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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 OSTI2015

Experimental observation of the luminescence flash at the collapse phase of a bubble produced by pulsed discharge in water

This letter presents an experimental observation of luminescence flash at the collapse phase of an oscillating bubble produced by a pulsed discharge in water. According to the high speed records, the flash lasts around tens of microseconds, which is much longer than the lifetime of laser and ultrasound induced luminescence flashes in nanoseconds and picoseconds, respectively. The pulse width of temperature waveform and minimum radius calculated at the collapse phase also show that the thermodynamic and dynamic signatures of the bubbles in this work are much larger than those of ultrasound and laser induced bubbles both in time and space scales. However, the peak temperature at the point of collapse is close to the results of ultrasound and laser induced bubbles. This result provides another possibility for accurate emission spectrum measurement other than amplification of the emitted light, such as increasing laser energy or sound energy or substituting water with sulphuric acid.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electromagnetic power of lightning superbolts from Earth to space

Lightning superbolts are the most powerful and rare lightning events with intense optical emission, first identified from space. Superbolt events occurred in 2010-2018 could be localized by extracting the high energy tail of the lightning stroke signals measured by the very low frequency ground stations of the World-Wide Lightning Location Network. Here, we report electromagnetic observations of superbolts from space using Van Allen Probes satellite measurements, and ground measurements, and with two events measured both from ground and space. From burst-triggered measurements, we compute electric and magnetic power spectral density for very low frequency waves driven by superbolts, both on Earth and transmitted into space, demonstrating that superbolts transmit 10-1000 times more powerful very low frequency waves into space than typical strokes and revealing that their extreme nature is observed in space. We find several properties of superbolts that notably differ from most lightning flashes; a more symmetric first ground-wave peak due to a longer rise time, larger peak current, weaker decay of electromagnetic power density in space with distance, and a power mostly confined in the very low frequency range. Their signal is absent in space during day times and is received with a long-time delay on the Van Allen Probes. These results have implications for our understanding of lightning and superbolts, for ionosphere-magnetosphere wave transmission, wave propagation in space, and remote sensing of extreme events.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

High-fluence Ga-implanted silicon—The effect of annealing and cover layers

The influence of SiO{sub 2} and SiN{sub x} cover layers on the dopant distribution as well as microstructure of high fluence Ga implanted Si after thermal processing is investigated. The annealing temperature determines the layer microstructure and the cover layers influence the obtained Ga profile. Rapid thermal annealing at temperatures up to 750 °C leads to a polycrystalline layer structure containing amorphous Ga-rich precipitates. Already after a short 20 ms flash lamp annealing, a Ga-rich interface layer is observed for implantation through the cover layers. This effect can partly be suppressed by annealing temperatures of at least 900 °C. However, in this case, Ga accumulates in larger, cone-like precipitates without disturbing the surrounding Si lattice parameters. Such a Ga-rich crystalline Si phase does not exist in the equilibrium phase diagram according to which the Ga solubility in Si is less than 0.1 at. %. The Ga-rich areas are capped with SiO{sub x} grown during annealing which only can be avoided by the usage of SiN{sub x} cover layers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Early-stage dynamics of chloride ion–pumping rhodopsin revealed by a femtosecond X-ray laser

Chloride ion–pumping rhodopsin (ClR) in some marine bacteria utilizes light energy to actively transport Cl – into cells. How the ClR initiates the transport is elusive. Here, we show the dynamics of ion transport observed with time-resolved serial femtosecond (fs) crystallography using the Linac Coherent Light Source. X-ray pulses captured structural changes in ClR upon flash illumination with a 550 nm fs-pumping laser. High-resolution structures for five time points (dark to 100 ps after flashing) reveal complex and coordinated dynamics comprising retinal isomerization, water molecule rearrangement, and conformational changes of various residues. Combining data from time-resolved spectroscopy experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, this study reveals that the chloride ion close to the Schiff base undergoes a dissociation–diffusion process upon light-triggered retinal isomerization.

