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At least 1,045 records · Page 58

Spin liquid state in the disordered triangular lattice Sc 2 Ga 2 CuO 7 revealed by NMR

We present microscopic magnetic properties of a two-dimensional triangular lattice Sc 2 Ga 2 CuO 7 , consisting of single and double triangular Cu planes. An antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchange interaction J/k B ≈ 35 K between Cu 2+ (S = 1/2) spins in the triangular biplane is obtained from the analysis of intrinsic magnetic susceptibility data. The intrinsic magnetic susceptibility, extracted from 71 Ga NMR shift data, displays the presence of AFM short range spin correlations and remains finite down to 50 mK, suggesting a nonsinglet ground state. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T 1 ) reveals a slowing down of Cu 2+ spin fluctuations with decreasing T down to 100 mK. Magnetic specific heat (C m ) and 1/T 1 exhibit power law behavior at low temperatures, implying the gapless nature of the spin excitation spectrum. The absence of long range magnetic ordering down to ~J/700, nonzero spin susceptibility at low T, and the power law behavior of C m and 1/T 1 suggest a gapless quantum spin liquid (QSL) state. Our results demonstrate that persistent spin dynamics induced by frustration maintain a quantum-disordered state at T → 0 in this triangular lattice antiferromagnet. Furthermore, this suggests that the low energy modes are dominated by spinon excitations in the QSL state due to randomness engendered by disorder and frustration.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Analysis of Oxygen Liquefaction with Transient Flow Rates for ISRU Systems

Human occupation of lunar and Martian surfaces requires in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) to create a sustainable environment with the limited resources available in space. Fuel and oxidizer generation is essential for developing a refueling capability for spacecraft, significantly reducing the propellant mass required for landing. Liquefaction systems are a key step in producing and storing cryogenic liquids such as oxygen, hydrogen, and methane. All those fluids are critical to propulsion, life support, and other spacecraft systems. NASA has previously confirmed the presence of water on the Moon and an electrolysis process can be used to separate the oxygen from the hydrogen molecules. Oxygen has also been found within lunar regolith and can be separated through ISRU processes. The extracted oxygen gas can then be liquefied inside a storage tank with tube-on-tank heat exchangers for future use as an oxidizer for propellants. While steady state liquefaction performance is easy to model, power limitations and cyclical environments caused by the change in Sun exposure between day and night periods potentially call for transient operations. The following analysis was performed using the Thermal Desktop software to investigate how various transient gaseous oxygen (GOX) flow rates impact the production and storage of liquid oxygen (LOX) in a 1-g liquefaction system. Variations of sinusoidal and exponential step functions were selected to model potential GOX flow rates that could be experienced by ISRU systems on lunar or Martian surfaces. This early computational analysis provides some insight on how transient operations impact oxygen liquefaction systems and helps illustrate operational questions to explore experimentally throughout the design process.

Cryogenic Fluid Management↗

Femtosecond x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy enables direct observations of atomic-scale relaxations of glass forming liquids

Glass-forming liquids exhibit structural relaxation behaviors, reflecting underlying atomic rearrangements on a wide range of timescales and playing a crucial role in determining material properties. However, the relaxation processes on the atomic scale are not well-understood due to the experimental difficulties in directly characterizing the evolving correlations of atomic-scale order in disordered systems. Here, in this study, we harness the coherence and ultrashort pulse characteristics of an x-ray free electron laser to directly probe atomic-scale ultrafast relaxation dynamics in the model system Ge 15 Te 85 . We demonstrate an analysis strategy for determining the intermediate scattering function by extracting the contrast decay of summed scattering patterns from two rapidly successive, nearly identical femtosecond x-ray pulses generated by a split-delay system. The result indicates a full decorrelation of atomic-scale order on the sub-picosecond timescale, supporting the argument for a high-fluidity fragile state of liquid Ge 15 Te 85 above its dynamic crossover temperature. The demonstrated strategy opens an avenue for experimental studies of relaxation dynamics in liquids, glasses, and other highly disordered systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Coal mining with a liquid solvent

Study suggests carbonated water can dissolve or suspend coal and carry it to surface. Mixture of carbon dioxide and water may be coal solvent that will make unmanned mining reality. When used with proposed process monitoring coal solubility with conventional strain gage, solvent is basis for rapid cost effective extraction of coal from underground seams.

