Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “core optimization”

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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Clinical Management of Mucocele-Like Lesions of the Breast with Limited or no Epithelial Atypia on Core Biopsy: Experience from Two Institutions

Purpose: Mucocele-like lesions of the breast identified on core biopsy are rare high-risk lesions associated with variable upgrade rates to carcinoma on excision. We aimed to identify the clinicoradiopathological features that can help optimize management of this lesion. Methods: We evaluated 50 mucocele-like lesions identified on core biopsies from two institutions, including 36 with no atypia and 14 with limited atypia. Outcome data from excision or clinicoradiological follow-up were reviewed with core biopsy results. Results: Radiological targets were calcifications in 74% of cases, calcifications with associated mass or density in 16%, and mass in 10%. One of the 16 excised lesions without atypia on core biopsy, which was a mass lesion, was upgraded to mucinous carcinoma on excision. Of the 12 excised lesions with limited atypia, none were upgraded on excision. Among the lesions not excised, 20 without atypia had a median follow-up of 61 months, and 2 with limited atypia had follow-up of 97 and 109 months. None of these 22 patients had new development of their lesions on follow-up. The upgrade rate was 2% in our entire cohort, 3% for lesions without atypia, and 0% for lesions with limited atypia. Conclusions: Clinicoradiological surveillance can be appropriate when a mucocele-like lesion without atypia is identified on core biopsy for a non-mass lesion with pathological-radiological concordance. For mucocele-like lesions with limited atypia, a nonsurgical approach could be considered if the atypia by itself does not warrant excision. The latter recommendation requires careful clinicopathological correlation and support from additional studies.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Non-Hydrostatic Variable Resolution Atmospheric Model in ACME (Final Technical Report)

The project goals are divided into five main tasks to be accomplished over three years: Task 1: Implement a nonhydrostatic atmospheric dynamical core in ACME (via HOMME) Task 2: Improve load balancing in variable resolution simulations by extending Zoltan. Task 3: Optimize implicit-explicit time integrators for overcoming the vertical acoustic wave CFL limitation Task 4: Validate the NH dynamical core with DCMIP and AMIP tests on uniform and variable resolution grids Task 5: Apply the NH dynamical core to study and parameterize turbulent mountain stress and orographic gravity wave drag with ultra-high variable resolution grids This report only concerns contributions from the UC Davis team, which includes Co-PI Paul Ullrich, GSR/Postdoc Jorge Guerra, GSR Alan Rhoades, GSR Shiheng Duan, and GSR Jennifer Piaseczny. From the above list, the UC Davis team is responsible for contributions to Tasks 1, 3, 4 and 5.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Accurate core excitation and ionization energies from a state-specific coupled-cluster singles and doubles approach

Here, we investigate the use of orbital-optimized references in conjunction with single-reference coupled-cluster theory with single and double substitutions (CCSD) for the study of core excitations and ionizations of 18 small organic molecules, without the use of response theory or equation-of-motion (EOM) formalisms. Three schemes are employed to successfully address the convergence difficulties associated with the coupled-cluster equations, and the spin contamination resulting from the use of a spin symmetry-broken reference, in the case of excitations. In order to gauge the inherent potential of the methods studied, an effort is made to provide reasonable basis set limit estimates for the transition energies. Overall, we find that the two best-performing schemes studied here for ΔCCSD are capable of predicting excitation and ionization energies with errors comparable to experimental accuracies. The proposed ΔCCSD schemes reduces statistical errors against experimental excitation energies by more than a factor of two when compared to the frozen-core core–valence separated (FC-CVS) EOM-CCSD approach – a successful variant of EOM-CCSD tailored towards core excitations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multi-scale and multi-physics analysis, design optimization, and experimental validation of heat exchangers utilizing high performance, non-round tubes

Air-to-refrigerant heat exchangers (HXs) are fundamental components in HVAC&R systems, and considerable research has been dedicated designing continually smaller, lighter, and more efficient HX designs. In recent years, researchers have leveraged advancements in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and optimization algorithms to consider primary tube shape and topology optimization to design highly compact, high performance HXs for a multitude of applications. In this research, we present a computationally efficient, comprehensive, multi-scale, and multi-physics analysis and optimization method for air-to-refrigerant HXs featuring automated CFD and FEA simulations and approximation-assisted optimization. This methodology was utilized to design HXs with shape-optimized, non-round tubes which outperform current state-of-the-art tube-fin HXs without compromising structural integrity. The optimal HXs were shown to deliver similar thermal performance to the baseline HXs while also achieving more than 20% reductions in airside pressure drop and core envelope volume and more than 30% reduction in internal volume. Comprehensive experimental validation of the optimization methodology was conducted through the testing of two prototypes in a standardized wind tunnel facility under multiple operating conditions. For prototype #1 under dry evaporator conditions, the predicted heat load agreed within ± 10% of measured values and the predicted airside pressure drop agreed within ± 30%, while for dehumidifying conditions, the predicted sensible and latent heat loads agreed within ± 10% and ± 20% of the measured values, respectively. For prototype #2, the predicted condenser heat load agreed within ± 3.0% of measured values, and the predicted airside pressure drop agreed within ± 27%. The acceptable agreement between simulation and experimental results for the present application highlights the flexibility of the novel optimization methodology to design next generation HXs with improved performance and reduced volume, weight, and environmental impact.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Core performance predictions in projected SPARC first-campaign plasmas with nonlinear CGYRO

