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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Scalable freeform optimization of wide-aperture 3D metalenses by zoned discrete axisymmetry

We introduce a novel framework for design and optimization of 3D freeform metalenses that attains nearly linear scaling of computational cost with diameter, by breaking the lens into a sequence of radial “zones” with 𝑛-fold discrete axisymmetry, where 𝑛 increases with radius. This allows vastly more design freedom than imposing continuous axisymmetry, while avoiding the compromises of the locally periodic approximation (LPA) or scalar diffraction theory. Using a GPU-accelerated finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solver in cylindrical coordinates, we perform full-wave simulation and topology optimization within each supra-wavelength zone. We validate our approach by designing millimeter and centimeter-scale, poly-achromatic, 3D freeform metalenses which outperform the state of the art. By demonstrating the scalability and resulting optical performance enabled by our “zoned discrete axisymmetry” (ZDA) and supra-wavelength domain decomposition, we highlight the potential of our framework to advance large-scale meta-optics and next-generation photonic technologies.

Sun, Mengdi [Wesleyan University]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Inferring the scrape-off layer heat flux width in a divertor with a low degree of axisymmetry

Plasma facing components (PFCs) in the next generation of tokamak devices will operate in challenging environments, with heat loads predicted to exceed 10 MWm -2 . The magnitude of these heat loads is set by the width of the channel, the ‘scrape-off layer’ (SOL), into which heat is exhausted, and can be characterised by an e-folding length scale for the decay of heat flux across the channel. It is expected this channel will narrow as tokamaks move towards reactor relevant conditions. Understanding the processes involved in setting the SOL heat flux width is imperative to be able to predict the heat loads PFCs must handle in future devices. Measurements of the SOL width are performed on the high-field spherical tokamak, ST40, using a newly commissioned infrared thermography system. With its high on-axis toroidal magnetic field (≥1.5 T) ST40 is uniquely positioned to investigate the influence of toroidal field on the heat flux width in spherical tokamaks, whilst also extending measurements of the SOL width in spherical tokamaks to increased poloidal field (≥0.3 T). Due to the divertor on ST40 having a low degree of axisymmetry, it is necessary for a set of radial measurements of the heat flux to be taken across the divertor, made possible using an automated toolchain that fully incorporates its 3D geometry. These radial profiles are combined with the magnetic geometry of the plasma to infer the width of the SOL, with both Eich and double exponential profiles of heat flux observed. A reduction in the heat flux is observed toroidally across part of the divertor, along with increased heat loads observed locally around the edges of the tiles. Future work in characterising the impact of tile misalignment and uncertainties in the reconstructed divertor magnetic geometry is required in order to further understand the observed heat flux patterns, as are additional investigations into the role potentially being played by an inhomogeneous sheath electric field.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1982

Reducing the non-axisymmetry of a planetary dynamo and an application to Saturn

A simple model for the tendency toward axisymmetrization observed in planets is developed. The model is presented in general but linear form, assuming that the differentially rotating fluid is thin, which means that Lorentz forces or Ohmic dissipation are neglected. Two cases are considered: uniform shear throughout the shell and shear concentrated within a very thin boundary layer. In each case, explicit expressions are obtained for the spatial attenuation of the non-spin-axisymmetric field components. The substantial nonlinear effects which prevent these results from being directly applicable to planets are discussed, with particular emphasis on the Taylor constraint. The model is applied to Saturn and found to give a satisfactory semiquantitative explanation for the near-axisymmetry of the field. The parameter choices required to reproduce the observed tilt are entirely reasonable and potentially testable. The model explains why Jupiter and Saturn are so different.

Stevenson, D. J.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Force-free Wave Interaction in Magnetar Magnetospheres: Computational Modeling in Axisymmetry

Abstract Crustal quakes of highly magnetized neutron stars can disrupt their magnetospheres, triggering energetic phenomena like X-ray and fast radio bursts. Understanding plasma wave dynamics in these extreme environments is vital for predicting energy transport across scales to the radiation length. This study models relativistic plasma wave interaction in magnetar magnetospheres with force-free electrodynamics simulations. For propagation along curved magnetic field lines, we observe the continuous conversion of Alfvén waves to fast magnetosonic (FMS) waves. The conversion efficiency can be up to three times higher when counter-propagating Alfvén waves interact in the equatorial region. Alfvén waves generate FMS waves of twice their frequency during their first crossing of the magnetosphere. After the initial transient burst of FMS waves, Alfvén waves convert to FMS waves periodically, generating variations on timescales of the magnetospheric Alfvén wave crossing time. This decaying FMS wave tail carries a significant portion (half) of the total energy emitted. Plastic damping of “bouncing” Alfvén waves by the magnetar crust has minimal impact on the FMS efficiency. We discuss the implications of the identified wave phenomena for magnetar observations. Outgoing FMS waves can develop electric zones, potential sources of coherent radiation. Long wavelength FMS waves could generate FRBs through reconnection beyond the light cylinder.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
NASA NTRS1990

