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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 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Future Projections of the Large-Scale Meteorology Associated with California Heat Waves in CMIP5 Models

Previous work showed that climate models capture historical large-scale meteorological patterns (LSMPs) associated with California Central Valley heat waves including both ways these heat waves form. This work examines what models predict under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. Model performance varies, so a multimodel average weights each model based on its historical performance in four parameters. An LSMP index (LSMPi) defined using upper atmosphere variables captures dates of past extreme surface temperature maxima. LSMPi correlates well with all values of California Central Valley-average surface maximum temperature. LSMPi distributions in future simulations shift ~0.6 standard deviations higher between 1961–2000 and 2061–2100 for RCP8.5 data. Based on the historical climatology, future scenarios show a large increase in the frequency and duration of heat waves in every model. Four times as many heat waves occur and their median duration doubles, using historical thresholds. Of the two ways heat waves form, Type 1 has similar frequency in the future. But, Type 2 becomes much more common because Type 2 has a preexisting hot anomaly in Southwestern Canada, much like the historical to future climatological change in that region (a “global warming” signal). The 20-year return value anomaly increases by 30–40%. The average of the 50 hottest temperatures increases 3.5–6 K depending on the scenario. When extreme values are defined using the future climatology, the models and their average have no consistent increase or decrease of distribution properties such as shape, scale, and return values of the extremes compared to historical values.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1988

A figure control sensor for the Large Deployable Reflector (LDR)

A sensing and control system is required to maintain high optical figure quality in a segmented reflector. Upon detecting a deviation of the segmented surface from its ideal form, the system drives segment mounted actuators to realign the individual segments and thereby return the surface to its intended figure. When the reflector is in use, a set of figure sensors will determine positions of a number of points on the back surface of each of the reflector's segments, each sensor being assigned to a single point. By measuring the positional deviations of these points from previously established nominal values, the figure sensors provide the control system with the information required to maintain the reflector's optical figure. The optical lever, multiple wavelength interferometer, and electronic capacitive sensor, the most promising technologies for the development of the figure sensor, are illustrated. It is concluded that to select a particular implementation of the figure sensors, performance requirement will be refined and relevant technologies investigated further.

Bartman, R.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Multimodal Nondestructive Dry Cask Basket Structure and Spent Fuel Evaluation

