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52 records · Page 3

Statistical properties of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence in He II measured via particle tracking velocimetry

Despite being a quantum two-fluid system, superfluid helium-4 (He II) is observed to behave similarly to classical fluids when a flow is generated by mechanical forcing. This similarity has brought up the feasibility of utilizing He II for high Reynolds number classical turbulence research, considering the small kinematic viscosity of He II. However, it has been suggested that the nonclassical dissipation mechanism in He II at small scales may alter its turbulent statistics and intermittency. In this work, we report our study of a nearly homogeneous and isotropic turbulence (HIT) generated by a towed grid in He II. We measure the velocity field using particle tracking velocimetry with solidified deuterium particles as the tracers. By correlating the velocities measured simultaneously on different particle trajectories or at different times along the same particle trajectory, we are able to conduct both Eulerian and Lagrangian flow analyses. Spatial velocity structure functions obtained through the Eulerian analysis show scaling behaviors in the inertial subrange similar to that for classical HIT but with enhanced intermittency. The Lagrangian analysis allows us to examine the flow statistics down to below the dissipation length scale. Interestingly, abnormal deviations from the classical scaling behaviors are observed in this regime. Lastly, we discuss how these deviations may relate to the motion of quantized vortices in the superfluid component in He II.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A two-phase three-field modeling framework for heat pipe application in nuclear reactors

Heat pipes and two-phase thermosyphons are highly efficient heat transfer devices utilizing continuous evaporation and condensation of working fluid for two-phase heat transport in closed systems. Because of the nearly isothermal and fully passive phase-change heat transfer mechanism, heat pipes and thermosyphons have found many applications in nuclear engineering, space technologies, and other energy systems. High-temperature heat pipes are used in nuclear microreactors to remove fission power from the primary system and are coupled with power conversion systems or process heat applications. Modeling of the two-phase flow phenomena inside a heat pipe is essential to its design and safety analysis. In this study, a comprehensive one-dimensional two-phase three-field flow model has been developed for the analysis of heat pipes in normal operation conditions and transients. The conservation or field equations of mass, momentum, and energy were developed for the liquid film, vapor, and droplet. In addition, constitutive models or correlations were reviewed thoroughly and provided for the closure of the three-field equations. Specific constitutive equations regarding interfacial mass and heat transfer at two interfaces, namely film-gas interface and gas-droplet interface, were reviewed for droplet entrainment and deposition rates as well as film and droplet evaporation rates. Furthermore, mechanistic correlations of annular flow film thickness were recommended for the modeling of the thermosyphons without a wick as a critical constitutive correlation. Furthermore, experimental data needs from new experiments using a prototype working fluid or surrogate fluids for the model validation of high-temperature heat pipes in microreactors were recommended for future research.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Observing flow of He II with unsupervised machine learning

Abstract Time dependent observations of point-to-point correlations of the velocity vector field (structure functions) are necessary to model and understand fluid flow around complex objects. Using thermal gradients, we observed fluid flow by recording fluorescence of $${\text{He}}_{2}^{*}$$ He 2 ∗ excimers produced by neutron capture throughout a ~ cm 3 volume. Because the photon emitted by an excited excimer is unlikely to be recorded by the camera, the techniques of particle tracking (PTV) and particle imaging (PIV) velocimetry cannot be applied to extract information from the fluorescence of individual excimers. Therefore, we applied an unsupervised machine learning algorithm to identify light from ensembles of excimers (clusters) and then tracked the centroids of the clusters using a particle displacement determination algorithm developed for PTV.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Multipole polaron roams the devil’s staircase