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

Laser heating system at the Extreme Conditions Beamline, P02.2, $\mathrm{PETRA III}$

A laser heating system for samples confined in diamond anvil cells paired with in situ X-ray diffraction measurements at the Extreme Conditions Beamline of PETRA III is presented. The system features two independent laser configurations (on-axis and off-axis of the X-ray path) allowing for a broad range of experiments using different designs of diamond anvil cells. The power of the continuous laser source can be modulated for use in various pulsed laser heating or flash heating applications. An example of such an application is illustrated here on the melting curve of iron at megabar pressures. The optical path of the spectroradiometry measurements is simulated with ray-tracing methods in order to assess the level of present aberrations in the system and the results are compared with other systems, that are using simpler lens optics. Based on the ray-tracing the choice of the first achromatic lens and other aspects for accurate temperature measurements are evaluated.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) densified U 3 Si 2 pellets: Microstructure control and enhanced mechanical and oxidation properties

Dense U 3 Si 2 pellets with controlled grain structure and enhanced thermal-mechanical and oxidation properties are synthesized with spark plasma sintering (SPS). Microstructure and phase composition of the SPS densified pellets are characterized systematically using SEM, EDS, and XRD. Thermal-mechanical properties and oxidation behavior of the sintered silicide fuel pellets are analyzed by laser flash, indentation, and dynamic thermogravimetric analysis. Dense U 3 Si 2 pellets are consolidated by combining high energy ball milling and rapid sintering by SPS, and the microstructure structures are controlled from micron-sized (~5.7 μm grain size) for conventional silicide to a nanocrystalline matrix with an average grain size of ~280 nm. A dominant phase of distorted U 3 Si 2 was identified with lattice expansion due to residual thermal stress upon SPS consolidation and rapid cooling processes. Both micron-sized and nano-sized pellets show exceptional thermal transport properties, consistent with monolithic silicides reported in literature. The SPS-densified pellets possess simultaneously high hardness and fracture toughness. The SPS-densified silicide pellets also demonstrate exceptional oxidation performance with extended onset oxidation temperature above 500 °C and reduced oxidation kinetics, particularly for nano-sized pellets. A strong strain effect was proposed in which compressive stress in nano-sized pellets enhances the oxidation resistance of silicide fuels, as evidenced by the degradation of oxidation performance upon strain relaxation by isothermal annealing. The correlation among the sintering process – microstructure control – physical properties and fuel behavior is established. A new concept of strain engineering is proposed further properties optimization, enabling the development of potential oxidation and corrosion-resistant silicides with extended performance, the key technological challenge of U 3 Si 2 as the leading concept of accident tolerant fuels.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Beam Envelope Stability in an Advanced Linear Induction Accelerator

A new linear induction accelerator (LIA) is under development for multipulse flash radiography. Because it has substantially more cells than present LIAs, higher magnetic focusing fields are needed to suppress beam breakup (BBU). It is, therefore, more susceptible to the parametric beam envelope instability (PEI), which has an instability threshold that has usually been typified by the vacuum phase advance per cell exceeding some large fraction of π . Here we derive a threshold criterion for PEI that depends not only on the magnetic field, but also on the beam space charge and emittance. A tune designed to suppress BBU in Scorpius is shown to be stable to the PEI according to this criterion, and also by the lack of emittance growth in particle-in-cell (PIC) code simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

A new method to reduce the statistical and systematic uncertainty of chance coincidence backgrounds measured with waveform digitizers

We present a new method for measuring chance-coincidence backgrounds during the collection of coincidence data. The method relies on acquiring data with near-zero dead time, which is now realistic due to the increasing deployment of flash electronic-digitizer (waveform digitizer) techniques. An experiment designed to use this new method is capable of acquiring more coincidence data, and a much reduced statistical fluctuation of the measured background. A statistical analysis is presented, and us ed to derive a figure of merit for the new method. Factors of four improvement over other analyses are realistic. The technique is illustrated with preliminary data taken as part of a program to make new measurements of the prompt fission neutron spectra at Los Alamo s Neutron Science Center. In conclusion, it is expected that the these measurements will occur in a regime where the maximum figure of merit will be exploited

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Sensor Fish: an autonomous sensor package for characterizing complex flow fields and fish passage

