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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 271 records · Page 15

On-Line Tracking Controller for Brushless DC Motor Drives Using Artificial Neural Networks

A real-time control architecture is developed for time-varying nonlinear brushless dc motors operating in a high performance drives environment. The developed control architecture possesses the capabilities of simultaneous on-line identification and control. The dynamics of the motor are modeled on-line and controlled using an artificial neural network, as the system runs. The control architecture combines the experience and dependability of adaptive tracking systems with potential and promise of the neural computing technology. The sensitivity of real-time controller to parametric changes that occur during training is investigated. Such changes are usually manifested by rapid changes in the load of the brushless motor drives. This sudden change in the external load is simulated for the sigmoidal and sinusoidal reference tracks. The ability of the neuro-controller to maintain reasonable tracking accuracy in the presence of external noise is also verified for a number of desired reference trajectories.

Rubaai, Ahmed↗

Poster Abstract: Investigating Occupancy Profiles Using Convolutional Neural Networks: Preprint

In this paper, we implement a convolutional neural networks based autoencoder to investigate occupancy profiles. We use the American time use survey data, which contains 191,558 schedules with binary occupancy information. Our results suggest that the trained filters provide an important insight of occupancy profiles (i.e., dominant and distinct patterns), and the latent space compresses the profiles with representative information.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Inferring protein expression changes from mRNA in Alzheimer’s dementia using deep neural networks

Identifying the molecular systems and proteins that modify the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is central to drug target selection. However, discordance between mRNA and protein abundance, and the scarcity of proteomic data, has limited our ability to advance candidate targets that are mainly based on gene expression. Therefore, by using a deep neural network that predicts protein abundance from mRNA expression, here we attempt to track the early protein drivers of ADRD. Specifically, by applying the clei2block deep learning model to 1192 brain RNA-seq samples, we identify protein modules and disease-associated expression changes that were not directly observed at the mRNA level. Moreover, pseudo-temporal trajectory inference based on the predicted proteome became more closely correlated with cognitive decline and hippocampal atrophy compared to RNA-based trajectories. This suggests that the predicted changes in protein expression could provide a better molecular representation of ADRD progression. Furthermore, overlaying clinical traits on protein pseudotime trajectory identifies protein modules altered before cognitive impairment. These results demonstrate how our method can be used to identify potential early protein drivers and possible drug targets for treating and/or preventing ADRD.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Accelerating defect predictions in semiconductors using graph neural networks

First-principles computations reliably predict the energetics of point defects in semiconductors but are constrained by the expense of using large supercells and advanced levels of theory. Machine learning models trained on computational data, especially ones that sufficiently encode defect coordination environments, can be used to accelerate defect predictions. Here, we develop a framework for the prediction and screening of native defects and functional impurities in a chemical space of group IV, III–V, and II–VI zinc blende semiconductors, powered by crystal Graph-based Neural Networks (GNNs) trained on high-throughput density functional theory (DFT) data. Using an innovative approach of sampling partially optimized defect configurations from DFT calculations, we generate one of the largest computational defect datasets to date, containing many types of vacancies, self-interstitials, anti-site substitutions, impurity interstitials and substitutions, as well as some defect complexes. We applied three types of established GNN techniques, namely crystal graph convolutional neural network, materials graph network, and Atomistic Line Graph Neural Network (ALIGNN), to rigorously train models for predicting defect formation energy (DFE) in multiple charge states and chemical potential conditions. We find that ALIGNN yields the best DFE predictions with root mean square errors around 0.3 eV, which represents a prediction accuracy of 98% given the range of values within the dataset, improving significantly on the state-of-the-art. We further show that GNN-based defective structure optimization can take us close to DFT-optimized geometries at a fraction of the cost of full DFT. The current models are based on the semi-local generalized gradient approximation-Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) functional but are highly promising because of the correlation of computed energetics and defect levels with higher levels of theory and experimental data, the accuracy and necessity of discovering novel metastable and low energy defect structures at the PBE level of theory before advanced methods could be applied, and the ability to train multi-fidelity models in the future with new data from non-local functionals. The DFT-GNN models enable prediction and screening across thousands of hypothetical defects based on both unoptimized and partially optimized defective structures, helping identify electronically active defects in technologically important semiconductors.

