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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 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Conceptual design of a heavy ion beam probe diagnostic for the Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator

This article describes the current state of the design of the heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) for Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X). It will be the first HIBP diagnostic on an optimized stellarator and is designed to study electric fields and ion scale turbulence in all W7-X reference magnetic configurations. The use of an existing 2 MV accelerator, located outside of the torus hall, results in the need for a circuitous primary beamline. This increases the complexity of the ion optics design to deliver a focused beam to the plasma. To access most of the magnetic configuration space of W7-X, the secondary beamline and an energy analyzer are designed to pivot, thereby redirecting a wider range of secondary beam trajectories. Signal level estimates indicate that the equilibrium potential can be measured at all radii and that the radial coverage for potential and density fluctuations measurements depends on the plasma density.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Linear ion-scale microstability analysis of high and low-collisionality NSTX discharges and NSTX-U projections

Linear gyrokinetic simulations were conducted to investigate ion-gyroradius-scale micro-instability predictions for high-beta NSTX discharges and NSTX-U projections that span over an order of magnitude variation in collisionality. A complex mix of microtearing modes and hybrid trapped electron modes/kinetic ballooning modes (TEM/KBM) is predicted for all experimental or projected conditions. Ion temperature gradient (ITG) instabilities are typically stable in the NSTX discharges investigated, consistent with the observed neoclassical ion thermal transport. ITG thresholds inferred from the simulations are typically much higher than the experimental NSTX gradients, as well as the projected gradients in the NSTX-U scenario, which assumed ion temperatures limited by neoclassical transport only. The analysis suggests ITG instabilities are unlikely to contribute significant anomalous thermal losses in high-beta, lower collisionality NSTX-U scenarios. On the other hand, the NSTX experimental profiles and NSTX-U projections are predicted to be very close to the predicted onset of unstable KBM at most radii investigated. The proximity of the various discharges to the KBM instability threshold implies it may play an important role in setting profile shapes and limiting global energy confinement. Here, it remains to be understood and predicted how KBM contributes to multi-channel transport (thermal and particle transport, for both ions and electrons) in a way that is consistent with experimental inferences.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Transition from ITG to MTM linear instabilities near pedestals of high density plasmas

Here, investigation of linear gyrokinetic ion-scale modes ( k θ ρ s = 0.3) finds that a transition from ion temperature gradient to microtearing mode (MTM) dominance occurs as the density is increased near the pedestal region of a parameterized DIII-D sized tokamak. H-modes profile densities, temperatures, and equilibria are parameterized utilizing the OMFIT PRO_create module. With these profiles, linear gyrokinetic ion-scale instabilities are predicted with CGYRO. This transition (nMTM) has a weak dependence on radial location in the region near the top of the pedestal ( ρ = 0.7 – 0.9), which allows simulating single radii to examine the approximate scaling of nMTM with global parameters. The critical nMTM is found to scale with plasma current. Additionally, increasing the minor radius by decreasing the aspect ratio and increasing the major radius are found to reduce nMTM. However, any relationship between nMTM and density limit physics remains unclear as nMTM increases relative to the Greenwald density with larger minor radius and with larger magnetic field, suggesting that the transport due to MTM may be less important for a reactor. Additionally, nMTM is sensitive to the pedestal temperature, the local electron and ion gradients, the ratio of ion to electron temperature T i / T e, and the current profile. MTMs are predicted to be the dominant instability in the core at similar Greenwald fractions for DIII-D, NSTX, and NSTX-U H-mode experiments, supporting the results of the parameterized study. Additionally, MTMs continue to be the dominant linear instability in a DIII-D L-mode after an H–L transition as the plasma approaches a density limit disruption despite the large change in plasma profiles.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Demonstration of a two-dimensional divertor Thomson scattering system on DIII-D

