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At least 163 records · Page 9

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NASA NTRS1976

Numerical modeling of pollutant transport using a Lagrangian marker particle technique

A derivation and code were developed for the three-dimensional mass transport equation, using a particle-in-cell solution technique, to solve coastal zone waste discharge problems where particles are a major component of the waste. Improvements in the particle movement techniques are suggested and typical examples illustrated. Preliminary model comparisons with analytic solutions for an instantaneous point release in a uniform flow show good results in resolving the waste motion. The findings to date indicate that this computational model will provide a useful technique to study the motion of sediment, dredged spoils, and other particulate waste commonly deposited in coastal waters.

Spaulding, M.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Rationalizing nitrogen-doped secondary carbon particles for practical lithium-sulfur batteries

Nanostructured carbon host materials are widely used to improve both sulfur utilization rate and reaction kinetics in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, high complexity/cost of materials synthesis and difficulty in processing nano-materials into high-mass-loading electrodes are still significant barriers to the development of low-cost and high-energy Li-S batteries. In this study, we reported a generic and scalable synthesis approach to prepare nitrogen-doped secondary carbon particles. By using nitrogen-containing precursor as an integration reagent, the nanosized Ketjen Black particles were integrated into micron-size secondary ones and nitrogen-doped (NKB) simultaneously through a one-step heat treatment. With NKB as an example material, the effects of particle integration degree on the secondary particles’ structures, pore volume and connectivity, sulfur loading capability, and cell performance were studied and discussed. At an optimal integration condition, the NKB particles had significantly improved particle dimensions with well-maintained high specific surface area and pore volume. Here, contributed by the micron size and high pore volume, the NKB/S were successfully used for high-sulfur-loading cathodes (4–7 mg s /cm -2 ) and were able to deliver a specific capacity of ~1100 mAh g -1 at a low-porosity (50%) and lean-electrolyte conditions (E/S =4 µL/mg -1 ). Feasibility of the materials for practical use was validated through scaling up synthesis (40 g/batch), large-area electrode coating, and practical pouch cell (1.6 Ah) assembly and test.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

NASA NTRS2000

Fast Particle Methods for Multiscale Phenomena Simulations

We are developing particle methods oriented at improving computational modeling capabilities of multiscale physical phenomena in : (i) high Reynolds number unsteady vortical flows, (ii) particle laden and interfacial flows, (iii)molecular dynamics studies of nanoscale droplets and studies of the structure, functions, and evolution of the earliest living cell. The unifying computational approach involves particle methods implemented in parallel computer architectures. The inherent adaptivity, robustness and efficiency of particle methods makes them a multidisciplinary computational tool capable of bridging the gap of micro-scale and continuum flow simulations. Using efficient tree data structures, multipole expansion algorithms, and improved particle-grid interpolation, particle methods allow for simulations using millions of computational elements, making possible the resolution of a wide range of length and time scales of these important physical phenomena.The current challenges in these simulations are in : [i] the proper formulation of particle methods in the molecular and continuous level for the discretization of the governing equations [ii] the resolution of the wide range of time and length scales governing the phenomena under investigation. [iii] the minimization of numerical artifacts that may interfere with the physics of the systems under consideration. [iv] the parallelization of processes such as tree traversal and grid-particle interpolations We are conducting simulations using vortex methods, molecular dynamics and smooth particle hydrodynamics, exploiting their unifying concepts such as : the solution of the N-body problem in parallel computers, highly accurate particle-particle and grid-particle interpolations, parallel FFT's and the formulation of processes such as diffusion in the context of particle methods. This approach enables us to transcend among seemingly unrelated areas of research.

Koumoutsakos, P.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Hybrid Particle Swarm-Interpolation Algorithm for Improved Critical Experiment Design

The typical goal of designing a critical experiment is twofold: a system that is both critical and optimized for some other value. This value could be an energy-integrated sensitivity, percent fissions in a certain energy range, or some other value that can be calculated by a transport code. By simulating different combinations of reflector, moderator, and fuel thicknesses a designer can identify such a desirable configuration. The domain of all possible combinations of these thicknesses is referred to as the experiment search space. As more dimensions are added, the search space increases in size exponentially. For a three-dimensional case, which includes three thickness values between zero and ten centimeters to the nearest tenth of a millimeter, a total of 1,000 3 , configurations exists. Rather than check each configuration individually, which would be extremely computationally expensive, it has been shown to be more efficient to use a conventional particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to identify critical and optimal configurations. This work presents the theory and implementation of a novel hybrid PSO interpolation algorithm to perform these optimizations faster than a conventional PSO algorithm. To demonstrate this, an example optimization will be carried out by the conventional and hybrid PSO algorithms and their performances will be compared.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of the Predictive Simulation Capability Element of the Plume Surface Interaction Project

