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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 OSTI2014

The {sup 13}C-pocket structure in AGB models: constraints from zirconium isotope abundances in single mainstream SiC grains

We present postprocess asymptotic giant branch (AGB) nucleosynthesis models with different {sup 13}C-pocket internal structures to better explain zirconium isotope measurements in mainstream presolar SiC grains by Nicolussi et al. and Barzyk et al. We show that higher-than-solar {sup 92}Zr/{sup 94}Zr ratios can be predicted by adopting a {sup 13}C-pocket with a flat {sup 13}C profile, instead of the previous decreasing-with-depth {sup 13}C profile. The improved agreement between grain data for zirconium isotopes and AGB models provides additional support for a recent proposal of a flat {sup 13}C profile based on barium isotopes in mainstream SiC grains by Liu et al.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

New Cross Section Measurements and Evaluations of Zirconium Isotopes [Slides]

This presentation gives a look to new cross section measurements and evaluations of Zirconium (Zr) isotopes. This lecture includes highlights of accomplishments made in 2022. Additionally, it explains the motivation for investigation, new measurements, and re-evaluation of the Zr isotopes. This presentation concludes with a preliminary evaluation result from RPI 90 Zr evaluation and preliminary results from Eigenvalue sensitivity study on Zr sensitive critical benchmark experiments.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Relevance of single-particle and collective excitations in zirconium isotopes populated by neutron transfer reactions in the {sup 90}Zr+{sup 208}Pb system

Multineutron transfer reaction {sup 90}Zr+{sup 208}Pb has been studied at the energy close to the Coulomb barrier energy by using the PRISMA + CLARA set-up. In this fragment-γ coincidence measurement, the selective properties of the reaction mechanism in the population of the specific states have been discussed. Based on the observed γ transitions of neutron transfer channels, namely {sup 89–94}Zr isotopes, their level schemes have been constructed and updated.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Excitation Function Calculations of Neutron-Induced Reactions of Some Zirconium Target Isotopes

Nuclear structures with high performance materials will be critical for the success of future fusion energy. Zirconium alloys are extensively used for nuclear reactor core materials as fuel cladding and guide tubes due to excellent radiation and corrosion resistant properties. In this paper, the excitation functions of {sup 90}Zr(n,2n){sup 89}Zr, {sup 90}Zr(n,α){sup 87}Sr, {sup 91}Zr(n,p){sup 91}Y and {sup 92}Zr(n,p){sup 92}Y nuclear reactions were calculated for energies up to 25 MeV. Besides, ALICE/ASH and TALYS 1.6 codes were used for the cross section calculations. The obtained calculations were compared with the experimental data in the literature.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

ZIRCONIUM—HAFNIUM ISOTOPE EVIDENCE FROM METEORITES FOR THE DECOUPLED SYNTHESIS OF LIGHT AND HEAVY NEUTRON-RICH NUCLEI

Recent work based on analyses of meteorite and terrestrial whole-rock samples showed that the r- and s- process isotopes of Hf were homogeneously distributed throughout the inner solar system. We report new Hf isotope data for Calcium-Aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) of the CV3 carbonaceous chondrite Allende, and novel high-precision Zr isotope data for these CAIs and three carbonaceous chondrites (CM, CO, CK). Our Zr data reveal enrichments in the neutron-rich isotope {sup 96}Zr (≤1ε in {sup 96}Zr/{sup 90}Zr) for bulk chondrites and CAIs (∼2ε). Potential isotope effects due to incomplete sample dissolution, galactic and cosmic ray spallation, and the nuclear field shift are assessed and excluded, leading to the conclusion that the {sup 96}Zr isotope variations are of nucleosynthetic origin. The {sup 96}Zr enrichments are coupled with {sup 50}Ti excesses suggesting that both nuclides were produced in the same astrophysical environment. The same CAIs also exhibit deficits in r-process Hf isotopes, which provides strong evidence for a decoupling between the nucleosynthetic processes that produce the light (A ≤ 130) and heavy (A > 130) neutron-rich isotopes. We propose that the light neutron-capture isotopes largely formed in Type II supernovae (SNeII) with higher mass progenitors than the supernovae that produced the heavy r-process isotopes. In the context of our model, the light isotopes (e.g. {sup 96}Zr) are predominantly synthesized via charged-particle reactions in a high entropy wind environment, in which Hf isotopes are not produced. Collectively, our data indicates that CAIs sampled an excess of materials produced in a normal mass (12-25 M{sub ☉}) SNII.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Dispersive optical potential for nuclei with N and Z values changing toward the nucleon drip lines

