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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 1,621 records · Page 90
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Laboratory Experiments and Modeling for Interpreting Field Studies of Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation Using an Oxidation Flow Reactor

This grant was originally funded for deployment of a suite of aerosol instrumentation by our group in collaboration with other research groups and DOE/ARM to the Ganges Valley in India (GVAX) to study aerosols sources and processing. Much of the first year of this grant was focused on preparations for GVAX. That campaign was cancelled due to political reasons and with the consultation with our program manager, the research of this grant was refocused to study the applications of oxidation flow reactors (OFRs) for investigating secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and organic aerosol (OA) processing in the field and laboratory through a series of laboratory and modeling studies. We developed a gas-phase photochemical model of an OFR which was used to 1) explore the sensitivities of key output variables (e.g., OH exposure, O 3 , HO 2 /OH) to controlling factors (e.g., water vapor, external reactivity, UV irradiation), 2) develop simplified OH exposure estimation equations, 3) investigate under what conditions non-OH chemistry may be important, and 4) help guide design of future experiments to avoid conditions with undesired chemistry for a wide range of conditions applicable to the ambient, laboratory, and source studies. Uncertainties in the model were quantified and modeled OH exposure was compared to tracer decay measurements of OH exposure in the lab and field. Laboratory studies using OFRs were conducted to explore aerosol yields and composition from anthropogenic and biogenic VOC as well as crude oil evaporates. Various aspects of the modeling and laboratory results and tools were applied to interpretation of ambient and source measurements using OFR. Additionally, novel measurement methods were used to study gas/particle partitioning. The research conducted was highly successful and details of the key results are summarized in this report through narrative text, figures, and a complete list of publications acknowledging this grant.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Towards Autonomous Experiments by Connecting High Performance Microscopy with High Performance Computing

The digitization of controls, data, and analysis in microscopy is bringing the idea of autonomous microscopes closer to reality than ever before. Automated transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is already fairly routine for some experiments the only require simple repetitive tasks such as imaging biological macromolecules for single particle cryoEM [1], tilt series for electron tomography [2], and movies for crystallography [3]. The vast majority of TEM experiments are conducted completely by human operators who choose the regions of interest, optimize experimental parameters, and make decisions about data quality visually during an experiment. The field is still a long way from having completely autonomous TEMs that can adapt to sample difficulties and tune experimental parameters based on data quality and desired experimental outcomes. Part of the issue is the lack of capability for feeding information learned from on-line, live data analysis back into the on-going experiment [4]. Furthermore, this presentation will discuss current capabilities for large scale data reduction and analysis using high performance computing (i.e. supercomputing) and progress towards developing a true feed-back loop that places data analysis and theory in the experimental loop.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Geometry of Non-Diffusive Tracer Transport in Gridded Atmospheric Models

A first-order linear and numerically non-diffusive Eulerian transport algorithm, minVAR, was recently developed for preservation of correlations between interrelated tracers during advective transport. The present study extends this work by: (1) providing further investigation of several interesting geometric constructions found in contours of constant minVAR, short for minimum variance, through extension to three coordinate dimensions. These contours capture point-by-point representations of thousands of individual atmospheric aerosol and/or cloud particles as they evolve and are rendered on Eulerian grids at a level of sub-grid resolution limited only by numerical precision; and (2) exploration of geometric similarities between the Arakawa C-grid, used to obtain interpolated values of the wind field at grid scale and minVAR. In particular, we consider interpolation of the u and v horizontal components of wind velocity from grid to sub-grid scales. The last results are motivated by recent applications of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model applied in the coastal Houston region, where the recent TRacking Aerosol Convection Interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) field campaign was organized. A unique and fully consistent mapping is obtained between particles moving along meteorological wind trajectories and the non-diffusive, non-dispersive representation of such trajectories on an Eulerian grid.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1980

Statics of the nightside Jovian plasma sheet

Data are analyzed from the low energy charged particle (LECP) and magnetic field (MAG) experiments on the Voyager 2 spacecraft that demonstrate that the configuration of the Jovian plasma sheet at distances of about .80 to about 120 Jupiter radii is determined by ions (protons and heavier nuclei) of energies greater than approximately 30 keV. The energy densities of these ions are sufficient to provide the diamagnetic depressions in the magnetic field strengths observed as the spacecraft crossed the Jovian plasma sheet. The particle bulk direction of motion is predominantly across the local magnetic field, consistent with that expected from corotation of the planetary magnetic field.

