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At least 577 records · Page 32

Materials Data on TbTh3 by Materials Project

Th3Tb is Uranium Silicide structured and crystallizes in the cubic Pm-3m space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Th is bonded to eight equivalent Th and four equivalent Tb atoms to form ThTb4Th8 cuboctahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent ThTb4Th8 cuboctahedra, edges with eight equivalent TbTh12 cuboctahedra, edges with sixteen equivalent ThTb4Th8 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent TbTh12 cuboctahedra, and faces with fourteen equivalent ThTb4Th8 cuboctahedra. All Th–Th bond lengths are 3.57 Å. All Th–Tb bond lengths are 3.57 Å. Tb is bonded to twelve equivalent Th atoms to form TbTh12 cuboctahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent TbTh12 cuboctahedra, edges with twenty-four equivalent ThTb4Th8 cuboctahedra, faces with six equivalent TbTh12 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve equivalent ThTb4Th8 cuboctahedra.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on EuTh3 by Materials Project

Th3Eu is beta Cu3Ti-like structured and crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Th is bonded to eight equivalent Th and four equivalent Eu atoms to form ThEu4Th8 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent EuTh12 cuboctahedra, corners with fourteen equivalent ThEu4Th8 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent EuTh12 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve equivalent ThEu4Th8 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent EuTh12 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen equivalent ThEu4Th8 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Th–Th bond distances ranging from 3.57–3.62 Å. There are two shorter (3.59 Å) and two longer (3.63 Å) Th–Eu bond lengths. Eu is bonded to twelve equivalent Th atoms to form EuTh12 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent EuTh12 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve equivalent ThEu4Th8 cuboctahedra, edges with eighteen equivalent ThEu4Th8 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent EuTh12 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve equivalent ThEu4Th8 cuboctahedra.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on Th3Mo by Materials Project

Th3Mo is beta Cu3Ti-like structured and crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Th is bonded to eight equivalent Th and four equivalent Mo atoms to form distorted ThTh8Mo4 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent MoTh12 cuboctahedra, corners with fourteen equivalent ThTh8Mo4 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent MoTh12 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve equivalent ThTh8Mo4 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent MoTh12 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen equivalent ThTh8Mo4 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Th–Th bond distances ranging from 3.14–3.53 Å. There are two shorter (3.34 Å) and two longer (3.39 Å) Th–Mo bond lengths. Mo is bonded to twelve equivalent Th atoms to form MoTh12 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent MoTh12 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve equivalent ThTh8Mo4 cuboctahedra, edges with eighteen equivalent ThTh8Mo4 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent MoTh12 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve equivalent ThTh8Mo4 cuboctahedra.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on ThGaPt by Materials Project

ThPtGa crystallizes in the hexagonal P-62m space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Th is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to five Pt and six equivalent Ga atoms. There are four shorter (3.03 Å) and one longer (3.04 Å) Th–Pt bond lengths. There are two shorter (3.27 Å) and four longer (3.35 Å) Th–Ga bond lengths. There are two inequivalent Pt sites. In the first Pt site, Pt is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to three equivalent Th and six equivalent Ga atoms. All Pt–Ga bond lengths are 2.73 Å. In the second Pt site, Pt is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to six equivalent Th and three equivalent Ga atoms. All Pt–Ga bond lengths are 2.85 Å. Ga is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to six equivalent Th and four Pt atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on ThSi3Rh by Materials Project

ThRhSi3 crystallizes in the tetragonal I4mm space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Th is bonded in a 12-coordinate geometry to five equivalent Rh and twelve Si atoms. There are one shorter (3.33 Å) and four longer (3.39 Å) Th–Rh bond lengths. There are a spread of Th–Si bond distances ranging from 3.13–3.35 Å. Rh is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to five equivalent Th and five Si atoms. There are one shorter (2.38 Å) and four longer (2.39 Å) Rh–Si bond lengths. There are two inequivalent Si sites. In the first Si site, Si is bonded in a distorted single-bond geometry to four equivalent Th and one Rh atom. In the second Si site, Si is bonded in a distorted bent 120 degrees geometry to four equivalent Th and two equivalent Rh atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on Tb2Th2O5 by Materials Project

