Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “plasma properties”

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 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2022

Ultraviolet Spectropolarimetry with Polstar: Using Polstar to Test Magnetospheric Mass-Loss Quenching

Polstar is a proposed NASA MIDEX space telescope that will provide high-resolution, simultaneous full-Stokes spectropolarimetry in the far ultraviolet, together with low-resolution linear polarimetry in the near ultraviolet. This observatory offers unprecedented capabilities to obtain unique information on the magnetic and plasma properties of the magnetospheres of hot stars. We describe an observing program making use of the known population of magnetic hot stars to test the fundamental hypothesis that magnetospheres should act to rapidly drain angular momentum, thereby spinning the star down, whilst simultaneously reducing the net mass-loss rate. Both effects are expected to lead to dramatic differences in the evolution of magnetic vs. non-magnetic stars.

M. E. Shultz↗
NASA NTRS2023

The Case for Solar Full-disk Spectral Diagnostics: Chromosphere to Corona

In the context of the recent call for white papers for the Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024–2033, we present the argument that spatially-resolved spectral diagnostics over the full solar disk should be made a high-priority goal in Heliophysics and lead to the development of a mission concept that has the potential to become a cornerstone of the Heliophysics System Observatory (HSO). We claim that a mission providing consistent full-disk sampling of plasma properties (Doppler-shifts, non-thermal velocities, electron densities, elemental composition, etc.) of the chromosphere-corona system at the dynamic timescales of solar eruptive phenomena will revolutionize the field by adding the spectral diagnostics capability to the highly successful concept of full-disk imaging, everywhere, all the time, represented by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We argue for it to be developed by the end of the current Decadal Survey cycle around the lessons learned from spectroscopic missions in the current NASA development pipeline, that include innovative strategies for faster integration of large fields-of-view, and comprehensive temperature coverage.

Sun↗
NASA NTRS2023

Deriving Large Coronal Magnetic Loop Parameters Using LOFAR J Burst Observations

Large coronal loops around one solar radius in altitude are an important connection between the solar wind and the low solar corona. However, their plasma properties are ill-defined, as standard X-ray and UV techniques are not suited to these low-density environments. Diagnostics from type J solar radio bursts at frequencies above 10 MHz are ideally suited to understand these coronal loops. Despite this, J-bursts are less frequently studied than their type III cousins, in part because the curvature of the coronal loop makes them unsuited for using standard coronal density models. We used LOw-Frequency-ARray (LOFAR) and Parker Solar Probe (PSP) solar radio dynamic spectrum to identify 27 type III bursts and 27 J-bursts during a solar radio noise storm observed on 10 April 2019. We found that their exciter velocities were similar, implying a common acceleration region that injects electrons along open and closed magnetic structures. We describe a novel technique to estimate the density model in coronal loops from J-burst dynamic spectra, finding typical loop apex altitudes around 1.3 solar radius. At this altitude, the average scale heights were 0.36 solar radius, the average temperature was around 1 MK, the average pressure was 0.7mdyn cm -2 , and the average minimum magnetic field strength was 0.13 G. We discuss how these parameters compare with much smaller coronal loops.

Jinge Zhang↗
NASA NTRS2004

Effect of Sintering on Mechanical and Physical Properties of Plasma-Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coatings

The effect of sintering on mechanical and physical properties of free-standing plasma-sprayed ZrO2-8 wt% Y2O3 thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) was determined by annealing them at 1316 C in air. Mechanical and physical properties of the TBCs, including strength, modes I and II fracture toughness, elastic modulus, Poisson s response, density, microhardness, fractography, and phase stability, were determined at ambient temperature as a function of annealing time ranging from 0 to 500 h. All mechanical and physical properties, except for the amount of monoclinic phase, increased significantly in 5 to 100 h and then reached a plateau above 100 h. Annealing resulted in healing of microcracks and pores and in grain growth, accompanying densification of the TBC s body due to the sintering effect. However, an inevitable adverse effect also occurred such that the desired lower thermal conductivity and good expansivity, which makes the TBCs unique in thermal barrier applications, were degraded upon annealing. A model was proposed to assess and quantify all the property variables in response to annealing in a normalized scheme. Directionality of as-sprayed TBCs appeared to have an insignificant effect on their properties, as determined via fracture toughness, microhardness, and elastic modulus measurements.

