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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

Puck Loop Seal (Final Project Technical Report)

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is advancing technical capabilities used in passive loop seals. The “Puck” seal used a set of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements for new passive loop seals published in 2020 as a design guide. The seal is based on an oxygen-sensitive inner mixture encased in an oxygen-impermeable shell, is monolithic rather than two-part, incorporates self-capturing wire features, contains colored water beads and bubbles formed during processing as unique identifiers (UIDs), and visually indicates tamper (whether from seal body penetration or from seal wire removal) by irreversibly changing the seal body from multi-colored to black. This paper will provide details on the design, development, and testing of Puck seal prototypes.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Power Factor revisited

Power factor is a term whose value can be found by dividing the power in a load to the product of the voltage and the current. It has been used as a rule of thumb to estimate the cost of the losses incurred in delivering reactive power. But it has been extremely troublesome. The same load might be penalized by some definitions, and might not by others. That is still the situation today. There have been two efforts at solution. In 1919 a committee of experts was formed to solve the problem of its definition. The effort did not succeed at producing a definition; two alternatives were recommended in the committee’s final report, but both were adopted. In 2010, IEEE issued Standard 1459 to give definitions. In this standard, definitions of power factor appear under no less than seven different headings. The problem demands solution. The matter is of considerable economic importance to power producers, consumers, and instrument makers. This paper examines the history of the topic, and explores reasons for the difficulty of definition in terms of measurement theory. It is shown that power factor is not suited to purpose. In fact, no definition can exist that will define power factor usefully for its intended economic purpose. Two alternatives are proposed.

power factror, definitions, measurement theory, IE↗

Supporting Data for "On the magnetic contribution of itinerant electrons to neutron diffraction in the topological antiferromagnet CeAlGe"

Contents of this DOI are data for the research paper "On the magnetic contribution of itinerant electrons to neutron diffraction in the topological antiferromagnet CeAlGe" by the authors: V. Pomjakushin et al. The dataset contains raw data from neutron scattering experiments of CeAlGe powder performed at the CNCS spectrometer at Spallation Neutron Source at ORNL.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Design of digital acquisition for beam current monitor

As a part of the Proton Improvement Plan – II (PIP-II) at Fermilab, instrumentation systems are being modernized to take advantage of the higher speeds and ease of use offered by standardized embedded systems like MicroTCA. A rear-transition module (RTM) is being designed to interface with said embedded systems. In each of the four identical channels on the RTM, the differential signal from an alternating-current current transformer (ACCT) transimpedance amplifier will again be amplified by a differential operation-amplifier, then filtered by a low-pass topology. The conditioned signal is then digitized at a maximum of 10MS/s by an analog to digital converter (ADC) integrated circuit. After digitization, the ADC passes the data to an off the shelf AdvancedMC (AMC) Xilinx FPGA module using low voltage differential signals. This paper will describe the simulation of analog circuitry for signal conditioning, simulation of digital signal integrity based on physical design as well as verification of design characteristics critical to signal integrity. This work aims to create a methodology that can be applied to future RTMs requiring application of high-speed digital design principles.

White, R.Turner [Fermilab]↗

Design of Digital Acquisition for Beam Current Monitor

As a part of the Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) at Fermilab, instrumentation systems are being modernized to take advantage of the higher speeds and ease of use offered by standardized embedded systems like MicroTCA. A rear-transition module (RTM) is being designed to interface with said embedded systems. In each of the four identical channels on the RTM, the differential signal from an alternating-current current transformer (ACCT) transimpedance amplifier will again be amplified by a differential operation-amplifier, then filtered by a low-pass topology. The conditioned signal is then digitized at a maximum of 10MS/s by an analog to digital converter (ADC) integrated circuit. After digitization, the ADC passes the data to an off the shelf AdvancedMC (AMC) Xilinx FPGA module using low voltage differential signals. This paper will describe the simulation of analog circuitry for signal conditioning, simulation of digital signal integrity based on physical design as well as verification of design characteristics critical to signal integrity. This work aims to create a methodology that can be applied to future RTMs requiring application of high-speed digital design principles.

