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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Strain-induced intervortex interaction and vortex lattices in tetragonal superconductors

In superconductors with strong coupling between superconductivity and elasticity manifested in a strong dependence of transition temperature on pressure, there is an additional contribution to intervortex interactions due to the strain field generated by vortices. When vortex lines are along the c axis of a tetragonal crystal, a square vortex lattice (VL) is favored at low vortex densities, because the vortex-induced strains contribution to the intervortex interactions is long range. At intermediate magnetic fields, the triangular lattice is stabilized. Furthermore, the triangular lattice evolves to the square lattice upon increasing magnetic field, and eventually the system locks to the square structure. We argue, however, that as magnetic field approaches the upper critical field H c2 the elastic intervortex interactions disappear faster than the standard London interactions, so that VL should return to the triangular structure. Our results are compared to VLs observed in the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Anisotropy and multiband superconductivity in Sr 2 RuO 4 determined by small-angle neutron scattering studies of the vortex lattice [Anisotropy and multiband superconductivity in Sr 2 RuO 4 ]

Despite numerous studies the exact nature of the order parameter in superconducting Sr 2 RuO 4 remains unresolved. We have extended previous small-angle neutron scattering studies of the vortex lattice in this material to a wider field range, higher temperatures, and with the field applied close to both the <100> and <110> basal plane directions. Measurements at high field were made possible by the use of both spin polarization and analysis to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Rotating the field towards the basal plane causes a distortion of the square vortex lattice observed for H // <001> and also a symmetry change to a distorted triangular symmetry for fields close to <100>.The vortex lattice distortion allows us to determine the intrinsic superconducting anisotropy between the c axis and the Ru-O basal plane, yielding a value of ~60 at low temperature and low to intermediate fields. This greatly exceeds the upper critical field anisotropy of ~20 at low temperature, reminiscent of Pauli limiting. Indirect evidence for Pauli paramagnetic effects on the unpaired quasiparticles in the vortex cores are observed, but a direct detection lies below the measurement sensitivity. The superconducting anisotropy is found to be independent of temperature but increases for fields > 1 T, indicating multiband superconductvity in Sr 2 RuO 4 . Lastly, the temperature dependence of the scattered intensity provides further support for gap nodes or deep minima in the superconducting gap.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Structural transition kinetics and activated behavior in the superconducting vortex lattice

Using small-angle neutron scattering, we investigated the behavior of a metastable vortex lattice state in MgB 2 as it is driven towards equilibrium by an ac magnetic field. This shows an activated behavior, where the ac field amplitude and cycle count are equivalent to, respectively, an effective “temperature” and “time.” The activation barrier increases as the metastable state is suppressed, corresponding to an aging of the vortex lattice. Furthermore, we find a crossover from a partial to a complete suppression of metastable domains depending on the ac field amplitude, which may empirically be described by a single free parameter. This represents an unconventional kind of collective vortex behavior, not governed by pinning, most likely due to the nucleation and growth of equilibrium vortex lattice domains.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Characterizing vortex tangle properties in steady-state He II counterflow using particle tracking velocimetry

Historically, there has been little faith in particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) as a tool to make quantitative measurements of thermal counterflow in He II, since tracer particle motion is complicated by influences from the normal fluid, superfluid, and quantized vortex lines, or a combination thereof. Recently, we introduced a scheme for differentiating particles trapped on vortices (G1) from particles entrained by the normal fluid (G2). In this paper, we apply this scheme to demonstrate the utility of PTV for quantitative measurements of vortex dynamics in He II counterflow.We estimate Ι, the mean vortex line spacing, using G2 velocity data, and c 2 , a parameter related to the mean curvature radius of vortices and energy dissipation in quantum turbulence, using G1 velocity data. We find that both estimations show good agreement with existing measurements that were obtained using traditional experimental methods. This is of particular consequence since these parameters likely vary in space, and PTV offers the advantage of spatial resolution. Furthermore, we also show a direct link between power-law tails in transverse particle velocity probability density functions (PDFs) and reconnection of vortex lines on which G1 particles are trapped.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Total Angular Momentum Dichroism of the Terahertz Vortex Beams at the Antiferromagnetic Resonances

