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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. II. New Insights into LyC Diagnostics

The Lyman continuum (LyC) cannot be observed at the epoch of reionization (z ≳ 6) owing to intergalactic H I absorption. To identify LyC emitters (LCEs) and infer the fraction of escaping LyC, astronomers have developed various indirect diagnostics of LyC escape. Using measurements of the LyC from the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS), we present the first statistical test of these diagnostics. While optical depth indicators based on Lyα, such as peak velocity separation and equivalent width, perform well, we also find that other diagnostics, such as the [O III ]/[O II ] flux ratio and star formation rate surface density, predict whether a galaxy is an LCE. The relationship between these galaxy properties and the fraction of escaping LyC flux suggests that LyC escape depends strongly on H I column density, ionization parameter, and stellar feedback. We find that LCEs occupy a range of stellar masses, metallicities, star formation histories, and ionization parameters, which may indicate episodic and/or different physical causes of LyC escape.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Variable Active Galactic Nuclei in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer Time Domain Survey

We searched the northern hemisphere fields of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer Time Domain Survey for galaxies with UV variability indicative of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We identified 48 high-probability candidate AGNs from a parent sample of 1819 galaxies in the NASA Sloan Atlas catalog. We further characterized these systems using optical spectroscopic diagnostics, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer IR color selection criteria, and spectral energy distribution modeling. Of the 48 candidates, eight were identified as AGNs from optical emission lines, two were identified by their IR colors, and 28 were identified through spectral energy decomposition. Observational biases of each selection method are discussed in connecting these AGN subsamples to another. By selecting AGNs based on UV variability, we also identified six low-mass AGN candidates, all of which would have been missed by spectroscopic selection.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effects and mitigation of pulsed power radiation on optical fiber velocimetry

We report optical fiber diagnostics are extensively used in pulsed power experiments, such as the Sandia Z machine. However, radiation produced in a pulsed power environment can significantly affect these measurements. Catastrophic fiber darkening may be mitigated with shielding, but no flexible material can stop all radiation produced by the machine and/or target. Radiation-induced refractive index modulations are particularly challenging for optical interferometry. Several approaches for radiation-tolerant photonic Doppler velocimetry are discussed here.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

RIC Advanced Sensors & Controls FWP: Novel Sensors for Boilers

Overview and brief project update on 3 tasks within the RIC Advanced Sensors & Controls FWP with direct applications to coal fired boiler temperature sensing. Task 32, Field demonstration of distributed temperature measurement with optical fiber for fossil energy power generation applications. Task 47, In-situ temperature measurements via reactive particles. Task 48, Ultrafast laser measurements for power generation environments.

coal boilers↗
DOE OSTI2025

Continuum laser absorption spectroscopy of C 2 (a 3 Π u ) in a sublimating cloud of carbon black

A direct optical absorption diagnostic has been developed for rotationally resolved measurements of diatomic carbon (a 3 Π u →d 3 Π g (0,0) and (1,1)) at a repetition rate of 525 kHz and resolution of 7.3 pm over the range of 511.1–514.1 nm. The diagnostic utilizes a high-power pulsed continuum laser light source dispersed in a spectrograph and imaged by a high-speed camera. Measurements have been performed that capture the temporal evolution of C 2 number density and temperature of a cloud of carbon black sublimating in shock heated gas at high temperature and pressure (T = 5500 K, P = 3.7 atm). A simultaneous light absorption measurement of the condensed phase enables comparisons of the gaseous C 2 number density to the condensed phase mass. The continuum laser absorption diagnostic is applied to C 2 in this work but shows promise in being a simple “drop-in” system for absorption spectroscopy in the visible range at rapid repetition rates and high dispersion, filling an important gap for laser diagnostic systems.

