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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 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

"Source Term Modeling for Advanced Gas Micro-Reactors"

Maintaining the safety of the public, environment, and operating personnel is the most important factor in designing, operating, maintaining, and decommissioning nuclear reactors. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the development of micro-reactors employing TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO)-coated particle fuel. In gas reactors, TRISO fuel plays an important role in the safety case for high temperature reactors because of the fission product retention properties of the fuel. This ability enables the use of a functional containment strategy for the reactor where multiple barriers are used to prevent fission product release to the environment. Part of the safety analysis of these advanced reactors is the assessment of radionuclide releases under normal and accident conditions through the multiple credited safety barriers. Using conservative assumptions, a mechanistic analysis can be performed to quantify these releases that combines the probabilistic assessment of failure with analytic solutions to radionuclide transport equations. Source term modeling for TRISO fuel has been performed for previous reactor designs; however, these models are outdated, in many cases proprietary, and need updates to be applied to the current state of TRISO fuel technology and alternative gas reactor core configurations [1]. Currently, the only publicly available source term assessment for gas reactors is an expert-based Monte Carlo simulation based on the effectiveness of the fuel kernel, coating layers, and graphite block in a modular high temperature gas reactor [2]. Thus, there is a need to develop a simple, versatile, and mechanistic model of fission product release and transport in gas reactor cores that could be applied to a variety of reactors through user inputs and reactor-specific radionuclide inventories. The release is calculated by the diffusion of the key safety important fission products through the kernel, silicon carbide (SiC), graphite for both intact and defective TRISO particles based on fuel and graphite temperatures in the reactor under normal operation. These releases from the fuel enter the coolant where they can plate-out on cooler surfaces. A clean-up model is included for designs with a coolant purification system to remove fission gases. This initial distribution of fission products in the reactor serves as an initial condition for potential releases under postulated accident conditions. The model then can calculate the fission product release for any transient temperature profile and fission product releases can then be used to assess radiological dose to the workers and the public using conventional dose tools. Data on the diffusion of fission products is based on historic German TRISO experiments and the more current Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) TRISO fuel development program. The model is coded in python with inputs and outputs in excel spreadsheets, as well as python plotting utilities to aid in the interpretation of the results. References: [1] INL, NGNP Mechanistic Source Term White Paper, INL-10-17997, July 2010. [2] David A. Petti, Richard R. Hobbins, Peter Lowry, Hans Gougar, “Representative Source Terms and The Influence of Reactor Attributes on Functional Containment in Modular High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors,” Nuclear Technology, Vol. 184, p. 181-197, Nov. 2013.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Resumption of water capsule reactivity-initiated accident testing at TREAT

A series of integral reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) commissioning experiments were completed in a new static water capsule in the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT), marking the first such tests in the U.S. in more than 40 years. The test campaign included a verification test followed by five tests in the Static Environment Rodlet Transient Test Apparatus (SERTTA) capsule. The capsule initial conditions varied from room temperature and pressure up to 200°C and 2.5 MPa, with energy depositions varying between ~500–1100 J/gUO 2 . The series of tests allowed for a number of instrumentation qualifications and demonstrations, including cladding thermometry, rodlet plenum pressure, cladding elongation, and an electro-impedance boiling detector. Post transient examinations such as gamma emission spectroscopy, profilometry, and microscopy were performed to document the end state of the fuel rods. Furthermore, the results from the experiments show that the fuel rodlets behaved very similar to historical tests under similar energy depositions. This paper documents the design of the capsule and highlights some results from the commissioning tests and post-transient examination.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic fields in the formation of the first stars – II. Results

