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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 631 records · Page 35

Effect of the Maximum Dose on White Matter Fiber Bundles Using Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Purpose: Previous efforts to decrease neurocognitive effects of radiation focused on sparing isolated cortical structures. We hypothesize that understanding temporal, spatial, and dosimetric patterns of radiation damage to whole-brain white matter (WM) after partial-brain irradiation might also be important. Therefore, we carried out a study to develop the methodology to assess radiation therapy (RT)–induced damage to whole-brain WM bundles. Methods and Materials: An atlas-based, automated WM tractography analysis was implemented to quantify longitudinal changes in indices of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of 22 major WM fibers in 33 patients with predominantly low-grade or benign brain tumors treated by RT. Six DTI scans per patient were performed from before RT to 18 months after RT. The DTI indices and planned doses (maximum and mean doses) were mapped onto profiles of each of 22 WM bundles. A multivariate linear regression was performed to determine the main dose effect as well as the influence of other clinical factors on longitudinal percentage changes in axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) from before RT. Results: Among 22 fiber bundles, AD or RD changes in 12 bundles were affected significantly by doses (P<.05), as the effect was progressive over time. In 9 elongated tracts, decreased AD or RD was significantly related to maximum doses received, consistent with a serial structure. In individual bundles, AD changes were up to 11.5% at the maximum dose locations 18 months after RT. The dose effect on WM was greater in older female patients than younger male patients. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates for the first time that the maximum dose to the elongated WM bundles causes post-RT damage in WM. Validation and correlative studies are necessary to determine the ability and impact of sparing these bundles on preserving neurocognitive function after RT.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

A Study of Pseudoprogression After Spine Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To determine the incidence of pseudoprogression (PP) after spine stereotactic body radiation therapy based on a detailed and quantitative assessment of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) morphologic tumor alterations, and to identify predictive factors distinguishing PP from local recurrence (LR). Methods and Materials: A retrospective analysis of 35 patients with 49 spinal segments treated with spine stereotactic body radiation therapy, from 2009 to 2014, was conducted. The median number of follow-up MRI studies was 4 (range, 2-7). The gross tumor volumes (GTVs) within each of the 49 spinal segments were contoured on the pretreatment and each subsequent follow-up T1- and T2-weighted MRI sagittal sequence. T2 signal intensity was reported as the mean intensity of voxels constituting each volume. LR was defined as persistent GTV enlargement on ≥2 serial MRI studies for ≥6 months or on pathologic confirmation. PP was defined as a GTV enlargement followed by stability or regression on subsequent imaging within 6 months. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for estimation of actuarial local control, disease-free survival, and overall survival. Results: The median follow-up was 23 months (range, 1-39 months). PP was identified in 18% of treated segments (9 of 49) and LR in 29% (14 of 49). Earlier volume enlargement (5 months for PP vs 15 months for LR, P=.005), greater GTV to reference nonirradiated vertebral body T2 intensity ratio (+30% for PP vs −10% for LR, P=.005), and growth confined to 80% of the prescription isodose line (80% IDL) (8 of 9 PP cases vs 1 of 14 LR cases, P=.002) were associated with PP on univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis confirmed an earlier time to volume enlargement and growth within the 80% IDL as significant predictors of PP. LR involved the epidural space in all but 1 lesion, whereas PP was confined to the vertebral body in 7 of 9 cases. Conclusions: PP was observed in 18% of treated spinal segments. Tumor growth confined to the 80% IDL and earlier time to tumor enlargement were predictive for PP.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Reoptimization of Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy Plans Based on Linear Energy Transfer

