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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 1,729 records · Page 96
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Nonlocal effects on thermal transport in hydrodynamic simulations of unmagnetized MagLIF-relevant gaspipes on NIF

We present simulations of heat flow relevant to gaspipe experiments on the National Ignition Facility to investigate kinetic effects on transport phenomena. D 2 and neopentane (C 5 H 12 ) filled targets are used to study the laser preheat stage of a MagLIF scheme where an axial magnetic field is sometimes applied to the target. Simulations were done with the radiation-MHD code HYDRA with a collision-dominated fluid model and the SNB nonlocal electron thermal conduction model. Using the SNB model to evolve the electron temperature increased the heat front propagation of neopentane gas targets compared to a local model by limiting radial heat flow. This increases electron temperature near the axis, which decreases laser absorption. We find that the effect of heat flow models on temperature profiles and laser propagation is modest. Beyond the SNB model, we utilize HYDRA to initialize plasma conditions for the Vlasov–Fokker–Planck K2 code. We run K2 until a quasi-steady state is reached and examine the impact of kinetic effects on heat transport. Although axial heat flow is well predicted by fluid models, the fluid model consistently overpredicts radial heat flow up to 150% in regions with the largest temperature gradient of D 2 filled gaspipes. On the other hand, the SNB nonlocal electron conduction model is found to be adequate for capturing kinetic heat flow in gaspipes.

Lau, Ryan Y. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (Unit↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of near- and far-field impurity flows during pellet-induced rapid shutdown in DIII-D

Both near-field (<1 m away toroidally from the pellet) and far-field (>1 m away toroidally from the pellet) poloidal and toroidal impurity (carbon ion) flows are measured using visible imaging and fast bolometry during a polypropylene pellet-induced rapid plasma shutdown in the DIII-D tokamak. In the near field, the pellet appears to increase poloidal flow in the ion diamagnetic direction, possibly due to the strong radial temperature gradient caused by the pellet ablation. In the far field, the poloidal impurity flow typically appears slower and in the opposite direction. Toroidal impurity flow appears to be strongly influenced by the plasma initial toroidal rotation, especially in the far field. These results demonstrate that rapid shutdown impurity flows are not necessarily global in structure but can be quite different close to and far from the injected pellet.

Electromagnetic radiation detectors↗
DOE OSTI2026

Benchmarking core turbulence and transport predictions for an inductive compact tokamak reactor plasma

Motivated by the need for accurate, timely, and efficient calculations of plasma transport, predictions of plasma turbulence properties made using different TGLF saturation rules are benchmarked against corresponding predictions from linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic CGYRO simulations. This benchmarking is carried out using parameters taken from an inductive burning plasma scenario in a hypothetical compact high-field (R maj = 4 m, B T = 8 T) tokamak, lying in a much different regime of parameter space than either the TGLF calibration regime or current-day experiments. The core turbulent transport in this scenario is predicted to be dominated by ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence. In general, the ITG critical gradients predicted by various TGLF saturation rules are quite close to the CGYRO predictions. Both codes predict similar linear ITG growth rates and frequency spectra, as well as their scaling with R/L T i = −Rd ln(T i )/dr. However, TGLF systematically predicts unstable trapped-electron modes (TEMs) above k y ρ s ≃ 0.5 not seen by CGYRO for the same parameters, due to TGLF predicting a lower threshold in R/L T e than CGYRO for TEM onset. It is shown that for this scenario, nonlinear CGYRO simulations predict stiffer ITG turbulence than the TGLF SAT0 and SAT1 saturation rules, with energy fluxes close in magnitude and scaling with R/L T i to what is predicted by the SAT2 saturation rule. Self-consistent core profiles calculated using nonlinear CGYRO flux predictions and the PORTALS transport solver are shown to agree fairly well with corresponding predictions made using the TGLF SAT2 model, including a similar level of density peaking.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Near-term tropical cyclone risk and coupled Earth system model biases

