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At least 253 records · Page 14

Software Aids Visualization of Computed Unsteady Flow

Unsteady Flow Analysis Toolkit (UFAT) is a computer program that synthesizes motions of time-dependent flows represented by very large sets of data generated in computational fluid dynamics simulations. Prior to the development of UFAT, it was necessary to rely on static, single-snapshot depictions of time-dependent flows generated by flow-visualization software designed for steady flows. Whereas it typically takes weeks to analyze the results of a largescale unsteady-flow simulation by use of steady-flow visualization software, the analysis time is reduced to hours when UFAT is used. UFAT can be used to generate graphical objects of flow visualization results using multi-block curvilinear grids in the format of a previously developed NASA data-visualization program, PLOT3D. These graphical objects can be rendered using FAST, another popular flow visualization software developed at NASA. Flow-visualization techniques that can be exploited by use of UFAT include time-dependent tracking of particles, detection of vortex cores, extractions of stream ribbons and surfaces, and tetrahedral decomposition for optimal particle tracking. Unique computational features of UFAT include capabilities for automatic (batch) processing, restart, memory mapping, and parallel processing. These capabilities significantly reduce analysis time and storage requirements, relative to those of prior flow-visualization software. UFAT can be executed on a variety of supercomputers.

Kao, David↗

An empirical study of I/O separation for burst buffers in HPC systems

To meet the exascale I/O requirements for the High-Performance Computing (HPC), a new I/O subsystem, Burst Buffer, based on solid state drives (SSD), has been developed. However, the diverse HPC workloads and the bursty I/O pattern cause severe data fragmentation that requires costly garbage collection (GC) and increases the number of bytes written to the SSD. To address this data fragmentation challenge, a new multi-stream feature has been developed for SSDs. In this work, we develop an I/O Separation scheme called BIOS to leverage this multi-stream feature to group the I/O streams based on the user IDs. We propose a stream-aware scheduling policy based on burst buffer pools in the workload manager, and integrate the BIOS with the workload manager to optimize the I/O separation scheme in burst buffer. We evaluate the proposed framework with a burst buffer I/O traces from Cori Supercomputer including a diverse set of applications. Experimental results show that the BIOS could improve the performance by 1.44x on average and reduce the Write Amplification Factor (WAF) by up to 1.20x. Finally, these demonstrate the potential benefits of the I/O separation scheme for solid state storage systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Selective pseudocapacitive immobilization of REE elements on carbon based electrodes

Current extraction technologies for rare earth elements at ambient conditions are reagent and energy intensive, giving rise to significant quantities of secondary waste streams. Exploration of the removal of common cations from aqueous streams has been undertaken with carbon materials and have shown promising results. However, those promising materials have not been explored extensively for rare earth element capture from aqueous process streams. In this study, a carbon electrode was investigated for the adsorption and immobilization of REE elements from aqueous solutions. Cyclic voltammetry studies of the carbon electrode displayed a pseudocapacitive behavior where it was verified that cation adsorption is accompanied by an electron transfer process. Preliminary tests showed that a current density of 89.1 mA. g -1 , allowed for the pseudocapacitive adsorption (PSA) of Nd 3+ cation without the formation of rare earth hydroxides. Hence, the selective PSA of Nd 3+ was verified in an electrolyte solution with equimolar concentrations of Nd 3+ , Mg 2+ , Li + , Na + and K + , achieving separation factors of 8.6, 1.1, and 10.9 for Nd 3+ /Li + , Nd 3+ /Na + , and Nd 3+ /Mg 2+ , respectively. Analysis of the potential-time curves for the various cations suggests that storage of ions in the electrode involved pore-spacings rather than interlayer spacings and was corroborated by XRD analysis. Specific capacitance as high as >640 F.g -1 for Nd 3+ was also observed for the carbon electrode, with Faradaic efficiencies (FE) of > 20% for Nd 3+ and Mg 2+ , and > 9% for Na + . Furthermore, adsorption capacity of >125 mg g -1 after 4hrs of electrosorption was observed for Nd 3+ . In the presence of the Nd 3+ electrolyte, the electrode achieved increasing storage of Nd 3+ with >94% retention of Nd 3+ with a FE > 20% over 6 cycles between loading and releases in 1 M KCl solution. In conclusion, these preliminary results provide information and some guidance on the selective recovery of rare earth elements, such as Nd, in aqueous streams in the presence of competitive cations employing the use of carbon-based materials.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Accounting for uncertainty in complex alluvial aquifer modeling by Bayesian multi-model approach