Recent upgrades providing two-dimensional divertor Thomson scattering (DTS-2D) measurements of T e and n e during a DIII-D plasma shot and a thorough description of system components and their functionality are presented. This system expands the capabilities of the existing single divertor Floor measurement location by introducing seven additional laser beam path options in the poloidal plane, spanning major radii from 1.062 to 1.335 m. The system redirects ~1 J, 50 Hz Nd:YAG laser pulses to the new beam paths within 20 ms, stepping through each path on the divertor Floor every 200 ms during a plasma shot. The laser is redirected using an ex-vessel, fast-steering mirror to one of eight in-vessel beam paths oriented underneath the vessel tiles. Up to eleven measurement positions per beam path, from –1.35 to –1.13 m below the machine midplane, are available by dynamically refocusing the ex-vessel collection fiber array using a high-speed linear stage. As a result, current measurement positions above the divertor Shelf are retained via a hole in the fixed, in-vessel mirror, allowing laser pass through.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Beryllium–tungsten graded density inner shells in double shell capsules for improved hydrodynamic stability

The outer surface of the high-Z inner shell in the double shell configuration of inertial confinement fusion experiments experiences Rayleigh–Taylor instability growth during the implosion process due to inverted density and pressure gradients between a highly compressed foam interstitial layer and the accelerating dense inner shell. Graded density layers have long been known to reduce instability growth rates. In this study, we employ high-fidelity radiation hydrodynamic simulations to demonstrate this improved stability when grading beryllium into tungsten. We first characterize the response to L-band preheat of these layers using a newly calibrated radiation drive. While graded layer capsules suffer reduced performance (here, measured as DD neutron yield from a CD foam fuel) in 1D simulations due to reduced kinetic energy coupling and reduced fuel compression, they suffer less of a performance drop when 2D instabilities are accounted for. With the improved stability of graded layers, we explore the performance of capsules with larger fuel radii and thinner shells as a preliminary study to find new designs in which graded layers produce the highest yields.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Inverse aspect-ratio expanded tokamak equilibria

Following Greene et al. [Phys. Fluids 14, 671 (1971)] and Connor et al. [Phys. Plasmas 31, 577 (1988); Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 34, 161 (1992); and Nucl. Fusion 33, 1533 (1993)], the Grad-Shafranov equation for an axisymmetric tokamak plasma equilibrium is solved via an expansion in the, supposedly small, inverse aspect-ratio of the plasma, ϵ. The displacements of equilibrium magnetic flux-surfaces due to plasma shaping are assumed to be $\mathcal{O}$(ϵ) smaller than the minor radii of the surfaces, but no other restriction is placed on the nature of the shaping. The solution of the Grad-Shafranov equation is matched to a vacuum solution that extends to infinity, and consists of an expansion in toroidal functions. The external poloidal magnetic field generated by a finite set of discrete external poloidal magnetic field-coils is calculated, and incorporated into the toroidal function expansion. In this manner, the shape of a large aspect-ratio tokamak plasma is directly related to the currents flowing in the external poloidal field-coils. Finally, a pedestal in the plasma pressure, and the associated spike in the bootstrap current, are incorporated into the model.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Lower hybrid drift instability in nonthermal plasmas

Lower hybrid drift instability (LHDI) is driven by the cross-field current and operates in the vicinity of the lower-hybrid frequency, between the ion- and electron-gyro frequencies, and with wavelengths between the electron and ion thermal gyro radii. The free energy source that drives this instability resides in the density gradient associated with an inhomogeneous plasma. The existing literature on LHDI assumes that the charged particle distribution function is given by a Maxwellian form, but the space plasma is pervasively observed to feature nonthermal characteristics. This paper extends the theory of LHDI to nonthermal plasmas. The generalized theory of LHDI is, thus, applicable to various space plasma environments characterized by nonthermal plasma velocity distribution functions.

Arya, Neetasha (ORCID:0009000236075605)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Direct numerical simulations of activation and deactivation in turbulent atmospheric clouds

Significant knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of turbulence–cloud–aerosol interactions in the Earth's atmosphere, and direct numerical simulation (DNS) has increasingly become an indispensable tool to fill such critical knowledge gaps. Here, this study is an extension of our previous DNS model [Gao et al., J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos., 123(4), 2194–2214 (2018)], with a focus on the activation of aerosol particles into cloud droplets and deactivation of cloud droplets into aerosol particles in a microscale cloud environment. The effects of turbulence intensity, particle curvature, and solute, as well as the initial distributions of the aerosol particles (monodisperse or polydisperse) are investigated. The governing equations for the flow of air, temperature, and water vapor mixing ratio are solved numerically in the Eulerian fashion, assuming homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. The dynamics of the aerosol and cloud particles are calculated with the Lagrangian particle tracking method. The results show that the deviations of the thermodynamic variables from their respective means are significantly reduced, the activation process appears to be delayed, and the deactivation process occurs more rapidly, as the turbulence intensity is increased. The inclusion of particle curvature and solute effects, as well as polydispersity, tends to retard the activation of aerosols into cloud droplets. It is also observed that fluctuations in supersaturation broaden the spread of particle radii, and the broadening is followed by a narrowing as turbulent homogenization reduces thermodynamic fluctuations over time.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Focusing of laser-accelerated ions with spherically curved targets