Rahman, Md Habibur (ORCID:000000027705984X)↗

Upsampling Monte Carlo Reactor Simulation Tallies in Depleted Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor Assemblies Using a Convolutional Neural Network

The computational demand of neutron Monte Carlo transport simulations can increase rapidly with the spatial and energy resolution of tallied physical quantities. Convolutional neural networks have been used to increase the resolution of Monte Carlo simulations of light water reactor assemblies while preserving accuracy with negligible additional computational cost. Here, we show that a convolutional neural network can also be used to upsample tally results from Monte Carlo simulations of sodium-cooled fast reactor assemblies, thereby extending the applicability beyond thermal systems. The convolutional neural network model is trained using neutron flux tallies from 300 procedurally generated nuclear reactor assemblies simulated using OpenMC. Validation and test datasets included 16 simulations of procedurally generated assemblies, and a realistic simulation of a European sodium-cooled fast reactor assembly was included in the test dataset. We show the residuals between the high-resolution flux tallies predicted by the neural network and high-resolution Monte Carlo tallies on relative and absolute bases. The network can upsample tallies from simulations of fast reactor assemblies with diverse and heterogeneous materials and geometries by a factor of two in each spatial and energy dimension. The network’s predictions are within the statistical uncertainty of the Monte Carlo tallies in almost all cases. This includes test assemblies for which burnup values and geometric parameters were well outside the ranges of those in assemblies used to train the network.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Using Artificial Neural Networks to Predict Physical Properties of Membrane Polymers

Membrane polymers are a promising technology for use in many challenging gas separation applications. Here, the techniques of computer-aided molecular design can be used to search through the massive molecular space of heteropolymers and develop a set of likely candidate repeat units matching specific physical property targets. However, reasonably accurate property prediction algorithms are needed, but these algorithms must be very fast in order to be combined with an optimization framework. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), a branch of machine learning, are applied in this work to predict the physical properties of polymers. All of the physical properties investigated were found to be predicted by ANNs with R 2 scores exceeding 0.82.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Neural-network extraction of unpolarised transverse-momentum-dependent distributions

We present the first extraction of transverse-momentum-dependent distributions of unpolarized quarks from experimental Drell-Yan data using neural networks to parametrize their nonperturbative part. We show that neural networks outperform traditional parametrizations providing a more accurate description of data. This Letter establishes the feasibility of using neural networks to explore the multidimensional partonic structure of hadrons and paves the way for more accurate determinations based on machine-learning techniques.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Molecular dynamics simulation of metallic Al–Ce liquids using a neural network machine learning interatomic potential

Al-rich Al-Ce alloys have the possibility of replacing heavier steel and cast-irons for use in high-temperature applications. Knowledge about the structures and properties of Al-Ce alloys at liquid state is vital for optimizing the manufacture process to produce desired allows. However, reliable molecular dynamics simulation of Al-Ce alloy systems remains a great challenge due to the lack of accurate Al-Ce interatomic potential. In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) deep machine learning (ML) method is used to develop a reliable interatomic potential for Al-Ce alloy. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation data on Al-Ce liquid with small unit cell (~200 atoms) and on the known Al-Ce crystalline compounds are collected to train the interatomic potential using ANN-ML. The obtained ANN-ML model reproduces well the energies, forces, and atomic structure of Al 90 Ce 10 liquid and crystalline phases of Al-Ce compounds in comparison with ab initio results. The developed ANN-ML potential is applied in molecular dynamics simulations to study the structures and properties of metallic Al 90 Ce 10 liquid, which would provide useful insight for guiding experimental process to produce desired Al-Ce allows.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

On the use of neural networks for energy reconstruction in high-granularity calorimeters

We contrasted the performance of deep neural networks — Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Graph Neural Network (GNN) — to current state of the art energy regression methods in a finely 3D-segmented calorimeter simulated by GEANT4. This comparative benchmark gives us some insight to assess the particular latent signals neural network methods exploit to achieve superior resolution. A CNN trained solely on a pure sample of pions achieved substantial improvement in the energy resolution for both single pions and jets over the conventional approaches. It maintained good performance for electron and photon reconstruction. We also used the Graph Neural Network (GNN) with edge convolution to assess the importance of timing information in the shower development for improved energy reconstruction. We implement a simple simulation based correction to the energy sum derived from the fraction of energy deposited in the electromagnetic shower component. This serves as an approximate dual-readout analogue for our benchmark comparison. Although this study does not include the simulation of detector effects, such as electronic noise, the margin of improvement seems robust enough to suggest these benefits will endure in real-world application. We also find reason to infer that the CNN/GNN methods leverage latent features that concur with our current understanding of the physics of calorimeter measurement.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Estimating Watershed Subsurface Permeability From Stream Discharge Data Using Deep Neural Networks

