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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 397 records · Page 22

Advanced Non-Tread Materials for Fuel-Efficient Tires

PPG Industries, Inc. proposes to develop a new silica filler that can increase fuel efficiency by 2% while maximizing key performance properties in non-tread tire components compared to current carbon black/silica filler blends. In this project PPG focused on a sidewall compound. The developed compounds/components will reduce energy losses by approximately 25%, with no more than a 5% loss of resistance to degradative forces (targeting better performance). PPG plans to achieve this goal by characterizing the impact the silica filler can have on rubber properties and then tuning the silica morphology and surface chemistry for this end use. PPG will also provide guidance in optimizing the compound formulation to make the best use of this new filler. A key aspect is to understand and maintain, if not improve, the aging performance as evaluated by crack growth resistance under ozone environment. Two key strategies were used to meet the rolling resistance goal while maintaining other performance properties. The first factor was understanding the surface treatments and chemical makeup of the silica and its effects on compound performance. The second factor was using the best performing silicas and determining the optimum compound modifications to achieve the final sidewall compound performance. Using statistical analysis throughout the optimization process, it was determined that changing the silica morphology played a role in improving the reduction of tear strength while reducing rolling resistance and the improvements observed varied depending on the CB type.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Assessment of BQ-9000 Biodiesel Properties for 2019

This is the third report in the series documenting the annual quality of neat biodiesel (B100) produced and sold in the United States in 2019. Only companies that participate in the industry voluntary quality program, BQ-9000. Each company that agreed to participate, voluntarily provided monthly data to a third-party group. This third-party group of industry experts removed any identifying information and randomized the data prior to providing to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for statistical analysis.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Round Robin Summary for ASTM Method C1733

This report was prepared to summarize the results of an inter- and intra-laboratory round robin of ASTM Method C1733-17 (now C1733-20a) Distribution Coefficients of Inorganic Species by the Batch Method. The testing used the sorption of cesium (Cs) to a standard reference soil from the San Joaquin Valley (Standard Reference Material 2709a). The data collected from the nine participants was used for a statistical analysis to assess the precision of the method and generate a precision and bias statement to update the C1733-20a standard.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Exploring variability in seasonal average and extreme precipitation using unsupervised machine learning.

Focal Area(s): We will use unsupervised machine learning methods to identify and quantify the influence of large scale natural modes of climate variability to gain insight into the observed and simulated seasonal average and extreme precipitation changes. Science Challenge: A recent paper, led by co-PI Mark Risser, finds that although much of the variability in seasonal average and extreme precipitation over CONUS is unforced, the effect of large-scale modes of circulation variability (such as ENSO, AMO, PNA, etc.) can be detected and attributed. However, it is unclear whether or not unsupervised learning methods can (a) replicate this finding or (b) yield insight into possible nonlinear behavior that was not captured in the initial statistical analysis. Further work would entail extending this framework to other global land areas.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Whisper Use of Nuclear Data Covariances [Slides]

Whisper is statistical analysis code using sensitivity/uncertainty-based methods to determine baseline upper subcritical limit (USL) for nuclear criticality safety. Features of Whisper 1.1 include: GLLS method implemented to compute adjusted covariance based on current benchmark suite (1,100+ ICSBEP models), BLO “low-fidelity” covariance data used (44 energy groups), adjusted covariance is pre-computed and saved, and adjusted cross sections are NOT computed. Potential future efforts include: an extension to include angular distributions in benchmark selection and in GLLS adjustment, a move toward more modern covariance data (ENDF/B-VIII.0) and different group structure, and compute and store adjusted cross sections (trivial).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Commercial Building Energy Code Field Study (Final Report)

What is the dollar value of increasing compliance with the energy code? Ultimately, this is the question that policy makers, funders, and program implementers care about. With this in mind, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed a new methodology capable of determining how much energy cost savings could potentially be gained through better compliance with the code (Rosenberg et al. 2016). On March 2, 2016 DOE issued Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number DE-FOA-0001532, requesting proposals to develop and test a methodology for identifying the commercial energy code requirements that can provide the maximum cost-effective energy and cost savings through increased compliance. Awarded to the Institute for Market Transformation, this report summarizes the development and testing of a commercial code compliance methodology, including a summary of results, statistical analysis of sample, and best practices for others implementing a commercial energy code compliance field study.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Assessment of the Impact of the Single Stream Recycling on Paper Contamination in Recovery Facilities and Paper Mills

