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At least 1,801 records · Page 100

Griffin: A MOOSE-based reactor physics application for multiphysics simulation of advanced nuclear reactors

Griffin is a Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) based reactor physics application for multiphysics simulations of advanced reactor designs jointly developed by Idaho National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. This paper summarizes the motivation, significance, architecture, design, and features of Griffin. Griffin offers flexible and extensible features to address the challenges associated with advanced reactor designs. These features range from fundamental particle transport to specific reactor physics tasks. The features cover a wide range including on-the-fly and traditional two-step cross-section generation methods, steady-state and transient transport solvers suitable for both heterogeneous and homogeneous models, high-fidelity depletion where thousands of isotopes can be tracked and low-fidelity depletion characterized by burnup, etc. The most fundamental aspect that sets Griffin apart from other reactor analysis codes is that it is developed based on the MOOSE framework. A modular development approach is strongly enforced, with multiphysics being an essential element considered since the beginning of Griffin’s development. Griffin links various MOOSE physics modules and couples to other MOOSE-based applications and non-MOOSE-based applications for multiphyiscs simulations. Griffin includes three modules: ISOXML for preparing and managing multigroup cross sections, radiation transport for solving the neutron transport equation, and reactor analysis for user-oriented reactor physics analysis functionalities. Griffin uses various finite element methods for spatial discretization, multigroup approximation for energy discretization and discrete ordinates method, spherical harmonics expansion method, and diffusion approximation for streaming direction discretization to solve the neutron transport equation. Griffin’s flexibility is evidenced through Griffin’s various applications to fast reactor, high-temperature reactor, pebble bed reactor, molten salt reactor, and microreactor designs. Griffin development follows the software quality assurance procedure for MOOSE-based applications and with software requirements consistent with the ASME NQA-1 standard. Griffin has been adopted into the reactor analysis system for the U.S. NRC and is in use at U.S. companies, universities and national laboratories.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Learning high-dimensional parametric maps via reduced basis adaptive residual networks

We propose a scalable framework for the learning of high-dimensional parametric maps via adaptively constructed residual network (ResNet) maps between reduced bases of the inputs and outputs. When just few training data are available, it is beneficial to have a compact parametrization in order to ameliorate the ill-posedness of the neural network training problem. By linearly restricting high-dimensional maps to informed reduced bases of the inputs, one can compress high-dimensional maps in a constructive way that can be used to detect appropriate basis ranks, equipped with rigorous error estimates. A scalable neural network learning framework is thus to learn the nonlinear compressed reduced basis mapping. Unlike the reduced basis construction, however, neural network constructions are not guaranteed to reduce errors by adding representation power, making it difficult to achieve good practical performance. Inspired by recent approximation theory that connects ResNets to sequential minimizing flows, we present an adaptive ResNet construction algorithm. This algorithm allows for depth-wise enrichment of the neural network approximation, in a manner that can achieve good practical performance by first training a shallow network and then adapting. We prove universal approximation of the associated neural network class for $L^2_v$ functions on compact sets. Our overall framework allows for constructive means to detect appropriate breadth and depth, and related compact parametrizations of neural networks, significantly reducing the need for architectural hyperparameter tuning. Numerical experiments for parametric PDE problems and a 3D CFD wing design optimization parametric map demonstrate that the proposed methodology can achieve remarkably high accuracy for limited training data, and outperformed other neural network strategies we compared against.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Tight-binding study of beryllium

In this work, we have applied the Naval Research Laboratory Tight-binding (NRL-TB) Method to the hcp alkaline-earth metal Beryllium. This approach consists of fitting to energy band and total energy data generated by the Linearized Augmented Plane Wave (LAPW) for the fcc, bcc, sc, and hcp structures as a function of volume. First, we found that using the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) for the input data secures a better agreement to experimental volumes than the LDA. Second, we found that including small volumes to the fit is needed to get TB parameters that are transferable enough to successfully predict the energies of structures that were not fitted, and to perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The non-orthogonal Hamiltonian obtained, is successful in correctly predicting the hcp lattice as the ground state of Be and finding eight other structures, that were not fitted to LAPW, positioned at higher energies. In addition, the NRL-TB produces accurate energy bands, densities of states, elastic constants, the Bain path and several quantities derived from MD simulations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mobilities of polydisperse hard spheres near a no-slip wall

