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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 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

A muon–ion collider at BNL: The future QCD frontier and path to a new energy frontier of μ + μ – colliders

In this work, we propose the development and construction of a novel muon–ion collider (MuIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the USA as an upgrade to succeed the electron–ion collider (EIC) that is scheduled to commence in the early 2030s, by a joint effort of the nuclear and particle physics communities. The BNL facility could accommodate a muon storage beam with an energy up to about 1 TeV with existing magnet technology. When collided with a 275 GeV hadron beam, the MuIC center-of-mass energy of about 1 TeV will extend the kinematic coverage of deep inelastic scattering physics at the EIC (with polarized beams) by more than an order of magnitude in Q 2 and x, opening a new QCD frontier to address many fundamental scientific questions in nuclear and particle physics. This coverage is comparable to that of the proposed Large Hadron–Electron Collider (LHeC) at CERN, but with complementary lepton and hadron kinematics, ion species, and beam polarization. Additionally, the development of a MuIC at BNL will focus the worldwide R&D efforts on muon collider technology and serve as a demonstrator toward a future muon–antimuon collider at O(10) TeV energy, which is an attractive option to reach the next high energy frontier in particle physics at an affordable cost and a smaller footprint than a future circular hadron collider. We discuss here the possible design parameters of the MuIC, kinematic coverage, science cases, and detector design considerations including resolution estimates on DIS kinematic variables. A possible road map toward the future MuIC and muon–antimuon colliders is also presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Demonstrating the β-Ga 2 O 3 Schottky diodes for alpha radiation detection

Schottky barrier diodes were fabricated on (001) monoclinic β-Ga 2 O 3 wafers with low doped epitaxial layers of 7.0 × 10 15 cm −3 . Circular Ni Schottky contacts with area 2 mm 2 were deposited by electron beam evaporation. Devices were characterized electrically by performing forward and reverse current-voltage sweeps with a range of −100 V–2 V, as well as capacitance-voltage sweeps to −30 V. The breakdown voltage was also determined to be −180 V for the devices. Experiments measuring the electrical response from incident X-ray radiation was performed. A response time to X-ray radiation of less than 1 s was recorded and a decay time of approximately 2 s after removing X-ray source, which primarily attribute to X-ray switching on and off time. Energy spectra of alpha particles from a 0.9 μCi 241 Am button source was collected at various voltage biases using devices with the lowest measured leakage current while reverse biased. The total count rate was observed to increase linearly with increasing device bias. In conclusion, the peak channel number was observed to increase with increasing bias with the best resolution of 9.5% at −100 V reverse bias.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

The real-time data processing and acquisition system for Project 8 Phase II

In Phase II of the Project 8 neutrino mass experiment, electrons from the decays of tritium or 83m Kr are detected via their ≈26 GHz cyclotron radiation while contained within a circular waveguide. The signal from a given electron is characterized as a brief chirp, lasting ≲10 ms and changing in frequency by ≲1 MHz/ms. To detect these signals, the Project 8 collaboration developed a Data Acquisition (DAQ) system tailored to the signal properties. The DAQ is responsible for simultaneously selecting up to three 100 MHz-wide frequency windows to study, detect, and trigger on likely signals from different electron kinetic energies, and for writing the relevant data to disk. Finally, we describe the Phase II DAQ system in detail and address how the system was used for data-taking operations.

Data acquisition↗
DOE OSTI2025

Characterization of 4H-SiC Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGADs)

4H-SiC Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGADs) have been fabricated and characterized. The devices employ a circular mesa design with low-resistivity contacts and an SiO 2 passivation layer. The I–V and C–V characteristics of the 4H-SiC LGADs are compared with complementary 4H-SiC PiN diodes to confirm a high breakdown voltage and low leakage current. Both LGADs and PiN diodes were irradiated with alpha particles from a $^{210}_{84}$Po source. The charge collected by each device was compared, and it was observed that low-gain charge carrier multiplication is achieved in the 4H-SiC LGAD.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Numerical study of multi-component flow and mixing in a scaled fission product venting system

