Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Active particles”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,405 records · Page 78

Field Study of Nighttime Leakage Currents in Bifacial PV Modules: Correlation with Atmospheric Electric Field Data

Leakage currents measured on PV modules in the field originate from a potential difference between the modules' frame and the cells. They can be a relative indicator of Potential-Induced Degradation (PID) severity, especially when comparing the same module design in a different environment. As modules are not operating at night, no leakage current should be observed but our team has reported several events of nighttime leakage currents on bifacial PV modules. These events have been firstly observed during a thunderstorm that are characterized by strong atmospheric electrical field values. This lead us to believe that nighttime leakage currents could originate from the atmospheric electric charges. In this paper, we correlate nighttime leakage currents measured on bifacial PV modules with field mill data to identify the origin of nighttime leakage currents. Our results show that so far, no leakage currents at night occur when the atmospheric electric field is between 0 and 150–200 V/m (standard value for fair weather). As soon as the atmospheric electric field is out of this range, leakage currents are observed with or without rain involved. This suggests a transport of charged particles from the atmosphere to the modules' frame. A combination of heavy rain with strong atmospheric electric field results into high nighttime leakage currents with a magnitude up to 8 times higher than what observed during the day with -1500V applied. This is explained by an easier transport of the charged particles through the water droplets. Based on these results, leakage currents observed during the day might not be only due to the inherent potential difference between the frame and the cells depending on the atmospheric electric field activity. We believe that it should be taken into account in PID studies.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

The color of magnetic monopole noise

We relate the anomaly in the noise color of spin ice to the emergent nature of its magnetic monopoles and their random walk. Monopoles are quasi-particles, and the spin vacuum in which they wander is not structureless. Rather, the underlying spin ensemble filters the thermal white noise, leading to non-trivial coevolution. Thus, monopoles can be considered as "dressed" random walkers, activated by a non-trivial stochastic noise that subsumes mutual interactions and the coevolution of their spin vacuum. From this, we suggest that recent experimental results are interpretable in terms of monopole subdiffusion. Furthermore, we then conjecture relations between the color of the noise and other observables, such as relaxation time, monopole density, the dynamic exponent, and the order of the annihilation reaction, which suggests to us the introduction of spin-ice-specific critical exponents in a neighborhood of the ice manifold criticality.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Size-resolved ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations from the MOSAiC campaign

