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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 307 records · Page 17

Fuel Performance Analysis of Fast Flux Test Facility MFF-3 and -5 Fuel Pins Using BISON with Post Irradiation Examination Data

Using the BISON fuel-performance code, simulations were conducted of an automated process to read initial and operating conditions from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) database and reports, which contain metallic-fuel data from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) MFF Experiments. This work builds on previous modeling efforts involving 1977 EBR-II metallic fuel pins from experiments. Coupling the FFTF PNNL reports to BISON allowed for all 338 pins from MFF-3 and MFF-5 campaigns to be simulated. Each BISON simulation contains unique power and flux histories, axial power and flux profiles, and coolant-channel flow rates. Fission-gas release (FGR), fuel axial swelling, cladding profilometry, and burnup were all simulated in BISON and compared to available post-irradiation examination (PIE) data. Cladding profilometry, FGR, and fuel axial swelling simulation results for full-length MFF metallic pins were found to be in agreement with PIE measurements using FFTF physics and models used previously for EBR-II simulations. The main two peaks observed within the cladding profilometry were able to be simulated, with fuel-cladding mechanical interaction (FCMI), fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI), and thermal and irradiation-induced creep being the cause. A U-Pu-Zr hot-pressing model was included in this work to allow pore collapse within the fuel matrix. This allowed better agreement between BISON-simulated cladding profilometry and PIE measurements for the peak caused by FCMI. This work shows that metallic fuel models used to accurately represent fuel performance for smaller EBR-II pins may be used for full-length metallic fuel, such as FFTF MFF assemblies and the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR). As new material models and PIE measurements become available, FFTF MFF assessment cases will be reassessed to further BISON model development.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effects of stress upon psychophysiological responses and performance following sleep deprivation

The usefulness of psychological and physiological variables in predicting performance under stress of 48 hours of sleep deprivation was investigated. Performance tests, with subjects of different ego strength personalities, in concept acquisition, reading comprehension, word association, word memory, and anagrams were conducted, and physiological measurements of (1) the phasic and tonic electrodermal, (2) galvanic skin response, (3) thermal skin resistance, (4) heart rate, (5) respiration, and (6) plethysmographic finger pulse volumn were recorded. It was found that the changes in the pattern of performance were the result of testing subjects at times when they would normally be sleeping, and that sleep deprivation longer than 48 hours must be maintained to produce changes in simple or well learned tasks.

Roessler, R.↗

Shedding Light on Microbial Dark Matter with A Universal Language of Life

The majority of microbial genomes have yet to be cultured, and most proteins predicted from microbial genomes or sequenced from the environment cannot be functionally annotated. As a result, current computational approaches to describe microbial systems rely on incomplete reference databases that cannot adequately capture the full functional diversity of the microbial tree of life, limiting our ability to model high-level features of biological sequences. The scientific community needs a means to capture the functionally and evolutionarily relevant features underlying biology, independent of our incomplete reference databases. Such a model can form the basis for transfer learning tasks, enabling downstream applications in environmental microbiology, medicine, and bioengineering. Here we present LookingGlass, a deep learning model capturing a “universal language of life”. LookingGlass encodes contextually-aware, functionally and evolutionarily relevant representations of short DNA reads, distinguishing reads of disparate function, homology, and environmental origin. We demonstrate the ability of LookingGlass to be fine-tuned to perform a range of diverse tasks: to identify novel oxidoreductases, to predict enzyme optimal temperature, and to recognize the reading frames of DNA sequence fragments. LookingGlass is the first contextually-aware, general purpose pre-trained “biological language” representation model for short-read DNA sequences. LookingGlass enables functionally relevant representations of otherwise unknown and unannotated sequences, shedding light on the microbial dark matter that dominates life on Earth.

A Hoarfrost↗

SU-E-QI-15: Single Point Dosimetry by Means of Cerenkov Radiation Energy Transfer (CRET)

