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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 1,567 records · Page 87
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Temperature-driven BCS-BEC crossover and Cooper-paired metallic phase in coupled boson-fermion systems

Motivated by strongly correlated and frustrated systems, in this work we propose an effective model that describes the dynamics of pairs of opposite spin fermions scattering from localized bosons. Integrating out one of the degrees, either the bosons or fermions, generates temperature-dependent long-range effective interactions between the entities that we investigate using Monte Carlo techniques. The behavior of bosons is dominated by vortex-antivortex unbinding, with effective interboson interactions beyond the nearest-neighbor Josephson coupling of phases. Remarkably, in the fermion sector we observe a temperature-driven phase transition from a SC phase with a “BCS” spectral function that shows a gap minimum on the underlying Fermi surface to a conducting phase of pairs but with a “BEC” spectral function with a gap minimum at k = 0. Tunneling and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on Bose-Fermi mixtures in cold atomic systems and superconducting islands on graphene are some of the promising experimental platforms to test our predictions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hardness Prediction by Incorporating Heat Transfer and Molten Pool Fluid Flow in a Multi-pass, Multi-layer Weld for Onsite Repair of Grade 91 steel

Introduction: In the current fleet of fossil-fired power plants, creep strength enhanced ferritic steels (CSEF) are used to sustain the harsh service conditions. Enhanced properties of Grade 91 steel result from tempered martensite with a fine distribution of MX and M23C6 carbides. Grade 91 steel is subjected to onsite welding repair to remedy their degradation due to extreme service condition. Knowledge of weld repairability of these steels, such as as-welded hardness distribution, is essential to establishing sound repair procedures. Experimental trial and error tests can consume a lot of time as many welding variables need to be studied. For numerical modelling, most of the multi-pass multi-layer models are based on finite element method, which are limited to solve the heat conduction equation and ignore convective heat transfer due to melt flow. Moreover, the mesh has to be pre-built based on a known or assumed weld cross-section geometry. These finite element based models thus have limited predictive capability as defects are not considered and nugget size are pre-assumed. This research aims at developing a thermal and microstructure evolution model incorporating molten pool dynamics in a multi-pass multi-layer material deposition to predict the as-welded hardness distribution. Technical Approach: All the thermal, physical, and metallurgical properties of Grade 91 as a function of temperature are collected from the literature and inputted into the thermo-fluid model based on Flow-3D, a computational fluid dynamics software. A multi-pass, multi-layer material deposition is simulated where the melting of filler wire into the molten pool is directly considered based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method. The flow behaviour of the molten pool is used to understand the formation of deposition geometry and defects. The temperature profiles during the multi-pass, multi-layer welding are calculated. The results computed using the new model are compared against the experimental data of fusion zone geometry and thermal cycles. Hardness prediction in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) are made using Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (JMA) equation for solid-state phase transformation kinetics. The JMA parameters are extracted from the experimental data available in the literature. For comparison, a standard finite element heat conduction model is also developed to predict the thermal cycles and hardness distribution in the multi-pass, multi-layer weld. Expected Result: Results obtained using the molten pool dynamic simulation versus the finite element heat conduction model are compared. Specifically, the effects of convective heat transfer on the accuracy of the calculated thermal history, bead shape and size, and HAZ hardness distribution are examined.

Modeling, Grade 91 steel, Multi-pass multi-layer d↗
DOE OSTI2024

Designing a Convection‐Cloud Chamber for Collision‐Coalescence Using Large‐Eddy Simulation With Bin Microphysics

