SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “CURRENT”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 451 records · Page 25

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2023

An Effective Current Balancing Method for Inverters With Paralleled Silicon Carbide Power Modules

Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET has many superior characteristics in high power applications. Paralleling the SiC devices is an effective approach to increase the current capacity of the system, which also leads to current sharing issues. In this article, both transient and steady-state current sharing issues are studied for the high-power grid-tied inverters with paralleled SiC modules with an effective current balancing strategy proposed to address both issues simultaneously. The steady-state imbalance current due to the parameter mismatch is suppressed by the self-inductance of power cables used for paralleling connection. With the elimination of steady-state imbalance current, the transient imbalance current sensing is much simplified and can be realized by using low-cost current sensors. With the sensed imbalance current, a closed-loop control approach is proposed to adjust the modulation reference signal for each module to mitigate the remaining transient imbalance current. Furthermore, the proposed method is straightforward to implement with enhanced compatibility and flexibility compared to existing methods. Experimental studies are performed using inverters with 2 and 4 power modules paralleled in each phase to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2016

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ELECTRIC CURRENT DURING THE FORMATION AND ERUPTION OF ACTIVE-REGION FILAMENTS

We present a comprehensive study of the electric current related to the formation and eruption of active region filaments in NOAA AR 11884. The vertical current on the solar surface was investigated by using vector magnetograms (VMs) observed by HMI on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. To obtain the electric current along the filament's axis, we reconstructed the magnetic fields above the photosphere by using nonlinear force-free field extrapolation based on photospheric VMs. Spatio-temporal evolutions of the vertical current on the photospheric surface and the horizontal current along the filament's axis were studied during the long-term evolution and eruption-related period, respectively. The results show that the vertical currents of the entire active region behaved with a decreasing trend and the magnetic fields also kept decreasing during the long-term evolution. For the eruption-related evolution, the mean transverse field strengths decreased before two eruptions and increased sharply after two eruptions in the vicinity of the polarity inversion lines underneath the filament. The related vertical current showed different behaviors in two of the eruptions. On the other hand, a very interesting feature was found: opposite horizontal currents with respect to the current of the filament's axis appeared and increased under the filament before the eruptions and disappeared after the eruptions. We suggest that these opposite currents were carried by the new flux emerging from the photosphere bottom and might be the trigger mechanism for these filament eruptions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Universal Relationship between Limiting Current and Electrochemical Transport Properties in Malonate-Based Polymer Electrolytes

There is considerable interest in developing high-performance electrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteries. For practical applications, the electrolyte must support large dc currents. However, the parameters most often reported in the literature, conductivity, κ, and current fraction, ρ + , reflect ion transport in the limit of infinitesimal currents. In this limit, the efficacy of an electrolyte is given by the product κρ + . The limiting current density, i lim , is the maximum current density that can be applied across an electrolyte; the cell voltage diverges if the applied current density exceeds ilim. This parameter reflects ion transport in the limit of large dc currents and is therefore of practical interest. It would therefore be convenient if i lim could be predicted from measurements of κρ + . In order to explore this possibility, we studied six malonate-based polymers and PEO at a fixed salt concentration (r = 0.08) and temperature (90°C) using symmetric cells with planar electrodes. Unfortunately, there is no correlation between ilim and κρ + . When the applied current density, i, is less than ilim, the cell voltage approaches a stable plateau, ϕ plateau . Here, we found a linear dependence between i and thickness-normalized plateau potential, ϕ plateau L –1 , irrespective of the magnitude of the applied current. In all seven polymer electrolytes, we found a linear correlation between ilim and the slopes of these lines, σ. In other words, measurements of σ can be used to predict the limiting current.

Jana, Rounak [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborator↗

DOE OSTI2024

Field Study of Nighttime Leakage Currents in Bifacial PV Modules: Correlation with Atmospheric Electric Field Data