Purpose: We describe a treatment plan optimization method for intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) that avoids high values of linear energy transfer (LET) in critical structures located within or near the target volume while limiting degradation of the best possible physical dose distribution. Methods and Materials: To allow fast optimization based on dose and LET, a GPU-based Monte Carlo code was extended to provide dose-averaged LET in addition to dose for all pencil beams. After optimizing an initial IMPT plan based on physical dose, a prioritized optimization scheme is used to modify the LET distribution while constraining the physical dose objectives to values close to the initial plan. The LET optimization step is performed based on objective functions evaluated for the product of LET and physical dose (LET×D). To first approximation, LET×D represents a measure of the additional biological dose that is caused by high LET. Results: The method is effective for treatments where serial critical structures with maximum dose constraints are located within or near the target. We report on 5 patients with intracranial tumors (high-grade meningiomas, base-of-skull chordomas, ependymomas) in whom the target volume overlaps with the brainstem and optic structures. In all cases, high LET×D in critical structures could be avoided while minimally compromising physical dose planning objectives. Conclusion: LET-based reoptimization of IMPT plans represents a pragmatic approach to bridge the gap between purely physical dose-based and relative biological effectiveness (RBE)-based planning. The method makes IMPT treatments safer by mitigating a potentially increased risk of side effects resulting from elevated RBE of proton beams near the end of range.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Peripheral Blood Biomarkers Associated With Toxicity and Treatment Characteristics After 131 I- Metaiodobenzylguanidine Therapy in Patients With Neuroblastoma

We report few tools exist to predict clinical outcomes after radiopharmaceutical therapy. Our goal was to identify associations between blood-based biomarkers of radiation effect and clinical outcomes after 131 I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ( 131 I-MIBG) therapy in patients with neuroblastoma. We conducted a prospective, single-center cohort study in children with advanced neuroblastoma treated with 131 I-MIBG as monotherapy or in combination with systemic putative radiation sensitizers. We collected serial peripheral blood samples after 131 I-MIBG infusions and quantified a panel of protein and messenger RNA markers. We plotted relative change from baseline to assess degree of modulation over time and then evaluated association of marker modulation with toxicity and response endpoints. The cohort included 40 patients (30 male/10 female; median age 7 years). We observed significant modulation of the majority of markers between baseline and hour 72 after 131 I-MIBG. Greater fold increase of plasma FLT3 ligand was associated with subsequent grade 4 neutropenia (P=.039). Modulation of peripheral blood BCLXL and DDB2 was associated with grade 3+ nonhematologic toxicity (P=.043 and .048, respectively). No markers were associated with tumor response. Greater plasma FLT3 ligand, BCLXL, and BCL2 modulation was observed in patients receiving 131 I-MIBG in combination with radiation sensitizers. Among 9 patients who received 2 courses, the degree of modulation in serum amylase was significantly lower after the second course (P=.012). Peripheral blood biomarkers relevant to radiation exposure are significantly modulated during the acute period after 131 I-MIBG. The degree of modulation of a subset of these markers is associated with toxicity and receipt of concomitant radiation sensitizers.

131I-MIBG↗

Investigating the failure behavior of cast Al-11Ce-0.4Mg alloys using in-situ scanning electron microscopy tensile testing

Within the last decade, research on Al-Ce-Mg alloys has reported promising results for use in cast part applications. In this paper, the failure behavior of cast Al-11Ce-0.4Mg (wt%) was investigated experimentally with focus on the effect the matrix and intermetallic phases have on the fracture propagation behavior at failure. For the first time, in-situ SEM tensile testing was used to study the failure behavior of cast Al-Ce alloys, reporting results for uniaxial, DIC, and single edge notch tensile tests. The results of the in-situ SEM tensile testing were compared with the materials characterization experiments, which included serial sectioning, EBSD, EDS, and fractography. Analysis of EBSD and EDS mapping of cast Al-11Ce-0.4Mg showed that the cast microstructure was a hypereutectic two phase Al-Ce alloy with grains encompassing large complex colonies of laminar eutectic Al 11 Ce 3 intermetallic. The uniaxial tensile results reported the effect casting defects have on the strength and ductility of the alloy, and DIC in-situ testing showed that the eutectic colonies plastically deform less than the matrix phase. In-situ SEM single edge notch tensile testing displayed how the strength of an individual phase affected the crack propagation direction in the alloy. The results of both the materials characterization and in-situ tensile testing experiments on the failure of this alloy revealed further directions for future alloy development that can improve both the strength and fracture toughness of Al-Ce-Mg alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A WENO-Limited, ADER-DT, Finite-Volume Scheme for Efficient, Robust, and Communication-Avoiding Multi-Dimensional Transport