Lawson, D. D.↗

Operation of the trigger system for the ICARUS detector at Fermilab

The ICARUS liquid argon TPC detector is taking data on the Booster (BNB) and Main Injector (NuMI) Neutrino beam lines at Fermilab with a trigger system based on the scintillation light produced by charged particles in coincidence with the proton beam extraction from the accelerators. The architecture and the deployment of the trigger system in the first two runs for physics are presented, as well as the triggered event rates. The event recognition efficiency has been evaluated as a function of the deposited energy and the position of cosmic muons stopping inside the detector.

Neutrino detectors↗

Deployment of Cesium Recovered from High Level Liquid Waste for Irradiation - Indian Scenario - 13128

Recovery of Cs-137 from HLW and its utilisation as source pencil in place of Co-60 is vital for medical and sewage treatment applications in India. For separation of Cs, specific ion exchange resins as well as 'Calyx crown' solvent have been developed and synthesized indigenously. A flow sheet involving separation of Cs from acidic HLW using Ammonium Molybdo Phosphate (AMP) resins, recovery of Cs from the loaded AMP column by dissolving it in alkali, ion exchange purification of Cs rich alkaline solution using Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Poly condensate (RF) resins and its elution in cesium nitrate form was developed and demonstrated. Solvent extraction route employing 0.03 Molar, 1-3-octyl oxy Calyx (4) arene crown-6 in 30% isodecyl alcohol and dodecane was also established using mixer settlers. Cesium lithium borosilicate glass based formulations have been considered as a glass matrix for Cs irradiation pencils. While choosing this vitreous matrix, attributes addressing maximum possible Cs-137 loading, low glass pouring temperature to minimise Cs volatility, reasonably good mechanical strength and good chemical durability have been considered. Recovered cesium nitrate solution was vitrified along with glass additives in an induction heated metallic melter and subsequently poured into 12 numbers of Cs irradiation pencils positioned on turn-table equipped with the load cell. The complete cycle involving recovery of Cs from HLW followed by its conversion into Cs pencil was demonstrated. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Effect of bioglass 45S5 addition on properties, microstructure and cellular response of tetracalcium phosphate/monetite cements

Tetracalcium phosphate/nanomonetite (TTCPMH) cement composites with 7.5 and 15 wt% addition of melt-derived 45S5 bioactive glass were prepared by mechanical homogenization of powder components and 2% NaH{sub 2}PO{sub 4} solution was used as a hardening liquid. The properties of composites with the acidic (Ca/P ratio equal 1.5) or basic (Ca/P ratio equal 1.67) TTCPMH component were compared. Addition of glass component caused rapid rise in pH of composites up to 10. In microstructure of basic cement composite, the large bioglass particles weakly bounded to surrounding cement matrix were found contrary to a more compact microstructure of acidic cement composites with the high number of spherical silica particles. Both the significant refinement of hydroxyapatite particles and the change to needle-like morphology with rise in the content of bioglass were identified in hydroxyapatite coatings created during soaking of composites in phosphate buffered saline. In acidic cement mixtures, the increase of compressive strength with an amount of bioglass was found whereas the opposite tendency was revealed in the case of basic cement mixtures. The higher concentrations of ions were verified in solutions after immersion of acidic cement composites. The severe cytotoxicity of extracts and composite cement substrates containing 15 wt% of bioglass demonstrated adverse effects of both the ionic concentrations and unappropriate surface texture on proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells. The enhanced ALP activities of cells cultured on composite cements confirmed the positive effect of bioactive glass addition on differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. - Highlights: • Novel B45S5 bioglass/tetracalcium phosphate/nanomonetite cement composites • Cement basicity negatively affected their microstructure. • Acid composite cements had higher compressive strengths than basic composites. • Fast differentiation of MSC to osteoblast line on composite with 7.5 wt% of bioglass • Severe cytotoxicity of 24 h extracts from composites with 15 wt% of bioglass.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Numerical study of the temperature dependence of the NMR relaxation rate across the superfluid–Bose glass transition in one dimension

