Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Ground System”

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 757 records · Page 42

High-moisture pelleting of corn stover using pilot- and commercial-scale systems: Impact of moisture content, L / D ratio and hammer mill screen size on pellet quality and energy consumption

Here, high-moisture pelleting of corn stover was tested in pilot- and commercial-scale systems. For the pilot-scale study, a 6.35 mm screen size hammer mill ground corn stover was reconditioned to moisture between 14 and 29.6% (w.b.), and 5, 7 and 9 L/D ratio pellet die were used. At 29% corn stover moisture content and L/D ratios of 5 and 9, the bulk density and durability of the pellets were ≤450 kg/m 3 and <90% and >540 kg/m 3 and >90%, respectively. Increasing the feedstock moisture and L/D ratio increased the pelleting energy. Increasing the hammer mill screen size to 11.11 mm reduced the bulk density but not the durability. The response surface models adequately described the pelleting process (R 2 ≥ 0.88), and analysis of variance showed a strong interaction between the process variables and pellet properties. Commercial-scale testing of high-moisture pelleting using 6.35 mm ground corn stover bales in the moisture range 24–26% (w.b.) produced pellets with a density of >675 kg/m 3 and durability of >98%, whereas increasing the hammer mill screen size to 11.11 mm reduced the bulk density by about 100 kg/m 3 but not the durability. The energy consumption of the commercial-scale unit operations for the high-moisture pelleting process was in the range 98–124 kW h/ton, which is 64–72% less energy than conventional pelleting that requires energy about 350 kW h/ton for biomass drying from 30% (w.b.) to 10% (w.b.) moisture content before pelleting. Pellets produced using high-moisture pelleting met International Organization for Standardization and Pellets Fuel Institute international standards. Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Fundamentals on dependence of volume on pressure and temperature

The common wisdom that volume decreases with pressure and increases with temperature is analyzed in terms of Hillert nonequilibrium thermodynamics in the present work. It is shown that the derivative of volume to pressure in a stable system is always negative, i.e., volume decreases with the increase of pressure, when all other natural variables of the system are kept constant. This originates from the stability requirement that the conjugate variables, such as volume and negative pressure, must change in the same direction in a stable system. Consequently, since volume and temperature are not conjugate variables, they do not have to change in the same direction and thus do change in opposite directions in both natural and man-made systems. It is shown that the decrease of volume with the increase of temperature, commonly referred as negative thermal expansion (NTE) in the literature, originates from the statistical competitions of configurations in the system when the volumes of metastable configurations are smaller than that of the ground-state configuration. As a result, it is demonstrated that the zentropy theory can concisely explain and accurately predict NTE based on the density functional theory without fitting parameters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development of a Benchmark Eddy Flux Evapotranspiration Dataset for Evaluation of Satellite-Driven Evapotranspiration Models Over the CONUS

A large sample of ground-based evapotranspiration (ET) measurements made in the United States, primarily from eddy covariance systems, were post-processed to produce a benchmark ET dataset. The dataset was produced primarily to support the intercomparison and evaluation of the OpenET satellite-based remote sensing ET (RSET) models and could also be used to evaluate ET data from other models and approaches. OpenET is a web-based service that makes field-delineated and pixel-level ET estimates from well-established RSET models readily available to water managers, agricultural producers, and the public. The benchmark dataset is composed of flux and meteorological data from a variety of providers covering native vegetation and agricultural settings. Flux footprint predictions were developed for each station and included static flux footprints developed based on average wind direction and speed, as well as dynamic hourly footprints that were generated with a physically based model of upwind source area. The two footprint prediction methods were rigorously compared to evaluate their relative spatial coverage. Data from all sources were post-processed in a consistent and reproducible manner including data handling, gap-filling, temporal aggregation, and energy balance closure correction. The resulting dataset included 243,048 daily and 5,284 monthly ET values from 194 stations, with all data falling between 1995 and 2021. We assessed average daily energy imbalance using 172 flux sites with a total of 193,021 days of data, finding that overall turbulent fluxes were understated by about 12% on average relative to available energy. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that daily average latent energy flux may be typically understated slightly more than sensible heat flux. This dataset was developed to provide a consistent reference to support evaluation of RSET data being developed for a wide range of applications related to water accounting and water resources management at field to watershed scales.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

