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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Parametric Study of the Vacuum Permeator for the Tritium Extraction eXperiment

Tritium breeding is a critical component of any self-sustaining future fusion reactor. The liquid metal eutectic, PbLi, is of particular interest as a tritium breeder material due to its favorable thermophysical and neutronic properties. One of the several remaining challenges facing PbLi breeder blankets is the need to design and validate a highly efficient tritium extraction system. The vacuum permeator is a promising extraction concept that utilizes tritium permeation through a highly permeable metal membrane. The Tritium Extraction eXperiment (TEX) is a forced-convection PbLi loop constructed to investigate tritium extraction from PbLi with vacuum permeators. Accurate thermal-hydraulic and tritium transport models are required to establish appropriate test matrices, predict experiment outcomes, and analyze data. However, the hydrogen transport properties of PbLi and permeator materials have large uncertainties. A database is collected, and a parametric analysis is conducted on the effect of hydrogen transport material properties: diffusivity of H in PbLi and permeator, solubility of H in PbLi and permeator, and permeator surface recombination constant on the expected tritium extraction efficiency for a vacuum permeator installed in TEX. As a result, we observe solubility of H in PbLi and the permeator and the recombination constant of the permeator have the largest effect on the extraction efficiency.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Comprehensive parametric study of CO 2 sequestration in deep saline aquifers

Carbon dioxide injection in deep saline aquifers is a key method for permanently sequestering anthropogenic CO 2 . Here this study employs a reactive transport model to explore mineral precipitation/dissolution and its impact on reservoir properties in deep saline aquifers. We also assess capillary pressure and relative permeability hysteresis on various CO 2 trapping mechanisms. Results from this study reveal the significant influence of initial brine composition on mineral precipitation/dissolution. The dissolution and precipitation of minerals have different effects around the wellbores compared to the overall reservoir. Additionally, salt concentration (Ca ++ and Mg ++ ) and quartz surface area affect CO 2 mineralization, while Na + impacts halite precipitation, altering flow properties. The effect of capillary pressure is significant, as including the capillary pressure in the simulation case resulted in significantly improved CO 2 trapping, achieving almost total dissolution of the injected CO 2 in around 300 years. This study offers novel insights into the interactions of reservoir minerals, brine properties, and the injected CO 2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

A computational parametric study of ducted fuel injection implementation in a heavy-duty diesel engine

Experiments have shown that ducted fuel injection (DFI) effectively reduces soot emissions from direct-injection diesel engines. Although many computational studies have evaluated DFI’s spray development and soot reduction mechanisms in constant volume chambers, only limited computational work on internal combustion engines exists. The DFI duct assembly changes the engine’s in-cylinder flow, spray, and combustion development. Therefore, current production engine designs might not be optimal for achieving the best engine performance with DFI. Here, this work conducted an extensive numerical study to evaluate how parameter changes affect DFI performance. The parameters include swirl ratio, piston geometry, compression ratio (CR), number of injector orifices, split injection strategy, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in a heavy-duty diesel engine utilizing DFI. The combustion and soot emission data from the Sandia compression ignition optical research engine were used for model validation. Simulations showed that an increased swirl ratio resulted in more intense jet flame-piston interaction, slowing down the combustion heat release during the late combustion stage and leading to lower indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) due to higher exhaust losses. A piston-bowl design with a reentrant inner piston edge yielded the highest thermal efficiency, due to the reduced cylinder head heat transfer loss. Additional injector orifices led to higher efficiency owing to a more advanced combustion phasing. Nevertheless, the maximum pressure rise rate (MPRR) and oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) emissions also increased with the number of injector orifices due to more rapid heat release and higher combustion temperature. Implementation of a split injection strategy combined with a higher EGR rate effectively inhibited the excessive MPRR and NO x formation. In general, the study concluded that DFI is not sensitive to most parameter changes but will benefit from future parameter optimization.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A simulation-based parametric study of CLOU chemical looping reactor performance

Chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) is a variant on chemical looping combustion in which the oxygen carrier releases gaseous O 2 in the fuel reactor, making it well-suited for solid fuels, since the released gaseous O 2 readily reacts with solid char. This work presents several computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of copper-based CLOU in a dual fluidized bed system, each with different operating conditions. The modeling predicted that coal particle sizes as large as 1000 μm did not significantly affect performance. Increased oxygen carrier copper loading resulted in an excess of gaseous oxygen in the product gas stream. Decreasing the oxygen carrier bed mass as well as reducing the air reactor fluidizing velocity did not supply enough oxygen to the fuel reactor to complete combustion of the coal. This generated a failure state in which the temperature continued to decrease in the fuel reactor from the lack of combustion, which in turn reduced the O 2 equilibrium partial pressure, further lowering the amount of combustion possible. Sufficient O 2 can be maintained in the fuel reactor by ensuring a high enough air reactor velocity and a large enough supply of oxygen carrier inventory to handle the chosen coal feed rate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Parametric Studies of Heat Pump Water Heater Using Low GWP Refrigerants

