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At least 847 records · Page 47

Build Orientation Dependent Microstructure in Polymer Laser Sintering: Relationship to Part Performance and Evolution with Aging

Laser sintering (LS) is widely used to produce functional polymeric parts; however, the resulting parts are often limited by their porous structure, and performance of the part may be strongly anisotropic. Relating the structural features of parts to build process conditions or powder feedstock has been explored previously. In contrast, little is known regarding how the unique internal structures of LS parts evolve and relate to their performance later in their life cycle, for example, after use in a real-world operating environment. In this study, a tightly controlled LS build process and measurement campaign by standard X-ray computed tomography (XCT), supported by high-resolution synchrotron XCT, was used to benchmark the internal microstructure (e.g. porosity) as a function of four different build orientations in printed polyamide-12 (PA-12) parts. The initial performance of the parts after printing was characterized by tensile testing and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Arrays of PA-12 parts in different build orientations were exposed to steam (under pressure) and air across multiple temperature and time points for the purposes of accelerated aging through oxidative and hydrolytic breakdown. Exposing parts to steam dramatically altered the internal microstructure and functional properties such as the glass transition temperature, tensile properties, and damping behavior. Notably, post-aging XCT revealed large microstructural changes after only 40 h of steam treatment relative to the as-printed specimens. Furthermore, pore reorganization and changes in crystallinity occurred regardless of whether the steam temperature was aggressive enough to induce a significant loss in mechanical properties. The build orientation dependence on the aging rate was minimal with the relative trend in performance persisting across most metrics among the different orientations even after aging.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Commissioning of the prototype C75 cavities in a CEBAF cryomodule

Prototype cavities have been built at Jefferson Lab to increase the energy of future refurbished CEBAF cryomodules to 75 MeV in the most cost efficient way. Three such cavities, named "C75", have been built from ingot Nb material of different purity and have been processed and tested. The two better performing cavities have been assembled into a "cavity pair" and installed in the latest refurbished original CEBAF cryomodule. The cryomodule was installed and commissioned in CEBAF. The results from the commissioning of the C75 cavities, compared with the original CEBAF cavities, are presented in this article. The vertical test performance of the C75 cavities was preserved in the cryomodule with one of the cavities achieving the performance specification of an accelerating gradient of 19 MV/m with a quality factor of ~8×109 at 2.07 K. The performance in terms of microphonics and tuner operation was similar to that of original CEBAF cavities, as expected, and the high-order modes are properly damped. The quality factor of the two C75 cavities was the highest achieved in a CEBAF cryomodule, possibly due to the better magnetic flux expulsion of ingot Nb than standard fine-grain Nb.

Drury, Michael A.↗

A Possible Mechanism for Driving Oscillations in Hot Giant Planets

The κ -mechanism has been successful in explaining the origin of observed oscillations of many types of “classical” pulsating variable stars. Here we examine quantitatively if that same process is prominent enough to excite the potential global oscillations within Jupiter, whose energy flux is powered by gravitational collapse rather than nuclear fusion. Additionally, we examine whether external radiative forcing, i.e., starlight, could be a driver for global oscillations in hot Jupiters orbiting various main-sequence stars at defined orbital semimajor axes. Using planetary models generated by the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics and nonadiabatic oscillation calculations, we confirm that Jovian oscillations cannot be driven via the κ -mechanism. However, we do show that, in hot Jupiters, oscillations can likely be excited via the suppression of radiative cooling due to external radiation given a large enough stellar flux and the absence of a significant oscillatory damping zone within the planet. This trend does not seem to be dependent on the planetary mass. In future observations, we can thus expect that such planets may be pulsating, thereby giving greater insight into the internal structure of these bodies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Thermodynamically self-consistent non-stochastic micromagnetic model for the ferromagnetic state