Purpose: Cerenkov light is generated when a charged particles with energy greater then 250 keV, moves faster than the speed of light in a given medium. Both x-ray photons and electrons produce optical Cerenkov photons during the static megavoltage linear accelerator (LINAC) operational mode. Recently, Cerenkov radiation gained considerable interest as possible candidate as a new imaging modality. Optical signals generated by Cerenkov radiation may act as a surrogate for the absorbed superficial radiation dose. We demonstrated a novel single point dosimetry method for megavoltage photon and electron therapy utilizing down conversion of Cerenkov photons. Methods: The custom build signal characterization system was used: a sample holder (probe) with adjacent light tight compartments was connected via fiber-optic cables to a photon counting photomultiplier tube (PMT). One compartment contains a medium only while the other contains medium and red-shifting nano-particles (Q-dots, nanoclusters). By taking the difference between the two signals (Cerenkov photons and CRET photons) we obtain a measure of the down-converted light, which we expect to be proportional to dose as measured with an adjacent ion chamber. Experimental results are compared to Monte Carlo simulations performed using the GEANT4 code. Results: The signal correlation between CR signal, CRET readings and dose produced by LINAC at a single point were investigated. The experimental results were compared with simulations. The dose linearity, signal to noise ratio and dose rate dependence were tested with custom build CRET based probe. Conclusion: Performance characteristics of the proposed single point CRET based probe were evaluated. The direct use of the induced Cerenkov emission and CRET in an irradiated single point volume as an indirect surrogate for the imparted dose was investigated. We conclude that CRET is a promising optical based dosimetry method that offers advantages over those already proposed.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Thermal Analysis and Correlation of the Mars Odyssey Spacecraft's Solar Array During Aerobraking Operations

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft made use of multipass aerobraking to gradually reduce its orbit period from a highly elliptical insertion orbit to its final science orbit. Aerobraking operations provided an opportunity to apply advanced thermal analysis techniques to predict the temperature of the spacecraft's solar array for each drag pass. Odyssey telemetry data was used to correlate the thermal model. The thermal analysis was tightly coupled to the flight mechanics, aerodynamics, and atmospheric modeling efforts being performed during operations. Specifically, the thermal analysis predictions required a calculation of the spacecraft's velocity relative to the atmosphere, a prediction of the atmospheric density, and a prediction of the heat transfer coefficients due to aerodynamic heating. Temperature correlations were performed by comparing predicted temperatures of the thermocouples to the actual thermocouple readings from the spacecraft. Time histories of the spacecraft relative velocity, atmospheric density, and heat transfer coefficients, calculated using flight accelerometer and quaternion data, were used to calculate the aerodynamic heating. During aerobraking operations, the correlations were used to continually update the thermal model, thus increasing confidence in the predictions. This paper describes the thermal analysis that was performed and presents the correlations to the flight data.

Dec, John A.↗

Development FD-SOI MOSFET Amplifiers for Integrated Read-Out Circuit of Superconducting-Tunnel-Junction Single-Photon-Detectors

We proposed a new high-resolution single-photon infrared spectrometer for search for radiative decay of cosmic neutrino background (CνB). The superconducting-tunnel-junctions(STJs) are used as a single-photon counting device. Each STJ consists of Nb/Al/Al x O y /Al/Nb layers, and their thicknesses are optimized for the operation temperature at 370 mK cooled by a 3 He sorption refrigerator. Our STJs achieved the leak current 250 pA, and the measured data implies that a smaller area STJ fulfills our requirement. FD-SOI MOSFETs are employed to amplify the STJ signal current in order to increase signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). FD-SOI MOSFETs can be operated at cryogenic temperature of 370 mK, which reduces the noise of the signal amplification system. FD-SOI MOSFET characteristics are measured at cryogenic temperature. The Id-Vgs curve shows a sharper turn on with a higher threshold voltage and the Id-Vds curve shows a nonlinear shape in linear region at cryogenic temperature. Taking into account these effects, FD-SOI MOSFETs are available for read-out circuit of STJ detectors. The bias voltage for STJ detectors is 0.4 mV, and it must be well stabilized to deliver high performance. We proposed an FD-SOI MOSFET-based charge integrated amplifier design as a read-out circuit of STJ detectors. The requirements for an operational amplifier used in the amplifier is estimated using SPICE simulation. The op-amp is required to have a fast response (GBW ≥ 100 MHz), and it must have low power dissipation as compared to the cooling power of refrigerator.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

The BDX-MINI detector for Light Dark Matter search at JLab

This paper describes the design and performance of a compact detector, BDX-MINI, that incorporates all features of a concept that optimized the detection of light dark matter in the MeV-GeV mass range produced by electrons in a beam dump. It represents a reduced version of the future BDX experiment expected to run at JLAB. BDX-MINI was exposed to penetrating particles produced by a 2.176GeV electron beam incident on the beam dump of Hall A at Jefferson Lab. The detector consists of 30.5 kg of PbWO 4 crystals with sufficient material following the beam dump to eliminate all known particles except neutrinos. The crystals are read out using silicon photomultipliers. Completely surrounding the detector are a passive layer of tungsten and two active scintillator veto systems, which are also read out using silicon photomultipliers. The design was validated and the performance of the robust detector was shown to be stable during a six month period during which the detector was operated with minimal access.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Estimation of Behind-the-Meter Solar Generation by Integrating Physical with Statistical Models

