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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 19 records

Theoretical Calculation of Jet Fuel Thermochemistry: Tetrahydrodicylopentadiene (JP10) Thermochemistry Using the CBS-QB3 and G3(MP2)//B3LYP Methods - 1

High-level ab initio calculations have been performed on the exo and endo isomers of gas-phase tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (THDCPD), a principal component of the jet fuel JP10, using the Gaussian Gx and Gx(MPx) composite methods, as well as the CBS-QB3 method, and using a variety of isodesmic and homodesmotic reaction schemes. The impetus for this work is to help resolve large discrepancies existing between literature measurements of the formation enthalpy Delta (sub f)H deg (298) for exo-THDCPD. We find that use of the isodesmic bond separation reaction C10H16 + 14CH4 yields 12C2H6 yields results for the exo isomer (JP10) in between the two experimentally accepted values, for the composite methods G3(MP2), G3(MP2)//B3LYP, and CBS-QB3. Application of this same isodesmic bond separation scheme to gas-phase adamantane yields a value for Delta (sub f)H deg (298) within 5 kJ/mol of experiment. Isodesmic bond separation calculations for the endo isomer give a heat of formation in excellent agreement with the experimental measurement. Combining our calculated values for the gas-phase heat of formation with recent measurements of the heat of vaporization yields recommended values for Delta (sub f)H deg (298)liq of -126.4 and -114.7 kJ/mol for the exo and endo isomers, respectively.

Zehe, Michael J.

X-ray Diffraction Studies of the Structure and Thermochemistry of Alkaline-Earth Oxide-Coated Thermionic Cathodes

NASA LeRC has a broad, active cathode technology development program in which both experimental and theoretical studies are being employed to further development of thermionic cathodes for use as electron sources in vacuum devices for communications and other space applications. One important type of thermionic cathode under development is the alkaline-earth oxide-coated (BaO, SrO, CaO) cathode. Significant improvements in the emission characteristics of this cathode have been obtained through modification of the chemical composition and morphology of the oxide coating, with the best result thus far coming from the addition of In2O3 and Sc2O3. Whereas the In2O3 produces a finer, more uniform particle structure, the exact chemical state and role of the Sc2O3 in the emission enhancement is unknown. The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to combine the studies of the surface chemistry and electron emission at NASA LeRC of chemically modified oxide coatings with a study of the thermochemistry and crystal structure using X-ray diffraction equipment and expertise at Clark Atlanta University (CAU). The study at CAU is intended to provide the description and understanding of the structure and thermochemistry needed for further improvement and optimization of the modified coatings. A description of the experimental procedure, preliminary X-ray diffraction test results, together with the design of an ultrahigh vacuum chamber necessary for high temperature thermochemistry studies will be presented.

Karikari, E. K.

Review of numerical procedures for computational surface thermochemistry

Models and equations for surface thermochemistry and near-surface thermophysics of aerodynamically heated thermal protection materials are reviewed, with particular emphasis on computational boundary conditions for surface mass and energy transfer. The surface energy and mass balances, coupled with an appropriate ablation or surface catalysis model, provide complete thermochemical boundary conditions for a true multidisciplinary solution of the fully coupled fluid-dynamics/solid mechanics problem. Practical approximate solutions can be obtained by using a detailed model with full thermophysics for either the solid or fluid phase and a semianalytic method for the other half of the problem. A significant increase in the state-of-the-art in aerothermal computational fluid dynamics is possible by uniting computational fluid dynamic (CFD) methodology with surface thermochemistry boundary conditions and the heat-balance-integral method.

SOLID MECHANICS

Numerical procedures for three-dimensional computational surface thermochemistry

Models and equations for surface thermochemistry and near-surface thermophysics of aerodynamically-heated thermal protection materials are reviewed, with particular emphasis on computational boundary conditions for surface mass and energy transfer. The surface energy and mass balances, coupled with an appropriate ablation or surface catalysis model, provide complete thermochemical boundary conditions for a true multidisciplinary solution of the fully coupled fluid-dynamics/solid mechanics problem. Practical approximate solutions can be obtained by using a detailed model with full thermophysics for either the solid or fluid phase amd a semianalytic method for the other half of the problem. A significant increase in the state-of-the-art in aerothermal computational fluid dynamics is possible by uniting CFD methodology with surface thermochemistry boundary conditions and the heat-balance-integral method.

Milos, Frank S.

Structure and thermochemistry of ClO2 radicals

The structure of ClO2 has been calculated for the X 2A-double prime ground state using unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF), unrestricted second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation (UMP2), configuration interaction employing single and double excitation (CISD), and quadratic configuration interaction (QCI) ab initio molecular orbital methods. Calculations using UMP2 and CISD wave functions predict a ClO bond length of 1.728 +/- 0.01 A. The single-configuration-based QCI in the singles and doubles space with perturbation inclusion of triple substitutions, denoted QCISD(T), yield a ClO bond length of 2.205 A. The QCI results are consistent with results of Jensen (1990) who showed that the ClO bond length is 2.181 A using annihilated self-consistent methods (AUMP2). The thermochemistry of ClO2 radical has been calculated using MP2 and QCI methods employing an isodesmic scheme. Our scheme predicts the heat of formation for ClO2 at 0 K to be 24.6 +/- 2 kcal/mol.

