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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 OSTI2012

THE FERMI BUBBLES. II. THE POTENTIAL ROLES OF VISCOSITY AND COSMIC-RAY DIFFUSION IN JET MODELS

The origin of the Fermi bubbles recently detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in the inner Galaxy is mysterious. In the companion paper Guo and Mathews (Paper I), we use hydrodynamic simulations to show that they could be produced by a recent powerful active galactic nucleus (AGN) jet event. Here, we further explore this scenario to study the potential roles of shear viscosity and cosmic-ray (CR) diffusion on the morphology and CR distribution of the bubbles. We show that even a relatively low level of viscosity ({mu}{sub visc} {approx}> 3 g cm{sup -1} s{sup -1}, or {approx}0.1%-1% of Braginskii viscosity in this context) could effectively suppress the development of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities at the bubble surface, resulting in smooth bubble edges as observed. Furthermore, viscosity reduces circulating motions within the bubbles, which would otherwise mix the CR-carrying jet backflow near bubble edges with the bubble interior. Thus viscosity naturally produces an edge-favored CR distribution, an important ingredient to produce the observed flat gamma-ray surface brightness distribution. Generically, such a CR distribution often produces a limb-brightened gamma-ray intensity distribution. However, we show that by incorporating CR diffusion that is strongly suppressed across the bubble surface (as inferred from sharp bubble edges) but is close to canonical values in the bubble interior, we obtain a reasonably flat gamma-ray intensity profile. The similarity of the resulting CR bubble with the observed Fermi bubbles strengthens our previous result in Paper I that the Fermi bubbles were produced by a recent AGN jet event. Studies of the nearby Fermi bubbles may provide a unique opportunity to study the potential roles of plasma viscosity and CR diffusion on the evolution of AGN jets and bubbles.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Developing a laser shockwave model for characterizing diffusion bonded interfaces

The US National Nuclear Security Agency has a Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) with the goal of reducing the worldwide use of high-enriched uranium (HEU). A salient component of that initiative is the conversion of research reactors from HEU to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuels. An innovative fuel is being developed to replace HEU in high-power research reactors. The new LEU fuel is a monolithic fuel made from a U-Mo alloy foil encapsulated in Al-6061 cladding. In order to support the fuel qualification process, the Laser Shockwave Technique (LST) is being developed to characterize the clad-clad and fuel-clad interface strengths in fresh and irradiated fuel plates. LST is a non-contact method that uses lasers for the generation and detection of large amplitude acoustic waves to characterize interfaces in nuclear fuel plates. However, because the deposition of laser energy into the containment layer on a specimen's surface is intractably complex, the shock wave energy is inferred from the surface velocity measured on the backside of the fuel plate and the depth of the impression left on the surface by the high pressure plasma pulse created by the shock laser. To help quantify the stresses generated at the interfaces, a finite element method (FEM) model is being utilized. This paper will report on initial efforts to develop and validate the model by comparing numerical and experimental results for back surface velocities and front surface depressions in a single aluminum plate representative of the fuel cladding.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Atomistic modeling of intrinsic and radiation-enhanced fission gas (Xe) diffusion in UO2 +/- x: Implications for nuclear fuel performance modeling

Based on density functional theory (DFT) and empirical potential calculations, the diffusivity of fission gas atoms (Xe) in UO2 nuclear fuel has been calculated for a range of non-stoichiometry (i.e. UO2x), under both out-of-pile (no irradiation) and in-pile (irradiation) conditions. This was achieved by first deriving expressions for the activation energy that account for the type of trap site that the fission gas atoms occupy, which includes the corresponding type of mobile cluster, the charge state of these defects and the chemistry acting as boundary condition. In the next step DFT calculations were used to estimate migration barriers and internal energy contributions to the thermodynamic properties and calculations based on empirical potentials were used to estimate defect formation and migration entropies (i.e. pre-exponentials). The diffusivities calculated for out-of-pile conditions as function of the UO2x nonstoichiometrywere used to validate the accuracy of the diffusion models and the DFT calculations against available experimental data. The Xe diffusivity is predicted to depend strongly on the UO2x non-stoichiometry due to a combination of changes in the preferred Xe trap site and in the concentration of uranium vacancies enabling Xe diffusion, which is consistent with experiments. After establishing the validity of the modeling approach, it was used for studying Xe diffusion under in-pile conditions, for which experimental data is very scarce. The radiation-enhanced Xe diffusivity is compared to existing empirical models. Finally, the predicted fission gas diffusion rates were implemented in the BISON fuel performance code and fission gas release from a Risø fuel rod irradiation experiment was simulated. 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Diffusion Dominant Solute Transport Modelling In Deep Repository Under The Effect of Emplacement Media Degradation - 13285