Here, terahertz vortex beams with different superposition of the orbital angular momentum $\textit{l}$ = ± 1, ±2, ±3, and ±4 and spin angular momentum σ = ±1 were used to study antiferromagnetic (AFM) resonances in TbFe 3 (BO 3 ) 4 and Ni 3 TeO 6 single crystals. In both materials we observed a strong vortex beam dichroism for the AFM resonances that are split in external magnetic field. The magnitude of the vortex dichroism is comparable to that for conventional circular dichroism due to σ. The selection rules at the AFM resonances are governed by the total angular momentum of the vortex beam: $\textit{j}$ = σ + $\textit{l}$. In particular, for $\textit{l}$ = ±2, ±3, and ±4 the sign of $\textit{l}$ is shown to dominate over that for conventional circular polarization σ.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Saturation of Vortex Rings Ejected from Shock-Accelerated Interfaces

Structures evoking vortex rings can be discerned in shock-accelerated flows ranging from astrophysics to inertial confinement fusion. By constructing an analogy between vortex rings produced in conventional propulsion systems and rings generated by a shock impinging upon a high-aspect-ratio protrusion along a material interface, we extend classical, constant-density vortex-ring theory to compressible multifluid flows. Here, we further demonstrate saturation of such vortex rings as the protrusion aspect ratio is increased, thus explaining morphological differences observed in practice.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effects of Downstream Vortex Generators on Film Cooling a Flat Plate Fed by Crossflow

Counter-rotating vortices, formed by the interaction of film-cooling jets and the hot gas flow, adversely affect the performance of conventional film-cooling designs. Downstream vortex generators have been shown to improve cooling effectiveness by mitigating the effects of the counter-rotating vortices and by deflecting the cooling jet laterally. In this study, computational and experimental methods were used to examine how cylindrical film-cooling holes (D = 3.2 mm, L/D = 6, p/D = 3, α = 30 deg) with and without downstream vortex generators perform when the coolant supply channel is perpendicular to the direction of the hot gas. For this study, the hot gas had a temperature of 650 K and an average Mach number of 0.23. Here, the hot-gas-to-coolant temperature ratio was 1.9, and two blowing ratios (0.75 and 1.0) were studied. Results from the computational fluid dynamics study show how crossflow affects the interaction between the film-cooling jet and hot gas flow with and without downstream vortex generators. The experimental measurements were based on infrared thermography in a conjugate heat transfer environment. Results were obtained for film-cooling performance in terms of overall effectiveness, film effectiveness, and local heat transfer coefficients. The downstream vortex generators can increase the laterally averaged effectiveness by a factor of 1.5 relative to cylindrical holes, but this higher performance is restricted to low crossflow velocities and higher blowing ratios.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Critical behavior at a dynamic vortex insulator-to-metal transition

An array of superconducting islands placed on a normal metal film offers a tunable realization of nanopatterned superconductivity. This system enables elucidating open questions concerning the nature of competing vortex states and phase transitions between them. A square array creates the egg crate potential in which magnetic field-induced vortices are frozen into a vortex insulator. We observe a vortex insulator-to-vortex metal transition driven by the applied electric current and determine critical exponents strikingly coinciding with those for thermodynamic liquid-gas transition. Lastly, our findings offer a comprehensive description of dynamic critical behavior and establish a deep connection between equilibrium and nonequilibrium phase transitions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Two regimes of vortex penetration into platelet-shaped type-II superconductors

