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At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

An ion specific continuum model on ionic surfactant's binary phase diagram in aqueous solution

Here, a continuum aggregation model is proposed to account for specific ion effects, enabling accurate phase diagrams calculations for the micellar, cylindrical and lamellar aggregates of sodium/potassium carboxylate surfactants in aqueous solution across a range of temperatures. Three groups of concentrations at distinctive temperatures are fitted to build empirical temperature dependence given the limited availability of relevant experimental measurements. The specific ion effects are manifested in the aggregates' surface tension as well as in the distributions of counter-ions' concentrations in the vicinity of the aggregates. The aggregates' geometric sizes are well-reproduced. The differential evolution algorithm is applied to address boundary conditions of the electrostatic potential, aggregate size optimization as well as the equilibrium of monomers transferring between the aggregate and aqueous region.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1971

Noise analysis of nucleate boiling

The techniques of noise analysis have been utilized to investigate nucleate pool boiling. A simple experimental setup has been developed for obtaining the power spectrum of a nucleate boiling system. These techniques were first used to study single bubbles, and a method of relating the two-dimensional projected size and the local velocity of the bubbles to the auto-correlation functions is presented. This method is much less time consuming than conventional methods of measurement and has no probes to disturb the system. These techniques can be used to determine the contribution of evaporation to total heat flux in nucleate boiling. Also, these techniques can be used to investigate the effect of various parameters upon the frequency response of nucleate boiling. The predominant frequencies of the power spectrum correspond to the frequencies of bubble generation. The effects of heat input, degree of subcooling, and liquid surface tension upon the power spectra of a boiling system are presented. It was found that the degree of subcooling has a more pronounced effect upon bubble size than does heat flux. Also the effect of lowering surface tension can be sufficient to reduce the effect of the degree of subcooling upon the size of the bubbles.

Mcknight, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Scientific results from the materials processing in space program

Scientific experiments conducted in a low-gravity environment make it possible to study effects, such as surface tension-driven flows, which are often masked by buoyancy-driven flows. A summary is provided of several early experiments which demonstrate that unwanted convective flows can be effectively suppressed in experiments conducted in orbiting spacecraft. Possible applications of low-G processing are discussed, taking into account Bridgman growth of solid solution alloy-type semiconductors, Bridgman growth of eutectic systems, and float-zone crystal growth. The control of macrosegregation and phase separation in castings is considered, giving attention also to containerless melting and solidification. A description of experiment facilities and opportunities is provided.

Naumann, R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental measurement of the effective contact angle for solvent/packing interactions in a structured packed column for CO 2 capture

The contact angle is a critical factor for determining the effective mass transfer area for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture via the chemical absorption process in a packed column, and thus the overall capture efficiency of the packed column. Many widely used commercial packings involve microscale features (perforation, corrugation, etc.) that may also affect the wetting behavior. This study proposes a systematic method of using a modified Wilhelmy plate to measure the effective contact angle to characterize the solvent and featured packing interaction. In lieu of computational efforts relying on assumptions guided by semi-informed correlation, the proposed method directly measures the effective contact angle as a function of the solvent and packing thermophysical and hydrodynamic properties. The characterization of the effective contact angle is then integrated in the computational fluid dynamics modeling to reduce uncertainty in the prediction of effective mas transfer area. Experiments were conducted for stainless steel coupons using water and aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solvent for verification of the proposed experimental protocol. The surface tension of the aqueous NaOH solvent was altered using surfactant and antifoam. The effective contact angle increases with the increased value of the surface tension for flat stainless steel sheets. On the other hand, effective contact angles do not vary in Mellapak coupons for aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) and NaOH solvent. In this case, surface textures and sheet design play a dominant role in the surface tension of solvents. Furthermore, CO 2 loading has a significant effect on the contact angle for Mellapak coupons. As expected, the contact angle decreases with the increasing temperature of CO 2 capture solvents (MEA, EEMPA). The effective contact angle measurement using the Wilhelmy plate method can provide more accurate and efficient solvents for characterizing the solvent-packing surface interactions. Subsequently, the present method enhances the accuracy of the prediction of the effective mass transfer area in carbon capture by solvent absorption.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2003

