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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 109 records · Page 6

Electric charging effects on insulating surfaces in cryogenic liquids

Here, this paper presents a new technique to study the adsorption and desorption of ions and electrons on insulating surfaces in the presence of strong electric fields in cryoliquids. The experimental design consists of a compact cryostat coupled with a sensitive electro-optical Kerr device to monitor the stability of the electric fields. The behavior of nitrogen and helium ions on a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surface was compared to a PMMA surface coated with a mixture of deuterated polystyrene and deuterated polybutadiene. Ion accumulation and removal on these surfaces were unambiguously observed. Within the precision of the data, both surfaces behave similarly for the physisorbed ions. The setup was also used to measure the (quasi-)static dielectric constant of PMMA at T ≈ 70 K. The impact of the ion adsorption on the search for a neutron permanent electric dipole moment in a cryogenic environment, such as the nEDM@SNS experiment, is discussed.

Cryogenics↗

Computing nuclear response functions with time-dependent coupled-cluster theory

We compute nuclear response functions by solving the time-dependent 𝐴-body Schrödinger equation, recording the time-dependent transition moment and extracting spectral information via Fourier transforms. The solution of the time-dependent many-body problem accounts for correlations on top of the mean field by taking advantage of a time-dependent formulation of coupled-cluster theory. As a validation, we focus on electric dipole transitions in 4 He and 16 O and compare moments of the response function distribution to the results of an equivalent static framework, finding negligible discrepancies. We investigate how proton and neutron densities evolve in time, and we see the traditional picture of soft and giant dipole resonances as collective oscillations of protons and neutrons emerging from our calculations in 16 O and 24 O. Furthermore, this method also allows us to investigate the behavior of the nucleus in the presence of a strong electric field. In that regime, the behavior of the system becomes chaotic. Qualitatively, the spectral information obtained in this limit is in line with previous time-dependent mean-field results.

Ab initio calculations↗

Relationship between microstructure evolution and properties enhancement of carbon nanotubes‐filled polybutylene terephthalate/polypropylene blends induced by thermal annealing

Abstract Thermal annealing induced microstructure evolution and properties enhancement of polybutylene terephthalate/polypropylene/carbon nanotubes (PBT/PP/CNTs) nanocomposites was methodically investigated. The electrical conductive PBT/PP/CNTs nanocomposites with a low percolation threshold were obtained by simple melt blending due to the selective location of the CNTs in PBT phase and the formation of the double percolation structure. Thermal annealing further remarkably decreased the volume resistivity of the nanocomposites, with the maximum reduction of seven orders of magnitude. Scanning electron microscope observation and rheology tests demonstrated that the relatively large CNTs agglomerates were redistributed to build more homogeneous CNTs networks after annealing. The phase coalescence during annealing promoted the formation of the more perfect co‐continuous structure. These phenomena helped to enhance the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites. Flexural properties of the nanocomposites were also enhanced after annealing, which might be due to the more effective stress transfer between the polymer and CNTs induced by the reconstructed CNTs networks. The nanocomposites obtained in this study possess excellent electrical and mechanical properties, which can be applied to the fields of sensors, electromagnetic interference shielding, anti‐static materials, and so forth.

Shang, Mengyao↗

High Speed, Localized Multi-Point Strain Measurements on a Containment Vessel at 1.7 MHz Using Swept-Wavelength Laser-Interrogated Fiber Bragg Gratings

Dynamic elastic strain in ~1.8 and 1.0 m diameter containment vessels containing a high explosive detonation was measured using an array of fiber Bragg gratings. The all-optical method, called real-time localized strain measurement, recorded the strain for 10 ms after detonation with additional measurements being sequentially made at a rate of 1.7 MHz. A swept wavelength laser source provided the repetition rate necessary for such high-speed measurements while also providing enough signal strength and bandwidth to simultaneously measure 8 or more unique points on the vessel’s surface. The data presented here arethen compared with additional diagnostics consisting of a fast spectral interferometer and an optical backscatter reflectometer to show a comparison between the local and global changes in the vessel strain, both dynamically and statically to further characterize the performance of the localized strain measurement. The results are also compared with electrical resistive strain gauges and finite element analysis simulations.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Method for producing nanoparticles and the nanoparticles produced therefrom

