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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

Coupled 2-dimensional cascade theory for noise and unsteady aerodynamics of blade row interaction in turbofans. Volume 1: Theory development and parametric studies

Typical analytical models for interaction between rotor and stator in a turbofan analyze the effect of wakes from the rotor impinging on the stator, producing unsteady loading, and thereby generating noise. Reflection/transmission characteristics of the rotor are sometimes added in a separate calculation. In those models, there is a one-to-one relationship between wake harmonics and noise harmonics; that is, the BPF (blade passing frequency) wake harmonic causes only the BPF noise harmonic, etc. This report presents a more complete model in which flow tangency boundary conditions are satisfied on two cascades in relative motion for several harmonics simultaneously. By an extension of S.N. Smith's code for two dimensional flat plate cascades, the noise generation/frequency scattering/blade row reflection problem is solved in a single matrix inversion. It is found that the BPF harmonic excitation of the stator scatters considerable energy in the higher BPF harmonics due to relative motion between the blade rows. Furthermore, when swirl between the rotor and stator is modeled, a 'mode trapping' effect occurs which explains observations on fans operating at rotational speeds below BFP cuton: the BPF mode amplifies between blade rows by multiple reflections but cannot escape to the inlet and exit ducts. However, energy scattered into higher harmonics does propagate and dominates the spectrum at two and three times BPF. This report presents the complete derivation of the theory, comparison with a previous (more limited) coupled rotor/stator interaction theory due to Kaji and Okazaki, exploration of the mode trapping phenomenon, and parametric studies showing the effects of vane/blade ratio and rotor/stator interaction. For generality, the analysis applies to stages where the rotor is either upstream or downstream of the stator and to counter rotation stages. The theory has been coded in a FORTRAN program called CUP2D, documented in Volume 2 of this report. It is concluded that the new features of this analysis - unsteady coupling, frequency scattering, and flow turning between rotor and stator - have a profound effect on noise generation caused by rotor/stator interaction. Treating rotors and stators as isolated cascades is not adequate for noise analysis and prediction.

Hanson, Donald B.↗

Relativistic Effects From Coupled-Cluster Theory

We discuss the theory and computational challenges of the relativistic coupled-cluster methods. Example calculations of heavy-atom-containing molecules are then presented to demonstrate the importance of scalar-relativistic, spin-orbit coupling, and electron-correlation effects on molecular properties as well as the applicability and usefulness of relativistic coupled-cluster methods in calculations aiming at high-accuracy results. Here, a unique applicability of the spinor-based relativistic coupled-cluster methods is also highlighted using the calculations of open shell actinide-containing small molecules. As a result, a summary is given together with an outlook into future developments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Efficient block preconditioned eigensolvers for linear response time-dependent density functional theory

We present two efficient iterative algorithms for solving the linear response eigen- value problem arising from the time dependent density functional theory. Although the matrix to be diagonalized is nonsymmetric, it has a special structure that can be exploited to save both memory and floating point operations. In particular, the nonsymmetric eigenvalue problem can be transformed into a product eigenvalue problem that is self-adjoint with respect to a K-inner product. This product eigenvalue problem can be solved efficiently by a modified Davidson algorithm and a modified locally optimal block preconditioned conjugate gradient (LOBPCG) algorithm that make use of the K-inner product. The solution of the product eigenvalue problem yields one component of the eigenvector associated with the original eigenvalue problem. However, the other component of the eigenvector can be easily recovered in a postprocessing procedure. Therefore, the algorithms we present here are more efficient than existing algorithms that try to approximate both components of the eigenvectors simultaneously. The efficiency of the new algorithms is demonstrated by numerical examples.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Sigma bond activation of deuterium mediated by atomic cerium cations: Experiment and theory

Reaction of ground-state Ce + (5d 2 4f 1 ) with deuterium in a reaction cell at a pressure of 1.5–4.0 Torr and temperatures ranging from approximately 265–515 K is studied. Rate constants for formation of CeD 2 + are acquired and vary from approximately 2.8 × 10 -14 to 2.1 ×10 -13 cm 3 /s. A negative temperature dependence is observed for the measured rate constants, indicating the reaction becomes less efficient as the temperature increases, consistent with an exothermic reaction. Electronic structure calculations were performed using density functional theory (DFT) at the PBE0 level to characterize all reactant and product species as well as to generate potential energy surfaces (PESs) for the insertion reaction. This combination of experimental and theoretical results suggest that Ce + inserts into the deuterium sigma bond in an overall exothermic and barrierless process.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Electrochemical CO2 Reduction over Metal-/Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Single-Atom Catalysts Modeled Using the Grand-Canonical Density Functional Theory