This work characterizes the core transport physics of SPARC early-campaign plasmas using the PORTALS-CGYRO framework. Empirical modeling of SPARC plasmas with L-mode confinement indicates an ample window of breakeven (Q > 1) without the need of H-mode operation. Extensive modeling of multi-channel (electron energy, ion energy, and electron particle) flux-matched conditions with the nonlinear CGYRO code for turbulent transport coupled to the macroscopic plasma evolution using PORTALS reveals that the maximum fusion performance to be attained will be highly dependent on the near-edge pressure. Stiff core transport conditions are found, particularly when fusion gain approaches unity, and predicted density peaking is found to be in line with empirical databases of particle source-free H-modes. Impurity optimization is identified as a potential avenue to increase fusion performance while enabling core-edge integration. Extensive validation of the quasilinear TGLF model builds confidence in reduced-model predictions. The implications of projecting L-mode performance to high-performance and burning-plasma devices is discussed, together with the importance of predicting edge conditions.

Rodriguez-Fernandez, P. (ORCID:0000000273611131)↗
DOE OSTI2021

Entanglement rearrangement in self-consistent nuclear structure calculations

Background: Entanglement plays a central role in a diverse array of increasingly important research areas, including quantum computation, simulation, measurement, sensing, and communication. Extensive suites of investigations have been performed to better understand entanglement in atomic and molecular quantum many-body systems, while the exploration of entanglement in the structure of nuclei and their reactions is presently in its infancy. Purpose: The goal of this work is to begin investigating the entanglement properties of nuclei from first-principles nuclear many-body calculations. We attempt to identify common features and emergent structures of entanglement that could ultimately lead to new and natural many-body schemes. With an eye toward quantum accelerators in future hybrid-supercomputers, criteria for partitioning nuclear many-body calculations into quantum and classical components may provide advantages in future large-scale computations. Along the way we look for explanations of the relative success of phenomenological models such as the nuclear shell model, and for better ways to match to low-energy nuclear effective field theories and lattice QCD calculations to nuclear many-body techniques that are based upon entanglement. Method: We explore the entanglement between single-particle states in 4 He and 6 He. The patterns of entanglement emerging from different single-particle bases are compared, and possible links with the convergence of observables are explored, in particular, ground-state energies. The nuclear wave functions are obtained by performing active-space no-core configuration-interaction calculations using a two-body nucleon-nucleon interaction derived from chiral effective field theory. Entanglement measures within single-particle bases exhibiting different degrees of complexity are determined, in particular, harmonic oscillator (HO), Hartree-Fock (HF), natural (NAT) and variational natural (VNAT) bases. Specifically, single-orbital entanglement entropy, two-orbital mutual information, and negativity are studied. Results: The entanglement structures in 4 He and 6 He are found to be more localized within NAT and VNAT bases than within a HO basis for the optimal HO parameters we have worked with. In particular a core-valence structure clearly emerges from the full no-core calculation of 6 He. Here, the two-nucleon mutual information shows that the VNAT basis, which typically exhibits good convergence properties, effectively decouples the active and inactive spaces. Conclusions: Measures of one- and two-nucleon entanglement are found to be useful in analyzing the structure of nuclear wave functions, in particular the efficacy of basis states, and may provide useful metrics toward developing more efficient schemes for ab initio computations of the structure and reactions of nuclei, and quantum many-body systems more generally.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1976

Design of air-gapped magnetic-core inductors for superimposed direct and alternating currents

Using data on standard magnetic-material properties and standard core sizes for air-gap-type cores, an algorithm designed for a computer solution is developed which optimally determines the air-gap length and locates the quiescent point on the normal magnetization curve so as to yield an inductor design with the minimum number of turns for a given ac voltage and frequency and with a given dc bias current superimposed in the same winding. Magnetic-material data used in the design are the normal magnetization curve and a family of incremental permeability curves. A second procedure, which requires a simpler set of calculations, starts from an assigned quiescent point on the normal magnetization curve and first screens candidate core sizes for suitability, then determines the required turns and air-gap length.