In the article, we have derived an analytical formulation for far-field hydrodynamic interactions among unequal size hard spheres near a no-slip wall and have implemented the formulation in a Stokesian dynamics model to simulate a suspension of polydisperse particles in a semi-bounded domain. The formulation is based on the multipole expansion of the boundary integral of Stokes flow, and the mobility tensors are deduced from Fáxen’s law together with Green’s function for Stokes flow near a no-slip wall. Lubrication approximation is incorporated to account for the close-distance interactions between any two particles and also between the particles and the wall. The implementation is validated against previous formulations for equal size particles and against a boundary-element code for unequal size particles. The code can be used to simulate the Stokesian or Brownian interaction of unequal particles in presence of a no-slip wall. In the current study, we applied the Stokesian dynamics model to investigate the trajectories of two unequal hard spheres and their redistribution during sedimentation parallel to a wall. We further used it to demonstrate the cases of many-particle sedimentation toward or parallel to a wall.

catalysis (heterogeneous)↗

Investigating the role of water on CO2-Utica Shale interactions for carbon storage and shale gas extraction activities – Evidence for pore scale alterations

In this work, we probed the physical and chemical alteration of the carbonate-rich Utica Shale following CO 2 exposure when thin films of water were present at the shale surface. All reaction conditions were examined at 40 °C and CO 2 pressures up to 10.3 MPa for 14 days. CO 2 dissolution in the water layer at 2342 cm -1 and carbonate dissolution and precipitation at 1424, 874, and 712 cm -1 were discerned with in-situ Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Significant etching and pitting from exposure to CO 2 and water were observed with feature relocation scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Application of the density function theory (DFT) for pore size analysis showed that micropores between approximately 0.9 and 2 nm disappeared while the mesopore volume increased after dissolution of carbonate. These results may provide new insights that carbonate rich shales such as the Utica may have a greater potential for alterations of pore space due to the reactivity of CO 2 which may affect 1) how CO 2 storage in shale formations plays a role in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) activities, 2) if CO 2 can be utilized as a potential fracturing agent, and 3) whether CO 2 is an effective fluid for enhanced hydrocarbon extraction.

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS↗

A fourth-order phase-field fracture model: Formulation and numerical solution using a continuous/discontinuous Galerkin method

Modeling crack initiation and propagation in brittle materials is of great importance to be able to predict sudden loss of load-carrying capacity and prevent catastrophic failure under severe dynamic loading conditions. Second-order phase-field fracture models have gained wide adoption given their ability to capture the formation of complex fracture patterns, e.g. via crack merging and branching, and their suitability for implementation within the context of the conventional finite element method. Higher-order phase-field models have also been proposed to increase the regularity of the exact solution and thus increase the spatial convergence rate of its numerical approximation. However, they require special numerical techniques to enforce the necessary continuity of the phase field solution. In this paper, we derive a fourth-order phase-field model of fracture in two independent ways; namely, from Hamilton’s principle and from a higher-order micromechanics-based approach. The latter approach is novel, and provides a physical interpretation of the higher-order terms in the model. In addition, we propose a continuous/discontinuous Galerkin (C/DG) method for use in computing the approximate phase-field solution. This method employs Lagrange polynomial shape functions to guarantee -continuity of the solution at inter-element boundaries, and enforces the required regularity with the aid of additional variational and interior penalty terms in the weak form. Finally, the phase-field equation is coupled with the momentum balance equation to model dynamic fracture problems in hyper-elastic materials. Two benchmark problems are presented to compare the numerical behavior of the C/DG method with mixed finite element methods.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Energetic, electronic and optical properties of lanthanide doped TiO{sub 2}: An ab initio LDA+U study

Substitutional energies, thermodynamic charge transition levels and optical properties of lanthanide doped anatase TiO{sub 2} has been investigated using local density approximation with the Hubbard U correction (LDA+U) within the density functional theory formalism. All the lanthanides apart from La introduced impurity states in the host band gap on doping. The calculated substitutional energies indicate that it is possible to dope TiO{sub 2} with lanthanide ions. The optimal doping percentage was predicted to be ~3% and dopant levels resulting from Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd and Tm doping were found to possess negative U characteristics. In addition the calculated thermodynamic transition levels predicted Lu as not having any possible charge transitions within the host band gap. The calculated optical absorption coefficients indicate that lanthanide doping led to optical absorption in the visible regime. - Graphical abstract: Crystal structure of doped Sm doped TiO{sub 2} (RHS). Calculated PDOS and absorption spectra of Sm doped TiO{sub 2}. - Highlights: • Lanthanide doping significantly improved the optical properties of anatase TiO{sub 2}. • Lanthanide doping led to emission in the visible regions of the optical spectrum. • La, Ce, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tm, Yb and Lu doping gave good photocatalytic properties. • The optimum doping concentration in anatase TiO{sub 2} was found to be 2.78%.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Catalyzed oxidation of IG-110 nuclear graphite by simulated fission products Ag and Pd nanoparticles

