An anisotropic numerical model for thermal hydraulic analyses: application to liquid metal flow in fuel assemblies

A CFD analysis has been carried out to study the thermal–hydraulic behavior of liquid metal coolant in a fuel assembly of triangular lattice. In order to obtain fast and accurate results, the isotropic two-equation RANS approach is often used in nuclear engineering applications. A different approach is provided by Non-Linear Eddy Viscosity Models (NLEVM), which try to take into account anisotropic effects by a nonlinear formulation of the Reynolds stress tensor. This approach is very promising, as it results in a very good numerical behavior and in a potentially better fluid flow description than classical isotropic models. An Anisotropic Shear Stress Transport (ASST) model, implemented into a commercial software, has been applied in previous studies, showing very trustful results for a large variety of flows and applications. In the paper, the ASST model has been used to perform an analysis of the fluid flow inside the fuel assembly of the ALFRED lead cooled fast reactor. Then, a comparison between the results of wall-resolved conjugated heat transfer computations and the results of a decoupled analysis using a suitable thermal wall-function previously implemented into the solver has been performed and presented

Turbulence Model Comparison for Compact Plate Heat Exchanger Design Application.

In the framework of the Gas-Power Conversion System for the Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration (ASTRID) project design, works done at CEA are focused on the design of the sodium-gas heat exchanger. Compact plate heat exchangers are indicated as the most suitable technology for such applications. An innovative compact heat exchanger geometry is proposed in this paper: its innovationconsists increatinga 3D mixing flow. The proposed geometry has also very good mechanical resistance to high pressure gradients, being suitable for a large variety of flow applications. The flowfield inside such a channel is experimentally studied using the Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) technique. The main velocity, the radial velocity as well as the Reynolds stressesare measured: data show the high level of flow mixing and the 3D flow pattern inside the channel. The experimental measurements are then used to validate turbulence models: in particular Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations are closed using both isotropic 2-equation isotropic eddy viscosity models and a Non-Linear Eddy Viscosity Model (NLEVM). Presented results represent the first step in the assessment of innovative high-performance compact plate heat exchangers that can be used to increase the plant efficiency as well as decrease the capital cost of the single component

Synthesis, Characterization, Fluorescence Properties, and DFT Modeling of Difluoroboron Biindolediketonates

We report a simple and efficient strategy to enhance the fluorescence of biocompatible biindole diketonates (bdks) in the visible spectrum through difluoroboronation (BF2bdks complexes). Emission spectroscopy testifies an increase in the fluorescence quantum yields from a few percent to as much as >0.7. This massive increment is essentially independent of substitutions at the indole (-H, -Cl, and -OCH3) and corresponds to a significant stabilization of the excited state with respect to non-radiative decay mechanisms: the non-radiative decay rates are reduced by as much as an order of magnitude, from 109 s−1 to 108 s−1, upon difluoroboronation. The stabilization of the excited state is large enough to enable sizeable 1O2 photosensitized production. Different time-dependent (TD) density functional theory (DFT) methods were assessed in their ability to model the electronic properties of the compounds, with TD-B3LYP-D3 providing the most accurate excitation energies. The calculations associate the first active optical transition in both the bdks and BF2bdks electronic spectra to the S0 → S1 transition, corresponding to a shift in the electronic density from the indoles to the oxygens or the O-BF2-O unit, respectively

The role of carbon capture, utilization, and storage for economic pathways that limit global warming to below 1.5°C

The 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, for the first time, stated that CO2 removal will be necessary to meet our climate goals. However, there is a cost to accomplish CO2 removal or mitigation that varies by source. Accordingly, a sensible strategy to prevent climate change begins by mitigating emission sources requiring the least energy and capital investment per ton of CO2, such as new emitters and long-term stationary sources. The production of CO2-derived products should also start by favoring processes that bring to market high-value products with sufficient margin to tolerate a higher cost of goods

Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Coupling of Benzylamine over Titanium-Based MIL-125-NH2 Metal-Organic Framework: A Mechanistic Study

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c06950.[EN] Imines are important building blocks in organic chemistry. Titanium-based metal-organic framework (MOF) MIL-125-NH2(Ti) can photocatalyze, under visible light and at room temperature, the selective aerobic oxidation of benzylamine to N-benzylidenebenzylamine. We investigated the reaction mechanism using catalytic tests, ex situ infrared spectroscopy, and density functional calculations. In the dark, the presence of MIL-125-NH2(Ti) alone does not improve the reaction yield with respect to a blank experiment. This poor catalytic performance in the dark is associated with the absence of polarizing species on the MOF surface, as confirmed by acetonitrile adsorption. Excitation with different spectral regions evidenced the determinant role of the 450 < lambda < 385 nm range for catalyst photoactivation. The calculations show that the last step of the reaction would have an energy barrier of 206 kJ mol(-1) in anhydrous conditions, while it decreases to 88 kJ mol(-1) only if the mechanism is mediated by two water molecules.Financial support by the Spanish Government is acknowledged through projects MAT2017-82288-C2-1-P and the Severo Ochoa program (SEV-2016-0683). We further thank Bartolomeo Civalleri for the kind help with the calculations and Diego Pellerej for experimental assistance.Vitillo, JG.; Presti, D.; Luz, I.; Llabrés I Xamena, FX.; Bordiga, S. (2020). Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Coupling of Benzylamine over Titanium-Based MIL-125-NH2 Metal-Organic Framework: A Mechanistic Study. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 124(43):23707-23715. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c06950S23707237151244

