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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Closed-form theoretical model of the secondary drop size in partial coalescence—Capturing pertinent timescales and viscous forces

One of the most important outcomes of partial drop coalescence is the ratio of the secondary drop radius to the primary drop radius, known as the drop ratio, ri. This ratio is thought to be approximately constant and independent of physical parameters of the fluids involved. However, here we reveal that ambient fluid viscosity can alter the size of the secondary drop and the drop ratio consequently. Using scaling analysis, we derive a model that predicts the behavior of the drop ratio as a function of the Ohnesorge number, a dimensionless ratio of viscous to inertial forces. In addition, we present our experimental results of coalescing drops on a planar interface under the influence of surface tension gradients. A high-speed digital camera is used to observe the evolution of drops as they coalesce with a bulk liquid. We show that this process is influenced by the surface tension gradient between the drop and the bulk liquid. The ratio of the secondary drop to the primary drop in partial coalescence is smaller than the reported values for coalescence without a surface tension gradient. The analytical model derived through this study is based on a new modified Ohnesorge number that includes surface tension gradients. Our analytical model is compared against other models and the results illustrate good agreement with our experimental findings and experimental data in the literature.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Diagnosing plasma magnetization in inertial confinement fusion implosions using secondary deuterium-tritium reactions

Diagnosing plasma magnetization in inertial confinement fusion implosions is important for understanding how magnetic fields affect implosion dynamics and to assess plasma conditions in magnetized implosion experiments. Secondary deuterium–tritium (DT) reactions provide two diagnostic signatures to infer neutron-averaged magnetization. Magnetically confining fusion tritons from deuterium–deuterium (DD) reactions in the hot spot increases their path lengths and energy loss, leading to an increase in the secondary DT reaction yield. In addition, the distribution of magnetically confined DD-triton is anisotropic, and this drives anisotropy in the secondary DT neutron spectra along different lines of sight. Implosion parameter space as well as sensitivity to the applied B-field, fuel ρR, temperature, and hot-spot shape will be examined using Monte Carlo and 2D radiation-magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Impact of photoexcitation on secondary electron emission: A Monte Carlo study

Understanding the transport of photogenerated charge carriers in semiconductors is crucial for applications in photovoltaics, optoelectronics, and photo-detectors. While recent experimental studies using scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (SUEM) have demonstrated that the local change in the secondary electron emission induced by photoexcitation enables direct visualization of the photocarrier dynamics in space and time, the origin of the corresponding image contrast still remains unclear. Here, we investigate the impact of photoexcitation on secondary electron emissions from semiconductors using a Monte Carlo simulation aided by time-dependent density functional theory. Particularly, we examine two photoinduced effects: the generation of photocarriers in the sample bulk and the surface photovoltage (SPV) effect. Using doped silicon as a model system and focusing on primary electron energies below 1 keV, we found that both the hot photocarrier effect immediately after photoexcitation and the SPV effect play dominant roles in changing the secondary electron yield (SEY), while the distribution of photocarriers in the bulk leads to a negligible change in SEY. Our work provides insights into electron–matter interaction under photo-illumination and paves the way toward a quantitative interpretation of the SUEM contrasts.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Secondary structure determines electron transport in peptides

Proteins play a key role in biological electron transport, but the structure–function relationships governing the electronic properties of peptides are not fully understood. Despite recent progress, understanding the link between peptide conformational flexibility, hierarchical structures, and electron transport pathways has been challenging. Here, we use single-molecule experiments, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, nonequilibrium Green’s function-density functional theory (NEGF-DFT), and unsupervised machine learning to understand the role of secondary structure on electron transport in peptides. Our results reveal a two-state molecular conductance behavior for peptides across several different amino acid sequences. MD simulations and Gaussian mixture modeling are used to show that this two-state molecular conductance behavior arises due to the conformational flexibility of peptide backbones, with a high-conductance state arising due to a more defined secondary structure (beta turn or 3 10 helices) and a low-conductance state occurring for extended peptide structures. These results highlight the importance of helical conformations on electron transport in peptides. Conformer selection for the peptide structures is rationalized using principal component analysis of intramolecular hydrogen bonding distances along peptide backbones. Molecular conformations from MD simulations are used to model charge transport in NEGF-DFT calculations, and the results are in reasonable qualitative agreement with experiments. Projected density of states calculations and molecular orbital visualizations are further used to understand the role of amino acid side chains on transport. Overall, our results show that secondary structure plays a key role in electron transport in peptides, which provides broad avenues for understanding the electronic properties of proteins.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2020

