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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Effects of Initial Condition Spectral Content on Shock Driven-Turbulent Mixing

The mixing of materials due to the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability and the ensuing turbulent behavior is of intense interest in a variety of physical systems including inertial confinement fusion, combustion, and the final stages of stellar evolution. Extensive numerical and laboratory studies of shock-driven mixing have demonstrated the rich behavior associated with the onset of turbulence due to the shocks. Here we report on progress in understanding shock-driven mixing at interfaces between fluids of differing densities through three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations using the RAGE code in the implicit large eddy simulation context. We consider a shock-tube configuration with a band of high density gas (SF 6 ) embedded in low density gas (air). Shocks with a Mach number of 1.26 are passed through SF 6 bands, resulting in transition to turbulence driven by the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. The system is followed as a rarefaction wave and a reflected secondary shock from the back wall pass through the SF 6 band. We apply a variety of initial perturbations to the interfaces between the two fluids in which the physical standard deviation, wave number range, and the spectral slope of the perturbations are held constant, but the number of modes initially present is varied. By thus decreasing the density of initial spectral modes of the interface, we find that we can achieve as much as 25% less total mixing at late times. This has potential direct implications for the treatment of initial conditions applied to material interfaces in both 3D and reduced dimensionality simulation models.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

INFRARED OBSERVATIONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF YOUNG DUSTY SUPER STAR CLUSTERS

The growing evidence pointing at core-collapse supernovae as large dust producers makes young massive stellar clusters ideal laboratories to study the evolution of dust immersed in a hot plasma. Here we address the stochastic injection of dust by supernovae, and follow its evolution due to thermal sputtering within the hot and dense plasma generated by young stellar clusters. Under these considerations, dust grains are heated by means of random collisions with gas particles which result in the appearance of infrared spectral signatures. We present time-dependent infrared spectral energy distributions that are to be expected from young stellar clusters. Our results are based on hydrodynamic calculations that account for the stochastic injection of dust by supernovae. These also consider gas and dust radiative cooling, stochastic dust temperature fluctuations, the exit of dust grains out of the cluster volume due to the cluster wind, and a time-dependent grain size distribution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Los Alamos National Laboratory support to IAEA environmental safeguards

The nuclear and radiochemistry group provides sample preparation and analysis support to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL). These analyses include both non-destructive (alpha and gamma-ray spectrometry) and destructive (thermal ionization mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) methods. On a bi-annual basis the NWAL laboratories are invited to meet to discuss program evolution and issues. During this meeting each participating laboratory summarizes their efforts over the previous two years. This presentation will present Los Alamos National Laboratories efforts in support of this program. Data showing results from sample and blank analysis will be presented along with capability enhancement and issues that arose over the previous two years.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2023

Numerical study of proppant transport and settling processes in fractures

Reservoir stimulation by creating hydraulically conductive fractures is the key step for enabling enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The effectiveness of stimulation is significantly influenced by the deposition of proppant inside induced fractures. The transportation and settling of proppant in a propagating fracture is controlled by a multitude of operational and physical parameters, including the fracturing fluid rheology, injection rate, proppant concentration, fracture length/aperture evolution, proppant size/density/shape, etc. A numerical tool that robustly and efficiently accounts for all important attributes can facilitate the design and optimization of reservoir stimulation. This study presents the novel computational tool ELK (ELectrical fracKing) developed for the numerical simulation of proppant-fluid mixture circulation in a fractured geothermal reservoir. We enriched the MOOSE-based PorousFlow module with a suite of equations to consider the fluid-proppant mixture with particle-particle/fluid interactions, which include gravitational settling, particle convection, particle hampering, and strong density and viscosity contrasts. The computational tool is validated by comparing the predicted proppant bed evolution against two different laboratory scale experiments of proppant transport in a fixed aperture channel. Further parameter studies were performed, and the modeling results show that the proppant deposition is determined by the mixing characteristics and settling of the particles from the slurry. Concentration-dependent density and viscosity lead to an inhomogeneous distribution of the proppant, particle collision, and enhanced settling at the bottom of the fractures. Preliminary coupling with dynamic fracture propagation shows promising results and will be further developed to simulate hydraulic stimulation at high fidelity.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Resolved Imaging of the AR Puppis Circumbinary Disk

