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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Thermodynamic-state and kinetic-process dependent dual ferromagnetic states in high-Si content FeMn(PSi) alloys

We have found that thermodynamic state and kinetic process co-determine the dual ferromagnetic (FM) orders in high-Si content FeMnP{sub 1−x}Si{sub x} (0.25 < x < 0.5). Alloys undergoing high temperature annealing and quenching process prefer a high magnetic moment FM state in a chemically partial disordered structure with low c/a ratio. This mechanism is suggested to be responsible for the often discussed virgin effect as well. A chemically ordered structure obtained by a slow cooling process from a relatively low annealing temperature and the increase in Si content stabilize a metastable lattice with high c/a ratio and FM order with low magnetic moment. The non-simultaneity of the magnetic and structural transitions can be responsible for the occurrence of FM state in the high c/a range. Thus, a c/a ratio that changes from high to low is physically plausible to stabilize the metastable FM order at low temperature. Our theoretical observations indicate that suitable thermodynamic state and kinetic diffusion process is crucial for optimizing magnetocaloric properties and exploring feasible magnetocaloric materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Correlation of film morphology and defect content with the charge-carrier transport in thin-film transistors based on ZnO nanoparticles

The correlation of defect content and film morphology with the charge-carrier transport in field-effect devices based on zinc oxide nanoparticles was investigated. Changes in the defect content and the morphology were realized by annealing and sintering of the nanoparticle thin films. Temperature-dependent electrical measurements reveal that the carrier transport is thermally activated for both the unsintered and sintered thin films. Reduced energetic barrier heights between the particles have been determined after sintering. Additionally, the energetic barrier heights between the particles can be reduced by increasing the drain-to-source voltage and the gate-to-source voltage. The changes in the barrier height are discussed with respect to information obtained by scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence measurements. It is found that a reduction of surface states and a lower roughness at the interface between the particle layer and the gate dielectric lead to lower barrier heights. Both surface termination and layer morphology at the interface affect the barrier height and thus are the main criteria for mobility improvement and device optimization.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

The effect of Si content on the fracture toughness of CrAlN/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} coatings

CrAlN/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} nanocomposite coatings with different Si contents were deposited to understand how Si influences the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of the coatings, in particular, the fracture toughness. The coating composition, chemical bonding, microstructure, and mechanical properties were studied by energy dispersive spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and nanoindentation, respectively. Using a micro double cantilever beam sample, it was found that the fracture toughness of CrAlN/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} coatings was higher than that of both the CrN and CrAlN coatings and increased with increasing Si content. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy suggested that this was caused by the suppression of cracking at columnar boundaries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Magnetization enhancement due to incorporation of non-magnetic nitrogen content in (Co{sub 84}Zr{sub 16})N{sub x} nano-composite films

We report the magnetic, electronic, and structural properties of nano-composite (Co{sub 84}Zr{sub 16})N{sub x} or CZN films prepared by reactive co-sputter deposition method. As-deposited CZN films have shown enhancement in magnetization (M{sub s}) with incorporation of nitrogen content, which is related to the evolution of nano-composite phase. X-ray diffraction study has confirmed poly-crystalline growth of CZN films with fcc(331) and fcc(422) phases. High-resolution transmission electron microscope study reveals that CZN films are composed of ordered and crystalline ferromagnetic Co nano-clusters, which are embedded in the nano-composite matrix. Photoemission measurements show the change in the intensity near the Fermi level most likely due to defects and shift in the core-levels binding energy with nitrogen concentration. Raman spectroscopy data show an increase in the intensity of the Raman lines with nitrogen concentration upto 20%. However, the intensity is significantly lower for 30% sample. This indicates that less nitrogen or defect states are being substituted into the lattice above 20% and is consistent with the observed magnetic behavior. Our studies indicate that defects induced due to the incorporation of non-magnetic nitrogen content play a key role to enhance the magnetization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of UV-C radiation and hypergravity on germination, growth and content of chlorophyll of wheat seedlings

An investigation of the effects of UV-C radiation and hypergravity on germination, growth and content of chlorophyll of wheat seedlings has been done. The UV-C irradiation periods of exposure were 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 minutes. The hypergravity used were 1000 g, 2000 g and 2500 g. The combination treatment is UV-C irradiation for 180 min followed by each hypergravity. The results showed that irradiation of UV-C on wheat seeds have stimulated the seed germination, but hypergravity and combination treatments on wheat seeds have inhibited the seed germination. Those treatments gave negative effects to growth rate, the content of chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll of wheat seedlings.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Rare earth element content of cryptocrystalline magnesites of Konya, Turkey

