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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 1,531 records · Page 85
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Mass transport limitations in polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers using spatially-resolved current measurement

Here this work utilizes spatially-resolved current measurements to provide insight into mass transport limitations in electrolyzers that are not observable from traditional polarization measurement. In this study, two types of flow-fields (parallel and triple-serpentine) and two types of diffusion media (patterned porous thin titanium foil LGDLs and Ir-coated titanium felt PTLs) were examined. A non-uniform current distribution dominated by mass transport limitations was observed to be instigated by the restriction of liquid water transport to catalyst sites. Additionally, conditions are revealed which yield similar polarization performance but dissimilar current distributions. In such cases, the transport limitations for different architectures and porous media affect polarization in different regions of the active area. Furthermore, the triple-serpentine flow-field used in this study performs better than the parallel flow-field under mass transport limited operating conditions. This indicates that the parallel flow-field used in this study is more susceptible to starvation than the triple-serpentine flow-field for the electrolyzer studied.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

Brazil-USA Collaborative Research: Modifications by Anthropogenic Pollution of the Natural Atmospheric Chemistry and Particle Microphysics of the Tropical Rain Forest During the GoAmazon Intensive Operating Periods (IOPs)

Manaus, a city of nearly two million people, represents an isolated urban area having a distinct urban pollution plume within the otherwise pristine Amazon Basin. The plume has high concentrations of oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, carbon monoxide, particle concentrations, and soot, among other pollutants. Critically, the distinct plume in the setting of the surrounding tropical rain forest serves as a natural laboratory to allow direct comparisons between periods of pollution influence to those of pristine conditions. The funded activity of this report is related to the Brazil-USA collaborative project during the two Intensive Operating Periods (wet season, 1 Feb - 31 Mar 2014; dry season, 15 Aug - 15 Oct 2014) of GoAmazon2014/5. The project addresses key science questions regarding the modification of the natural atmospheric chemistry and particle microphysics of the forest by present and future anthropogenic pollution. The first objective of the project was to understand and quantify the interactions of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions with respect to the production of secondary organic material. In clean conditions in the Amazon basin, secondary organic material dominates the diameter distribution of the submicron particles. How and why is the diameter distribution shifted by pollution? The second objective followed from the first in that, although the diameter distribution is dominated by secondary organic material, the actual source of new particle production remains uncertain (i.e., the number concentration). The second objective was to test the hypothesis that new particles under natural conditions are produced as a result of evaporation of primary particles emitted by fungal spores as well as to investigate any shifts in this mechanism under pollution conditions, e.g., in consequence to the high concentrations of SO 2 in the pollution plume. Combined, the number-diameter distribution is the key connection to upscaling to the effects of aerosol particles on clouds and climate. Understanding this upscaling under clean and pollution conditions, including differences, was the third objective.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2003

Gamma (K5 Based) Compressor Blade Material Design - Alpha Extrusion on a Small Scale

The objective of the 2003 study is to develop a mechanically processed, high temperature TiAl alloy for use in the Turbine Based Combined Cycle compressor. An aging study with 3 temperatures and 4 time periods at each temperature will be conducted to determine the optimum aging condition. High-magnification microscopic analyses shall be employed to define the size distribution of carbide as a function of aging temperature/time. The contractor shall define optimum materials' conditions by conducting tensile and creep testing for two over-aging conditions for both alloys and fatigue testing for one over-aging condition for each alloy.

Kim, Young-Won↗
NASA NTRS2003

Observations of Counter-Streaming Ion Velocity Distributions in LLBL

We analyze ion velocity distributions observed by Interball-Tail at two LLBL crossings under southward and variable magnetosheath magnetic field. These magnetic conditions lead to highly structured LLBL. D-shape ion velocity distributions were observed within LLBL structures along with other reconnection signatures. Another type of the ion velocity distributions observed within LLBL structures consists of two counter-streaming magnetosheath-type components. We consider two possible scenarios that may lead to development of these counterstreaming ion components: reflection of transmitted magnetosheath ions from the ionosphere and creation of these velocity distributions during formation of the LLBL. We argue that observed counter-streaming component could not be due to ionospheric reflection. The observations of these ion velocity distributions are in favor of the multiple reconnections between magnetosheath and magnetospheric flux tubes.

