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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The Donnan potential revealed

Selective transport of solutes across a membrane is critical for many biological, water treatment and energy conversion and storage systems. When a charged membrane is equilibrated with an electrolyte, an unequal distribution of ions arises between phases, generating the so-called Donnan electrical potential at the solution/membrane interface. The Donnan potential results in the partial exclusion of co-ion, providing the basis of permselectivity. Although there are well-established ways to indirectly estimate the Donnan potential, it has been widely reported that it cannot be measured directly. Here we report the first direct measurement of the Donnan potential of an ion exchange membrane equilibrated with salt solutions. Our results highlight the dependence of the Donnan potential on external salt concentration and counter-ion valence, and show a reasonable agreement with current theoretical models of IEMs, which incorporate ion activity coefficients. By directly measuring the Donnan potential, we eliminate ambiguities that arise from limitations inherent in current models.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Self-oscillating synchronematic colloids

Self-oscillators that sustain periodic dynamics under constant input are ubiquitous in natural and engineered systems, where their interactions enable spatiotemporal coordination among many individual units. New forms of organization can emerge when these self-oscillating units are free to move and rotate, coupling their spatial arrangement and alignment with their oscillation frequencies and phases. Here, we report experiments and simulations on populations of Quincke colloids that behave as self-oscillating units with position, orientation, frequency, and phase. Depending on the initial distribution, these active oscillators spontaneously organize into distinct collective states characterized by temporal synchronization and directional alignment, which we term synchronematic order. In fluid-like clusters, this order is short-ranged and decays over a length scale set by the competition between hydrodynamic interactions and athermal noise. In crystalline clusters, these interactions drive flobal synchronization and circular alignment-synchronematic crystals-whose collective frequency increases with cluster size due to non-reciprocal interactions. Our results establish self-oscillating colloids as a model system for active oscillatory matter and reveal fundamental principles by which synchronization, alignment, and structure co-emerge, offering new pathways for designing adaptive, frequency-tunable materials.

colloids↗
DOE OSTI2018

Self-Similarity and the Dynamics of Coarsening in Materials

Abstract Two-phase mixtures, from metallic alloys to islands on surfaces, undergo coarsening wherein the total interfacial area of the system decreases with time. Theory predicts that during coarsening the average size-scale of a two-phase mixture increases with time as t 1/3 when the two-phase mixture is self-similar, or time independent when scaled by a time-dependent length. Here, we explain why this temporal power law is so robustly observed even when the microstructure is not self-similar. We show that there exists an upper limit to the length scales in the system that are kinetically active during coarsening, which we term the self-similar length scale. Length scales smaller than the self-similar length scale evolve, leading to the classical temporal power law for the coarsening dynamics of the system. Longer length scales are largely inactive, leading to a non-self-similar structure. This result holds for any two-phase mixture with a large distribution of morphological length scales.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Temperature, pressure, and size dependence of Pd-H interaction in size selected Pd-Ag and Pd-Cu alloy nanoparticles: In-situ X-ray diffraction studies

In this study, in-situ X-ray diffraction has been carried out to investigate the effect of temperature and pressure on hydrogen induced lattice parameter variation in size selected Pd-Ag and Pd-Cu alloy nanoparticles. The nanoparticles of three different mobility equivalent diameters (20, 40, and 60 nm) having a narrow size distribution were prepared by gas phase synthesis method. In the present range of temperature (350 K to 250 K) and pressure (10{sup −4} to 100 millibars), no α (H/Pd ≤ 0.03) ↔ β (H/Pd ≥ 0.54) phase transition is observed. At temperature higher than 300 °C or pressure lower than 25 millibars, there is a large difference in the rate at which lattice constant varies as a function of pressure and temperature. Further, the lattice variation with temperature and pressure is also observed to depend upon the nanoparticle size. At lower temperature or higher pressure, size of the nanoparticle seems to be relatively less important. These results are explained on the basis of the relative dominance of physical absorption and diffusion of H in Pd alloy nanoparticles at different temperature and pressure. In the present study, absence of α ↔ β phase transition points towards the advantage of using Pd-alloy nanoparticles in applications requiring long term and repeated hydrogen cycling.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Edge electron density profiles and fluctuations measured by two-dimensional beam emission spectroscopy in the KSTAR

