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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 577 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Quantifying the effect of CO 2 gasification on pulverized coal char oxy-fuel combustion

Previous research has provided strong evidence that CO 2 and H 2 O gasification reactions can provide non-negligible contributions to the consumption rates of pulverized coal (pc) char during combustion, particularly in oxy-fuel environments. Fully quantifying the contribution of these gasification reactions has proven to be difficult, due to the dearth of knowledge of gasification rates at the elevated particle temperatures associated with typical pc char combustion processes, as well as the complex interaction of oxidation and gasification reactions. Gasification reactions tend to become more important at higher char particle temperatures (because of their high activation energy) and they tend to reduce pc oxidation due to their endothermicity (i.e. cooling effect). The work reported here attempts to quantify the influence of the gasification reaction of CO 2 in a rigorous manner by combining experimental measurements of the particle temperatures and consumption rates of size-classified pc char particles in tailored oxy-fuel environments with simulations from a detailed reacting porous particle model. The results demonstrate that a specific gasification reaction rate relative to the oxidation rate (within an accuracy of approximately +/- 20% of the pre-exponential value), is consistent with the experimentally measured char particle temperatures and burnout rates in oxy-fuel combustion environments. Conversely, the results also show, in agreement with past calculations, that it is extremely difficult to construct a set of kinetics that does not substantially overpredict particle temperature increase in strongly oxygen-enriched N2 environments. This latter result is believed to result from deficiencies in standard oxidation mechanisms that fail to account for falloff in char oxidation rates at high temperatures.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Search for Dark Matter using mono-Higgs and the ATLAS Pixel Detector (Final Report)

A large component of the mass-energy of the universe is composed of dark matter (DM), whose properties and interactions with known particles are not yet understood. Searches for DM at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) provide important information, complementary to direct and indirect detection experiments, that is necessary to determine whether an observed signal indeed stems from DM. Furthermore, the discovery of the Higgs boson provides a unique avenue to search for DM because the potential interaction of the Higgs with DM would lead to the unique signature of a Higgs boson recoiling against DM. This process is typically referred to as mono-Higgs because DM does not interact strongly with most known particles and will therefore pass unseen through the detector, leading to a single detected Higgs boson and a large imbalance of momentum. Due to the strength of the interactions of the Higgs with Standard Model particles, it is unlikely for a Higgs boson to be radiated from initial state quarks. Therefore, the observation of this process would provide direct insight into the mechanism by which DM couples to known particles. The objective of this research program is to search for the dark matter particles produced in association with a Higgs boson at the LHC using the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) detector, specifically when the Higgs boson decays to two bottom quarks. This research will benefit greatly from the development of innovative identification techniques of boosted Higgs bosons. The program includes the upgrade of the ATLAS Pixel readout system, which is critical to maintain high performance of tracking, vertexing, and boosted Higgs tagging in the planned higher luminosity run of the LHC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Baryogenesis via the CKM Matrix with Minimal Flavor Violation

It is often claimed Standard Model CP violation is insufficient for baryogenesis. We present a counterexample using minimal flavor violation (MFV) in which all CP-violating effects arise from the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix. Our scenario involves a leptoquark field with MFV-preserving interactions whose decays to Standard Model particles yield the observed baryon asymmetry in the early universe. Unlike previous efforts to realize baryogenesis through the CP violation of the CKM matrix, our scenario does not require any time-variation of model parameters.

Bigaran, Innes [Northwestern U.; Fermilab; Virgini↗
DOE OSTI2012

Saturation of a floating potential of an electron emitting electrode with increased electron emission: A one-dimensional kinetic model and particle-in-cell simulation

A bounded plasma system is studied by a one-dimensional kinetic model and particle-in-cell computer simulation using the XPDP1 code. Three particle species are injected into the system from a planar source, which are the singly charged positive ions and the cool and the hot electrons. All the particle species are injected with half-Maxwellian velocity distributions with different temperatures. From the collector, the emitted electrons are injected, also with a half-Maxwellian velocity distribution, but with a much lower temperature than the cool electrons. As electron emission from the collector is increased, the floating potential of the collector increases also until the boundary of space charge limited emission is achieved. In the simulation, the emission can be increased further and it turns out that the floating potential of the collector remains constant in spite of the increased electron emission. The model on the other hand is valid only up to the boundary of space charge limited emission. The predictions of that limit and of the respective floating potential of the collector by the model are in very good agreement with the simulation. As the criterion for comparison of the model and the simulations propose the matching of the potential, electric field, and density profiles obtained from the simulation and from the numerical solution of the Poisson equation. The matching of potential and electric field profiles is usually almost perfect. On the other hand, the numerical solutions of the Poisson equation give larger ion density at the source and emitted electron density at the collector than obtained from the simulation, but the matching of the particle densities around the inflection point of the potential between the model and the simulation is excellent for all 4 particle species. The same is valid also for the hot electron density at the source. If the potentials and the electric fields are read from the simulation and inserted into the model equations, one obtains an over-determined system of 4 equations for 3 unknown parameters: the ion and the hot electron density at the source and the emitted electron density at the collector. A solution of such a system with the method of least squares is presented. The errors obtained by such a solution can be considered as a measure of how well does the model describe the simulated system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Minimal production of prompt gravitational waves during reheating

