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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 1,081 records · Page 60
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

MO-DE-BRA-03: TOPAS-edu: A Window Into the Stochastic World Through the TOPAS Tool for Particle Simulation

Purpose: The stochastic nature of the subatomic world presents a challenge for physics education. Even experienced physicists can be amazed at the varied behavior of electrons, x-rays, protons, neutrons, ions and the any short-lived particles that make up the overall behavior of our accelerators, brachytherapy sources and medical imaging systems. The all-particle Monte Carlo particle transport tool, TOPAS Tool for Particle Simulation, originally developed for proton therapy research, has been repurposed into a physics teaching tool, TOPAS-edu. Methods: TOPAS-edu students set up simulated particle sources, collimators, scatterers, imagers and scoring setups by writing simple ASCII files (in the TOPAS Parameter Control System format). Students visualize geometry setups and particle trajectories in a variety of modes from OpenGL graphics to VRML 3D viewers to gif and PostScript image files. Results written to simple comma separated values files are imported by the student into their preferred data analysis tool. Students can vary random seeds or adjust parameters of physics processes to better understand the stochastic nature of subatomic physics. Results: TOPAS-edu has been successfully deployed as the centerpiece of a physics course for master’s students at Queen’s University Belfast. Tutorials developed there takes students through a step by step course on the basics of particle transport and interaction, scattering, Bremsstrahlung, etc. At each step in the course, students build simulated experimental setups and then analyze the simulated results. Lessons build one upon another so that a student might end up with a full simulation of a medical accelerator, a water-phantom or an imager. Conclusion: TOPAS-edu was well received by students. A second application of TOPAS-edu is currently in development at Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. It is our eventual goal to make TOPAS-edu available free of charge to any non-profit organization, along with associated tutorial materials developed by the TOPAS-edu community. Work supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC02-76SF00515. B. Villagomez-Bernabe is supported by CONACyT (Mexican Council for Science and Technology) project 231844.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Diffusion power spectra as a window into dynamic materials architecture

Chemical recycling of commodity and specialty polymers presents a multifaceted challenge for industrial societies. On one hand, macromolecular architectures must be engineered to yield durable products that, on the other hand, rapidly deconstruct to recyclable monomers under pre-determined conditions. Polymer deconstruction is a chemical process that requires deep understanding of molecular reactivity in heterogeneous media, where porous material architectures evolve in both space and time. To build this understanding, we develop herein experimental and analytical methods describing sets of diffusive eigenmodes that exist within time-varying, non-Euclidean boundary conditions, a situation commonly encountered in the reactive deconstruction of polymers where chain fragments splay, alter their local dynamics, and evolve in their confinement of reacting media. Diffusion power spectra, discerned experimentally by NMR, yield polymer and solvent frequency-domain velocity autocorrelation functions that are analyzed in the context of physical models for chemical reactions parameterized with fractal mathematics. The results connect local motion in polymers to chemical reactivity during acidolysis of circular elastomers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

On the propagation of a light pulse in the “transparency window” of a medium with population inversion

The propagation of a light pulse through a layer of a substance with population inversion and, correspondingly, with an anomalous dispersion in the transparency range is considered. It is shown that, when the wave packet approaches the layer of the substance with a strong anomalous dispersion, two additional wave packets arise at the rear boundary of the layer. One of these packets has a negative energy and moves in the layer from its rear to the front boundary, while the other packet moves away from the rear boundary of the layer into a vacuum. As the initial wave packet comes into contact with the front boundary of the layer of the substance, it meets the packet of the negative energy. As a result, the two packets annihilate one another, after which only one packet remains, which moves away from the layer.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

The Spence Shale Lagerstätte: an important window into Cambrian biodiversity

The Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation is a Cambrian (Miaolingian: Wuliuan) Lagerstätte in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho. It is older than the more well-known Wheeler and Marjum Lagerstätten from western Utah, and the Burgess Shale from Canada. The Spence Shale shares several species in common with these younger deposits, yet it also contains a remarkable number of unique species. Because of its relatively broad geographic distribution, and the variety of different palaeoenvironments and taphonomy, the fossil composition and likelihood of recovering weakly skeletonized (or soft-bodied) taxa varies across localities. The Spence Shale is not only widely acknowledged for its collection of soft-bodied taxa, but also for its abundant trilobites and hyoliths. Recent discoveries from the Spence include problematic taxa and insights about the nature of palaeoenvironmental and taphonomic variation between different localities.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Direct measurement of polysulfide shuttle current: A window into understanding the performance of lithium-sulfur cells

The shuttling of polysulfide ions between the electrodes in a lithium-sulfur battery is a major technical issue limiting the self-discharge and cycle life of this high-energy rechargeable battery. Although there have been attempts to suppress the shuttling process, there has not been a direct measurement of the rate of shuttling. We report here a simple and direct measurement of the rate of the shuttling (that we term “shuttle current”), applicable to the study of any type of lithium-sulfur cell. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this measurement technique using cells with and without lithium nitrate (a widely-used shuttle suppressor additive). We present a phenomenological analysis of the shuttling process and simulate the shuttle currents as a function of the state-of-charge of a cell. We also demonstrate how the rate of decay of the shuttle current can be used to predict the capacity fade in a lithium-sulfur cell due to the shuttle process. As a result, we expect that this new ability to directly measure shuttle currents will provide greater insight into the performance differences observed with various additives and electrode modifications that are aimed at suppressing the rate of shuttling of polysulfide ions and increasing the cycle life of lithium-sulfur cells.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Electrode behavior RE-visited: Monitoring potential windows, capacity loss, and impedance changes in Li 1.03 (Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 ) 0.97 O 2 /silicon-graphite full cells

