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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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

An inelastic homogenization framework for layered materials with planes of weakness

Many geologic materials have a composite structure, in which macroscopic mechanical behavior is determined by the properties, shape, and heterogeneous distribution of individual constituents. In particular, sedimentary rocks commonly exhibit a layered microstructure, with distinct bedding planes that can also form planes of weakness. In this work, we present a homogenization framework for modeling inelastic layered media. The proposed constitutive model allows for distinct micro-constitutive laws for each layer, explicit representation of layer distributions, as well as incorporation of imperfect bonding at the interface between adjacent layers. No a priori assumptions are needed regarding the specific constitutive models used for the layers and interfaces, providing significant modeling flexibility. The overall framework provides a simple and physically-motivated way of defining anisotropic material behavior as an emergent property of the layered microstructure. The model is calibrated using triaxial and true-triaxial experimental data to demonstrate its ability to describe anisotropic deformation and multiple modes of failure.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Equivariant graph convolutional neural networks for the representation of homogenized anisotropic microstructural mechanical response

Composite materials with different microstructural material symmetries are common in engineering applications where grain structure, alloying and particle/fiber packing are optimized via controlled manufacturing. In fact these microstructural tunings can be done throughout a part to achieve functional gradation and optimization at a structural level. To predict the performance of particular microstructural configuration and thereby overall performance, constitutive models of materials with microstructure are needed. In this work we provide neural network architectures that provide effective homogenization models of materials with anisotropic components. These models satisfy equivariance and material symmetry principles inherently through a combination of equivariant and tensor basis operations. We demonstrate them on datasets of stochastic volume elements with different textures and phases where the material undergoes elastic and plastic deformation, and show that the these network architectures provide significant performance improvements.

anisotropy↗
DOE OSTI2017

Investigations of effect of phase change mass transfer rate on cavitation process with homogeneous relaxation model

The super high fuel injection pressure and micro size of nozzle orifice has been an important development trend for the fuel injection system. Accordingly, cavitation transient process, fuel compressibility, amount of noncondensable gas in the fuel and cavitation erosion have attracted more attention. Based on the fact of cavitation in itself is a kind of thermodynamic phase change process, this paper takes the perspective of the cavitation phase change mass transfer process to analyze above mentioned phenomenon. The two-phase cavitating turbulent flow simulations with VOF approach coupled with HRM cavitation model and U-RANS of standard k-ε turbulence model were performed for investigations of cavitation phase change mass transfer process. It is concluded the mass transfer time scale coefficient in the Homogenous Relaxation Model (HRM) representing mass transfer rate should tend to be as small as possible in a condition that ensured the solver stable. At very fast mass transfer rate, the phase change occurs at very thin interface between liquid and vapor phase and condensation occurs more focused and then will contribute predictably to a more serious cavitation erosion. Both the initial non-condensable gas in fuel and the fuel compressibility can accelerate the cavitation mass transfer process.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Frozen storage of proteins: Use of mannitol to generate a homogenous freeze-concentrate

Therapeutic proteins may be subjected to several freeze–thaw cycles throughout manufacturing and storage. The protein solution composition and the freezing conditions may lead to incomplete ice crystallization in the frozen state. This can also result in freeze-concentrate heterogeneity characterized by multiple glass transition temperatures and protein destabilization. The overall objective was to investigate the potential advantages of including a crystallizing excipient (mannitol) along with a sugar (sucrose or trehalose) for frozen storage. Here, this study showed that the addition of mannitol, a readily crystallizing excipient, facilitated ice crystallization. Inclusion of an isothermal hold during cooling (annealing) maximized the mannitol crystallization and resulted in a homogenous freeze-concentrate of a constant composition characterized by a single glass transition temperature. The role of freezing rate and annealing on both mannitol and ice crystallization were discerned using high intensity synchrotron radiation. The addition of sucrose or trehalose, at an appropriate concentration, stabilized the protein. The mannitol to sugar ratio (3:1 or 1:1, 5 % w/v) was optimized to selectively cause maximal crystallization of mannitol while retaining the sugar amorphous. Human serum albumin (1 mg/mL) in these optimized and annealed compositions did not show any meaningful aggregation, even after multiple freeze–thaw cycles. Thus, in addition to a sugar as a stabilizer, the use of a crystallizing excipient coupled with an annealing step can provide an avenue for frozen storage of proteins.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

