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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 397 records · Page 22

Effect of processing parameters and build orientation on microstructure and performance of AISI stainless steel 304L made with selective laser melting under different strain rates

Selective laser melting (SLM) process brings diverse potentials on geometry flexibility; therefore, it is more and more widespread to be employed in fabrication metal alloys served for industries. Nonetheless, a material characterization study is desired to carry on for better understanding the correlation among process, structure, microstructure, and performance. In the current study, the SLM fabricated AISI stainless steel 304L was fabricated with different process parameters and built orientations (horizontal, inclined, and vertical. The tensile behavior was evaluated under different strain rates (0.0001 /s, 0.001 /s, 0.01 /s, and 0.1 /s) and compared to the commercial cold-rolled and annealed counterpart. Grain structures, tensile strength, elongation-to-failure, strain rate sensitivity, work hardening, and fractographic analysis were evaluated in terms of the effect of energy density, build orientation, and strain rate. The output indicates the tensile strength increases with increasing strain rates. On the contrary, the elongation-to-failure shows a decreasing trend with strain rates. Tensile properties of specimens built in the horizontal and inclined orientations are more sensitive to strain rates due to the smaller dimension of grain structures. Tensile anisotropy depends on the energy input, where a high energy density could yield a strong build orientation-dependent anisotropy. Hall-Petch relationship is validated to explain the mechanical anisotropy in different built orientations for SLM alloys. The strain hardening exponent and work hardening rate are demonstrated to be positively correlated, and they increase with smaller grain sizes. The fine dimple features indicate the ductile fracture mode regardless of strain rates. The size of the ductile dimples seems to depend on the strain rates and build orientations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Coupled beam-target-moderator optimization for the Second Target Station

To support the design of the Second Target Station, that aims to provide the world’s highest peak brightness of cold neutrons, studies that optimize the dimensions of the target and moderators are invaluable. In this work, we investigate the influence of the target dimensions and beam profile on the performance and optimal size of the moderators. We perform optimization runs with detailed MCNP6.2 simulations using high-fidelity unstructured mesh geometries generated from parametrized CAD models. We demonstrate that small changes in target height do not influence the moderator performance if the beam dimensions are chosen adequately. We quantify the effect of beam footprint and target width on the moderator performance and show that the optimal moderator dimensions are insensitive to limited changes in target and beam profile.

Dakota↗

Radiative Cooling of a Superconducting Resonator

Cooling microwave resonators to near the quantum ground state, crucial for their operation in the quantum regime, is typically achieved by direct device refrigeration to a few tens of millikelvin. However, in quantum experiments that require high operation power such as microwave-to-optics quantum transduction, it is desirable to operate at higher temperatures with non-negligible environmental thermal excitations, where larger cooling power is available. In this Letter, we present a radiative cooling protocol to prepare a superconducting microwave mode near its quantum ground state in spite of warm environment temperatures for the resonator. In this proof-of-concept experiment, the mode occupancy of a 10 GHz superconducting resonator thermally anchored at 1.02 K is reduced to 0.44 ± 0.05 from 1.56 by radiatively coupling to a 70 mK cold load. We report this radiative cooling scheme allows high-operation-power microwave experiments to work in the quantum regime, and opens possibilities for routing microwave quantum states to elevated temperatures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Monitoring of Unvented Roofs with Fibrous Insulation, Diffusion Vents, and Interior Vapor Control in a Cold Climate

This research involved construction of a conditioned test hut in a cold climate (Climate Zone 5A) with multiple side-by-side instrumented roof rafter bays. This work examined seven experimental unvented roofs and one code-compliant control hybrid ccSPF-cellulose roof over three winters and following summers. Examined variables included insulation material (fiberglass and cellulose), the presence or absence of a ridge diffusion vent (vapor-open material at the roof ridge to promote drying), the effect of various interior vapor control membranes (fixed and variable permeance), the effect of interior relative humidity, and the effect of interstitial airflow (from the interior into the cavity). This experiment was run over three winters, changing variables of interior conditions, roof configurations/materials, and the addition of intentional air leakage.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Nutrition

This is a collection of viewgraphs on the Johnson Space Center's work on nutrition for long duration space missions. Nutritional requirements are affected by isolation, workloads, and cold as well as the psychological needs, metabolism, and fluid balance of an individual.

