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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 OSTI2022

Novel Relaxation Time Approximation: A Consistent Calculation of Transport Coefficients with QCD-inspired Relaxation Times

We use a novel formulation of the relaxation time approximation to consistently calculate the bulk and shear viscosity coefficients using QCDinspired energy-dependent relaxation times and phenomenological thermal masses obtained from fits to lattice QCD thermodynamics. The matching conditions are conveniently chosen to simplify the computations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Lineshape theory of pigment-protein complexes: How the finite relaxation time of nuclei influences the exciton relaxation-induced lifetime broadening

In pigment-protein complexes, often the excited states are partially delocalized and the exciton-vibrational coupling in the basis of delocalized states contains large diagonal and small off-diagonal elements. This inequality may be used to introduce potential energy surfaces (PESs) of exciton states and to treat the inter-PES coupling in Markov and secular approximations. The resulting lineshape function consists of a Lorentzian peak that is broadened by the finite lifetime of the exciton states caused by the inter-PES coupling and a vibrational sideband that results from the mutual displacement of the excitonic PESs with respect to that of the ground state. So far analytical expressions have been derived that relate the exciton relaxation-induced lifetime broadening to the Redfield [T. Renger and R. A. Marcus, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 9997 (2002)] or modified Redfield [M. Schröder, U. Kleinekathöfer, and M. Schreiber, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 084903 (2006)] rate constants of exciton relaxation, assuming that intra-PES nuclear relaxation is fast compared to inter-PES transfer. Here, we go beyond this approximation and provide an analytical expression, termed Non-equilibrium Modified Redfield (NeMoR) theory, for the lifetime broadening that takes into account the finite nuclear relaxation time. In an application of the theory to molecular dimers, we find that, for a widely used experimental spectral density of the exciton-vibrational coupling of pigment-protein complexes, the NeMoR spectrum at low-temperatures (T < 150 K) is better approximated by Redfield than by modified Redfield theory. At room temperature, the lifetime broadening obtained with Redfield theory underestimates the NeMoR broadening, whereas modified Redfield theory overestimates it by a similar amount. A fortuitous error compensation in Redfield theory is found to explain the good performance of this theory at low temperatures. Since steady state spectra of PPCs are often measured at low temperatures, Redfield theory still provides a numerically efficient alternative to NeMoR theory. At higher temperatures, we suggest to use NeMoR theory, because it has the same numerical costs as modified Redfield theory, but is more accurate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Large lateral photovoltaic effect with ultrafast relaxation time in SnSe/Si junction

In this paper, we report a large lateral photovoltaic effect (LPE) with ultrafast relaxation time in SnSe/p-Si junctions. The LPE shows a linear dependence on the position of the laser spot, and the position sensitivity is as high as 250 mV mm{sup −1}. The optical response time and the relaxation time of the LPE are about 100 ns and 2 μs, respectively. The current-voltage curve on the surface of the SnSe film indicates the formation of an inversion layer at the SnSe/p-Si interface. Our results clearly suggest that most of the excited-electrons diffuse laterally in the inversion layer at the SnSe/p-Si interface, which results in a large LPE with ultrafast relaxation time. The high positional sensitivity and ultrafast relaxation time of the LPE make the SnSe/p-Si junction a promising candidate for a wide range of optoelectronic applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1960

A Technique for Determining Relaxation Times by Free-Flight Tests of Low-Fineness-Ratio Cones; with Experimental Results for Air at Equilibrium Temperatures up to 3440 K

This report describes a technique which combines theory and experiments for determining relaxation times in gases. The technique is based on the measurement of shapes of the bow shock waves of low-fineness-ratio cones fired from high-velocity guns. The theory presented in the report provides a means by which shadowgraph data showing the bow waves can be analyzed so as to furnish effective relaxation times. Relaxation times in air were obtained by this technique and the results have been compared with values estimated from shock tube measurements in pure oxygen and nitrogen. The tests were made at velocities ranging from 4600 to 12,000 feet per second corresponding to equilibrium temperatures from 35900 R (19900 K) to 6200 R (34400 K), under which conditions, at all but the highest temperatures, the effective relaxation times were determined primarily by the relaxation time for oxygen and nitrogen vibrations.