Circumbinary disks are common around post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars with a stellar companion on orbital timescales of a few 100 to few 1000 days. The presence of a disk is usually inferred from the system’s spectral energy distribution and confirmed, for a sub-sample, by interferometric observations. We used the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument on the Very Large Telescope to obtain extreme adaptive optics assisted scattered light images of the post-AGB binary system AR Puppis. Data have been obtained in the V, I, and H bands. Our observations have produced the first resolved images of AR Puppis’s circumbinary disk and confirm its edge-on orientation. In our high-angular-resolution and high-dynamic-range images we identify several structural components such as a dark mid-plane, the disk surface, and arc-like features. We discuss the nature of these components and use complementary photometric monitoring to relate them to the orbital phase of the binary system. Because the star is completely obscured by the disk at visible wavelengths, we conclude that the long-term photometric variability of the system must be caused by variable scattering, not extinction, of starlight by the disk over the binary orbit. Finally, we discuss how the short disk lifetimes and fast evolution of the host stars compared to the ages at which protoplanetary disks are typically observed make systems like AR Puppis valuable extreme laboratories to study circumstellar disk evolution and constrain the timescale of dust grain growth during the planet formation process.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Understanding the Evolution of Biomass Burning Particles in the Atmosphere: Analysis of BBOP Data, Laboratory Experiments, and Model Integration

Submicron particles in the atmosphere can have a profound influence on Earth’s climate [Stocker et al., 2013]. Particulate matter (PM) affects climate via both direct effects (scattering or absorption of radiation) and indirect effects (changes to the formation and properties of clouds). Biomass burning (BB) is the largest global source of submicron, carbonaceous particles [Wiedinmyer et al., 2011]. Field campaigns have shown that BB aerosol (BBA) can evolve through rapid transformations and removal processes in the atmosphere, with changing radiative and hygroscopic properties, but these processes are not well characterized. Better understanding of the evolution of biomass burning PM in the atmosphere is critical for improving the accuracy of regional to global climate models. In order to address uncertainties in the initial physical, chemical and radiative forcing of BBA and the evolution of these parameters, DOE ASR conducted an airborne field campaign, the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP), during the summer and fall of 2013 to make measurements in the plumes of northwest U.S. wildfires and southeast U.S. agricultural burns. BBOP provided unique, extremely detailed trace gas and particle measurements in fresh biomass burning plumes and captured large, rapid downwind transformations within a few hours of the sources. These fast changes in properties have also been observed in laboratory-generated BB smoke in a smog chamber, but in general the controlling factors and most likely outcomes in the real atmosphere are still not clear. The goals of this project were to 1) analyze and interpret the BBOP measurements in detail, 2) conduct laboratory experiments to explore the formation of tar balls, and 3) to incorporate our findings into improved models of biomass burning emissions and aging. This research focuses on understanding the chemical, physical and optical properties and transformations of BB emissions in the near-field within hours downwind of the burn and on a more regional scale and, in turn, how BB emissions relate to climate forcing. Analysis of the BBOP data paid particular attention to relating SOA production, changes in size distribution, and mixing state to the environmental conditions (gas-phase precursors, relative humidity, radiation, oxidants, NO x , etc.). This project included subcontracts and unfunded collaborations with many of the key participants in the BBOP campaign. Professor Robert Yokelson at the University of Montana is an expert on biomass burning fuels and emissions and participated in BBOP as an unfunded collaborator. Professor Peter Buseck at Arizona State University collected particle samples during BBOP and analyzed some of them as part of this project. Unfunded collaborators include Dr. Arthur Sedlacek, III at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Dr. Rahul Zaveri at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) who were both principal investigators in the BBOP campaign, focusing on measurements and modeling, respectively. We are also working closely with Prof. Qi Zhang at UC Davis to coordinate analysis of BBOP flight data and data from the Mt. Bachelor Observatory (MBO), and with Dr. Kouji Adachi at the Meteorological Institute (Japan) to analyze laboratory-generated tar ball samples.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Generation and Evolution of High-Mach-Number Laser-Driven Magnetized Collisionless Shocks in the Laboratory

