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PyDSS
PyDSS is a high level Python interface for OpenDSS and provides the following functionalities: 1] Object oriented programming, 2] Dynamic visualization, 3] Custom controls, 4] Simulation parallelization, 5] Exporting results, 6] Improved error logging, and 7] Communication interface. Documentation on installation, setup and examples can be found here https://nrel.github.io/PyDSS/index.html
Counterweight for Long Reach Robotic Arm
Maintenance for vital systems proves challenging due to their location: tucked up and behind components. Pinpointing the precise location of errors presents difficulty when relying solely on the human eye. The solution to this issue arises in the form of a Long Reach Robotic Arm. An adequately balanced robot with several individually controlled links contains the capability to maneuver around obstructing components to locate the points of failure with accuracy. The design process for such a robot begins with the writing of a program. The program intends to visualize how the Long Reach Robotic Arm will move in 2D space by printing a select number of lines representing each arm link to the screen and controlling each link through the keyboard. This code substantially simplifies the design process for the multi-linked arm. The next step in the Long Reach Robotic Arm design process is the development of the arm and its counterweight system. The clear division of this work allows two interns to work on this project: one assumes responsibility for the arm, and the other for the counterweight. I undertook the design for the counterbalance. My half of the project is essential for maintaining safety as an extended multi-linked robot arm presents the challenge of preserving stability. The best method to supply a balance to the robot, even in extension, is a mobile counterweight with a compact design.
Visualizing Hierarchical Performance Profiles of Parallel Codes Using CallFlow
Calling context trees (CCTs) couple performance metrics with call paths, helping understand the execution and performance of parallel programs. To identify performance bottlenecks, programmers and performance analysts visually explore CCTs to form and validate hypotheses regarding degraded performance. However, due to the complexity of parallel programs, existing visual representations do not scale to applications running on a large number of processors. In this work, we present CallFlow, an interactive visual analysis tool that provides a high-level overview of CCTs together with semantic refinement operations to progressively explore CCTs. Using a flow-based metaphor, we visualize a CCT by treating execution time as a resource spent during the call chain, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our design with case studies on large-scale, production simulation codes.
The Development and Use of in situ visualization and Analysis Approaches for the U.S. Exascale Program: VTK-m contributions.
Abstract not provided.
Tomo2Mesh: Fast Reconstruction and Visualization of Tomography Data in Mesh Format
Tomo2Mesh is an open-source project targeted towards real-time reconstruction, segmentation, and visualization of computed tomography (CT) data in mesh format. The CT reconstruction scheme is based on filtered back-projection of voxel subsets. The segmentation scheme uses a 3D convolutional neural network. To allow for fast, real-time reconstruction, voxel subsets are first identified by coarse reconstruction. The detail in specific regions of interest is improved through full reconstruction of voxel subsets in that region. Data structures are implemented to store and process voxel subsets. Finally, voxel data is labeled using connected components to detect disconnected regions such as voids whose morphological attributes (e.g., Feret diameter, principal axis orientation, local number density, size, etc.) can be measured also in real-time. Finally, a fast marching cubes implementation processes labeled voxel data into a triangular face mesh (vertices and faces) in .ply format for visualization in Paraview or other mesh visualization tools. The code provides a simple programming interface for detecting, classifying, and visualizing regions of interest based on morphology. For example, detected voids can be classified as round pores or extended cracks. Highly porous neighborhoods can be identified based on local number density. The mesh texture (or color) is assigned based these morphological attributes to allow smart visualization scenarios in real-time (e.g., show only long cracks). At the time of first release (July 2022), extraction of face mesh for visualization for raw CT data from a 2 megapixel camera would take between 1-5 minutes for most scenarios.
