Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “hall effect”

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 1,477 records · Page 82

Hamiltonian kinetic-Hall magnetohydrodynamics with fluid and kinetic ions in the current and pressure coupling schemes

We present two generalized hybrid kinetic-Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models describing the interaction of a two-fluid bulk plasma, which consists of thermal ions and electrons, with energetic, suprathermal ion populations described by Vlasov dynamics. The dynamics of the thermal components are governed by standard fluid equations in the Hall MHD limit with the electron momentum equation providing an Ohm's law with Hall and electron pressure terms involving a gyrotropic electron pressure tensor. The coupling of the bulk, low-energy plasma with the energetic particle dynamics is accomplished through the current density (current coupling scheme; CCS) and the ion pressure tensor appearing in the momentum equation (pressure coupling scheme; PCS) in the first and the second model, respectively. The CCS is a generalization of two well-known models, because in the limit of vanishing energetic and thermal ion densities, we recover the standard Hall MHD and the hybrid kinetic-ions/fluid-electron model, respectively. This provides us with the capability to study in a continuous manner, the global impact of the energetic particles in a regime extending from vanishing to dominant energetic particle densities. The noncanonical Hamiltonian structures of the CCS and PCS, which can be exploited to study equilibrium and stability properties through the energy-Casimir variational principle, are identified. As a first application here, we derive a generalized Hall MHD Grad–Shafranov–Bernoulli system for translationally symmetric equilibria with anisotropic electron pressure and kinetic effects owing to the presence of energetic particles using the PCS.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Optical conductivity of the type-II Weyl semimetal TaIrTe 4

TaIrTe4 is an example of a candidate Weyl type-II semimetal with a minimal possible number of Weyl nodes. Four nodes are reported to exist a single plane in k-space. The existence of a conical dispersion linked to Weyl nodes has yet to be shown experimentally. Here we use optical spectroscopy as a probe of the band structure on a low-energy scale. Studying optical conductivity allows us to probe intraband and interband transitions with zero momentum. In TaIrTe 4 , we observe a narrow Drude contribution and an interband conductivity that may be consistent with a tilted linear band dispersion up to 40 meV. The interband conductivity allows us to establish the effective parameters of the conical dispersion; effective velocity v = 1.1 · 10 4 m/s and tilt γ = 0.37. The transport data, Seebeck and Hall coefficients, are qualitatively consistent with conical features in the band structure. Quantitative disagreement may be linked to the multiband nature of TaIrTe 4 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Edge spin transport in the disordered two-dimensional topological insulator $\mathrm{WTe_2}$

The spin conductance of two-dimensional topological insulators (2D TIs) is not expected to be quantized in the presence of perturbations that break the spin-rotational symmetry. However, the deviation from the pristine-limit quantization has yet to be studied in detail. In this paper, we define the spin current operator for the helical edge modes of a 2D TI and introduce a four-terminal setup to measure spin conductances. Using the developed formalism, we consider the effects of disorder terms that break spin-rotational symmetry or give rise to edge-to-edge coupling. We identify a key role played by spin torque in an out-of-equilibrium edge. We then utilize a tight-binding model of topological monolayer $\mathrm{WTe_2}$ and scattering matrix formalism to numerically study spin transport in a four-terminal 2D TI device. In particular, we calculate the spin conductances and characteristic spin decay length in the presence of magnetic disorder. In addition, we also study the effects of interedge scattering in a quantum point contact geometry. Here we find that the spin Hall conductance is surprisingly robust to spin symmetry-breaking perturbations, as long as time-reversal symmetry is preserved and interedge scattering is weak.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Origin of transverse voltages generated by thermal gradients and electric fields in ferrimagnetic-insulator/heavy-metal bilayers