This NEUP-IRP assembled a team from diverse institutions and a diverse set of expertise to examine the problem of assessing the structural health of dry nuclear fuel storage casks, specifically the TN-32 design. With no physical access designed into these storage casks and the high cost and risk associated with opening casks for direct inspection, the technical difficulty of structural assessment of the basket structure and fuel assemblies is high. In response to this challenge, this IRP brought together experts in both traditional and novel NDE methodologies: active acoustics (University of Mississippi), emissions tomography (University of Florida), muon tomography (Oregon State University), and passive-active ultrasonics (University of South Carolina). Further, our industry partners in the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and AREVA provided invaluable insight into technical design details for the cask, practical knowledge of operating parameters at a storage facility, and key relationships that enabled activities unforeseen at the time of the proposed work but were critical in guiding the path of the research. The team decided early in the project that we had a collective goal of laying the technical ground work for practical solutions that could be implemented in the field with reasonable cost, time, and reliability. A fortunate opportunity arose early in this IRP project to obtain access to a new TN-32 cask at Columbiana High Tech. Both acoustics teams were given access for testing concepts in the first year of the project. This ended up providing critical guidance in the design of subsequent laboratory experiments. Specifically, it became clear that the only reliable acoustic pathways to the interior were through the trunnions, base plate, and top ring of the cask. Based on these field tests and discussions about what would be of practical interest, the team as a whole decided a realistic goal was to detect catastrophic failure of a single fuel assembly, or one that was missing. It is clear from this work that the active acoustics / resonance and muon tomography methodologies would be capable of detecting interior structural integrity problems at this level. The other two areas of investigation (emissions tomography and passive/active ultrasonics) would need more testing to determine a successful implementation, but each may also have other applications such as long term monitoring and monitoring during transportation. This IRP project resulted in technical advances with applications that extend beyond the problem at hand, supported the training of 10 graduate students + 1 post doc, 21 publications, and 13 conference presentations. The remainder of this summary highlights significant activities and achievements in each of the methodologies and a brief discussion on how they can be combined to leverage strengths. Active Acoustics The active acoustics team at UM used both linear and non-linear structural resonance methods to infer information about the internal structure of a cask. Significant activities were a set of four field test measurements on a full scale TN-32 cask at the Columbiana Hi Tech facility in Greensboro, NC and the design and fabrication of a 1/6th scale model TN-32 cask for laboratory measurements. A significant set of acoustic data has been acquired on both the full scale and laboratory scale casks. It was determined early in the project that mechanical resonance techniques were not going to be sensitive to small scale (centimeter) cracks and structural defects in the basket structure or fuel assemblies. We were able to ascertain that both the energy and complexity of the resonance spectra were sensitive to “bulk state” of the fuel assemblies – an intact assembly versus a severely degraded assembly. By developing a novel combination of metrics, we are able to measure a statistically significant shift due to one out of the 32 fuel assemblies being either missing or degraded to a point of complete loss of structural coherence (i.e. “rubble”). We believe this combination of resonance metrics is new to the field and will have applications beyond the fuel storage problem. Emissions Tomography The Emissions Tomography team at the University of Florida explored the concept of using scattering of radiation emissions from the stored fuel as method of evaluating the internal structural health of the cask. Due to the need for emissive fuel assemblies and the difficulties of gaining access to storage facilities, this team primarily relied on simulations to inform feasibility. A key question was the flux estimates of neutrons with a small enough number of scattering events to retain spatial information. Some key conclusions from the transmission component of this work are that the number of scattering events falls rapidly with energy – setting a 11MeV threshold, the average number of scattering events is 8∓4. Rough estimates of scanning times using an ideal detector array would be 1 week. The team also explored the case of significant structural failure resulting in a shift of the source material (fuel). The result is that a +/- 2% mass shift results in a detectable (5.13%) shift in the correlated 2 neutron emission counts and thus may be a candidate as an initial survey. Finally, simulations for predicting the azimuthal dependence of the flux based on specific loading patterns were conducted. Due to self-shielding effects of the assemblies, a periodic pattern results and could potentially be used to identify missing or severely degraded assemblies. This work forms a basis for proper detector placement with the goal of optimizing sensitivity. Muon Tomography Muon tomography (MT) is a relatively novel method of interrogating interior structure on a large scale. One of the advantages of this technique is that the exciting energy source (cosmic muons) is ubiquitous and relatively stable in time. Challenging aspects are relatively low flux rates and appropriate detector technologies. The efforts of the muon group at Oregon State University focused on two areas: (1) simulation of various combinations of muon scattering events and detection schemes to assess sensitivities and time scales for image construction and (2) building a prototype muon detection system applicable to the dry storage cask problem as well as many other similar systems. Significant accomplishments in this area are: (1) demonstration that MT is a viable method for detecting missing or severely degraded rod assemblies, (2) a scintillation based detector with 4 panels and 32 channels of position data each were constructed, tested, and calibrated. Testing of the panels using natural muon background and no scattering objects yielded largely expected results – a straight line path for the muon through the four panels. However some anomalies (paths deviating from a line) were also detected. A redesign of the board improved the signal which greatly improved the muon tracking through the panels. Testing with lead bricks as scattering bodies showed a reduction in the coincidence rate with increasing bricks indicating increased scattering events. A refinement of the scintillator detector design resulted in a spatial image resolution of around 2 cm based on lead brick spacing tests lasting 24 hours. Passive/Active Ultrasonics This team at the University of South Carolina investigated the feasibility of combining passive ultrasonics, in which an elastic pulse is generated by a degradation process (such as a crack extending), and active ultrasonics, in which a known excitation is introduced into the structure and detected by an array of transducers. Significant accomplishments in this area include the development of elastic wave propagation simulation in relevant materials, development of diagnostic algorithms, and laboratory testing and validation using laser doppler vibrometry. This group demonstrated the applicability of various non-contact vibration detection methodologies such as air-coupled ultrasonic transducers and scanning laser doppler vibrometry. While passive acoustic emissions monitoring will likely have a role during the transportation of a fuel storage cask, the level of detailed information about the defect generating the event which can be ascertained from the detections in a complex structure remains for future work. Thermography The EPRI team contributed early in the project a series of thermography measurements in which various levels of water pooled in a mock-up canister were analyzed using commercially available infrared imaging technologies. While large levels of water (100 L, ~10 cm deep) were observable in the thermograms, more realistic levels of pooled water (1 L) were not detectable whether localized or distributed.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Inter-annual variability of net and gross ecosystem carbon fluxes: A review