Disclosed herein is a method comprising disposing a container containing a metal and/or ferromagnetic solid and abrasive particles in a static magnetic field; where the container is surrounded by an induction coil; activating the induction coil with an electrical current, to heat up the metallic or ferromagnetic solid to form a fluid; generating sonic energy to produce acoustic cavitation and abrasion between the abrasive particles and the container; and producing nanoparticles that comprise elements from the container, the metal and/or the ferromagnetic solid and the abrasive particles. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising first metal or a first ceramic; and particles comprising carbides and/or nitrides dispersed therein. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising nanoparticles comprising chromium carbide, iron carbide, nickel carbide, γ-Fe and magnesium nickel.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Method for producing nanoparticles and the nanoparticles produced therefrom

Disclosed herein is a method comprising disposing a container containing a metal and/or ferromagnetic solid and abrasive particles in a static magnetic field; where the container is surrounded by an induction coil; activating the induction coil with an electrical current, to heat up the metallic or ferromagnetic solid to form a fluid; generating sonic energy to produce acoustic cavitation and abrasion between the abrasive particles and the container; and producing nanoparticles that comprise elements from the container, the metal and/or the ferromagnetic solid and the abrasive particles. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising first metal or a first ceramic; and particles comprising carbides and/or nitrides dispersed therein. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising nanoparticles comprising chromium carbide, iron carbide, nickel carbide, γ-Fe and magnesium nitride.

Manuel, Michele Viola↗

Method for producing nanoparticles and the nanoparticles produced therefrom

Disclosed herein is a method comprising disposing a container containing a metal and/or ferromagnetic solid and abrasive particles in a static magnetic field; where the container is surrounded by an induction coil; activating the induction coil with an electrical current, to heat up the metallic or ferromagnetic solid to form a fluid; generating sonic energy to produce acoustic cavitation and abrasion between the abrasive particles and the container; and producing nanoparticles that comprise elements from the container, the metal and/or the ferromagnetic solid and the abrasive particles. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising first metal or a first ceramic; and particles comprising carbides and/or nitrides dispersed therein. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising nanoparticles comprising chromium carbide, iron carbide, nickel carbide, γ-Fe and magnesium nitride.

Manuel, Michele Viola↗

Method for producing nanoparticles and the nanoparticles produced therefrom

Disclosed herein is a method comprising disposing a container containing a metal and/or ferromagnetic solid and abrasive particles in a static magnetic field; where the container is surrounded by an induction coil; activating the induction coil with an electrical current, to heat up the metallic or ferromagnetic solid to form a fluid; generating sonic energy to produce acoustic cavitation and abrasion between the abrasive particles and the container; and producing nanoparticles that comprise elements from the container, the metal and/or the ferromagnetic solid and the abrasive particles. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising first metal or a first ceramic; and particles comprising carbides and/or nitrides dispersed therein. Disclosed herein too is a composition comprising nanoparticles comprising chromium carbide, iron carbide, nickel carbide, γ-Fe and magnesium nitride.

Manuel, Michele Viola↗

Observation of Unconventional Dynamics of Domain Walls in Uniaxial Ferroelectric Lead Germanate

Application of scanning probe microscopy techniques such as piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) opens the possibility to re-visit the ferroelectrics previously studied by the macroscopic electrical testing methods and establish a link between their local nanoscale characteristics and integral response. It is reported that the nanoscale PFM studies and phase-field modeling of the static and dynamic behavior of the domain structure in the well-known ferroelectric material lead germanate Pb 5 Ge 3 O 11 . Here, several unusual phenomena are revealed: 1) domain formation during the paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition, which exhibits an atypical cooling rate dependence; 2) unexpected electrically induced formation of the oblate domains due to the preferential domain walls motion in the directions perpendicular to the polar axis, contrary to the typical domain growth behavior observed so far; 3) absence of the bound charges at the 180 degrees head-to-head (H-H) and tail-totail (T-T) domain walls, which typically exhibit a significant charge density in other ferroelectrics due to the polarization discontinuity. This strikingly different behavior is rationalized by the phase field modeling of the dynamics of uncharged H-H and T-T domain walls. The results provide a new insight into the emergent physics of the ferroelectric domain boundaries, revealing unusual properties not exhibited by conventional Ising-type walls.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development of in-situ polymerized intrinsically conductive resin and low-cost carbon pigments offering high conductivity for sensing, EMI shielding and lighting protection

