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At least 91 records · Page 5

Reduced Volume Prototype Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator; A Next-Generation Evaporative Cooling System for the Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit Portable Life Support System

Development of the Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AEMU) portable life support subsystem (PLSS) is currently under way at NASA Johnson Space Center. The AEMU PLSS features a new evaporative cooling system, the reduced volume prototype (RVP) spacesuit water membrane evaporator (SWME). The RVP SWME is the third generation of hollow fiber SWME hardware. Like its predecessors, RVP SWME provides nominal crew member and electronics cooling by flowing water through porous hollow fibers. Water vapor escapes through the hollow fiber pores, thereby cooling the liquid water that remains inside of the fibers. This cooled water is then recirculated to remove heat from the crew member and PLSS electronics. Major design improvements, including a 36% reduction in volume, reduced weight, and a more flight-like backpressure valve, facilitate the packaging of RVP SWME in the AEMU PLSS envelope. The development of these evaporative cooling systems will contribute to a more robust and comprehensive AEMU PLSS.

Makinen, Janice V.

Measurement of the Energy Spread for CeC Project

The Coherent Electron Cooling requires small energy spread and uniformity of energy along the bunch. The diagnostics line is utilized for the measurement of the electron beam parameters. The beamline layout is shown in Fig. 1. Three quadrupoles after the linac are used to match beam into the common section. The main dipole is used to deflect beam towards common section. If it is switched off the beam goes to the diagnostics line. The beam optics in the diagnostics line is controlled by four quadrupoles. The deflecting cavity sweeping beam in the vertical direction follows the quadrupoles. Sector dipole is used for energy parameters measurement. It has deflection angle of 30 degrees. With diagnostics dipole switched off the beam propagated to the insertable slits system for emittance measurement. There are four profile monitors in the line, The first profile monitor (ACC YAG) is after the main dipole. The second profile monitor (YAG3) is in front of the diagnostics dipole after the deflecting cavity. YAG1 profile monitor is placed after the slits, and YAG2 profile monitor is placed after the diagnostics dipole. There is a solenoid between the deflecting cavity and YAG3. It is used for the beam energy measurement.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS

Methods and first results of plasma non-isothermal parameters measurements in meteor trails

There is no reliable experimental evidence so far of either the presence or absence of nonisothermal effects in newly formed meteor trails. Neither is there a common opinion on the most effective mechanism of electron cooling. According to the laboratory experimental data collisions of atomic and molecular particles of all kinds having velocities of 10 to 70/kms often yields 1 eV electrons and not infrequently some have energies reaching several electron volts. These highest energy electrons are referred to as superhot electrons. The method of measurement and the results of these measurements in meteor trails are discussed.

Kostylev, K. K.

Resonant Compton scattering and gamma-ray burst continuum spectra

The Thomson limit of resonant inverse Compton scattering in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars is considered as a mechanism for producing gamma-ray burst continuum spectra. Photon production spectra and electron cooling rates are presented using the full magnetic Thomson cross-section. Model emission spectra are obtained as self-consistent solutions of a set of photon and electron kinetic equations, displaying spectral breaks and other structure at gamma-ray energies.

Baring, M. G.

Heat balance of the ionosphere - Implications for the International Reference Ionosphere

Theoretical considerations can be helpful tools in modeling ionospheric parameters in regions and for times where not enough experimental data are available. This study asks whether results of heat balance calculations should be introduced to supplement the data base for the International Reference Ionosphere. The present status of the theoretical understanding is discussed and the influence of the following unresolved or neglected times are examined: (1) electron heating rate, (2) electron cooling by fine structure excitation of atomic oxygen, and (3) height-dependent Coulomb Logarithm. The ambiguity introduced by these terms leads to up to 30 percent uncertainty in the electron temperature of the lower ionosphere. The electron temperature in the upper ionosphere is largely determined by heat conduction from above and depends critically on the conditions assumed at the boundary between ionosphere and plasmasphere.

Bilitza, D.

