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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 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

The effect of electron beam pitch angle and density gradient on solar type III radio bursts

1.5D particle-in-cell simulations of a hot, low density electron beam injected into magnetized, maxwellian plasma were used to further explore the alternative non-gyrotropic beam driven electromagnetic (EM) emission mechanism, first studied in Tsiklauri, Phys. Plasmas 18, 052903 (2011). Variation of beam injection angle and background density gradient showed that the emission process is caused by the perpendicular component of the beam injection current, whereas the parallel component only produces Langmuir waves, which play no role in the generation of EM waves in our mechanism. Particular emphasis was put on the case, where the beam is injected perpendicularly to the background magnetic field, as this turned off any electrostatic wave generation along the field and left a purely electromagnetic signal in the perpendicular components. The simulations establish the following key findings: (i) Initially, waves at a few {omega}{sub ce}/{gamma} are excited, mode converted and emitted at Almost-Equal-To {omega}{sub pe} (ii) The emission intensity along the beam axis is proportional to the respective component of the kinetic energy of the beam; (iii) The frequency of the escaping EM emission is independent of the injection angle; (iv) A stronger background density gradient causes earlier emission; (v) The beam electron distribution function in phase space shows harmonic oscillation in the perpendicular components at the relativistic gyrofrequency; (vi) The requirement for cyclotron maser emission, ({partial_derivative}f/{partial_derivative}v{sub Up-Tack })>0, is fulfilled; (vii) The degree of linear polarization of the emission is strongly dependent on the beam injection angle; (viii) The generated electromagnetic emission is left-hand elliptically polarized as the pitch angle tends to 90 Degree-Sign ; and (ix) The generated electromagnetic energy is of the order of 0.1% of the initial beam kinetic energy.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Unusual large-pitch banding in poly(L-lactic acid): Effects of composition and geometry confinement

Lamellar patterns and orientations in blends of two crystalline polymers: poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and low-molecular-weight poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) were investigated using polarizing light optical microscopy (POM), and atomic and scanning electron microscopy (AFM, SEM). Specific etching off of PEO was used to reveal the complex earlier-grown PLLA lamellae patterns with various PEO content in blends. Banding of extremely long pitch (50 μm) in crystallized PLLA spherulites was induced by two kinetic factors: geometry confinement by top cover and introduction of diluent such as PEO. The mechanisms and correlation among the lamellar assembly, ring bands, and cracks are exemplified. Lamellar patterns and ring-band types in blends were found to vary with respect to not only blend compositions, but also confinement of top-cover.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cholesterics of colloidal helices: Predicting the macroscopic pitch from the particle shape and thermodynamic state

Building a general theoretical framework to describe the microscopic origin of macroscopic chirality in (colloidal) liquid crystals is a long-standing challenge. Here, we combine classical density functional theory with Monte Carlo calculations of virial-type coefficients to obtain the equilibrium cholesteric pitch as a function of thermodynamic state and microscopic details. Applying the theory to hard helices, we observe both right- and left-handed cholesteric phases that depend on a subtle combination of particle geometry and system density. In particular, we find that entropy alone can even lead to a (double) inversion in the cholesteric sense of twist upon changing the packing fraction. We show how the competition between single-particle properties (shape) and thermodynamics (local alignment) dictates the macroscopic chiral behavior. Moreover, by expanding our free-energy functional, we are able to assess, quantitatively, Straley’s theory of weak chirality, which is used in several earlier studies. Furthermore, by extending our theory to different lyotropic and thermotropic liquid-crystal models, we analyze the effect of an additional soft interaction on the chiral behavior of the helices. Finally, we provide some guidelines for the description of more complex chiral phases, like twist-bend nematics. Our results provide new insights into the role of entropy in the microscopic origin of this state of matter.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Pitch-angle diffusion of electrons through growing and propagating along a magnetic field electromagnetic wave in Earth's radiation belts

