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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 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

A CR-hydro-NEI model of the structure and broadband emission from Tycho's supernova remnant

Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR) is well-established as a source of particle acceleration to very high energies. Constraints from numerous studies indicate that the observed γ-ray emission results primarily from hadronic processes, providing direct evidence of highly relativistic ions that have been accelerated by the SNR. Here we present an investigation of the dynamical and spectral evolution of Tycho's SNR by carrying out hydrodynamical simulations that include diffusive shock acceleration of particles in the amplified magnetic field at the forward shock of the SNR. Our simulations provide a consistent view of the shock positions, the nonthermal emission, the thermal X-ray emission from the forward shock, and the brightness profiles of the radio and X-ray emission. We compare these with the observed properties of Tycho to determine the density of the ambient material, the particle acceleration efficiency and maximum energy, the accelerated electron-to-proton ratio, and the properties of the shocked gas downstream of the expanding SNR shell. We find that evolution of a typical Type Ia supernova in a low ambient density (n {sub 0} ∼ 0.3 cm{sup –3}), with an upstream magnetic field of ∼5 μG, and with ∼16% of the SNR kinetic energy being converted into relativistic electrons and ions through diffusive shock acceleration, reproduces the observed properties of Tycho. Under such a scenario, the bulk of observed γ-ray emission at high energies is produced by π{sup 0}-decay resulting from the collisions of energetic hadrons, while inverse-Compton emission is significant at lower energies, comprising roughly half of the flux between 1 and 10 GeV.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

STOCHASTICITY AND EFFICIENCY IN SIMPLIFIED MODELS OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS

We present an initial report on 160 simulations of a highly simplified model of the post-bounce core-collapse supernova environment in three spatial dimensions (3D). We set different values of a parameter characterizing the impact of nuclear dissociation at the stalled shock in order to regulate the post-shock fluid velocity, thereby determining the relative importance of convection and the stationary accretion shock instability (SASI). While our convection-dominated runs comport with the paradigmatic notion of a “critical neutrino luminosity” for explosion at a given mass accretion rate (albeit with a nontrivial spread in explosion times just above threshold), the outcomes of our SASI-dominated runs are much more stochastic: a sharp threshold critical luminosity is “smeared out” into a rising probability of explosion over a ∼20% range of luminosity. We also find that the SASI-dominated models are able to explode with 3–4 times less efficient neutrino heating, indicating that progenitor properties, and fluid and neutrino microphysics, conducive to the SASI would make the neutrino-driven explosion mechanism more robust.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hydrodynamics of thermally driven chiral suspensions

Considerable effort has been directed towards the characterization of chiral mesoscale structures, as shown in chiral protein assemblies and carbon nanotubes. Here, we establish a thermally driven hydrodynamic description for the actuation and separation of mesoscale chiral structures in a fluid medium. Cross-flow of a Newtonian liquid with a thermal gradient gives rise to an effective torque that propels each particle of a chiral suspension according to its handedness. In turn, the chiral suspension alters the liquid flow, which thus acquires a transverse (chiral) velocity component. Since observation of the predicted effects requires a low degree of sophistication, our work provides an efficient and inexpensive approach to test and calibrate chiral particle propulsion and separation strategies.

Mechanics↗
DOE OSTI2014

New evidence for efficient collisionless heating of electrons at the reverse shock of a young supernova remnant

Although collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysics, certain key aspects of them are not well understood. In particular, the process known as collisionless electron heating, whereby electrons are rapidly energized at the shock front, is one of the main open issues in shock physics. Here, we present the first clear evidence for efficient collisionless electron heating at the reverse shock of Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR), revealed by Fe K diagnostics using high-quality X-ray data obtained by the Suzaku satellite. We detect Kβ (3p → 1s) fluorescence emission from low-ionization Fe ejecta excited by energetic thermal electrons at the reverse shock front, which peaks at a smaller radius than Fe Kα (2p → 1s) emission dominated by a relatively highly ionized component. Comparisons with our hydrodynamical simulations imply instantaneous electron heating to a temperature 1000 times higher than expected from Coulomb collisions alone. The unique environment of the reverse shock, which is propagating with a high Mach number into rarefied ejecta with a low magnetic field strength, puts strong constraints on the physical mechanism responsible for this heating and favors a cross-shock potential created by charge deflection at the shock front. Our sensitive observation also reveals that the reverse shock radius of this SNR is about 10% smaller than the previous measurement using the Fe Kα morphology from the Chandra observations. Since strong Fe Kβ fluorescence is expected only from low-ionization plasma where Fe ions still have many 3p electrons, this feature is key to diagnosing the plasma state and distribution of the immediate postshock ejecta in a young SNR.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1981

