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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 1,333 records · Page 74
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Load Diffusion in Composite and Smart Structures

The research carried out here builds on our previous NASA supported research on the general topic of edge effects and load diffusion in composite structures. Further fundamental solid mechanics studies were carried out to provide a basis for assessing the complicated modeling necessary for the multi-functional large scale structures used by NASA. An understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of load diffusion in composite subcomponents is essential in developing primary composite structures. Some specific problems recently considered were those of end effects in smart materials and structures, study of the stress response of pressurized linear piezoelectric cylinders for both static and steady rotating configurations, an analysis of the effect of pre-stressing and pre-polarization on the decay of end effects in piezoelectric solids and investigation of constitutive models for hardening rubber-like materials. Our goal in the study of load diffusion is the development of readily applicable results for the decay lengths in terms of non-dimensional material and geometric parameters. Analytical models of load diffusion behavior are extremely valuable in building an intuitive base for developing refined modeling strategies and assessing results from finite element analyses. The decay behavior of stresses and other field quantities provides a significant aid towards this process. The analysis is also amenable to parameter study with a large parameter space and should be useful in structural tailoring studies. Special purpose analytical models of load diffusion behavior are extremely valuable in building an intuitive base for developing refined modeling strategies and in assessing results from general purpose finite element analyses. For example, a rational basis is needed in choosing where to use three-dimensional to two-dimensional transition finite elements in analyzing stiffened plates and shells. The decay behavior of stresses and other field quantities furnished by this research provides a significant aid towards this element transition issue. A priori knowledge of the extent of boundary-layers induced by edge effects is also useful in determination of the instrumentation location in structural verification tests or in material characterization tests.

Horgan, C. O.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Phosphor thermometry device for synchronized acquisition of luminescence lifetime decay and intensity on thermal barrier coatings

A phosphor thermometry device includes a laser that generates a laser pulse onto a thermal barrier coating (TBC) applied onto a substrate. A metallic bond coat layer is on the substrate. A ceramic top coat layer is on the bond coat layer and includes an undoped layer and a doped sensing layer having co-doped first and second rare-earth luminescent dopants that emit respective first and second different emission wavelengths upon excitation by the laser pulse. A detector receives reflected, convoluted luminescence signals from the TBC. First and second photomultiplier devices detect respective first and second different emission wavelengths of the convoluted luminescence signals. A controller receives and processes signals generated from respective first and second photomultiplier devices and determines luminescence lifetime decay and intensity variations for each of the respective first and second rare-earth luminescent dopants for temperature monitoring of the TBC.

Fouliard, Quentin↗
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 OSTI2019

Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay: Status and Prospects

Neutrinoless double-beta decay is a forbidden, lepton-number-violating nuclear transition whose observation would have fundamental implications for neutrino physics, theories beyond the Standard Model, and cosmology. In this review, we summarize the theoretical progress to understand this process, the expectations and implications under various particle physics models, and the nuclear physics challenges that affect the precise predictions of the decay half-life. Finally, we provide a synopsis of the current and future large-scale experiments that aim to discover this process in physically well-motivated half-life ranges.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fiducial $q_T$ resummation of color-singlet processes at N$^3$LL+NNLO

We present a framework for $q_T$ resummation at N 3 LL+NNLO accuracy for arbitrary color-singlet processes based on a factorization theorem in SCET. Our implementation CuTe-MCFM is fully differential in the Born kinematics and matches to large-$q_T$ fixed-order predictions at relative order $α^2_s$. It provides an efficient way to estimate uncertainties from fixed-order truncation, resummation, and parton distribution functions. In addition to W ± , Z and H production, also the diboson processes $\gamma\gamma$, Z$\gamma$, ZH and W ± H are available, including decays. We discuss and exemplify the framework with several direct comparisons to experimental measurements as well as inclusive benchmark results. In particular, we present novel results for $\gamma\gamma$ and Z$\gamma\gamma$ at N 3 LL+NNLO and discuss in detail the power corrections induced by photon isolation requirements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

An introduction to PYTHIA 8.2

The Pythia program is a standard tool for the generation of events in high-energy collisions, comprising a coherent set of physics models for the evolution from a few-body hard process to a complex multiparticle final state. It contains a library of hard processes, models for initial- and final-state parton showers, matching and merging methods between hard processes and parton showers, multiparton interactions, beam remnants, string fragmentation and particle decays. It also has a set of utilities and several interfaces to external programs. Pythia 8.2 is the second main release after the complete rewrite from Fortran to C++, and now has reached such a maturity that it offers a complete replacement for most applications, notably for LHC physics studies. The many new features should allow an improved description of data.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

