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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

Effect of the Chemical States of Copper on Methanol Decomposition and Oxidation

Here, the decomposition and oxidation reactions of CH 3 OH over metallic Cu(100) and Cu 2 O-covered Cu(100) surfaces are studied using a combination of in-situ ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. We identify the sequential chemical transformation pathways from bond cleavage to the formation of intermediates and final products under operational conditions. Accumulative surface adsorption of CH 3 O species on metallic Cu(100) impedes the decomposition of CH 3 OH. Co-dosing on metallic Cu(100) with low pressures of 1·10 -4 Torr CH 3 OH + 1·10 -4 Torr O 2 results in partial oxidation of CH 3 OH, where the chemisorbed O ads reduces surface sites available for CH 3 O adsorption, decreasing the surface activity for CH 3 OH decomposition. In contrast, the Cu 2 O overlayer formed under the elevated pressures of 0.33 Torr CH 3 OH + 0.66 Torr O 2 promotes the total oxidation of CH 3 OH into the final products of CO 2 and H 2 O, arising from the active reaction 2 between lattice O within Cu 2 O and intermediates of CH 3 O, CH 2 O, HCOO, and CO. Despite the more favorable O-H bond scission, C-O bond scission also occurs to result in surface accumulation of CH x on metallic Cu(100), blocking active sites for decomposition reactions of CH 3 OH and CH 3 O. By comparison, the CH x species on the Cu 2 O-covered Cu(100) undergo oxidation into CO 2 and H 2 O with lattice O in the Cu 2 O overlayer, thereby freeing active sites for the total oxidation of CH 3 OH. These results highlight the distinct roles of metallic Cu and Cu 2 O in the pathways of CH 3 OH decomposition and oxidation reactions, offering practical insights for the design of Cu-based catalysts with tailored reactivity and selectivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fluid-kinetic modeling of a high power density radio frequency inductively coupled positive hydrogen ion source

High power density radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled positive ion sources are attractive candidates for next-generation neutral beam injection (NBI) systems, where higher injected power and longer pulse lengths are desired without sacrificing source reliability. Operating at absorbed power densities of order $\gt 1~\mathrm{W\,cm}^{-3}$ places these sources in a regime with stronger gas heating, higher dissociation, and non-Maxwellian electron energy distributions. The Large Uniform Plasma for Ionizing Neutrals (LUPIN) is an RF inductively coupled plasma source designed to explore this high power density regime and to provide guidance for a positive ion source upgrade for the DIII-D NBI system. LUPIN is designed to operate at up to 20 kW of RF power at 2 MHz, coupling energy through a cylindrical quartz vessel to achieve target ion current densities of $2100\,\mathrm{A\,m}^{-2}$ . This paper presents fluid-kinetic modeling of LUPIN using the hybrid plasma equipment model where electrons are treated kinetically, and the simulations reveal that electron energy distribution function transitions from nearly Maxwellian in the core to bi-Maxwellian towards the edge. Parametric simulations investigate the effects of RF power, gas pressure, and frequency on plasma density, ion flux, and uniformity. Parametric sweeps reveal that increasing power shifts the primary ionization channel from molecular to atomic with diminishing flux gains due to skin-depth contraction and gas rarefaction. Higher frequency localizes heating and increases $\mathrm{H}_2^+$ and $\mathrm{H}_3^+$ delivery to the grid, while elevated pressure boosts ionization yet hinders ion transport due to increase in collisionality.

