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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

Heavy flavor quenching and flow: the roles of initial condition, pre-equilibrium evolution, and in-medium interaction

Within an advanced Langevin-hydrodynamics framework coupled to a hybrid fragmentation-coalescence hadronization model, we study heavy flavor quenching and flow in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We investigate how the initial heavy quark spectrum, the in-medium energy loss and hadronization mechanisms of heavy quarks, the evolution profile of the pre-equilibrium stage, the medium flow, and the temperature dependence of heavy quark diffusion coefficients influence the suppression and elliptic flow of heavy mesons at the RHIC and the LHC. Our results show that the different modeling of initial conditions, pre-equilibrium evolution, and in-medium interactions can individually yield uncertainties of approximately 10-40% in D meson suppression and flow at a low transverse momentum. Furthermore, we also find that proper combinations of collisional versus radiative energy loss, coalescence versus fragmentation in hadronization, and the inclusion of medium flow are the most important factors for describing the suppression and elliptic flow of heavy mesons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Probing chiral interactions up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order in medium-mass nuclei

Here, we study ground-state energies and charge radii of closed-shell medium-mass nuclei based on novel chiral nucleon-nucleon (NN) and three-nucleon (3⁢𝑁) interactions, with a focus on exploring the connections between finite nuclei and nuclear matter. To this end, we perform in-medium similarity renormalization group (IM-SRG) calculations based on chiral interactions at next-to-leading order (NLO), N 2 ⁢LO, and N 3 ⁢LO, where the 3⁢𝑁 interactions at N 2⁢ LO and N 3 ⁢LO are fit to the empirical saturation point of nuclear matter and to the triton binding energy. Our results for energies and radii at N 2 ⁢LO and N 3 ⁢LO overlap within uncertainties, and the cutoff variation of the interactions is within the EFT uncertainty band. We find underbound ground-state energies, as expected from the comparison to the empirical saturation point. The radii are systematically too large, but the agreement with experiment is better. We further explore variations of the 3⁢𝑁 couplings to test their sensitivity in nuclei. While nuclear matter at saturation density is quite sensitive to the 3⁢𝑁 couplings, we find a considerably weaker dependence in medium-mass nuclei. In addition, we explore a consistent momentum-space SRG evolution of these NN and 3⁢𝑁 interactions, exhibiting improved many-body convergence. For the SRG-evolved interactions, the sensitivity to the 3⁢𝑁 couplings is found to be stronger in medium-mass nuclei.

ab initio calculations↗

Medium-induced flavor conversion and kaon spectra in electron-ion collisions

Multiple scattering and induced parton splitting lead to a medium modification of the QCD evolution for jet fragmentation functions and final hadron spectra. Medium-induced parton splittings not only lead to energy loss of leading partons and suppression of leading hadron spectra, but also modify the flavor composition of a jet due to induced flavor conversion via gluon emission and quark pair production and annihilation. By doing a numerical study of the medium-modified QCD evolution, leading K - strange meson spectra are found to be particularly sensitive to the medium-induced flavor conversion in semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scatterings (SIDIS) off a large nucleus. The induced flavor conversion can lead to an increased number of gluons and sea quarks in a jet shower and, as a consequence, enhance the leading K - spectrum to counter the effect of parton energy loss in SIDIS with large momentum fractions x B , where the struck quarks are mostly valence quarks of the nucleus.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

QED nuclear medium effects at EIC energies

Here, we present the first calculation of quantum electrodynamics (QED) nuclear medium effects under the experimental conditions of future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) experiments. Our work offers numerical estimates, particularly in the context of inclusive deep inelastic scattering on a $^{208}_{82}$Pb nucleus. While prior studies have predominantly focused on elastic scattering, our investigation extends to the more complex scenarios of inelastic processes within a nuclear medium. Our findings suggest that the cross section corrections due to QED nuclear medium effects could be substantial, reaching or exceeding the level of experimental precision. This work further compares the effects of single rescattering events with those of multiple rescatterings, as particles travel the nuclear volume. We estimate the dominant source of the uncertainties associated with our formalism by varying the scale of the atomic physics where the screening of the electric field of the nucleus happens. This calculation not only contributes to the understanding of QED nuclear medium effects, but also offers a path to a more precise extraction of the process-independent nonperturbative structure of nuclei.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Medium induced transverse momentum broadening in hard processes

