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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 253 records · Page 14

The energy spectrum of electrons and cosmic-ray confinement A new measurement and its interpretation

Measurements of the cosmic ray flux and electron energy spectrum from 5 GeV to 300 GeV, with an absolute uncertainty in the flux level of + or - 10 percent at low energies and + or - 30 percent at 100 GeV, are described. The measured spectrum appears to represent the competing processes of radiative energy loss in the interstellar medium and leakage out of the Galaxy. In the framework of the leaky box model and diffusion models, the result is most consistent with the picture of cosmic ray electrons spending an average of 10 million years in the Galaxy independent of electron energy, probably propagating in a halo as well as in the galactic disk.

Tang, K.-K.↗

Hydrogen Enrichment for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Gas Turbine (SOFC/GT) Hybrid Power Generation Systems Using Mechanical Gas Separation

This presentation, given at the 37 th annual Pittsburgh Coal Conference on September 8-11, 2020, includes information on the process, previous work, normal and oblique shocks model, diffuser design model, and calculation results (expansion, recompression with no losses, and recompression with mass depletion). Summary includes the concept of aerodynamic separation of water and carbon dioxide from a SYNGAS stream and that deposition was modeled by mass depletion from a compressible flow.

VanOsdol, John↗

A GENERALIZED NONLINEAR GUIDING CENTER THEORY FOR THE COLLISIONLESS ANOMALOUS PERPENDICULAR DIFFUSION OF COSMIC RAYS

The original nonlinear guiding center (NLGC) theory by Matthaeus et al. was a breakthrough in establishing a theory that promised to reproduce for the first time the anomalous perpendicular diffusion results from test particle trajectory calculations in prescribed static magnetic field turbulence dominated by a two-dimensional component. The assumptions used in this approach guaranteed anomalous diffusion to be a classical process (the variance ({Delta}x {sup 2}) {proportional_to} ({Delta}t){sup {alpha}} with {alpha} = 1). However, Shalchi and Kourakis showed that similar calculations can be even better reproduced within the context of a generalized compound diffusion model for anomalous perpendicular diffusion whereby anomalous diffusion is nonclassical (0 < {alpha} < 1 (subdiffusion) or 1 < {alpha} < 2 (superdiffusion)). In this paper, it is shown how NLGC theory can be generalized to model compound diffusion conditions consistent with the generalized compound diffusion model in terms of a nonuniform plasma medium. Such a medium is assumed to generate a distribution of cosmic-ray pitch-angle scattering times for cosmic rays interacting resonantly with a minor small-scale slab turbulence component. This suggests that the anomalous perpendicular diffusion from the test particle simulations might be explained best within the framework of anomalous diffusion in a nonuniform plasma medium. It is argued that, during intermediate times when the magnetic field appears to be static in the quiet solar wind near Earth, generalized NLGC theory predicts possibly subdiffusive anomalous perpendicular transport for intermediate-energy (E << 400-500 MeV) cosmic rays because they experience nonuniform scattering conditions. These conditions are suggested to be a product of stochastic wave growth of small-scale slab turbulence resulting intermittently in large patches of intense slab turbulence where scattering times are reduced and cosmic rays are trapped. Classical anomalous diffusion is expected to be restored at high cosmic-ray energies (E >> 400-500 MeV) in accordance with original NLGC theory because they encounter more uniform scattering conditions due to weaker stochastic wave growth. Magnetic turbulence observations near Earth during 2003 were used to show that the solar wind can be characterized as a nonuniform medium sustaining a power-law distribution of cosmic-ray pitch-angle scattering times. However, application of generalized NLGC theory to the 2003 observations produced unexpectedly a negative exponent for the variance of the anomalous diffusion ({alpha} < 0). This indicates that particle bunching occurs as cosmic rays are trapped in plasma regions associated with strong particle scattering. Such effects can plausibly be explained by the intermittent presence of strong compressive turbulence downstream of shocks, stream, and interaction regions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Two-phase flow with mass density contrast: Stable schemes for a thermodynamic consistent and frame-indifferent diffuse-interface model

In this paper, we present a numerical scheme for the diffuse-interface model in [3] for two-phase flow of immiscible, incompressible fluids. As that model is in particular consistent with thermodynamics, energy estimates are expected to carry over to the discrete setting. By a subtle discretization of the convective coupling with the flux of the phase-field in the momentum equation, we prove discrete consistency with thermodynamics. Numerical experiments in two spatial dimensions – ranging from Rayleigh–Taylor instability to a comparison with previous modeling approaches – indicate the full practicality of our scheme and enable a first validation of the new modeling approach in [3].