The inflationary reheating phase begins when accelerated expansion ends. As all Standard Model particles are coupled to gravity, gravitational interactions will lead to particle production. This includes the thermal bath, dark matter, and gravitational radiation. Here, we compute the spectrum of gravitational waves from the inflaton condensate during the initial phase of reheating. As particular examples of inflation, we consider the Starobinsky model and T models, all of which are in good phenomenological agreement with cosmic microwave background anisotropy measurements. The T models are distinguished by the shape of the potential about its minimum and can be approximated by V ∼ ϕ k , where ϕ is the inflaton. Interestingly, the shape of the gravitational wave spectrum (when observed) can be used to distinguish among the models considered. As we show, the Starobinsky model and T models with k = 2 , provide very different spectra when compared to models with k = 4 or k > 4 . Observation of multiple harmonics in the spectrum can be interpreted as a direct measurement of the inflaton mass. Furthermore, the cutoff in frequency can be used to determine the reheating temperature. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Self-Destructing Dark Matter

We present Self-Destructing Dark Matter (SDDM), a new class of dark matter models which are detectable in large neutrino detectors. In this class of models, a component of dark matter can transition from a long-lived state to a short-lived one by scattering off of a nucleus or an electron in the Earth. The short-lived state then decays to Standard Model particles, generating a dark matter signal with a visible energy of order the dark matter mass rather than just its recoil. This leads to striking signals in large detectors with high energy thresholds. We present a few examples of models which exhibit self destruction, all inspired by bound state dynamics in the Standard Model. The models under consideration exhibit a rich phenomenology, possibly featuring events with one, two, or even three lepton pairs, each with a fixed invariant mass and a fixed energy, as well as non-trivial directional distributions. This motivates dedicated searches for dark matter in large underground detectors such as Super-K, Borexino, SNO+, and DUNE.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A Random Walk Model for Biomass Particle Mixing in Bubbling Fluidized Beds

We propose a physically motivated random walk model to describe the spatial and temporal mixing of a single biomass particle in a bubbling fluidized bed. The model parameters are estimated from measurements of a magnetically tagged simulated biomass particle in a laboratory fluidized bed. We demonstrate that Monte Carlo simulations using the model match key statistical features of the observed behavior reasonably well. These results suggest that a model of this type can simulate the effects of biomass particle mixing in biomass conversion reactors. We suggest possible improvements to the random walk model and propose how it might be used in conjunction with computational fluid dynamics simulations.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS2005

The features of self-assembling organic bilayers important to the formation of anisotropic inorganic materials in microgravity conditions

Materials with directional properties are opening new horizons in a variety of applications including chemistry, electronics, and optics. Structural, optical, and electrical properties can be greatly augmented by the fabrication of composite materials with anisotropic microstructures or with anisotropic particles uniformly dispersed in an isotropic matrix. Examples include structural composites, magnetic and optical recording media, photographic film, certain metal and ceramic alloys, and display technologies including flat panel displays. The new applications and the need for model particles in scientific investigations are rapidly out-distancing the ability to synthesize anisotropic particles with specific chemistries and narrowly distributed physical characteristics (e.g. size distribution, shape, and aspect ratio).

Talham, Daniel R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Investigation of Best-Practices and Computationally Inexpensive Radiative Exchange Models for Discrete Element Method Modeling of Aluminosilicate Particles in Concentrating Solar Power Environments