Alluvial aquifers by nature are complex caused by varied depositional environments. Developing a reliable groundwater model to represent an alluvial aquifer is non-trivial. Also, relying on a single best calibrated model may not be sufficient because of an inadequate choice of model parameter values. To better understand groundwater dynamics and improve model prediction reliability, this study presents a Bayesian multi-model uncertainty quantification (BMMUQ) framework to account for model parameter uncertainty in complex alluvial groundwater modeling. The methodology was applied to the agriculturally intensive Mississippi River alluvial aquifer (MRAA), Northeast Louisiana. An aquifer architecture was first constructed using 7,259 well logs in the MRAA area which covers three fluvial deposits (alluvium, braided-stream terrace, and braided-stream terrace-loess). A 12-layer MODFLOW model was then developed to address the alluvial aquifer complexity and well calibrated through a genetic algorithm. This study quantified model parameter uncertainty in hydraulic conductivity and specific storage of sand facies. Bayesian model averaging (BMA) with the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm was adopted to derive posterior model weights and head variances of 50 alternative conceptual groundwater flow models, and thereby obtains BMA ensemble model predictions instead of only relying on the best calibrated conceptual model. Overall, results show that an estimated around 950 million m3 of groundwater storage loss occurs in 2015 with respect to the beginning of 2004, due to high groundwater demand for irrigation in the MRAA area. Explicitly quantifying model uncertainty can produce more reliable groundwater level predictions from BMA ensemble model. The presented groundwater modeling framework improves our understanding of the MRAA and provides a valuable tool to assist agricultural water management.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

An Assessment of the Materials of Construction for the Transfer Lines and Unit Operations Equipment Associated with the Recycle Diversion Process

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) processes and vitrifies radioactive waste that it receives from the Concentration, Storage, and Transfer Facility (CSTF) and Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). As a result of the evaporation of water during both the melter feed preparation and the melter feed vitrification steps in DWPF, a recycle waste stream is generated, neutralized, and sent back to the CSTF. The recycle waste is a dilute water stream originating from the collection of condensate liquids containing some minor sludge and frit solids and other waste components primarily resulting from entrainment into the condensate during foam-over events. The recycle stream volume is significant and is expected to approach 3 million gallons per year once the SWPF reaches full operation. Diverting the bulk of the recycle waste stream from the CSTF is essential for the eventual closure of the waste tanks, and hence the completion of the SRS liquid waste mission.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Space ultra-vacuum facility and method of operation

A wake shield facility providing an ultrahigh vacuum level for space processing is described. The facility is in the shape of a truncated, hollow hemispherical section, one side of the shield convex and the other concave. The shield surface is preferably made of material that has low out-gassing characteristics such as stainless steel. A material sample supporting fixture in the form of a carousel is disposed on the convex side of the shield at its apex. Movable arms, also on the convex side, are connected by the shield in proximity to the carousel, the arms supporting processing fixtures, and providing for movement of the fixtures to predetermined locations required for producing interations with material samples. For MBE processes a vapor jet projects a stream of vaporized material onto a sample surface. The fixtures are oriented to face the surface of the sample being processed when in their extended position, and when not in use they are retractable to a storage position. The concave side of the shield has a support structure including metal struts connected to the shield, extending radially inward. The struts are joined to an end plate disposed parallel to the outer edge of the shield. This system eliminates outgassing contamination.

Naumann, Robert J.↗

The Bess Investigation of the Origin of Cosmic-ray Antiprotons and Search for Cosmological Antimatter

