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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 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Understanding the ignition mechanism of high-pressure spray flames

A conceptual model for turbulent ignition in high-pressure spray flames is presented. The model is motivated by first-principles simulations and optical diagnostics applied to the Sandia n-dodecane experiment. The Lagrangian flamelet equations are combined with full LLNL kinetics (2755 species; 11,173 reactions) to resolve all time and length scales and chemical pathways of the ignition process at engine-relevant pressures and turbulence intensities unattainable using classic DNS. The first-principles value of the flamelet equations is established by a novel chemical explosive mode-diffusion time scale analysis of the fully-coupled chemical and turbulent time scales. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this analysis reveals that the high Damköhler number limit, a key requirement for the validity of the flamelet derivation from the reactive Navier–Stokes equations, applies during the entire ignition process. Corroborating Rayleigh-scattering and formaldehyde PLIF with simultaneous schlieren imaging of mixing and combustion are presented. Our combined analysis establishes a characteristic temporal evolution of the ignition process. First, a localized first-stage ignition event consistently occurs in highest temperature mixture regions. This initiates, owed to the intense scalar dissipation, a turbulent cool flame wave propagating from this ignition spot through the entire flow field. This wave significantly decreases the ignition delay of lower temperature mixture regions in comparison to their homogeneous reference. This explains the experimentally observed formaldehyde formation across the entire spray head prior to high-temperature ignition which consistently occurs first in a broad range of rich mixture regions. There, the combination of first-stage ignition delay, shortened by the cool flame wave, and the subsequent delay until second-stage ignition becomes minimal. A turbulent flame subsequently propagates rapidly through the entire mixture over time scales consistent with experimental observations. As a result, we demonstrate that the neglect of turbulence-chemistry-interactions fundamentally fails to capture the key features of this ignition process.

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

Enhanced conversion efficiency in wide-bandgap GaNP solar cells

In this study, we demonstrate –2.05 eV dilute nitride GaNP solar cells on GaP substrates for potential use as the top junction in dual-junction integrated cells on Si. By adding a small amount of N into indirect-bandgap GaP, GaNP has several extremely important attributes: a direct-bandgap that is also tunable, and easily attained lattice-match with Si. Our best GaNP solar cell ([N] –1.8%, E g –2.05 eV) achieves an efficiency of 7.9%, even in the absence of a window layer. This GaNP solar cell's efficiency is 3× higher than the most efficient GaP solar cell to date and higher than other solar cells with similar direct bandgap (InGaP, GaAsP). Through a systematic study of the structural, electrical, and optical properties of the device, efficient broadband optical absorption and enhanced solar cell performance are demonstrated.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Laser formation of Bragg gratings in polymer nanocomposite materials

The method investigated in this work is based on the laser-induced, spatially inhomogeneous polymerisation of nanocomposite materials and allows control over the motion and structuring of nanoparticles. The mechanisms of nanoparticle concentration redistribution in the process of radical photopolymerisation are studied. It is shown that under the condition of spatially inhomogeneous illumination of a nanocomposite material, nanoparticles are diffused from the illuminated areas into the dark fields. Diffraction gratings with a thickness of 8 μm and a refractive index modulation of 1 × 10{sup -2} are written in an OCM-2 monomer impregnated by silicon nanoparticles. The gratings may be used in the development of narrowband filters, in holographic information recording and as dispersion elements in integrated optical devices. (interaction of laser radiation with matter. laser plasma)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity in the doped topological crystalline insulator ( Pb 0.5 Sn 0.5 ) 1 – x In x Te

