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At least 127 records · Page 7

Three-stage linear, split-Stirling cryocooler for 1 to 2K magnetic cold stage

A long-life, linear, high efficiency 8K split Stirling cycle cryocooler was designed, built, and tested. The refrigerator is designed for cooling a 50 mW, 1.5K magnetic cold stage. Dual opposed piston compressors are driven by moving-coil linear motors. The three stage expander, although not completed, is also driven by a linear motor and is designed to produce 1 SW at 60K, 4W at 16K, and 1.2W at 8K. The cold regenerator employs a parallel gap construction for high efficiency. The key technology areas addressed include warm and cold flexible suspension bearings and a new cold regenerator geometry for high efficiency at 8K.

Longsworth, R. C.↗

Designing Energy-Efficient Quantum Computers Through Prediction and Reduction of Cooling Requirements for Cryogenic Electronics

Quantum computing has been identified as a “wild card” by the International Energy Agency in predicting future global data center energy usage. This is primarily because both uncertainty in the extent to which quantum computing will be adopted, and uncertainty in the power consumption of individual quantum data centers. Unlike the classical counterparts, quantum computers need to be maintained at near absolute zero, requiring energy-intensive cryogenic cooling systems. Therefore, as quantum computers scale up from existing 50 qubit technology demonstrations to the 10,000 to 100,000 qubit systems that will be able to solve complex problems, the energy consumption of both the electronics and the required cooling systems will also increase. To predict this scaling, this work analyzes the energy requirements for both computation and cooling of quantum hardware. We show that the energy requirements for cooling of quantum computers is determined by several computing system parameters, including the number and type of physical qubits, the operating temperature, the packaging efficiency of the system, and the split between circuits operating at cryogenic temperatures and those operating at room temperature. The energy requirements can then be found based on thermal system parameters such as cooling efficiency and cryostat heat transfer. Analysis of these parameters shows that the energy required for cooling is significantly larger than that required for computation, a reversal from energy usage patterns seen in conventional computing. The results and discussions provide a road-map for creating energy efficient quantum computers through the selection of computer architectures and cryogenic system configurations that minimize cooling requirements.

energy efficiency↗

Load Shifting with Space Conditioning Heat Pumps During Heating Season in the Pacific Northwest

Ductless mini- and multi-split heat pumps are commonly deployed in Pacific Northwest residences, which historically have inefficient space heating and no space cooling. Heat pumps provide these residences with more energy-efficient space heating in the winter and space cooling for increasingly warm summer periods. For many of these applications, heat pumps add a new electrical load at the residence, compelling regional utilities to seek to understand their impacts on the electrical grid and opportunities for load management. In coordination with regional utilities, this study examined the winter load-shifting potential of residential multi-split heat pumps with variable capacity technology. The study included nine residential sites with a total of 20 ductless indoor units, which underwent simulated smart grid control. Grid control functionality was provided through the CTA-2045 communication protocol and included offsetting temperature setpoints for individual indoor units in the study. Field data collection included whole-house and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning electrical power consumption; indoor zone temperatures; occupant surveys; and CTA-2045 curtailment data for both baseline and simulated load-shifting events by site. This paper provides an overview of the load-shifting strategies and aggregated results from winter data collection.

ASHRAE, Heat pump, energy effciency, residential b↗

A RADIATION TRANSFER SOLVER FOR ATHENA USING SHORT CHARACTERISTICS

We describe the implementation of a module for the Athena magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code that solves the time-independent, multi-frequency radiative transfer (RT) equation on multidimensional Cartesian simulation domains, including scattering and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) effects. The module is based on well known and well tested algorithms developed for modeling stellar atmospheres, including the method of short characteristics to solve the RT equation, accelerated Lambda iteration to handle scattering and non-LTE effects, and parallelization via domain decomposition. The module serves several purposes: it can be used to generate spectra and images, to compute a variable Eddington tensor (VET) for full radiation MHD simulations, and to calculate the heating and cooling source terms in the MHD equations in flows where radiation pressure is small compared with gas pressure. For the latter case, the module is combined with the standard MHD integrators using operator splitting: we describe this approach in detail, including a new constraint on the time step for stability due to radiation diffusion modes. Implementation of the VET method for radiation pressure dominated flows is described in a companion paper. We present results from a suite of test problems for both the RT solver itself and for dynamical problems that include radiative heating and cooling. These tests demonstrate that the radiative transfer solution is accurate and confirm that the operator split method is stable, convergent, and efficient for problems of interest. We demonstrate there is no need to adopt ad hoc assumptions of questionable accuracy to solve RT problems in concert with MHD: the computational cost for our general-purpose module for simple (e.g., LTE gray) problems can be comparable to or less than a single time step of Athena's MHD integrators, and only few times more expensive than that for more general (non-LTE) problems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Horizontal Split Table Conceptual Design for Validation of Nuclear Data used in Advanced Reactors [Slides]

