Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PLATES - TENSION”

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 865 records · Page 48
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Multipactor saturation in parallel-plate waveguides

The saturation stage of a multipactor discharge is considered of interest, since it can guide towards a criterion to assess the multipactor onset. The electron cloud under multipactor regime within a parallel-plate waveguide is modeled by a thin continuous distribution of charge and the equations of motion are calculated taking into account the space charge effects. The saturation is identified by the interaction of the electron cloud with its image charge. The stability of the electron population growth is analyzed and two mechanisms of saturation to explain the steady-state multipactor for voltages near above the threshold onset are identified. The impact energy in the collision against the metal plates decreases during the electron population growth due to the attraction of the electron sheet on the image through the initial plate. When this growth remains stable till the impact energy reaches the first cross-over point, the electron surface density tends to a constant value. When the stability is broken before reaching the first cross-over point the surface charge density oscillates chaotically bounded within a certain range. In this case, an expression to calculate the maximum electron surface charge density is found whose predictions agree with the simulations when the voltage is not too high.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Laser shockwave technique for characterization of nuclear fuel plate interfaces

The US National Nuclear Security Agency is tasked with minimizing the worldwide use of high-enriched uranium. One aspect of that effort is the conversion of research reactors to monolithic fuel plates of low-enriched uranium. The manufacturing process includes hot isostatic press bonding of an aluminum cladding to the fuel foil. The Laser Shockwave Technique (LST) is here evaluated for characterizing the interface strength of fuel plates using depleted Uranium/Mo foils. LST is a non-contact method that uses lasers for the generation and detection of large amplitude acoustic waves and is therefore well adapted to the quality assurance of this process. Preliminary results show a clear signature of well-bonded and debonded interfaces and the method is able to classify/rank the bond strength of fuel plates prepared under different HIP conditions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Laser-based characterization of nuclear fuel plates

Ensuring the integrity of fuel-clad and clad-clad bonding in nuclear fuels is important for safe reactor operation and assessment of fuel performance, yet the measurement of bond strengths in actual fuels has proved challenging. The laser shockwave technique (LST) originally developed to characterize structural adhesion in composites is being employed to characterize interface strength in a new type of plate fuel being developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). LST is a non-contact method that uses lasers for the generation and detection of large-amplitude acoustic waves and is well suited for application to both fresh and irradiated nuclear-fuel plates. This paper will report on initial characterization results obtained from fresh fuel plates manufactured by different processes, including hot isostatic pressing, friction stir welding, and hot rolling.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cavitation erosion of silver plated coating at different temperatures and pressures

Cavitation often occurs in inducer pumps used for space rockets. Silver plated coating on the inducer liner faces the damage of cavitation. Therefore, it is important to study about the cavitation erosion resistance for silver plated coating at several operating conditions in the inducer pumps. In this study, the cavitation erosion tests were carried for silver plated coating in deionized water and ethanol at several liquid temperatures (273K–400K) and pressures (0.10MPa–0.48MPa). The mass loss rate is evaluated in terms of thermodynamic parameter Σ proposed by Brennen [9], suppression pressure p–p{sub v} (p{sub v}: saturated vapor pressure) and acoustic impedance ρc (ρ: density and c: sound speed). Cavitation bubble behaviors depending on the thermodynamic effect and the liquid type were observed by high speed video camera. The mass loss rate is formulated by thermodynamic parameter Σ, suppression pressure p–p{sub v} and acoustic impedance ρc.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Quasi-Rayleigh waves in butt-welded thick steel plate

This paper discusses theoretical and experimental analyses of weld guided surface acoustic waves (SAW) through the guided wave propagation (GWP) analyses. The GWP analyses have been carried out by utilizing piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) for in situ structural inspection of a thick steel plate with butt weld as the weld bead is ground flush. Ultrasonic techniques are commonly used for validation of welded structures in many in-situ monitoring applications, e.g. in off-shore structures, in nuclear and pressure vessel industries and in a range of naval applications. PWAS is recently employed in such ultrasonic applications as a resonator as well as a transducer. Quasi-Rayleigh waves a.k.a. SAW can be generated in relatively thick isotropic elastic plate having the same phase velocity as Rayleigh waves whereas Rayleigh waves are a high frequency approximation of the first symmetric (S0) and anti-symmetric (A0) Lamb wave modes. As the frequency becomes very high the S0 and the A0 wave speeds coalesce, and both have the same value. This value is exactly the Rayleigh wave speed and becomes constant along the frequency i.e. Rayleigh waves are non-dispersive guided surface acoustic waves. The study is followed with weld-GWP tests through the pitch-catch method along the butt weld line. The tuning curves of quasi-Rayleigh wave are determined to show the tuning and trapping effect of the weld bead that has higher thickness than the adjacent plates on producing a dominant quasi-Rayleigh wave mode. The significant usage of the weld tuned and guided quasi-Rayleigh wave mode is essentially discussed for the applications in the in-situ inspection of relatively thick structures with butt weld such as naval offshore structures. The paper ends with summary, conclusions and suggestions for future work.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Pulsed laser generation of ultrasound in a metal plate between the melting and ablation thresholds