Numerical simulation of isothermal multi-component gas flow was conducted to study fluid flow and mixing in a scaled low-pressure, low-temperature test facility for the fission product venting system (FPVS) of a gas cooled fast reactor (GFR). The geometry of FPVS test facility was an open loop including gradual expansion coupling and two 90°pipe elbows. First, the validation of large eddy simulation (LES) wall-adapting local eddy-viscosity (WALE) turbulent model was performed for transitional flow in a circular pipe with gradual expansion. The reactingFOAM solver in OpenFOAM v8 was employed. By introducing appropriate turbulence disturbance at the flow inlet, such as turbulence intensity, the numerical results showed good agreement in (1) the velocity profile downstream of the pipe expansion measured by particle image velocimetry (PIV) in this study, and (2) the reattachment length reported in the literature. Using this validated model, the numerical simulation of flow and component mixing was performed for the FPVS with an inlet flowrate corresponding to a Reynolds number of 2,400 to investigate the flow behavior and component mixing. Standard deviation of the mass fraction of component, referred to as absolute mixing index (AMI), was calculated to quantify the mixing of components, showing that the component mixing length determined by AMI is related to the reattachment length downstream of the expansion. Additionally, this study was able to identify the best location in the FPVS test facility to measure the velocity and concentration profies where multicomponent flow is well mixed.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Influence of turbulence intensity on vortex pattern for a rigid cylinder with turbulence stimulation in flow induced oscillations

The effect of ambient turbulence intensity on the flow induced oscillations of rigid circular cylinders with symmetric and asymmetric local turbulence stimulation is studied. Cylinders oscillate in one degree of freedom transversely to a steady uniform flow. Two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes equations with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model are used to solve the problem numerically. Three freestream turbulence intensity values (0.2%, 1%, 5%) are used to study the influence of turbulence intensity on vortex pattern. Simulation results are compared with experimental data measured in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory of the University of Michigan in the range of 30,000 ≤ Re ≤ 110,000. The amplitude ratio, lift coefficient, vortex modes, and the interactions between vortices and cylinders are observed and discussed. In conclusion, major conclusions are: (a) Vortex patterns strongly depend on the freestream ambient turbulence intensity. (b) Low turbulence intensity can generate multi-vortex patterns at high Re. (c) High turbulence intensity results in fewer separations of a shed vortex into multiple vortices inducing emergence of elongated vortex patterns.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Slender-body approach for computing second-order wave loads in the frequency domain

This work presents a slender-body approach to evaluate the second-order wave loads acting on a floating structure in the frequency domain. The approach is in the same spirit as the common use of Morison’s equation to approximate the wave loads without solving the radiation/diffraction problem. To do so, we employ Rainey’s equation, which can be seen as an extension of the inertial part of Morison’s equation to include nonlinear effects. We introduce modifications to Rainey’s formulation in order to evaluate wave kinematics at the mean body position instead of the original approach of considering instantaneous displacements. We also propose a simple approximation to partially account for wave scattering effects on the second-order loads based on the analytical solution of a surface-piercing bottom-mounted vertical circular cylinder. Though limited to structures composed of cylinders, this slender-body approach is orders of magnitude faster than computing second-order wave coefficients with a radiation/diffraction code. We implemented this approach for difference-frequency (slow drift) loads in an open-source frequency-domain floating wind turbine model. We present comparisons against results obtained with radiation/diffraction theory for three reference floating wind turbine designs: the OC3-Hywind spar, the OC4-DeepCwind semisubmersible, and the VolturnUS-S semisubmersible. In general, the results show that the proposed slender-body approach with the correction to approximate wave scattering effects provides useful estimations of the difference-frequency wave loads and the resulting motions of the floater.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assessments of epistemic uncertainty using Gaussian stochastic weight averaging for fluid-flow regression

