Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “EVAPORATION MODEL”

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.

At least 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Modeling the Evolution and Life Cycle of Stable Cold Pools

Stable cold pools in California’s Central Valley (CV) are conducive to freezing temperatures, high relative humidity, and, in some cases, fog. Here, it will be shown that the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model as commonly configured cannot reproduce such conditions because of a persistent warm and dry bias near the surface. It was discovered that removing horizontal diffusion, which by default operates on model levels and thus up and down the valley’s sides, can reduce but not entirely fix the problem. Further improvements include enhancing the near-surface vertical resolution and the surface–air coupling, as both directly control the surface fluxes, especially evaporation. Yet, these alterations actually have the largest impact in the forested region surrounding the Central Valley, and influence the nighttime relative humidity in the CV only indirectly via nocturnal drainage flows. While it is not clear how realistic are the increased evaporation in the forest or the drainage flows, how and why these alterations result in significantly improved relative humidity reconstructions within the Central Valley are shown.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation of Thermolytic Hydrogen Generation Rate Models at High-Temperature/High-Hydroxide Regimes

This report describes the results of testing performed to extend the applicable ranges of temperature and hydroxide concentration for use within the Glycolate and Global Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Hydrogen Generation Rate (HGR) expressions. Seven experimental conditions (six simulants of the 242-25H Evaporator system chosen as a D-optimal set of experiments and a single test conducted at an elevated boiling point of 170 °C) were investigated in the presence of sodium glycolate and Xiameter TM AFE-1010. Glycolate was employed to study the extension of the Glycolate Thermolytic HGR expression while Xiameter TM AFE-1010 was employed to study the extension of the Global TOC Thermolytic HGR expression. The following conclusions were derived from this testing: The Glycolate Thermolytic HGR expression may be confidently used to predict thermolytic HGRs from glycolate at temperatures as high as 170 °C and hydroxide concentrations as high as 23 M.; The hydroxide and temperature-dependence predicted by the Global TOC Thermolytic HGR expression has been confirmed at temperatures as high as 170 °C and hydroxide concentrations as high as 23 M, suggesting that the Global TOC Thermolytic HGR expression may be used at these ranges.; Methane was observed from tests with Xiameter TM AFE-1010 at production rates higher than those observed for hydrogen. These rates were observed at temperatures higher than 100 °C.; Preliminary models suggest that increasing hydroxide/temperature causes an increase in Methane Generation Rate (MGR) from Xiameter TM AFE-1010. The following recommendations are based on this testing: The existing equations for thermolytic HGR from glycolate and non-glycolate organics should be used at Concentration, Storage, and Transfer Facilities (CSTF) storage and evaporation conditions, including temperatures and hydroxide concentrations exhibited in the 242-25H Evaporator.; Further investigation should be made into the influence of methylsilanes on CSTF flammability. This investigation should include: determination of the types of methylsilanes historically added to the CSTF, determination of methane formation rates from each type of methylsilane, and determination of the extent of degradation of methylsilanes in CSTF waste.; Characterization techniques should be developed by Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to assist in the speciation of methylsilane-containing waste in the CSTF.; Additional testing with radioactive waste should be performed to determine the MGRs possible in radioactive waste and better inform model predictions made from testing with simulants.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2019

Impact of ethanol blending into gasoline on aromatic compound evaporation and particle emissions from a gasoline direct injection engine

