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At least 919 records · Page 51

Research and development program for non-linear structural modeling with advanced time-temperature dependent constitutive relationships

Results of a 20-month research and development program for nonlinear structural modeling with advanced time-temperature constitutive relationships are reported. The program included: (1) the evaluation of a number of viscoplastic constitutive models in the published literature; (2) incorporation of three of the most appropriate constitutive models into the MARC nonlinear finite element program; (3) calibration of the three constitutive models against experimental data using Hastelloy-X material; and (4) application of the most appropriate constitutive model to a three dimensional finite element analysis of a cylindrical combustor liner louver test specimen to establish the capability of the viscoplastic model to predict component structural response.

Walker, K. P.↗

Intertwined States at Finite Temperatures in the Hubbard Model

We report significant advances in numerical techniques have enabled recent breakthroughs in the study of various properties of the Hubbard model - a seemingly simple, yet complex model of correlated electrons that has been a focus of study for more than half a century. In particular, it captures the essence of strong correlations, and is believed to possess various emergent, low energy states and collective excitations characteristic of cuprate high-temperature superconducting materials. While a thorough review of all activity is not possible here, we have focused the discussion on our recent work using unbiased, numerically exact, “brute force”, finite temperature quantum Monte Carlo methods. Our various studies reveal a rich variety of quantum liquid crystal phases, and complementary transport properties, which answer some questions, but certainly raise others concerning “strange metal” behavior and the ultimate fate of quasiparticles in the Hubbard model.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Model-Based Characterization of High Temperature Oxy-Coal Combustion Systems

Reaction Engineering International (REI) is leading a DOE-funded program focused on characterization of the impacts of high temperatures and pressures in oxy-coal combustion systems. The objective is to produce data and validate mechanisms to describe and predict flame behavior, heat transfer, ash deposition and ash chemistry to enable application of these advanced combustion technologies in full-scale systems. This presentation will provide an overview of accomplishments achieved to date on this project and present modeling results of high temperature oxy-coal combustion using undiluted directed oxygen with minimal flue gas recirculation at atmospheric pressure. Comparisons of model results and experimental data from 100 kW and 1.5 MW test furnaces will be provided for gas and wall temperatures, wall heat flux, carbon on ash, ash deposition rates and ash chemistry.

high temperature, modeling↗

Temperature-Dependent Conformations of Model Viscosity Index Improvers

Lubricants are comprised of base oils and additives where additives are chemicals that are deliberately added to the oil to enhance properties and inhibit degradation of the base oils. Viscosity index (VI) improvers are an important class of additives that reduce the decline of fluid viscosity with temperature [1], enabling optimum lubricant performance over a wider range of operating temperatures. These additives are typically high molecular weight polymers, such as, but not limited to, polyisobutylenes, olefin copolymer, and polyalkylmethacrylates, that are added in concentrations of 2-5% (w/w). Appropriate polymers, when dissolved in base oil, expand from a coiled to an uncoiled state with increasing temperature [2]. The ability of VI additives to increase their molar volume and improve the temperature-viscosity dependence of lubricants suggests there is a strong relationship between molecular structure and additive functionality [3]. In this work, we aim to quantify the changes in polymer size with temperature for four polyisobutylene (PIB) based molecular structures at the nano-scale using molecular simulation tools. As expected, the results show that the polymers adopt more conformations at higher temperatures, and there is a clear indication that the expandability of a polymer is strongly influenced by molecular structure.

