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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

A new setup for the investigation of swift heavy ion induced particle emission and surface modifications

The irradiation with fast ions with kinetic energies of >10 MeV leads to the deposition of a high amount of energy along their trajectory (up to several ten keV/nm). The energy is mainly transferred to the electronic subsystem and induces different secondary processes of excitations, which result in significant material modifications. A new setup to study these ion induced effects on surfaces will be described in this paper. The setup combines a variable irradiation chamber with different techniques of surface characterizations like scanning probe microscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion, and neutral mass spectrometry, as well as low energy electron diffraction under ultra high vacuum conditions, and is mounted at a beamline of the universal linear accelerator (UNILAC) of the GSI facility in Darmstadt, Germany. Here, samples can be irradiated with high-energy ions with a total kinetic energy up to several GeVs under different angles of incidence. Our setup enables the preparation and in situ analysis of different types of sample systems ranging from metals to insulators. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry enables us to study the chemical composition of the surface, while scanning probe microscopy allows a detailed view into the local electrical and morphological conditions of the sample surface down to atomic scales. With the new setup, particle emission during irradiation as well as persistent modifications of the surface after irradiation can thus be studied. We present first data obtained with the new setup, including a novel measuring protocol for time-of-flight mass spectrometry with the GSI UNILAC accelerator.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Large modification in insulator-metal transition of VO{sub 2} films grown on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) by high energy ion irradiation in biased reactive sputtering

High energy ion irradiation in biased reactive sputtering enabled significant modification of insulator-metal transition (IMT) properties of VO{sub 2} films grown on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001). Even at a high biasing voltage with mean ion energy of around 325 eV induced by the rf substrate biasing power of 40 W, VO{sub 2} film revealed low IMT temperature (T{sub IMT}) at 309 K (36 °C) together with nearly two orders magnitude of resistance change. Raman measurements from −193 °C evidenced that the monoclinic VO{sub 2} lattice begins to transform to rutile-tetragonal lattice near room temperature. Raman spectra showed the in-plane compressive stress in biased VO{sub 2} films, which results in shortening of V–V distance along a-axis of monoclinic structure, a{sub M}-axis (c{sub R}-axis) and thus lowering the T{sub IMT}. In respect to that matter, significant effects in shortening the in-plane axis were observed through transmission electron microscopy observations. V2p{sub 3/2} spectra from XPS measurements suggested that high energy ion irradiation also induced oxygen vacancies and resulted for an early transition onset and rather broader transition properties. Earlier band gap closing against the temperature in VO{sub 2} film with higher biasing power was also probed by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Present results with significant modification of IMT behavior of films deposited at high-energy ion irradiation with T{sub IMT} near the room temperature could be a newly and effective approach to both exploring mechanisms of IMT and further applications of this material, due to the fixed deposition conditions and rather thicker VO{sub 2} films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Active control of resistive wall mode via modification of external tearing index

Modification of the external tearing index, Δ ext ′ , by magnetic feedback is analytically investigated for the purpose of controlling the resistive plasma resistive wall mode (RP-RWM). The matching method is pursued by deriving expressions for the close-loop Δ ext ′ and by linking it to the counterpart from the inner layer. Various feedback coil configurations are found to generally reduce Δ ext ′ and stabilize the RWM, with either proportional or derivative control. Feedback modification of Δ ext ′ is found to be generally independent of the inner layer resistive interchange index D R , confirming that feedback action primarily modifies the solution in the outer ideal region for the RP-RWM. Exception occurs when either the inner layer favorable curvature effect becomes sufficiently large or the feedback action is sufficiently strong to introduce a rotating RP-RWM in the static plasma, leading to complex-valued close-loop Δ ext ′ . The perturbed magnetic energy dissipation in the outer region, associated with the eddy current in the resistive wall, is identified as the key physics reason for feedback induced complex Δ ext ′ . Similar results are also obtained for active control of the external kink instability, whose open-loop growth rate is significantly reduced by inclusion of the plasma resistivity. Within the single poloidal harmonic approximation, which is most suitable for the matching approach, external active coils combined with poloidal sensors are often found to be more efficient for feedback stabilization of the mode at large proportional gain values. This counter-intuitive result is explained as the lack of (non-resonant) poloidal harmonics for proper description of the feedback coil geometry.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ponderomotive force driven density modifications parallel to B on the LAPD