Electrically conductive composites are emerging across diverse industries such as electronic, automotive, aerospace, advanced air mobility, biomedical, infrastructure, defense and security offering static charge dissipation, electromagnetic interference shielding, lighting protection, sensing, dicing, corrosion monitoring, etc. Conductivity enhanced composites provide several advantages compared to conventional metals including weight reduction, corrosion resistance, energy efficient processability, tunable properties and multifunctionality. Polymers are typically insulating in nature and require conducting filler for electron transport. However, dispersion and polymer-filler interphases are critical and often disrupt conducting pathways. Besides, conductive fillers such as graphene, carbon nanotube, MXene, silver nanowire, etc. are expensive, limiting their wide adoption in composite industry. On the other hand, a limited number of intrinsically conductive polymers are available among which polyaniline (PANI) has been widely studied due to its high conductivity, thermal and chemical stability. However, PANI is difficult to process and exhibits weak mechanical properties. In brief, there is a significant demand for electrically conductive polymer formulation with cost-effective conducting fillers that offer processability in scale to expand the market of conductivity enhanced materials.

Kumar, Vipin [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)↗

Enhanced Stability and Sensitivity for CA-125 Detection Under Microfluidic Shear Flow Using Polyethylene Glycol-Coated Biosensor

The microfluidic-based point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tool has garnered significant interest in recent years, offering rapid and cost-effective disease detection. There is a growing trend toward integrating microfluidic platforms with biosensors, aligning lab-on-a-chip technologies with POC diagnostic devices. Despite numerous efforts to incorporate biosensors into microfluidic systems, researchers have performed very limited investigations on the stability of biomarker detection when biosensors operate under microfluidic shear flow conditions. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are a widely employed material in capacitive biosensors for antibody immobilization and sensitivity enhancement. However, AuNPs have limitations in providing stable detection of biomarkers within microfluidic shear flow due to their agglomeration nature. This study addresses these limitations by employing 2 kDa polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an intermediate biofunctional layer to immobilize CA-125 antibodies on gold-interdigitated electrodes for the stable and accurate detection of CA-125 antigens. The stabilities and sensitivities of AuNPs and PEG-coated biosensors are evaluated under both static drop and microfluidic shear flow conditions for CA-125 antigen detection. The experimental results demonstrate a capacitive signal response (5660 pF at 10 kHz) 2.2 times higher using the PEG-coated biosensor than the signal (2551 pF at 10 kHz) measured by the AuNP-coated biosensor in the detection of CA-125 antigen–antibody conjugation under static drop conditions, indicating the higher sensitivity of the PEG-coated biosensor. Additionally, the PEG-coated biosensor exhibits better consistency for the CA-125 antigen detection between static drop and microfluidic shear flow conditions (Cp decrease in percentage (ΔCp%↓) = 2.9% at 10 kHz) compared to the electrical signals measured using the AuNP-coated biosensor (ΔCp%↓ = 32.4% at 10 kHz), which suggests that the PEG-coated biosensor demonstrates higher stability for CA-125 antigen detection under microfluidic shear flow conditions. With these significant improvements brought by the PEG-coated biosensor, especially under microfluidic conditions, a substantial hurdle in developing electrical biosensors for POC diagnostic applications has been overcome, expediting further advancements in the field.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Smart and Efficient Building Envelopes: Thermal Switches and Thermal Storage for Energy Savings and Load Flexibility

The building envelope has traditionally been seen as a static component. Much of the past thermal advancements in building envelopes has consisted of developing higher R/inch insulation. While a suitable approach for static situations, it does not consider the dynamic nature of the ambient environment or the varying needs of the electrical grid. This paper will examine three possible ways that building envelopes can be actively managed: 1. thermal switches, 2. thermal storage, and 3. the coupling of the two. Spurring innovation to make building envelopes smarter will help reduce building energy consumption and peak energy usage and contribute to flexibility in energy demand in the future.

Mumme, Sven↗

Electric‐Field‐Driven Reversal of Ferromagnetism in (110)‐Oriented, Single Phase, Multiferroic Co‐Substituted BiFeO 3 Thin Films

Abstract While multiferroic materials are attractive systems for the promise of ultra‐low‐power‐consumption computational technologies, electric‐field‐induced magnetization reversal is a key challenge for realizing devices at scale. Though significant research efforts have been working toward the realization of a material which couples ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, there are few, even composite, systems which are practical for device scale applications at room temperature. Co‐substituted multiferroic BiFe 0.9 Co 0.1 O 3 is a promising candidate system, due to coupled ferroelectricity and weak ferromagnetism at room temperature. Here, it is theoretically indicated that the ferroic orders in this material are statically coupled, where an in‐plane 109° ferroelectric switching event can result in the reversal of this out‐of‐plane component of magnetization, and the electric field‐induced magnetization reversal is experimentally observed. Such an in‐plane poling configuration is particularly desirable for device applications.