Vaisberg, O. L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Full-size solar dynamic heat receiver thermal-vacuum tests

The testing of a full-size, 120 kW, solar dynamic heat receiver utilizing high-temperature thermal energy storage is described. The purpose of the test program was to quantify receiver thermodynamic performance, operating temperatures, and thermal response to changes in environmental and power module interface boundary conditions. The heat receiver was tested in a vacuum chamber with liquid nitrogen cold shrouds and an aperture cold plate to partly simulate a low-Earth-orbit environment. The cavity of the receiver was heated by an infrared quartz lamp heater with 30 independently controllable zones to allow axially and circumferentially varied flux distributions. A closed-Brayton cycle engine simulator conditioned a helium-xenon gas mixture to specific interface conditions to simulate the various operational modes of the solar dynamic power module on the Space Station Freedom. Inlet gas temperature, pressure, and flow rate were independently varied. A total of 58 simulated orbital cycles, each 94 minutes in duration, was completed during the test conduct period.

Sedgwick, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Full-size solar dynamic heat receiver thermal-vacuum tests

The testing of a full-size, 102 kW, solar dynamic heat receiver utilizing high-temperature thermal energy storage is described. The purpose of the test program was to quantify receiver thermodynamic performance, operating temperatures, and thermal response to changes in environmental and power module interface boundary conditions. The heat receiver was tested in a vacuum chamber with liquid nitrogen cold shrouds and an aperture cold plate to partly simulate a low-Earth-orbit environment. The cavity of the receiver was heated by an infrared quartz lamp heater with 30 independently controllable zones to allow axially and circumferentially varied flux distributions. A closed-Brayton cycle engine simulator conditioned a helium-xenon gas mixture to specific interface conditions to simulate the various operational modes of the solar dynamic power module on the Space Station Freedom. Inlet gas temperature, pressure, and flow rate were independently varied. A total of 58 simulated orbital cycles, each 94 minutes in duration, was completed during the test period.

Sedgwick, L. M.↗
DOE OSTI2016

The influences of solar wind pressure and interplanetary magnetic field on global magnetic field and outer radiation belt electrons

Using the Van Allen Probe in situ measured magnetic field and electron data, we examine the solar wind dynamic pressure and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) effects on global magnetic field and outer radiation belt relativistic electrons (≥1.8 MeV). The dynamic pressure enhancements (>2 nPa) cause the dayside magnetic field increase and the nightside magnetic field reduction, whereas the large southward IMFs (B z-IMF < –2nT) mainly lead to the decrease of the nightside magnetic field. In the dayside increased magnetic field region (magnetic local time (MLT) ~ 06:00–18:00, and L > 4), the pitch angles of relativistic electrons are mainly pancake distributions with a flux peak around 90° (corresponding anisotropic index A > 0.1), and the higher-energy electrons have stronger pancake distributions (the larger A), suggesting that the compression-induced betatron accelerations enhance the dayside pancake distributions. However, in the nighttime decreased magnetic field region (MLT ~ 18:00–06:00, and L ≥ 5), the pitch angles of relativistic electrons become butterfly distributions with two flux peaks around 45° and 135° (A < 0). The spatial range of the nighttime butterfly distributions is almost independent of the relativistic electron energy, but it depends on the magnetic field day-night asymmetry and the interplanetary conditions. The dynamic pressure enhancements can make the nighttime butterfly distribution extend inward. The large southward IMFs can also lead to the azimuthal expansion of the nighttime butterfly distributions. As a result, these variations are consistent with the drift shell splitting and/or magnetopause shadowing effect.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Characterization of Grain Boundaries and Associated Minor Phases in Disk Alloy ME3 Exposed at 815 °C

