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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 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Bayesian data fusion for spatial prediction of categorical variables in environmental sciences

First developed to predict continuous variables, Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) has become a complete framework in the context of space-time prediction since it has been extended to predict categorical variables and mixed random fields. This method proposes solutions to combine several sources of data whatever the nature of the information. However, the various attempts that were made for adapting the BME methodology to categorical variables and mixed random fields faced some limitations, as a high computational burden. The main objective of this paper is to overcome this limitation by generalizing the Bayesian Data Fusion (BDF) theoretical framework to categorical variables, which is somehow a simplification of the BME method through the convenient conditional independence hypothesis. The BDF methodology for categorical variables is first described and then applied to a practical case study: the estimation of soil drainage classes using a soil map and point observations in the sandy area of Flanders around the city of Mechelen (Belgium). The BDF approach is compared to BME along with more classical approaches, as Indicator CoKringing (ICK) and logistic regression. Estimators are compared using various indicators, namely the Percentage of Correctly Classified locations (PCC) and the Average Highest Probability (AHP). Although BDF methodology for categorical variables is somehow a simplification of BME approach, both methods lead to similar results and have strong advantages compared to ICK and logistic regression.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Adaptive Mixed GMsFEM for Flows in Heterogeneous Media

Abstract In this paper, we present two adaptive methods for the basis enrichment of the mixed Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Method (GMsFEM) for solving the flow problem in heterogeneous media. We develop an a-posteriori error indicator which depends on the norm of a local residual operator. Based on this indicator, we construct an offline adaptive method to increase the number of basis functions locally in coarse regions with large local residuals. We also develop an online adaptive method which iteratively enriches the function space by adding new functions computed based on the residual of the previous solution and special minimum energy snapshots. We show theoretically and numerically the convergence of the two methods. The online method is, in general, better than the offline method as the online method is able to capture distant effects (at a cost of online computations), and both methods have faster convergence than a uniform enrichment. Analysis shows that the online method should start with a certain number of initial basis functions in order to have the best performance. The numerical results confirm this and show further that with correct selection of initial basis functions, the convergence of the online method can be independent of the contrast of the medium. We consider cases with both very high and very low conducting inclusions and channels in our numerical experiments.

Mathematics↗
DOE OSTI2016

Obtaining lower bounds from the progressive hedging algorithm for stochastic mixed-integer programs

We present a method for computing lower bounds in the progressive hedging algorithm (PHA) for two-stage and multi-stage stochastic mixed-integer programs. Computing lower bounds in the PHA allows one to assess the quality of the solutions generated by the algorithm contemporaneously. The lower bounds can be computed in any iteration of the algorithm by using dual prices that are calculated during execution of the standard PHA. In conclusion, we report computational results on stochastic unit commitment and stochastic server location problem instances, and explore the relationship between key PHA parameters and the quality of the resulting lower bounds.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

The long-solved problem of the best-fit straight line: application to isotopic mixing lines

Abstract. It has been almost 50 years since York published an exact and general solution for the best-fit straight line to independent points with normally distributed errors in both x and y. York's solution is highly cited in the geophysical literature but almost unknown outside of it, so that there has been no ebb in the tide of books and papers wrestling with the problem. Much of the post-1969 literature on straight-line fitting has sown confusion not merely by its content but by its very existence. The optimal least-squares fit is already known; the problem is already solved. Here we introduce the non-specialist reader to York's solution and demonstrate its application in the interesting case of the isotopic mixing line, an analytical tool widely used to determine the isotopic signature of trace gas sources for the study of biogeochemical cycles. The most commonly known linear regression methods – ordinary least-squares regression (OLS), geometric mean regression (GMR), and orthogonal distance regression (ODR) – have each been recommended as the best method for fitting isotopic mixing lines. In fact, OLS, GMR, and ODR are all special cases of York's solution that are valid only under particular measurement conditions, and those conditions do not hold in general for isotopic mixing lines. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we quantify the biases in OLS, GMR, and ODR under various conditions and show that York's general – and convenient – solution is always the least biased.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mixed metal oxide extrudate catalyst

Methods of making a Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 supported NiMg catalyst extrudate are provided. In some aspects, the methods include preparing a ceria-zirconia solution comprising Ce(NO3)3.6H2O, ZrO(NO3)2xH2O, and water; forming a precipitate; drying and calcining the precipitate to produce a Ce0.6Zr0.4O2; adding a nickel-magnesium solution to the Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 to produce the NiMg/Ce0.6Zr0.4O2; and drying and calcining a wet extrudate of the NiMg/Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 to produce the Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 supported NiMg catalyst extrudate. Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 supported NiMg catalyst extrudates made by the methods are also provided.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mixed core processor unit

