Sandia National Laboratories

About: Sandia National Laboratories is a facility organization based out in Livermore, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Laser & Combustion. The organization has 21501 authors who have published 46724 publications receiving 1484388 citations. The organization is also known as: SNL & Sandia National Labs.

Results from a Search for Light-Mass Dark Matter with a P-type Point Contact Germanium Detector

Abstract: We report on several features in the energy spectrum from an ultralow-noise germanium detector operated deep underground. By implementing a new technique able to reject surface events, a number of cosmogenic peaks can be observed for the first time. We discuss an irreducible excess of bulklike events below 3 keV in ionization energy. These could be caused by unknown backgrounds, but also dark matter interactions consistent with DAMA/LIBRA. It is not yet possible to determine their origin. Improved constraints are placed on a cosmological origin for the DAMA/LIBRA effect.

Effects of Gas Density and Vaporization on Penetration and Dispersion of Diesel Sprays

Abstract: Ambient gas density and fuel vaporization effects on the penetration and dispersion of diesel sprays were examined over a gas density range spanning nearly two order of magnitude. This range included gas densities more than a factor of two higher than top-dead-center conditions in current technology heavy-duty diesel engines. The results show that ambient gas density has a significantly larger effect on spray penetration and a smaller effect on spray dispersion than has been previously reported. The increased dependence of penetration on gas density is shown to be the result of gas density effects on dispersion. In addition, the results show that vaporization decreases penetration and dispersion by as much as 20% relative to non-vaporizing sprays; however, the effects of vaporization decrease with increasing gas density. Characteristic penetration time and length scales are presented that include a dispersion term that accounts for the increased dependence of penetration on ambient density. These penetration time and length scales collapse the penetration data obtained over the entire range of conditions examined in the experiment into two distinct non-dimensional penetration curves: one for the non-vaporizing conditions and one for the vaporizing conditions. Comparison of the two nondimensional penetration curves to a theoretical penetration correlation for non-vaporizing sprays helped isolate and explain the effects of droplets and vaporization on penetration. The theoretical penetration correlation was derived using the penetration time and length scales and simple model for a non-vaporizing spray that has been previously presented in the literature. The correlation is in good agreement with the non-vaporizing data from this experiment and other commonly quoted penetration data sets. It also provides a potential explanation for much of scatter in the penetration predicted by various correlations in the literature.

Achieving high energy density and high power density with pseudocapacitive materials

Abstract: Batteries and supercapacitors serve as the basis for electrochemical energy-storage devices. Although both rely on electrochemical processes, their charge-storage mechanisms are dissimilar, giving rise to different energy and power densities. Pseudocapacitive materials store charge through battery-like redox reactions but at fast rates comparable to those of electrochemical double-layer capacitors; these materials, therefore, offer a pathway for achieving both high energy and high power densities. Materials that combine these properties are in demand for the realization of fast-charging electrochemical energy-storage devices capable of delivering high power for long periods of time. In this Review, we describe the fundamental electrochemical properties of pseudocapacitive materials, with emphasis on kinetic processes and distinctions between battery and pseudocapacitive materials. In addition, we discuss the various types of pseudocapacitive materials, highlighting the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic materials; assess device applications; and consider the future prospects for the field. Pseudocapacitive materials can bridge the gap between high-energy-density battery materials and high-power-density electrochemical capacitor materials. In this Review, we examine the electrochemistry and physical signatures of pseudocapacitive charge-storage processes and discuss existing pseudocapacitive materials.