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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 1,153 records · Page 64
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

High-frequency instability of the sheath-plasma resonance

Coherent high-frequency oscillations near the electron plasma frequency are generated by electrodes with positive dc bias immersed in a uniform Maxwellian afterglow plasma. The instability occurs at the sheath-plasma resonance and is driven by a negative RF sheath resistance associated with the electron inertia in the diodelike electron-rich sheath. With increasing dc bias, i.e., electron transit time, the instability exhibits a hard threshold, downward frequency pulling, line broadening, and copious harmonics. The fundamental instability is a bounded oscillation caused by wave evanescence, but the harmonics are radiated as electromagnetic waves from the electrodes acting like antennas. Wavelength and polarization measurements confirm the emission process. Electromagnetic waves are excited by electrodes of various geometries (planes, cylinders, spheres), which excludes other radiation mechanisms such as orbitrons or beam-plasma instabilities. The line-broadening mechanism has been identified as a frequency modulation via the electron transit time by dynamic ions. Ion oscillations at the sheath edge give rise to burstlike RF emissions. These laboratory observations of a new instability are important for antennas in space plasmas, generation of coherent beams with diodes, and plasma diagnostics.

Stenzel, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Energetics and dynamics of resonant and nonresonant scattering in strong magnetic fields

The energetics and the dynamics resulting from electron-photon resonant and nonresonant scattering in a plasma with magnetic field about 10 to the 12th G are studied in detail. Precise analytic results are obtained in the optically thin limit, and numerical results are presented for the optically thick case. For the latter, it is found that when the equilibrium temperature T(C) is determined by the cooling/heating balance due solely to cyclotron resonant scattering, the ratio of T(C) to the superstrong field B remains fairly constant for N(e) up to about 6 x 10 to the 21st electrons/sq cm. This line-dominated region comes to an end when the extra heating from the hard continuum photons becomes competitive with the line processes and drives T(C) well above the pure line value. For parameters characteristic of GB 880205, the thickness of the line-dominated region is determined to be between 10 to the 21st and 10 to the 22nd electrons/sq cm.

Lamb, Don Q.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Electron precipitation and mass motion in the 1991 June 9 white-light flare

We use H alpha line profiles as a diagnostic of mass motion and nonthermal electron precipitation in the white-light flare (WLF) of 1991 June 9 01:34 UT. We find only weak downflow velocities (approximately equals 10km/s) at the site of white-light emission, and comparable velocities elsewhere. We also find that electron precipitation is strongest at the WLF site. We conclude that continuum emission in this flare was probably caused by nonthermal electrons and not by dynamical energy transport via a chromospheric condensation.

Dela Beaujardiere, J. -F.↗
NASA NTRS1996

The NASA Lewis Research Center: An Economic Impact Study

The NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC), established in 1941, is one of ten NASA research centers in the country. It is situated on 350 acres of land in Cuyahoga County and occupies more than 140 buildings and over 500 specialized research and test facilities. Most of LeRC's facilities are located in the City of Cleveland; some are located within the boundaries of the cities of Fairview Park and Brookpark. LeRC is a lead center for NASA's research, technology, and development in the areas of aeropropulsion and selected space applications. It is a center of excellence for turbomachinery, microgravity fluid and combustion research, and commercial communication. The base research and technology disciplines which serve both aeronautics and space areas include materials and structures, instrumentation and controls, fluid physics, electronics, and computational fluid dynamics. This study investigates LeRC's economic impact on Northeast Ohio's economy. It was conducted by The Urban Center's Economic Development Program in Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs. The study measures LeRC's direct impact on the local economy in terms of jobs, output, payroll, and taxes, as well as the indirect impact of these economic activities when they 'ripple' throughout the economy. To fully explain LeRC's overall impact on the region, its contributions in the areas of technology transfer and education are also examined. The study uses a highly credible and widely accepted research methodology. First, regional economic multipliers based on input-output models were used to estimate the effect of LERC spending on the Northeast Ohio economy. Second, the economic models were complemented by interviews with industrial, civic, and university leaders to qualitatively assess LeRC's impact in the areas of technology transfer and education.

