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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Passive high explosive neutron inspection (PHENIX): a new method to confirm the presence or absence of high explosives for nuclear treaty verification

Advanced instruments and methods need to be developed now to create a technical basis to support the negotiation of future nuclear arms control treaties. One new capability that is anticipated is the ability to confirm either the declared presence or declared absence of high explosive (HE) material in the presence of special nuclear material (SNM). Towards this goal, Passive HE Neutron Inspection (PHENIX) has been developed and demonstrated as a method for confirming the presence or absence of HE in the presence of plutonium. The method exploits the inherent presence of neutrons associated with the decay of plutonium as an internal probe source for performing prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA), searching for the presence of HE as revealed by the emission of characteristic gamma rays following neutron absorption in hydrogen and nitrogen which are building blocks of present-day, military-grade HE. Tests using stoichiometrically-correct hemishells of mock HE with plutonium show that a system can be expected to positively confirm the presence or absence of these signatures, supporting determination of HE presence or absence with Pu, in a few hours. To protect other potentially sensitive gamma-ray signatures from a treaty accountable item, an analog information barrier has been conceptualized and tested which physically prevents the collection of gamma-ray spectral data outside of user selected energy windows strategically chosen to view only narrow spectral regions corresponding to the hydrogen (2223.2 keV) and nitrogen (9807.2 keV, 10,318.2 keV, and 10,829.2 keV) PGNAA signatures.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Using steam explosion or AFEX™ to produce animal feeds and biofuel feedstocks in a biorefinery based on sugarcane residues: Using Steam Explosion or AFEX™ to Produce Animal Feeds and Biofuel Feedstocks in a Biorefinery Based on Sugarcane Residues

Sustainable integration of biofuel (primarily bioethanol) and highly digestible livestock feed in production systems is a potential way to increase the economic returns to agriculture and simultaneously promote energy security, particularly in developing countries. In this work we evaluated the efficacy of steam explosion (StEx) and ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX™) as potential processes for improving the in vitro rumen digestibility, metabolizable energy, and ethanol yields from sugarcane crop residues (bagasse and cane leaf matter, CLM). Ammonia fiber expansion pretreatment enhanced the in vitro true digestibility and metabolizable energy content of sugarcane crop residues by 69% and 26%, respectively compared to untreated controls. On the other hand, StEx increased the true digestibility and metabolizable energy content of the sugarcane residues by 54% and 7%, respectively. Ammonia fiber expansion also increased the total nitrogen content of both sugarcane bagasse and CLM to more than 20.2 g kg -1 dry forage, a more than 230% improvement relative to untreated controls. High solid-loading enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of StEx- and AFEX™-pretreated sugarcane crop residues generated yields of up to 3368 and 4360 L of ethanol per hectare of sugarcane cultivated, respectively, at a biomass-degrading enzyme dosage of 20 mg protein per gram glucan. This research strongly suggests that the use of suitably pretreated sugarcane crop residues in integrated sugarcane biofuel-livestock production systems can increase the total per hectare agricultural output without increasing the area of sugarcane cultivated. In effect, this integrated approach promotes more sustainable biofuel production and increased food production while avoiding the potential for indirect land use change.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Interface and embedded joint methods for modeling dynamic fracture opening by explosive products [Two methods for modeling dynamic fracture opening by explosive products]

Two computational approaches are proposed in the paper to model dynamic fracture opening by explosive products. The first method assumes that the fractures may be modeled using flow elements embedded along the mesh lines. This method models crack opening in a straightforward way by splitting the nodes of the computational grid. It can account for crack branching; however, the crack directions are constrained by existing mesh faces, which may lead to mesh dependence. Also, the stress in flow elements is calculated explicitly separate from the surrounding solid elements that can impose additional limits on the time step stability condition for explicit integration. The second approach uses embedded flow elements to model the cracks. Typical thickness of the cracks is much smaller than the element size. Therefore, gas pressure in the cracks is assumed to be in stress equilibrium with the element stress. To achieve this, the crack thickness and the state of the gas is updated simultaneously with the state of the solid element which contains the crack. Therefore, the time step is controlled by the explicit solver applied for the solid and does not depend on the thickness of the crack. In conclusion, the main disadvantage of the second approach is due to the complexity of modeling multiple intersecting cracks, which go through the same element. We discuss the areas of possible applications of these 2 methods and the ways to improve and enhance them for future practical applications.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