Here, we use Gaussian stochastic weight averaging (SWAG) to assess the epistemic uncertainty associated with neural-network-based function approximation relevant to fluid flows. SWAG approximates a posterior Gaussian distribution of each weight, given training data, and a constant learning rate. Having access to this distribution, it is able to create multiple models with various combinations of sampled weights, which can be used to obtain ensemble predictions. The average of such an ensemble can be regarded as the 'mean estimation', whereas its standard deviation can be used to construct 'confidence intervals', which enable us to perform uncertainty quantification (UQ) with regard to the training process of neural networks. We utilize representative neural-network-based function approximation tasks for the following cases: (i) a two-dimensional circular-cylinder wake; (ii) the DayMET dataset (maximum daily temperature in North America); (iii) a three-dimensional square-cylinder wake; and (iv) urban flow, to assess the generalizability of the present idea for a wide range of complex datasets. SWAG-based UQ can be applied regardless of the network architecture, and therefore, we demonstrate the applicability of the method for two types of neural networks: (i) global field reconstruction from sparse sensors by combining convolutional neural network (CNN) and multi-layer perceptron (MLP); and (ii) far-field state estimation from sectional data with two-dimensional CNN. We find that SWAG can obtain physically-interpretable confidence-interval estimates from the perspective of epistemic uncertainty. This capability supports its use for a wide range of problems in science and engineering.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Control of valley polarization in gapped graphene by linearly polarized ultrashort optical pulse

We present a versatile model of gapped graphene to manipulate valley polarization by using ultrafast linearly polarized pulses of zero areas. First, a circularly polarized pulse of a single oscillation produces a valley-selective population of the conduction band by means of topological resonance. Then we apply a linearly polarized femtosecond-long pulse that changes the valley polarization. The magnitude of such a change depends on the amplitude and the direction of polarization of the pulse. In conclusion, our protocol provides a favorable platform for applications in valleytronics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

First measurement of polarisation transfer $C$$^{n}_{x'}$ in deuteron photodisintegration

A first measurement of the polarisation transfer from a circularly-polarised photon to the final state neutron ($C$$^{n}_{x'}$) in deuterium photodisintegration has been carried out. This quantity is determined over the photon energy range 370 – 700 MeV and for neutron centre-of-mass breakup angles ~ 45 – 120°. The polarisation of the final state neutrons was determined by an ancillary large-acceptance nucleon polarimeter, surrounding a cryogenic liquid deuterium target within the Crystal Ball detector at MAMI. The polarimeter characterised (n, p) charge exchange of the ejected neutrons to determine their polarisation. The new $C$$^{n}_{x'}$ data are also compared to a theoretical model based on nucleonic and nucleon resonance degrees of freedom constrained by the current world-database of deuterium photodisintegration measurements. Structures in $C$$^{n}_{x'}$ observed in the region of the d*(2380) could not be explained by conventional models of deuteron photodisintegration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Understanding and promoting the reaction kinetics of photothermally driven Diels–Alder reaction with minimized side reactions

The thermoreversible Diels–Alder (DA) reaction involving furan and maleimide precursors has been extensively exploited to develop reversible thermosets for circular economy and additive manufacturing. Recently, applications of photothermal nanoparticles, which can absorb light and generate nanoscale heat, have gained significant attention in driving the Diels–Alder (DA) reaction more efficiently. This approach can be utilized by various applications, for example, solar light-enhanced recycling, self-healing at targeted area, and photothermal 3-D printing. Here, in this work, we address an important fundamental question on the photothermal approach: how does the reaction kinetics of the photothermally driven DA reaction compared to that of the conventional heat driven one? We found that the forward DA reaction kinetics varies dramatically depending on a type of heat sources, i.e., light-induced photothermal heat or conventional heat, despite of a similar bulk temperature. We observed that the light-induced photothermal heat significantly enhances the DA reaction rate in comparison to the bulk heating in an inert environment. On the contrary, the photothermally driven forward DA reaction is significantly slower than that of the heat driven reaction in the presence of oxygen. This is attributed to the photoexcited electrons in photothermal nanoparticles that can generate singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) in the presence of visible light. This singlet oxygen may facilitate an endoperoxide side reaction on the furan group, ultimately, retard the DA reaction from the furan group. These results reveal the effectiveness of photothermal nanoparticles in accelerating DA reaction while underscoring the need to minimize oxygen exposure to prevent unfavorable side reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Debonding-on-demand reversible adhesives via heat or light with competitive adhesion strength to conventional epoxy adhesives

