SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Alternating Current”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2017

Сrystallinity and size control of silicon nanoparticles synthesized from monosilane in glow-discharge plasma

Decomposition reaction of monosilane in glow discharge plasma of both direct (DC) and alternating current (AC) have been performed. The possibility of nanosilicon synthesis using the glow discharge plasma has been shown. The Raman spectroscopy is applied to study the phase composition and granulometric analysis of the obtained nanosilicon samples. The possibility of the structure and size control of amorphous silicon films with nano crystalline inclusions (a-Si:H/c-Si + nc-Si) by varying pressure and composition of a gas mixture in the process of synthesis has been demonstrated.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Liquid Crystals-Enabled AC Electrokinetics

Phenomena of electrically driven fluid flows, known as electro-osmosis, and particle transport in a liquid electrolyte, known as electrophoresis, collectively form a subject of electrokinetics. Electrokinetics shows a great potential in microscopic manipulation of matter for various scientific and technological applications. Electrokinetics is usually studied for isotropic electrolytes. Recently it has been demonstrated that replacement of an isotropic electrolyte with an anisotropic, or liquid crystal (LC), electrolyte, brings about entirely new mechanisms of spatial charge formation and electrokinetic effects. This review presents the main features of liquid crystal-enabled electrokinetics (LCEK) rooted in the field-assisted separation of electric charges at deformations of the director that describes local molecular orientation of the LC. Since the electric field separates the charges and then drives the charges, the resulting electro-osmotic and electrophoretic velocities grow as the square of the applied electric field. We describe a number of related phenomena, such as alternating current (AC) LC-enabled electrophoresis of colloidal solid particles and fluid droplets in uniform and spatially-patterned LCs, swarming of colloids guided by photoactivated surface patterns, control of LCEK polarity through the material properties of the LC electrolyte, LCEK-assisted mixing at microscale, separation and sorting of small particles. LC-enabled electrokinetics brings a new dimension to our ability to manipulate dynamics of matter at small scales and holds a major promise for future technologies of microfluidics, pumping, mixing, sensing, and diagnostics.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2018

A Plasma Generator with Magnetic Vortex Stabilization and Possibilities of Its Use

A design of a plasma generator, the parameters of the resulting plasma, and the possibilities of its use for the synthesis of nanosized powders and optical emission spectroscopy are described. The device operation is based on the arc discharge of alternating current (66 kHz) in an argon jet between water-cooled metal electrodes. The discharge is stabilized by a flow of isolating gas (helium, nitrogen, air) and an axial magnetic field. The gas flow is fed tangentially to the discharge axis. The plasma between the electrodes has the shape of a cylinder remote from the chamber walls. The temperature and electron concentration in the cross section of the plasma cylinder vary along the radius and take the maximum and minimum values.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

Control voltage and power fluctuations when connecting wind farms

Voltage, frequency, active power and reactive power are very important parameters in terms of power quality. These parameters are followed when connecting any power plant, the more the connection of wind farms. Connecting wind farms to the electricity system must not cause interference outside the limits set by regulations. Modern solutions for fast and automatic voltage control and power fluctuations using electronic control systems of reactive power flows. FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmision System) systems, established on the basis of power electronic circuits ensure control of electrical status quantities to achieve the necessary transfer of power to the power grid. FACTS devices can quickly control parameters and sizes of state power lines, such as impedance line voltages and phase angles of the voltages of the two ends of the line. Their use can lead to improvement in power system operation by increasing the transmission capacity of power lines, power flow control lines, improved static and transient stability reserve.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2014

Electron density measurements of atmospheric-pressure non-thermal N{sub 2} plasma jet by Stark broadening and irradiance intensity methods

An atmospheric-pressure non-thermal plasma jet excited by high frequency alternating current using nitrogen is developed and the electron density in the active region of this plasma jet is investigated by two different methods using optical emission spectroscopy, Stark broadening, and irradiance intensity method. The irradiance intensity method shows that the average electron density is about 10{sup 20}/m{sup 3} which is slightly smaller than that by the Stark broadening method. However, the trend of the change in the electron density with input power obtained by these two methods is consistent.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2017

Implications of the 2015 and 2016 Ukrainian electric grid cyber attacks to nuclear power plants - 113