A theoretical model for laser-accelerated ion focusing from spherically curved targets using a Gaussian self-similar solution is presented. This model describes the evolution of the focal location and focal radius with final ion energy and the initial radial boundary of the ions, the latter being a function of both target geometry and the ion acceleration radius for a given ion energy. The theory is supported by particle-in-cell simulations of a variety of target shapes with varying radii of curvature and target opening angles, as well as variations in the injected electron beam radius and energy spectrum. The theory and simulations suggest that the focal location varies linearly with the radius of curvature, with the square root of the ratio of ion energy to effective electron temperature, and monotonically increases with the energy-dependent ratio of the initial ion radial boundary to the radius of curvature. Considering ponderomotive acceleration, this suggests that the focal length should scale inversely with intensity, $(I_Lλ_L^2)$ −1/4 , suggesting a 10× increase in intensity will reduce the focal distance by ̃1.8× for a given ion energy.

Physics - Plasma physics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Suppression of ion temperature gradient modes by Alfvén activity above a drive threshold in DIII-D

A recent study demonstrates that the suppression of ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes can occur during the nonlinear evolution of toroidicity-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) in the DIII-D tokamak [Du et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 265101 (2025)]. In that work, ITG was suppressed by the formation of a narrow, TAE-induced shear flow layer, whose shearing rate exceeded the ITG decorrelation rate. Here, the shear flow arises from an imbalance between Reynolds and Maxwell stress forces, as the TAE departs from the conventional shear Alfvén wave polarization. This follow-up paper systematically identifies the plasma conditions required for robust ITG suppression through a series of comparative experiments. The results show that TAEs routinely suppress ITG turbulence in plasmas with higher local safety factor (q), elevated fast-ion beta, and larger populations of fast ions on passing orbits, i.e., conditions consistent with the substantial TAE drive. Database analysis further reveals the existence of a threshold in TAE drive for ITG suppression. That is, once the drive exceeds a critical value within a favorable q window, the system undergoes the nonlinear bifurcation process, characterized by a sharp increase in TAE saturated amplitudes at a nearly fixed fast ion drive, suppression of ITG turbulence, and the formation of an internal thermal transport barrier at the localized radii.

Du, X. D. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Effects of negative triangularity on microinstabilities in a low-recycling lithium-wall spherical tokamak

In this work, we present a linear gyrokinetic study of the impact of negative triangularity (NT) on microinstabilities in the Lithium Tokamak eXperiment-β (LTX-β), a low-recycling spherical tokamak with liquid lithium plasma-facing components that produce flat electron-temperature profiles [Elliott et al., IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 48, 1382 (2020)]. While NT is widely recognized as a stabilizing mechanism and often associated with improved confinement in conventional tokamaks, this study reveals that its effect is not universally stabilizing in the parameter regime of LTX-β and is shown to be highly sensitive to local equilibria. Using local linear simulations with the GS2 code [Kotschenreuther et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 88, 128 (1995)] at ρ=0.3, 0.5, and 0.8 for two representative discharges (#103955 and #109355), and employing the Miller equilibrium model to isolate shaping effects, we find that NT can transition from stabilizing to destabilizing depending on magnetic shear, safety factor, and electron-temperature gradient. In shot #103955, NT reduces growth rates across radii, with strongest stabilization at the edge, whereas in shot #109355, it is stabilizing in the core but destabilizing at mid-radius and edge under experimental conditions. Parametric scans show that flattening the electron-temperature profile, increasing magnetic shear, and reducing the safety factor recover NT stabilization. These results demonstrate that NT stabilization is tunable rather than intrinsic and requires coordinated control of magnetic geometry and gradient drive.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Gas-phase microactuation using kinetically controlled surface states of ultrathin catalytic sheets