A methodology to create conceptual designs of benchmark critical experiments for advanced reactors nuclear data testing and validation was developed. A first concept was explored, pebble-bed high-temperature gas cooled reactor, based on the HTR-10 reactor. The very high correlation is a proof of concept that the design is similar to the application, and performing such critical experiments would help nuclear data testing and validation. This proof-of-concept was included in the IER-539 CED-1:Preliminary Design of a New Horizontal Split Table report. Other concepts could be explored if needed, such as Molten-salt reactor, Sodium-cooled fast reactor or Heat pipe reactors/Microreactor.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Horizontal Split Table Conceptual Design for Advanced Reactor Validation

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are collaborating to develop a conceptual design for a horizontal split table for use in performing critical experiments. The goal of this design effort is to provide nuclear data testing and validation capabilities for advanced reactors such as pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, molten salt reactors, and heat pipe microreactor, but it could also be used for the current generation of reactors. The first concept being explored for the horizontal split table, a pebble-bed design based on the HTR-10 reactor, is described in this paper. A critical configuration corresponding to a footprint of about 4.5 m 2 was determined with SCALE/KENO-VI to fit the planned dimensions of the horizontal split table. The similarity of the pebble-bed design and the HTR-10 reactor application was assessed using SCALE/TSUNAMI, and a similarity coefficient $c_k$ of 0.9982 was obtained, proving that the concept will be useful for nuclear data validation and assimilation of pebble-bed type advanced reactors. In the proposed design, the materials with the highest $k_{eff}$ sensitivity are graphite and uranium, demonstrating that particular care must be given to carbon-related cross-section data. The effect of mechanical uncertainties between the fixed and moving tables was also assessed by calculating the reactivity change caused by vertical and horizontal gaps, as well as angular and torsion offsets between the two sides of the horizontal split table concept. The highest relative changes on the concept’s reactivity were caused by angular perturbations. The same analysis process is currently being used to create a molten salt advanced reactor type horizontal split table concept based on the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

High Efficiency Heat Pumps Can Pave the Path for Building Decarbonization in Cold Climates: Preprint

Heat pumps play an instrumental role in buildings decarbonization strategies. Recent advances in heat pump systems employ variable-speed compressor technology and electronically commutated fan motors. Inherently, the heating capacity and efficiency of heat pumps decrease with falling outdoor temperatures. Compared to single-speed heat pumps, variable speed systems can maintain higher heating and cooling efficiencies over a wider range of outdoor temperatures. The goal of this multi-phase project was to determine the energy savings of a high efficiency, variable-speed, air-source, split system heat pump designed for cold climate applications. The first project phase was to evaluate the performance of the heat pump in the laboratory under varying outdoor conditions in heating and cooling modes. The second phase was to translate the laboratory-measured performance into lookup tables for EnergyPlus hourly building simulation engine. Then, two sets of annual building simulations were performed using typical meteorological year weather from the Chicago-O'Hare airport for three different building types (a single-family residence, a strip mall, and a low-rise office building). The first set simulated a standard efficiency heat pump while the second set utilized the phase two performance tables to model a high efficiency heat pump. The high efficiency heat pump produced significant annual heating energy savings in all three buildings. The variable speed compressor and fan control also contributed to cooling energy savings. The simulated annual energy savings ranged from 22% to 35% over their respective baseline. The project's findings helped a Midwest electric utility, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), design new incentives around high efficiency heat pumps.

cold climate heat pump↗

Method for removal of a foulant from a carrier gas in a single vessel using recycled cold solids

A method for removal of a foulant from a carrier gas is disclosed. A solids conveyance device that spans a vessel and a solids coolant system are provided. A cold solid foulant is provided to the solid inlet of the vessel. The carrier gas containing the foulant is provided to the carrier gas inlet of the vessel. The foulant condenses or desublimates onto the recycled solid foulant, forming a foulant-depleted carrier gas and a solid foulant product. The solids conveyance device passes the solid foulant product out of the vessel. The foulant-depleted carrier gas leaves the vessel. The solid foulant product is split into a final solid foulant product and a recycled solid foulant. The recycled solid foulant is cooled through the coolant system to produce the cold solid foulant. In this manner, the foulant is removed from the carrier gas.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Probes for investigating the effect of magnetic field, field orientation, temperature and strain on the critical current density of anisotropic high-temperature superconducting tapes in a split-pair 15 T horizontal magnet

