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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 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Sensor for Measuring Hydrogen Partial Pressure in Parabolic Trough Power Plant Expansion Tanks

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Acciona Energy North America are working together to design and implement a process system that provides a permanent solution to the issue of hydrogen buildup at parabolic trough power plants. We are pursuing a method that selectively removes hydrogen from the expansion tanks that serve as reservoirs for the heat transfer fluid (HTF) that circulates in the collector field and power block components. Our modeling shows that removing hydrogen from the expansion tanks at a design rate reduces and maintains dissolved hydrogen in the circulating HTF to a selected target level. Our collaborative work consists of several tasks that are needed to advance this process concept to a development stage, where it is ready for implementation at a commercial power plant. Our main effort is to design and evaluate likely process-unit operations that remove hydrogen from the expansion tanks at a specified rate. Additionally, we designed and demonstrated a method and instrumentation to measure hydrogen partial pressure and concentration in the expansion-tank headspace gas. We measured hydrogen partial pressure in the headspace gas mixture using a palladium-alloy membrane, which is permeable exclusively to hydrogen. The membrane establishes a pure hydrogen gas phase that is in equilibrium with the hydrogen in the gas mixture. We designed and fabricated instrumentation, and demonstrated its effectiveness in measuring hydrogen partial pressures over a range of three orders of magnitude. Our goal is to install this instrument at the Nevada Solar One power plant and to demonstrate its effectiveness in measuring hydrogen levels in the expansion tanks under normal plant operating conditions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

EXPANSION VELOCITY OF EJECTA IN TYCHO's SUPERNOVA REMNANT MEASURED BY DOPPLER BROADENED X-RAY LINE EMISSION

We show that the expansion of ejecta in Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR) is consistent with a spherically symmetric shell, based on Suzaku measurements of the Doppler broadened X-ray emission lines. All of the strong K{alpha} line emissions show broader widths at the center than at the rim, while the centroid energies are constant across the remnant (except for Ca). This is the pattern expected for Doppler broadening due to expansion of the SNR ejecta in a spherical shell. To determine the expansion velocities of the ejecta, we applied a model for each emission-line feature having two Gaussian components separately representing red- and blueshifted gas, and inferred the Doppler velocity difference between these two components directly from the fitted centroid energy difference. Taking into account the effect of projecting a three-dimensional shell to the plane of the detector, we derived average spherical expansion velocities independently for the K{alpha} emission of Si, S, Ar, and Fe, and K{beta} of Si. We found that the expansion velocities of Si, S, and Ar ejecta of 4700 {+-} 100 km s{sup -1} are distinctly higher than that obtained from Fe K{alpha} emission, 4000 {+-} 300 km s{sup -1}, which is consistent with segregation of the Fe in the inner ejecta. Combining the observed ejecta velocities with the ejecta proper-motion measurements by Chandra, we derived a distance to Tycho's SNR of 4 {+-} 1 kpc.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

X-RAY FADING AND EXPANSION IN THE “MINIATURE SUPERNOVA REMNANT” OF GK PERSEI

We report on a second epoch of Chandra X-ray imaging spectroscopy of the spatially resolved old nova remnant GK Persei. An ACIS-S3 observation of 97.4 ks was conducted in 2013 November after a lapse of 13.8 yr from the last visit in 2000. The X-ray emitting nebula appeared more faint and patchy compared with the first epoch. The flux decline was particularly evident in fainter regions and the mean decline was 30%–40% in the 0.5–1.2 keV energy band. A typical expansion of the brightest part of the remnant was 1.″9, which corresponds to an expansion rate of 0.″14 yr{sup −1}. The soft X-ray spectra extracted from both the 2000 and 2013 data can be explained by a non-equilibrium ionization collisional plasma model convolved with interstellar absorption, though do not allow us to constrain the origin of the flux evolution. The plasma temperature has not significantly evolved since the 2000 epoch and we conclude that the fading of the X-ray emission is due largely to expansion. This implies that recent expansion has been into a lower density medium, a scenario that is qualitatively consistent with the structure of the circumstellar environment photographed soon after the initial explosion more than a century ago. Fainter areas are fading more quickly than brighter areas, indicating that they are fainter because of a lower ambient medium density and consequently more rapid expansion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Exploring a matter-dominated model with bulk viscosity to drive the accelerated expansion of the Universe