Fish passing through dams or other hydraulic structures may be injured or killed despite advances in turbine design, project operations, and other fish bypass systems. The Sensor Fish (SF) device is an autonomous sensor package that characterizes the physical conditions and stressors to which fish are exposed during passage through hydro facilities. It was designed to move passively as a neutrally buoyant object through severe hydraulic environments, while collecting high-resolution sensor data. Since its first generation1, the SF device has been successfully deployed in many fish passage studies and has evolved to be a major tool for characterizing fish passage conditions during fish passage in the Columbia River Basin. To better accelerate hydropower development, the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Program provided funding to develop a new generation (Gen 2 SF) to incorporate more capabilities and accommodate a wider range of users over a broader range of turbine designs and operating environments. The Gen 2 SF (Figure 1) is approximately the size and density of a yearling salmon smolt and is nearly neutrally buoyant. It contains three-dimensional (3D) rotation sensors, 3D linear acceleration sensors, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a 3D orientation sensor, a radiofrequency (RF) transmitter, and a recovery module2. A low-power microcontroller collects data from the sensors and stores up to 5 min of data on internal flash memory at a sampling frequency of 2048 Hz. The recovery module makes the SF positively buoyant after a pre-programmed period of time, causing it to float to the surface for recovery.

Sensor Fish↗
DOE OSTI2025

The 22Ne($$\alpha $$,n)25Mg reaction - state of the art, astrophysics, and perspectives

Abstract One of the most important stellar neutron sources is the 22 Ne( $$\alpha ,n$$ α , n ) 25 Mg reaction, which gets activated both during the helium intershell burning in asymptotic giant branch stars and in core helium and shell carbon burning in massive stars. The 22 Ne( $$\alpha ,n$$ α , n ) 25 Mg reaction serves as the main neutron producer for the weak s -process and provides a short but strong neutron exposure during the helium flash phase of the main s -process, significantly affecting the abundances at the s -process branch points. The cross section needs to be known at very low energies, as close as possible to the neutron threshold at $$E_\alpha =$$ E α = 562 keV ( Q = −478 keV), but both direct and indirect measurements have turned out to be very challenging, leading to significant uncertainties. Here we discuss the current status of the reaction, including recent and upcoming measurements, and provide a discussion on the astrophysical implications as well as an outlook into the near future.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Formation of shallow boron emitters in crystalline silicon using flash lamp annealing: Role of excess silicon interstitials

Shallow, Boron (B)-doped p{sup +} emitters have been realized using spin-on deposition and Flash Lamp Annealing (FLA) to diffuse B into monocrystalline float zone Silicon (Si). The emitters extend between 50 and 140 nm in depth below the surface, have peak concentrations between 9 × 10{sup 19 }cm{sup –3} and 3 × 10{sup 20 }cm{sup –3}, and exhibit sheet resistances between 70 and 3000 Ω/□. An exceptionally large increase in B diffusion occurs for FLA energy densities exceeding ∼93 J/cm{sup 2} irrespective of 10 or 20 ms pulse duration. The effect is attributed to enhanced diffusion of B caused by Si interstitial injection following a thermally activated reaction between the spin-on diffusant film and the silicon wafer.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Thermal Diffusivity and Specific Heat Measurements of Titanium Potassium Perchlorate Titanium Subhydride Potassium Perchlorate 9013 Glass 7052 Glass SB-14 Glass and C-4000 Muscovite Mica Using the Flash Technique

The flash technique was used to measure the thermal diffusivity and specific heat of titanium potassium perchlorate (TKP) ignition powder (33wt% Ti - 67wt% KP) with Ventron sup- plied titanium particles, TKP ignition powder (33wt% Ti - 67wt% KP) with ATK supplied titanium particles, TKP output powder (41wt% Ti - 59wt% KP), and titanium subhydride potassium perchlorate (THKP) (33wt% TiH 1.65 - 67wt% KP) at 25°C. The influence of density and temperature on the thermal diffusivity and specific heat of TKP with Ventron supplied titanium particles was also investigated. Lastly, the thermal diffusivity and specific heats of 9013 glass, 7052 glass, SB-14 glass, and C-4000 Muscovite mica are presented as a function of temperature up to 300° C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Estimating Beam-Target Heating