Sample collection: Ground-based immersion mode ice nucleation measurements were conducted on samples collected at the U.S. DOE ARM AMF2 onboard the R/V Polarstern P-deck during MOSAiC from 23 Oct 2019 to 01 Oct 2020. Samples were collected using a Davis Rotating-drum Unit for Monitoring (DRUM; DRUMAir, LLC) cascading impactor in 4 stages (i.e., size bins). Instrument information on the model used, the DA400, can be found at the DRUMAir website (http://www.drumair.com/). Stages A, B, C, and D had particle size cuts at 2.96, 1.21, 0.34, and 0.15 &micro;m in particle diameter, respectively. Strips of sample substrate (PFA, perfluoroalkoxy; McMaster) were adhered to each disc in each stage and coated with petrolatum to enable particles to stick on impact. The discs move slowly over time, such that aerosol loading is streaked onto the PFA. Every 24 hours, a blank is created on the PFA to separate daily samples. During MOSAiC, the pump typically pulled 20 &ndash; 35 lpm (average of 32 lpm) at the inlet with all the discs in place in each stage. Daily samples were collected for each of the four stages, equaling 28,800 &ndash; 50,400 total L of air (average of 46,080 L total L of air) per sample. Discs rotated for approximately 24 days before the sampling per strip was complete and changed to a new disc. Discs were stored frozen after collection. Sample preparation for analysis: Following collection and transport from MOSAiC to the Kreidenweis/DeMott laboratory, care of PI Creamean, in Fort Collins, CO, strips were removed from the discs and cut up to separate daily samples. Each daily portion of the strip was stored in separate sterile 15-mL centrifuge tubes and stored in a standard commercial freezer until analysis (approximately 4 &ndash; 12 months after collection). Sample analysis: Drop freezing assays (DFAs) were conducted on one daily sample set every 3 &ndash; 4 days of the study for all four stages using the Colorado State University (CSU) cold plate (CP). Sample set days were chosen to cover the entire year of MOSAiC and avoiding days where the AOS purge system was activated. Immediately after removal from the freezer, 2 mL of 0.1-&micro;m filtered deionized water was added with a single-use sterile syringe directly to the tubes, then mixed using a vortex mixer for at least 30 minutes at 500 rpm to resuspend particles from the PFA into the deionized water. Following sample preparation, another single-use syringe was used to create 100 aliquots on a 3-inch diameter copper plate, then covered with a transparent plastic dome. The drops were approximately the same volume (2.5 &micro;L each), though careful inspection. The plate was cooled at approximately 3 &ndash; 10 K min-1 from room temperature until all drops froze on the plate. Temperature was measured by an Omega thermocouple probes and meter. Drop freezing was visually detected but recorded through monitoring software to provide the time frozen, channel of the meter used, temperature, and cooling rate for each drop. Not all 100 drops were always detected; the total number of rows in each data file equals the number of drops recorded, which typically was > 80 %. Each sample was tested three times (i.e., a new set of 100 drops was created for each test). Data provided are files containing these parameters. From the freezing temperatures recorded, the fraction frozen was and INP concentrations were calculated per L of air using the equation from Vali (1971): [INPs] = &minus;(ln(f)/Valiquot)*(Vsuspension/Vair) where f is the proportion of droplets not frozen, Valiquot is the volume of each aliquot (i.e., 2.5e-6 L), Vsuspension is the volume of the suspension (i.e., 0.002 L), and Vair is the volume of air per sample (i.e., 36000 L). Data usage guidance: There are three files included with this dataset: (1) dumcp_inp_concentrations.csv which includes cumulative INP concentrations binned every 0.5 &deg;C from 0 to &ndash;30 &deg;C for all samples and size ranges (i.e., DRUM stages) processed via DFA using the CSU CP; (2) dumcp_inp_standard_deviation.csv which includes the standard deviations for all samples and temperatures in dumcp_inp_concentrations.csv; and (3) dumcp_blank_concentrations_standard_deviation.csv which includes the INP concentrations and standard deviations for the deionized water and PFA blanks binned every 0.5 &deg;C from 0 to &ndash;30 &deg;C. The first column in each file represents the freezing temperature in &deg;C binned every 0.5 &deg;C from 0 to &ndash;30 &deg;C (first cell in this column = header = &ldquo;temp&rdquo;). The second column in each file represents the standard deviation of each temperature bin in &deg;C (first cell in this column = header = &ldquo;temperr&rdquo;). For file (1) dumcp_inp_concentrations.csv, the remaining columns indicate the INP concentrations per L of air for each temperature bin. For each sample column, the header in the first row indicates the stage (i.e., size bin as &ldquo;A_&rdquo;, &ldquo;B_&rdquo;, &ldquo;C_&rdquo;, or &ldquo;D_&rdquo;) and date (&ldquo;_yyyymmdd) of collection. For file (2) dumcp_inp_standard_deviation.csv, the remaining columns indicate the INP concentration standard deviation per L of air for each temperature bin. For each sample column, the header in the first row indicates the stage (i.e., size bin as &ldquo;A_&rdquo;, &ldquo;B_&rdquo;, &ldquo;C_&rdquo;, or &ldquo;D_&rdquo;) and date (&ldquo;_yyyymmdd) of collection. For file (3) dumcp_blank_concentrations_standard_deviation.csv, the remaining columns indicate the INP concentrations and standard deviations for the deionized water blank (&ldquo;di_0.1&rdquo; and &ldquo;di_0.1sd&rdquo; for the concentrations and standard deviations, respectively) and PFA blank (&ldquo;pfa&rdquo; and &ldquo;pfasd&rdquo; for the concentrations and standard deviations, respectively). Please see Creamean et al. (2019a; 2018a; 2018b; 2019b) for additional details on DRUM sample collection and offline processing. For questions or help with data interpretation, contact Dr. Jessie Creamean (jessie.creamean@colostate.edu). References: Creamean, J. M., Mignani, C., Bukowiecki, N., and Conen, F.: Using spectra characteristics to identify ice nucleating particle populations during winter storms in the Alps, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8123&ndash;8140, 2019a. Creamean, J. M., Kirpes, R. M., Pratt, K. A., Spada, N. S., Maahn, M., de Boer, G., Schnell, R. C., and China, S.: Marine and terrestrial influences on ice nucleating particles during continuous springtime measurements in an Arctic oilfield location, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 18, 18023-18042, 10.5194/acp-18-18023-2018, 2018a. Creamean, J. M., Primm, K. M., Tolbert, M. A., Hall, E. G., Wendell, J., Jordan, A., Sheridan, P. J., Smith, J., and Schnell, R. C.: HOVERCAT: A novel aerial system for evaluation of aerosol-cloud interactions, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 11, 3969-3985, 10.5194/amt-11-3969-2018, 2018b. Creamean, J. M., Cross, J. N., Pickart, R., McRaven, L., Lin, P., Pacini, A., Hanlon, R., Schmale, D. G., Ceniceros, J., Aydell, T., Colombi, N., Bolger, E., and DeMott, P. J.: Ice nucleating particles carried from below a phytoplankton bloom to the Arctic atmosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 8572-8581, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083039, 2019b. Vali, G.: Quantitative Evaluation of Experimental Results an the Heterogeneous Freezing Nucleation of Supercooled Liquids, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 28, 402-409, 10.1175/1520-0469(1971)028<0402:qeoera>2.0.co;2, 1971.

