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Results for “Effective diffusivity”

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 1,423 records · Page 79
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Salt-finger convection under reduced gravity

Salt-finger convection in a double-diffusive system is a motion driven by the release of gravitational potential due to differential diffusion rates. Because of the fact that the destabilizing effect of the concentration gradient is amplified by the Lewis number (the ratio of thermal diffusivity to solute diffusivity) salt-finger convection can be generated at very much reduced gravity levels. This effect may be of importance in the directional solidification of binary alloys carried out in space. The transport of solute and heat by salt-finger convection at microgravity conditions is considered; instability arising from surface tension gradients, the Marangoni instability, is discussed, and the possible consequences of combined salt-finger and Marangoni instability are considered.

Chen, C. F.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Application of an Upwind High Resolution Finite-Differencing Scheme and Multigrid Method in Steady-State Incompressible Flow Simulations

The analysis and design of a submarine propulsor requires the ability to predict the characteristics of both laminar and turbulent flows to a higher degree of accuracy. This report presents results of certain benchmark computations based on an upwind, high-resolution, finite-differencing Navier-Stokes solver. The purpose of the computations is to evaluate the ability, the accuracy and the performance of the solver in the simulation of detailed features of viscous flows. Features of interest include flow separation and reattachment, surface pressure and skin friction distributions. Those features are particularly relevant to the propulsor analysis. Test cases with a wide range of Reynolds numbers are selected; therefore, the effects of the convective and the diffusive terms of the solver can be evaluated separately. Test cases include flows over bluff bodies, such as circular cylinders and spheres, at various low Reynolds numbers, flows over a flat plate with and without turbulence effects, and turbulent flows over axisymmetric bodies with and without propulsor effects. Finally, to enhance the iterative solution procedure, a full approximation scheme V-cycle multigrid method is implemented. Preliminary results indicate that the method significantly reduces the computational effort.

NAVIER STOKES EQUATIONS↗
NASA NTRS1994

An application of a two-equation model of turbulence to three-dimensional chemically reacting flows

A numerical study of three dimensional chemically reacting and non-reacting flowfields is conducted using a two-equation model of turbulence. A generalized flow solver using an implicit Lower-Upper (LU) diagonal decomposition numerical technique and finite-rate chemistry has been coupled with a low-Reynolds number two-equation model of turbulence. This flow solver is then used to study chemically reacting turbulent supersonic flows inside combustors with synergetic fuel injectors. The reacting and non-reacting turbulent combustor solutions obtained are compared with zero-equation turbulence model solutions and with available experimental data. The hydrogen-air chemistry is modeled using a nine-species/eighteen reaction model. A low-Reynolds number k-epsilon model was used to model the effect of turbulence because, in general, the low-Reynolds number k-epsilon models are easier to implement numerically and are far more general than algebraic models. However, low-Reynolds number k-epsilon models require a much finer near-wall grid resolution than high-Reynolds number models to resolve accurately the near-wall physics. This is especially true in complex flowfields, where the stiff nature of the near-wall turbulence must be resolved. Therefore, the limitations imposed by the near-wall characteristics and compressible model corrections need to be evaluated further. The gradient-diffusion hypothesis is used to model the effects of turbulence on the mass diffusion process. The influence of this low-Reynolds number turbulence model on the reacting flowfield predictions was studied parametrically.

Lee, J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Solidification and crystal growth of solid solution semiconducting alloys

Problems associated with the solidification and crytal growth of solid-solution semiconducting alloy crystals in a terrestrial environment are described. A detailed description is given of the results for the growth of mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) alloy crystals by directional solidification, because of their considerable technological importance. A series of HgCdTe alloy crystals are grown from pseudobinary melts by a vertical Bridgman method using a wide range of growth rates and thermal conditions. Precision measurements are performed to establish compositional profiles for the crystals. The compositional variations are related to compositional variations in the melts that can result from two-dimensional diffusion or density gradient driven flow effects ahead of the growth interface. These effects are discussed in terms of the alloy phase equilibrium properties, the recent high temperature thermophysical data for the alloys and the highly unusual heat transfer characteristics of the alloy/ampule/furnace system that may readily lead to double diffusive convective flows in a gravitational environment.