inductively coupled plasma↗

UK-US Collaboration on Fossil Energy R&D: Steam Side Oxidation

In recent years, interest in increasing the efficiency of power plants based on steam generation has led to the need to develop and qualify materials capable of operating at steam temperatures and pressures significantly higher than those employed in current power plants. The overall focus of this international program is on using ferritic-martensitic steels to the maximum possible temperature, before switching to austenitic steels and/or Ni-based alloys. The relatively low Cr content of these alloys raises concerns regarding their resistance to steam oxidation at these higher temperatures. Earlier work in this collaboration addressed the reliability of data from atmospheric pressure, laboratory-based steam oxidation tests. This raised issues regarding how representative the laboratory-grown oxides were compared to those formed on service-exposed material and how the tests could be made more reliable by introducing added complexity. In general laboratory-scale exposures are conducted under isothermal conditions at ambient or slightly elevated pressure, using a relatively low flow rate of steam. The coupons used in these tests are normally flat cuboids which have been ground to homogenise the surface and remove any pre-existing features. However, there is a concern that these samples and exposures are not representative of service conditions, and so it is necessary to quantify the influence of transient conditions, such as heat flux, pressure and sample geometry/surface conditions. To address such concerns a new collaborative program of work was initiated to determine the influence of these added features on oxidation kinetics and oxide scale morphology. The overall aim was to improve the understanding of alloy performance in ultrasupercritical (USC) steam conditions and qualify suitable test procedures.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Thermal radiation analysis of a pressurized oxy-coal combustor with discrete ordinate model

Concerns over climate change have led to numerous efforts in developing low-carbon energy technologies. Pressurized oxy-combustion (POC) is a promising candidate to reduce carbon emissions in power generation. Pressure strongly impacts thermal radiation, leading to a substantial difference in heat transfer between POC and conventional atmospheric pressure combustion. A good understanding of thermal radiation in POC is needed to aid new combustor development. The present work is a step in this direction, initiating a systematic analysis of thermal radiation and heat transfer in a pilot-scale POC combustor, which has been developed at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). In a POC process, pulverized coal is burned under elevated pressure and O2-CO2 environment. Few researchers have investigated the thermal radiation of pressurized oxy-combustion. This work adopted the discrete ordinate model to simulate the radiation of a 1-D cylinder with predetermined conditions (temperature, pressure, gas compositions) to predict the influence of radiative properties of flue gas on the radiation in the combustor.

Li, Lei↗

Effects of turbulence-radiation coupling in pressurized oxy-combustion

Concerns over climate change have led to numerous efforts in developing low-carbon energy technologies. Pressurized oxy-combustion (POC) is a promising candidate to reduce carbon emission in power generation. Due to the strong impact of pressure on thermal radiation, heat transfer in POC differs significantly from the situation of conventional atmospheric pressure combustion. Thus thermal radiation in POC needs to be investigated to aid new combustor development. The present computational work is a step in this direction, initiating a systematic analysis of thermal radiation and heat transfer in a pilot-scale POC combustor, which has been developed at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). In a POC process, pulverized coal is burned under elevated pressure and O2-CO2 environment. While most previous computational works on flame radiation focused on atmospheric pressure condition, this work considered a pressurized flame. Specifically, a 15-bar POC combustor of power 50 kW is modeled employing the Ansys FLUENT commercial platform, using both Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) modeling and large-eddy simulation (LES). A recently published and validated global radiation model is used to predict the radiative property of the flue gas. The discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model is chosen to solve the radiative transport equation. Incident radiation on the walls of the combustor is identified and investigated. It is revealed that for this pilot-scale, pressurized combustor, thermal radiation exhibits similar patterns in the RANS and LES models. However, the magnitudes of radiation are different in both models, presumably because interactions between radiation and turbulence are embedded in the LES model but not in the RANS model. This difference thereby underlines the major goal of this research: investigating the impact of such turbulence-to-radiation coupling on thermal radiation in a pilot-scale POC setting. Most previous studies on turbulence-to-radiation interactions focused on bench-scale, atmospheric pressure flames. This work is the first effort to extend this study to a pilot-scale, pressurized flame.

Li, Lei↗

Pronounced Pressure Dependence of Electronic Transitions for Americium Compared to Isomorphous Neodymium and Samarium Mellitates

The mellitate ion is relevant in spent nuclear fuel processing and is utilized as a surrogate for studying the interactions of f elements with humic acids. A wealth of different coordination modes gives the potential for diverse structural chemistry across the actinide series. In this study, an americium mellitate, 243 Am 2 [(C 6 (COO – ) 6 ](H 2 O) 8 ·2H 2 O (1-Am), has been synthesized and characterized using structural analysis and spectroscopy at ambient and elevated pressures. 1-Am was then compared to isomorphous neodymium (1-Nd) and samarium (1-Sm) mellitates via bond-length analysis and pressure dependence of their Laporte-forbidden f → f transitions. Results show that the pressure dependence of the f → f transitions of 1-Am is significantly greater than that observed in 1-Nd and 1-Sm, with average shifts of 21.4, 4.7, and 3.6 cm –1 /GPa, respectively. Finally, this greater shift found in 1-Am shows further evidence that the 5f orbitals are more affected than the 4f orbitals when pressure is applied to isostructural compounds.