Heating of the solar chromosphere by ionization pumping

A new theory is proposed to explain the heating of the solar chromosphere, and possibly the corona, by the dissipation of hydrodynamic compression waves. The basis of the dissipative mechanism, here referred to as ionization pumping, is hysteresis caused by irreversible relaxation of the chromospheric medium to ionization equilibrium following pressure perturbations. In the middle chromosphere, where hydrogen is partially ionized, it is shown that ionization pumping will cause strong dissipation of waves whose periods are 200s or less. This could cause heating of the chromosphere sufficient to compensate for the radiative losses. The mechanism retains a high efficiency for waves of arbitrarily small amplitude and, thus, can be more efficient than shock dissipation for small perturbations in pressure. The formation of shocks therefore is not required for the dissipation of waves whose periods are several minutes or less.

Lindsey, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Improved Finite-Volume Method for Radiative Hydrodynamics

Fully coupled simulations of hydrodynamics and radiative transfer are essential to a number of fields ranging from astrophysics to engineering applications. Of particular interest in this work are hypersonic atmospheric entries and associated experimental apparatus, e.g., shock tubes and high enthalpy testing facilities. The radiative transfer calculations must supply to the CFD a heating term in the energy equation in the form of the divergence of the radiative heat flux and the radiative heat fluxes to bounding surfaces. It is most efficient to solve the radiative transfer equation on the same grid as the CFD solution, and this work presents an algorithm with improved accuracy for such simulations on structured and unstructured grids compared to more conventional approaches. Results will be shown for shock radiation during hypersonic reentry. Issues of parallelization within a radiation sweep will also be discussed.

Wray, Alan↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Radial Distribution of Mono-metallicity Populations in the Galactic Disk as Evidence for Two-phase Disk Formation

Recent determinations of the radial distributions of mono-metallicity populations (MMPs, i.e., stars in narrow bins in [Fe/H] within wider [α/Fe] ranges) by the SDSS-III/APOGEE DR12 survey cast doubts on the classical thin- and thick-disk dichotomy. The analysis of these observations led to the non-[α/Fe] enhanced populations splitting into MMPs with different surface densities according to their [Fe/H]. By contrast, [α/Fe] enhanced (i.e., old) populations show a homogeneous behavior. We analyze these results in the wider context of disk formation within non-isolated halos embedded in the Cosmic Web, resulting in a two-phase mass assembly. By performing hydrodynamical simulations in the context of the ΛCDM model, we have found that the two phases of halo mass assembly (an early fast phase, followed by a slow phase with low mass-assembly rates) are very relevant to determine the radial structure of MMP distributions, while radial mixing only plays a secondary role, depending on the coeval dynamical and/or destabilizing events. Indeed, while the frequent dynamical violent events occuring at high redshift remove metallicity gradients and imply efficient stellar mixing, the relatively quiescent dynamics after the transition keeps [Fe/H] gaseous gradients and prevents newly formed stars from suffering strong radial mixing. By linking the two-component disk concept with the two-phase halo mass-assembly scenario, our results set halo virialization (the event marking the transition from the fast to the slow phases) as the separating event that marks periods that are characterized by different physical conditions under which thick- and thin-disk stars were born.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Hydro-particle-mesh Code for Efficient and Rapid Simulations of the Intracluster Medium

We introduce the cosmological HYPER code based on an innovative hydro-particle-mesh (HPM) algorithm for efficient and rapid simulations of gas and dark matter. For the HPM algorithm, we update the approach of Gnedin & Hui to expand the scope of its application from the lower-density intergalactic medium (IGM) to the higher-density intracluster medium (ICM). While the original algorithm tracks only one effective particle species, the updated version separately tracks the gas and dark matter particles, as they do not exactly trace each other on small scales. For the approximate hydrodynamics solver, the pressure term in the gas equations of motion is calculated using robust physical models. In particular, we use a dark matter halo model, ICM pressure profile, and IGM temperature–density relation, all of which can be systematically varied for parameter-space studies. We show that the HYPER simulation results are in good agreement with the halo model expectations for the density, temperature, and pressure radial profiles. Simulated galaxy cluster scaling relations for Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) and X-ray observables are also in good agreement with mean predictions, with scatter comparable to that found in hydrodynamic simulations. HYPER also produces lightcone catalogs of dark matter halos and full-sky tomographic maps of the lensing convergence, SZ effect, and X-ray emission. These simulation products are useful for testing data analysis pipelines, generating training data for machine learning, understanding selection and systematic effects, and for interpreting astrophysical and cosmological constraints.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dependence of Dust Formation on the Supernova Explosion