lubricants, base oils, viscosity↗

High-Temperature Thermodynamics of Uranium from Ab Initio Modeling

We present high-temperature thermodynamic properties for uranium in its γ phase (γ-U) from first-principles, relativistic, and anharmonic theory. The results are compared to CALPHAD modeling. The ab initio electronic structure is obtained from density-functional theory (DFT) that includes spin–orbit coupling and an added self-consistent orbital-polarization (OP) mechanism for more accurate treatment of magnetism. The first-principles method is coupled to a lattice dynamics scheme that is used to model anharmonic lattice vibrations, namely, Self-Consistent Ab Initio Lattice Dynamics (SCAILD). The methodology can be summarized in the acronym DFT + OP + SCAILD. Upon thermal expansion, γ-U develops non-negligible magnetic moments that are included for the first time in thermodynamic theory. The all-electron DFT approach is shown to model γ-U better than the commonly used pseudopotential method. In addition to CALPHAD, DFT + OP + SCAILD thermodynamic properties are compared with other ab initio and semiempirical modeling and experiments. Our first-principles approach produces Gibbs free energy that is essentially identical to CALPHAD. The DFT + OP + SCAILD heat capacity is close to CALPHAD and most experimental data and is predicted to have a significant thermal dependence due to the electronic contribution.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

IMPACT OF SOIL TEMPERATURE VARIATION ON PERFORMANCE MODELING OF A NOVEL SHALLOW BORE GROUND HEAT EXCHANGER

A novel shallow bore (< 6 m deep) ground heat exchanger is proposed to substitute the conventional vertical bore ground heat exchanger (> 60 m deep) for ground source heat pump systems. A series of simulations were carried out to evaluate the impacts of the vertical soil temperature profile on the performance of the shallow bore ground heat exchanger in response to thermal loads of a ground source heat pump system, with various lengths of the shallow bore ground heat exchanger and ground thermal properties. The results indicate that the vertical soil temperature profile has a noticeable influence on the thermal response of the shallow bore ground heat exchanger. Moreover, for shallow bore ground heat exchangers with the same volume and buried depth, the one with greater length and narrower diameter has lower tank water temperature fluctuations over the year due to relatively more stable soil temperature, and the larger surface to volume ratio.

Shi, Liang↗

Simulating the Trajectory and Biomass Growth of Free-Floating Macroalgal Cultivation Platforms along the U.S. West Coast

Trajectory tracking and macroalgal growth models were coupled to support a novel macroalgae-harvesting concept known as the Nautical Off-shore Macroalgal Autonomous Device (NOMAD). The NOMAD consists of 5 km long carbon-fiber longlines that are seeded and free float southward along the U.S. West Coast for approximately 3 months before harvesting off the California coast, taking advantage of favorable environmental conditions. The trajectory and macroalgal growth models were applied to answer planning questions pertinent to the techno-economic analysis such as identifying the preferred release location, approximate pathway, timing until harvest, and estimated growth. Trajectories were determined with the General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME) model, using 11 years of current and wind data, determining probabilities by running nearly 40,000 Monte Carlo simulations varying the start time and location. An accompanying macroalgal growth model was used to estimate the growth of macroalgae based on the trajectory tracks and environmental forcing products, including light, temperature and nutrients. Model results show that NOMAD lines transit south in the months of April to September due to seasonal currents, taking approximately 3 months to reach Southern California. During transit, NOMAD lines are dispersed but typically avoid beaching or passing through marine sanctuaries. NOMAD lines can yield up to 30 kg wet weight per meter of cultivation line.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

What Drives Upper-Ocean Temperature Variability in Coupled Climate Models and Observations?

Abstract A key question in climate modeling is to what extent sea surface temperature and upper-ocean heat content are driven passively by air–sea heat fluxes, as opposed to forcing by ocean dynamics. This paper investigates the question using a climate model at different resolutions, and observations, for monthly variability. At the grid scale in a high-resolution climate model with resolved mesoscale ocean eddies, ocean dynamics (i.e., ocean heat flux convergence) dominates upper 50 m heat content variability over most of the globe. For deeper depths of integration to 400 m, the heat content variability at the grid scale is almost totally controlled by ocean heat flux convergence. However, a strong dependence on spatial scale is found—for the upper 50 m of ocean, after smoothing the data to around 7°, air–sea heat fluxes, augmented by Ekman heat transports, dominate. For deeper depths of integration to 400 m, the transition scale becomes larger and is above 10° in western boundary currents. Comparison of climate model results with observations show that the small-scale influence of ocean intrinsic variability is well captured by the high-resolution model but is missing from a comparable model with parameterized ocean-eddy effects. In the deep tropics, ocean dynamics dominates in all cases and all scales. In the subtropical gyres at large scales, air–sea heat fluxes play the biggest role. In the midlatitudes, at large scales >10°, atmosphere-driven air–sea heat fluxes and Ekman heat transport variability are the dominant processes except in the western boundary currents for the 400 m heat content.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Estimating the reaction parameters of oil shale pyrolysis and oil shale grade using temperature transient analysis and inverse modeling

