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At least 73 records · Page 4

Characterizing the effects of drive asymmetries, component offsets, and joint gaps in double shell capsule implosions

This work provides a numerical study of how double shell capsule deformations caused by drive asymmetries and fabrication imperfections affect implosion symmetry and neutron yield. Hydrodynamics simulations are performed in two dimensions and focus on low-mode deformations that are caused by corresponding asymmetries in the Hohlraum drive, component offsets, and ablator joint gaps. By providing a parameter study of these features, our goal is to understand the dominant sources for inner shell deformation and yield degradation. The discussed capsules are composed of an aluminum ablator with a chromium inner shell. The latter encloses a carbon-deuterium foam ball that serves as fuel. We find that for clean capsules, even-numbered low-mode asymmetries in the drive are imprinted on the ablator and smoothly transferred to the inner shell during shell collision. The resulting deformation of the inner shell is more pronounced with larger fuel radius, while the yield is inversely proportional to the amplitude of the drive asymmetry and varies by factors ≤4 in comparison with clean simulations. Capsule component offsets in the vertical direction and ablator thickness nonuniformity result in p1-type deformations of the imploding inner shell. Finally, joint gaps have the largest effect in deforming the ablator and inner shell and degrading yield. While small gap widths (1 μm) result in prolate inner shells, larger gap widths (4 μm) cause an oblate deformation. More importantly, capsules with a small outer gap (1 μm) experience a dramatic drop in yield, typically <3% of a clean simulation.

Goodarzi, S. (ORCID:000000018556489X)↗

Torrefaction of almond shell as a renewable reinforcing agent for plastics: techno-economic analyses and comparison to bioethanol process

Abstract In 2016, the US state of California alone produced nearly 3.5 billion kilograms of almonds, accounting for approximately 84% of the world’s almond production. This generated about 2.58 million metric tons (MTs) of almond residues. Almond shells are currently either burned to generate power or disposed of in landfill. Valorizing almond shells and hulls provides an opportunity to replace petroleum-derived products and divert organic material from landfill. Here we demonstrate a detailed techno-economic analysis (TEA) of an almond shell torrefaction process capable of utilizing the 520 000 MTs of almond shells produced annually in California. Our process also includes preprocessing the torrefied biomass to exploit it as a reinforcing agent for plastics. We further compared the revenue generated from the torrefied biomass and bioethanol derived from the same quantity of almond shells. We considered three different torrefaction facility scales to evaluate trade-offs between economies of scale at the facility and trucking costs to deliver almond shells. A facility that takes in 200 000 MT yr –1 of almond shells results in lower per-unit-output basis capital and operating cost relative to other smaller-scale torrefaction facilities, including 10 000 MT yr –1 and 50 000 MT yr –1 , considered for analysis in this study. The large-sale facility results in a minimum selling price (MSP) of the torrefied biomass of $311.4 MT –1 . An analogous TEA on converting almond residues into bioethanol is also investigated. The MSP of almond shell derived ethanol ($1.71 kg −1 ) is higher than that of corn ($0.48 kg −1 ) or cellulosic biomass ($0.88 kg −1 ) derived ethanol. Compared with the bioethanol route, the torrefied almond shells result in three times more revenue if utilized as a reinforcing agent for plastics.

Liu, Dupeng (ORCID:0000000269514064)↗

Templated Mesoporous Silica Outer Shell for Controlled Silver Release of a Magnetically Recoverable and Reusable Nanocomposite for Water Disinfection