Processing Meteorological Data for the CAP-88 PC Model at Los Alamos National Laboratory
The Environmental Protection and Compliance-Compliance Programs (EPC-CP) group at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) uses the Clean Air Act Assessment Package 1988 (CAP-88, Littleton 2020) PC model (Version 4.1) to estimate radiological doses for a set of areal sectors surrounding a release location, in order to satisfy the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) dose calculation requirement in 40 CFR 61 Subpart H. Among several types of data that must be prepared for CAP-88 input is a text file of meteorological data (“WIND” file), consisting of the joint frequency of wind direction, wind speed, and atmospheric stability categories. EPC-CP produces customized WIND files by running a CAP-88 utility program on a user generated text file of wind data in a different format, known as a STability ARray (STAR) file (Turner, 1964). At LANL, EPC-CP meteorologists prepare customized STAR files with data over desired time periods at selected meteorological towers. A custom program written in Precision Visuals -Workstation Analysis and Visualization Environment (PV-WAVE), a commercial Fortran-like language, is used to read LANL meteorological data and write a STAR file; the executable filename is “Star.out”. However, the outdated PV-WAVE utility program is being phased out by EPC-CP, due to the inefficient process to run it and an inability to modify the code. To preserve the ability to create customized meteorological data for CAP-88 in a way that will be easy to use and maintain, a new replacement utility program, written in the Python programming language, has been developed. The new, improved program reads a data file from any LANL meteorological tower, and at each desired observation time, determines the wind direction, wind speed, and stability categories defined in the CAP-88 documentation. The frequencies of all combinations of the three sets of categories are calculated and written to a file in the STAR format, which can later be converted to a WIND file for input into CAP-88.
Design and feasibility of a novel program of cervical screening in Nigeria: self-sampled HPV testing paired with visual triage
Background: Accelerated global control of cervical cancer would require primary prevention with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in addition to novel screening program strategies that are simple, inexpensive, and effective. We present the feasibility and outcome of a community-based HPV self-sampled screening program. Methods: In Ile Ife, Nigeria, 9406 women aged 30–49 years collected vaginal self-samples, which were tested for HPV in the local study laboratory using Hybrid Capture-2 (HC2) (Qiagen). HPV-positive women were referred to the colposcopy clinic. Gynecologist colposcopic impression dictated immediate management; biopsies were taken when definite acetowhitening was present to produce a histopathologic reference standard of precancer (and to determine final clinical management). Retrospective linkage to the medical records identified 442 of 9406 women living with HIV (WLWH). Results: With self-sampling, it was possible to screen more than 100 women per day per clinic. Following an audio-visual presentation and in-person instructions, overall acceptability of self-sampling was very high (81.2% women preferring self-sampling over clinician collection). HPV positivity was found in 17.3% of women. Intensive follow-up contributed to 85.9% attendance at the colposcopy clinic. Of those referred, 8.2% were initially treated with thermal ablation and 5.6% with large loop excision of transformation zone (LLETZ). Full visibility of the squamocolumnar junction, necessary for optimal visual triage and ablation, declined from 68.5% at age 30 to 35.4% at age 49. CIN2+ and CIN3+ (CIN- Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia), including five cancers, were identified by histology in 5.9 and 3.2% of the HPV-positive women, respectively (0.9 and 0.5% of the total screening population), leading to additional treatment as indicated. The prevalences of HPV infection and CIN2+ were substantially higher (40.5 and 2.5%, respectively) among WLWH. Colposcopic impression led to over- and under-treatment compared to the histopathology reference standard. Conclusion: A cervical cancer screening program using self-sampled HPV testing, with colposcopic immediate management of women positive for HPV, proved feasible in Nigeria. Based on the collected specimens and images, we are now evaluating the use of a combination of partial HPV typing and automated visual evaluation (AVE) of cervical images to improve the accuracy of the screening program.