A new magnesium sheet alloy and its multi-stage homogenization for simultaneously improved ductility and strength at room temperature

We report that a new Mg-2Zn-0.3Ca-0.2Ce-0.1Mn (ZXEM2000) alloy and a multi-stage homogenization process have been designed and developed based on CALculation of Phase Diagram (CALPHAD) modeling results and experimental validation. The new sheet alloy offers an excellent combination of ductility (about 29% elongation) and yield strength (157 MPa), promising room-temperature forming applications. Microstructure characterization reveals that the exceptional properties of this alloy are mainly attributed to the weak basal texture, fine average grain size and high density of nano-scale Mn and Mg 6 Zn 3 Ca 2 precipitates achieved through multi-stage heat treatment and thermomechanical processing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Acoustic cloaking: Geometric transform, homogenization and a genetic algorithm

A general process is proposed to experimentally design anisotropic inhomogeneous metamaterials obtained through a change of coordinates in the Helmholtz equation. The method is applied to the case of a cylindrical transformation that allows cloaking to be performed. To approximate such complex metamaterials we apply results of the theory of homogenization and combine them with a genetic algorithm. To illustrate the power of our approach, we design three types of cloaks composed of isotropic concentric layers structured with three types of perforations: curved rectangles, split rings and crosses. These cloaks have parameters compatible with existing technology and they mimic the behavior of the transformed material. Numerical simulations have been performed to qualitatively and quantitatively study the cloaking efficiency of these metamaterials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of Atwood and Reynolds numbers on the evolution of buoyancy-driven homogeneous variable-density turbulence

The evolution of buoyancy-driven homogeneous variable-density turbulence (HVDT) at Atwood numbers up to 0.75 and large Reynolds numbers is studied by using high-resolution direct numerical simulations. To help understand the highly non-equilibrium nature of buoyancy-driven HVDT, the flow evolution is divided into four different regimes based on the behaviour of turbulent kinetic energy derivatives. The results show that each regime has a unique type of dependence on both Atwood and Reynolds numbers. It is found that the local statistics of the flow based on the flow composition are more sensitive to Atwood and Reynolds numbers compared to those based on the entire flow. It is also observed that, at higher Atwood numbers, different flow features reach their asymptotic Reynolds-number behaviour at different times. The energy spectrum defined based on the Favre fluctuations momentum has less large-scale contamination from viscous effects for variable-density flows with constant properties, compared to other forms used previously. The evolution of the energy spectrum highlights distinct dynamical features of the four flow regimes. Thus, the slope of the energy spectrum at intermediate to large scales evolves from -7/3 to -1 , as a function of the production-to-dissipation ratio. The classical Kolmogorov spectrum emerges at intermediate to high scales at the highest Reynolds numbers examined, after the turbulence starts to decay. Finally, the similarities and differences between buoyancy-driven HVDT and the more conventional stationary turbulence are discussed and new strategies and tools for analysis are proposed.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2012

Integral equation for electrostatic waves generated by a point source in a spatially homogeneous magnetized plasma

The electric field generated by a time varying point charge in a three-dimensional, unbounded, spatially homogeneous plasma with a uniform background magnetic field and a uniform (static) flow velocity is studied in the electrostatic approximation which is often valid in the near field. For plasmas characterized by Maxwell distribution functions with isotropic temperatures, the linearized Vlasov-Poisson equations may be formulated in terms of an equivalent integral equation in the time domain. The kernel of the integral equation has a relatively simple mathematical form consisting of elementary functions such as exponential and trigonometric functions (sines and cosines), and contains no infinite sums of Bessel functions. Consequently, the integral equation is amenable to numerical solutions and may be useful for the study of the impulse response of magnetized plasmas and, more generally, the response to arbitrary waveforms.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Simulation study of wakefield generation by two color laser pulses propagating in homogeneous plasma

This paper deals with a two-dimensional simulation of electric wakefields generated by two color laser pulses propagating in homogeneous plasma, using VORPAL simulation code. The laser pulses are assumed to have a frequency difference equal to the plasma frequency. Simulation studies are performed for two similarly as well as oppositely polarized laser pulses and the respective amplitudes of the generated longitudinal wakefields for the two cases are compared. Enhancement of wake amplitude for the latter case is reported. This simulation study validates the analytical results presented by Jha et al.[Phys. Plasmas 20, 053102 (2013)].

