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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.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

In Situ MOF Pyrolysis Construction of Hierarchical Porous Co‐Nanoparticles/Carbon Cloth Composites for Enhanced Electromagnetic Wave Shielding and Absorption

The development of high-performance electromagnetic protection materials integrating broadband absorption and effective shielding capabilities is hindered by challenges in simultaneously optimizing multiple electromagnetic properties through conventional material designs. This study pioneers a hierarchical porous Co nanoparticle/carbon cloth (Co/CC) composite via controlled annealing of a Co-MOF precursor on carbon cloth. The Co-MOF served a dual role as both magnetic source and pore-forming agent, enabling in situ generation of uniformly dispersed Co nanoparticles and creation of abundant pores/interfaces on the CC fibers during pyrolysis. This unique architecture synergistically enhanced dielectric loss (via interfacial/dipolar polarization) and magnetic loss (via natural resonance, exchange interactions, and eddy currents), significantly improving impedance matching. The hierarchical pores further functioned as integrated “absorption–reflection” units for efficient electromagnetic energy attenuation. Consequently, the Co/CC composite annealed at 800°C (Co/CC-800) achieves minimum reflection loss (−40.69 dB) and 120% effective absorption bandwidth extension (6.16 GHz) as a filler, and exhibits superior electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (46.66 dB) as an integrated component. Significantly, Co/CC-800 demonstrated robust photothermal and electrothermal conversion capabilities, ensuring operational stability in ice-covered and humid harsh environments. This work pioneers a pore-structure-mediated strategy to harmonize dielectric–magnetic synergy, providing a new paradigm for designing advanced multifunctional electromagnetic protection materials.

dielectric‐magnetic synergy↗
DOE OSTI2020

Deterministic incident-wave elevation prediction in intermediate water depth

Potential performance gains from optimal (non-causal) impedance-matching control of wave energy devices in irregular ocean waves are dependent on deterministic wave elevation prediction techniques that work well in practical applications. Although a number of devices are designed for operation in intermediate water depths, little work has been reported on deterministic wave prediction in such depths. Here, we investigated a deterministic wave-prediction technique based on an approximate propagation model that leads to an analytical formulation, which may be convenient to implement in practice. To improve accuracy, an approach to combine predictions based on multiple up-wave measurement points is evaluated. The overall method is tested using experimental time-series measurements recorded in the U.S. Navy MASK basin in Carderock, MD, USA. For comparison, an alternative prediction approach based on Fourier coefficients is also tested with the same data. Comparison of prediction approaches with direct measurements suggest room for improvement. Possible sources of error including tank reflections are estimated, and potential mitigation approaches are discussed.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Simplified Method for Predicting Shaker Voltage in IMMATs

Impedance Matched Multi-Axis Tests (IMMATs) can replicate in-service vibration induced stress more accurately than single axis shaker table tests as they can better match a part’s operational boundary conditions and excite it in multiple degrees of freedom simultaneously. Here, the shakers used in IMMATs are less powerful than shaker tables, so shaker force limits can be exceeded during tests if they are not placed adequately for the desired environment. The ability to predict shaker voltage and force before performing a test is, therefore, helpful in selecting shaker locations so that their limits are not exceeded. In this study, electrodynamic shakers were modeled as discrete electromechanical systems, and the shaker parameters were chosen to match experimentally obtained acceleration/voltage frequency response functions (FRFs). These models were coupled to a finite element model of the device under test (DUT) via dynamic substructuring, and the substructured model was demonstrated to accurately predict shaker voltage as well as the error in reproducing the environment at multiple accelerometer locations. A simple method called the FRF Multiplication method, in which the FRF of the substructured system is approximated as the product of two separate FRFs of the shaker and DUT respectively, was proposed and applied to the same system, yielding similar voltage and error predictions to those obtained using substructuring. Simple case studies were presented to explore the applicability of the proposed method, and it was demonstrated to have similar accuracy to the substructuring method in a range of cases. Additionally, we showed that while it was not possible to derive a unique model of the shakers from acceleration/voltage FRFs alone, the models that could be obtained were sufficient to predict test error almost perfectly and shaker voltage with less than 40 percent error.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Adapting Optimal Velocity Tracking Control to Account for WEC Constraints and Power-Take-Off Efficiencies: Preprint