We investigate the properties, composition, and dynamics of dust formation and growth for a diverse set of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), with 15, 20, and 25 M ⊙ progenitor masses, explosion energies ranging from 0.5 to 120 foe, and varied engine type. These explosions are evolved with a 1D Lagrangian hydrodynamics code out to a minimum of 1157 days to model the ejecta as it expands and cools. A multigrain dust nucleation and growth model is applied to these results. We find that higher explosion energies lead to an earlier onset of dust formation, smaller grain sizes, and larger silicate abundances. Further, we see that nuclear burning during the explosion leads to enhanced formation of silicate dust. Finally, we build composite models from our suite to predict the efficiency of CCSN dust production as a function of metallicity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Late-time post-merger modeling of a compact binary: effects of relativity, r-process heating, and treatment of transport

Detectable electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves from compact binary mergers can be produced by outflows from the black hole-accretion disk remnant during the first 10 s after the merger. Two-dimensional axisymmetric simulations with effective viscosity remain an efficient and informative way to model this late-time post-merger evolution. In addition to the inherent approximations of axisymmetry and modeling turbulent angular momentum transport by a viscosity, previous simulations often make other simplifications related to the treatment of the equation of state and turbulent transport effects. In this paper, we test the effect of these modeling choices. By evolving with the same viscosity the exact post-merger initial configuration previously evolved in Newtonian viscous hydrodynamics, we find that the Newtonian treatment provides a good estimate of the disk ejecta mass but underestimates the outflow velocity. We find that the inclusion of heavy nuclei causes a notable increase in ejecta mass. An approximate inclusion of r-process effects has a comparatively smaller effect, except for its designed effect on the composition. Diffusion of composition and entropy, modeling turbulent transport effects, has the overall effect of reducing ejecta mass and giving it a speed with lower average and more tightly-peaked distribution. Also, we find significant acceleration of outflow even at distances beyond 10 000 km, so that thermal wind velocities only asymptote beyond this radius and at higher values than often reported.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

DESIGN AND DYNAMICS OF HYBRID WAVE AND CURRENT ENERGY CONVERTER

The ocean has been identified as one of the most promising energy sources and it can be comprehended as the “unlimited” energy source as well. Therefore, a reasonable exploitation and development on ocean energy recovery are applicable in this energy shortage era. This paper investigates the design and dynamic analysis of the Hybrid Wave and Current Energy Converter (HWCEC), which uses current and wave to recover energy from the ocean. In general, the HWCEC system contains the oscillating buoy and rotating turbine, while the ocean wave and current pass through the system. The energy harvested from the ocean flows through the Mechanical Motion Rectifier (MMR) gearbox [1], and the oscillating motion is converted to a unidirectional rotational motion, which will drive the generator and produce electricity. The dynamic of the HWCEC is developed by combing the dynamics of a heaving buoy, a horizontal axis hydro-turbine and the working status of an MMR-based Power Take-off system (PTO). A 1:10 scaled down prototype has been manufactured and assembled. Further tests will be conducted in the cooperating facilities. Simulation is conducted based on hydrodynamic coefficients obtained from WAMIT and the blade element momentum theory for the scaled-down prototype. Considering a regular wave with 0.08 meters of wave height with 1 second of wave period together with 0.3m/s constant current velocity, Results show that the HWCEC has an improvement in the energy extraction ratio compared to a traditional Wave Energy Converter (WEC) by 53%. The simulation indicates the fact that harvesting energy from both wave and current is simply more efficient than the traditional types of ocean energy harvester, which consists of only harvesting energy from a single source.