Choi, Sung R.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Kinetic effects of self-organization in low-temperature magnetized plasmas (Final Report for DE-SC0019045: 9/1/2018-8/31/2019)

The research goal of this Early Career Research Program project is to advance the science of low temperature magnetized plasmas using first-principles kinetic, e.g., solving the Boltzmann equation, models. A better understanding of the plasma transport properties, such as electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity must be obtained to better control and design magnetized plasma sources. A key physical phenomenon in low-temperature magnetized plasmas is the self-organization of plasma flows, e.g., coherent plasma structures and transition between different discharge modes. Understanding the physics of coherent plasma structures has been identified as one of the four important frontier topics in a recent workshop by the Office of Fusion Energy Science. These self-emerging plasma patterns results from the nonlinear coupling between plasma constituents (ions, electrons, and neutral atoms), electromagnetic fields, and materials. The physics of low-temperature magnetized plasmas is particularly complex because (i) the collisionless instabilities affect collisional phenomena (ionization, transport, etc.) and vice versa and (ii) the presence of materials (sheath, electron injection, etc.) influences the bulk plasma properties in low-temperature plasma (LTP) devices. Computational models of these plasma flows remain challenging because the plasma density can vary several orders of magnitudes, a wide range of temporal and spatial scales must be resolved, the phenomena are inherently three-dimensional, and various physical processes, such as wall interaction, instabilities, inelastic collisions, etc., must be simultaneously and self-consistently taken into account. Understanding the fundamental transport mechanisms in cross-field configurations enables additional controllability of plasma properties and electron energy distribution functions (EEDFs).

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1997

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Vacuum Plasma Sprayed Cu-8Cr-4Nb

This paper compares the tensile properties of Cu-8Cr-4Nb material produced by VPS to material previously produced by extrusion. The microstructure of the VPS material is also presented. The combustion chamber liner of rocket motors represents an extreme materials application. The liner hot wall is exposed to a 2760 C (5000 F) flame while the cold side is exposed to cryogenic hydrogen liquid. Materials for use in the combustion chamber liner require a combination of high temperature strength, creep resistance, and low cycle fatigue resistance along with high thermal conductivity. The hot side is also subject to localized cycles between reducing and oxidizing environments that degrade the liner by a process called blanching. A new Cu-8 at.% Cr-4 at% Nb (Cu-8Cr-4Nb) alloy has been developed at NASA Lewis Research Center as a replacement for the currently used alloy, NARloy-z (Cu-3 wt.% Ag-0.5 wt.% Zr). The alloy is strengthened by a fine dispersion of Cr2Nb particles. The alloy has better mechanical properties than NARloy-Z while retaining most of the thermal conductivity of pure copper. The alloy has been successfully consolidated by extrusion and hot isostatic pressing (HIPing). However, vacuum plasma spraying (VPS) offers several advantages over prior consolidation methods. VPS can produce a near net shape piece with the profile of the liner. In addition, oxidation resistant and thermal barrier coatings can be incorporated as an integral part of the liner hot wall during the VPS deposition. The low oxygen VPS Cu-8Cr-4Nb exhibits a higher strength than Cu-8Cr-4Nb produced by extrusion at elevated temperatures and a comparable strength at room temperature. Moduli and ductility were not significantly different. However, the ability to produce parts to near-net shape and maintain the good elevated temperature tensile properties of the extruded Cu-8Cr-4Nb makes VPS an attractive processing method for fabricating rocket engine combustion liners.