We examined the rare earth element content of several cryptocrystalline magnesites as well as hydromagnesite, host rock serpentinites, lake water and hot spring water from Turkey. Southwestern Turkey hosts cryptocrystalline magnesites, sedimentary magnesites with presently forming, biologically mediated hydromagnesites and travertines. Our results show the REE content of the minerals, rocks and waters are well below detection limits. One hydromagnesite sample from Lake Salda has slightly high La (2.38ppb), Ce (3.91 ppb) and Nd (1.68 ppb) when compared to other samples, but these are also still below detection limits of the method we followed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Role of temperature and oxygen content on structural and electrical properties of LaBaCo 2 O 5+δ thin films

Here, the role of temperature and the oxygen content in the structural transformation and electrical conductivity of epitaxial double perovskite LaBaCo 2 O 5+δ (0≤ δ ≤ 1) thin films was systematically investigated. Reciprocal space mapping and ω-2θ x-ray diffraction performed at different temperatures in vacuum indicate that oxygen vacancies in the films become ordered at high temperature in a reducing environment. The changes of the oxygen content and the degree of oxygen vacancy ordering in the films result in a strong in-plane anisotropic lattice deformation and a large thermal expansion coefficient along the c-axis direction. The electrical conductivity measurements reveal that these behaviors are related to the degree of oxygen vacancy formation and lattice deformation in the films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

A genetic algorithm approach for reconstructing spectral content from filtered x-ray diode array spectrometers

Filtered diode array spectrometers are routinely employed to infer the temporal evolution of spectral power from x-ray sources, but uniquely extracting spectral content from a finite set of broad, spectrally overlapping channel spectral sensitivities is decidedly nontrivial in these under-determined systems. Here, we present the use of genetic algorithms to reconstruct a probabilistic spectral intensity distribution and compare to the traditional approach most commonly found in the literature. Unlike many of the previously published models, spectral reconstructions from this approach are neither limited by basis functional forms nor do they require a priori spectral knowledge. While the original intent of such measurements was to diagnose the temporal evolution of spectral power from quasi-blackbody radiation sources—where the exact details of spectral content were not thought to be crucial—we demonstrate that this new technique can greatly enhance the utility of the diagnostic by providing more physical spectra and improved robustness to hardware configuration for even strongly non-Planckian distributions.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interface and optical properties of Zn 1-x Mg x O films with Mg content of more than 70% grown on the (1$\bar{2}$10)-ZnO substrates

Fabricating Zn 1-x MgxO films with a high Mg content is key to their applications in deep-ultraviolet optoelectronic devices. In this work, we report the preparation of Zn1-xMgxO films on ($1\bar{2}10$)-ZnO substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The Zn 1-x Mg x O/($1\bar{2}10$)-ZnO structure is revealed by x-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Remarkably, no cubic MgO is observed for films with 74.6% Mg content; the film shows mainly the wurtzite structure with some intermediate phases at the interface. Photoluminescence spectra show that the film exhibits good optoelectronic properties with a bandgap of 4.6 eV. This work provides a new avenue for the fabrication of deep-ultraviolet Zn 1-x Mg x O films.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of Cd content in barriers on the threshold energy of Auger recombination in waveguide structures with HgTe/Cd{sub x}Hg{sub 1 – x}Te quantum wells, emitting at a wavelength of 18 μm

The threshold energy of Auger recombination in HgTe/Cd{sub x}Hg{sub 1 – x}Te heterostructures with quantum wells (QWs) is analysed numerically for different compositions of the solid solution in barriers. It is demonstrated that the threshold energy depends nonmonotonically on the cadmium content in barriers and reaches a maximum at x ∼0.6 – 0.7. A comparison of the results of numerical calculations with experimental data on the temperature quenching of stimulated emission in a Cd{sub 0.1}Hg{sub 0.9}Te/Cd{sub 0.65}Hg{sub 0.35}Te structure gives grounds to expect a more than twofold increase in the quenching temperature of stimulated emission in structures with pure HgTe QWs and barriers with a high (∼0.6) cadmium content. (paper)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparative analysis of the methods for quantitative determination of water content in skin from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy data

The predictive properties of methods aimed for estimating the water content in skin from the spectral diffuse reflection characteristics near the water absorption line in the near-IR spectral range are analysed. Numerical simulation data, experimental data on diffuse reflection from human skin phantoms, and data from the reference data set of human skin reflectance spectra are used to consider the possibility of gaining additional information about the water distribution in skin. The influence of variations in the scattering coefficient and oxyhaemoglobin concentration on the water content estimates is investigated. (paper)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Arabidopsis Dehiscence Zone Polygalacturonase 1 (ADPG1) releases latent defense signals in stems with reduced lignin content