The Balloon-borne Experiment with a Superconducting Spectrometer (BESS) collaboration has made precise measurements of the spectra of cosmic ray antiprotons and light nuclei and conducted a sensitive search for antinuclei. Ten BESS high-latitude flights, eight from Canada and two from Antarctica, span more than a Solar cycle between 1993 and 2007/2008. BESS measurements of low-energy antiprotons constrain candidate models for dark matter including the possible signature of primordial black hole evaporation. The stringent BESS measurements of antiprotons and the elemental and isotopic spectra of H and He provide strong constraints on models of cosmic-ray transport in the Galaxy and Solar System. BESS has also reported the first antideuterium upper limit. BESS employs a superconducting magnetic-rigity spectrometer with time-of-flight and aerogel Cherenkov detectors to identify incident particles by charge, charge sign, mass, and energy. The BESS-Polar long-duration instrument has reduced lower energy limit of 100 MeV (top of the atmosphere) to increase its sensitivity to possible primary antiproton sources. BESS-Polar II was rebuilt with extended magnet lifetime, improved detector and electronic performance, and greater data storage capacity. It was flown fro Antarctica December 2007-January 2008, recording about 4.6 bission events during 24.5 days at float altitude with the magnet on. During the flight the influence of a high-speed stream in the Solar wind was observed. Details of the BESS-Polar II instrument and flight performance are reported elsewhere at this conference. The successful BESS-Polar II flight at Solar minimum is especially important. Most cosmic-ray antiprotons are secondary products of nuclear interactions of primary cosmic-ray nuclei with the interstellar gas, giving a spectrum that peaks at about 2 GeV and falls rapidly to higher and lower energies. However, BESS data taken in the previous Solar minimum show a small excess over secondary expectations at low energies, possibly suggesting the presence of an additional component that may be masked at higher levels of Solar modulation. The high-statistics Solar minimum data obtained by BESS-Polar II will provide a difinitive test of this component. We will review the BESS program and report the latest results including the antiproton and proton spectra measured in the BESS-Polar I flight, the search for cosmic antinuclei, and the status of the BESS-Polar II analysis.

Mitchell, John↗

HERMES: A cyber-energy SAAS platform to provide real-time 2d and 3d interactive visualizations [SWR-23-15]

HERMES is a novel visualization SAAS platform for achieving real-time visualization of large-scale environments involving cyber-energy devices. The platform receives data from emulated environments which include physical hardware and network devices that represent a complex IT / OT system. The platform is capable of streaming, filtering, storing, and visualizing all data within the environment and scaling vertically and horizontally. This capability enables high fidelity visual analysis of events to be performed in real time as well as the collection and storage of historical data for forensic analysis.

Van Natta, Joshua↗

A multirate mass transfer model to represent the interaction of multicomponent biogeochemical processes between surface water and hyporheic zones (SWAT-MRMT-R 1.0)

Abstract. Surface water quality along river corridors can be modulated by hyporheic zones (HZs) that are ubiquitous and biogeochemically active. Watershed management practices often ignore the potentially important role of HZs as a natural reactor. To investigate the effect of hydrological exchange and biogeochemical processes on the fate of nutrients in surface water and HZs, a novel model, SWAT-MRMT-R, was developed coupling the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model and the reaction module from a flow and reactive transport code (PFLOTRAN). SWAT-MRMT-R simulates concurrent nonlinear multicomponent biogeochemical reactions in both the channel water and its surrounding HZs, connecting the channel water and HZs through hyporheic exchanges using multirate mass transfer (MRMT) representation. Within the model, HZs are conceptualized as transient storage zones with distinguished exchange rates and residence times. The biogeochemical processes within HZs are different from those in the channel water. Hyporheic exchanges are modeled as multiple first-order mass transfers between the channel water and HZs. As a numerical example, SWAT-MRMT-R is applied to the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, a large river in the United States, focusing on nitrate dynamics in the channel water. Major nitrate contaminants entering the Hanford Reach include those from the legacy waste, irrigation return flows (irrigation water that is not consumed by crops and runs off as point sources to the stream), and groundwater seepage resulting from irrigated agriculture. A two-step reaction sequence for denitrification and an aerobic respiration reaction is assumed to represent the biogeochemical transformations taking place within the HZs. The spatially variable hyporheic exchange rates and residence times in this example are estimated with the basin-scale Networks with EXchange and Subsurface Storage (NEXSS) model. Our simulation results show that (1), given a residence time distribution, how the exchange fluxes to HZs are approximated when using MRMT can significantly change the amount of nitrate consumption in HZs through denitrification and (2) source locations of nitrate have a different impact on surface water quality due to the spatially variable hyporheic exchanges.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Literature Review Investigating Historical Plutonium Solubility in SRS Tank Waste

