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DOE OSTI2026

Formulation and Performance Evaluation of Epoxy Sealant Systems for Double-Shell Tank Bottom Refurbishment

The performance of epoxy sealants used in the refurbishment of double-shell tank (DST) systems requires balancing processability, thermomechanical stability, and adhesion to cementitious substrates. This study incorporates Heloxy 8 as a reactive diluent into Westlake 862 epoxy to tailor workability and cured-state properties. Rheological time-sweep analysis demonstrates that increasing the diluent content significantly reduces complex viscosity and extends workability, thereby improving pumpability and flow for large-area applications. However, the targeted 2-hour processing window is not fully achieved. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirms that all formulations cure at room temperature to glass transition temperatures ( T g ) at least 20 °C above the maximum DST operating temperature (27 °C), thereby ensuring service in the glassy regime. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) reveals formulation-dependent reductions in tan delta and increases in storage modulus, indicating increasingly elastic and mechanically stable networks with diluent incorporation. Pull-off adhesion testing shows that modified formulations (70–90% Westlake epoxy) exhibit significantly higher adhesion strengths than the unmodified system. Grout cohesive failure indicates that interfacial bonding exceeds substrate strength. Collectively, these results demonstrate that controlled reactive diluent incorporation enables optimization of processing behavior, interfacial adhesion, and thermomechanical performance, supporting the suitability of the modified epoxy systems as durable sealant layers for cementitious barrier applications in hazardous waste containment infrastructure.

Differential scanning calorimetry↗

DOE OSTI2021

Impacts of Pore Network-Scale Wettability Heterogeneity on Immiscible Fluid Displacement: A Micromodel Study

The mixed-wet nature of reservoir formations imposes a wide range of rock wettability from strong resident-fluid wetting to strong invading-fluid wetting. The characteristics of two-phase flow in porous media composed of mixed-wetting surfaces remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the displacement of resident ethylene glycol (EG) by hexane in two mixed-wet micromodels of identical 2.5-D geometry heterogeneity, with uniformly or heterogeneously distributed patches strongly wetting to hexane. These patches are mixed among pores with unaltered EG-wetting surfaces. Along with control tests in the originally EG-wet micromodel, here we show the classic fingering and transitions in flow regimes at $logCa$ (capillary number) from -7.2 to -3.9. Moreover, pore-scale distributions of wettability and their spatial correlation influence displacement efficiency. In the two mixed-wet micromodels, we found (a) an increase of steady-state hexane saturation at the end of experiments by up to 0.12 in the capillary fingering regime and a decrease of at most by 0.06 in the viscous fingering regime, compared to the EG-wet micromodel, and (b) dispersed and fragmented hexane distribution after displacement. Brine drainage during supercritical CO 2 (scCO 2 ) injections in these micromodels occurs with lower wettability contrasts, and under similar viscosity ratios and interfacial tensions resulted in higher displacement efficiency relative to displacement of EG by hexane. While mixed-wettability can enhance displacement efficiency compared to uniform wettability, the dynamics of immiscible fluids in strong mixed-wet reservoirs are expected to be less pronounced in contributing to the efficiency of geological CO 2 sequestration, oil recovery, and remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifers.

2.5-D micromodel↗

DOE OSTI2018

Multifunctional ferrofluid-infused surfaces with reconfigurable multiscale topography

Developing adaptive materials with geometries that change in response to external stimuli provides fundamental insights into the links between the physical forces involved and the resultant morphologies and creates a foundation for technologically relevant dynamic systems. In particular, reconfigurable surface topography as a means to control interfacial properties has recently been explored using responsive gels, shape-memory polymers, liquid crystals and hybrid composites, including magnetically active slippery surfaces. However, these designs exhibit a limited range of topographical changes and thus a restricted scope of function. Here we introduce a hierarchical magneto-responsive composite surface, made by infiltrating a ferrofluid into a microstructured matrix (termed ferrofluid-containing liquid-infused porous surfaces, or FLIPS). We demonstrate various topographical reconfigurations at multiple length scales and a broad range of associated emergent behaviours. An applied magnetic-field gradient induces the movement of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in a viscous fluid, which leads to microscale flow of this ferrofluid first above and then within the microstructured surface. This redistribution changes the initially smooth surface of the ferrofluid (which is immobilized by the porous matrix through capillary forces) into various multiscale hierarchical topographies shaped by the size, arrangement and orientation of the confining microstructures in the magnetic field. We analyse the spatial and temporal dynamics of these reconfigurations theoretically and experimentally as a function of the balance between capillary and magnetic pressures and of the geometric anisotropy of the FLIPS system. Several interesting functions at three different length scales are demonstrated: self-assembly of colloidal particles at the micrometre scale; regulated flow of liquid droplets at the millimetre scale; and switchable adhesion and friction, liquid pumping and removal of biofilms at the centimetre scale. We envision that FLIPS could be used as part of integrated control systems for the manipulation and transport of matter, thermal management, microfluidics and fouling-release materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of immiscible fluid displacement in porous media: Homogeneous versus heterogeneous pore network