A storage heat pump water heater (HPWH) comprises a vapor compression system and a hot water tank. It can lead to more than 70% energy saving, compared with electric resistance heating. HPWH usually uses a wrapped-tank coil as the water heater. The wrapped coil has a strong interaction with the water tank and impose a new challenge for the engineering design and simulation study. Based on the US DOE/ORNL Heat Pump Design Model (HPDM), i.e., a public-domain, component-based thermal system modelling platform, a segment-to-segment wrapped-tank coil model coupled with a one-dimensional stratified water tank model were developed, which facilitates modeling and design HPWHs having various configurations and components. Additionally, the hardware-based design model was used to evaluate refrigerants having lower global warming potentials to replace R-134a, including R-1234yf, R-1234ze, R-290, R-513A and R-450A, when effects of compressor size, refrigerant charge on 24-hour uniform energy factor (UEF) and first-hour rating (FHR) were investigated.In the drop-in replacements, R-1234ze achieved the best UEF, and R-290 resulted in the lowest UEF. When downsizing the compressor to maximize the UEFs, the UEFs of R-134a, R-290, R1234yf, R-450A and R-513A ascended to the range of 4.4 to 4.53, with R-513A having the highest UEF. The R-1234ze ended up having the lowest UEF of 4.27. Refrigerants having larger volumetric vaporization heat led to higher FHRs if using the fixed-size compressor, that R-290 resulted in the highest FHR.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Parametric study of residual stress formation in Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing

Here, a finite element model was created to simulate the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) thermal and mechanical processes of Inconel 718 on a A36 steel substrate, as well as the effects of process parameters on Residual Stress (RS). The model was verified using temperature data obtained from three thermocouples attached to the upper surface of the build substrate and micro-strain measurements obtained from Neutron Diffraction (ND) measurement. The model was then used to study the effects of changing the torch travel speed and interlayer dwell time. The study found that travel speed has little effect on RS when maintaining the same heat input rate. As well, the interlayer dwell time has a strong effect on RS. Reducing the dwell time causes the stress profiles to become relatively uniform and a high-stress region extends deeper along the build direction. This study provides important insight into mechanical stresses inside large walls made by the WAAM method.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

A parametric study of slow dynamic nonlinear elasticity with comparisons to models

Several phenomenological models that aspire to quantitative description of anomalous nonlinear mesoscopic elasticity are reviewed and compared with laboratory measurements. This class of nonlinearity, best known perhaps for slow dynamics and aging, is seen widely in imperfectly consolidated granular solids but is not well understood. Typical slow dynamic tests show that a modest conditioning oscillatory "pump" strain depresses material stiffness, which then recovers like the logarithm of time after conditioning ceases. Several phenomenological models based on physical arguments have been proposed that predict the material stiffness response to arbitrary pump strain histories during conditioning and recovery. Approximate closed form and numerical solutions to the models are presented that predict the quantitative influence of three key pump parameters: the pump's strain amplitude, the pump's strain rate, and the pump’s duration. Laboratory measurements on Berea sandstone, concrete and a confined single aluminum bead find that slow dynamic responses are linear in pump strain and independent of pump frequency. Measurements also show that, after pump-off, stiffness recovers over times far longer than the pump duration. These observations and others are compared to model predictions. One of the considered models, based on a picture of fast brittle damage and slow healing, successfully matches all these behaviors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Parametric study and speciation analysis of rare earth precipitation using oxalic acid in a chloride solution system

Oxalic acid precipitation is a common step in the purification of rare earth elements (REE) from a concentrated pregnant leach solution (PLS). However, the presence of contaminants such as Al, Fe, and Ca in given amounts decreases the REE precipitation efficiency and product purity while also increasing the amount of oxalic acid needed to maximize recovery. As such, a statistically designed test program was performed to identify the optimal conditions necessary for a relatively low REE content PLS containing elevated concentrations of contaminant ions. The performance objective was maximization of REE precipitation efficiency while minimizing the oxalic acid dosage. A central composite design was utilized to quantify performance impacts and identify the ultimate set of parameter values for oxalic acid dosage, Fe(III) contamination concentration, solution pH, and reaction temperature. The resultant model suggested that oxalic acid dosage and reaction pH are the most significant factors for the REE precipitation efficiency, followed by the interaction of oxalic dosage and Fe concentration. Test results indicate that increasing the oxalic acid concentration from 0 g/L to 80 g/L improved the REE precipitation efficiency from approximately 4.2% to 95.0%. Furthermore, raising the solution pH from 0.5 to 2.5 considerably enhanced the precipitation efficiency from 0.0% to 98.9%. A solution temperature elevation decreased REE recovery, which indicated an exothermic reaction between REEs and oxalate anions. Finally, a high level of Fe contamination adversely impacted REE precipitation efficiency. Here, to further the understanding of the REE-oxalate system, a fundamental solution chemistry study was performed using the equilibrium constants of the reactions. The study resulted in the development of oxalate speciation diagrams and provided an analysis of the REE precipitation characteristics at various oxalate anion concentrations and Fe(III) contamination levels using MINTEQ software. The dominant Fe(III) species in the solution system were found to be Fe-(C 2 O 4 ) 3 3- , Fe-(C 2 O 4 ) 2- , and Fe-(C 2 O 4 ) + , which consume the majority of the oxalate anions. The simulated model was found to be in agreement with the experimental findings and helped to explain the adverse impact of increased iron concentrations on REE precipitation efficiency.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Parametric Study of Used Nuclear Oxide Fuel Constituent Dissolution in Molten LiCl-KCl-UCl 3