Beam emission spectroscopy (BES) system in Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) has recently been upgraded. The background intensity was reduced from 30% to 2% by suppressing the stray lights. This allows acquisition of the relative electron density profiles on the plasma edge without background subtraction from the beam power modulation signals. The KSTAR BES system has its spatial resolution of 1 cm, the temporal resolution of 2 MHz, and a total 32 channel (8 radial × 4 poloidal) avalanche photo diode array. Most measurements were done on the plasma edge, r/a ∼ 0.9, with 8 cm radial measurement width that covers the pedestal range. High speed density profile measurements reveal temporal behaviors of fast transient events, such as the precursors of edge localized modes and the transitions between confinement modes. Low background level also allows analysis of the edge density fluctuation patterns with reduced background fluctuations. Propagation of the density structures can be investigated by comparing the phase delays between the spatially distributed channels.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Nonlinear co-existence of beta-induced Alfvén eigenmodes and beta-induced Alfvén-acoustic eigenmodes

The nonlinear co-existence of β–induced Alfvén eigenmode (BAE) and β–induced Alfvén-acoustic eigenmode (BAAE) is found in simulations using the gyrokinetic toroidal code, which provides a new mechanism responsible for BAAE excitation in tokamaks. In this work, the normalized pressure β is the ratio between plasma thermal pressure and magnetic pressure. The nonlinear simulation findings show that the BAAE branch emerges after the BAE branch is saturated. The mode structure's evolution shows that existence of BAAE will change the original BAE mode structure. The perturbed distribution functions in the velocity phase space show that a new resonance region manifesting the wave-particle resonance in the BAAE branch appears during the nonlinear co-existence stage.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Photoassisted physical vapor epitaxial growth of semiconductors: a review of light-induced modifications to growth processes

Herein, we review the remarkable range of modifications to materials properties associated with photoexcitation of the growth surface during physical vapor epitaxy of semiconductors. We concentrate on mechanisms producing measureable, utilizable changes in crystalline perfection, phase, composition, doping, and defect distribution. We outline the relevant physics of different mechanisms, concentrating on those yielding effects orthogonal to the primary growth variables of temperature and atomic or molecular fluxes and document the phenomenological effects reported. Based on experimental observations from a range of semiconductor systems and growth conditions, the primary effects include enhanced anion desorption, molecular dissociation, increased doping efficiency, modification to defect populations and improvements to the crystalline quality of epilayers grown at low temperatures. Future research directions and technological applications are also discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Simulation of convective transport during frequency chirping of a TAE using the MEGA code

Here, we present a procedure to examine energetic particle phase-space during long range frequency chirping phenomena in tokamak plasmas. To apply the proposed method, we have performed self-consistent simulations using the MEGA code and analyzed the simulation data. We demonstrate a traveling wave in phase-space and that there exist specific slices of phase-space on which the resonant particles lie throughout the wave evolution. For non-linear evolution of an n = 6 toroidicity-induced Alfvén eigenmode (TAE), our results reveal the formation of coherent phase-space structures (holes/clumps) after coarse-graining of the distribution function. These structures cause a convective transport in phase-space which implies a radial drift of the resonant particles. We also demonstrate that the rate of frequency chirping increases with the TAE damping rate. Our observations of the TAE behavior and the corresponding phase-space dynamics are consistent with the Berk–Breizman theory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Coherence and quasistable states in a strong infrared field

We study the quasistability of UV-pulse-train-excited H atoms in a strong infrared (IR) laser as a function of the phase delay of the UV pulse train relative to the IR laser. The UV pulse train contains two frequency components. When the two components have frequencies separated by two IR photons, the population of surviving electrons is modulated by up to ten percent. When electrons are excited to right above or below the threshold, the survival probabilities have inverted phase delay dependence, which can be explained classically. When the two frequencies are one IR photon apart, the angular symmetry of the quasistable electrons is broken, and the asymmetry is also controlled by the phase delay. Here, the asymmetrical distribution can be observed while the IR is on and smoothly evolves to a nonzero asymmetry that only weakly depends on the duration of the IR field.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Local entanglement and confinement transitions in the random transverse-field Ising model on the pyrochlore lattice

