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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
NASA NTRS1979

Application of split-film anemometer and mini-computer for measurement in turbulent separated flow

A split-film anemometer has been adapted for measurement of highly turbulent intermittently reversing flows in regions of local separation around airfoils and flaps. Analog signals from the split-film anemometer are fed directly to a mini-computer for processing and analysis. Mean velocity magnitude and direction, intermittency of reversal, turbulence intensity and histograms of the velocity are obtained as outputs of the system.

Wentz, W. H.↗
DOE OSTI2023

1.2-kV Vertical GaN PIN Rectifier With Ion-Implanted Floating Guard Rings

Here, this work reports on the fabrication and properties of a homojunction gallium nitride (GaN) p-i-n (PIN) rectifier fabricated on a free-standing GaN substrate. Uniform device performance is achieved with breakdown voltage (BV) >1.2 kV and low ON-resistance × area ( R ON A ). The statistics of the BV measurements show 58.5% of devices achieve BV >1.3 kV, and 71.1% of devices achieve BV >1.2 kV, as attributed to high quality and control in both epitaxial growth and device process. At room temperature, R ON A is 0.23 mΩ∙ cm 2 at a current density ( J ) of 6.9 kA/cm2. The corresponding Baliga’s figure of merit is >5.97 GW/cm 2 . Temperature-dependent reverse I – V measurements were performed and show a positive temperature coefficient of 0.42 V/K, indicating the avalanche capability of reverse breakdown. Further analysis with the Poole-Frenkel model on the temperature-dependent measurement suggested that a trap-assisted tunneling process contributed to the reverse leakage current. Floating guard rings (FGRs) formed by nitrogen implantation serve as an effective edge termination technique in these GaN PIN rectifiers, resulting in uniform performance in both forward and reverse bias.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Broadband Nonreciprocity Enabled by Strong Coupling of Magnons and Microwave Photons

Nonreciprocity of signal transmission enhances the capacity of communication channels and protects the transmission quality against possible signal instabilities, thus becoming an important component for ensuring coherent information processing. However, nonreciprocal transmission requires breaking time-reversal symmetry (TRS), which poses challenges of both practical and fundamental character that hinder progress. Here we report an alternative scheme for achieving broadband nonreciprocity using a specially engineered hybrid microwave cavity. The TRS breaking is realized via strong coherent coupling between a selected chiral mode in the microwave cavity and a single collective spin excitation (magnon) in a ferromagnetic yttrium iron garnet sphere. The nonreciprocity in transmission is observed to span nearly a 0.5-GHz frequency band, which outperforms by two orders of magnitude the previously achieved bandwidths. Our findings suggest a promising direction for robust coherent information processing in a broad range of systems in both the classical and the quantum regime.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1991

The development of a program analysis environment for Ada: Reverse engineering tools for Ada

The Graphical Representations of Algorithms, Structures, and Processes for Ada (GRASP/Ada) has successfully created and prototyped a new algorithm level graphical representation for Ada software, the Control Structure Diagram (CSD). The primary impetus for creation of the CSD was to improve the comprehension efficiency of Ada software and thus improve reliability and reduce costs. The emphasis was on the automatic generation of the CSD from Ada source code to support reverse engineering and maintenance. The CSD has the potential to replace traditional prettyprinted Ada source code. In Phase 1 of the GRASP/Ada project, the CSD graphical constructs were created and applied manually to several small Ada programs. A prototype (Version 1) was designed and implemented using FLEX and BISON running under the Virtual Memory System (VMS) on a VAX 11-780. In Phase 2, the prototype was improved and ported to the Sun 4 platform under UNIX. A user interface was designed and partially implemented. The prototype was applied successfully to numerous Ada programs ranging in size from several hundred to several thousand lines of source code. In Phase 3 of the project, the prototype was prepared for limited distribution (GRASP/Ada Version 3.0) to facilitate evaluation. The user interface was extensively reworked. The current prototype provides the capability for the user to generate CSD from Ada source code in a reverse engineering mode with a level of flexibility suitable for practical application.

