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At least 631 records · Page 35

Technetium and iodine getters to improve Cast Stone performance - 15420

Technetium-99 ({sup 99}Tc) and iodine-129 ({sup 129}I) have been determined to be tank waste components contributing most to the environmental impacts associated with the cleanup of the Hanford site. Cast Stone, which has the ability to immobilize {sup 99}Tc, {sup 129}I, and other contaminants of concern, is being considered as a low temperature waste form for solidification of aqueous secondary liquid effluents from the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) An environmental assessment of Cast Stone performance, using measured diffusivities of the radionuclides from the Cast Stone product, calculates groundwater at the 100 m down-gradient in excess of the allowable maximum permissible concentrations for both radionuclides. Therefore, an opportunity exists to improve the performance of Cast Stone. One method for improvement is through the addition of immobilizing agents known as 'getters' that selectively sequester Tc and I. In the present paper, we report on seven getter materials that have been tested for Tc and five materials that have been tested for I to determine their effectiveness for radionuclide removal in a series of batch sorption tests in 18.2 MΩ DI H{sub 2}O and a 7.8 M Na Ave LAW waste simulant. Contact experiments have been carried out in anoxic conditions at room temperature, with varying solid-to-solution ratios, and in the presence and absence of competing species. Results indicate that most materials perform better in the 18.2 MΩ DI H{sub 2}O compared to the 7.8 M Na LAW waste simulant for both Tc and I getter. Radionuclide sequestration may be affected by the presence of the redox sensitive Cr(VI) in the simulant. The top performing Tc getter materials, Sn(II)-apatite, BFS-2, KMS-2 and Sn-hydroxyapatite, were examined through various solid-state characterization techniques such as SEM/XEDS, XANES and EXAFS. Tc removal is theorized to occur through reduction of the highly soluble Tc(VII) species to the less soluble Tc(IV). Solution results from the series of I tests show that iodide is effectively removed from solution via, most likely, a precipitation reaction of AgI. A wide range of I getter materials and the silver exchanged zeolite getter performed well in both DI water and the simulant. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Techno-Economic Analysis for a Potential Geothermal District Heating System in Tuttle, Oklahoma

Geothermal deep direct use (DDU) has potential across a wide swath of the United States but is underutilized due to challenging project economics associated with developing a deep geothermal resource for a large-scale and variable heat demand. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and University of Oklahoma evaluated the feasibility of a geothermal district heating (GDH) and cooling system in two schools and 250 houses by utilizing existing oil and gas (O&G) wells in Tuttle, Oklahoma. Heating and cooling demand in the two schools and a typical single-family house were modeled using EnergyPlus building energy simulation software. The modeling results indicated that annual heating demand in two schools and 250 houses is approximately 2.61 GWhth, and cooling demand in the two schools is approximately 2.65 GWhth. In this scope, the techno-economic analysis (TEA) was conducted using the GEOPHIRES tool combined with the TOUGH2 reservoir simulator. The reservoir performance, including geothermal heat production capacity, was modeled by the reservoir simulator TOUGH2. Then, levelized cost of heat (LCOH) was calculated using GEOPHIRES version 3.0, which includes new features such as hourly heat load optimization and peak performance evaluation. Geothermal reservoir temperature was estimated as 90.5 degrees C at a total depth of 3.3 km by the regional average temperature gradient of 22.8 degrees C/km and validated by cation geothermometer calculations. Four production scenarios with two different well configurations and two different heat load profiles have been developed for well flow rates ranging between 3.1 kg/s and 9.3 kg/s. The LCOH of the district heating and cooling system was calculated between $95 and $210/MWh ($28/MMBtu to $62/MMBtu) for four different production scenarios. Typical natural gas prices for residential customers in Oklahoma have ranged from 9 to 19 $/MMBtu over the past decade, which indicates a challenge for deployment of such a GDH system.

deep direct-use↗

Modeling Efforts to Gain Insight into Historical Leak Events from the Single-Shell Tank A-105 in the Hanford 241-A Tank Farm - 20113

