Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “phase space dynamics”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 271 records · Page 15

Direct time-domain determination of electron-phonon coupling strengths in chromium

In this work, we report the results of an ultrafast, direct structural measurement of optically pumped phonons in a Cr thin film using ultrashort x-ray pulses from a free-electron laser. In addition to measuring and confirming the known long-wavelength dispersion relation of Cr along a particular acoustic branch, we are able to determine the relative phase of the phonons as they are generated. The Cr sample exhibits two generation mechanisms for the phonons: the releasing of a preexisting charge density wave at higher frequencies, and the creation of an acoustic strain pulse via laser heating that dominates at lower frequencies. Furthermore, for the latter mechanism, we are able to measure the frequency dependence of the time required to generate the phonons. To explain the observed magnitude and slope of the delays, we perform first-principles simulations in the framework of density functional perturbation theory and ab initio molecular dynamics to fit anharmonic phonon models. In conclusion, these results show that the wave-vector dependence of the electron-phonon coupling is the driving mechanism behind the delay times: Phase-space limitation leads to higher times near the zone center. The absolute magnitudes of the delay times measured are found to be much shorter than the equilibrium electron-phonon coupling times we compute, indicating that the coupling strength is greatly enhanced when the electronic system is out of equilibrium with the lattice, as has been seen in bismuth and other systems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

R&D toward a proof-of-principle experiment on optical stochastic cooling at the Fermilab’s IOTA ring

The stochastic-cooling method was invented in the late 70s and played a key role in the accumulation of intense beams of antiprotons for a head-on collision with counter rotating proton beams at 500 GeV in the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN. Such an improvement led to the discovery of the W and Z bosons in 1983. In brief, stochastic cooling relies on recording information (position) associated with short longitudinal slices within the bunch. The radiation is encoded on a radiofrequency (RF) signal, manipulated and used to correct the bunch slices at a later time.The repetitive correction is applied as the beam circulates in the ring ultimately cool the beam.Stochastic cooling has been successfully implemented in several machines for particle cooling and accumulation. Cooling of bunched beams in proton-(anti)proton colliders was challenging due to the high phase-space density of the bunches but was recently demonstrated at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Spinodal enhancement of fluctuations in nucleus-nucleus collisions

Subensemble Acceptance Method (SAM) [1, 2] is an essential link between measured event-by-event fluctuations and their grand canonical theoretical predictions such as lattice QCD. The method allows quantifying the global conservation law effects in fluctuations. In its basic formulation, SAM requires a sufficiently large system such as created in central nucleus-nucleus collisions and sufficient space-momentum correlations. Directly in the spinodal region of the First Order Phase Transition (FOPT) different approximations should be used that account for finite size effects. Thus, we present the generalization of SAM applicable in both the pure phases, metastable and unstable regions of the phase diagram [3]. Obtained analytic formulas indicate the enhancement of fluctuations due to crossing the spinodal region of FOPT and are tested using molecular dynamics simulations. A rather good agreement is observed. Using transport model calculations with interaction potential we show that the spinodal enhancement of fluctuations survives till the later stages of collision via the memory effect [4]. However, at low collision energies the space-momentum correlation is not strong enough for this signal to be transferred to second and third order cumulants measured in momentum subspace. This result agrees well with recent HADES data on proton number fluctuations at $\sqrt{S_{NN}}$ = 2.4 GeV which are found to be consistent with the binomial momentum space acceptance [5].

Poberezhnyuk, Roman↗

Ultrafast formation of topological defects in a two-dimensional charge density wave

Topological defects play a central role in dynamical systems undergoing a non-adiabatic transition. In solids, topological defects as a result of femtosecond laser excitation have attracted increasing interest not only because they are key to understanding phase transitions but also because they can generate a variety of hidden orders that are not accessible in thermal equilibrium. Despite the common occurrence of these defects in a non-equilibrium system, the fundamental limit on how fast they can emerge in solids and the generic pathway for defect creation at such fast timescales have remained open questions. Here we apply ultrafast electron diffraction to study the reciprocal-space signatures of transient defects in a two-dimensional charge density wave, where simultaneous measurements of both defect and phonon dynamics yield a microscopic view of defect formation in the femtosecond regime. We find that one-dimensional domain walls are generated well within 1 ps following photoexcitation, during which the defect growth is not dictated by the amplitude of the order parameter but is mediated by a non-thermal population of longitudinal optical phonons. In conclusion, our work provides a framework for the ultrafast engineering of topological defects that are coupled to specific collective modes, which will prove useful for the dynamical control of non-equilibrium phases in correlated materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Primitive to conventional geometry projection for efficient phonon transport calculations