Deep geologic disposal of high activity and long-lived radioactive waste is being actively considered and pursued in many countries, where low permeability geological formations are used to provide long term waste contaminant with minimum impact to the environment and risk to the biosphere. A multi-barrier approach that makes use of both engineered and natural barriers (i.e. geological formations) is often used to further enhance the containment performance of the repository. As the deep repository system subjects to a variety of thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical (THCM) effects over its long 'operational' lifespan (e.g. 0.1 to 1.0 million years, the integrity of the barrier system will decrease over time (e.g. fracturing in rock or clay)). This is broadly referred as media degradation in the present study. This modelling study examines the effects of media degradation on diffusion dominant solute transport in fractured media that are typical of deep geological environment. In particular, reactive solute transport through fractured media is studied using a 2-D model, that considers advection and diffusion, to explore the coupled effects of kinetic and equilibrium chemical processes, while the effects of degradation is studied using a pore network model that considers the media diffusivity and network changes. Model results are presented to demonstrate the use of a 3D pore-network model, using a novel architecture, to calculate macroscopic properties of the medium such as diffusivity, subject to pore space changes as the media degrade. Results from a reactive transport model of a representative geological waste disposal package are also presented to demonstrate the effect of media property change on the solute migration behaviour, illustrating the complex interplay between kinetic biogeochemical processes and diffusion dominant transport. The initial modelling results demonstrate the feasibility of a coupled modelling approach (using pore-network model and reactive transport model) to examine the long term behaviour of deep geological repositories with media property change under complex geochemical conditions. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1995

Theoretical and experimental models of the diffuse radar backscatter from Mars

The general objective for this work was to develop a theoretically and experimentally consistent explanation for the diffuse component of radar backscatter from Mars. The strength, variability, and wavelength independence of Mars' diffuse backscatter are unique among our Moon and the terrestrial planets. This diffuse backscatter is generally attributed to wavelength-scale surface roughness and to rock clasts within the Martian regolith. Through the combination of theory and experiment, the authors attempted to bound the range of surface characteristics that could produce the observed diffuse backscatter. Through these bounds they gained a limited capability for data inversion. Within this umbrella, specific objectives were: (1) To better define the statistical roughness parameters of Mars' surface so that they are consistent with observed radar backscatter data, and with the physical and chemical characteristics of Mars' surface as inferred from Mariner 9, the Viking probes, and Earth-based spectroscopy; (2) To better understand the partitioning between surface and volume scattering in the Mars regolith; (3) To develop computational models of Mars' radio emission that incorporate frequency dependent, surface and volume scattering.

England, A. W.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Grassmannian diffusion maps based surrogate modeling via geometric harmonics

Abstract A novel surrogate model based on the Grassmannian diffusion maps (GDMaps) and utilizing geometric harmonics (GH) is developed for predicting the response of complex physical phenomena. The method utilizes GDMaps to obtain a low‐dimensional representation of the underlying behavior of physical/mathematical systems with respect to uncertain input parameters. Using this representation, GH, an out‐of‐sample extension technique, is employed to create a global map from the input parameter space to a Grassmannian diffusion manifold. GH is further employed to locally map points on the diffusion manifold onto the tangent space of a Grassmann manifold. The exponential map is then used to project the points in the tangent space onto the Grassmann manifold, where reconstruction of the full solution is performed. The performance of the proposed surrogate model is verified with three examples. The first problem is a toy example used to illustrate the technique. In the second example, errors associated with the various mappings are assessed by studying response predictions of the electric potential of a dielectric cylinder in a homogeneous electric field. The last example applies the method for uncertainty prediction in the strain field evolution in a model amorphous material using the shear transformation zone theory of plasticity.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Galactic Bar Resonances with Diffusion: An Analytic Model with Implications for Bar–Dark Matter Halo Dynamical Friction