This study examined the interactions of ethanol with aromatic compounds on aromatic species evolution during gasoline evaporation and the consequent impacts on particle emissions from a single-cylinder, gasoline direct injection engine. From a chemical kinetic standpoint, the dilution of the aromatic species in gasoline by ethanol blending should reduce particle emissions because aromatics are the primary species that form particles during gasoline combustion. However, increased evaporative cooling from the ethanol and ethanol's effect on when aromatics in the fuel droplet (or surface film or pool) evaporate can drive an increase in particle emissions. The objective of this study was to quantify these competing effects. The results show that a combination of ethanol's increased evaporative cooling and impact on aromatic compound vapor-liquid equilibrium can extend droplet lifetime and cause aromatics to evaporate later in the droplet evaporation process than would be the case without ethanol. When fuels were burned in a direct-injection single-cylinder engine at high speed (2500 rpm) and relatively high load, ethanol blending caused an increase in particle emissions for fuels containing a low vapor pressure aromatic. At a lower speed (1500 rpm), no statistically significant increase in particle emissions was observed, likely because more time was available for evaporation and mixing to occur. In contrast, particle emissions from a fuel blended with a high vapor pressure aromatic were either insensitive to or reduced by ethanol blending, likewise to engine operating conditions. Current models for predicting particle emissions from gasoline engines, such as particulate matter index (PMI), generally lack variables for non-linear interactions between ethanol and gasoline hydrocarbons. To identify nonlinear interactions between predictor variables that might better explain the observed particle emissions, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regularized regression approach was employed. Among the predictor variables evaluated was the Yield Sooting Index (YSI) which is as an improved measure to quantify the aromatic's chemical tendency to generate particle emissions. Following this analysis, two variables were selected based on their frequent appearance. The first was ethanol mole percent multiplied by aromatic mole percent divided by aromatic vapor pressure [(EtOH * Aro%)/Aro VP@443 K]. The second was aromatic mole percent multiplied by aromatic YSI divided by aromatic molecular weight [(Aro% * Aro YSI)/Aro MW]. The results of linear regression including only these two combined explanatory variables achieved an r 2 = 0.959, substantially improved over the PMI model (r 2 = 0.688) and provides insight into how the PMI formalism might be modified to account for non-linear oxygenate-hydrocarbon coupling.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Detection of nanoparticles in carbon arc discharge with laser-induced incandescence

Laser-induced incandescence measurements were conducted in the carbon arc discharge, used for synthesis of carbon nanostructures. The results reveal two spatial regions occupied by dominant populations of carbon particles with different sizes. Close to the axis of the arc, large micron size particles dominate the incandescence signal. In the arc periphery, the dominant population of nanoparticles has diameter of 20 nm. Using a heat transfer model between the gas, arc plasma and the particles, it is shown that such a drastic difference in the particle sizes can be explained by evaporation of the micron-scale particles which move across the arc plasma towards the arc periphery. It is also hypothesized that mass evaporated from the micro particles contributes to the carbon feedstock for the formation of nanostructures. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Mechanism of Increasing Summer Water Vapor Over the Tibetan Plateau

Rapid warming over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been associated with a wetting trend in atmospheric water vapor content, which is critical for recharging the Asian water tower. However, the mechanism associated with the wetting phenomenon remains unclear. Long-term changes in moisture balance and precipitation recycling processes are investigated using the ERA5 reanalysis from 1979 to 2019. The wetting trend over TP is mainly due to the summer water vapor trend with signi?cantly increases over the western TP. Based on the moisture balance analysis, it is found that precipitation, evaporation, and the convergence of moisture are all increasing over the western TP but decreasing over the eastern TP. Based on the dynamical precipitation recycling model, the results suggest that both internal and external cycles contributes to the wetting over TP, with 63.87% and 36.13% contributions respectively. Further analysis found that the atmospheric heating source is also increasing over the western TP, which could shift the moisture transportation from east to west at the southern boundary of TP. The increasing moisture convergence could enhance precipitation, and the enhanced latent heating in the mid-atmosphere can further induced moisture convergence, which forms a positive feedback. However, an opposite situation occurred over the eastern TP. The internal and external cycle of the recycling process can stimulate (suppress) each other through precipitation over the western (eastern) TP. This mechanism linked the changes in the precipitation recycling and atmospheric circulation, and induced the wetting trend over TP in summer.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

PHYSICS OF THE GALACTIC CENTER CLOUD G2, ON ITS WAY TOWARD THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE

We investigate the origin, structure, and evolution of the small gas cloud G2, which is on an orbit almost straight into the Galactic central supermassive black hole (SMBH). G2 is a sensitive probe of the hot accretion zone of Sgr A*, requiring gas temperatures and densities that agree well with models of captured shock-heated stellar winds. Its mass is equal to the critical mass below which cold clumps would be destroyed quickly by evaporation. Its mass is also constrained by the fact that at apocenter its sound crossing timescale was equal to its infall timescale. Our numerical simulations show that the observed structure and evolution of G2 can be well reproduced if it forms in pressure equilibrium with its surroundings in 1995 at a distance from the SMBH of 7.6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 16} cm. If the cloud had formed at apocenter in the 'clockwise' stellar disk as expected from its orbit, it would be torn into a very elongated spaghetti-like filament by 2011, which is not observed. This problem can be solved if G2 is the head of a larger, shell-like structure that formed at apocenter. Our numerical simulations show that this scenario explains not only G2's observed kinematical and geometrical properties but also the Br{gamma} observations of a low surface brightness gas tail that trails the cloud. In 2013, while passing the SMBH, G2 will break up into a string of droplets that within the next 30 years will mix with the surrounding hot gas and trigger cycles of active galactic nucleus activity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

