Metal-Organic Framework- and Polyoxometalate-Based Sorbents for the Uptake and Destruction of Chemical Warfare Agents
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “FUNDAMENTAL INTERACTIONS”
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Tribocorrosion of stainless steel sliding against graphite in FLiNaK molten salt
The molten salt reactor (MSR) concept recently gained renewed interest in developing Generation IV nuclear reactors. One MSR design uses fluoride molten salts to cool tri-structural isotropic particle fuel encapsulated by a carbon matrix into spherical pebbles, which would inevitably contact the reactor's stainless steel container wall during salt circulation. Characterizing this interaction is crucial for reactor safety. Here, in this work, we report the tribocorrosion behavior of graphite sliding against Type 316H stainless steel lubricated by a FLiNaK (LiF:NaF:KF; 46.5:11.5:42 mol %) molten salt in an argon environment. Accelerated wear loss was observed at a higher temperature because of a lower molten salt viscosity and a higher corrosion rate. The graphite had a more rapid material loss at a higher sliding speed than stainless steel because of its higher vulnerability to vibration-induced microfracture. The salt-starved condition caused more material loss than either the no-salt or the salt-flooded condition because neither a graphite transfer film nor stable boundary lubrication could be established at salt starvation. An interesting dual-layer surface film was discovered on the stainless steel worn surface: a chromium-rich top film and a nickel-accumulated but chromium-depleted interlayer. The film composition and structure provide fundamental insights to the mechanochemical interactions between stainless steel and graphite in a molten salt environment.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
The origin of incipient ferroelectricity in lead telluride
The interactions between electrons and lattice vibrations are fundamental to materials behaviour. In the case of group IV–VI, V and related materials, these interactions are strong, and the materials exist near electronic and structural phase transitions. The prototypical example is PbTe whose incipient ferroelectric behaviour has been recently associated with large phonon anharmonicity and thermoelectricity. Here we show that it is primarily electron-phonon coupling involving electron states near the band edges that leads to the ferroelectric instability in PbTe. Using a combination of nonequilibrium lattice dynamics measurements and first principles calculations, we find that photoexcitation reduces the Peierls-like electronic instability and reinforces the paraelectric state. This weakens the long-range forces along the cubic direction tied to resonant bonding and low lattice thermal conductivity. Lastly, our results demonstrate how free-electron-laser-based ultrafast X-ray scattering can be utilized to shed light on the microscopic mechanisms that determine materials properties.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Measuring the growth of Alfvén wave parametric decay instability using counter-propagating waves: Theory and simulations
The parametric decay instability (PDI) of Alfvén waves—where a pump Alfvén wave decays into a backward-propagating child Alfvén wave and a forward ion acoustic wave—is a fundamental nonlinear wave-wave interaction and holds significant implications for space and laboratory plasmas. However, to date there has been no direct experimental measurement of PDI. Here, we propose a novel and experimentally viable scheme to quantify the growth of Alfvén wave PDI on a linear device using a large pump Alfvén wave and a small counter-propagating seed Alfvén wave, with the seed-wave frequency tuned to match the backward Alfvén wave generated by standard PDI. Using hybrid simulations, we show that energy transfer from the pump to the seed reduces the latter's spatial damping. By comparing seed-wave amplitudes with and without the pump wave, this damping reduction can be used as a direct and reliable proxy for PDI growth. The method is validated in our simulations across a range of plasma and wave parameters and agrees well with theoretical predictions. Notably, the scheme exhibits no threshold for PDI excitation and is, in principle, readily implementable under current laboratory conditions. Finally, this scheme is a critical step toward solving the challenge of experimentally accessing Alfvén wave PDI and provides an elegant method that may be used to validate fundamental theories of parametric instabilities in controlled laboratory settings.