ABSTRACT Beginning with cosmological initial conditions at z = 100, we simulate the effects of magnetic fields on the formation of Population III stars and compare our results with the predictions of Paper I. We use gadget-2 to follow the evolution of the system while the field is weak. We introduce a new method for treating kinematic fields by tracking the evolution of the deformation tensor. The growth rate in this stage of the simulation is lower than expected for diffuse astrophysical plasmas, which have a very low resistivity (high magnetic Prandtl number); we attribute this to the large numerical resistivity in simulations, corresponding to a magnetic Prandtl number of order unity. When the magnetic field begins to be dynamically significant in the core of the minihalo at z = 27, we map it on to a uniform grid and follow the evolution in an adaptive mesh refinement, MHD simulation in orion2. The non-linear evolution of the field in the orion2 simulation violates flux-freezing and is consistent with the theory proposed by Xu & Lazarian. The fields approach equipartition with kinetic energy at densities ∼1010–1012 cm−3. When the same calculation is carried out in orion2 with no magnetic fields, several protostars form, ranging in mass from ∼1 to 30 M⊙; with magnetic fields, only a single ∼30 M⊙ protostar forms by the end of the simulation. Magnetic fields thus suppress the formation of low-mass Pop III stars, yielding a top-heavy Pop III initial mass function and contributing to the absence of observed Pop III stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multizone Modeling of Black Hole Accretion and Feedback in 3D GRMHD: Bridging Vast Spatial and Temporal Scales

Simulating accretion and feedback from the horizon scale of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) out to galactic scales is challenging because of the vast range of scales involved. Elaborating on H. Cho et al., we describe and test a "multizone" technique, which is designed to tackle this difficult problem in three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations. While short-timescale variability should be interpreted with caution, the method is demonstrated to be well-suited for finding dynamical steady states over a wide dynamic range. We simulate accretion on a nonspinning SMBH ($a\ast$ = 0) using initial conditions and the external galactic potential from a large-scale galaxy simulation and achieve a steady state over eight decades in radius. As found in H. Cho et al., the density scales with radius as ρ ∝ r –1 inside the Bondi radius R B , which is located at R B = 2 × 10 5 r g (≈60 pc for M87), where r g is the gravitational radius of the SMBH; the plasma-β is ~ unity, indicating an extended magnetically arrested state; the mass accretion rate $\dot{M}$ is ≈1% of the analytical Bondi accretion rate ${\dot{M}}_{{\rm{B}}};$ and there is continuous energy feedback out to ≈100R B (or beyond > kpc) at a rate $\approx 0.02\dot{M}{c}^{2}$. Surprisingly, no ordered rotation in the external medium survives as the magnetized gas flows to smaller radii, and the final steady solution is very similar to when the exterior has no rotation. Using the multizone method, we simulate GRMHD accretion over a wide range of Bondi radii, R B ~ 10 2 –10 7 r g , and find that $\dot{M}/{\dot{M}}_{{B}}\approx {({R}_{{B}}/6\,{r}_{g})}^{-0.5}$.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Transient Chemo‐Mechanical Model of Lithium Plating Impacted by External Pressure

Abstract Lithium anodes show great promise in commercial applications, but are hindered by lithium plating and dendrite growth which cause safety concerns during long‐term cell operation. Stack pressure is experimentally observed to improve cell lifetime; however, the relationship between stress and lithium deposition has remained difficult to elucidate. In this work, a transient, 3D, finite‐element model of the evolution of a lithium anode due to stripping and plating is developed. The evolution of a microscale protrusion on the anode surface is tracked over one charge‐discharge cycle with respect to stack pressure and lithium yield strength. Lithium plastic deformation, nonconformal anode‐separator contact, and separator porosity effects are accounted for. Over the course of several hours of stripping/plating, the anode surface evolves to a similar morphology under pressure regardless of the initial conditions due to lithium plastic deformation and hardening. The rate of this evolution highly depends on the applied pressure and assumed lithium yield strength.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Coupling reduced‐order modeling and coarse‐grained CFD‐DEM to accelerate coal gasifier simulation and optimization

Abstract High fidelity three‐dimensional (3‐D) numerical simulations of commercial‐scale coal gasifiers are very time consuming and expensive. This article proposes a reduced‐order modeling approach that uses quasi one‐dimensional (1‐D) CFD–DEM simulation results to serve as an accurate initial condition for the 3‐D simulation, which significantly shortens the physical time from several hours to minutes to achieve steady states. The 3‐D simulation employs a previously validated coarse‐grained CFD‐DEM approach, which further accelerates the simulation. Both 1‐D and 3‐D simulations adopt a particle shrinkage scheme to correctly account for the particle volume change due to chemical reaction and thus provides an accurate bed height. Comparison with available experimental measurements of the bed temperature and synthesis gas composition is used to validate the simulation. The final syngas composition and flowrates are strongly affected by the fuel or gasification agent rate and process operating conditions as expected. This approach is then used to optimize two important operating conditions (air and steam flows) to achieve specific gasifier performance goals for the production of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis gas and production of fuel gas for gas turbines.