The 241-A Tank Farm is a single-shell tank (SST) farm constructed to store process waste from Hanford nuclear operations. Millions of gallons of nuclear waste were stored in the 241-A Tank Farm SSTs and some of the SSTs leaked in the past. In addition, spills and pipeline leaks during transfers and storage and intentional discharges to cribs and trenches resulted in releasing waste to the ground. Tank liner leaks are referred to as 'leaks' and all other discharges to the soil are referred to as 'releases.' Liquid waste that could be removed by pumping has been removed from all of the SSTs to reduce the potential for future leaks. The most significant historical leak event in 241-A Tank Farm occurred in 1965 when tank A-105 experienced a pressurized steam event. This event resulted in damage to the inner steel liner flooring of A-105, which was separated from the sidewalls over part of its circumference and buckled up to 2.5 m, vertically. During this event up to 7,570 L of contaminated liquid may have leaked to the adjacent soil. This leak occurred under extreme temperature and pressure conditions. Modeling efforts to better understand the nature and extent of historical leaks from subsurface SSTs that were used to store highly radioactive, self-boiling liquid wastes at 241-A Tank Farm have recently been undertaken. These efforts have compiled the available historical information to support a preliminary non-isothermal, multiphase flow and chemical transport modeling effort to re-create the conditions under which the leaks occurred and to formulate a conceptual model as to the extent and distribution of leaked radioactive contaminants in the adjacent soil material. The focus of this work was on developing an understanding of the key features, processes and bounding conditions related to tank A-105 leak events that occurred in the 1960's. The activities include estimation of leak composition, non-isothermal multiphase flow and transport modeling, and geochemical modeling. The STOMP{sup C} Water-Air-Energy modeling code was utilized to implement the three-dimensional representation of the subsurface tank and the surrounding flow field. Once constructed, the model was used to evaluate the conceptual understanding of leaks originating from different parts of the tank under the elevated temperature boundary conditions that were imposed by surrounding tanks at the time of the historical leaks. The chemical evolution of the liquid waste was also evaluated as it leaked from the tank under transient pressure and temperature gradients. The results of the preliminary evaluation suggested the presence of a heat-pipe effect beneath tank A-105 in which water vapor at an elevated temperature is driven away from the base of the tank to a position where water vapor cools, condenses and is then drawn back toward the tank by the strong capillary attraction of the dry soil. A non-sorbing contaminant (Tc-99) was introduced into this flow field to better understand the potential distribution patterns of leaked contaminants that may have occurred during the historical leak events. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Interplanetary and Interstellar Dust Particles: Reentry Heating and Capture in Aerogel

Studies of interplanetary and interstellar dust can provide significant information on the evolution of the solar system or stars, respectively. However, for reliable analysis it is crucial to know how the particles have been modified during reentry (in the case of interplanetary dust particles, or [DP's) and impact into the capture medium. In the case of stratospheric capture, particles will be heated by atmospheric drag. Subsequent capture of the particles will result in heating, ablation, accretion of the capture medium and possible fragmentation. Modeling of these processes is a useful way of assessing their effects on the interpretation of the compositional data for these particles. Previous work on reentry heating has shown that heat diffusion alone cannot adequately account for temperature gradients observed in IDP's. In fact, for any reasonable thermal parameters, calculations show the particles to be nearly isothermal. Here we extend those studies to include phase transitions. These preliminary results are promising and show a significant temperature gradient for a 100 micron (diameter) particle. The actual capture of the particles in silica aerogel is being modeled using a comprehensive shock hydrodynamic code (called CTH). Various options of this code were investigated to attempt to make the most appropriate choice of methods of impact, equations of state, and processes of energy transfer from capture material to particle. The initial calculations with the code used only 'reasonable' estimates for the physical parameters of silica aerogel. Through the literature searches and personal contacts with the knowledgeable scientists, the best possible mechanical and thermal data have been made available for these computations.