To evaluate the stability of nuclear materials in high temperature gas reactors under air ingress conditions, catalytic oxidation of IG-110 graphite by two simulated fission products, metallic Pd and Ag, was studied in oxidative atmosphere and at temperatures up to 1000°C using an integrated furnace, mass spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy system. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies show that Pd and Ag nanoparticles were successfully introduced onto powdery IG-110 graphite through an impregnation and subsequent heat-treatment process. The combined mass spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy methods allow simultaneous analysis of two gaseous products, CO and CO 2 , and separate measurements of activation energy for their formation reactions. It was found that the introduction of Pd or Ag to IG-110 graphite substantially catalyzed the oxidation of graphite, characteristic of decreased onset temperatures for the oxidation of graphite. Moreover, the catalytic effects by Pd and Ag are considerably different based on measured concentration ratios of CO 2 to CO as a function of oxidation temperatures. Ag makes the graphite oxidation commence at approximately 400°C with CO 2 being the dominant product. In contrast, Pd significantly increases the concentration ratio of CO 2 to CO at temperatures higher than approximately 690°C, although it decreases the onset temperature for the oxidation reaction to around 525°C. To understand the catalytic difference, the mechanism of the graphite oxidation was discussed based on the changes of surface oxygen species on Ag and Pd.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Probing Exciton Diffusion and Dissociation in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-C60 Heterojunctions

The efficiency of thin-film organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices relies heavily upon the transport of excitons to type-II heterojunction interfaces, where there is sufficient driving force for exciton dissociation and ultimately the formation of charge carriers. Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are strong near-infrared absorbers that form type-II heterojunctions with fullerenes such as C60. Although the efficiencies of SWCNT-fullerene OPV devices have climbed over the past few years, questions remain regarding the fundamental factors that currently limit their performance. In this study, we determine the exciton diffusion length in the C60 layer of SWCNT-C60 bilayer active layers using femtosecond transient absorption measurements. We demonstrate that hole transfer from photoexcited C60 molecules to SWCNTs can be tracked by the growth of narrow spectroscopic signatures of holes in the SWCNT 'reporter layer'. In bilayers with thick C60 layers, the SWCNT charge-related signatures display a slow rise over hundreds of picoseconds, reflecting exciton diffusion through the C60 layer to the interface. A model based on exciton diffusion with a Beer-Lambert excitation profile, as well as Monte Carlo simulations, gives the best fit to the data as a function of C60 layer thickness using an exciton diffusion length of approximately 5 nm.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Nonadiabatic Quantum Molecular Dynamics in Dense Manifolds of Electronic States

Most nonadiabatic molecular dynamics methods require the determination of a basis of adiabatic or diabatic electronic states at every time step, but in dense manifolds of electronic states, such approaches become intractable. A notable exception is Ehrenfest molecular dynamics, which can be implemented without explicit determination of such a basis but suffers from unphysical behavior when propagation on a mean-field potential energy surface (PES) does not accurately reflect the true dynamics on multiple electronic states. Here we introduce the multiple cloning for dense manifolds of states (MCDMS) method, a systematically improvable approximation to the multiple cloning method. MCDMS avoids both the mean-field PES problem and the need to compute the full electronic spectrum. This is achieved by reformulating multiple cloning to use a subspace of approximate eigenstates constructed from the time-dependent Ehrenfest electronic wave function. Finally, by application to model systems, we show that this approach allows a substantial reduction in the size of the required electronic basis without significant loss in accuracy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Why Are 5-Thioglycopyranosyl Donors More Axially Selective than their Glycopyranosyl Counterparts? A Low and Variable Temperature NMR Spectroscopy and Computational Study