Here, we study the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/ T 1 1 in random one-dimensional spin chains as a function of the temperature and disorder strength. In the zero temperature limit, the system displays a disorder-induced quantum phase transition between a critical Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) phase and a localized Bose glass phase. The 1/ T 1 is investigated across this transition using large-scale simulations based on matrix product state techniques. We find that this quantity can detect the transition and probe the value of the dimensionless TLL parameter K . We also compute the NMR relaxation rate distributions for each temperature and disorder strength considered. In particular, we discuss the applicability of the stretched exponential fit to the return-to-equilibrium function to extract the 1/ T 1 experimentally. The results presented here should provide valuable insights in regards of future NMR experiments in realistic disordered spin compounds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Isolation of the New Antiplasmodial Butanolide, Malleastrumolide A, from Malleastrum sp. (Meliaceae) from Madagascar

An extract of Malleastrum sp. (Meliaceae) collected in Madagascar by the Madagascar International Cooperative Biodiversity Group was found to have antimalarial activity, with an IC 50 value between 2.5 and 5 μg ml −1 . After purification by liquid‐liquid partition, chromatography on a Diaion open column, C 18 SPE and C 18 reversed phase HPLC , the new butanolide, malleastrumolide A, was isolated. The structure of malleastrumolide A was determined by mass spectrometry, NMR , and ECD . The double bond position was determined by cross‐metathesis and mass spectrometry. The compound has antiproliferative activity against the A2780 ovarian cancer cell line with an IC 50 value of 17.4 μ m and antiplasmodial activity against the drug‐resistant Dd2 strain of Plasmodium falciparum with an IC 50 value of 2.74 μ m .

Du, Yongle↗

Functionalized Mesoporous Carbon and Silica for Effective Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Magnet Scrap

The dependence on international supplies of rare earth elements (REEs) have prompted the US to explore alternative sources and sustainable technologies for domestic REE production. One potential source is the secondary electronic and industrial wastes at the Department of Defense (DoD) complexes and across the US. These hazardous wastes require high costs for the maintenance and remediation, while their high-REE contents offer unique opportunities for REE recovery. However, current hydrometallurgical technologies for REE extraction are energy intensive and costly, with low REE recovery rate and the generation of toxic wastes. Thus, it is beneficial to develop environmentally friendly technologies for REE extraction and processing from the secondary wastes. This project aims to develop novel functionalized mesoporous carbon fiber (MCF) and silica for effective recovery of REEs from end-of-life NdFeB magnet scrap.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Savannah River National Laboratory – General Fusion 2023 INFUSE Report (Rev.1)

This report describes the results from an INFUSE research project, where Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in collaboration with General Fusion (GF) used process modeling to understand and optimize commercial power plant (CPP) fuel cycle designs based on parameters provided by GF. The study primarily focused on two candidate fuel cycles with different blanket materials, one with a lead lithium eutectic (LLE) blanket and the other with a pure lithium (Li) blanket. LLE benefits from a low melting point, favorable neutronics, and lower reactivity, but liquid lithium has the potential for higher tritium breeding ratios (TBR) and does not poison the plasma as a high Z contaminant. It was found that the main differences between LLE and Li designs are the extraction technologies required to remove tritium from the blanket and the amount of tritium and its distribution within the facility. More than 80% of the in-process tritium inventory for the LLE design is contained in the isotope separation system, while for the Li design, over 60% of the in-process tritium inventory is contained within the blanket material. This is due to significant tritium retention by Li. For the Li blanket, the burden of tritium processing rests on the blanket extraction technology rather than the traditional exhaust processing route. Thus, the blanket extraction technology is a main driver of tritium inventory in the Li system and determines the subsequent interface with the tritium processing plant.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

From Rate Measurements to Mechanistic Data for Condensed Matter Reactions: A Case Study Using the Crystallization of [Zn(OH 2 ) 6 ][ZnCl 4 ]

