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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

A new layered kagome strip structure Na 2 Co 3 (AsO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 : static and dynamic magnetic properties

One-dimensional kagome strip chains share much of the same frustrated structural motif as two-dimensional kagome antiferromagnets, making them valuable for deepening our understanding of kagome lattice magnetism. In this paper, we report the hydrothermal synthesis and detailed structural and property characterization of Na 2 Co 3 (AsO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 , a striped kagome system. The crystal structure was characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction which reveals that Na 2 Co 3 (AsO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 crystallizes in monoclinic crystal system C2/m. The structure features a one-dimensional kagome strip lattice built from Co 2+ ions and undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at T N = 14 K. The magnetic ground state at zero field was characterized using neutron powder diffraction. Below the magnetic transition, Na 2 Co 3 (AsO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 orders into an antiferromagnetic structure with a k-vector (0.5, 0.5, 0.5). In the proposed model, the Co1 moment is predominantly confined to the ac-plane while the Co2 moment is primarily aligned along the b-axis. Two flat bands were observed in the inelastic neutron spectra below the magnetic transition, 5 and 10 meV. Inelastic neutron spectra were modeled with a Heisenberg Hamiltonian including three nearest-neighbor exchange interactions (J 1 , J 2 , J 3 ) and strong single-ion anisotropy to stabilize the observed magnetic structure. Our study highlights the complexity of Co 2+ -based kagome strip magnetic lattice compound Na 2 Co 3 (AsO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 which provides an excellent platform to broaden our understanding of the frustrated kagome magnetic lattice space.

Liurukara, Duminda S. [Oak Ridge National Laborato↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-R-18: Updates to the Computational Environment for Radiological Research for Image Analysis

Purpose: To present new tools in CERR for Texture Analysis and Visualization. Method: (1) Quantitative Image Analysis: We added the ability to compute Haralick texture features based on local neighbourhood. The Texture features depend on many parameters used in their derivation. For example: (a) directionality, (b) quantization of image, (c) patch-size for the neighborhood, (d) handling of the edge voxels within the region of interest, (e) Averaging co-occurance matrix vs texture features for different directions etc. A graphical user interface was built to set these parameters and then visualize their impact on the resulting texture maps. The entire functionality was written in Matlab. Array indexing was used to speed up the texture calculation. The computation speed is very competitive with the ITK library. Moreover, our implementation works with multiple CPUs and the computation time can be further reduced by using multiple processor threads. In order to reduce the Haralick texture maps into scalar features, we propose the use of Texture Volume Histograms. This lets users make use of the entire distribution of texture values within the region of interest rather than using just the mean and the standard deviations. (2) Qualitative/Visualization tools: The derived texture maps are stored as a new scan (derived) within CERR’s planC data structure. A display that compares various scans was built to show the raw image and the derived texture maps side-by-side. These images are positionally linked and can be navigated together. CERR’s graphics handling was updated and sped-up to be compatible with the newer Matlab versions. As a result, the users can use (a) different window levels and colormaps for different viewports, (b) click-and-drag or use mouse scroll-wheel to navigate slices. Results: The new features and updates are available via https://www.github.com/adityaapte/cerr . Conclusion: Features added to CERR increase its utility in Radiomics and Outcomes modeling.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2017

Passive Earth Entry Vehicle Landing Test

Two full-scale passive Earth Entry Vehicles (EEV) with realistic structure, surrogate sample container, and surrogate Thermal Protection System (TPS) were built at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and tested at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The main test objective was to demonstrate structural integrity and investigate possible impact response deviations of the realistic vehicle as compared to rigid penetrometer responses. With the exception of the surrogate TPS and minor structural differences in the back shell construction, the two test vehicles were identical in geometry and both utilized the Integrated Composite Stiffener Structure (ICoSS) structural concept in the forward shell. The ICoSS concept is a lightweight and highly adaptable composite concept developed at NASA LaRC specifically for entry vehicle TPS carrier structures. The instrumented test vehicles were released from a helicopter approximately 400 m above ground. The drop height was selected such that at least 98% of the vehicles terminal velocity would be achieved. While drop tests of spherical penetrometers and a low fidelity aerodynamic EEV model were conducted at UTTR in 1998 and 2000, this was the first time a passive EEV with flight-like structure, surrogate TPS, and sample container was tested at UTTR for the purpose of complete structural system validation. Test results showed that at a landing vertical speed of approximately 30 m/s, the test vehicle maintained structural integrity and enough rigidity to penetrate the sandy clay surface thus attenuating the landing load, as measured at the vehicle CG, to less than 600 g. This measured deceleration was found to be in family with rigid penetrometer test data from the 1998 and 2000 test campaigns. Design implications of vehicle structure/soil interaction with respect to sample container and sample survivability are briefly discussed.