Here, we encapsulated Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 @Ag (MS-Ag), a bifunctional magnetic silver core–shell structure, with an outer mesoporous silica (mS) shell to form an Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 @ 2 Ag@mSiO 2 (MS-Ag-mS) nanocomposite using a cationic CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) micelle templating strategy. The mS shell acts as protection to slow down the oxidation and detachment of the AgNPs and incorporates channels to control the release of antimicrobial Ag + ions. Results of TEM, STEM, HRSEM, EDS, BET, and FTIR showed the successful formation of the mS shells on MS-Ag aggregates 50–400 nm in size with highly uniform pores ~4 nm in diameter that were separated by silica walls ~2 nm thick. Additionally, the mS shell thickness was tuned to demonstrate controlled Ag + release; an increase in shell thickness resulted in an increased path length required for Ag + ions to travel out of the shell, reducing MS-Ag-mS’ ability to inhibit E. coli growth as illustrated by the inhibition zone results. Through a shaking test, the MS-Ag-mS nanocomposite was shown to eradicate 99.99+% of a suspension of E. coli at 1 × 10 6 CFU/mL with a silver release of less than 0.1 ppb, well under the EPA recommendation of 0.1 ppm. This high biocidal efficiency with minimal silver leach is ascribed to the nanocomposite’s mS shell surface characteristics, including having hydroxyl groups and possessing a high degree of structural periodicity at the nanoscale or “smoothness” that encourages association with bacteria and retains high Ag + concentration on its surface and in its close proximity. Furthermore, the nanocomposite demonstrated consistent antimicrobial performance and silver release levels over multiple repeated uses (after being recovered magnetically because of the oxidation-resistant silica-coated magnetic Fe 3 O 4 core). It also proved effective at killing all microbes from Long Island Sound surface water. The described MS-Ag-mS nanocomposite is highly synergistic, easy to prepare, and readily recoverable and reusable and offers structural tunability affecting the bioavailability of Ag + , making it excellent for water disinfection that will find wide applications.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Toward shell model interactions with credible uncertainties

Background: The nuclear shell model is a powerful framework for predicting nuclear structure observables, but relies on interaction matrix elements fit to experimental data as its inputs. Extending the shell model's applicability, particularly toward dripline nuclei, requires efficient fitting methods and credible uncertainty quantification. Traditional approaches face computational challenges and may underestimate uncertainties. Purpose: We develop and test a framework combining eigenvector continuation and Markov chain Monte Carlo to efficiently fit shell model interaction matrix elements and quantify their uncertainties. Methods: Eigenvector continuation is used to emulate shell model calculations, reducing computational costs. The emulator enables Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to optimize interaction matrix elements and rigorously assess parametric uncertainties. Here, the framework is benchmarked using the USDB interaction in the 𝑠⁢𝑑 shell. Results: The emulator reproduces the USDB interaction with negligible error, validating its use in shell model fitting applications. However, we find that to obtain credible predictive intervals, the model defect of the shell model itself, rather than experimental or emulator error, must be taken into account in order to obtain credible uncertainties. Conclusions: The proposed framework provides an efficient and rigorous approach for fitting shell model interactions and quantifying uncertainties. Further, the normality assumption used in the past appears sufficient to describe the distribution of interaction matrix elements. However, it is crucial to account for model correlations to avoid underestimating uncertainties.

Nuclear forces↗

On-shell correlators and color-kinematics duality in curved symmetric spacetimes

We define a perturbatively calculable quantity — the on-shell correlator — which furnishes a unified description of particle dynamics in curved spacetime. Specializing to the case of flat and anti-de Sitter space, on-shell correlators coincide precisely with on-shell scattering amplitudes and boundary correlators, respectively. Remarkably, we find that symmetric manifolds admit a generalization of on-shell kinematics in which the corresponding momenta are literally the isometry generators of the spacetime acting on the external kinematic data. These isometric momenta are intrinsically non-commutative but exhibit on-shell conditions that are identical to those of flat space, thus providing a common language for computing and representing on-shell correlators which is agnostic about the underlying geometry. Afterwards, we compute tree-level on-shell correlators for biadjoint scalar (BAS) theory and the nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) and learn that color-kinematics duality is manifested at the level of fields under a mapping of the color algebra to the algebra of gauged isometries on the spacetime manifold. Last but not least, we present a field theoretic derivation of the fundamental BCJ relations for on-shell correlators following from the existence of certain conserved currents in BAS theory and the NLSM.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Controlling Pt Crystal Defects on the Surface of Ni–Pt Core–Shell Nanoparticles for Active and Stable Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction

