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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 343 records · Page 19

Population of isomeric states in fusion and transfer reactions in beams of loosely bound nuclei near the Coulomb barrier

The influence of the mechanisms of nuclear reactions on the population of {sup 195m}Hg and {sup 197m}Hg(7/2{sup −}), {sup 198m}Tl and {sup 196m}Tl(7{sup +}), and {sup 196m}Au and {sub 198m}Au(12{sup −}) isomeric nuclear states obtained in reactions induced by beams of {sup 3}He, {sup 6}Li, and {sup 6}He weakly bound nuclei is studied. The behavior of excitation functions and high values of isomeric ratios (δ{sub m}/δ{sub g}) for products of nuclear reactions proceeding through a compound nucleus and involving neutron evaporation are explained within statistical models. Reactions in which the emission of charged particles occurs have various isomeric ratios depending on the reaction type. The isomeric ratio is lower in direct transfer reactions involving charged-particle emission than in reactions where the evaporation of charged particles occurs. Reactions accompanied by neutron transfer usually have a lower isomeric ratio, which behaves differently for different direct-reaction types (stripping versus pickup reactions)

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Dynamic Simulation Technoeconomic Model for Power Generation

Sandia National Laboratories has built and successfully tested a dynamic simulation technoeconomic model of the Palo Verde Generating Station that is now being updated to help other US power plants improve operations. Palo Verde, located west of Phoenix, Arizona, is the largest electricity generator in the US at 4 GW. Palo Verde uses — 60 million gallons per day of treated wastewater from Phoenix to cool reactors, and disposes of blowdown in evaporation ponds. The model built for Palo Verde numerically evaluates the economic impact of changing, for example, alternative cooling technologies, water usage and treatment, and influent water chemistry, and is based on detailed accounting of mass, energy, and cash flows.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Disk Dispersal Around Young Stars

We first review the evidence pertaining to the lifetimes of planet-forming disks of gas and dust around young stars and discuss possible disk dispersal mechanisms: 1) viscous accretion of material onto the central source, 2) close stellar encounters, 3) stellar winds, and 4) photoevaporation caused by the heating of the disk surface by ultraviolet radiation. Photoevaporation is likely the most important dispersal mechanism for the outer regions of disks, and this talk focuses on the evaporation caused by the presence of a nearby, luminous star rather than the central star itself. We also focus on disks around low-mass stars like the Sun rather than high-mass stars, which we have treated previously. Stars often form in clusters and the ultraviolet flux from the most luminous star in the cluster can have a dramatic effect on the disk orbiting a nearby low-mass star. We apply our theoretical models to the evaporating protoplanetary disks (or "proplyds") in the Trapezium cluster in Orion, to the formation of gas giant planets like Jupiter around Sun-like stars in the Galaxy, and to the formation of Kuiper belts around low mass stars. We find a possible explanation for the differences between Neptune and Jupiter, and make a prediction concerning recent searches for giant planets in large clusters. We discuss recent models of the infrared spectra from gaseous disks around young stars.

Hollenbach, David↗

Failed Radiatively Accelerated Dusty Outflow Model of the Broad Line Region in Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Analytical Solution

The physical origin of the broad line region in active galactic nuclei is still unclear despite many years of observational studies. The reason is that the region is unresolved, and the reverberation mapping results imply a complex velocity field. We adopt a theory-motivated approach to identify the principal mechanism responsible for this complex phenomenon. We consider the possibility that the role of dust is essential. We assume that the local radiation pressure acting on the dust in the accretion disk atmosphere launches the outflow of material, but higher above the disk the irradiation from the central parts causes dust evaporation and a subsequent fallback. This failed radiatively accelerated dusty outflow is expected to represent the material forming low ionization lines. In this paper we formulate simple analytical equations to describe the cloud motion, including the evaporation phase. The model is fully described just by the basic parameters of black hole mass, accretion rate, black hole spin, and viewing angle. We study how the spectral line generic profiles correspond to this dynamic. We show that the virial factor calculated from our model strongly depends on the black hole mass in the case of enhanced dust opacity, and thus it then correlates with the line width. This could explain why the virial factor measured in galaxies with pseudobulges differs from that obtained from objects with classical bulges, although the trend predicted by the current version of the model is opposite to the observed trend.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A flux-limited treatment for the conductive evaporation of spherical interstellar gas clouds

