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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 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Revisiting low-fidelity two-fluid models for gas–solids transport

Two-phase gas–solids transport models are widely utilized for process design and automation in a broad range of industrial applications. Some of these applications include proppant transport in gaseous fracking fluids, air/gas drilling hydraulics, coal-gasification reactors and food processing units. Systems automation and real time process optimization stand to benefit a great deal from availability of efficient and accurate theoretical models for operations data processing. However, modeling two-phase pneumatic transport systems accurately requires a comprehensive understanding of gas–solids flow behavior. In this study we discuss the prevailing flow conditions and present a low-fidelity two-fluid model equation for particulate transport. The model equations are formulated in a manner that ensures the physical flux term remains conservative despite the inclusion of solids normal stress through the empirical formula for modulus of elasticity. A new set of Roe–Pike averages are presented for the resulting strictly hyperbolic flux term in the system of equations, which was used to develop a Roe-type approximate Riemann solver. The resulting scheme is stable regardless of the choice of flux-limiter. The model is evaluated by the prediction of experimental results from both pneumatic riser and air-drilling hydraulics systems. We demonstrate the effect and impact of numerical formulation and choice of numerical scheme on model predictions. We illustrate the capability of a low-fidelity one-dimensional two-fluid model in predicting relevant flow parameters in two-phase particulate systems accurately even under flow regimes involving counter-current flow.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Utilizing ink composition to tune bulk-electrode gas transport, performance, and operational robustness for a Fe-N-C catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cell

With lower site density and turnover frequency, platinum group metal (PGM)-free catalysts based electrodes are often greater than 50 mu m thick in order to increase performance across the fuel cell operating range. Consequently, PGM-free electrodes have an additional bulk electrode transport resistance beyond the local or aggregate level transport in thin platinum-based electrodes. In parallel to the development of more active and durable PGM-free catalysts, advancements in understanding the interplay between PGM-free electrode fabrication, bulk-electrode transport, proton conductivity and performance are needed. Here, the relationship between ionic and gas phase transport through the electrode thickness is modified by adjusting electrocatalyst and ionomer flocculation/interaction at the ink level. The influence of the ink composition (water/n-propanol content) is examined via various in-situ electrochemical and ex-situ characterization techniques and the resulting electrode structure/performance relationship contrasted with electrode performance robustness across a range of relative humidity (RH). For the electrocatalyst examined here, a water-rich (82 wt% H2O) ink formulation was favorable for operation at high RH due to improved molecular diffusion through larger electrode pores. In contrast, the improved interactions between ionomer and electrocatalyst enabled a more robust electrode and higher performance during low RH operation for the 50 wt% H2O content ink.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Measurements of electron transport in liquid and gas Xenon using a laser-driven photocathode

Measurements of electron drift properties in liquid and gaseous xenon are reported. The electrons are generated by the photoelectric effect in a semitransparent gold photocathode driven in transmission mode with a pulsed ultraviolet laser. The charges drift and diffuse in a small chamber at various electric fields and a fixed drift distance of 2.0 cm. At an electric field of 0.5 kV/cm, the measured drift velocities and corresponding temperature coefficients respectively are 1.97 ± 0.04 mm/µs and (-0.69 ± 0.05)%/K for liquid xenon, and 1.42 ± 0.03 mm/µs and (+0.11 ± 0.01)%/K for gaseous xenon at 1.5 bar. In addition, we measure longitudinal diffusion coefficients of 25.7±4.6 cm2/s and 149±23 cm2/s, for liquid and gas, respectively. The quantum efficiency of the gold photocathode is studied at the photon energy of 4.73 eV in liquid and gaseous xenon, and vacuum. These charge transport properties and the behavior of photocathodes in a xenon environment are important in designing and calibrating future large scale noble liquid detectors.

Njoya, Oumarou↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Dynamics of Ions on Phased Radio-frequency Carpets in High Pressure Gases and Application for Barium Tagging in Xenon Gas Time Projection Chambers

Radio-frequency (RF) carpets with ultra-fine pitches are examined for ion transport in gases at atmospheric pressures and above. We develop new analytic and computational methods for modeling RF ion transport at densities where dynamics are strongly influenced by buffer gas collisions. An analytic description of levitating and sweeping forces from phased arrays is obtained, then thermodynamic and kinetic principles are used to calculate ion loss rates in the presence of collisions. This methodology is validated against detailed microscopic SIMION simulations. We then explore a parameter space of special interest for neutrinoless double beta decay experiments: transport of barium ions in xenon at pressures from 1 to 10 bar. Our computations account for molecular ion formation and pressure dependent mobility as well as finite temperature effects. We discuss the challenges associated with achieving suitable operating conditions, which lie beyond the capabilities of existing devices, using presently available or near-future manufacturing techniques.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structural characterization of framework–gas interactions in the metal–organic framework Co 2 (dobdc) by in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction

The crystallographic characterization of framework–guest interactions in metal–organic frameworks allows the location of guest binding sites and provides meaningful information on the nature of these interactions, enabling the correlation of structure with adsorption behavior. Here, techniques developed for in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments on porous crystals have enabled the direct observation of CO, CH 4 , N 2 , O 2 , Ar, and P 4 adsorption in Co2(dobdc) (dobdc 4– = 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate), a metal–organic framework bearing coordinatively unsaturated cobalt(II) sites. All these molecules exhibit such weak interactions with the high-spin cobalt(II) sites in the framework that no analogous molecular structures exist, demonstrating the utility of metal–organic frameworks as crystalline matrices for the isolation and structural determination of unstable species. Notably, the Co–CH 4 and Co–Ar interactions observed in Co 2 (dobdc) represent, to the best of our knowledge, the first single-crystal structure determination of a metal–CH 4 interaction and the first crystallographically characterized metal–Ar interaction. Analysis of low-pressure gas adsorption isotherms confirms that these gases exhibit mainly physisorptive interactions with the cobalt(II) sites in Co 2 (dobdc), with differential enthalpies of adsorption as weak as –17(1) kJ mol –1 (for Ar). Moreover, the structures of Co 2 (dobdc)·3.8N 2 , Co 2 (dobdc)·5.9O 2 , and Co 2 (dobdc)·2.0Ar reveal the location of secondary (N 2 , O 2 , and Ar) and tertiary (O 2 ) binding sites in Co 2 (dobdc), while high-pressure CO 2 , CO, CH 4 , N 2 , and Ar adsorption isotherms show that these binding sites become more relevant at elevated pressures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

The role of ambient gas confinement, plasma chemistry, and focusing conditions on emission features of femtosecond laser-produced plasmas

Ultrafast laser ablation coupled with optical emission spectroscopy is currently under development for standoff detection of elements and their isotopes for a wide range of application areas. In this work, we explore the role of ambient air pressure during the interaction of an ultrafast laser beam with two metallic targets (brass and uranium) with significantly different oxygen gas-phase reactivity. Plasma plumes were generated by focusing ~800 nm, ~35 fs pulses from an ultrafast laser system using a long focal length lens with f = 1 m. Two-dimensional spectral imaging was performed over the pressure range of 30 mTorr-700 Torr air to evaluate emission dynamics, plasma chemistry, signal-to-background ratio, and characteristic parameters (i.e. excitation temperature, electron density). An increase in ambient air pressure during ultrafast laser ablation leads to plume confinement and subsequent changes in the emission dynamics due to plasma chemistry as well as changes in plasma generation conditions (i.e. focused fs laser ablation versus filament ablation). Ablation crater morphologies were also investigated via scanning electron microscopy. Results indicate atomic emission intensity and signal-to-background ratios peak at moderate pressure levels (~50-100 Torr air) for both targets studied, although plasma chemistry influences uranium emission signatures. The emission features of the uranium plasma at pressures = 10 Torr showed the presence of atoms and oxide molecules which are co-located within the plume. We also find filament ablation leads to wider, more shallow craters compared to focused laser ablation. Our study provides unique insight into the interplay between plume dynamics, confinement, and oxygen chemistry of fs laser-produced plasmas and how these phenomena evolve with changing ambient air pressure.

Laser-produced plasma↗
DOE OSTI2014

Demonstrated high performance of gas-filled rugby-shaped hohlraums on Omega

A direct experimental comparison of rugby-shaped and cylindrical shaped gas-filled hohlraums on the Omega laser facility demonstrates that higher coupling and minimal backscatter can be achieved in the rugby geometry, leading to significantly enhanced implosion performance. A nearly 50% increase of x-ray drive is associated with earlier bangtime and increase of neutron production. The observed drive enhancement from rugby geometry in this study is almost twice stronger than in previously published results.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Low-adiabat rugby hohlraum experiments on the National Ignition Facility: Comparison with high-flux modeling and the potential for gas-wall interpenetration

