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At least 55 records · Page 3

Bridging Scales in Black Hole Accretion and Feedback: Relativistic Jet Linking the Horizon to the Host Galaxy

Simulating black hole (BH) accretion and feedback from the BH horizon to galactic scales is extremely challenging, as it involves a vast range of scales. Recently, our multizone method has successfully achieved global dynamical steady states of hot accretion flows in 3D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations by tracking the bidirectional interaction between a nonspinning BH and its host galaxy. In this paper, we present technical improvements to the method and apply it to spin a * = 0.9 BHs, which power relativistic jets. We first test the new multizone setup with a smaller Bondi radius, R B ≈ 400 r g , where r g is the gravitational radius. The strongly magnetized accretion launches a relativistic jet with an intermediate feedback efficiency η ∼ 30%, in between that of a prograde (η ∼ 100%) and retrograde (η ∼ 10%) torus. Interestingly, both prograde and retrograde simulations also eventually converge to the same intermediate efficiency when evolved long enough, as accumulated magnetic fields remove gas rotation. We then extend strongly magnetized simulations to larger Bondi radii, R B ≈ 2 × 10 3 , 2 × 10 4 , 2 × 10 5 r g . We find that the BH accretion rate $\dot{M}$ is suppressed with respect to the Bondi rate as $\dot{M}_{\textrm{B}}$ as $\dot{M}/\dot{M}_{\textrm{B}} ∝ R_{\textrm{B}}^{-1/2}$. However, despite some variability, the time-averaged feedback efficiency remains at η ∼ 30%, independent of R B . This suggests that BH feedback efficiency in hot accretion flows is mainly governed by the BH spin (a * ) rather than by the galactic properties (R B ). From these first-principles simulations, we provide a feedback subgrid prescription for cosmological simulations: $\dot{E}_{\textrm{fb}} = 2$ x $10^{-3}[R_{\textrm{B}}/(2$ x $10^5 r_g)]^{-1/2}$ $\dot{M}_{\textrm{B}}c^2$ for BH spin a * = 0.9.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Design and evaluation of combustors for reducing aircraft engine pollution

Efforts in reducing exhaust emissions from turbine engines are reported. Various techniques employed and the results of testing are briefly described and referenced for detail. The experimental approaches taken to reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions include the use of: (1) multizone combustors incorporating reduced dwell times, (2) fuel-air premixing, (3) air atomization, (4) fuel prevaporization, and (5) gaseous fuel. Since emissions of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are caused by poor combustion efficiency at engine idle, the studies of fuel staging in multizone combustors and air assist fuel nozzles have indicated that large reductions in these emissions can be achieved. Also, the effect of inlet-air humidity on oxides of nitrogen was studied as well as the very effective technique of direct water injection. The emission characteristics of natural gas and propane fuels were measured and compared with those of ASTM-Al kerosene fuel.

Jones, R. E.↗

Design and evaluation of combustors for reducing aircraft engine pollution.

This report summarizes some of the NASA Lewis Research Center's recent efforts in reducing exhaust emissions from turbine engines. Various techniques employed and the results of testing are briefly described and referenced for detail. The experimental approaches taken to reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions include the use of: multizone combustors incorporating reduced dwell time, fuel-air premixing, air atomization, fuel prevaporization and gaseous fuel. Since emissions of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are caused by poor combustion efficiency at engine idle, the studies of fuel staging in multizone combustors and air assist fuel nozzles have indicated that large reductions in these emissions can be achieved. Also, the effect of inlet-air humidity on oxides of nitrogen was studied as well as the very effective technique of direct water injection. The emission characteristics of natural gas and propane fuels were measured and compared with those of ASTM-Al kerosene fuel.