Ohri, A. K.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Parallelized domain decomposition for multi-dimensional Lagrangian random walk mass-transfer particle tracking schemes

Lagrangian particle tracking schemes allow a wide range of flow and transport processes to be simulated accurately, but a major challenge is numerically implementing the inter-particle interactions in an efficient manner. This article develops a multi-dimensional, parallelized domain decomposition (DDC) strategy for mass-transfer particle tracking (MTPT) methods in which particles exchange mass dynamically. We show that this can be efficiently parallelized by employing large numbers of CPU cores to accelerate run times. In order to validate the approach and our theoretical predictions we focus our efforts on a well-known benchmark problem with pure diffusion, where analytical solutions in any number of dimensions are well established. In this work, we investigate different procedures for “tiling” the domain in two and three dimensions (2-D and 3-D), as this type of formal DDC construction is currently limited to 1-D. An optimal tiling is prescribed based on physical problem parameters and the number of available CPU cores, as each tiling provides distinct results in both accuracy and run time. We further extend the most efficient technique to 3-D for comparison, leading to an analytical discussion of the effect of dimensionality on strategies for implementing DDC schemes. Increasing computational resources (cores) within the DDC method produces a trade-off between inter-node communication and on-node work. For an optimally subdivided diffusion problem, the 2-D parallelized algorithm achieves nearly perfect linear speedup in comparison with the serial run-up to around 2700 cores, reducing a 5 h simulation to 8 s, while the 3-D algorithm maintains appreciable speedup up to 1700 cores.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Geometric Mapping of Tasks to Processors on Parallel Computers with Mesh or Torus Networks

We present a new method for reducing parallel applications' communication time by mapping their MPI tasks to processors in a way that lowers the distance messages travel and the amount of congestion in the network. Assuming geometric proximity among the tasks is a good approximation of their communication interdependence, we use a geometric partitioning algorithm to order both the tasks and the processors, assigning task parts to the corresponding processor parts. In this way, interdependent tasks are assigned to “nearby” cores in the network. We also present a number of algorithmic optimizations that exploit specific features of the network or application to further improve the quality of the mapping. We specifically address the case of sparse node allocation, where the nodes assigned to a job are not necessarily located in a contiguous block nor within close proximity to each other in the network. Furthermore, our methods generalize to contiguous allocations as well, and results are shown for both contiguous and non-contiguous allocations. We show that, for the structured finite difference mini-application MiniGhost, our mapping methods reduced communication time up to 75% relative to MiniGhost's default mapping on 128K cores of a Cray XK7 with sparse allocation. For the atmospheric modeling code E3SM/HOMME, our methods reduced communication time up to 31% on 16K cores of an IBM BlueGene/Q with contiguous allocation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enhancing reactant selectivity for Ni/Mg reforming catalysts using silicalite-1 shells: A modeling study

The ability of a zeolite shell to enhance the selective conversion of hydrocarbons through diffusional limitations was investigated using a multi-scale model of a fixed-bed reactor. The impact of shell thickness and molecule/pore size on the catalytic performance of silicalite-1 zeolite encapsulated nickel catalyst pellets for steam reforming of C1-C7 hydrocarbons is reported. A reaction–diffusion model using kinetic expressions established in literature was employed. The model was verified through comparison with reported experimental results for steam reforming data over a temperature range of 748 – 1113 K and pressure of 1 – 10 bar. Comparisons are also made against experimental data for steam reforming in the presence of a zeolite shell. Evaluation of the Weisz-Prater criterion for both the core and encapsulated catalyst confirmed mass transfer limitation induced by the utilization of a zeolite shell. The model was used to suggest an optimal thickness that balances diffusional limitations imposed by the zeolite layer on methane versus that of the heavier hydrocarbons. The optimum thickness varied as a function of hydrocarbon size and shape which determined the diffusion rates. For toluene and heptane, a 50 nm thick shell was sufficient to wholly prevent reaction. Hydrocarbons like propane and butane required a shell 7.5 and 5 μm thick. Increasing the gas-hourly-space-velocity from 10,000 to 60,000 h –1 caused a decrease in the optimum shell thickness. Furthermore, this approach can be modified for application to other mixed hydrocarbon systems to predict optimal catalyst design.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhancing predictive understanding and accuracy in geological carbon dioxide storage monitoring: Simulation and history matching of tracer transport dynamics

