Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “theoretical models”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

Energetic Neutral Atom Emissions From Venus: VEX Observations and Theoretical Modeling

Venus has almost no intrinsic magnetic field to shield itself from its surrounding environment. The solar wind thus directly interacts with the planetary ionosphere and atmosphere. One of the by-products of this close encounter is the production of energetic neutral atom (ENA) emissions. Theoretical studies have shown that significant amount of ENAs are emanated from the planet. The launch of the Venus Express (VEX) in 2005 provided the first light ever of the Venus ENA emissions. The observed ENA flux level and structure are in pretty good agreement with the theoretical studies. In this paper, we present VEX ENA data and the comparison with numerical simulations. We seek to understand the solar wind interaction with the planet and the impacts on its atmospheres.

Fok, M.-C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Theoretical models for polarimetric radar clutter

The Mueller matrix and polarization covariance matrix are described for polarimetric radar systems. The clutter is modeled by a layer of random permittivity, described by a three-dimensional correlation function, with variance, and horizontal and vertical correlation lengths. This model is applied, using the wave theory with Born approximations carried to the second order, to find the backscattering elements of the polarimetric matrices. It is found that 8 out of 16 elements of the Mueller matrix are identically zero, corresponding to a covariance matrix with four zero elements. Theoretical predictions are matched with experimental data for vegetation fields.

Borgeaud, M.↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Theoretical Model for Computing Freezing Point Depression of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes

Reliable prediction of freezing point depression in liquid electrolytes will accelerate the development of improved Li-ion batteries which can operate in low temperature environments. In this work we establish a computational methodology to calculate activity coefficients and liquidus lines for battery-relevant liquid electrolytes. Electronic structure methods are used in conjuction with classical molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical expressions for Born solvation energy, ion-atmosphere effects from Debye-Hückel theory and solvent entropic effects. The framework uses no a priori knowledge beyond neat solvent properties and the concentration of salt. LiPF 6 in propylene carbonate (PC), LiPF 6 in dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and LiClO 4 in DMC are investigated up to 1 molal with accuracy better than 3 °C when compared to experimental freezing point measurements. Finally, we find that the difference in freezing point depression between the propylene carbonate-based electrolyte and the dimethyl carbonate electrolytes originates from the difference in the solvent dielectric constant.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1990

A theoretical model for the temporal evolution of HF-enhanced plasma lines

The HF-enhanced plasma lines (HFPLs) observed in the Arecibo heating experiments refer to the radar returns at frequencies near the sum and difference of the radar frequency and the HF-heatear frequency. Those enhanced spectral lines are caused by backscatter of radar signals from parametrically excited plasma waves having a wavenumber of 18 n. A nonlinear theory was developed to describe the temporal evolution of those specified plasma waves and their originating altitude interval of HFPLs observed at Arecibo, Puerto Rico are explained. The theoretical resultsagree well with the observation (Djuth and Sulzer, 1989).

Kuo, S. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Theoretical model for a thin cylindrical film optical fiber fluorosensor

The analytical treatment of power efficiency (P(eff) is undertaken for the case of a positively guiding optical fiber with a thin-film source distributed in the core-cladding interface. The approach adopts the exact solution of the cylindrical optical fiber with an infinite cladding to account for differences between the indices of refraction of the core and the cladding. The excitation of low-loss leaky modes by the cladding is ignored, and only the injection by the evanescent field is considered. The formulas permit the analysis of the power-injection efficiency of fibers with arbitrary differences in indices of refraction. P(eff) does not always increase with V number, but rather varies slightly with wavelength and fiber-core radius and varies significantly with the difference in the indices of refraction. The theoretical results of the work are of interest for designing an atomic-O chemical sensor based on evanescent-wave coupling.

Egalon, Claudio O.↗
DOE OSTI2023

The spectroscopic quadrupole moment of the 2 1 + state of 12 C: A benchmark of theoretical models

The spectroscopic quadrupole moment of the first 2 + state of 12 C has been measured employing the Coulomb-excitation re-orientation technique. Our result of $Q_{s} (2^{+}_{1}) = +9.3^{+3.5}_{-3.8}$ efm 2 suggests a larger oblate deformation than previously reported. Combining this with the consistently re-analyzed adopted value, we present the most precise value to date of $Q_{s} (2^{+}_{1})$ = +9.5(18) efm 2 , which is consistent with a geometrical rotor description. This simple outcome is compared to state-of-the-art shell-model, mean-field, ab initio calculations, cluster-based and geometrical-like theories, which show varying degrees of emergent quadrupole collectivity.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spontaneous imbibition in a square tube with corner films: theoretical model and numerical simulation

Spontaneous imbibition in an angular tube with corner films is a fundamental problem in many scientific and engineering processes. In this paper, a modified interacting capillary bundle model is developed to describe the liquid imbibition dynamics in a square tube with corner films. The square tube is decomposed into several interacting sub-capillaries and the local capillary pressure in each sub-capillary is derived based on the specific shape of its meniscus. The conductance of each sub-capillary is calculated using single-phase lattice Boltzmann simulation. The modified interacting capillary bundle model and color-gradient lattice Boltzmann method are used to simulate the liquid imbibition dynamics in the square tube with different fluid properties. The predictions by the modified interacting capillary bundle model match well with the lattice Boltzmann simulation results for different conditions, demonstrating the accuracy and robustness of the interacting capillary bundle model to describe the imbibition dynamics with corner films. In addition, the interacting capillary bundle model is helpful to investigate the mechanisms during spontaneous imbibition and the influences of fluid viscosity, surface tension, wetting phase contact angle and gravity on imbibition dynamics. Finally, a universal scaling law of imbibition dynamics for the main meniscus is developed and the scaling law for arc meniscus is also analyzed.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Theoretical modeling of hepatitis C acute infection in liver-humanized mice support pre-clinical assessment of candidate viruses for controlled-human-infection studies