Jones, R. E.↗

Modeling of surface roughness effects on glaze ice accretion

The cause and effects of roughness on accreting glaze ice surfaces were studied with microvideo observations. Distinct zones of surface water behavior were observed, including a smooth wet zone in the stagnation region with a uniform water film, a rough zone where surface tension effects caused coalescence of surface water into stationary beads, and a zone where roughness elements grow into horn shapes. In addition, a zone where surface water ran back as rivulets and a dry zone where rime feathers formed were observed. The locations and behaviors of these zones are discussed. A simple multizone modification to the glaze ice accretion model is proposed to include spatial variability in surface roughness. Two test cases using the multizone model showed significant improvements for the prediction of glaze ice shapes.

Hansman, R. John, Jr.↗

Deterministic multi-zone ice accretion modeling

The study focuses on a deterministic model of the surface roughness transition behavior of glaze ice and analyzes the initial smooth/rough transition location, bead formation, and the propagation of the transition location. Based on a hypothesis that the smooth/rough transition location coincides with the laminar/turbulent boundary-layer transition location, a multizone model is implemented in the LEWICE code. In order to verify the effectiveness of the model, ice accretion predictions for simple cylinders calculated by the multizone LEWICE are compared to experimental ice shapes. The glaze ice shapes are found to be sensitive to the laminar surface roughness and bead thickness parameters controlling the transition location, while the ice shapes are found to be insensitive to the turbulent surface roughness.

Yamaguchi, K.↗

Iterative solution techniques in boundary element analysis

Iterative techniques for the solution of the algebraic equations associated with the direct boundary element analysis (BEA) method are discussed. Continuum structural response analysis problems are considered, employing single- and multizone boundary element models with and without zone condensation. The impact on convergence rate and computer resource requirements associated with the sparse and blocked matrices, resulting in multizone BEA, is studied. Both conjugate gradient and generalized minimum residual preconditioned iterative solvers are applied for these problems and the performance of these algorithms is reported. Included is a quantification of the impact of the preconditioning utilized to render the boundary element matrices solvable by the respective iterative methods in a time competitive with direct methods.

Kane, J. H.↗

Deterministic multi-zone ice accretion modeling

The focus here is on a deterministic model of the surface roughness transition behavior of glaze ice. The initial smooth/rough transition location, bead formation, and the propagation of the transition location are analyzed. Based on the hypothesis that the smooth/rough transition location coincides with the laminar/turbulent boundary layer transition location, a multizone model is implemented in the LEWICE code. In order to verify the effectiveness of the model, ice accretion predictions for simple cylinders calculated by the multizone LEWICE are compared to experimental ice shapes. The glaze ice shapes are found to be sensitive to the laminar surface roughness and bead thickness parameters controlling the transition location, while the ice shapes are found to be insensitive to the turbulent surface roughness.

Yamaguchi, K.↗

A user guide for the EMTAC-MZ CFD code

The computer code (EMTAC-MZ) was applied to investigate the flow field over a variety of very complex three-dimensional (3-D) configurations across the Mach number range (subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flow). In the code, a finite volume, multizone implementation of high accuracy, total variation diminishing (TVD) formulation (based on Roe's scheme) is used to solve the unsteady Euler equations. In the supersonic regions of the flow, an infinitely large time step and a space-marching scheme is employed. A finite time step and a relaxation or 3-D approximate factorization method is used in subsonic flow regions. The multizone technique allows very complicated configurations to be modeled without geometry modifications, and can easily handle combined internal and external flow problems. An elliptic grid generation package is built into the EMTAC-MZ code. To generate the computational grid, only the surface geometry data are required. Results obtained for a variety of configurations, such as fighter-like configurations (F-14, AVSTOL), flow through inlet, multi-bodies (shuttle with external tank and SRBs), are reported and shown to be in good agreement with available experimental data.