We report Electron–boson interaction (EBI) has an important role in the properties of materials. Electron–phonon interaction in good metals can give rise to superconductivity, where electrons flow without dissipation below a critical temperature. In ionic crystals such as organic semiconductors, the coupling of low-energy electrons (or holes) with the atomic vibrations can drive the formation of polarons — an electron dressed with a phonon cloud, with lower mobility and heavy effective mass. The same notion can be applied to strongly correlated electron systems. Electron–spin fluctuation coupling drives unconventional superconductivity in high-temperature cuprates, iron-based superconductors and heavy-fermion systems. Magnetic polarons can form around charged dopants in an otherwise antiferromagnetic background of a Mott insulator, while an electron–polaron is also possible, via electron–plasmon coupling, when a Kondo hole is introduced in a heavy-fermion material, similar to a plasmaron in doped graphene.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

ac susceptibility studies of intra- and intergrain properties of high-$J_c$ Bi-2212 wires

Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O x (Bi-2212) is the only high-$T_c$ superconductor (HTS) available as a multifilamentary round wire with multiple architectures and it is a very promising conductor for the realization of high-field applications. Despite their relatively simple wire fabrication by the powder-in-tube technique, Bi-2212 wires require a tightly controlled overpressure heat treatment (HT) with a multi-parameter time-temperature schedule to achieve high critical current density, $J_c$. Further, the variation of these HT parameters, changes in the wire design, wire diameter and powder quality can lead to variations in both the microstructure and the superconducting performance. Particularly noticeable are variations in $J_c$ performance and degree of filament bridging. In this work, we focus on the use of different magnetic characterization techniques to estimate the bridging level and assess the balance of INTER-grain and intra-grain superconducting properties including the irreversibility field ($H_{\text{irr}}$) and the pinning energy ($U_0$) in differently processed wires. Regardless of the actual bridging level, we find that the supercurrent flows at the filament bundle level, not just at the individual filament level. Moreover, using AC susceptibility we identify two distinct supercurrent contributions, one related to the intra-grain and one to the INTER-grain properties, whose irreversibility fields are different but without large sample-to-sample variation. Moreover, an additional component of intra-grain pinning mechanism becomes effective at low temperatures with positive effects also on the INTER-grain performance. The work clearly shows that detailed magnetic characterizations can become valuable tools to investigate the performance of differently processed Bi-2212 wires, correlating their microstructure and overall transport $J_c$, to obtain a deeper understanding of the causes of performance variation and paths to achieve further improvement.

2212↗

Extracting the Quantum Hall Conductance from a Single Bulk Wave Function

In this work, we propose a new formula that extracts the quantum Hall conductance from a single (2+1)⁢ D gapped wave function. The formula applies to general many-body systems that conserve particle number, and is based on the concept of modular flow, i.e., unitary dynamics generated from the entanglement structure of the wave function. The formula is shown to satisfy all formal properties of the Hall conductance: it is odd under time reversal and reflection, even under charge conjugation, universal and topologically rigid in the thermodynamic limit. Further evidence for relating the formula to the Hall conductance is obtained from conformal field theory arguments. Finally, we numerically check the formula by applying it to a noninteracting Chern band where excellent agreement is obtained.

2-dimensional systems↗

Overall chilled water system energy consumption modeling and optimization

The emergence of increasingly affordable variable-speed drive technology has changed the approach used to control chilled water systems equipped with these drives. The purpose of this research was to develop an integrated chilled water modeling technique that can determine the optimal system setpoints and estimate the energy saving potential of chiller system. The chiller system equipped with Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) on cooling tower fans and condenser water pumps. To accomplish the objective, physical component models of the centrifugal chiller, cooling tower and condenser water pump were established with the goal of incorporating the system’s condenser water flow rate and cooling tower fan speeds as optimization variables. Furthermore, a cooling load prediction algorithm was developed using a multiple non-linear regression model to approximate the building’s cooling load subject to a range of environmental conditions. The inputs and outputs of the individual component models were linked to estimate how adjusting the cooling tower fan and condenser water pump speed would influence the system’s comprehensive performance. Here, the overall system model was then optimized using a generalized reduced gradient optimization algorithm to determine the potential energy savings through speed control with VFDs and to ascertain a control logic strategy for the building automation system to operate the heating and cooling system. A case-study was performed on a single chiller system at a museum and the model was calibrated according to logged data collected over four months. Results showed that for the system analyzed, the energy saving of optimizing the cooling tower fan system was found to be 12–15%, while the energy saving potential of optimizing the condenser water pump with the cooling tower fan was negligible. Additionally, comparing different cooling tower fan control strategies showed that a wet-bulb approach-based cooling tower control strategy was shown to have the highest correlation to the optimized fan speed with an R 2 of 0.924.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Thermodynamic Model and Initial Experimental Investigation of Air Dehumidification through Electrically Charged Vapor Capturing Electrostatic Droplets

