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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 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Functional chitosan-based grapefruit seed extract composite films for applications in food packaging technology

Highlights: • Chitosan-based grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) films were solution casted. • GFSE was uniformly dispersed within all chitosan film matrices. • All chitosan-based composite films showed remarkable transparency. • Increasing amounts of GFSE incorporated increased the elongation at break of films. • Chitosan-based GFSE composite films inhibited the proliferation of fungal growth. - Abstract: Chitosan-based composite films with different amounts of grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% v/v) were fabricated via solution casting technique. Experimental results showed that GFSE was uniformly dispersed within all chitosan film matrices. The presence of GFSE made the films more amorphous and tensile strength decreased, while elongation at break values increased as GFSE content increased. Results from the measurement of light transmission revealed that increasing amounts of GFSE (from 0.5 to 1.5% v/v) did not affect transparency of the films. Furthermore, packaging of bread samples with chitosan-based GFSE composite films inhibited the proliferation of fungal growth as compared to control samples. Hence, chitosan-based GFSE composite films have the potential to be a useful material in the area of food technology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Cyclus fuel cycle simulation capabilities with the CYDER disposal system model

An algorithm and supporting database for rapid thermal repository loading calculation was implemented in CYDER. This algorithm employs a Specific Temperature Change (STC) method and has resulted from combining detailed spent nuclear fuel composition data with a detailed thermal repository performance analysis tool from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and the Used Fuel Disposition (UFD) campaign. By abstraction of and benchmarking against these detailed thermal models, CYDER captures the dominant physics of thermal phenomena affecting repository capacity in various geologic media and as a function of spent fuel composition. Abstraction based on detailed computational thermal repository performance calculations with the LLNL semi-analytic model has resulted in implementation of the STC estimation algorithm and a supporting reference dataset. This method is capable of rapid estimation of temperature increase near emplacement tunnels as a function of waste composition, limiting radius, waste package spacing, near field thermal conductivity and near field thermal diffusivity. The sensitivity analyses and validation efforts conducted in this work demonstrate the capability of the CYDER tool to provide repository capacity and performance metrics in the context of dynamic fuel cycle.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fiber/Matrix Interfacial Thermal Conductance Effect on the Thermal Conductivity of SiC/SiC Composites

SiC/SiC composites used in fusion reactor applications are subjected to high heat fluxes and require knowledge and tailoring of their in-service thermal conductivity. Accurately predicting the thermal conductivity of SiC/SiC composites as a function of temperature will guide the design of these materials for their intended use, which will eventually include the effects of 14-MeV neutron irradiations. This paper applies an Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka approach (EMTA) to compute the thermal conductivity of unirradiated SiC/SiC composites. The homogenization procedure includes three steps. In the first step EMTA computes the homogenized thermal conductivity of the unidirectional (UD) SiC fiber embraced by its coating layer. The second step computes the thermal conductivity of the UD composite formed by the equivalent SiC fibers embedded in a SiC matrix, and finally the thermal conductivity of the as-formed SiC/SiC composite is obtained by averaging the solution for the UD composite over all possible fiber orientations using the second-order fiber orientation tensor. The EMTA predictions for the transverse thermal conductivity of several types of SiC/SiC composites with different fiber types and interfaces are compared to the predicted and experimental results by Youngblood et al.

SiC/SiC composite, thermal conductance, thermal co↗
DOE OSTI2017

Fabrication and thermophysical property characterization of UN/U 3 Si 2 composite fuel forms

High uranium density composite fuels composed of UN and U 3 Si 2 have been fabricated using a liquid phase sintering route at temperatures between 1873 K and 1973 K and spanning compositions of 10 vol% to 40 vol% U 3 Si 2 . Microstructural analysis and phase characterization revealed the formation of an U-Si-N phase of unknown structure. Microcracking was observed in the U-Si portion of the composite microstructure that likely originates from the mismatched coefficient of thermal expansion between the UN and U 3 Si 2 leading to stresses on heating and cooling of the composite. Thermal expansion coefficient, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity were characterized for each of the compositions as a function of temperature to 1673 K. Hysteresis is observed in the thermal diffusivity for the 20 vol% through 40 vol% specimens between room temperature and 1273 K, which is attributed to the microcracking in the U-Si phase. Thermal conductivity of the composites was modeled using the MOOSE framework based on the collected microstructure data. In conclusion, the impact of irradiation on thermal conductivity was also simulated for this class of composite materials.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hierarchical Ion Interactions in the Direct Air Capture of CO 2 at Air/Aqueous Interfaces