Th2Tb2O5 crystallizes in the tetragonal P4/mmm space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Th is bonded in a distorted pentagonal planar geometry to four equivalent Tb and five O atoms. All Th–Tb bond lengths are 4.32 Å. There are four shorter (2.23 Å) and one longer (2.24 Å) Th–O bond lengths. There are two inequivalent Tb sites. In the first Tb site, Tb is bonded to eight equivalent Th and four equivalent Tb atoms to form TbTb4Th8 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent TbTb4Th8 cuboctahedra, corners with sixteen equivalent OTb2Th2 tetrahedra, edges with eight equivalent OTb2Th2 tetrahedra, and faces with eight equivalent TbTb4Th8 cuboctahedra. All Tb–Tb bond lengths are 4.26 Å. In the second Tb site, Tb is bonded in a distorted body-centered cubic geometry to eight equivalent O atoms. All Tb–O bond lengths are 2.65 Å. There are two inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O is bonded to two equivalent Th and two equivalent Tb atoms to form distorted OTb2Th2 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent TbTb4Th8 cuboctahedra, corners with ten equivalent OTb2Th2 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent TbTb4Th8 cuboctahedra, and edges with five equivalent OTb2Th2 tetrahedra. In the second O site, O is bonded in a linear geometry to two equivalent Th atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on ThFeNi4 by Materials Project

ThFeNi4 crystallizes in the trigonal P3m1 space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Th is bonded in a 6-coordinate geometry to three equivalent Fe and fifteen Ni atoms. All Th–Fe bond lengths are 2.86 Å. There are a spread of Th–Ni bond distances ranging from 2.86–3.20 Å. Fe is bonded to three equivalent Th and nine Ni atoms to form distorted FeTh3Ni9 cuboctahedra that share corners with twenty-one NiTh3Fe3Ni6 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent FeTh3Ni9 cuboctahedra, faces with two equivalent FeTh3Ni9 cuboctahedra, and faces with twenty-one NiTh3Fe3Ni6 cuboctahedra. There are six shorter (2.46 Å) and three longer (2.86 Å) Fe–Ni bond lengths. There are two inequivalent Ni sites. In the first Ni site, Ni is bonded to three equivalent Th, three equivalent Fe, and six equivalent Ni atoms to form distorted NiTh3Fe3Ni6 cuboctahedra that share corners with nine equivalent FeTh3Ni9 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve equivalent NiTh4Fe2Ni6 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent NiTh3Fe3Ni6 cuboctahedra, faces with three equivalent FeTh3Ni9 cuboctahedra, and faces with twenty NiTh3Fe3Ni6 cuboctahedra. There are three shorter (2.46 Å) and three longer (2.47 Å) Ni–Ni bond lengths. In the second Ni site, Ni is bonded to four equivalent Th, two equivalent Fe, and six Ni atoms to form distorted NiTh4Fe2Ni6 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent FeTh3Ni9 cuboctahedra, corners with twenty NiTh3Fe3Ni6 cuboctahedra, edges with ten equivalent NiTh4Fe2Ni6 cuboctahedra, faces with six equivalent FeTh3Ni9 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen NiTh3Fe3Ni6 cuboctahedra. There are two shorter (2.47 Å) and two longer (2.48 Å) Ni–Ni bond lengths.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Exploring the use of thorium isotope compositions and concentrations as nuclear forensic signatures for uranium ore concentrates

This interlaboratory study measured thorium concentrations and isotope compositions in uranium ore concentrates from different geographical locations to examine whether thorium impurities may be useful forensic signatures for uranium ore concentrates found out of regulatory control. Measured 230 Th/ 232 Th in fifteen uranium ore concentrates record over three orders of magnitude of compositional variation. Results demonstrate that 230 Th/ 232 Th used in combination with U/Th ratios resulted in a unique signature for individual uranium ore concentrates from different processing locations. Data presented here suggest potential for 230 Th/ 232 Th and U/Th to be used as comparative signatures to investigate the provenance of seized uranium ore concentrates.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Selective penetration behavior of microgels in superpermeable channels and reservoir matrices