Accurate estimation of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation is crucial for distribution grid control and optimization. Unfortunately, most of the residential solar PV installations are behind-the-meter. Thus, utilities only have access to the net load readings. This paper presents an unsupervised framework for estimating solar PV generation by disaggregating the net load readings. The proposed framework synergistically combines a physical PV system performance model with a statistical model for load estimation. Specifically, our algorithm iteratively estimates solar PV generation with a physical model and electric load with the Hidden Markov model regression. The proposed algorithm is also capable of estimating the key technical parameters of the solar PV systems. Our proposed method is validated against net load and solar PV generation data gathered from residential customers located in Austin, Texas. The validation results show that our method reduces mean squared error by 44% compared to the state-of-the-art disaggregation algorithm.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

The first two chromosome‐scale genome assemblies of American hazelnut enable comparative genomic analysis of the genus Corylus

Summary The native, perennial shrub American hazelnut ( Corylus americana ) is cultivated in the Midwestern United States for its significant ecological benefits, as well as its high‐value nut crop. Implementation of modern breeding methods and quantitative genetic analyses of C. americana requires high‐quality reference genomes, a resource that is currently lacking. We therefore developed the first chromosome‐scale assemblies for this species using the accessions ‘Rush’ and ‘Winkler’. Genomes were assembled using HiFi PacBio reads and Arima Hi‐C data, and Oxford Nanopore reads and a high‐density genetic map were used to perform error correction. N50 scores are 31.9 Mb and 35.3 Mb, with 90.2% and 97.1% of the total genome assembled into the 11 pseudomolecules, for ‘Rush’ and ‘Winkler’, respectively. Gene prediction was performed using custom RNAseq libraries and protein homology data. ‘Rush’ has a BUSCO score of 99.0 for its assembly and 99.0 for its annotation, while ‘Winkler’ had corresponding scores of 96.9 and 96.5, indicating high‐quality assemblies. These two independent assemblies enable unbiased assessment of structural variation within C. americana , as well as patterns of syntenic relationships across the Corylus genus. Furthermore, we identified high‐density SNP marker sets from genotyping‐by‐sequencing data using 1343 C. americana , C. avellana and C. americana × C. avellana hybrids, in order to assess population structure in natural and breeding populations. Finally, the transcriptomes of these assemblies, as well as several other recently published Corylus genomes, were utilized to perform phylogenetic analysis of sporophytic self‐incompatibility (SSI) in hazelnut, providing evidence of unique molecular pathways governing self‐incompatibility in Corylus .

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Becquerel (Bq) v0.1

Becquerel is a Python package for analyzing nuclear spectroscopic measurements. The core functionalities are reading and writing different spectrum file types, fitting spectral features, performing detector calibrations, and interpreting measurement results. It will include tools for plotting radiation spectra and fits of different spectral features, as well as convenient access to tabulated nuclear data. It relies heavily on the standard scientific Python stack of numpy, scipy, matplotlib, and pandas. It is intended to be general-purpose enough that it can be useful to anyone from an undergraduate taking a laboratory course to the advanced researcher.

Plimley, BrianC↗

Gear Test Assembly - Status Report FY2018

The gear test assembly completed testing in air and distilled water successfully under a range of loading conditions. An external torque sensor assembly was designed and added to confirm the torque readings provided by the Parker control system. Hand calculations were performed to determine the time range that the heaters could be turned on without exceeding the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel code Fatigue Stress Limits for 1,000,000 cycles. Transient computational fluid dynamics analyses were performed to determine the heater cycle on/off time. Steady state computational fluid dynamics analyses were performed to determine the final temperature distribution throughout the insulated assembly using a thinner but more effective insulation configuration. The initial heating tests were completed (without insulation installed) to check the heater control system. Testing of the argon pressurized seal chambers were performed and indicated the need for re-machining of several components to eliminate some leaks. Nondestructive examination of the gears continued successfully using eddy current and ultrasonic inspection techniques.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Satellite control of electric power distribution

An L-band frequencies satellite link providing the medium for direct control of electrical loads at individual customer sites from remote central locations is described. All loads supplied under interruptible-service contracts are likely condidates for such control, and they can be cycled or switched off to reduce system loads. For every kW of load eliminated or deferred to off-peak hours, the power company reduces its need for additional generating capacity. In addition, the satellite could switch meter registers so that their readings automatically reflected the time of consumption. The system would perform load-shedding operations during emergencies, disconnecting large blocks of load according to predetermined priorities. Among the distribution operations conducted by the satellite in real time would be: load reconfiguration, voltage regulation, fault isolation, and capacitor and feeder load control.

