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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 217 records · Page 12

Microscopic force driving the photoinduced ultrafast phase transition: Time-dependent density functional theory simulations of IrTe 2

Photoinduced phase transitions can have complex and intriguing behaviors more than material ground-state dynamics. Understanding the underlying mechanism can help us to design new ways to manipulate the materials. A variety of mechanisms has been proposed to explain the photoinduced phase transitions of IrTe 2 , but a consensus has yet to be reached. Here, we study the photo-induced phase transitions of IrTe 2 by performing the real-time time-dependent density functional theory (rt-TDDFT) simulations in combination with the occupation constrained DFT method. We reveal that the microscopic driving force for the photo-induced phase transitions arises from the tendency to lower the energy levels occupied by the excited carriers, through the increase or decrease of the associated atomic pair distances, depending on whether the newly occupied states are antibonding or bonding states, respectively. The geometric constraints between different bonds represented by the Poisson ratio can bring together different tendencies from different atomic pairs, thus forming a complex intriguing dynamic picture depending on the intensity of the excitation. Furthermore, we also find that phonons don't play a primary role, but can assist the phase transition. These findings imply that one can control the structural phase transitions by selectively exciting photocarriers into designated atomic states using appropriate photon sources.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Precision engineering of biological function with large-scale measurements and machine learning

As synthetic biology expands and accelerates into real-world applications, methods for quantitatively and precisely engineering biological function become increasingly relevant. This is particularly true for applications that require programmed sensing to dynamically regulate gene expression in response to stimuli. However, few methods have been described that can engineer biological sensing with any level of quantitative precision. Here, we present two complementary methods for precision engineering of genetic sensors: in silico selection and machine-learning-enabled forward engineering. Both methods use a large-scale genotype-phenotype dataset to identify DNA sequences that encode sensors with quantitatively specified dose response. First, we show that in silico selection can be used to engineer sensors with a wide range of dose-response curves. To demonstrate in silico selection for precise, multi-objective engineering, we simultaneously tune a genetic sensor’s sensitivity (EC 50 ) and saturating output to meet quantitative specifications. In addition, we engineer sensors with inverted dose-response and specified EC 50 . Second, we demonstrate a machine-learning-enabled approach to predictively engineer genetic sensors with mutation combinations that are not present in the large-scale dataset. We show that the interpretable machine learning results can be combined with a biophysical model to engineer sensors with improved inverted dose-response curves.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Advanced Monitoring and Control in the ANL METL Facility Using an Engineering Digital Twin

The potential benefits of using an engineering digital twin to achieve greater autonomy for monitoring and control functions in advanced reactors was investigated for the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) liquid sodium facility at Argonne National Laboratory. The METL sodium purification system served as a representative system as it requires significant human in-the-loop interaction to accomplish its design function. The objective was to demonstrate how real-time operation could be automated while preserving oversight of the operator for ensuring that the system design functions are met. A digital twin model of the purification system was developed for both the cold trap purification loop and plugging meter diagnostic loop using information from the METL piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID). Automated monitoring and diagnosis of component degradation in the METL facility was demonstrated in tests using the PRO-AID health monitoring software with the digital twin model incorporated in the library of components. Component failures were introduced and were successfully diagnosed in real time. These tests serve to demonstrate an advanced monitoring capability able to differentiate sensor degradation from component degradation, to generate a rank ordering of probabilities of different failure mechanisms that serves to circumvent the false alarm problem with current anomaly detection methods, and how facility monitoring can be transformed from anomaly detection to identification of a specific fault. Automated control of the purification system was demonstrated through simulations that exercised a model predictive controller designed using the digital twin model. Results of these simulations compared favorably with experimental data showing very good reference tracking response with negligible overshoot. In conclusion, these pilot tests and simulations successfully demonstrated the use of a digital twin for improved automation of monitoring and control. It was shown how the digital twin enables switching between control modes from cold trap operation where impurities are removed to plugging meter operation where impurity concentrations are measured.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

GPU acceleration of hybrid functional calculations in the SPARC electronic structure code

We present a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)-accelerated version of the real-space SPARC electronic structure code for performing hybrid functional calculations in generalized Kohn–Sham density functional theory. In particular, we develop a batch variant of the recently formulated Kronecker product-based linear solver for the simultaneous solution of multiple linear systems. We then develop a modular, math kernel based implementation for hybrid functionals on NVIDIA architectures, where computationally intensive operations are offloaded to the GPUs, while the remaining workload is handled by the central processing units (CPUs). Considering bulk and slab examples, we demonstrate that GPUs enable up to 8× speedup in node-hours and 80× in core-hours compared to CPU-only execution, reducing the time to solution on V100 GPUs to around 300 s for a metallic system with over 6000 electrons, and significantly reducing the computational resources required for a given wall time.