The novel ADER-DT time discretization is applied to two-dimensional transport in a quadrature-free, WENO- and FCT-limited, Finite-Volume context. Emphasis is placed on (1) the serial and parallel computational properties of ADER-DT and this framework and (2) the flexibility of ADER-DT and this framework in efficiently balancing accuracy with other constraints important to transport applications. This study demonstrates a range of choices for the user when approaching their specific application while maintaining good parallel properties. In this method, genuine multi-dimensionality, single-step and single-stage time stepping, strict positivity, and a flexible range of limiting are all achieved with only one parallel synchronization and data exchange per time step. In terms of parallel data transfers per simulated time interval, this improves upon multi-stage time stepping and post-hoc filtering techniques such as hyperdiffusion. This method is evaluated with standard transport test cases over a range of limiting options to demonstrate quantitatively and qualitatively what a user should expect when employing this method in their application.

Norman, Matthew R↗

An implicit δf particle-in-cell method with sub-cycling and orbit averaging for Lorentz ions

A second order implicit δf Lorentz ion hybrid model with sub-cycling and orbit averaging has been developed to study low-frequency, quasi-neutral plasmas. Models using the full Lorentz force equations of motion for ions may be useful for verifying gyrokinetic ion simulation models in applications where higher order terms may be important. In the presence of a strong external magnetic field, previous Lorentz ion models are limited to simulating very short time scales due to the small time step required for resolving the ion gyromotion. Here, we use a simplified model for ion Landau damped ion acoustic waves in a uniform magnetic field as a test bed for developing efficient time stepping methods to be used with the Lorentz ion hybrid model. A detailed linear analysis of the model is derived to validate simulations and to examine the significance of ion Bernstein waves in the Lorentz ion model. Linear analysis of a gyrokinetic ion model is also performed, and excellent agreement with the dispersion results from the Lorentz ion model is demonstrated for the ion acoustic wave. The sub-cycling/orbit averaging algorithm is shown to produce accurate finite-Larmor-radius effects using large macro-time steps sizes, and numerical damping of high frequency fluctuations can be achieved by formulating the field model in terms of the perturbed flux density. Furthermore, a CPU–GPU implementation of the sub-cycling/orbit averaging is presented and is shown to achieve a significant speedup over an equivalent serial code.

Computer Science↗

Multiresolution molecular mechanics: Implementation and efficiency

Atomistic/continuum coupling methods combine accurate atomistic methods and efficient continuum methods to simulate the behavior of highly ordered crystalline systems. Coupled methods utilize the advantages of both approaches to simulate systems at a lower computational cost, while retaining the accuracy associated with atomistic methods. Many concurrent atomistic/continuum coupling methods have been proposed in the past; however, their true computational efficiency has not been demonstrated. The present work presents an efficient implementation of a concurrent coupling method called the Multiresolution Molecular Mechanics (MMM) for serial, parallel, and adaptive analysis. First, we present the features of the software implemented along with the associated technologies. The scalability of the software implementation is demonstrated, and the competing effects of multiscale modeling and parallelization are discussed. Then, the algorithms contributing to the efficiency of the software are presented. These include algorithms for eliminating latent ghost atoms from calculations and measurement-based dynamic balancing of parallel workload. The efficiency improvements made by these algorithms are demonstrated by benchmark tests. The efficiency of the software is found to be on par with LAMMPS, a state-of-the-art Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation code, when performing full atomistic simulations. Speed-up of the MMM method is shown to be directly proportional to the reduction of the number of the atoms visited in force computation. Finally, an adaptive MMM analysis on a nanoindentation problem, containing over a million atoms, is performed, yielding an improvement of 6.3–8.5 times in efficiency, over the full atomistic MD method. For the first time, the efficiency of a concurrent atomistic/continuum coupling method is comprehensively investigated and demonstrated.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Stage-parallel fully implicit Runge–Kutta solvers for discontinuous Galerkin fluid simulations

