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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 1,405 records · Page 78
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Tunable thermal conductivity via domain structure engineering in ferroelectric thin films: A phase-field simulation

Effective thermal conductivity as a function of domain structure is studied by solving the heat conduction equation using a spectral iterative perturbation algorithm in materials with inhomogeneous thermal conductivity distribution. Using this proposed algorithm, the experimentally measured effective thermal conductivities of domain-engineered {001} p- BiFeO 3 thin films are quantitatively reproduced. In conjunction with two other testing examples, this proposed algorithm is proven to be an efficient tool for interpreting the relationship between the effective thermal conductivity and micro-/domain-structures. By combining this algorithm with the phase-field model of ferroelectric thin films, the effective thermal conductivity for PbZr 1-x Ti x O 3 films under different composition, thickness, strain, and working conditions is predicted. It is shown that the chemical composition, misfit strain, film thickness, film orientation, and a Piezoresponse Force Microscopy tip can be used to engineer the domain structures and tune the effective thermal conductivity. Furthermore, we expect our findings will stimulate future theoretical, experimental and engineering efforts on developing devices based on the tunable effective thermal conductivity in ferroelectric nanostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rapid and robust squashed spore/colony PCR of industrially important fungi

Fungi have been utilized for centuries in medical, agricultural, and industrial applications. Development of systems biology techniques has enabled the design and metabolic engineering of these fungi to produce novel fuels, chemicals, and enzymes from renewable feedstocks. Many genetic tools have been developed for manipulating the genome and creating mutants rapidly. However, screening and confirmation of transformants remain an inefficient step within the design, build, test, and learn cycle in many industrial fungi because extracting fungal genomic DNA is laborious, time-consuming, and involves toxic chemicals. In this study we developed a rapid and robust technique called “Squash-PCR” to break open the spores and release fungal genomic DNA as a template for PCR. The efficacy of Squash-PCR was investigated in eleven different filamentous fungal strains. Clean PCR products with high yields were achieved in all tested fungi. Spore age and type of DNA polymerase did not affect the efficiency of Squash-PCR. However, spore concentration was found to be the crucial factor for Squash-PCR in Aspergillus niger, with the dilution of starting material often resulting in higher PCR product yield. We then further evaluated the applicability of the squashing procedure for nine different yeast strains. We found that Squash-PCR can be used to improve the quality and yield of colony PCR in comparison to direct colony PCR in the tested yeast strains. The developed technique will enhance the efficiency of screening transformants and accelerate genetic engineering in filamentous fungi and yeast.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Biosensor and optogenetics for systems biology of yeast branched-chain alcohol production and tolerance

In this project we combined synthetic biology, systems biology, protein engineering and metabolic engineering to study, control, and improve the production of branched chain alcohols (BCAs), a class of advanced biofuels preferred by the DOE, in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This involved the development and application of optogenetic systems as a new modality of dynamic control of native and engineered metabolic pathways, using light as inducible or repressible agent. The optogenetic systems include gene circuits for light control of gene expression, as well as light-assembled synthetic organelles and photo-switchable protein binders to control metabolic and protein function with light at the protein level. In addition, we developed the first genetically encoded biosensor for BCA production in yeast, which we used to design high throughput assays to identify highly productive strains, pathways, and enzymes. We also showed that this biosensor can be functionally co-expressed with optogenetic circuits in the same strain, raising the possibility of establishing, for the first time, computer-interfaced closed-loop controls of engineered metabolic pathways. The yeast gene deletion library was also utilized to conduct the first systems-level study on BCA toxicity in yeast, which uncovered key fundamental principles of yeast sensitivity and tolerance to these alcohols, allowing us to design highly tolerant strains with increased BCA production. This project, thus comprises the development of several new technologies, which we integrated to make new discoveries on the dynamics of BCA production and their mechanisms of cellular toxicity and tolerance, as well as to establish new paradigms to engineer and control metabolic pathways and microbial fermentations with light, for the production of BCAs and other products of interest to the DOE.