We present the designs of probes for making critical current density (J{sub c}) measurements on anisotropic high-temperature superconducting tapes as a function of field, field orientation, temperature and strain in our 40 mm bore, split-pair 15 T horizontal magnet. Emphasis is placed on the design of three components: the vapour-cooled current leads, the variable temperature enclosure, and the springboard-shaped bending beam sample holder. The vapour-cooled brass critical-current leads used superconducting tapes and in operation ran hot with a duty cycle (D) of ∼0.2. This work provides formulae for optimising cryogenic consumption and calculating cryogenic boil-off, associated with current leads used to make J{sub c} measurements, made by uniformly ramping the current up to a maximum current (I{sub max}) and then reducing the current very quickly to zero. They include consideration of the effects of duty cycle, static helium boil-off from the magnet and Dewar (b{sup ′}), and the maximum safe temperature for the critical-current leads (T{sub max}). Our optimized critical-current leads have a boil-off that is about 30% less than leads optimized for magnet operation at the same maximum current. Numerical calculations show that the optimum cross-sectional area (A) for each current lead can be parameterized by LI{sub max}/A=[1.46D{sup −0.18}L{sup 0.4}(T{sub max}−300){sup 0.25D{sup −{sup 0{sup .{sup 0{sup 9}}}}}}+750(b{sup ′}/I{sub max})D{sup 10{sup −{sup 3I{sub m}{sub a}{sub x}−2.87b{sup ′}}}}]× 10{sup 6}A m{sup −1} where L is the current lead's length and the current lead is operated in liquid helium. An optimum A of 132 mm{sup 2} is obtained when I{sub max} = 1000 A, T{sub max} = 400 K, D = 0.2, b{sup ′} = 0.3 l h{sup −1} and L = 1.0 m. The optimized helium consumption was found to be 0.7 l h{sup −1}. When the static boil-off is small, optimized leads have a boil-off that can be roughly parameterized by: b/I{sub max } ≈ (1.35 × 10{sup −3})D{sup 0.41} l h{sup ‑1} A{sup −1}. A split-current-lead design is employed to minimize the rotation of the probes during the high current measurements in our high-field horizontal magnet. The variable-temperature system is based on the use of an inverted insulating cup that operates above 4.2 K in liquid helium and above 77.4 K in liquid nitrogen, with a stability of ±80 mK to ±150 mK. Uniaxial strains of −1.4% to 1.0% can be applied to the sample, with a total uncertainty of better than ±0.02%, using a modified bending beam apparatus which includes a copper beryllium springboard-shaped sample holder.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Isothermal deformation and spheroidization mechanism of (TiB + La2O3)/Ti composites with different initial structures

Highlights: • Different initial microstructures were obtained through designed heat treatment. • Refined lamellar microstructures promoted dynamic recrystallization. • The spheroidization mechanism was attributed to dynamic recrystallization. • The micron TiB and submicron La{sub 2}O{sub 3} impeded dislocation movement. (TiB + La{sub 2}O{sub 3})/Ti composites with different initial structures were obtained through designed heat treatment. The isothermal deformation and spheroidization mechanisms of (TiB + La{sub 2}O{sub 3})/Ti composites with different initial structures were investigated. Initial structures were refined as the heat treatment temperature decreased. Simultaneously, the quenching and reheating resulted in finer α lamella colonies and α interlamellar spacing compared to the furnace cooling. The flow resistance of furnace cooled samples was lower than the quenched and reheated samples in terms of flow stress data. Following the deformation at 920 °C, the furnace cooled samples demonstrated lamellar α phase and partial spheroidized structure. Moreover, the spheroidization mechanism was similar to the boundary splitting model. Recrystallized grains of approximately 1 μm in diameter were obtained in the quenched and reheated sample following deformation at 920 °C. The spheroidization mechanism was attributed to the development of finer needles through quenching and reheating, as well as to subsequent dynamic recrystallization during the hot deformation. Additionally, the dislocation movement was blocked by the reinforcements on account of the composites with micron TiB and submicron La{sub 2}O{sub 3} during the hot deformation. Furthermore, the reinforcements could facilitate the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of the α phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The Effect of Wake Passing on Turbine Blade Film Cooling