Szema, Kuo-Yen↗

Adaptive control of interface by temperature and interface profile feedback in transparent multi-zone crystal growth furnace

The objective of this research is to control the dynamics of multizone programmable crystal growth furnaces. Due to the inevitable heat exchange among different heating zones and the transient nature of the process, the dynamics of multizone furnaces is time varying, distributed, and therefore complex in nature. Electrical power to heating zones and the translational speed of the ampoule are employed as inputs to control the dynamics. Structural properties of the crystal is the ultimate aim of this adaptive control system. These properties can be monitored in different ways. Following an order of complexity, these may include: (1) on line measurement of the material optical properties such as the refractive index of crystal; (2) on line x-ray imaging of the interface topology; (3) on line optical quantification of the interface profile such as the determination of concavity or convexity of the interface shape; and (4) on line temperature measurement at points closest to the material such as measurements of the ampoule's outside and inside surface temperatures. The research performed makes use of the temperature and optical measurements, specified in (3) and (4) as the outputs of furnace dynamics. However, if the instrumentation is available, the proposed control methodology can be extended to the measurements listed in (1) and (2).

Batur, Celal↗

Air Return Strategies and Airborne SARS-CoV-2

Dedicated ducted air return per zone for heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is sometimes claimed to be a superior technique over plenum return strategy from the viewpoint of exposure reduction to airborne pathogens. While both the return strategies have advantages, there is limited evidence in the literature as to which strategy is superior merely from a standpoint of building vulnerability to airborne contaminants. We performed multizonal airborne contaminant dispersion modelling using CONTAM to simulate the overall building vulnerability to airborne SARS-CoV-2 aerosols when released in an office building and evaluated the two air return strategies. Results showed that for ducted returns, maintaining negative pressure in the release zone coupled with 100% outdoor air supply can greatly reduce overall building vulnerability. However, for a building maintained under a slight positive pressure and a recirculated air percentage as low as 31%, ducted returns do not necessarily outperform plenum returns in terms of overall building vulnerability to airborne pathogens. Building-specific details and factors that are not easily represented with multizone modelling are important, making general preferential statements for either strategy difficult to make. Insights from this study can guide new construction and retrofits of buildings both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of safe re-occupancy of buildings while keeping the buildings resilient against potential future epidemics spread by airborne agents.

Shrestha, Prateek↗

Characterization of the indoor near-field aerosol transmission in a model commercial office building

To evaluate the exposure potential of infectious aerosols containing SARS-CoV-2 in an office building setting, synthetic test aerosols were used to experimental study airborne particle transmission in a multizone small office test building at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Nine measurement points in a single zone using active aerosol impactors report that the coefficient of variation of the time-averaged concentration is <10% in two campaigns and < 15% in one campaign, so a nearly well-mixed condition was noted. To understand the effect of HVAC system operation on the dynamic concentration of aerosols in office spaces, an aerosol transport model that includes factors such as outside air (OA) ratio, filtration, return air fraction, transport loss in air ducts, and particle deposition has been developed. The results of model fitting demonstrate strong agreement with experimental data. Overall, our investigation finds the return air fraction effects outweigh other mechanisms for the aerosol recirculation in this study, and the impact of air change rate (ACR) is more important than the small particle deposition for aerosol removal. Because ACR dominates the aerosol transport, the full model can be simplified to just one factor, the ACR, while maintaining an acceptable representation of the experimental data.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

A tidal disruption event coincident with a high-energy neutrino

Cosmic neutrinos provide a unique window into the otherwise hidden mechanism of particle acceleration in astrophysical objects. The IceCube Collaboration recently reported the likely association of one high-energy neutrino with a flare from the relativistic jet of an active galaxy pointed towards the Earth. However a combined analysis of many similar active galaxies revealed no excess from the broader population, leaving the vast majority of the cosmic neutrino flux unexplained. Here we present the likely association of a radio-emitting tidal disruption event, AT2019dsg, with a second high-energy neutrino. AT2019dsg was identified as part of our systematic search for optical counterparts to high-energy neutrinos with the Zwicky Transient Facility. The probability of finding any coincident radio-emitting tidal disruption event by chance is 0.5%, while the probability of finding one as bright in bolometric energy flux as AT2019dsg is 0.2%. Our electromagnetic observations can be explained through a multizone model, with radio analysis revealing a central engine, embedded in a UV photosphere, that powers an extended synchrotron-emitting outflow. This provides an ideal site for petaelectronvolt neutrino production. Assuming that the association is genuine, our observations suggest that tidal disruption events with mildly relativistic outflows contribute to the cosmic neutrino flux.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Layer-dependent spin-resolved electronic structure of ferromagnetic triple-layered ruthenate Sr4Ru3O10

