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Of 350 materials screened for outgassing characteristics, 100 qualify within the limits of less than 1 percent weight loss and less than 0.1 percent VCM /volatile condensible material/ content. Infrared absorbence spectra of the VCM from 96 polymeric products and an interim list of recommended products are identified.
Thermal mass moderates indoor temperatures, allowing the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to operate more efficiently during peak hours. Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and other mass wood products provide thermal mass to the building envelope in a lighter and more environmentally friendly form than concrete. However, the influence of CLTs on heating and cooling energy, peak energy demand, and the indoor climate is not well-known. This project was formed to find the energy efficiency benefits of mass timber structures. The objectives were to (1) test the thermal performance of insulated mass wall structures in controlled laboratory conditions, (2) validate simulation models to expand performance to natural climatic conditions, (3) isolate the impact of the thermal properties of wood (thermal mass, thermal conductivity, moisture storage) on heating and cooling energy use and peak energy demand, and to optimize the performance. Currently, the designs used for CLT buildings have focused on structural and fire issues, and they do not consider the thermal mass benefits. Therefore, the thermal performance is not necessarily optimized.
In this work, a rapid method is demonstrated to obtain a fluorine-free superhydrophobic/superoleophilic coating by a simple two-step method: dip-coating and oven curing. The chemical structure of the coating is based on the crosslinking reaction of an alkyl methacrylate, a dimethacrylate (crosslinker) and a silane (adhesive), using AIBN as initiator, toluene as solvent, and silica nanoparticles to enhance surface roughness. Chemorheology results show that the coating is fully cured even in 20 min at 100 °C, exhibiting a water contact angle (CA) of 162 ± 2°, sliding angle (SA) of 4 ± 1°, nanometrical structures throughout the surface, and excellent adhesion properties for the mesh screen. The coating exhibits outstanding oil/water separation efficiency (96–99%) for seven different types of oil (gasoline, diesel, petroleum ether, hexane, toluene, chloroform, and dichloromethane), and in addition presents high recyclability. Based on nonisothermal TGA, the activation energy of degradation, calculated using the Kissinger and Ozawa models, is 113.5 and 114 kJ mol -1 , respectively. Finally, the coating is thermally aged at 150 °C: the CA exhibits a smooth decrease up to 129 ± 1° at 120 min, and FTIR analysis shows structural changes possibly related to the generation of thermal oxidation products.
The modeling of a loss-of-coolant-accident scenario involving nuclear fuels with FeCrAl cladding materials in consideration to replace a Zircaloy requires knowledge of the thermodynamics of oxidized structures. At temperatures higher than 1500 degrees C, oxidation of FeCrAl alloys forms (Fe,Cr,Al) 3 O 4 spinels. In situ high-energy X-ray diffraction in a conical nozzle levitator installed at beamline 6-ID-D of the APS was used to study the structural evolution of the oxides as a function of the temperature. Single-phase (spinel) and multiphase (spinel-corundum-FeAlO 3 ) regions are mapped as a function of the temperature for three different compositions of FeCrAl oxidation products. The thermal expansion coefficients and cation distribution in the spinel structure have been refined. The temperature at which complete melting of the fuel cladding is expected has been determined by the liquidus temperatures of the oxidized products to be between 1657 and 1834 degrees C in a 20% O 2 /Ar atmosphere using the cooling trace method. The liquidus temperature increases with increasing Al and Cr content in the spinel phase.
Report describes tests and comparisons of flammabilities, thermal properties, and selected mechanical properties of composite materials made of epoxy and other matrices reinforced by graphite fibers. Composites also compared with baseline epoxy/fiberglass composite. Considers such properties as limiting oxygen index, smoke evolution, products of thermal degradation, total heat release, heat-release rate, loss of mass, spread of flames, resistance to ignition, and thermal stability.