Abstract The secular evolution of disk galaxies is largely driven by resonances between the orbits of “particles” (stars or dark matter) and the rotation of non-axisymmetric features (spiral arms or a bar). Such resonances may also explain kinematic and photometric features observed in the Milky Way and external galaxies. In simplified cases, these resonant interactions are well understood: for instance, the dynamics of a test particle trapped near a resonance of a steadily rotating bar is easily analyzed using the angle-action tools pioneered by Binney, Monari, and others. However, such treatments do not address the stochasticity and messiness inherent to real galaxies—effects that have, with few exceptions, been previously explored only with complex N -body simulations. In this paper, we propose a simple kinetic equation describing the distribution function of particles near an orbital resonance with a rigidly rotating bar, allowing for diffusion of the particles’ slow actions. We solve this equation for various values of the dimensionless diffusion strength Δ, and then apply our theory to the calculation of bar–halo dynamical friction. For Δ = 0, we recover the classic result of Tremaine and Weinberg that friction ultimately vanishes, owing to the phase mixing of resonant orbits. However, for Δ > 0, we find that diffusion suppresses phase mixing, leading to a finite torque. Our results suggest that stochasticity—be it physical or numerical—tends to increase bar–halo friction, and that bars in cosmological simulations might experience significant artificial slowdown, even if the numerical two-body relaxation time is much longer than a Hubble time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1994

Coherent pulses in the diffusive transport of charged particles`

We present exact solutions to the diffusive transport of charged particles following impulsive injection for a simple model of scattering. A modified, two-parameter relaxation-time model is considered that simulates the low rate of scattering through perpendicular pitch-angle. Scattering is taken to be isotropic within each of the foward- and backward-pointing hemispheres, respectively, but, at the same time, a reduced rate of sccattering is assumed from one hemisphere to the other one. By applying a technique of Fourier- and Laplace-transform, the inverse transformation can be performed and exact solutions can be reached. By contrast with the first, and so far only exact solutions of Federov and Shakov, this wider class of solutions gives rise to coherent pulses to appear. The present work addresses omnidirectional densities for isotropic injection from an instantaneous and localized source. The dispersion relations are briefly discussed. We find, for this particular model, two diffusive models to exist up to a certain limiting wavenumber. The corresponding eigenvalues are real at the lowest wavenumbers. Complex eigenvalues, which are responsible for coherent pulses, appear at higher wavenumbers.

Kota, J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

A coupled vacancy diffusion-dislocation dynamics model for the climb-glide motion of jogged screw dislocations

Here, we develop a novel model to study the climb/glide motion of jogged screw dislocations within the discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) framework. We present results for the dependence of the climb velocity on the applied stress and on the jog size and distribution statistics. We show that the model predictions are consistent with experimental data in both γ-TiAl and Zircaloy-4. The ranges of the applied stress and jog spacing that determine the dominance of one of three dislocation mechanisms are identified. These are the jog dragging, dipole dragging, and dipole bypass mechanisms, respectively. The overall dislocation motion in the jog dragging regime is composed of glide of screw segments and climb of jogs, controlling the plastic strain and the creep rate, respectively. Based on current simulations and on a detailed examination of the predicted jog heights compared to experiments, we advance the hypothesis that a combination of jog dragging and dipole bypass mechanisms is necessary to reproduce the high creep rate observed in some experiments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurement and modeling of methane diffusion in hydrocarbon mixtures

