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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 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Comparison of momentum transport models for numerical relativity

The main problems of nonvacuum numerical relativity, compact binary mergers and stellar collapse, involve hydromagnetic instabilities and turbulent flows, so that kinetic energy at small scales leads to mean effects at large scale that drive the secular evolution. Notable among these effects is momentum transport. We investigate two models of this transport effect, a relativistic Navier-Stokes system and a turbulent mean stress model, that are similar to all of the prescriptions that have been attempted to date for treating subgrid effects on binary neutron star mergers and their aftermath. Our investigation involves both stability analysis and numerical experimentation on star and disk systems. We also begin the investigation of the effects of particle and heat transport on postmerger simulations. Here, we find that correct handling of turbulent heating is crucial for avoiding unphysical instabilities. Given such appropriate handling, the evolution of a differentially rotating star and the accretion rate of a disk are reassuringly insensitive to the choice of prescription. However, disk outflows can be sensitive to the choice of method, even for the same effective viscous strength. We also consider the effects of eddy diffusion in the evolution of an accretion disk and show that it can interestingly affect the composition of outflows.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bayesian learning with Gaussian processes for low-dimensional representations of time-dependent nonlinear systems

This work presents a data-driven method for learning low-dimensional time-dependent physics-based surrogate models whose predictions are endowed with uncertainty estimates. We use the operator inference approach to model reduction that poses the problem of learning low-dimensional model terms as a regression of state space data and corresponding time derivatives by minimizing the residual of reduced system equations. Standard operator inference models perform well with accurate training data that are dense in time, but producing stable and accurate models when the state data are noisy and/or sparse in time remains a challenge. Another challenge is the lack of uncertainty estimation for the predictions from the operator inference models. Our approach addresses these challenges by incorporating Gaussian process surrogates into the operator inference framework to (1) probabilistically describe uncertainties in the state predictions and (2) procure analytical time derivative estimates with quantified uncertainties. The formulation leads to a generalized least-squares regression and, ultimately, reduced-order models that are described probabilistically with a closed-form expression for the posterior distribution of the operators. The resulting probabilistic surrogate model propagates uncertainties from the observed state data to reduced-order predictions. Furthermore, we demonstrate the method is effective for constructing low-dimensional models of two nonlinear partial differential equations representing a compressible flow and a nonlinear diffusion–reaction process, as well as for estimating the parameters of a low-dimensional system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations representing compartmental models in epidemiology.

Data-driven model reduction↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nonlinear Ensemble Filtering with Diffusion Models: Application to the Surface Quasigeostrophic Dynamics

The intersection between classical data assimilation methods and novel machine learning techniques has attracted significant interest in recent years. Here, we explore another promising solution in which diffusion models are used to formulate a robust nonlinear ensemble filter for sequential data assimilation. Unlike standard machine learning methods, the proposed ensemble score filter (EnSF) is completely training free and can efficiently generate a set of analysis ensemble members. Here, in this study, we apply the EnSF to a surface quasigeostrophic model and compare its performance against the popular local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF), which makes Gaussian assumptions in the analysis step. Numerical tests demonstrate that EnSF maintains stable performance in the absence of localization and for a variety of experimental settings. We find that while LETKF maintains optimal performance in the case of linear observations of the entire state and a perfect model, EnSF shows improvements over LETKF when nonlinear observations are assimilated and the system is subject to unexpected model errors. A spectral decomposition of the analysis results in this nonlinear observation regime shows that the largest improvements over LETKF occur at large scales (small wavenumbers), where LETKF lacks sufficient ensemble spread. Overall, this initial application of EnSF to a geophysical model of intermediate complexity motivates further development of the algorithm for more realistic problems.