White, Turner [Fermilab] (ORCID:0009000348159256)↗

Measuring He i Stark Line Shapes in the Laboratory to Examine Differences in Photometric and Spectroscopic DB White Dwarf Masses

Abstract Accurate helium White Dwarf (DB) masses are critical for understanding the star’s evolution. DB masses derived from the spectroscopic and photometric methods are inconsistent. Photometric masses agree better with currently accepted DB evolutionary theories and are mostly consistent across a large range of surface temperatures. Spectroscopic masses rely on untested He i Stark line-shape and Van der Waals broadening predictions, show unexpected surface temperature trends, and are thus viewed as less reliable. To test this conclusion, we present in this paper detailed He i Stark line-shape measurements at conditions relevant to DB atmospheres ( T electron ≈12,000–17,000 K, n electron ≈ 10 17 cm −3 ). We use X-rays from Sandia National Laboratories’ Z -machine to create a uniform ≈120 mm long hydrogen–helium mixture plasma. Van der Waals broadening is negligible at our experimental conditions, allowing us to measure He i Stark profiles only. H β , which has been well-studied in our platform and elsewhere, serves as the n e diagnostic. We find that He i Stark broadening models used in DB analyses are accurate within errors at tested conditions. It therefore seems unlikely that line-shape models are solely responsible for the observed spectroscopic mass trends. Our results should motivate the WD community to further scrutinize the validity of other spectroscopic and photometric input parameters, like atmospheric structure assumptions and convection corrections. These parameters can significantly change the derived DB mass. Identifying potential weaknesses in any input parameters could further our understanding of DBs, help elucidate their evolutionary origins, and strengthen confidence in both spectroscopic and photometric masses.

Schaeuble, M. -A. (ORCID:0000000188695203)↗

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: arcminute-resolution maps of 18 000 square degrees of the microwave sky from ACT 2008–2018 data combined with Planck

This paper presents a maximum-likelihood algorithm for combining sky maps with disparate sky coverage, angular resolution and spatially varying anisotropic noise into a single map of the sky. We use this to merge hundreds of individual maps covering the 2008–2018 ACT observing seasons, resulting in by far the deepest ACT maps released so far. We also combine the maps with the full Planck maps, resulting in maps that have the best features of both Planck and ACT: Planck’s nearly white noise on intermediate and large angular scales and ACT’s high-resolution and sensitivity on small angular scales. The maps cover over 18 000 square degrees, nearly half the full sky, at 100, 150 and 220 GHz. Furthermore, they reveal 4 000 optically-confirmed clusters through the Sunyaev Zel’dovich effect (SZ) and 18 500 point source candidates at > 5σ, the largest single collection of SZ clusters and millimeter wave sources to date. The multi-frequency maps provide millimeter images of nearby galaxies and individual Milky Way nebulae, and even clear detections of several nearby stars. Other anticipated uses of these maps include, for example, thermal SZ and kinematic SZ cluster stacking, CMB cluster lensing and galactic dust science. The method itself has negligible bias. However, due to the preliminary nature of some of the component data sets, we caution that these maps should not be used for precision cosmological analysis. The maps are part of ACT DR5, and will be made available on LAMBDA no later than three months after the journal publication of this article, along with an interactive sky atlas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Guide to Engaging Underserved Communities in Commercial Energy Efficiency Field Validations

Underserved communities in the United States often experience the negative impacts of climate change and environmental degradation but enjoy few of the benefits of technological and environmental advances. The White House has addressed this inequity through the Justice40 initiative, which requires 40% of the benefits of select federal investments to be directed to underserved communities (The White House, 2022). Clean energy and energy efficiency are two highlighted investment categories, so the U.S. Department of Energy will guide implementation of the Justice40 initiative by, among other things, decreasing energy burdens, increasing parity in clean energy technology access and adoption, and increasing energy resiliency. A strategy for reaching these goals is to evaluate and validate new energy efficiency technologies in commercial buildings in underserved communities, where buildings may be older, smaller, and have deferred maintenance due to historical underinvestment. This paper develops guidance for researchers pursuing field validations with underserved communities. Historical redlining and past negative experiences with government and large institutions may make residents wary of participating in these field validations. Researchers, therefore, may need to spend more time building relationships and matching technologies to buildings. In this paper, we analyzed technical reports to identify common field validation building characteristics and conducted semi-structured expert conversations to identify key stages and major themes of engaging underserved communities. Results indicate there may be flexibility in site selection and there are steps researchers can take to support collaboration with communities. Results also suggest benefits to both the community and energy efficiency research.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Investigation on gate oxide reliability under gate bias screening for commercial SiC planar and trench MOSFETs