The effect of upstream blade row wake passing on the showerhead film cooling performance of a downstream turbine blade has been investigated through a combination of experimental and computational studies. The experiments were performed in a steady-flow annular turbine cascade facility equipped with an upstream rotating row of cylindrical rods to produce a periodic wake field similar to that found in an actual turbine. Spanwise, chordwise, and temporal resolution of the blade surface temperature were achieved through the use of an array of nickel thin-film surface gauges covering one unit cell of showerhead film hole pattern. Film effectiveness and Nusselt number values were determined for a test matrix of various injectants, injectant blowing ratios, and wake Strouhal numbers. Results indicated a demonstratable reduction in film effectiveness with increasing Strouhal number, as well as the expected increase in film effectiveness with blowing ratio. An equation was developed to correlate the span-average film effectiveness data. The primary effect of wake unsteadiness was found to be correlated well by a chordwise-constant decrement of 0.094-St. Measurable spanwise film effectiveness variations were found near the showerhead region, but meaningful unsteady variations and downstream spanwise variations were not found. Nusselt numbers were less sensitive to wake and injection changes. Computations were performed using a three-dimensional turbulent Navier-Stokes code which was modified to model wake passing and film cooling. Unsteady computations were found to agree well with steady computations provided the proper time-average blowing ratio and pressure/suction surface flow split are matched. The remaining differences were isolated to be due to the enhanced mixing in the unsteady solution caused by the wake sweeping normally on the pressure surface. Steady computations were found to be in excellent agreement with experimental Nusselt numbers, but to overpredict experimental film effectiveness values. This is likely due to the inability to match actual hole exit velocity profiles and the absence of a credible turbulence model for film cooling.

Heidmann, James David↗

Coherent cooling of atoms in a frequency-modulated standing laser wave: Wave function and stochastic trajectory approaches

The wave function of a moderately cold atom in a stationary near-resonant standing light wave delocalizes very fast due to wave packet splitting. However, we show that frequency modulation of the field can suppress packet splitting for some atoms whose specific velocities are in a narrow range. These atoms remain localized in a small space for a long time. We demonstrate and explain this effect numerically and analytically. We also demonstrate that the modulated field can not only trap but also cool the atoms. We perform a numerical experiment with a large atomic ensemble having wide initial velocity and energy distributions. During the experiment, most of atoms leave the wave while the trapped atoms have a narrow energy distribution.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

First benchmarked electron cooling simulations from first principles

We present the first microscopic electron cooling simulations from first principles with accurate prediction of cooling time. These simulations were performed using our previously developed numerical method, PHAD, which is the first efficient large-scale collisional numerical method in beam physics. The simulation results are benchmarked with the experimental data of the low energy bunched electron cooling of ion beams at the storage ring CSRm at the IMP facility in China. Here, we have accurately considered the nonlinear dynamics in the whole accelerator system in addition to the electron cooling section. As a result, our simulations correctly reproduced cooling times of the experiments from first principles and without any tuning or fitting parameters in the code.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Tuning the Kondo effect in Yb(Fe 1-x Co x ) 2 Zn 20

We study the evolution of the Kondo effect in heavy fermion compounds, Yb(Fe 1-x Co x ) 2 Zn 20 (0 ≲ x ≲ 1), by means of temperature-dependent electric resistivity and speci c heat. The ground state of YbFe 2 Zn 20 can be well described by a Kondo model with degeneracy N = 8 and a T K ~30 K. In the presence of a very similar total CEF splitting with YbFe 2 Zn 20 , the ground state of YbCo 2 Zn 20 is close to a Kondo state with degeneracy N = 2 and a much lower TK ~ 2 K. Upon Co substitution, the coherence temperature of YbFe 2 Zn 20 is suppressed, accompanied by an emerging Schottky-like feature in speci c heat associated with the thermal depopulation of CEF levels upon cooling. For 0.4 ≲ x ≲ 0.9, the ground state remains roughly the same which can be qualitatively understood by Kondo effect in the presence of CEF splitting. There is no clear indication of Kondo coherence observable in resistivity within this substitution range down to 500 mK. The coherence re-appears at around x≳ 0.9 and the coherence temperature increases with higher Co concentration levels.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Sonoma House. Monitoring of the First U.S. Passive House Retrofit

The Sonoma Deep Retrofit is a single-story deep retrofit project in the marine climate of Sonoma, California. The design was guided by Passive House principles that promote the use of very high levels of wall, ceiling, and floor insulation along with tight envelope construction to maintain a comfortable indoor environment with little or no need for conventional heating or cooling.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Temperature and Solvent Effects on H 2 Splitting and Hydricity: Ramifications on CO 2 Hydrogenation by a Rhenium Pincer Catalyst

The catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide holds immense promise for applications in sustainable fuel synthesis and hydrogen storage. Mechanistic studies that connect thermodynamic parameters with the kinetics of catalysis can provide new understanding and guide predictive design of improved catalysts. Reported here are thermochemical and kinetic analyses of a new pincer-ligated rhenium complex ( tBu POCOP)Re(CO) 2 ( tBu POCOP = 2,6-bis(di-tert-butylphosphinito)phenyl) that catalyzes CO 2 hydrogenation to formate with faster rates at lower temperature. Because the catalyst follows the prototypical “outer sphere” hydrogenation mechanism, comprehensive studies of temperature and solvent effects on the H 2 splitting and hydride transfer steps are expected to be relevant to many other catalysts. Strikingly large entropy associated with cleavage of H2 results in a strong temperature dependence on the concentration of [( tBu POCOP)Re(CO) 2 H] – present during catalysis, which is further impacted by changing the solvent from toluene to tetrahydrofuran to acetonitrile. New methods for determining the hydricity of metal hydrides and formate at temperatures other than 298 K were developed, providing insight into how temperature can influence the favorability of hydride transfer during catalysis. These thermochemical insights guided the selection of conditions for CO 2 hydrogenation to formate with high activity (up to 364 h –1 at 1 atm or 3330 h –1 at 20 atm of 1:1 H 2 CO 2 ). In cases where hydride transfer is the highest individual kinetic barrier, entropic contributions to outer sphere H 2 splitting lead to a unique temperature dependence: catalytic activity increases as temperature decreases in tetrahydrofuran (200-fold increase upon cooling from 50 to 0 °C) and toluene (4-fold increase upon cooling from 100 to 50 °C). Furthermore, the ramifications on catalyst structure-function relationships are discussed, including comparisons between “outer sphere” mechanisms and metal–ligand cooperation mechanisms.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Quasiparticle characteristics of the weakly ferromagnetic Hund metal MnSi

Hund metals are multiorbital systems with 3d or 4d electrons exhibiting both an itinerant character and local moments, and they feature Kondo-like screenings of local orbital and spin moments, with suppressed coherence temperatures driven by Hund's coupling J H . They often exhibit magnetic order at low temperature, but how the interaction between the Kondo-like screening and long-range magnetic order is manifested in the quasiparticle spectrum remains an open question. Here, we present the spectroscopic signature of such an interaction in a Hund metal candidate MnSi exhibiting weak ferromagnetism. Our photoemission measurements reveal renormalized quasiparticle bands near the Fermi level with strong momentum dependence: The ferromagnetism manifests through possibly exchange-split bands (Q1) below T C , while the spin/orbital screenings lead to the gradual development of quasiparticles (Q2) upon cooling. Our results demonstrate how the characteristic spin/orbital coherence in a Hund metal could coexist and compete with the magnetic order to form a weak itinerant ferromagnet, via quasiparticle bands that are well separated in momentum space and exhibit distinct temperature dependence. Here, our results imply that the competition between the spin/orbital screening and the magnetic order in a Hund metal bears interesting similarities to the Kondo lattice systems

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Thermal evolution of antiferromagnetic correlations and tetrahedral bond angles in superconducting FeTe 1-x Se x

It has recently been demonstrated that dynamical magnetic correlations measured by neutron scattering in iron chalcogenides can be described with models of short-range correlations characterized by particular choices of four-spin plaquettes, where the appropriate choice changes as the parent material is doped towards superconductivity. Here we apply such models to describe measured maps of magnetic scattering as a function of two-dimensional wave vectors obtained for optimally superconducting crystals of FeTe 1–x Se x . We show that the characteristic antiferromagnetic wave vector evolves from that of the bicollinear structure found in underdoped chalcogenides (at high temperature) to that associated with the stripe structure of antiferromagnetic iron arsenides (at low temperature); these can both be described with the same local plaquette, but with different interplaquette correlations. While the magnitude of the low-energy magnetic spectral weight is substantial at all temperatures, it actually weakens somewhat at low temperature, where the charge carriers become more itinerant. The observed change in spin correlations is correlated with the dramatic drop in the electronic scattering rate and the growth of the bulk nematic response upon cooling. Lastly, we also present powder neutron diffraction results for lattice parameters in FeTe 1–x Se x indicating that the tetrahedral bond angle tends to increase towards the ideal value upon cooling, in agreement with the increased screening of the crystal field by more itinerant electrons and the correspondingly smaller splitting of the Fe 3d orbitals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