Wave energy converters (WECs) come in many different forms, from point absorbers, oscillating water columns, to bulge wave devices. This paper focuses on the control of point absorber WECs, which typically have a narrow-banded frequency response and, therefore, control is well placed to improve the energy capture of such WECs. The acausal nature of the control problem means that theoretically optimal control is almost impossible to achieve inpractice; however optimal velocity tracking (OVT) offers a simple and robust approximation to optimal control that can achieve better power capture than passive linear damping methods, albeit with necessarily higher force demands. OVT is a form of impedance matching and the magnitude of the power-take off (PTO) force demand is often not linearly proportional to the WEC velocity, which can lead to PTO force and speed combinations far from the optimalPTO efficiency. The highly non-linear PTO force and speed to efficiency mapping can, without remedial measures, severely diminish the effectiveness of OVT techniques. In this paper, limits to the movement and force of the PTO are demonstrated, allowing OVT to be more easily applied in practice. The effect of PTO efficiency is explored, and a potential solution to the problem of adapting control to account for efficiency is presented. Both aspects of the work presented highlight the requirement for co-design of the WEC, PTO, and controller.

conversion efficiency↗
DOE OSTI2022

Stroboscopic ultrafast imaging using RF strip-lines in a commercial transmission electron microscope

The development of ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM), specifically stroboscopic imaging, has brought the study of structural dynamics to a new level by overcoming the spatial limitations of ultrafast spectroscopy and the temporal restrictions of traditional TEM simultaneously. Combining the concepts governing both techniques has enabled direct visualization of dynamics with spatiotemporal resolutions in the picosecond-nanometer regime. Here, in this study, we push the limits of imaging using a pulsed electron beam via RF induced transverse deflection based on the newly developed 200 keV frequency-tunable strip-line pulser. We demonstrate 0.2 nm spatial resolution at high magnifications and elucidation of Lorentz imaging using the phase-microscopy method. We also present beam coherence measurements and expand our study using the breathing modes of a silicon interdigitated comb under RF excitation which achieves improved temporal synchronization between the electron pulse-train and electric field. A new RF holder has also been developed with impedance matching to the RF signal to minimize transmission power loss to samples and its performance is compared with a conventional sample holder.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electrolyte design for Li-ion batteries under extreme operating conditions

The ideal electrolyte for the widely used LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 (NMC811)||graphite lithium-ion batteries is expected to have the capability of supporting higher voltages (≥4.5 volts), fast charging (≤15 minutes), charging/discharging over a wide temperature range (±60 degrees Celsius) without lithium plating, and non-flammability. No existing electrolyte simultaneously meets all these requirements and electrolyte design is hindered by the absence of an effective guiding principle that addresses the relationships between battery performance, solvation structure and solid-electrolyte-interphase chemistry. Here we report and validate an electrolyte design strategy based on a group of soft solvents that strikes a balance between weak Li+-solvent interactions, sufficient salt dissociation and desired electrochemistry to fulfil all the aforementioned requirements. Remarkably, the 4.5-volt NMC811||graphite coin cells with areal capacities of more than 2.5 milliampere hours per square centimetre retain 75 per cent (54 per cent) of their room-temperature capacity when these cells are charged and discharged at -50 degrees Celsius (-60 degrees Celsius) at a C rate of 0.1C, and the NMC811||graphite pouch cells with lean electrolyte (2.5 grams per ampere hour) achieve stable cycling with an average Coulombic efficiency of more than 99.9 per cent at -30 degrees Celsius. The comprehensive analysis further reveals an impedance matching between the NMC811 cathode and the graphite anode owing to the formation of similar lithium-fluoride-rich interphases, thus effectively avoiding lithium plating at low temperatures. Additionally, this electrolyte design principle can be extended to other alkali-metal-ion batteries operating under extreme conditions.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Signal propagation in reversible digital mechanics

