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At least 739 records · Page 41

Ultrawide bandgap vertical β-(Al x Ga1 −x )2O3 Schottky barrier diodes on free-standing β-Ga2O3 substrates

Ultrawide bandgap β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 vertical Schottky barrier diodes on (010) β-Ga2O3 substrates are demonstrated. The β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 epilayer has an Al composition of 21% and a nominal Si doping of 2 × 1017 cm−3 grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Pt/Ti/Au has been employed as the top Schottky contact, whereas Ti/Au has been utilized as the bottom Ohmic contact. The fabricated devices show excellent rectification with a high on/off ratio of ∼109, a turn-on voltage of 1.5 V, and an on-resistance of 3.4 mΩ cm2. Temperature-dependent forward current-voltage characteristics show effective Schottky barrier height varied from 0.91 to 1.18 eV while the ideality factor from 1.8 to 1.1 with increasing temperatures, which is ascribed to the inhomogeneity of the metal/semiconductor interface. The Schottky barrier height was considered a Gaussian distribution of potential, where the extracted mean barrier height and a standard deviation at zero bias were 1.81 and 0.18 eV, respectively. A comprehensive analysis of the device leakage was performed to identify possible leakage mechanisms by studying temperature-dependent reverse current-voltage characteristics. At reverse bias, due to the large Schottky barrier height, the contributions from thermionic emission and thermionic field emission are negligible. By fitting reverse leakage currents at different temperatures, it was identified that Poole–Frenkel emission and trap-assisted tunneling are the main leakage mechanisms at high- and low-temperature regimes, respectively. Electrons can tunnel through the Schottky barrier assisted by traps at low temperatures, while they can escape these traps at high temperatures and be transported under high electric fields. This work can serve as an important reference for the future development of ultrawide bandgap β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 power electronics, RF electronics, and ultraviolet photonics.

Materials Science↗

DRiFT Current Mode, Trigger Settings and Flexible Detector Specifications Applied to Scintillator Arrays

MCNP radiation transport output is post-processed by DRiFT, a Detector Response Function Toolkit to simulate detailed nuclear instrumentation response. DRiFT can be used to assess the performance and potential limitations of scintillator, gas, and semiconductor detectors under a variety of simulated conditions not easily achievable in a laboratory setting. This work describes new updates in DRiFT for scintillator simulations which focus on the capability to simulate scintillators in current mode, an expansion of trigger options, and the ability to customize individual detector properties in a simulation. These improvements are designed to facilitate the ability to model large arrays of scintillator detectors with higher fidelity than was previously possible and are demonstrated in three examples. The first shows the difference between operating DRiFT in current and pulse mode. In the second example, which is intended to demonstrate deviations in individual detector performance, each detector has properties (PMT gain, optical transport, scintillation yield, etc.) that vary between detectors and are specified in DRiFT. A final example examines how DRiFT could be used to optimize digitizer settings in high rate measurements with split signals using the new common trigger option.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Making Optical Correctors by Diamond Turning

Large Optics Diamond Turning Machine (LODTM) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used to make highly amorphic reflecting wavefront-corrector plates with rms difference between desired and measured reflector surfaces of only 0.075 wave. Measured errors correspond to one standard deviation of uncertainties in digitization and reduction of interferograms of surface. Appears accuracy of LODTM-generated surface exceeds current ability to measure it. Work demonstrates feasibility of single-point diamond turning for manufacture of generalized wavefront-control surfaces or other unusual surfaces desired by optical designers.

Meinel, Aden B.↗

Effect of the nonlinearity of the carbonate system on partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the oceans

Partial pressure of CO2 is a nonlinear function of several seawater properties. Due to the nonlinearity in this relationship, the partial pressure of a uniform ocean would be different from that of a nonuniform ocean with the same bulk seawater properties. Assuming uniformity of seawater properties at some temporal and spatial scales in carbon models leads to systematic errors in partial pressure of CO2. In this paper we evaluate the magnitude of these errors. We partition the Geochemical Ocean Sections Study and Transient Tracers in the Oceans data according to the horizontal structure of several box models from the literature. Our results suggest that assumption of uniformity at large scales leads to understanding of underestimation of global surface ocean partial pressure of CO2 by at least 3 - 12 microatm. Nonlinear effects also introduce systematic errors in the buffer factor estimated from bulk seawater properties. We find the standard deviation of partial pressure of CO2 to be an indicator of the magnitude of the nonlinear effects. We discuss the implications of these errors for some conclusions drawn from carbon models. Biogeochemical processes, such as mixing, gas exchange, or biological activity, influence the distribution of the seawater properties. A shift in spatial or temporal patterns of these processes can modify the nonuniformity of the seawater properties and thus alter the partial pressure of the surface waters, even if the mean intensities of the processes remain constant.