Abstract Collisional growth of cloud droplets is an essential yet uncertain process for drizzle and precipitation formation. To improve the quantitative understanding of this key component of cloud‐aerosol‐turbulence interactions, observational studies of collision‐coalescence in a controlled laboratory environment are needed. In an existing convection‐cloud chamber (the Pi Chamber), collisional growth is limited by low liquid water content and short droplet residence times. In this work, we use numerical simulations to explore various configurations of a convection‐cloud chamber that may intensify collision‐coalescence. We employ a large‐eddy simulation (LES) model with a size‐resolved (bin) cloud microphysics scheme to explore how cloud properties and the intensity of collision‐coalescence are affected by the chamber size and aspect ratio, surface roughness, side‐wall wetness, side‐wall temperature arrangement, and aerosol injection rate. Simulations without condensation and evaporation within the domain are first performed to explore the turbulence dynamics and wall fluxes. The LES wall fluxes are used to modify the Scalar Flux‐budget Model, which is then applied to demonstrate the need for non‐uniform side‐wall temperature (two side walls as warm as the bottom and the two others as cold as the top) to maintain high supersaturation in a tall chamber. The results of LES with full cloud microphysics reveal that collision‐coalescence is greatly enhanced by employing a taller chamber with saturated side walls, non‐uniform side‐wall temperature, and rough surfaces. For the conditions explored, although lowering the aerosol injection rate broadens the droplet size distribution, favoring collision‐coalescence, the reduced droplet number concentration decreases the frequency of collisions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Directional locking and the influence of obstacle density on skyrmion dynamics in triangular and honeycomb arrays

In this work, we numerically examine the dynamics of a single skyrmion driven over triangular and honeycomb obstacle arrays at zero temperature. The skyrmion Hall angle θ sk , defined as the angle between the applied external drive and the direction of the skyrmion motion, increases in quantized steps or continuously as a function of the applied drive. For the obstacle arrays studied in this work, the skyrmion exhibits two main directional locking angles of θ sk = –30° and –60°. We show that these directions are privileged due to the obstacle landscape symmetry, and coincide with channels along which the skyrmion may move with few or no obstacle collisions. Here we investigate how changes in the obstacle density can modify the skyrmion Hall angles and cause some dynamic phases to appear or grow while other phases vanish. This interesting behavior can be used to guide skyrmions along designated trajectories via regions with different obstacle densities. For fixed obstacle densities, we investigate the evolution of the locked θ sk = –30° and –60° phases as a function of the Magnus force, and discuss possibilities for switching between these phases using topological selection.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

Enhancing the efficiency of time-dependent density functional theory calculations of dynamic response properties

X-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) constitutes an essential technique for diagnosing material properties under extreme conditions, such as high pressures and intense laser heating. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is one of the most accurate available ab initio methods for modeling XRTS spectra, as well as a host of other dynamic material properties. However, strong thermal excitations, along with the need to account for variations in temperature and density as well as the finite size of the detector significantly increase the computational cost of TDDFT simulations compared to ambient conditions. In this work, we present a broadly applicable method for optimizing and enhancing the efficiency of TDDFT calculations. Our approach is based on a one-to-one mapping between the dynamic structure factor and the imaginary time density–density correlation function, which naturally emerges in Feynman’s path integral formulation of quantum many-body theory. Specifically, we combine rigorous convergence tests in the imaginary time domain with a constraints-based attenuation of narrow-band fluctuations to improve the efficiency of TDDFT modeling without the introduction of any significant bias. As a result, we can report a speed-up by up to an order of magnitude, thus substantially reducing the burden of computational cost required for XRTS analysis.

Moldabekov, Zhandos A. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-↗
DOE OSTI2022

The heterogeneous nature of mechanically accelerated grain growth

Abstract While grain growth is traditionally viewed as a purely thermally driven process, nanocrystalline metals can undergo grain growth under mechanical loads, even at room temperature. We performed a detailed atomistic study of the heterogeneous nature of mechanically accelerated grain growth in a polycrystalline Pt nanowire. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we compared the grain-growth behavior of individual grains during tensile and shear cyclic loading, for three different equivalent strain levels, and at two temperatures. Pure thermal grain growth with no mechanical loading provided a baseline reference case. On average, grains that were already susceptible to thermal grain growth were stimulated to grow faster with mechanical loading, as expected. However, when analyzed on a grain-by-grain basis, the results were far more complex: grains that grew fastest under one stimuli were less accelerated under other stimuli. Even when the magnitude of loading changed, the relative growth of individual grains was distorted. We interpret this complexity from the perspective of superimposed growth mechanisms.