Yu, Jia↗
DOE OSTI2022

An ensemble data assimilation modeling system for operational outdoor microalgae growth forecasting

Microalgae have received increasing attention as a potential feedstock for biofuel or biobased products. Forecasting the microalgae growth is beneficial for managers in planning pond operations and harvesting decisions. This study proposed a biomass forecasting system comprised of the Huesemann Algae Biomass Growth Model (BGM), the Modular Aquatic Simulation System in Two Dimensions (MASS2), ensemble data assimilation (DA), and numerical weather prediction Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) ensemble meteorological forecasts. The novelty of this study is to seek the use of ensemble DA to improve both BGM and MASS2 model initial conditions with the assimilation of biomass and water temperature measurements and consequently improve short-term biomass forecasting skills. This study introduces the theory behind the proposed integrated biomass forecasting system, with an application undertaken in pseudo-real-time in three outdoor ponds cultured with Chlorella sorokiniana in Delhi, California, United States. Results from all three case studies demonstrate that the biomass forecasting system improved the short-term (i.e., 7-day) biomass forecasting skills by about 60% on average, comparing to forecasts without using the ensemble DA method. Given the satisfactory performances achieved in this study, it is probable that the integrated BGM-MASS2-DA forecasting system can be used operationally to inform managers in making pond operation and harvesting planning decisions.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Efficient reconstruction and validation of heterogeneous microstructures for energy applications

The digital reconstruction of microstructures is necessary for simulations in fields ranging from geology to electrochemistry, but the state-of-the-art digital reconstruction techniques often compromise between resolution and field of view. It is challenging to retain detailed microstructure information in large-scale reconstructions. Here, this study investigates different aspects of the Yeong-Torquato algorithm based on correlation functions to make it more efficient. We achieve this goal by reducing the computational complexity of the chord-length distribution function and the two-point correlation function, applying the random sphere-packing method as the initial condition, and restricting potential voxel swaps to interfaces. In addition, a novel superposition parallel scheme is introduced to aid in searching for potential voxel swaps. The algorithm proposed is validated by comparing the pore-size distributions of reconstructed 3D custom battery electrodes from a sample dataset obtained from transmission X-ray microscopy. From a sample image with 200 x 200 pixels, the code can reconstruct a 300 x 300 x 300 structure in under 22 h and reconstruct a 400 x 400 x 400 structure in 43 h with eight cores.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Data‐driven variational method for discrepancy modeling: Dynamics with small‐strain nonlinear elasticity and viscoelasticity

Abstract The effective inclusion of a priori knowledge when embedding known data in physics‐based models of dynamical systems can ensure that the reconstructed model respects physical principles, while simultaneously improving the accuracy of the solution in the previously unseen regions of state space. This paper presents a physics‐constrained data‐driven discrepancy modeling method that variationally embeds known data in the modeling framework. The hierarchical structure of the method yields fine scale variational equations that facilitate the derivation of residuals which are comprised of the first‐principles theory and sensor‐based data from the dynamical system. The embedding of the sensor data via residual terms leads to discrepancy‐informed closure models that yield a method which is driven not only by boundary and initial conditions, but also by measurements that are taken at only a few observation points in the target system. Specifically, the data‐embedding term serves as residual‐based least‐squares loss function, thus retaining variational consistency. Another important relation arises from the interpretation of the stabilization tensor as a kernel function, thereby incorporating a priori knowledge of the problem and adding computational intelligence to the modeling framework. Numerical test cases show that when known data is taken into account, the data driven variational (DDV) method can correctly predict the system response in the presence of several types of discrepancies. Specifically, the damped solution and correct energy time histories are recovered by including known data in the undamped situation. Morlet wavelet analyses reveal that the surrogate problem with embedded data recovers the fundamental frequency band of the target system. The enhanced stability and accuracy of the DDV method is manifested via reconstructed displacement and velocity fields that yield time histories of strain and kinetic energies which match the target systems. The proposed DDV method also serves as a procedure for restoring eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a deficient dynamical system when known data is taken into account, as shown in the numerical test cases presented here.