heliosphere↗
Bent DNA Bows as Sensing Amplifiers for Detecting DNA-Interacting Salts and Molecules
Due to the central role of DNA, its interactions with inorganic salts and small organic molecules are important. For example, such interactions play important roles in various fundamental cellular processes in living systems and are involved in many DNA-damage related diseases. Strategies to improve the sensitivity of existing techniques for studying DNA interactions with other molecules would be appreciated in situations where the interactions are too weak. Here we report our development and demonstration of bent DNA bows for amplifying, sensing, and detecting the interactions of 14 inorganic salts and small organic molecules with DNA. With the bent DNA bows, these interactions were easily visualized and quantified in gel electrophoresis, which were difficult to measure without bending. In addition, the strength of the interactions of DNA with the various salts/molecules were quantified using the modified Hill equation. This work highlights the amplification effects of the bending elastic energy stored in the DNA bows and the potential use of the DNA bows for quantitatively measuring DNA interactions with small molecules as simple economic methods; it may also pave the way for exploiting the bent DNA bows for other applications such as screening DNA-interacting molecules and drugs.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
EFRC-MUSE: Multi-Scale Fluid-Solid Interactions in Architected and Natural Materials
Phase interactions and fluid properties in geological and other environments are critical in applications ranging from hydrogen production and geologic storage and recovery, carbon dioxide storage and sequestration, and the sustainable use of water resources. The four goals of EFRC-MUSE: Multi-Scale Fluid-Solid Interactions in Architected and Natural Materials were based on the priority directions articulated in the Basic Research Needs documents, and the scientific needs in nanoscience. 1. Develop a fundamental understanding of confinement and surface interactions in mesoscale media with nanometer-sized pores on the phase behavior, thermodynamic and multiphase flow properties of multicomponent fluid mixtures. 2. Examine the impact of mineralogy and material heterogeneity on mechanical properties to better understand chemo-mechanical interactions in material failure. 3. Determine in-operando cross-scale structural and nanostructural material properties with fluids in confinement and flow under realistic condi
58 GEOSCIENCES↗
The Coupled Influence of Thermal Physiology and Biotic Interactions on the Distribution and Density of Ant Species along an Elevational Gradient
A fundamental tenet of biogeography is that abiotic and biotic factors interact to shape the distributions of species and the organization of communities, with interactions being more important in benign environments, and environmental filtering more important in stressful environments. This pattern is often inferred using large databases or phylogenetic signal, but physiological mechanisms underlying such patterns are rarely examined. We focused on 18 ant species at 29 sites along an extensive elevational gradient, coupling experimental data on critical thermal limits, null model analyses, and observational data of density and abundance to elucidate factors governing species’ elevational range limits. Thermal tolerance data showed that environmental conditions were likely to be more important in colder, more stressful environments, where physiology was the most important constraint on the distribution and density of ant species. Conversely, the evidence for species interactions was strongest in warmer, more benign conditions, as indicated by our observational data and null model analyses. Our results provide a strong test that biotic interactions drive the distributions and density of species in warm climates, but that environmental filtering predominates at colder, high-elevation sites. Such a pattern suggests that the responses of species to climate change are likely to be context-dependent and more specifically, geographically-dependent.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Search for New Physics with the Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment and QIS-enabled Technology
Understanding the fundamental nature of dark matter (DM)---its cosmological origin, constituents, and interactions---is one of the most important questions in fundamental science today. In this thesis, I present two novel and highly complementary approaches to cover the gaps in sensitivity of current DM searches. The searches are enabled by a first-of-its-kind reconstruction technique to search for hidden-sector particles using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) and by new advances in quantum sensing technology to search for axions and hidden-sector DM. In the first part of this thesis, I present a search for long-lived hidden sector particles, predicted by many extensions of the SM, using a novel technique to reconstruct decays of long-lived particles (LLPs) in the CMS muon detector. The innovative LLP reconstruction technique is sensitive to a broad range