Grade of oil shale and reaction parameters of in-situ pyrolysis must be identified for the prediction of productivity before actual heating and production. Identification of oil shale grade and reaction parameters depends on laboratory experiments on core samples. However, laboratory-determined parameters can be different from those representing in-situ reservoir conditions. We use inverse modeling to determine oil shale grade and reaction parameters. The inversions are based on a forward model that simulates heat injection into a well. Temperature at the heating well is affected by a thermal skin effect as a result of a decrease of composite thermal conductivity around the heater due to the decomposition-induced porosity increase. Synthetic observations of heater temperature are generated from a forward simulation. Temperature difference and its derivative are used in synthetic inversions to estimate oil shale grade and parameters of active decomposition reactions with an error below 1%. Finally, the proposed methodology of inverse modeling is expected to successfully estimate the oil shale grade and reaction parameters without core sampling and subsequent surface experiments.

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS↗

MODELING OF HIGH SPEED FRICTION STIR SPOT WELDING USING A LAGRANGIAN FINITE ELEMENT APPROACH

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) has been shown to be capable of joining steels of very high strength, while also being very flexible in terms of controlling the heat of welding and the resulting microstructure of the joint. This makes FSSW a potential alternative to resistance spot welding (RSW) if tool life is sufficiently high, and if machine spindle loads are sufficiently low so that the process can be implemented on an industrial robot. Robots for spot welding can typically sustain vertical loads of about 8kN, but FSSW at tool speeds of less than 3000 rpm cause loads that are too high, in the range of 11-14 kN. Therefore, in the current work tool speeds of 3000 rpm and higher were employed, in order to generate heat more quickly and to reduce welding loads to acceptable levels. The FSSW process was modeled using a finite element approach with the Forge® software package. An updated Lagrangian scheme with explicit time integration was employed to model the flow of the sheet material, subjected to boundary conditions of a rotating tool and a fixed backing plate [3]. The modeling approach can be described as two-dimensional, axisymmetric, but with an aspect of three dimensions in terms of thermal boundary conditions. Material flow was calculated from a velocity field which was two dimensional, but heat generated by friction was computed using a virtual rotational velocity component from the tool surface. An isotropic, viscoplastic Norton-Hoff law was used to model the evolution of material flow stress as a function of strain, strain rate, and temperature. The model predicted welding temperatures and the movement of the joint interface with reasonable accuracy for the welding of a dual phase 980 steel.

Advanced High strength steel↗

Volume-translated cubic EoS and PC-SAFT density models and a free volume-based viscosity model for hydrocarbons at extreme temperature and pressure conditions