Chemically inert, aluminosilicate based particles have been investigated as both a thermal transport and sensible energy storage medium for concentrating solar power facilities. These particles will experience a wide range of operating temperatures (300-1000 K) and handling conditions (dense to dilute falling particle curtains, dense granular flows, or dense structures), requiring specially-designed and optimized infrastructures. The relative influence of collisional and frictional interactions between particles varies based on temperature-dependent particulate properties and greatly impacts the bulk, granular flow behavior. These underlying physics are captured using discrete element method modeling tools. However, this modeling method is computationally expensive as each particle position and interaction is tracked during the simulation. These modeling methods are further complicated by introducing temperature-dependent particle properties, high-temperature radiative exchange, and directional irradiation sources experienced by granular flows in concentrating solar power environments. In this study, coupled experimental and numerical slump testing of aluminosilicate particles was performed and computationally efficient radiative exchange models were evaluated to establish best-practices for discrete element method models for concentrating solar power environments. The three particle types investigated included Carbobead HSP 30 /60, Carbobead CP 30/60, and Granusil 4030. Existing modeling limitations and computationally-efficient multi-modal heat transfer models were evaluated using Aspherix®, a commercial discrete element method software. High-temperature (< 1073 K) slump testing of aluminosilicate particles was performed to investigate the deviation between experimentally-observed and numerically-predicted angles of repose introduced by computation-time reduction practices including the relaxation of the particle elastic modulus and coarse-graining. Coarse-graining is used to use a single modeled particle that is representative of a collection of smaller particles, decreasing the computational cost at the expense of geometric accuracy. Additionally, relaxation of the elastic modulus is used to reduce computational time at the expense of an increased, modeled particle overlap. Prior studies have determined that aluminosilicate particles retain a high elastic modulus at high temperatures (< 1073 K), requiring small simulation timesteps to ensure resolved contact forces resemble appropriate solid mechanics. A parametric study was performed to evaluate the influence of computation time improvements on the deviation between experimental and modeled angle of repose across high temperatures < 1073 K. Additionally, numerical case studies were performed on candidate particle systems at varying porosities and temperatures. These studies were performed to investigate the influence of computationally-efficient radiative-exchange modeling methods coupled to Aspherix® on modeled accuracy and computation time. The recently-developed distance-based approximation was evaluated in estimating radiative exchange between particles and participating surfaces located in close proximity. The distance based approximation was developed to use tabulated estimates of the radiative distribution factor between individual particles and surfaces in close proximity (< 40 particle radii). These methods were expanded to the aluminosilicate particles of interest, including the influence of particle size distributions. To capture radiative exchange between particles and surfaces not in close proximity (> 40 particle radii) and to capture the absorption of directional irradiation from concentrating solar resources, a volumetrically-averaged radiative distribution factor was calculated between the modeled granular flow and surfaces using Monte Carlo ray-tracing for participating media. Volume-averaged absorption and scattering coefficients were predicted using a volumetric discretization of the modeled domain with monodisperse approximations based on geometric optics and experimentally-determined scattering phase functions for aluminosilicate particles.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Machine Learning Approach to Modeling of Neutral Particles Transport in Plasma

A propagator‐based approach is investigated for Monte‐Carlo (MC) modeling of neutral particle transport in fusion boundary plasmas. The propagator is based on a Green's function for the neutral kinetic equation, which depends on the plasma profiles. A neural network (NN)‐based model for the propagator provides a fast and accurate solution for the neutral distribution function in plasma. Preliminary results from a small 1D test problem look encouraging. The proposed approach, a propagator‐based NN model for neutral transport in plasma, has potential for generalization to higher dimensions and efficient coupling with plasma models.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

A two-dimensional (azimuthal-axial) particle-in-cell model of a Hall thruster

We have developed a two-dimensional Particle-In-Cell model in the azimuthal and axial directions of the Hall thruster. A scaling method that consists to work at a lower plasma density to overcome constraints on time-step and grid-spacing is used. Calculations are able to reproduce the breathing mode due to a periodic depletion of neutral atoms without the introduction of a supplementary anomalous mechanism, as in fluid and hybrid models. Results show that during the increase of the discharge current, an electron-cyclotron drift instability (frequency in the range of MHz and wave number on the order of 3000 rad s{sup −1}) is formed in the region of the negative gradient of magnetic field. During the current decrease, an axial electric wave propagates from the channel toward the exhaust (whose frequency is on the order of 400 kHz) leading to a broadening of the ion energy distribution function. A discussion about the influence of the scaling method on the calculation results is also proposed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

A GPU ‐Accelerated 3D Unstructured Mesh Based Particle Tracking Code for Multi‐Species Impurity Transport Simulation in Fusion Tokamaks

ABSTRACT This paper presents the multi‐species global impurity transport capability developed in a GPU‐accelerated fully 3D unstructured mesh‐based code, GITRm, to simultaneously track multiple impurity species and handle interactions of these impurities with mixed‐material surfaces. Different computational approaches to model particle‐surface interaction or surface response have been developed and compared. Sheath electric field is taken into account by employing a fast distance‐to‐boundary calculation, which is carried out in parallel on distributed or partitioned meshes on multiple GPUs without the need for any inter‐process communication during the simulation. Several example cases, including two for the DIII‐D tokamak, that is, one with the SAS‐V divertor and the other with the collector probes, are used to demonstrate the utility of the current multi‐species capability. For the DIII‐D probe case, the capability of GITRm to resolve the spatial distribution of particles in localized regions, such as diagnostic probes, within non‐axisymmetric tokamak geometries is demonstrated. These simulations involve up to 320 million particles and utilize up to 48 GPUs.