Kohn-Sham density functional theory↗

Infrared Nanoimaging of Hydrogenated Perovskite Nickelate Memristive Devices

Solid-state devices made from correlated oxides, such as perovskite nickelates, are promising for neuromorphic computing by mimicking biological synaptic function. However, comprehending dopant action at the nanoscale poses a formidable challenge to understanding the elementary mechanisms involved. Here, we perform operando infrared nanoimaging of hydrogen-doped correlated perovskite, neodymium nickel oxide (H-NdNiO 3 , H-NNO), devices and reveal how an applied field perturbs dopant distribution at the nanoscale. This perturbation leads to stripe phases of varying conductivity perpendicular to the applied field, which define the macroscale electrical characteristics of the devices. Hyperspectral nano-FTIR imaging in conjunction with density functional theory calculations unveils a real-space map of multiple vibrational states of H-NNO associated with OH stretching modes and their dependence on the dopant concentration. Moreover, the localization of excess charges induces an out-of-plane lattice expansion in NNO which was confirmed by in situ X-ray diffraction and creates a strain that acts as a barrier against further diffusion. Our results and the techniques presented here hold great potential for the rapidly growing field of memristors and neuromorphic devices wherein nanoscale ion motion is fundamentally responsible for function.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Impacts of Voltage-Based Grid Support Functions on Energy Production of PV Customers

This paper presents the impact of inverter grid- support functions (GSFs) on photovoltaic (PV) customer energy production on a real distribution feeder in Oahu, HI. These autonomous GSFs based on local voltage measurements are good alternatives to increase PV hosting capacity. However, these functions can result in PV energy curtailment to the customer, and this study addresses the concerns about the impact of inverter GSFs through detailed quasi-static time series (QSTS) simulations. It proposes four metrics: maximum and average GSF curtailment, average increased generation and average net generation change, to assess the impact of a given control on PV systems located on customer sites. It was found that curtailment of PV production is negligible for customers where peak voltage is within ANSI C84.1 range. A reliable relationship between curtailment and peak customer voltage is demonstrated, suggesting that peak voltage could be used as an indicator of customer curtailment.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Fast and robust all-electron density functional theory calculations in solids using orthogonalized enriched finite elements

Here, we present a computationally efficient approach to perform systematically convergent real-space all-electron Kohn-Sham density functional theory calculations for solids using an enriched finite element (FE) basis. The enriched FE basis is constructed by augmenting the classical FE basis with atom-centered numerical basis functions, comprising of atomic solutions to the Kohn-Sham problem. Notably, to improve the conditioning, we orthogonalize the enrichment functions with respect to the classical FE basis, without sacrificing the locality of the resultant basis. In addition to improved conditioning, this orthogonalization procedure also renders the overlap matrix block diagonal, greatly simplifying its inversion. Subsequently, we use a Chebyshev polynomial based filtering technique to efficiently compute the occupied eigenspace in each self-consistent field iteration. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed approach on periodic unit cells and supercells. The benchmark studies show a staggering 130× speedup of the orthogonalized enriched FE basis over the classical FE basis. We also present a comparison of the orthogonalized enriched FE basis with the linearized augmented plane-wave + local orbitals basis, both in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Notably, we demonstrate that the orthogonalized enriched FE basis can handle large system sizes of ~10 000 electrons. Finally, we observe good parallel scalability of our implementation with 92% efficiency at 22× speedup for a system with 620 electrons

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Selective adsorption removal of carbonyl molecular foulants from real fast pyrolysis bio-oils

A novel sorbent-based separation process has been developed to selectively remove target molecules from the real fast pyrolysis (FP) pine bio-oils. Specifically, zeolitic molecular sieves and functionalized polymeric resins were found to effectively reduce carbonyl content and carboxylic acid number of a real pine fast pyrolysis bio-oils, therefore enhance bio-oil stability and preserve down-stream catalyst. Our results provide the first-time evidence on the potential effectiveness of sorption technology strategy for dealing with real FP bio-oils, reducing the carbonyl-rich FP oils from 7.5 mmolg-1 down to 4 mmolg-1 at 40 ?, which has potential to enable bio-oil stabilization and enhance operation stability for down-stream upgrading/hydrotreating processes.