CO 2 injection-induced fracturing in naturally fractured shale rocks

In this study, Niobrara shale cubes of 20 cm from Colorado were employed to investigate gas and supercritical CO 2 injection-induced fracturing in naturally fractured caprocks of deep aquifers/depleted reservoirs and fractured shale reservoirs. Under tri-axial stresses, gas or supercritical CO 2 was injected into the center of the cubes to induce fracturing. Real-time pressure and temperature, acoustic wave, pressure decay, fracture coloring, and gas fracturing were used to characterize the fracturing process and fracture morphology. Without pore pressure, CO 2 injection-induced fracturing occurred and completed instantly, accompanied by an evident temperature drop. Strongly bonded fractures barely affected transverse fracture propagation, whereas weakly bonded or open fractures arrested the injected fluid first and then allowed it to generate new fractures perpendicular to the minimum horizontal stress. Breakdown pressures for cubes with preexisting fractures using gas and supercritical CO 2 are much lower than both poroelastic predictions and slick-water fracturing pressure, and some are even lower than the minimum horizontal stress. This is attributed to unconformable preexisting fractures and the low viscosity of CO 2 . Moreover, decreasing tri-axial stress levels and increasing stress differences tend to lower the breakdown pressure. In conclusion, this study is instructive for understanding and tackling geomechanical issues related to CO 2 geological storage and fracturing of shale reservoirs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of the $K^{+} → π^{+} γγ$ decay

A sample of 3984 candidates of the $K^{+} → π^{+} γγ$ decay, with an estimated background of 291 ± 14 events, was collected by the NA62 experiment at CERN during 2017–2018. In order to describe the observed di-photon mass spectrum, the next-to-leading order contribution in chiral perturbation theory was found to be necessary. The decay branching ratio in the full kinematic range is measured to be (9.61 ± 0.17) x 10 -7 . The first search for production and prompt decay of an axion-like particle with gluon coupling in the process $K^{+} → π^{+} a$, $a → γγ$ is also reported.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Solution Phase Exciton Diffusion Dynamics of a Charge-Transfer Copolymer PTB7 and a Homopolymer P3HT

Using ultrafast polarization-controlled transient absorption (TA) measurements, dynamics of the initial exciton states were investigated on the time scale of tens of femtoseconds to about 80 ps in two different types of conjugated polymers extensively used in active layers of organic photovoltaic devices. These polymers are poly(3-fluorothienothiophenebenzodithiophene) (PTB7) and poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT), which are charge-transfer polymers and homopolymers, respectively. In PTB7, the initial excitons with excess vibrational energy display two observable ultrafast time constants, corresponding to coherent exciton diffusion before the vibrational relaxation, and followed by incoherent exciton diffusion processes to a neighboring local state after the vibrational relaxation. In contrast, P3HT shows only one exciton diffusion or conformational motion time constant of 34 ps, even though its exciton decay kinetics are multiexponential. Based on the experimental results, an exciton dynamics mechanism is conceived taking into account the excitation energy and structural dependence in coherent and incoherent exciton diffusion processes, as well as other possible deactivation processes including the formation of the pseudo-charge-transfer and charge separate states, as well as interchain exciton hopping or coherent diffusion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Optical emission from a kilonova following a gravitational-wave-detected neutron-star merger

The merger of two neutron stars has been predicted to produce an optical–infrared transient (lasting a few days) known as a ‘kilonova’, powered by the radioactive decay of neutron-rich species synthesized in the merger. Evidence that short γ-ray bursts also arise from neutron-star mergers has been accumulating. In models of such mergers, a small amount of mass (10 -4 –10 -2 solar masses) with a low electron fraction is ejected at high velocities (0.1–0.3 times light speed) or carried out by winds from an accretion disk formed around the newly merged object. This mass is expected to undergo rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis, leading to the formation of radioactive elements that release energy as they decay, powering an electromagnetic transient. A large uncertainty in the composition of the newly synthesized material leads to various expected colours, durations and luminosities for such transients. Observational evidence for kilonovae has so far been inconclusive because it was based on cases of moderate excess emission detected in the afterglows of γ-ray bursts. Here we report optical to near-infrared observations of a transient coincident with the detection of the gravitational-wave signature of a binary neutron-star merger and with a low-luminosity short-duration γ-ray burst. Our observations, taken roughly every eight hours over a few days following the gravitational-wave trigger, reveal an initial blue excess, with fast optical fading and reddening. Using numerical models, we conclude that our data are broadly consistent with a light curve powered by a few hundredths of a solar mass of low-opacity material corresponding to lanthanide-poor (a fraction of 10 -4.5 by mass) ejecta.

