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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

Etalon-induced baseline drift and correction in atom flux sensors based on atomic absorption spectroscopy

Atom flux sensors based on atomic absorption (AA) spectroscopy are of significant interest in thin film growth as they can provide unobtrusive, element specific real-time flux sensing and control. The ultimate sensitivity and performance of these sensors are strongly affected by baseline drift. Here we demonstrate that an etalon effect resulting from temperature changes in optical viewport housings is a major source of signal instability, which has not been previously considered, and cannot be corrected using existing methods. We show that small temperature variations in the fused silica viewports can introduce intensity modulations of up to 1.5% which in turn significantly deteriorate AA sensor performance. This undesirable effect can be at least partially eliminated by reducing the size of the beam and tilting the incident light beam off the viewport normal.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

On the inward drift of runaway electrons during the plateau phase of runaway current

The well observed inward drift of current carrying runaway electrons during runaway plateau phase after disruption is studied by considering the phase space dynamic of runaways in a large aspect ratio toroidal system. We consider the case where the toroidal field is unperturbed and the toroidal symmetry of the system is preserved. The balance between the change in canonical angular momentum and the input of mechanical angular momentum in such a system requires runaways to drift horizontally in configuration space for any given change in momentum space. The dynamic of this drift can be obtained by integrating the modified Euler-Lagrange equation over one bounce time. It is then found that runaway electrons will always drift inward as long as they are decelerating. This drift motion is essentially non-linear, since the current is carried by runaways themselves, and any runaway drift relative to the magnetic axis will cause further displacement of the axis itself. A simplified analytical model is constructed to describe such inward drift both in the ideal wall case and no wall case, and the runaway current center displacement as a function of parallel momentum variation is obtained. The time scale of such displacement is estimated by considering effective radiation drag, which shows reasonable agreement with the observed displacement time scale. Furthermore, this indicates that the phase space dynamic studied here plays a major role in the horizontal displacement of runaway electrons during plateau phase. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Drifting oscillations in axion monodromy

In this paper, we study the pattern of oscillations in the primordial power spectrum in axion monodromy inflation, accounting for drifts in the oscillation period that can be important for comparing to cosmological data. In these models the potential energy has a monomial form over a super-Planckian field range, with superimposed modulations whose size is model-dependent. The amplitude and frequency of the modulations are set by the expectation values of moduli fields. We show that during the course of inflation, the diminishing energy density can induce slow adjustments of the moduli, changing the modulations. We provide templates capturing the effects of drifting moduli, as well as drifts arising in effective field theory models based on softly broken discrete shift symmetries, and we estimate the precision required to detect a drifting period. A non-drifting template suffices over a wide range of parameters, but for the highest frequencies of interest, or for sufficiently strong drift, it is necessary to include parameters characterizing the change in frequency over the e-folds visible in the CMB. Finally, we use these templates to perform a preliminary search for drifting oscillations in a part of the parameter space in the Planck nominal mission data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Heat flux modeling using ion drift effects in DIII-D H-mode plasmas with resonant magnetic perturbations

The heat flux patterns measured in low-collisionality DIII-D H-mode plasmas strongly deviate from simultaneously measured CII emission patterns, used as indicator of particle flux, during applied resonant magnetic perturbations. While the CII emission clearly shows typical striations, which are similar to magnetic footprint patterns obtained from vacuum field line tracing, the heat flux is usually dominated by one large peak at the strike point position. The vacuum approximation, which only considers applied magnetic fields and neglects plasma response and plasma effects, cannot explain the shape of the observed heat flux pattern. One possible explanation is the effect of particle drifts. This is included in the field line equations and the results are discussed with reference to the measurement. Electrons and ions show different drift motions at thermal energy levels in a guiding center approximation. While electrons hardly deviate from the field lines, ions can drift several centimetres away from field line flux surfaces. A model is presented in which an ion heat flux, based on the ion drift motion from various kinetic energies as they contribute to a thermal Maxwellian distribution, is calculated. The simulated heat flux is directly compared to measurements with a varying edge safety factor q{sub 95}. This analysis provides evidence for the dominate effect of high-energy ions in carrying heat from the plasma inside the separatrix to the target. High-energy ions are deposited close to the unperturbed strike line, while low-energy ions can travel into the striated magnetic topology.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Method for automatic correction of offset drift in online sensors

Abstract Successful operation and optimization of water treatment systems hinge on the availability of high-quality online sensor measurements. Ideally, the available measurements should be simultaneously accurate (i.e., unbiased and precise), representative, voluminous, and timely. This remains a pain-point in current water infrastructures, forming a barrier to a wider adoption of advanced and autonomous control systems. While short-lived symptoms, such as outliers and spikes, can be detected or corrected with state-of-the-art tools for fault detection and identification, it is much more difficult to detect, diagnose, and correct the symptoms of slow faults, such as changes in offset or sensitivity due to drift. The time scale of drift is often longer than the time scales of the system dynamics of interest. Moreover, sensor drift has been shown to occur at the same time and with similar rates when sensors are exposed to the same conditions. This challenges data quality management strategies based on redundancy. In this contribution, we develop a new method, including both a hands-off sensor calibration mechanism and an information-seeking control architecture that can handle the unique challenge of simultaneous and similar drift in online sensors.

