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At least 325 records · Page 18

First Annual Report on Development of Microwave Resonant Cavity Transducer for Fluid Flow Sensing: Development of Sensor Performance Model of Microwave Cavity Flow Meter for Advanced Reactor High Temperature Fluids

We are investigating a microwave cavity-based transducer for in-core high-temperature fluid flow sensing in molten salt cooled reactors (MSCR) and sodium fast reactors (SFR). This sensor is a hollow metallic cylindrical cavity, which can be fabricated from stainless steel, and as such is expected to be resilient to radiation, high temperature and corrosive environment of MSCR and SFR. The principle of sensing consists of making one wall of the cylindrical cavity flexible enough so that dynamic pressure, which is proportional to fluid velocity, will cause membrane deflection. Membrane deflection causes cavity volume change, which leads to a shift in the resonant frequency. Feasibility of the sensor was initially investigated with analytical derivations and with COMSOL RF Module computer simulations of resonant frequency spectral shift due to uniform load. We also investigated the mechanical integrity of the flowmeter’s membrane through analytical modelling and COMSOL Structural Mechanics Module computer simulations. Both the analytic model and COMSOL model showed that maximum stresses on the plate, which are at the radial boundary of the plate, are three orders of magnitude smaller than the material’s yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. This indicates that the sensor is at a low risk of mechanical failure. Using results from models, we have developed an initial design for a microwave K-band sensor. A cylindrical resonator prototype was fabricated from brass for the initial tests. The external dimensions of the cavity are matched to the flange of a standard WR-42 waveguide. Microwave field is coupled into the resonant cavity through a subwavelength-size aperture. A test article was developed consisting of a piping Tee with a bulkhead WR-42 microwave waveguide installed in a leak-proof assembly. A microwave waveguide circulator was installed in the setup to suppress the effect of reflections at the cavity entrance by increasing the isolation between the input and the output port. Preliminary spectral characterization of cavity spectral response was performed with a portable PXIe chassis microwave VNA with a custom GUI. Preliminary dry tests of the transducer response were conducted with a set of calibrated weights. Transducer frequency shift was shown to be monotonically increasing with increasing pressure. The next steps will involve investigation of the transducer performance for water flow sensing.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Examining polymer‐protein biophysical interactions with small‐angle x‐ray scattering and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation

Abstract Polymer‐protein hybrids can be deployed to improve protein solubility and stability in denaturing environments. While previous work used robotics and active machine learning to inform new designs, further biophysical information is required to ascertain structure–function behavior. Here, we show the value of tandem small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCMD) experiments to reveal detailed polymer‐protein interactions with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a test case. Of particular interest was the process of polymer‐protein complex formation under thermal stress whereby SAXS monitors formation in solution while QCMD follows these dynamics at an interface. The radius of gyration ( R g ) of the protein as measured by SAXS does not change significantly in the presence of polymer under denaturing conditions, but thickness and dissipation changes were observed in QCMD data. SAXS data with and without thermal stress were utilized to create bead models of the potential complexes and denatured enzyme, and each model fit provided insight into the degree of interactions. Additionally, QCMD data demonstrated that HRP deforms by spreading upon surface adsorption at low concentration as shown by longer adsorption times and smaller frequency shifts. In contrast, thermally stressed and highly inactive HRP had faster adsorption kinetics. The combination of SAXS and QCMD serves as a framework for biophysical characterization of interactions between proteins and polymers which could be useful in designing polymer‐protein hybrids.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Experimental Investigation of the Thermal Decomposition Pathways and Kinetics of TATB by Isotopic Substitution

