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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 865 records · Page 48
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

Numerical studies of transient gain reduction process in a multi-wire proportional chamber

A gain reduction process caused by successive beam irradiation in a multi-wire proportional chamber was numerically investigated to clarify the relations between the gas gain variation and the ion density distribution. A numerical code was developed based on a two-dimensional drift-diffusion model in order to evaluate the ion and electron density distributions and the electric field variation caused by the space charge effect. In order to consider the gain reduction process which occurs under the high rate and successive irradiation, the simulations were performed for the time period of {approx}10-100 {mu}s, which is much longer than the time required for ions to travel from an anode to a cathode. The numerical simulation results showed that for the low gas gain regime of {approx}10, quasi-stationary density distribution of the ions was formed by the high-rate beams of {approx}10{sup 8}- 10{sup 10} particles per second, and that the transient variation of the gas gain became constant after establishment of the quasi-stationary ion density distributions.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

SUPERLUMINOUS LIGHT CURVES FROM SUPERNOVAE EXPLODING IN A DENSE WIND

Observations from the last decade have indicated the existence of a general class of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe), in which the peak luminosity exceeds 10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}. Here we focus on a subclass of these events, where the light curve is also tens of days wide, so the total radiated energy is of order 10{sup 51} erg. If the origin of these SLSNe is a core-collapse-driven explosion of a massive star, then the mechanism that converts the explosion energy into radiation must be very efficient (much more than in typical core-collapse SNe, where this efficiency is of order 1%). We examine the scenario where the radiated luminosity is due to efficient conversion of kinetic energy of the ejected stellar envelope into radiation by interaction with an optically thick, pre-existing circumstellar material, presumably the product of a steady wind from the progenitor. We base the analysis on analytical derivations of various limits, and on a simple, numerically solved, hydrodynamic diffusion model, which allows us to explore the regime of interest, which does not correspond to the analytical limits. In our results, we identify the qualitative behavior of the observable light curves, and relate them to the parameters of the wind. We specifically show that a wide and superluminous supernova requires the mass of the relevant wind material to be comparable to that of the ejected material from the exploding progenitor. We find the wind parameters that explain the peak luminosity and width of the bolometric light curves of three particular SLSNe, namely, SN 2005ap, SN 2006gy, and SN 2010gx, and show that they are best fitted with a wind that extends to a radius of order 10{sup 15} cm. These results serve as an additional indication that at least some SLSNe may be powered by interaction of the ejected material with a steady wind of similar mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

The interaction of high-speed turbulence with flames: Global properties and internal flame structure

We study the dynamics and properties of a turbulent flame, formed in the presence of subsonic, high-speed, homogeneous, isotropic Kolmogorov-type turbulence in an unconfined system. Direct numerical simulations are performed with Athena-RFX, a massively parallel, fully compressible, high-order, dimensionally unsplit, reactive flow code. A simplified reaction-diffusion model represents a stoichiometric H{sub 2}-air mixture. The system being modeled represents turbulent combustion with the Damkoehler number Da=0.05 and with the turbulent velocity at the energy injection scale 30 times larger than the laminar flame speed. The simulations show that flame interaction with high-speed turbulence forms a steadily propagating turbulent flame with a flame brush width approximately twice the energy injection scale and a speed four times the laminar flame speed. A method for reconstructing the internal flame structure is described and used to show that the turbulent flame consists of tightly folded flamelets. The reaction zone structure of these is virtually identical to that of the planar laminar flame, while the preheat zone is broadened by approximately a factor of two. Consequently, the system evolution represents turbulent combustion in the thin reaction zone regime. The turbulent cascade fails to penetrate the internal flame structure, and thus the action of small-scale turbulence is suppressed throughout most of the flame. Finally, our results suggest that for stoichiometric H{sub 2}-air mixtures, any substantial flame broadening by the action of turbulence cannot be expected in all subsonic regimes. (author)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2011