Chowdhury, Dhrubajit↗
DOE OSTI2019

Evaluating Separation Selectivity and Collision Cross Section Measurement Reproducibility in Helium, Nitrogen, Argon, and Carbon Dioxide Drift Gases for Drift Tube Ion Mobility–Mass Spectrometry

Previous ion mobility (IM) studies have demonstrated that varying the drift gas composition can be used to enhance chemical selectivity and resolution, yet there are few drift gas studies aimed at achieving quantitatively reproducible mobility measurements. Here, we critically evaluate the conditions necessary to achieve reproducible collision cross section (CCS) measurements in pure drift gases (helium, nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide) using a commercial uniform field drift tube instrument. Optimal experimental parameters are assessed based on the convergence of CCS measurements to reproducible values which are compared with literature values. A suite of calibration standards with diverse masses, biological classes, and charge states are examined to assess chemical selectivity and resolution achievable in each drift gas. Results indicate nitrogen and argon perform similarly and are sufficient for most applications where high resolving power and high peak capacity are desired. Carbon dioxide exhibits more selectivity for resolving structurally heterogeneous compounds, which may be preferable in specific analyte pair separations. Helium demonstrated modest separation capabilities but has utility for comparison to theoretical values and previously published work. In drift gases other than nitrogen, pressure differentials up to 230 mTorr between the drift tube and upstream chamber were optimal for improving correlation to literature values, while in nitrogen, the recommended pressure differential of 150 mTorr was found appropriate. We present recommended experimental parameters as well as gas-specific CCS measurements for structurally homogeneous sets of analytes which are suitable for use by other laboratories as standards for purposes of instrument calibration and overall assessment of IM separation performance. .

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Two-stream instability with time-dependent drift velocity

The classical two-stream instability driven by a constant relative drift velocity between two plasma components is extended to the case with time-dependent drift velocity. A solution method is developed to rigorously define and calculate the instability growth rate for linear perturbations relative to the time-dependent unperturbed two-stream motions. The stability diagrams for the oscillating two-stream instability are presented over a large region of parameter space. It is shown that the growth rate for the classical two-stream instability can be significantly reduced by adding an oscillatory component to the relative drift velocity.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

The DUNE Far Detector Vertical Drift Technology. Technical Design Report

DUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Self-shielding flex-circuit drift tube, drift tube assembly and method of making

The present disclosure is directed to an ion mobility drift tube fabricated using flex-circuit technology in which every other drift electrode is on a different layer of the flex-circuit and each drift electrode partially overlaps the adjacent electrodes on the other layer. This results in a self-shielding effect where the drift electrodes themselves shield the interior of the drift tube from unwanted electro-magnetic noise. In addition, this drift tube can be manufactured with an integral flex-heater for temperature control. This design will significantly improve the noise immunity, size, weight, and power requirements of hand-held ion mobility systems such as those used for explosive detection.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Spiral biasing adaptor for use in Si drift detectors and Si drift detector arrays

A drift detector array, preferably a silicon drift detector (SDD) array, that uses a low current biasing adaptor is disclosed. The biasing adaptor is customizable for any desired geometry of the drift detector single cell with minimum drift time of carriers. The biasing adaptor has spiral shaped ion-implants that generate the desired voltage profile. The biasing adaptor can be processed on the same wafer as the drift detector array and only one biasing adaptor chip/side is needed for one drift detector array to generate the voltage profiles on the front side and back side of the detector array.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Resolution of the ATLAS muon spectrometer monitored drift tubes in LHC Run 2

The momentum measurement capability of the ATLAS muon spectrometer relies fundamentally on the intrinsic single-hit spatial resolution of the monitored drift tube precision tracking chambers. Optimal resolution is achieved with a dedicated calibration program that addresses the specific operating conditions of the 354 000 high-pressure drift tubes in the spectrometer. The calibrations consist of a set of timing offsets and drift time to drift distance transfer relations, and result in chamber resolution functions. This paper describes novel algorithms to obtain precision calibrations from data collected by ATLAS in LHC Run 2 and from a gas monitoring chamber, deployed in a dedicated gas facility. The algorithm output consists of a pair of correction constants per chamber which are applied to baseline calibrations, and determined to be valid for the entire ATLAS Run 2. The final single-hit spatial resolution, averaged over 1172 monitored drift tube chambers, is $81.7 \pm 2.2 \mu$m.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Measurements of the Drift Current Oscillations in Thrusters with Closed Electron Drift