The objective of this work was to address the effect of 815 °C exposures on the chemistry of interior grain boundaries and associated minor phases from the fatigued volume of tested notched low cycle fatigue (NLCF) specimens of an advanced powder metallurgy superalloy ME3, which is used in turbine disk applications. Prior to NLCF testing at 704 °C in air, selected ME3 specimens were pre-exposed at 815 °C for exposures times up to 2,020 h to capture projected service conditions for the turbine disk rim. Structure, compositions and size distributions of minor phases, including MC carbides, M23C6 carbides, M3B2 borides and sigma, were identified. Minor phase and grain boundary chemistry for various conditions were evaluated with atom probe tomography and high resolution x-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy.

Sudbrack, Chantal K.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Distributed Energy Resources Coordination over Time-varying Directed Communication Networks

In this paper, we consider an optimal coordination problem for distributed energy resources (DERs) including distributed generators and energy storage devices. We first propose an algorithm based on the push-sum and gradient method to optimally coordinate storage devices and distributed generators in a distributed manner. In the proposed algorithm, each DER only maintains a set of variables and updates them through information exchange with a few neighboring DERs over a time-varying directed communication network. We show that the proposed distributed algorithm with appropriately chosen step-sizes solve the optimal DER coordination problem if the time-varying directed communication network is uniformly jointly strongly connected, which is a mild condition on the connectivity of communication topologies. The proposed distributed algorithm is illustrated and validated by numerical simulations.

Yang, Tao↗
NASA NTRS2007

Quantifying Low Energy Proton Damage in Multijunction Solar Cells

An analysis of the effects of low energy proton irradiation on the electrical performance of triple junction (3J) InGaP2/GaAs/Ge solar cells is presented. The Monte Carlo ion transport code (SRIM) is used to simulate the damage profile induced in a 3J solar cell under the conditions of typical ground testing and that of the space environment. The results are used to present a quantitative analysis of the defect, and hence damage, distribution induced in the cell active region by the different radiation conditions. The modelling results show that, in the space environment, the solar cell will experience a uniform damage distribution through the active region of the cell. Through an application of the displacement damage dose analysis methodology, the implications of this result on mission performance predictions are investigated.

Messenger, Scott R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-Throughput Automated Exploration of Phase Growth Behaviors in Quasi-2D Formamidinium Metal Halide Perovskites

Quasi-2D metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are an emerging material platform for sustainable functional optoelectronics, but the uncontrollable, broad phase distribution remains a critical challenge for applications. Nevertheless, the basic principles for controlling phases in quasi-2D MHPs remain poorly understood, due to the rapid crystallization kinetics during the conventional thin-film fabrication process. In this work, a high-throughput automated synthesis-characterization-analysis workflow is implemented to accelerate material exploration in formamidinium (FA)-based quasi-2D MHP compositional space, revealing the early-stage phase growth behaviors fundamentally determining the phase distributions. Upon comprehensive exploration with varying synthesis conditions including 2D:3D composition ratios, antisolvent injection rates, and temperatures in an automated synthesis-characterization platform, it is observed that the prominent n = 2 2D phase restricts the growth kinetics of 3D-like phases—α-FAPbI 3 MHPs with spacer-coordinated surface—across the MHP compositions. Thermal annealing is a critical step for proper phase growth, although it can lead to the emergence of unwanted local PbI 2 crystallites. Additionally, fundamental insights into the precursor chemistry associated with spacer-solvent interaction determining the quasi-2D MHP morphologies and microstructures are demonstrated. The high-throughput study provides comprehensive insights into the fundamental principles in quasi-2D MHP phase control, enabling new control of the functionalities in complex materials systems for sustainable device applications.

