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At least 199 records · Page 11

CFD modeling and simulation for corrosive wear of refractory in molten slag

The development of high-wear resistant refractories having minimal production costs is facilitated by characterizing the wear mechanisms associated with their corrosive wear. Static cup testing is a commonly used method for comparing the corrosion resistance performance of two or more refractory materials. Although the static cup test conditions are not as severe as dynamic tests, this study shows that the thermal gradient present within the system during heating and cooling stages serves to generate movement of the slag leading to mechanical wear. The thermal gradient within the refractory, and between the slag and the refractory, occurs during the ramp stage of the test and lasts until the soaking stage is reached bringing the system to a thermal equilibrium. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) capabilities embedded within ANSYS software, this study modelled and quantified the convection currents within the slag and associated shear stresses generated on the refractory walls due to the thermal gradient. A traditional ladle furnace was employed as a case study to verify the results of the studied CFD model. The corrosion rate of the refractory lining was found to depend on the mass transfer coefficient of the refractory dissolution into the slag, and a velocity term which governs the extent of corrosion at any given location. This velocity term is a function of slag viscosity, as well as the concentration gradient and/or temperature gradient at the triple points. In this study, wall shear stress was used as a reliable proxy for identifying high-velocity regions prone to excessive corrosive wear. Elevated wall shear stress near the slag/air and slag/molten steel interfaces align with observed corrosion grooves, which reflects the intensified corrosive wear at these locations.

Ramteke, Rajat Rajat Durgesh Ramteke [University o↗

The Arabidopsis T‐DNA mutant SALK_008491 carries a 14‐kb deletion on chromosome 3 that provides rare insights into the plant response to dynamic light stress

Abstract In nature, plants experience rapid changes in light intensity and quality throughout the day. To maximize growth, they have established molecular mechanisms to optimize photosynthetic output while protecting components of the light‐dependent reaction and CO 2 fixation pathways. Plant phenotyping of mutant collections has become a powerful tool to unveil the genetic loci involved in environmental acclimation. Here, we describe the phenotyping of the transfer‐DNA (T‐DNA) insertion mutant line SALK_008491, previously known as nhd1‐1 . Growth in a fluctuating light regime caused a loss in growth rate accompanied by a spike in photosystem (PS) II damage and increased non‐photochemical quenching (NPQ). Interestingly, an independent nhd1 null allele did not recapitulate the NPQ phenotype. Through bulk sequencing of a backcrossed segregating F 2 pool, we identified an ~14‐kb large deletion on chromosome 3 (Chr3) in SALK_008491 affecting five genes upstream of NHD1 . Besides NHD1 , which encodes for a putative plastid Na + /H + antiporter, the stromal NAD‐dependent D‐3‐phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase 3 ( PGDH3 ) locus was eradicated. Although some changes in the SALK_008491 mutant's photosynthesis can be assigned to the loss of PGDH3, our follow‐up studies employing respective single mutants and complementation with overlapping transformation‐competent artificial chromosome (TAC) vectors reveal that the exacerbated fluctuating light sensitivity in SALK_008491 mutants result from the simultaneous loss of PGDH3 and NHD1. Altogether, the data obtained from this large deletion‐carrying mutant provide new and unintuitive insights into the molecular mechanisms that function to protect the photosynthetic machinery. Moreover, our study renews calls for caution when setting up reverse genetic studies using T‐DNA lines. Although second‐site insertions, indels, and SNPs have been reported before, large deletion surrounding the insertion site causes yet another problem. Nevertheless, as shown through this research, such unpredictable genetic events following T‐DNA mutagenesis can provide unintuitive insights that allow for understanding complex phenomena such as the plant acclimation to dynamic high light stress.