Chen, Shuo↗
DOE OSTI2015

Lotic Water Hydrodynamic Model

Water-related natural disasters, for example, floods and droughts, are among the most frequent and costly natural hazards, both socially and economically. Many of these floods are a result of excess rainfall collecting in streams and rivers, and subsequently overtopping banks and flowing overland into urban environments. Floods can cause physical damage to critical infrastructure and present health risks through the spread of waterborne diseases. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has developed Lotic, a state-of-the-art surface water hydrodynamic model, to simulate propagation of flood waves originating from a variety of events. Lotic is a two-dimensional (2D) flood model that has been used primarily for simulations in which overland water flows are characterized by movement in two dimensions, such as flood waves expected from rainfall-runoff events, storm surge, and tsunamis. In 2013, LANL developers enhanced Lotic through several development efforts. These developments included enhancements to the 2D simulation engine, including numerical formulation, computational efficiency developments, and visualization. Stakeholders can use simulation results to estimate infrastructure damage and cascading consequences within other sets of infrastructure, as well as to inform the development of flood mitigation strategies.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS1988

The 25 kWe solar thermal Stirling hydraulic engine system: Conceptual design

The conceptual design and analysis of a solar thermal free-piston Stirling hydraulic engine system designed to deliver 25 kWe when coupled to a 11 meter test bed concentrator is documented. A manufacturing cost assessment for 10,000 units per year was made. The design meets all program objectives including a 60,000 hr design life, dynamic balancing, fully automated control, more than 33.3 percent overall system efficiency, properly conditioned power, maximum utilization of annualized insolation, and projected production costs. The system incorporates a simple, rugged, reliable pool boiler reflux heat pipe to transfer heat from the solar receiver to the Stirling engine. The free-piston engine produces high pressure hydraulic flow which powers a commercial hydraulic motor that, in turn, drives a commercial rotary induction generator. The Stirling hydraulic engine uses hermetic bellows seals to separate helium working gas from hydraulic fluid which provides hydrodynamic lubrication to all moving parts. Maximum utilization of highly refined, field proven commercial components for electric power generation minimizes development cost and risk.

White, Maurice↗
NASA NTRS1990

Design, analysis, and testing of a reusable wingbox for ballistic evaluation of composite structures

Future fighter aircraft will continue to be subjected to severe mechanical loading and ballistic impact. In the past aircraft primary wing structure was constructed predominantly with aluminum, but with increasing aircraft performance the need for more structurally efficient materials is necessary. In an attempt to achieve structural efficiency requirements, aircraft designers have begun using an increasing amount of composite materials. Composite materials were indicated to have a low level of ballistic tolerance in some applications. Composite materials possess the characteristic of structural tailoring, which was utilized to demonstrate that survivability can be designed into a structure. The combat flight environment subjects fighter aircraft wing structures to the effects of combined loading during ballistic impact. These loads were previously demonstrated independently, i.e., the application of structural load, hydrodynamic ram damage, and the effects of airflow. The objective was to design a reusable test fixture for the ballistic evaluation of advanced composite structures under all the effects of combined loading. The fixture that was developed provides a test bed that can completely simulate the flight environment of a generic fighter aircraft wing, but can be used for an indefinite number and variety of tests. It is intended that this fixture will provide a standardized method of ballistically evaluating an advanced composite primary wing structure. This fixture will be used to accomplish the development of designs and/or advanced concepts that lead to a survivable composite wing structure.

Baron, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Journal Bearing Analysis Suite Released for Planetary Gear System Evaluation

Planetary gear systems are an efficient means of achieving high reduction ratios with minimum space and weight. They are used in helicopter, aerospace, automobile, and many industrial applications. High-speed planetary gear systems will have significant dynamic loading and high heat generation. Hence, they need jet lubrication and associated cooling systems. For units operating in critical applications that necessitate high reliability and long life, that have very large torque loading, and that have downtime costs that are significantly greater than the initial cost, hydrodynamic journal bearings are a must. Computational and analytical tools are needed for sufficiently accurate modeling to facilitate optimal design of these systems. Sufficient physics is needed in the model to facilitate parametric studies of design conditions that enable optimal designs. The first transient journal bearing code to implement the Jacobsson-Floberg-Olsson boundary conditions, using a mass-conserving algorithm devised by Professor Emeritus Harold Elrod of Columbia University, was written by David E. Brewe of the U.S. Army at the NASA Lewis Research Center1 in 1983. Since then, new features and improved modifications have been built into the code by several contributors supported through Army and NASA funding via cooperative agreements with the University of Toledo (Professor Ted Keith, Jr., and Dr. Desikakary Vijayaraghavan) and National Research Council Programs (Dr. Vijayaraghavan). All this was conducted with the close consultation of Professor Elrod and the project management of David Brewe.

