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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 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Time evolution of nanosecond runaway discharges in air and helium at atmospheric pressure

Time- and space-resolved fast framing photography was employed to study the discharge initiated by runaway electrons in air and He gas at atmospheric pressure. Whereas in the both cases, the discharge occurs in a nanosecond time scale and its front propagates with a similar velocity along the cathode-anode gap, the later stages of the discharge differ significantly. In air, the main discharge channels develop and remain in the locations with the strongest field enhancement. In He gas, the first, diode 'gap bridging' stage, is similar to that obtained in air; however, the development of the discharge that follows is dictated by an explosive electron emission from micro-protrusions on the edge of the cathode. These results allow us to draw conclusions regarding the different conductivity of the plasma produced in He and air discharges.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Convoluted effect of laser fluence and pulse duration on the property of a nanosecond laser-induced plasma into an argon ambient gas at the atmospheric pressure

We studied the behavior of the plasma induced by a nanosecond infrared (1064 nm) laser pulse on a metallic target (Al) during its propagation into argon ambient gas at the atmospheric pressure and especially over the delay interval ranging from several hundred nanoseconds to several microseconds. In such interval, the plasma is particularly interesting as a spectroscopic emission source for laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIBS). We show a convoluted effect between laser fluence and pulse duration on the structure and the emission property of the plasma. With a relatively high fluence of about 160 J/cm{sup 2} where a strong plasma shielding effect is observed, a short pulse of about 4 ns duration is shown to be significantly more efficient to excite the optical emission from the ablation vapor than a long pulse of about 25 ns duration. While with a lower fluence of about 65 J/cm{sup 2}, a significantly more efficient excitation is observed with the long pulse. We interpret our observations by considering the post-ablation interaction between the generated plume and the tailing part of the laser pulse. We demonstrate that the ionization of the layer of ambient gas surrounding the ablation vapor plays an important role in plasma shielding. Such ionization is the consequence of laser-supported absorption wave and directly dependent on the laser fluence and the pulse duration. Further observations of the structure of the generated plume in its early stage of expansion support our explanations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Developing the model of laser ablation by considering the interplay between emission and expansion of aluminum plasma

In the present study, the ablation behavior of aluminum target and its plasma radiation in noble ambient gases by a laser pulse with wavelength of 266 nm and pulse duration of 10 ns are numerically studied. A thermal model of laser ablation considering heat conduction, Euler equations, Saha-Eggert equations, Knudsen layer, mass and energy balance relations and optical shielding effects are used for calculation of plasma parameters. Effects of excitation energy on plasma expansion and its emissivity are investigated. Time and spatial-resolved plasma emission including bremsstrahlung, recombination and spectral emission at early delay times after laser irradiation is obtained. Effects of two ambient gases (He and Ar) as well as different gas pressures of 100, 300, 500, and 760 Torr on plasma expansion and its spectrum are studied. Results illustrate that at initial delay times, especially at high noble gas pressures, ionic lines have the maximum intensities, while at later times neutral lines dominate. When the pressure of ambient gas increases, a confinement of the plasma plume is predicted and the intensity of neutral lines decreases. Continuous emission increases with wavelength in both ambient gases. Spatially resolved analysis shows that an intense continuous emission is predicted next to the sample surface decreasing with distance from the latter.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Spectroscopic temperature measurements of air breakdown plasma using a 110 GHz megawatt gyrotron beam

Temperature measurements are presented of a non-equilibrium air breakdown plasma using optical emission spectroscopy. A plasma is created with a focused 110 GHz 3 {mu}s pulse gyrotron beam in air that produces power fluxes exceeding 1 MW/cm{sup 2}. Rotational and vibrational temperatures are spectroscopically measured over a pressure range of 1-100 Torr as the gyrotron power is varied above threshold. The temperature dependence on microwave field as well as pressure is examined. Rotational temperature measurements of the plasma reveal gas temperatures in the range of 300-500 K and vibrational temperatures in the range of 4200-6200 K. The vibrational and rotational temperatures increase slowly with increasing applied microwave field over the range of microwave fields investigated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Atmospheric-pressure guided streamers for liposomal membrane disruption

The potential to use liposomes (LIPs) as a cellular model in order to study interactions of cold atmospheric-pressure plasma with cells is herein investigated. Cold atmospheric-pressure plasma is formed by a dielectric-barrier discharge reactor. Large multilamellar vesicle liposomes, consisted of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, are prepared by the thin film hydration technique, to encapsulate a small hydrophilic dye, i.e., calcein. The plasma-induced release of calcein from liposomes is then used as a measure of liposome membrane integrity and, consequently, interaction between the cold atmospheric plasma and lipid bilayers. Physical mechanisms leading to membrane disruption are suggested, based on the plasma characterization including gas temperature calculation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2012

