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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

Installation of Lysimeters Near Engineered Trench 3, Slit Trench 8, and Slit Trench 9

Nine new lysimeter stations were installed at the E-Area Low Level Waste Facility (ELLWF). Six lysimeter stations were installed near Engineered Trench 3 (ET3), one installed near Slit Trench 8 (ST8), and two installed near Slit Trench 9 (ST9) as shown in Figure ES-1. Two lysimeters were installed at each station at the depths shown in Table ES-1. Lysimeter placements were based on borehole lithology and were comparable to existing nearby lysimeter stations. The deepest lysimeter at each of the new lysimeter stations was designated as the action-level lysimeter. Following installation, the lysimeters were purged and placed under vacuum for sampling. Sampling occurred in April 2023. Analytical results from the sampling will be provided in the Spring 2023 Lysimeter Tritium Data technical memo and the 2023 Annual Summary Report. With the addition of the new lysimeters at ET3, ST8, and ST9, the vadose zone monitoring system is now comprised of 327 active lysimeters at 111 lysimeter stations. There are 102 action-level lysimeters at 111 stations.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2010

Launch Pad Flame Trench Refractory Materials

The launch complexes at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are critical support facilities for the successful launch of space-based vehicles. These facilities include a flame trench that bisects the pad at ground level. This trench includes a flame deflector system that consists of an inverted, V-shaped steel structure covered with a high temperature concrete material five inches thick that extends across the center of the flame trench. One side of the "V11 receives and deflects the flames from the orbiter main engines; the opposite side deflects the flames from the solid rocket boosters. There are also two movable deflectors at the top of the trench to provide additional protection to shuttle hardware from the solid rocket booster flames. These facilities are over 40 years old and are experiencing constant deterioration from launch heat/blast effects and environmental exposure. The refractory material currently used in launch pad flame deflectors has become susceptible to failure, resulting in large sections of the material breaking away from the steel base structure and creating high-speed projectiles during launch. These projectiles jeopardize the safety of the launch complex, crew, and vehicle. Post launch inspections have revealed that the number and frequency of repairs, as well as the area and size of the damage, is increasing with the number of launches. The Space Shuttle Program has accepted the extensive ground processing costs for post launch repair of damaged areas and investigations of future launch related failures for the remainder of the program. There currently are no long term solutions available for Constellation Program ground operations to address the poor performance and subsequent failures of the refractory materials. Over the last three years, significant liberation of refractory material in the flame trench and fire bricks along the adjacent trench walls following Space Shuttle launches have resulted in extensive investigations of failure mechanisms, load response, ejected material impact evaluation, and repair design analysis (environmental and structural assessment, induced environment from solid rocket booster plume, loads summary, and repair integrity), assessment of risk posture for flame trench debris, and justification of flight readiness rationale. Although the configuration of the launch pad, water and exhaust direction, and location of the Mobile Launcher Platform between the flame trench and the flight hardware should protect the Space Vehicle from debris exposure, loss of material could cause damage to a major element of the ground facility (resulting in temporary usage loss); and damage to other facility elements is possible. These are all significant risks that will impact ground operations for Constellation and development of new refractory material systems is necessary to reduce the likelihood of the foreign object debris hazard during launch. KSC is developing an alternate refractory material for the launch pad flame trench protection system, including flame deflector and flame trench walls, that will withstand launch conditions without the need for repair after every launch, as is currently the case. This paper will present a summary of the results from industry surveys, trade studies, life cycle cost analysis, and preliminary testing that have been performed to support and validate the development, testing, and qualification of new refractory materials.