Gel treatment is an effective way to attack excessive water production in many mature oilfields around the world. Selective penetration is desired for successful gel treatments. That is, gel materials should easily penetrate the target zones (i.e., channeling features such as superpermeable channels) without entering/damaging the nontarget zones (i.e., reservoir matrices or oil zones). This study revealed that presence of threshold penetration pressure (ΔP th ) was responsible for selective penetration behavior of tested microgels. The concept of ΔP th was utilized to figure out favorable working conditions for effective gel treatments. Microgel dispersions were injected into superpermeable (super-k) sandpacks (mimicking super-k channels in reservoirs, 60–221 darcies), heterogeneous models with super-k channels (79–230 darcies), and sandstone cores (mimicking reservoir matrices, 50–5000 md). The results demonstrated that a minimum differential driving pressure (i.e., threshold penetration pressure, ΔP th ) was required to push microgel particles to penetrate channels or matrices. The critical penetration behavior was closely related to the particle/pore size ratio. Low ΔP th at smaller particle/pore ratios was beneficial to allow easy penetration of gel materials into the channeling zones. On the contrary, high ΔPth at larger particle/pore ratios was desirable to prevent gel materials from massively invading and damaging the matrices. Instead, the gel particles accumulated at the inlet surface, and a gel cake was gradually formed. The cake further prevented the invasion of the gels. The cake could be removed by chemical breakers to resume the injectivity/productivity of the matrices. Correlations were developed to describe the relationship between ΔP th and particle/pore ratio. A distinct transition was identified at the particle/pore ratio of about 3. This research could help identify the favorable conditions to achieve successful gel treatments. In an effective conformance treatment, the particle/pore ratio in the channel should be sufficiently low to allow easy penetration of gel materials into the channel (e.g., particle/pore ratio<2 in this study). Meanwhile, the particle/pore ratio in the matrix should be large enough to support a high ΔP th and thus prevent massive gel invasion into the matrix. This study advances the current pore scale studies (a single particle passing through a single channel) to Darcy-scale characterization.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Bond Dissociation Energy, Ionization Energy, and Electronic Structure of Thorium Dimer

Diatomic thorium, Th 2 , has been investigated using a laser ablation, supersonic expansion source to produce the molecule and resonant two-photon ionization spectroscopy to measure its bond dissociation energy (BDE) and ionization energy (IE). The molecule has a high density of states in the vicinity of its bond dissociation energy, leading to rapid predissociation as soon as this energy is exceeded. The BDE is identified from this predissociation threshold as D 0 (Th 2 ) = 2.857(7) eV, where the assigned error limit is provided in parentheses in units of the last quoted digit. Similarly, the one-photon ionization threshold has been measured, providing the ionization energy IE(Th 2 ) = 5.042(4) eV. Together with a thermochemical cycle and the atomic ionization energy, these values provide the BDE of the cation, giving D 0 (Th 2 + ) = 4.122(8) eV. Computations show that Th 2 has three nearly degenerate low-lying electronic states (1 3 Σ u + , 1 1 Σ g + , and 1 3 Δ g ) with bonding dominated by 7s and 6d orbitals, indicating predominantly transition-metal-like behavior. The 1 3 Σ u + state exhibits a triple bond, whereas the 1 1 Σ g + and 1 3 Δ g states possess quadruple-bond character and correspondingly shorter bonds. Although 1 3 Σ u + is predicted to be the lowest state without spin–orbit coupling, the large spin–orbit stabilization of the 1 3 Δ g state makes its Ω = 1 g component the ground state. Furthermore, the calculated dissociation energy (2.840 eV) and ionization energy of Th 2 (5.098 eV) are both in excellent agreement with experiment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

River thorium concentrations can record bedrock fracture processes including some triggered by distant seismic events

Fractures are integral to the hydrology and geochemistry of watersheds, but our understanding of fracture dynamics is very limited because of the challenge of monitoring the subsurface. Here we provide evidence that long-term, high-frequency measurements of the river concentration of the ultra-trace element thorium (Th) can provide a signature of bedrock fracture processes spanning neighboring watersheds in Colorado. River Th concentrations show abrupt (subdaily) excursions and biexponential decay with approximately 1-day and 1-week time constants, concentration patterns that are distinct from all other solutes except beryllium and arsenic. The patterns are uncorrelated with daily precipitation records or seasonal trends in atmospheric deposition. Groundwater Th analyses are consistent with bedrock release and dilution upon mixing with river water. Most Th excursions have no seismic signatures that are detectable 50 km from the site, suggesting the Th concentrations can reveal aseismic fracture or fault events. We find, however, a weak statistical correlation between Th and seismic motion caused by distant earthquakes, possibly the first chemical signature of dynamic earthquake triggering, a phenomenon previously identified only through geophysical methods.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

