SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Fluids”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 937 records · Page 52

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2016

Tracking interface and common curve dynamics for two-fluid flow in porous media

Pore-scale studies of multiphase flow in porous medium systems can be used to understand transport mechanisms and quantitatively determine closure relations that better incorporate microscale physics into macroscale models. Multiphase flow simulators constructed using the lattice Boltzmann method provide a means to conduct such studies, including both the equilibrium and dynamic aspects. Moving, storing, and analyzing the large state space presents a computational challenge when highly-resolved models are applied. We present an approach to simulate multiphase flow processes in which in-situ analysis is applied to track multiphase flow dynamics at high temporal resolution. We compute a comprehensive set of measures of the phase distributions and the system dynamics, which can be used to aid fundamental understanding and inform closure relations for macroscale models. The measures computed include microscale point representations and macroscale averages of fluid saturations, the pressure and velocity of the fluid phases, interfacial areas, interfacial curvatures, interface and common curve velocities, interfacial orientation tensors, phase velocities and the contact angle between the fluid-fluid interface and the solid surface. Test cases are studied to validate the approach and illustrate how measures of system state can be obtained and used to inform macroscopic theory.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Probing Carbon Mineralization Mechanisms in Pore and Bulk Fluids by Harnessing Architected Calcium Silicates

The ability to synthesize materials with well-controlled pore structures gives us unprecedented control over probing fluid interactions with reactive interfaces and advancing calibrated insights into coupled chemo-morphological interactions. One of the primary challenges in developing crystalline silicate materials lies in achieving ordered pore structures. Existing approaches of producing amorphous mesoporous metal silicates via sol–gel methods and heat-treatment of these materials to produce crystalline phases cause the pore structures in the amorphous phases to collapse. To overcome this challenge, carbon coating of amorphous mesoporous calcium silicate particles is carried out to retain the pore structure, while the material is heated to produce crystalline calcium silicate with calcium sulfate inclusions. The pore diameter in these materials is about 3.9 nm, with a surface area and a pore volume of 28.75 m 2 /g and 0.092 cm 2 /g, respectively. The mechanisms of carbon mineralization are investigated by reacting architected calcium silicate with 1 M Na 2 CO 3 and monitoring the evolution in the structural phases using operando wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements. Formation of stable calcium carbonate polymorph or calcite and metastable calcium carbonate polymorph or vaterite in pore and bulk fluids, respectively, resulting from the reaction between Na 2 CO 3 and CaSiO 3 , are noted. The mechanisms associated with carbon mineralization are delineated using ReaxFF molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The surface dissolution reaction is initiated by 2H + ions that replace a Ca 2+ ion in the Ca–silicate matrix. Ca 2+ ions in the solution initially react with water to form calcium hydroxide and eventually form calcium (bi)carbonate. A slow and gradual increase in the formation of sodium silicate in the solution resulting from the reactions of silicic acid or the silicon dioxide reaction with sodium hydroxide is noted. When carbon mineralization occurs in environments bearing interfacial fluids, calcite is the dominant calcium carbonate polymorph, as determined using experiments with pore fluids and molecular-scale simulations. In conclusion, these studies provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms underlying the carbon mineralization of calcium silicate informed by experiments and molecular-scale simulations.

Calcium↗

DOE OSTI2024

Molecular Modes Elucidate the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxation of Viscous Fluids

The Bloembergen, Purcell, and Pound (BPP) theory of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation in fluids dating back to 1948 continues to be the linchpin in interpreting NMR relaxation data in applications ranging from characterizing fluids in porous media to medical imaging (MRI). The BPP theory is founded on assuming molecules are hard spheres with 1 H– 1 H dipole pairs reorienting randomly; assumptions that are severe in light of modern understanding of liquids. Nevertheless, it is intriguing to this day that the BPP theory was consistent with the original experimental data for glycerol, a hydrogen-bonding molecular fluid for which the hard-sphere-rigid-dipole assumption is inapplicable. To better understand this incongruity, atomistic molecular simulations are used to compute 1 H NMR T 1 relaxation dispersion (i.e., frequency dependence) in two contrasting cases: glycerol, and a (non hydrogen-bonding) viscosity standard. At high viscosities, simulations predict distinct functional forms of T 1 for glycerol compared to the viscosity standard, in agreement with modern measurements, yet both in contrast to BPP theory. The cause of these departures from BPP theory is elucidated, without assuming any relaxation models and without any free parameters, by decomposing the simulated T 1 response into dynamic molecular modes for both intramolecular and intermolecular interactions. The decomposition into dynamic molecular modes provides an alternative framework to understand the physics of NMR relaxation for viscous fluids.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2018