Calle, Luz M.↗
DOE OSTI2024

A tutorial on the micro-trench technique for incident ion angle, material erosion, and impurity deposition measurements at plasma-facing surfaces

The micro-trench method is a new technique to measure polar and azimuthal incident ion angles, material erosion, and impurity deposition at plasma-facing surfaces, and has been applied in the DIII-D divertor. This article gives a tutorial of the micro-trench technique consisting of six steps: (1) micro-trench fabrication, (2) pre-exposure measurement of the fabricated micro-trench geometry, (3) tracer material deposition, (4) plasma exposure, (5) post-exposure observation of the tracer material, and (6) post-exposure measurement of the micro-trench geometry. Two criteria need to be satisfied to apply the micro-trench method successfully: (i) uniform impurity deposition on the micro-trench floor, and (ii) erosion dominated by the physical sputtering induced by the impinging ions. Furthermore, when those two criteria are satisfied, post-exposure analysis of the impurity deposition patterns on the micro-trench floor may be used to determine the polar and azimuthal incident ion directions (mean values of the ion angle directions), erosion rate, and impurity deposition rate during plasma exposure without computational interpretation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Performance Assessment Maintenance Plan for the Active Low-Level Burial Ground Trenches 31, 34, and 94 at the Hanford Site

This report documents the maintenance plan for the Hanford Site 200 West Area Active Low-Level Burial Ground Trenches 31 and 34 and 200 East Area Active Trench 94 performance assessment (PA). The PA maintenance plan is one of several supporting documents that are compendiums to the active trenches (Trenches 31, 34, and 94) PA as required in DOE O 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management . The PA is documented in DOE/RL-2021-26, Performance Assessment of Active Trenches in 200 East and West Low-Level Burial Grounds at the Hanford Site . This plan follows the requirements and outline specified in the applicable U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) standard used for developing documents supporting DOE-STD-5002-2017, Disposal Authorization Statement and Tank Closure Documentation . This maintenance plan summarizes the following major activities DOE plans to conduct to maintain the Trenches 31, 34, and 94 PA: Monitoring; Research and development; Planned reviews and analyses; Revisions of Trenches 31, 34, and 94 PA. The planned research and development activities relate to evaluating the key assumptions, including evaluating conceptual model assumptions and parameter value assumptions used in the PA. The planned research and development activities include those that are designed to track the release mechanisms for Category 1, Category 3, and uranium billet waste sources, as well as continued characterization and related modeling of the natural environment in the Central Plateau of the Hanford Site. In addition, the planned research and development activities include focused testing and evaluation of engineered and natural materials to reduce the uncertainty in the conceptual models and parameter values used in the PA. All key and secondary issues identified during the review of the PA by the Low-Level Waste Disposal Facility Federal Review Group have been resolved prior to finalization of the PA. There are no outstanding issues.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Performance Assessment of the Active Trenches in 200 East and 200 West Low-Level Burial Grounds at the Hanford Site

The purpose of this document is to provide the assessment of the long-term human health and environmental risk associated with the continued disposal of radioactive wastes in the active trenches of the 200 East and 200 West Area Low-Level Burial Grounds (LLBGs) at the Hanford Site (Figure ES-1), as required by DOE O 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management1. Since July 1, 2004, the only active trenches in the 200 West Area LLBGs are the lined Trenches 31 and 34 used for the disposal of containerized low-level waste and mixed low-level waste (Figure ES-2). The only active trench in the 200 East Area LLBGs is the unlined Trench 94 that was used for the disposal of naval reactor compartments (Figure ES-3). Trenches 31 and 34 are intended to be used until they reach their disposal capacity while Trench 94 will be used and expanded as necessary to meet the needs of the U.S. Navy.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2014

High Density Faraday Cup Array or Other Open Trench Structures and Method of Manufacture Thereof

A detector array and method for making the detector array. The detector array includes a substrate including a plurality of trenches formed therein, and a plurality of collectors electrically isolated from each other, formed on the walls of the trenches, and configured to collect charged particles incident on respective ones of the collectors and to output from the collectors signals indicative of charged particle collection. In the detector array, adjacent ones of the plurality of trenches are disposed in a staggered configuration relative to one another. The method forms in a substrate a plurality of trenches across a surface of the substrate such that adjacent ones of the trenches are in a staggered sequence relative to one another, forms in the plurality of trenches a plurality of collectors, and connects a plurality of electrodes respectively to the collectors.

