Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PALS”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Line-of-sight velocity and metallicity measurements of the palomar 5 tidal stream

We present Subaru/Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph and Keck/Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrometer medium-resolution spectroscopy of a tidally disrupting Milky Way (MW) globular cluster Palomar 5 (Pal 5) and its tidal stream. The observed fields are located to cover an angular extent of ∼17° along the stream, providing an opportunity to investigate a trend in line-of-sight velocities (V {sub los}) along the stream, which is essential to constrain its orbit and underlying gravitational potential of the MW’s dark matter halo. A spectral fitting technique is applied to the observed spectra to obtain stellar parameters and metallicities ([Fe/H]) of the target stars. The 19 stars most likely belonging to the central Pal 5 cluster have a mean V {sub los} of −58.1 ± 0.7 km s{sup −1} and metallicity [Fe/H] = −1.35 ± 0.06 dex, both of which are in good agreement with those derived in previous high-resolution spectroscopic studies. Assuming that the stream stars have the same [Fe/H] as the progenitor cluster, the derived [Fe/H] and V{sub los} values are used to estimate the possible V {sub los} range of the member stars at each location along the stream. Because of the heavy contamination of the field MW stars, the estimated V {sub los} range depends on prior assumptions about the stream’s V{sub los}, which highlights the importance of more definitely identifying the member stars using proper motion and chemical abundances to obtain unbiased information of V {sub los} in the outer part of the Pal 5 stream. The models for the gravitational potential of the MW’s dark matter halo that are compatible with the estimated V {sub los} range are discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

THERMAL ANNEALING OF ZNO FILMS USING HIGH-DENSITY PLASMA ARC LAMPS

Nanostructured materials are rarely synthesized with appropriate phase and/or morphology. In this study, critical additional of as-synthesized nanostructured materials, such as annealing and/or activation of dopants, are addressed using infrared plasma arc lamps (PAL) over areas as large as 1,000 cm2. The broad spectral range of the PAL and the spectral variation of light absorption in nanostructured materials make the selection of processing parameters extremely difficult, posing a major technological barrier. In this study, the measurement of the surface temperature using various techniques for ZnO films on crystalline silicon wafers is discussed. An energy transport model for the simulation of rapid thermal processing using PAL is presented. The experimental and computational results show that the surface temperature cannot be measured directly and that computer simulation results are an effective tool for obtaining accurate data on processing temperatures.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

T7 Expression Systems for Inducible Production of Proteins from Cloned Genes in E. coli

Inducible T7 expression systems are capable of producing a wide range of proteins in E. coli . Improvements over common practice include: preventing unintended induction by establishing and maintaining expression strains in non-inducing growth media comprised entirely of purified components instead of complex growth media that may variably induce target proteins on approach to saturation; and expressing many target proteins in parallel by convenient and productive auto-induction in BL21(DE3) and other suitable hosts, instead of IPTG induction. From earliest days, basal expression prevented establishment of inducible strains for producing proteins that are stressful to the host. Newly developed pAL vectors now reduce basal expression to levels where coding sequences for even the most stressful proteins can be maintained and induced. In conclusion, asymmetric ligation allows simple and efficient cloning of individual coding sequences or simultaneous cloning of two or three coding sequences for co expression from a single pAL vector.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

A position-aware linear solid constitutive model for peridynamics

A position-aware linear solid (PALS) peridynamic constitutive model is proposed for isotropic elastic solids. The PALS model addresses problems that arise, in ordinary peridynamic material models such as the linear peridynamic solid (LPS), due to incomplete neighborhoods near the surface of a body. We improved model behavior in the vicinity of free surfaces through the application of two influence functions that correspond, respectively, to the volumetric and deviatoric parts of the deformation. Furthermore, the model is position-aware in that the influence functions vary over the body and reflect the proximity of each material point to free surfaces. Demonstration calculations on simple benchmark problems show a sharp reduction in error relative to the LPS model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy study of polyvinylpyrrolidone‐added polyvinylidene fluoride membranes: Investigation of free volume and permeation relationships