Internal alignment and position resolution of the silicon tracker of DAMPE determined with orbit data

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is a space-borne particle detector designed to probe electrons and gamma-rays in the few GeV to 10 TeV energy range, as well as cosmic-ray proton and nuclei components between 10 GeV and 100 TeV. The silicon-tungsten tracker-converter is a crucial component of DAMPE. It allows the direction of incoming photons converting into electron-positron pairs to be estimated, and the trajectory and charge (Z) of cosmic-ray particles to be identified. It consists of 768 silicon micro-strip sensors assembled in 6 double layers with a total active area of 6.6 m$^2$. Silicon planes are interleaved with three layers of tungsten plates, resulting in about one radiation length of material in the tracker. Internal alignment parameters of the tracker have been determined on orbit, with non-showering protons and helium nuclei. We describe the alignment procedure and present the position resolution and alignment stability measurements

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer mission

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), one of the four scientific space science missions within the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Program on Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a general purpose high energy cosmic-ray and gamma-ray observatory, which was successfully launched on December 17th, 2015 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The DAMPE scientific objectives include the study of galactic cosmic rays up to $\sim 10$ TeV and hundreds of TeV for electrons/gammas and nuclei respectively, and the search for dark matter signatures in their spectra. In this paper we illustrate the layout of the DAMPE instrument, and discuss the results of beam tests and calibrations performed on ground. Finally we present the expected performance in space and give an overview of the mission key scientific goals.Comment: 45 pages, including 29 figures and 6 tables. Published in Astropart. Phy

Direct detection of a break in the teraelectronvolt cosmic-ray spectrum of electrons and positrons

High energy cosmic ray electrons plus positrons (CREs), which lose energy quickly during their propagation, provide an ideal probe of Galactic high-energy processes and may enable the observation of phenomena such as dark-matter particle annihilation or decay. The CRE spectrum has been directly measured up to $\sim 2$ TeV in previous balloon- or space-borne experiments, and indirectly up to $\sim 5$ TeV by ground-based Cherenkov $\gamma$-ray telescope arrays. Evidence for a spectral break in the TeV energy range has been provided by indirect measurements of H.E.S.S., although the results were qualified by sizeable systematic uncertainties. Here we report a direct measurement of CREs in the energy range $25~{\rm GeV}-4.6~{\rm TeV}$ by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) with unprecedentedly high energy resolution and low background. The majority of the spectrum can be properly fitted by a smoothly broken power-law model rather than a single power-law model. The direct detection of a spectral break at $E \sim0.9$ TeV confirms the evidence found by H.E.S.S., clarifies the behavior of the CRE spectrum at energies above 1 TeV and sheds light on the physical origin of the sub-TeV CREs.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, Nature in press, doi:10.1038/nature2447

Influence of functionalization of terephthalate linker on the catalytic activity of UiO-66 for epoxide ring opening

[EN] A series of five isostructural zirconium terephthalate UiO-66 metal organic frameworks bearing different functional groups on the terephthalate linker (UiO-66-X; X = H, NH2, NO2, Br, Cl,) have been successfully prepared and characterized. UiO-66-X materials were evaluated as heterogeneous catalysts for the epoxide ring opening of styrene oxide by methanol, observing an increase in the initial reaction rate from UiO-66-H to UiO-66-Br, over one order of magnitude. The reactivity order, however, does not follow a linear relationship between the Hammett constant value of the substituent and the initial reaction rate. UiO-66-Br exhibits a wide scope, its activity depending on the structure of epoxide and nucleophile. The absence of Zr leaching to the solution together with the preservation of the UiO-66-X crystallinity confirms the stability of the framework under the reaction conditions. Nevertheless, UiO-66 undergoes a progressive deactivation upon reuse that was attributed to a strong adsorption of the reaction product.Financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Severo Ochoa and CTQ2015-69153 and CTQ2014-53292-R and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo 2013/14) and is grateful acknowledged. We also thank EU under the Being Energy contract for partial funding. J.F.B. thanks the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for a postgraduate scholarship. S.N. thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte for Jose Castillejo mobility programme (CAS14/00067).Blandez, JF.; Santiago-Portillo, A.; Navalón Oltra, S.; Gimenez Marques, M.; Alvaro Rodríguez, MM.; Horcajada, P.; García Gómez, H. (2016). Influence of functionalization of terephthalate linker on the catalytic activity of UiO-66 for epoxide ring opening. Journal of Molecular Catalysis A Chemical. 425:332-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcata.2016.10.022S33233942

Precision Measurement of the Boron to Carbon Flux Ratio in Cosmic Rays from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the boron to carbon flux ratio (B/C) is important in understanding the propagation of cosmic rays. The precise measurement of the B/C ratio from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV, based on 2.3 million boron and 8.3 million carbon nuclei collected by AMS during the first 5 years of operation, is presented. The detailed variation with rigidity of the B/C spectral index is reported for the first time. The B/C ratio does not show any significant structures in contrast to many cosmic ray models that require such structures at high rigidities. Remarkably, above 65 GV, the B/C ratio is well described by a single power law R[superscript Δ] with index Δ=-0.333±0.014(fit)±0.005(syst), in good agreement with the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence which predicts Δ=-1/3 asymptotically.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grants 1455202 and 1551980)Wyle Research (Firm) (Grant 2014/T72497)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship Grant HELIO15F-0005