Nuclear plants can be vulnerable from electric grid cyber attacks. In December 2015 and December 2016, cyber attackers attacked the Ukrainian electric grid and 'turned off the lights' by opening substation protective relays. The 2015 cyber attacks targeted electric distribution systems and the 2016 cyber attacks targeted electric transmission systems. In order to accomplish the attacks, the cyber attackers compromised field control system devices to inject malware and then open protective relays in substations. There are some very significant implications to nuclear plant operations from hacking the substations and switchyard breakers that serve nuclear plants. The nuclear plant operational concerns are compromising protective relays to prevent relay protection that would result in damage to large electric equipment; spurious actuation of protective relays causing loss-of-offsite power (LOOP) conditions; and the closing and then reopening of protective relays out-of-phase with the grid causing the Aurora vulnerability damaging generators, Alternating Current (AC) motors, and transformers. All of these protective relay conditions have already occurred in actual or test conditions. The common thread to these scenarios are that switchyard and substation protective relays are out-of-scope of existing nuclear cyber security regulations yet, when compromised, have demonstrated impacts to nuclear plant operations and challenged safety systems. There is one other issue about an attack originating from a protective relay. That is, it would be irrelevant whether the nuclear plant system that would be impacted would have analog or digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems because the impact is upstream of the I and C. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Electrical conductivity spectra of Sn doped BaTi{sub 0.95}Zr{sub 0.05}O{sub 3}

The alternating current (ac) conductivity spectra of Sn doped BaTi{sub 0.95}Zr{sub 0.05}O{sub 3} prepared by solid state reaction have been studied in the temperature range of 373–473 K. Mixed valency of Sn atoms and the oxygen vacancy controls electrical transport process. The ac conductivity follows Jonscher type power law as a function of frequency. Derived dc conductivity and hopping frequency follow Arrhenius type temperature dependency and have same activation energy. Almost temperature independent nature of frequency exponent indicates that the electrical conduction in Zr and Sn co-doped BaTiO{sub 3} relaxor is quantum mechanical electron tunneling. The conductivity spectra are perfectly scaled using the scaling parameters as dc conductivity and hopping frequency.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2015

Plasma antennas driven by 5–20 kHz AC power supply

The experiments described in this work were performed with the aim of introducing a new plasma antenna that was excited by a 5–20 kHz alternating current (AC) power supply, where the antenna was transformed into a U-shape. The results show that the impedance, voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR), radiation pattern and gain characteristics of the antenna can be controlled rapidly by varying not only the discharge power, but also by varying the discharge frequency in the range from 5 to 20 kHz. When the discharge frequency is adjusted from 10 to 12 kHz, the gain is higher within a relatively broad frequency band and the switch-on time is less than 1 ms when the discharge power is less than 5 W, meaning that the plasma antenna can be turned on and off rapidly.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

NASA NTRS1990

A fiber-optic current sensor for aerospace applications

A robust, accurate, broad-band, alternating current sensor using fiber optics is being developed for space applications at power frequencies as high as 20 kHz. It can also be used in low and high voltage 60 Hz terrestrial power systems and in 400 Hz aircraft systems. It is intrinsically electromagnetic interference (EMI) immune and has the added benefit of excellent isolation. The sensor uses the Faraday effect in optical fiber and standard polarimetric measurements to sense electrical current. The primary component of the sensor is a specially treated coil of single-mode optical fiber, through which the current carrying conductor passes. Improved precision is accomplished by temperature compensation by means of signals from a novel fiber-optic temperature sensor embedded in the sensing head. The technology contained in the sensor is examined and the results of precision tests conducted at various temperatures within the wide operating range are given. The results of early EMI tests are also given.

Patterson, Richard L.↗

DOE OSTI2015

Ionospheric very low frequency transmitter

The theme of this paper is to establish a reliable ionospheric very low frequency (VLF) transmitter, which is also broad band. Two approaches are studied that generate VLF waves in the ionosphere. The first, classic approach employs a ground-based HF heater to directly modulate the high latitude ionospheric, or auroral electrojet. In the classic approach, the intensity-modulated HF heater induces an alternating current in the electrojet, which serves as a virtual antenna to transmit VLF waves. The spatial and temporal variations of the electrojet impact the reliability of the classic approach. The second, beat-wave approach also employs a ground-based HF heater; however, in this approach, the heater operates in a continuous wave mode at two HF frequencies separated by the desired VLF frequency. Theories for both approaches are formulated, calculations performed with numerical model simulations, and the calculations are compared to experimental results. Theory for the classic approach shows that an HF heater wave, intensity-modulated at VLF, modulates the electron temperature dependent electrical conductivity of the ionospheric electrojet, which, in turn, induces an ac electrojet current. Thus, the electrojet becomes a virtual VLF antenna. The numerical results show that the radiation intensity of the modulated electrojet decreases with an increase in VLF radiation frequency. Theory for the beat wave approach shows that the VLF radiation intensity depends upon the HF heater intensity rather than the electrojet strength, and yet this approach can also modulate the electrojet when present. HF heater experiments were conducted for both the intensity modulated and beat wave approaches. VLF radiations were generated and the experimental results confirm the numerical simulations. Theory and experimental results both show that in the absence of the electrojet, VLF radiation from the F-region is generated via the beat wave approach. Additionally, the beat wave approach generates VLF radiations over a larger frequency band than by the modulated electrojet.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2016

