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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 OSTI2023

Convective and Turbulent Motions in Nonprecipitating Cu. Part III: Characteristics of Turbulence Motions

Velocity field in a nonprecipitating Cu under BOMEX conditions, simulated by SAM with 10-m resolution and spectral bin microphysics is separated into the convective part and the turbulent part, using a wavelet filtering. In Part II of the study properties of convective motions of this Cu were investigated. Here in Part III of the study, the parameters of cloud turbulence are calculated in the cloud updraft zone at different stages of cloud development. The main points of this study are (i) application of a fine-scale LES model of a single convective cloud allowed a direct estimation of turbulence parameters using the resolved flow in the cloud and (ii) the separation of the resolved flow into the turbulence flow and the nonturbulence flow allowed us to estimate different turbulent parameters with sufficient statistical accuracy. We calculated height and time dependences of the main turbulent parameters such as turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), spectra of TKE, dissipation rate, and the turbulent coefficient. It was found that the main source of turbulence in the cloud is buoyancy whose contribution is described by the buoyancy production term (BPT). The shear production term (SPT) increases with height and reaches its maximum near cloud top, and so does BPT. In agreement with the behavior of BPT and SPT, turbulence in the lower cloud part (below the inversion level) is weak and hardly affects the processes of mixing and entrainment. The fact that BPT is larger than SPT determines many properties of cloud turbulence. For instance, the turbulence is nonisotropic, so the vertical component of TKE is substantially larger than the horizontal components. Another consequence of the fact that BPT is larger than STP manifests itself in the finding that the turbulence spectrum largely obeys the -11/5 Bolgiano–Obukhov scaling. The classical Kolmogorov -5/3 scaling dominates for the low part of a cloud largely at the dissolving stage of cloud evolution. Using the spectra obtained we evaluated an “effective” dissipation rate which increases with height from nearly zero at cloud base up to 20 cm 2 s -3 near cloud top. The coefficient of turbulent diffusion was found to increase with height and ranged from 5 m 2 s -1 near cloud base to 25 m 2 s -1 near cloud top. In conclusion, the possible role of turbulence in the process of lateral entrainment and mixing is discussed.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Vertically Resolved Analysis of Radiative Feedbacks on Moist Static Energy Variance in Tropical Cyclones

Abstract A vertically resolved moist static energy (MSE) variance budget framework is used to diagnose processes associated with the development of tropical cyclones (TCs) in a general circulation model (GCM) under realistic boundary conditions. Previous studies have shown that interactions between radiation and MSE promote TC development. Here, we examine the vertical contributions of radiation and its interactions with MSE by performing several mechanism-denial experiments in which synoptic-scale radiative interactions are suppressed either in the boundary layer or in the free troposphere. Partly suppressing radiative interactions results in a reduction in global TC frequency. However, the magnitude of reduction and structure of the feedback depend on the intensity and structure of the TCs in these mechanism-denial experiments, indicating that both the magnitude and the vertical location of radiative interactions can impact global TC frequency. Using instantaneous 6-hourly outputs, an explicit computation reveals distinct spatial patterns of the advection term: the vertical component is positive in the mid- to upper troposphere, which reflects an upward transport of MSE by deep convection, whereas the horizontal component is positive in the boundary layer. These results illustrate the impact of the vertical distribution of radiative interactions and vertically varied contribution of the advection term in the development of TCs.

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2022

Near-surface seismic anisotropy in Antarctic glacial snow and ice revealed by high-frequency ambient noise

Ambient seismic recordings taken at broad locations across Ross Ice Shelf and a dense array near West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide, Antarctica, show pervasive temporally variable resonance peaks associated with trapped seismic waves in near-surface firn layers. These resonance peaks feature splitting on the horizontal components, here interpreted as frequency-dependent anisotropy in the firn and underlying ice due to several overlapping mechanisms driven by ice flow. Frequency peak splitting magnitudes and fast/slow axes were systematically estimated at single stations using a novel algorithm and compared with good agreement with active source anisotropy measurements at WAIS Divide determined via active sources recorded on a 1 km circular array. The approach was further applied to the broad Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) array, where anisotropy axes were directly compared with visible surface features and ice shelf flow lines. The near-surface firn, depicted by anisotropy above 30 Hz, was shown to exhibit a novel plastic stretching mechanism of anisotropy, whereby the fast direction in snow aligns with accelerating ice shelf flow.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Comparisons Between Array Derived Dynamic Strain Rate (ADDS) and Fiber‐Optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) Strain Rate