2-metyl-1-butanol↗
DOE OSTI2024

A high-order, localized-artificial-diffusivity method for Eulerian simulation of multi-material elastic-plastic deformation with strain hardening

A high-order method for Eulerian simulation of material undergoing large elastic–plastic deformation is developed. Thermodynamically consistent hyperelastic constitutive relations are assumed, facilitating the treatment of solids, liquids, and gases in a unified manner. Here, the method enables the simulation of multi-material interactions using a diffuse interface approach. Numerical capturing of material interfaces, shock waves, contact surfaces, and elastic-plastic strain discontinuities using high-order compact-difference schemes is assisted by Localized Artificial Diffusivity (LAD). In the new setting involving elastic–plastic deformation, the previously established terms for the artificial properties are verified to effectively regularize normal shocks. Additional LAD terms are introduced to the elastic and plastic kinematic equations to regularize shear shocks and other strain discontinuities, improving solution stability. Other important features of the method that improve robustness include the numerical treatment of compatibility terms in the kinematic equations, and the treatment of rotation. Particular emphasis is focused toward new advancements of the methods for plastic-deformation integration and the associated strain hardening of the material, including rate-dependent plasticity. The method is demonstrated on a variety of test problems, including 1-D impacts, a variant of the Shu-Osher problem, a Taylor impact, and a Richtmyer-Meshkov instability between two elastic–plastic solids with strain hardening.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Development of Anabaena 33047, a Fast-Growing N 2 -Fixing Cyanobacterium, as a Carbon Neutral Bioproduction Platform

Cyanobacteria, oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes, are emerging as promising platforms for cost effective conversion of sunlight and CO 2 into high value end products. Anabaena sp. ATCC 33047, a heterocystous cyanobacterium, stands out in this category of fast-growing cyanobacteria for its ability to utilize atmospheric N 2 in addition to CO 2 and generate biomass at unprecedented rates. Developing such a strain as a chassis can eliminate the need for fixed nitrogen in bioproduction systems, a significant step towards replacement of petroleum derived products. Our work aimed to develop Anabaena 33047 into such a bioproduction platform. Despite its many appealing traits, Anabaena 33047 remained largely unexplored due to its recalcitrance to any genetic manipulation. During this project, we have developed a method that has enabled targeted genome modification of this strain. We also constructed a genome scale metabolic model i AnC892, which captures the diazotrophic life cycle of Anabaena 33047 by accounting for both vegetative and heterocyst cell types. The model provided insight into the importance of light dependent electron transport in the heterocyst and revealed pathway combinations that can supply reducing equivalents and ATP in the appropriate ratio for optimal N2 fixation. To validate the existing metabolic models and to have a better understanding of the metabolism of Anabaena 33047 under different growth conditions, we performed a series of stable-isotope tracing experiments and quantified metabolic fluxes using state-of-the-art tools for 13C-metabolic flux analysis. Using our novel engineering strategy and based on our model predictions, we performed targeted deletion in the strain and generated a mutant with modified light harvesting properties in heterocysts. The mutant exhibited better light utilization and increased rates of nitrogen fixation. Overall, this project has laid the foundation for developing the non-model cyanobacterium Anabaena 33047 into a highly efficient chassis for conversion of solar energy, atmospheric CO 2 and N 2 into high value bio products.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Biological upgrading of pyrolysis-derived wastewater: Engineering Pseudomonas putida for alkylphenol, furfural, and acetone catabolism and (methyl)muconic acid production

While biomass-derived carbohydrates have been predominant substrates for biological production of renewable fuels, chemicals, and materials, organic waste streams are growing in prominence as potential alternative feedstocks to improve the sustainability of manufacturing processes. Catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) is a promising approach to generate biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass, but it generates a complex, carbon-rich, and toxic wastewater stream that is challenging to process catalytically but could be biologically upgraded to valuable co-products. Here, we implemented modular, heterologous catabolic pathways in the Pseudomonas putida KT2440-derived EM42 strain along with the overexpression of native toxicity tolerance machinery to enable utilization of 89% (w/w) of carbon in CFP wastewater. The dmp monooxygenase and meta-cleavage pathway from Pseudomonas putida CF600 were constitutively expressed to enable utilization of phenol, cresols, 2- and 3-ethyl phenol, and methyl catechols, and the native chaperones clpB, groES, and groEL were overexpressed to improve toxicity tolerance to diverse aromatic substrates. Next, heterologous furfural and acetone utilization pathways were incorporated, and a native alcohol dehydrogenase was overexpressed to improve methanol utilization, generating reducing equivalents. All pathways (encoded by genes totaling ~30 kilobases of DNA) were combined into a single strain that can catabolize a mock CFP wastewater stream as a sole carbon source. Further engineering enabled conversion of all aromatic compounds in the mock wastewater stream to (methyl)muconates with a ~90% (mol/mol) yield. Biological upgrading of CFP wastewater as outlined in this work provides a roadmap for future applications in valorizing other heterogeneous waste streams.

