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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 OSTI2021

Two-Phase Turbulence Statistics from High Fidelity Dispersed Droplet Flow Simulations in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Sub-Channel with Mixing Vanes

In the dispersed flow film boiling regime (DFFB), which exists under post-LOCA (loss-of-coolant accident) conditions in pressurized water reactors (PWRs), there is a complex interplay between droplet dynamics and turbulence in the surrounding steam. Experiments have accredited particular significance to droplet collision with the spacer-grids and mixing vane structures and their consequent positive feedback to the heat transfer recorded in the immediate downstream vicinity. Enabled by high-performance computing (HPC) systems and a massively parallel finite element-based flow solver—PHASTA (Parallel Hierarchic Adaptive Stabilized Transient Analysis)—this work presents high fidelity interface capturing, two-phase, adiabatic simulations in a PWR sub-channel with spacer grids and mixing vanes. Selected flow conditions for the simulations are informed by the experimental data found in the literature, including the steam Reynolds number and collision Weber number (Wec={40,80}), and are characteristic of the DFFB regime. Data were collected from the simulations at an unprecedented resolution, which provides detailed insights into the continuous phase turbulence statistics, highlighting the effects of the presence of droplets and the comparative effect of different Weber numbers on turbulence in the surrounding steam. Further, axial evolution of droplet dynamics was analyzed through cross-sectionally averaged quantities, including droplet volume, surface area and Sauter mean diameter (SMD). The downstream SMD values agree well with the existing empirical correlations for the selected range of Wec. The high-resolution data repository from the simulations herein is expected to be of significance to guide model development for system-level thermal hydraulic codes.

Saini, Nadish↗
DOE OSTI2023

On falling film evaporator – A review of mechanisms and critical assessment of correlation on a horizontal tube bundle with updated development

Optimization of the energy efficiency and reduction of the greenhouse gas emission for the heat pump system is imperative to meet the net-zero goals at 2050. Chillers with falling film evaporator design not only possess better system performance but also contain less refrigerant inventory. Hence, accurate prediction of the evaporator performance is pivotal especially when charged with low-GWP refrigerant. Here, the study reviews the correlations for falling film evaporator with a horizontal tube bundle configuration. The major efforts of this study include four tasks: (a) literature review of the experimental studies and available empirical correlations; (b) comprehensive discussion of the falling film evaporation heat transfer mechanism; (c) development of a new rationally based correlation based on available literature; and (d) comparison of different correlations based on the existing data. The collected data includes 4114 data points from 8 sources, 6 refrigerants (R-600a, R-290, R-245fa, R-134a, R-1234ze(E), R-123), 5 types of the tubes (Plain, Turbo-GII-HP, GEWA-B, Low-fin, High-Flux), liquid Weber number from 2.2 × 10 –6 to 0.7, imposed vapor Weber number from 0 to 37.2, heat flux from 2.5 to 151.5 kW/m 2 , and film Reynolds number from 1 to 3159.8. The new correlation gives a MAD of 28.3%, and an R 2 of 0.86. Yet, the developed correlation considers various heat transfer mechanisms, including the transition point from falling film evaporation to the nucleate boiling, local evaporation, dry-out, mist flow, imposed flow, and enhanced tube effects.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Pressure Drop with Moving Contact Lines and Dynamic Contact Angles in a Hydrophobic Round Minichannel: Visualization via Synchrotron X-ray Imaging and Verification of Experimental Correlations

In hydrophobic mini- and microchannels, slug flow with moving contact lines is typically generated under various two-phase flow conditions. There is a significant pressure drop in this flow pattern with moving contact lines, which is closely related to the dynamic contact angles. Researchers have investigated dynamic contact angles experimentally for decades, but due to the limitations of visualization techniques, these experiments have typically been conducted in low Weber number regions (We < 10 –3 ). In this study, we clearly visualized the dynamic contact angles of a liquid slug in high Weber number regions (10 –3 < We <1) via synchrotron X-ray imaging with high temporal (~1000 fps) and spatial (~ 2 μm/pixel) resolutions. We precisely measured the pressure drop with moving contact lines in a hydrophobic minichannel (inner diameter = 1.018 mm). On the basis of our experimental data, we verified previous correlations for dynamic contact angles and explored the relationship between pressure drop with moving contact lines and dynamic contact angles.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Enhanced internal condensation of R1233zd(E) on micro- and nanostructured copper and aluminum surfaces