Cross, James H., II↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Novel Zero-Discharge Supercritical Water-Based Wave Energy Desalination System

This paper presents a sustainable and innovative wave-energy-based water desalination system combined with an emerging supercritical water process for a zero-liquid-discharge technology. There is growing demand for producing clean water. Within desalination technologies, reverse osmosis, one of the most popular methods, uses a semipermeable membrane that separates fresh water from pressurized seawater. However, this technology produces brine, which is harmful to the environment. Supercritical water desalination is employed here as a means of using the brine to extract more fresh water and eliminate this environmentally toxic output. Wave energy is integrated with reverse osmosis to provide direct seawater pressurization for the first stage in the process. This wave energy converter converts the motion of waves into pressurized water through a power takeoff unit.

reverse osmosis↗
DOE OSTI2022

Synthesis and structure of high-purity BaCe 0.25 Mn 0.75 O 3 : an improved material for thermochemical water splitting

Solar thermochemical hydrogen production (STCH) via redox-active metal oxides is an approach for direct solar-driven hydrogen generation typically using a high-temperature redox cycle involving refractory oxides and steam. Typical cycles involve high-temperature reduction of oxides to form oxygen vacancies, followed by lower temperature reaction between oxygen vacancies and steam where the oxide is re-oxidized and the steam is reduced to hydrogen. Only a few materials have demonstrated reversible cycling under the typically harsh STCH conditions (e.g. 1500°C reduction, 900°C re-oxidation) and critical questions remain on the true reversibility of non-stoichiometric multi-cation oxide systems, significantly hampered by the lack of single-phase samples for these material systems. To date, most STCH processes have relied on CeO 2 as a benchmark active material, but more recently, the 12R phase of BaCe 0.25 Mn 0.75 O 3 (BCM) has demonstrated greater hydrogen-generation potential at lower peak temperatures. However, previous reports of 12R-BCM have included large fractions, > 10 wt%, of secondary phases, which complicate analysis of the stability and performance. A comprehensive understanding of the redox mechanism and reversibility of the process in BCM can only be achieved with nearly single-phase samples which, to date, have been difficult to produce. Here two approaches to BCM synthesis are reported: solid state and sol–gel-based routes. It is demonstrated that both routes can be tuned to produce the 12R structure with > 97 wt% yield when annealed ≥1450°C. Herein synchrotron-based diffraction measurements of rhombohedral 12R-BCM enabled characterization of the anisotropy between thermal expansion along the c-axis and within the ab plane. The impact of high-temperature redox cycling on the stability and phase fraction of the 12R-BCM polytype was also investigated. Our results offer two viable routes for synthesis of high-purity 12R-BCM critically needed for evaluating the efficacy of BCM as a STCH material and validate its ability to split water at lower temperatures over extended numbers of redox cycles.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Redox regulation in chloroplast thylakoid lumen: The pmf changes everything, again

Abstract Photosynthesis is the foundation of life on Earth. However, if not well regulated, it can also generate excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause photodamage. Regulation of photosynthesis is highly dynamic, responding to both environmental and metabolic cues, and occurs at many levels, from light capture to energy storage and metabolic processes. One general mechanism of regulation involves the reversible oxidation and reduction of protein thiol groups, which can affect the activity of enzymes and the stability of proteins. Such redox regulation has been well studied in stromal enzymes, but more recently, evidence has emerged of redox control of thylakoid lumenal enzymes. This review/hypothesis paper summarizes the latest research and discusses several open questions and challenges to achieving effective redox control in the lumen, focusing on the distinct environments and regulatory components of the thylakoid lumen, including the need to transport electrons across the thylakoid membrane, the effects of pH changes by the proton motive force (pmf) in the stromal and lumenal compartments, and the observed differences in redox states. These constraints suggest that activated oxygen species are likely to be major regulatory contributors to lumenal thiol redox regulation, with key components and processes yet to be discovered.