Advanced nuclear power plants are well-positioned for future zero-carbon grids, however, the need for flexible power generation will be required over the traditional emphasis on baseload generation for meeting historical demands. To achieve such flexibility, this work examines viable configurations for coupling nuclear energy production with thermal energy storage. Previous designs on nuclear-thermal energy storage configurations for advanced reactor designs, which utilized reactor steam as the heat source for charging the thermal energy storage, are restricted by the heat diversion ratio and efficiency losses, thus their impacts can be limited. In this context, this study proposes configurations for fully decoupling the nuclear reactor from the power cycle and positioning the storage as an intermediate loop, thereby achieving an unconstrained heat diversion ratio and improved efficiency. Compared with a standard high-temperature gas-cooled reactor’s power cycle, steady-state thermodynamic modeling and dispatch optimizations quantify the benefits of a steam reheat cycle within the fully decoupled thermal energy system to separate the plant cycle from the high-pressure primary side. These benefits are further detailed, compatible with required high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, through (1) open-source dynamic transient models that examine the impact of off-design operation on the systems, (2) the investigation of components design and costing and finally (3) sizing and dispatch optimization. The fully-decoupled design achieves a cycle efficiency of 43.1%, an enhancement over the vendor’s standard efficiency of 42.2% (Xe-100 design). Here, the proposed design offers strengthened physical barriers from the nuclear island as well as superior operational flexibility and power boosting. Dispatch optimization and market analysis reveal that thermal energy storage size is highly dependent on the peak patterns of electricity prices and the minimum generation level constraint imposed on the balance of plant. Evaluation of off-design operation demonstrates that the full decoupling design with the suggested fail-safe control mechanisms ensures a minimal impact on reactor parameters, even during rapid power ramping.
The phase-change coating technique presents itself as a valuable tool in determining the heat transfer rate over the surface of small complex wind tunnel models. A numerical technique is described which shows that an effective thermophysical property - the square root of the product of thermal conductivity, density, and specific heat - may significantly improve the accuracy of the phase-change coating technique with allowance for model inhomogeneity and temperature dependency in a transient environment. Results of the measured steady-state variation of the effective thermophysical property with temperature and the effect of surface heating rate on the effective thermophysical property are plotted for a representative homogeneous model material and for an extreme nonhomogeneous model material. The use of an effective thermophysical property to reduce phase-change paint data is recommended. The analysis also confirms that the apparatus described by Corwin and Kramer (1975) can be used to measure directly this effective thermophysical property for use in wind tunnel model heat-transfer measurements.
Single-use plastics are ubiquitous throughout modern society because they have properties that make them desirable in a wide variety of applications, including low cost of production, high thermal and chemical stability, and tunable mechanical properties. Several of the recycling methods currently used to process single-use plastic waste, such as mechanical recycling and pyrolysis, do not selectively process plastic materials into uniform products, as would be advantageous for repurposing these materials in pursuit of a circular economy. Catalytic hydrogenolysis, whereby C–C bonds in polymers are broken over a supported catalyst in the presence of H 2 , is a promising approach to converting plastics into value-added products that can be sold commercially without further purification. Here, in this account, we present some recent advances in polyolefin hydrogenolysis, with a focus on Pt nanoparticles on SrTiO 3 nanocuboid supports (Pt/STO). Current developments in this field, general challenges, and future directions are discussed.
Analysis of the induced radioactivity of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) is continuing with extraction of specific activities for various spacecraft materials. Data and results of activation measurements from eight facilities are being collected for interpretation at Eastern Kentucky University and NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center. The major activation mechanism in LDEF components is the proton flux in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). This flux is highly anisotropic, and could be sampled by taking advantage of the gravity-gradient stabilization of the LDEF. The directionally-dependent activation due to these protons was clearly observed in the data from aluminum experiment tray clamps (reaction product Na-22), steel trunnions (reaction product Mn-54 and others) and is also indicated by the presence of a variety of nuclides in other materials. A secondary production mechanism, thermal neutron capture, was observed in cobalt, indium, and tantalum, which are known to have large capture cross sections. Experiments containing samples of these metals and significant amounts of thermalizing low atomic number (Z) material showed clear evidence of enhanced activation of Co-60, In-114m, and Ta-182. Other mechanisms which activate spacecraft material that are not as easily separable from SAA proton activation, such as galactic proton bombardment and secondary production by fast neutrons, are being investigated by comparison to radiation environmental calculations. Deviations from one-dimensional radiation models indicate that these mechanisms are more important at greater shielding depths. The current status of the induced radioactivity measurements as of mid-year 1992 are reviewed. Specific activities for a number of materials which show SAA effects and thermal neutron capture are presented. The results for consistency by combining data from the participating institutions is also examined.
The manufacturing cost of a General Electric 12 meter diameter concentrator was estimated. This parabolic dish concentrator for solar thermal system was costed in annual production volumes of 100 - 1,000 - 5,000 - 10,000 - 50,000 100,000 - 400,000 and 1,000,000 units. Presented for each volume are the costs of direct labor, material, burden, tooling, capital equipment and buildings. Also presented is the direct labor personnel and factory space requirements. All costs are based on early 1981 economics.