The Savannah River Site (SRS) has designed the Accelerated Basin De-inventory (ABD) program to accelerate the de-inventory of L-Basin and accelerate the Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) disposition mission. Similarly, the H-Canyon facility at SRS is reestablishing the 6.3D electrolytic dissolver for dissolving unirradiated stainless-steel (SS) clad Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) fuel. In both discard types (ABD and FCA), plutonium is present and its complex solubility when composited to Concentration, Storage, and Transfer Facility (CSTF) sludge is being investigated as it may have downstream impacts to the liquid waste (LW) organization. This literature review aims to highlight and compile the existing literature on plutonium solubility in waste streams relevant to ABD and FCA discards, as well as discuss some considerations in analyzing solubility data of plutonium. This review serves to help define the analysis methods for future experiments involving plutonium (and other actinides) and in designing appropriate testing conditions surrounding these studies. This review is broken up into five parts and will discuss: (i) The possible effects of testing hold time and temperature on plutonium solubility, (ii) the influence of neutralization rate and particle size of freshly precipitated discards, (iii) the coprecipitation of plutonium with iron and uranium, (iv) predictive solubility modeling and the influence of supernate anions on solubility, and (v) the speciation of plutonium in solutionas a result of supernate anions.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Annual Stormwater Report for the Y-12 National Security Complex Oak Ridge, Tennessee

This is the ninth annual stormwater report prepared in accordance with the modified National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued to the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) on April 1, 2014. This modified permit removed the authorization to augment flow in East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) and thus removed the requirement to sample this effluent in conjunction with other major outfalls on EFPC. There are several construction and demolition activities currently in progress at Y-12. These include the construction of the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF), the Mercury Treatment Facility (MTF) on EFPC, the site-wide power grid upgrade, construction of an Emergency Operations Center, construction of a new Fire Station, Security Improvement Revitalization Program (SIRP), West End Protection Area Reduction (WEPAR) Project, and the demolition of the Biology Complex. Current stormwater protections have proven effective in 2021. However, moving forward, challenges to protect stormwater will continue from these projects. Therefore, oversight of these activities, and all other construction and demolition projects, will continue to be a priority in 2022. Y-12 will continue to implement appropriate Best Management Practices and reduce outside material storage areas where possible.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DSN Beowulf Cluster-Based VLBI Correlator

The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) requires a broadband VLBI (very long baseline interferometry) correlator to process data routinely taken as part of the VLBI source Catalogue Maintenance and Enhancement task (CAT M&E) and the Time and Earth Motion Precision Observations task (TEMPO). The data provided by these measurements are a crucial ingredient in the formation of precision deep-space navigation models. In addition, a VLBI correlator is needed to provide support for other VLBI related activities for both internal and external customers. The JPL VLBI Correlator (JVC) was designed, developed, and delivered to the DSN as a successor to the legacy Block II Correlator. The JVC is a full-capability VLBI correlator that uses software processes running on multiple computers to cross-correlate two-antenna broadband noise data. Components of this new system (see Figure 1) consist of Linux PCs integrated into a Beowulf Cluster, an existing Mark5 data storage system, a RAID array, an existing software correlator package (SoftC) originally developed for Delta DOR Navigation processing, and various custom- developed software processes and scripts. Parallel processing on the JVC is achieved by assigning slave nodes of the Beowulf cluster to process separate scans in parallel until all scans have been processed. Due to the single stream sequential playback of the Mark5 data, some ramp-up time is required before all nodes can have access to required scan data. Core functions of each processing step are accomplished using optimized C programs. The coordination and execution of these programs across the cluster is accomplished using Pearl scripts, PostgreSQL commands, and a handful of miscellaneous system utilities. Mark5 data modules are loaded on Mark5 Data systems playback units, one per station. Data processing is started when the operator scans the Mark5 systems and runs a script that reads various configuration files and then creates an experiment-dependent status database used to delegate parallel tasks between nodes and storage areas (see Figure 2). This script forks into three processes: extract, translate, and correlate. Each of these processes iterates on available scan data and updates the status database as the work for each scan is completed. The extract process coordinates and monitors the transfer of data from each of the Mark5s to the Beowulf RAID storage systems. The translate process monitors and executes the data conversion processes on available scan files, and writes the translated files to the slave nodes. The correlate process monitors the execution of SoftC correlation processes on the slave nodes for scans that have completed translation. A comparison of the JVC and the legacy Block II correlator outputs reveals they are well within a formal error, and that the data are comparable with respect to their use in flight navigation. The processing speed of the JVC is improved over the Block II correlator by a factor of 4, largely due to the elimination of the reel-to-reel tape drives used in the Block II correlator.

Rogstad, Stephen P.↗

A Multi-objective Microgrid Assessment and Sizing Framework for Economic and Resilience Benefits

This paper presents an innovative multi-objective assessment and sizing framework for battery energy storage system paired with photovoltaics for a cost-effective and resilient microgrid. In the proposed framework, we simultaneously consider i) economic benefits from bundling grid services in grid-connected mode and ii) enhanced resilience by operating the microgrid in island mode upon outages of the main grid. Instead of simply treating resilience as another monetary value stream, this paper models resilience and economic benefits as two separate objectives. Multi-objective optimization is developed to explore different sizing and dispatch options and generate the Pareto front to assist decision-making in system design. Case studies on a real-world microgrid project in Puget Sound Energy system are presented to illustrate the proposed modeling and sizing methods.