At Los Alamos National Laboratory, two high-current linear induction accelerators (LIAs) are used to produce bremsstrahlung source spots for flash radiography of high-explosive driven hydrodynamic experiments at the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility. Measurements of the electron-beam current density profile are valuable for understanding the beam dynamics in order to improve the quality of the radiography source spot. A technique commonly used at DARHT is to image the profile in Cerenkov or Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) light created by the beam striking a thin target inserted into the beam line. Target materials include aluminized dielectrics and titanium foils for OTR, and fused silica wafers for Cerenkov radiation. A practical complication with this technique is heating of the target by the electron beam. If the beam density is too great, the target can be destroyed. Moreover, even if the beam density is kept low enough to be nondestructive, the beam can heat the target to a high enough temperature to desorb gas from the surface. In that case, direct impact ionization of the gas by beam electrons can partially neutralize the beam, causing it to over-focus, thereby spoiling the data, if not destroying the target. The purpose of this note is to review some of the fundamental physics of electron beam heating in order to provide some elementary guidance for design of these imaging experiments to avoid overheating the target. Some specific examples for materials that we often use for imaging targets and beam-target experiments are provided.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Numerical simulation of magnetized jet creation using a hollow ring of laser beams

Three dimensional FLASH magneto-hydrodynamic modeling is carried out to interpret the OMEGA laser experiments of strongly magnetized, highly collimated jets driven by a ring of 20 OMEGA beams. The predicted optical Thomson scattering spectra and proton images are in good agreement with a subset of the experimental data. Magnetic fields generated via the Biermann battery term are amplified at the boundary between the core and the surrounding of the jet. The simulation predicts multiple axially aligned magnetic flux ropes with an alternating poloidal component. Future applications of the hollow ring configuration in laboratory astrophysics are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Numerical simulation of magnetized jet creation using a hollow ring of laser beams

Three dimensional FLASH magneto-hydrodynamic modeling is carried out to interpret the OMEGA laser experiments of strongly magnetized, highly collimated jets driven by a ring of 20 OMEGA beams. The predicted optical Thomson scattering spectra and proton images are in good agreement with a subset of the experimental data. Here, magnetic fields generated via the Biermann battery term are amplified at the boundary between the core and the surrounding of the jet. The simulation predicts multiple axially aligned magnetic flux ropes with an alternating poloidal component. Future applications of the hollow ring configuration in laboratory astrophysics are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thermal power and heat energy of cloud-to-ground lightning process

A cloud-to-ground lightning flash with nine return strokes has been recorded using a high speed slitless spectrograph and a system composed of a fast antenna and a slow antenna. Based on the spectral data and the synchronous electric field changes that were caused by the lightning, the electrical conductivity, the channel radii, the resistance per unit length, the peak current, the thermal power at the instant of peak current, and the heat energy per unit length during the first 5 μs in the discharge channel have all been calculated. The results indicate that the channel radii have linear relationships with the peak current. The thermal power at the peak current time increases with increasing resistance, but exponential decays with the square of the peak current.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Jitter-correction for IR/UV-XUV pump-probe experiments at the FLASH free-electron laser

In pump-probe experiments employing a free-electron laser (FEL) in combination with a synchronized optical femtosecond laser, the arrival-time jitter between the FEL pulse and the optical laser pulse often severely limits the temporal resolution that can be achieved. Here, we present a pump-probe experiment on the UV-induced dissociation of 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene C 6 H 3 F 2 I) molecules performed at the FLASH FEL that takes advantage of recent upgrades of the FLASH timing and synchronization system to obtain high-quality data that are not limited by the FEL arrival-time jitter. Here, we discuss in detail the necessary data analysis steps and describe the origin of the time-dependent effects in the yields and kinetic energies of the fragment ions that we observe in the experiment.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Comparison of laser-produced plasma spatio-temporal electron density evolution measured using interferometry with simulation results

Due to the difficulties associated with experimental measurements of laser-produced plasma (LPP) properties during the earliest stages of plasma evolution, radiation hydrodynamic codes are often used. However, although these codes have been extensively validated in the higher intensity regimes, validation at low to moderate intensities has been limited. In this study, the spatio-temporal electron density evolution in an LPP generated at moderate laser intensities and at various laser wavelengths was validated against the FLASH code for times up to 20 ns. The LPP was generated by focusing the fundamental and various harmonics radiation (1064, 532, and 266 nm) from a 6 ns full width half maximum Nd:YAG laser, at a laser intensity of 10 GW cm -2 , onto a copper target. The spatio-temporal density evolution of the expanding plasma was analyzed using Nomarski interferometry. Experimental measurements were found to be consistent with FLASH simulations, and the dependence of electron densities on wavelength was found to be in agreement with analytical models, varying as n e ∝ λ -0.7 . However, slight differences were noted in the widths and shape functions of the experimental and simulated electron density profiles.

2D fast imaging↗