Church, Aimee L.↗

Report for Task 15: Developed Tool Verification/Validation Report (Deliverable D11): AGGREGATE: dAta-driven modelinG preservinG contRollable dEr for outaGe mAnagemenT and rEsiliency

This report summarizes the verification report for the developed modules. The team conducted verification in two phases. In phase 1, the modules were validated using offline validation methods and in phase 2 the modules were subjected to real-time validation. This report outlines the approach and the results for the modules under offline and real-time settings. The rest of the report details the functional workflow of AGGREGATE modules, we then transition to offline validation followed by real-time validation of modules. We conclude the report by discussing some of the key points of this report.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Real-time spin systems from lattice field theory

We construct a lattice field theory method for computing the real-time dynamics of spin systems in a thermal bath. This is done by building on previous work of Takano with Schwinger-Keldysh and functional differentiation techniques. We derive a Schwinger-Keldysh path integral for generic spin Hamiltonians, then demonstrate the method on a simple system. Our path integral has a sign problem, which generally requires exponential run time in the system size, but requires only linear storage. The latter may place this method at an advantage over exact diagonalization, which is exponential in both. Our path integral is amenable to contour deformations, a technique for reducing sign problems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Implementation of Perdew–Zunger self-interaction correction in real space using Fermi–Löwdin orbitals

Most widely used density functional approximations suffer from self-interaction error, which can be corrected using the Perdew–Zunger (PZ) self-interaction correction (SIC). We implement the recently proposed size-extensive formulation of PZ-SIC using Fermi–Löwdin Orbitals (FLOs) in real space, which is amenable to systematic convergence and large-scale parallelization. Here, we verify the new formulation within the generalized Slater scheme by computing atomization energies and ionization potentials of selected molecules and comparing to those obtained by existing FLOSIC implementations in Gaussian based codes. The results show good agreement between the two formulations, with new real-space results somewhat closer to experiment on average for the systems considered. We also obtain the ionization potentials and atomization energies by scaling down the Slater statistical average of SIC potentials. The results show that scaling down the average SIC potential improves both atomization energies and ionization potentials, bringing them closer to experiment. Finally, we verify the present formulation by calculating the barrier heights of chemical reactions in the BH6 dataset, where significant improvements are obtained relative to Gaussian based FLOSIC results.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A General Autofluorescence Method to Characterize Polymerization Progress

Abstract An autofluorescence technique to characterize polymerization progress in real time/in line was developed, which functioned in the absence of typical fluorogenic groups on the monomer or polymer. The monomer dicyclopentadiene and polymer polydicyclopentadiene are hydrocarbons that lack traditional functional groups for fluorescence spectroscopy. Here, the autofluorescence of formulations containing this monomer and polymer during ruthenium‐catalyzed ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) was harnessed for reaction monitoring. The methods fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and here‐developed fluorescence lifetime recovery after photobleaching (FLRAP) characterized polymerization progress in these native systems—without requiring exogenous fluorophore. (Auto)fluorescence lifetime recovery changes during polymerization correlated linearly to degree of cure, providing a quantitative link with reaction progress. These changing signals also provided relative rates of background polymerization, enabling comparison of 10 different catalyst‐inhibitor‐stabilized formulations. Multiple‐well analysis demonstrated suitability for future high‐throughput evaluation of formulations for thermosets. The central concept of the combined autofluorescence and FLRAP/FRAP method may be extendable to monitoring other polymerization reactions previously overlooked for lack of an obvious fluorescence handle.

López, Pía A.↗

A General Autofluorescence Method to Characterize Polymerization Progress

An autofluorescence technique to characterize polymerization progress in real time/in line was developed, which functioned in the absence of typical fluorogenic groups on the monomer or polymer. The monomer dicyclopentadiene and polymer polydicyclopentadiene are hydrocarbons that lack traditional functional groups for fluorescence spectroscopy. Here, the autofluorescence of formulations containing this monomer and polymer during ruthenium-catalyzed ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) was harnessed for reaction monitoring. The methods fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and here-developed fluorescence lifetime recovery after photobleaching (FLRAP) characterized polymerization progress in these native systems—without requiring exogenous fluorophore. (Auto)fluorescence lifetime recovery changes during polymerization correlated linearly to degree of cure, providing a quantitative link with reaction progress. These changing signals also provided relative rates of background polymerization, enabling comparison of 10 different catalyst–inhibitor-stabilized formulations. Multiple-well analysis demonstrated suitability for future high-throughput evaluation of formulations for thermosets. Furthermore, the central concept of the combined autofluorescence and FLRAP/FRAP method may be extendable to monitoring other polymerization reactions previously overlooked for lack of an obvious fluorescence handle.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Effect of chemical disorder on the electronic stopping of solid solution alloys