Stimuli responsive debonding-on-demand (DoD) reversible adhesives are of great interest for the circular economy. However, the reversible adhesives developed so far often lack competitive adhesion strength in a bonding state. In this work, reversible epoxy adhesives based on Diels–Alder (DA) chemistry were developed and exhibited a competitive adhesion strength (e.g., 12 – 16 MPa of a lap shear strength) to commercial non-reversible epoxy adhesives. The reversible epoxy formulation showed superior thermal stability up to 110°C, and transition to a debonding state in the order of 0.1 MPa at 140°C, consequently, an on/off-type debonding behavior. The transition to a debonding state was attributed to crosslinking density control (e.g., decrease by 33% – 49%) through the reversible DA chemistry and the proximity to the glass transition. Next, for debonding by light stimulus, photothermal refractory plasmonic titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles were incorporated in the reversible epoxy, which can generate the required heat for debonding upon exposure to visible light. Photothermal debonding allows for precise debonding at target areas and tunable adhesion strength by controlling the exposure area and light intensity. The DA adhesive formulations containing 0.5 wt.% TiN nanoparticles presented a debonding state with zero adhesion under light exposure with intensity of 1670 mW/cm 2 (inducing 140°C). Even after three cycles of reattachment, the DA adhesive formulations retained 96% of the pristine sample’s adhesion strength measured at 110°C. Therefore, the DA adhesives are attractive candidates as reversible DoD systems applicable in higher temperatures.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Particle removal from a flat surface using a translating bounded vortex flow

A bounded vortex flow is a hydrodynamic approach for removal of particles from a surface without scattering the particles onto nearby surfaces. The bounded vortex flow field is generated by a nozzle that combines azimuthally tilted jets arranged in a circular pattern and a central suction port. When the nozzle face is directed toward an ‘impingement surface’, the flow develops a wall-normal intake vortex below the suction outlet, which causes high shear stress on the impingement surface. When particles are present on the impingement surface, the high shear stress causes particles to roll along the surface and to be lifted off the surface and transported up the core of the wall-normal vortex into the suction outlet. In typical applications, the nozzle would be translated along the impingement surface to clean particles from the surface. The current paper reports on an experimental study of the effect of nozzle translation on the effectiveness of the bounded vortex flow field for particle mitigation. The effectiveness of particle mitigation was examined as a function of flow rate through the nozzle, particle size, and nozzle translation velocity relative to the impingement surface. As a result, numerical computations are used to relate the flow rate to the maximum shear stress on the impingement surface, which is then used to theoretically predict onset of particle motion.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Geometry-based, Gaussian profile model for optical knife-edge displacement sensor

This article describes an analytical model for the well-known optical knife-edge displacement sensor that predicts the relationship between the knife-edge displacement and photointerrupter output. The model includes: 1) the geometry of a rectangular knife-edge profile penetrating a circular laser beam perpendicular to the beam axis; and 2) the Gaussian intensity profile for the beam cross-section. A comparison between the model predictions and measured photointerrupter for a linear range of knife-edge displacements is provided. It is shown that good agreement is obtained without model calibration.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Understanding the ignition process and flame structure of conventional and oxygenated fuels under engine relevant conditions – An optical study