As part of the Game Changing Development (GCD) Program, funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), the development of simulation capability for the prediction of extra-terrestrial Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) environments has been undertaken by the Fluid Dynamics Branch at NASA/MSFC. The GCD PSI Project, planned to be completed over a four year period, contains a Predictive Simulation Capability (PSC) Element focused on creating simulation capability for the reliable and accurate prediction of PSI in Martian (~650 Pa) and Lunar (vacuum) ambient environments. In addition to the PSC Element, the GCD Program also contains a companion Ground Testing Element for development of focused datasets for validation of predictive capability as well as a Flight-focused Instrumentation Element. This paper describes the PSC Element of the PSI Project as well as providing descriptions of recent accomplishments and remaining work. The overall structure of the PSC Element is broken down into four areas of focus. The first area is the Prediction of Plume Flow in low pressure environments. The development approach taken is the augmentation of the existing production-mode computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool Loci/Chem, with targeted extensions necessary to accurately model rarefied conditions found in both Martian and Lunar applications. Production readiness and validation of predictive capability are the major objectives of this task. The second area is the effect of mixed continuum/rarefied flow on crater development and ejecta sheets. A new CFD application, Loci/GGFS (Gas Granular Flow Solver), is being developed which implements an Eulerian/Eulerian two-phase model of gas- and soil-phases in order to simulate the soil erosion, crater formation, and soil ejecta transport in a fully coupled simulation. This task seeks to verify Loci/GGFS is production-ready as well as perform validation studies to determine the degree of predictive capability achieved by Loci/GGFS. The third area is focused on the details and extension of particle phase modeling of soil. In this task, Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) techniques are used to perform direct simulations of complex soil particles under the action of forcing similar to that to be cause by PSI. The simulation results are then used to construct closures to the Eulerian model of the soil phase used by Loci/GGFS. The fourth area is gas-particle interaction modeling. In this task, experiments are being conducted as well as detailed simulation results are being studied to further understand the complexities of gas-particle interactions in dilute, intermediate, and high soil volume fraction regimes. Improved models of particle drag and the particle turbulent kinetic energy (PTKE) resulting from the interaction of gas flows within particle clouds are the objective of this task.

Jeff West↗

NASA NTRS1974

Improved dispensing targets for ion beam particle generators

Beam impinges on palladium-silver tube, which is target, and heats impinged surface causing local hot spot. Contained gas diffuses through hot spot to meet incoming beam and produce desired particles. When beam is turned off, target spot cools and stops dispensing contained gas.

Miller, C. G.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Mie forward scattering - Improved semiempirical approximation with application to particle size distribution inversion

The approximation of Penndorf (1962) and Shifrin-Punina (1968) to the Mie solution at forward scattering angles are extended to small size parameters. The proposed semiempirical approximation accurately represents the Mie results down to x = 0.5-1 for refractive index m = 1.33, and to x = 2.0 for larger index values. The implications of the result for the inversion of particle size distribution from single scattering data in the forward direction are discussed.

Fymat, A. L.↗

DOE OSTI2026

Arctic Black Carbon Aerosol Deposition Study North Slope of Alaska 2020- ACSM Measurements

Particles are removed from the atmosphere through both wet and dry deposition. These processes are poorly understood, though they constitute important uncertainties in climate and air quality models. This project aims to use observational constraints on particle fluxes to improve model representations of dry deposition. In support of black carbon (SP2) and particles (UHSAS) flux measurements at the meteorological tower, we measured non-refractory chemically-speciated aerosol composition with an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor at the the NSA Central Facility (C1). ACSM measurements were made between 9 Sept and 26 Oct 2021. This site is a coastal tundra location, and received snow during the project.

Chl_ACSM↗

DOE OSTI2026

Arctic Black Carbon Aerosol Deposition Study North Slope of Alaska 2020- ACSM Measurements

Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor↗

NASA NTRS2001

HZETRN: neutron and proton production in quasi-elastic scattering of GCR heavy-ions

The development of transport models for radiation shielding design and evaluation has provided a series of deterministic computer codes that describe galactic cosmic radiation (GCR), solar particle events, and experimental beams at particle accelerators. These codes continue to be modified to accommodate new theory and improvements to the particle interaction database (Cucinotta et al., 1994, NASA Technical Paper 3472, US Government Printing Office, Washington DC). The solution employed by the heavy-ion transport code HZETRN was derived with the assumption that nuclear fragments are emitted with the same velocity as the incident ion through velocity conserving nuclear interactions. This paper presents a version of the HZETRN transport code that provides a more realistic distribution of the energy of protons and neutrons emitted from GCR interactions in shields. This study shows that the expected GCR dose equivalent is lower than previously calculated for water shields that are less than 110 g cm-2 thick. Calculations of neutron energy spectra in low Earth orbit indicate substantial contributions from relativistic neutrons. c2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reseved.

