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Hollow lattice thermal energy storage heat exchanger
Example heat exchangers and methods of use are described herein. An example heat exchanger includes a lattice structure including a plurality of conduits defining a plurality of interstitial voids between the plurality of conduits. Each of the plurality of conduits includes an inlet and an outlet, and the plurality of conduits are arranged such that, between the inlet and the outlet, each of the conduits intersects at least one other conduit to enable flow between the intersecting conduits. The example heat exchanger also includes a first manifold formed unitarily with the lattice structure, the first manifold comprising a first plurality of openings in fluid communication with each inlet of the plurality of conduits. The example heat exchanger further includes a phase change material (PCM) disposed within and substantially filling the plurality of interstitial voids.
Antiferromagnetic Interlayer Exchange Coupling in All-Semiconducting EuS/PbS/EuS Trilayers
A comprehensive experimental study on the antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling in high quality epitaxial all-semiconducting EuSPbSEuS trilayers is reported. The influence of substrates, the thickness of the non-magnetic PbS spacer layer, and of temperature, was investigated by means of SQUID magnetometry. In trilayers with a PbS thickness between 4 and 12 deg A the low temperature hysteresis loops showed the signature of antiferromagnetic coupling. The value of the interlayer exchange coupling energy was determined by simulating the data with a modified Stoner model, including Zeeman, anisotropy, and exchange coupling energies. An important observation was of a strong dependence of the interlayer exchange coupling energy on temperature, consistent with a power law dependence of the exchange coupling constant on the saturation magnetization of the EuS layers. While no theoretical description is readily available, we conjecture that the observed behavior is due to a dependence of the interlayer exchange coupling energy on the exchange splitting of the EuS conduction band.
Development of a phonon-based sampling method for thermal neutron scattering data
Simulations of reactor systems require access to accurate nuclear data. For many systems, thermal neutron scattering data can have large effects on the eigenvalue and neutron flux distributions. Inelastic thermal neutron scattering can excite or de-excite vibrational, rotational, and translational modes in a material, so thermal scattering evaluations are often obtained by summing over the number of phonons created/destroyed by a scattering event. In recent years, the thermal scattering cross sections and angular distributions have greatly improved in accuracy, but the format in which this data is delivered to simulation codes has remained virtually unchanged. Thermal scattering data is typically either compiled into large tables and sorted by incoming neutron energy, outgoing neutron energy, scattering angle, and material temperature, or represented as cumulative distribution functions of momentum exchange or energy exchange. Either method can be quite memory intensive when fine bins are used. In an effort to decrease the amount of space that processed thermal scattering data requires, an alternate format is proposed. The phonon-based sampling method introduced here can sample the number of phonons excited for each collision, the change in neutron energy, and the scattering angle while avoiding pre-computed angular bins and limiting the amount of data that is dependent on incoming energy. Through this method, the generation and storage of large interpolation tables is avoided, which could have benefits in both memory storage and accuracy. While the initial implementation of this method is slower than current alternatives, it is significantly more resistant to grid coarseness errors and has good potential for improvement. (authors)
Interpreting ion-energy distributions using charge exchange emitted from deeply kinetic field-reversed-configuration plasmas
Energy resolving the atomic hydrogen outflux created within plasmas by charge exchange (CX) of hot plasma ions with cooler hydrogen neutrals is used to infer the ion energy distribution within the plasma, IED p . In high- β plasma with field nulls and ion gyro-radii comparable to the plasma size, the measured ion energy distribution (IED m ) of the CX outflux will depend on the viewing angle and position of the detector. Here, we describe the physics for this, results from a synthetic diagnostic code that contrasts the IED m to the IED p within relatively small and hot field-reversed-configuration plasmas, and how these data can show the presence of magnetic nulls and different orbit classes in the plasma.