The ponderomotive force has previously been identified as a possible driver of observed density modifications close to radio frequency actuators during operation. This nonlinear force redistributes density in regions of gradients in the magnitude of an oscillating electric field and describes the influence of the fast time scale RF wave dynamics on slow time scale plasma transport. Depletion of the saturation current (a proxy for the density) measured at the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) was 30–35% during ion cyclotron range of frequencies operation. A coupled 1D plasma transport and cold plasma frequency domain wave solver was developed to self-consistently describe ponderomotive effects and was used to compare with results obtained from the LAPD experiment. The scaled current density driver for the wave model yielded an RF B field in close agreement with two components of the experimental data. However, the 1D parallel model did not accurately reproduce the amplitude or spatial distribution observed in experimental measurements of By. Within the limitations of the 1D model, initial simulation results showed that the ponderomotive force depleted up to 8% for high power (1 MW) and around 1% for the experimental power of 120 kW. This could suggest that the ponderomotive force is not the main driver of density modification for the LAPD experiments presented in this paper. Higher fidelity tools of at least 2D will be required to give a more realistic description of the RF E fields and the effect of the ponderomotive force on the LAPD.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modification of Richtmyer–Meshkov instabilities via layered explosive charge design

In this numerical study, we investigate the effects of layered high explosive (HE) charge design on Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI) in metal plates with sinusoidal surface features. The detonation wave from the HE induces a shock in the metal target that subsequently interacts with the surface features; this results in vortex formation and ultimately RMI. Here, we seek to modify RMI by altering the detonation wave characteristics. The modification is investigated in a twofold manner: first, by varying the initial design of the unconfined surface of the target and second, by varying the charge design and composition. Within a limited scope of this design space, a wide variety of behaviors related to RMI growth are observed. Mechanistic actions, including exaggerated front curvature, behind these modifications are proposed. Charge designs, which modify RMI the most for a select target design, are then presented.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2019

Optical spectroscopy study of modifications induced in cerium dioxide by electron and ion irradiations

UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to study damage production in cerium dioxide epitaxial films and polycrystalline sintered samples after irradiation with electrons for three energies to span the threshold displacement energies of cerium and oxygen atoms, and 2.4-MeV Cu ions. Neither amorphization nor specific colour-centre bands were detected. Evolutions of the refractive index were derived from the interference fringes in the optical transmission spectra of epilayers after irradiation. No significant change of the refractive index occurred for the 1.0-MeV electron irradiation, whereas a maximum decrease by 28± 8% was deduced for the 1.4-MeV and 2.5-MeV energies. These modifications are consistent with ballistic damage on the cerium sublattice for high electron energies producing Ce 3+ ions. Yet, no significant change of refractive index was found for the Cu ion irradiation. This likely originates from the high rate of Frenkel pair recombination in the collision cascades induced by more energetic recoils than for the electron irradiations, combined with electronic excitations and hole capture on Ce 3+ ions. This study reveals modifications of the electronic structure upon irradiation that could take place in other non-amorphizable oxide systems.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effects of energetic particle phase space modifications by instabilities on integrated modeling

Tokamak plasmas can feature a large population of energetic particles (EP) from neutral beam injection or fusion reactions. In turn, energetic particles can drive instabilities, which affect the driving EP population leading to a distortion of the original EP distribution function and of quantities that depend on it. The latter include, for example, neutral beam (NB) current drive and plasma heating through EP thermalization. Those effects must be taken into account to enable reliable and quantitative simulations of discharges for present devices as well as predictions for future burning plasmas. Reduced models for EP transport are emerging as an effective tool for long time-scale integrated simulations of tokamak plasmas, possibly including the effects of instabilities on EP dynamics. Available models differ in how EP distribution properties are modified by instabilities, e.g. in terms of gradients in real or phase space. It is therefore crucial to assess to what extent different assumptions in the transport models affect predicted quantities such as EP profile, energy distribution, NB driven current and energy/momentum transfer to the thermal populations. A newly developed kick model, which includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in both real and velocity space, is used in this work to investigate these issues. Coupled to TRANSP simulations, the kick model is used to analyze NB-heated NSTX and DIII-D discharges featuring unstable Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs). Results show that instabilities can strongly affect the EP distribution function, and modifications propagate to macroscopic quantities such as NB-driven current profile and NB power transferred to the thermal plasma species. Furthermore, those important aspects are only qualitatively captured by simpler fast ion transport models that are based on radial diffusion of energetic ions only.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Photoassisted physical vapor epitaxial growth of semiconductors: a review of light-induced modifications to growth processes