The interaction of high-speed turbulence with flames: Turbulent flame speed

Direct numerical simulations of the interaction of a premixed flame with driven, subsonic, homogeneous, isotropic, Kolmogorov-type turbulence in an unconfined system are used to study the mechanisms determining the turbulent flame speed, S{sub T}, in the thin reaction zone regime. High intensity turbulence is considered with the r.m.s. velocity 35 times the laminar flame speed, S{sub L}, resulting in the Damkoehler number Da=0.05. The simulations were performed with Athena-RFX, a massively parallel, fully compressible, high-order, dimensionally unsplit, reactive-flow code. A simplified reaction-diffusion model, based on the one-step Arrhenius kinetics, represents a stoichiometric H{sub 2}-air mixture under the assumption of the Lewis number Le=1. Global properties and the internal structure of the flame were analyzed in an earlier paper, which showed that this system represents turbulent combustion in the thin reaction zone regime. This paper demonstrates that: (1) The flame brush has a complex internal structure, in which the isosurfaces of higher fuel mass fractions are folded on progressively smaller scales. (2) Global properties of the turbulent flame are best represented by the structure of the region of peak reaction rate, which defines the flame surface. (3) In the thin reaction zone regime, S{sub T} is predominantly determined by the increase of the flame surface area, A{sub T}, caused by turbulence. (4) The observed increase of S{sub T} relative to S{sub L} exceeds the corresponding increase of A{sub T} relative to the surface area of the planar laminar flame, on average, by {approx}14%, varying from only a few percent to as high as {approx}30%. (5) This exaggerated response is the result of tight flame packing by turbulence, which causes frequent flame collisions and formation of regions of high flame curvature >or similar 1/{delta}{sub L}, or ''cusps,'' where {delta}{sub L} is the thermal width of the laminar flame. (6) The local flame speed in the cusps substantially exceeds its laminar value, which results in a disproportionately large contribution of cusps to S{sub T} compared with the flame surface area in them. (7) A criterion is established for transition to the regime significantly influenced by cusp formation. In particular, at Karlovitz numbers Ka >or similar 20, flame collisions provide an important mechanism controlling S{sub T}, in addition to the increase of A{sub T} by large-scale motions and the potential enhancement of diffusive transport by small-scale turbulence. (author)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Curvature effects in the reaction-diffusion system governing frontal polymerization

Frontal polymerization is a fast and energy-efficient curing process of thermoset polymers involving the self-sustained propagation of a sharp front that transforms a liquid monomer or gel into a polymer. The temperature, speed, and geometry of the polymerization front are closely intertwined quantities that can affect the curing process and the mechanical properties of the polymer. This work investigates the effect of the front curvature on the front propagation speed based on a reaction-diffusion model. The proposed analytical relations between front speed and curvature are verified by finite element simulations and validated through experiments. The models show that a concave front has a higher front temperature and speed than its convex counterpart. When the curvature of a convex front reaches a critical value, the reaction can no longer be sustained, and the front is quenched. The relation between the speed of a steadily propagating front and its geometry is derived, showing good agreement with experimental observations. This study also provides analytical estimates of the thickness of the polymerization front and insight into the relationship between the front curvature and the kinetics of the exothermic reaction.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2011

Increasing the solar photovoltaic energy capture on sunny and cloudy days

This report analyzes an extensive set of measurements of the solar irradiance made using four identical solar arrays and associated solar sensors (collectively referred to as solar collectors) with different tilt angles relative to the earth's surface, and thus the position of the sun, in order to determine an optimal tracking algorithm for capturing solar radiation. The study included a variety of ambient conditions including different seasons and both cloudy and cloud-free conditions. One set of solar collectors was always approximately pointed directly toward the sun (DTS) for a period around solar noon. These solar collectors thus captured the direct beam component of the solar radiation that predominates on sunny days. We found that on sunny days, solar collectors with a DTS configuration captured more solar energy in accordance with the well-known cosine dependence for the response of a flat-surfaced solar collector to the angle of incidence with direct beam radiation. In particular, a DTS orientation was found to capture up to twice as much solar energy as a horizontal (H) orientation in which the array is tilted toward the zenith. Another set of solar collectors always had an H orientation, and this best captured the diffuse component of the solar radiation that predominates on cloudy days. The dependence of the H/DTS ratio on the solar-collector tilt angle was in approximate agreement with the Isotropic Diffuse Model derived for heavily overcast conditions. During cloudy periods, we found that an H configuration increased the solar energy capture by nearly 40% compared to a DTS configuration during the same period, and we estimate the solar energy increase of an H configuration over a system that tracks the obscured solar disk could reach 50% over a whole heavily-overcast day. On an annual basis the increase is predicted to be much less, typically only about 1%, because the contribution of cloudy days to the total annual solar energy captured by a photovoltaic system is small. These results are consistent with the solar tracking algorithm optimized for cloudy conditions that we proposed in an earlier report and that was based on a much smaller data set. Improving the harvesting of solar energy on cloudy days deserves wider attention due to increasing efforts to utilize renewable solar energy. In particular, increasing the output of distributed solar power systems on cloudy days is important to developing solar-powered home fueling and charging systems for hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric and battery-powered vehicles, respectively, because it reduces the system size and cost for solar power systems that are designed to have sufficient energy output on the worst (cloudy) days. (author)