Fluidized-bed heat exchanger for conversion of thermal energy to electricity
The present disclosure describes heat exchangers for converting thermal energy stored in solid particles to electricity. Electro-thermal energy storage converts off-peak electricity into heat for thermal energy storage, which may be converted back to electricity, for example during peak-hour power generation. The heat exchanger for converting thermal energy stored in solid particles to electricity enables the conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy for redistribution to the grid. In some embodiments, pressurized fluidized-bed heat exchangers may achieve efficient conversion of thermal energy to electricity by providing direct contact of the solid particles with a gas stream.
Evaluation of Heat Exchanger Technology for Integrated Energy System: Methodology and Preliminary Application
This report proposes a novel heat exchanger evaluation method, based on integrated QFD-AHP technique, to support strategic optimal selection of heat exchanger (HX) technology for integrated energy systems. The term “optimal selection” is defined as selecting a product (i.e., HX) that best meets various aspects of end user demand, including both technical and economic requirements. Compared to previous HX evaluation methods, the proposed approach allows decision makers to explicitly take into account the practical demand of customers (i.e., HX end users) which may vary depending on the HX application target. In addition, the proposed evaluation method can be used not only for high-level decisions to select HX type, but also for low-level decisions such as the selection of the key components including HX material or heat transfer fluid. The focus of this study is to describe the new HX evaluation method and to illustrate the overall HX evaluation and selection processes using the three nuclear heat application cases that represent the thermal integration between advanced nuclear reactors and industrial processes. As a preliminary study, three different types of HX, i.e., shell-and-tube heat exchanger, printed circuit heat exchanger, and heat pipe heat exchanger, were compared.
Micro-Horn Arrays for Ultrasonic Impedance Matching
Thin-layered structures containing arrays of micromachined horns, denoted solid micro-horn arrays (SMIHAs), have been conceived as improved means of matching acoustic impedances between ultrasonic transducers and the media with which the transducers are required to exchange acoustic energy. Typically, ultrasonic transducers (e.g., those used in medical imaging) are piezoelectric or similar devices, which produce small displacements at large stresses. However, larger displacements at smaller stresses are required in the target media (e.g., human tissues) with which acoustic energy is to be exchanged. Heretofore, efficiencies in transmission of acoustic energy between ultrasonic transducers and target media have been severely limited because substantial mismatches of acoustic impedances have remained, even when coupling material layers have been interposed between the transducers and the target media. In contrast, SMIHAs can, in principle, be designed to effect more nearly complete acoustic impedance matching, leading to power transmission efficiencies of 90 percent or even greater. The SMIHA concept is based on extension, into the higher-frequency/ lower-wavelength ultrasonic range, of the use of horns to match acoustic impedances in the audible and lower-frequency ultrasonic ranges. In matching acoustic impedance in transmission from a higher-impedance acoustic source (e.g., a piezoelectric transducer) and a lowerimpedance target medium (e.g., air or human tissue), a horn acts as a mechanical amplifier. The shape and size of the horn can be optimized for matching acoustic impedance in a specified frequency range. A typical SMIHA would consist of a base plate, a face plate, and an array of horns that would constitute pillars that connect the two plates (see figure). In use, the base plate would be connected to an ultrasonic transducer and the face plate would be placed in contact with the target medium. As at lower frequencies, the sizes and shapes of the pillars could be tailored for impedance matching in a specified ultrasonic frequency range. In a design that would be simplest to implement by micromachining, the horns would have constant cross-sectional areas as shown in the upper part of the figure. In this case, the dimensions of the horns could be chosen on the basis of a Mason equivalent-circuit model (a simplified model, well-known in the piezoelectric-transducer art, in which the electrical and mechanical dynamics, including electromechanical couplings, are expressed as electrical circuit elements that can include inductors, capacitors, and lumped-parameter complex impedances.) In a more complex, more nearly optimum design, the cross-sectional area of each horn would be either stepped or made to vary as a continuous function of through-the thickness position, as shown in the lower part of the figure.