This paper evaluates the impact of the fast high gate-voltage screening technique on gate oxide reliability of commercial 1.2 kV 4H-SiC power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with planar and trench gate structures. The measurements are conducted on packaged devices with the intent that the results will be applicable to wafer-level screening. The threshold voltage (V th ) of SiC MOSFETs is measured before and after various screening treatments and recovery process. In addition, constant-voltage time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) measurements are performed on SiC MOSFETs to obtain the intrinsic lifetime of gate oxide. The objective of this study is to determine the optimal screening conditions and improve screening efficiency without degradation of gate oxide reliability, such as V th shift and reduced oxide intrinsic lifetime. Due to the differences in the gate oxidation process and structural design of SiC planar and trench MOSFETs, the two types of devices exhibit different oxide reliability in the screening process. The recommended screening conditions obtained in this paper reveal that SiC trench MOSFETs can accept higher screening voltages compared to SiC planar MOSFETs. Hence, it can be concluded that more efficient screening techniques can be adopted for SiC MOSFETs with thicker gate oxide to meet the requirements of industrial applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Enhancing predictive capabilities in fusion burning plasmas through surrogate-based optimization in core transport solvers

Abstract This work presents the PORTALS framework (Rodriguez-Fernandez et al 2022 Nucl. Fusion 62 076036), which leverages surrogate modeling and optimization techniques to enable the prediction of core plasma profiles and performance with nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations at significantly reduced cost, with no loss of accuracy. The efficiency of PORTALS is benchmarked against standard methods, and its full potential is demonstrated on a unique, simultaneous 5-channel (electron temperature, ion temperature, electron density, impurity density and angular rotation) prediction of steady-state profiles in a DIII-D ITER Similar Shape plasma with GPU-accelerated, nonlinear CGYRO (Candy et al 2016 J. Comput. Phys. 324 73–93). This paper also provides general guidelines for accurate performance predictions in burning plasmas and the impact of transport modeling in fusion pilot plants studies.

Physics↗

Conditional probability density functional theory

Here we present conditional probability (CP) density functional theory (DFT) as a formally exact theory. In essence, CP-DFT determines the ground-state energy of a system by finding the CP density from a series of independent Kohn-Sham (KS) DFT calculations. By directly calculating CP densities, we bypass the need for an approximate XC energy functional. In this paper we discuss and derive several key properties of the CP density and corresponding CP-KS potential. Illustrative examples are used throughout to help guide the reader through the various concepts and theory presented. We explore a suitable CP-DFT approximation and discuss exact conditions, limitations, and results for selected examples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Parameterization of generic positive sequence models to represent behavior of inverter based resources in low short circuit scenarios

The connection of large inverter based resources (IBR) in transmission systems is often located geographically and electrically far away from load centers. This, coupled with the displacement of synchronous machine plants, results in a reduction of the network short circuit strength at the point of connection. Under these conditions, state-of-the-art positive sequence simulation platforms and models can have difficulties maintaining numerical stability and/or providing an accurate representation of IBR plant dynamic behavior. As a result, computationally heavy time domain electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations may be required to evaluate these systems. In this paper, a recently developed improved generic positive sequence model is parameterized to provide a representation of IBR behavior in low short circuit networks. Further, comparisons against generic and detailed EMT models demonstrate the suitability of the improved positive sequence model to study practical stability issues experienced with presently in-service plants. Such a model can provide some of the accuracy of an EMT representation with a much lower computational burden. The performance of the positive sequence model is validated against the behavior shown by both open white box and closed black box EMT domain models from around the world.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

hls4ml: A Flexible, Open-Source Platform for Deep Learning Acceleration on Reconfigurable Hardware

We present hls4ml, a free and open-source platform that translates machine learning (ML) models from modern deep learning frameworks into high-level synthesis (HLS) code that can be integrated into full designs for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). With its flexible and modular design, hls4ml supports a large number of deep learning frameworks and can target HLS compilers from several vendors, including Vitis HLS, Intel oneAPI and Catapult HLS. Together with a wider eco-system for software-hardware co-design, hls4ml has enabled the acceleration of ML inference in a wide range of commercial and scientific applications where low latency, resource usage, and power consumption are critical. In this paper, we describe the structure and functionality of the hls4ml platform. The overarching design considerations for the generated HLS code are discussed, together with selected performance results.