Here, we present a neutron-scattering study of phonons in single crystals of ( Pb 0.5 Sn 0.5 ) 1 – x In x Te with x = 0 (metallic, but nonsuperconducting) and x = 0.2 (nonmetallic normal state, but superconducting). We map the phonon dispersions (more completely for x = 0 ) and find general consistency with theoretical calculations, except for the transverse and longitudinal optical (LO) modes at the Brillouin-zone center. At low temperature, both modes are strongly damped but sit at a finite energy ( ≈ 4 meV in both samples), shifting to higher energy at room temperature. These modes are soft due to a proximate structural instability driven by the sensitivity of Pb-Te and Sn-Te p -orbital hybridization to off-center displacements of the metal atoms. The impact of the soft optical modes on the low-energy acoustic modes is inferred from the low thermal conductivity, especially at low temperature. Given that the strongest electron-phonon coupling is predicted for the LO mode, which should be similar for both studied compositions, it is intriguing that only the In-doped crystal is superconducting. In addition, we observe elastic diffuse (Huang) scattering that is qualitatively explained by the difference in Pb-Te and Sn-Te bond lengths within the lattice of randomly distributed Pb and Sn sites. We also confirm the presence of anomalous diffuse low-energy atomic vibrations that we speculatively attribute to local fluctuations of individual Pb atoms between off-center sites.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Filamentation effect in a gas attenuator for high-repetition-rate X-ray FELs

A sustained filamentation or density depression phenomenon in an argon gas attenuator servicing a high-repetition femtosecond X-ray free-electron laser has been studied using a finite-difference method applied to the thermal diffusion equation for an ideal gas. A steady-state solution was obtained by assuming continuous-wave input of an equivalent time-averaged beam power and that the pressure of the entire gas volume has reached equilibrium. Both radial and axial temperature/density gradients were found and describable as filamentation or density depression previously reported for a femtosecond optical laser of similar attributes. The effect exhibits complex dependence on the input power, the desired attenuation, and the geometries of the beam and the attenuator. Time-dependent simulations were carried out to further elucidate the evolution of the temperature/density gradients in between pulses, from which the actual attenuation received by any given pulse can be properly calculated.

Feng, Yiping↗
DOE OSTI2022

Noninvasive measurements of spin transport properties of an antiferromagnetic insulator

Antiferromagnetic insulators (AFIs) are of substantial interest because of their potential in the development of next-generation spintronic devices. One major effort in this emerging field is to harness AFIs for long-range spin information communication and storage. Here, we report a noninvasive method to optically access the intrinsic spin transport properties of an archetypical AFI α-Fe 2 O 3 via nitrogen-vacancy (NV) quantum spin sensors. By NV relaxometry measurements, we successfully detect the frequency-dependent dynamic fluctuations of the spin density of α-Fe 2 O 3 along the Néel order parameter, from which an intrinsic spin diffusion constant of α-Fe 2 O 3 is experimentally measured in the absence of external spin biases. Our results highlight the significant opportunity offered by NV centers in diagnosing the underlying spin transport properties in a broad range of high-frequency magnetic materials such as two-dimensional magnets, spin liquids, and magnetic Weyl semimetals, which are challenging to access by the conventional measurement techniques.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Two noncentrosymmetric polyphosphates featuring infinite one-dimensional (PO{sub 3}){sub ∞} chain, LiMP{sub 2}O{sub 6} (M = Rb, Cs): Synthesis, structure and optical properties

Highlights: • The crystal structure of two noncentrosymmetric LiMP{sub 2}O{sub 6} (M = Rb, Cs) is described in detail. • The linear and nonlinear optical properties for them were characterized firstly. • Band structures and density of states for them have been calculated firstly. - Abstract: Two noncentrosymmetric polyphosphates, namely LiCsP{sub 2}O{sub 6} and LiRbP{sub 2}O{sub 6} have been synthesized from the high temperature solution. The structural analysis suggests that both of them crystallize in orthorhombic space group Fdd2 (No.43), with lattice parameters: a = 18.517(4) Å, b = 19.037(4) Å, c = 13.011(3) Å, and Z = 32 for LiRbP{sub 2}O{sub 6,} while a = 19.009(13) Å, b = 19.402(13) Å, c = 13.180(9) Å, and Z = 32 for LiCsP{sub 2}O{sub 6}. In the structure, the PO{sub 4} polyhedra are connected through corner-sharing to form 1D infinite (PO{sub 3}) {sub ∞} chains stretching along the c axis, which are further linked by the LiO{sub 4} polyhedra to construct a 3D framework with two types of tunnels. And the Rb/Cs atoms are filled in or around the periphery of the tunnels to keep the charge equilibrium. The IR spectra verify their structural validity. In addition, other characterizations including the UV−vis−NIR diffuse reflectance spectra, as well as first-principles theoretical studies have been performed on the two compounds.