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation between olivine, pyroxene, spinel and MORB glass: Implications for mantle partial melting to generate MORBs

Primitive mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) exhibit Fe isotopic compositions heavier than the upper mantle by +0.074 ± 0.028 ‰ for δ 56 Fe. The processes responsible for this isotopic difference remain unclear. Modeling of Fe isotope fractionation during mantle partial melting requires reliable equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation factors between minerals and melts, for which consistent data are still lacking. Here, in this study, we used Nuclear Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (NRIXS) technique to measure Fe force constants for a MORB glass (ALV 519-4-1) and natural mantle minerals (olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and spinel) to determine the equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation factors between them. The force constants determined in this study, in increasing order, are 167 ± 26 N/m for spinel, 175 ± 17 N/m for olivine, 176 ± 20 N/m for MORB glass, 205 ± 26 N/m for clinopyroxene, and 219 ± 36 N/m for orthopyroxene. We evaluated the previously proposed mechanisms for the heavy Fe isotopic composition of MORBs, including (i) mantle partial melting, (ii) mantle lithological heterogeneity, with pyroxenite in the source, (iii) mantle metasomatism by low-degree melts, and (iv) fractional crystallization of olivine from melts. For (i), we used the pMELTS program to simulate adiabatic decompression melting of mantle peridotites, and calculated Fe isotope fractionation based on Fe 3+ –Fe 2+ equilibrium-controlled fractionation, where Fe 3+ forms stronger bonds and is more incompatible than Fe 2+ . At 10 wt% peridotite melting, corresponding to MORB generation, only +0.03 ‰ Fe isotope fractionation between the melt and the original bulk composition (Δ 56 Fe = δ 56 Fe melt - δ 56 Fe 0 ) was produced, insufficient to account for the observed MORB-upper mantle difference. For (ii), melting of pyroxenites yields smaller Fe isotope fractionation than melting of peridotites, making it unlikely the cause for the MORB-upper mantle isotopic difference. For (iii), both the Fe 3+ /ΣFe ratio and the δ 56 Fe of melts increase with the degree of partial melting, indicating that low-degree melts are not isotopically heavy enough to significantly alter the isotopic composition of lithospheric mantle through metasomatism. For (iv), equilibrium isotope fractionation between olivine and melt is near zero. These results suggest that equilibrium Fe isotope fractionation alone cannot explain the MORB isotopic signature, highlighting the potential role of kinetic isotope fractionation. Using a diffusion model, we calculated kinetic Fe and Mg isotope fractionations associated with (iv) olivine crystallization from a melt, and found that the predicted Fe and Mg isotope fractionations were inconsistent with observations in MORBs. Qualitatively, two processes could have induced kinetic Fe isotope fractionation during MORB generation: (a) Fe-Mg interdiffusion between melt and solid during melt migration and (b) reactive melt-rock interactions during melt focusing. However, a quantitative understanding of their role in modifying the melt isotopic composition remains limited and requires further investigation.