Development of a hybrid chemical/mechanical heat pump

The authors present the current development status of a hybrid chemical/mechanical heat pump for low-lift applications. The heat pump provides electronics cooling by evaporating a pure refrigerant from an absorbent/refrigerant mixture in a generator/cold plate. The current development focused on evaluation of absorbent/refrigerant pairs, corrosion testing, pump and compressor design, and electronic cold plate design. Two cycle configurations were considered. The first configuration utilized a standard mechanical compressor and pump. The second cycle configuration investigated pumps and compressors with non-moving parts. An innovative generator/cold plate design is also presented. The development to date shows that this cycle has about the same performance as standard vapor compression heat pumps with standard refrigerants but may have some performance and reliability advantages over vapor compression heat pumps.

Grzyll, Lawrence R.

Long life electrodes for large-area x-ray generators

This invention is directed to rugged, reliable, and long-life electrodes for use in large-area, high-current-density electron gun and x-ray generators which are employed as contamination-free preionizers for high-energy pulsed gas lasers. The electron source at the cathode is a corona plasma formed at the interface between a conductor, or semiconductor, and a high-permittivity dielectric. Detailed descriptions are provided of a reliable cold plasma cathode, as well as an efficient liquid-cooled electron beam target (anode) and x-ray generator which concentrates the x-ray flux in the direction of an x-ray window.

Rothe, Dietmar E.

Closure Relations of Gamma-Ray Bursts in High Energy Emission

The synchrotron external shock model predicts the evolution of the spectral (β) and temporal (α) indices during the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow for different environmental density profiles, electron spectral indices, electron cooling regimes, and regions of the spectrum. We study the relationship between α and β, the so-called “closure relations” with GRBs detected by Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) from 2008 August to 2018 August. The spectral and temporal indices for the >100 MeV emission from the Fermi-LAT as determined in the Second Fermi-LAT Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog (2FLGC) are used in this work. We select GRBs whose spectral and temporal indices are well constrained (58 long-duration GRBs and 1 short-duration GRBs) and classify each GRB into the best-matched relation. As a result, we found that a number of GRBs require a very small fraction of the total energy density contained in the magnetic field (òB <~10−7). The estimated mean and standard deviation of electron spectral index p are 2.40 and 0.44, respectively. The GRBs satisfying a closure relation of the slow cooling tend to have a softer p value compared to those of the fast cooling. Moreover, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test of the two p distributions from the fast and slow coolings rejects a hypothesis that the two distributions are drawn from the single reference distribution with a significance of 3.2σ. Lastly, the uniform density medium is preferred over the medium that decreases like the inverse of distance squared for long-duration GRBs.

Gamma-ray bursts

Four-dimensional phase-space reconstruction of flat and magnetized beams using neural networks and differentiable simulations

Beams with cross-plane coupling or extreme asymmetries between the two transverse phase spaces are often encountered in particle accelerators. Flat beams with large transverse-emittance ratios are critical for future linear colliders. Similarly, magnetized beams with significant cross-plane coupling are expected to enhance the performance of electron cooling in hadron beams. Preparing these beams requires precise control and characterization of the four-dimensional transverse phase space. In this study, we employ generative phase-space reconstruction techniques to rapidly characterize magnetized and flat-beam phase-space distributions using a conventional quadrupole-scan method. The reconstruction technique is experimentally demonstrated on an electron beam produced at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator and successfully benchmarked against conventional diagnostics techniques. Specifically, we show that predicted beam parameters from the reconstructed phase-space distributions (e.g., as magnetization and flat-beam emittances) are in excellent agreement with those measured from the conventional diagnostic methods. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS

The electron heating rate and ion chemistry in the thermosphere above Wallops Island during the solar eclipse of 7 March 1970.