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

Hydrogen embrittlement of Zircaloy-4 fabricated by ultrasonic additive manufacturing

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) was successfully applied to the zirconium material system to create a planar geometry. Following fabrication, SS-J3 type tensile specimens of the UAM and wrought Zircaloy-4 with a nominal gage section of 5×1.2×0.75 mm were machined for hydriding studies and mechanical testing. The SS-J3 type tensile specimens were gas-charged with hydrogen using a custom system that precisely controls hydrogen gas flow rate, hydrogen partial pressure, and temperature. To avoid altering the UAM material, the maximum process temperature was limited to 550°C. Using different initial hydrogen gas pressures and flow rates, various hydrogen contents (70–1755 wppm) were achieved for Zircaloy-4 specimens. Tensile testing shows that, regardless of hydrogen content, all UAM specimens measured yield strengths in the range of 557±16 MPa and ultimate tensile strengths of 660±4MPa. However, total elongation clearly decreased as a function of increasing hydrogen content. Further, at the lowest hydrogen content, the total plastic elongation measured 21.5%, and this value decreased to less than 2% when the hydrogen content was increased to 1000 wppm. Cross-sectional optical microscopy images revealed that the hydride distributions are randomly oriented. For the low hydrogen content specimen, these randomly distributed hydrides are isolated from each other. A sandwiched structure, consisting of high-density and low-density layers, was also observed for the specimens with hydrogen content between 200 and 400 wppm. As the hydrogen content increases, the hydrides diffuse into the low-density hydride layers to form a network across the whole specimen. Although the tensile properties of UAM and wrought Zircaloy-4 exhibit the same behavior with increasing hydrogen content, the distinctions in grain orientations led to differences in the hydride orientations at low and intermediate hydrogen concentrations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Laser-Generated Ag Nanoparticles in Mesoporous TiO 2 Films: Formation Processes and Modeling-Based Size Prediction

Controlling the formation of nanoparticles (NPs) by direct laser writing ensures an efficient way of engineering the optical responses of nanocomposite materials through adjusting laser parameters such as power, focusing, and writing speed. The growth of NPs, photo-oxidation, and reduction affect the light absorption by an ensemble of laser-activated NPs. However, those self-consistent processes are not well understood. Previous studies explained the growth or shrinkage of silver NPs by neglecting heat diffusion. It remained unclear, however, how the NP size can be controlled by the laser writing speed. In this work, based on the coupled calculations of size variation, heat diffusion, and light absorption by an ensemble of NPs, we propose a two-dimensional model taking into account the spatial information of size and temperature. The spatial size distribution is revealed to be nonuniform, leading to the transmission inhomogeneity along the laser written lines. This fact is confirmed by the in situ transmission experiments. The performed study also depicts a novel view in which NPs grow ahead of the laser beam center because of the heat diffusion. The nonlinear growth never stops until it exhausts the majority of the free Ag 0 in the matrix, while the amount of Ag 0 by reduction cannot compensate the consumption. After that, the photo-oxidation dominates the process and finally controls the writing speed dependency of NP's size. Finally, the simulations also show that it is not the activation energy of Ag 0 diffusion, but the ionization efficiency affects the final NP size, which helps to understand how to improve the laser processing of differently prepared samples.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Photo-electrical and transport properties of hydrothermal ZnO

We performed the studies of optical, photoelectric, and transport properties of a hydrothermal bulk n-type ZnO crystal by using the contactless optical techniques: photoluminescence, light-induced transient grating, and differential reflectivity. Optical studies revealed bound exciton and defect-related transitions between the donor states (at ∼60 meV and ∼240 meV below the conduction band) and the deep acceptor states (at 0.52 eV above the valence band). The acceptor state was ascribed to V{sub Zn}, and its thermal activation energy of 0.43 eV was determined. A low value of carrier diffusion coefficient (∼0.1 cm{sup 2}/s) at low excitations and temperatures up to 800 K was attributed to impact the recharged deep acceptors. Electron and hole mobilities of 140 and ∼80 cm{sup 2}/Vs, correspondently, were determined at room temperature. The decrease of carrier lifetime with excitation was ascribed to increasing rate of radiative recombination at low temperatures and nonradiative recombination above the room temperature.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