5-Thioglycopyranosyl donors differ in reactivity and selectivity from simple glycopyranosyl donors. An extensive study has been conducted on the nature and stability of the reactive intermediates generated on the activation of per-O-acetyl and per-O-methyl 5-thioglucopyranosyl donors and the corresponding glucopyranosyl donors. Variable temperature nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies with per-O-methylated or per-O-acetyl glycosyl sulfoxides and trichloroacetimidates on activation with trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride or trimethylsilyl triflate are reported. These show that following initial adduct formation with the promoter conversion of the 5-thioglucopyranosyl donors to the 5-thioglucopyranosyl triflates requires higher temperatures than that of the glucopyranosyl donors to the glucopyranosyl triflates. It is demonstrated that neighboring group participation is a less important phenomenon for the peracetylated thioglucosyl donors than for the peracetylated glucosyl donors. A simple thiocarbenium ion was generated by protonation of 2,3-dihydro-4H-thiopyran at low temperature and characterized by NMR spectroscopy. However, the corresponding 5-thioglucopyranosyl thenium ions were not observed in any of the NMR studies of the 5-thiopyranosyl donors: the electron-withdrawing C–O bonds around the thiopyranoside core discourage thiocarbenium ion formation, just as they discourage oxocarbenium ion formation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the tetrahydrothiopyranyl thiocarbenium ion to be approximately 2.5 kcal/mol lower in energy than the corresponding tetrahydropyranyl oxocarbenium ion relative to the corresponding covalent triflates. However, the computations reveal a 5.8 kcal/mol activation barrier for conversion of the tetrahydrothiopyranyl triflate to the thiocarbenium ion, while formation of the oxocarbenium ion–triflate ion pair from tetrahydropyranyl triflate requires only 2.6 kcal·mol –1 . Overall, the greater axial selectivity of 5-thioglycopyranosyl donors compared to analogous glycopyranosyl donors derives from (i) the lower kinetic reactivity necessitating higher reaction temperatures, (ii) the greater stability of the thiocarbenium ion over the oxocarbenium ion facilitating equilibration under thermodynamic conditions, (iii) the greater magnitude of the anomeric effect in the 5-thiosugars, and (iv) decreased neighboring group participation in the per-esterified 5-thiosugars.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Control of optical response of a supported cluster on different dielectric substrates

We develop a computational method for optical response of a supported cluster on a dielectric substrate. The substrate is approximated by a dielectric continuum with a frequency-dependent dielectric function. The computational approach is based on our recently developed first-principles simulation method for photoinduced electron dynamics in real-time and real-space. The approach allows us to treat optical response of an adsorbate explicitly taking account of interactions at an interface between an adsorbate and a substrate. We calculate optical absorption spectra of supported Ag{sub n} (n = 2, 54) clusters, changing the dielectric function of a substrate. By analyzing electron dynamics in real-time and real-space, we clarify the mechanisms for variations in absorption spectra, such as peak shifts and intensity changes, relating to various experimental results for optical absorption of supported clusters. Attractive and repulsive interactions between an adsorbate and a substrate result in red and blue shifts, respectively, and the intensity decreases by energy dissipation into a substrate. We demonstrate that optical properties can be controlled by varying the dielectric function of a substrate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

ON CARBON BURNING IN SUPER ASYMPTOTIC GIANT BRANCH STARS

We explore the detailed and broad properties of carbon burning in Super Asymptotic Giant Branch (SAGB) stars with 2755 MESA stellar evolution models. The location of first carbon ignition, quenching location of the carbon-burning flames and flashes, angular frequency of the carbon core, and carbon core mass are studied as a function of the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass, initial rotation rate, and mixing parameters such as convective overshoot, semiconvection, thermohaline, and angular momentum transport. In general terms, we find that these properties of carbon burning in SAGB models are not a strong function of the initial rotation profile, but are a sensitive function of the overshoot parameter. We quasi-analytically derive an approximate ignition density, ρ{sub ign} ≈ 2.1 × 10{sup 6} g cm{sup −3}, to predict the location of first carbon ignition in models that ignite carbon off-center. We also find that overshoot moves the ZAMS mass boundaries where off-center carbon ignition occurs at a nearly uniform rate of ΔM{sub ZAMS}/Δf{sub ov} ≈ 1.6 M{sub ⊙}. For zero overshoot, f{sub ov} = 0.0, our models in the ZAMS mass range ≈8.9–11 M{sub ⊙} show off-center carbon ignition. For canonical amounts of overshooting, f{sub ov} = 0.016, the off-center carbon ignition range shifts to ≈7.2–8.8 M{sub ⊙}. Only systems with f{sub ov} ≥ 0.01 and ZAMS mass ≈7.2–8.0 M{sub ⊙} show carbon burning is quenched a significant distance from the center. These results suggest a careful assessment of overshoot modeling approximations on claims that carbon burning quenches an appreciable distance from the center of the carbon core.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

How to estimate the 3D power spectrum of the Lyman-α forest

Here, we derive and numerically implement an algorithm for estimating the 3D power spectrum of the Lyman-α (Lyα) forest flux fluctuations. The algorithm exploits the unique geometry of Lyα forest data to efficiently measure the cross-spectrum between lines of sight as a function of parallel wavenumber, transverse separation and redshift. We start by approximating the global covariance matrix as block-diagonal, where only pixels from the same spectrum are correlated. We then compute the eigenvectors of the derivative of the signal covariance with respect to cross-spectrum parameters, and project the inverse-covariance-weighted spectra onto them. This acts much like a radial Fourier transform over redshift windows. The resulting cross-spectrum inference is then converted into our final product, an approximation of the likelihood for the 3D power spectrum expressed as second order Taylor expansion around a fiducial model. We demonstrate the accuracy and scalability of the algorithm and comment on possible extensions. Our algorithm will allow efficient analysis of the upcoming Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument dataset.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Optimal parameterizations for observational constraints on thawing dark energy