A method for constructing dispersive optical potentials is proposed for calculating single-particle energies in isotopic chains of spherical and nearly spherical nuclei up to nucleon drip lines. The potential of this method is demonstrated by calculating the neutron and proton single-particle energies in calcium, nickel, and zirconium isotopes. The results agree well with experimental data available for stable isotopes. Predictive calculations of single-particle spectra are performed for isotopes lying far from the beta-stability valley. A comparison of the results with the energies of nucleon separation from nuclei of mass number A and A+1 revealed features of the single-particle spectrum that are characteristic of nuclei containing classical and nonclassical magic numbers of nucleons.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Zr Nuclear Data Campaign: Measurement of (n,γ) cross section of 90,91 Zr [Abstract]

The isotopes of Zr with mass number A = [90; 91; 92; 94] make up more than 97% of naturally occurring Zr and are important to many nuclear applications due to their desirable mechanical and nuclear properties. For example, the zirconium alloys are used as cladding material in nuclear reactors. In addition to the mechanical properties, Zr-90 has a closed neutron shell, hence the capture cross sections of the zirconium isotopes are relatively small, such that they improve the neutron economy in reactors by preferentially scattering neutrons rather than absorbing them. This same quality also presents a challenge to measuring the capture cross section, σ γ (E), of Zr isotopes. For incident neutron energies < 0.1 MeV, the ENDF library reports a relative uncertainty of approximately 20% and uncertainty greater than 20% above this energy. This motivates the Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) to perform new neutron induced cross section measurements to accurately evaluate these four isotopes of Zr.

ENDF↗
DOE OSTI2011

Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 93

Nuclear structure data pertaining to all nuclei with mass number A=93 (Se, Br, Kr, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag) have been compiled and evaluated and incorporated into the ENSDF data file. This publication for A=93 supersedes the previous publication by C.M. Baglin, Nuclear Data Sheets80, 1 (1997) (literature cutoff date November 1996) and subsequent revisions by C.M. Baglin of the ENSDF files for 93Br and {sup 93}Kr (literature cutoff 26 February 2001) and for {sup 93}Rh (literature cutoff 27 February 2001); it includes all data available prior to 15 December 2010. Significant changes since prior evaluations include the following: 2010Hw03 identified several high-spin states in {sup 93}Kr in {sup 252}Cf SF decay; in addition to the many low-spin levels already known in {sup 93}Rb from {beta}{sup -} decay, several higher-spin states have now been identified in a {sup 252}Cf SF decay study (2009Hw03); this SF decay has also been used to identify additional states in {sup 93}Sr (2003Hw01) and the {sup 238}U({sup 82}Se,X{gamma}) reaction (2007Bu35) has provided new information on {sup 93}Y. (HI,xn{gamma}) reaction studies have expanded our knowledge of the structure of {sup 93}Zr (2002Fo03, 2005Pa48), {sup 93}Nb (2007Wa45), {sup 93}Mo (2005Fu01), {sup 93}Tc (2003Ha22) and {sup 93}Pd (2004So04,2004Ru02). Considerable information on {sup 93}Nb was provided by a (p,2n{gamma}) study (2010Or01, 2006Or09, 2007Or01). The level schemes of {sup 93}Ru, {sup 93}Rh and {sup 93}Pd have undergone the most extensive revision thanks to studies of {sup 93}Rh {epsilon} decay (2004De40), {sup 94}Ag {epsilon}p decay (2004Mu30) and {sup 94}Ag p decay (2005Mu15, 2005Mu30), respectively. The half-life of the Zr member of this chain is of particular interest because of {sup 93}Zr's large contribution to long-term activity of nuclear reactor waste and also due to its potential as a supernova chronometer. During 2010, two new well-documented measurements of T{sub 1/2}({sup 93}Zr) were published (2010Ya01 and 2010Ca01); one agrees well with an earlier, undocumented measurement but, unfortunately, the other is many standard deviations lower for reasons which are not immediately apparent.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Reaction rate uncertainties and the {nu}p-process

Current hydrodynamical simulations of core collapse supernovae find proton-rich early ejecta. At the same time, the models fail to eject neutron-rich matter, thus leaving the origin of the main r-process elements unsolved. However, the proton-rich neutrino-driven winds from supernovae have been identified as a possible production site for light n-capture elements beyond iron (such as Ge, Sr, Y, Zr) through the {nu}p-process. The detailed nucleosynthesis patterns of the {nu}p-process depend on the hydrodynamic conditions and the nuclear reaction rates of key reactions. We investigate the impact of reaction rate uncertainties on the {nu}p-process nucleosynthesis.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Nucleosynthesis in a massive star associated with magnetohydrodynamical jets from collapsars