Here, we present the first laboratory generation of high-Mach-number magnetized collisionless shocks created through the interaction of an expanding laser-driven plasma with a magnetized ambient plasma. Time-resolved, two-dimensional imaging of plasma density and magnetic fields shows the formation and evolution of a supercritical shock propagating at magnetosonic Mach number M ms ≈ 12. Particle-in-cell simulations constrained by experimental data further detail the shock formation and separate dynamics of the multi-ion-species ambient plasma. The results show that the shocks form on time scales as fast as one gyroperiod, aided by the efficient coupling of energy, and the generation of a magnetic barrier between the piston and ambient ions. The development of this experimental platform complements present remote sensing and spacecraft observations, and opens the way for controlled laboratory investigations of high-Mach number collisionless shocks, including the mechanisms and efficiency of particle acceleration.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nonlinear acoustics experimental characterization of microstructure evolution in Inconel 617

Inconel 617 is a candidate material for the intermediate heat exchanger in a very high temperature reactor for the next generation nuclear power plant. This application will require the material to withstand fatigue-ratcheting interaction at temperatures up to 950°C. Therefore nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring are important capabilities. Acoustic nonlinearity (which is quantified in terms of a material parameter, the acoustic nonlinearity parameter, β) has been proven to be sensitive to microstructural changes in material. This research develops a robust experimental procedure to track the evolution of damage precursors in laboratory tested Inconel 617 specimens using ultrasonic bulk waves. The results from the acoustic non-linear tests are compared with stereoscope surface damage results. Therefore, the relationship between acoustic nonlinearity and microstructural evaluation can be clearly demonstrated for the specimens tested.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

One dimensional shock initiation of hot isostatically pressed composition B

Twelve one dimensional shock experiments have been carried out on the UK isostatically pressed Composition B (59.5% RDX, 39.5% TNT, 1% wax) comprising of seven sustained pulse experiments and three short shock experiments using the embedded gauge technique at the Los Alamos National Laboratory gas gun facility. The evolution of the reactive growth at and behind the shock front has been measured along with the run to detonation distance. Two low pressure experiments have also been carried out to obtain non-reactive equation of state data. These data have been used to create the Pop plot and Hugoniot states for the UK Comp B. The shock initiation behavior of the UK Comp B has been compared to that of the equivalent US composition. The reactive growth shows a feature that was observed in the US composition in which the wave profiles display a high level of pre-detonation noise. This was hypothesized to be due to a piezoelectric effect in the RDX crystals. The results of these experiments have shown that this effect may be localized in the ε phase at shock pressures in the region of 4.15 GPa and above.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

DISCOVERY AND COSMOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF SPT-CL J2106-5844, THE MOST MASSIVE KNOWN CLUSTER AT z>1

Using the South Pole Telescope (SPT), we have discovered the most massive known galaxy cluster at z>1, SPT-CL J2106-5844. In addition to producing a strong Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect signal, this system is a luminous X-ray source and its numerous constituent galaxies display spatial and color clustering, all indicating the presence of a massive galaxy cluster. Very Large Telescope and Magellan spectroscopy of 18 member galaxies shows that the cluster is at z = 1.132{sup +0.002}{sub -0.003}. Chandra observations obtained through a combined HRC-ACIS GTO program reveal an X-ray spectrum with an Fe K line redshifted by z = 1.18 {+-} 0.03. These redshifts are consistent with the galaxy colors found in optical, near-infrared, and mid-infrared imaging. SPT-CL J2106-5844 displays extreme X-ray properties for a cluster having a core-excluded temperature of T{sub X} = 11.0{sup +2.6}{sub -1.9} keV and a luminosity (within r{sub 500}) of L{sub X} (0.5-2.0 keV) = (13.9 {+-} 1.0) x 10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}. The combined mass estimate from measurements of the SZ effect and X-ray data is M{sub 200} = (1.27 {+-} 0.21) x 10{sup 15} h{sup -1}{sub 70} M{sub sun}. The discovery of such a massive gravitationally collapsed system at high redshift provides an interesting laboratory for galaxy formation and evolution, and is a probe of extreme perturbations of the primordial matter density field. We discuss the latter, determining that, under the assumption of {Lambda}CDM cosmology with only Gaussian perturbations, there is only a 7% chance of finding a galaxy cluster similar to SPT-CL J2106-5844 in the 2500 deg{sup 2} SPT survey region and that only one such galaxy cluster is expected in the entire sky.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