A strategy of direct growth of Pt on Ni was used to create and control Pt crystal defects on the surface of Ni–Pt core–shell nanoparticles. The control over the types of defects was easily achieved by changing the surfactant system. Here, in this work, two types of crystal defects have been introduced into Ni–Pt core–shell nanoparticles: polycrystalline shells with multiple grain boundaries and step-edge shells with undercoordinated atoms at corners and steps. We show that the step-edge shell has a higher specific activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), while the thinner polycrystalline shell results in a higher activity per mass and stability. Our results suggest that Ni–Pt core–shell nanoparticles with a thin Pt shell that have high density of crystal defect should be targeted for high performance ORR catalysts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Depletion of the Protein Hydration Shell with Increasing Temperature Observed by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering and Molecular Simulations

The hydration shell is an integral part of proteins since it plays key roles in conformational transitions, molecular recognition, and enzymatic activity. While the dynamics of the hydration shell have been described by spectroscopic techniques, the structure of the hydration shell remains less understood due to the lack of hydration shell-sensitive structural probes with high spatial resolution. We combined temperature-ramp small-angle X-ray scattering (T-ramp SAXS) from 255 to 335 K with molecular simulations to demonstrate that the hydration shells of the IgG-binding domain of Protein G (GB3) and the villin headpiece are remarkably temperature-sensitive. For proteins in the folded state, T-ramp SAXS data and explicit-solvent SAXS predictions consistently demonstrate decays of protein contrasts and radii of gyration with increasing temperature, which are shown to reflect predominantly temperature-sensitive, depleting hydration shells. The depletion is caused not merely by enhanced disorder within the hydration shells but also by partial displacements of surface-coordinated water molecules. Together, T-ramp SAXS and explicit-solvent SAXS calculations provide a novel structural view of the protein hydration shell, which underlies temperature-dependent processes such as cold denaturation, thermophoresis, or biomolecular phase separation.

electron density↗

Electromagnetic observables of open-shell nuclei from coupled-cluster theory

Here we develop a new method to describe electromagnetic observables of open-shell nuclei with two nucleons outside a closed shell. This approach combines the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method for such systems and the Lorentz integral transform technique, expanding the applicability of coupled-cluster theory for electromagnetic observables beyond closed-(sub)shell nuclei. To validate this new approach, we compute the non-energy-weighted dipole sum rule and the dipole polarizability of 16,24 ⁢O in both the closed-(sub)shell and the new equation-of-motion coupled-cluster frameworks, finding agreement within error bars. We then analyze the evolution of the dipole polarizability along the oxygen and calcium isotopic chains. Our predictions agree well with available experimental data and other available theoretical calculations for the closed-(sub)shell 16,22 ⁢O and the open-shell 18 O. In the calcium isotopes, we observe that our dipole polarizability predictions for open-shell nuclei are lower than those of closed-(sub)shell nuclei. We expect that our predictions for 24 O and 54,56 ⁢Ca will motivate future experimental studies at the drip line.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Lubricant compositions comprising core-shell nanoparticles

Lubricant compositions, core-shell nanoparticles, and related methods are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, a lubricant composition includes a plurality of core-shell nanoparticles. The nanoparticles include a core, a first shell disposed on the core, and a second shell disposed on the first shell. The first shell is formed from a siliceous material and the second shell is formed from a hydrophobic material. The first and second shells form functional coatings that reduce wear and friction of parts lubricated with the lubricant composition.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Airfoil with CMC liner and multi-piece monolithic ceramic shell

An airfoil includes an airfoil section that has an airfoil wall that surrounds a cavity. The airfoil wall includes an exterior monolithic ceramic shell and an interior CMC liner that has CMC plies. An outermost ply of the CMC plies forms tabs that are raised from an underlying ply so as to define a slot. The exterior monolithic ceramic shell includes an underlapping shell piece and an overlapping shell piece. The underlapping shell piece has a portion disposed in the slot and bonded with the tabs. The overlapping shell piece extends over the tabs and is bonded to the tabs. There are channels bounded by adjacent ones of the tabs, the underlapping shell piece, and the overlapping shell piece. Channel orifices through the CMC liner connect the cavity and the channels.

