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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Ion-temperature-gradient stability near the magnetic axis of quasisymmetric stellarators

Abstract The stability of the ion-temperature gradient mode in quasisymmetric stellarators is assessed. This is performed using a set of analytical estimates together with linear gyrokinetic simulations. The peak growth rates, their corresponding real frequencies and wave-vectors are identified. A comparison is made between a first-order near-axis expansion model and eleven realistic designs obtained using numerical optimization methods. It is found that while the near-axis expansion is able to replicate the growth rates, real frequencies and perpendicular wave-vector at the inner core (both using simplified dispersion relations and first-principle gyrokinetic simulations), it leads to an overestimation of the growth rate at larger radii. An approximate analytic solution of the ITG dispersion relation for the non-resonant limit suggests growth rates could be systematically higher in quasi-axisymmetric (QA) configurations compared to quasi-helically (QH) symmetric ones. However except for very close to the axis, linear gyrokinetic simulations do not show systematic differences between QA and QH configurations.

Physics↗
NASA NTRS1986

Stresses and deformations in composite tubes due to a circumferential temperature gradient

A linear elasticity solution for determining the response of composite tubes subjected to a circumferential temperature gradient is presented. Numerical examples are used to show that, in a single layer tube, fiber orientation strongly influences response. When the fibers are aligned axially, all stress components in the tube are small. When the fibers are aligned circumferentially, the hoop stress becomes large. This difference in behavior is due to the large difference between the radial and circumferential coefficients of thermal expansion when the fibers are oriented circumferentially. In multilayer tubes, stresses are quite high and just two constants characterize the overall bending and axial deformations of the tubes.

Hyer, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evaluation of Temperature Gradients During Cure of a Thick Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composite

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the development of thermal gradients throughout thick (1") carbon fiber composites and determine the effect of internal temperature distribution during cure on the observed mechanical properties in those composites. Composites up to 1.5" thick (56 plies) were fabricated with T700S/TC380 braided prepreg from Tencate following a modified vacuum bag layup procedure to include embedded thermocouples within the plies of the composite. Composite panels were cured in a programmable oven with thermocouple reading embedded throughout the panel thickness. Maximum temperature gradients measured between regions of the composite did not exceed 10 degrees C for any given composite thickness. The most significant temperature variation was measured between the mid-thickness plies and the tool-side surface plies. Although through thickness temperature variation during cure was small, a measureable variation in coupon glass transition temperature was recorded between the tool side plies and the remainder of the part, prior to post cure. Thermal and mechanical behavior of coupons taken from segments through the thickness of the part were comparable following a post-cure cycle.

Miller, Sandi↗
DOE OSTI2014

Comparison between kinetic-ballooning-mode-driven turbulence and ion-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence

Electromagnetic turbulence driven by kinetic ballooning modes (KBMs) in high-β plasma is investigated based on the local gyrokinetic model. Analysis of turbulent fluxes, norms, and phases of fluctuations shows that KBM turbulence gives narrower spectra and smaller phase factors than those in ion-temperature-gradient (ITG)-driven turbulence. This leads to the smaller transport fluxes in KBM turbulence than those in ITG turbulence even when they have similar linear growth rates. From the analysis of the entropy balance relation, it is found that the entropy transfer from ions to electrons through the field-particle interactions mainly drives electron perturbations, which creates radial twisted modes by rapid parallel motions of electrons in a sheared magnetic geometry. The nonlinear coupling between the dominant unstable mode and its twisted modes is important for the saturation of KBM turbulence, in contrast to the importance of zonal flow shearing in ITG turbulence. The coupling depends on the flux-tube domain with the one-poloidal-turn parallel length and on the torus periodicity constraint.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1984

A current generation by Compton scattering in a relativistic plasma with velocity shear and temperature gradient

Current generation by Thomson scattering in a non-relativistic plasma with the velocity shear and the temperature gradient (Hinata and Daneshvar, 1983) is extended to a relativistic plasma by replacing Thomson cross section by the Klein-Nishina formula. Because of the energy dependence of the cross-section, a numerical rather than analytic result is presented. The present calculation may be applied to a supernova implosion where the temperature may reach several MeV and a strong differential rotation is expected. It may also find applications in the early universe, and laser-pellet interaction.