Contaminated recyclables pose one of the largest roadblocks to an effective implementation of a circular economy system. Current knowledge surrounding the effects of various recycling methods on contamination rates is limited, thus preventing effective quantification of contamination effects. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the impact of single stream recycling on paper contamination in MRFs and their end-products based on different composition studies conducted by facilities nationwide. This project expects to provide the foundational knowledge that could catalyze significant cost savings and energy consumption at MRFs and paper mills by understanding the levels of inbound and outbound contamination rates in SSR systems. Statistical analysis conducted in this project utilizes the available nationwide inbound and outbound samples collected as part of material composition and audit studies to identify and measure the significance of various factors on the resultant contamination levels. The research results provide benefits to both the recycling industry and its customers by addressing the causes and impact of contamination in recycled products, particularly with the wide applicability of single stream recycling within the United States.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Technologies for Advanced Reactors (Workshop Summary Report)

A workshop on artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) for advanced reactors (AR) was held October 5-6, 2021. The workshop was to be attended in-person at ANL but COVID restrictions forced the workshop to go virtual. The objectives of the workshop were to identify the most promising AI/ML opportunities for improving advanced reactor design, optimizing plant performance, and enhancing economic competitiveness and to develop an understanding of the scientific, engineering and licensing challenges facing their application. The workshop planning committee included GAIN, EPRI and NEI and members of three national laboratories (ANL, INL, and ORNL). The workshop was attended by more than 200 individuals representing academic and scientific institutions and the nuclear power industry. The definition put forth for an AI/ML system was one that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of achieving its goals. In this report AI/ML refers to next generation algorithms that include deep learning, statistical analysis and data analytics and associated scientific computing and their potential application to the design, licensing, operation and maintenance of ARs. These methods typically incorporate models built from process data and may also include data generated by simulations that represent the behavior of a system. The workshop was organized in response to the growing interest in application of AI/ML for improving the economic competitiveness of nuclear energy. Increasingly more resources are being allocated to investigating the benefits of AI/ML methods. The DOE created the Artificial Intelligence & Technology Office to promote their development. And within the Office of Nuclear Energy, resources have been allocated to explore and understand the potential benefits of AI/ML. Additionally, the national laboratories are strategically positioned with DOE computing facilities such as Summit, Perlmutter, Aurora and Frontier that support large-scale simulations, hybrid HPC models with AI surrogates, and the exploration of new types of generative models emerging from multi-model data streams and sources. The workshop was organized with members of the AR community to understand the effort and to identify the level of interest and progress in this emerging technology. The workshop discussions focused on identifying opportunities for AI/ML across diverse areas of the nuclear industry and identifying current scientific and engineering challenges for advanced reactors that might be addressed through transformational uses of AI/ML. Discussion panels focused on four high-interest technical domains for advanced reactors: design, maintenance and operations, energy storage, and materials. The results of those discussions are summarized in this report. This includes opportunities that were identified for exploiting AI techniques and methods to improve the efficacy and efficiency of reactor analysis and to improve the operation and optimization of advanced reactors. Advanced reactor developers expressed an interest in learning more about AI/ML methods and their application. This included understanding whether ML methods can provide an advantage over existing nonlinear data regression methods for collapsing high-fidelity simulation results into faster running models. A consensus emerged that AR advances planned for the next decade will benefit from the use of AI/ML tools. The need exists to understand and model complex systems across length scales and modalities. AI/ML is a tool for discovery that can yield a set of engineering principles for use by nuclear engineers, licensing bodies, and operators to solve problems in plant design, safety analyses, autonomous operation, and predictive maintenance. While AI/ML represents a new set of tools, an awareness by the nuclear community of the full potential is still in the early stages so there is a need to increase awareness. It appears that the wide-spread adoption of AI/ML tools for ARs would be facilitated by future educational workshops that describe foundational methods and capabilities and describe successful applications.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Assessment of BQ-9000 Biodiesel Properties for 2021