Lopez, Laura S.↗

Accelerating discrete dislocation dynamics simulations with graph neural networks

Discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) is a widely employed computational method to study plasticity at the mesoscale that connects the motion of dislocation lines to the macroscopic response of crystalline materials. However, the computational cost of DDD simulations remains a bottleneck that limits its range of applicability. Here, we introduce a new DDD-GNN framework in which the expensive time-integration of dislocation motion is entirely substituted by a graph neural network (GNN) model trained on DDD trajectories. As a first application, we demonstrate the feasibility and potential of our method on a simple yet relevant model of a dislocation line gliding through an array of obstacles. We show that the DDD-GNN model is stable and reproduces very well unseen ground-truth DDD simulation responses for a range of straining rates and obstacle densities, without the need to explicitly compute nodal forces or dislocation mobilities during time-integration. Our approach opens new promising avenues to accelerate DDD simulations and to incorporate more complex dislocation motion behaviors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A one-dimensional transient model of a single-stage, downward-firing entrained-flow gasifier

The integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology has emerged as an attractive alternative to conventional coal-fired power plant technology due to its higher efficiency and cleaner environmental performance especially with the option of CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration. The core unit of this technology is the gasifier whose optimal performance must be understood for efficient operation of IGCC power plants. This need has led a number of researchers to develop gasifier models of varying complexities. Whereas high-fidelity CFD models can accurately predict most key aspects of gasifier performance, they are computationally expensive and typically take hours to days to execute on high-performance computers. Therefore, faster one-dimensional (1D) partial differential equation (PDE)-based models are required for use in dynamic simulation studies, control system analysis, and training applications. A number of 1D gasifier models can be found in the literature, but most are steady-state and have limited application in the practical operation of the gasifier. As a result, 1D PDE-based dynamic models are needed to further study and predict gasifier performance under a wide variety of process conditions and disturbances. In the present study, a 1D transient model of a single-stage downward flow GE/Texaco-type gasifier has been developed. The model comprises mass, momentum and energy balances for the gas and solid phases. The model considers the initial gasification processes of water evaporation and coal devolatilization. In addition, the key heterogeneous and homogeneous chemical reactions have been modeled. The resulting time-dependent PDE model is solved using the well-known method of lines approach in Aspen Custom Modeler®, whereby the PDEs are discretized in the spatial domain and the resulting differential algebraic equations (DAEs) are then solved to obtain the transient response. The transient response of various gasifier performance parameters to certain disturbances commonly encountered in the real world operation of commercial IGCC plants will be presented. These disturbances include ramp and step changes in input variables such as coal flow rate, oxygen-to-coal ratio and water-to-coal ratio, among others. Comparison of gasifier model predictions to available dynamic data will also be discussed.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Cluster spin glass correlations and dynamics in Zn 0.5⁢ Mn 0.5⁢ Te

Here, we present a combined magnetometry, muon spin-relaxation (𝜇⁢SR), and neutron-scattering study of the insulating spin glass Zn 0.5 ⁢Mn 0.5 ⁢Te, for which magnetic Mn 2+ and nonmagnetic Zn 2+ ions are randomly distributed on a face-centered cubic lattice. The magnetometry and 𝜇⁢SR results confirm a spin freezing transition around 𝑇 𝑓 ≈ 23 K, with the spin-fluctuation rate decreasing gradually and somewhat inhomogeneously through the sample volume as the temperature decreases toward 𝑇 𝑓 . Characteristic spin-correlation times well above 𝑇 𝑓 are on the order of 10 −10 s, much slower than typically observed in canonical spin glasses but in line with expectations for a cluster spin glass. Using magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) analysis and reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling of the magnetic diffuse neutron-scattering data, we show that the spin-glass ground state consists of clusters of spins exhibiting short-range-ordered type-III antiferromagnetic correlations with a locally ordered moment of 3.1⁢(1)⁢𝜇 B between nearest-neighbor spins. The type-III correlations decay exponentially as a function of spin separation distance with a correlation length of approximately 5 Å. The diffuse magnetic scattering and corresponding mPDF show no significant changes across 𝑇 𝑓 , indicating that the dynamically fluctuating short-range spin correlations in the paramagnetic state retain the same basic type-III configuration that characterizes the spin-glass state; the only change apparent from the neutron-scattering data is a gradual reduction of the correlation length and locally ordered moment with increasing temperature. Taken together, these results paint a unique and detailed picture of the local magnetic structure and dynamics in Zn 0.5 ⁢Mn 0.5⁢ Te and provide strong evidence that this material is best described as a cluster spin glass. In addition, this work showcases a statistical method for extracting diffuse scattering signals from neutron powder diffraction data, which we developed to facilitate the mPDF and RMC analysis of the neutron data. This method has the potential to be broadly useful for neutron powder diffraction experiments on a variety of materials with short-range atomic or magnetic order.