Hinata, S.↗
DOE OSTI2017

The two-dimensional kinetic ballooning theory for ion temperature gradient mode in tokamak

The two-dimensional (2D) kinetic ballooning theory is developed for the ion temperature gradient mode in an up-down symmetric equilibrium (illustrated via concentric circular magnetic surfaces). The ballooning transform converts the basic 2D linear gyro-kinetic equation into two equations: (1) the lowest order equation (ballooning equation) is an integral equation essentially the same as that reported by Dong et al., [Phys. Fluids B 4, 1867 (1992)] but has an undetermined Floquet phase variable, (2) the higher order equation for the rapid phase envelope is an ordinary differential equation in the same form as the 2D ballooning theory in a fluid model [Xie et al., Phys. Plasmas 23, 042514 (2016)]. The system is numerically solved by an iterative approach to obtain the (phase independent) eigen-value. The new results are compared here to the two earlier theories. We find a strongly modified up-down asymmetric mode structure, and non-trivial modifications to the eigen-value.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Two-dimensional Thomson scattering measurements of misaligned electron density and temperature gradients and associated Biermann battery produced fields

We present optical Thomson scattering measurements of electron density and temperature in high Mach number laser-driven blast waves in homogeneous gases. Taylor–Sedov blast waves are launched in nitrogen (N2) or helium (He) at pressures between 0.4 mTorr and 10 Torr by ablating a solid plastic target with a high energy laser pulse (10 J, 1012 W/cm2). Experiments are performed at high repetition rate (1 Hz), which allows one-dimensional and two-dimensional Thomson scattering measurements over an area of several cm2 by automatically translating the scattering volume between shots. Electron temperature and density in the blast wave fronts were seen to increase with increasing background gas pressure. Measured electron density and temperature gradients were used to calculate ∂B/∂t∝∇Te×∇ne. The experimentally measured ∂B/∂t showed agreement with the magnetic field probe (B-dot) measurements, revealing that magnetic fields are generated in the observed blast waves via the Biermann battery effect. The results are compared to numerical three-dimensional collisional magnetohydrodynamic simulations performed with FLASH, and are discussed in the context of spontaneous magnetic field generation via the Biermann battery effect.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1991

Characterization of thermotropism in primary roots of maize: dependence on temperature and temperature gradient, and interaction with gravitropism

Thermotropism in primary roots of Zea mays L. was studied with respect to gradient strength (degrees C cm-1), temperature of exposure within a gradient, pre-treatment temperature, and gravitropic stimulation. The magnitude of the response decreased with gradient strength. Maximum thermotropism was independent of gradient strength and pre-treatment temperature. The range of temperature for positive and negative thermotropism did not change with pre-treatment temperature. However, the exact range of temperatures for positive and negative thermotropism varied with gradient strengths. In general, temperatures of exposure lower than 25 degrees C resulted in positive tropic responses while temperatures of exposure of 39 degrees C or more resulted in negative tropic responses. Thermotropism was shown to modify and reverse the normal gravitropic curvature of a horizontal root when thermal gradients were applied opposite the 1 g vector. It is concluded that root thermotropism is a consequence of thermal sensing and that the curvature of the primary root results from the interaction of the thermal and gravitational sensing systems.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2022

Examination of stiff ion temperature gradient mode physics in simulations of DIII-D H-mode transport

A systematic evaluation of gyrokinetic and gyrofluid model predictions of ion temperature gradient (ITG) stability and transport using parameters from DIII-D high confinement mode (H-mode) plasmas has been performed. The nonlinear CGYRO code is used to make the gyrokinetic predictions, and the quasilinear TGLF model for the corresponding gyrofluid predictions. The assessments are made at three radii (normalized toroidal flux ρtor = 0.4, 0.55, and 0.7) in three different plasma scenarios with varying levels of neutral beam heating and torque. For each of the nine cases (3 radii × 3 scenarios) considered, ITG turbulence is found to be the dominant long-wavelength instability and transport mechanism. The inclusions of both transverse magnetic fluctuations and dynamic fast beam ions are stabilizing for all cases considered, with strongest effects seen at ρor = 0.4 where the fast ion population and normalized plasma pressure β = 2μ0nT/B2 are highest. The further inclusion of parallel magnetic fluctuations does not have a meaningful impact on the ITG turbulence in these scenarios, but does destabilize (in combination with fast ions) new high-frequency instabilities at ρtor = 0.4 in the high power scenarios. In each case the linear and nonlinear ITG critical gradients are predicted to be lower than the measured ITG scale lengths and their associated uncertainties. Inclusion of equilibrium flow shear in the transport predictions generally leads to an upshift in effective critical gradient rather than a qualitative change in the predicted stiffness, with stronger responses typically seen in the gyrokinetic predictions than in the gyrofluid results. However, in most cases these upshifted gradients still remain below the measured values and their uncertainties. Although the predicted critical gradients are below the measured gradients, both models predicted flux-matching gradients consistent with measured values in six of the nine cases considered, with no clear systematic over- or underprediction. Thus, while the experimental ion temperature profiles do not appear to be closely pinned to the ITG critical gradient, both gyrokinetic and gyrofluid models are able to accurately match the measured gradients reasonably well in most cases.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1982

Infrared limb scanning in the presence of horizontal temperature gradients - An operational approach

Simulation and analysis of IR limb radiance obtained by a satellite-borne IR limb scanner have demonstrated that horizontal temperature gradients in the atmosphere play an important role in limiting the accuracy of retrieved temperature and constituents below approximately 25 km. A simple operational approach to converting these observed radiances to equivalent spherical radiances is developed which preserves the advantages of the sphericity assumption in the inversion process.

