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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

WIPP Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) HEPA Filtration System - 20165

Construction and major equipment fabrication are underway for a new ventilation exhaust system at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The new system will provide continuous High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration of the exhaust from the WIPP underground while meeting the ventilation demands for expanded waste emplacement and mining operations over the next 40 years. The integrated system design provides for reducing the salt, clay and diesel particulates from the exhaust airflow from the mine, prior to full filtration using Nuclear Safety Significant HEPA filters. The SSCVS design and equipment provides for continuous HEPA filtration over a wide range of operating and environmental conditions. The new exhaust system connects to the existing underground exhaust shaft, and the exhaust air flows from the underground through Salt Reduction Units (SRUs) to protect the final filter banks from excessive moisture and rapid salt/dust buildup. Each of the six (6) SRUs consists of a demister to remove entrained moisture, a dry salt remover unit to filter approximately 90% of the entrained salt/dust, and an automated water treatment system to periodically clean the demisters and to remove salt from the SRU filters. At the maximum expected exhaust flowrate of 540,000 Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) / 255 Cubic Meters per Second (m{sup 3}/s), five (5) salt removal units will be in operation with one unit in standby or maintenance. An in-line variable frequency drive booster fan will offset pressure losses through each SRU and reduce the relative humidity of the air exiting the SRUs. In the event of a high radiation alarm from the underground Continuous Air Monitors (CAMs), the SRUs will be automatically bypassed, which places the SRS and building outside of the Safety Significant confinement boundary. From the SRUs, the exhaust is directed to the HEPA filter banks located in the New Filter Building. The exhaust system is designed to provide continuous HEPA filtration prior to release to the exhaust stack. There are 22 HEPA filter banks rated at 27,000 CFM / 12.75 m{sup 3}/s each. Each filter bank has two stages of pre-filters and two stages of HEPA filters. The filtered air from each of the 22 filter banks discharges into a common concrete plenum, which is maintained under a negative pressure by the main exhaust fans. Six 1,000 HP variable frequency drive exhaust fans are provided on the south side of the plenum. At the maximum expected exhaust flow of 540,000 CFM, four exhaust fans and twenty filter banks will be in operation. The fans discharge vertically to a separate concrete exhaust plenum. The filtered exhaust is routed from the exhaust plenum to a 125-foot-tall exhaust stack via a 13-foot diameter duct. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Near-coincident K-line and K-edge energies as ionization diagnostics for some high atomic number plasmas

For some high atomic number atoms, the energy of the K-edge is tens of eVs higher than the K-line energy of another atom, so that a few eV increase in the line's energy results in a decreasing transmission of the x-ray through a filter of the matching material. The transmission of cold iridium's Asymptotically-Equal-To 63.287 keV K{alpha}{sub 2} line through a lutetium filter is 7% lower when emitted by ionized iridium, consistent with an energy increase of {Delta}{epsilon} Asymptotically-Equal-To 10{+-}1 eV associated with the ionization. Likewise, the transmission of the K{beta}{sub 1} line of ytterbium through a near-coincident K-edge filter changes depending on plasma parameters that should affect the ionization. Systematic exploration of filter-line pairs like these could become a unique tool for diagnostics of suitable high energy density plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Primary yields of protons measured using CR-39 in laser-induced deuteron–deuteron fusion reactions

The deuteron and deuteron (DD) fusion reactions is the most crucial reaction in the nuclear astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion, which is responsible for synthesizing chemical elements, and for powering the stellar evolution. The plasma environment generated by the high-intensity laser used in a DD fusion reaction is similar to the early stage of the Big Bang. Therefore, it is important to study laser-induced DD fusion reactions. Recently, we experimentally investigated such reactions using eight laser beams with the third harmonic impact on a deuterated polyethylene target at the ShenGuang-II Upgrade facility. In this work, we focused on the application of range-filter spectrometers assembled from a 70 μm aluminum filter and two CR-39 nuclear track detectors to measure the yields of primary DD protons. Based on the track diameter calibration results of 3 MeV protons used to diagnose the tracks on the range- filter spectrometers, we measured a primary DD proton yield of approximately (8:52 ± 1:7) × 10 6 , consistent with the yields from similar laser facilities worldwide, indicating that range-filter spectrometry is an effective way to measure primary DD protons. Furthermore, using other accurate detectors may help to measure the rare events of D 3 He protons.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Standardization of the Definitions of Vertical Resolution and Uncertainty in the NDACC-archived Ozone and Temperature Lidar Measurements

