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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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Effect of changes of physical properties on CO2 capture solvents on its absorption rate

Concern over greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2 from fossil fuel combustion, is leading to new regulations on fossil-fuel fired power generation facilities. Using amine-based solutions for CO2 capture in power plants is the most common method utilized industrially and studied in the laboratory environment. However, a limited number of amines are available for carbon capture research after balancing the capital cost and energy penalty. In the carbon capture process, physical properties such as viscosity, surface tension, wettability, etc. are found to play important roles in solvent performance. In this context, we are exploring an approach to enhance the CO2 capture of amine solvents by tuning the physical properties of the amine solvents by the addition of additives. These additives in the amine solution utilize controlled bubble generation to increase liquid-gas contact surface area. This method can increase mass transfer in the absorber column, specifically at the bottom where the mass transfer is limited. These additives can enhance the CO2 capture efficiency by changing the physical property of the solvent which in turn can lower the capital cost associated with the system. This work can be applied to all common aqueous amine solvent and would be of great interest to those in the CCS community.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Influence of linkage chemistry and side-chain polarity on Ion 2 transport in click-functionalized polymerized ionic liquids.

Post-polymerization functionalization offers precise molecular weight control and enables the high-throughput investigation of structure−property relationships in polymer research. However, post-polymerization functionalization strategies often introduce additional linkage chemistry, and its role in the physical properties of polymerized ionic liquids (PILs) has yet to be explored. In this work, a series of PILs were synthesized using Cu(I)-catalyzed azide−alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), with comparison made to N-alkylation substitution chemistry. The triazole ring introduced by CuAAC chemistry was found to induce extensive ion aggregation and deteriorate ion transport. The impact of linkage chemistry on ion transport can be alleviated by incorporating polar ethylene glycol spacers in the side chain, achieving an ionic conductivity of 2.1 × 10−4 S/cm at 30 °C. Furthermore, the effect of polar spacer placement was explored, revealing that overall side-chain polarity, rather than polarity in the vicinity of the ionic group, governs ion aggregation and ion transport in PILs.

Shan, Naisong↗
DOE OSTI2023

Microphysics of liquid water in sub-10 nm ultrafine aerosol particles

Abstract. Ultrafine aerosol particles with sizes smaller than 50 nm have been shown in recent studies to serve as a large source of cloud condensation nuclei that can promote additional cloud droplet formation under supersaturation conditions. Knowledge of the microphysics of liquid water in these droplets remains limited, particularly in the sub-10 nm particle size range, due to experimental and theoretical challenges associated with the complexity of aerosol components and the small length scales of interest (e.g., difficulty of precisely sampling the liquid–air interface, questionable validity of mean-field theoretical representations). Here, we carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of aerosol particles with diameters between 1 and 10 nm and characterized atomistic-level structure and water dynamics in well-mixed and phase-separated systems with different particle sizes, NaCl salinities, and pimelic acid (PML) organic surface loadings as a function of distance from the time-averaged Gibbs dividing interface or instantaneous water–air interface. We define a sphericity factor (ϕ) that can shed light on the phase-mixing state of nanodroplets, and we reveal an unexpected dependence of mixing state on droplet size. Our results also evidence an ion concentration enhancement in ultrafine aerosols, which should modulate salt nucleation kinetics in sub-10 nm droplets, and provide detailed characterization of the influence of droplet size on surface tension and on water self-diffusivity near the interface. Analysis of water evaporation free energy and water activity demonstrates the validity of the Kelvin equation and Köhler theory at droplet sizes larger than 4 nm under moderate salinities and organic loadings and the need for further extension to account for ion concentration enhancement in sub-10 nm aerosols, droplet-size-dependent phase separation effects, and a sharp decrease in the cohesiveness of liquid water in sub-4 nm droplets. Finally, we show that an idealized fractional surface coating factor (fs) can be used to categorize and reconcile water accommodation coefficients (α*) observed in MD simulations and experimental results in the presence of organic coatings, and we resolve the droplet size dependence of α*.