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Generative learning of densities on manifolds

A generative modeling framework is proposed that combines diffusion models and manifold learning to efficiently sample data densities on manifolds. The approach utilizes Diffusion Maps to uncover possible low-dimensional underlying (latent) spaces in the high-dimensional data (ambient) space. Two approaches for sampling from the latent data density are described. The first is a score-based diffusion model, which is trained to map a standard normal distribution to the latent data distribution using a neural network. The second one involves solving an Itô stochastic differential equation in the latent space. Additional realizations of the data are generated by lifting the samples back to the ambient space using Double Diffusion Maps , a recently introduced technique typically employed in studying dynamical system reduction; here the focus lies in sampling densities rather than system dynamics. The proposed approaches enable sampling high dimensional data densities restricted to low-dimensional, a priori unknown manifolds. The efficacy of the proposed framework is demonstrated through a benchmark problem and a material with multiscale structure.

Double diffusion maps↗

Geometry-complete diffusion for 3D molecule generation and optimization

Abstract Generative deep learning methods have recently been proposed for generating 3D molecules using equivariant graph neural networks (GNNs) within a denoising diffusion framework. However, such methods are unable to learn important geometric properties of 3D molecules, as they adopt molecule-agnostic and non-geometric GNNs as their 3D graph denoising networks, which notably hinders their ability to generate valid large 3D molecules. In this work, we address these gaps by introducing the Geometry-Complete Diffusion Model (GCDM) for 3D molecule generation, which outperforms existing 3D molecular diffusion models by significant margins across conditional and unconditional settings for the QM9 dataset and the larger GEOM-Drugs dataset, respectively. Importantly, we demonstrate that GCDM’s generative denoising process enables the model to generate a significant proportion of valid and energetically-stable large molecules at the scale of GEOM-Drugs, whereas previous methods fail to do so with the features they learn. Additionally, we show that extensions of GCDM can not only effectively design 3D molecules for specific protein pockets but can be repurposed to consistently optimize the geometry and chemical composition of existing 3D molecules for molecular stability and property specificity, demonstrating new versatility of molecular diffusion models. Code and data are freely available on GitHub .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Application of spectroscopic evidence to diffuse layer model (DLM) parameter estimation for cation adsorption onto ferrihydrite in single- and bi-solute systems

The diffuse layer model (DLM) is one of the most frequently used surface complexation models (SCM) for predicting cation adsorption onto ferrihydrite. However, the DLM with its existing database sometimes fails to predict cation adsorption, especially in multi-solute systems. Notably, the failure is often attributed to inaccurate selection of the surface complexes and/or underestimation of the site density for DLM formulation. DLM simulations of batch adsorption data conducted with cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc on ferrihydrite in CO2 free systems demonstrates the ability of the DLM to fit single-solute data reasonably well but highlights its limitations with respect to predicting bi-solute data. Modifications to the DLM were made in two steps. First, spectroscopic evidence was used to guide cation complexation reactions at the ferrihydrite surface. Second, surface characteristics (reactive site density, specific surface area, and acidity constants) of ferrihydrite were updated according to recent literature. The results from this study suggest that when spectroscopic verification is employed and surface site density is increased, a simple two-site DLM can predict cation adsorption on ferrihydrite in single-solute systems for pH data above 3.5 and in most of the bi-solute systems tested.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Employing a Modified Diffuser Momentum Model to Simulate Ventilation of the Orion CEV

The Ansys CFX CFD modeling tool was used to support the design efforts of the ventilation system for the Orion CEV. CFD modeling was used to establish the flow field within the cabin for several supply configurations. A mesh and turbulence model sensitivity study was performed before the design studies. Results were post-processed for comparison with performance requirements. Most configurations employed straight vaned diffusers to direct and throw the flow. To manage the size of the models, the diffuser vanes were not resolved. Instead, a momentum model was employed to account for the effect of the diffusers. The momentum model was tested against a separate, vane-resolved side study. Results are presented for a single diffuser configuration for a low supply flow case.