Injection of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) into geological formations is a promising approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Predicting the amount of CO{sub 2} that can be captured and its long-term storage stability in subsurface requires a fundamental understanding of multiphase displacement phenomena at the pore scale. In this paper, the lattice Boltzmann method is employed to simulate the immiscible displacement of a wetting fluid by a non-wetting one in two microfluidic flow cells, one with a homogeneous pore network and the other with a randomly heterogeneous pore network. We have identified three different displacement patterns, namely, stable displacement, capillary fingering, and viscous fingering, all of which are strongly dependent upon the capillary number (Ca), viscosity ratio (M), and the media heterogeneity. The non-wetting fluid saturation (S{sub nw}) is found to increase nearly linearly with logCa for each constant M. Increasing M (viscosity ratio of non-wetting fluid to wetting fluid) or decreasing the media heterogeneity can enhance the stability of the displacement process, resulting in an increase in S{sub nw}. In either pore networks, the specific interfacial length is linearly proportional to S{sub nw} during drainage with equal proportionality constant for all cases excluding those revealing considerable viscous fingering. Our numerical results confirm the previous experimental finding that the steady state specific interfacial length exhibits a linear dependence on S{sub nw} for either favorable (M ≥ 1) or unfavorable (M < 1) displacement, and the slope is slightly higher for the unfavorable displacement.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2014

Electrical detection of ferromagnetic resonance in ferromagnet/n-GaAs heterostructures by tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance

We observe a dc voltage peak at ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in samples consisting of a single ferromagnetic (FM) layer grown epitaxially on the n-GaAs (001) surface. The FMR peak is detected as an interfacial voltage with a symmetric line shape and is present in samples based on various FM/n-GaAs heterostructures, including Co{sub 2}MnSi/n-GaAs, Co{sub 2}FeSi/n-GaAs, and Fe/n-GaAs. We show that the interface bias voltage dependence of the FMR signal is identical to that of the tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) over most of the bias range. Furthermore, we show how the precessing magnetization yields a dc FMR signal through the TAMR effect and how the TAMR phenomenon can be used to predict the angular dependence of the FMR signal. This TAMR-induced FMR peak can be observed under conditions where no spin accumulation is present and no spin-polarized current flows in the semiconductor.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of a Two-Phase CFD Model for Autogenous Pressurization and Expulsion

This paper presents a two-phase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for simulating autogenous pressurization and expulsion in a cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage tank, utilizing a volume-of-fluid (VOF) approach combined with the kinetics-based Schrage equation to accurately capture the phase boundary and interfacial heat, mass, and momentum transfer between liquid and vapor phases. The model is validated against experimental data from NASA's K-site tank facility, specifically experimental case 225, which involved pressurization and controlled expulsion of liquid hydrogen. Various turbulence models are evaluated to assess their influence on model accuracy. The CFD simulations successfully replicate key thermodynamic behaviors observed during the experiments, including pressure evolution, temperature profiles, and phase-change dynamics at the vapor-liquid interface. The predicted tank pressures, temperatures, and pressurant requirements agree with experimental data, with pressurant mass predictions within 16\% of observed values. This study highlights the importance of selecting appropriate turbulence models to accurately simulate complex flow and heat transfer phenomena during tank pressurization and expulsion. By enhancing the accuracy and reliability of CFD models for liquid hydrogen under cryogenic conditions, this research contributes to developing efficient cryogenic propellant management strategies for future space missions.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗

DOE OSTI2023

A Membrane Contactor Enabling Energy-Efficient CO 2 Capture from Point Sources with Deep Eutectic Solvents