Lanzerotti, L. J.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Jets from shocked metal surfaces with grooves: Missing experiments

Many studies have investigated the mass outflows generated when a planar shock transits an imperfect (“defected”) metal surface, where the defects are symmetric triangular or sinusoidal grooves. Yet a fundamental question remains unanswered: how does the quantity of outflow mass and its maximum velocity vary as a function of the groove cross-sectional aspect ratio? We identify two sets of missing experiments that must be addressed to answer the question. The aspect ratio (groove depth over width) is equivalently represented by θ, the cross-sectional half angle, or by η 0 k, the amplitude multiplied by an effective wavenumber. Low θ (high η 0 k) grooves comprise the first set of missing experiments, which are necessary to determine the validity of theoretical predictions of the nonlinear regime (η 0 k ≥ 1, θ < 57.5°). The second set of missing experiments are those in which the volume of the groove (or equivalently, the axial cross-sectional area) has been held constant as θ or η 0 k are varied. Such experiments are necessary to independently measure the effects of variations in groove volume and groove aspect ratio on the resulting jets.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nonideal Fields Solve the Injection Problem in Relativistic Reconnection

Magnetic reconnection in relativistic plasmas is well established as a fast and efficient particle accelerator, capable of explaining the most dramatic astrophysical flares. With particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate the importance of nonideal fields for the early stages (“injection”) of particle acceleration. Most of the particles ending up with high energies (near or above the mean magnetic energy per particle) must have passed through nonideal regions where the assumptions of ideal magnetohydrodynamics are broken (i.e., regions with E > B or nonzero E ∥ = E ∙ B/B), whereas most of the particles that do not experience nonideal fields end up with Lorentz factors of order unity. So, injection by nonideal fields is a necessary prerequisite for further acceleration. Our results have important implications for the origin of nonthermal particles in high-energy astrophysical sources.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS2000

Flame Design: A Novel Approach Developed to Produce Clean, Efficient Diffusion Flames

Soot formation and flame extinction are vital concerns in the combustion of fossil fuels. In particular, soot is responsible for pollutant emissions, and extinction can cause inefficient or unstable burning. Normal-gravity experiments have demonstrated that flames can be designed to improve both characteristics by redirecting some or all of the nitrogen from the oxidizer into the fuel. Such nitrogen exchange can produce permanently blue flames, which are soot free under all possible flame conditions. Furthermore, this approach can lead to stronger, extinction-resistant flames. Past investigations of nitrogen exchange were unable to identify the physical mechanisms responsible for its benefits because these mechanisms cannot be isolated when normal-gravity flames are studied. In contrast, the Diffusion Flame Extinction and Soot Inception (DESI) experiment considers spherical flames, where nearly perfect spherical symmetry affords new levels of control. Because of buoyancy, spherical flames cannot be created in Earth s gravity. DESI was conceived by principal investigator Professor R.L. Axelbaum of Washington University in St. Louis. Tests to date have utilized the 2.2-Second Drop Tower at the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. The experiment is slated for testing aboard the International Space Station in a few years. Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain the connection between nitrogen exchange and permanently blue flames. These are the structure (chemical effects) and hydrodynamics (flow direction and speed). In normal-gravity flames, the structure and hydrodynamics are coupled, since nitrogen exchange simultaneously modifies both. Spherical microgravity flames, on the other hand, allow independent control of these factors. Specifically, structure can be modified via nitrogen exchange, and flow direction can be reversed by swapping the ambient and burner-feed gases. In DESI, these variations can be accomplished without changing the theoretical flame temperature.

Axelbaum, Richard L.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interface roughness governed negative magnetoresistances in two-dimensional electron gases in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

Negative magnetoresistances (NMRs) have been widely observed in two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs). However, their origins are under debate. Here, we report on NMRs in the 2DEG in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures, aiming to uncover their origins by utilizing electric field gating. We systematically measured the magnetoresistances in magnetic fields up to 12 T and at temperatures between 3 and 260 K and observed NMRs over a wide range of temperatures from 3 to 170 K, which become more pronounced with decreasing temperature. We conducted electric field gating experiments to correlate the occurrence of NMRs with the relationship between electron mobility and density. The latter is governed by defect scattering sources in the sample and can be theoretically modeled. Comparison of the measured electron mobility and electron density relationship with theory reveals that interface roughness scattering plays a crucial role in obtaining large NMRs. Our work demonstrates that electric field gating provides a means not only to tune the values of NMRs but also to uncover their mechanisms.

