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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Spatiotemporal control of liquid crystal structure and dynamics through activity patterning

Active materials are capable of converting free energy into mechanical work to produce autonomous motion, and exhibit striking collective dynamics that biology relies on for essential functions. Controlling those dynamics and transport in synthetic systems has been particularly challenging. Here, we introduce the concept of spatially structured activity as a means of controlling and manipulating transport in active nematic liquid crystals consisting of actin filaments and light-sensitive myosin motors. In this work, simulations and experiments are used to demonstrate that topological defects can be generated at will and then constrained to move along specified trajectories by inducing local stresses in an otherwise passive material. These results provide a foundation for the design of autonomous and reconfigurable microfluidic systems where transport is controlled by modulating activity with light.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Growth of concomitant laser-driven collisionless and resistive electron filamentation instabilities over large spatiotemporal scales

Collective processes in plasmas often induce microinstabilities that play an important role in many space or laboratory plasma environments. Particularly of note is the Weibel-type current filamentation instability, which is believed to drive the creation of collisionless shocks in weakly magnetized astrophysical plasmas. In this paper, this instability class is studied through interactions of ultraintense and short laser pulses with solid foils, leading to localized generation of megaelectronvolt electrons. Proton radiographic measurements of both low- and high-resistivity targets show two distinct, superimposed electromagnetic field patterns arising from the interpenetration of the megaelectronvolt electrons and the background plasma. Particle-in-cell simulations and theoretical estimates suggest that the collisionless Weibel instability building up in the dilute expanding plasmas formed at the target surfaces causes the observed azimuthally symmetric electromagnetic filaments. For a sufficiently high resistivity of the target foil, an additional resistive instability is triggered in the bulk target, giving rise to radially elongated filaments. The data reveal the growth of both filamentation instabilities over large temporal (tens of picoseconds) and spatial (hundreds of micrometres) scales.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

MetaFlux: Meta-learning global carbon fluxes from sparse spatiotemporal observations

We provide a global, long-term carbon flux dataset of gross primary production and ecosystem respiration generated using meta-learning, called MetaFlux. The idea behind meta-learning stems from the need to learn efficiently given sparse data by learning how to learn broad features across tasks to better infer other poorly sampled ones. Using meta-trained ensemble of deep models, we generate global carbon products on daily and monthly timescales at a 0.25-degree spatial resolution from 2001 to 2021, through a combination of reanalysis and remote-sensing products. Site-level validation finds that MetaFlux ensembles have lower validation error by 5–7% compared to their non-meta-trained counterparts. In addition, they are more robust to extreme observations, with 4–24% lower errors. We also checked for seasonality, interannual variability, and correlation to solar-induced fluorescence of the upscaled product and found that MetaFlux outperformed other machine-learning based carbon product, especially in the tropics and semi-arids by 10–40%. Overall, MetaFlux can be used to study a wide range of biogeochemical processes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spatiotemporal control of structure and dynamics in a polar active fluid

We apply optimal control theory to drive a polar active fluid into new behaviors: relocating asters, reorienting waves, and on-demand switching between states. This study reveals general principles to program active matter for useful functions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Generation of large-volume high-pressure plasma by spatiotemporal control of space charge

Any attempt to scale pressure and volume of nonthermal plasma usually leads to instabilities due to the formation of localized space charge. The control of the plasma is limited by the discharge geometry, type of excitation, and gas composition. This article explores the possibility of controlling the space charge in a discharge with a spatially and temporally varying electric field. It is shown that a phase-staggered sinusoidal excitation to a set of conformal azimuthal electrodes in a cylindrical geometry leads to a traveling electric field. Simulations show that in space charge dominated transport, the charged species are dispersed both in the radial and azimuthal directions. This will lead to better control of the space charge and stable discharges near atmospheric pressures.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Excitons: Energetics and spatiotemporal dynamics