Chen, Elton Y.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Re-evaluating cloud chamber constraints on depositional ice growth in cirrus clouds – Part 1: Model description and sensitivity tests

Abstract. Ice growth from vapor deposition is an important process for the evolution of cirrus clouds, but the physics of depositional ice growth at the low temperatures (<235 K) characteristic of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere is not well understood. Surface attachment kinetics, generally parameterized as a deposition coefficient αD, control ice crystal habit and also may limit growth rates in certain cases, but significant discrepancies between experimental measurements have not been satisfactorily explained. Experiments on single ice crystals have previously indicated the deposition coefficient is a function of temperature and supersaturation, consistent with growth mechanisms controlled by the crystal's surface characteristics. Here we use observations from cloud chamber experiments in the Aerosol Interactions and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) aerosol and cloud chamber to evaluate surface kinetic models in realistic cirrus conditions. These experiments have rapidly changing temperature, pressure, and ice supersaturation such that depositional ice growth may evolve from diffusion limited to surface kinetics limited over the course of a single experiment. In Part 1, we describe the adaptation of a Lagrangian parcel model with the Diffusion Surface Kinetics Ice Crystal Evolution (DiSKICE) model (Zhang and Harrington, 2014) to the AIDA chamber experiments. We compare the observed ice water content and saturation ratios to that derived under varying assumptions for ice surface growth mechanisms for experiments simulating ice clouds between 180 and 235 K and pressures between 150 and 300 hPa. We found that both heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation experiments at higher temperatures (>205 K) could generally be modeled consistently with either a constant deposition coefficient or the DiSKICE model assuming growth on isometric crystals via abundant surface dislocations. Lower-temperature experiments showed more significant deviations from any depositional growth model, with different ice growth rates for heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation experiments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Suppression of superconductivity by anisotropic strain near a nematic quantum critical point

In most unconventional and high-temperature superconductors, superconductivity emerges as a nearby symmetry-breaking phase is suppressed by chemical doping or pressure. This has led to the belief that the fluctuations associated with the symmetry-breaking phase are beneficial, if not responsible, for the superconducting pairing. A direct test to verify this hypothesis is to observe a decrease of the superconducting critical temperature (T c ) by applying the symmetry-breaking conjugate field that suppresses the dynamic fluctuations of the competing order. However, most of the competing phases in unconventional superconductors break translational symmetry, requiring a spatially modulated conjugate field that is difficult to realize experimentally. Here, we show that anisotropic strain, the conjugate field of nematicity, reduces the T c of an iron pnictide. For optimally doped samples we show a fivefold reduction of T c with less than one per cent of strain. For underdoped samples, T c becomes zero yielding a fully metallic ground state. In addition to providing direct evidence of the role played by the nematic fluctuations in the formation of the superconducting state, these results demonstrate tunable mechanical control of a high-temperature superconductor, an important step forward for technological applications of superconductivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ab initio molecular dynamics on quantum computers

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) is a valuable technique for studying molecules and materials at finite temperatures where the nuclei evolve on potential energy surfaces obtained from accurate electronic structure calculations. In this work, we present an approach to running AIMD simulations on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ)-era quantum computers. The electronic energies are calculated on a quantum computer using the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) method. Algorithms for computation of analytical gradients entirely on a quantum computer require quantum fault-tolerant hardware, which is beyond NISQ-era. Therefore, we compute the energy gradients numerically using finite differences, the Hellmann-Feynman theorem, and a correlated sampling technique. This method only requires additional classical calculations of electron integrals for each degree of freedom without any additional computations on a quantum computer beyond the initial VQE run. As a proof of concept, AIMD simulations are demonstrated for the H-2 molecule on IBM quantum devices. In addition, we demonstrate the validity of the method for larger molecules using full configuration interaction wave functions. As quantum hardware and noise mitigation techniques continue to improve, the method can be utilized for studying larger molecular systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Insights into Rotational and Translational Dynamics in Mixtures of Ethylene Glycol and Choline Chloride Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Techniques

