Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Science Pipeline”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13

Erosion-Corrosion Detection in Carbon Steel Pipe Loops using SRNLs Thickness and Mass Loss Measurement Coupons - 20464

Structural health of waste transfer infrastructure is of utmost importance to DOE and communities surrounding their active sites. A Fitness-for-Service (FFS) program for the Waste Transfer System has been implemented by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for the purposes of evaluating and quantifying the degradation of critical components. Currently, the method of approach is to section and evaluate pipelines that have been removed at end service. In order to augment data collection methods applied to making lifespan estimates of waste transfer system components, Florida International University (FIU) has been investigating new-technology based strategies for quantifying the rate of degradation. Present research considers the option of a coupon system installed on a section of pipe at points of interest that will provide easy access to high resolution measurements of erosion/corrosion rates during operation. Researchers at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have developed this novel solution for in situ erosion and corrosion measurements in many applicable locations such as tanks, pipes, ducts, and injection points. The coupons are approximately 12.7 mm (1/2 inch) in diameter and 25.4 mm (1 inch) in length and can be placed in the pipe sections using Swagelok compression fittings. The coupon design allows for monitoring of the total degradation resulting from corrosion and erosion. High-resolution Ultrasonic Thickness (UT) testing allows in-situ monitoring of both degradation mechanisms. When removed from the system mass loss resulting from corrosion and erosion may also be evaluated. Experimental testing at FIU implemented the SRNL coupon system in a 6.10 meter (20 foot) pipe loop system comprised of 50.8 mm (2 inch) and 76.2 mm (3 inch) pipe sections in order to replicate expected use cases at the sites. Operational conditions were emulated by pumping abrasive materials through the pipeline at full capacity and collecting measurements from the SRNL coupons. Initial testing was conducted by circulating water followed by a mixture of sand and water for uniform wear rates. Thickness changes and mass loss were measured, and the surface exposed to the process fluid was observed for visual evidence of characteristic wear patterns resulting from an erosive environment. The test matrix consisted of several hours of operation and using fine, medium and coarse grain sands. Test results were analyzed to check for all three parameters (mass loss/gain, thickness change and surface patters) which could provide estimates of the remaining useful life of the pipe sections. Thus, the research presents the findings of this evaluation of the SRNL coupons as a means for conducting high accuracy, cost effective in-situ analysis of pipeline and waste transfer systems for erosion and corrosion susceptibility. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Dragonstone Strategy – State of Cybersecurity in the Oil & Natural Gas Sector

The oil & natural gas (ONG) system touches every corner of the nation and increased communications & control capabilities have not only allowed for greater efficiency of system operation, but have also created a massive target for adversaries to launch cyber-attacks. Like any other heavy industrial process, the ONG system relies on a complex system of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) devices. The current state of cyber-preparedness across the ONG industry varies from organization to organization. Among the most common challenges that ONG companies face are remote locations, longlived field assets, and lacking capabilities to find and track malware on their systems. ONG companies tend to be concerned with lack of cyber-awareness from employees, risk stemming from remote access for operations & maintenance, and software vulnerabilities within third-party equipment. Various industry and government organizations are performing research and development activities to address some of these challenges, but in many cases industry stakeholders are not aware of solutions that already exist. It is clear that a need exists for a coherent, comprehensive, multi-layered strategy for assuring the security and resilience of the nation's pipeline infrastructure against cyber threats. For a variety of reasons, the general consensus from stakeholders interviewed by LLNL is that the state of cyber-security within the electric grid is currently outpacing its ONG cousin. Existing strategies for the resilience and cyber-security of the electric grid can and should be leveraged to provide immediate benefits to the ONG system. In LLNL’s view, there are two key factors currently limiting the development of necessary cyber-practices within the ONG industry: The sheer number of differing regulatory bodies and trade groups offering both standards and best-practice recommendations for ONG cyber-security makes it difficult to create a comprehensive, directed, and coherent strategy that is applicable to all players within the ONG industry. The ONG industry is unaware of potentially useful technologies that have been developed for ensuring cyber-security of other infrastructure systems, such as the electric grid. Leveraging these technologies—and the science and engineering behind them—can provide some low-hanging fruit that can greatly improve cyber-security in the ONG industry without significant investments in terms of time and money. In the months following this report, LLNL will continue to perform outreach to key oil & gas industry stakeholders in a continual effort to identify the most pressing cyber-resilience issues in the industry. This outreach will be supplemented with LLNL’s threat intelligence capabilities to begin painting a clearer picture of the overall threat landscape faced by this sector. This assessment will be threat-informed and while the strategy itself will not be classified we will leverage intelligence analysis and adversary capabilities to identify gaps in current cybersecurity practices for oil & gas pipeline systems. Recommended efforts will be compiled into a cyber-resilience roadmap for the oil & gas pipeline sector, in which LLNL will highlight priority activities to immediately improve the state of cyber-resilience in the industry.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Quantum Annealing for Real-World Machine Learning Applications