We explore the viability of a bulk viscous matter-dominated Universe to explain the present accelerated expansion of the Universe. The model is composed by a pressureless fluid with bulk viscosity of the form ζ = ζ{sub 0}+ζ{sub 1}H where ζ{sub 0} and ζ{sub 1} are constants and H is the Hubble parameter. The pressureless fluid characterizes both the baryon and dark matter components. We study the behavior of the Universe according to this model analyzing the scale factor as well as some curvature scalars and the matter density. On the other hand, we compute the best estimated values of ζ{sub 0} and ζ{sub 1} using the type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) probe. We find that from all the possible scenarios for the Universe, the preferred one by the best estimated values of (ζ{sub 0},ζ{sub 1}) is that of an expanding Universe beginning with a Big-Bang, followed by a decelerated expansion at early times, and with a smooth transition in recent times to an accelerated expansion epoch that is going to continue forever. The predicted age of the Universe is a little smaller than the mean value of the observational constraint coming from the oldest globular clusters but it is still inside of the confidence interval of this constraint. A drawback of the model is the violation of the local second law of thermodynamics in redshifts z∼>1. However, when we assume ζ{sub 1} = 0, the simple model ζ = ζ{sub 0} evaluated at the best estimated value for ζ{sub 0} satisfies the local second law of thermodynamics, the age of the Universe is in perfect agreement with the constraint of globular clusters, and it also has a Big-Bang, followed by a decelerated expansion with the smooth transition to an accelerated expansion epoch in late times, that is going to continue forever.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exact two-body expansion of the many-particle wave function

Progress toward the solution of the strongly correlated electron problem has been stymied by the exponential complexity of the wave function. Previous work established an exact two-body exponential product expansion for the ground-state wave function. By developing a reduced density-matrix analog of Dalgarno-Lewis perturbation theory, we prove here that (i) the two-body exponential product expansion is rapidly and globally convergent with each operator representing an order of a renormalized perturbation theory, (ii) the energy of the expansion converges quadratically near the solution, and (iii) the expansion is exact for both ground and excited states. The two-body expansion offers a reduced parametrization of the many-particle wave function as well as the two-particle reduced density matrix with potential applications on both conventional and quantum computers for the study of strongly correlated quantum systems. In this work, we demonstrate the result with the exact solution of the contracted Schrödinger equation for the molecular chains H 4 and H 5 .

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Giant Graviton Expansion from Bubbling Geometry: Discreteness from Quantized Geometry

The superconformal index of half-BPS states in N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills with gauge group U⁡(N) admits an expansion in terms of giant gravitons, J N (q) = J ∞ ⁡(q)⁢Σ$^{∞}_{m=0}$ q m⁢N ⁢ J^ m ⁡(q), where m is the number of giant gravitons and J ∞ ⁡(q) is the graviton index. The expansion can be viewed as the implementation of trace relations for finite N. We derive this expansion directly in supergravity from the class of half-BPS solutions due to Lin, Lunin, and Maldacena in type IIB supergravity. The moduli space of these configurations can be quantized using covariant quantization methods. We show how this quantization leads to the precise expression for the expansion in terms of giant gravitons. Our proposal provides a derivation of the giant graviton expansion directly in terms of quantized supergravity degrees of freedom, and it recovers discrete data via quantum geometries that are classically nonsmooth.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

The Distortion‐Adjusted Change of Thermal Expansion Behavior of Cubic Magnetic Semiconductor (Sc 1− x M x )F 3 (M = Al, Fe)