Lane, Helen W.↗

Compressible Turbulent Channel Flows: DNS Results and Modeling

The present paper addresses some topical issues in modeling compressible turbulent shear flows. The work is based on direct numerical simulation of two supersonic fully developed channel flows between very cold isothermal walls. Detailed decomposition and analysis of terms appearing in the momentum and energy equations are presented. The simulation results are used to provide insights into differences between conventional time-and Favre-averaging of the mean-flow and turbulent quantities. Study of the turbulence energy budget for the two cases shows that the compressibility effects due to turbulent density and pressure fluctuations are insignificant. In particular, the dilatational dissipation and the mean product of the pressure and dilatation fluctuations are very small, contrary to the results of simulations for sheared homogeneous compressible turbulence and to recent proposals for models for general compressible turbulent flows. This provides a possible explanation of why the Van Driest density-weighted transformation is so successful in correlating compressible boundary layer data. Finally, it is found that the DNS data do not support the strong Reynolds analogy. A more general representation of the analogy is analysed and shown to match the DNS data very well.

Huang, P. G.↗

Inductively-Coupled RF Powered O2 Plasma as a Sterilization Source

Low-temperature or cold plasmas have been shown to be effective for the sterilization of sensitive medical devices and electronic equipment. Low-temperature plasma sterilization procedures possess certain advantages over other protocols such as ethylene oxide, gamma radiation, and heat due to the use of inexpensive reagents, the insignificant environmental impacts and the low energy requirements. In addition, plasmas may also be more efficacious in the removal of robust microorganisms due to their higher chemical reactivity. Together, these attributes render cold plasma sterilization as ideal for the surface decontamination requirements for NASA Planetary Protection. Hence, the work described in this study involves the construction, characterization, and application of an inductively-coupled, RF powered oxygen (O2) plasma.

Sharma, S. P.↗

Furrow microtubules and localized exocytosis in cleaving Xenopus laevis embryos

In dividing Xenopus eggs, furrowing is accompanied by expansion of a new domain of plasma membrane in the cleavage plane. The source of the new membrane is known to include a store of oogenetically produced exocytotic vesicles, but the site where their exocytosis occurs has not been described. Previous work revealed a V-shaped array of microtubule bundles at the base of advancing furrows. Cold shock or exposure to nocodazole halted expansion of the new membrane domain, which suggests that these microtubules are involved in the localized exocytosis. In the present report, scanning electron microscopy revealed collections of pits or craters, up to approximately 1.5 micro m in diameter. These pits are evidently fusion pores at sites of recent exocytosis, clustered in the immediate vicinity of the deepening furrow base and therefore near the furrow microtubules. Confocal microscopy near the furrow base of live embryos labeled with the membrane dye FM1-43 captured time-lapse sequences of individual exocytotic events in which irregular patches of approximately 20 micro m(2) of unlabeled membrane abruptly displaced pre-existing FM1-43-labeled surface. In some cases, stable fusion pores, approximately 2 micro m in diameter, were seen at the surface for up to several minutes before suddenly delivering patches of unlabeled membrane. To test whether the presence of furrow microtubule bundles near the surface plays a role in directing or concentrating this localized exocytosis, membrane expansion was examined in embryos exposed to D(2)O to induce formation of microtubule monasters randomly under the surface. D(2)O treatment resulted in a rapid, uniform expansion of the egg surface via random, ectopic exocytosis of vesicles. This D(2)O-induced membrane expansion was completely blocked with nocodazole, indicating that the ectopic exocytosis was microtubule-dependent. Results indicate that exocytotic vesicles are present throughout the egg subcortex, and that the presence of microtubules near the surface is sufficient to mobilize them for exocytosis at the end of the cell cycle.

Non-NASA Center↗

Plume base flow simulation technology

A combined analytical/empirical approach was studied in an effort to define the plume simulation parameters for base flow. For design purposes, rocket exhaust simulation (i.e., plume simulation) is determined by wind tunnel testing. Cold gas testing was concluded to be a cost and schedule effective data base of substantial scope. The results fell short of the target, although work conducted was conclusive and advanced the state of the art. Comparisons of wind tunnel predictions with Space Transportation System (STS) flight data showed considerable differences. However, a review of the technology program data base has yielded an additional parameter that may correlate flight and cold gas test data. Data from the plume technology program and the NASA test flights are presented to substantiate the proposed simulation parameters.