Melt-Crucible Wetting Behavior in Semiconductor Melt Growth Systems

The wetting angles of several semiconductor-substrate combinations that are of practical importance for crystal growth have been measured: Ga-GaSb-Sb on fused quartz; Ge on fused quartz and carbon-based substrates, each with different roughness; Si on fused quartz plates and on plates coated with fused quartz, Si3N4, and BN powders. The Ga-GaSb-Sb system showed no significant dependence of the wetting angle on the composition despite a large composition dependence of the surface tension. For Ge, the effect of the roughness on the angle could initially be seen on both types of substrates, but for the fused quartz substrates an equilibrium value independent of the surface treatment was reached after several hours of contact time. For Si, total wetting was found for Si3N4 powders. A reduction of the angle over time was found for both fused quartz and BN powders, with the BN powder showing the highest angle at 150-120 deg.

Croell, A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Convection in a two-layer fluid system

Experimental results are presented, and preliminary computations are performed on a system of two immiscible liquid layers with a temperature gradient applied parallel to the interface. The experiments reflect the combined contribution of buoyancy and surface-tension-induced (Marangoni) convection. It is concluded that buoyancy effects appear to be dominant and mask any surface-tension-induced convection present. Numerical computations show significant modification of pure buoyant convection by surface-tension gradients. The results are of interest in connection with the liquid encapsulation of GaAs melts in a microgravity environment.

Prakash, A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Impurity Extraction by Droplets

The goals are to model and to measure the phase equilibrium properties of a finely divided fluid containing a large number of chemically similar species. The objective is to develop an accurate, usable model for such phenomena as pollutant extraction of rain clouds, industrial separation in spray towers, and separation in emulsions. The project was designed as a hierarchy of complementary theoretical and experimental steps. A theory was developed to describe the segregation of complex impurities at the interface of a solvent. This phenomenon is important in phase behavior when a large fraction of molecules in a material are near an interface, the situation in a finely divided material. The theory will be modified to account for the effect of surface curvature on the surface tension. The study of mixtures differs from pure fluids not only because of the surface effects but also because composition differences between the droplet and the surrounding vapor can stabilize a droplet with respect to a bulk phase.

Morrison, G.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Analysis of Skylab IV fluid mechanic science demonstration

Several science demonstrations performed on Skylab III and IV were concerned with the behavior of fluid drops free floating in microgravity. These demonstrations, with large liquid drops, included the oscillation, rotation, impact and coalescence, and air injection into the drops. Rayleigh's analysis of the oscillation of spherical drops of a liquid predicts accurately the effect of size and surface tension on the frequency of vibrated water globules in the Skylab demonstration. However, damping occurred much faster than predicted by Lamb's or Scriven's analyses of the damping time for spherical drops. The impact demonstrations indicated that a minimum velocity is necessary to overcome surface forces and effect a coalescence, but a precise criterion for the coalescence of liquids in low g could not be determined.

Klett, M. G.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Two-phase flow numerical analysis of electrode geometry for alkaline water electrolyzers