Lehoczky, S. L.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluating the efficacy of aluminide coatings to improve oxidation resistance of high performance engine valve alloys

Increasing peak cylinder pressures and operating temperatures of turbo-charged internal combustion engines (ICEs) engines present new challenges for existing materials employed in engine exhaust valves. Oxidation induced degradation of current Ni based alloys for these components will be a life-limiting mechanism while strict cost margins in the automotive transportation industry further limit the choice of suitable candidate materials. Metallic diffusion aluminide coatings can provide a cost-effective way to improve the oxidation resistance of underlying materials. In this study, the high temperature oxidation behavior of diffusion nickel aluminide coatings on two Ni based alloys (commercially available alloy 31V and a developmental alloy) during cyclic oxidation behavior in air+10% H 2 O at 900 °C was investigated. A complete depletion of the beneficial Al-rich β-(NiFe)Al phase was observed in the coating on alloy 31V while a significant fraction of this phase was retained in the coating on the second alloy. A coupled thermodynamic-kinetic model showed that the disappearance of the Al-rich phase in the coating on 31V was mainly due to the combined effect of steeper chemical potential gradients of Al and Ti between the coating and the substrate and their faster diffusivities compared to the coated developmental alloy. Finally, a higher content of Fe was shown to support the retention of β-(NiFe)Al phase in the coating on the developmental alloy while the presence of Ti in the alloy was shown to be detrimental for long-term coating performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1987

Crack diffusion coefficient - A candidate fracture toughness parameter for short fiber composites

In brittle matrix composites, crack propagation occurs along random trajectories reflecting the heterogeneous nature of the strength field. Considering the crack trajectory as a diffusive process, the 'crack diffusion coefficient' is introduced. From fatigue crack propagation experiments on a set of identical SEN polyester composite specimens, the variance of the crack tip position along the loading axis is found to be a linear function of the effective 'time'. The latter is taken as the effective crack length. The coefficient of proportionality between variance of the crack trajectory and the effective crack length defines the crack diffusion coefficient D which is found in the present study to be 0.165 mm. This parameter reflects the ability of the composite to deviate the crack from the energetically most efficient path and thus links fracture toughness to the microstructure.

Mull, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ellipsometric analysis of materials degradation in space

The fundamentals of variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) are reviewed, and its usefulness in studying the effect of atomic oxygen on space coatings such as indium tin oxide (ITO), silicon dioxide, and aluminum oxide is discussed. Monolayer sensitive and nondestructive VASE is found to be an effective technique for monitoring the atomic oxygen diffusion through the aluminum oxide and silicon dioxide protective overcoatings on space reflectors. Ashing of ITO/silicon samples had the net effect of annealing the film inside the plasma. The annealing effect was supported both by structural changes as verified by X-ray diffraction measurements and by increased absorbance in the spectral range below 3 eV as measured by VASE.

Woollam, John A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Resonant amplification of enzymatic chemical oscillations by oscillating flow

Using theory and simulation, we analyzed the resonant amplification of chemical oscillations that occur due to externally imposed oscillatory fluid flows. The chemical reactions are promoted by two enzyme-coated patches located sequentially on the inner surface of a pipe that transports the enclosed chemical solution. In the case of diffusion-limited systems, the period of oscillations in chemical reaction networks is determined by the rate of the chemical transport, which is diffusive in nature and, therefore, can be effectively accelerated by the imposed fluid flows. In this work, we first identify the natural frequencies of the chemical oscillations in the unperturbed reaction–diffusion system and, then, use the frequencies as a forcing input to drive the system to resonance. We demonstrate that flow-induced resonance can be used to amplify the amplitude of the chemical oscillations and to synchronize their frequency to the external forcing. In particular, we show that even 10% perturbations in the flow velocities can double the amplitude of the resulting chemical oscillations. Particularly, effective control can be achieved for the two-step chemical reactions where during the first half-period, the fluid flow accelerates the chemical flux toward the second catalytic patch, while during the second half-period, the flow amplifies the flux to the first patch. The results can provide design rules for regulating the dynamics of coupled reaction–diffusion processes and can facilitate the development of chemical reaction networks that act as chemical clocks.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Effect of UV and Solar Wind Exposure on the Reflectance of Two Black Diffuse Materials