Stephenson, Jack D.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Comparison of Gel Relaxation Times and End-Block Pullout Times in ABA Triblock Copolymer Networks

The gel relaxation times of two different poly[styrene-$b$-(ethylene-alt-propylene)-$b$-styrene] (SEPS) ABA triblock copolymers in squalane at various concentrations has been measured by rheology. These relaxation times were compared with the results of previous time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (TR-SANS) experiments, which measured chain exchange kinetics in SEP diblock and SEPS triblock micelles in squalane. We report the gels relaxed up to four orders of magnitude faster than expected based on the chain exchange measurements of equivalent diblock polymers. By accounting for two factors—a bias toward shorter end-block lengths in the gel relaxation, and a reduction in the energy barrier to chain pullout caused by the triblock architecture—a model is constructed that reconciles the surprisingly short gel relaxation times with the chain exchange times measured via TR-SANS.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1973

Relaxation time in disk galaxy simulations.

An initially stationary and stable axisymmetric disk of stars with a mass spectrum of stars is used to determine the collisional relaxation time. The relaxation time as determined from the rate of energy equipartition was found to be 560 rotation periods for stars with 10 times the mean star mass and was 1700 rotation periods for stars with 0.55 times the mean star mass. These times are in general agreement with theoretical predictions for the relaxation time of the two mass groups. The results show that the model used for the large-scale gravitational N-body calculations is indeed 'collisionless.'

Hohl, F.↗
NASA NTRS1995

MRI of bone marrow in the distal radius: in vivo precision of effective transverse relaxation times

The effective transverse relaxation time T2* is influenced by the presence of trabecular bone, and can potentially provide a measure of bone density as well as bone structure. We determined the in vivo precision of T2* in repeated bone marrow measurements. The T2* measurements of the bone marrow of the distal radius were performed twice within 2 weeks in six healthy young volunteers using a modified water-presaturated 3D Gradient-Recalled Acquisition at Steady State (GRASS) sequence with TE 7, 10, 12, 20, and 30; TR 67; flip angle (FA) 90 degrees. An axial volume covering a length of 5.6 cm in the distal radius was measured. Regions of interest (ROIs) were determined manually and consisted of the entire trabecular bone cross-section extending proximally from the radial subchondral endplate. Reproducibility of T2* and area measurements was expressed as the absolute precision error (standard deviation [SD] in ms or mm2) or as the relative precision error (SD/mean x 100, or coefficient of variation [CV] in %) between the two-point measurements. Short-term precision of T2* and area measurements varied depending on section thickness and location of the ROI in the distal radius. Absolute precision errors for T2* times were between 1.3 and 2.9 ms (relative precision errors 3.8-9.5 %) and for area measurements between 20 and 55 mm2 (relative precision errors 5.1-16.4%). This MR technique for quantitative assessment of trabecular bone density showed reasonable reproducibility in vivo and is a promising future tool for the assessment of osteoporosis.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗
DOE OSTI2017

Relaxation time estimation in surface NMR

NMR relaxation time estimation methods and corresponding apparatus generate two or more alternating current transmit pulses with arbitrary amplitudes, time delays, and relative phases; apply a surface NMR acquisition scheme in which initial preparatory pulses, the properties of which may be fixed across a set of multiple acquisition sequence, are transmitted at the start of each acquisition sequence and are followed by one or more depth sensitive pulses, the pulse moments of which are varied across the set of multiple acquisition sequences; and apply processing techniques in which recorded NMR response data are used to estimate NMR properties and the relaxation times T.sub.1 and T.sub.2* as a function of position as well as one-dimensional and two-dimension distributions of T.sub.1 versus T.sub.2* as a function of subsurface position.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Spin-lattice Relaxation Time in Disordered Graphene Systems

We analyzed the spin-lattice relaxation time of graphene systems in the presence of disorder. We consider the case of strong scatterers (unitary limit). The effect of the impurity concentration on the spin-lattice relaxation time is analyzed. We find different behaviors of the spin-lattice relaxation time for different impurity concentrations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Average-atom treatment of relaxation time in x-ray Thomson scattering from warm dense matter