High-resolution angle- and spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) of the triple-layered ruthenate Sr4Ru3O10 reveals features of the electronic structure that extend our understanding of the layered strontium ruthenates. The spectra near the Fermi energy are very different from the nonmagnetic analogues Sr2RuO4 and Sr3Ru2O7 with distinct Fermi surfaces for wide electronlike minority spin bands around the zone center and narrow holelike majority spin Fermi surface contours around the zone corners. The most dramatic results are two narrow spectral peaks ∼30 meV below the Fermi level, a spin-minority holelike band at the Brillouin zone center, and a spin-majority saddle-band van Hove singularity at the zone edge, which exhibits almost 100% spin polarization at low temperature, and a strong temperature dependent coherence-incoherence crossover attributed to Hund metal correlations. Quantitative comparison of the ARPES to spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) calculations identify the specific antibonding and nonbonding orbital origins of the narrow bands, with a prediction of different spatial localization in the central and outer layers. This is shown to be consistent with experimental ARPES multizone matrix element intensity variations, and implicates outer-layer-specific control of the in-plane metamagnetism. The renormalization of the bands relative to the mean-field DFT, the demonstration of spin-polarized oxygen bands, and of spin-minority and spin-majority band-crossing hybridization provide a more complete picture of the magnetism which displays aspects of both delocalized and local moment behavior.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Mass measurement of 27 P to constrain type-I x-ray burst models and validate the isobaric multiplet mass equation for the $A = 27, T = \frac{3}{2}$ isospin quartet

Background: Light curves are the primary observable of type-I x-ray bursts. Computational x-ray burst models must match simulations to observed light curves. Most of the error in simulated curves comes from uncertainties in rp process reaction rates, which can be reduced via precision mass measurements of neutron-deficient isotopes in the rp process path. Purpose: Perform a precise atomic mass measurement of 27 P. Use this new measurement to calculate rp process reaction rates and input these rates into an x-ray burst model to reduce simulated light curve uncertainty. Use the mass measurement of 27 P to validate the isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME) for the A = 27 T = 3/2 isospin quartet which 27 P belongs to. Method: High-precision Penning trap mass spectrometry utilizing the time-of-flight ion cyclotron resonance technique was used to determine the atomic mass of 27 P. The MESA code (Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics) was then used to simulate x-ray bursts using a one-dimensional multizone model to produce updated light curves. Results: The mass excess of 27 P was measured to be –670.7(6) keV, a 14-fold precision increase over the mass reported in the 2020 Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME2020). The 26 Si(p, $γ$) 27 P– 27 P($γ$, p) 26 Si rate equilibrium has been determined to a higher precision based on the precision mass measurement of 27 P. x-ray burst light curves were produced with the MESA code using the new reaction rates. Changes in the mass of 27 P seem to have minimal effect on light curves, even in burster systems tailored to maximize impact. Conclusion: The mass of 27 P does not play a significant role in x-ray burst light curves. It is important to understand that more advanced models do not just provide more precise results, but often qualitatively different ones. This result brings us a step closer to being able to extract stellar parameters from individual x-ray burst observations. In addition, the IMME has been validated for the A = 27, T = 3/2 quartet. The normal quadratic form of the IMME using the latest data yields a reduced $χ$ 2 of 2.9. Finally, the cubic term required to generate an exact fit to the latest data matches theoretical attempts to predict this term.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Nuclear level density and γ -ray strength function of Ni 67 and the impact on the i process