Hydrogen is a promising component of a future energy-secure and efficient economy, but its competitiveness depends on reducing production costs. One strategy is to operate alkaline water electrolyzers at higher current densities to increase output. However, this intensifies performance losses due to gas bubble accumulation, which blocks transport pathways and deactivates electrochemically active surfaces. Enhancing bubble evacuation through electrode design is therefore essential. Previous studies have explored various approaches — such as modifying surface morphology, applying sonication or pressure modulation, and introducing surfactants — but these efforts have addressed a limited range of conditions due to the complexity of two-phase flow and electrode geometries. Experiments have also largely been focused on either cell level improvements, which lack the information necessary to isolate each contributing factor, or on modified geometries that are not relevant to practical cell operation. From a modeling perspective, conventional Eulerian multiphase models do not track the complex gas–liquid interfacial dynamics and often neglect surface tension and contact angle effects, reducing their predictive accuracy. To provide insights on the effects of different electrode geometries on the performance of alklaine water electrolyzers this work employs an immersed boundary volume-of-fluid method to simulate bubble behavior in 3D porous electrodes. Multiple base electrode geometries, typically used in practice, with varying porosity are evaluated under a constant surface gas generation rate. Simulation data is analyzed to quantify electrode gas coverage, bubble size dynamics and other relevant metrics. Results show that porosity strongly influences bubble accumulation on electrode surfaces, with higher porosity reducing gas coverage, and its not strictly dependent on the electrode geometry. However, the electrode’s base geometry significantly affects gas accumulation at the separator gap, independent of porosity. A foam electrode geometry resulted in the lowest gas coverage of all electrodes with a median volumetric gas coverage of 11%, but at the cost of a 70% reduction in active area compared with the largest surface area electrode, while gyroid electrodes showed the best trade-off between gas coverage, particularly at the separator surface, and electrochemically active area. In conclusion, the results highlight the need for holistic electrode design strategies.

Alkaline↗
NASA NTRS2002

Marangoni Effects of a Drop in an Extensional Flow: The Role of Surfactant Physical Chemistry

While the changes in stresses caused by surfactant adsorption on non-deforming interfaces have been fairly well established, prior to this work, there were few studies addressing how surfactants alter stresses on strongly deforming interfaces. We chose the model problem of a drop in a uniaxial extensional flow to study these stress conditions To model surfactant effects at fluid interfaces, a proper description of the dependence of the surface tension on surface concentration, the surface equation of state, is required. We have adopted a surface equation of state that accounts for the maximum coverage limit; that is, because surfactants have a finite cross sectional area, there is an upper bound to the amount of surfactant that can adsorb in a monolayer. The surface tension reduces strongly only when this maximum coverage is approached. Since the Marangoni stresses go as the derivative of the surface equation of state times the surface concentration gradient, the non-linear equation of state determines both the effect of surfactants in the normal stress jump, (which is balanced by the product of the mean curvature of the interface times the surface tension), and the tangential stress jump, which is balanced by Marangoni stresses. First, the effects of surface coverage and intermolecular interactions among surfactants which drive aggregation of surfactants in the interface were studied. (see Pawar and Stebe, Physics of Fluids).

Stebe, Kathleen J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Modeling of the float zone process

The interaction of heat, mass, and momentum transport in the floating zone method for growing single crystals from the melt is examined. Methods for detailed numerical simulation of the transport phenomena in a floating zone are developed. Results of the calculations are combined with experiments to determine the effects of solidification induced, surface tension driven, and buoyancy driven convection in establishing dopant redistribution in the melt and the roles of heat transfer in crystal and melt and melt/solid interface shape in determining crystal quality. State of the art finite element techniques were developed for calculating the influence of natural convection in the melt on the shape of a melt/crystal interface and dopant segregation in the crystal. These techniques are demonstrated for solidification by the Bridgman technique. Numerical techniques are developed that calculate the shapes of both the melt/solid and melt/gas interfaces simultaneously with the thermal fields in melt and solid. Models for the fluid flows due to the rotation of the feed and crystal rods are completed and the effects of these flows on dopant segregation are studied, especially in the case of zones longer than can be achieved on Earth.

Brown, R. A.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Operando synchrotron X-ray analysis of melt pool dynamics in an Al-Sn immiscible alloy