(methyl)muconates↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evidence of hexagonal germanium grains on annealed monolayer MoS 2

Growing three-dimensional (3D) materials on two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals surface has shown its effectiveness in overcoming materials incompatibility for stacking transferrable membranes toward advanced device manufacturing. Herein, we demonstrate that the nucleation of hexagonal germanium (Ge) grains within a continuous crystalline film, which has been unfeasible through traditional epitaxy techniques, is realized by chemical vapor deposition on top of n-type monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) substrates. Suggested by quantum molecular dynamics calculation, the hexagonal Ge nucleation is thermodynamically preferable to cubic Ge when growing on monolayer MoS 2 with sulfur vacancies. The strained hexagonal Ge grains have been confirmed by transmission electron microscopy analyses from both real space and reciprocal space. Scanning probe microscopy shows that the hexagonal Ge film possesses higher reflectivity in infrared spectral range, implying a higher carrier concentration resulted from the narrower band gap, as compared to cubic Ge.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Factors Affecting the Service-life of HDPE Geomembranes in an LLW Disposal Facility - 19320

The assessment of a suitable maximum allowable strain (MAS) for high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes (GMBs) considered suitable for a proposed low level radioactive waste engineered containment mound with a 550-year design-life is described in the context of the available literature and data in 2018. Consideration is given to both the material properties and the factors contributing to the development of sustained tensile strain in the GMB. The assessment is based on the service-life of the GMB eventually being reached due to stress cracking after depletion of the protective antioxidants to a residual value. With respect to the selection of a GMB with a suitable stress crack resistance (SCR), it is noted that morphological changes can result in a substantial reduction in SCR with time, from the initial just manufactured value (SCRo) to a more representative value (SCRm), as the material tends to a thermodynamically more stable post-manufactured state. Thus, SCRm should be considered more representative of the true SCR of the material than the value obtained from the off-roll material just after manufacture. SCRm of can be estimated by aging the candidate GMBs in liquid at 55 deg. C for 270 days. Considering the potential implications of failure of the textured GMB to be used at this facility, and the potential for repair and replacement if it does fail, it is recommended that a maximum allowable strain (MAS), from all sources, of 3%, 4% and 5% be adopted on the base, side slopes, and cover GMBs, respectively. These maximum allowable strain values were selected considering the nature of the waste to be contained and the design-life that is required; they may be too conservative for some other applications with a much shorter design-life or lower consequence of premature failure. It is also indicated that the most critical locations on the GMB are often the welded seams where GMB panels are joined or repaired. Welds act a stress-raisers (increasing the stress and strain the GMB compared to that on either side of the weld). To minimize the need for patching areas damaged by the removal of samples for destructive tests, it is recommended that destructive tests on welds should generally be restricted to the minimum possible. It is also recommended that the German limits on welded GMB thickness be adopted in construction. Since strains can be significantly increased by failure to construct in accordance with the design drawings and specifications, it is recommended that there be Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) by very experienced personnel with a good knowledge of compacted clay liners, Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCLs), and GMBs and the facility design, and that there be an experienced individual watching the construction work at all times prior to completion of the liner system. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Giant Electrostriction via Nanodomain Engineering in Relaxor Ferroelectric Polymers

Relaxor ferroelectric (RFE) polymers hold great promise for artificial muscles due to their high actuation strain, high loading stress, and fast response. However, the structural origin underlying their large electrostrictive deformation remains elusive. In this study, we investigate poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)]-based RFE terpolymers, incorporating 1,1-chlorofluoroethylene (CFE) or chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) (the terpolymers are denoted as terP-CFE and terP-CTFE, respectively) as termonomers. Although both terpolymers show similar semicrystalline morphology, drastically different electrostrictive properties are observed. Specifically, the terP-CFE annealed at 100 °C achieves a record-high transverse strain of ∼10.6%, whereas 100 °C-annealed terP-CTFE only shows a much lower actuation strain of ∼4.2% at the same poling field of 190 MV/m. To elucidate the origin of this difference, time-resolved wide-angle X-ray diffraction, small-angle X-ray scattering, and Fourier transform infrared experiments are performed during in situ electric poling. An RFE-to-ferroelectric (FE) crystal phase transition is observed for terP-CFE but is absent for terP-CTFE. Beyond the contribution of the crystalline phase, the oriented amorphous fraction and crystalline defects (e.g., taut-tie molecules) also play significant roles in enhancing electrostriction. In conclusion, this mechanistic insight provides a valuable foundation for the rational design of next-generation RFE polymers with tunable properties through defect engineering of their semicrystalline structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2016