Digital mechanics explores information processing through binary, mechanical circuits. This work demonstrates a flexural, mechanical integrated circuit (m-IC) that achieves reversible, non-reciprocal signal propagation through integrated AND logic and memory. Our approach exploits sequential bistable transitions with symmetric energy wells, tunable stiffness, impedance matching, and AND gate non-linearity, to enable signal propagation, repeatability, and reversibility. We present a generalized model of logic kinematics and energetics, validated experimentally, to study energy flows, quantify energetic limits, and identify operating regimes for reversible logic. Macro-scale experiments confirm propagation dynamics, and new fabrication methods extend the architecture to micro-scale devices. By achieving controlled, reversible signal transmission across interconnected logic and memory, this work establishes a scalable platform for robust mechanical computing and adaptive sensing.

Johnson, Hilary A. [Lawrence Livermore National La↗
DOE OSTI2020

High-precision shock equation of state measurements for metallic fluid carbon between 15 and 20 Mbar

Diamond is an efficient ablator material to convert the energy of high-power giant lasers into ablation pressure with applications for High-Energy-Density (HED) science, planetary science, and Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) research at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Unfortunately, current theoretical equation of state models cannot reproduce all the observed experimental data in the multi-megabar regime particularly relevant for HED and ICF research. New experimental data on the behavior of carbon at extreme pressures and temperatures are, therefore, essential to improve our predictive capability to design and analyze dynamic compression experiments for HED or ICF research and build improved equation of state models in the future. In this paper, we report high-precision laser-driven shock compression measurements on diamond single crystals at the Omega Laser Facility. Using ultrafast Doppler optical Velocimetry Interferometer System for Any Reflector (VISAR) to track the leading shock front and a quartz plate as an in situ reference, we obtain relative pressure-density shock equation-of-state measurements between 15 and 20 Mbar with an impedance-matching procedure. We also report shock-and-release measurements in a spherical geometry at the NIF. The new data provide tight constraints on the compressibility of warm dense carbon along the Hugoniot of full density diamond, allowing us to discriminate between existing theoretical equation-of-state models. We find that both LLNL LEOS 9061 and LANL Sesame 7835 models capture well the shock compressibility in the explored range. LANL Sesame 7835 also reproduces well the observed shock-and-release behavior of diamond near 10–20 Mbar.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flux-pumped impedance-engineered broadband Josephson parametric amplifier

Broadband quantum-limited amplifiers play a critical role in the single-shot readout of superconducting qubits, but a popular implementation, the traveling wave parametric amplifier, involves a complex design and fabrication process. Here, we present a simple design for a Josephson parametric amplifier, using a lumped element resonator comprising a superconducting quantum interference device whose useful bandwidth is enhanced with an on-chip impedance-matching circuit. Additionally, we demonstrate a flux-coupling geometry that maximizes the coupling to the Josepson loop and minimizes spurious excitation of the amplifier resonant circuit. The amplifier, which operates in a flux-pumped mode, is demonstrated with a power gain of more than 20dB over a bandwidth of about 300MHz, where approximate noise measurements indicate quantum-limited pehrformance. A procedure is given for optimizing the bandwidth for this kind of amplifier, using a linearized circuit simulation while minimizing non-linearities.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurement of the Hugoniot and shock-induced phase transition stress in wrought 17-4 PH H1025 stainless steel

Uniaxial strain, reverse-ballistic impact experiments were performed on wrought 17-4 PH H1025 stainless steel, and the resulting Hugoniot was determined to a peak stress of 25 GPa through impedance matching to known standard materials. The measured Hugoniot showed evidence of a solid–solid phase transition, consistent with other martensitic Fe-alloys. The phase transition stress in the wrought 17-4 PH H1025 stainless steel was measured in a uniaxial strain, forward-ballistic impact experiment to be 11.4 GPa. Linear fits to the Hugoniot for both the low and high pressure phase are presented with corresponding uncertainty. The low pressure martensitic phase exhibits a shock velocity that is weakly dependent on the particle velocity, consistent with other martensitic Fe-alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Polyimide dynamically compressed to decomposition pressures: Two-wave structures captured by velocimetry and modeling

