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At least 1,081 records · Page 60
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

AGR-5/6/7 Experiment Monitoring and Simulation Progress

Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR)--5/6/7 is the last of a series of AGR experiments conducted in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in support of development and qualification of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) low-enriched fuel for use in high temperature gas-cooled reactors. The test train contains five separate capsules that are independently controlled and monitored. Each capsule contains multiple 12.51 mm long compacts filled with low-enriched uranium carbide/oxide (UCO) TRISO fuel particles. The objectives of the AGR-5/6/7 experiment are to: 1. Irradiate reference-design fuel particles to support fuel qualification. 2. Establish operating margins for the fuel beyond normal operating conditions. 3. Provide irradiated fuel performance data and irradiated fuel samples for post-irradiation examination (PIE) and safety testing.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS2017

Microstructure Based Material-Sand Particulate Interactions and Assessment of Coatings for High Temperature Turbine Blades

Gas turbine engines for military/commercial fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft use thermal barrier coatings in the high-temperature sections of the engine for improved efficiency and power. The desire to further make improvements in gas turbine engine efficiency and high power-density is driving the research and development of thermal barrier coatings and the effort of improving their tolerance to fine foreign particulates that may be contained in the intake air. Both commercial and military aircraft engines often are required to operate over sandy regions such as in the Middle-East nations, as well as over volcanic zones. For rotorcraft gas turbine engines, the sand ingestion is adverse during take-off, hovering near ground, and landing conditions. Although, most of the rotorcraft gas turbine engines are fitted with inlet particle separators, they are not 100 percent efficient in filtering fine sand particles of size 75 microns or below. The presence of these fine solid particles in the working fluid medium has an adverse effect on the durability of turbine blade thermal barrier coatings and overall performance of the engine. Typical turbine blade damages include blade coating wear, sand glazing, Calcia-Magnesia-Alumina-Silicate (CMAS) attack, oxidation, plugged cooling holes, all of which can cause rapid performance deterioration including loss of aircraft. The objective of this research is to understand the fine particle interactions with typical ceramic coatings of turbine blades at the microstructure level. A finite-element based microstructure modeling and analysis has been performed to investigate particle-surface interactions, and restitution characteristics. Experimentally, a set of tailored thermal barrier coatings and surface treatments were down-selected through hot burner rig tests and then applied to first stage nozzle vanes of the Gas Generator Turbine of a typical rotorcraft gas turbine engine. Laser Doppler velocity measurements were performed during hot burner rig testing to determine sand particle incoming velocities and their rebound characteristics upon impact on coated material targets. Further, engine sand ingestion tests were carried out to test the CMAS tolerance of the coated nozzle vanes. The findings from this on-going collaborative research to develop the next-gen sand tolerant coatings for turbine blades are presented in this paper.

Engine Tests↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multi-pulse time resolved gamma ray spectroscopy of the advanced radiographic capability using gas Cherenkov diagnostics

The advanced radiographic capability located at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) uses high intensity, short pulse lasers to create bright photon sources for diagnosing high energy density experiments. There are radiographic needs for a multi-frame time-resolved MeV gamma diagnostic for experiments on the NIF with sub-nanosecond resolution. A series of experiments demonstrated measurements of MeV x-ray spectra resolved with a time separation of a few nanoseconds through the use of gas Cherenkov detectors. In this work, a two-pulse radiographic experiment found a 30% reduction in > 2.8 MeV photon flux compared to the first frame exposure.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effect of Zeolitization on Noble Gas Transport in Natural Materials [Poster]

The goal of this project is to quantify the effect of adsorption on noble gas transport though rocks that contain zeolite compared with rocks that don't. Success is defined by developing a coefficient called Retardation that describes the separation effect of zeolites. This coefficient can then be used by gas transport modelers to predict field-scale observations of noble gases released underground in a chemical explosion