H - photodetachment and radiative attachment for astrophysical applications

We combine R-matrix calculations, asymptotic relations, and comparison to available experimental data to construct an H- photodetachment cross section reliable over a large range of photon energies and take into account the series of auto-detaching shape and Feshbach resonances between 10.92 and 14.35 eV. The accuracy of the cross section is controlled by ensuring that it satisfies all known oscillator strength sum rules, including contributions from the resonances and single-photon double-electron photodetachment. From the resulting recommended cross section, spontaneous and stimulated radiative attachment rate coefficients are obtained. Photodetachment rates are also computed for the standard interstellar radiation field, in diffuse and dense interstellar clouds, for blackbody radiation, and for high redshift distortion photons in the recombination epoch. Implications are investigated for these astrophysical radiation fields and epochs.

Optics↗
DOE OSTI2017

Radiative Transfer in a Translucent Cloud Illuminated by an Extended Background Source

We discuss the radiative transfer theory for translucent clouds illuminated by an extended background source. First, we derive a rigorous solution based on the assumption that multiple scatterings produce an isotropic flux. Then we derive a more manageable analytic approximation showing that it nicely matches the results of the rigorous approach. To validate our model, we compare our predictions with accurate laboratory measurements for various types of well-characterized grains, including purely dielectric and strongly absorbing materials representative of astronomical icy and metallic grains, respectively, finding excellent agreement without the need to add free parameters. We use our model to explore the behavior of an astrophysical cloud illuminated by a diffuse source with dust grains having parameters typical of the classic ISM grains of Draine and Lee and protoplanetary disks, with an application to the dark silhouette disk 114–426 in Orion Nebula. We find that the scattering term modifies the transmitted radiation, both in terms of intensity (extinction) and shape (reddening) of the spectral distribution. In particular, for small optical thickness, our results show that scattering makes reddening almost negligible at visible wavelengths. Once the optical thickness increases enough and the probability of scattering events becomes close to or larger than 1, reddening becomes present but is appreciably modified with respect to the standard expression for line-of-sight absorption. Moreover, variations of the grain refractive index, in particular the amount of absorption, also play an important role in changing the shape of the spectral transmission curve, with dielectric grains showing the minimum amount of reddening.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Microstructure, mechanical properties and microtexture of friction stir welded S690QL high yield steel

Two try-out campaigns of friction stir welding (FSW) were performed with different friction parameters to join S690QL high yield strength steel. The welds were investigated at macroscopic and microscopic scales using optical and electronic microscopy and microhardness mapping. Welds of the second campaign exhibit microstructures and mechanical properties in accordance with requirements for service use. Microtexture measurements were carried out in different zones of welds by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). It is shown that that texture of the bottom of the weld is similar to that of the base metal, suggesting a diffusion bonding mechanism. Finally, the mechanical properties (tensile strength, resilience, bending) were established on the most promising welds. It is shown that it is possible to weld this high yield strength steel using FSW process with satisfactory geometric, microstructural and mechanical properties. - Highlights: •1000 mm ∗ 400 mm ∗ 8 mm S690QL steel plates are joined by friction stir welding (FSW). •Maximum hardness is reduced by optimization of process parameters. •Various microstructures are formed but no martensite after process optimization. •Texture is modified in mechanically affected zones of the weld. •Texture in the bottom of the weld is preserved, suggesting diffusion bonding.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

SDSS-IV MaNGA: A SERENDIPITOUS OBSERVATION OF A POTENTIAL GAS ACCRETION EVENT

The nature of warm, ionized gas outside of galaxies may illuminate several key galaxy evolutionary processes. A serendipitous observation by the MaNGA survey has revealed a large, asymmetric H α complex with no optical counterpart that extends ≈8″ (≈6.3 kpc) beyond the effective radius of a dusty, starbursting galaxy. This H α extension is approximately three times the effective radius of the host galaxy and displays a tail-like morphology. We analyze its gas-phase metallicities, gaseous kinematics, and emission-line ratios and discuss whether this H α extension could be diffuse ionized gas, a gas accretion event, or something else. We find that this warm, ionized gas structure is most consistent with gas accretion through recycled wind material, which could be an important process that regulates the low-mass end of the galaxy stellar mass function.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Interface structures of inclined ZnO thin film on (0 1 1)-MgO substrate with bulk-like optical properties