Skeletides: A Modular, Simplified Physical Model of Protein Secondary Structure

Three-dimensional (3D) models are essential for visualization and conceptual understanding of complex architectures such as protein structure. Although there is a plethora of software platforms that allow digital depictions of protein structure at an atomic level in silico, physical models are needed to convey an intuitive understanding of biomolecular architecture. However, it is a challenge to represent all the relevant features of proteins in a single physical model due to their sheer structural complexity. Here, we describe a modular protein model that focuses only on representation of the secondary structure—the underlying structural skeleton. The simplified model consists of amino acid units, which can be linked together to reproduce the two most fundamental structural features of protein secondary structure: the relative positions of the amino acid alpha carbon atoms, and the intra-main chain hydrogen bonding pattern. We use 3D printing and magnets to create a set of three modular amino acid building blocks, which when linked together into a chain, can faithfully represent alpha helices, beta sheets, and turns. These simple to make models can be used to quickly assemble the alpha carbon trace of an entire protein domain, which conveys a tactile experience of the complexity of protein skeletal architecture. These models highlight the modularity of protein structure: where a single structural unit, the amino acid, can be linked together to form a larger, regular secondary structure. These models also have a propensity to spontaneously organize into alpha helices and beta sheets, as demonstrated by their ability to autonomously assemble when placed in a circulating water tank. These models provide a missing educational tool to expand knowledge of protein structure, foster deeper insight into protein folding, and inspire greater interest in biomacromolecular architecture.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Microbial community dynamics in the soil-root continuum are linked with plant species turnover during secondary succession

Grazing exclusion and land abandonment are commonly adopted to restore degraded ecosystems in semiarid and arid regions worldwide. However, the temporal variation in the soil- versus root-associated microbiome over plant species turnover during secondary succession has rarely been quantified. Using the chronosequence restored from fenced grassland and abandoned farmlands on the Loess Plateau of China, we characterized the dynamics of the soil- and root-associated microbiome of host plant with different dominance statuses during secondary succession from 0 to 40 years. Our results revealed that the root microhabitat, the host plant and their interactions were the main contributors to the bacterial community shift (R 2 = 15.5%, 8.1%, and 22.3%, respectively), and plant interspecies replacement had a greater effect on the shift in the root-associated microbial community than intraspecies replacement did during succession. The root-associated bacterial community of pioneer plants was particularly responsive to succession, especially the endosphere community. Endosphere microbial diversity was positively correlated with host plant coverage change, and the diversity and abundance of taxon recruitment into the endosphere of pioneer plants from the surrounding environment decreased as succession progressed. The community assembly processes also indicated that the endosphere microbiota are strongly selected in younger host plants, whereas stochastic processes dominate in aged host plants. Our study provides evidence of the unique response of the root-associated microbiome to the replacement of plant species during secondary succession, and the function of endosphere microbes should be considered when studying plant–microbe feedback.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Siderophores and secondary metabolites produced by Ganoderma adspersum

Ganoderma adspersum is a white-rot wood-degrading basidiomycete of ecological, biotechnological and medicinal interest. In addition to its role in lignin degradation, it produces bioactive metabolites with reported antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. However, the mechanisms of iron acquisition, including siderophore-mediated pathways, remain poorly characterized in Ganoderma species. Improved understanding of these systems is essential to elucidate their contributions to fungal physiology, secondary metabolism and ecological adaptation. In this study, the genome of G. adspersum was sequenced for the first time and screened for genes that may be involved in the production of secondary metabolites. A gene cluster was identified as potentially involved in iron uptake. In particular, genes related to non-ribosomal peptide synthetases were detected next to a gene encoding a monooxygenase and indicated a potential hydroxamate-family siderophore. Liquid chromatography (LC)-ES-MS analysis of secondary metabolites secreted by G. adspersum into the growth medium under iron-limiting conditions revealed a group of previously undescribed siderophores. Genome and MS/MS analysis suggested that these structures might be related to the coprinoferrin family of siderophores. Aside from siderophores, the genome and LC-MS analysis revealed G. adspersum to be a prolific producer of a variety of triterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids, in agreement with previous findings. This is the first description of the genome sequence of G. adspersum and its siderophores.