Radiofrequency plasma antenna generated by femtosecond laser filaments in air

We demonstrate tunable radiofrequency emission from a meter-long linear plasma column produced in air at atmospheric pressure. A short-lived plasma column is initially produced by femtosecond filamentation and subsequently converted into a long-lived discharge column by application of an external high voltage field. Radiofrequency excitation is fed to the plasma by induction and detected remotely as electromagnetic radiation by a classical antenna.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

A large volume uniform plasma generator for the experiments of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma

A large volume uniform plasma generator is proposed for the experiments of electromagnetic (EM) wave propagation in plasma, to reproduce a 'black out' phenomenon with long duration in an environment of the ordinary laboratory. The plasma generator achieves a controllable approximate uniform plasma in volume of 260 mm Multiplication-Sign 260 mm Multiplication-Sign 180 mm without the magnetic confinement. The plasma is produced by the glow discharge, and the special discharge structure is built to bring a steady approximate uniform plasma environment in the electromagnetic wave propagation path without any other barriers. In addition, the electron density and luminosity distributions of plasma under different discharge conditions were diagnosed and experimentally investigated. Both the electron density and the plasma uniformity are directly proportional to the input power and in roughly reverse proportion to the gas pressure in the chamber. Furthermore, the experiments of electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma are conducted in this plasma generator. Blackout phenomena at GPS signal are observed under this system and the measured attenuation curve is of reasonable agreement with the theoretical one, which suggests the effectiveness of the proposed method.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Collection efficiency of photoelectrons injected into near- and supercritical argon gas

Injection of photoelectrons into gaseous or liquid dielectrics is a widely used technique to produce cold plasmas in weakly ionized systems for investigating the transport properties of electrons. We report measurements of the collection efficiency of photoelectrons injected into dense argon gas for T= 152.7 K, close to the critical temperature T{sub c} Almost-Equal-To 150.9 K, and for T= 200.0 K. The high-field data agree with the Young-Bradbury model and with previous measurements below T{sub c} and at an intermediate temperature above T{sub c}. The effective, density-dependent electron-atom momentum transfer scattering cross section can be deduced. However, the weak-field data near T{sub c} show large deviations from the theoretical model. We show that the electron behavior at weak field is influenced by electrostriction effects that are only important near the critical point.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Effects of excitation laser wavelength on Ly-{alpha} and He-{alpha} line emission from nitrogen plasmas

Laser-produced nitrogen plasmas emitting radiation at 2.48 nm (Ly-{alpha}) and 2.88 nm (He-{alpha}) are considered potential efficient sources for water-window (WW) microscopy. The atomic and optical properties of nitrogen plasma and influence of the laser wavelength on the line emission in the WW range are investigated. It is found that the optimal temperatures for maximum emission from Ly-{alpha} and He-{alpha} spectral lines are 40-60 eV and 80-100 eV, respectively. The WW line emission and the conversion efficiency (CE) are estimated for three distinct Nd:YAG laser wavelengths (1064 nm, 532 nm, and 266 nm). The calculated CEs are compared with experimentally observed CE values. It is found that 1064 nm wavelength provides the highest CE from laser to Ly-{alpha} and He-{alpha} radiation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Hollow cylindrical plasma filament waveguide with discontinuous finite thickness cladding

We have explored here a hollow cylindrical laser plasma multifilament waveguide with discontinuous finite thickness cladding, in which the separation between individual filaments is in the range of several millimeters and the waveguide cladding thickness is in the order of the microwave penetration depth. Such parameters give a closer representation of a realistic laser filament waveguide sustained by a long stable propagation of femtosecond (fs) laser pulses. We report how the waveguide losses depend on structural parameters like normalized plasma filament spacing, filament to filament distance or pitch, normal spatial frequency, and radius of the plasma filament. We found that for typical plasma parameters, the proposed waveguide can support guided modes of microwaves in extremely high frequency even with a cladding consisting of only one ring of plasma filaments. The loss of the microwave radiation is mainly caused by tunneling through the discontinuous finite cladding, i.e., confinement loss, and is weakly dependent on the plasma absorption. In addition, the analysis indicates that the propagation loss is fairly large compared with the loss of a plasma waveguide with a continuous infinite thickness cladding, while they are comparable when using a cladding contains more than one ring. Compared to free space propagation, this waveguide still presents a superior microwave transmission to some distance in the order of the filamentation length; thus, the laser plasma filaments waveguide may be a potential channel for transporting pulsed-modulated microwaves if ensuring a long and stable propagation of fs laser pulses.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Effect of multiple scattering on Cerenkov radiation from energetic electrons

Cerenkov radiation can be used as a diagnostic tool to study energetic electrons generated in ultra-intense laser matter interactions. However, electrons suffer scattering with nuclei as they move in a medium. In this article, we theoretically study the effect of multiple scattering on Cerenkov radiation, and obtain analytical formulas under some circumstances. The results show that when the speed of an energetic electron is not close to the light speed in the medium, Cerenkov radiation is just slightly decreased due to multiple scattering. In the case that the electron speed is very close to the light speed in the medium, the effect of multiple scattering becomes significant, and the radiation is dominated by bremsstrahlung.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Ablation dynamics in coiled wire-array Z-pinches