On the Feasibility of 1T Ferroelectric FET Memory Array

To fully exploit the ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET) as compact embedded nonvolatile memory for various computing and storage applications, it is desirable to use a single FeFET (1T) as a unit cell and arrange the cells into an array. However, many write mechanisms for an 1T FeFET array reported in the literature are yet to be validated experimentally. In this work, we performed a comprehensive experimental characterization on the write operations in an 1T- NOR and 1T- AND array using n-channel bulk FeFETs. We discovered that: 1) the source/drain contact can only supply minority carriers (i.e., electrons) to the channel for polarization screening during the low- V TH state programming; 2) the body contact can not only supply majority carriers (i.e., holes) for efficient high- V TH state write, but also depletion charge for low- V TH state programming, though with lower efficiency; and 3) during the low/high- V TH programming, only the path that can supply negative/positive screening charges, respectively, need to respond, which necessitates the application of proper write biases on the corresponding terminal. Based on the understanding of these write mechanisms, we show the importance of localized body contact or column-wise body contact for the successful high- V TH state programming. We also show that the previously proposed C- AND write scheme fails to program the FeFET to the low- V TH state for our devices. Finally, we propose several write schemes for both 1T- AND and 1T- NOR arrays for various scenarios providing insights for choosing the appropriate write scheme, which will facilitate the adoption of 1T FeFET memory arrays for emerging applications.

FeFET↗

ORNL_AISD-Ex: Quantum chemical prediction of UV/Vis absorption spectra for over 10 million organic molecules

