport properties are then calculated through concentrated solution theory with corrections for these significant levels of ion pairing.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Reduced Fast Ion Transport Model For The Tokamak Transport Code TRANSP

Fast ion transport models presently implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP [R. J. Hawryluk, in Physics of Plasmas Close to Thermonuclear Conditions, CEC Brussels, 1, 19 (1980)] are not capturing important aspects of the physics associated with resonant transport caused by instabilities such as Toroidal Alfven Eigenmodes (TAEs). This work describes the implementation of a fast ion transport model consistent with the basic mechanisms of resonant mode-particle interaction. The model is formulated in terms of a probability distribution function for the particle's steps in phase space, which is consistent with the MonteCarlo approach used in TRANSP. The proposed model is based on the analysis of fast ion response to TAE modes through the ORBIT code [R. B. White et al., Phys. Fluids 27 , 2455 (1984)], but it can be generalized to higher frequency modes (e.g. Compressional and Global Alfven Eigenmodes) and to other numerical codes or theories.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Time-dependent Perpendicular Transport of Energetic Particles for Different Turbulence Configurations and Parallel Transport Models

Recently, a new theory for the transport of energetic particles across a mean magnetic field was presented. Compared to other nonlinear theories the new approach has the advantage that it provides a full time-dependent description of the transport. Furthermore, a diffusion approximation is no longer part of that theory. The purpose of this paper is to combine this new approach with a time-dependent model for parallel transport and different turbulence configurations in order to explore the parameter regimes for which we get ballistic transport, compound subdiffusion, and normal Markovian diffusion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Detailed Comparison of Multidimensional Boltzmann Neutrino Transport Methods in Core-collapse Supernovae

The mechanism driving core-collapse supernovae is sensitive to the interplay between matter and neutrino radiation. However, neutrino radiation transport is very difficult to simulate, and several radiation transport methods of varying levels of approximation are available. In this paper, we carefully compare for the first time in multiple spatial dimensions the discrete ordinates (DO) code of Nagakura, Yamada, and Sumiyoshi and the Monte Carlo (MC) code Sedonu, under the assumptions of a static fluid background, flat spacetime, elastic scattering, and full special relativity. We find remarkably good agreement in all spectral, angular, and fluid interaction quantities, lending confidence to both methods. The DO method excels in determining the heating and cooling rates in the optically thick region. The MC method predicts sharper angular features due to the effectively infinite angular resolution, but struggles to drive down noise in quantities where subtractive cancellation is prevalent, such as the net gain in the protoneutron star and off-diagonal components of the Eddington tensor. We also find that errors in the angular moments of the distribution functions induced by neglecting velocity dependence are subdominant to those from limited momentum-space resolution. We briefly compare directly computed second angular moments to those predicted by popular algebraic two-moment closures, and we find that the errors from the approximate closures are comparable to the difference between the DO and MC methods. Finally, included in this work is an improved Sedonu code, which now implements a fully special relativistic, time-independent version of the grid-agnostic MC random walk approximation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Molten Salt Tritium Transport Experiment: A Versatile Fluoride Salt Loop for Validation of Tritium Transport Phenomena

Tritium is generated in Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) from neutron capture by lithium and other constituents of the molten salt FLiBe. Tritium is a unique radionuclide as it readily permeates through hot structural materials. Thus, any material in contact with tritium laden molten salt is a potential pathway for release. Understanding tritium transport and devising adequate control strategies is necessary for the safe operation of MSRs. The Molten Salt Tritium Transport Experiment (MSTTE) is a forced-convection fluoride salt loop with the capability to inject hydrogen isotopes into flowing molten salt and to measure transport phenomena such as permeation through metals and evolution from free-surfaces. MSTTE is designed to be versatile to test potential control technology in future campaigns. This report focuses on the current design and analysis of MSTTE. Custom designed and fabricated experiment components such as the hydrogen injection system, permeation test section, diagnostics, and gas distribution system are discussed in detail. System-level tritium transport modeling using the System Analysis Module investigates experiment parameters such as hydrogen source terms, salt flow rate, and salt temperature. Computational fluid dynamics of the salt flow in the permeation test section informs design choices to establish fully developed flow in the measured permeation zone.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Differing Approaches to the Same Destination: SRS vs. Hanford Transportation Safety Document and Onsite Transportation Program - 17142

The United States Department of Energy, DOE Order 460.1C establishes packaging and transportation requirements to ensure the safety of DOE shipments of hazardous material. In accordance with DOE Order 460.1C, there are two general ways that radioactive material can be transferred if remaining within the boundary of a DOE site (i.e., onsite): 1) Packages can be transferred fully compliant with U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements; or 2) Packages can be transferred under an appropriately approved site-specific Transportation Safety Document (TSD) DOE G 460.1-1 - The Implementation Guide for Use with DOE Order 460.1A Packaging and Transportation Safety specifies the required format, content, and approval process for TSDs, but also allows great flexibility. Although developed using the same guidance, both the Savannah River Site and Hanford Site TSD programs were developed largely independent of each other. This paper compares both programs. Although at first glance the approaches seem dauntingly different, both result in surprisingly similar equivalent safety. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

Improving Representation of Convective Transport for Scale-Aware Parameterization – Part I: Convection and Cloud Properties Simulated with Spectral Bin and Bulk Microphysics