Bower, Christopher A.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Soil Displacement Terramechanics for Wheel-Based Trenching with a Planetary Rover

Planetary exploration rovers are expensive, weight constrained, and cannot be serviced once deployed. Here, we explore one way to increase their capabilities while avoiding the cost, mass, and complexity leading to these issues. We propose to re-use the large wheel actuators for trenching and other digging operations, which will enable a range of missions such as sampling deeper layers of soil. We present a new, closed-form model of the soil displaced by an angled, spinning wheel to analyze the trenching potential of a driving strategy and inform the control of the wheel. The model is demonstrated with single wheel experiments under different driving conditions. The model suggests: that a deep trench does not require large tractive efforts; that the shape of the trench can be controlled; and that a rear wheel has a lower risk of entrapment when trenching than a front wheel. Ultimately this model could be used in a nonprehensile manipulation planning or learning algorithm to enable autonomous trenching.

Wheels↗
NASA NTRS1978

An elastic-perfectly plastic analysis of the bending of the lithosphere at a trench

A number of authors have modeled the flexure of the lithosphere at an oceanic trench using a thin elastic plate with a hydrostatic restoring force. In some cases good agreement with observed topography is obtained but in other cases the slope of the lithosphere within the trench is greater than that predicted by the elastic theory. In this paper the bending of a thin plate is considered using an elastic-perfectly plastic rheology. It is found that the lithosphere behaves elastically seaward of the trench, but that plasticity decreases the radius of curvature within the trench. The results are compared with a number of observed trench profiles. The elastic-perfectly plastic profiles are in excellent agreement with those profiles that deviate from elastic behavior.

Turcotte, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Sulfate Deposition in Regolith Exposed in Trenches on the Plains Between the Spirit Landing Site and Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater, Mars

During its exploration within Gusev crater between sol 01 and sol 158, the Spirit rover dug three trenches (Fig. 1) to expose the subsurface regolith [1, 2, 9]. Laguna trench (approx. 6 cm deep, approx.203 m from the rim of Bonneville crater) was dug in Laguna Hollow at the boundary of the impact ejecta from Bonneville crater and the surrounding plains. The Big Hole trench (approx. 6-7 cm deep) and The Boroughs trench (approx. 11 cm deep) were dug in the plains between the Bonneville crater and the Columbia Hills (approx.556 m and approx.1698 m from the rim of Bonneville crater respectively). The top, wall and floor regolith of the three trenches were investigated using the entire set of Athena scientific instruments [10].

Wang, Alian↗
NASA NTRS2010

KSC Launch Pad Flame Trench Environment Assessment

This report summarizes conditions in the Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) flame trenches during a Space Shuttle Launch, as they have been measured to date. Instrumentation of the flame trench has been carried out by NASA and United Space Alliance for four Shuttle launches. Measurements in the flame trench are planned to continue for the duration of the Shuttle Program. The assessment of the launch environment is intended to provide guidance in selecting appropriate test methods for refractory materials used in the flame trench and to provide data used to improve models of the launch environment in the flame trench.

Calle, Luz Marina↗
DOE OSTI2023

Performance Assessment Closure Plan for the Active Low-Level Burial Ground Trenches 31, 34, and 94 at the Hanford Site

This report documents the closure plan for the active trenches within the Low-Level Burial Grounds of the Hanford Site, namely Trenches 31 and 34 in the 200 West Area and Trench 94 in 200 East Area. This closure plan is developed to meet the requirements of DOE O 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management. It is one of the several technical basis documents, along with the performance assessment (DOE/RL-2021-26, Performance Assessment of Active Trenches in 200 East and West Low-Level Burial Grounds at the Hanford Site), which is required for maintaining the Operating Disposal Authorization Statement as described in DOE-STD-5002-2017, Disposal Authorization Statement and Tank Closure Documentation.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Sapphire Substrate Trenching to Advance Superconducting High-Coherence Quantum Devices