Arcavi, Iair↗
DOE OSTI2021

Microscopic mechanism of unusual lattice thermal transport in TlInTe 2

We investigate the microscopic mechanism of ultralow lattice thermal conductivity (κ l ) of TlInTe 2 and its weak temperature dependence using a unified theory of lattice heat transport, that considers contributions arising from the particle-like propagation as well as wave-like tunneling of phonons. While we use the Peierls–Boltzmann transport equation (PBTE) to calculate the particle-like contributions (κ l (PBTE)), we explicitly calculate the off-diagonal (OD) components of the heat-flux operator within a first-principles density functional theory framework to determine the contributions (κ l (OD)) arising from the wave-like tunneling of phonons. At each temperature, T, we anharmonically renormalize the phonon frequencies using the self-consistent phonon theory including quartic anharmonicity, and utilize them to calculate κ l (PBTE) and κ l (OD). With the combined inclusion of κ l (PBTE), κ l (OD), and additional grain-boundary scatterings, our calculations successfully reproduce the experimental results. Our analysis shows that large quartic anharmonicity of TlInTe 2 (a) strongly hardens the low-energy phonon branches, (b) diminishes the three-phonon scattering processes at finite T, and (c) recovers the weaker than T –1 decay of the measured κ l .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Coupled nuclear–electronic decay dynamics of O2 inner valence excited states revealed by attosecond XUV wave-mixing spectroscopy

Multiple Rydberg series converging to the $O_2^+$ c $^{4}Σ^{-}_{u}$ state, accessed by 20-25 eV extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light, serve as important model systems for the competition between nuclear dissociation and electronic autoionization. The dynamics of the lowest member of these series, the $3sσ_g $ state around 21 eV, has been challenging to study owing to its ultra-short lifetime (<10 fs). Here, we apply transient wave-mixing spectroscopy with an attosecond XUV pulse to investigate the decay dynamics of this electronic state. Lifetimes of 5.8 ± 0.5 fs and 4.5 ± 0.7 fs at 95% confidence intervals are obtained for v = 0 and v = 1 vibrational levels of the 3s Rydberg state, respectively. A theoretical treatment of predissociation and electronic autoionization finds that these lifetimes are dominated by electronic autoionization. The strong dependence of the electronic autoionization rate on the internuclear distance because of two ionic decay channels that cross the 3s Rydberg state results in the different lifetimes of the two vibrational levels. The calculated lifetimes are highly sensitive to the location of the 3s potential with respect to the decay channels; by slight adjustment of the location, values of 6.2 and 5.0 fs are obtained computationally for the v = 0 and v = 1 levels, respectively, in good agreement with experiment. Overall, an intriguing picture of the coupled nuclear-electronic dynamics is revealed by attosecond XUV wave-mixing spectroscopy, indicating that the decay dynamics are not a simple competition between isolated autoionization and predissociation processes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Generation of lower hybrid and whistler waves by an ion velocity ring distribution

Using fully kinetic simulations in two and three spatial dimensions, we consider the generation and nonlinear evolution of lower hybrid waves produced by a cold ion ring velocity distribution in a low beta plasma. We show that the initial development of the instability is very similar in two and three dimensions and not significantly modified by electromagnetic effects, consistent with linear theory. At saturation, the level of electric field fluctuations is a small fraction of the background thermal energy; the electric field and corresponding density fluctuations consist of long, field-aligned striations. Energy extracted from the ring goes primarily into heating the background ions and the electrons at comparable rates. The initial growth and saturation of the magnetic components of the lower hybrid waves are related to the electric field components, consistent with linear theory. As the growing electric field fluctuations saturate, parallel propagating whistler waves develop by the interaction of two lower hybrid waves. At later times, these whistlers are replaced by longer wavelength, parallel propagating whistlers that grow through the decay of the lower hybrid fluctuations. Wave matching conditions demonstrate these conversion processes of lower hybrid waves to whistler waves. The conversion efficiency (=ratio of the whistler wave energy to the energy in the saturated lower hybrid waves) is computed and found to be significant ({approx}15%) for the parameters of the three-dimensional simulation (and even larger in the two-dimensional simulation), although when normalized in terms of the initial kinetic energy in the ring ions the overall efficiency is very small (<10{sup -4}). The results are compared with relevant linear and nonlinear theory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Determination of electron and hole lifetimes of rutile and anatase TiO{sub 2} single crystals