Time-varying dark energy is often modeled in observational analyses through generic parameterizations of its equation of state w(z), which typically use two free parameters {w 0 , w a } to span a broad range of behaviors as a function of redshift. However, this broad range of behaviors can only approximately capture the dynamics of any given microphysical theory of dark energy. A complementary approach is to use targeted parameterizations designed to model specific classes of dynamical dark energy with greater precision. Focusing on the class of thawing dark energy, we quantify and compare the precision with which nineteen generic and targeted parameterizations can capture the dynamics of physically motivated thawing quintessence theories. We find that a targeted parameterization derived from a Padé expansion of w is the most reliable of these, producing accurate reconstructions of w(z), the expansion history H(z), and cosmological parameters such as H 0 and Ω m for a broad range of microphysical theories.

dark energy experiments↗

Fractal dimension of optical cirrus in Stripe82

ABSTRACT The geometric characteristics of dust clouds provide important information on the physical processes that structure such clouds. One of such characteristics is the 2D fractal dimension D of a cloud projected on to the sky plane. In previous studies, which were mostly based on infrared (IR) data, the fractal dimension of individual clouds was found to be in a range from 1.1 to 1.7 with a preferred value of 1.2–1.4. In this work, we use data from Stripe82 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to measure the fractal dimension of the cirrus clouds. This is done here for the first time for optical data with significantly better resolution as compared to IR data. To determine the fractal dimension, the perimeter-area method is employed. We also consider IR (IRAS and Herschel) counterparts of the corresponding optical fields to compare the results between the optical and IR. We find that the averaged fractal dimension across all clouds in the optical is $\langle D \rangle =1.69^{+0.05}_{-0.05}$ which is significantly larger than the fractal dimension of its IR counterparts $\langle D\rangle =1.38^{+0.07}_{-0.06}$. We examine several reasons for this discrepancy (choice of masking and minimal contour level, image and angular resolution, etc.) and find that for approximately half of our fields the different angular resolution (point spread function) of the optical and IR data can explain the difference between the corresponding fractal dimensions. For the other half of the fields, the fractal dimensions of the IR and visual data remain inconsistent, which can be associated with physical properties of the clouds, but further physical simulations are required to prove it.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Comparison of GW band structure to semiempirical approach for an FeSe monolayer

We present the G 0 W 0 band structure, core levels, and deformation potential of monolayer FeSe in the paramagnetic phase based on a starting mean field of the Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT) with the Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof functional. We find the GW correction increases the bandwidth of the states forming the M pocket near the Fermi energy, while leaving the Γ pocket roughly unchanged. We then compare the G 0 W 0 quasiparticle band energies with the band structure from a simple empirical + A approach, which was recently proposed to capture the renormalization of the electron-phonon interaction going beyond DFT in FeSe, when used as a starting point in density functional perturbation theory. We show that this empirical correction succeeds in approximating the GW nonlocal and dynamical self-energy in monolayer FeSe and reproduces the GW band structure near the Fermi surface, the core energy levels, and the deformation potential (electron-phonon coupling).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Semiclassical shell-structure micro-macroscopic approach for the level density

Level density ρ(E,A) is derived for a one-component nucleon system with a given energy E and particle number A within the mean-field semiclassical periodic-orbit theory beyond the saddle-point method of the Fermi gas model. We obtain ρ∝I ν (S)/S ν , with I ν (S) being the modified Bessel function of the entropy S. Within the micro-macro-canonical approximation (MMA), for a small thermal excitation energy U, with respect to rotational excitations E rot , one obtains ν = 3/2 for ρ(E,A). In the case of excitation energy U larger than E rot but smaller than the neutron separation energy, one finds a larger value of ν = 5/2. A role of the fixed spin variables for rotating nuclei is discussed. The MMA level density ρ reaches the well-known grand-canonical ensemble limit (Fermi gas asymptote) for large S related to large excitation energies, and also reaches the finite micro-canonical limit for small combinatorial entropy S at low excitation energies (the constant “temperature” model). Fitting the ρ(E,A) of the MMA to the experimental data for low excitation energies, taking into account shell and, qualitatively, pairing effects, one obtains for the inverse level density parameter K a value which differs essentially from that parameter derived from data on neutron resonances.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

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