Plant Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2022

A pilot-process for calcium hydroxide production from iron slag by low-temperature precipitation

The production of Ca(OH) 2 via thermal decomposition of limestone is an energy intensive process resulting in significant CO 2 emissions. However, if produced in a manner that obviates the need for the thermal decomposition of limestone, Ca(OH) 2 could be a “CO 2 -negative” material. Herein, we design and demonstrate the operation of a continuous, low-temperature (< 100 °C), aqueous-phase pilot-process to produce Ca(OH) 2 using calcium extracted from alkaline industrial wastes. The three-step process encompasses unit operations including: (i) calcium leaching from basic oxygen furnace BOF slag, (ii) leachate concentration by reverse osmosis (RO), and (iii) Ca(OH) 2 precipitation by temperature swing. Here this process presents several advantages compared to the traditional route. First, it advances the recycling of waste from the steel industry. Second, it operates significantly below the temperature used in conventional lime production (900 °C) as it bypasses limestone calcination, responsible for ~65% of the CO 2 emissions from the current process. Thus, the new process has a lower CO 2 footprint and enables the use of industrial waste heat. The mass and energy balances were quantified to reveal that increasing the calcium concentration of the feed solution and the precipitation temperature, decrease the energy demands of the RO step, thereby reducing the process’s overall CO 2 footprint. The pilot system operated continuously and achieved a production rate of nearly 1 kg per day of Ca(OH) 2 with a purity greater than 95 wt%. The average particle size of the precipitates depended on the residence time in the precipitation reactor, demonstrating an ability to produce size-controlled particulates. Importantly, the process achieved full water recirculation/reutilization level indicative of a low-consumable water demand. The outcomes offer new insights and understanding relevant to developing and upscaling low-CO 2 processes for cement, lime, and portlandite.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2003

Turbulent Plane Wakes Subjected to Successive Strains

Six direct numerical simulations of turbulent time-evolving strained plane wakes have been examined to investigate the response of a wake to successive irrotational plane strains of opposite sign. The orientation of the applied strain field has been selected so that the flow is the time-developing analogue of a spatially developing wake evolving in the presence of either a favourable or an adverse streamwise pressure gradient. The magnitude of the applied strain rate a is constant in time t until the total strain e(sup at) reaches about four. At this point, a new simulation is begun with the sign of the applied strain being reversed (the original simulation is continued as well). When the total strain is reduced back to its original value of one, yet another simulation is begun with the sign of the strain being reversed again back to its original sign. This process is done for both initially "favourable" and initially "adverse" strains, providing simulations for each of these strain types from three different initial conditions. The evolution of the wake mean velocity deficit and width is found to be very similar for all the adversely strained cases, with both measures rapidly achieving exponential growth at the rate associated with the cross-stream expansive strain e(sup at). In the "favourably" strained cases, the wake widths approach a constant and the velocity deficits ultimately decay rapidly as e(sup -2at). Although all three of these cases do exhibit the same asymptotic exponential behaviour, the time required to achieve this is longer for the cases that have been previously adversely strained (by at approx. equals 1). These simulations confirm the generality of the conclusions drawn in Rogers (2002) regarding the response of plane wakes to strain. The evolution of strained wakes is not consistent with the predictions of classical self-similar analysis; a more general equilibrium similarity solution is required to describe the results. At least for the cases considered here, the wake Reynolds number and the ratio of the turbulent kinetic energy to the square of the wake mean velocity deficit are determined nearly entirely by the total strain. For these measures the order in which the strains are applied does not matter and the changes brought about by the strain are nearly reversible. The wake mean velocity deficit and width, on the other hand, differ by about a factor of three when the total strain returns to one, depending on whether the wake was first "favourably" or "adversely" strained. The strain history is important for predicting the evolution of these quantities.

Rogers, Michael M.↗
NASA NTRS1978

NASA Pioneer: Venus reverse playback telemetry program TR 78-2

During the entry of the Pioneer Venus Atmospheric Probes into the Venus atmosphere, there were several events (RF blackout and data rate changes) which caused the ground receiving equipment to lose lock on the signal. This caused periods of data loss immediately following each one of these disturbing events which lasted until all the ground receiving units (receiver, subcarrier demodulator, symbol synchronizer, and sequential decoder) acquired lock once more. A scheme to recover these data by off-line data processing was implemented. This scheme consisted of receiving the S band signals from the probes with an open loop reciever (requiring no lock up on the signal) in parallel with the closed loop receivers of the real time receiving equipment, down converting the signals to baseband, and recording them on an analog recorder. The off-line processing consisted of playing the analog recording in the reverse direction (starting with the end of the tape) up, converting the signal to S-band, feeding the signal into the "real time" receiving system and recording on digital tape, the soft decisions from the symbol synchronizer.