Most current climate models predict that the equatorial Pacific will evolve under greenhouse gas–induced warming to a more El Niño-like state over the next several decades, with a reduced zonal sea surface temperature gradient and weakened atmospheric Walker circulation. Yet, observations over the last 50 y show the opposite trend, toward a more La Niña-like state. Recent research provides evidence that the discrepancy cannot be dismissed as due to internal variability but rather that the models are incorrectly simulating the equatorial Pacific response to greenhouse gas warming. This implies that projections of regional tropical cyclone activity may be incorrect as well, perhaps even in the direction of change, in ways that can be understood by analogy to historical El Niño and La Niña events: North Pacific tropical cyclone projections will be too active, North Atlantic ones not active enough, for example. Other perils, including severe convective storms and droughts, will also be projected erroneously. While it can be argued that these errors are transient, such that the models’ responses to greenhouse gases may be correct in equilibrium, the transient response is relevant for climate adaptation in the next several decades. Given the urgency of understanding regional patterns of climate risk in the near term, it would be desirable to develop projections that represent a broader range of possible future tropical Pacific warming scenarios—including some in which recent historical trends continue—even if such projections cannot currently be produced using existing coupled earth system models.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Feasibility Assessment of a Natural-Circulation Salt Irradiation Loop in the Advanced Test Reactor

Molten-salt reactors will likely require some level of irradiation testing as part of their licensing basis. An ideal experiment would consider the integrated effect of neutron flux and fission product generation in addition to circulating flow conditions. The feasibility of a natural-circulation irradiation salt loop in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is assessed here. The flow is induced by the innovative combination of gas gaps and fin gaps along the capsule wall to fine-tune radial heat conductance, and therefore drive an axial temperature gradient across the experiment height. Following multiple design optimizations, a promising configuration has been identified. The 45-kW experiment would generate a 0.15 m/s flow velocity with 6 kg of fuel-bearing salt. This demonstrates the possibility of generating appreciable flow rates within manageable experimental conditions (e.g., total size and heat generation). An initial assessment of species mass tracking inside the experiment was also performed to gain an understanding of radionuclide behavior within the system. Results showed that significant quantities of Xe can be extracted in the off-gas (1.7 kCi) for an 8% bubble removal efficiency rate. Here, these results highlight the potential value of such experiments. Further work will involve detailed engineering drawings and analyses of the loop, as well as more computationally expensive modeling of species mass tracking.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Performance Comparison of Helium and sCO 2 as Coolants for Modular Finger-Type Divertors

Several studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology have evaluated the thermal and fluids performance of the helium-cooled modular divertor with multiple jets (HEMJ) over the past decade. This finger-type divertor was studied both experimentally at nearly prototypical conditions and numerically at fully prototypical operating conditions using experimentally validated simulations. Recently, supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) has been studied as the primary coolant in power cycles and other applications in various systems, in part because CO 2 achieves the high densities typical of supercritical fluids at relatively low temperatures and pressures, with a critical point of (7.38 MPa, 31°C). This density makes it possible to realize very compact and efficient sCO 2 power cycles. The feasibility of sCO 2 as a coolant for plasma-facing components, specifically the divertor, was therefore evaluated as part of the Fusion Energy System Studies design study activities. This work compares the thermal-fluid performance of helium and sCO 2 in the HEMJ divertor geometry using numerical simulations at prototypical conditions: inlet temperatures T i = 600°C to 700°C, pressures p ≈ 10 MPa, and steady-state incident heat fluxes on the tile q″ < 17 MW/m 2 . The performance is quantified here as the maximum heat flux that can be accommodated by the plasma-facing tile, the pumping power fraction, defined as the ratio of the coolant pumping power to the incident thermal power, and the operating stress limits based on ASME pressure vessel criteria. As expected, helium requires lower mass flow rates and pumping power fractions within imposed maximum temperature limits for the HEMJ pressure boundary. However, it also appears that neither helium nor sCO 2 can remove 10 MW/m 2 of incident heat flux while meeting ASME pressure vessel criteria. Finally, the numerical modeling reveals that sCO 2 may remove slightly higher incident heat fluxes than helium due to the imposed stress limits due to the sCO 2 coolant resulting in smaller local temperature gradients, albeit at a considerably higher pumping power fraction.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mitigated Dissimilar Mass Transfer with Aluminized RAFM Steels in Flowing PbLi at 650°C