Artificial intelligence↗
DOE OSTI2016

Three species one-dimensional kinetic model for weakly ionized plasmas

A three species one-dimensional kinetic model is presented for a spatially homogeneous weakly ionized plasma subjected to the action of a time varying electric field. Planar geometry is assumed, which means that the plasma evolves in the privileged direction of the field. The energy transmitted to the electric charges is channelized to the neutrals thanks to collisions, a mechanism that influences the plasma dynamics. Charge-charge interactions have been designed as a one-dimensional collision term equivalent to the Landau operator used for fully ionized plasmas. Charge-neutral collisions are modelled by a conservative drift-diffusion operator in the Dougherty's form. The resulting set of coupled integro-differential equations is solved with the stable and robust propagator integral method. This semi–analytical method feasibility accounts for non–linear effects without appealing to linearisation or simplifications, providing conservative physically meaningful solutions even for initial or emerging sharp velocity distribution function profiles. It is found that charge-neutral collisions exert a significant effect since a quite different plasma evolution arises if compared to the collisionless limit. In addition, substantial differences in the system motion are found for constant and temperature dependent collision frequencies cases.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

AGR-3/4 Irradiation Test Train Disassembly and Component Metrology First Look Report

The AGR-3/4 experiment was designed to study fission product transport within graphitic matrix material and nuclear-grade graphite. To this end, this experiment consisted of 12 capsules, each fueled with 4 compacts containing UCO TRISO particles as driver fuel and 20 UCO designed-to-fail (DTF) fuel particles in each compact. The DTF fuel was fabricated with a thin pyrocarbon layer which was intended to fail during irradiation and provide a source of fission products. These fission products could then migrate through the compact and into the surrounding concentric rings of graphitic matrix material and/or nuclear graphite. Through post-irradiation examination (PIE) of the rings (including physical sampling and gamma scanning) fission product concentration profiles within the rings can be determined. These data can be used to elucidate fission product transport parameters (e.g. diffusion coefficients within the test materials) which will be used to inform and refine models of fission product transport. After irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) had been completed in April 2014, the AGR-3/4 experiment was shipped to the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) for inspection, disassembly, and metrology. The AGR-3/4 test train was received at MFC in two separate shipments between February and April 2015. Visual examinations of the test train exterior did not indicate dimensional distortion, and only two small discolored areas were observed at the bottom of Capsules 8 and 9. No corresponding discoloration was found on the inside of these capsules, however. Prior to disassembly, the two test train sections were subject to analysis via the Precision Gamma Scanner (PGS), which did not indicate that any gross fuel relocation had occurred. A series of specialized tools (including clamps, cutters, and drills) had been designed and fabricated in order to carry out test train disassembly and recovery of capsule components (graphite rings and fuel compacts). This equipment performed well for separating each capsule in the test train and extracting the capsule components. Only a few problems were encountered. In one case, the outermost ring (the sink ring) was cracked during removal of the capsule through tubes. Although the sink ring will be analyzed in order to obtain a mass balance of fission products in the experiment, these cracks do not pose a major concern because the sink ring will not be analyzed in detail to obtain the spatial distribution of fission products. In Capsules 4 and 5, the compacts could not be removed from the inner rings. Strategies for removing the compacts are being evaluated. Sampling the inner rings with the compacts in-place is also an option. Dimensional measurements were made on the compacts, inner rings, outer rings, and sink rings. The diameters of all compacts decreased by 0.5 to 2.0 %. Generally, the extent of diametric shrinkage increased linearly with increasing neutron fluence. Most compact lengths also decreased. Compact lengths decreased with increasing fluence, reaching maximum shrinkage of about 0.9 % at a fast fluence of 4.0x10 25 n/m 2 E > 0.18 MeV. Above this fluence, the extent of length shrinkage appeared to decrease with fluence, and two compacts from Capsule 7 were found to have slightly increased in length (< 0.1 %) after a fluence of 5.2x10 25 n/m 2 .