Real-time measurements of the product gases arising from the thermal decomposition of triamino-trinitro benzene (TATB), its deuterated analogue, and plastically bonded TATB (LX-17) are presented in this study. Gas-phase decomposition products are identified by IR absorption spectroscopy. The frequency shifts in rovibrational spectra due to isotopic substitution and the change in rate of formation of decomposition products due to the kinetic-isotope-effect (KIE) help elucidate the decomposition pathways. The formation of H 2 O precedes other molecules (e.g., HCN, HNCO) during decomposition. After the concentrations of HCN and HNCO molecules reach a peak, their amounts gradually decrease. The concentrations of the other decomposition products (e.g., NH 3 and CO 2 ) rapidly rise after an induction period, which is attributed to the presence of autocatalytic reactions. The trends of chemical evolution are similar for all the samples, but their kinetic behaviors are different. This indicates the rates of consistent pathways are changed during thermal decomposition. Additionally, the kinetics of deuterated TATB decomposition is slower than that of unsubstituted TATB due to the KIE (kH/kD~1.41). The rate of LX-17 decomposition is slightly lower than unsubstituted TATB (k TATB /k LX-17 ~1.15). The KIE is more pronounced during the early stage of decomposition, which is attributed to the first steps of TATB decomposition involving water formation (i.e., H vs D transfer). The KIE slows down the formation of all gases, including those lacking hydrogen (e.g., CO 2 ). These results suggest the TATB thermal decomposition mechanism might involve a series of pathways rather than a set of independent and parallel reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Considerations for testing full-scale wind turbine nacelles with hardware-in-the-loop

In this paper, pole placement control techniques are utilized to compensate for variations in the torsional dynamics resulting from the different boundary conditions experienced by a wind turbine nacelle when mounted on a test bench. Simulation case studies are used to understand the baseline torsional characteristics of the nacelle coupled to the test bench versus that coupled to the rotor. It was found that the frequency shifts by up to 200% and 400% for the first and second torsional modes, respectively. The feasibility of utilizing pole placement technique to match the torsional characteristics of the turbine on the test bench is investigated using PI and PID controllers. Here, the performance of the tuned controller is then verified under two test scenarios: Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT), and a highly dynamic turbulent wind input. It is demonstrated that tuning the test bench speed controller can effectively shift the poles of the closed-loop system to match the desired first and second modes of the full turbine and replicate transient field events on the test bench.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Impact of nuclear reactor radiation on the performance of AlN/sapphire surface acoustic wave devices

The performance of an AlN/sapphire surface acoustic wave (SAW) delay line device was characterized in real time under irradiation inside a nuclear reactor. Both its resonant frequency and transmission efficiency were observed to respond to a change in reactor power. The response follows an exponentially saturating behavior after a step power increase, followed by an exponentially decaying recovery after reactor shutdown. A sensitivity analysis based on the governing electro-mechanical equations shows that the frequency shift can be attributed to the softening of sapphire’s elastic constants under neutron radiation. Additionally, a kinetic rate equation is adopted to interpret device response and describe its microstructural evolution. These results suggest that the AlN/sapphire SAW device remains functional under irradiation, is sensitive to neutron and gamma ray fluxes, and offers an opportunity for remote sensing and in-situ measurement of material properties when exposed to nuclear reactor environment.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Resonance ultrasound prediction of residual stress within a hybrid layer for additively manufactured samples

Hybrid additive manufacturing (AM) involves secondary processes or energy sources to alter specified locations within the build volume. Each hybrid step can refine the grain size, increase dislocation density, or modify residual stresses. Typically, the changes in mechanical properties are not confined within a single layer but have a compounding effect on preceding layers. Existing methods of measuring AM residual stress are limited in terms of their sensitivity, or they are destructive measurements. We propose using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) to measure the residual stress in hybrid-AM components noninvasively, based on changes to the resonances, compared to a stress-free component. In this paper, we use finite element models to simulate residual stress in hybrid-AM components and to examine the sensitivity of RUS measurements in terms of frequency shifts and mode shapes with respect to single hybrid layers. Then, the RUS results are used to predict stress for a layer at a known location with unknown stress. Here, the approach highlights the capabilities of RUS to address an AM characterization challenge.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A two-dimensional numerical study of ion-acoustic turbulence