Renewably driven, electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide into value-added products is expected to be a critical tool in global decarbonization. However, theoretical studies based on the computational hydrogen electrode largely ignore the nonlinear effects of the applied potential on the calculated results, leading to inaccurate predictions of catalytic behavior or mechanistic pathways. Here, we use grand canonical density functional theory (GC-DFT) to model electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R) over metal- and nitrogen-doped graphene catalysts (MNCs) and explicitly include the effects of the applied potential. We used GC-DFT to compute the CO2 to CO reaction intermediate energies at -0.3, -0.7, and -1.2 VSHE catalyzed by MNCs each doped with 1 of the 10 3d block metals coordinated by four pyridinic nitrogen atoms. Our results predict that Sc-, Ti-, Co-, Cu-, and Zn-N4Cs effectively catalyze CO2R at moderate to large reducing potentials (-0.7 to -1.2 VSHE). ZnN4C is a particularly promising electrocatalyst for CO2R to CO both at low and moderate applied potentials based on our thermodynamic analysis. Our findings also explain the observed pH independence of CO production over FeN4C and predict that the rate-determining step of CO2R over FeN4C is not *CO2- formation but rather *CO desorption. Additionally, the GC-DFT-computed density of states analysis illustrates how the electronic states of MNCs and adsorbates change non-uniformly with applied potential, resulting in a significantly increased *CO2- stability relative to other intermediates and demonstrating that the formation of the adsorbed *CO2- anion is critical to CO2R activation. This work demonstrates how GC-DFT paves the way for physically realistic and accurate theoretical simulations of reacting electrochemical systems.

CO2 reduction↗

A field theory approach to the evolution of canonical helicity and energy

A redefinition of the Lagrangian of a multi-particle system in fields reformulates the single-particle, kinetic, and fluid equations governing fluid and plasma dynamics as a single set of generalized Maxwell's equations and Ohm's law for canonical force-fields. The Lagrangian includes new terms representing the coupling between the motion of particle distributions, between distributions and electromagnetic fields, with relativistic contributions. The formulation shows that the concepts of self-organization and canonical helicity transport are applicable across single-particle, kinetic, and fluid regimes, at classical and relativistic scales. The theory gives the basis for comparing canonical helicity change to energy change in general systems. For example, in a fixed, isolated system subject to non-conservative forces, a species' canonical helicity changes less than total energy only if gradients in density or distribution function are shallow.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Size consistent formulations of the perturb-then-diagonalize Møller-Plesset perturbation theory correction to non-orthogonal configuration interaction

In this paper we introduce two size consistent forms of the non-orthogonal configuration interaction with second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory method, NOCI-MP2. We show that the original NOCI-MP2 formulation [S. R. Yost, T. Kowalczyk, and T. VanVoorh, J. Chem. Phys. 193, 174104 (2013)], which is a perturb-then-diagonalize multi-reference method, is not size consistent. We also show that this causes significant errors in large systems like the linear acenes. By contrast, the size consistent versions of the method give satisfactory results for singlet and triplet excited states when compared to other multi-reference methods that include dynamic correlation. For NOCI-MP2 however, the number of required determinants to yield similar levels of accuracy is significantly smaller. These results show the promise of the NOCI-MP2 method, though work still needs to be done in creating a more consistent black-box approach to computing the determinants that comprise the many-electron NOCI basis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Breaking discrete symmetries in the effective field theory of inflation

We study the phenomenon of discrete symmetry breaking during the inflationary epoch, using a model-independent approach based on the effective field theory of inflation. We work in a context where both time reparameterization symmetry and spatial diffeomorphism invariance can be broken during inflation. We determine the leading derivative operators in the quadratic action for fluctuations that break parity and time-reversal. Within suitable approximations, we study their consequences for the dynamics of linearized fluctuations. Both in the scalar and tensor sectors, we show that such operators can lead to new direction-dependent phases for the modes involved. They do not affect the power spectra, but can have consequences for higher correlation functions. Moreover, a small quadrupole contribution to the sound speed can be generated.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Testing the threshold expansion for three-particle energies at fourth order in Φ 4 theory

We report that a relativistic formalism for relating the the energies of the states of three scalar particles in finite volume to infinite volume scattering amplitudes has recently been developed. This formalism has been used to predict the energy of the state closest to threshold in an expansion in powers of 1/L, with L the box length. This expansion has been tested previously by a perturbative calculation of the threshold energy in λφ 4 theory, working to third order in λ and up to O(1/L 6 ) in the volume expansion. However, several aspects of the predicted threshold behavior do not enter until fourth (three-loop) order in perturbation theory. Here I extend the perturbative calculation to fourth order and find agreement with the general prediction. This check also requires a two-loop calculation of the infinite-volume off-shell two-particle scattering amplitude near threshold. As a spin-off, I check the threshold expansion for two particles to the same order, finding agreement with the result that follows from Lüscher's formalism.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Deformation pathway and defect generation in crystals: a combined group theory and graph theory description