Roberts, B. B.↗

The Effect of Antiphase Boundary Tubes on the Hardness of FeAl

The high work hardening rate unique to ordered intermetallic alloys has long been attributed to antiphase boundary (APB) tubes. In this work, APB tubes are introduced in Fe–40 at. pct Al and Fe–43 at. pct Al by cold-rolling and then removed by annealing. The presence and absence of APB tubes is verified with magnetic measurements. When APB tubes are annealed out the hardness does not change, thus indicating that APB tubes do not contribute to strengthening.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Decoupling the effects of substrate hardness and roughness upon particle adhesion in cold spray

There are two stages of particle adhesion relevant to cold spray: adhesion of the first layer to the substrate, followed by inter-particle adhesion during subsequent deposition. In this work we study the second of these, in which particles strike a previously-deposited layer that is roughened and hardened by prior particle impacts. Specifically, we decouple the effects of surface roughness and hardness on particle adhesion for copper-on-copper impacts. We measure changes to the critical velocity, V cr , in single particle impacts produced by the Laser Induced Particle Impact Test on several surfaces including a cold sprayed surface and a polished version of that surface. We find that increases in both substrate roughness and hardness suppress particle adhesion to higher velocities, indeed in rather equal proportion by ∼10–15% each. This suggests that there is a higher V cr associated with coating build-up (particle-particle bonding) that is overall ∼30% higher than V cr for particle-substrate adhesion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Design of an advanced two-phase capillary cold plate

The functional principles and implementation of capillary pumped loop (CPL) two phase heat transport system for various elements of the Space Station program are described. Circulation of the working fluid by the surface-tension forces in a fine-pore capillary wick is the core principle of CPL systems. The liquid, usually NH3 at the moment, is changed into a vapor by heat absorption at one end of the loop, and the vapor is carrried back along the wick by the surface tension within the wick. NASA specifications and the results of mechanical and thermal tests for prototype cold plate and the capillary pump designs are outlined. The CPL is targeted for installation on free-flying platforms, attached payloads, and power subsystem thermal control systems.

Chalmers, D. R.↗

Experimental measurements and mathematical modeling of cold plate for aviation thermal management

Herein, this study, which has been motivated by the recent applications of the cold plate device in aviation thermal management, reports on physics-based mathematical models derived from the conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy, and empiricism-based models. One of the objectives of the present work is to report on an elaborate and successful experimental work carried out on an additively manufactured device for the purpose of rigorously validating the numerical predictions. The excellent agreement between the numerical predictions and measured performance provides much needed confidence in the implementation, in the software package, of the offset-strip fin passage correlations, as well as in the software implementation of user-defined wavy fin correlations for aerospace heat exchangers and cold plates operating with ram air at Reynolds numbers below 8000. The contributions of this work can also be found in the development of a new and accurate thermal-hydraulic analysis procedure, referred to in this paper as plate-fin analogy. Results from this procedure are compared with those from thermal resistance network. The comparative study in this paper of the bulk and discrete enthalpy flux method is also new, as is the relative assessment of four off-set strip fin thermal-hydraulic models.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Pilot Development Progress to Demonstrate Electric Thermal Energy Storage (ETES) Using Low-Cost Particles

The rapid growth of future energy demand increases the need to economically store electrical energy over durations up to several days in long-duration energy storage (LDES) applications. LDES can reduce the grid stress for improving the resilience of the grid. The integration of renewable power and storage has several significant and positive impacts including expanding the renewable energy portion of electricity generation, meeting peak-load demand, and coordinating supply and demand. Several energy storage approaches including mechanical, chemical and electrochemical methods are currently deployed or under development. However, LDES requirements pose unique challenges for scalability, energy capacity, and cost. Thermal energy storage (TES) has the ability to store a large capacity of energy with improved site flexibility compared to incumbent LDES technologies (i.e., pumped hydro) and has attracted significant interest. Our development in TES technology using solid particles as the storage medium has shown feasibility and potential in serving LDES purposes. Particle TES has various advantages over commercialized molten nitrate salt TES and has emerged as a promising storage technology originating from Generation 3 concentrating solar power (CSP) development. Stable, inexpensive silica sand produced in the Midwestern U.S. was identified as a suitable storage medium and has been validated through lab heating and cycling tests. We have successfully developed particle TES for bidirectional electric energy storage to broaden the applications for TES beyond CSP technologies and into standalone electric-thermal energy storage (ETES) systems. Key component designs and performance were verified with prototype testing and model simulations. The ETES system uses high-temperature, low-cost particle thermal energy storage coupled with a unique pressurized fluidized bed heat exchanger that supports a high-efficiency, air-Brayton combined power cycle. At times of low energy demand or high renewable production, an electric particle heater heats large quantities of solid particles to high temperatures in excess of 1100 degrees C. The particles are stored in internally insulated silos. At times of high electricity demand, the hot particles are gravity-fed through the heat exchanger where stored thermal energy is transferred to the power cycle working fluid to drive the gas turbine power generation system, thereby converting the thermal energy back into electricity for the grid. The cold particles leaving the heat exchanger are returned to the storage silos by a well-insulated particle conveyor. This ETES technology using particle TES can be sited anywhere and is predicted to be economic and efficient. Moreover, this ETES technology could be co-located with a retired coal or gas plant to leverage existing power generation and grid infrastructure. Our work has focused on the development of each of the key components (e.g., the electric particle heater, particle storage silos, and the particle-to-gas pressurized fluidized bed heat exchanger) through conceptual designs, prototype testing, and computational modeling. These developments demonstrate technological feasibility and are an important step towards the next phase of development of this promising LDES technology. This presentation will show the progress in developing a pilot demonstration of the ETES system on a commercially relevant scale.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Using Satellite Observations to Infer the Relationship Between Cold Pools and Subsequent Convection Development