Martin, Thomas J.↗

Binary Atomically Dispersed Metal-Site Catalysts with Core–Shell Nanostructures for O 2 and CO 2 Reduction Reactions

Engineering atomically dispersed metal site catalysts with controlled local coordination environments and 3D nanostructures effectively improves the catalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR), which are critical for clean energy conversion and chemical production. Herein, an innovative approach for preparing core-shell nanostructured catalysts with different single-metal sites in the core and the shell, respectively, is developed. In particular, as the shell precursors, covalent organic polymers with a thin layered structure that is polymerized in situ and coated on a metal-doped ZIF-derived carbon core are used, followed by a controlled thermal activation. The selective combination and construction of different metal sites increase active site density in the surface layers, promote structural robustness, facilitate mass/charge transfer, and yield a possible synergy of active sites in the core and the shell. The p-FeNC(shell)@CoNC(core), consisting of a polymerized FeTPPCl-derived carbon layer (p-FeNC) on a Co-doped ZIF-derived carbon (CoNC), exhibits remarkable ORR activity and stability in acidic media along with encouraging durability in H 2 –air fuel cells. Likewise, a p-FeNC(shell)@NiNC(core) catalyst demonstrates outstanding CO 2 RR activity and stability. Hence, integrating two appropriate single-metal sites in core and shell precursors, respectively, can modulate morphological and catalytic properties for a possible synergy toward different electrocatalysis processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Enhancing reactant selectivity for Ni/Mg reforming catalysts using silicalite-1 shells: A modeling study

The ability of a zeolite shell to enhance the selective conversion of hydrocarbons through diffusional limitations was investigated using a multi-scale model of a fixed-bed reactor. The impact of shell thickness and molecule/pore size on the catalytic performance of silicalite-1 zeolite encapsulated nickel catalyst pellets for steam reforming of C1-C7 hydrocarbons is reported. A reaction–diffusion model using kinetic expressions established in literature was employed. The model was verified through comparison with reported experimental results for steam reforming data over a temperature range of 748 – 1113 K and pressure of 1 – 10 bar. Comparisons are also made against experimental data for steam reforming in the presence of a zeolite shell. Evaluation of the Weisz-Prater criterion for both the core and encapsulated catalyst confirmed mass transfer limitation induced by the utilization of a zeolite shell. The model was used to suggest an optimal thickness that balances diffusional limitations imposed by the zeolite layer on methane versus that of the heavier hydrocarbons. The optimum thickness varied as a function of hydrocarbon size and shape which determined the diffusion rates. For toluene and heptane, a 50 nm thick shell was sufficient to wholly prevent reaction. Hydrocarbons like propane and butane required a shell 7.5 and 5 μm thick. Increasing the gas-hourly-space-velocity from 10,000 to 60,000 h –1 caused a decrease in the optimum shell thickness. Furthermore, this approach can be modified for application to other mixed hydrocarbon systems to predict optimal catalyst design.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Reduced instability growth and improved radiation trapping with optimized shock timing in double-shell inertial confinement fusion capsules