In this work, a self-consistent thermodynamic approach to micromagnetism is presented. The magnetic degrees of freedom are modeled using the Landau-Lifshitz-Baryakhtar theory, which separates the different contributions to the magnetic damping, and thereby allows them to be coupled to the electron and phonon systems in a self-consistent way. We show that this model can quantitatively reproduce ultrafast magnetization dynamics in Nickel suggesting that in ferromagnetic metals the ultrafast angular momentum transfer happens via the relativistic spin-electron scattering.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Multifunction tests of a frequency domain based flutter suppression system

The process is described of analysis, design, digital implementation, and subsonic testing of an active control flutter suppression system for a full span, free-to-roll wind tunnel model of an advanced fighter concept. The design technique uses a frequency domain representation of the plant and used optimization techniques to generate a robust multi input/multi output controller. During testing in a fixed-in-roll configuration, simultaneous suppression of both symmetric and antisymmetric flutter was successfully shown. For a free-to-roll configuration, symmetric flutter was suppressed to the limit of the tunnel test envelope. During aggressive rolling maneuvers above the open-loop flutter boundary, simultaneous flutter suppression and maneuver load control were demonstrated. Finally, the flutter damping controller was reoptimized overnight during the test using combined experimental and analytical frequency domain data, resulting in improved stability robustness.

Christhilf, David M.↗

Physical processes in eclipsing pulsars: Eclipse mechanisms and diagnostics

We investigate how the radio emission of a pulsar interacts with plasma derived from a stellar companion. Various physical mechanisms that can cause radio pulse eclipse are discussed, and predictions are made for the polarization properties of the emergent radio wave. We consider eclipses by a wind from the stellar companion, by a stellar magnetosphere, or by material entrained in the pulsar wind. Eclipses due to refraction require either a relatively high plasma density or a sharp edge to the plasma distribution. The conditions that must prevail for free-free absorption to be effective in eclipsing a radio beam are also outlined. Pulse smearing may be important at higher frequencies; related eclipse mechanisms include pulse spreading due to a rapidly changing electron column, and scattering by Langmuir turbulence. The high brightness temperature radio beam can generate its own plasma turbulence via a number of nonlinear parametric instabilities, such as the instability associated with stimulated Raman scattering. When the plasma turbulence is heavily damped, the radio bean can still undergo induced Compton scattering. Stimulated scattering effects such as these are very sensitive to the presence of narrow-band substructure in the pulsar radio emission. Finally, we consider the possibility that plasma derived from a stellar companion may mix with the relativistic pulsar wind and cause cyclotron absorption at low radio frequencies. Even if the cyclotron optical depth is small, fluctuations in the emergent polarization of the radio beam on the timescale of a few seconds are a very sensitive probe of the spatial structure of the magnetic field in the pulsar wind. The current observational properties of two known eclipsing pulsar systems, PSR 1957+20 and PSR 1744-24A, are used to construct tentative eclipse models. The favored model for PSR 1957+20 is cyclotron or synchrotron absorption by plasma embedded in the pulsar wind combined with pulse smearing at high frequency, and the favored model for PSR 1744-24A is backscattering off plasma turbulence generated by the stimulated Raman scattering parametric instability. Pulsar eclipses promise to provide a good diagnostic of pulsar winds and possible of the pulse emission mechanism.

Thompson, C.↗

NEPTUNE ON TIPTOES: DYNAMICAL HISTORIES THAT PRESERVE THE COLD CLASSICAL KUIPER BELT

The current dynamical structure of the Kuiper Belt was shaped by the orbital evolution of the giant planets, especially Neptune, during the era following planet formation when the giant planets may have undergone planet-planet scattering and/or planetesimal-driven migration. Numerical simulations of this process, while reproducing many properties of the Belt, fail to generate the high inclinations and eccentricities observed for some objects while maintaining the observed dynamically 'cold' population. We present the first of a three-part parameter study of how different dynamical histories of Neptune sculpt the planetesimal disk. Here we identify which dynamical histories allow an in situ planetesimal disk to remain dynamically cold, becoming today's cold Kuiper Belt population. We find that if Neptune undergoes a period of elevated eccentricity and/or inclination, it secularly excites the eccentricities and inclinations of the planetesimal disk. We demonstrate that there are several well-defined regimes for this secular excitation, depending on the relative timescales of Neptune's migration, the damping of Neptune's orbital inclination and/or eccentricity, and the secular evolution of the planetesimals. We model this secular excitation analytically in each regime, allowing for a thorough exploration of parameter space. Neptune's eccentricity and inclination can remain high for a limited amount of time without disrupting the cold classical belt. In the regime of slow damping and slow migration, if Neptune is located (for example) at 20 AU, then its eccentricity must stay below 0.18 and its inclination below 6 Degree-Sign .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Feasibility Study on Use of an Accelerometer to Measure the Dynamic Forces in Turning