Reyes, Carolina [Laboratory for Cellulose and Wood↗
DOE OSTI2020

Methods to Synchronize and Control the Secondary Side Active Rectifier in Wireless Power Transfer Systems

This paper presents practical analog circuit-based methods to synchronize the secondary side active bridge of different wireless power transfer (WPT) systems with their primary side. The synchronization is necessary for proper operation of any WPT system with an active bridge on the secondary. The proposed schemes use only secondary side signals without the need of any information from the primary side. Simulation results presented validate the proposed schemes.

Mukherjee, Subho↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ecological generalism drives hyperdiversity of secondary metabolite gene clusters in xylarialean endophytes

Although secondary metabolites are typically associated with competitive or pathogenic interactions, the high bioactivity of endophytic fungi in the Xylariales, coupled with their abundance and broad host ranges spanning all lineages of land plants and lichens, suggests that enhanced secondary metabolism might facilitate symbioses with phylogenetically diverse hosts. Here, we examined secondary metabolite gene clusters (SMGCs) across 96 Xylariales genomes in two clades (Xylariaceae s.l. and Hypoxylaceae), including 88 newly sequenced genomes of endophytes and closely related saprotrophs and pathogens. We paired genomic data with extensive metadata on endophyte hosts and substrates, enabling us to examine genomic factors related to the breadth of symbiotic interactions and ecological roles. All genomes contain hyperabundant SMGCs; however, Xylariaceae have increased numbers of gene duplications, horizontal gene transfers (HGTs) and SMGCs. Enhanced metabolic diversity of endophytes is associated with a greater diversity of hosts and increased capacity for lignocellulose decomposition. Our results suggest that, as host and substrate generalists, Xylariaceae endophytes experience greater selection to diversify SMGCs compared with more ecologically specialised Hypoxylaceae species. Altogether, our results provide new evidence that SMGCs may facilitate symbiosis with phylogenetically diverse hosts, highlighting the importance of microbial symbioses to drive fungal metabolic diversity.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Analysis of useful ion yield for Si in GaN by secondary ion mass spectrometry

The optimum detection levels that can be achieved by a secondary ion mass spectrometer are dependent on how efficiently a particular species of interest can be ionized and detected. One can determine in advance whether the analysis of a particular ion in the sample is possible, if the useful ion yield is known. The useful ion yield depends on the element, instrument transmission, the analytical conditions, the sample matrix, etc. The value of the useful ion yield for a species can diverge from one instrument type to another due to its different transmission and ionization probabilities. However, the same tendencies in the results may be expected for all types of instruments. In this paper, the authors present a quantitative secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis of the useful ion yield for the silicon dopant species in a gallium nitride matrix grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Positively ionized cesium was used as the primary ion beam, and its energy was varied in the range from 0.5 to 5 kV. A quadrupole mass analyzer was utilized to collect secondary ion species of interest. The analysis results can be used to determine the primary beam energies for optimal Si sensitivity.

Senevirathna, M. K. Indika (ORCID:0000000243575029↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quorum sensing modulates microbial community structure through regulation of secondary metabolites

Bacteria are recognized for their diverse metabolic capabilities, yet the impact of microbe-microbe interactions on multispecies community structure and dynamics is poorly understood. Cell-to-cell signaling in the form of quorum sensing (QS) often regulates secondary metabolite production and microbial interactions. Here, we examine how acylhomoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated QS impacts microbial community structure in a 10-member synthetic community of isolates from Populus deltoides . To explore the role of QS in microbial community structure and dynamics, we disrupted AHL signaling by exogenous addition of AiiA-lactonase, an enzyme that cleaves the lactone ring. Microbial community structure resulting from signal inactivation, as measured by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and secondary metabolite production, was assessed after successive passaging of the community. Further, we investigated the impact of quorum quenching on specific microbe-microbe interactions using pairwise inhibition assays. Our results indicate that AHL inactivation alters the relative abundance of dominant community members at later passages but does not impact the overall membership in the community. Quorum quenching significantly alters the metabolic profile in lactonase-treated communities. This metabolic alteration impacts microbe-microbe interactions through decreased inhibition of other community members. Together, these results indicate that QS impacts microbial community structure through the regulation of secondary metabolites in dominant members and that the membership of microbial communities can be relatively stable despite changes in metabolic profiles.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