For the study of negative thermal expansion (NTE) compounds, it is critical to effectively control the thermal expansion. In this letter, a chemical approach has been taken to control the thermal expansion behavior in ScF 3 which has a strong NTE. Owing to the difference of radius of substituting ions, local distortion inevitably emerges in the lattice matrix, which is verified by pair distribution function analysis of high‐resolution synchrotron X‐ray scattering. It is a valuable clue that the thermal expansion behaviors in the ScF 3 based systems and other trifluorides are correlated closely to structural distortion of metal‐F‐metal linkages. In addition, the introduction of 3 d transition‐metal enables its semiconductor and ferromagnetic characteristics. This study provides important reference opinion for the control of thermal expansion and introduction of multifunctionalization for those NTE compounds with open framework structure.

Han, Fei↗
DOE OSTI2017

In‐situ measurements of lattice expansion related to defect generation during flash sintering

Abstract We report results from in‐situ measurements of lattice expansion during flash sintering of 3 mol% yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia taken at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. The expansion is anisotropic, with the relative expansion of the a ‐lattice constant exceeding that of the c ‐lattice constant. The anisotropic expansion cannot be explained by thermal expansion and is consistent with predictions from ab‐initio calculations based upon the generation of vacancy‐interstitial pairs of zirconium and oxygen.

Lebrun, J. ‐M.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Compressibility and thermal expansion of hydrous ringwoodite with 2.5(3) wt% H[subscript 2]O

Ringwoodite ({gamma}-Mg{sub 2}SiO{sub 4}) is the stable polymorph of olivine in the transition zone between 525-660 km depth, and can incorporate weight percent amounts of H{sub 2}O as hydroxyl, with charge compensated mainly by Mg vacancies (Mg{sup 2+} = 2H{sup +}), but also possibly as (Si{sup 4+} = 4H{sup +} and Mg{sup 2+} + 2H{sup +} = Si{sup 4+}). We synthesized pure Mg ringwoodite containing 2.5(3) wt% H{sub 2}O, measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and determined its compressibility at 300 K by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), as well as its thermal expansion behavior between 140 and 740 K at room pressure. A third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state (BM3 EOS) fits values of the isothermal bulk modulus K{sub T0} = 159(7) GPa and (dK{sub T}/dP){sub P = 0} = K' = 6.7(7) for single-crystal XRD; K{sub T0} = 161(4) GPa and K' = 5.4(6) for powder XRD, with K{sub T0} = 160(2) GPa and K' = 6.2(3) for the combined data sets. At room pressure, hydrous ringwoodite breaks down by an irreversible unit-cell expansion above 586 K, which may be related to dehydration and changes in the disorder mechanisms. Single-crystal intensity data were collected at various temperatures up to 736 K, and show that the cell volume V(cell) has a mean thermal expansion coefficient {alpha}{sub V0} of 40(4) x 10{sup -6}/K (143-736 K), and 29(2) x 10{sup -6}/K (143-586 K before irreversible expansion). V(Mg) have {alpha}{sub 0} values of 41(3) x 10{sup -6}/K (143-736 K), and V(Si) has {alpha}{sub 0} values of 20(3) x 10{sup -6}/K (143-586 K) and 132(4) x 10{sup -6}K (586-736 K). Based on the experimental data and previous work from {sup 29}Si NMR, we propose that during the irreversible expansion, a small amount of H{sup +} cations in Mg sites transfer to Si sites without changing the cubic spinel structure of ringwoodite, and the substituted Si{sup 4+} cations move to the normally vacant octahedral site at (1/2, 1/2, 0). Including new SIMS data on this and several Mg-ringwoodite samples from previous studies, we summarize volume-hydration data and show that the Mg{sup 2+} = 2H{sup +} dominates up to about 2 wt% H{sub 2}O, where a discontinuity in the volume vs. H{sub 2}O content trend suggests that other hydration mechanisms become important at very high H{sub 2}O contents.