The generation of ultrasound in a metal plate exposed to nanosecond pulsed laser heating, sufficient to cause melting but not ablation, is treated. Consideration is given to the spatial and temporal profiles of the laser pulse, penetration of the laser beam into the sample, the evolution of the melt pool, and thermal conduction in the melt and surrounding solid. The excitation of the ultrasound takes place over a few nanoseconds, and occurs predominantly within the thermal diffusion length of a micron or so beneath the surface. Because of this, the output of the thermal simulations can be represented as axially symmetric transient radial and normal surface force distributions. The epicentral displacement response at the opposite surface to these forces is obtained by two methods, the one based on the elastodynamic Green’s functions for plate geometry determined by the Cagniard generalized ray method, and the other using a finite element numerical method. The two approaches are in very close agreement. Numerical simulations are reported of the epicentral displacement response of a 3.12mm thick tungsten plate irradiated with a 4 ns pulsed laser beam with Gaussian spatial profile, at intensities below and above the melt threshold. Comparison is made between results obtained using available temperature dependent thermophysical data, and room temperature materials constants except near the melting point.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dexterous acoustic trapping and patterning of particles assisted by phononic crystal plate

In this letter, we present experimental demonstration of multi-particles trapping and patterning by the artificially engineered acoustic field of phononic crystal plate. Polystyrene particles are precisely trapped and patterned in two dimensional arrays, for example, the square, triangular, or quasi-periodic arrays, depending on the structures of the phononic crystal plates with varying sub-wavelength holes array. Analysis shows that the enhanced acoustic radiation force, induced by the resonant transmission field highly localized near the sub-wavelength apertures, accounts for the particles self-organizing. It can be envisaged that this kind of simple design of phononic crystal plates would pave an alternative route for self-assembly of particles and may be utilized in the lab-on-a-chip devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Generation of arbitrary vector beams with liquid crystal polarization converters and vector-photoaligned q-plates

Arbitrary vector beams (VBs) are realized by the designed polarization converters and corresponding vector-photoaligned q-plates. The polarization converter is a specific twisted nematic cell with one substrate homogeneously aligned and the other space-variantly aligned. By combining a polarization-sensitive alignment agent with a dynamic micro-lithography system, various categories of liquid crystal polarization converters are demonstrated. Besides, traditional radially/azimuthally polarized light, high-order and multi-ringed VBs, and a VB array with different orders are generated. The obtained converters are further utilized as polarization masks to implement vector-photoaligning. The technique facilitates both the volume duplication of these converters and the generation of another promising optical element, the q-plate, which is suitable for the generation of VBs for coherent lasers. The combination of proposed polarization converters and correspondingly fabricated q-plates would drastically enhance the capability of polarization control and may bring more possibilities for the design of photonic devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of formation temperature on properties of graphite/stannum composite for bipolar plate

Bipolar plates are key components in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. They carry current away from the cell and withstand the clamping force of the stack assembly. Therefore, PEM fuel cell bipolar plates must have high electrical conductivity and adequate mechanical strength, in addition to being light weight and low cost in terms of both applicable materials and production methods. In this research, the raw materials used to fabricate the high performance bipolar plate are Graphite (Gr), Stannum (Sn) and Polypropylene (PP). All materials used was in powder form and Gr and Sn act as fillers and the PP acts as binder. The ratio of fillers (Gr/Sn) and binder (PP) was fixed at 80:20. For the multi-conductive filler, small amount of Sn, which is 10 up to 20wt% (from the total weight of fillers 80%) have been added into Gr/Sn/PP composite. The fillers were mixed by using the ball mill machine. The second stage of mixing process between the mixer of fillers and binder is also carried out by using ball mill machine before the compaction process by the hot press machine. The effect of formation temperatures (160°C-170°C) on the properties of Gr/Sn/PP composite had been studied in detail, especially the electrical conductivity, bulk density, hardness and microstructure analysis of Gr/Sn/PP composite. The result shows that there are significant improvement in the electrical conductivity and bulk density, which are exceeding the US-DoE target with the maximum value of 265.35 S/cm and 1.682g/cm{sup 3} respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Enhancement of measurement sensitivity in the formation of shear interferograms of transparent plates with small residual wedging