Modestino, J. W.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Molten salt electrochemical upcycling of CO 2 to graphite for high performance battery anodes

The efficient transformation of CO 2 into a value-added material is a potential strategy to help mitigate climate effects caused by CO 2 emissions. One potential CO 2 conversion product is graphite which is an important and versatile material extensively used in many applications including as an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Commercial graphite, however, is traditionally synthesized via the energy intensive Acheson process (>3000 °C) and the performance of such graphite can be limited under fast charging conditions which is important for vehicle electrification. We report the electrochemical transformation of CO 2 to highly crystalline nano-graphite with a controlled microstructure in a carbonate molten salt at 780 °C. The use of a nickel foam electrode and controlled electrochemical parameters during the molten salt conversion process yielded pure graphite at a lower temperature compared to the Acheson process. Moreover, when investigated as an anode material for LIBs, the CO 2 -converted graphite exhibited high reversible capacity, long cycle life, and excellent rate capability even under fast charging conditions. This process provides a way to potentially reduce carbon emissions through the utilization of waste CO 2 by converting it into value-added graphite suitable for fast charging, high-energy-density batteries for vehicle electrification.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Produced Water and Waste Heat-aided Blowdown Water Treatment: Using Chemical and Energy Synergisms for Value Creation

The project objective was to develop a cooling blowdown water (BDW) treatment process utilizing produced water (PW) and low-grade heat to maximize water reuse and saleable by-product generation while reducing chemical and energy footprints of the treatment. The proposed treatment process consists of mixing, softening, organics and suspended solids removal, reverse osmosis (RO), thermal desalination, and brine electrolysis. BDW samples collected from a local coal-fired power plant and PW samples from two shale gas production wells were used in this study. Each treatment unit was first designed and tested to quantify its treatment efficiency, and its chemical and energy requirements. In addition, a process model was developed and model simulations were conducted based on the experimental results and literature data to optimize the treatment process. A techno-economic analysis was conducted to quantify chemical and energy savings as well as production of 10-lb brine as a saleable product. With the field-collected BDW and PW samples, mixing experiments determined a volumetric mixing ratio 10:1 (BDW:PW) resulted in the best performance of multivalent ions removal and largest chemical savings for softening. Softening of the BDW/PW mixtures using alkaline chemicals (Na 2 CO 3 and NaOH) achieved 95%-100% removal of scaling-forming cations (Ca, Mg, Fe, Ba, Sr) and 60% of silicon, and 10% of total organic carbon (TOC). The mixing and softening treatments yielded an effluent with total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of 23 g/L. Activated carbon (AC) filtration removed TOC to a low level (< 3 mg/L) and further removed remaining scale-forming divalent metals and silica from the softened water. The AC filtration resulted in a slight reduction of TDS from 23 g/L to 20 g/L, leaving behind only mostly monovalent ions (i.e., sodium and chloride) in the filtered water. These pretreatments yielded a feed water that met the criteria of the downstream reverse osmosis (RO) to prevent membrane fouling. A cross-flow RO system was used to further concentrate the TDS of the AC effluent. Various factors including TDS, pH, and applied pressure were examined and optimal conditions were determined for the co-treatment process. An integrated process consisting of mixing, softening, AC filtration and RO was used to treat a continuous flow (0.25 – 1.2 L/min, or 0.07 – 0.32 gpm) and successfully generated RO permeate as product water (TDS < 0.5 g/L) for reuse in cooling operation, and a concentrate (TDS ~ 45 g/L) to be further treated in a thermal desalination unit. These flow rates meet the FOA’s criterion of 0.01 – 1 gpm. Overall, the co-treatment of BDW/PW allowed shorter ramp-up time compared to treatment of BDW alone. It resulted in 40% and 55% savings of Na 2 CO 3(s) and NaOH, respectively, compared to treating the BDW and PW individually for the same level of softening. The co-treatment also resulted in a 29% energy saving compared to treatment of BDW only for the level of TDS concentration. A thermal desalination system was designed using CFD simulations and manufactured in the WVU Innovation Hub for further treatment of the RO concentrate to generate 10-lb brine. The system has a design flow rate of 2 gpm and has been successfully tested. A bench-scale brine electrolysis system was developed for on-site generation of chlorine/hypochlorite (Cl 2 /OCl - ) and caustic soda (NaOH) as useful chemicals for the co-treatment process. Using salt solutions (0.5 M and 1 M), the system achieved faradaic efficiencies of 93%-97% and 70%-77% for caustic soda and chlorine/hypochlorite generation, respectively. An economic analysis showed that the electricity costs for on-site generation of these chemicals were significantly lower than the chemical prices offered by suppliers. An industrial-scale process model consisting of mixing, softening, AC filtration, RO, thermal desalination, and brine electrolysis was developed using the Aspen Plus V9 in conjunction with Aspen Custom Modeler V9. The model serves as a solvable Aspen Plus model and as basis to form the costing infrastructure. In addition, techno-economic analysis considering capital, operating, and transportation costs was conducted. An optimization solution showed that produced water for mixing is still advantageous in low quantities. The optimum solution approaches a leveled cost of water (LCW) of 2 $/m 3 which becomes cost competitive with nominal water treatment prices.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optimal interconnection of three-terminal tandem solar cells