Experiments to study the ablation dynamics of coiled wire arrays were performed on the MAGPIE generator (1 MA, 240 ns) at Imperial College, and on the COBRA generator at Cornell University's Laboratory of Plasma Studies (1 MA, 100 ns). The MAGPIE generator was used to drive coiled wires in an inverse array configuration to study the distribution of ablated plasma. Using interferometry to study the plasma distribution during the ablation phase, absolute quantitative measurements of electron line density demonstrated very high density contrasts between coiled ablation streams and inter-stream regions many millimetres from the wire. The measured density contrasts for a coiled array were many times greater than that observed for a conventional array with straight wires, indicating that a much greater axial modulation of the ablated plasma may be responsible for the unique implosion dynamics of coiled arrays. Experiments on the COBRA generator were used to study the complex redirection of plasma around a coiled wire that gives rise to the ablation structure exhibited by coiled arrays. Observations of this complex 3D plasma structure were used to validate the current model of coiled array ablation dynamics [Hall et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 065003 (2008)], demonstrating irrefutably that plasma flow from the wires behaves as predicted. Coiled wires were observed to ablate and implode in the same manner on both machines, indicating that current rise time should not be an issue for the scaling of coiled arrays to larger machines with fast current rise times.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dynamics of laser ablated colliding plumes

We report the dynamics of single and two collinearly colliding laser ablated plumes of ZnO studied using fast imaging and the spectroscopic measurements. Two dimensional imaging of expanding plume and temporal evolution of various species in interacting zones of plumes are used to calculate plume front velocity, electron temperature, and density of plasma. The two expanding plumes interact with each other at early stage of expansion ({approx}20 ns) resulting in an interaction zone that propagates further leading to the formation of stagnation layer at later times (>150 ns) at the lateral collision front of two plumes. Colliding plumes have larger concentration of higher ionic species, higher temperature, and increased electron density in the stagnation region. A one-to-one correlation between the imaging and optical emission spectroscopic observations in interaction zone of the colliding plumes is reported.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Two-dimensional space-resolved emission spectroscopy of laser ablation plasma in water

We developed a method for two-dimensional space-resolved emission spectroscopy of laser-induced plasma in water to investigate the spatial distribution of atomic species involved in the plasma. Using this method, the laser ablation plasma produced on a Cu target in 5 mM NaCl aqueous solution was examined. The emission spectrum varied considerably depending on the detecting position. The temperature and the atomic density ratio N{sub Na}/N{sub Cu} at various detecting positions were evaluated by fitting emission spectra to a theoretical model based on the Boltzmann distribution. We are successful in observing even a small difference between the distributions of the plasma parameters along the directions vertical and horizontal to the surface. The present approach gives direct information for sound understanding of the behavior of laser ablation plasma produced on a solid surface in water.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets: Effect of gas flow, active species, and snake-like bullet propagation

Cold atmospheric-pressure plasma jets have recently attracted enormous interest owing to numerous applications in plasma biology, health care, medicine, and nanotechnology. A dedicated study of the interaction between the upstream and downstream plasma plumes revealed that the active species (electrons, ions, excited OH, metastable Ar, and nitrogen-related species) generated by the upstream plasma plume enhance the propagation of the downstream plasma plume. At gas flows exceeding 2 l/min, the downstream plasma plume is longer than the upstream plasma plume. Detailed plasma diagnostics and discharge species analysis suggest that this effect is due to the electrons and ions that are generated by the upstream plasma and flow into the downstream plume. This in turn leads to the relatively higher electron density in the downstream plasma. Moreover, high-speed photography reveals a highly unusual behavior of the plasma bullets, which propagate in snake-like motions, very differently from the previous reports. This behavior is related to the hydrodynamic instability of the gas flow, which results in non-uniform distributions of long-lifetime active species in the discharge tube and of surface charges on the inner surface of the tube.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Thomson parabola spectrometry for gold laser-generated plasmas

The plasma generated from thin gold films irradiated in high vacuum at high intensity ({approx}10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2}) laser shot is characterized in terms of ion generation through time-of-flight techniques and Thomson parabola spectrometry. Gold ions and protons, accelerated in forward direction by the electric field developed in non-equilibrium plasma, have been investigated. Measurements, performed at PALS laboratory, give information about the gold charge states distributions, the ion energy distributions and the proton acceleration driven as a function of film thickness, laser parameters, and angular emission. The ion diagnostics of produced plasma in forward direction permits to understand some mechanisms developed during its expansion kinetics. The role of the focal position of a laser beam with respect to the target surface, plasma properties, and the possibility to accelerate protons up to energies above 3 MeV has been presented and discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