Cold pools are increasingly being recognized as important players in the evolution of both shallow and deep convection; hence, the incorporation of cold pool processes into a number of recently developed convective parameterizations. Unfortunately, observations serving to inform cold pool parameterization development are limited to select field programs and limited radar domains. However, a number of recent studies have noted that cold pools are often associated with arcs-lines of shallow clouds traversing 10 100 km in visible satellite imagery. Boundary layer thermodynamic perturbations are plausible at such scales, coincident with such mesoscale features. Atmospheric signatures of features at these spatial scales are potentially observable from satellites. In this presentation, we discuss recent work that uses multi-sensor, high-resolution satellite products for observing mesoscale wind vector fluctuations and boundary layer temperature depressions attributed to cold pools produced by antecedent convection. The relationship to subsequent convection as well as convective system longevity is discussed. As improvements in satellite technology occur and efforts to reduce noise in high-resolution orbital products progress, satellite pixel level (10 km) thermodynamic and dynamic (e.g. mesoscale convergence) parameters can increasingly serve as useful benchmarks for constraining convective parameterization development, including for regimes where organized convection contributes substantially to the cloud and rainfall climatology.

thermodynamics↗

Masitinib is a broad coronavirus 3CL inhibitor that blocks replication of SARS-CoV-2

Targeting the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 Inside host cells, the RNA genome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is translated into two polyproteins that are cleaved to give the individual viral proteins. The main viral protease, known as Mpro or 3CLpro, plays a key role in these cleavages, making it an important drug target. Drayman et al . identified eight drugs that target 3CLpro from a library of 1900 clinically safe drugs. Because of the challenge of working with SARS-CoV-2, they started by screening for drugs that inhibit the replication of a human coronavirus that causes the common cold. They then evaluated the top hits for inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication and for inhibiting 3CLpro. Masitinib, a broad antiviral, inhibited the main proteases of coronaviruses and picornaviruses and was effective in reducing SARS-CoV-2 replication in mice.

Drayman, Nir↗

Perspective on the oil-dominated gas hydrate plugging conceptual picture as applied to transient Shut-In/Restart

Gas hydrate formation is rarely an issue during continuous production conditions. Unplanned and/or extended shut-downs comprise the majority of scenarios where overlapping concern and uncertainty for gas hydrate blockages exist. To date, most experimental studies and theoretical analysis of gas hydrate formation derive from the steady-state conceptual picture. Yet, significant distinctions induced by phase separation and prolonged cooling suggest an altered conceptual picture is required for transient shut-in/restart operations. To address this outstanding issue, this work presents a conceptual picture for the base case of a non-surface active hydrocarbon undergoing cold restart without enacted mitigation efforts. First, phase separation upon shut-in leads to the localization of gas hydrate ingredients due to fluids density differences and pipeline inclination. Cooling to the seafloor temperature, then, induces gas hydrate film formation at the hydrocarbon interface and maximizes subcooling, resulting in rapid and confined gas hydrate growth occurring upon restart. Furthermore, this ultimately leads to plugging dominated by the deposition of porous, low conversion gas hydrate masses. Direct visual observations and results from Raman spectroscopy, hydrate contact angle and film growth, micromechanical force apparatus, rocking cell, and flow loop studies support the mechanisms outlined within each step. Similar to the influence provided by the original Colorado School of Mines steady-state conceptual picture that was introduced about 15 years ago, this transient counterpart builds a foundation that could inspire new directions of hydrate research and analysis in areas where uncertainty abounds.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Plasma Processing of SRF Cavities for the Next Generation of Particle Accelerators

What are the major goals of the project? Goal 1: Optimize interactively processing of the single-cell cavity by combining plasma treatment and vertical cold bath testing. Continue using single cell cavity as the test bed for new applications. Goal 2: Work on upgrading the plasma etching technology for multi-cell SRF cavities. Goal 3: Develop and adapt discharge configurations to critical cavity regions including the electron beam weld (EBW) and iris areas. Goal 4: Develop tailored methods to prepare surface properties for a specific function prior to any additional modification, such as (but not limited to) surface passivation in preparation of other superconducting materials and structures.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