As the lifetime of regional flux networks approach twenty years, there is a growing number of papers that have published long term records (5 years or more) of net carbon fluxes between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Unanswered questions from this body of work are: 1) how variable are carbon fluxes on a year to year basis?; 2) what are the biophysical factors that may cause interannual variability and/or temporal trends in carbon fluxes?; and 3) how does the biophysical control on this carbon flux variability differ by climate and ecological spaces? To address these questions, we surveyed published data from 59 sites that reported on five or more years of continuous measurements, yielding 544 site-years of data. We found that the standard deviation of the interannual variability in net ecosystem carbon exchange (162 gC m -2 y -1 ) is large relative to its population mean (-200 gC m -2 y -1 ). Broad-leaved evergreen forests and crops experienced the greatest absolute variability in interannual net carbon exchange (greater than ±300 gC m -2 y -1 ) and boreal evergreen forests and maritime wetlands were among the least variable (less than ±40 gC m -2 y -1 ). A disproportionate fraction of the yearly variability in net ecosystem exchange was associated with biophysical factors that modulated ecosystem photosynthesis rather than ecosystem respiration. Yet, there was appreciable and statistically significant covariance between ecosystem photosynthesis and respiration. Consequently, biophysical conditions that conspired to increase ecosystem photosynthesis to from one year to the next were associated with an increase in ecosystem respiration, and vice versa; on average, the year to year change in respiration was 40% as large as the year to year change in photosynthesis. The analysis also identified sets of ecosystems that are on the verge of switching from being carbon sinks to carbon sources. These include sites in the Arctic tundra, the evergreen forests in the Pacific northwest and some grasslands, where year to year changes in respiration are outpacing those in photosynthesis. While a select set of climatic and ecological factors (e.g. light, rainfall, temperature, phenology) played direct and indirect roles on this variability, their impact differed conditionally, as well as by climate and ecological spaces. For example, rainfall had both positive and negative effects. Deficient rainfall caused a physiological decline in photosynthesis in temperate and semi-arid regions. Too much rain, in the humid tropics, limited photosynthesis by limiting light. In peatlands and tundra, excess precipitation limited ecosystem respiration when it raised the water table to the surface. For deciduous forests, warmer temperatures lengthened the growing season, increasing photosynthesis, but this effect also increased soil respiration. Finally, statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the detection limit of trends; we computed the confidence intervals of trends in multi-year carbon fluxes that need to be resolved to conclude whether the differences are to be attributed to randomness or biophysical forcings. Ongoing studies and reports on interannual variations need to consider the role of the duration of the time series on random errors when quantifying potential trends and extreme events.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

An evaluation of meteorological data prediction over Washington, D.C.: Comparison of DCNet observations and NAM model outputs

This study presents an example of how outputs of operational and readily-available mesoscale numerical models can be adapted to initialize dispersion calculations within the urban surface roughness layer. Three years of urban meteorological observations from central Washington, DC, are compared against forecast outputs of the North American Mesoscale (NAM) model. NAM wind speed predictions underestimate the observations in light winds and overestimate the measurements in high winds. Average wind directions are consistent. However, an adjustment of the predicted direction of the plume by –20° is needed. The uncertainty associated with this adjustment is large in light NAM wind speed with no evident variation by season. The values of the standard deviation of the wind direction, σθ derived from NAM model outputs underestimate the observations by a small amount (about –1.5 to –2.5°). The results presented here indicate that mesoscale numerical model outputs can provide information adequate for dispersion calculations. However, levels of uncertainty associated with implementation of the suggested procedures increase with decreasing wind speed, causing considerable uncertainty in the implementation of adjustments as low wind speed conditions are approached. Results and recommendations reported here should not be extended to other numerical models or other cities without further testing.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