Fully thermal meta-GGA exchange correlation free-energy density functional
The application of density functional theory to materials in the warm dense matter regime has motivated the development of exchange-correlation functionals which incorporate proper, explicit temperature dependence. Previous work has yielded fully-thermal exchange-correlation free energy functionals at the local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) levels of refinement. Recently an additive thermal correction scheme was utilized to construct a meta-GGA exchange-correlation (XC) functional in which thermal effects are treated at the GGA level. Here, the f TSCAN free-energy XC functional presented here includes thermal effects through the meta-GGA level in the context of the SCAN (strongly constrained and appropriately normed) ground-state functional. The f TSCAN functional provides generality while achieving similar performance to a thermal GGA functional at high temperatures, e.g. pressures within 1% of path integral Monte Carlo simulations of warm dense hydrogen, and a significant improvement over ground-state functionals. At low temperatures, f TSCAN demonstrates improvements in accuracy relative to lower-level and deorbitalized functionals, indicating that calculations using f TSCAN may be expected to perform well across experimentally relevant densities and pressures.
N(+)-N long-range interaction energies and resonance charge exchange
The aerothermodynamic studies of proposed space missions require atmospheric charge-transfer data. N2(+) eigenstate energies are calculated with use of the complete-active-space self-consistent-field method with an extended Gaussian basis set. The N(+)-N charge-exchange cross section, determined from these energies, agrees with merged-beam measurements. This contradicts the previous theoretical conclusion. A simple physical description of the long-range interaction is presented and should expedite future charge-transfer studies.
Active heat exchange system development for latent heat thermal energy storage
Active heat exchange concepts for use with thermal energy storage systems in the temperature range of 250 C to 350 C, using the heat of fusion of molten salts for storing thermal energy are described. Salt mixtures that freeze and melt in appropriate ranges are identified and are evaluated for physico-chemical, economic, corrosive and safety characteristics. Eight active heat exchange concepts for heat transfer during solidification are conceived and conceptually designed for use with selected storage media. The concepts are analyzed for their scalability, maintenance, safety, technological development and costs. A model for estimating and scaling storage system costs is developed and is used for economic evaluation of salt mixtures and heat exchange concepts for a large scale application. The importance of comparing salts and heat exchange concepts on a total system cost basis, rather than the component cost basis alone, is pointed out. The heat exchange concepts were sized and compared for 6.5 MPa/281 C steam conditions and a 1000 MW(t) heat rate for six hours. A cost sensitivity analysis for other design conditions is also carried out.
Desktop Audits: Overview, Case Studies, Guidance
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 requires that federal agencies audit 25% of their 3.1 billion square feet of covered facilities each year. Several newer, advanced options such as monitoring-based commissioning, fault detection and diagnostics, and energy management systems can help support data collection and analysis to be used for EISA compliance. The Federal Energy Management Program's (FEMP’s) Audit Decision Tree, Audit Definitions, and FEMP Guidance can be used by Agencies to determine the best approaches to evaluate their facilities. FEMP continues to develop additional resources to support agencies in meeting EISA compliance. This presentation gives an overview of desktop audits, including case studies and guidance.
Leveraging Energy Sales Agreements (ESA) Under ESPC ENABLE and DOE's IDIQ Contract
There is an increasing interest in solar photovoltaics, battery energy storage systems, and geothermal heat pumps to help meet decarbonization and resilience goals. However, facility managers may not know that energy sales agreement (ESA) contracting can be an effective, efficient, and lower cost way to procure and install these projects. FEMP, national labs, and agency partners will discuss best practices and examples that attendees may be able to leverage at their own sites.
Ion momentum and energy transfer rates for charge exchange collisions
The rates of momentum and energy transfer have been obtained for charge exchange collisions between ion and neutral gases having arbitrary Maxwellian temperatures and bulk transport velocities. The results are directly applicable to the F-region of the ionosphere where 0+ - 0 charge is the dominant mechanism affecting ion momentum and energy transfer.