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

AGR-5/6/7 Irradiation Test Final As-run Report

This document presents the as-run analysis of the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR)-5/6/7 irradiation experiment. AGR-5/6/7 is the last of a series of experiments conducted in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory in support of the development and qualification of tri-structural isotropic low-enriched fuel for use in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The test train contained five separate capsules that were independently controlled and monitored. Each capsule contained multiple 24.91-mm-long and 12.25-mm-dimeter compacts filled with low-enriched uranium carbide/oxide tri-structural isotropic fuel particles. The objectives of the AGR-5/6/7 experiment were to: • Irradiate reference-design fuel particles to support fuel qualification. • Establish operating margins for the fuel, beyond normal operating conditions. • Provide irradiated-fuel performance data and irradiated-fuel samples for post-irradiation examination and safety testing. The primary objective of the AGR-5/6 test (Capsules 1, 2, 4, and 5) was to verify the successful performance of the reference-design fuel under normal operating conditions. The AGR-7 test (Capsule 3) was designed to explore fuel performance at higher temperatures. Its primary objective was to demonstrate the capability of the fuel to withstand conditions beyond normal operating conditions, in support of plant design and licensing. AGR-5/6/7 will also provide irradiated-fuel performance data based on the fission gas release from particles during irradiation. To achieve the test objectives, the AGR-5/6/7 experiment was irradiated in the northeast flux trap of the ATR with a planned duration of 500 effective full-power days. The northeast flux trap was selected because its larger diameter provided greater flexibility for test-train design compared to the Large B positions used for the AGR-1 and AGR-2 irradiations, significantly enhancing test capabilities for the combined irradiation campaigns. Due to delays in the ATR schedule, the AGR-5/6/7 irradiation was significantly shorter than the originally planned 13-cycle schedule. Irradiation began on February 16, 2018 and ended on July 22, 2020, spanning nine ATR cycles (162B–168A) over two and a half years. Thus, the AGR-5/6/7 fuel compacts were irradiated for a total of approximately 360.9 effective full-power days. Final burnup values, on a per-compact basis, ranged from 5.66 to 15.26% fissions per initial heavy metal atom, while fast fluence values ranged from 1.62 to 5.55 × 1025 n/m2 (E >0.18 MeV). Time-averaged volume-averaged fuel temperatures on a capsule basis at the end of irradiation ranged from 756°C in Capsule 5 to 1313°C in Capsule 3 excluding days with significantly lower temperature during the two short powered axial locator mechanism cycles, 163A and 167A. By the end of irradiation, 48 out of 54 installed thermocouples had failed (the bottom three capsules lost all thermocouples). During the first five cycles (162B – 165A), the fission-gas isotope release-rate-to-birthrate (R/B) ratios were stable in the 10-8–10-6 range, and no in-pile particle failures were observed based on the gross gamma counts. During this time, the high exposed kernel fraction and high fuel particle temperatures in Capsule 1 led to a maximum R/B value of around 2 ? 10-6 for Kr-85m. The fission gas release in all capsules started to increase from the second half of Cycle 166A, when a large number of in-pile particle failures occurred in Capsule 1 and a gas line problem in this capsule caused fission gas leakage at various degrees into the other four capsules. This gas line problem also prevented a fission gas release measurement for Capsule 1 during the last three cycles due to gas flow isolation. By the end of irradiation, it is estimated that approximately 15 particles failed in Capsule 3, which was considered possible because the experiment was designed to operate beyond the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor normal operating temperature range. A few hundred in-pile particle failures were estimated for Capsule 1 by the end of Cycle 166A, but the total number of failures is unknown due to the lack of fission gas release data in the later cycles. Additionally, four potential in-pile failures were identified for Capsule 2 during the last cycle, Cycle 168A. In contrast, no in-pile failures were identified in the top two capsules (4 and 5) based on the absence of the typical spikes in gross gamma counts and low failure estimates using the AGR-3/4 R/B per exposed kernel model.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1949

Experimental study of flow past turbine blades

The requirements on gas turbines for aircraft power units, namely, adequate efficiency, operation at high gas temperatures, low weight, and small dimensions, must be taken into consideration during the design of the blading. To secure good efficiency, it is necessary that the gas flow past the blades as smoothly as possible without separation. This is relatively easily obtainable in the accelerated flow of turbine blading, if the blade spacing is chosen small enough. A small blade spacing, however, is detrimental to the other requirements outlined above. Operation at high gas temperatures usually calls for blade cooling. This cooling is associated with a power input that lowers the turbine efficiency. Since the amount of heat that must be carried off for coding a blade can be influenced rather little, the gross power input for a turbine stage can be reduced by keeping the number of blades to a minimum, that is, with blades of high spacing ratio. But here also a limit is imposed, the exceeding of which is followed by separation of flow. Hence the requirement of finding blade forms on which the flow separates at rather high spacing ratios .