In this work, we present and analyze a new analytic solution for the saturated (flux-limited) thermal evaporation of a spherical cloud. This work is distinguished from earlier analytic studies by allowing the thermal conductivity to change continuously from a diffusive to a saturated form, in a manner usually employed only in numerical calculations. This closed form solution will be of interest as a computational benchmark. Using our calculated temperature profiles and mass-loss rates, we model the thermal evaporation of such a cloud under typical interstellar medium (ISM) conditions, with some restrictions. We examine the ionization structure of the cloud-ISM interface and evaluate column densities of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, and silicon ions toward the cloud. In accord with other investigations, we find that ionization equilibrium is far from satisfied under the assumed conditions. Since the inclusion of saturation effects in the heat flux narrows the thermal interface relative to its classical structure, we also find that saturation effects tend to lower predicted column densities.

Dalton, William W.↗

Influence of surface relaxation on solute atoms positioning within atom probe tomography reconstructions

Highlights: • APT measurement of Al/Cu alloy is simulated with a combined electrostatics and molecular dynamics (MD) approach. • Results show segregation of dilute Cu at [111] poles in correspondence to experimental measurements. • No temperature is involved. The effect originates in both disparate evaporation field and bond-energies in the alloy. While thermal or field-induced surface migration has been invoked often in past literature to rationalize the experimental observations of solute and impurity atoms segregation to specific poles and zones lines in atom probe tomography (APT) reconstructions, it does not satisfactorily explain all experimental results. Using a combined finite-element and molecular dynamics simulation approach that models the field evaporation process from mechanically relaxed emitter structures, we show that an additional mechanism, athermal relaxation, can also drive significant solute migration. The mechanism is illustrated for Cu in solid solution in Al, which exhibits segregation of Cu to 111 poles and along [110] zone lines in reconstructed APT data. The higher bonding energy of Cu atoms on the surface, confirmed using density-functional theory calculations, causes longer retention on the surface and preferential evaporation of neighboring Al atoms with subsequent athermal relaxation of Cu into higher-neighbor-count sites left vacant by evaporating Al neighbors. This in turn results in barrier-free long-range migration of the Cu atoms by a series of relaxation events that follow the receding terrace ledges towards high-neighbor count poles and zone lines. This mechanism fundamentally limits spatial resolution in the limit of zero temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Explosive evaporation in solar flares

This paper develops a simple analytical model for the phenomenon of 'explosive evaporation' driven by nonthermal electron heating in solar flares. The model relates the electron energy flux and spectrum, plus details of the preflare atmosphere, to the time scale for explosive evaporation to occur, the maximum pressure and temperature to be reached, rough estimates for the UV pulse emission flux and duration, and the evolution of the blueshifted component of the soft X-ray lines. An expression is given for the time scale for buildup to maximum pressures and the onset of rapid motion of the explosively evaporating plasma. This evaporation can excite a rapid response of UV line and continuum emission. The emission lines formed in the plasma approach a given emissivity-weighted blueshift speed.

Fisher, George H.↗

A mathematical model of solid-state dewetting of barium thin films on W (112)

