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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
NASA NTRS1960

A Technique for Determining Relaxation Times by Free-Flight Tests of Low-Fineness-Ratio Cones; with Experimental Results for Air at Equilibrium Temperatures up to 3440 K

This report describes a technique which combines theory and experiments for determining relaxation times in gases. The technique is based on the measurement of shapes of the bow shock waves of low-fineness-ratio cones fired from high-velocity guns. The theory presented in the report provides a means by which shadowgraph data showing the bow waves can be analyzed so as to furnish effective relaxation times. Relaxation times in air were obtained by this technique and the results have been compared with values estimated from shock tube measurements in pure oxygen and nitrogen. The tests were made at velocities ranging from 4600 to 12,000 feet per second corresponding to equilibrium temperatures from 35900 R (19900 K) to 6200 R (34400 K), under which conditions, at all but the highest temperatures, the effective relaxation times were determined primarily by the relaxation time for oxygen and nitrogen vibrations.

Stephenson, Jack D.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Phenomenological Theory of the Translational Relaxation Times in Gases

The exact solution to the classical equations governing the translational dispersion and absorption of sound in a gas obscures its relaxational character because of its mathematical complexity. The approach taken here is to solve the secular equation by the method of Pade approximants, which even to the relatively low order R(sub 11) yields a remarkably close approximation to the exact solution over a wide range of frequency/pressure (f/P) ratios. As a result, translational relaxation can be formulated in terms of a conventional relaxation process with well-defined relaxation times, relaxation strength, collision numbers, additivity relations, etc. To extend the theory to high values of f/P ratio, a model is proposed to account for the noncontinuum behavior of the transport coefficients (viscosity and thermal conductivity) as the molecular mean free path approaches the acoustical enclosure dimensions. The theoretical dispersion and absorption show good agreement with measurements in argon over the classical and transition regions of f/P, but a discrepancy appears at higher values of f/P, where collective propagating modes, assumed in the theory, give way to single-particle modes, prevailing in the experiments.

Zuckerwar, Allan J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Color M-mode Doppler flow propagation velocity is a preload insensitive index of left ventricular relaxation: animal and human validation

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of preload in color M-mode Doppler flow propagation velocity (v(p)). BACKGROUND: The interpretation of Doppler filling patterns is limited by confounding effects of left ventricular (LV) relaxation and preload. Color M-mode v(p) has been proposed as a new index of LV relaxation. METHODS: We studied four dogs before and during inferior caval (IVC) occlusion at five different inotropic stages and 14 patients before and during partial cardiopulmonary bypass. Left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic volumes (LV-EDV), the time constant of isovolumic relaxation (tau), left atrial (LA) pre-A and LV end-diastolic pressures (LV-EDP) were measured. Peak velocity during early filling (E) and v(p) were extracted by digital analysis of color M-mode Doppler images. RESULTS: In both animals and humans, LV-EDV and LV-EDP decreased significantly from baseline to IVC occlusion (both p < 0.001). Peak early filling (E) velocity decreased in animals from 56 +/- 21 to 42 +/- 17 cm/s (p < 0.001) without change in v(p) (from 35 +/- 15 to 35 +/- 16, p = 0.99). Results were similar in humans (from 69 +/- 15 to 53 +/- 22 cm/s, p < 0.001, and 37 +/- 12 to 34 +/- 16, p = 0.30). In both species, there was a strong correlation between LV relaxation (tau) and v(p) (r = 0.78, p < 0.001, r = 0.86, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that color M-mode Doppler v(p) is not affected by preload alterations and confirms that LV relaxation is its main physiologic determinant in both animals during varying lusitropic conditions and in humans with heart disease.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurements of Electron Beam-Induced Spin-Relaxation in Frozen-Spin Hydrogen-Deuteride (HD)