The melt flow in an Al-50vol.% Sn immiscible alloy, produced by single-track laser melting of Al and Sn elemental powders, was studied in real time. High-speed synchrotron X-ray imaging was used to track Al and Sn liquids’ movements, and also to examine elemental distributions in the laser tracks, complimented by electron microscopy after solidification. Key aspects, including melt pool geometry, keyhole instability, and flow dynamics (flow pattern and velocity), were examined using digital image analysis. Relatively deeper melt pools formed at 400 W and 300 mm/s exhibited greater stability, with smooth surfaces, consistent outward flow, and minor vortices near the keyhole. In contrast, shallower pools produced at higher scanning speeds (>500 mm/s) demonstrated greater instability with increased surface waviness, and stronger velocity fluctuations, leading to numerous micro-vortices and increased Al-Sn heterogeneity. Velocity scale estimations, supported by experimental observations, examined the roles of vapour pressure, Marangoni effect, buoyancy, inertial, and surface tension forces in the flow. The results revealed that vapour pressure and mechanical waves dominated at high scanning speeds (shallow pools), while Marangoni forces were equally significant in deep pools at lower speeds (300 mm/s). Buoyancy was found to have minimal impact in both cases. Furthermore, the interaction between inertial and surface tension forces played a critical role in determining the degree of waviness of the pools’ surfaces. These findings offer valuable insights into melt pool dynamics during laser processing of immiscible alloys and other metallic systems using elemental powders, and provide guidance for developing high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics models.

immiscible alloys↗
NASA NTRS1986

Enclosed Gas and Liquid with Nonuniform Heating from Above

Buoyancy-driven flows of gases above liquids in a common enclosure with nonuniform heating from above are studied via finite-difference solutions of the governing equations. Unsteady solutions are calculated, and steady-state solutions are sought as asymptotes. Grashof numbers between 10 to the 3rd and 10 to the 8th are examined, and multicellular circulatory flow structure is found at the higher Grashof numbers. Convective transport dominates for higher Grashof numbers, while conductive transport is the primary mechanism at the lower Grashof numbers. Surface tension has a major effect upon the gas flow field only at lower Grashof numbers but, since conduction dominates there, it does not significantly affect transport.

Aggarwal, S. K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Liquid acquisition devices for superfluid helium transfer

To transfer superfluid helium (He II) in the milli-g or micro-g environment in orbit, it is necessary to provide a reasonably steady supply of liquid to the inlet of the pump in the supply dewar. To accomplish this without providing an artificial gravity through acceleration requires a liquid acquisition device. Fluid swirl and electrostatic devices have been proposed to orientate the fluid. However, the simplest mechanisms appear to be the use of surface tension or the thermomechanical effect. This paper examines four concepts for providing He II to the inlet of a thermomechanical pump. The devices are a distributed thermomechanical pump, a distributed pump with a main thermomechanical pump, a screened channel system and a vane/sponge combination. Calculations on the efficiency of these types of liquid acquisition devices are made using laboratory data from tests involving small scale devices where applicable. These calculations show that the latter two types of liquid acquisition devices are the most efficient. Questions as to the probability of cavitation and the effect of the residual shuttle acceleration on their operation remain to be answered, however.

Dipirro, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Wind Tunnel Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Transport-type Airfoil in a Simulated Heavy Rain Environment

The effects of simulated heavy rain on the aerodynamic characteristics of an NACA 64-210 airfoil section equipped with leading-and trailing-edge high-lift devices were investigated in the Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel. The model had a chord of 2.5 ft, a span of 8 ft, and was mounted on the tunnel centerline between two large endplates. Aerodynamic measurements in and out of the simulated rain environment were obtained for dynamic pressures of 30 and 50 psf and an angle-of-attack range of 0 to 20 degrees for the cruise configuration. The rain intensity was varied to produce liquid water contents ranging from 16 to 46 gm/cu m. The results obtained for various rain intensity levels and tunnel speeds showed significant losses in maximum lift capability and increases in drag for a given lift as the liquid water content was increased. The results obtained on the landing configuration also indicate a progressive decrease in the angle of attack at which maximum lift occurred and an increase in the slope of the pitching-moment curve as the liquid water content was increased. The sensitivity of test results to the effects of the water surface tension was also investigated. A chemical was introduced into the rain environment that reduced the surface tension of water by a factor of 2. The reduction in the surface tension of water did not significantly alter the level of performance losses for the landing configuration.