Willhardt, Colton Dean [Univ. of Illinois at Urban↗
DOE OSTI2022

Diffuse back-illumination temperature imaging (DBI-TI), a novel soot thermometry technique

To meet stringent emissions regulations on soot emissions, it is critical to further advance the fundamental understanding of in-cylinder soot formation and oxidation processes. Among several optical techniques for soot quantification, diffuse back-illumination extinction imaging (DBI-EI) has recently gained traction mainly due to its ability to compensate for beam steering, which if not addressed, can cause unacceptably high measurement uncertainty. Until now, DBI-EI has only been used to measure the amount of soot along the line of sight, and here, we extend the capabilities of a DBI-EI setup to also measure in-cylinder soot temperature. This proof of concept of diffuse back-illumination temperature imaging (DBI-TI) as a soot thermometry technique is presented by implementing DBI-TI in a single cylinder, heavy-duty, optical diesel engine to provide 2-D line-of-sight integrated soot temperature maps. The potential of DBI-TI to be an accurate thermometry technique for use in optical engines is analyzed. The achievable accuracy is due in part to simultaneous measurement of the soot extinction, which circumvents the uncertainty in dispersion coefficients that depend on the optical properties of soot and the wavelength of light utilized. Analysis shows that DBI-TI provides temperature estimates that are closer to the mass-averaged soot temperature when compared to other thermometry techniques that are more sensitive to soot temperature closer to the detector. Furthermore, uncertainty analysis and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations provide estimates of the temperature measurement errors associated with this technique. The MC simulations reveal that for the light intensities and optical densities encountered in these experiments, the accuracy of the DBI-TI technique is comparable or even better than other established optical thermometry techniques. Thus, DBI-TI promises to be an easily implementable extension to the existing DBI-EI technique, thereby extending its ability to provide comprehensive line-of-sight integrated information on soot.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Erosion resistance test of SiC mirror sample for ITER divertor VUV spectrometer

A series of tests have been performed to validate the resistance of the Silicon Carbide (SiC) mirror as the first mirror material of ITER VUV spectrometers to all ITER environmental conditions. Here we focused on the erosion (and deposition) of the SiC mirror sample caused by high-energy neutral particles. The flux of neutral particles reaching the first mirror was calculated using the ZEMAX software with a simplified entrance duct model. In the calculation, the particle flux reaching the first wall is necessary and the previously reported values derived from the SOLPS calculations were used. Based on this estimated particle flux, the erosion resistance tests were performed to check the erosion effect due to the high-energy neutral particles on the first mirror of ITER divertor VUV spectrometer. In the experiment, erosion was induced by exposing the SiC mirror sample to hydrogen and deuterium plasmas (and ions). The target fluence of incident ions in experiment is based on the estimation of the flux of neutral particles in ITER. The surface shape, composition, erosion depth, and surface roughness were measured to check the damage of the mirror surface after erosion test. Based on simulations and erosion resistance tests, it was concluded that the SiC mirror can be used as the first mirror of ITER divertor VUV spectrometer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rovibronic molecular line list for the $N_2(C^3Π_u–B^3Π_g)$ second positive system

Here, a line list for the N second positive system, $B^3Π_g—C^3Π_u$, has been compiled using the PGOPHER spectral simulation software. The line list extends the number of vibrational states of the $B^3Π_g$ up to v=29 and a maximum rotational state of J=150 for simulation temperatures up to 7000 K. New electronic–vibrational transition moments were calculated using refined potential energy curves and a transition dipole moment with the DUO software. Comparisons to experimental data and the SPECAIR software have been used to validate the new line list. The results are available in ASCII ExoMol .state and .trans files and as a PGOPHER input file for use in spectral analysis.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Radiation, optical, power flow, and electrical diagnostics at the Z facility: Layout and techniques utilized to operate in the harsh environment

The Z machine is a current driver producing up to 30 MA in 100 ns that utilizes a wide range of diagnostics to assess accelerator performance and target behavior conduct experiments that use the Z target as a source of radiation or high pressures. Here, we review the existing suite of diagnostic systems, including their locations and primary configurations. The diagnostics are grouped in the following categories: pulsed power diagnostics, x-ray power and energy, x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray imaging (including backlighting, power flow, and velocimetry), and nuclear detectors (including neutron activation). We will also briefly summarize the primary imaging detectors we use at Z: image plates, x-ray and visible film, microchannel plates, and the ultrafast x-ray imager. The Z shot produces a harsh environment that interferes with diagnostic operation and data retrieval. We term these detrimental processes “threats” of which only partial quantifications and precise sources are known. Finally, we summarize the threats and describe techniques utilized in many of the systems to reduce noise and backgrounds.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Generation of gamma radiation by a subterawatt ultrashort laser pulse: optimisation of preplasma and pulse duration