SCP (Secondary Coolant Props) [SWR-26-025]

SCP (Secondary Coolant Props) contains fluid property routines for secondary coolants. It is based on the correlations developed by Åke Melinder, 2010 "Properties of Secondary Working Fluids for Indirect Systems" 2nd ed., International Institute of Refrigeration. This is intended to be a lightweight library that can be easily imported into any other Python tool, with no bulky dependencies.

Mitchell, Matt [National Laboratory of the Rockies↗
DOE OSTI2021

De novo transcriptome analysis of white teak (Gmelina arborea Roxb) wood reveals critical genes involved in xylem development and secondary metabolism

Gmelina arborea Roxb is a fast-growing tree species of commercial importance for tropical countries due to multiple industrial uses of its wood. Wood is primarily composed of thick secondary cell walls of xylem cells which imparts the strength to the wood. Identification of the genes involved in the secondary cell wall biosynthesis as well as their cognate regulators is crucial to understand how the production of wood occurs and serves as a starting point for developing breeding strategies to produce varieties with improved wood quality, better paper pulping or new potential uses such as biofuel production. In order to gain knowledge on the molecular mechanisms and gene regulation related with wood development in white teak, a de novo sequencing and transcriptome assembly approach was used employing secondary cell wall synthesizing cells from young white teak trees. For generation of transcriptome, RNA-seq reads were assembled into 110,992 transcripts and 49,364 genes were functionally annotated using plant databases; 5071 GO terms and 25,460 SSR markers were identified within xylem transcripts and 10,256 unigenes were assigned to KEGG database in 130 pathways. Among transcription factor families, C2H2, C3H, bLHLH and MYB were the most represented in xylem. Differential gene expression analysis using leaves as a reference was carried out and a total of 20,954 differentially expressed genes were identified including monolignol biosynthetic pathway genes. The differential expression of selected genes (4CL, COMT, CCoAOMT, CCR and NST1) was validated using qPCR. We report the very first de novo transcriptome of xylem-related genes in this tropical timber species of commercial importance and constitutes a valuable extension of the publicly available transcriptomic resource aimed at fostering both basic and breeding studies.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F MX-Tes Tesopaco, secondary tropical dry forest

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site MX-Tes Tesopaco, secondary tropical dry forest. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site MX-Tes Tesopaco, secondary tropical dry forest produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - This tower was located in the "Ejido la Estrella" where the eddy covariance tower is located 7.5 km east of the town Rosario de Tesopaco, in southeastern Sonora, Mexico. The tower was positioned in the center of a homogeneous flat terrain at the foothills of the Madre Occidental. This ecosystem lies in a highly seasonal region under the influence of the North American Monsoon that brings about 70% of the rains from July to September. The site is dominated by leguminous trees. Some of the dominant species are Lysiloma divaricatum, Ipomoea arborescens, Acacia cochliacantha, Haematoxylum brasiletto, and Celtis reticulata. The mean basal area at the study site is 14.83 ± 3.3m2 ha-1, and the aboveground biomass is estimated to be 43.20±9.5Mgha-1. These values and the high counts of Acacia cochliacantha indicate that the area is a secondary forest with significant management activities in the past.

Yepez, Enrico A.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Substation Secondary Asset Health Monitoring and Management System (SSHM)