Leakage currents measured on PV modules in the field originate from a potential difference between the modules' frame and the cells. They can be a relative indicator of Potential-Induced Degradation (PID) severity, especially when comparing the same module design in a different environment. As modules are not operating at night, no leakage current should be observed but our team has reported several events of nighttime leakage currents on bifacial PV modules. These events have been firstly observed during a thunderstorm that are characterized by strong atmospheric electrical field values. This lead us to believe that nighttime leakage currents could originate from the atmospheric electric charges. In this paper, we correlate nighttime leakage currents measured on bifacial PV modules with field mill data to identify the origin of nighttime leakage currents. Our results show that so far, no leakage currents at night occur when the atmospheric electric field is between 0 and 150–200 V/m (standard value for fair weather). As soon as the atmospheric electric field is out of this range, leakage currents are observed with or without rain involved. This suggests a transport of charged particles from the atmosphere to the modules' frame. A combination of heavy rain with strong atmospheric electric field results into high nighttime leakage currents with a magnitude up to 8 times higher than what observed during the day with -1500V applied. This is explained by an easier transport of the charged particles through the water droplets. Based on these results, leakage currents observed during the day might not be only due to the inherent potential difference between the frame and the cells depending on the atmospheric electric field activity. We believe that it should be taken into account in PID studies.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Dynamics of Current-Sharing Within a REBCO Tape-Stack Cable

Current redistribution in a non-insulating REBCO tape-stack cable may enable the use of such a cable in a high field dipole without provision for transposition of the constituent tapes. As current is increased in the REBCO cable a dynamic resistance arises in the superconducting layer near operation at critical current. The critical current of each tape in the stack is determined by the local magnetic field variation within the cable. The superconducting-normal transition in REBCO occurs over a working range of current and, within that range, the longitudinal Ohmic electric field produces a transverse electric field between adjacent tapes with different critical currents. Circuit models indicate that, as a given tape approaches critical operation, current will naturally redistribute to neighboring tapes with higher current carrying capacity due to the dynamic rise in resistivity thus preventing premature quench. Here, a multi-scale model is being developed to study the dynamics of current-sharing, the limits of stability, and the impact of fluctuations in critical-current density along each tape.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2017

High Average Current Bunched Electron Source for RF Accelerators

High-average current high-quality electron beams are imperative for high-power RF accelerators used in various energy and environmental applications in industry, medicine, and national security as well as for advanced existing and future accelerator systems such as PIP II, particle colliders (eRHIC BNL) for cooling high-energy proton, ion, and hadron beams, storage rings, wakefield accelerators (AWA), and energy recovery linacs. The most common current approach to generate high-peak current high-brightness short electron bunches uses photoemission excited by intense laser radiation. However, to avoid overheating photocathodes are operated at a subharmonic of the linac frequency that in turn restricts the average beam current. There are also limitations in the electron-beam average current due to the average power available from drive lasers. On the other hand, the state of the art thermionic sources that produce high average current electron beams do not have yet good emission gating methods to realize sufficiently short and good quality electron bunches. We develop a robust thermionic electron source (e-source) of >1 A average current with advanced gating of the emission at the linac-frequency and its 3rd harmonic. Central to the approach is a novel scheme for energy efficient feeding of the 3rd-harmonic power in the RF gap. The cathode is attached to the gun cavity through this small emission-gating gap in which the RF modes are excited. The use of thermionic emission allows for the desired high-average current CW electron beams. Adding the 3rd emission gating harmonic shortens the electron bunches and by this means lessens impact of the RF curvature on the beam quality resulting in the smaller energy spread and bunch emittances. Such high current electron beam is suitable for injection into high-power normal- or superconducting linacs in CW mode at a high repetition rate of the linac frequency. In Phase I, we performed modeling and beam dynamics, parametric, and optimization studies. A >1A average current e-source with 200,000hrs lifetime expectancy has been demonstrated in the simulations. We have developed baseline design of the e-source and its components. It is anticipated that the e-source will be in demand for normal- and superconducting particle accelerators and will benefit many commercial and energy and environmental applications such as treating waste and potable water, sludge, stack gases, and medical waste as well as X-ray sources for medicine, sterilization, materials processing, geology, and non-intrusive imaging.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Regenerative Current Mirror: A Very Low Power Front-End Amplifier for Silicon Pixel Detectors

