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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 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Thermal analysis and measurement of a solar pond prototype to study the non-convective zone salt gradient stability

Solar ponds combine solar energy collection with long-term storage and can provide reliable thermal energy at temperature ranges from 50 to 90 °C. A solar pond consists of three distinct zones. The first zone, which is located at the top of the pond and contains the less dense saltwater mixture, is the absorption and transmission region, also known as the upper convective zone (UCZ). The second zone, which contains a variation of saltwater densities increasing with depth, is the gradient zone or non-convective zone (NCZ). The last zone is the storage zone or lower convective zone (LCZ). In this region, the density is uniform and near saturation. The stability of a solar pond prototype was experimentally performed. The setup is composed of an acrylic tube with a hot plate emulating the solar thermal energy input. A study of various salinity gradients was performed based on the Stability Margin Number (SMN) criterion, which is used to satisfy the dynamic stability criterion. It was observed that erosion of the NCZ was accelerated due to mass diffusion and convection in the LCZ. As a result, it can be determined that for this prototype the density of the NCZ is greatly affected as the SMN reaches 1.5.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Logic circuit prototypes for three-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions with mobile domain walls

Spintronic computing promises superior energy efficiency and nonvolatility compared to conventional field-effect transistor logic. But, it has proven difficult to realize spintronic circuits with a versatile, scalable device design that is adaptable to emerging material physics. Here we present prototypes of a logic device that encode information in the position of a magnetic domain wall in a ferromagnetic wire. We show that a single three-terminal device can perform inverter and buffer operations. We demonstrate one device can drive two subsequent gates and logic propagation in a circuit of three inverters. This prototype demonstration shows that magnetic domain wall logic devices have the necessary characteristics for future computing, including nonlinearity, gain, cascadability, and room temperature operation.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Crystalline symmetry-protected non-trivial topology in prototype compound BaAl 4

The BaAl 4 prototype crystal structure is the most populous of all structure types, and is the building block for a diverse set of sub-structures including the famous ThCr 2 Si 2 family that hosts high-temperature superconductivity and numerous magnetic and strongly correlated electron systems. The MA 4 family of materials (M = Sr, Ba, Eu; A = Al, Ga, In) themselves present an intriguing set of ground states including charge and spin orders, but have largely been considered as uninteresting metals. We predict the exemplary compound BaAl 4 to harbor a three-dimensional Dirac spectrum with non-trivial topology and possible nodal lines crossing the Brillouin zone, wherein one pair of semi-Dirac points with linear dispersion along the k z direction and quadratic dispersion along the k x / k y direction resides on the rotational axis with C 4 v point group symmetry. An extremely large, unsaturating positive magnetoresistance in BaAl 4 despite an uncompensated band structure is revealed, and quantum oscillations and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements confirm the predicted multiband semimetal structure with pockets of Dirac holes and a Van Hove singularity (VHS) remarkably consistent with the theoretical prediction. We thus present BaAl 4 as a topological semimetal, casting its prototype status into a role as a building block for a vast array of topological materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reversible anionic redox activity in Na 3 RuO 4 cathodes: a prototype Na-rich layered oxide

Sodium-ion batteries are attractive for large-scale energy storage due to the abundance of sodium, but the deficient capacity achieved by cathode materials prevents their further applications. Chemical substitution of Na in transition metal layers is a promising solution to utilize both the cationic and anionic redox activities for boosting energy storage. Unfortunately, different from the classic Li-rich Li 2 MnO 3 , a pure prototype with anionic redox activity has not been found among the typical Na-rich cathodes. In this paper, we originally design a Na-rich layered oxide prototype, namely Na 3 RuO 4 (Ru 5+ ), which delivers a partial reversible capacity solely via the participation of oxygen anions. More importantly, the anionic redox activity is validated by the in situ Raman observation of reversible peroxo-based O–O (de)bonding upon cycling. Finally, our findings not only highlight the multiple electron-transfer strategy for capacity extension, but also broaden the horizon in designing Na-rich electrode materials for high-energy sodium-ion batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2016