2D perovskites↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effect of Temperature and Fluid Flow on Dendrite Growth During Solidification of Al-3 Wt Pct Cu Alloy by the Two-Dimensional Cellular Automaton Method

A two-dimensional cellular automaton–finite volume model was developed to simulate dendrite growth of Al-3 wt pct Cu alloy during solidification to investigate the effect of temperature and fluid flow on dendrite morphology, solute concentration distribution, and dendrite growth velocity. Different calculation conditions that may influence the results of the simulation, including temperature and flow, were considered. The model was also employed to study the effect of different undercoolings, applied temperature fields, and forced flow velocities on solute segregation and dendrite growth. The initial temperature and fluid flow have a significant impact on the dendrite morphologies and solute profiles during solidification. The release of energy is operated with solidification and results in the increase of temperature. A larger undercooling leads to larger solute concentration near the solid/liquid interface and solute concentration gradient at the same time-step. Solute concentration in the solid region tends to increase with the increase of undercooling. Four vortexes appear under the condition when natural flow exists: the two on the right of the dendrite rotate clockwise, and those on the left of the dendrite rotate counterclockwise. With the increase of forced flow velocity, the rejected solute in the upstream region becomes easier to be washed away and enriched in the downstream region, resulting in acceleration of the growth of the dendrite in the upstream and inhibiting the downstream dendrite growth. The dendrite perpendicular to fluid flow shows a coarser morphology in the upstream region than that of the downstream. Almost no secondary dendrite appears during the calculation process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Optimizing Native Ion Mobility Q-TOF in Helium and Nitrogen for Very Fragile Noncovalent Structures

The amount of internal energy imparted to the ions prior to the ion mobility cell influences the ion structure and thus the collision cross section. Non-covalent complexes with few internal degrees of freedom and/or high charge densities are particularly sensitive to collisional activation. Here, we investigated the effects of virtually all tuning parameters of the Agilent 6560 IM-Q-TOF on the arrival time distributions of ubiquitin{sup 7+} and found conditions in which the native state prevails. We discuss the effects of solvent evaporation conditions in the source, of the entire pre-IM DC voltage gradient, of the funnel RF amplitudes. We also report on ubiquitin{sup 7+} conformations in different solvents, including native supercharging conditions. Collision-induced unfolding (CIU) can be conveniently provoked either behind the source capillary or in the trapping funnel. The softness of the instrumental conditions behind the mobility cell was further optimized with the DNA G-quadruplex [(dG{sub 4}T{sub 4}G{sub 4}){sub 2}·(NH{sub 4}{sup +}){sub 3}-8H]{sup 5−}, for which ion activation results in ammonia loss. To reduce the ion internal energy and obtain the intact 3-NH{sub 4}{sup +} complex, we reduce the post-IM voltage gradient, but this results in a lower IM resolving power due to increased diffusion behind the drift tube. The article describes the various trade-offs between ion activation, ion transmission, and ion mobility performance for native MS of very fragile structures. .

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Tuning the polar states of ferroelectric films via surface charges and flexoelectricity

In this work, using the self-consistent Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire approach we simulate and analyze the spontaneous formation of the domain structure in thin ferroelectric films covered with the surface screening charge represented by the Bardeen-type surface states. Hence we consider the competition between the screening and the domain formation as alternative ways to reduce the electrostatic energy and reveal unusual peculiarities of distributions of polarization, electric and elastic fields conditioned by the surface screening length and the flexocoupling strength. We have established that the critical thickness of the film and its transition temperature to a paraelectric phase strongly depend on the Bardeen screening length, while the flexocoupling affects the polarization rotation and closure domain structure. Furthermore the flexocoupling induces ribbon-like nano-scale domains in the film depth far from the top open surface, which might be related to the enigmatic polar nanoregions in relaxor ferroelectrics. Thus the joint action of the surface screening (originating from e.g. the adsorption of ambient ions or surface states) and flexocoupling may remarkably modify polar and electromechanical properties of thin ferroelectric films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Cluster truncated Wigner approximation in strongly interacting systems