To evaluate dissimilar material interactions in flowing eutectic Pb-16at. %Li between fusion-relevant materials and to establish a maximum operating temperature of future blanket designs, a series of thermal convection loop (TCL) experiments with flowing PbLi have been conducted. Following a 1000-h, 550°C to 650°C TCL experiment, a thin reaction product was observed on the surface of monolithic, high-purity SiC. To identify the source of the observed dissimilar material interaction and to understand the reaction kinetics, an identical 2000-h TCL exposure was conducted, but less reaction of the SiC specimen was observed. Characterization of the FeCrAlMo (alloy APMT) loop tubing and the PbLi-exposed austenitic stainless steel (SS) assembly parts suggested that the formation of the reaction layer on the surface of the PbLi-exposed SiC did not originate from the coated reduced activation ferritic martensitic (RAFM) steel, but from the dissolved loop materials (liquid metal exposed APMT tubing and type 316 SS fittings). Here, the results, after 2000 h, suggest that the dissimilar material reaction between the Al-coated RAFM steel and the SiC has very slow reaction kinetics within a temperature gradient of 550°C to 650°C.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

L to H mode transition: Parametric dependencies of the temperature threshold

The L to H mode transition occurs at a critical power which depends on various parameters, such as the magnetic field, the density, etc. Experimental evidence on various tokamaks (JET, ASDEX-Upgrade, DIII-D, Alcator C-Mod) points towards the existence of a critical temperature characterizing the transition. This criterion for the L-H transition is local and is therefore easier to be compared to theoretical approaches. In order to shed light on the mechanisms of the transition, simple theoretical ideas are used to derive a temperature threshold (T th ). They are based on the stabilization of the underlying turbulence by a mean radial electric field shear. The nature of the turbulence varies as the collisionality decreases, from resistive ballooning modes to ion temperature gradient and trapped electron modes. The obtained parametric dependencies of the derived T th are tested versus magnetic field, density, effective charge. Furthermore, various robust experimental observations are reproduced, in particular T th increases with magnetic field B and increases with density below the density roll-over observed on the power threshold.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Microturbulence in DIII-D tokamak pedestal. II. Electromagnetic instabilities

Here, gyrokinetic simulations have been used to identify electromagnetic microinstabilities in the H-mode pedestal region of DIII-D shot 131 997 using global gyrokinetic code GTC. It was found that dominant instability at the top of the pedestal is the ion temperature gradient mode (ITG). In the maximum gradient location the most unstable mode is the kinetic ballooning mode (KBM) for the dominant poloidal wavenumber κ 0 ≈1 cm -1 . For shorter wavelengths the dominant instability is the trapped-electron mode (TEM). In this work, we have shown the ITG–KBM transition at the pedestal top, and TEM–KBM transition in the steep pressure gradient region as plasma pressure increases while gradients remain unchanged.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Bifurcation physics of magnetic islands and stochasticity explored by heat pulse propagation studies in toroidal plasmas

Bifurcation physics of the magnetic island was investigated using the heat pulse propagation technique produced by the modulation of electron cyclotron heating. There are two types of bifurcation phenomena observed in LHD and DIII-D. One is a bifurcation of the magnetic topology between nested and stochastic fields. The nested state is characterized by the bi-directional (inward and outward) propagation of the heat pulse with slow propagation speed. The stochastic state is characterized by the fast propagation of the heat pulse with electron temperature flattening. The other bifurcation is between magnetic island with larger thermal diffusivity and that with smaller thermal diffusivity. The damping of toroidal flow is observed at the O-point of the magnetic island both in helical plasmas and in tokamak plasmas during a mode locking phase with strong flow shears at the boundary of the magnetic island. Associated with the stochastization of the magnetic field, the abrupt damping of toroidal flow is observed in LHD. The toroidal flow shear shows a linear decay, while the ion temperature gradient shows an exponential decay. Lastly, this observation suggests that this flow damping is due to the change in the non-diffusive term of momentum transport.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Pfirsch–Schlüter neoclassical heavy impurity transport in a rotating plasma