First Results of an “Artificial Retina” Processor Prototype

We report on the performance of a specialized processor capable of reconstructing charged particle tracks in a realistic LHC silicon tracker detector, at the same speed of the readout and with sub-microsecond latency. The processor is based on an innovative pattern-recognition algorithm, called “artificial retina algorithm”, inspired from the vision system of mammals. A prototype of the processor has been designed, simulated, and implemented on Tel62 boards equipped with high-bandwidth Altera Stratix III FPGA devices. The prototype is the first step towards a real-time track reconstruction device aimed at processing complex events of high-luminosity LHC experiments at 40 MHz crossing rate.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2010

Development of two-channel prototype ITER vacuum ultraviolet spectrometer with back-illuminated charge-coupled device and microchannel plate detectors

A vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectrometer of a five-channel spectral system is designed for ITER main plasma impurity measurement. To develop and verify the system design, a two-channel prototype system is fabricated with No. 3 (14.4-31.8 nm) and No. 4 (29.0-60.0 nm) among the five channels. The optical system consists of a collimating mirror to collect the light from source to slit, two holographic diffraction gratings with toroidal geometry, and two different electronic detectors. For the test of the prototype system, a hollow cathode lamp is used as a light source. To find the appropriate detector for ITER VUV system, two kinds of detectors of the back-illuminated charge-coupled device and the microchannel plate electron multiplier are tested, and their performance has been investigated.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2010

Fabrication of a Prototype All-Dielectric Micro-Accelerator

A laser-powered micron-scale, all-dielectric, slab-symmetric accelerator has been under development at UCLA for several years, with an experimental program underway. The device is built from dielectric Bragg reflectors and includes periodic nanoscale coupling structures, which requires micromanufacturing techniques and a cleanroom facility. We report here on results of fabrication experiments and the construction of a prototype device. A method for patterning the periodic coupling structures using electron beam lithography is described, and sputter deposition of thin films (such as ZrO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}) to create a distributed Bragg reflector is discussed. Future plan includes reflection and transmission measurements using the drive laser on prototype devices, and the resonance frequency and strength will be evaluated.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2010

Simulation study of Hohlraum experiments on SGIII-prototype laser facility

The Hohlraum physics experiments performed on the SGIII-prototype laser facility are simulated by using our two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic code LARED-H, and the influence of laser intensity on the two-dimensional Hohlraum simulations is studied. Both the temporal radiation temperature and the x-ray spectrum from the simulations agree well with the observations, except that the simulated M-band fraction (greater than 2 keV) is obviously smaller than the observation. According to our study, the coupling efficiency from laser to x-ray is around 70% for SGIII-prototype laser facility Hohlraums.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Prototype cantilevers for quantitative lateral force microscopy

Prototype cantilevers are presented that enable quantitative surface force measurements using contact-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). The ''hammerhead'' cantilevers facilitate precise optical lever system calibrations for cantilever flexure and torsion, enabling quantifiable adhesion measurements and friction measurements by lateral force microscopy (LFM). Critically, a single hammerhead cantilever of known flexural stiffness and probe length dimension can be used to perform both a system calibration as well as surface force measurements in situ, which greatly increases force measurement precision and accuracy. During LFM calibration mode, a hammerhead cantilever allows an optical lever ''torque sensitivity'' to be generated for the quantification of LFM friction forces. Precise calibrations were performed on two different AFM instruments, in which torque sensitivity values were specified with sub-percent relative uncertainty. To examine the potential for accurate lateral force measurements using the prototype cantilevers, finite element analysis predicted measurement errors of a few percent or less, which could be reduced via refinement of calibration methodology or cantilever design. The cantilevers are compatible with commercial AFM instrumentation and can be used for other AFM techniques such as contact imaging and dynamic mode measurements.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electrostatic sensors for SPIDER experiment: Design, manufacture of prototypes, and first tests