We demonstrate a scalable and energy-efficient hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC)-based process using a green solvent for CO 2 capture. This process uses a deep eutectic solvent (DES) in an HFMC to provide close interfacial interactions and contact between the DES and CO 2 . This approach overcomes disadvantages associated with direct absorption in DES and could potentially be applied to a variety of solvent-based CO 2 capture methods. Commercial low-cost polymer hollow fiber membranes (e.g., microporous polypropylene) were evaluated for CO 2 capture with reline, a prototypical DES. Single-gas measurements showed that the DES-based polypropylene HFMC can capture and separate CO 2 while rejecting N2. From a mixed gas containing 50 mol % N 2 and 50 mol % CO ν , the DES-based HFMC separated CO 2 with a purity of 96.9 mol %. The effect of several process parameters including solvent flow rate, pressure, and temperature on the CO 2 separation performance was studied. The flux of the recovered CO 2 was 67.43 mmole/m 2 /h at a feed pressure of 4 bar. In situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements combined with density functional theory (DFT)-based molecular dynamics simulations revealed that reline absorbs CO 2 by physical absorption without forming a new chemical compound, and CO 2 separation by reline occurs via the pressure swing mechanism. This research provides fundamental insights about physical solvent-based separation processes and a pathway toward practical deployment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of a Two-Phase CFD Model for Autogenous Pressurization and Expulsion

This paper presents a two-phase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for simulating autogenous pressurization and expulsion in a cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage tank, utilizing a volume-of-fluid (VOF) approach combined with the kinetics-based Schrage equation to accurately capture the phase boundary and interfacial heat, mass, and momentum transfer between vapor and liquid phases. The model is validated against experimental data from NASA's K-site tank facility, specifically experimental case 225, which involved autogenous pressurization and controlled expulsion of liquid hydrogen. Various turbulence models are evaluated to assess their influence on model accuracy. The CFD simulations successfully replicate key thermodynamic behaviors observed during the experiments, including pressure evolution, temperature profiles, and phase-change dynamics at the vapor-liquid interface. The predicted tank pressures and temperatures agree well with experimental data, whereas the pressurant mass predictions are within 16% of observed values. This study emphasizes the importance of selecting appropriate turbulence models to accurately simulate the complex flow and heat transfer phenomena during tank autogenous pressurization and expulsion. By improving the accuracy and reliability of CFD models for these processes, this research contributes to developing efficient cryogenic propellant management strategies for future space missions.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗

DOE OSTI2016

Interfacial diffusion aided deformation during nanoindentation

Nanoindentation is commonly used to quantify the mechanical response of material surfaces. Despite its widespread use, a detailed understanding of the deformation mechanisms responsible for plasticity during these experiments has remained elusive. Nanoindentation measurements often show stress values close to a material’s ideal strength which suggests that dislocation nucleation and subsequent dislocation activity dominates the deformation. However, low strain-rate exponents and small activation volumes have also been reported which indicates high temperature sensitivity of the deformation processes. Using an order parameter aided temperature accelerated sampling technique called adiabatic free energy dynamics [J. B. Abrams and M. E. Tuckerman, J. Phys. Chem. B, 112, 15742 (2008)], and molecular dynamics we have probed the diffusive mode of deformation during nanoindentation. Localized processes such as surface vacancy and ad-atom pair formation, vacancy diffusion are found to play an important role during indentation. Our analysis suggests a change in the dominant deformation mode from dislocation mediated plasticity to diffusional flow at high temperatures, slow indentation rates and small indenter tip radii.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

NASA NTRS1985

Convective influence on the stability of a cylindrical solid-liquid interface

Experiments in which a long vertical, heated wire is surrounded by concentric annuli of a melt and its crystalline solid show that the convection state changes from a stable unicell surrounded by a stationary cylindrical solid-liquid interface, to a complex time-dependent flow surrounded by a rotating, helical solid-liquid interface. This transition occurs at a Grashof number of approximately 150, which is an order of magnitude less than the critical Grashof number calculated for a liquid annulus surrounded by rigid walls. A linear stability analysis has been carried out for an infinitely tall vertical annulus. When the deformable nature of the crystal-melt interface is taken into account in the boundary conditions, two new modes of instability arise. The most dangerous mode is asymmetrical and corresponds to helical waves travelling vertically upwards. The critical Grashof number and the scaling properties of the eigenstate agree with experiments. The results clearly demonstrate the coupling of convection with crystal-melt interfacial instabilities.