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

ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE TURBINE AND HEAT EXCHANGER SIZING FOR LIQUID AIR COMBINED CYCLE

Cryogenic energy storage offers several opportunities to design turbomachinery and other equipment for novel cycles. This paper presents the design and analysis of turbomachinery and heat exchangers for an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) subsystem for a hybrid energy storage concept. The Liquid Air Combined Cycle is an energy storage system that stores air at cryogenic conditions at times with high variable renewable energy to be dispatched along with a gas turbine to recover the exhaust heat. In order to re-vaporize the air, the liquid air is coupled with an ORC as an additional bottoming cycle. The ORC turbine is expected to expand the fluid with a pressure ratio of nearly 30 and a flow rate of approximately 45 kg/s. Sizing calculations for both a radial and axial turbine solution were performed over a range of speeds and stages to determine the optimal design point. The results show that either an axial (8- or 9-stage) or radial (four stages at two shaft speeds) turbine are capable of handling the pressure ratios. Further trades of the two configurations would be required to determine the best option. The ORC system also incorporates five heat exchangers to distribute heat, vaporize the liquid air, or recover exhaust heat from the gas turbine. Three heat exchangers were analyzed to understand the size of heat exchangers and pressure drop for the overall system. Different types of heat exchangers were explored for the different purposes, including plate-fin heat exchangers, gasketed plate heat exchangers and shell-in-tube heat exchangers. It was determined that the ORC recuperator, liquid-air vaporizer, and vaporized air pre-heater would be counter-flow heat exchangers using a gasketed plate design. Keywords: Energy Storage, Liquid Air Energy Storage, Organic Rankine Cycle

Pryor, Owen↗
DOE OSTI2026

Iron isotope fractionation between solid and liquid metal in the Fe-P±Ni system: Experimental constraints and implications for meteorites

Iron meteorites record a range of Fe isotope compositions that hold valuable information regarding the evolution of their parent bodies. Interpreting this isotopic variability, however, requires experimental constraints on the equilibrium isotope fractionation between phases. It is thought that the cores of many iron meteorite parent bodies experienced fractional crystallization, during which crystallization of solid iron-nickel occurs from an increasingly non-metal-rich liquid alloy. Phosphorus is one component of this alloy, and this study provides the first constraints on Fe-isotope fractionation between solid and liquid alloys in the Fe-Ni-P system. Experiments comprising Fe and P show a clear enrichment in the light isotopes of Fe in the liquid phase, which increases with the amount of phosphorus. Nickel-bearing samples are offset from the trend defined by Ni-free experiments, which is accounted for by the change in the solid alloy phase from a body-centered cubic to face-centered cubic structure upon the addition of Ni. The increasing light isotope enrichment of the liquid with increasing P content suggests interstitial solution of P, which is known to lengthen Fe-Fe bonds in Fe-P liquids (Waseda and Shiraishi 1977). Results suggest a negligible effect of P on Fe isotope fractionation during planetesimal core crystallization. Iron isotopes may, however, prove useful for identifying the petrogenesis of schreibersite in pallasites and iron meteorites.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Performance Analysis and Limiting Parameters of Cross-flow Membrane-based Liquid-desiccant Air Dehumidifiers

We report that to dehumidify a humid air stream, existing air conditioning (AC) systems substantially overcool the outdoor humid air below its dew point, thereby significantly reducing energy efficiency. Directly capturing humidity, membrane-based liquid-desiccant dehumidification systems separate sensible and latent cooling (SSLC) loads and thus offer a promising pathway for a high-performance AC solution. Design of an energy-efficient SSLC-AC system, however, rests largely on detailed understating of the dehumidification process. While some studies have identified the dehumidification process mainly depends on membrane characteristics, other studies have argued that the process is limited by desiccant liquid or alternatively air thermo-hydraulic physics for typical humid climate conditions. The present study examines performance and physics of the membrane-based liquid-desiccant dehumidification process over a wide range of climate conditions through a novel 3D, two-phase, multi-species CFD model. Decoupling the thermodynamic and hydraulic effects, the study reveals that the dehumidification rate is a linear function of the water vapor pressure potential ($J=α ΔP$) summarizing the system's thermodynamic state. The slope of the curve (i.e., α) depends on hydraulic transport characteristics of the membrane pores, air stream, and desiccant solution. More importantly, it was found that the air dehumidification process is mainly limited by the air-side transport physics for thin liquid-desiccant films and commonly used porous superhydrophobic membranes. Additionally, results show that, depending on ambient/desiccant conditions and physical dehumidifier characteristics, energy effectiveness and dehumidification rate vary from 13 to 34% and from 0.13 to 1.4 g m -2 s -1 , respectively. Therefore, the present study allows to efficiently design future SSLC-based AC systems exhibiting high performance energy metrics.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Measurements of electron transport in liquid and gas Xenon using a laser-driven photocathode