The concept of an exciton as a quasiparticle that represents collective excited states was originally adapted from solid-state physics and has been successfully applied to molecular aggregates by relying on the well-established limits of the Wannier exciton and the Frenkel exciton. However, the study of excitons in more complex chemical systems and solid materials over the past two decades has made it clear that simple concepts based on Wannier or Frenkel excitons are not sufficient to describe detailed excitonic behavior, especially in nano-structured solid materials, multichromophoric macromolecules, and complex molecular aggregates. In addition, important effects such as vibronic coupling, the influence of charge-transfer (CT) components, spin-state interconversion, and electronic correlation, which had long been studied but not fully understood, have turned out to play a central role in many systems. This has motivated new experimental approaches and theoretical studies of increasing sophistication. This article provides an overview of works addressing these issues that were published for A Special Topic of the Journal of Chemical Physics on ``Excitons: Energetics and spatio-temporal dynamics" and discusses their implications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantitative spatiotemporal density evolution of aluminum heated purely by monochromatic electrons

A spatially resolved air-wedge shearing interferometer and shadowgraph diagnostic provides measurements of electron density with a resolution of ∼40 μm. A ∼100-ns-long, monoenergetic electron bunch at 19.8 MeV and a current of 1.4 kA (8.5×1014 e−) heats 100-μm-thick aluminum (Al) foils in a 1-mm-spot to Te∼1 eV. A 5-ns-long, ∼60 mJ, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser probes the dense Al plasma. Electron densities up to 1020cm−3 are resolved; the maximum resolvable density is limited by opacity, transmission, and spatial fringe density achievable with the detector. This diagnostic provides measurements of the total phase shift, transmission, and electron density. Several measurements at different time slices provide the ability to determine the velocity of the leading edge of the shadowgraph and compare it to the motion of different density shells. These measurements are also compared to radiation hydrodynamics simulations. A rough quantitative agreement is shown between the hydro simulations and the measurements; there are differences in the exact density distributions.

Coleman, J. E. (ORCID:0000000308873757)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multichannel Doppler fiber-imager spectrometer for spatiotemporal characterization of high-intensity laser-driven plasmas

Here, we demonstrate a flexible multichannel fiber-based imaging Doppler spectrometer to characterize plasmas in high intensity (≥1 × 10 18 W/cm 2 ) laser-plasma experiments at high repetition rates. This instrument collects data from ×21 different plasma locations combining optical fibers and a single imaging spectrometer. This diagnostic maps the plasma velocity evolution as a function of time with sub-pico-second resolution. Experimental results showing 2D velocity measurements of plasma with 20 μm spatial resolution are presented. Intensities of the order of 10 18 W/cm 2 were used to generate a plasma, while a much less intense, frequency doubled (400 nm), probe beam (10 11 W/cm 2 ) was used to measure the Doppler shift from the plasma critical surface. The instrument can be scaled to a larger number of channels (e.g., 100) still using a single spectrometer.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Four-dimensional chromosome reconstruction elucidates the spatiotemporal reorganization of the mammalian X chromosome

Significance Breakthrough technological advances such as Hi-C have enabled large-scale sequencing of pairwise genomic contacts. However, translating the 2D contacts to 3D spatial models remains challenging. Here we develop the “4DHiC” modeling method to infer 3D information from 2D datasets across time and construct a 3D model of the inactive X-chromosome (Xi). Our model not only demonstrates a spatial phase-separation between A/B and S1/S2 compartments to form “hemispheres,” but also reveals persistent smaller-scale structures hidden under the Xi superstructure. We also simulate Xist RNA spreading dynamics and deduce that the RNA spreads between hemispheres via both surface and core to establish the Xi. Our 4DHiC will serve a growing demand for data-driven methodologies that extract spatial information from biochemical interaction data.