magnetism↗

Dynamics and observational signatures of core-collapse supernovae with central engines: hydrodynamics simulations with Monte Carlo post-processing

A long-lived central engine embedded in expanding supernova ejecta can alter the dynamics and observational signatures of the event, producing an unusually luminous, energetic, and/or rapidly evolving transient. We use 2D hydrodynamics simulations to study the effect of a central energy source, varying the amount, rate, and isotropy of the energy deposition. We post-process the results with a time-dependent Monte Carlo radiation transport code to extract observational signatures. The engine excavates a bubble at the centre of the ejecta, which becomes Rayleigh–Taylor unstable. Sufficiently powerful engines are able to break through the edge of the bubble and accelerate, shred, and compositionally mix the entire ejecta. The breakout of the engine-driven wind occurs at distinct rupture points, and the outflowing high-velocity gas may eventually give rise to radio emission. The dynamical impact of the engine leads to faster rising optical light curves, with photon escape facilitated by the faster expansion of the ejecta and the opening of low-density channels. For models with strong engines, the spectra are initially hot and featureless, but later evolve to resemble those of broad-line Ic supernovae. Under certain conditions, line emission from ionized, low-velocity material near the centre of the ejecta may be able to escape and produce narrow emission similar to that seen in interacting supernovae. We discuss how variability in the engine energy reservoir and injection rate could give rise to a heterogeneous set of events spanning multiple observational classes, including the fast blue optical transients, broad-line Ic supernovae, and superluminous supernovae.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Phase transitions in a reaction-diffusion model on a line with boundaries

A one-dimensional model on a line of length L is investigated, which involves particle diffusion as well as single particle annihilation. There are also creation and annihilation at the boundaries. The static and dynamical behaviors of the system are studied. It is seen that the system could exhibit a dynamical phase transition. For small drift velocities, the relaxation time does not depend on the absorption rates at the boundaries. This is the fast phase. For large velocities, the smaller of the absorption rates at boundaries enter the relaxation rate and makes it longer. This is the slow phase. Finally, the effect of a random particle creation in the bulk is also investigated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The properties of the circumgalactic medium in red and blue galaxies: results from the COS-GASS+COS-Halos surveys

We use the combined data from the COS-GASS and COS-Halos surveys to characterize the Circum-Galactic Medium (CGM) surrounding typical low-redshift galaxies in the mass range M{sub ∗}∼ 10{sup 9.5−11.5} M{sub ⊙}, and over a range of impact parameters extending to just beyond the halo virial radius (R {sub vir}). We find the radial scale length of the distributions of the equivalent widths of the Lyα and Si iii absorbers to be ∼1 and ∼0.4 R {sub vir}, respectively. The radial distribution of equivalent widths is relatively uniform for the blue galaxies, but highly patchy (i.e., it has a low covering fraction) for the red galaxies. We also find that the Lyα and Si iii equivalent widths show significant positive correlations with the specific star formation rate (sSFR) of the galaxy. We find a surprising lack of correlations between the halo mass (virial velocity) and either the velocity dispersions or velocity offsets of the Lyα lines. The ratio of the velocity offset to the velocity dispersion for the Lyα absorbers has a mean value of ∼4, suggesting that a given line of sight is intersecting a dynamically coherent structure in the CGM, rather than a sea of orbiting clouds. The kinematic properties of the CGM are similar in the blue and red galaxies, although we find that a significantly larger fraction of the blue galaxies have large Lyα velocity offsets (>200 km s{sup −1}). We show that—if the CGM clouds represent future fuel for star formation—our new results could imply a large drop in the sSFR across the galaxy mass-range we probe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Ground-state modulation-enhancement by two-state lasing in quantum-dot laser devices