Electric Power Group, LLC (EPG) was awarded DOE OE0000850 to design, develop, and demonstrate a real-time software application for substation secondary equipment health monitoring and management at host utility American Electric Power (AEP), a cost share partner. This project addresses the need for monitoring substation equipment health and providing operators with tools to identify and take pre-emptive action to avoid catastrophic equipment failure. By monitoring synchrophasor data in real time, data anomalies that indicate potential asset failure can be detected and alerts can be sent to operators in time to take corrective actions. EPG developed two data driven algorithms to identify abnormal equipment signature patterns as well as a method using substation linear state estimation (SLSE). The software has been deployed on hardened PC’s and tested and validated for cost share partner AEP’s substations - 138kV and 765 kV. The SSHM software has been accepted by AEP and final demonstration of DOE - OE0000850 for AEP and DOE was successfully completed on March 17th, 2020. EPG developed the Substation Secondary Asset Health Monitoring (SSHM) Platform to analyze equipment failure signatures in PMU data and alert substation personnel when pre-emptive inspection, repairs and other actions are warranted to prevent potential catastrophic failures. This is the first system that automatically monitors the health of substation secondary assets and alerts users to emerging failures using synchrophasor measurements. SSHM uses high resolution PMU data from PTs, CTs, and CCVTs to analyze equipment signatures and identify anomalies that are precursor indicators of potential equipment failure. When an anomaly is detected, there is a likelihood of potential failure of monitored equipment, the system alerts the user with visual alarms including alarm trend charts and indicator lights on a oneline diagram of the substation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Literature Review of Documented Persistent Secondary Uranium Sources at DOE LM Sites

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (LM) has the responsibility to protect human health and the environment at 101 legacy uranium sites across the nation by implementing long-term surveillance and maintenance requirements. Included in these responsibilities is to provide for the safe and environmentally sound disposal, long-term stabilization, and control of uranium mill tailings in a manner that minimizes or eliminates radiation health hazards to the public at 21 Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) Title I sites; 6 UMTRCA Title II sites; and 9 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act sites. These sites are former uranium mills (processing sites), or sites with wastes from processing sites encapsulated in engineered disposal cells (disposal sites), or sites where components of atomic weapons were manufactured. During site characterization, groundwater contamination was often discovered and evaluated or modeled for future movement with the inclusion of uranium sorption in the groundwater plume. Much of this original work did identify uranium processing wastes as the original contaminant source. However, more recent work has identified the existence and influence of persistent secondary uranium sources that may prevent uranium in groundwater from attenuating as quickly as initial evaluations or modeling indicated. By understanding these processes, better decisions can be made to choose the appropriate remediation and closure strategies, identify long-term surveillance and maintenance activities, and more accurately estimate life-cycle costs. The purpose of this report is to summarize the literature available on documented persistence secondary uranium sources at LM sites as part of the Applied Studies and Technology Persistent Secondary Contaminant Sources Project.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article: Second Year of Testing with Secondary Sodium System (Fiscal Year 2025 Final Report)

The Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) is currently installed in the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) 28” test vessel #4. Both the primary and secondary sodium systems remain online to facilitate continued testing. This fiscal year, work was performed using a COMSOL Multiphysics magnetohydrodynamic model to characterize flow more accurately in the secondary electromagnetic flowmeters. Experimental campaigns were then performed to study the thermal hydraulic differences between sodium and water as a surrogate fluid in the THETA geometry as well as a study to better characterize and understand temperature oscillations that exist at the outlet of the core to the hot pool. A peer-reviewed article was published in the ASME Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science detailing the THETA facility and providing an overview of a test that was performed with the primary and secondary system online [1]. Work continues to develop a database to house experimental THETA data to better facilitate collaboration with industry and laboratory partners for their use of the data for code benchmarking/validation. THETA remains fully operational and is positioned for continued testing in fiscal year 2026.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Trends in Spitzer Secondary Eclipses

It is well established that the magnitude of the incident stellar flux is the single most important factor in determining the day–night temperature gradients and atmospheric chemistries of short-period gas giant planets. However, it is likely that other factors, such as planet-to-planet variations in atmospheric metallicity, C/O ratio, and cloud properties, also contribute to the observed diversity of infrared spectra for this population of planets. In this study, we present new 3.6 and 4.5 μm secondary eclipse measurements for five transiting gas giant planets: HAT-P-5b, HAT-P-38b, WASP-7b, WASP-72b, and WASP-127b. We detect eclipses in at least one bandpass for all five planets and confirm circular orbits for all planets except WASP-7b, which shows evidence for a nonzero eccentricity. Building on the work of Garhart et al., we place these new planets into a broader context by comparing them with the sample of all planets with measured Spitzer secondary eclipses. We find that incident flux is the single most important factor for determining the atmospheric chemistry and circulation patterns of short-period gas giant planets. Although we might also expect surface gravity and host star metallicity to play a secondary role, we find no evidence for correlations with either of these two variables.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