Lappala, Anna↗
DOE OSTI2025

Thermal-Fluid and Thermal-Structural Response of the T-Tube Modular Divertor to Spatiotemporally Varying Heat Loads

Tungsten (W) is the leading candidate for divertor target plates because of its high melting point (>3000°C), thermal conductivity, and ultimate tensile stress. While W and its alloys are the only solid materials that can survive the high heat fluxes incident on the divertor, W’s low-ductility high ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of ~600°C and relatively low recrystallization temperature (RT) of ~1300°C pose structural (among other) challenges. The objective of this work is to estimate the thermal-fluid and thermal-structural performance of the helium (He)-cooled T-tube divertor, which was originally developed by the Advanced Reactor Innovation and Evaluation Study (ARIES) using numerical simulations. Here, predictions of temperature distributions across the plasma-facing structural component and surface pressures from computational fluid dynamics simulations are used to determine stress distributions using commercial structural finite element modeling software over a range of fusion-relevant conditions. The maximum allowable incident heat fluxes are determined based on the temperature limits imposed by the ITER elastic Structural Design Criteria for In-vessel Components (SDC-IC) and the maximum RT over a range of He mass flow rates and presented in the form of performance design charts. Our recent work found that thermal- structural criteria accounting for the low ductility of W in a finger-type modular divertor constrain the maximum incident heat fluxes to values well below the ITER specifications, and those based on considering only the RT demonstrate that integrated thermal-fluid and elastic structural performance evaluation are required for accurate assessment of divertor performance. This novel analysis of the T-tube considers how nonuniform and transient incident heat fluxes affect its thermal-fluid and thermal-structural performance, as well as the effect of volumetric heating, which can be as great as 27% of the power incident on the divertor surface. The W tile of the T-tube, with its relatively large plasma-facing area of ~15 cm 2 , will likely experience significant spatial variations in incident heat flux. This work therefore assesses whether steady-state incident heat flux profiles with a peak of 10 MW/m 2 and maximum heat flux gradients of 200 MW/m 2 per m exceed the structural limits imposed by the ITER elastic SDC-IC and the maximum RT over a range of fusion-relevant conditions. The effect of transient heat fluxes typical of plasma detachment and reattachment from the target plate due, for example, to gas injection are also evaluated

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cropland abandonment between 1986 and 2018 across the United States: spatiotemporal patterns and current land uses

Knowing where and when croplands have been abandoned or otherwise removed from cultivation is fundamental to evaluating future uses of these areas, e.g. as sites for ecological restoration, recultivation, bioenergy production, or other uses. However, large uncertainties remain about the location and time of cropland abandonment and how this process and the availability of associated lands vary spatially and temporally across the United States. Here, we present a nationwide, 30 m resolution map of croplands abandoned throughout the period of 1986–2018 for the conterminous United States (CONUS). We mapped the location and time of abandonment from annual cropland layers we created in Google Earth Engine from 30 m resolution Landsat imagery using an automated classification method and training data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cropland Data Layer. Our abandonment map has overall accuracies of 0.91 and 0.65 for the location and time of abandonment, respectively. From 1986 to 2018, 12.3 (±2.87) million hectares (Mha) of croplands were abandoned across CONUS, with areas of greatest change over the Ogallala Aquifer, the southern Mississippi Alluvial Plain, the Atlantic Coast, North Dakota, northern Montana, and eastern Washington state. The average annual nationwide abandoned area across our study period was 0.51 Mha per year. Annual abandonment peaked between 1997 and 1999 at a rate of 0.63 Mha year –1 , followed by a continuous decrease to 0.41 Mha year –1 in 2009–2011. Among the abandoned croplands, 53% (6.5 Mha) changed to grassland and pasture, 18.6% (2.28 Mha) to shrubland and forest, 8.4% (1.03 Mha) to wetlands, and 4.6% (0.56 Mha) to non-vegetated lands. Of the areas that we mapped as abandoned, 19.6% (2.41 Mha) were enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program as of 2020. Our new map highlights the long-term dynamic nature of agricultural land use and its relation to various competitive pressures and land use policies in the United States.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