Magnetite crystals produced by terrestrial magnetotactic bacterium MV-1 are elongated on a [111] crystallographic axis, in a so-called truncated hexa-Octahedral shape. This morphology has been proposed to constitute a biomarker (i.e., formed only in biogenic processes). A subpopulation of magnetite crystals associated with carbonate globules in Martian meteorite ALH84001 is reported to have this morphology, and the observation has been taken as evidence for biological activity on Mars. In this study, we present evidence for the exclusively inorganic origin of [111]-elongated magnetite crystals in ALH84001. We report three-dimensional(3-D) morphologies for approx.1000 magnetite crystals extracted from: (1) thermal decomposition products of Fe-rich carbonate produced by inorganic hydrothermal precipitation in laboratory experiments; (2) carbonate globules in Martian meteoriteeALH84001; and (3) cells of magnetotactic bacterial strain MV-1. The 3-D morphologies were derived by fitting 3-D shape models to two-dimensional bright-field transmission-electron microscope (TEAM) images obtained at a series of viewing angles. The view down the {110} axes closest to the [111] elongation axis of magnetite crystals ([111]x{110) not equal to 0) provides a 2-D projection that uniquely discriminates among the three [111]-elongated magnetite morphologies found in these samples: [111]-elongated truncated hexaoctahedron ([111]-THO), [111]-elongated cubo-octahedron ([111]-ECO), and [111]-elongated simple octahedron ([111]-ESO). All [111] -elongated morphologies are present in the three types of sample, but in different proportions. In the ALH84001 Martian meteorite and in our inorganic laboratory products, the most common [111]-elongated magnetite crystal morphology is [111]-ECO. In contrast, the most common morphology for magnetotactic bacterial strain MV-1 is [111]-THO. These results show that: (1) the morphology of [111]-elongated magnetite crystals associated with the carbonate globules in Martian meteorite ALH84001 is replicated by an inorganic process; and (2) the most common crystal morphology for biogenic (MV-1) magnetite is distinctly different from that in both ALH84001 and our inorganic laboratory products. Therefore, [111]-elongated magnetite crystals in ALH84001 do not constitute, as previously claimed, a robust biosignature and, in fact, an exclusively inorganic origin for the magnetite is fully consistent with our results. Furthermore, the inorganic synthesis method, i.e., the thermal decomposition of hydrothermally precipitated Fe-rich carbonate, is a process analogue for formation of the magnetite on Mars. Namely, precipitation of carbonate globules from carbonate-rich hydrothermal solutions followed at some later time by a thermal pulse, perhaps in association with meteoritic impact or volcanic processes on the Martian surface.
A fundamental process in the formation of differentiated bodies is the segregation of metal-sulfide and silicate phases, leading to the formation of a metallic core. The only known direct record of this process is preserved in some primitive achondrites, such as the acapulcoite-lodranites. Meteorites of this clan are the products of thermal metamorphism of a chondritic parent. Most acapulcoites have experienced significant partial melting of the metal-sulfide system but not of silicates, while lodranites have experienced partial melting and melt extraction of both. The clan has experienced a continuum of temperatures relevant to the onset of metal mobility in asteroidal bodies and thus could yield insight into the earliest stages of core formation. Acapulcoite GRA 98028 contains relict chondrules, high modal sulfide/metal, has the lowest 2-pyroxene closure temperature, and represents the least metamorphosed state of the parent body among the samples examined. Comparison of the metal-sulfide component of other clan members to GRA 98028 can give an idea of the effects of metamorphism.
Volatile products from thermal decomposition of lignocellulosic biomass have been well characterized, but the solid- and liquid-phase reactions during the early stages of decomposition are largely unknown. Here the initial solid-phase biomass thermal deconstruction reactions were analyzed in situ and with high particle heating rates, delineating how these processes occur. A variety of instrumentation was used to quantify the extent and relative rates of deconstruction, demonstrating that biopolymers resist the thermally energetic conditions to differing degrees, even when ensconced in biomass cell walls. Hemicellulose and the more frangible lignin components decompose and volatilize more readily than cellulose, which temporarily enriches biomass with cellulose. These chemical changes manifest in larger cell wall structural and mechanical property transformations. In all, this investigation concludes that these solid-phase reactions strongly influence the production rates of volatile species and will require additional study before these processes can be modeled precisely to improve yields of desired product.