Actinides↗

Dissolving salt is not equivalent to applying a pressure on water

Abstract Salt water is ubiquitous, playing crucial roles in geological and physiological processes. Despite centuries of investigations, whether or not water’s structure is drastically changed by dissolved ions is still debated. Based on density functional theory, we employ machine learning based molecular dynamics to model sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and sodium bromide solutions at different concentrations. The resulting reciprocal-space structure factors agree quantitatively with neutron diffraction data. Here we provide clear evidence that the ions in salt water do not distort the structure of water in the same way as neat water responds to elevated pressure. Rather, the computed structural changes are restricted to the ionic first solvation shells intruding into the hydrogen bond network, beyond which the oxygen radial-distribution function does not undergo major change relative to neat water. Our findings suggest that the widely cited pressure-like effect on the solvent in Hofmeister series ionic solutions should be carefully revisited.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

CO 2 Hydrogenation on Pd(111): The Role of Subsurface Hydrogen and Surface Defects

Palladium-based catalysts are often used in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) hydrogenation reactions with different possible reaction pathways producing methanol, methane, formic acid, or carbon monoxide. We used ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) to understand the surface reaction mechanism of CO 2 hydrogenation on Pd(111). AP-XPS results show that the order in which the reactants are introduced yields different initial surface species. In a CO 2 and H 2 mixture, carbonaceous species (CH x , C*, PdC x ) are formed upon heating Pd(111) at 400 K and above. In addition, a Pd(111) sample pre-exposed to an elevated pressure of H 2 followed by evacuation to ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) can store enough hydrogen atoms in the subsurface and bulk to provide a hydrogen source for the CO 2 hydrogenation reaction to occur when exposed to CO 2 gas alone. In conclusion, the formation of carbonaceous species likely occurs through the decomposition of a transient CH x O intermediate facilitated by low-coordinated sites and surface defects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Reducing NOx Emissions in Ammonia Combustors

Ammonia continues to attract growing interest as a carbonneutral replacement fuel, motivating numerous research efforts toward understanding fundamental ammonia combustion characteristics. A major challenge for the use of ammonia is the development of combustor technologies for mitigating potentially high NOx emissions from the fuel-bound nitrogen chemical pathways to acceptable levels. Our work focuses on a staged RQL combustor architecture for minimizing the NOx emission levels through burning fuel-rich in the primary stage to formcombustion products containing significant levels of hydrogen in addition to nitrogen and water with minimal NOx formation. The subsequent quench and burnout stages of the combustor must then quickly burn residual hydrogen with flame-temperatures moderated by nitrogen and water forming in the first stage. Chemical Reactor Network modeling was used to understand and identify optimal stoichiometry and residence times in each stage for minimizing NOx emissions and to quantify pressure and temperature effects. Reducing the overall NOx emissions requires relatively long residence times in the primary stage to achieve near equilibrium NO levels due to kinetically controlling processes. For conditions relevant to gas turbines (e.g., 30 atm), our work indicates that NOx emissions below 20 ppm are theoretically achievable in a staged RQL combustor architecture. However, these emission predictions significantly depend on the accuracies of currently available chemical kinetic mechanisms which have not been extensively validated under elevated pressure and temperature conditions relevant to gas turbines.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗

High pressure neutron diffraction on WAND 2 with a Paris-Edinburgh press

The Paris-Edinburgh press is a widely available, highly adaptable pressure cell commonly used while collecting neutron scattering data. Here, we detail the use of the VX3 and VX5 Paris-Edinburgh presses on the Wide-Angle Neutron Diffractometer (WAND 2 ) at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We first give a detailed overview of the instrument setup and alignment capabilities used at WAND 2 . We then demonstrate the high pressure capabilities through three examples. In this work, the first example focuses on diffraction data obtained from a lithium-diamond mixture to 10 GPa with the use of single toroidal cubic boron nitride anvils. Other examples include the room temperature compressions of germanium (up to 16 GPa) and the mineral malachite with double toroidal sintered diamond anvils. This work thereby represents the first studies above 10 GPa at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and opens the door for future user experiments at these elevated pressures.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Computing Thermodynamic Properties of Fluids Augmented by Nanoconfinement: Application to Pressurized Methane