A system of electrostatic sensors has been designed for the SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) experiment, prototype RF source of the ITER NBI (neutral beam injection). A prototype of the sensor system was manufactured and tested at the BATMAN (BAvarian Test MAchine for Negative ions) facility, where the plasma environment is similar to that of SPIDER. Different aspects concerning the mechanical manufacturing and the signal conditioning are presented, among them the RF compensation adopted to reduce the RF effects which could lead to overestimated values of the electron temperature. The first commissioning tests provided ion saturation current values in the range assumed for the design, so the deduced plasma density estimate is consistent with the expected values.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Broad-band efficiency calibration of ITER bolometer prototypes using Pt absorbers on SiN membranes

The energy resolved efficiency of two bolometer detector prototypes for ITER with 4 channels each and absorber thicknesses of 4.5 μm and 12.5 μm, respectively, has been calibrated in a broad spectral range from 1.46 eV up to 25 keV. The calibration in the energy range above 3 eV was performed against previously calibrated silicon photodiodes using monochromatized synchrotron radiation provided by five different beamlines of Physikalische Technische Bundesanstalt at the electron storage rings BESSY II and Metrology Light Source in Berlin. For the measurements in the visible range, a setup was realised using monochromatized halogen lamp radiation and a calibrated laser power meter as reference. The measurements clearly demonstrate that the efficiency of the bolometer prototype detectors in the range from 50 eV up to ≈6 keV is close to unity; at a photon energy of 20 keV the bolometer with the thick absorber detects 80% of the photons, the one with the thin absorber about 50%. This indicates that the detectors will be well capable of measuring the plasma radiation expected from the standard ITER scenario. However, a minimum absorber thickness will be required for the high temperatures in the central plasma. At 11.56 keV, the sharp Pt-L{sub 3} absorption edge allowed to cross-check the absorber thickness by fitting the measured efficiency to the theoretically expected absorption of X-rays in a homogeneous Pt-layer. Furthermore, below 50 eV the efficiency first follows the losses due to reflectance expected for Pt, but below 10 eV it is reduced further by a factor of 2 for the thick absorber and a factor of 4 for the thin absorber. Most probably, the different histories in production, storage, and operation led to varying surface conditions and additional loss channels.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Status and operation of the Linac4 ion source prototypes

CERN's Linac4 45 kV H{sup −} ion sources prototypes are installed at a dedicated ion source test stand and in the Linac4 tunnel. The operation of the pulsed hydrogen injection, RF sustained plasma, and pulsed high voltages are described. The first experimental results of two prototypes relying on 2 MHz RF-plasma heating are presented. The plasma is ignited via capacitive coupling, and sustained by inductive coupling. The light emitted from the plasma is collected by viewports pointing to the plasma chamber wall in the middle of the RF solenoid and to the plasma chamber axis. Preliminary measurements of optical emission spectroscopy and photometry of the plasma have been performed. The design of a cesiated ion source is presented. The volume source has produced a 45 keV H{sup −} beam of 16–22 mA which has successfully been used for the commissioning of the Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT), Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator, and chopper of Linac4.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Evaluation of static mixer flow enhancements for cryogenic viscous compressor prototype for ITER vacuum system

As part of the U.S. ITER contribution to the vacuum systems for the ITER fusion project, a cryogenic viscous compressor (CVC) is being designed and fabricated to cryopump hydrogenic gases in the torus and neutral beam exhaust streams and to regenerate the collected gases to controlled pressures such that they can be mechanically pumped with controlled flows to the tritium reprocessing facility. One critical element of the CVC design that required additional investigation was the determination of flow rates of the low pressure (up to 1000 Pa) exhaust stream that would allow for complete pumping of hydrogenic gases while permitting trace levels of helium to pass through the CVC to be pumped by conventional vacuum pumps. A sub-scale prototype test facility was utilized to determine the effectiveness of a static mixer pump tube concept, which consisted of a series of rotated twisted elements brazed into a 2-mm thick, 5-cm diameter stainless steel tube. Cold helium gas flow provided by a dewar and helium transfer line was used to cool the exterior of the static mixer pump tube. Deuterium gas was mixed with helium gas through flow controllers at different concentrations while the composition of the exhaust gas was monitored with a Penning gauge and optical spectrometer to determine the effectiveness of the static mixer. It was found that with tube wall temperatures between 6 K and 9 K, the deuterium gas was completely cryopumped and only helium passed through the tube. These results have been used to design the cooling geometry and the static mixer pump tubes in the full-scale CVC prototype.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