Fang, Q. T.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of a Two-Phase CFD Model for Predicting Propellant Tank Pressurization and Pressure Collapse in The Ground-Based K-Site Hydrogen Slosh Experiment

A two-phase CFD model for tank pressurization and following sloshing in a cryogenic storage tank partially filled with liquid hydrogen is presented using the Volume-Of-Fluid approach for representing the phase boundary and the associated interfacial heat, mass and momentum transfer between the liquid and the vapor regions. The CFD model was validated against pressurization and sloshing data for a 62 cubic foot tank provided by Moran et al. Cases with different sloshing amplitudes and frequencies are studied. The results of modeling tank pressurization are presented first followed by the results of sloshing cases. Predicted tank pressures are compared with the experimental data.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of a Two-Phase CFD Model for Predicting Propellant Tank Pressurization and Pressure Collapse in the Ground-Based K-Site Hydrogen Slosh Experiment

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗

DOE OSTI2015

Controlling Viscous Fingering Using Time-Dependent Strategies

Control and stabilization of viscous fingering of immiscible fluids impacts a wide variety of pressure-driven multiphase flows. Here, we report theoretical and experimental results on time-dependent control strategy by manipulating the gap thickness b(t) in a lifting Hele-Shaw cell in the power-law form b(t) = b 1 t 1/7 . Experimental results show good quantitative agreement with the predictions of linear stability analysis. Furthermore, by choosing the value of a single time-independent control parameter we can either totally suppress the viscous fingering instability or maintain a series of non-splitting viscous fingers during the fluid displacement process. Besides the gap thickness of a Hele-Shaw cell, in principle, time-dependent control strategies can also be placed on the injection rate, viscosity of the displaced fluid, and interfacial tensions between the two fluids.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

NASA NTRS2005

Conservative Patch Algorithm and Mesh Sequencing for PAB3D

A mesh-sequencing algorithm and a conservative patched-grid-interface algorithm (hereafter Patch Algorithm ) have been incorporated into the PAB3D code, which is a computer program that solves the Navier-Stokes equations for the simulation of subsonic, transonic, or supersonic flows surrounding an aircraft or other complex aerodynamic shapes. These algorithms are efficient, flexible, and have added tremendously to the capabilities of PAB3D. The mesh-sequencing algorithm makes it possible to perform preliminary computations using only a fraction of the grid cells (provided the original cell count is divisible by an integer) along any grid coordinate axis, independently of the other axes. The patch algorithm addresses another critical need in multi-block grid situation where the cell faces of adjacent grid blocks may not coincide, leading to errors in calculating fluxes of conserved physical quantities across interfaces between the blocks. The patch algorithm, based on the Stokes integral formulation of the applicable conservation laws, effectively matches each of the interfacial cells on one side of the block interface to the corresponding fractional cell area pieces on the other side. This approach is comprehensive and unified such that all interface topology is automatically processed without user intervention. This algorithm is implemented in a preprocessing code that creates a cell-by-cell database that will maintain flux conservation at any level of full or reduced grid density as the user may choose by way of the mesh-sequencing algorithm. These two algorithms have enhanced the numerical accuracy of the code, reduced the time and effort for grid preprocessing, and provided users with the flexibility of performing computations at any desired full or reduced grid resolution to suit their specific computational requirements.

Pao, S. P.↗

DOE OSTI2016

Capillary pressure-saturation relations in quartz and carbonate sands: Limitations for correlating capillary and wettability influences on air, oil, and supercritical CO 2 trapping

Capillary pressure (P c )-saturation (S w ) relations are essential for predicting equilibrium and flow of immiscible fluid pairs in soils and deeper geologic formations. In systems that are difficult to measure, behavior is often estimated based on capillary scaling of easily measured P c –S w relations (e.g., air-water, and oil-water), yet the reliability of such approximations needs to be examined. In this study, 17 sets of brine drainage and imbibition curves were measured with air-brine, decane-brine, and supercritical (sc) CO 2 -brine in homogeneous quartz and carbonate sands, using porous plate systems under ambient (0.1 MPa, 23°C) and reservoir (12.0 MPa, 45°C) conditions. Comparisons between these measurements showed significant differences in residual nonwetting phase saturation, S nw,r . Through applying capillary scaling, changes in interfacial properties were indicated, particularly wettability. With respect to the residual trapping of the nonwetting phases, S nwr, CO2 > S nwr, decane > S nwr, air . Decane-brine and scCO 2 -brine Pc–Sw curves deviated significantly from predictions assuming hydrophilic interactions. Moreover, neither the scaled capillary behavior nor S nw,r for scCO 2 -brine were well represented by decane-brine, apparently because of differences in wettability and viscosities, indicating limitations for using decane (and other organic liquids) as a surrogate fluid in studies intended to apply to geological carbon sequestration. Thus, challenges remain in applying scaling for predicting capillary trapping and multiphase displacement processes across such diverse fields as vadose zone hydrology, enhanced oil recovery, and geologic carbon sequestration.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