The kinetics of crystallization of the R = 3 hydrate of zinc chloride, [Zn(OH 2 ) 6 ][ZnCl 4 ], is measured by time-resolved synchrotron x-ray diffraction, time-resolved neutron diffraction, and by differential scanning calorimetry. It is shown that analysis of the rate data using the classic Kolmogorov, Johnson, Mehl, Avrami (KJMA) kinetic model affords radically different rate constants for equivalent reaction conditions. Reintroducing the amount of sample measured by each method into the kinetic model, using our recently developed modified-KJMA model (M-KJMA), it is shown that each of these diverse rate measurement techniques can give the intrinsic, material specific rate constant, the velocity of the phase boundary, v pb . These data are then compared to the velocity of the crystallization front directly measured optically. The time-resolved diffraction methods uniquely monitor the loss of the liquid reactant and formation of the crystalline product demonstrating that the crystallization of this hydrate phase proceeds through no intermediate phases. The temperature dependent v pb data are then well fit to transition zone theory to extract activation parameters. These demonstrate that the rate-limiting component to this crystallization reaction is the ordering of the waters (or protons) of hydration into restricted positions of the crystalline lattice resulting in large negative entropy of activation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Extraction of Oxygen from the Martian Atmosphere

A mechanical process was designed for direct extraction of molecular oxygen from the martian atmosphere based on liquefaction of the majority component, CO2, followed by separation of the lower-boiling components. The atmospheric gases are compressed from about 0.007 bar to 13 bar and then cooled to liquefy most of the CO2. The uncondensed gases are further compressed to 30 bar or more, and then cooled again to recover water as ice and to remove much of the remaining CO2. The final gaseous products consisting mostly of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon monoxide are liquefied and purified by cryogenic distillation. The liquefied CO2 is expanded back to the low-pressure atmosphere with the addition of heat to recover a majority of the compression energy and to produce the needed mechanical work. Energy for the process is needed primarily as heat to drive the CO2-based expansion power system. When properly configured, the extraction process can be a net producer of electricity. The conceptual design, termed 'MARRS' for Mars Atmosphere Resource Recovery System, was based on the NASA/JSC Mars Reference Mission (MRM) requirement for oxygen. This mission requires both liquid oxygen for propellant, and gaseous oxygen as a component of air for the mission crew. With single redundancy both for propellant and crew air, the oxygen requirement for the MRM is estimated at 5.8 kg/hr. The process thermal power needed is about 120 kW, which can be provided at 300-500 C. A lower-cost nuclear reactor made largely of stainless steel could serve as the heat source. The chief development needed for MARRS is an efficient atmospheric compression technology, all other steps being derived from conventional chemical engineering separations. The conceptual design describes an exceptionally low-mass compression system that can be made from ultra-lightweight and deployable structures. This system adapts to the rapidly changing martian environment to supply the atmospheric resource to MARRS at constant conditions.

England, C.↗

Chemical dismantling of permanent magnet material and battery material

Certain method embodiments are described and useful for recycling permanent magnet materials (e.g. permanent magnet alloys) and battery materials (e.g. battery electrode materials) to extract critical and/or valuable elements including REEs, Co and Ni. Method embodiments involve reacting such material with at least one of an ammonium salt and an iron (III) salt to achieve at least one of a liquid phase chemical reaction and a mechanochemical reaction.