Eckert, E.↗
DOE OSTI2025

New Molecular Mechanisms for Greenhouse Gas Capture in Metal-Organic Frameworks: Carbon Dioxide and Beyond

Separations involving gaseous small molecules, including acid gases, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons, are vital to U.S. energy and technological dominance. However, many current separations technologies are too energy-intensive for broad deployment. Sorptive separations, in which a mixture of gases is contacted with a porous solid material, leading to separation based on the differing affinity of the gases for the solid, promise lower energy requirements compared to many existing technologies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1983

Prediction of a propellant tank pressure history using state space methods

An analysis of the time response of a propellant supply system operating in the blowdown mode is presented. The supply system is part of a pump-fed propulsion system intended for use on interplanetary spacecraft. As such, the supply system must provide the pump with propellant at sufficient pressure to avoid pump cavitation. The system, consisting of the tank, the liquid propellant, the pressurant gas and propellant vapor mixture, and a film layer separating the liquid and vapor phases, is analyzed using the principles of mass and energy conservation. The resulting set of ordinary, coupled, nonlinear differential equations for the thermodynamic state variables is integrated as an initial value problem. The resulting histories of total pressure, propellant vapor pressure, propellant liquid temperature, film layer temperature, propellant vapor/pressurant gas temperature, propellant vapor mass, and propellant liquid mass enable the calculation of the net positive suction head available at the pump which determines the viability of the pump-fed system concept when operated in the blowdown mode.

Estey, P. N.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Air Quality Monitor

The Stak-Tracker CEM (Continuous Emission Monitor) Gas Analyzer is an air quality monitor capable of separating the various gases in a bulk exhaust stream and determining the amounts of individual gases present within the stream. The monitor is produced by GE Reuter- Stokes, a subsidiary of GE Corporate Research & Development Center. The Stak-Tracker uses a Langley Research Center software package which measures the concentration of a target gas by determining the degree to which molecules of that gas absorb an infrared beam. The system is environmental-friendly, fast and has relatively low installation and maintenance costs. It is applicable to gas turbines and various industries including glass, paper and cement.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1989

Neon isotope studies of Fayetteville and Kapoeta meteorites and clues to ancient solar activity

Under the assumption that the solar-flare bombardment of the irradiated grains of gas-rich meteorites occurred about 4.5 b.y. ago on the parent body regoliths at 3 A.U., an estimate of the solar cosmic ray-produced Ne-21 is made by studying etched pyroxene minera separates from both light and dark portions of the gas-rich meteorites Fayetteville and Kapoeta. Excesses of solar cosmic ray Ne-21 were observed in dark portions of these meteorites, after accounting for their galactic cosmic ray Ne-21 production and solar flare Ne-21. In order to produce the estimated solar cosmic ray Ne-21 in the present samples, highly enhanced solar cosmic ray proton fluxes from the ancient sun are required.

Padia, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Simulations of Ground and Space-Based Oxygen Atom Experiments

Fast, pulsed atomic oxygen sources are a key tool in ground-based investigations of spacecraft contamination and surface erosion effects. These technically challenging ground-based studies provide a before and after picture of materials under low-earth-orbit (LEO) conditions. It would be of great interest to track in real time the pulsed flux from the source to the surface sample target and beyond in order to characterize the population of atoms and molecules that actually impact the surface and those that make it downstream to any coincident detectors. We have performed simulations in order to provide such detailed descriptions of these ground-based measurements and to provide an assessment of their correspondence to the actual LEO environment. Where possible we also make comparisons to measured fluxes and erosion yields. To perform the calculations we use a detailed description of a measurement beam and surface geometry based on the W, pulsed apparatus at Montana State University. In this system, a short pulse (on the order of 10 microseconds) of an O/O2 beam impacts a flat sample about 40 cm downstream and slightly displaced &om the beam s central axis. Past this target, at the end of the beam axis is a quadrupole mass spectrometer that measures the relative in situ flux of 0102 to give an overall normalized erosion yield. In our simulations we use the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, and track individual atoms within the atomic oxygen pulse. DSMC techniques are typically used to model rarefied (few collision) gas-flows which occur at altitudes above approximately 110 kilometers. These techniques are well suited for the conditions here, and multi-collision effects that can only be treated by this or a similar technique are included. This simulation includes collisions with the surface and among gas atoms that have scattered from the surface. The simulation also includes descriptions of the velocity spread and spatial profiles of the O/O2 beam obtained from separate measurements. These computations use basic engineering models for the gas-gas and gas-surface scattering and focus on the influence of multi-collision effects. These simulations characterize many important quantities of interest including the actual flux of atoms that reach the surface, the energy distribution of this flux, as well as the direction of the velocity of the flux that strikes the surface. These quantities are important in characterizing the conditions which give rise to measured surface erosion. The calculations also yield time- snapshots of the pulse as it impacts and flows around the surface. These snapshots reveal the local environment of gas near the surface for the duration of the pulse. We are also able to compute the flux of molecules that travel downstream and reach the spectrometer, and we characterize their velocity distribution. The number of atoms that reach the spectrometer can in fact be influenced by the presence of the surface due to gas-gas collisions from atoms scattered h m the surface, and it will generally be less than that with the surface absent. This amounts to an overall normalization factor in computing erosion yields. We discuss these quantities and their relationship to the gas-surf$ce interaction parameters. We have also performed similar calculations corresponding to conditions (number densities, temperatures, and velocities) of low-earth orbit. The steady-state nature and lower overall flux of the actual space environment give rise to differences in the nature of the gas-impacts on the surface from those of the ground-based measurements using a pulsed source.