Trela, Piotr↗

Foreign Object Damage Identification in Turbine Engines

This report summarizes the collective work of a five-person team from different organizations examining the problem of detecting foreign object damage (FOD) events in turbofan engines from gas path thermodynamic and bearing accelerometer sensors, and determining the severity of damage to each component (diagnosis). Several detection and diagnostic approaches were investigated and a software tool (FODID) was developed to assist researchers detect/diagnose FOD events. These approaches include (1) fan efficiency deviation computed from upstream and downstream temperature/ pressure measurements, (2) gas path weighted least squares estimation of component health parameter deficiencies, (3) Kalman filter estimation of component health parameters, and (4) use of structural vibration signal processing to detect both large and small FOD events. The last three of these approaches require a significant amount of computation in conjunction with a physics-based analytic model of the underlying phenomenon the NPSS thermodynamic cycle code for approaches 1 to 3 and the DyRoBeS reduced-order rotor dynamics code for approach 4. A potential application of the FODID software tool, in addition to its detection/diagnosis role, is using its sensitivity results to help identify the best types of sensors and their optimum locations within the gas path, and similarly for bearing accelerometers.

Strack, William↗

Experimental Investigation of a Phase Change Material Charged Finned-Tube Heat Exchanger

Understanding different thermal performance aspects of phase change material heat exchangers (PCM-HX) is critical for designing future energy-efficient thermal energy storage systems. This paper presents an experimental performance analysis of a vertically oriented annular finned-tube PCM-HX in a cylindrical container tested under six different melting and solidification test conditions, varied by heat transfer fluid’s (HTF) inlet temperatures and flow directions. The PCM-HX structure with 20 evenly spaced fins was 3D printed in aluminum, and the PCM-HX container was 285 mm in height. The PCM-HX average porosity was 89.7%, where the PCM mass was 246.4 g. Water served as the HTF, and a PCM with a nominal phase change temperature of 35 °C was selected. Instead of opaque conventional insulation sheets, a combination of air-and-argon-filled see-through insulation cylinders was assembled with the PCM-HX to visualize the phase-change phenomena, while minimizing the uncertainties due to heat loss. In total, there were 78 T-type thermocouples installed in the test section which allows a more precise assessment of thermal mass and heat loss, which are often neglected in similar studies found in the literature. We validated the reliability of the test facility as the repeated test results had negligible deviations under the same test conditions. The energy balances between the estimated theoretical and experimentally calculated PCM storage, considering heat loss and thermal mass, were within ±9% deviation for all test conditions. From the experimental investigations, we made several following observations. It was found that the melting pattern of the finned-tube PCM-HX with small gaps between the container wall and the fins was largely affected by the HTF flow directions, unlike the typical straight annular tube PCM-HX. For effective charging and discharging processes, a combination of upward melting and downward solidification is recommended to shorten the test duration. However, an upward solidification should be considered to minimize the cavity formation between the fins caused by the PCM volume contraction during the solidification process.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Behavior and mechanisms of Doppler wind lidar error in varying stability regimes

