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At least 397 records · Page 22

New Materials and an Efficient Processing Approach for Materials for Harsh Environments – Continuous Electric Field Assisted Sintering

Electric-field assisted sintering (EFAS) is an advanced manufacturing method for the consolidation and processing of ceramic and metal materials. It is a particularly excellent candidate for efficient materials processing as it has greater than 90% energy cost savings and improved CO2 emissions compared to traditional sintering in a furnace. This is due to direct rapid heating of the materials and molds leveraging an electrification phenomenon called Joule heating where electrical current is passed through the sample/mold assemblies causing direct heating. The technique does have limitations though as it is traditionally a batch-process and suffers from scale up difficulties. To overcome this, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory changed the form factor of traditional EFAS instruments to develop and construct a continuous rolling electric-field assisted sintering (CEFAS) device. Its unique design creates highly localized electrical, thermal, and mechanical process parameters for continuous samples of limitless length. Advanced core shell powder materials were also created using fluidized powder bed atomic layer deposition of core/shell solid oxide electrochemical electrode/electrolyte BaCe0.7Zr0.1Y0.1Yb0.1O3 (BCZYYb) and yttrium doped BaZrO3 (BZY) to be a feedstock for the new CEFAS instrument. The innovative core/shell powder is hypothesized to have high protonic conductivity with enhanced environmental resistance. The completed project covers innovations in process control and design enabled by control theory, finite element modeling and mechanical design, three dimensionally printed carbon-carbon composite manufacturing and utilization, and green materials processing techniques.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Dynamics of flux tubes in accretion disks

The study of magnetized plasmas in astrophysics is complicated by a number of factors, not the least of which is that in considering magnetic fields in stars or accretion disks, we are considering plasmas with densities well above those we can study in the laboratory. In particular, whereas laboratory plasmas are dominated by the confining magnetic field pressure, stars, and probably accretion disks, have magnetic fields whose beta (ratio of gas pressure to magnetic field pressure) is much greater than 1. Observations of the Sun suggest that under such circumstances the magnetic field breaks apart into discrete flux tubes with a small filling factor. On the other hand, theoretical treatments of MHD turbulence in high-beta plasmas tend to assume that the field is more or less homogeneously distributed throughout the plasma. Here we consider a simple model for the distribution of magnetic flux tubes in a turbulent medium. We discuss the mechanism by which small inhomogeneities evolve into discrete flux tubes and the size and distribution of such flux tubes. We then apply the model to accretion disks. We find that the fibrilation of the magnetic field does not enhance magnetic buoyancy. We also note that the evolution of an initially diffuse field in a turbulent medium, e.g., any uniform field in a shearing flow, will initially show exponential growth as the flux tubes form. This growth saturates when the flux tube formation is complete and cannot be used as the basis for a self-sustaining dynamo effect. Since the typical state of the magnetic field is a collection of intense flux tubes, this effect is of limited interest. However, it may be important early in the evolution of the galactic magnetic field, and it will play a large role in numerical simulations. Finally, we note that the formation of flux tubes is an essential ingredient in any successful dynamo model for stars or accretion disks.

Vishniac, E. T.↗

Hydro-mechanical measurements and x-ray imaging of sheared crystalline rock fractures from EGS Collab experiments 1 & 2

Measuring hydro-mechanical properties of natural fractures is a prerequisite for optimizing hydraulic stimulation design and well placement. We completed experiments to characterize shear on natural fractures in schist, amphibolite, and rhyolite specimens drilled from EGS Collab Project’s field sites at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota. A triaxial direct shear method and coupled x-ray imaging were used to perform hydroshearing and mechanical shearing at the site’s in-situ stress conditions. This produced simultaneous measurements of fracture and matrix strength, permeability, stress-dependent aperture, dilation, and friction strength. Our results identified that only a subset of the natural fractures was weak enough for hydroshearing. Generally, hydroshearing increases fracture permeability by a factor of 10 or more and the enhancement is retainable over time. However, the shear slip does not always result in permeability enhancement. High content of phyllosilicates was found to associate with exceptionally weak fractures that also exhibited poor or even negative enhancement after stimulation. Combining our measurements with site data, we can predict that most observable fractures at the two EGS Collab sites do not meet the criteria for hydroshearing before tensile opening. In some cases, the visible fractures are low permeability and as strong as the adjacent rock. To induce hydroshearing before tensile opening, injection must target known weak and favorably oriented fractures with confirmed pre-existing permeability.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Structure of the thermal boundary layer in turbulent channel flows at transcritical conditions