Proton- γ coincidences from ( d , p ) reactions between a Ni 66 beam and a deuterated polyethylene target have been analyzed with the inverse-Oslo method to find the nuclear level density (NLD) and γ -ray strength function ( γ SF ) of Ni 67 . The Ni 66 ( n , γ ) capture cross section has been calculated using the Hauser-Feshbach model in using the measured NLD and γ SF as constraints. The results confirm that the Ni 66 ( n , γ ) reaction acts as a bottleneck when relying on one-zone nucleosynthesis calculations. However, the impact of this reaction is strongly dampened in multizone models of low-metallicity AGB stars experiencing i -process nucleosynthesis. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Impact of strong magnetization in cylindrical plasma implosions with applied B-field measured via x-ray emission spectroscopy

Magnetization is a key strategy for enhancing inertial fusion performance, though accurate characterization of magnetized dense plasmas is needed for a better comprehension of the underlying physics. Measured spectra from imploding Ar-doped D 2 -filled cylinders at the OMEGA laser show distinctive features with and without an imposed magnetic field. A multizone spectroscopic diagnosis leads to quantitative estimates of the plasma conditions, namely revealing a 50% core temperature rise at half mass density when a 30-T seed field is applied. Concurrently, experimental spectra align well with predictions from extended-magnetohydrodynamics simulations, providing strong evidence that the attained core conditions at peak compression are consistent with the impact of a 10-kT compressed field. These results pave the way for the validation of magnetized transport models in dense plasmas and for future magnetized laser implosion experiments at a larger scale. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Role of reinforcement learning for risk-based robust control of cyber-physical energy systems

Critical infrastructures such as cyber-physical energy systems (CPS-E) integrate information flow and physical operations that are vulnerable to natural and targeted failures. Safe, secure, and reliable operation and control of CPS-E is critical to ensure societal well-being and economic prosperity. Automated control is key for real-time operations and may be mathematically cast as a sequential decision-making problem under uncertainty. Emergence of data-driven techniques for decision making under uncertainty, such as reinforcement learning (RL), have led to promising advances for addressing sequential decision-making problems for risk-based robust CPS-E control. However, existing research challenges include understanding the applicability of RL methods across diverse CPS-E applications, addressing the effect of risk preferences across multiple RL methods, and development of open-source domain-aware simulation environments for RL experimentation within a CPS-E context. This article systematically analyzes the applicability of four types of RL methods (model-free, model-based, hybrid model-free and model-based, and hierarchical) for risk-based robust CPS-E control. Problem features and solution stability for the RL methods are also discussed. We demonstrate and compare the performance of multiple RL methods under different risk specifications (risk-averse, risk-neutral, and risk-seeking) through the development and application of an open-source simulation environment. Motivating numerical simulation examples include representative single-zone and multizone building control use cases. Finally, six key insights for future research and broader adoption of RL methods are identified, with specific emphasis on problem features, algorithmic explainability, and solution stability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Assessment of Turbulent Combustion Models for Simulating Prechamber Ignition in a Natural Gas Engine

Lean combustion is a promising strategy to increase thermal efficiency in an internal combustion engine, by exploiting a favorable specific heat ratio of the fresh mixture while simultaneously suppressing the heat losses to the cylinder wall. However, unstable ignition and slow flame propagation at fuel-lean conditions lead to large cycle-to-cycle variability and limit the high-efficiency engine operating range. Prechamber ignition is considered an effective concept to extend the lean operating limit, by providing spatially distributed ignition with multiple turbulent flame-jets and enabling a faster combustion rate compared to the conventional spark ignition approach. From a numerical modeling standpoint to date science base and available simulation tools are inadequate to properly understand and predict the combustion processes in prechamber ignited engines. In this paper, conceptually different Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) combustion models widely adopted in the engine modeling community are used to simulate the ignition and combustion processes in a medium-duty natural gas engine with a prechamber spark-ignition system. Here, a flamelet-based turbulent combustion model, i.e., G-equation, and a multizone well-stirred reactor model are employed for this modeling study. Simulation results are compared with experimental data in terms of in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate. Finally, the analysis of the performance of the two models is carried out to highlight the strengths and limitations of the two evaluated approaches.

42 ENGINEERING↗