A Broadband Laboratory Study of the Seismic Properties of Cracked and Fluid-Saturated Synthetic Glass Media

In this paper, for better understanding of frequency dependence (dispersion) of seismic wave velocities caused by stress-induced fluid flow, broadband laboratory measurements were performed on a suite of synthetic glass media containing both equant pores and thermal cracks. Complementary forced oscillation, resonant bar, and ultrasonic techniques provided access to millihertz-hertz frequencies, ~1 kHz frequency, and ~1 MHz frequency, respectively. The wave speeds or effective elastic moduli and associated dissipation were measured on samples under dry, argon- or nitrogen-saturated, and water-saturated conditions in sequence. The elastic moduli, in situ permeability, and crack porosity inferred from in situ X-ray computed tomography all attest to strong pressure-induced crack closure for differential (confining-minus-pore) pressures <30 MPa, consistent with zero-pressure crack aspect ratios <4 × 10 -4 . The low permeabilities of these materials allow access to undrained conditions, even at subhertz frequencies. The ultrasonically measured elastic moduli reveal consistently higher shear and bulk moduli upon fluid saturation—diagnostic of the saturated-isolated regime. For a glass rod specimen, containing cracks but no pores, saturated-isolated conditions apparently persist to subhertz frequencies—requiring in situ aspect ratios (minimum/maximum dimension) <10 -5 . In marked contrast, the shear modulus measured at subhertz frequencies on a cracked glass bead specimen of 5% porosity, is insensitive to fluid saturation, consistent with the Biot-Gassmann model for the saturated-isobaric regime. Finally, the measured dispersion of the shear modulus approaches 10% over the millihertz-megahertz frequency range for the cracked and fluid-saturated media—implying that laboratory ultrasonic data should be used with care in the interpretation of field data.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Complexity of Fault Rupture and Fluid Leakage in Shale: Insights From a Controlled Fault Activation Experiment

Abstract We observed rupture growth caused by controlled fluid injections at 340‐m depth within a fault zone in the low‐permeability Opalinus Clay in the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory (Switzerland). The rupture mechanisms were evaluated using measurements of the three‐component borehole wall displacements and fluid pressure in two sections of the fault zone and located horizontally 3 m apart from each other. One section was set across a secondary segment of the fault and used for stepwise fluid injection intended to trigger rupture growth. The other section was set across the principal shear zone of the fault for monitoring. After stepwise pressure increase up to 5.95 MPa at injection, rupture initiated as slip activation, followed by an overall opening of the fault planes connected to the injection. After 19 s of continued injection, displacements arrived at the monitoring point on the principal shear zone. These displacements are about 2.4 times larger than in the secondary fault segment. Overall, the displacements corresponded to a normal fault activation. About 9 s after the displacement front arrived, a strong pressure increase of 4.17 MPa was measured at the monitoring point, indicating a hydraulic connection had formed along the initially very low permeability fault planes between the injection and the monitoring points. Our analyses highlight that the fault activation is consistent with the state of stress but that injection pressure must be close to the normal stress acting on the fault for permeability to be generated and for fluid leakage to occur.

Guglielmi, Yves↗

DOE OSTI2020

Seismicity and Stress Associated With a Fluid-Driven Fracture: Estimating the Evolving Geometry

A coupled approach, combining the theory of rate- and state-dependent friction and methods from poroelasticity, forms the basis for a quantitative relationship between displacements and fluid leak-off from a growing fracture and changes in the rate of seismic events in the region surrounding the fracture. Poroelastic Green's functions link fracture aperture changes and fluid flow from the fracture to changes in the stress field and pore pressure in the adjacent formation. The theory of rate- and state-dependent friction provides a connection between Coulomb stress changes and variations in the rate of seismic events. Numerical modeling indicates that the Coulomb stress changes can vary significantly between formations with differing properties. The relationship between the seismicity rate changes and the changes in the formation stresses and fluid pressure is nonlinear, but a transformation produces a quantity that is linearly related to the aperture changes and fluid leak-off from the fracture. The methodology provides a means for mapping changes in seismicity into fracture aperture changes and to image an evolving fracture. An application to observed microseismicity associated with a hydrofracture reveals asymmetric fracture propagation within two main zones, with extended propagation in the upper zone. Furthermore, the time-varying volume of the fracture agrees with the injected volume, given by the integration of rate changes at the injection well, providing validation of the estimated aperture changes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Thermally Significant Fluid Seepage Through Thick Sediment on the Juan de Fuca Plate Entering the Cascadia Subduction Zone