We investigate the linear and nonlinear evolution of the current-driven ion-acoustic instability in a collisionless plasma via two-dimensional (2-D) Vlasov–Poisson numerical simulations. We initialise the system in a stable state and gradually drive it towards instability with an imposed, weak external electric field, thus avoiding physically unrealisable super-critical initial conditions. A comprehensive analysis of the nonlinear evolution of ion-acoustic turbulence (IAT) is presented, including the detailed characteristics of the evolution of the particles’ distribution functions, (2-D) wave spectrum and the resulting anomalous resistivity. Our findings reveal the dominance of 2-D quasi-linear effects around saturation, with nonlinear effects, such as particle trapping and nonlinear frequency shifts, becoming pronounced during the later stages of the system's nonlinear evolution. Remarkably, the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) spectrum is observed immediately after the saturation of the instability. Another crucial and noteworthy result is that no steady saturated nonlinear state is ever reached: strong ion heating suppresses the instability, which implies that the anomalous resistivity associated with IAT is transient and short-lived, challenging earlier theoretical results. Towards the conclusion of the simulation, electron-acoustic waves are triggered by the formation of a double layer and strong modifications to the particle distribution induced by IAT.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Competitive Adsorption of NH 3 and H 2 O in Metal–Organic Framework Materials: MOF-74

Elucidating the interaction between coadsorbed H 2 O and NH 3 in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is of paramount importance to uncover mechanistic details of their competitive coadsorption behavior as well as to guide the design of new materials for enhanced NH 3 adsorption in humid environments. Nevertheless, molecular competition between NH 3 and H 2 O within the confined nanopores of MOFs was rarely explored and is poorly understood due to challenges in characterization. Here, we combine in situ infrared spectroscopy with ab initio calculations to unveil the competition of NH 3 and H 2 O for occupying active adsorption sites in the representative MOF-74 material by analyzing the kinetics and energetics of the molecular exchange process. We find that at a high NH 3 /H 2 O ratio, the incoming NH 3 is capable of displacing metal-bound H 2 O and moving it to secondary adsorption sites due to the stronger binding of NH 3 compared with H 2 O. Interestingly, the reverse process of H 2 O displacing metal-bound NH 3 is also possible upon increasing water concentration. Our calculations show that H 2 O exchanging the preabsorbed NH 3 at the metal site is driven not only by a reduced kinetic barrier but also by a favorable energetical state resulting from the formation of water clusters at metal sites and intermolecular H-bonding between the metal-coordinated H 2 O and displaced NH 3 . Our finding emphasizes that the description of molecular occupation in MOFs at equilibrium cannot simply be established by comparing molecules’ binding energies at their strongest binding sites derived by single-component measurements; rather, intermolecular interactions can greatly affect molecular distribution at equilibrium. Furthermore, we show that vibrational modes of adsorbed NH 3 are markedly perturbed upon contact with water molecules, accompanied by a large frequency shift (>30 cm –1 ) and considerable intensity decrease, which arises from the freezing of NH 3 vibrations by coadsorbed H 2 O. As a result, the mechanistic insight obtained through our study sheds light on molecular coadsorption processes in MOFs and helps to assess NH 3 removal efficiency of MOFs containing open-metal sites under realistic conditions, particularly in the presence of humidity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High-Field Magnetoelectric and Spin-Phonon Coupling in Multiferroic (NH 4 ) 2 [FeCl 5 ·(H 2 O)]

We combine high field polarization, magneto-infrared spectroscopy, and lattice dynamics calculations with prior magnetization to explore the properties of (NH 4 ) 2 [FeCl 5 ·(H 2 O)]-a type II molecular multiferroic in which the mixing between charge, structure, and magnetism is controlled by intermolecular hydrogen and halogen bonds. Electric polarization is sensitive to the series of field-induced spin reorientations, increasing linearly with the field and reaching a maximum before collapsing to zero across the quasi-collinear to collinear-sinusoidal reorientation due to the restoration of inversion symmetry. Magnetoelectric coupling is on the order of 1.2 ps/m for the P∥c, H∥c configuration between 5 and 25 T at 1.5 K. In this range, the coupling takes place via an orbital hybridization mechanism. Other forms of mixing are active in (NH 4 ) 2 [FeCl 5 ·(H 2 O)] as well. Magneto-infrared spectroscopy reveals that all of the vibrational modes below 600 cm –1 are sensitive to the field-induced transition to the fully saturated magnetic state at 30 T. We analyze these local lattice distortions and use frequency shifts to extract spin-phonon coupling constants for the Fe–O stretch, Fe–OH 2 rock, and NH 4 + libration. Inspection also reveals subtle symmetry breaking of the ammonium counterions across the ferroelectric transition. Here, the coexistence of such varied mixing processes in a platform with intermolecular hydrogen- and halogen-bonding opens the door to greater understanding of multiferroics and magnetoelectrics governed by through-space interactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