Abstract. Wind lidars are widespread and important tools in atmospheric observations. An intrinsic part of lidar measurement error is due to atmospheric variability in the remote-sensing scan volume. This study describes and quantifies the distribution of measurement error due to turbulence in varying atmospheric stability. While the lidar error model is general, we demonstrate the approach using large ensembles of virtual WindCube V2 lidar performing a profiling Doppler-beam-swinging scan in quasi-stationary large-eddy simulations (LESs) of convective and stable boundary layers. Error trends vary with the stability regime, time averaging of results, and observation height. A systematic analysis of the observation error explains dominant mechanisms and supports the findings of the empirical results. Treating the error under a random variable framework allows for informed predictions about the effect of different configurations or conditions on lidar performance. Convective conditions are most prone to large errors (up to 1.5 m s−1 in 1 Hz wind speed in strong convection), driven by the large vertical velocity variances in convective conditions and the high elevation angle of the scanning beams (62∘). Range-gate weighting induces a negative bias into the horizontal wind speeds near the surface shear layer (−0.2 m s−1 in the stable test case). Errors in the horizontal wind speed and direction computed from the wind components are sensitive to the background wind speed but have negligible dependence on the relative orientation of the instrument. Especially during low winds and in the presence of large errors in the horizontal velocity estimates, the reported wind speed is subject to a systematic positive bias (up to 0.4 m s−1 in 1 Hz measurements in strong convection). Vector time-averaged measurements can improve the behavior of the error distributions (reducing the 10 min wind speed error standard deviation to <0.3 m s−1 and the bias to <0.1 m s−1 in strong convection) with a predictable effectiveness related to the number of decorrelated samples in the time window. Hybrid schemes weighting the 10 min scalar- and vector-averaged lidar measurements are shown to be effective at reducing the wind speed biases compared to cup measurements in most of the simulated conditions, with time averages longer than 10 min recommended for best use in some unstable conditions. The approach in decomposing the error mechanisms with the help of the LES flow field could be extended to more complex measurement scenarios and scans.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Trends in Antarctic Surface Temperatures and Ice Extent from Satellite and Surface Observations

Surface air temperatures observed from stations around Antarctica have indicated predominantly positive trends which are as high as 0.4K per decade along the Antarctic Peninsula. Since the average air temperature during summer in the West Antarctic region is about -6 K, and since most of the stations are near coastal regions, it is important to know whether such trends are due to a local or large scale phenomenon. We analyzed about 19 years of infrared satellite data (1979-1997) to obtain a spatially detailed study of the variability of surface temperatures over the entire Antarctic region. We also analyzed potential impact of temperature changes over the sea ice cover using co-registered and nearly coincident microwave satellite data. The surface temperatures inferred from infrared data are shown to agree well with those observed from the limited number of Antarctic station data with a correlation coefficient of 0.98 and a standard deviation of less than 3K. The 19-year temperature data set shows positive trends of 0.12, 0.68, and 0.41 C per decade in ocean, sea ice and ice sheet surfaces, respectively. The sensitivity of the trend to record length was studied, using long term station data sets, and the results show that the trends start to stabilize at around 2 decades which is about the record length of satellite data. However, interannual fluctuations of the temperatures are large, especially in the ice sheets, and the 95% confidence level for the trends ranges from 0.12 to 1.22 for sea ice and from -0.74 to 1.55 C per decade for the ice sheet. In the sea ice regions, the position of the ice edge in winter with respect to the northernmost position of sea ice during the study period is also shown to be influenced by alternating warm and cold anomalies around the continent. This pattern is similar to that suggested by the presence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave (ACW) but the wavenumber appears to be predominantly mode 3 (instead of reported mode 2) for the Antarctic region. Unexpectedly, trends in the sea ice extent are found to be positive in most Antarctic sectors during the same period with the exception of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas region.

Comisc, J. C.↗

Radiative corrections relating leptoquark-fermion couplings probed at low and high energy

Scalar leptoquarks (LQ) with masses between 2 TeV and 50 TeV are prime candidates to explain deviations between measurements and Standard-Model predictions in decay observables of b-flavored hadrons (“flavor anomalies”). Explanations of low-energy data often involve $\mathcal{O}$ (1) LQ-quark-lepton Yukawa couplings, especially when collider bounds enforce a large LQ mass. This calls for the calculation of radiative corrections involving these couplings. Studying such corrections to LQ-mediated b → cτν and b → sℓ + ℓ − amplitudes, we find that they can be absorbed into finite renormalizations of the LQ Yukawa couplings. If one wants to use Yukawa couplings extracted from low-energy data for the prediction of on-shell LQ decay rates, one must convert the low-energy couplings to their high-energy counterparts, which subsume the corrections to the on-shell LQ-quark-lepton vertex. We present compact formulae for these correction factors and find that in scenarios with S 1 , R 2 , or S 3 LQ the high-energy coupling is always smaller than the low-energy one, which weakens the impact of collider data on the determination of the allowed parameter spaces. For the R 2 scenario addressing b → cτν, in which one of the two involved Yukawa coupling must be significantly larger than 1, we find this coupling reduced by 15% at high energy. If both S 1 and R 2 are present, the high-energy coupling can also be larger and the size of the correction is unbounded, because tree contribution and vertex corrections involve different couplings. We further present the conversion formula to the $\overline{MS}$ scheme for the Yukawa couplings of the S 3 scenario.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the cross section for electroweak production of a Z boson, a photon and two jets in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV and constraints on anomalous quartic couplings