In this paper, we extend previous analytic theories for the neoclassical transport of a trace heavy impurity in a rotating plasma in the Pfirsch-Schl¨uter regime. The complete diffusive and convective components of the ambipolar particle flux are derived. The solution is valid for arbitrary impurity charge and impurity Mach number and for general geometry. Inclusion of finite main ion temperature gradient effects is shown in the small ion Mach number limit. A simple interpolation formula is derived for the case of high impurity charge and circular geometry. While an enhancement of the diffusion coefficient is found for order one impurity Mach number, a reduction due to the rotation-driven poloidal asymmetry in the density occurs for very large Mach number.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Monte Carlo model for 3D grain evolution during welding

Welding is one of the most wide-spread processes used in metal joining. However, there are currently no open-source software implementations for the simulation of microstructural evolution during a weld pass. Here we describe a Potts Monte Carlo based model implemented in the SPPARKS kinetic Monte Carlo computational framework. The model simulates melting, solidification and solid-state microstructural evolution of material in the fusion and heat-affected zones of a weld. The model does not simulate thermal behavior, but rather utilizes user input parameters to specify weld pool and heat-affect zone properties. Weld pool shapes are specified by Bezier curves, which allow for the specification of a wide range of pool shapes. Pool shapes can range from narrow and deep to wide and shallow representing different fluid flow conditions within the pool. Surrounding temperature gradients are calculated with the aide of a closest point projection algorithm. Furthermore, the model also allows simulation of pulsed power welding through time-dependent variation of the weld pool size. Example simulation results and comparisons with laboratory weld observations demonstrate microstructural variation with weld speed, pool shape, and pulsed-power.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Matching time and spatial scales of rapid solidification: Dynamic TEM experiments coupled to CALPHAD-informed phase-field simulations

A combination of dynamic transmission electron microscopy (DTEM) experiments and CALPHAD-informed phase-field simulations was used to study rapid solidification in Cu–Ni thin-film alloys. Experiments—conducted in the DTEM—consisted of in situ laser melting and determination of the solidification kinetics by monitoring the solid–liquid interface and the overall microstructure evolution (time-resolved measurements) during the solidification process. Modelling of the Cu–Ni alloy microstructure evolution was based on a phase-field model that included realistic Gibbs energies and diffusion coefficients from the CALPHAD framework (thermodynamic and mobility databases). DTEM and post mortem experiments highlighted the formation of microsegregation-free columnar grains with interface velocities varying from ~0.1 to ~0.6 m s –1 . After an 'incubation' time, the velocity of the planar solid–liquid interface accelerated until solidification was complete. In addition, a decrease of the temperature gradient induced a decrease in the interface velocity. The modelling strategy permitted the simulation (in 1D and 2D) of the solidification process from the initially diffusion-controlled to the nearly partitionless regimes. Lastly, results of DTEM experiments and phase-field simulations (grain morphology, solute distribution, and solid–liquid interface velocity) were consistent at similar time (μs) and spatial scales (μm).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solidification and grain formation in alloys: a 2D application of the grand-potential-based phase-field approach

Solidification is a significant step in the forming of crystalline structures during various manufacturing and material processing techniques. Solidification characteristics and the microstructures formed during the process dictate the properties and performance of the materials. Hence, understanding how the process conditions relate to various microstructure formations is paramount. In this work, a grand-potential-based multi-phase, multi-component, multi-order-parameter phase-field model is used to demonstrate the solidification of alloys in 2D. This model has several key advantages over other multi-phase models such as it decouples the bulk energy from the interfacial energy, removes the constraints for the phase concentration variable, and prevents spurious third-phase formation at the two phase interfaces. Here, the model is implemented in a finite-element-based phase-field modeling code. The role of various modeling parameters in governing the solidification rate and the shape of the solidified structure is evaluated. It is demonstrated that the process conditions such as temperature gradient, thermal diffusion, cooling rate, etc, influence the solidification characteristics by altering the level of undercooling. Furthermore, the capability of the model to capture directional solidification and polycrystalline structure formation exhibiting various grain shapes is illustrated. In both these cases, the process conditions have been related to the growth rate and associated shape of the dendritic structure. As a result, this work serves as a stepping stone towards resolving the larger problem of understanding the process–structure–property–performance correlation in solidified materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Implications of advanced collision operators for gyrokinetic simulation