Methane (CH 4 ) dissolution and diffusive mass transfer in liquid hydrocarbon mixtures is of key interest in the context of enhanced oil recovery from tight shales. In this paper, we have studied CH 4 dissolution and diffusion in normal alkane mixtures at a temperature of 50 ⁰C and at pressures of ~8 MPa. For the measurement of CH 4 dissolution/diffusion in bulk liquid hydrocarbon mixtures, we have utilized a high pressure and temperature, constant-volume diffusion (CV-D) setup. Here, we have studied CH 4 diffusion in mixtures with three long-chain normal alkanes: decane (C 10 ), dodecane (C 12 ) and hexadecane (C 16 ). We have measured CH 4 solubility and diffusion in its binary mixtures with each of these three normal alkanes, as well as in ternary and quaternary mixtures. During the experiments, the swelling of the liquid mixture due to CH 4 dissolution was measured in situ via a cathetometer and was subsequently integrated into the data analysis. A key conclusion from this study is that the solubility and transport properties of the multicomponent mixtures can be predicted accurately from binary mixture measurements using an appropriate Equation of State (EOS) and Wilke’s simplification of the classical Maxwell-Stefan (MS) diffusion theory. This observation can facilitate accurate prediction of diffusive mass transfer in more complex liquid hydrocarbon mixtures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Hillock formation in co-deposited thin films of immiscible metal alloy systems

Hillocks are protruding sections of a surface that can influence the electronic and mechanical properties of a thin film. In monolithic films, these hillocks are formed due to thermally induced stress gradients during deposition. In this study, the surface morphology of co-sputtered immiscible Cu-X (X is a body centered cubic (BCC) group V or VI metal) thin films is characterized to elucidate the conditions that lead to hillock formation. Cu-Ta and Cu-Mo-Ag films were co-deposited with physical vapor deposition (PVD) magnetron sputtering at 25, 400, 600, and 800°C. A significant number of homogeneously distributed surface hillocks were observed only in the 600 and 800°C films. High-angle annular dark field (HAADF) cross-sectional imaging revealed significant Cu agglomerations underneath the protruding features. For the Cu-Ta films, the Cu was enveloped in a Cu-Ta nanocrystalline matrix. For Cu-Mo-Ag, the Cu was surrounded by Mo-Ag concentration modulations. While thermal stress gradients arise during deposition of immiscible metal films, biaxial stress calculations and literature cases reveal that they are not solely responsible for hillock formation. The observed morphologies align with a surface diffusion kinetic model that evaluates diffusion length of adatoms during deposition as a function of deposition temperature. Finally, this indicates a phase separation driving force paired with the constituent elements’ dissimilar mobilities at elevated deposition temperatures contribute to the presence of hillocks.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

A fractional Fokker-Planck model for anomalous diffusion

In this paper, we present a study of anomalous diffusion using a Fokker-Planck description with fractional velocity derivatives. The distribution functions are found using numerical means for varying degree of fractionality of the stable Lévy distribution. The statistical properties of the distribution functions are assessed by a generalized normalized expectation measure and entropy in terms of Tsallis statistical mechanics. We find that the ratio of the generalized entropy and expectation is increasing with decreasing fractionality towards the well known so-called sub-diffusive domain, indicating a self-organising behavior.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Model of diffusion-assisted direct laser writing by means of nanopolymerization in the presence of radical quencher

Diffusion-assisted direct laser writing (DA-DLW) by multiphoton polymerization has been recently shown to be one of the most promising methods for the high-resolution 3D nanofabrication [I. Sakellari, et al., ACS Nano 6, 2302 (2012)]. The improvement of the writing spatial resolution has been observed under certain conditions when the mobile radical quencher (polymerization inhibitor) is added to the photosensitive composition. In this work, we present a theoretical study of this method, focusing on the resolution capabilities and optimal writing parameters. The laser beam absorption in the polymerizable composition causes the localized depletion of the quencher molecules. If the quencher depletion is balanced by its diffusion from the outside of the focal volume, the quasi-stationary non-equillibrium concentration spatial profile with zero minimum can be obtained. The polymer is then effectively formed only in the domain where the quencher is depleted. The spatially-distributed quencher, in this case, has the effect similar to that of the vortex beam in STimulated Emission Microscopy (STED)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