A measurement is presented of the cross section for electroweak production of a Z boson and a photon in association with two jets (Zγjj) in proton-proton collisions. The Z boson candidates are selected through their decay into a pair of electrons or muons. The process of interest, electroweak Zγjj production, is isolated by selecting events with a large dijet mass and a large pseudorapidity gap between the two jets. The measurement is based on data collected at the CMS experiment at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{−1}$. The observed significance of the signal is 3.9 standard deviations, where a significance of 5.2 standard deviations is expected in the standard model. These results are combined with published results by CMS at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 8 TeV, which leads to observed and expected respective significances of 4.7 and 5.5 standard deviations. From the 13 TeV data, a value is obtained for the signal strength of electroweak Zγjj production and bounds are given on quartic vector boson interactions in the framework of dimension-eight effective field theory operators.[graphic not available: see fulltext]

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

In-field alpha spectrometry system for uranium enrichment verification of uranium hexafluoride

A portable In-Field Alpha Spectrometry (IFAS) system was developed to support on-site uranium enrichment determination for samples taken at facilities working with gaseous UF 6 . It consists of a modified commercial alpha spectrometer, a vacuum pump, a laptop computer, and associated connectors and cables. The IFAS uses specially designed Single-Use Destructive Assay (SUDA) samplers to capture gaseous UF 6 and convert and store it as UO 2 F 2 in a thin-film zeolite. To examine the quantitative performance of the IFAS system a large number of replicate SUDA samples was acquired for natural uranium (NU, 0.72 wt%, 23 samples), low enriched uranium 1 (LEU1, 2.33 wt% 235 U, 10 samples), and low enriched uranium 2 (LEU2, 4.62 wt% 235 U, 10 samples). The standard deviation (SD) values for uranium enrichment determination with the IFAS for NU, LEU1, and LEU2, in 20-hour assays, were 0.037 wt% 235 U, 0.063 wt% 235 U, and 0.072 wt% 235 U, respectively. In addition, a separate analysis suggests that comparable SD values can be achieved in less time, approximately 8-10 hours. For context, these SD values are well below the International Atomic Energy Agency’s International Target Values for the determination of uranium enrichment in non-destructive assay measurements.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Spin phase diagram of the interacting quantum Hall liquid

Measurement of the ground-state spin polarization of quantum systems offers great potential for the discovery and characterization of correlated electronic states. However, spin polarization measurements have mainly involved optical and NMR techniques that perturb the delicate ground states and, for quantum Hall systems, have provided conflicting results. In this work we present spin-resolved pulsed tunnelling (SRPT) that precisely determines the phase diagram of the ground-state spin polarization as a function of magnetic field and Landau level (LL) filling factor ($ν$) with negligible perturbation to the system. Our phase diagram shows a variety of polarized, unpolarized and topological spin states in the lowest (N = 0) LL, which can largely be described by a weakly interacting composite fermion (CF) model7. However, the phase diagram shows unexpected behaviour in the N = 1 LL. We observe fully polarized $ν$ = 5/2 and 8/3 states but a partially depolarized $ν$ = 7/3 state. This behaviour deviates from the conventional theoretical picture of weakly interacting fractional quasiparticles, but instead suggests unusual electronic correlations and the possibility of new non-Abelian phases. The results establish SRPT as a powerful technique for investigating correlated electron phenomena.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Electronically-coupled redox centers in trimetallic cobalt complexes