Subsurface permeability is a key parameter in watershed models that controls the contribution from the subsurface flow to stream flows. Since the permeability is difficult and expensive to measure directly at the spatial extent and resolution required by fully distributed watershed models, estimation through inverse modeling has had a long history in subsurface hydrology. The wide availability of stream surface flow data, compared to groundwater monitoring data, provides a new data source to infer soil and geologic properties using integrated surface and subsurface hydrologic models. As most of the existing methods have shown difficulty in dealing with highly nonlinear inverse problems, we explore the use of deep neural networks for inversion owing to their successes in mapping complex, highly nonlinear relationships. We train various deep neural network (DNN) models with different architectures to predict subsurface permeability from stream discharge hydrograph at the watershed outlet. The training data are obtained from ensemble simulations of hydrographs corresponding to an permeability ensemble using a fully-distributed, integrated surface-subsurface hydrologic model. The trained model is then applied to estimate the permeability of the real watershed using its observed hydrograph at the outlet. Our study demonstrates that the permeabilities of the soil and geologic facies that make significant contributions to the outlet discharge can be more accurately estimated from the discharge data. Their estimations are also more robust with observation errors. Compared to the traditional ensemble smoother method, DNNs show stronger performance in capturing the nonlinear relationship between permeability and stream hydrograph to accurately estimate permeability. Our study sheds new light on the value of the emerging deep learning methods in assisting integrated watershed modeling by improving parameter estimation, which will eventually reduce the uncertainty in predictive watershed models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A neural network architecture for implementation of expert systems for real time monitoring

Since neural networks have the advantages of massive parallelism and simple architecture, they are good tools for implementing real time expert systems. In a rule based expert system, the antecedents of rules are in the conjunctive or disjunctive form. We constructed a multilayer feedforward type network in which neurons represent AND or OR operations of rules. Further, we developed a translator which can automatically map a given rule base into the network. Also, we proposed a new and powerful yet flexible architecture that combines the advantages of both fuzzy expert systems and neural networks. This architecture uses the fuzzy logic concepts to separate input data domains into several smaller and overlapped regions. Rule-based expert systems for time critical applications using neural networks, the automated implementation of rule-based expert systems with neural nets, and fuzzy expert systems vs. neural nets are covered.

Ramamoorthy, P. A.↗

Identification of Galaxy Shreds in Large Photometric Catalogs Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Contamination from galaxy fragments, identified as sources, is a major issue in large photometric galaxy catalogs. In this paper, we prove that this problem can be easily addressed with computer vision techniques. We use image cutouts to train a convolutional neural network (CNN) to identify cataloged sources that are in reality just star-formation regions and/or shreds of larger galaxies. The CNN reaches an accuracy ~98% on our testing data sets. We apply this CNN to galaxy catalogs from three among the largest surveys available today: the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System Survey. We find that, even when strict selection criteria are used, all catalogs still show a ~5% level of contamination from galaxy shreds. Our CNN gives a simple yet effective solution to clean galaxy catalogs from these contaminants.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Automatic Speech Recognition for Launch Control Center Communication Using Recurrent Neural Networks with Data Augmentation and Custom Language Model

Transcribing voice communications in NASA’s launch control center is important for information utilization. However, automatic speech recognition in this environment is particularly challenging due to the lack of training data, unfamiliar words in acronyms, multiple different speakers and accents, and conversational characteristics of speaking. We used bidirectional deep recurrent neural networks to train and test speech recognition performance. We showed that data augmentation and custom language models can improve speech recognition accuracy. Transcribing communications from the launch control center will help the machine analyze information and accelerate knowledge generation.

Chow, Edward↗

Detection of Forced Change Within Combined Climate Fields Using Explainable Neural Networks

Abstract Assessing forced climate change requires the extraction of the forced signal from the background of climate noise. Traditionally, tools for extracting forced climate change signals have focused on one atmospheric variable at a time, however, using multiple variables can reduce noise and allow for easier detection of the forced response. Following previous work, we train artificial neural networks to predict the year of single‐ and multi‐variable maps from forced climate model simulations. To perform this task, the neural networks learn patterns that allow them to discriminate between maps from different years—that is, the neural networks learn the patterns of the forced signal amidst the shroud of internal variability and climate model disagreement. When presented with combined input fields (multiple seasons, variables, or both), the neural networks are able to detect the signal of forced change earlier than when given single fields alone by utilizing complex, nonlinear relationships between multiple variables and seasons. We use layer‐wise relevance propagation, a neural network explainability tool, to identify the multivariate patterns learned by the neural networks that serve as reliable indicators of the forced response. These “indicator patterns” vary in time and between climate models, providing a template for investigating inter‐model differences in the time evolution of the forced response. This work demonstrates how neural networks and their explainability tools can be harnessed to identify patterns of the forced signal within combined fields.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Image Classification Using Convolutional Neural Networks to Automate Visual Inspection of CCO Containers (Rev. 1)