Szydlik, Paul P.↗

FP-LAPW based investigation of structural, electronic and mechanical properties of CePb{sub 3} intermetallic compound

A theoretical study of structural, electronic, elastic and mechanical properties of CePb{sub 3} intermetallic compound has been investigated systematically using first principles density functional theory. The calculations are carried out within the three different forms of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and LSDA for the exchange correlation potential. The ground state properties such as lattice parameter (a{sub 0}), bulk modulus (B) and its pressure derivative (B′) are calculated and obtained lattice parameter of this compound shows well agreement with the experimental results. We have calculated three independent second order elastic constants (C{sub 11}, C{sub 12} and C{sub 44}), which has not been calculated and measured yet. From energy dispersion curves, it is found that the studied compound is metallic in nature. Ductility of this compound is analyzed using Pugh’s criteria and Cauchy's pressure (C{sub 11}-C{sub 12}). The mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, shear modulus, anisotropic ratio, Poison's ratio have been calculated for the first time using the Voigt–Reuss–Hill (VRH) averaging scheme. The average sound velocities (v{sub m}), density (ρ) and Debye temperature (θ{sub D}) of this compound are also estimated from the elastic constants.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ab Initio Study of the Electronic Structure, Elastic Properties, Magnetic Feature and Thermodynamic Properties of the Ba{sub 2}NiMoO{sub 6} Material

We report first-principles calculations of the elastic properties, electronic structure and magnetic behavior performed over the Ba{sub 2}NiMoO{sub 6} double perovskite. Calculations are carried out through the full-potential linear augmented plane-wave method within the framework of the Density Functional Theory (DFT) with exchange and correlation effects in the Generalized Gradient and Local Density Approximations, including spin polarization. The elastic properties calculated are bulk modulus (B), the elastic constants (C{sub 11}, C{sub 12} and C{sub 44}), the Zener anisotropy factor (A), the isotropic shear modulus (G), the Young modulus (Y) and the Poisson ratio (υ). Structural parameters, total energies and cohesive properties of the perovskite are studied by means of minimization of internal parameters with the Murnaghan equation, where the structural parameters are in good agreement with experimental data. Furthermore, we have explored different antiferromagnetic configurations in order to describe the magnetic ground state of this compound. The pressure and temperature dependence of specific heat, thermal expansion coefficient, Debye temperature and Grüneisen parameter were calculated by DFT from the state equation using the quasi-harmonic model of Debye. A specific heat behavior C{sub V} ≈ C{sub P} was found at temperatures below T = 400 K, with Dulong–Petit limit values, which is higher than those, reported for simple perovskites.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Formulation and solution approach for calibrating activity-based travel demand model-system via microsimulation

This study addresses the problem of calibrating utility-maximizing nested logit activity-based travel demand model-systems. After estimation, it is common practice to use aggregate measurements to calibrate the estimated model-system’s parameters prior to their application in transportation planning, policy making, and operations. However, calibration of activity-based model-systems has received much less attention. Existing calibration approaches are myopic heuristics in the sense that they do not consider the fundamental inter-dependencies among choice-models and do not have a systematic way to adjust model parameters. Also, other purely simulation-based approaches do not perform well in large-scale applications. In this study, we focus on utility-maximizing nested logit activity-based model-systems and calibrating aggregate statistics such as activity shares, mode shares, time-dependent & mode-specific OD flows, and time-dependent & mode-specific sensor counts. We formulate the calibration problem as a simulation-based optimization problem and propose a stochastic gradient-based solution procedure to solve it. The solution procedure relies on microsimulation to calculate expectations of the aggregate statistics of interest to the calibration problem. Additionally, we derive approximate analytical expressions for the gradient of the objective function —that are evaluated through microsimulation on mini-batches of the population. The proposed solution procedure is sensitive to the fundamental structure of the activity-based model-system and is non-myopic in considering the dependencies across its model components. The formulated optimization problem is non-convex, highly nonlinear, and potentially has multiple-minima. Lastly, we show —through a real-world application— that the proposed solution procedure outperforms other state-of-the-art purely simulation-based optimization approaches in terms of computational efficiency, stability, and convergence. We also compare various gradient-based solution algorithms to determine the best algorithm to update the parameters. This work has the potential to facilitate wider and easier application of activity-based model-systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

First principles treatment of structural, optical, and thermoelectric properties of Li{sub 7}MnN{sub 4} as electrode for a Li secondary battery