Ye, Yu↗
DOE OSTI2020

Climate Influences on Capacity Expansion Planning with Application to the Western U.S

Electric power system planners utilize a variety of planning tools to inform decisions concerning generation and transmission additions to the electric grid, the need for operational changes, and to evaluate potential stressors on the system. Numerous factors contribute to the planning process including projected fuel and technology costs, policy and load profiles. There is also a growing recognition of the interdependency of the electric grid with other natural and engineered systems. Here we explore how future climate change and hydropower operability might influence decisions related to electricity capacity expansion planning and operations. To do so we assemble a multi-model framework. Specifically, water resource modeling is used to simulate climate impacts on future water supply for thermoelectric and hydropower generation. Separately, temperature impacts on electricity load are evaluated. Together, these climate factors spatially constrain a capacity expansion model that projects generation and transmission additions to the grid. The projected new capacity-builds are then evaluated on their operations, reliability, and cost under average and extreme climate conditions using production cost modeling. This coupled framework is demonstrated on the electric grid in the Western U.S., supporting capacity expansion planning by WECC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) regional entity responsible for reliability assurance of the Western Interconnection. This region was selected in part because the West is unique in that it has high potential for renewable penetrations and is experiencing large retirements/displacements of baseload resources, primarily coal, leading to possible operational challenges in terms of changing resource mix and the need for resource flexibility. Toward this challenge, planning scenarios encompass a range of alternative energy, climate and drought futures. In this context we explore answers to two strategic questions: 1) How does changing climate influence electricity expansion planning (generation and transmission) and future operations, including type and capacity of new builds, system reliability, cost and environmental impacts? 2) How does the representation of hydropower in the modeling framework influence the evaluation of bulk power system operations? Results indicate that climate has a measurable influence on recommendations concerning the capacity, type and location of new generation and transmission additions, with up to 17 GW additional capacity needed by 2038 to meet peak loads (~6.6% increase over capacity-builds based on historical climate). The extent of additional infrastructure needs is strongly influenced by future water availability for hydropower and the potential deployment of demand response technologies. Systems designed for future climate conditions were found to maintain high system reliability under a range of electricity and water availability scenarios (including significant drought), with minimal system curtailments. Additional capacity needs due to higher load tend to increase cumulative 20-year investment and operating costs by $\$$5-$\$$17 billion and generation costs increase by 9 to 19%. Finally, changing the representation of hydropower flexibility has a relatively small influence on capacity expansion in the Western Interconnection through 2038, but hydropower flexibility impacts generation costs to a similar extent as climate.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Performant implementation of the atomic cluster expansion

The atomic cluster expansion is a general polynomial expansion of the atomic energy in multi-atom basis functions. Here we implement the atomic cluster expansion in the performant C++ code PACE that is suitable for use in large scale atomistic simulations. We briefly review the atomic cluster expansion and give detailed expressions for energies and forces as well as efficient algorithms for their evaluation. We demonstrate that the atomic cluster expansion as implemented in PACE shifts a previously established Pareto front for machine learning interatomic potentials towards faster and more accurate calculations. Moreover, general purpose parameterizations are presented for copper and silicon and evaluated in detail. We show that the new Cu and Si potentials significantly improve on the best available potentials for highly accurate large-scale atomistic simulations.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1972

Thermal expansion of Apollo lunar samples and Fairfax diabase.

Measured values of the thermal expansion of seven Apollo samples over the temperature range -100 C to +200 C are reported and compared to terrestrial Fairfax diabase. For most of the lunar rocks the measured expansion is significantly lower (30%) than the intrinsic value calculated from Turner's equation for the thermal expansion of an aggregate. The measured expansion of the Fairfax diabase was equal to the intrinsic but was higher for samples of Fairfax which had been previously cycled to high temperatures. The effect of microfractures on the thermal expansion of rocks is discussed.

