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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Multidisciplinary Constraints on the Thermal‐Chemical Boundary Between Earth's Core and Mantle

Abstract Heat flux from the core to the mantle provides driving energy for mantle convection thus powering plate tectonics, and contributes a significant fraction of the geothermal heat budget. Indirect estimates of core‐mantle boundary heat flow are typically based on petrological evidence of mantle temperature, interpretations of temperatures indicated by seismic travel times, experimental measurements of mineral melting points, physical mantle convection models, or physical core convection models. However, previous estimates have not consistently integrated these lines of evidence. In this work, an interdisciplinary analysis is applied to co‐constrain core‐mantle boundary heat flow and test the thermal boundary layer (TBL) theory. The concurrence of TBL models, energy balance to support geomagnetism, seismology, and review of petrologic evidence for historic mantle temperatures supports Q CMB ∼15 TW, with all except geomagnetism supporting as high as ∼20 TW. These values provide a tighter constraint on core heat flux relative to previous work. Our work describes the seismic properties consistent with a TBL, and supports a long‐lived basal mantle molten layer through much of Earth's history.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reassessment of Birch's Law on hcp‐Fe From Ultrasonic Sound Velocity Measurement and Implications on the Velocity Profiles of Earth's Inner Core

Here, we performed in situ X-ray diffraction and ultrasonic sound velocity measurements on hcp-Fe up to 15 GPa, 873 K in a multi-anvil apparatus. The elastic moduli and their pressure and temperature derivatives were determined by fitting the velocity and density data to the third-order finite strain equations, yielding K S0 = 169.0(57) GPa, K$^{′}_{S0}$ = 5.4(6), (∂K S /∂T) P = −0.031(3) GPa/K, G 0 = 104.5(27) GPa, G$^{′}_{0}$ = 1.7(2), (∂G/∂T) P = −0.060(2) GPa/K. Within the experimental P-T range, we find significant temperature effect on the density-velocity (ρ − V P or S ) relations and caution the use of the temperature-independent Birch's law for extrapolation to core conditions. Furthermore, temperature-induced velocity decrease is more significant in V S than in V P , offering a possible explanation for the high Poisson's ratio in the core. Extrapolations based on our results together with previous experimental data suggest that V P of hcp-Fe aligns with PREM at Earth's core conditions, while Vs and density are approximately 10% and 2.7% higher than PREM, respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Experimental Observation of a New Attenuation Mechanism in hcp ‐Metals That May Operate in the Earth's Inner Core

Abstract Seismic observations show the Earth's inner core has significant and unexplained variation in seismic attenuation with position, depth and direction. Interpreting these observations is difficult without knowledge of the visco‐ or anelastic dissipation processes active in iron under inner core conditions. Here, a previously unconsidered attenuation mechanism is observed in zinc, a low pressure analog ofhcp‐iron, during small strain sinusoidal deformation experiments. The experiments were performed in a deformation‐DIA combined with X‐radiography, at seismic frequencies (∼0.003–0.1 Hz), high pressure and temperatures up to ∼80% of melting temperature. Significant dissipation (0.077 ≤ Q −1 (ω) ≤ 0.488) is observed along with frequency dependent softening of zinc's Young's modulus and an extremely small activation energy for creep (⩽7 kJ mol −1 ). In addition, during sinusoidal deformation the original microstructure is replaced by one with a reduced dislocation density and small, uniform, grain size. This combination of behavior collectively reflects a mode of deformation called “internal stress superplasticity”; this deformation mechanism is unique to anisotropic materials and activated by cyclic loading generating large internal stresses. Here we observe a new form of internal stress superplasticity, which we name as “elastic strain mismatch superplasticity.” In it the large stresses are caused by the compressional anisotropy. If this mechanism is also active inhcp‐iron and the Earth's inner‐core it will be a contributor to inner‐core observed seismic attenuation and constrain the maximum inner‐core grain‐size to ≲10 km.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Two-step nucleation of the Earth’s inner core

Significance Understanding the formation of the Earth’s inner core is essential to understanding the geodynamo and Earth's history. However, recent attempts to explain the initial solidification of the inner core have been unsuccessful. The supercooling necessary to form hcp iron is unrealistically large and creates the “inner core nucleation paradox.” Our work demonstrates that molten iron can crystallize via a two-step nucleation process involving the intermediate bcc phase under core conditions. This mechanism significantly reduces the required undercooling necessary to nucleate solid iron. This work also suggests that bcc and hcp iron have similar free energies at pressures near the inner core center.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Unveiling the effect of Ni on the formation and structure of Earth’s inner core

Ni is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s core. Yet, its effects on the inner core’s structure and formation process are usually disregarded because of its electronic and size similarity with Fe. Using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we find that the bcc phase can spontaneously crystallize in liquid Ni at temperatures above Fe’s melting point at inner core pressures. The melting temperature of Ni is shown to be 700 to 800 K higher than that of Fe at 323 to 360 GPa. hcp, bcc, and liquid phase relations differ for Fe and Ni. Ni can be a bcc stabilizer for Fe at high temperatures and inner core pressures. A small amount of Ni can accelerate Fe’s crystallization at core pressures. These results suggest that Ni may substantially impact the structure and formation process of the solid inner core.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hydrogen and Silicon Effects on Hexagonal Close Packed Fe Alloys at High Pressures: Implications for the Composition of Earth's Inner Core

Hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structured Fe-Ni alloy is believed to be the dominant phase in the Earth's inner core. This phase is expected to contain 4%–5% light elements, such as Si and H. While the effects of individual light element candidates on the equation of state (EoS) of the hcp Fe metal have been studied, their combined effects remain largely unexplored. Here, in this study, we report the equations of state for two hcp-structured Fe-Si-H alloys, namely Fe 0.83 Si 0.17 H 0.07 and Fe 0.83 Si 0.17 H 0.46 , using synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements up to 125 GPa at 300 K. These alloys were synthesized by cold compression of Fe-9wt%Si in either pure H 2 or Ar-H 2 mixture medium in diamond-anvil cells. The volume increase caused by a H atom in hcp Fe-Si-H alloys is approximately eight times greater than that by a Si atom. We used the improved data set to develop a composition-dependent EoS that covers a wide range of compositions. Our calculated density and bulk sound velocity of hcp Fe-Si-H alloys suggest a large trade-off between Si and H contents in fitting the seismic properties of the inner core. Combining our new EoS with geophysical and geochemical constraints, we propose 1.6–3 wt% Si and 0.15–0.6 wt% H in the Earth's inner core.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure of dynamically-compressed copper up to 1 terapascal

Abstract Large laser facilities have recently enabled material characterization at the pressures of Earth and Super-Earth cores. However, the temperature of the compressed materials has been largely unknown, or solely relied on models and simulations, due to lack of diagnostics under these challenging conditions. Here, we report on temperature, density, pressure, and local structure of copper determined from extended x-ray absorption fine structure and velocimetry up to 1 Terapascal. These results nearly double the highest pressure at which extended x-ray absorption fine structure has been reported in any material. In this work, the copper temperature is unexpectedly found to be much higher than predicted when adjacent to diamond layer(s), demonstrating the important influence of the sample environment on the thermal state of materials; this effect may introduce additional temperature uncertainties in some previous experiments using diamond and provides new guidance for future experimental design.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantum-Accurate Multiscale Modeling of Shock Hugoniots, Ramp Compression Paths, Structural and Magnetic Phase Transitions, and Transport Properties in Highly Compressed Metals

Fully characterizing high energy density (HED) phenomena using pulsed power facilities (Z machine) and coherent light sources is possible only with complementary numerical modeling for design, diagnostic development, and data interpretation. The exercise of creating numerical tests, that match experimental conditions, builds critical insight that is crucial for the development of a strong fundamental understanding of the physics behind HED phenomena and for the design of next generation pulsed power facilities. The persistence of electron correlation in HED materials arising from Coulomb interactions and the Pauli exclusion principle is one of the greatest challenges for accurate numerical modeling and has hitherto impeded our ability to model HED phenomena across multiple length and time scales at sufficient accuracy. An exemplar is a ferromagnetic material like iron, while familiar and widely used, we lack a simulation capability to characterize the interplay of structure and magnetic effects that govern material strength, kinetics of phase transitions and other transport properties. Herein we construct and demonstrate the Molecular-Spin Dynamics (MSD) simulation capability for iron from ambient to earth core conditions, all software advances are open source and presently available for broad usage. These methods are multi-scale in nature, direct comparisons between high fidelity density functional theory (DFT) and linear-scaling MSD simulations is done throughout this work, with advancements made to MSD allowing for electronic structure changes being reflected in classical dynamics. Main takeaways for the project include insight into the role of magnetic spins on mechanical properties and thermal conductivity, development of accurate interatomic potentials paired with spin Hamiltonians, and characterization of the high pressure melt boundary that is of critical importance to planetary modeling efforts.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Melting and defect transitions in FeO up to pressures of Earth’s core-mantle boundary

The high-pressure melting curve of FeO controls key aspects of Earth’s deep interior and the evolution of rocky planets more broadly. However, existing melting studies on wüstite were conducted across a limited pressure range and exhibit substantial disagreement. Here we use an in-situ dual-technique approach that combines a suite of >1000 x-ray diffraction and synchrotron Mössbauer measurements to report the melting curve for Fe 1-x O wüstite to pressures of Earth’s lowermost mantle. We further observe features in the data suggesting an order-disorder transition in the iron defect structure several hundred kelvin below melting. This solid-solid transition, suggested by decades of ambient pressure research, is detected across the full pressure range of the study (30 to 140 GPa). At 136 GPa, our results constrain a relatively high melting temperature of 4140 ± 110 K, which falls above recent temperature estimates for Earth’s present-day core-mantle boundary and supports the viability of solid FeO-rich structures at the roots of mantle plumes. The coincidence of the defect order-disorder transition with pressure-temperature conditions of Earth’s mantle base raises broad questions about its possible influence on key physical properties of the region, including rheology and conductivity.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Structure and dynamics of $\mathrm{Fe_{90}}$$\mathrm{Si_3}$$\mathrm{O_7}$ liquids close to Earth's liquid core conditions

Using an artificial neural-network machine learning interatomic potential, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations to study the structure and dynamics of $\mathrm{Fe_{90}}$$\mathrm{Si_3}$$\mathrm{O_7}$ liquid close to the Earth's liquid core conditions. Here, the simulation results reveal that the short-range structural order (SRO) in the $\mathrm{Fe_{90}}$$\mathrm{Si_3}$$\mathrm{O_7}$ liquid is very strong. About 80% of the atoms are arranged in crystallinelike SRO motifs. In particular, ~ $70$% of Fe-centered clusters can be classified as either hexagonal-close-packed-like or icosahedrallike SRO motifs. The SRO clusters centered on Fe, Si, or O atoms are strongly intermixed and homogenously distributed throughout the liquid. The atomic structure of the liquid and the fractions of dominant SRO clusters are not sensitive to pressure/temperature used in the simulations except that the SRO of the O-centered clusters is enhanced close to inner core pressures. The O-diffusion coefficient is about two to three times larger than the Fe and Si ions and increases more rapidly in the deeper core regions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