This research focuses on providing the petroleum reservoir engineering community with robust models of hydrocarbon density and viscosity at the extreme temperature and pressure conditions (up to 533 K and 276 MPa, respectively) characteristic of ultra-deep reservoirs, such as those associated with the deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Our strategy is to base the volume-translated (VT) Peng–Robinson (PR) and Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK) cubic equations of state (EoSs) and perturbed-chain, statistical associating fluid theory (PC-SAFT) on an extensive data base of high temperature (278–533 K), high pressure (6.9–276 MPa) density rather than fitting the models to low pressure saturated liquid density data. This high-temperature, high-pressure (HTHP) data base consists of literature data for hydrocarbons ranging from methane to C{sub 40}. The three new models developed in this work, HTHP VT-PR EoS, HTHP VT-SRK EoS, and hybrid PC-SAFT, yield mean absolute percent deviation values (MAPD) for HTHP hydrocarbon density of ~2.0%, ~1.5%, and <1.0%, respectively. An effort was also made to provide accurate hydrocarbon viscosity models based on literature data. Viscosity values are estimated with the frictional theory (f-theory) and free volume (FV) theory of viscosity. The best results were obtained when the PC-SAFT equation was used to obtain both the attractive and repulsive pressure inputs to f-theory, and the density input to FV theory. Both viscosity models provide accurate results at pressures to 100 MPa but experimental and model results can deviate by more than 25% at pressures above 200 MPa.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Assessing time-dependent temperature profile predictions using reduced transport models for high performing NSTX plasmas

Time-dependent, predictive simulations were performed with the 1.5D tokamak integrated modeling code TRANSP on a large set of well-analyzed, high performing discharges from the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) in order to evaluate how well modern reduced transport models can reproduce experimentally observed temperature profiles in spherical tokamaks. Overall, it is found that simulations using the Multi-Mode Model (MMM) more consistently agree with the NSTX observations than those using the Trapped Gyro-Landau Fluid (TGLF) model, despite TGLF requiring orders of magnitude greater computational cost. When considering all examined discharges, MMM has median overpredictions of electron temperature (T e ) and ion temperature (T i ) profiles of 28% and 27%, respectively, relative to the experiment. TGLF overpredicts T e by 46%, with much larger variance than MMM, and underpredicts T i by 25%. As the ratio of kinetic to magnetic field pressure (β) is increased across NSTX discharges, TGLF predicts lower T e and significant flattening of the T i profile, conflicting with NSTX observations. When using an electrostatic version of TGLF, both T e and T i are substantially overpredicted, underscoring the importance of electromagnetic turbulence in the high β spherical tokamak regime. Additionally, calculations with neural net surrogate models for TGLF were performed outside of TRANSP with a time slice flux matching transport solver, finding better agreement with experiment than the TRANSP simulations, highlighting the impact of different transport solvers and simulation techniques. Furthermore, the reasonable agreement with experiment of temperature profiles predicted by MMM motivates a more detailed examination of the sensitivities of the TRANSP simulations with MMM to different NSTX plasma regimes in a companion paper (Lestz et al Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 67 105030), in preparation for self-consistent, time-dependent predictive modeling of NSTX-U scenarios.

Lestz, J. B. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (Unit↗

Heat flux estimates over vegetation derived using radiometric surface temperatures and a boundary layer model in comparison with sodar-derived values

An attempt was made to validate a method that uses radiometric surface temperatures and a boundary layer model to estimate surface energy budgets and characteristics. Surface temperatures from a hand-held radiometer and sodar data were collected simultaneously on seven days between mid-July and mid-October 1980. The comparison of the RDMS and sodar heat fluxes proved disappointing. Free convection conditions, required to produce sodar-derived heat fluxes, were inhibited by a terrain-induced low level inversion. Only three out of seven cases produced meaningful sodar heat fluxes. Of those three cases, one had good agreement and the other two had sodar heat fluxes 15 to 45 w/sq m lower than the RDMS values. Since the RDMS method is relatively untested, it was impossible to conclusively determine its validity from the results. There was evidence that the true heat flux was not underestimated by the RDMS, so it could be concluded that the Bowen ratios over well-watered vegetation were likely to be quite small.

