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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

An atomistic theory of nucleation: Self-organization via non-equilibrium work and fluctuations

For this work, insights from non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, highlighting the role of work and fluctuations at the microscale, are applied toward the development of a fundamental, rigorous and purely atomistic theory of nucleation. Nanoscale fluctuations in order, density and heat influence the local nucleation rate by orders of magnitude, necessitating their inclusion through a modern approach. Coarse-graining over the underlying Hamiltonian dynamics allows derivation of a microscale expression for the nucleation rate in terms of a classical path integral over far from equilibrium trajectories and their associated work. Second law violating states at the microscale, as found from the dynamics of small critical nucleation clusters, contribute exponentially to the observable macroscale nucleation rate.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Self-Organization and Nitrogen Incorporation in Diamond-Like Carbon Microstructures Synthesized by Nonthermal Plasma

Nonthermal plasma activation of light alkanes is an encouraging decarbonization strategy to produce chemicals or fuels from abundant and/or flared carbon sources. However, prolific carbon growth on both the catalyst and electrode has limited its practicality, requiring additional knowledge of the carbon structure and growth mechanism before breakthroughs are realized. Furthermore, visual evidence is provided for nonuniform diamond-like carbon (DLC) microstructures that materialize in a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor flowing ethane and He at 278 K. Through a connection to known behaviors of DBD microdischarge patterns, the microstructure spacing was controlled by altering the applied voltage (ΔV) of the plasma or the burning voltage (U b ). Additionally, carbon valorization through nitrogen incorporation from N 2 was explored as an orthogonal solution to carbon mitigation, with N/C values >0.25 achieved and both sp 2 and sp 3 C–N bonding observed in the microstructures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effect of injected flux and current temporal phasing on self-organization in the HIT-SI3 experiment

The HIT-SI3 device at the University of Washington uses three oscillating inductive helicity injectors to form and sustain spheromak plasma equilibria. By adjusting the temporal phase of the injector waveforms with respect to each other, the toroidal spectrum of the imposed perturbations can be controlled. Using a recently implemented GPU-based control system, the available mode spectra were explored experimentally by scanning the space of relative injector phasing. In this space, significant variation in the toroidal mode spectrum ($n$ = 1, 2, 3) of the perturbations was observed. Additionally, variation in characteristics of driven equilibria was also observed, including a ≈ $30$% range in toroidal current gain ($I$ $Φ$ / $I$ $Inj$ ). Experimental results are compared with both a composite-equilibria and nonlinear dynamic model, including extended MHD simulations using the NIMROD code and composite Taylor state equilibria computed using the PSI-Tet code. In conclusion, qualitative agreement is seen with the nonlinear models, but not with composite-equilibria models, suggesting the use of nonlinear models to better capture observed plasma dynamics and provide predictive use for future experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

All-in-one probe for exploring self-organized two-fluid equilibria in toroidal plasmas

This paper presents the development of an all-in-one probe to simultaneously measure all components of the generalized Ohm’s law in reversed-field pinch plasmas and tokamaks. The polyhedral configuration of the Mach probe is achieved through the specific arrangement, angle, and depth of the collimator channel apertures drilled into the surface of a hollow boron nitride cylinder encasing it. This probe includes a central Mach probe to assess the ion velocity field in three dimensions. Initial tests at the RELAX and Madison Symmetric Torus machines have confirmed the probe’s effectiveness, revealing an octahedron form similar to a tetrahedron. The probe seems to function correctly and is expected to facilitate the empirical validation of two-fluid equilibria at the periphery of toroidal plasmas.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2026

A tetrahedral probe constellation approach for measuring canonical momentum in self-organized laboratory plasma

To examine momentum redistribution processes and study generalized helicities during plasma relaxation in Madison Symmetric Torus, MST, reversed field pinch plasma, a new probe is being tested to measure the full 3D plasma ion flow and magnetic field vectors at four spatial locations arranged in a tetrahedral shape reminiscent of a satellite measurement constellation. These measurements permit calculation of ∇ x $\vec{u}$ and canonical momentum, where $\vec{u}$ is the plasma ion flow vector. The probe consists of four probe heads arranged in a tetrahedral pattern, with an overall probe diameter of ∼31.75 mm. The probe head diameter is ∼1.0 cm, which is of the order of the ion Larmor radius. Each head has four molybdenum electrodes, also arranged in tetrahedral geometry, which are biased relative to a common return electrode, using four power supplies (one for each head), to measure the local ion flow. Additionally, each head has three orthogonal magnetic pickup coils within it to measure equilibrium and fluctuating magnetic fields.

Physics - Plasma physics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Generation and Control of Self-Organized Nonlinear Kinetic Structures in High Energy Density Plasmas in the Presence of Intense Magnetic Fields and Ultrashort Laser Pulses

In the project we investigated mechanisms to sculpt phase space by controlling plasma instabilities. We found that linear theory, which applies in the initial growth phase of an instability, allows for initial conditions that can suppress instabilities. This provides a possible mechanism to release the energy available to an instability on demand. We developed various computational techniques that can reduce computational cost of simulations while maintaining or improving physical fidelity. We considered the Buneman instability in the presence of a ponderomotively driven plasma wave to examine the interplay between an instability and steady-state plasma response.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Eruption and Self-Organization of Free-Surface, Arched, and Line-Tied Magnetic Flux Ropes (Final Technical Report)

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are some of the most energetic and violent events in our solar system. This investigation uses laboratory experiments to study the onset threshold and nonlinear consequences of ideal MHD instabilities of magnetic flux ropes where are regarded to be related CMEs, and has obtained qualitative and quantitative understanding the dynamics of magnetic flux ropes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1972

Computer program documentation: ISOCLS iterative self-organizing clustering program, program C094

The author has identified the following significant results. This program implements an algorithm which, ideally, sorts a given set of multivariate data points into similar groups or clusters. The program is intended for use in the evaluation of multispectral scanner data; however, the algorithm could be used for other data types as well. The user may specify a set of initial estimated cluster means to begin the procedure, or he may begin with the assumption that all the data belongs to one cluster. The procedure is initiatized by assigning each data point to the nearest (in absolute distance) cluster mean. If no initial cluster means were input, all of the data is assigned to cluster 1. The means and standard deviations are calculated for each cluster.

Minter, R. T.↗