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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 1,603 records · Page 89

A kinetic study of fusion burn waves in compressed deuterium–tritium and proton–boron plasmas

We present particle-in-cell simulations with Monte Carlo collisions of fusion burn waves in compressed deuterium–tritium and proton–boron plasmas. We study the energy balance in the one-dimensional expansion of a hot-spot by simulating Coulomb collisions, fusion reactions, and bremsstrahlung emission with a Monte Carlo model and inverse bremsstrahlung absorption using a new PIC model. This allows us to self-consistently capture the alpha particle heating and radiative losses in the expanding hot-spot and surrounding cold fuel. After verifying our model in a code-to-code comparison with both kinetic and fluid codes for the case of a deuterium–tritium hot-spot, we simulate the expansion of a proton–boron hot-spot initialized at 200 keV and 1,000 g/cm 3 . Our model predicts that energy radiated by the hot-spot is recaptured by the surrounding high-density opaque fuel reducing the expansion work done by the propagating burn wave. As a result, we find the net fusion energy produced over the course of $20$~ps is twice the initial hot-spot energy independent of whether radiation physics is included.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Proton Decay of 21 Na for 20 Ne Energy Levels

The 24 Mg(p,α) 21 Na transfer reaction has been previously studied for a spectroscopic study of 21 Na. In this follow-up analysis, the proton decays of the excited states of the radionuclide 21 Na, which were measured simultaneously, are reported. By investigating the coincidence between the reaction α-particles and decay protons, we were able to identify three groups of events that are associated with the energy levels in 20 Ne. The 20 Ne excitation energy plot was obtained as a result. Here, the four lowest known energy levels in 20 Ne (the ground state and excited states at E x = 1.633, 4.247 and 4.966 MeV) were clearly observed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

The Lewis proton shielding code

Fortran IV computer program for calculation of primary proton and secondary proton and neutron particle spectra and dose behind multilayer radiation shielding

RADIATION SHIELDING↗

Quantification of rat retinal growth and vascular population changes after single and split doses of proton irradiation: translational study using stereology methods

This study quantified architectural and population changes in the rat retinal vasculature after proton irradiation using stereology. A 100 MeV conformal proton beam delivered 8, 14, 20 and 28 Gy as single and split doses to the whole eye. The vascular networks were prepared from retinal digests. Stereological methods were used to obtain the area of the retina and unbiased estimates of microvessel/artery/vein endothelial, pericyte and smooth muscle population, and vessel length. The retinal area increased progressively in the unirradiated, age-matched controls and in the retinas irradiated with 8 and 14 Gy, indicating uniform progressive retinal growth. No growth occurred after 20 and 28 Gy. Regression analysis of total endothelial cell number in all vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) after irradiation documented a progressive time- and dose-dependent cell loss occurring over 15 to 24 months. The difference from controls was significant (P<0.01) after 28 Gy given in single and split doses and after 20 Gy given as a split dose (P<0.05). Total vessel length in microvessel was significantly shortened at 20 and 28 Gy compared to that of controls (P<0.05). No evident dose recovery was observed in the endothelial populations after split doses. At 10 Gy, the rate of endothelial cell loss, a dose parameter used to characterize the time- and dose-dependent loss of the endothelial population, was doubled.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗

Survival of bacterial isolates exposed to simulated Jovian trapped radiation belt electrons and solar wind protons

With missions to Jupiter, the spacecraft will be exposed for extended durations to solar wind radiation and the Jovian trapped radiation belt. This study is designed to determine the effect of these radiation environments on spacecraft bacterial isolates. The information can be used in the probability of contamination analysis for these missions. A bacterial subpopulation from Mariner Mars 1971 spacecraft (nine spore-forming and three non-spore-forming isolates) plus two comparative organisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 17917 and a strain of Bacillus subtilis var. niger, were exposed to 2, 12, and 25 MeV electrons at different doses with simultaneous exposure to a vacuum of 1.3 x 10(-4) N m-2 at 20 and -20 degrees C. The radioresistance of the subpopulation was dependent on the isolate, dose and energy of electrons. Temperature affected the radioresistance of only the spore-forming isolates. Survival data indicated that spores were reduced approximately 1 log/1500 J kg-1 (10 J kg-1=1 krad), while non-spore-forming isolates (micrococci) were reduced 1.5-2 logs/1500 J kg-1 with the exception of an apparent radioresistant isolate whose resistance approached that of the spores. The subpopulation was found to be less resistant to lower energy than to higher energy electrons. The bacterial isolates were exposed to 3 keV protons under the same conditions as the electrons with a total fluence of 1.5 x 10(13) p cm-2 and a dose rate of 8.6 x 10(9) p cm-2 s-1. The results showed that only 20% of S. epidermidis and 45% of B. subtilis populations survived exposure to the 3 keV protons, while the mean survival of the spacecraft subpopulation was 45% with a range from 31.8% (non-spore-former) to 64.8% (non-spore-former). No significant difference existed between spore-forming and non-spore-forming isolates.

Electrons↗