effect of ambient pressure on the behavior of single-component fuels in a gasoline multi-hole injector

The injection characteristics of neat ethanol and pure isooctane are studied under different ambient pressure and temperature conditions. Injection underflash-boiling conditions can enhance liquid atomization and evaporation, providing the possibility of improvement in the fuel/air mixing. These superheated conditions often introduce phenomena that are not taken into account in the standard modeling of sprays for engine applications. The present work proposes a numerical investigation of the behavior of Engine Combustion Network's 8-hole spray-G injector, starting at the subcooled nominal condition and reducing the ambient pressure at constant low temperature to reach the flare flash-boiling condition. To initialize the properties of the injected fuel, the flow in the nozzle is simulated with a Eulerian approach, handling the two phases with a mixture model and the phase change, due to cavitation and flash boiling, with the Homogenous Relaxation Model. A map of the mixture's kinematic and thermal behavior is obtained at the interface between the injector and the chamber to initialize the Lagrangian simulations. A literature-based vaporization model is implemented to obtain the proper description of the characteristic features of a multi-hole spray under super-heated conditions, like plume-plume interaction. The numerical representation of the spray is validated in terms of penetration and radial spreading on DBI images, reproducing the light attenuation profiles caused by the presence of the liquid spray. Simulations show that coupled nozzle flow and spray calculations capture the spray morphology and shape better compared to calculations performed without considering the nozzle flow simulation details, especially under flare flash conditions.

Nocivelli, Lorenzo↗
DOE OSTI2014

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Idaho National Laboratory

The University of Idaho (UI) was asked to participate in the development of a climate change vulnerability assessment for Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This report describes the outcome of that assessment. The climate change happening now, due in large part to human activities, is expected to continue in the future. UI and INL used a common framework for assessing vulnerability that considers exposure (future climate change), sensitivity (system or component responses to climate), impact (exposure combined with sensitivity), and adaptive capacity (capability of INL to modify operations to minimize climate change impacts) to assess vulnerability. Analyses of climate change (exposure) revealed that warming that is ongoing at INL will continue in the coming decades, with increased warming in later decades and under scenarios of greater greenhouse gas emissions. Projections of precipitation are more uncertain, with multi model means exhibiting somewhat wetter conditions and more wet days per year. Additional impacts relevant to INL include estimates of more burned area and increased evaporation and transpiration, leading to reduced soil moisture and plant growth.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Algal Biomass Production via Open Pond Algae Farm Cultivation: 2021 State of Technology and Future Research

The annual State of Technology (SOT) assessment is an essential activity for platform research conducted under the Bioenergy Technologies Office. It allows for the impact of research progress to be quantified in terms of economic improvements in the overall biofuel production process for a particular biomass processing pathway, whether based on terrestrial or algal biomass feedstocks. As such, initial benchmarks can be established for currently demonstrated performance, and progress can be tracked towards out-year goals to ultimately demonstrate economically viable biofuel technologies. NREL's algae state of technology benchmarking efforts focus both on front-end algal biomass production and separately on back-end conversion to fuels through NREL's "combined algae processing" (CAP) pathway. The production model is based on outdoor long-term cultivation data, enabled by comprehensive algal biomass production trials conducted under Development of Integrated Screening, Cultivar Optimization, and Verification Research (DISCOVR) consortium efforts, driven by data furnished by Arizona State University (ASU) at the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) testbed site. The CAP model is based on experimental efforts conducted under NREL research and development projects. This report focuses on front-end algal biomass production, documenting the pertinent algal biomass cultivation parameters that were input to the NREL open pond algae farm model based on the latest DISCOVR cultivation performance data. Relative to the fiscal year (FY) 2020 SOT at $683/ton or $603/ton for ASU and FA evaporation scenarios, respectively (unlined pond basis), the FY 2021 SOT represents a slight increase in MBSP of 1%-2%. This is primarily attributed to a slight 4% reduction in annual cultivation productivity achieved at the AzCATI site (supported by the efforts under the DISCOVR consortium noted above) observed during FY 2021 cultivation campaigns.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Micro-wrinkling and delamination-induced buckling of stretchable electronic structures

This paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical/computational micro-wrinkles and buckling on the surfaces of stretchable poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coated with nano-scale Gold (Au) layers. The wrinkles and buckles are formed by the unloading of pre-stretched PDMS/Au structure after the evaporation of nano-scale Au layers. They are then characterized using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The critical stresses required for wrinkling and buckling are analyzed using analytical models. The possible interfacial cracking that can occur along with film buckling is also studied using finite element simulations of the interfacial crack growth. The implications of the results are discussed for potential applications of micro-wrinkles and micro-buckles in stretchable electronic structures and biomedical devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Zero Liquid Discharge and Water Reuse in Recirculating Cooling Towers at Power Facilities: Review and Case Study Analysis

Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems installed at power facilities with the primary purpose of meeting water discharge regulations have the added benefit of providing high quality effluent that can be reused in the facility. This paper provides a review of water use in power sector recirculating cooling towers and a baseline assessment of on-site water reuse at natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power facilities. Two NGCC facilities with reverse-osmosis (RO) or brine-concentrator processes followed by evaporation ponds were selected as case studies; data from these facilities were used to quantify the water, energy, and cost implications of implementing conventional and emerging ZLD technologies. At one case study facility, model results show that implementation of ZLD would reduce water withdrawals by 18%, which is less than savings associated with implementation of dry cooling but comparable to current efforts to reduce water withdrawals by increasing cycles of concentration. Implementation of ZLD using high-recovery RO resulted in a doubling of the levelized cost of water (LCOW). LCOW increased more when a brine concentrator was used. For both case studies, the ZLD system using high-recovery RO required less than 0.1% of a facilitiy's annual electricity generation and the ZLD system using a brine concentrator process required less than 0.8%. Additionally, increasing the evaporation pond area to minimize required ZLD system recovery rates and reduce system electricity costs does not reduce the LCOW. Instead, the LCOW increases because less water is recovered and more water is lost to evaporation. Furthermore, if water availability decreases or water competition/cost increases, facilities may be incentivized to maximize water recovery from ZLD systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

Computational Study of Droplet Dynamics in Dispersed Flow Film Boiling Regime in PWR Geometries

Dispersed flow film boiling (DFFB) regime is exhibited during low-flooding rate conditions following the postulated Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) in nuclear reactor flow channels. LOCA is a type of design-basis accident scenario, which is crucial for reactor design and licensing. Accurate models to predict the heat transfer in DFFB regime is critical for the reactor to maintain safety limits. The nominal operating linear heat rate is also set based on the maximum linear heat rate determined for a LOCA transient. It is understood that the behavior of entrained droplets in DFFB regime greatly affects the heat transfer by evaporating and desuperheating the surrounding steam. Furthermore, interaction with flow structures also aids in increasing the evaporation rate of entrained droplets. In order to quantify this enhancement in heat transfer, the size of droplets downstream of flow structures (Spacer Grids and Mixing Vanes) is of crucial importance. Thermal hydraulic analysis codes like COBRA-TF, CATHARE-3 and adopt a three-field equation model that allows them to model the droplet field separately. However, to ensure the accuracy of these field equations, various correlations and physical models are required. This paper proposes a method for characterizing the mean Sauter Diameter of droplets across spacer-grids and mixing vanes in PWR sub-channels using PHASTA - a high fidelity flow solver with multiphase capabilities using the level-set method. The PHASTA code is a finite element based computational fluid dynamics code designed for solving compressible and incompressible turbulent flows. It has been demonstrated to be massively scalable (up to 786,432 cores), which is crucial for simulating large realistic domains. The code incorporates the level-set method for interface tracking of the gas-liquid interface.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Boron nitride nanotube precursor formation during high-temperature synthesis: kinetic and thermodynamic modelling