Baldridge, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Thermal expansion in the nickel-chromium-aluminum and cobalt-chromium-aluminum systems to 1200 degrees C

Thermal expansion data were obtained on 12 Ni-Cr-Al and 9 Co-Cr-Al alloys by high temperature X-ray diffraction. The data were computer fit to an empirical thermal expansion equation developed in the study. It is shown that the fit is excellent to good, and that the expansion constants depend on phase but not on composition. Phases for the Ni-Cr-Al system and Co-Cr-Al system are given. Results indicate that only alpha Cr has an expansion constant low enough to minimize oxide spalling or coating cracking induced by thermal expansion mismatch.

Lowell, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Flow characteristics in an expansion tunnel as inferred from velocity measurements

A photoionization technique was used to study flow characteristics in an expansion tunnel. Vertical surveys of the axial component of flow velocity just downstream from the nozzle exit were obtained, and estimates of freestream density were inferred from the velocity measurement technique. The pitot pressure was measured and compared to the average axial component of velocity as a function of time for the two cases when air and CO2 were used as test gases. Vertical velocity and static density profiles at the nozzle exit are presented for the case when CO2 was used as test gas. Experimental results were used to determine the diameter and uniformity of the test core at the nozzle exit and the duration of the quasi-steady flow period. These data are relevant to evaluation of the suitability of operating an expansion tube as an expansion tunnel. The expansion tunnel is an expansion tube with a conical nozzle positioned at the exit of the acceleration section, so that nozzle entrance flow conditions are hypersonic and characterized by hypervelocity.

Miller, C. G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The expansion of a plasma into a vacuum - Basic phenomena and processes and applications to space plasma physics

In this review attention is called to basic phenomena and physical processes involved in the expansion of a plasma into a vacuum, or the expansion of a plasma into a more tenuous plasma, in particular the fact that upon the expansion, ions are accelerated and reach energies well above their thermal energy. Also, in the process of the expansion a rarefaction wave propagates into the ambient plasma, an ion front moves into the expansion volume, and discontinuities in plasma parameters occur. The physical processes which cause the above phenomena are discussed, and their possible application is suggested for the case of the distribution of ions and electrons (hence plasma potential and electric fields) in the wake region behind artificial and natural obstacles moving supersonically in a rarefied space plasma. To illustrate this, some in situ results are reexamined. Directions for future work in this area via the utilization of the Space Shuttle and laboratory work are also mentioned.

Wright, K. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Thermal expansion of the hexagonal (6H) polytype of silicon carbide

X-ray diffraction is presently used to determine the thermal expansion of the hexagonal (6H) polytype of alpha-SiC over the 20-1000 C range. The principal (alpha-11 and alpha-33) axial coefficients of thermal expansion can be expressed by second-order polynomials; the former is noted to be larger than the latter over the entire temperature range, while the thermal expansion anisotropy increases continuously with increasing temperature. The thermal expansion and thermal expansion anisotropy obtained are compared with previously published results for the (6H) polytype, and discussed with respect to the structure.

Li, Z.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A unified perturbation expansion for surface scattering

Starting with the extinction theorem, a perturbation expansion which, to first and second orders, converges over a wider domain than the small perturbation expansion and the momentum transfer expansion is presented. It is shown that, in the appropriate limits, both of these theories, as well as the two-scale expansion, are recovered. There is no adjustable parameter, such as a spectral split, in the theory. This theory is applied to random rough surfaces and derive analytic expressions for the coherent field and the bistatic cross section. Finally, a numerical test of the theory against method of moments results for Gaussian random rough surfaces with a power law spectrum is given. These results show that the expansion is ramarkably accurate over a large range of surface heights and slopes for both horizontal and vertical polarization.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1992

Validity of the field line resonance expansion

The field line resonance expansion is studied with a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model applicable to earth's magnetotail. Using a Frobenius series solution, this expansion is found to be inconsistent. The inconsistency is seen by evaluating the terms in the model equations that the expansion neglects as small. Their effect is to provide a solution more singular than that determined by the expansion procedure. A tentative alternative expansion procedure, retaining these neglected terms approximately, yields a nonsingular solution, suggesting that resonant mode conversion rather than field line resonance is the appropriate phenomenon.

Hansen, P. J.↗