Synthesis and isolation of molecular building blocks of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) can provide unique opportunities for characterization that would otherwise be inaccessible due to the heterogeneous nature of MOFs. Herein, we report a series of trinuclear cobalt complexes incorporating dithiolene ligands, triphenylene-2,3,6,7,10,11-hexathiolate (THT) (1 3+ ), and benzene hexathiolate (BHT) (2 3+ ), with 1,1,1,-tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane (triphos) employed as the capping ligand. Single crystal X-ray analyses of 1 3+ and 2 3+ display three five-coordinate cobalt centers bound to the triphos and dithiolene ligands in a distorted square pyramidal geometry. Cyclic voltammetry studies of 1 3+ and 2 3+ reveal three redox features associated with the formation of mixed valence states due to the sequential reduction of the redox-active metal centers (Co III/II ). Using this electrochemical data, the comproportionality values were determined for 1 and 2 (log K c = 1.4 and 1.5 for 1, and 4.7 and 5.8 for 2), suggesting strong resonance-stabilized coupling of the metal centers, with stronger electronic coupling observed for complex 2 compared to that for complex 1. Cyclic voltammetry studies were also performed in solvents of varying polarity, whereupon the difference in the standard potentials (ΔE 1/2 ) for 1 and 2 was found to shift as a function of the polarity of the solvent, indicating a negative correlation between the dielectric constant of the electrochemical medium and the stability of the mixed valence species. Spectroelectrochemical studies of in situ generated multi-valent (MV) states of complexes 1 and 2 display characteristic NIR intervalence charge transfer (IVCT) bands, and analysis of the IVCT transitions for complex 2 suggests a weakly coupled class II multi-valent species and relatively large electronic coupling factors (1700 cm –1 for the first multi-valent state of 2 2+ , and 1400 and 4000 cm –1 for the second multi-valent state of 2 + ). Here, density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate a significant deviation in relative energies of the frontier orbitals of complexes 1 3+ , 2 3+ , and 3 + that contrasts those calculated for the analogous trinuclear cobalt dithiolene complexes employing pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) as the capping ligand (Co 3 Cp* 3 THT and Co 3 Cp* 3 BHT, respectively), and may be a result of the cationic nature of complexes 1 3+ , 2 3+ , and 3 + .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Elemental composition of solar energetic particles

The Low Energy Telescopes on the Voyager spacecraft have been used to measure the elemental composition (Z = 2-28) and energy spectra (5-15 MeV per nucleon) of solar energetic particles (SEPs) in seven large flare events. Four flare events were selected which have SEP abundance ratios approximately independent of energy per nucleon. For these selected flare events, SEP composition results may be described by an average composition plus a systematic flare-to-flare deviation about the average. The four-flare average SEP composition is systematically different from the solar composition determined by photospheric spectroscopy. These systematic composition differences are apparently not due to SEP propagation or acceleration effects. In contrast, the four-flare average SEP composition is in agreement with measured solar wind abundances and with a number of recent spectroscopic coronal abundance measurements. These findings suggest that SEPs originate in the corona, and that both SEPs and the solar wind sample a coronal composition which is significantly and persistently different from that measured for the photosphere.

Cook, W. R.↗

Power supply conditioning circuit

A power supply conditioning circuit that can reduce Periodic and Random Deviations (PARD) on the output voltages of dc power supplies to -150 dBV from dc to several KHz with no measurable periodic deviations is described. The PARD for a typical commercial low noise power supply is -74 dBV for frequencies above 20 Hz and is often much worse at frequencies below 20 Hz. The power supply conditioning circuit described here relies on the large differences in the dynamic impedances of a constant current diode and a zener diode to establish a dc voltage with low PARD. Power supplies with low PARD are especially important in circuitry involving ultrastable frequencies for the Deep Space Network.

Primas, L. E.↗

Analysis of pre-flight modulator voltage calibration data for the Voyager plasma science experiment

The Voyager Plasma Science (PLS) modulator calibration (MVM) data analysis was undertaken in order to check the correctness of the fast A/D converter formulas that connect low voltage monitor signals (MV) with digital outputs (DN), to determine the proportionality constants between the actual modulator grid potential (V) and the monitor voltage (MV), and to establish an algorithm to link the digitized readouts (DN) with the actual grid potential (V). The analysis results are surprising in that the derived conversion constants deviate by fairly significant amounts from their nominal values. However, it must be kept in mind that the test results which were used for analysis may be very imprecise. Even if it is assumed that the test result errors are very large, they do no appear to be capable to account for all discrepancies between the theoretical expectations and the results of the analysis. Measurements with the flight spare instrument appear to be the only means of investigating these effects further.