Analysis of ELAP and mitigation strategies in Maanshan PWR with PCTRAN

On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company, encountered a beyond design basis earthquake/tsunami and the flood crippled the on-site emergency power and electric transmission systems. The ELAP (Extended Loss of Alternating Current Power) and LUHS (Loss of Ultimate Heat Sink) events severely damaged the core cooling systems and the safety functions of the containment. As a result, three reactor cores were damaged. Also, the cooling capability of nuclear spent fuel pools was lost due to loss of AC and DC power. Existing Station Blackout (SBO) analyses have demonstrated that even with leakage from Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) seals, the core could maintain coolable only when heat transfer exists between primary loop and secondary loop. Depend on the availability of DC power in different plant designs, the SBO coping times were shown to be 4 to 16 hours. According to INPO event report, it is necessary to analyze the consequences if current coping times are extended with increased core water inventory loss from pump seals. In an ELAP scenario, all active system including Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) and motor driven AFW were out of power supply, results in degradation of core cooling capability. Moreover, the fuel exposed risk would increase due to continuously Reactor Coolant System (RCS) inventory loss through pump seals. Therefore, mitigation strategy must be applied prior to core uncovering to prevent its damage and assure plant safety. This research utilized a fast running NPP safety simulation code, PCTRAN, to assess reactor performances in the situations of ELAP of Maanshan PWR. Also, the sensitivity study of injection flow rates and effectiveness of mitigation strategy were demonstrated. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2013

Numerical simulation of a plasma actuator based on ion transport

Two-dimensional numerical simulation of ion transport and flow around a single dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator (PA) is performed. Spatial distributions of ions and electrons as well as their time evolution are obtained by solving the transport equations of monovalent positive ions, monovalent negative ions, and electrons. Voltage and frequency of the driving alternating-current signal are assumed to be 8 kV and 5 kHz, respectively. Special focus is laid upon the effect of voltage gradient dV/dt on the magnitude of the body force. The validity of steady force models often used in flow simulation is also examined. The simulation results show that the magnitude of the body force induced by the PA increases as the voltage gradient dV/dt increases and its increase rate becomes milder at higher voltage. The mechanism of body force generation is explained from the time evolution of number density fields of ions and electrons. A comparison between flow simulations using a time-resolved body force and its time-averaged counterpart demonstrates that the time-averaged model gives sufficiently accurate results when the time scale of the flow is more than 30 times greater than that of the PA.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

Electrodeposited Co{sub 93.2}P{sub 6.8} nanowire arrays with core-shell microstructure and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We demonstrate the formation of an unusual core-shell microstructure in Co{sub 93.2}P{sub 6.8} nanowires electrodeposited by alternating current (ac) in an alumina template. By means of transmission electron microscopy, it is shown that the coaxial-like nanowires contain amorphous and crystalline phases. Analysis of the magnetization data for Co-P alloy nanowires indicates that a ferromagnetic core is surrounded by a weakly ferromagnetic or non-magnetic phase, depending on the phosphor content. The nanowire arrays exhibit an easy axis of magnetization parallel to the wire axis. For this peculiar composition and structure, the coercivity values are 2380 ± 50 and 1260 ± 35 Oe, parallel and perpendicular to the plane directions of magnetization, respectively. This effect is attributed to the core-shell structure making the properties and applications of these nanowires similar to pure cobalt nanowires with an improved perpendicular anisotropy.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2015

Module-Integrated Power Converters Based on Universal Dock

Solar power installations using alternating current photovoltaic (ACPV) modules have significant cost and performance advantages over systems using conventional solar modules and string inverters. ACPV modules have improved energy harvest due to module-level power point tracking and redundancy. More importantly, ACPV modules are easier and cheaper to install, lowering the total installed cost, indirect costs, and barriers to market entry. Furthermore, ACPV modules have communications and data logging capability, yielding module-level telemetry data that is useful in site diagnostics and other data applications. The products of these efforts were threefold. First, an advanced microinverter power topology was developed, modeled, simulated, and tested. Second, new microinverter enclosure concepts were developed and tested. Third, a new ACPV module prototype was constructed, combining the power topology and the enclosure concepts. SolarBridge filed for patents in each of these areas and is transitioning the project from a concept phase to full development.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