Biological systems convert chemical energy into mechanical work by using protein catalysts that assume kinetically controlled conformational states. Synthetic chemomechanical systems using chemical catalysis have been reported, but they are slow, require high temperatures to operate, or indirectly perform work by harnessing reaction products in liquids (e.g., heat or protons). Here, we introduce a bioinspired chemical strategy for gas-phase chemomechanical transduction that sequences the elementary steps of catalytic reactions on ultrathin (<10 nm) platinum sheets to generate surface stresses that directly drive microactuation (bending radii of 700 nm) at ambient conditions (T = 20 °C; P total = 1 atm). When fueled by hydrogen gas and either oxygen or ozone gas, we show how kinetically controlled surface states of the catalyst can be exploited to achieve fast actuation (600 ms/cycle) at 20 °C. Finally, we also show that the approach can integrate photochemically controlled reactions and can be used to drive the reconfiguration of microhinges and complex origami- and kirigami-based microstructures.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

In-line measurements of below-the-surface food deformation during drying with an interference-based optical fiber strain sensor

Real-time measurements of food deformation are important for quality control in drying, yet they pose significant challenges. In this study, we developed an interference-based optical fiber strain sensor to enable in-line, continuous, below-the-surface strain measurements in drying of soft food samples. Compared to a strain resolution of 8 × 10 -4 at zero strain and 7.2 × 10 -3 at 0.20 strain reported in our previously published work, the present study achieves markedly improved resolutions of 1.3 × 10 -4 at zero strain and 7.8 × 10 -4 at 0.25 strain, which strains are the lower and higher boundaries of the dynamic range, respectively. This nearly order-of-magnitude improvement is attributed to the unique interference-based sensing mechanism, no need for calibration to convert optical signals to strain, and the system-design-enabled immunity to fiber-disk misalignments and light source intensity fluctuations. To demonstrate the in-line process monitoring, deformation measurements of fresh banana slices and sugar cookie doughs were carried out in a benchtop oven and an industrial-scale hot-air pilot dryer, respectively. In both dryers, strain measurements were continuously measured during the whole drying process at various depths and radii below the sample surfaces, with the strains up to 25%. Computer vision was used only in the benchtop drying to confirm the faithfulness of the fiber sensor measurements and cannot provide below-the-surface measurements. The measured spatiotemporal deformation allowed us to confirm the shell-hardening effect and to determine the speed and location of large deformation changes in the whole drying process, the latter of which is related to the sample cracking. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to report on an interferometry-based fiber sensor to measure food deformation. This sensor and the sensing mechanism have high potential for real-time process monitoring and control to prevent over-drying or cracking during drying processes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Daejeon16 interaction with contact-term corrections for heavy nuclear systems

The Daejeon16 two-nucleon interaction is employed in many-body approaches based on the mean-field approximation. The perturbative character of Daejeon16 is verified by comparing results for 16 O from the Hartree–Fock (HF) approximation and from the no-core shell model and by examining the magnitude of perturbative corrections to the HF energy in light and heavy nuclei. Here, in order to approximately describe energies and radii across the nuclear chart, a phenomenological correction in the form of a two-plus-three-nucleon contact interaction is introduced. With fitted parameters we achieve a very good description of medium-mass nuclei in terms of energy and size and also in terms of the centroid energy of the giant monopole resonance and the dipole polarizability calculated within the random-phase approximation. Our results provide further justification for the use of Daejeon16 augmented with phenomenological corrections as an effective interaction of perturbative character in a variety of applications.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bayesian analysis of nuclear polarizability corrections to the Lamb shift of muonic H-atoms and He-ions

The extraction of nuclear charge radii from spectroscopy experiments in muonic atoms is currently limited by the large uncertainties associated with the theoretical evaluation of the nuclear polarizability effects. To facilitate calculations, these polarizability corrections are conventionally expressed as an expansion in a dimensionless parameter η, which has been argued in previous literature to hold an approximate value of 0.33 in light-nuclear systems. In this work, we check this claim by doing a Bayesian analysis of the nuclear-polarizability corrections to the Lamb shift in µ 2 H and µ 3 H atoms and in µ 3 He + and µ 4 He + ions at various orders in the η-expansion. As presented here, our analysis supports the claim that η $\ll$ 1 in these systems and finds truncation uncertainties that are similar to the previous estimate, the only exception being the truncation uncertainties in the µ 3 He + ion, which are found to be larger.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