Cooper, J. N.↗

Different model assumptions about plant hydraulics and photosynthetic temperature acclimation yield diverging implications for tropical forest gross primary production under warming

Tropical forest photosynthesis can decline at high temperatures due to (1) biochemical responses to increasing temperature and (2) stomatal responses to increasing vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which is associated with increasing temperature. It is challenging to disentangle the influence of these two mechanisms on photosynthesis in observations, because temperature and VPD are tightly correlated in tropical forests. Nonetheless, quantifying the relative strength of these two mechanisms is essential for understanding how tropical gross primary production (GPP) will respond to climate change, because increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentration may partially offset VPD-driven stomatal responses, but is not expected to mitigate the effects of temperature-driven biochemical responses. We used two terrestrial biosphere models to quantify how physiological process assumptions (photosynthetic temperature acclimation and plant hydraulic stress) and functional traits (e.g., maximum xylem conductivity) influence the relative strength of modeled temperature versus VPD effects on light-saturated GPP at an Amazonian forest site, a seasonally dry tropical forest site, and an experimental tropical forest mesocosm. By simulating idealized climate change scenarios, we quantified the divergence in GPP predictions under model configurations with stronger VPD effects compared with stronger direct temperature effects. Assumptions consistent with stronger direct temperature effects resulted in larger GPP declines under warming, while assumptions consistent with stronger VPD effects resulted in more resilient GPP under warming. Furthermore, our findings underscore the importance of quantifying the role of direct temperature and indirect VPD effects for projecting the resilience of tropical forests in the future, and demonstrate that the relative strength of temperature versus VPD effects in models is highly sensitive to plant functional parameters and structural assumptions about photosynthetic temperature acclimation and plant hydraulics.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Review of Onsite Temperature and Solar Forecasting Models to Enable Better Building Design and Operations

Advanced building controls and energy optimization for new constructions and retrofits rely on accurate weather data. Traditionally, most studies utilize airport weather information as the decision inputs. However, most buildings are in environments that are quite different than those at the airport miles away. Tree cover, adjacent buildings, and micro-climate effects caused by the larger surrounding area can all yield deviations in air temperature, humidity, solar irradiance, and wind that are large enough to influence design and operation decisions. In order to overcome this challenge, there are many prior studies on developing weather forecasting algorithms from micro-to meso-scales. Additionally, this paper reviews and complies knowledge on common weather data resources, data processing methodologies and forecasting techniques of weather information. Commonly used statistical, machine learning and physical-based models are discussed and presented as two major categories: deterministic forecasting and probabilistic forecasting. Finally, evaluation metrics for forecasting errors are listed and discussed.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

High-temperature irradiation-resistant thermocouple instability model for in-pile reactor use

This article presents an instability model for the high-temperature irradiation-resistant thermocouple (HTIR-TC). Here the term instability defines the superposition of both drift and inhomogeneity of TC thermoelements occurring simultaneously. The HTIR-TC is an advanced thermocouple (TC) that uses the refractory metals niobium and molybdenum as sensing thermoelements for generating electromotive force (EMF) in a field of neutrons and at temperatures upward of 1,600°C. In the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) 5/6/7 tests conducted at Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), the HTIR-TCs showed low to moderate instability throughout the life of the test. The instability model reveals that HTIR-TCs can, when the operating temperature of the reactor fuel is normal, maintain performance throughout an 18-month refueling cycle typical of nuclear power plants, reflecting an instability of less than ±1%. The HTIR-TC is also qualified for incorporation into a test fixture during the testing of new fuels.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Fldgen v1.0: an emulator with internal variability and space–time correlation for Earth system models

Earth system models (ESMs) are the gold standard for producing future projections of climate change, but running them is difficult and costly, and thus researchers are generally limited to a small selection of scenarios. This paper presents a technique for detailed emulation of the Earth system model (ESM) temperature output, based on the construction of a deterministic model for the mean response to global temperature. The residuals between the mean response and the ESM output temperature fields are used to construct variability fields that are added to the mean response to produce the final product. The method produces grid-level output with spatially and temporally coherent variability. Output fields include random components, so the system may be run as many times as necessary to produce large ensembles of fields for applications that require them. We introduce the method, show example outputs, and present statistical verification that it reproduces the ESM properties it is intended to capture. This method, available as an open-source R package, should be useful in the study of climate variability and its contribution to uncertainties in the interactions between human and Earth systems.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