Enhanced fluctuations, steep gradients, and intensified heat transfer are characteristics of wall-bounded turbulence at transcritical conditions. Although such conditions are prevalent in numerous technical applications, the structure of the thermal boundary layer under realistic density gradients and heating conditions remains poorly understood. Specifically, statistical descriptions of the temperature field in such flows are provided inconsistently using existing models. To address this issue, direct numerical simulations are performed by considering fully developed transcritical turbulent channel flow at pressure and temperature conditions that cause density changes of a factor of up to $O(20)$ between the hot and cold walls. As a consequence of the proximity of the Widom line to the hot wall, significant asymmetries are observed when comparing regions near the cold wall and near the hot wall. Previous transformations that attempt to collapse the near-wall mean temperature profiles among different cases to a single curve are examined. By addressing model deficiencies of these transformations, a formulation for an improved mean temperature transformation is proposed, with appropriate considerations for real fluid effects that involve strong variations in thermodynamic quantities. Our proposed transformation is shown to perform well in collapsing the slope of the logarithmic region to a single universal value with reduced uncertainty. Coupled with a predictive framework to estimate the non-universal shift parameter of the logarithmic region using a priori information, our transformation provides an analytic profile to model the near-wall mean temperature. These results thus provide a framework to guide the development of models for wall-bounded transcritical turbulence.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Efficiency analysis of helium-cooled MAS DNP: case studies of surface-modified nanoparticles and homogeneous small-molecule solutions

Despite the growing number of successful applications of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-enhanced magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR in structural biology and materials science, the nuclear polarizations achieved by current MAS DNP instrumentation are still considerably lower than the theoretical maximum. Here, the method could be significantly strengthened if experiments were performed at temperatures much lower than those currently widely used (~100 K). Recently, the prospects of helium (He)-cooled MAS DNP have been increased with the instrumental developments in MAS technology that uses cold helium gas for sample cooling. Despite the additional gains in sensitivity that have been observed with He-cooled MAS DNP, the performance of the technique has not been evaluated in the case of surfaces and interfaces that benefit the most from DNP. Herein, we studied the efficiency of DNP at temperatures between ~30 K and ~100 K for organically functionalized silica material and a homogeneous solution of small organic molecules at a magnetic field B 0 = 16.4 T. We recorded the changes in signal enhancement, paramagnet-induced quenching and depolarization effects, DNP build-up rate, and Boltzmann polarization. For these samples, the increases in MAS-induced depolarization and DNP build-up times at around 30 K were not as severe as anticipated. In the case of the surface species, we determined that MAS DNP at 30 K provided ~10 times higher sensitivity than MAS DNP at 90 K, which corresponds to the acceleration of experiments by multiplicative factors of up to 100.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Crack Turning Mechanics of Composite Wing Skin Panels

The safety of future composite wing skin integral stiffener panels requires a full understanding of failure mechanisms of these damage tolerance critical structures under both in-plane and bending loads. Of primary interest is to derive mathematical models using fracture mechanics in anisotropic cracked plate structures, to assess the crack turning mechanisms, and thereby to enhance the residual strength in the integral stiffener composite structures. The use of fracture mechanics to assess the failure behavior in a cracked structure requires the identification of critical fracture parameters which govern the severity of stress and deformation field ahead of the flaw, and which can be evaluated using information obtained from the flaw tip. In the three-year grant, the crack-tip fields under plane deformation, crack-tip fields for anisotropic plates and anisotropic shells have been obtained. In addition, methods for determining the stress intensity factors, energy release rate, and the T-stresses have been proposed and verified. The research accomplishments can be summarized as follows: (1) Under plane deformation in anisotropic solids, the asymptotic crack-tip fields have been obtained using Stroh formalism; (2) The T-stress and the coefficient of the second term for sigma(sub y), g(sub 32), have been obtained using path-independent integral, the J-integral and Betti's reciprocal theorem together with auxiliary fields; (3) With experimental data performed by NASA, analyses indicated that the mode-I critical stress intensity factor K(sub Q) provides a satisfactory characterization of fracture initiation for a given laminate thickness, provided the failure is fiber-dominated and crack extends in a self-similar manner; (4) The high constraint specimens, especially for CT specimens, due to large T-stress and large magnitude of negative g(sub 32) term may be expected to inhibit the crack extension in the same plane and promote crack turning; (5) Crack turning out of crack plane in generally anisotropic solids under plane deformation has been studied; (6) The role of T-stress and the higher-order term of sigma(sub y) on the crack turning and stability of the kinked crack has been quantified; (7) Asymptotic crack-tip fields including the effect of transverse shear deformation (Reissner plate theory) in an anisotropic plate under bending, twisting moments, and transverse shear loads has been presented; (8) The expression of the path-independent J-integral in terms of the generalized stress and strain has been derived; (9) Asymptotic crack-tip fields including the effect of transverse shear deformation (Reissner shallow shell theory) in a general anisotropic shell has been developed; (10) The Stroh formalism was used to characterize the crack tip fields in shells up to the second term and the energy release rate was expressed in a very compact form.