We use numerical linked cluster expansions (NLC) and exact diagonalization to study confinement transitions out of the quantum spin liquid phase in the pyrochlore-lattice Ising antiferromagnet with random transverse fields. We calculate entanglement entropies associated with local regions defined by single tetrahedron to observe these transitions. The randomness-induced confinement transition is marked by a sharp reduction in the local entanglement and a concomitant increase in Ising correlations. In NLC, it is studied through the destruction of loop resonances due to random transverse-fields. As a result, the confining phase is characterized by a distribution of local entanglement entropies, which persists to large random fields.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Shape of magnetic domain walls formed by coupling to mobile charges

Magnetic domain walls, which are crucially important in both fundamental physics and technical applications, often have a preference in their form due to many different origins, such as the crystalline shape, lattice symmetry, and magnetic anisotropy. Here we theoretically investigate yet another origin stemming from the coupling to mobile charges in itinerant magnets. Performing a large-scale numerical simulation in a minimal model for itinerant magnets, i.e., the Kondo lattice model with classical localized spins, we show that the shape of magnetic domain walls depends on the electronic band structure and electron filling. While Néel and 120° antiferromagnetic states do not show a strong preference in the shape of domain walls, noncoplanar spin states with scalar chiral ordering have distinct directional preferences of the domain walls depending on the electron filling. We find that the directional preference is rationalized by the wave-number dependence of the effective magnetic interactions induced by the mobile charges, which are set by the band structure and electron filling. Finally, we also observe that, in the noncoplanar chiral states, an electric current is induced along the domain walls owing to the spin Berry phase mechanism, with different spatial distributions depending on whether the bulk state is metallic or insulating.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Deciphering the R Ψ m correlator in search for the chiral magnetic effect in relativistic heavy ion collisions

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is extensively studied in heavy-ion collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). An azimuthal correlator called R Ψ m was proposed to measure the CME. By observing the same R Ψ 2 and R Ψ 3 (convex) distributions from A Multi-Phase Transport (ampt) model, by contrasting data and model as well as large and small systems and by event shape engineering (ESE), a recent preprint (arXiv:2006.04251v1) from STAR suggests that the R Ψ m observable is sensitive to the CME signal and relatively insensitive to backgrounds, and their Au + Au data are inconsistent with known background contributions. Our ampt results contradict those from a recent preprint by STAR. Our toy model simulations demonstrate that R Ψ 2 is sensitive to both the CME signal and physics backgrounds. Toy model simulations of isobar collisions show similar centrality dependence and magnitudes for the relative R Ψ 2 strengths as well as the relative Δ γ strengths. We conclude that R Ψ 2 and the inclusive Δ γ are essentially the same.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Orbitals for classical arbitrary anisotropic colloidal potentials

Coarse-grained potentials are ubiquitous in mesoscale simulations. While various methods to compute effective interactions for spherically symmetric particles exist, anisotropic interactions are seldom used, due to their complexity. Here we describe a general formulation, based on a spatial decomposition of the density fields around the particles, akin to atomic orbitals. We show that anisotropic potentials can be efficiently computed in numerical simulations using Fourier-based methods. We validate the field formulation and characterize its computational efficiency with a system of colloids that have Gaussian surface charge distributions. We also investigate the phase behavior of charged Janus colloids immersed in screened media, with screening lengths comparable to the colloid size. The system shows rich behaviors, exhibiting vapor, liquid, gel, and crystalline morphologies, depending on temperature and screening length. The crystalline phase only appears for symmetric Janus particles. For very short screening lengths, the system undergoes a direct transition from a vapor to a crystal on cooling; while, for longer screening lengths, a vapor-liquid-crystal transition is observed. The proposed formulation can be extended to model force fields that are time or orientation dependent, such as those in systems of polymer-grafted particles and magnetic colloids.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

General Space Vector Modulation of A High-Frequency AC Linked Universal Converter for Distributed Generations

A high-frequency (HF) ac linked universal converter is proposed for distributed generations interfacing three-phase ac with single-phase ac or dc. The primary and secondary of the HF isolation transformer are, respectively, formed by a three-to-single-phase matrix converter and a cyclo converter. Based on the operating principle, a general and simple to be implemented space vector modulation (SVM) is developed from that for the conventional indirect matrix converter and constantly operated virtual dual-active-bridge converter. Simulation studies carried out on different amplitudes and frequencies of single-phase ac output and dc output demonstrate effectiveness and simplicity of the proposed converter with the SVM solution.