Three-terminal (3T) tandem solar cells require an adapted module integration scheme in order to explore their full efficiency potential. The three terminals allow to extract the power of the top and bottom cell separately. In a cell string, the wide bandgap top cells are interconnected in parallel to multiple bottom cells resulting in a parallel/series interconnection. This interconnection scheme affects the operation of the subcells, the resulting current path between the subcells, the layout of the cell interconnects, and the system level. Here, we analyze by simulations and experiments the aspects of the module integration of series- and reverse-connected 3T cells with their practical impact on module processes and performance as well as the effect of varying voltage ratios on the string-end losses. If the subcells are connected in series, the module integration requires insulation layers and significantly longer interconnects compared to devices with reverse-connected subcells. Tandem devices with a reverse connection and a voltage ratio between top and bottom cell of 2:1 allow a lean interconnection design and low integration losses. Here, we present an approach for the integration of bypass diodes for the protection against shading effects that allow to minimize string-end and shading losses for a system of modules featuring 3T cells.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of AlGaN‐Based Deep‐Ultraviolet Avalanche Photodetectors—Toward Their Intrinsic Characteristics

Al 0.6 Ga 0.4 N deep‐UV p–i–n avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are demonstrated grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on a (0001) c‐plane aluminum nitride (AlN) bulk substrate and fabricated both with and without an ion implantation process for mesa‐edge electric‐field termination. Three design considerations are taken into account: the optical absorption of the AlN bulk substrate, the photosensitivity of the APD, and the breakdown electric field. The MOCVD growth conditions of the AlGaN APD layers are optimized. Then, a detailed description of the seven device fabrication steps of the APDs is provided, which includes nitrogen ion implantation. The APDs fabricated by the ion implant process exhibit a dark‐current density under low reverse bias ≈1 × 10 −9 A cm −2 . This is one order of magnitude lower than the APD fabricated without ion implantation from the same wafer. The breakdown voltage of the APD is ≈−140 V. The calculated optical gain of the ion‐implanted APD beyond avalanche breakdown is ≈5.2 × 10 5 (current limited) and the device has an average zero‐bias photoresponse of ≈68 mA W −1 at a wavelength of 250 nm.

Jeong, Hoon [Department of Electronic Engineering ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Probing Distinctive Redox Mechanism in Ni-Rich Cathode Via Real-Time Quick X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

X-ray radiation damage on the measuring system has been a critical issue regularly for a long-time exposure to X-ray beam during the in operando characterizations, which is particularly severe when the applied X-ray energy is near the absorption edges (M, L, K, etc.) of the interest element. Here, to minimize the negative effects raised by beam radiation, we employ quick X-ray absorption spectroscopy (QXAS) to study the electrochemical reaction mechanism of a Ni-rich layered structure cathode for lithium-ion batteries. With the advanced QXAS technique, the electronic structure and local coordination environment of the transition metals (TMs) are monitored in-operando with limited radiation damage. Compared to the conventional step-mode X-ray absorption spectroscopy, the QXAS can provide more reliable oxidation state change and more detailed local structure evolutions surrounding TMs (Ni and Co) in Ni-rich layered oxides. By leveraging these advantages of QXAS, we demonstrated that the Ni dominates the electrochemical process with the Co being almost electrochemically inactive. Reversible Ni ions movement between TMs sites and Li sites is also revealed by the time-resolved QXAS technique.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Feedback regulation of crystal growth by buffering monomer concentration