4-stage DRUM aerosol collector (DA400),Ice nuclei,↗

Elucidating the Dynamic Nature of Fuel Cell Electrodes as a Function of Conditioning: An ex Situ Material Characterization and in Situ Electrochemical Diagnostic Study

To increase the commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicles, it is imperative to improve the activity and performance of electrocatalysts through combined efforts focused on material characterization and device-level integration. Obtaining fundamental insights into the ongoing structural and compositional changes of electrocatalysts is crucial for not only transitioning an electrode from its as-prepared to functional state, also known as 'conditioning', but also for establishing intrinsic electrochemical performances. Here, we investigated several oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts via in situ and ex situ characterization techniques to provide fundamental insights into the interfacial phenomena that enable peak ORR mass activity and high current density performance. A mechanistic understanding of a fuel cell conditioning procedure is described, which encompasses voltage cycling and subsequent voltage recovery (VR) steps at low potential. In particular, ex situ membrane electrode assembly characterization using transmission electron microscopy and ultra-small angle X-ray scattering were performed to determine changes in carbon and Pt particle size and morphology, while in situ electrochemical diagnostics were performed either during or after specific points in the testing protocol to determine the electrochemical and interfacial changes occurring on the catalyst surface responsible for oxygen transport resistances through ionomer films. The results demonstrate that the voltage cycling (break-in) step aids in the removal of sulfate and fluoride and concomitantly reduces non-Fickian oxygen transport resistances, especially for catalysts where Pt is located within the pores of the carbon support. Subsequent low voltage holds at low temperature and oversaturated conditions, i.e., VR cycles, serve to improve mass activities by a factor of two to three, through a combined removal of contaminants, surface-blocking species (e.g., oxides), and rearrangement of the catalyst atomic structure (e.g., Pt-Pt and Pt-Co coordination).