Abstract Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) strain rate and particle velocity can be compared through approximate scaling with medium velocity. We instead performed a direct comparison between array derived dynamic strain (ADDS) rate and DAS strain rate for six frequency bands. The PoroTomo project at Brady's Hot Springs, Nevada, deployed a 240‐geophone 3C array co‐located with fiber‐optic DAS system and 8.7 km of buried cable. We selected subsets of the geophone array to create four smaller arrays and computed ADDS. The horizontal components of the ADDS were rotated into the direction of the fiber‐optic cable and then compared with the observed DAS strain rates. From three example regional earthquakes of local magnitudes 2.9, 4.1, and 4.3, the ADDS are found to be coherent with DAS for frequencies ≤1 Hz. For frequencies >1‐Hz, this correlation decays quickly. Small differences between linear and areal dynamic strains at 1‐Hz suggest poor signal‐to‐noise or localized strain that is perturbed by shallow heterogeneities compare to the average strain propagating across the geophone array. The implication is that around 1‐Hz, straight fiber DAS is measuring axial strain along the fiber and can provide good approximations to translational particle motions. However, above 1‐Hz, DAS becomes more sensitive to shallow velocity gradients that can be beneficial for geophysical imaging yet becomes a limitation for traditional seismic analysis methods depending on absolute amplitude and phase from translational particle motions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Analysis of Seismic Wave Amplification in Sedimentary Basins Using 3D Wavefield Simulations: Nenana Basin, Central Alaska

We investigate seismic wave amplification in Nenana basin, central Alaska, using 3D seismic wavefield simulations. We quantify frequency-dependent amplification by comparing synthetic seismograms among four different seismic velocity models: (a) a tomographic model, (b) a tomographic model with the uppermost 6.5 km replaced by a 1D basin profile, (c) a tomographic model with an embedded ellipsoidal basin, and (d) a tomographic model with an embedded realistic basin. For each model we perform wavefield simulations accurate up to 2 Hz for a set of 10 different earthquakes, which provide a range of frequencies and incident angles for waves interacting with the basin. Average amplification ratios are four on the horizontal components and seven on the vertical component. The dominant influence of the amplification is the 3D geometry of the basin, not the slow-velocity profile near the surface. Our synthetic amplification ratios are in general agreement with amplification estimates obtained from 14 stations that recorded the same set of earthquakes. Our approach offers a general strategy for documenting frequency-dependent basin amplification for a region with realistic basin structures and local earthquakes.

Geosciences↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spatio-temporal electric field distributions in an atmospheric plasma jet impinging on a microchannel array surface

The electric field distribution in the ionization waves (IWs) propagating over a microchannel array dielectric surface, with the channels either empty or filled with distilled water, is measured by ps electric field induced second harmonic generation. The surface IW is initiated by the atmospheric pressure N 2 –Ar plasma jet impinging on the surface vertically and powered by ns pulse discharge bursts. The results show that the electric field inside the microchannels, specifically its horizontal component, is enhanced by up to a factor of 2. The field enhancement region is localized within the channels. The vertical electric field inside the channels lags in time compared to the field measured at the ridges, indicating the transient reversal of the IW propagation direction across the channels (toward the jet). This is consistent with the phase-locked plasma emission images and confirmed by the kinetic modeling predictions, which show that the IW ‘jumps’ over the empty channels and propagates into the channels only after the jump between the adjacent ridges. When the channels are filled with water, the wave speed increases by up to 50%, due to the higher effective dielectric constant of the surface. No evidence of a significant electric field enhancement near the dielectric surface (ceramic or water) has been detected, within the spatial resolution of the present diagnostic, ~100 μ m.

plasmas and liquids↗
DOE OSTI2025

Shear-Wave Radiation Patterns from Explosive and Earthquake Sources in Scattering, Heterogeneous Media

Distinguishing whether a seismic event is an earthquake or an explosion is a core problem in explosion monitoring. For simplistic models, earthquakes produce a predictable S-wavefield based on their radiation pattern, while an explosion produces no S-wavefield. However, observations from nuclear tests show that explosions can produce significant S-wave energy on both horizontal components. We perform numerical experiments using SPECFEM to constrain when an S-wavefield generated from an explosion might differ from one produced by an earthquake. We generate the S-wavefield for our explosions by placing the source location within a small region consisting of large velocity heterogeneities. For the 2D cases investigated here, a crucial condition is that the size of the region of heterogeneities must be much smaller (approximately 1/12th) than the minimum wavelength of the wavefield for our simulation setups. We investigate both isotropic heterogeneities and anisotropic heterogeneities. Initial results demonstrate that the heterogeneous region lowers the P/S amplitude ratios of an explosion. The presence of strong anisotropic heterogeneities near the source can also produce an S-wavefield with similar amplitudes to the P-wavefield. Lastly, we show that S-wave polarization angles vary as a function of azimuth and distance for explosive sources in the presence of small-scale heterogeneities.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Geometry of Non-Diffusive Tracer Transport in Gridded Atmospheric Models