The removal of water vapor from the air to reduce relative humidity is a well known indoor environmental comfort requirement. Common dehumidification approaches require a substantial amount of energy and usually involve the cooling of atmospheric humid air below its dew point or the use of absorbent/adsorbent materials to extract water vapor out of the air. More recently, researchers investigated the effect of electrostatic forces for enhancing water vapor condensation with the goal to reduce the energy consumption associated with dehumidification. However, the studies are limited, and there is a lack of correlations that can predict the dehumidification rate. In this thesis, a broad theoretical investigation to study the electrostatically enhanced condensation processes was carried out. These processes consist of the use of highly charged particles, preferably highly charged water droplets to attract polar water vapor molecules to their surfaces and promote condensation, a phenomenon known as dielectrophoresis. The electrical charge promotes the reduction of the vapor pressure on the droplets' surface with respect to the saturated pressure predicted by the Kelvin equation on curved surfaces and, consequently, the equilibrium between evaporation and condensation is shifted towards condensation. This investigation resulted in the development of a thermodynamics model, which was able to predict an effective size range of the charged droplets for optimal dehumidification, under ideal conditions. The range resulted in about 2 to 4 m in diameter, while the electrical charge was kept to the maximum limit predicted by the Rayleigh model. A sensitivity analysis on the variation of the size and the charge of the charged droplets was also performed. In terms of dehumidification rates, when six electrospray heads, i.e. the maximum number of heads tested in the experimental campaign, were considered, the model predicted very limited rates, way lower than the target of this research, i.e. a dehumidification rate in terms of relative humidity of 5 % with an air flow rate of 5 cfm. While ways to increase this rate existed, their implementation proved difficult for this initial investigation. According to the requirements predicted by the model, the use of electrosprays appeared the most suitable solution for the production of small but highly charged droplets. The electrospray features and operational modes were studied in detail and an electrospray assembly was designed to be tested in this initial experimental investigation. For this initial investigation, an experimental system was designed and built to validate the thermodynamics model and with the goal to achieve a dehumidification rate of 5 % in terms of relative humidity with an air flow rate of 5 cfm. The experimental system consisted of a wind tunnel test apparatus, dew point sensors, thermocouples for temperature measurements, pressure sensors and other devices. The experimental system was equipped with a computerized data acquisition and storage system. The system was suitable to evaluate the air water content differential before and after the test section where the electrospray heads were installed. The air water content differential was evaluated in terms of the ∆ω/ω_1 ratio, to eliminate the dependence on the dry bulb temperature along the test apparatus. This work presented initial experimental data for electrostatically enhanced dehumidification processes. Working parameters, such as air and water flow rates, high voltage potentials and polarity, deionized water types with different electrical conductivity, were varied to find the best combination for an improved dehumidification. With the set up used and the conditions considered, it was never possible to achieve a 5 % dehumidification rate with 5 cfm. In general, the dehumidification rate was always limited and lower than 1 % for all the air flow rates considered and mainly within the uncertainty of the dew point sensors. These results confirmed the already limited predictions of the thermodynamics model, for ideal conditions and the interesting and promising results obtained in some experimental investigations available in the open literature were not achievable in this thesis. The more probable reasons were the higher air flow rates considered and the complete absence of the use of cooling power, which was mainly implemented to facilitate the vapor condensation.