Measurements of electron drift properties in liquid and gaseous xenon are reported. The electrons are generated by the photoelectric effect in a semitransparent gold photocathode driven in transmission mode with a pulsed ultraviolet laser. The charges drift and diffuse in a small chamber at various electric fields and a fixed drift distance of 2.0 cm. At an electric field of 0.5 kV/cm, the measured drift velocities and corresponding temperature coefficients respectively are 1.97 ± 0.04 mm/µs and (-0.69 ± 0.05)%/K for liquid xenon, and 1.42 ± 0.03 mm/µs and (+0.11 ± 0.01)%/K for gaseous xenon at 1.5 bar. In addition, we measure longitudinal diffusion coefficients of 25.7±4.6 cm2/s and 149±23 cm2/s, for liquid and gas, respectively. The quantum efficiency of the gold photocathode is studied at the photon energy of 4.73 eV in liquid and gaseous xenon, and vacuum. These charge transport properties and the behavior of photocathodes in a xenon environment are important in designing and calibrating future large scale noble liquid detectors.

Njoya, Oumarou↗
DOE OSTI2020

Indium and thallium extraction into betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquid from aqueous hydrochloric acid media

The partitioning behavior of indium and thallium ions between aqueous hydrochloric acid solutions and hydrophobic betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquid was studied using a standard liquid–liquid extraction technique. The experiments were mainly carried out by means of a radiochemical method, using 111 In and 201 Tl medical radionuclides at an ultra-trace concentration. Both mono- and trivalent thallium were utilized and the highest oxidation state (3+) was produced by adding either chlorine or bromine water to the aqueous phase prior to extraction. The metal ion transfer was optimized by varying the aqueous concentration of hydrochloric acid and by introducing zwitterionic betaine as an extracting agent into the aqueous phase. It was found that the highest D values of In(III), Tl(III) and Tl(I) in the investigated chemical systems were up to 200, 70, and 1, respectively. The influence of the addition of lithium salt, having common with the ionic liquid counterion, and the variation of mixing time on the distribution ratio of the metal ions were also studied. Finally, to understand the underlying extraction mechanism of the metal ions and to propose the predominant extracted species, mathematical models based on ion pair formation and ion exchange were developed.

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

Convenient Confinement: Interplay of Solution Conditions and Graphene Oxide Film Structure on Rare Earth Separations

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes are excellent candidates for a range of separation applications, including rare earth segregation and radionuclide decontamination. Understanding nanoscale water and ion behavior near interfacial GO is critical for groundbreaking membrane advances, including improved selectivity and permeability. Here, we experimentally examine the impact of solution conditions on water and lanthanide interactions with interfacial GO films and connect these results to GO membrane performance. The investigation of the confined films at the air–water interface with a combination of surface-specific spectroscopy and X-ray scattering techniques allows us to understand water and ion behaviors separately. Sum frequency generation spectroscopy reveals a dramatic change in interfacial water organization because of graphene oxide film deprotonation. Interfacial X-ray fluorescence measurements show a 17× increase in adsorbed lanthanide to the GO film from subphase pH 3 to pH 9. Liquid surface X-ray reflectivity data show an additional 2.7 $e^–$ per Å 2 for GO films at pH 9 versus pH 3 as well. These results are connected to GO membrane performance, which show increased selectivity and decreased flux for membranes filtering pH 9 solutions. We posit insoluble lanthanide hydroxides form at higher pHs. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of interfacial experiments on model GO systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evanescent and inertial-like waves in rigidly rotating odd viscous liquids