of LLP decays and to LLP masses below GeV. The search yields competitive sensitivity for proper lifetime 0.1--1000 m with the full Run 2 dataset recorded at the LHC between 2016--2018 at $\sqrt{s} = 13~$TeV. To extend the physics reach of this novel muon detector shower (MDS) signature, I present the model-independence of MDS and the reinterpretation of the search to a large number of LLP models, demonstrating its complementarity with proposed and existing dedicated LLP experiments. Finally, I present a new dedicated MDS trigger that improves the trigger efficiency by at least an order of magnitude and was deployed in 2022, at the start of Run 3 of the LHC operations. In the second part of the thesis, I present for the first time, the use of a novel quantum sensor, the low-noise and single-photon sensitive superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs), to directly detect dark matter. The low detection threshold and ultra-low dark count rate of SNSPDs can close the gap in DM discovery reach due to the current limitations in detector sensitivity. I will present my work on the development and characterization of SNSPDs for two entirely new experiments to directly detect axions via absorption and hidden-sector DM via electron scattering. The search for axions employs a novel broadband reflector technique with the Broadband Reflector Experiment for Axion Detection (BREAD). A unique parabolic mirror is then used to focus axion-converted photons to the SNSPDs, extending the reach to axion masses of 0.04--1 eV. On the other hand, by coupling the SNSPDs with gallium arsenide, a bright cryogenic scintillator well matched to SNSPD detection, a prototype sensing system can be built as a basis of new direct DM detection experiments capable of extending the discovery to DM masses as low as 1 MeV.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Superscaling variable and neutrino energy reconstruction from theoretical predictions to experimental limitations
We introduce the novel approach of using the superscaling variable as an observable and an analysis tool in the context of charged current neutrino-nucleus interactions. We study the relation between the superscaling variable and the removal energy, in addition to other fundamental parameters of the neutrino-nucleus interaction models. In the second half of the paper, we discuss the experimental viability of this measurement following a study of neutrino energy and missing momentum reconstruction. We show that the superscaling variable is measurable in neutrino interaction experiments provided that the proton is detected in the final state. We discuss the resolution of this measurement, and the limitation imposed by the proton’s detection threshold. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
Performance and physics measurements at protoDUNE-SP
The protoDUNE Single Phase (protoDUNE-SP) TPC is a prototype for the DUNE far detector and it is currently under construction at CERN. It will not only serve as a test-bed for the engineering design and construction techniques but will also provide a set of key measurements for the future DUNE far detector.The new extension of the H4 beam-line at CERN will provide electron, muon and hadron beams with energies in the range of sub-GeV to a few GeV. The data collected during the test beams will be analysed to assess the performance of a state-of-the-art LAr TPC. For such detectors the event reconstruction is challenging and test beam data will allow the performance of the different reconstruction algorithms, which also involve machine-learning techniques, to be benchmarked and improved. Furthermore, important physics measurements are foreseen with protoDUNE-SP. For example, the study of pion interactions in argon using test beams is fundamental to understand some of the processes that will be seen as part of the primary neutrino interactions and which would modify the event signature in the DUNE detectors. ProtoDUNE-SP will provide new measurements of the pion-Ar cross-section, for both positive and negative charges, which will make a vital contribution to improve the current, very limited knowledge of such interactions.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
Experimental limit on an exotic parity-odd spin- and velocity-dependent interaction using an optically polarized vapor
Abstract Exotic spin-dependent interactions between fermions have recently attracted attention in relation to theories beyond the Standard Model. The exotic interactions can be mediated by hypothetical fundamental bosons which may explain several unsolved mysteries in physics. Here we expand this area of research by probing an exotic parity-odd spin- and velocity-dependent interaction between the axial-vector electron coupling and the vector nucleon coupling for polarized electrons. This experiment utilizes a high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer, based on an optically polarized vapor that is a source of polarized electrons, and a solid-state mass containing unpolarized nucleons. The atomic magnetometer can detect an effective magnetic field induced by the exotic interaction between unpolarized nucleons and polarized electrons. We set an experimental limit on the electron-nucleon coupling $$g_{\mathrm{A}}^{\mathrm{e}}g_{\mathrm{V}}^{\mathrm{N}} \, < \, 10^{ - 30}$$ g A e g V N < 1 0 - 30 at the mediator boson mass below 10 −4 eV, significantly improving the current limit by up to 17 orders of magnitude.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