There is considerable interest in engineering plant cell wall components, particularly lignin, to improve forage quality and biomass properties for processing to fuels and bioproducts. However, modifying lignin content and/or composition in transgenic plants through down-regulation of lignin biosynthetic enzymes can induce expression of defense response genes in the absence of biotic or abiotic stress. Arabidopsis thaliana lines with altered lignin through down-regulation of hydroxycinnamoyl CoA:shikimate/quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HCT) or loss of function of cinnamoyl CoA reductase 1 (CCR1) express a suite of pathogenesis-related (PR) protein genes. The plants also exhibit extensive cell wall remodeling associated with induction of multiple cell wall-degrading enzymes, a process which renders the corresponding biomass a substrate for growth of the cellulolytic thermophile Caldicellulosiruptor bescii lacking a functional pectinase gene cluster. The cell wall remodeling also results in the release of size- and charge-heterogeneous pectic oligosaccharide elicitors of PR gene expression. Genetic analysis shows that both in planta PR gene expression and release of elicitors are the result of ectopic expression in xylem of the gene Arabidopsis Dehiscence Zone Polygalacturonase 1 (ADPG1), which is normally expressed during anther and silique dehiscence. These data highlight the importance of pectin in cell wall integrity and the value of lignin modification as a tool to interrogate the informational content of plant cell walls.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Annealing of paramagnetic centres in electron- and ion-irradiated yttria-stabilized zirconia: effect of yttria content

We have studied the effect of the yttria content on the recovery of paramagnetic centres in electron-irradiated yttria-stabilized zirconia (ZrO2: Y3+). Single crystals with 9.5 mol% or 18 mol% Y2O3 were irradiated with electrons of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 MeV. Paramagnetic centre thermal annealing was studied by X-band EPR spectroscopy. Hole-centres are found to be annealed more quickly, or at a lower temperature, for 18 mol% than for 9.5 mol% Y2O3. At long annealing times, a non-zero asymptotic behaviour is observed in the isothermal annealing curves of hole-centres and F+-type centres between 300 and 500 K. The normalized asymptotic concentration of both defects has a maximum value of about 0.5 for annealing temperatures near 375 K, below the onset of the (isochronal) recovery stage, regardless of the yttria content. Such an uncommon behaviour is analyzed on the basis of either kinetic rate equations of charge transfer or equilibria between point defects with different charge states.

annealing↗
DOE OSTI2012

INFORMATION CONTENT OF EXOPLANETARY TRANSIT SPECTRA: AN INITIAL LOOK

It has been shown that spectroscopy of transiting extrasolar planets can potentially provide a wealth of information about their atmospheres. Herein, we set up the inverse problem in spectroscopic retrieval. We use nonlinear optimal estimation to retrieve the atmospheric state (pioneered for Earth sounding by Rodgers). The formulation quantifies the degrees of freedom and information content of the spectrum with respect to geophysical parameters; herein, we focus specifically on temperature and composition. First, we apply the technique to synthetic near-infrared spectra and explore the influence of spectral signal-to-noise ratio and resolution (the two important parameters when designing a future instrument) on the information content of the data. As expected, we find that the number of retrievable parameters increases with increasing signal-to-noise ratio and resolution, although the gains quickly level off for large values. Second, we apply the methods to the previously studied dayside near-infrared emission spectrum of HD 189733b and compare the results of our retrieval with those obtained by others.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

INVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL DILUTION OF THE METAL CONTENT OF HOT GAS IN EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES BY ACCRETED COLD GAS

The measured emission-weighted metal abundance of the hot gas in early-type galaxies has been known to be lower than theoretical expectations for 20 years. In addition, both X-ray luminosity and metal abundance vary significantly among galaxies of similar optical luminosities. This suggests some missing factors in the galaxy evolution process, especially the metal enrichment process. With Chandra and XMM-Newton, we studied 32 early-type galaxies (kT {approx}< 1 keV) covering a span of two orders of L{sub X,gas}/L{sub K} to investigate these missing factors. Contrary to previous studies that X-ray faint galaxies show extremely low Fe abundance ({approx}0.1 Z{sub Sun }), nearly all galaxies in our sample show an Fe abundance at least 0.3 Z{sub Sun }, although the measured Fe abundance difference between X-ray faint and X-ray bright galaxies remains remarkable. We investigated whether this dichotomy of hot gas Fe abundances can be related to the dilution of hot gas by mixing with cold gas. With a subset of 24 galaxies in this sample, we find that there is virtually no correlation between hot gas Fe abundances and their atomic gas content, which disproves the scenario that the low metal abundance of X-ray faint galaxies might be a result of the dilution of the remaining hot gas by pristine atomic gas. In contrast, we demonstrate a negative correlation between the measured hot gas Fe abundance and the ratio of molecular gas mass to hot gas mass, although it is unclear what is responsible for this apparent anti-correlation. We discuss several possibilities including that externally originated molecular gas might be able to dilute the hot gas metal content. Alternatively, the measured hot gas Fe abundance may be underestimated due to more complex temperature and abundance structures and even a two-temperature model might be insufficient to reflect the true value of the emission weighted mean Fe abundance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