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Lessons Learned Assembling the SSR1 Cavities String for PIP-II

The string assembly of the prototype Single Spoke Resonator type 1 (SSR1) cryomodule for PIP-II at Fermilab was successfully completed. Lessons learned from the preparation, assembly and the quality control activities of the final fully integrated assembly will be presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Comparison of active impurity control between lithium and boron powder real-time injection in EAST

The lithium and boron powder have been successfully real-time injected into Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) high-confinement (H-) mode discharges, showing good wall conditioning effects, especially on the impurities control. Both of lithium and boron powder particles are gravitationally accelerated into the upper edge of a upper single null discharge. The lithium powder real-time injection effectively reduced the tungsten impurity content both in the plasma edge and core. Contrary to the lithium injection, the boron injection mainly reduced the impurities content in the plasma core, while the impurities increased in the edge. Furthermore, this mainly due to that there was an edge harmonic mode stimulated by boron injection, providing sufficient particles transport. Moreover, the impurities control through boron injection has much wider operation windows than lithium powder injection. Furthermore, there was accumulative wall conditioning effects after sequential boron powder injection discharges.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Global Simulations Suggest Biomass Burning Aerosol Emissions From Grassland Fires Could Be Important Ice Nucleating Particles

Ice nucleating particles (INP) capable of nucleating ice crystals via immersion freezing at temperatures above approximately −35°C may strongly influence cloud glaciation, with implications for global precipitation and climate feedback. In addition to mineral dust, soil dust, and marine organics, laboratory and field measurements suggest biomass burning aerosols (BBA) can act as immersion-mode INP between around −30°C and −15°C. However, the contribution of BBA to the global INP budget remains poorly understood due to poor knowledge of which fuels yield INPs, uncertainties in global coverage of those fuels, and unknown size distributions of the INPs in the BBA. Nonetheless, with some understanding of these uncertainties from sensitivity studies, the relative importance of ice nucleation activity of BBA compared to other INP sources can be quantified. In this work, we investigate the potential global importance of BBA as INP using a global aerosol-climate model, specifically the UK Met Office Unified Model (UM). We evaluate the model using field campaign data sets. We examine potential uncertainties in fuel types and particle sizes on BBA-based INP concentrations. Averaged over June–September between 15°S and 50°S, BBA is a more important INP than dust and marine INP about 30% of the time at altitudes with temperatures between −30°C and −20°C. Our simulations therefore suggest BBA INPs may be at least as important as mineral dust and marine INP over the atmospheric regions and seasons where grassland fires are frequent.

Gohil, Kanishk [Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsb↗

Loss circulation prevention in geothermal drilling by shape memory polymer

Geothermal formations are naturally fractured with large fracture openings and networks. This can often lead to frequent drilling fluid loss events which is a major contributor to the cost and non-productive time in geothermal drilling. Development of smarter technologies and methods to tackle problem lost circulation is vital for geothermal drilling cost reduction required for geothermal energy to be recognized as a competitive alternative energy source. Mitigation of this problem and other drilling problems such as stuck pipe can minimize overall project cost. In this report, a thermoset shape memory polymer that can be activated by formation natural heat was assessed to seal near wellbore fractures in geothermal wells. The performance of the shape memory polymer (SMP) was evaluated using artificial fractures created in aluminum discs and cylindrical granite cores. Rheology and particle size distribution were considered. A novel testing setup was built for this work, which allows testing of sealing efficiency under dynamic conditions at high temperature. Analysis showed that the SMP has efficiently succeeded in forming a strong plug inside the fractures and stopped fluid loss at high sealing pressure. This smart loss circulation material can expand within the fractures to reduces non-drilling time and strengthen the wellbore in high-temperature drilling operations.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Unraveling the core of fuel cell performance: engineering the ionomer/catalyst interface