ABSTRACT Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were prepared via the phase inversion method from casting solutions containing PVDF, dimethylformamide (DMF), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as pore former. PVP was used in the casting solution in a range of 0–5 wt % and extracted. The effect on membranes of using PVP in the casting process was analyzed by X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, viscosity, and water permeability techniques. With an increase of PVP from 0 to 5 wt %, the PVDF casting solution viscosities increased from 858 to 1148 cP; the resulting PVDF membrane thickness increased; and the crystallinity of PVDF membranes decreased from 40.0 to 33.3%, which indicates that the addition of PVP inhibits the degree of crystallization in the PVDF membranes. SEM results revealed the shape and size of macropores in the membranes; these macropores changed after PVP addition to the casting solutions. The impact of structural changes on free‐volume properties was evaluated using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) studies. PALS analysis indicated no effect on the average radius (~3.4 Å) of membrane free‐volume holes from the addition of PVP to the casting solution. However, the percentage of o ‐Ps pick‐off annihilation intensity, I 3 , increased from 1.7 to 5.1% with increased PVP content. Further, increasing the PVP content from 0.5 to 5% resulted in an increased final pure water permeability flux. For instance, the 210 min flux for a 14% PVDF + 0.5% PVP membrane was found to be 3.3 times greater than a control membrane having the same PVDF concentration. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 58 , 589–598

Eren, Bilge↗
DOE OSTI2018

Degradation of Congo Red dye by a Fe 2 O 3 @CeO 2 -ZrO 2 /Palygorskite composite catalyst: Synergetic effects of Fe 2 O 3

A newly designed Fe 2 O 3 @CeO 2 -ZrO 2 /Palygorskite heterogeneous Fenton catalyst with high degradation efficiency toward Congo Red (CR) is reported in this paper. The iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) was used as the originator of hydroxyl radicals ( OH), CeO 2 -ZrO 2 was used as an efficient matrix of Fe 2 O 3 to enhance the oxidation performance, and the Palygorskite (Pal) played the role of substrate and adsorbent. A synergetic effect of the catalyst was realized by enhancing the adsorption capacity and dispersibility of CeO 2 -ZrO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles, and also due to charge transfer between these two species. The products were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, XPS, VSM and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The catalytic activities were evaluated in terms of many reaction parameters. The removal efficiency of CR was up to 95% on Fe 2 O 3 @CeO 2 -ZrO 2 /Pal under optimized conditions (Pal accounted for 30% of the catalyst mass fraction and Ce/Zr atoms molar ratio = 8:2, T = 30 °C, pH = 3.4, 4 g L -1 catalyst, 40 mM H 2 O 2 and 500 mg/L CR), the product also has shown good reusability. Both α-Fe 2 O 3 and CeO 2 -ZrO 2 played important roles in the generation of hydroxyl radicals, which determined the catalytic efficiency of the composite catalyst. Fe 2 O 3 @CeO 2 -ZrO 2 /Pal was proven to be a promising candidate in the field of heterogeneous Fenton catalysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Organic solution-processible electroluminescent molecular glasses for non-doped standard red OLEDs with electrically stable chromaticity

Highlights: • The D–A–D electroluminescent molecular glasses are synthesized. • Non-doped red electroluminescent film is fabricated by spin-coating. • Red OLED shows stable wavelength, luminous efficiency and chromaticity. • CIE1931 coordinate is in accord with standard red light in PAL system. - Abstract: Organic light-emitting molecular glasses (OEMGs) are synthesized through the introduction of nonplanar donor and branched aliphatic chain into electroluminescent emitters. The target OEMGs are characterized by {sup 1}H NMR, {sup 13}C NMR, IR, UV–vis and fluorescent spectra as well as elemental analysis, TG and DSC. The results indicated that the optical, electrochemical and electroluminescent properties of OEMGs are adjusted successfully by the replacement of electron-donating group. The non-doped OLED device with a standard red electroluminescent emission is achieved by spin-coating the THF solution of OEMG with a triphenylamine moiety. This non-doped red OLED device takes on an electrically stable electroluminescent performance, including the stable maximum electroluminescent wavelength of 640 nm, the stable luminous efficiency of 2.4 cd/A and the stable CIE1931 coordinate of (x, y) = (0.64, 0.35), which is basically in accord with the CIE1931 coordinate (x, y) = (0.64, 0.33) of standard red light in PAL system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Analysis of governing factors controlling gas transport through fresh and aged triptycene-based polyimide films