In pixelized detectors, reducing power consumption in the front- end ASIC chips becomes a crucial demand. Optimization based on mature pre-amplifier schemes today is unlikely to bring sufficient improvements. A new CMOS front-end gain stage topology with very low power consumption called regenerative current mirror is developed to fulfill the demand. The circuit takes advantage of high-speed performance of current amplification while operating with relatively low bias current. The regenerative current mirror uses a NMOS current mirror and a PMOS current mirror, both with nominal gain of 1, to form a loop-back topology that provides a positive feedback. An NMOS FET with an external adjustable voltage applied to it gate terminal is used to limit open loop gain of the current mirrors to be slightly lower than 1. This yields a net gain of the positive feedback loop to be much larger than 1 while operating the current mirrors under relatively low bias currents. Simulation shows that in 65 nm fabrication process, the power consumption of the gain stages suitable for silicon pixel detectors can be controlled < 10 micro-Watts per channel. Another novel low-power circuit called Pseudo-Thyristor presented in another document will replace traditional discriminator and the Regenerative Current Mirror plus Pseudo- Thyristor will provide a full solution for the silicon pixel low-power frontend ASIC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2016

THE DYNAMICAL GENERATION OF CURRENT SHEETS IN ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMA TURBULENCE

Turbulence profoundly affects particle transport and plasma heating in many astrophysical plasma environments, from galaxy clusters to the solar corona and solar wind to Earth's magnetosphere. Both fluid and kinetic simulations of plasma turbulence ubiquitously generate coherent structures, in the form of current sheets, at small scales, and the locations of these current sheets appear to be associated with enhanced rates of dissipation of the turbulent energy. Therefore, illuminating the origin and nature of these current sheets is critical to identifying the dominant physical mechanisms of dissipation, a primary aim at the forefront of plasma turbulence research. Here, we present evidence from nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations that strong nonlinear interactions between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, or strong Alfvén wave collisions, are a natural mechanism for the generation of current sheets in plasma turbulence. Furthermore, we conceptually explain this current sheet development in terms of the nonlinear dynamics of Alfvén wave collisions, showing that these current sheets arise through constructive interference among the initial Alfvén waves and nonlinearly generated modes. The properties of current sheets generated by strong Alfvén wave collisions are compared to published observations of current sheets in the Earth's magnetosheath and the solar wind, and the nature of these current sheets leads to the expectation that Landau damping of the constituent Alfvén waves plays a dominant role in the damping of turbulently generated current sheets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1971

Ion-wave current instabilities and anomalous resistivity.

A theory of ion-wave current instabilities which takes into account, in a self-consistent manner, the inhomogeneities generated by field-aligned currents in a collisionless plasma is presented. Diamagnetic current associated with the current-produced density gradient is included in the distribution. The theory predicts that for a given frequency, the current threshold for ion-wave current instabilities is, in general, much below the threshold of ion acoustic instability in a uniform plasma as given by Fried and Gould. The current threshold is essentially zero in the limit when the ion Landau damping effect is negligible, or equivalently, the ion-wave current instabilities are absolute if there are no limitations on the wavelength. This is true even in the absence of externally applied density gradients in contrast to Kadomtsev's drift-wave results. For dimensions of interest in laboratory plasmas, the predicted linear growth rate increases with increasing longitudinal wavelength and with decreasing wavelength parallel to the diamagnetic current. Under the conditions of an experiment on anomalous resistivity (the dimensions but not the geometry of the machine have been considered), there is good agreement between the predicted onset of ion-wave current instabilities and the experimental data on the onset of anomalous resistivity.

Kan, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Identifications of the polar cap boundary and the auroral belt in the high altitude magnetosphere: A model for field aligned currents

Using the OGO-5 fluxgate magnetometer data, the polar cap boundary is identified in the high altitude magnetosphere by a sudden transition from a dipolar field to a more tail like configuration. The basic pattern of the magnetic field variations observed during the satellite's traversal of the auroral belt is presented. This pattern shows the existence of a field aligned current layer on the equator side of the polar cap boundary. Currents flow in the opposite directions in the two field aligned current layers. The current directions in these layers as observed by OGO-5 in the high-altitude magnetosphere are the same as those observed at low altitudes by the polar orbiting TRIAD satellite. The magnetic field in the region where the lower latitude field aligned current layer is situated is essentially meridional. Thus the equatorial current closure of this current system must be via the equatorial current sheet. The two field aligned current systems, one at the polar cap boundary and the other on the low latitude side of the auroral belt, are coupled through the Pedersen current in the ionosphere.