Holmes, Richard↗
DOE OSTI2020

Elastic Properties of Plasma-Exposed Tungsten Predicted by Molecular-Dynamics Simulations

We report results of systematic molecular-dynamics computations of the elastic properties of single-crystalline tungsten containing structural defects, voids and overpressurized He nanobubbles, related to plasma exposure of tungsten serving as a plasma- facing component (PFC) in nuclear fusion devices. Our computations reveal that the empty voids are centers of dilatation resulting in development of tensile stress in the tungsten matrix, whereas He-filled voids (nanobubbles) introduce compressive stress in the plasma-exposed tungsten. We find that the dependence of the elastic moduli of plasma-exposed tungsten, namely, the bulk, Young, and shear modulus, on its void fraction follows a universal exponential scaling relation. We also find that the elastic moduli of plasma-exposed tungsten soften substantially as a function of He content in the tungsten matrix, following an exponential scaling relation; this He-induced exponential softening is in addition to the softening caused in the matrix with increasing temperature. A systematic characterization of the dependence of the elastic moduli on the He bubble size reveals that He bubble growth affects significantly both the bulk modulus and the Poisson ratio of plasma-exposed tungsten, while its effect on the Young and shear moduli of the plasma-exposed material is weak. Our findings contribute directly to the development of a structure-properties database that is required for the predictive modeling of the dynamical response of PFCs in nuclear fusion devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1984

Plasma variables and tribological properties of coatings in low pressure (0.1 - 10.0 torr) plasma systems

A detailed treatment is presented of the dialog known as plasma surface interactions (PSI) with respect to the coating process and its tribological behavior. Adsorption, morphological changes, defect formation, sputtering, chemical etching, and secondary electron emission are all discussed as promoting and enhancing the surface chemistry, thus influencing the tribological properties of the deposited flux. Phenomenological correlations of rate of deposition, flux composition, microhardness, and wear with the plasma layer variables give an insight to the formation of chemical bonding between the deposited flux and the substrate surface.

Avni, R.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Mechanical Properties of Plasma-Sprayed ZrO2-8 wt% Y2O3 Thermal Barrier Coatings

Mechanical behavior of free standing, plasma-sprayed ZrO2-8 wt% Y2O3 thermal barrier coatings, including strength, fracture toughness, fatigue, constitutive relation, elastic modulus, and directionality, has been determined under various loading-specimen configurations. This report presents and describes a summary of mechanical properties of the plasma-sprayed coating material to provide them as a design database.

Choi, Sung R.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effects of Plasma on Physical Properties of Water: Nanocrystalline-to-Amorphous Phase Transition and Improving Produce Washing

Washing fresh produce using Plasma-activated water recently became a promising eco-friendly alternative to using chemical additives such as Chlorine. We discuss the produce-washing experiments that illustrate that addition of plasma to washing water is a multi-faced phenomena. Not only it increases the sterilization ability of water by killing pathogens, but it also has improved washibility: the ability to remove pathogens from the cleaning surface. We propose an explanation of these features based on the recently discoveries that many physical and chemical properties of water change their temperature dependence between about 35 and 60 degrees Celsius. In particular, heat conductance, light absorption, and surface tension all change their temperature dependence. These drastic changes were associated with water gradually changing its mesoscopic structure: while at the higher temperatures water is a uniform media (amorphous state), at the temperatures below transition it consists of many nano-to-micro-scale clusters (crystalline state). This transition is similar to the second order phase transition. In the present paper we propose that treating water with non-thermal plasma (adding plasma-created active compounds) can lower the temperature of the transition and thus cause a significant change in such physical quantities as surface tension, viscosity, freezing rate, and wettability and washability.

He, Jinjie↗
NASA NTRS2015

Mechanical Properties of Air Plasma Sprayed Environmental Barrier Coating (EBC) Materials

Development work in Environmental Barrier Coatings (EBCs) for Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) has focused considerably on the identification of materials systems and coating architectures to meet application needs. The evolution of these systems has occurred so quickly that modeling efforts and requisite data for modeling lag considerably behind development. Materials property data exists for many systems in the bulk form, but the effects of deposition on the critical properties of strength and fracture behavior are not well studied. We have plasma sprayed bulk samples of baseline EBC materials (silicon, ytterbium disilicate) and tested the mechanical properties of these materials to elicit differences in strength and toughness. We have also endeavored to assess the mixed-mode fracture resistance, Gc, of silicon in a baseline EBC applied to SiCSiC CMC via four point bend test. These results are compared to previously determined properties of the comparable bulk material.