In-tube condensation of refrigerants is an important process which affects thermal efficiency in many applications, ranging from refrigeration and air conditioning to electronics thermal management. In-tube heat transfer and pressure drop are important to heat exchanger sizing and design. Here, in this work, micro- and nanostructured surfaces are applied to the internal wetted areas of copper and aluminum mini-channels to enhance the condensation heat transfer coefficient of hydrofluorocarbon R1233zd(E) refrigerant. To achieve scalable nanomanufacturing, surfaces were uniformly structured by relying on hydrochloric acid etching of aluminum and chemical oxidation of copper. The etched aluminum surfaces exhibited a 150% increase in heat transfer coefficient compared to smooth aluminum channels at specific qualities, with a 66% heat transfer coefficient improvement for complete phase change from saturated vapor to saturated liquid. Copper oxide structures showed no discernable difference in thermal-hydraulic performance when compared to smooth copper channels. Critical dimensionless parameters governing the heat transfer enhancement were identified by varying the tube internal diameter (2.3 mm to 4.7 mm), refrigerant mass flux (50 to 300 kg/(m 2 ·s)), and refrigerant quality (0 to 1). The dimensionless parameters include the Bond number normalized to the condensate film thickness, and the Weber number modified by the vapor friction factor. The relatively small increase in pressure drop (< 10%) associated with these surface enhancements further supports the promise of this method. The scalable and cost-effective techniques used to create these aluminum microstructures may reduce manufacturing cost when compared with current enhancement approaches such as extrusion, drawing, and welding.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A comprehensive modeling of falling film evaporators subject to vapor flow, pass arrangements, and refrigerants

Improving the heat transfer performance of falling film evaporators is a crucial step for improving the energy efficiency of the heat pump or refrigeration systems. This study conducts a numerical investigation for the practical-scale falling film evaporator based on the epsilon–NTU method with an updated heat transfer correlation. The algorithm was validated with lab-scale and real-scale falling film evaporator experimental results, and the prediction reaches a mean absolute deviation of 12.5%. Here, the parametric study encompasses eight refrigerants: R-134a, R-410A, R-600a, R-717, R-1270, R-152a, R-1234yf, and R-1234ze(E). The results indicate that vaporization enthalpy of refrigerant is a key property in selecting an appropriate working fluid because it helps minimize severe heat transfer degradation caused by dry-out. Additionally, the vapor-flow–induced heat transfer degradation can be predicted using the critical Weber number. Furthermore, the trade-off between extending the tube length and increasing the number of tubes for heat transfer improvement is discussed. Finally, different two-pass arrangements show deviations of less than 4 %.

Dry-out↗
DOE OSTI2020

An energy model of droplet impingement on an inclined wall under isothermal and non-isothermal environments

The observation of spray-wall interaction is of great importance to understand the dynamics that occur during fuel impingement onto the chamber wall or piston surfaces in internal combustion engines. It is found that the maximum spreading length of an impinged droplet can provide a quantitative estimation of heat transfer and energy transformation for spray-wall interaction. Furthermore, it influences the air-fuel mixing and hydrocarbon and particle emissions at combusting conditions. In this paper, an analytical model of different droplet-wall impingement conditions is developed in terms of βm (dimensionless maximum spreading length, the ratio of maximum spreading length to initial droplet diameter) to understand the detailed impinging dynamic process. These conditions are grouped as: a single diesel droplet impinging on the wall with different inclined angles (α); cold wall - heated droplet and heated wall - cold droplet impingement when inclined angle of the wall is 0°, respectively. The analytical model is built up based on the energy conservation that considers kinetic energy, gravitation energy, and surface energy before impingement, as well as viscous dissipation, gravitation energy, adhesion energy, deformation energy, and heat energy after impingement. The experimental work of diesel droplet impinging on an inclined wall is performed at a certain range of the Weber number (We of 33 to 420) with various inclined angles (α of 0° to 45°), while for inclined angle is 0°, droplet and wall temperature are varied from 25°C to 150°C to study the effects of the inclined angle and temperature on the temporal evolution of the post-impingement characteristics (i.e. droplet spreading length, dynamic contact angle). The analytical model is validated and evaluated at the aforementioned experimental operating points. The validated model can be employed to predict maximum spreading length of the droplet impinged on the wall. It is further utilized to determine the transition from capillary regime to kinetic regime, then to viscous regime at different inclined angle of the wall.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Droplet breakup by multimodal nonlinear Rayleigh Taylor instability