The diffusion of electrons via a linearly polarized, growing electromagnetic (EM) wave propagating along a uniform magnetic field is investigated. The diffusion of electrons that interact with the growing EM wave is investigated through the autocorrelation function of the parallel electron acceleration in several tens of electron gyration timescales, which is a relatively short time compared with the bounce time of electrons between two mirror points in Earth's radiation belts. Furthermore, the pitch-angle diffusion coefficient is derived for the resonant and non-resonant electrons, and the effect of the wave growth on the electron diffusion is discussed. The results can be applied to other problems related to local acceleration or the heating of electrons in space plasmas, such as in the radiation belts.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

The National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade poloidal high-k scattering system pitch angle design modifications

A 693 GHz, eight-channel, poloidal high-k (k refers to wavenumber) collective scattering system is under development for the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade device. It will replace the previous 280 GHz, five-channel, tangential scattering system to study high-k electron density fluctuations, thereby providing a measurement of the k θ -spectrum of both electron temperature gradient and ion temperature gradient modes. A tool is under development to calculate the wavenumber that exists in the presence of strong magnetic pitch angles. Here we use this tool to motivate a new receiver optical design for significantly improved performance, details of which are presented herein.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

PITCH ANGLE SCATTERING IN THE OUTER HELIOSHEATH AND FORMATION OF THE INTERSTELLAR BOUNDARY EXPLORER RIBBON

The dominant and unexpected feature in the first Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX) maps is a ribbon of the enhanced energetic neutral atom (ENA) emissions. Presenting the first results from IBEX, McComas et al. identified six possible mechanisms of ribbon formation. One of the mechanisms, the so-called secondary ENA mechanism, was already quantitatively elaborated by Heerikhuisen et al., and they successfully reproduced the main features of the ribbon. We further study the 'secondary ENA' mechanism by quantifying a previously omitted stage of the proton evolution between two consecutive acts of the charge-exchange in the outer heliosheath (OHS). The main findings can be summarized as follows. (1) The neutrals supplied by the supersonic near-equatorial solar wind dominate the near-equatorial source of the keV ENAs in the OHS compared to the inner heliosheath contribution. (2) The ribbon of the observed width can be produced even if only the large-scale ({approx}10{sup 2}-10{sup 4} AU) interstellar turbulence operates but the resulting pitch angle distribution functions (PADFs) are unstable with respect to the ion cyclotron wave generation around the locus where the line of sight from IBEX to the ribbon is perpendicular to the interstellar magnetic field beyond the heliopause. (3) A combination of the large-scale interstellar turbulence and a small-scale ({approx}10{sup -5}to10{sup -4} AU) turbulence generated by an unstable PADF of the energetic protons is able to make PADF marginally stable. In this case, the ribbon is still narrow because only a small part of the proton phase space distribution function can resonate with a locally generated ion cyclotron turbulence. (4) A concurrent operation of the large-scale interstellar turbulence and the locally generated small-scale turbulence might be responsible for the localized emission structures observed in the IBEX ribbon.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

PITCH-ANGLE SCATTERING: RESONANCE VERSUS NONRESONANCE, A BASIC TEST OF THE QUASILINEAR DIFFUSIVE RESULT

Due to the very broad range of the scales available for the development of turbulence in space and astrophysical plasmas, the energy at the resonant scales of wave-particle interaction often constitutes only a tiny fraction of the total magnetic turbulent energy. Despite the high efficiency of resonant wave-particle interaction, one may therefore question whether resonant interaction really is the determining interaction process between particles and turbulent fields. By evaluating and comparing resonant and nonresonant effects in the frame of a quasilinear calculation, the dominance of resonance is here put to the test. By doing so, a basic test of the classical resonant quasilinear diffusive result for the pitch-angle scattering of charged energetic particles is also performed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FOKKER-PLANCK EQUATION WITH ADIABATIC FOCUSING: ISOTROPIC PITCH-ANGLE SCATTERING