The international Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) is a global network of high-quality, remote-sensing research stations for observing and understanding the physical and chemical state of the Earth atmosphere. As part of NDACC, over 20 ground-based lidar instruments are dedicated to the long-term monitoring of atmospheric composition and to the validation of space-borne measurements of the atmosphere from environmental satellites such as Aura and ENVISAT. One caveat of large networks such as NDACC is the difficulty to archive measurement and analysis information consistently from one research group (or instrument) to another [1][2][3]. Yet the need for consistent definitions has strengthened as datasets of various origin (e.g., satellite and ground-based) are increasingly used for intercomparisons, validation, and ingested together in global assimilation systems.In the framework of the 2010 Call for Proposals by the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) located in Bern, Switzerland, a Team of lidar experts was created to address existing issues in three critical aspects of the NDACC lidar ozone and temperature data retrievals: signal filtering and the vertical filtering of the retrieved profiles, the quantification and propagation of the uncertainties, and the consistent definition and reporting of filtering and uncertainties in the NDACC- archived products. Additional experts from the satellite and global data standards communities complement the team to help address issues specific to the latter aspect.

Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC↗

Solar CIV Vacuum-Ultraviolet Fabry-Perot Interferometers

Aims: A tunable, high spectral resolution, high effective finesse, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) Fabry-Perot interferometer (PPI) is designed for obtaining narrow-passband images, magnetograms, and Dopplergrams of the transition region emission line of CIV (155 nm). Methods: The integral part of the CIV narrow passband filter package (with a 2-10 pm FWHM) consists of a multiple etalon system composed of a tunable interferometer that provides high-spectral resolution and a static low-spectral resolution interferometer that allows a large effective free spectral range. The prefilter for the interferometers is provided by a set of four mirrors with dielectric high-reflective coatings. A tunable interferometer, a VUV piezoelectric-control etalon, has undergone testing using the surrogate F2 eximer laser line at 157 nm for the CIV line. We present the results of the tests with a description of the overall concept for a complete narrow-band CIV spectral filter. The static interferometer of the filter is envisioned as being hudt using a set of fixed MgF2 plates. The four-mirror prefilter is designed to have dielectric multilayer n-stacks employing the design concept used in the Ultraviolet Imager of NASA's Polar Spacecraft. A dual etalon system allows the effective free spectral range to be commensurate with the prefilter profile. With an additional etalon, a triple etalon system would allow a spectrographic resolution of 2 pm. The basic strategy has been to combine the expertise of spaceflight etalon manufacturing with VUV coating technology to build a VUV FPI which combines the best attributes of imagers and spectrographs into a single compact instrument. Results. Spectro-polarimetry observations of the transition region CIV emission can be performed to increase the understanding of the magnetic forces, mass motion, evolution, and energy release within the solar atmosphere at the base of the corona where most of the magnetic field is approximately force-free. The 2D imaging of the full vector magnetic field at the height of maximum magnetic influence (minimum plasma beta) can be accomplished, albeit difficult, by measuring the Zeeman splitting of the CIV resonance pair. Designs of multiple VUV FPIs can be developed for integration into future orbiting solar observatories to obtain rapid cadence, spectral imaging of the transition region.

Gary, G. Allen↗

Earlier emergence of a temperature response to mitigation by filtering annual variability

The rate of global surface warming is crucial for tracking progress towards global climate targets, but is strongly influenced by interannual-to-decadal variability, which precludes rapid detection of the temperature response to emission mitigation. Here we use a physics based Green’s function approach to filter out modulations to global mean surface temperature from sea-surface temperature (SST) patterns, and show that it results in an earlier emergence of a response to strong emissions mitigation. For observed temperatures, we find a filtered 2011–2020 surface warming rate of 0.24 °C per decade, consistent with long-term trends. Unfiltered observations show 0.35 °C per decade, partly due to the El Nino of 2015–2016. Pattern filtered warming rates can become a strong tool for the climate community to inform policy makers and stakeholder communities about the ongoing and expected climate responses to emission reductions, provided an effort is made to improve and validate standardized Green’s functions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

A MEASUREMENT OF GRAVITATIONAL LENSING OF THE MICROWAVE BACKGROUND USING SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE DATA