We use heat flux measurements colocated with seismic reflection profiles over a buried basement high on the Juan de Fuca plate ∼25 km seaward of the deformation front offshore Oregon to test for the presence of hydrothermal circulation in the oceanic crust. We also revisit heat flux data crossing a buried basement high ∼25 km seaward of the deformation front ∼150 km north, offshore Washington. Seafloor heat flux is inversely correlated with sediment thickness, consistent with vigorous hydrothermal circulation in the basement aquifer homogenizing temperatures at the top of the basement. Heat flux immediately above the summit of the basement highs is greater than expected solely from conduction. Fluid seepage at rates of ∼2.6–5.4 cm yr −1 in a 1–1.5 km-wide conduit through ∼800–1,300 m thick sediment sections above these basement highs can explain these observations. Observations of thermally significant fluid seepage through sediment >225 m thick on oceanic crust are unprecedented. High sediment permeability, high fluid overpressure in the basement, or a combination of both is required to drive fluid seepage at the observed rates. We infer that rapid seepage occurs because the basement highs rise above the low permeability basal sediment with their tops protruding into the base of high permeability Nitinat or Astoria Fan sediment. Seepage from basement highs penetrating into the submarine fans can affect the thermal state of crust entering the subduction zone.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Early fluid activity on Ryugu inferred by isotopic analyses of carbonates and magnetite

Samples from asteroid Ryugu returned by the Hayabusa2 mission contain evidence of extensive alteration by aqueous fluids and appear related to the CI chondrites. To understand the sources of the fluid and the timing of chemical reactions occurring during the alteration processes, we investigated the oxygen, carbon and 53 Mn– 53 Cr systematics of carbonate and magnetite in two Ryugu particles. Here we find that the fluid was initially between 0 and 20 °C and enriched in 13 C, 17 O and 18 O, and subsequently evolved towards lighter carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions as alteration proceeded. Carbonate ages show that this fluid–rock interaction took place within approximately the first 1.8 million years of Solar System history, requiring early accretion either in a planetesimal less than ~20 km in diameter or within a larger body that was disrupted and reassembled.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Fluctuating hydrodynamics of chiral active fluids

Active materials are characterized by continuous injection of energy at the microscopic level and typically cannot be adequately described by equilibrium thermodynamics. Here we study a class of active fluids in which equilibrium-like properties emerge when fluctuating and activated degrees of freedom are statistically decoupled, such that their mutual information is negligible. We analyse three paradigmatic systems: chiral active fluids composed of spinning frictional particles that are free to translate, oscillating granular gases and active Brownian rollers. In all of these systems, a single effective temperature generated by activity parameterizes both the equation of state and the emergent Boltzmann statistics. The same effective temperature, renormalized by velocity correlations, relates viscosities to steady-state stress fluctuations via a Green–Kubo relation. To rationalize these observations, we develop a theory for the fluctuating hydrodynamics of these non-equilibrium fluids and validate it through large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. Our work sheds light on the microscopic origin of odd viscosities and stress fluctuations characteristic of parity-violating fluids, in which mirror symmetry and detailed balance are broken.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

In-situ experiment reveals CO2 enriched fluid migration in faulted caprock

Abstract The sealing characteristics of the geological formation located above a CO 2 storage reservoir, the so-called caprock, are essential to ensure efficient geological carbon storage. If CO 2 were to leak through the caprock, temporal changes in fluid geochemistry can reveal fundamental information on migration mechanisms and induced fluid–rock interactions. Here, we present the results from a unique in-situ injection experiment, where CO 2 -enriched fluid was continuously injected in a faulted caprock analogue. Our results show that the CO 2 migration follows complex pathways within the fault structure. The joint analysis of noble gases, ion concentrations and carbon isotopes allow us to quantify mixing between injected CO 2 -enriched fluid and resident formation water and to describe the temporal evolution of water–rock interaction processes. The results presented here are a crucial complement to the geophysical monitoring at the fracture scale highlighting a unique migration of CO 2 in fault zones.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

DOE OSTI2022

Mechanism for particle fractionalization and universal edge physics in quantum Hall fluids