Yuan, F. G.↗

Digital Image Correlation Data Processing and Analysis Techniques to Enhance Test Data Assessment and Improve Structural Simulations

The NASA Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor Project (SBKF) was established in 2007 by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) with the primary goal to develop new analysis-based buckling design factors (a.k.a. knockdown factors) and high-fidelity buckling simulations for selected launch-vehicle-like cylindrical shell structures. A series of tests are being conducted on large-scale metallic and composite cylindrical shells in order to provide validation data for these new factors and simulations. However, the validation of these new factors and simulations is quite demanding and requires test data that is commensurate with their fidelity. Traditional instrumentation, such as linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) and electrical-resistance strain gages serve a critical role in providing accurate displacement and strain measurements in these tests, but only allow for data to be recorded at a select number of point locations and are not sufficient to provide all the necessary validation data. Advanced measurement technologies can be used effectively to complement traditional instrumentation and gather additional data required to validate these structural simulations. In particular, three-dimensional digital image correlation (DIC) was implemented during SBKF cylinder testing to characterize the full-field displacement and strain behavior. Commercially available VIC-3DTM software and user-written data processing scripts were used to generate valuable data and insight into the complex buckling response of the cylinders that otherwise would be impossible to gather using traditional instrumentation. In addition, the measured data from DIC was used to verify measured test data obtained from other instrumentation, enhance test and analysis correlation, and help identify the root cause of anomalous test results that may have gone unexplained if only traditional instrumentation was used. Selected test results that demonstrate the use of DIC on the SBKF cylinders are presented and a portion of the data processing methods are described.

Gardner, Nathaniel W.↗

Deep Learning-Based Failure Prognostic Model for PV Inverter Using Field Measurements

Here, this study presents a novel approach for the precise monitoring and prognosis of photovoltaic (PV) inverter status, which is crucial for the proactive maintenance of PV systems. It addresses the gaps in traditional model-based methods, which tend to neglect the overall reliability of inverters, and the limitations of data-driven approaches that largely depend on simulated data. This research presents a robust solution applicable to real-world scenarios. The proposed data-driven model for PV inverter failure prognosis employs actual inverter measurements, integrating various operational and weather-related factors based on domain knowledge. This approach effectively represents inverter stressors and operational status. Utilizing an Enhanced Siamese Convolutional Neural Network (ESCNN), the model merges operational data with domain knowledge features, redefining the prognosis challenge as a classification task. Furthermore, the paper discusses an ESCNN-based real-time inverter failure monitoring method developed on the well-trained model. The proposed models are rigorously trained and tested with real inverter data and a novel filtering method is included to address accidental failures in practical scenarios. The results validate the model's efficacy, and the directions for future research are also outlined.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Evaluation of a Stochastic Mixing Scheme in the Deep Convective Gray Zone Using a Tropical Oceanic Deep Convection Case Study

Abstract A stochastic horizontal subgrid‐scale mixing scheme is evaluated in ensemble simulations of a tropical oceanic deep convection case using a horizontal grid spacing (Δ h ) of 3 km. The stochastic scheme, which perturbs the horizontal mixing coefficient according to a prescribed spatiotemporal autocorrelation scale, is found to generally increase mesoscale organization and convective intensity relative to a non‐stochastic control simulation. Perturbations applied at relatively short autocorrelation scales induce differences relative to the control that are more systematic than those from perturbations applied at relatively long scales that yield more variable outcomes. A simulation with mixing enhanced by a constant factor of 4 significantly increases mesoscale organization and convective intensity, while turning off horizontal subgrid‐scale mixing decreases both. Total rainfall is modulated by a combination of mesoscale organization, areal coverage of convection, and convective intensity. The stochastic simulations tend to behave more similarly to the constant enhanced mixing simulation owing to greater impacts from enhanced mixing as compared to reduced mixing. The impacts of stochastic mixing are robust, ascertained by comparing the stochastic mixing ensembles with a non‐stochastic mixing ensemble that has grid‐scale noise added to the initial thermodynamic field. Compared to radar observations and a higher resolution Δ h = 1 km simulation, stochastic mixing seemingly degrades the simulation performance. These results imply that stochastic mixing produces non‐negligible impacts on convective system properties and evolution but does not lead to an improved representation of convective cloud characteristics in the case studied here.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Quantum Enhanced Cavity QED Interferometer with Partially Delocalized Atoms in Lattices