A method and apparatus for processing data. The data is sent to a processor unit comprising a group of neural cores, a group of digital processing cores, and a routing network connecting the group of digital processing cores. The data is processed in the processor unit to generate a result.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Variable Eddington Factor method for the 1-D grey radiative transfer equations with discontinuous Galerkin and mixed finite-element spatial differencing

The purpose of this paper is to present a Variable Eddington Factor (VEF) method for the 1-D grey radiative transfer equations that uses a lumped linear discontinuous Galerkin spatial discretization for the Sequations together with a constant-linear mixed finite-element discretization for the VEF moment and material temperature equations. The use of independent discretizations can be particularly useful for multiphysics applications such as radiation-hydrodynamics. The VEF method is quite old, but to our knowledge, this particular combination of differencing schemes has not been previously investigated for radiative transfer. We define the scheme and present computational results. As expected, the scheme exhibits second-order accuracy for the directionally-integrated intensity and material temperature, and behaves well in the thick diffusion limit. An important focus of this study is the treatment of the strong temperature dependence of the opacities and the spatial dependence of the opacities within each cell, which are not explicitly defined by the basic discretization schemes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Methods for Quantifying the Uncertainties of LSIT Test Parameters, Test Results, and Full-Scale Mixing Performance Using Models Developed from Scaled Test Data

This report discusses the statistical methods for quantifying uncertainties in 1) test responses and other parameters in the Large Scale Integrated Testing (LSIT), and 2) estimates of coefficients and predictions of mixing performance from models that relate test responses to test parameters. Testing at a larger scale has been committed to by Bechtel National, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to “address uncertainties and increase confidence in the projected, full-scale mixing performance and operations” in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Wave function continuity and the diagonal Born-Oppenheimer correction at conical intersections

We demonstrate that though exact in principle, the expansion of the total molecular wave function as a sum over adiabatic Born-Oppenheimer (BO) vibronic states makes inclusion of the second-derivative nonadiabatic energy term near conical intersections practically problematic. In order to construct a well-behaved molecular wave function that has density at a conical intersection, the individual BO vibronic states in the summation must be discontinuous. When the second-derivative nonadiabatic terms are added to the Hamiltonian, singularities in the diagonal BO corrections (DBOCs) of the individual BO states arise from these discontinuities. In contrast to the well-known singularities in the first-derivative couplings at conical intersections, these singularities are non-integrable, resulting in undefined DBOC matrix elements. Though these singularities suggest that the exact molecular wave function may not have density at the conical intersection point, there is no physical basis for this constraint. Instead, the singularities are artifacts of the chosen basis of discontinuous functions. We also demonstrate that continuity of the total molecular wave function does not require continuity of the individual adiabatic nuclear wave functions. We classify nonadiabatic molecular dynamics methods according to the constraints placed on wave function continuity and analyze their formal properties. Based on our analysis, it is recommended that the DBOC be neglected when employing mixed quantum-classical methods and certain approximate quantum dynamical methods in the adiabatic representation.

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

Mixing of the Connecticut River Plume During Ambient Flood Tides: Spatial Heterogeneity and Contributions of Bottom–Generated and Interfacial Mixing

The Connecticut River plume is influenced by energetic ambient tides in the Long Island Sound receiving waters. The objectives of this modeling study are (a) characterizing the spatial heterogeneity of turbulent buoyancy fluxes, (b) partitioning turbulent buoyancy fluxes into bottom-generated and interfacial shear contributions, and (c) quantifying contributions to plume-integrated mixing within the tidal plume. The plume formed during ambient flood tides under low river discharge, spring tides, and no winds is analyzed. Turbulent buoyancy fluxes (B) and depth-integrated B through the plume (Bd) are characterized by pronounced spatial heterogeneity. Strong mixing (Bd ~ 10 –5 -10 –4 m 3 /s 3 ) occurs near the mouth, in the nearfield plume turning region, over shoals, and nearshore shallow areas. Low to moderate mixing (Bd ~ 10 –8 -10 –6 m 3 /s 3 ) occupies half the plume. Buoyancy fluxes are first partitioned based on the depth of the shear stress minimum between plume-generated and bottom-generated shear maxima. Four other tested partitioning methods are based on open channel flow and stratified shear flow parameterizations. Interfacial and bottom-generated shear contribute to different areas of intense and moderate mixing. All methods indicate a significant plume mixing role for bottom-generated mixing, but interfacial mixing is a bigger contributor. Plume-integrated total and interfacial mixing peak at max ambient flood and the timing of peak bottom-generated mixing varies among partitioning methods. Two-thirds of the mixing occurs in concentrated intense mixing areas. A parameter space with the ambient tidal Froude number and plume thickness to depth ratio as axes indicates many tidally modulated plumes are moderately to dominantly influenced by bottom-generated tidal mixing.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Learning Symbolic Expressions: Mixed-Integer Formulations, Cuts, and Heuristics