Brewe, David E.↗
DOE OSTI2013

DWARF GALAXY FORMATION WITH H{sub 2}-REGULATED STAR FORMATION. II. GAS-RICH DARK GALAXIES AT REDSHIFT 2.5

We present a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation of the formation of dwarf galaxies at redshifts z ∼> 2.5 using a physically motivated model for H{sub 2}-regulated star formation. Our simulation, performed using the Enzo code and reaching a peak resolution of 109 proper parsecs at z = 2.5, extends the results of Kuhlen et al. to significantly lower redshifts. We show that a star formation prescription regulated by the local H{sub 2} abundance leads to the suppression of star formation in dwarf galaxy halos with M{sub h} ∼< 10{sup 10} M{sub ☉} and to a large population of gas-rich 'dark galaxies' at z = 2.5 with low star formation efficiencies and gas depletion timescales >20 Gyr. The fraction of dark galaxies is 60% at M{sub h} ≅ 10{sup 10} M{sub ☉} and increases rapidly with decreasing halo mass. Dark galaxies form late and their gaseous disks never reach the surface densities, ∼> 5700 M{sub ☉} pc{sup –2} (Z/10{sup –3} Z{sub ☉}){sup –0.88}, that are required to build a substantial molecular fraction. Despite this large population of dark galaxies, we show that our H{sub 2}-regulated simulation is consistent with both the observed luminosity function of galaxies and the cosmological mass density of neutral gas at z ∼> 2.5. Moreover, our results provide a theoretical explanation for the recent detection in fluorescent Lyα emission of gaseous systems at high redshift with little or no associated star formation. We further propose that H{sub 2}-regulation may offer a fresh solution to a number of outstanding 'dwarf galaxy problems' in ΛCDM. In particular, H{sub 2}-regulation leads galaxy formation to become effectively stochastic on mass scales of M{sub h} ∼ 10{sup 10} M{sub ☉}, and thus these massive dwarfs are not 'too big to fail'.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ARE PROTOPLANETARY DISKS BORN WITH VORTICES? ROSSBY WAVE INSTABILITY DRIVEN BY PROTOSTELLAR INFALL

We carry out two-fluid, two-dimensional global hydrodynamic simulations to test whether protostellar infall can trigger the Rossby wave instability (RWI) in protoplanetry disks. Our results show that infall can trigger the RWI and generate vortices near the outer edge of the mass landing on the disk (i.e., centrifugal radius). We find that the RWI is triggered under a variety of conditions, although the details depend on the disk parameters and the infall pattern. The common key feature of triggering the RWI is the steep radial gradient of the azimuthal velocity induced by the local increase in density at the outer edge of the infall region. Vortices form when the instability enters the nonlinear regime. In our standard model where self-gravity is neglected, vortices merge together to a single vortex within ∼20 local orbital times, and the merged vortex survives for the remaining duration of the calculation (>170 local orbital times). The vortex takes part in outward angular momentum transport, with a Reynolds stress of ≲10{sup −2}. Our two-fluid calculations show that vortices efficiently trap dust particles with stopping times of the order of the orbital time, locally enhancing the dust to gas ratio for particles of the appropriate size by a factor of ∼40 in our standard model. When self-gravity is considered, however, vortices tend to be impeded from merging and may eventually dissipate. We conclude it may well be that protoplanetary disks have favorable conditions for vortex formation during the protostellar infall phase, which might enhance early planetary core formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A three-dimensional pore-scale model for redox flow battery electrode design analysis

A three-dimensional (3-D) pore-scale model has been developed to construct multiscale fibrous electrodes for redox flow batteries (RFB). New designs, such as biporous electrodes modify electrode structures by creating secondary pores on single carbon fiber to reduce internal battery resistance. Existing pore-scale models only resolve electrodes to the single carbon fiber scale and cannot incorporate recent multiscale electrode designs into numerical models. Our new model aims to bridge this gap and provide a tool to rapidly screen new electrode configurations. Two multiscale electrodes, laser-perforated and biporous electrodes, were investigated at varying operation conditions with the proposed 3-D pore-scale models. The laser-perforated electrode exhibits a reduced pressure drop, but follows the same permeability correlation compared to the corresponding pristine electrode. For the biporous electrode, the added specific surface area and faster reaction kinetics from the secondary pores are the most influential factors leading to improved battery efficiency. However, operating the biporous electrode in limiting current density conditions should be avoided due to the decreased mass transfer efficiency and a more significant voltage loss. Finally, we believe that our 3-D pore-scale model can accelerate the flow battery electrode design process and provide new insights into electrode geometry optimizations.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