Designing and carrying out a controlled human infection (CHI) model for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is critical for vaccine development. However, key considerations for a CHI model protocol include understanding of the earliest viral-host kinetic events during the acute phase and susceptibility of the viral isolate under consideration for use in the CHI model to antiviral treatment before any infections in human volunteers can take place. Humanized mouse models lack adaptive immune responses but provide a unique opportunity to obtain quantitative understanding of early HCV kinetics and develop mathematical models to further understand viral and innate immune response dynamics during acute HCV infection. We show that the models reproduce the measured HCV kinetics in humanized mice, which are consistent with early acute HCV-host dynamics in immunocompetent chimpanzees. Our findings suggest that humanized mice are well-suited to support development of a CHI model. In-silico and in-vivo modeling estimates provide a starting point to characterize candidate viruses for testing in CHI model studies.

Agent-based modeling↗
DOE OSTI2025

Game theoretic modeling and optimization of competition and collaboration in dual channel electronic waste supply chains

The rapid growth of electronic waste (e-waste) presents critical challenges for sustainable resource recovery and environmental protection. This study develops a dual-channel closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) model formulated as a hierarchical Stackelberg game, that integrates dynamic pricing and cost-sharing mechanisms to optimize both economic and environmental outcomes. The model explicitly captures strategic interactions between manufacturer-led and third-party recycling channels, accounting for consumer behavior, regulatory incentives, and market competition. Numerical simulations conducted (implemented over a four-iteration horizon using a commercial optimization solver) show that, relative to the baseline equilibrium, manufacturer profit increases from 11.6 thousand USD to 37.9 thousand USD (+226.8%), total recycled volume rises from 7,848 to 7,942 units (+1.2%), and collector profit nearly doubles under cost-sharing, enabling more equitable profit distribution. Furthermore, scenario-based simulations across Sub-Saharan Africa, high-income economies, and emerging Asian industrial countries reveal that infrastructure quality, policy intensity, and labor costs critically shape recycling efficiency and profit allocation. These findings demonstrate that subsidies alone are insufficient to ensure system efficiency. Instead, coordinated strategies that integrate internal incentive alignment with context-sensitive policy support are required. Overall, this study offers a robust framework for designing resilient, efficient, and regionally adaptable e-waste management systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Closed-form theoretical model of the secondary drop size in partial coalescence—Capturing pertinent timescales and viscous forces

One of the most important outcomes of partial drop coalescence is the ratio of the secondary drop radius to the primary drop radius, known as the drop ratio, ri. This ratio is thought to be approximately constant and independent of physical parameters of the fluids involved. However, here we reveal that ambient fluid viscosity can alter the size of the secondary drop and the drop ratio consequently. Using scaling analysis, we derive a model that predicts the behavior of the drop ratio as a function of the Ohnesorge number, a dimensionless ratio of viscous to inertial forces. In addition, we present our experimental results of coalescing drops on a planar interface under the influence of surface tension gradients. A high-speed digital camera is used to observe the evolution of drops as they coalesce with a bulk liquid. We show that this process is influenced by the surface tension gradient between the drop and the bulk liquid. The ratio of the secondary drop to the primary drop in partial coalescence is smaller than the reported values for coalescence without a surface tension gradient. The analytical model derived through this study is based on a new modified Ohnesorge number that includes surface tension gradients. Our analytical model is compared against other models and the results illustrate good agreement with our experimental findings and experimental data in the literature.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A theoretical model for sheath dynamics in the two-plasma mode of a cylindrical filament discharge

We present a refined understanding of cylindrical plasma-facing emitter cathodes by examining the limitations of the conventional space charge limited model, which overlooks ion trapping dynamics within the virtual cathode. While conventional theory distinguishes between temperature-limited and space charge limited regimes based on electron current constraints, our findings reveal that trapped ions can form a quasi-neutral “second plasma,” expanding upstream and interacting with the primary plasma. In cylindrical and other non-planar geometries, an expanding trapped-ions layer produces current enhancement by converting more of the emitted electron flux to passing flux. The current enhancement leads to a complex coupling between the trapped-ions plasma and upstream plasma through ionizing collisions in the upstream region and charge exchange collisions in the virtual cathode. The coupling results in mutual density enhancement and at the same time, antagonistic expansion dynamics between the two plasma layers. The process is understood using a new “aid-compete” model. Numerical solutions, validated against simulations, reveal the model's capacity to predict system evolution and complex discharge behaviors, albeit with qualitative approximations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

HALLUFIELD: DETECTING LLM HALLUCINATIONS VIA FIELD-THEORETIC MODELING

A research-focused Python package that implements our hallucination-detection method for large language models(LLMs). The code computes stability signals from LLM predictions across various hyperparameters sweeps and combines free-energy/entropy–style metrics to flag likely hallucinations, with tunable thresholds for batch scoring. The repo includes evaluation scripts, config files, and example notebooks to reproduce benchmark results and ablations; it depends on standard open-source libraries (PyTorch, Hugging Face) and runs on CPU/GPU. The repository examples only use public models/datasets only.

Bhattarai, Manish [Los Alamos National Labs]↗