Tri-structural isotropic fueled reactors are planned to come online in the next decade, but there is not currently a widely agreed upon disposition pathway for this new fuel stream. For long term used nuclear fuel storage, there would be a significant benefit if the waste volume could be reduced or mitigated. Most of the volume from used TRISO fuel contains graphite. SRNL currently has an active patent which describes one pathway to digest the graphite. One benefit in the utilization of this pathway is that multiple cylindrical pieces can be stacked end-to-end in a reaction tube, then nitric acid and water vapor can be flowed through the tube, and the weight change of the individual cores can provide both a reaction profile and overall oxidant use efficiency. The reaction of nitric acid and graphite passes through a series of intermediate products – NO 2 , NO, and N 2 O – from reaction and decomposition to eventually form N2. The data shows that NO2 grows in with increasing temperature between 500-600°C and then decreases by way of either reaction with graphite or decomposition. Nitric oxide, a reaction and thermal decomposition product of NO 2 , exhibits a consistent decline as a function of temperature, which is consistent with the literature. Similarly, the concentrations of N 2 O and N 2 increase as a function of temperature as their reactions with graphite become more favorable.
A fundamental process in the formation of differentiated bodies is the segregation of metal-sulfide and silicate phases, leading to the formation of a metallic core. The only known direct record of this process is preserved in some primitive achondrites, such as the acapulcoites and lodranites. These meteorites, thought to originate from the same parent asteroid, are the products of thermal metamorphism and igneous processing of a chondritic precursor. Collectively, they have experienced a range of peak metamorphic temperatures relevant to the onset of metal-sulfide partial melting and melt migration. We assessed the siderophile element composition of their metals in an effort to determine the conditions and extent of metal-sulfide melt extraction and thereby gain insight into the earliest stages of core formation.
Contaminant removal technology, such as the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) on the International Space Station (ISS), is critical to Environmental Close-Loop Life Support Systems (ECLSS), which enable humans to live and work in outer space. The CDRA includes an adsorbent bed, which absorbs CO2 and releases it to a Sabatier reactor for water production when thermally cycled. An effective system would heat and cool the adsorbent quickly and uniformly to maximize the amount of CO2 removed from the cabin. Air-Cooled Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressors (AC-TSAC) are promising because they are a simple alternative to more mechanically-complex compressors currently used on the ISS. The current investigation addresses the thermal modeling of potential AC-TSAC designs. Design trades include bed geometry (rectangular vs. cylindrical), bed structural material, and configuration of heat pipes within the bed. Also investigated is AC-TSAC performance sensitivity to the thermal conductivity of the adsorbent material and the heat pipes, the input power for heating, and various heat loss mechanisms. The results from these studies will inform the design of the next generation of the AC-TSAC, and the thermal modeling results will be validated through testing.
Contaminant removal technology, such as the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) on the International Space Station (ISS), is critical to Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), which enable humans to live and work in outer space. The CDRA includes an adsorbent bed, which absorbs CO2 from the cabin air and releases it to a Sabatier reactor for water production when thermally cycled. An effective system would heat and cool the adsorbent quickly and uniformly to maximize the amount of CO2 removed from the cabin and delivered to the Sabatier reactor. Air-Cooled Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressors (AC-TSAC) are promising for use downstream of the CDRA because they are a simple alternative to more mechanically-complex compressors, which are currently in use on the ISS. A thermal model of the AC-TSAC was created in COMSOL and validated by comparing the model outputs to experimental data for the heating phase of the cycle. Subsequently, several design trades and performance sensitivities were conducted, including bed geometry (rectangular vs. cylindrical), bed structural material (i.e., the material that makes up the walls and shelves), thermal conductivity of the adsorbent material and bed structural materials, and the input power for heating. The results from these studies will inform the design of the next generation of the AC-TSAC, and the thermal modeling results will be further validated through testing.
Contaminant removal technology, such as the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) on the International Space Station (ISS), is critical to Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), which enable humans to live and work in outer space. The CDRA includes an adsorbent bed, which absorbs CO2 from the cabin air and releases it to a Sabatier reactor for water production when thermally cycled. An effective system would heat and cool the adsorbent quickly and uniformly to maximize the amount of CO2 removed from the cabin and delivered to the Sabatier reactor. Air-Cooled Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressors (AC-TSAC) are promising for use downstream of the CDRA because they are a simple alternative to more mechanically-complex compressors, which are currently in use on the ISS. A thermal model of the AC-TSAC was created in COMSOL and validated by comparing the model outputs to experimental data for the heating phase of the cycle. Subsequently, several design trades and performance sensitivities were conducted, including bed geometry (rectangular vs. cylindrical), bed structural material (i.e., the material that makes up the walls and shelves), thermal conductivity of the adsorbent material and bed structural materials, and the input power for heating. The results from these studies will inform the design of the next generation of the AC-TSAC, and the thermal modeling results will be further validated through testing.