Fe isotopes↗
DOE OSTI2025

Atomic layer deposition of nanofilms on porous polymer substrates: Strategies for success

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a versatile technique for engineering the surfaces of porous polymers, imbuing the flexible, high-surface-area substrates with inorganic and hybrid material properties. Previously reported enhancements include fouling resistance, electrical conductance, thermal stability, photocatalytic activity, hydrophilicity, and oleophilicity. However, there are many poorly understood phenomena that introduce challenges in applying ALD to porous polymers. In this paper, we address five common challenges and ways to overcome them: (1) entrapped precursor, (2) embrittlement, (3) film fracture, (4) deformation, and (5) pore collapse. These challenges are often interrelated and can exacerbate one another. To investigate these phenomena, we applied various ALD chemistries to porous polymers including polyethersulfone, polysulfone, polyvinylidene fluoride, and polycarbonate track-etched membranes. Reaction-diffusion modeling revealed why certain precursors and processing conditions result in embrittling subsurface material growth, entrapment of unreacted precursors, and nongrowth. We quantify the limits of ALD processing temperatures that are dictated by thermal expansion mismatch and can lead to fractured ALD films. The results herein allow us to make recommendations to avoid, mitigate, or overcome the difficulties encountered when performing ALD and plasma-enhanced ALD on porous polymers. We intend this article to serve as a “lessons learned” guide informed by previous experience to provide a better understanding of the difficulties and limitations of ALD on porous polymers and knowledge-based guidelines for successful depositions. This knowledge can accelerate future research and help experimentalists navigate and troubleshoot as they expose porous polymers to reactive precursor vapors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2002

Mathematical model of diffusion-limited gas bubble dynamics in unstirred tissue with finite volume

Models of gas bubble dynamics for studying decompression sickness have been developed by considering the bubble to be immersed in an extravascular tissue with diffusion-limited gas exchange between the bubble and the surrounding unstirred tissue. In previous versions of this two-region model, the tissue volume must be theoretically infinite, which renders the model inapplicable to analysis of bubble growth in a finite-sized tissue. We herein present a new two-region model that is applicable to problems involving finite tissue volumes. By introducing radial deviations to gas tension in the diffusion region surrounding the bubble, the concentration gradient can be zero at a finite distance from the bubble, thus limiting the tissue volume that participates in bubble–tissue gas exchange. It is shown that these deviations account for the effects of heterogeneous perfusion on gas bubble dynamics, and are required for the tissue volume to be finite. The bubble growth results from a difference between the bubble gas pressure and an average gas tension in the surrounding diffusion region that explicitly depends on gas uptake and release by the bubble. For any given decompression, the diffusion region volume must stay above a certain minimum in order to sustain bubble growth.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗
DOE OSTI2015

Analytical approximation of transit time scattering due to magnetosonic waves

Abstract Recent test particle simulations have shown that energetic electrons traveling through fast magnetosonic (MS) wave packets can experience an effect which is specifically associated with the tight equatorial confinement of these waves, known as transit time scattering. However, such test particle simulations can be computationally cumbersome and offer limited insight into the dominant physical processes controlling the wave‐particle interactions, that is, in determining the effects of the various wave parameters and equatorial confinement on the particle scattering. In this paper, we show that such nonresonant effects can be effectively captured with a straightforward analytical treatment that is made possible with a set of reasonable, simplifying assumptions. It is shown that the effect of the wave confinement, which is not captured by the standard quasi‐linear theory approach, acts in such a way as to broaden the range of particle energies and pitch angles that can effectively resonate with the wave. The resulting diffusion coefficients can be readily incorporated into global diffusion models in order to test the effects of transit time scattering on the dynamical evolution of radiation belt fluxes.

Bortnik, J.↗
DOE OSTI2017

N 2 O production and consumption from stable isotopic and concentration data in the Peruvian coastal upwelling system: N 2 O Production and Consumption off Peru