Optimizing the training of a machine learning pipeline is important for reducing training costs and improving model performance. One such optimizing strategy is quantum annealing, which is an emerging computing paradigm that has shown potential in optimizing the training of a machine learning model. The implementation of a physical quantum annealer has been realized by D-Wave systems and is available to the research community for experiments. Recent experimental results on a variety of machine learning applications have shown interesting results especially under the conditions where the performance of classical machine learning techniques are limited such as limited training data and high dimensional features. This chapter explores the application of D-Wave’s quantum annealer for optimizing machine learning pipelines for real-world classification problems. We review the application domains on which a physical quantum annealer has been used to train machine learning classifiers. We discuss and analyze the experiments performed on the D-Wave quantum annealer for applications such as image recognition, remote sensing imagery, security, computational biology, biomedical sciences, and physics. We discuss the possible advantages and the problems for which quantum annealing is likely to be advantageous over classical computation.

Kumar nath, Rajdeep↗

Single‐Cell Nanodroplet Processing Proteomics Pipeline for Analysis of Human‐Derived Microglia

Single-cell omics tools provide unique insights into heterogeneous cell populations and their responses to stimuli. For example, single-cell RNA sequencing has identified several transcriptionally distinct populations of microglia, which are resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that are responsive to CNS injury, infection, and neurodegeneration. To date, single-cell studies of microglia have focused on RNA-sequencing or cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF), which provide indirect readouts of protein abundance or quantification of a limited number of targets. Herein, we present a workflow based on FACS-assisted isolation, cryopreservation, and nanodroplet-based processing for single-cell mass spectrometry proteomics analysis of the postmortem human brain cortex-derived microglia. From a single microglial cell, 1039 proteins could be identified on average. As a proof-of-principle, we applied single-cell proteomics for exploring the heterogeneity of brain microglia at the cellular level. This pilot proteomics data partially recapitulates the prior microglia subtypes. Specifically, we determined that mitochondrial proteins, in particular members of NADH dehydrogenase (Complex I), cytochrome b-c1 (Complex III), cytochrome c oxidase (Complex IV), F1-ATPase (Complex V), and Na+/K+-ATPase complex, drive variation across microglia. This pipeline offers the potential for identifying functionally and analytically relevant protein targets for microglia in Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Accelerating polyketide synthase engineering for high TRY production of biofuels and bioproducts (Final Technical Report)

Polyketide synthase (PKS) enzymes have a modular, deterministic logic that holds the potential to act as a flexible chemical factory for the biological production of a huge diversity of valuable small molecule compounds. However, engineering a custom PKS to produce a specific desired product currently requires years of trial and error, for reasons that remain poorly understood. In this project, we have developed a rapid, high throughput, Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle for polyketide synthases (PKSs) and demonstrate its utility for production of materials precursors. The objectives are 1) to develop a rapid, high-throughput (HT) DBTL cycle for PKSs that will enable production of a large number of unnatural, organic molecules on demand at high titer, rate, and yield (TRY); 2) to demonstrate the utility of the PKS DBTL cycle to produce three molecules: one commodity chemical (caprolactam or valerolactam) and two novel materials precursors (caprolactam or valerolactam derivatives); and 3) to demonstrate the utility of the PKS DBTL cycle to increase the TRY of one molecule (caprolactam or valerolactam). In this project, we have successfully demonstrated our high throughput PKS DBTL pipeline, and have biologically produced valerolactam and several other novel nylon monomers.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Engineering Design of a Polaris Membrane CO 2 Capture System at a Cement Plant

Sargent & Lundy (S&L) and Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) in cooperation with CEMEX, completed an initial engineering design study to evaluate the retrofit of MTR’s membrane-based post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture technology to the CEMEX Balcones cement plant (Balcones) Kiln 2. The CO 2 capture plant is designed to treat the entire flue gas flow from Kiln 2; it is estimated that this system will capture 2,039 tonnes/day per day (TPD) of CO 2 , approximately 75% of current CO 2 emissions from the kiln. The captured CO 2 is compressed to 2,213 psia (152.58 bara) before flowing to the capture plant boundary tie-point. It was assumed for this study that the CO 2 would be pumped off-site and transferred by pipeline to either a CO 2 storage complex for geological sequestration or elsewhere for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).