In-situ monitoring of flow-permeable surface area of high explosive powder using small sample masses

To ensure good performance of high explosive devices over long periods of time, initiating powders need to maintain their specific surface area within allowed margins during the entire duration of deployment. A common diagnostic used in this context is the Fisher sub-sieve surface area (FSSA). Furthermore, commercial permeametry instruments measuring the FSSA requires the utilization of a sample mass equal to the crystal density of the sample material, an amount that is often one or two orders of magnitude larger than the typical masses found in standard detonator applications. Here we develop a customization of the standard device that can utilize just tens of milligram samples, and with simple calibration yield FSSA values at ac curacy levels comparable to the standard apparatus. This necessitated a newly designed sample holder, made from a material of low coefficient of thermal expansion, which is conveniently transferred between an aging chamber and a re-designed permeametry tube. This improves the fidelity of accelerated aging studies by allowing measurement on the same physical sample at various time - instants during the aging process, and by obviating the need for a potentially FSSA-altering powder re-compaction step. We used the customized apparatus to monitor the FSSA evolution of a number of undoped and homolog-doped PETN powder samples that were subjected to artificial aging for several months at elevated temperatures. These results, in conjunction with an Arrhenius-based aging model were used to assess powder-coarsening - rates under long-term storage.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Migration of noble gas tracers at the site of an underground nuclear explosion at the Nevada National Security Site

As part of an underground gas migration study, two radioactive noble gases and two stable tracer gases were injected into a nuclear explosion test chimney and allowed to migrate naturally. Soil gas samples were collected from a series of boreholes and a range of depths from the shallow subsurface (3 meters) to deeper levels (~160 meters) over a period of eleven months. These samples have provided insights into the development and evolution of the subsurface plume and constrained the relative migration rates of the radioactive and stable gas species. Analysis of the samples concluded that the stable tracer SF6 was consistently enriched in the subsurface samples relative to the radiotracer 127Xe, but the ratios of SF6 and 37Ar remained similar throughout the samples.

Johnson, Christine M.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measurement of key resonance states for the P 30 ( p , γ ) S 31 reaction rate, and the production of intermediate-mass elements in nova explosions

We report the first experimental constraints on spectroscopic factors and strengths of key resonances in the P-30(p, gamma)S-31 reaction critical for determining the production of intermediate-mass elements up to Ca in nova ejecta. The P-30(d,n)S-31 reaction was studied in inverse kinematics using the GRETINA gamma-ray array to measure the angle-integrated cross-sections of states above the proton threshold. In general, negative parity states are found to be most strongly produced but the absolute values of spectroscopic factors are typically an order of magnitude lower than predicted by the shell-model calculations employing WBP Hamiltonian for the negative-parity states. The results clearly indicate the dominance of a single 3/2(-) resonance state at 196 keV in the region of nova burning T approximate to 0.10-0.17 GM, well within the region of interest for nova nucleosynthesis. Hydrodynamic simulations of nova explosions have been performed to demonstrate the effect on the composition of nova ejecta.