Measurement of the N2 concentration and temperature, the ion composition and concentrations, and the electron temperature up to 290 km about 30 and 5 min before totality during the Mar. 7, 1970, eclipse. The rockets traveled similar trajectories, thus permitting the purely temporal changes between flights to be resolved. The neutral temperature and N2 concentration changed little, but the electron temperature decreased by as much as 20% in the lower F region. The ion concentration decreased by about 30% in the F region and about 50% in the E region, with little change in relative ion composition. The electron cooling rates decreased by a factor of 6 in the lower F region, approximately in proportion to the change in the visible solar disk. A smaller than expected decrease in the cooling rate below 150 km between the two flights indicates a hardening of the solar spectrum and suggests a significant heat contribution from the solar corona near totality. The ion composition measurements were consistent with solutions of the ion continuity equations. A proper fit required a factor-of-three enhancement of the flux below 200 A, an amount also consistent with the electron heat balance analysis. Reactions involving the minor ions N(+) and N2(+) were found to be important for the ion chemistry of the major ions O2(+) and NO(+), especially at the time of eclipse.-

Brace, L. H.

Mitigation of Boiling-Induced Thermal Degradation Using Microporous Nickel Inverse Opals Structures

Engineered microporous structures have received much attention in high-heat-flux electronics cooling due to their high thermal conductivity and permeability, and large surface area for heat transfer, but are susceptible to boiling-induced thermal degradation. Here, this study investigates the efficacy of nickel inverse opals (NiIOs) in mitigating structural degradation caused by corrosion-assisted erosion during pool boiling with water as the working fluid. First, we compared the reliability of NiIOs to copper inverse opals (CuIOs) for a 3-day pool boiling test at constant heat flux. The NiIOs demonstrated superior resistance to thermal degradation due to their inherent corrosion resistance and mechanical strength. Subsequently, we conducted a more controlled experiment to show the effect of heat flux on the degradation of the NiIOs while excluding the effect of temperature variations. Pool boiling tests of 20-μm-thickness NiIOs covering an area of ∼11 × 11 mm 2 with a 2.5 × 2.5 mm 2 heater at the center were conducted at heat flux levels of 20%, 40%, and 60% of the critical heat flux (CHF) for 3 days. The NiIOs subjected to heat flux levels of 20% and 40% CHF showed minimal degradation, while the sample subjected to 60% CHF showed erosion on the top surface due to higher bubble formation and departure rate. These results show the potential of NiIOs as a promising solution for long-term thermal management in high-power electronic devices, although design considerations for maximum allowable heat flux are necessary for reliable operation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

A Novel and Scalable Method for Microencapsulating Salt Hydrate Phase Change Materials in Core–Shell Fibers

Phase change materials (PCMs) are in high demand for applications such as thermal energy storage in buildings, electronics cooling, and thermal management of electric vehicle batteries and data centers. Among these materials, salt hydrate PCMs are particularly attractive due to their high thermal energy storage capacity and low cost. However, they suffer from two major issues: leakage in the melted phase and phase segregation during phase transitions. Microencapsulation is the primary process capable of addressing both of these challenges. However, there is no reliable or scalable method available for microencapsulating salt hydrate PCMs. As a result, the full potential of salt hydrates for building and data center applications has yet to be realized. In this work, we present an innovative method for the microencapsulation of salt hydrate PCMs using a co‐axial pushing technique. This process creates core–shell fibers, with the salt hydrate as the core and a polymer as the shell. Our approach demonstrates strong potential for scalable microencapsulation of salt hydrate PCMs. In conclusion, achieving scalability could enable their widespread use in applications such as data center cooling, battery thermal management, and building climate control.

Sharma, Jaswinder [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (

Numerical analysis of coalescence-induced bubble departure for enhanced boiling heat transfer

Boiling heat transfer plays a crucial role in a wide range of applications, such as power generation, refrigeration, electronics cooling, and pharmaceutics. Among the various factors that influence boiling heat transfer, the dynamics of vapor bubble nucleation, growth, and departure from the heated surface stand out as particularly important. An emerging phenomenon that can promote the departure of bubbles smaller than the Fritz diameter is coalescence-induced departure. If the dynamics of this process are fully understood, then surfaces can be engineered to promote faster bubble departure and substantially increase the performance of boiling heat transfer. Further, this work expands on published results by presenting a detailed numerical analysis of bubble coalescence and departure for a range of initial bubble diameters and size ratios between coalescing bubbles. Analysis of the results is focused on explaining how the release of surface energy and bubble surface dynamics lead to bubble departure, as well as fundamentally distinguishing capillary–inertial jumping and buoyant–inertial departure mechanisms across different bubble sizes and size ratios. The results show that both the initial sizes of the coalescing bubbles and the ratio between their sizes can determine whether the merged bubble will leave the surface through capillary–inertial jumping or buoyant departure. Below a certain bubble size, the release of surface energy by the merger is not sufficient to propel the merged bubble from the surface.