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Total Hemispherical Reflectance (THR) of two candidate black diffuse materials for the dim calibration targets of the NASA GSFC PACE Ocean Color Instrument (OCI)were reported in the SPIE conference last year. In this paper, we present new BRDF and THR results of the two black diffuse materials following additional UV exposure and solar wind tests. The BRDF measurements for five samples of each two black diffuse material were made at incident angles of 0° and 45° and at the wavelengths of 360 nm, 600 nm, and 1600 usi ng the Table-top Goniometer (TTG) located in the Diffuser Calibration Laboratory (DCL) at NASA GSFC. The THR of the samples, 15 mm in diameter, was measured using a commercial UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer from 200 nm to 2500 nm. The spectral THR results of the two black diffuse materials exposed to UV and solar wind show an approximate 10 % higher reflectivity than the unexposed samples. The spectral profiles of the THR of the exposed and unexposed samples are relatively similar. The BRDF results at the incident angle of 45° show different trends in the forward and backward scattering regions, while those at normal incident angle are consistent with the THR results. We will also present the details of the samples’ surface features and the comparison of the 0°/45° BRDF and THR results, demonstrate the significance of background subtraction in the THR measurements for small, low reflectance samples, and discuss validation of BRDF scale, measurement repeatability, and major contributions of uncertainty.

Jinan Zeng↗
NASA NTRS2003

Oxygen and Fuel Jet Diffusion Flame Studies in Microgravity Motivated by Spacecraft Oxygen Storage Fire Safety

Owing to the absence of past work involving flames similar to the Mir fire namely oxygen-enhanced, inverse gas-jet diffusion flames in microgravity the objectives of this work are as follows: 1. Observe the effects of enhanced oxygen conditions on laminar jet diffusion flames with ethane fuel. 2. Consider both earth gravity and microgravity. 3. Examine both normal and inverse flames. 4. Compare the measured flame lengths and widths with calibrated predictions of several flame shape models. This study expands on the work of Hwang and Gore which emphasized radiative emissions from oxygen-enhanced inverse flames in earth gravity, and Sunderland et al. which emphasized the shapes of normal and inverse oxygen-enhanced gas-jet diffusion flames in microgravity.

Sunderland, P. B.↗
DOE OSTI2025

An Atomistic Study of Reactivity in Solid-State Electrolyte Interphase Formation for Li/Li7P3S11

Lithium metal batteries offer superior volumetric and gravimetric specific capacities compared to those based on traditional graphite anodes. Although advancements in solid-state electrolytes address safety concerns, challenges remain, particularly regarding interphase formation in lithium metal anodes. This work presents a computational framework based on high-throughput first-principles density functional theory and machine-learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) including automated iterative, active learning to enable robust computational exploration of interphase formation between lithium metal anodes and an inorganic solid-state electrolyte. As a demonstration, we apply the framework to a Li/Li7P3S11 interface and find that it accurately identifies the experimentally observed, thermodynamically stable interphase products as well as their overall spatial arrangement within a heterogeneous, amorphous layered structure, with Li2S domains of nanocrystallinity. Our simulations show two stages, a fast and slow diffusion reaction regime, that corroborate the relative phase formation rate of Li x P, Li2S, and Li3P. Using the Onsager transport theory, we capture time-dependent ionic diffusion within the reacting interface, including cross-correlation effects. We found that cross-correlation effects between Li-P and P-S ionic motion significantly influence P-ion diffusion, making it highly sensitive to the local environment and potentially leading to "kinetic trapping" of Li-P phases. The passivation of the interface is shown as the ionic fluxes all approach zero, effectively halting interphase growth.

Diffusion↗
NASA NTRS1989

A new calculation of the cosmic-ray antiproton spectrum in the Galaxy and heliospheric modulation effects on this spectrum using a drift plus wavy current sheet model

The expected interstellar antiproton spectrum arising from cosmic-ray interactions in the Galaxy is recalculated, and the modulation of both antiprotons and protons is calculated using a two-dimensional modulation model incorporating gradient and curvature drifts and a wavy current sheet as well as the usual diffusion, convection, and energy-loss effects. Significant differences in the antiproton/proton ratio for different solar magnetic field polarities are predicted as well as a 'low-energy' component for antiprotons below about 1 GeV.