The direct air capture (DAC) of CO 2 using aqueous solvents is plagued by slow kinetics and interfacial barriers that limit effectiveness in combating climate change. Functionalizing air/aqueous surfaces with charged amphiphiles shows promise in accelerating DAC; however, insight into these interfaces and how they evolve in time remains poorly understood. Specifically, competitive ion interactions between DAC reagents and reaction products feedback onto the interfacial structure, thereby modulating interfacial chemical composition and overall function. In this work, we probe the role of glycine amino acid anions (Gly - ), an effective CO 2 capture reagent, that promotes the organization of cationic oligomers at air/aqueous interfaces. These surfaces are probed with vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Our findings demonstrate that the competition for surface sites between Gly - and captured carbonaceous anions (HCO 3 - , CO 3 2 -, carbamates) drives changes in surface hydration, which in turn tunes oligomer ordering. This phenomenon is related to a hierarchical ordering of anions at the surface that are electrostatically attracted to the surface and their ability to compete for interfacial water. These results point to new ways to tune interfaces for DAC via stratification of ions based on relative surface propensities and specific ion effects.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effects of Morphology and Geometry of Inclusions on Two-Point Correlation Statistics in Two Phase Composites

A spectral form of the two-point correlation functions for two-phase composites is presented and the effects of secondary phase morphology, geometry and volume fraction on the coefficients of the corresponding series are studied. Initially, a principal component analysis is performed on the coefficients of the series and then, the effects of different morphological and geometrical parameters of the second phase inclusions on two-point correlation functions are examined. A direct linkage between the principal components of the coefficients with the morphological features (inclusion shape, aspect ratio and size) is established and the influence of preferred orientation of the anisotropic inclusions is also investigated. Finally a composite hull is constructed using the principal components of the coefficients in a three-dimensional space, which helps in determining the interrelation of properties and microstructures of any composite containing these types of inclusions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Incompressible variable-density turbulence in an external acceleration field

Dynamics and mixing of a variable-density turbulent flow subject to an externally imposed acceleration field in the zero-Mach-number limit are studied in a series of direct numerical simulations. The flow configuration studied consists of alternating slabs of high- and low-density fluid in a triply periodic domain. Density ratios in the range of $1.05\leqslant R\equiv \unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{1}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{2}\leqslant 10$ are investigated. The flow produces temporally evolving shear layers. A perpendicular density–pressure gradient is maintained in the mean as the flow evolves, with multi-scale baroclinic torques generated in the turbulent flow that ensues. For all density ratios studied, the simulations attain Reynolds numbers at the beginning of the fully developed turbulence regime. An empirical relation for the convection velocity predicts the observed entrainment-ratio and dominant mixed-fluid composition statistics. Two mixing-layer temporal evolution regimes are identified: an initial diffusion-dominated regime with a growth rate ${\sim}t^{1/2}$ followed by a turbulence-dominated regime with a growth rate ${\sim}t^{3}$ . In the turbulent regime, composition probability density functions within the shear layers exhibit a slightly tilted (‘non-marching’) hump, corresponding to the most probable mole fraction. In conclusion, the shear layers preferentially entrain low-density fluid by volume at all density ratios, which is reflected in the mixed-fluid composition.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Outstanding field emission properties of wet-processed titanium dioxide coated carbon nanotube based field emission devices

Field emission devices using a wet-processed composite cathode of carbon nanotube films coated with titanium dioxide exhibit outstanding field emission characteristics, including ultralow turn on field of 0.383 V μm{sup −1} and threshold field of 0.657 V μm{sup −1} corresponding with a very high field enhancement factor of 20 000, exceptional current stability, and excellent emission uniformity. The improved field emission properties are attributed to the enhanced edge effect simultaneously with the reduced screening effect, and the lowered work function of the composite cathode. In addition, the highly stable electron emission is found due to the presence of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the carbon nanotubes, which prohibits the cathode from the influence of ions and free radical created in the emission process as well as residual oxygen gas in the device. The high-performance solution-processed composite cathode demonstrates great potential application in vacuum electronic devices.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