We present numerical solutions to both the standard and modified two-dimensional Fokker-Planck equations with adiabatic focusing and isotropic pitch-angle scattering. With the numerical solution of the particle distribution function, we then discuss the related numerical issues, calculate the parallel diffusion coefficient using several different methods, and compare our numerical solutions for the parallel diffusion coefficient to the analytical forms derived earlier. We find the numerical solution to the diffusion coefficient for both the standard and modified Fokker-Planck equations agrees with that of Shalchi for the mean squared displacement method of computing the diffusion coefficient. However, we also show the numerical solution agrees with that of Litvinenko and Shalchi and Danos when calculating the diffusion coefficient via the velocity correlation function.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Turbulent pitch-angle scattering and diffusive transport of hard X-ray-producing electrons in flaring coronal loops

Recent observations from RHESSI have revealed that the number of non-thermal electrons in the coronal part of a flaring loop can exceed the number of electrons required to explain the hard X-ray-emitting footpoints of the same flaring loop. Such sources cannot, therefore, be interpreted on the basis of the standard collisional transport model, in which electrons stream along the loop while losing their energy through collisions with the ambient plasma; additional physical processes, to either trap or scatter the energetic electrons, are required. Motivated by this and other observations that suggest that high-energy electrons are confined to the coronal region of the source, we consider turbulent pitch-angle scattering of fast electrons off low-frequency magnetic fluctuations as a confinement mechanism, modeled as a spatial diffusion parallel to the mean magnetic field. In general, turbulent scattering leads to a reduction of the collisional stopping distance of non-thermal electrons along the loop, and hence to an enhancement of the coronal hard X-ray source relative to the footpoints. The variation of source size L with electron energy E becomes weaker than the quadratic behavior pertinent to collisional transport, with the slope of L(E) depending directly on the mean free path λ associated with the non-collisional scattering mechanism. Comparing the predictions of the model with observations, we find that λ ∼ (10{sup 8}-10{sup 9}) cm for ∼30 keV, less than the length of a typical flaring loop and smaller than, or comparable to, the size of the electron acceleration region.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Patterned OLEDs: effect of substrate corrugation pitch and height

Abstract An ongoing OLED challenge is cost-effective enhancement of light extraction, i.e., increasing the external quantum efficiency ( EQE ∼20% in conventional devices). OLEDs on corrugated substrates often show enhanced EQE s providing insight into light emission processes. In particular, patterned plastic substrates directly imprinted easily at room temperature and amenable to low-cost R2R production are ideal for studying/optimizing various structures, further elucidating the extraction process. We show new semi-quantitative data of the effect of the pitch ( a ) and height/depth ( h ) of plastic substrate patterns on the OLEDs’ stack and EQE , focusing on new designs, interestingly, some showing surprisingly enhanced EQE s that were neither reported nor discussed before. These includ e : ( i ) shallow ( h < 200 nm) convex polycarbonate with a ∼ 750 versus ∼400 nm, where the h gradually decreases as the OLED stack is built and ( ii ) concave PET/CAB with large a (∼2.8 and ∼7.8 μ m), where the EQE enhancement of conformal OLEDs may be due largely to scattering. EQE s of green, blue, and white phosphorescent OLEDs were measured. OLEDs on substrates with narrow a ∼ 400 nm and low h < 200 nm s h owed no enhancement, resembling flat devices. In contrast, OLEDs on substrates with comparable or smaller h , but larger a ∼ 750 nm show signific a nt EQE enhancement despite h reduction across the stack. Green OLEDs with a ∼ 750 nm and h ∼ 160 to ∼180 nm, showed EQE s ∼30%, reaching ∼58% with substrate mode extraction. Surprisingly, fully conformal OLEDs on a PET/CAB substrate with a ∼ 7.8 μ m showed blue a nd white EQE s reaching ∼33%, without substrate mode extraction. The enhancing patterns increase the OLEDs’ EQE by reducing surface plasmon excitation and internal waveguiding. The experimental results for OLEDs on substrates with a < 2 μ m are supported by scattering matrix simulations that assume conformal stacks, incorporating diffraction for internal losses reduction. EQE enhancement not predicted by simulations may be due additionally to scattering mostly for substrates with a signific a ntly larger than the emitting wavelength.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Conservative magnetic moment of runaway electrons and collisionless pitch-angle scattering