We predict a significant increase of the 3 dB-cutoff-frequency on the ground-state lasing wavelength for two-state-lasing quantum-dot lasers using a microscopically motivated multi-level rate-equation model. After the onset of the second lasing line, the excited state acts as a high-pass filter, improving the ground-state response to faster modulation frequencies. We present both numerically simulated small-signal and large-signal modulation results and compare the performance of single and two-state lasing devices. Furthermore, we give dynamical arguments for the advantages of two-state lasing on data-transmission capabilities.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

CORONAL RAIN IN MAGNETIC ARCADES: REBOUND SHOCKS, LIMIT CYCLES, AND SHEAR FLOWS

We extend our earlier multidimensional, magnetohydrodynamic simulations of coronal rain occurring in magnetic arcades with higher resolution, grid-adaptive computations covering a much longer (>6 hr) time span. We quantify how blob-like condensations forming in situ grow along and across field lines and show that rain showers can occur in limit cycles, here demonstrated for the first time in 2.5D setups. We discuss dynamical, multi-dimensional aspects of the rebound shocks generated by the siphon inflows and quantify the thermodynamics of a prominence–corona transition-region-like structure surrounding the blobs. We point out the correlation between condensation rates and the cross-sectional size of loop systems where catastrophic cooling takes place. We also study the variations of the typical number density, kinetic energy, and temperature while blobs descend, impact, and sink into the transition region. In addition, we explain the mechanisms leading to concurrent upflows while the blobs descend. As a result, there are plenty of shear flows generated with relative velocity difference around 80 km s{sup −1} in our simulations. These shear flows are siphon flows set up by multiple blob dynamics and they in turn affect the deformation of the falling blobs. In particular, we show how shear flows can break apart blobs into smaller fragments, within minutes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Spatially resolved chemistry in nearby galaxies. III. Dense molecular gas in the inner disk of the LIRG IRAS 04296+2923

We present a survey of 3 mm molecular lines in IRAS 04296+2923, one of the brightest known molecular-line emitting galaxies, and one of the closest luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs). Data are from the Owens Valley and CARMA millimeter interferometers. Species detected at ≲ 4'' resolution include C{sup 18}O, HCN, HCO{sup +}, HNC, CN, CH{sub 3}OH, and, tentatively, HNCO. Along with existing CO, {sup 13}CO, and radio continuum data, these lines constrain the chemical properties of the inner disk. Dense molecular gas in the nucleus fuels a star formation rate ≳10 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} and is traced by lines of HCN, HCO{sup +}, HNC, and CN. A correlation between HCN and star formation rate is observed on sub-kiloparsec scales, consistent with global relations. Toward the nucleus, CN abundances are similar to those of HCN, indicating emission comes from a collection (∼40-50) of moderate visual extinction, photon-dominated-region clouds. The CO isotopic line ratios are unusual: CO(1-0)/{sup 13}CO(1-0) and CO(1-0)/C{sup 18}O(1-0) line ratios are large toward the starburst, as is commonly observed in LIRGs, but farther out in the disk these ratios are remarkably low (≲ 3). {sup 13}CO/C{sup 18}O abundance ratios are lower than in Galactic clouds, possibly because the C{sup 18}O is enriched by massive star ejecta from the starburst. {sup 13}CO is underabundant relative to CO. Extended emission from CH{sub 3}OH indicates that dynamical shocks pervade both the nucleus and the inner disk. The unusual CO isotopologue ratios, the CO/HCN intensity ratio versus L {sub IR}, the HCN/CN abundance ratio, and the gas consumption time versus inflow rate all indicate that the starburst in IRAS 04296+2923 is in an early stage of development.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Real-time sensing of epithelial cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions by impedance spectroscopy on porous substrates