The effect of the surface composition of Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts for methanol oxidation

Here, a series of Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts prepared by the electroless deposition of controlled and variable amounts of Ru on the Pt surface of a commercially-available 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst has been characterized and evaluated for the oxidation of methanol. The activity of each Ru-Pt catalyst was determined as a function of surface composition via cyclic voltammetry. For the Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts, activity passed through a maximum at approximately 50% monodisperse Ru surface coverage. However, due to the monolayer coverage of Ru on Pt, the amount of metal in the catalyst is minimized compared to a bulk 1:1 atomic ratio of Ru:Pt seen in commercial bimetallic catalysts. Chemisorption and temperature programmed reduction experiments confirmed that the surface had characteristics of a true bimetallic catalyst. On a mass of Pt basis, the activity of this composition for methanol oxidation was 7 times higher than pure Pt and 3.5 times higher than a commercial catalyst with a 1:1 Pt:Ru bulk atomic ratio.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Coupled cluster spectroscopic properties of the coinage metal nitrosyls, M–NO (M = Cu, Ag, Au)

Ab initio near-equilibrium potential energy and dipole moment surfaces for the bent CuNO, AgNO, and AuNO molecules have been calculated under the Feller-Peterson-Dixon (FPD) composite framework at the coupled cluster level of theory including complete basis set extrapolation, outer-core correlation, scalar relativistic effects, and spin-orbit coupling. The Brueckner coupled cluster doubles with perturbative triples method, BCCD(T), was used to greatly improve upon CCSD(T), which was particularly problematic for CuNO. In the latter case the BCCD(T) vibrational frequencies showed significant differences compared to CCSD(T), e.g., nearly 65 cm -1 for the NO stretching frequency, and BCCD(T) also resulted in much better agreement with the available experimental frequencies. A full range of ro-vibrational spectroscopic constants are given for all three molecules of this study using the accurate composite potential energy functions and employing 2nd-order vibrational perturbation theory.

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

Novel alkyd-type coating resins produced using cationic polymerization

Novel, partially bio-based poly(vinyl ether) copolymers derived from soybean oil and cyclohexyl vinyl ether (CHVE) were produced by cationic polymerization and investigated for application as alkyd-type surface coatings. Compared to conventional alkyd resins, which are produced by high temperature melt condensation polymerization, the poly(v9nyl ether)s provide several advantages. These advantages include milder, more energy efficient polymer synthesis, elimination of issues associated with gelation during polymer synthesis, production of polymers with well-defined composition and relatively narrow molecular weight distribution, and elimination of film formation and physical property issues associated with entrained monomers, dimers, trimers, etc. The results of the studied showed that the thermal, mechanical, and physical properties of the coatings produced from these novel polymers varied considerably as a function of polymer composition and cure temperature. Overall, the results suggest a good potential for these novel copolymers to be used for coatings cured by autoxidation.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Combinatorial sputtering of Ga-doped (Zn,Mg)O for contact applications in solar cells

In this study, the development of tunable contact materials based on environmentally friendly chemical elements using scalable deposition approaches is necessary for existing and emerging solar energy conversion technologies. In this paper, the properties of ZnO alloyed with magnesium (Mg), and doped with gallium (Ga) are studied using combinatorial thin film experiments. As a result of these studies, the optical band gap of the sputtered Zn 1-x Mg x O thin films was determined to vary from 3.3 to 3.6 eV for a compositional spread of Mg content in the 0.04 < x < 0.17 range. Depending on whether or not Ga dopants were added, the electron concentrations were on the order of 10 17 cm -3 or 10 20 cm -3 , respectively. Based on these results and on the Kelvin Probe work function measurements, a band diagram was derived using basic semiconductor physics equations. The quantitative determination of how the energy levels of Ga-doped (Zn, Mg)O thin films change as a function of Mg composition presented here, will facilitate their use as optimized contact layers for both Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS), Cu(In, Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) and other solar cell absorbers.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Gastrointestinal factors regulating lipid droplet formation in the intestine