In this study, using deep inelastic scattering on a large nucleus as an example, we consider the transverse momentum broadening of partons in hard processes in the presence of medium. We find that one can factorize the vacuum radiation contribution and medium related P T broadening effects into the Sudakov factor and medium dependent distributions, respectively. Our derivations can be generalized to other hard processes, such as dijet productions, which can be used as a probe to measure the medium P T broadening effects in heavy ion collisions when Sudakov effects are not overwhelming.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Influence of phase connectivity on the relationship among capillary pressure, fluid saturation, and interfacial area in two-fluid-phase porous medium systems

Here, multiphase flow in porous medium systems is typically modeled using continuum mechanical representations at the macroscale in terms of averaged quantities. These models require closure relations to produce solvable forms. One of these required closure relations is an expression relating fluid pressures, fluid saturations, and, in some cases, the interfacial area between the fluid phases, and the Euler characteristic. An unresolved question is whether the inclusion of these additional morphological and topological measures can lead to a non-hysteretic closure relation compared to the hysteretic forms that are used in traditional models, which typically do not include interfacial areas, or the Euler characteristic. We develop a lattice-Boltzmann (LB) simulation approach to investigate the equilibrium states of a two-fluid-phase porous medium system, which include disconnected now- wetting phase features. The proposed approach is applied to a synthetic medium consisting of 1,964 spheres arranged in a random, non-overlapping, close-packed manner, yielding a total of 42,908 different equilibrium points. This information is evaluated using a generalized additive modeling approach to determine if a unique function from this family exists, which can explain the data. The variance of various model estimates is computed, and we conclude that, except for the limiting behavior close to a single fluid regime, capillary pressure can be expressed as a deterministic and non-hysteretic function of fluid saturation, interfacial area between the fluid phases, and the Euler characteristic. This work is unique in the methods employed, the size of the data set, the resolution in space and time, the true equilibrium nature of the data, the parameterizations investigated, and the broad set of functions examined. The conclusion of essentially non-hysteretic behavior provides support for an evolving class of two-fluid-phase flow in porous medium systems models.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Medium Voltage Converter Inductor Insulation Design Considering Grid Insulation Requirements

Medium voltage SiC devices facilitate direct (without 50/60 Hz transformer) connection of the power electronics converter to the medium voltage grid using simple topology. Compared to the insulation design of medium voltage inductors that have been widely used in the power system, the insulation design of directly connected medium voltage converter filter inductors has more challenges. Although some works has been done discussing that, the grid insulation requirements on converter filter inductors are rarely discussed. This paper introduces the insulation design of a grid-side filter inductor for a 13.8 kV power conditioning system converter. The grid insulation requirements, including the short-duration power frequency overvoltage and the lightning impulse voltage, are considered in the design. To meet the requirements, the layer-to-layer insulation, winding-to-core/ground insulation, the air gap discharge between the winding and the core, as well as the local electrical field have been taken into consideration. Experimental tests are provided to validate the design.

Li, Haiguo↗

Drying of a Fully Saturated Porous Medium With Excess Water Layers: A Numerical Study

Abstract Drying of moist porous media can be very energy inefficient. For example, in the pulp and paper industry, paper drying consumes more than two-thirds of the total energy used in paper machines. Novel drying technologies can decrease the energy used for drying and lessen the manufacturing processes' carbon footprint. Developing next-generation drying technologies to dry moist porous media may require an understanding of removing moisture from a fully saturated porous material with excess water. This paper provides a fundamental understanding of heat and mass transfer in a fully saturated porous medium with excess water. This is relevant, for example, in drying tissue as well as pulp or paper for the purpose of thermal insulation where pressing is preferred to be avoided to overcome the reduction in the sheet thickness. For this purpose, a theoretical drying model is developed where the porous medium corresponds to paper and is assumed to be sandwiched between two excess-water layers (bottom and top). The conjugate model consists of energy and mass conservation equations for each layer. The model is validated with corresponding experimental data. In the model, the thickness of each water layer is calculated as a function of drying time based on local temperature and total moisture content. The numerical model is transient and one-dimensional in space (i.e., in the thickness direction). This paper demonstrates the governing equations, boundary conditions, and results when the saturated porous medium with water layers is heated from one side. Moisture and temperature profiles are estimated in the thickness direction of the porous medium as it dries.