Oxidized porous silicon (PS) is a common topographical biocompatible substrate that potentially provides a distinct in vitro environment for better understanding of in vivo behavior. But in the reported studies on oxidized PS, cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions have been detected only by fluorescent labeling. This paper is the first attempt to investigate real-time sensing of these interactions on HaCaT cells by label-free impedance spectroscopy on oxidized PS of two pore diameters (50 and 500 nm). One of the major requirements for successful impedance spectroscopy measurement is to restrict the channeling of electric field lines through the pores. To satisfy this criterion, we have designed the pore depths after analyzing the penetration of the medium by using computational fluid dynamics simulation. A distributed electrical model was also developed for estimating the various cellular attributes by considering a pseudorandom distribution of pores. It is observed from the impedance measurements and from the model that the proliferation rate increases for 50 nm pores but decreases for 500 nm pores compared to that for planar substrates. The rate of decrease in cell substrate separation (h) in the initial stage is more than the rate of increase in cell-cell junction resistance (R{sub b}) corresponding to the initial adhesion phase of cells. It is observed that R{sub b} and h are higher for 50 nm pores than those for planar substrates, corresponding to the fact that substrates more conducive toward cell adhesion encourage cell-cell interactions than direct cell-substrate interactions. Thus, the impedance spectroscopy coupled with the proposed theoretical framework for PS substrates can sense and quantify the cellular interactions.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

THE ANATOMY OF AN EXTREME STARBURST WITHIN 1.3 Gyr OF THE BIG BANG REVEALED BY ALMA

We present further analysis of the [C II] 158 {mu}m fine structure line and thermal dust continuum emission from the archetype extreme starburst/active galactic nucleus (AGN) group of galaxies in the early universe, BRI 1202-0725 at z = 4.7, using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. The group has long been noted for having a closely separated (26 kpc in projection) FIR-hyperluminous quasar host galaxy and an optically obscured submillimeter galaxy (SMG). A short ALMA test observation reveals a rich laboratory for the study of the myriad processes involved in clustered massive galaxy formation in the early universe. Strong [C II] emission from the SMG and the quasar have been reported earlier by Wagg et al. based on these observations. In this paper, we examine in more detail the imaging results from the ALMA observations, including velocity channel images, position-velocity plots, and line moment images. We present detections of [C II] emission from two Ly{alpha}-selected galaxies in the group, demonstrating the relative ease with which ALMA can detect the [C II] emission from lower star formation rate galaxies at high redshift. Imaging of the [C II] emission shows a clear velocity gradient across the SMG, possibly indicating rotation or a more complex dynamical system on a scale {approx}10 kpc. There is evidence in the quasar spectrum and images for a possible outflow toward the southwest, as well as more extended emission (a {sup b}ridge{sup )}, between the quasar and the SMG, although the latter could simply be emission from Ly{alpha}-1 blending with that of the quasar at the limited spatial resolution of the current observations. These results provide an unprecedented view of a major merger of gas-rich galaxies driving extreme starbursts and AGN accretion during the formation of massive galaxies and supermassive black holes within 1.3 Gyr of the big bang.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dynamic motion trajectory control with nanoradian accuracy for multi-element X-ray optical systems via laser interferometry