42 ENGINEERING↗

Abstract for CRADA between NETL and Louisiana State University

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Louisiana State University (PARTICIPANT) will collaborate in developing and testing distributed optical fiber CO 2 sensors for CO 2 storage site monitoring. Safe and reliable monitoring of CO 2 storage sites and transport infrastructure is critical for ensuring the long-term effectiveness and integrity of carbon capture and storage (CCS). In this project, the objective is to develop a novel optical fiber-based distributed CO 2 sensor for long-term monitoring of CCS sites and CO 2 pipelines and also implement machine learning to automate leak and structural anomaly detection. This effort aligns with NETL’s mission in reliable and sustainable energy and decarbonization.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

PDBx/mmCIF Ecosystem: Foundational Semantic Tools for Structural Biology

PDBx/mmCIF, Protein Data Bank Exchange (PDBx) macromolecular Crystallographic Information Framework (mmCIF), has become the data standard for structural biology. With its early roots in the domain of small-molecule crystallography, PDBx/mmCIF provides an extensible data representation that is used for deposition, archiving, remediation, and public dissemination of experimentally determined three-dimensional (3D) structures of biological macromolecules by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB, wwpdb.org). Extensions of PDBx/mmCIF are similarly used for computed structure models by ModelArchive (modelarchive.org), integrative/hybrid structures by PDB-Dev (pdb-dev.wwpdb.org), small angle scattering data by Small Angle Scattering Biological Data Bank SASBDB (sasbdb.org), and for models computed generated with the AlphaFold 2.0 deep learning software suite (alphafold.ebi.ac.uk). Community-driven development of PDBx/mmCIF spans three decades, involving contributions from researchers, software and methods developers in structural sciences, data repository providers, scientific publishers, and professional societies. Having a semantically rich and extensible data framework for representing a wide range of structural biology experimental and computational results, combined with expertly curated 3D biostructure data sets in public repositories, accelerates the pace of scientific discovery. Herein, we describe the architecture of the PDBx/mmCIF data standard, tools used to maintain representations of the data standard, governance, and processes by which data content standards are extended, plus community tools/software libraries available for processing and checking the integrity of PDBx/mmCIF data. Use cases exemplify how the members of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank have used PDBx/mmCIF as the foundation for its pipeline for delivering Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data to many millions of users worldwide.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

21 cm Power Spectrum Analysis of North Celestial Pole Observations with the Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array

The Tianlai Dish Pathfinder Array (TDPA) is a radio interferometer designed to test techniques for 21 cm intensity mapping in the post-reionization Universe as a means of measuring large-scale cosmic structure. Using nine nights of observations targeting the North Celestial Pole field, totaling approximately 107 hr of integration time, we analyze data in the frequency range 700–800 MHz (corresponding to redshift z ∼ 0.9). We do the data format conversion, radio frequency interference flagging, calibration, imaging and point source subtraction, and foreground removal via Singular Value Decomposition. The spherically averaged power spectrum Δ 2 (k) is obtained. Furthermore, this work successfully establishes and validates a comprehensive data analysis framework for the TDPA. We identify key improvements including sky model refinement, increased integration time, and pipeline optimization that will enable future detection of the 21 cm signal through auto-correlation and cross-correlation with optical galaxy surveys.

cosmology: large-scale structure of universe↗

Metagenome-assembled genomes from topsoils along a hillslope water gradient across early snowmelt to late summer in East River, CO