We use South Pole Telescope data from 2008 and 2009 to detect the non-Gaussian signature in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) produced by gravitational lensing and to measure the power spectrum of the projected gravitational potential. We constrain the ratio of the measured amplitude of the lensing signal to that expected in a fiducial {Lambda}CDM cosmological model to be 0.86 {+-} 0.16, with no lensing disfavored at 6.3{sigma}. Marginalizing over {Lambda}CDM cosmological models allowed by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7) results in a measurement of A{sub lens} 0.90 {+-} 0.19, indicating that the amplitude of matter fluctuations over the redshift range 0.5 {approx}< z {approx}< 5 probed by CMB lensing is in good agreement with predictions. We present the results of several consistency checks. These include a clear detection of the lensing signature in CMB maps filtered to have no overlap in Fourier space, as well as a 'curl' diagnostic that is consistent with the signal expected for {Lambda}CDM. We perform a detailed study of bias in the measurement due to noise, foregrounds, and other effects and determine that these contributions are relatively small compared to the statistical uncertainty in the measurement. We combine this lensing measurement with results from WMAP7 to improve constraints on cosmological parameters when compared to those from WMAP7 alone: we find a factor of 3.9 improvement in the measurement of the spatial curvature of the universe, {Omega}{sub k} = -0.0014 {+-} 0.0172; a 10% improvement in the amplitude of matter fluctuations within {Lambda}CDM, {sigma}{sub 8} = 0.810 {+-} 0.026; and a 5% improvement in the dark energy equation of state, w = -1.04 {+-} 0.40. When compared with the measurement of w provided by the combination of WMAP7 and external constraints on the Hubble parameter, the addition of the lensing data improves the measurement of w by 15% to give w -1.087 {+-} 0.096.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On-board attitude determination for the Explorer Platform satellite

This paper describes the attitude determination algorithm for the Explorer Platform satellite. The algorithm, which is baselined on the Landsat code, is a six-element linear quadratic state estimation processor, in the form of a Kalman filter augmented by an adaptive filter process. Improvements to the original Landsat algorithm were required to meet mission pointing requirements. These consisted of a more efficient sensor processing algorithm and the addition of an adaptive filter which acts as a check on the Kalman filter during satellite slew maneuvers. A 1750A processor will be flown on board the satellite for the first time as a coprocessor (COP) in addition to the NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer. The attitude determination algorithm, which will be resident in the COP's memory, will make full use of its improved processing capabilities to meet mission requirements. Additional benefits were gained by writing the attitude determination code in Ada.

Jayaraman, C.↗

Characterization of particulate matter deposited in diesel particulate filters: Visual and analytical approach in macro-, micro- and nano-scales

Multi-scale analytical investigations of particulate matter (soot and ash) of two loaded diesel particulate filters (DPF) from (a) a truck (DPF1) and (b) a passenger car (DPF2) reveal the following: in DPF1 (without fuel-borne additives), soot aggregates form an approximately 130-270 {mu}m thick, homogeneous porous cake with pronounced orientation. Soot aggregates consist of 15-30 nm large individual particles exhibiting relatively mature internal nanostructures, however, far from being graphite. Ash aggregates largely accumulate at the outlet part of DPF1, while minor amounts are deposited directly on the channel walls all along the filter length. They consist of crystalline phases with individual particles of sizes down to the nanoscale range. Chemically, the ash consists mainly of Mg, S, Ca, Zn and P, elements encountered in lubricating oil additives. In the passenger car DPF2 (with fuel-borne additives), soot aggregates form an approximately 200-500 {mu}m thick, inhomogeneous porous cake consisting of several superposed layers corresponding to different soot generations. The largest part of the soot cake is composed of unburned, oriented soot aggregates left behind despite repeated regenerations, while a small part constitutes a loose layer with randomly oriented aggregates, which was deposited last and has not seen any regeneration. Fe-oxide particles of micro- to nano-scale sizes, originating from the fuel-borne additive, are often dispersed within the part of the soot cake composed of the unburned soot leftovers. The individual soot nanoparticles in DPF2 are approximately 15-40 nm large and generally less mature than in the truck DPF1. The presence of soot leftovers in DPF2 indicates that the addition of fuel-borne material does not fully compensate for the temperatures needed for complete soot removal. Ash in DPF2 is filling up more than half of the filter volume (at the downstream part) and is dominated by Fe-oxide aggregates, due to the Fe-based fuel-borne additive, but otherwise its chemical composition reflects compounds of lubricating oil additives. (author)