This work examines molecular dynamics and interactions in ethylene glycol–choline chloride (EG–ChCl) mixtures across 0–33 mol % ChCl, spanning the true eutectic region near 17–20 mol % and the commonly used 1:2 formulation. We combine pulsed-field-gradient (PFG) diffusion, fast-field-cycling (FFC) relaxometry, temperature-dependent 13 C T 1 , and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) to disentangle local from macroscopic dynamics. PFG and FFC show that both translational and average rotational motions largely track the strong increase in viscosity with ChCl content, with ethylene glycol consistently diffusing faster than the choline cation and no global dynamical anomaly at the eutectic composition. More subtle, site-specific composition effects nevertheless emerge. The ratio of the diffusion coefficient of the hydroxyl group of choline to the diffusion coefficient of the methyl group of choline displays a shallow minimum in the 17–25 mol % region, indicating a modest change in how the hydroxyl-bearing end of choline samples the underlying translational motion relative to the methyl groups. 13 C T 1 analysis shows that rotational correlation times at 25 °C generally increase with ChCl, reflecting viscosity-coupled slowing, while the CH 2 –N α site exhibits a small but reproducible deviation from this monotonic trend near the eutectic. NOESY spectra at similar compositions reveal enhanced cross-relaxation between EG and choline protons, consistent with increased headgroup–solvent contact density rather than a wholesale structural rearrangement. Overall, our multitechnique study demonstrates that EG–ChCl dynamics are predominantly viscosity-dominated, with the eutectic region acting as a subtle dynamical crossover where specific choline segments become maximally coupled to the hydrogen-bond network. These insights refine the structure–dynamics picture of choline-chloride DESs and provide practical guidance for tuning composition in electrochemical, separation, and catalytic applications.

diffusion↗
DOE OSTI2023

Role of Simple Spatial Gradient in Reinforcing the Accuracy of Temperature Determination of HED Plasma via Spectral Line-Area Ratios

We report on the simulation of temperature gradients in tamped NaFMgO target-foil plasma, heated and backlit by z-pinch dynamic hohlraum radiation. Our approach compares the spectroscopic output of a collisional-radiative model (prismspect) with soft X-ray absorption spectra collected on Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL) Z Pulsed Power Facility. The pattern of minimum χ2 is seen to agree with an efficient, three-parameter model. Results show that a negligible gradient in electron temperature Te is consistent with experimental data, justifying the assumptions of previous work. The predicted sensitivity of line spectra to the gradient-aligned profile of Te is documented for each spectral feature, so that the line-area ratio between a pair of spectral features may be assessed as a proxy for the existence and quantification of such gradients.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Interactions of Oxide Surfaces with Water Revealed with Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

Hydrous materials are ubiquitous in the natural environment and efforts have previously been made to investigate the structures and dynamics of hydrated surfaces for their key roles in various chemical and physical applications, with the help of theoretical modeling and microscopy techniques. However, an overall atomic-scale understanding of the water–solid interface, including the effect of water on surface ions, is still lacking. Herein, we employ ceria nanorods with different amounts of water as an example and demonstrate a new approach to explore the water–surface interactions by using solid-state NMR in combination with density functional theory. NMR shifts and relaxation time analysis provide detailed information on the local structure of oxygen ions and the nature of water motion on the surface: the amount of molecularly adsorbed water decreases rapidly with increasing temperature (from room temperature to 150 °C), whereas hydroxyl groups are stable up to 150 °C, and dynamic water molecules are found to instantaneously coordinate to the surface oxygen ions. Additionally, the applicability of dynamic nuclear polarization for selective detection of surface oxygen species is also compared to conventional NMR with surface selective isotopic-labeling: the optimal method depends on the feasibility of enrichment and the concentration of protons in the sample. These results provide new insight into the interfacial structure of hydrated oxide nanostructures, which is important to improve performance for various applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Two-temperature warm dense hydrogen as a test of quantum protons driven by orbital-free density functional theory electronic forces