A highly miniaturized electron and ion energy spectrometer prototype for the rapid analysis of space plasmas

MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) plasma analyzers are a promising possibility for future space missions but conventional instrument designs are not necessarily well suited to micro-fabrication. Here, a candidate design for a MEMS-based instrument has been prototyped using electron-discharge machining. The device features 10 electrostatic analyzers that, with a single voltage applied to it, allow five different energies of electron and five different energies of positive ion to be simultaneously sampled. It has been simulated using SIMION and the electron response characteristics tested in an instrument calibration chamber. Small deviations found in the electrode spacing of the as-built prototype were found to have some effect on the electron response characteristics but do not significantly impede its performance.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modeling and simulation of a beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic for the ITER prototype neutral beam injector

A test facility for the development of the neutral beam injection system for ITER is under construction at Consorzio RFX. It will host two experiments: SPIDER, a 100 keV H{sup −}/D{sup −} ion RF source, and MITICA, a prototype of the full performance ITER injector (1 MV, 17 MW beam). A set of diagnostics will monitor the operation and allow to optimize the performance of the two prototypes. In particular, beam emission spectroscopy will measure the uniformity and the divergence of the fast particles beam exiting the ion source and travelling through the beam line components. This type of measurement is based on the collection of the H{sub α}/D{sub α} emission resulting from the interaction of the energetic particles with the background gas. A numerical model has been developed to simulate the spectrum of the collected emissions in order to design this diagnostic and to study its performance. The paper describes the model at the base of the simulations and presents the modeled H{sub α} spectra in the case of MITICA experiment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Description of the prototype diagnostic residual gas analyzer for ITER

The diagnostic residual gas analyzer (DRGA) system to be used during ITER tokamak operation is being designed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to measure fuel ratios (deuterium and tritium), fusion ash (helium), and impurities in the plasma. The eventual purpose of this instrument is for machine protection, basic control, and physics on ITER. Prototyping is ongoing to optimize the hardware setup and measurement capabilities. The DRGA prototype is comprised of a vacuum system and measurement technologies that will overlap to meet ITER measurement requirements. Three technologies included in this diagnostic are a quadrupole mass spectrometer, an ion trap mass spectrometer, and an optical penning gauge that are designed to document relative and absolute gas concentrations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electric-field-induced paraelectric to ferroelectric phase transformation in prototypical polycrystalline BaTiO{sub 3}

An electric-field-induced paraelectric cubic to ferroelectric tetragonal phase transformation has been directly observed in prototypical polycrystalline BaTiO{sub 3} at temperatures above the Curie point (T{sub C}) using in situ high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The transformation persisted to a maximum temperature of 4 °C above T{sub C}. The nature of the observed field-induced transformation and the resulting development of domain texture within the induced phase were dependent on the proximity to the transition temperature, corresponding well to previous macroscopic measurements. The transition electric field increased with increasing temperature above T{sub C}, while the magnitude of the resultant tetragonal domain texture at the maximum electric field (4 kV mm{sup −1}) decreased at higher temperatures. These results provide insights into the phase transformation behavior of a prototypical ferroelectric and have important implications for the development of future large-strain phase-change actuator materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Prototyping of beam position monitor for medium energy beam transport section of RAON heavy ion accelerator

A heavy ion accelerator, RAON is going to be built by Rare Isotope Science Project in Korea. Its target is to accelerate various stable ions such as uranium, proton, and xenon from electron cyclotron resonance ion source and some rare isotopes from isotope separation on-line. The beam shaping, charge selection, and modulation should be applied to the ions from these ion sources because RAON adopts a superconducting linear accelerator structure for beam acceleration. For such treatment, low energy beam transport, radio frequency quadrupole, and medium energy beam transport (MEBT) will be installed in injector part of RAON accelerator. Recently, development of a prototype of stripline beam position monitor (BPM) to measure the position of ion beams in MEBT section is under way. In this presentation, design of stripline, electromagnetic (EM) simulation results, and RF measurement test results obtained from the prototyped BPM will be described.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