02 PETROLEUM↗

The Tianlai dish pathfinder array: design, operation, and performance of a prototype transit radio interferometer

ABSTRACT The Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array is a radio interferometer designed to test techniques for 21 cm intensity mapping in the post-reionization universe as a means for measuring large-scale cosmic structure. It performs drift scans of the sky at constant declination. We describe the design, calibration, noise level, and stability of this instrument based on the analysis of about 5% of 6200 h of on-sky observations through 2019 October. Beam pattern determinations using drones and the transit of bright sources are in good agreement, and compatible with electromagnetic simulations. Combining all the baselines, we make maps around bright sources and show that the array behaves as expected. A few hundred hours of observations at different declinations have been used to study the array geometry and pointing imperfections, as well as the instrument noise behaviour. We show that the system temperature is below 80 K for most feed antennas and that noise fluctuations decrease as expected with integration time, at least up to a few hundred seconds. Analysis of long integrations, from 10 nights of observations of the North Celestial Pole (NCP), yielded visibilities with amplitudes of 20–30 mK, consistent with the expected signal from the NCP radio sky with ${\lt}10\,$ mK precision for 1 MHz × 1 min binning. Hi-pass filtering the spectra to remove smooth spectrum signal yields a residual consistent with zero signal at the $0.5\,$ mK level.

(cosmology:) large-scale structure of the Universe↗

Ultraviolet damage in solar cell assemblies with various UV filters

Ultraviolet damage to the new violet and non-reflective type solar cell assemblies, was studied, and potential advantages of using coverslides with no filters or filters with cut-off wavelengths below 0.35 micron were determined. The experiments consisted of three types of tests on fused silica coverslides with 0.35- and 0.30-micron cut-off filters and no cut-off filters, as well as on ceria-doped microsheet coverslides. Ultraviolet irradiation for over 1500 hours at one sun conditions (AMO) was carried out under vacuum of about 1 million torr. Nearly identical results for non-reflective type cells with 0.35-micro cut-off filters or ceria-doped coverslides were obtained. The 0.30-um filtered cell shows greater than average degradation. The unfiltered cell shows an abrupt drop in the first 20 UVSH and very little subsequent degradation.

Meulenberg, A., Jr.↗

A complex carotenoid palette tunes avian color vision.

The brilliantly coloured cone oil droplets of the avian retina function as long-pass cut-off filters that tune the spectral sensitivity of the photoreceptors and are hypothesized to enhance colour discrimination and improve colour constancy. Although it has long been known that these droplets are pigmented with carotenoids, their precise composition has remained uncertain owing to the technical challenges of measuring these very small, dense and highly refractile optical organelles. In this study, we integrated results from high-performance liquid chromatography, hyperspectral microscopy and microspectrophotometry to obtain a comprehensive understanding of oil droplet carotenoid pigmentation in the chicken ( Gallus gallus ). We find that each of the four carotenoid-containing droplet types consists of a complex mixture of carotenoids, with a single predominant carotenoid determining the wavelength of the spectral filtering cut-off. Consistent with previous reports, we find that the predominant carotenoid type in the oil droplets of long-wavelength-sensitive, medium-wavelength-sensitive and short-wavelength-sensitive type 2 cones are astaxanthin, zeaxanthin and galloxanthin, respectively. In addition, the oil droplet of the principal member of the double cone contains a mixture of galloxanthin and two hydroxycarotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin). Short-wavelength-absorbing apocarotenoids are present in all of the droplet types, providing filtering of light in a region of the spectrum where filtering by hydroxy- and ketocarotenoids may be incomplete. Furthermore, birds rely on a complex palette of carotenoid pigments within their cone oil droplets to achieve finely tuned spectral filtering.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Fast temperature spectrometer for samples under extreme conditions