A droplet impacted by a shock wave will undergo a process of fragmentation due to the development of interfacial hydrodynamic instabilities. The interface experiences variable acceleration and shear that result in the development of both inertial (Rayleigh–Taylor) and shear (Kelvin–Helmholtz) instabilities. These perturbations grow in time and drive the fragmentation and breakup of the deformed droplet. Experiments are performed on nominally 0.86 mm water droplet subjected to a Mach 7.6 detonation wave, resulting in a high Weber number (~36,000) breakup event. Perturbation growth is measured from a series of high-speed (> MHz) shadowgraph images. It is proposed that, given the size of the large-scale perturbations observed in experiments, these instabilities are growing in the non-linear regime and can be described by bubble-merger models for nonlinear mixing. Calculations are performed for the growth rates and size of these instabilities using deformation and external flow models to establish the time-dependent boundary conditions. The concurrence of the measured perturbation widths and the predictions of the simple model lend credence to the theory. This novel approach serves to open a new avenue in the characterization of droplet breakup via hydrodynamic instabilities.

Droplet breakup↗
DOE OSTI2020

Understanding the transport and break up of reactive ejecta

This manuscript investigates reactive- versus hydrodynamic-breakup processes of ejecta. For this paper, the reactive metal is cerium (Ce) and the nonreactive metal is tin (Sn), the nonreactive gas is helium (He) and the reactive gas is deuterium (D 2 ) or hydrogen (H 2 ). Experiments were performed in vacuum and the reactive- and nonreactive-gases at various pressures, where we endeavored to match the post-shock gas densities to differentiate between reactive- versus hydrodynamic-breakup processes. Hydrodynamic breakup sensitively links to the Weber number (gas density, liquid fragment diameter, surface tension, and the square of the relative velocity between the fragment and the gas), whereas reactive breakup links to the reactive dynamics which includes two processes. In one case the reactive metal breaks up into smaller fragments as rapidly as the reaction rate, and in the other a crust grows on the liquid fragments as the reactions occur, a diffusion limited process. In the latter case, the particle diameters increase with time as the crust grows. In this process, which is indicated by the data, particles breakup as the CeD 2 loses strength with increasing temperature, leaving an exponentially increasing diameter.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Shock-induced bubble jets: a dual perspective of bubble collapse and interfacial instability theory

Interactions between shock waves and gas bubbles in a liquid can lead to bubble collapse and high-speed liquid jet formation, relevant to biomedical applications such as shock wave lithotripsy and targeted drug delivery. This study reveals a complex interplay between acceleration-induced instabilities that drive jet formation and radial accelerations causing overall bubble collapse under shock wave pressure. Using high-speed synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging, the dynamics of micrometre-sized air bubbles interacting with laser-induced underwater shock waves are visualised. These images offer full optical access to phase discontinuities along the X-ray path, including jet formation, its propagation inside the bubble, and penetration through the distal side. Jet formation from laser-induced shock waves is suggested to be an acceleration-driven process. A model predicting jet speed based on the perturbation growth rate of a single-mode Richtmyer–Meshkov instability shows good agreement with experimental data, despite uncertainties in the jet-driving mechanisms. The jet initially follows a linear growth phase, transitioning into a nonlinear regime as it evolves. To capture this transition, a heuristic model bridging the linear and nonlinear growth phases is introduced, also approximating jet shape as a single-mode instability, again matching experimental observations. Upon piercing the distal bubble surface, jets can entrain gas and form a toroidal secondary bubble. Linear scaling laws are identified for the pinch-off time and volume of the ejected bubble relative to the jet’s Weber number, characterising the balance of inertia and surface tension. At low speeds, jets destabilise due to capillary effects, resulting in ligament pinch-off.