Co-injection of conservative tracers with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is a viable tool for monitoring subsurface processes during geological CO 2 storage (GCS). This research investigates the simulation and history-matching of a gas tracer (sulfur hexafluoride, SF 6 ) during CO 2 flooding, employing a core flooding result in Berea sandstone. Four extensively used saturation functions are assessed for their efficacy in history matching of CO 2 /SF 6 injection at the core scale. The history-matching process incorporates particle swarm optimization (PSO) to fine-tune constitutive relationships parameters. Next, employing transport models at the aquifer scale, we interrogate the impact on tracer transport and mixing of saturation function uncertainties, arising from the non-uniqueness of constitutive relationships parameters and saturation function types. To assess the effects of geological heterogeneity on behavior of tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs), we employ two normalized parameters assessing the degree of mixing and SF 6 breakthrough time. The aquifer-scale investigation encompasses both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems with and without capillary heterogeneity effects. Our findings underscore the critical importance of addressing saturation function uncertainties, emphasizing the significance of auxiliary experiments and innovative methodologies to enhance predictive accuracy. The findings highlight significant disparities in arrival times, BTC peaks, tails, and mixing levels, even under optimal conditions. Heterogeneity, with or without capillary heterogeneity, plays a crucial role in shaping BTC variations, resulting in accelerated SF 6 breakthrough times and reduced BTC peaks. Evaluation of monitoring points distant from the injector reveals a dampening effect on the SF6 BTC peak, particularly in heterogeneous systems with capillary heterogeneity, where the peak is halved. These insights underscore the challenges associated with tracer monitoring and the necessity for enhanced methodologies to improve predictive accuracy in subsurface processes during GCS.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal Design and Optimization of High- Power Wireless Charging System

In this paper, the thermal design and optimization of a high-power wireless charging system (WCS) is proposed. An integrated electromagnetic and thermal co-optimization is essential to design a high power-density WCS pad. This study presents the thermal analysis and the potential optimization scopes for a polyphase WCS pad. The coil and core causes most of the power losses of a WCS pad and causes thermal hotspot in the pad. In this paper, the thermally conductive epoxy is introduced to balance the effective volumetric loss density in the pad and mitigate the thermal hotspots in the coil and core. The proposed design is simulated through finite element analysis (FEA) and tested experimentally for a 50 kW three-phase WCS. Simulation and experimental results show that the conventional design has localized hotspots in the coil and core. The proposed thermal design mitigates the thermal hotspots without increasing the coil or core volume.

Mohammad, Mostak↗
DOE OSTI2023

3D_MolGNN_RL

3D-MolGNNRL, couples reinforcement learning (RL) to a deep generative model based on 3D-Scaffold to generate target candidates specific to a protein pocket building up atom by atom from the core scaffold. 3D-MolGNNRL provides an efficient way to optimize key features within a protein pocket using a parallel graph neural network model. The agent learns to build molecules in 3D space while optimizing the binding affinity, potency, and synthetic accessibility of the candidates generated for the SARS-CoV-2 Main protease

Kumar, Neeraj↗
DOE OSTI2018

CBETA 4-pass Orbit Correction and Tolerance Study (CBETA Machine Note #037)

The main goal of this study is to find the tolerance of the CBETA FFAG lattice subjected to various errors. Common error sources include non-ideal magnet positioning and alignment, undesired multipole field strengths, and BPM offsets. In order to fix the beam trajectories (orbits) affected by the errors, dipole kickers have been allocated throughout the FFAG beamline to serve as correctors. Since there are four coexisting orbits in the FFAG, the correction scheme must aim to correct all four of them simultaneously. The simulation is performed using Bmad, developed by Cornell University to model relativistic beam dynamics in customized accelerator lattices. The core of orbit correction is the singular value decomposition (SVD) optimization. As the error magnitudes increase, the beam size and emittance after correction could undesirably increase, and our goal is to find the "individual limit" of each error type beyond which the increases become unacceptable. Typically this limit is reached before the orbits become un-correctable. Similarly we can also find the "combined limit" of various errors. Both limits will be properly defined in the later section.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