The generation and motion of crystalline defects during plastic deformation are critical processes that determine the mechanical properties of a crystal. The types of defect generated are not only related to the symmetry of a crystal but also associated with the symmetry-breaking process during deformation. Proposed here is a new mathematical framework to capture the intrinsic coupling between crystal symmetry and deformation-induced symmetry breaking. Using a combination of group theory and graph theory, a general approach is demonstrated for the systematic determination of the types of crystalline defect induced by plastic deformation, through the construction of a crystal deformation group and a deformation pathway graph. The types of defect generated in the deformation of a face-centered cubic crystal are analyzed through the deformation pathway graph and compared with experimental observations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effective field theory of black hole quasinormal modes in scalar-tensor theories

The final ringdown phase in a coalescence process is a valuable laboratory to test General Relativity and potentially constrain additional degrees of freedom in the gravitational sector. We introduce here an effective description for perturbations around spherically symmetric spacetimes in the context of scalar-tensor theories, which we apply to study quasi-normal modes for black holes with scalar hair. We derive the equations of motion governing the dynamics of both the polar and the axial modes in terms of the coefficients of the effective theory. Assuming the deviation of the background from Schwarzschild is small, we use the WKB method to introduce the notion of “light ring expansion”. This approximation is analogous to the slow-roll expansion used for inflation, and it allows us to express the quasinormal mode spectrum in terms of a small number of parameters. This work is a first step in describing, in a model independent way, how the scalar hair can affect the ringdown stage and leave signatures on the emitted gravitational wave signal. Potential signatures include the shifting of the quasi-normal spectrum, the breaking of isospectrality between polar and axial modes, and the existence of scalar radiation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Non-equilibrium ϕ{sup 4} theory in open systems as a toy model of quantum field theory of the brain

We investigate non-equilibrium relativistic ϕ{sup 4} theory in open systems (the relevant system and the two reservoirs) as a toy model of quantum field theory of the brain, Quantum Brain Dynamics (QBD). We give time evolution equations of quantum fields, that is the Klein–Gordon (KG) equations for background coherent scalar fields and the Kadanoff–Baym (KB) equations for quantum fluctuations. Next we introduce a relativistic kinetic entropy current with the gradient expansion technique and show the H-theorem in the presence of Next-to-Leading-Order self-energy of the coupling expansion and tunneling between systems in d+1 dimensions. Finally we demonstrate numerical simulations with KG and KB equations in 1+1 dimensions. We find that the decoherence (field–particle conversion), the entropy production and the chemical equilibration occur in time evolution of the relevant system and the two reservoirs. We also demonstrate how the background coherent fields transfer between systems. The presented formalism is proposed as a mathematical representation of QBD.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Beyond the standard two-film theory: Computational fluid dynamics simulations for carbon dioxide capture in a wetted wall column

The standard two-film theory (STFT) is a diffusion-based mechanism that can be used to describe gas mass transfer across liquid film. Fundamental assumptions of the STFT impose serious limitations on its ability to predict mass transfer coefficients. To better understand gas absorption across liquid film in practical situations, a multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model fully equipped with mass transport and chemistry capabilities has been developed for solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO2) capture to predict the CO2 mass transfer coefficient in a wetted wall column. The hydrodynamics is modeled using a volume of fluid method, and the diffusive and reactive mass transfer between the two phases is modeled by adopting a one-fluid formulation. We demonstrate that the proposed CFD model can naturally account for the influence of many important factors on the overall mass transfer that cannot be quantitatively explained by the STFT, such as the local variation in fluid velocities and properties, flow instabilities, and complex geometries. The CFD model also can predict the local mass transfer coefficient variation along the column height, which the STFT typically does not consider.

Wang, Chao↗

Adaptive local basis set for Kohn–Sham density functional theory in a discontinuous Galerkin framework II: Force, vibration, and molecular dynamics calculations

Recently, we have proposed the adaptive local basis set for electronic structure calculations based on Kohn–Sham density functional theory in a pseudopotential framework. The adaptive local basis set is efficient and systematically improvable for total energy calculations. In this paper, we present the calculation of atomic forces, which can be used for a range of applications such as geometry optimization and molecular dynamics simulation. We demonstrate that, under mild assumptions, the computation of atomic forces can scale nearly linearly with the number of atoms in the system using the adaptive local basis set. We quantify the accuracy of the Hellmann–Feynman forces for a range of physical systems, benchmarked against converged planewave calculations, and find that the adaptive local basis set is efficient for both force and energy calculations, requiring at most a few tens of basis functions per atom to attain accuracies required in practice. Since the adaptive local basis set has implicit dependence on atomic positions, Pulay forces are in general nonzero. However, we find that the Pulay force is numerically small and systematically decreasing with increasing basis completeness, so that the Hellmann–Feynman force is sufficient for basis sizes of a few tens of basis functions per atom. We verify the accuracy of the computed forces in static calculations of quasi-1D and 3D disordered Si systems, vibration calculation of a quasi-1D Si system, and molecular dynamics calculations of H{sub 2} and liquid Al–Si alloy systems, where we show systematic convergence to benchmark planewave results and results from the literature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Density functional theory study of the point defect energetics in y- LiAlO2, Li2ZrO3 and Li2TiO3 materials