The electronic structure, electronic charge density and linear optical properties of the metallic Li{sub 7}MnN{sub 4} compound, having cubic symmetry, are calculated using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The calculated band structure and density of states using the local density, generalized gradient and Engel–Vosko approximations, depict the metallic nature of the cubic Li{sub 7}MnN{sub 4} compound. The bands crossing the Fermi level in the calculated band structure are mainly from the Mn-d states with small support of N-p states. In addition, the Mn-d states at the Fermi level enhance the density of states, which is very useful for the electronic transport properties. The valence electronic charge density depicts strong covalent bond between Mn and two N atoms and polar covalent bond between Mn and Li atoms. The frequency dependent linear optical properties like real and imaginary part of the dielectric function, optical conductivity, reflectivity and energy loss function are calculated on the basis of the computed band structure. Both intra-band and inter-band transitions contribute to the calculated optical parameters. Using the BoltzTraP code, the thermoelectric properties like electrical and thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, power coefficient and heat capacity of the Li{sub 7}MnN{sub 4} are also calculated as a function of temperature and studied.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SU-E-T-597: Parameterization of the Photon Beam Dosimetry for a Commercial Linear Accelerator

Purpose: In radiation therapy, accurate data acquisition of photon beam dosimetric quantities is important for (1) beam modeling data input into a treatment planning system (TPS), (2) comparing measured and TPS modelled data, (3) a linear accelerator’s (linac) beam characteristics quality assurance process, and (4) establishing a standard data set for data comparison, etcetera. Parameterization of the photon beam dosimetry creates a portable data set that is easy to implement for different applications such as those previously mentioned. The aim of this study is to develop methods to parameterize photon percentage depth doses(PDD), profiles, and total scatter output factors(Scp). Methods: Scp, PDDs and profiles for different field sizes (from 2×2 to 40×40cm{sup 2}), depths and energies were measured in a linac using a three-dimensional water tank. All data were smoothed and profile data were also centered, symmetrized and geometrically scaled. The Scp and PDD data were analyzed using exponential functions. For modelling of open and wedge field profiles, each side was divided into three regions described by exponential, sigmoid and Gaussian equations. The model’s equations were chosen based on the physical principles described by these dosimetric quantities. The equations’ parameters were determined using a least square optimization method with the minimal amount of measured data necessary. The model’s accuracy was then evaluated via the calculation of absolute differences and distance–to–agreement analysis in low gradient and high gradient regions, respectively. Results: All differences in the PDDs’ buildup and the profiles’ penumbra regions were less than 2 mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. Differences in the low gradient regions were 0.20 ± 0.20% and 0.50 ± 0.35% for PDDs and profiles, respectively. For Scp data, all differences were less than 0.5%. Conclusion: This novel analytical model with minimum measurement requirements proved to accurately calculate PDDs, profiles, and Scp for different field sizes, depths and energies.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Analysis of Compressibility Effects and Nonlinear Property Variations in a Supercritical CO2 Mixing Layer

Calculations are performed using the large eddy simulation technique to qualitatively assess the effects of fluid compressibility and thermodynamic nonlinearities on the dynamics of a supercritical flow field. Resulting data are also used to interrogate instantaneous subfilter-scale fields, as modeled by the mixed-dynamic Smagorinsky closure and gradient diffusion model. A three-dimensional wall-resolved calculation of a spatially evolving mixing layer composed solely of carbon dioxide is performed. This is followed by a coarse grid calculation to examine model performance as a function of resolution. Theoretical analysis indicates that the partial derivatives of density with respect to pressure and temperature are important modulators of the temperature and pressure field evolution, respectively. Results pertaining to subfilter velocity-velocity and velocity-temperature fields indicate that the models are most stressed in the regions where compressibility and thermo-fluid nonlinearities dominate the physics.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Simulation of Two-Fluid Flows by the Least-Squares Finite Element Method Using a Continuum Surface Tension Model