We have proposed a method for increasing the sensitivity of measurements of the wedge angle in transparent plates. The method is based on formation of the holographic shear interferograms using a combination of 180 Degree-Sign rotation of the plate with byturn adjustment of interferograms in its images to an infinitely wide fringe. The sensitivity enhancement is due to the increased number of interference fringes in the observed images of the wedged plate, which favours the reduction of the measurement error during optical processing of the obtained interferograms. Data on the experimental validation of the proposed method are presented.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Pressure Response Optimization of an Eddy Current-Driven Flyer Plate Valve for the ITER Shattered Pellet Injection System

One technique for mitigating disruptions in a tokamak is shattered pellet injection (SPI). SPI is a process in which a large solid pellet consisting of deuterium, neon, or argon is desublimated in a pipe gun barsrel and launched downstream. Pellets are shattered just before entering the plasma by an impact with an angled tube. Injection of these materials into the plasma radiates stored thermal energy, limits current decay rates, suppresses the generation of runaway electrons, and dissipates runaway electrons if necessary. A critical element of the SPI system is a fast-acting valve that releases high-pressure gas to dislodge and accelerate pellets directly, or indirectly via a mechanical punch. A prototype valve sized for the ITER SPI system has been designed and fabricated. A pulsed high-voltage power supply energizes the valve’s internal magnetic coil, which induces eddy currents in the adjacent flyer plate resulting in a repulsive force between the flyer plate and the coil. The flyer plate action lifts a valve seat, allowing high-pressure gas to flow from the valve plenum to the downstream (breech) location of the pellet or mechanical punch. All of the valve’s internal components are designed to operate in ITER-level static background magnetic fields. Here, a study was conducted to optimize the downstream pressure response for a range of valve sizes and operating pressures. In particular, the study analyzes the breech pressure response associated with varying plenum pressures as well as varying breech volumes. A computational fluid dynamics simulation was built in STAR-CCM+ and validated against data from laboratory experiments. The resulting simulation outputs, in the form of downstream responses for a variety of initial plenum pressures and breech volumes, will be used as a complement to experimental data to ensure the pressure pulse is suitable for pellet survivability. These data, combined with studies on pellet shear strength and shock response, will be applied to optimization of overall operating parameters of the ITER SPI system.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of an Experimental Approach to Achieve Spatially Resolved Plant Root-Associated Metaproteomics Using an Agar-Plate System

Plant–microbe interactions in the rhizosphere play a vital role in plant health and productivity. The composition and function of root-associated microbiomes is strongly influenced by their surrounding environment, which is often customized by their host. How microbiomes change with respect to space and time across plant roots remains poorly understood, and methodologies that facilitate spatiotemporal metaproteomic studies of root-associated microbiomes are yet to be realized. Here, we developed a method that provides spatially resolved metaproteome measurements along plant roots embedded in agar-plate culture systems, which have long been used to study plants. Spatially defined agar “plugs” of interest were excised and subsequently processed using a novel peptide extraction method prior to metaproteomics, which was used to infer both microbial community composition and function. As a proof-of-principle, a previously studied 10-member community constructed from a Populus root system was grown in an agar plate with a 3-week-old Populus trichocarpa plant. Metaproteomics was performed across two time points (24 and 48 h) for three distinct locations (root base, root tip, and a region distant from the root). The spatial resolution of these measurements provides evidence that microbiome composition and expression changes across the plant root interface. Interrogation of the individual microbial proteomes revealed functional profiles related to their behavioral associations with the plant root, in which chemotaxis and augmented metabolism likely supported predominance of the most abundant member. This study demonstrated a novel peptide extraction method for studying plant agar-plate culture systems, which was previously unsuitable for (meta)proteomic measurements.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2010

Possibility of measuring the thermal Casimir interaction between a plate and a cylinder attached to a micromachined oscillator