Upgrade of Gamma Spectrometry Systems for ORNL TRISO Fuel PIE
Gamma spectrometry is a key element in much of the post-irradiation examination (PIE) work performed under the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program (Demkowicz et al. 2015; Stempien et al. 2021). Gamma spectrometers are integrated into three major capabilities used at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL) for PIE of tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) coated particles and fuel compacts: the Core Conduction Cooldown Test Facility (CCCTF), the Vertical Counting System (VCS), and the Irradiated Microsphere Gamma Analyzer (IMGA). The CCCTF includes liquid-nitrogen-cooled traps to extract 85 Kr out of the He sweep gas that passes through the furnace in which the fuel compacts are heated during safety testing. Analysis of the 85 Kr activity in the traps is the primary indicator for TRISO failure during safety testing. The VCS is a system used to accurately measure gamma emission from components placed in a lead-shielded chamber. It is used to count the CCCTF deposition cups after removal from furnace. Each cup resides in the CCCTF furnace for typically 12–24 h and is periodically replaced with a fresh cup throughout the safety test. Metallic fission products collect on the water-cooled cups and several gamma-emitting isotopes ( 110 mAg, 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 154 Eu, and 155 Eu) are often measured and provide indication of the retention performance of the TRISO coatings. The VCS is also used to measure the presence of these isotopes on the CCCTF tantalum liner and sweep gas inlet tube for the determination of cup collection efficiency, as well as support other gamma spectrometry needs related to calibration of the 85 Kr fission gas traps and various other special PIE tasks. The IMGA uses gamma spectrometry to measure the inventory of gamma-emitting isotopes in individual TRISO particles. An automated particle handling system within the IMGA hot cell removes each particle from a source vial and positions it in front of a gamma detector, and output from the gamma spectrometer is used by the IMGA software to determine a destination vial such that particles are sorted according to their inventory and retention characteristics. At the conclusion of the AGR-1 and AGR-2 PIE campaigns, the gamma spectrometer systems used at ORNL to support that PIE had reached the end of its life cycle due to gradual obsolescence of the hardware and software. Upgrade of the Canberra Genie 2000 software used by these systems to a Windows 10 version was not a viable option, because the newest Windows 10 version offered by Mirion (the new owner of the Canberra technology) did not include the dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) needed for integration with the custom PIE software used with the CCCTF and IMGA, and Mirion had no current plans for development and release of Windows 10 versions of these DLLs with the Model S560 Genie 2000 Programming Library. Ultimately a switch was made to ORTEC gamma spectrometry systems, which appeared to be a more sustainable solution due to more proactive vendor support. The ORTEC conversion involved replacing the aging detector preamplifier and multichannel analyzer (MCA) hardware, upgrading the obsolete Windows 7 computers to Windows 10 compatible models, adopting ORTEC GammaVision software, and extensive modification of the ORNL-developed Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) programs that provide the CCCTF and IMGA user interfaces.
PipeSight: A High-Performance Computing Platform for Pipeline Integrity Management
The Phase I feasibility study completed as part of this project has led to a number of innovative technologies being developed and has laid the foundation for a successful Phase II effort to commercialize a platform for managing the integrity of pipelines for the damage mechanisms of the new, hybrid-energy based economy. To ground the development efforts and direction of the project, an extensive market research and customer discovery effort was undertaken early in Phase I. Through this effort, a number of pipeline owners and operators were interviewed, and the following key findings were discovered about the pipeline industry: • Small pipeline operators do not have the central engineering groups necessary to perform their own independent analysis of inspection data, but instead rely on summarized tally sheets provided to them by inspection service providers. • The time it takes to go from an inspection to a completed engineering assessment, even for small segments of pipeline, can take anywhere from 30-120 days. During this delay, critical threats can (and have been known to) cause failures. • Uncertainty is often not accounted for in the assessment of pipeline integrity. The tally sheets provided by third-party service providers are almost always deterministic in nature, identifying threats that present a concern only to the current (not the future) integrity of the pipeline. • It is uncommon to apply the latest technologies to perform advanced assessments of damaged pipelines. There is a desire to use more advanced analysis capabilities to assess threats. Many pipeline operators indicated that they would often excavate a pipeline to perform an inspection and find that the damage was not as bad as they anticipated, thus using limited resources unnecessarily. Companies are not consistent in their use of inspection data to determine corrosion rates, and those that do only calculate deterministic corrosion rates. • The industry has prominently relied on time-based inspections but has recently started to transition to risk-based inspections. However, there appears to be no uniform guidance on how to do so while properly accounting for all sources of uncertainty. • Companies are not storing inspection data in a manner that allows for the ready determination of temporal trends. • Predictive maintenance