Three-dimensional non-rotating odd viscous liquids give rise to Taylor columns and support axisymmetric inertial-like waves ( J. Fluid Mech ., vol. 973, 2023, A30). When an odd viscous liquid is subjected to rigid-body rotation however, there arise in addition a plethora of other phenomena that need to be clarified. In this paper, we show that three-dimensional incompressible or two-dimensional compressible odd viscous liquids, rotating rigidly with angular velocity 𝛺, give rise to both oscillatory and evanescent inertial-like waves or a combination thereof (which we call of mixed type) that can be non-axisymmetric. By evanescent, we mean that along the radial direction, typically when moving away from a solid boundary, the velocity field decreases exponentially. These waves precess in a prograde or retrograde manner with respect to the rotating frame. The oscillatory and evanescent waves resemble respectively the body and wall-modes observed in (non-odd) rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection ( J. Fluid Mech ., vol. 248, 1993, pp. 583–604). We show that the three types of waves (wall, body or mixed) can be classified with respect to pairs of planar wavenumbers 𝜅 which are complex, real or a combination, respectively. Experimentally, by observing the precession rate of the patterns, it would be possible to determine the largely unknown values of the odd viscosity coefficients. This formulation recovers as special cases recent studies of equatorial or topological waves in two-dimensional odd viscous liquids which provided examples of the bulk–interface correspondence at frequencies 𝜔 < 2⁢𝛺. We finally point out that the two- and three-dimensional problems are formally equivalent. Their difference then lies in the way data propagate along characteristic rays in three dimensions, which we demonstrate by classifying the resulting Poincaré–Cartan equations.

Mechanics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Liquid Hydrogen Pooling and Vaporization Experiments

A comprehensive investigation into the pooling and vaporization of liquid hydrogen spills onto concrete and steel surfaces in a steady cross-wind is presented in this work. This is the first instance of liquid hydrogen pooling and dispersion in a steady environment. A high-capacity fan in a large tunnel was used to generate the steady cross-winds while spilling roughly 10-20, or 40 l/min of liquid hydrogen onto substrates. Temperature and extractive concentration measurements were made, in addition to visible and infrared imaging, to understand development of the pool and down-wind dispersion of the vaporized hydrogen. Overall, the results enhance the understanding of liquid hydrogen pooling and dispersion dynamics and provide critical data for validating models of pooling and vapor dispersion under various conditions.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enabling CO 2 Isothermal Compression Using Liquid Piston and Integrated Gas Cooler

This report outlines the development of a near-isothermal liquid piston compressor. Initially, a proof-of-concept experiment was conducted to validate the feasibility and potential of near-isothermal compression. A first-of-its-kind near-isothermal liquid piston compressor was then successfully built and tested. Additionally, a Matlab-based transient model was developed to capture performance trends accurately. These efforts laid the groundwork for developing a second-generation prototype with enhanced efficiency and design. Subsequent field tests at the Helix Innovation Center in Ohio demonstrated a cooling capacity of 2 kW with a COP of 1.64 at an ambient temperature of 25°C. An improved model was also created to suggest different heat exchanger geometries for better compression efficiency.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design and Analysis of Liquid Lithium Plasma Facing Components

In this study, liquid metal (LM) on plasma-facing components (PFCs) creates a renewable protective cover enhancing power exhaust and protecting the solid substrate. Additionally, energy confinement improvement through particle pumping can be achieved in the case of liquid lithium (LL). A new variant of PFCs was recently introduced at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) where a porous wall is used to stabilize the LM surface, while using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) drive to push the LM flow inside the component. This arrangement allows efficient heat exhaust, and enhanced control of the LM surface temperature, leading to spatial control of evaporation and condensation of LL on the plasma interface. This feature is particularly attractive when vapor shielding is introduced to allow heat flux redistribution. This system has the advantage that as the heat flux increases, the evaporation rate will increase, while decreasing heat flux will decrease the evaporation rate of lithium, ideally creating a feedback effect which could self-regulate the amount of lithium evaporated. Analytical and numerical models for LL PFCs were developed in PPPL. To calculate the target temperature distribution for the case of evaporation from the divertor, we apply an iterative process allowing two-way coupling between the fluid-kinetic analysis of plasma using SOLPS-ITER code and the flow and heat transfer analysis of the PFC using an analytical model. In the last stage, the results are validated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis with customized version of the CFX code from ANSYS. CFX was modified at PPPL to allow MHD analysis at the high magnetic field typical for fusion applications. Results of the analysis for NSTX-U tokamak conditions will be presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tethered balloon-borne observations of thermal-infrared irradiance and cooling rate profiles in the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer

Clouds play an important role in controlling the radiative energy budget of the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer. To quantify the impact of clouds on the radiative heating or cooling of the lower atmosphere and of the surface, vertical profile observations of thermal-infrared irradiances were collected using a radiation measurement system carried by a tethered balloon. We present 70 profiles of thermal-infrared radiative quantities measured in summer 2020 during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition and in autumn 2021 and spring 2022 in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Measurements are classified into four groups: cloudless, low-level liquid-bearing cloud, elevated liquid-bearing cloud, and elevated ice cloud. Cloudless cases display an average radiative cooling rate of about —2 K d—1 throughout the atmospheric boundary layer. Instead, low-level liquid-bearing clouds are characterized by a radiative cooling up to —80 K d—1 within a shallow layer at cloud top, while no temperature tendencies are identified underneath the cloud layer. Radiative transfer simulations are performed to quantify the sensitivity of radiative cooling rates to cloud microphysical properties. In particular, cloud top cooling is strongly driven by the liquid water path, especially in optically thin clouds, while for optically thick clouds the cloud droplet number concentration has an increased influence. Additional radiative transfer simulations are used to demonstrate the enhanced radiative importance of the liquid relative to ice clouds. To analyze the temporal evolution of thermal-infrared radiation profiles during the transitions from a cloudy to a cloudless atmosphere, a respective case study is investigated.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

6 Li-loaded liquid scintillators produced by direct dissolution of compounds in diisopropylnaphthalene (DIPN)

Here, this paper describes preparation of 6 Li-loaded liquid scintillators by methods involving direct dissolution of 6Li salts in the commercial diisopropylnaphthalene (DIPN) solvent, without the formation of water-in-oil emulsions. Methods include incorporation of 6 Li that, unlike previously reported formulations, does not require additions of water or a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid (HCl). Results of the conducted experiments show that dissolution of aromatic and aliphatic 6 Li salts in DIPN can be easily achieved at 0.1%–0.3% by weight of atomic 6 Li, using small additions of waterless surfactants, or mild carboxylic acids. An alternative way suggests incorporation of 6 Li as a part of a surfactant molecule that can be dissolved in DIPN without any solubilizing additions. Proposed methods enable preparation of efficient 6 Li-loaded liquid scintillators that, at a large scale of 50 cm, exhibit good pulse shape discrimination (PSD) properties combined with up to 107% of light output and up to 115% of the attenuation length measured relative to standard undoped EJ-309 liquid scintillator.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Synchrotron Microbeam Diffraction Studies on the Alignment within 3D-Printed Smectic-A Liquid Crystal Elastomer Filaments during Extrusion

3D printing of novel and smart materials has received considerable attention due to its applications within biological and medical fields, mostly as they can be used to print complex architectures and particular designs. However, the internal structure during 3D printing can be problematic to resolve. We present here how time-resolved synchrotron microbeam Small-Angle X-ray Diffraction (μ-SAXD) allows us to elucidate the local orientational structure of a liquid crystal elastomer-based printed scaffold. Most reported 3D-printed liquid crystal elastomers are mainly nematic; here, we present a Smectic-A 3D-printed liquid crystal elastomer that has previously been reported to promote cell proliferation and alignment. The data obtained on the 3D-printed filaments will provide insights into the internal structure of the liquid crystal elastomer for the future fabrication of liquid crystal elastomers as responsive and anisotropic 3D cell scaffolds.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