The Savannah River Site is automating the receipt and inspection of Criticality Control Overpack drums to aid in nuclear waste disposal. The Advanced Engineering group is automating this receipt and inspection process to assist the site’s goals. Part of this process includes visually inspecting CCO drums to ensure that no defects or security risks are present. This research focuses on developing a machine learning model to automatically classify drums as passing or failing inspection. The machine learning model was implemented using the open-source Tensorflow library and uses a Convolutional Neural Network architecture to extract features and differentiate between images. The model was able to achieve an average of 85% accuracy on a dataset of 288 drums. This project’s goal was to prove the validity of computer vision in an automation process and provide a starting place for continued research.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Structural Health Monitoring of Microreactor Safety Systems Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Microreactors, a class of modular reactors with net power output of less than 20 MWth, have innovative applications in nuclear and nonnuclear industries due to their portability, reliability, resilience, and high capacity factors. In order to operate microreactors on a wider scale, it is essential to bring down maintenance life-cycle costs while ensuring the integrity of operating such systems. Autonomous operations in microreactors using augmented digital-twin (DT) technology can serve as a cost-effective solution by increasing awareness about the system’s health. Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a key component of nuclear DT frameworks. Artificial neural networks can be beneficial to detect degradation in the nuclear safety systems, such as piping equipment systems, by monitoring the sensor data obtained from the plant and its corresponding structures, systems and components. In this report, an SHM methodology is presented which uses convolutional neural networks to determine degraded locations and their corresponding degradation-severity levels at various locations of nuclear piping equipment systems. A simple pipe system, subjected to seismic loads, is selected to design the post-hazard SHM framework. The effectiveness of the proposed SHM methodology is demonstrated by obtaining high accuracy in detecting degraded locations as well as the severity levels.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Three‐Dimensional Permeability Inversion Using Convolutional Neural Networks and Positron Emission Tomography

Abstract Quantification of heterogeneous multiscale permeability in geologic porous media is key for understanding and predicting flow and transport processes in the subsurface. Recent utilization of in situ imaging, specifically positron emission tomography (PET), enables the measurement of three‐dimensional (3‐D) time‐lapse radiotracer solute transport in geologic media. However, accurate and computationally efficient characterization of the permeability distribution that controls the solute transport process remains challenging. Leveraging the relationship between local permeability variation and solute advection behavior, an encoder‐decoder based convolutional neural network (CNN) is implemented as a permeability inversion scheme using a single PET scan of a radiotracer pulse injection experiment as input. The CNN can accurately capture the 3‐D spatial correlation between the permeability and the radiotracer solute arrival time difference maps in geologic cores. We first test the inversion accuracy using synthetic test datasets and then test the accuracy on a suite of experimental PET imaging datasets acquired on four different geologic cores. The network‐predicted permeability maps from the geologic cores are used to parameterize forward numerical models that are directly compared with the experimental PET imaging data. The results indicate that a single trained network can generate robust 3‐D permeability inversion maps in seconds. Numerical models parameterized with these permeability maps closely capture the experimentally observed solute arrival time behavior. This work provides an unprecedented approach for efficiently characterizing multiscale permeability heterogeneity in complex geologic samples.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Demonstration of acoustic monitoring for structural health of microreactors: Through use of neural networks and resonant ultrasound spectroscopy

Nuclear microreactors prioritize modularity and portability and are intended to be a cost-effective technology for non-conventional nuclear markets. As such, the development of microreactors into a safe and feasible solution for energy security applications will necessitate the development of non-destructive technologies to monitor the integrity of inaccessible reactors components during operation. This demonstration applies linear and nonlinear acoustic techniques, in combination with machine learning, to detect and classify mechanical changes (stress and damage) in a test article which are broadly representative of potential operating challenges within a functioning microreactor. All necessary data has been collected for this demonstration, with minor experimental issues identified that can be addressed in follow-on work. Motivated by the expected conditions within a functioning microreactor, we have demonstrated our monitoring techniques on a core-block-like test article using an unstructured excitation source that approximates the noisy acoustic environment expected during reactor operation. At all stress states mechanically applied to the test article, a machine learning model using an artificial neural network was able to classify with 100% accuracy whether a 3D laser vibrometry point measurement was made on an intact or artificially defective test article. Further, model predictions about whether the defect interface was rough or smooth were 95% accurate, indicating the ability of acoustic techniques to recover defect characteristics. Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) was also applied to the dataset to provide further quantitative insights about material properties. RUS analysis was ultimately hampered by several minor experimental and data issues, limiting results to certain cases for this demonstration. Last, analysis using nonlinear RUS exhibited sensitivity to changing levels of applied stresses for each intact and defective state. As presented in this demonstration, acoustic monitoring exhibits sensitivity to stress changes, which are of concern due to high thermal gradients expected during startup and operation. Further, our techniques distinguish between measurements made on intact and damaged test articles.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