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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 199 records · Page 11

Predictive modeling of crystal accumulation in high-level waste glass melters processing radioactive waste

The effectiveness of HLW vitrification is limited by precipitation/accumulation of spinel crystals [(Fe, Ni, Mn, Zn)(Fe, Cr)2O4] in the glass discharge riser of Joule-heated ceramic melters during idling. These crystals do not affect glass durability; however, if accumulated in thick layer, they can clog the melter and prevent discharge of molten glass into canisters. To address this problem, an empirical model was developed that can predict thicknesses of accumulated layers as a function of glass composition. This model predicts well the accumulation of single crystals and/or small-scale agglomerates, but, excessive agglomeration observed in high-Ni-Fe glass resulted in an under-prediction of accumulated layers, which gradually worsen over time as an increased number of agglomerates formed. Accumulation rate of ~53.8 ± 3.7 µm/h determined for this glass will result in ~26 mm thick layer in 20 days of melter idling.

Crystal accumulation↗

Performing a multi-unit level-3 PSA with MACCS

MACCS (MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System), WinMACCS, and MelMACCS now facilitate a multi-unit consequence analysis. MACCS evaluates the consequences of an atmospheric release of radioactive gases and aerosols into the atmosphere and is most commonly used to perform probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) and related consequence analyses for nuclear power plants (NPPs). WinMACCS is a user-friendly preprocessor for MACCS. MelMACCS extracts source-term information from a MELCOR plot file. The current development can combine an arbitrary number of source terms, representing simultaneous releases from a multi-unit facility, into a single consequence analysis. The development supports different release signatures, fission product inventories, and accident initiation times for each unit. The treatment is completely general except that the model is currently limited to collocated units. A major practical consideration for performing a multi-unit PSA is that a comprehensive treatment for more than two units may involve an intractable number of combinations of source terms. This paper proposes and evaluates an approach for reducing the number of calculations to be tractable, even for sites with eight or ten units. The approximation error introduced by the approach is acceptable and is considerably less than other errors and uncertainties inherent in a Level 3 PSA.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Characterizing the Mechanisms of Ca and Mg Carbonate Ion-Pair Formation with Multi-Level Molecular Dynamics/Quantum Mechanics Simulations

The carbonate minerals of Ca and Mg are abundant throughout the lithosphere and have recently garnered significant research interest as possible long-term carbon sinks in the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Nonetheless, an understanding of the atomic-level processes comprising their mineralization remains limited. Furthermore, we characterize and contrast the mechanisms of contact ion-pair formation in aqueous Ca and Mg carbonate systems, which represents the most fundamental step leading to the formation of their mineral solids. Utilizing multilevel embedded correlated wavefunction-based ab initio molecular dynamics/quantum mechanics simulations, we characterize not only the dynamics of these processes but also factors arising from the electronic structure of the involved species, revealing further details of the fundamentally different mechanisms for the interconversion between the contact ion-pairs and solvent-shared ion-pairs of Ca versus Mg carbonate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Enhancement of Thermoelectric Performance for n-Type PbS through Synergy of Gap State and Fermi Level Pinning

In this paper, we report that Ga-doped and Ga-In-codoped n-type PbS samples show excellent thermoelectric performance in the intermediate temperature range. First-principles electronic structure calculations reveal that Ga doping can cause Fermi level pinning in PbS by introducing a gap state between the conduction and valence bands. Furthermore, Ga-In codoping introduces an extra conduction band. These added electronic features lead to high electron mobilities up to μH ~ 630 cm 2 V -1 s -1 for n of 1.67 × 10 19 cm -3 and significantly enhanced Seebeck coefficients in PbS. Consequently, we obtained a maximum power factor of ~32 μW cm -1 K -2 at 300 K for Pb 0.9875 Ga 0.0125 S, which is the highest reported for PbS-based systems giving a room-temperature figure of merit, ZT, of ~0.35 and ~0.82 at 923 K. For the codoped Pb 0.9865 Ga 0.0125 In 0.001 S, the maximum ZT rises to ~1.0 at 923 K and achieves a record-high average ZT (ZT avg ) of ~0.74 in the temperature range of 400-923 K.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Quantum Oscillations at Integer and Fractional Landau Level Indices in Single-Crystalline ZrTe 5

A three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal (DS) is an analogue of graphene, but with linear energy dispersion in all (three) momentum directions. 3D DSs have been a fertile playground in discovering novel quantum particles, for example Weyl fermions, in solid state systems. Many 3D DSs were theoretically predicted and experimentally confirmed. Here, we report here the results in exfoliated ZrTe 5 thin flakes from the studies of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and low temperature magneto-transport measurements. We observed several unique results. First, a π Berry phase was obtained from the Landau fan diagram of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the longitudinal conductivity σ xx . Second, the longitudinal resistivity ρ xx shows a linear magnetic field dependence in the quantum limit regime. Most surprisingly, quantum oscillations were also observed at fractional Landau level indices N = 5/3 and 7/5, demonstrating strong electron-electron interaction effects in ZrTe 5 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Measurements of population densities of metastable and resonant levels of argon using laser induced fluorescence