We present a general method by which linear quantum Hamiltonian dynamics with exponentially many degrees of freedom is replaced by approximate classical nonlinear dynamics with the number of degrees of freedom (phase space dimensionality) scaling polynomially in the system size. This method is based on generalization of the truncated Wigner approximation (TWA) to a higher dimensional phase space, where phase space variables are associated with a complete set of quantum operators spanning finite size clusters. The method becomes asymptotically exact with increasing cluster size. The crucial feature of TWA is fluctuating initial conditions, which we approximate by a Gaussian distribution. We show that such fluctuations dramatically increase accuracy of TWA over traditional cluster mean-field approximations. In this way we can treat on equal footing quantum and thermal fluctuations as well as compute entanglement and various equal and non-equal time correlation functions. The main limitation of the method is exponential scaling of the phase space dimensionality with the cluster size, which can be significantly reduced by using the language of Schwinger bosons and can likely be further reduced by truncating the local Hilbert space variables. We demonstrate the power of this method analyzing dynamics in various spin chains with and without disorder and show that we can capture such phenomena as long time hydrodynamic relaxation, many-body localization and the ballistic spread of entanglement.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Molecular simulations of competitive adsorption of carbon dioxide – methane mixture on illitic clay surfaces

Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation studies were carried out here to investigate adsorption behavior of carbon dioxide and methane mixtures on illitic clay surfaces under dry conditions. Various compositions of the mixtures and distributions of isomorphic substitutions in clay layers were chosen to explore competitive adsorption depending on component concentration and charge localization. The simulations show that carbon dioxide is preferentially sorbed on the illitic surface and is capable to promote methane desorption. Density distributions of the molecular species in pore space reveal formation of multilayers on the clay surfaces at elevated pressures. Finally, mixed adsorption isotherms were compared with adsorption isotherms of pure compounds and thermodynamic quantities were reported to characterize the interaction of the carbon dioxide and methane with the clay surface.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Thermophysical properties of sintered aluminum-silicon

The effect of silicon addition to aluminum on the thermophysical properties of Al was experimentally investigated. Thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, density, and thermal expansion of sintered Al-Si samples with Si content ranging 0-8 wt% were measured. For U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel for research reactors, an addition of Si (up to 8 wt% Si) to the Al matrix has been adopted as a method to reduce the formation of interaction layer between the U-Mo and the Al. In this study, the Si-added Al matrix was simulated by using a powder metallurgical method, in which an Al powder and a Si powder were mixed and sintered. All measured properties decreased with the addition of Si. The effect was most pronounced in thermal diffusivity while the decreases in heat capacity and density were relatively insignificant. The measured thermal conductivity from the present study was higher than those measured data for alloy samples available in the literature to the differences in the fabrication method. All measured data including this study, however, were lower than the prediction by the Bruggeman model. It is because the model assumes an ideal heat-transfer conditions such as spherical particles, homogeneous particle distribution, perfect bonding between Al and Si. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cho, Tae Won↗
DOE OSTI2015

Lattice Monte Carlo simulation of Galilei variant anomalous diffusion

The observation of an increasing number of anomalous diffusion phenomena motivates the study to reveal the actual reason for such stochastic processes. When it is difficult to get analytical solutions or necessary to track the trajectory of particles, lattice Monte Carlo (LMC) simulation has been shown to be particularly useful. To develop such an LMC simulation algorithm for the Galilei variant anomalous diffusion, we derive explicit solutions for the conditional and unconditional first passage time (FPT) distributions with double absorbing barriers. According to the theory of random walks on lattices and the FPT distributions, we propose an LMC simulation algorithm and prove that such LMC simulation can reproduce both the mean and the mean square displacement exactly in the long-time limit. However, the error introduced in the second moment of the displacement diverges according to a power law as the simulation time progresses. We give an explicit criterion for choosing a small enough lattice step to limit the error within the specified tolerance. We further validate the LMC simulation algorithm and confirm the theoretical error analysis through numerical simulations. The numerical results agree with our theoretical predictions very well.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