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC's)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparison of passivation properties of plasma-assisted ALD and APCVD deposited Al 2 O 3 with SiN x capping

In this paper, we report on the direct comparison of Al 2 O 3 films deposited by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (ALD) and atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) techniques on the passivation properties of both bare and boron diffused Si surfaces. It is found that ALD and APCVD deposited Al 2 O 3 layers with SiN x capping have very similar chemical composition, hydrogen concentration at the Al 2 O 3 /Si interface, and interface defect density (D it ), but the ALD film has slightly higher negative fixed charge (Q f ) after a high temperature (~750 °C) contact firing cycle typically used for solar cell fabrication. Both films showed excellent surface recombination velocities of <5 cm/s on planar and textured un-diffused Si wafers, but the ALD films gave 1 to 8 fA/cm 2 lower emitter saturation current densities (J 0e ) on implanted boron emitters with sheet resistance in the range of 90–180 Ω/. This is attributed to the observed slightly higher negative charge-induced field-effect passivation in the ALD films. However, SiN x /Al 2 O 3 /p + /n/n + passivated emitter rear totally diffused (PERT) cell structures fabricated with 110 and 150 Ω/ emitter in this study showed no appreciable difference in cell efficiency. Device analysis and simulations showed that even for >23% high-performance solar cells design, with very low bulk and rear contact recombination, the observed small difference in J 0e has negligible effect on cell efficiency. Furthermore, APCVD Al 2 O 3 passivation of B emitter can produce comparable efficiencies to their counterpart ALD Al 2 O 3 passivated n-type Si solar cells.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2000

Generalized Langmuir Waves in Magnetized Kinetic Plasmas

The properties of unmagnetized Langmuir waves and cold plasma magnetoionic waves (x, o, z and whistler) are well known. However, the connections between these modes in a magnetized kinetic plasma have not been explored in detail. Here, wave properties are investigated by numerically solving the dispersion equation derived from the Vlasov equations both with and without a beam instability present. For omega(sub p)>Omega(sub e), it is shown that the generalized Langmuir mode at oblique propagation angles has magnetic z-mode characteristics at low wave numbers and thermal Langmuir mode characteristics at high wave numbers. For omega(sub p)<Omega(sub e), it is shown that the (oblique) Langmuir mode instead connects to the whistler mode at low wave numbers. The transition from the Langmuir/z mode to the Langmuir/whistler mode near omega(sub p) = Omega(sub e) is rapid. In addition, the effects on wave dispersion and polarization after adding a beam are investigated. Applications of this theory to magnetized Langmuir waves in Earth's foreshock and the solar wind, to waves observed near the plasma frequency in the auroral regions, and to solar type III bursts are discussed.

Willes, A. J.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Filamentary velocity scaling validation and spin dynamics in the DIII-D tokamak

Measured filament velocities in the DIII-D tokamak are compared against theoretical scalings, finding that the latter often represents an upper limit on experimental velocity distributions with most filaments possessing lower velocity. Filament spin from internal E × B drift is experimentally demonstrated to alter filament radial velocity. A critical spin velocity, where filament radial velocity peaks, is observed and corresponds to approximately 5 km/s. This transition is corroborated using a less direct measure of filament spin in the form of a temperature ratio. These techniques are combined to find that the critical spin velocity closely aligns with transport times along and across filaments becoming comparable. The normalized filament size distribution is consistent with the most stable size as dictated by Kelvin–Helmholtz and curvature-driven instabilities. Overall, the findings suggest filament stability and spin alter filamentary transport that may threaten the integrity of first walls in fusion devices.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effects of plasma on physical properties of water: nanocrystalline-to-amorphous phase transition and improving produce washing

Recently is was discovered in various applications that many physical and chemical properties of water change their temperature dependence between about 35 and 60 degrees Celsius. In particular, heat conductance, light absorption, and surface tension all change their temperature dependence. These drastic changes were associated with water gradually changing its mesoscopic structure: while at the higher temperatures water is a uniform media (amorphous state), at the temperatures below transition it consists of many nano-to-micro-scale clusters (crystalline state). This transition is similar to the second order phase transition. In the present paper we show that treating water with non-thermal plasma (adding plasma-created active compounds) can lower the temperature of the transition and thus cause a significant change in such physical quantities as surface tension, viscosity, freezing rate, and wettability and washability. We present analytical estimates of the transition temperature shift based on the Debye-Hückel theory. We discuss the produce-washing experiments that illustrate the predicted effects.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