principles and practices are beginning to be used by early adopters • Some pipelines are being re-purposed to transport different process fluids than they were designed for, e.g., H 2 and CO 2 rich process streams to serve the new hybrid-energy based economy, which are presenting new integrity concerns for the existing pipeline network that crisscrosses the United States. As a result of these discoveries, we were able to target the development efforts in Phase I to best serve the needs of the industry. In Phase I, we developed a way to correlate multiple large-scale scans of the pipeline to determine a probabilistic corrosion rate that accounts for all sources of error and uncertainty in the inspection process. This probabilistic corrosion rate can be used to predict the future thickness distribution of the pipe wall. We demonstrate how this analysis may be performed in an analytical fashion and has been implemented in such a manner that it can be readily distributed using GPU computing through integration of the Kokkos programming model. We also make a very novel extension of the analytical corrosion rate model to Bayesian Networks (an explainable AI technique) that can account for non-parametric distributions of corrosion rates. With the predictions made above for the probabilistic corrosion rate and corresponding future distribution of the pipe wall thickness, we can assess the integrity of the pipeline through the use of a probabilistic engineering assessment. We developed a novel screening data analysis approach that can rapidly identify ‘hotspots’ (local thin areas) where the integrity of the pipeline is a concern. Once more, we implemented this screening approach in C++ to leverage GPU computing via the Kokkos programming model. After the critical hotspots are identified, we developed a program that can automatically generate an advanced finite element model of the damaged regions. Since the number of damaged regions that require advanced analysis can number in the thousands, we integrated an open-source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on the cloud. Initially, these advanced numerical models were only designed to account for loading due to internal pressure. However, in a slight pivot from the initial Phase I proposal, we developed a complete pipe stress analysis program (called Simflex) which can simulate the complete pipeline and its response to thermal expansion, pressure, thermal bowing, weight, wind, earthquake, support displacement, support friction and external forces. This pipe stress analysis program was written generically, to handle any piping system, but contains the features needed to model long pipelines (i.e., it incorporates a model for soil mechanics and can account for the nonlinear boundary conditions necessary to simulate long underground pipelines). This pipe stress analysis program can simulate any segment of the pipeline (simple or complex) under any set of conditions and loads, to determine the supplemental loads (axial forces and bending moments) at the location of damage. This enables the most accurate state of stress to be accounted for in the pipeline, which can prove critical when evaluating the integrity of a damaged region. In the process of developing the technologies to perform the integrity assessment of the pipeline, we also extended one of the industry standard approaches for performing the assessment of local thin areas that extend more in the circumferential direction than the longitudinal direction of the pipeline. This approach was presented to the API 579-1/AS ME FFS-1 steering committee in November 2021 for consideration in the next edition of the industry standard for Fitness-For-Service (expected to be released in 2023). To help pipeline operators make decisions with the results on any integrity assessment, we developed a new approach to the life-cycle management of pipelines which uses a Bayesian Decision Network. The network is designed to help pipeline operators plan and prioritize inspection activities and ultimately make smarter, more cost-effective decisions. The Bayesian approach accounts for all sources of uncertainty and carries them through to the final optimal decisions, providing a probabilistic framework for optimizing inspection intervals. The proof-of-concept networks developed in the feasibility study are complete, verified, and are focused on a subset of the pipeline. To expand this novel approach to the scale necessary for an entire network of pipelines in Phase II, we will leverage the DOE-funded Bengi solver for industrial-scale decision making with Bayesian Networks [22]. Once implemented, we will be able to provide the pipeline industry with a much-needed tool for optimal inspection planning using truly explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). To handle all of these advanced capabilities into a cloud-based platform, the architecture of the Equity Engineering Cloud (EEC) was extended to include Argo Workflows, a framework capable of distributing and managing a massive number of jobs that consume their own resources, such that thousands of serial finite element simulations can be run in parallel. As part of this substantial undertaking, we also integrated Argo Continuous Delivery (CD) into the EEC, to aid with the rapid prototyping and iterations that will be imperative to the success of the PipeSight platform’s Agile development process in Phase II. As part of the pipe stress analysis program, we also developed a custom visualizer that leverages the DOE-funded VTK visualization library. We added custom contouring capabilities and a means for interacting visually with both the inputs and outputs of the pipe stress analysis program. We also developed routines for automating the post-processing of the finite element simulations to determine if any failure criteria are met and to visualize the deformations, stresses and strains in ParaView using the exodus II file format (a subset of netCDF).