In this paper, we explore both the potential improvements and pitfalls that arise when using advanced collision models in gyrokinetic simulations of plasma microinstabilities. Comparisons are made between the simple-but-standard electron Lorentz operator and specific variations of the advanced Sugama operator. The Sugama operator describes multi-species collisions including energy diffusion, momentum and energy conservation terms, and is valid for arbitrary wavelength. We report scans over collision frequency for both low and high ${k}_{\theta }{\rho }_{s}$ modes, with relevance for multiscale simulations that couple ion and electron scale physics. The influence of the ion–ion collision terms—not retained in the electron Lorentz model—on the damping of zonal flows is also explored. Collision frequency scans for linear and nonlinear simulations of ion-temperature-gradient instabilities including impurity ions are presented. Finally, implications for modeling turbulence in the highly collisional edge are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Fusion applications for lithium: wall conditioning in magnetic confinement devices

The application of lithium to plasma facing components (PFCs) has been widely used to improve plasma performance in magnetic confinement devices. The ability of lithium to retain hydrogen isotopes has been exploited to lower wall recycling. Low recycling leads to high edge plasma temperatures, and decreased temperature gradients reduce the free energy source for microinstabilities that cause transport. A variety of techniques have been developed to introduce lithium into fusion research devices, and its beneficial effects have been observed in their plasmas. The mechanism for the retention of hydrogen isotopes has been elucidated by detailed surface science studies, and 'first principles' molecular dynamics simulations. The remaining challenges primarily pertain to long pulse operation. Our knowledge of erosion, transport, and redeposition needs to improve for the mixed material PFCs lithium creates. As a result, flowing liquid lithium systems also must be demonstrated for the replenishable lithium walls that fusion reactors require.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Validation of gyrokinetic simulations of a National Spherical Torus eXperiment H-mode plasma and comparisons with a high-k scattering synthetic diagnostic

A new extensive validation study performed for a modest-beta National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX) neutral beam injection-heated H-mode discharge predicts that electron thermal transport can be entirely explained by short-wavelength electron-scale turbulence fluctuations driven by the electron temperature gradient mode (ETG), both in conditions of strong and weak ETG turbulence drive. Quantitative comparisons between high-k fluctuation measurements and simulations are performed via a novel synthetic high-k diagnostic. Computationally intensive electron-scale simulations featuring an unusually large domain (L r , L θ ) ~ (20, 20)ρ s are shown to be required for accurate deployment of the synthetic diagnostic. Ion thermal transport is shown to be close to neoclassical levels, consistent with stable ion-scale turbulence simulations conducted with the GYRO code. Electron-scale GYRO simulations are shown to match the thermal power-balance estimates from TRANSP. The frequency spectra characteristics of electron-scale turbulence (spectral peak and width) can be consistently reproduced by the synthetic spectra, but these reveal not to be a critical constraint on the simulation model. The shape of the high-k wavenumber spectrum and the fluctuation level ratio between the strong and weak ETG conditions can also be simultaneously matched by electron-scale simulations within sensitivity scans about the experimental profile values, and result to be great discriminators of the turbulence models analyzed. Together, electron thermal power comparisons and quantitative agreement of electron-scale turbulence spectra give strong evidence supporting electron-scale ETG fluctuations as the main mechanism driving anomalous electron thermal transport in the two outer-core conditions of the modest-beta NSTX H-mode analyzed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Recent progress on neoclassical impurity transport in stellarators with implications for a stellarator reactor

Accumulation of impurities in the core of the plasma is a potential problem for any fusion reactor, and is thought to be especially problematic for stellarators. We use the collisional transport code SFINCS to calculate, in a reactor stellarator scenario, the effects of flux-surface electrostatic potential variation on tungsten transport. The potential variation is found to have a large effect on the transport, reversing the sign of the transport coefficients related to the radial electric field and the bulk ion temperature gradient, and also increasing the magnitude of the former by two orders of magnitude. We optimize the electrostatic potential variation to minimize impurity accumulation, resulting in a 20%–50% reduction of the inward impurity flux. Furthermore, we investigate whether the electrostatic potential variation caused by fast particles due to ion-cyclotron resonance heating can be used to reduce the impurity accumulation, but find the effect to be small in the cases considered.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