Here, in this paper, we consider the problem of learning a regression function without assuming its functional form. This problem is referred to as symbolic regression. An expression tree is typically used to represent a solution function, which is determined by assigning operators and operands to the nodes. Cozad and Sahinidis propose a nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP), in which binary variables are used to assign operators and nonlinear expressions are used to propagate data values through nonlinear operators, such as square, square root, and exponential. We extend this formulation by adding new cuts that improve the solution of this challenging MINLP. We also propose a heuristic that iteratively builds an expression tree by solving a restricted MINLP. We perform computational experiments and compare our approach with a mixed-integer program–based method and a neural network–based method from the literature.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS2014

Waste Water Treatment Apparatus and Methods

An improved draft tube spout fluid bed (DTSFB) mixing, handling, conveying, and treating apparatus and systems, and methods for operating are provided. The apparatus and systems can accept particulate material and pneumatically or hydraulically conveying the material to mix and/or treat the material. In addition to conveying apparatus, a collection and separation apparatus adapted to receive the conveyed particulate material is also provided. The collection apparatus may include an impaction plate against which the conveyed material is directed to improve mixing and/or treatment. The improved apparatus are characterized by means of controlling the operation of the pneumatic or hydraulic transfer to enhance the mixing and/or reacting by controlling the flow of fluids, for example, air, into and out of the apparatus. The disclosed apparatus may be used to mix particulate material, for example, mortar; react fluids with particulate material; coat particulate material, or simply convey particulate material.

Littman, Howard↗
NASA NTRS2011

Tests of the Grobner Basis Solution for Lightning Ground Flash Fraction Retrieval

Satellite lightning imagers such as the NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Lightning Imaging Sensor (TRMM/LIS) and the future GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) are designed to detect total lightning (ground flashes + cloud flashes). However, there is a desire to discriminate ground flashes from cloud flashes from the vantage point of space since this would enhance the overall information content of the satellite lightning data and likely improve its operational and scientific applications (e.g., in severe weather warning, lightning nitrogen oxides studies, and global electric circuit analyses). A Bayesian inversion method was previously introduced for retrieving the fraction of ground flashes in a set of flashes observed from a satellite lightning imager. The method employed a constrained mixed exponential distribution model to describe the lightning optical measurements. To obtain the optimum model parameters (one of which is the ground flash fraction), a scalar function was minimized by a numerical method. In order to improve this optimization, a Grobner basis solution was introduced to obtain analytic representations of the model parameters that serve as a refined initialization scheme to the numerical optimization. In this study, we test the efficacy of the Grobner basis initialization using actual lightning imager measurements and ground flash truth derived from the national lightning network.

Koshak, William↗
NASA NTRS1975

Analytical study of mixing and reacting three-dimensional supersonic combustor flow fields

An analytical investigation is presented of mixing and reacting hydrogen jets injected from multiple orifices transverse and parallel to a supersonic airstream. The COMOC computer program, based upon a finite-element solution algorithm, was developed to solve the governing equations for three-dimensional, turbulent, reacting, boundary-region, and confined flow fields. The computational results provide a three-dimensional description of the velocity, temperature, and species-concentration fields downstream of hydrogen injection. Detailed comparisons between cold-flow data and results of the computational analysis have established validity of the turbulent-mixing model based on the elementary mixing-length hypothesis. A method is established to initiate computations for reacting flow fields based upon cold-flow correlations and the appropriate experimental parameters of Mach number, injector spacing, and pressure ratio. Key analytical observations on mixing and combustion efficiency for reacting flows are presented and discussed.