We investigate the nucleosynthesis during the stellar evolution and the jet-like supernova explosion of a massive star of 70 M{sub Circled-Dot-Operator} having the solar metallicity in the main sequence stage. The nucleosynthesis calculations have been performed with large nuclear reaction networks, where the weak s-, p-, and r-processes are taken into account. As a result s-elements of 60 > A > 90 and r-elements of 90 > A > 160 are highly overproduced relative to the solar system abundances. We find that the Sr-Y-Zr isotopes are primarily synthesized in the explosive nucleosynthesis which could be one of the sites of the lighter element primary process (LEPP).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Coupling between collective modes in the deformed 98 Zr nucleus: Insights from consistent HFB + QRPA calculations with the Gogny interaction

The zirconium isotopes exhibit structural properties that present multiple challenges to nuclear theory. Investigations of the coupling present within isoscalar modes and within isovector modes are scarce but important for advancing our understanding of the microscopic picture of nuclei. To explore some of these underlying coupling features, and to test the predictive power of a state-of-the-art nuclear structure approach, we provide a detailed analysis of the properties of 90,96,98 Zr . This region includes a benchmarking case and offers insights into nuclear deformation phenomena. Here, to investigate the coupling between collective modes in deformed nuclei, we focused our analysis on the ground and excited-state properties of these isotopes, employing a consistent approach with the axially symmetric deformed Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) and the quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) framework, both using the Gogny D1M force. This approach effectively describes both low-lying and giant-resonance states. We devoted special attention to the deformed 98 Zr nucleus, where we confirm the existence of coupling between monopole and quadrupole excitations through the 𝐾 𝜋 = 0 + QRPA components and demonstrate an analogous dipole-octupole coupling through the 𝐾 𝜋 = 0 − and 𝐾 𝜋 = 1 − components. Intrinsic transition densities and associated radial projections illustrate the coupling. Our work complements and extends earlier studies carried out using density-functional-based methods and notably, we included the complete Coulomb interaction also in the pairing fields, i.e., we treat terms exactly that are approximated in typical calculations that use the Gogny D1 and D2 interaction families.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Application of the Bruyeres Jeukenne-Lejeune-Mahaux model potential to composite nuclei with a single-folding approach

A single-folding (SF) model analysis has been performed for {alpha} and deuteron elastic scattering from {sup 58}Ni, {sup 90}Zr, {sup 116}Sn, and {sup 208}Pb at incident energies between 10 and 100 MeV/nucleon with the Lane-consistent Bruyeres Jeukenne-Lejeune-Mahaux model nucleon-nucleus potential. The energy dependence of a set of only three potential parameters was derived, and the resulting global optical model potentials were found to account well for {alpha} and deuteron elastic scattering within their studied energy ranges. The energy dependence of a real potential form factor is found to be important for describing {alpha}-nucleus scattering within large energy ranges. Corrections due to the compositeness of projectiles to the SF potentials were studied and were compared with theoretical estimations through the renormalization factor. Systematic differences in renormalization factors between {alpha} particles and deuterons were observed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

7D-folding integral in a density-dependent microscopic optical model potential for nucleon-nucleus scattering

Microscopic optical model potentials, based on density-dependent effective interactions, involve multidimensional integrals to account for the full Fermi motion of the target struck nucleon throughout the nucleus. If a spherical matter distribution is assumed, then each matrix element of the optical potential requires the evaluation of seven-dimensional integrals. In this work we provide a full account of these integrals, retaining the genuine off-shell structure of the nucleon-nucleon effective interaction. The evaluation is based on the asymptotic separation of the optical model potential for nucleon-nucleus scattering in momentum space, where the potential is split into a free t-matrix contribution and another which depends exclusively on the gradient of the density-dependent g matrix. The calculated potentials, based on the Paris nucleon-nucleon (NN) potential, are applied to proton elastic scattering from {sup 16}O and {sup 90}Zr at beam energies between 30 and 65 MeV. The results were compared with two approximations to the unabridged expression, revealing moderate differences among their scattering observables. When comparing with results based on the Argonne v{sub 18} NNpotential, these differences appear smaller than those attainable by the choice of the internucleon potential.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Coupling between collective modes in the deformed 98 Zr nucleus: Insights from consistent HFB+QRPA calculations with the Gogny interaction