We compare thermal-gradient-driven transverse voltages in ferrimagnetic-insulator/heavy-metal bilayers (Tm 3 Fe 5 O 12 /W and Tm 3 Fe 5 O 12 /Pt) to corresponding electrically driven transverse resistances at and above room temperature. We find for Tm 3 Fe 5 O 12 /W that the thermal and electrical effects can be explained by a common spin-current detection mechanism, the physics underlying spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). However, for Tm 3 Fe 5 O 12 /Pt the ratio of the electrically driven transverse voltages (planar Hall signal/anomalous Hall signal) is much larger than the ratio of corresponding thermal-gradient signals, a result which is very different from expectations for a SMR-based mechanism alone. Here, we ascribe this difference to a proximity-induced magnetic layer at the Tm 3 Fe 5 O 12 /Pt interface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Direct link between disorder and magnetoresistance in topological semimetals

The extent to which disorder influences the properties of topological semimetals is relevant to the understanding of topological states and their use in practical applications. Using molecular beam epitaxy, we achieve systematic control of point defect concentrations in the prototypical Dirac semimetal Cd 3 As 2 to gain insight into the role of disorder on electron transport behavior. Using the guiding center diffusion model for linear magnetoresistance, we extract point defect densities as a function of deposition conditions. We find that reducing cadmium defect concentrations by an order of magnitude results in an 2x increase in the magnetoresistance from 450% to 900%. This finding yields important information in the quest to identify the origin of linear magnetoresistance in a wider range of materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Symmetry-driven persistent spin texture for the two-dimensional nonsymmorphic CdTe and ZnTe crystal structures

In this paper, two nonsymmorphic two-dimensional structures of CdTe and ZnTe are modeled, and using state-of-the-art density functional theory with the group theory of solids, their symmetry-enforced electronic properties are studied. The in-plane ferroelectricity coupled with strong spin-orbit coupling induces a unidirectional out-of-plane Rashba spin-orbit field that can host a momentum-independent uniform spin configuration known as persistent spin texture (PST) at the Brillouin zone center. PST in these structures is found to be robust against external perturbations such as strain, structural distortion, and independent of layer thickness. These unprecedented intrinsic spin transport properties hold utmost importance in spintronics, as the experimental stringent condition of equal Rashba and Dresselhaus constants [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 146801 (2003)] is eliminated. The calculated persistent spin helix wavelength of <~5 nm paves the way for developing next-generation nanosized nonballistic spin field-effect transistors compared with micrometer-sized GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. Further, these materials exhibit finite spin Hall conductivity at the band edges and hence can be used in ferromagnet-free spin Hall transistors. Although CdTe and ZnTe systems have been widely studied for photocatalysis and solar cell applications over the past few decades, their potential application in spintronic devices has not been explored. Mono/few layers of CdTe and ZnTe synthesized from (110) facets of bulk zinc-blende crystals [Nat. Commun. 3, 1057 (2012)] satisfy all symmetry operations of the nonsymmorphic space group and hence can be considered ideal materials to verify our theoretical results experimentally.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Skyrmion dynamics and transverse mobility: skyrmion Hall angle reversal on 2D periodic substrates with dc and biharmonic ac drives

Here we numerically examine the dynamics of a skyrmion interacting with a two-dimensional periodic substrate under dc and biharmonic ac drives. We show that the Magnus force of the skyrmion produces circular orbits that can resonate with the ac drive and the periodicity of the substrate to create quantized motion both parallel and perpendicular to the dc drive. The skyrmion Hall angle exhibits a series of increasing and/or decreasing steps along with strongly fluctuating regimes. In the phase locked regimes, the skyrmion Hall angle is constant and the skyrmion motion consists of periodic orbits encircling an integer number of obstacles per every or every other ac drive cycle. We also observe phases in which the skyrmion moves at 90° with respect to the driving direction even in the presence of damping, a phenomenon called absolute transverse mobility that can exhibit reentrance as a function of dc drive. When the biharmonic ac drives have different amplitudes in the two directions, we find regimes in which the skyrmion Hall angle shows a sign reversal from positive to negative, as well as a reentrant pinning effect in which the skyrmion is mobile at low drives but becomes pinned at higher drives. These behaviors arise due to the combination of the Magnus force with the periodic motion of the skyrmions, which produce Shapiro steps, directional locking, and ratchet effects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Lattice Clifford fractons and their Chern-Simons-like theory