Battery energy storage, Microgrid, Optimal Sizingp↗

Breaking $\mathrm{OER}$ and $\mathrm{CER}$ scaling relations via strain and its relaxation in $\mathrm{RuO}$ 2 (101)

Green hydrogen production from abundant water sources is an important component of renewable energy storage. Water oxidation catalysts are typically considered bound by adsorbate scaling relations, limiting their activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as well as selectivity between OER and the chlorine evolution reaction (CER) that compete in saline water streams. RuO 2 is highly active for both reactions, and recent measurements have shown the OER activity is greater on undercoordinated, high index facets compared to the lowest-energy (110) facet often studied. The growth of such orientations as epitaxial films, however, can result in appreciable strain and potential surface faceting via its relaxation. Here, we find the activity and selectivity towards OER and CER vary with thickness in epitaxial (101) RuO 2 thin films: OER activity decreases 4x as film thickness increases from 8 nm to 48 nm, while CER activity is comparable. Thus, strain and its relaxation can be used to break scaling relationships between OER and CER, highlighting the important role that defects play in selective oxidation processes on RuO 2 in chloride-containing media.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Packages of Distributed Energy Technologies Demonstrating Demand Flexibility at Community Scale

The combination of increased electric load growth across all sectors, deferred electrical infrastructure investment, and other factors resulting in variable electric power supply, has created technical challenges to maintaining a resilient and reliable grid. Many federal, regional, and local efforts are in play to modernize the electric grid, including advancing building technologies and distributed energy resources (DERs) that are utilizing smarter controls to become responsive to both occupant and grid needs. This report reviews ten pilot projects demonstrating how groups of buildings combined with behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs such as electric vehicle (EV) charging, battery storage, flexible HVAC and domestic hot water systems, and photovoltaic systems can reliably and cost effectively provide grid services. Each of the ten pilot projects aim to deliver both energy efficiency and demand flexibility (DF) while supporting load growth. The ten demonstration teams are piloting flexible DER packages across diverse communities of residential and commercial buildings to address a variety of regional grid needs. The outcomes of these pilot projects will be used to inform future scaling through utility program development. This paper characterizes the ten teams, showcasing the decision-making process used by each group to develop their packages (Section 2), the grid services they plan to deliver (Section 3), the types of DER packages selected for deployment within building sectors (Section 4) and trends between building sector, DER types, and grid services In order to achieve community scale benefits, the pilot projects must utilize aggregated control mechanisms for coordinating buildings and DERs together. Several types of coordinated control architectures have evolved amongst the teams, influenced by use type, existing market conditions, and integration type. Three coordinated controls architectures have been characterized, highlighting their use cases, benefits, challenges, and tradeoffs in their design. These insights can aid utilities, control vendors, and developers in scaling community-level energy systems (Paul, 2024). Ultimately, the technology packages selected by the ten teams will be coordinated to provide power system services, also known as grid services. Insights from these demonstrations will be useful for grid operators, regulators, aggregators and other stakeholders as they look to deploy demand flexible resources as grid services in the future. The grid services that each team is targeting for demonstration are described in Section 3 and Section 4. Methods for evaluating the grid services have been described in the paper Metrics for Evaluating Grid Service Provision from Communities of Grid-interactive and Efficient Buildings and other DER (MacDonald, 2023). To identify technology packages for demonstration, Section 2 shows that project teams used a range of analysis approaches, including building energy modeling, AMI data analysis, cost-benefit frameworks, and utility pilot data. Some teams emphasized technical modeling to quantify grid impacts and demand reduction potential, while others prioritized economic evaluations, stakeholder input, or exploratory pilots to inform deployment decisions. This diversity reflects the need to tailor selection methods to project goals, available data, and organizational context. Section 5 discusses trends between the DER technologies deployed and the grid service provisions from each team. Residential buildings (multifamily and single family) lean towards technologies that enhance energy efficiency (e.g. weatherization upgrades, smart thermostats) and onsite power generation integration (e.g. solar PV). Commercial building demonstrations prioritize technologies that ensure operational reliability (e.g. battery storage) and centralized energy management systems and optimization solutions. Teams that are deploying controllable storage-based technologies are more likely to provide grid services that require a near real-time response. Teams incorporating load shifting technologies like smart thermostats with HEMs are likely to include energy markets participation and customer bill management offerings. Campus demonstrations are adopting diverse sets of DERs to emphasize renewable generation, paired with centralized control. This section also describes technologies that were considered during project planning but ultimately excluded from final deployment. These demonstrations reveal that effective DER package design should be tailored to building type, customer segment, and construction vintage. Multifamily buildings benefit from centralized HVAC upgrades and supervisory controls, while single-family homes are well-suited for individualized technologies like solar, storage, and smart home energy monitors. Commercial and campus settings prioritize EMIS integration and load optimization. New construction enables cost-effective integration of DER-ready infrastructure, whereas retrofits require deployments aligned with owner and tenant value streams. For utility program planners, early coordination with developers and building owners, paired with segmented and modular program offerings, can improve adoption, scalability, and grid impact.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Large-scale spatially explicit analysis of carbon capture at cellulosic biorefineries