We report an experimental and numerical study of the acceleration of electrons in a plasma interacting with a subterawatt laser pulse (intensity of ∼3 × 10{sup 18} W cm{sup −2} at a pulse duration of 50 fs). A preplasma layer on the surface of a molybdenum target is formed by an additional laser pulse with a duration of 8 ns and an intensity of ∼2 × 10{sup 12} W cm{sup −2}. It is shown that an increase in the laser pulse duration to 1700 fs at a constant energy (and a proportional decrease in intensity) leads to an increase in the yield of bremsstrahlung γ-radiation by more than an order of magnitude when the nanosecond pulse is ahead of the femtosecond one by 15 − 25 ns. Interferometry data and results of diagnostics of optical and γ-radiation of a plasma demonstrate that the collisional ionisation of atoms by electrons oscillating in the field of such a laser pulse plays an essential role in the formation of electron density profile. The sensitivity of the described effect to the level of amplified spontaneous emission is determined, despite the nanosecond pulse impact. Numerical simulations show that at a large pulse duration, the acceleration of electrons is stipulated by the beaking of plasma waves excited during stimulated Raman scattering of laser radiation. (paper)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Wavefront Preservation in Soft X-Ray Beamlines for the Advanced Light Source Upgrade

In the 4th generation of X-ray light sources, including Free-Electron Lasers (FEL) and Diffraction-Limited Storage Rings (DLSR), the emittance of the electron beam is small or negligible compared to the emittance of the photon beam produced by insertion devices, thus generating coherent beams of light. Over the next few years, several lightsource facilities will be built or upgraded to produce X-ray beams of unprecedented coherent flux. Delivering these exceptional beams to the sample chambers requires beamline optical systems that are designed to preserve the wavefront properties. Our goal in the Advanced Light Source upgrade project (ALS-U) is to create a new class of beamlines that reach diffraction-limited X-ray optical quality through tightly integrated, efficient optical systems, diagnostics, and adaptive mirrors, thus providing users with new scientific capabilities offered by coherent X-ray light interactions with matter. Herein we describe aspects of the beamlines’ design as they enter the project’s final design phase.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

First field test of a novel optical gas analyser in the exhaust of Wendelstein 7-X

A novel optical gas analyser, designed for isotope-resolved exhaust composition measurement, was field-tested at Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) to validate its laboratory-proven concept under operational fusion experiment conditions. The system, Optix, comprises a cold cathode remote plasma generator and a high-resolution Fabry–Perot spectrometer and was deployed in the exhaust line of W7-X during the OP2.3 campaign. The injection of 3 He and 4 He for minority ion-cyclotron heating provided a test case for helium isotope discrimination. Despite limitations due to background gas and low partial pressures of the target species, isotope-resolved spectral signatures were successfully observed, demonstrating the fundamental viability of the Optix approach. Additionally, the spectrometer was evaluated for plasma emission measurements from both core and edge sightlines. While helium line emission was detectable, interpretation was hindered by complex background signals, highlighting the benefits of controlled remote plasma generators for spectroscopy. This first deployment provides critical insight into pressure requirements, spectral resolution, and operational constraints, informing future applications of optical exhaust diagnostics in fusion devices.

magnetic confinement fusion↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development and Validation of Physics-Based Sub-Models of High-Pressure Supercritical Fuel Injection at Diesel Conditions Insert