In this paper, we develop new techniques for solving the large, coupled linear systems that arise from fully implicit Runge–Kutta methods. This method makes use of the iterative preconditioned GMRES algorithm for solving the linear systems, which has seen success for fluid flow problems and discontinuous Galerkin discretizations. By transforming the resulting linear system of equations, one can obtain a method which is much less computationally expensive than the untransformed formulation, and which compares competitively with other time-integration schemes, such as diagonally implicit Runge–Kutta (DIRK) methods. We develop and test several ILU-based preconditioners effective for these large systems. We additionally employ a parallel-in-time strategy to compute the Runge–Kutta stages simultaneously. Numerical experiments are performed on the Navier–Stokes equations using Euler vortex and 2D and 3D NACA airfoil test cases in serial and in parallel settings. In conclusion, the fully implicit Radau IIA Runge–Kutta methods compare favorably with equal-order DIRK methods in terms of accuracy, number of GMRES iterations, number of matrix–vector multiplications, and wall-clock time, for a wide range of time steps.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Efficient algorithms and implementations of entropy-based moment closures for rarefied gases

We present efficient algorithms and implementations of the 35-moment system equipped with the maximum-entropy closure in the context of rarefied gases. While closures based on the principle of entropy maximization have been shown to yield very promising results for moderately rarefied gas flows, the computational cost of these closures is in general much higher than for closure theories with explicit closed-form expressions of the closing fluxes, such as Grad's classical closure. Following a similar approach as Garrett et al. (2015) , we investigate efficient implementations of the computationally expensive numerical quadrature method used for the moment evaluations of the maximum-entropy distribution by exploiting its inherent fine-grained parallelism with the parallelism offered by multi-core processors and graphics cards. We show that using a single graphics card as an accelerator allows speed-ups of two orders of magnitude when compared to a serial CPU implementation. To accelerate the time-to-solution for steady-state problems, we propose a new semi-implicit time discretization scheme. The resulting nonlinear system of equations is solved with a Newton type method in the Lagrange multipliers of the dual optimization problem in order to reduce the computational cost. Additionally, fully explicit time-stepping schemes of first and second order accuracy are presented. We investigate the accuracy and efficiency of the numerical schemes for several numerical test cases, including a steady-state shock-structure problem.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A second-order distributed memory parallel fast sweeping method for the Eikonal equation

The Eikonal equation is used to calculate wave propagation and distance fields, and due to its complexity requires numerical treatment for its solution. In this work, we present a second-order distributed memory parallel fast sweeping method. The second-order solution switches on a two-point stencil when two upwind points are available, and reverts to first-order otherwise. In all examples, the second-order method improves the solution over the first-order, allowing for significant savings in memory while achieving the same accuracy. Parallelization over distributed memory saw good weak scaling with optimal convergence. The computational time for second-order was approximately 2.5 times slower than first-order, where the largest amount of mesh points ran on 144 cores (512 GB) was ≈20 billion. The savings in memory from the second-order method combined with the distributed memory algorithm result in the ability to solve problems much larger than are possible with the serial first-order method.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Review of in situ process monitoring for metal hybrid directed energy deposition