Masud, Arif↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diurnal cycle of precipitation over the tropics and central United States: intercomparison of general circulation models

Diurnal precipitation is a fundamental mode of variability that climate models have difficulty in accurately simulating. Here, in this work, the diurnal cycle of precipitation (DCP) in participating climate models from the Global Energy and Water Exchanges' DCP project is evaluated over the tropics and central United States. Common model biases such as excessive precipitation over the tropics, too frequent light-to-moderate rain, and the failure to capture propagating convection in the central United States still exist. Over the central United States, the issues of too weak rainfall intensity in climate runs is well improved in their hindcast runs with initial conditions from numerical weather prediction analyses. But the improvement is minimal over the central Amazon. Incorporating the role of the large-scale environment in convective triggering processes helps resolve the phase-locking issue in many models where precipitation often incorrectly peaks near noon due to maximum insolation over land. Allowing air parcels to be lifted above the boundary layer improves the simulation of nocturnal precipitation which is often associated with the propagation of mesoscale systems. Including convective memory in cumulus parameterizations acts to suppress light-to-moderate rain and promote intense rainfall; however, it also weakens the diurnal variability. Simply increasing model resolution (with cumulus parameterizations still used) cannot fully resolve the biases of low-resolution climate models in DCP. The hierarchy modeling framework from this study is useful for identifying the missing physics in models and testing new development of model convective processes over different convective regimes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Baryogenesis from ultra-slow-roll inflation

The ultra-slow-roll (USR) inflation represents a class of single-field models with sharp deceleration of the rolling dynamics on small scales, leading to a significantly enhanced power spectrum of the curvature perturbations and primordial black hole (PBH) formation. Such a sharp transition of the inflationary background can trigger the coherent motion of scalar condensates with effective potentials governed by the rolling rate of the inflation field. We show that a scalar condensate carrying (a combination of) baryon or lepton number can achieve successful baryogenesis through the Affleck-Dine mechanism from unconventional initial conditions excited by the USR transition. Viable parameter space for creating the correct baryon asymmetry of the Universe naturally incorporates the specific limit for PBHs to contribute significantly to dark matter, shedding light on the cosmic coincidence problem between the baryon and dark matter densities today.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Colliding localized, lumpy holographic shocks with a granular nuclear structure

We apply a recent and simple technique which speeds up the calculation of localized collisions in holography to study more realistic models of the pre-hydrodynamic phase of heavy ion collisions using gauge/gravity duality. Our initial data reflects the lumpy nuclear structure of real heavy ions and our projectiles’ aspect ratio mimics the Lorentz contraction of nuclei during RHIC collisions. At the hydrodynamization time of the central region of the quark gluon plasma developed during the collision, we find that most of the system’s vorticity is located well outside the hydrodynamized part of the plasma. Only the relativistic corrections to the thermal vorticity within the hydrodynamized region are non-negligible. We compare the transverse flow shortly after the collision with previous results which did not use granular initial conditions and determine the proper energy density and fluid velocity in the hydrodynamized subregion of the plasma.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multiplicity and event-scale dependent flow and jet fragmentation in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV and in p–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

Long- and short-range correlations for pairs of charged particles are studied via two-particle angular correlations in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV and p–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The correlation functions are measured as a function of relative azimuthal angle Δφ and pseudorapidity separation Δη for pairs of primary charged particles within the pseudorapidity interval |η| < 0.9 and the transverse-momentum interval 1 < p T < 4 GeV/c. Flow coefficients are extracted for the long-range correlations (1.6 < |Δη| < 1.8) in various high-multiplicity event classes using the low-multiplicity template ft method. The method is used to subtract the enhanced yield of away-side jet fragments in high-multiplicity events. These results show decreasing flow signals toward lower multiplicity events. Furthermore, the flow coefficients for events with hard probes, such as jets or leading particles, do not exhibit any significant changes compared to those obtained from high-multiplicity events without any specific event selection criteria. The results are compared with hydrodynamic-model calculations, and it is found that a better understanding of the initial conditions is necessary to describe the results, particularly for low-multiplicity events.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wrong signs are alright