Band Engineering, Growth and Characteristics of Type-II InAs/GaSb Superlattice-Based Detectors

We report on band engineering, growth and device performance of infrared photodetectors based on type II InAs/Ga(In)Sb strain layer superlattices (SLs) using the complementary barrier infrared detector (CBIRD) design. The unipolar barriers on either side of the absorber in the CBIRD design in combination with the type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice material system are expected to outperform traditional III-V LWIR (Long-Wave InfraRed) imaging technologies and offer significant advantages over the conventional II-VI material based FPAs (Focal Plane Arrays). The innovative design of CBIRDS, barrier and band offset engineering , low defect density material growth, and robust fabrication processes have resulted in the development of high performance long wave infrared (LWIR) focal plane arrays at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

Khoshakhlagh, A.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Wetting of a partially immersed compliant rod

The force on a solid rod partially immersed in a liquid is commonly used to determine the liquid-vapor surface tension by equating the measured force required to remove the rod from the liquid to the vertical component of the liquid-vapor surface tension. Here, we study how this process is affected when the rod is compliant. For equilibrium, we enforce force and configurational energy balance, including contributions from elastic energy. We show that, in general, the contact angle does not equal that given by Young's equation. If surface stresses are tensile, the strain in the immersed part of the rod is found to be compressive and to depend only on the solid-liquid surface stress. The strain in the dry part of the rod can be either tensile or compressive, depending on a combination of parameters that we identify. We provide results for compliant plates partially immersed in a liquid under plane strain and plane stress. Our results can also be used to extract solid surface stresses from such experiments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Seawater sea-sand engineered/strain-hardening cementitious composites (ECC/SHCC): Assessment and modeling of crack characteristics

Highlights: • A probabilistic model was proposed to model the crack width evolution of SS-ECC at different strain levels. • The Weibull distribution fit the crack width distribution better than the log-normal distribution. • A 5-D representation was proposed to assess the SS-ECC by considering both cracking and mechanical performance. • Larger sea-sand size and lower fiber dosage led to larger crack widths in SS-ECC under the same tensile strain. • 18-mm PE fiber led to larger crack widths in SS-ECC at strain >2%, due to a large fraction of fiber rupture. Seawater sea-sand Engineered Cementitious Composites (SS-ECC) is a new version of ECC for marine constructions facing the scarcity of freshwater and river/manufactured sand. This study aims to assess and model the crack characteristics of SS-ECC, which are critical for its applications with non-corrosive reinforcements. The influence of sea-sand size, fiber length and fiber dosage on the crack characteristics of SS-ECC was explored. A five-dimensional representation was proposed to assess the overall performance of SS-ECC, by comprehensively considering both the crack characteristics (i.e., crack width and its variation) and the mechanical properties (i.e., compressive and tensile properties). A probabilistic model was also proposed to describe the stochastic nature and evolution of crack width, and it can be used to estimate the critical tensile strain on SS-ECC for a given crack-width limit and cumulative probability. The findings and proposed methods can facilitate the design of SS-ECC in marine and coastal structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Mathematical Modeling in Systems for Operational Evaluation of the Stress-Strain State of the Arch-Gravity Dam at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant

Current studies of the stress-strain state of the dam at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant at VNIIG based on mathematical modeling including full scale and experimental data are described. Applications and programs intended for automatic operational evaluation of the stress-strain state of the dam for optimizing control of the upper race level in the course of the annual filling-drawdown cycle and during seismic events are examined. Improvements in systems for monitoring the stress-strain state of concrete dams are proposed.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Strain control of composite superconductors to prevent degradation of superconducting magnets due to a quench: I. Ag/Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox multifilament round wires