Tuning Ultrafast Photoinduced Strain in Ferroelectric-Based Devices
Ferroelectric materials exhibit coupled degrees of freedom and possess a switchable electric polarization coupled to strain, making them good piezoelectrics and enabling numerous devices including nonvolatile memories, actuators, and sensors. Moreover, novel photovoltaic effects are encountered through the interplay of electric polarization with the material optical properties. Consequently, light-induced deformation in ferroelectrics, or photostriction, combining photovoltaic and converse piezoelectric effects, is under investigation in the quest for multifunctional materials. Using time-resolved X-ray diffraction, the first control of ultrafast photoinduced strain is demonstrated through in situ tuning of the polarization state in ferroelectric-based devices. Both the magnitude and the sign of the photoinduced strain strongly depend on the transient photoinduced change of the internal electric field in the ferroelectric layer, and can be actively engineered to achieve two distinct remanent photostrictive responses. These results provide fundamental insight into light–matter interaction in ferroelectrics and exciting new avenues for materials functionality engineering.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Abiotic and biotic factors modulate carrion fate and vertebrate scavenging communities
Carrion is a valuable nutrient resource used by a diversity of vertebrates across the globe. However, vertebrate scavenging ecology remains an understudied area of science, especially in regards to how biotic and abiotic factors influence scavenging community composition. Here we elucidate how fundamental biotic and abiotic factors interact to modulate the efficiency and composition of vertebrate scavengers by investigating scavenging dynamics across a large gradient in carcass sizes and habitat types representative of many temperate ecosystems, as well as between two seasons reflecting differences in invertebrate activity. We found carcass size and season influenced carcass fate and persistence, as well as the richness and composition of vertebrate scavenger communities utilizing carrion resources. Species richness, which increased as carcass size increased and was higher during the cool season, had a significant effect on carcass persistence. In addition, habitat type influenced carcass detection times by vertebrates, and we observed relatively distinct scavenging communities associated with carcasses of differing sizes. This research highlights a pervasive limitation to the interpretation of results of previous studies as research failing to incorporate carcass size and habitat type could result in the over or underrepresentation of vertebrate scavengers in food web dynamics.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Heterogeneous 3D Morphological Evolution of Ni Microparticles in Molten Salts: Visualized by Operando Synchrotron X-ray Nano-tomography
Ni-based superalloys are promising materials for high-temperature molten salt (MS) energy generation and storage. Studying morphological and chemical evolution of pure Ni in MS provides fundamental knowledge for MS technologies and corrosion mitigation. Here, in this study, real-time 3D morphological changes of Ni microparticles in molten KCl-MgCl 2 were studied by operando synchrotron X-ray nano-tomography at 700°C. Rapid Ni particle agglomeration occurred, without significant chemical reactions, such as oxide or chloride formation. The morphological growth evolved differently from classical coarsening or sintering behaviors and occurred nonuniformly, with other regions showing slight dissolution of Ni. Ni nanoparticles were found to be dispersed in many areas of the samples, either from microparticle dissolution or other radiation-induced nanoparticle formation mechanisms. This study discusses important factors, i.e., thermal gradient, amounts of salt and metals, and radiation effect, that influence morphological changes of materials in MS, critical for fundamental understanding of material–MS interactions as well as for practical applications.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Quasinormal modes for non-minimally coupled scalar fields in regular black hole spacetimes: Grey-body factors, area spectrum and shadow radius
Black hole perturbation theory is a useful approach to study interactions between black holes and fundamental fields. A particular class of black hole solutions arising out of modification of Einstein’s general theory of relativity are regular black holes (RBHs) which can be constructed using a nonlinear electrodynamic Lagrangian. Because of their importance, we are interested in studying the behavior of three kinds of such RBHs under perturbations generated by an external field. Indeed, we investigate the quasinormal modes (QNMs) of a massive scalar field propagating near the RBHs which is non-minimally coupled to the Ricci scalar-tensor of background geometry. We will attempt to find the low-lying quasinormal frequencies of the perturbations by using WKB approximation. We shall also study the relationship between the QNMs and some characteristic properties of black holes such as grey-body factors, area quantization, and shadow radius.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Role of grain boundary crystallography on void growth in FCC metals