BLISTERING AND EXPLOSIVE DESORPTION OF IRRADIATED AMMONIA-WATER MIXTURES

We present laboratory studies on the thermal evolution of a solid ammonia-water mixture after it has been irradiated at 20, 70, and 120 K. In samples irradiated at {<=}70 K, we observed fast outbursts that appear to indicate grain ejection and correlate well with the formation of micron-sized scattering centers. The occurrence of this phenomenon at the lower irradiation temperatures indicates that our results may be most relevant for understanding the release of gas and grains by comets and the surfaces of some of the colder icy satellites. We observe outgassing at temperatures below those where ice sublimates, which suggests that comets containing radiolyzed material may have outbursts farther from the Sun that those that are passive. In addition, the estimated size of the grains ejected from our sample is on the order of the size of E-ring particles, suggesting that our results give a plausible mechanism for how micron-sized grains could be formed from an icy surface. Finally, we propose that the presence of the {approx}4.5 {mu}m N{sub 2}O absorption band on an icy surface in outer space will serve to provide indirect evidence for radiation-processed ices that originally contained ammonia or nitrogen, which could be particularly useful since nitrogen is such a weak absorber in the infrared and ammonia is rapidly decomposed by radiolysis.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Light transport with weak angular dependence in fog

Random scattering and absorption of light by tiny particles in aerosols, like fog, reduce situational awareness and cause unacceptable down-time for critical systems or operations. Computationally efficient light transport models are desired for computational imaging to improve remote sensing capabilities in degraded optical environments. To this end, we have developed a model based on a weak angular dependence approximation to the Boltzmann or radiative transfer equation that appears to be applicable in both the moderate and highly scattering regimes, thereby covering the applicability domain of both the small angle and diffusion approximations. An analytic solution was derived and validated using experimental data acquired at the Sandia National Laboratory Fog Chamber facility. The evolution of the fog particle density and size distribution were measured and used to determine macroscopic absorption and scattering properties using Mie theory. A three-band (0.532, 1.55, and 9.68 µ m) transmissometer with lock-in amplifiers enabled changes in fog density of over an order of magnitude to be measured due to the increased transmission at higher wavelengths, covering both the moderate and highly scattering regimes. The meteorological optical range parameter is shown to be about 0.6 times the transport mean free path length, suggesting an improved physical interpretation of this parameter.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Fleet DNA Project (Fact Sheet)

The Fleet DNA Project - designed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory - aims to accelerate the evolution of advanced vehicle development and support the strategic deployment of market-ready technologies that reduce costs, fuel consumption, and emissions. At the heart of the Fleet DNA Project is aclearinghouse of medium- and heavy-duty commercial fleet transportation data for optimizing the design of advanced vehicle technologies or for selecting a given technology to invest in. An easy-to-access online database will help vehicle manufacturers and fleets understand the broad operational range for many of today's commercial vehicle vocations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Short video provides broad overview of the Lab’s 80-year history

In celebration of the Lab’s 80th anniversary this month, join National Security Research Center Senior Historian, Alan Carr (NSRCMS), as he provides a six-and-a-half-minute overview of the Lab’s history. The video, co-produced by Brian Clayton (CEA-MP) and Howard Coe (CEA-MP), covers three phases of the Lab’s evolution, from a nuclear weapons laboratory, then a nuclear science laboratory, to its manifestation today as a multidisciplinary laboratory.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