A semi-Lagrangian direct-interaction closure of the spectra of isotropic variable-density turbulence

A study of variable-density homogeneous stationary isotropic turbulence based on the sparse direct-interaction perturbation (SDIP) and supporting direct numerical simulations (DNS) is presented. The non-solenoidal flow considered here is an example of turbulent mixing of gases with different densities. The spectral statistics of this type of flow are substantially more difficult to understand theoretically than those of the similar solenoidal flows. In the approach described here, the nonlinearly coupled velocity and scalar (which determine the density of the fluid) equations are expanded in terms of a normalised density ratio parameter. A new set of coupled integro-differential SDIP equations are derived and then solved numerically for the first-order correction to the incompressible equations in the variable-density expansion parameter. By adopting a regular expansion approach, one obtains leading-order corrections that are universal and therefore interesting in their own right. The predictions are then compared with DNS of forced variable-density flow with different density contrasts. It is found that the velocity spectrum owing to variable density is indistinguishable from that of constant-density turbulence, as it is supported by a wealth of indirect experimental evidence, but the scalar spectra show significant deviations, and even loss of monotonicity, as a function of the type and strength of the large-scale source of the mixing. Furthermore, the analysis helps clarify what may be the proper approach to interpret the power spectrum of variable-density turbulence.

Mechanics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantifying the Variation in the Number of Donors in Quantum Dots Created Using Atomic Precision Advanced Manufacturing

Atomic-precision advanced manufacturing enables unique silicon quantum electronics built on quantum dots fabricated from small numbers of phosphorus dopants. The number of dopant atoms comprising a dot plays a central role in determining the behavior of charge and spin confined to the dots and thus overall device performance. Here in this work, we use both theoretical and experimental techniques to explore the combined impact of lithographic variation and stochastic kinetics on the number of P incorporations in quantum dots made using these techniques and how this variation changes as a function of the size of the dot. Using a kinetic model of PH3 dissociation augmented with novel reaction barriers, we demonstrate that for a 2 × 3 silicon dimer window the probability that no donor incorporates goes to zero, allowing for certainty in the placement of at least one donor. However, this still comes with some uncertainty in the precise number of incorporated donors (either one or two), and this variability may still impact certain applications. We also examine the impact of the size of the initial lithographic window, finding that the incorporation fraction saturates to δ-layer-like coverage as the circumference-to-area ratio decreases. We predict that this incorporation fraction depends strongly on the dosage of the precursor and that the standard deviation of the number of incorporations scales as ~√n, as would be expected for a sequence of largely independent incorporation events. Finally, we characterize an array of 36 experimentally prepared multidonor 3 × 3 nm lithographic windows with scanning tunneling microscopy, measuring the fidelity of the lithography to the desired array and the final location of PH x fragments within these lithographic windows. We use our kinetic model to examine the expected variability due to the observed lithographic error, predicting a negligible impact on incorporation statistics. We find good agreement between our model and the inferred incorporation locations in these windows from scanning tunneling microscope measurements.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Large polarization gradients and temperature-stable responses in compositionally-graded ferroelectrics

A range of modern applications require large and tunable dielectric, piezoelectric or pyroelectric response of ferroelectrics. Such effects are intimately connected to the nature of polarization and how it responds to externally applied stimuli. Ferroelectric susceptibilities are, in general, strongly temperature dependent, diminishing rapidly as one transitions away from the ferroelectric phase transition (T C ). In turn, researchers seek new routes to manipulate polarization to simultaneously enhance susceptibilities and broaden operational temperature ranges. Here, we demonstrate such a capability by creating composition and strain gradients in Ba 1-x Sr x TiO 3 films which result in spatial polarization gradients as large as 35 μC cm -2 across a 150 nm thick film. These polarization gradients allow for large dielectric permittivity with low loss (ε r ≈775, tan δ<0.05), negligible temperature-dependence (13% deviation over 500 °C) and high-dielectric tunability (greater than 70% across a 300 °C range). The role of space charges in stabilizing polarization gradients is also discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multiband effects on the upper critical field angular dependence of 122-family iron pnictide superconductors