We have developed a multi-wavelength Fast Temperature Readout (FasTeR) spectrometer to capture a sample’s transient temperature fluctuations, and reduce uncertainties in melting temperature determination. Without sacrificing accuracy, FasTeR features a fast readout rate (about 100 Hz), high sensitivity, large dynamic range, and a well-constrained focus. Complimenting a charge-coupled device spectrometer, FasTeR consists of an array of photomultiplier tubes and optical dichroic filters. The temperatures determined by FasTeR outside of the vicinity of melting are, generally, in good agreement with results from the charge-coupled device spectrometer. Near melting, FasTeR is capable of capturing transient temperature fluctuations, at least on the order of 300 K/s. A software tool, SIMFaster, is described and has been developed to simulate FasTeR and assess design configurations. FasTeR is especially suitable for temperature determinations that utilize ultra-fast techniques under extreme conditions. Working in parallel with the laser-heated diamond-anvil cell, synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, we have applied the FasTeR spectrometer to measure the melting temperature of {sup 57}Fe{sub 0.9}Ni{sub 0.1} at high pressure.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Tunable ultracompact chip-integrated multichannel filter based on plasmon-induced transparencies

Nanoscale multichannel filter is realized in plasmonic circuits directly, which consists of four plasmonic nanocavities coupled via a plasmonic waveguide etched in a gold film. The feature device size is only 1.35 μm, which is reduced by five orders of magnitude compared with previous reports. The optical channels are formed by transparency windows of plasmon-induced transparencies. A shift of 45 nm in the central wavelengths of optical channels is obtained when the plasmonic coupled-nanocavities are covered with a 100-nm-thick poly(methyl methacrylate) layer. This work opens up the possibility for the realization of solid quantum chips based on plasmonic circuits.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

EMI Filters for Low-Temperature Applications

Filters that suppress electromagnetic interference (EMI) on signal cables connected to cryogenic electronic equipment can be made from cores consisting of high-permeability materials. The basic principle of operation of these filters is the same as that of the ferrite-core common-mode EMI filters now commonly used on cables that connect computers with peripheral equipment. An inductive EMI filters blocks EMI due to its impedance to high frequency EMI signals. Since the impedance is proportional to the permeability, a material with high permeability forms the core of such a filter.

Chui, Talso↗

Absolute radiant power measurement for the Au M lines of laser-plasma using a calibrated broadband soft X-ray spectrometer with flat-spectral response

CEA implemented an absolutely calibrated broadband soft X-ray spectrometer called DMX on the Omega laser facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in 1999 to measure radiant power and spectral distribution of the radiation of the Au plasma. The DMX spectrometer is composed of 20 channels covering the spectral range from 50 eV to 20 keV. The channels for energies below 1.5 keV combine a mirror and a filter with a coaxial photo-emissive detector. For the channels above 5 keV the photoemissive detector is replaced by a conductive detector. The intermediate energy channels (1.5 keV < photon energy < 5 keV) use only a filter and a coaxial detector. A further improvement of DMX consists in flat-response X-ray channels for a precise absolute measurement of the photon flux in the photon energy range from 0.1 keV to 6 keV. Such channels are equipped with a filter, a Multilayer Mirror (MLM), and a coaxial detector. We present as an example the development of channel for the gold M emission lines in the photon energy range from 2 keV to 4 keV which has been successfully used on the OMEGA laser facility. The results of the radiant power measurements with the new MLM channel and with the usual channel composed of a thin titanium filter and a coaxial detector (without mirror) are compared. All elements of the channel have been calibrated in the laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany's National Metrology Institute, at the synchrotron radiation facility BESSY II in Berlin using dedicated well established and validated methods.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Filter Efficiency and Pressure Testing of Returned ISS Bacterial Filter Elements (BFEs)

The air quality control equipment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and future deep space exploration vehicles provide the vital function of maintaining a clean cabin environment for the crew and the hardware. This becomes a serious challenge in pressurized space compartments since no outside air ventilation is possible, and a larger particulate load is imposed on the filtration system due to lack of sedimentation. The ISS Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) system architecture in the U.S. Segment uses a distributed particulate filtration approach consisting of traditional High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters deployed at multiple locations in each U.S. Seg-ment module; these filters are referred to as Bacterial Filter Elements, or BFEs. In our previous work, we presented results of efficiency and pressure drop measurements for a sample set of two returned BFEs with a service life of 2.5 years. In this follow-on work, we present similar efficiency, pressure drop, and leak tests results for a larger sample set of six returned BFEs. The results of this work can aid the ISS Program in managing BFE logistics inventory through the stations planned lifetime as well as provide insight for managing filter element logistics for future exploration missions. These results also can provide meaningful guidance for particulate filter designs under consideration for future deep space exploration missions.

ISS Air Quality↗