Kellas, Sotiris↗
DOE OSTI2020

kynema-sgf [SWR-20-85]

Kynema-SGF (formerly AMR-Wind), wherein SGF stands for structured-grid fluid dynamics, is a massively parallel, block-structured adaptive-mesh, incompressible flow solver. The codebase was initiated in 2019 from incflo. The solver is built on top of the AMReX library. AMReX library provides the mesh data structures, mesh adaptivity, as well as the linear solvers used for solving the governing equations. Kynema-SGF is actively developed and maintained by a dedicated multi-institutional team from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Laboratory of the Rockies, and Sandia National Laboratories. The primary applications for Kynema-SGF are: performing large-eddy simulations (LES) of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) flows, simulating wind farm turbine-wake interactions using actuator disk or actuator line models for turbines, and as a background solver when coupled with a near-body solver (e.g., Kynema-UGF) with overset methodology to perform blade-resolved simulations of multiple wind turbines within a wind farm. For offshore applications, the ability to model the air-sea interaction effects and its impact on the ABL characteristics is another focus for the code development effort. As with other codes in the Kynema ecosystem, Kynema-SGF shares the following objectives: *an open, well-documented implementation of the state-of-the-art computational models for modeling wind farm flow physics at various fidelities that are backed by a comprehensive verification and validation (V&V) process; *be capable of performing the highest-fidelity simulations of flow fields within wind farms; and *be able to leverage the high-performance leadership class computing facilities available at DOE national laboratories.

Ananthan, Shreyas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SHIIVER Assemby Thermal Model Prediction for Transient Test Conditions

An integrated thermal model of the Structure Heat Intercept, Insulation, and Vibration Evaluation Rig (SHIIVER) was built in Thermal Desktop/Sinda-Fluint and used to predict thermal performance of the system with the technologies being tested from the eCryo project. The technologies tested include the vapor cooling of the structure using the boil-off and multilayer insulation (MLI) on the hydrogen tank. The thermal model is used to 1) understand system transient behaviors; 2) perform trade studies of different vapor-cooling designs; 3) define the test operations matrix, test procedures, and conditions; and 4) address thermal-related questions at different phases of SHIIVER project. Details of the thermal model are herein described, and results corresponding to the test operations are presented for four different configurations at different fill levels. The thermal performance of each configuration is predicted with the thermal model regarding the heat reduction and boil-off reduction by using vapor cooling and/or MLI on the structures attached to the hydrogen tank.

thermal modeling↗
NASA NTRS1993

Data communication network at the ASRM facility

This report describes the simulation of the overall communication network structure for the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) facility being built at Yellow Creek near Iuka, Mississippi as of today. The report is compiled using information received from NASA/MSFC, LMSC, AAD, and RUST Inc. As per the information gathered, the overall network structure will have one logical FDDI ring acting as a backbone for the whole complex. The buildings will be grouped into two categories viz. manufacturing intensive and manufacturing non-intensive. The manufacturing intensive buildings will be connected via FDDI to the Operational Information System (OIS) in the main computing center in B_1000. The manufacturing non-intensive buildings will be connected by 10BASE-FL to the OIS through the Business Information System (BIS) hub in the main computing center. All the devices inside B_1000 will communicate with the BIS. The workcells will be connected to the Area Supervisory Computers (ASCs) through the nearest manufacturing intensive hub and one of the OIS hubs. Comdisco's Block Oriented Network Simulator (BONeS) has been used to simulate the performance of the network. BONeS models a network topology, traffic, data structures, and protocol functions using a graphical interface. The main aim of the simulations was to evaluate the loading of the OIS, the BIS, and the ASCs, and the network links by the traffic generated by the workstations and workcells throughout the site.