Metal cutting is a highly dynamic process that generates continuously varying forces. Measurement of these forces is essential to characterizing a cutting process and to fully utilize the machine tool. A force dynamometer is often used to measure these varying forces; however, it is limited by the natural frequency of the sensor and can sometimes be hard to set up on a machine. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the dynamic component of the cutting force using an accelerometer placed directly below the cutting edge. The placement of the sensor helps achieving better signal to noise ratio (S/N). The cutting tool is modelled as a single degree of freedom (SDOF) system relative to the workpiece and dynamic loads are experimentally simulated on it. The measured acceleration is numerically integrated to obtain velocity and deflection, which along with the natural frequency (ω n ) and damping ratio (ζ), is used to predict the dynamic load using the system equation. The dynamic forces tested over a wide range of frequencies, show good agreement with the data from simultaneous dynamometer measurement and the force estimated using the proposed method. The study shows the feasibility of this method in a real cutting scenario and the capability to apply it to a multi DOF system. One major limitation is the inability to capture the static or quasi-static component of the cutting force.

Cutting vibrations↗

Topological Surface and Bulk States in Dirac Semimetal Alpha-Sn Thin Films

Supported by this DOE grant, we made significant advancements in the study and application of topological surface states (TSS) in topological Dirac semimetal (TDS) α-Sn thin films. Our key findings include: (1) the successful growth of TDS α-Sn thin films via sputtering, an industry-friendly technique, on Si and InSb substrates, marking a breakthrough over previous molecular beam epitaxy methods, (2) the demonstration of enhanced damping in adjacent NiFe thin films due to the TSS of α-Sn, (3) the first observation of a strong bilinear magneto-electric resistance (BMER) effect in TDS materials at room temperature, with responses surpassing previous results, (4) the identification of quantum oscillations in α-Sn thin films associated with the TSS, revealing critical quantum transport characteristics such as Berry phase and quantum mobility, (5) the first experimental observation of negative magnetoresistance in α-Sn, and (6) the demonstration of spinorbit torque-driven, field-free magnetization switching in an α-Sn/Ag/CoFeB trilayer, achieving efficiency levels higher than conventional heavy-metal-based structures, highlighting the essential role of TSS in enabling the switching process.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Solutions of the benchmark problems by the dispersion-relation-preserving scheme

The 7-point stencil Dispersion-Relation-Preserving scheme of Tam and Webb is used to solve all the six categories of the CAA benchmark problems. The purpose is to show that the scheme is capable of solving linear, as well as nonlinear aeroacoustics problems accurately. Nonlinearities, inevitably, lead to the generation of spurious short wave length numerical waves. Often, these spurious waves would overwhelm the entire numerical solution. In this work, the spurious waves are removed by the addition of artificial selective damping terms to the discretized equations. Category 3 problems are for testing radiation and outflow boundary conditions. In solving these problems, the radiation and outflow boundary conditions of Tam and Webb are used. These conditions are derived from the asymptotic solutions of the linearized Euler equations. Category 4 problems involved solid walls. Here, the wall boundary conditions for high-order schemes of Tam and Dong are employed. These conditions require the use of one ghost value per boundary point per physical boundary condition. In the second problem of this category, the governing equations, when written in cylindrical coordinates, are singular along the axis of the radial coordinate. The proper boundary conditions at the axis are derived by applying the limiting process of r approaches 0 to the governing equations. The Category 5 problem deals with the numerical noise issue. In the present approach, the time-independent mean flow solution is computed first. Once the residual drops to the machine noise level, the incident sound wave is turned on gradually. The solution is marched in time until a time-periodic state is reached. No exact solution is known for the Category 6 problem. Because of this, the problem is formulated in two totally different ways, first as a scattering problem then as a direct simulation problem. There is good agreement between the two numerical solutions. This offers confidence in the computed results. Both formulations are solved as initial value problems. As such, no Kutta condition is required at the trailing edge of the airfoil.