The double shell is a volume-burn inertial confinement fusion concept consisting of two concentric shells: a low-Z outer shell that collides with and transfers momentum to a high-Z inner shell which compresses and heats the thermonuclear fuel. The increased number of capsule interfaces and severe hydrodynamic instability of the high-density pusher during its acceleration phase provide challenges to the success of the double shell. Two-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations predict the hydrodynamic instability growth on the outer surface of the pusher can be greatly reduced through appropriate timing of two shocks that cross this interface. One of these shocks, unique to multi-shell designs, arises from radiation-driven ablation of the inner shell ahead of the main shock, the second shock of concern. The shock timing is optimized by increasing the thickness of a low-Z tamper layer exterior to the pusher, resulting in only minimal changes to the implosion timing. Reducing the instability growth on the outer surface of the high-Z pusher can dramatically decrease the modulations that feedthrough to the pusher inner surface, improving the efficacy of radiation trapping in the thermonuclear fuel and increasing the predicted thermonuclear yield by ≳20×.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Probing proton cross-shell excitations through the two-neutron removal from 38 Ca

Bound states of the neutron-deficient, near-dripline nucleus 36 Ca were populated in two-neutron removal from the ground state of 38 Ca, a direct reaction sensitive to the single-particle configurations and couplings of the removed neutrons in the projectile wave function. Final-state exclusive cross sections for the formation of 36 Ca and the corresponding longitudinal momentum distributions, both determined through the combination of particle and γ-ray spectroscopy, are compared to predictions combining eikonal reaction theory and shell-model two-nucleon amplitudes from the USDB, USDC, and ZBM2 effective interactions. The final-state cross-section ratio σ($2$$^{+}_{1}$) / σ (0 + ) shows particular sensitivity and is approximately reproduced only with the two-nucleon amplitudes from the ZBM2 effective interaction that includes proton cross-shell excitations into the pf shell. Characterizing the proton pf-shell occupancy locally and schematically, an increase of the sd – pf shell gap by 250 keV yields an improved description of this cross-section ratio and simultaneously enables a reproduction of the B(E2;$0$$^{+}_{1}$ → $2$$^{+}_{1}$) excitation strength of 36 Ca. Furthermore, this highlights an important aspect if a new shell-model effective interaction for the region was to be developed on the quest to model the neutron-deficient Ca isotopes and surrounding nuclei whose structure is impacted by proton cross-shell excitations.

20 ≤ A ≤ 38↗

Monatomic ions influence substrate permeation across bacterial microcompartment shells

Abstract Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein organelles consisting of an inner enzymatic core encased within a selectively permeable shell. BMC shells are modular, tractable architectures that can be repurposed with new interior enzymes for biomanufacturing purposes. The permeability of BMC shells is function-specific and regulated by biophysical properties of the shell subunits, especially its pores. We hypothesized that ions may interact with pore residues in a manner that influences the substrate permeation process. In vitro activity comparisons between native and broken BMCs demonstrated that increasing NaCl negatively affects permeation rates. Molecular dynamics simulations of the dominant shell protein (BMC-H) revealed that chloride ions preferentially occupy the positive pore, hindering substrate permeation, while sodium cations remain excluded. Overall, these results demonstrate that shell properties influence ion permeability and leverages the integration of experimental and computational techniques to improve our understanding of BMC shells towards their repurposing for biotechnological applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Convective shells in the interior of Cepheid variable stars: Overshooting models based on hydrodynamic simulations

Context. Because Cepheid variable stars have long been used as a cosmic benchmark for scaling distances in our Galaxy and beyond, the accuracy of stellar evolution models for Cepheids have wide-reaching effects. However, our understanding of the dynamics in the interiors of these physically complex stars is limited. Aims. Our goal is to provide a detailed multi-dimensional picture of hydrodynamic convection and convective boundary mixing in the interior of Cepheids. Methods. Using the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA), we studied the structure of intermediate-mass stars that cross the instability strip. Then, we performed two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of six stars with the fully compressible Multidimensional Stellar Implicit Code (MUSIC). Our simulations did not model the radial pulsations but focused on the interior structure of this family of stars. We developed and applied a new statistical analysis to examine convection and convective boundary mixing in the interior of these stellar simulations. Results. Based on a grid of MESA models, we demonstrated that a common structure for intermediate mass Cepheids includes an interior convective shell as well as a thin outer convective envelope. Using the extreme value theory approach to analyze our MUSIC simulation data, we found that overshooting above the convective shell fills the space between these convectively unstable layers. We developed a new statistical analysis that provides a clearer picture of how overshooting fills this layer; it also allowed us to formulate a detailed comparison between overshooting above and below the convective shell. Our analysis effectively decomposes the overshooting layer into two layers: a weak overshooting layer and a strong overshooting layer. Statistically, this is accomplished by decomposing the strongly non-Gaussian probability density function into a mixture of gamma distributions. Using our mixture model, we showed that the ratio of overshooting lengths above and below the convective shell depends directly on the radial extent of the convective shell as well as its depth in the star. We proposed a new form for the diffusion coefficient that addresses the need for overlapping overshooting layers between convective shells. We introduced the idea of a “super-mixing layer” where overshooting from both the convective shell and the convective envelope results in efficient mixing and could be viewed as merging the two adjacent convective zones.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Explicitly correlated coupled cluster method for accurate treatment of open-shell molecules with hundreds of atoms