Targets of solid hydrogen-deuteride (HD) can be prepared in a frozen-spin state with spin relaxation times (T1) in excess of a year. The present work has studied their potential use in experiments with electron beams. Polarization relaxation rates have been measured during exposure to sub-nanoAmp currents of 9.7 MeV electron beams from the recently commissioned Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab). These UITF measurements can be used to anticipate the expected performance at the GeV energies typical of JLab experiments, since the energy deposition in a target is almost independent of beam energy. An in-beam dilution refrigerator equipped with superconducting solenoids has been used to maintain solid HD samples at ?0.1 K and ?1 tesla, and internal NMR coils have been used to monitor hydrogen polarization. Spin-relaxation in two frozen-spin targets, with initial H-polarizations of 40% and 34%, have been tracked while exposed to beams under varying conditions of current, dose, beam duty factor and temperature. At a fixed accumulated dose, the spin-relaxation rates drop with current, suggesting depolarization by the charge cloud of the beam. Imposing a duty factor on the otherwise continuous UITF beam, with forced millisecond scale gaps, has shown no obvious correlation to polarization loss rates. After an accumulated dose of ?2 ?C/cm2, beam-off spin-relaxation rates drop from their immeasurably long pre-irradiation values to the order of weeks (with beam-on T1 values typically an order of magnitude shorter), reflecting a buildup of paramagnetic charge centers within the HD lattice. The accumulated polarization loss was approximately proportional to dose in both targets, dropping to 1/e of their initial values after ?6 ?C/cm2. Thermal equilibrium polarizations of targets not in the frozen-spin state (with intentionally short T1) have been used to deduce the in situ temperature of solid HD while under electron bombardment. A model for depolarization by beam-associated paramagnetic impurities largely accounts for the data, and suggests that improvements in heat removal could lead to significant increases in the in-beam T1.

O'Connell, Thomas↗
DOE OSTI2023

Surface oxygen exchange kinetics of mixed conducting oxides: Dilatometric vs electrical conductivity relaxation study

The surface oxygen exchange kinetics of mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) oxides play a crucial role in a variety of applications, including solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cells (SOFCs/SOECs), permeation membranes and sensors. To date, a variety of methods, including isotope exchange, electrical conductivity, optical absorptivity and thermogravimetry relaxation, and impedance spectroscopy have been used to measure the oxygen exchange coefficient of MIEC oxides. Each of these methods have their advantages and limitations, depending on the physical and chemical properties of the investigated materials and their sample dimensions and densities. Here, we demonstrate the ability to precisely measure the surface oxygen exchange coefficient (k chem ) of MIEC model material Pr 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 2-δ (PCO) by use of dilatometric relaxation measurements, particularly of interest for materials that exhibit larger chemical expansion coefficients. This is achieved by use of porous bulk specimens to ensure that the contribution of oxygen exchange to the overall kinetics is dominant. We demonstrate that k chem values extracted from chemical expansion relaxation measurements on PCO are nearly identical to those derived from electrical conductivity relaxation measurements. As a result, this provides the opportunity to precisely investigate the oxygen exchange and chemical expansion kinetics of a wide range of materials used in high-temperature applications, particularly where more conventional methods are difficult or inappropriate to apply.

(Pr,Ce)O2-x↗
DOE OSTI2022

Reconsidering spin-phonon relaxation in magnetic molecules

Because of the larger intra-molecular distortion, optical phonons usually have stronger spin-phonon coupling than acoustic phonons in molecular magnets. This property may pose problems to the theory of spin relaxation in ordinary paramagnetic materials, which have served as the basis for the understanding of spin dynamics in molecular magnets for decades. In this review, we explain why the Raman processes driven by optical phonons can play a dominant role at low temperature and provide unconventional dependence between relaxation time and temperature. Especially, we emphasize that the sub-barrier relaxation and anomalously low Raman exponents are two common signatures of the dominance. Here, we also present the algorithm and implementation for calculating spin-phonon relaxation in molecular solids with density functional theory codes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Identifying electrochemical processes by distribution of relaxation times in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers

Distribution of relaxation time (DRT) is used to interpret electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers, with an attempt to separate overlapped relaxation processes in Nyquist plots. By varying operating conditions and catalyst loadings, four main relaxation peaks arising from EIS can be identified and successfully separated from low to high frequencies as (P1) mass transport, (P2) oxygen evolution reaction kinetics, (P3) reaction kinetics (with faster time constant than P2), and (P4) ionic transport. Here, the shape, height, and frequency of the DRT peaks change with different membrane electrode assembly (MEA) configurations. Electron microscopy reveals distinct features from the cross-sectioned MEAs which verify critical DRT results in that increasing the iridium (Ir)-anode loading from 0.2 mgIr/cm 2 to 1.5 mgIr/cm 2 reduces kinetic losses due to higher site-access; a thick and compacted anode, however, also triggers higher ohmic resistances from membrane/catalyst layer hydration and increases transport losses due to longer ionomer pathways. DRT provides higher resolution to EIS for deconvoluting processes with different relaxation times and the quantification of DRT peaks improves the accounting of total losses from each process.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

On relaxations of the max k -cut problem formulations

Here, a tight continuous relaxation is a crucial factor in solving mixed integer formulations of many NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. The (weighted) max k-cut problem is a fundamental combinatorial optimization problem with multiple notorious mixed integer optimization formulations. In this paper, we explore four existing mixed integer optimization formulations of the max k-cut problem. Specifically, we show that the continuous relaxation of a binary quadratic optimization formulation of the problem is: (i) stronger than the continuous relaxation of two mixed integer linear optimization formulations and (ii) at least as strong as the continuous relaxation of a mixed integer semidefinite optimization formulation. We also conduct a set of experiments on multiple sets of instances of the max k-cut problem using state-of-the-art solvers that empirically confirm the theoretical results in item (i). Furthermore, these numerical results illustrate the advances in the efficiency of global non-convex quadratic optimization solvers and more general mixed integer nonlinear optimization solvers. As a result, these solvers provide a promising option to solve combinatorial optimization problems. Our codes and data are available on GitHub.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advances in relaxation and memory effects of magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Functionalized magnetic nanoparticles are pivotal in magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, controlled drug delivery, and hyperthermia treatments due to their exceptional magnetic relaxation and functional properties. The magnetic core composition and structure significantly affects the complex magnetic properties of these nanoparticles necessitating a thorough examination of magnetism fundamentals related to these systems. One important aspect is the ability of magnetic nanoparticles to retain previous magnetic state configurations known as memory effect, primarily governed by domain structure and magnetic anisotropy. Despite its relevance to advanced applications, comprehensive studies on magnetic relaxation and memory effects remain limited. Here, the present review aims to bridge this gap by investigating relaxation mechanisms, synthesis strategies, and applications, fostering further innovation. It investigates the memory effects and their dependence on particle composition and morphology along with key synthesis techniques for large-scale production in industrial adoption. Structured into focused sections on magnetic properties and their influence on biomedical and technological applications, this review provides essential insights into memory effects, magneto-relaxation mechanisms, influencing factors, and both experimental and theoretical methodologies. It also delves into computational modelling and AI-driven design, which are revolutionizing the prediction, discovery, and optimization of materials with tailored properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Alpha-relaxation by scattering and medium-range atomic correlation in simple liquids

The relaxation dynamics of liquid and glass can be studied by inelastic x-ray or neutron scattering through the intermediate scattering function F(Q, t), where Q is the momentum transfer of scattering. Because of the time-consuming nature of these measurements, F(Q, t) is usually measured only at the first peak of the structure function S(Q), and its principal decay time is referred to as the α-relaxation time τ α . τ α is generally considered to describe the relaxation time of the bulk, which is related to viscosity and is controlled by the atomic cage around an atom. Here, through simulations on metallic liquids, we show that the α-relaxation time determined by scattering experiments does not purely reflect viscosity but is influenced by changes in spatial cooperativity. We also demonstrate that atomic caging is not exerted by the nearest neighbors but involves more cooperative atomic dynamics of the atomic medium-range order.