Nastov, Ognen↗

Primate translational vestibuloocular reflexes. II. Version and vergence responses to fore-aft motion

To maintain binocular fixation on near targets during fore-aft translational disturbances, largely disjunctive eye movements are elicited the amplitude and direction of which should be tuned to the horizontal and vertical eccentricities of the target. The eye movements generated during this task have been investigated here as trained rhesus monkeys fixated isovergence targets at different horizontal and vertical eccentricities during 10 Hz fore-aft oscillations. The elicited eye movements complied with the geometric requirements for binocular fixation, although not ideally. First, the corresponding vergence angle for which the movement of each eye would be compensatory was consistently less than that dictated by the actual fixation parameters. Second, the eye position with zero sensitivity to translation was not straight ahead, as geometrically required, but rather exhibited a systematic dependence on viewing distance and vergence angle. Third, responses were asymmetric, with gains being larger for abducting and downward compared with adducting and upward gaze directions, respectively. As frequency was varied between 4 and 12 Hz, responses exhibited high-pass filter properties with significant differences between abduction and adduction responses. As a result of these differences, vergence sensitivity increased as a function of frequency with a steeper slope than that of version. Despite largely undercompensatory version responses, vergence sensitivity was closer to ideal. Moreover, the observed dependence of vergence sensitivity on vergence angle, which was varied between 2.5 and 10 MA, was largely linear rather than quadratic (as geometrically predicted). We conclude that the spatial tuning of eye velocity sensitivity as a function of gaze and viewing distance follows the general geometric dependencies required for the maintenance of foveal visual acuity. However, systematic deviations from ideal behavior exist that might reflect asymmetric processing of abduction/adduction responses perhaps because of different functional dependencies of version and vergence eye movement components during translation.

NASA Program Biomedical Research and Countermeasur↗

Progress Toward Simulating Departure from Nucleate Boiling at High-Pressure Applications with Selected Wall Boiling Closures

Recently, a Eulerian-based two-fluid computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework with a wall heat flux partitioning approach has been intensively investigated for departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) simulation under the U.S. Department of Energy–funded Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) program. Understanding of the DNB characteristics over a range of pressurized water reactor–like operating conditions and accurate prediction of boiling crisis in the nuclear power system have been grand challenges because of the large impact of DNB on reactor safety and operational economics. The ultimate goal of this task in the CASL program is to introduce a robust multiphase CFD–based DNB modeling framework that is capable of characterizing an entire boiling history in which the wall boiling mode experiences the following through multiple stages of heat transfer mode: (1) single-phase convective heat transfer, (2) nucleate boiling heat transfer, and (3) identification of the departure of nucleate boiling. To validate the CASL boiling model, we have benchmarked simulated DNB over three different flow channel configurations (pipe flow, 5 × 5 fuel bundle with mixing vane tests, and 5 × 5 fuel bundle without mixing vane tests) against experimental measurements, and the validation result with open literature is reported. The DNB detection criteria in the simulation are checked by monitoring the peak wall temperature, wall dryout factor, and net energy balance. In addition to the DNB performance test, some preliminary sensitivity results on closure model selection are reported to address the prediction capability of local void profile against measurements. The boiling simulation tested in this study exhibits a maximum deviation of 24% from the measured DNB value in a high-pressure (i.e., 138 bars) subcooled pipe flow test. The ranges of operating conditions are as follows: 1650 to 2650 kg/m 2 ·s for mass flux and 8.5 to 96 K for subcooled inlet temperature. The deviation is even reduced to 7% when the subcooled temperature is less than 40 K. Besides accuracy, base practice guidelines for DNB detection criteria are tested by monitoring three simulation variables: (1) maximum wall temperature, (2) wall dryout factor (i.e., K-value), and (3) energy balance. Numerical robustness of DNB simulation is largely achieved in most of the validation test except for a few high subcooled test cases.

42 ENGINEERING↗