We consider a steady-state (but transient) situation in which a warm dense aggregate is a two-temperature system with equilibrium electrons at temperature Te, ions at Ti, and Te ≠ Ti. Such states are achievable by pump–probe experiments. For warm dense hydrogen in such a two-temperature situation, we investigate nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) on structure and thermodynamic properties, thereby delineating the limitations of ordinary ab initio molecular dynamics. We use path integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) simulations driven by orbital-free density functional theory (OFDFT) calculations with state-of-the-art noninteracting free-energy and exchange-correlation functionals for the explicit temperature dependence. We calibrate the OFDFT calculations against conventional (explicit orbitals) Kohn–Sham DFT. We find that when the ratio of the ionic thermal de Broglie wavelength to the mean interionic distance is larger than about 0.30, the ionic radial distribution function is meaningfully affected by the inclusion of NQEs. Moreover, NQEs induce a substantial increase in both the ionic and electronic pressures. This confirms the importance of NQEs for highly accurate equation-of-state data on highly driven hydrogen. For Te > 20 kK, increasing Te in the warm dense hydrogen has slight effects on the ionic radial distribution function and equation of state in the range of densities considered. In addition, we confirm that compared with thermostatted ring-polymer molecular dynamics, the primitive PIMD algorithm overestimates electronic pressures, a consequence of the overly localized ionic description from the primitive scheme.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2026

Atomic Evolution of Hydrogen Intercalation Wave Dynamics in Palladium Nanocrystals Revealed by Liquid-Phase Transmission Electron Microscopy

Solute-intercalation-induced phase separation creates spatial heterogeneities in host materials, a phenomenon ubiquitous in batteries, hydrogen storage, and other energy devices. Despite many efforts, probing intercalation processes at the atomic scale has been a significant challenge. By utilizing liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we study hydrogen (de)intercalation in palladium nanocrystals as a model system and have achieved unprecedented atomic-resolution imaging of hydrogen intercalation wave dynamics. Our observations reveal that intercalation wave mechanisms, instead of shrinking-core mechanisms, prevail at ambient temperature for palladium nanocubes ranging from ∼60 nm down to ∼10 nm. Systematic image analysis uncovers the atomic evolution of the hydrogen intercalation wave, transitioning from nonplanar and inclined boundaries to those closely aligned with {100} planes. Our kinetic Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the observed intercalation wave dynamics correspond to sorption pathways minimizing the lattice mismatch strain at the phase boundary. In conclusion, unveiling the atomic intercalation pathways holds profound implications for engineering intercalation-mediated devices and advancements in energy sciences.

Lee, Daewon [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-temperature structure, elasticity, and thermal expansion of ε-ZrH 1.8

Zirconium hydride is a promising candidate material for nuclear microreactor applications as a solid-state moderator component, owing to its favorable neutronics properties and good thermal stability over other metal hydrides. Here, in the present work, the crystal structure, thermal expansion, and elastic properties of the hydrogen-rich ε phase hydride were measured at elevated temperatures in the range 300–900 K. Samples were prepared by direct hydriding Zircaloy-4 metal – a nuclear-grade zirconium alloy. Room-temperature lattice parameters agree well with those reported from literature for unalloyed zirconium hydride and fall within an observed quadratic H-content dependence. The coefficients of thermal expansion, determined from lattice expansion and dilatometry, agree well within our work but were about 30 % lower than those reported by others for unalloyed hydrides. Density functional theory-based molecular dynamics simulations were used to compare with thermal expansion and elasticity measurements. Results showed lattice parameter temperature dependence and slope of thermal expansion align with those from measurements. Based on diffraction scans at select temperatures, ε phase remained stable in air up to at least 770 K. Likewise, dilatometry showed smooth thermal expansion up to the thermal decomposition temperature around 950 K. The precise decomposition temperature was not determined via diffraction due to sparse scanning. The complete elastic property measurements were gathered for ε-phase Ziracloy-4 hydride for the first time. Young's modulus was lower compared to the metal and δ hydride phases. High-temperature elasticity measurements were limited to <350 K due to acoustic dissipation effects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Large-scale computational polymer solubility predictions and applications to dissolution-based plastic recycling