Chemistry↗

Local aging effects in PuB 4 : Growing inhomogeneity and slow dynamics of local field fluctuations probed by 239 Pu NMR

Plutonium-based correlated electron materials host exotic physical phenomena ranging from unconventional heavy-fermion superconductivity to topological Kondo insulating states. Self-irradiation damage can influence many properties of such radioactive materials. Structural disorder effects due to α radiation have been frequently studied using techniques such as transport, thermodynamics, and x-ray diffraction. Here, in this study, we use 239 Pu nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study the long-term influence of self-damage on the lattice and local electronic structures in a single crystal of the candidate topological insulator plutonium tetraboride (PuB 4 ). We first characterize the anisotropy of the 239 Pu resonance and confirm the local axial-site symmetry inferred from previous polycrystalline measurements. Aging effects are then evaluated over the time frame of six years. We find that, though the static 239 Pu NMR spectra show a slight modulation in their shape, their field-rotation pattern reveals no change in 239 Pu local site symmetry over time, suggesting that aging has a surprisingly small impact on the spatial distribution of the static hyperfine field. Further, ligand-site 11 B NMR finds little time-dependent change in the size of electric field gradient around 11 B sites. By contrast, aging has a prominent impact on the 239 Pu NMR relaxation processes and signal intensity. Specifically, aging-induced damage manifests itself as an increase in the spin-lattice relaxation time 𝑇 1 , an increased distribution of 𝑇 1 , and a signal intensity that decreases linearly by 20% per year. An effective spin-spin relaxation time 𝑇 2,eff in the aged sample shortens drastically towards lower temperature, suggesting growth of slow fluctuations of the hyperfine field that are linked to radiation-damage-induced inhomogeneity. Our NMR study sheds light on the interplay of radiation damage and local magnetic interactions in correlated insulators.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Flexspander: augmenting expander networks in high-performance systems with optical bandwidth steering

Communication efficiency is one of the deciding factors in determining many of today’s high-performance computing (HPC) applications. Traditionally, HPC systems have been on static network topologies, making them inflexible to the variety of skewed traffic demands that may arise due to the spatial locality inherent in many applications. To handle traffic locality, researchers have proposed integrating optical circuit switches (OCSs) into the network architecture, which reconfigures the network topology to alter and dynamically adapt to the predicted traffic. In this paper, we present a novel reconfigurable network topology called Flexspander. Beyond offering a flexible interconnect, Flexspander also offers full flexibility in terms of construction and can be built with any arbitrary combination of commercial electrical packet switches and OCSs. We evaluate Flexspander performance through extensive simulations with multiple network traces, and our results show improved performance for Flexspander over currently proposed static and reconfigurable topologies in terms of the flow completion time.

Teh, Min Yee↗

DFAT: A web-based toolkit for estimating demand flexibility in building-to-grid integration

Demand Flexibility Assessment Tool (DFAT) is an open source web-based tool that estimates the demand flexibility potential of common control strategies in commercial buildings. The toolkit features a demand flexibility estimation tool that contains two calculators, basic and advanced, based on the level of input of customer data. The basic version calculates demand shed metrics for the control strategy “global temperature adjustment” and “cycle on/off compressors” using customer building information, local weather data, and electrical meter data. The advanced version, which uses detailed HVAC equipment data, calculates demand flexibility metrics for control strategies such as static pressure reset, global temperature adjustment, and cycle on/off compressors. In addition to the demand flexibility estimation tool, this toolkit offers a benchmarking tool that helps facility operators, aggregators, and utility resource managers assess demand flexibility opportunities, quantify/verify performance, and compare their performance against that of their peers.

Leong, Michael↗

Ultrafast creation of a light-induced semimetallic state in strongly excited 1T-TiSe 2

Screening, a ubiquitous phenomenon associated with the shielding of electric fields by surrounding charges, has been widely adopted as a means to modify a material’s properties. While most studies have relied on static changes of screening through doping or gating thus far, here we demonstrate that screening can also drive the onset of distinct quantum states on the ultrafast timescale. By using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we show that intense optical excitation can drive 1T-TiSe 2 , a prototypical charge density wave material, almost instantly from a gapped into a semimetallic state. By systematically comparing changes in band structure over time and excitation strength with theoretical calculations, we find that the appearance of this state is likely caused by a dramatic reduction of the screening length. In summary, this work showcases how optical excitation enables the screening-driven design of a nonequilibrium semimetallic phase in TiSe 2 , possibly providing a general pathway into highly screened phases in other strongly correlated materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