A first-order linear and numerically non-diffusive Eulerian transport algorithm, minVAR, was recently developed for preservation of correlations between interrelated tracers during advective transport. The present study extends this work by: (1) providing further investigation of several interesting geometric constructions found in contours of constant minVAR, short for minimum variance, through extension to three coordinate dimensions. These contours capture point-by-point representations of thousands of individual atmospheric aerosol and/or cloud particles as they evolve and are rendered on Eulerian grids at a level of sub-grid resolution limited only by numerical precision; and (2) exploration of geometric similarities between the Arakawa C-grid, used to obtain interpolated values of the wind field at grid scale and minVAR. In particular, we consider interpolation of the u and v horizontal components of wind velocity from grid to sub-grid scales. The last results are motivated by recent applications of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model applied in the coastal Houston region, where the recent TRacking Aerosol Convection Interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) field campaign was organized. A unique and fully consistent mapping is obtained between particles moving along meteorological wind trajectories and the non-diffusive, non-dispersive representation of such trajectories on an Eulerian grid.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Eddy Correlation Flux Measurement System (ECOR) Instrument Handbook

The eddy correlation (ECOR) flux measurement system provides in situ, half-hour measurements of the surface turbulent fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, latent heat, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) (and methane at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s North Slope of Alaska central facility [NSA Barrow], and at the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) deployment at Oliktok Point). The fluxes are obtained with the eddy covariance technique, which involves correlation of the vertical wind component with the horizontal wind component, the air temperature, the water vapor density, and the CO 2 concentration. The instruments used are: a fast-response, three-dimensional (3D) wind sensor (sonic anemometer) to obtain the orthogonal wind components and the speed of sound (SOS) (used to derive the air temperature), an open-path infrared gas analyzer (IRGA) to obtain the water vapor density and the CO 2 concentration, and an open-path infrared gas analyzer (IRGA) to obtain methane density and methane flux at NSA Barrow and at the AMF deployment at Oliktok Point. The ECOR systems are deployed at the locations where other methods for surface flux measurements (e.g., energy balance Bowen ratio [EBBR] systems) are difficult to employ, primarily at the north edge of a field of crops. A surface energy balance system (SEBS) has been installed collocated with each deployed ECOR system in SGP, NSA, Tropical Western Pacific (TWP), and each of three ARM Mobile Facilities. The surface energy balance system consists of upwelling and downwelling solar and infrared radiometers within one net radiometer, a wetness sensor, and soil measurements. Finally, the SEBS measurements allow the comparison of ECOR sensible and latent heat fluxes with the energy balance determined from the SEBS and provide information on wetting of the sensors for data quality purposes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Eddy Correlation Flux Measurement System (ECOR) Instrument Handbook

The eddy correlation (ECOR) flux measurement system provides in situ, half-hour measurements of surface turbulent fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, latent heat, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility sites. ARM’s ECORs also historically measured methane fluxes at Utqiaġvik and Oliktok Point, Alaska. The fluxes are obtained with the eddy covariance technique, which involves correlation of the vertical wind component with the horizontal wind component, the air temperature, the water vapor density, and the CO 2 concentration.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Asymmetric response of cross-equatorial ocean heat transport to latitudinal thermal forcing in CESM

The partitioning of cross-equatorial heat transport between the atmosphere and the ocean is investigated through a series of fully coupled experiments, where external radiative forcing is applied over different latitudinal bands. The modeling results reveal a first-order collaborative relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere. In response to low-latitude perturbations, the cross-equatorial heat transport is realized mainly through the atmosphere, as the total ocean heat transport (OHT) is largely offsets by its horizontal gyre component. However, as perturbations shift to higher latitudes in both hemispheres, the OHT responses become more important. Here, we also find a significant interhemispheric asymmetry in the cross-equatorial heat transport, with the OHT contribution being more important in the Southern Hemisphere. This asymmetry is mainly attributed to different responses in the changes of the ocean circulation. When the radiative forcing is placed over the Southern Ocean, a buoyancy-driven clockwise cell is generated that extends from the Southern Ocean into the tropics in both the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic basins, effectively transporting energy to the northern hemisphere. Conversely, when the radiative forcing is placed over the northern high latitudes, the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is responsible for the anomalous southward heat transport.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Potential Benefits of Handling Mixture Statistics via a Bi-Gaussian EnKF: Tests With All-Sky Satellite Infrared Radiances

