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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Nanoscale Interfacial Smoothing and Dissolution during Unconventional Reservoir Stimulation Implications for Hydrocarbon Mobilization and Transport

Hydraulic fracturing of low-permeability rocks significantly enhances hydrocarbon production from unconventional reservoirs. However, fluid transport through low-permeability rocks, and the influence of geochemical transformations on pore networks, are poorly constrained. Mineral reactivity during interactions with injected water may alter the physical nature of the rock, which may affect hydrocarbon mobility. To assess alteration to the rock, we previously conducted a hydrothermal experiment that reacted cubed rock samples (1 cm3) with synthetic hydraulic fracturing fluid to simulate physicochemical reactivity during hydraulic fracturing. We analyzed unreacted and reacted rocks by small-angle neutron scattering and high-pressure mercury intrusion to determine how nanoscale (~1-1400 nm) pore networks of unconventional reservoir rocks are influenced by reaction with hydraulic fracturing injectates. We show that fluid-rock interactions have a two-fold influence on hydrocarbon recovery, promoting both hydrocarbon mobilization and transport. Pore-matrix interfaces smooth via removal of clay mineral surface asperities, reducing available surface area for hydrocarbon adsorption by ca. 12-75%. Additionally, hydraulic fracturing fluid-induced dissolution creates new pores with diameters ranging in size from 800-1400 nm, increasing the permeability of the rocks by a factor of 5-10. These two consequences of mineral dissolution act in concert to release hydrocarbons from the host rock and facilitate transport through the rock during unconventional reservoir production.

Herz-Thyhsen, Ryan↗
DOE OSTI2021

A machine-learning inverse model framework for rapid forecasting and history matching in unconventional reservoirs

Model-based optimization for real-time forecasting in unconventional reser-voirs requires novel methods and work?ows since the strategies and work?ows used in conventional reservoirs are either inapplicable, or prohibitively expen-sive and time-consuming. Insu?cient site data and computational expense of high-?delity simulations mean that work?ows with high-?delity simulations are not ideal for usage in comprehensive uncertainty quanti?cation stud-ies that require 1000s of forward model runs. We present an alternative, novel work?ow for unconventional reservoirs, based on the interplay between reduced-order models and machine-learning. Our physics-informed machine-learning (PIML) work?ow addresses the challenges to real-time reservoir management in uncoventionals, namely lack of data (the time-frame for which the wells have been producing), and computational expense of high-?delity modeling. We use the machine-learning paradigm of transfer-learning to bind together fast but less accurate reduced-order models with slow, but accurate high-?delity models and circumvent the di?culties inherent in the current state-of-the-art for unconventionals. Such a PIML work?ow, grounded in physics, is a viable candidate for real-time history matching and production forecasting in a fractured shale gas reservoir. The signi?cance of our approach is that while it is developed for a particu-lar well and site in the Marcelus Shale gas reservoir of the Appalachian basin (MSEEL), it is not wedded to it. We expect the same work?ow can be ap-plied to other shale formations (e.g., Woodford, Barnett, Utica, EagleFord) should site-data become available, using the same set of machine-learning techniques from transfer learning. Some ?ne-tuning (or minimal retraining of the neural networks) will be required to transfer knowledge across shale gas sites/formations but it is a clearly superior alternative to developing a new machine-learning model altogether when considering a di?erent site.

Srinivasan, Shriram↗
DOE OSTI2021

J eff = $\frac{3}{2}$ metallic phase and unconventional superconductivity in GaTa 4 Se 8

By means of density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT) calculations and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments, we investigate the high-pressure phases of the spin-orbit-coupled Jeff = 3/2 insulator GaTa 4 Se 8 . Its metallic phase, derived from the Mott state by applying pressure, is found to carry J eff = 3/2 moments. The characteristic excitation peak in the RIXS spectrum maintains its destructive quantum interference of J eff at the Ta L2-edge up to 10.4 GPa. Our exact diagonalization based DFT+DMFT calculations including spin-orbit coupling also reveal that the J eff = 3/2 character can be clearly identified under high pressure. These results establish the intriguing nature of the correlated metallic magnetic phase, which represents the first confirmed example of J eff =3/2 moments residing in a metal. They also indicate that the pressure-induced superconductivity is likely unconventional and influenced by these J eff = 3/2 moments. Based on a self-energy analysis, we furthermore propose the possibility of doping-induced superconductivity related to a spin-freezing crossover.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unconventional Spintronics from Chiral Perovskites