Austrian, Ziona↗
NASA NTRS2019

Advances in Space Radiation Physics and Transport

The space radiation environment is a complex mixture of particle types and energies originating from sources inside and outside of the galaxy. These environments may be modified by the heliospheric and geomagnetic conditions as well as planetary bodies and vehicle or habitat mass shielding. In low Earth orbit (LEO), the geomagnetic field deflects a portion of the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and all but the most intense solar particle events (SPE). There are also dynamic belts of trapped electrons and protons with low to medium energy and intense particle count rates. In deep space, the GCR exposure is more severe than in LEO and varies inversely with solar activity. Unpredictable solar storms also present an acute risk to astronauts if adequate shielding is not provided. Near planetary surfaces such as the Earth, moon or Mars, secondary particles are produced when the ambient deep space radiation environment interacts with these surfaces and/or atmospheres. These secondary particles further complicate the local radiation environment and modify the associated health risks. Characterizing the radiation fields in this vast array of scenarios and environments is a challenging task and is currently accomplished with a combination of computational models and dosimetry. The computational tools include models for the ambient space radiation environment, mass shielding geometry, and atomic and nuclear interaction parameters. These models are then coupled to a radiation transport code to describe the radiation field at the location of interest within a vehicle or habitat. Many new advances in these models have been made in the last decade, and the present review article focuses on the progress and contributions made by workers and collaborators at NASA in the same time frame. Although great progress has been made, and models continue to improve, significant gaps remain and are discussed in the context of planned future missions. Of particular interest is the juxtaposition of various review committee findings regarding the accuracy and gaps of combined space radiation environment, physics, and transport models with the progress achieved over the past decade. While current models are now fully capable of characterizing radiation environments in the broad range of forecasted mission scenarios, it should be remembered that uncertainties still remain and need to be addressed.

Space radiation↗
DOE OSTI2020

Model, Design, and Control for Power Conversion in Wave Energy Converter System

Wave energy, if all been harvested along the U.S. coastline, can power around 65% of the energy consumption in U.S.. Comparing to other renewable energy sources like solar or wind, ocean wave can provide up to 90% of steady uptime. With the high energy density (2-3 kW/m 2 ), it can produce more energy with the same amount of installation area comparing to the energy density of wind turbine (0.6 kW/m 2 ) and solar panel(0.2 kW/m 2 ). The predictability of wave provides advantages like planning installation, power dispatching, and maintenance activities. Although with all these advantages, wave energy converter system is still in the research stage due to its high system cost per electricity production. One of the challenges that need to be solved is the irregularity from the wave motion that leads to high instantaneous peak power into the wave energy converter, which usually reaches up to 10 - 20 times of the average power. The high peak power will not only bring high mechanical/electrical stress but also result in an overrating design of the components in the system. Another obstacle that prevents the wave energy system from moving forward is the high testing cost from the validations in wave-energy-test sites or tank-test sites. A high-fidelity multi-disciplinary system model, including hydrodynamics, mechanical dynamics, electromagnetics, and power electronics, is needed to predict the behavior of the system and reduce the cost of design validation.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2021

Networked HIL Simulation System for Modeling Large-scale Power Systems

This paper presents a network hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation system for modeling large-scale power systems. Researchers have developed many HIL test systems for power systems in recent years. Those test systems can model both microsecond-level dynamic responses of power electronic systems and millisecond-level transients of transmission and distribution grids. By integrating individual HIL test systems into a network of HIL test systems, we can create large-scale power grid digital twins with flexible structures at required modeling resolution that fits for a wide range of system operating conditions. This will not only significantly reduce the need for field tests when developing new technologies but also greatly shorten the model development cycle. In this paper, we present a networked OPAL-RT based HIL test system for developing transmission-distribution coordinative Volt-VAR regulation technologies as an example to illustrate system setups, communication requirements among different HIL test systems, and connection mechanisms. Impacts of communication delays, information exchange cycles, and computing delays are illustrated. Simulation results show that the performance of a networked HIL test system is satisfactory.