Glass transitions↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fast Relaxation on Qutrit Transitions of Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Nanodiamonds

Thanks to their versatility, nitrogen-vacancy (N-𝑉) centers in nanodiamonds have been widely adopted as nanoscale sensors. However, their sensitivities are limited by their short coherence times relative to N-𝑉⁢s in bulk diamond. A more complete understanding of the origins of decoherence in nanodiamonds is critical to improving their performance. Here we present measurements of fast spin relaxation on qutrit transitions between the energy eigenstates composed of the 𝑚 𝑠 =|±1⟩ states of the N-𝑉 − electronic ground state in approximately 40-nm nanodiamonds under ambient conditions. For frequency splittings between these states of 20 MHz or less the maximum theoretically achievable coherence time of the N-𝑉 spin is approximately 2 orders of magnitude shorter than would be expected if the N-𝑉 spin is treated as a qubit. We attribute this fast relaxation to electric field noise. We observe a strong falloff of the qutrit relaxation rate with the splitting between the states, suggesting that, whenever possible, measurements with N-𝑉⁢s in nanodiamonds should be performed at moderate axial magnetic fields (>60 G). We also observe that the qutrit relaxation rate changes with time. As a result, these findings indicate that surface electric field noise is a major source of decoherence for N-𝑉⁢s in nanodiamonds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Energy relaxation dynamics in a nodal-line semimetal

Here we study the temperature relaxation dynamics of nodal-line semimetals after a sudden excitation in the presence of acoustic and optical phonon modes. We find that the nodal line constrains the electron momenta in scattering processes, and as a result, the temperature relaxation due to acoustic phonons is exponential as a function of time. However, depending on initial conditions, other functional forms are possible. In typical pump-probe experiments, the temperature relaxation is linear due to acoustic phonons with rates that vary as ~n 1/2 with density. The temperature relaxation due to optical phonons is also linear with rates ~n -1/2 or ~n .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Analytical Model for Atomic Relaxation in Twisted Moiré Materials

By virtue of being atomically thin, the electronic properties of heterostructures built from two-dimensional materials are strongly influenced by atomic relaxation. The atomic layers behave as flexible membranes rather than rigid crystals. Here we develop an analytical theory of lattice relaxation in twisted moiré materials. We obtain analytical results for the lattice displacements and corresponding pseudo gauge fields, as a function of twist angle. We benchmark our results for twisted bilayer graphene and twisted WSe 2 bilayers using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. Our single-parameter theory is valid in graphene bilayers for twist angles 𝜃 ≳ 0.7°, and in twisted WSe 2 for 𝜃 ≳ 1.6°. Furthermore, we also investigate how relaxation alters the electronic structure in twisted bilayer graphene, providing a simple extension to the continuum model to account for lattice relaxation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Convex Relaxations for Quadratic On/Off Constraints and Applications to Optimal Transmission Switching

This paper studies mixed-integer nonlinear programs featuring disjunctive constraints and trigonometric functions and presents a strengthened version of the convex quadratic relaxation of the optimal transmission switching problem. We first characterize the convex hull of univariate quadratic on/off constraints in the space of original variables using perspective functions. Next, we introduce new tight quadratic relaxations for trigonometric functions featuring variables with asymmetrical bounds. These results are used to further tighten recent convex relaxations introduced for the optimal transmission switching problem in power systems. Using the proposed improvements, along with bound propagation, on 23 medium-sized test cases in the PGLib benchmark library with a relaxation gap of more than 1%, we reduce the gap to less than 1% on five instances. The tightened model has promising computational results when compared with state-of-the-art formulations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Polyhedral Relaxations for Optimal Pump Scheduling of Potable Water Distribution Networks