We performed calculations of electronic excitation energies and associated oscillator strengths based on the time-dependent density-functional tight-binding (TD-DFTB) method [1]. The SMILES (Simplified molecular-input line-entry system) strings of the molecules from the AISD HOMO-LUMO database [2] were converted to a 3D atomistic structure and stored in a PDB file after preliminary geometry optimization using the Merck Molecular Force Field (MMFF94) in RDKit [3,4]. The primary information stored in the PDB file archive consists of Cartesian coordinates for each atom of the molecule in their 3D location in space, along with summary information about the structure, sequence, and experiment. We then performed molecular geometry optimization using the density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) method [5] in the electronic ground state, followed by single-point excited states calculations, as described below. We note that, since RDKit employs a random choice for the generation of molecular conformers, the molecular geometries obtained in this dataset could be different from the ones that were generated when the AISD HOMO-LUMO dataset was generated. The computed excitation energies and associated oscillator strengths can be converted to predict UV/Vis absorption spectra, where excitation energies correspond to absorption peak positions, and oscillator strengths are a good measure of the probability of absorption of visible or UV light in transitions between electronic ground and excited states. The conversion of SMILES strings to 3D Cartesian coordinates of fully DFTB-optimized molecules was successful for 10,502,904 out of 10,502,917 molecules. For these molecules, both geometry optimizations and excited states calculations were successful. The DFTB calculations did not complete for 13 molecules of the original AISD HOMO-LUMO dataset. We still provide information about the geometry of these molecules. The molecules are diverse for chemical compositions (which span 5 non-hydrogen elements: oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, fluorine, sulfur) and molecular size (the smallest molecule contains 5 non-hydrogen atoms, and the largest molecule contains 71 non-hydrogen atoms). The DFTB method [5] is an approximation to density functional theory (DFT), utilizing a minimal basis set in conjunction with a two-center approximation to the electronic Hamiltonian and overlap matrix elements. The DFTB total energy is the sum of an electronic and a repulsive energy contribution, and their calculation requires optimized electronic parameters and diatomic repulsive potential energy functions. All DFTB calculations were performed using the DFTB+ code [6] (version 21.2) and the wrapper for DFTB+ in the Atomic Simulation Environment (ASE) (version 3.22.1) [7], which performed an internal conversion of Cartesian coordinates from PDB to the .gen file format. For the geometry optimizations on the electronic ground state potential energy surface of the molecules, we have chosen the third-order DFTB (DFTB3) method [5c] and employed the matching 3ob set of electronic parameters and repulsive potentials [8]. The empirical γ-damping for hydrogen bond correction, and Grimme's D3 empirical dispersion correction with Becke-Johnson damping (D3(BJ)) [9] dispersion correction was included to improve the description of non-covalent interactions. For excited states single-point energy calculations, we employed the TD-DFTB method in conjunction with the DFTB2 method [5b] and the matching mio [5b,10] and halorg [11] parameter sets. We opted to request the simultaneous calculation of 50 excited states for singlet transition to investigate sufficient number of excited states, based on linear response theory using the Casida equation [Ref: T. A. Niehaus, S. Suhai, F. Della Sala, P Lugli, M. Elstner, G. Seifert, and Th. Frauenheim. Tight-binding approach to time-dependent density-functional response theory. Phys. Rev. B, 63:085108, 2001] and the ARPACK diagonalizer [R. B. Lehoucq, D. C. Sorensen, and C. Yang. Arpack users guide: Solution of large-scale eigenvalue problems by implicitly restarted arnoldi methods, 1997. 46, 51]. The dataset contains 1001 tar.gz files. Tar files are named as “ornl_aisd_ex_1.tar.gz†through “ornl_aisd_ex_1000.tar.gzâ€. Additionally, the 13 failed molecules are in “ornl_aisd_ex_unprocessed.tar.gzâ€. Except for the tar files listed below, each tar file contains 10,500 molecules. Tar files numbered 34, 121, 128, 352, 360, 429, 495, 509, 518, 627, 676, 668, and 862 contain 10,499 molecules each. The last tar file numbered 1000 contains 13,417 molecules. The total size of the uncompressed dataset is over 283 Gigabytes. The code for calculating the electronic excitation energies and statistical analysis of the dataset is provided at the following GitLab repository: https://github.com/ORNL/Analysis-of-Large-Scale-Molecular-Datasets-with-Python Calculating the UV spectrum of a molecule requires performing 3 main operations: 1. Converting the smiles string representation of a molecule into a geometric structure where each atom is assigned XYZ coordinates. The geometric structure is written to the file smiles.pdb. 2. Using smiles.pdb to compute the relaxed geometry of the molecule, which corresponds with the position of the atoms at the position of equilibrium at the ground state. This generates the files band.out, detailed.out, and geo_end.gen. 3. Using geo_end.gen to calculate the UV spectrum of the molecule which is written into the file EXC.DAT. Every molecule in the dataset has its own directory. The files contained in each molecule directory are as follows: 1. geo_end.gen 2. detailed.out 3. band.out 4. EXC.DAT 5. smiles.pdb REFERENCES [1] Niehaus, T. A.; Suhai, S.; Della Salla, F.; Lugli, P.; Elstner, M.; Seifert, G.; Frauenheim, Th. Tight-binding approach to time-dependent density-functional response theory. Phys. Rev. B, 2001, 63, 085108/1-9. [2] Blanchard, A.; Gounley, J.; Metha, K.; Yoo, P.; Irle, S. AISD HOMO-LUMO. DOI: 10.13139/ORNLNCCS/1869409 [3] RDKit: Cheminformatics and Machine Learning Software. 2013, [http://www.rdkit.org] [4] Tosco, P.; Stiefl, N. and Landrum, G. Bringing the MMFF force field to the RDKit: implementation and validation. J Cheminform. 2014, 6, 1–4. [5] a) Porezag, D.; Frauenheim, T.; Kohler, T.; Seifert, G.; Kaschner, Construction of tight-binding-like potentials on the basis of density-functional theory: Application to carbon, R. Phys. Rev. B 1995, 51, 12947-12957; b) Elstner, M.; Porezag, D.; Jungnickel, G.; Elsner, J.; Haugk, M.; Frauenheim, Th.; Suhai, S.; Seifert, G.; Phys. Rev. B 1998, 58, 7260-7268; c) Gaus, M.; Cui, Q.; Elstner, M. DFTB3: Extension of the Self-Consistent-Charge Density-Functional Tight-Binding Method (SCC-DFTB), J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2011, 7, 931-948; d) Cui, Q.; Elstner, M. Density functional tight binding: values of semi-empirical methods in an ab initio era, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2014, 16, 14368-14377. [6] Hourahine, B. et al. DFTB+, a software package for efficient approximate density functional theory based atomistic simulations, J. Chem. Phys. 2020, 152, 124101/1-19. [7] Larsen, A. H. et al. The atomic simulation environment—a Python library for working with atoms. J. Phys.: Cond. Matter 2017, 29, 273002. [8] Kubillus, M.; Kubar, T.; Gaus, M.; Rezac, J.; Elstner, M. Parameterization of the DFTB3 Method for Br, Ca, Cl, F, I, K, and Na in Organic and Biological Systems, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2015, 11, 332-342. [9] Brandenburg, J. G.; Grimme, S. Accurate Modeling of Organic Molecular Crystals by Dispersion-Corrected Density Functional Tight Binding (DFTB), J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2014, 5, 1785−1789. [10] a) Niehaus, T. A.; Elstner, M.; Frauenheim, Th.; Suhai, S. Application of an approximate density-functional method to sulfur containing compounds. J. Mol. Struct.: THEOCHEM 2001, 541, 185-94; b) Elstner, M.; Hobza, P.; Frauenheim, Th.; Suhai, S.; Kaxiras, E. Hydrogen bonding and stacking interactions of nucleic acid base pairs: A density-functional-theory based treatment. J. Chem. Phys. 2001, 114, 5149-55. [11] Kubar, T.; Bodrog, Z.; Gaus, M.; Köhler, C.; Aradi, B.; Frauenheim, Th.; Elstner, M. Parametrization of the SCC-DFTB Method for Halogens. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2013, 9, 2939-49.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Multiscale thermal hydraulic coupling methods for boiling water reactor simulation