The project sought to develop and validate accurate, physics-based, numerical submodels and implement them in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software codes to enable accurate predictions of diesel sprays at pressures higher than the current systems. The combined experimental-computational effort has four main objectives: (1) acquire spatially and temporally resolved scalar measurements of fuel-oxidizer mixing in the near field of the fuel jet, (2) develop software modules to calculate thermo-physical properties of diesel surrogates and their mixtures with oxidizer of interest in real-gas operating regime, (3) integrate the real-fluid model into a commercial and an open-source CFD code to simulate fuel-air mixing in high-pressure diesel sprays, and (4) assess the robustness, accuracy, and uncertainty of the integrated CFD solvers in computing diesel sprays. Project accomplishments are consistent with the original goals of the project. Although we acquired spatially and temporally resolved scalar measurements, they were limited to refractive index difference and not to thermodynamic properties such as temperature and equivalence ratio. However, we successfully developed the theoretical background needed to acquire such measurements at diesel conditions and demonstrated the capability of the RSD for scalar measurements in a canonical turbulent jet flow replicating features of the diesel jet. Additional work will be needed to implement these procedures at high-pressure, high-temperature engine-like conditions of the CPFR. Mainly, we did not anticipate the need to find the liquid boundary and its statistical features or the state relationships between refractive index and thermodynamic properties, assuming the widely known Dale-Gladstone equation would suffice. Still, efforts devoted to these tasks were essential to fulfil the goals of the project and serves as the foundation on which many of the conclusions and key contributions of this project are based. Further assessment and application of the developed CFD codes is recommended to fully realize the benefits of this research.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of a colinear Second-Harmonic Orthogonal Polarization (SHOP) interferometer for electron areal density measurements in Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines (MITLs)

Experimental measurements of low density plasmas forming in Magnetically Insulated Transmission Line (MITL) regions are desired to improve our understanding of current loss and power flow. Therefore, a new optical interferometer diagnostic was commissioned via this LDRD project. To measure the expected 10 13 - 10 17 cm -3 electron densities inside the 0.5 - 6 mm Anode-Cathode (A-K) gaps, a colinear SHOP interferometer diagnostic was constructed. The diagnostic was initially fielded on the University of New Mexico (UNM) Helicon-Cathode (HelCat) plasma device which provided a highly repeatable and well understood plasma source for which the colinear SHOP interferometer’s functionality could be verified and measured. Utilizing the highly repeatable plasma source and shot averaging, the interferometer was able to achieve an areal density sensitivity of 1×10 14 cm -2 . This work at UNM lead to a Review of Scientific Instruments (RSI) publication [20], DOI:10.1063/5.0101687. After the diagnostic’s capability was proven at UNM, the colinear SHOP interferometer was commissioned for use on the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Mykonos accelerator. Here, it provided the first temporal areal density measurements of plasma formation in a parallel plate MITL. The diagnostic was able to achieve a single shot (no multi-shot averaging like at UNM) areal density sensitivity of 1×10 15 cm -2 along a ~ 2mm probing path length, which provided adequate capability to conduct fundamental physics research of MITL plasma formation. CHICAGO and ALEGRA simulations support the diagnostics experimental findings. More experimental and computational work will continue, likely leading to another publication(s). The smaller scale Mykonos accelerator work has also provided justification that the colinear SHOP interferometer is a capable diagnostic for measuring plasma areal densities in the inner MITL and convolute regions of larger TW-class accelerators like SNL’s Z machine.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Off-harmonic optical probing of high intensity laser plasma expansion dynamics in solid density hydrogen jets

Due to the non-linear nature of relativistic laser induced plasma processes, the development of laser-plasma accelerators requires precise numerical modeling. Especially high intensity laser-solid interactions are sensitive to the temporal laser rising edge and the predictive capability of simulations suffers from incomplete information on the plasma state at the onset of the relativistic interaction. Experimental diagnostics utilizing ultra-fast optical backlighters can help to ease this challenge by providing temporally resolved inside into the plasma density evolution. We present the successful implementation of an off-harmonic optical probe laser setup to investigate the interaction of a high-intensity laser at 5.4 x 10 21 W/cm 2 peak intensity with a solid-density cylindrical cryogenic hydrogen jet target of 5μm diameter as a target test bed. The temporal synchronization of pump and probe laser, spectral filtering and spectrally resolved data of the parasitic plasma self-emission are discussed. The probing technique mitigates detector saturation by self-emission and allowed to record a temporal scan of shadowgraphy data revealing details of the target ionization and expansion dynamics that were so far not accessible for the given laser intensity. Plasma expansion speeds of up to (2.3 ± 0.4)x 10 7 m/s followed by full target transparency at 1.4ps after the high intensity laser peak are observed. A three dimensional particle-in-cell simulation initiated with the diagnosed target pre-expansion at -0.2ps and post processed by ray tracing simulations supports the experimental observations and demonstrates the capability of time resolved optical diagnostics to provide quantitative input and feedback to the numerical treatment within the time frame of the relativistic laser-plasma interaction.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