Nanoconfined fluids exhibit remarkably different thermodynamic behavior compared to the bulk phase. These confinement effects render predictions of thermodynamic quantities of nanoconfined fluids challenging. In particular, confinement creates a spatially varying density profile near the wall that is primarily responsible for adsorption and capillary condensation behavior. Significant fluctuations in thermodynamic quantities, inherent in such nanoscale systems, coupled to strong fluid–wall interactions give rise to this near-wall density profile. Empirical models have been proposed to explain and model these effects, yet no first-principles based formulation has been developed. We present a statistical mechanics framework that embeds such a coupling to describe the effect of the fluid–wall interaction in amplifying the near-wall density behavior for compressible gases at elevated pressures such as pressurized methane in confinement. We show that the proposed theory predicts accurately the adsorbed layer thickness as obtained with small-angle neutron scattering measurements. Furthermore, the predictions of density under confinement from the proposed theory are shown to be in excellent agreement with available experimental and atomistic simulations data for a range of temperatures for nanoconfined methane. While the framework is presented for evaluating the near-wall density, owing to its rigorous foundation in statistical mechanics, the proposed theory can also be generalized for predicting phase-transition and nonequilibrium transport of nanoconfined fluids.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Impact of particle size and particle-flow-wall coupling on pressurized oxy-combustion in the down-fired burner

Concerns over climate change have led to numerous efforts in developing low-carbon energy technologies. Pressurized oxy-combustion (POC) is a promising candidate to reduce carbon emissions in power generation. Designing an effective burner plays a vital role in developing new coal combustion technologies. Because of the high pressure, the volume fraction of coal particles at the fuel inlet of the burner of a pressurized oxy-combustor is close or even higher than the maximum limit that commercial CFD codes (e.g., ANSYS FLUENT) can handle. At this high particle volume fraction, the interactions among particles, fluid flow, and wall need to be re-evaluated. The present computational work is the first step of a systematic analysis of the particle influence, like releasing method, releasing locating, and particle size, in a pilot-scale POC combustor, developed at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). In a POC process, pulverized coal is burned under elevated pressure and O2-CO2 environment. Specifically, a 15-bar, 100 kWth, POC combustor is modeled employing ANSYS FLUENT, using Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) modeling. It is revealed that for this pilot-scale, pressurized burner, velocity profiles of the near-wall region in this POC facility exhibit some discrepancy against the near-wall turbulent flow velocity profile. In order to investigate the particle influence in the near-wall region, particle releasing location will be investigated. Numerical simulation results exhibit the coupling effect of turbulence flow and particles in this case. The particle size also demonstrates a great effect on particle trajectory, then further has an impact on flame stability and temperature.

Li, Lei↗

Computational Analysis of the Impact of Boundary Conditions on a Particle-Laden Flow: A Case Study in a Pressurized Oxy-Coal Combustor

Designing an effective burner is vital for the development of coal combustion technologies. Because of high pressure, the volumetric fraction of the coal particles in the injected fuel in a pressurized oxy-combustion (POC) burner approaches or even exceeds the limitations allowed by the commercial computational fluid dynamics codes (e.g., Ansys Fluent). Consequently, for such high particle volumetric fractions, the interplay between the particles, the fluid flow, and the burner wall needs to be re-evaluated. The present computational work is a first step in a systematic analysis of the roles of various characteristics involved in the POC process, such as the method of particle release, its location, and the particle size. Specifically, pulverized coal is burned under an elevated pressure of 15 bar in an O 2 /CO 2 environment. A 100 kW, a POC combustor, is modeled with Ansys Fluent using the Reynolds-averaged Navier−Stokes approach. It is revealed that for this pilot-scale, pressurized burner, the gas phase flow velocity in the near-wall region exhibits anomalies. With the major focus on POC, this work aims to eliminate/reduce the impact of high particle loading on the gas-phase flow. To scrutinize the role of particle loading in the near-wall region and eliminate the impact of this velocity on POC downstream, the particle−gas interplay in the boundary layer is investigated by means of the computational simulations incorporating the coupling between the turbulent flow and the particles. It is found that the tuning of the particle release location makes the gas-phase flow velocity in the presence of particles consistent with the pure gas flow velocity profile. The particles size is also found to have a significant impact on the particle trajectory.