Sugiura, M.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Seasonal dependence of large-scale Birkeland currents

Seasonal variations of large-scale Birkeland currents are examined in a study of the source mechanisms and the closure of the three-dimensional current systems in the ionosphere. Vector magnetic field data acquired by the TRIAD satellite in the Northern Hemisphere were analyzed for the statistics of single sheet and double sheet Birkeland currents during 555 passes during the summer and 408 passes during the winter. The single sheet currents are observed more frequently in the dayside of the auroral zone, and more often in summer than in winter. The intensities of both the single and double dayside currents are found to be greater in the summer than in the winter by a factor of two, while the intensities of the double sheet Birkeland currents on the nightside do not show a significant difference from summer to winter. Both the single and double sheet currents are found at higher latitudes in the summer than in the winter on the dayside. Results suggest that the Birkeland current intensities are controlled by the ionospheric conductivity in the polar region, and that the currents close via the polar cap when the conductivity there is sufficiently high. It is also concluded that an important source of these currents must be a voltage generator in the magnetosphere.

Fujii, R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

ISEE 1 and 2 observations of Birkeland currents in the earth's inner magnetosphere

Signatures of Birkeland currents in the earth's inner magnetosphere observed from the ISEE 1 and 2 spacecraft during November 1977-December 1978 at distances ranging from 2.4-7.0 earth radii are examined. The data reveal that most of the currents were detected during outbound rather than inbound passes. Large-scale current structures were identified as parts of the region 1 and 2 current systems in 27 percent of the spacecraft outbound passes; no distinguishable region 1 or 2 currents were detected in 19 percent of the outbound passes; and in 54 percent of the passes multiple current structures and ambiguous magnetic signatures were observed. The properties of Birkeland current structures observed on January 31, 1978, February 28, 1978, March 15, 1978, June 21, 1978, and June 25, 1978 are described. It is observed that the current sheet thicknesses range from 519-18,279 km; sheet current density ranges from 13-150 mA/m; and the volume current density ranges from 1.7-128 nA/sq m.

Kelly, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Remote sensing of the ring current using energetic neutral atoms

Energetic neutral atom images of the storm-time ring current obtained from the ISEE-1 spacecraft provide information for a 'zero-order' global model of the energetic ion distribution. With the assumption of isotropic pressure and magnetostatic, nonconvective pressure balance, the global system of electrical currents driven by the ion pressure can be calculated using Euler potentials for the divergenceless current density. Radial pressure gradients drive azimuthal currents, and azimuthal pressure gradients drive radial currents. The radial currents cause current lines in the inner magnetosphere to close in the ionosphere, forming a partial ring current. The intensities and locations of these field-aligned currents driven into and out of the ionosphere resemble those of the observed Region 2 current system, but not all observed properties of the Region 2 system are reproduced by the zero-order model.

Roelof, Edmond C.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Current flow in a plasma caused by dielectric breakdown

Spacecraft with a thin dielectric coating on the outer surface of the structure which are biased (-200 V) negative relative to the atmospheric plasma are susceptible to dielectric breakdown. This paper will present experimental tests designed to measure the electron current flow from the structure through the plasma during the arc. The current path was examined in three parts: the electrons supplied through the structure and the arc to the outer structure, the expansion of the arc into the ambient plasma, and the return current through the ambient plasma. The measured electron current either flowing from the plasma or supplied to the plasma by the arc in each case was compared to the random thermal electron current which could be collected. The results of the tests show a spacecraft is capable of supporting arcs with peak currents greater than thermal electron currents, and these currents will be dependent upon the amount of stored charge in the structure (i.e., the structure's surface area and dielectric thickness). Also, the results of these tests show that it is possible for structures with a self capacitance of 10 microFarads to see peak currents of 90 A and structures with 1000 microFarads (i.e., capacitance of one Space Station Freedom module) to produce peak currents of 1000 A.

Vaughn, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

A coronal magnetic field model with horizontal volume and sheet currents

When globally mapping the observed photospheric magnetic field into the corona, the interaction of the solar wind and magnetic field has been treated either by imposing source surface boundary conditions that tacitly require volume currents outside the source surface or by limiting the interaction to thin current sheets between oppositely directed field regions. Yet observations and numerical Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) calculations suggest the presence of non-force-free volume currents throughout the corona as well as thin current sheets in the neighborhoods of the interfaces between closed and open field lines or between oppositely directed open field lines surrounding coronal helmet-streamer structures. This work presents a model including both horizontal volume currents and streamer sheet currents. The present model builds on the magnetostatic equilibria developed by Bogdan and Low and the current-sheet modeling technique developed by Schatten. The calculation uses synoptic charts of the line-of-sight component of the photospheric magnetic field measured at the Wilcox Solar Observatory. Comparison of an MHD model with the calculated model results for the case of a dipole field and comparison of eclipse observations with calculations for CR 1647 (near solar minimum) show that this horizontal current-current-sheet model reproduces polar plumes and axes of corona streamers better than the source-surface model and reproduces polar plumes and axes of corona streamers better than the source-surface model and reproduces coro nal helmet structures better than the current-sheet model.