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Conceptual design of a new homogeneous reactor for medical radioisotope Mo-99/Tc-99m production

To partly solve the global and regional shortages of Mo-99 supply, a conceptual design of a nitrate-fuel-solution based homogeneous reactor dedicated for Mo-99/Tc-99m medical radioisotope production is proposed. The modified LEU Cintichem process for Mo-99 extraction which has been licensed and demonstrated commercially for decades by BATAN is taken into account as a key design consideration. The design characteristics and main parameters are identified and the advantageous aspects are shown by comparing with the BATAN's existing Mo-99 supply chain which uses a heterogeneous reactor (RSG GAS multipurpose reactor)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Propagation characteristics of two-color laser pulses in homogeneous plasma

An analytical and numerical study of the evolution of two-color, sinusoidal laser pulses in cold, underdense, and homogeneous plasma has been presented. The wave equations for the radiation fields driven by linear as well as nonlinear contributions due to the two-color laser pulses have been set up. A variational technique is used to obtain the simultaneous equations describing the evolution of the laser spot size, pulse length, and chirp parameter. Numerical methods are used to graphically analyze the simultaneous evolution of these parameters due to the combined effect of the two-color laser pulses. Further, the pulse parameters are compared with those obtained for a single laser pulse. Significant focusing, compression, and enhanced positive chirp is obtained due to the combined effect of simultaneously propagating two-color pulses as compared to a single pulse propagating in plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Convolutional Non-Homogeneous Poisson Process and its Application to Wildfire Ignition Risk Quantification for Power Delivery Networks

To quantify wildfire ignition risks on power delivery networks, the current practice predominantly relies on the empirically calculated fire danger indices, which may not well capture the effects of dynamically changing environmental factors. This article proposes a spatio-temporal point process model, known as the Convolutional Non-homogeneous Poisson Process (cNHPP), and applies the model to quantify wildfire ignition risks for power delivery networks. The proposed model captures both the current (i.e., instantaneous) and cumulative (i.e., historical) effects of key environmental processes (i.e., covariates) on wildfire risks, as well as the spatio-temporal dependency among different segments of the power delivery network. The computation and interpretation of the intensity function are thoroughly investigated. We apply the proposed approach to estimate wildfire ignition risks on major transmission lines in California, using historical fire data, meteorological and vegetation data obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Here, a comprehensive comparison study is performed to show the applicability and predictive capability of the proposed approach.

Non-homogeneous Poisson Process↗
DOE OSTI2023

Static Self-Energy and Effective Mass of the Homogeneous Electron Gas from Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations

We discuss the methodology of quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the effective mass based on the static self-energy Σ(k,0). We then use variational Monte Carlo calculations of Σ(k,0) of the homogeneous electron gas at various densities to obtain results very close to perturbative G 0 W 0 calculations for values of the density parameter 1 ≤ r s ≤ 10. Here, the obtained values for the effective mass are close to diagrammatic Monte Carlo results and disagree with previous quantum Monte Carlo calculations based on a heuristic mapping of excitation energies to those of an ideal gas.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-throughput homogenization of a quasi-Gaussian ultrafast laser beam using a combined refractive beam shaper and spatial light modulator

Efficiently shaping femtosecond, transverse Gaussian laser beams to flat-top beams with flat wavefronts is critical for large-scale material processing and manufacturing. Existing beam shaping devices fall short either in final beam homogeneity or efficiency. Here, we present an approach that uses refractive optics to perform the majority of the beam shaping and then uses a fine-tune device (spatial light modulator) to refine the intensity profile. For the beam that we selected, circularly asymmetric with intensity fluctuations, our method achieved a uniformity of 0.055 within 90% of the beam area at 92% efficiency. The optimization involved an iterative beam shaping process that converged to optimum within 10 iterations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Reaction-space analysis of homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion with varying levels of fuel stratification under positive and negative valve overlap conditions