NASA Center LaRC↗

DOE OSTI2022

Optimization of quasi-symmetric stellarators with self-consistent bootstrap current and energetic particle confinement

Quasi-symmetry can greatly improve the confinement of energetic particles and thermal plasma in a stellarator. The magnetic field of a quasi-symmetric stellarator at high plasma pressure is significantly affected by the bootstrap current, but the computational cost of accurate stellarator bootstrap calculations has precluded use inside optimization. Here, a new efficient method is demonstrated for optimization of quasi-symmetric stellarator configurations such that the bootstrap current profile is consistent with the geometry. The approach is based on the fact that all neoclassical phenomena in quasi-symmetry are isomorphic to those in axisymmetry. Therefore, accurate formulas for the bootstrap current in tokamaks, which can be evaluated rapidly, can be applied also in stellarators. The deviation between this predicted parallel current and the actual parallel current in the magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium is penalized in the objective function, and the current profile of the equilibrium is included in the parameter space. Quasi-symmetric configurations with significant pressure are thereby obtained with self-consistent bootstrap current and excellent confinement. In a comparison of fusion-produced alpha particle confinement across many stellarators, the new configurations have significantly lower alpha energy losses than many previous designs.

Landreman, M. (ORCID:000000027233577X)↗

DOE OSTI2022

Efficient high-fidelity TRISO statistical failure analysis using Bison: Applications to AGR-2 irradiation testing

The ability of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel to contain fission products is largely dictated by the quality of the manufacturing process, since most of the fission product release is expected to occur due to coating layer failure in a small number of particles containing defects. The Bison fuel performance code has capabilities to predict failure in individual particles, accounting for the presence of defects, and to apply statistical analysis methods to compute the probability of failure in a set of fuel particles. Bison has recently undergone significant development both to improve its physical representations of fuel particle behavior and to improve the efficiency of its statistical failure calculations. Physical model improvements include new capabilities to account for the pressure generated by fission gases on inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) crack surfaces and to use local material coordinate orientation to accurately incorporate the anisotropy in the material properties in aspherical particles. To improve statistical modeling efficiency, a direct integration approach which involves directly integrating the failure probability function associated with statistically varying parameters has been developed. The direct integration approach is much more efficient than the Monte Carlo (MC) schemes commonly employed, and allows Bison to directly run high-dimensional fuel performance models, which improves the accuracy of failure probability calculations. Finally, a set of benchmark problems is considered here to compare the MC and direct integration approaches, and a statistical failure analysis of compacts in the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR)-2 experiments is performed using the direct integration approach.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Targeted Alpha Particle Therapy Remodels the Tumor Microenvironment and Improves Efficacy of Immunotherapy

The tumor microenvironment (TME) can severely impair immunotherapy efficacy by repressing the immune system. In a multiple myeloma (MM) murine model, we investigated the impact of targeted alpha particle therapy (TAT) on the immune TME. TAT was combined with an adoptive cell transfer of CD8 T cells (ACT), and the mechanisms of action of this combination were assessed at the tumor site.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

NASA NTRS1988

Current models of the intensely ionizing particle environment in space

The Cosmic Ray Effects on MicroElectronics (CREME) model that is currently in use to estimate single event effect rates in spacecraft is described. The CREME model provides a description of the radiation environment in interplanetary space near the orbit of the earth that contains no major deficiencies. The accuracy of the galactic cosmic ray model is limited by the uncertainties in solar modulation. The model for solar energetic particles could be improved by making use of all the data that has been collected on solar energetic particle events. There remain major uncertainties about the environment within the earth's magnetosphere, because of the uncertainties over the charge states of the heavy ions in the anomalous component and solar flares, and because of trapped heavy ions. The present CREME model is valid only at 1 AU, but it could be extended to other parts of the heliosphere. There is considerable data on the radiation environment from 0.2 to 35 AU in the ecliptic plane. This data could be used to extend the CREME model.