4D electrical resistivity tomography for assessing the influence of vegetation and subsurface moisture on railway cutting condition

Instability of slopes, embankments, and cuttings on the railway network is increasingly prevalent globally. Monitoring vulnerable infrastructure aids in geotechnical asset management, and improvements to transport safety and efficiency. Here, we examine the use of a novel, near-real-time Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) monitoring system for assessing the stability of a railway cutting in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. In 2015, an ERT monitoring system was installed across a relict landslide (grassed) and an area of more stable ground on either side (wooded), to monitor changes in electrical resistivity through time and space, and to assess the influence of different types of vegetation on the stability of transportation infrastructure. Two years of 4-Dimensional ERT monitoring results are presented here, and petrophysical relationships developed in the laboratory are applied to calibrate the resistivity models in order to provide an insight into hydrogeological pathways within a railway cutting. The influence of vegetation type on subsurface moisture pathways and on slope stability is also assessed – here we find that seasonal subsurface changes in moisture content and soil suction are exacerbated by the presence of trees (wooded area). This results in shrink-swell behaviour of the clays comprising the railway cutting, resulting in fissuring and a reduction in shear strength, leading to instability. As such, it is proposed that on slopes comprised of expansive soils, grassed slopes are beneficial for stability. Insights into the use of 4-D ERT for monitoring railway infrastructure gained from this study may be applied to the monitoring of critical geotechnical assets elsewhere.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Downfolding from ab initio to interacting model Hamiltonians: comprehensive analysis and benchmarking of the DFT+cRPA approach

Abstract Model Hamiltonians are regularly derived from first principles to describe correlated matter. However, the standard methods for this contain a number of largely unexplored approximations. For a strongly correlated impurity model system, here we carefully compare a standard downfolding technique with the best possible ground-truth estimates for charge-neutral excited-state energies and wave functions using state-of-the-art first-principles many-body wave function approaches. To this end, we use the vanadocene molecule and analyze all downfolding aspects, including the Hamiltonian form, target basis, double-counting correction, and Coulomb interaction screening models. We find that the choice of target-space basis functions emerges as a key factor for the quality of the downfolded results, while orbital-dependent double-counting corrections diminish the quality. Background screening of the Coulomb interaction matrix elements primarily affects crystal-field excitations. Our benchmark uncovers the relative importance of each downfolding step and offers insights into the potential accuracy of minimal downfolded model Hamiltonians.

Chemistry↗

Phonon mixing in the charge density wave state of ScV6Sn6

Abstract Kagomé metals are widely recognized, versatile platforms for exploring topological properties, unconventional electronic correlations, magnetic frustration, and superconductivity. In the R V 6 Sn 6 family of materials ( R = Sc, Y, Lu), ScV 6 Sn 6 hosts an unusual charge density wave ground state as well as structural similarities with the A V 3 Sb 5 system ( A = K, Cs, Rb). In this work, we combine Raman scattering spectroscopy with first-principles lattice dynamics calculations to reveal phonon mixing processes in the charge density wave state of ScV 6 Sn 6 . In the low temperature phase, we find at least four new peaks in the vicinity of the V-containing totally symmetric mode near 240 cm −1 suggesting that the density wave acts to mix modes of P 6/ m m m and $$R\bar{3}m$$ R 3 ¯ m symmetry - a result that we quantify by projecting phonons of the high symmetry state onto those of the lower symmetry structure. We also test the stability of the short-range ordered density wave state under compression and propose that both physical and chemical pressure quench the effect. We discuss these findings in terms of symmetry and the structure-property trends that can be unraveled in this system.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Singlet fission and triplet pair recombination in bipentacenes with a twist