An induction method used to measure the drift current in thrusters with anode layer (TAL) has been applied for measuring the integral distortion of the magnetic field in the channel of a low-power stationary plasma thruster (SPT). Experiments are described in which the integral level of magnetic field oscillations in the narrow channel of a thruster with closed electron drift was determined. Experimental data show that when a discharge is ignited in an SPT, the drift current completely demagnetizes the discharge gap (the ratio between the self-magnetic and external fields reaches 90%). The same effect has been observed in TALs. In thrusters of both types, the total discharge current is one and a half order of magnitude higher than that typical of the stationary discharge and the plasma glow is observed not only inside but also outside the discharge channel. Drift current oscillations have been measured under steady-state conditions. It has been shown, in particular, that when the oscillations are intense (in weak magnetic fields on the order of 100 G), the drift-current-induced distortion of the magnetic field may reach 33%. Under rated operating conditions (200 G), the distortion does not exceed 8%. Beyond optimal operating conditions, the type of oscillation in SPTs and TALs and their performances differ. For example, in SPTs, a critical magnetic field at which the “turbulent” regime sets in is absent. In general, the discharge current is weakly dependent on the magnetic field.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1989

The generalized drift flux approach: Identification of the void-drift closure law

The main characteristics and the potential advantages of generalized drift flux models are presented. In particular it is stressed that the issue on the propagation properties and on the mathematical nature (hyperbolic or not) of the model and the problem of closure are easier to tackle than in two fluid models. The problem of identifying the differential void-drift closure law inherent to generalized drift flux models is then addressed. Such a void-drift closure, based on wave properties, is proposed for bubbly flows. It involves a drift relaxation time which is of the order of 0.25 s. It is observed that, although wave properties provide essential closure validity tests, they do not represent an easily usable source of quantitative information on the closure laws.

Boure, J. A.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Gyroaverage effects on chaotic transport by drift waves in zonal flows

Finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects on E Multiplication-Sign B test particle chaotic transport in the presence of zonal flows is studied. The FLR effects are introduced by the gyro-average of a simplified E Multiplication-Sign B guiding center model consisting of the linear superposition of a non-monotonic zonal flow and drift waves. Non-monotonic zonal flows play a critical role on transport because they exhibit robust barriers to chaotic transport in the region(s) where the shear vanishes. In addition, the non-monotonicity gives rise to nontrivial changes in the topology of the orbits of the E Multiplication-Sign B Hamiltonian due to separatrix reconnection. The present study focuses on the role of FLR effects on these two signatures of non-monotonic zonal flows: shearless transport barriers and separatrix reconnection. It is shown that, as the Larmor radius increases, the effective zonal flow profile bifurcates and multiple shearless regions are created. As a result, the topology of the gyro-averaged Hamiltonian exhibits very complex separatrix reconnection bifurcations. It is also shown that FLR effects tend to reduce chaotic transport. In particular, the restoration of destroyed transport barriers is observed as the Larmor radius increases. A detailed numerical study is presented on the onset of global chaotic transport as function of the amplitude of the drift waves and the Larmor radius. For a given amplitude, the threshold for the destruction of the shearless transport barrier, as function of the Larmor radius, exhibits a fractal-like structure. The FLR effects on a thermal distribution of test particles are also studied. In particular, the fraction of confined particles with a Maxwellian distribution of gyroradii is computed, and an effective transport suppression is found for high enough temperatures.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

A parametric study of the drift-tearing mode using an extended-magnetohydrodynamic model

The linear, collisional, constant-ψ drift-tearing mode is analyzed for different regimes of the plasma-β, ion-skin-depth parameter space with an unreduced, extended-magnetohydrodynamic model. Here, new dispersion relations are found at moderate plasma β and previous drift-tearing results are classified as applicable at small plasma β.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Up-gradient particle flux in a drift wave-zonal flow system

We report a net inward, up-gradient turbulent particle flux in a cylindrical plasma when collisional drift waves generate a sufficiently strong sheared azimuthal flow that drives positive (negative) density fluctuations up (down) the background density gradient, resulting in a steepening of the mean density gradient. The results show the existence of a saturation mechanism for drift-turbulence driven sheared flows that can cause up-gradient particle transport and density profile steepening.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