Drops and Bubbles: Bubble dynamics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Drop Interactions with the Conical Shock Structure Generated by a Mach 4.5 Projectile

This work presents measurements of liquid drop deformation and breakup time behind approximately conical shock waves and evaluates the predictive capabilities of low-order models and correlations developed using planar shock experiments. A conical shock was approximated by firing a bullet at Mach 4.5 past a vertical column of water drops with a mean initial diameter of $192$ $\mu$m. The time-resolved drop position and maximum transverse dimension were characterized using backlit stereo images taken at 500 kHz. The gas density and velocity fields experienced by the drops were estimated using a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulation of the bullet. Classical correlations predict drop breakup times and deformation in error by a factor of 3 or more. The Taylor analogy breakup (TAB) model predicts deformed drop diameters that agree within the confidence bounds of the ensemble-averaged experimental values using a dimensionless constant $C$ 2 = $2$ compared to the accepted value $C$ 2 = $2/3$. In conclusion, results demonstrate existing correlations are inadequate for predicting the drop response to the three-dimensional relaxation of the flowfield downstream of a conical-like shock and suggest the TAB model results represent a path toward improved predictions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Impulse-driven release of gas-encapsulated drops

Gas-encapsulated drops, much like antibubbles, are drops enclosed in a bubble within a liquid. They show potential as payload carriers in fluid transport and mixing techniques where sound waves can be leveraged to induce the collapse of the gas core and the subsequent release of the drop. Here, the interaction of millimetre-sized gas-encapsulated drops with impulsive laser-induced shock waves is investigated to gain fundamental insights into the release process. Experimental synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging, which allows the drop dynamics to be visualised inside the encapsulating bubble, is complemented by numerical simulations to study the intricate physics at play. Three drop dynamical release regimes are discovered, namely the drop impact , partial deposition and jet impact regimes. The regime type is mainly dependent on the shape of the bubble interface impacting the drop and the associated Weber and Reynolds numbers. The drop dynamics of the drop impact and partial deposition regimes show similarities with the canonical configuration of drops impacting flat liquid surfaces, whereas the jet impact regime resembles binary drop collisions, which allows existing scaling laws to be applied to describe the underlying processes. The release of the drop is investigated numerically. The time evolution of the drop dissemination within the surrounding liquid discloses enhanced mixing for dynamics involving high Weber and Reynolds numbers such as the drop impact and jet impact regimes.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

A combined numerical and experimental study to elucidate primary breakup dynamics in liquid metal droplet-on-demand printing

Droplet-on-demand liquid metal jetting is emerging as a powerful technology for the additive manufacturing of metallic parts. The success of this method hinges on overcoming several technological challenges. Additionally, the principal one among these challenges is the controlled repeatable ejection of single uniform droplets. Due to the high density and surface tension of liquid metals, the droplet ejection process occurs near the minimal extremes of the printability phase diagram, defined by acceptable ranges for the Weber (We) and Ohnesorge (Oh) numbers. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the satellite-free ejection of pneumatically actuated molten tin droplets in this extreme corner of printability and use a combination of high-speed video analysis and volume-of-fluid modeling to elucidate the droplet dynamics. While the simulations at low Oh and We can correctly describe several aspects of the breakup process, such as an increasing tail and pinch-point near the nozzle, no single parameter set can completely capture the droplet shape at breakup. Instead, the experimental droplet dynamics appear to include features from both high and low Oh breakup. This disagreement is ascribed to the incomplete description of the droplet ejection process including wetting and exit effects near the nozzle opening and surface effects such as transient cooling and oxide formation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Experimentally probing the extremes of droplet-on-demand printability via liquid metals

The liquid metal jetting droplet-on-demand technology provides many potential benefits to metal additive manufacturing. However, much is left to understand the operational margins to reliably create stable, satellite-free droplets. We elucidate these margins by experimentally probing the unexplored extremities of a recently proposed printability window based on the jet Weber (Wejet) and Ohnesorge (Z = 1/Oh) numbers. We generated stable droplets for 2 ≲ Wejet ≲ 4 for all tested Z = 339 to 2526—well beyond the bounds of any previously published printability window—suggesting that additional physics may be needed to understand droplet-on-demand in the high Z regime.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Growth of Crystallographically Aligned PbSe Films of Controlled Thickness on Amorphous Substrates