We investigate triplet pair dynamics in pentacene dimers that have varying degrees of coplanarity (pentacene–pentacene twist angle). The fine-tuning of the twist angle was achieved by alternating connectivity at the 1-position or 2-positions of pentacene. This mix-and-match connectivity leads to tunable twist angles between the two covalently linked pentacenes. These twisted dimers allow us to investigate the subtle effects that the dihedral angle between the covalently linked pentacenes imparts on singlet fission and triplet pair recombination dynamics. We observe that as the dihedral angle between the two bonded pentacenes is increased, the rates of singlet fission decrease, while the accompanying decrease in triplet recombination rates is stark. Temperature-dependent transient optical studies combined with theoretical calculations show that the triplet pair recombination proceeds primarily through a direct multiexciton internal conversion process. Calculations further show that the significant decrease in recombination rates can be directly attributed to a corresponding decrease in the magnitude of the nonadiabatic coupling between the singlet multiexcitonic state and the ground state. Furthermore, these results highlight the importance of the twist angle in designing systems that exhibit rapid singlet fission, while maintaining long triplet pair lifetimes in pentacene dimers.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Lattice collective modes from a continuum model of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene

Here, we show that the insulating states of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene support a series of collective modes corresponding to local particle-hole excitations on triangular lattice sites. Our theory is based on a continuum model of the magic angle flat bands. When the system is insulating at moiré band filling ν = -3, our calculations show that the ground state supports seven low-energy modes that lie well below the charge gap throughout the moiré Brillouin zone, one of which couples strongly to THz photons. The low-energy collective modes are faithfully described by a model with a local SU(8) degree of freedom in each moiré unit cell that we identify as the direct product of spin, valley, and an orbital pseudospin. Apart from spin and valley-wave modes, the collective mode spectrum includes a low-energy intraflavor exciton mode associated with transitions between flat valence and conduction band orbitals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

An Agile/XP software development process for modernizing the accelerator control system at Fermilab

Fermilab is undergoing the most ambitious upgrade to its accelerator control system of the 21st century. As part of the ACORN project, hundreds of legacy control system applications written in C/C++ will be re-imagined and developed from the ground up. In addition, applications to support Fermilab’s new super-conducting linear accelerator are already under construction. To manage the development of modern controls applications, the Controls department has adopted an Agile software development process based on eXtreme Programming. In this paper we will describe our process and detail our experience applying it to the development of two case studies.

Diamond, John [Fermilab]↗

Drones, Delivery Robots, Driverless Cars, and Intelligent Curbs for Increasing Energy Productivity of First/Last Mile Goods Movement

The objective of the project is to use empirical testing, life cycle assessment, and systems analysis to research and demonstrate energy improvement when using goods delivery drones, eVTOL, ground delivery robots and automated vehicles compared to a baseline network. The research will also develop proof-of-concept testing, a model, and simulation for a smart curb space as an intelligently-managed urban delivery zone demonstrating additional improvement in energy productivity.

Scherer, Sebastian↗

Composite Analysis for Low-Level Waste Disposal in the Hanford Site Central Plateau (FY 2020) (Rev. 2)