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2021

Temperature-responsive smart tracers for field-measurement of inter-well thermal evolution: Heterogeneous kinetics and field demonstration

Temperature-responsive smart tracers enable advanced warning of a “premature thermal breakthrough” and may therefore improve reservoir management and reduce financial risk. A successful calculation of inter-well fluid temperatures requires that temperature-dependent kinetics are known, which typically result from homogeneous batch reactor experiments. However, recent meso-scale field experiments at the Altona Field Laboratory involving fluid flow in a discretely-fractured reservoir suggest that silica-fluid interfaces may accelerate hydrolysis kinetics. Here, the Arrhenius parameters of phenyl acetate hydrolysis are investigated under heterogeneous reaction conditions in packed-bed column experiments. The breakthrough curve of the reaction product is compared to an inert reference tracer (carbon-cored nanoparticles). Temperatures experienced during field testing ranging from 10 to 40 °C were studied using a phosphate buffer solution to maintain a near-neutral pH, as found in the reservoir. The empirically-determined pre-exponential factor and activation energy values are subsequently used in a first-order kinetic model to improve calculations of effective reservoir temperatures for these meso-scale field tests. Here, the results suggest that hydrolysis reactions can directly monitor inter-well reservoir temperatures, but only if the influence of solid-fluid interactions are carefully accounted for.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Insights of Boundary Layer Turbulence Over the Complex Terrain of Central Himalaya from GVAX Field Campaign

Limited observations hinder understanding of turbulent characteristics in mountainous terrain resulting from heating or cooling of slopes, wind, vertical motions, and heat or moisture advection, which disperse aerosols and other pollutants over the region. In this study, the 1290 MHz radar wind profiler data are utilized to compute the boundary layer height (BLH), the refractive index structure constant (C n 2 ), and the energy dissipation rate (ε) over the central Himalayan site for the period of November 2011 to March 2012, from the intense Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment (GVAX) field measurements. The radar wind profiler (RWP) based estimation of BLH and ε is validated against the radiosonde, representing the effectiveness of the datasets for further investigation. The strong seasonal variation of log C n 2 and log ε, with average values of ≈ -12 m -2/3 and -2 m 2 s -3 , respectively, is associated with the mountain-induced local circulations and stability in the atmospheric boundary layer. The weak stratification during weak flow is found to be responsible for deep mixing, particularly in the nocturnal boundary layer in spring. Furthermore, the level of cloud cover significantly impacts the strength of turbulence, with the highest cloud cover resulting in a substantial increase in log C n 2 (approximately -11 m -2/3 ) due to intense updraft and downdraft motions compared to clear skies. Additionally, the distribution of aerosol loading across the site, coupled with the behavior of BLH, atmospheric stability, and orographic-induced circulations, implies distinctive seasonal mechanisms for transporting aerosols toward the mountains. This study offers valuable insights into the diurnal and seasonal patterns of turbulent mixing and the mechanisms behind the transport of pollutants through boundary layer processes over the region.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1998

Polar Cap Plasma and Convection

This presentation will describe the character of the polar cap plasma in 10% AGU Spring 1998 particular the convection velocities at the perigee (about 1.8 Re) and apogee( about 8.9 Re) of Polar in relationship to Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and solar wind parameters. This plasma is thought to be due to several sources; the polar wind, cleft ion fountain, and auroral outflow. The plasma in the polar cap tends to be mostly field-aligned. At any given point in the polar cap, this plasma could be from a different regions since convection of magnetic field lines can transport this material. it is quite difficult to study such a phenomena with single point measurements. Current knowledge of the polar cap plasma obtained by in situ measurements will be presented along with recent results from the Polar mission. This study also examines the direct electrical coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere by comparing convection velocities measured by the Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment (TIDE) and Magnetic Field Experiment (MFE) instruments in magnetosphere and measurements of the ionosphere by ground-based radars. At times such a comparison is difficult because the Polar satellite at apogee spends a large amount of time in the polar cap which is a region that is not coverage well by the current SuperDam coherent radars. This is impart due to the lack of irregularities that returns the radar signal.