Highlights: • Cytosolic lipid droplets are an important factor for the regulation of chylomicron secretion. • Many gastrointestinal peptides regulate cytosolic lipid droplets and lipid metabolism in liver and adipose tissue. • Chylomicron secretion is an important factor in the development of cardiometabolic diseases. Cytoplasmic lipid droplets (CLD) are considered as neutral lipid reservoirs, which protect cells from lipotoxicity. It became clear that these fascinating dynamic organelles play a role not only in energy storage and metabolism, but also in cellular lipid and protein handling, inter-organelle communication, and signaling among diverse functions. Their dysregulation is associated with multiple disorders, including obesity, liver steatosis and cardiovascular diseases. The central aim of this review is to highlight the link between intra-enterocyte CLD dynamics and the formation of chylomicrons, the main intestinal dietary lipid vehicle, after overviewing the morphology, molecular composition, biogenesis and functions of CLD.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Data from: 'Abiotic influences on continuous conifer forest structure across a subalpine watershed'

This package archives the core data used for analysis and inference in 'Abiotic influences on continuous conifer forest structure across a subalpine watershed' (Worsham et al., 2025). All data were collected in the East River, Washington Gulch, Slate River, and Coal Creek watersheds of Colorado. In the paper, we quantified the relative influence of climate, topographic, edaphic, and geologic factors on conifer stand structure and composition, and their functional relationships, at the watershed scale. We used waveform LiDAR data to derive spatially continuous stand structure metrics. We fused these with a species-level classification map to estimate tree species abundance. We applied generalized additive and generalized boosted models to evaluate the covariability of structural and compositional metrics with abiotic variables. The package contains the essential products required for reproducing our analysis and the tables and figures reported in the publication. The products comprise four classes: (1) geospatial data, (2) tabular data used for inferential analysis, (3) tabular data describing analytical results and performance statistics, and (4) a data user guide. (1) includes discretized waveform LiDAR data, locations and attributes of individual tree crowns, sampling locations and domain boundaries, a canopy height model, and raster files of estimated forest structural and compositional metrics at 100 m grid scale. (2) includes all response and explanatory variable values applied in inferential models. Response variables include conifer forest stand density, basal area, 95th percentile height, quadratic mean diameter, and others. Explanatory variables include climatic water deficit, actual evapotranspiration, elevation, heat load, soil available water content, and others. (3) includes results of training and testing several individual tree detection (ITD) algorithms, as well as inferential modeling results. (4) is a PDF user guide for this data package, including detailed descriptions and data dictionaries for all files. The data package root contains 17 assets: 8 compressed tape archive (.tar.gz) files, 5 comma-separated values (.csv) files, 3 Geographic Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF) (.tif) files, and 1 Portable Document Format (.pdf) file. The compressed .tar.gz archives contain ESRI shapefiles (.shp) .tif, compressed LASer (.laz), and .csv files. The archives must first be decompressed using the widely distributed command-line software utility TAR. All other files, including constituent files within the .tar.gz archives, can be opened in the open-source R statistical computing environment. Alternatively, .csv files may also be read in any simple text editor software or Microsoft Excel. Geospatial files including .shp and .tif files can also be opened in GIS software, such as QGIS (open-source) or ESRI ArcGIS (proprietary). The .pdf Data User Guide can be read with Adobe Acrobat Reader or other compatible readers.

2018 NEON and 2025 CHESS Campaigns↗
DOE OSTI2014

Novel Alkyd-Type Coating Resins Produced Using Cationic Polymerization [PowerPoint]

Novel, partially bio-based poly(vinyl ether) copolymers derived from soybean oil and cyclohexyl vinyl ether (CHVE) were produced by cationic polymerization and investigated for application as alkyd-type surface coatings. Compared to conventional alkyd resins, which are produced by high temperature melt condensation polymerization, the poly(vinyl ether)s provide several advantages. These advantages include miler, more energy efficient polymer synthesis, elimination of issues associated with gelation during polymer synthesis, production of polymers with well-defined composition and relatively narrow molecular weight distribution, and elimination of film formation and physical property issues associated with entrained monomers, dimers, trimmers, etc. The results of the studied showed that the thermal, mechanical, and physical properties of the coatings produced from these novel polymers varied considerable as a function of polymer composition and cure temperature. Overall, the results suggest a good potential for these novel copolymers to be used for coatings cured by autoxidation.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2014

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SIMULATED HIGH LEVEL WASTE GLASSES TO SUPPORT SULFATE SOLUBILITY MODELING