Here, the influence of finite relaxation times on Thomson scattering from warm dense plasmas is examined within the framework of the average-atom approximation. Presently most calculations use the collision-free Lindhard dielectric function to evaluate the free-electron contribution to the Thomson cross section. In this work, we use the Mermin dielectric function, which includes relaxation time explicitly. The relaxation time is evaluated by treating the average atom as an impurity in a uniform electron gas and depends critically on the transport cross section. The calculated relaxation rates agree well with values inferred from the Ziman formula for the static conductivity and also with rates inferred from a fit to the frequency-dependent conductivity. Transport cross sections determined by the phase-shift analysis in the average-atom potential are compared with those evaluated in the commonly used Born approximation. The Born approximation converges to the exact cross sections at high energies; however, differences that occur at low energies lead to corresponding differences in relaxation rates. The relative importance of including relaxation time when modeling x-ray Thomson scattering spectra is examined by comparing calculations of the free-electron dynamic structure function for Thomson scattering using Lindhard and Mermin dielectric functions. Applications are given to warm dense Be plasmas, with temperatures ranging from 2 to 32 eV and densities ranging from 2 to 64 g/cc.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1986

The effects of bone on proton NMR relaxation times of surrounding liquids

Preliminary attempts by our group at UCSF to assess fat content of vertebral marrow in the lumbar spine using relaxation time information demonstrated that the presence of trabecular bone affects relaxation times. The objective of this work was a thorough study of the effects of bone on NMR relaxation characteristics of surrounding liquids. Trabecular bone from autopsy specimens was ground up and sifted into a series of powders with graded densities ranging from 0.3 gm/cc to 0.8 gm/cc. Each powder was placed first in n-saline and then in cottonseed oil. With spectroscopy, spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) and effective spin-spin relaxation times (T2*) were measured for each liquid in each bone powder. As bone density and surface to volume ratio increased, T1 decreased faster for saline than for oil. T2* decreased significantly for both water and oil as the surface to volume ratio increased. It was concluded that effects of water on T1 could be explained by a surface interaction at the bone/liquid interface, which restricted rotational and translational motion of nearby molecules. The T1s of oil were not affected since oil molecules are nonpolar, do not participate in significant intermolecular hydrogen bonding, and therefore would not be expected to interact strongly with the bone surface. Effects on T2* could be explained by local magnetic field inhomogeneities created by discontinuous magnetic susceptibility near the bone surface. These preliminary results suggest that water in contact with trabecular bone in vivo will exhibit shortened relaxation times.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗
DOE OSTI2023

Uniqueness of relaxation times determined by dielectric spectroscopy

Dielectric spectroscopy is extremely powerful to study molecular dynamics, because of the very broad frequency range. Often multiple processes superimpose resulting in spectra that expand over several orders of magnitude, with some of the contributions partially hidden. For illustration, we selected two examples, (i) normal mode of high molar mass polymers partially hidden by conductivity and polarization and (ii) contour length fluctuations partially hidden by reptation using the well-studied polyisoprene melts as example. The intuitive approach to describe experimental spectra and to extract relaxation times is the addition of two or more model functions. Here, we use the empirical Havriliak-Negami function to illustrate the ambiguity of the extracted relaxation time, despite an excellent agreement of the fit with experimental data. We show that there are an infinite number of solutions for which a perfect description of experimental data can be achieved. However, a simple mathematical relationship indicates uniqueness of the pairs of the relaxation strength and relaxation time. Sacrificing the absolute value of the relaxation time enables to find the temperature dependence of the parameters with a high accuracy. For the specific cases studied here, the time temperature superposition (TTS) is very useful to confirm the principle. However, the derivation is not based on a specific temperature dependence, hence, independent from the TTS. We compare new and traditional approaches and find the same trend for the temperature dependence. The important advantage of the new technology is the knowledge of the accuracy of the relaxation times. Relaxation times determined from data for which the peak is clearly visible are the same within the experimental accuracy for traditional and new technology. However, for data where a dominant process hides the peak, substantial deviations can be observed. Finally, we conclude that the new approach is particularly helpful for cases in which relaxation times need to be determined without having access to the associated peak position.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Regularizing the linearly extrapolated BDF2 scheme for incompressible flows with time relaxation

This paper presents a highly-efficient finite element scheme for the time relaxation model (TRM). The efficiency is achieved through the second-order BDF2 time-stepping scheme with linear extrapolation (BDF2LE). The accuracy of the scheme is also greatly enhanced through the use of the divergence-free Scott-Vogeulis finite elements, and van Cittert approximate deconvolution. A complete finite element analysis is provided, which includes rigorous proofs for the stability, well-possessedness, and convergence of both velocity and pressure solutions. Furthermore, we also demonstrate that the inclusion of the linear time relaxation term preserves the long-time stability of the unregularized BDF2LE scheme. Finally, numerical experiments are presented that demonstrate the added stability and accuracy that time relaxation can provide.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Analysis of Niobium Electropolishing Using a Generalized Distribution of Relaxation Times Method

Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, we have devised a method of sensing the microscopic surface conditions on the surface of niobium as it is undergoing an electrochemical polishing (EP) treatment. The method uses electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to gather information on the surface state of the electrode without disrupting the polishing reaction. The EIS data is analyzed using a so-called distribution of relaxation times (DRT) method. Using DRT, the EIS data can be deconvolved into discrete relaxation time peaks without any a priori knowledge of the electrode dynamics. By analyzing the relaxation time peaks, we are able to distinguish two distinct modes of the EP reaction. As the polishing voltage is increased, the electrode transitions from the low voltage EP mode, characterized by a single relaxation time peaks, to the high voltage EP mode, characterized by two relaxation time peaks. We theorize that this second peak is caused by the formation of an oxide layer on the electrode. We also find that this oxide induced peak transitions from to a negative relaxation time, which is indicative of a blocking electrode process. By analyzing EPed samples, we show that samples polished in the low voltage mode have significantly higher surface roughness due to grain etching and faceting. We find that the surface roughness of the samples only improves when the oxide film peak is present and in the negative relaxation time region. This shows that EIS combined with DRT analysis can be used to predict etching on EPed Nb. This method can also be performed before or during the EP, which could allow for adjustment of polishing parameters to guarantee a smooth cavity surface finish.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Revisiting shear stress tensor evolution: Nonresistive magnetohydrodynamics with momentum-dependent relaxation time

This study aims to develop second-order relativistic viscous magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) derived from kinetic theory within an extended relaxation time approximation (momentum/energy dependent) for the collision kernel. The investigation involves a detailed examination of shear stress tensor evolution equations and associated transport coefficients. The Boltzmann equation is solved using a Chapman-Enskog-like gradient expansion for a charge-conserved conformal system, incorporating a momentum-dependent relaxation time. The derived relativistic nonresistive, viscous second-order MHD equations for the shear stress tensor reveal significant modifications in the coupling with dissipative charge current and magnetic field due to the momentum dependence of the relaxation time. By utilizing a power law parametrization to quantify the momentum dependence of the relaxation time, the anisotropic magnetic field-dependent shear coefficients in the Navier-Stokes limit have been investigated. The resulting viscous coefficients are seen to be sensitive to the momentum dependence of the relaxation time.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Two-Relaxation-Time Lattice Boltzmann Method and its Application to Advective-Diffusive-Reactive Transport

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) based on single-relaxation-time (SRT) or multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) collision operators is widely used in simulating flow and transport phenomena. The LBM based on two-relaxation-time (TRT) collision operators possesses strengths from the SRT and MRT LBMs, such as its simple implementation and good numerical stability, although tedious mathematical derivations and presentations of the TRT LBM hinder its application to a broad range of flow and transport phenomena. This paper describes the TRT LBM clearly and provides a pseudocode for easy implementation. Various transport phenomena were simulated using the TRT LBM to illustrate its applications in subsurface environments. These phenomena include advection-diffusion in uniform flow, Taylor dispersion in a pipe, solute transport in a packed column, reactive transport in uniform flow, and bacterial chemotaxis in porous media. Finally, the TRT LBM demonstrated good numerical performance in terms of accuracy and stability in predicting these transport phenomena. Therefore, the TRT LBM is a powerful tool to simulate various geophysical and biogeochemical processes in subsurface environments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1999

Phenomenological Theory of the Translational Relaxation Times in Gases

The exact solution to the classical equations governing the translational dispersion and absorption of sound in a gas obscures its relaxational character because of its mathematical complexity. The approach taken here is to solve the secular equation by the method of Pade approximants, which even to the relatively low order R(sub 11) yields a remarkably close approximation to the exact solution over a wide range of frequency/pressure (f/P) ratios. As a result, translational relaxation can be formulated in terms of a conventional relaxation process with well-defined relaxation times, relaxation strength, collision numbers, additivity relations, etc. To extend the theory to high values of f/P ratio, a model is proposed to account for the noncontinuum behavior of the transport coefficients (viscosity and thermal conductivity) as the molecular mean free path approaches the acoustical enclosure dimensions. The theoretical dispersion and absorption show good agreement with measurements in argon over the classical and transition regions of f/P, but a discrepancy appears at higher values of f/P, where collective propagating modes, assumed in the theory, give way to single-particle modes, prevailing in the experiments.

Zuckerwar, Allan J.↗