Herein, we review the remarkable range of modifications to materials properties associated with photoexcitation of the growth surface during physical vapor epitaxy of semiconductors. We concentrate on mechanisms producing measureable, utilizable changes in crystalline perfection, phase, composition, doping, and defect distribution. We outline the relevant physics of different mechanisms, concentrating on those yielding effects orthogonal to the primary growth variables of temperature and atomic or molecular fluxes and document the phenomenological effects reported. Based on experimental observations from a range of semiconductor systems and growth conditions, the primary effects include enhanced anion desorption, molecular dissociation, increased doping efficiency, modification to defect populations and improvements to the crystalline quality of epilayers grown at low temperatures. Future research directions and technological applications are also discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Following O and OH in He/O 2 and He/H 2 O gas mixtures—from the gas phase through the liquid phase to modifications on a biological sample

Abstract Applied cold atmospheric plasma allows for the controlled delivery of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species tailored for specific applications. Through the manipulation of the plasma parameters, feed gases, and careful consideration of the environment surrounding the treatment target, selective chemistries that preferentially influence the target can be produced and delivered. To demonstrate this, the COST reference microscale atmospheric pressure plasma jet is used to study the generation and transport of O and ⋅ OH from the gas phase through the liquid to the biological model target cysteine. Relative and absolute species densities of ⋅ OH and O are measured in the gas phase through laser induced fluorescence (LIF) and two-photon absorption LIF respectively. The transport of these species is followed into the liquid phase by hydrogen peroxide quantification and visualized by a fluorescence assay. Modifications to the model biological sample cysteine exposed to ⋅ OH and H 2 O 2 dominated chemistry (He/H 2 O (0.25%)) and O dominated chemistry (He/O 2 (0.6%)) is measured by FTIR spectroscopy. The origin of these species that modify cysteine is considered through the use of heavy water (H 2 18 O) and mass spectrometry. It is found that the reaction pathways differ significantly for He/O 2 and He/H 2 O. Hydrogen peroxide is formed mainly in the liquid phase in the presence of a substrate for He/O 2 whereas for He/H 2 O it forms in the gas phase. The liquid chemistry resulting from the He/O 2 admixture mainly targets the sulfur moiety of cysteine for oxidation up to irreversible oxidation states, while He/H 2 O treatment leads preferentially to reversible oxidation products. The more O or OH/H 2 O 2 dominated chemistry produced by the two gas admixtures studied offers the possibility to select species for target modification.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Modification of SOL profiles and fluctuations with line-average density and divertor flux expansion in TCV

A set of Ohmic density ramp experiments addressing the role of parallel connection length in modifying scrape off layer (SOL) properties has been performed on the TCV tokamak. The parallel connection length has been modified by varying the poloidal flux expansion f x . It will be shown that this modification does not influence neither the detachment density threshold, nor the development of a flat SOL density profile which instead depends strongly on the increase of the core line average density. The modification of the SOL upstream profile, with the appearance of what is generally called a density shoulder, has been related to the properties of filamentary blobs. Blob size increases with density, without any dependence on the parallel connection length both in the near and far SOL. The increase of the density decay length, corresponding to a profile flattening, has been related to the variation of the divertor normalized collisionality Λ div , showing that in TCV the increase of Λ div is not sufficient to guarantee the SOL upstream profile flattening.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Modifications to JLab 12 GeV Refrigerator and Wide Range Mix Mode Performance Testing Results

