261,488 research outputs found
Additional Investigations of Ice Shape Sensitivity to Parameter Variations
A second parameter sensitivity study was conducted at the NASA Glenn Research Center's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) using a 36 in. chord (0.91 m) NACA-0012 airfoil. The objective of this work was to further investigate the feasibility of using ice shape feature changes to define requirements for the simulation and measurement of SLD and appendix C icing conditions. A previous study concluded that it was feasible to use changes in ice shape features (e.g., ice horn angle, ice horn thickness, and ice shape mass) to detect relatively small variations in icing spray condition parameters (LWC, MVD, and temperature). The subject of this current investigation extends the scope of this previous work, by also examining the effect of icing tunnel spray-bar parameter variations (water pressure, air pressure) on ice shape feature changes. The approach was to vary spray-bar water pressure and air pressure, and then evaluate the effects of these parameter changes on the resulting ice shapes. This paper will provide a description of the experimental method, present selected experimental results, and conclude with an evaluation of these results
Critical Susceptibility Exponent Measured from Fe/W(110) Bilayers
The critical phase transition in ferromagnetic ultrathin Fe/W(110) films has
been studied using the magnetic ac susceptibility. A statistically objective,
unconstrained fitting of the susceptibility is used to extract values for the
critical exponent (gamma), the critical temperature Tc, the critical amplitude
(chi_o) and the range of temperature that exhibits power-law behaviour. A
fitting algorithm was used to simultaneously minimize the statistical variance
of a power law fit to individual experimental measurements of chi(T). This
avoids systematic errors and generates objective fitting results. An ensemble
of 25 measurements on many different films are analyzed. Those which permit an
extended fitting range in reduced temperature lower than approximately .00475
give an average value gamma=1.76+-0.01. Bilayer films give a weighted average
value of gamma = 1.75+-0.02. These results are in agreement with the
-dimensional Ising exponent gamma= 7/4. Measurements that do not exhibit
power-law scaling as close to Tc (especially films of thickness 1.75ML) show a
value of gamma higher than the Ising value. Several possibilities are
considered to account for this behaviour.Comment: -Submitted to Phys. Rev. B -Revtex4 Format -6 postscript figure
Producing High Concentrations of Hydrogen in Palladium via Electrochemical Insertion from Aqueous and Solid Electrolytes
Metal hydrides are critical materials in numerous technologies including
hydrogen storage, gas separation, and electrocatalysis. Here, using Pd-H as a
model metal hydride, we perform electrochemical insertion studies of hydrogen
via liquid and solid state electrolytes at 1 atm ambient pressure, and achieve
H:Pd ratios near unity, the theoretical solubility limit. We show that the
compositions achieved result from a dynamic balance between the rate of
hydrogen insertion and evolution from the Pd lattice, the combined kinetics of
which are sufficiently rapid that operando experiments are necessary to
characterize instantaneous PdHx composition. We use simultaneous
electrochemical insertion and X-ray diffraction measurements, combined with a
new calibration of lattice parameter versus hydrogen concentration, to enable
accurate quantification of the composition of electrochemically synthesized
PdHx. Furthermore, we show that the achievable hydrogen concentration is
severely limited by electrochemomechanical damage to the palladium and/or
substrate. The understanding embodied in these results helps to establish new
design rules for achieving high hydrogen concentrations in metal hydrides.Comment: 38 page
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Identification and characterization of the dominant thermal resistance in lithium-ion batteries using operando 3-omega sensors
Poor thermal transport within lithium-ion batteries fundamentally limits their performance, safety, and lifetime, in spite of external thermal management systems. All prior efforts to understand the origin of batteries' mysteriously high thermal resistance have been confined to ex situ measurements without understanding the impact of battery operation. Here, we develop a frequency-domain technique that employs sensors capable of measuring spatially resolved intrinsic thermal transport properties within a live battery while it is undergoing cycling. Our results reveal that the poor battery thermal transport is due to high thermal contact resistance between the separator and both electrode layers and worsens as a result of formation cycling, degrading total battery thermal transport by up to 70%. We develop a thermal model of these contact resistances to explain their origin. These contacts account for up to 65% of the total thermal resistance inside the battery, leading to far-reaching consequences for the thermal design of batteries. Our technique unlocks new thermal measurement capabilities for future battery research
Formation of Structure in Snowfields: Penitentes, Suncups, and Dirt Cones
Penitentes and suncups are structures formed as snow melts, typically high in
the mountains. When the snow is dirty, dirt cones and other structures can form
instead. Building on previous field observations and experiments, this work
presents a theory of ablation morphologies, and the role of surface dirt in
determining the structures formed. The glaciological literature indicates that
sunlight, heating from air, and dirt all play a role in the formation of
structure on an ablating snow surface. The present work formulates a
mathematical model for the formation of ablation morphologies as a function of
measurable parameters. The dependence of ablation morphologies on weather
conditions and initial dirt thickness are studied, focusing on the initial
growth of perturbations away from a flat surface. We derive a single-parameter
expression for the melting rate as a function of dirt thickness, which agrees
well with a set of measurements by Driedger. An interesting result is the
prediction of a dirt-induced travelling instability for a range of parameters.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure
Zeeman-limited Superconductivity in Crystalline Al Films
We report the evolution of the Zeeman-mediated superconducting phase diagram
(PD) in ultra-thin crystalline Al films. Parallel critical field measurements,
down to 50 mK, were made across the superconducting tricritical point of films
ranging in thickness from 7 ML to 30 ML. The resulting phase boundaries were
compared with the quasi-classical theory of a Zeeman-mediated transition
between a homogeneous BCS condensate and a spin polarized Fermi liquid. Films
thicker than 20 ML showed good agreement with theory, but thinner films
exhibited an anomalous PD that cannot be reconciled within a homogeneous BCS
framework.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
Effect of annealing on the superconducting properties of a-Nb(x)Si(1-x) thin films
a-Nb(x)Si(1-x) thin films with thicknesses down to 25 {\AA} have been
structurally characterized by TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy)
measurements. As-deposited or annealed films are shown to be continuous and
homogeneous in composition and thickness, up to an annealing temperature of
500{\deg}C. We have carried out low temperature transport measurements on these
films close to the superconductor-to-insulator transition (SIT), and shown a
qualitative difference between the effect of annealing or composition, and a
reduction of the film thickness on the superconducting properties of a-NbSi.
These results question the pertinence of the sheet resistance R_square as the
relevant parameter to describe the SIT.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure
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