Abstract The primitive Wigner-Seitz cell and corresponding first Brillouin zone (FBZ) are typically used in calculations of lattice vibrational and transport properties as they contain the smallest number of degrees of freedom and thus have the cheapest computational cost. However, in complex materials, the FBZ can take on irregular shapes where lattice symmetries are not apparent. Thus, conventional cells (with more atoms and regular shapes) are often used to describe materials, though dynamical and transport calculations are more expensive. Here we discuss an efficient anharmonic lattice dynamic method that maps conventional cell dynamics to primitive cell dynamics based on translational symmetries. Such symmetries have not been utilized in typical lattice dynamical calculations. This leads to phase interference conditions that act like conserved quantum numbers and a conservation rule for phonon scattering that is hidden in conventional dynamics which significantly reduces the computational cost. We demonstrate this method for phonon transport in a variety of materials with inputs from first-principles calculations and attribute its efficiency to reduced scattering phase space and fewer summations in scattering matrix element calculations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Available energy from diffusive and reversible phase space rearrangements

Rearranging the six-dimensional phase space of particles in plasma can release energy. The rearrangement may happen through the application of electric and magnetic fields, subject to various constraints. The maximum energy that can be released through a rearrangement of a distribution of particles can be called its available or free energy. Rearrangement subject to phase space volume conservation leads to the classic Gardner free energy. Less free energy is available when constraints are applied, such as respecting conserved quantities. Furthermore, less energy is available if particles can only be diffused in phase-space from regions of high phase-space density to regions of lower phase-space density. The least amount of free energy is available if particles can only be diffused in phase space, while conserved quantities still need to be respected.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Retrofittable Thermal Switches for Dynamic Building Envelopes Integrated with Thermal Energy Storage: Preprint

Buildings in the United States consume about 40 quadrillion BTU of primary energy annually, which accounts for the nation's 40% of total energy use, 75% of all electricity use, and 35% of the net carbon emissions. Deploying thermal energy storage in the form of phase change material (PCM) in building envelopes is an effective method to reduce space heating/cooling loads, provide load shedding, and shift demand to periods of lower energy cost. However, the full potential of PCM-integrated envelopes can only be realized if the PCM undergoes complete phase change using free ambient heating/cooling, and the stored energy is effectively transferred between the exterior and the interior environments. Conventional thermal insulation (with a fixed thermal resistance) limits PCM utilization, particularly with the increasing emphasis on higher R-value in building envelopes, which negatively affects the energy-saving potential of a PCM-integrated envelope. In contrast, dynamic building envelopes integrated with PCMs provide the option of varying the thermal resistance based on the indoor and outdoor conditions, thereby enhancing utilization of free ambient cooling and heating to charge/discharge the PCM thermal storage, reducing the buildings' heating and cooling load, and shifting the peak energy demand. In this study, we demonstrate innovative retrofittable thermal switches in the form of the insertable plugs inside an insulation to provide variable thermal resistance depending on the operating temperature and direction of temperature gradient, thus allowing preferential directional heat flow. Notably, they are passive in nature, requiring no external power, and work solely based on the ambient temperature.

buildings↗

Computationally aided, entropy-driven synthesis of highly efficient and durable multi-elemental alloy catalysts

Multi-elemental alloy nanoparticles (MEA-NPs) hold great promise for catalyst discovery in a virtually unlimited compositional space. However, rational and controllable synthesize of these intrinsically complex structures remains a challenge. Here, we report the computationally aided, entropy-driven design and synthesis of highly efficient and durable catalyst MEA-NPs. The computational strategy includes prescreening of millions of compositions, prediction of alloy formation by density functional theory calculations, and examination of structural stability by a hybrid Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics method. Selected compositions can be efficiently and rapidly synthesized at high temperature (e.g., 1500 K, 0.5 s) with excellent thermal stability. We applied these MEA-NPs for catalytic NH 3 decomposition and observed outstanding performance due to the synergistic effect of multi-elemental mixing, their small size, and the alloy phase. We anticipate that the computationally aided rational design and rapid synthesis of MEA-NPs are broadly applicable for various catalytic reactions and will accelerate material discovery.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Parameter Reduction of Composite Load Model Using Active Subspace Method