Drought is changing the American Mountain West at unprecedented rates with unknown consequences to soil microbiome composition and function. As a part of LBNL Watershed Science Focus Area (SFA), we investigated shifts in microbial community and transcriptional activity on a subalpine conifer-meadow transition zone throughout the summer of 2023 as soil dried down. This work took place in Crested Butte, CO on Snodgrass mountain, using a proxy for drought conditions.Here we present metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) for the bacterial and archaeal community at 0-10cm from three sites along a hillslope water gradient across five timepoints from early snowmelt to late summer. 42 metagenomes were sequenced at Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and can be found under the JGI GOLD (Genomes Online Database) sequencing project Gs0166660. Metagenomes were assembled through an inhouse pipeline (see methods), binned using four autobinners (concoct, maxbin2, metabat2, and vamb) and consolidated using dastool. The consolidated bins from all metagenomes were pooled, filtered by completeness (>70%) and contamination (<10%), and dereplicated at 95% ANI using drep. This dataset (1) a zip file of 157 MAGs (as fasta files, Gs0166660_bins_tar.gz), (2) sample metadata file with sample IGSNs (International Generic Sample Numbers) (samples.csv), (3) bounding box coordinates for the sampled locations (Gs0166660.kml), (4) metagenome assembly and coassembly metadata file listing IMG/M (Integrated Microbial Genomes/Metagenomes) metagenome accessions linking samples to metagenomes (EastRiver_Drought_ESSDive_Metadata.csv), (5) location metadata file (locations.csv), (6) file-level metadata file (flmd.csv) and (7) data dictionary (dd.csv) file.This work was supported by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Improving the Advancement of Women in Computer and Computational Science Research with the CRA-W Career Mentoring Workshops (Final Report)

The mission of the Computing Research Association’s Committee on Widening Participation in Computing Research (CRA-WP) is to widen the participation and improve the access, opportunities, and positive experiences of individuals from groups underrepresented in computing research and education. CRA-WP programs serve this overarching goal at all career stages; in addition, CRA-WP, through the formation of the CRA Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP), has developed a methodology for thoroughly evaluating the success of its programs by comparing a nationwide sample of students, researchers, and faculty (non-participants) to program participants. Achieving these objectives requires that an increasing number of individuals from populations underrepresented in computing start and progress to the next stage while understanding and supporting the myriad computing pathways. CRA-WP offers programs for participants from undergraduate to senior professional levels. Different career stages need different types of interventions, and the goal of all Alliance program activities can be described within the unifying framework of Social Cognitive Career Theory, which finds that interest in and choice of a particular career path will be increased by interventions that improve one or more of the following: (1) outcome expectations (understanding and valuing the rewards of a particular outcome), (2) self-efficacy (a belief that one can successfully achieve an outcome), and (3) social supports that help one persist and overcome obstacles.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A potent and durable malaria transmission-blocking vaccine designed from a single-component 60-copy Pfs230D1 nanoparticle

Malaria transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) reduce disease transmission by breaking the continuous cycle of infection between the human host and the mosquito vector. Domain 1 (D1) of Pfs230 is a leading TBV candidate and comprises the majority of transmission-reducing activity (TRA) elicited by Pfs230. Here we show that the fusion of Pfs230D1 to a 60-copy multimer of the catalytic domain of dihydrolipoyl acetyltransferase protein (E2p) results in a single-component nanoparticle composed of 60 copies of the fusion protein with high stability, homogeneity, and production yields. The nanoparticle presents a potent human transmission-blocking epitope within Pfs230D1, indicating the antigen is correctly oriented on the surface of the nanoparticle. Two vaccinations of New Zealand White rabbits with the Pfs230D1 nanoparticle elicited a potent and durable antibody response with high TRA when formulated in two distinct adjuvants suitable for translation to human use. This single-component nanoparticle vaccine may play a key role in malaria control and has the potential to improve production pipelines and the cost of manufacturing of a potent and durable TBV.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Evolving Multi-hazard Machine Learning Modeling for Advanced Risk-Informed Infrastructure Resilience Assessment

The socioeconomic impacts of pipeline incidents have escalated over the past three decades, revealing the limitation of traditional risk modeling methods when applied to extensive pipeline networks. This research aims to develop machine learning (ML) models that effectively identify, rank, and predict the diverse hazards and socioeconomic consequences associated with pipeline incidents. Utilizing historical data on pipeline incidents alongside weather and oceanographic data from the 1980s onward, the Houston metropolitan area serves as a testbed for the proposed methodologies. The research segments the combined datasets into three consecutive periods, demonstrating the efficacy of the updated model in predicting future events, particularly concerning precipitation rate data. Despite the challenges posed by a relatively limited dataset, local-level ML modeling offers valuable insights into the spatial and temporal dynamics of multiple hazards that contribute to pipeline incidents. These findings hold significant implications for future research, particularly in understanding and mitigating risks in various locations across the Gulf Coast and other coastal regions.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Improve the Search of Very Metal-poor Stars Using the Deep Learning Method