Recently, the validity of the guiding-center approach to model relativistic runaway electrons in tokamaks has been challenged by full-orbit simulations that demonstrate the breakdown of the standard magnetic moment conservation. In this paper, we derive a new expression for the magnetic moment of relativistic runaway electrons with p∥>>⊥, which is conserved significantly better than the standard one. The new result includes one of the second-order corrections in the standard guiding-center theory which, in case of runaway electrons with p∥>>⊥, can peculiarly be of the same order as the lowest-order term. The better conservation of the new magnetic moment also explains the collisionless pitch-angle-scattering effect observed in full-orbit simulations since it allows momentum transfer between the perpendicular and parallel directions when the runaway electron is accelerated by an electric field. In conclusion, while the derivation of the second-order correction to the magnetic moment in general case would require the full extent of the relativistic second-order guiding-center theory, we exploit the Lie-perturbation method at the limit p∥Gtp⊥ which simplifies the computations significantly. Consequently, we present the corresponding guiding-center equations applicable to runaway electrons.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Field testing of feedforward collective pitch control on the CART2 using a nacelle-based Lidar scanner

This work presents the results from a field test of LIDAR assisted collective pitch control using a scanning LIDAR device installed on the nacelle of a mid-scale research turbine. A nonlinear feedforward controller is extended by an adaptive filter to remove all uncorrelated frequencies of the wind speed measurement to avoid unnecessary control action. Positive effects on the rotor speed regulation as well as on tower, blade and shaft loads have been observed in the case that the previous measured correlation and timing between the wind preview and the turbine reaction are accomplish. The feedforward controller had negative impact, when the LIDAR measurement was disturbed by obstacles in front of the turbine. This work proves, that LIDAR is valuable tool for wind turbine control not only in simulations but also under real conditions. Moreover, the paper shows that further understanding of the relationship between the wind measurement and the turbine reaction is crucial to improve LIDAR assisted control of wind turbines.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

New insights into the role of constitutive bacterial rhizobiome and phenolic compounds in two Pinus spp. with contrasting susceptibility to pine pitch canker

Abstract The rhizobiome is being increasingly acknowledged as a key player in plant health and breeding strategies. The pine pitch canker (PPC), caused by the fungus Fusarium circinatum, affects pine species with varying susceptibility degrees. Our aims were to explore the bacterial rhizobiome of a susceptible (Pinus radiata) and a resistant (Pinus pinea) species together with other physiological traits, and to analyze shifts upon F. circinatum inoculation. Pinus seedlings were stem inoculated with F. circinatum spores and needle gas exchange and antioxidant-related parameters were analyzed in non-inoculated and inoculated plants. Rhizobiome structure was evaluated through 16S rRNA gene massive parallel sequencing. Species (non-inoculated plants) harbored distinct rhizobiomes (<40% similarity), where P. pinea displayed a rhizobiome with increased abundance of taxa described in suppressive soils, displaying plant growth promoting (PGP) traits and/or anti-fungal activity. Plants of this species also displayed higher levels of phenolic compounds. F. circinatum induced slight changes in the rhizobiome of both species and a negative impact in photosynthetic-related parameters in P. radiata. We concluded that the rhizobiome of each pine species is distinct and higher abundance of bacterial taxa associated to disease protection was registered for the PPC-resistant species. Furthermore, differences in the rhizobiome are paralleled by a distinct content in phenolic compounds, which are also linked to plants’ resistance against PPC. This study unveils a species-specific rhizobiome and provides insights to exploit the rhizobiome for plant selection in nurseries and for rhizobiome-based plant-growth-promoting strategies, boosting environmentally friendly disease control strategies.