In this work, we performed integrated modelling of the chemical pathways of formation for boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) precursors during high-temperature synthesis in a B/N 2 mixture. Integrated modelling includes quantum chemistry, Quantum–classical molecular dynamics, thermodynamic modelling, and kinetic approaches. We demonstrate that BN compounds are formed via the interaction of molecular nitrogen with small boron clusters, rather than through interactions with less reactive liquid boron. (This process can also be described as N 2 molecule fixation.) Liquid boron evaporates to produce these boron clusters (B m with m ≤ 5), which are subsequently converted into B m N n chains. The production of such chains is crucial to the growth of BNNTs because these chains form the building blocks of bigger and longer BN chains and rings, which are in turn the building blocks of fullborenes and BNNTs. Additionally, kinetic modelling revealed that B 4 N 4 and B 5 N 4 species in particular play a major role in the N 2 molecule fixation process. Furthermore, the formation of these species via reactions with B 4 and B 5 clusters is not adequately described under the assumption of thermodynamic equilibrium, as is demonstrated in our kinetic modelling. Thus, the accumulation of both B 4 N 4 and B 5 N 4 depends on the background gas pressure and the gas cooling rate. Long BN chains and rings, which are precursors of the fullborene and BNNT growth, form via self-assembly of components B 4 N 4 and B 5 N 4 . Our modelling results—particularly the increased densities of B 4 N 4 and B 5 N 4 species at higher gas pressures—explain the experimentally observed effect of gas pressure on the yield of high-quality BNNTs. The catalytic role of hydrogen was also studied; it is shown that HBNH molecules can be the main precursor of BNNT synthesis in the presence of hydrogen.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Impacts of Broad-Scale Surface Freshening of the Southern Ocean in a Coupled Climate Model

The Southern Ocean surface has freshened in recent decades, increasing water column stability and reducing upwelling of warmer subsurface waters. The majority of CMIP5 models underestimate or fail to capture this historical surface freshening, yet little is known about the impact of this model bias on regional ocean circulation and hydrography. Here experiments are performed using a global coupled climate model with additional freshwater applied to the Southern Ocean to assess the influence of recent surface freshening. The simulations explore the impact of persistent and long-term broad-scale freshening as a result of processes including precipitation minus evaporation changes. Thus, unlike previous studies, the freshening is applied as far north as 55°S, beyond the Antarctic ice margin. It is found that imposing a large-scale surface freshening causes a surface cooling and sea ice increase under preindustrial conditions, because of a reduction in ocean convection and weakened entrainment of warm subsurface waters into the surface ocean. This is consistent with intermodel relationships between CMIP5 models and the simulations, suggesting that models with larger surface freshening also exhibit stronger surface cooling and increased sea ice. Additional experiments are conducted with surface salinity restoration applied to capture observed regional salinity trends. Remarkably, without any mechanical wind trend forcing, these simulations accurately represent the spatial pattern of observed surface temperature and sea ice trends around Antarctica. This study highlights the importance of accurately simulating changes in Southern Ocean salinity to capture changes in ocean circulation, sea surface temperature, and sea ice.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Surface heat flux and its association with the MJO in the tropical western Pacific using ARM observations

The Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) is a major atmospheric phenomenon in the tropics that moves eastward every 20 to 100 days. It brings heavy rain and strong winds, influencing extreme weather events far beyond the tropics – including flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes and heavy snow in the United States. Therefore, an improved understanding of the MJO is critical for enhancing weather forecasts and supporting better decision-making for communities, emergency managers, and the private sector. Past studies, based on short-term observations or long-term model data, have emphasized the dominant role of atmospheric humidity in driving the MJO. Our research, using long-term observations (2000-2014) from three U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites in the tropical western Pacific (Manus, Nauru, and Darwin) confirms those past findings. However, we also show that atmospheric temperature, especially in the mid and upper troposphere, also plays a key role in the MJO’s evolution from its quiet (suppressed) to convective (active) phase. These findings provide valuable insights into how the MJO evolves and may help evaluate and improve weather and climate models. Our study also examined how the exchange of heat between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere, called surface heat flux, interacts with the MJO. This flux includes components such as latent heat (related to evaporation), sensible heat (related to temperature difference between surface and atmosphere), and radiation. We found that modulation in MJO convection is well connected to surface heat flux over the tropical western Pacific. One surface heat flux component often overlooked is the sensible heat flux due to precipitation (Q P ). Since falling raindrops are typically cooler than the land or ocean surface, they can cool the surface and affect local weather. To test the impact of Q P on convection during MJO, we incorporated it into a weather model, and ran simulations for two periods: April 2009 (when the MJO was active) and June 2006 (when it was not). Including Q P reduced errors in simulating the daily peak of rainfall—by 83% during the strong MJO and 23% during the inactive phase. It also improved the timing of peak daily rainfall and reduced the overall precipitation error by about 10%. These improvements were especially noticeable during periods of heavy rainfall. Our results suggest that even small heat exchanges from rainfall can play a significant role in shaping local weather. Accounting for these effects, particularly in regions like the tropical islands, can lead to more accurate simulations of the MJO-associated precipitation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