Engineering↗

Hardware-in-the-Loop Investigation of Emissions Challenges in Hybrid Medium- and Heavy-Duty Powertrains Using a Pre-Production Diesel-Electric Parallel Hybrid System With and Without Stop-Start Operation

Hybrid electric powertrains are a growing market in medium- and heavy-duty applications. There is a lack of available information to understand the challenges in the integration of engine platforms into electrified powertrains, such as cold-start, restart, and load-reduction effects on emissions and emission control devices. Results from the Heavy Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck (HHDDT) cycle using a conventional medium-duty diesel engine were compared with those of a parallel hybrid architecture. Oak Ridge National Laboratory in collaboration with the US Department of Energy and Odyne Systems, LLC developed a powertrain in a hardware-in-the-loop environment, integrating the Odyne Systems, LLC medium-duty parallel hybrid system, which was used for the hybrid portion of this study. Experiments under the HHDDT cycle showed increasing improvements in fuel consumption and engine-out emissions with the integration of stop/start, hybrid, and hybrid with stop/start. However, the effects of load reduction and exhaust temperature on the thermal management strategy have shown an increase in fueling in the second part of the HHDDT cycle. Four configurations of medium-duty electrification were studied and contributed to building a unique data set containing combustion, emissions, and system integration data. Each electrification level was compared with the conventional baseline. The calibration of the conventional engine was not altered for this study. Opportunities to tailor the combustion process were identified with the stop/start strategy.

Lerin, Chloe↗

MO-E-17A-02: Incorporation of Contrast Medium Dynamics in Anthropomorphic Phantoms: The Advent of 5D XCAT Models

Purpose: To develop a unique method to incorporate the dynamics of contrast-medium propagation into the anthropomorphic phantom, to generate a five-dimensional (5D) patient model for multimodality imaging studies. Methods: A compartmental model of blood circulation network within the body was embodied into an extended cardiac-torso (4D-XCAT) patient model. To do so, a computational physiologic model of the human cardiovascular system was developed which includes a series of compartments representing heart, vessels, and organs. Patient-specific cardiac output and blood volume were used as inputs influenced by the weight, height, age, and gender of the patient's model. For a given injection protocol and given XCAT model, the contrast-medium transmission within the body was described by a series of mass balance differential equations, the solutions to which provided the contrast enhancement-time curves for each organ; thereby defining the tissue materials including the contrastmedium within the XCAT model. A library of time-dependent organ materials was then defined. Each organ in each voxelized 4D-XCAT phantom was assigned to a corresponding time-varying material to create the 5D-XCAT phantom in which the fifth dimension is blood/contrast-medium within the temporal domain. Results: The model effectively predicts the time-varying concentration behavior of various contrast-medium administration in each organ for different patient models as function of patient size (weight/height) and different injection protocol factors (injection rate and pattern, iodine concentration or volume). The contrast enhanced XCAT patient models was developed based on the concentration of iodine as a function of time after injection. Conclusion: Majority of medical imaging systems take advantage of contrast-medium administration in terms of better image quality, the effect of which was ignored in previous optimization studies. The study enables a comprehensive optimization of contrast administration both in terms of image quality and radiation dose, and can be used in different modalities such as CT, MRI, and ultrasound.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Plasma chemistry of the sealed-off slab CO laser active medium pumped by radio-frequency discharge with liquid-nitrogen-cooled electrodes

The long-term time behavior of the output power of a sealed-off cryogenic slab CO laser pumped by a repetitively pulsed RF discharge and operating on the overtone (λ = 2.6–3.5 μm) vibrational−rotational transitions of the CO molecule was studied experimentally. It is shown that adding of an anomalously large amount of oxygen (up to 50% with respect to the CO concentration) to the initial gas mixture CO : He = 1 : 10 leads to a manyfold (by several tens of times) increase in the duration of the laser operating cycle (until lasing failure due to the degradation of the active medium). In this case, the laser life-time without replacement of the active medium reaches 10{sup 5}–10{sup 6} pulses. Using various diagnostics (including luminescence spectroscopy and IR and UV absorption spectroscopy), regularities in the time-behavior of the concentrations of the main component of the active medium (CO molecules) and the products of plasmachemical reactions (O{sub 3}, CO{sub 2}) generated in the discharge gap during the laser operating cycle are revealed. Time correlation between the characteristics of the active medium and the laser output power are analyzed. A phenomenological approach to describing the entirety of plasmachemical, purely chemical, gas-dynamic, and diffusion processes determining the behavior of the laser output characteristics throughout the laser operating cycle is offered.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Measuring an ultrashort, ultraviolet pulse in a slowly responding, absorbing medium

Frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) is a common technique for measuring ultrashort laser pulses using an instantaneous, nonlinear-optical interaction as a fast time-gate to measure the pulse intensity and phase. But at high frequencies, materials are often absorbing and it is not always possible to find a medium with a fast nonlinear-optical response. Here we show that an ultrashort, ultraviolet (UV) pulse can be measured in a strongly absorbing medium, using the absorption as the nonlinear-optical time-gate. To do this, we build on our recent implementation of FROG, known as induced-grating cross-correlation FROG (IG XFROG), where an unknown, higher-frequency pulse creates a transient grating that is probed with a lower-frequency, more easily detectable reference pulse. We demonstrate this with an 800 nm reference pulse to characterize 400 nm or 267 nm pulses using ZnS as the nonlinear-optical medium, which is absorptive at and below 400 nm. By scanning the delay between the two UV pulses which create the transient grating, we show that the phase-sensitive instantaneous four-wave-mixing contribution to the nonlinear signal field can be detected and separated from the slower, incoherent part of the response. Measuring a spectrally-resolved cross-correlation in this way and then applying a simple model for the response of the medium, we show that a modified generalized projections (GP) phase-retrieval algorithm can be used to extract the pulse amplitude and phase. We test this approach by measuring chirped UV pulses centered at 400 nm and 267 nm. Since interband absorption (or even photoionization) is not strongly wavelength-dependent, we expect IG XFROG to be applicable deeper into the UV.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

A chemically-defined growth medium to support Lactobacillus-Acetobacter sp. community analysis

Lactobacilli and Acetobacter sp. are commercially important bacteria that often form communities in natural fermentations, including food preparations, spoilage, and in the digestive tract of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Communities of these bacteria are widespread and prolific, despite numerous strain-specific auxotrophies, suggesting they have evolved nutrient interdependencies that regulate their growth. The use of a chemically-defined medium (CDM) supporting the growth of both groups of bacteria would facilitate the identification of the molecular mechanisms for the metabolic interactions between them. While numerous CDMs have been developed that support specific strains of lactobacilli or Acetobacter , there has not been a medium formulated to support both genera. We developed such a medium, based on a previous CDM designed for growth of lactobacilli, by modifying the nutrient abundances to improve growth yield. We further simplified the medium by substituting casamino acids in place of individual amino acids and the standard Wolfe’s vitamins and mineral stocks in place of individual vitamins and minerals, resulting in a reduction from 40 to 8 stock solutions. These stock solutions can be used to prepare several CDM formulations that support robust growth of numerous lactobacilli and Acetobacter s. Here, we provide the composition and several examples of its use, which is important for tractability in dissecting the genetic and metabolic basis of natural bacterial species interactions.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Kansas Consortium Plug-in Hybrid Medium Duty

On September 30, 2008, the US Department of Energy (DoE), issued a cooperative agreement award, DE-FC26-08NT01914, to the Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC), for a project known as “Kansas Consortium Plug-in Hybrid Medium Duty Certification” project. The cooperative agreement was awarded pursuant to H15915 in reference to H. R. 2764 Congressionally Directed Projects. The original agreement provided funding for The Consortium to implement the established project objectives as follows: (1) to understand the current state of the development of a test protocol for PHEV configurations; (2) to work with industry stakeholders to recommend a medium duty vehicle test protocol; (3) to utilize the Phase 1 Eaton PHEV F550 Chassis or other appropriate PHEV configurations to conduct emissions testing; (4) and to make an industry PHEV certification test protocol recommendation for medium duty trucks. Subsequent amendments to the initial agreement were made, the most significant being a revised Scope of Project Objectives (SOPO) that did not address actual field data since it was not available as originally expected. This project was mated by DOE with a parallel project award given to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California. The SCAQMD project involved designing, building and testing of five medium duty plug-in hybrid electric trucks. SCAQMD had contracted with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to manage the project. EPRI provided the required match to the federal grant funds to both the SCAQMD project and the Kansas Consortium project. The rational for linking the two projects was that the data derived from the SCAQMD project could be used to validate the protocols developed by the Kansas Consortium team. At the same time, the consortium team would be a useful resource to SCAQMD in designating their test procedures for emissions and operating parameters and determining vehicle mileage. The years between award of the cooperative agreements and their completion were problematic for the US and world economies. This resulted in the President and Congress implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA (Pub.L. 111-5), commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act. The stimulus money available for transportation projects encouraged the SCAQMD to seek additional funds. In August of 2009, they eventually were awarded an additional $45.5 M, and the scope of their project was expanded to 378 vehicles. However, as a consequence of the stimulus money and the inundation of DOE with applications for new project under the ARRA, the expected time table for producing and testing vehicles was significantly delayed. As a result, these vehicles were not available for validating the protocols developed by the Kansas Consortium. Therefore, in April of 2011, the Scope of Project Objectives (SOPO) for the project was revised, and limited to producing the draft protocol for PHEV certification as its deliverable.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

VOLTTRON™: Tech-to-Market Best-Practices Guide for Small- and Medium-Sized Commercial Buildings