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2016

AGR-3/4 Irradiation Test Train Disassembly and Component Metrology First Look Report

The AGR-3/4 experiment was designed to study fission product transport within graphitic matrix material and nuclear-grade graphite. To this end, this experiment consisted of 12 capsules, each fueled with 4 compacts containing UCO TRISO particles as driver fuel and 20 UCO designed-to-fail (DTF) fuel particles in each compact. The DTF fuel was fabricated with a thin pyrocarbon layer which was intended to fail during irradiation and provide a source of fission products. These fission products could then migrate through the compact and into the surrounding concentric rings of graphitic matrix material and/or nuclear graphite. Through post-irradiation examination (PIE) of the rings (including physical sampling and gamma scanning) fission product concentration profiles within the rings can be determined. These data can be used to elucidate fission product transport parameters (e.g. diffusion coefficients within the test materials) which will be used to inform and refine models of fission product transport. After irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) had been completed in April 2014, the AGR-3/4 experiment was shipped to the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) for inspection, disassembly, and metrology. The AGR-3/4 test train was received at MFC in two separate shipments between February and April 2015. Visual examinations of the test train exterior did not indicate dimensional distortion, and only two small discolored areas were observed at the bottom of Capsules 8 and 9. No corresponding discoloration was found on the inside of these capsules, however. Prior to disassembly, the two test train sections were subject to analysis via the Precision Gamma Scanner (PGS), which did not indicate that any gross fuel relocation had occurred. A series of specialized tools (including clamps, cutters, and drills) had been designed and fabricated in order to carry out test train disassembly and recovery of capsule components (graphite rings and fuel compacts). This equipment performed well for separating each capsule in the test train and extracting the capsule components. Only a few problems were encountered. In one case, the outermost ring (the sink ring) was cracked during removal of the capsule through tubes. Although the sink ring will be analyzed in order to obtain a mass balance of fission products in the experiment, these cracks do not pose a major concern because the sink ring will not be analyzed in detail to obtain the spatial distribution of fission products. In Capsules 4 and 5, the compacts could not be removed from the inner rings. Strategies for removing the compacts are being evaluated. Sampling the inner rings with the compacts in-place is also an option. Dimensional measurements were made on the compacts, inner rings, outer rings, and sink rings. The diameters of all compacts decreased by 0.5 to 2.0 %. Generally, the extent of diametric shrinkage increased linearly with increasing neutron fluence. Most compact lengths also decreased. Compact lengths decreased with increasing fluence, reaching maximum shrinkage of about 0.9 % at a fast fluence of 4.0x1025 n/m2 E > 0.18 MeV. Above this fluence, the extent of length shrinkage appeared to decrease with fluence, and two compacts from Capsule 7 were found to have slightly increased in length (< 0.1 %) after a fluence of 5.2x1025 n/m2.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Neutronics Calculation Advances at Los Alamos: Manhattan Project to Monte Carlo

The history and advances of neutronics calculations at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project through the present are reviewed. Substantial improvements to neutron diffusion methods and the invention of both the Monte Carlo neutron transport methods in 1947 and deterministic discrete ordinates Sn in 1953 were all made at Los Alamos just after the Manhattan Project. We briefly summarize early simpler and more approximate neutronics methods and then describe the need to better predict neutronics behavior through consideration of theoretical equations, models and algorithms, experimental measurements, and available computing capabilities and their limitations. This paper briefly covers key advances in deterministic methods during the Manhattan Project. These capabilities, coupled with increasing postwar defense needs and the invention of electronic computing with the Electronic Numeric Integrator and Computer, known as ENIAC, and the Mathematical Analyzer Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer Model, known as MANIAC, led to the creation of Monte Carlo and deterministic discrete ordinates neutronics transport methods. We note the important role that the scientific comradery between the Los Alamos scientists played in the process. This paper briefly covers the early methods, algorithms, computers, and electronic and women pioneers that enabled Monte Carlo to spread to all areas of science. We focus heavily on these early developments and the subsequent creation of the MCNP® code, advances in its associated nuclear data, and its applications to problems of national defense at Los Alamos.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Collapse of neutrino wave functions under Penrose gravitational reduction