During the last two years, the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) has been extended to simulate boiling water reactors (BWRs). The thermal hydraulic effects present in BWRs are far more complex than those in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Therefore, the runtime is significantly increase and convergence behavior worse compared to PWRs. Most of the additional runtime is spent during the first few coupled iterations, when the power shape is still rapidly evolving, dramatically affecting the thermal hydraulics (TH). To alleviate the increased computational expense, a multiscale TH coupling approach was developed in VERA in which a highly efficient, simplified TH model is solved for several coupled iterations until the power shape is partially converged. The simplified solution is used to inform the assembly-wise flow distribution in the high-fidelity TH solver CTF, reducing the amount of work required to properly balance the pressure drop in each channel and reducing runtime for the couple calculation. Because the final TH calculations are performed with CTF, there is ultimately no impact on the accuracy of the converged solution. This paper presents the details of this multiscale TH coupling approach, along with results for a 4x4 array of GE-14 fuel bundles and whole-core coupled simulations of the Hatch core. These two cases show that the multiscale approach dramatically reduces the runtime of coupled BWR simulations. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Thermonuclear runaways on neutron stars

Thermonuclear runaways which develop when neutron stars of 0.476 solar masses accrete hydrogen-rich material at 10 to the -10th and 2 x 10 to the -9th solar masses/year have been followed using a numerical model. It is found that a thermal instability occurs at densities in excess of 10 to the 5th g/cu cm and that the maximum accumulated mass required to initiate the runaway is 0.7 x 10 to the -12th and 2.1 x 10 to the -12th solar masses for the mass accretion rates of 10 to the -10th and 2 x 10 to the -9th solar masses/year, respectively. Heating the of the neutron star envelope by hydrogen burning leads to the ignition of helium. The nonequilibrium burning of helium by a combination of (alpha, p), (p, gamma), and (alpha, gamma) reactions involving O-14, O-15, and other heavy nuclei provides the energy for an X-ray burst. The gross properties of these models bear suggestive resemblance to those observed for some X-ray burst sources.

Taam, R. E.↗

Recent observations of HF and HCl in the upper stratosphere

Concentrations of gas phase hydrofluoric acid and hydrochloric acid have been determined in the upper stratosphere from near-infrared solar spectra recorded in the course of balloon flights from Palestine, Texas, in October 1978 and in September 1979. The average mixing ratios for HF deduced respectively from these flights are (4.8 plus or minus .3) x 10 to the -10th ppv above 30.3km and (6.2 plus or minus .5) x 10 to the -10th ppv above 36.8km. This observed difference is ascribed to an increase in the HF concentration out to at least 37km. The HCl mixing ratios deduced from the 1978 flight yield (4.5 plus or minus .6) x 10 to the -10th ppv at 21.7km, (7.5 plus or minus .7) x 10 to the -10th ppv at 27.5 km and (2.1 plus or minus .4) x 10 to the -9th ppv above 30.5km. Observations in 1979 imply an average HCl mixing ratio above 36.8km of (2.4 plus or minus .4) x 10 to the -9th ppv. Our data do not indicate a measurable temporal trend of the HCl concentration above 30km.