The ultimate goal of this study is to improve representation of convective transport by cumulus parameterization for meso-scale and climate models. As Part I of the study, we perform extensive evaluations of cloud-resolving simulations of a squall line and mesoscale convective complexes in mid-latitude continent and tropical regions using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with spectral-bin microphysics (SBM) and with two double-moment bulk microphysics schemes: a modified Morrison (MOR) and Milbrandt and Yau (MY2). Compared to observations, in general, SBM gives better simulations of precipitation, vertical velocity of convective cores, and the vertically decreasing trend of radar reflectivity than MOR and MY2, and therefore will be used for analysis of scale-dependence of eddy transport in Part II. The common features of the simulations for all convective systems are (1) the model tends to overestimate convection intensity in the middle and upper troposphere, but SBM can alleviate much of the overestimation and reproduce the observed convection intensity well; (2) the model greatly overestimates radar reflectivity in convective cores (SBM predicts smaller radar reflectivity but does not remove the large overestimation); and (3) the model performs better for mid-latitude convective systems than tropical system. The modeled mass fluxes of the mid latitude systems are not sensitive to microphysics schemes, but are very sensitive for the tropical case indicating strong microphysics modification to convection. Cloud microphysical measurements of rain, snow and graupel in convective cores will be critically important to further elucidate issues within cloud microphysics schemes.

Fan, Jiwen↗
DOE OSTI2015

Aerosol transport and wet scavenging in deep convective clouds: a case study and model evaluation using a multiple passive tracer analysis approach

The effect of wet scavenging on ambient aerosols in deep, continental convective clouds in the mid-latitudes is studied for a severe storm case in Oklahoma during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign. A new passive-tracer based transport analysis framework is developed to characterize the convective transport based on the vertical distribution of several slowly reacting and nearly insoluble trace gases. The passive gas concentration in the upper troposphere convective outflow results from a mixture of 47% from the lower level (0-3 km), 21% entrained from the upper troposphere, and 32% from mid-atmosphere based on observations. The transport analysis framework is applied to aerosols to estimate aerosol transport and wet-scavenging efficiency. Observations yield high overall scavenging efficiencies of 81% and 68% for aerosol mass (Dp < 1μm) and aerosol number (0.03< Dp < 2.5μm), respectively. Little chemical selectivity to wet scavenging is seen among observed submicron sulfate (84%), organic (82%), and ammonium (80%) aerosols, while nitrate has a much lower scavenging efficiency of 57% likely due to the uptake of nitric acid. Observed larger size particles (0.15 - 2.5μm) are scavenged more efficiently (84%) than smaller particles (64%; 0.03 - 0.15μm). The storm is simulated using the chemistry version of the WRF model. Compared to the observation based analysis, the standard model underestimates the wet scavenging efficiency for both mass and number concentrations with low biases of 31% and 40%, respectively. Adding a new treatment of secondary activation significantly improves simulation results, so that the bias in scavenging efficiency in mass and number concentrations is reduced to <10%. This supports the hypothesis that secondary activation is an important process for wet removal of aerosols in deep convective storms.

Yang, Qing↗
DOE OSTI2020

Plant‐mediated methane transport in emergent and floating‐leaved species of a temperate freshwater mineral‐soil wetland

Abstract Methane flux from freshwater mineral‐soil (FWMS) wetlands and its variability among sites is largely modulated by plant‐mediated transport. However, plant‐mediated transport processes are rarely resolved in land surface models and are poorly parametrized for plants commonly found in FWMS wetlands. Here, relationships between methane flux and CO 2 uptake, as well as plant conductance of methane were evaluated for three plant species and two characteristic functional types: emergent (narrow‐leaved cattail) and floating‐leaved (American lotus and water lily). We found significant but contrasting correlations between methane flux and CO 2 uptake in cattails ( r 2 = 0.51, slope = −0.16, during morning) and water lily ( r 2 = 0.32, slope = 0.064, after midday). This relationship was not significant in American lotus, showing that stomata regulation of methane fluxes is species‐specific and not generalizable across the floating‐leaved plant functional type. Conductance of methane per leaf area showed distinct seasonal dynamics across species. Conductance was similar among the floating‐leaved species (6.2 × 10 −3 m d −1 in lotus and 7.2 × 10 −3 m d −1 in water lily) and higher than conductance in the emergent species (2.7 × 10 −3 m d −1 ). Our results provide direct observations of plant conductance rates and identify the vegetation parameters (leaf area, stomatal conductance) that modify them. Our results further suggest that models of methane emissions from FWMS should parameterize plant‐mediated transport in different plant functional types, scaled by leaf area and with variable seasonal phenological dynamics, and consider possible species‐specific mechanisms that control methane transport through plants.

Villa, Jorge A.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Design of a TW-SLIM Module for Dual Polarity Confinement, Transport, and Reactions

Here we describe instrumental approaches for performing dual polarity ion confinement, transport, ion mobility separations, and reactions in structures for lossless ion manipulations (SLIM). Previous means of ion confinement in SLIM, based upon rf-generated pseudopotentials and DC fields for lateral confinement, cannot trap ions of opposite polarity simultaneously. Here we explore alternative approaches to provide simultaneous lateral confinement of both ion polarities. Traveling wave ion mobility (IM) separations experienced in such SLIM cause ions of both polarities to migrate in the same directions and exhibit similar separations. The ion motion (and relative motion of the two polarities) under both surfing and IM separation conditions are discussed. In surfing conditions the two polarities are transported losslessly and non-reactively in their respective potential minima (higher absolute voltage regions confine negative polarities, and lower absolute potential regions are populated by positive polarities). In separation mode, where ions roll over an overtaking traveling wave, the two polarities can interact during the rollovers. Strategies to minimize overlap of the two ion populations to prevent reactive losses during separations are presented. A theoretical treatment of the time scales over which two populations (injected into a DC field-free region of the dual polarity SLIM device) interact is considered, and SLIM designs for allowing ion/ion interactions and other manipulations with dual polarities at 4 Torr are presented. .

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