Bezos, Gaudy M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A New Theory of Nucleate Pool Boiling in Arbitrary Gravity

Heat transfer rates specific to nucleate pool boiling under various conditions are determined by the dynamics of vapour bubbles that are originated and grow at nucleation sites of a superheated surface. A new dynamic theory of these bubbles has been recently developed on the basis of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. In contrast to other existing models based on empirically postulated equations for bubble growth and motion, this theory does not contain unwarrantable assumptions, and both the equations are rigorously derived within the framework of a unified approach. The conclusions of the theory are drastically different from those of the conventional models. The bubbles are shown to detach themselves under combined action of buoyancy and a surface tension force that is proven to add to buoyancy in bubble detachment, but not the other way round as is commonly presumed. The theory ensures a sound understanding of a number of so far unexplained phenomena, such as effect caused by gravity level and surface tension on the bubble growth rate and dependence of the bubble characteristics at detachment on the liquid thermophysical parameters and relevant temperature differences. The theoretical predictions are shown to be in a satisfactory qualitative and quantitative agreement with observations. When being applied to heat transfer at nucleate pool boiling, this bubble dynamic theory offers an opportunity to considerably improve the main formulae that are generally used to correlate experimental findings and to design boiling heat removal in various industrial applications. Moreover, the theory makes possible to pose and study a great deal of new problems of essential impact in practice. Two such problems are considered in detail. One problem concerns the development of a principally novel physical model for the first crisis of boiling. This model allows for evaluating critical boiling heat fluxes under various conditions, and in particular at different gravity levels, with a good agreement with experimental evidence. The other problem bears upon equilibrium shapes of a detached bubble near a heated surface in exceedingly low gravity. In low gravity or in weightlessness, the bubble can remain in the close vicinity of the surface for a long time, and its shape is greatly affected by the Marangoni effect due to both temperature and possible surfactant concentration being nonuniform along the interface. The bubble performs at these conditions like a heat pipe, with evaporation at the bubble lower boundary and condensation at its upper boundary, and ultimately ensures a substantial increase in heat removal as compared with that in normal gravity. Some other problems relevant to nucleate pool and forced convection boiling heat transfer are also discussed.

Buyevich, Y. A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Investigation of Body Force Effects on Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux

The bubble coalescence and interfacial instabilities that are important to modeling critical heat flux (CHF) in reduced-gravity systems can be sensitive to even minute body forces. Understanding these complex phenomena is vital to the design and safe implementation of two-phase thermal management loops proposed for space and planetary-based thermal systems. While reduced gravity conditions cannot be accurately simulated in 1g ground-based experiments, such experiments can help isolate the effects of the various forces (body force, surface tension force and inertia) which influence flow boiling CHF. In this project, the effects of the component of body force perpendicular to a heated wall were examined by conducting 1g flow boiling experiments at different orientations. FC-72 liquid was boiled along one wall of a transparent rectangular flow channel that permitted photographic study of the vapor-liquid interface at conditions approaching CHF. High-speed video imaging was employed to capture dominant CHF mechanisms. Six different CHF regimes were identified: Wavy Vapor Layer, Pool Boiling, Stratification, Vapor Counterflow, Vapor Stagnation, and Separated Concurrent Vapor Flow. CHF showed great sensitivity to orientation for flow velocities below 0.2 m/s, where very small CHF values where measured, especially with downflow and downward-facing heated wall orientations. High flow velocities dampened the effects of orientation considerably. Figure I shows representative images for the different CHF regimes. The Wavy Vapor Layer regime was dominant for all high velocities and most orientations, while all other regimes were encountered at low velocities, in the downflow and/or downward-facing heated wall orientations. The Interfacial Lift-off model was modified to predict the effects of orientation on CHF for the dominant Wavy Vapor Layer regime. The photographic study captured a fairly continuous wavy vapor layer travelling along the heated wall while permitting liquid contact only in wetting fronts, located in the troughs of the interfacial waves. CHF commenced when wetting fronts near the outlet were lifted off the wall. The Interfacial Lift-off model is shown to be an effective tool for predicting the effects of body force on CHF at high velocities.

Zhang, Hui↗