Vortex penetration into a thin superconducting strip of a rectangular cross section is considered at an increasing applied magnetic field H{sub a}, taking an interplay between the Bean-Livingston and the geometric barriers in the sample into account. We calculate the magnetic field H{sub p} at which the penetration begins and show that two regimes of vortex penetration are possible. In the first regime, vortices appearing at the corners of the strip at H{sub a} = H{sub p} immediately move to its center, where a vortex dome starts to develop. In the second regime, the penetration occurs in two stages. In the first stage, at H{sub a} < H{sub p}, tilted vortices penetrate into the edge regions of the strip, where novel domes are shown to be formed at the top, bottom, and lateral surfaces. In the second stage, at H{sub a} = H{sub p}, the vortex propagation to the center becomes possible. The difference between the regimes manifests itself in slightly different dependences of the magnetic moment of the strip on H{sub a}.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Dynamics of straight vortex filaments in a Bose–Einstein condensate with the Gaussian density profile

The dynamics of interacting quantized vortex filaments in a rotating Bose–Einstein condensate existing in the Thomas–Fermi regime at zero temperature and obeying the Gross–Pitaevskii equation has been considered in the hydrodynamic “nonelastic” approximation. A noncanonical Hamilton equation of motion for the macroscopically averaged vorticity has been derived for a smoothly inhomogeneous array of filaments (vortex lattice) taking into account spatial nonuniformity of the equilibrium density of the condensate, which is determined by the trap potential. The minimum of the corresponding Hamiltonian describes the static configuration of the deformed vortex lattice against the preset density background. The condition of minimum can be reduced to a nonlinear second-order partial differential vector equation for which some exact and approximate solutions are obtained. It has been shown that if the condensate density has an anisotropic Gaussian profile, the equation of motion for the averaged vorticity has solutions in the form of a vector exhibiting a nontrivial time dependence, but homogeneous in space. An integral representation has also been obtained for the matrix Green function that determines the nonlocal Hamiltonian of a system of several quantized vortices of an arbitrary shape in a Bose–Einstein condensate with the Gaussian density. In particular, if all filaments are straight and oriented along one of the principal axes of the ellipsoid, we have a finitedimensional reduction that can describe the dynamics of the system of pointlike vortices against an inhomogeneous background. A simple approximate expression is proposed for the 2D Green function with an arbitrary density profile and is compared numerically with the exact result in the Gaussian case. The corresponding approximate equations of motion, describing the long-wavelength dynamics of interacting vortex filaments in condensates with a density depending only on transverse coordinates, have been derived.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

An Accurate and Automated Convective Vortex Detection Method for Long-Duration Infrasound Microbarometer Data

Heating of the surficial layer of the atmosphere often generates convective vortices, known as “dust devils” when they entrain visible debris. Convective vortices are common on both Earth and Mars, where they affect the climate via dust loading, contribute to wind erosion, impact the efficiency of photovoltaic systems, and potentially result in injury and property damage. However, long-duration terrestrial convective vortex activity records are rare. We have developed a high-precision and high-recall method to extract convective vortex signatures from infrasound microbarometer data streams. The techniques utilizes a wavelet-based detector to capture potential events and then a template matching system to extract the duration of the vortex. Since permanent and temporary infrasound sensors networks are present throughout the globe (many with open data), our method unlocks a vast new convective vortex dataset without requiring the deployment of specialized instrumentation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantifying Trapped Magnetic Vortex Losses in Niobium Resonators at mK Temperatures

Trapped magnetic vortices in niobium introduce microwave losses that degrade the performance of superconducting resonators. While such losses have been extensively studied above 1 K, we report here their direct quantification in the millikelvin and low-photon regime relevant to quantum devices. Using a high-quality factor 3D niobium cavity cooled through its superconducting transition in controlled magnetic fields, we isolate vortex-induced losses and find the resistive component of the sensitivity to trapped flux S to be approximately 2 nOhm/mG at 10 mK and 6 GHz. The decay rate is initially dominated by two-level system (TLS) losses from the native niobium pentoxide, with vortex-induced degradation of T1 occurring above Btrap~50 mG. In the absence of the oxide, even 10 mG of trapped flux limits performance, Q0 ~ 1010, or T1 ~350 ms, underscoring the need for stringent magnetic shielding. The resistive sensitivity, S, decreases with temperature and remains largely field-independent, whereas the reactive component, S , exhibits a maximum near 0.8 K. These behaviors are well modeled within the Coffey Clem framework in the zero-creep limit, under the assumption that vortex pinning is enhanced by thermally activated processes. Our results suggest that niobium-based transmon qubits can tolerate vortex-induced dissipation at trapped field levels up to several hundred mG, but achieving long coherence times still requires careful magnetic shielding to suppress lower-field losses from other mechanisms