The Zirconium isotopes exhibit structural properties that present multiple challenges to nuclear theory. Investigations of the coupling present within isoscalar modes and within isovector modes are scarce but important for advancing our understanding of the microscopic picture of nuclei. To explore some of these underlying coupling features, and to test the predictive power of a state-of the-art nuclear structure approach, we provide a detailed analysis of the properties of 90,96,98Zr. This region includes a benchmarking case and offers insights into nuclear deformation phenomena. To investigate the coupling between collective modes in deformed nuclei, we focused our analysis on the ground and excited-state properties of these isotopes, employing a consistent approach with the axially-symmetric deformed Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) and the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) framework, both using the Gogny D1M force. This approach effectively describes both low-lying and giant-resonance states. We devoted special attention to the deformed 98Zr nucleus, where we confirm the existence of coupling between monopole and quadrupole excitations through the K π = 0 + QRPA components and demonstrate an analogous dipole-octupole coupling through the K π = 0 − and K π = 1 − components. Intrinsic transition densities and associ ated radial projections illustrate the coupling. Our work complements and extends earlier studies carried out using density-functional-based methods and notably, we included the complete Coulomb interaction also in the pairing fields, i.e. we treat terms exactly that are approximated in typical calculations that use the Gogny D1 and D2 interaction families.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Signatures of structural changes in neutron-rich Sr, Zr and Mo isotopes

The evolution of the ground-state nuclear shapes in neutron-rich Sr, Zr, and Mo isotopes, including both even-even and odd-A nuclei, is discussed within the mean-field approximation based on the Gogny-D1S Gogny Energy Density Functional. Calculations for neutron separation energies and charge radii are presented and compared with available data. A correlation between a shape transition and a discontinuity in those observables is found within our microscopic framework. It is shown that, while in Sr and Zr isotopes the steep behavior observed in the isotopic dependence of the charge radii is a consequence of a sharp prolate-oblate transition, the smooth behavior found in Mo isotopes has its origin in an emergent region of triaxiality.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics studies of thermal diffusion of hydrogen isotopes in low concentration zirconium hydrides

Tritium permeability in zirconium-based tritium getter critically impacts tritium storage and environmental safety during operation of tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs). Previous experiments indicated that during irradiation operation, the hydrogen equilibrium pressured is increased. Further experimental and modeling studies suggested that the enhanced tritium release observed for reactor scale assemblies might be related to a thermal diffusion known as the Soret effect. A direct measurement of the Soret factor, however, has not been performed. To improve TPBAR and other nuclear applications, here we have applied two non-equilibrium molecular dynamics methods to study thermal diffusion of hydrogen isotopes in low-concentration zirconium hydrides. One of the methods produces sufficiently converged results to distinguish crystal orientation, isotope type, and concentration effects. In conclusion, with this method, crystal orientation, isotope type, and concentration effects are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Striking behavior of photoneutron cross sections for {sup 90}Zr near threshold

Photoneutron cross sections for {sup 90}Zr near neutron threshold were examined with a photon difference technique using laser Compton scattering {gamma}-ray beams. The cross section decreasing in the vicinity of neutron threshold exhibited a steep rise within 150 keV above the threshold. We draw attention to a possible relation of this striking behavior to the 3P valence neutron resonance known in neutron capture in the mass region A{approx_equal}90.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Single and pair neutron transfers at sub-barrier energies

Multinucleon transfer cross sections in the {sup 96}Zr+{sup 40}Ca system have been measured, in inverse kinematics, at bombarding energies ranging from the Coulomb barrier to {approx}25% below. Targetlike recoils have been identified in A, Z and velocity with the large solid angle magnetic spectrometer PRISMA. The experimental data for one- and two-neutron transfer channels have been compared with semiclassical microscopic calculations. For the two-neutron transfer channels the relevance of the transitions to the ground state and to the 0{sup +} excited states of {sup 42}Ca are discussed by employing, for the reaction mechanism, the successive approximation. It is found that the transition to the 0{sup +} state at {approx}6 MeV, whose wave function is dominated by the two neutrons in the 2p{sub 3/2} shell, is much larger than the ground state one. The comparison with the inclusive data reveals that transitions to states with high multipolarity and non-natural parity are important. This suggests that more complex two-particle correlations have to be incorporated in the treatment of the transfer process.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