The defect energetics in y-LiAlO2, Li2 TiO3, and Li2ZrO3 materials used in tritium-producing burnable absorber rods and fusion solid breeder applications was investigated using density functional theory calculations. A comprehensive analysis of the charged defects was performed for cation and anion vacancies, interstitials, antisite defects, and 3H interstitial and substitutional defects to understand the defect structures at different charge states and their stability as a function of the electron chemical potential across the electronic band gap of crystals at operating temperature and oxygen partial pressure conditions. Through investigation of the local bonding configurations and projected electronic density of states of the 3H related charged defects, including 3H interstitial (3Hint), 3Hint bound with an oxygen interstitial, and substitutional 3H defects on the Li, O, and M (M¼ Al, Ti, and Zr) sites (3HLi, 3HO, and 3HM), the 3H states of these defects were distinguished, i.e. triton (3Hþ), neutral 3H (3H0), and tritide (3H-). The two stable 3H related defects under the Li2O-LiOH rich condition at T ¼ 1000 K, between P(O2) ¼ 10^-5 and 10^-25 atm were found to be 3H interstitial (3Hint) with charge of þ1 and neutral 3HLi (substitutional 3H on the Li site) in g-LiAlO2, Li2ZrO3, and Li2TiO3 materials. For Li2TiO3, the stability of the 3HO with charge of þ1 and 3HM with charge of 3 becomes comparable to that of 3Hint atm at P(O2) ¼ 1025 atm. Overall, our results indicate the energy cost to form the stable 3H defect species (3Hint with charge of þ1 and neutral 3HLi) in g-LiAlO2 material are higher than those of Li2TiO3 and Li2ZrO3 materials at T ¼ 1000 K, between P(O2) ¼ 10^-5 and 10^-25 atm. Interactions between the point defects and the 3H species as a function of the electron chemical potential across the band gap of the materials were also examined. All the three materials exhibit strong interactions between the 3Hint and the O vacancy, Li vacancy, and O interstitial defects with the strongest interactions found in the case of y-LiAlO2 phase, indicating a higher tendency to trap 3H at such point defects in y-LiAlO2.

Charged defect analysis, Tritium-producing burnabl↗

Accurate Thermochemistry of Complex Lignin Structures via Density Functional Theory, Group Additivity, and Machine Learning

A molecular-level understanding of lignin structures and bond dissociation energies could facilitate depolymerization technologies. Still, this information is currently limited due to the lack of databases and the simplification of surrogate models. Here, substitution effects on seven common linkages in lignin polymers are systematically investigated. An automated reaction network generator is employed to create a database of structures. A new group additivity (GA) model based on principal component analysis (PCA) descriptors is introduced and trained on gas-phase density functional theory data of 4100 species at the M06-2X/6-311++G(d,p) level. Hydrogen bonds, local steric, and nonaromatic ring contributions are also incorporated. Lastly, we improve the accuracy of the group additivity model to reach the G4 theory by computing a data set of 770 species at this level and using a data fusion approach.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Electronic and optical properties of pure and modified diamondoids studied by many-body perturbation theory and time-dependent density functional theory

Diamondoids are small diamond nanoparticles (NPs) that are built up from diamond cages. Unlike usual semiconductor NPs, their atomic structure is exactly known, thus they are ideal test-beds for benchmarking quantum chemical calculations. Their usage in spintronics and bioimaging applications requires a detailed knowledge of their electronic structure and optical properties. In this paper, we apply density functional theory (DFT) based methods to understand the electronic and optical properties of a few selected pure and modified diamondoids for which accurate experimental data exist. In particular, we use many-body perturbation theory methods, in the G{sub 0}W{sub 0} and G{sub 0}W{sub 0}+BSE approximations, and time-dependent DFT in the adiabatic local density approximation. We find large quasiparticle gap corrections that can exceed thrice the DFT gap. The electron-hole binding energy can be as large as 4 eV but it is considerably smaller than the GW corrections and thus G{sub 0}W{sub 0}+BSE optical gaps are about 50% larger than the Kohn-Sham (KS) DFT gaps. We find significant differences between KS time-dependent DFT and GW+BSE optical spectra on the selected diamondoids. The calculated G{sub 0}W{sub 0} quasiparticle levels agree well with the corresponding experimental vertical ionization energies. We show that nuclei dynamics in the ionization process can be significant and its contribution may reach about 0.5 eV in the adiabatic ionization energies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