Models of spontaneous wave function collapse have been postulated to address the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. Their primary function is to convert coherent quantum superpositions into incoherent ones, with the result that macroscopic objects cannot be placed into widely separated superpositions for observably prolonged times. Many of these processes will also lead to loss of coherence in neutrino oscillations, producing observable signatures in the flavor profile of neutrinos at long travel distances. The majority of studies of neutrino oscillation coherence to date have focused on variants of the continuous state localization model, whereby an effective decoherence strength parameter is used to model the rate of coherence loss with an assumed energy dependence. Another class of collapse models that have been proposed posit connections to the configuration of gravitational field accompanying the mass distribution associated with each wave function that is in the superposition. A particularly interesting and prescriptive model is Penrose’s description of gravitational collapse which proposes a decoherence time τ determined through E g τ ∼ ℏ , where E g is a calculable function of the Newtonian gravitational potential. Here we explore application of the Penrose collapse model to neutrino oscillations, reinterpreting previous experimental limits on neutrino decoherence in terms of this model. We identify effects associated with both spatial collapse and momentum diffusion, finding that the latter is ruled out in data from the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory so long as the neutrino wave packet width at production is σ ν , x ≤ 2 × 10 − 12 m . Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2018

Steady-State Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis and Bowing Reactivity Evaluation Methods Based on Neutron and Gamma Transport Calculations

With the advancement of computer technology, the variational nodal transport code VARIANT is now routinely used for sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) design analysis. In particular, VARIANT transport calculations are usually performed for whole core neutronics analyses and for fuel cycle analyses with REBUS-3. However, the steady-state thermal hydraulics analysis with the SE2-ANL coed and the assembly bowing reactivity calculation with the structural analysis with the NUBOW-3D code are still performed with the DIF3D finite difference diffusion theory code. Furthermore, the DIF3D diffusion calculation for these applications is performed with only six triangular meshes per hexagonal assembly, and the SE2-ANL code determines the pin power distributions approximately by assuming that the power distribution within an assembly is separable in the radial and axial directions. In order to overcome the limitations and to improve the accuracy of the existing methods, it was proposed to develop the relevant computational methods based on the transport calculations with the VARIANT and PROTEUS-SN codes. The objectives of this study are to develop a new heating calculation method based on the coupled neutron and gamma transport calculations with VARIANT, to implement the new heating calculation method into the SE2-ANL steady-state thermal-hydraulics analysis code with improved numerical algorithms and additional capabilities for automatic flow allocation calculations, and to develop a method to calculate bowing reactivity coefficients based on the VARIANT core solutions and the PROTEUS-SN assembly solutions, which can be used in NUBOW-3D calculations. A new, coupled neutron and gamma heating calculation procedure has been developed based on VARIANT transport calculations. In the new heating calculation procedure, the neutron flux distribution is first determined by solving an eigenvalue transport problem using the VARIANT transport code. Using the calculated neutron flux, the intra-nodal gamma source distributions are calculated to be consistent with the neutron flux distribution with the GAMSOR code. For this, the GAMSOR code has been updated to generate the intra-nodal gamma source distributions in the form of the VARSRC dataset of VARIANT. With this gamma source distribution, the gamma flux distribution is determined by solving a fixed source gamma transport problem using VARIANT again. With the neutron and gamma flux distributions, the heat generation rates are evaluated at individual fuel pins and assembly duct walls, without assuming separable axial and radial profiles for the intra-assembly power distribution.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Addressing Critical Problems in Materials Science Through Multiscale and Multimode Characterization (Project 1); Characterization and Optimization of Novel Triple-Conducting Oxide Materials for Energy Applications (Project 2) (CRADA Final Report)