Tam, Christopher K. W.↗

Impact of new particle formation on the concentrations of aerosol number and cloud condensation nuclei around Beijing

New particle formation (NPF) is one of the most important processes in controlling the concentrations of aerosol number (condensation nuclei, CN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the atmosphere. In this study, we introduced a new aerosol model representation with 20 size bins between 1 nm and 10 {mu}m and activation-type and kinetic nucleation parameterizations into the WRF-chem model (called NPF-explicit WRF-chem). Model calculations were conducted in the Beijing region in China for the periods during the CARE-Beijing 2006 campaign conducted in August and September 2006. Model calculations successfully reproduced the timing of NPF and no-NPF days in the measurements (21 of 26 days). Model calculations also reproduced the subsequent rapid growth of new particles with a time scale of half a day. These results suggest that once a reasonable nucleation rate at a diameter of 1 nm is given, explicit calculations of condensation and coagulation processes can reproduce the clear contrast between NPF and no-NPF days as well as further growth up to several tens nanometers. With this reasonable representation of the NPF process, we show that NPF contributed 20-30% of CN concentrations (> 10 nm in diameter) in and around Beijing on average. We also show that NPF increases CCN concentrations at higher supersaturations (S > 0.2%), while it decreases them at lower supersaturations (S < 0.1%). This is likely because NPF suppresses the increases in both the size and hygroscopicity of pre-existing particles through the competition of condensable gases between new particles and pre-existing particles. Sensitivity calculations show that a reduction of primary aerosol emissions, such as black carbon (BC), would not necessarily decrease CCN concentrations because of an increase in NPF. Sensitivity calculations also suggest that the reduction ratio of primary aerosol and SO2 emissions will be key in enhancing or damping the BC mitigation effect.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Generation of residual energy in the turbulent solar wind

In situ observations of the fluctuating solar wind flow show that the energy of magnetic field fluctuations always exceeds that of the kinetic energy, and therefore the difference between the kinetic and magnetic energies, known as the residual energy, is always negative. The same behaviour is found in numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We study the dynamics of the residual energy for strong, anisotropic, critically balanced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence using the eddy damped quasi-normal Markovian approximation. Our analysis shows that for stationary critically balanced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, negative residual energy will always be generated by nonlinear interacting Alfven waves. This offers a general explanation for the observation of negative residual energy in solar wind turbulence and in the numerical simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Stacking Multiple Ion Captures in The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT)

The High performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) research project was initiated by the Marshall Space Flight Center's propulsion Research Center to examining the fundamental behavior of low energy antiprotons. Stored antiproton would ultimately be used for experimental demonstration of basic propulsive concepts. Matter-antimatter annihilation produces approximately 10(exp 8) MJ/g nearly 10 orders of magnitude more energy per unit mass than chemical based combustion, hence NASA's interest. To achieve containment, HiPAT utilizes a type of electromagnetic bottle know as a Penning trap positioned within an ultrahigh vacuum test section. Recently, the HiPAT hardware configuration has been enhanced to facilitate the capture of multiple normal matter ion burst. This endeavor is often referred to as "stacking" and used to increasing the number of captured particles. A prior normal matter experimental effort, successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of single burst capture. The stacking process is accomplished by manipulating the electric field generated by the confinement electrodes i.e. adjusting the well potential depth. These potential well values are initially configured to maximize the quantity of captured ions per burst; shallow wells with a depth of 100 volt or less (referenced to the incoming ion beam energy) are typically selected. Once captured, a cooling interval is required to reduce the energy of trapped particles below the lower extent of the "trap door" (or leading electrode) ion emitting potential. This is necessary such that a new burst of hot ions can be introduced while preventing those already inside from escaping. The cooling time is driven by a combination of mechanisms such as synchrotron radiation, background gas scattering, and resistive damping in a time scale on the order of minutes. A potential for reducing this hold period is to actively manipulate the electric field shape, using the power supply control system, to produce a deeper potential well. The trapped ions ride down the morphing well to a lower potential energy, leaving margin to once again cycle the "trap door" capturing a new burst while limiting the number of escaping ions. By adjusting the magnitude and timing of the potential well shaping, subsequent shots from the ion beam can be captured on a time scale shorter then that dictated by the standard inject, capture and cool technique. Currently, experimental tests are under way examining the functionally of this system for stacking multiple ions bursts within the HiPAT system.