Nath, Dhyanjyoti D. [Scientific Computation Resear↗
NASA NTRS2013

T-Matrix Modeling of Linear Depolarization by Morphologically Complex Soot and Soot-Containing Aerosols

We use state-of-the-art public-domain Fortran codes based on the T-matrix method to calculate orientation and ensemble averaged scattering matrix elements for a variety of morphologically complex black carbon (BC) and BC-containing aerosol particles, with a special emphasis on the linear depolarization ratio (LDR). We explain theoretically the quasi-Rayleigh LDR peak at side-scattering angles typical of low-density soot fractals and conclude that the measurement of this feature enables one to evaluate the compactness state of BC clusters and trace the evolution of low-density fluffy fractals into densely packed aggregates. We show that small backscattering LDRs measured with groundbased, airborne, and spaceborne lidars for fresh smoke generally agree with the values predicted theoretically for fluffy BC fractals and densely packed near-spheroidal BC aggregates. To reproduce higher lidar LDRs observed for aged smoke, one needs alternative particle models such as shape mixtures of BC spheroids or cylinders.

atmospheric radiation↗
DOE OSTI2020

Granular packings with sliding, rolling, and twisting friction

Intuition tells us that a rolling or spinning sphere will eventually stop due to the presence of friction and other dissipative interactions. The resistance to rolling and spinning or twisting torque that stops a sphere also changes the microstructure of a granular packing of frictional spheres by increasing the number of constraints on the degrees of freedom of motion. We perform discrete element modeling simulations to construct sphere packings implementing a range of frictional constraints under a pressure-controlled protocol. Mechanically stable packings are achievable at volume fractions and average coordination numbers as low as 0.53 and 2.5, respectively, when the particles experience high resistance to sliding, rolling, and twisting. Only when the particle model includes rolling and twisting friction were experimental volume fractions reproduced.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

MODEL AND BEAM BASED SETUP PROCEDURES FOR A HIGH POWER HADRON SUPERCONDUCTING LINAC

This presentation will review methods for experimental determination of optimal operational set points in a multi-cavity superconducting high power hadron linac. A typical tuning process is based on comparison between measured data and the results of simulations from envelope and single-particle models. Presence of significant space charge effects requires simulation and measurement of bunch dynamics in 3 dimensions to ensure low loss beam transport. This is especially difficult in a superconducting linac where use of interceptive diagnostics is usually restricted because of the risk of SRF cavity surface contamination. The procedures discussed here are based on non-interceptive diagnostics such as beam position monitors and laser wires, and conventional diagnostics devices such as wire scanners and bunch shape monitors installed outside the superconducting linac. The longitudinal Twiss analysis based on the BPM signals will be described. The superconducting SNS linac tuning experience will be used to demonstrate problems and their solution for real world linac tune-up procedures

Shishlo, Andrei P↗
DOE OSTI2017

Circular polarisation: a new probe of dark matter and neutrinos in the sky

The study of anomalous electromagnetic emission in the sky is the basis of indirect searches for dark matter. It is also a powerful tool to constrain the radiative decay of active neutrinos. Until now, quantitative analyses have focused on the flux and energy spectrum of such an emission; polarisation has never been considered. Here we show that we could be missing out on an essential piece of information. The radiative decay of neutrinos, as well as the interactions of dark matter and neutrinos with Standard Model particles can generate a circular polarisation signal in X-rays or γ-rays. If observed, this could reveal important information about their spatial distribution and particle-antiparticle ratio, and could even reveal the nature of the high-energy particle physics processes taking place in astrophysical sites. The question of the observability of these polarised signatures and their separation from background astrophysical sources is left for future work.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

BICEP2, the curvature perturbation and supersymmetry

The tensor fraction r ≅ 0.16 found by BICEP2 corresponds to a Hubble parameter H ≅ 1.0 × 10{sup 14} GeV during inflation. This has two implications for the (single-field) slow-roll inflation hypothesis. First, the inflaton perturbation must account for much more than 10% of the curvature perturbation ζ, which barring fine-tuning means that it accounts for practically all of it. It follows that a curvaton-like mechanism for generating ζ requires an alternative to slow roll such as k-inflation. Second, accepting slow-roll inflation, the excursion of the inflaton field is at least of order Planck scale. As a result, the flatness of the inflaton presumably requires a shift symmetry. I point out that if such is the case, the resulting potential is likely to have at least approximately the quadratic form suggested in 1983 by Linde, which is known to be compatible with the observed r as well as the observed spectral index n{sub s}. The shift symmetry does not require supersymmetry. Also, the big H may rule out a GUT by restoring the symmetry and producing fatal cosmic strings. The absence of a GUT would correspond to the absence of superpartners for the Standard Model particles, which indeed have yet to be found at the LHC.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