Bergen, L.↗

The global distribution of water vapor in the middle atmosphere of Venus

Near-IR measurements are presented of the mean vertical and horizontal distribution of water vapor in the Venus clouds as measured by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter IR radiometer, and comparisons are made with previous data. Six thermal channels were used to generate several hundred thousand readings for determination of the mean mixing ratio. Averaging was performed as a function of the solar zenith angle, with profiles retrieved with a relaxation method applied to radiance data at 45 microns. Consideration was given to mean cloud models and temperature profiles obtained from the five temperature sounding channels scanning from 11.5-15 microns. Laboratory tests were effected to validate the transmission functions. The results included a maximum column abundances above the cloud optical depth in the early afternoon in the equatorial regions. Mixing ratio enhancement was highest on the dayside and at high altitudes, with a mean ratio of 0.0001 at a 40% uncertainty level. Day-to-day fluctuations in the pressure level at 11.5 microns was larger than 10%, far below the factors of 2-3 determined by other investigators.

Schofield, J. T.↗

A new method for generating and maintaining rigid formats in NASTRAN

A new method for generating and updating Rigid Formats in NASTRAN is discussed. The heart of this method is a Rigid Format data base that is in card-image format and that can therefore be easily maintained by the use of standard text editors. Each Rigid Format entry in this data base will contain the Direct Matrix Abstraction Program (DMAP) for that Rigid Format along with the related restart, subset and substructure control tables. NASTRAN will read this data base directly in every NASTRAN run and perform the necessary transformations to allow the DMAP to be processed and compiled by the NASTRAN executive. This approach will permit Rigid Formats to be changed without unnecessary compilations and relinking of NASTRAN. Furthermore, this approach will also make it very easy for users to make permanent changes to existing Rigid Formats as well as to generate their own Rigid Formats. This new method will be incorporated in a future release of the public version of NASTRAN.

Pamidi, P. R.↗

CCD advances for X-ray scientific measurements in 1985

A theoretical model is presented which predicts the output response of a CCD to soft X-ray spectra. The model simulates the four fundamental parameters that ultimately limit CCD performance: quantum efficiency, charge collection efficiency, charge transfer efficiency, and read noise. Simulated results are presented for a wide variety of CCD structures, and general conclusions are presented about achieving a practical balance of sensitivity, energy, and spatial resolution for an AXAF instrument. The results of the analysis are compared to an existing state-of-the art CCD and improvements which will be made in the near future are projected.

Janesick, James↗

Computer-assisted knowledge acquisition for hypermedia systems

The usage of procedural and declarative knowledge to set up the structure or 'web' of a hypermedia environment is described. An automated knowledge acquisition tool was developed that helps a knowledge engineer elicit and represent an expert's knowledge involved in performing procedural tasks. The tool represents both procedural and prerequisite, declarative knowledge that supports each activity performed by the expert. This knowledge is output and subsequently read by a hypertext scripting language to generate the link between blank, but labeled cards. Each step of the expert's activity and each piece of supporting declarative knowledge is set up as an empty node. An instructional developer can then enter detailed instructional material concerning each step and declarative knowledge into these empty nodes. Other research is also described that facilitates the translation of knowledge from one form into a form more readily useable by computerized systems.

Steuck, Kurt↗

Solid state neutron dosimeter for space applications

Personnel engaged in space flight are exposed to significant flux of high energy neutrons arising from both primary and secondary sources of ionizing radiation. Presently, there exist no compact neutron sensor capable of being integrated in a flight instrument to provide real time measurement of this radiation flux. A proposal was made to construct such an instrument using special PIN silicon diode which has the property of being insensitive to the other forms of ionizing radiation. Studies were performed to determine the design and construction of a better reading system to allow the PIN diode to be read with high precision. The physics of the device was studied, especially with respect to those factors which affect the sensitivity and reproducibility of the neutron response. This information was then used to develop methods to achieve high sensitivity at low neutron doses. The feasibility was shown of enhancing the PIN diode sensitivity to make possible the measurement of the low doses of neutrons encountered in space flights. The new PIN diode will make possible the development of a very compact, accurate, personal neutron dosimeter.

Entine, Gerald↗

Infrared bolometers with silicon nitride micromesh absorbers

Sensitive far infrared and millimeter wave bolometers fabricated from a freestanding membrane of low stress silicon nitride are reported. The absorber, consisting of a metallized silicon nitride micromesh thermally isolated by radial legs of silicon nitride, is placed in an integrating cavity to efficiently couple to single mode or multiple mode infrared radiation. This structure provides low heat capacity, low thermal conduction and minimal cross section to energetic particles. A neutron transmutation doped Ge thermister is bump bonded to the center of the device and read out with evaporated Cr-Au leads. The limiting performance of the micromesh absorber is discussed and the recent results obtained from a 300 mK cold stage are summarized.

Bock, J. J.↗