Solid state dewetting occurs when a thin solid film is heated. The temperature of dewetting depends on the thickness of the film; dewetting can be observed in the range of 1/3 to 1/2 of the bulk melting temperature. While remaining solid, the film behaves in a manner similar to liquids dewetting and agglomerating to forming islands or droplets. One of the possible mechanisms is the conversion of a metastable thin film geometry into a more stable form. Heating the metastable film gives the film atoms higher mobility, and the films retract, dewetting the surface. This atomic motion can be restricted due to surface anisotropy. Herein we present in situ emission microscopy observations of barium thin films deposited onto W (112) by thermal evaporation. From the modeling viewpoint, the evolution of the film in this system could be divided in four stages: (i) the nucleation and growth of the thin film as a simply connected region; (ii) formation of droplets/islands/hillocks; (iii) nucleation of holes; (iv) evolution of the components of the disconnected film to their equilibrium state. We present a continuum model that is qualitatively consistent with the evolution of the film observed at the initial stage of the experiment and discuss the later stages of the evolution of surface structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Magnesium Loss in Nd:YAG Pulsed Laser Welding of Aluminum Alloys

In the current investigation, the loss of magnesium (Mg) in Nd:YAG pulsed laser welding of a number of aluminum (Al) alloys was studied both experimentally and numerically. The experimental results showed that at a fixed average laser power, with the increasing pulse frequency, Mg concentration of the weld metals decreased. A numerical model was developed for the calculation of Mg evaporation from the weld pool. The model predicted a trend in the changes of Mg concentration of the weld pool, working best for alloys containing the higher levels of Mg. The calculations showed that with the increasing pulse frequency from 15 to 40 Hz, due to a decrease in the average temperature of the weld pool, Mg loss in terms of mass per unit area of the weld spot actually decreased from 230 × 10{sup −5} to 120 × 10{sup −5} kg/m{sup 2}. However, due to a decrease in the weld penetration/volume, the effective Mg loss of the weld metal in terms of concentration increased from 110 × 10{sup −1} to 260 × 10{sup −1} kg/m{sup 3}. It was shown that due to interactions between Mg and other main alloying elements, the activity coefficient of Mg had to be modified for the model to accurately predict Mg evaporation of the weld pool.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The FastEddy® Resident-GPU Accelerated Large-Eddy Simulation Framework: Moist Dynamics Extension, Validation and Sensitivities of Modeling Non-Precipitating Shallow Cumulus Clouds

Herein we describe the moist dynamics formulation implemented within the graphics processing unit-resident large-eddy simulation FastEddy® model, which includes a simple saturation adjustment scheme for condensation and evaporation processes. Two LES model intercomparison exercises for non-precipitating shallow cumulus clouds are simulated in order to validate this model extension, including a static forcing and a time-dependent forcing case. Overall, we find our dynamical, thermodynamical and microphysical quantities, along with turbulence variability and fluxes, to be commensurate with the corresponding model intercomparison results. In addition, sensitivities to specific model settings are investigated. Among these settings, it is shown that boundary layer and cloud layer structure and characteristics are sensitive to use of higher-order advection schemes impacting the vertical distribution of cloud content and associated turbulence statistics. Increasing the timescale of the saturation scheme leads to enhanced liquid water presence and decreases vertical velocity variance within the cloud deck. In some cases, these sensitivities agree with the model-to-model variability reported in the intercomparison exercises, highlighting the important role of specific model implementation choices in the context of shallow cumulus convection simulations. These analyses and findings also provide the basis for future extensions and applications of FastEddy® for modeling moist convection and precipitation scenarios.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Effects of dual-alcohol gasoline blends on physiochemical properties and volatility behavior