Morcelli, Stefano↗

Drag viscosity of metals and its connection to Coulomb drag

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in studies of hydrodynamic transport in electronic systems. We investigate the electron viscosity of metals and find a component that is closely related to Coulomb drag. By using linear-response theory, viscosity, which is a transport coefficient for momentum, can be extracted from the retarded correlation function of the momentum flux, i.e., the stress tensor. There exists a previously overlooked contribution to the shear viscosity from the interacting part of the stress tensor which accounts for the momentum flow induced by interactions. This contribution, which we dub drag viscosity, is caused by the frictional drag force due to long-range interactions. It is therefore linked to Coulomb drag which also originates from the interaction-induced drag force. Starting from the Kubo formula and using the Keldysh technique, we compute the drag viscosity of two- and three-dimensional metals along with the drag resistivity of double-layer two-dimensional electronic systems. Both the drag resistivity and drag viscosity exhibit a crossover from quadratic-in-$\textit{T}$ behavior at low temperatures to a linear behavior at higher temperatures. Although the drag viscosity appears relatively small compared with the normal Drude component for the clean metals, it may dominate hydrodynamic transport in some systems, which are discussed in the conclusion.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Beyond Ohm's law: Bernoulli effect and streaming in electron hydrodynamics

Recent observations of nonlocal transport in ultraclean two-dimensional materials raised the tantalizing possibility of accessing hydrodynamic correlated transport of a many-electron state. However, it has been pointed out that nonlocal transport can also arise from impurity scattering rather than interaction. At the crux of the ambiguity is the focus on linear effects, i.e., Ohm's law, which cannot easily differentiate among different modes of transport. Furthermore we propose experiments that can reveal rich hydrodynamic features in the system by tapping into the nonlinearity of the Navier-Stokes equation. Three experiments we propose will each manifest a unique phenomenon that is well known in classical fluids: the Bernoulli effect, Eckart streaming, and Rayleigh streaming. Analysis of known parameters confirms that the proposed experiments are feasible and the hydrodynamic signatures are within reach of graphene-based devices. Experimental realization of any one of the three phenomena will provide a stepping stone to formulating and exploring the notions of nonlinear electron fluid dynamics with an eye to celebrated examples from classical nonlaminar flows, e.g., pattern formation and turbulence.

2-dimensional systems↗

Entanglement Hamiltonian of Many-Body Dynamics in Strongly Correlated Systems

A powerful perspective in understanding nonequilibrium quantum dynamics is through the time evolution of its entanglement content. Yet apart from a few guiding principles for the entanglement entropy,to date, much less is known about the refined characteristics of entanglement propagation. In this paper we unveil signatures of the entanglement evolving and information propagating out of equilibrium, from the view of the entanglement Hamiltonian. We investigate quantum quench dynamics of prototypical Bose-Hubbard model using state-of-the-art numerical technique combined with conformal field theory. Before reaching equilibrium, it is found that a current operator emerges in the entanglement Hamiltonian, implying that entanglement spreading is carried by particle flow. In the long-time limit the subsystem enters a steady phase, evidenced by the dynamic convergence of the entanglement Hamiltonian to the expectation of a thermal ensemble. Importantly, the entanglement temperature in steady state is spatially independent,which provides an intuitive trait of equilibrium. These findings not only provide crucial information on how equilibrium statistical mechanics emerges in many-body dynamics, but also add a tool to exploring quantum dynamics from the perspective of the entanglement Hamiltonian.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Numerical investigation and experimental validation of water condensation in the gas diffusion layer with different properties