Combining different phase structure materials with unique properties to design novel devices plays a significant role in the development of modern electronics. Here, we explore the characteristics of this type of complex interface and epitaxy structures based on the coupling between hexagonal ZnO film and cubic MgO substrate. The ZnO film was prepared by the molecular beam epitaxy technique on the MgO (0 1 1) substrate. The analysis results from the in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction patterns, X-ray diffraction (XRD)-pole figures and high resolution transmission electron microscopy images demonstrate that the film exhibits two-fold symmetry domains with a growth direction deviated from c-axis at about 31º along the [0 1 0] MgO or [0 $\bar{1}$ 0] MgO azimuth. Despite the intertwined diffusion from Zn and Mg atoms in the interface, which is the possible origin of a blue shift of about 0.083 eV in the Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, the inclined film shows a full width at half maximum value that is close to the reported value from the high quality film. Finally, this work hopefully provides useful insights to the design and exploration of the novel optoelectronic devices that involve the integration of materials with different structure and different properties.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Modeling optical absorption for thermoreflectance measurements

Optical pump-probe techniques based on thermoreflectance, such as time domain thermoreflectance and frequency domain thermoreflectance (FDTR), have been widely used to characterize the thermal conductivity of thin films and the thermal conductance across interfaces. These techniques typically use a transducer layer to absorb the pump light and improve the thermoreflectance signal. The transducer, however, complicates the interpretation of the measured signal because the approximation that all the energy from the pump beam is deposited at the transducer surface is not always accurate. In this paper, we consider the effect of laser absorption in the top layer of a multilayer sample, and derive an analytical solution for the thermoreflectance signal in the diffusion regime based on volumetric heating. We analyze the measurement sensitivity to the pump absorption depth for transducers with different thermal conductivities, and investigate the additional effect of probe laser penetration depth on the measured signal. We validate our model using FDTR measurements on 490 nm thick amorphous silicon films deposited on fused silica and silicon substrates.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

Understanding and reducing deleterious defects in the metastable alloy GaAsBi

Technological applications of novel metastable materials are frequently inhibited by abundant defects residing in these materials. Using first-principles methods, we investigate the defect thermodynamics and phase segregation in the technologically important metastable alloy GaAsBi. Our calculations predict defect energy levels in good agreement with those from numerous previous experiments and clarify the defect structures giving rise to these levels. We find that vacancies in some charge states become metastable or unstable with respect to antisite formation, and this instability is a general characteristic of zincblende semiconductors with small ionicity. The dominant point defects that degrade the electronic and optical performances are predicted to be As Ga , Bi Ga , As Ga +Bi As , Bi Ga +Bi As , V Ga and V Ga +Bi As , of which the first four and last two defects are minority-electron and minority-hole traps, respectively. V Ga is also observed to have a critical role in controlling metastable Bi supersaturation by mediating Bi diffusion and clustering. To reduce the influences of these deleterious defects, we suggest shifting the growth away from an As-rich condition and/or using hydrogen passivation to reduce the minority-carrier traps. In conclusion, we expect this work to aid in the applications of GaAsBi for novel electronic and optoelectronic devices and to illuminate the control of deleterious defects in other metastable materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermal interfaces in dynamic compression experiments

Temperature is a difficult thermodynamic variable to measure in dynamic compression experiments. Optical pyrometry is a general-purpose technique for measuring temperature from a radiant surface, but that surface is often the interface between distinct materials with temperatures that vary spatially along the loading direction. This leads to a fundamental problem: how does the measured interface temperature relate to this temperature profile along the compression axis? Numerical analysis of loading history and thermal diffusion at these interfaces shows that seemingly subtle changes in experiment geometry can lead to very different temperature profiles. We compare these results to laboratory temperature measurements of shock-compressed tin.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