Here, the capacity and power performance of lithium-ion battery cells evolve over time. The mechanisms leading to these changes can often be identified through knowledge of electrode potentials, which contain information about electrochemical processes at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces. In this study we monitor electrode potentials within full cells containing a Li 1.03 (Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 ) 0.97 O 2 –based (NCM523) positive electrode, a silicon-graphite negative electrode, and an LiPF6-bearing electrolyte, with and without fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) or vinylene carbonate (VC) additives. The electrode potentials are monitored with a Li-metal reference electrode (RE) positioned besides the electrode stack; changes in these potentials are used to examine electrode state-of-charge (SOC) shifts, material utilization, and loss of electrochemically active material. Electrode impedances are obtained with a Li x Sn RE located within the stack; the data display the effect of cell voltage and electrode SOC changes on the measured values after formation cycling and after aging. Our measurements confirm the beneficial effect of FEC and VC electrolyte additives in reducing full cell capacity loss and impedance rise after cycling in a 3.0–4.2 V range. Comparisons with data from a full cell containing a graphite-based negative highlight the consequences of including silicon in the electrode. Our observations on electrode potentials, capacity, and impedance changes on cycling are crucial to designing long-lasting, silicon-bearing, lithium-ion cells.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Co-PylotDB - A Python-Based Single-Window User Interface for Transmitting Information to a Database

Co-PylotDB, written completely in Python, provides a user interface (UI) with which to select user and data file(s), directories, and file content, and provide or capture various other information for sending data collected from running any computer program to a pre-formatted database table for persistent storage. The interface allows the user to select input, output, make, source, executable, and qsub files. It also provides fields for specifying the machine name on which the software was run, capturing compile and execution lines, and listing relevant user comments. Data automatically captured by Co-PylotDB and sent to the database are user, current directory, local hostname, current date, and time of send. The UI provides fields for logging into a local or remote database server, specifying a database and a table, and sending the information to the selected database table. If a server is not available, the UI provides for saving the command that would have saved the information to a database table for either later submission or for sending via email to a collaborator who has access to the desired database.

Barnette, DanielW.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Disruptions, Disruptivity, and Safer Operating Windows in the High-β Spherical Torus NSTX

This paper discusses disruption rates, disruption causes, and disruptivity statistics in the high- βN National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) [M. Ono, et al. Nuclear Fusion 40, 557 (2000)]. While the overall disruption rate is rather high, configurations with high βN , moderate q*, strong boundary shaping, sufficient rotation, and broad pressure and current profiles are found to have the lowest disruptivity; active n=1 control further reduces the disruptivity. The disruptivity increases rapidly for q*<2.7, which is substantially above the ideal MHD current limit. In quiescent conditions, q min >1.25 is generally acceptable for avoiding the onset of core rotating n=1 kink/tearing modes; when EPM and ELM disturbances are present, the required q min for avoiding those modes is raised to ~1.5. The current ramp and early flat-top phase of the discharges are prone to n=1 core rotating modes locking to the wall, leading to a disruption. Small changes to the discharge fueling during this phase can often mitigate the rotation damping associated with these modes and eliminate the disruption. The largest stored energy disruptions are those that occur at high current when a plasma current rampdown is initiated incorrectly.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Precision Characterization of Gyrotron Window Materials

The response of dielectric material to electromagnetic waves in the millimeter wavelength range (30 to 300 GHz) has received relatively little study and the processes that give rise to absorption in this region are often poorly understood. Understanding the origin of absorption at these wavelengths has basic significance for solid state physics as well as importance for development of technology in this region of the RF spectrum. This project has provided high-quality data on the temperature dependence of the dielectric loss in high-purity, semi-insulating silicon carbide (HPSI SiC), a material that holds much promise for application, especially in devices that must operate in the high power and high frequency regime. Comparison of this experimental data with theoretical predictions for various loss processes provides convincing evidence that the loss in HPSI SiC arises almost entirely from intrinsic lattice loss (ILL) as described by Garin. Fitting the data to this model yields an accurate value for the Debye temperature that characterizes crystalline SiC. In addition, our results refute a previous study(2) which reported much higher loss, attributed to the presence of free charge. The quality of the data acquired in this project is clear evidence for the value of the experimental technique that was employed here. This technique combines the excitation of a high-quality open resonator by a phase-locked backward wave oscillator (BWO) with use of a spectrum analyzer to measure the change in the resonator response curve when the sample is inserted. This system has demonstrated consistent results for very challenging measurements and does not suffer from the artifacts that often arise when using other techniques that rely on thermal sources. The low absorption loss found in HPSI SiC, when combined with its other outstanding material properties, e.g. high thermal conductivity, high tensile strength, and high carrier mobility, should provide incentive for designers to utilize this material to solve the challenging problems that are encountered as devices are pushed to operate at higher frequencies and higher power levels. In particular, for the fusion energy program, it may provide an economical alternative to CVD diamond for certain gyrotron and beam line applications. In addition, the value obtained for the Debye temperature provides an important datum for modeling the crystalline structure of SiC. Clearly SiC is a unique material with few competitors and should see wider utilization.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Solar Energy Windows and Smart IR Switchable Building Technologies

The three building envelope functions with the largest impact on the energy usage are illumination, energy flux and energy production. In general, these three functions are addressed separately in the building design. A step change toward a zero-energy building can be achieved with a glazing system that combines these three functions and their control into a single unit. In particular, significant value could be realized if illumination into the building is dynamically controlled such that it occurs during periods of low load on the grid (e.g., morning) to augment illumination supplied by interior lights and then to have that same light diverted to PV energy production and the thermal energy rejected during periods of high load on the grid. The objective of this project is to investigate the feasibility of a glazing unit design that integrates these three key functions (illumination and energy flux control, and power production) into a single module.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