Spintronic devices typically employ heterostructures with ferromagnets which break time-reversal symmetry and have non-vanishing magnetization. With the growing class of materials that support spin-polarized carriers, current, and excitations, it is possible to envision emerging spintronic applications that are not limited to magnetoresistance. Here, chiral perovskites with no net magnetization are considered, where the space-inversion and mirror symmetries are broken to induce chiral structure. The known importance of these perovskites is further expanded by the demonstration of the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS). However, the generation of the spin-polarized carriers across the interface with these chiral perovskites remains to be fully understood. These first-principles studies for 2D PbBr4-based chiral perovskites provide their electronic structure and an orbital-based symmetry analysis, which allows to establish an effective Hamiltonian to elucidate the underlying origin of their chirality. The same analysis is used for the Edelstein effect, responsible for electrical generation of the nonequilibrium spin polarization in many materials, which in chiral perovskites can be a mechanism contributing to CISS. Furthermore, by examining optical properties of chiral perovskites and the opportunity to use them to realize tunable altermagnets, another class of zero-magnetization spintronic materials, a versatile materials platform is put forth for unconventional spintronics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Observation of half-quantum flux in the unconventional superconductor β-Bi2Pd

Magnetic flux quantization is one of the defining properties of a superconductor. We report the observation of half-integer magnetic flux quantization in mesoscopic rings of superconducting β-Bi 2 Pd thin films. The half-quantum fluxoid manifests itself as a π phase shift in the quantum oscillation of the superconducting critical temperature. This result verifies unconventional superconductivity of β-Bi 2 Pd and is consistent with a spin-triplet pairing symmetry. Our findings may have implications for flux quantum bits in the context of quantum computing.

phonons, thermal conductivity, thermoelectric, spi↗
DOE OSTI2017

The structure and unconventional dihydrogen bonding of a pressure-stabilized hydrogen-rich (NH 3 BH 3 )(H 2 ) x (x = 1.5) compound

Combining X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and ab initio simulations we characterize an extremely hydrogen-rich phase with the chemical formula (NH 3 BH 3 )(H 2 ) x (x = 1.5). This phase was formed by compressing ammonia borane (AB, NH 3 BH 3 ) in an environment with an excess of molecular hydrogen (H 2 ). This compound can store a total of 26.8 wt% hydrogen, both as molecular hydrogen and chemically bonded hydrogen in AB, making it one of the most hydrogen-rich solids currently known. The new compound possesses a layered AB structure where additional H 2 molecules reside in channels created through the weaving of AB layers. The unconventional dihydrogen bonding network of the new compound is significantly modified from its parent AB phase and contains H•••H contacts between adjacent AB molecules and between AB and H 2 molecules. H–H can be either a proton donor or a proton acceptor that forms new types of dihydrogen bonding with the host AB molecules, which are depicted as H–H•••H–B or H–H•••H–N, respectively. Furthermore, this study not only demonstrates the strategy and the promise of using pressure for new material synthesis, but also unleashes the power of combining experiments and ab initio calculations for elucidating novel structures and unusual bonding configurations in dense low-Z materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Unconventional slowing down of electronic recovery in photoexcited charge-ordered La1/3Sr2/3FeO3

We report the coupled slowing down of electronic and structural dynamics in a charge-ordered antiferromagnetic insulating oxide directly measured in the time domain. Following optical excitation, the recovery time of both transient optical reflectivity and x-ray diffraction intensity from a charge-ordered superstructure in a La1/3Sr2/3FeO3 thin film increases by orders of magnitude when the sample temperature approaches the phase transition temperature. The recovery time becomes much longer than the independently measured lattice cooling time, indicating a nonthermal origin of the slowing down. The combined experimental and theoretical investigations show that the slowing down of electronic recovery corresponds to the pseudo-critical dynamics that originates from magnetic interactions close to a weakly first-order phase transition.

Zhu, Yi↗