The ocean is an important source of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) to the atmosphere, yet the factors controlling N 2 O production and consumption in oceanic environments are still not understood nor constrained. We measured N 2 O concentrations and isotopomer ratios, as well as O 2 , nutrient and biogenic N 2 concentrations, and the isotopic compositions of nitrate and nitrite at several coastal stations during two cruises off the Peru coast (~5–16°S, 75–81°W) in December 2012 and January 2013. N 2 O concentrations varied from below equilibrium values in the oxygen deficient zone (ODZ) to up to 190nmol L -1 in surface waters. We used a 3-D-reaction-advection-diffusion model to evaluate the rates and modes of N 2 O production in oxic waters and rates of N 2 O consumption versus production by denitrification in the ODZ. Intramolecular site preference in N 2 O isotopomer was relatively low in surface waters (generally -3 to 14‰) and together with modeling results, confirmed the dominance of nitrifier-denitrification or incomplete denitrifier-denitrification, corresponding to an efflux of up to 0.6 Tg N yr -1 off the Peru coast. Other evidence, e.g., the absence of a relationship between ΔN 2 O and apparent O 2 utilization and significant relationships between nitrate, a substrate during denitrification, and N 2 O isotopes, suggest that N 2 O production by incomplete denitrification or nitrifier-denitrification decoupled from aerobic organic matter remineralization are likely pathways for extreme N 2 O accumulation in newly upwelled surface waters. We observed imbalances between N 2 O production and consumption in the ODZ, with the modeled proportion of N 2 O consumption relative to production generally increasing with biogenic N 2 . However, N 2 O production appeared to occur even where there was high N loss at the shallowest stations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental and computational design tools for industrial drying processes: Challenges in process‐limit prediction

Abstract The coating and drying of inks and slurries are important steps to manufacture a plethora of products. Drying processes, particularly, comprise energy‐intensive steps that affect product cost and quality. Prior work has highlighted failures of various multicomponent diffusivity models to conserve mass in dryer modeling and challenges in predicting process limits given variability in published values of key thermodynamic parameters. Herein, we develop a computational model and benchtop drying experiments to investigate these concerns for drying polymer‐laden coatings. Model predictions of process limits in a single‐zone drying oven demonstrate that published variability in Flory–Huggins parameter yields large variations in predicted operating temperatures above which blistering occurs. This indicates that caution should be exercised when choosing approaches to obtain or predict the Flory–Huggins parameter, and that both benchtop drying experiments and a set of additional experiments, such as sorption experiments, are needed to fully characterize and optimize a given drying process.

Parrish, Chance↗
DOE OSTI2020

DNA Reaction–Diffusion Attractor Patterns

Abstract Living systems can form and recover complex chemical patterns with precisely sized features in the ranges of tens or hundreds of microns. We show how designed reaction–diffusion processes can likewise produce precise patterns, termed attractor patterns, that reform their precise shape after being perturbed. We use oligonucleotide reaction networks, photolithography, and microfluidic delivery to form precisely controlled attractor patterns and study the responses of these patterns to different localized perturbations. Linear and “hill”‐shaped patterns formed and stabilized into shapes and at time scales consistent with reaction–diffusion models. When patterns were perturbed in particular locations with UV light, they reliably reformed their steady‐state profiles. Recovery also occurred after repeated perturbations. By designing the far‐from‐equilibrium dynamics of a chemical system, this study shows how it is possible to design spatial patterns of molecules that are sustained and regenerated by continually evolving towards a specific steady state configuration.

Dorsey, Phillip James↗
DOE OSTI2020

DNA Reaction–Diffusion Attractor Patterns

Living systems can form and recover complex chemical patterns with precisely sized features in the ranges of tens or hundreds of microns. We show how designed reaction-diffusion processes can likewise produce precise patterns, termed attractor patterns, that reform their precise shape after being perturbed. We use oligonucleotide reaction networks, photolithography and microfluidic delivery to form precisely controlled attractor patterns and study the responses of these patterns to different localized perturbations. Linear and ‘hill’-shaped patterns formed and stabilized into shapes and at time scales consistent with reaction-diffusion models. When patterns were perturbed in particular locations with UV light, they reliably reformed their steady state profiles. Recovery also occurred after repeated perturbations. As a result, by designing the far-from-equilibrium dynamics of a chemical system, this study shows how it is possible to design spatial patterns of molecules that are sustained and regenerated by continually evolving towards a specific steady state configuration

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Side chain dynamics in semiconducting polymer MEH-PPV