ON THE ANALATICAL SOLUTIONS AND NUMERICAL VERIFICATIONS OF THE TWO-PHASE WATER FAUCET PROBLEM

The two-phase water faucet problem is one of the benchmark problems originally proposed by Ransom. The test consists of a vertical pipe, which is initially filled with a uniform column of liquid moving with an initial velocity and an annulus of gas sitting still. At the top boundary, liquid is supplied at the same velocity as the initial velocity, and the bottom of the pipe opens to the ambient. Due to the gravity effect, the liquid column accelerates and becomes thinner. With simplifications, such as massless gas phase and no wall and interfacial frictions, an analytical solution could be obtained for the transient liquid velocity and void fraction distribution. The test has been widely used for the purposes of code assessment, benchmark and numerical verifications. This exact solution was used in this work to verify the numerical accuracy of a high-resolution spatial discretization scheme. The high-resolution spatial discretization scheme is based on the commonly used staggered grid mesh, and slope limiter was introduced to achieve high resolutions in space. It was found that, at the steady state, an expected second-order spatial accuracy could not be achieved. A further investigation showed that this exact solution does not actually satisfy the commonly used two-fluid single pressure two-phase flow equations. More importantly, we have also found that a steady-state exact solution could be obtained for the water faucet problem. In this work, we have demonstrated the derivation of the steady-state exact solution for the water faucet problem. The exact solution was then used to verify a first-order and a high-resolution spatial discretization scheme, from which expected order of accuracy was achieved by doing mesh refinement.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Rotary Inertia Friction Welding of Dissimilar High-Strength 422 Martensitic Stainless Steel and 4140 Low Alloy Steel for Heavy-Duty Engine Piston Fabrication

AISI 422 martensitic stainless steel with superior high temperature performance (oxidation resistance and strength) is under evaluation for replacing current heavy-duty piston crown materials, AISI 4140 martensitic steel and micro alloyed steel (MAS) 38MnSiVS5, to fabricate a multimaterial piston. This multimaterial piston concept further improved power density and fuel economy by allowing heavyduty diesel engines to operate at higher temperatures and pressures. Joining AISI 422 steel piston crowns with AISI 4140 steel piston skirts is a key manufacturing step for this multimaterial piston. However, the significant differences in strength, elevated temperature flow stress, alloy chemistry, and temper resistance between these two martensitic steels cause some weldability issues (cracking) and metallurgical challenges (alloying element migration/segregation) when using conventional fusion-based welding processes. Rotary inertia friction welding (RIFW), a solid-state welding process, has been the preferred method to join 4140 crowns to 4140 skirts (and MAS crowns to MAS skirts) in high-volume production of current heavy-duty diesel engine pistons. It has been used to join these two materials with relatively comparable alloy chemistry to fabricate pistons with MAS skirts and 4140 crowns. Meanwhile, RIFW has also been a preferred method of dissimilar metal welding. However, RIFW of dissimilar high-strength martensitic steels has yet to be widely pursued. The interfacial microstructure complexities created by the thermomechanical process and highly nonequilibrium phase transformations during RIFW are a significant challenge for understanding and predicting their joining behavior and have not been reported in detail. Here, in this work, defect-free AISI 422 steel-AISI 4140 multimaterial pistons were successfully fabricated using the RIFW process. The interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar 422/4140 steel RIFW in the as-welded condition were experimentally studied in detail. The results provide critical baseline information for understanding RIFW mechanisms and guiding subsequent postweld heat treatment (PWHT) practice.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1990

Low-gravity fluid physics: A program overview

An overview is presented of the microgravity fluid physics program at Lewis Research Center. One of the main reasons for conducting low gravity research in fluid physics is to study phenomena such as surface tension, interfacial contact angles, and diffusion independent of such gravitationally induced effects as buoyant convection. Fluid physics is at the heart of many space-based technologies including power systems, thermal control systems, and life support systems. Fundamental understanding of fluid physics is a key ingredient to successful space systems design. In addition to describing ground-based and space-based low-gravity facilities, selected experiments are presented which highlight Lewis work in fluid physics. These experiments can be categorized into five theme areas which summarize the work being conducted at Lewis for OSSA: (1) isothermal/iso-solutal capillary phenomena; (2) capillary phenomena with thermal/solutal gradients; (3) thermal-solutal convection; (4) first- and second-order phase transitions in a static fluid; and (5) multiphase flow.

Source record↗