Detailed measurements of the in-plane resistivity were performed in a high-quality Ba(Fe 1-x Co x ) 2 As 2 (x=0.065) single crystal, in magnetic fields up to 9 T and with different orientations θ relative to the crystal c axis. A significant ρ(T) H,θ rounding is observed just above the superconducting critical temperature T c due to Cooper pairs created by superconducting fluctuations. These data are analyzed in terms of a generalization of the Aslamazov-Larkin approach, that extends its applicability to high reduced-temperatures and magnetic fields. This method allows us to carry out a criterion-independent determination of the angular dependence of the upper critical field, H c2 (θ). In spite of the relatively small anisotropy of this compound, it is found that H c2 (θ) presents a significant deviation from the single-band 3D anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau (3D-aGL) approach, particularly for large θ (typically above ~60o). These results are interpreted in terms of the multiband nature of these materials, in contrast with other proposals for similar H c2 (θ) anomalies. Our results are also consistent with an effective anisotropy factor almost temperature independent near T c , a result that differs from the ones obtained by using a single-band model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

A group finder algorithm optimised for the study of local galaxy environments

Context. The majority of galaxy group catalogues available in the literature use the popular friends-of-friends algorithm which links galaxies using a linking length. One potential drawback to this approach is that clusters of points can be linked with thin bridges which may not be desirable. In order to study galaxy groups, it is important to obtain realistic group structures. Aim. Here, in this study, we present a new simple group finder algorithm, TD-ENCLOSER, that finds the group that encloses a target galaxy of interest. Methods. TD-ENCLOSER is based on the kernel density estimation method which treats each galaxy, represented by a zero-dimensional particle, as a two-dimensional circular Gaussian. The algorithm assigns galaxies to peaks in the density field in order of density in descending order (‘top down’) so that galaxy groups ‘grow’ around the density peaks. Outliers in under-dense regions are prevented from joining groups by a specified hard threshold, while outliers at the group edges are clipped below a soft (blurred) interior density level. Results. The group assignments are largely insensitive to all free parameter variations apart from the hard density threshold and the kernel standard deviation, although this is a known feature of density-based group finder algorithms and it operates with a computing speed that increases linearly with the size of the input sample. In preparation for a companion paper, we also present a simple algorithm to select unique representative groups when duplicates occur. Conclusions. TD-ENCLOSER is tested on a mock galaxy catalogue using a smoothing scale of 0.3 Mpc and is found to be able to recover the input group distribution with sufficient accuracy to be applied to observed galaxy distributions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effect of the intra-layer potential distributions and spatial currents on the performance of graphene SymFETs

In this paper, a two-dimensional (2-D) model for a graphene symmetric field effect transistor (SymFET), which considers (a) the intra-graphene layer potential distributions and (b) the internal current flows through the device, is presented and discussed. The local voltages along the graphene electrodes as well as the current-voltage characteristics of the device are numerically calculated based on a single-particle tunneling model. Our numerical results show that: (i) when the tunneling current is small, due to either a large tunneling thickness (≥ 2 atomic layers of BN) or a small coherence length, the voltage distributions along the graphene electrodes have almost zero variations upon including these distributed effects, (ii) when the tunnel current is large, due to either a small tunneling thickness (∼ 1 atomic layer of BN) or due to a large coherence length, the local voltage distributions along the graphene electrodes become appreciable and the device behavior deviates from that predicted by a 1-D approximation. These effects, which are not captured in one-dimensional SymFET models, can provide a better understanding about the electron dynamics in the device and might indicate potential novel applications for this proposed device.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