In this report the fundamental gas transport properties and physical aging behavior of a series of triptycene-based polyimides with various substitution groups were investigated. Wide-angle x-ray diffraction revealed that the 6FDA-1,4-triptycene polyimides exhibit two chain packing domains with d-spacing values of ~6.7 Å and ~5.3 Å, corresponding to triptycene-induced chain packing disruption and chain segments lacking the triptycene moiety, respectively. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) showed a bimodal distribution of microcavity size made up of triptycene cleft cavities that are ~3 Å diameter and larger interchain cavities with an average diameter of ~7 Å. Additionally, PALS confirmed 6FDA-1,4-trip_CH 3 has the lowest fractional free volume, primarily due to smaller contributions from the interchain cavities, and 6FDA-1,4-trip_CF 3 has the largest fractional free volume. It was also found that the addition of substituent groups had a unique and positive effect on the aging properties over nine months, in which the addition of CH 3 and CF 3 groups led to permeability increases of ~20% and ~40%, respectively. This is caused by the combination of the lowered driving force for physical aging, the substituent groups sterically hindering tighter packing with time, and the interconnectivity and/or unblocking of free volume over time through small-scale, local chain motion.

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

Intrinsically Hierarchical Nanoporous Polymers via Polymerization-Induced Microphase Separation

The synthesis of microporous polymers generally requires postpolymerization modification via hyper-cross-linking to trap the polymeric network in a state with high void volume. An alternative approach utilizes rigid, sterically demanding monomers to inhibit efficient packing, thus leading to a high degree of free volume between polymer side groups and main chains. In this work we combine polymers of intrinsic microporosity with polymerization-induced microphase separation (PIMS), a versatile methodology for the synthesis of nanostructured materials that can be rendered mesoporous. Copolymerization of various styrenic monomers with divinylbenzene in the presence of a poly(lactide) terminated with a chain-transfer agent (PLA-CTA) results in kinetic trapping of a microphase-separated state. Subsequent etching of PLA provides a bicontinuous mesoporous network. Using equilibrium and kinetic nitrogen sorption experiments as well as positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), we demonstrate that variations in the steric characteristics of the styrenic monomer impart the network with microporosity, resulting in hierarchically (meso and micro) porous materials. Additionally, structure–property relationships of the styrenic monomer with total surface area and pore volume indicate that the glass transition temperature (T g ) of the corresponding styrenic homopolymers provides a reasonable measure of the steric interactions and resultant microporosity in these systems. Finally, PALS provides insight into micro- and mesoscopic void volume differences between porous monoliths containing either tert-butyl or TMS-modified styrenic monomers compared to the parent, unmodified styrene.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Generation, transport, and detection of linear accelerator based femtosecond-terahertz pulses

The generation and detection of intense terahertz (THz) radiation has drawn a great attention recently. The dramatically enhanced energy and peak electric field of the coherent THz radiation can be generated by coherent superposition of radiated fields emitted by ultrafast electron bunches. The femtosecond (fs)-THz beamline construction at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) was completed in the end of 2009. The fs-THz beamline at PAL can supply ultrafast and intense fs-THz radiation from a 75 MeV linear accelerator. The radiation is expected to have frequency up to 3 THz ({approx}100 cm{sup -1}) and the pulse width of <200 fs with pulse energy up to 10 {mu}J. This intense THz source has great potential for applications in nonlinear optical phenomena and fields such asmaterial science, biomedical science, chemistry, and physics, etc.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2010

Reinforcement Mechanism Of Polyurethane-Urea/Clay Nanocomposites Probed By Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy And Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