Achieving longer coherence times in superconducting qubits is essential for advancing quantum information processing and enabling scalable quantum computing. This work presents an innovative fabrication strategy focused on sapphire trenching of the substrate of superconducting high-coherence quantum devices, developed by the SQMS Nanofabrication Taskforce in collaboration with the materials characterization team. In this talk, we present a method to efficiently and consistently trench into the sapphire substrate, without compromising the surface roughness or profile of the etched sapphire. In the literature, trenching in the substrate has been shown to decrease losses, unwanted coupling and thermal stress. Sapphire’s strong covalent bonds make it harder to etch compared to silicon, yet it is more favorable for high-coherence quantum devices due to its lower dielectric losses. This innovative technique opens new possibilities for superconducting qubit fabrication: we fabricated high coherence qubit chips on sapphire substrates with trenching, to demonstrate that it will help pushing towards higher coherence times. By integrating this work with ongoing junction process optimization, design innovation, materials characterization and exploration, we outline a clear pathway toward transmon coherence times reaching millisecond scales and beyond.

Garattoni, S. [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Sapphire Substrate Trenching to Advance Superconducting High-Coherence Quantum Devices

Achieving longer coherence times in superconducting qubits is essential for advancing quantum information processing and enabling scalable quantum computing. This work presents an innovative fabrication strategy focused on sapphire trenching of the substrate of superconducting high-coherence quantum devices, developed by the SQMS Nanofabrication Taskforce in collaboration with the materials characterization team. In this talk, we present a method to efficiently and consistently trench into the sapphire substrate, without compromising the surface roughness or profile of the etched sapphire. In the literature, trenching in the substrate has been shown to decrease losses, unwanted coupling and thermal stress. Sapphire’s strong covalent bonds make it harder to etch compared to silicon, yet it is more favorable for high-coherence quantum devices due to its lower dielectric losses. This innovative technique opens new possibilities for superconducting qubit fabrication: we fabricated high coherence qubit chips on sapphire substrates with trenching, to demonstrate that it will help pushing towards higher coherence times. By integrating this work with ongoing junction process optimization, design innovation, materials characterization and exploration, we outline a clear pathway toward transmon coherence times reaching millisecond scales and beyond.

Garattoni, S. [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS1992

Oblique convergence and deformation along the Kuril and Japan trenches

The hypothesis that present-day deformation within the southern Kuril forearc is driven by oblique subduction of the Pacific plate is tested using 397 horizontal slip directions derived from shallow-thrust earthquakes from the Kuril and Japan trenches for the period 1963-1991. A simple two-plate model fits the 397 slip vectors significantly worse than a model that permits strike-slip motion of the southern Kuril forearc relative to the overlying plate. Weighted, mean slip directions along the southern Kuril trench are systematically rotated toward the direction orthogonal to the trench, which implies that the net convergence is partitioned into less oblique subduction and trench-parallel displacement of the southern Kuril forearc. The angular discrepancy between the observed slip direction and the direction predicted by the NUVEL-1 Pacific-North America Euler vector implies that the southern Kuril forearc translates 6-11 mm/yr to the southwest relative to the overlying North American plate. These results are consistent with geologically, geodetically, and seismologically observed convergence at the leading edge of the forearc sliver in southern Kokkaido and with previously inferred extension at the trailing edge of the sliver, which is located at the Bussol Strait at 46 deg N.