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management (EM) is sponsoring an international, collaborative project to develop a fundamental model for sulfate solubility in nuclear waste glass. The solubility of sulfate has a significant impact on the achievable waste loading for nuclear waste forms both within the DOE complex and to some extent at U.K. sites. The development of enhanced borosilicate glass compositions with improved sulfate solubility will allow for higher waste loadings and accelerated cleanup missions. Much of the previous work on improving sulfate retention in waste glasses has been done on an empirical basis, making it difficult to apply the findings to future waste compositions despite the large number of glass systems studied. A more fundamental, rather than empirical, model of sulfate solubility in glass, under development at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), could provide a solution to the issues of sulfate solubility. The model uses the normalized cation field strength index as a function of glass composition to predict sulfate capacity, and has shown early success for some glass systems. The objective of the current scope is to mature the sulfate solubility model to the point where it can be used to guide glass composition development for DOE waste vitrification efforts, allowing for enhanced waste loadings and waste throughput. A series of targeted glass compositions was selected to resolve data gaps in the current model. SHU fabricated these glasses and sent samples to the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) for chemical composition analysis. SHU will use the resulting data to enhance the sulfate solubility model and resolve any deficiencies. In this report, SRNL provides chemical analyses for simulated waste glasses fabricated SHU in support of sulfate solubility model development. A review of the measured compositions revealed that there are issues with the B{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} concentrations missing their targeted values by a significant amount for several of the study glasses. SHU is reviewing the fabrication of these glasses and the chemicals used in batching them to identify the source of these issues. The measured sulfate concentrations were all below their targeted values. This is expected, as the targeted concentrations likely exceeded the solubility limit for sulfate in these glass compositions. Some volatilization of sulfate may also have occurred during fabrication of the glasses. Measurements of the other oxides in the study glasses were reasonably close to their targeted values

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2012

Dissipative Effects in the Effective Field Theory of Inflation

We generalize the effective field theory of single clock inflation to include dissipative effects. Working in unitary gauge we couple a set of composite operators, {Omicron}{sub {mu}{nu}}..., in the effective action which is constrained solely by invariance under time-dependent spatial diffeomorphisms. We restrict ourselves to situations where the degrees of freedom responsible for dissipation do not contribute to the density perturbations at late time. The dynamics of the perturbations is then modified by the appearance of 'friction' and noise terms, and assuming certain locality properties for the Green's functions of these composite operators, we show that there is a regime characterized by a large friction term {gamma} >> H in which the {zeta}-correlators are dominated by the noise and the power spectrum can be significantly enhanced. We also compute the three point function <{zeta}{zeta}{zeta}> for a wide class of models and discuss under which circumstances large friction leads to an increased level of non-Gaussianities. In particular, under our assumptions, we show that strong dissipation together with the required non-linear realization of the symmetries implies |f{sub NL}| {approx} {gamma}/c{sub s}{sup 2} H >> 1. As a paradigmatic example we work out a variation of the 'trapped inflation' scenario with local response functions and perform the matching with our effective theory. A detection of the generic type of signatures that result from incorporating dissipative effects during inflation, as we describe here, would teach us about the dynamics of the early universe and also extend the parameter space of inflationary models.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Tuning of the surface plasmon resonance in TiO{sub 2}/Au thin films grown by magnetron sputtering: The effect of thermal annealing

Nanocomposites consisting of a dielectric matrix, such as TiO{sub 2}, with embedded noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) possess specific optical properties due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, interesting for several applications. The aim of this work is to demonstrate that these properties are sensitive to the nanostructure of magnetron-sputtered TiO{sub 2}/Au thin films, which can be tuned by annealing. We study the role of the shape and size distribution of the NPs, as well as the influence of the crystallinity and phase composition of the host matrix on the optical response of the films. All these characteristics can be modified by vacuum annealing treatments of the deposited films. A theoretical interpretation and modeling of the experimental results obtained is presented. The model involves a modified Maxwell-Garnett approach for the effective dielectric function of the composite (describing the SPR effect) and the transfer matrix formalism for multilayer optics. Input data are based on the experimental information obtained from the detailed structural characterization of the films. It is shown that the annealing treatments can be used for controlling the optical properties of the composite films, making them attractive for decorative coatings.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