The Effect of Annealing Time on Microstructure and AC Corrosion Behavior of X80 Steel in Simulated Solution of Alkaline Soil

The alternating current (AC) corrosion behavior of X80 steels annealed for different times was investigated in an alkaline soil simulation solution by electrochemical measurement, immersion test and surface analysis technology. The results show that with or without AC interference, the steels annealed for various times have different corrosion resistance. The anticorrosion resistance of steel improves with an increase in annealing time. AC interference results in the evolution of the main cathodic reaction, and facilitates the corrosion of the steels. The steel annealed for 20 min presents a more severe corrosion degree with distinct pits. The corrosion behavior of the steels annealed for different times with AC application is closely related to the microstructure. A decrease in pearlite reduces the number of galvanic corrosion cells, decreasing the corrosion rate of steel. And the grain increase is beneficial for improving the corrosion resistance of the annealed steel.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Corrosion Behavior of Pipeline Steel with Different Microstructures Under AC Interference in Acid Soil Simulation Solution

Corrosion behavior of X65 pipeline steels with different microstructures under alternating current (AC) interference was investigated in acid soil simulation solution by potentiodynamic polarization curve, potentiostatic polarization curve and immersion test. The results show that superimposed AC causes a sharp increase in corrosion current density of X65 steel. With the increase in i{sub AC}, the corrosion current densities of steels with various microstructures increase, especially at high i{sub AC}. Hot-rolled steel mainly experiences uniform corrosion, with very slight pit corrosion. Serious corrosion degrees with intensive corrosion pits can be observed on the surfaces of normalized and quenched microstructure steels. The annealed steel exhibits the feature of non-uniform corrosion with some pitting. The steels with various microstructures applied with AC have different corrosion resistance. The normalized steel shows the worst corrosion resistance, then the quenched microstructure, and the hot-rolled steel displays the optimum corrosion resistance. The difference in the microstructure can result in difference in corrosion degree and occurrence position of pitting corrosion of X65 steel. The normalized microstructure composed of polygonal ferrite and a large amount of pearlite and bainite is the most susceptible to AC corrosion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Thermal conductivity of high performance carbon nanotube yarn-like fibers

In the present paper, we present results of thermal conductivity measurements in free standing carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn-like fibers. The measurements are made using a T-type experimental configuration utilizing a Wollaston-wire hot probe inside a scanning electron microscope. In this technique, a suspended platinum wire is used both as a heater and a thermal sensor. A low frequency alternating current source is used to heat the probe wire while the third harmonic voltage across the wire is measured by a lock-in amplifier. The conductivity is deduced from an analytical model that relates the drop in the spatially averaged temperature of the wire to that of the sample. The average thermal conductivity of the neat CNT fibers and the CNT –polymer composite fibers is found to be 448 W/m-K and 225 W/m-K, respectively. These values for conductivity are amongst the highest measured for CNT yarn-like fibers fabricated using a dry spinning process from vertically aligned CNT arrays. The enhancement in thermal conductivity is understood to be due to an increase in the CNT fiber elastic stiffness during the draw and twist operations, lower CNT thermal contact resistance due to increase in CNT contact area, and better alignment of the CNT fibrils along the length of the fiber.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2019

Electric Conductivity of TiO{sub 2}-Ti{sub 2}O{sub 3}-FeO-CaO-SiO{sub 2}-MgO-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} for High-Titania Slag Smelting Process

The electric conductivity of high-titania slag of TiO{sub 2}-Ti{sub 2}O{sub 3}-FeO-CaO-SiO{sub 2}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-MgO slag system was measured by means of four-electrode alternating current (AC) impedance method. The results show that high-titania slag exhibits a good electric conductivity, around 45 to 141 S cm{sup −1} with slight dependence on the temperature, which is of several orders of magnitude higher than that of the silicate slags. Further, electric conductivity of high-titania slag decreased with the increasing FeO content, whereas, the increasing Ti{sup 3+}/Ti{sup 4+} and TiO{sub 2} contents caused a significant increase in the electric conductivity. Based on the experimental results and the calculated results, the conductive mechanism of high-titania slag was discussed in detail. It can be concluded that the high-titania slag exhibits a characteristic of electronic–ionic mixed conductivity, but the effect of electronic conduction dominates above the liquidus temperature; however, with the decreasing temperature, the electronic conductivity was gradually weakened. The mechanism was postulated to be a random walk of electrons between tetravalent titanium and trivalent titanium dispersed in the melt.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