A helically distorted MHD flux rope model

A flux rope model is proposed which has a variable degree of helical distortion from axisymmetry. The basis for this suggestion is a series of numerical and analytical investigations of magnetohydrodynamic states which result when an axial electric current is directed down on dc magnetic field. The helically distorted states involve a flow velocity and seem to be favored because of their lower rate of energy dissipation. Emphasis is on the magnetometer and particle energy analyzer traces that might be characteristic of such flux ropes. It is shown that even a fractionally small helical distortion may considerably alter the traces in minimum-variance coordinates. In short, what may be fairly common MHD processes can render a flux rope almost unrecognizable under standard diagnostics, even if the departures from axisymmetry are not great.

Theobald, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Some characteristics of small-scale turbulence in a turbulent duct flow

The fine-scale structure of turbulence in a fully developed turbulent duct flow is examined by considering the 3D velocity derivative field obtained from direct numerical simulations at two relatively small Reynolds numbers. The magnitudes of all mean-square derivatives (normalized by wall variables) increase with the Reynolds number, the increase being largest at the wall. These magnitudes are not consistent with the assumption of local isotropy except perhaps near the duct center-line. When the assumption of local isotropy is relaxed to one of local axisymmetry, or invariance with respect to rotation about a coordinate axis (here chosen in the streamwise direction), satisfactory agreement is indicated by the data outside the wall region. Support for axisymmetry is demonstrated by anisotropy invariant maps of the dissipation and vorticity tensors.

Antonia, R. A.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Helicon edge heating in Proto-MPEX: Azimuthally resolved RF modeling

The Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) is a linear device under construction at ORNL. MPEX employs a variety of heating systems, including a helicon antenna, which is the subject of this work. Lacking a resonant absorption mechanism, as tokamaks have, modeling the RF power absorption in such antennas requires detailed consideration of cold collisional physics. Previous modeling of the heating in this antenna was done exclusively in 2D, assuming axisymmetry and a single azimuthal mode number m = 1⁠. In this study, we introduce a fully 3D model. By including the full 3D physics, with its self-consistent geometry-imposed azimuthal spectrum, we are able to reproduce the experimentally observed transition from edge heating to core heating.

Tierens, Wouter [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (OR↗
DOE OSTI2024

Roles of non-axisymmetric perturbations in free drift vertical displacement events on EAST

Abstract The safe operation of most tokamaks, especially the large ones, relies on the feedback control of vertical displacement events (VDEs). However, most of these feedback control systems are based on axisymmetric VDE models. In this study, we use NIMROD simulations to study the role of non-axisymmetric perturbations in free drift vertical displacement events on EAST. The high- n modes in the non-axisymmetric VDE grow first, which drives the formation of high- n magnetic island chains. Subsequently, the magnetic island chains grow and overlap with each other, leading to the destruction of the magnetic flux surface, which induces a minor disruption and accelerates the start of the following major disruption. The magnetic island and the stochastic magnetic field allow the toroidally non-axisymmetric poloidal plasma current to jet towards the hoop force direction, forming finger-like and filamentary structures. Such a plasma current non-axisymmetry strongly depends on the anisotropy in the thermal transport coefficients.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

2D end-to-end modelling of kilonovae from binary neutron star merger remnants

We investigate the kilonova emission resulting from outflows produced in a 3D general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulation of a hypermassive neutron star (HMNS) remnant. We map the outflows into the flash hydrodynamics code to model their expansion in axisymmetry, and study the effects of employing different r-process heating rates. Except for the highest heating rate prescription, we find no significant differences with respect to overall ejecta dynamics and morphology compared to the simulation without heating. Once homologous expansion is attained, typically after ~2s for these ejecta, we map the outflows to the sedona radiative transfer code and compute the spectral evolution of the kilonova and broad-band light curves in various Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) bands. The kilonova properties depend on the remnant lifetime, with peak luminosities and peak time-scales increasing for longer lived remnants that produce more massive ejecta. For all models, there is a strong dependence of both the bolometric and broad-band light curves on the viewing angle. While the short-lived (12 ms) remnant produces higher luminosities when viewed from angles closer to the pole, longer lived remnants (240 ms and 2.5 s) are more luminous when viewed from angles closer to the equator. Our results highlight the importance of self-consistent, long-term modelling of merger ejecta, and taking viewing-angle dependence into account when interpreting observed kilonova light curves. We find that magnetized outflows from an HMNS – if it survives long enough – could explain blue kilonovae, such as the blue emission seen in AT2017gfo.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Analysis of the Blowout Plasma Wakefields Produced by Drive Beams with Elliptical Symmetry