The electronic stopping power of nickel-based equiatomic solid solutions alloys NiCr, NiFe and NiCo for protons and alpha projectiles is investigated in detail using real-time time-dependent density functional theory over a wide range of velocities. Recently developed numerical electronic structure methods are used to probe fundamental aspects of electron-ion coupling non-perturbatively and in a fully atomistic context, capturing the effect of the atomic scale disorder. The effects of particular electronic band structures and density of states reflect in the low velocity limit behavior. We compare our results for the alloys with those of a pure nickel target to understand how alloying affects the electronic stopping. We discover that NiCo and NiFe have similar stopping behavior as Ni while NiCr has an asymptotic stopping power that is more than a factor of two larger than its counterparts for velocities below 0.1 a.u.. Overall, we show that the low-velocity limit of electronic stopping power can be manipulated by controlling the broadening of the d-band through the chemical disorder. In this regime, the Bragg’s additive rule for the stopping of composite materials also fails for NiCr.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Cs X Si 15 P 21 ( X = Sn or Pb): Polar Noncentrosymmetric Si–P Frameworks Stabilized by Covalent X –P Bonding

Metal silicon phosphides composed of earth-abundant Si and P tend to exhibit semiconducting properties and adopt diverse crystal structures with relatively small additions of structure-directing elements. The potential of silicon phosphide materials in nonlinear optical applications has been hindered by the inability to systematically produce noncentrosymmetric structures with such a flexible framework. Here, in this work, two isostructural compounds with a novel noncentrosymmetric structure were made possible by the inclusion of elements with stereochemically active lone pairs (Sn 2+ and Pb 2+ ). The structures were determined through single-crystal and synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction. Analysis of chemical bonding in real space through the electron localization function revealed stereochemically active Pb 2+ and Sn 2+ species in a trigonal pyramidal coordination with {Pb/Sn}–P bonds. Such covalent bonding between Pb and P is quite uncommon in extended solids and has been reported in a few rare instances. Band structure calculations and linear optical measurements confirm the semiconducting nature of Cs X Si 15 P 21 ( X = Sn or Pb). The synthesis was optimized to yield high-purity polycrystalline samples. The nonlinear optical properties show promising second-harmonic generation (SHG) coefficients from the Kurtz–Perry method. First-principles calculations of the nonlinear optical properties support the experimentally determined SHG values and provide moderate values of birefringence, suggesting Cs X Si 15 P 21 could be phase-matchable and practical nonlinear optical materials in the mid-IR region.

crystal structure↗

Theoretical Investigations on the Plasmon-Mediated Dissociation of Small Molecules in the Presence of Silver Atomic Wires

Plasmonic nanoparticles can promote bond activation in adsorbed molecules under relatively benign conditions via excitation of the nanoparticle’s plasmon resonance. As the plasmon resonance often falls within the visible light region, plasmonic nanomaterials are a promising class of catalysts. However, the exact mechanisms through which plasmonic nanoparticles activate the bonds of nearby molecules are still unclear. Herein, we evaluate Ag 8 –X 2 (X = N, H) model systems via real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT), linear response time-dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT), and Ehrenfest dynamics in order to better understand the bond activation processes of N 2 and H 2 facilitated by the presence of the atomic silver wire under excitation at the plasmon resonance energies. We find that dissociation is possible for both small molecules at high electric field strength. Activation of each adsorbate is symmetry- and electric field-dependent, and H 2 activates at lower electric field strengths than N 2 . Furthermore, this work serves as a step toward understanding the complex time-dependent electron and electron–nuclear dynamics between plasmonic nanowires and adsorbed small molecules.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Simulations of Attosecond Metallization in Quartz and Diamond Probed with Inner-Shell Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

When dielectrics are hit with intense infrared (IR) laser pulses, transient metalization can occur. The initial attosecond dynamics behind this metallization are not entirely understood. Therefore, simulations are needed to understand this process and to help interpret experimental observations of it, such as with attosecond transient absorption (ATA). In this paper, we present first-principles simulations of ATA based on bulk-mimicking clusters and real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT), with Koopmans-tuned range-separated hybrid functionals and Gaussian basis sets. Our method gives good agreement with the experiment for the breakdown threshold in silica and diamond. This breakdown voltage corresponds to a Keldysh parameter of approximately one and thus involves a transition to a regime where the dynamics are driven by tunneling. Pumping at an amplitude just below this value causes a mixture of multiphoton and tunneling excitations across the band gap to occur. The computed extreme ultraviolet and X-ray attosecond transient spectra also agree well with the experiment and show a decrease in optical density due to the transient population of the conduction band from the IR field. First-principles approaches such as this are valuable for interpreting the complicated modulations in a spectrum and for guiding future attosecond experiments on solids.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