Liu, Yushan↗
DOE OSTI2018

Low-Resolution Fault Localization Using Phasor Measurement Units with Community Detection

A significant portion of the literature on fault localization assumes (more or less explicitly) that there are sufficient reliable measurements to guarantee that the system is observable. While several heuristics exist to break the observability barrier, they mostly rely on recognizing spatio-temporal patterns, without giving insights on how the performance are tied with the system features and the sensor deployment. In this paper, we try to fill this gap and investigate the limitations and performance limits of fault localization using Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), in the low measurements regime, i.e., when the system is unobservable with the measurements available. Our main contribution is to show how one can leverage the scarce measurements to localize different type of distribution line faults (three-phase, single-phase to ground,..) at the level of sub-graph, rather than with the resolution of a line. Here, we show that the resolution we obtain is strongly tied with the graph clustering notion in network science.

Community Detection↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dynamic Modeling of Sequential Service Restoration in Islanded Single Master Microgrids

This paper presents a methodology for generating restoration sequences in distribution systems and microgrids with emphasis on deriving optimal switching times for remote control switches (RCS). Microgrid architecture considered are assumed to be operating in islanded single master mode. Control methods for handling the unbalance inherent in distribution systems using single-phase controlled PQ inverters were developed and incorporated in the proposed method. The problem of considering simultaneously both energy optimization and dynamic stability of the system, which is lacking in existing methods, was addressed by studying the transient behavior of microgrids based on extended EMTP simulations and then approximate and incorporate these behaviors into the optimization formulation for restoration. The approach is based on multi-objective optimization of final restored load and total restoration time. The methodology was studied on a modified IEEE 123 node test feeder. An EMTP simulation in PSCAD of the formed microgrids was used to validate the accuracy of the dynamic and steady-state characteristics of the resulting systems. By considering the transient behavior of DGs during restoration, a better restoration sequence that does not trigger protection relays could be realized.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Heat transfer from glass melt to cold cap: Computational fluid dynamics study of cavities beneath cold cap

Efficient glass production depends on the continuous supply of heat from the glass melt to the floating layer of batch, or cold cap. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are employed to investigate the formation and behavior of gas cavities that form beneath the batch by gases released from the collapsing primary foam bubbles, ascending secondary bubbles, and in the case of forced bubbling, from the rising bubbling gas. The gas phase fraction, temperature, and velocity distributions below the cold cap are used to calculate local and average heat transfer rates as a function of the bubbling rate. It is shown that the thickness of the cavities is nearly independent of the cold cap shape and the amount of foam evolved during batch conversion. Furthermore, it is ~7 mm and up to ~15 mm for the cases without and with forced bubbling used to promote circulation within the melt, respectively. Using computed velocity and temperature profiles, the melting rate of the simulated high-level nuclear waste glass batch was estimated to increase with the bubbling rate to the power of ~0.3 to 0.9, depending on the flow pattern. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data from laboratory- and pilot-scale melter tests.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Three-dimensional mapping of crystalline ceramic waste form materials

Here, we demonstrate the use of synchrotron-based, transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) and scanning electron microscopy to image the 3-D morphologies and spatial distributions of Ga-doped phases within model, single- and two-phase waste form material systems. Gallium doping levels consistent with those commonly used for nuclear waste immobilization (e.g., Ba 1.04 Cs 0.24 Ga 2.32 Ti 5.68 O 16 ) could be readily imaged. This analysis suggests that a minority phase with different stoichiometry/composition from the primary hollandite phase can be formed by the solid-state ceramic processing route with varying morphology (globular vs. cylindrical) as a function of Cs content. Our results represent a crucial step in developing the tools necessary to gain an improved understanding of the microstructural and chemical properties of waste form materials that influence their resistance to aqueous corrosion. This understanding will aid in the future design of higher durability waste form materials.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