We report that the characteristic nanoscale dynamics of the alkyl side groups in the light-emitting polymer poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] have been investigated using quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS). The measurements were taken below the polymer's glass transition (T ≤ T g ≃ 353 K), where the main backbone is in a rigid state and does not contribute to the broadening of the QENS signal. An analytical diffusion model consisting of a static term and two dynamical components, characterizing the flexible side groups, provide an excellent fit to the experimental data. The two observed dynamical processes are all localized in character, with no meaningful dependence on temperature. The faster process, with characteristic timescale of ~18 ps at room temperature (RT), can be linked to the average mobility of the terminal protons of the alkyl chain, while the slower process, with characteristic timescale of ~170 ps at RT, to those protons at the other end of the alkyl chain, closest to the backbone. Lastlyl, while the fraction of mobile protons contributing to the QENS signal increases with increasing temperature, the characteristic timescale and confining volume within which the protons are able to move locally depend chiefly on the polymer conformational state.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Development of a Novel Equilibrium Passive Sampling Device for Methylmercury in Sediment and Soil Porewaters

In this work, we explored the concept of equilibrium passive sampling for methylmercury (MeHg) using the strategy developed for hydrophobic organic chemicals. Passive sampling should allow prediction of the concentration of the chemically labile fraction of MeHg in sediment porewaters based on equilibrium partitioning into the sampler, without modeling diffusion rates through the sampler material. Our goals were to identify sampler materials with the potential to mimic MeHg partitioning into animals and sediments and provide reversible sorption in a time frame appropriate for in situ samplers. Candidate materials tested included a range of polymers embedded with suitable sorbents for MeHg. The most promising were activated carbon (AC) embedded in agarose, thiol–self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports embedded in agarose, and cysteine-functionalized polyethylene terephthalate, which yielded log sampler–water partition coefficients of 2.8 to 5 for MeHgOH and MeHg complexed with dissolved organic matter (Suwannee River humic acid). Sampler equilibration time in sediments was approximately 1 to 2 wk. Investigation of the MeHg accumulation mechanism by AC embedded in agarose suggested that sampling was kinetically influenced by MeHg interactions with AC particles and not limited by diffusion through the gel for this material. Also, AC exhibited relatively rapid desorption of Hg and MeHg, indicating that this sorbent is capable of reversible, equilibrium measurements. In sediment:water microcosms, porewater concentrations made with isotherm-calibrated passive samplers agreed within a factor of 2 (unamended sediment) or 4 (AC-amended sediment) with directly measured concentrations. The present study demonstrates a potential new approach to passive sampling of MeHg.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of interface recombination on the efficiency of intracavity double diode structures

In the past ten years, there has been significant progress in solid-state optical refrigeration, causing a renewed interest in the possibility of electroluminescent cooling (ELC) in light emitting diodes (LEDs). More recently, our work on III-As based intracavity double diode structures (DDSs) indicates that the threshold for ELC can be reached, in practice, at high powers and 300 K if certain non-radiative recombination mechanisms and photodetector (PD) losses are minimized. The studied DDSs consist of a LED, incorporating a high-quality GaAs active layer, optically coupled to a GaAs p–n homojunction PD. Both the LED and PD are integrated in a single device, offering a unique environment for studying ELC. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the DDS characteristics and investigate the impact of non-radiative interface recombination on the LED, showing how the choice of the barrier layer materials can suppress this effect. We use experimental characterization techniques to calibrate numerical simulations, coupling the drift-diffusion model for charge transport to a photon transport model. To explore the interface effects, we compare DDSs with either GaInP/GaAs or AlGaAs/GaAs double heterojunctions. The results suggest that GaInP barriers allow interface recombination suppression that is sufficient to reach internal cooling in the LED.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Plausibility of the Formose Reaction in Alkaline Hydrothermal Vent Environments

Prebiotic processes required a reliable source of free energy and complex chemical mixtures that may have included sugars. The formose reaction is a potential source of those sugars. At moderate to elevated temperature and pH ranges, these sugars rapidly decay. Here it is shown that CaCO 3 -based chemical gardens catalyze the formose reaction to produce glucose, ribose, and other monosaccharides. These thin inorganic membranes are explored as analogs of hydrothermal vent materials—a possible place for the origin of life—and similarly exposed to very steep pH gradients. Supported by simulations of a simple reaction-diffusion model, this study shows that such gradients allow for the dynamic accumulation of sugars in specific layers of the thin membrane, effectively protecting formose sugar yields. Furthermore, the formose reaction may be a plausible prebiotic reaction in alkaline hydrothermal vent environments, possibly setting the stage for an RNA world.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