The biggest obstacle to the widespread implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is their cost, primarily due to the use of platinum catalysts. The high intrinsic catalyst activity exhibited on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) is rarely realized in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which is a long-standing challenge for PEMFCs and a cause of low catalyst utilization. To translate the high RDE performance of a catalyst into a MEA, the design of an ideal ionomer/catalyst interface is proposed: a thin, conformal ionomer film covers the maximum surface of a Pt nanoparticle and thus simultaneously maximizes catalyst utilization, (i.e., high mass activity and electrochemically active surface area) and O 2 diffusion rate (i.e., high current density performance) without compromising proton conduction. Building such an interface is a long-standing challenge due to the lack of interaction between the ionomer and catalyst particles, resulting in large ionomer agglomerates and inhomogeneous ionomer coverage over the catalyst nanoparticle, with consequent poor fuel cell performance. In this work, this ionomer/catalyst interface has been engineered, utilizing the electrostatic attraction between positively charged catalyst and negatively charged ionomer particles in a catalyst ink and preserved in a solid catalyst layer. As a result, this interface leads to previously unachieved proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance in terms of both catalyst utilization (75% vs. 45%) and peak/rated power density (i.e., 1.430/0.930 W cm -2 , H 2 /air, cathode Pt loading: 0.1 mgPt cm -2 ) for pure Pt catalysts, even better than those of Pt alloy catalysts. This work demonstrates the formation of an interface in the liquid phase (using ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering in combination with cryo-TEM, isothermal–titration–calorimetry) and the preservation of the interface in the solid catalyst layer (using TEM) and estimates the effective coverage and thickness of the ionomer film (using limiting current density, RDE and fuel cell performance).

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Development of Chromium and Sulfur Getter for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) System

Under the “real world” SOFC operating conditions, gaseous Cr and S species coexist in air stream. The combined Cr and S effect on the electrochemical poisoning of candidate LSM and LSCF electrodes has been investigated. Electrochemical and structural analysis revealed that the combined Cr and S interactions with the LSCF electrode remains significantly different from those of the individual Cr and S interactions. S reacts with the surface SrO accompanied by morphological changes whereas the hexavalent gaseous Cr species mainly deposit at the LSCF/GDC interface as is the case with Cr-only poisoning. For LSM electrode, the combined interactions of Cr and S remains similar to the sum of individual Cr and S effects as SO 2 reacts with Sr-rich regions of the bulk LSM, while Cr deposits at the electrochemically active sites. The use of getter, consisting of alkaline earth and transition metal oxides, has been proposed as a cost-effective approach to mitigate electrode poisoning. SrMnO 3 (SMO) is suggested as a robust getter material for the co-capture of airborne gaseous S and Cr species entering high-temperature electrochemical systems. The honeycomb getter forms, covered with SMO nanoparticles, were fabricated using dip coating. The SMO getter successfully maintained the electrochemical activity of LSM under the presence of gaseous Cr and S species, validating the efficacy of the getter. Post-test characterization revealed that the absorption of S and Cr contaminants led to the elongation of granular SMO particles, forming SrO nanorods and SrCrO 4 whiskers leaving Mn oxides underneath where inward-migrating Cr reside, indicating the high mutual affinity of Sr and Mn. The growth of reaction products during the long term exposure favors continued absorption of incoming S and Cr contaminants. The Mn 2 O 9 dimers, existing on the surface, are considered to help absorb S and Cr impurities, along with the Sr-terminated surface. The SMO getter also displays robust stability in humid environments at high temperatures without phase transformation or hydrolysis, fulfilling the requirement for operation in high-temperature electrochemical systems.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Kinetics and Reaction Mechanisms of Acetic Acid Hydrodeoxygenation over Pt and Pt–Mo Catalysts