The dynamical behavior of photoexcited states of TiO{sub 2} governs the activities of TiO{sub 2}-based solar cells and photocatalysts. We determined the lifetimes of photoexcited electrons and holes in rutile and anatase TiO{sub 2} single crystals by combining advantages of time-resolved photoluminescence, photoconductance, and transient absorption spectroscopy. Electrons and holes in rutile show exponential decays with the lifetime of a few tens of nanoseconds, while non-exponential decays are observed in anatase, indicating the presence of multiple carrier trapping processes. We revealed the generic features of the carrier recombination processes in rutile and anatase TiO{sub 2}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

Compositional dependence of the 1.8 {mu}m emission properties of Tm{sup 3+} ions in silicate glass

The compositional dependence of the 1.8 {mu}m emission properties of Tm{sup 3+} ion-doped lead silicate glasses is investigated. Judd-Ofelt parameters are calculated and their variation with different glass modifier ions is obtained. The Judd-Ofelt parameters increase with decreased modifier ionic radius. A large spontaneous emission probability and a large emission cross-section are found to be related with the strength of the modifier ion. Fluorescence spectra are analyzed using rate equations and compared with recorded data. The results are very close, indicating the reliability of this method. Non-radiative probability is deduced by fitting the fluorescence decay curve; it becomes smaller with increased ionic field strength. Energy transfer processes are studied using the extended overlap integral method.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Comparison of two HPGe counting system used in activation studies for nuclear astrophysics

The activation method is a widely used technique to measure charged-particle induced cross sections for astrophys-ical applications. This two step technique is used for example to measure alpha-induced cross sections in γ-process related studies. The first step – in which a target is irradiated with a proton/alpha beam – is followed by the determination of the produced activity. Especially in p-process related studies in the heavier mass range, the produced radioactive nuclei decays mainly with electron-capture, resulting intense x-rays. The activity of the reaction products hence can be determine via the counting of these x-rays, and not only by counting the usually much weaker γ-rays. In this paper we compare the minimum detectable activity (MDA) of two High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors used for x- and γ-ray counting in activation experiments.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

period -1 encodes an ATP-dependent RNA helicase that influences nutritional compensation of the Neurospora circadian clock

Mutants in the period -1 ( prd­ -1) gene, characterized by a recessive allele, display a reduced growth rate and period lengthening of the developmental cycle controlled by the circadian clock. We refined the genetic location of prd­ -1 and used whole genome sequencing to find the mutation defining it, confirming the identity of prd­ -1 by rescuing the mutant circadian phenotype via transformation. PRD-1 is an RNA helicase whose orthologs, DDX5 and DDX17 in humans and Dbp2p in yeast, are implicated in various processes including transcriptional regulation, elongation, and termination, 23 ribosome biogenesis, and RNA decay. Although prd­ -1smutantssiois an ATP-dependent RNA helicase, member of a sub-family display a long period (~25 hrs) circadian developmental cycle, they interestingly display a wild type period when the core circadian oscillator is tracked using a frq -luciferase transcriptional fusion under conditions of limiting nutritional carbon; the core oscillator runs with a long period under glucose-sufficient conditions. Furthermore PRD-1 clearly impacts the circadian oscillator and is not only part of a metabolic oscillator ancillary to the core clock. PRD-1 is an essential protein and its expression is neither light-regulated nor clock-regulated. However, it is transiently induced by glucose; in the presence of sufficient glucose PRD-1 is in the nucleus until glucose runs out which elicits its disappearance from the nucleus. Because circadian period length is carbon concentration-dependent, prd­ -1 may be formally viewed as clock mutant with defective nutritional compensation of circadian period length.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

The hadronic origin of the hard gamma-ray spectrum from blazar 1ES 1101-232

The very hard γ-ray spectrum from distant blazars challenges the traditional synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model, which may indicate that there is a contribution from an additional high-energy component beyond the SSC emission. In this paper, we study the possible origin of the hard γ-ray spectrum from distant blazars. We develop a model to explain the hard γ-ray spectrum from blazar 1ES 1101-232. In the model, the optical and X-ray radiation would come from the synchrotron radiation of primary electrons and secondary pairs and the GeV emission would be produced by the SSC process, however, the hard γ-ray spectrum would originate from the decay of neutral pion produced through proton-photon interactions with the synchrotron radiation photons within the jet. Our model can explain the observed spectral energy distribution of 1ES 1101-232 well, especially the very hard γ-ray spectrum. However, our model requires a very large proton power to efficiently produce the γ-ray through proton-photon interactions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