Rugby-shaped gold hohlraums driven by a nominal low-adiabat laser pulse shape have been tested on the National Ignition Facility. The rugby affords a higher coupling efficiency than a comparably sized cylinder hohlraum or, alternatively, improved drive symmetry and laser beam clearances for a larger hohlraum with similar cylinder wall area and laser energy. A first (large rugby hohlraum) shot at low energy (0.75 MJ) to test laser backscatter resulted in a moderately oblate CH capsule implosion, followed by a high energy shot (1.3 MJ) that gave a highly oblate compressed core according to both time-integrated and –resolved x-ray images. These implosions used low wavelength separation (1.0 Å) between the outer and inner cones to provide an alternative platform free of significant cross-beam energy transfer for simplified hohlraum dynamics. Post-shot 2- and 3-D radiation-hydrodynamic simulations using the high-flux model [M. D. Rosen et al., High Energy Density Phys. 7, 180 (2011)], however, give nearly round implosions for both shots, in striking contrast with observations. An analytic assessment of Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instability growth on the gold–helium gas-fill interface shows the potential for significant linear growth, saturation and transition to a highly nonlinear state. Candidate seeds for instability growth include laser speckle during the early-time laser picket episode in the presence of only partial temporal beam smoothing (1-D smoothing by spectral dispersion and polarization smoothing) and intensity modulations from quad-to-quad and beam overlap. Radiation-hydrodynamic 2-D simulations adapted to include a dynamic fall-line mix model across the unstable Au-He interface show good agreement with the observed implosion symmetry for both shots using an interface-to-fall-line penetration fraction of 100%. Physically, the potential development of an instability layer in a rugby hohlraum is tantamount to an enhanced wall motion leading to hindered inner-beam propagation, due largely to the confluence of rugby shape and low ray angles relative to the hohlraum symmetry axis. A significant inward pointing shift of 500 μm in the outer cones for the third (full energy) shot of the series was used to improve the inner-beam propagation, resulting in a nearly symmetric x-ray self-emission image of the compressed core and reduced sensitivity to mix. Comparatively low time-dependent symmetry swings were also measured, and a significantly lower hot electron fraction was measured for potentially favorable fuel adiabat control. The outer cone stimulated Brillouin scatter levels jumped significantly, but remedial measures such as the use of a boron dopant in the Au wall are planned. A continuing trend of delayed implosion times is found in rugby hohlraums, suggesting levels of unaccounted hohlraum energy (∼150–200 kJ) similar to what is inferred in cylinder hohlraums. A mix-based physical scenario is described, based on suppressed channel heat flux to the dense gold wall from a temperature-gradient reversal induced by a multispecies plasma lapse rate [P. Amendt, C. Bellei, and S. C. Wilks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 075002 (2012)].

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Comparisons between tokamak fueling of gas puffing and supersonic molecular beam injection in 2D simulations

Plasma fueling with high efficiency and deep injection is very important to enable fusion power performance requirements. It is a powerful and efficient way to study neutral transport dynamics and find methods of improving the fueling performance by doing large scale simulations. Two basic fueling methods, gas puffing (GP) and supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI), are simulated and compared in realistic divertor geometry of the HL-2A tokamak with a newly developed module, named trans-neut, within the framework of BOUT++ boundary plasma turbulence code [Z. H. Wang et al., Nucl. Fusion 54, 043019 (2014)]. The physical model includes plasma density, heat and momentum transport equations along with neutral density, and momentum transport equations. Transport dynamics and profile evolutions of both plasma and neutrals are simulated and compared between GP and SMBI in both poloidal and radial directions, which are quite different from one and the other. It finds that the neutrals can penetrate about four centimeters inside the last closed (magnetic) flux surface during SMBI, while they are all deposited outside of the LCF during GP. It is the radial convection and larger inflowing flux which lead to the deeper penetration depth of SMBI and higher fueling efficiency compared to GP.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Comparison of beam emission spectroscopy and gas puff imaging edge fluctuation measurements in National Spherical Torus Experiment

In this study, the close physical proximity of the Gas Puff Imaging (GPI) and Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) diagnostics on the National Spherical torus Experiment (NSTX) is leveraged to directly compare fluctuation measurements, and to study the local effects of the GPI neutral deuterium puff during H-mode plasmas without large Edge Localized Modes. The GPI and BES views on NSTX provide partially overlapping coverage of the edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) regions above the outboard midplane. The separation in the toroidal direction is 16°, and field lines passing through diagnostic views are separated by ∼20 cm in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field. Strong cross-correlation is observed, and strong cross-coherence is seen for frequencies between 5 and 15 kHz. Also, probability distribution functions of fluctuations measured ∼3 cm inside the separatrix exhibit only minor deviations from a normal distribution for both diagnostics, and good agreement between correlation length estimates, decorrelation times, and structure velocities is found at the ±40% level. While the two instruments agree closely in many respects, some discrepancies are observed. Most notably, GPI normalized fluctuation levels exceed BES fluctuations by a factor of ∼9. BES mean intensity is found to be sensitive to the GPI neutral gas puff, and BES normalized fluctuation levels for frequencies between 1 and 10 kHz are observed to increase during the GPI puff.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Magneto-transport analysis of an ultra-low-density two-dimensional hole gas in an undoped strained Ge/SiGe heterostructure

We report the magneto-transport, scattering mechanisms, and effective mass analysis of an ultra-low density two-dimensional hole gas capacitively induced in an undoped strained Ge/Si{sub 0.2}Ge{sub 0.8} heterostructure. This fabrication technique allows hole densities as low as p ∼ 1.1 × 10{sup 10 }cm{sup −2} to be achieved, more than one order of magnitude lower than previously reported in doped Ge/SiGe heterostructures. The power-law exponent of the electron mobility versus density curve, μ ∝ n{sup α}, is found to be α ∼ 0.29 over most of the density range, implying that background impurity scattering is the dominant scattering mechanism at intermediate densities in such devices. A charge migration model is used to explain the mobility decrease at the highest achievable densities. The hole effective mass is deduced from the temperature dependence of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. At p ∼ 1.0 × 10{sup 11 }cm{sup −2}, the effective mass m* is ∼0.105 m{sub 0}, which is significantly larger than masses obtained from modulation-doped Ge/SiGe two-dimensional hole gases.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