High Pressure X-ray Diffraction and Equation of State of Hydrazine

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction has been used to investigate the structure and equation of state (EOS) of hydrazine (N 2 H 4 ) up to 54.3 GPa at 298 K. The diffraction patterns could be fit to a monoclinic unit-cell structure and put strong constraints on previously reported phase transitions documented by vibrational spectroscopy over this pressure range. Pressure–volume ( P–V ) data were fit using a Vinet EOS, yielding parameters: V 0 = 45.2 Å 3 /molecule (fixed), K 0 = 11.8(7) GPa, and K 0 ′ = 6.5(2). Previously measured high-pressure vibrational frequency shifts were used to estimate the vibrational free energy and model P–V–T isotherms from 0 to 1200 K. The results of the P–V–T isotherms are compared to existing shock Hugoniot data on hydrazine and 298 K isotherms for assemblages of possible decomposition products. This comparison suggests dissociation at high density under shock loading. Good correspondence was found between the static lattice EOS as calculated by the model and the previously reported EOS as calculated by density functional theory. Finally, these results resolve existing uncertainties about the EOS and crystal symmetry of hydrazine at high pressure and provide valuable baseline information on this important energetic material.

diffraction↗

Imaging Ferroelastic Domain Walls in Hybrid Improper Ferroelectric Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7

For this work, we combined synchrotron-based near field infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy to image the properties of ferroelastic domain walls in Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7 . Although frequency shifts at the walls are near the limit of our sensitivity, we can confirm semiconducting rather than metallic character and widths between 20 and 60 nm. The latter is significantly narrower than in other hybrid improper ferroelectrics like Ca 3 Ti 2 O 7 . We attribute this trend to the softer lattice in Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7 , which may enable the octahedral tilt and rotation order parameters to evolve more quickly across the wall without significantly increased strain. These findings are crucial for the understanding of phononic properties at interfaces and the development of domain wall-based devices.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Curvilinear Magnonic Crystal Based on 3D Hierarchical Nanotemplates

Curvilinear magnetic nanostructures enable control of magnetization dynamics through geometry-induced anisotropy and chiral interactions, as well as magnetic field modulation. In this work, we report a curvilinear magnonic crystal based on large-area square arrays of truncated nanospikes fabricated by conformal coating of 3D hierarchical templates with permalloy thin films. Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy reveals an anisotropic band structure with multiple dispersive and folded Bloch-type dispersive spin-wave modes as well as nondispersive modes exhibiting direction-dependent frequency shifts and intensity asymmetries along lattice principal axes. Finite element micromagnetic simulations indicate that curvature-induced variations of the demagnetizing field govern the magnonic response, enabling the identification of modes propagating in nanochannels and others localized on nanospike apexes or along the ridges connecting adjacent nanospikes. The combination of geometric curvature and optical probing asymmetry produces directional dependence of magnonic bands, establishing 3D hierarchical templates as a versatile platform for curvature-engineered magnonics.

3D hierarchical templates↗

13 C Radiofrequency Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Threshold Sensing of Chemical Reactions

Conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) enables detection of chemicals and their transformations by exciting nuclear spin ensembles with a radio-frequency pulse followed by detection of the precessing spins at their characteristic frequencies. The detected frequencies report on chemical reactions in real time and the signal amplitudes scale with concentrations of products and reactants. Here, we employ Radiofrequency Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (RASER), a quantum phenomenon producing coherent emission of 13 C signals, to detect chemical transformations. The 13 C signals are emitted by the negatively hyperpolarized biomolecules without external radio frequency pulses and without any background signal from other, nonhyperpolarized spins in the ensemble. Here, we studied the hydrolysis of hyperpolarized ethyl-[1- 13 C]acetate to hyperpolarized [1- 13 C]acetate, which was analyzed as a model system by conventional NMR and 13 C RASER. The chemical transformation of 13 C RASER-active species leads to complete and abrupt disappearance of reactant signals and delayed, abrupt reappearance of a frequency-shifted RASER signal without destroying 13 C polarization. Further, the experimentally observed “quantum” RASER threshold is supported by simulations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Reconfigurable training and reservoir computing in an artificial spin-vortex ice via spin-wave fingerprinting