PROJECT 1: Address critical problems in materials science and simultaneously advance the state-of-the-art in multiscale and multimode characterization using the combined advanced analytical capabilities and expertise of Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The primary effort of the Phase I of this CRADA is to establish the International Center for Multiscale Characterization using shared resources at both NREL and CSM. Phase II will focus on capability development and marketing, choosing candidate materials science issues in the areas of structure imaging, chemical composition mapping, and correlating properties and performance of materials for impact in energy-related, environmental and critical materials areas. The CRADA will be modified to include specific topics of concern in materials science to industry member partners. Advanced analytical capabilities and expertise at CSM and NREL will be used to advance materials understanding and performance through characterization of multiscale phenomena including structural imaging, chemical composition mapping, and other techniques correlating properties and performance of materials. PROJECT 2: As part of the International Center for Materials Characterization, work under Modification #1 will be led by Colorado School of Mines (CSM), working in collaboration with NREL staff to mentor and advise CSM postdoctoral researchers on set up of diffusion annealing experiments. The purpose of the modification is to provide for NREL staff to mentor and advise CSM postdoctoral researchers on set up of diffusion annealing experiments, including mentoring and advising the CSM-NREL team on proper Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) data analysis as needed. SIMS measurements of 10-20 samples will be performed at NREL during the project duration.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2017

Influence of Sedimentation Length on the Convective Stability of a Colloidal Suspension

The convective stability of a colloidal suspension is studied in the case when the vertical dimension of the cavity is less than or comparable with the sedimentation length of nanoparticles. The analysis is carried out within the Boussinesq approximation on the basis of a modified model that takes into account the dependence of a thermodiffusion flow on the local value of impurity concentration. A new parameter of the problem is the ratio of the sedimentation length to the vertical dimension of the cavity. For a quiescent colloidal suspension, exact and approximate (in the case of small concentrations) solutions are obtained that describe the distributions of nanoparticles. A transformation is obtained that allows one to investigate the convective stability of a colloidal suspension stratified in the gravitational field by the Galerkin method with a set of simple trial functions. Instability boundaries and the characteristics of critical perturbations are determined. It is shown that, in the case of negative thermodiffusion, a decrease in the sedimentation length leads to a decrease in the convection threshold and the frequency of neutral oscillations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

High thermal stability and sluggish crystallization kinetics of high-entropy bulk metallic glasses

Metallic glasses are metastable and their thermal stability is critical for practical applications, particularly at elevated temperatures. The conventional bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), though exhibiting high glass-forming ability (GFA), crystallize quickly when being heated to a temperature higher than their glass transition temperature. This problem may potentially be alleviated due to the recent developments of high-entropy (or multi-principle-element) bulk metallic glasses (HE-BMGs). In this work, we demonstrate that typical HE-BMGs, i.e., ZrTiHfCuNiBe and ZrTiCuNiBe, have higher kinetic stability, as compared with the benchmark glass Vitreoy1 (Zr{sub 41.2}Ti{sub 13.8}Cu{sub 12.5}Ni{sub 10}Be{sub 22.5}) with a similar chemical composition. The measured activation energy for glass transition and crystallization of the HE-BMGs is nearly twice that of Vitreloy 1. Moreover, the sluggish crystallization region ΔT{sub pl-pf}, defined as the temperature span between the last exothermic crystallization peak temperature T{sub pl} and the first crystallization exothermic peak temperature T{sub pf}, of all the HE-BMGs is much wider than that of Vitreloy 1. In addition, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy characterization of the crystallized products at different temperatures and the continuous heating transformation diagram which is proposed to estimate the lifetime at any temperature below the melting point further confirm high thermal stability of the HE-BMGs. Surprisingly, all the HE-BMGs show a small fragility value, which contradicts with their low GFA, suggesting that the underlying diffusion mechanism in the liquid and the solid of HE-BMGs is different.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimal white-noise stochastic forcing for linear models of turbulent channel flow