Liquid water in porous media hinders the transport of reactant to catalyst layer, where the electrochemical reactions occur, which in turn, reduces performance and lifetime of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In this study, two types of gas diffusion layer (GDL) materials are used to study the two-phase saturation distribution in a PEMFC. The correlations between the effective and anisotropic transport properties and porosity of the two GDLs are solved by the pore scale model. In addition, the anisotropic liquid water permeability and the relationship between saturation pressure and capillary pressure is determined by using the Lattice-Boltzmann method. Fuel cell performance as well as liquid water distribution in the GDL using neutron radiography are obtained for validation. Under wet conditions, the cell with Freudenberg GDL performs better than that using Toray GDL, especially at high current densities. The results of the two-phase model simulation show that the peak water saturation for Toray GDL occurs in the catalyst layer and can reach 40%, while the peak water saturation for Freudenberg GDL occurs inside the GDL directly under the ribs and only reaches 25% saturation. The combined results provide key insights to enable high power density operation of a PEMFC through GDL material optimization.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Scale Up of High-Performance REBCO Tapes in a Pilot-Scale Advanced MOCVD Tool With In-Line 2D-XRD System

We have reported the development of an Advanced Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (AMOCVD) method featuring ohmic heating of the substrate for REBCO film growth, direct tape temperature monitoring, and laminar precursor flow. This A-MOCVD method has been used to fabricate 4 – 5 m thick film REBCO tapes with record high performance: critical currents exceeding 8700 A/12 mm at 30 K, 3 T; and engineering current density of 5200 A/mm 2 at 4.2 K, 15 T. Recently, we constructed a pilot-scale reel-to-reel A-MOCVD system to scale up the technology to long tapes. Preliminary batches of tapes exhibit consistent performance and good uniformity along the length. An in-line 2D X-ray Diffraction (XRD) system has been integrated into the pilot A-MOCVD tool to monitor the REBCO texture and composition, RE 2 O 3 content, and the dimensions of BaMO 3 (BMO, M=Zr,Hf) nanorods that act as artificial pinning centers. Specifically, the streaking angle between REBCO (103) and BZO (101) has been found to correlate well with (Ba+M)/Cu of the film, lift factor in critical current over a range of temperatures and magnetic fields, and the size of the BMO nanorods. Furthermore, the in-line 2D-XRD is expected to serve as a valuable quality measuring tool supporting realtime feedback control for the process to yield uniform and consistent manufacturing of high performance REBCO tapes by Advanced MOCVD.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Effect of heat treatments on superconducting properties and connectivity in K-doped BaFe2As2

Abstract Fe-based superconductors and in particular K-doped BaFe 2 As 2 (K-Ba122) are materials of interest for possible future high-field applications. However the critical current density ( J c ) in polycrystalline Ba122 is still quite low and connectivity issues are suspected to be responsible. In this work we investigated the properties of high-purity, carefully processed, K-Ba122 samples synthesized with two separate heat treatments at various temperatures between 600 and 825 °C. We performed specific heat characterization and T c -distribution analysis up to 16 T and we compared them with magnetic T c and J c characterizations, and transmission-electron-microscopy (TEM) microstructures. We found no direct correlation between the magnetic T c and J c , whereas the specific heat T c -distributions did provide valuable insights. In fact the best J c -performing sample, heat treated first at 750 °C and then at 600 °C, has the peak of the T c -distributions at the highest temperatures and the least field sensitivity, thus maximizing H c2 . We also observed that the magnetic T c onset was always significantly lower than the specific heat T c : although we partially ascribe the lower magnetization T c to the small grain size (< λ , the penetration depth) of the K-Ba122 phase, this behaviour also implies the presence of some grain-boundary barriers to current flow. Comparing the T c -distribution with J c , our systematic synthesis study reveals that increasing the first heat treatment above 750 °C or the second one above 600 °C significantly compromises the connectivity and suppresses the vortex pinning properties. We conclude that high-purity precursors and clean processing are not yet enough to overcome all J c limitations. However, our study suggests that a higher temperature T c -distribution, a larger H c2 and a better connectivity could be achieved by lowering the second heat treatment temperature below 600 °C thus enhancing, as a consequence, J c .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Numerical Investigation of Enhanced Dehumidification Processes By Using Dielectrophoresis Principles in Moist Airflows