The effect of halo mass on the H i content of galaxies in groups and clusters

We combine data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey (ALFALFA) to study the cold atomic gas content of galaxies in groups and clusters in the local universe. A careful cross-matching of galaxies in the SDSS, ALFALFA, and SDSS group catalogs provides a sample of group galaxies with stellar masses 10{sup 8.4}M{sub ⊙}⩽M{sub ∗}⩽10{sup 10.6}M{sub ⊙} and group halo masses 10{sup 12.5}h{sup −1}M{sub ⊙}⩽M{sub h}⩽10{sup 15.0}h{sup −1}M{sub ⊙}. Controlling our sample in stellar mass and redshift, we find no significant radial variation in the galaxy H i gas-to-stellar mass ratio for the halo mass range in our sample. However, the fraction of galaxies detected in ALFALFA declines steadily toward the centers of groups, with the effect being most prominent in the most massive halos. In the outskirts of massive halos a hint of a depressed detection fraction for low-mass galaxies suggests pre-processing that decreases the H i in these galaxies before they fall into massive clusters. We interpret the decline in the ALFALFA detection of galaxies in the context of a threshold halo mass for ram pressure stripping for a given galaxy stellar mass. The lack of an observable decrease in the galaxy H i gas-to-stellar mass ratio with the position of galaxies within groups and clusters highlights the difficulty of detecting the impact of environment on the galaxy H i content in a shallow H i survey.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

A study on the effect of tantalum-impurity content on the superconducting properties of niobium materials used for making superconducting radio frequency cavities

Niobium materials in highly pure form are used in the fabrication of superconducting radio frequency cavities. We present here a study of the superconducting properties of such niobium materials that have been used in the fabrication of high accelerating gradient superconducting radio frequency cavities after determining their tantalum-impurity contents using a synchrotron-based x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy technique. Our results show that there is a small change in superconducting parameters such as T{sub C},H{sub C1} and H{sub C2} when the tantalum-impurity content varies from ≈150 to ≈1300 ppm. In contrast, a buffered chemical polishing of the same niobium samples changes all these superconducting parameters more significantly. The implications of these results on the performance of niobium superconducting radio frequency cavities are discussed.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2020

Urbanization drives convergence in soil profile texture and carbon content

Urban development has driven extensive modification of the global landscape. This shift in land use and land cover alters ecological functioning, and thereby affects sustainable management agendas. Urbanization fundamentally reshapes the soils that underlay landscapes, and throughout the soil profile, extends impacts of urbanization far below the landscape surface. The impacts of urbanization on deeper soils that are beyond the reach of regular land management are largely unknown, and validation of general theories of convergent ecosystem properties are thwarted by a dearth of both level of measurement effort and the substantial heterogeneity in soils and urban landscapes. Here, we examined two soil properties with strong links to ecological functioning—carbon and mineral-fraction particle size—measured in urban soils, and compared them to their pre-urbanization conditions across a continental gradient encompassing global soil diversity. We hypothesized that urbanization drove convergence of soils properties from heterogeneous pre-urban conditions towards homogeneous urban conditions. Based on our observations, we confirm the hypothesis. Both soil carbon and particle size converged toward an intermediate value in the full data distribution, from pre-urban to urban conditions. These outcomes in urban soils were observed to uniformly be fine textured soils with overall lower carbon content. Although these properties are desirable for supporting urban infrastructure (e.g. buildings, pipes), they constrain the potential to render ecosystem services. Since soil profile texture and carbon content were convergent and observed across 11 cities, we suggest that these property profiles can be used as a universal urban soil profile to: 1) provide a clear prediction for how urbanization will shift soil properties from pre-urban conditions, 2) facilitate the adoption of commonly-accepted soil profiles for process models, and 3) offer a reference point to test against urban management strategies and how they impact soil resources.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