This document provides an updated Hanford Site composite analysis (CA). A Hanford Site CA was prepared and issued in 1998 (PNNL-11800) with an addendum provided in 2002 (PNNL-11800 Addendum 1). The CA was approved in 2002 (Frei, 2002) and has been maintained (DOE/RL-2000-29 and subsequent revisions) to support low-level waste disposal performance assessments (PAs) and disposal authorizations for facilities at the Hanford Site, including the following: Continued operation of the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF) and the 200 East and 200 West Low-Level Burial Grounds; Construction of the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF); Forthcoming closure of tank residual waste systems such as Waste Management Area (WMA) C. The CA maintenance program resulted in a determination in 2015 (DOE/RL-2015-66) that the Hanford Site CA needed an update for the following reasons: While the initial Hanford Site CA has been maintained since 2001, the accumulation of basis changes reported in the annual summary reports over the succeeding 14 years merit evaluation in an updated analysis; The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters requested in a memorandum in 2015 (Gilbertson and Marcinowski, 2015) that “as soon as the relevant PAs are complete, the CA will be revised to account for all of the new information.” This updated Hanford Site CA accounts for the following new information: 1. Inclusion of a detailed Hanford Site baseline disposition that projects remedial activities through site closure. There have been significant changes through decision making in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) process that were not available when the original CA was produced; 2. Inclusion of an updated inventory basis, new modeling capabilities, and new decisions reached in the associated record of decision (ROD) that was provided by issuance of DOE/EIS-0391 in fiscal year (FY) 2013. Development of a Hanford Site groundwater model from the baseline provided in a technical transfer of models for the Final Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0391) commenced in FY 2014 and resulted in the plateau-to-river (P2R) groundwater flow model that is used in this updated Hanford Site CA; 3. Accounting for pump and treat systems, which were not evaluated in the initial CA. Pump and treat systems have had significant impact on groundwater flow system behavior, contaminant transport, and contaminant removal from Hanford Site groundwater. This process is accounted for in the use of the P2R model for this updated Hanford Site CA; 4. Inclusion of water-level data collected since the initial CA was completed. Data collected as the unconfined aquifer water levels continue to recede since the cessation of large liquid discharges in the late 1990s have led to marked improvement in understanding of the flow system for future conditions, particularly regarding northward flow potential in the critical Gable Gap area. The calibration in the latest version of the P2R model accounts for this information; 5. Inclusion of results from the revised ERDF PA completed in 2013 (WCH-5209) that account for updated inventory and expansion of the ERDF facility to about twice the size that was evaluated in the original CA; 6. Use of updated geoframeworks to provide the structural basis for numerical fate and transport models in the groundwater pathway of this updated CA. The geologic basis for groundwater models has continued to improve with additional data collection and interpretation with the creation and maintenance of the Hanford South Geoframework and the Central Plateau Vadose Zone Geoframework tools; 7. Incorporation of updated tank residual inventory estimates. Tank residual inventory estimates have improved with the incorporation of tank retrieval inventory data for those tanks that have completed retrieval. The CA inventory data package includes this updated information; 8. Incorporation of WMA C PA results. Two additional PAs for tank farm closure decisions are in preparation during the period required to prepare an updated Hanford Site CA: WMA C (FY 2016) and WMA A-AX (in preparation). The WMA C PA results are incorporated into the updated Hanford Site CA, and its grouted residuals model is used as the basis for a release model to account for the other tank farm systems modeling in this updated CA; 9. An update to the IDF PA was submitted in FY 2017 and has been reviewed and approved. The results of the IDF PA are incorporated into this updated CA; 10. Updated risk assessment scenarios. The risk assessment scenarios currently in use for Hanford Site CERCLA and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) analyses differ from those evaluated in the initial Hanford Site CA. The representative person exposure scenario evaluated in this updated Hanford Site CA is consistent with recent PAs and CERCLA and RCRA analyses as the Hanford Site. This updated Hanford Site CA provides the following: A comparison of the updated Hanford Site CA all-pathway dose results with the performance measures during the compliance period, which is assumed to begin with site closure in calendar 2070 with the last scheduled disposal action and continue for 1,000 years postclosure (to calendar year 3069); A comparison of Hanford Site CA all-pathway dose results with the performance measures during the postcompliance period to address potential peaks beyond the compliance period. This is accomplished by evaluating dose in the period for 9,000 years following the compliance period (i.e., from calendar year 3070 to 12070).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Probabilistic Multi-Hazard Performance Assessment of Concrete Structures in Nuclear Installations