Minton, T. K.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Deuterium and the Local Interstellar Medium: Properties for the Procyon and Capella Lines of Sight

We present Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph observations of the interstellar H I and D I Ly-alpha lines and the Mg II and Fe II resonance lines formed along the lines of sight toward the nearby stars Procyon (3.5 pc, l = 214 deg, b = 13 deg) and Capella (12.5 pc, l = 163 deg, b = 5 deg). New observations of Capella were obtained at orbital phase 0.80, when the radial velocities of the intrinsic Ly-alpha emission lines of each star were nearly reversed from those of the previous observations at phase 0.26. Since the intrinsic Ly-alpha line of the Capella system (the 'continuum' against which the interstellar absorption is measured) has different shapes at phases 0.26 and 0.80, we can derive both the intrinsic stellar profiles and the interstellar absorption lines more precisely by jointly analyzing the two data sets. For the analysis of the Procyon line of sight, we first assumed that the intrinsic Ly-alpha line profile is a broadened solar profile, but this assumption does not lead to a good fit to the observed D I line profile for any value of D/H. We then assumed that (D/H)(sub LISM) = 1.6 x 10(exp -5), the same value as for the Capella line of sight, and we modified the broadened solar profile to achieve agreement between the simulated and observed line profiles. The resulting asymmetric intrinsic stellar line profile is consistent with the shapes of the scaled Mg II line profiles. We believe therefore that the Procyon data are consistent with (D/H)(sub LISM) = 1.6 x 10(exp -5), but the uncertainty in the intrinsic Ly-alpha emission-line profile does not permit us to conclude that the D/H ratio is constant in the local interstellar medium (LISM). The temperature and turbulence in the Procyon line of sight are T = 6900 +/- 80 (+/- 300 systematic error) K and zeta = 1.21 +/- 0.27 km/s. These properties are similar to those of Capella, except that the gas toward Procyon is divided into two velocity components separated by 2.6 km/s and the Procyon line of sight has a mean neutral hydrogen density that is a factor of 2.4 larger than that of the Capella line of sight. This suggests that the first 5.3 pc along the Capella line of sight lies within the local cloud and the remaining 7.2 pc lies in the hot gas surrounding the local cloud. We propose that n(H I) = 0.1065 +/- 0.0028 cm(exp -2) be adopted for the neutral hydrogen density within the local cloud and that zeta = 1.21 +/- 0.27 km/s be adopted for the nonthermal motions. The existence of different second velocity components toward the nearby stars Procyon and Sirius provides the first glimpse of a turbulent cloudlet boundary layer between the local cloud and the surrounding hot interstellar gas.

Linsky, Jeffrey L.↗
NASA NTRS1966

Automatic fluid separator supplies own driving power

Centrifugal separator suspended in the fuel tank of a space vehicle selects and vents gas vapor at zero gravity. Escaping vapor is used to drive an expander turbine that is magnetically coupled to the separator.

Decker, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Olivine separates from Murchison and Cold Bokkeveld - Particle tracks and noble gases

Olivine separates from Murchison and Cold Bokkeveld were analyzed for particle tracks and noble gases. The matrix remaining after olivine separation was also analyzed for noble gases. The olivines from both meteorites have comparable fractions of solar-flare-irradiated grains, but the highest track densities in Murchison are an order of magnitude greater than those in Cold Bokkeveld. Solar Ne content in Murchison olivines follows this trend, being at least an order of magnitude higher than that in Cold Bokkeveld. Track gradients in Cold Bokkeveld olivines are flatter than those in Murchison or recently exposed lunar crystals. Relative to the matrix, olivine separates in both meteorites have small enrichments at the heavy and light Xe isotopes and smaller Ar-36/Ar-38 ratios. These noble-gas effects may be related to a chromite impurity in the olivine separates.