CFD↗

Flow Characterization of Compressed Woody Biomass

Global interest for using terrestrial biomass as an energy source has been increasing recently due to potentially significant socio-economic and environmental benefits relative to fossil energy. Thermochemical biomass processes converting biomass to fuels are relatively well developed, e.g. for direct combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. However, critical problems often arise when attempting to feed biomass into commercial-scale reactors continuously and without interruption. Biomass particles, whether derived from woody or agricultural feedstock, vary greatly in size, shape, density, and moisture content. High cohesiveness, low bulk density, and poor material flow characteristics often prevent continuous feeding due to bridging, rat-hole formation, blockage, and seal failures. Among all different types of feeders utilized to feed biomass into reactors, screw feeding has received significant attention in recent years. Screw feeders are fuel-specific and require careful design to be reliable, efficient, and economical, especially for reactors operating at elevated pressures. In order to mimic the flow properties of compressed biomass inside a compression-screw feeder, rheological properties of three types of compressed lignocellulosic biomass were investigated using a co-rotating twin screw microcompounder. Experiments were conducted to find the impact of moisture content, particle size and type, and screw speed on rheological properties of forest residual particles as well as sawdust. Increasing moisture from 10 to 50% reduced the apparent viscosity of the compressed biomass. Also, higher screw speeds (10 to 90 rpm) led to a lower relative viscosity. At elevated screw speeds, significant temperature differences were measured between the initial and final states, which should be accounted for in equipment design and operation.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

A numerical investigation of coal particle modeling for the inlet section of a pressurized oxy-combustion burner

Concerns over climate change have led to numerous efforts to develop low-carbon technologies, and pressurized oxy-combustion (POC) is a promising candidate to reduce carbon emissions in the power industry. Designing an effective burner for such technologies is vital for the development of these and other coal combustion technologies. Because of the high pressure, the volume fraction of coal particles at the fuel inlet of the pressurized oxy-combustor burner is close to or even higher than the maximum limit for commercial CFD codes (e.g., ANSYS FLUENT). At these high particle volume fractions, the interactions among particles, fluid flow and wall need to be re-evaluated. The present computational work is a first step in a systematic analysis of the influence of various parameters, like method of particle release, release location, and particle size, in a pilot-scale POC combustor, developed at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). In the POC process, pulverized coal is burned under elevated pressure in an O2-CO2 environment. Specifically, a 15-bar, 100 kWth, POC combustor is modeled employing Ansys FLUENT commercial sodtware using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. It is revealed that for this pilot-scale, pressurized burner, velocity profiles in the near-wall region exhibit some anomalies. In order to investigate the influence of particle loading in the near-wall region, particle release location was investigated. The numerical simulations incorporate the coupling between the turbulent flow and the particles. A sensitivity investigation of particle release location found that by tuning the release location, the velocity profile can be consistent with the pure gas flow velocity profile. More importantly, the particle releasing location also affects flame stability. Particle size was also found to have a significant impact on particle trajectory, flame stability and temperature. Finally, Large Eddy Simulations (LES) were performed and compared with the results from two-dimensional RANS.