Moorhead, Robert J., II↗
DOE OSTI2014

Tri-peptide reference structures for the calculation of relative solvent accessible surface area in protein amino acid residues

Relative amino acid residue solvent accessibility values allow the quantitative comparison of atomic solvent-accessible surface areas in different residue types and physical environments in proteins and in protein structural alignments. Geometry-optimised tri-peptide structures in extended solvent-exposed reference conformations have been obtained for 43 amino acid residue types at a high level of quantum chemical theory. Significant increases in side-chain solvent accessibility, offset by reductions in main-chain atom solvent exposure, were observed for standard residue types in partially geometry-optimised structures when compared to non-minimised models built from identical sets of proper dihedral angles abstracted from the literature. Optimisation of proper dihedral angles led most notably to marked increases of up to 54% in proline main-chain atom solvent accessibility compared to literature values. Similar effects were observed for fully-optimised tri-peptides in implicit solvent. The relief of internal strain energy was associated with systematic variation in N, C α and C β atom solvent accessibility across all standard residue types. The results underline the importance of optimisation of ‘hard’ degrees of freedom (bond lengths and valence bond angles) and improper dihedral angle values from force field or other context-independent reference values, and impact on the use of standardised fixed internal co-ordinate geometry in sampling approaches to the determination of absolute values of protein amino acid residue solvent accessibility. Finally, quantum chemical methods provide a useful and accurate alternative to molecular mechanics methods to perform energy minimisation of peptides containing non-standard (chemically modified) amino acid residues frequently present in experimental protein structure data sets, for which force field parameters may not be available. Reference tri-peptide atomic co-ordinate sets including hydrogen atoms are made freely available.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sortase-assembled pili in Corynebacterium diphtheriae are built using a latch mechanism

Significance Bacteria display hair-like structures called pili that enable them to adhere to host tissues, surfaces, and other bacteria. Understanding how microbes assemble and display pili is important, as these structures play a key role in host–pathogen interactions that cause disease. In this study, we have gained insight into how pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria assemble pili by visualizing the intersubunit covalent crosslink that stabilizes these fibrous structures and by investigating how pili are assembled by specialized pilus-specific sortase enzymes. We propose that pili are assembled via a conserved “latch” mechanism that is critical for driving the crosslinking of specific sites on the pilus.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structural and thermal properties of Na 2 Mn(SO 4 ) 2 ·4H 2 O and Na 2 Ni(SO 4 ) 2 ·10H 2 O

The title compounds were prepared via a wet chemistry route and their crystal structures were determined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. Na 2 Mn(SO 4 ) 2 ·4H 2 O crystallizes with a monoclinic symmetry, space group P2 1 /c, with a = 5.5415(2), b = 8.3447(3), c = 11.2281(3) Å, β = 100.172(1)°, V = 511.05(3) Å 3 and Z = 2. Na 2 Ni(SO 4 ) 2 ·10H 2 O also crystallizes with a monoclinic symmetry, space group P2 1 /c, with a = 12.5050(8), b = 6.4812(4), c = 10.0210(6) Å, β = 106.138(2)°, V = 780.17(8) Å3 and Z = 2. Na 2 Mn(SO 4 ) 2 ·4H 2 O is a new member of the blödite family of compounds, whereas Na 2 Ni(SO 4 ) 2 ·10H 2 O is isostructural with Na 2 Mg(SO 4 ) 2 ·10H 2 O. The structure of Na 2 Mn(SO 4 ) 2 ·4H 2 O is built up of [Mn(SO 4 ) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ] 2– building blocks connected through moderate O–H…O hydrogen bonds with the sodium atoms occupying the large tunnels along the a axis and the manganese atom lying on an inversion center, whereas the structure of Na 2 Ni(SO 4 ) 2 ·10H 2 O is built up of [Ni(H 2 O) 6 ] 2+ and [Na 2 (SO 4 ) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ] 2– layers. These layers which are parallel to the (100) plane are interconnected through moderate O–H…O hydrogen bonds. Here, the thermal gravimetric- and the powder X-ray diffraction-analyzes showed that only the nickel phase was almost pure. At a temperature above 300 °C, all the water molecules evaporated and a structural phase transition from P2 1 /c-Na 2 Ni(SO 4 ) 2 ·10H 2 O to C2/c-Na 2 Ni(SO 4 ) 2 was observed. C2/c-Na 2 Ni(SO 4 ) 2 is thermally more stable than Na 2 Fe(SO 4 ) 2 and therefore it would be suitable as the positive electrode for sodium ion batteries if a stable electrolyte at high voltage is developed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Uncovering electronic and geometric descriptors of chemical activity for metal alloys and oxides using unsupervised machine learning