The meteorological characteristics of cloudy atmospheric columns can be very different from their clear counterparts. Thus, when a forecast ensemble is uncertain about the presence/absence of clouds at a specific atmospheric column (i.e., some members are clear while others are cloudy), that column's ensemble statistics will contain a mixture of clear and cloudy statistics. Such mixtures are inconsistent with the ensemble data assimilation algorithms currently used in numerical weather prediction. Hence, ensemble data assimilation algorithms that can handle such mixtures can potentially outperform currently used algorithms. In this study, we demonstrate the potential benefits of addressing such mixtures through a bi-Gaussian extension of the ensemble Kalman filter (BGEnKF). The BGEnKF is compared against the commonly used ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) using perfect model observing system simulated experiments (OSSEs) with a realistic weather model (the Weather Research and Forecast model). Synthetic all-sky infrared radiance observations are assimilated in this study. In these OSSEs, the BGEnKF outperforms the EnKF in terms of the horizontal wind components, temperature, specific humidity, and simulated upper tropospheric water vapor channel infrared brightness temperatures. This study is one of the first to demonstrate the potential of a Gaussian mixture model EnKF with a realistic weather model. Our results thus motivate future research toward improving numerical Earth system predictions though explicitly handling mixture statistics.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

A novel transformation of the ice sheet Stokes equations and some of its properties and applications

We introduce a novel transformation of the Stokes equations into a form closely resembling the shallow Blatter–Pattyn equations. The two forms differ by only a few additional terms, while their variational formulations differ only by a single term in each horizontal direction. Specifically, the variational formulation of the Blatter–Pattyn model drops the vertical velocity in the second invariant of the strain rate tensor. Here we make use of the new transformation in two ways. First, we consider incorporating the transformed equations into a code that can be very easily converted from a Stokes to a Blatter–Pattyn model, and vice versa, by switching these terms on or off. This may be generalized so that the Stokes model is switched on adaptively only where the Blatter–Pattyn model loses accuracy. Second, the key role played by the vertical velocity in the Blatter–Pattyn approximation motivates new approximations. Two examples are presented. These require a mesh that enables the discrete continuity equation to be invertible for the vertical velocity in terms of the horizontal velocity components. Examples of such meshes, such as the first-order P1–E0 mesh and the second-order P2–E1 mesh, are given in both 2D and 3D. However, the transformed Stokes model has the same type of gravity forcing as the Blatter–Pattyn model, determined by the ice surface slope, thereby forgoing some of the mesh generality of the traditional formulation of the Stokes model.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Lagrangian Decomposition of the Atlantic Ocean Heat Transport at 26.5°N

Abstract The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays a critical role in the global climate system through the redistribution of heat, freshwater and carbon. At 26.5°N, the meridional heat transport has traditionally been partitioned geometrically into vertical and horizontal circulation cells; however, attributing these components to the AMOC and Subtropical Gyre (STG) flow structures remains widely debated. Using water parcel trajectories evaluated within an eddy‐rich ocean hindcast, we present the first Lagrangian decomposition of the meridional heat transport at 26.5°N. We find that water parcels recirculating within the STG account for 37% (0.36 PW) of the total heat transport across 26.5°N, more than twice that of the classical horizontal gyre component (15%). Our findings indicate that STG heat transport cannot be meaningfully distinguished from that of the basin‐scale overturning since water parcels cooled within the gyre subsequently feed the northward, subsurface limb of the AMOC.