We use Dirac matrix representations of the Clifford algebra to build fracton models on the lattice and their effective Chern-Simons-like theory. As an example, we build lattice fractons in odd D spatial dimensions and their (D+1) spacetime dimensional effective theory. The model possesses an anti-symmetric K matrix resembling that of hierarchical quantum Hall states. The gauge charges are conserved in sub-dimensional manifolds which ensures the fractonic behavior. The construction extends to any lattice fracton model built from commuting projectors and with tensor products of spin-1/2 degrees of freedom at the sites.

Fontana, Weslei↗

Comparison of the Atomic Oxygen Erosion Depth and Cone Height of Various Materials at Hyperthermal Energy

Atomic oxygen readily reacts with most spacecraft polymer materials exposed to the low Earth orbital (LEO) environment. If the atomic oxygen arrival comes from a fixed angle of impact, the resulting erosion will foster the development of a change in surface morphology as material thickness decreases. Hydrocarbon and halopolymer materials, as well as graphite, are easily oxidized and textured by directed atomic oxygen in LEO at energies of approx.4.5 eV. What has been curious is that the ratio of cone height to erosion depth is quite different for different materials. The formation of cones under fixed direction atomic oxygen attack may contribute to a reduction in material tensile strength in excess of that which would occur if the cone height to erosion depth ratio was very low because of greater opportunities for crack initiation. In an effort to understand how material composition affects the ratio of cone height to erosion depth, an experimental investigation was conducted on 18 different materials exposed to a hyperthermal energy directed atomic oxygen source (approx.70 eV). The materials were first salt-sprayed to provide microscopic local areas that would be protected from atomic oxygen. This allowed erosion depth measurements to be made by scanning microscopy inspection. The polymers were then exposed to atomic oxygen produced by an end Hall ion source that was operated on pure oxygen. Samples were exposed to an atomic oxygen effective fluence of 1.0x10(exp 20) atoms/sq cm based on Kapton H polyimide erosion. The average erosion depth and average cone height were determined using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The experimental ratio of average cone height to erosion depth is compared to polymer composition and other properties.

Waters, Deborah L.↗

Numerical Studies of Hall Thruster Acceleration Region Electron Transport

Azimuthal direction 1-D and azimuthal and axial direction 2-D Particle in Cell (PIC) simulations of the Hall thruster acceleration and near-plume regions are presented. The axial extent of the 2-D computational domain is based on the ExB drift parameter, 𝑫𝑬𝒙𝑩, the number of times around the channel an electron ExB drifts before being scattered. With only high energy main beam ions, the simulations produced a broad potential profile in the acceleration region. The addition of a small amount of ionization in the acceleration domain at a rate consistent with Hall thruster parameters causes the potential profile to develop two distinct regions. In the upstream portion of the computational domain, the potential profile is very steep, typical of Hall thruster acceleration regions. In the downstream portion, the potential profile is almost flat, like potentials in Hall thruster near plume regions. This bifurcation happens naturally; there is no other change in code parameters between the two results. Without the addition of a small amount of ionization in the acceleration region, the axial electron transport is very low. With ionization, the calculated ratio of electron current to ion current is the same order of those measured in Hall thrusters. This suggests that in regions with lower energy electrons and ions, plasma waves are effective in allowing crossfield transport, and axial electric fields are small. In the acceleration region, the plasma waves are less effective at scattering the energetic electrons, and high axial electric fields are needed to produce the observed cross-field electron transport.