In this work, kinetic measurements for silica-supported Pt and Pt-Mo catalysts were collected in vapor-phase acetic acid hydrodeoxygenation by varying the hydrogen partial pressure between 18 and 72 kPa and acetic acid partial pressure between 7 and 18 kPa at 423-473 K. At all testing conditions, the Pt-Mo catalyst was more active and selective. In addition, the apparent activation energy for Pt-Mo of 76±3 kJ/mol was lower than that of 84±4 kJ/mol for Pt. The apparent reaction orders were also different. The order in hydrogen of 0.8±0.1 for Pt-Mo changed to zero at higher hydrogen partial pressures while that for Pt remained constant at 0.6±0.1. A near-zero order in acetic acid for Pt-Mo changed to -2.1 at higher acetic acid pressures while that for Pt remained constant at -2.9±0.3. These differences in reaction kinetics as well as in selectivity trends with changes in temperature and feed composition indicated a change in the reaction mechanism for Pt-Mo. The catalysts were characterized with hydrogen temperature programmed desorption, oxygen temperature programmed oxidation and transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersed X-ray spectroscopy elemental mapping. Mo was present in the form of subnanometer-size clusters on the surface of Pt nanoparticles. Both Pt and Pt-Mo catalysts were stable under the reaction conditions for 10 h, and the size and structure of Pt and Pt-Mo particles remained mostly unchanged, without coke accumulation. Density functional theory calculations show that surface acetate is not a major reaction intermediate on both Pt and Pt-Mo and, instead, C-OH bond splitting with the formation of acetyl is the first reaction step in hydrodeoxygenation. The activation energy for this step is dramatically lower on Pt-Mo. Furthermore, the activity of acetyl on Pt-Mo is different. Unlike on pure Pt, the reaction of C-O bond splitting becomes exothermic with a lower activation energy on Pt-Mo, and the reaction of C-C bond splitting, in contrast, becomes endothermic with a higher activation energy, explaining the experimentally observed higher activities and selectivities of Pt-Mo. In addition, the calculations demonstrate that a pair of Pt-Mo surface atoms acts as a single active site where Mo serves as a preferential binding anchor for O atoms. The presence of Mo atoms changes the structure and energy of adsorbed and reacting surface species.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Bison Verification and Validation Activities for TRISO

Numerical modeling and simulation (M&S) tools play a key role in the research, development, and overall safety assessments of next-generation nuclear energy systems. One such tool, Bison, is a nuclear fuel performance code that is applicable to many fuel forms (e.g., light-water reactor fuel, oxide and metallic fuel for fast reactors, tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, and plate fuel), and it uses the finite element method to model the thermo- mechanical response of nuclear fuels. One fuel form widely utilized in Generation-IV high-temperature gas-cooled and fluoride- salt-cooled nuclear reactor concepts is TRISO fuel. Recently, Bison’s capabilities were significantly expanded to enable it to model the performance of TRISO particles and compacts. It is important that Bison’s computational results be reliable and predictive, since this code is used to inform high-consequence decisions. The various processes developed to address this issue generally entail two fundamental steps: verification and validation (V&V). Verification ensures that the code functions correctly and is reliable. Code/solution verification, code benchmark, and software quality assurance exercises are examples of verification activities. On the other hand, validation is the process of assessing a code’s capability to accurately model physical problems. Comparisons between code results and experiments quantify the validation level. Application of V&V procedures is crucial to the development of computational tools that are free of coding mistakes and can accurately represent reality. The current study presents an overview of Bison V&V activities relevant to the TRISO fuel concept, which include code/solution verification exercises, CRP-6 Benchmark—a Coordinated Research Program through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—exercises, and validation exercises with the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR)- 1/2/3/4 experiment series.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Searches for New Long-Lived Particles and Upgrade to the ATLAS Inner Detector (Final Technical Report)