A New Method to Contain Molten Corium in Catastrophic Nuclear Reactor Accidents

The catastrophic nuclear reactor accident at Fukushima damaged public confidence in nuclear energy and a demand for new engineered safety features that could mitigate or prevent radiation releases to the environment in the future. We have developed a novel use of sacrificial material (SM) to prevent the molten corium from breaching containment during accidents as well as a validated, novel, high-fidelity modeling capability to design and optimize the proposed concept. Some new reactor designs employ a core catcher and a SM, such as ceramic or concrete, to slow the molten corium and avoid the breach of the containment. However, existing reactors cannot easily be modified to include these SMs but could be modified to allow injectable cooling materials (current designs are limited to water). The SM proposed in this Laboratory Development Research and Development (LDRD) project is based on granular carbonate minerals that can be used in existing light water reactor plants. This new SM will induce an endothermic reaction to quickly freeze the corium in place, with minimal hydrogen explosion and maximum radionuclide retention. Because corium spreading is a complex process strongly influenced by coupled chemical reactions (with underlying containment material and especially with the proposed SM), decay heat and phase change. No existing tool is available for modeling such a complex process. This LDRD project focused on two research areas: experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of the novel SM concept, and modeling activities to determine the potential applications of the concept to actual nuclear plants. We have demonstrated small-scale to large-scaled experiments using lead oxide (Pb0) as surrogate for molten corium, which showed that the reaction of the SM with molten Pb0 results in a fast solidification of the melt and the formation of open pore structures in the solidified Pb0 because of CO 2 released from the carbonate decomposition.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1979

Minimum-mass designs of stiffened graphite/polyimide compression panels

This study presents results from an analytic investigation to determine minimum-mass designs of stiffened Gr/Pi compression panels for a wide range of uniaxial compression loads. Four panel configurations are considered: (1) hat stiffened-laminated skin, (2) hat stiffened-honeycomb core sandwich skin, (3) blade stiffened-laminated skin and (4) blade stiffened-honeycomb core sandwich skin panels. Designs are generated by an automatic optimization computer code entitled PASCO (Panel Analysis and Sizing COde). The analysis portion of PASCO contains a generalized buckling analysis which calculates all critical modes without assuming any of them a priori. Mass-strength curves are presented for the four configurations along with specific designs generated for low, moderate and high values of compression load. A mass-strength curve for a titanium hat stiffened panel is provided for comparison. A 30% to 50% mass savings over titanium panels is shown for moderately and heavily loaded Gr/Pi panels.

Weaver, G. G., II↗
NASA NTRS1994

Optimization of Orifice Geometry for Cross-Flow Mixing in a Cylindrical Duct

Mixing of gaseous jets in a cross-flow has significant applications in engineering, one example of which is the dilution zone of a gas turbine combustor. Despite years of study, the design of jet injection in combustors is largely based on practical experience. A series of experiments was undertaken to delineate the optimal mixer orifice geometry. A cross-flow to core-flow momentum-flux ratio of 40 and a mass flow ratio of 2.5 were selected as representative of an advanced design. An experimental test matrix was designed around three variables: the number of orifices, the orifice aspect ratio (long-to-short dimension), and the orifice angle. A regression analysis was performed on the data to arrive at an interpolating equation that predicted the mixing performance of orifice geometry combinations within the range of the test matrix parameters. Results indicate that mixture uniformity is a non-linear function of the number of orifices, the orifice aspect ratio, and the orifice angle. Optimum mixing occurs when the asymptotic mean jet trajectories are in the range of 0.35 less than r/R less than 0.5 (where r = 0 is at the mixer wall) at z/R = 1.0. At the optimum number of orifices, the difference between shallow-angled slots with large aspect ratios and round holes is minimal and either approach will lead to good mixing performance. At the optimum number of orifices, it appears possible to have two local optimums where one corresponds to an aspect ratio of 1.0 and the other to a high aspect ratio.

Sowa, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Optimization of Orifice Geometry for Cross-Flow Mixing in a Cylindrical Duct

Mixing of gaseous jets in a cross-flow has significant applications in engineering, one example of which is the dilution zone of a gas turbine combustor. Despite years of study, the design of the jet injection in combustors is largely based on practical experience. The emergence of NO(x) regulations for stationary gas turbines and the anticipation of aero-engine regulations requires an improved understanding of jet mixing as new combustor concepts are introduced. For example, the success of the staged combustor to reduce the emission of NO(x) is almost entirely dependent upon the rapid and complete dilution of the rich zone products within the mixing section. It is these mixing challenges to which the present study is directed. A series of experiments was undertaken to delineate the optimal mixer orifice geometry. A cross-flow to core-flow momentum-flux ratio of 40 and a mass flow ratio of 2.5 were selected as representative of a conventional design. An experimental test matrix was designed around three variables: the number of orifices, the orifice length-to- width ratio, and the orifice angle. A regression analysis was performed on the data to arrive at an interpolating equation that predicted the mixing performance of orifice geometry combinations within the range of the test matrix parameters. Results indicate that the best mixing orifice geometry tested involves eight orifices with a long-to-short side aspect ratio of 3.5 at a twenty-three degree inclination from the center-line of the mixing section.

Kroll, J. T.↗