Hybrid manufacturing, or the combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing within a single build volume is transforming the way products are being fabricated. Additive manufacturing confers unprecedented freedom of design and reduced material usage while enabling serial customization. Subtractive manufacturing provides superior surface finish and improved dimensional accuracies. Interwoven, these two digital manufacturing paradigms are enabling the rapid manufacturing of complex, highly accurate, and customized geometries in a diversity of high-performance alloys. In situ monitoring, heavily relied upon in either additive or subtractive, becomes even more crucial with the interplay of the two processes in a single combined build sequence. Moreover, challenges that do not exist in either process alone can now have a dramatic impact on final part quality: (1) a large amount of heat is generated during additive manufacturing deposition, which is primarily dissipated into the machine tooling and impacts accuracy by deforming the material and causing misaligned machining; (2) microstructure, mechanical properties, and residual stresses are the result of the complex thermal histories generated by additive manufacturing and can impact subsequent cutting performance. This comprehensive review considers previous research in monitoring and providing closed-loop control in both additive and subtractive manufacturing separately and then considers the implications of the effectiveness of these monitoring techniques when additive and subtractive processes are integrated together.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A semiparametric latent factor model for large scale temporal data with heteroscedasticity

Large scale temporal data have flourished in a vast array of applications, and their sophisticated structures, especially the heteroscedasticity among subjects with inter- and intra-temporal dependence, have fueled a great demand for new statistical models. In this paper, with covariate information, we consider a flexible model for large scale temporal data with subject-specific heteroscedasticity. Formally, the model employs latent semiparametric factors to simultaneously account for the subject-specific heteroscedasticity and the contemporaneous and/or serial correlations. The subject-specific heteroscedasticity is modeled as the product of the unobserved factor process and subject’s covariate effect, which is further characterized via additive models. For estimation, we propose a two-step procedure. First, the latent factor process and nonparametric loading are recovered through projection-based methods, and following, we estimate the regression components by approaches motivated from the generalized least squares. By scrupulously examining the non-asymptotic rates for recovering the factor process and its loading, we show the consistency and efficiency of estimated regression coefficients in the absence of prior knowledge of latent factor process and subject’s covariate effect. Here, the statistical guarantees remain valid even for finite time points that makes our method particularly appealing when the subjects significantly outnumber the observation time points. Using comprehensive simulations, we demonstrate the finite sample performance of our method, which corroborates the theoretical findings. Finally, we apply our method to a data set of air quality and energy consumption collected at 129 monitoring sites in the United States in 2015.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

EBSD and TEM Characterization of High Burn-up Mixed Oxide Fuel

Understanding and studying the irradiation behavior of high burn-up oxide fuel is critical to licensing of future fast breeder reactors. Advancements in experimental techniques and equipment are allowing for new insights into previously irradiated samples. In this work dual column focused ion beam (FIB)/scanning electron microscope (SEM) was utilized to prepared transmission electron microscope samples from mixed oxide fuel with a burn-up of 6.7% FIMA. Utilizing the FIB/SEM for preparation resulted in samples with a dose rate of <0.5 mRem/h compared to approximately 1.1 R/h for a traditionally prepared TEM sample. The TEM analysis showed that the sample taken from the cooler rim region of the fuel pellet had approximately 2.5x higher dislocation density than that of the sample taken from the mid-radius due to the lower irradiation temperature of the rim. The dual column FIB/SEM was additionally used to prepared and serially slice approximately 25 um cubes. High quality electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) were collected from the face at each step, showing, for the first time, the ability to obtain EBSD data from high activity irradiated fuel.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Three-dimensional bubble reconstruction in high burnup UO 2

In light water reactor (LWR) UO 2 fuels, the evolution of volatile fission products is one of the critical areas of fuel behavior that is yet to be fully understood. In UO 2 irradiated to high burnups, it is well known that most released fission gases come from the central region of the fuel as opposed to the highly porous high burnup structure (HBS) on the periphery of the pellets. However, fuels with and without interconnected bubble networks at the fuel center showed high to moderate release fractions, which conceals the mechanisms responsible for the gas release in the latter scenario. In this work, focused ion beam tomography was used to investigate the three-dimensional bubble structure in an irradiated LWR UO 2 fuel pellet with high degree of fission gas retention so that the degree of bubble interconnection could be assessed. Six radial locations with different burnups and temperatures were serially sectioned and imaged to reconstruct the three-dimensional bubble structure. As expected, the highest porosity was observed at the periphery of the fuel (HBS). Here, the porosity then decreased towards the pellet center, except for the centermost location. This location had a slightly higher porosity than its adjacent mid-radial location, which was attributed to the temperature difference between the two locations. This study provides a first-time volumetric evaluation of the porosity at different radial locations on a UO 2 fuel pellet. During this investigation, no significant bubble interconnection was noted at any of the six radial locations.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Method for measurement of TRISO kernel and layer volumes by X-ray computed tomography