CAUSES: Diagnosis of the Summertime Warm Bias in CMIP5 Climate Models at the ARM Southern Great Plains Site

Abstract All the weather and climate models participating in the Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface project show a summertime surface air temperature (T2 m) warm bias in the region of the central United States. To understand the warm bias in long‐term climate simulations, we assess the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5, with long‐term observations mainly from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program Southern Great Plains site. Quantities related to the surface energy and water budget, and large‐scale circulation are analyzed to identify possible factors and plausible links involved in the warm bias. The systematic warm season bias is characterized by an overestimation of T2 m and underestimation of surface humidity, precipitation, and precipitable water. Accompanying the warm bias is an overestimation of absorbed solar radiation at the surface, which is due to a combination of insufficient cloud reflection and clear‐sky shortwave absorption by water vapor and an underestimation in surface albedo. The bias in cloud is shown to contribute most to the radiation bias. The surface layer soil moisture impacts T2 m through its control on evaporative fraction. The error in evaporative fraction is another important contributor to T2 m. Similar sources of error are found in hindcast from other Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface studies. In Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project simulations, biases in meridional wind velocity associated with the low‐level jet and the 500 hPa vertical velocity may also relate to T2 m bias through their control on the surface energy and water budget.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Does capillary evaporation limit the accessibility of nonaqueous electrolytes to the ultrasmall pores of carbon electrodes?

Porous carbons have been widely utilized as electrode materials for capacitive energy storage. Whereas the significance of pore size and geometry on the device performance has been well recognized, little guidance is available for identification of carbon materials with ideal porous structures. Here, we study the phase behavior of ionic fluids in slit pores using the classical density functional theory. Within the framework of the restricted primitive model for nonaqueous electrolytes, we demonstrate that the accessibility of micropores depends not only on the ionic diameters (or desolvation) but also on their wetting behavior intrinsically related to the vapor-liquid or liquid-liquid phase separation of the bulk ionic systems. Narrowing the pore size from several tens of nanometers to subnanometers may lead to a drastic reduction in the capacitance due to capillary evaporation. The wettability of micropores deteriorates as the pore size is reduced but can be noticeably improved by raising the surface electrical potential. The theoretical findings provide fresh insights into the properties of confined ionic systems beyond electric double layer models commonly employed for rational design/selection of electrolytes and electrode materials.

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

Development and validation of a model for predicting direct heat transfer from the fuel to droplets in the post dryout regime

Following dryout after a large loss of coolant accident, but before eventual final quenching of the fuel, the overheated fuel is cooled by a flow of superheated vapor with entrained saturated liquid droplets. The main mechanism for cooling the cladding is convective heat transfer to the superheated vapor, with this vapor in turn cooled by evaporation into it of the saturated droplets. An additional mechanism that is not normally considered explicitly is the cooling of the metal by direct droplet impingement of non-wetting droplets. It is difficult to measure and to analyze, and it is believed probably to contribute relatively little to the cooling, but it could be helpful additional cooling mechanism. In this paper is published validation of a simple analytical model of the heat removed from the wall during the few milliseconds that a non-wetting droplet is in 'contact' with the wall. It is found that the model's estimates of the heat removal are consistent with such limited experimental evidence as is available, paving the way for incorporation of the model into computations of post dryout heat transfer. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