Here, we show that unsupervised machine learning (ML) using principal component analysis (PCA) provides a straightforward pathway for developing accurate and interpretable electronic-structure descriptors of the chemical and catalytic properties of materials. We demonstrate the approach by finding chemisorption descriptors for metal alloys and surface oxygens on metals and metal oxides. In both cases, the principal component (PC) descriptors yield ML models that predict the material’s chemical properties with competitive accuracy compared to ML models built using established descriptors. Importantly, interpreting the electronic-structure patterns captured by each PC descriptor via signal reconstruction suggests potential design motifs for future electronic-structure descriptor design and allows us to identify links between a material’s geometric and catalytic properties. Ultimately, we show that the unsupervised ML approach provides a route to find electronic-structure descriptors of the catalytic properties of materials that readily connect to geometric structure and composition.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

First-principles study of the structures and redox mechanisms of Ni-rich lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides

To reduce the cobalt (Co) content in lithium-ion batteries, Ni-rich (high-Ni) lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) are pursued as one of the next-generation cathode materials. However, there is still debate on the crystal and electronic structures of the baseline, LiNiO 2 . Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed to provide a theoretical understanding of Ni-rich NMC. First, it was found that the commonly used $R\bar{3}m$ structure for LiNiO 2 is metallic, contrary to the experimentally reported mix-conducting behavior. Among the four different space groups, $R\bar{3}m$, C2/m, P2 1 /c, and P2/c, P2/c with charge disproportionation of Ni 2+ and Ni 4+ is the most energetically stable and semiconducting structure of LiNiO 2 . Therefore, the atomic structures of representative Ni-rich NMC were built by partially replacing Ni with Co or Mn in the P2/c LiNiO 2 to form Li x Ni y Mn z Co 1-y-z O 2 . In the fully lithiated (x=1.0) high Ni content NMC (y>0.5), the oxidation state of all Mn ions becomes 4+, while Co ions still maintain 3+, and part of the Ni ions become 3+ to compensate for the charge. Upon delithiation, the local environment shows more variation of the charge states on the transition metal (TM) ions. The average oxidation on each TM follows a sequence of losing electrons that starts from Ni 2+ to Ni 3+ , then oxidizing Ni 3+ and Co 3+ , while Mn 4+ remains electrochemically inactive till x=0. Finally, a general relationship for the oxidation state change in each TM as a function of x is derived and shows agreement with both modeling and experimental data.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2018