VOLTTRON™ is an open-source distributed control and sensing platform developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. It was developed to be used by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to support transactive controls research and deployment activities. VOLTTRON is designed to be an overarching integration platform that could be used to bring together vendors, users, and developers and enable rapid application development and testing. The platform is designed to support modern control strategies, including the use of agent- and transaction-based controls. It also is designed to support the management of a wide range of applications, including heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems; electric vehicles; and distributed-energy and whole-building loads. This report was completed as part of the Building Technologies Office’s Technology-to-Market Initiative for VOLTTRON’s Market Validation and Business Case Development efforts. The report provides technology-to-market guidance and best practices related to VOLTTRON platform deployments and commercialization activities for use by entities serving small- and medium-sized commercial buildings. The report characterizes the platform ecosystem within the small- and medium-sized commercial building market and articulates the value proposition of VOLTTRON for three core participants in this ecosystem: 1) platform owners/adopters, 2) app developers, and 3) end-users. The report also identifies key market drivers and opportunities for open platform deployments in the small- and medium-sized commercial building market. Possible pathways to the market are described—laboratory testing to market adoption to commercialization. We also identify and address various technical and market barriers that could hinder deployment of VOLTTRON. Finally, we provide “best practice” tech-to-market guidance for building energy-related deployment efforts serving small- and medium-sized commercial buildings.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Community Modeling and Flux Balance Analysis of Synthetic Bacterial Community in MOPS Medium

This narrative was used for the 4-member community modeling using MOPS medium for the bacteria isolated from Populus deltoides (PD). 10 bacterial strains isolated from PD were co-cultured as a synthetic microbial community in MOPS minimal medium. After 15 passages there were 4 members survived in MOPS medium. The genome of each community member was sequenced and uploaded into KBase for genome annotation and metabolic modeling. To simulate the metabolic interactions among the finally surviving community members, the individual metabolic models of each strain were merged into a compartmentalized community model, and then the community model was gapfilled using MOPS medium. The FBA modeling was performed and the metabolites exchange among community members was proposed. The publication by Jia Wang, Dana L. Carper, Leah H. Burdick, Him Shrestha, Manasa Appidi, Paul E. Abraham, Collin M. Timm, Robert L. Hettich, Dale A. Pelletier, Mitchel J. Doktycz can be found here: https://doi.org/10.​1016/​j.​csbj.​2021.​03.​034

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Community Modeling and Flux Balance Analysis of Synthetic Bacterial Community in R2A Medium

This narrative was used for the 3-member community modeling using R2A medium for the bacteria isolated from Populus deltoides (PD). 10 bacteiral strains isolated from PD were co-cultured as a synthetic microbial community in R2A complex medium. After 15 passages, there were 3 members survived in R2A medium. The genome of each community member was sequenced and uploaded into KBase for genome annotation and metabolic modeling. To simulate the metabolic interactions among the finally surviving community members, the individual metabolic models of each strain were merged into a compartmentalized community model, and then the community model was gapfilled using R2A medium. The FBA modeling was performed and the metabolites exchange among community members was proposed. The publication by Jia Wang, Dana L. Carper, Leah H. Burdick, Him Shrestha, Manasa Appidi, Paul E. Abraham, Collin M. Timm, Robert L. Hettich, Dale A. Pelletier, Mitchel J. Doktycz can be found here: https://doi.org/10.​1016/​j.​csbj.​2021.​03.​034

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

A Defined Medium for Cultivation and Exometabolite Profiling of Soil Bacteria

Exometabolomics is an approach to assess how microorganisms alter, or react to their environments through the depletion and production of metabolites. It allows the examination of how soil microbes transform the small molecule metabolites within their environment, which can be used to study resource competition and cross-feeding. This approach is most powerful when used with defined media that enable tracking of all metabolites. However, microbial growth media have traditionally been developed for the isolation and growth of microorganisms but not metabolite utilization profiling through Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Here, we describe the construction of a defined medium, the Northen Lab Defined Medium (NLDM), that not only supports the growth of diverse soil bacteria but also is defined and therefore suited for exometabolomic experiments. Metabolites included in NLDM were selected based on their presence in R2A medium and soil, elemental stoichiometry requirements, as well as knowledge of metabolite usage by different bacteria. We found that NLDM supported the growth of 108 of the 110 phylogenetically diverse (spanning 36 different families) soil bacterial isolates tested and all of its metabolites were trackable through LC–MS/MS analysis. These results demonstrate the viability and utility of the constructed NLDM medium for growing and characterizing diverse microbial isolates and communities.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