Roewe, D. A.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Shear flow instabilities induced by trapped ion modes in collisionless temperature gradient turbulence

One important issue in turbulence self-organization is the interplay between the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability and streamers and/or zonal flows. This question has been debated for a long time. The effects of the KH instability and its position in the sequence of events between streamers, turbulence, and zonal flows have been investigated with a reduced gyro-bounce averaged kinetic code devoted to study the primary ion temperature gradient (ITG) instability linked to trapped ion modes (TIM). In toroidal geometry, the specific dynamics of TIM linked to trapped particles becomes important when the frequency of ITG modes falls below the ion bounce frequency, allowing one to average on both the cyclotron and bounce motion fast time scales. This reduction of the number of degrees of freedom leads to a strong reduction of computer resources (memory and computation time). Bounce-averaged gyrokinetic code can be considered as a toy model able to describe basic structures of turbulent transport in tokamak devices. In particular, by means of this code, we have observed that the energy injected in the system by the TIM instability is exchanged between streamers and zonal flows by means of KH vortices that grow along these structures in the nonlinear phase. The energy transfer occurs throughout the relaxation phase of the streamer growth leading to a modification of the KH modes and to the generation of the zonal flows.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Concentrating rare earth elements to phosphate in molten coal ash by a temperature gradient approach

Synthetic coal ash bearing 560 ppm europium oxide, blended with aluminum phosphate, was heat treated above its melting temperature and crystal evolutions with respect to europium concentration under controlled cooling were studied. The sample in a boat crucible was subjected to a temperature gradient of 100 °C across it to cause zone refining effects on crystallization behaviors in the melt (slag). Post analysis found six mineral phases formed from the melt while europium was only present in calcium phosphate, implying the majority of europium was segregated to the calcium phosphate. Europium concentrations in the calcium phosphate phase tended to be higher at zones with higher temperatures: as high as 7200 ppm, a 13-fold increase from the initial concentration.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparative Analysis of Microbial Diversity Across Temperature Gradients in Hot Springs From Yellowstone and Iceland

Geothermal hot springs are a natural setting to study microbial adaptation to a wide range of temperatures reaching up to boiling. Temperature gradients lead to distinct microbial communities that inhabit their optimum niches. We sampled three alkaline, high temperature (80–100°C) hot springs in Yellowstone and Iceland that had cooling outflows and whose microbial communities had not been studied previously. The microbial composition in sediments and mats was determined by DNA sequencing of rRNA gene amplicons. Over three dozen phyla of Archaea and Bacteria were identified, representing over 1700 distinct organisms. We observed a significant non-linear reduction in the number of microbial taxa as the temperature increased from warm (38°C) to boiling. At high taxonomic levels, the community structure was similar between the Yellowstone and Iceland hot springs. We identified potential endemism at the genus level, especially in thermophilic phototrophs, which may have been potentially driven by distinct environmental conditions and dispersal limitations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1993

Temperature Gradients on the Cell Wall in the Critical Viscosity Experiment

Because of the diverging susceptibility delta rho/delta Tau near the liquid-vapor critical point, temperature gradients must be kept small to maintain adequate sample homogeneity. In our Science Requirements Document we paid particular attention to radial density gradients caused by equilibration of the xenon sample. Axial density gradients were addressed through the requirement that the cell's copper wall have a gradient less than 22 microK/m. This report re-examines the cell wall's temperature distribution in more detail by estimating all known significant contributions to temperature differences on the cell's wall.

Berg, Robert F.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effects of zonal flows on ion temperature gradient instability in the scrape-off layer of a field-reversed configuration

Gyrokinetic simulations of long wavelength ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of a field-reversed configuration (FRC) find that zonal flows are nonlinearly generated and are the dominant mechanism for the nonlinear saturation of the ITG instability. After the ITG saturation, zonal flows remain undamped and gradually suppress the turbulent transport to a very low level. In the simulations with collisions, collisional damping gradually reduces zonal flow amplitude to a lower level, which allows finite ITG turbulence intensity and ion heat transport in the SOL. The steady state turbulence intensity and ion heat transport are found to be proportional to the collision frequency. Furthermore, this favorable scaling suggests that minimizing collisions (e.g. increasing temperature, reducing impurity content, etc) and preserving toroidal symmetry could improve plasma confinement in the FRC.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