Leitão, Frederico↗
DOE OSTI2026

First Demonstration of Resonant Pitch-Angle Scattering of Relativistic Electrons by Externally Launched Helicon Waves

Helicon waves (a.k.a whistler waves) satisfying the normal wave-particle cyclotron resonance are observed to limit the growth and maximum energy of relativistic electrons (REs) in low-density Ohmic DIII-D tokamak plasmas. Following the application of helicon waves, pitch-angle scattering of high-energy REs causes an increase in both synchrotron and electron-cyclotron emissions. The hard x-ray emission, a proxy for the RE population, ceases to grow. Energy-resolved hard x-ray measurements also show a striking decrease in the number of high-energy REs (above the resonance at approximately 8MeV) to below the noise floor and an increase in low-energy (∼ 4 MeV) REs. This occurs despite the toroidal electric field remaining high enough to drive exponential RE growth in the absence of helicon waves. Furthermore, these results open new directions for limiting the maximum energy of RE populations in laboratory and fusion plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Pixel Pitch-Matched Ultrasound Receiver for 3-D Photoacoustic Imaging With Integrated Delta-Sigma Beamformer in 28-nm UTBB FD-SOI

This study presents a pixel pitch-matched readout chip for 3-D photoacoustic (PA) imaging, featuring a dedicated signal conditioning and delta-sigma modulation integrated within a pixel area of 250 μm by 250 μm. The proof-of-concept receiver was implemented in an STMicroelectronics's 28-nm Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator technology, and interfaces to a 4 × 4 subarray of capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers (CMUTs). The front-end signal conditioning in each pixel employs a coarse/fine gain tuning architecture to fulfill the 90-dB dynamic range requirement of the application. The employed delta-sigma beamforming architecture obviates the need for area-consuming Nyquist ADCs and thereby enables an efficient in-pixel A/D conversion. The per-pixel switched-capacitor ΔΣ modulator leverages slewing-dominated and area-optimized inverter-based amplifiers. It occupies only 1/4th of the pixel, and its area compares favorably with state-of-the-art designs that offer the same SNR and bandwidth. The modulator's measured peak signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio is 59.9 dB for a 10-MHz input bandwidth, and it consumes 6.65 mW from a 1V supply. The overall subarray beamforming approach improves the area per channel by 7.4 times and the single-channel SNR by 8 dB compared to prior art with similar delay resolution and power dissipation. Finally, the functionality of the designed chip was evaluated within a PA imaging experiment, employing a flip-chip bonded 2-D CMUT array.

3-D photoacoustic (PA) imaging↗
DOE OSTI2014

Reduced Magnetization and Loss in Ag-Mg Sheathed Bi2212 Wires: Systematics With Sample Twist Pitch and Length

Suppression of magnetization and effective filament diameter (d eff ) with twisting was investigated for a series of recent Bi2212 strands manufactured by Oxford Superconducting Technologies. We measured magnetization as a function of field (out to 14 T), at 5.1 K, of twisted and nontwisted 37 × 18 double restack design strands. The samples were helical coils 5-6 mm in height and approximately 5 mm in diameter. The strand diameter was 0.8 mm. The magnetization of samples having twist pitches of 25.4, 12.7, and 6.35 mm were examined and compared to nontwisted samples of the same filament configuration. The critical state model was used to extract the 12-T d eff from magnetization data for comparison. Twisting the samples reduced d eff by a factor of 1.5-3. The d eff was shown to increase both with L and L p . Mathematical expressions, based upon the anisotropic continuum model, were fit to the data, and a parameter γ 2 , which quantifies the electrical connectivity perpendicular to the filament axis, was extracted. The bundle-to-bundle connectivity along the radial axis was found to be approximately 0.2%. The d eff was substantially reduced with L p . In addition, the importance of understanding sample length dependence for quantitative measurements is discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of an Optimal Variable-Pitch Controller for Floating Axial-Flow Marine Hydrokinetic Turbines

This article discusses the development of an optimal variable-pitch controller for floating, axial-flow marine turbines. Recently, OpenFAST, an open-source wind turbine modeling tool, has been extended to model marine turbines. A controller is necessary to simulate marine turbines for different load cases using OpenFAST, which greatly impacts the performance of the energy system. Previous studies have designed controllers using a linearized model of the marine turbine, which can be time-consuming and require the expertise of a control engineer. In this study, we use an automated approach that uses generic models of the marine turbine to identify the controller gains, which can expedite the process of designing a controller. Using an optimizer to identify the control system parameters can additionally improve the controller's performance. The optimal controller tuned using such an approach results in a 20% reduction in the tower-base damage equivalent loading and better tracking of the rated generator speed and power.

axial flow↗