Dissolution-based plastic recycling is a promising approach to separate and recover high quality pure polymer resins from multicomponent plastic waste by exploiting differences in polymer solubility. The design of a dissolution-based polymer recycling process requires the selection of appropriate solvent systems and operating temperatures to dissolve only target polymers. Determining these parameters experimentally is challenging due to the wide range of solvents and temperatures possible for a given set of target polymers. In this work, we report a computational scheme that employs molecular dynamics simulations and the Conductor-like Screening Model for Realistic Solvents to predict polymer solubilities. Using this scheme, we established a computational solubility database for 8 common polymers and 1007 solvents at multiple temperatures and measured selected solubilities experimentally to validate computational predictions. Analysis of functional groups within this large database then provides chemical heuristics relating the molecular structures of good and non-solvents for selected polymers. We further developed a tool that automates the selection of solvents for all possible sequences in which target polymers can be selectively dissolved to guide the design of dissolution-based plastic recycling processes. Here, we demonstrate the application of these methods via multiple experimental case studies of representative dissolution-based polymer recycling processes in which pure polymer resins were successfully recovered from physical mixtures of polymers.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Comparison of time-resolved photoluminescence and deep-level transient spectroscopy defect evaluations in an InAs nBn detector subjected to in situ and ex situ 63 MeV proton irradiation

Deep-level transient spectroscopy and temperature-dependent time-resolved photoluminescence experiments are performed on identical InAs nBn photodetector structures as a function of in situ and ex situ 63 MeV proton irradiation to assess their generation and recombination dynamics. Pre-irradiation, the n-type InAs absorbing region, exhibits a steadily increasing minority carrier lifetime with increasing temperature, providing evidence that excited minority carriers may be recombining via shallow defect levels. From deep-level transient spectroscopy, two features are found between 10 and 275 K: a low temperature broad “shoulder,” which suggests emission from multiple shallow electron defect levels with energies <29 meV and a high temperature minimum occurring at ∼230 K with an activation energy of 539 meV, which suggests a defect in the barrier layer in the device. Two similar nBn detectors are then subjected to 63 MeV proton irradiation in step doses and measured between steps. One experiment is performed in situ with an nBn held at ∼10 K during dosing, and the other experiment is performed ex situ with a similar nBn held at room temperature for dosing. The ex situ dosing results in an evaluation of the defect introduction rate that is three to four times lower than in situ due to partial annealing of the proton-induced displacement damage at room temperature. The results of these two experiments are then compared with the dose-dependent recombination rate analysis, resulting in an estimated recombination defect cross section of 1.6 × 10 −13 cm 2 for the shallow shoulder defect.

Carrasco, Rigo A. [Air Force Research Laboratory (↗
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetostrictive Ultrasonic Waveguide Transducer for In-Pile Thermometry

Real-time and reliable temperature measurement on nuclear fuels is crucial for the safe operation of existing pressurized-water reactors and future advanced nuclear reactors. Magnetostrictive materials deform when subjected to a magnetic field or exhibit magnetization variation when stressed. Here, based on these properties, this study prototyped an ultrasonic thermometer (UT) consisting of a magnetostrictive waveguide, a dc coil providing appropriate magnetic biasing, and an ac coil generating an acoustic impulse and detecting the resulting acoustic echoes. By tracking the time of flight between the excitation pulse and the echoes, the UT can potentially detect nuclear fuel cladding temperature from a long distance. In this study, magnetostrictive iron–gallium alloys, or Galfenol, were selected as the waveguide due to their large magnetostriction, superior temperature survivability, excellent radiation resilience, and high mechanical robustness. A multiphysics finite-element model considering electrical, magnetic, and mechanical dynamics in the magnetostrictive UT was then developed. The model exhibited an error of 0.24% in time-of-flight simulation and, therefore, enabled computer-aided design and guided signal processing. Between room temperature and 120 °C, the new Galfenol-based UT exhibits a linear sensitivity of 162.8×10 ₋6 °C ₋1 , which is 51.7% higher than a previous magnetostrictive UT based on iron–cobalt–vanadium alloys.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