Abstract Advancing a microscopic framework that rigorously unveils the underlying topological hallmarks of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) fluids is a prerequisite for making progress in the classification of strongly-coupled topological matter. We present a second-quantization framework that reveals an exact fusion mechanism for particle fractionalization in FQH fluids, and uncovers the fundamental structure behind the condensation of non-local operators characterizing topological order in the lowest-Landau-level. We show the first exact analytic computation of the quasielectron Berry connections leading to its fractional charge and exchange statistics, and perform Monte Carlo simulations that numerically confirm the fusion mechanism for quasiparticles. We express the sequence of (bosonic and fermionic) Laughlin second-quantized states, highlighting the lack of local condensation, and present a rigorous constructive subspace bosonization dictionary for the bulk fluid. Finally, we establish universal long-distance behavior of edge excitations by formulating a conjecture based on the DNA, or root state, of the FQH fluid.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

Fully alternating, triaxial electric or magnetic fields offer new routes to fluid vorticity

Noncontact methods of generating strong fluid vorticity are important to problems involving heat and mass transfer, fluid mixing, active wetting, and droplet transport. Furthermore, because zero or even negative shear viscosities can be induced, vorticity can greatly extend the control range of the smart fluids used in magnetorheological devices. In recent work we have shown that a particular class of ac/ac/dc triaxial fields (so-called symmetry-breaking rational fields ) can create strong vorticity in magnetic particle suspensions and have presented a theory of the vorticity that is based on the symmetry of the 2-d Lissajous trajectories of the field and its converse. In this paper we demonstrate that there are three countably infinite sets of fully alternating ac/ac/ac triaxial fields whose frequencies form rational triads that have the symmetry required to drive fluid vorticity. The symmetry of the 3-d Lissajous trajectories of the field and its converse can be derived and from this the direction of the vorticity axis can be predicted, as can the dependence of the sign of the vorticity on the phase relations between the three field components. Experimental results are presented that validate the symmetry theory. These discoveries significantly broaden the class of triaxial fields that can be exploited to produce strong noncontact flow.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2014

Fluid aspects of electron streaming instability in electron-ion plasmas

Electrons streaming in a background electron and ion plasma may lead to the formation of electrostatic solitary wave (ESW) and hole structure which have been observed in various space plasma environments. Past studies on the formation of ESW are mostly based on the particle simulations due to the necessity of incorporating particle's trapping effects. In this study, the fluid aspects and thermodynamics of streaming instabilities in electron-ion plasmas including bi-streaming and bump-on-tail instabilities are addressed based on the comparison between fluid theory and the results from particle-in-cell simulations. The energy closure adopted in the fluid model is the polytropic law of d(pρ{sup −γ})/dt=0 with γ being a free parameter. Two unstable modes are identified for the bump-on-tail instability and the growth rates as well as the dispersion relation of the streaming instabilities derived from the linear theory are found to be in good agreement with the particle simulations for both bi-streaming and bump-on-tail instabilities. At the nonlinear saturation, 70% of the electrons are trapped inside the potential well for the drift velocity being 20 times of the thermal velocity and the pρ{sup −γ} value is significantly increased. Effects of ion to electron mass ratio on the linear fluid theory and nonlinear simulations are also examined.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2014

Steady fall of isothermal, resistive-viscous, compressible fluid across magnetic field

This is a basic MHD study of the steady fall of an infinite, vertical slab of isothermal, resistive-viscous, compressible fluid across a dipped magnetic field in uniform gravity. This double-diffusion steady flow in unbounded space poses a nonlinear but numerically tractable, one-dimensional (1D) free-boundary problem, assuming constant coefficients of resistivity and viscosity. The steady flow is determined by a dimensionless number μ{sub 1} proportional to the triple product of the two diffusion coefficients and the square of the linear total mass. For a sufficiently large μ{sub 1}, the Lorentz, viscous, fluid-pressure, and gravitational forces pack and collimate the fluid into a steady flow of a finite width defined by the two zero-pressure free-boundaries of the slab with vacuum. The viscous force is essential in this collimation effect. The study conjectures that in the regime μ{sub 1}→0, the 1D steady state exists only for μ{sub 1}∈Ω, a spectrum of an infinite number of discrete values, including μ{sub 1} = 0 that corresponds to two steady states, the classical zero-resistivity static slab of Kippenhahn and Schlüter [R. Kippenhahn and A. Schlüter, Z. Astrophys. 43, 36 (1957)] and its recent generalization [B. C. Low et al., Astrophys. J. 755, 34 (2012)] to admit an inviscid resistive flow. The pair of zero-pressure boundaries of each of the μ{sub 1}→0 steady-state slabs are located at infinity. Computational evidence suggests that the Ω steady-states are densely distributed around μ{sub 1} = 0, as an accumulation point, but are sparsely separated by open intervals of μ{sub 1}-values for which the slab must be either time-dependent or spatially multi-dimensional. The widths of these intervals are vanishingly small as μ{sub 1}→0. This topological structure of physical states is similar to that described by Landau and Liftshitz [L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Fluid Mechanics (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1959)] to explain the onset of hydrodynamic turbulence. The implications of this MHD study are discussed, with an interest in the prominences in the solar atmosphere and the interstellar clouds in the Galaxy.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2014