In this paper a numerical procedure for simulating two-fluid flows is presented. This procedure is based on the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method proposed by Hirt and Nichols and the continuum surface force (CSF) model developed by Brackbill, et al. In the VOF method fluids of different properties are identified through the use of a continuous field variable (color function). The color function assigns a unique constant (color) to each fluid. The interfaces between different fluids are distinct due to sharp gradients of the color function. The evolution of the interfaces is captured by solving the convective equation of the color function. The CSF model is used as a means to treat surface tension effect at the interfaces. Here a modified version of the CSF model, proposed by Jacqmin, is used to calculate the tension force. In the modified version, the force term is obtained by calculating the divergence of a stress tensor defined by the gradient of the color function. In its analytical form, this stress formulation is equivalent to the original CSF model. Numerically, however, the use of the stress formulation has some advantages over the original CSF model, as it bypasses the difficulty in approximating the curvatures of the interfaces. The least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) is used to discretize the governing equation systems. The LSFEM has proven to be effective in solving incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and pure convection equations, making it an ideal candidate for the present applications. The LSFEM handles all the equations in a unified manner without any additional special treatment such as upwinding or artificial dissipation. Various bench mark tests have been carried out for both two dimensional planar and axisymmetric flows, including a dam breaking, oscillating and stationary bubbles and a conical liquid sheet in a pressure swirl atomizer.

Wu, Jie↗

DFT calculations of electronic and optical properties of SrS with LDA, GGA and mGGA functionals

The theoretical investigations of electronic and optical properties of SrS are made using the first principle DFT calculations. The calculations are performed for the local-density approximation (LDA), generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and for an alternative form of GGA i.e. metaGGA for both rock salt type (B1, Fm3m) and cesium chloride (B2, Pm3m) structures. The band structure, density of states and optical spectra are calculated under various available functional. The calculations with LDA and GGA functional underestimate the values of band gaps with all functional, however the values with mGGA show reasonably good agreement with experimental and those calculated by using other methods.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Ab initio study of structural, electronic, magnetic alloys: XTiSb (X = Co, Ni and Fe)

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of three semi-Heusler compounds of CoTiSb, NiTiSb and FeTiSb were calculated by the method (FP-LAPW) which is based on the DFT code WIEN2k. We used the generalized gradient approximation (GGA (06)) for the term of the potential exchange and correlation (XC) to calculate structural properties, electronic properties and magnetic properties. Structural properties obtained as the lattice parameter are in good agreement with the experimental results available for the electronic and magnetic properties was that: CoTiSb is a semiconductor NiTiSb is a metal and FeTiSb is a half-metal ferromagnetic.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

The linear tearing instability in three dimensional, toroidal gyro-kinetic simulations

Linear gyro-kinetic simulations of the classical tearing mode in three-dimensional toroidal geometry were performed using the global gyro-kinetic turbulence code, GKW. The results were benchmarked against a cylindrical ideal MHD and analytical theory calculations. The stability, growth rate, and frequency of the mode were investigated by varying the current profile, collisionality, and the pressure gradients. Both collisionless and semi-collisional tearing modes were found with a smooth transition between the two. A residual, finite, rotation frequency of the mode even in the absence of a pressure gradient is observed, which is attributed to toroidal finite Larmor-radius effects. When a pressure gradient is present at low collisionality, the mode rotates at the expected electron diamagnetic frequency. However, the island rotation reverses direction at high collisionality. The growth rate is found to follow a η{sup 1∕7} scaling with collisional resistivity in the semi-collisional regime, closely following the semi-collisional scaling found by Fitzpatrick. The stability of the mode closely follows the stability analysis as performed by Hastie et al. using the same current and safety factor profiles but for cylindrical geometry, however, here a modification due to toroidal coupling and pressure effects is seen.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Center for Extended Magnetohydrodynamics Modeling - Final Technical Report