The classic pump scheduling or optimal water flow (OWF) problem for water distribution networks (WDNs) minimizes the cost of power consumption for a given WDN over a fixed time horizon. In its exact form, the OWF is a computationally challenging mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP). It is complicated by nonlinear equality constraints that model network physics, discrete variables that model operational controls, and intertemporal constraints that model changes to storage devices. To address the computational challenges of the OWF, this paper develops tight polyhedral relaxations of the original MINLP, derives novel valid inequalities (or cuts) using duality theory, and implements novel optimization-based bound tightening and cut generation procedures. The efficacy of each new method is rigorously evaluated by measuring empirical improvements in OWF primal and dual bounds over 45 literature instances. The evaluation suggests that our relaxation improvements, model strengthening techniques, and a thoughtfully selected polyhedral relaxation partitioning scheme can substantially improve OWF primal and dual bounds, especially when compared with similar relaxation-based techniques that do not leverage these new methods.

bound tightening↗
NASA NTRS2016

Separating the Influence of Environment from Stress Relaxation Effects on Dwell Fatigue Crack Growth in a Nickel-Base Disk Alloy

Both environmental embrittlement and crack tip visco-plastic stress relaxation play a significant role in determining the dwell fatigue crack growth (DFCG) resistance of nickel-based disk superalloys. In the current study performed on the Low Solvus High Refractory (LSHR) disk alloy, the influence of these two mechanisms were separated so that the effects of each could be quantified and modeled. Seven different microstructural variations of LSHR were produced by controlling the cooling rate and the subsequent aging and thermal exposure heat treatments. Through cyclic fatigue crack growth testing performed both in air and vacuum, it was established that four out of the seven LSHR heat treatments evaluated, possessed similar intrinsic environmental resistance to cyclic crack growth. For these four heat treatments, it was further shown that the large differences in dwell crack growth behavior which still persisted, were related to their measured stress relaxation behavior. The apparent differences in their dwell crack growth resistance were attributed to the inability of the standard linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) stress intensity parameter to account for visco-plastic behavior. Crack tip stress relaxation controls the magnitude of the remaining local tensile stresses which are directly related to the measured dwell crack growth rates. It was hypothesized that the environmentally weakened grain boundary crack tip regions fail during the dwells when their strength is exceeded by the remaining local crack tip tensile stresses. It was shown that the classical creep crack growth mechanisms such as grain boundary sliding did not contribute to crack growth, but the local visco-plastic behavior still plays a very significant role by determining the crack tip tensile stress field which controls the dwell crack growth behavior. To account for the influence of the visco-plastic behavior on the crack tip stress field, an empirical modification to the LEFM stress intensity parameter, Kmax, was developed by incorporating into the formulation the remaining stress level concept as measured by simple stress relaxation tests. The newly proposed parameter, Ksrf, did an excellent job in correlating the dwell crack growth rates for the four heat treatments which were shown to have similar intrinsic environmental cyclic fatigue crack growth resistance.

Dwell crack growth↗
NASA NTRS2018

Investigation of Bolt Preload Relaxation for JWST Thermal Heat Strap Assembly Joints with Aluminum-1100 and Indium Gaskets

Accurately predicting fastener preload relaxation in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) heat strap assemblies is essential to insure adequate thermal performance during its mission lifecycle. The mechanisms for preload relaxation in the strap joints include Al-1100 material creep, indium gasket flow-out, and embedment of the joint faying surfaces. This report documents the results from a bolted joint relaxation test, including analysis and curve fitting of the test data for predicting preloads five years after initial torque application. The report also includes the derivation of a preload uncertainty factor enveloping both torque/preload application scatter and expected preload relaxation at the end of mission life.

Joint↗
NASA NTRS2018

Investigation of Bolt Preload Relaxation for JWST Thermal Heat Strap Assembly Joints with Aluminum-1100 and Indium Gaskets

Accurately predicting fastener preload relaxation in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) heat strap assemblies is essential to insure adequate thermal performance during its mission lifecycle. The mechanisms for preload relaxation in the strap joints include Al-1100 material creep, indium gasket flow-out, and embedment of the joint faying surfaces. This report documents the results from a bolted joint relaxation test, including analysis and curve fitting of the test data for predicting preloads five years after initial torque application. The report also includes the derivation of a preload uncertainty factor enveloping both torque/preload application scatter and expected preload relaxation at the end of mission life.

Preload↗