Biofuels can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Ethanol is the main additive for gasoline in the United States, and gasoline containing 10 vol% ethanol is the most commonly used transportation fuel. However, the vapor pressure of these blends is significantly higher than gasoline, which contributes to evaporative emissions. One way to circumvent this and other issues is to use a dual-alcohol approach, mixing lower (methanol or ethanol) and higher alcohols with gasoline to obtain a blend with a vapor pressure close to that of the base gasoline. The goal of this study was to evaluate the fuel potential of dual alcohol blends experimentally and theoretically. Ten dual-alcohol blends were tested at blending ratios from 10 to 80 vol%, with methanol and ethanol used as the lower alcohols and iso-butanol and 3-methyl-3-pentanol as the higher alcohols. The corresponding single alcohol-gasoline blends were also evaluated. For each blend, Reid vapor pressure, vapor lock protection potential, distillation curve, lower heating value, kinematic viscosity, and water tolerance at three temperatures were measured. A model of droplet evaporation was also applied to provide insights into the azeotropic volatility behavior and mixing/sooting potential of the blends. The results of this study show that it is advantageous to use dual-alcohol blends containing up to 40 vol% because they have the characteristics necessary for good performance in existing spark-ignition engines, particularly in terms of volatility, kinematic viscosity, and water tolerance. This study is the first to characterize matched vapor pressure, dual-alcohol blends over a wide blending range as drop-in fuels for conventional spark ignition engines. Furthermore, this was the first investigation of the fuel potential of iso-butanol in dual-alcohol blends and of 3-methyl-3-pentanol in single- and dual-alcohol blends.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Wildfire Risk Support via Satellite-Derived Vegetation Health and Land Surface Model Soil Moisture

Land Surface Model (LSM) and evaporative demand products provide advanced lead time to wildfire conditions that complement traditional fire indices and represent short-term changes that add context to overall, long-term drought conditions. Established fire indices typically use weather indicators (i.e., precipitation, temperature) and estimated dead fuel moisture to indirectly obtain land surface and sub-surface characterization. The convergence of LSM shallow and deep-layer soil moisture output and satellite-derived vegetation health combine to provide a tool for stakeholders to examine trends in the state of land surface conditions that can help assess wildfire threat. Satellite remote sensing data can constrain near-real time vegetation characteristics within the LSM and/or provide a derived stress index in order to help characterize the wildfire risk. In addition, a percentile product of soil moisture is derived from a comparison of current LSM conditions to the historical record of the LSM in order to put the current conditions in perspective relative to the season and geographic region. The 2015 season as well as the 2018 Camp Fire Complex in California were examined in terms of the changes in LSM soil moisture and vegetation states. Satellite vegetation health consistently showed decreases a month prior to wildfire initiation. Additionally, maximum changes in total column soil moisture corresponded with the greatest concentration of fire locations. While soil moisture deficits occurred in the shallow layers across northern California in 2018, significant deficits at all sub-surface levels were seen ahead of the Camp Fire event. This presentation will demonstrate the complementary value of LSM output and satellite measured vegetation health to diagnose short-term deficits in sub-surface soil moisture and the rapid decline in vegetation health which precedes large wildfire events.

Wildfire↗

Optimization of process models for determining volatility distribution and viscosity of organic aerosols from isothermal particle evaporation data

The composition of organic aerosol under different ambient conditions as well as their phase state have been a subject of intense study in recent years. One way to study particle properties is to measure the particle size shrinkage in a diluted environment at isothermal conditions. From these measurements it is possible to separate the fraction of low-volatility compounds from high-volatility compounds. In this work, we analyse and evaluate a method for obtaining particle composition and viscosity from measurements using process models coupled with input optimization algorithms. Two optimization methods, the Monte Carlo genetic algorithm and Bayesian inference, are used together with process models describing the dynamics of particle evaporation. The process model optimization scheme in inferring particle composition in a volatility-basis-set sense and composition-dependent particle viscosity is tested with artificially generated data sets and real experimental data. Optimizing model input so that the output matches these data yields a good match for the estimated quantities. Both optimization methods give equally good results when they are used to estimate particle composition to artificially test data. Finally, the timescale of the experiments and the initial particle size are found to be important in defining the range of values that can be identified for the properties from the optimization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Quantum error correction in the black hole interior

We study the quantum error correction properties of the black hole interior in a toy model for an evaporating black hole: Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity entangled with a non-gravitational bath. After the Page time, the black hole interior degrees of freedom in this system are encoded in the bath Hilbert space. We use the gravitational path integral to show that the interior density matrix is correctable against the action of quantum operations on the bath which (i) do not have prior access to details of the black hole microstates, and (ii) do not have a large, negative coherent information with respect to the maximally mixed state on the bath, with the lower bound controlled by the black hole entropy and code subspace dimension. Thus, the encoding of the black hole interior in the radiation is robust against generic, low-rank quantum operations. For erasure errors, gravity comes within an O (1) distance of saturating the Singleton bound on the tolerance of error correcting codes. For typical errors in the bath to corrupt the interior, they must have a rank that is a large multiple of the bath Hilbert space dimension, with the precise coefficient set by the black hole entropy and code subspace dimension.