This project funding supported approximately 74 percent of a Ph.D. graduate student, not including costs of travel and supplies. We had a highly successful research project including the development of a second-order implicit electromagnetic kinetic ion hybrid model [Cheng 2013, Sturdevant 2016], direct comparisons with the extended MHD NIMROD code and kinetic simulation [Schnack 2013], modeling of slab tearing modes using the fully kinetic ion hybrid model and finally, modeling global tearing modes in cylindrical geometry using gyrokinetic simulation [Chen 2015, Chen 2016]. We developed an electromagnetic second-order implicit kinetic ion fluid electron hybrid model [Cheng 2013]. As a first step, we assumed isothermal electrons, but have included drift-kinetic electrons in similar models [Chen 2011]. We used this simulation to study the nonlinear evolution of the tearing mode in slab geometry, including nonlinear evolution and saturation [Cheng 2013]. Later, we compared this model directly to extended MHD calculations using the NIMROD code [Schnack 2013]. In this study, we investigated the ion-temperature-gradient instability with an extended MHD code for the first time and got reasonable agreement with the kinetic calculation in terms of linear frequency, growth rate and mode structure. We then extended this model to include orbit averaging and sub-cycling of the ions and compared directly to gyrokinetic theory [Sturdevant 2016]. This work was highlighted in an Invited Talk at the International Conference on the Numerical Simulation of Plasmas in 2015. The orbit averaging sub-cycling multi-scale algorithm is amenable to hybrid architectures with GPUS or math co-processors. Additionally, our participation in the Center for Extend Magnetohydrodynamics motivated our research on developing the capability for gyrokinetic simulation to model a global tearing mode. We did this in cylindrical geometry where the results could be benchmarked with existing eigenmode calculations. First, we developed a gyrokinetic code capable of simulating long wavelengths using a fluid electron model [Chen 2015]. We benchmarked this code with an eigenmode calculation. Besides having to rewrite the field solver due to the breakdown in the gyrokinetic ordering for long wavelengths, very high radial resolution was required. We developed a technique where we used the solution from the eigenmode solver to specify radial boundary conditions allowing for a very high radial resolution of the inner solution. Using this technique enabled us to use our direct algorithm with gyrokinetic ions and drift kinetic electrons [Chen 2016]. This work was highlighted in an Invited Talk at the American Physical Society - Division of Plasma Physics in 2015.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Dimensional interpolation for metallic hydrogen

In this work, we employ a simple and mostly accurate dimensional interpolation formula using dimensional limits D = 1 and D = ∞ to obtain D = 3 ground-state energy of metallic hydrogen. We also present results describing the phase transitions for different symmetries of three-dimensional structure lattices. The interpolation formula not only predicts fairly accurate energies but also predicts a correct functional form of the energy as a function of the lattice parameters. That allows us to calculate different physical quantities such as the bulk modulus, Debye temperature, and critical transition temperature, from the gradient and the curvature of the energy curve as a function of the lattice parameters. These theoretical calculations suggest that metallic hydrogen is a likely candidate for high temperature superconductivity. The dimensional interpolation formula is robust and might be useful to obtain the energies of complex many-body systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Electrohydrodynamic migration of charged droplets in an insulating fluid

The motion of charged, conducting droplets present in an insulating fluid medium is analyzed under the action of an electric field, in microgravity. Previous analyses of this problem have considered the Maxwell stresses as the only driving force. In the present study, arguments from macroscopic thermodynamics and the molecular theory of surface tension are used to show that the surface tension gradients can be induced due to the variation of the electric potential on the interface. In the limit of Reynolds numbers small compared to unity, the terminal velocity of migration of the droplet is calculated under the combined action of the Maxwell stresses and the surface tension gradients. The results show that there are no surface tension gradients (i.e., no electric potential variation at the interface) in a case that is due to the convection of the surface charges, surface tension gradients do exist and tend to reduce the terminal velocity of the droplet. The shape of the droplet altered by the motion was also calculated, when the deformations from the spherical shape are small.

Balasubramaniam, R.↗

Electrohydrodynamic migration of charged droplets in an insulating fluid

The motion of charged, conducting droplets present in an insulating fluid medium is analyzed under the action of an electric field, in microgravity. Previous analyses of this problem have considered the Maxwell stresses as the only driving force. In the present study, arguments from macroscopic thermodynamics and the molecular theory of surface tension are used to show that the surface tension gradients can be induced due to the variation of the electric potential on the interface. In the limit of Reynolds numbers small compared to unity, the terminal velocity of migration of the droplet is calculated under the combined action of the Maxwell stresses and the surface tension gradients. The results show that there are no surface tension gradients (i.e., no electric potential variation at the interface) in a case that is due to the convection of the surface charges, surface tension gradients do exist and tend to reduce the terminal velocity of the droplet. The shape of the droplet altered by the motion was also calculated, when the deformations from the speherical shape are small.

Balasubramaniam, R.↗