Layer dimensions are key parameters for as-fabricated tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel as well as for post-irradiation examination of particle performance. Layer thicknesses are typically measured by optical microscopy of the particle cross section near mid-plane, while layer volumes are estimated with serial sectioning and microscopy. This method for measuring layer volumes is limited due to the resolution limit imposed by slice thickness and the effect of the polishing process on delicate irradiated particle microstructures. In this study, image processing software has been developed to segregate the three-dimensional (3D) TRISO particle images provided by x-ray computed tomography (XCT) into high-resolution volumetric data for the kernel, all particle layers, and any internal voids introduced during irradiation. These data can be used to analyze key in-reactor behaviors of TRISO particles such as kernel swelling or buffer shrinkage, which are important inputs for fuel performance modeling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

UQpy: A general purpose Python package and development environment for uncertainty quantification

In this paper, we present the UQpy software toolbox, an open-source Python package for general uncertainty quantification (UQ) in mathematical and physical systems. The software serves as both a user-ready toolbox that includes many of the latest methods for UQ in computational modeling and a convenient development environment for Python programmers advancing the field of UQ. The paper presents an introduction to the software's architecture and existing capabilities, divided in the code in a set of modules centered around different UQ tasks such as sampling methods, generation of random processes and random fields, probabilistic inverse modeling, reliability analysis, surrogate modeling, and active learning. The paper also highlights the importance of the RunModel module, which is used to drive simulations in the uncertainty analyses performed in UQpy. This module conveniently allows the user to define computational models directly in Python, or to run simulations from a third-party software in serial or in parallel. To illustrate the various capabilities, two examples are tracked throughout the paper and analyzed repeatedly for various UQ tasks. The first is a Python model solving a nonlinear structural dynamics problem, used to illustrate UQpy's capabilities in sampling and forward propagation of high dimensional random vectors (stochastic processes), and probabilistic inference. The second model is a third-party Abaqus finite element model solving the thermomechanical response of a beam structure. This example is used to illustrate UQpy's capabilities in variance reduction sampling techniques, reliability analysis, surrogate modeling and active learning techniques.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Parallel algorithms for finding connected components using linear algebra

Finding connected components is one of the most widely used operations on a graph. Optimal serial algorithms for the problem have been known for half a century, and many competing parallel algorithms have been proposed over the last several decades under various different models of parallel computation. This paper presents a class of parallel connected-component algorithms designed using linear-algebraic primitives. These algorithms are based on a PRAM algorithm by Shiloach and Vishkin and can be designed using standard GraphBLAS operations. Here, we demonstrate two algorithms of this class, one named LACC for Linear Algebraic Connected Components, and the other named FastSV which can be regarded as LACC’s simplification. With the support of the highly-scalable Combinatorial BLAS library, LACC and FastSV outperform the previous state-of-the-art algorithm by a factor of up to 12x for small to medium scale graphs. For large graphs with more than 50B edges, LACC and FastSV scale to 4K nodes (262K cores) of a Cray XC40 supercomputer and outperform previous algorithms by a significant margin. This remarkable performance is accomplished by (1) exploiting sparsity that was not present in the original PRAM algorithm formulation, (2) using high-performance primitives of Combinatorial BLAS, and (3) identifying hot spots and optimizing them away by exploiting algorithmic insights.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