FOS: Computer and information sciences↗

Multiplexable high-temperature stable and low-loss intrinsic Fabry-Perot in-fiber sensors through nanograting engineering

This paper presents a method of using femtosecond laser inscribed nanograting as low-loss– and high-temperature–stable in-fiber reflectors. By introducing a pair of nanograting inside the core of a single-mode optical fiber, an intrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer can be created for high-temperature sensing applications. The morphology of the nanograting inscribed in fiber cores was engineered by tuning the fabrication conditions to achieve a high fringe visibility of 0.49 and low insertion loss of 0.002 dB per sensor. Using a white light interferometry demodulation algorithm, we demonstrate the temperature sensitivity, cross-talk, and spatial multiplexability of sensor arrays. Both the sensor performance and stability were studied from room temperature to 1000°C with cyclic heating and cooling. Our results demonstrate a femtosecond direct laser writing technique capable of producing highly multiplexable in-fiber intrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer sensor devices with high fringe contrast, high sensitivity, and low-loss for application in harsh environmental conditions.

Wang, Mohan (ORCID:0000000166784993)↗

A Common Origin of Normal Type Ia Supernovae Suggested by the Photometric Diversity

In recent years, with the increasing number of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered soon after their explosions, a nonnegligible fraction of SNe Ia with early-excess emissions (EExSNe Ia) have been confirmed. In this paper, we present a total of 67 early-phase normal SNe Ia from published papers and ongoing transient survey projects to systematically investigate their photometric behaviors from very early time. We found that EExSNe Ia in our sample have longer rise and brighter peak luminosities compared to non-EExSNe Ia. Moreover, EExSNe Ia commonly have “tiny red bump” or “blue plateau” features in the early B − V color while non-EExSNe Ia show blueward evolution from the very beginning. Here, we propose that the thin He-shell double detonation scenario can phenomenologically explain the photometric diversities of normal SNe Ia considering different white dwarf–He-shell mass combinations and the viewing angle effect, implying a unified explosion mechanism of normal-type SNe Ia. To further verify the possible common origin of normal SNe Ia, systematical studies of multiband photometric and spectral properties of early-phase SNe Ia through the new-generation wide-field time-domain survey facilities and global real-time follow-up networks are highly needed.

Wu, Weiyu↗

Synthesis of succinic acid‐based polyamide through direct solid‐state polymerization method: Avoiding cyclization of succinic acid

Abstract Succinic acid is an important synthetic monomer but it is difficult to use it as a precursor for synthesizing high molecular weight polyamide, due to its tendency to perform intra‐cyclization reaction at high temperature. In order to solve this problem, in this paper, the direct solid‐state polymerization (DSSP) method with the initial reactant, nylon salt which was composed of 1, 5‐diaminopentane, succinic acid, and terephthalic acid, was applied to synthesize the bio‐based copolyamide PA 5T/54. In comparison with the conventional melting polymerization method, the DSSP method can prevent the cyclization reaction of succinic acid effectively due to the lower reacting temperature as well as the restriction effect of the nylon salt. As a result, the product fabricated by DSSP method has higher molecular weight and much lighter color from red to white. Therefore, the DSSP method is advantageous for the synthesis of the polymers or copolymers composed of the succinic acid as the monomer. Furthermore, the polymerization mechanism proposed in this work can serve as a guidance for the design of the molecular structure and control of the polymerization process.

Li, Haijie↗

The dark matter profile of the Milky Way inferred from its circular velocity curve

ABSTRACT In this paper, we construct the circular velocity curve of the Milky Way out to ∼30 kpc, providing an updated model of the dark matter density profile. We derive precise parallaxes for 120 309 stars with a data-driven model, using APOGEE DR17 spectra combined with GaiaDR3, 2MASS, and WISE photometry. At outer galactic radii up to 30 kpc, we find a significantly faster decline in the circular velocity curve compared to the inner parts. This decline is better fit with a cored Einasto profile with a slope parameter $0.91^{+0.04}_{-0.05}$ than a generalized Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) profile. The virial mass of the best-fitting dark matter halo profile is only $1.81^{+0.06}_{-0.05}\times 10^{11}$ M⊙, significantly lower than what a generalized NFW profile delivers. We present a study of the potential systematics, affecting mainly large radii. Such a low mass for the Galaxy is driven by the functional forms tested, given that it probes beyond our measurements. It is found to be in tension with mass measurements from globular clusters, dwarf satellites, and streams. Our best-fitting profile also lowers the expected dark matter annihilation signal flux from the galactic centre by more than an order of magnitude, compared to an NFW profile-fit. In future work, we will explore profiles with more flexible functional forms to more fully leverage the circular velocity curve and observationally constrain the properties of the Milky Way’s dark matter halo.

Ou, Xiaowei (ORCID:0000000246699967)↗