Strongly interacting artificial spin systems are moving beyond mimicking naturally occurring materials to emerge as versatile functional platforms, from reconfigurable magnonics to neuromorphic computing. Typically, artificial spin systems comprise nanomagnets with a single magnetization texture: collinear macrospins or chiral vortices. Here, by tuning nanoarray dimensions we have achieved macrospin–vortex bistability and demonstrated a four-state metamaterial spin system, the ‘artificial spin-vortex ice’ (ASVI). ASVI can host Ising-like macrospins with strong ice-like vertex interactions and weakly coupled vortices with low stray dipolar field. Vortices and macrospins exhibit starkly differing spin-wave spectra with analogue mode amplitude control and mode frequency shifts of Δf = 3.8 GHz. The enhanced bitextural microstate space gives rise to emergent physical memory phenomena, with ratchet-like vortex injection and history-dependent non-linear fading memory when driven through global magnetic field cycles. We employed spin-wave microstate fingerprinting for rapid, scalable readout of vortex and macrospin populations, and leveraged this for spin-wave reservoir computation. ASVI performs non-linear mapping transformations of diverse input and target signals in addition to chaotic time-series forecasting.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Effect of Thomas Rotation on the Lorentz Transformation of Electromagnetic fields

A relativistic particle undergoing successive boosts which are non collinear will experience a rotation of its coordinate axes with respect to the boosted frame. This rotation of coordinate axes is caused by a relativistic phenomenon called Thomas Rotation. We assess the importance of Thomas rotation in the calculation of physical quantities like electromagnetic fields in the relativistic regime. We calculate the electromagnetic field tensor for general three dimensional successive boosts in the particle’s rest frame as well as the laboratory frame. We then compare the electromagnetic field tensors obtained by a direct boost β δβ → + → and successive boosts β → and Δβ → and check their consistency with Thomas rotation. This framework might be important to situations such as the calculation of frequency shifts for relativistic spin1/2 particles undergoing Larmor precession in electromagnetic fields with small field non-uniformities.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Achieving precise multiparameter measurements with distributed optical fiber sensor using wavelength diversity and deep neural networks

The development of advanced distributed optical fiber sensing systems that are capable of performing accurate and spatially resolved multiparameter measurements is of great interest to a wide range of scientific and industrial applications. Here, in this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a wavelength diversity based advanced distributed optical fiber sensor system to accomplish multiparameter sensing while greatly enhancing measurement accuracy. A suite of deep neural network (DNN) algorithms are developed and verified for data denoising, rapid Brillouin frequency shift estimation, and vibration data event classification. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed advanced wavelength diversity distributed fiber sensor system assisted by DNN for simultaneous, independent measurements of static strain, temperature, and acoustic vibrations over a 25 km long sensing fiber at 3 m spatial resolution. These results suggest the potential for an intelligent multiparameter monitoring system with enhanced performance in advanced structural health monitoring applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A microchip microcontroller-based transducer controller for non-contact scanning probe microscopy with phase-locked loop, amplitude, and Q control

An inexpensive yet versatile transducer controller for non-contact scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based on a PIC32 microcontroller from Microchip Technology, Inc is described. In addition to feedback control using the amplitude or phase of the signal from the non-contact transducer, the controller includes a phase-locked loop for frequency-shift feedback, as well as fixed-amplitude, quality factor (Q) control, and self-excitation modes. Apart from the input amplifiers, output buffers, and the Q-control circuit, all other functions of the controller are instantiated in software on the microchip, enabling rapid changes in operating parameters if needed. The controller communicates with a host personal computer via a simple serial connection. The controller has been tested with a quartz tuning-fork transducer but can be used with any oscillating non-contact transducer.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