The past decades have witnessed the development of new X-ray beam sources with brightness growing at a rate surpassing Moore’s law. Current and upcoming diffraction limited and fully coherent X-ray beam sources, including multi-bend achromat based synchrotron sources and high repetition rate X-ray free electron lasers, puts increasingly stringent requirements on stability and accuracy of X-ray optics systems. Parasitic motion errors at sub-micro radian scale in beam transport and beam conditioning optics can lead to significant loss of coherence and brightness delivered from source to experiment. To address this challenge, we incorporated optical metrology based on interferometric length and angle sensing and real-time correction as part of the X-ray optics motion control system. A prototype X-ray optics system was constructed following the optical layout of a tunable X-ray cavity. On-line interferometric metrology enabled dynamical feedback to a motion control system to track and compensate for motion errors. The system achieved sub-microradian scale performance, as multiple optical elements are synchronously and continuously adjusted. This first proof of principle measurement demonstrated both the potential and necessity of incorporating optical metrology as part of the motion control architecture for large scale X-ray optical systems such as monochromators, delay lines, and in particular, X-ray cavity systems to enable the next generation cavity-based X-ray free electron lasers.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Transition state redox during dynamical processes in semiconductors and insulators

Activation barriers associated with ion diffusion and chemical reactions are vital to understand and predict a wide range of phenomena, such as material growth, ion transport, and catalysis. In the calculation of activation barriers for non-redox processes in semiconductors and insulators, it has been widely assumed that the charge state remains fixed to that of the initial electronic ground state throughout a dynamical process. In this work, we demonstrate that this assumption is generally inaccurate and that a rate-limiting transition state can have a different charge state from the initial ground state. This phenomenon can significantly lower the activation barrier of a dynamical process that depends strongly on charge state, such as carbon vacancy diffusion in 4H-SiC. With inclusion of such transition state redox, the activation barrier varies continuously with Fermi level, in contrast to the step-line feature predicted by the traditional fixed-charge assumption. In this study, a straightforward approach to include the transition state redox effect is provided, the typical situations where the effect plays a significant role are identified, and the relevant electron dynamics are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Denial of Service Attack Detection via Differential Analysis of Generalized Entropy Progressions

Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks are one the most common and consequential cyber attacks in computer networks. While existing research offers a plethora of detection methods, the issue of achieving scalability, a low false positive rate, and high detection accuracy remains open. In this work, we address this problem by developing a differential method based on generalized entropy progression. In this method, named as DoDGE, we continuously fit the line of best fit to the entropy progression of destination addresses and check if the derivative, that is, the slope of this line is less than the negative of the dynamically computed standard deviation of the derivatives. Furthermore, to distinguish from flash events, we leverage the symmetry that when a flash event occurs, the derivative of the entropy progression of source addresses is positive. With this design, we omit the usage of the thresholds and the results with five real-world network traffic datasets confirm that DoDGE outperforms threshold-based DoS attack detection by two orders of magnitude in terms of false positives on average. When compared to ten machine learning (ML) models, DoDGE achieves a balanced accuracy of 99%, while the average balanced accuracy for the ML models is 52%. Moreover, the results show that DoDGE successfully differentiates between a flash event and a DoS attack. Furthermore, since the main computation cost of DoDGE is the entropy computation, which is linear in the volume of the unit-time network flow, uses integer only operations, and works on a small fraction of the total flow, it is lightweight and scalable.

Cybersecurity, wireless communication↗

Final Report on CFD and Thermal-Mechanical Stress Analysis of PWR Surge Line under Transient Condition Thermal Stratification and an Evolutionary Cyclic Plasticity Based Transformative Fatigue Evaluation Approach without Using S~N Curve: Rev. 1