digital twin, distribution system, co-simulation, ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Large radiation back-flux from Monte Carlo simulations of fusion neutron–material interactions

Abstract Fusion power reactors will generate intense neutron fluxes into plasma-facing and structural materials (SMs). Radiation back-fluxes, generated from neutron–material interactions under these fluxes, can dramatically impact the plasma dynamics, e.g. by seeding runaway electrons during disruptions via Compton scattering of background electrons by wall-emitted gamma radiation. Here, we quantify these back-fluxes, including neutrons, gamma rays, and electrons, using Monte Carlo calculations for a range of SM candidates and first wall (FW) thicknesses. The radiation back-flux magnitudes are remarkably large, with neutron and gamma radiation back-fluxes on the same order of magnitude as the incident fusion neutron flux. Electron back-fluxes are two orders of magnitudes lower, but are emitted at sufficiently high energies to impact the sheath and boundary plasma dynamics. Material configuration plays a key role in determining back-flux magnitudes. The SM chiefly determines the neutron back-flux magnitude, while the FW thickness principally attenuates the gamma ray and electron back-fluxes. In addition to prompt back-fluxes, which are emitted immediately after fusion neutrons impact the surface, significant delayed gamma ray and electron back-fluxes arise from nuclear decay processes in the activated materials. These delayed back-flux magnitudes range from 2% to 7% of the prompt back-fluxes, and remain present during transients when fusion no longer occurs. During disruptions, build-up of delayed gamma radiation back-flux represents potential runaway electron seeding mechanisms, posing additional challenges for disruption mitigation in a power reactor compared with non-nuclear plasma operations. This work highlights the impact of these radiation back-fluxes plasma performance and demonstrates the importance of considering back-flux generation in materials selection for fusion power reactors.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Exploring far-from-equilibrium ultrafast polarization control in ferroelectric oxides with excited-state neural network quantum molecular dynamics

Ferroelectric materials exhibit a rich range of complex polar topologies, but their study under far-from-equilibrium optical excitation has been largely unexplored because of the difficulty in modeling the multiple spatiotemporal scales involved quantum-mechanically. To study optical excitation at spatiotemporal scales where these topologies emerge, we have performed multiscale excited-state neural network quantum molecular dynamics simulations that integrate quantum-mechanical description of electronic excitation and billion-atom machine learning molecular dynamics to describe ultrafast polarization control in an archetypal ferroelectric oxide, lead titanate. Far-from-equilibrium quantum simulations reveal a marked photo-induced change in the electronic energy landscape and resulting cross-over from ferroelectric to octahedral tilting topological dynamics within picoseconds. The coupling and frustration of these dynamics, in turn, create topological defects in the form of polar strings. The demonstrated nexus of multiscale quantum simulation and machine learning will boost not only the emerging field of ferroelectric topotronics but also broader optoelectronic applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1990

Dayside auroral particle acceleration mechanisms derived from Dynamics Explorer data

The characteristics of dayside electron acceleration regions, or inverted V's, and the nature of the field-aligned currents flowing in their vicinity are studied by using data from Dynamics Explorer hot-plasma and magnetic-field instruments. It is shown that dayside inverted-V events are common features of the mid-altitude extension of the boundary layer, which lies equatorward of the cusp. Upward-accelerated ionospheric electron beams are found to be carriers of downward region-1 currents even in regions of downward electron acceleration. It is not clear, however, how the upward-accelerated cold electron beams can exist above an apparent upward parallel electric field, since such a potential different would tend to confine the cold ionospheric electrons to low altitudes.