The large-scale production of cellulosic biofuels would involve spatially distributed systems including biomass fields, logistics networks and biorefineries. Better understanding of the interactions between landscape-related decisions and the design of biorefineries with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a supply chain context is needed to enable efficient systems. Here we analyse the cost and greenhouse gas mitigation potential for cellulosic biofuel supply chains in the US Midwest using realistic spatially explicit land availability and crop productivity data and consider fuel conversion technologies with detailed CCS design for their associated CO 2 streams. Optimization methods identify trade-offs and design strategies leading to systems with attractive environmental and economic performance. Strategic and operational decisions depend on underlying spatial features and are sensitive to biofuel demand and CCS incentives. US CCS incentives neglect to motivate greenhouse gas mitigation from all supply chain emission sources, which leverage spatial interactions between CCS, electricity prices and the biomass landscape.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Methane liquefaction with an active magnetic regenerative refrigerator

This manuscript reports liquefaction of methane using an active magnetic regenerative refrigerator (AMRR). The AMRR used to cool from 285 K to 135 K has two identical regenerators fabricated with adjacent layers of four ferromagnetic refrigerants, each with sequentially lower Curie temperatures and lesser masses from hot to cold temperatures. The dual multilayer regenerators were assembled in opposition with a single cold region between them. For this set of experiments equal mass of helium gas was pumped through all layers of the regenerators during the two flow steps of the four-step AMR cycle. After successfully reaching 135 K, a compact condensing coil-fin tube heat exchanger (HEX) with a small storage vessel was mounted in the cold region of the dual regenerator assembly to be cooled during the hot-to-cold helium flow from alternatively demagnetized regenerators. The cold HEX was used to cool and liquefy a process stream of methane gas supplied at 295 K and different pressures in different runs. Further, by measuring time to liquefy a known volume of methane at three different pressures, cooling powers of the AMRR as a function of temperature were determined. The resultant data were compared to those predicted by the AMRR performance model. Conclusions from these experiments and suggestions for future work are presented.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Design and development of a space station hazardous material system for assessing chemical compatibility

As the Space Station nears reality in funding support from Congress, NASA plans to perform over a hundred different missions in the coming decade. Incrementally deployed, the Space Station will evolve into modules linked to an integral structure. Each module will have characteristic functions, such as logistics, habitation, and materials processing. Because the Space Station is to be user friendly for experimenters, NASA is anticipating that a variety of different chemicals will be taken on-board. Accidental release of these potentially toxic chemicals and their chemical compatibility is the focus of this discourse. The Microgravity Manufacturing Processing Facility (MMPF) will contain the various facilities within the U.S. Laboratory (USL). Each facility will have a characteristic purpose, such as alloy solidification or vapor crystal growth. By examining the proposed experiments for each facility, identifying the chemical constituents, their physical state and/or changes, byproducts and effluents, those payloads can be identified which may contain toxic, explosive, or reactive compounds that require processing or containment in mission peculiar waste management systems. Synergistic reactions from mixed effluent streams is of major concern. Each experiment will have it own data file, complete with schematic, chemical listing, physical data, etc. Chemical compatibility information from various databases will provide assistance in the analysis of alternate disposal techniques (pretreatment, separate storage, etc.). Along with data from the Risk Analysis of the Proposed USL Waste Management System, accidental release of potentially toxic and catastrophic chemicals would be eliminated or reduced.

Congo, Richard T.↗