It has been shown that some Lorentz-invariant quantum field theories, such as those with higher-dimensional operators with negative coefficients, lead to superluminality on some classical backgrounds. While superluminality by itself is not logically inconsistent, these theories also predict the formation of closed time-like curves at the classical level, starting from initial conditions without such curves. This leads to the formation of a Cauchy Horizon which prevents a complete description of the time evolution of such systems. Inspired by the chronology protection arguments of General Relativity, we show that quantum mechanical effects from low energy quanta strongly backreact on such configurations, exciting unknown short-distance degrees of freedom and invalidating the classical predictions. Thus, there is no obvious low-energy obstruction to the existence of these operators.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Broken conformal window

We show that near the edges of the conformal window of supersymmetric SU(Nc) QCD, perturbed by Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking (AMSB), chiral symmetry can be broken depending on the initial conditions of the RG flow. We do so by perturbatively expanding around Banks-Zaks fixed points and taking advantage of Seiberg duality. Interpolating between the edges of the conformal window, we predict that non-supersymmetric QCD breaks chiral symmetry up to N f ≤ 3N c − 1, while we cannot say anything definitive for N f ≥ 3N c at this moment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Non-linear dynamics of jet quenching

We develop a comprehensive analytic framework for jet quenching in QCD media, based on a medium-induced parton cascade sourced by collinear virtual splittings. We show that the energy flow out of the jet cone, driven by turbulent gluon cascades, is governed by a non-linear rate equation that resums gluon splittings at arbitrary angles and is enhanced by the medium length, L. The solution of this equation sets the initial condition for a non-linear DGLAP-like evolution equation, which describes the collinear early vacuum cascade resolved by the medium at angles exceeding the medium resolution angle, θ c . For asymptotic jet energies, the medium-induced cascade displays an exponential behavior that generalizes the Poisson-like distribution of parton energy loss. This formulation enables the resummation of leading contributions in α s ln(1/R), and α s ln(R/θ c ), and powers of α s L. We briefly explore the limit of strong quenching, where analytic treatments are feasible, offering insights into the impact of parton cascades on jet quenching. These results provide guidance for future numerical simulations and analytical investigations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Higher harmonic non-linear flow modes of charged hadrons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

Anisotropic flow coefficients, v n , non-linear flow mode coefficients, χ n,mk , and correlations among different symmetry planes, ρ n,mk are measured in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. Results obtained with multi-particle correlations are reported for the transverse momentum interval 0.2 < p T < 5.0 GeV/c within the pseudorapidity interval 0.4 < |η| < 0.8 as a function of collision centrality. The v n coefficients and χ n,mk and ρ n,mk are presented up to the ninth and seventh harmonic order, respectively. Calculations suggest that the correlations measured in different symmetry planes and the non-linear flow mode coefficients are dependent on the shear and bulk viscosity to entropy ratios of the medium created in heavy-ion collisions. The comparison between these measurements and those at lower energies and calculations from hydrodynamic models places strong constraints on the initial conditions and transport properties of the system.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Shadow sectors of gauge theories

We show that both abelian and non-abelian gauge theories admit configurations in which the fields behave as if in the presence of static charge densities, or “shadow charges”. These correspond to nontrivial initial conditions for the fields that generate gauge transformations, the Gauss’ law operators. In non-abelian theories, such configurations seem to demand additional physical fields with exactly static charge densities. In contrast with this expectation, we show that gauge theory alone provides a consistent and gauge-invariant description of shadow charges. Canonical quantization then yields continuous shadow charges for abelian theories and quantized ones for non-abelian theories. In general, our findings indicate that all local conservation laws give rise to gauge symmetries, even in the presence of second-class constraints.

Del Grosso, Loris [Johns Hopkins U.] (ORCID:000000↗