Lead selenide (PbSe) has extensively been investigated due to its thermoelectric and photoconductive properties. More recently, predictions of emergent properties have focused synthetic efforts on preparing ultra-smooth layers of crystallographically aligned PbSe layers with a thickness equal to an integer number of monolayers. While rough films are typically formed through Volmer-Weber growth on heated substrates, we report the data presented herein indicates that a crystallographically aligned, ultrathin layer with a defined number of PbSe layers forms on mostly amorphous Mo-Se and V-Se coated Si substrates during nominally room temperature deposition. Since the films are uniform in thickness, the number of PbSe bilayers formed depends on the amount of Pb (or Se) deposited. If the amount of Pb deposited is close to that required for an integral number of unit cells and there is sufficient Se, Laue oscillations are present in the as-deposited samples. The Laue oscillations reflect the quality and uniformity of the crystalline PbSe domains. This study demonstrates that the substrate does not need to be crystalline to form uniform, crystallographically aligned, integer monolayer thick PbSe films. These results suggest that tuning the strength of interactions be-tween substrate and growing film is necessary to form smooth, crystallographically aligned layers. The substrate does not need to be crystalline for these interactions to be strong enough to enable growth of crystallographically aligned films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Liquid fragility maximum in lithium borate glass‐forming melts related to the local structure

Abstract The structure of liquid lithium pyroborate, Li 4 B 2 O 5 ( J = Li/B = 2), has been measured over a wide temperature range by high‐energy X‐ray diffraction, and compared to that of its glass and borate liquids of other compositions. The results indicate a gradual increase in tetrahedral boron fraction from 3(1)% to 6(1)% during cooling from T = 1271(15) to 721(8) K, consistent with the larger N 4 = 10(1)% found for the glass, and literature 11 B nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. van't Hoff analysis based on a simple boron isomerization reaction BØ 3 O 2 – ⇌ BØO 2 2– yields Δ H = 13(1) kJ mol –1 and Δ S = 40(1) J mol –1 K –1 for the boron coordination change from 4 to 3, which are, respectively, smaller and larger than found for singly charged isomers for J ≤ 1. With these, we extend our model for N 4 ( J , T ), nonbridging oxygen fraction f nbr ( J , T ), configurational heat capacity , and entropy S conf ( J , T ) contributions up to J = 3. A maximum is revealed in at J = 1, and shown semi‐quantitatively to lead to a corresponding maximum in fragility contribution, akin to that observed in the total fragilities by temperature‐modulated differential scanning calorimetry. Lithium is bound to 4.6(2) oxygen in the pyroborate liquid, with 2.7(1) bonds centered around 1.946(8) Å and 1.9(1) around 2.42(1) Å. In the glass, n LiO = 5.4(4), the increase being due to an increase in the number of short Li–O bonds.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ethanol as a Renewable Building Block for Fuels and Chemicals

Three factors, i) the ethanol “blend wall”, which limits its market as a transportation fuel, ii) advances in production efficiency, and iii) feedstock diversification, could lead to excess ethanol at competitive prices. Those factors have already motivated a search for value-added derivatives (e.g., distillate fuels, olefins, and asymmetric amines). Siting small, low cost, flexible conversion facilities to process ethanol at or near the fermentation plant could encourage the growth of an enterprise. Decreasing the barriers to entry, matching supply and demand, and enhancing access to production incentives are enabling success factors. This review discusses the process chemistries that might be employed by such ethanol conversion facilities based on market prices. Finally, how these technologies might benefit from process intensification, and without the requirement of complex processing or large pressures or temperature gradients typically employed in conventional, large scale facilities.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hard x-ray methods for studying the structure of amorphous thin films and bulk glassy oxides