Kankainen, A. (ORCID:0000000310827602)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Identification of combustion mode under MILD conditions using Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis

Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) data of Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution (MILD) combustion are analysed in this paper to identify the contributions of the autoignition and flame modes. This is performed using an extended Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis (CEMA) which accounts for diffusion effects allowing it to discriminate between deflagration and autoignition. This analysis indicates that in premixed MILD combustion conditions, the main combustion mode is ignition for all dilution and turbulence levels and for the two reactant temperature conditions considered. In non-premixed conditions, the preponderance of the ignition mode was observed to depend on the axial location and mixture fraction stratification. With a large mixture fraction lengthscale, ignition is more preponderant in the early part of the domain while the deflagrative mode increases further downstream. On the other hand, when the mixture fraction lengthscale is small, sequential autoignition is observed. Finally, the various combustion modes are observed to correlate strongly with mixture fraction where lean mixtures are more likely to autoignite while stoichiometric and rich mixtures are more likely to react as deflagrative structures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

A review of the developments of radioxenon detectors for nuclear explosion monitoring

Developments in radioxenon monitoring since the implementation of the International Monitoring System are reviewed with emphasis on the most current technologies to improve detector sensitivity and resolution. The nuclear detectors reviewed include combinations of plastic and NaI(Tl) detectors, high purity germanium detectors, silicon detectors, and phoswich detectors. The minimum detectable activity and calibration methods for the various detectors are also discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Radio observations of a sample of broad-line type Ic supernovae discovered by PTF/IPTF: a search for relativistic explosions

Long duration γ-ray bursts are a rare subclass of stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae (SNe) that launch collimated relativistic outflows (jets). All γ-ray-burst-associated SNe are spectroscopically Type Ic, with broad-lines, but the fraction of broad-lined SNe Ic harboring low-luminosity γ-ray bursts remains largely unconstrained. Some SNe should be accompanied by off-axis γ-ray burst jets that initially remain invisible, but then emerge as strong radio sources (as the jets decelerate). However, this critical prediction of the jet model for γ-ray bursts has yet to be verified observationally. Here, we present K. G. Jansky Very Large Array observations of 15 broad-lined SNe of Type Ic discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory in an untargeted manner. Most of the SNe in our sample exclude radio emission observationally similar to that of the radio-loud, relativistic SN 1998bw. We constrain the fraction of 1998bw-like broad-lined SNe Ic to be ≲41% (99.865% confidence). Most of the events in our sample also exclude off-axis jets similar to GRB 031203 and GRB 030329, but we cannot rule out off-axis γ-ray bursts expanding in a low-density wind environment. Three SNe in our sample are detected in the radio. PTF11qcj and PTF14dby show late-time radio emission with average ejecta speeds of ≈0.3–0.4 c, on the dividing line between relativistic and “ordinary” SNe. The speed of PTF11cmh radio ejecta is poorly constrained. We estimate that ≲85% (99.865% confidence) of the broad-lined SNe Ic in our sample may harbor off-axis γ-ray bursts expanding in media with densities in the range probed by this study.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Pair-instability Supernova Simulations: Progenitor Evolution, Explosion, and Light Curves

In recent years, the viability of the pair-instability supernova (PISN) scenario for explaining superluminous supernovae has all but disappeared except for a few slowly-evolving examples. However, PISNe are not predicted to be superluminous throughout the bulk of their mass range. In fact, it is more likely that the first PISN we see (if we have not seen one already) will not be superluminous. Here, we present hydrodynamic simulations of PISNe for four stellar models with unique envelope properties spanning the PISN mass range. In addition, we compute synthetic light curves (LCs) for comparison with current and future observations. We also investigate, in the context of our most massive model, the prospect of mixing in the supernova ejecta, alleviating discrepancies between current PISN models and the remaining superluminous candidate events. To this end, we present the first published 3D hydrodynamic simulations of PISNe. After achieving convergence between 1D, 2D, and 3D simulations, we examine mixing in the supernova ejecta and its affect on the bolometric LC. We observe slight deviations from spherical symmetry, which increase with the number of dimensions. We find no significant effects on the bolometric LC; however, we conclude that mixing between the silicon and oxygen rich layers caused by the Rayleigh–Taylor instability may affect spectra.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