Bafia, Daniel P. [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS1948

Design criteria for and applications of the vortex generator mixing principal

There are at this date numerable projects, in various Divisions of U.A.C., either in progress or contemplated, which are employing the vortex generator mixing principle. This principle is defined as the method which utilises tip vortices generated by low aspect ratio airfoils for the purpose of transverse mixing of the flow of a confined fluid medium where the axis of the vortex is parallel to the direction of flow. To date, vortex generator design criteria have not been published. Therefore, for the assistance of those individuals concerned and in the interest of the vortex mixing principle, the following material (subject to modifications) is presented in this memorandum report.

H D Taylor↗
NASA NTRS1971

Investigation of an aircraft trailing vortex using a tuft grid

With the increasing capacity of airport terminal areas, and the use of the new large jet transports, it has become important to understand the turbulent wake created by these aircraft. A study of the trailing vortex of a wing has been made using a tuft grid in a 6 foot wind tunnel. The study included an investigation of the use of mass injection at the wing tip as a means of destroying the vortex. Test results show that a fully developed, stable, vortex exists at least a distance of thirty chord lengths downstream of the wing, and that the swirl of the vortex can be reduced or eliminated by mass injection at the wing tip.

Mason, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Single-stage experimental evaluation of compressor blading with slots and vortex generators, part 5

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the extent that slots and vortex generators can increase the efficiency and stable operating range of highly loaded compressor stages. With slots in the rotor and stator, the stage performance both with and without vortex generators was inferior to that achieved with the unslotted blading. However, with vortex generators, stator slots, and an unslotted rotor, the stable operating range increased 25% and the stage peak efficiency increased 2.1% over the values achieved with the unslotted rotor and stator without vortex generators, at design equivalent rotor speed.

Brent, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Farfield structure of an aircraft trailing vortex, including effects of mass injection

Wind tunnel tests to predict the aircraft wake turbulence due to the tip trailing vortex are discussed. A yawhead pressure probe was used in a subsonic wind tunnel to obtain detailed mean flow measurements at stations up to 30 chordlengths downstream in an aircraft trailing vortex. Mass injection at the wingtip was shown to hasten the decay of the trailing vortex. A theoretical method is presented to show the effect which the circulation distribution on the wing has on the structure of the outer portion of the vortex.

Mason, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Preliminary investigation of inlet ingestion of a wing tip vortex

An inlet-coldpipe assembly was placed in a Mach 0.4 stream to ingest the tip vortex of a forward mounted wing. The strongest vortex was produced by a wing angle of attack of 11 degrees. The vortex displayed a tangential velocity of 57 percent of local stream velocity prior to entering the inlet, and a tangential velocity of 25 percent of local velocity at the simulated compressor-face. The total-pressure profiles measured by standard compressor-face rakes were changed by the presence of the vortex only at the highest tested inlet mass-flow ratios.

Mitchell, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

The application of laser Doppler velocimetry to trailing vortex definition and alleviation

A laser Doppler velocimeter whose focal volume can be rapidly traversed through a flowfield has been used to overcome the problem introduced by excursions of the central vortex filament within a wind tunnel test section. The basic concepts of operation of the instrument are reviewed and data are presented which accurately define the trailing vortex from a square-tipped rectangular wing. Measured axial and tangential velocity distributions are given, both with and without a vortex dissipator panel installed at the wing tip. From the experimental data, circulation and vorticity distributions are obtained and the effect of turbulence injection into the vortex structure is discussed.

Orloff, K. L.↗