HIGH-STRENGTH LIGHTWEIGHT ENGINES FOR HEAVY-DUTY DIESEL TRUCKS

This project with Cummins supports the development of next generation heavy duty diesel engines that can achieve a 50% or better Break Thermal Efficiency (BTE). The fuel efficiency roadmap for the 50% BTE engine considers six main areas for efficiency improvement in the baseline engine, several of which involve making more efficient use of thermal energy (heat) in the engine. Increased operating temperatures and improved thermal management are expected to enable significant increases in $power$ $density$, thus resulting in greater power output for the same sized engine or engine downsizing (or light weighting) for the same power output. However, it has become apparent that several key components will be exposed to temperatures beyond the capabilities of current engine and exhaust materials, requiring the availability of the next generation of high temperature materials to allow the engine to reach the targeted efficiencies, commercially viable durability, and emission targets. The objective of this project was to identify and/or develop key materials, and evaluate their critical properties to enable the design and development of a lightweight, higher efficiency engine, with enhanced temperature capability and reduced heat-loss to the atmosphere in order to facilitate waste heat recovery and improved efficiency. An increase in the temperature capability of exhaust manifold materials, and piston materials were identified as having a positive influence on the efficiency of the next generation diesel engines. Since the current materials (High SiMo cast irons used in exhaust manifolds, and 4140 steel in pistons) are already operating near their limits of their temperature and strength capabilities, it was determined that new materials with the right combination of properties are required for these components. Oxidation and constrained thermal fatigue tests were used to down-select CF8C plus (CF8CP), a cast austenitic stainless steel, for exhaust manifolds capable of operating at higher temperatures. A prototype exhaust manifold was fabricated using CF8CP and successfully tested in a marine engine. A functionally graded multiple-layer thermal barrier coating system was designed with four layers of mixed bondcoat alloy (NiCoCrAlYHfSi) and yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and was shown to reduce the effective thermal conductivity of the coating-substrate (steel and Ti-6Al-4V) system. The graded alloy and YSZ mixture were intended to achieve better match of thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) and minimize thermal stresses. Such coatings can increase the temperature capability of pistons fabricated from steel and Ti-alloys. Effect of oil additives and friction conformal contact friction tests showed there was a 15-30% reduction in friction by the polymer-graphite composite coating compared to the uncoated steel piston. Standalone Mn-P coating had little beneficial impact. Changing the oil from CJ-4 to PC-11 had little impact on the friction behavior in boundary lubrication. Wear behavior was tested under a point contact configuration with a high contact pressure. The candidate CK-4 oil showed similar or slightly better lubricity compared to the CJ-4 oil while the candidate FA-4 oil decisively increased the piston skirt wear. Although both coatings prevented scuffing failure observed for the uncoated steel skirt in a base oil without an additive package, they surprisingly caused a higher piston wear rate when tested in any of the fully formulated engine oil. The detrimental impact was attributed to the Mn-P film, either as a standalone coating, or a coating interlayer. The porous and brittle Mn-P film was broken during the wear test and the released hard Mn-P grains are suspected to cause third-body abrasion to accelerate the wear process. This work also evaluated the feasibility of developing an improved high temperature, low mass, cost-neutral turbocharger compressor wheel for heavy-duty engine applications from TiAl using additive manufacturing, utilizing its unique ability to fabricate high strength, low weight structures. This work has shown that the phase transforming nature of the TiAl alloys enable obtaining equiaxed microstructures in the as-built state without the need for tedious beam parameter manipulations. The HIPed structures have good RT tensile properties that will enable them to be surface machined to the required tolerance that can 2 then be heat treated to obtain the desired microstructures. Additionally, the negligible residual stresses stemming from the high build chamber temperatures ensure the parts are formed without cracks (one of the major issues in traditional manufacturing of these intermetallics).

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
NASA NTRS1986

Propeller-induced structure-borne noise - Laboratory-based test apparatus

A potentially important source of structure-borne interior noise transmission in advanced turboprop aircraft is the impingement of the propeller wake/vortex on downstream aerodynamic surfaces. The expected levels of propeller wake/vortex-induced structure-borne noise transmission are not known nor can they be determined with present-day technology. A test apparatus has been designed, built and calibrated for the purposes of studying propeller-induced, structure-borne noise transmission in prototypical aircraft structures. The principal approach to the test apparatus design was to provide a physical means of separating the airborne and structure-borne noise components so that the structure-borne noise transmission response could be studied directly without airborne noise contamination. This was accomplished by housing the receiving fuselage structure in an acoustic shield fitted with a wing-to-fuselage acoustic seal. Initial evaluation of the wing-to-fuselage acoustic seal indicates adequate airborne noise isolation to allow direct study of structure-borne noise transmission.