An improved lattice Boltzmann scheme for multiphase fluid with multi-range interactions

Modeling of fluids with liquid to gas phase transition has become important for understanding many environmental or industrial processes. Such simulations need new techniques, because traditional solvers are often limited. The Lattice Boltzmann Model (LBM) allows simulate complex fluids, because its mesoscopic nature gives possibility to incorporate additional physics in comparison to usual methods. In this work, an improved lattice Boltzmann model for phase transition flow will be introduced. First, the state of art for Shan and Chen (SC) type of LBM will be reminded. Then, link to real thermodynamics will be established with Maxwell equal areas construction. Convergence to isothermal liquid vapor equilibrium will be shown and discussed. Inclusion of an equation of state for real fluid and better incorporation of force term is presented. Multi-range interactions have been used for SC model, but it hasn't been yet applied to real fluid with non-ideal equation of state. In this work, we evaluate this model when it is applied to real liquid-vapor equilibrium. We show that important differences are found for evaluation of gas density. In order to recover thermodynamic consistency, we use a new scheme for calculation of force term, which is a combination of multi range model and numerical weighting used by Gong and Cheng. We show the superiority of our new model by studying convergence to equilibrium values over a large temperature range. We prove that spurious velocities remaining at equilibrium are decreased.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2015

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of immiscible fluid displacement in porous media: Homogeneous versus heterogeneous pore network

Injection of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) into geological formations is a promising approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Predicting the amount of CO{sub 2} that can be captured and its long-term storage stability in subsurface requires a fundamental understanding of multiphase displacement phenomena at the pore scale. In this paper, the lattice Boltzmann method is employed to simulate the immiscible displacement of a wetting fluid by a non-wetting one in two microfluidic flow cells, one with a homogeneous pore network and the other with a randomly heterogeneous pore network. We have identified three different displacement patterns, namely, stable displacement, capillary fingering, and viscous fingering, all of which are strongly dependent upon the capillary number (Ca), viscosity ratio (M), and the media heterogeneity. The non-wetting fluid saturation (S{sub nw}) is found to increase nearly linearly with logCa for each constant M. Increasing M (viscosity ratio of non-wetting fluid to wetting fluid) or decreasing the media heterogeneity can enhance the stability of the displacement process, resulting in an increase in S{sub nw}. In either pore networks, the specific interfacial length is linearly proportional to S{sub nw} during drainage with equal proportionality constant for all cases excluding those revealing considerable viscous fingering. Our numerical results confirm the previous experimental finding that the steady state specific interfacial length exhibits a linear dependence on S{sub nw} for either favorable (M ≥ 1) or unfavorable (M < 1) displacement, and the slope is slightly higher for the unfavorable displacement.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

Relation between pore size and the compressibility of a confined fluid

When a fluid is confined to a nanopore, its thermodynamic properties differ from the properties of a bulk fluid, so measuring such properties of the confined fluid can provide information about the pore sizes. Here, we report a simple relation between the pore size and isothermal compressibility of argon confined in such pores. Compressibility is calculated from the fluctuations of the number of particles in the grand canonical ensemble using two different simulation techniques: conventional grand-canonical Monte Carlo and grand-canonical ensemble transition-matrix Monte Carlo. Our results provide a theoretical framework for extracting the information on the pore sizes of fluid-saturated samples by measuring the compressibility from ultrasonic experiments.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2017

Tokamak two-fluid ignition conditions

This work focuses on modeling the properties needed by a plasma to reach ignition, where ignition is the condition in which fusion power is produced at the steady state without any external input power. We extend the classic work by Lawson giving the ptots τ E (product between density, temperature, and energy confinement time) needed for ignition [J. D. Lawson, Proc. Phys. Soc. London, Sect. B 70, 6 (1957)] by improving the original zero-dimensional, single fluid model. The effect of multi-fluid physics is included, by distinguishing ions, electrons, and a particles. The effects of one-dimensional density and temperature profiles are also considered. It is found that the multi-fluid model predicts a larger Lawson product required for ignition than the single-fluid one. A detailed analysis of the energy confinement times for each species and energy equilibration times between species shows that the electron energy confinement time is the parameter more strongly affecting the Lawson product needed for ignition. In conclusion, it is also found that peaked profiles (of either temperature or density) require a smaller Lawson product for ignition than flat profiles.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