The critical current of many practical superconductors is sensitive to strain, and this sensitivity is exacerbated during a quench that induces a peak local strain which can be fatal to superconducting magnets. Here, a new method is introduced to quantify the influence of the conductor stress and strain state during normal operation on the margin to degradation during a quench, as measured by the maximum allowable hot spot temperature T allowable, for composite wires within superconducting magnets. The first conductor examined is Ag-sheathed Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox round wire carrying high engineering critical current density, J E, of 550 A mm−2 at 4.2 K and 15 T. The critical axial tensile stress of this conductor is determined to be 150 MPa and, in the absence of Lorentz forces, T allowable is greater than 450 K. With increasing axial tensile stress, σ a, however, T allowable decreases nonlinearly, dropping to 280 K for σ a = 120 MPa and to 160 K for σ a = 145 MPa. T allowable(σ a) is shown to be nonlinear and independent of magnetic field from 15 to 30 T. T allowable(σ a) dictates the balance between magnetic field generation, which increases with the magnet operating current and stress, and the safety margin, which decreases with decreasing T allowable, and therefore has important engineering value. It is also shown that T allowable(σ a) can be predicted accurately by a general strain model, showing that strain control is the key to preventing degradation of superconductors during a quench.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1985

Two simplified procedures for predicting cyclic material response from a strain history

Simplified inelastic analysis procedures were developed at NASA Lewis and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft for predicting the stress-strain response at the critical location of a thermomechanically cycled structure. These procedures are intended primarily for use as economical structural analysis tools in the early design stages of aircraft engine hot section components where nonlinear finite-element analyses would be prohibitively expensive. Both simplified methods use as input the total strain history calculated from a linear elastic analysis. The elastic results are modified to approximate the characteristics of the inelastic cycle by incremental solution techniques. A von Mises yield criterion is used to determine the onset of active plasticity. The fundamental assumption of these methods is that the inelastic strain is local and constrained from redistribution by the surrounding elastic material.

Kaufman, A.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Towards a Standard Process Management Infrastructure for Workflows Using Python

Orchestrating the execution of ensembles of processes lies at the core of scientific workflow engines on large scale parallel platforms. This is usually handled using platform-specific command line tools, with limited process management control and potential strain on system resources. The PMIx standard provides a uniform interface to system resources. The low level C implementation of PMIx has hampered its use in workflow engines, leading to the development of Python binding that has yet to gain traction. In this paper, we present our work to harden the PMIx Python client, demonstrating its usability using a prototype Python driver to orchestrate the execution of an ensemble of processes. We present experimental results using the prototype on the Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This work lays the foundation for wider adoption of PMIx for workflow engines, and encourages wider support of more PMIx functionality in vendor provided system software stacks.

Elwasif, Wael↗
DOE OSTI2022

The bright frontiers of microbial metabolic optogenetics

In recent years, light-responsive systems from the field of optogenetics have been applied to several areas of metabolic engineering with remarkable success. By taking advantage of light's high tunability, reversibility, and orthogonality to host endogenous processes, optogenetic systems have enabled unprecedented dynamical controls of microbial fermentations for chemical production, metabolic flux analysis, and population compositions in co-cultures. In this article, we share our opinions on the current state of this new field of metabolic optogenetics. Furthermore, we make the case that it will continue to impact metabolic engineering in increasingly new directions, with the potential to challenge existing paradigms for metabolic pathway and strain optimization as well as bioreactor operation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Mitigating mechanical failure of crystalline silicon electrodes for lithium batteries by morphological design [Morphological design of silicon electrode with anisotropic interface reaction rate for lithium ion batteries]

Although crystalline silicon (c-Si) anodes promise very high energy densities in Li-ion batteries, their practical use is complicated by amorphization, large volume expansion and severe plastic deformation upon lithium insertion. Recent experiments have revealed the existence of a sharp interface between crystalline Si (c-Si) and the amorphous Li x Si alloy during lithiation, which propagates with a velocity that is orientation dependent; the resulting anisotropic swelling generates substantial strain concentrations that initiate cracks even in nanostructured Si. Here we describe a novel strategy to mitigate lithiation-induced fracture by using pristine c-Si structures with engineered anisometric morphologies that are deliberately designed to counteract the anisotropy in the crystalline/amorphous interface velocity. This produces a much more uniform volume expansion, significantly reducing strain concentration. Based on a new, validated methodology that improves previous models of anisotropic swelling of c-Si, we propose optimal morphological designs for c-Si pillars and particles. The advantages of the new morphologies are clearly demonstrated by mesoscale simulations and verified by experiments on engineered c-Si micropillars. The results of this study illustrate that morphological design is effective in improving the fracture resistance of micron-sized Si electrodes, which will facilitate their practical application in next-generation Li-ion batteries. In conclusion, the model and design approach present in this paper also have general implications for the study and mitigation of mechanical failure of electrode materials that undergo large anisotropic volume change upon ion insertion and extraction.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