We performed a series of six plate impact experiments on polyimide and modeled them using new reactant and products equations of state combined with an Arrhenius rate model. The first experiment was diagnosed with embedded electromagnetic velocity gauges through which we directly observed attenuation of the lead shock to an approximately constant state over a propagation distance of roughly 4 mm. Simulated gauge profiles were in excellent qualitative agreement with experiment and suggested a sluggish chemical reaction that did not proceed to completion. The remaining five experiments were conducted in a transmission geometry and diagnosed velocimetrically at the sample/window interface. All five of these yielded profiles with a sharp shock followed by a more gradual approach to maximum interface velocity that was “rounded” to varying degree. These profiles proved difficult to interpret unambiguously due to the convolution of the reactive wave upon first shock with reflection of the lead wave and reshock or release by the window. Comparison with thermochemical calculations strongly suggests that the point of maximum interface velocity corresponds to the equilibrium reshock or release locus. We discuss the implications of this point for the practice of impedance matching based on the reflected Hugoniot of reactive materials such as polymers. The reactant and thermochemical products equations of state are developmental SESAME tables 97710 and 97720, respectively.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Shock compression of cemented tungsten carbides to 100 GPa: Structure of shock waves, Hugoniot relations, and strength

Plate impact experiments are conducted on cemented tungsten carbides (WC) with a 3.7 and 6.0 wt. % cobalt binder to better understand their dynamic, high-pressure response to 100 GPa. The measured wave profiles show propagation of steady structured waves. Standard impedance matching procedures are used to determine the Hugoniot relations in the shock velocity–particle velocity (U s –v p ) and Hugoniot stress–specific volume (P–V/V o ) planes. The Hugoniot elastic limit of the samples is controlled by ductility of the Co binder and is determined to be 4.45 ± 0.29 GPa for cemented WC with 3.7 wt. % cobalt and 3.72 ± 0.24 GPa for a 6.0 wt. % cobalt binder. Both grades show a non-linear U s –v p relationship depending on whether the particle velocity is in the strength dominated or hydrodynamic regime. In the strength dominated regime, a non-linear decrease in U s is observed as v p increases from ambient to the material’s hydrodynamic limit. In the hydrodynamic regime, the U s –v p Hugoniot is linear and is determined to be U s = 4.97(±0.006)+1.446(±0.018)v p km/s for WC with 3.7 wt. % Co and U s = 4.93(±0.006)+1.463(±0.017)v p km/s for 6 wt. % Co. Both WC grades indicate shear-stress hardening with mean stress immediately after yield, followed by pressure softening, and then a sharp fall in stress carrying capacity as the mean stress is increased to ≈70 GPa (hydrodynamic limit) and beyond. This behavior is in contrast to pure WC ceramics, which show continued shear-stress hardening with mean stress to ≈80 GPa.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Shock compression of single-crystal austenitic FeCr18Ni12.5 stainless steel to 60 GPa

We measured the austenitic FeCr18Ni12.5 stainless steel Hugoniot as a function of crystallographic direction to approximately 60 GPa. We shock-compressed FeCr18Ni12.5 samples oriented along $\langle$100$\rangle$, $\langle$110$\rangle$, and $\langle$111$\rangle$ to mean stresses ranging 30.5–58.1 GPa via Ta plate impact in a large-bore powder gun and measured the free-surface velocities with laser interferometry. We unambiguously observed the largest post-shock free-surface velocity along $\langle$100$\rangle$ in each experiment, which consequently produced the lowest shock velocity along that orientation. However, the propagation of experimental uncertainties through the impedance matching scheme used to compute the shock velocity produced sufficient uncertainty overlap to preclude definitive conclusion of Hugoniot anisotropy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Platform for 100 s Mbar equation of state measurements on the National Ignition Facility