Li, Lei↗

PELICAN Design, Test Planning, and Commissioning Results

To support design efforts for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) core assemblies, an experimental facility has been designed and constructed at Argonne National Laboratory to match the hydraulic flow conditions within the VTR’s primary heat transport system (PHTS). This facility, the Pressure drop Experimental Loop for Investigations of Core Assemblies in advanced Nuclear reactors, PELICAN, provides the ability to measure pressure drop across a full-scale fuel assembly containing prototypic axial reflectors, fuel, and plena components. The PELICAN facility was designed and built to offer maximum flexibility, allowing testing from short sub-sections all the way to the full-length core fuel assemblies. The report presents the high-level program objectives, a summary of the facility design, instrumentation, and control systems, and the testing procedure. The outcomes from facility characterization efforts and first test matrix results are then presented and then, finally, the conclusion contains a summary of the future work to be performed. This test facility was designed to match the hydraulic conditions of the flowing sodium in the VTR using water as a surrogate fluid. To do so, the water is elevated to a temperature of 110°C where its viscosity matches that of sodium, and with a 50-HP centrifugal pump, is capable of generating full scale flow rates to achieve prototypic Reynolds and Euler number flow conditions. To prevent boiling, the system is maintained at elevated pressure of at least 2.7-3.0 bar (40-44 psig). A set of 15 tests have been used to perform checkout activities in order to commission the device, survey the capabilities of PELICAN, and generate experimental data at isothermal conditions and over a range of flow rates up to 44 kg/s (700 GPM) to produce datasets used in the verification and validation of VTR design and modeling efforts. Initial testing focused on facility characterization, which assessed the operational capabilities of various control systems. The thermal control system was qualified, including the thermal response of the loop to the heat added by self- and auxiliary heaters, the chiller and heat exchanger systems for removing excess heat, and their coupled ability to maintain steady-state isothermal conditions as desired. Additionally, the pressure control system was verified to ensure necessary operating environments that promote pump health and prevent boiling of loop inventory at high temperatures could be met. With these systems in place, the first set of matrix tests have been carried out using orifice plates with inner diameters of 2.25-inches and 2.5-inches. Orifice plate flow behavior is well covered in scientific literature, and the results find good agreement with the measured pressure drop vs flow rate and those of theoretical predictions. This initial testing not only helps to validate the experiment, but it also produces a high quality data set for a geometry that is easily reproducible for simulations. Finally, the report is concluded with a discussion of the work to come and provides a snapshot of the test articles in the experimental pipeline whose designs are being inspired by the current designs from the VTR.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Theoretical kinetics predictions for NH 2 + HO 2

Recent modeling studies of NH 3 oxidation, which are motivated by the prospective role of ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel, have indicated significant discrepancies between existing literature mechanisms. In this study high level theoretical kinetics predictions have been obtained for the reaction of NH 2 with HO 2 , which has previously been highlighted as an important reaction with high sensitivity and high uncertainty. The potential energy surface is explored with coupled cluster calculations including large basis sets and high-level corrections to yield high accuracy (~0.2 kcal/mol) estimates of the stationary point energies. Variational transition state theory is used to predict the microcanonical rate constants, which are then incorporated in master equation treatments of the temperature and pressure dependent kinetics. For the radical-radical channels, the microcanonical rates are obtained from variable reaction coordinate transition state theory implementing directly evaluated multireference electronic energies. The analysis yields predictions for the total rate constant as well as the branching to the NH 3 + O 2 , H 2 NO + OH, and HNO + H 2 O channels. Rate constants are also reported for the H 2 NO + OH reaction as they arise naturally from the analysis. The rate constant and branching fraction determined in this work for the NH 2 + HO 2 reaction deviate significantly from values used in most previous modeling studies. The fact that the main product channel is chain terminating, rather than propagating, has strong implications for modeling NH 3 ignition and oxidation, in particular at intermediate temperatures and elevated pressure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Electrical conductivity of Sn at high pressure and temperature

To date, temperature and conductivity have many outstanding implications in extreme environments but are yet to be fully understood under high pressure and temperature dynamic conditions. Here, we introduce an approach to provide high quality electrical conductivity results under dynamic loading conditions. Emphasis is given to address the skin depth effect's influence in a dynamic loading experiment by using thin films. The thin film samples in this study were at least 100 times thinner than previous samples in dynamic electrical conductivity experiments, increasing the current density to its full potential across the sample's entire cross section. Consideration of the skin depth accounts for at minimum a 4× scaling factor to the final electrical conductivity result that has been neglected in previous dynamic electrical conductivity studies. We also obtained improved signal-to-noise ratio with custom diagnostics optimized for better electrical impedance matching. Furthermore, these considerations were applied to Sn to assess electrical conductivity at elevated pressure and temperature. The high signal-to-noise ratio with reduced skin depth influence results in Sn allowing observation of the conductivity changes related to solid-to-solid and solid-to-liquid phase transitions. Additionally, we calculate the Sn thermal conductivity using the Wiedemann-Franz law for our experiments and compare against thermal transport dependent temperature measurements from previous work.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