High precision magnetic field measurement and mapping of the LEReC 180 degree bending magnet using very low field NMR with hall combined probe (140 - 350 gauss)

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL are using the Low Energy RHIC Electron Cooling (LEReC) to conduct experiments that search for the quantum chromodynamic (QCD) critical point. The first ever electron cooling based on the RF acceleration of electron beams was experimentally demonstrated on April 5, 2019 at LEReC at BNL. The first critical step in obtaining successful 3D non-magnetized cooling of the Au ion bunches in the RHIC cooling section was matching the electron beam energy with a relative error less than 5*10 -4 to the ion beam energy. Part of the LEReC beamline is a dipole magnet that bends the electron beam 180 degree. One of the most outstanding measurement challenges is that the dipole field is so low (≈200 G). Most of the existing NMR probes can only measure fields >400 G. Lower signal-to-noise ratio at low fields is requires the use of larger sample volumes. Working with CAYLAR, a NMR probe has been redesigned and optimized for these low field measurements with high resolution. We report the methods, challenges, and results for extensive magnetic field mappings of the 180 dipole magnet. A combination of NMR and Hall sensors has been successfully implemented to measure uniform field regimes inside the magnet center area and non-uniform field regimes at the magnet ends. Detailed measurement and mapping have been performed at five radii and five heights along the beam trajectory. Meanwhile a finite element magnetic modeling simulation of the magnet using Opera software has been performed. The calculated and measured data are compared, and the calculated data is good reference for measured data over long length mapping from magnet edge to center. The measured magnetic measurement data is directly useful for beam instrumentation, diagnostics and operation.

Magnetic Field Measurement↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ion-temperature-gradient stability near the magnetic axis of quasisymmetric stellarators

Abstract The stability of the ion-temperature gradient mode in quasisymmetric stellarators is assessed. This is performed using a set of analytical estimates together with linear gyrokinetic simulations. The peak growth rates, their corresponding real frequencies and wave-vectors are identified. A comparison is made between a first-order near-axis expansion model and eleven realistic designs obtained using numerical optimization methods. It is found that while the near-axis expansion is able to replicate the growth rates, real frequencies and perpendicular wave-vector at the inner core (both using simplified dispersion relations and first-principle gyrokinetic simulations), it leads to an overestimation of the growth rate at larger radii. An approximate analytic solution of the ITG dispersion relation for the non-resonant limit suggests growth rates could be systematically higher in quasi-axisymmetric (QA) configurations compared to quasi-helically (QH) symmetric ones. However except for very close to the axis, linear gyrokinetic simulations do not show systematic differences between QA and QH configurations.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Impact of impurities on peeling–ballooning modes and turbulence in tokamak plasmas

This study investigates the impact of various impurity species on peeling–ballooning (PB) modes and microturbulence in tokamak plasmas through the extension of traditional two-fluid and gyro-landau-fluid (GLF) models. By incorporating finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects, the analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of impurity-driven impact and its interaction with plasma turbulence. Depending on charge state and local plasma conditions, heavy impurities may exhibit gyro-radii larger than those of main ions, which are captured in the extended GLF model presented. Following the presentation of modified two-fluid equations incorporating impurity effects, we systematically analyze the distinctions between impurity and main ion dynamics and their resultant feedback mechanisms on plasma behavior. Derivation of the linear dispersion relation enables quantification of impurity-mediated modifications to: plasma vorticity, diamagnetic drift and gyroviscous effects, electron Hall physics, and FLR effects. BOUT++ – based linear simulations corroborate this formalism, demonstrating systematic stabilization of PB modes upon impurity seeding. And then operational implications for practical impurity control strategies in tokamak devices are proposed. The results underscore the necessity of impurity management to maintain stability and optimize plasma confinement, with specific focus on how FLR effects contribute to transport dynamics. This work paves the way for enhanced modeling and simulation efforts, supporting the development of strategies to control impurity-induced turbulence and improve overall reactor performance.

BOUT++ simulation↗