Burch, J. L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Superthermal Electron Deposition on the Mars Nightside During ICMEs

Superthermal electron precipitation is one of the main sources supporting the Mars nightside ionosphere. It is expected that solar wind electron fluxes are to increase significantly during interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and therefore an enhanced nightside ionospheric density. This study is to quantify the variation of the precipitating and deposited electron fluxes during five extreme ICMEs encountered by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). We find that energy fluxes correlate better with the upstream dynamic pressure proxy than number fluxes and electron fluxes increase more at high energies, which means that electrons tend to have a lower peak production altitude during storm times. The precipitating and net/deposited fluxes are increased up to an order of magnitude from low to high dynamic pressures. The estimated total electron content (TEC) is a few times of 10 14 m -2 for quiet times and on the order of 1015 m -2 for storm times, with an enhancement up to an order of magnitude locally near strong crustal fields. Crustal magnetic fields have an effect on the deposited fluxes with more prominent magnetic reflection over strong magnetic fields during quiet periods, which is significantly reduced during storm times. Lastly, we estimate a global energy input from downward fluxes of 1.1 × 10 8 and 5.5 × 10 8 W and the globally deposited energy from net fluxes of 2.0 × 10 7 and 1.6 × 10 8 W for quiet and storm time periods, a factor of 5 and 8 enhancement globally, respectively, but up to an order of magnitude locally near strong crustal fields.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Excitons in Hematite Fe 2 O 3 : Short-Time Dynamics from TD-DFT and Non-Adiabatic Dynamics Theories

We present a first-principles study of the short-time dynamics of excitons in hematite Fe 2 O 3 . We used time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) with an underlying DFT+U treatment of electron interactions to characterize the electronic structure of excitons and nonadiabatic molecular dynamics theory (NA-MD) to determine their recombination (electronic ground-state recovery) and relaxation dynamics. Decoherence-corrected trajectory surface hopping approaches in NA-MD simulations yielded recovery times of ~1.1 to 1.8 ns and “higher-lying” exciton relaxation times of ~60 to 70 fs, in accord with experimentally derived lifetimes. With hematite phonons in the range of ~100 to 700 cm –1 , higher-lying excitons relax within one or two oscillations of the phonons before getting trapped into an electron–hole pair Exc-3 structure on the first excited state potential energy surface. This structure resembles already a pair of polarons (electron polaron plus hole polaron) with associated lattice distortions three (3) basal planes away. On longer time scales, the electron–hole bipolaronic pair hops to structures Exc-5, then Exc-7, then Exc-9, ... with the electron polaron and hole polaron separated by 5, 7, 9, ... basal planes in a process of charge separation. The largest frequency phonon ~672 cm –1 for the Exc-3 exciton structure is associated with the electron polaron moiety of the exciton. This phonon is a good candidate for giving rise to the recently observed and reported postexcitation transient IR absorption peak.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

EMI Mitigation of a Ćuk-Based Power-Electronic System Using Switching-Sequence-Based Control

Switching-sequence-based control (SBC) laws when designed based on topological switching behavior can have positive effects on slow- and fast-scale dynamics of a power-electronic system (PES). The slow-scale control can encompass fast PES state regulation and tracking, based on predefined objective, while fastscale control can address differential-mode (DM) and commonmode (CM) spectral-peak energy associated with PES switching operation. Such control laws may offer enhanced programmability to conventional PES design where bulky electromagnetic interference (EMI) filters have been traditionally used to reduce EMI of switching power converters to meet EMI regulatory standards. An EMI filter is always a less programmable solution since it is usually designed for the worst-case EMI mitigation and usually overkill for a PES operating under reduced load condition. The control scheme outlined in this article offers EMI mitigation across wide operating regions without compromising PES regulation. Moreover, it does so by use of switching sequences that guarantee the reachability of the PES dynamics using an advanced Lyapunov-function-based approach. SBC is a powerful tool to generate control actions for a PES based on multivariate PES state constraints. Hence, contemporary EMI regulatory standards are used as constraints in the SBC formulation to operate the PES under wide operating regime while autonomously mitigating the EMI levels. The work may be of paramount importance for operating the ultra-fast-transition recent wide-bandgap semiconductor devices like GaN–FET and SiC MOSFET under higher power with increasing switching frequencies, which is usually desirable for increased power density and reduced switching losses. Here, a hardware Cuk–PES operated ´ with GaN–FETs is fabricated and is used for case illustration. It is shown by experimental results how SBC mitigate DM and CM EMI noise of the PES while maintaining regulation even for the higher order nonminimum phase PES, while reducing sensor requirements using state observer derived from the switching model of the PES.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Wide Dynamic Range, 10 kHz Framing Detector for 4D-STEM