Herein, we propose a quantum enhanced interferometric protocol for gravimetry and force sensing using cold atoms in an optical lattice supported by a standing-wave cavity. By loading the atoms in partially delocalized Wannier-Stark states, it is possible to cancel the undesirable inhomogeneities arising from the mismatch between the lattice and cavity fields and to generate spin squeezed states via a uniform one-axis twisting model. The quantum enhanced sensitivity of the states is combined with the subsequent application of a compound pulse sequence that allows us to separate atoms by several lattice sites. This, together with the capability to load small atomic clouds in the lattice at micrometric distances from a surface, make our setup ideal for sensing short-range forces. We show that for arrays of 10 4 atoms, our protocol can reduce the required averaging time by a factor of 10 compared to unentangled lattice-based interferometers after accounting for primary sources of decoherence.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Axionlike-particle contributions to the μ → e conversion

We study the μ → e conversion process in nuclear targets arising in models of axionlike particles (ALPs) with hadronic and charged lepton flavor violating (CLFV) interactions. Contributions to this process generally fall into two categories: spin-independent (SI) and spin-dependent (SD). While the SI contribution can be generated by a dipole operator through purely leptonic ALP interactions, the SD contribution can also be present through ALP-quark interactions at tree-level. It is naively anticipated that the SI contribution would be dominant due to its coherent enhancement. In this paper, we show that is not generically the case; in particular, for naturally sized ALP couplings to quarks of order ∼ m q / f a , the SD interaction induced by ALP- π 0 mixing turns out to be the leading contribution to μ → e conversion. Intuitively, this stems from the suppressed dipole contribution by the QED one-loop factor which counters the effect of SI coherent enhancement. Our study highlights the importance of μ → e conversion searches in exploring the parameter space of generic ALP models, and demonstrates the competitiveness of these searches in probing the CLFV ALP parameter space in the heavy mass range of m a ≳ m μ . Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

High-Latitude Topside Ionospheric Vertical Electron Density Profile Changes in Response to Large Magnetic Storms

Large magnetic-storm-induced changes were detected in high-latitude topside vertical electron density profiles Ne(h) in a database of profiles and digital topside ionograms, from the International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS) program, that enabled Ne(h) profiles to be obtained in nearly the same region of space before, during, and after a major magnetic storm (Dst -100nT). Storms where Ne(h) profiles were available in the high-latitude Northern Hemisphere had better coverage of solar wind parameters than storms with available Ne(h) profiles in the high-latitude Southern Hemisphere. Large Ne(h) changes were observed during all storms, with enhancements and depletions sometimes near a factor of 10 and 0.1, respectively, but with substantial differences in the responses in the two hemispheres. Large spatial andor temporal Ne(h) changes were often observed during Dst minimum and during the storm recovery phase. The storm-induced Ne(h) changes were the most pronounced and consistent in the Northern Hemisphere in that large enhancements were observed during winter nighttime and large depletions during winter and spring daytime. The limited available cases suggested that these Northern Hemisphere enhancements increased with increases of the time-shifted solar wind velocity v, magnetic field B, and with more negative values of the B components except for the highest common altitude (1100km) of the profiles. There was also some evidence suggesting that the Northern Hemisphere depletions were related to changes in the solar wind parameters. Southern Hemisphere storm-induced enhancements and depletions were typically considerably less with depletions observed during summer nighttime conditions and enhancements during summer daytime and fall nighttime conditions.