Francisco, J. S.

General Model for Multicomponent Ablation Thermochemistry

A previous paper (AIAA 94-2042) presented equations and numerical procedures for modeling the thermochemical ablation and pyrolysis of thermal protection materials which contain multiple surface species. This work describes modifications and enhancements to the Multicomponent Ablation Thermochemistry (MAT) theory and code for application to the general case which includes surface area constraints, rate limited surface reactions, and non-thermochemical mass loss (failure). Detailed results and comparisons with data are presented for the Shuttle Orbiter reinforced carbon-carbon oxidation protection system which contains a mixture of sodium silicate (Na2SiO3), silica (SiO2), silicon carbide (SiC), and carbon (C).

Milos, Frank S.

Computational Thermochemistry of Jet Fuels and Rocket Propellants

The design of new high-energy density molecules as candidates for jet and rocket fuels is an important goal of modern chemical thermodynamics. The NASA Glenn Research Center is home to a database of thermodynamic data for over 2000 compounds related to this goal, in the form of least-squares fits of heat capacities, enthalpies, and entropies as functions of temperature over the range of 300 - 6000 K. The chemical equilibrium with applications (CEA) program written and maintained by researchers at NASA Glenn over the last fifty years, makes use of this database for modeling the performance of potential rocket propellants. During its long history, the NASA Glenn database has been developed based on experimental results and data published in the scientific literature such as the standard JANAF tables. The recent development of efficient computational techniques based on quantum chemical methods provides an alternative source of information for expansion of such databases. For example, it is now possible to model dissociation or combustion reactions of small molecules to high accuracy using techniques such as coupled cluster theory or density functional theory. Unfortunately, the current applicability of reliable computational models is limited to relatively small molecules containing only around a dozen (non-hydrogen) atoms. We propose to extend the applicability of coupled cluster theory- often referred to as the 'gold standard' of quantum chemical methods- to molecules containing 30-50 non-hydrogen atoms. The centerpiece of this work is the concept of local correlation, in which the description of the electron interactions- known as electron correlation effects- are reduced to only their most important localized components. Such an advance has the potential to greatly expand the current reach of computational thermochemistry and thus to have a significant impact on the theoretical study of jet and rocket propellants.

Crawford, T. Daniel

Thermochemistry of Protective Coatings and Molten Silicate Debris

The durability of gas-turbine engine components can be significantly affected by the ingestion of siliceous particles, which can melt at high temperature and corrode protective coatings that are essential for long life requirements. The silicate debris consists mainly of CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 (CMAS) and is usually ingested by aircraft engines during and after take-off, sticking to their hot surfaces and resulting in the formation of calcium rare-earth silicate oxyapatites. The thermochemistry of coatings and their reaction products with molten silicate debris are crucial to understand in order to improve the durability of gas-turbine engines. Here we discuss results of high temperature drop solution calorimetry, drop-and-catch calorimetry (DnC) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) techniques for the thermodynamic properties of both thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) and their reaction with CMAS compositions. The enthalpies of solution of Y2Si2O7, Yb2Si2O7, 31YSZ, and 16RESZ based coatings and the oxyapatite are moderately positive. However, oxyapatite formation is only favorable over coating dissolution in terms of enthalpy for 7YSZ. The enthalpies of mixing between the coatings and the molten silicate are less exothermic for Yb2Si2O7 and CaYb4Si3O13 than for 7YSZ, indicating lower energetic stability of the latter against molten silicate corrosion. We also report for the first time the calorimetric measurements of the enthalpies of formation of rare-earth silicate based EBC coatings and oxyapatites (rare-earth, RE = Y, Yb, Gd, Dy, Er, Nd and Sm).

Costa, Gustavo

Thermochemistry of Aerospace Materials

The reliability and development of aerospace materials in extreme environments relies on a comprehensive understanding of their thermochemical properties. Such properties are commonly used for equilibrium phase stability calculations of interactions with corrosive environments at very high temperatures. These calculations can lead to in-depth understanding of degradation mechanisms in both coatings and components for applications such as nuclear thermal propulsion and gas turbine engines, both of which are part of NASA’s current R&D focus for improving propulsion systems for aerospace missions. The first part of this talk summarizes and discuss our current thermochemical calculations of the behavior of ceramic-ceramic (cercer) UN-based fuels and their coating systems during nuclear thermal rocket operation. The second part of the talk summarizes and discuss the energetics of reactions of ceramic coating materials and their binary oxide components with silicate melts measured by high temperature reaction calorimetry.

Nuclear Thermal propulsion