2D gravity↗

COVID-19: Effects of Environmental Conditions on the Propagation of Respiratory Droplets

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread, a detailed understanding on the transmission mechanisms is of paramount importance. The disease transmits mainly through respiratory droplets and aerosol. Although models for the evaporation and trajectory of respiratory droplets have been developed, how the environment impacts the transmission of COVID-19 is still unclear. In this study, we investigate the propagation of respiratory droplets and aerosol particles generated by speech under a wide range of temperatures (0–40 °C) and relative humidity (0–92%) conditions. We show that droplets can travel three times farther in low-temperature and high-humidity environment, whereas the number of aerosol particles increases in high-temperature and low-humidity environments. The results also underscore the importance of proper ventilation, as droplets and aerosol spread significantly farther in airstreams. This study contributes to the understanding of the environmental impact on COVID-19 transmission.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Developments on two lithium vapor-box linear test-stand experiments

The lithium vapor-box divertor is a possible fusion power exhaust solution.It uses condensation pumping to create a gradient of vapor density in a divertor slot; this should allow a stable detachment front without active feedback.As initial explorations of the concept, two test stands which take the form of three connected cylindrical stainless steel boxes are being developed: one without plasma at PPPL, to test models of lithium evaporation and flow; and one for the linear plasma device Magnum-PSI (at DIFFER in Eindhoven, The Netherlands) to test the ability of a lithium vapor cloud to induce volumetric detachment and redistribute the plasma power.The first experiment uses boxes with diameters of 6 cm, joined by apertures with diameters of 2.2 cm. Up to 1 g of Li is placed in one box, which is heated to up to 600 degrees C. The Li evaporates, then flows to and condenses in the two other, cooler boxes over several minutes. The quantity of Li transported is assessed by weighing the boxes before and after the heating cycle, and is compared to the quantity predicted to flow for the box at its measured temperature using a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo code, SPARTA. With good experimental conditions, the two values agree to within 15%.The experiment on Magnum-PSI is in the conceptual design stage.The design is assessed by simulations using the code B2.5-Eunomia.They show that when the hydrogen-ion plasma beam, with n_e = 4e20 per cubic meter, T_e = 1.5 eV, and r = 1 cm, is passed through a 16 cm long, 12 Pa, 625 degree C Li vapor cloud, the plasma heat flux and pressure on the target are significantly reduced compared to the case without Li.With the Li present, the plasma is cooled by excitation of Li neutrals followed by radiation until it volumetrically recombines, lowering the heat flux from 3.7 MW/m^2 to 0.13 MW/m^2, and the pressure is reduced by 93%, largely by collisions of hydrogen ions with neutral Li.

divertor↗

Global atomic hydrogen density derived from OGO-6 Lyman-alpha measurements

The paper analyzes a one-year set of Lyman-alpha airglow data measured in the local zenith at altitudes from 400 to 1100 km by a UV photometer aboard OGO-6. The zenith-intensity data are fitted to theoretical airglow calculations in four spherically symmetric models of the hydrogen geocorona to determine both the Ly-alpha solar flux at line center and the average atomic hydrogen column density. After correcting for a loss of instrument sensitivity, the Ly-alpha flux is found to be linearly correlated with daily Zurich sunspot number. It is also found that the hydrogen density is inversely correlated with Jacchia exospheric temperature, but the dependence is not that predicted by steady-state models with Jeans evaporative escape as the only loss mechanism. It is suggested that charge-exchange production of fast hydrogen atoms from 'hot' ionospheric protons might provide the additional loss this result requires.

Thomas, G. E.↗