The Purpose of the DOE/NNSA Nuclear Criticality Safety Program Technical Program Review [Slides]
This presentation touches on the purpose of the DOE/NNSA Nuclear Criticality Safety Program Technical Program Review. This presentation also covers the background, history, mission, and vison of the organization. Slides include visual representations of the technical program element activities and the current NCSP work sites.
Visualization and Decision Making Design Under Uncertainty
This report documents the program and the outcomes of Dagstuhl Seminar 22331 "Visualization and Decision Making Design Under Uncertainty". The seminar brought together 33 researchers and practitioners from different domains concerned with visualization and decision making under uncertainty including visualization, visual analytics, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, climate research, geography and geology. The programme was organized in two parts: In the first part which lasted two days, participants gave short talks where they discussed current practices and the uncertainty visualization challenges they encountered in their own research. At the end of day two, participants brainstormed collectively around the main uncertainty visualization research challenges across domains and applications. In the second part, participants voted for the following three main challenges they wished to discuss for the remainder of the seminar (one and a half days): applications, human-centered uncertainty visualization, a design process for uncertainty visualization. Thus three break-out groups were formed to discuss these challenges. Abstracts for the individual talks and the break-out group activities are included in this report.
Using Methyl Bromide for Interspecies Cell–Cell Signaling and As a Reporter in a Model Soil Consortium
Synthetic microbial communities are emerging as model systems for studying consortia-scale phenotypes. To establish synthetic biology tools for studying these communities in hard-to-image environmental materials, we evaluated whether a single member of a model soil consortium (MSC) can be programmed to report on gene expression without requiring matrix disruption. For these studies, we targeted a five member MSC that includes Dyadobacter fermentans, Ensifer adhaerens, Rhodococcus sp003130705, Streptomyces sp001905665, and Variovorax beijingensis. By coupling the expression of a methyl halide transferase to a constitutive promoter, we show that Variovorax beijingensis can be programmed to synthesize methyl halides that accumulate in the soil headspace at levels that are ≥24-fold higher than all other MSC members across a range of environmentally-relevant hydration conditions. We find that methyl halide production can report on a MSC promoter that is activated by changes in water potential, and we demonstrate that a synthetic gas signal can be read out directly using gas chromatography and indirectly using a soil-derived Methylorubrum that is programmed to produce a visual output in response to methyl halides. Finally, these tools will be useful for future studies that investigate how MSC respond to dynamic hydration conditions, such as drought and flood events induced by climate change, which can alter soil water potential and induce the release of stored carbon.