A basis for quantitative analysis of the reinforcement mechanism of polyurethane-urea/clay nanocomposites using two characterization methods, positron annihilation life time spectroscopy (PALS) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) is provided. DMA was used to measure the constrained volume fraction of amorphous soft segments induced by nanoclay and the storage modulus of the nanocomposites. The interfacial interactions in the nanocomposites were investigated by PALS. The modulus enhancement of the organoclay nanocomposites was found to have a good correlation with the volume fraction of the constrained region and the interfacial interactions.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Positronium Formation Of Glyeisdyl Methacrylic Acid (GMA)/Styrene Grafted On PVDF Membrane For Fuel Cells

Simultaneous gamma irradiation was used effectively for grafting of glycidyl methacrylic acid and styrene onto Poly vinyldine fluoride (PVDF). Membranes were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The properties of the obtained membranes were evaluated in terms of proton conductivity, methanol permeability and positron annihilation lifetime (PALS) parameters. The high probability of Positronium formation enables the application of PALS to the study of free volume. Good property values approved the applicability of the membrane from the cost benefit point of view.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2012

New methods for high current fast ion beam production by laser-driven acceleration

An overview of the last experimental campaigns on laser-driven ion acceleration performed at the PALS facility in Prague is given. Both the 2 TW, sub-nanosecond iodine laser system and the 20 TW, femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser, recently installed at PALS, are used along our experiments performed in the intensity range 10{sup 16}-10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}. The main goal of our studies was to generate high energy, high current ion streams at relatively low laser intensities. The discussed experimental investigations show promising results in terms of maximum ion energy and current density, which make the laser-accelerated ion beams a candidate for new-generation ion sources to be employed in medicine, nuclear physics, matter physics, and industry.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Interface effect of Fe and Fe 2 O 3 on the distributions of ion induced defects

The stability of structural materials in extreme nuclear reactor environments—with high temperature, high radiation, and corrosive media—directly affects the lifespan of the reactor. In such extreme environments, an oxide layer on the metal surface acts as a passive layer protecting the metal underneath from corrosion. To predict the irradiation effect on the metal layer in these metal/oxide bilayers, nondestructive depth-resolved positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and complementary transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate small-scale defects created by ion irradiation in an epitaxially grown (100) Fe film capped with a 50 nm Fe 2 O 3 oxide layer. In this study, the evolution of induced vacancies was monitored, from individual vacancy formation at low doses—10 –5 dpa—to larger vacancy cluster formation at increasing doses, showing the sensitivity of positron annihilation spectroscopy technique. Furthermore, PALS measurements reveal how the presence of a metal–oxide interface modifies the distribution of point defects induced by irradiation. TEM measurements show that irradiation induced dislocations at the interface is the mechanism behind the redistribution of point defects causing their accumulation close to the interface. Finally, this work demonstrates that the passive oxide layers formed during corrosion impact the distribution and accumulation of radiation induced defects in the metal underneath and emphasizes that the synergistic impact of radiation and corrosion will differ from their individual impacts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

CLUMPY STREAMS FROM CLUMPY HALOS: DETECTING MISSING SATELLITES WITH COLD STELLAR STRUCTURES

Dynamically cold stellar streams are ideal probes of the gravitational field of the Milky Way. This paper re-examines the question of how such streams might be used to test for the presence of {sup m}issing satellites{sup -}the many thousands of dark-matter subhalos with masses 10{sup 5}-10{sup 7} M{sub sun} which are seen to orbit within Galactic-scale dark-matter halos in simulations of structure formation in {Lambda}CDM cosmologies. Analytical estimates of the frequency and energy scales of stream encounters indicate that these missing satellites should have a negligible effect on hot debris structures, such as the tails from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. However, long cold streams, such as the structure known as GD1 or those from the globular cluster Palomar 5 (Pal 5), are expected to suffer many tens of direct impacts from missing satellites during their lifetimes. Numerical experiments confirm that these impacts create gaps in the debris' orbital energy distribution, which will evolve into degree- and sub-degree-scale fluctuations in surface density over the age of the debris. Maps of Pal 5's own stream contain surface density fluctuations on these scales. The presence and frequency of these inhomogeneities suggests the existence of a population of missing satellites in numbers predicted in the standard {Lambda}CDM cosmologies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