Renewably generated synthetic fuels such as poly-oxymethylene ethers (OME) have a significant potential to effectively break the soot-NOX trade-off in compression ignition engines by using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) to maintain low nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions while maintaining good efficiency and simultaneously contributing to circular carbon economy. However, owing to the fundamental differences in properties of OME when compared to fossil-based diesel fuels, it is critical to fully understand its ignition and combustion phenomenology to take advantage of this fuel to its utmost potential. In this context, this work outlines the results of a systematic experimental study performed in a heavy-duty, single-cylinder, optical engine probing the spatial and temporal progression of fuel decomposition and ignition behavior of OME when compared to n-dodecane, a diesel-fuel surrogate. Thermodynamic analysis and optical diagnostics techniques including simultaneous HCHO-PLIF and OH-PLIF complemented by high-speed OH* chemiluminescence were employed along with parametric sweeps of intake temperature and EGR dilution rates. OME does not exhibit any observable low temperature heat release irrespective of the ambient oxygen concentration. Differences in the observed diffusive flame structure such as longer flame lift-off length, less pronounced combustion recession, faster premixed burn at ignition (“volumetric” ignition), non-sooting behavior suggest that the inherent presence of fuel-bound oxygen in OME can skew the air-fuel ratio (AFR) distribution within the jet thereby reducing the reliance of combustion on mixing and air entrainment. This leads to rapid late-cycle oxidation leading to shorter combustion duration and favorable combustion phasing. Results also suggest that OME exhibits relatively weak negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behavior, however, the OME fuel-decomposition kinetic-pathways produce significant concentration of HCHO, which might be erroneously interpreted as a product of cool-flames.

Air-fuel ratio↗
DOE OSTI2026

Engineering acid-base active sites on an N-doped biochar catalyst for microwave-assisted biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

Acid-base bifunctional catalysts play a crucial role in converting high-free fatty acid (FFA) feedstocks into biodiesel by enabling the simultaneous esterification and transesterification of triglycerides in a single step, thereby minimizing saponification and streamlining the process. In this study, we report the design and development of a novel N-doped acid-base bifunctional biochar catalyst synthesized from renewable biomass precursors- glucose and chitosan. The catalyst’s acidic sites were introduced via surface functionalization with o-sulfobenzoic acid cyclic anhydride, grafting -SO₃H groups onto the carbon framework, while basic sites were generated from amine functionalities (-NH) derived from chitosan, yielding a robust and truly bifunctional surface. The catalyst was characterized and used for the microwave-assisted transesterification of waste cooking oil, and process optimization using response surface methodology (RSM-CCD) yielding a maximum biodiesel yield of 98.8 ± 0.4% under optimal conditions (methanol-to-oil molar ratio 20:1, catalyst loading 5.7 wt%, temperature 99 °C, and reaction time 46.6 min). The catalyst demonstrated good stability, maintaining a yield of 92.2 ± 0.4% after eight reuse cycles. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted for 1 kg of biodiesel production revealed a global warming potential of 0.85 kg CO 2 eq and human toxicity potential of 1.59 kg 1,4-DB eq, with the largest environmental contributions arising from catalyst preparation and reuse. In conclusion, this work highlights a green and circular approach to biodiesel production, combining renewable catalyst design, waste feedstock utilization, and quantitative sustainability assessment to guide future developments in sustainable catalysis and biofuel engineering.

Bifunctional catalyst↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hydrokinetic energy harvesting from slow currents using flow-induced oscillations

To harness marine hydrokinetic energy from slow flows, which constitute the majority of currents, tides, and rivers, new Passive Turbulence Control (PTC), consisting of large turbulence stimulators, is tested experimentally on circular cylinders on springs. Here, this study experimentally investigates the effect of PTC on the onset of Flow-Induced Oscillations (FIO) and particularly the relative onset of Vortex-Induced Vibrations (VIV) and galloping. Experiments are conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water Channel, University of Michigan. Fixed are: mass ratio m* = 1.48, aspect ratio l/D = 10.29, and total damping ratio ζ = 0.04. Parameters are: cylinder diameter D, spring stiffness K, PTC location and height, and flow speed U$\in$[0.36 m/s-1.45 m/s]. Placing the leading edge of PTC at 40–60° induces high amplitude FIO while placement at 10–20° suppresses FIO. As PTC height increases, VIV and galloping initiate earlier and exhibit higher amplitude with a steeper slope. Lower spring stiffness initiates VIV earlier by reducing the oscillator natural frequency in water. Even though large PTC maintained its effectiveness in initiating galloping early, it has no effect on the earlier initiation of VIV, which starts at a nearly fixed reduced velocity. Lower spring stiffness and large PTC enable power generation at low current speed (0.2 m/s).

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