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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 55 records · Page 3

Task I: Dark Matter Search Experiments with Cryogenic Detectors: CDMS-I and CDMS-II Task II: Experimental Study of Neutrino Properties: EXO and KamLAND

Dark Matter Search - During the period of performance, our group continued the search for dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles or WIMPs. As a key member of the CDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) collaboration, we completed the CDMS II experiment which led the field in sensitivity for more than five years. We fabricated all detectors, and participated in detector testing and verification. In addition, we participated in the construction and operation of the facility at the Soudan Underground Laboratory and played key roles in the data acquisition and analysis. Towards the end of the performance period, we began operating the SuperCDMS Soudan experiment, which consists of 15 advanced Ge (9 kg) detectors. The advanced detector design called iZIP grew out of our earlier DOE Particle Detector R&D program which demonstrated the rejection of surface electrons to levels where they are no longer the dominant source of background. Our group invented this advanced design and these larger detectors were fabricated on the Stanford campus in collaboration with the SLAC CDMS group and the Santa Clara University group. The sensitivity reach is expected to be up to 5 times better than CDMS II after two years of operation. We will check the new limits on WIMPs set by XENON100, and we expect improved sensitivity for light mass WIMPs beyond that of any other existing experiment. Our group includes the Spokesperson for SuperCDMS and continues to make important contributions to improvements in the detector technology which are enabling the very low trigger thresholds used to explore the low mass WIMP region. We are making detailed measurements of the charge transport and trapping within Ge crystals, measuring the diffusive trapping distance of the quasiparticle excitations within the Al phonon collector fins on the detector surface, and we are contributing to the development of much improved detector Monte Carlos which are essential to guide the detector design and optimize the analysis. Neutrino Physics – In the period of performance the neutrino group successfully completed the construction of EXO-200 and commissioned the detector. Science data taking started on Jun 1, 2011. With the discovery of the 2-neutrino double-beta decay in 136-Xe and the first measurement of the 0-neutrino mode resulting in the most stringent limit of Majorana masses, our group continues to be a leading innovator in the field of neutrino physics which is central to DOE-HEP Intensity Frontier program. The phenomenon of neutrino oscillations, in part elucidated by our earlier efforts with the Palo Verde and KamLAND experiments, provides the crucial information that neutrino masses are non-zero and, yet, it contains no information on the value of the neutrino mass scale. In recent times our group has therefore shifted its focus to a high sensitivity 0-neutrino double beta decay program, EXO. The 0-neutrino double beta decay provides the best chance of extending the sensitivity to the neutrino mass scale below 10 meV but, maybe more importantly, it tests the nature of the neutrino wave function, providing the most sensitive probe for Majorana particles and lepton number violation. The EXO program, formulated by our group several years ago, plans to use up to tonnes of the isotope 136-Xe to study the 0-neutrino double beta decay mode. The EXO-200 detector is the first step in this program and it represents the only large US-led and based experiment taking data. The EXO-200 isotope enrichment program broke new grounds for the enterprise of double beta decay. The detector design and material selection program paid off, resulting in a background that is among the very best in the field. The “first light" of EXO-200 was very exciting with the discovery -in the first month of data- of the rarest 2-neutrino double beta decay mode ever observed. The lower limit on the 0-neutrino double beta decay half-life, published in Phys. Rev. Lett. and based on the first 120 days of data is the second best but, when translated into a Majorana mass scale, it is one of the most stringent constraint we have on neutrino masses. Indeed, such a limit was the first result to contradict a claim of discovery in 76-Ge for most nuclear matrix elements calculations. As we continue data taking and plan some modest upgrades to EXO-200 our group is also very active in the design of nEXO, a 5 tonne detector based on the technology demonstrated by EXO-200. Over the years we have made it a tradition to explore the frontier and not to be shy about looking in new directions and re-inventing ourselves to best take advantage of the precious few opportunities provided by Nature. We have also cultivated a number of young people at all levels and, by now, many of the undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs educated by this group have leading positions in academia and industry around the world.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Human Performance Improvement Task Group Task 21-1 Best Practice: Using virtual capabilities or options for HPI application (to reduce errors, strengthening defenses, strengthening the organization, and/or increasing capacity)

In 2020 the world was impacted by COVID-19. How work is done was dramatically changed for a large portion of the workforce. Many have made the abrupt shift to working from their home while others have adapted to COVID protocols (such as social distancing and wearing facemasks). Fundamentally, Human and Organizational Performance Improvement concepts and science did not change – only the delivery method changed (in some cases). The primary effect has been to accelerate dynamics already present in society – from e-commerce to online education to remote healthcare. Change is never easy for humans. However, remote work should be viewed as an opportunity; not a fix to a problem. In this Best Practice paper, you’ll get practical suggestions to help you reduce errors and improve Human Performance in remote, socially-distanced “work-from-home” environments.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Task 12 PV Sustainability - Status of PV Module Recycling in Selected IEA PVPS Task 12 Countries