We present a new approach to measure population densities of Ar I metastable and resonant excited states in low temperature Ar plasmas at pressures higher than 1 Torr. This approach combines the time resolved laser induced fluorescence technique with the kinetic model of Ar. The kinetic model of Ar is based on calculating the population rates of metastable and resonant levels by including contributions from the processes that affect population densities of Ar I excited states. In particular, we included collisional quenching processes between atoms in the ground state and excited states, since we are investigating plasma at higher pressures. We also determined time resolved population densities of Ar I 2 p excited states by employing optical emission spectroscopy technique. Time resolved Ar I excited state populations are presented for the case of the post-discharge of the supersonic flowing microwave discharge at pressures of 1.7 and 2.3 Torr. The experimental set-up consists of a pulsed tunable dye laser operating in the near infrared region and a cylindrical resonance cavity operating in TE{sub 111} mode at 2.45 GHz. Results show that time resolved population densities of Ar I metastable and resonant states oscillate with twice the frequency of the discharge.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Chromosome-level genome assembly and transcriptome of the green alga Chromochloris zofingiensis illuminates astaxanthin production

Microalgae have potential to help meet energy and food demands without exacerbating environmental problems. There is interest in the unicellular green alga Chromochloris zofingiensis, because it produces lipids for biofuels and a highly valuable carotenoid nutraceutical, astaxanthin. Here, to advance understanding of its biology and facilitate commercial development, we present a C. zofingiensis chromosome-level nuclear genome, organelle genomes, and transcriptome from diverse growth conditions. The assembly, derived from a combination of short- and long-read sequencing in conjunction with optical mapping, revealed a compact genome of ~58 Mbp distributed over 19 chromosomes containing 15,274 predicted protein-coding genes. The genome has uniform gene density over chromosomes, low repetitive sequence content (~6%), and a high fraction of protein-coding sequence (~39%) with relatively long coding exons and few coding introns. Functional annotation of gene models identified orthologous families for the majority (~73%) of genes. Synteny analysis uncovered localized but scrambled blocks of genes in putative orthologous relationships with other green algae. Two genes encoding beta-ketolase (BKT), the key enzyme synthesizing astaxanthin, were found in the genome, and both were up-regulated by high light. Isolation and molecular analysis of astaxanthin-deficient mutants showed that BKT1 is required for the production of astaxanthin. Moreover, the transcriptome under high light exposure revealed candidate genes that could be involved in critical yet missing steps of astaxanthin biosynthesis, including ABC transporters, cytochrome P450 enzymes, and an acyltransferase. Finally, the high-quality genome and transcriptome provide insight into the green algal lineage and carotenoid production.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Investigation of carrier dynamics in InAs/GaAsSb quantum dots with different silicon delta-doping levels

The optical properties of InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in a GaAsSb matrix with different delta (d)-doping levels of 0, 2, 4, and 6 electrons per dot (e-/dot), incorporated to control the occupation of QD electronic states, are studied by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The time-resolved PL data taken at 10 K reveal that the increase of δ-doping density from 2 to 6 e - /dot decreases the recombination lifetime of carriers at ground states of the QDs from 996 ± 36 to 792 ± 19 ps, respectively. Furthermore, the carrier lifetime of the sample with 4 e - /dot is found to increase at a slower rate than that of the undoped sample as temperature increases above 70 K. An Arrhenius plot of the temperature dependent PL intensity indicates that the thermal activation energy of electrons in the QDs, required for carrier escape from the dot ground state to continuum state, is increased when the d-doping density is high enough (>4 e - /dot). These results are attributed to the enhanced Coulomb interaction of electrons provided by the d-doping, leading to reduced thermal quenching of the PL.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Nonlinear Quantum Optics in a Waveguide: Distinct Single Photons Strongly Interacting at the Single Atom Level

We propose a waveguide-QED system where two single photons of distinct frequency or polarization interact strongly. The system consists of a single ladder-type three level atom coupled to a waveguide. When both optical transitions are coupled strongly to the waveguide's mode, we show that a control photon tuned to the upper transition induces a {pi} phase shift and tunneling of a probe photon tuned to the otherwise reflective lower transition. Furthermore, the system exhibits single photon scattering by a classical control beam. Waveguide-QED schemes could be an alternative to high quality cavities or dense atomic ensembles in quantum information processing.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Market Designs for High Levels of Variable Generation: Preprint

Variable renewable generation is increasing in penetration in modern power systems, leading to higher variability in the supply and price of electricity as well as lower average spot prices. This raises new challenges, particularly in ensuring sufficient capacity and flexibility from conventional technologies. Because the fixed costs and lifetimes of electricity generation investments are significant, designing markets and regulations that ensure the efficient integration of renewable generation is a significant challenge. This papers reviews the state of play of market designs for high levels of variable generation in the United States and Europe and considers new developments in both regions.

17 WIND ENERGY↗