QED plasma and magnetars

Magnetars are surrounded by diffuse plasma in magnetic field strengths well above the quantum electrodynamic critical value. We derive equations of ''quantum force-free electrodynamics'' for this plasma using effective field theory arguments. We argue that quantum effects do not modify the large scale structure of the magnetosphere, and in particular that the spin-down rate does not deviate significantly from the classical result. We provide definite evolution equations that can be used to explore potentially important small-scale corrections, such as shock formation, which has been proposed as a mechanism for both burst and quiescent emission from magnetars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Non-linearities in the Lyman-α forest and in its cross-correlation with dark matter halos

Here three-dimensional correlations of the Lyman-α (Lyα) forest and cross correlations between the Lyα forest and quasars have been measured on large scales, allowing a precise measurement of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature at redshifts z > 2. These 3D correlations are often modelled using linear perturbation theory, but full-shape analyses to extract cosmological information beyond BAO will require more realistic models capable of describing non-linearities present at smaller scales. We present a measurement of the Lyα forest flux power spectrum from large hydrodynamic simulations — the Sherwood simulations — and compare it to different models describing the small-scale deviations from linear theory. We confirm that the model presented in Arinyo-i-Prats et al. (2015) fits the measured 3D power up to k = 10 h Mpc -1 with an accuracy better than 5%, and show that the same model can also describe the 1D correlations with similar precision. We also present, for the first time, an equivalent study for the cross-power spectrum of halos with the Lyα forest, and we discuss different challenges we face when modelling the cross-power spectrum beyond linear scales. We make all our measured power spectra public in https://github.com/andreufont/sherwoo_p3d. This study is a step towards joint analyses of 1D and 3D flux correlations, and towards using the quasar-Lyα cross-correlation beyond BAO analyses.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Measurement of the Drell –Yan Angular Coefficients with the CMS Experiment at LHC

Results of the angular coefficients measurement with the Drell-Yan muon pairs at 8 TeV are presented. A 0 through A 4 coefficients were measured in bins of muon pair transverse momentum and rapidity using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) data collected during the first Large Hadron Collider (LHC) run (Run 1) in 2011 and 2012 corresponding to $19.7 fb^{-1}$. No deviations from the Standard Model (SM) predictions observed within uncertainties in the leading and next-to-leading orders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Relaxation of nonequilibrium populations after a pump: the breaking of Mathiessen's rule

From the early days of many-body physics, it was realized that the self-energy governs the relaxation or lifetime of the retarded Green’s function. So it seems reasonable to directly extend those results into the nonequilibrium domain. But experiments and calculations of the response of quantum materials to a pump show that the relationship between the relaxation and the self-energy only holds in special cases. Experimentally, the decay time for a population to relax back to equilibrium and the linewidth measured in a linear-response angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy differ by large amounts. Theoretically, aside from the weak-coupling regime where the relationship holds, one also finds deviations and additionally one sees violations of Mathiessen’s rule. In this study, we examine whether looking at an effective transport relaxation time helps to analyze the decay times of excited populations as they relax back to equilibrium. We conclude that it may do a little better, but it has a fitting parameter for the overall scale which must be determined.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

A SEARCH FOR SUB-SECOND RADIO VARIABILITY PREDICTED TO ARISE TOWARD 3C 84 FROM INTERGALACTIC DISPERSION

We empirically evaluate the scheme proposed by Lieu and Duan in which the light curve of a time-steady radio source is predicted to exhibit increased variability on a characteristic timescale set by the sightline’s electron column density. Application to extragalactic sources is of significant appeal, as it would enable a unique and reliable probe of cosmic baryons. We examine temporal power spectra for 3C 84, observed at 1.7 GHz with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. These data constrain the ratio between standard deviation and mean intensity for 3C 84 to less than 0.05% at temporal frequencies ranging between 0.1 and 200 Hz. This limit is 3 orders of magnitude below the variability predicted by Lieu and Duan and is in accord with theoretical arguments presented by Hirata and McQuinn rebutting electron density dependence. We identify other spectral features in the data consistent with the slow solar wind, a coronal mass ejection, and the ionosphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