Webber, W. R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimization of a Packed Particle Magnetocaloric Refrigerator: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Magnetocaloric refrigeration has strong potential towards achieving high efficiency hydrogen liquefaction. Optimising parameters such as particle size and operating cycles can have a significant impact on liquefaction performance. Here, this work reports on a room temperature magnetocaloric refrigeration prototype designed with helium as the heat transfer fluid and packed particle Gd 0.8875 Ce 0.1025 Si 0.84 Cr 0.19 as the refrigerant. The temperature spans and cooling power with three different particle sizes at two different operating cycles were measured. A maximum temperature span of 16.7 K and a maximum cooling power of 8.6 W·kg –1 were obtained. Reduction of performance in the faster cycle was observed in larger particles due to insufficient thermal diffusion time and its implications for cryogenic temperatures are discussed. A numerical model was developed based on the experimentally observed variation of the temperature span and cooling power with particle size and cycle duration. This model was then used to study the competing effects of viscous dissipation and thermal diffusion for different particle sizes and cycle durations.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Building and experimenting with an agent-based model to study the population-level impact of CommunityRx, a clinic-based community resource referral intervention

CommunityRx (CRx), an information technology intervention, provides patients with a personalized list of healthful community resources (HealtheRx). In repeated clinical studies, nearly half of those who received clinical “doses” of the HealtheRx shared their information with others (“social doses”). Clinical trial design cannot fully capture the impact of information diffusion, which can act as a force multiplier for the intervention. Furthermore, experimentation is needed to understand how intervention delivery can optimize social spread under varying circumstances. To study information diffusion from CRx under varying conditions, we built an agent-based model (ABM). This study describes the model building process and illustrates how an ABM provides insight about information diffusion through in silico experimentation. To build the ABM, we constructed a synthetic population (“agents”) using publicly-available data sources. Using clinical trial data, we developed empirically-informed processes simulating agent activities, resource knowledge evolution and information sharing. Using RepastHPC and chiSIM software, we replicated the intervention in silico, simulated information diffusion processes, and generated emergent information diffusion networks. The CRx ABM was calibrated using empirical data to replicate the CRx intervention in silico. We used the ABM to quantify information spread via social versus clinical dosing then conducted information diffusion experiments, comparing the social dosing effect of the intervention when delivered by physicians, nurses or clinical clerks. The synthetic population (N = 802,191) exhibited diverse behavioral characteristics, including activity and knowledge evolution patterns. In silico delivery of the intervention was replicated with high fidelity. Large-scale information diffusion networks emerged among agents exchanging resource information. Varying the propensity for information exchange resulted in networks with different topological characteristics. Community resource information spread via social dosing was nearly 4 fold that from clinical dosing alone and did not vary by delivery mode. This study, using CRx as an example, demonstrates the process of building and experimenting with an ABM to study information diffusion from, and the population-level impact of, a clinical information-based intervention. While the focus of the CRx ABM is to recreate the CRx intervention in silico, the general process of model building, and computational experimentation presented is generalizable to other large-scale ABMs of information diffusion.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Two-dimensional simulations of internal gravity waves in a $\mathrm{5M_⊙}$ zero-age-main-sequence model

Main-sequence intermediate-mass stars present a radiative envelope that supports internal gravity waves (IGWs). Excited at the boundary with the convective core, IGWs propagate towards the stellar surface and are suspected to impact physical processes such as rotation and chemical mixing. Using the fully compressible time-implicit code MUSIC, we study IGWs in two-dimensional simulations of a zero-age-main-sequence 5 solar mass star model up to 91 percent of the stellar radius with different luminosity and radiative diffusivity enhancements. Our results show that low-frequency waves excited by core convection are strongly impacted by radiative effects as they propagate. This impact depends on the radial profile of radiative diffusivity which increases by almost 5 orders of magnitude between the centre of the star and the top of the simulation domain. In the upper layers of the simulation domain, we observe an increase of the temperature. Our study suggests that this is due to heat added in these layers by IGWs damped by radiative diffusion. We show that non-linear effects linked to large amplitude IGWs may be relevant just above the convective core. Both these effects are intensified by the artificial enhancement of the luminosity and radiative diffusivity, with enhancement factors up to 10 4 times the realistic values. Our results also highlight that direct comparison between numerical simulations with enhanced luminosity and observations must be made with caution. Finally, our work suggests that thermal effects linked to the damping of IGWs could have a non-negligible impact on stellar structure.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