Abstract Crystallization is a ubiquitous means of self-assembly that can organize matter over length scales orders of magnitude larger than those of the monomer units. Yet crystallization is notoriously difficult to control because it is exquisitely sensitive to monomer concentration, which changes as monomers are depleted during growth. Living cells control crystallization using chemical reaction networks that offset depletion by synthesizing or activating monomers to regulate monomer concentration, stabilizing growth conditions even as depletion rates change, and thus reliably yielding desired products. Using DNA nanotubes as a model system, here we show that coupling a generic reversible bimolecular monomer buffering reaction to a crystallization process leads to reliable growth of large, uniformly sized crystals even when crystal growth rates change over time. Buffering could be applied broadly as a simple means to regulate and sustain batch crystallization and could facilitate the self-assembly of complex, hierarchical synthetic structures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sea ice evolution along the Northern Sea Route and implications for trans-Arctic shipping from 2021 through 2060

Arctic surface temperatures warmed at twice the global average in the second half of the 20 th century due to Arctic amplification (AA), a phenomenon predominantly caused by regional polar changes, like the melting of perennial sea ice and reduced sea ice extent (leading to more solar radiation being absorbed by the ocean surface as opposed to being reflected back to space by the ice surface). AA is projected to reach a factor of three even if the climate is stabilized by the mid 21 st century by reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In all emissions scenarios, AA is projected to lead to temperature changes at least 2.4 times larger than global mean surface temperature changes occurring between 2070 and 2100. The ice-albedo feedback, which occurs when the polar-marine surface absorbs more radiation as highly reflective sea ice melts, is reversible such that the premise of a runaway process is no longer accepted as a realistic possibility. No matter what actions are taken to reduce CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere from now on, two different methods of predicting an ice-free Arctic suggest that perennial sea ice will mostly disappear in September by the year 2050. If there is no reduction in anthropogenic CO 2 and methane emissions, that scenario could occur sooner than 2030. Defining Arctic navigability as safe and economic passage of Polar Class 7 cargo ships without need of an escorting icebreaker, no single trans Arctic ship route will be navigable year-round in the first half of the 21 st century, including in the strong emission scenarios. However, seasonal trans-Arctic navigability will increase this century. An estimate on the number of days per year that the Northern See Route (NSR) will be navigable in the future is beyond the scope of this report. Along Northern Sea Routes 5 and 6, which run close to the Russian coast and Yamal LNG plant, an ARC 7 ice class LNG tanker, the equivalent of a Polar Class 3 (PC3) vessel, will be at low risk in December through April at some point during the current decade. May will continue to entail some risk (more than April) along relatively short segments of these routes through the end of the next decade (2030-2039). Come June, snow rapidly melts away, and thereafter the underlying sea ice begins becomes thinner and less concentrated, greatly reducing risk. However, neither path is desirable for ARC 7 tankers due to shallow bathymetry in Sannikov Strait, and a more desirable path for these ships passes to the north of the New Siberian Islands (route 20, discussed further below). Conventional LNG tankers (i.e., non-ice-strengthened vessels according to the IMO classification), without icebreaker escorts, will continue to encounter dangerous or impassable conditions along many sections of the NSR through the end of this decade for many months of the year. Through 2039, these conventional tankers will be able to operate safely along NSR 6 from August through October. By 2040-2049, the span of safe operation increases to August through November, and by 2050-2059 it increases to July through November, assuming a northward deviation to avoid the Sannikov Strait.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