Concrete structures in nuclear installations are subject to time-dependent degradation mechanisms that can deteriorate their physical and mechanical properties, potentially exacerbating the risk of structural failure under external forces such as a seismic event. Previous research has extensively investigated the seismic response of nuclear concrete structures and the associated risk, as well as their effect on structural components safety margins. However, substantial work is still necessary to incorporate concrete aging effects into such evaluations. In fact, most models in the literature assume pristine concrete conditions and do not account for the impact of aging on the structural components’ fragility curves. This work identifies relevant time-dependent degradation mechanisms and provides simplified models to predict the the evolution of key material properties based on data from the literature. Namely, this work focuses on the aging effects of corrosion, alkali–silica reaction (ASR), and irradiation on reinforced concrete within US Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities and nuclear power plants (NPP) structures. Furthermore, degradation models based on literature data are presented that define the relationship between probabilistic material properties and the concrete’s age. In this work, sampled material properties served as input for a simplified finite element model (FEM) of a critical nuclear structural system, with the output of the FEM being the seismic response for a given ground motion. The results of the FEM were then used within a probabilistic performance assessment with a statistically significant number of samples. The research presented herein addresses the detrimental effects of hazards caused by natural phenomena on deteriorated concrete elements of nuclear installations. This work directly benefits the safety analysis performed on US DOE/ National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nuclear facilities located in areas prone to seismic activity. The results presented herein could aid in the improvement of DOE-STD-1020, the DOE Standard that addresses seismic risk analysis and capacity evaluation in DOE facilities. DOE-STD-1020 refers to the requirements in American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 4-98, now superseded by ASCE 4-16, that shall be met in performing dynamic response analyses and generating in-structure response spectra, provided that such requirements are consistent with the requirements of ASCE/Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) 43-05. Moreover, the results presented herein could also aid in the updating of section C3.1.1. of ASCE 4-16 to account for the effects of aging on the stiffness of reinforced elements and American Concrete Institute (ACI) 349.3R-18, “Report on Evaluation and Repair of Existing Nuclear Safety-Related Concrete Structures.” Ultimately, this work can assist the risk assessment of potential lifetime extension of the existing US commercial nuclear fleet (light water reactors) and the safety analysis of the emerging advanced nuclear reactors. The proposed proof-of-concept methodology employs open-source DOE computational tools and is transferable to commercial software commonly used by engineering firms.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Tree hydrodynamic modelling of the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum using FETCH3

Modelling the water transport along the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum is fundamental to estimating and predicting transpiration fluxes. A Finite-difference Ecosystem-scale Tree Crown Hydrodynamics model (FETCH3) for the water fluxes across the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum is presented here. The model combines the water transport pathways into one vertical dimension, and assumes that the water flow through the soil, roots, and above-ground xylem can be approximated as flow in porous media. This results in a system of three partial differential equations, resembling the Richardson–Richards equation, describing the transport of water through the plant system and with additional terms representing sinks and sources for the transfer of water from the soil to the roots and from the leaves to the atmosphere. The numerical scheme, developed in Python 3, was tested against exact analytical solutions for steady state and transient conditions using simplified but realistic model parameterizations. The model was also used to simulate a previously published case study, where observed transpiration rates were available, to evaluate model performance. With the same model setup as the published case study, FETCH3 results were in agreement with observations. Through a rigorous coupling of soil, root xylem, and stem xylem, FETCH3 can account for variable water capacitance, while conserving mass and the continuity of the water potential between these three layers. FETCH3 provides a ready-to-use open access numerical model for the simulation of water fluxes across the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Dipolar Aleppo lattice: Ground state ordering and ergodic dynamics in the absence of vertex frustration

We introduce the Aleppo spin ice geometry, another variation of decimated square ice patterns, which in contrast to similar systems previously studied, does not exhibit vertex frustration. Using synchrotron-based photoemission electron microscopy, we directly visualize low-energy states achieved after thermal annealing, in addition to temperature-dependent moment fluctuations. The results reveal the observation of ground state patterns and the absence of ergodicity-breaking dynamics. Our observations further confirm vertex frustration to be an important criterion for the emergence of ergodicity transitions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Four ppm measurement of the antihydrogen ground-state hyperfine splitting