Prior work identified dissolution of used nuclear oxide fuel constituents from a uranium oxide matrix into molten LiCl-KCl-UCl 3 at 500°C, prompting a subsequent series of three progressive studies (including an initial scoping study, an electrolytic dissolution study, and a chemical-seeded dissolution study) to further investigate associated parameters and mechanisms. Thermodynamic calculations were performed to identify possible reaction mechanisms and their propensities in used oxide fuel constituent dissolution. Used nuclear oxide fuels with varying preconditions from fast and thermal test reactors were separately immersed in the subject salt system to assess fuel constituent migration from the bulk fuel matrix to the salt phase in an initial scoping study. Dissolution of expected fuel constituents, including alkali, alkaline earth, lanthanide, and transuranium oxides, into the chloride salt phase varied widely, ranging from 12% to 99% in the initial study. Uranium isotope blending between the salt phase and bulk fuel matrix was also observed, which was attributed to reducing conditions in the fuel matrix. Electrolytic and chemical-seeded dissolution studies were subsequently performed to effect reducing conditions in the fuel. Other parameters, including temperature (at 500°C, 650°C, 725°C, and 800°C) and uranium trichloride concentrations (at 6, 9, and 19 wt% uranium), were investigated in the latter two studies, resulting in fuel constituent dissolution above 90%. Extents of dissolution were based on initial and final fuel constituent concentrations in the oxide fuels following operations in the salt and subsequent removal of the salt via distillation. Finally, in this series of progressive studies, oxide fuel preconditioning and in situ reducing conditions, along with elevated temperature and uranium trichloride concentrations, were the primary parameters promoting used nuclear oxide fuel constituent dissolution in accordance with identified reaction mechanisms.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Parametric studies of stream instability-induced higher harmonics in plasma ionization breakdown near an emissive dielectric surface

Here, in this work, we comprehensively investigate the generation of higher harmonic (HH) electric fields normal to the applied rf electric field in multipactor-coexisting plasma breakdown by fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and a theoretical model. Firstly, a base case at driving frequency 1 GHz, transverse rf electric field amplitude 3 MV m –1 , and background gas pressure 0.2 Torr, is studied in detail. The enhanced harmonic frequency observed is around ten times the fundamental rf frequency, significantly lower than the Langmuir frequency. A theoretical model reveals that the fundamental mechanism of HHs generation is stream–plasma instability, which originates from stream-like secondary electron emission interacting with plasma. The resulting HH frequency and the growth rate of its oscillating amplitude from the theoretical model, agree well with the PIC simulations. With increasing pressure, the HH oscillations are found to be significantly reduced. This is because at higher pressure the gas ionization rate is higher, which causes a more rapidly increasing plasma density, leaving less time for the growth of instability. Furthermore, the parameter space in terms of background gas pressure and rf field amplitude within which the HHs appear is revealed. Finally, the effect of the driving rf frequency on HHs is also investigated, and it is found that the instability-induced oscillating HHs field remains when the driving frequency is increased to 2 GHz, however, it is highly reduced at higher driving frequency of 5 GHz, as oscillations at the fundamental frequency start playing a more important role.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Parametric study of Alfvénic instabilities driven by runaway electrons during the current quench in DIII-D

Abstract To avoid or mitigate runaway electron (RE) beams in ITER, RE-driven instabilities are actively studied as a complimentary technique to massive material injection. In this work we report experimental dependencies of Alfvénic instabilities driven by REs during the current quench in DIII-D on plasma and material injection parameters. These instabilities, observed in the frequency range of 0.1–3 MHz, correlate with increased RE loss and thus may play a role in non-sustained RE beams. It was found that as the toroidal magnetic field ( B T ) decreases, the RE population becomes more energetic, the energy of instabilities increases, and no RE beam is observed when the maximum energy of REs exceeds 15 MeV (or when B T is below 1.8 T). Analysis of disruptions at plasma core temperature ( T e ) of 1 keV and 8 keV shows that the RE population is much less energetic (with the maximum energy of only about 3 MeV) when T e is high, and no instabilities are observed in this case. Besides disruptions above caused by Ar injection, cases with Ne and D 2 injections were also studied. Both Ne and D 2 injections cause no sustained RE beams, however, for different reasons. Measurements of the instability polarization indicate that it is of predominantly compressional nature at the edge, which is consistent with modeling suggesting excitation of compressional Alfvén eigenmodes. However, drive of global Alfvén eigenmodes is also possible at low frequencies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