High-energy photon diffraction minimizes many of the corrections associated with laboratory x-ray diffractometers, and enables structure factor measurements to be made over a wide range of momentum transfers. The method edges us closer toward an ideal experiment, in which coordination numbers can be extracted without knowledge of the sample density. Three case studies are presented that demonstrate new hard x-ray methods for studying the structure of glassy and amorphous materials. First, the methodology and analysis of high-energy grazing incidence on thin films is discussed for the case of amorphous In 2 O 3 . Additionally, the connectivity of irregular InO 6 polyhedra are shown to exist in face-, edge- and corner-shared configurations in the approximate ratio of 1:2:3. Secondly, the technique of high-energy small and wide angle scattering has been carried out on laser heated and aerodynamically levitated samples of silica-rich barium silicate (20BaO:80SiO 2 ), from the single phase melt at 1500 C-o to the phase separated glass at room temperature. Based on Ba-O coordination numbers of 6 to 7, it is argued that the although the potential of Ba is ionic, it is weak enough to cause the liquid-liquid immiscibility to become metastable. Lastly, high-energy small and wide angle scattering has also been applied to high water content (up to 12 wt.%) samples of hydrous SiO 2 glass quenched from 1500 C-o at 4 GPa. An increase of Si 1 O 2 correlations at 4.3 angstrom is found to be consistent with an increase in the population of three-membered SiO 4 rings at the expense of larger rings.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Spatially Explicit Individual-Based Modeling Approach to Evaluate the Cumulative Effects of Wind Energy Development on the Greater Sage-Grouse: Sensitivity Analysis and Validation of Key Parameters

To address the need for an approach to evaluate cumulative ecological impacts of wind energy development, particularly those on critical wildlife habitats and species, the authors developed a proof-of-concept, landscape-based, spatially explicit individual-based modeling (IBM) framework for populations of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Albany County, Wyoming, based on published and other available information on the life history of the species. This sage-grouse IBM estimates the spatial and temporal movements of sage-grouse based on modeled effects of habitat characteristics and developments on sage-grouse condition, survivorship, and reproduction. After completing the initial version of the model, we conducted a series of sensitivity analyses of key model parameters and validation of lek occurrences and spatial distributions to better understand performance of the model relative to observed values of important life history characteristics. The parameter sensitivity analysis was conducted as a series of one-factor-at-a-time tests in which the values of selected parameters were individually varied to evaluate the corresponding effects on model output. We examined the model’s response to changes in parameter values to gain insight into the overall robustness of the model, identify key driver parameters, and initiate qualitative validation. Five functions selected for sensitivity analyses were (1) the rate of change in body condition in relationship to habitat suitability index (HSI) of occupied habitat (condition change rate), (2) the effect of competition between individuals with overlapping home ranges expressed as a percentage reduction in HSI (competition factor), (3) value of condition at which survivorship probability is equal to zero (zero survivorship condition), (4) the relationship between female body condition and clutch size, and (5) the relationship between female body condition and nest success. We varied the parameter values to be tested for the sensitivity analysis around the original value used in the model (i.e., tested values were higher and lower than the model’s original value) to examine the effect of this variation on the predicted output of the model. Model outputs evaluated in the sensitivity analysis included (1) predicted age-class distribution (as measured by the percentage of immature individuals within the population); (2) predicted sex ratio; (3) predicted age-sex class distribution (percent of population in each of six age-sex classes, i.e., male and female juveniles, yearlings, and adults); (4) lifespan; (5) population size; and (6) spatial distribution. Of the five parameters analyzed, condition change rate, survivorship, clutch size, and nest success did not substantially affect any of the evaluated model outputs. For the predicted age-class distribution, the percentage of immature individuals predicted by the model for these four parameters ranged from 61.9% to 65.0%, which was reasonable with respect to the reference values of 51.4 to 57.8% in published studies. The ratio of females to males ranged from 1.09 to 1.14, which was comparable to the reference values of 1.2 to 3.0 presented in an existing study. The predicted mean lifespan ranged from 1.62 to 1.74 years, which appears to be reasonable with respect to the reference values of 0.9 to 1.1 years for sharp-tail grouse and greater prairie chickens presented by published studies. The predicted population size ranged from 1,877 to 3,140. This prediction would be reasonable with respect to our estimate of 5,000 yearlings and adults, which was based on the USFWS estimate for the state of Wyoming scaled to the number of leks in the county. The predicted spatial distribution was not substantially affected by the parameter values examined. In our sensitivity analyses, the only tested parameter that had a noticeable effect on model output was competition factor. Over the range of values tested for this parameter, predicted population size exhibited the largest range (from 1,833 to 4,737) of all parameters tested. As the competition factor increased, the predicted population size decreased. This reflects the effect competition had on the number of individuals that could co occur in high-quality habitat patches. Despite this apparently significant effect, the range of values appears to be reasonable with respect to our estimate of 5,000 yearlings and adults, which was based on the USFWS estimate for the state of Wyoming scaled to the number of leks in the county.

17 WIND ENERGY↗