Charge exchange of low-energy ions in thin carbon foils
In order to calibrate a time-of-flight mass spectrometer which is to be flown in the solar wind, the charge exchange properties of low-energy ions in thin carbon foils have been investigated. Incident ions of He, C, N, O, Ne, and Ar with energies in the range 0.5-2 keV/nucleon have been used to measure charge-state distribution, residual energy, and angular distribution after transmission through thin (1-6 microgram/sq cm) carbon foils. Within such foils, an equilibrium between ionization and recombination of the projectile is rapidly established, and, consequently, the charge state of the emerging particle depends essentially on its residual velocity. A comparison of the charge exchange properties of Ne-22 with Ne-20 demonstrates that indeed the velocity (and not the energy) of the emerging particle determines its final charge. A comparison of properties of different elements provides an indication of an electron shell effect. Predictions for the energy loss of ions within the carbon foils made with the TRIM code are in good agreement with the experimental results presented in this paper.
Correlation energy of the uniform electron gas determined by ground-state conditional probability density functional theory
Conditional-probability density functional theory (CP-DFT) is a formally exact method for finding correlation energies from Kohn-Sham DFT without evaluating an explicit energy functional. We present details on how to generate accurate exchange-correlation energies for the ground-state uniform gas. We also use the exchange hole in a CP antiparallel spin calculation to extract the high-density limit. We give a highly accurate analytic solution to the Thomas-Fermi model for this problem, showing its performance relative to Kohn-Sham and may be useful at high temperatures. We explore several approximations to the CP potential. Furthermore, results are compared to accurate parameterizations for both exchange-correlation energies and holes.
Integral Channel Nozzles and Heat Exchangers using Additive Manufacturing Directed Energy Deposition NASA HR-1 Alloy
Heat exchangers for use in propulsion applications are very critical components because they must be efficient, compact and light and often operate with working fluids at extreme temperatures or pressures or both. Various components and systems use heat exchangers such as combustion chambers of gas turbines and internal combustion engines, fuel cells (air supply and thermal management), electric batteries (thermal management), evaporators and recuperators of waste-heat-to-power systems, and rocket engines. Even if the results are more generally applicable, the heat exchangers applications to which this study is more closely related are regeneratively cooled rocket nozzles and chambers, and repressurization systems for the launch vehicles. These components are often thin-walled and contain pressurized fluids, like propellants at cryogenic or elevated temperatures. Given that the environments that these propulsion components must endure are challenging, the manufacturing to meet these specifications often require long lead times due to specialty processes and unique tooling associated with the combined thin-wall integral channel and large-scale structures. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers programmatic advantages for reduction in processing time and cost in addition to various technical advantages, including the possibility to achieve enhanced hardware complexity targeted to superior performance, part consolidation, and the capability of processing of novel alloys. While AM is already being utilized for heat exchanger components in propulsion applications, almost all these AM components are made by means of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). L-PBF allows for fine features but is rather limited with respect to the overall size of the components that can be manufactured. Recent developments are maturing the Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) process which may be used, for example, to make integral channel thin-wall regeneratively-cooled rocket nozzles with diameters greater than 1 m. This paper highlights some integral channel heat exchanger demonstrator hardware applications of LP-DED, as well as the characterization of this process in combination with the use of the NASA HR-1 alloy. To properly utilize LP-DED for heat exchanger manufacturing, various aspects are being characterized such as geometry limitations, measurement of surface texture and geometric angled surfaces, surface enhancements for internal channels, and material evaluation. NASA HR-1 (FeNi-Cr) is a high strength hydrogen resistant superalloy developed for use in aerospace applications, such as heat exchangers. Some aspects and considerations about the design of heat exchangers are summarized together with data relevant to LP-DED manufacturing in combination with the NASA HR-1 alloy. Microchannels were successful deposited down to 2.54 mm and 1 mm wall thickness, wall angles of 30°, both with high reproducibility. It was also found that the areal surface roughness is highly dependent on the size of the powder feedstock used for deposition. The characterization of these LP-DED features is critical for fluid flow and heat transfer predictions as it can be exploited to enhance heat transfer at the cost of increased pressure drop.