Unruh, J. F.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Highly soluble copper(ι) iodide-based hybrid luminescent semiconductors containing molecular and one-dimensional coordinated anionic inorganic motifs

Copper(I) iodide-based inorganic–organic hybrid semiconductors are considered promising materials for various optoelectronic applications. Here, using imidazolium bridged benzotriazoles as multidentate ligands, we designed and synthesized a series of all-in-one (AIO)-type CuI hybrid materials that hold both ionic and coordinate bonds at the interface of organic and inorganic modules. Their structures range from 0D clusters to 2D extended networks built on various molecular (0D) and chain-like (1D) anionic inorganic motifs that are interconnected through cationic ligands via multiple Cu–N bonds. Benefiting from their unique bonding nature, these compounds exhibit high stability towards heat and moisture and can be well dissolved in polar aprotic solvents. They emit low-energy light spanning from yellow to red color (550–625 nm). Finally, the electronic structure, emission mechanism, and effect of different coordination modes on their photophysical properties were studied using both experimental and theoretical methods, which has provided insight into the structure–property relationship of these inorganic–organic semiconductors.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2003

Membrane peptides and their role in protobiological evolution

How simple membrane peptides performed such essential protocellular functions as transport of ions and organic matter across membranes separating the interior of the cell from the environment, capture and utilization of energy, and transduction of environmental signals, is a key question in protobiological evolution. On the basis of detailed, molecular-level computer simulations we explain how these peptides fold at water-membrane interfaces, insert into membranes, self-assemble into higher-order structures and acquire functions. We have investigated the interfacial behavior and folding of several peptides built of leucine and glutamine residues and have demonstrated that many of them tend to adopt ordered structures. Further, we have studied the insertion of an alpha-helical peptide containing leucine (L) and serine (S) of the form (LSLLLSL)3 into a model membrane. The transmembrane state is metastable, and approximately 15 kcal mol(-1) is required to insert the peptide into the membrane. Investigations of dimers formed by (LSLLLSL)3 and glycophorin A demonstrate how the favorable free energy of helix association can offset the unfavorable free energy of insertion, leading to self-assembly of peptide helices in the membrane. An example of a self-assembled structure is the tetrameric transmembrane pore of the influenza virus M2 protein, which is an efficient and selective voltage-gated proton channel. Our simulations explain the gating mechanism and provide guidelines how to re-engineer the channel to act as a simple proton pump. In general, emergence of integral membrane proteins appears to be quite feasible and may be easier to envision than the emergence of water-soluble proteins.

Models, Chemical↗
DOE OSTI2018

Heliconical smectic phases formed by achiral molecules

Chiral symmetry breaking in soft matter is a hot topic of current research. Recently, such a phenomenon was found in a fluidic phase showing orientational order of molecules - the nematic phase; although built of achiral molecules, the phase can exhibit structural chirality - average molecular direction follows a short-pitch helix. Here in this paper, we report a series of achiral asymmetric dimers with an odd number of atoms in the spacer, which form twisted structures in nematic as well as in lamellar phases. The tight pitch heliconical nematic (N TB) phase and heliconical tilted smectic C (SmC TB ) phase are formed. The formation of a variety of helical structures is accompanied by a gradual freezing of molecular rotation. In the lowest temperature smectic phase, HexI, the twist is expressed through the formation of hierarchical structure: nanoscale helices and mesoscopic helical filaments. The short-pitch helical structure in the smectic phases is confirmed by resonant X-ray measurements.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

The ASACUSA Micromegas Tracker: A cylindrical, bulk Micromegas detector for antimatter research

The ASACUSA Micromegas Tracker (AMT; ASACUSA: Atomic Spectroscopy and Collisions Using Slow Antiprotons) was designed to be able to reconstruct antiproton-nucleon annihilation vertices in three dimensions. The goal of this device is to study antihydrogen formation processes in the ASACUSA cusp trap, which was designed to synthesise a spin-polarised antihydrogen beam for precise tests of Charge, Parity, and Time (CPT) symmetry invariance. This paper discusses the structure and technical details of an AMT detector built into such an environment, its data acquisition system and the first performance with cosmic rays.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