Over the past decades, the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) has dramatically changed the power load composition in the distribution networks. The traditional static and dynamic load models can hardly capture the dynamic behavior of modern loads especially for fault-induced delayed voltage recovery (FIDVR) events. Thus, a more comprehensive composite load model with combination of static load, different types of induction motors, single-phase A/C motor, electronic load and DERs has been proposed by Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). However, due to the large number of parameters and model complexity, the WECC composite load model (WECC CMLD) raises new challenges to power system studies. To overcome these challenges, in this paper, a cutting-edge parameter reduction (PR) approach for WECC CMLD based on active subspace method (ASM) is proposed. Firstly, the WECC CMLD is parameterized in a discrete-time manner for the application of the proposed method. Then, parameter sensitivities are calculated by discovering the active subspace, which is a lower-dimensional linear subspace of the parameter space of WECC CMLD in which the dynamic response is most sensitive. The interdependency among parameters can be taken into consideration by our approach. Finally, the numerical experiments validate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach for WECC CMLD model.

active subspace↗

Inclusive and differential cross section measurements of $ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}\textrm{b}\overline{\textrm{b}} $ production in the lepton+jets channel at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV

Measurements of inclusive and normalized differential cross sections of the associated production of top quark-antiquark and bottom quark-antiquark pairs, $ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}\textrm{b}\overline{\textrm{b}} $, are presented. The results are based on data from proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{−1}$. The cross sections are measured in the lepton+jets decay channel of the top quark pair, using events containing exactly one isolated electron or muon and at least five jets. Measurements are made in four fiducial phase space regions, targeting different aspects of the $ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}\textrm{b}\overline{\textrm{b}} $ process. Distributions are unfolded to the particle level through maximum likelihood fits, and compared with predictions from several event generators. The inclusive cross section measurements of this process in the fiducial phase space regions are the most precise to date. In most cases, the measured inclusive cross sections exceed the predictions with the chosen generator settings. The only exception is when using a particular choice of dynamic renormalization scale, $ {\mu}_{\textrm{R}}=\frac{1}{2}{\prod}_{i=\textrm{t},\overline{\textrm{t}},\textrm{b},\overline{\textrm{b}}}{m}_{\textrm{T},i}^{1/4} $, where $ {m}_{\textrm{T},i}^2={m}_i^2+{p}_{\textrm{T},i}^2 $ are the transverse masses of top and bottom quarks. The differential cross sections show varying degrees of compatibility with the theoretical predictions, and none of the tested generators with the chosen settings simultaneously describe all the measured distributions.[graphic not available: see fulltext]

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

An improved framework for the dynamic likelihood filtering approach to data assimilation

Here, we propose improvements to the Dynamic Likelihood Filter (DLF), a Bayesian data assimilation filtering approach, specifically tailored to wave problems. The DLF approach was developed to address the common challenge in the application of data assimilation to hyperbolic problems in the geosciences and in engineering, where observation systems are sparse in space and time. When these observations have low uncertainties, as compared to model uncertainties, the DLF exploits the inherent nature of information and uncertainties to propagate along characteristics to produce estimates that are phase aware as well as amplitude aware, as would be the case in the traditional data assimilation approach. Along characteristics, the stochastic partial differential equations underlying the linear or nonlinear stochastic dynamics are differential equations. This study focuses on developing the explicit challenges of relating dynamics and uncertainties in the Eulerian and Lagrangian frames via dynamic Gaussian processes. It also implements the approach using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and compares the DLF approach to the conventional one with respect to wave amplitude and phase estimates in linear and nonlinear wave problems. Numerical comparisons show that the DLF/EnKF outperforms the EnKF estimates, when applied to linear and nonlinear wave problems. This advantage is particularly noticeable when sparse, low uncertainty observations are used.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Microbubble dynamics and heat transfer in boiling droplets