A New Plasma Radar Concept for Simultaneous Magnetic and Density Measurements

An innovative, compact 288GHz interferometer has been fabricated, tested, installed and successfully demonstrated on the LAPD-U magnetized plasma at UCLA. The system takes advantage of frequency modulated (FM) radar techniques to deliver a compact heterodyne system. In addition, the reflected power from the source is taken advantage of to eliminate the need for additional quasi-optical components. Electron density in LAPD-U plasma has recently been increased substantially thereby requiring a higher frequency/shorter wavelength interferometer to avoid deleterious refractive effects. This system satisfies those needs. The system uses a 96GHz varactor tuned Gunn oscillator which passes to a passive tripler. This tripler has ~3% conversion efficiency. The 288GHz radiation is then coupled to free space using a so-called dual-mode or Pickett horn. The output 288GHz beam is then coupled to an aspheric lens manufactured from low-loss, high-density polyethylene. This lens is employed to collimate the emerging beam. Small axial adjustment of the lens position can also be used to create a slowly focusing beam so as to optimize the measured signal. In addition, up-down or side-to-side adjustment of the lens can be utilized to steer the beam vertically or horizontally – again to optimize alignment. The propagating beam passes through a beam splitter and then through a water-free, bubble-free fused quartz window into the LAPD-U vacuum vessel. The beam-splitter is a thin sheet of G10 which reflects a small fraction of the incident power (~5 %) towards a zero-bias detector optimized for the frequency range from 220 to 300GHz. Note that waveguides at this frequency have dimensions of ~0.9mm x 0.45mm and so have very large conductive losses. This drives the use of quasi-optical propagation. The detector requires no DC bias and is very responsive (> 1V/mW into 1MΩ). Radiation is coupled to the detector via a similar lens-horn arrangement used for the launch. This reflected beam acts as the local oscillator or reference millimeter-wave beam for the detector. The remainder of the launched source beam then enters the LAPD-U vacuum vessel and passes through the plasma at the mid-plane until reaching the opposing port which is closed off with an aluminum flange. This flange is used as a mirror to retroreflect the incident 288GHz beam back along its path. The retroreflected beam exits the input port but does NOT couple directly into the zero-bias detector. Instead, the majority of the return power continues towards the 288GHz source. As mentioned above the transmitted beam enters the source a second time. This would appear undesirable. However, at these frequencies multipliers are highly non-linear elements which results in a significant portion of the return beam (~20%) re-emerging from the multiplier and horn and then coupling via the G10 beam-splitter to the zero-bias detector. This approach eliminated the need for a second quasi-optical beam-splitter. The system is extremely compact measuring approximately 28 inches x 20 inches. The above did not explain how heterodyne operation was achieved. As mentioned above the Gunn oscillator is able to be varactor tuned. This allows a low voltage to be applied to control the operating frequency of the Gunn oscillator. During heterodyne operation a sawtooth shaped voltage is applied to the varactor at 750kHz using an 80MHz Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG). This voltage changes the Gunn frequency linearly during the up-sweep which is then reset abruptly at the sawtooth crash to be immediately followed by another linear sweep. Passage through the 288GHz multiplier triples the frequency change experienced by the electromagnetic wave. These frequency changes are small – tens of megahertz. This FM radar approach results in the launched electromagnetic wave frequencies at the detector for the reference and plasma wave to be different. The approximately 10 ns delay propagation delay for the plasma beam results in the local oscillator and plasma beams NOT having an identical frequency – there is in fact a fixed difference frequency. The frequency tuning level of the Gunn oscillator is then adjusted so that there is ONE cycle of this difference frequency during each linear ramp. During the sawtooth crash or downward re-sweep this one cycle replays in reverse but on a very fast timescale. The process then repeats. Low-pass filtering eliminates the fast re-sweep to leave a pure sine wave heterodyne signal. When the plasma is present it introduces a phase delay in the sine wave (caused by the extremely small Doppler shift resulting from the optical path length change). Of course, to measure this phase change we need a reference. This is simply obtained from an arbitrary waveform generator which provides a synchronized output pulse train which again is low pass filtered to obtain a 750kHz sinusoidal voltage reference for the interferometer. The interferometer was installed on LAPD-U where it has worked reliably and has established that electron densities exceeding 1x10 13 cm -3 are routinely achieved. In addition, the system sensitivity was able to easily observe density fluctuation at frequencies up to 50kHz. FM Radar techniques have enabled a full demonstration of a compact, sensitive, high frequency (288GHz/1mm) heterodyne interferometer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