Demets, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2017

Recent Radiation Test Results for Trench Power MOSFETs

Single-event effect (SEE) radiation test results are presented for various trench-gate power MOSFETs. The heavy-ion response of the first (and only) radiation-hardened trench-gate power MOSFET is evaluated: the manufacturer SEE response curve is verified and importantly, no localized dosing effects are measured, distinguishing it from other, non-hardened trench-gate power MOSFETs. Evaluations are made of n-type commercial and both n- and p-type automotive grade trench-gate device using ions comparable to of those on the low linear energy transfer (LET) side of the iron knee of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum, to explore suitability of these parts for missions with higher risk tolerance and shorter duration, such as CubeSats. Part-to-part variability of SEE threshold suggests testing with larger sample sizes and applying more aggressive derating to avoid on-orbit failures. The n-type devices yielded expected localized dosing effects including when irradiated in an unbiased (0-V) configuration, adding to the challenge of inserting these parts into space flight missions.

Schottky Diodes↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigation on gate oxide reliability under gate bias screening for commercial SiC planar and trench MOSFETs

This paper evaluates the impact of the fast high gate-voltage screening technique on gate oxide reliability of commercial 1.2 kV 4H-SiC power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with planar and trench gate structures. The measurements are conducted on packaged devices with the intent that the results will be applicable to wafer-level screening. The threshold voltage (V th ) of SiC MOSFETs is measured before and after various screening treatments and recovery process. In addition, constant-voltage time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) measurements are performed on SiC MOSFETs to obtain the intrinsic lifetime of gate oxide. The objective of this study is to determine the optimal screening conditions and improve screening efficiency without degradation of gate oxide reliability, such as V th shift and reduced oxide intrinsic lifetime. Due to the differences in the gate oxidation process and structural design of SiC planar and trench MOSFETs, the two types of devices exhibit different oxide reliability in the screening process. The recommended screening conditions obtained in this paper reveal that SiC trench MOSFETs can accept higher screening voltages compared to SiC planar MOSFETs. Hence, it can be concluded that more efficient screening techniques can be adopted for SiC MOSFETs with thicker gate oxide to meet the requirements of industrial applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1988

Ridge-trench collision in Archean and Post-Archean crustal growth: Evidence from southern Chile

The growth of continental crust at convergent plate margins involves both continuous and episodic processes. Ridge-trench collision is one episodic process that can cause significant magmatic and tectonic effects on convergent plate margins. Because the sites of ridge collision (ridge-trench triple junctions) generally migrate along convergent plate boundaries, the effects of ridge collision will be highly diachronous in Andean-type orogenic belts and may not be adequately recognized in the geologic record. The Chile margin triple junction (CMTJ, 46 deg S), where the actively spreading Chile rise is colliding with the sediment-filled Peru-Chile trench, is geometrically and kinematically the simplest modern example of ridge collision. The south Chile margin illustrates the importance of the ridge-collision tectonic setting in crustal evolution at convergent margins. Similarities between ridge-collision features in southern Chile and features of Archean greenstone belts raise the question of the importance of ridge collision in Archean crustal growth. Archean plate tectonic processes were probably different than today; these differences may have affected the nature and importance of ridge collision during Archean crustal growth. In conclusion, it is suggested that smaller plates, greater ridge length, and/or faster spreading all point to the likelihood that ridge collision played a greater role in crustal growth and development of the greenstone-granite terranes during the Archean. However, the effects of modern ridge collision, and the processes involved, are not well enough known to develop specific models for the Archean ridge collison.

Nelson, E. P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The relationship between plate velocity and trench viscosity in Newtonian and power-law subduction calculations

The relationship between oceanic trench viscosity and oceanic plate velocity is studied using a Newtonian rheology by varying the viscosity at the trench. The plate velocity is a function of the trench viscosity for fixed Rayleigh number and plate/slab viscosity. Slab velocities for non-Newtonian rheology calculations are significantly different from slab velocities from Newtonian rheology calculations at the same effective Rayleigh number. Both models give reasonable strain rates for the slab when compared with estimates of seismic strain rate. Non-Newtonian rheology eliminates the need for imposed weak zones and provides a self-consistent fluid dynamical mechanism for subduction in numerical convection models.

King, Scott D.↗