In the underdense, or blowout regime, of plasma wakefield acceleration, the particle beam is denser than the plasma. In this scenario, the plasma electrons are nearly completely rarefied from the beam channel, leaving only a nominally uniform ion-filled “bubble.” Extensive investigations of this interaction assuming axisymmetry have been undertaken. However, the blowout produced by a transversely asymmetric (flat) driver, which would be present in linear collider “afterburner” schemes, possesses quite different characteristics. Such beams create an asymmetric plasma bubble which leads to unequal focusing in the two transverse dimensions, accompanied by a nonuniform accelerating gradient. The asymmetric blowout cross section is found through simulation to be elliptical, and treating it as such permits a simple extension of the symmetric theory. In particular, focusing fields linear in both transverse directions inside the bubble are found. The form of the wake potential and the associated beam-matching conditions in this elliptical cavity are discussed. Here, we also examine blowout boundary estimation in the long driver limit and applications of the salient asymmetric features of the wakefield.

Manwani, P. [University of California, Los Angeles↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling of Macroscopic Dynamics in Three-Dimensional Plasma Configurations (Final Technical Report)

A numerical simulation-based study to investigate the stability properties of inherently three-dimensional plasma magnetic configurations is presented. These configurations, called stellarators and heliotrons, use external helical coils to provide the twisting magnetic field that is required to confine ionized plasma particles. In contrast to the tokamak configuration, which nominally has the property of axisymmetry, electrical current does not need to be induced in stellarator and heliotron plasma. Experiments have shown that these three-dimensional configurations are remarkably robust to macroscopic instability, even when driven to relatively high levels of plasma pressure. Our understanding of how the plasma is able to withstand macroscopic instability will be enhanced by the work proposed here. The effort will generalize existing numerical modeling capability, and it will apply the new capability to model macroscopic dynamics in these three-dimensional configurations. The development work has been applied to the NIMROD simulation code (https://nimrodteam.org) that was originally based on axisymmetric problem domains. It has been generalized to accommodate the three-dimensional shaping of the plasma volume in stellarators and heliotrons. Its use of equilibrium data has also been generalized, and the implementation allows different numerical representation of the magnetic field. Analysis has been performed to inform the selection of numerical methods, and a method to accelerate the iterative solution of the necessary algebraic systems has been developed and implemented. Verification of the new NIMSTELL code on benchmark problems has also been an important part of the effort.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

CRADA Final Report: CRADA Number NFE-22-09330 with General Fusion

General Fusion is developing a magnetized target fusion (MTF) approach that involves compressing an initial magnetically confined plasma inside a cavity formed in liquid metal. This approach builds from concepts initially developed under the Linus program at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and combines it with advances from compact toroid experiment (CTX) and sustained spheromak plasma experiment (SSPX) in compact toroid plasmas and coaxial Marshall gun systems. Modeling the tokamak during compression is central to designing a successful MTF device. The plasma is formed by coaxial helicity injection in the General Fusion device. Immediately after formation, the plasma has a diverted tokamak configuration with a single null. As the wall moves inwards, the plasma is repelled from the conducting surface and driven inwards by currents induced by its magnetic field in the liquid metal wall. As the liquid metal closes (or bridges) the opening of the coaxial plasma injector, the magnetic field topology alters to remove the null. Due to this, the plasma moves from a diverted to a wall-limited configuration. The liquid metal liner continues to close in and change shape, reducing in radius by a factor of ten at the peak of plasma compression. A model of the MTF plasma must be able to handle this continually varying geometry, and to be predictive, it must faithfully include the real imperfections arising in the process. In this project, we pursued a Monte Carlo approach to closures for MHD by computing kinetic electron trajectories in an MHD plasma background from simulations of GF devices. This requires enhancing the capabilities of the KORC-T code for running large ensembles of kinetic trajectories by porting it to GPU architectures and enabling workflows for large ensembles on OLCF machines. With these capabilities, it is possible to produce a large library of kinetic calculations of electron orbits evolving in plasma configurations spanning the magnetic configurations and plasma density profiles, including non-axisymmetry, arising in the General Fusion’s existing PI3 spherical tokamak device. Using ensembles will capture particles passing a single point in space in a given magnetic configuration, and the entire dataset will cover a range of global magnetic field geometries. By sampling around many starting points, this dataset will capture the spatial dependence of the plasma parameters. From this large dataset, it is possible to produce a reduced model for the kinetic effects not captured in MHD.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1974

Solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for vortex breakdown

Steady solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations, in terms of velocity and pressure, for breakdown in an unconfined viscous vortex are obtained numerically using the artificial compressibility technique of Chorin combined with an ADI finite-difference scheme. Axisymmetry is assumed and boundary conditions are carefully applied at the boundaries of a large finite region in an axial plane while resolution near the axis is maintained by a coordinate transformation. The solutions, which are obtained for Reynolds numbers up to 200 based on the free-stream axial velocity and a characteristic core radius, show that breakdown results from the diffusion and convection of vorticity away from the vortex core which, because of the strong coupling between the circumferential and axial velocity fields in strongly swirling flows, can lead to stagnation and reversal of the axial flow near the axis.

Grabowski, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Buckling of conical shell with local imperfections

Small geometric imperfections in thin-walled shell structures can cause large reductions in buckling strength. Most imperfections found in structures are neither axisymmetric nor have the shape of buckling modes but rather occur locally. This report presents the results of a study of the effect of local imperfections on the critical buckling load of a specific axially compressed thin-walled conical shell. The buckling calculations were performed by using a two-dimensional shell analysis program referred to as the STAGS (Structural Analysis of General Shells) computer code, which has no axisymmetry restrictions. Results show that the buckling load found from a bifurcation buckling analysis is highly dependent on the circumferential arc length of the imperfection type studied. As the circumferential arc length of the imperfection is increased, a reduction of up to 50 percent of the critical load of the perfect shell can occur. The buckling load of the cone with an axisymmetric imperfections is nearly equal to the buckling load of imperfections which extended 60 deg or more around the circumference, but would give a highly conservative estimate of the buckling load of a shell with an imperfection of a more local nature.

Cooper, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Calculation of supersonic three-dimensional free-mixing flows using the parabolic-elliptic Navier-Stokes equations

A numerical method is presented which is valid for integration of the parabolic-elliptic Navier-Stokes equations. The solution procedure is applied to the three-dimensional supersonic flow of a jet issuing into a supersonic free stream. Difficulties associated with the imposition of free-stream boundary conditions are noted, and a coordinate transformation, which maps the point at infinity onto a finite value, is introduced to alleviate these difficulties. Results are presented for calculations of a square jet and varying-aspect-ratio rectangular jets. The solution behavior varies from axisymmetry for the square jet to nearly two-dimensional for the high-aspect-ratio rectangle, although the computation always calculates the flow as though it were truly three-dimensional.

Hirsh, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1977

A finite element algorithm for sound propagation in axisymmetric ducts containing compressible mean flow

An accurate mathematical model for sound propagation in axisymmetric aircraft engine ducts with compressible mean flow is reported. The model is based on the usual perturbation of the basic fluid mechanics equations for small motions. Mean flow parameters are derived in the absence of fluctuating quantities and are then substituted into the equations for the acoustic quantities which were linearized by eliminating higher order terms. Mean swirl is assumed to be zero from the restriction of axisymmetry. A linear rectangular serendipity element is formulated from these equations using a Galerkin procedure and assembled in a special purpose computer program in which the matrix map for a rectangular mesh was specifically coded. Representations of the fluctuating quantities, mean quantities and coordinate transformations are isoparametric. The global matrix is solved by foreward and back substitution following an L-U decomposition with pivoting restricted internally to the blocks. Results from the model were compared with results from several alternative analyses and yielded satisfactory agreement.

Abrahamson, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Instability of a compressible circular free jet with consideration of the influence of the jet boundary layer thickness

The instability of a circular jet was investigated by means of the inviscid linearized stability theory. By variation of a jet parameter which takes the ratio of jet radius to boundary layer thickness into account, the influence of axisymmetry on the spatial growth rate and disturbance phase velocity is studied. The influence of Mach number and temperature ratio is discussed. A comparison with measurements shows that the instability of a turbulent jet boundary layer may also be explained by these results.

Michalke, A.↗