Ortega, Alejandro Lopez↗

Two Carrier Analysis of Persistent Photoconductivity in Modulation-Doped Structures

A simultaneous fit of Hall and conductivity data gives quantitative results on the carrier concentration and mobility in both the quantum well and the parallel conduction channel. In this study this method was applied to reveal several new findings on the effect of persistent photoconductivity (PPC) on free-carrier concentrations and mobilities. The increase in the two-dimensional electron-gas (2DEG) concentration is significantly smaller than the apparent one derived from single carrier analysis of the Hall coefficient. In the two types of structures investigated, delta doped and continuously doped barrier, the apparent concentration almost doubles following illumination, while analysis reveals an increase of about 20% in the 2DEG. The effect of PPC on mobility depends on the structure. For the sample with a continuously doped barrier the mobility in the quantum well more than doubles. This increase is attributed to the effective screening of the ionized donors by the large electron concentration in the barrier. In the delta doped barrier sample the mobility is reduced by almost a factor of 2. This decrease is probably caused by strong coupling between the two wells, as is demonstrated by self-consistent analysis.

Schacham, S. E.↗

Investigations of coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy /CARS/ for practical combustion diagnostics

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) is a coherent wave-mixing process in which the signal emerges as a laser-like beam in a precise direction. The spectroscopic technique is appropriate to spatially and temporally resolved measurements of temperature and major species concentrations in combustion. It has been generated from all of the dominant constituents in air-fed, hydrogen, and hydrocarbon fueled combustion, and found applicable to practical combustion systems. High pressure effects on CARS spectra have also been examined.

Eckbreth, A. C.↗

On the Goertler vortex instability mechanism at hypersonic speeds

The linear instability of the hypersonic boundary layer on a curved wall is considered. As a starting point, the viscosity of the fluid is taken to be a linear function of temperature and real-gas effects are ignored. It is shown that the flow is susceptible to Goertler vortices and that they are trapped in the logarithmically thin adjustment layer in which the temperature of the basic flow changes rapidly to its free stream value. The vortices decay exponentially in both directions away from this layer and are most unstable when their wavelength is comparable with the depth of the adjustment layer. The nonuniqueness of the neutral stability curve associated with incompressible Goertler vortices is shown to disappear at high Mach numbers if the appropriate 'fast' streamwise dependence of the instability is built into the disturbance flow structure. It is shown that in the hypersonic limit, wall-cooling affects the leading-order term in the expansion of the Goertler number which is independent of the wavenumber, and which is due to the curvature of the basic state but it has a negligible effect on the other terms which are dependent on the wavenumber.

Hall, Philip↗

Development and Evaluation of a Cloud-Gap-Filled MODIS Daily Snow-Cover Product

The utility of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow-cover products is limited by cloud cover which causes gaps in the daily snow-cover map products. We describe a cloud-gap-filled (CGF) daily snowcover map using a simple algorithm to track cloud persistence, to account for the uncertainty created by the age of the snow observation. Developed from the 0.050 resolution climate-modeling grid daily snow-cover product, MOD10C1, each grid cell of the CGF map provides a cloud-persistence count (CPC) that tells whether the current or a prior day was used to make the snow decision. Percentage of grid cells "observable" is shown to increase dramatically when prior days are considered. The effectiveness of the CGF product is evaluated by conducting a suite of data assimilation experiments using the community Noah land surface model in the NASA Land Information System (LIS) framework. The Noah model forecasts of snow conditions, such as snow-water equivalent (SWE), are updated based on the observations of snow cover which are obtained either from the MOD1 OC1 standard product or the new CGF product. The assimilation integrations using the CGF maps provide domain averaged bias improvement of -11 %, whereas such improvement using the standard MOD1 OC1 maps is -3%. These improvements suggest that the Noah model underestimates SWE and snow depth fields, and that the assimilation integrations contribute to correcting this systematic error. We conclude that the gap-filling strategy is an effective approach for increasing cloud-free observations of snow cover.