This report presents an evolutionary cyclic plasticity based transformative approach for fatigue evaluation of safety critical components. This approach is generic which can be used not only for the present generation light water reactor components (which is our focus) but also for advanced reactor components. The approach is based on the fundamental concept of time-evolution of progressive fatigue damage rather than the end-of-life data based conventional S~N curve approaches. Series of fatigue tests on 316 stainless steel uniaxial specimens were conducted under strain-controlled and stress-controlled cyclic loading in two different environment such as in-air at 300 °C and PWR coolant water condition at 300 °C. Material models are developed to capture the uniaxial test data and are subsequently programmed into commercially available ABAQUS code to transform the uniaxial material behavior to multiaxial loading domain. The developed evolutionary cyclic-plasticity approach is verified by both analytical and 3D-FE modeling of uniaxial fatigue test specimens. Results show that the developed material models can capture the time-dependence of material hardening and softening with great accuracy. In addition, results show that the material models not only can capture the material behavior under constant amplitude loading but also can capture the load-sequence effect under variable and random amplitude loading. The ANL developed approach is one of its kind, which shows first in the fatigue research community that fatigue evaluation of a component (in our case verified for laboratory scale fatigue test specimens with great accuracy) can be performed for its entire fatigue life, including the hardening and softening behavior, without using a conventional S~N curve based approach. Additionally results are presented related to fatigue evaluation of real reactor components such as of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) surge line (SL), under upset transient conditions. SLs of PWR experience complex thermal stratification due to the mixing of differential temperature flow from hot leg and pressurizer. A detailed parametric study of thermal stratification in SL is performed through both standalone computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and fluid-structure-interaction based coupled CFD and heat transfer analysis. Results show that the mass flow rate in SL substantially affects the extent of its thermal stratification. The resulting thermal boundaries conditioned are used as inputs for thermal-mechanical stress analysis and component level fatigue evaluation. Fatigue evaluation of SL pipe under example loading conditions was performed using the above-mentioned evolutionary-plasticity based approach and ASME code (for in-air life) and NUREG-6909 (for PWR environment life) based approaches. Results show that the evolutionary plasticity based approach estimate substantially different life compared to the conventional ASME based approach. To show the entirety of the proposed evolutionary fatigue-modeling framework, this report includes the results presented in semi-annual March report (ANL/LWRS-17/01). Sections 2-5 of March report are directly included as Sections 2-5 in this report, without any significant changes. However, Sections 6-9 of this report present the work performed during March-September of 2017. Whereas, Sections 1 and 10 present the organization of this report and the summary and future work, respectively. This report (ANL/LWRS-17/03 Rev. 1) is a slightly revised version of the earlier published report (ANL/LWRS-17/03). In this revised version, some of the results and associated discussion have been corrected/updated.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Dynamic modeling of a single-stage downward firing, entrained flow gasifier

The gasifier is the heart of the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), a technology that has emerged as an attractive alternative to conventional coal-fired power plant technology due to its higher efficiency and cleaner environmental performance especially with the option of CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration. Understanding the optimal performance of the gasifier is therefore paramount for the efficient operation of IGCC power plants. Numerous gasifier models of varying complexity have been developed to study the various aspects of gasifier performance. These range from simple one-dimensional (1D) process-type models to rigorous higher order 2-3D models based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Whereas high-fidelity CFD models can accurately predict most key aspects of gasifier performance, they are computationally expensive and typically take hours to days to execute on high-performance computers. Therefore, faster 1D partial differential equation (PDE)-based models are required for use in dynamic simulation studies, control system analysis, and training applications. A number of 1D gasifier models can be found in the literature, but most are steady-state models that have limited application in the practical operation of the gasifier. As a result, 1D PDE-based dynamic models are needed to further study and predict gasifier performance under a wide variety of process conditions and disturbances. In the current study, a 1D transient model of a single-stage downward-fired GE/Texaco-type entrained-flow gasifier has been developed. The model comprises mass, momentum and energy balances for the gas and solid phases. The model considers the initial gasification processes of water evaporation and coal devolatilization. In addition, the key heterogeneous and homogeneous chemical reactions have been modeled. The resulting time-dependent PDE model is solved using the well-known method of lines approach in Aspen Custom Modeler®, whereby the PDEs in the spatial domain are discretized and the resulting differential algebraic equations (DAEs) are then integrated over time using a dynamic integrator. The dynamic response results of the gasifier performance parameters to certain disturbances commonly encountered during practical operation are presented. These disturbances include ramp and step changes to input variables such as coal flow rate, oxygen-to-coal ratio and water-to-coal ratio among others. Comparison of model predictions to available dynamic data will also be discussed.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