This is the fifth in a series of reports documenting the quality of biodiesel from U.S. and Canadian-based producers that participate in the BQ-9000 program, the biodiesel industry voluntary quality assurance program. Participants agreed to provide monthly data on critical quality parameters for calendar year 2021. The quality data was provided to a team of experts, who removed any identifying company information and provided anonymized and randomized data to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for statistical analysis. The critical quality parameters analyzed were: sodium and potassium (Na+K); calcium and magnesium (Ca+Mg); phosphorus (P); flash point and alcohol control; water and sediment; cloud point; acid number; free and total glycerin; monoglycerides; sulfur; oxidation stability; and cold soak filterability test (CSFT). The data was not weighted for production volume.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Implementing machine learning methods on QICK hardware for qubit readout & control

Quantum readout and control is a fundamental aspect of quantum computing that requires accurate measurement of qubit states. Errors emerge in all stages, from initialization to readout, and identifying errors in post-processing necessitates resource-intensive statistical analysis. In our work, we use a lightweight fully-connected neural network (NN) to classify states of a transmon system with no prior processing. Our NN accelerator yields higher fidelities (92%) than the classical matched filter method (84%). By exploiting the natural parallelism of NNs and their placement near the source of data on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), we can achieve ultra-low latency on the Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit (QICK). Integrating machine learning methods on QICK opens several pathways for efficient real-time processing of quantum circuits.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Defining Lipidomic Responses to Coronavirus Infection

Highly pathogenic human coronavirus infection can cause a severe atypical, rapid onset pneumonia with a mortality rate of up to 10% for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV 1), 35% for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), or 1% for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2 causative agent of COVID 19). While medical countermeasures successfully controlled the worldwide SARS-CoV epidemic, the MERS-CoV epidemic is still ongoing and continues to be a concern for travelers in the Middle East and the multi-year SARS-CoV 2 pandemic underscore the importance of defining biomarkers that are diagnostic and/or predictive of severe disease outcomes for respiratory viruses. Systems biology approaches provide global snapshots of infection induced changes in host cells/tissues and provide extremely rich datasets for understanding host pathogen interactions. Metabolites, especially lipids, are critical for viral replication but less is understood about infection induced changes to lipids due to limits in lipid species detection and identification. To characterize how individual lipid species and proteins with lipid associated functions contribute to highly pathogenic human coronavirus replication and disease severity, existing datasets were probed to determine cell type specific lipid responses to MERS-CoV infection and verification studies were performed to determine if modification of the host lipid signature (by inhibiting enzymatic functions that produce specific lipid species) can perturb CoV replication in human lung cells. MERS-CoV infects human lung epithelial, endothelial and fibroblast cells. All three cell types were infected with MERS-CoV and samples collected to analyze lipids, proteins, metabolites, and transcripts from 12 to 48 hours post infection. Time matched mock-infected cells were collected in parallel for each cell type. Following sample and statistical analysis, functional enrichment and bioinformatic analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed lipids and proteins. Two lipid species were found to be significantly upregulated following MERS-CoV infection, ceramides, and triacylglycerol both of which are indicative of cells undergoing apoptotic cell death. In contrast, sphingomyelins (lipid molecules that can serve as a precursor for one pathway for ceramide synthesis) had significantly decreased expression in MERS-CoV infected cells. An inhibitor of acid sphingomyelinase (that converts sphingomyelin to ceramides and phosphorylcholine) reduced MERS-CoV replication suggesting that production of ceramides is key for successful viral replication and transmission. Acyl-CoA-synthetase 3 (ACSL3), the only protein whose function is lipid associated and had increased differential expression in our dataset, regulates the synthesis of triacylglycerol (increased expression). Inhibitors that directly block ACSL3 (Triacsin C) but not steps later in the triacylglycerol synthesis pathway (Etomoxir) inhibit MERS-CoV replication suggesting that triacylglycerol production and/or ACSL3 activity is also key for viral replication. ACSL3 expression is also upregulated in lung cancer cells and is predicted to promote continued cell viability which would also enhance viral replication. The differentially expressed lipid and lipid-associated protein species identified in our studies suggest that MERS-CoV infection is activating cellular death pathways to limit the number of cells that become infected but also stimulating the production of lipid-associated enzymes that can prolong host cell viability and the amount of time progeny virions can be produced and released. As the inhibitors that worked against MERS-CoV infection were also efficacious against SARS-CoV 2 infection, countermeasures that target these host pathways may provide novel ways to block highly pathogenic human coronavirus infection and/or prevent severe disease outcomes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Assessment of BQ-9000 Biodiesel Properties for 2022