We investigate the possibility of measuring the thermal Casimir force and its gradient in the configuration of a plate and a microfabricated cylinder attached to a micromachined oscillator. The Lifshitz-type formulas in this configuration are derived using the proximity force approximation. The accuracy of the obtained expressions is determined from a comparison with exact results available in ideal metal case. Computations of the thermal correction to both the Casimir force and its gradient are performed in the framework of different theoretical approaches proposed in the literature. The correction to the Casimir force and its gradient due to lack of parallelism of the plate and cylinder is determined using the nonmultiplicative approach. The error introduced in the theory due to the finite length of the cylinder is estimated. We propose that both static and dynamic experiments measuring the thermal Casimir interaction between a cylinder and a plate using a micromachined oscillator can shed additional light on the thermal Casimir force problem. Specifically, it is shown that the static experiment is better adapted for the measurement of thermal effects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

The Effect of the Gate-Connected Field Plate on Single-Event Transients in AlGaN/GaN Schottky-Gate HEMTs

A focused pulsed X-ray beam is used to determine how the redistribution of the electric field by the gate-connected field plate affects single-event transient (SET) susceptibility of an AlGaN/GaN Schottky-gate HEMT on SiC. SETs generated by scanning the X-ray beam across the HEMT depend strongly on the presence of the field plate, radiation strike location, bias conditions, and X-ray photon energy. Furthermore, for the particular HEMT we tested, the gate-connected field plate reduces the electric-field strength near the edge of the gate by a factor of approximately 2, which results in faster decaying transients and less collected charge.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Light refraction in sapphire plates with a variable angle of crystal optical axis to the surface

The modification of sapphire by inhomogeneous plastic deformation makes it possible to obtain plates with a variable angle of inclination of the crystal optical axis to the plate surface. The refraction of light in this plate at perpendicular and oblique incidence of a parallel beam of rays is considered. The algorithm of calculating the refractive index of extraordinary ray and the birefringence is proposed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

New Aspects of the Fluctuation-Electromagnetic Theory of Friction and Radiative Heat Exchange of Levine–Polevoi–Rytov in a System of Two Parallel Plates

It has been shown that the fundamental results obtained in the works by Levine, Polevoi, and Rytov (1980) and Polevoi (1990) adequately describe the rate of radiative heat exchange and dissipative frictional force in a system of two parallel plates in relative lateral motion. Within the framework of the Levine–Polevoi–Rytov theory, a new expression has been obtained for the force of fluctuation-electromagnetic friction of two plates in the terms of local dielectric permittivities and magnetic permeabilities of the plate materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Analyzing photovoltaic module mechanics using composite plate theories and finite element solutions

Deflection and stress calculated from an experimentally validated, high-fidelity finite element model (FEM) of a photovoltaic module experiencing mechanical load was compared to results from a simplified FEM treating the module laminate as a homogenized composite using a rule of mixtures approach, and further compared to analytical calculations treating the module as a Kirchoff-Love flat plate. The goal of this study was to determine the error incurred by analyzing module mechanics with varying levels of simplification, since resolving the aspect ratios of a module is computationally expensive. Homogenized FEMs were found to underpredict peak deflection under a 1.0 kPa load by between 13 and 19% for lower and upper bound application of the rule of mixtures. However, module shape was captured, implying that a useful replication of a resolved model could be achieved with a reduced, calibrated material stiffness. Homogenized stress results captured glass layer tensile stress components to within 46 to 52% at a sample location of interest, though agreement was poor through the remainder of the laminate due to the lack of material resolution. For plate theory, deflection was overpredicted by 45 to 67% for upper and lower bound homogenizations, and frame-adjacent module shapes were not adequately replicated. Stress results mirrored FEM trends but magnitudes were not well correlated to resolved model values. These results support the use of homogenized laminate models for module shape derivation, though resolved models remain necessary for stress analyses. The accuracy of plate theory was found to be inadequate for most applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

High-accuracy thickness measurement of a transparent plate with the heterodyne central fringe identification technique

In a modified Twyman-Green interferometer, the optical path variation is measured with the heterodyne central fringe identification technique, as the light beam is focused by a displaced microscopic objective on the front/rear surface of the test transparent plate. The optical path length variation is then measured similarly after the test plate is removed. The geometrical thickness of the test plate can be calculated under the consideration of dispersion effect. This method has a wide measurable range and a high accuracy in the measurable range.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