The growth of an isolated spherical void at and near a grain boundary or a triple junction is studied by means of full-field crystal plasticity simulations with explicit representation of the void. To examine the fundamental aspects of void/grain boundary interactions in these cases, a three-dimensional large-strain elasto-viscoplastic fast-Fourier transform (LS-EVP-FFT) model with axisymmetric tensile periodic boundary conditions was developed. We employ this model to reveal the role of crystallography (grain orientations, grain boundary misorientation and inclination angle with respect to the largest component of the applied stress) and type of loading on void growth. It was found that grain orientation was the primary crystallographic feature governing void growth in strain-rate controlled simulations. For strains small enough to not significantly alter the local geometry, the overall growth of the void in bicrystal boundaries was not strongly affected by grain boundary inclination angle. The relative amount of void growth experienced within each grain in a bicrystal or tri-crystal was strongly dependent on the grain boundary inclination angle. We found a subset of orientations that exhibit faster void growth in bicrystal boundaries than inside the constituent single crystals. Last, we show that when placed primarily in one grain but near the grain boundary, void growth was similar to void growth when placed at the grain boundary. Furthermore, the growing void remained in the original grain and did not grow into the other grain, regardless of crystallographic character.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Investigation of Interdiffusion Behavior in the Mo-Zr Binary System via Diffusion Couple Studies
Zirconium has recently garnered attention for use as a diffusion barrier between U–Mo metallic nuclear fuels and Al alloy cladding. In order to gain a fundamental understanding of the diffusional interactions, the interdiffusion behavior in the binary Mo–Zr system was investigated via solid-to-solid diffusion couples annealed in the temperature range of 750 to 1050 degrees C. A combination of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy, and electron probe microanalysis were used to examine the microstructure and concentration profiles across the interdiffusion zone. A large __-Zr (cI2) solid solution layer and a thin (approximately 1–2 um) layer of Mo2Zr (cF24) developed in all couples. Parabolic growth constants and concentration dependent interdiffusion coefficients were calculated for the Mo2Zr and Zr solid solution phases, respectively. The pre-exponential factor and activation energy for growth of the Mo2Zr phase were determined to be approximately 6.5 × 10- 15 m2/s and 90 kJ/mol, respectively. The interdiffusion coefficient in ___-Zr solid solution decreased with an increase in Mo concentration. Both the pre-exponential factors (2 × 10- 8 m2/s at 2 at.% Mo to near 5 × 10- 8 m2/s at 9 at.% Mo) and activation energies (140 kJ/mol at 2 at.% Mo to approximately 155 kJ/mol at 9 at.% Mo) of interdiffusion coefficients were determined to increase with an increase in Mo concentration.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Novel nonwetting solid-infused surfaces for superior fouling mitigation
Fouling is a ubiquitous issue in several environmental and energy applications. Here we introduce novel nonwetting solid-infused surfaces (SIS) with superior anti-fouling characteristics that are durable than conventional nonwetting surfaces in a dynamic flow environment. A systematic study is presented to elucidate the fouling mitigation performance of SIS in comparison to lubricant-infused surface (LIS) and conventional smooth surface. Copper tubes with SIS, LIS or smooth inner walls are fabricated and subjected to accelerated calcium sulfate fouling in a flow fouling experimental setup. Fouling on the various surface types is quantified in terms of asymptotic fouling resistance, and the fundamental morphological differences in the interactions of the foulant and the various surface types are analyzed. Based on a systematic sweep of the parameter combinations using design of experiments and Taguchi analysis, an analytical dependence of asymptotic fouling resistance on the governing parameters namely, Reynolds number, foulant concentration and temperature is derived. The analytical model is shown to predict the asymptotic fouling resistance to within 20% accuracy with a 95% confidence. In addition, for the first time, the effects of shear durability on the fouling mitigation performance of LIS vis-à-vis SIS are studied. It is shown that the novel nonwetting SIS offers a robust option for superior fouling mitigation over LIS in the long run.
42 ENGINEERING↗