Dissipating large heat fluxes from a surface is critically important in numerous industrial and natural applications. Boiling based spray cooling and surface texturing are two of the most promising methods being investigated to address this problem. Although our understanding on these topics has significantly improved over past decades, critical gaps remain in the knowledgebase stymieing the realization of their full potential. As an example, while bubble growth in pool boiling have been investigated in detail, comparatively little is known about how the bubbles evolve inside boiling drops. In the present work, we have investigated for the first time, the microbubble dynamics inside water droplets boiling on superhydrophilic textured substrates using high-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging (XRPCI). Our observations show that the transient bubble density variation follows similar characteristics irrespective of the texture spacing at a given surface temperature. For an example microstructure, we found that the number of discrete bubbles on the surface decreases as temperature is increased although their growth rate increases. Here, we observe that bubble growth is highly non-uniform during the lifetime of a drop on the surface. Initially, bubbles grow under diffusion-limited regime, but at later times they grow as ~t 1.45 due to combined effects of coalescence and evaporation. In some conditions, we found that bubbles shrink dramatically af- ter the initial growth spurt presumably due to severe quenching of the surface, and migration of bubbles on the surface. Using the bubble sizes, for the first time we analyzed the heat flux removed by a single bubble and also by all the bubbles at a given time. We find that the highest dissipation through latent- heat component (~600 W/cm 2 ) occurs just in the beginning and thereafter it decreases. We expect that our findings and the analysis would guide further work on the topic and will aid in the overarching goal of engineering surfaces that are more efficient in boiling heat transfer.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Conservative projection-based data-driven model order reduction of a fluid-kinetic spectral solver

Kinetic simulations are computationally intensive due to six-dimensional phase space discretization. Many kinetic spectral solvers use the asymmetrically weighted Hermite expansion due to its conservation and fluid-kinetic coupling properties, i.e., the lower-order Hermite moments capture and describe the macroscopic fluid dynamics, and higher-order Hermite moments describe the microscopic kinetic dynamics. We leverage this structure by developing a parametric data-driven reduced-order model based on the proper orthogonal decomposition, which projects the higher-order kinetic moments while retaining the fluid moments intact. We demonstrate analytically and numerically that the method ensures local and global mass, momentum, and energy conservation. The numerical results show that the proposed method effectively replicates the high-dimensional spectral simulations at a fraction of the computational cost and memory, as validated on the weak Landau damping and two-stream instability benchmark problems.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Phonons in complex twisted crystals: Angular momenta, interactions, and topology

We report phonons and their interactions are critically important for a variety of energy-relevant applications ranging from low thermal resistance substrates to thermal barrier coatings. Fundamental insights into the nature of phonons and allowed interactions are governed by the underlying symmetries of the crystal lattice. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive and detailed description of lattice dynamics derived from twist symmetries of chiral and achiral crystals—twist dynamics. Phonon bands naturally carry quantized crystal angular momentum derived from rotational phases, which give insights into the nature of band crossings and avoided crossings, selection rules for phonon interactions, and topological band crossing behaviors. Twist dynamics is demonstrated for a variety of materials covering a range of space groups, symmetry operations, twist axis orientations, and constituent elements. Furthermore, twist symmetry offers insights into peculiar features observed in scattering measurements. In this context, we present inelastic neutron scattering measurements for rutile TiO 2 and explain them using twist dynamics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Kinetic approach of light-nuclei production in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions

We develop a kinetic approach to the production of light nuclei up to mass number A ≤ 4 in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions by including them as dynamic degrees of freedom. The conversions between nucleons and light nuclei during the collisions are incorporated dynamically via the breakup of light nuclei by a nucleon and their reverse reactions. We also include the Mott effect on light nuclei; i.e., a light nucleus will no longer be bound if the phase-space density of its surrounding nucleons is too large. With this kinetic approach, we obtain a reasonable description of the measured yields of light nuclei in central Au+Au collisions at energies of 0.25⁢A GeV–1.0⁢A GeV by the FOPI Collaboration. Our study also indicates that the observed enhancement of the α-particle yield at low incident energies can be attributed to a weaker Mott effect on the α particle, which makes it more difficult to dissolve in nuclear medium, as a result of its much larger binding energy.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Observations and Modeling of the Onset of Fast Reconnection in the Solar Transition Region

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process that plays a critical role not only in energy release in the solar atmosphere, but also in fusion, astrophysics, and other space plasma environments. One of the challenges in explaining solar observations in which reconnection is thought to play a critical role is to account for the transition of the dynamics from a slow quasi-continuous phase to a fast and impulsive energetic burst of much shorter duration. Despite the theoretical progress in identifying mechanisms that might lead to rapid onset, a lack of observations of this transition has left models poorly constrained. High-resolution spectroscopic observations from NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph now reveal tell-tale signatures of the abrupt transition of reconnection from a slow phase to a fast, impulsive phase during UV bursts or explosive events in the Sun's atmosphere. Our observations are consistent with numerical simulations of the plasmoid instability, and provide evidence for the onset of fast reconnection mediated by plasmoids and new opportunities for remote-sensing diagnostics of reconnection mechanisms on the Sun.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