Martin, James J.↗

DEM Modeling and Validation of Pebble Bed Packing Using Chrono::GPU

Accurate prediction of pebble packing structure is important for pebble bed reactors because the spatial distribution of void fraction directly affects coolant flow, pressure drop, heat transfer, and neutronic behavior. However, experimentally validated DEM studies that directly evaluate local void-fraction structure in reactor-relevant pebble beds remain limited. In this work, the pebble bed experiment conducted at Missouri University of Science and Technology is simulated using the graphics processing unit (GPU)-based discrete element method (DEM) code Chrono::GPU. The study focuses on evaluating the ability of Chrono::GPU to reproduce the packing arrangement and void-fraction distribution of a randomly packed spherical pebble bed. The DEM results are first verified against established radial void-fraction correlations, including the Mueller and Vortmeyer-Schuster models, to assess the predicted bulk porosity, near-wall behavior, and oscillatory packing structure. The simulation is then verified against reference DEM data and validated against gamma-ray computed tomography (CT) experimental data at three axial locations. The Chrono::GPU results reproduce the main features of the experimental packing, including the high void fraction near the wall, the first near-wall trough, and the damped oscillatory radial profile caused by wall-induced ordering. Quantitative comparison with DEM data and the CT-based radial profiles shows good agreement, with mean absolute errors on the order of 0.07 and root-mean-square errors below 0.09 for the averaged profiles. These results demonstrate that Chrono::GPU can accurately capture the void-fraction structure of spherical pebble beds and provides a reliable DEM framework for future pebble bed reactor packing, recycling, and thermal-hydraulic studies.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Entanglement Created by Dissipation

A technique for entangling closely separated atoms by the process of dissipative spontaneous emission is presented. The system considered is composed of two non-identical two-level atoms separated at the quarter wavelength of a driven standing wave laser field. At this atomic distance, only one of the atoms can be addressed by the laser field. In addition, we arrange the atomic dipole moments to be oriented relative to the inter-atomic axis such that the dipole-dipole interaction between the atoms is zero at this specific distance. It is shown that an entanglement can be created between the atoms on demand by tuning the Rabi frequency of the driving field to the difference between the atomic transition frequencies. The amount of the entanglement created depends on the ratio between the damping rates of the atoms, but is independent of the frequency difference between the atoms. We also find that the transient buildup of an entanglement between the atoms may differ dramatically for different initial atomic conditions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Shear dynamo, turbulence, and the magnetorotational instability