Benson, Robert F.↗

Predictive Inverse Model for Advective Heat Transfer in a Short–Circuited Fracture: Dimensional Analysis, Machine Learning, and Field Demonstration

Identifying fluid flow maldistribution in planar geometries is a well–established problem in subsurface science/engineering. Of particular importance to the thermal performance of enhanced (or “engineered”) geothermal systems is identifying the existence of nonuniform (i.e., heterogeneous) permeability and subsequently predicting advective heat transfer. Here, machine learning via a genetic algorithm (GA) identifies the spatial distribution of an unknown permeability field in a two–dimensional Hele–Shaw geometry (i.e., parallel plates). The inverse problem is solved by minimizing the L2 norm between simulated residence time distribution (RTD) and measurements of an inert tracer breakthrough curve (BTC) (C–Dot nanoparticle). Principal component analysis (PCA) of spatially correlated permeability fields enabled reduction of the parameter space by more than a factor of 10 and restricted the inverse search to reservoir–scale permeability variations. Thermal experiments and tracer tests conducted at the mesoscale Altona Field Laboratory (AFL) demonstrate that the method accurately predicts the effects of extreme flow channeling on heat transfer in a single bedding–plane rock fracture. However, this is only true when the permeability distributions provide adequate matches to both tracer RTD and frictional pressure loss. Without good agreement to frictional pressure loss, it is still possible to match a simulated RTD to measurements, but subsequent predictions of heat transfer are grossly inaccurate. Here, the results of this study suggest that it is possible to anticipate the thermal effects of flow maldistribution, but only if both simulated RTDs and frictional pressure loss between fluid inlets and outlets are in good agreement with measurements.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Iron-based binary ferromagnets for transverse thermoelectric conversion

Thermoelectric generation using the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) has great potential for application in energy harvesting technology because the transverse geometry of the Nernst effect should enable efficient, large-area and flexible coverage of a heat source. For such applications to be viable, substantial improvements will be necessary not only for their performance but also for the associated material costs, safety and stability. In terms of the electronic structure, the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) originates from the Berry curvature of the conduction electrons near the Fermi energy. To design a large Berry curvature, several approaches have been considered using nodal points and lines in momentum space. Here we perform a high-throughput computational search and find that 25 percent doping of aluminium and gallium in alpha iron, a naturally abundant and low-cost element, dramatically enhances the ANE by a factor of more than ten, reaching about 4 and 6 microvolts per kelvin at room temperature, respectively, close to the highest value reported so far. The comparison between experiment and theory indicates that the Fermi energy tuning to the nodal web—a flat band structure made of interconnected nodal lines—is the key for the strong enhancement in the transverse thermoelectric coefficient, reaching a value of about 5 amperes per kelvin per metre with a logarithmic temperature dependence. We have also succeeded in fabricating thin films that exhibit a large ANE at zero field, which could be suitable for designing low-cost, flexible microelectronic thermoelectric generators.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Turbomachine Sealing and Secondary Flows: Review of Rotordynamics Issues in Inherently Unsteady Flow Systems With Small Clearances - Part 2

Today's computational methods enable the determination of forces in complex systems, but without field validation data, or feedback, there is a high risk of failure when the design envelope is challenged. The data of Childs and Bently and field data reported in NASA Conference Proceedings serve as sources of design information for the development of these computational codes. Over time all turbomachines degrade and instabilities often develop, requiring responsible, accurate, turbomachine diagnostics with proper decisions to prevent failures. Tam et al. (numerical) and Bently and Muszynska (analytical) models corroborate and implicate that destabilizing factors are related through increases in the fluid-force average circumferential velocity. The stability threshold can be controlled by external swirl and swirl brakes and increases in radial fluid film stiffness (e.g., hydrostatic and ambient pressures) to enhance rotor stability. Also cited are drum rotor self-excited oscillations, where the classic fix is to add a split or severed damper ring or cylindrical damper drum, and the Benkert-Wachter work that engendered swirl brake concepts. For a smooth-operating, reliable, long-lived machine, designers must pay very close attention to sealing dynamics and diagnostic methods. Correcting the seals enabled the space shuttle main engine high-pressure fuel turbopump (SSME HPFTP) to operate successfully.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

Enhancing Biopreparedness through a Model System to Understand the Molecular Mechanisms that Lead to Pathogenesis and Disease Transmission: NW-BRaVE