Straus, John↗

SurFE-XD (Surface curvature-driven Finite Elements model for Diffusion under eXtreme conditions)

SurFE-XD is a mesoscale finite element framework to model surface diffusion under mutliphysics environments. The code uses legacy C++ library dolphin wrapped with python in a FEniCS driven unified form language and just-in-time (JIT) compilation setting. The purpose of the release is to attract wide-ranging usage of the code along with publication supplementation to support reproducibility of scientific data. SurFE-XD has been originally conceived under the LDRD-DR funding for “High-Gradient (C-BAND) Breakdown tolerant accelerator materials project. Currently SrFE-XD support electrostatics and Thermo-elasticity driven surface diffusion kernels. Releasing the code will also enable to include contributions from other physical regimes e.g., plasticity and electrodynamics etc as well portability to GPU-based platforms.

Bagchi, Soumendu↗

Modeling the diffusion of heat energy within composites of homogeneous materials using the uncertainty principle

The goal of this paper is to develop a highly accurate and efficient numerical method for the solution of a time-dependent partial differential equation with a piecewise constant coefficient, on a finite interval with periodic boundary conditions. The resulting algorithm can be used, for example, to model the diffusion of heat energy in one space dimension, in the case where the spatial domain represents a medium consisting of two homogeneous materials. The resulting model has, to our knowledge, not yet been solved in closed form through analytical methods, and is difficult to solve using existing numerical methods, thus suggesting an alternative approach. The approach presented in this paper is to represent the solution as a linear combination of wave functions that change frequencies at the interfaces between different materials. It is demonstrated through numerical experiments that using the Uncertainty Principle to construct a basis of such functions, in conjunction with a spectral method, a mathematical model for heat diffusion through different materials can be solved much more efficiently than with conventional time-stepping methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Optimal Control with Restrictions for a Diffusion Risk Model Under Constant Interest Force

In this paper, we study optimal dividend problems in a diffusion risk model for two different cases depending on whether reinsurance is incorporated. In either case, the dividend rate is bounded above by a constant, and the company earns investment income at a constant force of interest. Unlike existing approaches in the literature dealing with optimal problems with interest, we allow the force of interest to be greater than the discount factor, and we use a different method to solve the corresponding Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation instead of introducing a confluent hypergeometric function. We conclude that the optimal dividend policy is of a threshold type and show that the corresponding dividend barrier is nondecreasing in the dividend rate bound. In cases where there is no reinsurance, we construct an auxiliary reflecting control problem to find the nonzero dividend barrier. If proportional reinsurance is purchased, the optimal reinsurance strategy looks somewhat strange. The optimal retention level of risk first increases monotonically with risk reserve to some possible value (less than 1) and then stays at level 1 for a while or, if 1 has been reached, finally, it decreases to 0.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Tungsten diffusion in silicon

Two doses (10{sup 13} and 10{sup 15} cm{sup −2}) of tungsten (W) atoms were implanted in different Si(001) wafers in order to study W diffusion in Si. The samples were annealed or oxidized at temperatures between 776 and 960 °C. The diffusion profiles were measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry, and defect formation was studied by transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. W is shown to reduce Si recrystallization after implantation and to exhibit, in the temperature range investigated, a solubility limit close to 0.15%–0.2%, which is higher than the solubility limit of usual metallic impurities in Si. W diffusion exhibits unusual linear diffusion profiles with a maximum concentration always located at the Si surface, slower kinetics than other metals in Si, and promotes vacancy accumulation close to the Si surface, with the formation of hollow cavities in the case of the higher W dose. In addition, Si self-interstitial injection during oxidation is shown to promote W-Si clustering. Taking into account these observations, a diffusion model based on the simultaneous diffusion of interstitial W atoms and W-Si atomic pairs is proposed since usual models used to model diffusion of metallic impurities and dopants in Si cannot reproduce experimental observations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Time integration for diffuse interface models for two-phase flow