Very metal-poor (VMP) stars have [Fe/H] < -2.0 dex. They are among the oldest stars in the universe, and their unique metallicity can help explore the enrichment mechanism and evolutionary history of the chemical elements of stars in the early universe. However, most current stellar parameter estimation methods do not perform well in determining the stellar parameters of VMP stars, which limits our ability to discover and exploit the properties of VMP stars. In this study, we propose a new model based on a convolutional neural network to determine the stellar atmospheric parameters of VMP stars. We tested our model on the LAMOST spectra; our model can determine the effective temperature (T {sub eff}), surface gravity (log g), metallicity ([Fe/H]), and carbon abundance ([C/Fe]) of the LAMOST spectra with precisions σ(T {sub eff}) = 134.82 K, σ(log g) = 0.33 dex, σ ([Fe/H]) = 0.20 dex, and σ([C/Fe]) = 0.35 dex. Furthermore, our model can distinguish VMP stars from normal stars with an accuracy of 88.65%. We also compared this model with other widely used methods, and found that this method performs better than other methods. It can be applied to the stellar parameter pipelines of upcoming large surveys such as 4MOST, WEAVES, and MOONS to search for VMP stars and identify carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SARS-CoV2 Docking Dataset

Description: Small-molecule conformations and docking scores for 1.4 billion molecules docked against 6 protein targets from SARS-CoV2: MPro 5R84, MPro 6WQF, NSP15 6WLC, PLPro 7JIR, Spike 6M0J, and a hand-optimized model of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Docking was carried out using the Autodock-GPU program performing 20 independent structure minimizations per dock - saving 3 results per molecule. Scores reported include the Autodock free energy estimate as well as RF3 and VS-DUD-E v2 machine-learned rescoring models. Protein structure files and maps in the format input to Autodock-GPU are included. Literature Ref: Supercomputer-Based Ensemble Docking Drug Discovery Pipeline with Application to Covid-19, J. Chem. Inf. Model. 2020, 60(12): 5832–5852.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Linking climate change and human systems: a case study of Arctic pipelines

This case study estimates the potential economic risk from permafrost thaw on oil and gas pipelines in the Russian Arctic as part of a larger effort to better understand complex interactions between human and earth systems in the Arctic. Pan-Arctic simulations of permafrost thaw-depth from the Community Land Model version 4.5 and ground ice characteristics were used to generate ground subsidence projections over the period 2020 to 2040 with a quantification of uncertainty. Russian oil and gas transmission pipeline networks were then overlaid on the permafrost thaw projections in ArcGIS to identify pipelines vulnerable to damage from permafrost thaw. Recent pipeline construction costs were used to estimate the total replacement costs for at-risk pipelines under several thaw scenarios. The results indicate that permafrost thaw poses a major threat to pipeline infrastructure, especially gas pipelines, in the Russian Arctic. Over the twenty-year study period, total replacement costs for oil and gas pipelines were estimated at $\$$110 billion in 2020 USD. Reduced economic viability of pipelines under climate change will likely trigger major shifts in the Russian oil and gas industry, which would have impacts on markets, emissions, and geopolitics.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A Self-Assembling Pfs230D1-Ferritin Nanoparticle Vaccine Has Potent and Durable Malaria Transmission-Reducing Activity

Malaria is caused by eukaryotic protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. There are 249 million new cases and 608,000 deaths annually, and new interventions are desperately needed. Malaria vaccines can be divided into three categories: liver stage, blood stage, or transmission-blocking vaccines. Transmission-blocking vaccines prevent the transmission of disease by the mosquito vector from one human to another. Pfs230 is one of the leading transmission-blocking vaccine antigens for malaria. Here, we describe the development of a 24-copy self-assembling nanoparticle vaccine comprising domain 1 of Pfs230 genetically fused to H. pylori ferritin. The single-component Pfs230D1-ferritin construct forms a stable and homogenous 24-copy nanoparticle with good production yields. The nanoparticle is highly immunogenic, as two low-dose vaccinations of New Zealand White rabbits elicited a potent and durable antibody response with high transmission-reducing activity when formulated in two distinct adjuvants suitable for translation to human use. This single-component 24-copy Pfs230D1-ferritin nanoparticle vaccine has the potential to improve production pipelines and the cost of manufacturing a potent and durable transmission-blocking vaccine for malaria control.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