Battery Lifecycle Framework
The Battery Lifecycle (BLC) Framework is an open-source platform that provides tools to visualize and share battery data from material characterization, cell testing, manufacturing, and field testing through the technology development cycle. BLC has three components: data importers, a front-end for querying the data and creating visualizations, and an application programming interface to provide access to the data from Python. BLC has been deployed for tracking the development of a battery from the lab to a manufacturing line and systems installed in the field and for comparing studies of multiple cells of the same battery chemistry and configuration. The code was developed around Redash, a robust open-source extract-transform-load engine. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. SAND2021-4546 O
Decoherence Noise on the Superconducting Qubits Training Program
Quantum computing is a growing field with promising applications in a variety of fields such as healthcare, energy consumption, and cryptography. Quantum computing leverages the principles of quantum mechanics - superposition and entanglement. Yet, in the Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) Era - quantum systems face the major challenge of decoherence due to noise. This era is characterized by low amounts of qubits and high gate error. Decoherence leads to the loss of the quantum information stored in the qubit. Noise occurs with any quantum system that is exposed to the environment. It should also be noted that quantum information can be stored in the cavity - Fermilab specializes in coupling transmons to ultrahigh-Q SRF cavities. The Superconducting Qubits Training Program (SQTP) provides a visualization for beginners in quantum computing. The open quantum system simulated is a superconducting qubit (two-level atom) coupled to a microwave cavity whose excitations are photons. The Rotating Wave Approximation of the Jaynes-Cumming Hamiltonian is used. SQTP utilizes open-source Python-based libraries scQubits, NumPy, and QuTiP alongside the Master Lindblad equation. In this project, we study the different decay behaviors of qubits and cavities with collapse operators.
Installer Badges Toolkit and Visualization Resources
NREL staff (Jal Desai and Cory Chovanec) will introduce the U.S. Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program (DOE WAP) Installer Badges Toolkit. The presentation will cover topics such as how this toolkit can be customized and implemented in a program, the potential benefits of using the Badges, and lessons learned from other implementers. This session will also engage participants to share their experiences regarding their existing training and how they are bringing their workforce up to speed in their building envelope-related programs. The Installer Badges Toolkit consists of 25 Badges, each representing different energy efficiency tasks that an installer could perform on a home. Each Badge defines the desired outcome, criteria to verify the work, applicable material requirements, and references to DOE's Standard Work Specifications (SWS) or other relevant standards. Workers earn Badges by completing each task and receiving approval from a qualified supervisor. The Badges provide a consistent approach to training by ensuring that installers are learning the same skills nationwide. Organizations can also customize the Toolkit by choosing only those Badges that are relevant to their program. NREL staff will also showcase new visualization resources like the Single-family and manufactured home job aids and the Single-family 3D house tool.
Behavior specification, finding main, and call graph visualizations
A process transforms compiled software into a semantic form. The process transforms the code into a semantic form. The process analyzes behavior functionality by processing precise programming behavior abstractions stored in a memory and classifies the code as malware based on the code behavior. Another method identifies the starting point of execution of a compiled program. The method calculates a complexity measure by calculating the number of potential execution paths of local functions; identifies the number of arguments passed to local functions; and identifies the starting point of execution of the compiled program. Another method provides interactive, dynamic visualization of a group of related functions wherein a user can explore the rendered graph and select a specific function and display functions that are color coded by their ancestral relation and their function call distance to the selected function.
Reimagining Disassembly Interfaces With Visualization: Combining Instruction Tracing and Control Flow With DisViz
In applications where efficiency is critical, developers may examine their compiled binaries, seeking to understand how the compiler transformed their source code and what performance implications that transformation may have. This analysis is challenging due to the vast number of disassembled binary instructions and the many-to-many mappings between them and the source code. These problems are exacerbated as source code size increases, giving the compiler more freedom to map and disperse binary instructions across the disassembly space. Interfaces for disassembly typically display instructions as an unstructured listing or sacrifice the order of execution. Here, we design a new visual interface for disassembly code that combines execution order with control flow structure, enabling analysts to both trace through code and identify familiar aspects of the computation. Central to our approach is a novel layout of instructions grouped into basic blocks that displays a looping structure in an intuitive way. We add to this disassembly representation a unique block-based mini-map that leverages our layout and shows context across thousands of disassembly instructions. Finally, we embed our disassembly visualization in a web-based tool, DisViz, which adds dynamic linking with source code across the entire application. DizViz was developed in collaboration with program analysis experts following design study methodology and was validated through evaluation sessions with ten participants from four institutions. Participants successfully completed the evaluation tasks, hypothesized about compiler optimizations, and noted the utility of our new disassembly view. Our evaluation suggests that our new integrated view helps application developers in understanding and navigating disassembly code.