We propose a variant of the θ-scheme for diffuse interface models for two-phase flow, together with three new linearization techniques for the surface tension. These involve either additional stabilizing force terms, or a fully implicit coupling of the Navier–Stokes and Cahn–Hilliard equation. In the common case that the equations for interface and flow are coupled explicitly, we find a time step restriction which is very different to other two-phase flow models and in particular is independent of the grid size. We also show that the proposed stabilization techniques can lift this time step restriction. Even more pronounced is the performance of the proposed fully implicit scheme which is stable for arbitrarily large time steps. We demonstrate in a Taylor-flow application that this superior coupling between flow and interface equation can decrease the computation time by several orders of magnitude.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Diffusion Barriers to Increase the Oxidative Life of Overlay Coatings

Currently, most blades and vanes in the hottest section of aero gas turbine engines require some type of coating for oxidation protection. Newly developed single crystal superalloys have the mechanical potential to operate at increasingly higher component temperatures. However, at these elevated temperatures, coating/substrate interdiffusion can shorten the protective life of the coating. Diffusion barriers between overlay coatings and substrates are being examined to extend the protective life of the coating. A previously- developed finite-difference diffusion model has been modified to predict the oxidative life enhancement due to use of a diffusion barrier. The original diffusion model, designated COSIM, simulates Al diffusion in the coating to the growing oxide scale as well as Al diffusion into the substrate. The COSIM model incorporates an oxide growth and spalling model to provide the rate of Al consumption during cyclic oxidation. Coating failure is predicted when the Al concentration at the coating surface drops to a defined critical level. The modified COSIM model predicts the oxidative life of an overlay coating when a diffusion barrier is present eliminating diffusion of Al from the coating into the substrate. Both the original and the modified diffusion models have been used to predict the effectiveness of a diffusion barrier in extending the protective life of a NiCrAl overlay coating undergoing cyclic oxidation at 1100 C.

Nesbitt, James A.↗

Modeling of Diffusion in Liquid Ge and Its Alloys

This report summarizes progress made on NASA Grant NAG3-1437, Modeling of diffusion in Liquid Ge and Its Alloys, which was in effect from January 15, 1993 through July 10, 1997. It briefly describes the purpose of the grant, and the work accomplished in simulations and other studies of thermophysical properties of liquid semiconductors and related materials. A list of publications completed with the support of the grant is also given.

Stroud, David G.↗

Diffusion Model-Guided Inverse Design of Bimetallic Catalysts for Ammonia Decomposition

In the past decade, artificial intelligence and deep learning have played increasingly prominent roles in materials design and discovery. Among these, generative AI models, known for their ability to create unique and complex structures, have emerged as state-of-the-art tools for materials screening due to their high efficiency and low computational cost. In catalysis, one of the major challenges is identifying promising material candidates within an immense chemical space. This challenge can be addressed using generative approaches, such as diffusion-based inverse design models. In this study, we present a machine learning-guided workflow that employed a diffusion model for the inverse design of bimetallic alloy catalysts for low-carbon ammonia decomposition, a key reaction for ammonia emission control and sustainable hydrogen production. Catalyst candidates were evaluated using nitrogen adsorption energy as the key descriptor, inspired by multiscale modeling. The proposed workflow identified low-cost, environmentally friendly catalysts with excellent catalytic performance, which have been validated theoretically and experimentally. Our framework decoupled the generative and property-prediction components, enhancing both flexibility and accuracy in the catalytic material design process.

Adsorption↗

MARMOT simulations of Xe segregation to grain boundaries in UO 2

Diffusion of Xe and U in UO 2 is controlled by vacancy mechanisms and under irradiation the formation of mobile vacancy clusters is important. We derive continuum thermodynamic and diffusion models for Xe and U in UO 2 based on the vacancy and cluster diffusion mechanisms established from recent density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Segregation of defects to grain boundaries in UO 2 is described by combining the diffusion model with models of the interaction between Xe atoms and vacancies with grain boundaries derived from separate atomistic calculations. The diffusion and segregation models are implemented in the MOOSE/MARMOT (MBM) finite element (FEM) framework and we simulate Xe redistribution for a few simple microstructures. In this report we focus on segregation to grain boundaries. The U or vacancy diffusion model as well as the coupled diffusion of vacancies and Xe have also been implemented, but results are not included in this report.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