We present a near-linear scaling formulation of the explicitly correlated coupled-cluster singles and doubles with the perturbative triples method [CCSD(T)F12¯] for high-spin states of open-shell species. The approach is based on the conventional open-shell CCSD formalism [M. Saitow et al., J. Chem. Phys. 146, 164105 (2017)] utilizing the domain local pair-natural orbitals (DLPNO) framework. The use of spin-independent set of pair-natural orbitals ensures exact agreement with the closed-shell formalism reported previously, with only marginally impact on the cost (e.g., the open-shell formalism is only 1.5 times slower than the closed-shell counterpart for the C160H322 n-alkane, with the measured size complexity of ≈1.2). Evaluation of coupled-cluster energies near the complete-basis-set (CBS) limit for open-shell systems with more than 550 atoms and 5000 basis functions is feasible on a single multi-core computer in less than 3 days. The aug-cc-pVTZ DLPNO-CCSD(T)F12¯ contribution to the heat of formation for the 50 largest molecules among the 348 core combustion species benchmark set [J. Klippenstein et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 121, 6580–6602 (2017)] had root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) from the extrapolated CBS CCSD(T) reference values of 0.3 kcal/mol. For a more challenging set of 50 reactions involving small closed- and open-shell molecules [G. Knizia et al., J. Chem. Phys. 130, 054104 (2009)], the aug-cc-pVQ(+d)Z DLPNO-CCSD(T)F12¯ yielded a RMSD of ∼0.4 kcal/mol with respect to the CBS CCSD(T) estimate.

Kumar, Ashutosh (ORCID:0000000175896030)↗

Demonstration of low-mode shape control in indirect-drive double shell implosions at the NIF

Double shell inertial confinement fusion is a concept for achieving robust thermonuclear burn that uses dense metal shells to compress deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel to fusion conditions. Double shell implosions are typically indirectly driven and involve a target that consists of a low-Z ablator, a foam layer, and a high-Z pusher surrounding the DT fuel. The goal of the campaign is to achieve a volumetric burn as radiation losses from the DT fuel are trapped by the opaque high-Z shell. The overall performance of double shell implosions relies on the efficient collisional transfer of kinetic energy between layers. The efficiency of this transfer (and therefore the overall performance of a given implosion) is degraded by the presence of low-mode asymmetries. P2 asymmetries are often observed in spatially resolved 2D radiographs of nominal double shell implosions. This work discusses three such experiments: one with an oblate P2 asymmetry, one with a prolate P2 asymmetry, and one with an approximate spherical symmetry. After performing a shape analysis of the oblate and prolate implosions to quantify asymmetries, these experimental results were compared with the results of hydrodynamic simulations for the two experiments. Differences between the experiment and simulation were then used to design an approximately spherical implosion by altering the incident laser cone fraction. Radiographs from the experiment that implemented the modified cone fraction show evidence of an implosion that is approximately spherical until bang time. This design is intended to serve as a point design for future studies that will seek to optimize various aspects of the double shell target.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