Equation of state (EOS) measurements in the 100 s Mbar range are needed to underwrite models employed in the simulation of high energy density plasmas. To this end, a platform has been developed for fielding on the National Ignition Facility, capable of producing high-quality impedance match EOS data, wherein a planar, high-pressure, steady shock is driven into a sample package, and sample and reference standard shock velocities are measured. This platform, dubbed planar high pressure, or PHP, was fielded with an initial proof-of-concept shot in January 2023. The first PHP shot, aiming to study gold, demonstrated a pressure close to 400 Mbar, two orders of magnitude higher than previously reported gold EOS data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Shock-compressed silicon: Hugoniot and sound speed up to 2100 GPa

In this work, the high-pressure equation of state and isentropic sound speed of fluid silicon were studied using laser-driven shock waves. Principal Hugoniot measurements to 2100 GPa were performed using impedance matching to an α-quartz reference. Sound speed was determined by time correlating imposed shock-velocity perturbations in both the sample (Si) and reference material (α-quartz). A change in shock velocity versus particle velocity (u s –u p ) slope on the fluid silicon principal Hugoniot was detected at 200 GPa. Density functional theory-based quantum molecular dynamics simulations suggest that an increase in ionic coordination and 50% increase in average ionization is coincident with the experimentally observed change in slope.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Argon equation of state data to 1 TPa: Shock compression experiments and simulations

Argon is the most abundant noble gas on Earth and its noble, atomic fluid nature makes it an excellent candidate for comparison of experiment and theory at extreme conditions. For this study, we performed a combined computational and experimental study on shock compressed cryogenic liquid argon. Using Sandia's Z machine, we shock compressed liquid argon to 600 GPa and reshock states up to 950 GPa. Laser shock experiments at the Omega Laser facility extend the principal Hugoniot to 1000 GPa and provided temperature data along the principal Hugoniot. The plate impact experiments and laser shock experiments used well-characterized impedance matching standards and demonstrate consistent results between the two platforms over a common range. Density functional theory based molecular dynamics simulations provided additional data on the Hugoniot to 600 GPa. The combined experimental data and simulation results provide constraints on the development of new equation of state models at extreme conditions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hugoniot, sound speed, and phase transitions of single-crystal sapphire for pressures 0.2–2.1 TPa

Sapphire (Al 2 O 3 ) is a major constituent of the Earth's mantle and has significant contributions to the field of high-pressure physics. Constraining its Hugoniot over a wide pressure range and identifying the location of shock-driven phase transitions allows for development of a multiphase equation of state and enables its use as an impedance-matching standard in shock physics experiments. In this paper we present measurements of the principal Hugoniot and sound velocity from direct impact experiments using magnetically launched flyers on the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories. The Hugoniot was constrained for pressures from 0.2–2.1 TPa and a four-segment piecewise linear shock-velocity–particle-velocity fit was determined. First-principles molecular dynamics simulations were conducted and agree well with the experimental Hugoniot. Sound-speed measurements identified the onset of melt between 450 and 530 GPa, and the Hugoniot fit refined the onset to 525 ± 13 GPa. A phase diagram which incorporates literature diamond-anvil cell data and melting measurements is presented.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evidence for Dissociation and Ionization in Shock Compressed Nitrogen to 800 GPa

Triple bonding in the nitrogen molecule (N 2 ) is among the strongest chemical bonds with a dissociation enthalpy of 9.8 eV/molecule. Nitrogen is therefore an excellent test bed for theoretical and numerical methods aimed at understanding how bonding evolves under the influence of the extreme pressures and temperatures of the warm dense matter regime. Here, we report laser-driven shock experiments on fluid molecular nitrogen up to 800 GPa and 4.0 g/cm 3 . Line-imaging velocimetry measurements and impedance matching method with a quartz reference yield shock equation of state data of initially precompressed nitrogen. Comparison with numerical simulations using path integral Monte Carlo and density functional theory molecular dynamics reveals clear signatures of chemical dissociation and the onset of L-shell ionization. Furthermore, combining data along multiple shock Hugoniot curves starting from densities between 0.76 and 1.29 g/cm 3 , our study documents how pressure and density affect these changes in chemical bonding and provides benchmarks for future theoretical developments in this regime, with applications for planetary interior modeling, high energy density science, and inertial confinement fusion research.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