Elliott, Heather A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automated Tracking of Shallow Maritime Clouds on Geostationary Imagery to Extract Lifecycle Characteristics

Shallow moist convection is ubiquitous throughout the tropics and represents a key player in boundary layer processes. Satellites have provided many statistics on shallow clouds, such as size, structure, and geographical coverage, from static views of recurring cloud fields. But determining why certain cloud features appear and persist for different periods requires a time-evolving view of their behaviors. Geostationary satellites provide a unique opportunity to follow the time evolution of individual convective features, given their enhanced spatial and temporal sampling. A cloud-tracking tool was developed to identify properties of cloud lifecycle from the NASA Cloud, Aerosol, and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2EX) field campaign of 2019. The mission conducted intensive sampling of shallow cumulus in the West Pacific Ocean, in tandem with Rapid Scan imagery from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) on the Japan Meteorological Agency’s (JMA) Himawari-8 satellite. Shallow cumulus was segmented according to thresholds in 0.5-km visible reflectance and with blurring techniques. Despite being limited to daytime hours, the segmentations yielded the best resolution possible for capturing cloud initiation and decay. The tracking procedure is based on a computer vision package that includes Kalman filters for motion prediction, object overlap search, and the Hungarian (or Kuhn-Munkres) matching algorithm for track designation. AHI radiances available within the tracked cloud boundaries are assembled to form individual spectral histories. The resulting catalog provides thousands of cloud histories for domains measuring only a few degrees in latitude and longitude. We present an overview of the cloud-tracking tool, strategies to identify development stages from cloud tracks, and preliminary results that document cumulus lifecycle properties from satellite. The application of AHI 0.5-km reflectance has both strengths and limitations when attempting to track lifecycles of the smallest resolvable clouds. We show that by aggregating cloud tracks from a few case studies of CAMP2EX, we can discern differences in cloud lifetime and development according to ensembles selected from areas of interest. The results demonstrate an ability to quantify lifetimes and assess rates of change in cloud characteristics that are likely controlled by the surrounding environment and meteorology.

Cloud Tracking↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automated Tracking of Shallow Maritime Clouds on Geostationary Imagery to Extract Lifecycle Characteristics

Shallow moist convection is ubiquitous throughout the tropics and represents a key player in boundary layer processes. Satellites have provided valuable insight on shallow clouds, such as size, structure, and geographical coverage, from static views of recurring cloud fields. But determining why certain cloud features appear and persist for different periods requires a time-evolving view of their behaviors. Geostationary satellites provide a unique opportunity to follow the time evolution of individual convective features, given their enhanced spatial and temporal sampling. A cloud-tracking tool was developed to identify properties of cloud lifecycle from the NASA Cloud, Aerosol, and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2EX) field campaign of 2019. The mission conducted intensive sampling of shallow cumulus in the West Pacific Ocean, in tandem with Rapid Scan imagery from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) on the Japan Meteorological Agency’s (JMA) Himawari-8 satellite. Shallow cumulus were segmented according to thresholds in 0.5-km visible reflectance and with blurring techniques. Despite being limited to daytime hours, the segmentations yielded the best resolution available for capturing cloud initiation, growth, and decay. The tracking procedure is based on a computer vision package that includes Kalman filters for motion prediction, object overlap search, and the Hungarian (or Kuhn-Munkres) matching algorithm for track designation. AHI radiances available within the tracked cloud boundaries are assembled to form individual spectral histories. The resulting catalog provides thousands of cloud histories for domains measuring only a few degrees in latitude and longitude. We present an overview of the cloud-tracking tool and its results for cloud fields sampled throughout CAMP2EX by the airborne P-3. Cloud tracks were selected from about 10 flights to form ensembles, specific groups of tracks occurring in a region with airborne sampling. Cloud lifecycle properties, including duration and maximum area, are calculated for all ensemble members, and analyzed for cloud behavior and P-3 coincidences. By following this strategy, we quantitatively assess the degree of airborne sampling for specific cloud classes defined by the lifecycle calculations. We can summarize which cloud classes had more sampling, the stage of development during sampling, and general differences in character (e.g., isolated congestus vs. cold-pool producer).