THE CENTRAL BLUE STRAGGLER POPULATION IN FOUR OUTER-HALO GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

Using Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 data, we have performed a comparative study of the Blue Straggler Star (BSS) populations in the central regions of the globular clusters (GCs) AM 1, Eridanus, Palomar 3, and Palomar 4. Located at distances R{sub GC} > 50 kpc from the Galactic center, these are (together with Palomar 14 and NGC 2419) the most distant clusters in the halo. We determine their color-magnitude diagrams and centers of gravity. The four clusters turn out to have similar ages (10.5-11 Gyr), significantly smaller than those of the inner-halo globulars, and similar metallicities. By exploiting wide-field ground-based data, we build the most extended radial density profiles from resolved star counts ever published for these systems. These are well reproduced by isotropic King models of relatively low concentration. BSSs appear to be significantly more centrally segregated than red giants in all GCs, in agreement with the estimated core and half-mass relaxation times which are smaller than the cluster ages. Assuming that this is a signature of mass segregation, we conclude that AM 1 and Eridanus are slightly dynamically more evolved than Pal 3 and Pal 4.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The essential Rhodobacter sphaeroides CenKR two-component system regulates cell division and envelope biosynthesis

Bacterial two-component systems (TCSs) often function through the detection of an extracytoplasmic stimulus and the transduction of a signal by a transmembrane sensory histidine kinase. This kinase then initiates a series of reversible phosphorylation modifications to regulate the activity of a cognate, cytoplasmic response regulator as a transcription factor. Several TCSs have been implicated in the regulation of cell cycle dynamics, cell envelope integrity, or cell wall development in Escherichia coli and other well-studied Gram-negative model organisms. However, many α-proteobacteria lack homologs to these regulators, so an understanding of how α-proteobacteria orchestrate extracytoplasmic events is lacking. In this work we identify an essential TCS, CenKR ( C ell en velope K inase and R egulator), in the α-proteobacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides and show that modulation of its activity results in major morphological changes. Using genetic and biochemical approaches, we dissect the requirements for the phosphotransfer event between CenK and CenR, use this information to manipulate the activity of this TCS in vivo , and identify genes that are directly and indirectly controlled by CenKR in Rb . sphaeroides . Combining ChIP-seq and RNA-seq, we show that the CenKR TCS plays a direct role in maintenance of the cell envelope, regulates the expression of subunits of the Tol-Pal outer membrane division complex, and indirectly modulates the expression of peptidoglycan biosynthetic genes. CenKR represents the first TCS reported to directly control the expression of Tol-Pal machinery genes in Gram-negative bacteria, and we predict that homologs of this TCS serve a similar function in other closely related organisms. We propose that Rb . sphaeroides genes of unknown function that are directly regulated by CenKR play unknown roles in cell envelope biosynthesis, assembly, and/or remodeling in this and other α-proteobacteria.

Lakey, Bryan D. (ORCID:0000000332795242)↗
DOE OSTI2011

Ota City: Characterizing Output Variability from 553 Homes with Residential PV Systems on a Distribution Feeder

This report describes in-depth analysis of photovoltaic (PV) output variability in a high-penetration residential PV installation in the Pal Town neighborhood of Ota City, Japan. Pal Town is a unique test bed of high-penetration PV deployment. A total of 553 homes (approximately 80% of the neighborhood) have grid-connected PV totaling over 2 MW, and all are on a common distribution line. Power output at each house and irradiance at several locations were measured once per second in 2006 and 2007. Analysis of the Ota City data allowed for detailed characterization of distributed PV output variability and a better understanding of how variability scales spatially and temporally. For a highly variable test day, extreme power ramp rates (defined as the 99 th percentile) were found to initially decrease with an increase in the number of houses at all timescales, but the reduction became negligible after a certain number of houses. Wavelet analysis resolved the variability reduction due to geographic diversity at various timescales, and the effect of geographic smoothing was found to be much more significant at shorter timescales.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