The hydrogen atom is a touchstone for the foundations, evolution and frontiers of quantum theory. Key spectral lines of this atom have been determined to remarkable precision. Our research focuses on the study of antihydrogen, the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen. We test fundamental symmetries of nature (such as simultaneous charge conjugation, parity inversion, and time reversal or CPT symmetry) through precision comparisons of these atomic systems. Recent 1S–2S spectroscopic measurements on trapped antihydrogen have achieved relative precisions of parts per trillion. However, the ground-state hyperfine splitting, which is sensitive to the internal structure of the antiproton, has only been measured to 400 parts per million (ppm). Here we report a 4 ppm measurement of the antihydrogen ground-state hyperfine splitting energy a 1S , advancing the state-of-the-art precision by two orders of magnitude. From microwave spectroscopy experiments with roughly 24,000 anti-atoms, we determine ${a}_{1{\rm{S}}}/h=\mathrm{1,420,404.8}\pm 1.1(\mathrm{stat.})\pm 5.6\,(\mathrm{sys.})\,\text{kHz}$ in a 1-T magnetic field, consistent with expectations for hydrogen. At this level, our measurement is sensitive to the internal structure of the antiproton, which contributes at about 40 ppm and is approaching the limit of existing theoretical analyses. The gains we report are the product of marked advances in magnetic trap field control, stabilization and characterization; anti-atom spin-state manipulation; and improved antihydrogen accumulation rate.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Developing Frequency Stability Constraint for Unit Commitment Problem Considering High Penetration of Renewables

As zero-carbon electricity systems become the trend of future grid, the system inertia provided by conventional synchronous generators (SGs) keeps decreasing. The resultant lower system inertia will inevitably cause frequency stability problem, especially in the first few seconds following disturbance. To tackle this challenge, this paper proposes a frequency stability constraint for power systems unit commitment problem by considering the fast frequency responses (FFRs) from inverter-based resources (IBRs). Our developed frequency stability constraint is grounded on an analytical frequency nadir estimation framework that considers both SG and IBR dynamics. The accuracy of our frequency nadir estimation framework is validated by most severe N-1 contingency simulation result in a real island system. Then, the adaptive inertia frequency stability constraint is derived by performing sensitivity analysis with our frequency nadir estimation framework. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our developed frequency stability constraint with one year day-ahead unit commitment results of the island system.

fast frequency response↗

Power over fiber development for HEP detectors

Power-over-Fiber (PoF) technology has been used extensively in settings where high voltages require isolation from ground and electromagnetic isolation is critical. In cryogenic environments, PoF offers a reliable power transmission technology, leveraging optical fibers to transfer power with minimal system degradation. PoF technology excels in maintaining low noise levels and isolation when delivering power to sensitive electronic systems operating in extreme temperature ranges and high voltage environments. Here, in a novel application of PoF for a HEP detector, power is provided to photon detector modules located on a surface at ~300 kV with respect to ground in the planned DUNE experiment. This summary paper of the PoF talk at the 16th PISA Meeting on Advanced Detectors highlights the R&D effort of PoF in extreme conditions and underscores its capacity to revolutionize power delivery and management in critical applications offering a dependable solution with low noise, optimal efficiency, and superior isolation. The DUNE (Abi et al., 2020) experiment will soon deploy large liquid argon (LAr) time projection chambers (TPC) to detect neutrino interactions and other particle physics phenomena. In addition to the particle tracking provided by the TPC, photon detectors, powered by a first ever PoF system, in the cryostat will leverage the high scintillation light yield of LAr to provide crucial timing and additional calorimetric information.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Thermal hybrid exchange-correlation density functional for improving the description of warm dense matter

Finite-temperature density functional theory (FT-DFT) has become a standard tool for first principles calculations of the properties of warm dense matter (WDM) relevant to high-energy density physics (HEDP) applications. In this work we introduce theoretical grounds of thermal hybrid exchange-correlation (XC) functionals within the generalized Mermin-Kohn-Sham scheme for an improved description of WDM. Building on the previously developed KSDT (Karasiev-Sjostrom-Dufty-Trickey) [Karasiev et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 076403 (2014)] local density approximation (LDA) and the KDT16 (Karasiev-Dufty-Trickey 2016) [Karasiev et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 076402 (2018)] generalized-gradient approximation (GGA) XC free-energy density functionals, we construct a new thermal hybrid XC functional, referred to here as KDT0. The KDT0 model at low temperature reduces to the popular ground-state PBE0 hybrid due to properties of the used KDT16 density functional approximation. Application to static calculations of electronic band gap and band structure at a wide range of temperatures for various systems of interest to HEDP show that KDT0 provides a significant improvement to the lower LDA and GGA rung XC functionals and to the ground-state PBE0 hybrid.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