Analysis of data obtained during the spring 2013 commissioning of the new 4.5-K refrigeration system at Jefferson Lab (JLab) for the 12 GeV upgrade indicated a wide capacity range with good efficiency and minimal operator interaction. Testing also showed that the refrigerator required a higher liquid nitrogen (LN) consumption for its pre-cooler than anticipated by the design. This does not affect the capacity of the refrigerator, but it does result in an increased LN utility cost. During the summer of 2015 the modifications were implemented by the cold box manufacturer, according to a design similar to the JLab 12 GeV cold box specification. Subsequently, JLab recommissioned the cold box and performed extensive performance testing, ranging from 20% to 100% of the maximum capacity, and in various modes of operation, ranging from pure refrigeration, pure liquefaction, half-and-half mix mode and at selected design modes. This testing demonstrated the modifications resulted in a LN consumption significantly lower than the expected design for the nominal and maximum capacity modes and equal to the expected design for the pure refrigeration mode (which is the most demanding). The testing also demonstrated that the refrigerator system has a good and fairly constant performance over this wide capacity range and different modes of operation. Also, a pulsed-load test, similar to what is expected for cryogenic systems supporting fusion experiments, was conducted to observe the response using the Floating Pressure ? Ganni Cycle, which was stable and robust. This paper will discuss the results and analysis of this testing pertaining to the LN consumption, the system efficiency over a wide range of capacity and different modes and the behavior of the system to a pulsed load.

Knudsen, P.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modifications to toxic CUG RNAs induce structural stability, rescue mis-splicing in a myotonic dystrophy cell model and reduce toxicity in a myotonic dystrophy zebrafish model

In this study, CUG repeat expansions in the 3' UTR of dystrophia myotonica protein kinase ( DMPK ) cause myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). As RNA, these repeats elicit toxicity by sequestering splicing proteins, such as MBNL1, into protein–RNA aggregates. Structural studies demonstrate that CUG repeats can form A-form helices, suggesting that repeat secondary structure could be important in pathogenicity. To evaluate this hypothesis, we utilized structure-stabilizing RNA modifications pseudouridine (Ψ) and 2'-O-methylation to determine if stabilization of CUG helical conformations affected toxicity. CUG repeats modified with Ψ or 2'-O-methyl groups exhibited enhanced structural stability and reduced affinity for MBNL1. Molecular dynamics and X-ray crystallography suggest a potential water-bridging mechanism for Ψ-mediated CUG repeat stabilization. Ψ modification of CUG repeats rescued mis-splicing in a DM1 cell model and prevented CUG repeat toxicity in zebrafish embryos. This study indicates that the structure of toxic RNAs has a significant role in controlling the onset of neuromuscular diseases.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nuclear modification of leading hadrons and jets within a virtuality ordered parton shower

In this work, the event generator based on the higher-twist energy loss formalism—Modular All Twist Transverse-scattering Elastic-drag and Radiation (M ATTER )—is further developed and coupled to a hydrodynamic model for studying jet modification in relativistic nuclear collisions. The probability of parton splitting is calculated using the Sudakov form factor that is constructed by a combination of vacuum and medium-induced splitting functions; and the full parton showers are simulated, including both energy-momentum and space-time evolutions of all jet partons. With the assumption that partons below a virtual scale of 1 GeV is absorbed by the medium, this framework is able to provide a reasonable description of the nuclear modification of both leading hadrons and jets at high transverse momentum at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the CERN Large Hadron Collider.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Observation of Medium-Induced Modifications of Jet Fragmentation in Pb-Pb Collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 5.02 TeV Using Isolated Photon-Tagged Jets

Measurements of fragmentation functions for jets associated with an isolated photon are presented for the first time in pp and Pb-Pb collisions. The analysis uses data collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. Fragmentation functions are obtained for jets with pTjet>30 GeV/c in events containing an isolated photon with pTγ>60 GeV/c, using charged tracks with transverse momentum pTtrk>1 GeV/c in a cone around the jet axis. The association with an isolated photon constrains the initial pT and azimuthal angle of the parton whose shower produced the jet. For central Pb-Pb collisions, modifications of the jet fragmentation functions are observed when compared to those measured in pp collisions, while no significant differences are found in the 50% most peripheral collisions. Jets in central Pb-Pb events show an excess (depletion) of low (high) pT particles, with a transition around 3 GeV/c. This measurement shows for the first time the in-medium shower modifications of partons (quark dominated) with well-defined initial kinematics. It constitutes a new well-controlled reference for testing theoretical models of the parton passage through the quark-gluon plasma.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of thermal modification on rheological properties of polyethylene blends