Photovoltaic (PV) deployment has accelerated in recent years compared to projections in the early 2010s. This means that PV end of life (EOL) waste streams will also increase at a higher pace than anticipated. To meet and optimise PV EOL management, appropriate regulatory and technological approaches must be implemented in the near term, ensuring that available options are adapted to the conditions of each country or region. This report aims to review the current regulatory and industrial landscape for selected countries belonging to the International Energy Agency's PV Power Systems technology collaboration programme, to assess status of PV EOL management, allow for comparison and cross-fertilization, and establish a foundation for future tracking of progress. Although volumes of EOL PV modules are still small, EOL PV is treated and recycled in a proper manner in the countries and regions that have EOL regulations in place. However, the current low volumes, limited available recycling technologies, logistics challenges, and undeveloped markets for recovered materials result in a high-cost, low-revenue scenario for PV module recycling globally. Nevertheless, the implementation of PV EOL regulations in more countries and R&D investment in PV recycling is expected to accelerate further improvements to meet future demand and to achieve high-value, low-cost recycling. We hope this report contributes to understanding the global status of PV recycling and to accelerating its development as a promising option for the proper EOL management of PV modules in the coming decades.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

The effect of support functions in a computerized procedure system on interface management tasks - 235

By adapting digital and computer technology, the design of main control rooms (MCR) in nuclear power plants has been changed. When operators operate a nuclear power plant, the tasks using soft controls in advanced MCRs include primary tasks and secondary tasks. Primary tasks are to control nuclear power plant devices and secondary tasks are to find appropriate screens or devices by screen navigations and selections before performing the primary task. The secondary task including interface management tasks is newly introduced in advanced MCRs. In this paper, the tasks are analyzed based on the simulation data of APR1400 which is one of the digitalized nuclear power plants. For analyzing tasks, the unit tasks are divided into three types: navigation, manipulation, and acknowledgement. The primary task represents the manipulation of devices and the secondary task indicates the navigating screens, opening control panels, closing control panels, and confirming the acknowledging alarms. To analyze the effect of support functions of a computerized procedure system (CPS), one of the functions which is expected to have a significant effect on the secondary tasks was considered, that is 'related screen link button.' Two factors, 'ratio of screen alteration' and 'ratio of using screen link button', were used to see the effect of 'related screen link button'. From the task analysis result, it was observed that the secondary tasks which is one of the unique features in advanced MCRs have a quite much portion than that of the primary tasks. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

System, method, and computer program product for scheduling tasks associated with continuation thread blocks

A system, method, and computer program product for scheduling tasks associated with continuation thread blocks. The method includes the steps of generating a first task metadata data structure in a memory, generating a second task metadata data structure in the memory, executing a first task corresponding to the first task metadata data structure in a processor, generating state information representing a continuation task related to the first task and storing the state information in the second task metadata data structure, executing the continuation task in the processor after the one or more child tasks have finished execution, and indicating that the first task has logically finished execution once the continuation task has finished execution. The second task metadata data structure is related to the first task metadata data structure, and at least one instruction in the first task causes one or more child tasks to be executed by the processor.

Ricketts, Scott↗

Overcoming sparse datasets with multi-task learning as applied to high entropy alloys

Abstract The design of novel High Entropy Alloys for use in high-temperature applications is an area of active interest due to their potential to provide exceptional properties compared to conventional alloys. Since the increased popularity of machine learning, an important cog in the design process has been training surrogate models on alloy properties. However, these Single-Task models are trained on individual mechanical properties and do not take advantage of the relatedness between properties. Multi-Task models can capture the interdependencies between tasks, leading to potentially more accurate predictions for all tasks. In this paper, we investigate if Multi-Task models can show improvement over Single-Task models when used for predicting the mechanical properties of these alloys. To ensure fair evaluation between the models, we apply L 0 regularization and skip connections to the models, which allows them to adjust the number of model parameters and depth for optimal performance. We find that the Multi-Task models can leverage task relationships to perform better than Single-Task models, especially for high amounts of missing data in the tasks. Furthermore, adding simple auxiliary targets can boost Multi-Task performance even further despite not being effective as input descriptors to single-task models themselves. We anticipate that the proposed strategies can achieve more accurate predictions and consequently enable better design capabilities for such data-constrained domains without incurring much additional computational cost.

Debnath, Arindam (ORCID:0000000194274499)↗

Remote task queuing by networked computing devices

The described embodiments include a networking subsystem in a second computing device that is configured to receive a task message from a first computing device. Based on the task message, the networking subsystem updates an entry in a task queue with task information from the task message. A processing subsystem in the second computing device subsequently retrieves the task information from the task queue and performs the corresponding task. In these embodiments, the networking subsystem processes the task message (e.g., stores the task information in the task queue) without causing the processing subsystem to perform operations for processing the task message.

Reinhardt, Steven K.↗