Dispersed particle-laden flows are encountered in many building and industrial applications, such as flow in a fluidized bed, hydrocarbon transportation in pipelines, and the fouling of air-cooled heat exchangers (Kuruneru et al., 2016; Ray et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2019). Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models have been developed in recent years to depict particle-fluid and particle-particle interactions in laminar or turbulent flows with increasing accuracy and stability. One particular particle-laden system of interest for moisture control is electrically-enhanced condensation in air and water droplet flows. Electrically-enhanced condensation consists of the use of highly charged water droplets injected in the moist air. The droplets become electric seeds that attract polar water vapor molecules to their surfaces and promote condensation. The nucleation and growth of the charged droplets deplete the vapor phase near a droplet, which is compensated for by the dielectrophoresis flow and diffusion. Dielectrophoresis flow involves surrounding vapor at a distance of about 10 to 100 nm for droplets charged by an electrospray compared to ~2 nm for a single electron charge in a droplet. As the vapor molecules collapse on the surface of the droplets, their initial electrical charge decreases with time due to the neutralization of the ions. While the physics of this phenomena is well known, engineering models for predicting the condensation rates are not available. This work computationally investigates dehumidification of moist airflow in a converging rectangular duct. The objective is to develop an engineering model that predicts water vapor condensation by employing dielectrophoresis principles. We construct a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model of the duct with electrically-enhanced condensation. The model is implemented in the open-source software OpenFOAM. We utilize the Multi-Phase Particle-In-Cell (MP-PIC) method coupled with a Population Balance Equation (PBE) approach to simulate the particle-laden system. This methodology is an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach used to simulate the droplets' behavior in the humid air. The MP-PIC approach (Andrews and O'Rourke, 1996) mitigates the computational cost by parceling several fundamental particles with similar properties (such as types, sizes, and temperature) into one computational particle. Thus, the billions of particles can be substituted by millions of computational particles without significant loss of information. The PBE was considered with the Lagrangian frame to combine the particle distribution function used in MP-PIC (Kim et al., 2020). This approach preserves mass and energy conservation between the phases in the Eulerian and Lagrangian structures. The PBE in this procedure was directly linked to the discrete parcels, making the simulation of the particle distribution computationally efficient and robust. The MP-PIC-PBE approach used in the present work was applied to the dehumidification of air. Water droplets were injected in the air stream and forced to grow according to experimentally derived correlation. The experiments were conducted on a converging duct with the same geometry and boundary conditions used to build the CFD model. This approach enabled us to approximate the effect of dielectrophoresis phenomena on the droplet and air interface. This presentation will discuss the details of the new CFD model built for the duct, the implementation of the model in OpenFOAM CFD programming language, and the experimental validation of the newly developed model. The results revealed a moderate yet measurable increase in droplet diameter due to water vapor condensation at the vapor-liquid interface of the electrically charged droplets' surface. The seed water droplet particles grew in size by capturing the water vapor in the surrounding air. The OpenFOAM model predicted reductions of humidity in the air from 5 to 10 percent.

Yel Mahi, Maliha↗

General balance functions of identified charged hadron pairs of (π, Κ, ρ) in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV

First measurements of balance functions (BFs) of all combinations of identified charged hadron (π, Κ, ρ) pairs in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV recorded by the ALICE detector are presented. The BF measurements are carried out as two-dimensional differential correlators versus the relative rapidity (Δy) and azimuthal angle (Δφ) of hadron pairs, and studied as a function of collision centrality. The Δφ dependence of BFs is expected to be sensitive to the light quark diffusivity in the quark–gluon plasma. While the BF azimuthal widths of all pairs substantially decrease from peripheral to central collisions, the longitudinal widths exhibit mixed behaviors: BFs of ππ and cross-species pairs narrow significantly in more central collisions, whereas those of KK and pp are found to be independent of collision centrality. This dichotomy is qualitatively consistent with the presence of strong radial flow effects and the existence of two stages of quark production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Finally, the first measurements of the collision centrality evolution of BF integrals are presented, with the observation that charge balancing fractions are nearly independent of collision centrality in Pb–Pb collisions. Overall, the results presented provide new and challenging constraints for theoretical models of hadron production and transport in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