The search for new fundamental particles is one of the defining goals of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The discovery of the Higgs Boson by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations provided the capstone of the Standard Model of particle physics, but outstanding questions remain. Why does the Higgs boson have a mass of 125 GeV when its natural mass would be many orders of magnitude larger? Is there a universal symmetry which unites all three forces described by the Standard Model? Can that symmetry be extended to include gravity? Is dark matter, evidenced by astronomical observations, made of a particle that interacts via Standard Model forces with the rest of matter? Together, these motivations provide compelling arguments that new physical processes await discovery. This project addressed some outstanding questions about the fundamental particles and their interactions with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. In particular, the project improved the discovery potential for new, long- lived particles produced via electroweak processes in proton-proton collisions and set world-leading limits on their existence for certain values of their potential mass and lifetime. To achieve this, the project developed new data analysis methods, developed new triggers to select events with new long-lived particles during data-taking of the ATLAS experiment, and analyzed the largest proton–proton collision dataset ever produced. The project also supported significant development of the data acquisition software for the upgrade to the ATLAS inner detector, the Inner TracKer (ITk). The upgrade of the ATLAS inner detector is essential to the success of the entire Phase II physics program on ATLAS. Personnel supported by the project provided support for integration, assembly, and testing of the inner two layers of the ITk pixel system during its prototype and pre-production phase. Four PhD students and two post-doctoral scholars were supported by the grant and received invaluable scientific training as part of the research endeavor. The students and postdocs gained essential professional skills in the areas of advanced data analysis techniques, statistical analysis of data and simulation, programming in C++ and Python, hardware and instrumentation development, and presentation and collaboration skills. Additionally, approximately ten undergraduate students supported through other funding sources participated in research activities synergistic with the goals of this project, receiving essential mentorship from the personnel supported by this project.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Evidence for Secondary Ice Production in Southern Ocean Maritime Boundary Layer Clouds

Abstract Maritime boundary‐layer clouds over the Southern Ocean (SO) have a large shortwave radiative effect. Yet, climate models have difficulties in representing these clouds and, especially, their phase in this observationally sparse region. This study aims to increase the knowledge of SO cloud phase by presenting in‐situ cloud microphysical observations from the Southern Ocean Clouds, Radiation, Aerosol, Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES). We investigate the occurrence of ice in summertime marine stratocumulus and cumulus clouds in the temperature range between 6 and −25°C. Our observations show that in ice‐containing clouds, maximum ice number concentrations of up to several hundreds per liter were found. The observed ice crystal concentrations were on average one to two orders of magnitude higher than the simultaneously measured ice nucleating particle (INP) concentrations in the temperature range below −10°C and up to five orders of magnitude higher than estimated INP concentrations in the temperature range above −10°C. These results highlight the importance of secondary ice production (SIP) in SO summertime marine boundary‐layer clouds. Evidence for rime splintering was found in the Hallett‐Mossop (HM) temperature range but the exact SIP mechanism active at lower temperatures remains unclear. Finally, instrument simulators were used to assess simulated co‐located cloud ice concentrations and the role of modeled HM rime‐splintering. We found that CAM6 is deficient in simulating number concentrations across the HM temperature range with little sensitivity to the model HM process, which is inconsistent with the aforementioned observational evidence of highly active SIP processes in SO low‐level clouds.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Synthesis of Melanin Mediated Silver Nanoparticles from Aeromonas sp. SNS Using Response Surface Methodology: Characterization with the Biomedical Applications and Photocatalytic Degradation of Brilliant Green

Melanin is ubiquitous in nature and has wide applications in cosmetics, agriculture, and medicine. The synthesized melanin from bacterium Aeromonas sp. SNS was further used as capping and reducing agents for synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The influence of the experimental parameters (AgNO{sub 3}, melanin concentrations, and temperature) and their interactions on the nanoparticle synthesis was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The Central Composite Design (CCD) with three independent variables was optimized for the effective synthesis of AgNPs. The optimized synthesis of AgNPs was achieved at the shortest time of 14.12 h in the presence of 2.62 mM AgNO{sub 3}, and 32.30 µg ml{sup −1} melanin concentration at 54.86 °C temperature. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by means of UV–visible spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and PSD respectively. The AgNPs exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity against human and food-related pathogens. These AgNPs also have strong antioxidant potential which was estimated by DPPH, DMPD and FRAP radical scavenging assays. The 92.62% photocatalytic degradation of 250 PPM brilliant green was observed in 120 min. The present finding accelerates the melanin associated AgNPs could be used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries as well as in textile industries as they have superior antimicrobial, antioxidant, and photocatalytic activity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