Balema, Viktor↗

Model-Based Extracted Water Desalination System for Carbon Sequestration

Over the last 1.5 years, GE Global Research and Pennsylvania State University defined a model-based, scalable, and multi-stage extracted water desalination system that yields clean water, concentrated brine, and, optionally, salt. The team explored saline brines that ranged across the expected range for extracted water for carbon sequestration reservoirs (40,000 up to 220,000 ppm total dissolved solids, TDS). In addition, the validated the system performance at pilot scale with field-sourced water using GE’s pre-pilot and lab facilities. This project encompassed four principal tasks, in addition to Project Management and Planning: 1) identify a deep saline formation carbon sequestration site and a partner that are suitable for supplying extracted water; 2) conduct a techno-economic assessment and down-selection of pre-treatment and desalination technologies to identify a cost-effective system for extracted water recovery; 3) validate the downselected processes at the lab/pre-pilot scale; and 4) define the scope of the pilot desalination project. Highlights from each task are described below: Deep saline formation characterization The deep saline formations associated with the five DOE NETL 1260 Phase 1 projects were characterized with respect to their mineralogy and formation water composition. Sources of high TDS feed water other than extracted water were explored for high TDS desalination applications, including unconventional oil and gas and seawater reverse osmosis concentrate. Technoeconomic analysis of desalination technologies Techno-economic evaluations of alternate brine concentration technologies, including humidification-dehumidification (HDH), membrane distillation (MD), forward osmosis (FO), turboexpander-freeze, solvent extraction and high pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO), were conducted. These technologies were evaluated against conventional falling film-mechanical vapor recompression (FF-MVR) as a baseline desalination process. Furthermore, a quality function deployment (QFD) method was used to compare alternate high TDS desalination technologies to FF-MVR. High pressure reverse osmosis was found to a be a promising alternative desalination technology. A deep-dive technoeconomic analysis of HPRO was performed, including Capex and Opex estimates, for seawater RO (SWRO). Additionally, two additional cases were explored: 1) a comparison of a SWRO plus HPRO system to the option of doubling the size of a standard seawater RO system to achieve the same total pure water recovery rate; and 2) a flue gas desulfurization wastewater treatment zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) application, where preconcentration with RO (SWRO or SWRO + HPRO) before evaporation and crystallization was compared to FF-MVR and crystallization technologies without RO preconcentration. Pre-pilot process validation Pre-pilot-scale tests were conducted using field production water to validate key process steps for extracted water pretreatment. Approximately 5,000 gallons of field produced water was processed through, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and steam regenerable sorbent operations. Smaller quantities were processed through microclarification. In addition, analytical methods (purge-and-trap gas chromatography and Hach TOC analytical methods) were validated. Lab-scale HPRO elements were constructed and tested at high pressures, to identify and mitigate technical risks of the technology. Lastly, improvements in RO membrane materials were identified as the necessary next step to achieve further improvement in element performance at high pressure. Scope of Field Pilot A field pilot for extracted water pretreatment was designed.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Thermophysical properties of liquid Ni around the melting temperature from molecular dynamics simulation

Thermophysical properties of liquid nickel (Ni) around the melting temperature are investigated by means of classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, using three different embedded atom method potentials to model the interactions between the Ni atoms. Melting temperature, enthalpy, static structure factor, self-diffusion coefficient, shear viscosity, and thermal diffusivity are compared to recent experimental results. Using ab initio MD simulation, we also determine the static structure factor and the mean-squared displacement at the experimental melting point. For most of the properties, excellent agreement is found between experiment and simulation, provided the comparison relative to the corresponding melting temperature. We discuss the validity of the Hansen-Verlet criterion for the static structure factor as well as the Stokes-Einstein relation between self-diffusion coefficient and shear viscosity. The thermal diffusivity is extracted from the autocorrelation function of a wavenumber-dependent temperature fluctuation variable.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Operations and Recent Upgrades to a Tritium Recycling Facility - 20375

Nuclear Sources and Services Inc. (NSSI) is a waste handling treatment company that has been operating since 1971. In 2000, NSSI began building a 1,000 m{sup 2} (∼10,000 sqft) tritium recycling facility on the Houston, Texas premises to address a growing need in the waste disposal market. Over the years, the capability of the facility grew to address many different waste streams with the goal of recycling > 99.9% of all tritium activity back into the fusion community. This is achieved by maintaining an effluent stack release well below the 150 GBq/year (C Ci/year) operating limit and maintaining all liquid and solid waste disposal below the low-level radioactive release limit of 0.C MBq/kg (10 μCi/kg). The unique processing systems in the facility attracts many challenging contracts. Within the past two years, NSSI has engaged with customers to treat; organic mixed wastes that simultaneously contain tritium and carbon-14, safely extract tritium from large quantities of exit sign lights, and remove tritium from uncharacterised legacy depleted uranium beds from a superfund site. This paper will outline the initial testing, the system upgrades to treat these varied streams, and the progress in processing the feedstocks provided by these projects. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Magnetohydrodynamic generators using two-phase liquid-metal flows

Two-phase flow generator cycle of a magnetohydrodynamic /MHD/ generator uses a working fluid which is compressible and treated as an expanding gas. The two-phase mixture passes from the heat source through the MHD generator, where the expansion process takes place and the electrical energy is extracted.

Petrick, M.↗