In the present study an optimisation problem is formulated to determine the forcing of an eddy-viscosity-based linearised Navier–Stokes model in channel flow at $Re_\tau \approx 5200$ ( $Re_\tau$ is the friction Reynolds number), where the forcing is white-in-time and spatially decorrelated. The objective functional is prescribed such that the forcing drives a response to best match a set of velocity spectra from direct numerical simulation (DNS), as well as remaining sufficiently smooth. Strong quantitative agreement is obtained between the velocity spectra from the linear model with optimal forcing and from DNS, but only qualitative agreement between the Reynolds shear stress co-spectra from the model and DNS. The forcing spectra exhibit a level of self-similarity, associated with the primary peak in the velocity spectra, but they also reveal a non-negligible amount of energy spent in phenomenologically mimicking the non-self-similar part of the velocity spectra associated with energy cascade. By exploiting linearity, the effect of the individual forcing components is assessed and the contributions from the Orr mechanism and the lift-up effect are also identified. Finally, the effect of the strength of the eddy viscosity on the optimisation performance is investigated. The inclusion of the eddy viscosity diffusion operator is shown to be essential in modelling of the near-wall features, while still allowing the forcing of the self-similar primary peak. In particular, reducing the strength of the eddy viscosity results in a considerable increase in the near-wall forcing of wall-parallel components.

Mechanics↗
DOE OSTI2016

Neutrino physics with JUNO

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 kton multi-purpose underground liquid scintillator detector, was proposed with the determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy (MH) as a primary physics goal. The excellent energy resolution and the large fiducial volume anticipated for the JUNO detector offer exciting opportunities for addressing many important topics in neutrino and astro-particle physics. In this document, we present the physics motivations and the anticipated performance of the JUNO detector for various proposed measurements. Following an introduction summarizing the current status and open issues in neutrino physics, we discuss how the detection of antineutrinos generated by a cluster of nuclear power plants allows the determination of the neutrino MH at a 3–4σ significance with six years of running of JUNO. The measurement of antineutrino spectrum with excellent energy resolution will also lead to the precise determination of the neutrino oscillation parameters ${\mathrm{sin}}^{2}{\theta }_{12}$, ${\rm{\Delta }}{m}_{21}^{2}$, and $| {\rm{\Delta }}{m}_{{ee}}^{2}| $ to an accuracy of better than 1%, which will play a crucial role in the future unitarity test of the MNSP matrix. The JUNO detector is capable of observing not only antineutrinos from the power plants, but also neutrinos/antineutrinos from terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sources, including supernova burst neutrinos, diffuse supernova neutrino background, geoneutrinos, atmospheric neutrinos, and solar neutrinos. As a result of JUNO's large size, excellent energy resolution, and vertex reconstruction capability, interesting new data on these topics can be collected. For example, a neutrino burst from a typical core-collapse supernova at a distance of 10 kpc would lead to ~5000 inverse-beta-decay events and ~2000 all-flavor neutrino–proton ES events in JUNO, which are of crucial importance for understanding the mechanism of supernova explosion and for exploring novel phenomena such as collective neutrino oscillations. Detection of neutrinos from all past core-collapse supernova explosions in the visible universe with JUNO would further provide valuable information on the cosmic star-formation rate and the average core-collapse neutrino energy spectrum. Antineutrinos originating from the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium in the Earth can be detected in JUNO with a rate of ~400 events per year, significantly improving the statistics of existing geoneutrino event samples. Atmospheric neutrino events collected in JUNO can provide independent inputs for determining the MH and the octant of the ${\theta }_{23}$ mixing angle. Detection of the 7Be and 8B solar neutrino events at JUNO would shed new light on the solar metallicity problem and examine the transition region between the vacuum and matter dominated neutrino oscillations. Regarding light sterile neutrino topics, sterile neutrinos with ${10}^{-5}\;{{\rm{eV}}}^{2}\lt {\rm{\Delta }}{m}_{41}^{2}\lt {10}^{-2}\;{{\rm{eV}}}^{2}$ and a sufficiently large mixing angle ${\theta }_{14}$ could be identified through a precise measurement of the reactor antineutrino energy spectrum. Meanwhile, JUNO can also provide us excellent opportunities to test the eV-scale sterile neutrino hypothesis, using either the radioactive neutrino sources or a cyclotron-produced neutrino beam. The JUNO detector is also sensitive to several other beyondthe-standard-model physics. Examples include the search for proton decay via the $p\to {K}^{+}+\bar{\nu }$ decay channel, search for neutrinos resulting from dark-matter annihilation in the Sun, search for violation of Lorentz invariance via the sidereal modulation of the reactor neutrino event rate, and search for the effects of non-standard interactions. The proposed construction of the JUNO detector will provide a unique facility to address many outstanding crucial questions in particle and astrophysics in a timely and cost-effective fashion. Furthermore, it holds the great potential for further advancing our quest to understanding the fundamental properties of neutrinos, one of the building blocks of our Universe.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Experimental Observation of Thin-shell Instability in a Collisionless Plasma