Tooth, Oliver J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Water Table Model (WTM) (v2.0.1): coupled groundwater and dynamic lake modelling

Abstract. Ice-free land comprises 26 % of the Earth's surface and holds liquid water that delineates ecosystems, affects global geochemical cycling, and modulates sea levels. However, we currently lack the capacity to simulate and predict these terrestrial water changes across the full range of relevant spatial (watershed to global) and temporal (monthly to millennial) scales. To address this knowledge gap, we present the Water Table Model (WTM), which integrates coupled components to compute dynamic lake and groundwater levels. The groundwater component solves the 2D horizontal groundwater flow equation using non-linear equation solvers from the C++ PETSc (Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation) library. The dynamic lake component makes use of the Fill–Spill–Merge (FSM) algorithm to move surface water into lakes, where it may evaporate or affect groundwater flow. In a proof-of-concept application, we demonstrate the continental-scale capabilities of the WTM by simulating the steady-state climate-driven water table for the present day and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21 000 calendar years before present) across the North American continent. During the LGM, North America stored an additional 14.98 cm of sea-level equivalent (SLE) in lakes and groundwater compared to the climate-driven present-day scenario. We compare the present-day result to other simulations and real-world data. Open-source code for the WTM is available on GitHub and Zenodo.

Callaghan, Kerry L. (ORCID:0000000226740838)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Improving Cost and Efficiency of the Scalable Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Power System

The objective of this project was to design and develop a 20kW range small-scale solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) power system for applications such as data centers and commercial buildings. The original plan included a 5,000 hours demonstration and a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) which were dropped as part of project termination. The original project plan was to use a stack with a cross-flow cell design which had previously been tested for 500 hours at a community college in Malta, NY. However, it was decided to move to the advanced R-SOFC co-flow cell developed under Department of Energy Award DE-FE0031971. The advanced cell design has the advantage of a larger active area for the same manufacturing footprint which results in fewer required cells for the same stack power, hence a higher volumetric power density (kW/L) and lower cost per kW than the original cross-flow cell design. A full SOFC system Simulink model was developed and calibrated with testing data from a fuel cell stack and BOP (balance of plant) components. The simulation results from the calibrated model showed an acceptable match with the experimental data. A structural analysis conducted for various load scenarios indicated no high stress areas for all spatial directions. Major electrical system components were acquired, built and successfully tested. System sensors were verified and validated against controls. Safety checks, a diagnostic check, PID tuning, and control software commissioning tasks were also conducted. The power electronics prototype was delivered and trial testing completed. Balance of Plant component testing and simulation work was conducted to characterize Reformer-Heat Exchanger heat transfer and backpressure and reformer catalyst methane conversion and product selectivity. Simulations were conducted to design the Anode and Cathode fluid passages and size the air-air and fuel-fuel heat exchangers. A Burner operation map was created from test data and the Anode Gas Recirculation blower was tested to evaluate its durability. The SOFC system used a horizontal style design where components sit directly on a casting with a direct connection to the skid. This design has efficient packaging and a small footprint with approximate dimensions of 750 mm x 700 mm x 1700 mm. An SOFC system was built and successfully tested at the Malta, NY facility The system for over 500 hours under load of which over 300 hours was at full load of 20 kW.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2024

First Results of AUP $Nb_{3}Sn$ Quadrupole Horizontal Tests

The Large Hadron Collider will soon undergo an upgrade to increase its luminosity by a factor of ~10. A crucial part of this upgrade will be replacement of the NbTi final focus magnets with Nb3Sn magnets that achieve a ~50% increase in the field strength. This will be the first ever large-scale implementation of Nb3Sn magnets in a particle accelerator. This talk will present the program to fabricate these components and first results from horizontal tests of fully assembled cryo assemblies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Catabolic pathway acquisition by rhizosphere bacteria readily enables growth with a root exudate component but does not affect root colonization

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a fundamental evolutionary process that plays a key role in bacterial evolution. The likelihood of a successful transfer event is expected to depend on the precise balance of costs and benefits resulting from pathway acquisition. Most experimental analyses of HGT have focused on phenotypes that have large fitness benefits under appropriate selective conditions, such as antibiotic resistance. However, many examples of HGT involve phenotypes that are predicted to provide smaller benefits, such as the ability to catabolize additional carbon sources. We have experimentally simulated the consequences of one such HGT event in the laboratory, studying the effects of transferring a pathway for catabolism of the plant-derived aromatic compound salicyl alcohol between rhizosphere isolates from the Pseudomonas genus. We find that pathway acquisition enables rapid catabolism of salicyl alcohol with only minor disruptions to the existing metabolic and regulatory networks of the new host. However, this new catabolic potential does not confer a measurable fitness advantage during competitive growth in the rhizosphere. We conclude that the phenotype of salicyl alcohol catabolism is readily transferable but is selectively neutral under environmentally relevant conditions. We propose that this condition is common and that HGT of many pathways will be self-limiting because the selective benefits are small.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