Zander, R.↗

Absolute spectral irradiance measurements of lightning from 375 to 880 nm

The time-integrated emissions from cloud-to-ground lightning have been recorded in the 375-880 nm region, using a spectrometer-detector and multichannel analyzer system capable of absolute spectral irradiance measurements. A schematic drawing of the detector-analyzer system is presented, and the experimental setup is described. A total of ten flashes containing 46 individual strikes were recorded and compared to recordings of 500 flashes from 1981. The average spectral irradiance from 375 to 695 nm for flashes at about 15 km was 3.5 x 10 to the -5th J/sq m per stroke with a standard deviation of 2.0 x 10 to the -5th and a range from 0.7 x 10 to the 0.7-6.8 x 10 to the -5th J/sq m per stroke. The average stroke spectra irradiance from 650 to 880 nm for the same strokes was 1.2 x 10 to the -5th, with a standard deviation of 0.7 x 10 to the -5th and a range from 0.5 to 3.2 x 10 to the -5th J/sq m per stroke. A summary table of spectral irradiance values in 50 nm increment is presented. Analysis of the spectral emission data show that unresolved neutral hydrogen lines (NI) at 744.2 nm were more intense than H-alpha emission at 656.3 nm. The strong emission of a flash with a continuing current was identified as cyanogen (CN) emission.

Orville, R. E.↗

Transit Habitat Government-Reference Conceptual Design Reaction Control System Propulsion Concept Design Data Book

The function of Transit Habitat (TH) Reaction Control System (RCS) propulsion is to provide free-flying spacecraft capabilities and to augment Gateway stack control when docked on Gateway. The requirements of multiple propellant replenishments and extensive life operation have significant impacts on selection of the propulsion system concept and components for the RCS. The intent of this document is to provide insight into the government-reference conceptual design of a propulsion system for TH element. A pressure-fed hypergolic bi-propellant system is the assumed propulsion approach for the RCS. Its architectural concept is being traded within the NASA Moon to Mars architecture. A pressure-regulated system is examined. The propellants under consideration are Monomethyl Hydrazine (MMH) and Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen with 3% Nitric Oxide (MON3). A peer review was conducted to assess the flow schematic design and propulsion component selection, compliant with a set of assumed requirements. Redundant components to satisfy one-fault tolerance for function and two-fault tolerance against catastrophic events are incorporated in the propulsion concept design. Instrumentation laid out on the schematic would be used to gather data to monitor the health of the propulsion system and to support quantity gauging of the propulsion system fluids. Venting propellant ullage gas overboard during the refilling operations poses a significant concern to the external surfaces of the TH. A liquid/gas separator would be required to eliminate, or at least reduce, the amount of liquid propellant expelled in the vent gas mixture. The technology readiness level of the phase separator for the TH must be advanced. Metal diaphragm and non-positive-expulsion PMD propellant tank systems were traded against each other, with the PMD architecture being selected. A blowdown concept is also considered for the TH RCS propulsion. Its fluid schematic is derived from the pressure-regulated schematic with removal of assemblies involving the helium pressurization and ullage venting. Its system wet mass is 10% heavier than the pressure-regulated due to thruster performance loss and larger propellant tanks. There is no firm constraint on the propulsion system mass at this phase of the design. The blowdown concept can offer reduction in component count and operation, that would lead to a more reliable propulsion system. The blowdown concept would also benefit avionics, thermal, power, and structures on the TH. Assessing these benefits will be carried as a future work. Drawbacks of thrust and minimum impulse bit (MIB) variations due to the blowdown operation would be acceptable to Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC). Although the blowdown concept has been selected as a current baseline, further evaluation of the concept will be the subject of future work to ensure that the blowdown propulsion operation is appropriate for the HT RCS propulsion. This document also highlights key trade studies and design decisions, including pros and cons of the selected concept. Other appropriate options for components are pointed out for future assessments. Additional background information and documents for further review are referenced in this report.

spacecraft propulsion↗