EPCAPE-PT-LANL Measurements: Single Particle Soot Photometer

Coastal cities offer a unique environment for studying aerosol-cloud interactions and the effects of urban emissions on cloud properties. As part of the Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE), the Partitioning Thrust by Los Alamos National Laboratory (EPCAPE-PT-LANL) was conducted. Our campaign focused on measuring the optical and chemical properties of aerosols and their interactions within marine stratocumulus clouds in La Jolla, California. EPCAPE-PT-LANL enhances the primary goals of EPCAPE through innovative observations of vapor-phase transitions between aerosols and cloud droplets, the impact of black carbon on aerosol-cloud dynamics, and the effects of cloud processing on aerosol optical properties. Instrument: Single Particle Soot Photometer (Droplet Measurements Technology) Data Notes: Contact us if you want additional data products from this instrument. Reported data is the black carbon (rBC) number and mass concentration with diagnostic flags. The SP2 measures incandescence from particles that is induced with a 1064 Nd-YAG laser. Particles that absorb the laser energy and then emit radiation is assumed to contain black carbon. The amount of intensity of radiation is related to the mass of absorbing material in the particle. Here, we calibrate the incandescence intensity to size selected Regal Black (Cabot) nebulized from solution. Data provided for the EPCAPE campaign used the combined broadband high-gain + low-gain channels (BHBL). Each channel has a lower threshold of detection equivalent to 2-s of the respective channel noise. Thresholding has been applied to select between the high-gain and low-gain channels. The detection limit is 80-540 nm (Deq) or 0.36- 55 fg. It is assumed that rBC is the only aerosol type that is in significant concentration in the sampled atmosphere that absorbs the laser energy. Particle data are integrated over 10 second windows to calculate a rBC number and mass concentration. QC/QA: • Diagnostic flags that impacted measured concentration: - Sample, Sheath, and Purge Flow Rates: Despite observing fluctuations in all flows, the rBC detection and mass quantification are generally observed to be stable, although large changes in sample flow rate did impact detection efficiency. A flag was implemented for sample flow deviations >12 cm3/min from the set point averaged over 30 seconds - Laser Power: Detection efficiency decreases with laser power and deviations in laser power also affect mass quantification. Flag for laser power is set for deviations in laser current from the set value >5 mA. - Primary Detector Threshold: Primary thresholding is the signal value which determines whether a “particle” is recorded. Thresholding errors occur when the threshold value is too HIGH and real particles are ignored. • Several periods without data: - 16-18 Nov: Ultra Zero Air generator failure, flows deviated significantly from set points. rBC # conc recovered but questionable. - 20-21 Nov: Offline for calibrations for several hours each day. - 25-27 Nov: Data is missing. - 30 Nov: Power outage 3 Dec: SP2 hard-drive full. - 3 Dec: Power Outage Header: - BHBL_NumbConc[#/cc]: Refers to the number concentration of refractory black carbon (rBC) measured from combined broadband high-gain and low-gain channels, expressed in particles per cubic centimeter. - BHBL_BCMass_Conc[ug/m3]: Refers to the mass concentration of refractory black carbon (rBC) measured from combined broadband high-gain and low-gain channels, expressed in micrograms per cubic meter. - NoData_Flag[bool]: A boolean flag that indicates whether no data was recorded during a measurement. - NoBC_Flag[bool]: A boolean flag indicating whether no black carbon particles were recorded during the measurement. - Laser_Flag[bool]: A boolean flag indicating deviations in laser current during the measurement. - SampleFlow_Flag[bool]: A boolean flag indicating deviations from the set sample flow rate during the measurement. - PrimThresh_Flag[bool]: A boolean flag indicating deviations from the set primary threshold during the measurement, potentially ignoring real particles. - Manual_Flag[bool]: A boolean flag indicating manual intervention or adjustments during the measurement. - CVI_Flag[bool]: A boolean flag indicating whether the Counterflow Virtual Impactor (CVI) was active or inactive during the measurement.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