Cloud Tracking↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assessment of Lost Circulation Material Particle-Size Distribution on Fracture Sealing: A Numerical Study

Summary Lost circulation materials (LCMs) are essential to combat fluid loss while drilling and may put the whole operation at risk if a proper LCM design is not used. The focus of this research is understanding the function of LCMs in sealing fractures to reduce fluid loss. One important consideration in the success of fracture sealing is the particle-size distribution (PSD) of LCMs. Various studies have suggested different guidelines for obtaining the best size distribution of LCMs for effective fracture sealing based on limited laboratory experiments or field observations. Hence, there is a need for sophisticated numerical methods to improve the LCM design by providing some predictive capabilities. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element methods (DEM) numerical simulations are coupled to investigate the influence of PSD of granular LCMs on fracture sealing. Dimensionless variables were introduced to compare cases with different PSDs. We validated the CFD-DEM model in reproducing specific laboratory observations of fracture-sealing experiments within the model boundary parameters. Our simulations suggested that a bimodally distributed blend would be the most effective design in comparison to other PSDs tested here.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reconstruction of plasma equilibrium and eddy current induced error fields in the Lithium Tokamak eXperiment-β (Final Report)

This is the final report for the DOE award DE-SC0019239, titled “Reconstruction of plasma equilibrium and eddy current induced error fields in the Lithium Tokamak eXperiment-b” for the period July 1, 2018 – July 2, 2023. This award supported research into computational models for plasma equilibrium and 3D conducting structures in the Lithium Tokamak eXperiment-b (LTX-b) using the PSI-Tri/TokaMaker and PSI-Tet codes. Additional detail on progress in support of these tasks is provided below.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of the Kicker transient magnetic field in the Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermilab

The Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab has the main goal to measure the muon anomalous magnetic moment $a_µ = \frac{g−2}{2}$ to a precision of 140 parts per billion (ppb), which means 4 times improvement in precision with respect to the final result from BNL: a µ (expt.B N L) = 11659208.0(6.3)×10 −10 (540 ppb) So far only RUN1 data have been analyzed showing the following improvement: a µ (expt.RU N1) = 116592061×10 −11 (465 ppb) In this report I summarize the work done at the g-2 experiment during my summer internship at Fermilab where I worked on the attempt to estimate the kicker transient field contribution in the Muon g-2 experiment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Gamma ray burst source locations with the new interplanetary network

The celestial source fields of gamma ray bursts can now be determined with precision considerably greater than that provided by earlier interplanetary networks. A new burst timing array consists of the Ulysses mission and the Pioneer-Venus Orbiter at great distances and the Compton Observatory, Granat, and other burst-observing spacecraft near the Earth. With Ulysses providing a baseline approaching five astronomical units in its progress towards Jupiter, and given the timing resolution of the Compton Burst and Transient Source Experiment, source fields with dimensions as small as several arc seconds by less than one arc minute will be determined for many of the events to be studied within this network.

Cline, T. L.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Uncertainty Quantification by Monte Carlo Analysis using CFD Simulations for GEMIX Benchmark Activities

Uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods can be applied to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for determining the uncertainty bands of the simulations results. In order to determine the applicability of these different methods, simple benchmark activities have been conducted by various group for comparison. The GEMIX (Generic Mixing experiment) test facility was used to develop benchmark data for this purpose by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). The facility involves the mixing of two fluids that are initially separated. One of the two fluids is water with sugar dissolved in it to create a fluid with similar fluid properties to water, except for density. The other fluid was distilled water to reduce the uncertainty in the fluid's properties. During the experiments, velocity fields and concentration measurements were acquired at several planes of interest. The velocity fields were acquired using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and concentrations of each fluid were acquired using laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The inlet velocity profiles were acquired using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV). The activity provided the opportunity to vary turbulence models, meshing methodologies, and numerical schemes for creation of uncertainty estimates. The present study investigates the usage of a simple Monte Carlo (MC) technique for varying the inlet boundary conditions of each inlet. The velocity profiles and densities of each inlet were specifically varied based on experiment measurement uncertainty. The intent was to isolate the uncertainty due to inlet quantities and not related to meshing, numerical scheme, or turbulence models. The comparisons of experimental and simulation results were found to be reasonably accurate. Though deficiencies were identified in the modeling approach to be corrected in future works by the authors. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