Baker, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Southern Idaho Health & Air Quality II: Evaluating Atmospheric Mixing Height Estimations in the Western United States

Wildfires in the western United States have caused immense infrastructure damage and loss of human life in recent years. Wildfire smoke, which travels far from its original source, is also harmful to human health. Mixing height, which acts as a lid and prevents smoke from rising above a certain altitude in the lower troposphere, is a critical input in smoke dispersion and air quality models used by agencies that monitor wildfires. These models, coupled with forecaster expertise, are also used to decide when it is safe to execute a prescribed burn. The DEVELOPID team partnered with the National Weather Service (NWS) Fire Weather Program, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), and National Park Service (NPS) Fire Management Program Center (FMPC) to help improve reliability and confidence in mixing height estimations, and therefore the burn prescription decision-making process. To that end, the team developed a toolbox for measuring smoke-related aerosol mixing heights using Cloud-Aerosol LiDAR and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) Vertical Feature Mask granules. CALIPSO mixing heights and NWS estimations covaried significantly and positively. However, substantial disagreement between the methods stymied the team’s attempts to quantify systematic bias in a meaningful way. The relative error between the methods was especially large at low mixing heights, which suggests that this method of validation may only be suitable at higher altitudes.

Dean Berkowitz↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Empirical Noise Modeling of Internally Mixed Exhaust Systems

There appear to be no non-proprietary methods to predict the noise of internally mixed exhaust systems, and no guidance for how to adapt known jet noise models for these configurations. This paper surveys literature and historical databases acquired at NASA Glenn's Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Lab to give such guidance. The core premise is that an exhaust system with well-designed mixer produces noise that is to first approximation the same as a fully-mixed jet flow. Refinement of what is meant by a “fully mixed jet” can lead to more accurate prediction of the main jet noise. Additional noise is often generated within the nozzle, typically at high frequencies, whose source mechanism(s) are not obvious. However, a noise prediction method can be established that captures some aspects of the excess noise and provide an estimate of the total jet noise. Explorations of source mechanisms associated with the internal mixer have led to a new noise model which includes the effects of having an external plug nozzle, a feature desirable for near-term supersonic aircraft. Statistical analysis of historical data is provided to estimate the uncertainty in using this method given the variations found that cannot be directly computed without detailed mixer geometry.

Noise Prediction↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Empirical Noise Modeling of Internally Mixed Exhaust Systems

There appears to be no non-proprietary methods to predict the noise of internally mixed exhaust systems, and no guidance for how to adapt known jet noise models for these configurations. This paper surveys literature and historical databases acquired at NASA Glenn's Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Lab to give such guidance. The core premise is that an exhaust system with well-designed mixer produces noise that is to first approximation the same as a fully-mixed jet flow. Refinement of what is meant by a “fully mixed jet” can lead to more accurate prediction of the main jet noise. Additional noise is often generated within the nozzle, typically at high frequencies, whose source mechanism(s) are not obvious. However, a noise prediction method can be established that captures some aspects of the excess noise and provide an estimate of the total jet noise. Explorations of source mechanisms associated with the internal mixer have led to a new noise model which includes the effects of having an external plug nozzle, a feature desirable for near-term supersonic aircraft. Statistical analysis of historical data is provided to estimate the uncertainty in using this method given the variations found that cannot be directly computed without detailed mixer geometry.

Noise Prediction↗
DOE OSTI2016

On the inclusion of the diagonal Born-Oppenheimer correction in surface hopping methods

The diagonal Born-Oppenheimer correction (DBOC) stems from the diagonal second derivative coupling term in the adiabatic representation, and it can have an arbitrary large magnitude when a gap between neighbouring Born-Oppenheimer (BO) potential energy surfaces (PESs) is closing. Nevertheless, DBOC is typically neglected in mixed quantum-classical methods of simulating nonadiabatic dynamics (e.g., fewest-switch surface hopping (FSSH) method). A straightforward addition of DBOC to BO PESs in the FSSH method, FSSH+D, has been shown to lead to numerically much inferior results for models containing conical intersections. More sophisticated variation of the DBOC inclusion, phase-space surface-hopping (PSSH) was more successful than FSSH+D but on model problems without conical intersections. This work comprehensively assesses the role of DBOC in nonadiabatic dynamics of two electronic state problems and the performance of FSSH, FSSH+D, and PSSH methods in variety of one- and two-dimensional models. Our results show that the inclusion of DBOC can enhance the accuracy of surface hopping simulations when two conditions are simultaneously satisfied: (1) nuclei have kinetic energy lower than DBOC and (2) PESs are not strongly nonadiabatically coupled. The inclusion of DBOC is detrimental in situations where its energy scale becomes very high or even diverges, because in these regions PESs are also very strongly coupled. In this case, the true quantum formalism heavily relies on an interplay between diagonal and off-diagonal nonadiabatic couplings while surface hopping approaches treat diagonal terms as PESs and off-diagonal ones stochastically.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