Hall, Dorothy K.↗

Quantifying the Early Snowmelt Event of 2015 in the Cascade Mountains, USA by Developing and Validating MODIS-Based Snowmelt Timing Maps

Spring snowmelt serves as the major hydrological contribution to many watersheds of the US West. Since the 1970s the conterminous western USA has seen an earlier arrival of spring snowmelt. The extremely low snowpack and early melt of 2015 in the Cascade Mountains may be a harbinger of winters to come, underscoring the interest in advancements in spring snowmelt monitoring. Target-of-opportunity and point measurements of snowmelt using meteorological stations or stream gauges are common sources of these data, however, there have been few attempts to identify snowmelt timing using remote sensing. In this study, we describe the creation of snowmelt timing maps (STMs) which identify the day of year that each pixel of a remotely sensed image transitions from "snow-covered" to "no snow" during the spring melt season, controlling for cloud coverage and ephemeral spring snow storms. Derived from the 500 meter MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) standard snow map, MOD10A2, this new dataset provides annual maps of snowmelt timing, with corresponding maps of cloud interference and interannual variability in snow coverage from 2001-2015. We first show that the STMs agree strongly with in-situ snow telemetry (SNOTEL) meteorological station measurements in terms of snowmelt timing. We then use the STMs to investigate the early snowmelt event of 2015 in the Cascade Mountains, USA, highlighting the protected areas of Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks. In 2015 the Cascade Mountains experienced snowmelt 41 days earlier than the 2001-2015 average, with 25 percent of its land area melting more than 65 days earlier than average. The upper elevations of the Cascade Mountains experienced the greatest snowmelt anomaly. Our results are relevant to land managers and biologists as they plan adaptation strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change throughout temperate mountains.

snowmelt timing↗

Battery Cell-to-Pack Scaling Trends for Electric Aircraft

Battery pack gravimetric energy density is one of the most important, yet often miss- estimated design parameters for sizing all-electric aircraft. Proper accounting for thermal, structural, and operational safety margins are frequently lost when extrapolating performance from the cell level to the aircraft level. This paper summarizes the relevant engineering and certification details needed to better account for the penalties associated when assembling battery packs. The relationship between the cell and pack energy density is not linear, as is often assumed. Furthermore, the relationship varies depending on pack requirements, cell chemistry, and architecture. Parametric, high-fidelity models are used to determine optimal battery pack sizes over a range of conditions to better quantify technology scaling effects.

Battery Electric Aircraft↗

Gate-Tunable Transport in Quasi-One-Dimensional α-Bi 4 I 4 Field Effect Transistors

Bi 4 I 4 belongs to a novel family of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) topological insulators (TIs). While its β phase was demonstrated to be a prototypical weak TI, the α phase, long thought to be a trivial insulator, was recently predicted to be a rare higher order TI. Here, we report the first gate tunable transport together with evidence for unconventional band topology in exfoliated α-Bi 4 I 4 field effect transistors. We observe a Dirac-like longitudinal resistance peak and a sign change in the Hall resistance; their temperature dependences suggest competing transport mechanisms: a hole-doped insulating bulk and one or more gate-tunable ambipolar boundary channels. Our combined transport, photoemission, and theoretical results indicate that the gate-tunable channels likely arise from novel gapped side surface states, two-dimensional (2D) TI in the bottommost layer, and/or helical hinge states of the upper layers. Markedly, a gate-tunable supercurrent is observed in an α-Bi 4 I 4 Josephson junction, underscoring the potential of these boundary channels to mediate topological superconductivity.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Sintering time and atmosphere influences on the microstructure and mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys

The present paper traces the microstructure and mechanical property variations vs sintering time under conditions where the atmosphere was adjusted to suppress pore generation. Attention is given to tracing the mechanical property links to the grain size under optimized sintering conditions. The optimal cycle is used to sinter two heavy alloy compositions (88 and 95 wt pct W) for times up to 600 minutes at 1480 C. The 88-pct-W samples slumped, but the 95-pct-W samples were fully densified and suitable for tensile testing. At long sintering times, the tungsten grains flattened and the tungsten contiguity decreased, indicating a transition to low-energy configurations for the solid-liquid interfaces. The cube of the mean grain size varied linearly with the isothermal sintering time. This allowed the determination of grain size effects on mechanical properties, showing a decreasing yield strength with increasing time in agreement with the Hall-Petch behavior. The tensile strength and elongation were highest for sintering times from 30 to 90 min, reflecting a minimum in the residual porosity.

German, R. M.↗