Full-cycle computational fluid dynamics simulations with gasoline chemical kinetics were performed to determine the impact of breathing and fuel injection strategies on thermal and compositional stratification, combustion and emissions during homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion. The simulations examined positive valve overlap and negative valve overlap strategies, along with fueling by port fuel injection and direct injection. The resulting charge mass distributions were analyzed prior to ignition using ignition delay as a reactivity metric. The reactivity stratification arising from differences in the distributions of fuel–oxygen equivalence ratio (Φ FO ), oxygen molar fraction (χ O2 ) and temperature (T) was determined for three parametric studies. In the first study, the reactivity stratification and burn duration for positive valve overlap valve events with port fuel injection and early direct injection were nearly identical and were dominated by wall-driven thermal stratification. nitrogen oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were negligible for both injection strategies. In the second study, which examined negative valve overlap valve events with direct injection and port fuel injection, reactivity stratification increased for direct injection as the Φ FO and T distributions associated with direct fuel injection into the hot residual gas were positively correlated; however, the latent heat absorbed from the hot residual gas by the evaporating direct injection fuel jet reduced the overall thermal and reactivity stratification. These stratification effects were offsetting, resulting in similar reactivity stratification and burn durations for the two injection strategies. The higher local burned gas temperatures with direct injection resulted in an order of magnitude increase in NO, while incomplete combustion of locally over-lean regions led to a sevenfold increase in CO emissions compared to port fuel injection. The final study evaluated positive valve overlap and negative valve overlap valve events with direct injection. Furthermore, relative to positive valve overlap, the negative valve overlap condition had a wider reactivity stratification, a longer burn duration and higher NO and CO emissions associated with reduced fuel–air mixing.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optimization of the deep neural network parameters for generating homogenized fuel assembly data for nodal codes

Homogenized fuel assembly (FA) data is a typical input data for nodal codes. Generating that data, however, could be time-consuming. One of promising ways to mitigate the computational burden of generating macroscopic cross-sections is to use trained artificial neural network (ANN) models for predicting nuclear data. However, there is a challenge to make the model support variable FA geometry. In this work, two most common types of FA were combined in one ANN model. Since there could be multiple ways of converting 2-dimensional FA data into 1-dimensional input vector for ANN, three different approaches of data flattening were evaluated. The input parameters included each fuel pin enrichment, fuel temperature, moderator temperature and boron concentration. The output parameters were 2-group macroscopic cross-sections (XS) and pin power distribution (HFF). A fully connected deep neural network (DNN) model was trained and tested using pre-generated data obtained with lattice physics code STREAM. The results of this study showed no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of XS and HFF generation for all 3 tested input vector orders. This means that fully connected DNN for XS generation demonstrated input sequence invariance. Results of comparing predicted XS data with reference solutions were found sufficiently close considering the reduction of computation time offered by ANN. Mean relative difference (MRD) for all output XS parameters was found below 0.7%, while HFF MRD was found higher compared to XS values, in some cases slightly exceeding 1%, mostly near guide tube locations. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Simulator for SUPO, a Benchmark Aqueous Homogeneous Reactor (AHR)

A simulator has been developed for SUPO (Super Power) an aqueous homogeneous reactor (AHR) that operated at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) from 1951 to 1974. During that period SUPO accumulated approximately 600,000 kWh of operation. It is considered the benchmark for steady-state operation of an AHR. The SUPO simulator was developed using the process that resulted in a simulator for an accelerator-driven subcritical system, which has been previously reported.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Level 1 transient model for a molybdenum-99 producing aqueous homogeneous reactor and its applicability to the tracy reactor

Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Group (B and W) has identified aqueous homogeneous reactors (AHRs) as a technology well suited to produce the medical isotope molybdenum 99 (Mo-99). AHRs have never been specifically designed or built for this specialized purpose. However, AHRs have a proven history of being safe research reactors. In fact, in 1958, AHRs had 'a longer history of operation than any other type of research reactor using enriched fuel' and had 'experimentally demonstrated to be among the safest of all various type of research reactor now in use [1].' A 'Level 1' model representing B and W's proposed Medical Isotope Production System (MIPS) reactor has been developed. The Level 1 model couples a series of differential equations representing neutronics, temperature, and voiding. Neutronics are represented by point reactor kinetics while temperature and voiding terms are axially varying (one-dimensional). While this model was developed specifically for the MIPS reactor, its applicability to the Japanese TRACY reactor was assessed. The results from the Level 1 model were in good agreement with TRACY experimental data and found to be conservative over most of the time domains considered. The Level 1 model was used to study the MIPS reactor. An analysis showed the Level 1 model agreed well with a more complex computational model of the MIPS reactor (a FETCH model). Finally, a significant reactivity insertion was simulated with the Level 1 model to study the MIPS reactor's time-dependent response. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