Adams, James H., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Intercomparison and Evaluation of Global Aerosol Microphysical Properties Among Aerocom Models of a Range of Complexity

Many of the next generation of global climate models will include aerosol schemes which explicitly simulate the microphysical processes that determine the particle size distribution. These models enable aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations to be determined by fundamental aerosol processes, which should lead to a more physically based simulation of aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcings. This study examines the global variation in particle size distribution simulated by 12 global aerosol microphysics models to quantify model diversity and to identify any common biases against observations. Evaluation against size distribution measurements from a new European network of aerosol supersites shows that the mean model agrees quite well with the observations at many sites on the annual mean, but there are some seasonal biases common to many sites. In particular, at many of these European sites, the accumulation mode number concentration is biased low during winter and Aitken mode concentrations tend to be overestimated in winter and underestimated in summer. At high northern latitudes, the models strongly underpredict Aitken and accumulation particle concentrations compared to the measurements, consistent with previous studies that have highlighted the poor performance of global aerosol models in the Arctic. In the marine boundary layer, the models capture the observed meridional variation in the size distribution, which is dominated by the Aitken mode at high latitudes, with an increasing concentration of accumulation particles with decreasing latitude. Considering vertical profiles, the models reproduce the observed peak in total particle concentrations in the upper troposphere due to new particle formation, although modelled peak concentrations tend to be biased high over Europe. Overall, the multimodel- mean data set simulates the global variation of the particle size distribution with a good degree of skill, suggesting that most of the individual global aerosol microphysics models are performing well, although the large model diversity indicates that some models are in poor agreement with the observations. Further work is required to better constrain size-resolved primary and secondary particle number sources, and an improved understanding of nucleation an growth (e.g. the role of nitrate and secondary organics) will improve the fidelity of simulated particle size distributions.

Cloud physics↗

DOE OSTI2021

Improvements of pre-emptive identification of particle accelerator failures using binary classifiers and dimensionality reduction

In this paper we look at the properties of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) Differential Beam Current Monitor (DCM) data and various methods of data transformation to improve pre-emptive detection of machine trips. In this study, the foundation of the approach is the analysis of new underlying data and understanding various properties with the goal of faster classification, higher precision and higher recall with the aim to reduce false positives as low as required. The result of the research presented in this paper are a binary classifier capable of predicting accelerator failures with millisecond classification time, 96% precision, 58% true positive and 0% false positive rate and optimization techniques enabling real-time implementations.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2025

Arctic Black Carbon Aerosol Deposition Study North Slope of Alaska 2020- UHSAS Measurements

Particles are removed from the atmosphere through both wet and dry deposition. These processes are poorly understood, though they constitute important uncertainties in climate and air quality models. This project aims to use observational constraints on particle fluxes to improve model representations of dry deposition. Within this data set, we measured fluxes of size resolved particles with an ultrahigh sensitivity aerosol spectrometer (UHSAS) at the ARM facility’s North Slope Alaska site. Measurements were made at the meteorological tower between 9 Sept and 25 Oct 2021. This site is a coastal tundra location and received snow during the project.

Aerosol concentration↗

DOE OSTI2025

Thermal Analysis of a Solid Particle Light-Trapping Planar Cavity Receiver Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is one of the most effective ways of harnessing solar power to create efficient, durable, and resilient energy systems. This study entails thermal modeling and analysis of a novel central tower receiver configuration. This receiver uses solid particles as the heat transfer fluid (HTF), a promising option for third-generation CSP systems. The configuration considered here is the light-trapping planar cavity receiver (LTPCR) introduced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. While heat transfer studies of various LTPCR subsystems have been done, system-level thermal analysis of the LTPCR receiver has not been attempted. This study also presents important sensitivity analyses of the operating parameters of the CSP system, which can help guide the design of future central tower receivers. This study employs Ansys Fluent as a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool to model fluid dynamics and heat transfer in the receiver, intending to quantify its thermal performance. The model seamlessly integrates Monte Carlo ray tracing data, which generates absorbed solar flux profiles from the heliostat field design, with the heat transfer characteristics of the fluidized particle bed. This unified model is designed to accurately predict the thermal behavior of the LTPCR. Analysis of preliminary results reveals that the primary loss mechanisms are radiative and natural convective losses, in that order. Based on observations from a baseline case, several strategies are suggested and numerically tested. These solutions include selective cooling of high-temperature regions and manipulation of particle bed parameters. Selective cooling of high-temperature regions reduced the peak temperature by 151 degrees C and decreased thermal losses by 0.9%. Improving the particle-wall heat transfer coefficient (P-W HTC) of the particle bed decreased the thermal losses by 1.7% and decreased the peak temperatures by 57 degrees C. Decreasing the particle inlet temperature (PIT) also reduced thermal losses by 3.5% and decreased peak temperatures by 29 degrees C. Compounding these strategies improved the thermal losses of the receiver from 13.5% in the baseline case to 7.5%. Additionally, the study explores the variation in thermal performance across different locations of the receiver, where a variation of thermal losses from 12.9% to 17.3% is found. This allows a comprehensive evaluation of potential improvements in efficiency and temperature management.

computational fluid dynamics↗