42 ENGINEERING

Experimental demonstration of accelerating a beam with a large transverse emittance ratio in the relativistic heavy ion collider for the electron-ion collider

The electron-ion collider (EIC), to be constructed at Brookhaven National Laboratory, will collide polarized high-energy electron beams with hadron beams, achieving luminosities of up to 1.0 × 10 34 cm −2 s −1 in the center-of-mass energy range of 20–140 GeV. To reach such high luminosity, the EIC will employ small, flat beams at the interaction point. According to the design of the EIC hadron storage ring (HSR), hadron beams with a large transverse emittance ratio of 11:1 will be generated at the injection energy using an electron cooling technique and then accelerated to high energies for collisions. Accelerating hadron beams with such a large emittance ratio had never been demonstrated elsewhere—until our recent beam experiment at the relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC). In this experiment, we successfully generated a large transverse emittance ratio of 13:1 with a gold-ion beam at 31 GeV/nucleon using stochastic cooling. We then accelerated this beam, with a transverse emittance ratio of 11:1, from 31 to 100 GeV/nucleon. Thanks to RHIC’s high-performance orbit, tune, and decoupling feedback systems, the large emittance ratio was well maintained throughout the 5-min-long acceleration process. This experiment fully validated the EIC/HSR design assumptions—namely, that large-emittance-ratio hadron beams can be generated at injection energy and then accelerated to high energies for collisions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS

Extracting symplectic maps for space-charge dominated beams

Symplecticity of transfer maps is important for reliable evaluation of space-charge dominated beams in accelerators. Unfortunately, most simulation codes that include collective effects, such as space charge, do not use canonical phase-space variables and therefore are not symplectic in the presence of electromagnetic fields. In this paper, we present a numerical method to extract local linear symplectic transfer maps using particle tracking simulation code for space-charge dominated beams. We demonstrate this method for the photoinjector (113 MHz SRF gun) section of the Coherent electron Cooling (CeC) Proof of Principle (POP) experiment.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS

Development and characterization of the flight model spectrometer onboard LuSEE-Night

The Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment - Night, LuSEE-Night, is a low-frequency radio astronomy experiment that will explore the cosmic Dark Ages signal on the radio-quiet far side of the Moon. Here, the LuSEE-Night carries a radio frequency spectrometer consisting of a set of antennas, analog and digital processing electronics, and will be launched by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services in 2025. The spectrometer is designed to observe the spectrum of the radio sky in the 0.5-50MHz band. The flight model (FM) of the four-channel spectrometer has been developed. The FM has been characterized for linearity, gain, noise, and their temperature dependence, confirming that the FM meets all the requirements for LuSEE-Night.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION

ULTRAFAST HIGH-VOLTAGE KICKER SYSTEM HARDWARE FOR ION CLEARING GAPS

Ionization scattering of electron beams with residual gas molecules causes ion trapping in electron rings, both in a collider and electron cooling system. These trapped ions may cause emittance growth, tune shift, halo formation, and coherent coupled bunch instabilities. To clear the ions and prevent them from accumulating turn after turn, the gaps in a temporal structure of the beam are used. Typi- cally, the gap in the bunch train has a length of a few per- cent of the ring circumference. In those regions, the extrac- tion electrodes with high pulsed voltages are introduced. In this paper, we present the design consideration and initial test results of the high-voltage pulsed kicker hardware that includes vacuum device and pulsed voltage driver, capable of achieving over 3 kV of deflecting voltage amplitude, rise and fall times of less than 10 ns, 100 ns flat-top duration at 1.4 MHz repetition rate.

Smirnov, A.