This is the sixth in a series of reports documenting the quality of biodiesel from U.S. and Canadian-based producers that participate in the BQ-9000 program, the biodiesel industry voluntary quality assurance program. Participants agreed to provide monthly data on critical quality parameters for calendar year 2022. The quality data was provided to a team of experts, who removed any identifying company information and provided anonymized data to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for statistical analysis.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Turbulence Modeling with Nek5000/RS, SOD2D and Alya

We present Validation and Verification (V & V) study of two high-order spectral element method (SEM) based Computational Fluid Dyanimcs (CFD) codes that we will utilize for work on turbulence modeling: Nek5000 and SOD2D. While the former solves the incompressible form of Navier-Stokes equation, the latter works with compressible set of equations and uses an entropy-viscosity formulation to account for the discontinuities for high Mach number flows. We demonstrate the accuracy of these codes for two benchmark sub-sonic turbulent flows: periodic channel and pipe flow, by carrying out first and second order statistical analysis, grid convergence and turbulent structure analysis using wall-resolved large eddy simulations (WRLES). Later, we report on the implementation and testing of various wall-modeling strategies for large eddy simulation of turbulent flows in Nek5000. These include both classical log-law based and decision-tree based machine-learning models. Accuracy of these closure strategies are analyzed and necessary future work is outlined.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

MEP Metric Correlations with Socioeconomic and Built Environment Factors [Slides]

NREL's Mobility Energy Productivity tool, or MEP, quantifies the ability of an area's transportation system to connect individuals to goods, services, employment opportunities, and other activities while accounting for time, cost, and energy. However, the MEP tool itself does not examine correlations between mobility energy productivity and other sociodemographic and built environment variables relevant to the urban and transportation planning space. Examining these correlations could have two possible implications -- first, understanding what factors correlate with mobility energy productivity could help urban planners make equitable decisions in allocating transportation resources. Second, as the MEP has not been calculated for all urban areas in the US and is computationally expensive, if other publicly available variables were predictive enough of MEP then a simple model could be used to predict MEP instead of having to compute it for an area for which it has not been updated. A statistical analysis to investigate both of these questions is presented, with many significant associations found between the MEP and identified variables of interest.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Updated Filter Leak Frequencies for Use in Risk Assessments

Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is highly dependent on data, leading to more robust models as new and updated data is acquired. The Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment (HyRAM+) QRA capabilities include calculations of individual risk from leaks in a gaseous hydrogen facility due to the potential effects of jet fires and explosions. Leak frequencies are acquired through statistical analysis of published data from a variety of sources and industries. The filter leak frequencies in previous versions of the HyRAM+ software are substantially greater than the leak frequencies of other components, leading to QRA results for gaseous hydrogen in which filters consistently dominate the overall risk. Data that were previously used to derive the filter leak frequencies were reevaluated for applicability and additional data points were added to update the filter leak frequencies. The new frequencies are more comparable to leak frequencies for other components.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Simulations and models for the Richtmyer– Meshkov instability with broadband perturbations

The Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI) is shock driven and affects many phenomena from inertial fusion to supernova explosions. The behavior of single-modes in the RMI has been studied extensively but less is known with the broadband perturbations that occur in applications. Here, we describe extensive numerical simulations and modeling of the RMI with broadband perturbations with an initial power spectrum of the form P∝ k m , where k is the wavenumber. The hydrodynamic condition is the same as in the $\theta$-Group Collaboration [Thornber et al., “Late-time growth rate, mixing, and anisotropy in the multimode narrowband Richtmyer–Meshkov instability: The $\theta$-group collaboration,” Phys. Fluids 29, 105107 (2017)] with a Mach ~1.86 shock and gamma-law = 5/3 fluids with Atwood number A = 0.5. The bubble amplitude h B is found to grow in two stages. Initially, h B undergoes a phase-inversion and grows linearly in time (t) at a rate consistent with a linear theory. Asymptotically, h B grows as a power law $~t^{\theta}$ when $\langle{k}\rangle{|h_B|}$ > O(1), where $\langle{k}\rangle$ is the average wavenumber for the initial spectrum. The RMI behavior in simulations and modeling agree over a wide range of exponent m, spectral width, initial amplitude, and time. The agreement is quantified objectively using statistical analysis.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A Computational Review of Privacy-Preserving Mechanisms for the Smart Grid

Smart grid technologies have rapidly become one of the largest and most comprehensive sources of data for the modern utility. For the most part, data streams are seen as an essential tool that enable utilities to carry their day-to-day business operations, but they also create the need for efficient and secure data management strategies. In the context of the smart grid, ensuring data privacy is becoming an increasing concern due to a combination of factors that range from shifts in operational paradigms and rapid technology evolution to changes in legislation. Furthermore, researchers have highlighted the risks associated with improperly protected energy records. For example, energy consumption data from homes could be used to infer the behaviors and habits of home occupants through activity recognition or user profiling (Fan, 2017), which may lead to unfair service pricing, targeted advertising, or other personal security violations. Similarly, Electric Vehicles’ (EVs) charging metadata could be used to reveal private information about the owner such as their payment methods, preferred charging stations, and other locational and timing information that could be used to reconstruct the vehicle owner’s behaviors. The privacy of user data, even when used for statistical analysis or machine learning training processes, also needs to be carefully considered, as an individual’s private traits may still be vulnerable if their inclusion/exclusion greatly impacts the result or could be linked to a public dataset through cross-reference. The breach of user privacy also has severe impacts for organizations that store, transmit, or work on the data in the form of diminishing the public’s trust in them while potentially incurring legal consequences (e.g., fines and suspensions under the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, etc.). Because of these risks, several privacy-preserving mechanisms are available to help organizations comply with privacy legislations and prevent the unauthorized and malicious use of user data. In light of these concerns, this report focuses on performing a computational review of privacy-preserving mechanisms that have received a significant amount of interest in literature. It specifically focuses on 1) homomorphic encryption, 2) zero-knowledge proofs, 3) differential privacy, and 4) federated learning. It is worth noting that although many of the methods presented in this document rely on cryptographic primitives, their intent is not to provide perfect secrecy, but rather to enable users to maintain privacy, and thus they shall not be compared or equated to other constructs that are aimed to address cybersecurity constructs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Implementing a Laser Stabilization System for Trapping Ca+ Ions: an Internship Reflection

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, I contributed to a project developing 3D printed micro ion traps for quantum computing. I designed, implemented, and assessed a laser stabilization system that locked lasers to the frequencies required for calibrating our High Finesse WS8-10 wavelength meter and for laser cooling and trapping of Ca+ ions. I also programmed a Python interface for hardware communication, data collection, and statistical analysis. Additionally, I optimized and aligned laser beam paths, and I implemented a closed digital feedback loop using Proportional, Integral, and Derivative (PID) control parameters. I analyzed both the long-term and short-term behavior of our locked lasers and adjusted PID parameters to enhance performance. Furthermore, I used COMSOL to simulate the capacitance of a linear Paul trap design and predict our trap’s performance. The procedures I developed for the interface, analysis, and simulations will continue to support the ion trapping experiment after my appointment. I strengthened my skills in data analysis, Python coding, and optical alignment for laser systems. My confidence as a researcher grew, particularly in communicating my research. This experience taught me the importance of careful planning and consideration in research and solidified my desire to continue exploring novel quantum technology as an undergraduate

42 ENGINEERING↗