Hybrid pixel array detectors (PADs) have expanded the fidelity, frame rate and dynamic range for diffractive imaging in electron microscopes. With their high detective quantum efficiencies (DQE), the noise performance limited is by counting statistics. Consequently, improving the precision and quality of high-speed images requires increasing the linear dynamic range and the maximum usable beam current. Here we describe a new prototype hybrid PAD, our next-generation electron microscope pixel array detector (NG-EMPAD) that expands both the framing speed and dynamic range of our earlier EMPAD design. Like the EMPAD, electrons are detected directly in a 500 μm thick silicon sensor bonded pixel-by-pixel to a custom signal processing integrated circuit (IC). Each pixel in the IC integrates charge carriers produced by the high-energy incident electrons. Here, in-pixel circuitry uses a combination of techniques to extend the dynamic range, including adaptive gain switching and the quantitative excess charge dumping similar to the EMPAD. In-pixel buffering of signals during readout allows acquiring a new image while reading out the previously collected image, yielding an image collection duty cycle of nearly 100%.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Molecular Origins of Temperature-Dependent X-ray Absorption in YAG:Dy

The absorption and emission of X-rays in dysprosium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG:Dy) has produced unexpected thermographic behavior, which is investigated using a combination of finite temperature ab initio molecular dynamic simulations, structural characterization, and electronic structure calculations of X-ray characteristics. Calculated average peak X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) from simulations between 300 and 600 K result in peak intensity loss due to thermalization effects, matching experimentally measured behavior of YAG:Dy. Here, investigation of atomic snapshots indicates structural factors that correlated with the X-ray behavior, with the first Y–O coordination sphere identified as the primary structural feature unique to high XAS intensity as calculated by radial and pair distribution functions.

Ab initio molecular dynamics↗
DOE OSTI2020

Density-Matrix Based Extended Lagrangian Born–Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics

Extended Lagrangian Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 2008, 100, 123004] is presented for Hartree–Fock theory, where the extended electronic degrees of freedom are represented by a density matrix, including fractional occupation numbers at elevated electronic temperatures. In contrast to regular direct Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations, no iterative self-consistent field optimization is required prior to the force evaluations. To sample regions of the potential energy landscape where the gap is small or vanishing, which leads to particular convergence problems in regular direct Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations, an adaptive integration scheme for the extended electronic degrees of freedom is presented. The integration scheme is based on a tunable, low-rank approximation of a fourth-order kernel, K, that determines the metric tensor, T ≡ K T K, used in the extended harmonic oscillator of the Lagrangian that generates the dynamics of the electronic degrees of freedom. Here, the formulation and algorithms provide a general guide to implement extended Lagrangian Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics for quantum chemistry, density functional theory, and semiempirical methods using a density matrix formalism.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Anisotropic Electron Fluid Closure Validated by in Situ Spacecraft Observations in the far Exhaust of Guide-field Reconnection

Anisotropic electron heating predictions of the equations of state of Le et al. (2009); https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.085001 (“the EoS”) are applied to reconnection in the Earth's magnetosheath. The model is applicable to open systems where electrons are streaming along magnetic field lines into the reconnection region, sourced by fixed external reservoirs of plasma ambient to the reconnection region. While spacecraft observations have previously shown the EoS to hold in the region near the X-line, we find that for an event observed far downstream (~100 d i ) from the X-line both inflows and the exhaust follow the predictions of the EoS. Furthermore, the model underlying the EoS is extended to include additional perpendicular heating terms relevant to the considered event undergoing active magnetic compression with local electron trapping. Finally, the agreement between the spacecraft observations and the EoS emphasizes the roles of the ambient plasma sources and the dynamics of trapped and passing electrons in setting and controlling the anisotropic electron heating at large scale in naturally occurring plasma configurations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