We examined the effects of thermal modification under flow field on the rheological properties of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) with high molecular weight, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and their blends, without thermal stabilizer. Although structural changes during processing are not detected by size extrusion chromatography or nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, linear viscoelastic properties changed greatly, especially for the LLDPE. A cross-linking reaction took place, leading to, presumably, star-shaped long-chain branches. Consequently, the modified LLDPE, having high zero-shear viscosity, became a thermorheologically complex melt. Moreover, it should be noted that the drawdown force, defined as the uniaxial elongational force at a constant draw ratio, was significantly enhanced for the blends. Enhancement of elongational viscosity was also detected. The drawdown force and elongational viscosity are marked for the thermally modified blend as compared with those for the blend of thermally modified pure components. Intermolecular cross-linking reactions between LDPE and LLDPE, yielding polymers with more than two branch points per chain, result in marked strain-hardening in the elongational viscosity behavior even at small strain. The recovery curve of the oscillatory modulus after the shear modification is further evidence of a branched structure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Modification of Structural, Chemical and Process Properties of Rare Metal Minerals under Treatment by High-Voltage Nanosecond Pulses

The authors have studied the mechanism of controlled modification of composition, structure, chemistry, physicochemical and process properties of columbite, tantalite, zircon and feldspar at the meso-, micro- and nanoscales after nonthermal treatment by high-voltage nanosecond electromagnetic pulses. The studies used methods: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, potentiometric titration, electromigration chromatography, Kelvin probe force microscopy, microhardness metering and assessment of hydrophobic behavior and flotation activity of the minerals. It is found that changes in the chemical state of atoms on the surface of minerals are mainly connected with the sequential transformation of stages in the process of formation and modification of a functional cover of mineral surface, with variation in a ratio of different type hydroxyl groups on the surface of columbite, zircon and feldspar, which conditions contrast physicochemical properties of rare metal minerals and improves selectivity of their separation by flotation.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Crystal structure of a new polymorphic modification of niahite, NH{sub 4}MnPO{sub 4} · H{sub 2}O

The crystal structure of a new modification of the niahite mineral NH{sub 4}MnPO{sub 4} · H{sub 2}O, obtained in the form of single crystals under hydrothermal conditions in the Mn{sub 2}O{sub 3}-(NH{sub 4}){sub 3}PO{sub 4}-H{sub 2}O system, is determined by X-ray diffraction (Xcalibur-S-CCD diffractometer, R = 0.0259): a = 17.582, b = 4.909, and c = 5.731 Å; space group D{sub 2h}{sup 16} = Pnam, Z = 4, D{sub x} = 2.497 g/cm{sup 3}. It is shown that the new compound is a polymorphic modification of niahite; it has a layered structure, which differs from the structure of the mineral by the presence of the center of inversion and the doubled a unit cell parameter. It is proposed to consider the minerals and synthetic analogues of the niahite and triphylite groups as members of the common polysomatic series.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Surface Modification of Melamine-Formaldehyde (MF-R) Macroparticles in Complex Plasma

The surface modification of melamine-formaldehyde (MF-R) macroparticles (4.12 ± 0.09 μm in diameter) in dc glow discharges in neon, argon, and an argon–oxygen mixture (90% Ar, 10% O{sub 2}) was studied experimentally. The macroparticles were treated in the discharge plasma for 10, 20, 40, and 60 min. The macroparticles were placed in ordered plasma–dust structures and then extracted from them. The results of atomic force microscopy of the surface profile are presented. Quantitative data on destruction of the surface layer and aspects of its modification are discussed. The amount of substance removed from the particle surface for the exposure time was calculated using the fractal analysis method.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