The science of biopreparedness to counter biological threats hinges on understanding the fundamental principles and molecular mechanisms that lead to pathogenesis and disease transmission. Our vision to address this challenge is to create a powerful and user-friendly platform to elucidate the fundamental principles of how molecular interactions drive pathogen-host relationships and host shifts. We will enable groundbreaking discoveries by integrating a wide range of structural, genomics, proteomics, and other advanced omics measurements, along with evolutionary and artificial intelligence predictions. To make sure the system is applicable to real-world problems, we will develop it in the context of a tractable model system, the small, abundant, and accessible photosynthetic cyanobacteria and their constantly co-adapting viral pathogens, cyanophages. This model will maintain the system’s applicability to real-world problems and techniques, but the overall focus will be on elucidating general principles of detecting, assessing, and surveilling molecular interaction, adaptation, and coevolution that are system agnostic and therefore extensible to other viral-host interactions. Our overall objectives are to (1) identify the molecular complexes that comprise the cyanobacteria redox macromolecular subsystem and how they dynamically change with bacteriophage infection in situ, using cryo-electron tomography; (2) profile regulatory changes during infection using proteomics, multiomics, and experimental validation, and integrate the data with in situ structures; (3) use genomics and metagenomics to determine environmental and population factors across time scales that impact the interactions between marine cyanobacteria and their cyanophage parasites, predicting the evolutionary origins of in situ structural and functional interactions, convergence and coevolution; and (4) develop a data integration and transformation platform that facilitates the integration of in situ, proteomic, and evolutionary measurements of molecular interactions to surveil diverse hosts and parasites in various environmental contexts. These objectives address Focus Area 2 Reveal Molecular Interactions Across Biological Scales for Design of Targeted Interventions. Our powerful and user-friendly platform will enhance connections between the often-siloed fields of structure, molecular phenotype, and evolutionary genomics that are key to biopreparedness, but in need of integration (Figure 1). We will build an integrated navigation tool to facilitate the effective use of globally distributed experimental data for integrated analysis and predictive modeling. The project will develop, implement, and test a platform to assess host-pathogen molecular interactions, adaptation to hosts and host shifts, and coevolution between hosts and pathogens, successfully impacting the research community by revolutionizing abilities to study any host-pathogen interaction, encourage diverse community contributions, and gain fundamental insights into how proteins adapt to new contexts. This ability will be critical for designing early interventions to address future threats. We will build surveillance training capability, aiming for a fair and equitable response to future pandemics and biothreats.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Modeling the Transport Processes of a Pair of Solar Energetic Particle Events Observed by Parker Solar Probe near Perihelion

We present model calculations of the transport processes of solar energetic particles in the corona and interplanetary medium for two events detected by Parker Solar Probe near its second perihelion on 2019 April 2 and April 4. In the 2019 April 2 event, the <100 keV proton differential intensity measured by the ISOIS EPI-Lo instrument increased by more than a factor of 10 above the pre-event intensity, whereas the ~1 MeV proton differential intensity detected by the EPI-Hi instrument did not show any intensity enhancement. In the 2019 April 4 event, the ~1 MeV proton intensity showed an increase of more than a factor of 100 above the pre-event intensity, but the <100 keV proton intensity enhancement was rather low and gradual. The observational fact that only the 2019 April 4 event displayed a high-energy intensity enhancement indicates that the associated acceleration process in the second event was more energetic than the first event. However, the gradual and low enhancement of the low-energy proton intensity in the second event is at odds with the scenario. In this paper, we investigate the injection and transport processes of protons in the corona and interplanetary magnetic fields with numerical model simulations. Our model calculations suggest that the gradual and low rise of the low-energy protons in the April 4 event was probably due to the different diffusion conditions in these two events and the fact that the spacecraft was moving away from the source region during these two events.

Solar energetic particles↗

Surface properties and RF performance of Vapor Diffused Nb3Sn on Nb after sequential anneals below 1000 °C

Nb3Sn is a next-generation superconducting material that can be used for future superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) accelerator cavities, promising better performance, cost reduction, and higher operating temperature than Nb. The Sn vapor diffusion method is currently the most preferred and successful technique to coat niobium cavi-ties with Nb3Sn. Among post-coating treatments to opti-mize the coating quality, higher temperature annealing without Sn is known to degrade Nb3Sn because of Sn loss. We have investigated Nb3Sn/Nb samples briefly annealed at 800-1000 °C for 10 and 20 minutes to poten-tially improve the surface to enhance the performance of Nb3Sn-coated cavities. Following the sample studies, a coated single-cell cavity was sequentially annealed at 900 °C and tested its performance each time, improving the cavity's quality factor relatively. This paper summarizes the sample studies and discusses the RF test results from sequentially annealed SRF Nb3Sn/Nb cavity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