We report on the experimental observation of the instability of a plasma shell, which formed during the expansion of a laser-ablated plasma into a rarefied ambient medium. By means of a proton radiography technique, the evolution of the instability is temporally and spatially resolved on a timescale much shorter than the hydrodynamic one. The density of the thin shell exceeds that of the surrounding plasma, which lets electrons diffuse outward. An ambipolar electric field grows on both sides of the thin shell that is antiparallel to the density gradient. Ripples in the thin shell result in a spatially varying balance between the thermal pressure force mediated by this field and the ram pressure force that is exerted on it by the inflowing plasma. This mismatch amplifies the ripples by the same mechanism that drives the hydrodynamic nonlinear thin-shell instability (NTSI). Our results thus constitute the first experimental verification that the NTSI can develop in colliding flows.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Measurement of Kinetic Parameters by Oscillated Experiments

The availability of reliable values of the kinetic parameters (effective delayed neutron fraction {beta} and effective mean neutron generation time {Lambda}) is important for reactor kinetic analyses and for reactivity monitoring when adopting the point kinetic approach. The kinetic parameters may be obtained either by simulations (Monte Carlo or deterministic) of the system or by direct measurements. Several methods have been proposed for the direct experimental determination of the kinetic parameters, e.g. control rod drops and noise analysis approaches, e.g. In this work, the problem of the determination of kinetic parameters in subcritical systems is tackled. The system is subjected to an oscillated source and the value of the ratio {beta}/{Lambda} is related to a measurable quantity when the system response reaches an equilibrium condition. In the analysis presented, a pure frequency is considered: when analyzing more complicated source periodic behaviours, a Fourier analysis can allow to isolate the contributions of individual frequencies. The phase difference between the oscillating source and the system response is adopted as the experimental observable. The method for the interpretation of the measurements is based on the standard point kinetic model. The response of the system is obtained by localized neutron detectors and, therefore, spatial and spectral effects may also affect the results. This drawback needs some further discussion and will be considered in the future work. The phase shift between the source signal and the system response may be analytically retrieved by Laplace transforming the point kinetic equations in the presence of an oscillated source. An explicit formula relates the phase shift to the ratio {beta}/{Lambda} and to the frequency of the source. Based on this relationship, the ratio {beta}/{Lambda} can be determined. To validate the technique, the experimental data are simulated by a numerical code solving the time-dependent diffusion equations for a source-driven system. The work allows to assess the possibility of the technique and its limits of applicability. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

MODELING DUST IN THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS

We model the extinction profiles observed in the Small and Large Magellanic clouds with a synthetic population of dust grains consisting of core-mantle particles and a collection of free-flying polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). All different flavors of the extinction curves observed in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) can be described by the present model, which has been previously (successfully) applied to a large sample of diffuse and translucent lines of sight in the Milky Way. We find that in the MCs the extinction produced by classical grains is generally larger than absorption by PAHs. Within this model, the nonlinear far-UV rise is accounted for by PAHs, whose presence in turn is always associated with a gap in the size distribution of classical particles. This hints either at a physical connection between (e.g., a common cause for) PAHs and the absence of middle-sized dust particles or the need for an additional component in the model that can account for the nonlinear far-UV rise without contributing to the UV bump at ∼217 nm such as, e.g., nanodiamonds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