Macdougall, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Hydrogen-fueled engine

A hydrogen-oxygen fueled internal combustion engine is described, which utilizes an inert gas, such as argon, as a working fluid to increase the efficiency of the engine, eliminate pollution, and facilitate operation of a closed cycle energy system. In a system where sunlight or other intermittent energy source is available to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water, the oxygen and inert gas are taken into a diesel engine into which hydrogen is injected and ignited. The exhaust is cooled so that it contains only water and the inert gas. The inert gas in the exhaust is returned to the engine for use with fresh oxygen, while the water in the exhaust is returned to the intermittent energy source for reconversion to hydrogen and oxygen.

Laumann, E. A.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Zeolite Membrane Reactor for Pre-Combustion Carbon Dioxide Capture

Water-gas shift (WGS) reaction followed by carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) separation is a critical step in the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) process for fossil-fuel-fired electrical power generation with CO 2 capture. To intensify the IGCC process hydrogen-permselective zeolite membrane reactor offers promise to replace the conventional energy-intensive fixed-bed reactors and solvent-based CO 2 capture units. The objectives of this project were to develop a bench-scale zeolite membrane reactor (total membrane area: 932 cm 2 for a 21-tube membrane bundle) for the water-gas-shift reaction of raw syngas from an oxygen-blown coal-gasifier for H 2 production with simultaneous CO 2 separation at the capability of about 2 kilograms H 2 per day (equivalent to 2 kW IGCC power plant) and to demonstrate significant progress toward achieving overall performance goal of 90% CO 2 capture rate with 95% CO 2 purity at the cost of electricity 30% less than the baseline carbon capture approaches. This report summarizes results obtained in this project on scaling up the zeolite membrane reactor by a factor of 200 in membrane area, tests of the bench-scale zeolite membrane reactor for the water-gas-shift reaction at high temperature and high-pressure, and techno-economic analysis of the integration of the zeolite membrane reactor in IGCC power plant for the electrical generation with CO 2 capture.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Gas permeation properties of amorphous zeolitic imidazolate framework membranes made by atomic/molecular layer deposition

Amorphous metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes are desirable because they may retain some of the molecular sieving properties of their crystalline counterparts while being free of grain boundary defects, which often hinder the consistent achievement of high membrane performance. However, current methods, like melting and compression, for fabricating amorphous MOF membranes involve multi-step processes that require the formation of a crystalline membrane first, that is then amorphized, and therefore, could be challenging to scale. Here, we utilize atomic/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD) of diethylzinc (DEZ) and 2-methylimidazole (2mIm) to directly synthesize ultrathin amorphous zeolitic imidazolate framework (aZIF) deposits on γ-alumina-coated α-alumina supports. As the number of ALD/MLD cycles increased from 10 to 300, gas permeances decreased while ideal selectivities increased. Mixture separation factors for C3H6/C3H8, CO2/N2, and H2/C3H8 as high as 4, 37, and 194, respectively, were obtained. At 200 °C and 2.5 bar equimolar feed of H2 and C3H8, a H2/C3H8 mixture separation factor of 185 is obtained with an H2 permeance of ca. 4.15x10-8 mol/m2-s-Pa (124 GPU). Additionally, the membrane achieves a CO2/N2 mixture separation factor of 37 at 25 °C and 1 bar with a CO2 permeance of ca. 3.96x10-8 mol/m2-s-Pa (118 GPU). Considering the vast array of compositionally distinct aZIFs that can be potentially deposited by this approach, an enormously large parameter space for membrane design is emerging to be explored.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Microwave Heating-Induced Temperature Gradients in Liquid–Liquid Biphasic Systems

Microwaves (MWs) can enable the electrification and intensification of chemical manufacturing. They have been applied to various unit separations, such as drying, distillation, and extraction, entailing gas–liquid and solid–liquid systems. However, a limited quantitative understanding of MW-heated liquid–liquid biphasic systems related to extraction exists. This work measures the temporal and spatial temperature difference between an aqueous and an organic phase in batch and continuous microfluidic modes. We demonstrate permanent temperature differences between phases over 35 °C and spatiotemporal periodic and quasiperiodic oscillations modulated by the flow patterns. The temperature differences are primarily driven by the faster absorption rate of MW irradiation by the aqueous phase versus the slower heat transfer from the aqueous phase to the organic phase. These are amplified by low specific interfacial area and modifications of the electromagnetic field. We employ a multiphysics model to predict the temperature difference in a batch system. The model is in good agreement with the experiments. We demonstrate a strong effect of input power, dielectric properties of organic solvents, the volume of solvents, and the volume ratio between phases on the temperature difference. A simple analytical model describes the temperature difference and provides design principles. Furthermore, the combined approach offers new insights into the design and optimization of the MW-heated biphasic systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