The formation, evolution, and detailed structure of accretion disks remain poorly understood, with wide implications across a variety of astrophysical disciplines. While the most pressing question – what causes the high angular momentum fluxes that are necessary to explain observations? – is nicely answered by the idea that the disk is turbulent, a more complete grasp of the fundamental processes is necessary to capture the wide variety of behaviors observed in the night sky. This thesis studies the turbulence in ionized accretion disks from a theoretical standpoint, in particular focusing on the generation of magnetic fields in these processes, known as dynamo. Such fields are expected to be enormously important, both by enabling the magnetorotational instability (which evolves into virulent turbulence), and through large-scale structure formation, which may transport angular momentum in different ways and be fundamental for the formation of jets. The central result of this thesis is the suggestion of a new large-scale dynamo mechanism in shear flows – the “magnetic shear-current effect” – which relies on a positive feedback from smallscale magnetic fields. As well as being a very promising candidate for driving field generation in the central regions of accretion disks, this effect is interesting because small-scale magnetic fields have historically been considered to have a negative effect on the large-scale dynamo, damping growth and leading to dire predictions for final saturation amplitudes. Given that small-scale fields are ubiquitous in plasma turbulence above moderate Reynolds numbers, the finding that they could instead have a positive effect in some situations is interesting from a theoretical and practical standpoint. The effect is studied using direct numerical simulation, analytic techniques, and novel statistical simulation methods. In addition to the dynamo, much attention is given to the linear physics of disks and its relevance to turbulence. This is studied using nonmodal stability theory, which both provides a highly intuitive connection between global domains and the commonly studied shearing box, and suggests that transient linear growth can often be more important than spectral instability. These realizations motivate the use of the quasi-linear models that are applied extensively throughout the turbulence and dynamo studies later in the thesis.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Heat‐Generating Nuclear Waste in Salt: Field Testing and Simulation

Core Ideas A field‐scale experiment and numerical simulations confirm salt backfill behavior. Simulations closely match temperature around and under the piled salt backfill. Results indicate limited dissolution–precipitation reactions around the heat source. Alteration of backfill is unlikely if the drift is allowed to dry before emplacement. Investigations relating to in‐drift disposal of heat‐generating nuclear waste in salt have raised questions about heat–brine interactions in the unsaturated run‐of‐mine (RoM) salt pile used as backfill. These interactions have the potential to change the structure of the RoM salt surrounding the canister, possibly altering long‐term containment of the source. An experiment is in progress at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), New Mexico, in which a heated canister was placed on the floor of an open drift, covered in a pile of RoM salt, and energized with 1000 W. Temperature in the RoM salt pile had stabilized after about 15 d, allowing evaluation of the heat‐up period of the ongoing experiment. Using a multiphase porous flow simulator that has been modified to handle salt‐specific coupled processes, we examined coupled thermal–hydrological–chemical behavior in the RoM salt pile. Our simulations suggest that for the relatively dry cases examined, porosity changes within RoM salt in a generic salt repository are likely to be minor in the period between waste emplacement and plastic closure of the drift. The primary sensitivity for porosity change is to the early moisture content of the RoM salt used to cover the canister. Secondary influences include moisture availability from the disturbed rock zone (DRZ) surrounding the drift and the capillary pressure ratio between the DRZ and the RoM salt. Early changes in porosity and permeability may be affected by moisture content, but this was not observed in the test. Such changes would be most likely to occur when using damp RoM salt or if waste is emplaced in a drift immediately following opening of the drift before evaporative dewatering of the drift walls occurs.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Formation of Close-in Super-Earths by Giant Impacts: Effects of Initial Eccentricities and Inclinations of Protoplanets

Recent observations have revealed the eccentricity and inclination distributions of close-in super-Earths. These distributions have the potential to constrain their formation processes. In the in situ formation scenario, the eccentricities and inclinations of planets are determined by gravitational scattering and collisions between protoplanets on the giant impact stage. We investigate the effect of the initial eccentricities and inclinations of protoplanets on the formation of close-in super-Earths. We perform N -body simulations of protoplanets in gas-free disks, changing the initial eccentricities and inclinations systematically. We find that while the eccentricities of protoplanets are well relaxed through their evolution, the inclinations are not. When the initial inclinations are small, they are not generally pumped up since scattering is less effective and collisions occur immediately after orbital crossing. On the other hand, when the initial inclinations are large, they tend to be kept large since collisional damping is less effective. Not only the resultant inclinations of planets, but also their number, eccentricities, angular momentum deficit, and orbital separations are affected by the initial inclinations of protoplanets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