Zhao, Xuepu↗

NASA NTRS1994

Particle/fluid simulations of an eruptive flare: Identifying the field-aligned currents responsible for the hard x-rays

While magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) can provide a reasonable description of the overall magnetic reconnection that is believed to drive flares, additional, and often separate processes have to be envoked to in order to explain the electron acceleration that is responsible for many of the observed flare emissions. A new model that incorporates the dynamic coronal current sheets, the reconnection site, and possible electron acceleration processes is developed through the use of two-dimensional particle and modified two-fluid simulations. The specific example of an eruptive flare driven by the coalescence of flux tubes supported by prescribed photospheric current elements is evaluated. It is shown that the electrons and ions have differential trajectories through the coronal current sheet which leads to the development of additonal plasma currents that flow around the surface of the current sheet. These surface currents are explicitly neglected in MHD but they are vital to the flare dynamics because they divert current from the coronal current sheet into the chromosphere, producing an effective resistivity that aids the development of fast reconnection. Because the surface currents are in the plane of the magnetic field, electrons in them experience strong acceleration and can account for the observed hard X-ray emissions. Model predictions are compared with observed time profiles of hard X-ray emissions and Doppler shifts seen in soft X-ray line emissions and are able to account for such features as (1) the asymmetry in the rise and decay time of the hard X-rays, (2) the apparent delay between the largest Doppler shifts and the hard X-ray peak, and (3) the relatively low intensity of the blue-shifted component. The use of particle and fluid simulations is important because it provides different, but complementary treatments of the electron acceleration, the global magnetic morphology, and the flare current system.

Winglee, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Thin current sheets in the deep geomagnetic tail

The International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3) magnetic field and plasma electron data from Jan - March 1983 have been searched to study thin current sheets in the deep tail region. 33 events were selected where the spacecraft crossed through the current sheet from lobe to lobe within 15 minutes. The average thickness of the observed current sheets was 2.45 R(sub E), and in 24 cases the current sheet was thinner than 3.0 R(sub E); 6 very thin current sheets (thickness lambda less than 0.5 R(sub E) were found. The electron data show that the very thin current sheets are associated with considerable temperature anisotropy. On average, the electron gradient current was about 17% of the total current, whereas the current arising from the electron temperature anisotropy varied between 8-45% of the total current determined from the lobe field magnitude.

Pulkkinen, T. I.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Birkeland currents in the plasma sheet

A search was conducted for the signatures of Birkeland currents in the Earth's magnetic tail, using observed values of B(sub x) and B(sub y) from large sets of spacecraft data. The data were binned by x and y for -10 greater than x(sub GSM) greater than -35 and absolute value of y(sub GSM) less than or equal to 20 R(sub E) (less than or equal to 30 R(sub E) for x(sub GSM) less than or equal to -25 R(sub E)) and in each bin their distribution in the (B(sub x), B(sub y)) plane was fitted by least squares to a piecewise linear function. That gave average x-y distributions of the flaring angle between B(sub xy) and the x direction, as well as that angle's variation across the thickness of the plasma sheet. Angles obtained in the central plasma sheet differed from those derived near the lobe boundary. That is the expected signature if earthward or tailward Birkeland current sheets are embedded in the plasma sheet, and from this dfiference we derived the dawn-dusk profiles of the tail Birkeland currents for several x(sub GSM) intervals. It was found that (1) the Birkeland currents have the sense of region 1 currents, when mapped to the ionosphere; (2) both the linear current density (kiloamperes/R(sub E)) and the net magnitude of the field-aligned currents decrease rapidly down the tail; (3) the total Birkeland current at x approximately equals -10 R(sub E) equals approximately equals 500-700 kA, which is approx. 30% of the net region 1 current observed at ionospheric altitudes, in agreement with model mapping results; and (4) the B(sub z) and B(sub y) components of the interplanetary magnetic field influence the distribution of Birkeland currents in the tail.

Tsyganenko, Nikolai A.↗